Page 97 of Radar

“Yeah.” Xander shifted his jaw as he nodded.

“They owe me a phone.”

Silence fell between them.

Xander had his own phone out and was scrolling international news sites.

The entire country of Portugal had lost electricity.

In Spain, a patchwork of grids was still operating.

“We’re almost to Paris, right?” she checked her watch. “If this is spreading, I’d like to be on the ground. Newark sounded horrific. Understaffed the way they were, and the papers said the people who worked in the traffic controllers had to take trauma leave, having lived through the chaos of a sky full of planes and no ability to keep them from plowing into each other.”

Xander squeezed her hand, then released his grip so he could text.

Xander –Did you land? Are they getting on the boat?

Elyssa desperately wanted to know what that meant and had a sick feeling that the boat had something to do with the family retreating to the island to escape the world on fire.

Adele –Yes. No.

Xander slid his phone away. “We still have time.”

“What’s their machine going to do to people? Is this it? An electrical outage?”

“Do I think that’s it? No. I think it’s stage one. They’re wearing down people’s reserves and good feelings. They’ll stretch the rescue workers thin. They’ll weaken the enemy before the strike. They’ll affect the food systems as people use up their household reserves and eat their melting frozen items.”

They were silent as they landed. There was no announcement of electrical issues here. Xander hadn’t seen anything on the news, though Spain was now wholly without electricity, as were Greenland and Great Britain.

Xander carried Elyssa’s backpack along with his own and a roller bag. As they moved through customs, Elyssa held Radar’s lead. Over his tactical vest with its supply pockets, Radar wore a service dog vest with PTSD patches, American flags, and a pink name badge that read, “Dixie.”

As soon as they were out the other side, Xander got a ping and a link to a map. He led them over to an exact spot in the airport between the men’s room and a café.

A guy walked up. “Hey, there you are. Hiro sent me.” He set a package down beside Radar. “Dixie, hi, Dixie,” he croonedto Radar. “Such a sweet girl. Can I pet her?” Without an answer, he crouched down. “Not a good cover, man, when the parts don’t fit the outfit.” He looked up. “Hiro said he did what he could for you. In the bag, you’ll find Euros. They’d prefer you leave the plastic in your wallet. Nothing that’s lighting up a sign saying you’re here, might buy you a little time. There are the coordinates for a London safe house.” He stood, and his tone was barely audible. “Hey, man, I don’t know what’s going on, but you have a very angry family looking for your girl.” He gave Radar a final scrub. “There’s a boating service that can take you from Paris to Le Havre off their normal line. You’re looking for Victor. He’s been paid. From there, take the ferry. Pre-purchased tickets are in the bag. Get off in Portsmouth to start your retrace.”

“England’s got no electricity,” Xander said.

“Not my care, brother.” He patted Xander’s shoulder. “Good to see you. Hope you enjoy your stay!” He raised a hand to wave to Elyssa.

Elyssa picked up Radar’s lead and the bag and wandered out the door with Xander. They grabbed a cab. “English?” Xander asked.

“Yes, sir.”

“We have some time before our train leaves,” Xander told the cabby. “Is there somewhere quiet we can go and get a shower, a nap, and walk to a meal?”

The cabby rubbed his brow.

Xander repeated himself in what sounded to Elyssa like flawless French.

“I have a friend with a room she rents,” the man said in English.

“She takes cash?”

“We shall see.” The man got on the line and spoke quickly in a language that Elyssa didn’t understand.

“She says it’s double for cash plus a dog, and she'll meet you there now for three hundred euros.”

“That’s fine,” Xander said. “Thanks.”