Runaway Witness XIII

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. And that's the truth.

Thank you everyone for still hanging in here with me. I will try to stick with my Monday postings but now that our camper is open for the season the posting dates will vary. I will try to make sure it is still on a weekly basis.

Chapter 13

"Mahina has promised she will help," Nahele spoke up, his eyes darting between the two men. "If she said it then she'll do it. She keeps her promises."

"I'm sure she does Nahele. We just don't know how fast this group will retaliate now that we have inflicted some damage," Danny explained. "I'm worried this will snowball now that they've openly come after Mahina."

"I'm sure that little girl means well son but we've got big trouble if she has no clue when the bombs were to go off. If she really doesn't know all that much then this will become more dangerous," Lou added. "Steve's going to be slowed down with his injuries, the pressure is only going to increase the longer these guys are in the wind."

Danny snorted at Lou's choice of words about Steve slowing down. He almost commented on Steve slowing down for anything but the sight of a familiar doctor approaching silenced him. Danny recognized Dr. Kawena Pookalani, a friend of Chin's who worked in the ER. She was smiling as she stopped in front of the trio.

"Commander McGarrett will be fine. We cleaned and stitched the deep graze on his thigh and removed the bullet from his shoulder. He's lucky, the bullet entered his shoulder at an angle that wasn't deep and didn't hit the collarbone. The Commander will be very sore and will need a crutch for a while but he should recover completely. We'll keep him overnight to watch for infection but he should be able to be released in the morning if the night goes well," she reported. "I'd suggest he take it easy but knowing the Commander, I doubt he'll follow that order."

"Yea…good luck with that," Danny chuckled, feeling much better after hearing the doctor's report. "I am surprised you were able to convince him to stay the night."

"The Commander suggested it," Dr. Pookalani informed him.

Both Danny and Lou looked at her in surprise. The woman smiled, knowing this news was not what they expected given the Commander's past behavior.

"We are putting him in the room next to the young lady that came in with him," she added.

Her statement suddenly explained Steve's decision to the men. Of course Steve would stay as extra security for Mahina. Even with a guard on her door, he would want her to know he was nearby.

"Thanks for the good news Doc," Danny said in relief. Not only was he saved from arguing with Steve about staying in the hospital but Mahina would feel better as well. Nahele sank back in his seat, happy to have his faith in Steve secured. He knew that his friend was keeping his promises.

"Can we talk to McGarrett soon?" Lou asked.

"Of course. Dr. Carver has said that Mahina has asked about her friend. She's going to be fine by the way." She looked at the teenager. "It will be okay for you to go up and see her very soon."

"Thank you Doctor," Nahele said rising to his feet.

Dr. Pookalani looked closer at the dried blood on his forehead.

"You were hurt, has anyone looked at this wound?" she asked stepping closer to peer at him.

"It's just a scratch from a rock shard," Nahele protested as he reached up to touch the dried blood. "I'm fine, I just want to see Mahina."

"Just who does he sound like?" Danny said quietly to Lou. "I think Steve has become too big of an influence."

"It should be soon, when they are settled in their rooms a nurse will tell you," Kawena said with a smile. "I am going to send a nurse out to see if she can clean that scratch up for you before you go up. She will also tell what rooms they are in."

True to her word, a nurse came out ten minutes later, cleaned the scratch and placed a bandage over it then gave them the room numbers that Steve and Mahina were occupying.

Once they reached the floor they could already see the guard was in place. Rooms on the hallway were set up in pairs where two doors were side by side. The officer could sit at one of the desks outside the door and watch both. Nahele disappeared into the room that the man said was Mahina's after Danny said they would stop by after talking to Steve. They would get Steve's version of what went down first so they could compare it with what Nahele had told them on the ride back to Honolulu. Without knocking they entered McGarrett's room.

How are you doing Steven?" Danny enquired as they found Steve sitting up in bed, left arm in a sling. The blanket was at his waist hiding the wide white bandage around his right thigh.

"I'll live," McGarrett grinned although he hated that once again he was forced to wear a hospital gown. He took some comfort that they let him keep his underwear, which preserved a small amount of his dignity. "I will appreciate a set of clean clothes tomorrow when they release me. Can you help me with that?"

"I believe that can be arranged," Danny nodded. "You are certain that you will be released?"

"I'm sure…just ask Dr. Pookalani," Steve said beginning to grow irritated.

"He's just yanking your chain McGarrett," Lou chuckled. "The good doctor told us that you should be released in the morning. Personally I do think that it is a good thing that you are spending the night to keep watch on that little girl next door."

"Mahina's frightened," Steve answered simply. "I promised her she would be safe. Have you had any luck learning how they knew where the kids were?"

"Duke is checking on it to see if there is anyone at HPD with loose lips," Danny said grimly. "We haven't heard from him yet. It had to be someone on shift in the precinct that heard me call in for backup. That should limit it to someone in dispatch. I don't remember the person I spoke to identifying themselves."

"That mole is the key to this group," Steve insisted.

"It's being looked into Steve. We also have a dead body that can give us some clues as well," Lou pointed out. "We have clues to work with finally and some of them are going to pan out. You were right, they have started to make mistakes, and we will get them."

"I think I may have winged another of them. I heard a cry when the first burst of gunfire was exchanged. So you need to check all hospitals, clinics and doctor's offices to see if anyone comes in for treatment," Steve said.

"We will do that…if they bother to go to a doctor," Danny assured him. "I'm betting any injuries will be handled in house with this group. They know they can't risk having a doctor report a wound like that."

"That depends on how badly the person was hurt. But you are right, they are making mistakes," Steve agreed. "We have to keep pursuing every connection until we get our answers."

Danny and Lou exchanged looks. Danny moved over to the bedside chair while Lou perched on the wide windowsill.

"Talk us through this afternoon babe. Nahele told us his version but he was frightened. Tell us what you remember," Danny urged.

McGarrett nodded, knowing he was likely to be the best witness to explain the events of the day. He paused a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I found the kids at the bus stop in Hawai'i Kai. Nahele actually called me before he knew I was there and he broke the news to Mahina that I had followed them," Steve said proudly. "She did agree to return to Honolulu and as we headed for the truck, a black Suburban drove past and fired on us. We ran to the truck and they made a second pass but most of their shots missed other than the one that hit my leg. I think that was their plan, they wanted us out of the town and I obliged them," Steve said in disgust.

"Did you have any other choice?" Lou asked.

"I suppose not," Steve admitted reluctantly. "But I put the kids at risk."

"You saved their lives. Would you have preferred a shootout in Hawai'i Kai?" Danny questioned. "How did you manage to crash the truck?"

"I think I ran over something sharp. The tire blew and I lost control of it. If that hadn't happened I think I could have out run them…..they weren't gaining on us. Once we were in the ditch, I knew we had to head into the woods and look for someplace I could defend until help arrived. The first burst of fire came from the direction of the road and I responded. That is when I heard the cry of pain. There was a second round from that direction and then Nahele spotted someone moving in from the left. I took out that perp, ending up emptying my clip and I only had one extra. I used up the second clip responding to more fire from the first position and then when a second man came from the direction of the dead man. He was able to shoot me in the shoulder and I was lucky enough to get the AK-47 the first man dropped and protect the kids from the second man just as you showed up," Steve told them as concisely as he could.

"Sounds pretty much what Nahele told us," Lou said. "However he seemed to think you went above and beyond, stepping into superhero territory."

"He was just scared. I only did what was needed," Steve replied.

"Hero complex," Danny muttered and Steve shot him a puzzled look.

"Danny and I were reflecting earlier on how you can't resist playing hero," Lou explained with a grin. "And I respect the hell out of you because of it," he added soberly.

Steve shook his head.

"I did what was needed…the same as either of you would. We need an ID on the guy I killed and discover who owns that SUV. Tomorrow have Kono come and go through that notebook with Mahina. I think the girl just needs to have her memory jogged," Steve suggested.

"We'll take care of it," Danny promised. "Kono and Chin are dealing with the crime scene. You get some rest tonight. I'll come by in the morning with some clothes."

"Could you also clear it with the staff so that Nahele can spend the night if that is what he wants? I want Mahina to feel safe and I think Nahele would like to be here. Then I will need to check with CPS to find out what I can on that foster home and the family by the name of Hamilton. There is some reason she refuses to return there."

"I'll look into that for you," Lou told him. "That child doesn't need any more stress piled on her shoulders. I'll do some digging."

"Thanks Lou."

"So…about our bombers….do you think this little adventure will slow them down?" Danny asked going back to his biggest concern.

"I wish I knew," Steve sighed. "It depends on how strong their target is. If things are fluid, they might adjust their timing but if they have a hard target that will have them locked in to a specific time frame."

"Lovely….how do we determine what is what Steven?" Danny grumbled.

"We dig into the clues we have and prepare to move quickly. The Suburban and the body are two huge clues. It's more than we started with," Steve said.

"We just need to find it. We lost a good young cop tonight to the perps that took off in it," Lou said sourly.

"The description has gone out to all patrol units. I'm betting they abandon it somewhere before too long," Danny said confidently. "What we really need is a clue that can talk."

"We work with what we have," Steve said. "Do we have a name for the guy I shot?"

"Kono called and said his wallet said he is Lon Keller. He worked for a company called Jamar Security and lived in Pearl City. She is going to dig further if he has any family once she is back at headquarters," Danny filled him in.

"Good…..good. Then we can cross reference his contacts with Bruce Martin's to find a connection. Somewhere there has to be a lead," Steve said trying to stifle a yawn. He lay back against the pillows, trying to shut out the aches in his body. The medications had dulled the more intense pain but his body was screaming for rest.

"We need to get moving, we will stop and talk to Mahina before we go," Lou spoke up, recognizing how wiped out McGarrett looked.

"Thanks, I think I could use some sleep," Steve admitted, fighting to keep his eyes open.

"We'll make sure Nahele can stay if he wants," Danny added. "See you in the morning partner."

"Night Danny," McGarrett waved as his eyes closed.

Leaving their leader, they stopped next door but discovered that Mahina was sound asleep. They assured Nahele he could stay and then went to make sure that the staff would allow it. Flashing the 5-0 badge got major cooperation from the nursing staff.

As they walked out of the hospital into the cool of the night, Danny paused on the sidewalk and massaged the back of his neck.

"So….home or headquarters?" he asked.

"Headquarters," Lou sighed.

End chapter.

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