It Belongs in a Museum
By: Dean's Leather Jacket
Chapter Ten: ICE
Disclaimer: I seriously hate repeating myself… I don't own Hawaii Five-0. If I did, I would make Scott Caan take his shirt off once in awhile…
A/N: Hawaii Five-0 won Favorite New Drama at the People's Choice Awards. YAY! Congrats to the cast and all involved. Also, in this chapter, there is a nod to one of my other favorite shows: NCIS. Love Gibbs.
"You're kidding me?" Steve asked, disbelievingly.
"I'm sorry, bossman. I've got nothing." Was the reply from Dave Monroe, standing across from Steve. Dave was vaguely glad there was a lab table between him and the Naval Officer, because the look the Lieutenant Commander was broadcasting made Dave think the Vulcan Neck Pinch was about to be used. Or a SEAL Neck Pinch. Did they have something like that? Dave wouldn't be surprised.
"There was nothing?" Steve asked again, probably the tenth time.
"Nothing, bossman. AVIS came back with nothing on the partials that we got from either murder weapon. It could be that your murderer doesn't have a record, or it could be that the prints we got weren't a good sample. I'm really sorry, sir, but… I can't give you anything." It was probably the hardest thing Dave had ever had to say. The frustration was exuding through the SEAL, and Dave wished like Hell he had something.
"Thanks." Steve replied, making a quick exit back up the stairs to Five-0.
"Morning Steve."
God dammit. Steve could not take any more torture this morning.
"Detective St. John." Steve acknowledged.
"What's it going to take for you to call me Izzy?" Asked the blonde while giving him this smile like she was eyeing a piece of meat. Steve had never been so annoyed with a woman before.
"Probably a couple more reminders." Steve replied as he continued walking. He didn't have time to chat. He had to get with his team and look over all the evidence again. There had to be something they could go on. Something, anything at all. Steve would take whatever they could get.
"Look, boss, I hate to say it… really I do… but sometimes cases don't yield much. You know, that whole first 48 hours thing…" Someone had to say it, and Chin was the only one brave enough. Kono and Danny were wincing for the blow that was sure to come from their fearless leader.
"I know Chin, I know. But I don't believe in cold cases." Steve replied.
Chin sighed, glancing over the myriad screens holding all the evidence that was collected and pictures of the victims. He didn't like cold cases either. Especially when there were multiple major crimes occurring. Without prints they had nothing to go off, no one to interrogate. Same thing with absence of DNA. No witnesses. Just… a huge load of nothing.
"Maybe we're working the wrong angle." Kono supplied. "Maybe we should stop looking at murder and—"
"Work the smuggling angle." Steve interrupted, suddenly looking excited. "We need to talk to ICE."
"ICE?" Kono asked.
"It's a federal agency. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They have teams that work to recover cultural property, art and other antiquities. I don't know why I didn't think about talking to them before…" It was the excited face, Danny noticed. Not overtly excited, obviously, Steve had to keep some level of aloofness, but it was still there. Steve worked his fingers across the touch screen keyboard to bring up contact information for the nearest ICE agency.
"Their nearest field office is in San Francisco?" Kono noticed as the information appeared on the screen.
"It's not the FBI. They're not everywhere. I worked with ICE once on a case a few years back. They're a lot more chill than the guys from the Bureau." Chin said.
Steve pulled out his iPhone and dialed the number he had found. He must have been transferred through five different people before he was able to talk to a Senior Special Agent.
"This is Special Agent Monteleone." The voice on the other end of the phone was male, gruff like he was a smoker, and older sounding.
"I'm Lieutenant Commander Stephen McGarrett from the governor's taskforce in Hawaii. I think we've got something that ICE might be interested in."
About thirty minutes later, Steve and the rest of Five-0 were on a videoconference with Senior Special Agent Anthony Monteleone and his team. There were five of them all together, including Monteleone. The boss was middle aged, with salt and pepper hair, a couple days' growth of beard on his face, and a wrinkled shirt and tie. The rest of his team looked young and bright eyed. Two were men, one was blonde and blue eyed and had the looks of a movie star. The other had black hair, brown eyes, and the look of a newbie. The women were brunettes, attractive, but looked like they could do some serious ass kicking.
"Five-0, huh?" Agent Monteleone began. "We've heard about you guys. Doing some real good stuff down there." Same gruff voice as over the phone. From the looks of the guy (he reminded Steve of a former C.O. he used to have), that was as close as they would ever get to a compliment.
"Thank you, sir." Steve replied.
"What do you have that may interest us, Commander?" Monteleone asked.
Steve, with the aid of his team, filled in the ICE agents on what had been going on and what had been found.
"It does sound like you may have some smuggling going on. Normally, in your situation, I would be jacking jurisdiction from you, but we've got another major case we're working on at the moment. Plus, you guys seem like you can handle yourselves as good as any of us so… we'll just be an auxiliary force. We haven't heard any intel about anything happening on your happy islands. I'll do some digging, and get back to you with whatever I can find."
"Thank you, sir. Any help would be greatly appreciated."
"No problem. In the mean time, shake out any informants you may have. They would have a better idea than what I could find. Keep me posted on your progress."
Steve nodded.
"Will do, sir."
"A piece of advice: watch your shipping yards. Security and screening in places like that are a little lapse these days. It's easy for the perps to get in and get out with their product. Whoever may be orchestrating this is sending guys in to retrieve the goods, then they transport it somewhere else. Somewhere remote or some place that won't draw too much suspicion. Sometimes the artifacts could be concealed in something else, as a way to pass inspection should it crop up. And you want to be careful too, because sometimes, there could be a True Lies situation."
"I think I must have missed that one." Steve said, looking around at his colleagues. Apparently they hadn't seen the movie either.
"It's Arnold Schwarzenegger." Spoke up the blonde, blue-eyed guy. "And Jaime Lee Curtis, 1994. He's a spy for a secret agency in the U.S. Government. He finds out that a Middle Eastern terrorist group was bringing in nuclear weapons hidden in Assyrian sculptures."
Great, that's all they would need. Five-0 hoped that this wasn't the case.
"Oh, and one more thing." Monteleone again. "It helps if you have an expert in the field. Just incase you need someone to authenticate something you might find."
Steve unconsciously grinned widely, and hoped Danny didn't notice.
"We have one, sir. A professor at a university here in Honolulu."
"Good. That's good. Anyway, keep us posted, kid. If you do find something big, let us know. We'll come down and get the artifacts. Part of our job is returning them to their proper country of origin. It's a good will thing, yada yada."
All members of Five-0 nodded. They were glad they had gotten to talk to these guys. They had gotten a little bit of information, and now had extra allies—federal allies. And now, it was time to shake up some informants.
"Did the Hanging Gardens of Babylon actually exist?"
Pen loved questions like these.
She was currently teaching another section of Freshman World History; the same lecture on Ancient Babylonia she had given yesterday. There was always someone that asked this question.
"Well… we don't really know for sure. It is listed as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, but there is debate whether it actually existed or not. Some Greek historians wrote about them, but scholars aren't sure whether they were just making it up or not. There hasn't really been much archeological evidence found to support its existence. The gardens, if they were really around, would be in modern day Iraq. Babylon is several feet under sand and dirt… even if it wasn't such a volatile part of the world, it would take years to excavate. This is just another one of those history's mysteries that we may never solve."
Pen ended the class after a few more minutes of lecturing, and beat feet back upstairs to her office. This was her short day (done by 1 p.m.) and she also had a lunch date with Rachel and Grace.
They were waiting for her at a little bistro a little ways outside of the city. Pen paid the cab driver (she had yet to get a car since coming to Hawaii, she didn't really see a huge need for one yet) and hopped out, gladly accepting the little body that hurled itself into her arms.
"How's my favorite goddaughter?" Pen exclaimed, pulling away from Gracie and holding her at arms length. Gracie grinned up at her Aunt Pen.
"I'm your only goddaughter!" Grace pointed out.
"Yes, and therefore my favorite!"
Pen turned to Rachel and hugged her.
"Long time no see."
"You are looking well." Rachel smiled, her smooth British accent apparent.
The three made their way into the bistro and were seated in a booth by a window. They had been to this restaurant before, so they ordered drinks and their meal, and lapsed into easy conversation. At least, it was easy until Rachel made a certain comment.
"Grace was telling me that you have a boyfriend."
Pen choked on her sweet tea. A quick glance at Grace only showed her sporting a huge grin.
"Um…" Pen floundered, but Grace decided to come to her rescue.
"It's Steve. Daddy's partner. He's sooooo cute."
Seriously, the phrase "out of the mouths of babes" always seemed to jump into Pen's mind when she was around Grace.
"Steve?" Rachel looked skeptical, and sent a silent questioning glance to Pen. But Grace spoke again.
"I set them up. I made Steve promise that he would keep Aunt Pen company after the aquarium the other day."
Grace was actually wearing a shit-eating grin. It reminded Pen of Danny, back in the old days when he wasn't so hot headed and smiled more.
"Is this true, Pen?" Rachel asked.
God, it was the ultimate question right now, wasn't it? Pen really wished she could reply with the easy response: 42 (Oh, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy!). But she knew that wasn't the answer. What was the answer? They had started this thing so fast, and she made it clear she wanted to slow down, that she didn't even know what to call this relationship. It was some kind of relationship, but whether you could really call it boyfriend/girlfriend, had yet to be seen.
"Um…" Pen was so eloquent when under the spotlight. "Sort of?"
"Will you and Steve get married, Aunt Pen? Because I really want to call him Uncle Steve."
Holy shit.
"Grace…" Rachel said in a warning tone, and Grace looked a little guilty.
"I don't think so, Gracie." Pen answered delicately.
Grace sat in thought for a second, and shrugged.
"Well, I'm still going to call him Uncle Steve anyway."
Pen sighed. Grace spoke again.
"I'm going to ask Danno to invite him to brunch on Saturday."
Pen felt the blood drain from her face. She should have seen this coming. How in the Hell was she going to get through brunch without Danny thinking something was amiss between his partner and his best friend? Ah, God dammit.
"That would be… great… Grace." Pen gulped. Thank God she had about three days to prepare herself for the inevitable nuclear bomb named Danny to explode.
The rest of the lunch went smoothly after that. Pen tried not to absently slip anything about Danny meeting Kathryn. It would have been a bit premature; obviously, as she really wasn't sure where this thing between them would go. Plus, she didn't know how Rachel would take it. Pen had a sneaking suspicion that both Rachel and Danny still had feelings for the other. Pen wouldn't be surprised. At one point, they had been inseparable. That kind of thing didn't just disappear. And, things would be a little bit more complicated because Grace was involved. Danny would not settle for someone who couldn't get along with Grace and vice versa.
They made their goodbyes outside the restaurant, and Pen expressed her excitement for brunch on Saturday.
"Of course you're excited." Grace said. "Uncle Steve is going to be there!"
The blood rushed to her face this time. Rachel noticed.
"You're going to have to tell me more about this man." She whispered into Pen's ear when they hugged. "I've met him once before… quite attractive."
Pen laughed. Another understatement. He was dead sexy.
Danny hated it when they ran. Of course, his partner, Captain America, absolutely loved the thrill of the chase. All they had wanted to do was talk to Kimo Makani. He was some low level thug that was supposedly in deep with the smuggling trade in Hawaii—humans, weapons… maybe antiquities? They'd be able to find out whenever Superman managed to catch him. Because Danny was nowhere near.
Steve hated it when they ran. Sure it was no problem for him to catch the person running, but he still hated to exert himself more than he had too. After all, all he wanted to do was talk to the guy. It's not like he was going to book him or anything. He must have done something recently not within the law. Steve honestly didn't care at this point. He just wanted some damn information.
Unfortunately for Kimo Makani, he managed to find himself down an alley with a dead end. Steve and Danny came tearing in, guns drawn.
"We just wanted to talk to you, man." Danny said, slightly out of breath.
"How was I supposed to know?" Makani shot back, hands raised now. Steve raised his own hands in a show of putting his gun away, and snapped it back into its holster at his hip. Danny followed suit.
"I just want some information from you. We're not busting you for anything, but we can if you don't give us what we want."
Makani was sweating bullets now; his Adam's apple was bouncing as he gulped.
"What do you want to know?" He croaked out.
"Smuggling. Antiquities smuggling. What do you know about it?"
"Antiquities?" Makani asked.
"Yeah, you know, old historical stuff." Danny supplied. "Old, old things that look rusted and beat up. They don't look like much."
Makani stood in thought for a second.
"I have heard some whispers about something like that."
"Go on." Steve urged.
"Apparently there's a new major player in town. They're funneling some pretty expensive stuff and selling it off to buyers all over the world. Whoever this person is, it's someone you don't want to mess with. I've heard there's already been two people killed over this stuff… whatever it is."
"What else do you know?" Danny asked.
"Nothing really. That's it, I swear."
"Find out something and I think we can overlook your next minor infraction." Steve said.
"Yo, man, I'm totally straight now. I don't do any of that shit anymore."
"Uh huh." Danny said, clearly not convinced.
"Here…" Steve spoke again, pulling out one of his cards. "You find anything out, let us know. If we don't hear from you by the end of the week, we'll come looking for you, and bust you for something, anything. Don't even think about skipping town. Wherever you go… I'll find you."
"I'd believe him." Danny piped in at Makani's skeptical look. "He has special Navy SEAL powers one can only dream about."
"All right, all right. I'll do some digging for you. But nothing that's going to get me killed."
"That's all we can ask for." Steve replied.
Around eight o'clock that night, Pen's cell phone rang while she was watching old episodes of The A-Team off Netflix. She smiled broadly when she read the caller ID.
"I guess one of those moments where neither of us weren't busy didn't happen today." Pen commented as she answered the phone.
"Unfortunately, no, it didn't." Steve replied.
"How was your day?" She asked, lying down on her couch, snuggling under a blanket to get a little more comfortable.
"The usual… chasing bad guys and all."
"You didn't get Danny shot or anything right?"
"Thanks for worrying about me. No, I didn't get shot either."
Pen laughed.
"Have you heard about Saturday?" She asked him.
"About brunch? Yeah, Grace called Danny and demanded that I be present on Saturday. How could I refuse?"
"You can't. It's really hard too. Trust me, I've tried."
It was really hard to say no to Grace. She was such a good kid. Smart as a whip, well behaved, but had a mischievous streak a mile long when she felt like it. Pen couldn't have asked for a better goddaughter.
"So… I have to keep my hands to myself then." Steve commented. Pen blushed profusely and was really glad that he couldn't see her.
"Preferably. I'd rather not have Danny know anything yet. He would probably have a heart attack. No lie. Although, Grace knows. I don't know how, but she does."
"It wouldn't surprise me. She's a smart one, definitely has her father's deducting skills. Plus, she was the one that gave me orders to keep you company."
Pen decided to keep the earlier conversation between her and Grace quiet. He didn't need to know Grace's request about the "M" word.
"So…" He spoke again. He sounded relaxed and content at the moment. Pen had to go and have a naughty mental image just then. It involved him, lying back on his bed, phone to his ear, his other hand resting under his head… completely naked. Pen shook the image from her head. But nope, it came back. "How was your day?" He asked.
"Um…" She gulped, feeling guilty at the thoughts she was having. "It was… fine."
"Just 'fine'?" He prodded.
"I mean… nothing as exciting as chasing bad guys. I gave lectures, had some office hours, and had lunch with Rachel and Grace. Then I ran some errands and came home to pay some bills. Prepared some more lectures, ate dinner, and now I'm watching episodes of The A-Team."
"That sounds exciting to me." Steve joked.
"Don't be a jerk." Pen chastised.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry…" Steve chuckled. Damn, even his chuckle was sexy. And there went the mental images again.
"Hey Penny?" Steve spoke again, his voice dropping an octave and sounding breathy. Pen gulped. At the simple sound of his voice, her heart started beating faster and her body temperature rose. God damn. What was wrong with her? Hot flashes? Really?
"Hmm?" Was all she could manage.
"I wish I could have seen you today." He practically whispered. Pen's heart skipped a beat.
"I wish I could have seen you too." She whispered back.
"Will I see you tomorrow?" He asked hopefully.
"I'm not sure. I'm done with my classes by about 3:15ish, then I'm doing a favor for someone at 5. Maybe after?"
"A favor? What favor?" He sounded curious.
"Yeah. Do you remember that guy I was talking to that time we saw each other at Hau'oli Café? He bought something in Rome and wanted me to take a look at it."
There was nothing but pure silence on the other end of the phone. Pen had thought for a second her phone battery had died.
"You can't do that." And just like that, Steve's demeanor went from gentle and sweet to cold and a hard ass.
"What do you mean?" Pen asked, sitting up on the couch.
"I don't want you doing anything for that guy."
Pen couldn't believe this. Steve hadn't seemed like the type of guy to be uber controlling… he couldn't be jealous could he?
"I'm not going by myself. My friend and colleague, Kathryn, will be there with me. It's no big deal."
"I don't care, you still can't go." Steve said with this note of finality. Pen could not believe this!
"Excuse me. But who do you think you are, telling me I can't go somewhere? The last time I checked, you're not Danny, and you're not my father!" Pen could feel the ire rising up, like the first time she had met him and had the preconceived notion of what he was like.
"Pen, you can not be around that guy! He's… he's…"
Pen noticed that he had called her Pen and not Penny
"He's what, Steve? You only met him once! How can you make a judgment on his character like that?"
Steve made to say something, but stopped himself. Pen had a feeling he wasn't telling her something.
"I don't want you to see him. Just… tell me you won't see him."
Pen was shocked and pissed. There was a note of… insecurity to Steve's voice. She had never heard him like that, nor did she think he was capable of feeling insecure. But the anger was overriding her sympathy. She had a boyfriend once that was controlling. She vowed never to let herself be in a relationship like that again. Steve had never once, in the few days they had known each other, tried to be like this. Pen didn't appreciate it.
"You know what Steve? I shouldn't be having this conversation with you. I don't want to be having this conversation with you... so… good night." And then, she hung up on him.
A/N: Whew… there you are! Another update! As always, thank you, thank you, thank you to my awesome reviewers. You all are the shizzzzz! And a big thanks to rice117 and Gizzi1213 for the extra extra support/help. You guys are AWESOME!