The Island Project: A Thriller

by Taylor Buck

  “So you think we can extract that kind of information from it? Do you know how?” Kelly asked.

  “Me?” Dr. Adler shook his head. “No. I might have someone who can help you though. Give me one moment.” He picked up his phone and dialed a number. “Yes, hi Tammy. Can you please send Kam up here? Ok, thank you.” He hung up the phone and looked over at them. He set aside the cheerful expression and donned on a look of concern.

  “I want you to be careful now. I mean it. You might not know what you’re getting yourself into here. Based on the story you just told, this could hold some very sensitive information. You need to be aware of that before you go any further. Ok?”

  Kelly and Bennett both nodded. “Thank you Dad.” Kelly said. “We appreciate your help with this.”

  Dr. Adler regained his cheer and nodded. The phone rang. Dr. Adler picked it up. “Yes. Go ahead and send him in.”

  The door opened behind them and in walked Kamuela—a young Hawaiian man, short in stature with tall, spiky hair. Kamuela was a brilliant twenty-two year old currently in charge of the IT systems for the University of Hawaii Research Center. He was a family friend to the Adler’s and managed to talk over most anyone’s head when it came to tech-related matters.

  “Hi Kam!” Kelly walked over and gave him a hug. Kam and Kelly had gone to University of Hawaii together. Dr. Adler introduced Bennett. “Kam, I’d like you to meet Thomas Bennett. Tom has been a friend of the family for a long time. He’s here visiting the island for a few days. Kelly and Tom came across something today and thought you might be able to help with it.”

  “Howzit Tom? Nice to meet you.” He shook Bennett’s hand. “Sure, what’s up? How can I help out?”

  Kelly held out the keychain. “We were hoping you could help us with this.”

  Kam looked at the keychain. “An RFID? Well sure. What do ya want to know?”

  “We want to know what kind of info is on there,” said Kelly.

  “You mean you want me to crack it?” Kam asked bluntly.

  Kelly looked at Bennett then back at Kam. “Well yeah, if you can. We think there may be some important information on there that could help us.”

  Kam held up the RFID, inspecting the circuitry. “This is a new model. Newer than the ones we use on site here anyway.” He held the keychain by the loop and flicked it around his finger. “Yep. I should be able to crack it for you.”

  “Great,” said Kelly. “How long will it take you to pull the info?”

  “Well, I’ll have to bring it home since I have all my equipment there. I could probably bring it back first thing in the morning.”

  Kelly flashed a look of disappointment—only for a moment. “Kam. Is it at all possible you could get this info pulled today? I know it’s a big request, but we were hoping that maybe we could get some answers. We’ll fill you in on the whole story, but we really need to get started now if that’s ok,” she said.

  Kelly knew when to lightly apply her skills of persuasion. It was something she was good at and quite familiar with. She didn’t do it to intentionally be pushy—Kelly just had a way of getting what she wanted. Part of her mother’s stubbornness, her father would say.

  “Oh, shootz,” Kam said and shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, totally. If you’re in a rush, then you should’ve just said so. I’ll head out now.”

  “Thank you Kam.” Kelly smiled big. “We really appreciate it.”

  “Sure, sure. Let me head home and I’ll be back in, like…an hour. I live real close, just up the shore.”

  “Kam, thank you. I owe you one,” said Dr. Adler.

  “No problem, Dr. Adler.”

  Kam exited the office and headed down stairs.

  “Well, he’s very bright. If anyone can pull anything from that key, it’s Kam there,” said Dr. Adler.

  “Thanks Dad. That was a good idea. I had forgotten he was on site here,” said Kelly.

  “Now.” Dr. Adler turned to Bennett. “Tell me about this movie they’re going to make on the Island.”

  KAMUELA HEADED DOWN the stairs of the facility toward the company locker room in the basement. He reached his locker, stripped down to his board shorts and placed his work clothes inside. He unclasped his silver chain necklace and slipped the RFID keychain loop on to it. Kam turned and looked in the mirror. The gold circuit actually looked good hanging from the chain—like a medallion. He slipped his phone into a waterproof bag and placed it in his shorts pocket. He closed up his locker and headed out the back exit. After a short climb up the stairs he opened the door to the bright afternoon sun. His SUP, Stand Up Paddleboard, was propped up against the building just outside the door where he had left it that morning. He grabbed his board and the accompanying oar and walked down the path to the beach.

  It was a less than a mile up the shoreline from the University office to Kam’s house. He paddled the stretch every morning and every day after work. Kam was a strong surfer and was into competitive SUP’ing or Hoe he’e nalu in the Native tongue. SUP’ing was a standard way of getting around in Hawaii; in fact he would often join up with other SUP’ers on their way to work in the morning as well. It was not your typical mainland morning commute, which was why Kam enjoyed it.

  He pushed off into the waters and paddled out a few yards on his knees. Once he was about forty yards out he hopped up to his feet and quickly gained his balance, then pushed his paddle through the clear water and skimmed across the gentle waves. He smelled the salty air around him and felt the strong sun beating down on his skin. A subtle breeze blew north that he was able to catch and drag for a while. Within fifteen minutes he was already pulling into the small bay in front of his beach house. He crossed through a large lava rock formation and turned into the cove. He looked up to find tourists lined up along the entire shoreline, filling the cove. Kam wasn’t accustomed to returning home midday. He was usually able to avoid the rush of tourists altogether.

  He steered his board into the cove. The waves picked up a little as the breeze grew stronger. He was able to ride a wave all the way into the swim zone. He paddled slowly along the outside edge of the cove, just inside from the crashing waves along the reef perimeter. He picked up his paddle and tucked it lengthwise along the board, then went to drop down to his knees. As he bent down he felt a sudden lurch underneath the board causing him to grab both sides of it. The sudden movement sent his paddle over the right side of the board and into the water. He looked down and saw two large flippers kicking uncontrollably on the left side of the board while a snorkel popped up out of the water on the right. Water sprayed up into the air through a snorkel. A large, barrel of a man was lodged underneath the board panicking and splashing around. The man was sunburnt from head to toe. Kam tried to keep his balance but the man was thrashing like a fish out of water.

  Just as Kam had steadied himself, the board was kicked again powerfully from underneath sending Kam flying overboard. He entered the water and immediately received two blows to the chest from the man’s large grey flippers.

  Kam yelled as he tried to get away. “Oww. Hey! Watch what you’re…”

  The man exploded out of the water and ripped off his mask. “Are you crazy! What are you trying to do? Drown me?”

  Kam looked around for his board, which he spotted washing out to sea. He swam away from the man to retrieve his board.

  “Hey, I’m talking to you!” the man yelled.

  Kam grabbed his paddle and pulled himself up onto his board. He turned and paddled away from the man. He could hear the man cursing at him between heavy pants and deep gasps as the man treaded water. The cursing faded off into the noise of the tourists as Kam reached the beach and pulled up onto the sand. He kicked up his board and threw it under his right arm. Brushing off the sand, he held the paddle in his left. He turned to head up the pathway to his house and realized something…a feeling
of panic took over. He reached his hand up to his neck and realized he didn’t feel the necklace or the keychain.

  His necklace was missing.

  The keychain was gone.

  CHAPTER 23

  HILO GRILL

  15 OCTOBER, 3:00 P.M.

  Dr. Adler’s cell phone rang. He excused himself from the table where he was enjoying lunch with Tom and his daughter. He walked outside to the patio away from the guests.

  “Yes, this is Dr. Adler.”

  It was Kam. He had some bad news…

  Dr. Adler walked back to the veranda where Kelly and Bennett were sitting at the table.

  “I’m afraid I have some unfortunate news,” he said.

  Kelly stood up. “What is it?”

  “I just received a phone call from Kam. It appears he lost the keychain.”

  “What! How?” Kelly asked. Bennett stood up.

  “Apparently he dropped it in the cove out in front of his house while he was paddling home.”

  Kelly stood there with her mouth wide open in disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I wish I was.” Dr. Adler replied with a look of concern.

  Bennett stood up and grabbed the keys off the table. “Which bay is he at?”

  “Richardson Beach. Just north of here about a mile,” Dr. Adler replied.

  Bennett walked toward the door. “Kelly, you stay here with your father. I’m going to go help Kam.”

  Kelly nodded in agreement and Bennett rushed out the door to his truck.

  CHAPTER 24

  DOWNTOWN HILO

  15 OCTOBER, 3:10 P.M.

  Richardson Beach was less than a mile north from Dr. Alder’s office. Downtown Hilo, however, was difficult to drive through quickly and not easy to navigate in a rush. To the locals, being in a rush was unnecessary—very much against the “aloha” spirit. But right now, Bennett was feeling anything but “aloha”. He was in a hurry, focusing on weaving through the string of cars in front of him.

  He checked his watch. It was just after 3:00. He knew people would still be on the beaches. With any luck they would be starting to pack up and head home by now.

  Bennett pulled into the private driveway that led down to the beach. He made his way into the parking lot and found an empty spot. Kam was already making his way through the parking lot to Bennett.

  “I can’t find it, Mr. Bennett,” he said between deep breaths. “I’ve been searching the water for the past 30 minutes, but nothing…” Kam sucked in another deep breath. “Nothing down there. So sorry, I really am.”

  Bennett searched Kam’s face for any signs of deceit. The Adler family knew Kam well, but he couldn’t help but question the situation they were in. Bennett knew if he were being played he would have to address it now to expose the truth. But his curiosity was qualmed by the sincere and grieved look on Kam’s face. He had the look of a child that was expecting punishment. Ready and willing to receive any abuse cast upon him.

  “Let’s not worry about how it happened. Let’s focus on where you lost it, and how we can get it back,” said Bennett. He grabbed his swimming goggles from the cab behind his seat and shut the door.

  Kam led Bennett through the trees and into the beach clearing. Bennett removed his boots to walk more easily through the sand. The scene before him was worse than he was expecting. The shore was littered with beach umbrellas and sunbathing tourists. Adults lathering on sunblock and kids running around with boogie boards in tow. He could see a few snorkelers about twenty yards out ducking in and out of the water. Kids were playing in the waves and tumbling around on the sand. A boy was beach fishing down along the bank.

  “Over there!” Kam yelled over the sound of the waves. “Next to that rock. I was over there when I got knocked off my board.”

  Bennett quickly took in his surroundings. Instead of mapping out a strategy, he quickly began removing his shirt and taking out his wallet, phone and anything that could be damaged by water.

  “Watch my stuff,” he directed Kam. Then Bennett dove into the water.

  The waves were breaking short, causing quick, vertical rises and falls in the water. The current water condition wasn’t ideal for swimming. Bennett was surprised there were many snorkelers out at all.

  The rock Kam was referring to was about fifteen yards from where the waves were breaking. It protruded about three feet out from the water and was a good ten feet wide around the base. Bennett was making his way toward it. Flippers and tiny feet were kicking all around above him as he dove down to the base of the rock. Once at the bottom, he hovered at the base and scanned the geography of the ocean floor. There were shells and rocks glinting with sunlight, covering the sand and gathering in clusters around the rock beside him. Multi-colored fish poked around the rock, ducking in and out of hiding spots, not seemingly affected by Bennett’s presence.

  He treaded water, trying to keep a steady eye on his surroundings as the waves above crashed and churned. Bennett was quite confident and aware of his ability as a swimmer. He knew with rested lungs he could hold his breath for roughly two minutes before needing air. His daily swimming regime included faithful morning laps in his club’s pool and a yearly entry into the La Jolla Rough Water Swim to battle it out for the title of Gatorman. He had taken first place two years prior, but gave up the title a year later due to his leave in Vanuatu. The task at hand seemed a challenge Bennett could easily handle. His uneasiness lay in the possibility that the key could be long washed out to sea, making all of this effort a hopeless and lost cause.

  A shiny glint shone through the water from behind a coral bed and caught Bennett’s attention. He immediately changed momentum and swam toward the glimmering object. Pulling his body around the sharp coral rock he lunged down toward the object. His hope soon vanished as he reached out and grabbed a shiny Coke can lid and tossed it aside. He was starting to feel pressure in his lungs so he decided to swim up for air. As he emerged through the surface of the waves he adjusted his goggles to his forehead and shot a glance across the beach. Kam was waving his hands back and forth as if to indicate his position to Bennett. He changed his hand motions into a thumbs-up sign, hoping for a positive gesture in return. Bennett shook his head, letting Kam know that he had nothing to show yet.

  The tide was working its way in toward the shore and Bennett could see that the kids were now playing further inland. The waves continued to rise and fall and were steadily becoming more choppy. He took a deep breath and dived back down into the water.

  His attention shifted to a new formation of coral to his right. There were many clusters of debris around the base of the coral and it seemed as good a place as any for an object to gravitate to. The coral bed was a good twenty feet down and as Bennett descended he began to feel the pressure forming in his ears. He ran his hands along the bottom crease, purposefully disturbing the collection of shells, pebbles and coral fragments resting there. An eel peered its head out of an opening close by and locked eyes with Bennett for a moment before retreating back into its hole. Bennett navigated around the bed to the south side facing the deep blue water. It was then that his attention shifted to a single unmistakable object, nestled gently in a pocked indent in the coral. A feeling of immense excitement instantly overtook Bennett. He swam over the coral and reached out to the key, grasping it in his hands.

  The key was back in his possession.

  Holding the key securely in his hand, he thrust his legs and pushed toward the surface above. He looked up to the translucent; aqua-colored layer coating the ocean surface and felt the temperature of the water get warmer as he floated upward. He had just about broken through the surface when he felt a sharp pain in his right cheek, just under his goggles. It was a searing, jolting pain as if his skin were being torn off.

  “What’s happening? Am I being stung?” Bennett tho
ught. He was confused.

  The pain shot through his body and Bennett found himself in a semi-panic. He immediately reached his hand up to his face and felt his fingers run across an awkward protrusion coming out from his cheekbone. A horrifying feeling ran through him as he tried to pull the alien object from his face, only to feel it tear deeper. He ripped off his goggles and felt the saltwater pour into his eyes, stinging them and only adding to the pain. He kicked wildly about in the water, still stretching to break through to the air above. One final kick of his legs and he exploded through the surface. The pain made him completely discombobulated and Bennett realized he had lost all sense of direction. Trying to ignore the pain, he adjusted his eyes to the sun. His eyes searched for land.

  He couldn’t see the beach at all.

  Only a blurry expansive blue canvas in every direction. He squinted his eyes to try and clear the saltwater out. As he did he felt another shooting pain in his cheek. This time there was a tugging sensation accompanying the pain…on and off, on and off.

  This thing is biting me! Bennett thought.

  He tried to yell out to Kam but the saltwater poured down his throat and drowned out his attempt. Bennett swung his gaze left and right until he made out land. He saw the children playing and splashing in the water, carrying on, unbeknownst of the situation playing out a few yards from them. His eyes examined the crowds of people along the shoreline and Bennett desperately searched for Kam. His attention stopped on a boy, seemingly fixed on the water. The boy’s actions seemed strange though, as if contorting or moving his arms in a wild upward motion. Bennett was trying to make it out when the pain came back again. And again.