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structures intact. Homes, offices, schools, and people had been turned into the flotsam of fate.
    “Why are we circling?” Higgins asked softly.
    Rajiv did not answer. He stared out the side window.
    Higgins sighed. “Is that where you lived?” he asked kindly.
    Rajiv nodded slowly and continued to gaze at the wreckage of what had been his middle-class home. Gone were the white stucco house, the small courtyard, and his family. This was where he had lived. Now gone. All gone.
    Below he could see a small yellow tricycle implanted next to a fractured stone wall—the birthday gift he had purchased for Jaya.
    Tears came unhindered.

2
    San Diego, California
    T HE CAFETERIA ON THE FORTY - SEVENTH FLOOR OF Barringston Tower bustled with activity and was filled with sensuous aromas of finely prepared food. The cavernous room was much like any other cafeteria, except the quality of the fare was equal to that of the best restaurants. Here executives from Barringston Industries shared tables with workers from Barringston Relief.
    David, Timmy, and Kristen LaCroix sat at a table next to a picture window that overlooked the bay. The San Diego skyline twinkled in the darkness. The moon, full and rich, hung above the water and cast soft, ivory light on the city below.
    Kristen stared at the moon. David stared at Kristen. Timmy made gurgling noises with his straw as he attempted to free the last drops of a chocolate shake from the bottom of a large glass tumbler.
    “Timmy,” David said, “that’s a little noisy, don’t you think?”
    “I guess so,” Timmy replied. “I like it.”
    “Go easy on him, David,” Kristen said. “It
is
chocolate, after all.”
    “Yeah,” Timmy echoed. “It
is
chocolate, after all.” Thethree laughed, then Timmy asked, “Can I go back to the room? I wanna watch TV.”
    “Sure,” David said.
    “I’ll get your dishes,” Kristen said. “You run along.”
    “Thanks,” Timmy replied. A moment later he was gone.
    “You’re doing a fine job with him,” Kristen said. “Not everyone would be able to handle that kind of responsibility.”
    “He’s a good kid. He’s really not that much trouble.”
    “Is he still having nightmares about the attack?”
    “Sometimes.” David shrugged. “Aren’t we all?”
    “I suppose. It’s not easy seeing someone gunned down like that. I wish Timmy hadn’t seen A.J. die. He loved him so much.”
    David nodded. He wanted to avoid the subject. Watching his mentor and friend killed had cut him deeply. Sixteen months had not brought a full healing, and the wound still bled. David wondered if sixteen years could.
    Kristen reached across the table and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. The simple gesture carried a message of strength, support, and love. David returned the tender squeeze and smiled.
    “It’s a beautiful moon,” Kristen said. “It reminds me of something.”
    “Would that be a warm night in Ethiopia as the two of us sat on a bench in front of a hotel in Addis Ababa gazing at the same moon? Would it remind you of our first kiss?”
    Kristen smiled warmly and said, “Actually, it reminds me of a pancake.”
    “What?” David laughed. “Oh, you do wax poetic, Miss LaCroix.”
    “Just trying to lighten the moment.”
    “I appreciate that.”
    “Did the others get their readiness summaries to you as you asked?”
    David nodded. “Every report on time. It looks good. All we need to do now is wait until we know where the hurricane will hit.”
    “Osborn seemed pretty serious in the RRT meeting,” Kristen observed.
    “He’s an earnest man and takes his work seriously. He thinks that this may be one of the larger hurricanes to hit the area.”
    “But he doesn’t know?”
    “He doesn’t know yet. He will. He’s the best there is at this sort of thing.”
    “I don’t really know him,” Kristen admitted. “What can you tell me about him?”
    “He’s one of the few intellectual giants in the world. I read an article he wrote