Ocean: War of Independence Read Free Page A

on the lower portion broke away and crumbled into the sea.
    Now she had several categories of waves—the vee wave, the mini-tidal wave, the whirlpool wave, a carrier wave on which she could ride, and a surfing wave—and all had variations in scope and power. She thought there must be other types, and that each of them had a specific purpose, as if they were tools in her extremely interesting tool box, and she could use them whenever she needed them.

    Thinking his grandfather was dead, Jeff had driven the Jeep partway up the side of the volcano, finally pulling off the road after dark, at a place that was well-concealed by a rock formation, and foliage. Here, at an elevation of more than five thousand feet, he’d spent two nights, eating papayas, bananas, and mangoes he’d collected on the way up. But as he’d gained altitude on the narrow road that circled the mountain, the lowland jungles had receded, giving way to pine trees and other evergreens. The climate was cooler above sea level, and there was nothing to eat here that he knew how to find. He had been chilled at night and unable to stay warm even when he closed the side windows and slept in the vehicle. He hadn’t counted on it being so cold.
    It was midday now, and he was on the shadow-side of the mountain. Sitting in the driver’s seat of the vehicle, he felt the cool air seeping into his bones, and didn’t want to spend another night in the Jeep. Before starting up the road he’d driven past Kimo Pohaku’s fruit stand, and knew that his Hawaiian mother, the crazy old kahuna healer, lived a short distance away from that. Jeff’s blood boiled at the thought of that family. Old Tiny Pohaku had made trouble with his land claims, and his son Kimo had brainwashed Alicia, filling her mind with disloyal thoughts, causing her to hold a ridiculous ceremony for his dead father on the Ellsworth Ranch, upsetting their grandfather terribly.
    Now Jeff was on the run, thinking his grandfather was dead, and Alicia, too, for all he knew. It was as if a bomb had gone off in the midst of the Ellsworth family, scattering them in all directions. He could be the sole survivor in Hawaii.
    He started the Jeep, thinking of his anger toward the Pohakus, and of the safe and trunk he had hidden in the jungle on the ranch, containing money and jewelry. After the confrontation with the police, it had not been possible to get there, but perhaps he could find a way to sneak back in the middle of the night. He remembered that the Pohakus had a small house that was not easily visible from the road, or from neighboring homes. It could be a good place for Jeff to hole up, giving him a base from which to retrieve his valuables.
    ***

Chapter 2
    In San Francisco Bay, Gwyneth picked up a molecular transmission from Monique Gatsby, who had found a place just offshore of Marine Park to contact them. Gwyneth and J.D. Watts were out in the channel by the bridge, a couple of miles away.
    “President Vanness is refusing to back down,” the actress reported. “He just concluded a speech in which he said he will not accept the demands of a terrorist organization that is running rampant in the sea, committing one crime after another. He has repeated the demand that we surrender unconditionally.”
    “That will never happen,” Gwyneth said. “All right, Jacqueline, J.D. and I know what to do here. I want you to organize the big demonstration you talked about. If you can do it on the Golden Gate Bridge, as you mentioned earlier, that would be the most effective, especially if we can take over the bridge. I’d like to do it this afternoon, and stop all traffic.”
    “My people are ready to go anywhere in the Bay Area, but the Golden Gate Bridge has a massive amount of commuter traffic between the city and suburbs to the north. We can do the bridge—it’s one of our options. But it’s unfortunate if we have to block ordinary people who are just trying to go back and forth to work.”
    “If