The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 36

Aoloa reviewed the complicated routing program Hokulani had provided him. ::Seriously?:: Trying to follow it was giving him a headache.

::This is only a level three routine. I've got levels four and five ready, if necessary. Lopaka used to use level seven as his routine security. Running at level two is what got us in trouble.::

::Then why aren't we running at level four?::

She shared the protocol with him. He felt a vein in his skull trying to throb before he gave up on it. ::I can't make heads or tails of this. Let's use it instead.::

::It degrades performance on time-critical applications.::

::Will it keep us safe from the authorities?:: She nodded slightly. ::We're using level four. There are too many other people we put in danger who we need on our side. Would this stop Lopaka?::

She shook her head. ::It would slow him down.::

::So when the military gets involved, we'll still have problems. Could it have been Kodachrome?::

::I'll feel out SherpaDerpa. He'll be able to give me a better idea.::

She made a connection and began the process of connecting with Sherpa. Meanwhile, Aoloa worked on setting up some new abilities for his nanites. He didn't know why working with them made so much sense, but working with the Internet didn't. They were different skills. That was all he could console himself with.

After the last dog incident, he decided they needed to be able to switch off their scent. He worked on the process for a couple hours before he saw why it hadn't been done in the first place. Moving shed skin. Skin had an odor. Temperature regulation required sweat. Sweat had an odor. Fur had an odor.

However, they had been functioning at ninety percent human in special suits when they were with the UPS. Now, they were only about fifty percent human and naked. That gave him a new option: switchable scents. After a bit of finagling, he was able to set the nanites up to control the types of particles left behind between human, feline, and hybrid. An abrupt change from human to feline should work to throw dogs off the trail, as the "old" scent disappeared to be replaced by a new one.

It took another hour to perfect the protocols and send them to Hokulani's comms unit. ::How are things coming on your side?:: he asked.

::Kodachrome is spreading the word that he believes we're undercover cops, based on our unusual demands. A lot of them believe him. SherpaDerpa has dropped off, fueling additional suspicion. Genghis won't talk to me, and several others were trying to break my communications channels. Things have gone to shit.::

::So tell me the bad news.::

::I think Lopaka's on there. I don't know for sure, and I don't know what side he's on, but it feels like him. If it is him, he'll recognize my style, too.::

::Can you protect us if it is him?::

::I can try.::

::Then let's get a new priority. Keep an eye open for SherpaDerpa, and harden our defenses. We don't need him in our comms if he's hostile.::

::I'm also going to dig into Kodachrome. If he ratted us out, I will know.::

Aoloa almost felt sorry for the guy.