Page 12 of Smoky Lake

But Lila shook her head when Ani posed the question over a glass of club soda. “I haven’t heard a peep about anything like that. Why would the military come out here?”

“I really have no idea.”

“It could have been someone who painted their Jeep to look like camouflage. Hey, Bear,” Lila called to the big bar owner, who was busy at the other end of the bar, restocking bottles. “Have you seen any Army personnel around?”

“Nope.” Bear—huge, tattooed—swept a glance across the motley selection of Firelight Ridge eccentrics who held down the stools at the bar. “Anyone else?”

Pinky, named after the missing pinkie finger he’d lost during a battle with a porcupine, raised his hand. He wore his usual battered army jacket with a peace sign embroidered on the back. “I seen some come through here back in the nineties.”

“Eighteen-nineties or nineteen-nineties?” asked Trader John, one of his buddies. His cackle of laughter turned into a hacking cough. Ani knew he was a former miner, heavy drinker, cannabis grower, and amateur herbalist who preferred his own remedies. She hoped he took care of that cough, but she wouldn’t dare to give him any advice about it.

“Nineteen. Asshole.” Pinky grumbled.

“So you haven’t seen anyone from the military today?” Ani asked him.

“Today? No. The nearest base is up in Fairbanks. Don’t know why they’d come all the way out here, unless they’re doing training exercises in the mountains.”

“If they were doing that, we’d be flooded with boots on the ground,” said Bear. “And at least a few would have come in here.”

“Maybe Russia decided to invade us,” said Pinky in a melodramatic tone. “Or they could be chasing aliens. They already have some in cold storage in New Mexico.”

“Is that right?” Bear asked dryly. “You’ve seen that with your own eyes?”

“They don’t let regular people see ‘em, don’t be silly. It’s not safe. They could have viruses from another planet. They’re testing ‘em, you see. Just like aliens take us up to their spaceships for testing, then put us back just like new, just like what happened to Jackie from…”

He broke off to the sounds of scoffing. “That was a damn prank, remember?” said Bear.

“He had us all going for about six months before he fessed up.” Trader John tapped his beer mug on the bar in a request for a refill.

“Have another ale or two, Pinky,” said an old man in a deer hunter’s cap. “See if you can’t come up with some new conspiracies. We heard all these already.”

Pinky shrugged off the ribbing from his buddies and happily accepted another glass of ale.

Lila caught Ani’s eye and said lightly, “Aren’t you sorry you asked?”

“I’m not sure. They’re pretty entertaining.”

“They are, aren’t they?” Lila beamed at the bar crew affectionately. Then her smile dropped as the door of the bar swung open. “Oh my. Look who just walked in.”

Ani spun her stool around. Her breath caught in her chest as she watched two soldiers in fatigues stride through the door. They paused in the center of the bar, then scanned the suddenly quiet premises.

“Who’s driving that green Nissan Sentra out there?”

Ani’s heart nearly flipped over. She was. She was driving the Sentra. And of course they’d seen it at Gil’s place. Automatically, her arm started to lift all on its own. But Bear’s voice stopped her.

“What’s the problem, soldier?”

The younger of the two, a twenty-something Black man, stepped forward. “The only problem is we’re trying to find the person driving that green Sentra.”

“Are they in trouble?”

“That’s a matter for the authorities.”

“Aren’t you the authorities?”

The other soldier stepped forward. Slightly older, but still so young to Ani’s eyes. “Not for this. Above our clearance level. We’re just here to pick up the driver of that Sentra.”

Clearance level? Oh my God, oh my God. What was going on? She should just stand up right now and confess. If she didn’t, she could end up in…what, the brig? Guantanamo?

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