Page 31 of Smoky Lake

There, they had to wait, sitting across a small table from Sergeant Thomson, who drummed her fingers on the table and jiggled her leg, clearly unaccustomed to sitting still.

“This wouldn’t take so long if we coulda gone to Fairbanks,” she grumbled.

Ani and Gil shared a glance, and he knew that neither of them had any doubt that they’d made the right call.

His gaze roamed across the scenic photographs of the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park mounted on the wall. One shot showed a dramatic overhead view of Ice Falls, a long tumble of crystal blue and white ice. It looked like a frozen waterfall, but it was really simply the glacier meeting different terrain, moving downhill. In another overhead photo, the northern edge of Smoky Lake hid behind drifting layers of clouds and fog, with the glacier looming beyond.

The gunfire had come from that direction, from where the glacier met the lake. What would anyone be doing up there?

“Would it be okay if I used the bathroom?” Ani asked Sergeant Thomson. The sergeant looked tired, with a scratch across one cheek. She’d worked hard to get them out of Smoky Lake, and he appreciated that.

He’d just like to know why.

“You’re not prisoners,” said Thomson. “Of course it’s okay. I’ll come with you?—”

“For my own protection? No, thank you. I think I’ll be okay in the Blackbear Airport with all these soldiers standing around.”

“They’re not standing around, they’re standing guard,” Thomson corrected.

“Well, there you go. I’ll be perfectly safe.” Ani rose to her feet and reached for her bag, which Gil had set on the table. “I wouldn’t mind changing my clothes, too.”

“I’d prefer it if you leave the bag here.” The steel in Sergeant Thomson’s voice had Ani snatching her hand away.

Gil planted his hands on the table and leaned toward her. “You said we weren’t prisoners, and Ani needs to change her clothes. How about she takes what she needs with her and you stop acting like we’re suspects?”

Sergeant Thomson sat straight up, ready for a fight. As they glared at each other, Gil decided that, all in all, he was quite glad people like her were defending the country—though he certainly would like to know more about her current mission.

“Fine,” she finally said. “Take some clothes with you, leave the bag. Don’t take too long, they’re twenty minutes out.”

“Thanks,” Ani said politely. “I certainly wouldn’t want to be late for this very mysterious blind date.”

Sergeant Thomson allowed herself a brief smirk, then went back to her previous blank military expression.

As Ani left the room, a change of clothing in her arms, she shot a reassuring glance at Gil. If he had his way, she’d stay right next to him where he could ensure her safety. But she was right. A trip to the bathroom shouldn’t be a risk.

He forced himself to relax back in his uncomfortable chair, though he knew he’d count the minutes until she was back.

14

Ani locked herself into a stall in the women’s restroom and let out a long breath. Things kept getting stranger, and now she was back at the Blackbear airport where this had all started. If she could have spoken to her previous self, maybe she could have warned her—avoid that sweating, ill man at all costs.

But she was a doctor to her core and couldn’t ignore someone in need of help.

Besides, then she wouldn’t have met Gil. Never would have felt the sweet comfort of strong male arms protecting her. She’d never quite had that feeling before.

In the stall, she stripped off her dirty clothes and slipped into a pair of blue jeans and a tunic top with gold and copper threads sent to her by her great-aunt in Tamil. And new underwear, most important of all. Fresh clothes made her feel a thousand times better.

At the sink, she splashed water on her face, then patted her skin dry with a paper towel. As she was balling up the towel to toss it into the trash, a young woman came into the bathroom. Tears streaked down her face and her eyes welled with yet more. She bent over the sink, barely aware that she had a witness, and gagged.

Ani had seen her before, she realized. The last time she’d been here, this girl had been checking people in for flights to Fairbanks. She worked for another outfit, not the one Ani had flown. In fact—Ani was nearly certain—she’d checked in Victor Canseco for his flight.

“Are you okay?” Ani asked the girl gently.

Maybe she was pregnant. Ani’s stomach twisted with the reminder of that painful topic. For the last few days, all these dramatic events had distracted her from that nightmare.

Come to think of it, maybe that was why she’d plunged herself into this mess.

The girl made an incoherent sound, and stuck out her hand to feel for the paper towel holder. Ani pulled a few out and handed them to her.

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