even theorized that a massive tsunami could be caused by the collapse of the Cumbre Vieja volcano in the Canary Islands, sending a wave over 100 feet high to devastate the entire Atlantic coast of the United States. Of course, the theory was in dispute, but the other landslide tsunamis in the past meant the threat of an avalanche triggering a tsunami in the Pacific basin couldn't simply be dismissed.
Reggie threw up his hands. 'So we have an earthquake that's too small to make a tsunami, no known landslide risks, no sensor reading from Christmas Island, and no way to get in touch with anyone there.'
'And,' Kai said, 'the earthquake was in a location where no quake has ever been recorded before.'
'So you're saying the tsunami came out of nowhere?' Brad said.
At that moment, Kai happened to look up at one of the TVs. Headline News was running the story of the missing TransPacific flight. One of the anchors spoke with the TransPac logo over his left shoulder. Then the image shifted to a graphic of the Pacific Ocean. A line stretched from Los Angeles and abruptly ended in the middle of the ocean due south of Hawaii.
'That's funny,' Kai said. 'It looks like the plane went down where the earthquake epicenter…'
And that's when it hit him. Kai knew what had happened. All of the pieces fell into place. It was incredible, but it was the only explanation that fit.
Kai's hands started trembling. His teeth began to chatter, and he took a deep breath to get it under control. He was the director. The leader. He had to set an example, but what he really wanted to do was curl into the fetal position and pretend he was going to wake up and find out it was a dream.
Reggie saw that Kai was struggling to keep it together. 'Hey boss, what's the matter?'
'We've completely ignored one explanation. It's crazy, but everything fits. I hope to God I'm wrong, knock on wood.' Kai rapped the frame of the cork bulletin board on the wall. Even though he knew he wasn't wrong, he was hoping that some little superstitious ritual would ward off the inevitable.
'What are you talking about?' Reggie said.
'OK,' Kai said, 'here's the deal. Remember that discussion we had about Crawford and Mader?'
Reggie furrowed his brow for a second, then snapped his fingers and smiled. 'Right! Yeah, I said their research was fun, but it was a waste of time. You said…'
Reggie abruptly stopped, the smile vanishing. He looked at Kai incredulously, and Kai could tell he'd struck a nerve. Kai nodded toward the TV, which still showed the map. For a moment, Reggie looked at the television, baffled at the connection. Then his expression changed to horror.
In that instant, he knew, too.
Reggie launched himself out of his chair. 'You're not serious!'
'We have to consider it.'
'Oh crap!' Reggie said with a look of stunned disbelief. 'Well, this is just perfect. I just finished remodeling my kitchen last month. Took me close to two years.'
Brad, who had been watching this exchange in confused silence, couldn't take it any longer. 'Not serious about what? Who are Crawford and Mader? What's going on?'
'You don't want to know,' Reggie said.
'Yes, I do! What the hell does this have to do with Reggie's kitchen?'
'In about an hour,' Kai said, 'Reggie's kitchen won't be there any more.'
Chapter 17
Because of the Memorial Day holiday, only three people staffed Hawaii Civil Defense: Brian Renfro, the duty officer in charge, Michelle Rankin, another junior duty officer, and Ronald Deakins, the state services coordinator. Their training had them in automatic mode.
The first step had already been accomplished: activating the sirens and starting the EAS broadcast. That part had been relatively simple. Now began the more difficult task of coordinating with the various county, state, and federal agencies that would be looking to them for what to do. Despite the fact that there were only three of them, the HCD bunker seemed to be a hive of activity. All of them were on the phone.
Renfro had the governor and the mayor of Honolulu on conference call. Both were on their way downtown to their offices.
'What's your ETA, Governor?' Renfro said.
'I'll be back at the Capitol in a few minutes. The holiday traffic was already bad, and more people are getting on the road every minute. My cabinet is spread out all over the city. We've been trying to get in touch with them since we left the hotel.'
'And you, Mayor?'
The smooth patrician voice of Mayor Carl Rutledge came over the line. 'I was over at Pearl, so it's looking more like fifteen minutes if the traffic doesn't get worse, even with the police escort.'
'Who's in charge there?' the governor asked.
'Well, I am, ma'am,' said Renfro. 'Vice Director Dennis is on Kauai, and there's no way he can get back in time.'
'Renfro, what are we looking at here?' the mayor asked. 'Is this going to be another false alarm?'
'Sir, you know I can't tell that for sure. What I do know is that we lost contact with Christmas Island, including the tide sensor, and the PTWC issued a tsunami warning.'
'Better safe than sorry, Carl,' Governor Kalama said.
'I suppose,' the mayor said, 'but dammit, we're already looking at a budget deficit. We can't have this happen every year.'
'Sir, we should know more in a few minutes when the wave is supposed to reach Johnston Island.'
On the other side of the room, Michelle Rankin talked to Pearl Harbor's military liaison, an aide to the Commander of US Pacific Command. The leader of the USPACOM was responsible for all US armed forces over half the world's surface.
'Lieutenant, we do have procedures for this…' Rankin said.
'But the last drill was for a three hour window. Now, you're telling me I have about an hour?'
'That's right.'
'Ma'am, do you know what it takes for a Navy ship to set sail? It ain't like hopping in your Sea Ray and shooting out of the marina.'
'How long would it take if you started right now?'
'Two hours minimum. The engines aren't even hot.'
'Look, I'm just telling you how much time you have. You can protest all you want. It's not going to change. Plus you need to get all of the aircraft out of the coastal air bases. We're recommending moving them to Wheeler.'
'Well, you see, that's another problem. Most of our pilots are out on leave or at ceremonies away from the bases. We can try to get them back to base, but the way the traffic is moving, we'll be lucky to get a quarter of them up in the air.'
Rankin scribbled a note about the military aircraft and handed it to Ronald Deakins, who had the responsibility for coordinating with the civilian airports and seaports. He was on the phone with the Chief of Operations at Honolulu International, which shared runways with Hickam Air Base.
'That's right, sir,' Deakins said. 'You've got about an hour before the wave arrives.'
'And the all-clear? When will that be?'
'I can't say for sure.'
'Well, I can't keep the planes circling forever.'
'Believe me, sir. We will let you know as soon as the danger has passed.'
'Flights are going to be backed up all day because of this, you know.'
'I realize that, sir.'
'Do we need to evacuate the terminals?'
