Smoke and Shadow (10 page)

Privti
’
s
words were just as familiar.
“
Please stop calling me pet names,
Hamilton. I am not your pet. I am not comfortable with your pet
names.
”

Maas balled up his fist and punched
Maria in the stomach. The small woman doubled over in pain and
collapsed onto the concrete floor.

“
Do you think
she
’
s comfortable?
You think this is standard behavior for her?
”

“
We know it
is.
”
Kean had to
duck to get through the bedroom doorway, but once he reached Chu
and Privti, he stood up to his full height and pour cereal into his
mouth from the cup.
“
He pulls the same shit every night. She puts up with it every
night. I
’
m amazed
she
’
s
still alive.
”

Maria curled her body into a fetal
position and covered her head with her hands. Maas stood over her,
kicking her in the ribs and stomping on her head with his tattered
shoe.

“
You
’
d be
surprised what some women are forced to put up
with.
”
Chu
’
s hands
balled up into fists on the table. He didn
’
t look away from the abuse, but his
mind flashed back to beatings in his memory.

Privti leaned
away from Chu in a subconscious attempt to put space between
them.
“
This is
standard behavior for the target and the wife is not forced to put
up with anything. She is an American woman. She can leave. She can
report him. She is not a helpless victim.
”

Maas had his shoe
off now. He raised it high over his head and beat
Maria
’
s back and
legs. The battered wife flinched and writhed with each blow. Chu
couldn
’
t hear the
whimpers, but he knew the sound.

“
She
’
s a
naturalized citizen, Neshi. Her English is limited. Her friends and
family are thousands of miles away. She has no independent source
of income. It took you twice as long to set up the surveillance
because she
’
s not
allowed to leave the house. So where exactly is she supposed to go,
how is she going to get there and who
’
s going to help her once
she
’
s
gone?
”

“
The wife is not
our concern. Our job is maintaining surveillance on the target
until he is contacted by the opposition.
”
Ganesh turned away from Chu and put
his headphones back on to end the conversation.
“
And do not call me pet names. I am
not your pet.
”
He
pretended to resume his observation of Maas. Chu continued to stare
at the side of Ganesh
’
s head, making no effort to give the man space or end the
discussion.

Kean pulled the
cup away from his face, searching for a way to ease the
tension.
“
I hope
he doesn
’
t kill
her before Beijing shows up. If he does, he
’
ll be too hot to get
recruited.
”

At last, Maas
gave up on Maria. He lumbered back up the stairs, leaving her
broken body on the unfinished basement floor. Liquor and fatigue
forced him to navigate the stairs on his hands and knees, giving
him the look of a drunken grizzly bear. Maria
’
s face remained hidden under her
bruised arms and ravaged hair. Drops of blood began to pool on the
floor beneath her head. Chu felt the echoes of her pain with every
convulsive spasm of her body.

“
Hope is not a
plan Stanley. Mrs. Maas might not last much longer. If
we
’
re going to
preserve this operation, we need to---
”

“
We
don
’
t need to do
anything.
”
Ganesh
snapped off the headphones and jumped out of his seat as if
he
’
d been
shocked.
“
You have
no authority to intervene. We have clear rules of engagement. You
cannot expose this operation to the police because you are too weak
to do your job.
”

“
You think
I
’
m weak because I
don
’
t want to
watch a man beat on his wife every night?
”
Chu eased the chair out of his way
to give himself a clear shot at Privti. The larger man thrust his
finger out in anger, but backed away with a trembling
lip.

“
It is weak to
not do your job. It is weak to not mind your own business. You have
no right to interfere with a man and his wife. It is not your
place.
”

Chu took a slow
step towards Privti. He held his hands up to signal peace, but the
tone in his voice had a predatory edge.
“
It
’
s not my business,
Neshi?
”

Kean stepped
between Chu and Privti, holding up his own hands with a more
sincere display of pacification.
“
Cut it out, Smoke.
We
’
re on the same
team. Let
’
s just
take it up with Ghost in the morning.
”

“
I am not like
him! I am not on his team! I do not want his pet
names!
”

Chu stopped his
advance and dropped his hands, but his voice became darker, more
menacing.
“
Is it
none of my business because of the job, or is it because I
don
’
t have a
wife?
”

“
Leave it alone,
Smoke--
”

“
Spit it out,
Neshi. Do you think I want to stop Maas because
I
’
m a fag, or is
it because you just like to watch women get beat
up?
”

“
Do not call me
pet names!
”

“
Do you hate it
when I call you Neshi because you think I
’
m flirting with you? Huh? Are you
afraid I
’
m going
to try and fuck you in the middle of the night?
”

“
Leave me alone!
I
’
m not on your
team!
”

“
Enough,
Chu!
”
Kean raised
his voice without conviction.

Chu stood close
enough to crack the taller man
’
s sternum with his knee, but he
didn
’
t. He had the
range to reach out and crush Privti
’
s trachea in a single step. He never
made an aggressive move toward them. But he thought about it and
they knew it. Chu let the knowledge sit with them when he turned to
leave the room with one more glance at Maria
Maas
’
s body on the
cold stone floor.

“
This
isn
’
t going to end
well, gentlemen.
”
Chu left the surveillance room, leaving the men to wonder
what he meant.

“
Smoke, can you
explain to me why my field technician is threatening to sue us for
sexual harassment?
”

Baker
didn
’
t sound
pleased, although his voice retained its laid back, harmonious
tone.

Chu glanced over
his shoulder as he walked down Prospect Park West. He
didn
’
t plan on
using any names or saying anything out loud to compromise the
mission, but he checked for eavesdroppers out of habit.
“
Your tech is a backwards
homophobe who sees everything as a threat to his
manhood.
”

“
That may be
true, but it doesn
’
t explain why he
’
s so upset.
”

“
He knows how to
get upset? That
’
s
funny. He doesn
’
t
seem too upset watching the nightly video.
”

“
He
’
s focused
on the job, and he
’
s coming at this from a different cultural
perspective--
”

Chu stopped in
his tracks and threw his back against the low stone wall of the
park.
“
Fuck his
perspective. Have you seen the video?
”

“
I
’
ve seen
the highlights and I
’
ve read your reports. I know how bad it is and how hard it is
for you to watch.
”

Chu fought to
control his breathing.
“
This isn
’
t
about me, Ghost. What happens to the mission when he goes too far?
What happens to her? We can
’
t just sit and watch while he just
does whatever he wants to her.
”

Baker breathed an
exasperated sigh.
“
OK. Let
’
s
look at the options. If you get in the middle of it to protect her,
the fish won
’
t
bite and the whole trip is a waste of time.
”

“
What about an
anonymous threat?
”

“
To tip him off
to the fact someone is watching him? Don
’
t you think he might mention your
threat to the fish once they make contact?
”

“
We
don
’
t
know--
”

“
He
can
’
t know
you
’
re there,
Smoke. He can
’
t
get picked up by LE. You can
’
t remove her from the fish tank and
you can
’
t let her
know you
’
re there
either. If there is any deviation from his standard routine, if he
gets spooked about anything, the fish will swim away. A lot of
people are counting on this meal. You just need to hang
on.
”

Chu pressed his
fingers to the bridge of his nose to release the painful pressure
in his head.
“
You
’
re not
hearing me. I
’
m
not the one who needs to hang on. I
’
m not in the tank with him. We
don
’
t know the
timetable for contact. We don
’
t know if she can last long enough
for the fish to bite. So what happens when he goes too far and she
doesn
’
t get up?
The fish aren
’
t
going to be able to grab the bait if LE locks him
away.
”

“
I hear you and
I agree with you. But I think you
’
re underestimating her. She lived in
the tank before we got here. She
’
s been married to him for years and
she lived with him before the marriage. This isn
’
t a new situation. She coped with it
before us. She can--
”

“
So
we
’
re going to
punish her for being tough enough to last as long as she has? What
kind of fucked up shop are we running?
”
Chu heard his voice rising and felt
the strain in his lungs as his chest heaved. He needed something to
do, someone to hit to release this tension.