The Maui Effect (Man-Made Trilogy #1)

Standing Ground

‘Iwa

February

‘Iwa stood under her umbrella outside of Hoapili Hale on Main Street in Wailuku and paused before entering the building. In typical February fashion, a series of cold fronts had swept down the island chain and were focusing the bulk of their moisture on the windward side of Maui. The saturated ground made for squishy walking and her shoes and pant legs were soaked. For a moment, she put her umbrella down and turned her face up, opening her mouth and catching the raindrops on her tongue.

Ola i ka wai. Water is life.

Last night, she’d lain awake for hours as her mind followed all kinds of disastrous scenarios, nervous to finally appear before Judge Atkins. Courts moved slow as mud here, and she was more than ready to end this case on a good note. Though there was always the Supreme Court if it came to that. She hoped it didn’t.

She closed her umbrella, walked inside, and after putting her things through the metal detector, took the elevator to the third floor with three other people. The courthouse always seemed so somber and depressing, and the feeling in the elevator was tense. Everyone stared at their feet and by the time the doors opened, a puddle had formed around hers.

Winston and Kawika were already in the courtroom. They’d met the previous day to discuss their plan and what each one would say. Fortunately, both sides would be meeting with the judge separately, so she didn’t have to worry about Jones and his bulldog attorney. She smoothed her hair back and sat.

“Eh, ‘Iwa, girl,” Kawika said, giving her a thumbs-up.

“Sorry I’m late.”

Atkins still wasn’t there, though.

“Hey, you doing okay?” Winston asked, concern on his face.

“Just a little wet, why?”

He turned and studied her for a moment, as though expecting a different answer.

‘Iwa frowned. “What, Winston? You’re making me nervous.”

He looked down at the yellow tablet in front of him, shaking his head. “Nothing, nothing. Glad you’re here.”

“Of course I’m here.”

The door to the chambers opened and Atkins came out. A foot taller than anyone in the room, with wide shoulders and a thick brow, he was imposing as hell. He sat, looked to be reading something on the podium in front of him, and then slowly assessed the group before him. When he got to ‘Iwa, she smiled, she couldn’t help it. He did not smile back.

As they went through the hearing opening procedures, ‘Iwa was having trouble concentrating, and wondered what Winston was keeping from her.

When instructed by Atkins, Kawika stood up and spoke. “Your honor, Maui Forest Recovery Project is requesting that the habitat conservation plan completed for Zen Mountain Retreat be thrown out, due to skewed comparisons. We also would like the court to investigate the participation of a land board member in the creation of said conservation plan, which we believe to be improper.”

Last month, Winston had been the one who called out land board member Mazie Hart for serving on both boards.

“In addition, the plan does not comply with Hawai’i’s endangered species law, with regards to the kiwikiu and many other honeycreepers and native plants on the property. And lastly that all work be halted, since Jones has started clearing without a permit. Habitat, once demolished, cannot be replaced.”

And so it began. For each request, Winston and ‘Iwa presented reams of evidence.

When it came to showing the footage of the kiwikiu, Judge Atkins looked pointedly at ‘Iwa. “And how is it that you came to be on Jones’s property, Miss Young?” he asked.

“I was doing field work across the stream and had gone above the waterfall after some birds. At that time I didn’t realize where exactly his property started, it’s quite wild out there.”

“Tell me what happened next,” he said.

Though he probably already knew.

‘Iwa told him the story. “And that’s when I realized how much clearing he’d already done. We see it all the time. Developers getting started without permits, knowing they’ll just pay the fine. We need to—”

“Let’s stick to the case at hand,” Atkins said.

Kawika stepped in and presented aerial photos of Waikula and Jones’s property, which now contained an ever-expanding rectangle of scraped earth. ‘Iwa knew because they’d flown a drone high above. Judge Atkins yawned several times and kept his face blank as an empty sheet of paper. ‘Iwa’s confidence waned as the morning went on.

When Kawika let ‘Iwa speak again, she put on some heat. “Your honor, we checked the data on the conservation plan that Jones submitted, and there is no question that what’s on there is cherry-picked to strengthen their case. Many species that we know to be on this land are not even mentioned, especially the kiwikiu, which is fighting to remain on the planet.”

“And your data is based on what? One small video? Anything else?”

The courtroom suddenly felt steamy. “No. But keep in mind that there are at most only a few hundred left in the wild. So even one bird on the property makes it worth shutting down. It’s simply not worth the risk.”

Atkins glanced over at the photographs, studying them more thoroughly this time. ‘Iwa held her breath and crossed her fingers.

“Have you been up there, your honor? To Waikula?” she asked.

At first she thought Judge was going to redirect, but he didn’t. “I have not.”

“May I humbly suggest you take a ride up there, see for yourself what’s going on, and what we stand to lose?”

A long moment of silence passed, everyone glancing around at each other, and ‘Iwa worried maybe she had overstepped her boundaries.

But Atkins said, “Noted. Now please continue.”

“Do you know what we find even more troubling?”

He leaned back in his chair, now looking almost amused. “Tell us, Miss Young.”

“That someone thought it was acceptable for Ms. Hart, a land board member, to serve on the same team who came up with the conservation plan and subsequently made recommendations to the same board she works on. Is this not a blatant conflict of interest?”

She paused, and no one said anything, so she went on.

“It speaks to the many levels of negligence or even wrongdoing that led to ZMR’s approval when it never should have been approved. Judge Atkins, I implore you to go through this with a fine-tooth comb.”

It was hard to catch a breath and ‘Iwa had a feeling that everything hinged on this moment, on Judge Atkins seeing this in three dimensions. She felt a chant boiling up inside, one with a triple dose of mana . She tried to hold it in, really she did, but the words came out anyway.

“I kū mau mau,” she said, softly but fiercely.

Next to her, Winston answered her call, a little louder. “I kū wā.”

‘Iwa would have gone on and done the whole chant, but Judge Atkins was eyeing them sharply. ‘Iwa sat; Winston sat. Kawika shot her a look that said, What the hell was that? ‘Iwa gave a subtle shrug.

“Translate for us, if you will,” Atkins said, hands folded neatly in front of him.

“It’s a call for the whole community to come high in the mountains and haul the mighty koa log to the sea. But as with many chants and songs, you probably know, it has a deeper meaning—stand together and never give up. Please, Judge Atkins, come with us to the forest and see it for yourself.”

‘Iwa had done more research on Atkins recently. From the mainland, married to a local girl and been on Maui for eighteen years. He wasn’t part of the old boy network per se, even if he moved in their circles. But in poring over his past cases, despite some of his questionable rulings, she found he was more fair than people gave him credit for. And at least he hadn’t kicked them out yet.

Atkins stared at ‘Iwa for a few beats, then said, “I will ask my assistant to arrange a trip up there.”

Kawika dropped his pen, then said, “Great, your honor. Thank you.”

‘Iwa felt herself sway a little. She stole a glance at Winston, who was looking directly ahead. His Adam’s apple did a huge bob and the side of his mouth turned up in a smile.

A half hour later, the three of them stood under a big monkeypod tree outside and rehashed the hearing. The rain was coming down so hard on their umbrellas they had to yell to be heard.

“I can’t believe he wants to go up there!” ‘Iwa said, buzzing over the new development.

“Nice stunt,” Kawika said.

It was a small crumb and who knew where it would lead, but for the first time in a while, ‘Iwa dared to hope. They spoke for a bit longer, then Kawika dashed off to his car. Winston turned to leave, but she tugged at his arm.

“What?” he said.

“I need a hug.” She stepped into him, and he closed his arms around her. He felt strong and warm. “Have I told you lately how awesome you are, as a friend and a boss and an all-around badass of a human?” she asked.

His palm held the back of her head, lightly. “No.”

“None of this would be happening without your vision.”

“Not just mine,” he said, in typical understated fashion.

She pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You need to own it, Win. You always shy away from the limelight, why?”

He shrugged. “It’s not what’s important to me.”

The air shifted between them, subtly. And for a moment, she thought he might kiss her, or maybe she would kiss him, this time for real. Would it be so bad? He seemed to read her thoughts, though, and a shadow came into his eyes. He let go of her, moved back into his own space.

Winston half smiled. “‘Iwa, why are you doing this to yourself? It’s not me you want.”

A hole had opened in the clouds, and now they were standing in a pool of diffuse sunlight. He knew her so well.

“I don’t know?” she whispered.

His hand found hers and squeezed. “You should reach out to him. Give him another chance. Not everyone is deserving, but I think Dane might be.”

The passing of time had only made her miss him more, which went against what everyone had told her. Time heals. Her legs wobbled. “It terrifies me.”

“Sometimes you have to walk through the fear to get to the other side.”

‘Iwa darted a look up at him, knowing he was right about that. But could she, after everything that had happened?