Hawaii Five-0: Accidental Discovery
~ Part Three ~
"How much longer do we have to wait for this guy?" Steve asked Katrina. He had been pacing back and forth along the tape that kept him away from his partner and now had spun towards Katrina with the harsh question on his lips.
"He'll be here." Katrina replied calmly without turning from where she was rummaging around in the back of a Rescue SUV. "You know how the base is."
"Yeah; sticky." Steve replied. "You know, we'd be better off asking one of the bomb squad to disarm this thing. At least they'd get it done before Danny..." He stopped.
Katrina turned around and saw the worry on his face. "Gets the shakes." She finished quietly. "That's what you're thinking."
"My grandfather was in the war." Steve replied in the same quiet tone. "I've heard the horror stories."
"Then you'll want to wait for this guy." Katrina told him quietly. She turned back to the truck and continued to pull equipment out of bags and onto the floor of the back.
"What are those?" Steve asked, trying to get his mind off his partner.
"IV kit." Katrina replied stacking the IV bag on top of a needle kit and shoving it into the medical bag that lay nearby. "Once the area is cleared, Detective Williams is going to need some liquids." She looked up at him. "It'll help with the shakes."
They both turned as a man dressed in a protective bomb suit walked up to them. Lt. MacDonald was beside him. Katrina tucked the medical kit close to her body.
"We're going to sweep the area for any more mines." MacDonald told them. "After that you can go in." He nodded to Katrina.
She turned away as her phone rang. "Excuse me." She said to Steve before answering. "Yeah?"
Steve watched as she turned away from his, her shoulders tight. But he didn't have time to dwell on it as his own phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and turned away from the Lt as he answered. "McGarrett."
"Commander McGarrett." A strong male voice greeted him The sound of whirling helicopter blades assaulted his ear and Steve placed one hand over his other ear in order to hear better. "This is Lt. Colonel Cliff Anderson; retired. Captain Cassidy told me you have a little bit of situation down there. I've got her on the other line."
Steve looked up and caught Katrina's eye as he answered the Colonel. "Yes, sir." He replied. "My partner and I were investigating a suspicious explosion and there seems to be some active World War II landmines that were unearthed. My partner is standing on one."
"I'm ten klicks out, Commander. Sit tight; we'll get your partner out of there in a jiffy. Cassidy?"
Steve watched as Katrina stiffened slightly as the retired colonel called her name. He controlled a smile; training was hard to overcome.
"Here." She replied into the phone. "What do you need?"
"You got your kit with you, sweetheart?" The colonel asked. "Or are you playing doctor today?"
Steve watched as Katrina smiled slightly before answering. "The bomb guys should have everything I need." She replied glancing at MacDonald who nodded in answer to her subtle command.
"Perfect." Anderson replied."I want you to clear the area around the mine and see exactly what we're dealing with here; anything that could make the situation worse then it already is."
"Got you." Katrina replied.
"Call me back once you know. Anderson out."
Steve snapped his phone closed as the connection was terminated. He glanced out at the quarantined area where the bomb squad was just starting their sweeps. Ten kilometers was as far as the moon when Danny's life hung in the balance.
He caught Katrina's arm before she could leave. "I'm going in with you."
Lt. MacDonald shook his head, butting into the conversation. "Not a chance." He told Steve. "I'm willing to let one person beyond the line; that's all."
"Give me the IV." Steve insisted. "I know..."
"You know basic first aid, Commander." MacDonald interrupted. "I'd rather let someone in that knows what they're doing. And to be honest that's Dr. Cassidy here. Your talents are needed elsewhere."
With that parting remark, MacDonald turned and walked away back to the command tent.
Katrina looked at Steve and raised her eyebrow. "I don't think he likes you."
Ignoring her remark, Steve held out his hand for the bag. Katrina didn't hand it to him.
"While I appreciate your heroic urge to put only yourself in danger, you know that I'm the best person to go out there." She told him. "Besides," She nodded towards the edge of the crime scene. "It looks like you are needed here."
Steve turned around and saw what she was referring to. He saw Kono and Chin having an animated conversation with the HPD officers that were stationed for crowd control. He turned back to Katrina. "Go." He told her.
Katrina nodded and then jogged over the command tent to converse with Lt. MacDonald. Steve watched her go and then turned his attention back to the scene. Sometimes he wished he could be back in the thick of things.
5-0
"What's going on here?" Steve asked coming up to the small group of officers that had formed around Chin and Kono.
"Bomb Squad won't let us in." Chin replied shortly. "Apparently, they've had enough of 5-0 around here. Your charm not working this morning or something?"
"Let them through." Steve ordered the HPD officers who stepped aside.
"Thank you." Chin said sarcastically as he ducked under the tape. With an annoyed glare at the officers, Kono was close behind him. Quieter this morning, Kono was dressed simply in jeans and a grey shirt over a dark tank-top, while Chin wore his usual neutral long sleeve and worn jeans.
"Where's Danny?" Chin asked as they walked towards the command tent.
Steve stopped them by turning to face Chin. "Danny stepped on a land mine."
Both of his colleagues reactions were simultaneously. "What?" Kono asked, while Chin wondered, "How'd that happen?"
"The building used to be owned by the Army." Steve explained. "Apparently, they had a few left over mines leftover from the war. The explosion must have unearthed them."
Chin nodded slowly. "What's the situation?" He asked as they resumed their walk to the command tent.
"Bomb squad is sweeping the grounds just in case there are anymore mines." Steve replied. "Katrina is going to go in and give Danny some fluids after they're done."
"Katrina?" Chin asked raising an eyebrow. "As in Doctor..."
"Cassidy, yes." Steve finished. "She was on site after the explosives went. She found the body. Did you get the picture?" He asked Kono.
"Yeah." Kono replied, pulling out her phone. "Not that I'm complaining, but shouldn't a cold case be an investigation for HPD? Or even the Army?"
"Obviously that's what HPD thinks." Chin commented.
"Conflict of interest." Steve replied. "What did Max get from the photo?"
"He didn't want to speculate." Chin replied. "He said he'll have to see the body up close before being able to tell us anything."
"Ok. I want you and Kono to work on this cold case." Steve told Chin. "I'm going to stay here with Danny until the Army expert gets here."
"I'll call the forensic's team." Kono told Steve, moving away to make the call.
"You're not going to be able to get the body out until the bomb squad finishes their sweep." Steve told Chin.
Chin nodded. "Where's the commander?"
"This way." Steve motioned and they continued towards the tent.
5-0
Danny watched nervously as the bomb squad with their metal detectors slowly combed the ground around him. Their steps were slow and cautious, not wanting to end up like the poor detective standing on a live bomb. Danny had to chuckle at that. He never would have thought he'd ever find himself in this situation. In New Jersey, they didn't have dormant land mines, or doctors that doubled as Army captain's for that matter.
Taking a deep breath, Danny resisted the urge to move his leg which was now stiff from the lack of movement. Luckily it wasn't the leg with the bum knee. Trying to take his mind off his situation, Danny looked out beyond the tape to where the police and rescue personal were.
He watched as Steve talked on his phone and then as he talked with Katrina. Danny then saw her walk off towards the command tent. That didn't look good. He glanced back at the bomb boys who were still slowly making their way towards him. At this rate they would be done just before Grace's eighteenth birthday.
Danny glanced back up in time to see Steve talking with Chin and Kono. Kono split from the group and made a call on her phone.
"Dammit." Danny said aloud, causing a couple of the officers to look towards him. He ignored them. Sitting on the sidelines sucked!
Kono caught his eye from the edge of the roped off area. She closed her phone and walked closer to the tape.
"Nice morning, huh?" Danny called to her.
"How are you doing?" Kono called in concern.
"Not bad." Danny replied, downplaying the situation. "You know me; always looking for an excuse to stand around."
"Steve said that the Army is sending an expert." Kono commented.
"Yeah. I wonder what kind of strings he pulled to get that favor." Danny replied. "All for little ole me."
"They'll have you out of there in no time." Kono tried to assure him. She turned away from the tape as someone caught her attention.
Danny winced as the stiffness in his leg intensified into a cramp. It had been thirty-five minutes since he had stepped on the bomb.
5-0
"We're ready."
Steve turned towards Lt. MacDonald. He had been updating Chin on the events of the last forty minutes and was surprised at how fast the time had gone. But at the same time, he knew that it wasn't fast enough for Danny. "Good." He told the Lt simply.
He turned to Katrina.
"Already there." She told him, slipping out of the tent, hiking the shoulder bag higher on her shoulder before slipping on her blue rescue hat. All four of them walked out into the bright sunshine.
"My boys have cleared the rest of the area." MacDonald updated them. "They found eight more mines and have roped them off. Your guy can deal with them." He didn't say what they were all thinking; when he gets here.
MacDonald pointed towards the roped off area. "There's a clear path down the middle. Stay on that, Doc and you'll be fine. We'll get you into a suit as well."
Katrina shook her head. "No suit."
"It's protocol, Doctor." MacDonald replied. "You're wearing a suit."
"I can't." Katrina replied. "It'll interferes with my ability to work. No suit."
MacDonald settled in. "Listen, I know the Army is used to doing things their own way, but I can't let you take that risk. If the mine goes..."
"It won't." Katrina and Steve said at the same time. They glanced at each other.
"She understands the risks." Chin said, glancing at Steve and Katrina. "Let her go in without the suit."
"Alright." MacDonald shook his head silently.
Katrina nodded. "Thanks. You have the kit?"
MacDonald nodded and handed her a zippered case the seize of a hardcover book which Katrina slipped into her shoulder bag.
"You'll need this." Steve said handing her a small radio that was tuned to the bomb squad's frequency. She took it with a grateful nod.
"And I'll need your hat." Katrina said to MacDonald, who frowned but took it off anyways and handed it to her. "Thanks." Katrina said. She turned to Steve. "Don't worry. I got him." She tried to reassure him before starting off towards the roped off area.
Steve watched her go and then turned back to Chin and Lt. MacDonald. "I want to see the plans for the building."
'The current ones or the remodel?" MacDonald asked.
"All of them." Steve replied.
MacDonald motioned to the table behind him. "We only have the ones from a few months ago, and the remodel."
"I'll get Kono to track down the originals." Chin told Steve. "Meanwhile we'll get the forensic's team into the building through the path that your men cleared," He said with a quick nod to MacDonald. "See what we're dealing with."
5-0
Danny watched as the last of the Bomb squad shuffled out of the area. The sun was starting to get hot and he was starting to rethink the whole situation. His leg hurt. A commotion at the edge of the tape caught his attention and he watched as Katrina made her way towards him.
"Fancy meeting you here." Danny said as soon as she got within speaking distance. His throat was dry too.
"How you doing, Danny?" Katrina asked, opening the bag at her side.
"What? We're on a first name basis now?" Danny asked.
"You're my patient now." Katrina replied, pulling out the hat. "I'm going to stick this on your head. Don't move."
"No argument here." Danny replied.
Katrina stepped forward and gently slide the hat down over Danny's head; it was slightly too big. "Better?" She asked.
"Much." Danny replied gratefully. "Though now I'll have hat hair later."
Katrina managed a smile as she came up with the IV kit. "How about we get some fluids in you?" She proceeded to place the IV in Danny's arm, draping the IV bag over her own shoulder to keep the fluid flowing through the drip.
"How's your leg?" She asked, shoving the used equipment back into her shoulder bag. "And don't sugarcoat it for me."
"Bad." Danny replied honestly. "It was shaking a bit, but now I have a really bad cramp."
"Ok." Katrina bit her lip as she thought. "I would give you something to relax the muscle, but you might release the pressure your foot is placing on the firing mechanism."
"So basically you're going to tell me to suck it up." Danny translated.
She smiled apologetically. "Sorry."
The roar of a helicopter made them both look up. A large UH-60 Black Hawk flew overhead, the large blades thumping so loud that Danny could swear that it was penetrating his bones.
"Idiots." He heard Katrina hiss before the helicopter pulled up and the sound lessened somewhat. He looked down at her.
"You ok?" She asked.
"Yeah." Danny replied, knowing she was referring to the pressure on the bomb. "We're fine."
"I'm betting that the helicopter is carrying Cliff." Katrina said. "A few more minutes and then we'll get you out of here."
"Ok." Danny replied with a nod.
A hiss of static came from Katrina's hip and then Danny heard Steve's voice. "You two alright?"
Katrina grabbed the radio from her belt. "Just fine." She replied. "The helicopter gave me a bit of a scare though."
"Us too." Steve replied. "How's Danny doing?"
"Are you sure you should be using that?" Danny asked glancing at the radio in Katrina's hand.
"It's completely safe." Katrina replied. "World War II land mines don't operate like modern bombs do; the radio won't set it off. In that since you're lucky."
"So I've heard." Danny muttered. "Tell Steve that this is another one that he owes me."
Katrina pressed the transmit button. "Danny says that you owe him one, Commander."
"I'll add it to my tab." Steve replied dryly.
"I'm going dark." Katrina told him. "I need to get a closer look at the mine."
"Copy that." Steve replied.
Katrina turned the radio off and then placed the IV bag on the ground, kneeling down beside it. "I'm going to scape away more of the dirt from around the mine." She told Danny. "Again, don't move."
"Got it." Danny replied. He looked down as Katrina gently started to pull away the dirt from the sides of the metal casing that housed the detonator. His chest tightened and he looked away. "Can we talk about something?" He asked.
"Like what?" Katrina asked slowly as she cautiously continued on her task.
"Anything." Danny replied. "Baseball, foreign diseases... hell, I'll even talk about surfing."
"You don't surf?" Katrina asked.
"Nope." Danny replied. "It's Hawaii, right? How can you not surf? But what everyone fails to mention is how dangerous all the good surfing spots are. Not to mention the rips, rocks, and god forbid, sharks."
"I get it." Katrina said. "That's one of the reasons I joined the Army. Not that I have anything against swimming or water, it's just I'd rather be on land. It's easier to move on your native environment."
"Yeah, try telling that to Aquaman." Danny said with a small smile.
"It won't compute." Katrina replied returning the smile as she pushed more of the dirt away from the housing. "All Navy boys are like that. Ok, I can see all of the mine now."
Danny couldn't resist and glanced down. The metal casing of the mine was clearly visible.
"Beautiful." Katrina whispered.
"Was that sarcastic or were you actually sincere?" Danny couldn't help but ask.
"Sorry." Katrina replied absentmindedly. "I don't see many of these." She lowered her head to get a closer look. "It looks clean; all the explosives are inside. Wow; this is much more sophisticated then an IED."
"I can imagine." Danny replied sarcastically. "Any chance you can let me step off this thing anytime soon?"
Katrina looked up at him. "I'm just a doctor. Cliff will know what to do." She got up and grabbed the radio off her belt. "We're clear." She told Steve.
"Copy." Steve replied. "Colonel Anderson is here. I'm sending him in. He wants you to clear the area."
"Got it." Katrina replied. She replaced the radio on her belt and then gathered up her gear. She grabbed the IV bag and placed it over her shoulder once again.
Danny winced as his leg suddenly tensed up, causing the disused muscles to scream in pain. He clenched his teeth and forced his leg to stay still. It trembled from the strain.
Katrina hand shot out to touch him, but she reconsidered. "Hold on." She told him. "We're almost there." She grabbed her phone from her pocket and flipped it open, dialing quickly.
5-0
Steve paced anxiously as he waited for the all clear from Katrina. Somewhere behind him Kono and Chin were discussing the best way to go about finding the plans. Apparently, Chin knew a couple of the soldiers stationed on the base. Steve stopped pacing long enough to look at Danny. The two men hadn't known each other all that long, but Steve knew Danny well enough to know that he was struggling.
"Who's in charge here?"
Steve turned towards the male voice that had asked the question. Near the entrance of the command tent stood an older man dressed casually in jeans and a dark t-shirt. Two soldiers dressed in full Battle Dress Uniform stood behind him.
McDonald started forward, coming out from behind the table and holding out his hand. "I am. Lt. Bill McDonald; HPD Bomb Squad."
The man took his hand and shook it. He turned towards Steve. "You must be McGarrett." When Steven nodded, the man held out his hand. "Cliff Anderson."
Steve took his hand. "We're glad for your help on this, Colonel."
"Cliff, please." Anderson replied. He nodded out to where Danny stood. "What are we dealing with here?"
Steve quickly brought the retired colonel up to date on the situation so far. Anderson nodded. "Nine mines, you said?"
"Right." Steve replied.
"Should be easy enough." Anderson muttered. "Ok. Here's what I want you to do. First priority is to get the man off the mine."
A hiss of static came from the radio in Steve's hand. "We're clear." Katrina told him.
Steve raised the radio. "Copy." He replied. "Colonel Anderson is here."
"Tell her to clear to area." Cliff ordered.
Steve nodded and spoke into the radio. "He wants you to clear the area."
"Got it." Katrina replied. The radio fell silent.
"Alright." Anderson said. He turned to his escorts. "Ready to get your hands dirty, boys?"
"We've got a problem." Chin interrupted before the Army men could reply. He had been watching Danny and now turned towards the other men gathered behind him.
Kono grabbed the binoculars from the table and turned them on the pair. "Something's wrong." She agreed.
Steve didn't like what he was seeing. Katrina's hands had shot out like she had been about to steady Danny. He watched as she grabbed something. A second later, Cliff's phone rang.
He snatched it up. "Yeah?" He nodded once. "I'll be right there." He snapped the phone closed and turned to the men behind him. "We're going in now."
The two soldiers moved off to suit up in protective gear while Cliff turned to Steve. "He's got a cramp." He told them. "I don't know how much longer your man is going to last." He turned to McDonald. "We need to get out there right away."
McDonald nodded. "It's all clear. Stick to the path in the middle and you'll be fine."
Cliff nodded in appreciation. "Got ya." He turned to Steve. "We'll get your partner back to you, Commander."
"He has a daughter." Steve replied quietly. "Grace."
Cliff's face tightened at that, but he forced a light tone. "All the more reason for me not to screw it up." He told Steve before tugging on his hat and making his way towards the minefield.