Russian Amerika: Chapter Forty Six

46

    Tired of the frigid, icy dungeon, Valari felt it was time to make her move. Amazed at still being alive, she had instantly obeyed every terse order given to her by Jackson. She thought the Indians would kill her when they discovered she had brought death down on them.

    Her anger at the command in Tetlin knew no bounds. They had been all too willing to sacrifice her and Crepov in order to kill the rebels. Someone would pay for that, just as this rabble would pay for their treason. She shifted her weight in a vain search for comfort.

    Jackson stared fixedly at her and the barrel of the Kalashnikov he held didn't waver from her chest. She didn't know him, she reflected. Maybe she could lull him into a mistake and fall for one of the oldest stratagems a woman could use.

    Only one other person remained awake, and he sat by the door which led to the frozen forest outside. She turned her attention back to Jackson and smiled tentatively at him.

    "It's a shame we had to meet under such unfortunate circumstances, Benny Jackson, you're a very appealing man."

    "In what way?" he asked quietly.

    "You seem so virile," she hesitated and ran her tongue over her lower lip, "perhaps we could explore that a little more?"

    "What did you have in mind?" His voice remained quiet and controlled.

    She slipped off her coat and unbuttoned her wool shirt, watching his eyes for the first sign of lust. As the shirt slid off her shoulders she unhooked the front of her French brassiere and let her breasts swing free. His eyes remained locked on hers.

    "What's the deal? You screw me and I let you walk?"

    "We can have sex first and talk about the rest later." She did her very best to sound aroused and sensual. The cold stone basement sucked the warmth from her. Goose bumps prickled her skin and her nipples hardened painfully. She shivered.

    "Please, if you want me, let's begin. I'm getting cold."

    "Stand up," he said with a catch in his voice.

    She successfully refrained from smiling as she got to her feet.

    "Take off the rest of your clothes."

    The mukluks and thermal socks dropped to the floor and then she swiftly unfastened the belt and let the wool trousers fall from her hips. Stepping out of her undergarment, totally naked, she lifted her arms to him and stepped forward.

    He stood up quickly and backed away.

    "What?" she began.

    "Keep walking," he ordered.

    "To where?" She slowed. "There's nothing over there except-"

    "The door," he said with a wolfish grin. "I wondered how I was going to repay you for Alf's death."

    "One of your friends?" she asked. Fear welled up in her. This chamber was balmy compared to outside. "I didn't kill him. It was the fortunes of war."

    "Keep walking," he said harshly. "You killed him and a lot of other people with your secret transmitter. I want you to suffer more than the instant it would take for a bullet to kill you." His grin got wider. "And you suggested this yourself!"

    "Please, no - I'll freeze!"

    "That's the idea."

    The guard looked up and the flash of hope she felt faded instantly. It was the other Californian, Scanlon.

    He gave her a wry smile and stepped back, opening the door.

    "Jackson and Alf had been an item for a long time, sister," he said. "You killed the love of his life."

    "Get out!" Jackson snarled, and kicked her out into the brittle night.

    She fell full length in the sharp, frozen crystals before scrambling up again. The door swung shut and and she looked around desperately. Above the ten meter stone wall, the sky reflected the burning redoubt.

    So much warmth, so far away. The subarctic night pulled the heat from her and she knew if she didn't move she would die. Chena Redoubt was foreign to her, she didn't know the layout. The wall looked impossibly long in both directions.

    The cabins held her attention long enough to see that they stood empty - all the chimneys stood bereft of smoke. A glow in the distance at one end seemed the most promising. She trotted woodenly through the snow and fought panic as the numbness crept up past her ankles, her entire body ached and many portions had already lost feeling. Focusing on thoughts of revenge in order to ignore imminent death, she ran whimpering into the dark.