My Kind of Town
>> Honolulu International Airport A quiet war
America was at war. But so was Muhammed Resurreccion. And he had the advantage -- secrecy and surprise. Still, in the aftermath of Sept. 11, Muhammed was rethinking his plan. Waiting for his baggage, his mind turned like the revolving carousel ...
The money, for instance, that had been wired to him via Indonesia from Infitada Inc. In making his request last summer, Muhammed had said only that he wanted to make a statement for his people, the Muslims of Mindanao, that would involve America. Muhammed wanted to get America's attention, because if they could only understood his people's situation, Americans of all people would support them. This was a simple case of taxation without representation, basic Boston Tea Party stuff. And of course Infitada Inc. was happy to help.
Only now, in light of Sept. 11, did Muhammed see that he was just part of an all-out attack on America. And two things worried him. One, that the statement he would make in Hawaii would be lost in the other attacks. But there would be no ignoring an attack on a sacred military site. Two, security would be much tighter than he expected while laying out his plans.
But the world was looking for Arabs. Nobody would expect an act of terrorism from a cute little Filipino girl, the daughter of Muhammed's late cousin Jesus. Better, Elizabeth was a Catholic who would cross herself as she committed her act of terrorism. Allah was gracious, he would forgive her Catholicism.
Yes, Muhammed could still pull this one off. But it hardly mattered at this point. Infitada Inc. expected results for their money. There really was no going back.
>> Royal Hawaiian Hotel
After his run down the beach and around the park, Lt. Col. Chuck Ryan was stepping out of the shower and thought he heard the TV morning news guy say something about a World War II-vintage Japanese mini-sub surfacing at Ala Moana Beach Park moments ago. Ryan, a military intelligence officer, had combat experience in Vietnam and Desert Storm. He never thought he'd be going back to the future and WWII. But that's where he was heading.
Of course at the same time, he'd be in touch with his people who were tailing Muhammed Resurreccion. Code name: San Miguel.
>> Honolulu International Airport
Even though she was working for the good guys to stop a potential terrorist, Wilhemina Orlando held her breath when the Guardsman looked inside the silver-blue rental van and another checked underneath with a mirror. The irony is that they were looking for trouble that might be arriving at the airport. Little did the Guardsman know that trouble had already landed, and Wilhemina would ferry it away.
Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek.
His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin
with weekly summaries on Sunday.
He can be emailed at dchapman@midweek.com