Page 39 of Radar (Iniquus Certified Cerberus Tactical K9 #2)

“When the Fairbanks FBI got to the lodge, they were able to follow the foot and drag tracks out to a set of snowmobile tracks. They were able to follow the snowmobile tracks and map them before the next snowfall covered them over. They moved through the wooded area toward the northwest, coming out of the tree line at a small airport.”

“There are airports all over Alaska,” Xander said. “In certain areas, that’s the only way to get around.”

“The airport manager said that a man named Dr. Tapper arrived with three large boxes. He stored them in the hangar. When he left on his scheduled flight, he took two of the boxes with him, and the third was left behind. The FBI examined the box, and it contained folded blankets, a stack of pillows, and adult diapers. There was ventilation wiring around the lip.”

Cold sweat slicked Xander’s skin.

“Orest had to at least like Elyssa a little bit,” White said. “She has tickets for a flight to Singapore on Monday.”

“Why not just fly with him today?” Xander asked.

“That’s not noted with the airline ticket counter,” White said.

“We can ask Elyssa when we speak to her in a second,” Hiro said.

“I’m concerned about the line in the Lumberjack phone conversation when Orest said, ‘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.’ I am making the assumption that the last box was for Elyssa, indicating that Orest cared for her and took precautions for her added health concerns.

And that, for some reason, Elyssa’s getting to Singapore on Tuesday wasn’t soon enough. ”

“It may be a clue as to their timeline,” Finley said. “We’re looking at hours to a day or possibly two before the event.”

“Orest wasn’t inviting her there as family. He was inviting her as a farm hand. She knows how to make the food supply work,” Xander growled. “But damned if you’re not right. This must be a clue about their time frame. Sometime before Tuesday. That’s fast.”

“He must like her enormously,” White said. “Otherwise, I would think he’d just have her killed straight out. And it would be the easiest thing in the world given her POTS if he’s carrying palytoxins.”

Xander stopped breathing. His voice came out just above a whisper. “Why would he want her dead before the attack? Did she see something? Does she know something?”

“We have photos of her around plants—trees, bushes, foliage—from York’s briefcase,” White said. “We can’t figure out their importance. AI doesn’t know what they mean.”

“They seem significant,” Hiro said. “We’ll ask Elyssa about them when we go in.”

“Finishing up with the information of the kidnapping of the two men,” Finley said.

“There were a total of six men on the flight. The pilot, five men, two boxes. None of those five men flying as passengers matches the description of Eddie or Paca. The two cargo boxes were flown to Nome.” Finley moved his finger from one red dot on the map to another.

“Isn’t that the end of the Iditarod?” Xander stacked the genealogical pages and passed them back to White, then pulled the map closer.

“Not significant here. The two boxes were unloaded in Nome and placed on a different plane, which flew them to Wales’s airport.

On this leg, it was only Dr. Tapper and three boxes.

We have no idea what happened to the other four men.

They got off the plane and left the Nome airport.

And we have no idea why there was a third box or what that box looked like.

There.” Finley pointed to a small dot on the far west and well north of Nome.

“That’s Wales, Alaska. From there, the airplane refueled and then left again heading west.”

“West?” Xander looked down to see water to the west.

“West,” Finley tapped the map. “Lavrentiya, Russia. The pilot said his passenger held him at gunpoint and forced him to fly over the Bering Strait below radar.”

“The Bering Strait separates Russia and Alaska at their closest point — a distance of around fifty-three miles,” Hiro said.

“It was a quick crime to planejack a ride to Russia and then send the pilot back.” Hiro leaned forward.

“Did you know that the Bering Strait isnamed after a guy named Vitus Bering? He was a Danish-born navigator who served the Russian Navy.And he’s the first one to go up there and map the Strait.

That was sometime in the 1700s. The Bering Strait was named in his honor.

” He sat back again. “I always thought that it was named because the compass bearing was north or straight up, and that someone spelled it wrong a long time ago. They just left it that way. Live and learn.”

“Interesting,” Xander said to Hiro, then turned back to Finley. “But the pilot made it back. He wasn’t arrested in Russia and sent to the Gulag?”

“Everyone over in Russia seemed okay that he touched down. They unloaded the three boxes, and then Dr. Tapper told the pilot to go home. The pilot refueled, got back in his plane, and flew low to the water back to Wales. He said he was terrified that the U.S. Air Force was going to shoot him down. Now, going home was a bit more traumatic than his reception in Russia had been. Fairbanks FBI had this all figured out by the time he landed. To be clear, the kidnappers weren’t trying to cover their tracks, excuse that play on words.

They’re in the wind. When the pilot landed, the feds had a lengthy discussion. ”

“I’m sure. They believed his story?” Xander pushed the map back to Finley.

“Not entirely. Part of the problem was that he wanted to head to the bar instead of making a report,” Hiro said.

“Maybe he needed a couple of scotches first,” Xander said, thinking that was entirely reasonable.

“I think life’s going to get a little tricky for him from now on,” Hiro said. “For sure, he isn’t getting a security clearance if he ever wanted one.”

“Our theory of the case, then, is that Paca and Eddie were transported in those boxes, and the third box was empty because Elyssa’s kidnapping was thwarted?” Xander’s heart was squeezing down tight as he said that, though he worked hard to keep his tone neutral.

“We do. Dr. Tapper was the one who hired a flight out of Wales, and he’s the one, according to the pilot’s account, with the gun in his hand as they rerouted to Russia.

Dr. Tapper had a slew of medical equipment with him, and we think that was to make sure Eddie and Paca didn’t die along with whatever was in what I’m calling the fourth box. The third being in FBI custody.”

“Orest Kalinsky all along,” Xander turned to White.

“Orest is a new player to me. I first heard his name in Bratislava when I talked with Anna. York was on your team. Did you all have a psych workup? How would that make any sense at all in Orest’s mind?

How would he even think up a stupid scheme like this? ”

“If it worked, it’s not so stupid,” White said. “To Orest, this would make all the sense in the world. You remember, it wasn’t that long ago that there was a bus filled with scientists who were taken hostage and hidden in an old World War II bunker under the mountains in—”

“Slovakia, somewhere near Bratislava.” Xander exhaled.

“Exactly.” White was moving her file folder back into her briefcase.

“The kidnapper put the scientists on a drip and kept them unaware, so he didn’t have to deal with them trying to escape.

This is the same scenario, albeit more complex due to the flights.

It was less complicated because they were planning for three scientists and whatever was in the fourth box. ”

“They planned for three,” Finley said. “But Elyssa escaped thanks to Radar.”

“I had a little to do with it, but okay, we can hand the win to Radar. My ego isn’t involved here.” Xander had meant a little self-deprecating humor. But his words sounded tone-deaf even to his ears. “Are Eddie and Paca just going to be in—what is it called—Lavrentiya, Russia?”

“Looking at air traffic,” Finley said. “The Bureau thinks that a private jet flew out of Lavrentiya with a flight path that would take it toward Singapore.”

“Can someone meet them in Singapore and get Claude and Eddie back?” Xander asked.

“Not if the jet lands directly on Davidson Realm, no,” White said.

“There’s enough space for a landing?” Xander asked. “When Anna showed me the overhead image, I didn’t see a runway.”

“Field landing,” White said. “If it’s a good pilot, yes.”

“Okay, lastly, York,” Hiro said.

Xander leaned forward. “How is he? Did you get the codes to his laptop and surveillance?”

“He’s been given a paralytic cocktail because he’s on a ventilator. No, we don’t have access to his codes.”

“What we have is this pile of photos from his briefcase,” White handed him a file.

Xander rifled through. They were pictures of Elyssa. Just Elyssa. The back of each 8 X 10 glossy had a number. Each image featured a relaxed-looking Elyssa, sometimes smiling, sometimes not, against foliage. None of them were posed. She never looked at the camera.

“What is this? What does it mean?” Xander asked, handing them back.

“I have no idea.” White stood. “Time to talk to Elyssa. Xander, what do you think of her vis-a-vis this situation?”

“I think she’s a scientist who believed she was doing good work for the world.

I wouldn’t have slept with her if I ascribed any malicious intent to her.

I’m not that needy.” Xander stood. “I think she’s courageous, and she’ll do what she can if we are forthright with her.

But what I know is that she has POTS, and it’s disabling.

If she’s willing to help us, we need to protect her at every step. ”

“We’ll give you that opportunity, Xander.” Hiro patted Xander’s shoulder as he passed behind him. “For now, let’s go have a talk and see what she’s willing to share.”