Chapter 4

Five-0 Interrogation Room
Honolulu

Steve walked into the interrogation room with a drink and sack of food in hand. He found Lux sitting in a corner, hugging her arms. Steve walked over and sat the sack and drink down.

"I didn't know what you liked so pick off what you don't like," he said.

She glanced down at the sack and looked away, resting her head against the wall. Steve turned the chair in the center of the room around and sat down, watching her.

"Danny called you Lux."

She lifted her head a little, but didn't look at him.

"We thought you were hiding him, and then we thought you were keeping him for someone, and then we thought there was something in it for you. A few hours ago he woke up and the way he talked about you, I think…" Steve leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Now we think you did for no reason at all. But we can't wrap our heads around it, Lux. I mean, you brought a cop into the shantytown and that cannot be safe for you. Why would you take that risk for someone you don't even know?"

She closed her eyes, resting her head against the wall.

"Okay, let's try a different topic. What happened to all your money, Lux? You inherited 1.2 billion dollars. Did you spend all of that money?"

She didn't answer.

"Come on, Lux. Things just aren't adding up here. Why would Danny tell me to protect you? What or who are we protecting you from?"

She turned most of her back to him, huddling into the corner so he couldn't see her face. Steve stood up, putting his hands on his hips.

"You cannot stay silent forever, and I cannot protect you if I don't know what or who I'm protecting you from."

That didn't get him anywhere. She continued to remain mute.

"Fine. Okay. But you aren't leaving until you give me some answers, Alexandria." Steve walked out of the room.

Kono and Chin were waiting in the hall.

Steve told Kono, "You're right, Kono, that girl is scared. I want you to dig into her past some more and see if there aren't more answers about her inheritance, how she ended up homeless, and I want to speak to this aunt of her's. Chin and I will continue tracking down the arms dealer."

She headed back to the office. Chin and Steve headed back out to follow leads that the hurricane had sidelined.

Five-0 Headquarters
Honolulu

Steve walked into the office, finding Kono in her office reading something on her tablet. He walked in and sat down on the couch.

"Any luck?" he asked her.

"Not as much as I'd hoped. After her parents died, the only documents I've found so far is her birth certificate, her emancipation papers, and a deed to some land. But the deed is from 1896 and I'm having a hard time locating exactly where on the island it is. All I know is that it belonged to her great-great-great uncle and passed on to her great-grandfather, her father, and down to her. I called in a favor with the state geological department; with any luck, I might be able to tell you the GPS coordinates by tomorrow afternoon. As for her aunt, she's in Belize and strangely, she has a very healthy bank account worth almost 1.7 billion."

"She stole the girl's inheritance," Steve speculated.

"It would appear that way. I'm working on an extradition on grounds of theft, embezzlement, and fraud. I'll let you know if I get anywhere on that. As for Alexandria van Johans, she just disappears after her emancipation. She has no digital trail – if she weren't homeless, I'd find that odd for a teenager. Did you have any luck?"

"No." He sat in a chair and sighed. "Have you checked on her?"

Kono nodded. "I had a cot brought up and last I checked she was asleep. I can only guess what this poor kid's been through, Steve. There is no way she burned through that much money – something happened."

"Danny's been awake some. Maybe I should take her to see him. That might open her up."

She gave him a knowing smile. "Oh? She's not out to kill him now?"

Steve just shook his head. "Let's see."

The two got up and went to get Lux.

Hospital
Honolulu

Catherine looked up when the room door opened. She smiled when Steve came in. Grace was sitting in the recliner still, coloring something on her lap. Pictures of well wishes, rainbows, and stick figure people smiling at Danny decorated the walls.

"Hey," Catherine said.

"Hey. Why don't you and Grace go grab something to eat?"

She stared at him a moment but then smiled, nodding. She stood, holding her hand out to Grace. The girl sat her work on a counter and grabbed her hand. The two left the room, passing Kono and Lux. Catherine and Kono exchanged a look. Kono pushed against Lux's back and she walked into the room. Steve held the door open for her.

Lux walked up to the bed, staring down at Danny. She reached down and carefully adjusted the bandage on his head so it was above his eyebrow. Danny opened his eyes, staring at her. She looked down, quickly putting both hands on the bed rail.

"Sorry," she told him.

He turned his hand over on the bed and slowly moved his fingers. She reached down and took his hand, looking up at his face.

Behind her, the door opened and someone jogged into the room. She heard someone whisper, "She forgot…"

"Thank you," Danny whispered.

She looked away, shaking her head a couple times.

"Hey," Danny said.

She looked at him again.

"You saved me."

She pulled her hand back. "Get better," she said and turned, running into Grace.

Grace didn't move, staring at Lux.

"Did you put the bandages on Danno when he was in the forest?"

"Who?"

"My dad." She pointed at Danny.

"Yeah."

Grace hugged her. "Thank you."

Lux held her arms up, looking almost terrified. She slowly relaxed her arms and laid her hands on the child's shoulders.

"Welcome," Lux told her.

Grace ran over to her notebook and brought a picture to Lux. "This is for you."

Lux slowly took the picture, staring at it. She looked down at Grace.

"Who are these people?" Lux asked.

Grace leaned over her arm. "You and Danno in the rain forest. You're putting a Band-Aid on his cut. See?"

Lux stared at the picture. Slowly she nodded. "I see that now."

Grace looked up at her. "Do you ever smile?"

Lux left the room. Grace watched the door, looking confused.

"Catch her," Steve quietly told Kono. "Wait at the car."

Kono ran after Lux.

"Monkey," Danny whispered.

Grace turned and walked over to the bed. He patted the bed next to him. She climbed up and laid down next to him.

"That was nice, monkey." He looked up at Steve. "When she's ready, bring her back to visit."

"Will do." Steve left to catch up to Kono and Lux.

Five-0 Headquarters
Honolulu

Kono sorted through the files on her desk, going over them again. There was a connection in the papers, she was sure of it.

She glanced up when Lux shifted on the couch.

Kono brought Luc into her office and gave her a tablet so she could play some games. She was hoping that spending time in the same room might open her up. So far, she wasn't making any progress, and Lux hadn't touched the tablet. She just stared at the floor with her hands folded in her lap. Kono looked at the door when Chin opened it.

"Come take a look at this lead."

She followed him out to the computer table, watching what he pulled up. Chin looked up to speak and then looked around her. Kono turned. Lux was looking at the papers Kono had been pouring over. She sighed and walked back into her office. Lux immediately stepped away, looking at the floor.

"That is not for you to look at," Kono snapped.

Lux backed away when Kono was within arm's reach and avoided eye contact.

"Alexandria, we're trying to help you," Kono told her, "and I thought you'd like to get out of that room for a while, but I can't trust you—"

"Are you looking to connect all those people to Choi Seung?"

The question and Lux speaking surprised Kono.

"Yes. How'd you guess?"

"Aleia Group is one of his business fronts. Each of those people had one million dollars deposited in their accounts from the company."

Kono stared at her. She didn't turn away when her office door opened.

"What—" Chin began but she held up her hand to stop him.

"Let's start with the most obvious question, Lux. How do you know Choi Seung?"

Lux stared at her shoes, twining and untwining her fingers together. She slowly sighed.

"His men have been coming into the shantytown and… Doing things. For some reason he's taken an interest in me and two other teenagers there. Sometimes he doesn't take no for an answer, so I've been to his house."

Kono didn't press what happened at his house. Instead, she redirected the conversation. "I didn't see any deposits of one million dollars in the bank records, Lux."

"Over the last 30 days each of the people received large deposits from the company, and the total is one million each."

Kono went back to the records and did the math. She stood up, staring at her notepad. She sat it down, turning back to Lux.

"You're right. They did."

Kono took very slowly steps toward Lux, stopping when the girl stopped fidgeting. She reached out and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry all of this happened to you, Lux."

That brought tears and suddenly she was in Kono's arms, bawling. Kono sat down on the couch with her, holding the girl.

"Kono, we need to know—" Chin began.

"I know, cous. Choi Seung isn't going anywhere. Give us some time, okay?"

He smiled. "Yeah."

#

"We have a lead in the case?" Steve asked as he came into the office.

Chin looked up from the table computer. Steve stopped across from him.

"Yeah."

"What is it?"

Chin smiled and walked around to him. He waited until they were facing each other.

"I know you want to close this case and get this guy off the streets, Steve. I do too. But there are some things you have to understand about this lead, okay?"

"Okay. What?"

Chin glanced at Kono's office. She sat on the couch with Lux still. Lux was talking, but she had a tight grip on Kono's hand with both of her hands. The girl was afraid, but she was being very brave despite that fear.

Steve looked at the two, then back at Chin.

"Lux is the lead?"

"She knows him." Chin said. "He took a special interest in her, and took it all the way. She's been in his house, knows all of his business fronts, how many people he has employed, and every place on the island he has weapons stashed. She even knows the next two weeks of his appointments."

"How can she know all that?"

"Turns out Lux is very gifted. Not only can she save a person's life with old-fashioned herbs or disappear from the world, but she also remembers almost everything she sees and hears. And when she realized we were trying to arrest Choi Seung, she opened up." Chin looked at the teenager. "She's telling Kono everything."

Steve smiled. "Guess we know who Danny wanted her protected from."

The men watched the two while they waited.