Page 30 of Radar

“Of course. Would you like to call me back?” But she heard the phone tap down on the table.

She hated to disappoint her uncle after his years of generosity. Of all the scientific projects his foundation funded, Elyssa had always felt like hers had the most enthusiasm. It was his baby as much as hers, the one that Uncle Orest was most excited about. Food. He loved to eat, and his generous heart wanted that for everyone. He thought the world deserved fresh, healthy foods. That it was a right, not a privilege, to eat.

Elyssa knew that Uncle Orest had been developing a site to put up their trial. But when she asked where, he chuckled and said he would let her know when things were further along. Elyssa had thought that Uncle Orest had been trying to purchase land and navigate local red tape. An island? That was on their priority list, for sure. Many islands were losing land mass to rising sea levels. But for some reason, she’d always thought Uncle Orest would try desert areas first because, while he loved meat, he hated the deleterious effects of herds, especially in arid climates.

The island was a surprise.

Off Singapore was a surprise.

She opened her map app and focused on the area.

Well, there were plenty of islands of varying sizes, all not that far away from the city.

And there was Jakarta.

Now that she thought about it, Uncle Orest had gone off one day about Jakarta’s deforestation and the plight of orangutans.

Once they’d proven their team’s model, it was going to be exciting to see what the next steps looked like and how fast the food systems could be implemented. But honestly, Elyssa tried not to think about it. It felt too hopeful, too close to being within grasp. She thought about the fight that Big Oil had waged for decades to prevent the world from shifting to renewable energy. There simply weren’t decades to fight Big Ag. The world needed systems to go in place as quickly as possible. The sooner the better.

In the grand scope of population survival, Elyssa felt keenly selfish for prioritizing a friend’s wedding.

But a promise was a promise, and she couldn’t imagine why a few days would have any significance at all.

As she thought that, Elyssa's pain and pressure were building up behind her sternum, and she was growing lightheaded. Looking down at her watch to check her heart rate and blood pressure, Elyssa reached for her bottle of electrolyte water and gulped down the salty solution before slinking to the ground with her back against the bookcase.

In these moments of vulnerability, when she was unable to react to dangers in her environment, human or not, Elyssa had to focus on her breathing as much as possible.

Anxiety made her heart race harder.

“I’m here,” Uncle Orest said. Whatever had happened in the interim had lightened his voice, and he sounded like himself again.

“Uncle,” Elyssa said softly, “I’m having an episode. I’ll get back to you.” Without ending the call, her arm dropped to her side as her body became limp.

Chapter Nine

Xander

Thursday

Washington, D.C.

Another ping dropped into Xander’s messages. This one was from Dremonte Long, Bill York’s handler, with a desk at Langley.

Long:Moved York to private room. When you get to the hospital come up to 569.

Xander tapped the call button. “Long, you safe to speak?”

“Yeah. Where are you now?”

“I left Iniquus as soon as the text message started dropping. I’m merging onto the highway now, heading to the hospital. I don’t have a good ETA because of traffic, but I’m not far out.”

“You’re coming from Iniquus? Who was with you at the meeting besides White?” Long asked.

“Adele was there. She went running out as soon as the messages came in about York. She said she’s checking on something with her team and will be in touch. My superior, Hiro, was there, along with Finley, FBI Joint Task Force. We were settling into the meeting but hadn’t gotten far.”

“I’ve been in touch with Finley,” Long said. “He’s heading to the Hoover Building now to handle York’s effects.”

“Have you got a tail on Orest Kalinsky?” Xander asked.