Thanking the nervous owner of the crowded pawnshop for his reluctant co-operation, Steve McGarrett nodded to Danny before turning and heading towards the door.
Quickly excusing himself from the small, petite Polynesian shop assistant with whom he had been talking to, Danny hurried to catch up with Steve. "Still sticking to his statement that he saw nothing, heard nothing?" He asked as they stepped through the doorway out onto Hotel Street.
"Like glue! He's scared. Too scared to tell us what he saw. What about the girl?"
"She's scared as well but I did manage to get her to open up a little." Danny answered before several angry shouts from down the street caught his attention. Turning around he barely had enough time to step out the way of the two terrified men who were looking over their shoulders as they ran blindly towards him. Danny reached out and grabbed one of the men's arms as Steve grabbed the second man, halting their terror born flight.
"Hey! What's your hurry?" Danny frowned as he turned the petrified man towards him. His frown quickly morphed into a grin as he recognized the man's face. "Tommy Morgan." Looking across at his partner, Danny tilted his head towards the man that he held as he quickly explained, "I met Tommy when I was working undercover in a HPD sting. We were trying to take down a pick-pocketing ring that was preying on unsuspecting tourists. I quickly discovered, and so did the others in the pick-pocketing ring, that Tommy is one of Honolulu's least talented pick-pockets, aren't you Tommy?"
The small balding man caught in Danny's grip opened his mouth to object but quickly silenced as the detective growled, "Did I ask you to speak? Did I say that you could open your mouth and join in our conversation yet?" Directing his attention back to McGarrett, Williams continued, nodding towards the large scared giant that McGarrett still held, "And you are in the poor company of Mick O'Halihan- Tommy's sidekick and fumbling associate."
"Pick-pockets, eh?" Steve glared at the two petty criminals.
"That's a lie!" Tommy mumbled as he glanced anxiously back in the direction from which they had just came.
Danny looked in the direction that held Tommy's nervous attention and asked, "So who are you running from?"
"We ain't done nothin'." Tommy complained as he tried to pull free from Danny's hand. "You ain't got no right to hold us."
"Then why don't we go for a walk back down the street and see what frightened you two so badly?" McGarrett smirked as he turned and began to walk back down the dark street towards an alleyway he suspected that the two men had originally emerged from, dragging the giant along with him as Danny followed closely with Tommy.
"No! Please, don't make us! They will kill us! They're crazy!" The smaller man's sudden terrified pleas caused Steve and Danny to stop and stare him.
"Who will kill you?" McGarrett demanded, "And why?"
"The black Ninjas!" Tommy whimpered as he grabbed Danny's sleeve and began to tug him back towards the well-lit doorway of the pawnshop, "They're crazy Bruddah! They have them fighting sticks and ninja stars and everything."
"They do those jujitsu moves too!" Mick added, the fear evident on his rapidly paling face as he stared past McGarrett down the street.
The detective frowned, unsure whether to laugh or take the two men seriously as he glanced towards his partner and saw that the Lt. Commander was just as nonplussed as he was. Returning his attention back to Tommy he asked, "Black ninjas? Jujitsu moves? You two taken something? Maybe some ecstasy, a little bit of mescaline?"
"No, we haven't taken nothing! I swear we are telling you the truth! There are ninjas back there!" Tommy cried, "Black ninjas with all their ninja stuff! Honest!"
"With black ninjas running around with fighting sticks and doing jujitsu moves I think we had better investigate it, don't you agree Detective Williams?" Steve smiled in amusement at Danny before he returned his focus to the two men who were trying to edge away slowly, "We also should take our two 'witnesses' with us to assist us in identifying the suspects."
"I agree." Danny grinned as tightened his grip on Tommy's arm before guiding the scared man towards the darkened alleyway.
"Please no!" Tommy pleaded as he struggled desperately against Danny's hold. When they reached the entrance to the small alley, Danny paused for a moment to draw his gun before he glanced towards Steve as he pushed Tommy against the wall and warned him softly not to move.
McGarrett nodded as he un-holstered his own gun and with whispered dire warnings of what would happen if either man left the scene, he ordered Mick to stand with Tommy before he joined his partner.
Scanning the edge of the building, Danny counted five dark figures standing in a group in the darker shadows of the alley. Turning back to Steve, he held up five fingers.
McGarrett nodded in understanding. With one last quick glance at the two petrified men huddled against the wall; he turned back towards Danny and tilted his head towards the open mouth of the alley.
Both men stepped across the entrance with their guns ready for any hint of trouble as McGarrett announced, "Five 0, drop your weapons and put your hands in the air!"
The five men slowly turned towards McGarrett and Williams and raised their arms as both men stared at them in surprise. Standing in front of them were five ninjas dressed in black, complete with black ninja headbands around their heads.
"The black ninjas!" Danny breathed in astonishment.
"Complete with fighting sticks and ninja stars!" Steve added, nodding towards a pile of weapons stacked neatly near an open door. The throwing stars twinkling brightly in the light that spilled out of the open doorway.
A small grin crept across Danny's face as he whispered, "I'm surprised you don't have any of your own ninja stars in your pocket."
"I left them in the Camaro, but I have a grenade if we need it." Steve replied softly, enjoying Danny's small groan as he stepped closer.
"Is something wrong, Officers?" One of the darkly dressed ninjas asked as Danny lowered his gun and quickly moved forward, patting each man down before silently shaking his head at Steve.
"McGarrett, Five 0, and this is Detective Williams." McGarrett introduced himself and Danny as they re-holstered their weapons before taking out and flashing their badges. "We have had a report that you threatened two men in this alleyway this evening."
"See we told you!" The high pitched voice from behind Steve caught everyone by surprise and they all turned in the direction of the voice as Tommy and Mick warily edged into the alley and stood closely behind McGarrett, peering at the five men over his shoulder.
"Black ninjas just like we told ya!" Mick added a little more bravely as he moved behind Dan and clutched at the back of his shirt. "But ya gotta watch 'em closely Mr. Williams, 'cause they know jujitsu." He warned Danny softly.
"Ah, it's our little muggers." The tallest ninja announced, smiling menacingly at the two frightened men who both took a small step backwards as he turned his attention back to Steve.
"Muggers?" Danny asked as turned and glared at Tommy and Mick.
"He's lying!" Tommy objected with a false bravado that was evident to all as he tried to slink away. "They were trying to kill us!"
"Maybe...maybe not..." Steve answered. "But why don't we listen to what he has to say," he ordered firmly as Danny walked back and grabbed the two criminals' arms, roughly forcing them to step forward again as Steve returned his attention back to the ninjas and nodded to them to explain.
"My name is Hutusami and I am the sensei who operates a small martial arts school that teaches the specialised art of the ninjutsu fighting. And this is our school – The Hutusami's Academy of Martial Arts." The Asian sensei pointed towards the open door as he continued. "Tonight we had a class where the students were training with fighting sticks when we heard someone crying for help out here in the alley. We came out to see if we could be of any assistance and that was when we saw these little muggers trying to rob this young man here." The ninja nodded to a young man whose face was grazed and bruised.
McGarrett cast a quick look over the victim, quickly visually assessing that the man's injuries did not appear serious. "Are you alright?" he asked to be certain.
The young man frowned and shrugged his shoulders in confusion as he answered, "Es tut mir leid, ich verstehe das nicht. Ich spreche kein Englisch."
"They were threatening him with violence and were attempting to steal his wallet and watch. So we intervened." Sensei Hutusami continued.
"And that's when you used your jujitsu moves?" Danny grinned as he glanced towards Mick, taking an almost devilish delight as the giant beside him cringed in terror and grabbed his arm for protection.
"And don't forget the fightin' sticks and ninja stars." Mick murmured softly into the detective's ear, pointing towards the neatly stacked weapons.
"Oh yes, I almost forgot about the ninja stars and fighting sticks." Danny's grin grew wider.
The tall ninja sensei laughed and shook his head, "But Officers, we had no need for our jujitsu moves nor our ninja stars or fighting sticks. When we intervened, they turned and ran away like a pair of frightened rabbits. They must have reached about a million miles an hour by the time they reached the mouth of alley and disappeared around the corner."
"And straight into us." McGarrett laughed as he saw Tommy blush.
Looking across at Steve, Danny asked, "What do you want do with them?"
McGarrett grinned, "Book 'em, Danno!"
"They're the ones who should be booked. They're the ones who threatened us with ninja stars and fighting sticks." Tommy spluttered indignantly as he continued to cower beside Danny.
"And don't forget the jujitsu moves. They could've killed us." Mick whispered, wide eyed as he stared in fear at the five ninjas, still clinging tightly to Danny's arm for protection.
"Would you rather us let you go and leave you here with the ninjas?" McGarrett asked with a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he nodded to Danny to release them.
"Ahh, ahh... No, it's fine." Tommy stuttered as he looked at the smiling ninjas before returning his attention back to the detective beside him and ordered, "You heard him! Book us, Danno."
"Shut up!" Danny grumbled as he roughly grabbed Tommy's arm before he glanced back at his smirking partner and announced loudly, "You know I hate you, don't you?" he asked.
PAU
