Search and Rescue, prologue: On The Beach

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In Hawaii, Alex stops to help a lost tourist, and gets a crash course in why you shouldn't talk to strangers.


It was a beautiful day, but that wasn't uncommon for July in Hawaii. The man striding along the beach was dressed as a tourist, just one of the countless hordes, but unlike many along that stretch of beach, he was alone, not accompanied by family or friends. Anyone who looked carefully at the face beneath the brim of his hat would have noticed that while he was wearing a pleasant smile and a relaxed expression, the look in his eyes didn't match. It was cool and hard and calculating - and fixed on a figure on a surfboard, out in the water.

It was a beautiful Hawaiian day and the waves couldn't be more perfect. Alex still couldn't believe his luck at having the day off, though it sucked he had to enjoy this by himself. Jared was at work at his family's surf shop and Vida was out at one of her mother's outposts on another island. So it was up to Alex to entertain the tourists lounging on the beaches with some real surfing. He noticed a couple people watching him intently, but that wasn't unusal. Good surfing was fun to watch.

The man walked along the beach, which was growing quieter and quieter the farther down he moved. Perfect. Now, if the target would come ashore where he looked to be heading, the circumstances would be ideal. He'd been waiting three days, and this looked like the most promising opportunity yet. It was important that this be done as quietly as possible, but it was also fairly important that it be done quickly.

Seeing a wave coming up that would no doubt take him to shore, Alex grinned and swam over to catch it. It would take him to a more secluded area of the beach but that just meant Alex wouldn't have to dodge tourists as he came out of the water. He gave a loud whoop as he jumped up on his board, catching the wave dead on to ride through the tunnel, laughing as it crashed over him.

As Alex headed back in to shore, the man stopped on the deserted part of the beach, half-hidden by a rock outcropping from anyone who might have been looking in that direction from farther up the beach. He donned a puzzled look as he gazed around, then glanced down at his watch. He was the very picture of a bewildered tourist gone astray.

Now in shallower water, Alex jumped off his board and waded into shore. He shook his long hair like a dog to remove the excess water so he could brush it out of his eyes. Once he could properly see, he saw the tourist looking lost. Picking up his board, Alex approached with a friendly smile. "Aloha. You lost, man?"

"Seem to be," the man said with a helpless smile, in a flat mid-American accent. "My wife and I, we were supposed to be having this picnic lunch down here somewhere. She was going to arrange it all, all I needed to do was show up. Guess I can't seem to handle that much, even!"

Alex chuckled softly. "No worries, let me help. I live around here so I know this place fairly well. Where were you going to meet her?"

"Well," the man said thoughfully, digging in his pocket. "I've got that piece of paper right here, with the directions... something about fifteen minutes east along the beach from the souvenir stand that's next to the ice cream place... my wife's ideas of directions and all..."

"Hey, that sounds like the cove this way." Alex said as he thought about the surrounding area. Then he nodded, sounding more sure. "Yeah, definitely! Here, I'll take you, you aren't that far off actually." He added with a grin as he turned to walk down the beach.

"I really appreciate this, son," the man said with an answering grin, giving Alex's shoulder a pat as he followed. He pulled what looked like a pen out of his pocket. "Really do," he said, and pressed it against Alex's arm, the needle emerging with a 'snikt' and burying itself in flesh.

At the pat on the shoulder, Alex turned to give the guy a friendly grin and caught a quick glimpse of the pen type thing before it was sunk into his arm. He flinched, jerking away from the other. "Hey! What th..." He didn't get to finish his sentence, but tripped over his own two feet as the tranquilizer took effect on his system. Moments later, he collapsed into the sand.

The man looked around casually, then pulled out his cellphone. "Got him," he said into it, and then leaned down, slinging Alex over his shoulder with ease and then striding off the beach and into the trees.

By the time he got up to the road, the truck was already waiting.