Chief Distraction (9 page)

                 
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The
air was pungent with the smell of fuel, a slick trail of gasoline and oil snaking
from behind the docked powerboat. Tuan Pax, a stocky man with an emotionless
face, quickly untied the rope that held the boat to the dock.

“And where do you think you’re going?” called
Don Blunt. Lanky and balding, he squinted in Pax’s direction. Blunt, the North
American go-to-guy and mastermind of the entire smuggling operation, held Pax’s
cold stare.

“I didn’t agree to murder,” Pax spoke with
assertion.

“We finish the job, leave the dead guy and get
on with it. That’s it,” Blunt ordered, cocking his gun for good measure. He
left no room for debate.

“Sure, whatever you say,” Pax retied the loop
with hesitancy.

“They’ll be here soon. Taipei’s a little farther
away than Hawaii, we’ll just give’em time.”

The buff Al Sanders sauntered over to Pax and
Blunt, totally unfazed by what he’d just done – like shooting a man down
in cold blood was a daily occurrence.

“Why’d you have to kill him and make things more
difficult?” Pax scolded.

“Had to be done. No loose ends,” Sanders
grunted.

Blunt admired Sander’s steely resolve. That’s
why he’d brought him into the fold in the first place. He was the meaty muscle
of the group. Sander’s had done some hard time for assault and battery and had
admitted to two murders that he’d never been caught for. It was enough of a
resume for Blunt to trust Sander’s capabilities.

“What did the contact say?” Sanders asked a
short, middle-aged man leaning against a rock wiping his sweaty brow with his
forearm. “Hey, Roland, I’m talking to you. Wake up!” Sander’s slapped the
communications guy on the knee, making him wince.

Roland sneered, his blatant hatred for Sanders
seething. “The contact has already met the barge to load the shipment. They
should be here by powerboat in a couple of hours – if all goes well that
it.”

“Geez, Roland, always the optimist. Keep your
damn cynicism to yourself,” Sanders snapped.
 

“Why’d you have to go and complicate things?”
Roland nodded up the embankment toward the large lifeless body. “You too stupid
to think things through, is that it?”

“Had to be done. You sure as hell couldn’t do
what’s necessary. And if you don’t watch it, you’ll be next.”

Blunt tisked the men. “Easy, Sanders, lets all
be friends. Focus on why we’re here. This’ll all be over soon enough and we’ll
be richer than we were yesterday.” Blunt smiled the crooked smile of a man on a
high-stakes mission. There was just a hint of desperate crazy lingering in his
expression and he embraced it. It was his leverage. “If we can stay calm and
avoid careless mistakes, you’ll all be paid. Anything goes wrong and I may
reconsider.”

Blunt turned to Roland. “Any more details?”

“Contact says the shipment was one box short.
I’m thinking a payoff, maybe someone on the barge threatened to squeal unless
they got a small cut.”

“Even so, things like that can’t happen without
my permission. I’ll only pay for what I receive,” Blunt looked at his
fingernails, inspecting them nonchalantly.

“Sounds about right to me.” Pax cocked his
semi-automatic and shoved it into his belt. He liked the feel of its power near
his manhood. Made him feel taller.

“Sanders, Roland, make yourselves busy by
rolling that body into the bushes,” Blunt instructed as he brought the dead
guy’s camera up to his eye. He flicked on the power and pressed the rewind
button. “Well look what we have here.”

“What?” Pax asked, stepping closer.

“Seems that big guy wasn’t alone. We’ve got two
more people on this island and I bet they’re close by.” Blunt brought the
camera down again. He looked toward the long meandering path that led to the
other side of the island. “On second thought, leave the body there. You can
move it later. We’ll need to find those two. A man and a woman.” He turned his
attention to Sanders and Roland. “Bring them back alive.”

“Wait,” Roland piped up. “Lets wait for the
shipment and then leave. Those two haven’t even seen us.”

The tension emanating off Blunt was dense.

“Move it, Roland. Do what you’re told,” Sanders
instructed as he pushed the much tinier man forward with a forceful shove.

Blunt begged for patience. He found the uncivilized
dynamic between Sanders and Roland continuously amusing and didn’t dare
intervene. If anything, he spurred it on by throwing them together
continuously. He found joy in Sanders’ bullying, hoping it would eventually
toughen Roland up a bit. So far, the man was softer than ever, not to mention a
liability.

“Don’t be too complacent, Roland, or Sanders
will give you something to really whine about. I know the money’s the only
reason you’re here. So keep yourself together and maybe I’ll pay you in the end
of all this.”

“Sure thing, I’ll keep him in line,” Sanders
said as he hiked the steep incline. Like a good guard dog, he followed orders
without question. He sidestepped the body, not giving it a second glance.

Roland dawdled, finding the task demeaning.

“Move it!” Sanders barked over his shoulder.
Roland fought back the temptation to go commando on Sanders ass. Only in his
dreams, which were fulfilling enough. He knew they needed Sanders expertise and
muscle power, despite his wisecracking fat mouth.

Chapter
Ten

Moving at a steady pace,
Mak tried to ignore the heavy heat as it wrapped them like a stifling blanket.
Periodically looking back to check on Blythe, he noticed the sweat trickling
down her temples, her neck, and between her breasts. Soft auburn tendrils fell
around her face. She pushed them back as if begging for relief from the
scorching sun. Mak was used to the heat, having grown up in it all his life.
Being saddled with Blythe was the curse’s doing and Mak reminded himself of
that. Pele, the God of Fire, was not about to make escaping easy for him. Not
when a beautiful woman was involved. Hell, maybe the curse is what brought him
to this damn island in the first place…in the form of Blythe Davenport.

The rocky terrain grew
steep as they climbed to higher ground. Mak assumed the men would stick to the
shoreline if they ever found out about them. In turn, the men might assume he
and Blythe would stay within view of a potential rescue boat. There were spots
on the rocky hillside that were almost impassable, so Mak skirted around these
until the ground flattened out, making it easier to trespass. There was also
less chance of triggering a bomb on the slopes.

Mak knew they were too
exposed to the elements up here. With minimal sunscreen and no hats or shade,
they didn’t have long before the sun took its toll.

“We’ll have to find some
cover. Protect ourselves. Who knows how long we’ll be on this island.”

“Maybe we’ll get lucky
and a group of scientists will be at the base camp. We can leave with them.”

“No chance of that.
There was nothing on the reserve schedule to indicate anyone here but us.”

“Anyone can boat over here if they wanted, can’t they?” Blythe asked,
huffing in her attempts to talk and keep up.

Mak shook his head. “No way. Not unless it’s an illegal entry. You have
to clear it with the Island Reserve Commission. All unauthorized person’s must
stay at least two miles out from the shoreline of Kahoolawe.”

“Then the Commission people know we’re here, right? You cleared it with
them. They’ll know something’s wrong if we don’t return on time.”

Mak’s expression conveyed her answer.

“No?”

“No. They approved our visit here today, but leaving is our
responsibility. They assume whoever arrives would want to leave. They don’t
follow up.”

“Won’t someone come for
us?” Blythe croaked in desperation.

Mak’s heart skipped at
her naivety. The reporter really had no idea what was at stake here. He knew
he’d have to be her protector and take charge. Otherwise, they both may end up
dead. “Blythe, I’ll be honest. All of my men are at the Fireman’s Convention.
Your sister and her boyfriend are gone now and it’s Saturday. We’re on our own.
I think it’s best to stay out of sight and wait it out.”

“Wait what out? What are
those men doing here?”

Mak stopped and turned
around, letting her catch her breath. She placed her hands on her hips, her
chest heaving. He looked at her shoes and internally cursed the fashion
industry. They were so impractical even if they did make her toned legs stretch
on for eternity. “My guess is they’re hiding something – something worth
killing randomly for. Obviously something illegal.”

Blythe straightened.
“Like drugs?”

“Could be. Or guns. Wouldn’t
be the first time Hawaii was used as a stopping point for smuggling weapons.
Hell, the harbor on the other side of this island’s called Smuggler’s Cove for
that very reason. This kind of thing has been going on for centuries.”

“And we’re caught in the
middle of it,” Blythe said softly. “That’s a much more important story to tell.
If we make it off this island, I’m going to expose them and put an end to this
senseless…”

“Easy, Blythe,” Mak
shook his head. “First of all, we
will
get off this island. I’ll make sure that
happens. Second, I don’t want you thinking like a reporter right now. I want
you thinking like a survivor, am I clear?”

She nodded silently.
“I’ve always been on the other side of the story, the impartial observer. This
is new for me.”

“Well, welcome to your
own life or death situation.” Mak hoped he didn’t sound too abrupt. “Let’s keep
moving.”

                 
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The inclined walk on rough terrain seemed
endless.
Blythe’s thighs protested the steepness of the
path. Every fiber of her physical being screamed ‘STOP’, but her mind willed
her onward and away from harm.
Each step she took was agony, the blisters ripping the
tender skin on her heels and toes. Her lips were dry from the unforgiving sun
and her breath grew shallow at the heightened altitude as her chest burned with
acid and fatigue. At times, Mak’s pace was too fast and she fell behind,
feeling at once vulnerable and exposed. Despite her discomfort, she quickened
her pace to keep up, desperate for his safety. She truly needed him out here,
whether she’d admit it aloud was something else entirely.

The path grew steeper
still as they trudged onward. She grew dizzy, the sun blazing down on the crown
of her uncovered head. The path inclined sharply and Mak climbed it
effortlessly. Blythe swore and stopped on the spot, her hands on her knees as
she bent in exhaustion. It was all too much.

“Wait,” she panted.

Mak stopped and faced
her. “Lets take a break,” he said, finally noticing her struggles.

The words were music to
her ears.

“Here, have a seat,” he
pointed to a flat rock.

She hesitated, looking
back on how far they’d travelled. In the distant horizon, she noticed the sun
had begun a sleepy descent, the vibrant blue hues of the day fading into golden
orange tones. “Is it safe to stop?”

“For a minute. We’re
almost there.”

“Almost where?” Sitting,
she pulled off her sandal to inspect the carnage. The tropical breeze picked
up, stinging the exposed blister and making her wince.

Mak placed his hands on
his hips and nodded up ahead. “We have to stay on higher ground and keep our
distance from the dock,” he said before looking at her foot. “That looks pretty
bad. We need water and first aid. Only one place for that.”

“Where?”

“Other side.”

“Other side of the
island?” Blythe gaped. “That’s miles away.” She inspected her foot with dread.
“How far are we talking?”

Mak leaned back slightly
and looked into the distance, assessing. “Far.”

“I thought you said we
were almost there! How far, I need to know what I’m in for.”

“About five miles. We’ve already walked around two miles”

“Yeah, uphill,” Blythe sighed.

“We have to reach that old military base camp on the western end.
There’s not much left of it now, but it’s shelter. And there’s a CB in one building.
It still functioned last time I was on this island. It’s our only hope of
calling for help.”

“What about your rescue boat? It’ll have first aid and a CB, right?”

“And it’s currently surrounded by men with guns, remember?”

Blythe stayed mute.

“I’m sorry, Blythe. I know this is upsetting.”

Blythe pushed her damp hair back off her forehead. She felt like a
wilted flower about to shrivel up and blow away in the breeze. And then
something donned on her. “Wait, won’t the men know about that military camp
too? What if we get there and find even more men with guns waiting for us?”