Anderson stopped when he heard T.B. call out:
“Stop. Anderson. I’ll come with you to the Toyota Hilux until you can get the spare magazine and extra ammunition. After that, we can part ways, and I can find our reinforcement without hesitation. Besides, the assassin will be waiting for his rescue on the only road out of this valley.”
Anderson said nothing. He nodded and waved to T.B., signaling their departure.
The two young men followed the riverbank. The midday sun hung high above them, spreading golden light across the green highlands of the Alaskan summer. But the warmth barely touched the icy water, where a pair of mallard ducks glided effortlessly downstream.
The mallard, Alaska’s most common duck, is found in nearly every wetland, no matter how remote. The males, with their iride
