Hawaii Five-O belongs to others. I'm just playing in their universe.

With apologies to Kono . . .

LUNCH BREAK

Kono looked at the menu. He didn't recognize anything on it. "Chim-i-changa?" he pronounced carefully. "What's a chim-i-changa?"

"It's kind of like a deep-fried burrito," Danny explained helpfully. OK, noting the continued confusion on his friend's face, the younger detective decided that wasn't a good explanation. He looked at Chin for help.

"Or a bean, meat, and vegetable filled egg roll," the Chinese detective. "My kids love them."

"Egg rolls or these things?" Kono's face was a question mark. "Does it taste good? "

"Danny thinks so," Chin smirked. He looked at Dan, "Where did you pick up a taste for Mexican food, anyway?"

"At Berkeley," Dan responded, referring to the city where he'd spent his college years. "There was this great little Mexican place on Telegraph Avenue. It made a good change from dorm food."

"And did the owner have a pretty daughter?" Chin's reference to Dan's notorious social life made the younger man blush. He went back to reading the menu as his two friends snickered.

"OK," Kono broke in. "What we gonna eat?"

Danny gave serious consideration to the question. "How about fish tacos? They're made with mahi-mahi." He intentionally didn't mention any of the spicier dishes as he wasn't sure how Kono would react to five-alarm salsa. He suddenly realized he was about to find out as the big Hawaiian reached for a tortilla chip and dipped it into a bowl of what looked more like ground up chile peppers than a mild salsa. Dan watched in horror as his friend scooped a chip-full and conveyed it to his mouth.

Chin could hardly restrain a chuckle as Kono's face turned red and his eyes watered. The Chinese detective could almost see steam boiling from the other man's ears. Danny sat there stunned at Kono's reaction, then handed him a full glass of water. Kono swallowed it in one gulp, wiped his watery eyes and sputtered, "What was that stuff? It's like swallowing fresh lava!"

"Salsa," Danny replied apologetically. "Very hot salsa. From your reaction, it must have been made by Pele. Sorry! I should have warned you."

"Maybe if I only tried a little bit at a time," the big Hawaiian ruminated as he reached for another chip. Danny moved the salsa bowl out of Kono's reach. "Maybe you'd better stick to fish tacos, Bruddah," the curly-haired detective suggested. Chin nodded his agreement as he unsuccessfully choked back a laugh.

Three glasses of water and four fish tacos later, Kono decided that Mexican food was all right. In fact, it was more than just all right—those tacos were delicious. He was about to order dessert when Chin reminded them that they had a meeting in 30 minutes—time to get back to the Palace. The three detectives headed for their car when Kono veered off in the direction of the famous Waikiki Barbeque. He grinned at his companions. "Those tacos were good, Bruddahs, for starters. Now let's hit the Barbeque for lunch!"