Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii Five-O or anything you recognize from it.

We are pulled apart... and we all need to learn how to pull ourselves together... I think that at least part of the answer lies in solitude. — Helen Hayes

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Chapter Four

The Silencing Dissonance

Melissa stretched sensuously and enjoyed the feeling of living; it was comfortable and it was nice and quiet. She couldn't recall the last time she had slept so well and deeply; hell, she had slept in past noon. She was starving and she had the rest of the day free to do as she liked before leaving to pick up Kono.

She rolled out of bed and yawned widely, thinking back on the day before. Kono was lucky to work with such a dynamic and talented team; she might not like Steve's personality but she knew he was very good at his job. And damn him, she had spent half of the night tossing and turning, her skin over heating because of him. Chin was…well, Chin. He was polite, amusing and subtle. And then there was Danny. He was such a riot; shorter than her, though she was taller than most girls but man, he packed a punch. She understood why Kono liked him; oh, Kono never told her as much but she wasn't blind and she sure as hell wasn't stupid when it came to her best friend. She had seen the sly looks and stares when Kono thought no one was looking and she would bet her fortune that Danny liked Kono as well. They were a cute pair.

She spent the rest of the day familiarizing herself with her loft and where everything was situated. She now knew where everything was, though for the life of her, she couldn't find any medicine in the medicine cabinet. Proof, yet again that Kono was invincible.

Wearing nothing but cutoff jeans and a loose dress shirt, which she rolled up the sleeves to, she got in Kono's car and slowly began the trek to pick her up. She had asked last night what the taskforce did and Kono had grinned and replied with an, "everything." But Melissa finally got the truth out of her and she had to admit, it seemed Kono did do everything with the taskforce. Apprehension, murders, assassination attempts; it was all very impressive. Kono was lucky, if she went undercover she had the team's backing and she had landed a pretty staggering job, especially since she had just gotten out of the academy too. She was green but she was talented.

Melissa whistled as she parked her car across the street from the taskforce's headquarters; the building was impressive. She hadn't realized she needed clearing until a security guard moved away from the table in the corner of the lobby and loomed over her. She had reached for her badge and remembered she had left it in her suitcase, just as well. She was trying to keep whom she was hidden and unascertained. She pulled out her regular I.D and he nodded, telling her to go up to the seventh floor; Kono must have told him and for that, she was even more grateful to her friend.

The building was opulent; the Bureau's headquarters were clean and well, easy on the eyes. But this building bordered on frivolous, with what appeared to be marble flooring and the wood making up the doorways shined with almost an unnatural sheen. She got out of the elevator and saw across the long hallway, a huge office space; she had wanted to go and take a look inside to see how they were situated, it always fascinated her; to see how other taskforces worked. But then she realized with the amount of windows, if she could see them, they sure as hell could see her. So rather, she quietly walked towards the doors but sat down outside of them on the floor, she still had twenty minutes to go but she didn't mind waiting. She could definitely work on her patience.

"Are you serious?"

Melissa started, hearing a shout coming from inside the offices. She wanted to jump up and rush in to see what had made Kono shout but it wasn't her place. She was nobody here and she couldn't be more pleased about that.

"Listen…calm down Kono!" Steve loudly pacified. "You're important to us and we just wanted to make sure that she checked out."

Melissa dropped her head in her hands, and this is why she hadn't wanted anyone to meet her. Kono had promised she wouldn't be reprimanded for knowing a criminal but Melissa had spent more time with law enforcement to know how they really ticked. "You ran a background check on her?" Kono snapped.

"Yeah and let me tell you, its no wonder she can afford a place like that." Danny sardonically commented.

"There's three APBs out for her arrest. She's wanted in three states with charges like treason, conspiring with known ringleaders and even murder! I'm sorry Kono but we've got to arrest her." Steve announced.

"History?" Chin asked.

"She had a promising start, NYPD for a few years and then that's when it starts to go downhill. She was suspended under the suspicion that her and her partner were accepting bribes from crime lords and selling evidence—"

She heard Chin interrupt Steve by cursing loudly, "She left and has spent the rest of her time in cohorts with gangs and—" Steve tried again.

"Did you just say cohort?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, what's wrong with that word?" Steve questioned.

"Oh, nothing…Martha Stewart." Danny retorted.

"Anyway, I'm sorry Kono, but we'll have to bring her in." Steve resolved.

Melissa quietly sighed and pulled out her phone when she felt it begin to vibrate, making sure to stay out of sight from the windows she opened the phone, "Jones."

"Where are you?" A male voice grumbled out in Spanish.

Melissa raised a sardonic eyebrow, "Careful, Summers. I might begin to think you like me. Listen, since I have you on the phone, can you do me a favour?"

She must have been too quiet for him since he began to sound urgent, "What's wrong? Do you need backup?"

Melissa shook her head, Summers was a scary son of a bitch. He was intense, quiet and above all else, she had seen him kill a man with one hand and hadn't even batted an eye. It was impressively…unnerving. But he was her superior and out of everyone in her life, she admired, respected and liked him the most. It didn't hurt that he was the only one whom she knew that spoke six languages fluently, just like her and had the annoying propensity to randomly change languages, mid-sentence. It was trivial, but it kept her amused and on her toes. "No, I need you to bail me out."

Summers swore, "I thought you said you were going to lay low. Is this you laying low?"

Melissa moved farther away from the windows, "Well, I can't help it if my friend's boss is…"

"An asshole?" And handsome too, damn it, Melissa bitterly added in her head.

"Look, you don't have to fly down here, just give him a call and tell him to let me go." Melissa explained. She knew there was no way around it; to save Steve and the rest of Kono's partners' prides, she had to get arrested. But damn it, she wasn't going to like it. And she was going to make sure she didn't stay longer than she had to.

She heard him curse over the phone, "If you would have let me finish, I'm right outside your apartment building."

Melissa started. She hadn't told anyone where she was going and she sure as hell hadn't told anyone that she had bought property either but this was Summers and being him, he probably even knew the hour she had been borne. "May I ask why?"

She heard a proverbial shrug in his voice, "I picked up a case I think you might fancy."

"Then bail me out and make it snappy." She rattled off the address and before she could terminate the call, he had already ended it. This was all part of her job and who she was. So she had to get arrested more times than she cared to admit, but it allowed her more leeway in the levels of hell and hey, if it made Kono's partners and boss feel better about themselves, then tie her up. Apathy, thy name is Melissa. She straightened her shoulders, glanced at the clock and nodded determinedly, all she had to do was keep her mouth shut, walk in the office and pretend she was stupid.

She walked towards the office and caught Kono's gaze as the other men still kept their backs to the doors. Kono shook her head feverishly but Melissa nodded sadly, she didn't want Steve to think Kono was harboring a wanted fugitive. She saw Steve follow Kono's gaze and zero in on her; he must have muttered quietly because a second later, Danny was opening the door for her with a stygian look in his eyes and Chin stood besides Kono with a slight frown marring his face.

"Melissa—" Kono warned but was interrupted by Chin when he gently pushed her back into her seat.

"Sorry I'm late…I just...slept in." She shrugged, trying not to feel like a caged animal. They were all surrounding her and she began to feel a slight itch she always got whenever she wanted to start throwing punches. But she wouldn't give them the satisfaction.

"Have you ever heard of the Riverside Gang?" Steve asked quietly.

Melissa tried not to frown, a damn good-looking bastard like Steve probably got a kick out of being rude. But the Riverside Gang's emblem was branded on her arm; a brand that continued to cost her, her life and freedom. It had taken her a while to infiltrate the gang but with what the emblem had allowed her to do, whom it allowed her to help and save, it had been worth it for her to become the sacrificial lamb. "I think I watched something about them on National Geographic. Aren't they—"

"The worst gang in the American South?" Steve finished for her.

Danny moved away from the door to stand in front of her and she had to focus her eyes on him and not on Chin taking the vacated spot in front of the only exit, "Hey, I have a question for you, Melissa. Do you have a daughter?"

Melissa frowned, "No, why?" But she already knew where Danny was going with the question.

"Doesn't it bother you that you're a part of something that is not only okay with kidnapping and raping little girls but in fact, makes most of its dealings in child pornography rings?" Danny finished in a yell.

Melissa glanced at Kono and saw her blanch when she saw the truth burning in Melissa's gaze. This was why she never spoke about what she did, because she never wanted to see the acceptance and condemnation in her only friend's gaze. She had wanted to start yelling and give her defense; it was because of her that the child pornography ring was ripped apart, it was because of her that major leaders were now serving multiple life sentences and it was because of her that the children were free and had went back to their parents to begin the healing process.

But instead, she bit her tongue and let Danny spew his hatred. It reminded her of her last day in her superior's office when she was a police officer in New York; he had stood before her and accused her of terrible and horrible things, that time she had tried defending herself. But this time? She knew the point was mote.

"Book her, Danno. We'll keep her in the cell until we can contact Interpol." Steve quietly resolved.

She kept her eyes on the wall in front of her and kept her surprise well hidden. She couldn't believe how much being arrested hurt; sure, it wasn't her first and it probably wouldn't be her last time she ever got booked. But by the people she had actually began to thaw around, with Kono looking at her with something akin to…shame in her eyes? It hurt.

"Wait." Chin stopped, stepping in front of her and Danny.

She met his gaze, "Yes?"

"I don't know why I'm asking this but…did you accept those bribes?" Chin asked quietly.

"Don't waste your time on her, Chin." Steve remarked.

And whatever he had been about to say died on his tongue and Melissa allowed herself to be shoved towards a metal door by Danny. "Your room, your highness." Danny mockingly opened the door for her.

She didn't bother looking back; looking back would signify that she wanted to remember this moment and in part, it was good if she remembered this moment. It would allow her to strive and work harder in her profession and would prevent her from making the same mistakes again. That sometimes, individuals were safer in their self-made solitude than in a room full of delusions.