memories in the house, photos were the only things he wanted to keep.
Unfortunately, they had boxes and boxes of photos. There was no way he could take them all. Kai hurried over and pulled out one of their family albums, the one they looked at the most. He gazed longingly at the rest and felt himself holding back tears because he wouldn't be able to take them.
Kai made his way back to the door and came to a halt when he saw the photos they had hung on the wall near the kitchen. One was an 8 by 10 wedding photo of Kai and Rachel. She looked beautiful in her beaded white dress, and both of them beamed with happiness. It always reminded him of their early days together: their introduction at the University of Washington bookstore while they stood in line to sell their used textbooks; their first date at a comedy club; the awkward proposal on a Thanksgiving trip to see her parents when Kai popped the question on the plane because he couldn't wait for the candlelight dinner he had planned.
The other photo was a candid picture of the three of them on vacation at Disneyland. When Lani had been born little more than a year into their marriage, complications during the delivery made it impossible for Rachel to have more children. But the news didn't discourage them. In fact, it made them an even more tight-knit family. As soon as Rachel and Kai finished grad school and started making money, their major indulgence was to take yearly trips that they could share as a family.
Like many people, their favorite destination was Disneyland. The photo showed all three of them wearing mouse ears and laughing, childlike in their disregard for the camera. They looked like one of those photos that you would see in a frame at the store. It wasn't staged. It just showed what a great time they had as a family.
Kai took both photos off the wall and smashed the glass against the counter. He wrenched the pictures out of their frames and inserted them in the album, tossing the frames onto the floor. The final thing he grabbed was Bilbo's leash.
'Come here, buddy.' Bilbo wagged as he came and sat in front of Kai, who attached the leash and gave him a pat.
Kai took one last look around, and then he heard Brad call from outside.
'Kai, we have to go! Now!'
Kai sprinted with Bilbo back to the van and motorcycle, both now idling in front of the PTWC building. Reggie was just coming back at the same time. But what he was carrying caught Kai by surprise.
'You'll need this if you're riding with Brad,' he said, handing Kai a motorcycle helmet. 'I don't use it much any more. I hope it's not too big on you.'
'What about your stuff?' Kai said, picturing Reggie's brand new kitchen, soon to be wiped away. 'Don't you have anything you want to take?'
'Nope. They're just things. I'll get more. Oh, and I got you a couple of other items.'
He pressed some kind of tote bag and a small length of wire into Kai's hands. Kai was overwhelmed that all Reggie could think of in this disaster was helping him. He never realized until that point how thoughtful Reggie was.
'That's my kayaking dry bag. It's the best thing for carrying your stuff. And that's an earpiece for your cell phone. It'll fit under the helmet so you can talk on the road.'
'Thanks, Reggie,' Kai said. 'This means a lot to me.'
'Hey, I'm just lending that stuff to you. I want it back.'
'Can you do one more thing for me?' Kai said, holding out the leash.
'Take Bilbo for you?'
'He won't fit on the bike.'
'No problem. If the news guys give me any trouble, I'll sic him on them.' Bilbo licked Reggie's hand as if to show how dangerous he really was.
'You take care of yourself,' Kai said and then hugged him. Reggie seemed a little surprised at first, but returned the hug.
'You too. I'll see you in a couple of hours,' Reggie said confidently, as if he didn't want to believe Kai might be in danger.
Reggie held his hand out to Brad. 'No hard feelings, huh?'
Brad took Reggie's meaty paw without hesitation. 'I want you to know I don't pick fights with 300-pound football players often.'
'I understand. Just go get her.' Reggie climbed into the news van with Bilbo, and they pulled away, headed for the front gate.
Kai put the photo album in the dry bag and slung it over his shoulder. He plugged the headset into his phone and placed the helmet on his head. It was about three sizes too big, but Kai snugged the strap down until it didn't float around too much.
Brad leapt onto the bike and revved the engine. Kai tentatively threw his leg over the tiny pad of leather that qualified as the back seat.
'Where do I put my feet?' Kai said.
'Man, you really have never ridden one of these before.'
'And I wouldn't be now if it weren't an emergency.'
'Just put your feet on the dead pedals back there and put your arms around my waist.'
'Just tell me if you can't breath.'
'I'll be fine, but I'm going to have to do some tricky driving if we're going to get there in time. By the way, where are we going? We need a boat if we're going out in the bay, and mine's in my driveway.'
'I know. Go to the Grand Hawaiian. I'll explain on the way.'
'With the wind noise, we won't be able to talk much. Explain when we get there. Hang on tight. If you fall off, I'll stop and get you.'
Kai didn't appreciate Brad's sense of humor. Kai had never ridden a motorcycle and didn't want to. But his determination to find his daughter was stronger than his terror at riding 140hp of exposed metal, where in an impact with even a Mini, the Harley would lose.
Kai was surprised at how easily his fear about riding the motorcycle could be overcome. They couldn't get in touch with Teresa to tell her where the girls were. Rachel was busy at the hotel evacuating the guests. And the police were responsible for the biggest mass evacuation in history. It was up to Kai and Brad.
As Brad gunned the engine and roared off, Kai gripped him like a vine wrapped around an oak, the cell phone clenched in one hand. The g-forces were incredible, but surprisingly, Kai didn't feel in danger of falling off the bike. He did feel like throwing up, but at least that was something he had control over. At any other time, Kai might have been embarrassed about holding on to Brad so closely, but at that point he didn't care and concentrated on the task at hand.
Kai reluctantly loosened his right hand and felt for the keypad on the phone as they whipped through the gate and turned onto Fort Weaver Road, the main drag leading to the H1. Cars packed the road, but the traffic moved steadily, albeit slowly. In a few seconds, they caught up with the news van and passed it like it was standing still.
Kai punched in the speed dial number for the Alaska/West Coast Tsunami Warning Center. All he got was an out of range beep. As he expected, the cell phone lines were stretched to the limit with people calling loved ones about the oncoming tsunami.
The road turned north, and they ran into more traffic, moving at no more than 10mph. Brad swung the motorcycle onto the shoulder and rocketed forward at an insane speed only inches from the cars on their left. Occasionally, they would hit a patch of sand or a bump, and Kai would feel the bike skid a little. He glanced over Brad's shoulder. The speedometer needle hovered around 60mph.
Kai kept dialing on the cell phone. After at least seven more tries, he finally heard the call go through. In an instant, the director, Frank Manetti, answered. He must have had caller ID because Kai didn't have to say anything before Manetti spoke.
'Kai, is that you?'
Even with the helmet, the wind noise buffeted Kai's ears, but he could still hear Manetti's voice easily over the headset. He silently thanked Reggie.
'Yes, it's me,' Kai said.
'What's that noise? I can barely hear you.'
'It's the wind. Did you get the latest readings from the DART buoy?'
