Page 34 of Radar

The guy shuffled out of her way, and Elyssa quickly arranged herself. She wasn’t used to flying first class. As a matter of fact, Uncle Orest’s invitations were the only time it had happened, and then it was first class for everything. A girl could get used to a little pampering.

“May I get you a beverage?” the attendant asked.

“Cranberry and soda, please.” Yeah, it was nice. These little touches were nice. But they weren’t something Elyssa strived for. She liked to keep things simple. She enjoyed second-hand. Going to a shop and buying things from a factory-stuffed box felt too impersonal to her. She preferred thrift shops, where she found clothes and household items that needed a little love and a little creativity to make them her own. She liked a reason to exercise her creative muscles.

The attendant appeared with Elyssa’s mid-morning mocktail in a crystal glass.

Accepting it, Elyssa would admit that a little luxury as a gift here and there was very pleasant.

The attendants swarmed the aisles, checking that electronics were properly secured, that seatbacks and trays were up, and that belts were securely in place.

As they taxied toward the runway, the attendants stood at precise points in the aisle and moved through the safety instructions.

Up, up, up into the air. This was the part of the flight that Elyssa disliked the most. The part where she was most afraid of how her heart would handle things. So far, she’d been fine with the changes in altitude. But that didn’t mean that she wasn’t afraid of having a mid-flight event. In her nightmare scenario, the staff wigged out and instead of just letting her regain her equilibrium on her own and take care of herself, they’d insist on landing and pulling her off the plane. In this scenario, she imagined herself in Indiana, somewhere between her destination and home, and denied the ability to get back on a plane.

She wasn’t cleared to drive.

Elyssa wondered how much a car service would cost to drive her from Indiana to Washington, D.C.

Behind her, Elyssa heard her uncle release a great exhale followed by a rich chuckle. He probably felt the way she did about takeoffs.

Whatever had been stressing him just moments earlier seemed to have passed.

“Look below us, Elyssa, do you see beautiful farmland?” he said in a voice loud enough to carry to her. “Now, imagine that this is all returned to Mother Nature and wild beasts because it is no longer necessary for farming, no more cow methane to increase greenhouse gases. You and I will save this world.”

“That’s the dream, Uncle.”

Chapter Eleven

Xander

Friday

Newark, NJ

Xander swiped his phone open when he saw Hiro’s name.

“Where are you?” Hiro asked without a hello.

“I’m in Newark. I just watched Orest Kalinsky get on the plane. He’s got a straight shot to Fairbanks, so we know where he’ll be for the next few hours.”

“You’re not on it with him?” Hiro asked.

“They were overbooked. I’m flying to Chicago, then on. If the flights are on time, I’ll only be a couple of hours behind him.” Xander found a seat in the back corner and sat, signaling Radar to curl up beside him. “Maybe get someone from FBI Fairbanks to keep an eye on him until I can get there.”

“I’ll have Finley reach out. You brought your dog didn’t you?” Hiro asked.

“Radar? Yeah, I’ll be able to do a thorough check on Orest’s rooms for hidden thumb drives. So, it’s good we’re on separate flights from Orest. It would be hard to keep my profile low if I flew from Newark and showed up where he is. Orest didn’t get to his place in the family by being a dumbass.”

“What are you doing now?”

“After Orest climbed aboard, I moved to my gate, then watched his flight take off from the window. And now I wait. And wait. And wait. It’s a good test to see how a working dog line of German Shepherd does with a whole lot of boredom and sitting still.”

Xander could hear Hiro crunching and could imagine him talking while downing a bag of chips. “What’s the strategy?”

“For Radar’s energy?” Xander clarified. “This morning, break of dawn, Cerberus put him on their running apparatus until he was tuckered out. They put a Malinois named Voodoo next to him. This machine lets the dogs run as fast or slow as they want. They took off like they were rocket fuel. They were racing for the gold, and it was a sight to see. Goose bumps.”

“Did you take a video?” Hiro asked.

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