Carter's Fortress - 10. Chapter 10

Will was sitting in the propeller-driven airplane as it flew over seemingly endless forests of trees. He rested his head on his hand as he stared out of the window sleepily. They'd had to make an early start of it and Will felt as if he hadn't slept at all, not a good combination as they winged their way steadily northwards to Iqaluit.

They were booked onto a small government plane, fortunately, though Will wondered why the government hadn't bothered to spring for one of the private jets instead of the ancient prop-driven plane that Will was certain predated Robert Avery.

Marc was sitting across from him flipping through a tourism magazine listening to his headphones, occasionally bobbing his head along to the music as he flipped. Well, at least he was happy with the idea of spending time in the Arctic.

Will, however, was still about as enthusiastic about it as a kid on his way to the dentist. He shook his head and looked back down at the laptop he had brought with him, putting the finishing touches on the minister's speech.

The stewardess walked up to his chair and extended the coffee carafe to top up his empty travel mug, and he gave her a broad grin of thanks. "How long till we arrive?" he asked, glancing towards the window and noticing they were now flying over water.

"We should be arriving shortly," the stewardess said with a smile. She then looked over at the minister, "Should I wake him?"

Will leaned around her to look at Robert who was slumbering peacefully. The occasional snore escaped as he slept. Typically, Robert always seemed to be able to sleep on flights, a miracle considering little Aiden had cried nearly constantly the first hour of the flight.

He was asleep now as well, curled up in his seat and covered with a blanket. His parents quietly talked further up the plane. Lisa noticed Will was looking up at them and she smiled at him before going back to her conversation.

"Hey Will," Marc said tugging the headphones off and extending the tourism magazine, "Did you know that there are trees about eighty kilometers from the city? There's a valley that apparently gets warm enough...to..." he trailed off noting Will's look of utter disdain. "What?"

"The nearest tree is eighty kilometers away?" Will sounded deadpan as he said it, totally unimpressed.

Marc grinned at him, "It snows up here nine months out of the year..."

"Uh huh," Will said setting his jaw, aware that Marc was enjoying his situation.

"Okay, I'll stop," Marc said trying to hide his playful grin. "Where are we staying?"

Will leaned past him again and looked over at Lisa, "Which hotel?"

"Frobrisher Inn," Lisa returned with a shrug. "Apparently it was the best Alicia could find."

"Right," Will said, getting the distinct feeling Alicia was laughing at their expense back at the office as she put her feet up on Will's desk, smoked one of Avery's cigars and cranked the heat.

Marc smirked at him as he went back to reading the magazine.

* * *

"That's an airport?" Will asked as he got off the plane and hefted his backpack to his shoulders. He was glad of the ski jacket he had bought before the trip with its matching Thinsulate gloves.

He stood looking up at the prefab yellow building that could have passed for a beached submarine. It poked up from the snow-covered ground and beckoned warmly to the travelers and Will shook his head as he started to follow Robert to the terminal.

The explosion of cold connected with the back of his head as he stumbled a few steps and dropped his bags in surprise. He turned reaching up to feel the cold snow melting and running down the back of his neck.

Marc, Lisa and Jeff each pretended to look innocent while Aiden giggled with laughter. Will shot each of them a dark look, moments before he dived down to scoop up some snow that he sent sailing towards Marc.

It exploded on Marc's sheepskin jacket and the be-toqued Canadian looked down at the white that now splattered his jacket and back up at Will. "Oh, you bastard!" he exclaimed grinning as he dove to make a snowball of his own.

Pretty soon a hail of snowballs were flying back and forth as the adults, behaving as if they were Aiden's age, fought a snowball war on the tarmac of the airport.

"What the hell is going on here?" Robert said, turning back from the terminal doorway and looking at his staff who all turned at the same time, hefting their ammunition and looking at the man that had dragged them to the Arctic Circle...

* * *

It was called 'the place of many fish' in Inuit. The settlement that had once been called Frobisher Bay was established in the early part of the twentieth century and had grown up around a U.S. military base of the cold war era.

Tucked into the passenger seat of the minivan staring out at the cold, flat terrain dotted with brightly coloured prefab houses and shacks, Will thought it was about as foreign a place as he had ever seen. It was truly about as remote as a city could get in Canada, and Will wondered where Santa's workshop was hidden.

They were being driven by the local Minister of Parliament, James Nattaq, who had met them at the airport terminal with an offer to drive them to the hotel and help them get settled before the meetings that afternoon.

He was giving them a brief history lesson as the minivan surged through the thin layer of snow that had settled over the gravel road. "So when the Canadian government bought the air base from the Americans, things were good up here; well, as good as they get that is. But closing down the northern radar line at the end of the cold war, we all assumed that was it for the city."

Will nodded, "What happened?"

"Well, after the Nunavut land claim was recognized, and we became a separate territory and Iqaluit was made a capital, we had an economic boom."

Will glanced out of the window at the houses, and the dirt roads. This was prosperity? He suddenly felt very guilty for the things he took for granted in Ottawa, things like roads, trees and a decent house.

"What about unemployment?" Will asked, turning back.

"We're a little above average," Nattaq admitted tiredly. "There's good growth within the city, but beyond it...everything is so remote that access, especially in winter, makes things hard."

Will looked up at the mirror and back at Robert; the minister had a dark scowl on his face thinking exactly what Will was thinking. There were places in Canada that hovered above the poverty line that could use government investments to make life just a little bit easier and the government was throwing away five hundred million on a glorified concert hall.

Will touched his temple as he looked back out of the window, falling silent as he listened to Nattaq talking about the ancient Thule ruins just off shore from the city. There was a whole culture tucked up in this remote and isolated end of the world, and Will wondered how long it would survive the encroaching influence of western civilization.

* * *

Lisa found Will tucked away in a corner of the hotel dining room looking out of a window at the city beyond. He was tapping away at his laptop wearing the fleece lining of his ski jacket and drinking a strong mug of coffee.

He looked agitated, and she was fast coming to learn to leave him be when he was in those moods. Something was bothering him and he didn't seem in the mood to discuss it. She could relate, there was something wholly disquieting about this place. She felt at a loss there, displaced, and she found herself looking forward to going home.

"Can I join you?" she asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down, not waiting for his reply.

Will glanced up and returned to staring at his screen. "I'm not in the mood," he said, tapping a few more keys and moving the mouse.

"What are you reading?" she asked, ignoring his not so subtle attempt to get her to leave him alone.

"I am reading the budget," Will replied, turning the computer slightly. "Do you know the Federal government has repeatedly cut social programs, the lack of doctors up here is approaching critical, not to mention the fact that there are no decent roads."

Lisa looked down at the computerized report and then back up at Will, her features softening. "That's why you're so upset?" she asked.

"Frustrated is all," Will replied refilling his coffee mug. "How are we supposed to make a difference when we're wasting money left, right and center?"

"That's the nature of government, though," Lisa said reaching out to touch his arm. "Robert is upset as well, he's just keeping a good face on it. The Prime Minister discussed his Northern vision with Robert before we left, they are planning on doing something."

Will coughed and shrugged, "There's a growing tendency of violent crime up here and the government refused to pass a recommended increase in the RCMP budget to let the police fight it."

"The north isn't the only area with these problems," Lisa reminded Will. "We just don't have the money to provide the..."

"And we have the money for an exhibition center that costs twice as much as it was supposed to? Do you know what we could do with five hundred million? We could completely fund the RCMP northern operation, recruit nurses and doctors to work up here to ensure essential services." He stood up and slammed his laptop closed, "It's ridiculous and you know it."

"Will?" Lisa called after him as he stalked from the dining room.

* * *

Will stamped into his boots, pulling on his jacket's outer shell and stalked out into the crisp, cold air. With the sun going down it was getting colder, and his breath fogged before him as he trudged down the road, hands stuffed into his pocket. He'd dropped his laptop off at the room, and had decided that a walk might clear his head.

There were warm lights on in the windows of the small community, the flicker of television sets, and the smells of gas stoves. There was music drifting from a bar just up the street a little ways, but he wasn't in the mood to drown his sorrows.

The plow honked at him to get out of the way, and he stepped off the road and sank a foot into the soft snow as it rumbled past showering him with more snow. He sighed and brushed himself off as he struggled back onto the road and kept going. He had no particular destination, but just wanted to get away from work. Escape the responsibilities of who he was for a while.

"You shouldn't walk alone at night," Marc said jogging up behind him. The young man slowed down to walk along with him, offering his boyfriend a smile.

"Hey," Will said as they both walked together. "What are you doing here?"

"TV up here sucks," Marc replied. "And I figured I'd go for a walk with the most attractive guy on Baffin Island."

"I think I saw him go into that bar over there," Will said pointing across the road.

"Actually, Lisa said you were upset so I thought to come and cheer you up a bit." Marc waggled his eyebrows, "At the very least warm you up a bit."

"Not that easy this time," Will replied with a shrug. "I just need to unwind..."

"That's the idea," Marc said, reaching out to pull Will in close to him. "You can't win every time, you need to pick your battles."

"You sound like my father," Will replied, allowing himself to be tugged close to Marc, enjoying the feel of the sheepskin jacket as he brushed up against it.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Marc said with a cocky smile. "Your dad is a soldier, right?"

Will nodded, "Yes he is." They turned at the top of the street and started back. "I just sometimes wonder if what I am doing actually makes a difference," he said thoughtfully.

"It does because you are doing it," Marc said firmly. "You go out of your way to do the right thing; you have for as long as I have known you."

"Thanks," Will smiled.

"I mean it," Marc pressed. "Look at what you've done for me, you changed my life."