CHAPTER 10: Know Thine Enemy

Morning came too soon and with it the sun. The clouds from the day before had drifted on to pastures new and behind them was the vast lake of brilliant blue so admired by tourists and so reviled by art critics for its lack of realism.

Inside the cool concrete the hospital was a busy place, never stopping to listen to the human stories behind the pain. It simply carried on functioning; healing the sick and injured like one huge machine churning out the cured, the ill and the dead. But compartmentalized within its walls small life or death campaigns were being waged; each enacted with their separate players – the patient, doctors, nurses, relatives or friends. Occasionally additional characters were there to do their duty and today it was the turn of the police.

Having had hardly any rest, Chin Ho and Kono marched down the corridor to Danny's room after gaining permission from a stern-looking nurse to see him. Doctor Harry Bergman was apparently fast asleep at home, having stayed with his patient until past two am.

The Chinese detective was quiet, he was still reeling from the news about Danny's assault. McGarrett had phoned him the previous night, unable to sleep; nerves frayed. Chin kept silent as Steve told him, picturing in his head the torment that for now they could only imagine their friend had suffered. He had said all the right things to his boss, or thought he had – he didn't recall much of the conversation – it was too much of a shock.

Almost by telepathy he had arrived at the same time as Kono that morning and they had stood on the steps of the hospital in the same spot that Kono has asked the shocking question of McGarrett the previous evening, and greeted each other with a warm handshake that quickly evolved into a brief hug.

Now they stood outside the door to Danny's room, unsure of how to proceed. A young nurse saw them hovering anxiously and ushered them in explaining as best she could how Williams was doing. She seemed positive and that was a good sign but never discussed, thought or perhaps even knew, of the horror of what the man in the bed had been through in the preceding twenty-four hours; but the two detectives did and couldn't look at their colleague without being thrown back to the moment he was found.

Kono addressed his friend, even though he reasoned Dan couldn't hear him, "Hey Danny, me and Chin have come to say hello. We're here for a short while then we gotta get to work bruddah but we…we're thinking about you, everyone wants you to rest and get well and…" the Hawaiian faltered, unsure what else to say or how to say it without breaking down.

In the stark daylight the bruises were clearer and the stillness more alien. Kono pulled up a chair for each of them and they sat contemplating Williams, scrutinizing him and each labored breath he took. It was bitterly painful to watch.

"Do you think he's dreaming?" Kono asked, breaking the silence.

"I dunno Kono but I hope if he is it isn't about yesterday. I wouldn't want Danny to go through that over and over," he paused, "who would do something like this?"

Kono shook his head, "I know men who would, and trust me brah it wouldn't matter whether Danny was haole or Hawaiian – man or woman - a cop is just a piece of garbage to them. They don't care that we're people too ya know? If they were in trouble they'd come running to us for help wiki-wiki. They'd soon hide behind us for protection if they needed it. Man I just don't get it!"

"Well I wouldn't want to be in their shoes when Steve catches up to them – we're gonna get them for what they did to Danno and when we do he's gonna be one volcanic haole!"

Kalakua glanced at his friend lying frozen like a carved marble effigy on a tombstone and just as devoid of color then shook his head sadly, "Well I just hope he gets the chance to see them put away too."

*******

McGarrett was anxious to get back to the hospital and Danny's bedside but he had much to do before he could afford that luxury and the majority of it revolved around Williams' case anyway.

With his two senior detectives due in any moment, Steve hadn't wasted time but had been putting together as much information as he could on Dan's assailants. McGarrett's first port of call that morning had been the lab and he had been unsurprised to see Che Fong hard at work already, two sleepy-eyed assistants to help him out.

The scientist had tested the residue taken from Danny and discovered two blood types. He couldn't be sure but felt, with the deposit of seminal fluid on Danny's badge, it was likely that at least three men had assaulted the detective however with the presence of other fingerprints he warned the Five-0 Chief it could be more. That McGarrett found hard to bear; one was bad enough but a gang rape was horrifying in the extreme. Che had heard there was a clear bite mark on Dan's back and wanted to take an impression as evidence before it healed, Steve agreed so long as Bergman thought it okay to do so but loathed the necessity.

Hair samples indicated the men were Polynesian or Hawaiian but more than that he couldn't say.

The most interesting thing from McGarrett's point of view were the fingerprints. They were still sifting through the coins from the call box but they found a match on Danny's shield to a known ex-convict. They had a name and now Steve was able to begin the hunt in earnest. His blood was up and he had a focus - a man named Lupe Tanilofa.

As he walked back to his office Steve found himself repeating the name over and over, savoring the small victory of that knowledge – "Lupe Tanilofa wherever you are God help you because I'm coming after you".

********

"So, that's all we have for the moment gentlemen, you're as up to date as I am. I know that we're all eager to get these men but we can't neglect our other cases. Danno would never want us to do that."

Steve McGarrett addressed his men, and by that he included Duke Lukela and Lt. George Kealoha as well as Chin and Kono. These were the friends who knew Danny best and would protect the information regarding the young detective's assault with their careers if necessary. Steve hated to pull the wool over the rest of the department and HPD's eyes but he needed breathing space to think how best to release the information to the newspapers without damaging Danny's career and life. It was difficult and he knew that certain members of the press had already been sniffing around the hospital for any newsworthy stories, he just hoped Doc Bergman had as much hold over the staff there as he had loyalty in his department.

"Our problem is the papers. If they get hold of any part of this, even Danno's shooting, then the assailants will go to ground – assuming they haven't already. What we need is for them to stay nice and relaxed. Let them think we haven't found him yet so that we can do our job and track them down."

"Steve, that's going to be difficult. With so many people around that hospital on a daily basis someone's bound to let slip Danny's there." George said.

"I know but that's a risk we're going to have to take. Danno's too sick to move right now."

"Okay, so how do we stop them from finding out?" Chin asked.

"Bottom line is we can't Chin. We've got to just concentrate on finding that pack of animals as fast as possible. We've got a name to start with so I want you to get the book on Lupe Tanilofa. Che says they should be through with the prints off the phone booth by mid-morning and he's working on some partials from Danny's shield so let's keep our fingers crossed we get some lines of inquiry there. I don't know if Tanilofa was the man who rang to tell us where Danno was but whoever that was is the key to this.

We are lucky; we have clumsy or arrogant criminals who have left clues. There's the grease Che says is the type used in vehicles and actual fingerprints of all the perps, not to mention the blood groups of several of them. We have a bite mark that we can use as evidence and we have hairs. I'd say that was a pretty good start. Once Danno is awake we can get full descriptions of the assailants and when he's well enough get a police artist to draw up those descriptions. We will snare these men in no time!"

"Well I think you can safely say Steve that none of us mind doing the overtime on this one. We want them as badly as you do." Lukela shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with the whole situation and in particular keeping information from his fellow HPD officers but knowing what McGarrett said was wise, for Williams' sake.

"I know Duke, I for one won't sleep if necessary and that's why I'm giving you all the information I have at present. I can only release so much to the rest of HPD, but it should be enough.

I'm off to the hospital but I want you to get hold of me there if anything at all comes up, particularly those prints from Che. I want to know who this Tanilofa is but I don't want anyone to move on him until I'm ready. Understood?"

"Sure boss." Kono offered, "You want a ride to the hospital?"

McGarrett knew Kono was only offering because he too wanted to be at Danny's side but he needed him there, working on the case. "No Kono, you get down to the lab and see what's keeping them."

"Okay."

"Right, gentlemen. I don't think anything more needs to be said at this stage. You know where to reach me. Once we've located our man we'll make a move on him but we have to be careful – there are five fish for us to catch and we don't want to scare them all away!"

*****

Before heading to the hospital McGarrett took a turn and drove towards Williams' apartment building. Unsure why he felt the need to go there but going just the same.

He knew the place so well and felt it was a part of his life, the times they had spent together enjoying each other's company, talking over cases or sympathizing with each other when life got too hard to bear.

As he sat outside looking at the empty window to the apartment he was surprised to feel bereaved. Danny wasn't dead, he was very much alive and struggling to come back to them but somehow Steve knew that a part of their former life together was over. Faceless, nameless men had ripped something away from his friend and as a consequence stolen it from McGarrett too.

He suddenly smashed the dashboard with both hands, the force bruising his palms. At the same time yesterday morning something unspeakable was happening to someone he cared deeply about and McGarrett was finding it harder to control his emotions than he would ever have thought possible. They didn't just assault Danno – they had assaulted him and the police force.

*****

"He'll be alright Steve." A very weary Doc said soothingly as he came across McGarrett standing by Danny's bedside some time later. The tall dark-haired cop was just staring at the figure lying there, hands tucked tightly into his pants pockets and his mouth so tightly pursed it would let air neither in, nor out.

Steve had made his way to the hospital on autopilot. Still feeling the effects of his own lack of sleep combined with the depression he had been unable to completely leave at his 2-I-C's apartment building. Without looking around he rubbed a hand over his eyes and muttered, "No, no I don't think he will. How can anyone ever be the same again after that?"

"Steady Steve, Danny will come through it, just as many other men have. Do you have any idea how prevalent this kind of thing is? I've seen similar abuse a dozen times before and I'm just one doctor. I have bodies in my morgue that have suffered worse and treated the living for the same. He's strong."

McGarrett turned and looked at Bergman, surprised by his admissions. "As bad as this? Without us knowing?"

"Steve you don't seem to understand. I don't know exactly what they put Danny through, but the evidence of trauma suggests he was assaulted multiple times. I know it's not normal to use this word in relation to men but that means rape, pure and simple. Many men have been abused like this and never come forward to the law; for a variety of reasons."

Steve naturally assumed that where a crime was involved the police would be contacted, he had seen victims of sexual abuse many times before in the course of his career. Of course he understood victims often found it hard to admit to such abuse but not in the case of a man. He realized how naïve he was being, Doc was right - it happened all the time, and that brought a whole new perspective to the future for Williams. If it was hard for a woman to live with, how much worse for a man with all the machismo attached to being the stronger sex? He felt sick.

McGarrett swiftly changed the subject, leaving the future to the future, "Why isn't he awake Doc?"

Bergman checked Danny's chart at the foot of the bed, "It doesn't look as though he has come round at all as yet. Could be the drugs in his system or it could be that fracture. If he doesn't wake up this afternoon we may have to re-look at that head trauma."

An idea occurred to McGarrett as he recalled the man that he and Danny had so recently helped, "What about Doctor Forbes?"

"Yes, I'd thought of him."

"Well let's get him here! Danno helped rescue his daughter when she was kidnapped and I saw how he was with these cases. I'm sure he would be willing to help."

"Steve we are getting a little ahead of ourselves here. For a patient to be unconscious for this length of time isn't unusual. I'm not concerned as yet. Besides which it may not be as easy as that. David Forbes is the foremost brain surgeon in this country, he is a busy man and it's quite likely that he might not be available."

"Well can't you check dammit?!"

Bergman looked at McGarrett and his face screwed up, thick graying eyebrows knitting together. "I know you're upset and worried about Danny so I will forgive you for snapping, however you would do well to remember I'm on both your sides. Now I've told you that at the moment I'm not concerned, when I think his case requires a referral for outside help then I will make that call."

Steve had the grace to look contrite, "Sorry Harry, I just don't want to leave anything to chance. If Forbes can help then let's try, please."

Bergman looked at Williams lying as still as death when by rights he ought never to have been there at all, he nodded, "I will make inquiries. Just in case."

"Thanks, and please don't think I don't appreciate what you're doing for him. Between you and Forbes I know Danno would be in the best hands."

"Right, well I better get onto some real work, I have bodies piling up. I will make sure someone calls me if there's any change. You would do well to take some time to relax, you look terrible."

"Not until I know he's out of danger."

Bergman nodded and left.

Steve turned back to the bedside and grasped Danny's good hand in both of his, stroking it soothingly as he begged his friend to awaken and show him some small sign of recovery. "Hey kiddo, it's Steve. I just wanted to tell you that I'm here, so any time you want to open your eyes is fine. You're safe now and can come back. You've had a bad time but you need to wake up now - I won't leave you just yet if that's what's worrying you." His stroke became more desperate as he mashed the limp hand between his palms, trying to massage life back into the injured man, voice increasing in pitch as his emotions boiled over once more, "Come back to me Danno, please!"

But Danny never stirred.

*******

Sammie Baxter walked up and down on the same stretch of sidewalk, arms wrapped around himself as he tried to make up his mind what to do.

Ava Easson had been true to her word and provided him with clothing; a faded blue T-shirt and some dry jeans that were miles too big for him but she had been thoughtful enough to provide some thin rope in the bundle she had dropped him the night before. It held the jeans in place but they still sagged around his bony body and nearly caused him to trip over as he paced. He was hungry - his last meal had been the night before and his stomach growled at him, accusing him of neglect. With his over-sized clothing, unkempt hair and the beginnings of a beard and mustache he looked and felt like a vagrant; all he needed was a bottle in a brown paper bag to complete the picture. He also stank and knew it. All these things kept him pounding the small stretch of road outside the house that Ava had said Ella was staying at but making no attempt to go up to it.

Now it came down to it Sammie wasn't sure he was ready to see her again, particularly not in his state and, as Mrs Easson had so carefully reminded him, if he was in trouble he was bringing a giant sized amount down on his ex-girlfriend's shoulders when she didn't deserve it.

On the other hand he had no one else to turn to and was becoming more agitated and desperate as the minutes ticked by. He knew it was just a matter of time before Mano and the others found him and he had to find a safe place to hole up until he could figure a way off the island.

Staring once more at the pretty painted house with its white picket fence and neatly tended garden, Sammie made up his mind. He had no choice.

Hoisting the jeans back up his waist, he re-tied the rope and brushed his hair back from his face before sniffing his armpits to check just how fragrant he was. His nose screwed up in distaste as he realized he was sour from sweat both old and new. He longed for a bath.

He wasn't sure just why he looked up the road at the time he did but Sam was very grateful afterwards that something had made him turn around for in the distance a truck was coming toward him that he recognized and his heart leaped into his mouth. "Shit! Shit!" he exclaimed as he literally leaped over the nearest low fence and dropped to the ground, oblivious of where he had ended up or whose bushes he had just crushed. He just hoped the owners were at work.

Coming down the road at a slow pace was Koa Lukina's truck, glimmering like a ravenous beast prowling in the sunlight. The fact that Sammie had seen it from a distance was testament both to his youthful eyesight and that he was terrified of being found.

How they came to know about Ella was something that escaped him temporarily until he recalled that when he had first been taken in by the Kaika brothers he had told Mano and Ratchet about his girlfriend in the hope of looking macho, Mano had even dropped him off there a couple of times – before his run in with Ella's father. So how did Koa know Ella was there with her aunt? Sam thought with a shock that they must have recalled the Easson's old address and asked her parents for Ella. Sam wondered if Ava or John had given the information freely and it made him shudder.

He lay low and heard the engine rumble as the truck came closer. He hid himself as best he could, face pressed into a rosebush with sharp thorns that scratched his face and started praying silently.

Koa parked outside the address Mano had given him, unaware that the person he sought was hiding barely twenty feet away in a neighbor's yard. He got out and made his way to the house, unlatching the fence and noting with pleasure the brightly colored and scented flowers that bordered the path to the front door. As he approached he saw a curtain twitch downstairs and smiled to himself; someone was home.

He knocked briskly and heard raised voices inside - at least two people were there. After a few moments an elderly woman answered the door and Koa was surprised at her age. Her sister, Mrs Easson couldn't have been older than mid-forties but this lady was into her late sixties. At least he assumed it was the sister; to Koa she looked nothing like her sibling. She appeared wary and as Koa glanced down he could see she had a furry pink slipper-clad foot jammed against the door to prevent him from pushing it open.

"Hey, sorry to bother you." He said with a smile, "I'm looking for a good friend of mine and was told he might be here."

Ava's sister frowned, "And who might that be?" she asked with authority.

"Sammie…er..Sam Baxter. Like I said I'm a friend of Sam's and I need to find him urgently and I know he talked a lot about Ella when he was dating her so…"

"So you assumed Ella knows where?" She added for him.

"Well yeah!"

"What made you think she might be here?"

Koa smiled again, the smile that made some men's hearts melt and their fly open, "Her ma, Mrs Easson told me."

The aunt edged the door open a fraction, feeling more comfortable with the stranger on her doorstep at the mention of her sister but she was still unsure. "So tell me, " she asked, "If she is here, and I'm not saying she is, what do you want young Sam for? She hasn't seen him in years."

"I ah…his Uncle's been in an accident and they need to locate da family members in case da worst should happen. It's very sad."

Ella's aunt paused to consider his statement and decided she would at least ask Ella. "Wait here, I'll see if she's home."

The door closed in his face and he found himself staring at the white-painted panel work in frustration.

More voices from inside and again they were raised. Minutes went by and Koa was getting annoyed. He contemplated knocking again but knew that would be fruitless.

He heard a window open to the right of the door and the aunt's face peered at him from behind the glass as she pushed back the nets and shouted at him through a small opening, "Go away! I don't know what you want Sam for but he's not here, we haven't seen him in years and what's more he doesn't have an uncle so push off or I will call the police!" she said viciously and closed the window with a slam, pulling a bolt in place across the opening to prevent Koa from getting in.

"Damn! Shit and damn!" he cursed and kicked the door with foot before turning and giving the aunt the finger and retreating down the path.

Dead end.

As the truck revved its engine and Koa screamed away from the curb Sammie lay in the undergrowth and laughed until he cried. He had heard the exchange and whatever he thought of Ella's father he loved her mom and aunt.

He waited for a few more minutes in case Koa decided to turn around and force his way in before he extricated himself from the bushes, brushing off the torn leaves and rose petals from his hair and clothing. He jumped back across the fence and breathed a huge sigh before walking through the gate that Koa had been too angry to shut.

As he trod the crazy-paved path he too saw the curtains shift but this time he didn't even need to knock. The door flew open and standing in the frame was Ella, looking breathtakingly beautiful, her long blond hair flowing around her shoulders and her aunt behind `tutting' and frowning.

"Sammie!" she yelled and flung herself at him. He had a brief second to catch her before they both fell back on the pathway and he hit his head. With the pert young woman lying heavily on top of him he saw stars in his eyes and believed, as she kissed him fully on the lips, that she too was seeing stars – of another kind.

"Welcome home." She said and Sam began to cry.

******