Rogue Wave

Chapter 13

Realizing she could do nothing more for the Russian tour group until the interpreter arrived in about an hour, Rachel had turned her full attention to the most important event taking place at the hotel-the governor's veterans brunch.

The event had been under way for five minutes, right on time despite the ramp problem, which was fixed as promised. Rachel stood at the back watching Governor Elizabeth Kalama give her speech, ready to make sure any potential issues were resolved quickly and quietly.

Because Rachel's job was all about communication, she carried a walkie-talkie and cell phone at all times. The walkie-talkie was for in-hotel communications with the staff, and the cell phone connected her with external vendors and clients. Either one could go off at any time. This time it was her cell phone. She had it set to vibrate mode so that it wouldn't interrupt the speech from the dais.

She pulled it from her belt and looked at the number. It was Kai's cell phone. Normally, she would have answered it when she saw the number. But the brunch was too important to take her attention away from it. She replaced it on her belt and let it go to voice mail.

After another few seconds, her cell phone's pager feature went off. She picked it up again and looked at the number typed in the display, expecting to see Kai's cell phone number again. Instead, she saw "999''. Their emergency code.

She didn't hesitate, immediately calling Kai's cell phone.

"Kai?" she whispered. "What's going on?"

"Rachel, it's Brad."

"Brad? Where's Kai?"

"He's busy. He wanted you to know that he just issued a tsunami warning."

"Oh no! Right now?"

"Yeah, you should be getting the official warning in a few minutes."

"Oh my God! I'm at a brunch in our ballroom. The governor's here."

"Wow! The governor? I hope you guys got paid for the brunch up front."

She got it now. One of Brad's stupid jokes.

"Ha ha, very funny, Brad. I'm going now."

"No, wait, Rachel. I'm serious."

"Brad, our 999 code is not for jokes."

"I swear, I'm not joking."

"Because I can see you pulling this kind of stunt."

"Listen, here's Kai." She heard Brad in the background say, "She doesn't believe me."

Then Kai's voice came on the line.

"It's me, honey."

"So Brad's not joking?"

"I wish he were."

"So a tsunami is really coming?"

"We don't know for sure yet, but it looks like it."

"Jesus! When is it supposed to get here?"

"In a little more than an hour."

"An hour? What took you guys so long? You said that a tsunami from Alaska would take five hours to get here."

"It's not from Alaska."

"A local one? The Big Island?" Rachel knew that landslides or earthquakes in the Hawaiian Islands could cause a tsunami that would take less than 45 minutes to reach Oahu.

"No, somewhere in the Pacific. Listen, Rachel, I've got to go. I'll talk to you soon. Here's Brad again. Be safe."

A raspy sound came through as the phone got passed back.

"I'm back."

"Hey Brad," Rachel said, "sorry I didn't believe you."

"No big deal. You know, it's kind of fun seeing Kai work. They don't know what caused the tsunami, but they think it could be a big one."

"OK. Thanks, Brad. I've got to get things in motion here."

"Wait, Rachel! Does Lani have a cell phone?"

Rachel just assumed Teresa had already been warned and was taking Lani and Mia to safety.

"Why?" she said. "What's wrong? Is she OK? Where is she?"

"Slow down. I don't know. I just listened to Kai's messages. I was actually calling you to get Teresa's cell phone number, but she left a message on Kai's cell phone. Her phone battery is almost dead, so she turned the phone off. I tried returning her call, but all I get is her voicemail. I was hoping Lani had a cell phone."

"No. We didn't think she was old enough for one yet."

"Old-fashioned, huh? Well, I'm sure they'll hear the sirens and get to high ground."

"Brad, make sure they're OK. Please? I won't have time. I've got to get the hotel ready."

"Don't worry. I got it covered."

He sounded confident, but then he always sounded confident. But she had to trust him, so she hung up and turned her attention to her duties.

As the governor continued her speech, Rachel weaved her way through the tables of disabled vets. Because the Grand Hawaiian was a state-of-the-art Waikiki resort, it had a well-thought out tsunami warning plan. The employees ran drills every six months to familiarize themselves with the procedures in case of a tsunami. Rachel had been through only one of them.

The ballroom was on the sixth floor, so she wouldn't have to evacuate anyone at the brunch. Procedure called for the first, second, and third floors to be evacuated, and for all guests to be moved to a level higher than that.

She spotted the governor's assistant, William Kim, the one she had coordinated the banquet with. He had been an annoyance to her for a week now. Giving him this news wasn't going to be pretty.

"Mr. Kim," she said in a low whisper. "I need to talk to you. Right now."

She pulled him to the side of the room.

"What is it? I'm missing the governor's speech."

"A tsunami might be coming."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. The tsunami warning should come out any minute. You have to tell the governor."

"In the middle of her speech?"

"Don't you think it might be something she'd like to know as soon as possible?"

"So the tsunami warning hasn't been issued?"

"Not yet."

"Then how do you know…"

"My husband told me. He's the…"

"Your husband?" he said with a snotty tone. "Mrs. Tanaka, the governor is running for the US Senate next year, and there are some very important donors in the room. If I interrupt her, and you're wrong…"

"Please, Mr. Kim, I'm not an idiot. As I was trying to say, my husband is the Director of Pacific Tsunami Warning Center."

"Fine. Come back when we get the actual tsunami warning. The governor can at least finish the speech."

"Look, I don't have time for this and neither does the governor." With that, she strode onto the stage with Kim following her. He stopped short of holding her back, not wanting to make a scene. Rachel put her hand lightly on the governor's shoulder. The governor stopped her speech to look at who was interrupting her and put her hand over the microphone.

"Yes?" she said. "Who are you?"

"Governor, I tried to stop her…" Kim began.

Rachel talked over him. "Governor, I'm Rachel Tanaka, the hotel manager. A tsunami warning is about to be issued."

"About to be issued?"

"Ma'am, my husband is Kai Tanaka, the…"

"Kai Tanaka? The head of the PTWC?"

"That's right, ma'am. You know him?"

"I met him three months ago during a tsunami drill."

"Governor, he told me that there's a good likelihood that a tsunami is heading this way and will be here in a little more than an hour."

"An hour?" Kim said, startled. Then he went on the defensive. "Governor, she didn't tell me that…"

"Be quiet, Bill," the governor said. The hush of the crowd was starting to give way to murmurs. "Mrs. Tanaka, you're sure about this?"

Kai might be forgetful about personal matters sometimes, but he was one of the smartest people Rachel had ever met. He wouldn't have issued the warning if he didn't have a good reason.

"Ma'am, my husband knows tsunamis. If he says there might be one coming, then we need to get ready."

"I agree. Bill, get my car. I'll tell the audience what's happening and then turn it over to Mrs. Tanaka."

"Certainly, ma'am," Kim said and hurried off the stage. If he'd had a tail, it would have been between his legs. Rachel stayed on the dais.

The governor turned back to the crowd with a somber face, and the audience silenced immediately.

"I apologize for the interruption. I have just been informed that a tsunami warning is about to be issued for the Hawaiian Islands." A buzz ran through the crowd, and the governor raised her hands to quiet them. "Now as you might have guessed, this will require me to cut the speech off here so that I may attend to the emergency…"

Rachel's walkie-talkie squawked to life, and she stepped off the dais to answer it. It was her assistant, Marian.

"Rachel, are you there?"

"Marian, did we get a tsunami warning?"

"It just came in a few seconds ago. How did you know?"

"That's not important. Get the book out and start following the emergency procedures. Make sure you notify the staff first. They need to keep the guests from panicking. I've already informed the governor."

"Got it."

"Hopefully, it's just a false alarm, so let's make sure this goes as smoothly as possible. I'll be down when I can."

"But…" Marian sputtered.

"The governor's wrapping up. I've got to go. Just keep calm." She replaced the walkie-talkie and stepped back onto the dais next to the governor.

"…so I urge you to stay where you are, and Mrs. Tanaka, the hotel manager, will see to it that you are well taken care of. Let us all pray that this is a false alarm so that we can continue with our holiday remembrances at the Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery later this afternoon. I hope to see you there. God bless us and God bless the United States of America."

The crowd applauded as the governor left with her gaggle of assistants, and Rachel took the podium. Hundreds of concerned faces looked up at her. She paused and then, making sure to keep her voice calm and professional, she addressed the group.

"Ladies and gentlemen, my name is Rachel Tanaka, the hotel manager. This tsunami warning is an unpleasant development, but we'll try to do our best to make you comfortable until this is over. This hotel has been designed with the latest in tsunami safety design elements, and you are more than 60 feet above the ground here. Of course, you are free to leave if you desire, but we recommend that you stay where you are, enjoy our hospitality, and wait for the all-clear to sound. We will inform you about further developments as we get them. So sit back, relax, and I'm sure this will all be over quickly."