And Not to Yield

Chapter 5

Words: 3,922

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The BMW was a gleaming silver edged black apparition riding a black track in the heavy afternoon sun as the Kamehameha Highway curved to follow the North Shore coast at Hale'iwa. A few minutes later the shimmer slowed and turning toward the ocean crunched coral and gravel as it came to a stop amid dented and rusting poor cousins festooned with racks and the hydro-dynamic shapes of surf boards. A palm lined coral walkway lead from the parking lot to Pele's, a rambling wooden structure overlooking a glorious view of the northern Pacific.

Under a weathered wooden sign of a flowing feminine figure entwined with an erupting volcano, broad worn wooden steps led up to a creaky wooden side veranda leading to a large grass roofed veranda stretching away from the back of the structure to open onto an outdoor patio.

As Rick came around the corner, a handsome athletic Hawaiian in his early forties, looked up from behind the bar at the end of the building. "Hey, Rick. Long time no see, bra." A large smile spread over the man's face.

"Hey, Kimo, I see this dump hasn't washed out to sea yet." Rick perched stiffly on a stool, grimacing slightly as he exchanged high fives, his left hand rubbing his right side.

"Ha!" Kimo grabbed a schooner from under the bar and set it under the tap. "This place is so old, the island wouldn't know what to do without it." He pushed back the tap handle and with a flourish whipped out a coaster with one hand and placed the schooner on it with other. "Anyway, business is still good. You know surfers, they like places with character."

"Yeah, sure. Character and cheap." Rick mocked as he took a sip. "Say speaking of surfers, you know a gal by the name of Desiree? Supposed to hang out up here a lot."

"Desiree.." Kimo gave a thoughtful frown and shook his head. "Sorry, man. Don't ring no bells."

"Yeah, well she's supposed to drive a pink big foot.."

"Oh, you mean the 'Shark'," Kimo gave a short laugh. "What you want with her, bra? You're a little too old for her taste."

"What the hell's that supposed to mean." Rick's voice went flat and ugly.

"Hey, bra. Don't get so uptight, man." Kimo gave him a curious look and then reached out and taking Rick's jaw in one big hand moved his face to look at it. "Hey, what happened to you?"

"Its nothing," Rick jerked his head away, and then gave a short grunt as he clutched his side.

"Okay, bra. I think its time you tell old Kimo here what's wrong with you."

"Its nothing, okay." Rick took his left hand away from his side, grabbed the schooner and took a sip, holding his right arm tight to his side and stared down the bar. "I'm on a job and I just need to find this broad and talk to her."

"Yeah, well, that may be so, but I know all about broke ribs and if that ain't what you got I'll sell you this place cheap." Kimo gave him a steady stare waiting for an answer.

"Its nothing I tell you." Rick refused to look at his friend and as the silence lengthened finally let out a sigh. "Okay, okay. So I slipped on the stairs and maybe busted a rib on the railing, its no big deal."

Kimo nodded his head and after looking at Rick a few more seconds turned and walked down to the end of the bar and called out to one of the staff setting up tables on the patio. "Yo, Xavier. Come in here and look after the bar for a minute." Coming back he untied his apron, hung it on a hook, and then came around the end of the bar and stood next to Rick. "Okay, bra. You come with old Kimo here and we'll fix those ribs up for you."

"Nah, look I told you..." Rick protested as a large fist latched onto his left arm and slowly raised him to his feet.

"Come on, bra. I don't know why you didn't stop by a hospital, that's your business. But I guess I can tape busted ribs as good as any white smock," Kimo gave him a big grin as he half lead, half pushed Rick down a hall way, "and I'm a lot cheaper." Pushing Rick into a large room with snorkels, wet suits, surf boards, benches, and cabinets he let go of him and swung open the doors of what turned out to be a large medicine cabinet. "Take off your shirt, man, and I'll have you ready in no time." He pulled out a large roll of bandage tape, another of gauze, and a short clear wide-mouth jar of white ointment with a label depicting an oriental dragon spitting fire.

Setting everything down on a bench, Kimo turned back to Rick and bending down to peer at his side gently pressed on the swollen skin and nodded his head. "Yeah, busted all right... not too bad, but you should have iced it and taped it right off, would of kept the swelling down and saved you a lot of twinges." Reaching down he picked up the ointment and twisted the cap off. "But I got just the thing for that believe me." He waved the open jar under Rick's nose, it gave off a sharp but pleasant odor.

"What's that? Sorta smells like Tiger Balm."

"Close, man. But this stuff is special. Got a couple surfer buddies from Thailand, if you can believe it. Their family's into all sorts of herbal stuff, and they make this special - they call it Dragon balm. Here," Kimo handed the bottle to Rick "you rub some of this over the swelling while I soak a towel in some hot water - be careful now, don't go rubbing your eye or you'll go blind." He walked over to a counter with a sink and turned on the hot water tap. Opening a drawer he pulled out a hand towel and held it under the running water.

"So, what's with you and the Shark?" he called over his shoulder. "I thought you had more class than that, bra. She's pretty bad news all the way around."

"What's with the nickname?" Rick grimaced as he gingerly spread the white goop over the red and purple swollen flesh.

"That's 'cause she's a man eater - or boy, rather." Kimo looked over his shoulder with a leer as he turned the hand towel in the steaming water. "She likes them young. Goes after those pink corn fed mid-western boys like a shark through a school of mackerel. You know how they come out after graduating from high school, ready to raise hell and have a good time." Kimo shook his head as he turned off the water and squeezed most of the water out of the towel. Quickly walking back to Rick he took the jar from him and handed him the towel. "Here, hold that tight over your ribs until it cools off."

"Anyway," Kimo continued as Rick pressed the slightly steaming towel to his side, "when she sees a table of this fresh young meat she hits it like a shark in a feeding frenzy and next thing you know she's cut one out and off they go. I don't know what all goes on, but the next time you see one of her victims they always look like they're zombified or something." Kimo made a grimace and shook his head. "I hear she's into all sorts of crap, so I figure she's doping them up beside whatever else she's doing to them. Not really my business," he shrugged his big shoulders, "but, hell I just don't like that sort of stuff. Plus she can get down right mean, so after she beat the hell out of that guy in my parking lot I made it known that she can take her business else where."

Rick suddenly looked down at his side with surprise. "Hey..."

"Yeah," Kimo grinned as he pushed Rick's hand back to his side, "don't take the towel away, keep pressing it down. I told you they call it Dragon balm, now you know why. Warm isn't it?"

"Warm?" Rick muttered, "This sucker is getting hot!"

"Yeah, first time I tried it I thought I was going to go up in flames, but I tell you it works like nothing I've ever seen in getting rid of swelling. Twisted my ankle years ago and popped about every bone there is in my foot, sucker swelled up big as a softball. Tried ice compresses, massage, everything, and it was still swollen six months later. One of my Thai buddies flew in and took a look at me hobbling around and made me sit still while he rubbed a bunch of that stuff on my foot and then wrapped it in a steaming hot towel. I thought he was nuts, especially when it felt like my foot was being cooked. But, hey," Kimo stretched out his foot, twisted it about, and wiggled his toes, "after the second time the swelling went away and its as good as new."

"Yeah, well, what about her beating this guy up?"

"I'm not real sure what it was about, she said he was hitting on her, but, you know, I think it was drug related. I think he was a small time supplier she'd got her hooks into and he was trying to collect, like I said I don't know, just heard a few rumors. Any way, one night, about a year ago, there was a commotion out in the parking lot, and when I get out there, the guy's out cold on the ground, broken leg or dislocated knee, I forget which, a couple busted ribs, and it looked like she had kicked him in the head a few times too.

"The cops were not happy with the situation but the guy recovered and refused to press charges. So, next time she showed up I told her to come outside with me and told her to take it somewhere else and if she didn't like it she could try me." Kimo's smile didn't reach his eyes as he remembered back. "She was dumb enough, or high enough to think she could. What a bitch. I'll give her her due, she was regional champ a couple years ago and knows some moves, but I'll tell you bra, my cousin was world champ and I may not know as much as she does but I'm a hell of a lot bigger."

The smile got wider as the eyes joined in. "That kick boxing stuff is bad, real bad if you're not familiar with it. But if you are... well, I grabbed her ankle, turned her upside down, and bounced her head in the sand a few times until she had enough. Hasn't been back but if this heap burns down some day I guess I'll have a good idea who did it."

Kimo reached out and felt the towel. "I think that's enough. Let get this wrapped." He tore off a couple short pieces of tape from the roll and stuck them on his shirt, "raise your arms, suck it up, and hold it."

Kimo hung up the bar phone and came back where Rick was sitting. "Jeremiah wasn't home but his old lady said he was planning on stopping here after catching a few waves, so," he gave a quick glance out the wide veranda checking the angle of sunlight, "I figure he'll show in an hour or so."

"You sure he knows where this gal lives? She moved from the place the phone number I had was listed for, a month or so ago." Rick glanced up at the bar clock and then at the Rolex on his wrist.

"Way I heard it one of his buddies said something about him living next to the pink big foot Shark... that was only a couple weeks ago..." Kimo shrugged. "Best I can do, bra. Like I said she don't come here no more, nor that riff-raff she hangs out with. Price I have to pay for running a class joint." His big smile flashed across his face.

"If you want to wait why don't you have something to eat, you look like you could use it." Kimo turned to a big fridge and pulled out a large ceramic container. Placing in on the bar next to Rick he raised the lid. "Mom sent over some of her fish stew. Won't take me but a couple minutes to nuke it. I remember how you like mom's fish stew."

Rick's scowl fled as he peered at the contents. "Your mom's fish stew? Yeah, well, now you mention it, I'm feeling a little hollow."

Kimo opened a large micro-wave and placed the large bowl inside and setting the timer hit the start button. "Well, I ain't letting you eat my mom's stew all by yourself," he said with a smile as he set two bowls out. Then reaching into another cabinet he pulled out a large loaf of French bread, and got a tub of butter out of the fridge. "If I don't eat now I won't get another chance until we close." He glanced up at Rick as he pulled out a heavy flat frying pan and ladled in huge chunks of butter. As the butter began to melt on the stove he added garlic powder and then grabbing a small bottle withdrew a small amount in an eye dropper. "One drop of sesame seed oil, that's the secret to perfect garlic bread." He threw Rick a wide grin as he slowly stirred the melted butter and let loose a single drop into the pan.

Slicing a loaf of French bread, he fried the slices in the simmering rich oil until each surface was a golden crusty brown, then piled them on a large platter. "How's the ribs feeling? I didn't get it too tight did I?"

Rick rubbed his side and shook his head. "Nah, feels good. A lot better than before. Its still a little warm, too." A brief smile replaced the moody look in his eyes.

"Yeah, that means its still working. I bet the swelling will be pretty much gone in the morning." Kimo stopped the micro-wave, opened the door, and grabbing a small towel lifted the lid. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath. "Almost ready. Oh, man, doesn't that smell like heaven?"

"Yeah, well it would taste like heaven a lot sooner if you'd stop messing around. I'm starving here." Rick grumbled.

"You got to lighten up, man. Learn to smell the roses and the fish stew." Kimo smiled wickedly as he inhaled another deep breath before replacing the lid and turning the nuke machine back on.

---

The buzz of the car phone coming from Robin 1 caused Magnum to put on a burst of speed as he approached the parking area. Diving over the door, his hand closed on the receiver just as the ring cut off in mid-note. "Ahh... " Magnum growled at the sound of the dial tone as he held the receiver to his ear. Awkwardly pushing himself back to his feet, he opened the door, jumped in and rapidly dialed the estate. "Come on, Higgins, pick up the phone," he muttered after several rings. Hanging up he swiftly dialed another number and listened impatiently as it rang and rang. At the estate the car phone in the Island Hopper's van pealed in vain for attention, but except for the 'lads' the estate was deserted. Hanging up again he started to put the phone away but then paused and dialed another number, this time a pre-recorded message greeted his attempt telling him that phone was no longer in service. "Well, that's about what I expected from Rick." Magnum glared disgustedly at the receiver before slamming it back into its cradle. "Three strikes and you're out."

Turning the key he threw the transmission into gear and peeled out of the parking area onto the highway in a spray of rock and dust, headed to the estate. A few minutes down the road the phone buzzed and he snatched it up before it could complete the first ring. "Magnum, here... who? Oh, yes, Claudia, I remember you... no, I don't know where Higgins is, I was just headed to the estate to look for him... You want me to come by your office now? I didn't know you worked on Sundays.. could it wait until tomorrow, I'm... no, Higgins didn't mention anything to me... is it really that important? Well... all right, I can be there in twenty minutes. Yes, good-bye." Shifting down Magnum hit the brakes and slowing, pulled part way onto the shoulder and then whipped the car into a U-turn, heading back towards Honolulu.

---

Magnum entered the cool recesses of the law offices of Pringle, Dagett, and Martin. The lobby was empty but he could hear the soft sound of voices coming from a room down the carpeted hall way. As he approached the open door a slim older lady came out and smiled at him. "Mr. Magnum, thank you for coming." Stepping aside she gestured toward the open door. "Please go right in, Mr. Dagett can explain the matter to you."

As Magnum entered the richly paneled office a well groomed and impeccably dressed man with silver hair rose from behind the desk and came around to shake Magnum's hand. "Thomas, so good of you to come. We have been trying to reach Higgins but have been unable to locate him."

"He was at the estate earlier this morning, but he had an accident last night and suffered a slight concussion," Magnum looked at the two with a slightly worried expression. "TC brought him home from the hospital, and perhaps he's resting. I couldn't get him on the phone either."

Dagett looked at his secretary and then nodded his head slightly. "Well, I am sorry to hear he was injured, I hope he suffered no long term effects. But since you are here lets attend to this matter quickly and then perhaps you can check up on him."

Dagett went behind his desk and picking up a sheaf of papers handed them across to Magnum. "As you know, as chief of security of Robin Master's estate you are authorized to act as a representative of the estate in the event that either Robin Masters or Higgins are unavailable. Now in this matter Higgins has instructed us to proceed with the verification procedure as detailed in the contract you are holding, if we did not receive instruction from him to the contrary. There are a number of technical legal points involved but simply put this contract allows the holder to exercise certain stock option rights if such actions are undertaken prior to a certain deadline which happens to be tonight at mid-night."

Magnum got a curious look on his face and began scanning the contract pages hurriedly.

"Now," continued Dagett, "the primary condition which must be met is that the original contract signed by the purchaser must be presented for verification in order for the exercise of the stock option to be validated. However," Dagett cleared his throat and pointed with his chin at Magnum, "if the purchaser is not available then an authorized agent for said purchaser is authorized to stand in for him or her. This is where you come in as you are a legally recognized representative of Robin Masters' estate here in Hawaii."

"But, wait a minute," Magnum muttered as he quickly flipped back and forth through the sheaf of contract pages, "this is the stock option contract for the genetic engineering company Agatha's uncle invested in..."

"Yes," Dagett nodded his head, "he was the original contract principal."

"But, it says here he sign away his rights to... Higgins!" Magnum exclaimed.

"Yes, that is correct." Dagett nodded again.

"So, you're saying that this proceeding is to invoke Higgins' rights to exercise the stock opinion clause prior to tonight's deadline?" Magnum asked in a confused voice.

"Yes, in essence that is correct." Dagett nodded yet again as if waiting patiently for a not overly bright pupil to understand a simple fact. "However, there are other clauses that come into effect which in effect shift the ownership of the stock so purchased to other parties."

Magnum suddenly dropped the mass of paper on the desk top and rubbed his temples. "I don't understand and it would take me a week, if ever, to read this thing."

Claudia approached the desk and set a cup of hot coffee next to Magnum. "I understand how you feel, Thomas and I work with these every day. The main thing is that Higgins instructed us to go ahead with this and as his friend and authorized representative you are authorized to sit in for him. Of course, we realize that you haven't had any chance to familiarize yourself with this matter, and if you don't feel comfortable with it then you are under no obligation to involve yourself with it."

Magnum looked from her to Dagett and shook his head. "Its just that I am familiar with this contract but not Higgins' ownership. He never told me this aspect of it." He took a sip of the coffee and then put it down. "But of course there was no need for him to, and if its his wish for this matter to proceed then..." he paused for a second and then turned to Dagett. "Can you tell me what you meant by a shift in ownership of the stock?"

"Of course, its there in the contract," Dagett smiled in understanding, as Claudia picked up the contact and flipping pages handed it to Magnum.

"Here," she said pointing to an underlined entry, "ownership of the stock will be automatically transferred to Agatha Chumley."

Magnum studied the page for a brief moment and then slowly nodded his head. "Of course." Looking up at Claudia he handed her back the contract. "What do I do?"

Dagett picked up a typewritten sheet with a carbon and second sheet attached. "Simply sign here, I'll witness it, and Claudia will then Notarize it."

After the signing Magnum stood up, shook hands with Dagett, and with Claudia escorting him started for the door. He suddenly stopped and turned around with a puzzled look on his face. "There is one question..."

Dagett looked up and nodded his head in encouragement for Magnum to continue.

"I mean, I'm still a little confused. I understand that in certain situations I am an authorized representative for Robin Masters' estate. But the contract was in Higgins' name, not Robin Masters..." his voice trailed off.

"Oh," Dagett's face became bland and passive. "Don't worry, Thomas. Everything is perfectly legal. That's what I'm paid to ensure."

Magnum made as if to say something else, but simply twisted his cap in his hands, nodded his head and left. As Claudia returned to the office after seeing Magnum out, she and Dagett looked at one another for a moment, then Dagett simply shrugged his shoulders and turned back to the pile of papers on his desk.

---- Dissolve----