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Danny never got that nap. In fact, he had barely gotten a moment to catch his breath for as soon as he walked in the apartment door the other Steve called HPD and Danny was forced to give an extremely detailed account of his afternoon. They had only stopped when they realized that it was getting late and Danny still needed to grab something to eat. Afterwards, Duke left and Danny got ready for bed so he could sneak out once his “uncle” was asleep. The time to leave came all too quickly as Danny opened his bedroom window and climbed out onto the lanai. Moving quickly, Danny walked over to a corner and climbed down a pillar. Once safely on the ground, Danny looked up at the way he came; he should be able to easily sneak back in the way he exited. Step one complete.

Danny started walking briskly through the streets toward his destination. The night was dark but the city lights illuminated his path. As he approached the shack, Danny thought he saw a figure watching him from a distance. He resisted the urge to look because if it was one Kaiko’s gang it meant that they being were careful, making sure he came alone.

Danny turned the corner and saw Kaiko leaning the side of the van. “Ya ready?” Kaiko called out as Danny approached.

“Yeah,” Danny replied.

“Great. Just waitin’ for D.J.”

Danny didn’t answer, he just walked up until he stood he stood beside Kaiko. He spotted Johnny sitting in driver’s seat drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He didn’t have to wait long as he spotted D.J. jogging toward them from the direction Danny had seen a figure earlier; they had been watching him.

When D.J. arrived Kaiko asked, “We good?”

“All set,” the young punk replied.

Danny caught the undertones the conversation between the two gang members and took the warning to heart. Kaiko might trust him enough to bring him along on a theft but it didn’t mean he trusted him completely. And this meant that Danny would have to be extra careful so Kaiko didn’t start to regret his decision.

Johnny poked his head out the driver’s side window. “Are you gonna stand there all night or are you gonna get in the van?”

“Start driving, it won’t make no difference,” D.J. joked. “You drive slower than a turtle. We’d beat you there walkin’.”

Johnny responded by gunning the engine and the rest of the gang laughed as they climbed into the van. Danny sat down on floor and Kaiko sat down beside him. As Johnny drove toward downtown, Kaiko turned to Danny. “Remember how ya did da last car?”

Danny nodded; he was starting to get nervous and didn’t trust himself to speak.

“Ya take da right side, D.J. got da left. Put the da parts behind ya and Johnny will put dem in da van. Trouble comes go to da van. Johnny not gonna wait for ya.”

“Right,” Danny said trying to sound a lot more confident than he felt.

Kaiko saw right through his false bravo and slapped him on the shoulder. “Ya be fine.”

Danny mentally admonished himself; he couldn’t afford to let his emotions be that transparent. Luckily, Kaiko wasn’t turned off by his nerves but he would have to do better if he was going to get the information HPD needed.

“Kaiko,” Johnny called. “See anything you like?”

Kaiko turned so he was kneeling behind the front seats, his hands resting on the cushions. After a few moments he ordered, “Slow down. Dat one on da left.”

Danny felt the van turn and come to a complete stop. He brought his feet under him, ready to jump into action. The time for practice was over, the game had begun.

Okay, Williams, don’t mess this up!

Kaiko opened the side door and Danny followed him out onto the pavement. They were in the middle of a large parking lot. While it was not full there were cars scattered throughout the lot to provide them with some cover. Kaiko moved quickly, gesturing toward a white sedan. “Da Pontiac, dat’s da car we want.”

Moving swiftly and silently, Danny, Kaiko, and D.J. approached the hood of the car. Kaiko popped the hood and Danny and D.J. each took a wrench and started removing the bolts holding it to the car. Sweat dripped down Danny’s forehead as he worked but he was pleased to see that he finished his part only a few seconds after D.J. The hood free, they placed it on the pavement where Johnny would grab it.

His first job was complete so Danny let Kaiko continue on the front of the car while he concentrated on the right side of car. He removed pieces of metal and the doors while D.J. did the same on the other side. Time slowed as Danny worked and he lost himself in the turning of the wrench.

D.J. already had gotten the trunk off before Danny joined him in removing the rear lights and bumper. Kaiko was now inside the car and had already removed the steering wheel and dashboard and was working on the radio when Danny moved to remove the rear seats. Once the seats were out, they finished up with the tires and hubcaps as Johnny moved constantly, loading the parts into the van.

The whole process took about seven minutes.

If the other gangs were as efficient as Kaiko’s, Danny now understood why HPD was having so much trouble stopping the thefts.

Grabbing the last tire, Danny jogged toward the van and jumped inside. The others followed as the door slide shut behind him and Johnny started the engine. The tension and silence disappeared as Kaiko let out a loud whoop as the van sped away from the scene of the crime. Danny smiled and joined in the cheers. He had done it!

Kaiko sprawled across one the stolen seats and Danny decided to follow his example for the parts left no room for him on the floor. “Ya did good for da first time,”

“Mahalo, brah. It was fun.”

Kaiko smirked. “Da best part is da fuzz don’t know what hit dem.”

“Yeah,” Danny agreed. When Kaiko didn’t respond Danny asked, “What’s next?”

“Ya wanna do mo’?”

Danny shrugged, “Why not?”

“Tomorrow,” Kaiko replied as the van came to halt. Danny looked out the window and was surprised to see that they had returned to the shack. He didn’t say anything as noticed D.J. and Johnny getting out of the van so he followed them. Kaiko jumped out and then quickly took Johnny’s place in the driver’s seat. Danny could only watch as Kaiko drove off in the can with all the stolen parts, alone.

Johnny had already started walking toward the shack so Danny turned to D.J. and asked, “What’s happening?”

“Kaiko goin’ to sell the goods. Don’t worry, he won’t cheat you.”

Getting cheated out of his share of the profits wasn’t Danny’s concern; his concern was about being unable to find out who Kaiko sold those parts to. He wasn’t surprised that he wasn’t let in on the secret the first night but he was surprised that no else went with Kaiko. Is this was the usual mode of operation then things didn’t look as promising as they did a few hours ago.

With nothing else to do, Danny entered the shack, grabbed a coke, and spent the time getting to know D.J. and Johnny better. D.J. was talkative and was more than happy to join in conversation while Johnny was quieter, only contributing occasionally. Danny didn’t take Johnny’s reserve as a sign that he didn’t like him but instead realized that it was just part of the punk’s nature.

Danny also took the time to better study his surroundings. They were seated around a small wooden table but the chairs were wooden crates. The room he was in took up half of the shack and he noticed two sheet draped doorways. The place was old and the floor was rotting but amazingly there was a working light bulb and a small fridge; Danny was curious to know how they paid the electric bill. Overall, it was about the best of what one would expect out of three teenage boys.

It was a little less than an hour later before Kaiko returned and set a stack of money on the table. As Danny looked at the amount he couldn’t help but let the shock show on his face. If his information was correct this about ten percent more than they could get taking the car to a chop shop. No wonder there had been a dramatic raise in car strippings in Honolulu; someone was throwing around a lot of money!

Taking advantage of his slip, Danny whistled. “Man, I didn’t know this stuff was worth this much. What’s the guy doing with it?”

“Don’t know. Send da goods to da mainland, probably”

Danny didn’t need a cop’s instincts to know that Kaiko was lying and that surprised him. By all calculations, Kaiko should be a small piece of a larger puzzle; he should know who the buyer is and how to contact that buyer but definitely not the buyers’ plans. However, Danny Burken would have no idea that Kaiko was lying so he didn’t press the issue.

After Danny received his share of the take he figured that he wouldn’t learn more tonight. “I gotta go. Meet you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Kaiko said as he continued to divide up the money. “Swing by when ya can.”

*~*~*


It was turning out to be another long day in the office as Steve stood next to his bulletin board, coffee cup in hand, trading ideas with his second-in-command. He and Ralph had had spent several days narrowing down the computer list of thieves with similar MOs down to ten possible suspects: one local, several from the mainland, and a pair of twins from Japan.

Tapping his finger on one flyer, Steve mused, “Only one small enough to fit through that window.”

Ralph shook his head. “Not him, Steve. I just got off the phone with his parole officer. He talked with him yesterday and guarantees that he hasn’t left Illinois.”

Make that nine suspects. Of course that was assuming that their thief was someone the law enforcement community was aware of, which was why Steve had Chin and Kono working on the other angle.

Steve heard the buzzer from the phone on his desk go off and he walked over and hit the speaker button. “Yes, May.”

“I have Chief Parker of Hilo PD on the line.”

“Patch him through. Aloha, Erik. What’s the problem?”

“Aloha to you too, Steve. Someone helped a tourist out a walk out a fourth story window.”

“Sounds like you guys are making progress already. What do you need us for?”

“The guy’s rich, some B list actor from Hollywood. I already have my hands full keeping the press away.”

Steve groaned; this was the last thing they needed another high profile case, even if it was cut and dry. “I hear you. I’ll send someone over this afternoon.”

“Thanks, Steve.”

Ending the phone call, Steve looked up at his second-in-command. “Sorry, Ralph.”

“I know, pack a bag.”

“Make it as fast if you can. Chin’s wife is due any day now and I’d prefer not to be down two men.”

*~*~*

The days passed quickly as Danny was now spending most of his time with Kaiko, D.J., and Johnny. Each day they would walk around town or hang out at the beach. Each night he would sneak out and join them on another theft. With each moment that passed was Danny growing more comfortable in his role as a teenage punk and was becoming closer to the gang. That closeness was probably the hardest part of this assignment; Danny had to become friends with people that he couldn’t actually be friends with. So while his relationships with the gang had every appearance of growing friendships it had to be fake from his end.

Danny tried to not let his conscience bother too much; this was an assignment and Kaiko and the others were committing criminal acts. It was just hard to play the double role.

When Danny returned to the apartment he found Steve O’Donnell in the kitchen, washing dishes. The older man looked back over his shoulder when he heard Danny enter the kitchen. “You missed dinner.”

“So?” Danny shot back in the defiant tone of a teenager.

“It’d be nice to see my nephew once in awhile.”

“I found some friends,” Danny said as he searched in the fridge for leftovers. “I would have thought you’d be happy for me.”

Steve’s tone of voice changed as he replied. “According to Duke, your friends have been keeping you busy.”

Danny turned around and smiled, happy for the chance to drop his cover. “Yeah, they have been. But I’m nowhere close to learning what I need to.”

“These things take time, Danny.”

“I know,” Danny said as he sat down in a kitchen chair. “It’s just frustrating.”


“Patience. Sooner or later Kikeona will let something slip or he’ll take you along.”

Danny shook his head. “I’m not so sure. I think our best chance is for someone to follow Kaiko to wherever he sells the goods after he drops us off. If he doesn’t take D.J. or Johnny along he’s not going to take me.”

“Danny, the streets are empty at three in the morning. If Kikeona is being as careful as you say he is, he’ll spot a tail easy.”

Danny conceded that Steve was probably right. “It just doesn’t make sense. They make enough bread, I mean money, to support themselves but it’s still a small time operation. So why the large operation type secrecy?”

“I can’t answer that but I know who can figure it out.”

“Yeah, I know,” Danny replied sheepishly. Me.

Steve was right; this was his job, his assignment. On the surface, Kaiko Kikeona was everything HPD said he would be: a street-smart punk who is gifted at stripping cars. But underneath that surface was something else…

Danny just had to figure what it was.