Page 92 of Smoky Lake

After Nyx had dried off enough to not be a shivering mess anymore, they took the speedboat to the middle of Smoky Lake, where they finally picked up a signal. He called his brother and filled him in on the situation.

It took only a few moments for his brilliant brother to put it all together. “I know where they’re going. There’s an permafrost tunnel that got drilled for research purposes years ago, then abandoned. It would be a good place to hide out.”

“Send me a pin.”

“No, I’m coming with you. I think I can help with Victor. I won’t hold you back.”

Gil winced. Lachlan might, in fact, hold him back. But he might also be helpful in dealing with Victor. Maybe it was time he stopped protecting his grown-ass twin so much.

“Okay. Heading your way.”

“No, meet me at the northern section of the lake, at the edge of the glacier. I’ll come to you.”

“How? That’ll take too long.”

“No, it won’t. I know who to call.”

About forty minutes later, at the northern edge of the lake, where the Korch glacier met the water in a chaotic jumble of ice and rocks and dirt, Gil and Nyx watched as a single-prop plane landed on the ice about a hundred yards back. Lachlan hopped out, and so did an Army soldier, followed by Sam Coburn.

Reinforcements. Thank you, Lachlan.

Gil and Nyx climbed over ice boulders and rocky outcroppings to join them. He greeted his brother with a big bearhug, as if they hadn’t seen each other in months. It felt that way. How long had it been since he’d first seen Ani on the porch?

Honestly, time had no meaning anymore.

44

The helicopter circled around the head of Smoky Lake for the third time, while Ani and Sergeant Thomson watched for any sign of movement in the forest below. A layer of drifting clouds kept coming between them and their view of the lake. The mist looked like smoke winding through the tall groves and across the water’s surface.

This area was so remote, so inaccessible, Ani started to second guess the conclusion she’d come to. Why would a group of teenagers come this direction on a camping trip? So they could see the Korch glacier? There were other, easier access points. None of the guidebooks ever mentioned this area as a good glacier viewpoint.

Maybe they’d been searching for a wilderness challenge, and gotten more than they’d bargained for.

If they’d crossed paths with the mercenaries, had they witnessed something that made them a threat? Were they being held so they didn’t tell the authorities? Or were they going to be someone’s experiment, the way Victor had done to her? Maybe the bad guys had jumped at the chance to test the Ahtna teenagers’ level of immunity to the omegavirus.

Her imagination was going wild up here in this helicopter. They had to find those kids.

“Anything?” she asked Sergeant Thomson. They were all wearing helmets with comms built in. Every time anyone spoke, her headphones crackled.

“I’ve seen three moose and a black bear. Not a single human being.”

“Same for me.”

“It’s all right. Gonna try something else. Thermal imaging camera. That should show a heat profile.”

She clicked something on her helmet and scanned the ground below. “Damn, this thing has range. Now we’re talking. It’s not good in the fog, but I can see. Oh shit.”

“What? What?” Ani resisted the urge to grab at the camera to look for herself.

“I see a plane down there on the glacier.”

“Tourists? Maybe a bear viewing trip?”

“Nah, this doesn’t look like tourists. I see a person. No, three. Four. Five total.”

“Can you tell if they’re young? Is that the kids?”

“I don’t think so.” Disappointment cratered in Ani’s stomach. She really wished Gil was here. What had she been thinking, bolting off by herself? This kind of thing wasn’t her forte. She’d been right the first time. She should have insisted on staying in town and let Sergeant Thomson handle this.

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