Page 16 of Into the Tempest

“I won’t keep you long,” she said, as if I didn’t have a choice in it.

The cameraman moved to get a better angle, which was apparently closer.

A lot closer.

“And we’re rolling,” he murmured.

“Doctor Overton joins us from the Darwin Bureau of Meteorology. We thank you for your time, I understand you’re incredibly busy. We believe the initial warning alert came from this office.”

The camera trained in on me.

I tried not to be a rabbit in headlights. I kept my eyes on her and not on the camera, cursing Doreen for not being here, with her crude shirt and yappy dog.

And her baseball bat.

“Ah, yes, that’s correct,” I said.

“What can you tell us about the approaching storm? Cyclone Tracy devastated Darwin in 1974, and the horrors of that are still fresh in the minds of many Darwinians. Will we see a repeat of Cyclone Tracy?”

Don’t cause panic, don’t cause panic. Just be factual.

“Tracy was a Category 4, and Hazer is shaping up to be a Category 5. The last Cat 5 we saw was Ita, which devastated parts of far north Queensland, though Ita crossed land as a Cat 4 in an unpopulated area and deflected. Hazer is expected to make direct contact with Darwin as a Category 5. We will see rainfalls of anywhere up to five hundred mils, which will cause flooding, and destructive winds of up to two hundred and twenty kilometres per hour. I’m assured there have been construction changes since the seventies to better withstand such destruction, however I would urge all residents to listen to emergency services and police. If you’re issued an evacuation order, please heed those warnings. There will likely be disruptions to essential services, so be prepared; stock up on food and water, ensure the safety of any elderly folks in your life and any pets. And if you are able to leave, I would suggest you do so.”

She stared at me before blinking a few times, seemingly to collect her thoughts. “That’s a grim warning,” she said.

I wasn’t sure which parts of what I’d said she didn’t understand. Was I supposed to sugar-coat it?

“Is there any chance the cyclone will change course?”

I resisted sighing and managed a nod instead. “As with any calculations regarding weather, there is always a chance, and I’ll be very happy to be proven wrong in this case. But as it stands now, we can expect the storm to begin its approach with torrential rain and strong wind gusts. Hazer is on track to hit Darwin in the morning five days from today. Any changes will be updated as they happen, and the public will be notified as a priority.”

A radar started to beep inside and I took that as my cue. “Thank you for your time,” I said, making it up two steps before she stopped me.

“Doctor Overton,” she said. “Can you tell us what to expect?”

I thought I already had.

“We’ve had other cyclone warnings in Darwin before,” she said, “that never amounted to much, and there tends to be complacency—”

Out of patience, I looked straight at the camera. “This will be asignificantweather event. Listen to emergency service announcements. If you don’t need to be here, don’t be here.”

I turned then and went inside, locking the door behind me. I didn’t have time to dwell on how badly that interview had gone because for the few next hours I had more data, more comms with other agencies, and no time to be concerned with second-rate reporting.

Another news van pulled into the yard, a man in a suit this time knocked on the door, and I ignored them.

And then my phone began to ring with unknown numbers. How they got my number, I’ll never know. I could only assume they got my name from the interview I’d done earlier... The first few callers claimed to be with some news channels I’d not heard of—which I declined to comment for—and after a while, I switched my phone to silent.

After that, in my little dark office, doing a dozen things at once, I completely lost track of time. It wasn’t until a familiar Range Rover pulled into the yard that I checked my watch. It was after six. But then a not-familiar man got out of the car.

I did a double take on the security camera.

I mean, he was familiar.

But oh boy, did he look different.

Tully took the steps two at a time and I dashed to unlock the door before he could try to open it. I swung the door inward and looked him up and down. “Uh, hello, stranger,” I said. “While youareincredibly gorgeous, I won’t be buying anything you’re selling as I already have a boyfriend.”

His smile quirked upward, confused. “What?”

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