Page 17 of Radar

It was a catch-22.

Without funds and boots, how could Xander’s predecessors get the proof?

Then, the Berlin Wall came down, followed by the collapse of the USSR and the end of the Zoric way of life. The family was fractured and flailing in their new reality.

It was Medved’s ballsy attack on Quebec that helped launch him up The Family leadership ladder until he became Papa Bear.

Medved’ was no longer a young revolutionary. He was silver-haired and lead-hearted.

In the years since the USSR broke apart, the Zorics wanted their pound of flesh for the upheavals they had borne. They learned to hijack satellite communications, shut down cell tower connectivity in ways that were subtle during the event but devastating in their consequences. Just ask Iniquus’ Strike Force, which had almost lost their entire team because the Zorics disrupted their radio signals.

And the worst part of a dystopian landscape was the destruction of Syrian computer systems that handled everything from medical records to banking, energy to water, and food distribution.

Officers in the DIA and CIA working in the affected region began carrying their laptops and phones in Faraday bags to protect them from the effects, only taking them out for short periods to conduct their work.

Basically, the Zorics had proven in their reach from Kyrgyzstan that their machine could produce what amounted to the effects of an EMP.

And now, the Zorics were swarming to Singapore, preparing to go underground; it was the result of a concerted effort spanning nearly forty years.

As everyone knew, even the smallest trickle of water, over time, could erode the hardest of rocks.

Persistence was a tool for both growth and destruction.

Thwarting that destruction was the reason Xander was here at Iniquus.

Xander raised his hand to thank the guard who waved him through as the massive gates slid wide.

A short distance up the main road, Xander followed the curve east to the Cerberus campus, where he pulled into an open parking spot.

Still feeling the effects of his bruised ribcage, he climbed carefully from the car.

Slamming his door shut, Xander turned to saunter across the tarmac toward Iniquus’ Cerberus Headquarters.

Today, Xander added a pair of knee pads to his outfit and changed out his regular hiking boots with a pair that had less ankle support, allowing his feet a wider range of motion.

Things were going to get kinetic.

Halfway across the parking lot, Cerberus’s front door popped open, and the head trainer, Reaper Hamilton, emerged with Xander’s magnificent German Shepherd, Radar, at his side.

It was funny how hard Xander’s heart thumped every time he came to get Radar for their bonding time.

For Xander, Radar was home. He was family.

It was kind of interesting how this had all come about.

Digger was the first K9 acquired for their team.

Initially, Digger was trained to go into the field with the FBI and sniff out hidden thumb drives of child pornographers. As priorities and funds shifted, Digger made his way into the AWG fold. The Pentagon hired Reaper to further train Digger to find electronics in spaces where they didn’t belong. In a house, Digger wasn’t indicating on a fridge or television. But if someone dropped their phone in the woods, Digger found it easily.

Digger, being high-drive in the intelligence department, needed intellectual stimulation and lots of it. So, Reaper kept expanding his skills until Digger became the Swiss Army Knife of doggos.

That’s what saved Scott.

That’s what Xander needed—a nose that might find a cleverly camouflaged machine and a survival tool if things took a turn for the worse.

It was sheer luck that had brought Xander and Radar together.

Last year, a service dog training facility in Kansas conducted its testing and delisted some candidates from its program. Xander happened to be nearby and went to see if any of their dogs would make a good partner for his trek to the mountains.