Vacations
by Maudlin Mush
Chapter 6
Sam Dennings sat in his office rubbing his temples. The TV sat muted across the room, the vivacious reporter practically bouncing in place as rumors were retold. Then a second reporter came into play adding speculations to the mix.
Damned Fields! He knew that the information had to come from the HPD. Knew that his own office said nothing. Knew the the Union would have said nothing. HR only confirmed the administrative leave for 5-0, the entire team, as Williams' termination papers had not been submitted or verbalized.
He was a politician; a good politician. He could play the power games just fine, thank you very much. But Fields had upped the ante, pushing for what he wanted. Willing to manipulate the truth to get who he wanted.
And what he wanted Dennings did not want to give; he knew damned well McGarrett wouldn't!
He could call on the Union, see about negotiations. He'd scanned the statistics of closed cold cases and found that yes, 5-0 had a stellar record, but other, larger police forces had similar numbers of success. His own HPD wasn't the worst, although it was in the bottom 25. That did need to be addressed, but not at the expense of a fully-functioning team that had benefited the Hawaiian people tremendously.
So no go to Union. No go to HPD. That left 5-0, especially McGarrett. He knew he couldn't speak with Williams due to the appeals in the works. But the head of his team he could. He decided to pick up a six-pack and head over on an unofficial visit.
^..^
"Hey! Don't get me wet!" the disgruntled haole growled as the Seal shook his head sending water flying. "Just don't, you damned aquatic misfit!"
"Now, Danno, I'm not trying to get you wet," he said with a sly smirk as he swiped the partial bottle of beer from his friend and took a long pull. Which left the blond sputtering in indignation.
"Hey! That's mine! It's the last one 'til Chin gets here!" he tried grabbing the bottle back.
"Then it's a good thing I brought this," Denning announced as he walked out onto the grass near the sand. Both men turned and stared at the Governor. A cold beer was placed into Detective Williams hand while a second was opened and the bearer quaffed his own thirst.
"Um, did you knock?" Steve lamely asked as he tossed his towel around his shoulders.
"Knocked. Rang. Opened the door and yelled," Sam shrugged. "You really should lock that thing." He took another appreciative sip. "These taste great after a long day playing politics with visiting diplomats!"
Danny and Steve exchanged confused looks. Seeing they weren't going to speak the older man ploughed on.
"Speaking of politics, the news is certainly running this story of our private discontent all over the islands," he glanced at the chairs. "Mind if I sit? Thanks."
Williams perched on the edge of his chair wondering where the conversation was headed and if he should walk away. Steve pulled up another chair and sank down.
"I did note that there was some speculation on our administrative leave," McGarrett hedged.
"True," Dennings peered through the brown bottle towards the sun, at the reflecting light and sparkle. "I was curious to know if the Chief had asked you for a transfer. I know that he asked Detective Williams."
"Should I be leaving?" Danny made to stand up but Denning waved him back.
"No need," he said. "Not going into our altercation. Fields alluded to speaking with both of you but said nothing concrete." Glancing over at his friend, Steve received a slight nod. He shook himself, reached over and snagged a fresh beer.
"I was approached, unofficially, about Williams being sent back to the HPD in exchange for two or three officers. I was very very clear I wasn't interested in losing my detective although I was considering taking on a new team mate," he said as he opened the bottle.
"I seem to recall speaking with you at one of our meetings about enlarging the task force," Sam agreed. "You were going to see Duke and have Chin take a look at a few prospects."
"Fields was assertive about the need for a profiler but I stated emphatically I would not split up my team," McGarrett stated. "I heard later he spoke with Detective Williams while he was in hospital recovering from a concussion. It was rather strange, him showing up just about when I'd walked out for the night. Dr. Lewis was quite upset about it. He might have additional information."
"Hmmm, I just might need another six pack of beer," Denning mused. "Of course, the Union is very territorial at the moment. Maybe once I check out Lewis I should arrange a meeting with most of the interested parties?"
Danny twisted slightly knowing he really shouldn't be sitting next to the Governor given he had a grievance being served on the man. On the other hand it really sounded like he knew nothing of Fields' forays into personnel transfers, and, in fact, had been manipulated by the Chief. He would much rather see the Chief being handled and returning to his job than causing a huge stir in the protective services in Hawaii.
"I think, maybe, that would be a wise move," Williams hesitated into the conversation. "I would much rather it be taken care of sooner than later."
"Then I will be off to check out a few more areas and hopefully the Union will set up a meeting in the next few days," Dennings said as he stood then finished his beer. "I'll leave you two to fight over the odd bottle." He tucked his empty back into the holder and walked up to the house.
"You really should lock your door," he called over his shoulder with a laugh.
^..^
The following afternoon, after the Governor's 'fact-finding' mission, he sat at his desk and pondered what he should do. He began listing what he knew. It was a given that Chief Fields had shamelessly manipulated several people to get Williams back. On one hand it bordered on being unprofessional. On the other the detective was a great profiler that could possibly solve a lot of the back-logged cold cases.
But then his ability to reign in Steve McGarrett (and lately, Officer Kalakaua) was very necessary to keep 5-0 in peak form. They did tend to blow things up, they also solved and apprehended high-profile, dangerous criminals with a high conviction rate.
Add to that what he knew first hand about Danny's profiling abilities. He reviewed the serial killer case that brought the Washington DC's NCIS MCRT to Hawaii. Which recalled the horrific emotional/physical toll on the Detective himself. Williams was excellent, but he would self-destruct if he was compelled to profile full time!
5-0 was a small unit and some fresh blood would go a long way in strengthening the team. If hand-selected. He certainly knew that Lt. Kelly was very capable of assessing various officers and coupled with Sgt. Lukela ability to winnow out the chaff there would be several good choices. Couple that with McGarrett's leadership and Williams' sound police practices, he knew he'd continue to have a great special team.
His research did show that Hawaii had a larger number of cold cases than half of the states in the country. 5-0 did a credible job closing some creating positive publicity for the government, especially the police force, which was very helpful for budgeting and for various political campaigns. (he had to be honest about that at least to himself!) But it was only a small percentage overall.
Chief Fields was correct, they needed a separate office just to go through the backlog and delegate to the most appropriate personnel to investigate. Burn-out would be a problem; no active officer would really want to be stuck indoors 40 plus hours a week no matter what the benefits.
Sitting back he looked at his scribbles; the interconnected circles helped him see the problems so far. An idea popped up. He picked up his pen and started another circle detailing what was needed. Huh, that was a good idea…
He picked up his phone with a smile on his face.
^..^
Charles Right straightened his tie as he waited for Daniel Williams. The phone call from the Governor had been … interesting. The meeting place … different. The other invitees were on a need to know basis, to be revealed at the meeting.
"Any idea what's going on?" Danny asked as he joined the Union rep in the Aston Hotel lobby.
"A planning session was what I was told," Charles said. As they headed for the elevator a voice called out. They turned to see Sgt. Duke Lukela approach them followed by the head of the police academy, Cmdr Maleko Kualana. A round of handshakes followed before they went up to a meeting room.
A small conference room was set up; a horseshoe table arrangement complete with a large white board and several easels with large pads of paper. Each seat had basic writing materials. Governor Denning sat on a corner of the U with the Captain of Homicide, Henderson, next to him.
"Good, we're waiting on two more," Denning said with a smile. "Coffee and snacks are on the side." The foursome moved to the large urn and fetched their own mugs and small plates of fruit and sweet treats.
Duke stuck near Danny whiled Kualana moved to the other side of the U. Looking up the final two participants arrived: the Captain of Community Policing, Konani, and the Captain of Investigations, Howards.
Danny glanced at Charles. How curious; no Chief Fields.
"Gentlemen, and gentle woman," Denning nodded towards Cpt Makana Howards, "thank you for joining me on such short notice with little information."
"More like no information," Konani rumbled. A few eyes rolled at his pronouncement.
"Yes, I did not give you an itinerary, eh?" the Governor smirked. "The 'opportunity' that was presented to me needs to be handled… carefully and with sound input." He ruffled through a small stack of paper in front of him.
"Our agenda," he announced as it was passed down to each participant.
"This oughta be good," Danny muttered as he scanned the information.
^..^
Chief Roger Fields adjusted his dress uniform. The Governor had set up a full press conference on the steps of the Palace. He grinned as he recalled Det. Daniel Williams was going to be present. No Lt Cmd McGarrett. Yesss, the profiler was his! He mentally pumped his fist.
As he walked towards the table he noted his name taped on the back of a chair next to Kulana. Huh, the head of the academy as well. He further noted the names of three of his captains. Why were they present? He didn't recall any paperwork of any sort that included the people. And a Sgt Lukela, he was an older member of the HPD.
Dennings smiled as he waved the Chief forward to his place. He noted he was to the right of the Governor; Williams was on the left. He noted the profiler off to the far side talking with McGarrett and the Union rep, Rights? Yes, Charles Right. In front of the steps most media outlets were gathered, there were even chairs for the small bevy of reporters set out.
He glanced at his watch; just about 5pm, a great time to announce the transfer of Profiler Williams to HPD. With a smug grin he settled in his chair. Completely blank-faced, the detective moved to his chair and stared straight ahead. Once the rest of the invitees were seated, Dennings turned on his microphone.
"Good afternoon," Denning began. "I have called this news conference to announce a new department opening within the HPD and to put to rest certain rumors that have been making the news rounds." He glanced towards Fields and saw the large, satisfied grin.
"First, the rumors. The 5-0 task force has been on administrative leave. Yes, that includes Detective Williams," he explained.
*Good, the Union had to back down* the Chief thought gleefully!
"Partly because of some concerns regarding the assignments of various members of the task force and some miscommunications within the HPD, 5-0, the Police Union and my office," Denning continued.
*ah yes, there were miscommunications! Now announce Williams is mine!* Fields smirked.
"I formed a small committee with representatives from all four concerned parties to tackle a growing need within our community. As you are aware the HPD has a backlog of cold cases that need to be reviewed and solved. Many other city departments across the United States have a much smaller back log."
*committee? what committee? I don't recall any committee being formed* some doubt entered Field's thoughts.
"There is a need to have an office dedicated to the review of all cold cases on a regular basis," Denning said. "We are fortunate in Hawaii to have a foremost expert in profiling, Detective Daniel Williams of 5-0."
*yesss! back on track!*
"Through his guidance the 5-0 task force has solved over a dozen cases in the past 18 months. On their 'free time' between their own workload. Detective Williams is quite capable in leading these case reviews when time arises. But," here he paused glancing down at the detective.
"There is a cost to in-depth profiling. One person cannot on a daily basis work under the continued stress. With the help of Captain Konani of Community Policing, Captain Howards of Investigations, Captain Henderson of Homicide, and the head of the police academy, Cmdr Maleko Kualana I sat down with Detective Williams to pursue a viable way to handle such cases to benefit the people of Hawaii and strengthen our police force. Mr. Right of the Police Union was on hand to help facilitate and complications that may have arose."
*ok, so do I get Williams back in the fold?* Fields wondered, a bit confused at the turn of events.
"We have determined that an office of cold case review will be placed under Captain Konani with Community Policing," he stated as he produced a new command schematic.
*Well, not directly under me, but still* Fields held on to hope.
"Partners from Homicide, Investigations and Community Policing will rotate through the department every three to four weeks. They will be paired with one to two new graduates from our own academy. In this way we will be utilizing our older, experienced officers and offer additional, necessary training to our new, upcoming officers. This way no one department will suffer from a reduction in staff," Denning explained.
"But what about Williams?" Roger Fields could no longer hold back. "With his expertise he should be overseeing the review of cold cases!" There was a murmur among the reporters and the guests seated at the table shifted slightly.
"Excuse me, Chief Fields, I was getting to 5-0's participation in the new office," the Governor said sharply. His glare settled the other man down quickly.
"As 5-0 has already implemented reviewing such cases as time permits, their continued efforts will be welcome. It is safe to say the service which the Task Force does for our state is extremely important. Each member is an important part of the team. That being said Lt Cmdr McGarrett and I have discussed adding officers to the task force," Dennings explained. "Several officers are being reviewed with the help of Sgt Lukela, a long-time member of HPD and trainer for many new officers, as well as Cmdr Kualani from the Police Academy. We hope to announce one to two new appointments in the next week. Given the nature of the Task Force new members will need to be trained and fit into the structure of the team itself."
"That still doesn't answer why Williams is not being placed in the new office!" Fields immediately regretted opening his mouth once again. He had played his hand so perfectly! How had he lost the profiler?
"Chief Fields, I applaud your dedication to trying to create the best situation possible for your department," Denning said very carefully. "I was impressed by your tenacity in securing the funding necessary and trying to fill the office itself. In fact, so taken with your need to improve inter-agency relationships I am appointing you, personally, to review the training programs at the academy, coupled with the Union's contract with the HPD, the current policies in place and the actual running of the department at this time. You will be given a year's leave from your present position to review all information and present an updated policy that will dovetail with trainings and contractual needs."
Field's mouth dropped open.
"Assistant Chief of Police, Lawrence Po'okela, will be Acting Chief during this time. As you know, members of the press, Chief Po'okela is a native of Hawaii, a graduate from our own academy, worked as an exchange officer and as a captain with two mainland HPDs: New York City and San Francisco, California. His broadened perspective will serve the state well as our more senior captain tackles the problems within the force itself."
*oh crap!* Fields managed to close his mouth and smile for the camera. This was definitely a demotion even if it were couched in such politically correct terms. He watched as his replacement was introduced, then stood to shake hands to show his support.
Where had he gone wrong?