by Alex Archer
There couldn’t be much danger in that, could there?
She grinned in spite of the cold, feeling her skin almost crack as she did so.
Derek noticed the expression on her face and nodded. “Maybe we should get inside.”
“Good idea.” She glanced back at their driver, who seemed to be paying more attention to the vehicle than to them. She turned and followed Derek inside the welcome center.
She passed a display showing a map of the area. She stopped Derek. “Will we be working out of the town here?”
He shook his head. “Nope. This is just our waypoint. We’ve got a temporary camp set up closer to the drill site. I mean the future drill site.”
“Right now, it’s still sacred Inuit land.”
“Araktak, to be accurate. They’ve been around these parts for—”
“A thousand years, you told me.” Annja nodded. “I’m sure they’ve got an incredible history.”
Derek frowned. “I wouldn’t know. They’re not one of the larger tribes in the area. They’ve remained incredibly independent despite the efforts to unify the smaller tribes into a larger one for the purposes of government help and education. I don’t think there’s a lot known about them.”
“Interesting.”
“It might be another coup for you.”
Annja frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Derek smiled. “I know you’ve had a number of interesting discoveries in your time. Things you’ve had the good fortune to stumble across before anyone else. Perhaps the Araktak can be another jewel in your crown of accomplishments.”
“Maybe,” Annja said. “I wouldn’t be looking at it as a way of one-upping my peers, though.”
“Of course not,” Derek said. “It would just be another one of those nice things that some people have happen.”
Annja frowned as she watched him walk away. What was his deal? She’d noticed he didn’t wear a wedding ring and although he seemed young, she could see the first streaks of gray hair marking their invasion at his temple. She estimated he was probably around forty. He seemed in good shape, and despite his avowed hatred of the cold, it hadn’t seemed to bother him too much when they’d been outside.
Maybe he’s used to it by now, she thought.
The display told Annja that Inuvik was small, only about three thousand people in total. It hadn’t been much of anything before 1979, but now it functioned as something of a gateway to the Mackenzie River and beyond into the Beaufort Delta, which bordered the Arctic Ocean.
Derek reappeared behind her. “The main function of the town is to act as a staging area for truckers to haul loads up to the refinery projects on the delta. Once the river freezes, they actually drive across the frozen water to reach their destinations.”
Annja frowned. “You’re not serious.”
“I absolutely am.”
Annja shook her head. “You’d never get me driving over ice like that. One wrong move, if it’s not thick enough and you could go right through and never be seen again.”
“Very true. Many truckers have lost their lives to it, but then again, up here, it’s the only way to get things done.”
“I hope you’re not going to tell me that the drill site is located anywhere near this frozen river.”
Derek smiled. “Would you want to back out if it was?”
“Very possibly.”
“And what about all that money?”
“Money’s nice. Living is nicer.”
Derek grinned. “Well, don’t worry about it too much. The drill site lies inland, lucky for you.”
Annja heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank God for small favors.”
Derek eyed her. “You don’t strike me as someone afraid of much, especially a little frozen river.”
“The frozen river doesn’t scare me,” Annja said. “But falling through the ice and drowning does.”
Derek waved his hand. “I wouldn’t worry about drowning. The moment you hit the ice water, you’d probably go into cardiac arrest anyway.”
“Lovely. Thanks for making me feel better.”
“My pleasure.” He gestured to the room. “Anything else you want to see here?”
“You’re finished with whatever we came in for?”
“I simply wanted to introduce you to the town. Figured it would be a nice way to ease you into things.”
“Ease me into things.” Annja pursed her lips. “You’re just full of contradictions, aren’t you?”
“How do you figure that?”
“Because you basically kidnapped me earlier at our meeting. And now you’re talking about slowing down.”
“Well,” Derek said. “I was sort of under orders not to let you back out of the arrangement. Not to give you an opportunity to say no. That kind of thing.”
“I see.”
“But now that you’re here in town, well, it’s different, isn’t it?”
“If you say so.”
Derek checked his watch. “We’re not going any farther today anyway.”
“So, we’ll stay here tonight?”
“Yup. Got us set up with reservations at the town inn. It’s just down the street.”
“And what time will we be on the road tomorrow.”
“Early as we can.”
Annja nodded. “All right. Let’s go.”
Outside the welcome center, the wind had picked up, making Annja’s face instantly feel as if it was baked leather. “I’m going to make a moisturizer company rich off of me,” she muttered.
Derek smiled. “Believe it or not, you do get used to it.”
“If you say so.”
They slid back into the vehicle and the driver gunned the engine before shooting down the road. As they drove through the town, Annja spotted a number of kids out walking with their parents.
“It amazes me what human beings can put up with,” she said.
“It’s just one of those things, right?” Derek said. “If you don’t have the option to move elsewhere, you simply adapt. I think it’s our greatest strength. It’s what will someday enable us to colonize another planet.”
“And hopefully treat it better than we’ve done with this one.”
“Ouch.”
Annja glanced at him. “Don’t worry, I won’t get preachy with you.”
“Thanks.” He shrugged. “It’s not like I don’t care for the planet. It’s just that I’ve had to reconcile my work with my beliefs.”
“And the bank account won, huh?”
“Sure did.”
“I’m sure you must sleep easy at night.”
“I sleep well knowing I’ve taken care of my children.”
Annja looked back from the window. “You have kids?”
“Two of them. A boy and a girl. Eight and ten. Great kids. They live in California with their mother.” He shrugged again. “We’re divorced. She didn’t approve of my line of work.”
“What does she do?”
“She’s an advocate for Greenpeace,” he said, laughing.
“Wow, how the hell did you two even get together in the first place?”
Derek smiled. “I wasn’t always a corporate lackey. Before I sold my soul I was a lobbyist for the environment on Capitol Hill. We met at a luncheon or a dinner or something in Washington. We were young. Idealistic. We had plans at one point to start a utopian community in the Canadian wilderness.”
“So, what happened?”
“I came north to scout a location and somehow fell in with the mining corporation. They appreciated my zeal for causes near and dear to my heart. I thought Canada would be the best place to raise our children. The government at the time in the U.S. was something of a joke.”
“Your wife didn’t want to move to Canada?”
“Nope. Turns out she was still a bit of a patriot. She insisted that we raise the kids in the States.”
“And around that time, the corporation got their hooks into you—is that about right?”
“Y
es. They offered me a public-relations job helping them get government approval for a project that didn’t pan out. I figured they’d let me go once it became obvious that we were digging in the wrong location. But that didn’t happen. Instead, they recognized what I’d been able to do for them and they promoted me.”
“They must have seen something they liked,” Annja said. “One of those lucky breaks in life, huh?”
“Well, it came with a big pay raise and now I get to spend lavishly on my kids, much to the dismay of their mother. But I don’t get a lot of time with them, so it’s my prerogative to do what I choose with my money. And, like I said, it helps me sleep at night. If anything happens to me, they’re set for life.”
“I suppose that’s what it’s all about, huh?”
“Anything for my kids,” Derek said. “Absolutely.”
Annja nodded and went back to looking out the window. “I wouldn’t know about that yet.”
“Kids?”
“Yeah. Maybe someday.”
“You’re attractive. I don’t think you’ll have a problem finding a husband if that’s what you want.”
She glanced at him. “Did your files tell you about my personal life, as well?”
Derek grinned. “Our information tends to be very complete. We need an accurate picture if we’re going to commit serious money to working with a certain person.”
“I’m not sure I’m all that crazy about how much you seem to know about my life.”
“It’s nothing personal, Annja. We take this approach with everyone we work with. The corporation is very concerned about the people it lets in on its secrets. News of this drill site isn’t even something that most people know about. At least not yet. Once we strike pay dirt, it will make headlines.”
“There’s that much riding on this?”
““Even more,” Derek said. “If our figures turn out to be correct, and there’s every indication they will, then this mine will make Ekati look like a lemonade stand.”
“Colorful.”
“We think we could double their annual yield,” Derek said. “If not triple it.”
“A billion dollars a year.” Annja whistled. “That would be impressive.”
“With a substantial bonus for everyone involved.”
“Even a contractor like me?” Annja asked.
Derek shrugged. “Just do your job and get us the clearance we need from the Araktak elders. At that point, anything’s possible. Even for a contractor like you.”
Annja nodded. “I’ll remember that.”
“Please do. But just as certainly remember that you’ve only got four weeks. After that, no one wins. Least of all you.”
3
The SUV came to a stop in front of a long, squat building with a wooden sign twisting about in the stiff wind. Annja could just make out the name of the inn as The Breton. “This is where we’re staying?”
Derek nodded. “I imagine it will seem quite luxurious, especially once you see the dig site.”
Annja frowned. “I’ve stayed in worse.”
“I’ll bet the Philippines jungle was terrible by contrast.”
“You know about that, too, huh?” Annja shook her head. “Just know that for all your information, I’ve still got more than enough secrets to keep myself warm at night.”
“I don’t doubt that,” Derek said. “But we aren’t looking to pry all of your secrets out of you. If that was the case, we’d be using something a lot more painful on you.” He smiled. “Just joking.”
“I’ll bet.”
Derek opened the door and a brisk gust of wind greeted them as they stepped out of the vehicle. He nodded at their driver. “Godwin will see to our bags. Let’s get inside.”
Annja glanced at the driver. Godwin? It was an unusual name. She hadn’t actually been introduced to the man. But she shrugged and followed Derek inside.
He pushed through the heavy door and a wall of heat met them, scaring off the thunderous cold wind. Derek took a deep breath. “Toasty in here.”
The man behind the counter smiled. “Welcome, folks.”
Derek smiled. “You’ve got some reservations for us, I believe. They should be under the name Mr. Smith.”
Annja cocked an eyebrow. Derek waved her off and then turned back to the man. “Should be three rooms in total.”
The counterman nodded. “Yep, got ’em right here.” He winked. “Not like we’d be full up or nothin’. Don’t exactly get ourselves a bumper crop of tourists this time of year.”
“We’ll just be here for the night,” Derek said.
“Pushing on in the morning, are you? Fair enough. Just sign in. It’s cash only, mind you, so if you’ve got anything plastic, there’s a bank machine down the road at Terry’s Trading Post.”
Derek pulled out his wallet and fished out several bills. “Cash is fine.”
The man took the money and laid three keys down on the counter. “Right, you’re all next to each other. Hope you don’t mind. It’s easier this way to know where you’re all at.”
Derek handed one of the keys to Annja and turned back to the man. “What’s good around here for a meal?”
“We don’t have anything fancy.”
“I don’t care about fancy. Just good.”
“Well, then, you can’t do any better than the steak house across the street. They do a great porterhouse. Keep a couple of beers on tap, as well. It’s a fine meal. Finish it off with a single malt and you’ll be back in time for a toasty night here in your bed.”
Derek nodded. “Sounds good. Thanks.”
“Where’s your third party?” the man asked.
The door to the inn banged open and Godwin came through the door carrying an assortment of traveling bags. He looked even taller and more imposing in the close confines of the inn’s reception area. And he didn’t seem to smile all that much.
“I’ll need some clothes,” Annja said to Derek. “If you recall, we didn’t stop like you promised.”
Godwin set down a bag near Annja. “You’ll find everything you need in there, Miss Creed.”
Annja looked at the bag and then back at Godwin. “My clothes?”
Godwin shrugged. “All new. With the equipment you might need for your work. If there’s anything else you require, please let me know and I’ll see that you get it as soon as possible.”
Annja glanced at Derek. “Is this more of your paid-for information at work?”
He shrugged. “Discerning your size isn’t much of a challenge. And we did enough research to know what you’d need. You’ll find it all there.”
“You must have been incredibly confident that I would agree to work with you.”
“I was.”
“Are you ever wrong?”
Derek smiled. “Only about my ex-wife.”
Annja allowed herself a small grin. “I’m hungry.”
Derek nodded. “Let’s get changed and meet back here in what—twenty minutes?”
“Sure.”
Derek handed the final key to Godwin. “You’ve secured the vehicle?”
“Yes, sir.”
“All right, let’s see to our rooms.”
They walked down the corridor and one by one they each entered a room.
Annja took a moment to examine her surroundings. The room was small but functional. A single lamp on the bedside table gave off a warm glow of light. The bed was a double, big enough for one but not much more. Annja smiled to herself. As if she’d be getting lucky in a town like this.
She threw her bag on the bed and unzipped it. She pulled out three heavy sweaters, thermal underwear, fleece pants, lined jeans, turtlenecks and then a heavy parka, gloves and a thick woolen hat. Godwin had thoughtfully removed all the tags and stickers that would have marked the clothing as new. Annja couldn’t even see where he might have purchased the clothes from, but judging by the feel of them, they were expensive and perfectly suited to the environment she’d be operating in.
Annja stripped
off her clothes and dressed in the thermal underwear, turtleneck, jeans and sweater before sliding into the parka. She looked at herself in the mirror and decided that the road hadn’t made her look like a total mess, although the cold was already working on her face. She’d need to remedy that before bed tonight.
She sat on the edge of the bed and took out her cell phone and punched in a number back in New York. The phone buzzed three times and then her voice mail at her place in Brooklyn picked up. Annja punched her code in and recorded a message she’d recorded a thousand times before.
“Hi, you’ve reached Annja Creed. I’m out digging in the dirt somewhere. Leave me a message and I’ll call you back once I get home.”
She disconnected and checked her watch. Time to go.
Back in the lobby, Godwin was already there, watching the satellite TV in the corner of the room. He looked up as Annja entered and nodded as if confirming something in his mind.
Annja did a quick pirouette as she entered. “You like?”
He almost smiled. “Everything fits you properly. That’s good. It means I did my job well.”
“Thank you,” Annja said. “I was a bit worried when I suddenly found myself employed earlier this afternoon.”
“Mr. Wainman was quite explicit in his instructions. I would be upset if something didn’t fit you properly. Up here in these parts, proper fit isn’t a matter of fashion—it’s a matter of survival. If your body heat isn’t adequately managed, you’ll die from exposure.”
“You sound like you know your way around these parts.”
“I do. My ancestors have lived in this area for generations. Longer than that even.”
“Araktak?”
He nodded. “I’m half. My father married outside the family. It didn’t go over so well, but then again, the course of true love never did run smooth. Isn’t that what they say?”
“Some of them.”
“Well, I’ve never really belonged to the family. My mother was an outsider, so her blood in mine makes me the same.”
“They won’t take you in as one of their own?”
“Not the Araktak. They’re far too proud to admit a half-breed.”
Annja frowned. “Their loss, then. From what I can see, they’d do well to accept you as family. You don’t look like you’d accept such discrimination easily.”