A/N: This chapter, one of my favorites, was inspired by my first conversation about Five-0 in Honolulu. More at the end.

Chapter 11 — Peculiar Pursuit

Monday

"What? They're not there?" Steve exclaimed.

"Relax, boss," Kono chuckled. "There's a note on the door. They had to move around to the rear parking lot because of a roof leak."

Danny looked out the window, past the steady swipe of the window wipers. The rain had resumed. It alternated between a drizzle and a mist, but it never went away entirely.

"They went outside in this?"

Danny and Steve sensed Kono's shrug. "Guess they'd rather have rain fall on their heads than ceiling tiles. I'm going around back now."

She left her Cruze parked out front and walked around the side of the building following the smeared and runny arrow posted on the wall. The scene in back looked much like the VFW event, with a couple of long banquet tents, one over a few long dining tables and one over a serving table set up next to the Pick a Pocket truck. People squeezed under the serving tent, trying to maintain their places in line without straying out into the rain.

"OK, boss, they're here," Kono reported. She hung back, describing the scene, the position of the truck and the fact that there was only one exit from the lot. "If you come in from Turner, you can block the food truck's exit."

For quicker service at the soup kitchen, the pickpockets brought their leftover meats and sides out of the truck to long cafeteria tables. The dips filled pitas with meat. The vegetables, cheeses and sauces were laid out for people to accessorize their pita pockets.

As they worked, the Dipping Crew chatted and bantered with the homeless and unemployed who lined up for the fresh, hot food.

A few minutes later, Chin pulled up on his motorcycle next to Kono's car. He followed the arrow on foot to join his cousin.

Steve brought the Camaro to a halt on the far side of the back parking lot. He put the car's bumper so close to the food truck that they wouldn't be able to drive it forward. Five-0 began to move in, with Kono and Chin coming from the building and Danny and Steve approaching from the parking lot.


When Kimo saw the notice out front, he drove around back in his Land Rover Range Rover. He was running late, and he'd gone the wrong way. A curb and a torn up muddy vacant lot stood between him and his promise to help. His off-road wonder truck laughed to hear this called rough terrain.


Simon smiled when he noticed Kono approaching through the crowd, then frowned when he saw her companion. "Darren, I see our friend Kay with one of the guys who helped control the crowd at the mall."

Darren heard the warning as he turned back to the truck to get more pitas. He froze, one foot suspended in the air.

"Simon, I've got the Navy guy from the mall plus our firefighter friend from the trolley stop."

"Shit!" Simon looked around in a panic. The Camaro blocked the truck's exit. There was nowhere to run, then, bypassing all obstacles, Kimo rolled over the curb and bounced across the open field to stop next to Simon. He hopped out of his Range Rover.

"Sorry, I'm late," he apologized.

"We've got to borrow your car, Kimo," Simon said, grabbing the keys out of the young man's hand and handing over his own. "Watch the truck for us."

Simon and his family piled into the off-roader, bounced over two parking stops, swerved around the Camaro, crossed the sidewalk and dropped off the curb.

"Shit!" Steve said. He and Danny reversed course at top speed and ran to the Camaro.

"Stay with the evidence," Chin ordered Kono, pointing at the food truck. He ran back to his motorcycle. Kono watched helplessly, while Chin drove up the sidewalk, zigzagged across the parking lot and set off in pursuit of the no-longer-visible Camaro. Kono combed back her straight black hair in frustration, then realized everyone was looking at her.

Some of the people just shrugged and continued to pick up food, but many in the crowd looked angry that their friends had been chased away.

"Kay?" Kimo asked uncertainly.

Kono displayed her badge to Kimo and the room at large.

Some more people lost interest, not willing to mess with police. Three began to shuffle hastily away, two smelling strongly of paka lolo. But others got even angrier. They'd been hassled by cops before. Aggressive mutterings muttering circled the crowd and Kono realized — badass or not — that she was alone in a hostile crowd.

"All right. Enough of that," the soup kitchen's organizer said sharply. The small, pudgy woman gave Kono an unfriendly glance, but her commanding presence silenced the throng.

"I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure it's a mistake," she said to Kono.

"Except they ran," said a cynic in the group. "People don't run if they're not guilty."

That ended the muttering and deflated the organizer. It was hard to answer that, even though they all knew — including Kono — that sometimes innocent people run because they're scared.

"Well, the timing could have been better," the organizer told Kono almost apologetically.

"At least they left the food," a realist pointed out.

"Right, and they wouldn't want it to go to waste," Kimo said robustly. He caught Kono's arm and towed her to the serving line. Feeding the people would clear the crowd, she realized, and she felt safer with the tables between her and the still simmering anger. But the anger cooled in the face of persistent rain and equally persistent hunger, and the crowd lined up again.


The Land Rover roared north, dodging through traffic. Its off-road capabilities were little use on surface streets. The Camaro, lights flashing, siren wailing, gained steadily.

The three dips were in a pure panic.

"Don't go home," Darren cried.

Simon at the wheel already had their bolt hole in mind, a little boat bought with cash. It could take them to another island. Disregarding everything but the need to escape, he turned toward safety on the first westbound street he could find. Forgetting about the roadwork on the Nimitz that had all the westbound roads jammed with rush hour traffic, Simon cut left onto one-way Britannia and traffic instantly clotted around the Range Rover. The high-speed chase became a slow speed crawl.

The Dipping Crew realized they were trapped in the traffic jam. There was nowhere to go with cars hemming them in on every side — even a freaking tourist trolley on the left! — and more vehicles were filling the space behind them.

Simon's hand went to the horn, but Darlene snatched it away. "Don't attract attention," she said, breathless with fear.

The three hunched their shoulders and sank deeper in their seats, as if they could hide from the wolves behind them.


Steve saw the danger in time, swung wide to the right and jolted to a stop in the Methodist Church parking lot.

Danny clutched at the doorframe. "Whoa! What?" he protested.

"You're the one who said it would be faster to walk," Steve reminded him. The commander vaulted from the Camaro. Danny stared for an eye blink, then his brain caught up. He jumped out, paused to reach under the seat for an umbrella, and then ran after his partner through the misting rain.

Steve gestured at Danny to take the right side of the road while he dodged through traffic to the opposite sidewalk. He bent low to stay out of the sight of the suspects who were trapped by a red light one lane from the left side.

Danny put up his umbrella, holding it to conceal his face from the motorists. He hurried, like a man caught in the rain, which he was.

The light changed, but it didn't help the suspects, because the intersection was still full of cars that had turned from the side street.

The Range Rover crept forward, coming up next to the tourist trolley, which made great cover for Steve. He didn't even have to crouch any more. Steve jogged up beside the trolley driver and showed his badge. "I'm coming up."

With poles, crossbars and wooden slats, the side of the trolley was as easy to climb as a child's jungle gym.

Steve grasped the slick bars beaded with raindrops and vaulted aboard.

"What's going on?" the driver demanded.

"I need to get to the people in that car," Steve answered, nodding at the gray Range Rover on the right.

Everybody on the right side of the trolley immediately shifted to the left. Steve glared at them for tipping off his suspects, but the trolley was too high for Simon and company to notice the evacuation.

When he saw Steve take out his gun, the trolley driver began to protest, but Steve cut him off. "This is just a precaution. We have no reason to believe the suspects are armed. Stay quiet and everything will be fine. Try to stay next to him," the commander ordered, as space opened before them and the cars shuffled forward, but didn't get far. The trolley moved with the sluggish flow. Steve clung to a strap and looked across the street for his partner on the far corner.

Danny had located his partner thanks to the mass movement on the trolley. He waited for Steve to meet his eyes then, with a grin, he pushed the crosswalk button, guaranteeing that the light would change again soon.


Chin had lost sight of the vehicles at first, but he spotted the Camaro and paused next to it in the parking lot. "Guys?" he said into his com. "Where are you? I'm at the church with Danny's car."

Steve described their locations and told him where the suspect vehicle was. "When the traffic stops for the red light, bring your bike up behind them on the passenger side."

"Got it."

The light changed. Motorists cursed, sighed or banged their foreheads on their steering wheels, depending on their temperaments. Chin drove cautiously up the white line, drawing envious looks. Danny started across the street with his umbrella up. Steve moved to the trolley steps.

The black-clad biker coming up behind them distracted the Dipping Crew. They didn't see Steve vault out of the trolley or Danny dart out of the crosswalk past the car ahead of them. Suddenly, the Five-0 officers were banging on the windows. They pointed their weapons at the Ranger Rover and ordered the pickpockets out. As soon as the occupants unlocked the car, the Five-0 pair yanked open the front doors at the same time and hauled the men out by their collars. "Out out out!" Danny yelled. Darrell tumbled to his hands and knees at Danny's feet.

Steve muscled Simon out and shoved him against the car. Darlene scrambled after, clinging to her man's side, staring wide-eyed at Chin who held his shotgun at the ready behind them. "Hands on the car!" Steve barked at the same time Danny yelled, "Five-0! Hands up. Five-0!"

Frightened beyond reason, Darren screamed back, "I don't know what that means!"

Danny looked into the man's terrified eyes. The detective held up one finger of his left hand, signaling everyone to hold on. Danny took two deep breaths himself, ratcheting down his own hammering adrenalin, and then said in a less strident voice. "It means 'police.'" He showed his badge. "Five-0 means 'police'."

"Police?" Darren said hopefully.

"Police," Danny confirmed.

"Police?" Simon beseeched Steve.

"Police," Steve confirmed, displaying his badge.

"Thank god!" Darlene said, tears running down her cheeks. She pressed her face against her husband's arm. "Thank god!"

Simon's knees felt weak. He'd have sat down next to the car, if he hadn't been in the middle of a wet street with traffic beginning to move around them.

Seeing the tension drain out of the scene before him, the driver behind the Range Rover dared to stick out his head and call, "Hey, brah, mind moving? I've been trying to get home for an hour already."

"Chin, take these three over to the curb. Danny, pull the car around the corner." Steve pointed at a parking space on the side street.

"Sure, now I get to drive," Danny grumbled, taking the wheel.

Steve kept the trolley in place while Danny made a left turn in front of it and parked out of the way. The blocked driver and the trolley driver both waved and moved across the street where they were stopped by traffic again. Danny had time to run after them and get their names in case Five-0 needed witnesses to their rather bizarre takedown.


The Dipping Crew sat huddled together on the curb under Chin's watchful gaze. Simon's quick eye spotted the backup piece in Chin's ankle holster. He thought he might be able to take it without Chin noticing.

"But then what would you do with it?" Chin asked, proving he had spotted Simon's interest.

"I wouldn't have a clue," the pickpocket admitted.

"We're not going to cause any trouble," Darlene said, from where she was sandwiched between her husband and her brother.

"No trouble," Darren agreed. "I just want out from under, Simon."

"Out," Simon agreed, as Chin handed them over to HPD patrol officers with instructions to take them to holding at Five-0.


At the soup kitchen, the patrons ate hastily and left quickly, wanting to be far away from police problems, especially after a patrol car showed up to back up Kono and then Chin returned with his shotgun.

With the food gone, the soup kitchen staff packed up and retreated into the building. Dangerous ceiling tiles or not, it seemed safer than a parking lot full of cops.

"Now what?" Kimo asked, when he was left alone with the officers.

"Now we search the truck," Kono said.

"I can't let you do that," Kimo said. "Simon left me in charge."

"But we have a warrant," Chin said, displaying the paper.

Kimo read it carefully, then nodded. "What's this all about?" he asked from outside, as the Five-0 officers went through the back of the food truck.

"Your friends are convicted pickpockets," Kono said.

"I know," Kimo said, surprising her. "They told me how the guys met in prison and Darlene started writing to Simon when she found out he didn't have any family at all. Simon and Darlene came here on their honeymoon and liked it so much, they decided to start a new life here."

"They're suspected in an identity theft ring that's targeting tourists," Chin said.

Kimo understood how bad that could be. His family made their living catering to tourists. But he liked the haoles from California.

"I don't believe it," he said uncertainly, but he remembered they ran.

Kono liked them, too. "There's some evidence they may have been coerced."

"At the very least, we can hold them on stealing your car, brah," Chin said.

"No," Kimo said instantly. "I loaned them my car." He jingled the keys at the Five-0 duo. "You can see Simon traded me his keys for mine."

"You're a good friend, Kimo," Kono said kindly.

"I hope your trust isn't misplaced," Chin said.

To be honest, Kimo hoped so, too.

TBC

A/N: So, I was in the van from the airport (and it wasn't raining!) and we ran into some normal afternoon traffic. The driver said, this is what they don't show on TV, the traffic. I laughed and said, yes, McGarrett could run down a car in this. And then later in the week, I was sitting on a tourist trolley in traffic that was honestly just this slow because of road repairs miles away on the Nimitz Highway. And I knew I could have walked faster than the cars were going. That's where this came from. My new cover photo shows highway traffic, not the city traffic jam described in my story.