Rising Tiger: A Thriller (102)

The tears had returned to Olena’s face, but they were no longer tears of pain and anguish. “Thank you,” she cried. “Thank you.”

She threw her arms around him and hugged him. Harvath allowed it for a moment, before saying, “We have to go. Are you ready?”

Olena nodded and Harvath helped her down the service stairs, while he carried the suitcase. A car was waiting for them around the corner.

After helping her get into the backseat, he put the suitcase in the trunk and then tapped the roof, letting the driver know he was good to go.

He stood there, watching her watch him through the rear window as the car vanished in the ever-thickening fog. She mouthed the words “Thank you” again and again as she disappeared.

Shouldering the backpack, he disappeared into the fog as well.

A few blocks from the Terrace Club was a pub called Terminus.

It had the oddest mix of customers he had ever seen. From organized crime figures to intelligence operatives, there was something about this dimly lit bar with its snug leather booths that appealed to people who plied their trades in secret.

At one of the coveted back booths, Harvath found his companions.

“Mission accomplished?” Asha asked as he sat down.

“Mission accomplished,” Harvath replied.

“Did he try to cite our deal as a reason for you not to do it?”

“It wouldn’t have made a difference. Your deal was your deal. I didn’t have any such arrangement with him. I was never going to let that guy go on breathing.”

“Understandable,” the RAW operative responded. “Did he say anything at all?”

Harvath shook his head and waved a waitress over. “I never gave him a chance. How about you? How’d your op go?”

“Mission accomplished,” she replied.

Harvath smiled. Scanning the bottles behind the bar, he selected the best bourbon they had and then, pointing at Alexandru Suliman, said, “And make sure he gets the bill.”

The waitress nodded and walked away to place the order. Once she was gone, Harvath unzipped the backpack and placed it between himself and the Romanian intelligence officer. Inside was the pistol, extra magazines, and suppressor the man had provided as well as the multiple stacks of cash taken from Durrani’s suitcase. “For the madam, the people who own the farm, plus whoever you use to scrub the scenes and any local law enforcement issues.”

Suliman nodded, zipped the pack up, and put it on the floor between his boots. “The hope at my agency is that America and India will become even closer partners with Romania, particularly in terms of intelligence sharing.”

Harvath was all about deeper partnerships. Romania was a fellow NATO member and had proven invaluable during the war next door in Ukraine. He only wanted to see that relationship strengthened.

He hoped the same for India. An Asian version of NATO was a fantastic idea on so many levels. One of their first steps forward was going to be a technology swap. DARPA would be sharing everything it knew about the Havana Syndrome device and India’s Defense Research and Development Organization, known as DRDO, would be doing the same with what it learned from the directed-energy weapon Asha would be transporting back to New Delhi.

After a nice back-and-forth with Suliman, Harvath looked at Asha. “So, Vijay’s son Akshay, there’ve been how many dates so far?”

“We’ve been out twice. Coffee and a lunch. I don’t know that I’d call either of those a ‘date.’?”

“You just don’t want to call them dates,” Harvath replied with a smile.

“What about you?” she asked, changing the subject as the waitress set down his drink.

“I just found out that I’m going to be a godfather.”

Nicholas and Nina’s baby had fully recovered and they were planning a christening in the chapel of their home. They had asked Scot and S?lvi to both be godparents and were hoping the ceremony could happen when S?lvi came to the States for the wedding, sometime between Christmas and New Year’s.

“Congratulations,” said Asha, raising her glass.

Suliman and Harvath raised theirs.

“To having something to do,” she continued, “someone to love, and something to look forward to.”

The trio clinked glasses and Harvath smiled. He did have something to do. He also had someone incredible to love. And there was so much coming up for him to look forward to.

He couldn’t wait to get home and hold his goddaughter and he couldn’t wait to be back together again with S?lvi.

He was blessed, beyond measure. And he was going to take time to enjoy it.





ACKNOWLEDGMENTS


I have long been fascinated with India, especially the geopolitics of the region, which is why I chose it for the setting of Rising Tiger. I think we are going to be hearing a lot more about it in the years to come.

Each year, my goal is to bring you a better book than I did the year before. I not only want you to enjoy an exciting read, but also to close the novel a bit wiser about what’s happening around the world.

My thrillers would not be possible without you, my fantastic readers. Thank you for all of your phenomenal reviews, the incredible word of mouth, and all of the great interactions on social media.

To all of the fabulous booksellers around the world who help place my novels into the hands of eager readers, thank you. I wouldn’t be able to reach all of those lovely people without you.