The Eye of Shiva

CHAPTER 6

The Indian Embassy to the Philippines was located in Dasmarinas Village in the Makati district, a peaceful, tree shaded island of calm in the restless chaos of the city. The saffron, white and green flag of India hung limp in the humid air over the entrance to the embassy.

Prakash Khanna's official title was Second Counselor Attaché, attached to the trade ministry. He'd been an agent with the Research and Analysis Wing for twelve years.

Khanna's last name was derived from a Sanskrit word for sword. It marked him as a guardian who would defend the values of Mother India. True to his name, he belonged to the Kshatriya caste, warriors in the tradition of the great Prince Arjuna. The caste system was still legal, still a universal part of Indian social and cultural life. Caste was hereditary and unchangeable. Many of the best RAW agents were Kshatriya.

Khanna thought of himself as a warrior, though his slight frame and thinning hair didn't match the virile image people saw in the Bollywood spectacles. Times had changed. In the modern era, a computer was of more use than a sword and analytic skills could be more deadly than the bow and arrow of the ancient epics.

Khanna's encrypted phone signaled a call from Ashok Rao. Rao was Khanna's superior but the two men were friends and shared many things in common. Like Rao, Khanna was a fundamentalist who saw all Muslims as the enemy.

Rao got right to the point. "I read your reports. Give me your thoughts."

"The meeting with Abu Khan is significant," Khanna said. "As far as I know, it's the first time there's been any involvement with the so-called Islamic State of Kashmir over here."

"Your report said gold was found during the raid."

"The Filipinos are concerned. Everyone's wondering where it came from. A dozen gold coins were recovered. Converted to cash, they'd buy some serious weapons."

"Abu Sayyaf could be getting money from ISOK. It would explain why Khan met with them."

Khanna thought about it. "Pakistan gives ISOK money but why would they use it here? Their focus is on Kashmir."

"I have good intelligence on the money trail from Pakistan to ISOK and nothing they get from Islamabad explains the gold. We tracked a shipment of weapons to their source. I sent in one of my best men to talk with the dealer. ISOK paid him in gold. The money didn't come from Pakistan."

"What happened to the dealer?" Khanna asked.

"He won't be selling more weapons to them or anyone else."

"Where are they getting the funds, if not from Islamabad?"

"I don't know, yet." Rao paused. "Your report puts a lot of emphasis on the call to Abu Sayyaf from the American Embassy."

"I'm convinced they plan to attack the Americans," Khanna said. "There are rumors on the street. They're seldom wrong."

"And you believe it's the embassy?"

"Yes. It's the logical choice."

"Why would Abu Sayyaf pick such a high profile target? It would be like poking a hornet's nest," Rao said.

"Washington wants to reestablish a military presence in the islands. Manila is demanding help with a new offensive against Abu Sayyaf in exchange. That could be reason enough."

"Let me pose a question to you," Rao said. "Suppose ISOK attacked our Embassy? What would the Americans do?"

"They wouldn't do anything," Khanna said. "They don't care about us. There would be expressions of outrage and official condolences, nothing more."

"And if they attacked the American Embassy?"

"That would be a different story. But ISOK doesn't have any reason to target Americans here."

"What if there was proof ISOK organized an attack against the Americans with Pakistan's backing, using Abu Sayyaf as surrogates?"

Khanna paused for a moment. He was beginning to see where Rao was going. "It would make ISOK a priority terrorist group for direct action. The Americans would be very angry at Pakistan."

"I have an idea," Rao said.

"What idea?"

"I'm sending a message that will explain. It should be on your computer a few minutes after we're done talking. I'll use the cipher."

The cipher was only used for the most sensitive communications. Anyone who managed to intercept a transmission would mistake it for a more commonly used code. It would appear to be a normal message sensitive enough to encode. The real message lay within the outer one. The cipher's beauty lay in its transparent simplicity.

"Read it and you'll understand," Rao said. He ended the call.

Curious, Khanna put his encrypted phone away and went to his computer and waited for the transmission. He printed it out, deleted it and started to decode it. As the message within a message emerged, Khanna shook his head in admiration. Rao was a cold son of a bitch. If his plan worked, it would mean serious trouble for ISOK and for Islamabad. It meant the sacrifice of a few of his countrymen but sometimes sacrifices were necessary.

Khanna finished the message and smiled.