Midnight Sun (11 page)

“
Where
’
re
you
from?
”

“
Ohio.
We're
up
here
for
two
weeks.
A
friend
of
mine
from
back
in
recon, Marcus Johnson,
is
taking
us
on
a
'photo
hunt'
of
Denali.”

“
Mojo
Johnson?
”

“
You
know
him?
”
Mike
stepped
forward
and
pulled
his
bags
off
the
conveyor.

“
Me
and
Mojo
were
the
only
two
Alaskans
in the big green machine
I
knew
back
then.
I
drove
his
ass
all
over
the
Iraqi
coast
and
river
system.
”

Walters
stepped
up
to
the
belt
and
grabbed
a
couple
of
bags.

“
Hey,
if
you
ever
get
out
to
the
Matsu
Valley,
look
me
up.
” H
e
dropped
one
of
his
bags
and
handed
Mike
a
business
card.
“
We
can
shoot
the
shit
over
some
beer.
”

“
Will
do,
C
hief,
”
Mike
said.
“
Pleasure
meeting
you.
”

Mike
and
Hilde
followed
Lonnie
out
the
doors
toward
the
sidewalk,
pulling
their
wheeled
bags.
Lonnie
pointed
out
their
truck
and
waved,
signaling
Marcus
to
pull
to
the
curb.
In
less
than
twenty
seconds,
they
loaded
up
and
pulled
out
of
the
terminal,
turning
onto
International
Airport
Road.
A
few
miles
later,
they
exited
to
Minnesota
Boulevard
and
followed
it
into
downtown
Anchorage,
where
they
had
rooms
booked
at
the
luxurious
Hotel
Captain
Cook.

The
Captain
Cook,
Anchorage's
first
and
foremost
luxury
hotel,
had
originally
opened
in
the
late
sixties.
Unlike
the
sterile
look
of
national
chain
hotels,
the
Captain
Cook
touted
old-fashioned
elegance
with
dark
teak
paneling
and
burnished
brass
accents.
Interspersed
between
classy
shops
that
sold
everything
from
expensive
fur
coats
to
hand-carved
walrus
tusk
scrimshaw
art,
murals
of
the
hotel
’
s
namesake,
Captain
James
Cook,
illustrated
his
life
on
the
seas.

Hilde
scanned
the
crowd
awaiting
check-in. Many
of
them
she
had
seen
at
the
airport,
including
a
number
of
the
Texans.
She
froze
in
her
tracks,
a
look
of
surprise
on
her
face.

“
What
is
it?
”
Mike
asked.

“
That's
Tonia
Roberts,
”
Hilde
replied,
nodding
toward
a
black
woman
halfway
across
the
room.
The
woman,
hair
pulled
back
in
a
tight
bun,
was
dressed
in
a
dark
blue
pant
suit
that
seemed
half
a
size
too
small.

“
Have
I
met
her?
”

“
I
don't
think
so.
She's
Secret
Service,
Presidential
Security.
”

Tonia
was
talking
with
a
tall,
serious-looking
man
dressed
in
a
black
suit.
Hilde
called
out
and
waved
her
hand
to
Tonia,
who
turned
at
the
sound
of
her
name,
her
mouth
gaped
open
with
an
astonished
smile.
She
broke
off
her
conversation
and
walked
toward
Hilde.