Rising Tiger: A Thriller (53)

“I prefer the term liberated.”

“Huh,” Harvath repeated. “Liberated. Like all you did was open the door and they walked out on their own.”

“Exactly,” said Vijay. “Allowing good equipment to languish in darkness is something no officer, neither active nor recently retired, should ever abide.”

The man then stood back and revealed what was in his duffle.

Along with what looked like a couple of older, pump-action OFB shotguns, there were a pair of “liberated” raid vests emblazoned with the IPS logo, Indian Police Service armbands, more flex-cuffs, and cans of tear gas that looked like they originated from when Indira Gandhi was still prime minister.

Harvath accepted one of the vests and put it on. He adjusted it so that it rode high enough, allowing him to get to his pistol if need be. Next came an armband, followed by an examination of the shotgun he would be carrying.

Vijay had kept the twelve-gauge in excellent condition. It was clean and properly oiled. The ex-cop pulled out a box of shells and handed it to him.

“Are we expecting a firefight?” Harvath asked as he loaded the weapon.

“I always expect a firefight, especially with people like this.”

Spoken like the true, experience-hardened, former law enforcement officer that he was.

Once they were all geared up and ready to go, Harvath tilted his head toward the rear of the Jaguar and said, “You know the minute he thinks we’re gone, he’s going to go to work on those restraints. I give him fifty-fifty odds if he’s motivated enough. Then all he has to do is pop the trunk release and take off.”

“Even if he can slip his restraints,” Vijay replied, “the trunk release isn’t going to help him, because I disabled it.”

“Okay, how about punching out one of the taillights and sticking his arm out to get someone’s attention?”

“Also not going to happen.”

“Why not?”

“Let’s just say he’s not the first guest to have ridden back there. Everything has been reinforced. He’s not kicking or punching his way out of there. And before you ask, there’s plenty of ventilation. Even if he is claustrophobic and has a full-on panic attack, he’ll have plenty of air. Any other questions?”

“Nope,” said Harvath, shaking his head. “It looks like you have thought of everything.”

“That’s the problem with this kind of business,” Vijay responded. “You can never think of everything. When that completely random or overlooked thing pops up, all you can control is how you react to it.”

Harvath knew all too well what the man was talking about. Murphy. He prayed that they weren’t about to meet him inside that warehouse.





CHAPTER 33


The men had agreed that walking straight up to the loading bay was a bad idea. Not only would they have been out in the open and exposed for too long, but there were also too many vehicles, as well as too many people who might pose a threat and need to be secured.

Their best plan of attack was to come in fast and as undetected as possible. Based on Pinaki’s description of the layout, they decided to make entry via a metal side door fronting a smoking area.

The rust-covered door was allegedly propped open during business hours, allowing smokers to easily come and go. Even better, the area around it was overgrown and neglected, providing lots of cover. Trash and discarded items lay everywhere—including stacks of old pallets. It was a wonder that nothing had ever caught fire back there.

As they quietly made their approach, they were relieved to see that not only was the door indeed propped open, but also no one was outside smoking. So far, so good.

But just as they were about to go for the door, they heard voices approaching from inside and were forced to retreat behind a wall of pallets.

While they would never provide good cover, the pallets provided excellent concealment.

With Scot making sure no one snuck up on them from behind, Vijay watched and listened to the two smokers as they puffed and chatted in Hindi outside. When they returned to work, he gave Harvath an update.

“Apparently, their forklift is down. All hands are expected on the loading dock to help unload a truck that arrives in the next five minutes.”

“Do you think that means Rahul?”

Vijay shook his head. “He’s management. Not labor. I don’t think he or his thugs do any honest work. My guess is we’ll find them holed up in the air-conditioned office. That’s the good news. The better news is that there should be fewer employees on this side of the warehouse to potentially see us and raise the alarm.”

That was good news. Harvath only hoped that things would continue to break in their direction. Fast-moving, fluid situations had a way of going sideways quickly. And when they did, people got hurt. Badly.

He didn’t want that to happen here, at least not to the wrong people. Kumar and his crew were one thing, but the hardworking warehouse employees only trying to support their families were another.

Looking at Vijay, he nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.”

It had been decided that the ex-cop would be on point. He spoke the languages and looked the part, two things Harvath most definitely couldn’t lay claim to.

Readying his shotgun, he grabbed hold of the door handle. When Vijay gave him the signal, he opened the door and quietly followed the man inside.