8
“Lightning
doesn't leave you enlightened
—good to know that”
― Matsuo Bashō
Yukon Station
When Levi entered his outer office the next morning Gunther Charles sat in the guest chair chatting with Tomiko Watanabe. Both stilled when they saw him. Levi shut the door behind him and Gunther shot to his feet.
“Mr. Fischer, I am so sorry I couldn’t be here yesterday. I was in the field.”
Levi stared at him for a moment and then wordlessly nodded toward his private door. Gunther held the door for him. As he divested himself of his outerwear Levi studied Gunther openly. He slid into his chair and pushed the intercom button.
“Miss Watanabe, would you please bring us some tea?”
As soon as he heard the outer office door close he stared into Gunther’s eyes. He knew they had met prior to this, but then it had not been important to take stock in Gunther Charles. Now it might matter a great deal.
Gunther gave all indications of being a capable man. Levi wondered if he could trust him.
“Have a seat, Mr. Charles. What were you doing in the field at minus forty degrees?”
“I was inspecting railroad crossings. They tend to fill with snow and ice. We’ve had a few trains derail. So I check them every other day and get a crew out to clean them if needed.”
“That makes sense. I freely admit I don’t know all the intricacies of maintenance yet. Why did Mr. Suzuki go to Livengood?”
“I have no idea. He is, uh, was, Japanese and questioning their actions can be bad for one’s career.”
“He didn’t tell you anything?”
“Only that he was going south and planned to be back the next day.”
“Any idea why someone would murder him?”
“Not really. He was a pretty quiet person and kept to himself.”
“Why didn’t they give you his old job?”
Gunther laughed. “I have been wondering the same thing. I thought I was the most logical choice.”
Levi grinned. “I happen to agree with you and I admit that this promotion is not only unwelcome, it scares the crap out of me.”
Gunther’s face radiated instant disbelief. “Scares you? Why?”
“I think I am a pawn in a game with no rules, at least any rules I understand. My predecessor was murdered. To top it all off, just yesterday I discovered this station is a secret military project that even some Japanese don’t want to succeed. Further, if the Germans get wind of this project we will all probably end up atomized. I don’t want to sound too much like a madman, but you bet your ass I’m scared.”
“You make some good points, Mr. Fischer. I–“
“That’s another thing. Unless there is a Japanese officer above the rank of major present, I am Levi. Okay?”
“Works for me, whatever you wish, Levi. How much did they tell you about the project?”
“That it is really a nuclear power plant and they are developing a bomb.”
“That’s it?”
“There’s more?”
“How about we go for a ride?”
“Right after we drink our tea.”
Once it was served, neither man finished their cup.
Gunther Charles owned a large four-wheel-drive Mitsubishi truck complete with a heavy-duty winch mounted on the front of the chassis. Once they slammed the doors against the bone-numbing wind Levi looked over at Gunther.
“Does the damn wind ever stop?”
“Oh yeah. Sometimes it’s so still you can hear a moose fart two valleys away.”
“I’ll look forward to that. What do you want to tell me that you don’t want the Kempeitai to know?”
“You’re learning fast. There’s someone I want you to meet. In fact, he wants to have you over for dinner.”
“As a guest or as the main course?”
Gunther laughed. “Guest, Athabascans aren’t cannibalistic.”
“Who is this person and why should I go?”
“Doubtful Thomas. He’s the head man of Wolf River village.”
“Doubtful?”
“His mother was a very religious woman and wanted to name him after an apostle.”
“I thought it was ‘Doubting Thomas.’”
“I understand her hearing had never been good, and that’s how she heard it. It’s too late to bring it up anyway; she’s been deceased for over twenty years.”
“Why should I go?”
“You need all the friends you can get, that’s why.”
“Okay, I accept. Now tell me what else is going on here that I don’t already know about.”
“What do you know about the Annex?”
“Absolutely nothing. Even my boss, Captain Atsumi, won’t tell me what they are doing in there.”
“Atsumi is your boss?” A lewd smile slid across his face.
“Yes.” He studiously ignored the man’s expression. “What are they doing in there?”
“Even though you have worked out of Livengood for years, I need to know more about you than the fact that you aren’t Japanese. Where are you from down in the states?”
“Nebraska. Came to Alaska in ’49 when I was fourteen years old.”
“With your parents?”
“Alone.”
“Alone? Why?”
“I was living with my aunt in Colorado and a friend of hers offered me a job up here for the summer. I’ve been here ever since. I’d lived with my aunt since ’45 when the Germans were on their way and my mother wanted me safely west of the Rockies.”
“Safe, from the Germans? I don’t understand.”
“I’m Jewish.”
“Why didn’t she come with you?”
“She promised my dad she would wait for him in Nebraska. We didn’t know if he was alive or dead. Now I don’t know if either of them are alive or dead.”
“Damn, and I thought I had it rough.” Gunther stared into his eyes. “The Japs are building a rocket in the Annex.”
“A rocket? What kind of rocket? For what?”
“They want to establish a moon base of their own.”
“Seriously? What the hell for?”
“Because the Germans did it. That is the only conclusion I can come to. I really don’t know. But just knowing about it can get you dead in an hour, so keep it to yourself.”
“How do you know this is true?”
Gunther’s face lost all humor. “How about we wait and see if we are both alive tomorrow? Nothing personal, but I didn’t get this far by taking anyone at face value.”
“Works for me.” At least I know he’s not an over talkative idiot, Levi thought.
While they talked Gunther had driven out of the project area and down a road paralleling the Yukon River. The surface of the river looked tortured and impassable, yet out in the middle ran a smooth pathway barely visible between up-thrusts of ice.
“Is that a trail?”
“Yeah,” Gunther said. “Indians run dog teams from village to village down the Yukon.”
“This is my first real look at the river. How thick is that ice?”
“At least twelve feet. Sometimes they drive trucks on it.”
The came up behind an Imperial Army lorry and Gunther reduced his speed. A few hundred meters later the truck turned down a side road toward the river.
“Where are they going?”
“It’s time for shift change on the anti-aircraft gun emplacements,” Gunther said.
“Gun emplacements? Why would they have manned anti-aircraft up here?”
“Y’know, Levi, I could never figure out a good enough reason to ask about it from someone who would know. We suspect they are here to guard the Project. What’s interesting is that besides the Japanese, and the bush pilots, the only other people with aircraft are the Germans, and they are allied with the Japs.”
They passed a small house of which the south side lay completely covered with a snowdrift starting at the north side of the roofline. More houses appeared out of the blowing snow and Gunther pulled up in front of a much larger building, most of what had been a huge drift had been removed.
“This is the Wolf River Lodge.”
They climbed out of the truck and bent into the wind trudging through blowing snow to the door. Just as they got to the door it swung open and Levi followed Gunther into the dim interior. They immediately stamped the snow off their feet and opened their parkas. The door slammed shut behind them and warmth quickly dissipated the cold fog.
“You’re in luck. I just got the tea water to a boil,” a cheerful voice said.
Levi pulled his hood back and glanced around while taking off his parka. The room seemed cavernous when compared with other log buildings he had seen in Alaska. In the middle of the room, radiating massive amounts of heat, sat a huge wood stove with “U.S. ARMY” cast into the front above the door. On the flat surface above the door a teakettle whistled shrilly.
The atmosphere in the room hung rich and redolent with the odors of cured moose hide, elusive herbs, gun oil, and a hint of ozone left over from the outside frigid air. It was the most nasally exotic room Levi had ever experienced and he loved it.
“Doubtful,” Gunther said, “I would like you to meet Levi Fischer. Levi, this is Doubtful Thomas.”
Doubtful stepped forward with a smile that displayed good dental hygiene and shook Levi’s hand. His rather ragged hair was mostly white interlaced with bits of dark here and there. Lines had been carved into his face from decades of long subarctic winters and his dark eyes sparkled with intelligence.
“So this is the guy that got your job, huh?”
“Well, that’s one way of looking at it,” Gunther said with a wide smile.
Levi smiled grimly and nodded. “I was quite content with the job I had, to be honest.”
“Are you both staying for supper?”
“You’re not cooking, are you?” Gunther asked as if alarmed.
“My word, no. Thelma is cooking tonight.”
Levi frowned questioningly at Gunther whose smile returned even wider.
“Thelma is his youngest daughter. Both she and Theodora are excellent cooks.”
“Who inherited their skills from their late mother,” Doubtful said as he crossed himself in the Russian Orthodox manner.
“Don’t we have to go back to the office?” Levi asked, trying not to frown at Gunther yet again. This seemed far too enjoyable to be part of his job.
“You’re on official business. Doubtful is the man to talk to for getting Indian laborers for whatever job you have in mind. Get used to the idea that you’re one of the bosses. You don’t have to ask permission for everything you do.”
Despite the lack of any current projects demanding laborers that he knew of, Levi happily nodded. “Thank you for the viewpoint. I’m still new at this boss thing.”
“You are an enigma, Mr. Fischer,” Doubtful said as he poured tea for the three of them. “The Japanese picked you for a very important position here and yet I understand this is your first trip to Yukon Station?”
“How do you know so much about me?” Levi asked, feeling cautious yet desperate to affect an off-handed manner.
“There exists no communications system faster than the mukluk telegraph. Your record in Livengood is above reproach.”
“Do you also know I have decided that I am a doomed man?”
“No, that is new information. How did you come to that conclusion?”
“Because the Germans are going to discover what is going on here and they will destroy all of it, probably with an atom bomb.”
“You are an incredibly pessimistic person, sir. If you are that sure of destruction why don’t you just cut your throat and be done with it?”
Levi laughed. “The thought has occurred to me, but I am also a very curious pessimist. I’ve paid for the ticket and I want to see what happens next.”
Gunther regarded him with an odd expression. “Have you ever had a psychiatric evaluation done?”
“Gunther, in this place and at this time, I am probably one of the sanest people you can find. I firmly believe we are all doomed and the rest of you think everything is fine.”
“He has a point there,” Doubtful said.
They all drank tea.
The outer door swung open and a blast of cold air swirled across the room, fogging instantly. When the fog cleared, two young women carrying jute bags stood chatting and laughing. They had already pulled off their parkas when they noticed the three men.
“Oh, sorry, father,” said the taller woman. “We didn’t know you had a guest.”
“You didn’t see my beautiful truck out there, Teddi?” Gunther asked.
“Oh, we knew you were here, we just didn’t know that you brought someone else.” Both of the women smiled and Levi felt his heart lurch.
Doubtful didn’t rise, but Levi did as the older man said, “Teddi, Thelma, this is Mr. Levi Fischer, the new head of manpower on the Yukon-Fairbanks Railway.”
Teddi nodded and politely smiled. Thelma, smiling widely, stepped forward and extended her hand.
“Very pleased to meet you, Levi.”
He caught the scents of jasmine, worked leather, and healthy woman: all equally intoxicating. He felt a physical attraction as compelling as gravity and, not having all that much experience with this sort of thing, allowed himself to be pulled in.
“And I am pleased to meet you, Thelma,” he nodded to her sister, “Teddi.”
Levi had been with few women over the past fifteen years after his first initiation into sex with an older woman in Anchorage. Her husband was in a German prison camp somewhere in Europe and she wanted be with a man who would appreciate her. Levi had very much appreciated her.
Despite infatuations here and there, including one memorable week at Denali Lodge with a visiting German hiker who wanted to experience as much of Alaska as she could, he had never fallen in love. Years ago he came to the conclusion that either love didn’t really exist or perhaps he was one of those people unable to expend the necessary trust demanded by the condition. It remained merely a concept and he felt that it was behind him at this point in his life.
Suddenly his closely held beliefs evaporated as he smiled into Thelma’s wide, brown eyes while they shook hands. He realized he did give a damn and the realization intensified his sense of terror. The Kempeitai major’s words sliced through his mind; Being single and seemingly without family, the only hold we have over you is your very life.
Despite the immediate attraction and yearning he felt for this young woman he knew he could not pursue the situation. It would not only potentially endanger him; it would also endanger her.
All of these thoughts cascaded through him in a few seconds. He went from astonished arousal to giddy realization and finally sorrowful avoidance in the length of a handshake.
He released her hand, lost his smile, and dropped back into his chair.
“Are you ill?” Gunther asked. “You’ve gone white as a ghost.”
Levi made a weak smile. “I’m fine. Perhaps I stood too quickly.”
Thelma’s wide grin had settled into a wry smile and she continued to look at him while Teddi hurried off with their sacks of groceries.
“We were able to get a lovely moose roast from Audrey over at the store.” Teddi’s cheerful voice lit up the room. “Glen Bassett came through with a load of meat so this is very fresh.”
Doubtful and Gunther both turned to look at Teddi as she chatted. Levi and Thelma still stared at each other.
“Will you be staying long, Levi?”
“In Yukon Station?”
“No. Here, tonight.”
“Gunther and I are staying for the evening meal. Your father invited us.”
“Oh, that’s good.” Her smile grew wider.
Levi felt he stood outside his body and watched as an observer rather than a participant in the interaction between himself and this lovely Athabascan woman. Even with his pathetically small hoard of experience with the opposite sex, he felt sure he detected a matching interest in him from her. He also felt torn in half and the two sides instantly warred with their negative twin.
Thelma glanced at his hand then refocused on his eyes. “You’re not married?”
“No. Never was. You?”
“Gosh, no. I’ve never met anyone–“
“Thelma, you gonna help me in here or not?” Teddi called from the kitchen.
“Be right there!” she called. In a lower tone she said, “I’m very pleased you are staying for supper.” She turned and walked toward her sister.
Levi refocused and found both Doubtful and Gunther regarding him with identical grins.
“Come on back to Earth, Levi,” Gunther said.
“I believe you and my daughter have discovered a kindred spirit in each other.”
“You have lovely daughters, Doubtful, but I am sure you knew that. Thelma does seem to be an extraordinary person.” He picked up his tea with a trembling hand and drained it feeling frightened and exhilarated at the same time.
The meal, Levi later decided, was the best he ever ate. The perfectly herbed moose roast was medium rare, the baked potatoes (where did they get potatoes in the middle of winter?) were exquisitely al-dente, and the freshly made bread seemed ethereal. Of course he realized the company had something to do with how much he enjoyed the meal.
Both of the Thomas daughters made the room brighter merely by their presence, and their rambling, high-energy table talk lifted his heart further than it had been in years. He could not remember the last time he had smiled, and laughed, so much. Then, just as they were all feeling full of camaraderie in their satiation, the door slammed open.
The usual gust of cold-fogged air swirled across the room and the door slammed shut. A figure wrapped in a beautiful parka, moose hide pants and carefully beaded mukluks staggered across the room toward them.
“Shit, I’ve gone and missed supper!”
“Glen?” Doubtful said, rising from the table and moving toward the man. “Are you drunk?”
“Oh, hell yes! I’m so drunk Audrey threw me out of the store! Did ya leave anything for me to eat?”
“I didn’t expect you. I’m sure we can find something to soak up a bit of that beer.”
“Hell, Doubtful, I’ve worked hard on this here drunk and I don’t want to end it now.”
“Well, my friend, it is either sober up or move along to some place else.”
“You’re throwing me out, too? I thought we was friends!”
“We are. I offer you hot coffee, good stew, and a place to sleep. Nothing else.”
Glen fell on his face and started snoring.
“I think he just needs a place to sleep, father,” Teddi said with a judicious nod.
The good mood in the room had evaporated along with the fog of cold air.
“We need to be getting back,” Levi said.
“Let’s move Glen out of the way first, okay?” Gunther said. “You grab his feet.”
They carried his surprisingly heavy weight into the closest room the lodge offered for visitors. They dropped him on the bed and Gunther began taking Glen’s parka off.
“Pull off his mukluks and as soon as I wrestle him out of this we’ll cover him with a blanket.”
“Does he do this a lot?” Levi asked as he unlaced the footgear and pulled them off.
“Glen leads a solitary life. If he didn’t have the bush he would probably be dead from drink by now. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good man, but he has his weaknesses.”
Levi wrinkled his nose. “He sure could use some clean socks!”
Gunther laughed, stood up straight and threw a blanket over the snoring man.
“Okay, let’s get back to our hosts.”
As Levi put on his cold weather gear, Thelma came up and helped him find the right lashings.
“I enjoyed having you here, Levi. Will you please come back and visit?”
He stared into her lovely dark eyes. “Do you really want me to?”
“Yes, very much. Please be careful.”
He watched her move across the room and felt nearly suffocated by emotions unfamiliar to him. For the moment, fascination had trumped fear.