The Eye of Shiva

CHAPTER 56

Rao's heart pounded against his ribs. The pleasant calm of the pills had vanished. His hands shook as he gripped the steering wheel. He could feel vibration in the wheel that hadn't been there before. It sounded like something had come loose underneath. The ride felt harsh. He looked at the gauges. He was doing over 200 kph. Except for the vibration and a loud exhaust, everything seemed normal. The van and the curve vanished in his rear view mirror.

Then he laughed. He hadn't felt alive like this since Afghanistan. It made him realize how dull he'd become, how he missed the edginess that made life interesting. It had slipped away, somewhere in that office high above Lodhi Road. What had Krivi said that day in the cafe?

"What have you got to lose?"

The answer was simple. Nothing. Nothing to lose. It didn't matter whether or not he succeeded in what he planned to do. He'd be dead soon, anyway. What mattered now was the game, the freedom that came from knowing his death was certain.

What was Carter doing there? How had the Project found him? Why? They couldn't know what he was planning. A road sign flashed by. He was a half hour out of Srinagar.

He analyzed the situation. They wanted to kidnap me. If they were willing to go to extreme lengths like that, it meant time was running out. He reached down to touch the stone, wrapped in cloth in his jacket pocket. It felt warm under his fingers.

His secure phone chirped. Rao looked at the screen. It was Prakash Khanna. Khanna was in New Delhi, at RAW headquarters.

"Yes."

"Ashok, what's happened?"

"What do you mean?"

"Security has been in your office, tearing everything apart. You're to be arrested and held for investigation. The Secretary himself was in here, looking pissed. He asked me if I knew anything about the riot at the mosque."

Rao tensed, the fine, high sense of freedom gone in an instant. His body buzzed, as though filled with electricity.

"What did you tell him?"

"What could I tell him? Nothing. They're waiting for you to show up, here or at your apartment."

"Where are you now?"

"Outside headquarters. I didn't want to call you from inside the building. "

"Don't do anything," Rao said. "Deny everything. In a short time it won't matter." Rao paused. "You've been a good friend, Prakash."

"Ashok…"

Rao clicked off.

They must have learned I set up the riot, he thought. Or they could have found out the truth about Manila. That would explain why Carter was waiting.

The more he thought about it, the more Rao was convinced that was what had happened. It changed everything. He had to act now, before the security forces closed in on him. Returning the Eye to the temple would have to wait. There was no more time.

He felt the hard shape of the card with the missile launch codes in his jacket pocket. There was one missile site in Kashmir, not far from Srinagar. It was armed with Agni III intermediate range missiles, exactly what Rao needed. Agni III carried a 20 kiloton warhead. It had a range of 4000 kilometers, overkill for nearby Islamabad.

It will be on them before they can respond, Rao thought. I'll have Ijay meet me in Srinagar and fly me to the site.

Rao knew that General Chatterjee, the commander of India's missile forces, had scheduled a surprise inspection at the site today. He'd call Chatterjee. Tell him he was coming to talk with him about something of vital importance to India's security.

Like Rao, Chatterjee was a nationalist who hated Pakistan. Rao thought it was even possible he'd cooperate in the launch, but it didn't matter. If Chatterjee and the security detachment on site resisted, Ijay and his men would take care of it. With the card and codes he didn't need Chatterjee. Once the missile was in the air, the end of Pakistan was a forgone conclusion.

He reached for the pill bottle and decided to take two more. He swallowed them down and called Ijay.

"We have a problem."

"Sir."

"Is the helicopter ready yet?"

"We're just finishing up. We'll be in the air in a few minutes."

"I ran into some trouble. Consider yourself on high alert. Meet me at the field in Srinagar," Rao said.

"Yes, sir. When will you be there?"

"Half an hour. General Chatterjee is on an inspection trip at one of the launch sites. We're going to pay him a visit. Get moving." Rao broke off the call.

He thought about Lakshmi and Arjuna, his wife and son. Karma that he'd met her, karma that Arjuna had been born, karma that they'd died. Karma was unavoidable. Whatever karmic debt he incurred because of what he was going to do, it meant nothing compared to avenging their deaths.

It wasn't far now to the airfield where Ijay would be waiting.

Lakshmi, my love, Rao thought, soon I'll make them pay.