Furlough Friday
Sometimes Steve McGarrett hated being the boss.
He assembled his team around the smart table in the war room, took a deep breath and said, "Because of the economy, all state employees are being asked — well, ordered — to take five furlough days this quarter."
Then the fearless Navy SEAL hunched his shoulders and closed his eyes, waiting for the Williams storm to smash into his face. He anticipated a Force 5 rant from Danny about risking your life for an ungrateful state that can't even pay your promised salary.
Instead he heard, "Can I have Friday?"
Steve cracked open his eyes to see Danny, regarding him, arms crossed, eyebrows raised.
"What?" Steve asked.
"I said, can I — excuse me, may I — have this Friday as my first furlough day?" Danny said patiently, enjoying Steve's confusion.
"Uh, yeah, sure."
"Great." Danny rubbed his hands together and started for his office. He paused. "Do I remember correctly? You're not allowed to contact me on a furlough day? It would be illegal for the governor to summon me?"
"That's right."
"Excellent!" Danny shoved a card in his back pocket, but it flipped out and fell on the floor unnoticed.
"Danny, you're not angry about the furlough days?" Steve asked.
"Am I happy that the state is stiffing me five days of pay this quarter? No. But since it's summer, I can live with it."
Danny returned to his office to finish his paperwork.
Steve scratched his head. "What's summer got to do with it?"
"Maybe he wants to go surfing?" Kono Kalakaua suggested. She was already considering the upcoming contests that she could attend on her unexpected days off.
"Wrong sport, cuz." Chin Ho Kelly had picked up the card Danny dropped, only to find it was a wallet-sized folder with a baseball schedule in it. He traced with his finger to find Friday's date.
"The Yankees play the Red Sox at home on Friday," he reported. "The game starts at 7, so that would be …" He frowned over the time difference.
"That would be 1 p.m.," Danny said, coming out of his office to reclaim his schedule. "I almost never get to see the games live. East Coast games are over by 5. I tape them, but half the time I've heard the score before I even get home. I might catch the tail end of a West Coast game after work, if I'm lucky. Now I can watch the Yankees beat the Sox and you can't call me in the middle and drag me into work. Who knew a day off without pay could feel like Christmas?"
He waved the schedule. "Now I gotta plan the rest of my furlough days."
With a tip of an imaginary baseball cap, Danny retreated to his office again.
"Well, I'm glad furlough days made someone happy," Steve said. He was just happy to understand why his contentious partner was happy. "Do either of you have any questions? Complaints?"
The cousins met each other's eyes. The rookie and the outcast were just happy to have jobs to go to. A couple days without pay didn't seem so bad compared to being unemployed.
"I'm good," Kono said. "I think I'll check the surfing schedule and see if there are any competitions I could catch. I hope they don't interfere with the Yankees."
"If they do, you and Danny will have to duke it out," Chin said. "We can't close the office, so we all have to take different days."
Kono and Chin went to their offices to plan their unplanned days off.
Steve stood alone in the war room glad, but surprised, that his unpalatable news went down so well. Then suddenly he realized he'd get leftovers if he didn't figure out the furlough days he wanted. He hurried into his room to check his calendar.
— H50 —
A/N: It's a truism that no work gets done for at least an hour after furlough days are announced because of important scheduling debates. Trust me. I know.
— H50 —
On his furlough Friday, Danny slept in. He felt lazy and relaxed with no plans except to watch the game. A day just for him was so rare, he was savoring it.
When he finally got himself moving, he decided to go out for breakfast with maybe a stop by Liliha Bakery for coco puffs. Is there anything more decadent than dessert after breakfast?
The people at Paradise Diner knew Danny and could fix a traditional bacon and eggs breakfast as well as the Hawaiian cholesterol fest called loco moco — ground beef patty, on rice with a fried egg on top and gravy over all.
Danny had finished his eggs and blueberry pancakes and even his mixed fruit — pineapple was OK in its place, such as fruit salad. He was sipping the last of his coffee while he read the newspaper when a man entered and approached the cashier.
Danny's cop instincts rang an alarm bell. The tension in the man's stance, the hand jammed deep in the jacket pocket (heck the jacket at all on a summer day when the temps were already approaching 90 degrees), the sudden alarm in the young cashier's face — they all spoke of a robbery in progress. Danny prayed the girl would keep calm and do whatever the man said.
The girl's frantic gaze zipped around the room and latched onto Danny's eyes. He smiled reassurance and gestured palm down — be calm — then flicked his fingers — go on, do whatever he wants.
His support calmed the girl. She hurried to pull the cash out of the drawer and hand it over. The man stuffed it in his pocket — the same pocket with the gun, Danny noted, if there was a gun, which he was beginning to doubt.
Before the robber even got out the door, Danny was up and sauntering swiftly, but casually toward the cashier as if about to pay his bill. He held his newspaper to cover both the gun in his hand and the badge on his belt.
As he passed the cashier's counter, he told the girl, "Jenny, get your father. Don't let anyone come out until it's safe."
"Yes sir." Jenny abandoned her post to fetch the owner and manager of the diner.
Danny strode out after the young robber who was fumbling for his keys. "Hey, pal, got change for a fifty?"
The young man, just a teenager, turned in alarm to see the detective, gun and badge prominently displayed.
"Police," Danny said unnecessarily.
The robber held up his hands meekly. "I don't have a gun," he said.
"That's good for you," Danny said kindly, seeing just how young this robber was. "Maybe you won't be charged with armed robbery."
Danny handcuffed the robber and gestured the diner owner out. "Call the police, Charlie, and don't forget to tell them there's an off-duty officer on the scene. I'd hate to get shot on a day I'm not supposed to be working."
Fortunately Danny knew the patrol officers who responded. With the diner owner willing to file charges and the girl as a witness, the HPD officers agreed that Danny could wait until the next day to file his report about the arrest.
To Danny's surprise, he got home in plenty of time to see the game.
— H50 —
When Danny was beginning to consider what he wanted for dinner, he heard a rap on the door, which was then opened immediately. A hand bearing a six-pack of Longboards entered, followed by the rest of Danny's partner.
"It's after 5," Steve said. "Furlough Friday's officially over."
"It can't be office hours when you have beer," Danny agreed. He took one from the carton. It was still ice cold from the store refrigerator.
"I thought we could celebrate the Yankees' victory," Steve said. If they hadn't won, he'd have said commiserate on the loss; but he'd heard the score on the radio. "I heard it was a good game."
"They came from behind in the bottom of the ninth. There's nothing like a walk-off home run to get the crowd pumped," Danny answered, remembering the thrill. It wouldn't have been the same to see it secondhand.
"I also heard you had some trouble this morning," Steve commented.
Danny shrugged. "Just a kid robbing a diner. He didn't even have a gun. I have to file a report tomorrow, though." He sighed. "On Saturday. My day off."
"But not a furlough day off."
Danny gestured agreement. "I was a little worried," he joked. "That I was breaking the law by stopping a robbery on a furlough day. Do you think they could arrest me for making an arrest?"
