Page 13 of A Rebel's Shot
Though, to be fair, he drove an old beater for a reason. Hard to care about scratching the paint when it was already dented.
As he turned at the end of the tarmac to take off, movement off to his right caught his eye. Apolar bear and two cubs meandered onto the runway in front of his plane.
“BRW, this is Rebel Air 6532. Over.” He called into the airport as he slowed to a stop.
Merritt jerked her head up from her phone and glared at him.
“Rebel Air, this is BRW, go ahead.”
“We have polar bears on the runway. Mom and two cubs. Over.”
“Copy that. Thanks for the heads-up. Over.”
Merritt’s head snapped forward, and she pushed her feet against the floorboard like she was trying to disappear into the seat.
“Pretty cool, huh?” Tiikâan sat up straighter to get a better view of the bears.
“No. Not cool.” She fumbled with her buckle.
He put his hand over hers. “Hey. It’s okay. She can’t get us in here.”
“Right.” Merritt dropped her chin to her chest and closed her eyes.
With a huff, she lifted her phone back up and clicked on a new message. He rolled his eyes and returned his gaze out the windshield. This was probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and she’d rather check email?
“Can’t you just, I don’t know, honk a horn or rev the engine or something to get her to move on?” Her annoyed tone grated on him.
“And miss this experience? Nah.”
If she was going to be all business, he would lean into his laid-back Alaskan roots. You can’t change nature, somight as well just go with it. Besides, it wasn’t like the bears would stay there long.
“But we need to get to the mine.”
“And we will. But Alaska has its own timeline and forcing it to bend to yours is pointless.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“That’s Alaska.”
She muttered something under her breath he didn’t catch. She’d traveled the world helping in refugee camps and orphanages. Wouldn’t those experiences have taught her that life didn’t always toe the line? Maybe if he explained the situation to her, she’d loosen up.
“If it was just a lone animal, revving the engine might work. Though I’ve seen animals dig in and dare you to make them move almost as much as I’ve seen them take off. But if I try to scare these three, there’s a good chance the mom will go one way and the cubs another, and then what do we have?”
Merritt shrugged. “Two less bears to grow to adults that terrorize the town?”
Wow. Talk about coldhearted.
If she had such little regard for life, he was out of there. He clenched his teeth together and stared at her, lifting one eyebrow when she finally looked his way.
“Sorry. That was…” She cringed before continuing. “Callous.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“It’s just I’m not a big fan of bears.” She shivered. “I don’t actually want the cubs to die. I just don’t want them anywhere close to where I am.”
“And they aren’t. That mama isn’t going to attack theplane, unless she views us as a threat. Sure, revving the engine could make them leave. But it could also separate them, and then we’re creating an even more dangerous situation for the people here at the airport and in town. A mama polar bear will go to great lengths to find her cubs.
“I’m not willing to do something that could potentially send the mom right into town searching for her babies. Children are playing there, children that are easy pickings for a grown polar bear. Heck, most adults can’t take them on. So, get comfortable, boss lady. We’re waiting these three out.”
