Rising Tiger: A Thriller (84)

“At this time of night?”

“If you are who you say you are and this is all legit, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Before I do,” she declared, “what’s the connection between you two? Why are you working with a retired IPS officer?”

“I work for the U.S. Embassy,” the ex-cop interjected. “My name, in case you missed it in the bar, is—”

“Vijay Chabra,” she replied.

The man smiled. She was good. “The station chief knows me. But feel free to have your people certify my identity as well.”

“Give me a few minutes,” said Asha as she stepped away to communicate with her boss.

“What do you think?” Harvath asked, once she was out of earshot.

“I think we may not have a lot of time with our prisoner. RAW isn’t going to care about our investigation. They’ll pull rank, a team will get sent in, and they’ll help her take Sayed and move him someplace else.”

Harvath wasn’t so sure. “Why not do that from the beginning? If RAW, especially as an agency, is so interested in Sayed, why send her in alone?”

“Good point.”

“I’m not exactly sure what’s going on, but she’s not being completely straight with us.”

“Is this the human lie detector speaking?” Vijay asked.

“Just my gut.”

“In my experience, you should always listen to your gut.”

“Agreed,” said Harvath. “And in case you’re right, I think we should get started on Sayed.”

The ex-cop shook the hubcap once more and checked the coals, which were starting to glow bright orange. Then, speaking loud enough for their prisoner to hear, he announced, “We’re almost ready.” Nodding toward the corner of the room, he asked Harvath for a favor. “There’s a soda bottle over there. Would you be kind enough to fetch it for me? We’re going to need it for what comes next.”





CHAPTER 54


By the time Asha came back over and asked if she could have a moment with him in private, Harvath had already received a series of texts from Lawlor and had responded.

Checking out the coals in Vijay’s hubcap, he stated, “Not hot enough yet. Keep working on those.”

“If we get them too hot,” the ex-cop replied with a smirk that Sayed couldn’t see, “they’ll melt the bottle.”

“Then we’ll just find another. There’s plenty more.”

Vijay nodded and gave the hubcap a few shakes with the towel as Harvath walked away to speak with Asha.

They stood near the entrance of the building, far enough away that Vijay and Sayed couldn’t hear them speaking, and deep enough in the darkness that no one from the alleyway would notice them.

“I assume you’ve heard from your boss back in the United States?” she asked.

“I have,” he replied. “And you, yours?”

Asha nodded. “So, may I call you Scot? Or do I have to call you JJ?”

Harvath smiled. “For right now, don’t call me anything. It’ll be easier.”

Asha smiled back. “So, it sounds like we’re in similar boats, with very little support, and pursuing a similar goal.”

“With the stakes rising by the day. I’m sorry about the attempt on your life this morning. I didn’t mean to make light of it.”

“It’s okay.”

“I was also sorry to hear about the helicopter crash that killed your chief of Defense Staff. Do you have any more information on it?”

“We believe some sort of directed-energy weapon may have been involved,” she replied. “The Chinese have begun fielding a couple of different kinds. We have a piece of video evidence, which we believe shows one in action in Coonoor.”

“You should encourage your boss to share that video with my boss. We just recovered a directed-energy weapon that was being used against a colleague of mine back in the U.S. Our top scientists are currently all over it.”

“I will encourage him to forward it. You know the Chinese also used some sort of energy weapon against Indian forces in the Himalayas a few months ago.”

“I read the reports,” said Harvath. “Some sort of microwave device. Heated up the water molecules under their skin, caused a lot of headaches, dizziness, and vomiting. Allowed the attacking Chinese soldiers to retreat.”

Asha nodded. “I interviewed the Snow Warriors’ commander. Gathering further intelligence about the event was part of my portfolio. His personal account is gut-wrenching. Both the telling of the attack and the aftermath. While I appreciate the political message it sends to China, I can’t believe they’ve decided to winter in the Galwan Valley.”

“It was the right decision. And I’m proud to admit that my organization had a little bit to do with it.”

“Your organization?”

Harvath nodded. “The Snow Warriors are an amazing regiment. India is right to be very proud of them. But they lacked the infrastructure for a prolonged, high-altitude, overwinter deployment. We fixed that and sourced everything they needed—all premium, top-of-the-line gear. Insulated tents, camping stoves, snowshoes, subzero sleeping bags. We wanted your soldiers to have the absolute best.”