Mari & Ilna— I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were merry, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler then I'll set the building on fire...
Sandy- The ratio of people to cake is too big.
REAL Worlders- I was told that I could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven, I told Bill that if Sandra is going to listen to her headphones while she's filing then I should be able to listen to the radio while I'm collating so I don't see why I should have to turn down the radio because I enjoy listening at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven.
Today's ANs brought to you by the incomparable Office Space.
New Horizons (1/1)
"Thanks for making time for us to come over and talk to you today," Lea Kekoa said as she took a seat at the large table in the glass walled conference room at Five-0 headquarters where Chin, Danny, and Kono were already seated.
"Thanks for coming." Steve sat down at the head of the table and watched Catherine take the chair next to Lea's. I'm sure this must be a very busy time for you."
"Definitely," Lea nodded, "But this is important. I've been looking for an opportunity to talk to you about my vision for Five-0 since Governor Denning first approved the idea a couple of months back." Her face turned somber. "None of us realized at that point how drastically things were about to change and I've just been so busy preparing for everything that's coming my way."
"Completely understandable," Steve assured her.
Lea inhaled deeply. "It's taken some time but I feel like I'm finally getting my feet under me. I had a small moment of panic when Lisa announced she was taking a position in DC. I had no idea what I'd do without a chief of staff I could count on." The corners of her mouth turned up in a genuine smile. "Lucky for me Catherine agreed to take the job which has alleviated quite a bit of my stress."
"Your gain, our loss," Danny said. "But you couldn't have made a better choice."
Catherine smiled. "Thanks, Danny."
Lea turned her head and beamed at her new chief of staff. "More than my gain I believe it's a win for the people of Hawaii. They couldn't have a better advocate than Catherine."
Steve beamed with pride. "The two of you make a great team."
"Thanks," Lea blushed slightly. "Things have clearly changed since I first envisioned implementing these changes but I can assure you this remains a priority for me."
Steve leaned forward, forearms on the table. "We're interested to hear what you have in mind."
"Let's get started then." Lea removed a stack of papers from the folder in front of her and passed a stapled packet to each person at the table. Catherine pulled out a pad and pencil to take down notes of the meeting and any questions that may need to be addressed later.
"As you can see from page one, the murder rate in Hawaii has been relatively steady for the last several years. Of course, there are multiple factors that contribute to that but I'm of the belief it's due in no small part to the efforts of your task force. You should be very proud of that."
Steve nodded. "Thank you. We are."
"I obviously don't want to do anything to interfere with that success so that part of your duties would remain the same under my plan and HPD would continue to assist as needed."
"I'm glad to hear you say that." Chin chimed in. "HPD does a great job but they're seriously understaffed and underfunded when it comes to big murder cases."
"Absolutely," Lea agreed. "That's something I plan on addressing in the next budget. We can't expect to keep the state of Hawaii safe if we don't give law enforcement the resources they need. It won't be easy to find more money for them but I'm determined to try."
"Well, if you and your new chief of staff put your minds to it I have no doubt you'll figure it out," Kono replied sincerely.
"Thank you," Catherine and Lea smiled in unison.
Steve couldn't help but smile as well. He was insanely proud of Catherine's new position and reveled in the fact that her friends and family were as well.
"If you turn to page two," Lea continued, "you'll see that, unlike murder, rates of robbery and aggravated assault are up significantly."
Danny grimaced as he checked the numbers. "I didn't realize there'd been this much of a jump."
"Those are the latest numbers," Lea confirmed. "They just came out a few days ago."
"So are you saying you want us to start investigating robbery and assault cases?" Chin asked skeptically.
"Not exactly," Lea answered, her passion for her new plan evident in her tone and body language. "Last year I attended a seminar on the mainland where I got a chance to hear some of the best criminologists in the country talk about the relationship between crimes like assault, robbery, car theft and burglary and the overall crime rate. They made some very interesting points."
"So I came back home and started doing some digging into the numbers and found out that 18% of the people arrested for aggravated assault in the state of Hawaii have gone on to be involved in a murder, attempted murder or forcible rape. And the number gets much higher if you add drug dealing and prostitution to the list."
"Wow … that number is a little startling," Steve said as he ran his hand through his hair.
"No question." Lea leaned forward. "But I believe that by committing some of our best people and resources to the grassroots level we can help reduce the crime rate top to bottom. In some cases via incarceration, but in other cases via early intervention. Especially when it comes to drug and gang crime. Some of the offenders are so young it's hard for me to believe they can't get their lives back on the right track if we give them the tools they need. What I want, and I'm hoping you'll agree to, is for Five-0 to start looking at crime on a more macro level. Working to prevent some crime before it happens."
"So you'd be sending us cases?" Danny asked, unsure of exactly how this new system would work.
"In some instances, yes," Lea replied. "If something lands on my desk, like the human trafficking case did a few months ago, and I think it could benefit from the special skills this team possesses I would send it over for you to look at. There are a dozen or so cases every year dealing with cyber-crime, espionage and smuggling that we end up calling in multiple federal agencies to investigate. And too often squabbling and territorial infighting between those agencies gets in the way of solving the case. I'd like to cut through all that."
The energy level in room began to crackle.
"I feel like each of you has training and skills that aren't being used to their full potential. I'd like to change that. The more we can keep in-house the less we have to farm out to the Feds and in my mind, that's a win. Of course, we'll call them in as necessary, but why call on them every time if we've got people right here who can do the same work. Or better."
Catherine looked around the table and was happy to see how excited the team was about Lea's ideas.
"You said in some cases you'd send us cases, so are you saying there'd be other ways they'd come to us?" Chin asked.
"Not to you," Lea was practically vibrating with excitement, "from you. You guys are out there in the trenches every day. Who has a better idea of where the problems are and how to go about starting to fix them?"
"We develop our own cases?" Kono's eyes lit up at the prospect.
"Exactly," Lea beamed. "Gang activity, illegal gambling, drug production and distribution, racketeering, smuggling or any other crime … if you see an opportunity to reduce criminal activity in a way you think would make an impact you would be free to pursue it."
"Would we be expected to run it passed you first?" Danny asked.
"I just want to be kept in the loop," Lea said. "I've asked Catherine to act as liaison between the team and myself. She has a much better grasp of the day to day elements of your job, and what we at the governor's office might be able to provide you in the way of assistance, so I think she makes the perfect conduit. If you all tell me a case could have an impact, I'll take your word for it."
Steve leaned back in his chair and nodded his head. "I can only speak for myself but I like the sound of this."
"Me too," Kono and Chin responded in unison.
"It seems like a smart way of doing things," Danny agreed.
"Excellent," Lea said excitedly. "Now I need to get back to the office for a meeting with the people planning the gathering after my swearing in." She smiled and gave a small shrug. "What can I say? They're not all matters of great importance."
The team chuckled.
"Make sure to get your tuxedo ready, Commander," Lea teased. "I hear it's going to be black tie."
"I can't wait," Steve grinned.
Lea and Catherine gathered their things and stood. Steve walked them to the door and gave Catherine a quick kiss.
"See you later," she smiled.
"I'll start dinner if I get home first," he offered.
"Ditto," she promised then waved goodbye to the others and headed down the hall with Lea.
"I'm not sure exactly what I expected her new plan to be," Danny said as Steve returned to his seat, "But it wasn't that. I mean … am I crazy or is she giving us free reign to investigate whatever we see fit?"
"That's certainly what it sounds like," Steve replied.
"That's every law enforcement officer's dream," Chin smiled. "How many times have we said that we're just putting out fires and applying band-aids?"
"Too many," Kono frowned.
"So now we have a chance to change that? I don't know about the rest of you," Chin said excitedly. "But I'm in."
Kono rubbed her hands together. "Me too."
"Make it three," Danny said, his mind already reeling with possibilities.
"Well then," Steve put his hands on the table palms down. "I guess it's unanimous."
At a little passed 5:00 P.M. Steve entered the house and was met immediately by both Cammie and the smell of ragu. He knelt to greet the excited dog before making his way to the kitchen.
"I'm glad you made it home first," he smiled as he leaned in and kissed Catherine who was busy cutting up some crusty bread. "I was just gonna throw some fish on the grill but this smells delicious."
"Someone at the office had Italian for lunch and ever since I got a whiff of it I couldn't stop thinking about ragu."
"Is this your first craving?" he asked, eager to know each and every change Catherine was experiencing.
She considered it for a few seconds then tilted her head and smiled at him. "Could be. I'm not positive. It's been a while since we had it so maybe I was just in the mood."
"We'll have to keep track," Steve suggested. "If you're in the mood for stuff like this more often I guess we can assume the baby likes Italian."
She couldn't help but smile at his excitement. "Not that I'm not always in the mood for Italian but … point taken."
Steve opened the cupboard and reached in for two dinner plates.
"I do know one thing for sure though."
Catherine's sultry tone had Steve turning towards her at top speed. "What's that?"
"Whether or not the baby's culinary preferences are becoming known this pregnancy definitely has my hormones in high gear."
He waggled his eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yes really," Catherine purred. "So let's eat up. I have plans for after dinner."
"I always love your plans," he growled.
THE END
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