One Man's Curse is Another Man's Blessing
*ptdr*h50*
The vast majority of the family called it the curse. A couple of Aunties, Kono and a few of the other more optimistic ones called it a gift. Chin called it life when it helped with interrogation and sometimes hell when he couldn't help but to catch the betrayal of the other department cops. In comic book terms, Chin was more than an empath and much less than a receiving telepath.
Then he quit the police department and was a rubber gun for a while. The tourists were out to relax and thus were relaxing to Chin. He could 'see' any thieves coming in the door and dealt with them accordingly. Then his life was turned upside down and he was pulled into the wake of another McGarrett. Chin liked being in the presence of a McGarrett. What thoughts he caught were fast, intelligent and always following the spirit of the law if not the letter. Their emotions were locked down so tight, Chin couldn't feel them. What surprised Chin was the haole. Danny Williams was a proud New Jersey cop, but his emotions matched most of his actions. For as loud as the man was, his thoughts were behind a tight wall, inaccessible. Chin never told either one about his abilities and thus wasn't pulled into interrogations. He didn't mind; he much preferred to use his carefully crafted computer talents to catch criminals rather than some nebulous genetic trait. Chin was pretty sure that –like a muscle- the less he used his brain for picking up thoughts and emotions, the less he picked up accidentally.
With the family Steve McGarrett had created in 5-O HQ, Chin was buffered from outside emotions. He felt normal in their offices and that balance he found inside HQ carried outside to the rest of the world. Oh, his house was still a refuge from the emotional chaos of the island, but he wasn't as desperate for it as before. His house had been in the family for many generations, an inheritance that was dependent on the curse/gift. Supposedly, the house and surround land had been blessed and… well, warded against emotions for decades. Chin Ho Kelly didn't believe in wards; he believed in logic and computers. Kono believed the wards. Chin was pretty sure the house worked as a placebo and due to sheer distance from the rest of the island inhabitants.
Either way, Chin was surprised to find a vagrant sleeping next to his motorcycle, right on top of one of the blessing runes in his driveway, behind his house. He hadn't felt him arrive, Chin still didn't feel him. He was breathing so he was still alive, probably a drunken stupor. Vagrants lived all over on the Big Island, but few ventured near his place and Chin always knew when they had arrived. He sighed. It didn't matter.
"Buddy," he called as he reached out to shake the vagrant. "Time to move on…"
At his touch, he was bombarded with thoughts, more than feelings, full pictures not words. Fear. Torture. Run. Chin jerked his hand away from the vagrant. Touch had never initiated such a strong response. Chin blinked and the echoes faded away.
The vagrant was awake now, scooting away. He didn't go far and always kept one hand on the rune. Chin was trying to decide whether or not to apologize. He knew how rough it was to be unexpectedly bombarded with another's emotions, but the ragged man was a trespasser.
"Sorry," the trespasser mumbled. "Shared without asking." The trespasser wasn't sorry, though, he was merely speaking Chin's thoughts. Though the curse ran in the family, Chin had only known one other man to possess it and Uncle Yin had died when Chin was five.
"Smell peppermint," the man murmured.
Chin took two steps back to get out of the feedback loop. Uncle Yin had constantly smelled of peppermint. The house Chin had inherited from Uncle Yin still smelled of peppermint if the wind blew just right.
"Nor-by North-East, me matey," the man sang.
There was two results for those with the curse: either they become calm like Chin or they become crazy like this man.
"Useless sanity."
Sanity was useless only if insanity was useful. Chin blinked. "Someone uses it?" because this man could barely use his words.
"A worthwhile failure of an experiment." Clear, precise words dictated in a cadence unfamiliar to Chin. These weren't the drifter's words.
And Chin's blood ran cold. The stranger offered a hand, like a man would offer a dog to sniff. Chin knew he had to investigate so he touched the offered wrist.
A child's hands twitched on a child's school desk. Pain from the electricity coursed through his veins. A kind woman shook him and he couldn't respond. "Timmy? Timmy! Raines, what did you do?"
"He is no longer Timmy. He shall be called Angelo."
Chin jerked away. He still felt the echoes of pain. "Timmy?"
Something recoiled in the stranger, probably the brainwashing he had endured. As a child!
"Angelo?" Chin attempted. He could feel the man's agreement. "Angelo, it is. My name is Chin."
Angelo nodded, off-center. "Time for work."
Yes, it was, but Angelo was more important than punching a time clock. Chin remembered the crazy man's words. "Where do you work, Angelo? Is anyone looking for you?"
Angelo muttered gibberish, became frustrated with himself and offered his hand again. Chin touched the man knowing that he was opening himself for a world of hurt. He was bombarded with images again; more torture. Chin caught Raines' name again, along with Lyle, Parker and Sydney. Angelo latched emotions to each name, but Chin couldn't parse the meanings. Angelo seemed to hate and like Parker all at the same time. Chin saw expensive and well-manicured places (secrets, buried deep); The Centre and Blue Cove.
Well, Chin had a place to start. He would have to be careful. Anyone that would experiment on a child and get away with it, had to be secretive, vindictive and powerful.
5-O's preferred enemy because no one else could stop them.
Chin looked Angelo up and down. He needed food and a bath and not necessarily in that order. Chin couldn't send a fellow cursed man away without a little help. "You…"
"Yes," the man said.
Chin smiled in spite of himself. Words weren't entirely needed. He'd get Angelo settled and then drive in to 5-O HQ.
*H5-O*Ptndr*
"A little late, cuz?" Kono teased.
"Have any of you heard of The Centre in Blue Cove?"
Both Kono and Steve looked confused, not doubt trying to remember a company in Hawaii. Danny, however, stilled. "Delaware? How did you get that name? They normally work through a subsidiary."
That sounded about right and the feelings rolling off of the (former) Mainlander matched Angelo's. Chin handed Danny his phone with Angelo's picture on the screen. "This man showed up at my house this morning. He's a mess, but what little I've gotten out of him links there." Chin hoped that his bosses would accept his word and not try to interview Angelo themselves, they would never believe his success.
Danny paged through the photographic evidence before handing the phone to Steve. "Not surprised. The most I got in Jersey was 'Think Tank' but they are very well connected and never get caught for destroying lives."
"Where is this witness now?" asked Steve.
"Still at my house."
"We should go pick him up."
"Nah, brah," Chin answered. "He likes the atmosphere of my house. He won't be leaving voluntarily."
Kono jerked at the clues. She was such a rookie sometimes, smart but obvious. Chin smiled at her to confirm her unspoken theories. "I'll warn the aunties."
Point. The family would want to know about someone wandering Chin's house and no one would answer if Chin called them. They would have compassion for Angelo and would care for him without crossing the wards. There were enough stories in the family to warn of Angelo's affliction.
Steve accepted the vulgarities of the Hawaiian culture but Danny was watching the cousins closely. "How much danger do you think is following him?"
Chin tilted his head, agreeing to the possibility. "His fear wasn't immediate. If trouble is following Angelo, he doesn't know."
Danny seemed to understand. "So we're in the clear until we go poking about." He pointed at Steve, "And trouble, more trouble than this island can handle will show up when you do."
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. We need to have all our ducks in a row before we start. Anything that can be used against us needs to be settled."
"Do we have an actual crime to investigate?" Kono asked and Chin picked up the worry she had for him loud and clear. Chin's secret, curse, gift, or whatever one wanted to call it would be too close to the surface. The people chasing Angelo would know that the ability existed and would understand the possibilities. They had driven Angelo insane, as a child to use him. Chin worried, not only for himself but for any future family member that might inherit.
"No," Chin replied slowly. "All I have are the babblings of a homeless man. And Angelo can never be put on the stand. It'd probably break him further."
"So we wait," Danny declared. Chin felt a knowing in the detective's emotions that he hadn't been expecting. What had Danny figured out? What did he know? "We'll figure something out."
Steve examined his team members. He could catch the undercurrents but was too grounded in science to even consider the possibilities. "Chin, keep us in the loop as to developments with Angelo."
"Will do, boss." Chin relaxed in the camaraderie and protective feelings of 5-O. The future was looking… interesting.
*ptdr*h50*