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A Man Called McGarrett

Day 2

McGarrett was relieved when the lingering effects of the drug that was used on him faded away. His headache finally eased and his eyes slowly adjusted to the semi-darkness of his prison. A small amount of light penetrated the container through the air holes. This only happened when the warehouse lights were on or when the big metal doors were open during the day. The confinement and low lighting reminded him of the time he spent as a prisoner of war in Korea. The memories were not pleasant ones then either. It was one of the few times that he felt his claustrophobia, and he didn't like that feeling at all.

It was hard to believe that Song was who she said she was. Not that he would think she would lie to him after all the effort put into this plan of hers, but he knew Red China. Years ago it wasn't allowed for families to have more then one child. From what he knew of WoFat’s family, his only known daughter had been killed in a very bloody and violent revolution within in his country.

As McGarrett sat uncomfortably within his wooden prison his thoughts turned to his old antagonist. ‘With WoFat’s position in his country and all his money, I'm sure that old fox either found a way get around the limit or bought the privilege from some official to have more than one child. If that were the case, he thought to himself as he reminisced about the past, it would explain how this woman could claim to be his daughter.

Being one not to sit still for very long, he had to do something to get his mind off his mounting claustrophobia. He decided to check the container for weak spots. In one corner, he found a nail that protruded from the wood. 'This perhaps could be a weak spot,' he thought as he tried to lift the container lid by pushing on it with his hands. The lid didn't budge. He tried again; this time he used his back and shoulder from a kneeling position. After several attempts to lift the lid, it still didn’t move. "There must be another container top of it," he said aloud to himself as he carefully sat back to consider what other options there might be.

The lights went out and plunged the container’s interior and McGarrett into an inky blackness. "Damn," he said to himself. "Apparently they are closing up the warehouse for the day." His suspicions were confirmed when he heard what sounded like a big metal door scrape and squeak for a minute then stop. "That noise sounds like a big metal door being closed," he thought. "So this container must be near one," he said hopefully. "That will make it easier for someone to find me." With that in mind, he made himself as comfortable as he could because he knew he would be here for a while.

The darkness increased McGarrett’s trapped feeling, so he tried to keep his mind occupied. He could still vividly remember the day when he finally captured WoFat. He thought about the years his seemingly unbeatable rival spent in prison until his death. He had a special arrangement with the prison to be kept apprised of the man’s activities over the years. The day the phone call came with the news that his old antagonist died while in solitary confinement was a somber one. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy or sad.

The next morning Deloris Lukela woke up before the alarm sounded. She didn’t want to disturb her husband so she quickly and quietly showered and dressed. Shortly after she walked into the kitchen, she heard the shower come on, which meant her husband was awake. Under normal circumstances, she would hear his beautiful voice singing as he showered and dressed for the day. But the events of the previous day had stilled his voice and caused her to be extra quiet herself that morning as she prepared their breakfast.

When the water stopped from the shower, she poured their favorite black Kona coffee into her husband’s favorite mug and walked to the bathroom. She leaned against the doorframe, and didn’t say anything as she stood there. A smile grew on her face as she admired the sight before her. His hard muscular body still dripped with water as he pushed back the shower curtain and stepped out of the stall.

The corners of Duke’s eyes sparkled as he smiled when he looked over and saw his wife at the door. He accepted the mug from her and took a sip of the rich, dark hot beverage. "Thanks Honey," he told her and gave her a kiss.

"My pleasure," Deloris replied as a smile of appreciation clearly showed in her eyes. She let out a sigh of satisfaction as she reached over to the rack and handed him a towel. "Your breakfast is ready whenever you are," she told him as she gazed with pleasure upon his hard firm nakedness. From the very first day of their marriage, she had brought him his first cup of coffee right after he had showered.

Duke set the mug down on the tiled counter and wrapped his still wet arms around his wife. From the first day he met her at the church bazaar to the time he saw her as she stood there with his towel his love for her knew no bounds. Whenever he held her close like this, her scent still passionately aroused him and made him wish he could take her back to bed.

"Ah hum, Duke," Deloris muttered as she sought to control her own urges as she gently loosened herself from his sensuous embrace. "You know very well I’d love nothing more then to play around a little more too but you've got something important to do this morning. Remember?"

"Oh, yeah," Duke replied disappointed at being reminded of the task he must attend to that morning. "I'll be ready in a few minutes," he said as he took the towel from her and started to dry himself off. ‘Thank you God for blessing me when you created her,’ he mentioned in his little prayer of thanks while he watched his wife head down the hall to the kitchen beyond. Once he was dressed, he walked into the kitchen to find his breakfast ready as she had promised. And the two of them ate in silence.

When they had finished, Duke went into their living room, sat down in his chair, and dialed Mike's office. He checked his watch and knew the hour was still early for phone calls. He also knew that his son had a habit of staying at the office over night when he was on a hot case.

After four rings a very tired and stressed voice answered the phone. "Lukela," Mike growled. It had only been an hour since he laid down on the couch to grab some sleep. Like his predecessor, the young Five-0 chief was totally dedicated to his job, and frequently it required that he work through many a long Hawaiian night.

"Good morning Michael," Duke said with a smile. He was very much aware of how his son must feel, because he went through it with his own boss when he worked for the agency. "I see you've done another all nighter."

Mike couldn’t suppress a yawn before he answered his father, "Yeah, I wanted to go over some of the information we've gathered thus far. I’m positive there has to be a clue or some type of information we’ve over looked Dad."

Duke sat forward in his chair, smiled and nodded his head in agreement with his son’s statement. Steve McGarrett had frequently done the exact same thing on those occasions when the Governor would hand him a hot case.

Duke sat back in his chair, his mind wildly searched for its own explanations. "Michael, can you tell me exactly what did happened?" he asked, "Suzie didn’t elaborate too much, she only told me that Steve had been kidnapped."

Mike stretched and yawned again before he answered his father. "Apparently three men jumped him at his house early yesterday morning. You know his neighbor, Ray Swan, well he had heard some sort of commotion going on over at Steve’s and went to investigate what it was. He got to the front of the house just in time to see him placed into the trunk of their car." He continued to explain the details of the case while he walked over to his desk chair to sit down.

"I hope Ray got the plate number of the car," Duke commented but was also relieved to hear they had already some sort of lead on the case. He had known Ray Swan for several years and he would frequently join the two retired Five-0 officers when they went to one of the country clubs for a round of golf.

"As soon as Swan told Susie the plate number, she had Frankie call Central Dispatch and had an APB put out on the car. But so far," Mike said with a heavy sigh and sat back in his chair as he tried to rub the sleep from his eyes, "no one has been able to locate the car."

"Michael, you sound totally exhausted," Duke said with deep fatherly concern. He felt the arm of his chair move as Deloris sat lightly on it. She didn’t say anything as she placed her arm comfortably around his shoulder and exchanged smiles with him while she quietly listened to his side of the conversation.

"I am Dad," Mike replied, the tone of his voice clearly showed just how tired he was. "But I've got to keep at this or we'll lose Steve for sure." With another sigh, he leaned forward, placed his elbow on the desk, and rested his head on the cradle of the receiver.

"I understand son," Duke said as he looked up to his wife again and gave her a weak smile. "Your mother and I are worried about him as well,"

"Dad, I appreciate the concern and support both you and mother are giving me on this," Mike replied as he yawned again. "I’ve already talked to the Governor. And as you would expect, the FBI has been called in, with this being a kidnapping and all. Naturally at first, they wanted to take over the entire case but the Governor insisted that our office handle it. He's also arranged for the Coast Guard to help. Combined with the FBI, at least we’ll have more manpower."

"Michael, has the department come up with any viable clues at all yet as to who might be responsible for this?" Duke inquired, although his own thought processes tried to think of a reason for this kidnapping. He shifted his position in his chair slightly. Deloris took this as a cue to move. She went over and took a seat next to him on the couch so she wouldn’t bother her husband as he talked.

Another wave of exhaustion swarmed over the Five-0 chief, he yawned and let out another sigh and stretched before he continued. "The only other lead we have is when Mr. Swan stated that he thought the men could be oriental, possibly Chinese."

"Are you thinking that China might be involved somehow?" Duke asked because he didn't see any connection there other than the abductors might be Chinese.

"We’re not sure yet Dad, but we are not going to over look any possibilities at the moment," Mike replied. "I take it Suzie asked you if you could pick Danny up today?"

"Yes, she did ask me last night during our conversation, in fact, I'm almost ready to leave for the airport now," Duke answered.

"Unfortunately Dad, you know you will also need to break this bit of information to him," Mike stated as he sat back in his chair and tiredly ran his hand through his hair.

Duke paused to think about Danny Williams who would be arriving later in the morning. Before he responded, he looked over at his wife, gave her a smile and squeezed her hand lightly, "Yes, I know, I’ll have to break this to him."

"Since we don't really have anything yet, why don't you get him settled somewhere and then give me a call," Mike suggested. "I’ve also been asked by Suzie to let you know that she would be able to provide him with a place to stay if he can’t get a hotel room or some other type of lodging."

Duke closed his eyes as he nodded his head in acknowledgement at his son’s statement. "In our conversation last night, Suzie told me of her invitation to Danny to stay at her place and that it wouldn’t be too much of a burden on her. Your mother and I talked it over last night and if Danny wants we would like to put him up here," Duke replied as he looked over at his wife who gave an affirmative nod. The retired Five-0 officer then added, "But I’m pretty sure son, that he’ll want to come to the office first to see what’s going on."

"Okay Dad, use your own judgment since you know him best, and this way Danny can make up his mind as to where he would like to stay," Mike responded with heavy sigh. He turned his chair around, and looked out the window where he saw the morning sun and the promise of another warm day. "I better get going now," he added disheartened, "I'll talk to you and Danny later when you bring him to the office."

"Sure son, take care of yourself and aloha," Duke said.

"I will Dad, aloha," Mike replied and hung up. He leaned further back into his chair and closed his eyes to try to gather the needed strength for what laid ahead of him.

The big metal door broke the silence in the warehouse that morning as it was pulled open for the day’s activity. The morning sun filled the interior of the huge building as its light found its way into the farthest reaches of the room.

The strong breeze that came in off the ocean stirred up the dust that had settled into the various corners of the building during the night. Fresh air drifted through the air holes of the container.

The smell of the air stirred McGarrett from his fitful slumber. He cautiously eased himself over to the air holes and deeply inhaled as he peered out at what little view he had. What looked like a shadow caught his eye. When he thought he heard someone nearby, he yelled out, "Hey! Is anyone out there?" Anxiously he waited for some kind of response to his call for help, but there was no reply from the person he thought he’d seen. In a more determined and urgent voice he again called out, "I need some water," with the hope that someone, anyone would hear him and come to his aid.

It was then that he realized that he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in over twenty-four hours. And to complicate things, he hadn’t relieved himself for that long either and the cramps from his full bladder had began to intensify.

From past experience he knew he could survive a few days without food. He needed get water. His mouth had already started to dry out from dehydration. And to add to these problems, the heat and humidity of the morning promised to get worse as the day wore on.

Not being a quitter, McGarrett was determined to ignore these problems as best he could by thinking back to the times that he had faced his old nemesis. After each confrontation, their respect and understanding for the other's methods and motives increased. Both men possessed strong personalities and they both believed that what they did was the right thing to do for their respective countries. In the end, McGarrett, with the combination of his Five-0 team and the Coast Guard had been the undoing for the Chinese spy.

McGarrett remembered the time years ago when WoFat had craftily arranged some evidence so it looked like he had sold out his country by selling military secrets to a foreign country. The evidence was too pat, too well planned and totally incriminating. And his entire staff worked extra hard to clear him of the charges while they looked for who had set him up and why.

The more McGarrett thought about it, the more he believed Song must have taken a year or better at least to plan his kidnapping. Faced with a new enemy, he thought back to what could've happened here in Hawaii that aided her in accomplishing her mission.

‘There is no way she could have done this on the spur of the moment,' he thought as he lay in his wooden prison. 'She would've needed some sort of financial backing to pull this off and concocted this idea several years ago. They must have watched the house for some time to learn my daily habits,’ he thought to himself as he tried to remember anything out of the ordinary that he might have seen.

The minutes ticked into hours as McGarrett strained his memory to dredge up something, anything he must have over looked in the last few days. With a sudden clarity, he realized what it was that he'd missed. It appeared so innocent at the time, but now it was the key. He verbally berated himself for his unusual lack of alertness of his surroundings. "It must have been that dark blue car parked out in front of Paul Crawford’s place. It was there each morning for the last month or so, he presumed they had been waiting for someone. But it never did stick around very long. Those men must have been in it and watched his every move. That car did seem out of place, he thought and he didn't remember seeing anyone getting into it. "Damn!" he swore under his breath when he realized that was where he let his guard down.

Although McGarrett didn’t know what time it was, his internal clock and the increased heat and humidity told him is was near midday. The temperature within his prison increased only served to increase his thirst. As if this wasn’t enough, he began to have severe cramps from a very full bladder, which was begging to be relieved.

Several months earlier the Honolulu Airport terminal had been totally remodeled. Passengers now boarded the airliners through a long walk ramp. This 'jet way' extended from the building to the door of the aircraft. Changes had been made in the waiting area too. The traveling public no longer had to sit on hard plastic chairs. New softer cushioned chairs had replaced them. The terminal changed the viewing windows too. They were larger and had a special film on them that helped repel the heat.

Duke wasn't very interested in the new comfortable seats he instead chose to stand at one of the expansive windows and watched the tractor position the United Airlines jet near the jet way. He wanted to greet his old friend with something other than bad news. The white plumeria lei he bought as a welcome home gift was in his hands.

The old Hawaiian's heart weighed heavy, the job of relaying news about their old friend and former boss Steve McGarrett saddened him greatly. As he waited, he unconsciously gripped the flower necklace so that some of the petals became bent. When he saw the crumpled flowers, guilt was added to the man's grey mood. He thought about the ways he would break the news to his friend. As he recited them in his head, none of them really sounded any good, he guessed there was no good way to say it. How Danny would take the news was another thing entirely. Several minutes past before the arriving passengers began to emerge from the jet way. When he saw Danny appear, he smiled and called out his name, "Danny!"

Duke started to approach the stream of passengers. A short, slightly bowlegged man stopped and turned in the direction he heard his name called. The boyish quality still showed in his face in spite of the full head of white hair

The man's bright blue eyes sparkled with delight when he saw who it was that had called his name. He quickly covered the distance and extended his hand to greet his old Hawaiian friend. "Duke, my old friend, it's great to see you again," Dan said with a smile, "but I was expecting Steve to pick me up."

"Hey, watch who’s calling who old," Duke quipped as he ruffled Dan’s white hair with his hand. He intentionally avoided his last statement about Steve as both men laughed and gave each other a hug. "Aloha, Danny and welcome home my friend," he said and placed the slightly crumpled lei around his neck.

"Mahalo Duke," Danny replied, "it’s great to see you and to be home again. But why didn’t Steve pick me up? He was going to let me stay with him at his beach house until I found a place." He sensed that something was very wrong when he saw Duke's demeanor change.

Duke knew Dan would ask why Steve didn't meet him at the airport. He hesitated as he put his hand on friend's shoulder and struggled to think of a way to explain what has happened. "Come on Danny," he urged, "let’s get your luggage and get out of here so we can talk." The airport was not the place to discuss the subject, but he wanted to get away from the public before he told him about what happened to Steve.

"Duke, what has happened to Steve?" Dan demanded in a stern voice as he shrugged off his friend's hand and refused to move another step. He knew his long time friend wasn’t one to hesitant like this, or beat around a bush like he was doing now. He would say it like it was, this silent treatment was very unlike him.

Duke hesitated again as he looked down momentarily at the floor to form his thoughts before he replaced his hand on Dan’s shoulder then surveyed the busy corridor to find someplace where they could talk. The airport was just too busy with arriving and departing passengers to even begin to try to explain here. When he saw the look in Dan's eyes, he saw that he expected an answer. "Danny please," he explained in a low voice, "this is neither the time nor the place to talk about this right now." He tried to make the tone of his voice indicate the seriousness of his plea. "I’ll explain everything I can to you, but please, don’t insist that I explain it to you here and now. Because this is not the place to discuss it."

The look in Duke’s eyes and the expression on his face told Dan there was something extremely wrong. Images of every kind of disaster rushed through his mind before he could gather his wits to find his voice. Choked with emotion he said, "Steve…he hasn’t died… has he?"

"No Danny, he hasn’t died," Duke replied assuredly, but he implored that he didn't want to discuss this at the airport. "Danny please, let’s not talk about it here."

It took Dan several minutes to think over what Duke had said. He gave him a long hard look before he indicated that he understood why they needed to leave. So, without another word spoken the two men went to the baggage claim for his luggage.

Once out of the terminal they quietly walked over to where Duke had parked his car and loaded the suitcase in the trunk. But before Duke could start the car, Dan turned to his friend. "Okay Duke, where's Steve and what's going on?" he demanded, his voice clearly indicated that he could wait no longer.

Duke hesitated a moment and gazed out the windshield as he tried to collect his thoughts for the explanation he dreaded to give.

Dan thought for a second that his old friend wasn’t going to answer him. He started to ask again as his temper began to flare at the thought that Duke might not answer his questions when the Hawaiian turned to face him.

"Danny," Duke said with a heavy sigh, "I don’t know exactly how to say this to you other then straight out… Steve was kidnapped yesterday morning." Before he continued, he waited to see if Dan realized the gravity of the situation by the shocked expression that appeared on his friend’s face.

Dan was dumb struck and didn’t know what to say. He found the news hard to believe as he looked directly at Duke. "What do you mean ‘kidnapped?’… how… by who… when?" his voice quivered. Fear combined with anger now began to swell within him.

"I don’t have the answers to those questions Danny," Duke said as he started to explain, "I didn't get the details from my son Mike until this morning. This is what they have so far, it happened yesterday morning. Three men apparently got the jump on Steve and overpowered him. Ray Swan, Steve’s neighbor, saw them place him into the trunk of their car just before they drove off." Duke paused before he finished when he saw the expression on Dan’s face grow grim. " Swan called HPD and they transferred his call to Five-O. After Mike’s team completed their initial investigation, he alerted all the other Islands including the Governor, FBI and the Coast Guard."

Dan was unsure what to make of what he has heard so far. He struggled to control his own rising emotions while his mind went back to the times when their old nemesis WoFat had threatened McGarrett’s life in one way or another. "Do they have any leads on who kidnapped him?"

Duke hadn’t started the car yet because he wanted to give all his attention to Dan’s immediate questions. "I know that everything is being done that can be done right now," he said and paused for a moment before he continued. "Danny, you know full well how the department works. They’ll turn over every rock on these Islands to find him."

Dan sat motionless too stunned to speak, much less think about what Duke had just told him about Steve's situation. All he could do now is just stare at his friend, his emotions whirring wildly. ‘I just can’t believe it,' he thought to himself, 'Steve kidnapped. Why would someone want to kidnap him ‘now’ after all these years? But for what reason? Maybe it's for money? I do know that is Steve fairly well off, but what’s their motive?' His emotions told him to do one thing and his common sense another. As the news soaked in, he settled back in the seat. "Okay Duke," he finally said. "I want to go to the office first. I want to find out just what they ‘do’ have as so far as leads."

An audible sigh of relief escaped the Hawaiian as he smiled and lightly laughed as he reached for the key and started the car, "I thought that's where you might want to go first." As the engine roared to life he continued, "Michael told me to get you settled first, but I knew you would want to find out more when you arrived." He backed the car out of the parking spot and headed for the H1 extension that would take them to downtown Honolulu.

"As you know," Duke continued, "Deloris and I have an extra room that you are more than welcome to use. Suzie asked me to tell you that you’re welcome to stay with her if you want. So, it’s up to you to decide. I’m sure you’re aware that Steve’s place is off limits because it’s part of the crime scene."

"Yeah, I know," Dan sighed as he leaned back in the seat. He gazed out the window and watched the scenery go by as Duke maneuvered his car through the morning traffic. The cop in him, long removed from his memory, remembered what police procedures would take place at this time. He also considered his options for a place to stay since Steve’s place was unavailable. He really didn't want to put out Suzie and felt Duke's home would be the better choice. "If you don’t mind Duke, I think I’ll take you up on your offer, but you’re sure it’s no bother?"

"No problem," Duke answered as he merged onto the H1 freeway, "you’re more then welcome Danny. Deloris and I would be love to have you stay with us, for as long you want." The rest of the drive downtown was a very quiet one, each man deep in his own thoughts of what might lie ahead for their mutual friend.

Duke drove directly to the New Territorial building, which housed the Hawaii Five-0 unit. After he parked the car both men exited the vehicle and entered the building. The elevators were directly ahead. Once inside Duke pushed the button for the third floor.

"I bet you never thought we’d ever ride up to the office," Duke mentioned as the elevator started to rise.

Danny smiled, "I sort of got use to running up and down those koa wood stairs," he said as he thought of the Palace’s grand staircase which led up to the old Five-0 offices. "Remember though, we did have an office in the old Territorial building while the Palace was being renovated and we had to use that old elevator which got stuck every now and again," he added as he remembered the temporary move the office had to make.

"Yeah, I remember that death trap of an elevator," replied Duke with a laugh as he remembered the hot summer day when he, Ben Kokua and a very pregnant woman got stuck in it for over an hour when the motor broke down.

Once the elevator stopped and the doors opened, Duke led the way to the door where a sign read ‘Hawaii Five-0’. The retired detective pushed the door open and held it open as Danny walked in. As the men approached the office reception area Dan was surprised to when he saw the young woman at the front desk. He couldn’t help but smile because he had known her ever since she was a girl. "Tilda!" he said in surprise.

Tilda looked from her work when she heard the men approach her desk. Her eyes went wide when she recognized the visitor. "Uncle Danny! Aloha! How are you?" she blurted out excitedly and quickly got up and went around her desk and gave him a big hug.

Danny unwound himself from her grasp as he said, "So Tilda, you’re working for Five-0 now? That's great." As he looked at her, he was amazed at how much she had grown since the last time he saw her. It was incredible he thought to himself, how much she resembled her mother. Most of the Kelly girls had a mixture of their father and mother but not Tilda.

"Yes, I’ve been working here for almost three years now," she said proudly. "Suzie told me you were coming home today. Too bad, it has to be under the current circumstances," and hugged her uncle again.

"Ah hum...I hate to break up this little reunion," Duke politely cut in, "Tilda, we’re here to talk with my son."

"Oh…yeah...sorry Mr. Lukela... " Tilda answered slightly embarrassed, "I was just so thrilled to see my adopted uncle...hold on and I’ll let him know you’re both here," and quickly went back to her desk and dialed Mike’s office.

When his phone rang, Mike turned his head toward the noise that interrupted his thoughts as he stood out on the lanai. 'Now what?' he thought to himself as he walked back into his office and sat in his chair before reaching for his phone. "Lukela," he answered.

Tilda could immediately tell she had interrupted her boss's concentration by the sharp tone of his voice. "Mike, Danny and your dad are here to see you," she said as she gave a teasing wink and a smile to her adopted uncle.

"Good, show them in Tilda," Mike instructed as he tried to shrug off the exhaustion he felt and reached for his tie that he had removed earlier and put it back on.

After she hung up, Tilda motioned her two friends to follow her. She led them down a hall and past the offices for the agency's detectives, an interrogation room and stopped in front of double doors. An engraved plate hung on one door that read ‘M. Lukela, Chief.’ She lightly knocked before she opened the door then stood aside to allow the two men to enter the office, closed the door after them and returned to her desk.

Mike was very meticulous about his appearance as he gave his tie one last tug before he walked around his desk to greet his guests as they entered his office. Danny…aloha and welcome home," he said as he shook the hand of the former second-in-command. "I’m sure you didn’t expect your homecoming to be ruined by such a dire situation as this," he said earnestly. Although he knew his father didn’t have all the information, but would know how to break the known facts to McGarrett’s former subordinate. He motioned his guests to take a seat in the chairs in front of his desk and perched himself on the corner of his desk. "Did Dad explain to you what's happened?"

"Yes, he’s explained some of it to me Mike, but mainly that Steve's been kidnapped," Danny answered as he took his seat in one of the offered chairs. "But I’m waiting for you to tell me more," the word more came out more sharply then he wanted but his nerves were already on edge.

"Yes, well," Mike hesitated for a moment as he tried to think of a way to handle this. He had heard how protective Williams was when it came to McGarrett, especially when some kind of tragedy befell the former Five-0 chief. "Ray Swan, Steve's neighbor, is the one who called it in after he saw three men place Steve's body into…" before he could continue Dan rudely interrupted him.

"Body?" Frustrated, Dan was getting the feeling that everyone had already pronounced McGarrett dead. Mike's reference to McGarrett's body was the final straw. With his temper in full flame, he quickly rose from his chair to confront the younger man. "Body?" he demanded in a raised voice, " Are you're assuming that he’s already dead?"

Mike rose to his feet and stood eye to eye with his father’s friend. He knew he would have to calm Dan down before he could continue. "Please sit back down Danny, we're not assuming anything at this time." ‘Damn, he's just like Steve …charging in before all the facts were known,’ he thought to himself. With all honesty, he silently admitted he would have reacted the same way if one his long time friends had been kidnapped. With a deep breath he continued, "As I was saying, Mr. Swan saw them placing Steve's body into the trunk of their car, closed the lid and took off at a high rate of speed. We're in luck though, he was able to get the license number and an excellent description of the car."

Mike paused to see if Dan would sit back down or had any other questions. But when he wouldn’t do either, he continued. "You do realize that I shouldn't even be discussing this case with you? But since you're a previous detective for Five-0, and considered to be Steve’s family, I can make some allowances and exceptions here." He wanted to make sure the former detective knew exactly where he stood in this case and he wasn’t about to take any lip from his distraught friend.

Dan stared at Mike and thought to himself as his anger grew, ‘I'm not going to be kept from searching for Steve and if this guy even tries to stand in the way." But after some reflection, it occurred to him how much Mike’s ‘take charge attitude’ was exactly like Steve’s. He sat back down knowing that this man would do every thing possible to find his missing friend. "I’m sorry Mike if it sounded like I was biting your head off," he said as he tried to apologize, but his tone was still tense. His anger and protectiveness toward his friend hadn’t yet left it. "Did Mr. Swan per chance give a description of the men who nabbed Steve?"

Relieved that this minor crisis was over, Mike walked back behind his desk. As he did, he thought to himself, ‘Dad was right about him on how explosive he is, just like his former boss was.’ Before he sat down, he reached over and picked up the file on his desk so he could reference the information as he talked to Dan. "Yes he did, but it doesn’t really help us too much. There were three men definitely involved, possibly a fourth and as far as Mr. Swan could tell. They were all about the same height and weight and were dressed identically." He took a moment to flip scan over more pages before he added, "He did note, though, that they were defiantly oriental, possibly Chinese. But he wasn’t sure on that part, so we’re checking that out too as much as we can."

Duke had kept quiet during the confrontation rose from his seat when the two men stood and faced each other but sat back down when Dan had done the same. But he continued to watch both men and thought to himself. ‘Dan hasn’t changed much over the years,’ and couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride on how his son had handled the sometimes hot-tempered former detective.

Duke was worried about both his friends and hoped Dan wouldn’t pull one of Steve’s old habits and go off on his own to investigate the whereabouts of their friend. "Son," Duke asked, "is there anything we can do to help out because we’d like to be involved with this out as much a possible."

"No Dad," Mike replied his voice heavy from the strain, "right now there’s not much you or Danny can do, I suggest that you take Danny and get him settled in,"

Although Five-O hadn’t been on the case very long, Mike had already felt the pressure from the Governor to solve this case as quickly as possible. In one smooth fluid movement he stood and walked back to the corner of the desk and casually leaned against it as he turned his attention back to Dan. "I know Suzie has invited you to stay with her, so if you want, I can have her take you over to her place to get you settled in and help you get a rental car." His tone of voice suggested he was concerned not only for McGarrett, but for his father’s friend too.

"Mahalo Mike," Danny replied with a smile of appreciation, "but I think I’m going to take your dad up on his offer. That way I won’t tie up anyone needed on this case by having them take care of me."

"I had a feeling you’d choose to stay with Mom and Dad," Mike replied with a smile before he turned his attention back to his father, "Okay then, Dad, you’ll need to get Danny squared away." He glanced at his watch before he continued. "In an hour the Governor and I have a press conference and as usual, the media is clamoring for more information on this case. Then at six PM, I’m having a meeting here to go over what we know so far. So if the two of you can be here, your inputs would be welcome."

"No problem Mike, we’ll both be there," Dan reassured Mike at the same time he recalled how much McGarrett hated, but yet loved the confrontations with the media. He wondered if Mike felt the same way. "If you don’t mind my asking, what will you be telling the press?"

"There's not much I can tell them right now as I don’t have too much yet," Mike replied with a light smile as he tried to think of anything he might not yet covered. "But knowing the press, I’m sure they'll have a lot of questions. Fortunately for you Danny, they didn’t know of your arrival or you could have been mobbed at the airport this morning," he said with a slight smile.

"Danny, you and Dad knew Steve better than anyone, so the two of you would know his habits, his past, along with who his possible enemies are and who might still be trying to get even with him," Mike suggested as he shifted his glance between the men.

"Michael," Duke put in, his tone serious as he reminded his son, "both Danny and Steve had a long list of enemies. Most of them though could be dead by now or still in prison."

"What would us help narrow down the field is if we could get a list of those people still in prison," Dan suggested as he thought about the criminals that the two of them helped convict and put in jail. The ten years he spent on the mainland put him out of the loop for this kind of information.

"I’ll get Tilda to get to work on that list so it can be ready for you by this evening," Mike told Dan with a smile, thankful he had found a way to ease over this rough area. "In the mean time, you need to get settled in and I’m going to assign two officers as protection for you and Dad. Just in case whoever it was that kidnapped Steve, tries to grab either of you. Especially you Danny, because you worked so closely with Steve."

Dan didn’t like the idea or the inconvenience of being watched. With a vigorous negative shake of his head, he replied, "You don’t need to do all that. Mike I can still take care of myself."

"No Danny," Mike said firmly, "you don’t seem to understand. You and Dad don’t have any choice in this matter because I’m not about to take any chances here. Both you and Dad are going to have twenty-four-hour HPD protection until this case is over. It’s either that or I’ll place you both under arrest for police protection and put you in a safe house for the duration. I’d rather not have to do that, but if you force my hand here, I will."

"It’s not worth arguing about Danny," Duke told Dan, "he’s picked up a lot of Steve’s habits before he retired and as you can tell, Steve trained him well. Besides, even with the shadows, we are still free to do whatever checking we’ll need to do," even though he didn’t like the idea but knew his son only had their safety in mind.

Dan smiled as he shook his head again and held up both his hands in resignation. "Okay, okay, I surrender. But I expect to be kept informed as to what is going on. And I want to be there when you finally catch those responsible."

Mike was about to object at the last request when he saw how determined Dan was. He knew that if he tried to stop him the former detective would still do whatever it took to make sure he was there. "Fine then," he agreed, even though he smiled he still held reservations about the arrangements. "I’ll see the both of you this evening at six. That should give you enough time to get settled and secure a car." With their meeting concluded, he stood and walked his guests out of his office and back down the hall to the front of the office.

When they returned to Tilda’s desk in the reception area, Mike gave her some very explicit instructions. "Tilda, I need you to contact the prisons, both here and on the mainland for a list of all those that Steve and Danny have sent there. Find out if they are dead or alive. If they are still alive are they still in prison or have they been released. Also, if they’ve been released, I need to know their release date and their current location, if known. I’ll need this information for this evenings meeting." Tilda took notes in her notebook as her boss continued. "But first, I want you to get hold of HPD and arrange to have two officers to be with Danny and my father for their protection. Arrange for the men and the shifts with HPD. I want three eight hour shifts until this case is solved, starting right now."

"Yes Sir. I should have the majority of that information in time for this evening's meeting. And Mike, don’t forget you have that press conference in the Governor’s office in an hour," Tilda informed her boss as she picked up the receiver to make the needed arrangements. While she talked with HPD on what Mike wanted she brought up the Department of Prison's database on her computer for the requested information.

As Mike turned to leave, he remembered something that hadn't been covered yet. He turned back to Dan and asked, "Danny tell me, are you still licensed to carry a weapon?" But before Dan could answer he continued, "I know you're still licensed to carry your gun Dad, but what about you Danny?"

Duke caught his breath unconsciously when he realized that was an unaccounted for problem. Dan’s face only briefly showed a slight registration of fear before it vanished, but it was there long enough for both of the other men to see it.

"I don’t carry a gun anymore Mike," Dan hesitantly replied as he struggled to control the mounting fear within him. "Nor do I ever wish to carry another one." His tone of voice indicated that he wouldn’t discuss it any further.

Taken back by the response, Mike kept his facial features neutral, as he looked at both men then glanced over to Tilda. She also seemed to mirror the hurt and concern that Dan felt from being asked that question. Quickly he regrouped of his thoughts and turned his attention back to Tilda who was busy with her computer.

Irritated that this problem temporarily broken his train of thought he turned and thanked Tilda again for the reminder. He returned his attention to Dan and his father as he thought to himself, 'I'll try to remember to ask his Dad about the bit with Danny and the gun tonight. He needed to know if this would affect the case in any way.’

Mike collected himself and before he headed back to his office, he said, "I need the two of you to wait here until Tilda has arranged for the officers after which you can go about doing whatever you need to do. I’ll see you then at six, aloha." Then he disappeared down the hall.

Dan and Duke took seats in the lobby and waited until the HPD officers to arrive.

They didn't have to wait long before two uniformed officers stepped into the reception area and walked up to Tilda's desk. "Good morning gentlemen," she said as she greeted the men. "Danny, Duke, these are Officers Grady Sutterfield and Matt Bergquist. They have been assigned to be your protection for now. Mike wants one of these officers to be with you at all times."

The officers acknowledged their charges as Tilda continued with their instructions. "You will be their shadows for the next eight hours until you have been relieved by two more officers. Since Mr. Williams will be staying with Mr. Lukela at his home, one of you can position yourself in front of the house and the other in the back when they go inside," then turned back to Danny for a moment, "Will you be getting a car?"

Dan hadn’t thought about his lack of transportation as he looked over at Duke. "Not right away, but I expect to get one shortly," he replied.

"Danny," Duke said, "I own two cars and I don’t mind if you borrow my other one instead of renting one." He then turned to Tilda, "We will probably use just one for now Tilda." As he glanced at the officers who would be with them for awhile.

"Thanks Duke," Dan replied with appreciation and realized that here was another item he hadn’t thought about since his arrival in Hawaii.

Tilda reiterated as she tried to explain what was wanted "Whenever do you decide to drive, alone or together, these officers will be following you in their own separate units. I know it makes it a bit of a hassle, but Mike wants you two well protected."

Duke stood and prepared to leave as he informed the officers. "Since we’re parked out in front gentlemen, I guess one of you can follow us out to my car while the other gets their car."

"We’ve already been told what car is yours so we went ahead and parked next to it Mr. Lukela," Officer Sutterfield said to a not so surprised Duke as they walked out of the building.

The reporters were already out in front of the Governor’s office when Mike walked down the hall. When they saw him approach they immediately swarmed around him and started to ask him questions.

"Mr. Lukela, can you tell is if it is true that the former head of Hawaii Five-0, Steve McGarrett, has been kidnapped? Do you know who did it…do you have any leads as to who did it and have the kidnappers demanded any money yet and have you brought the FBI in on this yes?" asked the multitude of voices almost in unison.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Mike replied, "your questions will be allowed shortly but you will need to go to the room that's been set aside for this. It's down the hall and to your right. I will attempt to answer your questions at that time," and quickly opened the Governor’s door and slipped inside before they could ask any more questions he really didn't have any answers for.

"Aloha Page and good afternoon," Mike said with an openly friendly smile to the Governor’s secretary, whom he had known since high school. He had tried to hire her for Five-0 but she had already accepted the position with the Governor. "Is The Man’ in?"

"Yes he is, Mike," she answered with a smile to the tall, handsome man who stood in front of her desk. She depressed the intercom button on her phone, "Governor, Mike Lukela is here."

"Send him on in," replied Governor Hayward, and closed his own file on the current case that involved the once famous McGarrett, that he had been reviewing.

"Thanks Page, I know the way," Mike replied, gave her a wink as he walked over and opened one of the big highly polished teak wood doors.

"Good afternoon Mike," Governor Hayward said as he greeted the man whose monumental duty was the security of Hawaii and its population.

"Governor," Mike replied as he shook his hand and took a seat in front of the Governor’s desk, "I see the press has already gotten wind of this."

"Yes, unfortunately it does appear to have leaked out somehow," the Governor commented after he had returned to take a seat in his own chair. He folded his hands on his desk and asked the State’s top investigator. "What do we really have as far as information that we can give them?"

"Not much I’m afraid, " Mike answered with a sigh as he hoped that this wouldn’t adversely effect their investigation. "So far our leads have been too small to be of any real help.

"We’ll have to be careful then of what we ‘do’ tell them. There is one reporter in particular, " the Governor told him. "Cindy Watanabe, she is very persistent. She’s called my office just about every half hour, so I’ve instructed Page to just hang up on her when she becomes too much of a bother,"

"Yeah, I know who you talking about," Mike replied with a wry smile and laughed to himself at the suggestion, "I’ve already had several rough dealings with her. Dad once even suggested that I throw her in jail because he thought that might cool her heels down some."

"Well, I guess we should go feed these news hungry people," the Governor suggested as he stood and continued the friendly discussion and he headed for the door. "I’ve heard stories on how Steve McGarrett handled these press conferences. How he use to detain them over night in a jail cell at HPD if he thought they were intruding too much on a case. You just might want to do that with this one problem reporter," he suggested as he led the way down the hall to the backside of the meeting room.

As soon as the Governor and Mike entered the room, the reporters started in earnest with their questions as everyone tried to shout above the next guy. The din in the room was so loud that the windows started to shake. This continued as the two men walked up to the podium. The crowd quickly quieted down when the Governor held up his hand because they knew this governor wouldn’t say anything until he was ready and they were quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the Governor began. "As you all know, Steve McGarrett, the former director of Hawaii Five-0, was kidnapped yesterday morning from in front of his home. This case is currently being worked on by Five-0 along with help from the FBI and other government agencies."

"What leads, if any, has Five-0 found?" Cindy Watanabe asked as she managed to position herself in the front of the massive crowd.

"Miss Watanabe, you know that we are not at liberty to disclose any of that information," Mike told her as he looked directly at her. "It is a fact that we do have some leads, but not very many and we are trying to expand on them at the moment," he told the crowd with an authoritative voice.

"From what I saw yesterday morning it looked like one of your detectives was interviewing one of Steve McGarrett’s neighbors. Can you tell me his name?" Cindy asked smugly and loudly enough to be heard over the others

The reporter’s attitude irritated Mike who gave her a look that implied that she was on very thin ice. "We interviewed several people in hopes of finding someone who might have seen something and this information is still being verified," Mike stated flatly as he tried to keep the irritation out of his voice.

"Are there any leads yet that have given you any ideas yet as to whom might have done this?" asked TV reporter Paul Adams, before Cindy could speak up again.

"Not at this time," Mike informed his listeners with an unwavering tone to his voice, "We have no clues as to who might be behind the kidnapping of Steve McGarrett or why,"

"Governor, have the kidnappers made any sort of a ransom demand yet?" Cindy quickly asked as she elbowed those next to her so she could have more standing room and before any other reporter could say anything.

"No, no demands have been made yet," Mike answered perturbed at her actions and tone of voice, he half wished that she would do something that would warrant an overnight stay in a cell.

"How come Five-0 is handling this case?" Cindy again quickly asked with the hope of a slip up by the Five-0 chief to release information that they obviously had that would be in her benefit. "Isn’t kidnapping normally handled by the FBI?"

"I’ve asked Five-0 to step in and handle this case in light of who the victim is," Governor Hayward answered before Mike could open his mouth.

Carl Bennett and Tony Uphoff were two well-known newspaper reporters who, out of courtesy, allowed Cindy to shove them back, but now gently forced her back so they could ask their own questions. Tony was first as he stepped back more which forced Cindy further back into the crowd of reporters. "Governor Hayward, earlier you mentioned that you have asked other agencies to come and work with you on this case…can you tell us which other agencies they are?"

Mike and the Governor saw what the reporters were doing and exchanged smiles at their tactics of trying to get the obviously bothersome woman to quite down. "Along with the FBI, I’ve asked the Coast Guard and the other military branches to assist us as we need them. I have been assured of their full cooperation," Hayward replied.

"Is it true that additional officers have been called in to protect the other former Five-0 officers," Carl asked as he held his ground as Cindy tried to push her way to the front again.

Mike was startled and irritated at the same time when he heard that question. ‘There is no way they could've gotten that piece of information, unless there’s a leak in my office,’ he thought to himself. "Yes, in light of this current situation, my office deemed it necessary for their protection. He replied and smiled as he watched the small woman reporter being jostled by her larger associates.

"Is it true that Dan Williams has returned to head this investigation," Paul asked as he too stood fast against the pressure of Cindy as she tried again to push her way to the front.

"Oh come on guys…let me through," Cindy said as she tried to go to the left of the other reporters who continued to block her efforts. Other reporters had noticed what was going on and were determined not to let her around them either.

"Yes," Mike replied as the group who had now started to gently but forcefully crowd the problem reporter out of the room, "Mr. Williams has returned to the Island but he is not officially involved with this case,"

"Mr. Lukela, has it been determined yet how many people maybe involved in this kidnapping? I’ve heard that there were at least three so far, is this correct?" Paul asked the Five-0 Chief with the hope that he would release more information because his informant didn’t give him a lot so far.

"I’m sorry Paul, but due to the nature of this investigation that information is still classified at this time," Mike told him.

Tony tried a different approach. He reworded his friend’s question in the hope that more information would be forth coming as they hadn’t given them very much yet for their news articles, "Mr. Lukela, our sources have told us that the Chinese might be at the bottom of this…can you confirm this?"

"I’m sorry Tony, but I can’t comment on that at this time," Mike replied, his irritation compounded due to the fact that somehow this information had apparently leaked out.

"If it is the Chinese, could WoFat, McGarrett’s old enemy, be behind this?" Cindy yelled out in the attempt to drown out the others before they could silence her again.

"That would be impossible because WoFat died several years ago in prison," Mike answered the question with a slight smile on his face when he saw Cindy's head show up above the others. ‘I have to give her credit for at least trying,’ he thought to himself as he made a mental bet with himself that she had pulled a chair over to the door and had stood on it to see above the other reporters.

"We were told that some blood was found at the crime scene, is this true and if so has Steve McGarrett been injured?" asked another reporter from the middle of the group.

"Mr. McGarrett’s condition is unknown at this time. Our lab is trying to determine just whose blood it is," the Mike stated as a smile broke out on his face. The antics of the woman reporter had now become comical because she was trying to climb on top of the others in front of her and was again pushed back away from the front row.

"With Five-0 putting all it’s efforts into this case, does that mean their other cases have been put on the back burners?" another reporter asked.

"No," Mike replied assuredly, "while this case is new and important to us, our other cases are still being worked on,"

"Have there been any clues as to why these people chose to kidnap Steve McGarrett? I guess I really mean…why him? Why not someone else like a senator or something?" Carl asked after he had finished writing down his notes from last question that his colleague asked.

"No," Mike answered as he looked at his watch and noted the time, "and this concludes our news conference for today ladies and gentlemen because sorry to say, but we have more pressing things to do at present," and closed the question and answer session.

"One more question, please," yelled out Cindy after she had finally been able to work her way back to the front as the other reporters closed their notebooks and turned off their tape recorders as they filed out of the room. Both the Governor and the Five-0 chief ignored her request as they too exited the room.

"Damn," Cindy said as she stood almost where she had been at the beginning of the conference, rested her fists on her hips in disgust. She felt the treatment she had just received from her colleagues was unjust.

Paul Adams had just finished with his own notes when he heard her. He looked up from his note pad and smiled a little as he walked over to her and politely informed her. "You know Cindy, you brought that on yourself because you’re a bit pushy at times."

"You think you have all the answers, don’t you Paul…well, you don’t." Cindy snapped. "And I have every right to ask questions as you or anyone else does." She felt so angry at what had happened to her that she almost felt like hitting something.

"Hey look sister," Paul replied defensively. "I’m just trying to be friendly to you, but I will give you this one piece of advice. Don’t go trying to push Mike Lukela around, you'll probably find yourself cooling your heels off in a jail cell for a day or two for your trouble."

"He’s not so hot…my dad use to deal with Steve McGarrett and he never backed down, nor will I," Cindy answered and with a fling of her head sent her long blonde hair flying behind her she exited the room.

Paul shook his head as he walked out of the room. He knew that someday Cindy would push it too far with the Five-0 chief. And when she did, she’d feel his wrath just as sure as her father must have felt McGarrett’s.

"What’s with the escorts, Duke?" she asked when she saw the officers get out of their units and fall in behind her husband and Dan.

"Our son decided that he wants us to have twenty-four hour protection," Duke told her after he had walked into the house. He put down the two suitcases in the living room and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Just in case whoever took Steve thinks of nabbing one of us."

"Aloha Deloris, I told him I didn’t need any protection," Dan told her as he gave her a hug after he stepped into the house. "But Steve’s taught your son too well, so he’s trying to cover all the bases as best he can."

The two HPD officers followed the men into the house and stood next to the door to make sure all was well. After Duke gave one of the officers a silent nod, the officer walked silently through the house for his required security checks.

"It’s a typical house Grady," Officer Bergquist said as he emerged moments later from the bedroom areas. "Three bedrooms and two bathrooms to the left of the living room with the kitchen and dinning room off to the right,"

"Honey, this is Officer Grady Sutterfield and Officer Matt Bergquist," Duke told her as he made the introductions. "One of them will be staying out in front and the other in our back yard while we’re in the house, so, if you go outside, you’ll be seeing them."

"Oh, then Michael thinks that the two of you might be in some sort of danger?" Deloris worriedly asked her husband. She hadn’t thought about if the kidnappers who had taken Steve, might try for her husband or Dan.

"It’s just a precautionary step is all," Dan told her with a reassuring smile as he tried to help ease her fears.

"And it will only be this way for a while," Duke assured her as he gave her a hug because it was bad enough that she was worried about Steve, he didn’t want her to worry about his safety right now too.

Deloris hesitated as she looked at the two officers before she looked back at her husband and Dan with eyes filled with concern and worry. She now realized that there was much more to this than she first believed, and after thinking about it, she turned her attention to the two officers, "Gentlemen, if there is anything I can get either of you, please let me know."

"We’ll be okay madam...thank you anyway," Officer Bergquist told her with a smile as he touched the tip of his hat and nodded his head. With their charges secured within the house, the officers took their positions around the property.

It took several minutes before Deloris was able to compose herself, but when she was finally able to deal with the change to her normal household activities. She turned her attention back to their guest. "Well, Danny, aloha and welcome home," she said as she gave him a big hug, "How was the flight?"

"Very long and tiring," Dan replied with a heavy sigh as he sat down on the couch, "I left Rhode Island at ten-thirty last night, there was a two-hour lay over in Denver before the plane took off for San Francisco. From there, I changed planes to come to Honolulu."

"So, I guess you’d like to rest up before this evenings meeting," Duke asked his obviously travel-weary houseguest.

"Yeah, I could do with a short nap and a shower," Dan replied, his voice clearly showing his exhaustion.

"Well, you can use Mike’s old room since we’ve turned it into a guestroom just for this type of occasion," Deloris said as she got up and reached for the two suitcases.

"Here Honey, let me get those for you," Duke said as he took the heavy suitcases from her and led his friend down the hall to the guestroom. "The bathroom just down the hall that you can use and Deloris has already stocked it with some towels and such for you," and placed the suitcases on the bed.

"Thanks Duke, you’re sure it won’t be too much of a burden on either of you, I can go to a hotel if it is," Dan said.

"I wouldn’t dream of letting you do that Danny," Deloris told him in a motherly manner. "Besides, it’ll be nice to have you here. You can help keep Duke out of trouble," she said as she teased her husband.

Dan smiled at her comment and looked at his former co-worker. Duke, who was standing next to his wife at the moment, gave her a hug. "I agree Danny, and besides I wouldn’t allow you to do that anyway."

"Well, we better let you unpack and get some rest," Deloris said. "I’ll have some lunch ready for you when you’re ready, Danny." With that both hosts left their houseguest alone.

"Mahalo," Dan replied as he opened and began to unpacked the first suitcase. His mind was in such turmoil over his missing friend that he wasn't sure if he could relax enough to get some rest.

With his clothes put away Dan finally lay down on the bed. Within minutes he was sound asleep. A few hours later he awoke and took a refreshing shower. He dressed and joined the Lukela’s in their living room.

"There he is," Deloris said with a smile when she saw their guest enter the room, "Did you have a good rest?"

"Yes, I needed that," Dan replied as he took a seat on their long blue flowered couch, that faced the open liana of the living room.

"I’ll get some lunch ready then for you," Deloris offered as she went into the kitchen. She wanted to keep herself busy and her mind occupied because she didn't like to think about Steve and what's happened to him. But still she couldn’t chase from her thoughts what he must be going through. She was saddened greatly but still managed a pleasant smile. "We haven’t eaten because we wanted to wait for you so you wouldn’t have to eat alone," she remarked from the kitchen.

"You didn’t have to do that, Deloris, I could have eaten alone," Dan replied as he got up and followed her and Duke into the tidy and spacious kitchen. And took a seat on one of the barstools at the counter that separated the kitchen from the dinning room.

"No problem Danny, I wasn’t hungry then anyway," Duke said as he watched his wife began to prepare lunch.

Once the meal was over Deloris shooed her husband and Dan out of the kitchen and refused any offered help to clean up the dishes. With no choice but to let her be, the two old friends walked back to the living room while Deloris busied herself with the cleanup.

As they made themselves comfortable Duke asked. "Have you heard from Cynthia lately Danny?"

Cynthia was Dan’s youngest daughter who was attending UCLA majoring in business and worked as one of the feature writers for the L. A. Times.

"Yeah, she called me before I left to tell me she’s got an assignment to interview with some TV star. I can’t recall his name right now, but she’s all excited about it." Dan said as he remembered the conversation. "Apparently, she had been trying to get this interview for the last several months."

"Sounds like she’s found something she really likes to do," Duke replied as he sat back in his chair. His eyes wondered back to the kitchen and watched his wife when she momentarily came into view. "Can I help Honey," he called out lovingly but deep down he knew she was just as upset about Steve as he was.

"No," was her reply as she wiped down the counter, "I’m almost done. You two just relax and I’ll be out there shortly."

Dan smiled when he saw how much Duke still loved and admired his wife. The open display of affection made him remember the time when Kimberly was around and they use to help each other.

Duke turned his attention back to Dan when he heard his friend sigh. "Something wrong Danny?"

"No, I was just remembering when Kimberly and I were together like this," Dan replied slightly despondent and pushed the memory back too far corner of his mind again.

"What’s it been, six years now since she’s been gone?" Deloris quietly asked as she entered the room. She had only caught the last bit of their conversation before she took her seat next to her husband.

"Five years, two weeks and assorted number of days," Dan said disheartenedly, the memory of his beloved wife's funeral was still very fresh in his mind. He remembered all to well the long days and nights that he had spent by her side in the hospital while she battled the cancer that finally took her life.

No one said anything as each of them were absorbed in the memory of that day when Kimberly Williams died of cancer. In the final days, Steve had been there to help see his friend through this tough time in his life. This time, it was Dan who wanted to try to help, and if he could, rescue his friend.

"So how was teaching?" Deloris asked in an effort to change the subject after they had reminisced over the long past years when Dan was with Five-0.

"Very interesting and satisfying Deloris," Dan answered as he began to fill them in on the last ten years. "At first I had some trouble but that was because I was so use to the laid back attitude we have here. On the East Coast, it’s nothing but rush, rush, rush," he said as he remembered his first few months at Bryant University. "There were times I thought of quitting. And if it hadn’t been for Steve’s encouragement at times, I think I might have just stagnated before actually retiring."

"He went back east frequently to see you didn’t he?" Deloris asked as she tried to remember the things Duke had told her about in those past years.

"Yeah, he kept trying to get me to come here to visit him. But it seemed like there never was any time to do that. The last time he visited, he brought me a picture of everyone at his last birthday party. I guess you surprised him good at that one Duke," Dan said as he recalled the conversation of six months prior.

"Oh yeah, I remember how Duke, Kono and Ben’s son had gone to great lengths to keep it a secret," laughed Deloris. "And how I almost ruined it for them though when Steve tried to question me about it," she added with a smile.

Duke chuckled at the memory at Steve's failed attempt to question who he thought would be the weakest member of the group. "Yeah, he almost got it out of her with his tricky methods. But she proved to be a match for his wits and succeeded in convincing him that nothing was going on," he added as he hugged his wife.

Deloris laughed as she continued with the story. "I had convinced him that, yes we did have a small gift for him, but Duke was going to give it to him when they went to play golf that day like they had planned." All of them broke into smiles of amusement as she finished the story with a wide smile on her face at being able to dupe the best cop Hawaii ever had. "What he didn’t know, Danny, is that Duke was going to drive him to the party being held at the County Club."

The talk caused the time to pass quickly and soon it was time to leave for the meeting. Deloris bid her husband and Dan goodbye as they left for Mike's office. When they arrived, they found that the meeting hadn't started yet. Although the office was already full of activity, two computers had been set up with connections to the HPD main frames and the FBI. Out of the people who were already there, Dan knew only a few the rest were new faces.

As each team member came into Mike's office, Tilda introduced him or her to Dan and Duke. Everyone was given a copy of the case file that contained all the known facts of the case and the list of names that Mike had requested earlier that day. When Mike called the meeting to order everyone took their seats around a large meeting table that was near Mikes desk. Nearby was a bulletin board, like his predecessor, Mike preferred to use it for faster reference along with the information from the computer.

Mark Shepherd, a computer expert from the FBI, was in attendance to assist the Five-0 team with the investigation. His mother had been McGarrett’s secretary for many years, which meant he had grown up around the Five-0 team. When he started college, it was Steve McGarrett who suggested that he study law. After graduation, he worked for HPD for five years until Carl Thomason, the former FBI chief in Hawaii, offered him a position with the Federal government. There, he gained the experience needed to go up the ladder very quickly.

Judy Fong, the daughter of Che Fong - the unit's former forensic expert, was there as the specialist in the computer systems with HPD. She had graduated from college with degrees in both Computer Sciences and Communications.

Sandy Wells and Ben Kokua, Jr. rounded out those who were seated at the table.

Dan and Duke took their seats at the table along the wall so that they would be out of the way of those actively involved in the case. After Mike made the introductions, he began the meeting.

"What have we got so far?" Mike asked his team and gave each team member his complete attention as they gave him their reports.

"HPD has checked with the neighbors around Mr. McGarrett's home, but other than Mr. Swan, no one heard or saw anything," Sandy Wells began as she flipped through her note pad. "We even checked with the Public Utilities to see if any garbage or power trucks were in the area but that area wasn't scheduled for anything that day."

"I've checked with the different transportation systems, but none of them had any personnel in this area during that time either," Ben added.

"Good idea Ben," Mike told him which brought up another question from him, "What about morning joggers or people walking their dogs?"

"Frankie and I went down to the beach and questioned what people we could find there. A few people remembered seeing him as he jogged by but they didn't hear or see anything after that. They were just too far from the street to hear anything," Jeremy put in.

"And it doesn't appear that any of the attack was waged inside his home, strictly in the front yard," Frankie told them as she flipped through her notes again, "because the interior of the house was undisturbed."

A light knock on the door interrupted the meeting as Tim Takai and Deana Williams walked in. "Sorry we're late. We've been trying to get a match on the footprints in the flowerbed, and we've been able to match all but one," Deana said as she and Tim each took their places at the table in the remaining empty chairs. She looked across the table and saw where her father and Duke had sat. A hopeful smile crossed her face as she waved her free hand at both of them.

Both men smiled back to her and when Duke briefly turned his attention back to his friend he could see a proud smile on his face

"I could be, Jasper, Tim does makes a great teacher you know," Deana teased back and winked at Tim who smiled and returned her wink. Jasper smiled at her but didn't respond to the baited teasing.

"OK you two, let's get back to business," Mike said in mock sternness as he glanced around the room and saw that everyone had enjoyed the exchange between Deana and Jasper. "Deana, you mentioned that your department had been able to match all but one of the footprints?"

"Yeah, we're working on identifying the make of those shoes." Deana replied and handed Mike a photo of the footprints, " We're thinking they're from China, and the other footprints are from local shoe styles sold here. They're a very common brand here and would be impossible to trace to the exact store that sold them, much less to the person who might have bought them. But, one of those shoes does have a notch in them and if we’re able to find the man who is wearing that shoe, you would have one of the kidnappers."

"Mike, we have been able to determine that two of the attackers are about five foot eight or nine and weighed about one hundred sixty or one hundred seventy pounds. The third man is taller and heavier than the others, about six-foot six and about two hundred forty pounds," Tim added without the need to look at his notes.

"That sort of blows Mr. Swan's description of all of them being about the same height," Ben stated after he heard of the possible height and weight of the abductors.

"True, but maybe this taller person wasn't standing up straight or close enough to the other two for him to get a more accurate description of the third person. Mr. Swan didn’t tell us what that one person was doing when he saw him. Only that he saw three men moving quickly and then they were gone," Jeremy put in as he listened to the others.

Ben looked at his fellow team members as he tried to visualize what might have happened as well as what their witness did or didn't see then thoughtfully said in agreement. "Yeah, I suppose that could have been why he had this idea they were of the same height. So I guess we'll need to question him a little more to see if he could remember what person was doing what," he concluded.

Mike quietly watched his team banter this subject back and forth. Often times this bantering got to be noisy and verbal arguments broke out, but most of the time it brought out more ideas on leads or questions that could bring about results. "Did you find any prints on the hypo cap?" he asked as he glanced once more at the photo before he handed it to Suzie seated next to him.

"Only a very small partial. I don't know if that will do us much good, but I can tell you that the hypo isn’t the regular type you see locally. According to the logo stamped into the plastic it's one of the newer types now being marketed," Deana said as she flipped through her notes. "We’ve tested the blood and the DNA matched exactly. It's Steve's," she added. "We think we have a good idea of what the drug was that was used on Steve. It hasn’t been easy because there wasn’t a lot of it to work with, but from the small amount we found we’re pretty sure it was an anesthetic called versed."

From the puzzled expression on Mike's face she knew she had temporarily lost her audience so she went on to explain, "This drug is a type of knock out drug that works rather quickly and to make sure, we’re doing more testing."

"I can contact the different hospitals, medical offices and distributors here for you to see who would have access to that type of hypo," Mark offered.

"Thanks Mark, that would help," Deana replied with an appreciative smile as she made a note about Mark’s offer.

"Okay, anything on the car?" Mike asked as he turned his attention to Frankie and Jeremy whose assignment was to find the car.

"Yeah, hold on… " Frankie said as she flipped through the pages in her notepad for the page where she had written that had that information down. "It's a National Rental car and it was rented to… a Chi Ow Tong who works for TWIS Co. Inc., Tai Woe International Shipping Company Incorporated. We're checking them out now."

"We're also trying to check out all the warehouses that TWIS owns, but it’s going to take some time," Jeremy said while he looked at the photo of the shoe prints. "Being they're a foreign owned company, it's going to be much harder to get any more information on them."

"We should be able to help out in that area too," Mark told him as he added another note to his pad. "I'll have the office get the information on the company. Like who owns it, who manages it here and a list of current employees. I should have that information for you by tomorrow morning."

"Good Mark," Mike replied with a tense smile and glimmer of satisfaction in his eyes. "What about the whereabouts of this rental car?" he asked as he turned back to Sandy.

"Nothing yet Mike, it seems to have disappeared for now," Sandy replied. "But every HPD officer is on the look out for it. We're also checking with our snitches at the docks to see if they've seen anything."

"What about that list of people that Danny and Steve have arrested and put into prison?" Mike asked Tilda.

"I gave them the list before the meeting and made a copy of the list for everyone," Tilda replied.

"Both Duke and I have looked over this list Mike, and it looks like most of those that went to prison are either still there or have died," Dan submitted. "Six have been released and are living here on the Islands, but as far as I can remember, none of these ever had shown this type of criminal tendencies."

"Tilda, I'll need you to check the computer for last known whereabouts of those who were released, and when you get that information, give it to Suzie and Jasper," Mike instructed her then turned to his two detectives, "I'll want you two to check those names out. I want the complete book on each and every one of them, everything they've done, or been doing since they've been released from prison." He paused only to take a breath before he continued, "Another thing, check for any family members or relatives of those people, living or dead, who be mercenary enough to want to extract their form of vengeance on Steve McGarrett."

"Yes sir," Jasper answered as he wrote down the additional area of investigation that Mike had ordered.

"What about any other known enemies?" Mike asked Dan and his father. His voice was sharper then he intended but he felt they were on a roll and didn’t want to stop the process.

"Danny and I will have to sit down tonight again and try to think of any others. Duke said as he handed Mike the list of names they had come up with. "We did make a quick list of those names we could think of off the top of our heads,"

Mike took a moment to examine the list then handed it to Tilda. "Good," he said appreciatively. "Tilda, make a copy of this list and see what you can bring up on the computer on these names. Anything else?" he asked as he looked each team member, but no one seemed to have anything more to add. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen lets get back out there and find some more clues. We're far from solving this case and I want Steve McGarrett found quickly and alive. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes boss," Jeremy and Frankie echoed together as they left with the rest of the group as they filed out of the room to work on their own areas of the case.

"I'll be just a second Tim. I want to say 'Hi' to my Dad," Deana told him as she hung back a little so she could speak with her father.

"No problem Deana. I'll meet you back at the office," Tim told her as he walked out of the room with the others.

Dan's face lit up some, happy to see his daughter even under such conditions. "Hi Sweetheart," he said as he gave Deana a hug. They held the embrace for a little time before separating.

"Hi Dad. Hi Uncle Duke. Look, I can't stay long, but I wanted you to know how shocked I was when I heard about Uncle Steve," she said as she gave the older man a hug of welcome too.

""Yeah, Steve always seems to come up with special 'welcome homes' but I don't think this was in his plans," Dan told her jokingly, trying to stay as up beat as he could given the circumstances.

Deana lightly laughed at his attempt, but she knew deep down in her heart her father was hurting bad and extremely worried. "I've got to get going Dad. I'll talk to you later. Okay?" she told him as she headed for the door. "Nice to see you again Uncle Duke and take care of my Dad will you?" she said at the doorframe just before she turned down the hall and disappeared into the maze of the Five-0 office complex.

Duke didn't say anything for a moment. He could see the emotional struggle his friend was experiencing at the moment, so he gave him the time he needed to deal with it while they both remained in the office to talk with Mike privately.

"Not very strong leads are they, Son?" Duke remarked as he thought back to when the many cases they worked where they still lost the victim, in spite of the leads.

Mike, at first, didn't respond as he pinned the new information about the car and company onto the board along with the list of names. He took a moment to look at the information before he turned to the two men. "No, there's not a lot to go on yet, but we do have some leads," he said, his voice harsher than he wanted then looked directly at Dan. "We need that list of all those who might have a grudge against Steve and yourself, including their families and relatives. You would know who those people are the best so when you get that list together, be sure you give it to Tilda."

Dan's temper started to flare within him as he stood there with his fists clinched into tight balls. As he sought to control his temper, he clinched and unclenched his fists several times in the attempt to calm himself down. It had been a long time since someone talked to him in such a harsh manner, and he wasn't use to it.

"Easy Danny," Duke told him as he stepped between the two men, "Michael is uptight right now and just like you, he's upset at not having enough leads. He's merely trying to cover all bases, just like Steve would have done."

"Okay, okay," Dan responded in a half-hearted submissive tone as he held up a hand. "Sorry Mike, I know you're doing all that can be done. Duke and I will work on the list for you tonight and get it back here as soon as we can."

Mike's face softened as he tried to change the tone of his voice. He could understand the way Dan felt and sympathized with him, Steve was a friend of his too, but he had a job to do. It had been a long day and looked to be an even longer night again and he was beat. Mike sighed and looked at Dan and said. "I know you want to help Danny, but right now the best way that you can do that is to get that list and stay out of the way and let my team do their job."

The temperature within the wooden container was very slow to cool as the sun set on the tropical paradise of Oahu. As the warehouse closed down at the end of the day, McGarrett repeated his call for help, but by this time, the volume of his call was diminishing. The mixture of ammonia and pinesap made such a nauseating odor that it irritated his sinuses and throat.

Carefully to avoid the splintery wood and the damp area of his confinement, McGarrett spread out the canvas bag so he could lie on it somewhat protected before he placed the rope bundle next to his head along with the netting. Right now, it was too hot to use the netting as a blanket, but he wanted it near in case he needed it.

Sleep didn’t come quickly for him that night as his mind was far too occupied to allow him to relax. As he tried to put together the many pieces of how Song had been able to put her plan into action so easily. As the hours went by, exhaustion overruled his attempt to mentally deal with his dilemma and as his eyelids became to heavy to keep open, and slipped into a fitful sleep.

The meeting lasted for over four hours, which left both Duke and Dan emotionally drained by the time it finally ended. Followed by two new HPD officers, the drive back to the Lukela home was a long one and quiet because the former detectives were deep in thought as they tried to think of how or what they could do to help find their friend.

When Deloris heard the cars enter the driveway she went to the door to greet her husband and Dan as they came up the steps. By the looks on their faces, she could see that they were tired and surmised that the meeting didn't hold any good news. "Is there any news yet?" she asked.

"Not much Honey, Mike doesn't have too many leads yet," Duke said as he walked into the living room and sat down heavily into his chair. Dan followed him into the room but continued through to the lanai where he gazed out upon the star-lit sky and the lights on the hills out the back yard. Duke followed Dan with his eyes, as he was worried with concern on what he might do. He had picked up a lot of McGarrett's traits during the years he worked for the agency. And knew and was likely impatient for some sort of action or lead to develop.

"Danny, please sit down and try to relax," Duke implored as he tried to get his guest to calm down. "Five-0 is working on the case just as hard as we would have when we were on a case. They'll find something soon, I’m sure of it."

Dan turned and looked back into the house at his friend. His blue eyes briefly showed how angry he was but softened as he thought about how little control he had over the situation. His dispirited attitude was evident in his every move as he walked back into the house and sat heavily onto the couch.

Deloris left the somber men, silently walked in to the kitchen, and soon returned with two tall glasses of chilled fruit juice that she placed on separate coasters in front of the exhausted duo. Silently she returned to the kitchen to prepare a quick but small meal for the three of them. Years of experience had taught her to be prepared for almost any type of disruption to the household pattern, but even with the delicious repast set before them, they ate in silence for their mood had become very somber.

The dismal mood was broken when the phone rang. Quickly Deloris walked to the living room, answered the phone, and said hello in her best pleasant voice.

"Hi Mom, is Dad there?" a tense and serious voice said it clearly told his mother how tired and stressed he was from the case.

Deloris quickly brought the receiver to her husband. "Duke, its Michael, he wants to talk to you," she said as she handed him the phone.

Duke got out of his chair and walked over to his wife. Dan followed closely as Duke took the receiver from her. He looked over at Dan briefly before he put it to his ear. He saw the hope in Dan’s eyes that this could good news, but it could be bad news too. "Yes Michael," he said.

"Dad, I wanted you to know, I didn't mean to snap at Danny like I did," Mike confessed as he rested his head heavily on the receiver and toyed with a pencil.

A slight smile grew on Duke’s face when he heard the tone of his son's voice. Now more than ever, he wished that his son would allow them to help more with the search for Steve. He knew all to well what Mike had to deal with at the moment. "He understands son." He replied somberly, "He's just worried about Steve, like we all are. Have there been any more leads?"

Mike sighed before he answered, "No, not yet. Although, Mark just brought me his information on the company that owns the warehouse and we're trying to work through it now to see if there's anything we can use."

"How about a two more pair of eyes for that?" Duke offered as he over at the other two people as they listened to Duke’s side of the conversation. Dan tried to about to ask him something, but was cut off when he held up his hand to stop him before he could say anything.

"No Dad," Mike replied as he wearily ran his hand through his hair, "right now the two of us can handle it but I'll let you know when we could use your help." Like his predecessor, he took the responsibility of the case very personally and would push his team hard to get results, but he would push himself harder.

"Okay son, but please keep us informed," Duke replied, the worry was evident in his voice.

Mike bid his father goodbye and hung up the phone. He walked out onto the lanai to get some fresh air in hopes it would clear any cobwebs from his mind. The night air was cool and felt good on his face as he gazed out over the city. 'Where are you Steve?' he asked himself, 'Who has you and why and are you OK? We know it was your blood we found, so how bad are you hurt?' These were just a few questions that were foremost on his mind but yet remained disturbingly unanswered.

Duke hung up the phone and sat there for a moment. He could tell by his son’s voice just how tired he was and knew he wouldn't stop until McGarrett was found, dead or alive

"What did he have to say?" Dan asked obviously anxious for some good news.

Duke leaned back in the chair and sighed. "Just that he's sorry he snapped at you earlier," he said. "And that the FBI has come through with some information on the company that owns the warehouses. They’re going through that information now." He paused for a moment as he reflected on what was said at the meeting and what they needed to do. "Right now we need to get that list together for Mike. Other than that, we wait."

Dan looked at his friend for a moment, then walked out to the front of the house to think. As he stepped outside, he noticed one of the HPD officers in his car but didn’t pay attention to him. His heart and mind ached with worry. He wearily thrust his hands into his pants pockets as he paced the lanai. It had been nearly forty-eight hours since the kidnapping, and he knew that each day that went by shortened the likelihood of finding McGarrett alive. He began to feel a deep void in his heart at the thought that he might lose his friend of over thirty years this way. With all his emotional strength, he tried to push from his mind thoughts that in spite of all the efforts of Mike and the Five-O team, the worst could still happen.

Duke joined Dan outside because he wasn't sure what he might do. He put his hand on his friend's shoulder. He felt the same frustration at not being able to be involved actively in the search. But he offered a silent prayer that Steve would be found soon and alive. He also knew Dan, and that he was capable of acting impulsively. The years he worked with him proven that. He just hoped that he wouldn't go off half-cocked and try to find Steve on his own, not now.