Rising Tiger: A Thriller (64)

While she might have been tempted to say that she never imagined having to use one of these relationships, or knowledge of a friend’s building, for her job, she would have been lying. One of the things they had been taught in training for RAW was that every person you interacted with and every piece of information you came across was valuable. If not today, then perhaps tomorrow, and you should treat all of it as if it were more precious than gold. Because at some point, it might just be.

That certainly applied to Asha’s current situation. While she didn’t know anyone in the building where the G-Company spotter had positioned himself, she knew several people next door. Best of all, the buildings had been constructed close enough together that you could jump from one rooftop to the other.

She found a spot near the front of the building and parked. At this time of day, almost everyone would be at work. That said, she needed to be careful. With the way she was kitted out, she ran the risk of creating a panic.

Placing her wireless earpiece in her left ear, she did a radio check. Raj heard her loud and clear. A moment later, Gupta, who had fished his earpiece out of his briefcase, confirmed that he had a clear signal as well. Everything was a go.

She had been to the building so many times that she knew the passcode by heart. Punching it into the keypad at the gate, she let herself in and headed for the nearest stairwell.

The roof was on the sixth story and she took the stairs as quickly as she could. During the whole way up, she didn’t see another soul.

Hitting the door that led outside, she found it locked, but reaching above the frame—as she had done with her friends many times for drinks—she found the key and opened it.

Stepping outside, she paused, flipped down the tablet attached to the front of her rig, and gave Raj and Gupta a quick situation report. So far, everything was going according to plan.

She swiped through the various feeds and streams of data. Not much had changed since she had left the surveillance vehicle. The G-Company teams were still in the same places and, most important, the surveillance operative was still in the building next door. All Asha had to do was go get him.

Stowing the tablet back in place, she moved to the parapet and judged the distance. Then she backed up ten meters, took off running, and launched herself into the air.

The RAW operative landed on the other rooftop and rolled, taking particular care to protect the submachine gun and to make sure that she didn’t damage any of her other equipment.

After a quick assessment, wherein she made sure that all of her gear was good and firmly secure, she headed for the service door that would lead into the building and downstairs.

When she got there and gave the handle a try, she found that it had been locked. She reached into a pouch attached to her belt and retrieved a set of lock-pick tools.

Expert lock picking had been drilled into her during her training. It was something that the more you did it, the better you got. Unfortunately, Asha hadn’t done any in a while.

What’s more, she had gotten spoiled by relying on a lock-pick gun for too many of her assignments. Raj hadn’t been able to lay his hands on one in time, so he had substituted a standard set of picks instead. It took her a few moments longer than she would have preferred, but she eventually got the door opened and, readying her weapon, crept inside.

Flipping down the tablet, she checked to make sure all the G-Company thugs were still in place before continuing down the stairs. Once she saw that they were, she moved out.

The surveillance spotter was only one level down and still all alone. She moved quickly, but quietly—careful not to reveal her presence to anyone.

Hitting the landing, she scanned for any sign of life before hooking left and heading for the apartment. Anyone who was home was inside their unit, likely preparing more food in advance of another night of Diwali.

Coming up on the unit with the spotter, she slowed both her pace and her breathing. Once more, she checked the tablet. The lone figure was the only one inside.

How the man had gotten access to the unit was anyone’s guess. Perhaps he had some sort of connection to the tenant. Perhaps the tenant was at work or out of town. There was also the distinct possibility that the tenant had been bribed or simply threatened to stay away until further notice.

None of that mattered to Asha. It wasn’t any of her concern. All that mattered was getting into that unit and taking the man on the other side of its door alive.

Complicating matters was that this guy had six friends outside who would come running at the first sign of trouble. She had to be fast. She had to be efficient. Most of all, she had to be quiet. There was only one way she could think to do that.

Kicking the door in, or better yet, blowing it off its hinges, would have allowed her to be fast and efficient, but would have negated the “quiet” part of her plan. She was going to have to pick the lock.

She made her way to just outside the apartment door, stopped, and listened. Glancing down at the tablet, she could see exactly where the man inside was positioned—at a table of some sort near one of the windows, overlooking her building across the street.

Allowing her H&K to hang from the sling across her body, she pulled out her picks, crouched down in front of the lock, and got to work.

As she carefully inserted the thin pick, along with the tension wrench, she took great pains not to make any noise. She was concerned that even the slightest sound of metal scratching against metal would tip off the man inside.