“I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t asking for a rifle, but hoping that you might be able to bag one for us, that’s all. I can’t take your rifle.” Daniel tried to give the rifle back, but Lucas held up his hands.
“If this works out like it’s supposed to, I suspect we’ll need to do less hunting. My future son-in-law is a master hunter. I think he’ll provide for my whole family.” Lucas tipped his chin toward me.
“You don’t look old enough to have a daughter who’s getting married. And your son?” he asked, confused. I looked old enough to be Lucas’ father. “Your son?” Daniel looked at Terri but she shook her head and pointed back to me. “No matter. It looks like that’s a good story for a different time. I need to get some stuff inside. Evelyn is in the kitchen, but we’re in between meals. No matter, we can whip something up for you if you’d like.” The aircrew nodded, introduced themselves and all seven of us took an armload as we headed inside.
Two trips by the group saved Daniel a lot of work. He locked the rifle and ammunition in a closet until he could get out later that evening to try for his first caribou.
Floyd joined us inside, happy to be able to spread out. He helped himself to a love seat in the lobby, and when I tried to chase him down, Daniel said it was okay. Their little girl climbed up with him, using his body as a big hairy recliner.
Lunch was a soup made from a stock, canned vegetables, and canned chicken. It was good, but fresh caribou would have made it great.
We all agreed on that. Chicken seemed bland after years of eating moose, caribou, and bear.
We said our goodbyes and continued to Valdez. Chris kept the satellite phone with him as our spokesman with everyone outside Alaska, so I wasn’t able to call Frank as we entered the homestretch to the port city. With only fifty miles to go, we blew something and a huge cloud of smoke erupted from the engine. Lucas shut the truck down and coasted to the shoulder. When he looked inside, he confirmed the worst. A cracked manifold. He couldn’t fix it with what we had.
“Fifty miles. We can walk there in two days. If we could get in touch with the port, then Frank could drive his truck up here and get us. But we have no way to call him. So, everyone load up and let’s start walking. We can leave the heaviest stuff here and come back for it,” I said, looking at the aircrew bags. They had all their stuff and there was no way they could walk for fifty miles carrying it.
They nodded and stripped down to the absolute essentials. We locked as much inside the truck as we could, although that was probably unnecessary. Then we started walking, making five miles the first day. We slept under the stars, bundled up in whatever we had, and started early the next morning. Around mid-morning, we heard a semi coming. We waited by the side of the road and we tried to wave them down, but they flew past, a convoy of six semis and two tankers. The Japanese drivers nodded and waved politely as they passed, keeping their eyes on the road.
They had probably been going one hundred miles an hour, which meant that even after offloading, they could be driving back this way in four or five hours. Disappointed, we kept walking. I hoped that they would call for help, if they had that capability, or at least stop for us on their way back to Valdez.
Two hours later, we saw a familiar truck approach.
Frank pulled up next to us, asking if we needed a ride. The drivers had notified their dispatch who let Frank know. He figured it was us, so he fueled up and headed out. Lucas wanted to tow his old truck to Valdez where he hoped to find a new manifold.
Frank waved that idea away. “Just take one of the trucks that Sumitomo brought for our use. We have a fleet of them, but we also have a new development.”
I waited for more information as we transferred everything from the dead truck into the back of Frank’s ride.
“The U.S. Navy is sitting off the twelve-mile limit. They haven’t done anything, not yet anyway.”
“That’s good news in one sense. If they are staying at the twelve-mile limit, they recognize our sovereignty. I need to go talk with them,” I said. “Can we get a trawler to take me out?”
“You can always talk to them over the ship’s radio,” Frank suggested. That wouldn’t work as well. I wanted to look my fellow military member in the face, see the leadership for who they were.
“You, I, and Terri will request a ride for first thing in the morning, assuming one of the ship captains will be amenable. We’ll call the Navy and let them know that we’re coming.” I stopped talking as I needed to think about various conversations. Clearly, confrontation wouldn’t work. A blockade would kill us, and the UN was waffling on their support for our new nation. Once again, we had to take care of ourselves.
If they could afford a blockade, then they could have afforded to take care of us in the first place. I started to get angry again, which made me start wheezing as I struggled to breathe. Terri held my hand and caressed my arm. She knew of my inner turmoil and how anxiety set me up for an asthma attack.
Frank looked concerned, so I closed my eyes and tried to relax. When the truck stopped, I opened my eyes, and we were there, within Valdez. Frank took us to his house. He had one spare bedroom where we’d stay. We dropped off the aircrew at the town’s one hotel. I had no idea how long they’d be there. The Navy destroyer suggested that the ferry wouldn’t be coming any time soon.
We went to the wharf as soon as possible, found a trawler captain who was working on his nets and asked to use his radio. He waved his needle at the boat’s deckhouse and returned to sewing. We helped ourselves to his radio, calling on the channel that was displayed, having no idea if the Navy monitored that one. After five minutes with no answer, Terri asked the captain which channel we needed to use. He harrumphed, but Terri’s eyes sparkled, and he had to help her.
He dialed in a new number and nodded. After one try, the Navy responded. “USS Gridley responding to unknown caller. Please be advised that the waters beyond the twelve-mile defense zone have been declared off limits to all people of Alaska.”
“Well now, that was expected. Maritime law, Frank. Isn’t a blockade an act of war?” He nodded. I looked to Terri as she watched me closely. She wanted to be sure I was calm. She put her hand on my arm and mouthed “I love you.”
It was hard to be angry after that.
“USS Gridley. The nation of Alaska recognizes your country’s acceptance of the twelve-mile limit of our territorial waters. Since you’ve accepted Alaska’s ownership of the waters, your blockade of a sovereign nation is illegal and an act of war. Have you declared war on us?”
There was an abnormally long silence. We smiled at each other. Leave it to the government to force the military to do something without clear guidance. They probably wanted the destroyer to intimidate us. That wasn’t going to work.
“No,” came the long awaited answer.
“In any case, I would love a face to face parlay. You understand that we have no weapons that would be any threat to your ship, so we grant you safe passage as a representative of the United States. Your ship will remain the sovereign territory of the U.S. When you arrive at the wharf, you can dock or send a Johnny boat or we can come to you. I simply want to talk to you face to face, like real human beings do, especially since we’re both military men. Let’s talk and see what’s next.”
“The USS Gridley accepts your offer of safe passage. We will approach and use the launch to come ashore. See you in a couple hours.”
“That gives us home field advantage, doesn’t it? Makes me wish we had some fresh caribou,” I said, looking at Lucas and Terri. Lucas shrugged and made a finger pistol, then waved it away. He’d given his rifle to Daniel. It was all on me, but Frank came to the rescue.
“A couple moose wandered into town. They didn’t make it far. I think we can probably rustle up some moose, plus we have all kinds of food now, thanks to Sumitomo. We can put out a nice spread. What do you say we set up on the wharf itsel
f. Looks like a beautiful day. We’ll have to keep the seagulls away, but otherwise, I think we can make it top notch. Let me take care of it. I’ve spent some quality time with these folks, and all you have to do is give them a chance,” Frank said happily.
I think it was the prospect of a feast after the long winter that made him happy. Frank ran off in search of his new friends. We stayed on the docks, meandering and looking at the ocean. It was still cool, and thanks to the humidity, I thought it felt cooler than home. We found a bench where Terri and I sat, holding hands while Floyd chased seagulls.
Was it the calm before the storm? I hoped not. I didn’t want to be the one who brought down the thunder.
When the ship sailed into view, I appreciated the sight. The modern firepower of something like a destroyer would have overwhelmed our whole country. We weren’t about to fight, and maybe we’d have U.S. military stationed on Alaskan soil again. I had no intention of establishing a military. Our total numbers ran maybe ten to twenty thousand.
Otherwise, it was just us and we could barely feed ourselves, let alone mount a national defense. No, there would be no military. The most we’d been able to manage was getting close to having a functioning gold mine and we had a burgeoning salmon industry. We were finally crawling forward, and I didn’t want to see our previous overlords take that away.
We watched Frank set up not far off. When we rose to help, he waved us back down. They fired up a grill with charcoal that they themselves had made. These people deserved the hope that I’d given them. I needed to carry through on my promises.
As the captain’s launch approached, Floyd made a heroic leap after one overly bold seagull, sending the half-wolf into the ocean. He sputtered and started dog paddling, but there was nowhere he could get out. He started paddling slower and slower, sinking deeper and deeper into the water, confused and unable to see a way out of the ocean. I panicked and jumped in after him, immediately discovering why he was having problems. The water was barely above freezing.
The cold shock seized my lungs and I couldn’t breathe. Terri started screaming for help. I heard her as if she was far away. My hands and feet quickly turned numb as Floyd tried to find some respite from the cold on my shoulders, which served to drag me under. I pushed him away and got back to the surface for one more breath, before I could no longer tread water.
My breath came in short gasps. I had no air to hold. I was hit by a wave as the captain’s launch angled sideways to a stop. It threw Floyd and me into a barnacle-encrusted piling. I felt the skin on my head split and the sting of salt water in the open wound on my head. I didn’t feel anything below my neck. A line attached to a long pole wrapped over my arm. I tried to support Floyd with my other arm, but a second line swung out for him. He was terrified and half-frozen. The sailors dragged us both aboard.
We were unable to stand. They covered us with Navy-issue wool blankets.
“You jumped into freezing water after your dog? You must be some kind of lunatic,” a man who was wearing a captain’s uniform said.
“But he’s a good dog,” I mumbled, shivering uncontrollably. Terri jumped on board as soon as she could, pulling me into her lap as she sat on the deck. “Holy crap that was cold. Check on Floyd.”
“He’s in good hands,” she replied as two sailors vigorously rubbed Floyd dry with towels. He was perking up quickly, enjoying the attention, while completely forgetting about his near-death experience. He staggered to his feet and wagged his big, bushy tail.
“I see what you mean. I’m Captain Anderson and I command the Gridley. You must be Chuck Nagy,” he said as he leaned close to me.
“Please don’t arrest me,” I asked, chuckling slightly as I fought to get myself upright. Terri helped me to my feet where I leaned heavily on her. “I’m happy to meet you, Captain. Call me Chuck. And thank you for saving Floyd’s life.” I held out my hand, but blood was streaming from me. As I warmed, the cuts from the barnacles opened. Blood started flowing into my eyes. I collapsed anew, almost dragging Terri to the deck with me, but the captain was there and helped lower me to the deck where blood started streaming from too many cuts across my body.
“We have a top notch medical staff on the ship. Maybe we can go there and get you patched up?” the captain offered.
Frank jumped onto the launch. “I think that would be best, assuming we have your assurance of safe passage to and from the ship. We can’t have our governor thrown in the brig.”
“You have my word,” Captain Anderson answered.
“And that’s how the real world needs to work. If our word isn’t good, then what’s left?” Frank challenged the long-time naval officer. “Marcia! Hold down the fort, we’ll be back as soon as they patch the old man up,” Frank yelled at the people who had gathered on the pier.
Floyd was almost back to himself when we arrived at the ship. Terri and Frank helped me as my head started to swim. My clothes were in tatters and I lay in a swamp of my own blood. “I guess that ruined your record of what, eight months with a blood-free husband?” I stammered, my tongue thick and lips unable to help me enunciate.
“Something like that, you knucklehead,” Terri said warmly, looking close at me. When the launch docked, Floyd ran up the stairs that had been lowered along the side of the destroyer. They brought a stretcher for me, and I fell into it. The next thing I knew, it was two hours later and I was warm and well-bandaged.
“Sorry, I guess I fell asleep. So let’s get this party started,” I mumbled.
“What?” Terri asked sarcastically. “There’s no party without you?” She leaned close. I could smell her hair, see the tiny wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. Feel her body near mine.
“Oh my,” I said as I leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she turned and caught my lips with her own.
“Newlyweds, you say? I can’t tell,” the captain laughed with Frank.
“Why can’t I move?” I asked as I failed in trying to sit up.
“Forty-one stitches later, there’s no doubt you’re going to be a bit stiff. Maybe you should just rest. We can always do this tomorrow,” Frank offered.
“No. The people will worry if we don’t return. I need to go ashore,” I insisted.
“The people have already expressed their support. While we’ve been sitting here watching you sleep, every boat and trawler still running has come out of port. The destroyer is completely surrounded by little boats. You are my guest, Chuck. We’ll stay here as long as we need to.”
I looked at him through tired eyes, unable to hold my head up.
“Maybe you can tie up at the pier? We have a little celebration prepared that I’m missing. We have fresh moose and there’s nothing like it. We invite you and your people ashore for a little R&R. As we’ve discussed, Captain, we’re not your enemy or an enemy of the United States. We just want to climb back into the twenty-first century. Is it too much to ask to have a flush toilet or electricity? Ten years later and we don’t have any of that. The U.S. has had nine of those years to help and the politicians didn’t. Time to move on,” Frank told him. The captain nodded and waved for Frank to follow him. Terri stayed with me.
Soon enough, we felt the ship move slowly as it maneuvered without the help of a tugboat. With a gentle bump, it leaned into the deep water pier. I couldn’t hear the yelling, but expected lines were being tossed and the good people ashore were tying the ship tightly. With a clunk, the stairs were rotated toward the pier and dropped.
Frank and the captain were the first ones off the destroyer, waving at a select group of volunteers to join the small party that had been set up. The naval personnel brought stacks of paper plates and plastic ware, along with trays of steaming side dishes.
Marcia welcomed them and set them up. Frank and the captain stood behind the table, ready to serve. Frank had retired from the Navy long ago and he understood the captain. He understood all of it, and they trea
ted each other like brothers. As it turned out, he was the best representative to talk with our Navy fellows. I didn’t know what kind of trouble the captain would get in for coming ashore and playing nice with whatever they were calling us. Rebels, maybe? Star Wars had made the term cool, and I was good with that.
Floyd stayed with me, but he didn’t like the confines of my small recovery room off sick bay. Even though I was bone-tired and sore, I wanted Floyd to get outside, so with Terri’s help and despite her protests, I was up; I put on the robe they’d given me and the flip-flop slippers and we stumbled slowly through the passageway. It took a sailor leading us to get where we wanted to go, the quarterdeck where Floyd could use the stairs to get off the ship. A petty officer joined us. He’d been one of those on the captain’s launch. He was preparing to take another small group ashore.
“Can you watch Floyd while he’s ashore? When you all are done, he’ll want to come back aboard. Can you take care of my dog, see he gets back here, okay?” I asked the young man.
“Of course,” he replied with a big smile. “After what you did for him, it would be a shame if we didn’t coddle him a bit. I have a German Shepard at home, but Floyd…What a great dog!” The petty officer hugged the half-wolf and the two merrily headed down the stairs toward the pier, followed by a gang of petty officers hungrily eyeing the food line.
A lieutenant commander sidled up next to us and looked around suspiciously to make sure no one was near. “We’re rooting for you, sir. Screw those idiots in Washington. When I retire, I want to come here, join you guys.” He nodded and then casually walked away, one hand in his pocket.
Terri carefully hugged me. “I never doubted that you’d win over the hearts and souls of the good people in this world. You do so much better when you aren’t punching people in the face.” She shook her head and pursed her lips. “I can’t believe you tried to die on me. Don’t do that crap again, do you understand?” Her eyes teared.
“That close, huh?” I asked. She started crying.
Fury (End Times Alaska Book 4) Page 16
