Motive ; One Last Day ; Going Viral

by Dustin Stevens

  Tucked away in the back corner of Zall’s estate, the place was almost completely hidden from sight, thick groves of palm and macadamia nut trees obscuring it from the main house or the front drive. Constructed in the old Hawaiian plantation style, it had an open floor plan that allowed natural sunlight to pour in and breezes to pass through.

  The first time he walked through the place, Danilo could do little besides shake his head at the opulence of it all. If this was how Zall took care of his guests, he could only speculate at the decadence of the man’s own accommodations.

  Holed up in the back bedroom, tossing his things into drawers, a dull buzzing sounded out, a green light flashing from his phone on the nightstand. Leaving the rest of his stuff in the box, he lifted the phone and pressed it to his ear, a scowl already growing on his face from simply seeing the name on the caller ID.

  For a moment, the meeting the night before played out in his head. He envisioned the young men in their matching suits all scurrying past him, none appearing to have ever thrown a punch, let alone fired a bullet, in their lives.

  “What?” Danilo snapped, letting the man on the other end feel his anger.

  “They’re here,” the man replied, a voice Danilo didn’t recognize, but sounded nervous.

  “Who’s there?”

  “The police! And we’ve got shots fired!”

  Time slowed for Danilo as he paced back into the living room, cutting a path for his truck. Based on just two sentences, he could feel the tension in his body increasing.

  “Which side fired?” Danilo asked, moving fast, keeping his voice low and even.

  “Wait...what?” the man said, his voice sounding shocked.

  “I said, which side fired?” Danilo repeated, slowing his cadence, putting a razor’s edge on the words. “Did they come out shooting, or did you dumbasses open up?”

  “Hell, I don’t know. Stewart told me to call you, so I am. We’ve got company!”

  The last words came out just short of a scream, the man’s fear, his inexperience, clear over the line. The moment they were out, the call went dead, the guy no doubt moving away to do his own part in the mess taking place across town.

  White hot rage roiled within Danilo as he jerked open the door to his truck and wrenched the passenger seat forward. The idea to hire untested guards for the lab was not his, and he had gone as far as he could in letting that be known.

  Zall, for all his business acumen, was not someone accustomed to doing this kind of work. This entire project was something far outside his comfort zone, something Danilo had known for quite some time. Men like Zall weren’t made for handling these things. They lived in places where a sharp tongue and deep pockets insulated them from any dangers in the world.

  Danilo wasn’t delusional enough to think such a place actually existed. If left to his own designs, he would have disposed of the bodies in a much more sensible manner, someplace where nobody would ever find them, instead of making a public display.

  Loyalty, not to Zall, but to a promise he made long before, was the only thing keeping him around. The things he had done would earn him a lifetime in prison, but that would be acceptable knowing his vow had been fulfilled.

  In the past months, Danilo had watched Zall’s good sense slip away, being replaced by desperation. That fact was even more apparent now, the old man feeling the world squeezing in around him.

  Reaching into the open space behind the seat, Danilo grabbed a metal case by the handle and pulled it free, slamming the door shut.

  Danilo had never been past the front foyer of the main house.

  Tonight would be an exception.

  The front door was unlocked as Danilo stepped inside, taking long, exaggerated steps, the case swinging by his side. It was just dark enough outside for him to see the only light in the house was coming from the second floor, his body aimed in that direction as he passed through the hardwood foyer and headed straight up the stairs.

  Climbing them two and three at a time, he called out, “Mr. Zall! Where are you?”

  He already knew the man was inside, as he was to be informed whenever he left the estate.

  There was no response as he reached the second-floor landing, light splashing out from a room to his right. “Mr. Zall,” he said again, lowering his voice a notch as he cut a path straight toward the light and swung through the open door. He had his mouth open to call for Zall again, but stopped just inside the room, the words fading from his throat.

  Years before, when it first became apparent that Zall was going to beat the court case and flee to the islands, Marilyn Zall had come to see Danilo. How she found him, he never knew, letting the matter go, as much out of respect for her having the courage to come to his home as for the years he had been in her service.

  That night she had laid out that she knew what Thomas was up to and his reasons for doing it. There was no way she could ever be in the same city with him again, not after knowing what had happened, what he had taken from her. Even worse, she couldn’t stand to sit and watch her son wither away, the result of a man incapable of accepting the consequences of his actions.

  Instead, she had implored Danilo to stay by his side, to watch over William, come what may. In return, she vowed to do the same for his parents, both remaining behind in New York, both too advanced in years to move 5,000 miles and begin over anew.

  At first, Danilo had wanted to reject the offer. He wasn’t sure he could move to Hawaii, intent on staying in the city and looking after his parents himself. But knowing their failing health would soon exceed his own meager funds, he had accepted the offer, thanking Marilyn, making an oath to her that so long as William breathed, he would do everything in his power to protect him.

  Despite more than three years having passed since that night, Danilo had never actually seen the boy. Through a solid network of friendly maids and gardeners, he was just barely able to keep tabs on him, though always one step removed.

  When Saiki was brought onboard, he suspected that it was in the name of helping William. When Zall called him to the front of the house and had a very serious talk with him about changing the scope of his services, he accepted without thinking twice.

  Marilyn had stood by her word, looking after his parents, and he would do the same.

  The gravity of that vow struck him full in the face as he stood in what appeared to be a hospital bathed in bright light. In the center of it was a medical bed, a tiny, frail body with a thick shock of dark hair propped up in the middle of it. The sight of it pulled the air from Danilo’s chest as he stared, recognizing young William’s face, the rest of his body shriveled to little more than a skeleton.

  Standing across from him on the far side of the bed was Saiki, an enormous syringe in his hand, the tip of it ready to plunge into William’s spine, Zall holding his son upright to receive the shot. He looked over his shoulder as Danilo entered, his face pale and drawn.

  “What is it Danilo?” he asked, his voice strained. “You know I have asked that you never come in here.”

  For months Danilo had done as he was asked without question, knowing who the tasks were for, even if he couldn’t say as much. He had performed some truly atrocious acts, had endured the perverse oddities of Saiki, had even bit his tongue about the handling of the house in Hawaii Kai. It had all been done in the name of a promise to Marilyn Zall, for providing care to his parents that he couldn’t.

  Still, despite knowing all that, it didn’t make seeing what was happening on the bed before him any easier.

  “William,” he whispered, taking a step forward, glancing between Zall and the withered figure on the bed. “I never imagined.”

  Targeting the pregnant women. Searching out children and taking their teeth. Bringing in the idiosyncratic doctor from Japan and setting up a lab in the basement of a home in Hawaii Kai. It all made sense. No longer were they content to simply keep William alive, they were trying to bring him back, to return him to the young man he had been.

/>   How the old man had managed to keep it all so well hidden, even keeping him in the dark over the years, was impressive. Danilo stared at the frame of the once healthy young man who had been reduced to nothing, and he understood.

  “Is there some reason you’re here right now? As you can see, we’re in the middle of something.”

  “We just got a call from the Hawaii Kai house,” Danilo said.

  “And?” Zall asked.

  Setting the case down on the floor, Danilo popped it open. He pulled out a pair of Heckler and Koch P7s and placed them on the steel table behind him, before turning and heading to the door.

  “They’re coming.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  When they left the station, Tseng asked for a half hour. He wanted time to call Sturgis and Li and get into position, allowing both teams to arrive at their respective destinations simultaneously.

  Kalani and Rip had agreed, watching his taillights disappear down Beretania Street.

  “Hungry?” Rip asked.

  “No,” Kalani said softly. “You?”

  “No,” Rip echoed. He paused and glanced over at her, concern on his face. “Where you at right now?”

  “Right here,” Kalani said, her attention aimed out the windshield, her gaze unfocused.

  “You know, we’re going to be alright. We’re just going up to knock on a door and see if anybody’s home. It’ll be just like Mary-Ann Harris’s this morning. We’ll knock, nobody will answer, we’ll be on our way.”

  Kalani heard the words without really listening to them, her thoughts in a dozen other places. She wasn’t especially crazy about the idea of going up to that house, unannounced, after dark.

  “You should also know,” Rip said, “even if something does go down up there, you’re ready.”

  Somehow the words found their way into her consciousness, pulling her attention to him. He hadn’t specified exactly what he meant, but he didn’t have to. Kalani understood where he was heading.

  “You don’t know that,” Kalani said, her voice no more than a whisper.

  “I don’t?” Rip said. “You think for a second that I would be willing to go up there tonight with you if I didn’t know that?”

  Kalani felt her mouth open to respond, but no words came out.

  “I’ve read the file,” Rip said, staring back at her in earnest. “Back when it all went down. I called in a favor, and I read every word of what happened. It wasn’t your fault.”

  Again, Kalani tried to respond, her eyes growing glassy, but no words passed her lips. She turned to face forward, forcing herself to remain composed.

  “Shit happens,” Rip said. “Everyone who has ever worn a badge knows what can happen when we clock in. Your partner knew it then, just like I know it now. And he trusted you then, just like I trust you now.”

  There were so many things Kalani could have said. She could have explained how she still saw the incident every night when she went to sleep. She could have told him that everything they had done so far was pretty straightforward, but this was the first time they faced real danger. She could have thanked him for the vote of confidence, for knowing she needed to hear it.

  Instead, she glanced down at the clock on the dash and said, “Half hour’s almost up. We should get going.”

  Rip smiled at her. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  There were only two ways the collision could end. The first was for the front of the SUV to crumple in on itself like an accordion, sending the grill into the engine, and the engine through the front seat, the V-8 tearing through Tseng and Sturgis as if they weren’t there. Li may survive, or he may not.

  Option two was for the gate to give way, swinging back over the driveway. If it were made of iron, or mounted on rollers that stretched across the width of the drive, Tseng might have had misgivings. But he could tell it was meant more for decorative deterrence than actually keeping anybody out.

  Fortunately for all three inside the Tahoe, his guess was correct.

  To the right, a pair of muzzle flashes ignited, bullets smashing into the truck. A moment later, the sound of men crying out could be heard as the gate completed its arc, mowing down a pair of guards.

  “Holy shit! Did you see that?” Sturgis yelled from the front seat.

  “That’s two,” Li called from the backseat.

  Tseng remained silent as he ignored the driveway, hunkered low behind the wheel, gripping it with both hands. Blood pulsed through his body, his hands clenched so tight he could barely move them as the SUV bounced across the lawn.

  Another pair of guards came toward them, guns extended. Tseng bore down on them, watching as their weapons ignited with orange blossoms, hearing the bullets ricochet off the body of the truck. Two more found the front windshield as he drove.

  “You boys ready to go?” Tseng asked through gritted teeth, every nerve in his body tingling.

  “Oh, hell yeah,” Sturgis said.

  “Do it,” Li said from the backseat, his voice still even.

  Aiming at the men, Tseng closed the gap between them before hitting the brakes and jerking the wheel to his left, the massive SUV skidding sideways, chunks of sod and dirt flying everywhere.

  The car had barely stopped before both passenger doors burst open, Sturgis and Li exploding out with guns firing one round after another.

  Tseng watched for just a moment as the two guards got off a pair of shots before their bodies twisted and fell to the lawn.

  The smell of gunpowder, burnt rubber, freshly plowed soil, all met Tseng’s nostrils as he stepped from the SUV. Turning away from the men on the driveway, he aimed his attention at the front door, the only sound the hissing of the engine.

  “You guys okay?” Tseng yelled, his heart pounding, sweat pouring off him.

  “Good,” Li replied.

  Chancing a glance at them, he saw Li standing with arms outstretched, tucked away behind the rear door, focused on the bodies lying prone on the lawn. In front of him, Sturgis was leaning back into the car, wiping a hand across his forehead, his palm painted red.

  “Sturgis, you hit?” Tseng asked.

  “Fine,” Sturgis said, wiping his hand across his pants before swiping back across his head a second time. “Asshole shot out my window. Shards of glass got me.”

  “Your eyes okay?”

  “Yeah,” Sturgis replied as he pushed himself away from the seat, his weapon at the ready.

  “How many do you think are in there?” Li asked, moving his attention away from the bodies.

  “This is the Honolulu Police Department!” Tseng yelled, wondering the same thing, knowing there was only one way to find out. “Your accomplices are dead! Come out with your hands up, or we will come in there!”

  While it was the right thing to say, there was nothing Tseng wanted to do less. He had called Sturgis and Li to join him because he didn’t want to be alone when he walked up to the front door and asked to see Thomas Zall. At no point did he believe he was going to end up in a shootout.

  On their side was the fact that their opponents didn’t seem to be well trained. Dressed in black and wearing sunglasses after dark, they seemed more concerned with their image than being effective.

  “We know there are more in the house!” Tseng continued to yell. “If you do not come out, we will…”

  His sentence was cut off, the front window igniting with gunshots. Without saying another word, Tseng aimed at the flashes, emptying his clip as fast as his finger could pull the trigger. Beside him he could hear Sturgis and Li doing the same, all three firing long after shots stopped being returned from the window.

  The same deafening silence fell over the yard as Tseng jammed another clip into his weapon, racking a live round into the chamber.

  “You good?” he asked, two words relaying both adrenaline and tension.

  “Good,” Sturgis grunted.

  “Good here,” Li replied.

  All three stood and watched as a shadow pass
ed behind the remnants of the living room window. They kept their guns outstretched in front of them as the front door cracked open.

  “I’m coming out,” a voice inside called. “I’m the only one left.”

  “Open the door, and step out slowly,” Tseng yelled back. “Keep your hands where we can see them.”

  A tense moment passed as the door eased open a little wider, and a frightened young man appeared.

  “Turn your back to us, and drop to your knees,” Tseng called out. “Cross your legs at the ankles and lace your fingers behind your head.”

  Acting in slow, distorted movements, the young man did as he was told, his body visibly quivering.

  “Is it legit?” Sturgis asked. “Or is he a decoy to draw us out?”

  The very same thought was passing through Tseng’s mind as he stared at the young man. By his count, there were five dead, a sixth now kneeling before them. In his experience, nobody in a group this size gave himself up unless he was alone and outnumbered.

  Still, he couldn’t be certain.

  Keeping his gun stretched out in front of him, he extracted a pair of handcuffs.

  “You two stay here. I’ll get this guy, then we’ll secure the house.”

  Chapter Forty-Five

  There was no greeting. No warning, nothing that would have given the slightest heads up of what was about to come their way.

  Even more than that, there was no reason for what happened.

  After leaving the police station, Kalani cut a path toward the highest point in the valley. She slowed the Jeep to little more than a crawl, goosing the engine just enough to make it up the sharp incline, looking over each of the homes along the way.

  It wasn’t hard to find the one they were looking for.

  Perched at the top of the drive was a massive, modern style villa that seemed to have grown out of the mountainside. All glass and steel and concrete, it looked like it belonged on the cover of Architectural Digest.