The Russian colonel climbed from his helicopter and strode boldly across the tarmac of our airport, closed for ten months at that point. I got there quickly as I’d been in the community center, not far away. I had my .45 in my shoulder holster as I always did and hoped that I wouldn’t have to use it. The Russian troops’ AK-74 rifles would turn me into hamburger.
I asked the colonel to stop. He saluted and then spoke in perfect English.
“Governor Nagy, I presume,” he said. I took his hand and nodded. “We’re here to provide assistance as part of a complete assistance package. I have the papers here for you to sign.”
“That’ll be great,” I said sarcastically. “While we’re looking them over, get your men back on your choppers. As of right now, you look like invaders and not partners. Put them back on the choppers please or that paperwork, which may very well be something I’ll sign, will find its way shoved up your ass.” I glared at him, blocking his way from walking any further. The stare down lasted an uncomfortable amount of time, but I could not allow a foreign military to set up a security perimeter anywhere in Alaska. Not without our permission.
And we’d lose a fight with the Russians just as quickly as we’d lose a fight with the United States. It bothered me that I hadn’t thought of this course of action. With our declaration, we’d lost the security umbrella that was holding the Russian government back.
We stood nose to nose. As his men milled about, unsure of what to do, I carefully removed my .45 and pressed it into the man’s stomach. He finally broke eye contact and looked down. Floyd was standing next to me, watching him with the eyes of a predator.
“You see, I’m willing to die to protect this country. Are you willing to die to take it from me?” He held up his hands and waved his men back to the helicopter. I holstered my pistol. My hand was shaking slightly, but not from nerves. I’d been holding my breath, and I needed air.
“We have no intention of taking anything,” he said in a low voice, all attempt at being good-natured gone. “We want access to certain things, people, and places. We can’t deal with anarchy, so of course, we were going to assist your people in building a functioning government.”
“Russia? Help us build a functioning government? I didn’t think the heroin problem in your country had gotten so bad. Under no circumstances will we accept the assistance of your military in setting up a government,” I retorted, getting angrier with each passing moment. Floyd started to growl.
“You misunderstand us. We were only securing the area for our officials who will arrive once we can guarantee their safety. It is what you would call the Wild West out here, is it not?”
“It is not, Colonel. You can put your weapons away. You’ll see for yourself.” I waved an arm expansively at the desolation in the immediate vicinity of the airport. A movement caught my eye. Chris riding toward us on his bike. When he arrived, I introduced him.
After they shook hands, I asked Chris to call Frank and tell him that a Russian fleet was probably off Anchorage and had invaded our sovereign territory and to request assistance. The colonel raised one eyebrow.
“We will always welcome representatives, but not when they lead with their military. Here’s my phone number, now pack up your boys and go home. If your representative still wants to come, you have my personal guarantee that he or she will be safe. They can land here and we will keep ourselves to the airport,” I told him.
“If it is safe, why do you carry your pistol?”
“I’m sorry, are you trying to be funny? A foreign nation just invaded my country carrying their rifles and established a security perimeter and you wonder why I’m armed? Wolves is why, Colonel, both human and animal. Floyd can’t fight them all off himself.” My dog cocked his head.
“Fair enough, Governor. I shall return to the ship and report my findings,” the colonel replied. He started to walk away, but I stopped him.
“These birds can’t make it here and back from Anchorage. Where’s your FOB, Colonel?” I knew they had to have established a forward operating base. He shrugged. Even if he’d told me, there wouldn’t have been anything we could have done about it, not more than we were already doing. If the Russians had people ashore when the U.S. Navy showed up, then they’d have problems.
“And Colonel? Don’t ever come back here like this again. If you want to start a shooting war, that will be the way to do it.” He didn’t acknowledge that he heard me, but I’d read all the UN reports regarding their last attack on Alaska. Although the United States had negotiated us away in order to get peace, the damage to the entire world was significant. When the UN heard that Russia had returned to its aggressive ways, they would not be pleased.
I could always hope for trade embargoes, but any military action would take forever to arrive and then the blue hats would never leave. No, we’d ask Japan to register the complaint on our behalf if the U.S. did not.
Chris’s phone call to Frank was quick. I expected Frank to turn it around instantly and start talking with everyone he’d been in touch with, to include the skipper of the new destroyer.
“How many foreign ministers, secretary of state types are you in contact with?”
“If I told you six, would you think I was a slacker?” he answered with a grin.
“That’s five more than I would have if I were you, so why don’t you give them a call, let them know about our uninvited guests and that we would appreciate their raising awareness in the UN so everyone can rattle sabers and give each other mean looks. I know how you diplomat types are. All talk and no swagger,” I answered.
He poked me in the chest and then walked away, dialing the first number.
“What do you think, Floyd? Next time, you bite the bad men?” I said happily and Floyd thought we were playing. It was the parking apron of the airport so there wasn’t anything to throw, so I slapped at his doggie face, and he started hopping about, getting into play pose and darting at me.
He tackled me and we rolled around on the concrete for a bit before I surrendered.
When Chris finished his conversations, we talked. “We have to have a council meeting as soon as possible. Things are running away from us and we need to get everyone to worry about what’s not in their control.” I was being sarcastic. They deserved to know what was going on even if they had no influence on its outcome. Maybe we were becoming more bureaucratic than I wanted.
We threw Chris’s bike in the truck and headed back to the community center. We talked about our plan to engage the good people of New Fairbanks without getting them overly excited. We did not want to be in the middle of the proxy war. We needed someone in the United Nations to continually take the pulse of our competitors. Both the U.S. and Russia had done things outside of international norms. A blockade was an act of war as was a military invasion.
At the community center, Chris pulled his bike out and leaned it against the wall, all the time looking at the ground.
“Did we start something that we can’t control, Chuck? Will they bomb us? I don’t know if I can go through another iteration of what they did to the resort,” Chris asked. I couldn’t know that answer, but Chris and I both needed reassuring.
“If they were willing to bomb us, then they wouldn’t have left so readily, would they? And one destroyer can hardly blockade all of Alaska. It’s like they are playing a game, toying with us, seeing what we’ll do. They have to know we have no way to resist them. Maybe they’re doing as much as they can with available money. That tells me there isn’t any for oversea adventures. I don’t know, Chris, I’m just thinking out loud. My mind is racing. How’s little Hermione doing?” I asked, trying to rid myself of the thought that I was leading these people to ruin.
“She has a boyfriend,” he said flatly. I started laughing because he sounded like the Grim Reaper had just walked over his grave. “Be cool, Chuck! It’s Bill.”
It sounded like
he’d spoken the name of a serial killer.
“All we can do is the best we can do, my friend. Raise them right, put the fear of life and death into them for misadventures, and then watch them blossom. At least Diane is fourteen now, that much closer to her wedding date. What do you think of our kids getting married at sixteen?”
Chris hung his head. “I’d rather fight the Russians,” he said, nodding with a growing smile.
We went inside to work, but I was at a loss as to what to do. Everything seemed hopeless. Terri showed up and I talked with her about the new development. She sat there and looked at me. I was getting frustrated. I wanted to know what to do.
“How are you feeling,” she finally asked.
“I feel like I should lay down on the couch. Am I getting my head shrunk, Mrs. Major Horny?” I asked.
She gave me a quick stink eye, but shrugged it off. “Well?”
“I’m losing hope. I didn’t think it would be easy, but Sumitomo came in with shiploads of materials and supplies, people and equipment. They were up and running in weeks. They showed us what was possible. Maybe I want too much of that and none of this political, diplomatic posturing. It makes me tired,” I replied. I moved around the desk to sit next to her so I could hold her hand.
“Patience. If you set things up and wait long enough, maybe what you want will come to you.” She looked out the window as she spoke.
Her hand was warm and it fit so well in mine. I looked at our hands and wondered.
I heard the phone ring in Chris’s office. He sounded pleased. Maybe that was one less thing to worry about.
“Chuck!” he yelled. I jumped at the intrusion into my thoughts. Terri stood and pulled me to my feet, holding me close.
“Patience, my love,” she whispered.
“Chuck!” Chris yelled again.
“It’s really hard to be patient when people are yelling,” I replied, kissing her passionately and forgetting that we were standing so we could go see what Chris wanted.
He was the impatient one as he walked into my office and stood there, waiting.
“I wouldn’t have come either if I were you,” he finally said after a robust cough announced his presence. The sparkle in her eyes almost drew me back in.
“I’ll be waiting for you at home,” she said over her shoulder as she headed out. “Good to see you, Chris!”
“Holy crap, Chuck! I think I actually saw sparks,” Chris said with a touch of envy. I was uncomfortable and looked at the floor, shifting my feet. Floyd sniffed at something under my desk. “It’s okay, Chuck. You had the same thing with Madison. I’m not judging you. I’m happy for you. How miserable would you be if you kept mourning her? Could you do what you need to do to help the rest of us? That answer is no. Terri is good for you. She’s good for all of us.” He put his big hand on my shoulder and looked down at me.
“Life here is hard. Even as much as we’ve tried to improve our conditions, we have to work for everything we get, scraping it from the ground using our hands, killing it and dragging it home like freaking cavemen. If you don’t have to do it alone, you don’t. Your relationship with Madison made life worth living and now with Terri, it’s a new life, and it’s worth living. Don’t you ever be embarrassed about being in love!” Chris cautioned and he shook me.
I needed that.
“The call. Frank says that the destroyer high-tailed it out of there, heading west. The ship that had been held up only lost one day. It’s now in port and unloading. Thank God for that, huh?” Chris said.
“Like you said, we have to dig it out of the dirt with our bare hands. Every little crumb we follow will lead us to the loaf of bread. As long as the Russians and Americans want to fight it out at sea, I’m good with that. A land war here would kill us all. Last time we lost what, ninety-eight percent of our population? More?” Chris nodded.
I called Frank back to ask about the amount of gold going out. Sumitomo told him that chemical leaching would begin soon on the tailings from the first month of their operation. They’d already hit one hundred ounces which they estimated was twenty-five percent of the total ore within the rock. Sumitomo hoped to get another three hundred ounces from what they’d already mined. At twenty-five hundred dollars an ounce, the numbers were starting to add up quickly.
I dialed the number to the CEO of Sumitomo Corporation. He answered on the first ring, not the secretary, but the man himself.
“I’m sure you’ve already heard that your supply ship is in dock and unloading,” I started.
“Yes, I saw the report come across my desk. What did you do to end the blockade?” he asked.
“The States tell me that it isn’t a blockade, but we didn’t do anything to get your ship into port. The Russians showed up and now the two big bullies are facing off somewhere south of Anchorage.” I didn’t know what else to share with him. I didn’t want to waste his time.
“I will make a couple of phone calls,” he said mysteriously as he signed off. I didn’t think his calls would bear much fruit, but it was better than nothing.
“I’d love to stay, Chris, but someone will be waiting for me at home,” I suggested. Chris raised an eyebrow as he looked at me.
“I never took you for a dirty old man, Chuck, but here you are, in all your glory.” I knew I should have taken exception to that characterization, but I couldn’t. Puritan thoughts were not running through my mind. “We need to set up a council meeting for tonight. If you could handle contacting the members on your way home, we’ll call it a day. See you later, then?” Chris asked, although it couldn’t have been a question. Maybe he thought this dirty old man would lose his way and fall asleep.
“Of course, Terri and I will both be here. We’ll bring Aeryn, too.” Chris left me at that.
Having the truck made my life easy. I knew how little I liked riding my bike and would avoid it if I could. I didn’t mind walking, but that usually took more time than I had. I drove easily, not wanting to waste gas as I went from one council member’s home to the next. Of course, all the original Community members had a role in the Council if they wanted. Other newcomers balanced the old school members. Newcomers who’d been here at least five years. After the initial year of surviving, the last five had been the hardest.
We’d learned to cut wood with minimal power tools. We’d made do without electricity by producing candles. We’d dug outhouses because we didn’t have running water. We’d scavenged far and wide for wood stoves that we learned to cook on.
We made do. It was barely better than the most basic subsistence living.
We had our pride and we had each other. Outside of that, we were on our own.
When I finally made it home, my exuberance at knowing that Terri was there and waiting for me was somewhat dampened. I couldn’t help but feel that I was continuing to let the good people of Alaska down.
I sat on the porch while Floyd played in the yard. Terri joined me. She was wearing an apron since she’d been cooking.
“I heard that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. So I used our small stash of flour to make pot pies. I hope you don’t mind. Now that you’re home, I’ll throw them into the Dutch oven and let’s say, thirty minutes until they’re ready? Why you don’t you go get cleaned up, change into something a little easier to rip off later?” she said casually, watching me keenly.
I wanted to be angry. I wanted to go out and fight the world, but I was so tired. I nodded and took myself inside for a shower.
After that, I put on shorts and a t-shirt. It was warm out, and although we usually dressed in long pants and long sleeves because of the mosquitoes, I didn’t plan on going back outside for a while.
“Self-doubt?” she asked.
“Wow. That’s it, huh? I don’t even have to speak and you know. It’s like we’ve been married for a while,” I replied, studying the features of her fa
ce. “How did I get so lucky, twice?”
“Good things come to those who deserve it, Chuck. We’ve been together for eleven years, ever since I first tried to shoot you. By the way, who in this house hasn’t tried to shoot you?”
The pot pies saved me from continuing the verbal aerobatics, as delightful as they were. Dinner was incredible because it had three things going for it – it was something new, it had a bread-like crust, and I didn’t have to cook it. I was still getting used to that last part.
Terri had cooked eight pies, but since no one else showed up, we slipped upstairs for a little low calorie dessert.
We were lounging when the first of the twins arrived home. Aeryn and Toby spotted the pot pies and dug in. Charles arrived closely after them and helped himself. I was happy to find out that Diane was at home. I thought time apart would help the time pass when it seemed that they were always together.
My joy was short-lived as she strolled in not long after Charles. She took a pie and then Charles and Toby finished off the last two. Baby Madison was alert and watching the world. When I picked her up and started carrying her around, she began to cry. I took her outside, but brought her back in after the mosquitoes staged a full aerial assault on us both.
I handed her back to her mother, and she instantly calmed. Aeryn smiled and cooed at her. Toby smiled at both of them. I could not have been more pleased to see them happy. Diane and Charles played with the baby while Aeryn and Toby cleaned up. I watched my family, understanding readily that there would be more grandchildren.
“Council meeting tonight and we need you guys there,” I said, looking at Aeryn and Toby, but Charles and Diane also committed to going.
“I told my parents that I’d meet them there. Can I ride with you guys?” Diane asked in her musical voice. I watched my son and I was certain that he was as taken with her as she was with him.
Maybe their match was made in heaven, or the wilds of a new Alaska. I had to admit that I thought the world of her parents, and Lucas still owed me for pulling him out of the airplane and saving his life; at least that’s what he thought. In my mind, we were even ten times over. When the day came, I’d be proud to have Diane as my daughter-in-law, although she already called me Dad.
Fury (End Times Alaska Book 4) Page 18