Runaway Witness XXI

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. Nope, that is a sad fact but I don't.

Thanks for sticking with me on this longer than usual story.

Chapter 21

Duke arrived with his team and Mia played her part as Mahina very convincingly. She went to Steve and stuck close, not interacting with the other members of the team. Duke made sure his team was introduced to 5-0 so Sparks could confirm that Steve was present at the house. Then Duke had all the detail except Sparks check the outside as if there was no other police presence at the place to give the mole time to observe the interior as McGarrett had instructed.

Todd did a quick scan of the interior of the house but couldn't help watching McGarrett with the girl closely. He took note of how the Commander took the girl by the arm and escorted her to the couch, speaking softly to her. The girl nodded and smiled tentatively as they both sat on the couch. Tearing his gaze away, Sparks looked around, noting the kitchen was through an archway to the left while a hallway to the right must lead to the bedrooms and bathroom on the right side of the structure. Shifting from foot to foot he was now eager to get out of there and report back to Conrad, as he was beginning to get nervous that the Commander would become suspicious of him.

The detail returned inside and Chin met with Duke near the door.

"It's all clear outside," Duke told him. "It's quiet, are you set here?"

"We are. Thanks Duke, we can take it from here," Chin responded. "Captain Grover and I will stand watch while McGarrett and Williams question the girl."

"Call if you need help," Duke said and winked when none of the others were looking.

"We certainly will," Chin promised with a nod.

Ushering his men out of the house, Duke got in his squad and led the way back to HPD. As the vehicles pulled away from the house, Chin turned to Steve and Mia sitting on the couch and Danny and Lou returned from the kitchen.

"I would say we did a good job of baiting the hook. And it will likely be after nightfall before we have to worry about things going boom in the night," Danny said with a sigh.

"I agree," Steve stated. "But we will put our eyes outside on notice anyway. Once it's dark the bomb squad will move in quietly and park several houses down. We will also have a team of two men in the area behind the house."

"Only one team?" Danny questioned.

"We can't have all of HPD here Danny…Sparks might catch on," Steve pointed out. He got up and moved to look out the front window.

"Why don't both you and Lou catch some rest while we wait?" Chin suggested to Danny. "You two had a rough night watching over Steve."

"You don't have to tell me twice. I could use a nap," Lou said and disappeared towards one of the back bedrooms.

"Go on Danny," Steve said when Williams hesitated. "I know you didn't sleep well on my couch and that's my fault. Do as Chin suggests, it will help kill time."

Williams considered protesting but he was a bit tired and he wouldn't mind a nap. The night could get to be very long and he did see real concern on his partner's face.

"Okay, you don't have to twist my arm. Wake me if anyone carrying pipe bombs stops by and knocks on the door," Danny sighed and headed back to claim the second bedroom.

Mia Palinka glanced around at the remaining men in the room with interest. She had heard all the gossip and tales about the Governor's task force that had greeted her arrival in Honolulu, but they still took her by surprise. She had expected a coldly efficient group that lived by military standards given their leader's background. The casual attitude expressed by Det. Williams caught her off guard and McGarrett's ease with which Williams' caustic reactions were shrugged off was not what she had anticipated. This whole interaction reminded her of her five brothers' behavior and now she understood Officer Kalakaua's comment about needing a whip for this job.

Chin's phone rang and he quickly answered.

"Hey Cuz, are you safely home?" he questioned. A smile bloomed on his face as he listened to the answer. "Well that certainly was a smart plan. Thank Max for his assistance. Do you have a patrol watching your house? Good…..take care. Yes, I'll tell Steve. Talk to you later." He pocketed his phone and grinned at McGarrett.

"Let me guess…..Kono had Max take them out of the hospital in his coroner's van," Steve chuckled. "Smart woman."

"She is indeed," Chin agreed. "She said Mahina and Nahele are fine and she now feels like she's a chaperone at a teen dance."

"I can only imagine," Steve laughed. "Kono is a brave woman and I really do appreciate what she is doing for the kids."

Chin nodded and headed into the kitchen. Steve looked at Mia, feeling her eyes on him. He moved to a nearby arm chair near the couch and sat down.

"I want to thank you for agreeing to this assignment Officer Palinka. Your presence here helped sell this op," Steve told her.

"I was flattered to have the chance to work with 5-0 Commander. I've done my share of undercover jobs with Narcotics, mostly busting high school and college drug rings so this sounded like a nice change of pace. I guess it pays to look young," Mia replied with a grin. "It definitely is an intriguing assignment."

"Tell that to my partner, he's convinced I'm trying to get him blown up," Steve told her with a wry smile.

It hit Mia that Commander McGarrett looked very handsome once he smiled. Not that he wasn't easy on the eyes when serious but the years dropped away when the man smiled. She had to remind herself that she was just a Narcotics officer and a man like McGarrett was bound to have a woman in his life.

"Det. Williams seems to have a rather cynical outlook on police work," Mia observed, hoping she wasn't overstepping her bounds.

"Danny is a good cop, he just feels better when he can complain," McGarrett said with a chuckle. "It's how he blows off steam. He may appear to be disrespectful but when push comes to shove, he's there when I need him. You just have to tune out the rants, I do."

"I wonder if that will work in my stressful situations." Mia said wistfully.

"Only if you have an understanding superior," Steve advised with a wink.

"I will remember that," Palinka conceded. She reached into the backpack she had brought with her and withdrew her weapon and a novel. "I think I'll read for a while, it works better than a nap for me."

"Sounds like a plan," Steve agreed. He rested his head against the chair back and let his whole body relax. He wasn't likely to sleep but he had learned how to relax while waiting without losing awareness.

*H 5-0*

As his detail piled out of their squad cars and headed into HPD, Duke hung back with Officer Tim Chan. He had briefed Chan on his suspicions about Sparks and the older man was ready to help Lukela trap the mole. They followed Todd as he pulled out his phone and headed directly for the locker room. Quietly the two men entered behind him, glad the place was empty and that Sparks' locker was in a back corner.

They could hear a couple of chirps and knew their target had sent a text. That was followed shortly by Spark speaking in a low voice. Nodding to Chan, Duke moved closer, his hand resting on the butt of his gun.

"Hey Conrad…..did you get the address? Great….oh yes, McGarrett's there, Lukela introduced me to the man. The other three men are there too. The chick? No, she is probably visiting her jailbird hubby," Sparks could be heard saying. "The house is small, living room across the front, kitchen is on the left, going all the way to the back. The right side has a hall with bedrooms and bathroom off it."

There was a long pause as Sparks listened to the man on the other end of the phone.

"Okay…..I'm off duty tomorrow. I'd be glad to help you plant them. It's a great plan Conrad, good luck tonight. Call me tomorrow," Sparks said and everything became quiet.

Duke looked at Chan and when the other man nodded, they moved forward to block the exit from the locker room. Sparks looked surprised as he rounded the lockers and found the two men standing in front of him.

"Officer Sparks, do you have some information you'd like to share with us?" Duke asked mildly.

"Me? Uh…..no Sarge….what do you mean?" Todd stuttered, his face flushing.

"I mean you just called someone to confirm the safe house's location. Who is Conrad and why does he need to know if 5-0 is there or not? Why does he need the house's layout?" Duke asked. "And just what are you planning on planting tomorrow?"

"I never said anything like that," Sparks denied.

Officer Chan held up his phone, showing Sparks it was still recording.

"You're caught Sparks, there is no wiggling out of this," Duke said gravely. "It would be in your best interest to come clean and name names."

For one brief instant Sparks considered shoving both men aside and making a run for it but Sgt. Lukela had his hand on his weapon and that made him reconsider. Todd had no desire to die for Conrad Brickman's cause. He had been careful with his money and saved a lot. He could afford a very good lawyer and if he kept his mouth shut he might be able to skate on some of the heavier charges. Raising his hands, he smiled smugly at Duke.

"I'm not talking without a lawyer."

"Cuff him Chan, I'm sure 5-0 will enjoy talking to him once they return from the safe house. Sorry Sparks, McGarrett will decide when you get a lawyer, this is 5-0's case so it's their rules," Duke informed him with pleasure.

All the color drained from Todd Sparks' face but he kept his mouth shut. He was prepared to keep faith that Conrad would come through for him once this was behind them. He couldn't let himself believe that Conrad would be caught by 5-0.

Duke waited for a response and then nodded to Chan, who stepped forward to cuff his fellow officer after turning off the phone's recorder. He quickly cuffed Sparks and smiled at Duke.

Moving closer, Duke patted Sparks down and extracted two phones from his pockets. As Chan escorted Todd from the locker room, Duke studied the phones and shook his head. Dirty cops made his stomach churn but at least they had caught this one red-handed. Taking both phones he headed to his captain's office to bring him up to speed.

*H5-0*

Steve had enjoyed some time to relax, mentally reviewing strategy that might be useful later that night. His phone buzzing snapped him back to alertness.

"McGarrett," he responded as Mia set her book down and Chin looked up from the motorcycle magazine he had been reading. "Hey Duke, that is great news. Okay….the techs are going over the burner phone? Good. Thanks for the info, we will be on guard."

After pocketing his phone, Steve gave his companions a grim smile.

"We are in business. Duke arrested Sparks after he gave someone called Conrad our location and a description of the house's floor plan," he told them.

"So we are right, Brickman is behind this," Chin commented.

"It is too much of a coincidence for it to be another Conrad. Duke took two phones off of him, one was a disposable. The techs are trying to create a timeline for the calls he made on it which are to only one other number. I'm willing to bet it is one of the phones stolen in the electronics store robbery," Steve related. "Sparks has requested a lawyer and is refusing to talk until he has one."

"He is hoping to ride this out," Chin guessed. "We should look into his financials. He hasn't been sharing information for free," he added and headed to a table where a laptop sat. "I'll do some digging." He went to work, looking for unusual deposits in the man's bank accounts.

"Duke said he overheard Sparks offering to "plant" something tomorrow and then wished Conrad luck for tonight," Steve added.

"Oh goody…so they definitely plan to blow us up tonight," Danny's voice came from the hallway entrance. "So we should prepare for some fireworks after dark," he continued, a grim look on his face. "I hope you are happy Steven."

End chapter.

Again I thank you for reading. At least the gang knows they are coming.