From the north, Minnow noticed a yellow zodiac speeding toward them. And then another shooting out from the shore.
“What the hell?”
“Lots of people doing illegal stuff around here, chasing down dolphins and whales and mantas. Easy money, not a lot of enforcing of laws.”
Angela and Zach for one, and look how that turned out.
She reached for the radio. “What’s the frequency for DLWA?”
“Beats me.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I’ve never called them on the radio, not on this island.”
The yellow boat came at them full speed, and Minnow waved her arms, but of course it did nothing to deter them. There was a whole line of what looked to be tourists hanging on to the rail, pointing and squealing. Maybe ten of them.
“Go over there,” she said to Nalu.
He started the engine and moved toward the boat, which had positioned itself just downstream of the whales. When they were close enough, she called out again. “You need to get out of here.”
“Yeah? Who are you?” the guy said.
Nalu held up a plastic sheath, like he was showing some kind of badge. “Brah, you heard her. We’re with NOAA, and these whales are protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. You are breaking the law and we’ll shut down your whole operation if you don’t leave now,” he said, in a surprisingly authoritative voice. It probably helped that he wore a trucker hat with a star on it, almost like a sheriff.
The boat captain, a skinnyhaoleguy in a big hat, waved. “Roger that. We meant no harm, just passing by.”
And with that, the boat turned and zoomed off toward Kona.
Minnow looked at Nalu. “What was that?”
“My school ID.”
She laughed. “You are kidding me.”
“Hey, whatever works,” he said in that same deep voice he’d used to scare off the boat captain.
“Maybe Joewasright about you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing.”
“Tell me.”
She relented. “Just that you’re a lot smarter than you seem. And not to let your good looks fool me.”
A smile crept across his face. “You know that.”
“But let me ask you this. I know you’re smart, I know you love the ocean fiercely. But a few times now you’ve been almost frozen with fear. What’s that all about?”
His smile faded, and he clutched the steering wheel. “Nah, just a little bit of nerves, nothing major.”
“It’s okay to talk about it, you know. We all have our fears, and no one would fault you for being scared of swimming into dark caves or around large sharks.”
He turned on the engine and let it idle.
“Like I said, just nerves. I’m all good.”
