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  Karrar shrugged. “You fascinate me, go on.”

  “War between India and Pakistan would be far more than enough to destabilize the region. With the death of an American President the United States would be drawn in. This of course would embroil China. The council of clans believes that such a destabilization would be exactly the sort of motivation the State of Japan would need to reclaim its former martial spirit, both militarily and economically.”

  “Yet, you do not fear discovery of Japanese involvement?”

  “Few believe in Thuggees or Ismaili Assassins anymore.” Bolan arranged his face into a smile. “No one believes in ninjas.”

  “There is your physical presence,” V. suggested.

  Bolan kept the smile on his face. “You would be shocked to the extent that I can change my physical appearance.”

  Karrar and V. exchanged another look.

  “What is the plan?” Bolan asked.

  Karrar shook his head. “That will be made clear tomorrow.”

  “That is what Singh told me. Now he is dead and the mission is in jeopardy.”

  “The mission is not in jeopardy. We have several alternatives.”

  “The traitors?”

  “Alarming,” Karrar allowed. “However, they are of too low a level to make a difference. Had they been true insiders, the total mission would already have been compromised. Somehow the Americans got a tracking device on one of our men in a previous encounter, or someone within our group alerted them that a group of men were going out. Both lines of inquiry are being ruthlessly pursued.”

  Bolan knew he wasn’t going to get any more information without pushing too far. “Very well.”

  Howrah, waterfront district

  SUBEDAR BABAR wasn’t pleased. He and Bolan drank chai and watched the heavy traffic over the Hooghly Bridge between Kolkata and her satellite city Howrah. The Executioner gave Babar his briefing about the current situation. Babar was maintaining his cover as a Pakistani special forces operator on a nonsanctioned mission and on the run in India. “This meeting is dangerous.”

  “Right now I trust you, Keller and Ous. That’s it.”

  “What about Ken?”

  “I like him, but he’s a wildcard, a ninja. I trust him to do what he believes is best for his clan and the State of Japan. If that suddenly means cutting off our heads, he’ll do it without blinking. Plus, between you, me and the lamppost, he may have been chemically compromised.”

  Babar’s face revealed his confusion. “I do not know what that means.”

  “It means he may have been drugged. He’s aware of it.”

  “So you trust no one.”

  “I trust you.”

  “Thank you, and I thank you for the briefing. However, I do not believe you risked a face-to-face just to update me. There is something you wish to say that is for my ears alone.”

  “That’s right. I don’t think assassinating the President is big enough.”

  This was met by incredulous silence. “Well, what are you willing to settle for, Armageddon?”

  “Like I said a while ago, I think whatever is going to happen is going to be the kick-off, and, what the hell, let’s call it Armageddon.”

  “You do not believe assassinating the President of the United States on Indian soil will be a big enough…kick-off?”

  “No.”

  “Pray tell, what would you consider a suitable kick-off to the end of the world?”

  “Can I ask you a professional question, as a subedar of the Pakistani Special Service Group?”

  Babar’s eyes went a little cold through his mass of scars and facial hair. “I will answer any question within reason, depending upon its pertinence to this mission.”

  “I need to know something about the Black Storks and their primary mission.”

  Subedar Babar rattled off the Pakistani SSG standard talking points. “The SSG has six stated national defense missions. We conduct unconventional warfare, we engage in foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, hostage rescue and counterterrorism.”

  “Yeah, but could you tell me something about your nuclear responsibilities?”

  Babar’s facial expression blanked. “That is classified.”

  “I understand, but theoretically, if Pakistani National Command Authority put out the call, ‘broken arrow,’ would the Black Storks be involved?”

  “Theoretically, the retrieval of a lost or stolen nuclear device would most likely involve the deployment of some assets of the SSG.” Babar began to look distinctly uncomfortable. “Why do you ask?”

  “Have you ever had any contact with anyone in authority, within the National Command Authority?”

  Babar’s expression grew evermore suspicious. Pakistani National Command Authority was in direct control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal.

  “Let me put it this way,” Bolan added. “If I asked you to, would you contact the highest person up the chain of command of the National Command Authority you can manage and ask them if they’re missing any nukes?”

  It was the first time he had seen the brick-hard Pakistani out of sorts. “I need to make a phone call.”

  GHOLAM DAEI WATCHED the video of the ninjas’ debriefing for the third time. His dark eyes stared long and hard at the image on his laptop as he took in every nuance of the conversation. There was something about the stone-faced, half-breed ninja that he didn’t care for. Perhaps it was the ninja having discovered their objective so easily. Perhaps it was that so many good men had died and this ninja stood untouched. His imperious manner certainly had something to do with it, but that wasn’t it. There was something about the ninja Daei didn’t care for at all.

  V. looked at the giant anxiously. “You do not trust the ninjas?”

  Daei sighed. He trusted his instincts implicitly, but whatever suspicion was scratching at the back of his mind about the ninja eluded him. “It is not necessarily a matter of trust. The Whispering Pine proved themselves invaluable in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were able to walk in and out of U.S. military bases with impunity, and they laid the seeds of terror in the FATA that we will need in the second phase of the operation. The ninjas possess a set of skills almost unknown and unmatched in the modern world, and they have melded it with modern technology. However, the fact remains that neither my people nor yours ever intended upon their involvement at this level of the operation.”

  Karrar frowned. “So what is to be the ninjas’ role?”

  “It is not so much that they have a role to fulfill at this juncture, it is simply that I do not believe we can afford a war with the ninja clans by denying them one. Tomorrow is but the first step. In fact we may indeed wish to employ the Whispering Pine again. It is best to stay on their good side, and give them what they want. It costs us nothing, and they may still prove instrumental.”

  V. asked the question they were all thinking. “And what of what the ninja said of traitors walking among us?”

  “It is hard to imagine such a thing,” The giant stared holes through the image of the ninja on the screen. “Hard to imagine a traitor among their ranks, either. I find myself believing more in his other theory that somehow the enemy had a way to track us. Nevertheless, it is only we among the upper echelon who know the final plan and its permutations. The American has almost no resources do draw upon now. He will watch helplessly as we drive our dagger into the heart of the world.”

  “He is still in Kolkata. He will still be trying to stop us to the last.”

  “Then the dagger shall take his life, as well.”

  “Perhaps we should send one or both of the ninjas after him,” Karrar suggested. “It would give them something to do, get them out of our way, and I think the Mighty One would look better without a head.”

  “I had considered that, but this Mas-san has guessed our objective.”

  “Our objective, but not our method.”

  “No, but they are Japanese and ninja. They seek glory now. I do not think they will
be denied the final objective.”

  “So,” Karrar said again. “What is to be their role?”

  Daei clicked his laptop shut. He had made his decision. Perhaps the next ninja the Whispering Pine sent would have a better attitude. “I am going to allow them to die for the honor of their clan, their emperor and the State of Japan.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  “The president has landed,” Hal Brognola confirmed.

  Bolan stared into the camera and shook his head at the big Fed. “Put him back on the plane.”

  “Do you realize what that would look like to the Indians?”

  “Better than the Man and his lady being blown into their component atoms.”

  Brognola was caught flat-footed. “What?”

  “Much less Kolkata being fused into glass,” Bolan stated.

  “Let me be clear about this. You’re saying the bad guys have a nuke?”

  “I’m saying they might.”

  “And what the hell is that supposed to mean!” the big Fed demanded.

  “I think I’ll let the subedar explain.” Bolan nodded at Babar.

  “Sir, I have been given clearance to share certain information with you and your government. Mr. Cooper asked me to contact the Pakistani National Command Authority and ask them if we were missing any warheads, which, with some trepidation, I did.”

  “So…how was your conversation?” Brognola asked.

  “Short,” Babar replied, “and not what I expected.”

  “And just what were you expecting?”

  “I fully expected to be dressed down, told I was insane and possibly demoted. I assure you the National Command Authority is not known for its sense of humor.”

  “What did they say?”

  “The gentleman I spoke to, who shall remain nameless, asked me, very confidentially, why I was asking.”

  “And?” the big Fed probed.

  Babar looked at Bolan. “I told him.”

  “And?”

  “I was summoned to National Command Authority to report immediately to the Director-General of the Strategic Plans Division.”

  “Uh-huh, and you’re still there in India because why?”

  “Because given the scope of Cooper’s suspicions and the American President’s imminent arrival, I told the Director-General that I did not believe there was time for a face-to-face conference.”

  “So what did the Director-General tell you?”

  Babar stopped short of squirming in his seat. “This is somewhat, embarrassing, for my country.”

  “Subedar, with all due respect, are your people missing a nuke or not?”

  “We do not know.”

  “Jesus.” Brognola looked fit to be tied. “Last I heard, the Pentagon estimates your military has between eighty to one hundred and twenty operational nuclear warheads. That’s a two-to three-digit number at most, Subedar. How goddamn hard can it be to keep track of them?”

  Babar pulled himself up with as much dignity as he could muster. “Harder than you might imagine. Some of our weapons are loaded on ballistic missiles in hardened silos. Others are deliverable by truck-mounted mobile rocket systems. We recently developed cruise missiles capable of delivering a nuclear weapon, and for that matter, a preponderance of our stockpile is still designed to be ‘toss-bombed’ the old-fashioned way by strike fighters. The fact is, we do not have all our warheads in the same place. Indeed, that would be foolish. The Pakistani military is staunchly secular. We are always afraid of fundamentalist Muslims trying to grab a weapon for an act of terror. We have multiple, redundant levels of secrecy and cutouts.”

  “So what happened?” Brognola probed.

  “A virus was introduced in the computer system of our Strategic Arms Division. A very sophisticated virus, a worm as you call it. The SAD is now receiving conflicting reports as to the inventory and disposition of our warheads. All nuclear-armed facilities are now in lock-down. Every missile and rocket warhead must be checked by hand. All stockpiles must be visually verified. It beggars belief that this was not at least in some way an inside job. If the SAD has been compromised from the inside, then the National Command Authority must have absolute confidence in those doing the confirming, and even then their results independently verified. The fact of the matter is, my government does not know if it is missing a nuclear weapon yet, and I cannot guarantee whether we will within the next twenty-four hours.”

  “Well, thanks a hell of lot for telling us now!”

  The subedar sighed. “If your government thought it might be missing a nuclear warhead would you contact mine?”

  “We would if your President was coming the next day!”

  “Would you?” Babar countered. “Would you really?”

  “Well, hell, maybe not,” Brognola muttered. “So what are your orders, Subedar?”

  “If a Pakistani nuclear weapon detonates in Kolkata, there is every reason to believe that India will respond and there will be a full nuclear exchange. My government has considered sending a strike team into Kolkata. I responded that Cooper and Ken have generated the only real lead we have. We do not know where the missing weapon is. A raid or a strike against the enemies we have identified in the Floatel or the New Town tower would be no guarantee of success. Cooper and Ken continuing their infiltration is the only sure way to secure the weapon, if it is indeed missing. My orders are to continue to assist the current mission. If the enemy has a Pakistani weapon, then I am to secure it at all costs and see that it is returned to my country, ideally without the Indian government being the wiser.”

  Brognola could see Babar, but Babar couldn’t see him. The big Fed gave Bolan a plaintive look. “And you say Kengo is wounded and possibly chemically compromised?”

  “If we get into a situation and the Kali drug goes active in his system, I can’t vouch for his behavior.”

  “This just doesn’t sound like a recipe for success.”

  “So get the Man on a plane.”

  “The President has made it abundantly clear that he will not alter his agenda to terrorist threats.”

  “Even nuclear ones on foreign soil?” Bolan probed.

  “He’ll want confirmation, and even with the subedar’s report, we have no proof the virus introduced into the Pakistani Strategic Arms Division is related to this situation.”

  “I’m telling you it is,” Bolan said.

  “That’s good enough for me. You know that. But it won’t be enough for him.”

  “Then the mission stands the way it is.”

  “So what do you have? A tunnel complex and some tracks in the mud?” Brognola asked.

  “The tide erased the tracks in the mud,” the Executioner replied.

  “Oh, I forgot, we’re going with crushed weeds.”

  Babar did some math. “The Indian army fields several armored vehicles with amphibious capability.”

  The same thought had occurred to Bolan. “From what Keller told me, the President is giving two speeches in Kolkata. Both are open-air and near the Hooghly. No matter how much security the President has, no one is expecting an armored vehicle and none of the Secret Service agents are hiding antitank rockets in their shoulder holsters. Neither is Indian security. The Kolkata police have some patrol boats, but nothing that can take on an amphibious tank or armored personnel carrier. If they have a nuke, all they have to do is to roll it ashore so that they get a nice ground burst without the Hooghly River’s water and mud sucking up any of the detonation. It could be detonated from miles away. No one has anything in place to stop it.”

  Babar sighed heavily. “I agree with this assessment.”

  “So we should ask the Indian military if they’re missing any amphibious tanks or armored vehicles?”

  “No, we’d never get an answer in time, and it would only most likely let the enemy know we’re on to them. We can’t afford to let them scrub the mission and try again later,” Bolan said.

  “So you and a compromised Kengo are going in ninja?”
/>   “That’s the long and the short of it,” the Executioner acknowledged, “Meantime, I need you to arrange a boat for Keller and her team, with as many heavy weapons as you can arrange in Kolkata. We need tank killers. The Hooghly River averages two hundred feet in depth, in some parts nearly twice that. If we can sink whatever vehicle they’re using to the bottom, that would absorb one whole hell of a lot of the blast. A few yards of water could make all the difference.”

  Brognola came to the last question. “So, any suggestions on exactly what we do or don’t tell the Indians?”

  “I agree with the subedar,” Bolan said. “It’ll be best if they never know. If we tell them now they’ll go berserk, and our bad guys and the weapon will pull the big fade into an uncertain future.”

  Babar looked infinitely relieved. “I will do everything in my power to assist you.”

  “Babar, Keller and Ous will be our boat team. We can’t afford to be sending out any kind of signal, so they’re going to have to deploy on the Hooghly early and wait. Farkas will be running control from the safehouse. If and when we can, Kengo and I will either radio, use our cells or text for backup or extraction and vector in Keller’s team. Meanwhile, slave as many satellites as you can to scan the Hooghly River. A swimming armored vehicle will be slow moving and distinctive.”

  “So that’s the plan? You and Kengo go in blind while Team Keller waits for your call?”

  “Pretty much,” Bolan agreed.

  “I’ll tell the President.”

  “You do that.”

  Floatel, dawn

  BOLAN, KENGO and Shushan stood naked in front of the giant. V. gave the big American an apologetic look as he ran a wand over Bolan’s body. “You will forgive the security measures.” It wasn’t weapons being searched for. V. turned to the giant. “They are clean.” The trio carried no electronic devices either internally or externally. If they wanted to send out a call, they were going to have to appropriate someone else’s phone. Karrar ran a wand over the swords and the H&K silenced PDWs in the gear bags Bolan and Kengo had brought with them. He shoved the wand into Shushan’s purse and shrugged. “Nothing here.”