Allie read the document and signed. “I’m not sure this is even legal if signed under duress.”
The man shrugged. “Take me to court.”
Spencer gave Drake a dark stare and scrawled his name across the bottom. “Fine. Now what?”
Drake did the same, and the man collected the documents, stood, and moved to the door. “I’ll be right back.”
He stepped out of the room and Drake leaned toward Allie and Spencer. “This is scary weird, isn’t it?”
Spencer pointed at the air-conditioning duct and held a finger to his lips. Drake’s eyes flitted to the grill and back to Spencer’s, and they sat in silence, awaiting the man’s return.
Five minutes later, their patience was rewarded. The man reentered, walked unhurriedly to the head of the table, and sat. “All right. My name’s Monroe. General Monroe. Among other things, I’m responsible for coordinating things for the military in this neck of the woods. Reynolds got you involved in something that we’ve been working on for several years – a counterterrorism operation. You almost blew it for us and narrowly avoided getting killed in the process. You can never breathe a word about anything you’ve seen or heard, or you’ll be arrested and prosecuted for treason. Is that clear?”
Spencer’s frown deepened. “Just like that? You redact everything, and we have to stay silent? Not on your life, General. You owe us an explanation. Reynolds told us we were working on behalf of the DOD. It’s going to take more than some national security mumbo jumbo, and I think you know that.”
“I can answer a few questions, but there’s a limit. Remember, anything I say is covered under that security document.”
“What does the DOD have to do with a slave labor camp, for starters?” Allie demanded.
“Nothing. That’s not our affair.”
“You said we were involved in a terrorist action. What does that mean, and how?” Drake asked.
“We learned of a particularly nasty sect of extremists operating out of Pakistan who were trying to source nuclear material a few years back. This place is a hotbed of Islamic terrorism because of the Saudi-funded schools here – they exported their brand of intolerance and extremism via these institutions, and it found fertile ground in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan, twisted into Jihad by clerics who are preaching a litany of hate.”
“Nuclear material?” Spencer asked.
“Yes. After Bin Laden, we take these threats as seriously as a heart attack, so we came up with an operation where a credible third-party source would supply them with what they were after, so we could confirm the money trail, identify the ringleader, and neutralize the whole bunch in one fell swoop. That was coming to fruition, and then your buddy Carson started showing an unhealthy interest in the very area where that third party’s uranium mine is located. That’s how Reynolds and military intelligence got into the picture. By the time I put together that he was nosing around in a hot zone, it was too late – I tried squashing the inquiry and warning Reynolds off, but he went renegade on me, along with one of his agents, and then your man Carson lost his head, and the next thing I know I’ve got real problems while in the final stages of an operation that’s of the utmost importance…”
“Then you knew about the slave camp. You knew what they’re doing there – all those people condemned to a life of suffering and death,” Allie said, barely containing her disgust.
“Look, little lady, we just went in there and blew the place to kingdom come, all right? The bad guys got what was coming to them, and you got a big win: those imprisoned there are now no longer slaves. We’ll work with the locals to dismantle the place, provide some foreign aid to relocate them, the works. But there’s a limit to how things work in the real world, and it’s all about compromises. We did what we had to do. Believe me, there was no joy in dealing with any of these animals.”
“What about the treasure?” Drake asked, his voice low. “We located it. At least we think so.”
The general shook his head. “Can’t go near it. Covered under national security. That’s not negotiable.”
“Where do you get off making that call?” Spencer demanded.
“Simple. There can be no trace of anything that went on in that valley. You locate a treasure a quarter mile from where the camp was and pretty soon half the country is digging around the area, looking for more. Then there’s a lot of explaining to do when thousands of skeletons are discovered, as well as a vein of uranium in an area where none’s believed to exist. Too many questions arise – messy questions neither we nor the Indians want to have to answer.”
“So you’re going to pretend nothing happened there? That’s your solution? What about prosecuting the monsters responsible? That’s a concentration camp, plain and simple. Since when do the good guys cover those up?” Allie said, outrage tingeing every word.
“Little lady, things are never black and white. I’m sorry. That’s all I can say about it. We’ll do what we can for the survivors, and the world will keep turning. You did good, they’re free, and now it’s time to move on.”
“I’m not your little lady,” she snapped.
“No disrespect intended.”
“We’re just supposed to walk away from the treasure,” Spencer said. “Just like that?”
Monroe nodded. “Correct. Look, I know all about you three. You’re filthy rich. You don’t need the money, so this is just bragging rights for you. Here’s my advice, for what it’s worth: go enjoy being young and rich, and don’t invite consequences you can’t survive. There will be other treasures. Hell, this wasn’t even yours. It was Carson’s, and he’s dead. So get over it.” Monroe turned so that he was facing Spencer. “In return, you don’t rot in Guantanamo or an Indian prison, and you don’t have the full weight of the U.S. government landing on you like a piano. We make the Indian murder charges go away, just like magic, and you’re back to being carefree and happy. To this old man, that sounds like a hell of a deal.”
“Because it’s not you giving up your treasure,” Spencer said.
“It’s not yours, either. But fine. Let’s go down the hypothetical road. You decide to go after it, even though you’ll be charged with treason when you do so – because you think your money insulates you, even though it won’t. I can guarantee you’re never issued a permit to enter Kashmir, much less dig in a sacred site, by the Indians, who will alert us in a New York second. So you’re stopped at the border or, more likely, in India, and then you’re charged with treason. Spencer’s murder charge is resurrected after more evidence is found, and nothing changes – the treasure stays put, but your lives are ruined, and no amount of cash will buy your way clear. That sound like a good deal to you?”
Allie shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re going to let the man who enslaved those people walk away.”
“He’s too powerful. Sorry. That’s the truth. Nobody will touch him. He’s above the law in this country, and it’s their problem, not ours.”
“You worked with him to achieve your objective. That makes you culpable. What about the people who died while you were doing so – whose lives you could have saved if you’d acted?” Allie asked.
“Not that I have to justify things to you, little…Allie. But which do you think is more important: the lives of hundreds of thousands of American citizens or those imprisoned by the bad man here? In this instance, you only get to pick one. And don’t forget that in my case, it’s my sworn duty to protect Americans.” He saw the frustration on her face and nodded. “That’s right. It’s a horrible, impossible decision, and it’s the kind I have to make every day, so people like you can sleep safely at night. Welcome to my world. There’s no easy or good choices, there are just choices that save those I’m entrusted with protecting, sometimes at the expense of others, and choices that do even greater harm to my countrymen. So I do what I have to, try to hurt as few as possible in the process, and wake up every morning and look at myself in the mirror instead of eati
ng the barrel of my pistol.” Monroe stood. “That’s all I’m prepared to say. I presume I have your cooperation.”
It wasn’t a question.
They nodded agreement. “We don’t have to like it,” Drake said.
Monroe sighed. “No, young man, you don’t. Any more than I do. But that’s life.”
“How long will we be stuck here?” Spencer asked.
“No more than twenty-four hours. We still have to conclude the operation, so you’re the guests of the taxpayers until tomorrow, at which point the murder charges will be dropped and your passports returned. Then you’re free to go. Anywhere but Kashmir. Cross that off your map for the duration. Oh, and in case you get any bright ideas of giving your information to someone else so they can hunt down the treasure, that will be treated as treason on your part, so don’t even think about it.”
“You made that quite clear,” Drake said.
The general nodded, his message received loud and clear. “Then we’re done.”
Monroe departed, leaving them fuming. The head of the security detail came in and stood at the door. “The general would like me to show you to your bunks. There are showers, and the mess is open round the clock if you’re hungry.”
Drake stood and looked at Allie. “It’ll have to be a long shower to wash the stink of this whole thing off me,” he said.
The officer’s face didn’t change. “We have unlimited soap and water. This way, please.”
Chapter 59
General Monroe returned to the bank of monitors and studied the images as a younger man wearing a headset adjusted a joystick. The screen in front of him displayed a bluish glowing outline of a two-story home inside a walled area, with a number of vehicles parked in the front drive.
“Heat signatures show the vehicles have been there for a while,” the younger man said.
“Very good, Sergeant. How long until we’re in position?”
“We’re ready now.”
Monroe looked at the wall clock. “I’ll need to call the Pakistanis and alert them, but I don’t want to give them time to leak anything.”
“Understood, General.”
Monroe lifted a landline handset and pressed a speed-dial button on the base. The number blinked green on the phone’s tiny screen, and then a voice answered in English. Monroe identified himself and asked to speak to the duty officer. Thirty seconds later, another man was on the line.
“Good evening, General Monroe. What can we do for you tonight?”
“We have an operation in progress that will require clearance,” Monroe answered in a tone that indicated he wasn’t asking for permission.
“An operation? Where?”
“Rawalpindi.”
“I see. And what is the nature of the clearance you require?”
“Surgical remote strike using a Reaper drone with Hellfire missiles.”
“Is the area residential?”
“Yes, but the target is far enough away from any other buildings that there shouldn’t be any collateral damage. If you like, you can blame it on a gas tank blowing. We are not planning on issuing a statement.”
“I’ll have to check on this. What is the address?”
“I’d prefer to obtain clearance without disclosing that.”
“I’m sorry, General, but you know that’s not how it’s done.”
“It is this time.”
“Then I’m afraid we can’t offer clearance.”
Monroe bit his tongue and debated giving the duty officer the address, and then seemed to arrive at a decision. “You know what one of my favorite expressions is?” he asked softly.
“I’m sorry, General. I’m not reading you.”
“It’s a good one. The saying is ‘It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission.’ What do you think of that, young man?”
“General, there are established protocols we must follow. Agreed to by both our countries.”
“Yes, well, I’m afraid the target has no address. We only have coordinates,” Monroe said. The sergeant watched Monroe from his position in front of the screens without expression.
“What are the coordinates?”
Monroe read off the longitude and latitude. “How long will this take?” he demanded when he was through.
“Let me check with my superiors.”
“Get them out of bed, call a meeting, however you want to do it, but get me my clearance, because I’m not going to wait forever.”
“I urge you to follow the protocol.”
“You have five minutes, and then I’m going in.” Monroe hung up, knowing that he’d take the heat for the exchange, but not particularly caring. He felt old, every year a dead weight, and if this was his last operation before being put out to pasture as a scapegoat for a necessary strike, so be it. Let the diplomats tussle and pull hair and jockey for advantage – he was a warrior who lived by a code of honor, too much of which had already been sacrificed to get them to this delicate point.
He flashed back to the look of disgust on the young woman’s face at his collaboration with the slaver. A woman who could have been his daughter – or truthfully, more like an older version of his granddaughter. He’d tried to explain the delicacy, the inefficiency of using a blunt instrument like morality in a situation requiring considerable nuance and ethical elasticity – that it wasn’t a question of right or wrong, black or white, but only infinite shades of gray on a spectrum he hadn’t invented – but her glare had burned through him with the accusatory damnation of the righteous.
Monroe tried to remember when he’d been that young, when he’d been able to afford moral certainty, before he’d learned the hard way that everything in life was about compromises, little adjustments made for the common good, even if they were repugnant in the short term. He couldn’t. It had been too long ago, too much water beneath that bridge, and all he could recall were his duty and his obligations.
“General? Is everything all right, sir?” the sergeant asked, looking at Monroe with a worried expression.
Monroe’s eyes focused on the screen, and he checked the time again. “Any signs of life?”
“Negative, sir.”
“Then maybe we got lucky on this one. He’s definitely in there?”
“Affirmative. We tracked a cell call two hours ago. There’s no doubt, even–” The sergeant stopped talking as he watched the screen and quickly switched the image to infrared. “Sir, we have movement. Two men just exited the front door. There. Looks like they’re making for that vehicle.”
“Blow them to hell, Sergeant. And send the house with them for company.”
“Yes, sir.”
The sergeant made a minor adjustment, and the glowing crosshairs zeroed on the SUV the two heat signatures were moving to. When they reached it, he depressed a button on his console. “Bird one is away,” he reported, and then moved the crosshairs to the left wing of the house and pressed another. “Bird two is away.” He shifted the marker to the right wing, repeated the steps, and then zeroed on the center. “All birds in flight. Time to impact – six seconds.”
He switched back to night vision, and after a pause, the SUV dissolved in a blinding flash, followed almost instantly by the detonations that masked the house behind clouds of smoke and fire. Neither man said a word until the worst of the smoke had cleared and they could see that the dwelling was completely destroyed.
The phone rang, and the sergeant glanced up at the general. Monroe shook his head and reached for it, clearing his throat as he raised the handset to his ear, his expression as rigid as if forged from iron.
“Command, this is Monroe.”
Chapter 60
Delhi, India
Peacocks prowled the grounds of Mehta’s palatial residence as he prepared to go to sleep. The day had been trying, and he hadn’t gotten back to Delhi until early evening, the trek from the hills and wait for his private jet to arrive having consumed most of his time. He�
�d contacted his people in the Indian government and notified them of the attack on the mine, and they’d agreed to shield him from any repercussions. Only an hour ago he’d spoken to the number three man in the administration, who’d filled him in on the latest events: the Americans, working with the Indian government, had blown the caverns, sealing them forever against prying eyes, and India had declared the area a protected heritage site, off-limits without special approval that would never be issued under any circumstances.
The slave population had been bused to a remote staging area fifty miles away, and Mehta was asked to donate funds to secure each survivor a workable plot of land – for which he’d receive a full tax deduction, of course. He’d agreed, and the problem was solved, just like that, without Mehta having to admit to any culpability. As to the yellowcake that the terrorists had purchased, there was no mention, and he assumed that the Americans had spirited the evidence away.
He tossed back the final inch of Johnny Walker Blue Scotch that he’d poured to calm his nerves and swallowed a sleeping pill, the residual adrenaline from the last calamitous twenty-four hours buzzing through his system and threatening him with a second sleepless night. He stood at his balcony doors, looking through the bulletproof glass at the perfectly manicured lawn stretching into the darkness, and nodded at the sight of one of his guards patrolling inside the tall wrought-iron fence. All was well that ended well, he thought, and turned to his bed with a sigh, the satin sheets inviting him as the pill took hold. He glanced at the dagger on his bedside table and made a mental note to have it returned to his brother tomorrow, the final order of the entire ugly episode thereby concluded, and harmony returned to the universe.
Mehta walked to the bed and shed his robe, and then slid beneath the sheets and switched the lights off, his eyelids drooping as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. Minutes later his breathing was deep and regular, his waking concerns banished by the potent combination of drugs and alcohol.
Five hours later, Mehta shifted in his sleep as a shadow crossed his face, blocking the moonlight. He kicked off the top sheet, trying to get comfortable, and then jolted awake as a hideous stench overpowered him.
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