The Eye of Shiva

CHAPTER 28

Four days after the attack on the embassy, the Project team assembled in Harker's office. Sunlight streaming through the windows couldn't dispel the feeling in the room. Ronnie had been transferred back to the states and was in the intensive care unit at Bethesda. His absence hung over all of them. Even the cat knew something was wrong. Burps kept going from room the room looking for him.

A folder with an intelligence update from NSA lay on Elizabeth's desk. It put a different spin on Manila. She looked at Selena and Ronnie and Nick and paused, searching for the right words.

"Ronnie getting hit is a blow to all of us but we have to stay focused. This isn't over yet. Before we're done we may get a chance for payback."

Nick looked as though he hadn't slept for a week. There were dark shadows under his eyes. His lips were compressed in a thin line.

"What kind of payback?" he said.

She tapped the folder on her desk. "NSA thinks the attack on the embassy was more than just an Abu Sayyaf operation. So do I."

"What do you mean, more?" Lamont asked.

"Abu Sayyaf had help from ISOK."

"You mean weapons?" Selena asked. "We already knew ISOK was giving them money."

"That's another issue. We'll talk about that later," Elizabeth said. "This report says it was ISOK behind the embassy seizure all along. They planned the attack, using Abu Sayyaf as a surrogate."

"What's the Intel that backs that up?" Lamont said.

"Three cell phone calls between Abdul Afridi, the leader of ISOK and Omar Madid, the terrorist who led the attack and shot the hostages."

Selena picked a bit of lint off her skirt. "That doesn't make sense. ISOK wants India out of Kashmir, that's their focus. Why attack our embassy in the Philippines?"

"Are they allied with Al Qaeda?" Lamont asked. "That might explain it."

Elizabeth said, "I don't think this has anything to do with Al Qaeda."

"What's Rice going to do?" Selena asked.

"He hasn't decided yet. I've never known him to be this angry. Ambassador Cathwaite was a personal friend of his. I talked with him yesterday. What complicates things is Pakistan."

"Pakistan?" Nick said. "How do they come into it?"

Elizabeth picked up her pen and set it down again. She was trying to break her habit of tapping it on the desktop.

"ISOK wouldn't attack us without permission from Islamabad. If they planned it, it means Pakistan has declared a covert war on us."

"Not much new about that," Lamont said. "They've been lying to us and helping our enemies for years."

"Yes, but we ignored it because we wanted access through their border with Afghanistan. This is different. Politically, it's a perfect storm. The media, Congress and everyone else wants to know who's responsible. Everyone is calling for retaliation. Suppose it gets out that Pakistan used a proxy to blow up our embassy and kill one of our ambassadors? It could trigger a war. If a war starts, it would end up involving the entire Muslim world."

"You said if it's true. That ISOK is behind the attack," Nick said. "Does that mean you have doubts?"

"Something about this doesn't feel right," Elizabeth said, "even though we know ISOK is in bed with Abu Sayyaf."

"So where does the doubt come in?" Lamont asked.

"Like Selena said, it doesn't make sense. Why would Pakistan tell ISOK to help Abu Sayyaf attack our embassy? It doesn't get them anything except trouble. It's a major incident that guarantees retaliation when we find out Islamabad is behind it."

"Abu Sayyaf wanted their prisoners released," Nick said. "It could be Pakistan has nothing to do with it."

"The cell phone intercepts between ISOK and Omar Madid are damning," Elizabeth said. "It's the classic smoking gun. The calls leave no doubt that the attack is being carried out in return for ISOK providing funds for their so-called Islamic revolution."

"That seems clear enough," Selena said.

"That's the problem. It's too clear, too pat. ISOK and Abu Sayyaf have been around a long time. They aren't amateurs in the terrorist game. Both have years of experience avoiding detection by our surveillance. They practice strict communication discipline and they're good at it. They don't use cell phones that can be tracked. Then all of a sudden we find these convenient intercepts and a trail a mile wide pointing straight back to ISOK and Islamabad."

"You think it's a set up." Selena sat up straighter in her chair.

"My intuition says yes, it's a set up. Someone wants us to think ISOK and Pakistan are behind the attack. I think the calls are fake."

Elizabeth's intuition was one of her major strengths. She was seldom wrong. It was eerily accurate, almost a sixth sense. When it kicked in she'd feel an electric tingling all over her skin. She'd learned long ago to pay attention when she had that feeling. She had it now.

"Who would have the resources to fake those calls and not get caught?" Lamont asked.

"That's the magic word, Lamont. Resources. It takes a lot of sophistication to set up an operation like this."

"Qui bono?" Selena said. "Who benefits?"

"Someone who doesn't like Pakistan," Nick said.

"Lots of people don't like Pakistan." Elizabeth looked at them. "There's one obvious answer."

"India," Selena said.

Elizabeth said, "Lots of things seem off about this. Two days before they're supposed to mastermind an attack on our embassy, ISOK blows up the Indian Embassy in Manila. Why? Manila is a long way from Kashmir and there are plenty of prime targets closer to home. Attacking the Indian Embassy in another country would be a major operation in itself. It's a real stretch for an organization that's basically local. Then two days later they get their good friends in Abu Sayyaf to take us on? I don't think so."

"You think the Indian Embassy explosion was part of a set up as well?" Selena said.

"I think it could be."

"Are you saying that the same person or persons is behind both attacks?" Nick asked.

"If I'm right, that's the only explanation that fits."

"What's the payoff?" Nick tugged on his ear. "Being pissed at Pakistan isn't enough of a reason. There has to be more to it than that."

"Why don't we do the assumption thing?" Selena said. "Brainstorm it."

Elizabeth put her pen down. "It's worked before. What's our first assumption?"

Stephanie had been quiet. Now she said, "That it's a set up, like you said. A false flag operation to make us and everyone else think Pakistan is responsible."

"We're back to who benefits," Selena said.

"Does Pakistan gain anything from this?" Lamont asked.

"I don't see how," Harker said. "On the contrary."

"Then assumption number two has to be that the Pakis aren't behind it. If not them, who is it?"

"Someone who wants us to think Pakistan killed our ambassador," Nick said.

Selena heard the energy in his voice and smiled to herself. It was the first time he'd sounded normal since Ronnie had been hit.

"Don't forget the Indian Embassy bombing," Lamont said. "They want us to think Pakistan is behind that too."

"This is a real can of worms," Selena said. "It's making my head spin."

"Yeah," Lamont said.

Elizabeth glanced at her watch. "Let's take a break."

There was a refrigerator and a kitchen on the floor below Harker's office. Nick, Selena and Lamont went down a spiral staircase to what had once been a large living room when the house had been in civilian hands. It was now the operations center. Lamont headed for the bathroom. Nick and Selena went into the kitchen. Nick reached into the refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of water and handed one to Selena. He opened his bottle and took a drink.

Selena said, "If Elizabeth is right, whoever is behind this wasn't killed at the embassy. He's still out there."

Nick's expression was grim. Selena had only seen that look a few times before. It meant he'd made a decision and nothing would stop him from following through on it. She had an idea about what he was going to say next.

"I don't care who's behind it," Nick said. "Ronnie's hanging by a thread because of this asshole, whoever he is. When I find him, I'm going to kill him. If there's more than one, I'll kill them too."

"What if Elizabeth doesn't send us after him? Or them, as the case may be?"

"Then I'll do it on my own."

"Do what on your own?" Lamont came over. He took a bottle of juice from the refrigerator.

Selena said, "Find whoever set up the attack and kill him."

"Might not be easy," Lamont said. "Harker may have other ideas."

"I'll cross that bridge if I come to it," Nick said.

"You can't do it alone."

"It could turn out to somebody protected," Nick said.

"What do you mean, protected?" Selena sipped her water.

"Somebody high up in the Pakistani government. Or in India."

"That could be a problem," Lamont said.

Nick said nothing.

"We're good at solving problems," Selena said.

"That's right," Lamont said.

Nick looked at them. "What are you saying?"

Lamont finished his juice and set the empty bottle in a case stacked by the refrigerator.

"Like I said, you can't do it alone."

"And three are better than one at solving problems," Selena said.

"You know what you're saying? We could get killed. We could get thrown in a federal Super Max for the rest of our lives."

"What else is new?" Lamont said.

"We can't let whoever it is get away with it," Selena said. "Besides Ronnie, there are those dead Marines. And Margaret. I didn't know her well but I liked her."

Nick looked at them. "Am I right in thinking this? Whatever else happens, we find out who did this, we take him down?"

"Agreed," Selena said.

"I'm in," Lamont said.

Nick held out his hand, palm down. Lamont placed his hand over Nick's. Selena placed hers over both of theirs.

"For Ronnie," Nick said.

Selena and Lamont both spoke at once.

"For Ronnie."