Hold On

Chapter 6

"Kumu? Kumu!" TC shouted.

"Why has the connection broken down?" Rick asked.

"I don't know, try to reach her again." His friend replied.

Rick immediately took the phone and dialed the woman's number but there was no signal. "Nothing." He shook his head.

"All right. Let's go there." TC stated, already holding the keys to his car.

They both stood up quickly, not wanting to waste any more time and went outside. Rick just hoped that one person working in La Mariana would manage to take care of all the customers. However, he knew that Ohana was much more important than running his business.

They hopped in the vehicle and took off with screeching tires. On their ride Rick studied his friend, noticing his firm grip on the steering wheel which turned his knuckles pale.

"Hey, man. I know you're worried about Kumu, TM and Jules, I am too but I'm sure we'll find out what happened." Rick said, trying to give him some reassurance.

"Yeah, I hope you're right." TC glanced at him before focusing on the road again and speeding towards Robin's Nest.

When they finally got there, it had already turned dark and the sun had been long gone but luckily the estate was quite well lit. They parked the car and got out of it in a second. They remembered that the last place searched by Kumu was the study in the main building so that was where they planned on heading right away. They stopped at the door and before going inside, both friends looked at each other, nodded their heads and reached for their guns just in case the house wasn't as empty as Kumu had told them.

Rick opened the door and they sneaked in very carefully. The living room seemed quite dark, it was only slightly lit by the lights coming from the garden. Still paying attention to any potential threats, Rick and TC made their way to the study. Before they got there, they noticed that the light was on. They stopped for a moment when they heard some noise, someone was evidently there and was using the computer. They strained their ears, trying to figure out what was happening there.

TC glanced at Rick and nodded his head, then pointed to the room. Having spent so much time together serving the country, they both knew how to communicate efficiently without using words. They both crept in that direction soundlessly, their guns in their hands ready to be used. They paused at the entrance, standing side by side with their backs against the wall, it seemed like one of their actions in combat when they served in the army. TC met his friend's eyes and gave him another sign. This time he counted down the time in which they were to get into the room with his fingers. They were ready for everything.

"3...2...1." He moved only his lips without using his voice.

Last glance at each other and then they stormed into the study, guns drawn, not knowing that they were about to get quite a surprise as they were met with a loud woman's shriek. They instantly drew back their guns at the sight that greeted them. There at the desk was sitting no other than Kumu.

"TC, Rick, you gave me quite a fright." She said weakly and they could see she was visibly shaken – her eyes grew wide and her hand flew to her chest. "What are you doing with those guns?"

"I'm so sorry, Kumu but when you told us to come here so suddenly and then the connection broke down, our first thought was that something bad happened to you and that you needed our help so here we are." TC explained.

Kumu looked at him and then at Rick who gave her a sheepish grin.

"All right. Mahalo for coming to my rescue." She stated with a smile. "Actually, you could think that, you see my phone went dead because I forgot to charge it last night."