The Eye of Shiva

CHAPTER 31

It was a beautiful October day, the kind of day that marked cooler weather and the onset of Indian Summer. Elizabeth was holding the regular morning briefing. The team sat in their usual semi-circle in front of her desk. The cat lay on his back in a patch of sunlight coming through the French doors to the patio, snoring.

Harker's black suit jacket was draped over the back of her chair. She wore a white silk blouse with a Mao collar and black pearl buttons.

"Ronnie is still in intensive care in an induced coma," she said. "He's stable. It's about the best we can hope for at the moment. Now we're going to move on. I want to find out who pulled the strings that got him shot. Steph thinks she has something. I'll let her brief you."

"My new program is up and running," Stephanie said. "There are still a few bugs but it gives us more capability. For the moment, it's working fine."

"What did you find out?" Nick's voice was tinged with impatience.

Stephanie was annoyed. "I'm getting to it."

"Sorry."

"First, the call from the American Embassy to Abu Khan is a dead end. It came from an office phone on the third floor. Anyone could have used it when no one else was around."

Stephanie paused and took a sip of coffee from a mug bearing the logo of the Oakland Raiders.

"The intercepted calls between ISOK and the terrorists in the embassy are a different story," she said. "The records show the calls coming from Pakistan. We know Afridi hides out in Pakistan and we know where his base is. I wanted to confirm it was him, so I went looking for the exact location of the phone that made the calls."

She touched a key on her laptop. The office wall monitor came to life with an aerial view of a large city. She touched another key and the picture zoomed in on the roof of a tall building set back from a pleasant, tree-lined street. The roof of the building was studded with antennas and satellite dishes.

"This is what I found. Doesn't look much like Pakistan, does it? The calls came from here."

"Where is it?" Nick asked.

"New Delhi." Steph sat back, looking pleased with herself. She waited.

Nick looked confused. "Why would Afridi be in New Delhi?"

"I have a better question," Selena said. "What building is that?"

"It's the headquarters of the Research and Analysis Wing, India's CIA," Stephanie said.

"Holy shit," Lamont said. "Spooks are behind this?"

"I'm pretty certain Afridi isn't hanging out in the headquarters of RAW making phone calls."

"If it wasn't Afridi, who was it?" Nick asked.

"I don't know," Steph said. "All I can tell you is that those calls originated somewhere in that building."

Harker took a sip from a bottle of water on her desk.

"I guess we were right," she said.

"About what?"

"That it could be an intelligence agency making it look like Pakistan ordered the attacks. RAW's involvement changes everything," she said. "It makes things a lot more complicated."

"You think?" Lamont said.

Harker gave him a warning look. "Someone in that building has gone to a lot of trouble to make it look like ISOK and Pakistan are responsible for what's happened."

"It can't be a low level official," Nick said. "It has to be someone who can use serious agency resources without anyone questioning what he's doing."

"And who can keep it hidden," Lamont said.

"It's their CIA," Steph said. "Everyone who works there keeps things hidden."

"What does it take to fake cell phone calls like that?" Nick said.

"Planting a call is easy, if you know what you're doing," Steph said. "Making it look like this is a different story. Even the NSA thinks those calls came from Pakistan."

"How high up do you think it goes?" Selena asked Elizabeth.

"Hard to tell. I don't think it's the man who runs the agency. He's a liberal, an appointee of the Prime Minister. The PM is afraid of getting into an armed conflict with Pakistan. The last thing either of them wants is a war."

Nick scratched his ear. "Steph, you tracked the phone. Can you call it?"

Stephanie looked surprised. She began fiddling with the bracelets circling her left wrist.

"I never thought of that. Yes, if it still exists and it's turned on."

"So why don't we call and see who answers?" Nick said. "How long will it take you to do it?"

"I can do it right now."

Elizabeth said, "Hold on, Nick. Let's talk about it first. What would be the point in calling him?"

"Aside from finding out who answers? We could rattle the bastard's cage. "

"Why?"

"Why not? If he knows we're on to him, he may make a mistake that could expose him."

"I don't think we should call him," Selena said. "He's smart, he won't rattle easily. All it would do is make him more dangerous."

"We have to find out who he is," Nick said.

"You think I don't know that?"

Harker reached for her pen. "Steph, can you intercept calls made on that phone?"

"Sure. Now that I've broken the encryption, his phone is mine. Anything he says can be understood."

"Good. Set it up."

Nick looked uncomfortable. "I didn't think of that. I should have."

"You're letting your feelings get the best of you," Elizabeth said. "You're upset about Ronnie and you want to strike back. We all want to take this man down. I need to know you can keep a clear head about this."

"I understand," Nick said. "You don't have to worry about it."

Selena heard him say the words but she wasn't sure he meant it.

"We need an operational name for him," Elizabeth said. "Until we know more, we'll call him Cobra."

"Are you going to tell the president about this?" Stephanie asked.

"Yes, but not yet. We need to know who Cobra is before I go to him."