Disclaimer: Ideas are fictional; not making any money on this. Hawaii 5-0 belongs to CBS. That's okay because none of this would work on TV.

Family Life Continues, Chapter 10

August 2022

Jack had a tough Tuesday but Mike was faring better. Cliff made a second trip with Ed to the school to pick up Mike and Jesse. Mike made the ride with Cliff to pick Lori up from 5-0. He was enjoying the extra time with Cliff. It was a little strange for him to think about his mom with someone other than his father, but it was offset by the concept that he might have a daddy again. He really missed having a daddy.

Cliff was also enjoying the extra time with Mike. He remembered having a conversation with Danny about how sweet Steve was with Grace from the very beginning. Even though Danny swore that Steve had minimal people skills back then, he was great with Grace. He got down so that he was eye level with her. He looked her straight in the eye when they talked and was always honest with her. And even more significant, he somehow usually knew exactly what Grace needed.

When Steve was recalled to active duty, he gave her a mission to plan. When she was sick, he was able to soothe her with a story and a backrub. When she was kidnapped, he comforted her with hot chocolate and lots of marshmallows. Steve did the same when Jesse turned to him for help. Cliff witnessed Steve's appeal with the other kids. If kids were out playing and Steve joined them, all the kids vied for his attention. He always managed to give each child enough attention to satisfy their need.

So Cliff decided to take his cues from Steve. He tried to remember how it felt to be six. And he remembered how it was to be the new kid on the block when he relocated last year. Even though he had a network to tap into, he was lonely a lot of the time. Truth be told, he was still lonely at night when he returned to the lovely big house that wasn't quite a home. Somehow it was homier with Lori and Mike around.

On the way to pick up Lori, Cliff and Mike chatted about Mike's life in Seattle. He learned that Mike played t-ball last year but was unable to since his dad's death. Mike was also disappointed that he wasn't able to continue his swimming lessons at the YMCA. Lori's schedule was just too hectic to commit the time.

Cliff had a small lap pool in the backyard he used occasionally to work out. He preferred the ocean but the pool was there when he bought the house. Cliff decided to ask Lori if he could work with Mike in the pool. Cliff was an advanced swimmer and lifeguard certified; he taught his sisters' kids to swim. He could teach Mike.

Lori walked out of HQ with Shane. Cliff was standing outside his SUV in deep conversation with Mike; they were discussing the merits of Lincoln logs vs. Legos. Mike was still buckled in his booster seat; they were talking through an open window. Cliff opened the door for Lori and waited until she was safely belted in before he shut the door. He exchanged pleasantries with Shane before getting back in his vehicle and driving off.

Cliff wanted to ask Lori about progress on the case but knew that would have to wait until Mike was in bed. Instead, he talked about his day. He closed on a piece of property in the morning and was in the process of walking through it with Ed when they were interrupted for chauffer duty. Cliff stayed around for the second trip for the other boys. He spent the rest of the afternoon helping Mike build a log cabin and fort with some Lincoln logs. It wasn't the day he planned but it was a pretty good day.

Cliff's housekeeper had a casserole warming in the oven and a salad in the fridge for supper. Mike had enough time for a story before bedtime. Cliff read to Mike while Lori showered; Mike was all tucked in when Cliff came out from his shower.

Cliff was disappointed to hear that the team made little progress on tracking the local stalker. There was no update from Finn; he was trying to fly under the radar of whoever was after Lori and Mike. Cliff asked Lori about working with Mike in the pool; she agreed to think about it. They spent some time on the lanai enjoying the view before retiring for the evening.

Kono was relieved to get home on Tuesday. Pregnancy fatigue was hitting her and she gladly would trade her favorite sniper rifle for a nap. The nanny reported that Fiona was with Finn in his home office. He had a play area set up for her there. She went to the bedroom to stow her weapons and empty her pockets. She was going to check on Finn and Fiona but the bed was too tempting. She was going to just rest for a few minutes; Finn and Fiona found her sleeping there an hour later.

Fiona squirmed to get down when she saw her Mommy. When Finn put her on the bed, she made a beeline for Kono. She patted Kono on the face and said "Mama". It was enough to wake Kono.

"Hey, I guess I conked out. What time is it?"

"It's just after 6:30. Fiona has had her dinner but I thought that you and I might have a bite together. I can see that you're tired. How are you feeling other than that?"

"I'm feeling okay so far. I've had none of the morning sickness that I had with Fiona. The guys made sure that I had a good lunch. Did you bribe them to hover over me?"

"No, it's just a fringe benefit of working with people who love you. I dug up some interesting information from Seattle today. We can discuss it after Fiona is down for the night."

"That's good news. We're getting nowhere on our end."

At Fiona was tucked in for the night, Finn and Kono retired to his home office. He had hard copies of his findings for the day and a flash drive for Kono to take to 5-0 the next day. Lori's boss and several of his subordinates had irregularities in their finances. They were spending a lot more money than they had coming in. It was done discretely and some of the money was spent out of country. Now at least they had some people to focus on.

Steve was up early as usual on Wednesday for his morning workout. It was essential to maintain any kind of balance against the stress of his job. He missed his workout buddy, Jack. Even during the school year, Jack tried to join him for a short swim in the morning until the weather turned cooler. He was relieved that at least Jack was comfortable enough to sleep through the night. Hopefully he would make it through the school day.

The 5-0 team was all present and accounted for. Steve wanted to have an all-hands meeting before Luka and Shane went down for training, but he let everyone check their e-mail first. Almost immediately Lori appeared at his door with some papers in her hand.

"Steve, this was in my inbox this morning; the time stamp is 2:32 a.m." Lori laid the papers down. The top sheet was the text portion of the message. It read "Your friends can't protect you".

The next two pages were printouts of photos. The first showed Cliff outside the palace leaning up against his SUV. Mike was in the backseat. The next showed Cliff helping Lori into the vehicle.

"This was taken yesterday?"

"Yes, it was just after 5:30 p.m."

Steve pulled out his phone and called someone using speed dial. "Check the 5-0 mail account entry received at 2:32 a.m. today."

The voice at the other end replied "Got it". The call was ended.

"Finn will take care of it. Our guys are getting arrogant. This was taken from Palace surveillance cameras. Someone hacked into our system. Finn has been waiting for that to happen. He'll be able to trace the tap back to the source."

"So this is a good thing?"

"I guess that you could say that. Not a word to the others about Finn's involvement. He's our secret weapon. How is Mike doing with all this?"

"He's doing better than me. He thinks we're staying at Cliff's house because Cliff is having been dreams."

"That's a pretty good line. Mike likes to help out. Cliff is a good man. I would absolutely trust him with our boys."

"I'm beginning to appreciate Cliff's finer qualities. Steve, I just lost Thomas a few months ago but I find that I'm really attracted to Cliff. It seems too soon for me to have feelings for another man."

"Lori, from what you've told me the romance was gone between you and Thomas for a long time. Danny and I got together just weeks after his failed reconciliation with Rachel. Go with your instinct."

"That hasn't always worked very well for me. I was completely clueless about your relationship with Danny until you told me. I thought that you and I would make a good match."

"That was a long time ago Lori. You and I had a lot in common so it wasn't so far-fetched that there could be an interest. You didn't factor in the 'power of Danno'. By the time that you entered the picture, there was no one for me except Danno.

"In hindsight, I see that now. You and Danny are so great together, and you are such terrific fathers to Jack and Jesse."

"And you're great with Mike. He's been through a lot but you helped him through it. He had a great time with us Friday night. But you realize that I'm not the go-to person for personal relationships. You should try Kono."

"Why, because she's a woman?"

"No, because she's really smarter at this than the rest of us. I need to check through my e-mail before the meeting. I'll be out in a minute."

While the team spent the day tediously checking more surveillance tapes, Finn was furiously pursuing the hacker. It wouldn't have taken as long if he wasn't trying to avoid detection. He was wearing his favorite home uniform of t-shirt and board shorts. He saved his dapper suits for the mainland.

It took him most of the morning but he was able to follow a trail back to the hacker. He texted the address to Kono; he was sure that no one could tap into his wife's phone. A couple of hours later, he watched 5-0 raid the home on the south shore by satellite. While the suspect was taken to HQ, the electronics were discretely taken to Finn's mansion.

The serial numbers on the various servers and other electronic equipment gave him another trail to follow. He was able to pinpoint the distributor who sold the equipment two weeks ago. It was child's play to find the purchaser and follow the money trail from there. By the end of the day, he had a list of suspects which included Thomas' boss and several other members of SPD at various levels.

The big question was who to tell? The only cops Finn trusted were on the island and had local jurisdiction only. It was time to brief Steve, Danny, and Chin. Kono developed a strategic case of morning sickness. Steve and Danny volunteered to drive her home while Chin followed in her car. Once inside the gates of Finn's mansion, the team assembled in Finn's office. He was waiting for them with fresh coffee and one of his infamous PowerPoint presentations.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. Did you get anything from the kid you picked up this morning?"

"No, he was contacted anonymously. The location and all the equipment were provided. Basically he was being paid big money to do something he would have done just for the hell of it."

"I was able to trace his contact using the serial numbers from the equipment you recovered. From there I was able to track the money to Lori's boss and several other law enforcement personnel. They're importing weapons and some high level electronics and selling them to God knows who. I'm still working on that part."

"Thomas was working undercover in a warehouse by the docks. My guess is that he saw or heard something that he shouldn't have and was killed for it. After all, the people he would have reported his suspicions to were part of the gang."

Steve was running through his contacts list mentally to determine who he could contact for help. Homeland Security should have been at the top of the list but Steve was reluctant to do so since her own local people did nothing to help her. Until Finn could verify interstate commerce, the FBI had no jurisdiction.

"I think we need to sit on this until we can scope domestic implications. Finn, you're a genius. How much longer do you need to discover where this stuff is going?"

"Give me another 24 hours. I need to tend to my Kono and Fiona and I could use a few hours sleep."

"Of course, you do what you need to. Do you have any indication whom else on the island might be on the payroll?

"My facial recognition scans came up with a couple of likely candidates. Their information is in the packet."

The meeting broke up shortly. Kono was going to help Finn from home. Steve and Danny were going to make a couple of routine stops to keep appearances up. Then Steve dropped Danny off at home and went to meet with the governor.

The governor was disturbed with Steve's update and agreed that they needed to carefully determine who to contact. Steve suggested that his Navy contacts might be able to help. Admiral Halloran owed him one from the 'Catherine' incident last year. It would be off the record for now. Again, the governor agreed.

Steve was satisfied with the day's progress. They had some names and faces to go with the crimes now. Finn was making phenomenal progress tracking down the criminals in Seattle. Steve called the admiral on the way home and arranged to meet at a bar later in the evening. It was time to enlist some additional help.