Page 69 of Radar

Xander

Sunday

Fairbanks, Alaska

He pulled into the airport lot and handed over the keys to the rental. Then he walked Radar to the woods because the poor guy hadn’t had a chance to potty yet.

Xander, with his bags at his feet, leaned against a trunk with a racing mind.

Elyssa was a Kalinsky great-niece.

He simply couldn’t believe it.

The look in her eyes, when he’d carried her through the snow to the car, told him her heart had been racing. He knew she must have been fighting for consciousness.

And yet there was trust in her eyes.

The phone rang, Xander dropped his gaze, only to feel disappointed that it wasn’t Elyssa.

“Hiro, is Elyssa on her plane?” Xander blurted.

“It’s delayed. I’ll get to that in a second. She’s checked in. She’s made her way through security. We saw her on CCV. She seemed okay,” Hiro said. “And, hello.”

“I need to get to D.C. We need to talk to her. Something isn’t right with this picture and her role. I need to be on her plane.”

“I figured. But that one’s overbooked,” Hiro said with something in his mouth, muffling his words. “I’ve got you on the next one out. Sending you the ticket.”

Xander’s phone pinged, and he checked the time of departure, confirming he had two seats, one for him and one for Radar. “Got it. Thank you.”

“We couldn’t get you the bulkhead, but I’m told the emergency aisle is next best. We assured the airlines that Radar was qualified to sit in those seats. They wanted to push back, but it was handled.”

“I appreciate it, man. Radar does, too. Trying to get a dog body on a middle seat for that long haul would make everyone miserable. Do you have anything else for me?” Xander asked.

“We know why Orest is heading to San Francisco,” Hiro said.

“He has a second leg. That’s why,” Xander said. “I’d lay money that he’s hightailing it to Singapore.”

“Bingo.”

“What about two scientists who vanished and the attempt on Elyssa?” Xander asked.

“Finley and his joint task force are interfacing with Fairbanks FBI about the disappearances. We’ll have a clearer picture once we know what the FBI finds in the woods.”

“What’s Adele doing? Is the Mossad coming up with anything helpful?” Xander asked.

“Does anyone ever know what Adele is up to? Actually, in this case, I do know,” Hiro said. “She’s on her way to Singapore. She wants to find out how the family is getting over to Davidson Realm. And if The Family booked a boat for everyone, was there a date and time for departure? Adele thinks that once the Zorics are moved, it’s say a twelve-to-twenty-four-hour time frame to take a last look at the sky and smell the sea before they descend into the chimney, and everyone else on God’s green Earth descends into a hellscape of the End Times.”

“Great imagery. Thanks for that.”

“Adele told me Israeli intelligence working groups are stretched thin,” Hiro said. “The regional dangers of today supersede the impending doom of tomorrow. She’s the only one who is continuing on the Zoric case.”

“I think our working group and the connections we had in place are the only ones who think the Zorics are a significant danger,” Xander said.

“I’ve been told that my thinking is myopic because we’ve been working on this so long,” Hiro’s tone was a shrug. “My superiors, who were not my beloved AWG superiors, are telling me that I’m seeing the Zoric threat as bigger than it is.”

“Do you believe that?” Xander asked.

“Do you?”