Page 40 of Radar

“There’s an exception in the airspace above Washington that allows some military flights without broadcasting sensitive information to the public.”

“Lesson learned. I guess I can fly in and out of Richmond, Virginia, and drive a bit,” Xander said. “It’s inconvenient, but I like staying alive.”

“The brass is taking advantage of the program. Military helicopters are clogging the skies, risking more helicopter-driven accidents. Did I take advantage, anyway?” Hiro asked. “Yes. Does that make me a hypocrite to be bitching about it now? I get that sometimes my moral fabric is frayed. But in this case, it was in service of humanity, so I don’t feel bad.”

“Is NASA going to give Claude a heads up that the DIA interested in him?” Xander asked, putting a calming hand on Radar’s head, as he watched the FBI pull on their safety suits.

“I doubt it,” Hiro said. “I shook my finger at them and gave them a stern warning.”

Xander was looking at Claude’s photo. “I think I’m about the same age as this guy. Do we have a file on him? I want a solid approach if I need to make him my bestie.”

“We did a basic workup of his education and employment,” Hiro was crunching again.

Xander had tossed his earlier protein bar without even a bite. As the adrenaline receded, he was starving.

“Basically, he’s been with the Orest’s foundation since he started his doctorate. From his social media posts, it appears that Claude hangs out with nerd friends playing board games. Wife. Three young kids. Every year when Orest comes to see his dogs, they hand out together in Lumberjack.”

“It’s the same pattern this year?” Xander asked.

“Exactly the same,” Hiro confirmed. “I’m interpreting this trip as a normal behavior pattern for Orest Kalinsky. From Claude Burns’s posts things are the same as they ever were. Claude posts nothing alarming, concerning, dark, ominous, or impending or doom-like. There’s nothing political or ideological sounding. It’s cosplay and kid pictures.”

The FBI had finally gotten themselves together and were waddling toward Xander in their PPE.

“The squirrel guy’s pretty laid back,” Hiro concluded. “It’s Orest who’s the monster.”

Chapter Thirteen

Elyssa

Saturday

Lumberjack, Alaska

“There she is,” Uncle Orest said, looking over his shoulder, then shifting around in his seat to see Elyssa better.

“I’m here.” Elyssa moved over to the dinner table to join him, dropping a kiss on her Uncle Orest’s cheek and squeezing his shoulders affectionately.

“Did you have a good nap?”

“I rested. I wasn’t able to sleep.” She pulled out a chair and slid into the seat, taking in the single empty plate on the table. “Where are Eddie and Paca? Did you eat alone?”

“No. No. I ate with our friends. I am about to enjoy blueberry cobbler with homemade maple ice cream. This is a must. I quite insist you shall try this while you are here. As a matter of fact, every year I look forward to spending a delightful evening eating and reading.” He held up a book in French. “I enjoy this dessert so much, I always order second bowl.” He lifted his chin toward the door. “This evening, our friends go mushing with team for night practice.”

“I read that mush comes from French Canadian ‘marche,’ which is ‘walk’ in English. I guess it was like the horse driver calling out ‘Walk on,’ but people heard ‘Mush.’ That’s kind of interesting. How do you say it in Slovak?”

“Psie preteky.”

“Beautiful. Someday I’d like to be able to speak Slovak, too.” She laced her hands and dropped them between her knees. “Uncle, I need to talk to you about something.”

He put his forearm on the table and leaned his weight onto it.

“I was just on the phone with the airport. They said that because the first leg of Eddie’s and my trip arrived late at Newark and a subsequent airport glitch affected all the planes there, our bags ended up on the wrong plane. And while they were finally located, Eddie’s and my bags won’t get to us before Tuesday. Since I was originally scheduled to leave Alaska on Wednesday, I told them just to deliver them to my house in D.C.”

“My dear, I’m so sorry this would all have been averted had my secretary been able to get tickets on my plane out of Washington.”

Elyssa waved a hand in the air. “This was a last-minute adventure, and even under the best of circumstances, bags go missing. It’s part of traveling. But even with the warm clothes I bought in Fairbanks to tide me over, I’m going to have to admit to myself that these frigid temperatures are too much for me. I am having a lot of trouble with heart pain.”

When Uncle Orest scowled, Elyssa laid a soothing hand on his arm and continued. “Out here at the lodge, so far from a proper medical facility and the unpredictability of the weather, I have to tell you, it’s adding anxiety to my heart issues. This climate just isn’t something I can handle.” She exhaled. “I don’t want to disappoint you, but I spoke with the airline and was able to get them to change my ticket to tomorrow. I am so sorry to leave the adventure, but I need to go home in the morning.”

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