"It has to be a code name," Stephanie said.
"Or a unit designation. Steph, see if you can find a reference to an Indian unit with that name or nickname. We don't know who Cobra is but perhaps we can find out who he's talking to. When is Cobra going to be there?"
"He didn't say, but it has to be soon. We have to give Nick a heads up."
"I'll do it now."
Elizabeth touched a button on her desk. The satellite call would come over the speakers in the room. They heard Nick pick up.
"Yes, Director."
The connection was poor, distorted by atmospherics and static. It sounded like they were in a vehicle.
"Where are you, Nick?"
"In a rental van that smells like curry, headed for the safe house."
"Cobra knows you're in Srinagar."
"How?"
"You were seen at the airport. It tells us that Cobra has a network of agents out there. That might help us narrow down who he is. Meanwhile, we have a problem. Remember, he was talking to a man called Ijay?"
"Yes."
"Ijay is in Srinagar. Cobra told him to neutralize you."
"Neuter me?" The speaker crackled.
Stephanie snorted, suppressed a laugh.
"Neutralize, Nick, neutralize. Ijay told Cobra he'd use his leopards, whoever they are. He intends to take the three of you out. Permanently."
"Is Cobra in Srinagar?" Nick asked.
"Not yet. He wants Ijay to take care of you before he gets there."
"If they spotted us at the airport, they probably know what we're driving."
"How far away are you from the safe house?"
"Hard to say. The traffic's lousy and it's on the other side of Lake Dal."
Selena was driving. A gravel truck coming in the opposite direction pulled out into her lane, passing a slow-moving car. The truck was painted in psychedelic red, yellow and orange colors. The gigantic chrome grill was wreathed in garlands of artificial flowers. A fringe of colored, knitted balls dangled inside the cab across the top of the windshield. BABA GANESH was painted across the bumper and the top of the cab in yellow letters a foot high.
The truck bore down on them. Selena could see the driver's face through the mud splattered windshield, grim and determined. His horn bellowed. The windows of the van shook from the sound.
"Shit," Lamont said.
Nick gripped the phone, his eyes riveted on the oncoming truck. Selena yanked the wheel. The van veered onto the narrow shoulder, where a deep ditch paralleled the road. The wheels of the van rode the crumbling edge of the ditch. The truck roared by, horn blasting, taking her side mirror with it. Selena steered back onto the pavement. She clenched the wheel, her knuckles white.
Nick let out a long breath.
"Crazy bastard," Lamont said.
"Nick? Are you still there?" Elizabeth's voice. "What was that sound?"
"Yeah. Still here. Barely."
"What happened?"
"Never mind, it's not important."
"It was only a few minutes ago when Cobra called," Elizabeth said. "Ijay won't have had time yet to mount an operation against you. You should be able to get where you're going before anything happens."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Call me when you reach the safe house."
"Roger that." Nick broke the connection.
In Virginia, Elizabeth turned to Stephanie.
"Let's talk about Afridi. Cobra said he was coming to Srinagar because he wanted to visit a mosque. Which mosque? Why would he do that and why now?"
Stephanie said, "I think I know. There's an important mosque in Srinagar that has a relic of Mohammed. It's locked up most of the time, except for a few days a year when they bring it out for viewing. The next time it can be seen is tomorrow. We know Afridi is a true believer. I think he's making a pilgrimage to see the relic. For him, it would be an act of devotion. Why else would he put himself at such high risk?"
"That makes sense," Elizabeth said. "If he's going to be at the mosque, Ijay will be there looking for him."
"Cobra said something else but I don't know what he meant."
"What's that?"
"He said that everything was set with the Army."
"That doesn't sound good, whatever it means," Elizabeth said.
"If I'm right, at least we know where Ijay will be and when." Steph brushed away a fly. The bracelets on her left wrist jingled.
"Good work," Elizabeth said. "That will help Nick."
"He's going to need all the help he can get."
"If we can identify Ijay, we might be able to pinpoint Cobra. See if you can find out about those leopards."
"I'm on it." Steph headed for her office.
An hour and twenty minutes later in Kashmir, Selena drove the van along a narrow track that ended at the lake and the agency safe house. They got out and looked at their temporary home.
"This is it?" Lamont said. "Hell, makes me feel right at home."
The safe house was a flat roofed houseboat made of dark wood. It was pulled up onto the northern shore of Lake Dal in a secluded cove. The hull rested on two thick timbers with curved ends. An ornately carved wooden railing ran around the deck. A second railing paralleled it along the roof line. There was a large water tank on the roof. Tall, arched windows lined the sides. The boat was large, sixty feet long or better. At one time it had been painted in bright colors but that had been long ago. The paint was peeling and the boat looked in need of repair.
"I don't think I'd want to be out on the lake with that if a big storm blew in," Selena said. She looked up at the sky. It was dark and overcast. The air smelled of rain.
Lamont looked at the boat and shook his head. "Safe house. Only Langley could come up with this."
"Think of it as your tax dollars at work," Nick said.
He picked up his travel bag and climbed a sagging set of stairs onto the porch by the entrance.
"Let me guess," Lamont said. "The key's under the flowerpot."
"You're almost right."
Nick took a rusted skeleton key from under a wooden carving on the railing. He unlocked the door and stepped through into a narrow passage. The air smelled of damp and mold. Doors on either side opened into four small rooms. The passage ended in a large living area that took up the rest of the interior space.
Selena saw something scuttle away out of sight as she walked into the room. A small galley was set to the side with a gas stove, a sink and a propane powered refrigerator. The end of the boat featured a door and two wide, latticed windows that looked out over Lake Dal. Snowcapped mountains ringed the lake.
Selena went to the sink and turned on a tap. There was a gurgling noise and thick, brown liquid ran out of the faucet.
"I guess they don't have much use for a safe house out this way. Not exactly the Hilton." She turned off the tap.
"Yeah, but it's got a nice view," Lamont said.
"I think there are rats in here," Selena said.
"What about the stuff in the van?" Lamont asked
Nick said, "Get the guns and leave the rest where it is."
"You think this guy Ijay knows where we are?"
"Whether he does or not, we need to be ready for him."
Mist began rising from the surface of Lake Dal, turning the lights of Srinagar on the far shore into a soft glow.
CHAPTER 38
President James Rice sat behind Teddy Roosevelt's desk in the Oval Office, meeting with General Holden from the Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of State, Edgar Silverby. Tension was escalating between Pakistan and India. An emergency session of the UN Security Council was set for the next day.
Outside the bullet proof windows of the Oval Office, the day shone with the luminous quality of fall. Rice wished he was home in Vermont, with nothing more important to do than rake leaves and watch the colors turn.