Twix could tell it was the first time Governor Barnes had considered that possibility.
“You’re saying that—”
“I’m saying there’s a chance they lied to you to see if you’d give them anything useful. The question is, did you? Did they say anything about Danny?”
“They thought he blew up the building at Knights Peak,” Barnes replied.
Twix saw Trigger’s eyebrows rise. “So they think Danny is still alive?”
“I don’t know.” Barnes shrugged. “I guess. Maybe. Haven’t you been following his dog-tag beacon? It’s in Colorado.”
“No. He told us not to. Twix and I aren’t supposed to log in at all. Just Damien and the mole.” Trigger let that sink in. “The question is did you give them any reason to think Danny was still alive?”
Governor Barnes paused. Trigger and Twix saw right through that. “Crap.” Twix sighed.
“I told them he couldn’t have blown up the building, that he was still miles away from the coordinates at the time of the explosion.”
“Shit.” Trigger sighed again. “Damn it.”
A little bit of relief and hope had crept into the governor’s face. Now it was gone again. “What do you guys want me to do?”
“You just put Danny in a lot of hot water, if he is still alive,” Trigger replied. “The commander is going to send everyone out looking for him now.”
“And we may have another problem,” Twix said, glancing at Trigger.
“And what’s that?”
“Sir, there’s a huge hurricane heading our direction. Was originally just supposed to blow by, but now it appears to turning directly towards us. Damien doesn’t see any way it misses us now.”
“Seriously? A hurricane? It’s not even hurricane season, is it?” the governor responded nervously. He looked out the window. It was rather dark for mid-afternoon. “Peak season, in fact. You should know that.” Trigger ignored the inquisitive look he got from Twix.
“And if it does hit us—”
“When it hits us,” Trigger interrupted.
“Weathermen are always wrong.”
“Maybe. But not meteorologists.”
“Enough. Both of you. True as that may be—Trigger… Governor—if and/or when the hurricane does hit us, it may be our best chance to get into the pink house on Kauai and rescue the girls. It may even be our only chance.”
Barnes’s attention was one hundred percent back in the mix. “So you’re actually hoping we get slammed by this hurricane. Is it a big one? When is it expected to hit us?”
“Yes, sir, it’s a big one. Definitely Category 4. Best guess”—Twix glanced out the window—“it hits late Wednesday afternoon or night. Wind is already picking up out there.” Twix pointed toward the ocean.
“Tomorrow night? What about the flooding? You said it was a Category 4…the last one of those to hit us was back in the early nineties. That thing destroyed Kauai.”
“Hurricane Iniki—we know, sir,” Trigger replied.
“Heck, the last hurricane a couple years ago flooded the entire place and it barely hit us. If this one does hit us, that property isn’t high enough to stay above it.” The governor could see he was telling the SEALs more of what they already knew. “But you guys already have a plan for that, don’t you?”
“Honestly, sir, no offense, but we’re not going to tell you anything else at this point.” Trigger was gazing out the window at the ocean. Twix continued. “But if we need something from you, we will let you know.”
The governor didn’t look thrilled with that response, but he knew he’d done nothing to deserve inclusion. He nodded.
“That said, though,” Twix continued, “if you have any hope of ever seeing your wife alive again, you cannot in any way tip off the people who are watching you. Do not act weird. Do not leave. Do not say a word about this to anyone. No one. Do not try to be a hero. I mean it. Go to bed early. Stay here. Stay… here.”
“I understand. But what do I do about Danny?”
“Danny’s going to have to take care of himself,” Twix replied. “Trigger and I have to head out to Redemption for a few hours. It’s almost dark now. Do you promise you’ll stay here?”
“Yes.”
“Sir?”
“I said yes. I promise.”
“Okay.” Trigger stared him down. “Your wife could still be alive. You leave, and you will kill her.”
“I got it, damn it.”
They finally turned away and walked to the door. “Oh, and”—Twix turned back to the governor—“anything I ask or tell you to do—from here on out—you do with no questions. Is that clear?”
“Crystal,” Barnes replied tersely. “Crystal clear.”
Trigger and Twix exited the governor’s mansion and headed for their truck. “What was up with all that weatherman meteorology bullshit back there?” Twix shoved Trigger’s arm.
“Nothing wrong with getting a little education while we’re here, is there?” Trigger smiled. “That Damien is an interesting guy.”
“So he’s a meteorologist?”
“Among other things.”
“Who knew?”
Trigger opened up the passenger door. “Think the governor will sit tight?”
“If he has any brains at all.”
Along with major flooding, a big hurricane would typically bring mass power outages. Twix and Trigger were counting on that combination to provide the perfect cover for a rescue. But it could also present an opportunity for those who held the governor’s wife to make another move. If the Hexagon knew the storm was coming, the Qi Jia operatives at the Marine base did as well. They could anticipate a breach. They could easily take countermeasures or even move the prisoners. This was a blindfolded chess match. Neither side had any idea which pieces were being moved or to where. But someone was going to win…and someone was going to lose.
FORTY – Calm Before the Storm (Ryan)
Deacon told me about the hurricane that was approaching Hawaii. Using satellite imagery at the Hexagon—and knowledge from an online meteorology degree he’d gotten from Penn State a few years back—Damien had been able to measure the storm at about 1,050 miles wide, traveling at approximately seventy miles per hour. He was already calling it a Category 4—and it was still growing. The eye was nearly one hundred miles wide itself and appeared as if it would pass directly over Hawaii late tomorrow. There would be tons of rain and ferocious wind—maybe even hail as it had formed way south in the eastern Pacific. No one on Redemption had ever experienced a hurricane, but Deacon claimed the last Category 4 to hit Hawaii was thirty years ago and it slammed Kauai with 150 mph winds. “That’s what Damien told me anyway.”
“Could it turn into a Category 5?” I asked.
“Doubtful,” Deacon shook his head. “According to Damien fives don’t form out here and almost never hit land as a five. It’s been over a decade since one even passed close to here—Hurricane Rick.”
That, at least, was some good news. Given what he’d told me, I knew we were already feeling the first effects of the storm. The light rain and wind had started over an hour ago. We were rather exposed on Redemption, so we were likely going to feel all of it. A storm of any magnitude would pound our houses—or worse. With its elevated structure, the Big House was the most exposed to the winds that would only increase as the hurricane approached. Deacon suggested we consider temporarily moving to the Hexagon. Only problem was we didn’t have a plane. We’d have to take a boat. I told him I’d discuss it with the others.