Page 44 of Radar

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“The pilot?” Orest asked. “He’s one of ours?”

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“Will be?” Orest sniffed deeply. “Good enough. Sadly, we must add the extra box. I had hoped to avoid shipping. Make sure Tapper has the file. This last box is the most important. There are to be no mistakes.”

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“My dear boy, I have an upset stomach. The cobbler was so delicious that I ate too much. The homemade ice cream? Sublime. Mastery. I almost wish for another cargo box, so I might have this always.”

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“I know, not in this shipment. The planes are too small. Still,” Orest sounded wistful, “it was an appealing thought. Listen, tonight, I ate something new. They had moose on the menu. Very interesting taste indeed. I have never eaten moosebefore. Gigantic creatures. As big as a house, if you can imagine. Enormous. I wished to eat it tonight as I was angry at even the idea of a moose and wanted my vengeance.”

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“This is not for laughing, boy. I was traumatized. There was moose on the path when we were out with dogs this afternoon. We had to bring the team to a complete stop. It was frightening because we couldn’t get the dogs to rest quietly, and we couldn’t turn the team around as we had all fourteen on our line. Had the moose so wished, he could have trampled my entire team. And I would have seen it. Horrific. Nightmarish images. Oh, my stomach is too full of yummy things for such ugly thoughts. I need to sleep this away.”

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“Yes, it is quite early in the evening here. But as I said, I head back to Fairbanks early morning.”

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“San Francisco? Yes. Yes. Beautiful views and delicious wines. It’s a shame I won’t be there longer. I say goodnight then. Bye-bye.”

When the connection ended, Xander sent the readout back to Hiro for immediate assessment and a heads-up that he needed to speak with Finley’s team.

This was news; Orest was heading to Fairbanks in the morning.

Xander would love to know what was said on the other side. It sounded like an upcoming trip would move him through San Francisco. But was that sooner or later?

Could that be part of the conversation about the boxes?

Where did the boxes originate, and where would they end up?

Mostly, Xander wondered what they contained.

The conversation didn’t necessarily have anything to do with the doomsday machine.

It might, in fact, have to do with one of Orest’s foundation’s research studies.

Orest needed a doctor to be present with the boxes. What kind of doctor? What discipline of expertise?

At least they had a name that would be traveling with the shipment, Dr. Tapper. The systems could search for the name. But practically, Xander didn’t expect anything to come of it. Worldwide, how many Dr. Tappers were there?

Xander followed up on his file share with a text to Hiro, asking him to check if Orest was taking a flight out of Fairbanks to San Francisco the next day. And if so, was there anyone working on the Zoric mission who could meet Orest’s flight in San Francisco to see what he did next?

Xander couldn’t go. There were so few people at the lodge that it would be evident that Xander was shadowing Orest. And, honestly, if Orest had used a Zoric neurotoxin on York to shake the tail, it was best to move the rabbit along to another set of eyes and keep everyone safe. Safer. He texted Long.

Xander:Any word on York? How’s he holding up?

Since Orest’s phone call ended, there was silence in his room, followed by deep, resonant snoring.

Xander caught Radar’s gaze. “We should go see if we can find Dr. Claude Squirrel-guy and make friends. There’s nothing for tourists to do here at night but hang out at the lodge, so I can probably catch up with him there.”

Xander figured that even if Claude didn’t know who Dr. Tapper was or why Orest was talking about boxes and small planes, he might have heard Orest say something helpful along the way. Perhaps Orest dropped a breadcrumb that Claude couldpoint to, allowing Xander to stop the machine that seemed set to go off on an expedited timeline.