Read Online Smoke and Shadow by Gamal Hennessy - Free Book Online Page B

squat, flabby shape of Ganesh Privti perched in the center of
the video hub. His wide frame blocked out much of the light from
his machines. He took off his bulky headphones when Chu came up
beside him, but he never looked away from his
screens.
     
    “ The subject is
conforming to standard behavior patterns. There
isn ’ t anything
substantial to report. ”
     
    Chu
didn ’ t respond to
the unspoken invitation to go away. He leaned over
Privti ’ s shoulder,
trying to find Maas on one of the screens. He found Erich and Maria
in the basement. The pinhole camera over their heads gave Chu and
Privti a clear view of the action.
     
    “ You call that
normal, Neshi? ”
     
    Maas grabbed a
fist full of his wife ’ s hair in one hand and her throat in the other. He had her
bent backwards over the washing machine, barking angry words Chu
couldn ’ t hear
through Privti ’ s
headphones. Maria held up her hands in surrender, trying to beg her
way out of the argument. Chu didn ’ t need to hear the audio. He could
imagine what she said. The words were part of his
identity.
     
    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