Chapter 4- Get along great
"So this guy, Sang Min, he was the one that tipped you off about the docks?" The Commander asks as they walk through the halls of HPD headquarters, towards the holding cells.
"Not so much," Danny answers impatiently. "We got the location of the possible drop from his car navigation system. And the reports of shootings from the same location, thanks to you I'm guessing, sealed the deal. He doesn't talk, this is why I'm telling you we are wasting our time."
"Maybe he'll talk to me." McGarrett says, and Danny can't help but roll his eyes.
"Yeah, I'm sure he would fall immediately to that army death stare." Danny nods to the officer standing at the entrance of the interrogation room. He opens the door to let them in.
"Navy." Commander McGarrett corrects him, pushing past him to enter first.
The man sitting on the chair, with his hands chained to the table, looks up at them defiantly.
"Aha, Detective Haole." Sang min greets him, "I see you brought some muscle this time. What happened? Did your hupo partner finally ditch you?"
The Commander stands in front of him, arms crossed on his chest, capturing the perp's view as well as his attention "Sang min, I am Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. I know for a fact that you were hired to help a man named Victor Hesse to get on this island, and I need to know where he is now."
"I already told your friend here, I know nothing and I ain't gonna talk to you." Sang min leans back in his chair, his eyes returning McGarrett's stare.
The commander is still standing almost frozen. "I don't care about you, Sang min, I want Hesse, and I suggest you take this chance to make sure you are not intentionally associating yourself with a known international high profile terrorist. Human trafficking is bad enough in itself."
"I don't know what you are talking about."
And silence. Danny sighs audibly, pushing himself off the wall where he leans. He is just about to knock on the door, signal the guard they are finished, when a blur of movement captures his eye. The Commander sweeps around the table, punches Sang min hard enough to throw him back with the chair, and then grabs his shirt with his left fist to keep him tilted back as far as his handcuffed wrists allow. There is a gun in the commander's right hand and its barrel is pressed against the perp's cheek.
"Hey! Hey!" Danny moves forward "What the hell are you doing!"
"Stand back Detective Williams, I am just making a point here." The Commander says in a calm voice, his gaze never leaving Sang min.
"If you kill me you get nothing!" Sang min's now panicked voice shoots out.
The gun slowly moves to point at his knee "I am not gonna kill you, you son of a bitch. Just making sure you visit the hospital on your way to prison."
"You can't do this!" Danny and Sang min yell together, then Sang min adds "What kind of a cop are you?!"
"You see this uniform, you piece of shit?" McGarrett hisses "I am not a cop. And I really don't care about what I can or cannot do, I want Hesse."
Danny is holding his own gun, but points in downwards and looks anxiously at the camera filming the interrogation room.
"I'll sue your ass for this!" Sang min shouts "Everything I say is under coerce!"
"You can sue me, but I'll probably be halfway around the world by the time this happens, and you know what? It's worth it. I've been chasing Hesse for five years now, and he just murdered my father to get to me." Danny holds his breath "So you see?" the Commander continues "I really, really don't care if anything you say now is acceptable evidence. I just want Hesse. I'm gonna count to three. One…"
"OK! OK!" Sang min exclaims "Look, he is probably off the island by now, the ship was scheduled to leave yesterday morning…"
"It did not," Danny chimes in "The Emma Carl was apprehended, its cargo confiscated, the human cargo saved."
Sang Min's eyes dart between both men, McGarrett presses his gun deeper into the perp's leg "Two…"
"I hooked him up with a guy!" Sang min hurries "he provides a safe house and transportation for Hesse while on the island!"
"Name?"
"Kishimoto. Chihira Kishimoto. He hangs out in Outrigger Canoe club."
The Commander keeps his hold on the prisoner a few more seconds. Danny wonders if he zoned out again. But then he releases his grip on the man, steps back and holsters his gun. While Danny still wonders if he should put away his own gun, the Commander is already knocking at the door and stepping outside when it opens.
"Come on, let's go"
"Wait, Wait!" Danny runs after him, grabs his hand and turns the man around forcefully "What the hell was that?"
"What?"
"What! 'What?' he asks! You just hit a prisoner and then held a gun at him in the middle of the precinct! I do not know nor care what you do to bad guys you chase around the world, but here, in a civilized society, we do not put bullets in restrained criminals, no matter how big a scumbag they are!"
"I wasn't going to put a bullet in him."
"Really, well, you could have fooled me! These interrogation methods are unacceptable, if the guy walks out because of this stunt you pulled, This is...There are proper procedures to..."
"I'm sure there are," The commander's stance changes as he turns to fully face Danny, hands on his hips "They got you nowhere, and now we have a name…"
"Oh, we have a name! You scared the guy half to death, how do you know he didn't blurt out something just to get you off his back!"
"I know." They are both yelling at this point, Danny can see curious looks thrown their way, an audience building.
"You know! He knows!" His hands are now flying, "Listen to me you son of a bitch, if you think I'm going to watch you torture prisoners or run after your crazy ass into burning buildings while you freeze out on me," he steps even closer to the taller man, insisting not to be intimidated by his size advantage, his finger digging into his chest
"Get that finger out of my face…"
"Or endanger my life in any way for your own personal vendetta…"
Danny isn't sure what happened. One moment he is in the commander's face, the next second he is hunched over with his back to him, his arm twisted behind him and every tiny movement sends spikes of pain through its muscles. "Let me go! What are you, a freaking ninja?!"
"I told you to get that finger out of my face." The commander says. Danny can see officer Nainoa making a move towards them but holds back for some reason.
"Let go!" Danny commands again.
"This is not a personal vendetta." The Commander's voice is still heated "We are hunting down a very dangerous terrorist. You don't have to like me, but right now we need to work together"
"OK, let go." The pressure on his arm is released, and Danny stands up and turns to face the Commander, rubbing his hurting left arm with his right.
"Good, now let's go see…" the Commander starts to turn, but Danny, furious and humiliated, throws his right fist into the man's jaw before McGarrett has any time to respond.
"You're right, I don't like you." Danny says and walks past him down the hall.
"I'm sorry about your father." The detective breaks the silence in the car, glancing at Steve sideways from the driver's seat.
Steve returns the look and nods "Thanks."
There is silence again, Steve thinks it makes the detective uncomfortable, Williams shuffles in his seat and clears his throat too many times. But he can't bother to care right now. He is building up the courage to do what needs to be done, preferably before they find themselves in another sticky situation.
It would have been easier, Steve tells himself, if the detective were not up for suspension because of his partner. Steve's sources had nothing bad or even remotely suspicious to say about detective Danny Williams. His career in Jersey was impeccable, the reason he moved to Hawaii was a good character indication, and his short time in HPD was spotless. Until this morning, when Meka Hanamoa was being openly investigated by the police IA.
Yet, it is his partner, not Detective Williams, and if there was something to be said about their argument earlier, except for the fact the man had a vicious right hook, is that playing by the book was important to him. Not the making of a dirty cop.
"Your face OK?" the Detective makes another attempt at talking, and Steve notices he's been rubbing his jaw.
"Yeah, it's OK. Your arm?"
"Fine, it's fine" comes the immediate answer.
"I didn't freeze in the warehouse." Steve says, keeping his eyes forward.
"Huh." Williams acknowledges he heard him, but nothing more.
Steve takes a deep breath and looks at him. "Detective, do you know what a Sentinel is?"
"A Sentinel?"
"Yes."
"Umm...yes...you mean like a person that's stands watch, guarding…"
"Yes, no, I mean like people who have certain abilities…"
"Oh, yeah, Sentinels. Yeah, there is a rumor that HPD once had one, I personally think it is a spook story to scare the bad guys…" he suddenly looks at Steve, short quick glances, one eye on the road, one on him. "Why?"
"My father."
"Your father?"
"The Sentinel that worked for HPD."
"Your father?" Williams repeats.
"He is not...was not actually a Sentinel, not a full one, his sight and smell were enhanced. Eyes on the road!"
"Are you serious?" The detective manages to keep his eyes on the road for no more than two seconds "you are not messing with me?" his glance now is longer, "This whole Sentinel thing is real?"
"Yes, You know, maybe you should let me drive" Steve suggests.
"Wow, That...that's...something. I really thought it's just some...urban legend."
"I am a Sentinel." Steve blurts, and the Detective hits the brakes
"Hold on! Just, hold on for a minute!" Williams orders, pulls the car over to the side of the road, shuts the engine and turns his whole body towards Steve. "Now, what did you say?"
"I am a Sentinel." Steve repeats. "High functionality."
"What...what does that mean?"
"It means I have enhanced senses." Steve explains. He thought that once he said it, it would be easier but he still had that ominous feeling at the pit of his stomach. Catherine would have said it's just his general mistrust in the world. "All five. And I am trained in using them at will."
"You mean you can just turn them on and off?"
"Yes. It is more like keeping them off mostly, tuning them down."
"How enhanced are we talking? When I talked to my ex earlier, were you able to hear her side of the phone?"
Steve can't help the smile, "Frankly, Williams, anyone with average hearing could have heard that. I'm sorry." Williams chuckles, the small breezy gesture encourages him to continue. "You asked where I got the information about the people hidden in the warehouse. I didn't have that information. I heard them."
"Heard them? They weren't…"
"Heard their heartbeats. I could locate them by hearing. By their smell."
"The smell?" The detective looks slightly appalled "You mean like...a dog?"
It is Steve's turn to chuckle "I am not a dog, but yes. I can smell things like fear. Anything that involves hormones."
The detective just looks at him for several seconds, and Steve holds his gaze, hoping to convey his seriousness through his eyes.
"Why are you telling me this?" he finally asks. Steve allows himself to relax a bit. It seems the guy takes this seriously.
"Well, When I...let my senses loose, it's sometimes difficult to maintain awareness of the immediate environment. The further I go with my reception, the deeper I'm engaged in something out of reach for...normal perception, the less I perceive my close surroundings."
The Detective takes on a pensive expression "So when I thought you froze...in the warehouse…"
"I was listening in. I was looking for Hesse, but I found these people instead. I wasn't aware of the fire until you...called to me."
"Holy shit." the detective's eyes turns to the front window, then back to him. Steve waits in silence. "And afterwards, outside?" Williams asks.
Steve has to swallow a lump. That was a memory he does not want to bring up. He answers curtly "I was searching for survivers."
There is something in Williams' face, he either realizes what Steve went through, or just having a hard time handling the information he's received. He looks pale, his brows frown, eyes hardly blinking, just staring at Steve.
"Jesus," he says after a few long seconds "I'm..I'm sorry buddy."
Steve's breath hitches and he has to clear his throat before he can speak again. "Anyway, this is why it is dangerous for me to hunt alone. Especially going after someone who knows my abilities and how to use them against me. You see, Hesse hid the immigrants there, and lit up the warehouse to get me off his tracks. He knew what he was doing. He used these people...they were killed...just to…"
"It was his doing, not yours" Williams declares adamantly.
"Yeah…" is all Steve manages to say.
The inside of the car is quiet again. The eye contact feels awkward, but neither men breaks it.
"So what you are saying" Danny finally says "is that your partner is out for the count and you need a new babysitter?" The detective's look is sharp, and Steve can't tell if he is amused or annoyed, "And you picked me. I'm touched."
"A guide." Steve corrects
"What?"
"Not a babysitter, a guide."
"Call it what you want. You expect me to be your connection to reality while you are busy exploring with your superpowers."
Steve still can't tell what Williams' mood is. He seemed sympathetic a minute ago, but now his words project annoyance, or maybe he is insulted, but his tone is unreadable.
"It's not that simple" Steve decides to play it safe, answering with all seriousness "When I'm in deep….as much as I was outside the warehouse, after we got out, I can get completely lost. It takes a certain kind of person to pull a Sentinel out, and even if one has this natural ability to become a guide, it takes endless trial and error sessions to fit a guide to a Sentinel. Cath...Lieutenant Rollins has picked me, and I her, after many tests. We trained together for years to become in sync. We learned each other, found the best techniques for us to connect."
"So…?" Danny looks puzzled
"Detective. Outside the warehouse. Lieutenant Rollins was as close to me as possible. She used every trick she knows to get to me. But what I heard was you telling me to snap out of it."
A/N: So Danny knows what he needs to deal with now... will it make it better or worse...? Thank you for your support!