He pulled on his parka over his flight jacket and the mukluks on over his flying boots. He felt warm. Would his body heat keep the cockpit warm enough to live through the night? He decided his chances were as good here as out on the frozen surface of the wide Yukon River.
He wished he had a candle. The heat from a single candle could keep an enclosed space such as an ice cave, or a sealed cockpit, warm enough to survive extreme temperatures. He made a vow he would never venture into a subarctic mission without one ever again.
Pulling the wolf pelt parka tight, Jerry relaxed and tried to sleep despite the howling icy wind and his fear of freezing to death.
119
Nowitna, Provisional State of Doyon, Alaska Republik
“What the hell hit him?” Colonel Buhrman bellowed. “He was knocking the shit out of them and suddenly he goes down.”
“Could they have shot him down with one of those mercury bullets?” Lieutenant Colonel Smolst asked.
“I keep forgetting how good those people are with a rifle. That has to be it.”
“Which means there is still at least one man out there.”
“He’s probably headed for Klahotsa as fast as he can safely go. We have to go get Yamato’s body, or what we can find of it.”
Both men had seen the explosion far upriver and out in the middle of the frozen expanse between two of the icy islands. Nobody could have lived through that.
“I hope he didn’t blow a hole in the ice and the wreck sinks,” Buhrman said.
Smolst grunted. “No chance of that, Del. The Yukon ice is about twenty-five feet thick right now, and hard as concrete.”
Buhrman turned to Corporal Easthouse. “Get me General Grigorievich. I want to tell him myself.”
120
Delta, Provisional State of Doyon, Alaska Republik
Magda answered the knock on the door with a wide smile, expecting Jerry. Colonel Romanov stood there, blinking in the sudden light, looking grave.
“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.”
121
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.
122
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.”