Thirty minutes later all of Five 0 was situated inside the Governor's office. Before he got down to why he had called in his task force the Governor dismissed his entire staff. Gabe and Steve shared a mutual look, they knew this was bad.
"Ladies and Gentlemen the reason I've called you all here on your well deserved and much needed day off is this," said the Governor Denning as he passed out a file to each of the team.
McGarret couldn't hide his shock when he opened the folder, staring back at him was a photo of Kinman "Tommy" Tau and Wo Fat.
"Where and When were these taken?" asked Steve.
"72 hours ago in Kowloon," replied the Governor. "NSA and ONI intercepted Sigint (Signal Intelligence: phone conversation and other electronic communications) that Wo Fat, Tau, and an unknown third party have gone into business together. From what they were able to learn they are making a play to be the only game in town both in CHina and Stateside for Human and Drug Trafficking. According to sources in the Chinese MSS (Ministry of State Security, their CIA) Tau, Wo Fat, and company have been ruthlessly eliminating any competition of rival factions in China and the U.S."
"We've tightened security with Homeland, the Navy and the Coast Guard all around the Island and along the California coast. How the hell have they been getting past our security measures?" asked Steve.
"We have a leak somewhere," answered the Governor. "This is a serious security breach people. For the first time since 9/11 all parties are playing nice and sharing intel and resources because we all know what's at stake here. Even the Chinese are being more helpful than usual, but somehow Tau and Wo fat have been able to smuggle in guns, drugs, and people into the U.S."
"If we have a leak then how can we trust any intel we've received?" asked Gabe. "How reliable is the source of this information?"
"It came straight from your father," replied Governor Denning.
Gabe couldn't hide his shock, "My Dad?!" Kono gripped his hand under the table as a show of support. She knew that it bothered Gabe that his father hadn't come out to see him and had barely spoken to him since his shooting. Now they knew why, Bobby Castillo had decided to go after the men trying to kill his son.
"Apparently he requested this assignment a few weeks after your shooting," replied the Governor.
Gabe filed away his concerns for his Dad to deal with later. They had ways to communicate with each other in case of emergency and Gabe intended to reach out, but now wasn't the time to dwell on the skewed relationship between him and his father.
"I've called you all here so you could be made aware of how serious the situation is. Two of the worlds most wanted have joined forces and they both have grudges against this team. You all need to prepare yourselves," said the Governor. "Agent Castillo, Commander McGarrett I suggest you two get your team up to speed ASAP because the stakes have gone up."
"No time like the present," said Gabe as he shared a look with Steve. The Navy SEAL nodded grim faced before replying, "Let's get to work."
"Welcome to CQB (Close Quarter Battle)," said Gabe. "All of you are a lot better trained than the average cop or SWAT officer, but this is like going from Highschool to College."
The entire team including Cath were inside an abandoned warehouse where Gabe and Steve had set up walls made of plywood and reinforced with stacked old tires to prevent bullets fragmenting and or ricocheting as they shot at walls themselves could be moved to reconfigure a room anyway they wanted. Also the warehouse contained a modified shooting range which was 25 yards long and 50 yards wide. Unlike a normal range that had hanging targets on conveyor belts this range had several pillars and half walls at varying distances. Steel target plates the size of an average head were controlled by a computer which used pneumatic air jacks to make them pop out and retract giving the shooter no more than a few seconds to acquire the target and shoot.
"So this is why you've been coming home so late," said Kono. She was impressed by the set up here. The Governor really wasn't kidding when he said he wanted his officers to be prepped for anything.
Over the next few weeks Gabe and Steve put the team plus Catherine through an intense course of Hostage Rescue & Counter Terrorism Tactics. They learned to clear a house first in pairs, then as a unit. They then went on to learning rappelling techniques and how to breach a building by using explosive entry. They learned how to use a diamond formation for dignitary protection details and precision driving. Gabe even taught Kono how to hotwire a car and use certain improvised explosives. Finally came the last training cycle; the Governor and the Chief of Police were present and the team wanted to show that the investment in their training had been worthwhile. Governor Denning, the Chief and some of his staff used the top floor of the warehouse to observe the team in action.
"So tell me Commander McGarrett is you team ready to go?" asked Denning.
"Gabe's gotten us up to speed sir. He even taught me a few new tricks; just sit back and enjoy the show," replied McGarrett.
Gabe along with Chin, Danny, Kono, and Catherine waited outside the warehouse. Inside HPD SWAT was setting up the room to make it as difficult on Five 0 as they could. In order to make it a real test Gabe insisted that they have no prior knowledge of the layout of the room. Several SWAT officers had volunteered to play the role of Hostages and were now positioned in various parts of the structure. The targets were mannequins propped with dummy weapons varying from handguns, SMG's, and even explosives. The teams object was to clear the room of hostiles, take no casualties and secure the area in less than three minutes.
"Guys we got this," said Gabe. "Remember slow is smooth,..."
"Smooth is fast, fast is lethal," groaned the rest of the team.
Gabe just chuckled to himself, "Alright crew let's do this."
They all stacked up behind Gabe and prepared to make entry. They double checked the weapons which were loaded with simunitions. The Governor had balked at the idea of using live ammo even though Gabe and Steve had assured them that the team was more than capable of using live fire for the demo.
Gabe lifted his fist then extended two fingers pointing to the other side of the door. Danny and Catherine moved to the other side of the doorway where Danny placed a small door knob breaching charge. They all backed away from the door and on Gabe's nod Danny blew the charge. Speed, surprise, and violence of action was the only way to describe what happened next. The team burst through the door firing A-box shots on every target flawlessly (Two to the body one to the head.) Within seconds all targets in the first room were secure and all unarmed persons were restrained (No way to really tell good guys from bad so everybody gets cuffed in hostage rescue). The rest of the rooms went down in similar fashion, suing flashbangs as a diversion the team neutralized all targets with Kono taking the final kill shot on the so called bomber before he could detonate. Total time 2:23.
"Impressive," said the Governor wide eyed.
"But can they make a shot when it counts?" asked the Chief with a sniff of disdain. "Firing simunitions is one thing but can they make a critical 5% shot if someones life is on the line?" (Five percent shot is a SWAT team members worst nightmare. It's where a gunman has taken a hostage and is shielding themselves with the hostage so barely any part of their body poses a viable target. That's why it's called a 5% shot because usually only 5% of their body is showing).
Gabe overheard the Chiefs comment on over their radios and nearly growled in frustration. The Chief had been against this program from the beginning. He believed that the training his department already provided was sufficient to handle anything, but if the moron wanted proof he'd get it.
"CHief why don't you join us down here and we'll show you how well we can shoot," Gabe said.
"I know you and McGarrett can make that kind of shot Agent Castillo, but the point of this little summer school was to see if you could take officers and make them as good as you two," the Chief sneered.
"Watch and see," replied Gabe. "Kono come with me."
Gabe picked the custom made Springfield 1911 he had bought for Kono and walked over to the shooting range. He motioned for the observers to follow him and handed the gun to Kono. He then walked downrange and placed himself directly in front of a steel silhouette target that was 10 yards away and moved a few inches to his right. The only portion of the target visible behind him was the equivalent of someones left eye and part of their forehead. Gabe calmly crossed his arms in front of Kono and said, "Shoot the Target."
"What?" she asked horrified.
"Shoot the target," he repeated.
Kono shook her head and out of the corner of his eye Gabe caught the Police Chief's smug look. He ignored the moron and looked straight at Kono.
"Babe you got this. Now shoot just like I taught you."
Kono still hesitated she was terrified of making a mistake and possibly killing the man she loved, but Gabe stood at the other end of the firing lane looking calmly back at her.
He is absolutely insane she thought.
"Officer Kalakua," yelled Gabe. "A suspect has just taken your teammate hostage. He will not be reasoned with, he intends to kill me. Take the shot NOW!"
Kono raised her gun, but still looked nervous.
"I trust you with my life," said Gabe.
Kono steadied her breathing just like she'd been taught and pulled the trigger in one smooth motion. PING! The steel target fell over and Gabe shot the Chief a smug grin of his own.
"I've taken the officer with the least amount of experience and trained her to a level of marksmanship that not even your most senior tactical officer can do. I'd say this little experiment is a success," Gabe gloated.
"I agree Agent Castillo. I'd like to put more special police units through this course. After you've trained up all the SWAT teams. I'd like you and Mcgarret to develop a course for the Narcotics division," said the Governor.
"Yes sir," replied Steve.
Gabe made his way over to Kono who was still a little shakey and tilted her chin up for kiss. "There was never a doubt in my mind gorgeous," he replied.
Kono just hugged him tightly, glad that the test was over and prayed she'd never have to do something like that again.