I am sorry for the long radio silence. Things have been super busy with work and family. But I really missed writing too so I am thrilled to have the chance to write this. This is at the special request of Niceyluvsfanfic and will feature Danny in a much more prominent role. This is new for me as I work to figure Danny out. I hope you enjoy.
Alyssa sat in her office at Five-O headquarters, trying desperately to ignore what seemed, to her, a deafening silence. Everybody else was in the field on a case, and she was alone. In the background a flat screen on the wall was tuned to the local news station and a scanner buzzed in the background indicating the location and activities of the HPD officers across the island.
She had not yet been cleared to return to work, but she had begged and pleaded with Steve to let her return the office. She promised that she would do anything – anything at all, just to get out of the house and to be back with her Five-O family. Grudgingly, Steve finally agreed to let her return to work in an unofficial capacity – no badge and no gun and only part time. Alyssa was thrilled and jumped in enthusiastically. Within the first ten days of her return, the entire team had caught up on all of their paperwork and their files were finally fully organized. It took several more days, but even the electronic assets were categorized and saved on a secure server.
After a few weeks, Alyssa found herself at loose ends. She then had an idea. Wo Fat's organization needed to be funded and funded well. It had many assets such as the home that housed the brothel. Perhaps if she could trace any of the funding for assets that she could link to Wo Fat, she might be able to learn more about the organization and, if she was lucky, find Wo Fat. Steve approved of the approach; as long as she stayed in the office and did no investigating herself.
Alyssa jumped into the project enthusiastically. Getting the financial information for the house was simple since it was a Five-O case. It took some fast talking, but she was able to get bank records from all the banks across Hawaii.
Alyssa had high hopes as she settled down in front of her computer with the data that was sent over. Her enthusiasm dimmed along with her hope and by the third day she was close to admitting defeat. She had been able to trace the account that paid for the house and had actually identified several more assets that probably belonged to Wo Fat and his conglomerate. She was able to trace the transactions through several banks and across several continents, but every time she would lose the threads once the transactions occurred in Asia. There was so much commingling of funds that she would lose the money trail. It was the black box of transactions – funny – she had always thought that this was the case for Switzerland and the Cayman Islands, but she was being stumped in an entirely different part of the world.
She needed to speak to somebody with a lot more expertise than she had. Somebody from the financial world who understood the flow of these transactions and could help her decipher what she was seeing. Alyssa thought for a moment. A CFO of a bank would understand the monetary implications, but would probably be lost in the world of digital transactions and virtual funds. She needed to talk to the Chief Information Officer – the CIO; this person would be much more technically savvy and could perhaps help her untangle this mess.
With some renewed hope, Alyssa began a Google search. Of all the banks with headquarters on Oahu, only three actually had the CIO position. Alyssa picked up the phone and started calling. BBCN had a CIO, but he was out of the country on business and would not be returning for several weeks. Alyssa managed to reach the CIO for bank of the Orient, but was rebuffed in her request; the CIO said that she was much too busy to be bothered with this exercise and wished Alyssa good luck in her endeavors. With a sigh, Alyssa dialed up First Hawaiian Bank and asked for Miss Denise Evans. Alyssa held her breath as she was transferred.
"Hello, this is Denise. How may I help you?" The voice was young and had just a slight accent. To Alyssa, she sounded very cultured. The tone was professional, but friendly.
"Miss Evans. I am Officer Alyssa Grant from the Five-O task force. Thank you for taking my call. I am working on some financial analytics and I am afraid, I am at the end of my expertise as I try to trace the transactions across the world. Would this be something you could help with and would you be willing to assist the task force?" A prolonged silence on the other side of the phone caused Alyssa to hold her breath.
Finally, Denise replied. "I think I may be able to assist you. Can you please provide me some details?"
Now it was Alyssa's turn to hesitate. "I would prefer not to discuss this over the phone. Some of the information is...," a slight pause,"...sensitive. Is there any way that we could meet in person and I can show you what information I have and where I seem to lose the trail."
"I can stop by your office on my way home from work," Denise suggested. "Where are you located?"
Alyssa provided the address. "Thank you so much, Miss Evans," Alyssa said. "Your help will be invaluable. I was completely at my wits' end on what to do."
Alyssa was almost certain that she heard a slight smile in the tone of voice that responded to her," You are welcome Officer Grant. I will see you at your office at about 5:30."
Alyssa was straightening up some of the files, when she heard voices. She looked up and saw Steve and Danny walk in. They were arguing, as usual.
"Hey, Danny," Steve was saying. "I'm only trying to help."
"This type of help, I don't need," was his partner's curt reply.
"Running will help your heart. Keep you from having a heart attack," Steve was persistent.
"You know what would keep me from having a heart attack?" His partner countered, "You not driving my car like a maniac. Were you trying to kill us both today?"
Alyssa smiled and went back to her work. Nothing unusual there.
Steve walked up to her desk. "How are you feeling," he asked, his eyes clouding with concern.
"Better now," she said. "I may have found a way to actually track Wo Fat's finances. The CIO from First Hawaiian Bank is stopping by to see what she can do to help."
"That's good," Steve said, "but that's not what I meant. How are you feeling?"
Alyssa smiled up at her brother, "I'm fine. I want to go back to work. Please, Steve."
Steve looked his sister over carefully. She was certainly on her way to a full recovery. The bruises, scratches and broken bones had healed. She looked skinnier and slighter than she had before her ordeal, but he was certain that too would pass.
Steve smiled gently, "As soon as the doctor clears you, I will set up the qualifications testing. Once you pass that, you'll get your gun and badge back. OK?"
"Ok," Alyssa smiled at him.
She saw Chin and Kono walk in. She exchanged smiles with both of them and caught a question in Chin's eyes. She nodded slightly in response and went back to her computer.
At exactly 5:30, Alyssa looked up to see a woman, slightly older than herself walk through the door of Five-O. She was petite, maybe five feet and 2 inches, although her four inch heels with the distinctive red soles added to her height. She was dressed in a collared, tailored button down shirt and a pencil skirt. A simple pearl necklace adorned her neck and diamond studs sparkled in her ears. Her bag bore the very familiar "L" and "V" design. Her dark hair was in a glossy bun and she wore gold rimmed glasses which did nothing to hide the intelligent, bright hazel eyes. Her makeup was flawless and understated. Next to her, Alyssa felt clumsy and frumpy.
At the sight of their visitor, the team stepped out of their offices to meet her. Alyssa walked forward, her hand extended. "Miss Evans, it is so nice to meet you. Thank you so much for coming and for your help.
Denise smiled, "If we are to work together, I am Denise." Her voice held some remnants of what Alyssa thought of as an East Coast high society accent. Yet, there was something in her carriage that put Alyssa at ease immediately and made her feel comfortable. She exchanged a look with Kono; as a woman, she too noticed the Christian Laboutin heels and the Louis Vuitton bag and knew exactly how much such luxuries cost. Denise Evans was clearly well to do, but she handled herself with an unexpected warmth and friedliness. Alyssa could not help but like her.
"Denise let me introduce you to the team." In turn Alyssa introduced, Steve, Chin and Kono. Danny was slow to come out of his office, but when he did, Denise walked up to him and put out her hand. "I'm Denise Evans, CIO of First Hawaiian Bank." Danny took a moment to take her in. Her petite form, the expensive clothing, shoes and handbag – similar to what he saw Rachel wearing once she married Stan. Things that he could never have afforded to buy for her. He even recognized the perfume as something expensive, although he could not put a name to it.
"Danny Williams," he said taking her hand and, abruptly dropping it as if he had touched something distasteful. He knew, as unreasonable as it was and although he could not understand it, he deeply and viscerally disliked Denise Evans.
Please let me know what you think. Will first impressions last? I hope you will enjoy this story. As always comments and recommendations and especially reviews are gratefully accepted.