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My Kind of Town Don Chapman |
Testosterone in the air
» Kaneohe
Anybody else in the world sitting beside him, anybody at all, Quinn Ah Sun pops the guy across the table with a right jab so fast ... right in the kisser ... because his loyalty, his religious faith, his manhood had all been questioned ... but the guy in the chair next to him was the second Lama Jey Tsong Khapa, a living Buddha. Violence was something of a no-no.
Sitting across the table, Kamasami Khan saw anger flash in the young cop's eyes, saw his face turn red, saw the obvious restraint. And took it all as a good sign.
The young lama, compassion incarnate, cleared his throat. Just that little gesture brought Quinn back into his halo of peace and light.
"You just met me, Khan," Quinn said, unclenching his fist. "You get a pass on that one. I'm in for the duration."
"I swear, there's that testosterone-in-the-air smell again," Bodhicita Guzman said, pinching her nose as she entered with a plate of strawberries and grapes. "You have any air-freshener around here, Khan?"
He ignored the remark. The lama gave Bodhicita a lover's glance as she poured his tea. His eternal consort's humor and smile were a delight. He looked forward to an opportunity to be alone with her.
"Besides," Quinn added, "you're asking about my loyalty a bit late." Khan frowned, not understanding.
"Officer Ah Sun," the lama explained, "mentioned earlier on the phone that he was going to volunteer to be on 'my' official security detail full-time.
I suggested he wait until after we met today."
Khan grunted. "Seems to me, best to keep everything as is. Guaranteed Te-Wu has identified you and the others on the HPD detail. You go changing up all of a sudden, it calls attention."
"Not necessarily. Even cops get a day off now and then. Vacations too."
"First things first, like his scheduled meeting with local religious leaders this afternoon."
"Too late to make any changes. I'm there."
"There's something you should know then," Khan said. "We expect Te-Wu to strike again. The stand-in has also been notified. From the intelligence we have, at least one of their people will be dressed as a Muslim imam."
"Ai yai yai." If there was religious trouble anywhere in the world today, and there was plenty, Quinn knew, chances were Islam was at the center of the tempest -- Muslims against Sikhs in Malaysia and India, against Buddhists in Thailand, against Catholics in the Philippines, against Jews everywhere, even Sunni against Shia. This would seem just another example.
His cell chirped, Quinn answered, listened. "OK, Lil, see you soon. Drive careful." Then, disengaging from the call, "Lunch is on the way, your holiness. But first, whaddaya say we get you on that bike?"
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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