Prisoners of Paradise

by Brandon Lars Erikson

  “Hey! You just remember how I got you this stuff that we’re lugging up this mountain!”

  “Yeah, it was you that got it, but it ain’t you that needs it.” There was a bit of deathly silence as the group sensed Makana’s emotion. He then took a deep breath and said, “And WE are all going to make sure that the people in the village over this mountain will not have to suffer, because you decided to leave the city once shit got too hard for you there…”

  Bobby was furious. “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m saying I know why you’re with us,” Makana sneered, “You figured, that we would help you escape your problems in the city. Give up the bullshit act, man…you don’t care about our cause, you’re just slowing us down. But thanks to you, we know the real people to deal with when we need more stuff from the city…stuff that’s obviously too heavy for an outsider like yourself to carry up this mountain.”

  “Man, I am your cousin!” Bobby pleaded in a ferocious tone.

  Makana said sternly, “and guess what cousin? You just became a liability, and I really don’t like you all that much. What did you plan on doing when you got my Auntie Palina’s village? They don’t want to put up with your whining, complaining ass while they work their fingers to the bone. And what was that you said about trying to strike a deal with my Auntie Palina, you wanna start buying her Makani plants now? Why?”

  “The market in the city is huge, man!”

  “It is?” Makana said as the others began laughing. “You don’t get it. We don’t want them coming here. We are doing this to keep the modern world, out of our world, and you just wanna lay low for a while, mooch off her hospitality and then buy up all her plants she needs to make her annual supply of rheumatism medicine, what is the going rate for Makani? Be honest now, I wanna make sure my family is getting reimbursed properly.”

  “Man, I would never cheat your family…you and me are family, man.”

  “Yes, and I am ashamed to admit it, our way of life is a joke to you…you were not at our grandfather’s side, when those ships from Earth just landed on our planet. You were not around when our fathers decided to join the Earth’s army and get themselves killed while trying to look good and heroic for the people of Earth. You were not around when our brothers and cousins decided to just up and leave one day because living on our ancestral lands was becoming too difficult. The humans ruined our way of life when they offered assholes like your father, an easy life, that they took, and left all of us holding the bag. Look at us Bobby, WE were the ones that stayed back and took care of our mothers and our little sisters and brothers. We hunted the game, caught the fish, farmed the land, we raised the children and we did it without our fathers at our sides…they abandoned us, and because of that, we had to become men a lot sooner than you did cousin…”

  Bobby exploded with rage, “And so what?! Now you hate them for it? Do you hate the outsiders for what they did, for the progress they brought? Is YOUR miserable failure of a life, THEIR fault?”

  Makana said, “The point is, the rest of us can run up that hill, with all the extra weight, and be at that village before morning. We have to, it is vital to our mission, we cannot risk being late…not because of you.”

  “Then I’ll camp here and meet you at the village in the morning.”

  Kahuku said, “No, you are too far away…the trail is hard to follow, you would get lost…and you might even risk getting caught by those whom we wish to stop, ain’t it true you owe some of em’ money?”

  “Listen man…I got five hundred dollars…”

  Makana said angrily, “you don’t understand our culture! Your money means nothing to us, we value our sacred Kupano culture much more than you could possibly understand, this is a warrior initiation rite of passage, and you failed it cousin. Don’t you get it? The only way to become a Kupano warrior, is to survive the initiation rite of passage…we have all done that, because we don’t act like you…in the end, you don’t understand what we are protecting…what we are making this sacrifice for.”

  “This is bullshit!” Bobby said with passion. “You hypocrites! You all went to school and learned to read and write and do math just like me. But you were lazy in school and flunked out. I got to go to the city because I was smart enough to go to school there and work there!”

  “You became a drug dealer, Bobby! You are a liar, and a cheating gambler! How smart did you have to be to become those things?”

  “So what? Don’t analyze my life you hypocritical asshole! Your dad left and you have used it as an excuse ever since to not fulfill yourself and live your life the way you wanted to. You’re just a momma’s boy Makana! You never did anything with your life because you was always takin’ care of your momma! And now you actually think that this, crusade, of yours is going to keep the modern world out of the Sacred House Reservation? Just look at you, look at what you are doing…you are bringing the modern world into our world…the shit in those green boxes don’t belong here! You wanna be a warrior? You dipshit! My grandfather was a warrior when he was a young man, he told me all about it…he never told me about no million mile hikes up the damned mountain range! He told me that he never once went to war! Do you know why? Because he never had to! What gives you the right to start one? My grandfather told me how hard life in the jungle was and if an easier way to do something could be found, then do it that way! He told me to embrace my culture, but also told me I should learn how to run a computer as well as learn how to dance the traditional Amakua.”

  One of the men in the back snickered and said, “Too bad he never told you how to walk faster.”

  “Screw you man! Who are you to judge me? This is my spiritual quest! I came on this trip to learn about my culture!” Bobby cried out. He gasped for air and then looked up, and his eyes became wide open with horror as he noticed that Makana had a pistol in his hand, and he was pointing it at him.

  Makana simply looked at him with a stone cold face. “This…is…our culture.” He said slowly, and pulled the trigger.

  Location: The Alu Ku Kia Apartments…Polynea.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 1800 Hours.

  “First of all, I have to let you know that our friend Rex Broadstein died because he helped us obtain this information,” Wallace said softly. He gasped as he looked at his friend, who was sitting behind a table with a small stack of monitors all around him.

  “Yes, I know,” His new found friend said in a scared voice. “And I’m afraid that more of us might die as well, but we have to push on. I’ve discovered something about these plans, which certain members of The Evil stole from the government…have you ever noticed that one security company has control over all the locks on the doors and windows of these huge apartment buildings in Polynea?”

  Wallace took a deep breath and said, “Those apartments could be sealed off by the security company within five minutes…everyone could be trapped inside.”

  “Why?” His friend’s voice grew in pitch, “Why would they need to lock everyone inside their apartments?”

  “I think I have the answer,” Wallace said nervously. “My work at the lab helped The Hydroplantations grow a certain kind of food…food that could be turned into emergency rations with a very long shelf life. My team became very interesting in finding out why the government was crafting ‘food safety legislation’ that made organic farming so very difficult…and I am afraid that they will kill me because I know too much.”

  “Then you have to keep moving,” His friend said as he began typing frantically. “I’ve encrypted several messages to our other members…they can hide you…they will tell you what they know and aide you in your quest. They will know you are coming but you cannot stay very long in one place…you must not let anyone in Jacob’s inner circle get ahold of you. Oh my gods, things are so messed up now! I don’t know who we can trust anymore.”

  “I also have to avoid arrest by the gove
rnment…but here is my dilemma…I have to get this information to someone in the government…someone we can trust.”

  “We have someone inside the government that we can trust…someone who will make themselves known when the time has come. And we still have the plan…our plan. The one that we came up with just in case we found ourselves in this sticky situation…”

  “Shhhh!” Wallace made an angry face as he said, “We cannot discuss it! We don’t know if someone is listening in on our conversations…we just have to hope that our people were able to get ahold of what they needed to pull off that plan.”

  His friend’s face became flush as he said, “Wallace…if something with their plan goes wrong…something terrible will happen…something that I do not dare even think about.”

  “That’s why you have to help me find who I am looking for!”

  His friend swallowed his fear and said, “are you sure that’s a wise course of action Wallace? They might kill you…”

  Wallace tried to be quiet as he spoke sternly, “We have no other choice…I have to find them, we have to take the chance that this could be our only hope!”

  His friend tried to reason with him as he said, “Wallace, you have to find her…the gal you once knew from that research institute…the one that knew so much about rocks. You can’t trust the others, they are all blind followers of Jacob’s twisted plan.”

  Wallace sighed as he closed his eyes and tried to calm himself down, “This is not just about rocks…it’s about what she knows…in this case, knowledge truly is a devastating source of power that we all need to be aware of…I need her knowledge, and I’m also hoping, that she will help me to understand this…”

  Wallace felt his hands shaking as he stared at the mysterious piece of paper again. The note was like a key with no lock, it was another mysterious clue to an ever deepening mystery.

  To my esteemed colleague…

  Beware the “Engineers” of this dark plot…

  CHAPTER 23

  Location: The HanaPaloiFederalBuilding.

  Ailanian Standard Time: 1100 Hours.

  Audrey sat in her office, talking to her monitor, which was recording every word she spoke and converting it into text. She had to save into a testimony file that High Senator Ulu Jinkua ordered her to submit to her office by noon.

  Audrey tried not to sound nervous as she said, “My perception on this current matter…is unclear. Our next course of action, is as of right now…uncertain. But I will admit how Captain Kalapana’s behavior and motives bewilder me. Normally he is rational, acts in a logical manner…and takes the time to think and plan each action he takes. He seems to be acting out of character lately, but I have no explanations as to why yet.”

  She paused and slammed her fists onto her desk. She was torn between the order to tell the truth, and the loyalty she felt towards a man she had grown fond of.

  She took a few calming breaths and carefully thought about what she was going to say, “But I think his new attitude and postures, seem to be related to the impending arrival of Captain Ronald Harris. Captain Kalapana was ordered, by the Ailanian High Senate, to follow firm a plan of action that was to be carried out when Captain Harris arrived. The action we were supposed to take against Ailana’s criminal empires was originally going to involve using undercover agents and satellites to track drug smugglers who were bringing Makani from the Sacred House Reservation, to Cutz production facilities in Polynea. After a positive identification of a target was made, Captain Harris and his Special Forces team would be ordered to destroy the production facility and all the drugs, and other contraband it contained with explosives. People caught inside the buildings when they were exploded…would be considered to be…collateral damage.”

  She rubbed her face and tried to keep herself from crying as she said, “however, as the Special Forces arrival date grew closer and closer, necessary actions taken by Captain Kalapana may have appeared, to have undermined those orders the High Senate originally gave the CIA. Instead of assigning more agents to help identify potential targets, he intensified an investigation against High Senators Glik and Semnor, who earlier this year, had been accused by the Attorney General on charges of corruption. Without their votes in the High Senate, Operation Shade might have been halted.”

  “Moke was right to do what he did…I have to defend him,” She felt herself breathing hard as she thought about what she was going to say next. Audrey sighed as she said, “Captain Kalapana decided on his new course of action, because we were able to locate Jacob Colombe, a local political dissenter, who might have been able to provide the CIA with evidence against these two High Senators and High Senate Majority Leader, Wram Karamotzain. That mission ended with Colombe’s dramatic suicide. Then, after realizing that he needed to try another tactic, Captain Kalapana proceeded with another plan of action, that maybe interpreted by some, as unconventional. He shifted our investigations, and tried to single handedly arrest an alleged Cutz producer. This tactic could have been very successful, but for reasons yet to be determined, our actions resulted in the deaths of Loko Kalaheva, a prominent Ailanian businessman, and the alleged Cutz producer, a local gangster named Makula Pilikoa. Both Loko and Makula have died under mysterious circumstances…and our investigation into their role in the production and distribution of Cutz…is still pending.”

  “Shit,” Audrey ran her hands over the top of her head. She tried to sound confident as she said, “It should be noted that as head of the CIA, Captain Moke Kalapana’s decisions were made with the reasoning that the High Senate may have made a mistake giving the orders that they did, and his course of action, at least from his own perception, might have been the best course of action to take because it could have saved innocent lives. Captain Kalapana made his decisions based on the assumption that any action made in order to bring Ailanian criminals to justice must be done by the rules of our constitution, which the High Senate might have been in violation of with their own plan of action which involves using Military force.”

  She bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling as she read what was written. She took a deep breath and said, “Also, it should be noted, that Captain Kalapana’s investigation led to the discovery that a man named Marco Giraudoux, who happened to be on The Alliance’s list of most wanted criminals, was indeed operating on Ailana. An attempt to arrest him failed, and for all purposes, it is believed that Marco Giraudoux has fled the planet. And now, Captain Kalapana is at odds with the High Senate, because what we have done…might have inadvertently made things…a bit more complicated, in terms of finding and eliminating the threat of Cutz production by the members of the Ailanian underworld.”

  She paused for a moment, to make sure she was saying the right thing while speaking a voice free of the deep sorrow and regret she felt. “Because of these unfortunate events, there is a growing cause for concern at the offices of the Ailanian CIA and Attorney General. Our undercover agents have now verified that gang members in the Pilikoa family, the Kahala family and the Kukane family, are now in a struggle to fill the niches that have been opened in this illegal trade. Violent outbursts of hate driven crimes are increasing within many sectors of Polynea as gang members, stalk and kill each other in bloody gun battles. Now, more than ever, the Polynean street gangs are in a struggle for turf and supremacy. So far, we have to report that almost seventy people, with gang ties, have been killed by laser blasts…many more gang members, along with some innocent civilians have been injured in this fighting.”

  “Goddamn it!” She slammed her fists onto her desk again. “We’ve made things worse!”

  She grabbed her kickboxing trophy in an attempt to throw it across the room out of pure frustration. She sighed, closed her eyes and unclenched her fist at the last possible second.

  She set the trophy back on her desk and allowed her anger at the situation to release itself. She contained her emotions as she continued. “The
Moralist leaders are outraged at what is happening on Ailana. High Senators Ulu Jinkua, Wram Karamotzain, Rammy Klunka, and many other conservative Moralist leaders are also demanding immediate action. Because of this latest failure by the CIA, Moke’s attempt to stop Operation Shade has been ruined. Because of the state of distress our planet is facing due to of our ill-begotten, and failed attempts to arrest Ailana’s narcotics kingpins, intervention by Captain Harris and his strike team, is now inevitable. Captain Kalapana does seem more and more distressed by this…and many people are now wondering why he took a course of action…that has made our situation so much…more complicated…than it was before.”

  She became serious as she said, “I believe that the nucleus for Moke’s highly emotional behavior, is due to the relationship that he, and Captain Harris had while they grew up together on Ailana. From what little information I have…I can conclude that they were at one time friends, good friends, so Moke’s reaction to Harris’ arrival is still confusing me. I once asked Moke why he did not want to see his old friend. He refused to answer my questions. I asked Moke if Captain Harris had ever done anything that he found to be unforgivable. Sometimes friends do bad things to each other, and sometimes one can hold onto a grudge…or a painful memory that can affect decisions that one makes for many years.”

  Audrey felt her sinuses burning as a sad emotion coursed through her veins, “I’ve done a lot of research on both their pasts. While growing up together on Ailana, these two were inseparable. Moke Kalapana and Ronald Harris both had fathers who were in The Military, and were spending considerable amounts of time away from their sons. However, Moke’s father was a high ranking officer, while Ronald’s father was low in rank. Moke’s father was a distinguished gentleman of Royal blood, while Ronald’s father became a violent alcoholic, and later, a drug addict. Moke and Ronald might not ever have met if Ronald’s mother had not been ordered by the court to live under the direct supervision of Moke’s mother, who was running a shelter for battered Military wives, and their abused and neglected children. Sometime later, Ronald’s mother and father were both killed in a hovercar crash, and little Ronald Harris was adopted into the Kalapana family. Just a few years after that, Moke’s father was killed, his mother had a nervous breakdown, and for reasons that he has yet to explain to me, the events that shaped the lives of Moke Kalapana and Ronald Harris…become very unclear.”