"You're going where?"

"Going to take a chopper, fly over to Kauai and maybe Niihau"

"Why exactly?...you don't get enough of just this Island that you have to fly over to some more?"

"Come on Danny why don't you bring Grace along?….she'd probably love a helicopter ride see some sights"

"No! No! No! McGarrett…..you see Grace made plans already for us this weekend and nowhere in there is a high flying act with you…so you my friend are on your own"

"You don't know what you'll be missing?"

"yes matter of fact I do….a ride that you will get to see a whole lot of ocean….I see the ocean every day, some days more than others…..so you go and have fun and I'll see you on Monday" as he clapped Steve on the back on his way out of HQ. He turned yelling back "maybe you can get your Rambo-ette to go with you" he said with a smile. Steve smiled waving him off.

5

0

The last time Steve had made a trip like this was with his dad, they had enjoyed several days of some rare one on one fishing. He always loved looking at the Islands from the air. They looked so much more spectacular and gave such a perspective of just how small they were compared to the vast ocean that surrounded them.

Steve didn't know the pilot well but had met him a few times, he was extremely knowledgeable with all the Islands as well as being very familiar with the Northwest Islands. It all started off as an enjoyable start to the weekend, despite not being able to talk Danny in coming along.

5

0

The storm had hit out of nowhere, the clouds had rolled in quickly but both the pilot and Steve thought nothing of it as the weather was forever changing but rapidly would return to sun. There had been nothing on the airways to indicate anything different other than simply some rain. But this hit with a vengeance, tossing the chopper in turbulence….the pilot was skilled, not to mention so was Steve….but no amount of skill was going to change the outcome.

The pilot raised the chopper up hoping to get out of some of the pounding turbulence that however only made matters worse. So he dropped down below the cloud cover only to be met with flashing lightning, it struck hard making the engine falter just enough that the pilot scrambled to gain control. There wasn't enough clearance between it and the ocean for recovery. The pilot turned to Steve

"Might have to put this down….grab the life jackets "as he quickly called mayday giving the coordinates.

Steve grabbed two jackets, both men quickly put them on. The pilot turned to Steve again "we're about a mile off the shore….can't hold this much more…better jump…I'm right behind you"

Steve acknowledged him, jumped and prepared for his wet impact. He surfaced quickly looking for the pilot. He saw him just going to exit the helicopter when it twisted at an awkward angle impacting the ocean and instantly exploding. Steve ducked under the surface but failed to avoid some of the debris. Metal shards caught him, slicing across his side and back, he turned into the pain as a metal piece caught him across the side of the head. Blackness engulfed him instantly as the ocean around him turned red.