Troubled Waters

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. Waiting during summer hiatus is so difficult that my muse decided to show up with an idea.

Hello, I hope there are a few of you who like what I write. This is not a finished story so the posting may be a bit erratic at first. Please hang in there with me.

Chapter 1

Lou Grover tipped the Longboard bottle back and took the final swallow before setting it back on the deck of the fishing boat. He smiled widely at his companion in the chair alongside him.

"Now this is what I call fishing," he drawled to McGarrett. "You can have all that spear gunning, deep diving crap. Give me a rod and reel, a boat and some beer and I'm in heaven."

"You do look relaxed," Steve admitted as he left his seat to fetch two more beers from the cooler. "You really did hate losing that bet, didn't you?"

"I was not raised in the ocean my friend. You had an unfair advantage," Lou grumbled as he accepted the bottle. "Hey, I get that Danny had his daughter's cheerleading event to go to today and couldn't join us but why did he ask if my life insurance was paid up? He implied rather strongly that I was making a major mistake coming out with you."

Steve chuckled as he returned to his seat.

"I took Danny fishing a while back and we got boat jacked. Danny was sure we would die out on the ocean but we didn't. Everything worked out okay."

"You got boat jacked?" Lou said in surprise. He pushed his ball cap back, off his forehead and surveyed the stretch of blue around them.

Steve had once again borrowed Chin's uncle's boat, the Aigle De-Mer and the two men were fishing off the west coast of Oahu. They could barely make out to thin line of coast in the distance and the peak of Pu'u'ohulu Kai on the land to the northeast of them.

"Does trouble follow you everywhere?" Grover teased lightly.

"No, that was just bad luck and involved a killer who didn't plan his escape very well. Danny tends to forget that he was on this boat too, it wasn't just me that had the bad luck to be out on the ocean," Steve shrugged.

"This boat?" Lou questioned as he pointed down at the deck. "This very boat? How did Chin's uncle ever agree to let you borrow it again?"

"The boat wasn't damaged and he got it back. I paid a rental fee, everything turned out fine. This wasn't my fault Lou," Steve said defensively. "Relax, it won't happen again."

"It had better not," Lou chuckled. "I will not abandon those two beauties I have on ice over there because some idiot wants this boat," he added pointing to the large cooler behind him.

"Danny actually did get his tuna back, it was delicious. He is missing out on some great fishing," Steve grinned thinking of the one monster fish he pulled in that was resting on ice next to Grover's two beauties. "Just don't get talked into letting Kamekona prepare yours as poke unless you want your wallet to be a lot lighter."

A laugh rumbled out of the big man before he took a swallow of his beer.

"I'll remember that. I'm thinking of firing up the grill for those two."

As they relaxed in the chairs when a low rumble could be heard approaching over the water from the south. As it grew in volume, Steve got to his feet and moved to the controls of the boat. Lou leaned down to rummage through small duffel bag at the foot of his chair and brought out a pair of binoculars. He focused on the boat that could be seen heading towards them.

"Looks like one of those expensive power boats," Lou observed as the sleek boat grew larger.

"Yea, there is a lot of money tied up in that baby," Steve nodded, watching through his own pair of binoculars. After the last fishing trip with Danny, Steve had come more prepared in case of trouble. As the boat came closer, Steve grabbed his gun off the boat dash and tucked it in the back of his short's waistband.

The boat slowed as it got closer and swung in a wide arc around them. There was a skinny Hawaiian native at the wheel with two haoles standing behind him with legs spread wide. The two men were hanging onto the seat backs to maintain their balance as the boat cut through the water. The man behind the driver was dark blonde, solidly built, his companion was darker and of a slimmer build. Both were wearing dress slacks with button down shirts and sport coats, totally out of place for relaxing ride on a lovely Sunday. Steve and Lou exchanged skeptical looks as the wind blew open the coat of the blonde behind the driver, revealing what appeared to be a shoulder holster. As quickly as it was revealed, coat fell back into place.

When the boat completed its circuit of their craft and they were rocking in the wake of the power boat, the man behind the driver leaned forward to shout something in the Hawaiian's ear. Then the two haoles waved at McGarrett and Grover as the driver gunned the engine and the boat headed away from them to the north.

"Well that was interesting," Lou commented as the boat continued to rock beneath them. "Did you get the feeling we were being checked out?"

"I did indeed and we were not who they were looking for," Steve answered as he trained his binoculars on the boat disappearing to the north. He watched the boat change course and head inland while still maintaining a northern direction. "They're searching for someone or something." He changed his gaze to the area ahead of the powerboat's path, searching for its target.

"Should we follow? I've got a funny feeling about those guys, they didn't look like three guys out for a joyride," Lou stated.

"I think it's time we move on," Steve said decidedly. "We aren't getting any more hits anyway." He started the boat's engine as Lou moved to the rear and brought in the fishing lines. Steve swung the Aigle De-Mer around to pursue the speedboat. Pushing the boat to its highest speed, Steve swore as the older boat was sluggish in its response to his directions. Grover joined him at the controls, keeping his own high powered glasses trained on the boat in the distance.

"Over there," he finally announced, pointing off to the right. They could make out the small shape of the powerboat approaching a slightly larger craft that was moving slowly to the north.

Steve throttled back on the power, not ready to give away their presence just yet. They had no idea if anything illegal was about to go down, just an uneasy feeling that the occupants of the powerboat were up to no good. It was too soon to let the men know that they were following them, so far nothing illegal had happened. McGarrett shifted the direction their boat was headed so that they would appear to be heading behind the other boats.

With no place to hide out on the water, Steve slowed his boat even more, knowing how easily sound carried over the water. As they slowly closed the distance, Grover's glasses gave him a better view of what was going on.

"The powerboat is circling the other boat just like they did us. The fishing boat is named Kula Nai'a…whatever that means. It is in large print on the rear."

"Golden Dolphin," Steve said automatically. "That's what the name means."

"Well it doesn't look so golden anymore," Lou replied as he observed the general age and battered look to the craft.

Steve raised his own glasses to his eyes to see what was going on.

The sleek, high powered boat finished its circuit and moved in close to the side of the larger craft. One of the men in the speedboat grabbed the side of the fishing boat and held it steady while the other climbed aboard. The speedboat driver had stopped the engine and he handed the second man what looked like a semi-automatic rifle before taking over holding the boat in place. The other man vaulted onto the larger boat.

As their craft continued to close the distance, the sound of rapid gunfire could be heard echoing over the water. Lou and Steve exchanged concerned looks.

"That can't be good," Lou said before looking back at the two boats.

"No…..I'd say it's very bad," Steve answered as he put his binoculars down and reached for the throttle. "I think it's time to step in. Keep an eye on them."

The boat surged forward with a deep roar. Even at its fastest speed it would still take precious minutes before they'd reach the other boats, too late to stop what was happening.

Grover was clinging to a seat back as he continued to keep eyes on what was occurring across the water. He could see the Hawaiian had noticed their approach and was shouting to his partners on board.

"We've been noticed. They aren't going to hang around long," Lou warned.

Steve nodded and reached for the radio using one hand to steer as he keyed the microphone open and dialed the Coast Guard frequency.

"This is Lt. Commander Steve McGarrett of 5-0. I need assistance off shore of Kahe Point, several miles out. We have witnessed shots fired on a fishing boat, the Kula Nai'a. A powerboat with three men came alongside and two men boarded," he shouted above the roar of the engine. "I'm with Captain Lou Grover, we need support. We are closing in on the boats and I will try to get the registration number of the powerboat. Please contact 5-0 for land support, we will try to follow the powerboat and head them in to shore if we can." He gave them their coordinates at their request and then tossed the microphone on the dash.

"What do you see?" he asked.

"The two men are getting back in the speedboat. They brought two bags out with them. I don't see any movement on the fishing boat."

The binoculars were no longer necessary as they now could see and be seen. Lou made his way back to his own bag and dug around to bring out his service weapon and some spare ammo clips. Fastening the holster to his waistband, he rejoined Steve at the controls.

"I see you came prepared," Steve observed loudly.

"Danny's warning made it seem like a smart move," Lou answered.

The radio burst to life, assuring Steve that a boat was being dispatched and 5-0 along with HPD were being notified. Steve responded.

"The suspects are fleeing the scene. There's no sign of movement on the Kula Nai'a. Have them check for survivors, we are in pursuit of the suspects," he reported.

"Yes sir, we will send out a second boat to back you up. Keep us informed," came back the reply.

"Duck!" Lou shouted as the powerboat moved away from the Golden Dolphin and roared towards them. The two men raised their assault weapons and began firing.

Lou responded by firing back as they swung wide to circle the boat. Steve pushed the older boat's engine to the limit, turning away from the faster craft.

"Shoot for the driver or the engine," Steve shouted.

"I'm no Navy sniper, I've only got a handgun," Lou protested. "Didn't you pack an AK-47 for this trip?"

"No…I didn't plan that far ahead," Steve shouted back. "Here, you take the controls and I'll shoot," he said as he grabbed his own weapon from the back of his shorts. "Just keep us heading towards shore."

End chapter.

Looks like it is a typical fishing trip for Steve. Thank you for reading.