Kono watched as the forensic specialist carefully laid Danny's torn and bloody shirt out on the table before carefully examining it. Grabbing a pair of tweezers, he gently removed what appeared to be a single thin strand from the material. "Looks like we have a strand of hair from one of the perps," he announced as he held the hair against the light and briefly studied it. After a few moments he placed it into one of the open petrie dishes sitting on the table before returning his attention to the shirt.
"Have we got anything else, Charlie?" Kono asked as she shifted restlessly from foot to foot. She was extremely anxious, longing to be out on the street searching for Danny's attackers.
"The blood smears were AB negative, same blood type as Detective Williams. It was probably transferred to the bin when he was lifted and dropped in." Charlie answered distractedly as he lifted several small round grains from the front of the shirt to drop them into a second dish before adding, "Hopefully these seeds will tell us where Detective Williams might have gone. It's a long shot, but hey." He shrugged as he looked up at the pretty HPD rookie in front of him before continuing, "I've also collected lots and lots of fingerprints, but most of them were too smudged to get an ID from. However I did manage to lift a good right hand palm print from the top of the bin. I'm running it through the system now but so far no hits. Mind ya, the palm print could be just from a tourist who was doing the right thing by throwing their garbage in the bin rather than on the ground."
"What about the tire and shoe prints found at the scene?"
He shook his head. "Haven't had a chance to check them yet. Two of my guys are out with the flu and the other is busy working the Hopkin's murder case. I should be able to give you a full report in a couple more hours." Charlie promised as she returned her attention to the blood stained shirt.
"Sooner would be better if you can do it." Kono suggested softly, "Danny Williams is not only a pona hoaloha, he is ohana, brah."
"I hear ya!" The forensic scientist answered as he glanced up just in time to see Kono turn and walk towards the door.
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Steve McGarrett checked at his watch as he impatiently paced the small waiting room. He hated the waiting, absolutely abhorredhaving to stand around like this when he could be out in the field searching for the answers that he so desperately needed. Worst of all, he hated the fact that his partner was lying in a critical condition in the operating room where there was nothing to do but pray and hope that Danno was going to be okay.
Hearing the waiting room door open behind him, the Lt Commander spun around. Ihe surprise was evident on his face as Grace ran towards him before launching into a hug, wrapping her small arms around his waist as a young woman followed her into the room. "Steve, where's Danno? Is he hurt bad?" Grace asked as she looked up at him, the fear evident on her small face.
"The doctors are looking after him, Gracie." He answered softly as he watched the anxious woman slowly approach.
"Lt Commander McGarrett?" The woman asked as she nervously pushed a strand of brown hair from her face and reached for the child who was still clinging to him. "I'm…I'm Rachel. We spoke on the phone." She began as a tear slowly slid down the side of her face. Brushing it away with the back of her hand, she swallowed hard as she took a few moments to regain her composure. In a steady voice, she asked quietly. "How…how is he?"
"He's still in surgery," Steve answered gently. All the white-hot anger that he had felt towards this woman began to cool as he saw the terror and concern in her eyes. "The doctors promised to give me an update as soon as they can. He was bleeding internally…" Pausing, he glanced down at Grace before he looked back up at her mother. "His condition was critical…" he stated softly.
Choking back a sob, Rachel nodded wordlessly as she opened her small purse and began desperately searching through its contents as the tears began to run freely down her face.
Gently disconnecting Grace from around his waist, Steve quickly retrieved the small box of tissues from the small table in the corner of the room and offered the box to the upset woman.
"Thank you." Rachel whispered as she carefully pulled a tissue free from the box and dabbed the tears away. "You must think I am some kind of a…" She cast a quick look at her daughter before returning her attention to the tall dark man who was now her ex-husband's new partner before she finished, "A bitch. I…I don't know what Daniel might have told you about us but…" Her bottom lip quivered and she swallowed again, wiping at the tears that continued to trickle down her face, "But your phone call was the call I have always dreaded that I was going to receive one day…"
McGarrett nodded in understanding as he gently guided both Grace and Rachel towards the hard plastic seats that lined the back wall of the room. He waited until they both were seated before sitting down beside Rachel as he quietly asked. "You said on the phone that Danno called you last night and said he was going to be late because he was meeting someone?"
"He…he said it was something to do with a case he was working on." Rachel answered, "I...I gave him such a hard time about it. I…I didn't-"
"Did he say who it was he was going to meet? Or what case he was working on?" Steve interjected softly.
"No, nothing." Rachel shook her head slowly, "He just said he was going to be late. That it was important…" Biting her bottom lip, she looked away as she confessed. "I didn't give him much time to explain. I was so angry that he was going to be late…he had promised to pick Grace up at six. Stan and I had tickets to a show…The last thing he said was to tell Gracie that he loved her." Looking up at McGarrett, she whispered in confusion. "Why are you asking about who he was going to meet?" Her eyes opened wide as she gasped, "You don't know, do you?"
"Danno told me that he was going to meet someone at the Markets." Grace interrupted.
"The International Markets?" Steve frowned.
Gracie nodded but anything more she was going to say was quickly forgotten as the door opened and the surgeon entered. Quickly rising from his seat, Steve crossed the room to meet him, as Rachel followed him reluctantly. "Doc?" Steve asked.
"As I said before Steve, he's a fighter." The doctor began, glancing at the young woman and child who were standing beside the Lt Commander.
Remembering the woman standing beside him, Steve rushed to make the introductions. "Doctor Simons, this is Rachel, Danny's ex-wife and his daughter, Grace."
The doctor nodded at Rachel before he gave a small smile and looked down at Grace, "So you're Grace; the reason why your dad's such a fighter. He must love you very much, sweetheart." Returning his gaze to the adults, he continued. "Detective Williams is in critical condition but his condition is stabilizing. We have removed his spleen and packed a small tear in his liver to stop the internal hemorrhaging. We are keeping a close on the subdural hematoma. He is extremely weak because of the loss of blood and is at high risk of developing complications from pneumonia and infection. We have commenced him on a regime of powerful broad spectrum antibiotics that will hopefully prevent any complications before they can start. The next few hours are going to be critical."
"Can we see him?" Rachel asked.
The surgeon nodded, "He is in recovery at the moment. We should be moving him up to ICU in a few minutes. As soon as we have him settled, I will send a nurse down to take you to see him. Now I just better get back to Detective Williams in Recovery, so if you will excuse me."
"Mahalo Doc." Steve said softly, receiving a small handshake from the doctor in acknowledgment before he hurried from the room.
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Chin frowned as he critically studied the small list of phone numbers that Danny's cell phone had sent and received the night before. His finger touched one of the numbers listed on the computer screen, bringing up a name and address almost instantly. The frown deepened as his fingers danced quickly across the keyboard. His eyes scanned the photo and information that loaded on the screen before he quickly typed several more words and phrases before hitting enter. All the breath from his lungs rushed out as a chillingly familiar photo flickered up onto the screen. "Just what did you get yourself into, Brah?" he whispered to the empty room as he stared at the two photos in horror.