Kono stood there with her arms crossed, watching the interrogation through the glass. Danny and Steve were pros at this, even if it didn't always look like that to someone looking in from the outside. Sometimes they bickered, sometimes they outright argued, other times they just discussed things over the suspect's head as though the other person wasn't even there. An HPD detective watching the antics once had called it sloppy and unprofessional. Kono had taken a special delight in watching his face once her two guys had the drug dealer singing like the proverbial bird. She didn't have anything against her HPD brethren, but she had to admit that she enjoyed watching the ones who were jerks eat their words.
"How goes it?" Gabby asked, stepping into the room.
Kono smiled. "Dude's about to break."
"Good. I have to say - it might be a little intimidating facing down an angry Navy SEAL and a loud-mouthed Jersey boy."
"A little?"
Gabby shrugged. "I don't think they could break me."
Kono turned to look at her, one eyebrow raised in skepticism. She knew that her friend was tough, but that statement was just borderline ridiculous.
"Seriously? You had some training I don't know about?"
Her answering smile was a bit secretive. "Perhaps."
"You're just gonna leave that one hanging, aren't you?"
"Pretty much."
"Bitch."
Gabby laughed out loud at that. "Oh, darling, I adore you."
Kono just shook her head and turned back to the interrogation.
It was a couple of hours later when Danny strode by Gabby's office, grabbing each side of the door jamb and leaning in.
"Marcotte, let's go."
She looked up from the paperwork she was reading. "Go where?"
Danny stepped fully into the room, hands out in front of him, palms up. "Excuse me? Where? How about you just get up out of the chair and we get in the car and we go question some more people of interest?"
Gabby leaned back in her chair, obviously enjoying herself. "I believe we can call them suspects at this point."
"Technically, they haven't done anything wrong."
"Do these new leads have outstanding warrants?"
Danny made a face. "Perhaps."
Thinking back to her conversation, Gabby laughed out loud. So far, this team was really working out for her. She enjoyed the easy back and forth that they had, and the intensity with which they hunted down their leads and cases. It was a delicate balance that plenty of teams never really found.
"And Steven is letting you handle this without him? Those are big britches you're putting on, Daniel."
He nodded, giving her an amused smile. "You do this on purpose, don't you?"
"Do what? Taunt you?"
"Yeah."
"Of course. And you wouldn't have it any other way."
"Alright, princess. Let's get up and get moving. I'm sure you can handle taunting and walking at the same time."
Gabby got to her feet and smirked at him as she walked by. "Oh, sweetheart...you'd be amazed at what I can handle."
She laughed again at the spluttering man she left in her wake.
Steve and Kono didn't talk as he drove them to their next lead. Danny and Gabby were chasing down another person to question, while Chin held down the fort, sifting through the evidence from their latest victim.
Steve was pissed. Somebody on the island was throwing around splashy murders, and this last victim wasn't someone with a rap sheet a mile long. Though the body had been cut up pretty badly, identification wasn't difficult with fingerprints and they had gotten a name. The fact that she was the girlfriend of a known player for The Brothers squarely connected the two murders. There was no doubt in Steve's mind that the gang would hit back. Usually girlfriends and wives weren't on the chopping block - honor among thieves - but this time it looked like the rules were changing.
"You're not still mad at me, are you?"
He looked over at Kono in surprise. She met his eyes easily, just like she always did, holding his gaze as she waited for an answer. Her bottom lip was still swollen from the fight she'd had with one of their suspects, and he stared at it for a moment before returning his attention to the road and letting out a deep breath.
"Look...I know you can take care of yourself. I've seen it on more than one occasion. I don't ever want you to think that I doubt you, Kono."
Her mouth twitched upward slightly. "But?" she pressed.
"But..." He shrugged. "I worry about you." He held up a hand to hold her off. "I know, I'm not supposed to. It's not because you're the youngest, or because you're a woman, or any of that crap. I know you can do the job."
She frowned. "Then why?"
That was the one question he didn't want her to ask. He couldn't tell her about the sick feeling in his stomach whenever he knew that she was in danger. He couldn't tell her about the feeling in his chest that some part of recognized as utter terror whenever she was facing something big and he wasn't there to protect her. Even if he was willing to share those things with her - which he most definitely wasn't - he didn't even know how to begin explaining them. He just needed her to be safe. That was the end of it.
"You're my friend," he finally said, his voice quiet. "You're my friend and you are my family and I don't like it when you're out there and I'm not watching your back, okay?"
That was way more than he meant to say, and he wondered how the words had even formed in his head, nevermind making it all the way past his filters and out of his mouth.
Kono's voice was gentle. "You know you can't always have everybody's back, right?"
"Well now who made that rule up?" he asked, risking a glance at her as he gestured with one hand. "That rule sucks."
She smiled and nodded. "That it does, boss. But hey - you can have my back today, okay?"
Steve couldn't keep the grin hidden. "I'll take that," he said.
"I would like to point out that you are bleeding. Again."
Gabby rolled her eyes as she slammed the car door shut, locking the suspect in the back of the HPD vehicle.
"And you, Daniel, are sporting the beginning of a very nasty bruise."
He gently probed his jaw. "Yeah, well, the jackass decided to resist arrest. What kind of moron does that?"
"Apparently the kind that likes drugs."
"At least I didn't get shot."
"Danny!"
They both looked up to see Steve and Kono coming towards them.
"What the hell happened?" he asked once they reached them.
"What happened?" Danny shot back. "What happened is that we calmly knocked on the door - per proper police procedure - and this dumbass," he rapped on the window behind him with his knuckles, "answered the door. Probably thought we were buddies of his."
"I can see how one would make that mistake," Kono quipped.
Danny just kept going. "So he sees us - and we properly identify ourselves as officers of the law, by the way - and he freaks out. Before he slams the door shut on us, we happen to notice a powdery white substance on the kitchen table."
Steve nodded. "And you would be remiss to ignore such a thing."
"Exactly. And we would never want that. So Gabby here - in a move that would have made you proud, SuperSEAL - she kicked the door right back into the guy before it was even latched."
Steve gave her an appraising look. "Nice."
She smiled back at him. "Thank you."
"Anyway," Danny continues, raising his voice over the interruption, "we proceeded to arrest the lot of them on drug charges. They are, of course, refusing to speak without their due representation."
"Of course," Kono agreed. "How many guys are we talking here?"
"There were five. One almost got away, but, uh...Gabby managed to chase him down before he even got to the edge of the property."
Steve crossed his arms over his chest. "So you're telling me she did all the heavy lifting?"
"All the - No, Steven. I'll have you know that I had to take down three of the bastards while she only got two."
"Well, she had to run. Something you probably couldn't handle with that bum knee."
Gabby frowned. "Bum knee?"
Danny turned to her. "It's nothing." He wheeled back on his friend. "And you, sir, are a nuisance."
Steve shrugged. "I just call 'em as I see 'em."
"Yeah, well, someone should get their eyes checked. So what about the two of you? I don't see you dragging in any bad guys."
Kono sighed. "Our lead was a dead end. They'd already cleared out by the time we got there."
"Do you think someone warned them?" Gabby asked.
"Maybe. It was obvious they left in a hurry. Maybe we'll get something from forensics."
"How much you wanna bet we end up with another dead body first?" Danny asked.
Steve sighed, all traces of joking gone. "I don't like those odds, Danno."
"I'm pretty sure none of us do," Kono said. "So let's take these guys back and see if we can nail 'em to the wall."
