Page 102 of Into the Gray Zone

Mr.Chin pulled into the parking lot for the Amber Palace, surreptitiously attempting to spot the countersurveillance element protecting him. He knew he wouldn’t find the men conducting it precisely because their entire purpose was to identify someone following him without being spotted themselves. He tried anyway purely out of habit, but the growing twilight from the fading sun made the task all but impossible.

The Ministry of State Security had authorized him to execute the mission against Kamal’s men, but in so doing had become unreasonably strict on how Mr.Chin would conduct himself. The leash was growing tighter, and he wondered if he’d be sacrificed. He didn’t want to believe it, but having worked in this world for most of his adult life, he couldn’t help considering that the only reason he was still walking around was that he had the information on the men they were tracking. Once he passed that to the Condor team, he would become just another loose end with information that could implicate the Chinese Communist Party in one of the most spectacular terrorist attacks on Indian soil in a generation.

He’d suggested conducting the meeting at his hotel or in a restaurant in Jaipur, but the MSS chief had demanded he conduct a longsurveillance detection route out of the city, using a preplanned course. The chief said it was a precaution against the Americans, and given that, Mr. Chin also suggested the meeting occur in the midst of some local establishment to highlight any Westerners who might attempt to intervene, but once again he was overruled. The MSS chief wanted the meeting in an open area, with enough tourists to allow the Condor countersurveillance team to blend in, which was why he was now sitting in the Amber Palace parking lot.

Built in the sixteenth century, the fortress was a majestic construct of marble and sandstone stretching along a hill overlooking a man-made lake, a smaller stone fort providing overwatch on a higher peak behind it. Once the seat of the regional government for the Mughal empire, it was now known more for its light and sound show, a nightly occurrence that drew foreigners of all stripes, and the location for Mr.Chin’s meeting.

The viewing platform for the show was on a spit of land jutting out into the lake just below the imposing façade of the palace. Called the Saffron Gardens, it had once been the crown jewel of the Amber Palace. Now it was simply a location large enough for the tourism bureau to plop down chairs for foreigners to sit, enamored by the various colored lights spilling across the front of the palace while an announcer elaborated on the history and Bollywood performers sang and danced in the background.

Mr.Chin had tickets to both the interior of the palace and light show, courtesy of the MSS, but had no intention of exploring either one. He was to meet the Condor team at a small food kiosk situated right in front of the viewing platform.

He checked his watch, seeing he had seven minutes until he had to walk to the meeting sight. He had been given specific parameters for the meet, such as the route he should take and the pace of his walk, andknew the standard was to arrive at the meeting site plus or minus thirty seconds. Anything outside of that, and his contact would be gone.

He studied a map to his destination, determining if there was anything outside of his control that could hinder his timing. He wanted to be on the far side of such an obstacle to ensure his plus or minus. There was a primary entrance that everyone coming to the palace had to go through, followed by various kiosks selling tourist trinkets, then the path split, with a road going up the hill to the main gate of the palace, and a smaller path staying low, circling the lake until it reached the viewing platform. According to the instructions he’d been given, that path should take four minutes at a normal walking pace.

He saw the line for the show starting to form up at the main entrance and decided he’d join them. He could burn off time after that point if necessary, but didn’t want to be caught short if the line took longer than predicted.

He locked up his car and followed other arriving customers to the entrance. The line went swiftly, and he showed his ticket, then passed through a metal detector and had his small knapsack searched, and was finally set free with about a minute to spare before he needed to start on the path. He burned off the sixty seconds looking at tourism brochures, then began his walk.

He split off the main thoroughfare and took the small path snaking around the lake. Right at the juncture of the split were two Chinese men taking pictures of the front of the palace, ostensibly fascinated by the spotlights illuminating the ancient structure. They paid him no mind, but he knew who they were.

He continued on, crossing over to the Saffron Gardens among a group of seventy-year-old Europeans. A man was directing traffic to the stairs leading to the viewing platform but Mr. Chin ignored him, instead going left around the platform to an Indian food kiosk. He gotin line for a cup of tea and casually glanced around. He saw six wooden tables, most with two or three people, then found the one closest to the lake occupied by a single man.

He recognized the leader of the Condor team talking on a cell phone. He paid for his tea and went to the table, patiently waiting until the team leader was off the call. He pulled out a chair and said, “May I?”

The man nodded his head and said, “You’re clean.”

Mr.Chin took a seat, saying, “I knew I would be. We could have conducted the meeting in Jaipur instead of doing this complicated dance.”

“After what happened in Agra I was taking no chances.”

“You called for this?”

“Yes. Well, the chief thought it prudent, and I did the planning.”

“I’m sorry about your team members. I tried to convey that the Americans are dangerous.”

The team leader waved his hand and said, “They knew the risks. It was combat. I don’t blame you, and I have two new men. If we meet the Americans again, it will be different.”

Mr.Chin was surprised at the response. The chief had told him the Condor team leader was incensed about the deaths of his members. A primordial part of his brain wondered why he would be so forgiving.

Mr.Chin said, “I don’t think you’ll see them again. Like everyone else here, I’m sure they’re now trying to find the American hostage.”

“I’m told you know where he is. Is this true?”

“I know the location of one of the watches I modified. It’s still transmitting.”

“But you don’t know if the terrorist you’ve hired is wearing it?”

Mr.Chin pulled out a mini tablet, turned it on, and slid it across the table, saying, “It’s watch number two, and it’s tied to a new phone, but the malware the MSS used to modify the watches is still working.”

Illuminated by the glow of the tablet, the team leader said, “How do you know this isn’t some false image?”

Mr.Chin said, “I don’t. The terrorists tricked me before and somehow managed to spoof their location through a single phone, so it might be a mirage, but it’s all we have.”

“Do you know the phone the watch is tethered to?”

“No, I don’t. I gave them watches and phones tethered together. They ditched the phones and hit the kill switch on the watches, which theoretically reverts the watch back to factory settings. For some reason, the malware in this watch came back to life. I don’t know why, and I’m not questioning it. He tethered it to a new phone, and the malware invaded that phone. It’s now transmitting to this tablet. I’m sure some tech people could decipher the IMEI of the cell phone tied to the watch, but we don’t have time for that. It’s irrelevant with the position.”

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