Chapter 7-unveiling.
Hey guys, here's another hope, i hope you like. Forgive the typos, i'm sure there are some.
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I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
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It had been four days already. Four days now since Danny had disappeared and no one had any idea where he had gone. He had been put on a no-fly list the moment that booked plane ticket to Singapore had been found, suffice to say, Danny couldn't have boarded any plane out of Hawaii. He was still somewhere on the Island and Steve had a bad feeling that Danny might not still be alive. If he were, he wouldn't have run. Steve could not believe Danny had run from this. He wouldn't, the Danny he knew would sooner turn himself in, if he was in his right mind that is. It was all so confusing. More evidence had turned up, they had found Danny's car yesterday, abandoned in the middle of the jungle in Waikiki. First clue that Danny had not driven his car all the way so deep in the jungle like that, Danny was not a 'jungle person', he said it himself all the time. Steve was trying to grasp at whatever straw he could find but it was really weak, to say the least. The first thing that Steve had thought of after he had found the booked plane ticket was that Danny was being framed, Meka had been framed the exact same way. The only person that Steve could think about who had an axe to grind with Danny and could pull up a frame job like this was Kaleo, the same guy who had framed Meka, but the guy was dead. He had died in a prison riot, the same riot that had almost killed Chin. The guy had spent a few days in hospital but eventually succumbed to the injuries sustained in that riot. So, rule-out Kaleo. Other than that, Steve had no other clue. Danny wasn't short on enemies, but the only one's Steve knew about where either dead or in prison. He really wished Danny were here to give him some clues, he was going crazy with worry. If this was the same frame job, then Danny was most likely dead. But who, really, could be doing this? Steve still maintained his stance on this being a frame job, even in the face of the glaring evidence, Danny just simply could not be the killer, no way. Steve had argued his case to the Governor, who clearly wasn't buying the frame theory, trying to convince Steve that he was in denial but eventually she relented and gave permission for Danny's family to be put in protective custody, to humor him, he'd bet, but he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Steve would have hidden them somewhere himself if she had refused, but he didn't want to seem like he was trying to obstruct justice, he had already done a lot of that on this case so far.
Rachel was distraught, Steve had only told her that she and the kids were in danger, Danny was being framed and was also in danger somewhere, he had disappeared, most likely he had been kidnapped by whoever was doing this, thus putting it mildly. That was Steve's conviction. Rachel had enough to worry about with the possibility of Danny being in the hands of a killer right now, she didn't need to know that he was the main suspected in two murders. Grace and Charlie had been taken out of school to be with their mom in protective custody, at least until this whole this was over. They were given the same watered-down version that Steve had given to Rachel. It was when Rachel was being questioned by I.A, that the wheels clicked.
"Wait, you…you are not suggesting that Danny had anything to do with this, are you?" Rachel asked with alarm.
"Oh, what gave that away?" Mannex said in mockery.
"Just…the way you're saying it…I …"
"We're just trying to establish an alibi for him ma'am, that's all. Apparently, you're not his alibi because, like you have clearly stated, on both counts, with the time frame we are looking at, you were nowhere near Detective Williams." Mannex said, having put the nail in the coffin. Danny was toast.
"I…uh…wait, what…"
"Thank you for your time." Mannex said dismissively, jotting some final points in his notebook, standing up from the table.
The interview was over, and Rachel was left winded and confused. What the hell had just happened?
Steve came right on cue. He wished he had prepped her a little better. Maybe asked her to lie and provide Danny with an alibi? But he was getting way too deep obstructing whatever justice there was, he decided to let the chips fall where they may. A little bit.
"Rach, are you ok?" Steve asked.
"They are saying…Steve they are suggesting that he …that he…"
"It's just protocol Rachel. They have to establish an alibi for him…"
"Steve, what are you not telling me?" Rachel asked, tense, waiting for the worst news and so done with any kind of bullshit.
Steve sighed, he had to at least give her the full picture, it was going to come out anyway. He might as well prepare her. He took her aside, away from prying eyes and sat her in a chair to try and calm her down before he dropped the bombshell on her.
"Alright, here's the thing, the two victims were somehow connected to Danny like I told you, and I told you that it was likely the killer was gunning for him next or his family. And now that he has been missing for four whole days, it's more than likely." Steve explained.
"I know what you told me, but they seem to think that he is not a victim in all this." Rachel said, "He wouldn't do this. He would never!"
"I know, and I'm gonna find him and get to the bottom of this, ok?" Steve said reassuringly.
"All they have so far is circumstantial evidence, but whatever other evidence they come up with, I want you to know that I'll stand by my conviction that this whole this is a frame job and I'll get to the bottom of this if it's the last thing I do. I promise you." He didn't mention the sleep walking thing, didn't want to complicate things and put doubts into Rachel's mind by mentioning that Danny could be mentally unstable right now. For all he knew, Danny could be running around somewhere in the jungle right now, having gone full blown mental. For all he knew…
Steve remembered saying that to Rachel just three days ago. He didn't know if he was going to be able to keep that promise now, he wasn't too sure anymore. Every wall was coming down on him and he didn't have any straws to hang on to anymore. Not after the evidence that had turned up in Danny's car yesterday. They had stripped Danny's car together with CSU, HPD and I.A and more than enough evidence had come up to issue a hunt on Danny who was now officially the main suspect in this case. Fingerprints in the car were all Danny's and some of Steve. Thant wasn't much of anything other than to point out that Danny had driven his own car into the jungle or Steve, but of course Steve was here all the time. The main lead on the whole thing was the GPS on Danny's car, disabled and damaged deliberately; indication that he had been trying to cover his whereabouts. The evidence on that GPS was more than incriminating, especially as soon as Jerry could retrieve the data on the damaged GPS. The Camaro had been driven to the Hilton and then to Danny's house, the time frame matched time of Death of the last victim. It was like the final nail in the coffin. Danny's coffin. Five O had hunted down suspects on so much less.
And now, Steve had been summoned to the Governor's office and it wasn't to urge Five O to put their hundred percent effort into the case, quite the opposite.
"In light of the situation Commander, I'm going to have to ask Five O to take a backseat on this case and let I.A and the FBI to investigate." She said calmly, looking directly at Steve. And yes, it had gone Federal.
Steve moved forward in his chair to try and convey his earnestness as he pled with her.
"Governor, you don't understand…"
"I do Commander, I do understand all too well and I'm asking you not to interfere or hinder, in any way, this investigation." The Governor said sternly.
Steve scoffed, "You don't trust us to be impartial?"
"To be honest, if I were in your shoes Commander, I wouldn't be impartial. Hell, even now I'm trying not to be impartial because I know Detective Williams and even, I am prone to be biased. That is why I am taking these measures."
Steve understood. Hell, he was hiding evidence right now. Danny's shirt was hidden somewhere in his office so that the button couldn't be matched to it. By now, it wouldn't do much other than just pile on the ever-increasing stake of evidence, but until he could make sense of this, he wasn't about to put another nail in Danny's coffin. It seemed he was hiding too many nails in his closet already, he had not told anyone, not even his team, about Danny's time lapse memory loses. They had enough evidence as it were, and it was hard enough to try and stay on Danny's side without compounding on more evidence. He will deal with this himself and let it haunt him alone. Steve was drowning in evidence and he was just trying to keep his head above water.
"All I ask is to be part of the investigation. If it is justice you need, then it is justice we will bring. Justice for the victims and justice for Danny. There is just too much of this that is just too easy Governor and I'm just asking to be given the chance to turn every stone before you pass a verdict. There is a lot that is just not right…"
"What more is there Commander? The evidence is there."
"The evidence was cooked!" Steve said, with a little more vehemence than intended.
The Governor sighed in exasperation. "Ok, show me the cook and you'll have my ear. In the meantime, try to stay out of the way of the FBI. You may do your own investigation into this other theory on your own time and until you can bring me much more than a theory and a gut feeling, you are following the FBI's lead and helping them with everything they need. That's all Commander, you may go." The Governor said in dismissal.
Steve made his way out of the Governor's Residence, angry, feeling beat-down, the walls were closing in and he had nowhere to turn. He hit the roof of his truck in angry frustration before getting in. He slammed the car door and leaned back, trying to calm himself down, trying to think about a next move and coming up with none.
"Damn it Danny, where are you?!" He monologued angrily, slamming a fist on the wheel, he started the car and drove off.
A few miles out his phone rang. He took it out and looked at it, caller ID unknown.
He answered. "McGarett."
"Steve?" A hesitant voice on the other end said.
Steve froze, "Danny?"
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See you in a bit.
