Chapter 25

Lisa and I awoke fairly early in the morning. Our bodies were not in any time zone other than our own, and that was the 'Who knows where we are?' time zone. I looked at the bedside clock and could see it was nearing six in the morning where we were. My brain had not engaged yet and I wondered where we were. Oh yeah, we're in Hawaii. I needed the bathroom and managed to hop to the john, but couldn't manage balancing on one foot, so I sat down to pee.

Lisa was sitting up smiling at me when I went back into the room. She said, "We had a long day with these two and the fun at the airport yesterday, but we're awake and they're still asleep. What do you think, Honey, should we wake them for some fun or should we get some exercise?"

I had hopped to a nearby chair where my prosthesis was and put it on. Lisa and I rummaged in our duffel bag for some workout clothes and put some shorts, T-shirts, and tennis shoes on. We knew the girls would remain asleep for a while because they hadn't moved during the conversation we had, so Lisa and I walked down the hall to the gym.

We both used the dreaded treadmills, followed by some lifting, and some cool down stretching. Lisa told me, "We can go out on the beach and do some forms if you want, but I think I'd rather swim in the pool and then go have breakfast."

That's what we did. The resort maintenance crew was just finishing cleaning the big adult pool, so we were able to strip our tops and shoes off, plus my leg, and swim until we were winded. Jane and Ipo came to us as we pulled ourselves out of the pool, both only covered in a T-shirt, and gave us some kisses. Jane said, "It's not fair for you two to sneak off on us like that. Did you work out too?"

Lisa told them, "You know Mr. Cranky here. He becomes a real bitch to be around if he doesn't get his exercise."

Jane hugged me and told the others, "I know just the thing to take the orneriness out of him."

I suggested, "How about we go eat something, and then find out what there is to know about these people who were using the inflight kitchen for some smuggling?"

"That's a good idea," Jane said, as she handed Lisa her T-shirt to put on to wear back to the room.

Ipo said, "I'm going to be a third wheel around here, so I'll get a taxi home after we eat. You guys have to talk to me before Lisa and Chuck leave. I want to see you before then."

We all showered and dressed to do some work or investigating. Jane called the office and put her boss on speakerphone. She told him, "Chuck and Lisa are going to help find the safe houses these smugglers have established. Can you give us the information you have?"

The man said, "Come into the office and let us brief you the way we should."

I told him, "I'm not officially cleared to work yet, but this is important enough for me to work on. The SS brought me in because I had an interest in Jane and Ipo. It'll get back to DC before I have my first cop donut if I show up in your offices."

"Ha, ha, ha, you sure are right. This service is worse than a small town. Okay, let me tell you everything we know. Get some paper and a pen so you can write down the pertinent info."'

Jane came up with a pad of paper and pen and we began. We had several locations that needed to be checked a half-hour later. I asked, "What does it take to get a search warrant here?"

"Too much, but I can get one if you can give me some proof that those involved in the kidnapping are there. They went over the line by snatching our second and the other girl. Ipo is the daughter of a very influential retired general. Call me when you find a place you think we should go into, and I'll get a warrant."

This wasn't that encouraging as we would have to probe each of the locations and set up some kind of surveillance. Since we shut down the airport outlet and receiving of contraband, they were going to be cautious with all their activities.

We drove to the nearest safe house that we knew of. It was in an affluent but not gated neighborhood. We watched as nothing happened around the house for over an hour. I was suggesting that we check out another location when a Chevy Suburban backed out of the drive and headed in the direction of the resort and airport.

The Suburban parked in the resort parking lot. Two men got out and went inside. Lisa ran to the door to watch them, and Jane got out of her car to watch anyone remaining in the Suburban.

One of the two men came back toward the Suburban and Lisa followed but went in another direction to double back to us. She told us, "They talked to the desk people and one of the men is sitting in the lobby watching the hallway to the owner's suite. We'll find out what's up with that when we get closer to who must be in charge."

We followed the Suburban to what was the next closest suspected safe house and watched as it parked in the driveway. Three men got out of the Suburban and entered the house. I observed, "This is bigger than anyone suspected I think. We need the Fibis in on this, and maybe the DEA. I think the FBI should be involved right away but we can wait on the DEA."

Lisa said, "How come no one has picked up on the scope of what was going on with these people before now?"

"Who knows, Lisa? They look like a legit organization and they put food on aircraft destined for several places. I wonder if the guys working the kitchen found anything while they were investigating yesterday."

Jane used her phone and called in. She talked to her station Deputy in Charge and had a long conversation while taking notes the whole time. She gave them the info of the man at the resort on stake out. As she closed the conversation she said, "If you don't want a terminal incident at the hotel, you might want to have some people watching the observer and the desk there. Someone on the inside must have been the person to contact those who are watching."

Jane was nodding as she ended the call.

She told us, "The Chief is sending a team to watch the resort and is running all the desk people. That's one thing good about Hawaii. We have full cooperation with all the resorts and hotels. We're able to get information about employees and guests by logging onto their servers and checking them out."

I suggested, "Let's go to the location we haven't been to yet and see what's happening there. Show me how to get there, Jane."

Jane smiled and said, "It's damn near next door to Ipo, so we can easily check them out. We'll do a drive by and go to Ipo's. We can use the beach for access to the back of the place."

These were big places, as were Ipo's and Jane's that were across the street on this narrow peninsula. There was nothing on the outside of the house that would alert us, so we went to Ipo's and parked in their driveway.

Ipo answered the door and squealed to see us. Jane calmed her down and told her that we needed to check out the house two doors down from the back. The girls decided it would be good to wear swimsuits to walk the beach and approach the suspect house that way. Ipo explained that her parents were in the city shopping today.

I watched the three girls walk out the back door. Both Lisa and Jane had weapons with them, but concealed under terrycloth cover-ups. They didn't have any armor on, so I hoped they wouldn't attract any attention. To be sure, I cut through the next door neighbor's hedge, and then approached the hedge that was bordering the suspect house. I watched as the girls walked behind the house, and then began approaching it, pointing and commenting about a beautiful flower garden that covered a large area.

The girls were standing by the garden when a couple of guys walked out of the house along with a tall mature woman who approached the girls. I couldn't tell what they were talking about but I could tell the woman was bragging about the garden. One of the girls asked something, and I distinctly heard, "That's none of your business. Get the fuck out of here or I'll have you carted off."

My Glock was trained on the two guys who had come out with the woman, but they waited to see if the girls left. Lisa was standing and talking to the lady and I could tell it was angering her as she whirled and waved at the two men. Those two began running toward the girls while drawing their guns.

Lisa and Jane magically held Glocks at the three people and told the men to drop their weapons. One guy did, but the other wanted something more. He raised his weapon at Lisa and almost instantly fell as Jane's Glock spit fire at the man.

I was off to the side and saw a man come from the rear door with a rifle. I fired and knocked him down as he raised the rifle. I was through the hedge and at the rear door in a second. Lisa appeared next to me and pushed me toward the open rear door.

We entered and moved through the first floor, checking the garage while we were there. I went up the stairs with Lisa at my back covering the sides and rear. We cleared the bedrooms, bathrooms, and closets up there before going back downstairs. Lisa went to the back door and hollered, "Bring the two inside. We'll call in to get cleanup and the locals."

I moved the corpse of the man with the rifle away from the door as Jane brought the bodyguard and the woman to the house with Ipo following.

I handed Jane my phone as soon as she was in the house, and told her to call in and get some backup. Lisa pushed the woman into the living room and sat her on the couch. She told the woman, "You need to tell me where the other man or men from this place are. I can be very persuasive if I have to be."

The lady didn't act afraid, and sat without any emotion on her face.

Lisa grabbed the bodyguard who had been with the lady and said, "You were wise and survived. I'm going to ask nice first. Who and where is the person in charge here? We need to find him."

The guy's eyes rolled, but he didn't say anything. Lisa walked away and returned with a very large kitchen knife and a kitchen towel. She put the towel on the man's lap and held the knife up to his face. She told him, "You will tell me what I want to know or I will begin cutting off various parts of your face. Now, tell me, where is the boss?"

When the man wouldn't even look at Lisa she pushed his head back and flicked a nostril with the big sharp knife. The man near screamed and yelled, "You can't do that. I have my rights. You can't do that to me."

Lisa told him, "Dead men don't talk, do they? If you don't answer my questions, you will either be without body parts or very dead."

The guy's eyes were rapidly looking around until he ducked his head and quietly said, "It's her, the woman. She's the one who put this all together. Don't tell her I told you or she'll have me dead by tonight."

Lisa patted him on the head and told him, "Lay flat on the floor with your hands out over your head, and you'll be fine. Someone will be here to cuff you soon."

Jane was standing in the doorway between the living room and the family room where the woman was. Jane was smiling and told Lisa, "I love the way you question a suspect. That is so cool, but you can't use that all the time, can you?'

"Not all the time, but it works very well when you're down to the last couple of shots at finding out what's going on."

Ipo was at the front door when some Deputies and FBI agents arrived at the same time. A white van pulled up onto the lawn, and a couple of CSI techs got out and started going over the scene. I had to spend a few minutes with the Deputy and Agent in charge of the local offices, and then gave them custody of the prisoners. The CSI techs took charge of the two bodies, taking pictures of them and the weapons they had.

No one asked Lisa or me for our name or what we were doing there the entire time we talked. We didn't offer them either. As we were leaving the house, I told the two men leading their people, "There are people at both of the other suspected safe houses, and a man at the resort waiting for me. I don't think the man knows what I look like, so can you take him in custody before we go back to the resort?"

That was taken care of and the four of us went back to Ipo's house. The girls were changing when Katana and Mylee came in the door. Katana shook my hand, but pulled me toward the rear of the house. "Do you know anything about what's been happening a couple of doors down? That woman has been very secretive and not very sociable since she moved in."

"I think she was involved in your daughter's kidnapping, and possibly has connections with a smuggling operation between here and the mainland."

"Amazing, Chuck. You come here for a couple of days and you find all forms of criminals. I'm glad you were able to have something to do with it."

"I didn't say I had anything to do with it, Katana. I only know what's been going on."

The man looked at me and smiled, "Yeah, sure," but he said nothing else.

Jane came out of the house with my cell phone up to her ear. I only heard one side of the conversation. She said, "Do you need us to help with the other locations?"

"Uh huh, okay, but call me if you run into trouble. I'll get us over there."

"Yeah, keep it that way. Those two weren't involved in anything terminal. I can write the report if you want me to."

"Okay, Chief, I'll come in and write it, but make sure the guys know the score. I'm sure you'll agree that Chuck and Lisa are too valuable to lose. We just found out we need help some time."

Jane ended the call and smiled at Katana and me. She looked at Katana and told him, "You know you should get this guy to take Ipo into his family. She could raise some grandbabies for you and Mylee and I know she would be a happy girl."

Katana smiled and asked, "I thought that was what she was going to do. What's happened since then?"

"Ipo thinks she's going to meet some wonderful man and he's going to be the man of her dreams. It can happen, but not with you and her mom hovering over her all the time. She needs to be independent for a while. Send her off to boot camp in the Reserves, send her to a school on the mainland, but do something to give her the guts to do things on her own."

Katana frowned and looked at me, "Take her, Chuck. Take her home with you and make her one of yours. Mylee and I have been too restrictive of her for so long that she doesn't have the will to decide anything on her own."

I had to speak up at that point, "No, I don't agree, Katana. You daughter is full of ambition and dreams. Sure, some are for the guy on the white horse, but she wants to be independent. She wants to be something on her own. If she comes to you with an idea, help her, and encourage her to be the person she wants to be."

"You're right, Chuck. Mylee and I have been too protective and too restrictive with Ipo. We love her so much that we can't let her go. I'll work on it, and get Mylee to let her go, as well."

Jane smiled and kissed Katana on the cheek. "I know how much you love your kid, but I'm her buddy and know what she feels. Let her go for a while, but let her know you're her safety net. She'll become a part of you even more."

It was at that point in time that I realized my love and admiration of other people. That I might influence a life or two was great, but that I might direct someone on how to get to that unreachable goal was even more important. Katana shook my hand and then grabbed me into a hug. Jane hugged me and gave me a kiss. It was then that Ipo made her presence known and hugged and kissed her dad before doing the same to me.

Ipo told us, "I may not be one of Chuck's, but I'll always be one of Jane's. We're buds, totally committed to being with each other. We'll find our separate ways, but we'll travel there together for a while."

Lisa had come out and was beside me, holding Jane. Jane kissed Lisa on the lips and told her, "You're his and I want to be his too. I know I want Hawaii, but I think I want Chuck more. Will you still share?"

Lisa held Jane to her and they looked lovingly at each other as they kissed and hugged until they sat on a lounger where we were. Ipo told her dad, "That's the way I feel about them too, Dad. Jane's draw is stronger, but we're about the same. I just don't think Chuck is going to be the one. That's not bad for Chuck, but good that I realize it."

Katana shook his head in disbelief, but smiled as he asked, "If you want something to eat around here, you have to ask, Chuck. How about we go out and get something? Let's go to the Pineapple Steak House just down the road. They have great food."

Lisa exclaimed, "Food, just what I, and probably all the women in this house need. Ipo, get your Mom and let's go eat."

The way we had to call Kal and Kai to join us for supper was sweet. The Pineapple Steak House was famous for its special beef cuts. It's sort of fashioned after the steakhouse with the 'Bloomin' Onion'. We had one of those, along with salads before we were served giant slabs of perfectly cooked beef. All us were waddling by the time we were in the parking lot to leave.

I suggested, "How about we sleep on everything tonight and meet for breakfast. We'll talk about it and go from there, but Lisa and I need to get back to Florida to do some work."

The only person to register her thought against the situation was Ipo. She told everyone she hadn't had enough time to decide whether to stay in Hawaii or go to the mainland to be with Lisa and me.

Jane whispered in her ear as we left, and the two girls got into our car rather than Katana's and Mylee's, or Kal's and Kai's.

We did some serious loving that night but I think the loving between the women was more important than when I was involved. I knew that my donations were deposited inside Jane, who was obviously attempting to have that magic happen within her once again.

I awoke first and had to think for a second before everything that had happened the day before flooded into my head. After taking care of my first thing in the morning necessities, I decided on a quick swim for exercise and put my swim trunks on and went to the pool using our patio door. Swimming all out for ten to fifteen minutes is exhausting, but it gives you the adrenaline rush exercise is supposed to.

I could see the girls were still sound asleep when I got back to the room, so I decided to see if I could determine if a desk person on duty noticed me, and what they did if so.

Thinking that I might surprise someone, I went out the patio door, locked it, and went around to the front of the hotel. I walked in and checked around the lobby area and saw a man sitting in a chair near the other door to the lobby. I watched the two people at the desk, and saw the girl of the pair make some noise that attracted the attention of the man sitting there. She nodded at me, and then quickly looked down.

I went to the desk and told the girl, "You need to have the maintenance people pick up the trash along the beach this morning. Is it too early for them? It's very unsightly to walk among the trash that washed up last night."