Cliff Ryder - The Ties That Bind

"So you don't have any family at all?" she asked, the tone in her voice one of sorrow.

"Just me," he said. "But that's all I've ever needed anyway."

"No man can stand alone forever," she whispered, unconsciously echoing Denny's words.

"Maybe not," he said, gruffly. "But he can try."

They traveled another three hours before Jason began to see signs of life. As they rounded a small hill, avoiding a cluster of bone-white boulders, he saw the first cabin. Soon, more buildings appeared and Tina brought her ATV to a halt.

"Home," she said, pointing to the village at the bottom of the hill that was made up of buildings lined up in a jagged row that followed the edge of the water, but were far enough back that the occasional flooding wouldn't bother the residents.

Some of the buildings looked as modern as anything in Anchorage, but others showed they were from a forgotten era. Jason raised an eyebrow when he realized that at the far side of town there were a large number of tents erected. His gaze followed the line of tan canvas tents until they disappeared behind a low hill and went out of sight.

"What do you make of that?" he asked, pointing to the row of tents.

"Those tents belong to people who live on the outer rim. They come here to barter and trade for supplies before winter really sets in. Once it does, they have to make do with what they have. They are a beautiful people, living almost entirely off the land and staying close to their traditions."

She guided him to a small cabin on the outskirts of town. It wasn't nearly the size of the one that they had stayed in the night before, but was large enough to suit his needs. Jason set his bag on the sofa and surveyed the room. There was only one door in or out, and there was a woodstove instead of the roar of the fireplace.

"So, will this do?" she asked. "There's plenty of wood laid in, and the kitchen is stocked, too."

"Should be just fine," he said. "Where's your place?"

"Her place," said a deep voice from behind them, "is with me."

They both turned to see an old man standing in the doorway. He balanced his weight on his cane, pulling himself up to his full height, and doing his best to give off a sense of strength and intimidation.

"Grandfather," Tina said, "this is Jason Siku. He's the client I went to pick up in Anchorage."

She walked over to kiss him fondly on the cheek. He shared her eyes, but if he'd once had the same vibrant spirit as his granddaughter, time and the harsh roads he'd taken in life had worn it down to a nub. Still, he held the same air of confidence Jason had seen in many tribal elders. What he lacked in energy, he most likely made up for in hard-won wisdom.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Jason said. He moved closer to the old man and extended his hand.

Tanuk had a firm grip despite his age, and his dark, leathery skin had been weathered by the tough environment as much as by age. A small tattoo was inked at the base of his thumb, and though there was something familiar about it, Jason couldn't place it. He made a mental note to try to figure it out later.

He took Jason's hand and pulled him closer, his eyes staring at him intently.

"Siku," Tanuk said. "You must be related to Jesse. You look just like him."

Tina snapped her fingers. "You're right, Grandfather! He does look like Jesse. I've been trying to put my finger on why he looked so familiar. It never crossed my mind to consider someone right here in the village."

"Jesse?" Jason asked.

"He lives here," she said. "I'll be sure and introduce you. Maybe he's a long-lost relative or something. Now that I'm aware of it, you two really do look alike." She shook her head. "I can't believe I didn't put it together before. I'm supposed to be the observant one."

"Or maybe," Jason replied, thinking that running into a potential family member would only make this mission more difficult, "you could just show me around the village a little and then we can get some rest. There are a lot of areas I need to look at that could be of interest to my company."

Tina paused briefly, then nodded. "Sure. I'll meet you outside in ten."

Tina locked arms with her grandfather as they walked down the steps. The hard edge that he was coming to know in Tina's personality all but vanished as she walked along with the man who'd seen her through so much of her life. Once again, the thought crossed his mind that the choices he'd made in his life were causing him to miss out on other things, maybe things that were more important than he'd realized.

Maybe this might be the place to find those things, he thought. He shook his head. All of that would have to wait. The mission came first.

Maybe the difference between working for the CIA and Room 59 was that by their nature, Room 59 missions held the potential for more distractions and complications. Quite often, his previous work could have been boiled down to travel here, kill this dictator, come home. Repeat as needed. There were never personal aspects to the missions because it was never personal.

While he was waiting for Tina to return, Jason grabbed his GPS gear and some other equipment and put it all in a weatherproof backpack. He also changed clothes, opting for long silk underwear and multiple layers to try to stave off the cold a little better. He didn't know how long he'd be outside, but he absolutely needed to find a clear spot to set up the drop for his other equipment. His contacts would be expecting the signal and it would be a lot easier to handle in the little bit of daylight that was left rather than having to stumble around in the dark.

He left the cabin and found that Tina was waiting outside, but Tanuk was nowhere in sight.

"You must be tired," she said. "We can do this first thing tomorrow if you'd like."

The dusky horizon showed there was little time left to get the bearings he needed. He shook his head. "Just a quick tour so that I have a basic idea of the landscape and we'll call it a day," he said. "Timelines, you know."

"You keep mentioning this timeline," she replied. "If you shared it with me, I might be able to help you reach your goals."

"Unfortunately, I don't know the exact details myself quite yet. I'll get more information as I go along. The biggest hurry right now is just getting started. Once I do that, I'll know more from there."

"Still not willing to share the details?" she asked. She made a soft tsking noise. "You know, my grandfather believes that it's unhealthy to keep everything bottled up inside, but, hey, it's your life." She gestured in the direction of the coast. "Let's take a little walk that way, so you can at least avoid falling into the ocean."

"Well, I don't think I need that much hand-holding," he said. "I can usually tell if I'm at a waterline."

"The waterline isn't the problem," she said. "It's the tundra grasses." She pointed to the small peninsula-shaped fingers of grass that pointed out into the ocean. "The water slips beneath the tundra grasses, eroding the soil beneath but they look safe enough. It's hard to tell where the solid ones are versus the ones that are little more than plants on top of a thick layer of muck until it's too late. Some of them are actually quite deep."

"Deep enough to get swept away in?" he asked.

"Not usually," she said. "But what can happen is that the ground basically turns into quicksand, or even a sort of natural cement. It can leave you stuck out there all night and as you might imagine, it can get downright chilly before the sun comes up. Here, let me show you."

They walked up a slope at the center of the village. People waved and called out greetings to Tina as they walked past, but like any other small village he'd ever been in, they were uncertain of strangers and said little to him. They finished the short climb and came upon a beautiful view of the ocean. The cove below them was empty, waiting for the evening tide to roll in.