Rising Tiger: A Thriller (32)

The first device she fired was a warning munition. Holding the launcher at an angle, she pressed the trigger and sent the projectile high into the air. It detonated twenty feet above the crowd with an earsplitting, 170-decibel explosion and a blinding, five-million-candela flash.

A collective panic spread through the mob. People started screaming and running away.

There was a handful of about fifteen who had decided to charge the house and were trying to kick in the door. Asha advanced and turned her attention on them next.

The next three shots to erupt from the launcher were called WASPs. Each munition contained fourteen rubberized projectiles accurate to fifty feet with an eight-foot spread. In other words, none of the rioters were spared. Each was struck multiple times and each strike caused excruciating pain.

By the time any of the mob realized where the shots had come from, Asha had already reloaded and was firing at them again as she closed the rest of the distance.

Those who could, ran. Those who couldn’t, limped. The rest had to be helped away by their comrades.

In the end, Asha had succeeded in her objective. She had cleared a path to the house and had made it to the front entrance.

Banging on the door, she called out to Mrs. Siddiqui, using her first name and telling her it was safe to let her in. A moment later, Ismat did just that.

After reloading her launcher, Asha turned and fired an aerial-burst pepper spray grenade that detonated overhead of where the mob had reassembled, halfway down this street.

It wouldn’t keep them away forever, but it would have to do for now. Scanning the street before retreating inside the house, she caught the astonished gaze of the overweight police commander. He stood there with his mouth agape, the lit cigarette barely hanging on to his lower lip.

“The Indian Armed Forces thanks you for your assistance,” she shouted, maintaining her professionalism, while fighting the urge to give him the finger.

She then went inside to join Mrs. Siddiqui, closing and locking the door behind her.





CHAPTER 19


“Everything is okay. You’re all safe. Nothing is going to happen to you,” Asha said, trying to calm Mrs. Siddiqui and her young children down. “Is anyone injured?”

They all shook their heads.

“Good,” Asha replied. “I need everyone to pack an overnight bag. No suitcases. Something small that you can easily carry. Okay?”

The family nodded and Asha set them on their task as she searched the rest of the house, making sure it was secure.

Once her job was complete, she took out her phone and called the lance naik.

“Do you have Sergeant Siddiqui?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am. He’s right here.”

“Tell him his wife and family are safe, but he must remain with you. It’s still not safe for him down here.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Khan replied and then relayed the information to the flight mechanic.

“What’s your position?” she asked.

“We’re a block down the street in the opposite direction of the crowd.”

“How many cops do you see?”

“At present, I count ten, but there could be more.”

“Be very careful. I don’t trust them.”

“Yes, ma’am,” said the lance naik. “I understand.”

“What is the crowd doing? Is it dispersing?”

“They scattered after you fired that last round, but they appear to be regrouping.”

Damn it, she thought. How the hell am I going to get all of them out of here safely? And then it came to her.

“What kind of air assets does Sulur have on standby, crewed and ready to go right now?” she asked.

“Fixed wing, ma’am? Or rotary?”

“Rotary.”

“Surely, ma’am, you’re not thinking of trying to land a helicopter on the street outside. It is much too dangerous. With the proximity of the buildings, not to mention the power lines—”

Asha cut him off and explained precisely what she wanted him to arrange. Once Khan assured her that he understood what it was she wanted, she disconnected the call and went to check on the progress Mrs. Siddiqui and the children were making.

As she did, she offered up a silent prayer that her plan would work. If it didn’t, with a less-than-compliant police force, she had no idea how she was going to pull this off.



* * *



When Khan called back, she could already hear the sound of the inbound chopper. It was a sleek, new HAL Dhruv, manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and operated by the Indian Air Force.

The Dhruv took its name from the Sanskrit word for “unshakeable,” but today it was going to do some of the most serious shaking of its career.

Asha had rejiggered her launcher with a different set of munitions. Checking them one last time, she told the lance naik that she was good to go.

“As soon as you give the signal, then,” Khan replied.

Lining up the family, she gave them one final set of instructions, literal marching orders, and then unlocked the front door.

Even though she couldn’t see the helo, she knew where it was. Once the crew received her signal, it would move in.

Out on the street, the mob had not only regrouped: they were moving forward, back toward the house. Many had tied pieces of cloth around their faces in anticipation of another salvo of pepper spray.