Page 100 of Into the Gray Zone

Annaka looked stricken, the enormity of the treachery coming home. She grew angry herself, saying, “I hope you both rot in hell.”

The insolence infuriated Jaiden anew, and he said, “Don’t talk about Rakesh. He is gone, and I won’t let you spit on his sacrifice.”

Trying to defuse the situation, knowing they were powerless but also knowing Annaka still hadn’t grasped that fact, Nadia said, “She didn’t mean anything. She’s in shock. We didn’t know he was dead.”

The words only seemed to make him angrier. He turned to her and said, “I ought to killyoufor him. You and you alone.”

Fearful, not understanding why he was so vehement, she said, “I didn’t do anything to him.”

He said, “No, you didn’t, but your fucking date from the party did.”

The words sank in, and she fought to suppress a smile.

Chapter58

I saw Knuckles scowl and open his mouth as if to speak. I glared at him and held up a finger, shaking my head.

Kerry Bostwick said, “Sir, on this one I have to disagree. Yeah, this might be outside the Taskforce charter, but we have a thread here and we have the capability to explore it.”

He was in front of a laptop screen, conducting an encrypted virtual teleconference with the Oversight Council. We were sitting off to the side, and, as Operators, technically not allowed to be in the meeting. All the Oversight Council could see was Kerry’s head and an empty hotel room behind him. After a lot of back-and-forth, Kerry had allowed us to remain if we stayed out of sight—and out of sound. If Knuckles blurted something out, they’d know we were eavesdropping.

I heard the secretary of defense’s distinct voice, say, “Kerry, you of all people should know the state of play now. It’s completely overt, and we have other assets for this. It’s a DOD problem pure and simple. An American is being held hostage and JSOC has been alerted. This is their job, not yours.”

I saw Kerry bristle, saying, “I get that, Mark. Trust me, I understand the state of play. Christ, I have my entire station here integrating like ticks with the RAW. The National Security Guard has turned thisplace into an armed camp. The hostages are all over the news. All I’m saying—”

Someone interrupted, asking, “Who are the National Security Guard?”

The SECDEF said, “That’s their hostage rescue element. Special Forces guys, and pretty good. They’re our link for the JSOC boys.”

A little miffed at the interruption, Kerry said, “As I was saying, I get this situation is no longer covert, but Pike has a lead and it’s time sensitive. He believes that the Chinese have a hand in this.”

I heard Alexander Palmer, the president’s national security advisor, say, “Pike? Are we taking direction from that loose cannon now? Who cares what he thinks, this is above his pay grade.”

Now it was my turn to bristle. I started to say something and this time Jennifer glared at me, holding a finger to her lips.

Alexander Palmer was a little weasel I’d always wanted to punch in the face, and having him bad-mouth me behind my back was almost too much. Luckily, no love was lost between him and my boss, George Wolffe.

Wolffe said, “Sir, the insults aren’t necessary. Pike’s track record speaks for itself. If he thinks this is worth looking into, then it probably is.”

President Hannister stopped the bickering, saying, “Let’s table that for a moment. Kerry, I’m getting information from State, DOD, and your own CIA, but you’re on the ground. What’s your current assessment?”

Kerry flicked his eyes to us, letting us know he wasn’t done with the conversation, then said, “Sir, right now we have no leads. The group that’s holding them are calling themselves the Khalistan Commando Force, which is an old-school Sikh separatist group that was most active in the seventies and eighties. The RAW has gone ballistic rounding up anybody from those days, to include the ones still in prison, and they’re pretty sure that this group is new and is just using the name.”

“I’ve read their manifesto—I get they dream of a separate Sikhstate—but what do they want in the short term? What will it take to get the hostages back?”

“Sir, they mention Hamas in the manifesto, not as a kindred spirit but because of what Hamas caused for the Palestinians on the world stage. If you want my honest opinion, they want exactly what we’re giving them right now: publicity. The longer this goes on, the better it is for them. Hell, compare how many Americans could have found Israel on a map prior to the October7th attack versus how many can now tell you the difference between Gaza and the West Bank, or can describe Palestinian grievances.”

“So they’ve made no demands for the return of the hostages? I mean demands that can be met in the short term?”

“They’ve demanded that manifesto—which is on every news show and countless websites—be read by an official government minister.”

“Is that doable?”

“No, sir. It’s a nonstarter. Would you read a fatwa from Osama bin Laden if he had demanded it as a condition of return?”

President Hannister said, “No, I suppose not. What’s the state of play?”

“Well, honestly, Riva Thakkar is going ballistic. He feels his honor has been impugned and he is frothing at the mouth for vengeance—and as the richest man in India, he has a lot of pull with the government. It’s precisely why we chose him for the mining project in the first place. Because of it, the government is fired up as well. In my professional opinion, the hostages are taking a back seat to the destruction of the terrorists.”

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