ANOTHER SIDE OF PARADISE,
CHAPTER FOUR
A/N: I just saw the "Hawaii Five 0" episode Heihei which aired in my neck of the woods on November 22nd. This one featured Danny's ex wife, Rachel. There may be some spoilers in this chapter if you haven't seen it.
The description of Rachel in the last chapter was written before the episode premiered. If she is still a bit off character, it is only for story and AU purposes.
That said, I will try to blend in the character elements in the actual episode, along with some other traits to enhance the story. There is some violence in this chapter.
For the character of Stanley (who is presumably Rachel's boyfriend or husband in the episode), I was thinking about a young Charles O'Shaughnessy (from "The Nanny".)
Synopsis so far: the "non date" between our two cops has begun, but just when they were getting closer on the dance floor, Danny's ex shows up. That, however, is a minor thing in comparison to the danger ahead.
Previously: "Hey, Rache," he said as softly as he could in the loud room.
Kono studied the attractive, slim hipped brunette dancing in front of her. The woman, who looked to be in her early thirties, was wearing an emerald green dress which showed off her longer legs. Her hair was hanging down and not short, as Danny had first described. Her eyes were a striking dark brown shade and matched her hair color.
The female cop noted Rachel's partner, a slim, middle aged man who had a grey streak in front in his dark hair. He had on a navy colored vest which covered his white shirt. His face, which was heart shaped in contrast to Danny's more oval features, was clean shaven. His eyes were dark and full of mirth.
The pairs of dancers scrutinized each other before Rachel spoke. "Danny," she said flatly. "How nice to see you." Kono noticed Rachel's cultured British accent. She also saw that Danny's ex wife was looking at him with more than a small amount of frost in her eyes.
For a moment, Kono saw Danny's features tense up; then, his mask of indifference and his trademark smirk fell into place. "Same for me, Rachel," he responded smoothly. If his ex spouse were butter, she would have melted from the look he gave her, and not in a good way.
His blue eyes suddenly resembling glaciers, Danny asked in a deceptively cheerful voice, "We were bound to run into each other sooner or later when I wasn't coming to see Grace, right?"
"Yes..." Rachel responded, determined that Danny would not get the better of her. Her eyes found Kono's. Danny's former spouse said nothing, but smiled—a grin that didn't reach her eyes.
Finally, Rachel extended her hand, saying, "Hello, I'm Rachel Covington." Kono shook her hand.
"Kono Kalakaua," she said. Rachel didn't give any signs that she knew who Kono was, but even if his ex wife did, her frosty greeting would have been par for the course in any case.
Danny acknowledged Stanley with a nod. "Hi, Stan," he said, using the nickname that he knew the other man detested. Rachel's husband nodded back with considerably more warmth.
"Daniel," he greeted.
"How was Indonesia?" Danny asked. If his eyes could have frozen Stanley, they would have. His voice oozing icy politeness, Danny asked the other man, "Tell me, was it hot? Unbearable? Or was the weather as cold as ice?"
Danny heard Rachel mutter, "Can't get much colder than it is here." He knew that she wasn't speaking about the air conditioned room. The cop crossed his arms, noiselessly grinding his teeth.
Always one to rise above every situation, his accent a male version of Rachel's English one, Stanley said, "Actually, it was quite hot, but then, the tropics are extremely humid this time of year." Trying to cut through the wall of ice between everyone, he asked Danny, "Have you ever been there?"
"No, can't say that I have," Danny replied. "Not much call for a detective in the jungle these days."
"Quite right," Stanley agreed. The quadruple headed over to the bar.
Kono jumped in to diffuse the fire she knew had already started and that could quickly grow out of control. "So, Indonesia, huh?" She asked. "Do you have family there?"
Stanley shook his head in Kono's direction. "No, actually, my voyage was work related," he told everyone.
Isn't that special? Danny mentally projected, his thought sarcastic.
He remembered the case Five 0 had been on last week. Rachel had been involved because her house had provided the best vantage point to see several crooks' activities. She had told Danny about Stanley's location after berating her former spouse sorely about using her home because of the case last week involving the fake runners in a marathon.
Danny still felt guilty about using her house for a stakeout, even though their daughter Grace hadn't been there. He knew what that little maneuver had cost him, and he remained fearful of what action Rachel might take, even if a part of him deep down thought it might be for the best.
"Do you work as an ambassador?" Kono asked, totally unaware of the mental tornado of fear blowing its way through Danny's mind.
It was Rachel who answered, telling Kono, "Stanley works for the British consulate as an attaché to the ambassador."
"Ohhhh, that's very exciting," the blond cop told Rachel and Stanley, his slightly mocking tone indicating that he found Stanley's position to be anything but. The Englishman indicated a table he'd spotted in the back of the dance floor. After telling a cocktail waitress to bring the drink list to it, he looked at Kono, his wife, and Danny.
"Would you like to join us?" He invited. "Rachel and I were going to get some drinks anyway."
"Perhaps we could join you later, darling," Rachel said loudly, exaggerating the 'darling'. After giving Stanley her order, she favored Danny with a glare. In a slight haze from jealousy, Danny crossed his arms and returned her look.
"Daniel," she said as though she were addressing a very dumb five-year-old, "I was wondering if you'd favor me with a dance for old time's sake?"
Not missing the look she threw him, Danny answered, "Yes, why not." He almost forgot Kono, but at the last moment, his eyes found hers and he asked her, "You don't mind, do you, sweetheart?" He also gave her his order.
The endearment seemed forced but Kono took it with aplomb. "No, go right ahead," she told Danny. "I'll just keep Stanley company."
The blond detective grabbed Rachel's hand and headed for the front of the room, away from the back of it where Stanley's table was. When they got to another spot, Danny locked arms with his ex. They swayed as though they were dancing, but neither paid attention to the music.
"All right, Rache," he told her, "let's play 21 rounds of 'beat up your ex husband.'"
"You saying I have no reason to be narked?" the British brunette asked.
Danny knew that when she got "narked", the English people's word for "angry", Rachel's Britishisms came out more frequently.
"No, in as much as I said I was sorry!" His voice started to rise but the other patrons paid no attention, since the little drama was drowned out by the music.
"Yet again you come to the conclusion that a bloody apology will make everything all right!" Rachel accused. "But it doesn't!"
"Only because you won't give me a chance to straighten things out!" Danny snapped. He swung her around and dipped her. "It's always been this way: the great, perfect Rachel Williams Covington! No other country where you don't exist! Wanting everyone to dance to her flawless tune and having a conniption fit when they don't rise to her standards!"
Rachel yelled, "Oh, that's rich! That's utterly priceless, Daniel! You know if you bottled up the way you distribute guilt and bandy it about, you could buy Buckingham Palace! I will NOT be the villain, here!"
One of the club's managers came up and asked, "Is there a problem, Sir...Miss?"
Danny and Rachel saw that several patrons who had not noticed them before were now giving them curious looks. The blond cop's eyes flew back to his former spouse as he said, "No, no problem. Sorry if we disturbed anyone."
He signaled to his ex wife to come with him. By the club was a lanai for stargazing. Danny saw that the door was opened slightly and he motioned to Rachel to come outside. Seeing how deserted the lanai was and not wanting to cause a bigger scene than they already had, she followed Danny.
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Meanwhile, Kono and Stanley had gotten their drinks and were sipping them. "I suppose this is unsettling for you, Miss Kalakaua," Stanley said. He took a sip of his beer and wiped some foam off his mouth.
"Please call me 'Kono'," Kono invited. At Stanley's nod, she continued. "No, it isn't. Danny's got a lot of issues to work through," she said. "I can appreciate that."
Stanley gave her an appraising look. "You're a rare woman, Kono," he said. "I just wish Rachel could get past all of this, but ever since he entered her life she's been a little…". Stanley paused, trying to find the right word.
"Nuts?" Kono suggested. Stanley shook his head.
"Distracted," he said. "It's understandable, of course. I myself have been married before and can identify with the trouble that an ex spouse can cause."
Kono nodded in sympathy but didn't say anything.
"I would rather continue on, untainted by Danny's presence; however, all that matters is Grace, and if he is only going to visit on some weekends, then I can tolerate it," Stanley responded.
Kono felt like she was between a rock and a hard place. She knew how much Danny loved his daughter and would rather he continued to see her, but she also could understand Stanley's point of view.
It must be hard on him when Stanley was at home, having to endure an ex husband as the other man in his life, but for Rachel's and Grace's sake, keep the peace by not saying anything about that. She hoped just as Stanley did that the former couple could straighten things out between themselves so that they ended up friends, or at least acquaintances.
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Rachel stared into the star lit sky while Danny continued defending himself.
"You say you're not the villain; well, I never thought you were!" Danny shouted.
Rachel crossed her arms and spat, "Really? I find that surprising! Every time Grace wants to do something a little risqué, you just have to go along with it, while I am the lone wolf putting my foot down!"
Danny flung back, "Because I think it's a good idea for a child to have some fun in her life! You never let her do anything!"
"That's NOT true!" Rachel said. "We have lots of fun; tons of it!"
Danny stared at her, saying, "Oh suuuure, you always did fun things with her, like take her to the Sleeping Beauty ballet or to a poetry reading or the opera!"
"So…?" Rachel queried.
Danny put his hand to his mouth and pretended to yawn. Rachel wished suddenly that she could take some of the chocolate pudding in her ice box at home and pour it all over his white shirt! Besides being enraged about Danny's point of view, she also felt a twinge of jealousy despite her being married to Stanley. Her thoughts turned maliciously toward Danny's date.
Kono was slender as she was, but that was where the similarities ended. Where Rachel was pale skinned and sophisticated, Kono was tan and had an earthy, urbane quality. Rachel's eyes, while dark like Kono's, were also frosty muddy brown, like a hard piece of candy; Kono's were the sepia brown of melted chocolate, soft and moist, the type of bedroom eyes Rachel always wished she had.
Her work kept her busy with the British consulate's Hawaiian branch, but she'd seen Kono briefly during Danny's stakeout and the way they seemed familiar with each other spoke volumes about what the other woman did with Rachel's ex husband.
It was thinking about that that had Rachel wondering: just how familiar with each other were Danny and Kono? Were they "just friends" as so many couples try to say to their ex's, or were they in a libidinous relationship together? Did they come together every night, as more than just work colleagues such as she and Stanley were starting to revert back to? Given their hectic schedules, the lack of romance was starting to take its toll on her second marriage.
Rachel ignored her logical mind, even though it screamed that Danny didn't belong to her anymore; that she now belonged with Stanley; and that she was pretty well off that she had the lion's share of the deal, since she looked after Grace most days. Rachel could only see that her ex was having more fun than she had, since Stanley was gone most of the time, traveling around the world for the main office in the UK.
"I'm glad we divorced from each other, you cave dweller!" She snapped.
Oh, here it comes again! Danny thought. About how uncouth I am or how short I am or my life as a cop...
"You couldn't possibly ever measure up to my husband!" Rachel flung at Danny.
"Gee, you're right, Rache," he said sarcastically. "I couldn't possibly hope to be a six foot tall basketball player size, now could I?" They both knew how Danny envied being the six foot one height that Stanley was.
"No, I mean that Stanley wouldn't involve me or Grace or anyone else from our perspective families if he did police work!" She yelled.
Danny replied hotly, "So—so what are you saying? That me and Steve were supposed to let innocent people die, when your house was the perfect vantage point for doing our jobs?"
"You could have chosen the house next to mine!" Rachel defended her accusation.
"That. wasn't. good. Enough!" Danny emphasized his words. Some people made their way outside, but upon seeing the couple arguing, went back inside.
"You've always resented my work as a cop," the blond cop told his former spouse, "always!"
Rachel's only response was to frown.
"When we first met, you at least tried to pretend that it was okay," he said in a softer voice, "even though I knew deep down that you regarded what I did as a novelty."
"That isn't true, Daniel," Rachel said, her voice cracking with emotional pain.
Danny's unblinking eyes were judging her as he pronounced, "Yeah, it was. You always accused me of not having a regular job. I never knew quite what you regarded as a regular job, until now."
They looked at each other for a moment, then Danny continued in a low, furious voice, "You never thought I was worth anything as a cop."
"I did..." Rachel said, her eyes tearing.
"Yeah, well, you had a funny way of showing it," he finally told her.
Rachel studied Danny and sighed. She had wanted to come to some sort of another arrangement, because she knew if she continued on her present path it would kill him slowly, irreparably, but he deserved happiness. So did she and Stanley, and Grace in the long run.
"Maybe that's why what I'm going to say won't come as a big surprise," Rachel said.
Danny knew what she would say more than likely, but he still pleaded, "Don't do it."
His former spouse took a deep breath and said, "I've contacted Grace's school. When I receive the necessary forms and the house is sold, Stanley, Grace and I will relocate to England."
The hurt look on her first husband's face had Rachel rethinking her decision. Should she go through with it? Would it really help Grace and Danny in the long run?
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As they finished their second drinks, Stanley asked, "May I tell you something in confidence and ask your opinion, Miss Kala-Kono?"
"Sure," Kono invited. Stanley somehow knew he could trust her with his decision.
"Rachel and I have discussed it, and we really think it's the best thing..." he faltered. Should he tell Daniel's girlfriend about his thoughts on relocating?
He didn't have to. Kono guessed, "You want to move on with Grace, right? Somewhere out of Hawaii, perhaps England?"
"We are thinking about it, yes," Stanley replied. He hastily defended himself lest Kono think the worst about him.
"Contrary to what you might think, I am not a child robber, nor do I want to replace Daniel in Grace's life," he said. "She does have a perfect right to be with her father, but..."
"You're afraid she'll be in the line of danger if she stays in Hawaii where Danny is," Kono finished again. Stanley peered at her.
"Are you always in the habit of finishing people's thoughts?" He asked, though he was not angry.
Kono apologized, "Sorry."
Stanley went on, embellishing his point by saying, "I'm probably going to be working more in the UK. The Main British Consulate office is there. Rachel works for the Hawaiian division but she wants to be closer to me. I, too, wish to be closer to her, though I would move here at a moment's notice if that were truly the best thing for both of them."
Kono nodded. She thought about Danny's feelings in all of this and she wondered how he would take Rachel's decision.
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"Don't do it, Rache," Danny repeated, his voice a whisper.
"Look, Daniel," she said not without much sympathy, "it will be better this way. It will be hard at first, I have no delusions on that, but we can't go on this way! Every time we are in each other's company we fling accusations and say things we don't even really mean! We ourselves can't keep pounding on each other emotionally! It's not beneficial to either Grace or Stanley!"
Danny turned away and looked out at the starry sky so that Rachel wouldn't see the tears glistening in his eyes. He felt her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm just trying to look at all sides here," she explained patiently. Danny turned back around.
"So you just wanna plunge the knife in deeper by taking her away, huh?" He exploded.
"No, Daniel," Rachel said calmly. "But what's going to be next if I don't take her away? That time, it was my house. What's next, her school, or my mother's place? Sooner or later the people you're trying to defend us against will strike back, and they won't go away until we're dead. You want that to happen to Stanley, to me, to Grace?"
A tear ran down his face as Rachel dropped her hand. No, he thought, though he was too broken up to say that.
"How long before you decide to send in the application and take care of the sale of the house and everything else?" Danny asked.
Though they didn't know it, Stanley and Rachel simultaneously answered Kono and Danny, "Four months, hopefully."
Danny struggled to process the information and apply his mind to solving the problem between Rachel and himself. In the club, Kono wondered how she could help her friend and escort.
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As Stanley paid the bill for the drinks and the cover charge, Kono said to him, "You know, my mama told me that when you run away from danger, the danger has a habit of following you. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go to England, but just think about that. I've found that saying to be true."
"As I said before, you're very rare," Stanley said in awe, "as you are wise. I will consider your insight."
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Danny let Rachel back into the room and they walked to where Stanley and Kono were. "You know, Rache," he echoed Kono's thought, "funny thing about running away is that you take yourself with you. If you're also trying to escape the bad guys, it won't make a dent."
Rachel's face held no emotion, but as the quadruple left the restaurant, all four were deep in thought.
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Officer Duke Lukela sat in front of his television set, feeling privileged that he could enjoy himself on a rare evening off. He had his DVD of animated shorts in one hand and his cola in another.
He'd thought about asking his good friend, Kono, to join him as they sometimes did, but her cousin Chin Ho had revealed that she was dating again.
Good for her, the prematurely white haired, honey complexioned, part Hawaiian cop thought. He loved Kono as though she were his own sister; in fact, his slightly older sister and Kono were the best of friends just like he was with her.
The policeman went into the kitchen to get some chips. If he had known what was to come, he might have had his gun nearby. As it was, on this rare day off, Duke had his gun on his nightstand in the bedroom.
While he rumbled in the cabinet for a bowl, the figure crept inside from the lanai door and hid inside behind a curtain that was to the left of Duke's easy chair. After putting in an episode of The Flintstones, the cop let the cola stream down his waiting throat. When Duke started to nod off slowly, the opportunist saw his chance.
Making sure that his black suit was secure to disguise his entrance and exit, the stranger attached a silencer to his weapon.
And then, he fired.