Stoney Compton: Alaska Republik

“May I come in?”

“Oh,” Magda said releasing a breath, unaware she had been holding it. “Of course, Colonel.” She shut the door behind him.

As soon as she had seen him, a dread descended upon her like a shroud of hooks. She didn’t want to know why he was here and not Jerry, yet she had to know instantly or go mad.

“What happened?” she asked.

Pelagian and Bodecia stood silently on the far side of the room.

“There was a band of killers attacking Nowitna. Colonel Buhrman called for air support. Jerry is the only pilot we have, so he went.”

“I thought I heard a plane,” Pelagian said, “but decided I was wrong.”

“Let the colonel finish, Father,” Magda said in a brittle tone.

“Yes, well, he was making his third strafing run over the outlaws and suddenly radioed that he was hit and going down. His engine ceased operating and he glided out over the Yukon.”

“Which is frozen solid this time of year,” Pelagian interjected.

“True,” Colonel Romanov said. “But Colonels Buhrman and Smolst both reported an explosion when the plane hit the ice.”

“D-did he have a parachute?” Magda asked, trying not to cry, seeking possibilities.

“Yes, but he wasn’t high enough to bail out, it wouldn’t have had time to open before…”

“He’s not dead. I would know if he was dead. And he’s not!”

Her mother came up behind her and put her arms around her, holding her tight. “Magda—”

She broke out of the embrace. “He’s not dead , dammit! I won’t believe he is until I see his body!”

Colonel Romanov threw out his hands. “We have no way of finding out, Magda. It’s hundreds of miles to Nowitna. It would take days to drive it in this weather.”

“Don’t you have a helicopter?” she demanded.

He blinked. “Yes, yes we do. I have dismissed it so often in the past—I will dispatch it at first light and we will investigate for ourselves.”

“I’m going with you, Colonel. Don’t you dare try to leave without me.”

Colonel Romanov looked at her parents.

“If it were Pelagian out there, I’d say the same thing,” Bodecia said. “Come on, Magda, let’s get you outfitted. It’s not only cold up there, the wind also blows like a banshee’s scream.”

On the Yukon River

Jerry roused from a light doze and looked around the cockpit. Frost covered everything and he wondered at his ability to see anything in the middle of the night. He looked straight up through the amazingly undamaged canopy and saw the full moon between gusting clouds of blowing snow.

Despite the circumstances, he felt warm and toasty. The thought of trudging across the lumpy, uneven surface of the Yukon held no appeal and he was happy he made the choice to stay with the plane. But how long could he stay here with no food and no water other than the canteen he always carried?

There were other natural processes to consider also. When his bladder signaled need of release, what would he do?

Cross that bridge when I come to it.

He closed his eyes and retreated into sleep.

The wind shrilled over the fuselage.

Klahotsa

The door of the general store crashed open and Bachmann started in alarm. Two snow-covered figures staggered in and kicked the door shut behind them.

“What’s going on?” Bachmann tried to make his voice hard with authority, but the words came out in a squeak.

“Don’t crap yourself, Bachmann,” Riordan growled. “It’s just me and N’go.” Both men went to the large pot-bellied stove in the middle of the room and all but embraced it.

“Where are the others? Why are you here? Did you find the people who attacked us?” He wanted to stop and make each question deliberate, something that must be answered immediately. But their arrival had brought fear into his soul and he wanted it evicted as soon as possible.

“Shut up,” Riordan said. “I’ll tell you everything, but just shut up.

“We surprised them with our tactic of shadowing our own scouts. Got two of the bastards, but they got our first man. They didn’t shoot him; they captured him.

“So we moved in to pick them off but nobody showed themselves. Not even a kid went outdoors. They were buttoned up tighter than a virgin’s blouse.

“It was close to dark so I decided to wait and we’d move in and take them all out, cabin by cabin. Somebody in there was smart enough to call in a fighter plane. It blew the hell out of us.

“When our men tried to run into the tree line, the people in the cabins picked them off. I put one of the mercury tips in my rifle and when the plane came at us again, I shot the pilot. The plane crashed and burned out on the Yukon.

“Never shot down a plane before…”

Bachmann realized that both men were exhausted. “All the others are dead?”

“Far as I know. Didn’t see anyone following us when we retreated.”

“Then these hunters at Nowitna know you all came from here.” Bachmann immediately wished he hadn’t said that out loud.

Riordan gave him a look of pure hatred. “You’re such a chickenshit. You worried that all your little schemes are going to come back to bite you in the ass? Afraid that you’re going to have to take responsibility for your own actions?”

“Riordan, you’re forgetting who’s in charge here!”

“Then act like it! We can still pull this thing off if you’ll stop pissing yourself.”

“How do you see it working now?” Hope hammered in Bachmann’s chest.

“Well, first we lay low for a while…”

Over the Alaska Republik

Magda tapped her foot on the aluminum deck as the helicopter racketed along below the clouds. Straps over her chest and lap kept her pinned firmly in the observer’s seat. At least she could watch the land beneath them.

The Captains Fedorov, as she called them in her mind, had maintained a running argument from the moment they took off over an hour ago.

“Georgi, we have ample fuel to reach Nowitna!”

“And if we spend too much time over target and run out of fuel, Ivan, who comes to search for us ? Are we not in the only helicopter in this country?”

“Where is the wild beast brother I once had? The one who loved to tweak the nose of chance?”

“He nearly bled to death last year. Don’t you remember? You were there, right where you’re sitting.”

“Give me heading for Tanana Aerodrome; we will refuel there.”

Magda smiled grimly. Colonel Romanov had told her these men were the best helicopter pilots in the Alaska Republik. However he had neglected to mention they were the only helicopter pilots in the Republik.

“There, Georgi, must be Tanana; aerodrome is immediately behind village according to map.”

“ Da, I see beacon. Oh look, they light up runway lights for us!”

“They have runway lights,” Ivan said in an awed whisper.

The radio crackled. “Delta helicopter, this is Tanana control. Follow the instructions of the landing officer with the wands.”

“Acknowledge, Tanana control. We see him.”

“Can you hear me, too?” a different voice said.

“ Da, loud and clearly.”

“Set down between me and the hangar, there.”

Through the blowing snow Magda could see the man with glowing orange wands in each hand. The wands went from far apart to close together and pointed toward a series of buildings with snow-packed roofs.

“Affirmative!” Georgi said and landed the machine without a bump.

Magda considered that they just might be good pilots after all, as long as they weren’t talking to each other. The rotors swooshed to a stop. The door next to Magda suddenly opened and a cold blast of air sent snow through the aircraft. Colonel Wing Grigorievich looked up at her.