The ceremony continued until the kiss and then it was over. I felt like I missed it all. My little girl was married and ready to start her own family. Terri knuckled my rib cage, shaking me from my reverie. “Now we go stand in the receiving line and then everyone will grab something to eat. Follow me,” she said and led me by the hand to the other side of the stage where the new couple and all the bridesmaids were gathered. I hugged Aeryn, shook Toby’s hand, and generally did whatever Terri told me to. I was a complete wreck. She told me that she expected it as her father did the same thing to the point of passing out and requiring oxygen to be revived.
I think it took two hours for everybody to get through the line and deliver their congratulations. I was ready to keel over as my leg hurt and I was emotionally exhausted. Despite being a public figure, I was still an introvert and being with so many people drained all my energy.
Then we let the bride and groom be the first ones to eat from the bridal party. I stood at the very back of the line, hoping that Babushka had given up and was taking a break when I finally made it. She spotted me and started coming for me. I would have escaped if it hadn’t been for Terri grabbing my arm with both hands and holding me in place. Babushka held a large plate heaped with a variety of food and smiled widely, showing her missing teeth and overactive tongue.
“Last time you get special treatment!” she declared and walked off.
“Did you see that? I got special treatment!” I laughed.
THE ROAD TO VALDEZ
As I suspected, Lucas refused to give us the truck. He insisted on driving himself to take care of his baby. So we loaded up with a chainsaw, all the gas we could spare, pry bars, parts for the truck, tools, and game bags. We loaded our rifles and pistols, too. We were giving ourselves five days to get there. The last time I’d traveled that road, it was pretty clear. Three hundred miles, but it was early fall and better to go now than when the weather turned. We weren’t afraid it would snow. We still had at least three weeks before we’d get dusted, although it could rain and freeze at almost any time.
So we made time our friend. Over the past ten years, we’d cleared a road through the city of old Fairbanks to make it easier to get to North Pole where the Russian community had been established, taking over the old elementary school when we moved out.
Ben had even turned his old fish wheel over to them and they were pleased to get it.
I started out in the front, next to Lucas, while Terri was in the back with Floyd, keeping the half-wolf company. He’d warmed up to her fully, and if I hadn’t known better, I thought he might like her more than me. I didn’t want to test that premise.
We passed North Pole, continued to Salcha and kept on until we reached Delta Junction. Although we took it easy, the road was mostly clear, the drive uneventful, and we made good time. We had to move some debris going through Delta Junction, but once Sumitomo arrived, they’d clear these roads so we weren’t too bothered that we moved just enough out of our way so we could squeeze through.
The mine was about fifty miles down a dirt road northwest of town, where they had a full-sized work camp, a temporary facility with everything needed to continue mining for twenty-four hours a day. All they had to do was to add power, rejuvenate the camp, and get back to work. It was an underground mine with a great deal of support required for active gold production. The mine had previously used a variety of methods, but the chemical reagent methods probably wouldn’t be useful until they could stock sufficient quantities of acid. How many tanker trucks would that take? More than the startup work, I suspected.
They could also use gravity and flotation, both tried and true methods that only required water and power to recover at least a quarter of the gold from the rock. The rest would have to wait until the chemical methods were available. However, it would start the revenue stream. With the depression, gold was at an all-time high. Any gold mined was good gold; even a quarter of what was available would be lucrative.
I was on my way to Valdez to sign the access agreement. It was simple, but appropriately ambiguous, and since we controlled access we could always stop the trucks and end the export until we resolved our issues. We were also going to supply some of the manpower. We had about one thousand people in New Fairbanks. Once winter started, most of them had little to do, so working in the mine for food and money would be the first step toward gaining a foothold in modern society. They said they needed two hundred people in order to run 24/7 operations. I asked around at Aeryn’s reception and there were a great number of people interested. The thought of earning money in order to buy a new rifle or more ammunition was attractive.
There was no doubt that we could supply the people if they could supply the guidance and equipment.
From Delta Junction, there were two roads south, one toward Tok and one due south to Valdez. We took Alaska Highway 4 and headed south. Not far out of town, we ran across two bull moose fighting. I looked from Lucas to Terri before pulling out my 45/70. I opened the door and stepped out, putting the rifle through the window, resting it on the ledge. Then I waited. I would shoot the loser because to the winner, the spoils.
It wasn’t long before the bigger bull pinned the younger bull to the ground and beat on him with his massive rack. The other bull bugled in pain until the bigger moose walked away, the proud stud. When the younger bull staggered to his feet, I fired. The humans had their ears covered but poor Floyd started howling.
The bull dropped where he was. Lucas and I approached carefully, but half the bull’s head was blown away. It was a nice shot right behind the eyes from close range with a 405 grain cannon shell. “One shot, one kill, eh, Lucas?” He nodded. He knew I was in the Marine Corps, but I didn’t go around shouting oorah. I didn’t even have a Marine tattoo.
It would have been embarrassing, but I was in intelligence. If you ever wanted to work undercover, you couldn’t have identifying body marks like a big eagle, globe, and anchor on your arm. I never worked undercover, but I always hoped. Who didn’t want to be James Bond?
Terri looked at me oddly. I’d tell her later. “We better clean this moose.” That’s all it took for the three of us to get to work. Floyd recovered quickly, especially when he got to sample some of the choicer bits of the bull. We discovered that the loser was still a big boy. We struggled to roll him over after cleaning and bagging the meat from one side. The key to making quick work of a moose was not to gut the animal, but clean all the meat off one side, then flip it over and do the other. Trying to clean out the cavity was a great deal of extra work for no gain.
Floyd wanted to get in there something fierce. We had to fight him off to keep him from going muzzle deep into the gross bits. In the end, we lost. While loading the meat sacks into the truck, Floyd’s inner wolf came out. We stayed away while he ravaged the guts. As evening approached, we moved the truck a couple miles down the road, making Floyd run after us since he was covered in blood. I didn’t know when we’d be able to wash him next, and I wasn’t looking forward to that, especially since Terri put her foot down and said that was my job. We set up our tents and rolled out our sleeping bags as we made a fire and cooked some of the back strap. There really was nothing like fresh moose back strap. It melted in our mouths. “That alone was worth it,” I purred, savoring every bite. No one else spoke. Floyd slept between Terri and me, so we held hands, resting them in his fur, caked with dried blood. We loved all of our children, even those with carnivorous tendencies.
“It’s been quite a ride, Chuck,” Lucas started. “Fourteen years, man. It seems like only yesterday when the guests stopped coming to Chena Hot Springs Resort. Then you showed up and our whole world changed.” Lucas reached across the fire to shake my hand.
“I’ll second that,” Terri added. I was embarrassed and looked at the fire, digging at it with a stick.
“None of us knew how it was going to turn out. I had to kill two people within weeks afte
r the fall. I shot them myself with this pistol right here. I watched a man take his own life because I didn’t get there in time to help him fight off wolves after he lost his dog team. I killed dogs to put them out of their misery because we couldn’t treat them. I killed Colleen’s horse because it had broken its leg. I was a one-man wrecking crew. I stole. I took anything that wasn’t nailed down. The resort was my only respite, it was the only thing that allowed me to look myself in the mirror and not be disgusted. I’m not the guy you thought I was.”
“You’re exactly the guy I think you are, the one who would do anything for his family and friends. I’ve killed people, too, Chuck, a lot of people,” Terri said coldly. “It doesn’t define us. We only did what we had to do in a tough time. And you know what? You and I would both do exactly the same thing again, because that’s who we are.” She highlighted her point by punching me in the arm.
“It’s okay, Chuck,” Lucas said. “Your secret is safe with us. I knew you were keeping something back, but we all were. I’ll tell you that I fell for Amber when I first saw her, well before the fall, but she was out of my league. Look at us now! And what the hell, Chuck? If I understand things correctly, your sixteen-year old son has asked my thirteen-year old daughter to marry him?” Lucas looked a little put-out.
Terri jumped in to save me. “Chuck put his foot down on that one, letting Charles know in no uncertain terms that there’s to be no funny business until she turns sixteen. And they said they were getting married on that day. We’ll see if they feel the same way in a couple years. They are both still young.”
“Will that make us cousins or something?” Lucas asked with a grin.
“Or something,” I replied. “I’m going to be a grandfather soon enough. You think there’s chaos in my house now, wait until the baby comes.”
“Whose house?” Terri asked, one eyebrow raised.
“I said our house,” I recovered quickly, wincing in preparation for getting punched again. I stood and stretched. “We’re going to pack it in, Lucas. See you in the morning. I have to go get my spanking now,” I added devilishly.
“Chuck’s going to get some!” Lucas chanted.
“Chuck most assuredly is not going to get some,” Terri said smoothly as she helped tamp out the fire. We retired to our tent where Terri proved herself to be a master of deception.
* * *
I had never been on that road and it turned out that it paralleled rivers and lakes. When we drove through the abandoned town of Donnelly, we pulled off at the creek that split the town in half. I wrestled a howling Floyd into the water and soon we were both thoroughly soaked. I scrubbed him clean while the others watched from the safety of the shore. We were doomed to a truck that would smell like a wet dog. I was happy that it was warm enough to drive with the windows open.
We made Floyd sit in the back seat by himself.
The remaining road to Valdez was not bad. There were some bridges that seemed a little sketchy. I had no idea how many earthquakes had rocked the area in the past fourteen years. I’d let the Sumitomo rep know. I suspected they’d be moving a great deal of heavy equipment, and they couldn’t have a bridge fail. Then again, I had to consider the safety rules or lack thereof. What risks were we willing to assume? I put the responsibility for bridge inspections on Sumitomo. They could drive them as they were or reinforce them as they saw fit. It was their call.
We passed the Lodge at Black Rapids and thought it looked homey so we stopped in. Floyd started barking, which concerned me. We loaded up and spread out. Terri took my rifle while I carried my pistol. Lucas had his hunting rifle.
“We mean you no harm!” I yelled toward the stately building that made up the lodge.
“Then why the firepower?” a young, female voice countered.
“Because we’ve been shot at too many times. I’m putting my pistol away and I beg you, please do not shoot me.” Terri glared at me as I holstered the .45 and held up my hands.
A woman appeared carrying a small baby. Behind her was a man older than Lucas, but younger than me. “It’s been a while since anyone’s been through here. A long while,” she said as she continued to approach. The man stayed back, keeping his shotgun handy.
“I’m Evelyn and this here is little Rusty,” she said. “Back there is Daniel. We homesteaded here. If you’d like to stay, it’ll cost you something.”
“Evelyn, nice to meet you, and you, too, Rusty and Daniel. I’m Chuck Nagy, governor of Alaska. My partner Terri and good friend Lucas. We’d be more than happy to share a little moose with you. How about fifty pounds? Will that work?” I offered. Daniel nodded vigorously. I waved him to the back of the truck and pointed to a game bag with the right amount of meat. He hefted it over a shoulder with a grunt, and we walked into the lodge, while I asked Floyd to stay outside. He soon disappeared into the brush after seeing a squirrel.
It had only been two days and if we wanted, we could have made it to Valdez that evening. No need to push it. This lodge could be a good waypoint for the new Sumitomo logistics highway.
Daniel disappeared through the dining room and into the kitchen. We stood around the reception area, marveling at the good shape of the building. It looked like it was ready to receive guests, like it was open for business. “This is nice! You’ve done a great job here. With regular food shipments, do you think you could run this place as a hotel again?” I asked, curious about their background, but I wouldn’t delve into it, because it didn’t matter. The only thing of import was their willingness to receive guests and give them a place to eat and stay.
I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye and leaned to the side to see Daniel digging in the back of our truck. I looked to Terri and made a face, trying to point with my eyes. “Why don’t you guys continue the tour. I’m going to go help Daniel,” I said. As I turned away from Evelyn, I touched my pistol so the others could see. Terri closed her eyes, afraid of what was going to happen.
I went through the kitchen and ducked, looking out the back door. Daniel was returning with another bag of moose and my briefcase. I stood behind the door. When he entered, while his hands were still full, I punched him in the temple with everything I had. The meat fell, the briefcase flew, and the man toppled to the floor. “Get in here!” I shouted as I straddled Daniel, turning him on his face and twisting his arms behind his body. I pulled him to his feet as he tried to shake off the bells ringing inside his skull.
Terri led the way as Lucas pushed Evelyn in front of him. She looked afraid. “What the hell is this?” I asked, seized by the anger of their duplicity.
“We haven’t eaten regular in so long, I can’t remember. He was just trying to get us some food,” she pleaded.
“So, you were in on it is what I hear. You didn’t even give us a chance to help you, explain why we’re here. How about this? The Lodge at Black Rapids needs to be open for business in less than two months. You will get regular supplies of food, sheets, cleaning gear, everything you need to run a hotel. You two are here. You could build a new life, a good life, but no. You decide that stealing from us is your best choice,” I snarled. I was angrier than I should have been, and I didn’t know why.
“All we wanted was some food,” she cried.
“Bullshit!” I screamed at her. “Why did he take my briefcase? Do you know what’s in there? The original copy of our declaration of independence. In there is Alaska’s path to prosperity. And the reason this lodge is going to get busy? People are starting to invest in us again.” I pushed Daniel away from me, slamming him into the food preparation counter. He turned back toward me, both hands clenched into fists. I bounced forward and jabbed, punching him square in the mouth. He collapsed and remained on the floor. I picked up my briefcase and stormed out the back door.
Lucas and Terri were unsure what to do. Evelyn blathered a constant stream of apologies as she bent down with the baby and tried to help Dan
iel. Blood streamed from his split lip as he rolled around on the floor.
Terri leaned down and in a gentle voice told them, “Straighten up. We have no time for criminals in Alaska. Do you understand me? You are now on your second chance. Don’t blow it. If you do, he’ll kill you both, and we’ll help him.” She patted the woman on the back gently and stepped over the man on her way out the door. Lucas didn’t have anything to add. He took the man’s shotgun, but left it when we found it wasn’t loaded. They’d probably run out of ammunition a long time ago.
I leaned against the truck, breathing heavily. Anxiety had me in its ugly grasp. I hated confrontation, and this was only the start. I doubted that I was the one to lead the country to freedom.
No. I was convinced that I wasn’t the one.
Terri strolled up to me, my rifle slung over her shoulder. “You know how sexy you are when you’re beating the hell out of somebody,” she said in her best bedroom voice. She rubbed her body against mine, kissing my face. I pushed her away to see if she was serious.
She laughed. “I’m pretty sure as the king, you should not be beating your subjects. Let’s try not to do that again. Just let me talk with them next time, and I don’t think we’ll have any problems.”
“King? It kind of feels like that sometimes. We dispense justice at the end of a gun. It’s the freaking Wild West up here, Terri. I almost passed out in there. I can barely breathe as it is. I don’t need their garbage to make it worse.” I put my hands behind my head to expand my chest and get more air. In through the nose, out through the mouth.
“Listen. We don’t have law enforcement or anything like that. It is the Wild West. And don’t forget that you have us, all of us to help you. Let me see that hand.” I’d been trying to hide the fact that blood was running off my fingers. I’d cut my knuckle on the man’s tooth. She looked at it and shook her head. “I’ll need to sew that up. Wait here.”
Fury (End Times Alaska Book 4) Page 12