by Paul Greci
“We’ve got more equipment to look at,” Sam says. “Follow me.”
Outside, in front of another camouflaged storage unit, Sam pulls out four gray waterproof bags. “Each of these inflatable kayaks weighs about ten pounds. They come with a foot pump. Anybody ever paddle a kayak?”
“I’ve been in a canoe,” Shannon says, “with my mom on the Chena River in Fairbanks.”
“I’ve been rafting a couple of times around Denali,” I say. “But I didn’t have to do anything. There was a guide.”
“My dad has a sailboat that he keeps in Valdez,” Brooke says. “We usually go out on it at least once every summer.”
“When we lived in Texas,” Derrick chimes in, “I floated down some river in an inner tube for the day.”
Sam says, “These inflatables are very forgiving.” He pulls one out of the bag and instructs us to inflate it so we learn how to use the foot pump.
When we’re finished, he says, “This is basically a lightweight river kayak. It’s self-bailing, which means when water pours in over the top there are holes between the sides and the floor that allow it to drain. And there are walls within the inflated compartments, so if you spring a leak, the whole kayak won’t deflate. The walls respond to pressure changes and seal off compartments during a pressure loss.”
“But we only pumped it up through one valve,” Shannon remarks. “I haven’t seen anything like this.”
“Good observation,” Sam replies. “It’s single valve so you can inflate it quickly. The smart-wall technology inside the kayak, combined with the single valve, isn’t commercially available.”
I study the boat. It’s basically a tube that’s been shaped into the form of a kayak. It tapers to points in the front and back and is a couple of feet wide in the middle.
“It looks kind of small,” Derrick says.
“It’s the smallest boat we could get away with for the job that needs to be done.” Sam faces Derrick. “You’ll have to bend your knees more than the others to fit in the boat. But it’s doable.”
“You sure you don’t have something bigger for me?” Derrick asks.
Sam shakes his head. “You’re each going to be carrying these boats, and all your other supplies, about seventeen miles before you get to the place where you’ll put them in the river, so the smallest, lightest boats to get the job done are essential.”
“Seventeen miles?” Brooke says. “Why?”
“It has to do with where the Russians do their patrols,” Sam says. “I’d take you all the way to the river if I could, but that’d be too risky.”
“What do you mean, take us?” Shannon asks.
“We never did finish looking at the maps,” Sam says. “I got distracted by that flyover. After we finish up with the kayaks, I’ll show you where we’re going.”
Sam instructs us to set up and inflate the other three kayaks to make sure all the parts are there, to ensure there are no leaks, and to give us practice. Each boat comes with a small paddle that breaks into two pieces and fits in the bag.
After we finish and pack up the kayaks, Sam says, “I’ve got backpacks, lightweight tents, and lightweight sleeping bags for all of you.” He looks at Derrick. “You’ll be a little cramped. No one on the original team was near your height.”
“Us tall guys,” Derrick says, “we’re always missing out in this tiny world.” He cracks a smile and Sam smiles back.
Back inside, Sam spreads a map out on the counter. “Here we are.” He points to a spot on the map marked with a red dot. “Here’s your bridge.” He points to a spot on the map marked with a green dot. “That’s us. The bridge is about one hundred fifty miles away. And here’s the drop-off spot.” He points to a blue dot upriver from the bridge. “After you’re dropped off, you’ll proceed by foot approximately seventeen miles to this lake.” He runs his finger to another blue spot on the map. “You’ll assemble your kayaks and paddle along the lakeshore to the outlet and then down this small river—really it’s more of a creek—until it merges with the Tanana. Then you’ll paddle down the Tanana to the bridge.” He traces his finger along the whole route. “Any questions so far?”
Shannon says, “How do we get to the drop-off point?”
Sam takes a breath. “I hope no one gets airsick. I’ll be flying you there in my plane.”
CHAPTER 62
THE NEXT MORNING AFTER BREAKFAST, Sam says, “I know I’ve been throwing a lot of new things at all of you since you arrived. My intention is not to overwhelm you, but there’s a lot of information you need to know.”
“There are four of us,” I say, “so hopefully what one person forgets, someone else will remember.”
“Ideally,” Sam says, “everyone should know every part of the mission and how to perform each skill I’ve taught you so if one or more of you gets hurt or if you get separated, the mission can continue.”
Shannon nods. “That makes sense.”
“This next part,” Sam goes on, “you can’t practice, but at least you can get familiar with the equipment.”
We follow Sam outside. He opens another camouflaged storage locker and pulls out several gray bags and a bunch of gray flippers. “The bags have dry suits in them. You’ll wear them when you’re paddling the boats and when you’re attaching the explosives.”
Derrick picks up a bag, unclips it, and pulls out a gray dry suit. “What’s with all the gray? Is it the unofficial color of whatever secret government agency you work for?”
Before Sam can respond, Shannon says, “The gray probably matches the color of the Tanana River. It’s silty because it is primarily fed by glaciers.”
Sam points at Shannon. “What she said.”
“Got it,” Derrick says. Then he looks at Shannon. “You really do suffer constantly from that genius disorder, don’t you?”
Shannon flashes him a smile.
I point to the flippers. “I’m guessing we’ll be doing some swimming?”
Sam explains that in order to get to the bridge’s middle support in the river, we’ll need to swim. He pulls out a rope with carabiners attached to each end, and a couple of belts with carabiners. “The idea,” he says, “is for two of you to enter the river upstream of the bridge. Each swimmer will carry one end of this rope. Here, let’s play it out.”
Sam gives Brooke one end of the rope and Shannon the other end and tells them to pretend Derrick is the bridge support. “One person will swim into position on the closer side of the support and the other person will swim to the far side. The goal is to stretch the rope across the bridge support on the upriver side.”
Following Sam’s direction, Brooke goes to the far side of Derrick, so she and Shannon are stretching the rope out in front of him.
“Then you’ll both swim under the bridge, to the downriver side of the support,” Sam says, “and then you’ll swim toward each other.” Brooke and Shannon step behind Derrick and move toward each other. Their rope now wraps around Derrick.
Sam says, “The water should be relatively calm there, with the bridge support—represented here by Derrick—protecting you from the current. It’s like being behind a huge rock in the river.” He points to the carabiners. “Once you’re in this position, click a carabiner from the rope onto the carabiner on your belt. The rope should snug up against the bridge support on the upriver side, and your weights should counterbalance each other, holding you in place in the river. Make sense?”
We all nod.
“I almost forgot.” Sam reaches in the storage locker and pulls out a small gray pack made of waterproof material. “One of you two swimmers will be wearing this—with the explosive inside.”
“How will we place the explosive and drill it in?” Brooke asks. “I mean, we’ll be in the water.”
“Your dry suit has a little built-in flotation to help you stay buoyant,” Sam says, “but it won’t be like wearing a life vest, where you’re like a floating cork. One person will lift and support the person who’s placing the explosiv
e. After you’ve drilled it in and activated it, just unclip your carabiner and swim to shore.”
“So,” I say, “where will the other two people be while these two are placing the explosive?”
Sam says, “They’ll each be placing explosives in the supports that can be reached by land on opposite sides of the river. We want to put three explosives on the bridge.”
“It’ll look like this.” Sam picks up a stick off the ground and draws lines in the dirt. “Here’s the bridge.” He makes two Xs in the dirt. “Here’re two people upstream from the bridge, who’ll be the swimmers. They’ll have the rope and the communication device that tells them when to place the explosives.” He draws two more Xs—one on each side of the bridge. “These represent the other two team members.”
“Will the swimmers just abandon their kayaks?” Shannon asks.
“Ideally, no,” Sam says. “When the four of you get to the upper point where the two swimmers will be, the swimmers will stay behind with the gear they need and the other two team members will each tow a kayak behind the one they’re paddling to their spots. When the swimmers finish, they’ll each join one of you and reclaim their kayaks. All of you will then reunite at the rendezvous spot downriver.”
“What if the Russians spot us?” Derrick says.
“You’ll be wearing gray, the same color as the river, and ideally we’ll be conducting the mission sometime between sunset and sunrise, so it’ll be as dark as it can be. The dry suit flotation is designed to keep you just at the surface, not floating above it. But if you are spotted, just carry on as best you can. At this point, there’s no plan B. There’s no guarantee that you’ll be successful, and even if you are, there’s no guarantee that I’ll be successful.”
“So you’re sending us on a suicide mission?” Derrick says.
“It’s unlikely they’ll spot you under the bridge since they’ll be on top of it. The most likely time for you to be spotted is after you’ve placed the explosives, when you paddle your kayaks downriver from the bridge. But you’ll all have dry suits and gray neoprene bathing caps on, so if they start firing you can jump in the water and swim. You’ll be much smaller targets that way.”
“But we’ve got a lot of distance to cover just to get to the bridge,” Brooke says. “A seventeen-mile walk. And then how many miles by kayak?”
“About twenty-two,” Sam says, “but you’ll be doing all that during the dusky parts of the day, and you’ll be lying low during full daylight.”
“It’s going to be risky,” I say, “but we can do it.”
“Or,” Derrick says, “we’ll die trying.”
“That’s not funny,” Brooke says.
“Sorry,” Derrick responds. “It’s just that it’s basically true.”
“We should keep going,” Sam says. “We’ve still got a lot to cover.”
CHAPTER 63
WHILE WE EAT LUNCH, I think about how we could die.
But to not try is to say to all those Alaskans held captive right now, your lives aren’t worth the risk. I definitely think it’s worth the risk, and I think I’m physically capable of carrying out the plan. But I’m still scared out of my mind.
Sam is over at his swivel chair with his headphones on, gathering information from the antenna.
I’m finishing eating some crackers and cheese when Sam takes his headphones off and says, “Politically—no, geopolitically, things are heating up. North Korea has launched a test missile that reached the Gulf of Alaska. Russia has shifted a significant portion of its air force to the Siberian coast just across the Bering Sea from Alaska. And the president and Congress are at odds about how to respond.”
“None of that sounds good,” Shannon says.
Sam responds, “A government in active and visible turmoil could embolden our adversaries to step up their game, and that could make the situation much, much worse.”
“What if our plan fails?” Brooke asks.
Sam shakes his head. “It’s conceivable that our own government may attempt a nuclear first strike on Fort Greely to take out the missiles.”
“But what about the rest of Alaska?” I ask.
“Obviously, there would be massive destruction and casualties.” Sam pauses. “Both immediate and long-term.”
“Wouldn’t they give people time to leave?” Brooke asks.
“No,” Sam says. “I believe it would be a pretty immediate response if we fail. Otherwise, it would probably fail, too. It’s the best-case scenario for Russia: the United States using nuclear weapons on the United States.”
I think about what I learned in my United States history class last year, about the radiation from the bombs dropped on Japan in World War II. “So Alaska could be the sacrifice that saves the rest of the United States if we fail?”
“If we fail,” Sam says, “and Alaska is sacrificed, I hope it saves not only the United States, but the rest of the world—because with the way things are heating up, we’re looking at World War III otherwise.”
CHAPTER 64
“I BET YOU’RE SORRY TO be losing that stuff sack,” Derrick says, pointing at my foot.
“I’m devastated.” I give Derrick my best exaggerated sniffle and he laughs.
“Okay,” Sam says, “enough joking around. We’re on a tight time schedule.” He’s holding a pair of rubber boots in his hands. “The hike from the drop-off point to the lake will be muddy and mucky.”
“What if mine don’t fit?” Brooke asks. “My feet have just healed up. I had major blisters until Josh helped me out.”
“These look like regular old rubber boots,” Sam says, “but they have an adjustable inner boot. It’s like a boot within a boot. So even if they look big on the outside, you can adjust how much your foot will move around on the inside.” He sets one boot on the floor and puts his hand inside the other. “There are several settings. You can manipulate the inner boot with your hand.”
Brooke nods.
Sam has us each grab a pair of boots, and then he gives us each a new pair of wool socks. We all put our new socks on and work on adjusting the boots to fit our feet.
Sam goes on. “You’re going to need to move quickly. You might need to run if you’re being pursued. If you can keep your feet in good shape, you’ll have a better chance of succeeding. That said”—he looks at Brooke—“if you do get some blisters, you’re just going to have to tough it out.”
“I got it,” Brooke says. “That’s what I did to get here.” She looks at me. “Josh really helped me out, but I was still in a lot of pain until recently.”
Sam opens a gray bag and pulls out more shoes. “These are neoprene booties. You’ll wear these when you’re swimming. Sizewise, these are pretty forgiving.” He tells everyone to take their new boots and socks off and find a pair of booties that fit.
I’m sitting on the floor, pulling a bootie over my foot. There’s a lot of resistance, but when I pull on one side, and then the other, the bootie starts to slide on. Then, when it’s halfway on, I pull hard from the heel and work it over my ankle.
While we’re getting our booties on, Sam goes outside and returns with the flippers. “These will give you more control in the water. Find a pair that fits over your booties. After you put them on, stand up.”
“I thought only two of us would be swimming,” Shannon says.
“Two of you will be designated to place the explosive on the middle pillar, but everyone should have all the gear in case something happens,” Sam says. “Once we’ve got the gear figured out, we’ll discuss specific roles.”
We all work on putting flippers on, and when we’re all standing, Sam says, “Take a couple of steps backward.”
We all do that successfully.
“Easy, right?” Sam says. “If you need to walk in your flippers—say you put them on and have a short distance to cover to get to the river—walk backward. I’d have you try walking forward, but I don’t want anyone falling and hurting themselves on the hard floor or the edges of
the counters.”
Sam has us all sit back down, then says, “You can put your flippers on before entering the river and then walk backward, or you can sit in the shallows and put them on. Just don’t walk forward with them.”
We all take off our flippers and neoprene booties and put them with our new boots and wool socks.
Then we put our shoes back on. I want to save my rubber boots and new socks for the mission, so I put my sock with the blue foam back on and tie the two stuff sacks around it.
We spend the next hour moving all the gear from the storage lockers into the shelter, except for the explosives, and then we work on packing everything up. Sam gives us each a small bag of food with granola bars, crackers and cheese, chocolate bars, and beef jerky.
I put my sleeping bag, lightweight pad, one of the tents, and my food inside my pack. Then I slide the flippers in and put the neoprene booties inside. On the outside, I use straps on the pack to secure the dry suit and the inflatable kayak, which are each contained in their own bags.
After we finish up, Sam pulls a small rectangular device about half the size of the palm of his hand out of his pocket. “This will help you get from the drop-off point to the lake.”
He turns it on, and a green dot lights up on the bottom of the screen, and a red dot lights up on top. “The green dot represents where you are. The red dot represents the lake. There’s an arrow that will point in the direction you’re walking. The more you keep the arrow pointing at the red dot, the sooner you’ll get to the lake. If you have to make a detour because you see people or run into a bear or there’s a forest fire, this little device will keep you from getting lost.” Sam turns off the device and holds it out toward us.
I take it. “How long will the battery last?”
“Longer than you’ll need to make the walk,” Sam says. “You’ll probably do it in twelve to fourteen hours if you don’t run into major obstacles, and the battery will last four or five days.”