them? I’d go to jail, no questions asked.
I strapped my pack and hiked on. There was no point in worrying too much. The woods were lovely, dark and deep, and I had promises to keep. And a few more miles before I could meet up with my Canadian gangster and make the drop.
After another half hour of walking, I heard the sound of running water up ahead. I sighed, knowing that the water was the border, and that I had made really good time. I hated to get there early, but that was better than late.
The one and only time I showed up late had been bad. They threatened to dock my pay for every minute I was behind schedule. Apparently, even gangsters don’t like waiting around with a bunch of illegal drugs in their car.
I stopped by the river and crouched down next to it. It was lower than usual and moving more slowly, which was good. I could probably just walk right across it instead of hoping for a fallen tree or a makeshift bridge like I usually did.
As I began my trek east, I started to notice the signs. They were posted by both governments on both sides and were mostly meant to scare off lost hikers. They promised things like unreasonably high fines and hundreds of years in jail, plus physical dismemberment and torture, if you didn’t back off immediately.
I reached up and grabbed the closest sign. I yanked twice and managed to tear it off the tree it had been nailed to. I grinned down at it as I wound up and threw it into the river. The sign spun in quick circles, rotating along its central axis, flying high over the water, glinting bright sunlight off its reflective face.
It sank with a satisfying plop.
As I looked up, I suddenly froze. There was movement on the Canadian side. Without thinking, I melted back into the woods, farther away from the water. I hid behind a tree, unmoving, and listened.
My heart hammered in my chest as I stayed completely still. I didn’t move for what felt like an hour, but really was probably no more than thirty seconds.
I heard the unmistakable sounds of human voices and people moving through the brush. They clearly weren’t trying to be quiet, and as they got closer I could begin to make out what they were saying.
“—told you, I heard something,” one man said.
“No way. It was just a fish.”
“Fish don’t make sounds like that.”
As I watched, hidden behind a tree and some bushes, two guys appeared next to the water. I could hear the blood rushing through my skull as I stared at them.
Slowly, I realized what was happening. They weren’t dressed like border guards or Mounties. They weren’t carrying rifles.
“See, told you,” the taller guy said.
“Maybe it was farther down?” the other one said.
The two men were dressed in brown clothes, wide-brimmed hats, and were carrying fishing rods. I sighed and relaxed slightly. They were just some local Canadian guys out fishing for the day, though why they wanted to fish at the actual border was a mystery to me.
“You’re crazy. Let’s just cast here, see if we can’t get a bite.”
“It’s lunch for those suckers,” the other guy said. “They’re busy having a snack.”
“Well, we can feed them more.”
They laughed together and began to set up their little spot. I watched for another second as they unfolded chairs and began to bait their rods.
I didn’t wait around to see if they would catch anything. I moved on as quietly as possible, heading deeper into the woods before resuming my trek along the riverbank, well away from the fishermen.
It took me a few minutes before I caught my breath. It was the first time I had ever seen people near the border, and it was a harsh reminder that I wasn’t absolutely alone out in the woods. I wasn’t actually invincible.
I felt a little shaken up as I moved east, putting more distance between me and the fishermen. Throwing the sign had been stupid, a stupid and immature mistake. What if they had been border patrol? They would definitely have followed up, and I doubted I would have been able to hide from trained professionals.
I was lucky. I hated to admit it, but I was incredibly lucky, and had been for a long time. Falling and losing a single shipment was nothing compared to the sort of shit I could get into out there. Every time I made