Khanna's encrypted phone signaled a call from Ashok Rao. Rao was Khanna's superior but the two men were friends and shared many things in common. Like Rao, Khanna was a fundamentalist who saw all Muslims as the enemy.
Rao got right to the point. "I read your reports. Give me your thoughts."
"The meeting with Abu Khan is significant," Khanna said. "As far as I know, it's the first time there's been any involvement with the so-called Islamic State of Kashmir over here."
"Your report said gold was found during the raid."
"The Filipinos are concerned. Everyone's wondering where it came from. A dozen gold coins were recovered. Converted to cash, they'd buy some serious weapons."
"Abu Sayyaf could be getting money from ISOK. It would explain why Khan met with them."
Khanna thought about it. "Pakistan gives ISOK money but why would they use it here? Their focus is on Kashmir."
"I have good intelligence on the money trail from Pakistan to ISOK and nothing they get from Islamabad explains the gold. We tracked a shipment of weapons to their source. I sent in one of my best men to talk with the dealer. ISOK paid him in gold. The money didn't come from Pakistan."
"What happened to the dealer?" Khanna asked.
"He won't be selling more weapons to them or anyone else."
"Where are they getting the funds, if not from Islamabad?"
"I don't know, yet." Rao paused. "Your report puts a lot of emphasis on the call to Abu Sayyaf from the American Embassy."
"I'm convinced they plan to attack the Americans," Khanna said. "There are rumors on the street. They're seldom wrong."
"And you believe it's the embassy?"
"Yes. It's the logical choice."
"Why would Abu Sayyaf pick such a high profile target? It would be like poking a hornet's nest," Rao said.
"Washington wants to reestablish a military presence in the islands. Manila is demanding help with a new offensive against Abu Sayyaf in exchange. That could be reason enough."
"Let me pose a question to you," Rao said. "Suppose ISOK attacked our Embassy? What would the Americans do?"
"They wouldn't do anything," Khanna said. "They don't care about us. There would be expressions of outrage and official condolences, nothing more."
"And if they attacked the American Embassy?"
"That would be a different story. But ISOK doesn't have any reason to target Americans here."
"What if there was proof ISOK organized an attack against the Americans with Pakistan's backing, using Abu Sayyaf as surrogates?"
Khanna paused for a moment. He was beginning to see where Rao was going. "It would make ISOK a priority terrorist group for direct action. The Americans would be very angry at Pakistan."
"I have an idea," Rao said.
"What idea?"
"I'm sending a message that will explain. It should be on your computer a few minutes after we're done talking. I'll use the cipher."
The cipher was only used for the most sensitive communications. Anyone who managed to intercept a transmission would mistake it for a more commonly used code. It would appear to be a normal message sensitive enough to encode. The real message lay within the outer one. The cipher's beauty lay in its transparent simplicity.
"Read it and you'll understand," Rao said. He ended the call.
Curious, Khanna put his encrypted phone away and went to his computer and waited for the transmission. He printed it out, deleted it and started to decode it. As the message within a message emerged, Khanna shook his head in admiration. Rao was a cold son of a bitch. If his plan worked, it would mean serious trouble for ISOK and for Islamabad. It meant the sacrifice of a few of his countrymen but sometimes sacrifices were necessary.
Khanna finished the message and smiled.
CHAPTER 7
Selena's surprise showed in her voice. "I thought we were going to have lunch."
She stood with Nick in front of a jewelry store on 20th Street in Washington. It was just past noon. Smog had settled over the city in a noxious haze. The air smelled of exhaust fumes from the endless traffic.
"We are," Nick said, "but I thought we might stop in here first."
They stood in front of a jewelry store window. Selena started to speak, then stopped.
"Lots of shiny things in the window," Nick said. "See anything you like?"
"I see lots of things I like," she said. "I know the store. People from the White House shop here, whenever they need a bauble or two."
"Let's go inside."
The store was a testament to chic modernity. Circular stools on elegant chrome stands were strategically placed for customers to sit on while they examined the goods. The goods were mostly diamonds, though Nick saw a lot of gold and a variety of gemstones in brilliant colors. Round, open front cabinets at eye level displayed special pieces under discreet lighting. An elderly woman and a younger man sat at one of the counters, looking at a man's wristwatch with a diamond studded band. Nick and Selena were the only other customers in the store.
A thirtyish man in a tailored suit approached them. "May I help you?" he said. His tie was perfectly knotted dark blue silk. It rested over a light blue shirt that would have cost Nick a week's pay.
"We're looking for an engagement ring," Nick said. He looked at Selena and suppressed a laugh.
"What?" she said.
"The look on your face. You thought I'd never get around to it, didn't you?"
"The idea had occurred to me," she said.
The clerk watched them, a small smile on his face. It wasn't a new situation for him.
"This way, sir." He led them to a row of display cases filled with diamonds and gold and silver and platinum rings that gleamed under the lighting.
"Let's get that one," Nick said. He pointed at an elaborate ring with a central diamond and a pattern of leaves worked in tiny stones all around a platinum band.
"Are you sure you want to do this now?" Selena said. There was an edge to her voice.
"Why not? You want a ring, don't you?"
"Yes, but…"
"But?"
"But this feels rushed. It's not just another ring. I have to think about it, look in catalogs, visit stores, things like that."
Nick felt a headache start. "This is a store. There must be a hundred rings to look at here."
"That's not the point."
"What is the point? I thought you'd be pleased if we got something today."
The smile on the clerk's face was starting to look strained.
"The point is that I want to take more time to think about it," Selena said.
"Think about what? The ring or whether you want to get married?"
"Both," she said. She turned and walked out of the store.
Nick stood for a moment. He looked at the clerk and the man took a step backward.
"Don't say a word," Nick said.
He stormed out of the shop in time to see Selena get into a cab and pull away from the curb. He began walking toward Dupont Circle and then cut over to 19th Street, where there was an Irish bar he knew about. An Irish whiskey would be about right for his mood, maybe two or three of them. What the hell was it with Selena, anyway?
The bar was a three-story establishment built to resemble an Irish pub. The ground floor featured wooden floors, pub food, a fireplace and comfortable couches and chairs. The bar was polished wood, with wooden stools for the patrons. The back bar had a brick wall, two flat screen television sets and an impressive array of beers, whiskeys and liquors. The mellow glow of wood and comfortable lighting made it a place for serious drinking, if that's what you wanted. The pub looked more or less authentic, in an American kind of way. Missing were the Irish and two or three hundred years of music, tobacco smoke and spilled whiskey.
Nick took a seat at the bar and ordered a double Jameson neat, with a soda back. It was early in the day. He had the bar to himself except for a corporate-looking guy in a dark blue three-piece suit at the other end, drinking a martini. Nick sipped the whiskey and felt the mellow heat of Ireland descend into his stomach. The pub wasn't authentic but the whiskey was.