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Riley filled a to-go cup with coffee and watched Alani drive off. Emerson had both Penning traps secured in the back seat of the ranch SUV. It had only been two days since they’d left the car at Onizuka, but it felt like a year.
“Are you ready?” he asked Riley.
Riley gave him a thumbs-up and got behind the wheel. They drove in silence down Saddle Road. It was almost eight A.M., and the sun was shining. They passed through Waimea and started down the Kohala Mountain Road toward Hawi and Mysterioso Ranch.
“This is a nightmare,” Riley said. “I can’t believe we have enough strange matter in this car to destroy the world.”
Emerson nodded. “I called the governor of Hawaii. My family has known him for a long time, and he’s a good man. He’s sending the Hawaii National Guard to Mysterioso Ranch to meet us and take possession of the Penning traps.”
“And after that?”
“The federal government will take over and find a way to neutralize it. Rocket it into space perhaps. I had a short conversation with someone at the highest level. As it turns out, the Department of the Interior is supremely grateful. They were in the dark about Bart Young and his plan for world domination. The direction the labs took, the militarization of the Rough Riders, the collection of the strange matter, and the whole evil plan, including the hiring of nutcases like Tin Man…it was all Bart Young.”
“It’s shocking how one man almost brought about the destruction of the world.”
“It was one man leading,” Emerson said, “but he had complicit followers. And there were others who turned a blind eye.”
Riley drove down the mountain into Hawi and made the turnoff to the ranch. She passed the cows, parked the car in front of the guesthouse, and she and Emerson got out of the car.
“Looks like we beat the National Guard here,” Riley said.
Emerson looked at his watch. “They should be showing up any minute. Let’s get the traps inside the house.”
He carefully slid the first trap off the seat and carried it to the front door. He stopped when he saw Bart Young and Tin Man waiting for him in his living room. Tin Man had a hatchet in each hand. The Park Service version of a ninja warrior.
Under other circumstances Riley might think this was a ridiculous display of machismo. Problem was she’d seen Tin Man’s hatchet work firsthand, and now the sight of the short axes evoked visceral fear.
Riley and Emerson backed off the porch, and Tin Man and Bart Young followed them out of the house.
“The entire ranch is surrounded by my soldiers,” Bart Young said. “There’s really no place to run. Just give me the Penning traps and we’ll be on our way.”
Emerson shook his head. “I’m holding all the cards. I’ve got the strange matter, so I’m thinking I call the shots. I have my own army on its way, and it’s bigger and more powerful than your army. If you leave now you might escape. Run as fast as you can and get out of the country. Maybe open a bakery in Argentina.”
“Here’s the flaw,” Bart Young said. “You’re basically a good person. You don’t especially want to kill us, and you don’t want to turn the earth into a tiny ball of death that will get spit out of the solar system.”
“I’m not that good,” Emerson said. “I have my moments.”
“Yeah, and I have a lot of moments,” Riley said. “I would actually like to kill you.”
Okay, so this had an element of bravado to it, but there was also some truth there. Not that she really wanted to kill anyone, but these men were monsters.
“I understand you’re a businessman,” Bart Young said to Emerson. “Perhaps we can make a deal. I can use someone like you and Ms. Moon in my regime. How does it sound if I give you France?”
“I thought you promised France to Berta,” Riley said.
“She won’t be needing France anymore,” Bart Young said.
Tin Man smiled. “We found her tied to an ohia tree in Ola’a Forest. She resigned her commission.”
“Well?” Bart Young asked Emerson.
“I’m thinking,” Emerson said. “Before I decide, I’d like to know what happened to my friend’s island.”
“Destroyed,” Bart Young said. “I saw it all from the air. It collapsed into a little ball of strange matter and disappeared into the sea.”
“It was inspiring,” Tin Man said.
“But why?” Riley said.
