Rogue Soldier by Dana Marton Page A

looking as if he knew what he was doing.
    He turned the dial, picked up the handset, switched through the channels until they heard someone talking. He rattled off some funky code name. “Mike McDonald here. I’m up by Loggers Creek, does anybody have a copy?”
    A few seconds passed before the staticky responsereached them, the disembodied voice identifying himself with a string of numbers. “It’s Jonah from Indian Valley. Are you up here trapping? Go ahead.”
    â€œYeah. Not getting much, though. I ran into some trouble and I’m a couple of days late. You got access to a phone? Over.”
    â€œSure. Need a message passed along? Go ahead.”
    â€œMy old man is probably getting worried about me. Would you mind calling? You can call collect. Over.”
    â€œNo trouble at all. Go ahead.”
    Mike dictated a number. “Tell him, I’m fine. I’m heading toward Black Horse Pass. Over.”
    â€œYou need any help? Want me to call the ranger? You said you ran into trouble. Go ahead.”
    â€œThree hoodlums. We were checking on a friend’s cabin and they came at us. Two Russians, one local. They took most of our supplies and busted up my boy pretty good. Watch out if you see them. Over.”
    â€œI will. Thanks for the warning. Go ahead.”
    â€œYou know if the pass is still open? Over.”
    â€œIt was two days ago when I was up that way. We haven’t had much snow since. Go ahead.”
    Mike thanked the guy for his help and put down the handset. “Let’s grab something to eat and move out.”
    They were packed and ready to go, Mike about to put away the radio when a message crackled through from Jonah.
    â€œI was just talking to my brother-in-law in Nome, telling him about those criminals loose in the woods down here. He said four men, some ours, some Russkies, offered him a boatload of money to take them to Uelen with their crates. Go ahead.”
    Mike sat up straight. “Did he do it? Over.”
    â€œWeather is too bad up there. I told him to stay away from them. Go ahead.”
    Mike signed off and swore.
    â€œFour? Sounds like the guy you shot at the edge of the woods made it,” she said.
    â€œThat’s the least of our problems. They’re taking the warheads to Siberia.”
    She’d figured as much. Uelen was a small fishing town on the Russian side. “The CIA will catch them.”
    He shook his head. “The Colonel said they were focusing on the Canadian border. Maybe they didn’t figure on anyone going north this time of the year. I bet they don’t know the Russians are involved. They can’t cross over into sovereign Russian territory, anyway.”
    He was right. That would cause a major international incident.
    â€œAnd they can’t ask the Russians for help, either. The warheads aren’t supposed to exist.” He shook his head.
    â€œThose crates can’t reach the black market. If theydo—” She didn’t even want to think about it. “We have to go after them.”
    He nodded, and the enormity of the task left her speechless for a moment. They had to make their way across the Alaskan ice fields, evade the CIA, follow a group of weapons dealers into Siberia and retrieve a couple of stolen nuclear warheads. All that with the Arctic winter snapping at their heels. She didn’t want to think about how slim their chances of survival were, let alone the chances of success.
    It didn’t help that her partner was the one man she’d sworn never to trust again as long as she lived.

Chapter Four
    They trudged through the grove of pines, heads down to protect their faces against the wind and the frozen specks of snow flying at them, some sharp enough to draw blood. Mike walked in the front, trying to block as much wind from Tessa as possible, frustrated with how little protection he could truly give her.
    A shadow moved among the trees, just outside his range