Part 01 - AN in Prologue

Uncle Clay's House of Pure Aloha, downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

Lt. Commander Stephen J. McGarrett and Officer Kona Kalakaua sped through the streets of Honolulu with lights flashing to reach the restaurant where Detective Danny Williams and NCIS Agent Kensi Blye had gone to meet Steve's old military buddy, Lt. Commander Joe White.

Steve's cherry red 2010 Chevy Camaro 2LT Coupe was followed closely by Detective Chin Ho Kelly on his old Harley Davidson Crossbones Motorcycle. They both ground to a halt in front of the restaurant. The parking lot was already filled with flashing lights from police cars to ambulances. A crowd of curious onlookers was being held back by several Honolulu Police Officers.

Steve jumped out and rushed forward to the police officer on duty, Sgt. Duke Lukela. Several feet away he spotted Max who was placing a body bag in the coroners van. "Duke!"

Sgt. Lukela turned to face him, "McGarrett am I glad you're here."

Steve demanded, "What happened? I got a call that a shoot out occurred with several people down." Kono and Chin came up behind him.

Duke nodded, "Yes, Sir. That appears to be exactly what happened here."

Steve asked, "Is Danny inside taking statements?"

Duke hesitated, "I'm sorry Steve..."

Steve turned towards the coroner's van with a sick expression, "No... not Danny!"

Duke quickly replied, "No... not Danny. He isn't here."

Steve turned back in confusion, "Was he hurt? Did he go to the hospital?"

Kono and Chin exchanged concerned looks as Duke responded, "Yes. According to multiple eyewitnesses he was shot but..." he hesitated again.

Steve growled, "But what?"

"He and Agent Blye were taken hostages by the perpetrators."

Chin interjected, "Start from the beginning Duke."

"Sure Chin," he replied. "Uncle Clay's was raided by some kinda para-military group. They killed three people in the initial shootout and wounded several more including Danny and Joe White."

Steve interrupted, "Where's Joe?"

Duke said, "They took him by ambulance to the hospital."

Steve nodded as he turned to Kono and Chin. "You two stay here and get everything you can from Duke and start questioning the eyewitnesses. Get as many descriptions as you can of the perps and see if anyone saw what they were driving. Nobody leaves that isn't injured until you get their statement."

" 'K Boss," answered Kono as she placed a sympathetic hand on his arm. "You going to the hospital?"

Steve responded as he squeezed her fingers with quiet appreciation, "Yeah. I'm going to check on Joe. See what he knows. I want road blocks set up for car to car searches on every main highway leading out of the city. And check private air strips for recent traffic."

Chin nodded as he and Kono headed into the restaurant.

Hawaii Medical Center, Liliha

Joe groaned as he shifted in the hospital bed. He groped for the remote to the bed when the door swung open.

"Bout time you got here," he grumbled as Steve entered the room.

Steve stalked up to the bed, "Hey. Wanna tell me what happened?"

"Colonel Chang Hai is what happened," replied Joe evenly.

Steve spun away in agitation, took a deep breath and swung back. "That's impossible. He's dead."

Joe dryly replied, "Lot of people seem to be coming back from the dead these days. Maybe that zombie apocalypse really did happen in 2012."

"This is no time for one of your jokes Joe. Danny and Kensi are out there somewhere. Danny's hurt and I don't know how bad. Hai was a psychopath when we dealt with him before... I doubt that's changed much," growled Steve as he paced by the bed.

Joe replied, "I know son... I know. Mind standing still for a minute and helping me get out of this bed. We got some friends to find."

Steve turned to face his old mentor, "No. I've got some friends to find. You've got some resting up to do. Doc said if it wasn't for that vest you wear, you'd have been dead. You took four point blank rounds to the chest."

"Which means you can use me. Hai will think I'm dead," responded Joe wearily as he briefly recalled the reason he always wore a bullet proof vest these days... Wo Fat was on the loose again.

Steve conceded, "Maybe. But right now we don't even know where they are. I'll get Kono working on Hai... check all his known associates."

"You gonna call Kensi's team?" asked Joe.

"Yeah. Besides if Hai is after the old team then taking Kensi wasn't an accident. He could be planning to use her against Sam," answered Steve.

"If he's after your old team, then we've got to warn them. Good news is that means Danny's probably still alive," replied Joe as he shifted to stand beside the bed.

"Yeah. Hey, careful old man," grumbled Steve as he grabbed for Joe's arm. He helped him settle into a nearby wheelchair.

"Let's go," replied Joe.

Steve stated, "Your going into a safe house till we've figured out where Hai is hiding."

"Actually, I thought I'd be more assistance to Chin and Kono right now," responded Joe with a twinkle in his eyes. "You know Hai is most comfortable working out of jungle... maybe Kawica will know something."

Steve replied as he pushed the wheelchair into the hallway, "I'll get Kono on it."

"We're gonna need a good pilot," counseled Joe.

"Yeah, I've got just the man in mind. He flew Special Ops for our Seal team several times. I've just got to find him. Last I heard, he was shipped out to Antarctica for a milk run at McMurdo," answered Steve as he came to a halt in front of the elevator bank.

Joe reached over and pushed the down arrow as he responded with a choked off laugh, "Antarctica... he must have really pissed off the brass to be sent there."

"He's a zoomie," replied Steve as if that explained everything. "I'll see if Cat can track him down while we get intel and check on Hanna and the others."

Joe nodded, "I'm sorry about Danny. I wish I'd protected him better."

"Don't worry about it. It wasn't your fault. If anyone, it's mine," replied Steve with downcast eyes. He flipped out his phone before Joe could reply. "Cat, this is Steve. I need a favor."

Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

Steve looked up from the witness statements and grabbed his ringing cell, "McGarrett."

"Next time you need a favor. Call someone else," replied an irate Lieutenant Catherine "Cat" Rollins.

"What happened?" asked Steve.

"I just got my ass chewed up one side and down the other for even inquiring about Major John Sheppard. Lucky for you, one of my contacts already called me back with where we could find him," replied Cat sullenly.

"Why would brass care about the duty station of an air force pilot?" questioned Steve in confusion.

"No idea and this is one I'm not going to try to find out. Sheppard's on vacation in California. He's staying at a place called Shutters on the Beach in Santa Monica," replied Cat. "He's supposed to be there for another three weeks."

"Nice vacation. Where's he stationed at?" asked Steve.

"No clue. Even my contact wouldn't tell me. And I can't risk asking anyone else right now or I might find myself up on charges," snapped Cat.

"What? Why? You're Naval Intel. Why would anyone refuse to co-operate with you," questioned a surprised Steve.

"Whatever he's attached to is super secret... way above even my clearance level. If you have any questions, I'd suggest you ask him directly when you find him," responded Cat.

" 'K. Thanks Cat. I owe you another one," replied Steve with a grin.

"No, you owe me and Billy a weekend at some really expensive spa," ordered Cat.

Steve groaned, "That bad. Okay but not till after the case."

Cat agreed, "Course not. Let me know when you find Danny."

"You got it. Love ya Cat," answered Steve as he hung up without waiting for a reply.

On the Enterprise, Cat listened to the dial tone and rolled her eyes. "I love you too... you big goof," she replied to the dead air even as she shook her head at her best friend's typical behavior. She hung up.

NCIS Office of Special Projects, Los Angeles, California

NCIS Agent Sam Hanna strolled into work as if he didn't have a care in the world. Case loads were light and his partner, NCIS Agent G. Callen, had hooked up temporarily with some girl so he wasn't bugging Sam day and night with his chronic insomnia. Sam smiled as he nodded greetings to his various co-workers as he headed to his desk.

LAPD liaison, Detective Martin Deeks, Marty to his friends, slammed the phone down in frustration as Sam walked up.

Sam asked, "Problem?"

Marty looked up from the phone, "Only for you. Here." He hands Sam a stack of messages. "I swear if they call back one more time, I'm going to rip your phone out of its socket." Marty stood and declared, "I am not your answering service."

Sam grinned, "No one said you were." He looked down at the messages and his grin slipped off his face.

Sensing the change in mood, Marty asked, "What? Is there a problem?"

Sam waved the messages, "These are all from Hawaii. That's where Kensi is."

Marty questioned, "You think something is wrong? Why wouldn't they tell me if something is wrong?"

Callen came up behind Sam, "What's wrong with Kensi?"

Marty replied, "Don't know. Sam's had several calls from Hawaii over the past couple of hours."

Sam look them over, "Kono, Chin and Steve. Don't seen any from Jersey. Deeks, why didn't you ask 'em why they were calling? You know Kensi's in Hawaii visiting Steve and Danny."

Marty replied, "All they did is ask for you and left a number. So call 'em."

Sam nodded, "Yeah." He pulled out his cell and called the Hawaii State Police Headquarters.

Callen nodded to Marty and ordered, "Call Kensi's cell."

Marty agreed, "Right. She is my partner." He flipped open his own cell and pressed one.

Callen watched and commented, "Really. Number one."

Marty looked up and defensively replied, "Well...yeah. Hetty's number two."

Callen shook his head, "You really have no life."

Marty whined as he listened to the message that came across his phone, "Look who's talking. Huh, that's weird."

Callen asked, "What?"

Marty replied as he re-dialed, "Her phone is ringing as disconnected." He listened again... same thing.

Callen pulled out his own phone and called the number getting the same results, "I don't like this."

Marty grumbled, "I just talked to her last night. Everything was fine."

Henrietta Lange, Operations Manager, arrived and commented, "You boys look tense. What's going on?"

Marty replied, "Don't know yet. Might have a problem with Kensi."

Callen with phone to his ear just shook his head.

Hetty looked concerned, "I thought Ms. Blye went to Hawaii on vacation."

Callen slammed his phone shut, "She did." He turned to Sam, "Any luck."

Sam replied, "Busy signal."

Callen responded, "Keep trying."

Sam nodded then exclaimed, "Finally."

Callen, Marty and Hetty all watched as he was connected to Hawaii.

Disembodied voice through the cell, "McGarrett."

Sam said, "Hey buddy... What's going on?"

"Sam thanks for calling... we've got some problems," replied Steve as he went on to explain about the shooting and kidnapping by Colonel Chang Hai.

Sam asked, "How many dead?" Marty jerked at that as Callen and Hetty looked even more worried.

Steve reported, "Five dead. Three in the initial incursion. Two at the hospital. A dozen wounded.. varying degrees."

Sam asked, "Any news on Kensi?"

Steve replied, "No. Nothing yet. Look, I need you to do me a favor."

Sam responded, "What do you need?"

Steve answered, "I'm getting the team together. Kono's tracking down our old group. I could use you here but I need you to stop and pick up someone in Santa Monica."

Sam said, "We'll be on the first flight. Who do you need us to pick up?"

Steve replied, "Sheppard. You know we're going to need a good pilot and he was the best."

Sam responded, "Shep... Flyboy still in the biz? I figured he would have retired after that mess in Afghanistan."

"No, he's still flying... not sure from what port of call but he's supposed to be on vacation in Santa Monica. I'll send the address to your phone," said Steve.

Sam answered, "I'm on it. We'll be there as soon as possible." He disconnected the call and turned to the concerned faces of his team. He simply said, "Kensi and Danny are in trouble. Old Seal business."

Eric Beale, NCIS Analysis, leaned over the upper platform and said, "I can get you on a flight to Hawaii within the hour." Nell Jones, his cohort, stood beside him watching the group below.

Sam called back up, "We have to go to Santa Monica first."

Hetty interrupted, "Why the delay?"

Sam replied, "Gotta pick up a friend who's on vacation there."

Marty asked, "Who?"

Sam answered, "The guy's name is John Sheppard. He's an Air Force pilot."

Hetty exclaimed, "Colonel John Sheppard?!"

Sam was shocked, "Colonel? Last I heard he was in trouble with the brass again and permanently stuck at Major."

Hetty straightened her lapel as she regained her composure, "Things change Mr. Hanna...things change. He's a full bird Colonel."

Sam questioned, "How the hell do you know that?"

Hetty replied mysteriously, "I don't believe you should be wasting your time asking me irrelevant questions Mr. Hanna. Eric will make arrangements for us to fly to Santa Monica. Pick up Colonel Sheppard and then fly on to Hawaii." She looked up, "Mr. Beale, please use the number in my rolodex for General Jack O'Neill. He'll provide transport by the Air Force." She walked away without waiting to see if her orders were being followed.

Marty asked the room, "Air Force? I thought you guys worked with the Navy."

Callen and Hanna stared after Hetty's retreating figure before looking up to Eric who shrugged.

Shutters on the Beach, Santa Monica, California

Marty looked around the luxury hotel and commented, "This place probably cost more for one week than my apartment does for a year."

Sam snorted, "A roach motel costs more than that hovel."

Callen looked around at the obvious signs of wealth, "While I agree that Deeks' place does rate right up there with a roach motel... this place seems kinda pricy for an Air Force Colonel."

Hetty interrupted, "I wouldn't worry Mr. Callen... the Colonel can afford it."

Callen looked at her, "You know more than your telling... again."

Ignoring the men, Hetty walked up to the front desk and smiled at the young blond clerk, "Miss, can you tell me where I can find Colonel John Sheppard?"

Behind her, Callen looked to Sam, "I thought this guy was a friend of yours."

Sam shrugged, "I'm thinking I know him less and less."

The desk clerk blushed as she replied, "Colonel and Mrs. Sheppard headed down to the beach a couple of hours ago to do some surfing. I can put a message in their box if you'd like."

Hetty replied, "That won't be necessary my dear. We'll find him."

Sam exclaimed, "When'd he get married again?"

Marty asked, "Again?"

Sam nodded, "He swore off marriage after the first one divorced him. Said he wasn't husband material."

Callen's eyebrows lifted, "Guess he changed his mind. You did say you haven't seen him in almost six years."

Hetty thanked the clerk and turned to look at her team, "Don't worry Mr. Hanna, I'm sure you and Colonel Sheppard will have plenty of time to catch up on the flight to Hawaii."

Sam mumbled, "You're right Hetty. Let's go find him so we can help Kensi and Danny. At least the surfing is still the same."

Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

Steve paced as he spoke into the phone, "Thank you Governor. You won't regret this." He placed the receiver back into the cradle and faced Chin. "The Governor has given us the go ahead to use whatever resources we need to bring the situation under control and find our missing people."

Chin asked suspiciously, "Since when did he give us carte blanche? He likes to keep us on a tight leash. There must be a catch."

Steve replied, "Normally I'd agree with you but apparently he got a phone call from a Ms. Henrietta Lange of NCIS Office of Special Projects who apparently he owes a few favors."

Chin smiled, "She must be the infamous Hetty that Kensi has mentioned a few times."

Steve returned the grin, "I do believe so. The Governor all but ordered me to do whatever I had to resolve the matter to Ms. Lange's satisfaction."

Chin responded, "I can't wait to meet her."

Kono entered, "Who Cuz?"

Chin turned to his favorite cousin, "Hetty. Seems she has our Governor wrapped around her little finger."

Steve interrupted, "You'll be meeting her soon enough. She's on her way here with the rest of Kensi's team."

Kono nodded, "Looking forward to it Boss. In the meantime, I've got some news that you're not gonna like."

Steve frowned, "You had trouble finding my former teammates?"

Kono shook her head negatively, "I found them alright." She headed over to the smart table and inserted a USB drive. She started punching keys as she said, "All of them are dead except one who is currently missing."

Steve yelled, "What?! Why am I just finding out about this?"

Chin simultaneously asked, "How?"

Kono answered, "Probably because most of them were ordinary incidents... nothing tied any of them together."

Steve looked over at the main screen as he ordered, "Explain."

Kono tapped a few more buttons then with a flick of her wrist the files began opening up on the main board. She went over to stand with the others.

Chin read, "Sgt. Ezra Johnson killed in an auto accident by a drunk driver while on leave. He was at his sister's wedding. The driver is in jail pending a trial."

Steve continued, "Lt. James Freemason killed overseas in Kandahar by random UID. No suspects in custody."

Kono read, "Cpt. Christopher Peretti died of a brain aneurysm while deployed on the USS Ronald Regan in the Atlantic. The death was ruled natural causes by the corpsman on duty."

Chin went on, "The only suspicious one is Staff Sgt. Michael Scott. He was reported missing last week when he failed to show up for duty. NCIS in Washington DC is currently investigating. Lead investigator is a former Marine Gunnery Sgt., Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Case is currently cold... no viable leads."

Steve realized, "These all occurred in the past two weeks. In light of our current situation, I'd have to say everything is related. Colonel Hai must be behind all of this." He turned to Kono, "Get me the NCIS director in DC on the line. Maybe they've turned up something that isn't in the reports."

Kono nodded, "We working with them Boss?"

Steve answered, "Yes, let's all be co-operative for now. Kono, when you finish, I want you to go through each one of these cases with a fine tooth comb... find me a link."

Kono replied sweetly, "You got it."

Steve acknowledge her with a quick grin and a nod as he continued to study the board.

Chin placed a hand on his shoulder and said with as much confidence as he could muster, "We'll find them."

Steve replied, "Yeah, I just hope it won't be too late."

Unidentified location in Hawaiian Jungle

In a cage suspended about twenty feet in the air, Kensi carefully crawled over to Danny. She shook his shoulder as she whispered, "Jersey, hey Jersey wake up."

Danny moaned as he woke to a searing pain, "I hope you got the license number of that truck." He cautiously opened his eyes and stared through the bars at the ground several feet below.

Feeling nauseous, he groaned, "Please tell me I have a concussion and am seriously delusional and that is not the jungle down there."

Kensi carefully shook her head, "Sorry Jersey...we're seriously in deep."

He carefully turned his head to look at her and saw she was sitting beside him with her hands bound behind her back. Seeing her predicament, he realized he was lying face down on the cage bars with his own hands bound behind him. He pounded his head against the bar, "No, no, no...this has got to be his fault."

Kensi asked, "Whose fault?"

Danny replied, "Steve 'Trouble Magnet' McGarrett."

Shutters on the Beach, Santa Monica, California

Marty looked at the various women walking and lying around in varying styles of skimpy bikini's and asked appreciatively, "So how we gonna spot this guy in all these... people."

Callen slapped him on the head and said seriously, "Stop that. This is serious."

Sam glared at him and growled, "Did you forget your partner... Kensi is missing."

Marty squirmed, "Of course not but I don't even know what this guy looks like... so how am I supposed to spot him?

Callen said "We split up and look for someone that looks military, then point him out to Sam or Hetty to identify." He looked over at Sam, "Do you know if he has any tattoos that may help us identify him."

Sam shook his head, "He's only got one on his wrist. It will probably be difficult to spot unless you're right up on him."

Hetty ordered, "Let's get looking."

Everyone nodded as they split off into different directions.

Hetty admired the variety of six pack abs she passed as she looked at all the males in her direction. No sign of the Colonel or his wife. Maybe one of the others would have better luck.

Sam shoved past people as he craned his next. "Scuze me. Pardon me." He scowled when he reached the end of his stretch. No luck. He swung back around and moved to rejoin the others.

Callen spotted a dark haired man supporting a military style buzz cut talking to a woman at a nearby kiosk. He headed over and asked, "Excuse me, are you Colonel Sheppard?" The man shook his head, "Sorry Pal, not me."

Callen nodded, "Thanks." He sighed as he headed back the way he came.

Marty groaned in disappointment... not a military looking person anywhere. Just a bunch of beach bums... and bunnies. He smiled as another bunny went past. He turned to head back when he bumped into a dark haired man carrying a surf board. "Hey, sorry man."

The man drawled, "No problem, probably my fault anyway."

Marty reached down and picked up the man's sunglasses that had fallen when they collided.

"Thanks," the man said as he took his glasses and turned away.

Sam met back up with Callen and Hetty. Both shook their heads... no luck.

Callen asked, "What about Deeks?" He turned towards the direction the other man had gone and spotted him talking to a dark haired man. "There he is."

Sam and Hetty turned to look in the direction that Callen indicated. Sam exclaimed, "That's him."

Callen asked confused, "That's who?"

Sam replied exasperated, "Shep. The guy Deeks is letting get away."

Callen responded, "No way. That is not a military cut... I was in the military and that is not it. That hair is way too long to be regulation. Looks more like a bunch of little mohawks the way the water is spiking it."

Hetty replied, "Be that as it may Mr. Callen. That is indeed Colonel Sheppard. I'd recognize those cowlicks anywhere." She looked at her two companions, "Don't just stand there... go get him."

Sam and Callen hurried off in the direction Deeks was standing.

Marty looked up and saw them coming and started to apologize, "Sorry guys. No..." They rushed pass him without a word. He turned to follow them. Confused he called, "Did I miss something?"

The three men quickly caught up with their quarry just as he reached a woman in a red one piece suit. She was an attractive brunette with shoulder length curly brown hair. They heard her ask, "John, friends of yours?"

John said, "Uh? Who?" The woman pointed behind him. He turned and was engulfed in a hug.

Sam yelled, "Shep!" Callen and Deeks came to a halt a few feet away.

Sam set John back down as John blurted, "Sam... Sam Hanna! How the hell are you?"