Chapter 21

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Since there was nothing they could do before the next morning, the team called it a day and left Steve's house around 5:00 p.m. They were all excited to have their first evening of pure freedom to do something they each wanted to do.

Kono grabbed her surfboard and headed to the beach to catch a few waves. Chin took a nice, long ride on his motorcycle around the island. Jenna found a nice coffee house where she could relax with a book. Danny, who was still concerned about Steve's physical condition but was trying not to be too obvious about it, picked up takeout for both of them. They ate out on the lanai and once Danny was satisfied that Steve would be ok, he headed home to call Rachel and Grace.

And Steve, for his part, finally got to call Catherine. He was amazed at how good it felt to hear her voice; it had been too long. She had been following the news carefully, as much as she could from an aircraft carrier in the middle of nowhere, but had not heard that the murder charges had been dropped. She was relieved but had not heard any more rumors about the Navy dismissing Steve. However, all that meant was that things were being handled quietly. Steve placed calling the Navy JAG office first thing in the morning at the top of his "to-do" list.

They talked a while longer, and it was evident Catherine was still concerned about his physical well-being. Steve blew off all her inquiries, claiming he felt fine. She did not sound overly convinced, but knew better than to push him and let it drop. They made plans to get together next time she was in port and after a few "love yous" and "take cares", Steve hung up the phone and went upstairs to go to bed.

After a long, hot shower to help relieve the stiffness in his sore muscles, he climbed into bed early and fell asleep almost immediately.

For once, he actually slept an hour past his normal 5:00 a.m. wake up time. When he did awake, he felt refreshed after nine hours of sleep and much better than the afternoon before. He climbed out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. He debated skipping his normal two first-of-the-morning Advils before deciding he'd better not push his luck and instead quickly swallowed them.

He took another therapeutic, hot shower, then got out and wrapped a towel around himself. He wiped the steam off the mirror and, for the first time since leaving the hospital, took a long look at his injuries.

The bruises on his face were changing colors and were now more yellow-purple than black; they would begin to disappear soon. His face was no longer swollen, making the stitches in his jaw more pronounced. He'd have to remember to stop by the ER in a few days and get them taken out.

The swelling in his right hand and fingers was also going down and they were beginning to look much more normal. He still would not be able to use them for a few more weeks, but he was getting used to doing everything left handed. The bruising on his ribs was also beginning to dissipate and his incision sites were becoming less obvious, their redness now giving way to a deep pink. All in all, Steve thought his body was healing up fairly nicely.

Hard to believe it's just been six days. The prison fight seemed more like a lifetime ago, as did his hospital stay; so much had transpired over just the past two days.

He got dressed, put his arm in the sling, and headed downstairs. He rummaged through the fridge and pantry until he rustled up something that resembled breakfast. Although Danny would probably disagree, Steve thought with a grin, as he ate his steel cut oats with vanilla soy milk.

After eating, he still had some time before the team arrived so he called the Navy's JAG Corps, grateful for the time zone difference, which meant their office was already open. After being shuffled through a phone tree and being placed on hold a few times, he finally got to someone who knew something about his case.

"Lieutenant Collins," the JAG officer said upon answering his phone.

"Yes, Lieutenant Collins, this is Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. I understand you are handling my case."

"Sir, yes sir," Collins replied, respectfully. "I am."

"I just wanted to check on the status of the proceedings," Steve said.

"Sir, you understand I cannot tell you much, due to legal reasons. But I can let you know we are still acting under article 30 of section 830, and trying to determine which charges will be brought against you."

Steve blew out a breath of relief. Evidently, the Navy had not gotten far in the process.

"Thank you for that information," he replied. "I did want to make you aware that the state of Hawaii has dropped the charges against me."

"We did see that on the news, sir. We have contacted the prosecutor's office for verification and documentation and are awaiting their reply. However," Collins continued, "you do realize, that the Navy will conduct our own investigation and that charges could still be brought against you, pending the outcome."

Steve sighed. While this was not the response he was hoping for, he knew Lieutenant Collins was telling the truth. Under law, the Navy had dual sovereignty with the state. So, even though Hawaii had dismissed the murder charges against him, the Navy did not have to follow suit. Granted, the evidence was in Steve's favor, and, hopefully, the Navy would agree.

But in the meantime, they had the right, and obligation, to investigate on their own. And considering the high profile nature of the case, with his picture and the words "Navy Lt. Cmdr. Steven McGarrett, former SEAL, charged with killing Gov. Jameson" splashed across the media outlets for days, he really wasn't surprised. The Navy would take their time and make sure they got it right. After all, it was not only his reputation at stake, but the entire Navy's as well.

Steve had put his trust in the Navy over 16 years ago, when he decided to attend Annapolis. And through the years, he had trusted them with his life, both at peace and at war, on missions and while stateside. They had never left him behind and never let him down. He would have to keep trusting them.

Steve ended the call with Lieutenant Collins, resigned to wait.

And, he reminded himself, it could have been worse.

Apparently, the Navy, like Catherine, had never heard about the stolen ten million dollars.

***H50***

It was close to 9:00 a.m. before the entire team arrived. Danny and Chin had met at HPD headquarters first to pick up the warrant, then visited the bank and picked up the account information before heading over to Steve's house.

"In here," Steve called to them from the kitchen as he heard Danny open the front door. "Tell me you have some good news," he said, leaning back to look at them from his seat at the kitchen table, where he was sitting with Kono and Kaye.

"We do," Danny replied, walking into kitchen, holding up the bank account records. "We got some information on Aloha Enterprises and the companies they do business with. Plus, their bank account has activity in it, besides the automatic payments to AT&T, so we may have hit on something. But we'll need to dig into it further before we know what we've found."

Danny quickly made copies of the information on Steve's all-in-one printer and handed them out. Chin, Kono, and Kaye each picked a different month and began researching the bank account transactions at the kitchen table. Steve and Danny moved to the living room and started their investigation with the company information the bank had on Aloha Enterprises.

There wasn't a whole lot of information to glean. The bank had only gathered minimal information about the company and the names of the people listed as the owners sounded a bit too generic. The names weren't as obvious as "John Doe" and "Jane Smith," but they weren't much better.

The address was also suspect; although the company was based in Honolulu, its mailing address was a PO Box. Legitimate companies almost always used physical addresses for their mail. The company owners were either transient or didn't want to be found, neither of which was good.

And, finally, although Aloha had activity in its accounts, it didn't have much in the way of assets. The money coming in was transferred out, usually on the same day it arrived, leaving little to no balances.

Three strikes and you're out, Steve thought. Or perhaps, more accurately, three red flags and you're a fake.

Steve looked up at Danny over the paperwork. "It looks like a shell corporation to me."

"Agreed," Danny nodded, shuffling through the papers. "It looks like Aloha has at least ten affiliated companies that it conducts business with. And I'm willing to bet at least some, if not all, of them are fronts. They are exactly the types of businesses you would set up for money laundering; restaurants, construction, floral shops; places with a lot of cash in and out, making it hard to track. You can tell by just looking at their names: Wahine Construction; Jordan Cleaners; Ono Fun Noodle House; Lane's Flowers… "

"Stop! What was that?" Steve interrupted, holding up his hand.

"Lane's Flowers?" Danny replied, questioningly.

"No, the one before it. Did you say Ono Fun Noodle House?" Steve asked, incredulously, wrinkling up his forehead.

"Yes…" Danny said as he nodded slowly, trying to figure out Steve's train of thought.

Steve stood up and began pacing the floor, scrubbing his face with his hand as he thought. "That's where I went to meet Kaye the night Wo Fat came and found me. That must be how he knew where I was; the workers inside tipped him off. Somehow, they knew he was looking for me; they must have some sort of loyalty to him… Maybe Wo Fat uses the restaurant to launder money. He may even own it."

"Hold on right there," Danny interjected, standing and holding up his hands. "That's a big leap. We don't know that Wo Fat owns the noodle house or even that anyone inside tipped him off that you were there. There is nothing in the evidence to suggest either one. He may have just followed you there."

"No," Steve shook his head, "I was careful that night. Nobody was following me. It can't just be a coincidence, Danny!"

Steve stopped pacing when he noticed that Chin had stopped working on his transactions in the kitchen and was now standing in the doorway, listening to their conversation. "What do you always say about coincidences, Chin?" he called.

"That they usually take a lot of planning," Chin replied, walking over to join them.

"Exactly! Or in this case, they take a common dominator- Wo Fat. Just think about it." Steve began pacing again as he continued his train of thought. "Wo Fat showed up at the noodle house no more than five minutes after I arrived to meet with Kaye. Then, right before Wo Fat comes in and shoots the Governor, someone called her office from a cell phone that is paid for by a shell corporation with ties to the same restaurant. Those can't be a coincidences! That has to be Wo Fat's cell phone!"

"It may very well be his cell, but right now, we don't have any hard proof to link him to it," Danny reasoned, calmly.

"But we will once we get his phone," Steve replied emphatically, still pacing. "We'll be able to look at the tracking log and see where he's been and when. And with that evidence to back up my eyewitness account, we can nail Wo Fat for the Governor's murder!"

"But you are forgetting one thing," Danny reminded him. "First, you have to be able to get Wo Fat's phone. And I don't really think he is just going to walk up to you on the street and hand it over to you. Besides, we still don't even know where he is. He may not even be in Hawaii."

"I know." Steve stopped pacing and placed his hand on his hip, looking seriously at both men. "We're going to have to lure him out."

"What are you going to dangle in front of him for bait?" Chin asked, curiously. "It has to be something he really wants."

"It is," Steve replied, nodding once. "But it's not a something, it's a someone."

Danny shook his head, determinedly, seemingly reading his partner's mind. "No. You are not going to put yourself out there so Wo Fat can just come get you. He's lethal even when you're at your physical best. Which, I hate to say, you are not right now."

"I know," Steve replied with another nod. "I'm not crazy."

Danny raised his eyebrows and peered at Steve.

"Ok." Steve rolled his eyes. "I'm not that crazy."

Danny smirked, appeased. "So, if it's not you, who is it?" he asked.

Steve smiled as he looked back and forth between Danny and Chin.

Then he answered, "Sang Min."

To be continued….

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Author's note: All in favor of using Sang Min, raise your hand! (*raises hand*) ;)