The Eye of Shiva

CHAPTER 43

Stephanie came into Elizabeth's office, her face flushed with excitement.

"Cobra," she said. "I've got him. I hacked into RAW's computers and took a look at their personnel files. Then I pulled a record of all the phones issued by the agency and referenced it against that list and Cobra's encrypted number. Cobra's information was behind four layers of security. He's the Secretary for Special Operations at RAW, the equivalent of our DCNS. His name is Ashok Rao."

"That explains how he had the resources needed to fake those calls," Elizabeth said.

"I also found out who Ijay is. He commands a black ops unit that works under Rao. He has birthmarks that remind people of the spots of a leopard. That's how his group got their name."

"Very poetic. I wouldn't be surprised if it turned out that they were the ones who blew up the Indian Embassy in Manila."

"It might be hard to prove that."

"We have a bigger problem to worry about," Elizabeth said. She briefed Stephanie on what Nick had told her about the Hazratbal mosque.

"Nick said it was a massacre. Automatic weapons turned against unarmed civilians."

"It must be what Cobra meant in that phone call," Stephanie said, "about the Army being ready."

Elizabeth shook her head in disgust. "He has to be stopped. It's too late to prevent a war. Indian soldiers firing on Muslims at a holy shrine is the last straw."

"What are you going to do about Rao?"

"I'm going to tell Rice what we found out and let him decide. Without presidential authorization he's untouchable. I can't do anything right now except let Nick know who he is."

She picked up her pen and set it down again.

"Rao is trying to start a war. Why?"

"His file was extensive," Stephanie said. "He's a Hindu nationalist and was an active field agent in Afghanistan for several years before he was singled out for promotion. His wife and son were killed in a terrorist attack by Afridi's group. He blames Pakistan and he hates Muslims."

"Lots of people in India hate Muslims and Pakistan too. They don't try to start a war because of it. Rao may be psychotic."

"If he's crazy, he's doing a good job of hiding it," Stephanie said. "The only medical notes in his file are routine. His psych profile shows tendencies toward violence and paranoia but that wouldn't be unusual for a field operative. "

"Anything else?"

"He has a high IQ. He comes from an acceptable caste for his position, but he's risen as high as he's going to. It's a little unusual that he got that far, which says a lot about his ability. He's also a devotee of Shiva. That's not unusual in India."

"How old is he?"

"That's another thing," Steph said. "Rao is sixty-one. He's facing involuntary retirement next year."

"So if he doesn't act now, he'll lose access to the resources he's using to stir up trouble."

"That's right."

"Steph, you just painted a picture of a dangerous man."

"We already knew he was dangerous," Steph said.

"Yes, but he sounds like he's more than just paranoid and violent. He could be delusional. What kind of person sends soldiers with loaded weapons against a peaceful crowd?"

"You're saying he's a psycho?"

"I think he may be," Elizabeth said.

Steph said nothing.

"The president is going to love this," Elizabeth said.

"When are you going to tell him?"

"Today. We need to take this man off the board before he does any more damage."