Part 06 - AN in Prologue, this part centers around activity around HQ, no NCIS or Danny as they don't really fit in at the moment... back to them later

Behind Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

John arrived behind the building and looked around... the place appeared to be deserted.

"Hey John," called Jack from behind, "How's the honeymoon going?" He had a non-descript black duffle bag slung over his right shoulder.

Startled, John jumped involuntarily as he spun around and swore, "Dammit Jack. Don't do that. With all our advances can't you arrange to beam in front of someone instead of trying to give 'em a heart attack?"

Jack shrugged carelessly, "Nope. Maybe the Asgard enjoyed sneaking up on people. I know I do." He glanced around and asked, "Where's Elizabeth? She get tired of your hovering yet?"

"I don't hover and she went inside. Didn't think you'd want us to call attention to ourselves by having both of us sneaking around the back of the building," replied John.

"Good point Colonel," grunted Jack as he swung the duffle to the ground in front of them. "We should probably hurry before someone spots us."

John grinned mischievously, "Why General, you don't want some law enforcement official to think we are having a clandestine meeting?" He knelt down and unzipped the bag. As he rummaged through it, Jack listed off the contents.

"BDUs... for you and Elizabeth. Basic black... just the way you like 'em. A LSD, couple of 9 mils, I only included one P90 since I didn't think Lizzie would need one, several extra clips, a nice big hunting knife... I even snagged you one of Carter's new experimental mini-zats. You break it you will be explaining it to her," said Jack as he watched.

"Tell Sam thanks," said John absentmindedly as he pulled out a large gun and asked with glare, "Really. An ARG? What do I need this for?"

Jack shrugged even as he gave him a sympathetic look, "You know the deal. Even with Woolsey pulling the shots as the newly appointed head of the IOA, he can't let a replicator go into battle with a possible Goa'uld without a contingency plan."

Disgruntled, John complained as he shoved the gun back into the bag and slung it over his shoulder, "The nanites are mostly dormant. She's not in contact with any rogue replicator groups. Both Oberoth and Liam's factions are long destroyed. The IOA just needs to get over it. The monthly diagnostics with Rodney should suffice."

Jack placated, "I know...I know... but it isn't like you'd ever actually shoot her. And it keeps the IOA out of our business just like the diagnostics do. Remember, you and McKay agreed to all of this when they authorized the mission to bring Elizabeth home and... and they even let you two rebuild her body... although the Fran one was kinda cute."

"Does Sam know you were looking at Fran?" teased John.

"Nope and she won't be finding out from you," responded Jack as the streetlights winked out overhead. "What the hell?"

Sirens immediately could be heard in the distance even as John declared, "You better skedaddle before those squad cars get any closer. I'll check in after I find out what's going on. May just be an unrelated blackout."

Jack nodded as he gave his final orders, "Get to Hai. Find out if he's a snake or not. Take him out if you need to. Keep a lid on the program. No unauthorized disclosures."

John asked, "What about Hetty and McGarrett?"

"Hetty already knows more than enough. She can back you up. Keep McGarrett clear unless you have no choice and only if he understands he cannot share the information with his team," replied Jack as he tapped the com in his ear. "This is O'Neill. Need an immediate beam out. Area's about to be overrun with civilians."

"Yes, Sir," responded John even as Jack faded into the beam sent by the Daedalus stationed somewhere in a geosynchronous orbit well above the Earth.

Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

Kono snatched up her cell phone as soon as it buzzed, "Hey Cuz. You got our guests?"

"Yes. I let Steve know after I picked them up. I was calling to touch base with him on whether he booked them into a hotel yet but his phone is going straight to voice mail," replied Chin over the cell.

"He got called over to the governor's office and maybe switched it off while talking with Denning. He should be back soon. I don't think he thought to set up digs for anyone yet. How many in the crew?" responded Kono.

"Six guests but I think the Colonel and his wife have already made arrangements for their stay. So we would probably need two rooms. One for Ms. Lange and another one for the agents," replied Chin.

"Hey I don't want to share with them," came a whiney voice over the line.

"Mr. Deeks, please be quiet. Sharing a room with Callen and Sam is perfectly acceptable," came over a forceful female voice.

"Hey Cuz, sounds like you got your hands full," an amused Kono commented.

"You have no idea. How about we settle sleeping arrangements when I get there?" soothed Chin.

"You got it," Kono answered. "What's your ETA?"

"About five minutes," he replied. "Did Kamekona arrive?"

"Yeah, he's got a buffet set up for everyone," she answered.

"Good. See you soon," Chin said in closing.

"Shoots," replied Kono as she ended the call.

Rachel, who had been standing off to the side, asked, "Chin on his way?"

"Be here in a couple of minutes with our reinforcements," answered Kono.

"Glad something seems to be going right," commented Rachel as the overhead lights flickered off. The smart table continued to run.

"Mommy!" yelled Grace.

Rachel stumbled towards Steve's office as she called back, "It's okay Grace. Just a little problem with the electricity."

Kono frowned as she dialed HPD's switchboard. As soon as the phone was answered, Kono said, "Initiate level five lockdown at HQ." As soon as she received confirmation, she hung up the line.

Kamekona asked, "What's level five lockdown?"

Kono replied as she tapped commands on the board, "Ever since the HPD got raided in a fake blackout, McGarrett and HPD set-up protocols in case something similar happens either here or at HPD. Basically no one in and no one out without a specialized key to the front door. All other egress points become inaccessible from the outside. Elevators will halt with emergency lighting only. HPD will send squad cars to block traffic from entering."

Rachel asked as she and Grace made their way to the smart table, "How come the computer is still working?"

Kono replied, "Internal power source boss had set up."

Kamekona glanced around nervously, "What about if there is a fire or something? How would everyone get out?"

Kono answered, "There is a security guard on the first floor manning the door and he has one of the keys. Boss vetted him personally. He won't use the key unless personally authorized by Steve, the Governor, the Fire Marshal or the Chief of Police."

Park Across the Street from Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

Colonel Hai and five of his trusted associates waited for a signal from their cohort who was at the Palace killing the power.

"Sir, I see a go," reported one of the men.

Hai snatched up a pair of binoculars to confirm even as he signaled two of his men, "You two... head in."

The men quickly crossed from the park to where their teammate was waiting. The three then headed to the front door. Hai watched as the men rattled the door but did not enter. They went around to the side and was met with the same resistance. The doors were all locked. They headed back to the park to report their failure.

"Sir, there is a guard behind the glass on the front but he made no move to allow us entrance. The side entrance is locked. Shall we try the rear?"

Ignoring the question, Hai turned red as he contemplated his men, "You," he pointed to First Lieutenant Zhang, the warrior that was responsible for bringing down the power, "Why did we not have this intel?"

"Your forgiveness Colonel, there was no way of knowing that a power outage would lock out the building. It is a public facility. US laws dictate that an exit must be available in case of fire. Perhaps the rear door is accessible," Zhang replied. "We may yet capture McGarrett."

Mollified, Hai nodded. The sounds of sirens filled the air. Hai grabbed up his binoculars and watched as the HPD surrounded the front and blocked entrance to the parking lot. He threw the spyglasses to the ground and pulled his dagger from its sheath. He quickly stabbed Zhang in the gut and yanked his hand upward... serrating the man's insides. As the warrior fell to the ground with no more than a mild groan, Hai spit on his body, "Now you will never fail me again."

"Sir, I found the missing man," called out Qui, a fellow warrior. He didn't spare his teammate a glance as he handed his set of binoculars to Hai. "He is coming around from the back."

Hai looked through the lenses and grunted an order, "Find out his name." He then squeezed the equipment till the lenses popped out. "Now." Perhaps the aborted mission would not be a total loss.

Elevator Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

Elizabeth jumped when the emergency lighting kicked in and turned away from Steve. She thought great...now what.

Steve called out to her again, "Beth?"

Elizabeth ignored him until he placed a hand on her arm and spun her around to face him. "It is you," he exclaimed.

Elizabeth examined his face in the dim light as she calmly replied, "Hello Steven... it's been awhile."

Dumbfounded, Steve stared back at her in silence.

Elizabeth pulled her arm free as he finally asked, "What are you doing here? Are you looking for me?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes at his arrogance, "Don't be silly. I'm here on business."

With a raised brow, Steve asked, "Business with who?" His phone rang at his waist. Chin's name popped up. Steve clicked the ignore button, which sent the call to his voice mail.

Elizabeth looked around the elevator for inspiration. She immediately began pushing the buttons as she muttered, "Stupid elevator. You just had to pick today to get stuck."

She snatched up the emergency phone as Steve commented, "In a blackout, they disable the elevators. You're wasting your time." He then moved to lean casually against the back wall even as he said, "We're not going anywhere till the building has been secured and power restored."

Elizabeth dropped the phone back on the hook as she gulped, "No rescue?"

Steve shook his head as he wickedly grinned, "No rescue. Just you and me. So you might as well answer my questions."

Before Elizabeth could reply, Steve's phone rang. She spotted the name and asked sarcastically, "Who's Catherine?"

In Front of Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

John pulled on the front door handle but it wouldn't budge. He pressed his face to the glass and caught sight of the guard sitting at what appeared to be a reception area. John tapped the glass but the guard never even looked up. "Dammit," he muttered. Sirens grew louder as the squad cars came to a halt in front of the building. Police quickly disembarked and pointed their guns at John.

Not wanting to get shot by an over zealot cop, John dropped his duffle and raised his hands in the air... palms out. "Easy fellas."

Detective Sgt. Duke Lukela ordered, "Leave the bag and come forward slowly keeping your hands in the air."

John nodded as he cautiously moved towards the officers.

Duke, keeping his gun trained on the stranger, asked, "What's in the bag?"

John shrugged, "Supplies. Look I'm Colonel John Sheppard with the United States Air Force. I'm supposed to be meeting Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett here."

The rookie standing slightly behind Duke snorted, "With that hair. No way is this guy military. He's lying."

Duke responded, "Keep an eye on him while I check out the bag."

John sighed, "I really wish you wouldn't."

Duke asked even as he moved around him, "Why?"

John turned to face Duke, "Because some of it is classified."

Ignoring him, Duke holstered his weapon and unzipped the bag, he carefully moved the clothing aside and immediately spotted the pile of weapons. Duke yanked out his gun and said, "You're under arrest."

"For what? I haven't done anything," grumbled John as the rookie came up and snapped handcuffs on him.

"Entering a government facility with that kind of gun power could be considered an act of terrorism," replied Duke as he picked up the bag of evidence.

"I have a permit to carry concealed weapons," answered John. "Furthermore, I didn't enter the facility... door was locked."

"Where is the permit?" the officer asked.

John responded, "In my wallet... no wait... it's still on base. Look can we talk about this. Can't someone get McGarrett, he'll vouch for me."

"Tell it to the magistrate downtown," replied Duke as he pulled John towards a waiting squad car.

Neither man noticed the arrival of Chin till he called out, "What's going on?"

Duke looked up an answered, "We caught this heavily armed guy trying to break into the Palace."

John interrupted, "Detective Kelly could you please explain to this very nice officer that I'm not the bad guy."

Chin hopped out the truck and said, "Sorry Duke. You've got the wrong guy. Colonel Sheppard just arrived from California on a military transport. He's a good friend of Steve's."

Duke looked uncertain as he asked, "Are you certain? He's carrying a lot of weapons in that bag we confiscated."

John interjected, "Which I want back."

Chin asked, "Weapons?"

Deeks came around and started poking in the bag, he pulled out a big gun and asked, "What's this?"

John growled at the police detective holding the Anti-Replicator Gun like it was a toy, "It's classified and I would greatly appreciate you carefully putting it back in my bag."

Deeks quickly complied, "Sorry man." He moved to stand behind Hetty.

Duke sighed, "At least I didn't see any grenades." He turned to the rookie, "Take the cuffs off."

"Thank you," replied John as he was set free.

Sam looked around and asked, "Where's Elizabeth?"

John replied as he rubbed his slightly bruised wrists, "She's inside. She went in just before the lights went out and all the doors went into some kind of lockdown mode."

Callen asked, "Why would a public building go into lockdown just because the power went out?"

Chin answered, "New protocols that Steve and Governor Denning put in place a few months ago due to an incident at HPD."

Hetty replied, "This seems a bit extreme even for Commander McGarrett."

John smiled, "Least his lockdown doesn't trigger a self-destruct."

Sam looked confused, "Self destruct?" Shaking his head, "Nevermind, I don't really want to know but what I do want to know about is where did all those weapons come from. You didn't have anything on the plane."

Duke interjected, "He's got enough fire power to stage his own coup."

John rolled his eyes, "Hardly. If I wanted to stage a coup, I would have brought C4."

Hetty asked, "Speaking from experience Colonel?"

"Something like that Hetty. General O'Neill was kind enough to arrange for a few trinkets to be here," explained John as he leaned over and zipped the duffle before swinging it over his shoulder. "What I want to know is how are we gonna get inside?"

Every exchanged looks before settling on Chin. Hetty prompted, "Well Detective?"

"We'll have to wait for the Chief of Police to arrive and give the all clear. I tried to call Steve again a few minutes ago and got his voice mail so I think he's still meeting with the Governor," he replied.

Park Across the Street from Five-O Headquarters, Aliiolani Hale Building, Downtown Honolulu, Hawaii

Hai watched at his quarry Hanna exited the truck and joined the others in front of the police cars.

"Your orders, Sir?" asked Qui.

Hai griped, "There are too many armed witnesses. We shall retreat back to camp and regroup as we plan our next move. The last three traitors are here in Hawaii... they will not escape my wrath."

"Yes, Sir. What about Zhang?" asked one of the men.

Hai sneered, "Leave him." He pulled out a rapier and stabbed Zhang through the heart, letting the blade become embedded in the ground beneath the body. "Let the trash collectors have him... he has outlived his usefulness."

TBC