Page 22 of Radar

Reaper was correct; that level of training was the why for Radar being here.

And Xander did need to know.

He needed to trust.

There was a sizzle of apprehension that skittered over Xander’s skin. It came down to this test. Was Radar’s training a success?

Here we go. “Radar, get help,” Xander called.

Xander couldn’t see anything from his tree house perch. But on the screen, he watched Radar looking up into the tree. He sat and barked.

“Radar, get help!”

He stood and leaped to put his paws on the trunk and barked. He dropped down, looked around, and barked.

That bark had an urgent call to it. A “Come here!” to it.

Radar’s nose was on the ground, snuffling the place where Halo had stood.

“Radar! Get help! Get help!”

Nose to the ground, Radar took off through the woods. Xander thought he was probably chasing after Halo, who was the most likely person to be able to render aid. But once he got to the road, that scent disappeared. Someone in a vehicle must have picked Halo up.

Radar stood and barked, his gaze sweeping along the horizon. Off in the distance, the main Headquarters was barely visible. Equal distance was the guard station. From Radar’s camera, Xander couldn’t see the Cerberus campus.

Radar’s nose went into the air, and he focused back on the woods. He stomped his foot as if in frustration, then he took off like a streak toward the guard station.

The twenty-foot gate was shut.

Radar paced along it, barking at the guard station. From what Xander could see on the camera, no one was there. Since that never happened, Xander imagined the guard was crouched in their guard house, aware of the training evolution.

After a few minutes, Radar turned and raced toward Headquarters.

A car was driving toward the exit.

Radar loped in that direction, then as the car approached, he stood square in the middle of the road, making it impassable.

Xander’s handheld radio sizzled. “Reaper here. Jerome, stop. You just got caught up in a training evolution. Roll down your window so you can see our K9 clearly. We don’t need any accidents today. Stay in the car. Ignore the dog. Look forward. Both hands on the steering wheel.”

Radar barked, ran a short distance back toward Xander, then paced back to the car to stare at Jerome.

“Jerome here. I’m not a dog person. Especially not a giant war dog person.”

“Reaper here. We have control of the K9. You’re fine. Hold your position.”

Over and over, Radar made the circuit each time barking with increasing frustration.

“Reaper here. Jerome, go ahead and carefully edge by the K9 and see what he does.”

The next time Radar paced out, Jerome carefully edged forward, rolling toward the exit.

With the sound of the engine, Radar spun and raced for Jerome’s car.

Suddenly, the camera jerked upward as Radar took flight, leaping through the window, stomping on Jerome’s lap, and landing in the passenger seat.

Jerome slammed to a stop.

“Shit, man, he’s in my damned car.” Fear shook Jerome’s voice. “I’m not great around dogs. I don’t want to get mauled. What do I do?”

---