Archer had been expecting a text from Sanam for almost 24 hours. It was almost a disappointment that it had taken the Pakistani so long to figure out there was a problem. But no matter, the contact had been made, the meeting set.
Archer chose a remote spot a kilometer and a half north of an old Hindu shrine that had fallen into neglect.
While Sanam would be traveling by car, Archer would be arriving via helicopter. This would give him the opportunity to scan the area around the meeting point for any heat signatures that might indicate a possible trap.
It wasn’t that he thought Sanam would try to pull something. The Pakistani was blinded by the belief they were working toward the same goal, but it was just a good practice to be cautious. As his father had taught him, there was no such thing as paranoia in their world.
As he had expected, the only heat signature within a kilometer of the location was that of Sanam. He was standing near his car, exactly where Archer had told him to be.
Satisfied, Archer gave the pilot permission to set them down.
As soon as the runners touched the ground, the side doors flew open and out jumped four of Archer’s men- men who had only recently served his father. Each was armed with a Mini Uzi obtained from a diverted shipment meant for the Sri Lankan army. They were all Hindi, but had had plenty of practice under Sikari on how to pretend to be Muslim.
Archer waited an additional 30 seconds, then he moved into the doorway and stepped down onto the grass.
Per instructions, two of his men moved over to walk just behind him, while the other two stayed near the helicopter, pretending to cover his flank.
It was a show, of course, all aimed at Sanam. Now, more than ever, Archer wanted to reinforce with the Pakistani just how powerful he was.
“
“
“Of course not. It is not you I am worried about. But we are in territory controlled by our enemy. And if they knew I was here, they would do everything they could to stop me.”
Sanam bowed his head in concession.
“You are alone?” Archer asked.
“Those were your instructions.”
“Good,” Archer said, then he smiled broadly. “Shall we walk?”
They headed across the field in no particular direction. Archer could sense Sanam reluctant to start the conversation, so he took the lead.
“Your message mentioned a problem,” Archer said.
“Yes,” Sanam said.
“Well?”
“The remote controls for the detonators. We’ve tested them, but the thickness of the dam prevents them from working.”
Of course they didn’t work. But he now raised his voice in indignation. “Are you saying I gave you faulty equipment?”
“No, I am not saying that. The remotes under normal conditions work fine. But the radio signal is unable to penetrate the concrete.”
“Perhaps you don’t have them rigged properly,” Archer said. He was enjoying toying with this man who thought of him as an ally.
“They are rigged exactly per the instructions.”
Archer grew silent, acting as if he were in deep thought. “Somehow the security services must have added special masking material in the dam,” he said. “But we cannot miss this opportunity.”
“I agree. We are hoping you can get replacements that will work in time?”
“I will try. But the window is short and I fear they may not make it.”
“But if they don’t, we will be forced to abort.”
Archer paused for effect, then leaned toward the Pakistani.
“Actually, that’s not entirely true.”
Sanam played Archer’s words over and over in his mind on the drive back to the hut where he would be spending the night. Archer had promised to do all he could to get the new remotes, but Sanam knew the probability of this was very low.
It was Archer’s suggested alternate plan that was troubling Sanam most. It would solve the problem, but Sanam wished he could come up with something better. Unfortunately by the time he arrived, nothing had come to him.
Umer and two of his other men were waiting for him inside.
“So?” Umer asked.
“He is trying to get us replacements.”
“Trying?” Umer said. “If he doesn’t get the replacements, all our work will mean nothing.”
The other two men voiced their agreement.
“What do you expect to happen?” Sanam said, more anger in his voice than he meant. “That they appear out of the air?”
No one said anything for several moments. Then Umer asked, “Did he at least say when he would know if he could get them?”
“He told me he would contact us by the morning.”
Umer nodded. “Then we will at least know if we will be able to carry out the plan. If he can’t get them in time, we can use the explosives elsewhere. There are plenty of other worthy targets.”
“But none as big as this,” Sanam said.
The room fell silent, everyone knowing he was right.
With a deep breath, he looked at his men. “The plan will go forward with or without the remotes.”
“What are you talking about?” Umer said. “How will we set the explosives off without the remotes?”
“There is a way,” Sanam said.
“What way?” Umer asked.
Sanam paused, still hoping an alternative answer would come to him, but none did. “We will set them off manually. They can be rigged so only one man can do it.”
Umer stared at him.
“It is the only way,” Sanam said.
“It can not be just anyone,” Umer said. “It would have to be someone we trust will not back out. We don’t have anyone I trust that much.”
“We have one,” Sanam said.
Sanam locked eyes with his friend, and in that moment he knew Umer realized the only possibility.
“Me,” Umer said. Not a question.
Sanam said nothing.
14
The trouble with laptop computers was battery life. The trouble with stolen laptop computers was that they rarely came with chargers. Unless you were lucky enough to target the kind of dork who carried an ugly nylon case everywhere, full of wires and accessories. But the Sorbonne student hadn’t been that
