Settling back onto the chair beside Danny's bed, Steve picked up the thin file of hand written notes that Chin had gathered on Owens and began to study it closely. Owens had been born on August 1st, 1946 in San Francisco, the second eldest of three children, he had arrived in Hawaii six months ago after assault with a deadly weapon and extortion charges against him had been dropped because of the disappearance of several witnesses meant that there was not enough evidence to proceed with the case.
Chin had jotted down several previous arrests, all for assault, extortion and intimidation charges that had never made it to court or had been dismissed because of a lack of evidence by the courts. Chin had added a note that Owens was also suspected in the mainland hits but the guy was like Teflon, nothing ever seemed to stick. A soft growl escaped from Steve's lips as he tossed the file back down on the table, his anger growing. If Owens had anything to do with Danno's attack, this time the charges would stick, he would not slip through their fingers.
McGarrett frowned as his thoughts drifted back to the itinerary found in Opella's pocket. There were only two copies of the itinerary in existence, the one he and Danno had been working on, that was safely locked away in the bottom drawer of his office desk and the copy the Secret Service held, so just how the hell did Opella manage to get a copy of it? His eyes drifted back to the unconscious man in the bed as he found himself again asking himself the questions he both desperately needed the answers to. Why was Opella meeting with Danno in the Tropical Whispers Bar last night? And why didn't Danno contact him about the meeting?
Looking around behind him as he heard the door open, he watched Dr Killen enter the room. Rising to his feet and stepping closer to the bed as the doctor crossed the room, he kicked something on the floor. Looking down, he noticed a syringe with the needle still attached laying at his feet. Kneeling to pick it up, he glanced up at the surgeon who had paused beside him and was watching him with interest to see what he was doing. "I guess the lab guy must have dropped one of his syringes when he was taking blood." Steve smiled as he reached down to pick up the syringe from the ground.
Killen frowned in confusion as he asked, "What lab guy? There was no blood work ordered for Detective Williams."
Steve hand froze as he quickly looked up at the doctor, "Are you sure?"
"Positive, we did all the lab work that we needed immediately after we settled Detective Williams in the room," the surgeon answered. Quickly opening and scanning the chart he held in his hand, double checking that Doctor Bergman had not ordered some extra blood work that he did not know about, Killen looked back at McGarrett. "And there's been no extra blood work ordered."
Reaching into his pocket, McGarrett pulled out his handkerchief and carefully picked up the syringe, holding it up and showing the surgeon as he rose back up onto his feet. Although the syringe held no drugs, it was fully primed with air. "There was a lab guy in here when I entered the room, I thought he was taking blood…" McGarrett swallowed hard, his face growing pale as he stared at the drip before he looked down at the syringe he was holding in his hand.
Bumping McGarrett out of the way, the surgeon quickly reached for a clamp from the nearby treatment tray and closed it tightly on the central line that ran the three lines of intravenous fluids into Danny's neck. Hitting the nurse call button as he glanced up at the heart monitor, the doctor sighed a breath of relief as he grabbed the blood pressure cuff and wrapped it around Danny's bicep and took his blood pressure. Looking up and turning towards the door as it opened and the nurse stepped inside, he ordered, "Let's replace these three IV lines and get three new lines of IV's started and I want a full drug tox screen done, Martins on duty in pathology, tell him I want him drawing the blood." The nurse frowned in confusion and nodded, jotting down the orders as the doctor continued. "Also, I want Detective Williams placed back on ten minute obs, I want to be informed immediately if there are any cardiac changes."
"Will do, Doctor," the nurse acknowledged the rapidly fired orders as she turned to hurry out of the room to collect the equipment she needed and to contact pathology.
Returning his attention back to his patient, Killen continued his examination.
"Doc?" Steve asked tentatively.
"He's stable," Killen answered quietly as he finished his examination before glancing up again at the heart monitor and watching the small green dot as it danced across the screen for several seconds. Turning to look at McGarrett who was still holding the air primed syringe in his hand, he placed his hand on the lead detective's shoulder as he nodded at the syringe and added, "I think that you probably interrupted whoever was here before they were able to inject anything into the IV lines."
"Thank God." Steve murmured, running his hand over his face and leaving it resting on his chin as he stared down at his young friend in the bed before he looked back up at the doctor and growled, his fear and anger boiling over at how close he had come to losing Danny again. "I want a list of all the medical staff who are treating Danny given to the officer guarding the door, I don't want anyone not on that list getting into this room again. I will also be placing one of my own men in the room to guard detective Williams. There has already been one attempt on my detective's life while he is a patient here, I don't intend there to be a second!"
"I will get the list straight to you." Killen agreed as Steve grabbed an empty kidney tray and dropped the air filled syringe into it before he turned and hurried out of the room.
Striding across to the nurse's station, Steve grabbed the phone, ignoring the annoyed scowl on the face of the nurse sitting at the desk as he requested the operator to be connected to connected to Chief Dann of HPD. He only waited a moment before the other man answered before he quickly explained what had happened and requested that Duke Lukela be assigned to guard Danny in his hospital room in addition to the officer already guarding the door before issuing an APB out on the man dressed as a blood technician whom he had seen in Danny's room. Hanging up, satisfied his orders would be carried out, he thanked the nurse for the use of the phone before he returned to Danny's room.
Standing back against the wall, he silently watched as the medical staff worked on Danny, who was now lying on his left side, propped up into that position by strategically positioned pillows that had been placed both in front and behind him, preventing him from rolling back onto his back. The foot of Danny's bed had been lifted up, leaving Danny lying with his head lower than his feet. Steve silently watched the nurses changing the IV bags and lines, drawing blood, taking his blood pressure, all while Danno remained oblivious to everything and everyone around him.
Looking up from the notes he was jotting down into his patient's chart, Killen watched as the lead detective entered the room. Scribbling his signature at the bottom of his new medical orders, the surgeon placed the chart down onto the bedside table before he crossed to where McGarrett silently stood watching the medical staff, the expression on the lead detective's face spoke volumes of the fear he felt for his detective. "He's stable." Killen tried to reassure the anxious detective as he continued, "The bed has been tilted and Detective Williams has been placed in the position he is in purely as a precautionary measure. If any air, and I have my doubts that any air was, has been injected into Detective Williams's bloodstream, having his body positioned at the angle we have him positioned will help ensure that the air bubble will not enter the heart's chambers and will be absorbed into the body naturally. If he continues to show no symptoms of an air embolism, we will adjust the bed back to its normal position in a few hours."
Steve nodded unconvinced as he continued to stare at the tubes and wires that connected to his young friend to the various medical equipment that surrounded the bed, just how safe was Danny? A second murder attempt had been made right under their noses, despite a police guard having been placed outside the room. if he hadn't walked in when he did… A cold shiver ran through his soul as he pushed away the horrifying thought of what could have happened.
Placing his hand on Steve's shoulder, the surgeon gave him a small encouraging smile, "As I said Detective Williams's condition is stable, in fact, he has shown signs of improvement over the last couple of hours. If he shows no symptoms of an air embolism during the next three or four hours I will start to reduce the level of his sedation he is currently receiving and allow him to wake up. He should be conscious enough by midday tomorrow for us to remove him from the ventilator." Seeing the relief on Steve's face, the surgeon gently reminded him, "But that's not to say that Detective Williams is going to be well enough for any type of questioning session for another two or three days. He is still going to need complete rest and definitely no stress."
Steve smiled as he glanced towards the bed before he returned his attention back to the surgeon and nodded, "I understand, Doc, no heavy questioning sessions when he wakes up."
The surgeon nodded and smiled as the door opened and Duke entered the room and joined them. "All part of the service, Mr McGarrett, now if you will excuse me, I must get back to the OR, I am on call tonight. I'll be back to check on Detective Williams a little later."
"Thank you, Doctor," McGarrett smiled as the doctor nodded again and hurried from the room. Turning back to Duke, Steve quickly filled him in on Danny's condition and the murder attempt that had taken place less than an hour before instructing him that the only people allowed in the room were visitors or medical staff pre-approved by either himself of the doctors. Satisfied that Duke would allow no unauthorized visitors or medical staff into the room who might manage to get past the police officer guarding the door, Steve walked across to the side of the bed. Placing his hand on top of Danny's curly head, he whispered, "I'll be back as soon as I can Danno, just rest, Aikane."
"No one will get near him who isn't approved, Steve," Duke vowed quietly as Steve turned back towards him.
"Mahalo Duke," Steve murmured as he glanced back at the injured man in the bed, "Let's hope there isn't a second attempt." He said softly before he turned and headed out of the room.
H5O H5O H5O
Tearing free the photo of Owens that LAPD had just tele- texted through, Chin looked up as the anteroom door opened and McGarrett entered the office and headed directly towards his office. The look on his boss's face instantly warned Chin something had happened. "Steve?"
"Someone tried to hit Danno in the hospital tonight," Steve growled as he stopped next to the telex machine.
"Is he okay?" Chin asked, worriedly.
Steve nodded, "I unknowingly interrupted the hit when I walked into the room and saw someone whom I thought was a lab tech fiddling with the IV that's inserted into Danny's neck before he was able to do anything. We found a syringe primed with air that he must have dropped in his haste to get away. I dropped the syringe off with Che …" Steve's voice trailed off as he stared at the photo in Chin's hand, instantly recognizing the tall solidly built blood lab tech with stringy black hair he had seen in Danny's room.
Frowning as Steve's attention was drawn to the mugshot of Owens that LAPD had just sent through, Chin looked back down at the mugshot he held in his hand before he gave it to Steve. "L.A.P.D just sent me everything they have on Owens. I was just about to sit down and go through the file."
Handing the mugshot back to Chin, Steve ordered, "I placed an APB out on the man who tried to make the hit on Danno, update it with Owens details. I want him found, even if we have to tear this island apart to do it and when he is, I want him in my office."
"Done, Boss," Chin answered as he turned and headed into his cubicle, casting a quick glance towards the anteroom door as two men dressed in dark business suits entered the office and headed straight towards his boss.
Looking up from perusing the sheets of information that LAPD had telexed on the man who had attempted to kill Danno in the hospital just a few short hours, Steve sighed as he recognized one of the Secret Service agents who had entered the office and was now walking towards him. Agent Burton was the youngest of the two, middle-aged, with thinning gray hair, the man had not impressed McGarrett at all, each time he and Danno had met with the agent to work on the President's itinerary. Burton was rude and arrogant who treated both Five-O officers as hick hillbilly cops who were more of a nuisance than colleagues who had been assigned to work with them.
The other agent glanced into Danny's empty cubicle as he passed it before he brushed past Steve, heading towards Steve's office with Burton following closely behind as he growled over his shoulder, "Your office, McGarrett. Now!"
