Page 43 of Radar

And yet, he looked like a jovial old man kidding around with the waitress as she picked up a large empty bowl and set an identically large bowl in front of him. It looked like cobbler and ice cream, and Orest was clapping his hands and rubbing them together like an excited child. The waitress was laughing at what he said and looked delighted as she left.

As Orest dug into his dessert, Xander thought he had at least ten minutes to act.

Hiro had said that the squirrel-guy’s room was at the end, and Orest’s was the second cabin room in the lineup. After a quick scan to ensure he was alone, Xander used his universal entry device, which gained him access to any carded door.Leaving his suitcase outside against the wall, Radar followed Xander into the room.

A quick check of Orest’s luggage tag told Xander he was in the right place.

“Radar, give warning,” Xander said. He’d seen this skill on video but had never practiced it. If someone were to come into view, Radar should whine to alert Xander.

Radar knew what he was doing. He sat at attention at the door that Xander had left partially open. Radar’s whole body was tense with concentration, giving Xander confidence he could focus on the list of tasks he needed to accomplish.

Over a decade of practice made these next steps fluid and efficient as he searched Orest’s belongings and used the equipment in his backpack to wire the room for sound and place hidden cameras.

“Test. Test. Test,” he said, looking at the readout on his phone to ensure the mics were operating properly.

Gathering up his bag, Xander was back by Radar’s side. “Radar, release.” He opened the door, scanned for any onlookers, then turned to give the room a final check to confirm everything was in order. When he closed the door behind him, he listened for the click that ensured that it locked properly.

He didn’t need Orest’s suspicions aroused.

Xander took hold of his suitcase handle. He and Radar paced past the two rooms that made his surveillance a bit less efficient, and at that third door, he swiped his card and went in.

It was everything he could have imagined an Alaskan cottage room to look like, right down to the cheery red quilt that seemed hand-sewn and the wooden carvings of black bears.

Xander loaded Radar onto the bed and opened his computer, testing the surveillance cameras, checking the volume, and then lying back to wait and see.

The Bureau was tapping Orest’s phone. That put the information in a chain of custody that might or might not filter its way to Xander.

Claude Burns, squirrel doctor, wasn’t at the table with Orest. Xander saw Claude as a potential resource. He planned to befriend the man while they were in Lumberjack. If nothing else, he could put surveillance in Claude’s room once Xander knew where Claude was and that the coast was clear,

Lying on his bed, booted feet hanging over the edge, Xander waited for Orest to go back to his room. Xander wanted to observe the man’s behavior to ensure his surveillance work went unnoticed.

Radar stretched out beside him. His head rested on Xander’s stomach as they relaxed together.

The mics in Orest’s room picked up the click and swish of the door, followed by a great moan, and shuffling.

Xander tapped on the camera feed.

The room itself was empty, but Xander heard piss going into the toilet and a flush. There was no water at the sink. “Note to self, avoid shaking the man’s hand,” Xander said under his breath as he adjusted the angle of the camera set to watch the door.

There was an oof and another groan, and Xander toggled his switch to direct the mid-room camera to take in the bed, where Orest Kalinsky stretched out wearing a t-shirt with his belt unfastened, and his pants spread open.

Orest reached into his pocket for his phone and tapped.

“We are all here, but I am leaving very early in the morning. The team is in place? Planes? Boxes?”

…

“Good. Good.”

Orest’s words came through the AI translator almost instantaneously. When the computer spoke the conversation in English, it retained Orest’s Slovak accent.

Listening over the computer, Xander only had one side of the conversation. In the quiet spaces, Xander was guessing what might be said on the other end.

Frustrating? Absolutely. But the FBI was collecting the entirety of the back-and-forth.

And that was the fingers-crossed part of the operation. Could Finley get clearance to hand that file to Xander since Xander was in a different alphabet, or would the Bureau clutch it to their chests? Xander put his questions on a mental list as he continued to listen to Orest.

“Dr. Tapper is present throughout?”

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