Chapter 6

The wa'a topped the wave just as it broke, and driven by the strong arms of the paddlers slipped beyond the surf line. At Sophie's direction they headed first to Papawai Point. Instead of risking the canoes against the rocks, Sophie sent a swimmer from each boat to retrieve the swim gear for the platoon members in their respective canoes. In minutes, the swimmers returned, throwing net bags containing masks, fins, and oxygen bottles into the wooden hulls before climbing in and resuming their places at the paddles. The canoes, carved from the hollowed out trunks of Koa trees, slid smoothly through the waves as they headed west by southwest.

"According to the men who fish those waters, the scavs seem to be staying in the old buildings on the west end of the island," Ku'uaki told Sophie as she studied her topographic map in the light of a small hand lantern. "But our fishermen say they keep lookouts along the shore in various places. Shall we come in from the northwest or southwest?"

"Neither," Sophie told him. "I don't want to make the same mistake the people from Oahu did with your people. We'll land where they don't expect us, and see if we can observe them for a while before we take action. What's here, in this inlet to the east?"

"There are steep cliffs surrounding Kanapou Bay," the king told her. "It would be easier to land in one of the smaller inlets to the north or south, and you would be much closer to the scav encampment."

"It would, but they are less likely to be watching for incursion at this point, precisely because it is difficult. Just have your guys stand off in Kanapou Bay as if they're fishing and we'll swim ashore. It's only a little over eight miles overland. We shouldn't have too much trouble getting into position before the sun comes up."

"That is not flat terrain, Captain," Ku'uaki told her. "Like the rest of these islands, Kahoolawe is a volcano. You may find that it takes you much longer than you think."

"We made it over the ridge on Maui from the west into your little valley in one night, your highness," Sophie told him. "This shouldn't present too many more obstacles."

"Perhaps, but, as you have said, your people are specially trained. My men will never make it. Would you like us to take the canoes around? That way, we can attack simultaneously."

"I want your men to stay off the island, Ku'uaki," Sophie told him seriously. "My platoon is trained and equipped for this. Your men aren't. Let us do what we came here for. We appreciate the ride, but we'll take care of the rest. Among other things, you don't need to be starting a war you aren't prepared to fight."

"We are not afraid..." he began but Sophie cut him off.

"It is not a question of courage. If you are going to be a good leader for your people, then make good decisions on their behalf. So far, these people haven't bothered yours, right?"

"True. They have taken a few of the old things that we didn't want anyway, but our warriors always made it clear that they were to stay away from our villages."

"Then why stir up trouble? Let Phoenicia take the blame for this, if there is fighting, and keep the peace for your people."

"You are wise for one so young," the King told her.

Sophie shrugged. "I don't know if I'm wise, but I was raised by a wise man, so maybe I learned something from him."

At Kanapou Bay, the men from Maui cast their nets over one side of the canoes while Sophie's platoon members quietly slipped into the water on the other side. It was only a short swim in relatively sheltered water and soon they were once again burying their swim gear on an unknown beach. There was a trickle of water making a channel across the small strip of sand, and following it to the tip of the v-shaped defile brought them to a gulch that had been carved into the cliff by the runoff from the small caldera that formed the island. The wash made for easier climbing, but it was over 800 feet to the tops of the cliffs, and Sophie was sweating in the warm tropical air as she pulled herself over the shoulder of the wash onto the southern slope of the caldera.

A small sound reached her ears from several yards away, and Sophie melted into the dry scrub, motioning her platoon members to follow suit. As she hit the rocky ground, a long stick bounced off the rock behind her. Someone had thrown a spear just as she ducked! Rolling away from her original position, Sophie angled toward the sound she had heard, signaling platoon members to flank the position.

The thing about a thrown spear, she remembered hearing her father say, is that once thrown, it leaves the wielder without a weapon.

There was, of course, the possibility that the wielder had more than one spear, but it would take a finite amount of time to get a second weapon into position, and she didn't want to give the attacker that time. Rising to her feet, she rushed quickly and silently toward the spot from which the sound had come. A glint of steel on a broad, long blade showed the second weapon to be a machete-like knife as the scav rose to meet her charge.

Sophie parried the clumsy downward stroke of the blade with her assault rifle and cold-cocked the guy with its butt in a continuation of the same motion. As he fell, she peered into the darkness to see if there were any other enemies. The sound of feet scrambling away in the darkness spoke of another, perhaps sent to warn the main scav encampment. She detailed two of her fastest runners, Feliz and Rojas, to bring him back, then quickly conducted a headcount of those remaining.

"All present or accounted for, Captain," Kyle told her, as she finished her own count, coming to the same conclusion.

"This looks like a watch station, Captain," Linda told her, surveying the remains of a shielded fire and two sets of ragged bedding. "They must not have seen us until we topped the cliffs or the runner would be halfway to the other side of the island by now."

"Casualties?" She didn't think there would be any but in the dark, it was hard to tell.

"Just some cuts and abrasions from climbing the rocks," Linda replied. "Nothing to worry about."

"All right, but see that those are dressed before we move out. Don't need anyone getting infected."

In minutes, all of the minor scrapes in the platoon were taken care of and the platoon was on the move, following along in the direction of the chase. A few minutes later, they came upon Feliz and Rojas as they bound their own prisoner. The first prisoner began coming around as they dropped him on the ground beside his companion. White eyes glared at them from the gaunt, dark-skinned face.

"Who the hell are you?" the scav asked truculently, "and what do you want on our island?"

Instead of answering, Sophie turned to Feliz and Rojas, and nodded at their prisoner. "He give you any trouble?"

"Naw," Feliz answered. "He was fast enough, but didn't have any stamina. Just kind of ran out of steam. By the time we caught him, he didn't have wind to fight with."

"Yeah," Rojas agreed, "soon as we grabbed 'im he just stood there gaspin' for air. You'd think he just sprinted a marathon."

"From the look of these two," Sophie answered, "they probably haven't been eating too well."

She turned to the bound prisoners. "You the folks that have been raiding up on Oahu?"

"What's it to you?" the first one, the older of the two, answered. The second was still trying to catch his breath.

"You should be more concerned about what it means to you," Sophie said conversationally, as she withdrew her combat knife and began methodically slicing locks off the older scav's stringy hair. The blade was so sharp that he never felt the tug of it catching on the strands. "Now, I'm going to ask you again, and if I don't get the answers I want, I'm going to start slicing off meat. Are you the people who have been raiding on Oahu?"

"You think I'm scared... AAAIEEmmmph!" the man screamed as Sophie casually sliced off the top of his left ear and Kyle clamped a huge paw over his mouth to stifle his cries. The younger one made as if to come to his aid, but he was too tightly bound.

"Leave him alone!" was the best he could manage.

Sophie ignored the pleas and kept her attention on the man she had cut. "Now, I know you can hear me, because I've left you one ear. Next it'll be your toes, one at a time. Then I'll start on your fingers. Now, are you..."

She didn't have to ask the question again. The scav nodded vigorously. Kyle took his hand away and the prisoner said, "Yeah, okay! We just stole a little stuff. We didn't hurt nobody! Hell, you know how little there is on this island?"

Sophie motioned to one of the medics to dress the scav's wound and asked, "Why don't you move to one of the other islands?"

"Damned if I know! Fuckin' Wright runs this place like a goddamn dictator! Says he's gonna rule all the islands 'fore long. It was his idea to dress up in those grass skirts so they'd think it was those people over on Maui. You ever try talkin' to somebody like that? Him and his goons killed a couple of people that tried to get away a few months ago, an' the rest of us know better'n to try. We just keep our heads down and do what he says."

"That about the size of it?" she asked the other.

As he nodded fearfully and said, "Yeah! Don't nobody do nothin' 'thout Wright sez so!"

Through the dirt and grime, Sophie suddenly realized that the second scav was little more than a boy.

"How many other watch stations have you got posted on this island?"

The older of the two grunted, "Compass points," and nodded once in each direction. "We was East."

"When are you due to be relieved?"

"Not for a couple of days," the older answered.

"All right," Sophie said. "We're going to have to keep you tied up 'til we decide what to do with Wright and the rest."

"Look," the older man said, "I can see that you folks are pretty good at fightin', and with them guns an' all, you can prob'ly kill ever'body on this island, but it's really just Wright an' them others that's causin' all the trouble. If ya gotta kill somebody, kill them. They hang out in the big buildin' on the East end of the island. Most ever'body else just goes along with 'em to keep from gettin' killed. I gotta wife down there," he nodded at the boy, "his mom. She don't look like much these days, but she's all we got. I'd sure hate for her to get killed in the fightin'."

"We'll try to keep casualties to a minimum," Sophie said. "What would happen if Wright was out of the picture?"

"Prob'ly Roberts'd take over," the man shrugged. "an' he's worse'n Wright. You'd pretty much have to get rid of that whole gang before the rest of us would be safe."

"How many are with Wright?" she asked.

"There's ten of 'em that are hardcore and maybe a dozen more brown-nosers," the man with the bandaged ear answered. "You get rid of those ten, and the rest'll go whichever way the wind blows."