The Big Kahuna

by Janet Evanovich

  “Just don’t give him too much rope,” Jake said. “You don’t want him leading them to you. Or using it to hang you.” He looked toward the beach. “Are we dragging the motley crew along with us?”

  “Unfortunately, yes,” Kate said. “I need to keep the Kahuna close, and unless we lock Hamilton and Vicky up in a windowless room I’m afraid they’ll create havoc looking for us.”

  “I vote for the windowless room,” Jake said.

  “Tempting, but no,” Kate said. “I’ll go find Vicky, Hamilton, and the Kahuna. They need to know we’re taking off first thing in the morning.”

  “While you do that, I’m going to make our travel arrangements,” Nick said to Kate. “You and Jake rally the troops and have them in the lobby ready to go at six A.M.”

  * * *

  —

  At 6:30 A.M., a black airport transfer van pulled into the private flights terminal at Lihue Airport and dropped off everyone but Hamilton, who’d elected to pass on New Zealand and catch a commercial flight back to Maui later in the day.

  “Is that our plane?” Cosmo asked, following Nick through the terminal. “It’s big for a private plane, isn’t it? I mean it’s not like a 747, but it’s still pretty big. What kind of plane is it?”

  “It’s a Global 6000,” Nick said.

  “That sounds expensive,” Cosmo said. “I’m going to have to fill out a VB710E. That’s the form for Extraordinary Expense. The office of accounting hates to see those forms come in. I’m probably going to get a phone call. What will I tell them when they call?”

  “Tell them we need to get to Queenstown as quickly as possible,” Nick said. “With this plane, we can fly direct and make the trip in around seven hours.”

  “That’s pretty fast,” Cosmo said, “but maybe it would be almost as good to make the trip in eight hours with a Global 200. A Global 200 doesn’t sound nearly as expensive as a Global 6000.”

  Kate and Nick sat near the front of the plane. Jake and Cosmo went toward the rear. Vicky and the Kahuna sat side by side in the dining area midplane, across from Larry. Pastries and fresh fruit had been set out on the sideboard next to Vicky, Larry, and the Kahuna.

  “Seriously,” Kate said to Nick, “how much is this costing Jessup?”

  Nick belted himself in for takeoff. “Let’s just say the VB710E will be the correct form to use.”

  “Jessup is going to crap when he sees all the bills. He’s going to kill me.”

  “Which one is it? Is he going to crap, or is he going to kill you?”

  “First, he’s going to crap, and then he’s going to kill me.”

  Nick grinned. “He’s not going to complain if we recover stolen intellectual property worth billions. He can even count the expenses against our commission.”

  “‘Commission’?”

  “Five percent is standard, but I’m only asking two and a half since it’s our patriotic duty to stop military secrets from falling into the wrong hands. That’s only twenty-five million per every billion dollars we save Uncle Sam. When you think about it, it’s a bargain.”

  Kate hooked the shoulder harness into her seatbelt. “How does zero percent sound? And, as a bonus, I’ll try my best to keep you out of jail for another year.”

  “It’s going to be hard to feel very patriotic about zero percent.”

  Kate sighed. “I’m sure you’ll find a way.”

  “To feel patriotic?”

  “To steal as much as possible from Olga and her boss before I put them out of business, permanently.” Kate got out her earbuds and searched through her playlist. “I’ve gotten about six hours of sleep total in the past forty-eight hours.” She closed her eyes. “Wake me up when we’re in Queenstown.”

  * * *

  —

  Nick nudged Kate awake. “We’re coming into Queenstown. Take a look out the window.”

  Kate opened her eyes and removed her earbuds. Massive mountains, some with snowy peaks, surrounded a small town built along the shore of a beautiful blue finger lake shaped like the letter z. “Is that Queenstown? It’s smaller than I expected.”

  “It’s a resort town. Around sixteen thousand full-time residents, but it swells to capacity when the snow is good. It’s the adventure capital of New Zealand. Skiing in the winter. Paragliding in the summer. It’s paradise for adrenaline junkies. Commercial bungee jumping was born there.”

  “All I can see are mountains. Which are the Remarkables?” Kate asked.

  “Queenstown is nestled right in the heart of the Southern Alps.” Nick pointed at a mountain range across the lake from Queenstown village. “The Remarkables is the one running north to south.”

  The plane began its descent, threading itself between two mountains and along a narrow azure-blue river. Wind gusts funneling between the mountains pushed the plane around as it approached the runway, which ended on the bank of Lake Wakatipu. On the opposite side of the lake, the city of Queenstown extended from the shoreline up a modest hill, with the almost six-thousand-foot-tall mountain Ben Lomond standing guard just behind.

  “I booked us rooms at a hotel on the outskirts of Queenstown,” Nick announced as the plane landed and taxied to a stop in front of two identical black Range Rover SUVs idling on the tarmac. “Except for Jake and the Kahuna. Kate arranged for them to stay at a CIA safe house nearby.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Kate exited the airport and turned west, driving along the lake toward Queenstown. Nick sat next to her, navigating. Cosmo was crammed between Larry and Vicky in back. Jake and the Kahuna turned to the east, away from town, and receded in Kate’s rearview mirror.

  “This is cozy,” Cosmo said. “Most people don’t like the middle seat, but I don’t mind.” He leaned forward and poked his head through the center console between Nick and Kate. “I like being right in the center of the things. Is this going to be a long ride? Sometimes I get carsick.” Cosmo turned to Larry. “Do you want to play twenty questions? I’m thinking of a mineral. I’ll give you a hint. It’s not titanium.”

  Kate drove through the picturesque town of Queenstown along the main road, lined with cafés, craft breweries, and five-star hotels. Once they’d reached the outskirts of town, the road dipped down to the lake and followed the shoreline.

  “I think we’re almost at the hotel,” Kate said. “The car’s navigation system says it’s a quarter mile ahead.”

  Larry leaned forward. “Where are Jake and the Kahuna staying?”

  Vicky snapped her fingers several times in Larry’s direction. “Earth to Larry. I’m sitting here in New Zealand. What the heck are you doing, sitting there with your thumb up your ass when you should be taking pictures of my southern hemisphere in the actual Southern Hemisphere? I mean, hello. That’s Instagram gold.”

  Larry got out his cellphone. “I almost lost it in the bar last night. Somebody turned it in to lost and found.” He snapped a couple of pictures and looked at the photos. “This is good stuff.”

  Kate turned off the highway, drove up a hill, and parked the Range Rover in front of a large lodge-style building constructed from stone and beechwood, surrounded by a dozen smaller villas built in a similar style.

  The hotel manager met them at the door, and a valet unloaded their bags onto a luggage cart and whisked them away.

  The manager handed Nick two sets of keys. “Welcome to Queenstown, Mr. Nacky. You’re already checked into villas eight and nine. Number nine was the only two-bedroom available.”

  Nick handed Cosmo the key to villa nine, while Vicky and Larry explored the hotel grounds. “You and Vicky take the two-bedroom and babysit Larry. Don’t let him out of your sight.”

  Cosmo glanced over at Larry in the distance. “Not even when we’re sleeping?”

  “One of the bedrooms has two twin beds, so you and Larry should room together at night. You and Vicky can take turns watching him du
ring the day.”

  Cosmo fiddled with the key. “Sounds good. What are you and Kate going to do?”

  Nick looked at Kate. “That’s a very good question. If it were up to me, I’d take a nice long, steamy shower then go straight to bed.”

  Kate rolled her eyes. “Nick and I are going to look for Olga. Was your contact at the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service able to track her down from the phone numbers on Larry’s phone?”

  Cosmo nodded. “The first number you gave me was to a landline—the Stratosfare Restaurant in Queenstown. The text was from a prepaid cellphone with a Los Angeles area code. Its last known location was the Queenstown Airport, but that was yesterday afternoon. After that the signal went dead.”

  “She probably ditched the phone,” Nick said to Kate. “Now what?”

  Kate opened the driver’s side door to the Range Rover. “I’m starving. Let’s go get something to eat at the Stratosfare. Maybe I’ll leave Olga a message too.”

  Nick and Kate drove back into the center of town, continued up the hill toward the Ben Lomond Scenic Reserve, and, at five o’clock, parked the Range Rover near a small white building with “Skyline” written across it in bright blue letters. “There’s no more road. Where’s the restaurant?” She got out of the car with Nick and walked up to the white building. “All I see is a cemetery and this gondola lift base station. That’s not a good combination.”

  Nick read a pamphlet posted outside the building. “The restaurant is about halfway up Ben Lomond on the top of Cemetery Hill. There are only two ways to reach it. The ten-minute gondola ride or the two-hour hike.”

  Kate looked up the mountain at the cars swinging on their cables in the gusty wind. “I hate gondolas. You’re in some rusty metal bucket, suspended thousands of feet in the air . . . and someone else is driving.”

  Nick grinned. “Did I mention that this gondola is the steepest in the Southern Hemisphere?”

  “Awfulsome. I can’t wait.”

  Nick bought two tickets and got onto the next cable car with Kate. The gondola climbed steeply up the mountain along a grassy swath of clear-cut forest, set between two banks of tall pine trees. After a couple of minutes, the view opened up to reveal the town of Queenstown below and colorful paragliders windsurfing the thermal currents above.

  “This is pretty amazing,” Kate said as she looked over the expanse of Lake Wakatipu. “How big is the lake?”

  “Forty-eight miles long and up to three miles wide.”

  Kate looked at the lake, sparkling in the afternoon sun. “The color is mesmerizing.” Out of the corner of her eye, Kate saw a woman sail past her window. “Holy cow. Did you just see that?” She looked out the window and down the mountain where the woman dangled unceremoniously from a large rubber band connected to a giant green metal arm that extended from the cliff face above.

  “Besides the restaurant, there are commercial bungee jump and paragliding operators at the top of the mountain. There’s also an amusement-park-type luge run, and trails that go up to the summit of Ben Lomond,” Nick said as the gondola pulled into the station at the top.

  Nick and Kate got out of the cable car and made their way to the restaurant built on the edge of the mountain. An observation platform extended well beyond the cliff face and offered nearly 220-degree views over Queenstown, the lake, and the mountains beyond.

  Kate entered the restaurant and approached the woman at the hostess stand.

  “We don’t open for dinner until five-thirty,” the woman said. “Were you interested in making a reservation?”

  “We’re actually looking for a friend who may have been here recently.” Kate showed the hostess a picture of Olga. “Have you seen her?”

  “Sure. That’s Ms. Zellenkova. She dines here all the time. She was here last night with Mr. Neklan.”

  “Who’s Mr. Neklan?”

  “Viktor Neklan. He’s some European big shot who owns a mansion and a vineyard near Arrowtown. Comes here once in a while with his entourage, makes us wait on him hand and foot, and doesn’t even leave a tip.”

  “Interesting. Did anyone call asking for Olga last night?” Kate asked.

  The hostess shook her head. “Not that I know of. You could ask Sarka. She’s a waitress here. She’s Czech too, so she and Ms. Zellenkova are kind of friendly.”

  “Is Sarka working tonight?” Nick asked.

  The hostess pointed to a slender, midthirties blonde setting tables for the dinner rush. “She’s right over there. Do you want me to get her for you?”

  Nick shook his head. “Not necessary. We’ll leave her a message.”

  The hostess rummaged around in the stand and handed Nick some scrap paper. “There are pens over by the bar.”

  Nick went to the bar, wrote a brief message, returned, and handed the paper to the hostess. “Can you give this to Sarka, and ask her to pass it on to Olga?”

  The hostess took the paper and looked at it. “It’s a stick figure of a woman giving a big bag of money to another stick figure that appears to be a man, and a speech bubble containing the words Let’s make a deal.”

  “Clever,” Kate said to Nick. “Now what?”

  “Now we make a dinner reservation and wait.”

  19

  By eight o’clock, Nick and Kate had eaten their way through half the menu and were working on dessert.

  “You’re going to be sorry you ordered that Caesar salad,” Kate said. “You’re not going to have room for a second dessert.”

  Nick leaned on the table and rested his chin in his hand while he watched Kate shovel cheesecake into her mouth. “This is really impressive. Do you always order two desserts?”

  Kate speared another piece. “Doesn’t everybody?”

  “No. They just wish they did.”

  Kate shrugged. “You’ve got to have priorities.”

  Nick watched Sarka approach their table with Kate’s chocolate mousse.

  “Showtime. Here comes the Czech waitress,” he said to Kate. “She must have something to say to us, or our regular waitress would be bringing the food.”

  Sarka put the glass in front of Kate. “Stratosfare’s famous Decadent Chocolate Mousse.”

  Kate looked up. “Is it really decadent? Because that’s what sold me on it.”

  “It’s probably my favorite thing on the menu, but I’m a chocolate person.” She paused and waited until Kate took a bite. “I also have a message from your friend. She’s waiting for you at the top of the luge track. And Mr. Neklan has already paid for your dinner.”

  Nick got up, while Kate hurriedly spooned mousse into her mouth.

  “What a guy,” Nick said. “We’re crazy-generous tippers, so let’s tack on a gratuity of a hundred percent for our waitress. And, what the heck, let’s give the nice hostess who seated us some dollars as well.”

  “Don’t forget the pastry chef,” Kate said with her mouth full. “This mousse is terrific. Let’s give him a car.”

  Nick slung an arm around Kate. “I like the way you think. We’ll also take a mousse to go,” Nick said. “I like a midnight snack.”

  A couple of minutes later, Nick and Kate left the restaurant with their takeout mousse and walked toward the luge run.

  Kate looked at the cement track winding its way up the mountain and then disappearing into the night. “She chose the top to meet, and the chairlift looks like it’s shut down, so I guess we’re walking.” Kate started up the hill. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’re going to bluff and pretend we know more than we actually do. Maybe we can get her to reveal a little about why they want the Kahuna and what we’re up against. If we’re lucky, maybe we can get her to flip on her boss.”

  After a half hour, Nick and Kate reached the top. Outdoor spotlights blinked on, lighting the luge run and a wooden shack with a sign advertising cart rentals. Three w
heeled sleds designed for tourists were stacked up beside the shack.

  Olga was waiting for them on a nearby bench. She got up and casually walked over to Nick and Kate. “I was so happy to get your message. It saved me the trouble of tracking you down. I’m assuming you still have the item I need?”

  “We do,” Nick said. “He’s in New Zealand at a safe house right now.”

  “Excellent. How much do you want?”

  Nick shook his head. “I think you have the wrong idea about why we wanted to meet. We came here to find out how much you would want to help us take down Viktor Neklan.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “There are at least fifty million reasons. That’s the commission we’re going to get if we deliver Neklan to the U.S. government and recover what you stole from Sentience. If you work with us, we’ll cut you in for a third.” Nick held up the doggie bag from Stratosfare. “Plus, this delicious chocolate mousse.”

  Olga laughed. “You think I’d flip for fifteen million dollars? That’s nothing compared to what I’m getting from Viktor. Why don’t you reconsider? I’m certain that I can match whatever you were expecting from the government, if you bring us a live Kahuna.”

  “Why alive? All the other CEOs you’ve stolen from ended up dead,” Kate said.

  “For the sake of argument, let’s assume Viktor and I have been stealing intellectual property from certain Silicon Valley entities and then covering our tracks. And let’s assume we had hoped all ventures would work out so easily.”

  “I’m assuming,” Kate said.

  “Sadly, assumptions are sometimes wrong,” Olga said. “Victor and I find ourselves to be victims of special circumstances. The data we borrowed from Sentience is encrypted, and the buyer’s needs are time sensitive.”

  “Basically, you need the Kahuna’s password to unencrypt the files, and we have the Kahuna,” Nick said.

  “Correct. Plus a certain Asian government would like to purchase him, along with the technology.”