Keahi loved children, but there was one in particular that held her fancy. Her name was Kono. She was a Polynesian, like Keahi, twelve years old, and a very sweet girl. Too sweet sometimes. She would let other kids bully her around. It's why Keahi looked out for her.

Kono's mother was topside job searching and Kono was left with the other children and adults to play. Keahi would walk by and keep an eye on Kono for a minute or two before returning to what she had been doing.

It was about noon when Keahi walked by and didn't see Kono. She walked over to the children.

"Where is Kono?" she asked.

The other children looked up at her and shrugged.

"I think she went to the bathroom," said one.

Keahi went to the nearest restrooms. No Kono, but she had been there recently; Keahi could smell her. Following Kono's scent, Keahi was led down several unused tunnels. Why would Kono be down here?

There were other scents as well, human and male. Keahi began to follow more quickly. The scents led her through unused tunnels that were deemed too dangerous for people, through sewage and rain water. Keahi was faster than humans and she soon found where Kono had last been. She surfaced and sniffed around.

She was in a seedy side of the city. Keahi had been here before, looking for runaways, mostly girls, who lost their way. She would bring them down to the Labyrinth and help them get their lives back on track. The streets here were full of drug dealers and prostitutes, some knowing Keahi's face and what she was capable of. As stated previously, she had been here before.

She walked out to the road and looked around for any familiar faces. She saw one. Across the street was a group of girls waiting for the next john. Keahi crossed the street. They turned to her and started to scatter.

"I see you, Caramel," said Keahi. "Don't move."

One stopped in her tracks and turned around to face Keahi. "Look. I don't know what you want, but I told you before I'm not living in the sewers," said Caramel.

"I wasn't going to say anything about that," Keahi said. "I'm looking for someone."

"Haven't seen them," said Caramel.

"I didn't even ask yet," said Keahi.

Caramel began to move away. "Well, whoever it is, I didn't see them. I didn't see no one."

Keahi grabbed Caramel by her arm. "Tell me," Keahi said quietly, pulling Caramel back to her. "What has you so scared?"

"I'm not scared of nothing," said Caramel.

"Then answer this: have you seen a girl, Polynesian, twelve years old?"

Caramel paled. "I can't talk to you about it."

Keahi tightened her grip. "Caramel, I'm not the police. You know I can handle myself. Now, that girl was taken from the Labyrinth and I tracked her here. I know you. You have good eyes, you miss little. I know you've seen her."

A series of emotions flickered across Caramel's face, mostly fear and concern.

"If I tell you, he'll kill me," she whispered.

Keahi narrowed her eyes. "Not if I get to him first," she said.

Caramel bit her lip. "About a month ago, a new guy came in. He started taking a few girls at first, then he started taking runaways. Some can't be more than fifteen and I've seen younger. The girl you're looking for is probably one of them."

"When he takes them, where does he go?" asked Keahi.

"Harlem," replied Caramel. "I'm not sure where."

"You let me worry about that," said Keahi. "You got a name?"

"They call him Dogcatcher," said Caramel. "That's all I know."

There was the squealing of tires and a car tore around the corner away from them. Caramel whimpered.

"That's them!" she said. "He knows now! He'll kill me!"

"Relax," said Keahi. "He won't kill you."

"How do you know?" asked Caramel.

"Because you're going to be somewhere where he can't find you," replied Keahi. "You're going to go to the Labyrinth."

"No," said Caramel.

"Yes," said Keahi. "You are going to go there and ask for Talon. You tell him everything you told me. He has connections. He'll help you. Now come on."

Keahi took Caramel by the hand and led her to a nearby women's shelter. She introduced Caramel to the owner and told her to take her down to the Labyrinth.

"Don't worry," said Keahi. "You'll be okay."

Keahi left and started for Harlem.


In the late afternoon, Keahi called Talon.

"Why didn't you wait for backup?" asked Talon.

"You know you can't show yourselves during the day," said Keahi. "Besides, I had the information, I know Kono's scent, I know I can find her and it would be faster if I went by myself."

"You're just as stubborn as my sister," grumbled Talon. "Where are you right now?"

"Harlem," replied Keahi. "How's Kono's mother?"

"Terrified," answered Talon. "Your friend told us everything. I'm going to call Elisa before she leaves for work. She'll get to the bottom of this."

Keahi smirked. "You didn't call her right away?"

Talon snorted. "Gives you time to do your thing."

"Good. I'll see you when I get home," said Keahi.


In the evening, Keahi stalked the streets of Harlem. To the untrained eye, she was just another woman who was minding her own business. But Keahi's nose kept deciphering every smell, trying to single out on scent in particular. Her ears picked up every sound, even if it was just a rat. Her eyes allowed her to see in the darkest shadows and the highest building.

Some men were following her. Keahi could hear them several meters behind her. There were four and they bore a stench that Keahi rarely smelled in the Labyrinth. She ducked into a dark alley and scaled one of the buildings. By the time the men got there, she was on the roof looking down at them.

No one saw her leap from building to building. Occasionally she would pause and listen to see if she could hear anyone or smell anything. She stopped on a roof across the street from a condemned building. Keahi's eyes telescoped in and saw movement in a boarded up window. She sniffed. She could smell Kono. Kono was in that building.

Keahi got a running start and leaped across the street, landing on the roof. The door on the roof was a gleaming metal door that looked brand new. Odd, why would a condemned building have a new door? Keahi snorted. A metal door was not going to stop her. Her fingers dug between the door and door frame and she easily crumpled the metal, pulling it off its hinges. It smelled awful! Keahi's sensitive nose was assailed by the smell of urine, feces, and blood. Clearly the sewage system was not working here. Keahi quietly crept down the stairs, navigating around pieces of plaster, insulation, and furniture. Her feet made no sound on the floor.

A sound caught her attention. She froze and listened. Keahi dropped to her hands and knees and put her ear to the floor. There were whispers, some crying, and a man was snoring. Keahi got back on her feet and looked for a stairway.

The lower floor was not as much as a mess as the floor she was just on, but the stench was worse. Keahi wrinkled her nose in disgust. The snoring was much louder now. Keahi dropped on all fours and crawled, keeping her eyes up on what was ahead. There was a man sitting in a chair outside a door, a bottle of alcohol loosely gripped in one hand. She crawled over to him and slowly stood up, seeing if he would wake. Short of screaming bloody murder, the man would remain in his drunken stupor for the rest of the night.

Keahi turned her attention to the door he was sitting outside. Like the roof door, this door was brand new with three deadbolts. What could be inside that it needed three deadbolts? Keahi pressed her ear to the door. She could still hear whispering and crying. Kono's scent was strong here.

Someone was coming up the stairs from the floor below. Keahi hid in the shadows and watched carefully. Two men came up the stairs, arguing. The man guarding the door opened his eyes.

"You're supposed to be watching them!" snapped one.

"Sorry," said the drunk. "I dozed off."

"Your drinking will be your undoing," said the other. "One of these days you are going to slip up and one of these bitches will escape."

"No one escapes the Dogcatcher," said a fourth voice.

Keahi let her eyes telescope in on this newcomer. He was large, dark, his eyes full of cruel cunning. He was smirking, confident to the point of cocky. This was the top dog. This was Dogcatcher.

"Let's see how these bitches are," said Dogcatcher.

The door was unlocked and there were several screams from girls. Keahi counted at least four girls inside, possibly more since she did not hear Kono scream. Dogcatcher went in a pulled one girl out by her hair. The door was immediately shut and locked again. The girl writhed in Dogcatcher's grip as he dragged her for the stairs.

"Shut up!" Dogcatcher yelled, slapping her.

This was the last straw for Keahi. She went for the nearest window and ripped off the boards. She jumped down to the sidewalk and walked over to an SUV that was parked next to the building. There were two people in the vehicle. Keahi knocked on the passenger's side window with a sultry smile. Both men smiled and the passenger rolled down the window.

"Sorry, baby," he said. "Not tonight."

Her sultry smile turned into a malicious, animalistic one. She grabbed the passenger by the front of the shirt and pulled him out of the SUV. The driver went for his gun. Keahi had the passenger on the ground and unconscious before the driver leveled his weapon with her. The driver put up his gun and found no target. Keahi's right fist went through the driver's side window and she yanked him out and slammed his head off her knee. She tossed him aside and waited.

Dogcatcher came out with the two men who went inside and the girl. They looked at the car and the two men on the ground.

"What the hell?" said one of his men.

There was a dull thunk and the men fell to the ground unconscious. Dogcatcher and the girl whirled around. Keahi stood on the porch, her eyes glowing.

"What the hell are you?" demanded Dogcatcher.

Keahi sprang forward with a roar, her leg hand connecting with Dogcatcher's face. She left three deep scratches on his cheek. He fell to the ground screaming in pain. The girl stood there in shock. Keahi glanced at her and then looked down at Dogcatcher. She placed on foot on his leg. Dogcatcher howled in pain as she put pressure on it.

"You call yourself Dogcatcher," said Keahi deceptively calm, "but you are only a dog."

Dogcatcher howled and there was a snapping sound as Keahi added more pressure and broke his tibia and fibula.

Keahi stepped away and turned to the girl. She then turned and walked back into the building. Keahi noticed several other doors with new locks.

"There are others," said the girl. She had followed Keahi.

Keahi could hear sirens in the distance. She turned to the girl. "You tell the police when they come everything these men have done. They will go away for a long time."

"They said if I talked, they would kill me," said the girl.

Keahi looked at her. "These cowards do not have the guts," she said.

The sirens were loud enough for the girl to hear. She turned to see the lights in the distance. When she turned back around, Keahi was gone.

Keahi hid in the shadows on the rooftop across the street. She watched the police go in and bring out the drunk man and cuff Dogcatcher and the rest of his men. They brought out several girls, one being Kono.

A red and white car pulled up to the scene. Elisa Maza and Matt Bluestone got out. If Elisa was here, so was someone else. Keahi turned her eyes to the sky. Where was he?

Keahi watched a large winged figure land on the next door building. She cleared the distance and height with a leap.

"Goliath," she said, announcing her presence.

The large gargoyle turned to her. "Keahi? What are you doing here?"

"Making sure she gets home safely," said Keahi, turning to the scene below. Kono was just brought over to Elisa and Matt. "Now that she's in good hands, I should go. Tell Elisa I say 'hello'."

"I will," said Goliath.

Keahi nodded. "Aloha."

She spread her wings and flew off.