He threw the paper down and left it there as he walked out without a word. I took a deep breath to yell something inappropriate, but felt a knuckle gouge my ribs. “I know, don’t call him Dick,” I told Terri in a low voice. She smiled. I was learning.
The next day, we waited for our government liaison on the pier. He seemed ecstatic to be leaving. I tried to hand him the envelope with the declaration. He refused to take it.
“Listen, Rich, I suggest you take this because it’s your freaking job,” I growled.
“Not anymore, thanks to you Neanderthals. You’d turn your back on the country that gave this state life? On the people who made you what you are?” he shouted almost maniacally.
I took a deep breath, and when he tried to walk off, I grabbed his arm and pulled him back. “You mean the country that abandoned us, who actually fired at us, fired at me, to keep us from leaving a hot zone? That government? The one who hasn’t done anything for us in years, the one who keeps us from helping ourselves? Damn right we’re turning our back on that. You gave us no choice. You take this letter, and you deliver it, otherwise I’ll leave a note for your surgeon where to deliver it because I’ll shove this thing so far up your ass that’s who it’ll take to remove it.” I wanted him to try something so I could unleash my fury on him, but he didn’t.
He took the letter and crumpled it into his briefcase. He gave me the finger as he walked off, which Lucas dutifully took a picture of with my camera phone. “I’ll be happy never to come back here!” he shouted.
Frank asked the ferry captain to mail a letter that I had addressed to the Office of the President from my office as governor. In it was another copy of the original declaration. I added a note describing Dick’s abrasiveness and diplomatic transgressions, along with his refusal to perform his duties as the liaison, including leaving Alaska without proper notification. I also noted the lack of logistics support in keeping the road and rail links to New Fairbanks open.
I had no doubt that the weasel would find some way to make himself look like a knight in shining armor. It was the bureaucrat’s way. I didn’t care.
Next up was Tanaka-san. He looked at the crossed-out pages of his original contract and failed to mask his horror. I handed him my handwritten version, which he refused to sign. Then I handed him a second page with a short note. “The nation of Alaska recognizes Sumitomo’s ownership interest in the Pogo mine but does not grant access pending a contractual agreement.”
“Have a good day, Tanaka-san,” I said as I waved and walked away. He spluttered and ran off the ramp, trying to get in front of me.
“But this is unreasonable!” he stated.
“I spent a long time on the phone with Sumitomo and not a damn thing that I said made it into that piece of crap you gave me. I can only assume that you think us weak and insulted us on purpose, insulted me to my face. I can’t have that, Tanaka-san. There are a lot of people in this new nation who are counting on me. So you need to do the right thing and sign that contract I gave you. You need to sign it right damn now.” I stepped forward to loom over him. My pistol was almost even with his eyeballs as it rested in my shoulder holster. Floyd started growling, sensing my anger.
Tanaka caved, which surprised me. I thought he’d make shallow promises and jump back on the ferry, never to return. He signed his copy and then our copy, which I handed to Frank to make sure it was executed to the letter.
I bowed, just enough to show him that I was still furious with him, but was letting him off the hook. He bowed back, then made a hasty departure. The last thing he wanted was to get stuck in the austere accommodations of Valdez.
“Well now. I think that went pretty well,” I said as the horn sounded, the lines were cast off, and the ferry carefully maneuvered away from the dock. Tanaka and Bustamante were nowhere to be seen. “What a pair of buttholes. Old world, welcome to the new world where we refuse to be pushed around. We’ll need to drum up a couple hundred people to work the mine once they get it up and running. I’m thinking that means December. Could be a rough drive. When they make contact with you, Frank, tell them to bring a plow.”
A RETURN HOME
I suggested we keep driving, but Lucas and Terri insisted we stop at the Lodge on the way back. So we did. Terri gave me the stink eye until I got out of the truck. She straightened my collar and checked my appearance. “As we grow, you’re going to have meet with all kinds of people you don’t like. Think of this as practice, dear,” she said calmly. Of course, she was right.
When we went inside, I smiled and offered my hand. I felt a strange sense of satisfaction when Daniel winced and shook at arm’s length, his face still puffy and lips purple from the beatdown this old man gave him.
We talked and told them what we expected would be coming and what they could expect from their list. Lucas and Frank had worked out the details and Frank had a copy of the list as part of his request for Sumitomo. They fed us some of the moose we’d shared, including a rough bread that was a rarity. I asked about it and they talked through how they made the flour from barley. Back of the lodge was a patch and Daniel knew how to harvest and prep it as a winter wheat, where he planted each year. They’d been able to continue their harvests for the six years they’d been living at the Lodge.
And that was why it was important to get to know people.
“I’m glad we stopped by, to learn more about you and set the expectations for the way ahead. You are going to be very busy, very soon. You will represent all of Alaska, the nation of Alaska.” They looked questioningly at that. “That’s why we went to Valdez, to deliver our declaration of independence. We are a free nation now, a land of opportunity, a nation of simple laws. It’s up to us to show the world what we can be, how a country can take care of itself while also allowing its people to grow. You are on the front lines of all of this. What people see of you is what they will think of our country. Integrity and honor above all.”
Maybe I was the right person to be the governor. I felt it in my bones, and I hoped that I sold it that way, too. It was something bigger than all of us. No one person would make this a success. It would take everyone.
When we were back in the truck, Terri put Floyd in the front seat where he was happiest to look out and see everything. She joined me in the back seat where we talked endlessly about the new nation. She took notes. I took notes. Lucas added a great deal from the driver’s seat. He understood the nuts and bolts of keeping the wheels turning. We needed a lot of support to keep the logistics flowing.
I needed people working on things. We had one phone and almost no vehicles. It was a high mountain that we were climbing. My initial exuberance was tempered by time and distance. I couldn’t wait to get home and see my kids. I couldn’t wait to sleep in my own bed, with Terri by my side. That made me think of morning. The restock of coffee that Frank brought was a godsend. I felt like a new man. I had enough to get through the winter, even with all our houseguests helping themselves, a situation that I would have to accept since that seemed to be my future. In a few years, things would calm down as both twins moved into their own homes. I wasn’t sure that I was looking forward to that. It already made me feel lonely.
We stopped to shoot a small cow moose that was by herself a long ways away from anything else. It helped to spread out the harvest to not thin any herd too much. It would also be nice to return with a good stock. We’d arrive low on gasoline, but having accomplished our mission. I hoped that within a few months, Sumitomo would be able to clear the roads and supply fuel all the way from Delta Junction to New Fairbanks.
Hope wasn’t a great plan, and I had to reconcile myself with the fact that it would probably be next year before any regular logistics convoys arrived in the interior.
When we arrived in New Fairbanks, Lucas went straight to my house and we unloaded what was intended for us. Charles was home as was Diane, which upset both Lucas and me. She insist
ed that she’d been sleeping at home and that her mother, Amber, could confirm that. I looked as sternly as I could at Charles, but he was defiant. “If you are touching her naked body, I will beat you senseless.” I didn’t want any ambiguity. Lucas approved of my approach. There was a great deal of gray in life, but not here. This was black and white with a very clear line. “Here’s what we’re going to do. You are going to intern with Lucas, learn everything there is to know about fixing things. You are going to respect that man and his family. And when the time comes, we are going to celebrate you and Diane being together. You’ll have to improve on Aeryn’s wedding. You saw Babushka brought me a plate, didn’t you? Top that! By the way, where’s your sister?”
“Upstairs crying. They had a fight,” Charles answered calmly.
The blood rushed to my head. I returned to the truck and pulled out my rifle. I started walking toward my bike when Terri tackled me and took my 45/70 away. “I’ll take care of it,” she said, leaving me on the ground as she threw the rifle to Charles, ordering him not to give it back to me. I still had my pistol. He shrugged.
Lucas asked me to help him, so Charles and Diane climbed in the back. Floyd didn’t want to go, but we coaxed him back into the truck with a little jerky that Charles always carried. We stopped by the processing facility to drop off the meat. The kids stayed there to prepare the moose for storage. Lucas and I took turns hugging them, surrendering to that aspect of our lives. When we climbed back in the truck, Lucas thanked me.
“I guess it was inevitable, huh?” I started. “We set a different standard for them. I was surprised, but I know I shouldn’t have been. I already think of her as a daughter. The other kids from the resort, too, Bill, Tony, little Hermione. They are all family as are you guys. We’ve seen it all, haven’t we?”
Lucas looked thoughtful and took a while to answer. “Yes, we have, Chuck. I’ll be proud to call Charles my son-in-law, when the time is right, that is.” I had high hopes that Terri would calm things down on the home front. I liked peace. I liked calm reading by the fire in the evenings.
A baby was on the way.
“What are you thinking about?” Lucas asked.
“Too many things, my friend. But first and foremost, I think I may have to run off into the hills and hide until calm is restored.”
“Go back to your old house and spend a few days there. You haven’t had a honeymoon, yet. Take it and then things are going to get busy, so we’ll need a hundred percent of you. I sure as hell am not going to manage the creation of a new country. I have an intern to look after.”
We unloaded the rest of the items at the community center and I put my briefcase in the office that I’d commandeered. I needed a real place from which to work. I wanted wall space to help me manage all the moving parts. I was a fan of white boards, but we didn’t have any markers that worked. There were no chalk boards, so I used old butcher block wrapping paper. We’d found a stash a few years back and had moved it into the warehouse to keep it dry.
Lucas took Floyd and me back home where I was happy to see Aeryn outside on her way to the kennels. Terri gave me the thumbs up. I breathed a sigh of relief and went inside with my small backpack with my clothes from our trip.
“It was nothing, just two young people learning that living together requires compromise,” Terri stated.
“We didn’t have any issues,” I added.
“That’s because, my dear, you didn’t notice the changes I made.”
“What changes did you make?” I asked.
“The ones that you didn’t notice,” she said cryptically.
“And I’m better for it, too. All I need is for you to tell me when something is bugging you, that’s all. By the way, I think we should disappear for a few days. Take a honeymoon.”
“I’ll let you know if something bothers me, make no mistake about that. A honeymoon? Why Chuck, you old romantic, you. This wouldn’t have anything to do with running away from people crying in your home, would it?” She already knew me so well. That was part of it, but I did want to get away before we started to get busy.
We’d never discussed a military option. If the United States invaded, there would be nothing we could do. I would encourage people not to fight back as our battle would have to be fought in the UN where the lack of material support would be our trump card. How can you protect your people when you leave them to die? I found those thoughts less than comforting.
Toby appeared later that day, a blubbering mess. They apologized repeatedly to each other while crying. I looked at Terri and rolled my eyes, which earned me a kick in the leg. Charles arrived later with Diane, just in time for dinner, but they volunteered to cook. They brought some of the fresh moose, while the rest had been packaged and was in the process of freezing.
We had two cups of barley flour that Daniel and Evelyn had shared with us and we used that to make some Bannock bread, a rare treat since we had yet to master consistent growth of any grains we could use for flour. Add some fresh vegetables to the pot on the fire and it made for a perfect family dinner, all six of us. Since the kids cooked, Terri and I cleaned up. When we finished, no one was left inside, so we retired to our bedroom for the evening. I had a bookcase filled with scavenged books. One thing that never went out of style was a good paperback.
Plus, we could close the door and be alone, something we hadn’t gotten enough of since the day of our wedding.
The next morning, we wished the twins well as Terri and I hopped on our bikes and pedaled steadily northwest, using a variety of roads. I walked up the steepest of hills while Terri waited at the top for me. We knew it would take time, so we gave ourselves plenty of it.
The rustling in the brush was a surprise, and when a sow and two cubs appeared, Terri fled back toward me. She was standing on the pedals to increase her speed as the bear raced after her. I jumped off my bike and pulled my pistol. I’d left the rifle at home and instantly regretted that decision. I fired once in the air and the bear hesitated. I shot a mailbox near her, and the bear turned and ran. Terri, slowed gradually and stopped next to me before she looked over her shoulder.
“Close?” she asked.
“Not too bad,” I lied. The bear had been less than a car-length away as I saw it. I didn’t want to shoot her as then the cubs would be abandoned. I watched all three of them disappear into the brush and listened as they continued running. “Shall we?” I pointed up the hill and started walking again. Then stopped and replaced the two rounds I’d fired. I couldn’t continue into the Alaskan wilds carrying less than a full load.
Terri hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“I am certain that I want to be alone with you, even if it’s only for a few days, and I’m willing to fight bears for that small slice of freedom.”
“Ooh, my sexy husband fighting bears for me,” she purred.
It turned out to be a really great three days, which we both needed as when we returned, all hell was breaking loose.
THE VITRIOL
I’d given the phone to Chris before we disappeared on our ad hoc honeymoon. At the minute that the U.S. government was informed, the phone had not stopped ringing. Chris could only keep it charged for so long and even though he kept detailed notes, he stopped counting the unique callers when the number hit forty-seven.
That’s what I returned to. Every one of those people wanted a piece of me. So I looked through Chris’s notes, trying to decide whom to call first. He looked too happy when he gave me the phone and it instantly started ringing. I answered and the voice on the other end launched into a profanity-laid tirade.
I held the phone away from my ear and waited. Once there was silence, I asked a question. “Whom do I have the pleasure of speaking with?”
“This is Senator McCucheon’s assistant and we are steamed!”
“I got that from the tone of your diatribe, but I didn’t listen to any of
the details. Who is this senator and what’s his claim to fame?” This riled the man who hadn’t given me his name, but he finally stammered “four-term” and “Chairman of the Finance Committee.”
“Thank you and that is exactly the person I would like to talk with. Four terms, huh? That means your asswipe of a boss let Alaska hang after the attack, and Finance Committee, that means your asswipe of a boss abandoned us financially. And you have the unmitigated gall to swear at me? Here’s my answer to you. Heads of state talk to each other, not with an assistant to a legislator. If you want to talk with me again, your only choice is in person and I’ll need two months’ advance notice. I’m kind of busy. If that’ll be all, don’t go away mad, just go away.” I pressed the red button to end the call while the man was launching into another tirade.
“I expect they are all like that?” I asked Chris.
“More or less. Mostly more,” he laughed. “It’s good to have you back, my friend, and to see a smile on your face. We can do this, but they’ll huff and they’ll puff, but they can’t blow this house down. They have neither the stomach nor the money for it.”
I called ten people back, but it was always the same: anger, name-calling, vitriol. Not a single one of them wanted to hear our side of the story. I called Mr. Suzuki and we had a pleasant conversation. He’d agreed to everything, except the net length. Their standard net was a bit longer and they didn’t want to cut them down for the short season left in the salmon-rich waters of southwestern Alaska. I agreed and we put a bow on our arrangement. It was all verbal. I would probably never see a representative from Mr. Suzuki’s office. I would have to trust their accounting. I gave him our account number for the Hang Seng Bank, HSBC, a bank with a worldwide presence. We were to get an advance on the first catch which helped to stock the account. Sumitomo also paid a small advance. We would not be starting at zero, but we’d get there quickly once we had to start paying for things. I’d hold that off for as long as I could.
Fury (End Times Alaska Book 4) Page 14