Stoney Compton: Alaska Republik

“The Alaska variety sure isn’t. If it’s a bear out there, all we have to do is make a lot of noise and it will probably leave.”

“Probably? Why would it not?”

“It might be hungry.”

“Oh, shit.”

“Unless a bear is very old or injured, it would not be hungry this time of year. They live on fish, rodents, berries, and grubs. All are plentiful in late spring.”

“Then why is it here?”

“These creeks are full of grayling and trout. Didn’t you notice?”

“No.” He knew she was toying with his fears, but knowing that it probably wasn’t a hungry bear calmed him. “What about the dogs, will they go with me?”

“If there is trouble, I will send them to help.”

“I will see what is there.”

“Rudi, all sport aside, please be careful. Do not ever come between any animal and its young. If you do, it is the last the thing you will do.”

He stared into her eyes where all humor had evaporated. This wasn’t a joke.

“ Da. ” He picked up the rifle and ensured the firing chamber held a round. Thirty years of lessons and memories spread through him. A hunter of men, he carefully edged into the brush.

30 miles west-northwest of Delta

Colonel Del Buhrman waved his hand downward and the sixty men within view around him sank out of sight into the brush and trees. He pulled himself down behind a rock wreathed with bushes and peered ahead. A Russian soldier, his rifle carelessly resting across his shoulder, briefly ambled toward them.

Buhrman rested his elbows on the rock and eased the rifle barrel through the bushes, centered his sights on the man’s chest and waited. His index finger caressed the trigger.

The soldier stopped, peered back down the trail, and shrugged. He turned around and disappeared.

Colonel Buhrman pushed on the safety and moved the weapon to his side. Major Coffey slid up next to him.

“What’s the good word?”

“They have no idea we’re back here. Pass the word that the guys have done an excellent job of being invisible and Colonel Buhrman is pleased.”

“If I knew where they were, I’d tell Benny’s guys that too.”

“Joe,” Buhrman’s glance held a smile, “they might not even be out here. Wherever they’re at, we’re all on the same side.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to tell. You know that Benny will be where the action is, and that’s out here. Maybe I should have joined the Rangers. At least I’d get my name in the paper on a regular basis.”

“Notoriety is a double-edged sword, Major Coffey. If they don’t know who you are, they can’t blame you for not living up to their expectations.”

“How do you do it? No matter what I say, you point out how good I got it—and I always believe you!”

Colonel Buhrman laughed. “That’s one of the things I like about you, Joe, you’re gullible.”

They laughed quietly together.

“Tell Major Smolst I’d like to see him,” Colonel Buhrman said.

“Right away.” Major Coffey vanished silently into the brush.

Colonel Buhrman leaned against a tree a few feet from the large rock and slid down to a sitting position. He appreciated the respite but his eyes constantly moved over the terrain ahead of him.

Major Smolst suddenly squatted next to him. “You wanted to see me, Colonel?”

“You’re good, Heinrich. I didn’t hear you coming.”

“I didn’t want you to, sir.”

“You’re ex-Troika Guard, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir. Over twenty years.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re on our side and not theirs.” Buhrman nodded toward the rock in front of him. “How many Dená are with you?”

“A hundred and ninety-five, not counting me.”

“Any of your guys know this country?”

“Two are from Delta, and have hunted this area all their lives.”

“Perfect. I’d like to speak with them at their earliest convenience.”

Smolst nodded. “I’ll go get them now. You going to be in this spot?”

“Yep.”

58 miles south of Delta

Shouts of dominance and victory carried through the copse of willows and black spruce. A shot rang out and the cheering intensified. Jerry felt near panic. Where was Magda? Had they found her?

He stepped out onto the path, almost standing over the Russian captain’s body. A quick glance about found nothing and he steeled his resolve to go into their midst after her. He checked the machine pistol, making sure the safety was off.

“Lieutenant!” The whisper came from behind him and he whirled about to see Magda and the dogs deep in the willows.

“My God, you’re safe!”

“Shut up!” she hissed. “They are just down the road. If they catch us, they will kill us: you and my dogs immediately, me after they have had their fun.”

Jerry joined her in the brush. “What do you want to do?”

“What do you want to do?”

“You’re my guide, Magda. I agreed to follow your lead.”

“You saw what he did to the captain. These are rogues, without honor or discipline.”

“I think they have discipline,” Jerry said, maintaining his whisper. “But I don’t think they have any honor. Which to be honest, I considered just an abstract concept until about five minutes ago.”

“So what do we do?”

“I wish I knew what they were going to do. If they are headed for Delta, we have to take a different route—are there any?”

“Of course there are, but we’re talking about an extra day’s worth of walking. They will take the highway; we’ll have to follow the game trails.”

“Then let’s not waste any more time. I’ll follow you.”

“We need to move fast in order to warn the DSM.”

“The what?”

“The Dená Separatist Movement. That’s who you’re fighting for.”

“I thought this war was all new to you?”

“The war is,” she smiled, “but we’ve been part of everything else all along. Come now, we need to hurry.”

Frigid water swirled around Jerry’s hips as they forded yet another fast-moving tributary to the Delta River. The only good thing about being in the middle of a cold creek, he decided, was the lack of mosquitoes. The invasive insects droned in clouds all around the horizon.

Magda gave him something to rub on his exposed skin but the devils still found entry into his shirt and hovered around his face. As they approached the shore, he could see them hazing above the water.

“Do you have any more of that stuff?”

She pulled a vial from her pouch and handed it to him. “Use it sparingly; it’s all we have left.”

He rubbed it behind both ears and on the back of his neck before closing the vial tightly. Hours ago he had pulled off his flight suit and now wore his khaki fatigues.

He pulled the flight suit out of his bag, held it under water and, as they neared shore, wrapped it around his head and shoulders. Cold water cascaded over his face as he hurried up onto the shore.

“Move fast, maybe we can lose most of them,” he all but shouted.

“Make a little more noise and the Russians will bite you permanently!”

Jerry slowed and looked back at her. “I’m being eaten alive by flying needles and you’re worried about Russians? They won’t be out in this; they’re all sitting around smudge pots drinking vodka.”

“If you believe that, I’ll just let you stay here and die.”

Jerry bit his tongue to stop his heated answer. This was not the way to save Pelagian, Bodecia and Rudi. Nor was this the way to serve the Republic of California and the Dená Separatist Movement.

“I’ll try to make less noise if you will,” he said in his most jocular tone.