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“Yes.”
“Come with us, please.”
For one crazy moment she thought she was being arrested. Demolition without a license? But they didn’t touch her; they just held open the door to the van.
“What is this?” she said.
“Please get out of the rain, ma’am,” one of them said. “If you don’t mind.”
As she started to climb into the van, she saw that David and Leo were already inside. So were Don McNulty and Ben Russell. The whole team.
“Could somebody please tell me what’s going on here?” Rebecca said.
Nobody answered.
She felt strong hands on her back, shoving her forward.
“Hey!”she yelled as she stumbled into a seat.
“Sorry, ma’am,” one of the men said. “We have a schedule.” The door slammed shut, and the van shot off into the rain, tires squealing.
CHAPTER 28
Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, Hawai‘i
Time to eruption: 95 hours
Lono Akani wanted to be more than just Mac’s star student surfer. He wanted to be his star intern at HVO too, wanted to feel like akapenaof that team also.
Captain.
So Lono had decided to spend all day at the observatory up the mountain. His mother had dropped him off at school, but as soon as she was gone, he hitched a ride to HVO.
When he got there, he saw all these army guys. But why? He knew Mac wasn’t here because his car wasn’t in the parking lot. He saw Betty Kilima, the librarian, going down the hall, and he hurried after her. His station was on the other side of the room from hers.
“Why all the army guys?”
“I heard they’re helping us rebuild the jeep roads.”
“What’s wrong with the roads?” Lono asked. “I never heard Mac say anything about the roads.” He jerked his head in the direction of the men. “This looks like an invasion.”
“I guess he’s worried that they’re in bad shape and we can’t move around fast enough to take readings during the eruption.”
He didn’t think that was true. Just his gut instinct. Too many army guys. This was about more than roads, and he knew it. There seemed to be an atmosphere of excitement at the observatory, almost tension. It was in the air all around him.
Betty said, “Ready to work?” She raised her eyebrows. “Why aren’t you in school?”
“Got permission,” he said.
“Really?” she said suspciously.
He put his hand over his heart. “Ho‘ohiki wau—I swear.”
Most days he helped her sort data files for an hour or so. These were mostly satellite pictures that had to be cataloged by the acquisition time and spectrum covered before they were shipped down to UH for storage. It was grunt work, but Mac always said that details were part of the process. That was all Lono had needed to hear, even though the process was boring. Mac’s word was law.
Betty’s intercom buzzed. Lono was close enough to recognize the voice: Rick Ozaki, the seismic specialist. He was working in the data room.
“Betty? We need help,” Rick said. “Can you get me the most recent mag data?”
