I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: I have to offer an incredible amount of thanks to very special friends JazzieG and CinderH! Again! Thank you both for ongoing help with Beta, Plot and answering all my stupid questions.
CinderH - awesome title suggestions for this latest fun adventure. I can never never title things and you have the most wonderful, inventive ideas. Thank you. My BFF (Beverley) is originally from South Africa and she is responsible for much of the noted Afrikaans translations used here. She is admittedly rusty and we did our best to keep it as accurate as possible. If an idiom is used incorrectly or something translated is not picture perfect, please forgive us!
Hot Rocks: Diamonds whose country of origin (South Africa, Sierra Leon, etc.) is linked to fueling wars and oppression with the funds acquired from the sale or barter of diamonds.
Chapter One
He watched the black helicopter fly low over the waterfalls and at first, didn't think much of it. It obviously was a cheap charter of some type with the cartoonish logo and writing that couldn't quite be seen for the bright sunshine. Tourists spending too much money to capture a birds-eye moment in time of the breath-taking jungle and waterfalls. Sitting on a small hill he watched it leave but then stopped sucking on the blade of grass he held between his teeth when it turned to circle back.
And then it hovered just a bit too long near his small encampment. Another option was that his brother had rented it for their illicit purposes. But it was too soon for the drop and frankly, his brother preferred using small prop planes that were easier to rent and much less obtrusive ... a dime a dozen so to speak. So his eyes narrowed dangerously as he slowly rose to his feet and studied the black chopper. He was walking and then jogging towards camp as it circled a third time as if ominously taking notes. Or worse yet .. photographs. The AK-47 was slung over his shoulder and now he pulled it down and readied it to fire.
As he got closer, he was pleased to see Bernard and Simon do the same on the other side of the compound. They were his newest acquisitions to his growing business and they were all still learning each other, but definitely beginning to open up small windows of trust. But Erick knew there was really never going to be true love among thieves and he was the boss, so any perceived love or respect thrown his way would always be suspect. However, he was definitely pleased to see their equally suspicious natures come to the fore.
Simon took aim first and peppered the underside of the black helicopter which unexpectedly lurched and then careened into the small field near their tented hideaway. Bernard was laughing and adding his own sporadic shots by now.
But Erick was most surprised that his newest 'partner' acted so quickly. He was different from the others .. more polished, more aware and Erick was not entirely certain that he trusted the man. However, he held more trust for Bernard and he had introduced Simon into their small fold. And Erick became more impressed as he watched a small plume of smoke rise from its tail section as the pilot began a failing fight to keep it in the air.
Almost a month ago, Bernard had brought Simon to meet the growing underground diamond smuggling ring leader. Simon had money, though Erick wasn't certain of exactly how much. And he needed a major investor. Bernard had promised the connections; and evidently was delivering in the form of young Simon de Vos. And Erick nodded as Simon kept his gun ready. An investor that could also be called on to participate, would be an excellent addition.
Waving wildly to get his men's attention, Erick took off at a dead run towards the clearing to finish the job. Tourists or not, the occupants of the nosy, infernal machine were not going home that day.
~ to be continued ~
