Page 67 of Into the Gray Zone

“Outside, a little bit down the road. Don’t worry. It’s safe. We parked it next to a little mechanics shop and asked them to watch it.”

“That’s probably not so smart. Especially at night.”

Randeep said, “The owner lives there. It’s okay. We checked it this morning, and it was fine.”

“I don’t like that. It’s been there for twenty-four hours now. Enough time for someone to become interested.”

Manjit said, “It doesn’t matter anymore. Nobody’s going to mess with it in the daylight, and we’re not staying another night.”

Kamal nodded, the words reminding him of what was to come. He said, “Let me see it. I want to check out the equipment.”

Manjit stood and said, “Let’s go, then.”

He led them past the other dorm rooms and down the stairs, looping around from the front entrance, going past a lounge area until they reached the back door. Through the window, Kamal could see four men going at it on a volleyball court.

Manjit opened the door and passed by the court, saying, “We could get in a game to let off some adrenaline before we leave.”

Randeep gave a half-hearted laugh, and Kamal said, “Let’s just stick with the mission.”

Manjit led them down a narrow dirt lane, passing concrete buildings interspersed with weed-covered lots, until they reached a machine shop, the interior showing sparks from someone working. In the front was a white panel van.

Manjit unlocked the back and Kamal crawled inside, seeing twoduffel bags on the floor. He unzipped one and saw three AK-47s, a stack of magazines, and a wooden crate. He opened it, finding six Chinese Type 86 hand grenades. He lifted out the tray and found six more. Meaning four apiece.

A lot of death and destruction within the bag. It made Kamal physically sick thinking about it, but he had to show strength.

“What’s in the other bag?”

Randeep opened it like a child ripping into a present, saying, “It’s full of body armor.”

He pulled out a vest festooned with Velcro and put it on, cinching down the elastic waistband. He held out his arms and said, “We’ll look like commandos when we attack that place.”

Kamal tapped his chest, feeling the ceramic plate inside. “I don’t care what we’ll look like, but I do appreciate the protection. Come on, let’s lock this back up.”

They did so, and then walked back to the hostel. Kamal said, “I want to see the Oberoi. I want to find the gate in the daylight so we aren’t searching around after dark.”

Manjit said, “We’ve already done that. I know right where it is.”

“What was the security?”

“There was nothing yet. It’s a chain-link gate set into a wooden ten-foot fence that surrounds the entire compound.”

“I want to see it for myself. See what’s happening now.”

“If we drive that van back down the road it might cause suspicion. There aren’t a lot of buildings out there. It’s in the country, and the people who are there look at you as you go by.”

“We’ll take my car.”

Manjit nodded and said, “Let’s go, then, I’ll drive. Where’s your car?”

“In the front of the hostel.”

They reached the back of the building, the volleyball game nowfinished, and retraced their steps to the front, this time moving through the lobby to the entrance. Kamal led them to his beat-up Hyundai, tossing his key fob to Manjit.

Randeep got in the back seat while Kamal went around to the front. Manjit started the car and turned it around, driving north. They went for about five minutes before Kamal said, “How far?”

“Another ten minutes.”

“Have you mapped out a route to Mumbai?”

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