PART III - CHAPTER ONE
Title: "Salvation Series: It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood"
Author: Michelle Heath
Rating: MA for adult situations and language
Summary: Story #10 in the Salvation Series.
Disclaimer: I so do not own Hawaii Five-O; unfortunately! All original characters are the property of the author!
Date Written: March 4, 2017
(Author's Note: Thank you to those of you who have sent reviews on this story and this series. I haven't been updating as much and as quickly as I did at one time, and I apologize. I love receiving reviews of my work and appreciate you taking the time to send one. And now, on to Part III of this story . . .)
(Sam has been in Washington for three days and is heartily sick of testifying before the Senate Appropriations Committee. After making her presentation on the first day of meetings, she has answered the same questions about the same specific things for the past two days and she is not a happy camper. The only bright spot in her day has been an unexpected invitation from Adm. William Compton, the U.S. Navy's liaison to Homeland Security and an old and dear friend of both Sam's biological and adopted fathers. Having correctly picked up on the slight note of frustration in Sam's voice during their phone call, the Admiral told Sam to change into civvies and he'd pick her up at her hotel at 1900 hours and take her to dinner. Sam is dressed in a pale lavender, short-sleeved dress with white, heeled sandals and a white clutch purse and downstairs in the lobby when Adm. Compton arrives. Sam hasn't seen the Admiral since the day of her biological parents' funeral when she was seventeen years old but, like her adopted father, the man looks as if he's aged very little in the years since. The gentle expression on his face and his outstretched arms bring a rush of emotion to Sam and she has to take a deep breath to keep her tears at bay as she steps into the Admiral's embrace and returns his hug.)
"Hello, Sir."
"Sir? What happened to 'Uncle Will'?"
"It's been a long time, Admi . . Uncle Will."
"That it has, Samantha, but both of your fathers and I were very close when we were in the teams, and you must know that I will always think of you as family. I know that I haven't been around for some time, but I hope the feeling is mutual."
"It is."
"Good. You are radiantly beautiful, Sam; marriage and motherhood are obviously agreeing with you."
"Very much so. Steve and Emily are my life; I'd be lost without them."
"Well, in the spirit of full disclosure, I have to tell you that I've gone through your husband's service record with a fine-toothed comb and I've also talked with Mike Thrasher in great detail about that young man. I approve. After all, the man is a S.E.A.L."
"Yeah, that pretty much sold Dad on him, too. I'd love for you to meet Steve."
"It just so happens that I'm going to be at Pearl in a few weeks, and I will definitely be meeting him while I'm there."
"I just hope I'm back home by the time you get there. The way these hearings are going I'm not sure I'm ever going to get back to Hawaii."
"Sam, my dear, politicians think it's their sworn duty to beat something past death in order to be able to tell their constituents they thoroughly investigated the expenditure before committing the tax payer's dollars."
"Well, I don't know about beating the budget to death, but they're doing an excellent job of making me stark, raving mad."
(Surprisingly, although he definitely misses his wife, Steve has been kept rather busy in Sam's absence. He and Emily had a wonderful evening the night Sam left for Washington as they watched one of Emily's favorite movies after a dinner of hot dogs and French fries, and Emily fell asleep in Steve's arms. She was also in a very good mood when Steve dropped her off with Rosa at Kono's and Tony's on his way in to the Palace the next morning. Steve had been at his desk about an hour when he got a call from H.P.D. about a murder victim they'd just discovered who had ties to a human trafficking ring. For the past two days, the Five-O task force has been working as the lead investigative agency on the murder and they are very close to discovering why the victim was in Hawaii; it isn't something any of them want to believe. Apparently, young women in Honolulu are about to become the prime targets for the human traffickers and it's up to Five-O to keep that from happening. All four of the task force members are putting in some extremely long hours and Emily is staying with her grandparents for the duration. Steve is, of course, spending what little free time he has at his in-laws but is sleeping at his and Sam's house because it is quicker and easier for him to respond to the area of Honolulu where they suspect the trafficking ring is going to try to abduct their victims. Although he and Sam have been able to talk a few times each day on the phone, and Sam has also talked to Emily, Steve is missing his wife a great deal and wants her back home as soon as possible. Of course, he isn't about to say anything to Sam that might upset her and he does his level best to be upbeat and encouraging every time they talk. He has just spoken with Sam and she was much more upbeat because Adm. Compton was taking her to dinner. Satisfied that his wife is, at least for the moment, not as stressed as she has been for the past three days, Steve walks out to the smart table where Kono and Danny are looking at pictures of possible suspects in the murder as well as pictures of men who are suspected of being members of the human trafficking ring. Chin is in his office on the phone with someone from the Honolulu office of the F.B.I. Both Kono and Danny appear to be annoyed by the lack of progress they are making; Kono in particular. As Steve walks up to the opposite side of the smart table, she throws her hands up, utters a sound of frustration, and crosses her arms in front of her. Steve and Danny exchange a wary glance because they both know that Kono is thoroughly pissed off at the situation and an angry Kono is very dangerous, indeed.)
"This is getting us nowhere! We've been over this same information for two days now and we're no closer to finding the scumbags who want to kidnap, rape, torture, and sell into human bondage the women on this island! When are we going to get the information the F.B.I. has, Steve?"
"Chin's on the phone with them right now, Kono."
"And this is the third time that someone from Five-O has talked to someone from the F.B.I., and we still don't have anything from them! I telling you right now that, should Chin not have any better luck than you and Danny did, I am going to personally go over to their office and I'm not leaving until I get what we need! And I'm not going to be nice about it, either!"
"Whoa, Kono, take it down a notch! Chin's pretty good at persuading people to come around to his way of thinking. I'm sure he'll be able to get what we need."
(But the words have barley left Steve's mouth when Chin, an irritated expression on his face, walks out of his office and joins them.)
"Those idiots at the F.B.I. are still stone-walling us, Steve. I talked to the Assistant Special Agent In Charge of the Honolulu field office and all but begged him to give us the information they've amassed on this trafficking ring, but he's saying that the Special Agent In Charge is on the mainland on vacation and he doesn't have the authority to turn anything over to anyone."
"Steve!"
"Hang on, Kono! How long is this guy's boss going to be on vacation, Chin?"
"Nine more days."
"Well, that's not good. Anybody know anyone at the Bureau in Washington?"
(And Steve, Kono, and Chin all look at Danny with "you've got to be kidding me" expressions on their faces.)
"It was just a thought, geez. Okay, I say we send Kono over to the F.B.I. field office and let her kick some ass."
"Now you're talking!"
"Kono, you are not going anywhere and you are most definitely not going to kick anyone's six. We need to take a minute and think this through."
(And something truly terrifying happens . . . Kono, who just seconds before was literally vibrating with suppressed anger, is now standing completely still and her facial expression has gone from utterly furious to quietly determined. All three of her co-workers look at one another and then back at her, and their faces reflect concern as they all know Kono exceedingly well. Sure enough, when she speaks, her voice is quiet and resolute.)
"We have indisputable proof that a ring of human traffickers are getting ready to start kidnapping women on this island and sell them into human bondage all over the world. We discovered this proof in the personal belongings of our murder victim from two days ago and we have been able to verify a good bit of the information we have. We need the information the F.B.I. has from their investigation of these bastards so we can put it all together, find these animals, and stop them before they can put their vile, sick plan into action. The F.B.I., for whatever reasons, does not want to play nicely. All three of you have tried talking to them and had no results; now, it's my turn."
"Um, what are you thinking, Cuz?"
"I'm thinking I'm going to get the information we need as quickly as possible."
"Kono, you absolutely cannot go barging into the F.B.I. field office and threaten them."
"I not going to, Steve. I had my little 'venting' episode but I'm just fine now. What's the name of the Admiral who's now the Navy's liaison to Homeland?"
"William Compton. Why?"
"And he and Mike know each other fairly well, do they not?"
"Yeah. They were on the same S.E.A.L. team for a while and he was also friends with Jonathan Murdock."
"Then Mike will know how to get in touch with him."
(And now Steve is completely on board with Kono and even manages a smile.)
"I know exactly how to get in touch with him, Kono. Sam's having dinner with him right now."
"Are you actually waiting for me to tell you to call your wife, Steve?"
(And just like that, not only Steve but Danny and Chin, as well, get serious really fast. Steve has his cellular phone out of his pocket and is calling Sam in record time.
Sam and Adm. Compton have just finished a delicious meal at one of Washington's more upscale restaurants and are just about to leave when Sam's cellular phone rings and she smiles as she sees her husband's name pop up on the caller I.D.)
"Hey, Sailor, your timing is great. Uncle Will and I just finished dinner. . . . Um, okay. Hang on a second. . . Steve wants to talk with you, Uncle Will."
(Five minutes later, Adm. Compton ends the call with Steve and hands Sam her phone. From his end of the conversation, Sam has correctly concluded that Steve has asked for Adm. Compton's help with a Five-O case and the admiral is more than happy to comply. Sam has a somewhat rueful smile on her beautiful face as she looks across the table.)
"Sorry, Uncle Will."
"Don't worry about it, Sam. The boy's got hold of something that Homeland definitely needs to be aware of, and the F.B.I. needs a little reminder that we're all supposed to be working together.
