Page 61 of Rising Tiger

“Why not?”

“Let’s just say he’s not the first guest to have ridden back there. Everything has been reinforced. He’s not kicking or punching his way out of there. And before you ask, there’s plenty of ventilation. Even if he is claustrophobic and has a full-on panic attack, he’ll have plenty of air. Any other questions?”

“Nope,” said Harvath, shaking his head. “It looks like you have thought of everything.”

“That’s the problem with this kind of business,” Vijay responded. “You can never think of everything. When that completely random or overlooked thing pops up, all you can control is how you react to it.”

Harvath knew all too well what the man was talking about.Murphy. He prayed that they weren’t about to meet him inside that warehouse.

CHAPTER 33

The men had agreed that walking straight up to the loading bay was a bad idea. Not only would they have been out in the open and exposed for too long, but there were also too many vehicles, as well as too many people who might pose a threat and need to be secured.

Their best plan of attack was to come in fast and as undetected as possible. Based on Pinaki’s description of the layout, they decided to make entry via a metal side door fronting a smoking area.

The rust-covered door was allegedly propped open during business hours, allowing smokers to easily come and go. Even better, the area around it was overgrown and neglected, providing lots of cover. Trash and discarded items lay everywhere—including stacks of old pallets. It was a wonder that nothing had ever caught fire back there.

As they quietly made their approach, they were relieved to see that not only was the door indeed propped open, but also no one was outside smoking. So far, so good.

But just as they were about to go for the door, they heard voices approaching from inside and were forced to retreat behind a wall of pallets.

While they would never provide good cover, the pallets provided excellent concealment.

With Scot making sure no one snuck up on them from behind, Vijay watched and listened to the two smokers as they puffed and chatted in Hindi outside. When they returned to work, he gave Harvath an update.

“Apparently, their forklift is down. All hands are expected on the loading dock to help unload a truck that arrives in the next five minutes.”

“Do you think that means Rahul?”

Vijay shook his head. “He’s management. Not labor. I don’t think he or his thugs do any honest work. My guess is we’ll find them holed up in the air-conditioned office. That’s the good news. The better news is that there should be fewer employees on this side of the warehouse to potentially see us and raise the alarm.”

That was good news. Harvath only hoped that things would continue to break in their direction. Fast-moving, fluid situations had a way of going sideways quickly. And when they did, people got hurt.Badly.

He didn’t want that to happen here, at least not to the wrong people. Kumar and his crew were one thing, but the hardworking warehouse employees only trying to support their families were another.

Looking at Vijay, he nodded. “Okay, let’s do it.”

It had been decided that the ex-cop would be on point. He spoke the languages and looked the part, two things Harvath most definitely couldn’t lay claim to.

Readying his shotgun, he grabbed hold of the door handle. When Vijay gave him the signal, he opened the door and quietly followed the man inside.

The warehouse was hot, filthy, and smelled like animal dung. Masses of boxes sat stacked on rows and rows of what looked like pre–World War II shelving. To have called it “rickety” would have been a huge understatement. It was no wonder they left the side door propped open. One loud slam and the whole place would come crashing down.

They picked their way carefully across the back wall of the structure, avoiding the loading dock area and managing to stay out of sight. When they reached the office door, they took cover and paused.

Vijay indicated that upon entry they would divide the pie in half. He would hook left and Harvath would get any targets to the right. The rules of engagement had already been decided upon. Life was cheap in Jaipur and practically worthless in Sanganer. If anyone pulled out a gun, they were fair game. If someone pulled a knife—against two men with shotguns—they were either stupid or crazy, and as such were also fair game.

The hope, however, was that it wouldn’t come to that. But with men like Kumar, and those he kept close, there was no predicting what might happen.

It wasn’t getting any cooler in the warehouse and Harvath was itching to get going. He looked at Vijay, who in turn directed him to try the office door. It was unlocked.

The ex-cop counted down in a whisper from three. When he got to one, Harvath threw open the door open and they buttonhooked into the room.

Vijay yelled for everyone to get down on the floor.

Harvath saw one of the men nearest him reach into a drawer, presumably for a weapon, and he kicked it shut, shattering the man’s wrist and hand.

Another one of Kumar’s goons refused to heed Vijay’s command, so Harvath gave him a little assistance by driving the butt of his shotgun into the man’s stomach and then elbowing him in the base of his neck when he doubled over.

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