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“Will do. There’s one more thing. I just got a text telling me that Senator James Weston is dropping by in the next few minutes. Do you know anything about this, sir?”
“Weston? Goddammit! That man’s got his nose into everything. Just answer his questions but don’t volunteer anything. Do not talk about the motherboards. Weston is not necessarily a friendly. Be careful what you say.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And, Maddox, for God’s sake, do not blow anything up!” The Admiral chuckled, and then was gone.
Dane raised his eyebrows. “Do you have a thing about things that go boom you haven’t told us about?”
Cain shook his head. “Let’s just say, in the past, there have been a few explosions Bertrand would’ve preferred we had avoided.”
Jace rubbed his face. “I gotta say, this is way different than what I thought we’d be doing.”
Tac, who’d been resting his butt on one of the desks in the front row, straightened. “I worked on a few things like this over the years, usually as backup though. It will be fun to be the front line.”
“I don’t know about fun,” Cain said and paused. Then he smiled. “No, Tac’s right. It’s a hell of a lot more fun than running drills. In my old unit, we used to do this type of thing all the time. When Bertrand moved me over here to start this team, it was always with the idea that he would have us on standby for just such a circumstance. The old unit is gone but not the need for it. We’re here to do what Bertrand deems necessary. We’re over here in Hawai’i because he wanted us to have a lower profile. Less attention. But make no mistake, this is probably just the first in many assignments that will take you outside your comfort zones. Get a coffee or whatever and let’s get started. I know you’re running on too little sleep, but we’re gonna keep going. The Admiral wants us to find the motherboards, so let’s do it.”
Five minutes later, coffee in hand, Dane sat down at his desk and leaned back in his chair. His back was tired, and it hurt. The shower had helped, but what he really needed was a chance to rest and some sleep. That wasn’t going to happen for a while by the look of things.
Cain stood in front of the whiteboard. “You heard the Admiral. We have to find the missing tech. Where do we start?”
Cass volunteered, “I ran the plates from the pickup when we got back earlier. You were right. They were stolen from a Honda Civic last week. The owner reported the theft. It happened downtown when he was at dinner with friends.”
“So, we’ve got nothing on the buyer then.” Cain turned to Koa. “Anything from your source?”
Koa had a hand on his gut. His face didn’t give much away, but if Dane had to guess, he’d say Koa was uncomfortable. He knew discomfort when he saw it mostly because he was uncomfortable a lot of the time. It was too bad though because the Chinese food hadn’t bothered him last time.
“I spoke to my source. I can find the buyer if and when we need to. He’s a local gang member. My source says the drugs are meth, and they’re coming from the mainland.”
Jace rubbed his knee. “Not from Asia?”
“No. My source says these drugs come from the mainland. Mexico to be exact.”
Cain folded his arms across his chest. “The Mexicans have gangs in Hawai’i?”
“They’re working with some locals to move their product. Owens had to be a part of that.”
“Koa, do you trust your source?” Cain asked.
He nodded. “He’s…a friend. We grew up together.”
“Why’s he telling you all this?” Tac asked as he leaned back in his chair.
When Koa stayed silent for a minute, Dane honestly thought he wasn’t going to answer. Koa’s lips thinned into a straight line before he spoke. “He’s made some bad choices, but now…he wants out of that life. If we arrest everyone, then he can make a fresh start.”
Cass frowned. “It’s not going to be that simple, Koa. Drugs and gangs are hard to get out of, and if he’s involved, then he might see some jail time.”
Koa remained silent.
Cain took the pressure off Koa by saying, “Anyone else have any other ideas on how we move forward from here? Assuming we put aside the drug thing for now.”
Dane cocked his head. “I have a few questions. What the hell was Owens doing meeting with whoever it was next to the shipping lanes? It’s been bothering me. Owens was a smart guy. If it were me, there’s no way I would want to do business right there. Way too many witnesses.”
“Dane makes a good point,” Koa agreed. “It’s dangerous to be right there. It would attract attention.”
Cass pointed out, “But if he was picking up the drugs from an incoming container ship, it would be a hell of a lot easier to do it right there. The ship drops it over the side, and he comes along at night and picks it up.”
“But he’d already made the drop.” Tac put his mug down on his desk. “We saw him make the exchange for the drugs, presumably, and then he put the case in the basket, so what the hell was he doing out by the shipping lanes after that?”
