Whisper to the Blood (42 page)

Chick was home, sober again and cheerful about it. The five of them sat down
and tucked into pie and lingered over coffee, catching up on Park gossip and
lying about their New Year's resolutions.

Chick gave Mandy a meaningful glance, and Mandy stirred in her chair.
"Yeah," she said. "I've got some news of my own."

"Serve it up," Kate said, absorbed in picking up crust crumbs with
a licked forefinger.

Mandy looked at Kate's bent head. "I'm the new Talia Macleod."

Kate went very still, one finger halfway between plate and mouth.

Into the silence Mandy said, "Global Harvest asked me a week or so
after she died. I told them I had to think about it. Chick and I talked it
over, and last week I said I would. I wanted you to hear before they made the
announcement, or before Bobby finds out and puts it out on goddamn Park
Air."

No one laughed.

"Anyway," Mandy said. "There'll be a press release after the
first of the year."

There was a brief silence. As if they were propelled by marionette strings,
everyone turned to look at Kate.

Kate licked the last of the crumbs from her finger and sat back. "Are
you sure you want to do this, Mandy?"

Mandy shrugged. "No. But it's a big paycheck. And a chunk of
stock."

"We heard about the stock," Jim said in a carefully neutral voice.
"Hard to turn down something like that." "You need money?"
Kate said.

Mandy shrugged. "This place takes a lot to keep it going. Like I told
you in October, my trust fund never covers all of it. Whatever prize money I
got for a race always helped." She put her hand over Chick's. "We
don't want to live anywhere else. And besides." Mandy spread her hands.
"They keep canceling the races, Kate, or delaying them. There's never
enough snow anymore, or it all melts too soon and the trail just beats you to
death. It was fifty-two degrees when we went through Cripple last year, did I
tell you? Jesus. You can't run dogs at those temperatures."

She smiled at Mutt, sitting next to Kate, ears up, eyes inquiring. "And
the competition gets stiffer every year. Publicity's about ruined the Iditarod.
Outsiders from
Montana
,
Norwegians, for god's sake, even a blind musher. What the hell's that
about?" She sat back in her chair. "It's just not as much fun as it
used to be."

And you aren't winning the way you used to, Kate thought, but she would have
cut out her tongue before she said it out loud. "I told you I got
shanghaied to be chair of the NNA board."

"You did," Mandy said, nodding.

"
Lot
of talk about that mine."

Mandy's smile had faded, too. "I know."

"
Lot
of people against it."

"Are you against it?" Mandy said.

Everyone looked at Kate again. "Not the point," Kate said.
"What I'm saying, Mandy, is a lot of Park rats won't be happy you're the
new mouthpiece for Global Harvest."

Mandy set her jaw. It was a good jaw, square and firm. "They'll get
used to it."

We'll have to, Kate thought.

JANUARY

"Auntie Joy," Kate said, "please sit here, on my right. Old
Sam, on my left, please. Harvey, Demetri, there and there."

Auntie Joy looked startled but took the seat Kate indicated. Old Sam gave
Kate one of his patented, narrow-eyed looks, waited long enough to establish
that it was his own idea, and sat.
Harvey
looked mutinous but short of summarily dislodging two venerable elders there
was nothing for him to do but sit where he was told to. Demetri took the last
seat without comment.

"You'll find copies of an agenda on the table in front of you."

She gave them a few minutes to run their eyes over it, and then rapped the
table once with a small gavel made of fossilized ivory, its creamy surface
swirling with golds and browns. She'd commissioned Thor Moonin to carve it for
her after the holidays. "The meeting will come to order."

It came out a little more authoritarian than she had meant it to and the
table sat up with a collective jerk. Auntie Joy turned a shocked eye on Kate.
Old Sam relaxed again, with the beginnings of a smile indenting the corners of
his mouth. "You all had copies of the last meeting's minutes hand-delivered
to your doorstep two weeks ago. I'm going on the assumption you've read them.
Are there any additions or corrections you would like to propose to the minutes
at this time?"

Harvey
opened his mouth, encountered Kate's level gaze, and shut it again.

"If there are no corrections or emendations, the minutes are approved.
May we have the treasurer's report?"

Annie Mike gave a brisk rundown of the numbers. Kate moved that they be
approved and accepted, Auntie Joy seconded the motion, it passed.

"Membership report," Kate said.

This was new, and
Harvey
said, "What's this?"

"Point of order," Kate said coolly. "The chair has not
recognized Mr. Meganack."

"Oh, come on, what's this bullshit?"

"This bullshit is Robert's Rules of Order," Kate said. "You
must be recognized by the chair before you are allowed to speak. And you have
to stand up before I can recognize you."

Harvey
sat
there with his mouth half open.

"On your feet, Harvey," Old Sam said, smirking.

Harvey
, red
with anger, nevertheless stood up. "Madam Chair."

Kate gave a curt nod. "The chair recognizes Mr. Meganack."

"What's this membership report? We've never done this before."

"It's a tally of shareholders," Kate said, "which the board
will update at every meeting. I think it's important we keep track of the
number of shareholders we have on a regular basis. It helps remind us to whom
we are responsible when we take action at these meetings."

There had been eleven children born over the past year who qualified under
the Association's one-thirty-secondth rule, specifically that after adding up
their Native heritage on both sides each shareholder had a minimum of
one-thirty-secondth of Native blood.

Assimilation and intermarriage over the last three hundred years meant a lot
of shareholders just barely squeaked in under that rule, and it also meant that
many of the next generation of babies wouldn't qualify at all. In the back of
her mind Kate noted that some action should be taken to ensure that the tribe
increased rather than decreased in size as the years went by. They might have
to go to one-sixty-fourth. "Total shareholders, Ms. Mike?" she said.

"Madam Chair, as of January first, the Niniltna Native Association had
two hundred and thirty-seven shareholders," Annie said.
"Approximately one hundred of them live in
Anchorage
,
Fairbanks
,
Juneau
,
and Outside."

"Thank you, Ms. Mike."

Harvey
sat
down slowly.

Kate tried not to let her relief show. In truth, she was a little surprised
at herself. She hadn't planned to address everyone by their surnames, it had
just come out, but the formality felt right. "Any further reports, Ms.
Mike?"

"Not at present, Madam Chair," Annie said, her brisk manner
rivaling Kate's own. Imitation, in this case, was the sincerest form of
approval.

"Thank you, Ms. Mike. Moving on. Old business." She looked up.
"I move that we table old business today. There is nothing left over that
is pressing and we've got the general shareholders meeting to get to."

"Second," Old Sam said.

"It is moved and seconded that the board carry any old business forward
to the next regularly scheduled board meeting. Debate?" There was none.
"Those in favor, say aye."

Auntie Joy, Old Sam, and Kate said aye.
Harvey
was back to looking furious. "The
ayes have it, and the motion is adopted. Next item. New business."

Kate sat back in her chair and fixed
Harvey
with a cold and unflinching eye. "I have three items I wish to bring to
the board's attention this morning."

Harvey
stiffened, and she knew he was thinking that she was about to bring up his job
with GHRI, whatever it might be.

"All three items," Kate said, "will by Association rules be
put to the vote before the general shareholders meeting."

"Along with the election of the board members,"
Harvey
said, rallying.

"Out of order, Mr. Meganack, but so noted. First on our agenda is the
creation of an advisory committee consisting of qualified volunteers drawn from
Association shareholders to advise and consent to every single step Global
Harvest Resources takes in developing and producing the Suulutaq Mine. Further,
I propose that we approach Global Harvest Resources to fund said committee. At
this time, I so move."

"Second," Old Sam said promptly.

"The motion to create an advisory committee for the Suulutaq Mine and
to make Global Harvest pay for it is moved and seconded," Kate said.
"Debate? The chair recognizes Mr. Meganack."

Harvey
had
shot to his feet but he'd also had the sense to wait this time until he was
recognized. "You want to put our people on Global Harvest's payroll? Won't
that make them more rather than less inclined to sign off on anything GH wants
to do?"

The irony inherent in his protest seemed not to occur to
Harvey
. "Not if we choose the committee
members carefully," Kate said, and added softly, "and watch
them."

He reddened. "Who'd you have in mind for this committee?"

She looked at him. "You, for a start."

It was hard to say who was more surprised by this blunt statement, Auntie
Joy or Harvey. Old Sam, of course, gave out with his braying laugh. Demetri
remained his taciturn silent self.

"I seem to recall you have a degree in civil engineering from the
University
of
Alaska Anchorage
," Kate said.
"You've got the education required, you're a shareholder, and you're even
a member of the board, duly elected, which means you're trusted by the
shareholders to run things right. Who better?"

Harvey
sat
down as if his legs had suddenly given out from under him.

Kate figured she couldn't beat Global Harvest in a race for
Harvey
's mercenary heart, but she could damn
well give them some competition. She wasn't going to out
Harvey
, not yet anyway. Either
Harvey
would realize how
inappropriate-and how impossible-it was to try to serve two masters, or he'd
eventually have enough rope to hang himself with.

"Any further discussion?" she said. There wasn't. "All in
favor?" Unanimous. "The board moves that the creation of a Suulutaq
Advisory Committee be brought before the general membership at today's meeting.
Second item on the agenda. I move that we ask the general membership to increase
the Niniltna Native Association board from five members to nine."

"What! Katya!"

"Out of order, Ms. Shugak," Kate said, ignoring the stricken
expression on Auntie Joy's face, albeit not without a twinge of conscience.

"Second," Old Sam said, although not quite as promptly as he had
before. He looked at Kate with a quizzical eye, as if to say he'd go along, but
only until and unless she proved her case.

"Moved and seconded," Kate said. "Discussion."

"Madam Chair!"
Harvey
said, on his feet.

"Madam Chair!" Auntie Joy said, on hers.

"The chair recognizes herself," she said, and got to her own feet.
Auntie Joy subsided, hurt.
Harvey
subsided, pissed off at being steamrollered.

"I went back and checked the records of previous meetings," Kate
said. "On average, we have to cancel one a year due to lack of a
quorum." Quoting from what she was beginning to refer to as the Book, at
least to herself, she said, "'Any substantive action taken in the absence
of a quorum is invalid.' Lacking a quorum, the Association board can't get its
business done. Four more members on the board means four more paychecks, true
enough. But if we establish five members-the same number we have now-as the
minimum number required to constitute a quorum, with a nine-member board we can
be four members short and still get the job done." She paused, looking
around at each board member for effect. "And there's going to be a lot to
get done, shortly."

She sat down and recognized Auntie Joy, who beat
Harvey
to his feet by a hair second. Auntie Joy
spoke forcefully if incoherently on the value of tradition, of institutions
created out of necessity and the importance of inclusion, the responsibility of
the governing body to run a frugal business, and of the virtue inherent in
running such a business. After a while she ran out of steam, looked confused,
and sat down without offering an amendment to the motion. Kate didn't remind
her, either.

In the meantime,
Harvey
,
looking unusually thoughtful, had thought better of speaking and waved a
dismissive hand when Kate looked at him. "The chair moves that the motion
to increase the Niniltna Native Association board from five members to nine
should be brought before the general membership for approval. All in favor say
aye."

Kate, Old Sam, Demetri, and Harvey voted aye. Auntie Joy said nay and looked
as if she might burst into tears.

Kate hardened her heart. "Last item. I move we commission a new NNA
logo."