Title: Stairway to Heaven
Rating: T
Disclaimer: We did check, but it seems that they still don't belong to us. So, we hope CBS and whoever own the rights doesn't mind us borrowing them for a little while.
Summary: Since he was young, one thing on Steve's "Bucket List" had been to climb the Haiku Stairs. When the opportunity arises, things don't go quite as he planned…
A/N: A few weeks ago I found an interesting article about the Haiku Stairs. I immediately thought about Stevie going up there with his friends. And since Steve is still a boy at heart, he wanted in on the fun as well. It wasn't really that hard to involve Cokie in this, I would even say she was more than eager.
This is our first 'hurt-story' under our new name. I hope you will enjoy it.
… Sam
I had seen pictures of the Haiku Stairs several months ago and sort of filed them in the back of my mind to do more research. When Sam mentioned them, I thought that was a sign that we needed to write about them. And, of course, Steve HAD to be involved! So, I guess you could say I was eager. Or easy… whichever. I hope you like what we have come up with.
… Cokie
Stairway to Heaven - Chapter 01
Kamekona was doing three things at once. And praying to the gods that he wouldn't mess up.
First and foremost… flying.
Second… listening to McGarrett's words in his head… keep it level, watch the instruments (his gaze automatically flew to the attitude indicator) and… don't crash.
Third… reciting his travel monologue.
The sightseeing business wasn't as easy to break into as he had thought, and unfortunately, business wasn't booming. The chopper with his smiling face on it set on the pad by the shrimp truck, but he had very few clients. He couldn't believe that tourists didn't take him seriously.
But this morning luck was on his side. A family of four asked for a charter tour of Oahu. The Li family had stopped their sight-seeing for an early lunch at the shrimp truck. Mr. Li had inquired about the price for a fly over and agreed to the grand tour. Tommy Li, who was eleven, sat in the co-pilot seat, overjoyed at having the joystick in front of him and mesmerized by all the gauges and knobs on the instrument panel. Kamekona had already reminded him twice not to touch.
Mr. and Mrs. Li sat in the back with six year old Cindy between them. Mrs. Li appeared to be a bit more apprehensive about this trip than her smiling husband and children. She had scooted as close to Cindy… and as far away from the side… as possible. One hand was on the back of the seat in front of her and the other was around her daughter's shoulder. Kamekona only hoped she wasn't the type who got airsick. This fine chopper was still his pride and joy… not to mention the fact that it wasn't paid for. He made a mental note to buy barf bags at his earliest opportunity.
In his usual overconfidence, Kamekona felt he was in his element. But hearing his friend's words in his head 'crashing the helicopter is bad for business' he again checked the instruments.
Today they were flying over Oahu's beautiful mountains and forests with the breathtaking waterfalls. He had even practiced the words he would recite… trying to use what he called "the King's English" in the hope that it would bring a greater tip at the end of the trip.
…"And just ahead on the right, you will see the Haiku Stairs, or as it is known in Hawaii, the Stairway to Heaven. The Coast Guard had an antenna at the top of the mauna… that means mountain," Kamekona threw a few Hawaiian words in when he could after realizing that most tourists were interested in learning the easier words. "The stairs were built in 1942 so that they could reach the summit. Tommy, take a look down there. How many steps do you think there are?"
"Um, I don't know. Probably a lot. Maybe 500?" The young boy spoke into his microphone.
"Not even close, Bruddah," Kamekono said with a grin. Glancing in the back he asked the young girl. "Kiki, how many steps do you think are there?"
She shook her head but her dad whispered something to her and she replied, "Two thousand? That's a lot."
"It is a lot, but still not even close. You would have to climb almost 4,000 steps to get to the top. But the station was closed and all access to the platform was shut off years ago. People who have climbed it say the view is the best in Hawaii. But…," he grinned at them. "We can see the same view up here without all the exercise, if you get my drift."
Mr. Li was taking photos with his camera and Tommy was snapping away with his cell phone. "Hey!" Tommy exclaimed, leaning forward in his seat and looking out the bubble.
"Tommy!" Mrs. Li begged. "Please sit still."
"Mr. Kamekona! I think there's someone down there."
"No, I don't think so," Kamekona told him. "There's a guard at the bottom of the mountain to keep people out."
"No, I see something. Look, Dad." Tommy insisted and motioned with his arms down to the platform.
"I am afraid he is right," Mr. Li agreed. "There's a body down there!"
Kamekona banked the helicopter and he, too, could see someone lying at the top of the stairs, half in the shade of the old station. All he could tell was that the person was wearing a red shirt… and that he wasn't moving.
Mrs. Li began speaking rapidly in her native language while covering Cindy's eyes.
"Mr. Kamekona, my wife wishes that we quit the tour and return to our car."
"Aw, Dad—"
"Tommy, quiet."
Kamekona knew that his good day had suddenly disappeared.
- - - H50 - - -
"Kamekona, my big, scary friend, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company?" Danny asked, seeing the entrepreneur walk through the glass doors of their offices. "You look unhappy to be here."
"Anytime I get close to the po-lice, I get jumpy," the big man admitted. "Dis place makes my skin crawl."
"Hey, Brah," Kono said, coming around the corner and giving him a hug. "I don't make you jumpy, do I?"
"Not you, pretty wahine, but all those men in blue…" he shuddered for effect. "I get the heebee-jeebees."
"So what can we do for you?" Danny asked.
"I brung you a case," he said, pulling his phone out of the pocket of his shorts. He waved to Steve who was working in his office. "Let's get the big kahuna in here, too."
By the time Steve came out, Catherine and Chin had just arrived from Max's office in follow up of a recent case and everyone congregated around the smart table.
"What's up?" Steve asked as he joined them.
"Not my bisness," Kamekono lamented. "Thas' fo shure. I had a charter today and had to refund the money on account of we saw a dead guy."
"A dead—where?" Steve asked.
"I'll show you," Kamekona said, activating his phone.
"Here, let me," Chin said and held out his hand. Setting the phone down on the table, he worked his magic and a body appeared on the screens above them.
"Is that-?" Steve asked.
"-The top of Haiku Stairs," Kamekona finished for him. "Yep, we did a fly by. The Missus was so frightened I had to give back their kala. And I didn't even get a tip at the end of the trip for my troubles. That's rough, man." He shook his head in obvious despair.
"Yeah, looks like it wasn't a picnic for this guy either," Danny mumbled.
Steve was closely examining the photo. "If he made it all the way up there, he could have had a heart attack before he could get back down, but— Chin, can you zoom in?"
"What do you see?" he asked, zooming.
"There, off to the right. A knife."
"A bloody knife," Catherine added.
"So, I'm guessing this wasn't an accident," Danny said.
"And that's why I'm here," Kamekona told them. "Seeing as how I'm a law-abiding citizen and all, do you think I could get some compensation for my troubles? You see, that whirlybird doesn't run on air and fuel costs moo-la. Do you think the state of Hawaii could refund me the cost of today's trip?"
Steve placed his hand on the larger man's shoulder. "Kamekona, the state of Hawaii thanks you for your dedication to keeping these islands safe. But we don't have a slush fund for things like this."
"Can't blame a guy for tryin'," he mumbled while heading toward the door. "Let me know what you find up there."
"Thanks, Kamekona," Chin called after him. "So, what's the first step?"
"I doubt you can do much with facial recognition," Steve said. "But see what you can do. Danny and I will go talk to the guard at the base of the mountain to see if anyone was scheduled to hike up there in the last 48 hours."
"Wait a second. This is that Stairway to Heaven thing, isn't it?" Danny asked.
"Yeah."
"And someone would willingly climb up all those steps? For fun?"
"Well, for several years, you have had to show proof of a million dollar liability insurance policy if you wanted to walk up," Steve said. "The stairs are off limits because they need repair."
"But I've seen people posting pictures on Facebook from the top of the mountain," Cath said. "So some are getting through."
"Yeah, they sneak in," Steve said. "And if that's what this guy did, it got him in trouble."
"Have you ever been up there?" Danny asked.
"Where? Top of the mountain?"
"Yeah, where'd you think I meant?"
After a moment Steve shook his head and headed to his office before heading out. "Nah, that's one place I've never been," Steve called over his shoulder. He retrieved his badge which was on the desk and came back. "Kono, you and Cath coordinate getting an ME and a forensics team up there. It might take some time to get a bird in the air. But tell them not to disturb the body if they get there before we do."
"Right on it, Boss."
"Be careful," Catherine told him.
"Coming Danny?" he asked as Danny met him in the hallway.
"Lead on, McDuff."
- - - H50 - - -
Steve's phone rang just as they left the guard's shack at the base of the mountain. The guard had seen or heard no one since his arrival on site at 6 a.m. But he seemed pumped for some excitement and readily filled out the paperwork to allow them access to the steps.
Thanking the man once again, Steve turned away and answered the phone. "Chin, what do you have?"
"Surprisingly a name," the lieutenant replied. "Facial recognition worked and not only do I have a name, I have his record. The guy's name is Ricky Keaki and he was brought in for burglary six years ago, but never charged. The record is from a slew of unpaid parking and speeding tickets. Apparently Keaki doesn't like to pay."
"Anything else we can use?" Danny asked, listening to the conversation on speaker.
"He's married; they live off Kamehameha in Waipio. I can send you an address. I'm going through his list of priors and seeing if I can find known associates."
"That's good," Steve agreed. "Keep us posted."
"Will do."
They walked back to the car and Steve opened the trunk and pulled out his loaded backpack. He then waited with the trunk open and glanced at Danny who was leaning against the car door.
Danny looked back and gave Steve a confused look. "What are we doing?"
"Excuse me, but you don't plan on going like that?" Steve asked his friend and motioned to his attire.
"What? What's wrong with it?" Danny asked and looked down at what he was wearing.
"You can't go up there in those shoes," Steve explained and shook his head at Danny.
"Well, excuse me, Mister-Hiking-Expert, couldn't you tell me that before we left the office? I thought these were steps… why can't I wear my shoes?"
"Seriously? Danny, I thought you had boots in the trunk or something." Steve motioned up the Haiku Stairs and had a hard time not yelling at his partner. "Who the heck goes to that crime scene in loafers?" Steve only shook his head. But more at himself than at Danny. He should have told him to dress properly; even after all these years he couldn't expect Danny to know what this particular location of their murder case entailed. "I'm sorry, Danny, I should have been more specific about where we were going. I just thought you had boots in the car."
"I'm not like you, prepared for everything," Danny grumbled obviously in annoyance.
Steve again sighed about this point that Danny brought up again and again; but he swore he would not bite, not this time. "Tell you what, Danny. HPD is flying the equipment and the CSU guys up there. They can't land, but you can hitch a ride and winch down with one of the guys. I'll call Kono and-"
"You want me to hang from a helicopter over a mountain ridge to look at a crime scene that will be photographed from every angle anyway? AND where there is probably nothing to find in the first place," Danny called out.
"You don't know that!" The head of Five-0 glared at his second in command and wondered if Danny got up on the wrong side of the bed today. He had been in a foul mood ever since he had come into the office this morning. "So, what you're saying is that we shouldn't take a look at the scene of the murder?"
"No, what I'm saying is that you should satisfy your hunger for crazy hiking trips and take a look. In the meantime, I will go and talk to the victim's wife," Danny said. "Go and have fun," he added and made the motion to shoo his friend away. "But first, let me see where you're headed in case you never return. Might I point out that there is no stairway here?"
"It's this way, but be careful. We have to walk through a bamboo patch before we get to it."
"If you've never been here, how the heck do you know that?"
Steve hesitated, then replied, "I read." They navigated the bamboo and came to a small underpass, a short, metal tunnel of sorts covered with vegetation. "The stairs are on the other side of this."
"OK, I think I'll take your word for it," Danny said, looking through the small enclosure. "I'll go notify the victim's wife."
Steve thought for a moment about it and then came to a conclusion. "Fine. Take Catherine with you. Kono can help Chin track down his associates. I'll call if I find anything interesting."
"As if," Danny mumbled and turned without another look at the hike up the mountain. "Be careful," he called back to his friend before navigating the bamboo. "Maybe you should drop Skittles like E.T. so you don't get lost."
"I'm good," Steve called back to him. "And it was Reese's Pieces, not Skittles." Steve watched his partner leave and again shook his head, but he did so with a smile. He could understand Danny's concern, he was not a friend of the outdoors, and for sure not on friendly terms with any mountain ridges. Be careful. Right. What was Danny thinking could happen to him while he walked up the steps to their murder scene? Steve chuckled at the thousand possibilities Danny would come up with out of the top of his head.
He was still softly chuckling when he set foot on the ladder and the first of the 3,922 steps leading to their crime scene.
- - - H50 - - -
Steve made good time on his trek up the mountain. There were a few places that needed repair, but surprisingly the steps seemed to be in pretty decent shape. He kept an eye out for anything out of place while enjoying the hike. An hour and a half into the trip, he reached the second resting platform and knew he was more than half way through. He slowed, looking out over the view and then looked down, thinking that it hadn't changed much in the past twenty-five or so years. Steve grinned to himself. Danny hadn't asked if he'd ever started up the mountain; he only asked if he'd been on top. And Steve hadn't.
But it wasn't for lack of trying…
Haiku Stairs, 1989
"Did your mom buy it?" Steve asked Cale as they sat at the bottom of the Haiku Stairs. He looked at his new friend who had come to the islands late in the school year. His mom had moved here to be near her family after her husband had died in a car crash about a year ago.
Steve liked Cale, even though he was kind of strange and a bit of an outcast with the other kids. Maybe that was what drew him to Cale. He always felt the need to protect the slightly younger boy. Cale was very intelligent, but didn't fit in at all. Probably because he was so different.
"Yeah, no problem. My mom had talked to your dad at the class meeting. I think she liked him," Cale said and pulled Steve out of his thoughts.
"Hope she won't call," Steve mumbled around a chocolate bar he had brought. Mrs. Tucker had invited him over after he had 'saved' Cale from some seventh graders who were always picking on the younger kids at lunch break. They had also tried their luck on Steve, but since he was tall for his 12 years and was on the football team they left him mostly alone.
"At least my parents won't, they were really happy that I could stay with you this weekend," Kami piped in.
"How come?" Cale wanted to know.
"They are visiting friends on the North Shore." Kami told them.
Steve knew that neither his mom nor his dad would call Kami's parents; the friends had spent countless weekends at each other's house. And as far as Steve knew the other parents had never called; they knew the kids were getting along great and both pair of parents trusted the other. So Steve was sure they were safe from that angle.
But he was not so sure about Cale's mom even though Cale had assured them she was fine and wouldn't call. If their parents found out that they had all lied and had gone up the forbidden mountain, Steve was sure they could kiss all future weekends good bye until the next millennium. But that was a risk they were all willing to take.
"How long will it take to reach... is it called a summit?" Cale wanted to know and looked up to the mountain top.
"Yeah, the summit. There was a Coast Guard station up there, but it's abandoned now," Steve explained. "We will need a couple of hours at least."
"Will the sun be down before we reach the top?" Cale asked.
"Why, you afraid of the dark, or something?" Kami now wanted to know.
"No, I just wondered if we will reach the top and make camp before it gets dark," Cale defended his question.
"We'll have plenty of light to make camp, don't worry Cale," Steve assured him and looked at his friend. Now was the last chance to change course. "If you don't want to go up, we can do something else. There's a cool bunker not far from here," Steve told them and motioned to the west of them.
"A bunker?" Cale was curious.
"Yeah, it's an old WW2 bunker. It's also off limits, but I know how to get in."
"You've been in there?"
"No, not yet," he said with a proud grin. "But Kami and I figured out how to get in. So, if you want to do that, it's fine with me," Steve said and gave the younger boy an out. He looked at Kami and saw that he was not happy, but would agree to go to the bunker instead.
"No, I think we should go up the mountain. We can take on the bunker another time," Cale added.
"Okay. Then let's go," Steve called out delighted that his friend trusted them to come with them on the hike. "Daylight's wasting."
- - - H50 - - -
They had been hiking up the steps for almost two hours now. Despite being fit due to his football training, Steve felt like his legs would fall off really soon. His tee shirt was drenched in sweat and his cargo shorts felt way too warm, even though they were of light material.
Steve looked at his two panting friends and could see the pain on their faces. Kami did cross country, so he was not as winded as Cale, but Steve could see they both had doubts if they would make it up the mountain.
"Hey, how about a break?" Steve asked and motioned to a place about thirty feet ahead of them.
It was not quite a platform, but it had more room than the steps and they would be able to sit down.
"Yeah," Cale panted out and grinned despite the sweat that was covering his red face and running down his neck. "That looks great."
It took them another couple of minutes to reach the wider space and then they gratefully took off their backpacks and sat down in a semi-circle. Each of them happy to catch their breath.
"I didn't think it would be so hard to get up here," Kami said into the silence.
"Yeah," Steve said and looked up the rest of the way.
They had been very careful on their way up; some of the steps were missing and the guard rail didn't look always too sturdy. So they really had to watch their steps.
"How much longer will it be tothe top?" Cale asked after taking a swig out of his water bottle.
"I think we're over halfway up." Steve estimated their progress.
"Shit. Really? I thought we would be almost there," Kami exclaimed his disappointment.
"No, not yet," Steve said and got his own water bottle out.
"So, another two hours in this heat?" Cale asked and leaned against one of the posts.
"No, not that long. But the weather forecast said it would be cloudy and not as hot today," Steve felt the need to defend himself, as if the weather was his fault. "I checked, and it said cloudy with highs of 65."
"It's at least a 120," Kami grumbled.
"Right," Steve answered with a grin and shook his head at his best friend. "If not more."
"Now, look at what we have here!"
They were all startled by the loud voice coming from above them.
Steve turned his head and groaned when he saw Dorian and three of his buddies. They were the school's worst bullies. All of them doing a second round in seventh grade.
"Leave us alone, Dorian," Steve said and stood up.
Steve was just as tall as the two years older boys, but by far not equally built. He was not scared of them, but he knew that a fight wouldn't end in his favor. But he hoped none of them would be stupid enough to do anything in this location.
"What are you little ladies doing here? Having a nice picnic? How sweet. Do your mommies know you're here?" Dorian taunted the three younger boys.
"How about you just move on and leave us to our picnic?" Steve said and stood his ground.
"Hey, Cabbage, you have anything to say?"
"His name is Cale," Steve answered for his friend who still sat on the ground holding on to the rail next to him.
"As I said, Kale, like the cabbage," Dorian laughed and glared at Steve. "What kind of idiot's name is that anyway?"
Steve watched as Cale stood up now and moved next to him. "It's my name. You have a problem with that?"
Steve wondered why Cale had to choose that moment to finally stand up for himself, but he wished he would have waited a little longer. Maybe long enough to be back on safer grounds. But no, his friend had to find his courage on a freaking hiking trail.
"Uh huh, listen to that. The little shit grew some balls," Dorian called to his friends and tried to grab Cale in a very inappropriate way.
"Hey, hands off, you asshole," Steve yelled and pushed Dorian away. He wondered for a second what his mom would think about his language choice.
But he didn't have long to consider her reaction when Dorian suddenly was right in front of him and punched him in the gut. Steve went down to his knees with a grunting sound and thought his insides were ripped apart. Air was also not easy to draw in.
"Leave him alone," Cale yelled and pushed Dorian back.
Steve was just getting back to his feet when the older boy charged at Cale in a wild rage.
"NO!" Steve yelled and stepped between Cale and the outraged Dorian.
It was too late for Dorian to stop and he rammed his shoulder into Steve's chest, robbing him of all air and catapulting him back. Steve crashed into the railing, crying out in pain from hitting the metal with his back.
Six shocked pairs of eyes watched as Steve toppled through the rail, lost his balance and vanished from view down the mountain side.
"Steve!" was the last Steve heard before he impacted with the unforgiving mountain side.
- - - H50 - - -
