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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Lama at the improv
>> Liliha
"According to our Capitol bureau," columnist Cruz MacKenzie said, stepping forward with a cell phone to one ear, pausing to listen for more details, "the Chinese government officially protested the lama's visit -- interference in Chinese internal affairs, a dangerous slap to Chinese sovereignty, a serious wound to the growing business ties between China and Hawaii -- and Democrats on both sides caved. They just voted to cancel your appearance, your holiness. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings."
Fon Du grimaced, HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes noted, when he heard the news. Shouldn't a Chinese banker be glad for a little support from home?
Ostensibly the vice president of Bank of Lhasa's Bishop Street branch but in fact the local head of Te-Wu, the Chinese secret police, Fon Du was seething. He'd devised a beautifully duplicitous plan -- show good will for the people of Tibet by establishing the Tsong Khapa Investment Fund, then remove the young Tsong Khapa, which would drive sympathy investments -- and some idiot bureaucrat on the diplomatic side just wrecked it! He had agents poised to strike right now if the opportunity arose, but the best shot was at the Capitol, where he had two snipers posted. Unfortunately, with the Chinese government, as so many, the right hand often didn't know who the left was sucker-punching.
His man in the orange monk's robe, Yu Dip, appeared to be in the best position. As Yu Dip looked past the lama, his boss in the stylish gray suit nodded slightly, and in return he blinked twice.
The media was now demanding a response from the young lama. "That's an insult! What do you have to say about that?"
This was something for which the lama's stunt double, Michael Tenzin-Campbell, had not trained. He was an actor, a junior drama major at UH, and he liked working with a script. But here he was, suddenly at the improv and needing the performance of his life. Kamasami Khan had told him to "become the lama, at all times think and act with compassion for all creatures," which Michael accomplished mainly by being really polite, smiling a lot and saying as little as possible.
"I am sure," he said, "that your legislators were under great pressure, and that they would only act with the good of the people of Hawaii foremost in mind."
"Sure," MacKenzie mumbled, "happens every day."
Rimpoche Rimshot, the young lama's mentor, stepped in. "Time to go."
Gomes leaned down, whispered to the 60ish Rimshot. "I'm police, sir. I'll lead. Please follow closely behind the lama."
It was the first mistake Gomes made in a long time. Instead of acting as a forward shield, if he'd been following the lama, he'd have seen the hard type in orange monk's robes reach inside his robes as Gomes passed.
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Don Chapman is editor of MidWeek. His serialized novel runs daily in the Star-Bulletin. He can be e-mailed at dchapman@midweek.com