Page 50 of Into the Gray Zone

He caught movement at the door and saw his control enter. Two Chinese men, one tall, close to six feet, the other shorter, both with close-cropped bristle hair and wearing business suits. Because they supposedly worked for the same mining conglomerate as Mr.Chin.

He stood and waved his hand at the couch. They sat and he took the chair, wanting to project confidence. He said, “Thank you for the meeting. I know it’s unorthodox, but I wanted to convey the dangerwe are in for completion of the mission and ask for some additional assets.”

The taller man said, “I don’t understand how this hasn’t been accomplished already. It was a simple task, and you were given incredible backstopping to execute it. All you had to do was capture a man or kill him. That’s it. Kill him and stop the mining of rare earth elements in India. You didn’t even have to make sure anyone on the team survived, as you were going to eliminate the ones who did it as well. How difficult is that?”

Mr.Chin realized this was going to be harder than he wanted, but he’d been in such situations in the past. These clods had never been at the sharp end of the spear. Party functionaries who spent their time kissing the CCP ring to get ahead, all they wanted was a win in their column and they had no ability to articulate what that win would mean to China. He had little time for them, but realized they held the fate of his mission in their hands.

He said, “We were blocked from our first attempt by a penetration from the RAW. They captured my mole. I could not predict that. I did manage to cauterize the damage and continue.”

The shorter one said, “But the second attempt—”

A waitress arrived and he ceased talking. Mr.Chin understood why, but also knew that the chance of anyone in this bar speaking Mandarin Chinese was about as likely as getting struck by lightning. Even so, peopledidget struck by lightning, so he remained mute as well. They gave their drink orders in English, waited for her to leave earshot, and the man continued, saying, “But your second attempt was thwarted as well. It doesn’t bode well for your acumen. It was a simple mission.”

“Yes, it was, which is why I contacted you. The mission was simple, but I believe the forces who thwarted it are not. Did you trace the company I gave you?”

“Yes, we did. It appears to be a real company, with concrete results. A niche American archeological firm that’s worked all over the world.”

“Did you trace the travel of the company personnel after I left Goa? Did they fly to Delhi?”

“Why are you tracking Americans? We do not want to involve the United States in this operation. Your mission is Indian only, understand?”

Mr.Chin knew that the “we” in that statement meant the Chinese Communist Party. For all of its bluster, it was very reticent about upsetting the status quo between China and the United States.

Mr.Chin said, “I believe they are already involved, and that company—Grolier Recovery Services—is a front. I don’t know who they work for, but I believe they are the reason we haven’t succeeded so far.”

The shorter man leaned forward, now interested. “Why do you say that?”

Mr.Chin said, “The GRS personnel are the ones who stopped the attack at the resort. They just happened to be at the right place at the right time. It was too convenient to be true.”

“That’s it? They happened to be at the right place and time, and your attack was stalled? Given your plan, it could have been anyone who did it.”

“No, my men were trained and ready to kill with weapons out. Those men had some type of early warning and were waiting. I’m sure of it. If it had been just a bunch of tourists, they’d all be dead.”

“That doesn’t prove they were actively targeting anything. It could have been just dumb luck, and it would be a mistake to do something against them if you’re wrong. Every action leaves a trail and we don’t want an attack against a civilian company from the United States to lead back to us. Maybe your men weren’t as trained as you say.”

Mr. Chin leaned back, choosing his next words carefully. “It wasn’tdumb luck. I already took the liberty of using local talent against them, and the local talent failed as well.”

The tall man looked shocked, saying, “You did what? You had no authority for that.Especiallyagainst a different foreign asset.”

“My authority was to accomplish the mission by any means necessary, as long as it didn’t reflect on our organization. I hired some local talent to simply rob them, maybe rough them up a little, in order to get them tangled with the local police. It would have been—in factisbeing—treated as a local crime problem. If they were truly an American company, they’d just get an experience to tell their co-workers, or maybe become tied up with the police or hospital. Neither happened, which is why I’m more convinced than ever that they’re not just a U.S. company but are an intelligence asset targeting our mission.”

“What did happen?”

“Three men were annihilated by those Grolier people, just like what occurred at the resort. Three rough men, I might add. Recruited from the largest criminal organization in India. They weren’t local muggers. Their specialty is intimidation and neutralization of opponents, and all three were sent to the hospital. I’m telling you, Grolier Recovery Services is not just a typical U.S. company.”

The short man, whom Mr.Chin took to be the one in charge, said, “Maybe they’re just good at fighting.”

Mr.Chin said, “One of the targets was a woman. And yes, she was good at fighting, and she didn’t learn that getting an archeological degree. But you might be correct, if they’re still in Goa or have flown home. Where are they now?”

Mr.Chin saw a flicker of belief in the short one’s face. He said, “They went to Delhi. They’re at a hotel in New Delhi. How did you know that’s where they’d be?”

“Because that’s where my team is. Somehow, they’re following my team. I don’t know how they tracked them, but they did.”

Now convinced, the short one said, “So what do you want from us?”

“I need a Condor team from the MSS. Experts at interdiction. I know you have one stationed in Delhi, and I don’t want to rely on the local talent anymore.”

The short man looked at the taller one, then said, “Okay. That can be arranged, but I don’t want them executing unless you’re certain the Americans are interfering. Right now, I don’t see enough evidence of that, but I’ll release a team. What is the status of the mission and your team?”

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