“Terrorists are coming, Miss HPD. Just do your damn job and stop the bastards from coming here.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Ben Blake recited from the logs of Captain Cook and his man, Hawksworth, describing the most treacherous journey a man had ever taken.
“They walked through the Gates of Pele,” Ben said with wonder, “into total darkness. At this time, Cook still refers to the arched entrance as the Gates of Pele. It is only after he experiences what lies beyond — it says here — that he later changes the reference to the Gates of Hell.”
Karin turned to Ben with wide eyes. “What could possibly make a man like Captain Cook express such raw fear?”
“Almost nothing,” Ben said. “Cook discovered cannibalism. Human sacrifice. He voyaged into utterly unknown waters.”
Karin motioned toward the screen. “Read the damn thing.”
“Beyond the black Gates lie the most damnable paths known to Man—”
“Don’t narrate,” Karin snapped. “Summarize.”
“I can’t”
“What? Why?”
“Because it says here—the following text has been deleted from this conversion due to doubts as to its authenticity.”
“What?”
Ben frowned thoughtfully at the computer. “I guess if it were out there for all to see then someone would have tried exploring by now.”
“Or maybe they did and died. Maybe the authorities decided the knowledge was too dangerous to be aired to the public.”
“But, how do we view the deleted document?” Ben stabbed randomly at a few keys. There were no hidden links on the page. Nothing untoward. He Googled the author’s name and found several pages that referenced Cook’s chronicler, but no more mentions of the Gates of Hell, Pele, or even Diamond Head.
Karin turned to stare out at the heart of Waikiki. “So Cook’s journey through the Gates of Hell was expunged from history. We could keep trying.” She waved at the computers.
“But futile it will be, ” Ben said in his best Yoda impression. “Waste our time we should not.”
“What Hayden sees in you I’ll never know.” Karin shook her head before turning slowly round. “The problem is, we have no way of knowing what we’re going to find down there. We’d be walking into hell, blind.”
Hayden and Kinimaka managed to squeeze a few more sentences out of Danny before deciding it was wise to leave the two of them to their drug-infused party. With luck, they would both think the CIA’s visit was a bad dream.
Kinimaka climbed back into the car, placing his hand on the soft, leather steering wheel. “A terrorist attack?” he repeated. “On Waikiki? I don’t believe it.”
Hayden was already dialing her boss. Gates answered immediately. She recited in a few short sentences the information they had gleaned from Danny.
Mano listened to Gates’s reply by speakerphone. “Hayden, I’m inbound. A few hours and I’ll be there. The Police are leaning very heavily on all known criminals to get a location for the ranches. We’ll have it soon. I’ll alert the relevant bodies about this alleged attack, but keep digging.”
The line went dead. Hayden exhaled in quiet surprise. “He’s coming here? He can hardly cope as it is. What good will he do?”
“Maybe the work will help him cope.”
“Let’s hope. They think they’ll get the ranches location soon. We’re on terrorist watch. It’s positive, direct people we need now. Hey, Mano, you think this terrorist thing is a part of the Blood King conspiracy?”
Mano nodded. “It crossed my mind.” His eyes were taking in the breathtaking view as if storing it to help fight against the coming dark.
“Speaking of direct people, Drake and his two cronies still haven’t returned my messages. And neither has the HPD.”
Her cellphone sang out, startling her. It was Gates. “Sir?”
“This thing just went apeshit,” he shouted, clearly alarmed. “The Honolulu cops just got three more legitimate terrorist threats. All on Waikiki. All happening soon. There are links established to Kovalenko.”
“Three!”
Gates suddenly went offline for a second. Hayden swallowed as she felt the pit of her stomach churn. The fear in Mano’s eyes made her start to sweat.
Gates came back on the line. “Make that four. Another piece of intel just got authenticated. Contact Drake. You’re about to be in the fight of your life, Hayden. Get mobilized.”
The Blood King stood on an elevated deck, the briefest glimpse of a wintry smile on his face, a few of his trusted lieutenants stood before and below him. “It is time,” he said simply. “This is what we have been waiting for, what we have worked for. This is the result of all my endeavors and all your sacrifices. This”—he paused for effect—“is where it all ends.”
He surveyed faces for any signs of fear. There were none. Indeed, Boudreau looked practically ecstatic at being allowed back into the bloody fray.
“Claude, destroy the ranch. Kill all the captives. And…” He grinned. “Let loose the tigers. They should keep the authorities busy for a while. Boudreau, just do what you do, but more brutally. I invite you to fulfill your every desire. I invite you to impress me. No, shock me. Do that, Boudreau. Go to Kauai and shut down the ranch over there.”
The Blood King gave one last glance at his few remaining men. “As for you… go unleash hell in Hawaii.”
He turned away, dismissing them, and cast a final, critical eye over his transport and the hand-picked men who were to accompany him into the death-defying depths below Diamond Head.
“No man has done this since Cook and lived to tell the tale. No man has seen beyond the fifth level of hell. No man has ever discovered what the trap system was built to conceal. We will.”
Death and devastation were both behind and before him. The onset of chaos was imminent. The Blood King was happy.
Matt Drake walked across the parking lot that fronted Exoticars, arm in arm with his ‘girlfriend,’ Alicia Myles. A basic Dodge rental was the only car parked there, probably belonging to a tourist couple who had rented one of the new Lamborghini’s for an hour. By the time Drake and Alicia had entered the fancy showroom, a thickset man with a crew cut was already in their face.
“Good afternoon. May I help you?”
“Which one of these is the fastest?” Drake put on an eager face. “We have a Nissan back home and the girlfriend here wants to appreciate some real speed.” Drake winked. “Might get me some bonus points, if you know what I mean.”
Alicia smiled sweetly.
Drake hoped Mai was currently skirting around the back of the big showroom, keeping out of sight of the rear garage and making her way toward the fenced-off side compound. She would try to gain entry from that direction. Drake and Alicia had about six minutes.
The man’s smile was big and not surprisingly, false. “Well, most folks choose the new Ferrari 458 or the Lamborghini Aventador, both of which are fine cars.” The smile actually broadened as the salesman pointed toward said vehicles, both positioned in front of the full-length showroom windows. “But, in terms of legendary accomplishments, if that’s what you’re looking for, I might recommend the Ferrari Daytona or the McLaren F1.” He waved a hand toward the rear of the showroom.
Back there and to the right were the offices. To the left were a series of secluded booths where credit card details would be taken and keys handed over. The office was windowless, but Drake heard figures moving around.