by Mary Alford
Aaron shook his head. “Thanks, Jessie, but there’s no time. We need to get out of here before those men come back.”
Jessie clearly didn’t like his answer, but she understood. “Okay, but at least let me make you some sandwiches for the road. I’ll pack some extra food and water as well.”
Jessie quickly put together some sandwiches and supplies for the journey and put them in Liz’s backpack. “You’ll need some warmer jackets too. Paul and I have extra. I’ll get them for you.”
Aaron took the backpack full of supplies and he and Paul went out to the garage.
“I’ll wait to open the door until you’re ready to leave, in case someone’s watching. The trail begins just behind our house. Head straight for the woods. Some of the town folk still hunt in those woods, so the trail should be groomed for a little ways in. Once you start to ascend the mountain, you may be in for some deep snowdrifts, though.”
Paul went over to a workbench and brought back a shovel and some snowshoes. “This will help. There are more tools in the side pouch. As I said, cell service is sketchy at best. I never leave the house without being prepared. The cabin’s about ten miles up the trail, to your left, at the base of the mountain. It’s the only one in that area. You won’t miss it.”
“Are there other cabins around?” Aaron asked curiously. If the place was isolated, the chances of someone just happening on it were slim. There might still be a chance the evidence was still untouched.
Paul shook his head. “Not really. There are a few hunting cabins, but no one lives in them. They’re used by hunters and trappers from time to time or if someone gets caught out in the weather. There’s usually some supplies kept in them, but it’s minimal.”
When Liz came into the garage, Aaron noticed that she had donned a heavy winter parka, cap and gloves. Jessie handed him a second parka and gloves.
“I’ll help you get the machine out,” Paul said and opened the garage door.
With his breath coming quickly, Aaron eased outside and surveyed the surrounding area. The house was at the end of the street. There was no sign of the men from the previous evening, still, he didn’t doubt for a minute that they’d be broadening their search at first light.
The trail behind the house looked tame compared to what he knew they’d face once they started the climb. With Paul’s help, he got the machine from the garage and pointed toward the direction they’d be taking.
“Thanks again for all your help,” Aaron said with indebtedness and clasped Paul’s hand.
“You’re welcome, but please be careful. There can be much more danger in those woods than just the men chasing you.” The warning settled uneasily around Aaron. He had no doubt there were things in the woods that would be more than he and Liz could handle.
“You’ll let us know what’s truly going on here, won’t you?” Jessie asked in a whisper of a voice. “I would really like to understand what happened to Michael.”
“We will. I promise,” Aaron smiled and assured them.
Once they’d said their goodbyes, Liz got on the machine behind him. Although she looked much better, the rugged Alaskan terrain was going to take its toll on both of them and he was anxious to be on the way.
Aaron slowly guided the snowmobile down the path. The quiet of predawn was shattered by its sound. He just hoped most people wouldn’t think twice about hearing a snowmobile in town, even at this hour of the morning.
Liz wrapped her arms around his waist.
“Aaron, do you think this Safar person is the one Sam double-crossed?” she asked.
He’d wondered the same thing. In his mind there was only one answer.
“I believe so. Something must have went south between them, though.” He had no idea what.
“If what Rick said was correct and the weapons never reached Talkeetna, did they somehow get diverted here? It doesn’t make sense. The men said they searched Black Bear and what I’m assuming was the place where they were supposed to take the delivery. They weren’t there.” The wind snatched at her words so that he barely heard them.
Nothing about bringing the guns to Black Bear made sense. It seemed like a risky passage in the first place. He had a feeling Michael had somehow moved them to an entirely different location.
Aaron kept remembering the odd exchange between Michael and Sam. They had both acted as if they were angry with each other.
“After everything that happened, there’s no doubt in my mind that Michael somehow managed to double-cross Sam and move the weapons somewhere else. I’m guessing he had second thoughts about handing them over to the buyer,” Aaron said.
Whoever this Safar was, and whatever his plans were, Michael must have realized the consequences of turning them over to him.
“And if the final destination was Black Bear, then they would have to have people along the way helping out and certainly someone here to receive the cargo and get it out of sight quickly,” he added. “I don’t think the weapons ever made it here.”
“I agree,” Liz said with a sigh. “Let’s just hope the evidence Michael left at the cabin is still there and it’s enough to fill in all the holes in our theory because right now, we don’t know Safar’s real identity. And we need more to go on than a single name.”
The predawn twilight quickly turned black once they entered the dense forest. The temperature had to be well below zero and it was snowing again, reducing Aaron’s visibility greatly. He had to continually wipe his visor off just to see where he was going. One false move and the snowmobile would be buried. They couldn’t afford to lose time digging it out.
They’d need to get to the cabin as soon as possible and out of sight. He knew the men who had followed them to the Chenas’ home the evening before weren’t going to give up until they had them. Dead or alive.
“I just hope they don’t know about the cabin...” Liz said and then stopped as if something had occurred to her. “Aaron, what if we’re wrong and Michael moved the weapons to the cabin? Maybe that’s the evidence he spoke of in the note? It’s certainly remote enough that no one would deliberately look for them there.”
Notwithstanding the difficulty of getting that much weaponry to such an isolated location, Liz was right about one thing: it would be the perfect hideaway.
But the cabin was intended for Liz, according to Jessie. He didn’t voice his concerns aloud, but if they did find the weapons, Michael having supposedly bought the cabin for her would certainly make her look suspicious. He pressed her hand. “We’ll figure it out. God didn’t bring us all this way without a reason. We’ll find what we need to clear your name and once we locate the weapons, we’ll bring the real killer to justice. Don’t give up.”
She hugged him tight and he tried to let go of his misgivings, but it was a near-impossible feat.
The farther in the woods they traveled, the deeper the snow piled up. The lack of sunshine meant there was no snowmelt.
“What I don’t understand is how Michael came up with the money to buy the place. How long has he been working for Sam?” Aaron voiced his concerns. “To get enough money to pay cash without calling attention to himself tells me he was on Sam’s payroll for a while. You knew him better than any of us. He never mentioned anything?” He hated the doubt in his tone, but Liz and Michael were close. Maybe there was something she’d overlooked telling him without even realizing it.
He knew he’d hurt her with his question when she didn’t answer right away. “He never mentioned anything that made me suspicious. Don’t you think I’d tell you if he had?” she finally said with hurt in her voice.
“I don’t think you’re involved, Liz.” He did his best to assure her—and himself—against the doubts that were crowding in. “I’m just thinking that maybe he mentioned something you forgot or dismissed as unimportant. We don’t know what we’ll face once we get
to the cabin. It would help to have some clue.”
She blew out a heartfelt breath. “You’re right and I’m sorry. I’m just so ready for this to be over.”
“I know. Me too,” he told her and meant it. She’d been through so much. It was time for something good to happen to make up for the bad.
Up ahead, Aaron noticed that the groomed trail came to an abrupt halt. He braked hard. No one had traveled beyond this point recently, which was a good sign the enemy wouldn’t be waiting for them once they reached their destination. But the roughened path also meant he’d have to push the machine to its max.
“Is it safe to go on?” Liz asked uneasily after seeing the difficulty.
“I don’t think we have a choice. We can make it, but it’s going to slow our time down by a lot.” Aaron slipped off his helmet and listened carefully. In the distance he could hear the vigorous roar of multiple engines coming from the direction of town. Was it the men they’d seen the day before or just normal everyday life in Black Bear?
“Are you ready?” he asked Liz. After a doubtful second she nodded. “Hang on as tight as you can. We’re going to be traveling at full speed.”
He shoved the machine into high gear and they headed for the ungroomed stretch of woods, slugging through the thick snow accumulated there. Several times the machine came close to stalling out, yet Aaron dared not push it any harder.
They’d gone a little ways farther into the forest when a far more alarming sound captured his attention. A chopper—and it was gaining!
“Where is it?” Liz asked, having heard the same thing. Before he had time to answer, it appeared over the trees and right above them.
In Aaron’s mind, there was no doubt. “They’re searching for us.” He did his best to avoid the chopper’s spotlight as it came within inches of the snowmobile. Steam rose from the motor. “We have to stop. The engine’s getting hot.” He glanced around for a place to hide as the spotlight continued searching the ground near them. It came close to finding them several times.
“Over there.” Liz pointed to their right. “There’s a partially-downed tree. We can use it as camouflage.”
Aaron eased the snowmobile in that direction while keeping a careful eye above them.
Once he’d stopped, he turned off the machine. Heat rose in the air emphasizing the strain the engine had been under.
Overhead, the chopper continued its methodical search.
“There’s no way they know it’s us,” Aaron told her. “And they can’t randomly fire on us without knowing who they’re shooting at.” He said a silent prayer in his head that he hadn’t lied. These people had already proven themselves ruthless. What were a few more bodies?
The chopper’s pilot lowered the machine as much as it dared.
Liz’s arms tightened around him. “Aaron, they’ve spotted us.”
“We don’t have a choice. We have to use the snowmobile to get out of here.” He fired the engine. “Hold on. We’re going to have to make a run for it. Let’s just hope it holds together long enough for us to escape.”
* * *
Soon they were under attack. Bullets were flying from a semiautomatic weapon being fired by one of the men above them. Aaron somehow managed to keep the overheated machine going as he attempted to save their lives.
The pilot wasn’t letting up. He followed their movements with the spotlight.
“They’re still coming,” Liz yelled over the noises around them.
She knew that Aaron was doing his best to lose them in the thick woods while avoiding the thick growth of trees.
“Whatever we do, we can’t lead them to the cabin.” Liz warned. “I’m going to try something,” she told him.
While Aaron headed in the opposite direction of the cabin, falling back on her training as a sniper, Liz pulled out one of the assault rifles she’d taken from the men at Talkeetna and aimed for the spotlight. With the jostling of the snowmobile, it took two tries before she hit the target and the light exploded.
“Nice job,” Aaron said in what sounded like awe. “That should give us a chance at least, but they’ll still be able to see us with our headlights on and I can’t afford to drive this thing without them. I don’t know the terrain here.”
They were quickly running out of time and options.
“If we can make it to the base of the mountain, the chopper won’t be able to get too close. It would risk slamming into the mountain. I have an idea. I need your help,” he told her.
“Anything. Just name it.” She was quick to assure him.
“I’m going to draw them out of the tree coverage. When we’re clear and you have a clean shot, take out their engine.”
His confidence in her sharpshooting ability was obvious.
As Aaron kept the machine as steady as possible, Liz aimed the rifle.
One of the men on board leaned out of the chopper and fired, striking the snowmobile’s cooling system. The already overheated engine spewed coolant and Aaron was forced to stop.
Liz fired several rounds into the chopper’s engine. Smoke billowed and the chopper dipped and dove toward the ground before the pilot managed to right it and turn around heading in the direction of the town.
“I don’t think I destroyed it, but at least it’s limping,” she told him.
“Good job. You bought us some time.” Aaron got off the machine and examined the engine. “Unfortunately, we’re not going anywhere on this thing.”
She glanced around the desolate area. “We can’t stay here for long. They’ll be back soon enough.”
Liz took out her cell phone and tried it, then shook her head.
“We should get going,” Aaron said. At least there’s a couple of sets of snowshoes in the supplies Paul gave us. That’ll help us to maneuver and if the snow continues to fall that should cover our tracks.”
She took the snowshoes Aaron handed her and secured them on her feet, then slung one of the assault rifles over her shoulder while Aaron strapped on her backpack filled with supplies and took the second weapon.
“We need something to help us walk in this deep snow,” she said after only a few steps. Even with the snowshoes, maneuvering through the piles of snow would be exhausting at best. Liz searched the area until she found some downed tree limbs that could serve as walking sticks.
Aaron smiled at her. “Good idea.” He took out the map Paul had given them. “According to these directions, the cabin’s a good five-mile trek that way.” He pointed to the left. “At least it’s mostly downhill. That’s something, I guess.” She could tell he was trying to remain positive.
She’d do her best as well. They had a long hike ahead of them and her injured wrist was hurting like crazy, but Liz was determined not to let him see the pain.
“We should head out...”
Slugging through several feet of snow, with each step causing them to sink into the white slush, was an exhausting task. After barely a quarter of a mile they were both breathing hard and were forced to stop to catch their breath.
“How are you holding up?” Aaron asked and handed her a bottled water.
She nodded to conserve her breath. She was sweating from the exertion and worried about exposure, and the ache in her wrist had increased tenfold.
“Here, take one of the pills Paul gave you. It will help with the pain.”
“Thanks,” she said and took the pill from him and swallowed it.
Once they started walking again, a sobering thought occurred to her.
“Aaron, what happens when we reach the cabin? Even if we find the evidence Michael left, depending on what it is, how are we going to get it back to the plane? Especially if there’s no phone service and these men are closing in.”
He shook his head. “We’ll figure it out once we get there. Let’s just
get out of the open.”
Soon enough the woods disappeared and they could see the base of the mountain rising in the early morning above a thick fog. The snow hadn’t let up and the temperature continued to drop.
Aaron glanced up at the sky. “We’ll never make it like this. We need someplace to get out of the weather. Hopefully, the storm will pass soon.”
Liz looked around them anxiously for something to provide shelter. Then she remembered something Jessie’s husband had said. “Didn’t Paul say there are several hunter cabins around the area?”
“Yes, he did.” Aaron pulled out the map that Paul had given him. She could see where Paul had marked the cabins’ locations. “There’s one off to the right about a quarter of a mile from here. Unfortunately, it’s the opposite direction of where we need to be, but still, it’s closer and at least we can get inside.”
The wind howled with renewed anger as the storm’s ferocity increased. The conditions were worsening by the minute and Aaron grabbed Liz’s good hand to keep her from toppling over several times.
They’d almost reached the hunting cabin when she heard what sounded like a twig breaking close by and she jerked around. Through the driving snow, nothing could be seen. She tapped Aaron’s arm and he turned.
“I thought I heard something behind us,” she whispered in his ear.
He peered through the whiteout. “I don’t see anything. Maybe it was just an animal.”
She didn’t believe it for a second.
Aaron pointed up ahead. “There’s the cabin.” His relief was obvious. They hurried toward it.
Once they reached the front of the place, Aaron stopped her. He drew his weapon and she did the same. Liz couldn’t shake the eerie feeling they were being watched. Was the threat real or were they just paranoid due to what they’d gone through?
Slowly, Aaron opened the door and they rushed inside with weapons drawn. The cabin consisted of a single room with a wood stove in the corner. There were a couple of chairs pulled up next to it.
