Chapter 1
A cool breeze bristles through the trees outside the Iolani Palace. It was a pleasant Autumn night in Hawaii and only the sound of a motor vehicle parking disturbed the peace.
The black Ford LTD pulled into the empty parking bay next to the one marked "McGarrett" printed on the curb in bold white. As the door of the driver side of the car opened, a young man with short blonde hair, dressed in a pale blue Aloha shirt and beige pants stepped out. He leaned in over his seat and spoke to his passenger, "Second drawer on the right. It's the first manila folder ?"
"Yes that's right. Thanks Danny. Are you sure you don't want me to come in with you?" Came the reply from the middle aged lady sitting in the passenger seat of Dan William's week old newly acquired second hand car. Always elegantly dressed for an evening out or at work at her desk, Five' O's secretary smiled at her boss' protégé.
"No need. And besides it's my pleasure Jenny." Dan returned the smile with a lopsided grin before he withdrew himself from the doorframe and shut the door with one hand.
Jenny sighed and sat back in her seat as she watched Dan walk briskly up the stairs to the double front doors of the entrance leading to the foyer.
Dan pulled out his keys from his pants pocket and unlocked one of the doors. Once inside he quickly made his way up to Five' O headquarters. The lights were left on in the foyer and corridors which indicated the cleaners were expecting Steve McGarrett, his no-nonsense boss, to start work in the early pre-dawn hours. Not this time, thought Dan who knew his boss was right at that moment aboard a cruise ship as an honorary guest for Admiral O'Shaughnessy. Dan had spent the evening in Jenny's company who took him to dinner to celebrate his birthday. Half way through the meal however she realised she forgot to take the report she was suppose to work on for the Governor. It was a special request and she knew he had his hands full so despite her own overwhelming workload she agreed to work on it. He visited her office earlier that day but in his haste he failed to show her any details of the assignment. Jenny had slipped it in her drawer as she continued with her already long list of duties. Everyone at Five' O were up to their necks today with mountains of paperwork, interviews not to mention 2 difficult arrests and the head of Five' O having spent most of the day at a trial.
Dan's boss and colleagues were simply too busy to celebrate his birthday but they did however contribute to his recently acquired car. His previous having been involved in an accident almost two weeks ago partly due to a miscommunication between McGarrett and Five' O's most senior member Chin Ho Kelly during a chase on Diamond Head Road. Dan's car was totalled and the team felt badly about the incident especially given Five' O's tight budgets which meant he would be without a car for sometime or else he would have to replace it himself. Out of sympathy Jenny had long decided on taking Dan for a decent meal for she knew from experience birthdays are seldom thought of in their line of work.
Dan whistled a tune as he walked down the corridor and unlocked the door to Five' O headquarters. He turned to his right and felt for the pair of light switches next to the door . Just as he hit the switches, not only was the room illuminated, but something smashed him in the jaw. The impact stunned him and caught him off guard. He fell back against the door behind him closing it in the process. Two hands suddenly grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him forward sending him crashing into a desk.
"Hey-" Before Dan could utter anymore words he felt the barrel of a .38 pistol pressed threateningly against his temple as more hands shoved him face down across the desk, his arms pinned back behind him in a vice-like grip.
"Shut up or I'll blow your brains out cop! "Snarled the man holding the gun.
"Get me something to tie his hands," Dan heard the man order his accomplices. Slightly dazed from the unexpected blow he received, Dan stopped struggling and began calculating how many men there were. He listened to their voices and their footsteps around the room. He decided that the man holding the gun and doing all the talking must be the leader. Two pairs of hands held him down and he could hear someone rummaging through papers, stationery and overturning furniture. Dan calculated there were four men.
"Tie him good!" came the command from the gunman as Dan felt his wrists being bound by what felt like a cord of some kind. Electrical? Not thick enough. Telephone line? More than likely.
"Over there!" Snarled the leader.
Dan looked around him as the two men who held him yanked him roughly off the desk and shoved him to a corner. He hit the wall, lost his footing and fell to the floor. He could now see his estimations were correct, that there were four men altogether. They were all dressed in black with matching balaclavas. Only one man appeared to be armed. He still had the gun pointed in Dan's direction, an evil glint in his eye told him to stay put and don't cause any trouble.
"Hurry up!" the commanding voice growled impatiently to the three men who were now frantically searching for something that appeared to be of great importance. Two of the men ransacked the cubicles that Dan, Kono and Chin were usually stationed, whilst the third man burst into McGarrett's office doors after jimmying the lock. Dan could hear the familiar sounds of drawers being pulled out onto the floor and heavy volumes from the book shelves tossed around.
Dan glanced at the clock behind the gunman on the wall and saw three minutes had passed since they began their desperate search with him tied by the wall. Intruder number three dashed out of McGarrett's office shaking his head and the other two men peered out of the cubicles also shaking their heads and throwing their arms up into the air emphasizing they found nothing of value to them. The gunman, who had turned his head only to see their negative responses, cursed loudly.
"Hey, ask him. Maybe he knows!" The smaller weedier looking of the bunch pointed at Dan.
The gunman turned back to his captive and snarled, "How about it cop? We want the file on the Bertolli case. We know it's here somewhere. If it's not, you know where it is so you better tell us!"
"I don't know what you're talking about. I never worked on the Bertolli case, " answered Dan in a loud voice trying to act with confidence. "I honestly don't know anything about it. I never even heard the name!" That part was a lie. Dan did hear Steve mention it on more than one occasion. Once he overheard Steve speaking to John Manticote on the phone about Mr Bertolli whom Dan understood was an underworld figure. Another time Steve mentioned the name to him in passing. Dan never asked Steve about most of the cases he was working on and Steve didn't care to discuss them unless it concerned Dan in some way. Besides he had his own cases to worry about.
The gunman scoffed and walked over to Dan, taking long purposeful strides. Dan braced himself seeing he may have enraged him enough to act violently.
"I'll ask you one more time. Where is the file?" The gunman demanded through gritted teeth. He held his gun out infront of him at arm's length and pointed it mere inches away from Dan's face.
"Look I'm telling you, I don't know! I never laid eyes on it," Shoot me if it makes you feel better but my answer will always be the same. That was what Dan felt like saying but he knew better to hold his tongue in check in these situations. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest with a mixture of fear and adrenaline. He looked the gunman in the eye willing him to believe every word he said.
Suddenly before the gunman could respond to Dan's reply, footsteps could be heard in the hallway heading straight for Five' O Headquarters. Silence fell as the footsteps grew louder. Dan's heart sank as he recognized the footsteps belonged to Jenny the secretary. She obviously wondered what was taking him so long to grab a manila folder from her drawer.
"Hit the lights!" whispered the gunman to one of his men who was the closest to the switches. The man hurried to the wall next the door and switched the lights off, engulfing the room in darkness.
"No funny business or I will shoot whoever walks through that door," The gunman hissed at Dan who prayed silently that no harm would come to his favourite secretary.
Knowing the risks he was taking for both his and Jenny's life, Dan knew he had to do something. They could be in even more danger if the intruders were forced to leave empty handed. He could now see from the light glowing through the gap beneath the door, a pair of small feet standing right outside. As soon as the door knob turned, Jenny's voice called out "Danny?" He knew now was his chance to act before she made it inside.
