Rising Tiger: A Thriller (62)

“So if the Chinese knew when General Mehra was traveling and what his flight path was, that means they had to have had inside information; access to people on the ground, most likely at Sulur.”

“Correct.”

“This person or persons could have also leaked the information about the chief flight mechanic, Sergeant Siddiqui.”

“To what end?” asked Gupta.

Asha looked at him. “We know from our own intelligence that China is threatened by India’s growth. The better our nation is doing—whether it be economically or especially politically—the greater threat it is to Beijing. The Chinese want us to fail.

“The best way they believe to make that happen is to focus on fractures in our society and apply pressure. Religious tension is one of India’s greatest vulnerabilities. An assault by one group against another can cause riots throughout the whole country. We’re a tinderbox and the Chinese keep flicking lit matches at us.

“They’re the largest creator and pusher of fake news in India. That’s why, after Galwan, one of the first sanctions we imposed was to ban all Chinese apps from our cell phone market. It was a huge blow not only to their tech industry, but also to their propaganda efforts. With almost a billion smartphone users, India cannot afford Beijing gathering all that personal data, much less controlling our media narrative. That doesn’t mean they aren’t finding other means, which we know for a fact that they are, but it substantially weakened their efforts.”

“I am prone to agree with you,” said Raj. “The fact that the Chinese may have penetrated Sulur is a major problem. I am equally concerned, if not more so, over how quickly they were able to track you.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Obviously, you can’t return to your apartment, so you’ll stay here.”

Asha looked around at the makeshift operations center, with all of its mismatched furniture, lamps, and other odds and ends. “It’s not the Oberoi, but I’ll make it work.”

“Good. Now, as far as a plan is concerned, if we can figure out who inside G-Company tasked the operation against you, we can start climbing that tree.”

A smile began to spread across Asha’s face.

“What is it?” Raj asked.

“I know exactly how we’re going to get to him.”





CHAPTER 38


While Asha didn’t think G-Company would waste a lot of manpower on it, she did figure that they’d put some sort of a surveillance team on her apartment building in case she came back.

No true professional would return—not unless they were extremely prepared, which she was, thanks to Raj.

The hardest part was identifying the surveillance. How many were there, where were they, and how were they likely equipped?

A new tech start-up had been trying to get a meeting with Raj for ages. They were convinced that they could help RAW’s Special Operations Division do better surveillance with fewer personnel and for less money than they were currently doing it. They had already gone through all the paperwork and had signed all the nondisclosure documents swearing them to secrecy. All they needed was to get in front of the man himself.

It wasn’t that Raj didn’t want to meet with them; initial reports from his surveillance specialists had been extremely positive, but with everything on his plate, he had been just too busy. Now he was willing to clear his schedule, and the tech people were willing to clear theirs.

He wanted proof of concept. They were ready to give it. The test would be to identify the full scope of surveillance taking place on Asha’s apartment. Then everything would be up to her.

The tech people offered to pick up Raj and allow him to watch everything unfold in their mobile command center, but he opted for an encrypted feed that he could anonymously access from the basement of the Blind Relief Association.

Gupta wanted to be on-site to observe and to help out if needed, but didn’t want anyone to know he was there. He chose a small tea shop down the street from Asha’s and brought his briefcase with the latest novel from Saikat Majumdar. As long as he ordered something from time to time, they would let him sit there all day and read.

He had a perfect view of the front entrance of her building and, to the tech team’s credit, he never saw any sign of them. Zero.

A surveillance op, as well as a countersurveillance op, was only as good as the people involved. You could have the best gadgets in the world, but if you didn’t have experienced operatives behind them, at some point you were going to screw up and expose yourself.

By the time he got a text from Raj saying the tech company had wrapped up, he had already spotted two goons, who he assumed were part of G-Company. They were simply too low-rent and too out of their element to be anything else. Other than that, he hadn’t noticed anyone else.

So one could imagine Gupta’s surprise when the tech team identified seven people who were watching Asha’s apartment.

“Seriously?” Gupta texted back to Raj. “Seven?”

It seemed like far too many. Three teams of two, plus a spotter in an upper apartment across the street. G-Company had to have known, like Asha, that she was a pro and that any pro who had been attacked so close to their home would not be back. They would go to ground. You wouldn’t see them unless they wanted to be seen.

Why not simply leave a lookout and call for reinforcements, if and when she ever returned? He was worried. It felt like overkill.