Catherine helped Riley put pressure on the deep laceration across the base of her thumb.
"I'm sorry," Riley whispered.
"Why? Why should you be sorry?" Catherine asked gently.
"I've really freaked him out. I don't understand, Catherine," Riley said, watching nervously outside, where Steve stood looking out over the water, now reflecting the deepening sunset. "Maybe I'm wrong? Maybe it's not the same person."
Catherine shook her head. "Riley, I don't know what to think, but I can't believe that it's a coincidence that the woman who raised you is . . . or looks exactly like . . . Steve's mom. Clearly there is some connection here, we just don't know what yet. But sweetie, you have to understand – Steve thought his mom died when he was sixteen. This is just a lot to take in. If his mother really was your foster mom, then everything Steve knows about his family is a lie."
Steve's ribs protested as he sank into the aged chair by the shore, watching the last of the sun's rays sinking into the horizon.
Was it possible that Riley had been raised by his mother? Was that Joe's secret – that his mother had been alive? Why else would WoFat think that Riley might have information that Steve might have – despite the fact that neither of them could have even given WoFat the information if they had wanted to. And what on earth would possess Joe to give Riley specialized training? His mind was spinning.
He sighed as Catherine sat down in the chair next to him, handing him a Longboard.
"Here you go, sailor, I think you've earned this. No painkillers tonight, though, right?" she said.
Steve grimaced. "No painkillers regardless. I'd rather have the pain than . . . well, you know."
She did know. Danny wasn't the only one who had witnessed the aftermath of missions gone sideways, men injured, and more. Catherine just had more . . . creative ways of soothing the SEAL's frayed nerves.
"She okay?" Steve asked, tilting his head back toward the house.
"Well, we got the bleeding stopped. I was ready to call Malia, but she mixed up some honey and cayenne pepper and . . . " Catherine shuddered slightly. "It was disgusting and it can't possibly be sanitary, but somehow, it worked."
Steve grimaced. "Yeah, and I promise you it hurt like hell. But it does the trick."
"Joe White teach her that?" Catherine asked.
"Likely," Steve bit off the word angrily.
"Steve," Catherine said gently, "You and Riley are not going to solve this tonight. Come on in, get some rest. You have to be exhausted. And she's worried. She's afraid that she's made you angry."
"Of course I'm not angry with her," Steve said, "she's been a pawn in some sick game since Joe stepped in to her life a few years ago."
"Yeah, she's realizing that, Steve. So imagine how it feels to worry that the one person who's putting the pieces together is going to get angry with her and possibly send her away? She puts on a brave face, and the way she handled that sniper rifle is nothing short of intimidating. But underneath all of that, she is barely out of her teens, still dehydrated and malnourished from a recent kidnapping, and still injured from being tortured for information that she doesn't know whether or not she has," Catherine explained gently.
Steve sighed and put his head in his hands. Of course Catherine was right. Danny and Kono had tried to keep him mindful.
"You're right, Cath . . . there's something about her, I can't put my finger on it. She reminds me . . . well, of me. Her insistence that she should have somehow helped me get free of WoFat; the fact that she's been able to essentially ignore or dismiss her own injuries. Joe trained her well, Catherine, it's like working with a fellow SEAL. I forget how young she is, how frightened she must be. I don't see past the training, not like you and Danny do."
"Well, then," Catherine said, "it's good for all concerned that you keep us around. Come on, let's go try to get some rest, and we'll take it from here in the morning."
They found Riley curled up on the sofa holding one of the pictures of Steve's mom.
"Sorry," she said, when they entered, putting the picture down immediately.
"No, Riley, it's okay," Steve assured her. "I don't understand any of this but you don't have to apologize."
Riley swiped impatiently at a tear that had managed to escape. "I just . . . I haven't spoken to her in about four years. I have no idea what happened to her."
"I haven't spoken to her in about twenty years," Steve said quietly. "And I was told she was killed in a car accident."
"So," Riley said slowly, "tomorrow, do we start . . . "
"Yes." Steve nodded, firmly. "Tomorrow we start following her trail. So, off to bed with you kiddo, get some rest. What do you need? Pain medicine? Anything? Catherine said to be sure to remind you to drink plenty, you're still dehydrated."
"Please, no more of those pain pills," Riley groaned. "That was horrible. I'll drink more water. I think I just want to sleep."
Steve tousled her hair gently. "Okay. I'm going to try to get some rest too. But listen . . . you give a yell if you need anything . . . anything at all, okay?"
Riley nodded. "Do you mind . . . " she hesitated.
"What? What is it?" Steve asked.
"Would it be okay if I slept out here, on the sofa? It's just . . . this room is more open, and there's light from outside . . . " she ducked her head, embarrassed, as if she had admitted a great weakness.
Steve slid next to her on the sofa, put his arm around her, and gently pressed her head down to his shoulder.
"Riley, when I said anything, I meant it. If sleeping out here makes you more comfortable, then of course. Whatever you need, okay?" He went and got two pillows from the guest room and brought them out to Riley.
She accepted them gratefully and carefully eased her aching ribs down into the cushions of the sofa. She was asleep before he was halfway up the stairs.
Hours later, he finally relaxed enough to let the gentle sound of Catherine's breathing lull him to sleep.
Grover was right; his wife and daughter had a knack for size and style. Riley felt completely at ease in the simple, soft cargo pants, plain gray t-shirt, and low ankle boots they had chosen for her.
While still a bit sore, both she and Steve had managed to get a half-way decent night's rest. The rest of the team looked considerably more coherent when they assembled around the computer table. Danny had picked up a box of malasadas, and Kono came in bearing six steaming lattes.
"Okay, fearless leader," Danny said, briskly rubbing his hands together. "Where do we begin today?"
Kono took a sip of her coffee. "Yeah, boss, when do we get to kick down some doors?" Chin shook his head. Sad thing was, Kono was barely joking. Perhaps he had been amiss in bringing his baby cousin into the Five-O fold; ah, well, nothing for it now.
Steve glanced at Catherine, took a deep breath, and flicked his mother's picture up onto the plasma, followed quickly by Riley's picture. The team was silent for a moment, looking at the two pictures, side by side.
"Steve?" Danny asked. "Why are we looking at a picture of your mom, babe?"
"Because," Steve answered slowly. "The woman I knew as Doris McGarrett is apparently the woman Riley knew as Olivia Patterson. We believe that my mom was Riley's foster mom; that she raised her from early childhood until she was about sixteen years old."
The room was silent. Riley looked around nervously.
"We need to follow two trails of information: Kono and Chin, focus on my – on Doris McGarrett. Catherine and Riley, start with Riley's student ID at Tokyo University, and work back from there. Riley, Joe said that you had a scholarship, yeah? Okay start from that angle. Joe had to have pulled something; see what you can uncover, maybe he left a clue."
"What will you be doing, boss?" Kono asked.
"Danny and I are going to go kick down some of those doors you asked about," Steve replied grimly.
"Commander, Detective, to what do I owe the honor," Sang Min smirked on the other side of the glass.
"No games, no small talk, no deals," Steve spoke with deadly calm into the phone.
Sang Min sat up a little from his customary slouch. "Something has you spooked, Commander McGarrett. What's the matter, your little hottie surfer girl call in sick to work today, hunh?"
"WoFat. I went to visit him in North Korea."
"Why you wanna go do something like that, McGarrett? You crazy?"
"There was a young woman already there. Early twenties. American, raised overseas. WoFat wanted the same information out of her that he wanted out of me. There's a connection to Joe White. Any of this ringing a bell? Did he ever mention going after a young woman? Does he have a history with Joe White – is there a connection to Joe other than me?"
"That's a lotta questions, Commander. I'm not sure I can think about so much at one time, in my current condition. You know, I haven't been sleeping so well; I haven't been eating well. It's hard to think when I'm tired and hungry," Sang Min whined.
Steve stood up and walked away.
Danny motioned to the guard. "Transfer him into general population. Effective immediately."
Sang Min smacked his hand violently against the glass. "Come on, Detective, you can't do that shit!" he protested.
Danny picked up the phone. "I can and I will. You were told, no games. You think you've seen Steve pissed off before? You've seen nothing, my friend. WoFat targeted an innocent young woman; tortured her for information. We have nothing. You know anything, you piece of walking excrement, you tell us and you tell us now. We're not playing games."
Sang Min sighed and sat back down. "Okay, I may have seen a file on WoFat's computer. Two women; one older but still hot, know what I mean? And then a pretty little girl, maybe ten, twelve years old. Series of photos, looked grainy, like they weren't good quality, you know? Not recent. They were timestamped, mid 2000s."
Steve was standing behind Danny's shoulder again. Danny turned to relay the information to him but Steve dismissed him with a curt nod. Of course, Danny thought, among his many talents, Steve was an expert lip reader. He never needed the phone.
Danny handed the phone up to Steve.
"Where were the photos taken?" he demanded.
"I dunno, man, looked Asian. Japan, maybe, Thailand."
"Any indication of a name, anything?"
"No, I only caught a glimpse." Sang Min insisted.
Steve sighed. He pulled up a photo of his mother on his smart phone, and held it up to the glass.
"This the woman? And Sang Min – answer this question very, very carefully. I will not only turn you into general population, I will make the guards give you a crew cut, I swear to God," Steve warned.
"Yeah. That's her," Sang Min said, his lips curving into a lewd smile.
Danny shook his head violently, "Sang Min, trust me, if you have any sense of self-preservation whatsoever, you will listen to me when I tell you to stop talking immediately."
By the time Steve and Danny arrived back at Five-O headquarters, the rest of the team had uncovered a few leads.
"What have you got," Steve said, striding into the squad room.
Riley flipped a PDF of a file onto the large plasma. "I found a paper trail on my so-called 'scholarship'," she said. "My college education has been funded by one Hideki Mokoto. That name means absolutely nothing to me . . ." she broke off at the stricken look on Steve's face. "But I see it means something to you?"
"Yeah," he sighed, trying to think of a way to tell Riley that her benefactor had been tortured and killed for the same information at the hands of WoFat.
"Oh, no," she said, one step ahead of him.
"Riley," Steve said gently, "I'm so sorry. Mokoto was murdered. Joe just introduced us a few weeks ago . . . Mokoto knew my father, tried to help me . . . WoFat got to him. That must be . . . WoFat must have somehow traced the connection to the university. That must be why WoFat targeted you."
"But why would Mokoto pay for Riley's college education?" Catherine asked.
"I have no idea," Steve said, "but it's the best lead we have so far. Clearly, there is a connection between Joe White and Riley, and between Joe White and Mokoto, and between Riley and Mokoto. Danny, what are you doing?"
The team turned to watch Danny rolling a large whiteboard out of his office.
"You all keep going with your files and your screens," he said, waving his hand at the equipment. "I need to see this my own way, old school. Just carry on; I'm just going to duplicate the information in a different arrangement, you never know." He braced himself for the ridicule that he was sure would come from the rest of the team. Instead, he turned and almost bumped into Kono, who had run to the supply room and returned with a fistful of dry erase markers. Four out of five were pink or purple.
"Gracie and I play hangman," she shrugged.
Danny grabbed the green marker and started making notes on the board.
"Okay, Chin and Kono, did you find anything on my mother?" Steve didn't bother with using her given name; objectivity was rapidly going out the window.
"Nothing through official channels – definitely no record of her being a foster parent," Chin began. "But we did find something . . . well, I hope it's okay, but when we came up completely empty going through files in her name, Riley suggested we try looking through your father's files."
Steve nodded. "That's fine, guys . . . listen, we have to turn over every stone. I've been warned that I may not like what I find. Just give it to me straight."
"Your father had opened a file after your mother's car accident, Steve," Kono said.
"Yeah, the accident report, the autopsy . . . I've read all of that," Steve said.
"Steve," Catherine said gently, "your father opened a homicide investigation. He thought your mother was murdered. By the Yakuza."
Kono's lips were pressed together in a worried line.
"Chin?" Steve asked, "You worked with my father – did you know about this?"
"Absolutely not, Steve, I would have never kept that from you," Chin stated emphatically.
Steve paced around the room. Danny gave a low whistle and started a new set of notes on the whiteboard.
"Okay," Steve finally said, leaning against the smart table. "We have my mother – possibly killed in a car accident, possibly murdered by the Yakuza."
"Possibly alive," Riley said in a very small voice.
Steve turned to look at her. "Possibly."
Danny continued. "We have Joe White – knew your father, knew you, knew Mokoto, knew Riley."
"Knew Olivia . . . Doris," Riley said, again so quietly that Steve almost missed it.
Steve stormed into his office and slammed the door so hard the blinds rattled, briefly, before Steve jerked them all closed. Danny held up his hand to the team. "I've got this one, guys," he said.
Steve looked up when Danny opened the door. He opened his mouth to automatically protest, before realizing that Danny was the *one* person that he actually could tolerate talking to in this moment.
"Danny," he sighed, running his hands through his hair.
"I know, babe," Danny said simply. "Tell me what's going through your head."
"We don't know the connection, but we're getting closer . . . WoFat definitely –"
"No." Danny cut him off.
Steve looked at him quizzically. "What?"
"Tell me, what are you feeling right now, Steve? We'll figure this all out, eventually. I want to know what's going through that head of yours."
"Danny, we don't have time –"
"Steven." Danny was quiet, but resolute.
"They lied to me, Danny. All of them. My father, my mother, Joe . . . everyone I've ever trusted. They lied to me, they sent me and my sister away from our home, split us up. Now everyone connected to my family in any way is at risk. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't. I look for answers, Mokoto gets killed. There's a connection to someone I've never heard of, have no way of knowing, and she gets kidnapped and tortured. Danny, you all rescued Riley completely by accident. If WoFat hadn't put her on that truck behind mine, he would still have her. Mary can't be on the island because of the Yakuza. Lies, Danny, lies and deception and –" Steve broke off and gasped in pain, wrapping his arm around his ribs.
Danny was at his elbow in a split second. "Whoa, there, Super SEAL," he said, easing Steve down onto his sofa.
Steve groaned in pain. "Sitting, not good Danno," he ground out.
"I know, that's why you're not sitting," Danny said, expertly pulling Steve's long legs up onto the couch.
Steve protested and made to sit up.
"Down, boy," Danny said, pressing a hand against his chest and pushing him back into the cushions. "You've pushed too hard for too long. You're going to be useless to anyone if you don't take a break."
"Riley," Steve muttered.
"What about Riley, buddy?" Danny asked.
"If I'm hurting, she's probably been pushing it way too hard, too," Steve said, "go check on her, Danny. Make sure she's drinking something. Malia said she was still dehydrated."
"Riley, my friend, is just fine," Danny said. "She has both Catherine and Kono keeping an eye on her, not to mention Chin, who may I remind you, is the next best thing to a doctor, since he sleeps with one. You are deflecting."
Steve threw his arm over his eyes, blocking out the light in an effort to thwart the headache steadily building behind his eyes. Too late. He groaned.
"Babe, what is it?" Danny asked, "Headache?"
"Concussion," Steve mumbled. Danny recognized that particular brand of mumble, and dashed for the trashcan. He had it next to the sofa in the nick of time, as Steve brought up that morning's coffee and then continued to dry-heave.
"Okay, that's it. You have two choices: I can call Malia to come here, or I can have Chin swing by and bring her to your house after her shift."
"Danny," Steve protested weakly.
"We need to get her to check on Riley, too," Danny played his trump card.
"Fine," Steve huffed.
Malia pronounced Steve still concussed, and she re-wrapped his ribs and re-dressed the burns.
"You need to acknowledge your limits before you exceed them, Steve," she chided gently.
"I'm fine, Malia, but thank you," he said politely, awkwardly reclining on a stack of pillows Malia had placed on the bed behind him.
She had the audacity to laugh out loud. "Oh, so that's why Chin called me to tell me that you were groaning on the sofa with nausea and vomiting? That's sounds very fine."
Steve decided that argument was futile. "How's Riley?" he asked, instead.
"Honestly? Worried about you, mostly. Blaming herself for everything. Confused. Still barely acknowledging that she has suffered. In short, she's exactly like you, Steve, and that worries me."
"Why?"
"Because you, my friend, are a gifted leader and a loyal friend, but you have no sense of self-preservation whatsoever. I know what made you that way – your father, Joe White, and the United States Navy. I have no idea what could possibly have happened to make young Riley the same."
Steve sighed. "Well, Malia, the commonality in that equation is Joe White, and if I can find him, you can be sure I will ask him."
Catherine saw Malia and Chin to the door. "Thank you again, guys, for coming over."
"I'm sure you could have managed, Catherine," Malia said, "but Danny was quite alarmed. I'm happy to help. Please try to convince Steve to get some rest tonight, okay? And keep encouraging fluids for Riley. She's recovering from the dehydration but we need to keep flushing the drugs out of her system."
"Will do, Malia, and thanks again," Catherine said, turning to go back inside the house.
Steve didn't realize he had drifted off to sleep until Catherine slipped gently into the bed next to him.
He started, then relaxed as she gently brushed her cool hand over his forehead.
"Riley?" he asked.
"Following doctor's orders and resting comfortably; drinking herbal tea and taking a mandatory three hour break from looking at screens. She still has a mild concussion. Grover still has a detail here. Steve, do you think WoFat is going to show up on the island, make a play for you or Riley again?"
Steve sighed. "Cath, I don't know what to think. And honestly, with WoFat, having a detail here is like a deadbolt lock. It keeps someone from opening the door on the first turn, but they can always just kick it down."
"Hmm," Catherine murmured, "that must be why Danny is sleeping on the sofa again tonight. I wouldn't be surprised if he's reading Riley a bedtime story."
"Seriously?" Steve grinned.
"You have built an amazing team, Steve. I don't say it often but I want you to know – you're doing good work here. I know sometimes you miss the SEALs, miss intelligence . . . but you're clearly needed here."
Steve ducked his head. Raised by a no-nonsense law enforcement father and a teacher with exacting standards, then by the US Navy, he wasn't accustomed to praise. Catherine gently cupped his face, avoiding the worst of the bruises, and dropped a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks, Cath," he said. "I hate that this is how you're spending your leave – caught up in the middle of this nightmare."
"Hey, sailor," she said lightly, "no place else I'd rather be. Except maybe, you know, out to dinner or something."
"I really, really do owe you a nice dinner out," he replied, chuckling, then wincing.
"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. Let's go rescue Riley from Danny, for a bit, shall we? Before Danny thinks something crazy, like that I'm your girlfriend or something. Oh, don't look at me like a deer caught in the headlights. You don't call me your girlfriend; whatever. What we have between us works for us, Steve, we don't have to define it."
Steve allowed Catherine to help pull him to his feet; and then he pulled her into her arms and kissed her soundly.
"What was that for?" she asked. "Not that I'm complaining."
"That was me remembering how damn lucky I am to have you in my life, Catherine," he said, framing her face in his hands, and kissing her once again for good measure.
"Danny," Riley said, in exasperation. She was standing in the kitchen, fussing with the coffee maker. Danny had pointed resolutely to the tea kettle and the box of herbal tea left by Malia.
"I have strict instructions from the good doctor to keep you hydrated with quality, caffeine free, healing herbal tea. Coffee is none of those things, young lady." Danny was in full-on mother hen mode.
"Look, Danny," Riley said, shifting her weight to one side, crossing her arms, and an edge of affectionate frustration in her voice. "It's bulletproof coffee; you drink it for enhanced brain function; it works on a cellular level."
"Oh ho, now, does that sound familiar," Danny began, as he watched Riley turn and scoop some butter into her mug. She poured the coffee over it, then turned, leaned against the counter, and raised her mug in salute.
"You should try it, it's good for you," she smirked.
It was the smirk that finally did it. That cocky, self-assured smirk. He'd seen it a hundred times in the last couple of years, often just before dodging bullets.
"Danny, what's wrong?" Riley asked, alarmed. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Kono said it was because you'd both been trained by Joe White," he blurted out.
"What? You're not making much sense."
Danny backpedaled. "Oh, just similarities between you and Steve. Did Joe teach you to put butter in your coffee? Because that's disgusting."
"What's disgusting, Danno?" Steve said as he entered the kitchen. "Oh, coffee . . . "
Danny watched as Steve scooped butter into his mug, topped it off with coffee, turned, leaned against the counter next to Riley, and raised his mug in salute.
Danny pulled out his cell phone. "Gonna text my little monkey goodnight," he said, as he silently clicked a picture of Steve and Riley.
Malia smiled when she heard the BonJovi text tone. "What does Danny have to say?" she asked Chin.
"Malia, you are a gift, you know that?" Chin turned to the beautiful woman snuggled next to him on the couch. "You stop after a full day of work to check on my team, and then you don't complain when they text me a mere . . ." he checked his watch, ". . . thirty minutes later." He sighed and leaned to reach the cell phone on the coffee table. "He's probably just worried about Steve's blood pressure or something."
He thumbed the security code into his phone, still smiling as he opened the text from Danny.
Malia felt him tense as soon as he read the message.
"Chin, what is it, is everything okay?" she asked, worry evident in her tone.
He wordlessly handed her the phone. She glanced at the text message first.
Am I crazy, or do you see it too?
She looked at the picture of Steve and Riley, slouched against the counter in Steve's kitchen. Both smiling at Danny with the same fond smile . . . their long legs crossed at the ankle . . .
She looked at Chin, who had gone pale beneath his tan.
"Chin? Tell me what you see."
Chin shook his head. "I don't know how I missed it. I knew Steve as a teenager, just a few years younger than Riley. The other day, I saw Danny pointed out a similarity in their stance to me and Kono; Steve and Riley were standing in front of a plasma looking at a file . . . I remember thinking it was amusing that Grover's wife had picked out clothes for Riley that were similar to Steve's . . . how did I miss this?"
"You think it's more than coincidence, then; obviously Danny does."
"Malia, it's uncanny. It can't be coincidence. Medically, what do you think the odds are, of two completely unrelated people having such similar stances?" Chin asked. "And look at the way they're smiling at Danny . . ."
"Honestly? It was the cheekbones and eyelashes that I noticed," Malia said slowly.
Chin studied the picture on his phone again. "I can't really see that closely in the picture," he said.
Malia looked at him steadily.
Realization dawned on him. "You saw . . . when?"
"At the hospital."
"You didn't say anything," Chin protested.
"Chin, it was pure speculation; also, until one of you brought it up, it was a borderline patient confidentiality issue," Malia explained.
"But Riley gave you permission to share her information."
"Riley did, yes. Not Steve. Chin, sweetheart, please don't be angry. I had every confidence that you or Danny would pick up on what I believe is some sort of familial connection."
Chin stared at the photo. "Malia, if Riley and Steve are related somehow . . . and I can't even wrap my brain around the possibilities . . . this changes everything. And if Joe White knew . . . I'm not sure how Steve will handle this level of betrayal."
"What are you going to do?" Malia asked.
"Hell if I know," Chin sighed. He texted Danny.
I see it. Malia, too. What next?
Nothing tonight? Steve is still in rough shape. Riley too. Tomorrow? We approach Steve. Go from there.
Agreed. Mahalo.
If Steve hadn't been so exhausted and concussed, he would have noticed Danny's attempts to hide his growing scrutiny. Danny carefully schooled his features into an expression that would be appropriate for texting with his daughter.
"Monkey says goodnight, Uncle Steve," he smiled at Steve. "Speaking of beautiful young ladies saying goodnight, Riley, I have already risked Malia's wrath by not restraining you from coffee. Please don't get me in any further trouble, and go get some rest, yeah?"
Riley smiled tiredly. "I could argue but sleep sounds good." She looked a bit hesitantly between Steve and Danny. "Um, Danny, I know you planned to sleep on the sofa, but . . . " she paused.
Steve wrapped an arm loosely around her shoulders. "Riley, it's fine. Danny gripes and complains about the sofa hurting his back . . . I don't know why he insists on sleeping here . . . must be that he loves the sound of the ocean at night. Anyway, the bed in Mary's room is made up, nice and comfy, Danny can sleep there; he crashed there the other morning. Danny has an uncanny way of making himself at home here. I'd beat him into the bathroom if I were you, though, he doesn't understand the concept of Navy showers."
Riley nodded gratefully, moving to put her mug in the sink. "Okay, goodnight then and . . . thanks."
After she left the kitchen, Danny looked quizzically at Steve. "What was that about?"
"Her second night here, after she found the picture . . . she wanted to sleep on the sofa. Said it helped to be in a more open room, more light coming in from outside," Steve explained.
Danny ran his hands through his hair. "Oh, man."
"Yeah, it's pretty much been her only concession to what she's been through."
"Everything okay, boys?" Catherine said as she came into the kitchen. She fixed a glass of water, frowning at the mug in Steve's hand, and fixing one for him, too.
"Yeah, just getting everyone settled for the night," Danny replied. "I'm taking Mary's room."
"You'll keep an ear out for Riley, yeah?" Steve asked.
"Of course," Danny replied. "Catherine has her hands full with you . . . oh, for the love of . . . wipe that smirk off your face, Steven, you have a filthy, filthy mind."
Danny was halfway down the hall before Riley could call out a second time. He wanted to give Steve and Catherine every possible chance to rest . . . they had no idea what can of worms he and Chin were going to have to open tomorrow.
He might have known, though, that Steve would be on high alert, at usual.
They reached the living room at the same time, just as Riley sat bolt upright on the sofa and let out another hoarse shout.
"No! Stop! Come back . . . I'll tell you anything! Stop, you're killing him . . . "
Steve's longer stride put him at the sofa just as Riley thrashed violently; unfortunately, he wasn't quite fast enough to keep her from tipping off the sofa and bumping her head on the coffee table.
"Whoa, there, it's okay, I've got you," he said, gently grabbing her hands as she struck out at him, still disoriented.
"Steve?" she asked, one hand gripping his bicep, and the other going to the freshly opened cut over her eye.
"Yeah, it's me. Are you okay?" he asked.
Danny had turned on a dim lamp. "I'll get the kit from the kitchen," he said, noting the fresh bleeding from Riley's face. "Hey, Catherine," he said, as she reached the bottom of the stairs, tying a robe around her. "It's okay, Riley had a bad dream, opened up that cut over her eye. We've got it."
Catherine followed Danny into the kitchen. "Steve was already awake, I'm sure," she said. "He's holding up well, all things considered, but he's not exactly sleeping peacefully."
Danny shook his head. "I don't even want to know what goes on in that head of his. And Riley . . . whatever they did to Steve, she heard all of it. As soon as we know it's safe to do so, we need to get her to talk to someone . . . really talk to someone who can help her."
Catherine nodded. "I'll talk to Malia, see if we can get something set up."
"Thanks, babe," Danny said. "Go on up, I'll send your not-boyfriend back as soon as I can."
Danny took the kit back into the living room. Steve was gently pulling the half-attached steri-strips off Riley's cut.
"Let's get this fixed up, okay? Can't have Malia fussing at me for not taking good care of you," he said.
"It's okay," Riley protested. "I can fix it myself."
"Ah, but why," Danny interjected, "when you can have a Navy special? Here you go, SuperSEAL, what can I hand you?"
"Gauze pad, steri-strips," Steve said, pulling the last damaged strip free.
Steve put pressure on the wound until the bleeding stopped.
"Riley," he said, as he applied a fresh bandage, "look at me. WoFat slowed me down but I walked away. Okay? My friend Jenna gave me something to pick the lock. I got loose, and climbed out a window. If I had known you were there, though, I never would have left you behind. I want you to know that. I would have come for you."
Riley shook her head. "That would have been stupid. Your objective should have been to get free. For all you knew I would have been a liability."
Steve's hands stilled, and Danny stared in amazement.
"Riley, babe," Danny said, "why would you say that?"
"It's true. Steve knows it's true. The mission comes first. Steve's mission was exactly as it should have been: to get away."
Danny's eyes narrowed in anger. "Who taught you that – Joe?"
Riley blinked sleepily. "No. Olivia. She said I had to understand that people had to take care of themselves first; that I couldn't expect anyone to help me or rescue me. That it was important that I understand that there were always larger concerns at risk than any one individual."
Steve shook his head. "Riley, I don't understand why she said that, but let me make one thing perfectly clear: you can always expect us to do everything in our power to help you. You got that?"
Undisclosed location
"Of course they're going to figure it out. I'll be surprised if they haven't already. Why?" Joe laughed bitterly. "Because I trained both of them, that's why. The only advantage we have is that both of them will be so busy trying to find me, and trying to solve the riddle of Shelburne, that it may take them a while to see what's right in front of their eyes. Now that you're moved, I just have to get back there, get Riley away before they figure out the identity of Shelburne. We can't afford for her to have that information; I may have trained her but she's not Steve. She'll break."
"I'm really sorry, about everything."
Catherine turned to face Riley as she came into the kitchen.
"I mean, this is your leave, you came to take care of Steve, and he's wearing himself out with my problems . . . I'm sorry," Riley said. "I could go. I've been taught to be very self-sufficient, you know."
Catherine poured a mug of coffee and handed it to Riley.
"Riley, none of us know each other very well yet, but there's something you need to understand. Steve's team is family. It's a family that quickly extends to accept and protect people. You and I . . . we may not be Five-O, but we're accepted and valued all the same. Riley, they pulled you out of North Korea; you'd been tortured for the same information as Steve. If that doesn't make you family, I don't know what does, okay?"
Riley smiled and sipped her coffee. "What makes you family, Catherine?" she teased gently.
Catherine's eyes twinkled. "Honestly? Probably my access to classified information and satellite tasking."
Riley gave a lopsided grin and tipped her mug in salute, and Catherine laughed, wondering why the gesture seemed somehow very familiar.
"So, you can task satellites; who tasked Frank?" Riley asked.
"Frank?" Catherine asked. "The pilot? That definitely wasn't me."
Danny came into the kitchen in search of coffee. "Who's tasking satellites, it's too early," he complained.
"Danny," Riley asked, as a connection nagged at the edge of her mind. "How did you know to go to Frank to get in to North Korea? He's completely off the grid. If Catherine didn't find him, then whose contact was he? Steve's, or Joe's?"
Danny frowned. "I don't think Steve knew . . . it had to be Joe."
"Well, that's it then," Riley said. "Get Steve, hurry, get me to a good computer."
"Wait, whoa, whoa, slow down," Danny said, "what are you talking about?"
"FRANK, Danny," Riley said, grabbing her boots and shoving them onto her feet. "Catherine, if you didn't contact Frank, and if Frank didn't know Steve . . . then the only connection between Frank and all of this is Joe."
"Right," Danny said slowly, fatigue slowing his thought process.
"Guys," Riley said urgently, as Steve came into the kitchen. "I lived with Frank for four years. Joe hid me with Frank from the time Olivia came up missing, to the time he came and moved me to Tokyo. Frank has to know what's going on."
"Damn it," Steve exclaimed. "How did we overlook that?"
"We're so focused on Joe and Shelburne, and WoFat; besides, this is what Frank does best – he stays so far under the radar. That's why Joe moved me there to begin with," Riley said, "Neither Joe nor Frank knew that I had been taken from Tokyo to North Korea by WoFat; but Frank has to know why Joe took me from Tokyo to South Korea five years ago. Frank can tell us what Joe apparently has been trying to keep secret."
"Frank was furious," Danny remembered. "He just about took Joe's head off when Chin carried you out of that tree line."
Steve furrowed his brow, trying to remember. It was blurry, but he had a vague memory of Frank yelling at Joe, and then later Frank reminding him to take care of his sister. Mary; he needed to be sure she was okay.
"Okay, so Frank is our best lead," Steve said, grabbing his gun and badge. "Let's get on it. Danny, you drive. I need to call and check on Mary."
"As if I'd let you drive, you're still concussed," Danny grumbled.
The guys bounded out of the kitchen and out the door. They were halfway to the car before Steve turned back, sheepishly.
"Um, Catherine," he said, "Could you . . . "
Catherine laughed and waved him off. "Go. I'll bring Riley."
"Mary, can't a big brother just call and check on his little sister? Oh, both of them . . . Danny and Chin. . . oh, and Kono . . . all called you . . ." Steve glanced sideways at Danny. "Well, yeah, because things got a little dicey here . . . no, I'm fine. Yes, I'm fine, I don't even have stitches or anything. No, you absolutely don't need to come. Really? Okay, that's actually perfect, yeah, stay there. Well, I mean, if he's a good guy, Mare, then why not? I am supportive of you, Mare. Well, because I don't want you to be taken advantage of. No, not all of the guys you date have been good guys, but if he's a Marine then that's in his favor. Okay, take care. Love you, too, Mare."
Steve hung up the phone and rubbed his eyes.
"So, how's Mary?" Danny asked cautiously.
"She's good. New boyfriend is at Barstow; she's living with him," Steve said.
"And normally you don't condone this behavior, but . . ." Danny said.
"Yeah, right now I'm quite happy that's she's moved in with her new Marine boyfriend, living in base housing, okay Danny? Because she should be safer there than wandering around Los Angeles," Steve snapped.
"Hey, babe, don't take my head off. I'm with you. One less thing for you to worry about."
"Sorry, Danny," Steve apologized, "I'm just . . . I can't believe I overlooked the whole connection with Frank. We've wasted over forty-eight hours."
"Look, we all overlooked it, Steve, and you have a concussion to blame. Chin, Kono, and I – we were there. We should have picked up on it."
"It's like Joe knew, somehow, that we would be distracted," Steve said. "And I don't know Frank, but he clearly knows about me, I assume from Joe. He told me to take good care of my sister, so he knows about Mary."
Danny was silent. He had planned to talk to Chin about how best to approach Steve with their suspicion, but maybe this was a good an opening as he would get.
"Steve," he said, hesitantly, "I need you to take a look at something, and I want you to keep an open mind."
"Okay, Danny," Steve said, curious.
"I mean it, you can't freak out," Danny continued.
"Now I'm worried. What?"
"Pick up my phone," Danny gestured to his phone, lying on the console between the seats.
Steve picked up Danny's phone and thumbed in the security code.
"Okay, that's disturbing, how long have you known the code for my phone?" Danny complained.
"Shut up, Danny, just a little longer than you've known mine – don't deny it," Steve said, "what am I looking at?"
"Open the pictures. Look at the most recent."
Steve clicked on the icon and studied the photo.
"Talk to me, babe," Danny said, unnerved at Steve's completely uncharacteristic silence and stillness.
"Danny, I . . ." Steve looked at the picture again. "What am I supposed to see?"
Danny glanced over. Steve's hands were shaking as he gripped the phone.
"Steve, I think the resemblance is uncanny. The similarities in your stance, your gestures . . . from an objective point of view, if we were studying this as a surveillance photo, I think we would speculate that the similarities can't be coincidental. So . . . I am wondering if you see a resemblance strong enough to make you suspect a connection between you and Riley that goes beyond Joe White."
Steve remained silent.
"Steve?" Danny questioned hesitantly.
"Who else?" Steve asked, hoarsely.
"Who else . . .what are you asking?"
"Who else has seen this photo? Just you?" Steve asked.
"No," Danny confessed. "I wanted to know if I was losing my mind. I sent it to Chin. He knew you as a teenager, I wanted to see what he thought. He would have remembered you from when you were just a few years younger than Riley is now."
Steve took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay. What do we do?"
"Well, babe, I think we talk to Chin, okay, and get his take, since he knew your parents, goes back in your family history a bit. And then we . . . I don't know, Steve. I don't know what we do."
By the time Catherine and Riley arrived at headquarters, Steve, Danny, and Chin had disappeared into Steve's office. The door was closed and the blinds were pulled.
"I have no idea," Kono said, casting worried glances toward the office. "They didn't say a word to me, just walked in there together."
"Weird," Riley said. "But we have something else to go on; something we overlooked completely: let's fire this baby up and see what we can find on Frank."
"Of course," Kono said, smacking her forehead with her palm. "You lived with him, right? And wow, was he ever furious with Joe. How did we not think of this?"
"We are so focused on Joe, Olivia – Doris, and Shelburne," Riley said. "Plus, Frank is completely off the grid. His name wouldn't have popped up in any of our searches. I'm pretty sure he's officially listed as missing in action."
Catherine, Kono, and Riley were so focused on typing furiously on various searches that they didn't notice the agent standing in the squad room at first.
"Ahem," the man cleared his throat.
"Can we help you?" Kono asked.
"I'm here for Commander McGarrett," he said, "Agent Fielding."
"Well," Kono replied, glancing toward Steve's office, "He's in a closed door meeting. Can I tell him what it's about?"
"No, you can not. I need to speak with him immediately."
"Agent Fielding . . . what agency?" Kono demanded.
He flashed a badge that Kono didn't recognize, but Catherine's eyes widened.
"I'll go get him," she said immediately.
Riley and Kono exchanged confused glances as Catherine strode purposefully toward Steve's office and knocked on the door. She went in for a moment and then came out with Danny and Chin.
"You can speak with him now, Agent Fielding," she said, gesturing toward Steve's office.
After the man closed the door behind him, Catherine found herself the focus of four sets of curious eyes.
"Special Activities Division," she said, grimly.
Ten minutes later, an enraged Steve emerged from his office with Agent Fielding on his heels.
"Well, I don't give a flying fuck," he yelled. Danny raised his eyebrows; he suspected that Steve's time in the Navy had enriched his vocabulary, but the SEAL was such a model of self-control and restraint that he'd rarely proven that theory.
"You will follow orders, and as for these . . . " Agent Fielding started.
Steve cut him off. "These people are my team and they follow my orders, not yours."
"Lieutenant Rollins is not on your team, and neither is -"
Steve whirled around on him, drawing himself up to his full imposing height. "Catherine Rollins is here on leave, along with this civilian, and they are at the office on a social call, planning a shopping day with their friend Kono, who happens to be part of my team. There's nothing to see here, Agent Fielding, so I suggest you leave."
Riley noticed Kono very discreetly tap a corner of the smart table.
Agent Fielding sneered at Steve, and crossed over to the console. "Shopping, really? Then how do you explain this?" he said, dramatically gesturing toward the plasma.
The team held their breath and looked as . . . a listing of specialty shops appeared on the screen. Agent Fielding flicked his wrist, rapidly scrolling through several pages of files . . .of spa packages, restaurants, and day trips.
He turned back to Steve, who was barely concealing his smirk. "I'm warning you, McGarrett, you will cease and desist as ordered."
"And I'm warning you, Fielding, you will leave me and my team alone."
"The governor can't protect you from everything, McGarrett," Fielding warned.
Steve spoke very quietly. "And if you threaten my people again, there is no power on the face of this earth that will protect you, Fielding."
Agent Fielding opened his mouth to say something more, but then thought better of it as the six other people in the room adopted threatening stances. Deciding that discretion was the better part of valor, the agent turned and walked away.
"Okay, what the hell was that all about?" Danny demanded. "And nice cover, Kono; how long have you and Steve been waiting to pull that one off?"
"An agency that we answer to has demanded that we cease and desist all inquiries into the whereabouts of Joe White." Steve said. "And since the whole IA fiasco."
"What agency?" Chin asked.
Steve glanced at Catherine, who nodded. "The existence of the agency is public knowledge, after all."
"Special Activities Division," Steve said. "Joint operations between the CIA and SEAL teams. Goes back to Vietnam."
"So, that's it? We're just going to stop looking for Joe?" Chin asked.
"Like hell I will – I'm a civilian," Riley exclaimed.
"We're not going to go through any more official channels looking for Joe," Steve said, "no – wait, let me finish – we are, however, going to follow the one glaring lead that we've overlooked until today: we're going to talk to Frank." Steve paused and took a deep breath. "There's something else that I need to take care of first, though. Riley, could you come in my office?"
Tokyo
"Should I start packing and loading the supplies?"
"No rush," WoFat smiled. "We don't touch her until she knows the identity of Shelburne. My plan is working perfectly so far, no need to rush it."
Ten minutes later, Riley emerged from Steve's office, looking pale and shaken as she made a beeline for the lady's room.
"Danny, what on earth is going on?" Kono demanded.
"Give her a minute, okay, Kono?" Steve said, coming out of his office. He didn't look much better than Riley.
"Did you all manage to uncover anything on Frank?" he asked Catherine and Kono.
"No, other than what Riley suspected – he's listed officially as missing in action. No record of him serving with Joe; they never crossed paths in an official capacity. Absolutely nothing on Frank after 1970."
Riley came back into the squad room.
"You okay?" Steve asked quietly. Riley nodded and looked at Frank's file on the screen.
"Anything?" she asked.
"Nothing official, apparently," Catherine said. "This is the best we could do, even with my security clearance."
"You may as well put the other picture up, Steve," Riley said. "It's a bit ridiculous to have any secrets at this point, don't you think?"
"You're sure?" Steve asked.
"Oh for crying out loud. You're gonna tell me that Chin is going to keep this from Kono, and you're going to keep it from Catherine? Don't be absurd. Everyone's stressed out enough as it is."
Steve raised his hands in surrender.
"Um, guys?" Kono asked.
Steve nodded to Danny, who laid his phone down on the smart table. The picture of Steve and Riley leaning against Steve's counter was in display on the large screen in an instant.
"Oh," Catherine said quietly. "Wow, that's . . . wow."
Kono looked at Danny. "Yeah, I see it now, Danny."
Riley kicked the floor awkwardly with her boot.
The door opened and Max entered, his white lab coat flapping behind him.
"Commander McGarrett, I came as quickly as possible," he said. "Who am I swabbing?"
"Max, hello, nice to see you are as abrupt and inappropriate as ever," said Danny.
Steve gestured toward Riley. "Max, this is Riley Patterson. I need you to run her DNA against mine, please."
"Certainly, Commander," Max replied, pulling a swab out of his lab coat. "Ms. Patterson, this will take just one moment, I just need to swab the inside of your cheek."
Riley nodded. Max continued talking as he took the sample, "So Commander, are we running a standard paternity test or –"
Riley almost bit the swab in half.
"Whoa! Wait, what?!" Steve exclaimed. "No way in hell, Max, what?"
"Paternity," Max explained, as if to a very young child. "A test to see if you are the father –"
"I know what a paternity test is!" Steve interrupted. "What makes you think that's – "
"Well, it would appear that Riley is in her late teens or early twenties."
"Right, so?"
"And you are in your mid- to late- thirties."
"Exactly," Steve said, exasperated.
"So, a teen romance could very easily result in you having offspring this age," Max stated bluntly.
"That's just . . . no, Max, that's – just run the damn DNA. Tell us what you find, okay?" Steve said, rubbing his eyes.
"As you wish, Commander," Max said, completely unperturbed.
The team stood looking at Max's retreating form, a bit shell-shocked. The awkward silence was broken by a giggle, and five heads swiveled to look at Riley.
She tried to stifle the next giggle, but it just came out as a very undignified snort.
"What?" she said. "Oh come on, you have to admit that's kind of funny." She paused. "Dad."
Kono broke next.
"Oh, brah, the look on your face," she leaned against the smart table, overcome with laughter. "I only wish we had a picture."
Danny, Chin, and Catherine looked worriedly at Steve, who was trying his best to glare at them. The slight twitch of his lips gave him away, though, and he shook his head with a small laugh.
"Okay, well, I'm very glad to be the subject of the comic relief," he said wryly.
"Well, come on, Steve, I mean . . . I did know you when you were in high school," Chin said. "You were the quarterback of the football team, after all. Very popular with the girls, if I remember correctly."
Riley gave another snort, her shoulders shaking with laughter.
"What? I really was a catch," Steve insisted.
"Oh, I have no doubt," Catherine chimed in.
Danny smiled benevolently and Steve groaned. He just knew that his partner was storing up a host of snarky comments, to be rolled out at any opportunity in the future.
"You okay, there, Riley?" Danny asked, noticing that Riley's shoulders were still shaking with laughter as her hands covered her . . . 'Okay', he thought to himself, 'not laughing'.
Danny went to Riley and gently pulled her head down onto his shoulder, wrapping his arms around her trembling frame. "Shh, babe, it's okay. It's a lot to take in, yeah?"
Riley nodded mutely.
"Let's take a break, go in my office, how's that sound?" he asked. She nodded against his shoulder again.
"Danny?" Steve asked hesitantly.
"Just give us a few, okay?" Danny said, as he steered Riley into his office.
He settled her on the sofa and grabbed a box of Hello Kitty tissues from his desk drawer. She smiled through her tears at the design on the box. "Hello Kitty. Wildly popular in Japan," she said, taking one and blowing her nose.
"Here, too," Danny agreed, rubbing her back gently. "My daughter, Grace, had a terrible cold a few weeks ago. She ended up here one day when I had to pick her up from school. Kono ran to the drug store and brought back an arsenal."
"Kono's pretty amazing," Riley said.
"That she is," Danny nodded. "We are lucky to have her. I put odds on her sneaking some coffee in here for you in just a few minutes.
Riley smiled.
"There we go, that's better," Danny said, smiling back.
"Sorry, I'm just . . . I don't think those stupid drugs are out of my system yet, this is really unlike me; although it's a little overwhelming, to go from being Moonbeam O'Riley, foster kid, to . . . " Riley shrugged, not even sure how to finish her sentence.
Steve knocked on the door, and Danny waved him in.
"I come bearing coffee," Steve said, "courtesy of Kono."
"See, what'd I tell you?" Danny said, as Riley gratefully accepted the steaming cup.
"Riley, I'm so incredibly sorry, for everything you're being put through," Steve said, sitting on the edge of Danny's desk. "I just don't know any way to sort through this, to protect you, to give you some sort of resolution – but to keep on until we find some answers. I think Frank may be the key, if he's willing to talk to us. When we were getting on the plane, he told me that I deserved answers from Joe." Steve paused. "He also told me to take good care of my sister."
Danny's head shot up at that.
"Yeah," Steve said, nodding to Danny. "Remember? I assumed he was talking about Mary. Then when you showed me that picture . . . that's when it hit me. I think Frank knows."
"So how do we get in touch with Frank?" Danny asked.
Riley shook her head. "You don't. You want to talk to Frank? Better book a flight."
"There has to be another way," Danny said.
Riley and Steve looked at each other. Riley shrugged and nodded her head. Steve nodded back.
"Okay, now you're just creeping me out," complained Danny.
"We should plan on leaving tomorrow night. Danny, can you and Chin pull up the coordinates from your last excursion into Korea?" Steve asked.
"Um, babe, this is a colossally bad idea. This is probably one of your worst ideas. You have no business flying anywhere, much less into Korea, on a wild goose chase."
"It's the only solid lead we have," Riley said. "Danny, this could answer so many questions. We don't have to go across the border; Frank always stays below the DMZ . . . well, unless he's going to fetch people out."
"Riley, I can't let you fly into Korea and then hike around looking for Frank!" Steve exclaimed. "No, everyone has risked enough. I'll go in alone."
"No way –"
"Oh, no, I don't think so –"
Danny and Riley were talking over each other.
"Stop, both of you," Steve commanded. "I'm just going in to talk to Frank, try to get some answers about Joe, and Riley, and Doris. We aren't launching a mission. Just an interview. Stand down."
"You're not going without me," Riley demanded.
"I'm not taking you with me," Steve retorted.
"I'm not part of Five-O and I'm not one of your SEALs, Steve. You can't order me around."
"You – " Steve cut off short.
Riley and Danny paused, waiting for him to continue.
"What?" Riley said, impatiently.
"You – you reminded me so much of Mary, just then," Steve said softly.
"Mary; your sister?" Riley asked.
"Yeah."
"Oh." Riley smiled self-consciously. "That's – wow. Okay. Um, speaking of which, how long will that DNA test take?"
"Max said he would have preliminary likelihood by the end of the day; all the markers should be back by tomorrow morning," Steve answered.
"Okay," Riley said, studying her boots again.
"Hey," Steve said, crossing the short space between them, and placing a hand gently on her shoulder. When she didn't look up, he tucked his fingers under her chin and turned her eyes up to meet his. Riley wasn't short, by any means, but he still had several inches on her.
"Riley," he said firmly, "the DNA test and talking to Frank – it's to give us some answers. But I promised you, on that plane out of Korea, that my team and I would protect you. Nothing is going to make me change that promise, you got me?"
Riley nodded.
"I mean it, kid," Steve said. "We've got your back."
"Okay, Steve," Riley said, looking into his eyes intently, "then let me have yours."
Steve glanced at Danny, who just raised his eyebrows and shrugged.
"We'll talk about it," Steve said. "No promises. And Malia has to clear you to fly."
"I'm not nearly as injured as you are," Riley retorted. "Who's going to clear you?"
"I clear me."
"Okay, Superman," Danny interrupted. "Time enough to work that out. Let's go see what we can dig up, so that you're not flying blind if you do go try to find Frank."
"When we go and find Frank," Riley corrected emphatically.
Within an hour, the team had compiled all of the available information on Frank – it was sparse, to say the least. Some of it had been redacted; the helpful bits obscured. Catherine and Steve both tried accessing the information using their security clearance, to no avail.
"Careful, Steve," Catherine warned, as he typed in several layers of passcode. "The last thing we need is Special Activities Division coming back over here."
Danny frowned and added some more notes to the whiteboard.
Riley studied the files on Frank. "I can probably get through this. And I know I can get to files on Joe that you haven't found yet. But, if you need me to avoid this – whatzit – Special Activities thingy – you're going to need to get me to a great computer that is in absolutely no way associated with any of the IP addresses of Five-O. I can tell from this line of code right here that everything you do is being monitored." She typed rapidly and pulled up a screen filled with ones and zeros.
"Binary?" Steve said, tilting his head to look at the scrolling numbers.
"Wow," Catherine added. "I've seen something similar when I was stationed at the Pentagon. How did you even . . . ?"
"Don't ask," Riley said. "And I'm closing it now in case they peek through the firewall I put up. Honestly, anything you don't want them to see – don't put through this system, period. I can block it, or take it down, but at this point, I'm pretty sure that would create a lot of suspicion. It would be best if I could disable it in fragments, build in a filter and a reflector so that they think they are seeing your activity, when what they're really seeing is something not exactly your activity, mirrored on similar identical sites."
Even Chin blinked at her, speechless.
"Um, the classes at University of Tokyo are really, really good," Riley explained.
Chin raised his eyebrows skeptically. "I don't think freshmen level computer classes are that good."
"I may have picked up a few things outside of class," Riley offered.
Kono and Steve grinned broadly.
Danny groaned, "Oh, great, now the adrenaline twins are intrigued. Lovely."
"I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear any of that," Catherine said.
"Good idea," Steve answered. "Okay, so we need to get Riley out of here and to a secure computer."
Chin smiled. "I think it would be nice to get Riley out for some fresh air, Steve. Maybe take her to see some sights, grab some shrimp to go . . . visit your friend Jerry."
"Perfect," Steve said, pointing at Chin. He turned and noticed Danny finishing some notes on the large whiteboard. "Whatcha got, Danno?"
"Well, since hopefully the super secret government agency that has even the super secret SEAL and his super secret girlfriend spooked – which makes me incredibly nervous, if you must know – is not monitoring my humble whiteboard, I took the liberty of brainstorming," Danny answered.
Riley grinned. "Very old-school – I like it."
"Thank you, grasshopper."
Steve studied the notes for a few moments.
Danny had drawn a series of Venn diagrams. In one, the two outer circles contained the names Joe and Frank, with Riley in the center. In another, more complex diagram of three circles, were the names Doris, Steve, and Riley, with the name Joe in the center. Finally, in another set of three, were the names WoFat, Steve, and Riley, with the name Shelburne at the center . . . and the names Joe and Doris with big question marks next to them.
"Wow, Danny, that's actually . . . very helpful," he said.
"I am a detective," Danny observed dryly. "This is how we do it in Jersey."
"So, Joe's the connection," said Catherine, looking at the board, "and Doris is the completely unknown factor."
"Yeah, WoFat is looking for some of the same answers we are," Steve said, "so we need to find them before he does."
"Which means WoFat is quite possibly standing in front of a board just like this," said Kono grimly, "coming to the same conclusions. What if these same names are on his radar?"
Riley blanched. "I've put Frank in danger," she said quietly.
"We'll get to him, Riley," Steve said. "Are you sure you can't think of any way to contact him? To warn him?"
Riley shook her head. "When you get me to a safe computer I can try, but that was the whole point with Frank – that's why Joe took me there. It's going to be hard enough to find him in country. He doesn't leave an electronic footprint, not at all. But, I might be able to tell if anyone else is searching for him."
"Okay," Steve said, "Chin and Kono – take Riley over to Jerry's. Get some lunch, yeah? That way you can assure Malia that we're taking good care of her patient."
"Former patient," Riley waved her hand dismissively. Danny thought he recognized the focused determination in her eyes.
"Danny," Steve said, "You and I are going to go pay a little visit to . . ." Steve paused. "Catherine, I think in the interest of plausible deniability, I better not finish that sentence. But could you stay here, make sure that Agent Fielding doesn't come snooping around while we're gone?"
He waved at Chin and Kono as they left the room, then added quietly to Catherine. "And, would you let me know when Max has the results?"
Catherine stood on tiptoe and pressed a gentle kiss to Steve's cheek. "You got it, sailor. Are you okay with this?"
"Yeah, we'll do as much basic recon as we can from here, and then determine who really needs to go try to establish contact with Frank," he said.
"Steve," Catherine shook her head. "That's not really what I meant. Are you okay with the idea that Riley might be your sister?"
Steve rubbed a hand over his eyes. "To be honest, Cath, I haven't really wrapped my brain around it yet. But yeah . . . I don't know how to explain it, but it feels right. Like it's not even that much of a surprise."
"Yeah, well, I bet you Max is still running a paternity test," Danny grinned.
Chin and Kono stopped at their favorite local stop for four Moco Loco plates to go.
"Smells amazing," Riley commented, as they continued making their way toward Jerry's.
"You will never want to leave the island," Kono grinned. "It's that good."
"Kono, someday that metabolism of yours is going to slow down," Chin warned.
"Brah, don't even," she pouted. "Let me enjoy my calories while I can."
Chin laughed. "Okay, cuz. Well, I'm sure Malia will approve of our choice for Riley, at least. She reminded me this morning that we needed to help her overcome several days without food. This should help."
They pulled up in front of Jerry's unassuming bungalow.
"This is where I'm going to get access to a state-of-the-art computer?" Riley asked dubiously.
"Oh, sistah, you have no idea," Kono grinned at her. "Come, let us introduce you to the event that is Jerry. And eat; let's eat."
"So, where shall I drive His Majesty?" Danny asked sarcastically, as Steve gingerly eased himself into the passenger seat. "Or is the pleasure of a known destination too much, considering that I am, for once, getting to drive my own car?"
Even while he snarked, Danny reached over and snagged Steve's seat belt and clicked it into place, as he realized that the movement was causing his friend and partner significant discomfort.
"We are heading to Kamekona's," Steve said. "Turn west."
"Ah, buddy, you're concussed. The shrimp truck is east," Danny said.
"We aren't going to get shrimp," Steve grinned.
Danny followed Steve's directions to Kamekona's residence. Their oversized friend lumbered out to meet them, looking around nervously.
"This makes me nervous every time, brah," he said to Steve, "but if it is for a good cause . . . "
"That it is, my friend," Steve said, gripping Kamekona's hand, "that it is. Damsel in distress, you might say."
Kamekona nodded sagely. "And if I play my cards, right, help you haoles out, might I get to meet this damsel?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
"Ah, that remains to be seen," Danny interjected. "I would not get too hopeful, my friend."
"What's a brotha gotta do to get some play around here?" Kamekona complained.
Seeing a glare forming on Steve's face, Danny quickly changed the subject. "So, Steve informs me that you have some . . . inventory that we might . . . borrow," he said.
"Only the finest for my friends," Kamekona said, gesturing expansively toward the trailer.
Steve flung open the roll up door on the trailer. Danny let out a low whistle, and Steve grinned.
"Oh," Danny said, "this is better than Christmas for you, isn't it, Steve?"
"If I'm going to go on another unsanctioned trip overseas, I can't risk exposing Five-O by taking our own gear. Everything has to be clean. Unmarked, untraceable back to Five-O," Steve said.
"Plausible deniability, right?" Danny asked.
Steve nodded. "I'm going to need to go in light; once I land, I'll likely be on foot for who knows how long. And I can't be too obvious. If I look like a commando going in that's going to attract way too much attention."
"Okay, what do I need?" Danny asked, running his hand in admiration over some of the firearms.
"Danny, you can't go," Steve said earnestly. "It's way too risky. You never should have come for me the last time. Not that I don't appreciate it – I do, more than I can ever say. But Danny, what about Gracie? You've got too much to lose, partner. I can't let you risk your life or your career for me. Not again."
"Steve," Danny protested, "you can't possibly go in alone. You have to have someone on your six. You're still nursing broken ribs, for crying out loud."
Steve sighed. He was not unaccustomed to working alone; even during his time with the SEALs, he had been sent on plenty of one-man missions. He had to concede to Danny's point, though, he wasn't at the top of his game.
"I know, Danny," he said, as he carefully selected a few lightweight weapons. "I'm still trying to figure it out. Chin would have been the obvious choice, since he literally could blend in with the locals, but I don't want him to leave Malia."
"Okay, how about Catherine or Kono?" Danny said.
"I'm thinking about it," Steve replied. "Catherine is definitely out – I can't cover for her or protect her if the Navy finds out she went off the reservation. She'd be court-martialed. Kono . . . well, she would blend in with the locals. And she can more than hold her own if we get into a tight situation. If things went sideways, I could conceivably play the card that she was only operating under my orders; protect her career."
Danny sensed there was a hesitation. "But?" he prompted.
"But," Steve answered slowly, "I'm thinking of taking Riley."
Danny looked at him for a long moment. "I don't think that's wise, Steven. She's injured, she's traumatized, whether she admits it or not . . . plus for all we know WoFat is actively searching for her even as we speak. It's like walking around with a target on both of you."
Steve finished putting his selections into the tactical bag and closed the roll door. Waving to Kamekona, he stowed the bag in the back of the Camaro, and once again carefully eased himself into the passenger seat. Danny knew he must still be in considerable pain to consistently avoid driving.
As Danny slid into the driver's seat, he popped open the glove compartment and pulled out a bottle of Motrin and a bottle of water.
"Thanks, partner," Steve sighed, as he helped himself to three tablets and swallowed them with a generous swig of water.
"I know, Danny, it's risky taking Riley," he said, returning to their conversation. "But . . . she deserves answers. Frank is going to be difficult to find, but Riley knows the area; more importantly, she knows Frank. He may not trust me; not enough to give me the information I need."
Danny nodded. He had to admit, there was truth in what Steve was saying.
"Plus, Danny . . . I just hate to leave her behind, you know? I mean, I'm pretty sure what this DNA test is going to say," Steve said, glancing at Danny.
"You're thinking she's really your sister, babe?" Danny asked. "You just have a hunch or, what?"
"I don't know how to explain it, Danny," Steve replied. "I mean, the obvious information lines up – her age, apparently my mother raised her, the connection with Joe, the fact that WoFat tracked her down; hell, even WoFat must think she's my sister. But it's more than that. The first time she opened her eyes on that helicopter . . . I felt like I recognized her. I couldn't put my finger on it. And when she yelled at me," Steve smiled, "told me I couldn't boss her around . . . Danny, I swear, she sounded exactly like Mary when we were kids."
Danny smiled. "You definitely had the start of a full-on sibling spat, there, Steve. Of course, in fairness, I've heard Kono yell at you much the same way. You tend to bring that out in people."
Danny watched as Steve smiled, but then his face clouded.
"Damn it, Danny. Do you know what this means?"
'Ah,' Danny thought, 'now it really sinks in.'
"What, buddy?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Danno, my mom . . . she must have been alive. At least for fifteen or sixteen years after . . . if she really was raising Riley, in Japan or wherever . . . until she disappeared again and Joe came and took Riley to Korea. Joe knew. Joe knew everything, Danny – he knew about my mom, about Riley. Why would he lie about this?"
Danny sighed. He had never really trusted Joe – he'd called on him, sure, when the situation demanded it, but it was obvious to Danny that Joe was always holding back.
"Steve," Danny started, hesitantly, "this Special Activities Division . . . "
"Danny. Please don't . . . don't go there, okay?" Steve said, very slowly, and very carefully.
"Okay," Danny nodded. "Catherine?"
"Absolutely not," Steve said. "I would know."
Danny nodded again, and remained silent. Of all the times he had joked with Steve about classified information, he could tell that this time it was safer for all concerned, for him to remain completely in the dark.
"Danny?" Steve said, interrupting Danny's thoughts.
"Yeah, Steve?"
"I've done some hard things, you know, in intelligence and in the SEALs. Just so you know, though, I've always been on the right side. Always, Danny," he said, earnestly.
"I know, babe, I know," Danny assured him.
"I don't want anyone on the team to doubt that. Not ever, Danny. And not Gracie."
"I understand. We would never, never doubt that, Steve," Danny said quietly.
"Not Riley. Danny, she's been betrayed already. I can't do that to her; not now, not ever."
Danny nodded. "And you won't."
Steve sighed as his phone rang. "McGarrett," he answered. "Okay, on our way."
Danny raised his eyebrows.
"Head to Jerry's," Steve instructed.
Jerry shook his head in amazement. "I'm telling you, Steve, I've never seen anything like it. She's laying down code that I can barely keep up with."
Steve couldn't help it; an expression of fond pride creeped across his face.
"Okay," Riley said, fingers blazing across one of three keyboards she had at her disposal. "I've got nothing on Frank – told you – even the unredacted documents don't give us anything past 1970. However, I cross-matched the coordinates and triangulated, from Tangerine's last known position, to only three other likely positions for Frank. He and that monstrosity of a helicopter can not just blend in seamlessly. There are specific parameters – a landing area large enough, fuel source, and most importantly, a village climate of absolute hatred toward the North Korean and any other overtly anti-American interests."
Steve was impressed. Riley was clearly in her element; there was no trace of the overwhelmed young woman in Danny's office just this morning. His mind was made up in that moment; Riley was going with him to Korea to find Frank.
"Okay, so which village do we try first?" he said.
Riley's hands stilled on the keyboard for just a moment. "We?" she turned and said quietly.
Steve nodded.
"Bukhansan National Park," she said, pulling a file up onto a larger screen.
"A national park doesn't seem very low profile," Chin said.
"Tangerine fits nicely just outside the park; but close enough that there aren't any fly-overs from the US military bases there. Frank took me there after Joe finished . . . well, what he said was my WITSEC training. It's a solid bet that Frank is laying low there right now, just in case he and Tangerine attracted any attention. If someone is looking for an American, Frank doesn't want to upset local villagers. In the national park, he can pass himself off as a tourist if need be. Doesn't endanger any locals. Also, the national park is protected from . . . well, from pretty much everyone and everything. It's primarily an environmental concern. My money is on the park," Riley said confidently.
"What about the other two places?" Steve asked.
Riley grinned. "Honestly? Way, way too cold this time of year. Frank hates the cold. Worst case scenario, if he really thinks someone is on to him, maybe."
"Okay, this works," Steve nodded. "We start there; it's good, we won't draw a lot of attention to ourselves as outsiders, since the park attracts thousands of tourists from all over the world. Riley, do you think you'll be able to find Frank?"
"I'll find him. We hid in plain sight for four years. I can find him," she said confidently.
"What else did you find, Riley?" Danny asked. He'd noticed multiple files open on the handful of screens scattered around the room.
"Well, someone is sitting on my student id number at the University of Tokyo. I can't break the encryption without them seeing immediately. I guess this semester is a complete loss." Riley knew that in the grand scheme of things, her college career wasn't a priority; still, she couldn't keep the wistful tone out of her voice.
"Hey, kid, we are going to get some answers, make sure you're safe, and then we will find a way to work things out with the university, okay?" Danny assured her.
"It's okay, Danny," she said.
"Your talents are completely wasted at the college level," Jerry interjected emphatically. "You can't buy in to the right-wing conspiracy that education is the key to –"
"What else, Riley?" Chin cut Jerry off with a smile.
"Joe White's files have been sealed, and they're being closely monitored. I assume by whatever agency that Agent Freaky Pants was with," Riley said.
"Fielding?" Kono supplied.
"Yeah, him. Anyway, I could break the encryption, easy peasy, but they'd know it. They couldn't trace it, but they'd see that someone got in. And, I'm guessing that they would assume it was Five-O, even if they couldn't trace it and prove it. So I left it alone," Riley said, regretfully.
"Still good work, Riley," Steve said. "It proves that Joe is mixed up with Special Activities Division. If nothing else, it means Agent Fielding's threats weren't idle. All the more reason to keep Catherine as clear of this as possible."
"I found something else," Riley said, flicking some financial records onto the screen. "Um, we have trust funds."
"We?" Steve asked.
"You, Mary . . . me," she answered. "I followed the money from Hideki Mokoto backwards from the University of Tokyo. There are three accounts at the Bank of Hawaii, International Division. No names on the accounts; one is listed under your service id number, one under Mary's social security number, and one under my student ID number from the university."
"You, um, know my service id number? And Mary's social?" Steve asked.
Riley and Jerry rolled their eyes. "Oh, please," they said, in unison.
"So, WoFat has apparently been tracking you for some time, but he must have lost you when Joe took you to Korea. He used Mokoto to find your current location," Steve speculated.
"You think Mokoto gave her up?" Chin asked.
"Joe said he was tortured," Steve replied. "It's certainly possible."
Riley stood up abruptly and left the room. Danny started to go after her, but paused as he felt Steve's hand on his arm.
"I've got it, Danny," Steve said.
He found Riley pacing on the porch.
"Hey," he said quietly. "You okay?"
"No," she said, shaking her head. "I am actually a very, very long way from okay. Someone who obviously cared about me, about us, was tortured and killed? My entire life is a lie, and while I have absolutely no idea who I am or what my role is in any of this, I'm getting people tortured and killed. I got a front row seat for yours –" she broke off.
Steve put his hands on Riley's shoulders and tried to pull her into a hug, but she resisted, pushing against him. He winced, as pain radiated from the burns and cracked ribs.
"Oh no," Riley gasped in horror, pulling her hands away, "I'm so sorry, Steve."
He grabbed her hands. "Riley, look at me," he commanded. "None of this is your fault, do you hear me? None of it. WoFat is evil personified, and you, and Mokoto, and everyone else is caught in his path. And I am going to stop him, I swear to you, and he will never hurt anyone again. You got that?"
Riley nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'm going to need to borrow some gear from Jerry, you think he'll mind?" Steve watched as she slipped back into her no-nonsense, take no prisoners persona. Joe had indeed trained her well; she compartmentalized almost as well as himself.
"You are a piece of work, kid. Come here," Steve said, pulling her into a hug. "You sure you're up for this?" He gently stroked her hair as her head rested in the crook of his neck.
"You try going without me, and I'll just go alone," she mumbled.
He brushed the soft waves of hair away from the back of her neck, cringing as he saw the still inflamed injection sites.
"Okay, then let's get you geared up, and then I think we better get Malia to check this again, make sure you're good to travel."
Riley was humming happily to herself as Jerry helped her select bits and pieces of cables, connectors, keyboards, and drives.
"I thought you said that Frank was completely off the grid," Danny commented.
"Oh, he is, but that doesn't mean I intend to be," Riley replied. "Besides, you never know when you're going to need a door opened, or a file transferred, or a building, you know . . . poofed."
"Poofed?" Steve said, raising his eyebrows.
"Yeah, you know – surveillance disabled, alarms silenced, locks neutralized – poofed."
"Joe teach you that?" Steve asked, skeptically.
"Nah, Olivia," Riley said, then paused. "I mean, Doris. Sorry. Your mom. I guess."
Steve shrugged. "No worries, Riley; I don't know what to call her half the time myself."
Danny's phone buzzed with a text from Catherine.
"Well, guys, we might be a step closer to figuring that out," he said. "Cath says that Max is ready with the preliminary DNA results."
Riley took a deep breath. "Ok, Jerry, I think I have everything. Thanks a million. I'll do my best to get it back to you in one piece."
"It's not a problem," Jerry said. "I'm not even sure what some of those things do, to be perfectly honest. I just pick up random stuff sometimes, figure it will come in handy. Just bring yourself back safely, okay? We have to get together, I want you to teach me some of what you do. It would be invaluable to my research. You're probably the most talented hacker I've ever met."
"Aww, thanks Jerry; you probably say that to all the girls," Riley teased.
"Not really; I've never met a girl who could hack something that I couldn't. Also, you're really pretty," Jerry rambled.
"Okay, then," Steve interrupted, "let's wrap this up."
Danny grinned. "Jerry, it's a long story, but you may want to hold off hitting on Riley in front of Steve."
The team was gathered in the squad room, waiting for Max to come up from the lab.
"You want to, you know, have some privacy?" Chin asked.
Steve looked at Riley, who shrugged, and said, "Why? We're going to tell them anyway."
Steve nodded. "Riley, you know – whatever the outcome of the DNA test; Five-O is your family now. You understand that, right? This is just to give us answers."
"Okay," Max said, as he walked into the room. He pulled a flash drive out of his pocket and inserted it into the smart table. A graphic of DNA markers appeared on the main screen.
"The first round of testing shows thirty-five out of forty-four markers match. That's not enough to allow for a paternal relationship –"
Steve groaned. "Oh for the love of – would you give it up Max? I'm not her father."
"No, you are not," Max nodded. "There would have to be forty-two out of forty-four markers to determine paternity."
"Max," Chin warned.
"With thirty-five out of forty-four markers, I can state that statistically, there is at least a ninety-five percent chance that Steve and Riley share at least one parent. There is approximately an eighty percent chance that they share both parents," Max continued. "The more markers that we test, the more potential matches, and the greater the statistical possibility that they are full siblings. I will know more in the morning; some of the markers take longer to test. But at present, I can say that it is certain that they are siblings, based on the DNA results and other less scientific, but no less valid observations."
"What do you mean?" Catherine asked.
"Well, the objective observations made by Detective Williams, on similarities in body type and idiosyncratic responses are not to be dismissed," Max explained. "The DNA may be the proof, but the observations that prompted the testing are undeniable."
"Malia noticed their cheekbones and eyelashes were remarkably similar," Chin added.
"Steve does have the nicest eyelashes," Catherine smiled.
"Okay, people, standing right here in the room," Steve complained, shifting uncomfortably as Danny and Kono smirked. It was just plain weird, having people talk about his eyelashes, of all things.
Max removed the flash drive from the smart table. "I'll give you the rest of the results as soon as I have them, Commander. No one else is handling this labwork, as you requested. Shall I call you as soon as I have the results? It could finish in the very early hours of the morning."
"Yeah, that's fine, Max. And thanks," Steve added.
"Certainly, Commander. And," Max hesitated, "congratulations. On your new family member."
There was a brief awkward silence in the room.
Kono wrapped her arms around Riley in a gentle hug, and said, "Yes, ho'omai'ka'i 'ana. You have many years of tormenting your older brother to catch up on, little sister. I will help you."
Riley laughed and returned Kono's hug. The awkwardness broken, Steve reached for Riley and pulled her into a bear hug, kissing the top of her head.
"It wouldn't have mattered," he said quietly, "but for what it's worth, I'm glad the test came back the way it did."
"Me, too," she said, her eyes smiling up at him.
"Moonbeam," he teased.
"Asshole," she retorted.
"Look, it's getting late," Steve announced to the room, "and we have a lot of details to work out. But not from here. We're being watched too closely. Special Activities probably already knows about the DNA match. Take a break, meet back up at my place, we'll go over everything there over Longboards. I've had about as much of this office today as I can stand."
Kono smiled delightedly. "I'll grab my board," she said, as she quickly gathered her belongings.
Steve waved her off, and turned to Chin. "I'll get Danny and Catherine to drive us to my place; can you swing by and pick up Malia? The back of Riley's neck is looking really bad. I'd like to get Malia to check her over again."
"Sure, she worked the 7 am to 3 pm shift today, and she's off tomorrow. I know she'll be glad to see Riley," Chin answered.
"Okay. I'm going to check my office; we'll need shots before we go walking around a Korean national forest. I'm thinking tetanus; Riley is going to need an antibiotic, I'm sure of it . . . " Steve paused, trying to think of all that needed to be done.
"Hey, Steve, you've got a lot on your mind. Why don't you let me get Malia to go over all of this, okay? One less thing for you to wrap your brain around," Chin suggested.
Steve rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Yeah, okay. Thanks, Chin. Did you – was there ever any indication from my dad, right before my mom's accident – any hint at all, about another baby?"
Chin shook his head. "If your dad had any idea, Steve, he never let on. What are you thinking?"
"We don't know how old Riley is; there are no records. So I don't know if . . . " Steve trailed off.
"You're wondering if you're full siblings?" Chin guessed.
"Yeah. I mean, it changes absolutely nothing in regards to Riley. Chin, that DNA test could have indicated that we weren't even fourth cousins, and it wouldn't have changed anything. I'd still be taking her to go get answers; I'd still be using all of the resources of Five-O at my disposal to protect her. It's not that. It's . . . I don't know who my parents are, any more. One of the last things my dad said to me was that he was sorry that he had lied. Is this one of the things he lied about? That he knew that Mary and I had a sister out there?" Steve sighed tiredly.
"I don't know, Steve," Chin said, "but I do know this: your father loved you and Mary, and your father was a good man. Don't ever doubt that. Don't let WoFat take that away from you."
"And what about my mother, Chin?" Steve asked.
"I have to be honest with you, Steve, I didn't know your mother very well."
"I'm starting to think no one did, Chin," Steve sighed. "Thanks for bringing Malia; I'll see you later."
The sun was starting to set over the water as the team gathered on Steve's lanai. They had abandoned the maps, charts, and Riley's laptop in favor of Longboards, board shorts, and bikinis.
It was unorthodox, but Steve knew his team. This is how they operated best; slightly off the expected protocol. Besides, it was a simple operation: fly into South Korea, go to the national forest, find Frank, ask questions.
Kono was ribbing Danny about surfing, as they caught the small waves on Steve's beach. Chin and Catherine were watching, amused, from the chairs close to the edge of the water.
Riley was scowling as she reclined in a chair, getting an IV antibiotic.
"Not to be ungrateful, but this is not my idea of a fun evening," Riley said, squinting up at Steve.
"I know, kid, but better safe than sorry," he said. "Ow! Malia!" The doctor had surprised him with a shot in the hip, just above the waistline of his board shorts.
"Can't let Riley have all the fun, Steve," she said. "Your burns are healing nicely but I'm not taking any chances. That shot should clear up any lingering infection. Hold still, you're also getting a tetanus."
"How come Riley doesn't get shots?" he said.
"Hey! IV here," Riley protested.
"Are your patients being uncooperative, doctor?" Chin asked, putting his arms around Malia.
"Always, Chin, but I love them anyway," Malia answered.
"Steve, why don't you go relax with Cath for a bit; I'll entertain Malia and Riley with stories of your youth behind your back," Chin suggested.
Steve groaned, but took Chin up on the offer and padded down to the chairs to join Catherine. He gripped the arms of the chair and eased himself down.
"Still feeling it, Steve? You okay?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah, I'm okay."
"You sure you're up for this?"
"I'm a little sore, but nothing I can't handle," Steve replied, smiling as he watched Kono and Danny.
"I wasn't just talking about your injuries, Steve," Catherine said gently. "This has already been a huge shock; finding out that you have a sister. Are you sure you're ready to uncover more family secrets?"
"I don't know if I'll ever be ready, but I don't see any other way to keep Riley and Mary safe. The Yakuza has already nabbed Mary once, over the evidence my father had collected. WoFat was behind that, I'm sure of it. He's escalated from kidnapping to kidnapping and torture with Riley. Cath, if they hadn't drug me in when they had . . . I don't know what he would have done to her. And that was with her not knowing anything. She already knows more now . . . no, the only way I see to put an end to this, is to get the answers, and then use that information to find WoFat and stop him. Once and for all."
Catherine reached out and took Steve's hand. "What can I do to help?"
"Catherine, you need to leave tomorrow morning. Before Riley and I set foot out of the country, you need to be signed back in to your post. There can't be any hint that you helped us. I'm not even going to tell you our flight information."
"Plausible deniability? While you and Riley risk your lives?"
"I wouldn't be taking Riley with me if I thought we were going into danger. We're just going to talk to Frank."
"Just a little brother-sister bonding time?"
"Yeah. Of the strangest sort. Tell us about our mother, Frank, the one I thought was dead and Riley thought was unrelated to her," Steve sighed.
"You'll be careful, Steve?" Catherine asked. "I think you really do owe me a dinner, and I want to collect."
"You got it. Next leave, surf and turf, my treat."
Kono left first, with a quick hug to both Riley and Steve.
"Bring him back in one piece, Riley," she said.
Malia and Catherine cleaned up some dishes in the kitchen, in order to preserve Catherine's plausible deniability as Chin and Danny went over details of terrain and safe extraction zones with Steve and Riley. Satisfied that the plan was simple but thorough, Steve waved Chin and Malia out the door.
Steve was surprised to see Danny coming out of Mary's room in a pair of sweatpants, obviously ready for bed.
"Danno, why don't you head home, get a decent night's sleep in your own bed?" Steve said.
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Riley has yet to make it through a night without needing a little help. And you, my friend, while you have been very busy making plans, hosting the team, and generally being your usual stoic self – you've also discovered that at least one of your parents has been less than honest, the man you trusted as a mentor and father-figure has betrayed your trust, you've gained a sibling who you now feel even more obligated to protect and defend, and oh yes – you still look like the wrong end of a prizefight."
"You have a point in all of that, Danny?"
"Yes, I – you need me to explain this? Okay – my point, Steven, is that you need to take some time to unwind and regroup this evening. With your not-girlfriend, and I'll leave it at that because frankly I do not need a visual as to your combined methods of destressing. But you're not going to take that time if it means leaving Riley at loose ends, because Lord only knows she's been through enough. So, I am here for you, by being here for Riley." Danny nodded in satisfaction at his logic.
"Wow, that's – okay, Danny, not going to argue with you." Once again, Steve was impressed and appreciative of Danny's insight. While he would rarely admit it, he recognized that as he bulldozed his way through problems, usually with explosives, Danny had a lighter touch that addressed the emotional side of the equation. "Danny, I don't tell you enough: you're a great partner, and a good person."
"You're so right, Steve, you don't tell me nearly often enough. Now go, get out of here. Go get some rest. And please, for the love of God, remember that this is an older house and the walls are thin. You don't need to scar young Riley for life, not to mention subject me to the emotional trauma of the, um, night maneuvers of a crazy ninja SEAL and a Naval Intelligence expert."
Steve grinned. "Aw, Danno, I'm still injured. I don't think we could possibly offend your delicate sensibilities." Steve headed toward the stairs, then paused. "You'll make sure Riley is okay, yeah? You're right; it's been a hell of a day for her, too."
"Go, you big goof. Riley and I will be just fine."
"Thiff is amaffing, Danny," Riley mumbled around a spoonful of icecream.
"I can't believe you've never had ice cream. Seriously?" Danny was incredulous.
"Oliva was pretty strict about what I ate," Riley explained, "and I don't remember ever seeing a freezer in Korea with Frank. I remember my roommate eating this at the university, but it was dairy so I didn't try it."
"You're not lactose intolerant, are you? Steve will kill me."
"I don't think so? I had goat milk in Korea. And goat cheese. And, you know, goat. There was much goat."
"Okay, that's worse than pineapple."
"What's wrong with pineapple?"
"It doesn't belong on pizza."
"I've never had pizza, either."
"Oh, Riley, I weep for your childhood. When you come back, you're spending at least a week with me and Gracie, okay? 'Cause Steve, he will have you eating nothing but protein smoothies and wheat germ and that's just wrong. Malia said you needed to put on a few more pounds."
"So, you think when we come back . . . um, do you think Steve will . . . do you think I'll be able to stay? In Hawaii?" Riley's voice was full of uncertainty, and it broke Danny's heart.
"Oh, Riley – honey, yes. Yes, absolutely. I don't think Steve will let you out of his sight. Of course you're going to stay here. Where else would you go?"
"I thought I could stay in Korea, with Frank. But I asked him, when we landed, in Tangerine. And he said it was too dangerous. I don't know if I can go back to Tokyo. I'm not sure . . . " Riley's voice cracked a bit. "I'm not sure where I belong."
"You belong with your family, Riley, and Five-O is your family. Steve by blood, but the rest of us by choice. You got that? You're stuck with us, kid."
Catherine gently applied antibiotic cream to the electrical burns scattered across Steve's ribs.
"I can't believe you're taking off again. These are barely starting to heal," she murmured.
"It'll be okay," he said, taking her hands in his. "Thank you for coming, Cath."
"Honestly? It's nice to be needed for something other than intel," Catherine said, smiling.
"Oh really? That so? Because . . . I can suggest quite a few other things that I need, you know, besides intel . . . "
Riley couldn't resist peeking out the window as Steve walked Catherine to the taxi waiting to take her to the airport.
"Go, big brother," she said, as she watched Steve cradle Catherine's face in his hands and kiss her thoroughly, mindless or heedless of the taxi driver.
He waited until the taxi had turned the corner of the street, and then walked back in the house.
"Brat," he said fondly, as he came through the front door.
Riley grinned at him as Danny shook his head. "You two gonna make up for lost time, then?"
"It's a long flight, Danny," Riley said in mock seriousness.
"Okay, do you have your gear?" Steve asked. "Pack?"
"Yep, I have all the gear I need, and a small pack. I don't have anything warm, though, and it's going to be chilly. Do you have a sweatshirt, maybe a jacket that I could borrow?"
Steve nodded and went to a closet at the back of the house. He pulled out an Annapolis sweatshirt, and then paused as his hand brushed over a battered leather jacket. His dad's jacket. He pulled it out of the closet.
"This was too small for me, too big for Mary, but I held on to it," he said, holding out the jacket to Riley.
She brushed her fingers over the worn leather. "Your dad's?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah," Steve nodded. "It should be the right weight for Korea; protective if we have to do a bit of hiking."
"But, it's your dad's," Riley protested. "I can't possibly . . . "
"Riley. I got the text from Max. The markers line up; we are full siblings. My father, my mother – same as yours."
Riley hugged the jacket to herself. "Why? Why would Olivia and Joe keep that from me? Do you think Frank knew?"
Steve shook his head. "I don't know, Riley. Chin, Joe, and Mokoto always said that my – our – father did everything he did to protect his family. Doris . . . I'm not sure what to think. But let's go find Frank, and see if we can get some answers, okay?"
