Page 115 of Rising Tiger

“This is the man from the office?” the older woman asked, approaching Harvath and taking his face in her hands. “I don’t know what you have been doing, but keep it up. I haven’t seen him this happy in years.”

Harvath accepted a hug and then, making sure no one else was watching, removed the pistol, dropped the mag, and locked the slide back, catching the round that had been in the chamber. He handed the weapon to her. “I understand this is yours.”

The woman accepted it and raised it to her nose. “This has been fired recently. You couldn’t have been bothered to clean it?”

Vijay humorously scolded her for being rude to their guest. She smiled, pocketed the magazines, and took the pistol back to her bedroom to lock it away. Harvath accepted a cold beer from his friend.

“I found Pinaki Ali’s mother a job here in Delhi,” he said.

“That’s great,” Harvath replied. “Where?”

“At the embassy, on the kitchen team, provided she can pass the background check.”

“What about Pinaki?”

“He’s been harder to find employment for. Very few companies will hire somebody with a record like his. That being said, I think I have a lead on a sanitation job. We’ll see what happens.”

“You’re a good man, Vijay.”

The ex-cop smiled and pointed to one of the many dishes on the kitchen table. “You should try that. You’ll like it.”

Harvath paused. “Hold on. Are there any ghost peppers in it?”

Vijay laughed and shook his head. “It’s called Onion Bhaji. Spicy, but not too bad. And it’s deep fried, so I know it’s on your list of approved foods.”

He picked one up and gave it a try. It was delicious. Spicy, but not too spicy. He was reaching for a second when he saw a familiar face enter the kitchen on crutches.

“Look who’s here,” said Vijay as he walked over and gave Asha a hug. “I’m so glad you accepted our invitation.”

“It was very kind of you,” she replied as Harvath walked over and gave her a hug as well.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. He could see the bandage on her head and assumed that beneath her sari her right thigh was pretty well wrapped.

“Exhausted.”

Vijay pulled out one of the kitchen chairs and motioned for her to sit. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Can you make a martini?”

“I have an excellent martini maker,” the man said. “I’ll be right back.”

As the ex-cop walked off, Harvath asked, “Who pulled guard duty for Sayed tonight?”

“They transferred him to the Special Group facility,” she said. “Neither Raj nor Gupta wanted to spend the last night of Diwali keeping an eye on him and I obviously couldn’t do it. They’re going to decide what to do with him on Monday.”

“Have they briefed you on anything coming out of Durrani’s interrogation?”

She nodded. “I couldn’t believe it when I heard about Kamal Khan. That floored me.”

“You never know in this business.”

“So true,” she replied. “Special Group is hitting the safe house he’s in tonight. They’re going to attempt to capture him and the directed-energy weapon.”

“Hopefully,” said Harvath, “they’ll be successful.”

“I hope so, too.”

There was a pause in the conversation, before Asha added, “I alsowant to thank you for putting the tourniquet on and getting me to the hospital.”

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