Mari & Ilna-If we went to a Halloween party dressed as Batman and Robin, I'd go as Robin. That's how much you mean to me…
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REAL Worlders-Hey. They laughed at Louis Armstrong when he said he was gonna go to the moon. Now he's up there, laughing at them.
Today's ANs brought to you by Blades of Glory
Sorry for the late posting, everyone. Last night when I was supposed to be finishing and editing this story I was glued to the television chewing my nails to the nubs watching the Olympics
New Avenues (1/1)
"It's a big expenditure," Governor Denning sighed as he looked over the pages in front of him.
"Yes, sir," Steve agreed, "But this could shave hours off the time we spend processing information by allowing us to communicate directly with the systems of other law enforcement agencies, both locally and nationally. As it stands now in some cases we have to call the agency on the phone, submit a request, then wait for them to get back to us. As I'm sure you understand a delay of just a few hours, let alone days, can make all the difference when we're pursuing suspects."
Steve was in Denning's office for his annual budget meeting and this year he'd come with a request for a total revamp of the Five-0 computer system. It would be pricey but it was needed if they were going to keep up with always evolving capabilities of the criminals on the island.
Sitting in on the meeting were the governor's chief of staff, Chas Silver, the lieutenant governor, Lea Kekoa and her chief of staff Lisa Basinger.
"Commander McGarrett submitted the specs for the new system to me two weeks ago," Chas said. "I had the IT department look over them and they agree it's an upgrade that makes a lot of sense."
"Ok then," Denning nodded, "I'll take a look at this over the weekend and let you know my decision early next week."
Steve breathed a sigh of relief. "Sounds good."
He'd been afraid the governor might reject the idea out of hand due to the large price tag. He felt confident if Denning could look past the price and really study the potential benefits the system would be approved.
"There was one other thing I was hoping we might discuss," Lea Kekoa said. "If you have a few minutes that is. Something I want to put on your radar and get some initial thoughts on."
Steve was intrigued. "I cleared the whole morning in case the meeting went long so I've got time."
"Great," Lea smiled. She glanced at the governor and off his nod of approval she leaned forward and began her pitch to Steve. "I don't have to tell you, or anyone in this room for that matter, how instrumental Catherine Rollins was in helping resolve the human trafficking case."
Everyone nodded affirmatively and Steve couldn't help but smile proudly.
"Well, that got me thinking," Lea continued. "The work the task force does helping solve, and in some cases prevent, violent crime is outstanding. And I would never want to interfere with that. But I can't help but wonder if we're truly utilizing all your team's special training and talents to the utmost."
Steve leaned forward slightly.
He wasn't sure exactly where Lea was headed with this line of thinking but he was certainly interested in finding out.
She read his interest and her eyes began to dance with enthusiasm.
She knew her plans had no chance of succeeding if she couldn't get Steve on board.
"Wouldn't it make sense," she suggested, "for you and your team to occasionally be brought in on cases that fall outside of what is now your normal purview. Like the human trafficking case. Like some other highly sensitive matters that cross the governor's desk but for various reasons are best not handled by the police department."
Denning had been watching Steve's reactions carefully. "What do think?" he asked.
"I think it sounds great," Steve said honestly. "We're always more than willing to help however we can. I will admit I'm a little concerned about the possibility of splitting our focus though."
"I understand that," Lea assured him, "We would certainly not want to interfere with your current mission. And quite frankly I don't think that'll be a problem."
"How would we guard against it?" Denning asked. Lea Kekoa had run the outline of her idea passed him in a meeting the previous week and he had given her his blessing to run with it but he was as in the dark about the details as Steve.
"We're not talking about calling the task force in on a regular basis," Lea replied. "Just on intermittent issues. Ones where your team's special skills, and ability to operate in … let's just say a more unfettered manner … would come in handy."
"Unfettered?" Steve smiled.
Denning snorted. "She was being tactful."
"I pulled together a list of cases we may have been able to use your help on," Lisa Basinger chimed in as she consulted the yellow legal pad in her lap. "There were five cases, including the human trafficking matter, in the last eighteen months."
"That's not bad," Steve responded. "Seems doable."
"Excellent!" Lea couldn't hide her excitement.
When she'd initially approached the governor with the idea of expanding the scope of the task force's duties he'd been receptive but he also made it clear he didn't have the time in his schedule currently to handle the logistics. This would be her project all the way. It was something she wanted very badly and Steve McGarrett's approval felt like taking a big step in the right direction.
"Since you're on board, or at least open to the possibility," she said cautiously, "I'd like to meet with your entire team sometime in the coming weeks to go over the idea and get their feedback."
"Just let me know when you're ready and I'll set something up," Steve said agreeably.
"That's settled then," Denning said as he closed the folder in front of him. "And just in time because I have a plane to catch."
"Getting away for the weekend?" Steve asked as he too stood.
"Not exactly," Denning chuckled. "I have an appointment to see a specialist in Los Angeles first thing tomorrow morning."
Steve immediately became concerned. "Are you alright, sir?"
"I'm fine," Denning waved him off. "I have a big birthday coming up next month, let's not say the number out loud, and there's some family history of health concerns so I made an appointment with the best man in the field as a precaution. Better safe than sorry."
"That's true," Steve agreed.
"None of us are getting any younger. Remember that," Denning said jovially. "Have a good weekend and I'll get back to you early next week about the new computer system."
Steve reached out and shook the governor's hand. "Sounds good."
"I want to thank you again for lending us Catherine to help with the human trafficking case," Lea said as they made their way through the halls of the capitol building. "She was invaluable in terms of helping us all understand the intricacies of the issue and I think without her help we'd still be working on getting it solved and reuniting those women, and many others, with their families."
"You're very welcome," Steve smiled. "I know Catherine loved working on the case."
"To be honest that whole experience was the inspiration for me going to the governor and talking about expanding the role of the task force. I really see this as a potential win/win. We can access your expertise, and that of your team, as needed, and at the same time you and your team can put your extensive training to good use."
"I like the sound of it," Steve said sincerely. "If we can find a way to make it work without interfering with our day to day operation in any way I'm all for it."
"Good," Lea nodded happily. "I'll have a presentation ready for you and your team within a week or so. Oh … before you go … I almost forgot … I also wanted to thank you for recommending Cody Allen for the intern program. He's an amazing young man."
Steve knew Cody would do great as an intern from the first minute the idea came up but he had been overwhelmed by all the positive feedback he was getting from everyone who came in contact with the young man in the course of his intern duties.
"He certainly is," Steve agreed.
Lea stopped as they reached the door to her office. "He's self-motivated, he learns quickly, always eager to pick up new skills and soak up new information. If I ask him to do something for me I can rest assured, it's as good as done."
"That's great to hear," Steve smiled.
"I really felt bad about having to ask him to come in yesterday morning when he wasn't scheduled," Lea grimaced. "He works so hard I don't want to interfere with his time off."
Steve raised his eyebrows. "I haven't heard about that."
Lea briefly debated whether she should tell the story but in the end she couldn't resist.
"Maybe I shouldn't say anything but … I had an important meeting with some banking officials yesterday and Cody had spent about a week helping me and my staff gather information and prepare a PowerPoint. We thought we had everything ready to go. But of course … " she chuckled.
"It didn't work out quite as expected?" Steve guessed.
Lea sighed. "First thing was our babysitter had car problems and called to say she'd be an hour or two late. My husband had a meeting he couldn't miss so I said I'd bring the kids to work with me and the sitter could pick them up here. We have a little playroom set up off my office so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal."
"It's great you have the flexibility to bring the kids to work if you need to," Steve said. Child care wasn't something he'd ever given much thought to but he had a feeling that would be changing in the future.
"It works out great," Lea agreed. "So I got the kids here and got them settled but when we went to pull up the report we couldn't find it. I mean we could find it but we couldn't open it."
"Uh-oh," Steve commiserated.
"My chief-of-staff Lisa was at a dentist's appointment and the IT guys were dealing with some outage issues in the 9-1-1 system so I had no option but to call Cody and ask him if he could come in and help. When I reached him he was at the park with his girlfriend and his little brother and sister."
Steve smiled. "He's a big help with his siblings."
"You can say that again," Lea nodded. "I first met them at the Summer Reading Kick-off. That was before I even knew he was applying to be an intern. It was clear watching them how much he loves his siblings and how much they love him."
"They're a great family."
"So I told him to bring Jacob and Kaitlyn along. They could play with my kids in the playroom while we retrieved the project and as soon as we did they could be back on their way. My assistant Beverly would keep an eye on all the kids while we worked. Twenty minutes later he was here."
"Was he able to open the project?" Steve asked.
"Jess helped him. Took them like ten minutes," Lea grinned. "I was so relieved I can't even tell you. We headed back to my office to retrieve the kids but when we were about fifteen feet away we heard all kinds of giggling and carrying on."
"When Jacob is in the building that usually only means one thing," Steve snorted.
"And Mason, my youngest, is the same way. We hurried back to my office to find Jacob and Mason acting out the minion movie, complete with impressions, to a rapt audience of not only the other kids but the presidents of Hawaii's three largest banks, while Beverly stood by helplessly, unable to restore order."
"What did you do?" Steve asked, fighting back a grin.
"That's the best part," Lea beamed. "Cody and I both instinctively tried to corral the boys but we were immediately shushed, not by the other children, but by three of the state's most prominent bankers, who said it would just be a few more minutes then went back to watching the show."
Steve laughed. "Are you serious?"
"Completely. They finished the show, Cody and Jess headed out with Kaitlyn and Jacob and my kids headed back to the playroom. When the meeting was over an hour and a half later we had the backing we need to take a new banking bill to the state senate. When I called Cody later in the day to thank him I told him to thank Jacob too, I think the minion play softened them up."
"I wouldn't doubt it at all."
"Ok, I've taken up enough of your time today," Lea smiled. "I'll be in touch soon about the meeting with your team."
"I'll be looking forward to it," Steve said as he turned and headed for the elevator.
He made his way back to Iolani Palace just in time to find Catherine getting out of her car with two large bags of takeout from Kamekona's.
"Anything in there for me?" he asked as he took the bags and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
"Of course," she smiled. "I figured you'd be back so I ordered you some fish wraps."
"Thank you."
"How'd your meeting go," she asked as they entered the building and made their way across the lobby.
"Good. Turns out Lea Kekoa was so impressed by your work on the trafficking case she wants to expand the duties of Five-0 to include working on more issues like that one."
"Really?"
Steve nodded as they entered the elevator. "She's working up a presentation to show the whole team sometime in the next week or two."
Catherine was shocked, but in the best possible way. "Wow. That's awesome, right?"
"Definitely," Steve smiled broadly. "And it's all thanks to you."
"Steve…"
"It is, Catherine. Don't minimize it. You did great work on that case and it got Lea thinking."
The elevator dinged its arrival on their floor and Catherine smiled as they waited for the doors to open. "Well, I'm glad."
"Me too," Steve replied. "And you know what else I'm glad about?"
"What?"
"That Sunday, in case you've forgotten, is naked day. I'm very glad about that."
THE END
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