She had been seating on the seashore for sometime, watching two little blond girls building sandcastles with an older boy who appeared to be their brother. On her right was a shave ice stand flocked by what seemed to be a hundred kids determined to abate the heat by a cup of sweet-flavored ice. She sighed and turned her attention back to the teen-agers in trunks and bikinis bravely embracing the gigantic waves with their surf boards. Surfing used to be therapeutic whenever she was feeling troubled or melancholic, but now the splash of dancing waves on the shore and the cool breeze of the summer winds held no enticement for her as she wallow in depression about her suspension, the disbandment of the FIVE-O, the incarceration of her beloved boss Steve McGarrett, wrongly accused of murdering the governor. It's a lot to absorb in a sudden, unexpected turn or events.

Kono stood up and picked up her pink surfboard that lay abandoned by her feet and decided to head home. Let her go home and just cry in bed once again. But as she was getting into her car, she was surprised by a tap on the back by a bulky middle-aged officer whom she recognized as Captain Fryer. She knew it was not good news, she had heard her cousin Chin Ho talk about Captain Fryer's less than impeccable character.

"Good afternoon, Captain Fryer, what can I do for you?" asked Kono respectfully but without a smile.

"Hello, Officer Kalakaua. Why don't we go somewhere private where we can talk," said Capt. Fryer.

Kono openly glanced around. There wasn't a soul within a close ranger where she was parked.

"This place looks private enough, Captain. " she replied.

She didn't want to go anywhere with him. Let him say what he had to say right here. She knew she wouldn't like it anyway.

"Alright. If that's what you want, I won't beat around the bush. I have a proposal for you. Something that would be beneficial to both of us," he said.

"Beneficial? In what way?" she asked with mild interest.

"You want your suspension lifted, don't you? And you want internal affairs to keep off the backs of the Five-O squad, don't you?" he asked with a sickening grin.

"Of course," she managed to utter. She didn't like where this was leading.

"I want you to go undercover for me. Be in the confidences of Frank Delano…"

"What? Join his seedy group…" she interrupted incredulously.

Fryer was impervious. "Yes. I want you to find something that would be tangible enough for me to put him away in prison for good."

Kono was furious. "He's a suspected murderer for crying out loud, he wouldn't take it lightly if he finds out I work for you. He hates your guts."

Fryer was relentless. "Look, Kono. I'm not going to ask again. You want your badge back, you want to help your boss, and help build Five-O back on it's feet. Do as I say or your Cousin Chin Ho takes the fall, not to mention adding more charges to McGarrett's to his already ominous murder charge."

Kono found herself backed against a brick wall with no alternative but to agree.

Steve McGarrett wiped his brow with his navy blue handkerchief with his left hand as he continued to finish his five hundred push-ups with his right. His afternoon exercise routine was interrupted when a hoarse voice from the warden called out.

"McGarrett! You have a visitor."

Steve stood and freshened his entire face and arms with the same handkerchief. Prison wasn't as sordid as some people thought it was but, being inside it filled one with trepidation, as though you would not get out of it's prison walls alive. He now understood why people wrongly accused become embittered and sometimes crazy. How ironic that he now found himself on the same boat with the crooks he had helped put away. He clutched the handkerchief tighter. Despite it's grimy appearance now after he used it, he could still smell her faint scent of vanilla and chamomile. Kono gave him a pair of navy blue handkerchief for his last birthday and he secretly cherished it like a valuable gem.

The handkerchief made him feel her presence, made her feel so close. She was the strength that kept him tough amidst the injustice. She was the hope that gave him the will to fight. He loved her but couldn't bring himself to admit it to anyone especially not to her. Hell, he only admitted it to himself not long ago. He didn't believe in office romance. To be involved with people you directly work with can compromise your objectivity and your focus. And he certainly didn't want to buckle down. His tenacity and discipline brought FIVE-O it's respected and efficient image, and he didn't want that compromised.

He turned his back from the glaring sun. He had already invested too much of himself, too much of his life in FIVE-O and damn if he would let some injustice and wrongful accusation break his team apart. The end justifies the means, and tomorrow he shall make his escape to make his own investigation in clearing his name and building back his FIVE-O team.

He reached the visitors area and found Chin Ho and Danny on the other side of the window. Danny smiled and handed him a colorful paper.

"It's from Gracie. She knew I was going to you and wanted you to have this," said Danny.

It was a watercolor drawing of the ocean and the sun with all of them playing by the sand, she, her dad, her Uncle Steve, her Uncle Chin, her Aunt Kono and her Uncle Kamikono who loved spoiling her with shave ice. When she asked her father how come she hadn't seen her Uncle Steve in while he told her he went away to somewhere cold with no beach.

Steve's face lighted up. "It's cute. I wish I could kiss her to say thanks."

"Don't worry, you'll soon be able to," said Danny.

"How is she anyway," asked Steve.

"She started taking ballet lessons. She's doing good," replied Danny.

Steve noticed Chin Ho's silence and forlorn expression.

"Hey, I'm the one inside. Why the long face?"

"I'm sorry. I'm not such a good company today. Just some things on my mind," he said noncommittally.

"C'mon, Chin. We're friends here. What's bothering you?" asked Steve

"I'm just thinking how I can ease Kono's problem without getting in trouble with HPD."

Kono's name struck a nerve. "Wha… What's wrong with Kono? I mean apart from her stupid suspension."

Chin Ho sighed, "That good for nothing Capt Fryer blackmailed. He's going to use her as a shark bait to bring Delano down…"

"What! His own people can do that if he needed to. Why Kono? He's feeding her to the sharks," he yelled furiously.

"And it's not even our fight," said Danny.

"He threatened her that unless she follows him, Five-O will be in deeper trouble with Internal Affairs." continued Chin Ho.

Steve was red with fury. "That bastard!"