Goosing it a little

» H-1, kokohead-bound

As he'd discovered that day he rode on the back of Quinn Ah Sun's BMW motorcycle, the second Lama Jey Tsong Khapa loved machines.

Specifically, muscle machines with the capacity for instant speed.

"Can you goose it a little?" the young lama said from the front seat of HPD Detective Sherlock Gomes' 1968 hemi Barracuda with five on the floor and real Naugahyde bucket seats.

They were just merging onto the H-1 from Kapiolani.

"Um, goose, your holiness?"

The lama chuckled. "Officer Ah Sun took me for a ride on his bike. It's a term he taught me."

Gomes had never met a holy man quite like this, and had to smile. And what was it about this young man that made him so, what's the word, engaging?

The highway ahead was open. Gomes stomped on the gas, rapidly upshifted twice, and each time the classic Cuda jumped.

"Oh yes," the lama said, grinning. "The old accelerated path."

" 'Scuse me?"

"It's a pun," Bodhicita Guzman giggled from the back seat, "on one of the paths a person may follow in pursuit of his or her Buddhahood."

"Ah."

"Instead of ah, better you try om," the lama said.

"Om?"

"There you go."

"Om."

"Now you're ready to meditate. Om ... om ... "

"I'm a good Catholic boy, remember."

"Look for God in your meditation ... om ... you'll find him ... om ... "

Catching up to traffic, Gomes eased off the gas, downshifted to fourth, pipes growling smoothly with the compression change.

"Fantastic!" the lama said. "We do not have such cars in the Himalayas. But if you ever visit me, Detective Gomes, I can put you on a really fast yak."

The lama broke into laughter at his joke.

Gomes had to laugh too. He wasn't about to convert, but he was beginning to take protecting this young man personally.

His cell phone rang then.

"Gomes, h'lo ... Eh, Quinn ... Don't say ... Bootufuh motolseekel? ... OK, we'll keep our eyes open ... I've got a photo of the guy we're looking for, we'll see if it's a match ... Just passing Kahala Mall now, be there soon."

Gomes glanced in the rearview mirror, made eye contact with Bodhicita.

"That's Officer Ah Sun, says a guy just walked past his house, complimented him on his bike, thick Chinese accent. 'Bootufuh motolseekel.' Not the best spycraft. Rookie mistake. Quinn thinks it could be our guy."