Page 24 of Into the Gray Zone

They scuttled down the small wooden pier and dove into the water, swimming out, away from the resort. Manjit met them in the openwater, helped them aboard, and then rotated the direction of the boat, swinging it away from shore. He hit the throttle so hard the bow rose above the surf, the boat racing away.

Working the outboard, Manjit screamed above the noise, “What happened?”

Kamal said, “We failed. Get us to the boat.”

They rode out into the sea in silence, eventually conducting a rendezvous with Mr.Chin. He counted the people in the boat and knew the mission had been a true failure.

After getting everyone on the larger craft, Mr.Chin said, “What happened?”

Sitting on a bench, his head in his hands, Kamal didn’t want to talk about it. Not only had they failed in Mr.Chin’s mission, but in so doing, they’d failed inhisultimate mission.

Mr.Chin said again, “What happened? Where is Thakkar?”

Kamal looked up and said, “They were lying in wait. They knew we were coming.”

“What? How?”

“I don’t know, but as soon as we assaulted, we were stopped. Right at the cut, right where we entered the grounds. Like they were waiting on us.”

Mr.Chin leaned in and saw the blood leaking out of Kamal’s head and onto his shirt. “You’ve been shot?”

Kamal leapt to his feet and said, “Yes, I was shot! They almost killed all of us. Something you promised wouldn’t happen.”

He touched his ear, brought his hand back and saw the red. In a lower voice, he said, “They almost killed me.”

Mr.Chin let the accusation slide and said, “I need specifics. Who? Who was it? RAW?”

Kamal heard the question, then realized how badly he’d been dupedon this mission. Mr. Chin knew more than he was saying. With steel in his voice, he said, “They were American. What have you not told me about this billionaire? Why were Americans waiting on us?”

Mr.Chin ignored that question, instead asking, “How do you know they were Americans?”

“Because they were shouting, ‘American! American! Don’t shoot!’”

“Wait, so the Americans who stopped you weren’t part of the Indian response?”

Kamal considered for a moment, then said, “No, I guess not. They stopped your two men as soon as they exited the cut but then seemed to be afraid of getting shot themselves.”

“What about my men? Where are they?”

Kamal said, “I have no idea. They were the first ones out of the cut, and they were both down by the time I got to the top. They’re probably dead.”

“Probably, or for certain?”

Kamal looked at him in disgust and said, “Probably. But you’d rather they be dead, wouldn’t you?”

Mr.Chin said, “Only if it affects this mission.”

He turned and nodded at another Chinese person in the cockpit of the yacht, and the vessel began heading north. He said, “What makes you sure they were sent to stop you, other than them just being there?”

Kamal took a seat on a cushion and said, “Because they eliminated your muscle as if they were children. The Americans weren’t tourists in the wrong place at the wrong time. If they were, they’d be dead instead of your men.”

Mr.Chin nodded and said, “Okay, well, it looks like we have to switch to Plan B. Instead of capturing Thakkar, we kill him.”

Chapter16

The door to our little “holding cell” opened, and Knuckles entered the room. The man in civilian clothes pointed at Jennifer, and she rose, glancing at me. I said, “Just tell them what happened.”

He let her exit the room, then closed the door, leaving me alone with Knuckles. So far, they hadn’t rounded up Brett or Veep, even as they had to have ascertained we were all together. Especially since Nadia knew that. Maybe she wasn’t going to drag us into this and was letting our pathetic story of “just a couple of lucky tourists” stand.

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