Chapter 12

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Jim raised his eyebrows and patted Hansen's shoulder. 

"This man is the best of the best. He's skilled in knife combat—" said Jim.

"Jim!" said Hansen, rolling his eyes and interrupting Jim from finishing his sentence.

"What?" Jim asked innocently, looking at Hansen then turning to his father. "He's also skilled in Hand-to-Hand combat."

Manuia and Iosefa each stood on the side of the chief's desk and crossed their arms, not liking the thought of this man being better than them.

"This guy doesn't look so tough," said Manuia, not believing Hansen's skills.

"Yeah, anyone can throw a knife," said Iosefa as he looked at his chief.

Oscar believed that Hansen could easily take down his two best officers. Knowing that they also had a bad habit of being conceited, he decided this the a perfect time to take them down a notch. Oscar stood up and came around the front of the desk.

"Well, let's put that to the test. Follow me," said Oscar as he headed out the door. Jim, Hansen, Manuia, and Iosefa followed Oscar. The police station had a room that they would use to spar with each other, along with other men as well.

"Go set up the three man boards," Oscar said to his son. "Iosefa, you will go first, and Hansen will go after you."

Hansen didn't like boasting about himself or showing off his skills unless it was a life or death matter. He was a humble man and his men knew it.

Jim on the other hand, got a kick out of showing off his best friend's skills.

Iosefa grabbed three knives from Jim and started on the first board. He hit it in the center. He looked surprised that he did that, but quickly masked it, putting on confidence that he could do it two more times. When it came to the second board, he missed the center, but the knife was very close to it. Iosefa turned to the men and mumbled about the knife being to slippery. When it came to the third board, Iosefa completely missed the center and instead hit the wall behind the board.

Jim chuckled and said, "Good thing we're the only ones here."

Iosefa grabbed the knives and still held confidence that Hansen couldn't do better, even though he missed the last board. 

"Let's see your friend beat that," said Iosefa as he handed the knife towards Hansen.

Hansen, wanting to get this over with, quickly aimed at the first board and hit it dead in the center.

He aimed at the second board and hit it dead in the center.

He aimed at the third board and hit it dead in the center. He hit each and every one of them quickly and with ease. After he was done, Oscar, Iosefa and Manuia's mouths hung open, their jaws dropped. He walked towards the boards and grabbed the knives and put them down on a table nearby.

Oscar then turned to Iosefa and said, "Yes, anyone can throw a knife. But not anyone can hit it straight in the center."

Manuia, not liking the fact that Iosefa was making them look bad, said, "Well what about hand- to-hand combat?" Manuia was a bulky man and a couple of inches taller than Hansen. He was confident that he could easily take Hansen down.

Oscar then turned to Hansen and said, "What do you think? Up for another challenge?" Oscar was finding this whole thing amusing and so was his son Jim. The only difference was that Oscar hid his amusement better than Jim did. Jim chuckled and shook his head.

"You will go down like Donkey Kong. In fact, he can take the two of you down," Jim said to Manuia.

Manuia went towards a certain part of the room that had mats laid down;

Iosefa following him as well. Manuia and Iosefa both looked at Hansen and raised their eyebrows in challenge. They wanted to take this man down and heal the wounds in their ego.

Hansen knew he could easily take down these two men, but it didn't mean he wanted to show it. He was a bit annoyed that Jim was stirring the pot. He knew his friend found this amusing and was getting a kick out of it. He narrowed his eyes at Jim and unwillingly walked to the mat.

Manuia headed straight at Hansen from the front,and Iosefa stepped forward to attack Hansen from behind. Quick, with the flickof his wrist, Hansen hit Manuia's throat, eliciting a gasp and cough from Manuiaas he went down, then he dogged Iosefa as he came for him from behind. Hansen was already steps ahead, quickly grabbing Iosefa's arm to twist it, and punching Iosefa's chin, knocking him out.

Hansen walked toward his friend, who had erupted in laughter. Oscar chuckled and walked toward the door to go back to his office. Jim and Hansen walked out the door, leaving Manuia and Iosefa still on the mat. Manuia was rubbing his throat and Iosefa lay on his back, too embarrassed to get up.

"This guy doesn't look so tough," Iosefa said, mimicking what Manuia had said in the office. Iosefa started to regret the knife comment he had made as well.

Manuia groaned and narrowed his eyes. "Shut up. You got your ass kicked too.

Back in the office, Hansen didn't know it yet, but he was about to get a job offer from Oscar - a blessing in disguise. As Hansen and Jim sat back down on the two chairs in front of Oscar's desk, Oscar sat down on his chair and looked at Hansen with interest.

"What would you say if I offered you a job here?" asked Oscar.

"Well sir, I'd respectfully decline the job," replied Hansen.

"We need men like you here. Police officers go through training at a police academy, along with having other requirements, but I'm going to ignore that part," said Oscar, making a dismissive gesture. "My son has told me a lot about you, and you're more than qualified for the job," Oscar continued.

Jim looked at Hansen and said with a grin, "How about it, man?"

Hansen was on vacation, not moving to Hawai'i. He needed some time to think this through. He didn't have anyone waiting for him to come back home, other than his parents. Maybe this could be a new start for him. He lived in a small town and he was sure that the whole town knew about the affair. He was never one for gossip, and he definitely didn't like being the subject of gossip. He found it childish.

"I appreciate the offer, but may I have some time to think about this?" Hansen replied respectfully.

Oscar nodded and replied, "Of course."

Jim stood up and said, "Okay, Pops. We're going to head out. I'm going to give this guy another tour of the island. Show him what else he missed."

Oscar chuckled and stood up. He shook Hansen's hand and both men said goodbye to the chief as they walked out the door and the police station. Hansen was definitely going to think over the job offer. This would be a new start in life. He'd think it over tonight and let Oscar know his decision by tomorrow. 

 

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