With the last details of the case tied up, Steve knew that he had to turn his attention to recruiting a new officer for Five-O. Whether that officer would be the new second in command or just a new officer, he had not yet decided. With Rob's retirement looming on the horizon, Steve had already given the matter a little thought, but had naturally assumed he would have a lot more time and leisure to come to a decision. Now, although he felt a certain reluctance to move too quickly, he knew that he had to hire someone else. He was already swamped with paperwork and although May, their chief secretary, helped him out as much as she could, she had enough of her own work to do without taking on half of his as well. Ordering May to hold all non-urgent calls, Steve retired to his office with a cup of coffee to do some thinking.
There were several detectives in the HPD that Steve knew that Chief Dann thought ought to be promoted to Five-O, but as Steve thought about the men, there were none of them that stood out for him. Oh, they were good detectives, reliable, but they all lacked a certain something that Steve could not quite put his finger on. Of course, he didn't have to recruit from the senior detectives, but he wasn't going to promote a younger man to second in command; that wouldn't do at all. With that thought in mind, he decided to concentrate on his own detectives first before he made any decisions about men from HPD.
The obvious choice for second was Chin Ho Kelly. A good man, experienced, reliable, a talented detective, he had been with Steve since the inception of Five-O. They got on well together and Chin could be relied upon not to skimp on the paperwork. He seemed admirably suited. However… Chin had a young family and the hours already took him away from them far too much. He could and did give direction where needed on crime scenes and was decisive, but Steve knew that he preferred not to carry too much burden of responsibility. If Chin were second in command, he would feel obliged to give even more hours to Five-O than he already did, and for someone with a young family, those hours were tough enough. No, Chin was probably not the answer, although Steve decided to make the offer anyway.
His other detective was Kono Kalakaua. Currently the youngest member of the team, Kono gave the impression of being less bright than the rest of the team. It was an impression that the big Hawaiian spent some time cultivating. His speech was liberally smeared with Pidgin English and Hawaiian words, but there was nothing affected about it; that was his natural way of speaking. Kono was calm in a crisis, strong, stalwart, a good detective and incredibly loyal. Steve liked Kono a lot, but he didn't think the younger man was ready for the extra responsibility yet.
"May, can you send Chin in?" Steve requested.
A few moments later, Chin appeared round the door. "Yes, boss?"
"Take a seat, Chin," Steve offered and moved away from the window to lean against the front of the desk. He watched as the older man calmly took a seat. "Chin, I want an honest answer from you," he instructed.
"Of course, Steve," Chin replied. He looked slightly confused.
"Chin, would you be willing to become second in command here at Five-O? You know what the hours are like already, and they'd probably only get worse, but there is a small pay rise involved." Steve put up his hand to forestall a fast answer. "I don't want you to say yes if you don't think this is right for you. There's no penalty in being honest. You position is not at stake, here.
As Steve had known he would, Chin thought about it for a moment. "Steve, I'm flattered that you've asked me," Chin replied. "And in some ways I'm tempted; the extra money wouldn't go amiss. However, I don't think I'm the right person for the job and it would take away time from the family. Thank you for the offer, but no; I can't be second in command."
"Thank you for your honesty," Steve replied. He stood and clapped a hand on Chin shoulder. "You're a good man, Chin, and I'm proud to have you on board."
"Thanks, Steve." Chin looked up at the taller man. "Who are you thinking of hiring?"
"Good question," Steve answered ruefully.
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Later in the day, Steve had a good opportunity to eavesdrop on Kono and Chin talking about the offer that Steve had made. "I'm glad it wasn't me, bruddah," Kono admitted. "I like working for Five-O, but I dunno if I'm ready to be da boss's right hand man."
"I know how you feel," Chin agreed. "I like being with Five-O and can't imagine going back to HPD, but I don't have the time to spend extra hours here. There are times already when I feel I don't see the kids!"
"Or the wife," Kono teased. "But maybe she'd like if you took the job. More money?"
"I don't think she'd be pleased," Chin replied. "She might not say anything, but we both know that she likes me to do my share with the kids."
"You'd have big pilikia, bruddah," Kono laughed. "You gonna tell her about the offer?"
"Of course I am!" Chin responded indignantly. "You think Steve is scary when he's angry?" Both men laughed.
From his position hidden behind the partially open office door, Steve knew he'd made the right decision in offering the job to Chin and the equally right decision in not offering it to Kono. The big man would probably grow into the position, but he wasn't ready to be pushed into it. He would just have to carry on thinking.
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The following day saw Steve down at HPD headquarters for a completely different reason, but it allowed him the chance to cast his eye over a few potential candidates. First on his list was one of the senior detectives. Steve knew Ito Matsuki to speak to. He was not particularly enamoured of the man. He swaggered too much and he had a few dubious arrests on his record, not to mention an allegation of bullying. Steve was not above losing his temper on occasions, but it seemed to him that Matsuki lost his far too often.
The Japanese detective was in the locker room and greeted Steve with a ribald comment that the Five-O chief did not appreciate. "Come to offer me Conners' job?" he enquired, a cocky grin on his face. "I can start right away. I'll whip Kalakaua into shape for you."
"Hardly," Steve retorted, repulsed by Matsuki's attitude. "I was looking for Duke."
The detective seemed rather taken aback, but tried to hide it. "I haven't seen him," he sniffed and turned away.
That was another one off the list, Steve thought as he returned to the main corridor. He couldn't work with someone he couldn't respect and if the new man did not respect the detectives already in situ, they were in for a hard time.
Spotting Duke vanishing into a room further down the corridor, Steve headed after him. He wanted to ask how Williams was, but as he neared the room, he heard Duke's voice. "Danny – how are you?"
"Fine, Duke," Williams' voice replied. He didn't sound as hoarse as Steve remembered. "Say – I just had a visit from Mrs Conners."
"What?" Duke sounded alarmed.
"Calm down," Williams laughed. "She came to apologise."
"Well, that's good," Duke replied, sounding slightly confused.
"She didn't need to," Williams told him. "I thought about what Mr McGarrett said and I knew he was right. Grief takes many different forms. Remember what I was like?"
His ears practically pricked, Steve stepped closer so he didn't miss anything. So he'd been right the other day; there was some experience of grief in the young officer's life.
"You weren't that bad, Danny," Duke assured him, "given what happened."
"Bad enough," Williams responded soberly. "Why else would the authorities have shipped me off to California to foster care for a few months?"
"You always said that wasn't so bad," Duke chided him. "After all, didn't you get your first kiss there?"
"Duke!" Williams sounded outraged, but there was also laughter in his voice. "Yeah, Melissa Cole." He sighed. "I liked California, but it wasn't home."
"Is that why you did a few years at college over there?" Duke asked.
"You know all this stuff," Williams protested. "Why are you asking about it again? Duke, you were practically a member of the family. But yeah, that's why I went back there."
"Did you ever think about moving there permanently?" Duke asked. "After all, what was there for you here?"
"Home," Williams answered and there was a poignancy in his tone that touched Steve's heart unexpectedly. "This is home for me, Duke. Even without Mom and Dad…" There was a pause. "Hawaii is home. Despite everything, I can't imagine living anywhere else."
"I'm sorry," Duke said, quietly. "I didn't mean to drag everything up for you again."
"You didn't," Williams assured him. "It comes and goes, Duke. It always has and it probably always will."
In the silence that followed, Steve thought that he had found the perfect replacement for Rob Conners. Why hadn't he thought of this before? Duke was perfect for the role of second in command. He was naturally good with others and he was a great cop! Feeling buoyed up, he stepped away from the doorway. He wouldn't speak to Duke about it just now; he would wait a day or so and speak to his old friend then. His job was done, he was sure.
As he walked away, Steve wondered about the things Dan Williams had said. He would have to look into the young officer's past, because he just hated a mystery.
