Kodiak Sky

by Stephen Frey

  That guy was dead now, the victim of a mysterious backwoods fall off a steep cliff in Denali on a wonderfully clear day just like this one. He’d been a good climber, too. No one could figure out what had happened, especially with the weather so fine.

  Skylar turned away from the image at her boot tips and moved through the forest to one tree in particular, which stood at the edge of a sheer cliff overlooking the ocean. It had been two years since she’d been here, but the tall spruces of this familiar grove on Kodiak’s northeast coast didn’t seem different at all. And her initials, SIM for Skylar Indigo McCoy, which were carved into the trunk, were as legible and sharp as they had been the day thirteen years ago she’d carved them, on her eleventh birthday—after making her first overnight trek out here, with only her father’s Remington rifle strapped securely to her shoulder as company.

  The stream at the bottom of the slope behind her hadn’t changed course a degree through the shiny black rocks, either. The clear, cold waters were still teeming with rainbow trout, too, just as they’d always been.

  And the incredible view of Katmai over on the mainland from atop this ridge near the water’s edge was identical to the one she remembered after that trek thirteen years ago, still untouched and unblemished.

  It was as though time stood still in this place.

  Skylar smiled nostalgically as she thought about Betty Malutin. The old Alutiiq woman had taken her in and mentored her after her father had died on the Bering Sea. A few months after her father had gone down in his crab boat in a terrible storm, Skylar had moved in with Betty when her mother had moved back to California, fed up with the solitary life on Kodiak without a husband and no serious prospects of finding another—not one she wanted, anyway. Betty had died in Skylar’s arms four years later, the victim of a heart attack.

  She missed Betty so much. Betty had finished the warrior lessons her father had begun.

  And Skylar hadn’t spoken to her birth mother in a decade. Bitch.

  She still missed her father every day, even more than she missed Betty. But she didn’t blame the Bering Sea for tearing his ship apart during that raging storm so quickly that none of the five-man crew even had a chance to climb into their orange survival suits. When you went out on the Bering Sea, you knew what you were getting into—or you were stupid. Either way, whatever happened was on you. Those had been her father’s very words many times at the dinner table when he wasn’t on the hunt.

  She turned away from the waves crashing on the rocks far below to stare into the dense forest. At a hundred miles long and averaging forty wide, Kodiak was the United States’ second largest island. In area, it was more than double the size of Long Island, which included the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

  She took a deep breath of crisp, clean air, filled with the pungent scent of spruce. Long Island’s population exceeded eight million, while Kodiak was home to just fifteen thousand—most of whom lived in the only major town on the island. It was lonely out here in the woods and the wilds, and she loved it.

  There were thousands of bears, many more than humans living outside Kodiak’s lone town, and they were huge brown bears. Not the puny little black ones that terrified the population of the Lower Forty-Eight. The Kodiak subspecies was the largest and most ferocious of all grizzlies, as big as polar bears thanks to a steady diet of protein-rich salmon and rainbow trout that constantly ran the waters of this island. The inland grizzlies of the Alaskan mainland were still big, but not like the Kodiak strain.

  She took another even deeper breath of crisp, clean air. God, she loved it out here so much. So much more than any of the other exotic destinations she’d slipped into lately—Afghanistan, North Korea, Iraq, and Venezuela. Those places had their allures, but none of them stacked up to Kodiak. Not even close.

  The snap of the twig was faint but clear, and Skylar pressed her body to the closest tree.

  As she listened intently, she glanced down at the two rainbow trout lying on the rock beside the tree. A few minutes ago she’d snagged three of the red-stripes from the stream at the bottom of the ridge with her bare hands. She’d eaten the first one raw, as it was still struggling, seconds after catching it as she stood knee-deep in the crystal clear water—including the eyes and eggs of the beautiful fish, which were the most nutritious parts. She’d needed energy after the long hike and paddle. But she was going to cook the other two in butter and with the spices she’d brought along in her pack. Despite her disdain for the civilized world, she still enjoyed bringing a tiny piece of civility to the wilds of Kodiak.

  A second twig snapped, even more faintly than the first. It seemed she might be adding another source of protein to tonight’s menu.

  CHAPTER 12

  “ARE WE clear, Liam?” Gadanz asked as he lighted his fifth cigar of the day. “Do you understand the deal?”

  Sterling tried to focus on the paper in his hands, but it was difficult. He’d spent the last two hours with the four young women, and he’d never been more physically satisfied, not even close. The experience would make the highlight reel of his life. In the end, perhaps it would be the highlight, he realized as he thought about all of them on him at the same time doing all those lewd, wonderful things. Four women at once, and they were all so beautiful, talented, and willing to please.

  Still, the only one he cared enough about to risk his own safety for was Sophia. He’d asked her name at one point, as he was resting between interludes with his head in her lap. He’d kept her up close to him during the craziness, not allowing her to do all that the other women were doing. She seemed to understand that he hadn’t wanted her to participate because the orgy was sex just for sex’s sake, and he wanted their first time to be special, more intimate.

  They would have that intimacy soon—if he could get her out of here. But, knowing Gadanz as well as he did, that wouldn’t be easy. As soon as he mentioned wanting to take her with him, Gadanz would recognize an opportunity to negotiate. And Gadanz was addicted to negotiating the way some men were addicted to gambling.

  “We’re clear,” Sterling finally replied. The deal was even better than he’d originally figured. One more time he added up the numbers next to the names, just to be certain. It was a staggering bounty, and now that the figure was in black and white in front of him, it seemed even harder to believe. “Different amounts depending upon the individual assassinated.” Perhaps this was where Gadanz would negotiate on Sophia. Perhaps he would attempt to cut the gargantuan fee. “All in all, I could make three hundred million dollars.”

  The kill list began with President Dorn and the vice president, then continued down through Dorn’s Cabinet, the Senate, the House, the Supreme Court, and the intelligence agencies, all the way to Bill, Jack, and Troy Jensen. Republicans, Democrats, it didn’t discriminate, and Gadanz was absolutely right. When they were all dead, chaos would reign supreme in the United States of America.

  “That’s if you get them all, Liam.”

  “Oh, I’ll get them all.”

  “I appreciate your confidence, Liam,” Gadanz muttered through the alcohol, which was beginning to impair his speech, “if not your sanity.”

  “You’ll see,” Sterling retorted.

  Gadanz took another long guzzle of scotch from the silver flask and then wiped his lips with the back of his wrist before sucking on the cigar. “Come on, Liam, how many of those people do you really think you can get?”

  “Every damn one.”

  “The president, the vice president, cabinet secretaries, heads of the CIA and the FBI, senior senators and congressmen, the Supreme Court. Be honest with me. And listen, you know once you kill the first one, all the rest will dive for cover. It will become incredibly difficult.”

  Sterling shrugged. “That’s why you came to me. Because I’m the best.”

  “You can’t possibly—”

  “Obviously, I’ll need a
team, which also means I’ll need a large down payment. The kind of people I work with on missions like this don’t like hearing about their check being in the mail. They’re more the cash-up-front types, if you know what I mean.” Sterling gestured around. “With all due respect to the army you keep around you, you don’t want to owe these people money.”

  “All right,” Gadanz replied. “I’ll give you five million up front. Where do you want it sent?”

  “Switzerland.” Sterling wouldn’t leave it there long, not for more than a few minutes. The United States had ruined that country as far as being a secrecy haven. But there were other outlaw nations he could use, and Switzerland was still the best place to start a transaction like this. “And the down payment will be twenty million, Daniel, not five.”

  “All right,” Gadanz answered again, “twenty million. But I’ll net it against the ultimate proceeds.”

  The drug lord hadn’t even tried to counter. Gadanz was thirsting for revenge like a man crawling through the middle of the desert. “That seems fair.”

  “So I’ll send twenty million dollars to your account in Switzerland as soon as you leave here.” Gadanz hesitated. “And just so we’re clear, Liam, you could make over three hundred million when we add the Jensens to the kill list.”

  “I like the sound of that.”

  Gadanz shook his head. “I can’t believe I’m doing this, but I’m actually going to help you execute this mission.”

  “How exactly are you going to do that?”

  Gadanz reached into his pocket, removed a flash drive, and held it out for Sterling. “Watch the video on that drive when you’ve made it out of here. Then you’ll understand.” The drug lord pointed at the small object in Sterling’s hand. “I’ll help you with the transportation aspect that’s involved as well, which won’t be insignificant. Get control of the assets, and I’ll have planes waiting to take them away and bring them back. I’ll put several G650s at your disposal.”

  Sterling had no idea what any of this meant, but he was intrigued. Gadanz could be very creative when he put his mind to it. “I want something else, Daniel.”

  “What?”

  “Not what.” Sterling gestured at Sophia, who was sitting obediently in a chair in a corner of the room. “Who. She comes with me when I leave.”

  THE FOUR Sitka deer meandered toward Skylar through the forest as she watched from her perch in the tall spruce tree ten feet above the needled ground. The animals were still unaware of her presence, thanks to her position above and downwind from them. They were all does, but there was probably a buck lurking somewhere close. It was September and getting toward the rut, so harems were being herded together and guarded closely. Though bucks could be aggressive, especially at this time of the year, she wasn’t worried. Bears were the only animals Skylar worried about on this island.

  The black-tailed deer wasn’t native to Kodiak Island. The legend went that Russian settlers had imported the Sitka to Kodiak back in the seventeenth century, though Skylar was skeptical. The deer had definitely been imported. More likely, as far as she could find, the animals had been brought in by Americans in the early twentieth century.

  As the lead doe came within range, Skylar caught a familiar whiff in the air—a heavy, earthy scent that couldn’t be mistaken. Still, she didn’t hesitate long. The other three does might not come anywhere near as close. She loved the taste of fresh venison, cooked properly.

  It was over seconds after she dropped onto the doe’s narrow back and brought the long, shiny blade of the bowie knife deftly across the deer’s soft neck, as Betty had taught her. The other three does tore off into the woods in terror, but the wounded animal staggered only a few yards before collapsing to the forest floor.

  Skylar didn’t race to where it lay to claim her prize. Instead, she scrambled to her feet and whipped around toward the growl. She’d been hoping the familiar scent she’d caught in the air just before her attack on the doe signaled the presence of an adolescent sow without cubs. But such was not her fortune this evening.

  Fifty feet away was a huge male bear, one of the largest she’d ever seen. And it was coming fast.

  “DID YOU hear me?” Sterling called out as Gadanz climbed the stairs to the throne. “Sophia goes with me.”

  Gadanz put his head back and laughed loudly as he eased into the huge chair. “You amuse me, Liam,” he said, taking a long draw from the smoking cigar.

  Sterling glanced over at Sophia. “I’m serious, Daniel.”

  “And things were going so well.”

  Sterling heard the warning loud and clear, but he didn’t care. “Look, I’m not negotiating. She leaves with me or I don’t—”

  “Take her.”

  Sterling stared up at the drug lord for several moments. This was unprecedented. Gadanz never gave in so easily.

  “But come up here first. I have something else for you.”

  Sterling checked the doorway to the room again. He was so close to getting out of here. But it would be just like Gadanz to make him think he was safe, and then kill him just for the sport of it. His unpredictability was one of the things that made him such a good leader in the drug business. That and his unfailing ruthlessness.

  Still, Sterling climbed the stairs to the throne. What else could he do? He wanted his three hundred million—and the girl.

  “Here.” Gadanz had withdrawn an envelope from his pocket, the same pocket he’d pulled the flash drive from, and he was holding it out.

  “What’s this?” Sterling asked, taking it.

  “Names and numbers of people who will help you do what I want done. I’ve already done a significant amount of work for you, which I normally wouldn’t.” Gadanz took an extra-long draw from the cigar. “Perhaps that will give you some indication of how badly I want this executed.” He pointed toward the door. “Now go. And take the bitch with you, if that’s what you really want.”

  THE MASSIVE grizzly stopped short, thirty feet away from Skylar as she calmly stood her ground. The Winchester rifle rested on her shoulder, secured there by its leather strap. There was no need for it—yet. The bear had been expecting its charge to scare off the human quickly. But that hadn’t happened, and now the beast was wondering why.

  The bear rose up on its hind legs to get a better look and sniff the air, and now Skylar could clearly see how immense the animal was. An average Kodiak male stood nine feet tall and weighed twelve hundred pounds. This one was more than ten feet tall and probably weighed close to sixteen hundred pounds. And those back paws stretched sixteen long inches. It wasn’t the biggest one she’d ever encountered in the wilds of this island paradise, but it was still huge. And it was the biggest one that had ever looked at her as an enemy.

  The smell of the doe’s blood was thick in the air, and it was exciting the bear. Still, she wasn’t giving up her kill.

  Skylar took one deliberate step forward as she stared straight into the Kodiak’s closely set mahogany eyes, which were just above its moist black snout.

  The bear dropped down onto all fours again, pawed the ground, bared its long fangs, and snorted loudly. And for several seconds the beast and the young woman continued staring at each other intensely, burning brown eyes to burning blue eyes.

  Then the bear lurched forward with a guttural growl.

  So did Skylar, immediately, with a growl of her own. And she raised her arms high above her head, to appear larger.

  The bear stopped in its tracks, hesitating a few moments as it continued to sniff the air. Then it turned and loped off through the forest.

  Skylar laughed, and the sounds of her amusement echoed through the trees. God, she loved this place.

  When she’d finished dressing the deer, she carried the innards to the edge of the cliff and dropped them into the ocean far below. Then she raised her eyes from the waves crashing onto the rocky shore, to the mainland in th
e distance through the fading light, then farther up to the gorgeous azure sky stretching out above her, which was streaked by gold and silver to the west as the sun dropped toward the horizon. She was convinced that there was no sky like this anywhere else on earth.

  A familiar lump formed in her throat, and heat rose to the corners of her eyes. But her emotional reaction bothered her not in the least. She was not afraid to accept and relish her feelings when she was out here alone. This place was mystical for her, the most special place on earth. And a tremendous realization struck her as she gazed into the night sky, hoping it would be painted by a shimmering aurora borealis in a few hours. It was early yet in the season to see the northern lights, but she had a feeling about tonight. Her premonitions were rarely off when they were this strong.

  She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, enjoying her solitude. Kodiak Island was the gateway to heaven. It had to be.

  GADANZ’S MIGRAINE had finally eased, probably because he’d swallowed every drop of scotch in the flask again and his brain was completely numb. The headache would be back with a vengeance when the alcohol wore off. But he didn’t care. Even though the relief was temporary, it was beautiful. He needed to get the flask refilled pronto.

  “What do you want me to do with them, sir?” one of the two guards asked, gesturing at the three young women who were standing in a corner of the room, chained together at the neck by collars.

  Gadanz glanced at them from the throne. He’d brought them back in after Sterling left with Sophia, and watched them perform as he directed. Sizzling images, but there was still no physical reaction. He hated them for failing him again, all of them.

  And they’d heard specific names as targets, he realized. Bill Jensen, Jack, and Troy, he remembered through the alcohol. “Kill them. Kill them all.”

  As the guards herded the women out of the throne room, they began to cry and beg for their lives. But their tears and desperate pleas did not affect him at all. In fact, they irritated him.