Smoke and Shadow (14 page)

“
Tell me again
how a routine assignment becomes a complete and total cluster
fuck.
”

Baker stalked
through the motel room like a bear forced to rise too soon from
hibernation. The cane he leaned on for support
didn
’
t appear to
be a restriction if he decided to attack. If anything, the steel
tipped, hardwood stick had the potential to be his weapon of choice
if and when the beatings started.

Sweat beaded on
Privti
’
s head,
since he knew he
’
d
be first in line for any real or metaphorical ass whipping.
“
Mr. Baker, I followed
the subject along his normal route according to standard practices.
I didn
’
t maintain
line of sight with him because I didn
’
t want to reveal my position. Maas
never deviated from his route. Everything proceeded according
to
…”

“
Don
’
t talk
to me about standard behavior patterns, Ganesh. Talk to me about
awareness. Talk to me about paying attention and having your head
on straight.
”
Baker stopped pacing to loom over Privti like an
executioner.
“
Tell
me how you walk right past your target after he fell down a flight
of steps and broke his goddamn spine.
”

Privti
couldn
’
t make eye
contact as he searched for an answer.
“
I didn
’
t see him fall. I
didn
’
t hear him.
He must have been unconscious when I walked past his
position.
”

“
Eyewitness
reports say they heard screaming a few minutes after
midnight.
”
Kean
stood in a corner to take himself out of Baker
’
s line of fire. He looked down at
his tablet as he spoke so he didn
’
t have to make eye contact with his
boss.
“
That
matches the timestamp we have for Maas leaving the bar, and it fits
with his normal time frame of walking from the bar back to his
house. Everything fits his pattern of behavior.
”

“
I
’
m sorry, I
didn
’
t realize
falling head first down a flight of steps fit in his normal
pattern.
”
Baker
turned on Kean with a withering glare.

Kean tried to
back pedal and then realized he had nowhere to go.
“
What I mean is, Maas was
a heavy drinker. The streets were dark, the sidewalk was wet.
We
’
ve all seen him
stumble back to his place. It could have--
”

“
That
’
s my
fucking point.
”
Baker turned back to Privti.
“
You all saw him stumble home every
night, except last night, the most important night, you
didn
’
t see
anything. That is simply not acceptable in a professional
surveillance operation. Why am I paying a man who
can
’
t perform
basic surveillance?
”

“
Ghost, if Maas
took a tumble there isn
’
t much Ganesh could have done about it, even if he saw what
happened.
”

Chu spoke up
because he didn
’
t
want Baker to read anything into his silence. Besides, he figured
defending Privti now would be the last thing a guilty man would
do.
“
If he stepped
in and tried to help, he would have made the situation worse.
Calling an ambulance for Maas might have exposed the operation.
Trying to move him might have compounded the injury. If Ganesh did
see Maas tumble, continuing down the street might have been the
best move either way.
”

“
That would all
be true Smoke, if I only cared about what happened to Maas. But my
point is bigger than that.
”

“
What do you
mean?
”

“
If Maas could
vanish right under your fucking nose, he could have made contact
with Beijing dozens of times without being detected. He could have
picked up dead drops, made a brush pass or contacted the Chinese
intelligence some other way. Hell, he could have been kidnapped and
we would never know it.
”
Baker paused to rest his gaze on each of the
failed operators.
“
We
’
re in the
intelligence business, gentlemen. It
’
s our job to collect information. If
you saw him fall and didn
’
t help him, that
’
s fine because then we would still
have the intelligence on what happened to him. Why should our
clients pay for a stake out operation if they could learn the
status of the target by reading the Daily News?
”

Chu nodded, but
didn
’
t want to say
anything else. No one said anything for a long uncomfortable moment
until Baker let out an exasperated sigh.

“
Fine.
Let
’
s try to pick
up the pieces. What do we know about Maas
’
s
condition?
”

“
Not much
”
Kean flipped to something else in his tablet but still
didn
’
t look at
Baker.
“
We know he
had to be immobilized when EMS got to him. Preliminary news reports
suggest paralysis, but that hasn
’
t been confirmed by the hospital or
Mrs. Maas.
”

Baker resumed his
pacing, laughing to himself.
“
Paralyzed? That
’
s a shame. I
’
m sure Mrs. Maas will be crushed
when she finds out her husband can
’
t express his particular brand of
affection anymore.
”

Kean tried to get
in on the joke.
“
I
doubt it. This might be the best thing that could have happened to
her.
”

“
It
is.
”
All at once,
Baker turned to give Chu a curious look.
“
We might be fucked, but Maria is
very lucky things turned out the way they did,
isn
’
t
she?
”

Chu tried to
maintain his innocent posture as Baker continued.
“
Smoke, where were you
when Maas took his tumble?
”

“
I peeled off
after I passed him to Ganesh. I ran my SDR and headed back to the
OP.
”

“
But you got
back after Ganesh. Normally the off man gets back before the
shadow. What happened?
”

Chu tried not to
sound like a liar.
“
I thought I picked up a tail, so I took a couple extra turns
to make sure I was clean.
”

“
Did anybody see
you?
”

“
It was a false
alarm. No worries.
”

“
No
worries.
”
Baker
’
s echo
had the hollow ring of disbelief, but he dropped the subject and
turned to his other witness.

“
Ganesh, you
said you didn
’
t
see or hear anything when Maas fell down the steps,
right?
”

“
I
’
m sorry,
Mr. Baker. I didn
’
t see anything.
”

“
And because of
the fall, Maas is crippled. Right, Stanley?
”
Chu could see the pieces falling
into place for him.

“
It
’
s too
early to tell, but he definitely suffered a spinal injury.
There
’
s a good
chance he
’
ll never
walk again. He might even be a quadriplegic.
”

“
Never walk
again,
”
Baker
’
s echo
prickled the skin on Chu
’
s arms.
“
If he never walks again, then he can
never abuse his wife again, right? That
’
s good news for her, but bad news
for us.
”

Baker knew. Chu
could see it in his eyes. During their long friendship, they shared
a lot of conversations about the War of Chu and all the suffering
of his mother. Baker had intimate knowledge of
Chu
’
s skills in
ambush and concealment. He counted on Chu to be his invisible
weapon. Baker pieced together Chu
’
s motivation, his opportunity and
his ability. He understood what Chu did and why. But would he
approve? Could he accept Chu
’
s decision with so much money and
professional reputation riding on this op? Chu decided to speak up,
before Baker had to choose between their friendship and his
business.

So he shrugged,
trying to make his words sound spontaneous for the benefit of Kean
and Privti.
“
Maybe
not. There might be a way for us to catch the same fish with
different bait.
”

“
Really?
”
Baker leaned against the plywood dresser and gave Chu a
conspiratorial look. “How do you suggest we salvage this snafu,
Smoke?
”

“
We
’
re
working on the theory Beijing wants Maas
’
s technology, right? They
don
’
t really want
him. His ability or inability to walk doesn
’
t change their
goal.
”

Baker shook his
head, but didn
’
t
interrupt. He probably knew where this was going.

“
Maas is
crippled, which gives China a new form of leverage.
Maas
’
s medical
bills are going to skyrocket. With no job and a wife who
doesn
’
t work,
he
’
s not going to
be able to cover them for long. He might try to sue the bar, but
that could take years and there
’
s no guarantee he
’
ll win. Maas needs money. The
Chinese could put themselves in a position to pay his way in
exchange for the data.
”

“
But how will
they make contact with him in his condition?
”
Privti wanted hope, but he
wasn
’
t ready to
buy in yet.

“
Maria is the
key
”
Baker said
without taking his eyes off Chu.
“
She
’
ll have to deal with insurance
agents, doctors, lawyers and any number of people on behalf of her
husband. There will be plenty of opportunities for contact and
recruitment. All we have to do is keep watching
her.
”

Chu nodded, trying not to say too
much. Kean chimed in with questions of his own.

“
What if she
decides not to take care of him? What if she decides to dump his
ass and walk away for what he did to her?
”

Baker shook his
head and smiled.
“
Maria needs money too.
If she
decides to sell Erich
’
s work to finance her new life, the end result is the same.
We still track the buyer, get video of the illegal transaction and
the client uses the intel to blackmail Beijing. Everybody
wins.
”