The temperature on this beautiful mid-summer Hawaiian morning was already on the warm side and the day threatened to be unusually hot and humid. Only a few other early morning risers dotted the beach. And, as usual, Steve McGarrett was one of the first people out.

His attire was appropriate for warm a morning jog. Dressed in lightweight pale blue shorts and pull over shirt and a white sun visor, which shaded his blue eyes and kept the thick dark brown hair out of his face. The occasional splash through the waves proved to be no problem as it helped to make the morning run cooler. Nor did it matter to him if the water caused his tennis shoes to squeak some as he ran. His tanned legs, arms and face were proof that he spent a considerable amount of time outside. He didn't consider himself a fitness nut but he did like to jog every morning, which helped kept his 6’2" body in good shape.

This habit had been maintained ever since his arrival to the Hawaiian Islands in 1959. He also changed his routes as often as he could for security reasons. This practice continued even now after his retirement from the State’s Police unit, Hawaii Five-0. The only modification he had made was that he no longer needed to keep an eye out for bad guys or potential assassins behind each tree.

The path he had chosen this morning was on the soft sand of the beach route, which was one of his favorites. It included a long jog on Kaiona Beach and ended at a path that led to the back of his beach home. The house was somewhat secluded from the beach and from his closest neighbor by a row of palm trees. He bought the home from Doctor Bergman, who was his good friend and medical doctor. He had known the doctor ever since he had been with Five-0, who even after retirement, still saw to the health needs of the remaining original Five-0 unit.

As McGarrett neared the end of his run, he headed for his back porch. His neighbor, Ray Swan - a retired college professor, waved to him as he approached his home. When he saw his neighbor, he left the path and went over to greet him. The men had been neighbors for nearly fifteen years. But it wasn't until he had retired that the two men finally got to know each other better. At a palm tree he stopped and took a moment to catch his breath. "Morning, Ray," he said.

Ray Swan had very sparse gray hair, brilliant green eyes and was almost as tall as McGarrett. Like his neighbor, he strove to keep his body in shape as best he could. Frequently, McGarrett and he would golf together at one of the local golf courses. And like McGarrett, he took great pride in his home and garden. "Good morning, Steve," Swan said as he set aside the broom he had in his hands and stepped down from his porch to greet the former Five-0 Chief. "Out for your morning run I see."

"Yeah," McGarrett replied as he bent down to tighten a shoelace on his running shoes. "It's cooler now then if I waited until later. Also, the beach is not so crowded, I won't have to go around the sunbathers."

Swan laughed at the thought of the sunbathers being obstacles. "The beach does get crowded this time of year, that's for sure. Have you heard from Mr. Williams lately?" he asked. "You told me he has retired from teaching on the East Coast. I hope that means he's decided to return to the Islands. I know how much you’ve missed him."

"Yes, I have," McGarrett said with a chuckle as he straightened back up. "I talked with him last night. He's figured ten years of teaching psychology was enough. I'm hoping he'll decide to move back here for good. This is his home state you know," McGarrett told his neighbor. "I also know Deana can hardly wait for him to get here."

"I can imagine she is," Swan said with a grin. "How much longer will he be on the mainland?"

"Danno is arriving tomorrow morning," McGarrett said with a smile.

"Well, when he arrives, please tell him I said 'Welcome Home'," Swan said as he remembered how he had first met the former second-in-command. McGarrett had given a luau for Danno's daughter, Deana, when she was accepted to head the Forensics Lab for the State of Hawaii.

"I will Ray. I best get going as I've got a lot to do yet. I need to get Danno's room ready for him before he arrives," McGarrett said as he turned to leave and continued down the path to his home. "Have a good day."

"Okay Steve. Let me know if there is anything I can do to help," Swan called out as he watched his neighbor leave.

"I will. Aloha," McGarrett replied as he waved to his neighbor before he walked up the steps to his deck.

Once inside, McGarrett went to the front door to get his paper, but it wasn't there. He stepped out onto the porch and looked around the large plumeria bush located next to the door. The plant had grown so large it had taken over that side of the porch. It was nearly five feet tall and wide enough to catch the screen door if it were opened all the way, and maybe rip the screen material. It could easily hide the newspaper. When he didn’t find it there, he scanned the flowerbeds on the other side of the porch. Frustrated, he stood there with his hands on his hips before he went to check the driveway. As he approached the street, he saw it. "Darn that kid," he said to himself. As he scooped up the paper, he made a mental note to call the boy’s parents again, about his paper not being left at his door.

Out of habit, he looked up and down the street and around the neighborhood before he started back to the house. He noticed the same dark blue car was parked up the road from his home again with four men in it. He couldn’t tell who the men were in the car as they were too far away for identification. But he knew he had seen the same car parked there in the last few days. ‘Probably there to pick someone up,’ he though as he watched the car pull away from the curb and leave the neighborhood. Just before he entered his house, he stopped and looked at the plumeria bush again. ‘I need to get this bush trimmed back some. It's gotten too large for this area,’ he casually thought to himself.

Refreshed from his after-run shower, McGarrett put on a pair of shorts and one of his colorful Hawaiian shirts he liked so well. Once his breakfast was prepared, he tucked the paper under his left arm and carried his meal and coffee out to the back porch to enjoy. After he had finished his meal, he sipped on his coffee as he lingered over the paper. At hadn’t been many years ago when his first cup of coffee would have been at his office. Now retired, he could relax as he read the paper instead of poring over police reports with his morning coffee. His schedule he had kept with Five-0 had never allowed him this luxury before.

While in the midst of reading the latest editorial by the press on his former agency, McGarrett heard a knock at the front door. He quickly finished his glass of pineapple juice and the last few lines of the narrative before he set the paper down and went to answer the door. As he walked through the house, he smiled to himself at the thought that it was no longer him who was in the crosshairs of the press. He had been pleased with the way Mike Lukela, his replacement choice, had handled the agency since his retirement. After nearly twenty-one years of being the State's 'top cop', he somewhat missed the verbal clashes he had with the media.

When he arrived at the door, he first peered through the peephole but didn't see anyone there. ‘What's going on here?’ he thought curiously as he opened the door and stepped out onto the porch. He scanned his yard yet he still didn't see anyone. He placed his hands on his hips and sighed, perhaps it was one of the neighbor kids. They've been known to play knock and run, especially when it was around Halloween. He took another step past the door to make one last look around to make sure there was no one there before he went back inside the house.

Hidden from his view were two Chinese men, who watched him with deliberate intent from behind the large plumeria bush. Silently they waited for McGarrett to step further out of his house. Between them, they held a large nylon net, ready to spring into action when the opportunity presented itself. They watched him as he scanned the yard once more for whomever it was that had knocked on his door. Just as he turned his back to go back inside the house, the two men quickly rushed the former head of Five-0. Quickly they threw their net over him and worked to entangle it around his body.

McGarrett turned his head when he heard a strange noise behind him. At the same instant, he got a face full of nylon rope. "What the hell!" he yelled, as he tried unsuccessfully to block the impact of the rope on his face. He struggled fiercely as the two men worked quickly to wrap the net around him. They tried to pull his arms behind his back so they could tie them with the rope.

‘They must not succeed,’ McGarrett said to himself as he successfully broke their grip. His wrists, rubbed raw from his efforts, began to bleed from the rough texture of the rope as the men struggled to bind them. His mind worked quickly as he tried to escape from his attackers. With his hands almost tied, what he had left to fight with was his head. So he used it and his shoulders to push one of the men away. This worked but not for very long, for he was only able to take a few steps before the men surrounded him again and started to push him to the ground.

Oblivious of the flower garden, McGarrett and his attackers repeatedly stepped on the plants as the struggle continued. Soon exhaustion overcame the former Five-O Chief and he was finally forced to the ground. Once down, the men were able to pull his arms behind his back and his wrists were finally tied together.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a dark blue car quickly back into his driveway while a third man bolted from the vehicle as it roared to a stop. "Damn it! Who are you? What do you want?" he yelled angrily at his captors.

The man who McGarrett pushed away ignored the question. But when he noticed that the former Five-O Chief had gotten a good look at the three of them, he brought out his gun from his pocket and hit McGarrett over the head with it.

Stunned by the blow McGarrett's struggles subsided and his vision began to blur as his world began to fade to black. His stunned condition allowed his attackers to tie his legs together with the rope.

Once their victim was secured, they pulled a canvas sack over his head and roughly tied it off at his shoulders. While his partners held the former Five-O chief down, the third man reached into his coat pocket and withdrew a syringe. Quickly and carelessly he uncapped the syringe and slapped his forearm to find a vein. When he found one, he inserted the needle and plunged the immobilizing drug into his bloodstream. It didn't take very long for the drug to take its desired effect and their captive's struggles ceased entirely.

Quickly they carried their unconscious captive to their waiting car. The third man had gone ahead and opened the trunk. The two men struggled as they lifted and placed McGarrett’s body into the cavernous space. All during the attack, a fourth man had remained behind the wheel. No one spoke as they worked. They quickly looked around to see if they might have left anything behind. When they saw nothing, they believed they were in the clear. But unknown to them, the cap of the syringe had fallen to the ground into what was left of McGarrett's flower garden.

The trunk lid was slammed shut and the three men quickly got into the car. The driver stomped on the accelerator. Moist dirt spewed from behind the car as it sped off. The tires squealed as they made contact with the asphalt, and the car skidded until the rubber gripped the surface of the pavement and raced down the road.

Their exit didn’t go unnoticed for McGarrett's neighbor, Ray Swan, who had heard the disturbance. He rushed from his home just in time to see two men place his body into the trunk of their car. He stopped when he came to the plumeria bushes, which separated the yards. From that vantage point, he continued to watch them as they got into their car and quickly drive away. As the car drove off, he ran into the yard to get closer look at the vehicle. The only thought he had was to get the license number of the vehicle, and to call the police to report this apparent kidnapping of the former Five-0 Chief.

*****

Hawaii Five-0, Hawaii's State Police Unit had been on the top floor of the Iolani Palace ever since its inception in 1959, where it had been headed by Steve McGarrett, a no-nonsense man and at times, and a hard taskmaster. In the mid 1970’s the Palace was to undergo renovations and the unit was temporarily moved next door to the Queen’s Residence. It was then when Governor Jamison decided a new Territorial Building was needed which would house all of the State government offices.

Steve McGarrett and Duke Lukela had been the last of the original a team to retire some ten years earlier, and had done so within months of each other. Before his retirement, McGarrett had indicated to the present Governor, Paul Hayward, that HPD Detective Michael Steven Lukela would be an excellent choice to step in and take his place as head of the State Police Unit.

Michael was the son of Duke Lukela, a former detective for the agency. He was at the top in his graduating class from the University of Hawaii with degrees in Criminal Law and Psychology. Like his father had done so many years before; he had worked his way through the ranks of HPD to become a highly respected officer. When Governor Hayward offered him the job to head the specialized unit, he felt honored at being selected for such an important position. He was also especially humbled to learn that McGarrett had personally recommended him.

The Governor had allowed Mike to select his own team members and office staff. He took his time to make his selections and frequently sought out the advice and opinions from both McGarrett and his father. It had taken him about a year to make the final selections for his unit.

Mike didn't change the layout of his office and left it very much from the way McGarrett had it. The furniture was almost the same style with the exception of his desk, which had been a gift from his father for his tenth year with the unit. The new leather chair still squeaked as he leaned back to read the final paperwork on a case they had just finished. His thoughts were interrupted when his phone rang. He sat up and placed the file down on the desk before he reached across the desk to pick up the phone. "Yes, Tilda?" he said into the handset.

Tilda Kelly looked a lot like her father, the late Chin Ho Kelly - a former Five-0 detective, especially when she smiled. Very petite and the smallest of the Kelly girls, she had her father’s facial features but there was a very feminine touch to it. A graduate of the University of Hawaii, she brought to the agency a degree in Criminal Law. Lukela hired her to be his secretary and in charge of the office clerical staff. "Mike," she said, "I've got Steve McGarrett's neighbor, Ray Swan, on the line."

"Oh? Did he say what he wants?" Mike asked curiously. He knew Ray Swan had been McGarrett’s neighbor for several years.

"HPD dispatch transferred his call to us," Tilda replied, as her voice became tense. "He's saying Steve McGarrett has been kidnapped."

"What?" Mike uttered in disbelief. ‘How could anyone possibly kidnap McGarrett?’ he thought. He couldn’t believe what he heard. "Put him on Tilda." After he heard the click that indicated the call had been transferred, he began. "Hello Mr. Swan. What's this about McGarrett being kidnapped?"

"Hello Mr. Lukela, I just saw three men kidnap Steve McGarrett," Swan said as calmly as he could but couldn't hide the fact that he was worried about what he had just seen happen to his friend and neighbor. "They attacked him and put him in the trunk of their car and drove away."

"Mr. Swan," Mike began as his interest piqued. It never crossed his mind that this call could be a hoax, "I’m going to send my detectives out to take your report. You tell them everything you saw. Okay?" Swan agreed and Mike hung up the phone. He paused briefly as he digested the information. He still couldn’t believe it. ‘McGarrett kidnapped!’

Mike's stomach tightened as he reached for his new radio cellular phone, which the unit had just received the previous week. In all the years he had been head of this agency, this was the last case he thought he would have to send his detectives out to investigate. He pushed the side buttons to dial the pre-programmed numbers. When he had activated all four numbers, he pushed the radio button. "Suzie! Ben! Frankie! JJ! Get over to Steve McGarrett’s house right away. Talk to his neighbor, Ray Swan. He says that Steve McGarrett has just been kidnapped. This is a priority one!" he told his team.

*****

Shortly after Mike had put the call out for the team to report to McGarrett's home, Suzie Kelly’s brown Mercury pulled up in front of Swan's home. She had known the professor ever since he had bought the house next door to the former Five-O chief. As she parked her car, she saw Swan in his yard as he waited for the police to arrive. She could see how nervous he was as she walked over to him.

Suzie was one of the middle and the tallest of the five daughters of the late Chine Ho Kelly. It had been a very difficult time emotionally for the Kelly family and the rest of the Five-0 unit after Chin's death. She had been actively involved in the search for her father’s killer, and her actions and courage during the investigation into her father’s death had earned her McGarrett’s respect. After the funeral, both Dan and he did their best to help her family. Dan was the one who encouraged her to finish school and her efforts earned her a scholarship to the University of Honolulu, where she majored in law. Her first four years in law enforcement had been spent as a detective with HPD. Mike liked her dedication and asked her to join the Five-0 unit.

"Hi Mr. Swan," Suzie said with a smile as she approached him. She was glad to see the professor, but couldn't chase from her mind the reason why she was there.

"Suzie!" Swan exclaimed, surprised to see the young woman. "Boy am I glad to see you. How have you been?"

"I’m doing fine Mr. Swan," Suzie replied as she pulled out her notebook and pen. "In your conversation with Mike Lukela, you said that you had witnessed Steve McGarrett's kidnapping. Take your time, tell me what happened, and try to remember all the details you can. Okay?"

"I'll try Susie," Swan answered as he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Steve had just come back from his morning run on the beach. I was on my porch," he said as he pointed to his porch, which faced the beach and part of McGarrett's house, "cleaning it up when I saw him coming up the beach path. I waved to him. He came over and we chatted for a moment."

"What time was this?" Suzie asked as she jotted down her notes.

"That was about seven this morning," Swan replied. "We talked for a few minutes about when Mr. Williams would be returning before he continued on to his house. I finished cleaning my porch and had gone back inside myself. But I left my sliding glass door open so I could get some fresh air." The retired professor paused for a moment before he continued.

"It was about an hour later, eight thirty or so, when I heard some noise coming from his house. So I stepped out to check what it was. That’s when I saw two men putting Steve’s body into the trunk. There was some sort of bag over his head and ropes around his body and legs," Swan told her.

As Suzie listened to Swan's report and wrote in her notebook, Tim Takai and his crime lab team drove up in their van. Takai had been in charge of the Five-0 crime lab for the last eleven years.

Deana Williams was with them. For the last three years, she had headed the forensic department and the two teams worked closely together on many previous cases for Five-0. She had blue eyes and the same curly hair like her father, Danny Williams - the former second-in-command of Five-0 when Steve McGarrett was in charge, but it was reddish-brown and hung down to the middle of her back.

Also to respond to the call was Senior HPD Officer Sandy Wells-O’Briann, a twenty-five veteran with HPD. Now slightly gray-haired, she had previously worked several times with McGarrett and had assisted on several cases with Five-0 and the crime lab. She was accompanied by Officer Benjamin Kokua, Jr., who was tall and strikingly handsome like his father, Ben Kokua – another retired Five-0 detective.

Jeremy Kalakaua and Frankie Kokua, two more of the Five-0 detectives, arrived within minutes of the others. Jasper Loi, the fourth and final member of the unit, had yet to arrive.

Jeremy was a large man, just like his father Kono Kalakaua - a former Five-0 detective. He had inherited his father’s round face, which was set off by his dark eyes and infectious smile and topped off by his good nature. His father had been the Big Island Police Chief for the past twenty-seven years. He first served in the Air Force as an MP, after which he spent two years with the Maui Police Department before being recruited to Five-0.

Frankie was the daughter of Ben Kokua and sister to Ben, Jr. A high school classmate with Mike, he frequently would help her overcome her feelings of restlessness, which could have gotten her into trouble with the law. Studying never came easy for her and she had to struggle in school to get good grades. But the efforts allowed her to graduate in the top of her class in college. Her greatest accomplishment was when she qualified for the Olympics in Karate. It didn't matter that her short stature made her one of the smallest women to ever compete. At five foot three, she could hold her own against her taller opponents. Most criminals gravely misjudged the Five-0 detective, for her long black hair, dark eyes and delicate feminine features belied her abilities to match the worse they could throw at her.

Before long, the street began to fill with cars which belonged to the Five-O detectives and the blue and white HPD cruisers which lined the two-lane road. HPD had their hands full after they had taped off the street off to prevent lookie-lou's, the ever present press and traffic congestion. Their job was to prevent anyone not directly involved with the case from entering the area and possibly destroying any evidence.

As the investigative teams got out of their vehicles they saw their colleague, Suzie, talking with an older man on the other side of the yard. This man must be their witness they surmised as they joined her to listen to the man's report of the kidnapping. With their ever-present notebooks out they took their own notes silently for they didn’t want to interrupt the man and cause him to forget an item or place it out of sequence.

When Swan finished and Suzie completed her notes she asked. "Do you remember the make of the car?"

"Yes," Swan replied assuredly. "It was a dark blue late model Monte Carlo. I also was able to get the license plate number."

"You did?" Suzie said with great interest. ‘A lead in the case already,’ she thought to herself.

Swan reached into his shirt pocket and withdrew the piece of paper he had written the license number on and handed it to Suzie. She took a moment to copy the number into her notebook before she passed the paper on to her colleagues. "I wrote it down as soon as I got back inside and then called HPD," he told her. "That's when my call was transferred to Five-0. I spoke to Mr. Lukela and informed him of what I saw. And he told me he would sent some detectives out right away."

"Yes, Mike called us on our cellular phones and had us get here to start the investigation," Suzie said as she gestured to her colleagues and introduced them to Swan. "This is Jeremy Kalakaua and Frankie Kokua, also with Five-0. This is Mr. Swan, our witness to the kidnapping." When she finished with the introductions, she glanced over at the packed street to see if Jasper’s car was there. "It doesn’t look like our fourth team member is here yet."

"I'll get an APB out on this right now," Frankie offered as she closed her notebook and started to step away from the group.

"Thanks Frankie," Suzie replied. "I see the crime lab has just arrived. Can you work with them when you’re done? Start with them going over the scene."

"Sure Suzie," Frankie replied. As she walked over to the crime lab van, she brought out her cellular phone and spoke into it. "Dispatch, this is Frankie Kokua. I need owner information and an APB on a dark blue late model Monte Carlo, license number H - T - E three - two - nine, repeat ‘Howard Thomas Edward three - two - nine. It's wanted in connection with the kidnapping of Steve McGarrett. If found, do not, I repeat, ‘do not’ stop them but follow them and report their location back to Five-0."

"Ten-four," replied the dispatcher.

It didn’t take long before the dispatcher called Frankie back with the information on the car's ownership. With the information in hand, she walked back over to Suzie. "It’s registered to National Rent A Car and we’ll need to send someone to the agency directly to get the name of the person who rented the car," she informed her.

"Figures," Suzie replied as she took down the information in her notebook, 'a rental'. "Have HPD send a unit over there immediately to get that information. It’s most likely going be a dead end, but we need to follow up on every lead," she added as she turned her attention back to Swan. "Mike should be here shortly," she said just as the sound of a familiar engine made her turn her heard to see a black Mercury come to a stop next to her car. "If fact, he’s here now."

The other men’s faces paled when they saw their colleague collapse at their feet and at the cold-blooded attitude of their leader.

"Now do you believe me?" she asked. "Or do any of you need another demonstration of who is in control here?"

Thee men quickly bowed before they ran back to help seal the container and prepare it to be moved to its final location.

McGarrett had heard the echoing report of a gun when it was fired. A deathly silence immediately followed the report. Once more, he heard the woman's voice just before he heard muffled thwacks as nails were hammered into the lid.

The woman watched them intently for several moments to make sure her point had been well taken. When she was assured her point had been received; she looked down at the corpse of her former employee one last time with disgust. She purposely stepped on it as she walked over to the container.

She watched as the lid was lifted onto the container. One by one, the nails were pounded into the lid. When the last nail was secured, one of the men climbed into the seat of a nearby forklift and started the motor. Skillfully, he steered it over to their container and carefully scooped it up to move it against the wall near the big doors of the warehouse. In the opposite corner of the warehouse there was a stack of similar-looking containers. He took each one and moved them next to the one that held their hostage. Soon their special container was deeply buried.

'What was going on?' McGarrett asked himself as he heard the sound of a motor as it was started. The container began to move as it was lifted and placed in its new location. As he lay in the box he listened as the engine came and went several times. The container would shake when the engine would return with its load. When the engine was shut off the muffled voices returned. 'Where are they taking me?' he wondered. He tried to listen to the woman's voice but couldn't hear well enough to understand what she said.

The woman stood and admired her accomplishment as the crates were placed on and around the container which held McGarrett. "Be sure to leave the air holes open," she instructed as the containers were stacked. She turned to two of the men who had accompanied Tong on the kidnap itself. "Kim Lu Yang, you and Quon Lee remove that pile of dung and dispose of it in the hills where no one will find it." and pointed to the body of Tong on the floor. Without hesitation the men bowed low to the woman and quickly left to do her biding. "Leave me now," she told the remaining men. "I will join you shortly." The men quickly departed the building and left her alone.

Soon McGarrett heard footsteps again but this time they grew closer. Now he could heard the woman's voice clearly as she called him by name.

"Mr. McGarrett," she said as she addressed her victim. "You do not know who I am, so I will introduce myself to you. I am Song Tai Wo, the youngest daughter of my family. You knew my father very well and you were the cause of his death. In the tradition of my country," she went on as her voice became filled with anger, "vengeance demands a death for a death. So you will suffer the same death as my father. In case you haven't yet figured out who my father was, I will tell you. My father was Wo Fat." She burst out in laughter as she turned and left.

*****

McGarrett listened to the woman but didn't respond. But in his mind, he couldn’t believe what he just heard. ‘Wo Fat,’ he sighed. The warden at the prison told him three years ago that his old nemesis had died. At the time he didn’t know if he should be happy or sad, for Wo Fat had been a worthy adversary. Now, years after his death, the man still taunted him. But this time it was through his daughter. All those years of cat and mouse games he played with the Chinese agent, and the game was not over yet. He knew Chinese tradition demanded revenge, but it never occurred to him that one day it would knock on his door. The woman's laughter faded along with her footsteps as she left him alone.

When McGarrett’s head had cleared more, he again tried to free his hands. As he worked to loosen his bindings, his skin, which had already been rubbed raw from when he was first jumped, was torn again. After what seemed like hours and aided by his own blood and sweat, he finally felt the ropes start to loosen. Although the pain was severe, he tried to ignore it as he was encouraged by his progress. He continued to work the bindings until at last, the knot had loosened enough for him to slip one hand free.

With his hands free, he wiggled out of the net, pulled the bag off of his head and proceeded to untie his feet. Although the light was dim, he was able to see the interior of the wooden box. It was just tall enough for him to sit up and barely wide enough for his shoulders and long enough to allow him to lie down flat. The wood was indeed unfinished and each time he moved he would be jabbed by its rough surface. There were three small holes drilled at one end of the box, which allowed a small amount light into the box. 'I guess Wo Fat's daughter want me to stay alive,' he thought as he continued to examine his surroundings, ‘but for what purpose?’ But the answer eluded him. ‘At least they had made the holes so I can get some air.’

Pushing the thought from his mind, his turned his attention to the wooden box and how to escape from it. Carefully he eased himself over to one of the air holes and peered out, but all he could see was other containers, which had been stacked around the one he was in. After he tried to lift the lid and it wouldn't budge, he realized he wouldn’t be able to kick his way out. A slight depression came over him as he realized he would have to wait for help to come to him.

McGarrett sat back with a sigh as he thought of his options. He also realized no one knew where he was. It wasn't like before when he was on the force, when he would have left word as to where he would be. If he became overdue before, he was always assured that help would be on the way. He sighed again at this thought as he carefully repositioned himself against one of the walls of the box. The continued assault by the rough wood to his bare skin had made him flinch as he leaned back. To avoid further torture by the splinters he took the cloth bag, ripped it open and placed it between him and the wood.

There was one other time he had such a feeling of helplessness but he tried not to think about it. Like then, he had no choice but to make the best of what he had. It would be only a matter of time before someone would start to miss him and would begin to look for him. Which left just one question unanswered, how long would he have to wait?

*****

It was late afternoon by the time Suzie brought Ray Swan downtown so he could make his official statement on what he had seen. She stayed with him until he was done. Afterward she asked if an HPD officer take him home with instructions to stay with him until his relief arrived the following morning. With that done, she waved goodbye to the professor before she went into Mike's office. There she found Frankie and Jeremy, but Jasper still hadn't arrived.

Mike greeted Suzie as she entered the office and took a seat. He filled her in on what they had found so far before he continued with the meeting. "What about McGarrett's other neighbors? Did they see or hear anything else that will help us?" he asked of his team. Although he had their written reports in front of him, he still wanted to hear it directly from his detectives. Although their reports were supposed to be complete, there was always the possibility something might have been left out. He had them recount back to him verbally on what they had found in their investigation. This way, they might think of something that wasn't in their written report.

Frankie was the first to answer. "It doesn't look like it. We questioned all the neighbors who were home. No one seems to have heard or seen anything."

After a brief pause Suzie added, "We do have a problem though Mike."

"And what is that Suzie?" Mike replied. He liked how she took the incentive to be the lead detective and that the others willingly followed her lead.

"Mr. Swan remembered before he left that Steve was supposed to pick Danny up tomorrow morning at the airport. Steve had mentioned that to him this morning. We'll need to send someone to pick him up."

"Suzie, do you think you would be able to do that?" Mike asked.

"I could," Suzie replied, "but first I have to check in with the professor's security and make sure everything is all right in the morning."

Mike smirked as he looked at her and remembered he had assigned her that duty. "We’ll need to have someone pick him up and arrange a place for him to stay, since he won’t be able stay at McGarrett’s."

"Dan can stay with me if he wants," Suzie offered. "I don't have much room but I wouldn't mind putting him up." Although her place was small, she doubted that he would not spend too much time there anyhow. She knew too well that he would want to spend most of his time with them as they worked the case. "How about if we called your dad? Maybe he can pick him. He knows Dan very well and would know how to break the news to him."

"We could ask him. I'm sure Dad wouldn't mind picking him up," Mike said as he started to reach for his phone.

"Hold on Mike," Suzie cut in. "I need to get something in my office, and I can call him for you." She needed an excuse to leave for a moment because she wanted to talk to Duke herself. She knew Mike would fill his father in later on what was going on. Mike continued with the meeting as she quickly slipped out and went to her cubicle.

It was a well-known fact that Suzie had had a crush on Dan Williams when she was a young girl. Very much aware of her feelings toward him, Dan played along as if he didn't know how she felt. He tried not to encourage or tarnish her feelings, but at the same time, he tried to steer her towards someone her own age. His tactics worked for as she grew up her feelings towards him grew into one of admiration.

*****

Duke and his wife, Deloris, always enjoyed their evening snack on their lanai and tonight was no different. Even after forty years of marriage, they were still very much in love. Their two grown sons and daughter had blessed them with seven grandkids, which they spoiled on a regular basis.

Over the years, their children had considered Dan and Steve their adopted uncles. McGarrett had known Duke ever since Korea and was very honored when the Lukela's had asked him if they could use his name for the middle name of their first born son. From day one, Michael Steven Lukela had been a special interest of his. When his job allowed, he tried to give as much attention to the boy as he could as the boy grew up. He felt very proud and very honored when Mike had asked him for his opinion of which classes to take in college to become an officer.

Duke’s left arm was draped around his wife’s shoulder as they sat in the double hanging swing chair he recently installed on the lanai. The quiet of their Hawaiian evening was interrupted though when the phone rang. Both turned their heads towards the sound of the unwanted intrusion.

"I’ll get it Duke," Deloris told her husband, who was about to get up, as she stood and went inside the house to answer the phone in the living room. She loved to wait upon her husband and always tried to do these simple things so not to disturb him. Many times she remembered when he would come home from a long case so exhausted he could barely make it to bed. She never let him know just how it bothered her though or how she worried that some day he might not come back home.

"Hello," she said pleasantly into the receiver.

"Mrs. Lukela, this is Suzie Kelly. Could I talk to Duke please?" Suzie said as she tried to control the anxiousness in her voice.

"Oh hi Suzie. Sure, hold on," Deloris answered as she carried the portable phone out onto the lanai and handed it to her husband. "Duke, its Suzie Kelly. She wants to talk to you."

Duke looked up at his wife curiously before he took the phone from her. "Hi Suzie. I hope my son isn’t working you this late tonight," he said teasingly as he remembered all to well how he had to sometimes work late into the night when he was on a case.

Suzie hesitated before she began, "As a matter of fact, I am working late tonight. We all are. Mike has asked me to call you to see if you’d be willing to pick Dan up at the airport tomorrow morning."

"Ah, sure," Duke replied, as his old cop instinct surfaced. ‘Steve told me that he would be picking Dan up. Has something happened to him?’ he thought. "But I thought Steve was going to do that?" Duke said as he looked up at his wife again with the beginnings of a worried look on his face.

Suzie paused before she continued. "Mike hasn’t talked to you yet then as to what has happened?" she inquired as she tried to think of a way to break the bad news to him.

"No," Duke replied in a worried voice. "What’s going on Suzie? Has something happened to Steve?" he asked while he planted both feet firmly on the lanai as he sat up in the swing expectantly. When Deloris saw the worry and concern on his face, she began to worry too.

Suzie mustered her strength and didn't hesitate this time before she answered his question. "Duke, there is no easy way to tell you this but…Steve was kidnapped early this morning."

Duke looked up at his wife when Susie finished her statement. The expression on his face told the whole story. "What? What do you mean kidnapped?" he asked as he got up out of the swing.

"Who’s been kidnapped, Duke?" Deloris asked with concern as she interrupted for a moment.

Duke placed his hand over the mouthpiece as he looked at her. "Steve’s been kidnapped," he said as he removed his hand from the phone and placed it around her waist.

"Oh my God!" she gasped as she clung on to her husband. Since all the detectives considered each other part of their ohana family, they dreaded the time their families would receive this type of call.

"I can’t go into all the details right now." Suzie said as she continued, "But, Steve’s neighbor, Ray Swan, saw three men overpower him and dump him in the trunk of a car and take off. Mike asked me to pick Dan up tomorrow morning, but I can’t. I’m needed here. I asked Mike if he thought you wouldn’t mind doing that." Her emotions were about to break through as she struggled to control her voice.

"Sure I can pick him up, no problem." Duke answered without hesitation. "Hold on let me get something to write with. Do you know which airline and the time?" As he looked to his wife. "Deloris, get me a pad and pen. I need to write down the information." He walked over to on one of his lanai chairs situated near a table and sat down while she went inside the house.

She returned a moment later with a pen and some paper and handed them to her husband. She sat down next to him and placed her hand on his arm. One of the fears she always had while Duke was on the force, was the fear that he would be kidnapped, injured or worse, killed.

"Okay, I’m ready. Which airline is Dan on and when does it arrive?" he asked. It felt very natural to him as he wrote down the information with one hand while he held the phone with the other.

"I called the airlines and found out he’s arriving on United 201 at 9:15 AM tomorrow." Suzie told him. Her voice was audibly on edge as she gave him the information. "Duke, I know he was going to stay at Steve’s while he was here, but with what’s happened…"

"Yeah…he can stay with us if he wants," Duke offered as he looked at his wife and got a teary nod of agreement from her.

"Or he can stay at my place," Suzie said. "I don’t have a lot of room but he’s welcome to what I have,"

"Let’s leave it up to Dan, Suzie." Duke said. "He’ll probably need a rental car too. You can’t be driving him around and working on this case at the same time." The cop in him started to come out as he tried to think of all the different angles to the case.

"Yeah," Suzie said, her voice was filled with emotion. She almost choked from the tears that started to fill her eyes as she tightly gripped the handset. "Don’t worry Duke, Mike’s got all the Islands alerted, along with the Coast Guard, the military and the FBI. We’ll find him and soon."

Duke gave his wife a sympathetic look as he put the pen down to gave her hand a squeeze before he spoke. "Yeah, let’s hope real soon. Let me know if there's anything else I can do. And Suzie…please keep me posted."

"Sure Duke," Suzie told him. Her hand trembled as she hung up the phone. She sat back in her chair and sought to control the anguish and fear that began to build inside her. After a few moments she felt better and had more control of herself. With a sigh she returned to the meeting.

After Duke turned the phone off, they hugged each other for a moment. Deloris placed her head against her husband's chest and softly cried. She had known Steve McGarrett for a long time and feared what might've happened to him.

"It’ll be okay Honey." Duke said reassuringly as he comforted his wife. "Mike’s on the case. And he had the world’s best teacher for this kind of work, so try not to worry," and held her tightly.

She let out a small sob and hiccupped as she looked at her husband and smiled weakly and repeated. "Yeah, the world’s best."