Justified – Story 1 in the Unbreakable series

Disclaimer: Characters belong to the writers & producers of Hawaii Five-0. My own characters belong to me

Rating: T (for romance)

Pairing: Steve/OC, Steve/Danny (friendship - no slash)

Author's Note: Hope you enjoy - feedback welcome! Updated chapter.

"So, gentlemen, while I appreciate your help, and your height," Julia smiled, slightly embarrassed, "I take it you're not here to help me reorganize my bookshelf or save me from the perils of partnership capital accounts. What can I do for you?"

Danny stepped forward, offering his hand, "I'm Detective Danny Williams, and this is Commander Steve McGarrett. We're with the Five-0 task force." He smiled, and his soft blue eyes sparkled. "We were told that you were an expert in forensic accounting. We're hoping you can help us shed some light on a case we're working on."

Julia shook their hands, lingering slightly as she held Commander McGarrett's hand again, then gestured for them to sit down. She gently bit her lip as her pulse continued to race. "Can I get either of you something to drink? Coffee, or water, perhaps? I'm afraid I don't drink soda, and I only have decaf, but it is a fresh pot."

"Thank you, ma'am, we're all set," Steve replied as he glanced around the office. The late afternoon sun filled the room and cast a soft glow over the furnishings. "We're investigating the death of a young woman, and Charlie Fong thought you might be able to help us."

Julia smiled. "Charlie Fong. He was a student at a graduate seminar I offered last term. I remember him well. He had read a few of my articles before the seminar – and no one reads my articles." She grinned. "I hope he's doing well at HPD?" she asked, as she stepped behind her desk facing the seating area and started rearranging the papers, trying to distract herself from her thoughts of the handsome officers in her office, particularly Commander McGarrett.

Just then, Kathy knocked on the open door. Julia looked up surprised and slightly flustered, and saw that Kathy had a stack of pink message slips in her hand. Sighing, she walked over to take them from her. The administrative side of her job was her least favorite thing to do, and while Julia was meticulous in her work and research, she procrastinated as much as possible on distasteful tasks like reviewing grant applications.

"Dr. Abbott, I'm sorry to interrupt. The dean called and he'd like to meet with you to get an update on the dissertations you're overseeing," Kathy offered. Kathy smiled at the two men, who were far more attractive than any cops she had ever had the chance to meet.

"Um, sure. Just set something up and put it in my calendar. And Kathy? Could you do me a favor?"

"Yes?"

"Close the door and if anyone interrupts, please tackle them and drag them back by their hair to the waiting area?"

Kathy giggled and blushed slightly, then closed the door. Julia turned around and distractedly began flipping through the message slips as she walked back toward her desk.

"Dr. Abbott."

She looked up, startled, to see Commander McGarrett standing in front of her, surprised by his presence and his quiet and unwavering voice. She hadn't heard him get up, or even move across the room, and yet he was right there, just inches in front of her. McGarrett had a way of garnering her attention that made her more than a little uncomfortable, not unlike some of the men she had worked with before, long ago in a prior life. She stopped to look at him. He was quite handsome, but it was his intensity that made her breath catch.

Setting down the messages on her desk, Julia reached for her MIT mug and poured herself a cup of coffee, trying to maintain her professionalism and not get distracted by Commander McGarrett. She placed the coffee on the table in front of the couch and chairs, and settled herself into one of the side chairs as she gestured to the officers. "Please, have a seat, and tell me how I can be of help."

Steve noticed how she responded to his voice. Very professional, he thought, but slightly nervous. He looked around the office at the degrees, certificates and articles framed on the wall. Julia Reeve Somers, B.S. in Mathematics from MIT, M.S. in Theoretical Mathematics and Ph.D. in Accounting, both from Harvard. Abbott must be her married name. She must be divorced now, he surmised, particularly since there were no personal photos in her office and no ring on her finger.

Her office was a little cluttered, with distinct stacks of books and papers on the large windowsill behind her desk. Yet her desk was rather clean, much cleaner than Danny's. Dressed in a black skirt, nude pumps, and a crisp grey and white striped shirt, Julia looked more like a corporate executive than a professor. There was something he noticed about the way she sat, comfortably but perfectly straight. He wondered what she had done before she came to the university. Steve made a mental note to have to have Chin pull her files, and find out exactly who Dr. Julia Abbott was.

Steve walked around and sat down on the chair across from Julia. Danny began to explain about Jane Doe, and their failed attempts to find out any information about her, her relationship to Douglas Chase and Metadyne. Julia stopped him briefly as she grabbed a thick yellow pad from the side table and started to jot down notes as she nodded to Steve and Danny to continue.

After they laid out the information they had gathered, Julia set down her pad on the coffee table and picked up her mug, taking a deep sip of the fragrant coffee as she closed her eyes and leaned back. She pinched the bridge of her nose gently, and ran her fingers casually through her hair. Putting down the mug next to the pad, she looked expectantly at the two police officers.

Steve glanced at her pad and saw that her notes were just random words Danny had mentioned with circles and arrows around the paper. He was just about to write the visit off as a complete waste of time when she asked softly, "Do you have a picture?"

"A picture? We only have a picture of the body after we recovered it this morning," Danny responded, confused by her request. "Why do you want to see it?"

Julia looked at the two men thoughtfully. She said, slowly and gently, "It helps me to see her as a person, rather than a case. I realize the photo may be a bit gruesome, but I'm not squeamish."

Steve took out his phone, brought up the photo of Jane Doe's face, and turned it around to show Dr. Abbott. Julia leaned forward to look more closely. As she studied the picture, Steve noticed her brow furrow and her eyes sadden. She sat back and took another large sip of her coffee as Steve put his phone quietly away. They sat briefly in the silence. Steve watched her, unable to read her face. Julia took a deep breath, then began.

"Well, you're in quite the pickle. You can't go after the Chases, and even if you did, they'd have some good excuses and hide behind their lawyers. Circulating the girl's photo to the other 49 states will help but it will take too much time. With the limited number of states that have digital driver's license records, you won't get much of a response from, say, Idaho. I'm assuming you checked NCIC and the FBI."

"There's possibly something in the Chases' records, or in the company." Julia paused briefly. "You said Metadyne is privately owned? Not that being privately owned is suspicious, but it means we need to dig further." Julia was on a roll, her head beginning to fill with ideas. She picked up the pad and flipped to a new page, furiously writing down the ideas that were coming to her. Suddenly she stopped and looked up at Steve and Danny.

"Here's the issue. I don't know what we're looking for, but I'll see it when I find it. It's this quirky way that I work. I need to get my hands on all of the data and crunch some numbers. I look for patterns, just like you do at a crime scene, only my patterns are deeply hidden, deliberately obscured by clever people trying to hide something very serious from someone. Either way, I don't have the access I need here. I'll need a computer capable of serious data calculations and access to financial records, SEC data, IRS filings, Customs reports, State Department records, and Hawaii tax records, a huge pot of herbal tea, and a quiet place to think. If you can set me up with that, I can come over and work through what I can." Julia looked at Steve and Danny, her face cool with confidence. "We need to get this girl a name and find out why she's been murdered."