The landlord recommended a handyman who could easily put up the motion sensor lights around the area and reinforce the locks on the doors and the windows. He wasn’t keen on putting up grails over the jalousie windows. When I told him I wouldn’t get those big honking ones you see on first floor apartments in questionable neighborhoods, he begrudgingly said yes—but only if I promised to make sure they looked good.
I had just finished taking measurements of all the windows. “Hey,” I called out to Izzy, “do you want to come with me to the hardware store? It’s in town.”
“As fun as that sounds, I’ll pass.”
“Okay. What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to hang with Momi at the store. She’s going to teach me how to run the register.”
“Oh?”
“She needs the help and I think it’ll be fun. Plus, I don’t want to be a beach bum the entire time. I’ll only be working a couple of days a week.”
I walked back into the bedroom where Izzy was changing. She was dressed in a pink thong and nothing else. “That sounds fun.”
“Yeah. I’ll get to meet more of the locals in the area.”
“All right. Well, this place is near the airport, and I might check out another shop near Diamond Head, so I’ll probably be gone for at least half the day. Do you want me to drop you off at the store?”
Izzy stopped digging through her closet. “I need more clothes. I didn’t pack enough for five months.”
“Do you want me to grab some of your clothes on my next trip to San Francisco?”
“No, I need clothes now. Stuff that’s more suitable for here,” she said, batting her eyelashes.
I got the hint and pulled out my wallet. “I have seventy-five bucks on me.”
She replaced the batting eyelashes with an arched eyebrow. “Uh, that’s not going to cut it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.”
“How does one-fifty sound?”
“I like the sound of three hundred,” Izzy said with a big grin.
Before coming to Hawaii, I told her I would cover all the expenses. I just never thought it would include shopping. Oh well. If I’m going to marry this girl, I better get used to it.
“I’ll run to the ATM really quick and drop off the money before I head into town.”
Izzy threw her arms around me and gave me a long kiss. “Thanks, sweetie.”
And thank you for sending me off with a stiffy.
There was a bank not too far from the house. When I got there, the line at the ATM was five locals deep. That’s island living—limited ATMs in the countryside.
While waiting, I thought about the drive into town. Neither Izzy nor I had had a chance to explore the rest of the island so far. A little “me” time was sounding pretty good. The sun was out and the skies were cloudless, so I ditched the hard top on the Jeep before heading out.
As I walked back from the ATM, it was easy to see the three guys sitting in my Jeep. Part of me freaked out because of the steady stream of bad luck that Izzy and I had experienced. As I cautiously moved toward the Jeep, I recognized the guy sitting in the front seat. It was Kalani.
I wasn’t scared of this little twerp. His two buddies were the only advantage he had over me.
“You wanna get the hell out of my car,” I said, as I got closer.
Kalani had a smirk on his face. “Brah, why so harsh? We stay checking out your nice ride.”
I grabbed the handle and pulled the driver side door open. “Yeah, well admire it from the outside.”
This punk sat there eyeing me up. “Why you still here? I though we was clear: locals only.”
“No, Kawika was clear. He and the rest of the Black & Blue welcomed us.”
Kalani eased himself out of the vehicle, bumping me with his shoulder. He looked back at me. “Tough luck you guys went have, huh? I went hear about the break-in at the house and the beating out by Velzy Land. Bumma.”
I leaned in close to Kalani. “If I find out it was you who broke in and attacked Izzy, I swear to God I will—”
Kalani jutted both of his hands straight into my chest, sending me flying back into the Jeep. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder.
“You going what, huh?” Kalani held his ground, forcing me to remain slumped against the Jeep. “What you going do?”
Just then someone grabbed Kalani by the shoulder and yanked him back like a dog in full sprint that forgot it was on a chain.
“We get one problem here?”
It was Braddah Moku. Kalani disappeared against the big man who wore black surf shorts, a black tank top, and black sunglasses. The look on his face would have made anyone cringe.
“No problem,” Kalani said, not once taking his eyes off of me. He motioned to his boys and they left.
“Howzit, Darby? You okay?”
“I’m fine. I could have handled him.”
“No doubt in my mind you could have handled Kalani. It was his friends I was worried about.”
I gave my big friend a pat on the shoulder. “Thanks.”
Braddah Moku set his sunglasses on top of his head. “Darby, I heard about the break-in,” he said with a concerned expression. “How’s Izzy doing?”
“You know about it already?”
Braddah Moku acknowledged with a subtle raise of both of his eyebrows.
“Izzy’s doing fine. She’s a tough girl.”
“Good to hear.”
“I have my suspicions about who might be behind this, though. I think it’s Kalani.”
“Brah, why you think it was Kalani? ‘Cause of this beef you guys almost went have?”
“It didn’t help. He never liked us from day one. He was the only member of the Black & Blue who didn’t accept us. Secondly, I saw him on the beach outside our house. He was loitering around for a bit and eyed me the whole time. He knows where we live. Does he live in our area?”
Braddah Moku shook is head and motioned behind him. “Nah, Kalani lives past Sunset Beach. But that kid has been a thief around here for years.”
I leaned in a little not wanting our conversation to be picked up by the line of ATM users. “Why would he break into our place? Sure it could have been one of his many thefts, but according to Izzy, whoever it was went straight to our bedroom. Theft wasn’t what the intruder had planned. Nothing was taken. It’s like he knew us.”
My friend folded his two python arms across his chest as he thought about what I had just said. Clearly this was something he wasn’t aware of. “Sounds like he had more on his mind if you get my drift. Tell you what; I going look into it. If Kalani get anything to do with this, I going find out. Guarantee.”
I had only been on the road for five minutes when I received a call from Souza.
“Brah, you thought about the gang? I need one answer.”
Chapter 27
That call lingered on my mind for the rest of the day. As much as I tried to forget about it and focus on what I had to do, it wouldn’t leave me alone. Why? Because I agreed to meet with the NBB.
I know, I know. It went against everything I’d said in the last month or so. It went against Izzy and I coming to Hawaii for a new start on a life, one that revolves around us spending more time together. What was I thinking? Why did I agree? Okay, for starters, it’s only a meeting. I made it clear to Souza that I was retired and the odds of them getting me to come out of retirement was a long shot. Of course, the realization I had while back in the office wasn’t helping. I was torn on what to do.
Once I finished my errands in town, the plan was for me to drive out to Kahuku, which is near the northern most point of the island, east of Haleiwa. From what I heard, this was Samoan country. I’ll admit I was a little scared. The average Samoan is bigger than two average white men. Souza said the meeting was at a house near the shrimp farms but he would pick me up at the nearby shopping center and then drive me to the location. I didn’t like that but he said that’s the only way they would do it.
>
“Souza, it’s Darby. I’m at the Kahuku Shopping Center.”
“Right on. Now get out of your car.”
Get out of my car? Are they watching me?
“Okay, turn around. You see the black SUV with tinted windows?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s your ride.”
When you’re a kid, your parents tell you to stay away from the spooky-looking car. I was voluntarily heading toward one. I didn’t know what kind of candy they had, but it was obviously something I craved. I made my way over to the vehicle at a pace that suggested confidence. It was important that this look like it was no big deal for me. Was it though? Was I interested in their business? I had to be.
The door behind the driver’s seat opened and Souza stepped out. He had a crooked smile on his face as he held the door open for me. “Glad you could make it, brah.”
I nodded and climbed inside the vehicle. Souza followed me in and closed the door. I didn’t recognize the driver or the guy in the passenger seat. Souza handed me a cloth bag and said, “Slip this over your head.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me, right?” I asked, looking him straight in his eyes.
“Brah, that’s the only way we can do it. No worry; it’s a short drive. Five minutes max.”
What the hell are you doing Darb? If I were Spiderman, my spidey senses would have been slapping me silly. Hello in there. Anybody home? I let out a loud breath to note my displeasure at this bullshit. No sooner had I slipped the bag on my head than we started moving. I made it a point to try and remember the number of left and right turns and stops we made. Before I could let out a second breath of displeasure, the vehicle came to a stop and the engine shut off.
Souza yanked the bag off my head. “I told you, five minutes.” He made me exit the vehicle on his side. He pointed to the entrance of a house and pushed me forward. “Move.”
The paint on the house was cracked and peeling, leaving only a hint of its former bright yellow. The grass in the front yard was semi-maintained and a couple of chickens pecked in the dirt. There were two empty trashcans near the screen door entrance. Roughly eight to ten pairs of rubber flip-flops surrounded the wooden step leading inside. I had learned from Momi that shoes were not worn inside homes, so I kicked mine off before entering.
Not much sunlight made its way inside the house due to the tall trees that surrounded it. A couple of dimly lit lamps were on but between my eyes adjusting and Souza pushing me from behind, I didn’t get much of a look around.
Before I knew it, I was exiting the house through another screen door into a large covered lanai area that led to a big backyard. Sitting around the edges of the lanai on plastic chairs were members of the North Beach Boys.
One of the men got up and without warning, frisked me. He then pointed to an empty chair.
“Aloha and welcome,” said a voice. I looked around trying to figure out which person was addressing me. I must have looked confused because the voice said, “Over here, brah, in the corner.”
Sitting on a black recliner was a dark-skinned man who was roughly the size of the chair. “They call me Akahi.”
“Hello, Akahi. My name is Darby Stansfield.”
“Souza went tell us all about you,” he said, motioning to the others.
“Good things, I hope.”
Akahi pointed to a man next to me. He stood up and opened the lid to the cooler he had been sitting on. He pulled out a Heineken from the icy mixture, opened it, and handed it to me. “Thanks,” I said.
Akahi raised his hand, at which point I finally noticed the top of a bottle he was holding. The other members all followed. “To new friends,” he said. I quickly acknowledged them with my beer and took a gulp while the rest of the gang emptied their bottles. The cooler guy quickly started opening beers and passing them out. He handed me another open beer. Souza leaned in and said. “Brah, hurry up and pound that first one,” he said mimicking drinking a beer. I did what he said in five gulps.
“Right on,” Akahi said. “Darby, what can you do for us?”
“Well, just so we’re clear—and I really do appreciate your hospitality—but I am sort of retired and—”
Akahi lifted his arm and waved at me. “Brah, I don’t want to hear about that. I want to hear about how you going help us.”
“Well, I if were to come out of retirement, the first thing I would need to do is get a clear understanding of your operations so I can formulate a proposal.”
“You see those round tables in the back yard?”
I looked out into the yard. About twelve round wooden tables with plastic chairs around them filled the area. A camouflaged tarp of some sort that still let in the sunlight was stretched across the entire yard. “Yeah,” I said.
“Once a week we invite friends and we play cards. We have a good time.”
“Okay. I assume you use poker chips to keep score. You know, for fun.”
Akahi smiled and nodded.
“Well I’m just riffing here, but what you could do is issue your friends ID cards. When they come over, you have a wireless scanner that scans the card. On your laptop, it shows you who the person is, what time they got here, whether or not they owe you anything or if they have a house credit. I mean, really you program the system to collect whatever information you want.”
Akahi looked around at the other members. Everyone was silent. I could tell they didn’t see the value in what I was talking about.
“Look, it’s a way to keep track of all incoming and outgoing cash. Before they play, you know if they’re into you for anything. You can make the call right there on whether to admit them. You can also collect cash at this point. No cash on the floor; it’s safer. The players get chips, they can either cash out at the end of the night or keep a house credit. The reason you do this is that way no one walks away owing you anything, everything is squared away and nobody is responsible for keeping track.”
“That’s less time spent hunting down money from delinquents,” said Souza.
“Exactly,” I said, nodding. “This card system can also work for your other operations. I understand you guys like roosters. Well it works the same way. The handlers that take bets on the floor manually will now use a wireless scanner to scan the customer’s card and input the bet. Again, no cash is exchanged on the floor. Every guest settles at the end of the night. Zero mistakes. Zero hassles with collections. Also, it allows the gang to work on customer retention.”
“What you mean by that?” Akahi asked.
“Well, you can treat your customers that come often a little better than the guys that come maybe once or twice a year. Show your loyal customers you appreciate their business. You’ll also be able to determine which players are good and whether you need to be careful about capping them versus the ones who aren’t so good and should be playing until everything they have is gone.”
I looked around. Everyone seemed to be listening. With no questions materializing, I continued.
“Also, the great thing about setting up a system like this is people are much more likely to spend everything they have because they don’t see their money being depleted. That alone will increase revenue. Eliminating collections reduces loss and therefore increases revenue. You also won’t need as many men running these games, which will allow you to put them toward other operations or increase the number of games or tables. That will increase revenue. My company is also working on technology that adds GPS tracking to the card. Soon you’ll know where your customers are and if they’re spending their hard earned cash with you or a competitor.”
Akahi nodded his head, “Sounds like you know what you stay talking about.”
“In order for me to really increase productivity and revenue while cutting out waste, I’d need to be fully immersed in the gang operations. You know, if I weren’t retired.”
“This sounds great, brah. Let’s start right away. Hana hou!” Akahi shouted. The rest of the gang repeated the phrase and then they all
chugged the beers they had.
I leaned over to Souza. “Wait, what just happened?”
“Brah, we going into business with each other.”
This is where I’m supposed to be protesting, but I’m not, because deep down inside I’m thinking, Hell, yeah!
Chapter 28
“I can’t believe you guys are getting married. That’s so awesome,” Momi said as she and Izzy returned to her car, loaded down with shopping bags.
Izzy waited for Momi to pop the trunk open. “I know. Every time I think about it, I get this incredible rush. Sometimes I can’t believe it.”
“So when are your families coming for the announcement?” Momi said, as she reversed out of the stall and pulled onto the highway. “Before you answer, let me just add that you guys doing the whole proposal over again is crazy.”
Izzy’s head whipped back as she laughed. “I know; it’s a bit lame but we have to. My dad is way too traditional. If Darby doesn’t ask for his permission, he’ll be hurt and then angry. But to answer your question, I think right now everyone is set to come next week.”
“Sounds fun.”
“Ooh, where did you get that?” Izzy asked, pointing at a bruise on Momi’s arm.
“Clumsy me, I got it stacking shelves a few days ago. I stood up and my arm got caught under a corner. God, it hurt at the time.”
“Looks like it.”
“That store is always giving me bruises.”
“I used to get a lot of bruises too,” Izzy said she rolled down the window. “I took a lot of kickboxing classes back in San Francisco.”
“Kickboxing? Wow, I didn’t know you trained.”
“Well, it’s more for fitness now, but I competed when I was younger and also did jujitsu as a kid. I miss the workout.”
“There’s a gym here that has classes like that.”
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