near a very small museum.”
“The other thing we know,” Karin responded. “Is that Captain Cook’s logs and journals are right here.” She tapped her computer. “Online.”
Ben sighed and started flicking through the first of the extensive journals. “Let the fun begin.” He plugged his earphones in and sat back.
Karin stared at him. “Turn it down. Is that the Wall of Sleep? And another cover? Someday, little brother, you’re going to have to get those new tracks down and stop wasting away your five minutes of fame.”
“Don’t talk to me about wasting your time away, sis. We all know you’re the master of that.”
“You intend to bring that up again? Now?”
“It’s been five years.” Ben turned the music up and concentrated on his computer. “Five years of ruin. Don’t let what happened back then wreck the next ten.”
*****
Running on no sleep and minimal rest, Drake, Mai and Alicia decided to take a short break. Drake had been receiving calls from Hayden and Kinimaka since about an hour after the sun came up. The mute button soon resolved that problem.
They rented a room in Waikiki. It was a big Outrigger hotel, packed with tourists, allowing them a high level of anonymity. They ate quickly at a local Denny’s, then headed to their hotel where they took an elevator to their room on the eight floor.
Once inside, Drake relaxed. He knew the benefits of fuelling up on food and rest. He curled into an easy chair near the window, basking as the clear Hawaiian sun bathed him through the French windows.
“You two can fight over the bed,” he murmured without looking around. “Someone set an alarm for two hours.”
With that, he allowed his thoughts to drift away, calm with the knowledge that they had an address on two men who were as close to Claude as anyone could be. Calm with the knowledge that Claude led straight to the Blood King.
Calm with the knowledge that bloody vengeance was only hours away.
*****
Hayden and Kinimaka spent the morning at the local Honolulu PD. The news was that some of Claude’s ‘associates’ had been taken out during the night, but no real news was forthcoming. A club owner called Pilipo was saying very little. Several of his bouncers were in hospital. It also appeared his video feed had miraculously gone down when a man and two women had assaulted him sometime before midnight.
Add to that a bloody gun-battle somewhere in downtown that involved more of Claude’s known associates. When armed officers had arrived at the scene, all they found was an empty house. No men. No bodies. Just blood on the floor and a kitchen table that, when dusted, revealed traces of C4.
Hayden tried Drake. She tried Alicia. She pulled Mano to one side and whispered furiously in his ear. “Damn them! They don’t know we have the backing to proceed as we see fit. They need to know.”
Kinimaka shrugged, his big shoulders rising and falling. “Maybe Drake doesn’t want to know. He’ll do this his way, government backing or not.”
“He’s a liability now.”
“Or a poisonous arrow shooting straight for the heart.” Kinimaka smiled when his boss glanced at him.
Hayden was momentarily fazed. “What? Are those song lyrics, or something?”
Kinimaka looked hurt. “Don’t think so, boss. So”—he flicked a glance toward the assembled cops—“what does the HPD know about Claude?”
Hayden sighed deeply. “Not surprisingly, very little. Claude’s the shady owner of a few clubs that may or may not be involved in illegal activities. They’re not high on the HPD’s watch list. Hence, their silent owner stays anonymous.”
“With everything no doubt engineered by Kovalenko.”
“No doubt. It always pays for a criminal to be several times removed from the real world.”
“Maybe Drake’s making progress. If he wasn’t, I think he’d be with us.”
Hayden nodded. “Let’s hope so. In the meantime, we have a few locals to shake down. And you
“The other thing we know,” Karin responded. “Is that Captain Cook’s logs and journals are right here.” She tapped her computer. “Online.”
Ben sighed and started flicking through the first of the extensive journals. “Let the fun begin.” He plugged his earphones in and sat back.
Karin stared at him. “Turn it down. Is that the Wall of Sleep? And another cover? Someday, little brother, you’re going to have to get those new tracks down and stop wasting away your five minutes of fame.”
“Don’t talk to me about wasting your time away, sis. We all know you’re the master of that.”
“You intend to bring that up again? Now?”
“It’s been five years.” Ben turned the music up and concentrated on his computer. “Five years of ruin. Don’t let what happened back then wreck the next ten.”
*****
Running on no sleep and minimal rest, Drake, Mai and Alicia decided to take a short break. Drake had been receiving calls from Hayden and Kinimaka since about an hour after the sun came up. The mute button soon resolved that problem.
They rented a room in Waikiki. It was a big Outrigger hotel, packed with tourists, allowing them a high level of anonymity. They ate quickly at a local Denny’s, then headed to their hotel where they took an elevator to their room on the eight floor.
Once inside, Drake relaxed. He knew the benefits of fuelling up on food and rest. He curled into an easy chair near the window, basking as the clear Hawaiian sun bathed him through the French windows.
“You two can fight over the bed,” he murmured without looking around. “Someone set an alarm for two hours.”
With that, he allowed his thoughts to drift away, calm with the knowledge that they had an address on two men who were as close to Claude as anyone could be. Calm with the knowledge that Claude led straight to the Blood King.
Calm with the knowledge that bloody vengeance was only hours away.
*****
Hayden and Kinimaka spent the morning at the local Honolulu PD. The news was that some of Claude’s ‘associates’ had been taken out during the night, but no real news was forthcoming. A club owner called Pilipo was saying very little. Several of his bouncers were in hospital. It also appeared his video feed had miraculously gone down when a man and two women had assaulted him sometime before midnight.
Add to that a bloody gun-battle somewhere in downtown that involved more of Claude’s known associates. When armed officers had arrived at the scene, all they found was an empty house. No men. No bodies. Just blood on the floor and a kitchen table that, when dusted, revealed traces of C4.
Hayden tried Drake. She tried Alicia. She pulled Mano to one side and whispered furiously in his ear. “Damn them! They don’t know we have the backing to proceed as we see fit. They need to know.”
Kinimaka shrugged, his big shoulders rising and falling. “Maybe Drake doesn’t want to know. He’ll do this his way, government backing or not.”
“He’s a liability now.”
“Or a poisonous arrow shooting straight for the heart.” Kinimaka smiled when his boss glanced at him.
Hayden was momentarily fazed. “What? Are those song lyrics, or something?”
Kinimaka looked hurt. “Don’t think so, boss. So”—he flicked a glance toward the assembled cops—“what does the HPD know about Claude?”
Hayden sighed deeply. “Not surprisingly, very little. Claude’s the shady owner of a few clubs that may or may not be involved in illegal activities. They’re not high on the HPD’s watch list. Hence, their silent owner stays anonymous.”
“With everything no doubt engineered by Kovalenko.”
“No doubt. It always pays for a criminal to be several times removed from the real world.”
“Maybe Drake’s making progress. If he wasn’t, I think he’d be with us.”
Hayden nodded. “Let’s hope so. In the meantime, we have a few locals to shake down. And you
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