My Kind of Town
>> Honolulu International Airport Remembering Pearl Harbor
Muhammed Resurreccion stepped out of the immigration terminal and recognized the silver-blue rental van and the driver immediately. A photo of both, as well as the license number, had been wireless e-mailed, which he'd checked on his laptop while awaiting his lone suitcase. Even as his heart raced, he smiled pleasantly as the van pulled to the curb. The moment he hated was here -- trust a stranger, get into her van.
There had been that one time in Manila, what, five years ago? Flying in from Zamboanga, he was to be met by a member of an old cell. He didn't recognize any of the people in the car and just kept walking. That was the day he decided to get photos sent ahead to him.
Wilhemina Orlando jumped down from the driver's seat, ran around to open the sliding door, dipped her head in the gracious Filipina style. Muhammed tossed his bag in the back, she closed the door.
"Welcome to Hawaii!"
Their eyes met. He saw only a friendly driver, eager to serve.
"Thank you. It's good to be back."
A rent-a-cop whistled for them to get moving.
"I am so honored to meet you," she said brightly when they were in the van and moving. That's what Marty had told her. Just be normal, and if you can't be normal "you" at least think about the situation and what would be normal behavior.
"You know me?"
"Everybody knows about Wired!" Wilhemina exclaimed. Muhammed owned the chain of e-mail/coffee houses across Mindanao. But people didn't know that the Wired! stores gave him perfect cover to travel, to transmit information and launder money to his people's soldiers. Wired! was his cover for this trip to Honolulu, to attend an electronics seminar at the new convention center. "Everybody knows the E-King of Mindanao!"
"Ah, that story!" Publicly he was humbled by the headline of a story about his business in the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Personally he thought of himself as a king and did not object to being so recognized.
Wilhemina assumed Muhammed would be going to Waikiki and moved toward the right lane as she left the airport. "Where would you like to go?"
"I would like to see Pearl Harbor." He smiled. "The 60th anniversary."
There was something in the way he said it that chilled Wilhemina. But she slid into the left lane, took the H-1 East ramp and said, "Yes, they're having a ceremony. Too much traffic, I think today."
"Up there," he said, pointing to the hills of Aiea. "I just want to see the big picture today."
Later she would mention that to Marty.
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