Notes: This is a rewrite of a story I started years and years ago. The tone is a bit different from the original, but I hope you like it. I want to thank my friend Narkito, who did an amazing job as a Beta for this monster. She cheered me on and encouraged me to keep writing, and was generally awesome through the rewriting of this tale. Still, all mistakes are mine, and mine alone (hopefully there won't be too many!). The art is by the awesome Brumeier, who kindly volunteered to make this lovely title image. Thank you so much! :) This story is set somewhat in season 7, but it assumes that the boys' recovery wasn't as instantaneous as in the show.
I hope you enjoy it!
It had taken a good couple of months, but things were finally going back to normal. Danny was slowly returning to full duty after the plane crash, still a bit sore from his surgery and the injuries he suffered. He and Steve had been released on the same day, and practically gone right back to work, much to Danny's displeasure. If he could still feel the discomfort of the surgery, he could imagine it was much worse for Steve.
The Governor had ordered the team to stand down for a week after their first case back, and after that, things had been quiet, HPD taking most of the load in deference to the team just going back to full capacity.
Danny was just enjoying the end of a quiet day at the office; He didn't usually take too much pleasure in the routine of filing out requisition forms, but after spending so much time cooped up in his house, with Eric and Grace waiting on him hand and foot, he felt a new appreciation for even the simplest tasks from work.
Everyone else had gone home; Lou had a thing with Renee, Chin and Kono had a family celebration and Steve had gone home after lunch. Danny however was in no hurry to go back to his place since Grace and Charlie were with Rachel for the week and there was only so many concerned looks he could take from Eric anymore. Danny was just taking his time and enjoying the peace and quiet of an empty office when a group of men came through the door.
The man walking at the front looked vaguely familiar. He moved with a purposeful tread in Danny's direction with two rather large men at his back. Danny noticed by his clothes, gold watch and general appearance, that the man in front of him was wealthy, obscenely wealthy, most likely and the two gorillas at his back were not packing heat but they could cause a lot of trouble with or without a gun. Danny lifted his eyebrows, greeting the newcomers. "Hello gentlemen, is there anything I can help you with?" He asked with a smile.
The man at the front of the group looked at Danny from head to toe. "Mr. Malloy. I believe I'm in need of your services once again," he said seriously, with a slight accent that Danny couldn't pinpoint.
Danny did a double take, blinking in confusion at the other man. "Malloy? I'm sorry, but it seems you have the wrong person," he said, shaking his head and looking at the two gorillas for confirmation.
The man didn't look at all concerned by Danny's answer. "You've been quite difficult to track, Mr. Malloy, much more than your brother. I must say that the policeman identity was quite a clever move, although your latest heroics have been less than inconspicuous," he said with an annoying smirk.
Danny lifted his hands, getting tired of the game. "Seriously? It seems that we do not understand each other. Maybe I should try with smaller words, see if that way you actually understand what I'm trying to tell you! You have the wrong person! I have no idea who this Malloy fellow is, and frankly I don't give a damn! I'd appreciate it if you could go on your way and looked for him in some other place, maybe even try HPD, and fill out a Missing Person report! I'm sure they'll be happy to help you over there!" He snapped, his hands moving to his waist.
To Danny's annoyance, the man didn't show any kind of reaction to the detective's words, only lifting his hand so that one of the men at his back could hand him a folder, which he opened and started studying seemingly interested. "I was surprised to find out that you had formed a family, Mr. Malloy. You have a beautiful daughter." He lifted his eyes to study Danny's expression. "She's very smart as well. Did you know that Grace is at the top of her class?" He said, placing on the smart table some photographs of Grace leaving her school and some documents Danny recognized as Grace's school reports. "I was also very sorry to hear of your son's illness. I hope that he has recovered without any complications." He said next, producing some photos of Rachel and Charlie leaving the hospital and a more recent one of Charlie playing at his school.
Danny curled his hands into fists, knowing that trying to bust all of the guy's teeth would only get him a beating from the two gorillas. "Who the fuck are you, and what the hell do you want?" He said in an angry growl, his hand going unconsciously to his side and finding nothing, since he had left his gun in his office, thinking he would have no need to carry it around HQ.
The man lifted his hands in a placating gesture. "There is no need to get excited, Mr. Malloy. While I find it endearing that you are so determined to stay in character, I think introductions are unnecessary. As to the reason behind my visit; as I said before, I'm afraid I'm in need of your services once again. An item of great value seems to have been misplaced and I believe that the Black Fox is responsible for the new location of this item. You and your friends will help me to locate this item and to return it to its original location. All the relevant information is here," he said, getting another folder from one of the big guys and placing it next to Grace and Charlie's photos on the table.
Danny had been forced to work on his patience ever since the plane crash. The weeks of recovery and being cooped up in a hospital room with Steve had forced him to take the high ground in order to allow his partner and himself a recovery without too many setbacks. That hard-worked patience was long gone, and Danny was ready to punch the annoying smirk off this guy's face. "What exactly makes you think that I give a rat's ass about whatever it is that you lost?"
The man's unaffected expression didn't change at Danny's words. "The fact that I have acquired information regarding your past, let's say less than legal activities, and I would be morally obliged to deliver this information to the Governor of Hawaii. You may also be convinced by the fact that I'm very well informed regarding the routine of little Grace, of your ex-wife, Rachel Edwards, and of little Charles Edwards, or have you already finished the procedure to change his last name to Williams? Such sad turn of events that you didn't realize he was your child until he needed your bone marrow," he said in false sympathy.
With a nod of the man's head, he and his bodyguards started towards the door. "I will leave you with this information, Mr. Malloy. I expect you to contact your team and start working on your assignment." And with that, they turned down the hallway and disappeared from sight.
Once he made sure the men were truly gone, Danny moved towards the table and started checking the papers they left behind. He was more than shocked to find a print of criminal records of a man who could have been his twin, with a series of photographs of the same man hotwiring a car, breaking into a house, opening a safe filled with jewelry, and all sorts of illegal activities. That shock turned to anger when he found a very detailed set of pictures of Grace and Charlie, coming into and leaving school, playing at the park, of Grace hanging out with some friends, both of them riding in the car with Rachel, Charlie playing in the park and of both of them with Danny coming into Danny's place.
Danny's blood was boiling. Whoever this son of a bitch was, he knew enough about Grace and Charlie to represent a real threat to them, and he didn't even know what the asshole wanted. Gathering the documents with trembling hands, he picked up the folder and moved back to his office.
Danny's mind was spinning in all directions. He had no idea who this Malloy guy was, he had no idea who the man that visited him was and he certainly had no idea what this asshole wanted him and the team to do.
He picked up his things in a hurry and left, heading for his car. He got in and started driving, not sure where he was going, but needing to move.
After driving aimlessly for a few minutes he finally decided to head home and take a look at the paperwork the guy had left. However, he felt like he needed another head to bounce ideas with, so without thinking too much, he took out his phone from his pocket and hit #2 on his speed dial.
It was only after the phone rang a couple of times that he remembered that Steve had gone home early, claiming that he would go home and relax for once. Unfortunately, his partner picked up the phone before Danny could hang up. "Danno, please don't tell me that you're still at the office." Steve drawled, stifling a yawn.
Danny winced at the sound of his friend's voice, and started to backpedal. "Hey. No. I'm just heading home. I guess I wanted to check up on you?" He asked, unconvincingly.
Danny waited for Steve's reply, just picturing the aneurism face slowly blossoming on his partner's face. "Check up on me, Danny? You saw me less than five hours ago."
Danny winced, passing a hand down his face in a nervous gesture. "Well, I don't know! I'm bored and I thought about calling you, is that such a bad thing?" He said in annoyance.
He could hear Steve sighing, from across the line. "Danno. I thought we've already established that you have a tone and that when I hear that tone, I can tell that something's going on, so why don't you save the both of us some time and just tell me what's going on?" Steve said, sounding irritated. "Otherwise I'll have to ask Kono to track your ass down, and we both know she doesn't like it when we bother her for no reason."
Danny groaned internally, he should have known that Steve wouldn't let this go. Fortunately he was reaching his place. "Well, there won't be any need to track me down. I'm at my place, and I called you to talk about something, but it's not important, so we can talk about it at the office tomorrow," he said, while parking the car in the driveway.
Steve was silent for a minute. "I don't know if I'll make it to the office tomorrow. I have a PT session."
Danny got out of the car and entered his place, looking blindly for the light switch. "Hey, don't worry, it's nothing important really. What do you say if I stop by your place after work tomorrow?" He finally found the light switch and turned it on. "I can bring lunch and we can ta-" Whatever Danny was going to say was forgotten as he dropped everything on his hands and took out his gun, pointing it at the man sitting on his couch. "Don't move. Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing at my apartment." He muttered in an angry growl.
The man sitting on the couch seemed rather unaffected by the gun pointing at his face. He had salt and pepper hair and a cocky smirk that Danny hated before he even got to know the guy. He stood up with his hands held in a non-threatening position. "Detective Williams, my name is Danny Ocean and I think that we are in need of each other's assistance."