Thank you all so much for all your kind reviews for the last chapter. I'm really happy that you enjoyed this rather light one.

While reading the coming chapters please remember that this is not a crossover with NCIS. A few people from that show will be in this story, but it is primarily about Five-0. Just a little warning so you're not disappointed if your favorite character from that great show doesn't have a big role in this story.

Even though I have been watching NCIS ever since their first appearance on JAG, I don't feel I could do them justice and writing them in-character. That is the reason why Ducky and Gibbs have a lot more 'screen-time' than the rest of the team. One is even missing completely from the story. Some of you will know why that is. ;-)

Now, enough with the author's notes. I hope you will enjoy this chapter. Oh, one more thing. The rating will change to M after this chapter. So, consider yourself warned.

PD – Scene 26

Fairmont Hotel, Georgetown, Washington D.C.

Steve throws yet another confused look Cath's way. Ever since Danny and he emerged from their room both she and JoJo had been smiling and giggling. "What?" Enough is enough.

"Nothing. Did you two have a good night?" Again those strange noises as she tries to suppress her laughter.

"Yeah… why?"

"No reason, just curious," Cath says, but can't keep her grin in.

Steve chooses to ignore those two for the time being. He shakes his head and turns to Danny, who is also looking very suspiciously at JoJo and Catherine. "Chin called while you were in the shower…"

"In the middle of the night?"

"Huh? Danny, it was not even one a.m. in Honolulu when he called. Remember, we're six hours ahead of them? Anyway he said they will look into Levin this morning and Kono is going to talk to PO Bob Roberts again."

"Why? Did he come up with something new?" Danny wonders why Kono wanted to talk to the petty officer they interviewed on the base last week.

"I referred Petty Officer Roberts to Nadine, I thought you interviewed him?" JoJo pipes into the conversation.

"Chin said he called yesterday and wanted to talk to me. Kono is going to meet with him this morning, their time. He didn't want to talk on the phone, but wanted to come to HQ. Kono will call right after she talks to him. I don't know what it's about." Steve gives the information to his 'team' as he presses the button for the elevator.

Steve looks at Danny and has to smile at seeing Danny again in his work clothes. He is wearing one of his beloved ties and even a suit jacket. His name tag that announces he's part of the press, is clipped to his lapel.

Catherine is wearing her uniform and just like Steve is carrying her gun openly on her belt. It's not part of her normal job, but Steve knows that she is qualified to handle the weapon very well. She has no combat experience, but went through training. And Steve took her through extensive training when they worked together so many years back. Even though she was never even near the 'enemy' he wanted to make sure that she could hold her own.

A few moments later they file into the elevator and are on their way to their breakfast meeting with Special Agent Gibbs.

*~* *~* *~* Hawaii Five-0 *~* *~* *~*

"What do we know about the killer?" Gibbs asks the people sitting at the table.

They are in a conference room, which will serve as their HQ during their stay. The hotel provided them with a small breakfast buffet and the staff just left after bringing more coffee and tea. Steve and Gibbs decided it would be best if they had a room where they could put all their equipment and made it their tech center so to speak. They have a flat screen on the wall that is connected to Five-0 HQ, but it is understandably dark at the moment, since no one's at HQ right now.

Danny wondered for a moment what kind of equipment Steve felt necessary to have in all the big silver boxes stacked against one of the walls. Their conference room is guarded by two MPs standing in front of the door, so no unauthorized people are able to enter.

"Ducky, would you give us your profile first?" Steve asks the local ME, as he puts more scrambled eggs on his plate. He already ate his normal granola with milk and fruit, but he's still hungry, so he indulges himself in some greasy stuff. Very much to the amusement of Danny who is getting his second serving of french toast. Steve takes his full plate and a pot of tea and sits back down at the table.

"Good to see that you got your appetite back," Danny motions with his fork to the eggs, pancakes, waffles and even bacon on Steve's plate.

Steve only grins at him after he gulps down a glass of orange juice.

"Yes, of course, Steve. I was discussing my findings with Max last night," Ducky looks at Max who nods his approval. "We discussed the stabbings and looked at the similarities in all of the cases," Ducky says as he spreads out the crime scene photos on the table.

They all look at the gruesome pictures, and Steve is sure that if he hadn't seen them before, he would not finish his breakfast. The first thing they noticed on the pictures is the amount of blood at all the crime scenes.

"He must have been covered in blood after the killings," Danny muses as he looks at the pictures.

"Yes, most likely." Dr. Mallard agrees with that assumption. "If you look closely you can see that the first victim is lying differently in every picture. They are lying on the floor just as they fell down after being stabbed." Ducky uses his laser pointer to show them what he is referring to.

"And why is that important?" Special Agent DiNozzo speaks up for the first time.

"He didn't care about them, they really were only collateral damage," Steve points out what he and Danny assumed from the beginning.

"Yes. Those people were only killed because they were there. He did not kill them with any intention other than getting them out of the way." Ducky feels sad for all the people being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"That is why he killed them with one stab. Fast and efficient. Why didn't he finish off Officer Kalakeni? Why did he let her live?"

"Well, Steve, I can't say for sure, but he might not have been aware that she was still alive. And by all means she should have been dead. Have you heard anything about her status?"

"No, she was still in a coma on Friday when I talked to her doctor and they didn't know if she would make it. We will be informed as soon as she wakes up, or…" Steve still hopes that she will make a recovery, so that her son doesn't need to grow up without a mother.

"Let's pray she'll make it," Dr. Mallard looks at all of his colleagues and can see that they are thinking the same.

"What about his intended target, the psychiatrist?" Danny gets them back on track.

"That is a very different matter. They were all killed in a vicious and brutal way. But they were all placed in the same position with great care. Although he slit their throats they were not immediately dead. They couldn't make a sound, but they were alive for a short while. And I'm sure they were conscious until the blood loss made them pass out." Ducky looks around the table and chooses his words carefully, thinking about the potential target sitting right there in front of him. "He watched them die and I'm sure he enjoyed their suffering. It is a horrible death; they were not able to breathe and were drowning in their own blood. They were not able to utter any sounds after their windpipe was severed."

"He did that to avoid detection by their screaming?" Levin asks the ME.

"No, I don't think so. He made sure that they were alone, so even if any of them had been able to scream, no one was there to hear them." Ducky read the reports and came to a different conclusion about the way he killed his victims. "No, I think he rendered them speechless, because no one was hearing him."

"What do you mean by that?" Gibbs had followed the conversation quietly so far.

"I think it is pretty clear that he seeks revenge on those doctors for some injustice done to him or someone he cares about." Ducky looks around and sees agreement on all their faces.

"You think he is seeking treatment, but his doctor isn't really listening to what he is saying?" JoJo wonders if anyone would be able not to see how disturbed this patient must be.

"I think he is seeing a psychiatrist, but I doubt he is able to communicate what is really wrong, he has perfected his ability to hide his disorder. I'm convinced that he has seen a therapist for quite some time, but was probably declared fit for duty and may have been sent back into the field. I'm sure he is blaming his therapist for everything that has gone wrong in his life from there on. By rendering the psychiatrist mute, he is paying back for all that has been done to him."

"Then why kill all the others?"

"Well, Catherine, I can't tell you that for sure. But I can tell you that his killing is gaining in intensity. Each killing being more vicious than the previous one. I agree with Steve that he will make his move at this conference. I think Steve is right in his assumption that the killer has ties to the military; he might even still be on active duty. This opportunity, to have so many potential targets in one place… I don't think he can pass that up."

"Do you think he will escalate, will he stick to his M.O. or will he do something completely different?" DiNozzo asks what everyone is eager to know.

"Coming to this conference would mean parting from his M.O. already. This place is full of security and crowded with lots of potential witnesses. But I think the urge to kill the people who he thinks are the reason for his misery, is too overwhelming."

"You think he will do something drastic?" Steve was sure about that even before they came here, but wants the confirmation to convince his friends about his theory. After all they followed him here, just because he 'felt' it was the right thing to do.

"Let me try to make something clear, so all of you can understand his motivation." Ducky rummages through his briefcase and pulls some handwritten papers out. "I wrote a profile of our killer. Now, remember, I'm not a profiler per se, I'm merely trying to come up with some insight from the forensic side of the crime."

"Ducky, we appreciate every little insight," Steve assures his friend.

"Thank you. I'm certain our unknown suspect suffered a horrific injury of some kind during a tour of duty. I'm sure that he spent many months in the hospital and in rehab. I'm sure he received psychological treatment. At some point he was declared fit for duty and sent back. But he still suffers from psychological problems. Anxiety, nightmares, maybe even flashbacks. Dr. Jordan, maybe you can explain what a flashback really is, I think it's important to understand that."

"Yes, of course," JoJo says, but looks at Steve, making sure that he's okay with all this. Everything Ducky had said about their suspect so far could also be said about Steve, but he seems to be doing okay. At least on the outside." A flashback is not a voluntarily sought out memory. We all know that we can go back in time to relive a happy memory; that would be something we choose to do." JoJo pauses until she is sure everyone remembered having done that. "A flashback is nothing like that, it is completely involuntary. It is much more intense than any memory you have revisited. It is mostly triggered by something that doesn't even need to be related to the memory. During an intense flashback the person cannot discern that the experience is not real. They are 'reliving' the memory like it happened back then." JoJo sees some kind of understanding on all of their faces, but feels the need to bring the point home. "For example, if a person gets shot, in the flashback he will feel the pain of the bullet hitting him. Every emotion from back then is experienced again. A flashback is just as horrible as the actual event. They are debilitating and can be very scary." JoJo looked around the group while she was explaining what their UNSUB most likely experienced on a regular basis. She knows that some of the people at the table know that Steve also had suffered from that disorder.

"So, how will this help us? I mean it's all nice and good, this psycho stuff, but how will that help us catch the killer?" Sometimes DiNozzo is not very good at choosing his words wisely.

"If our two doctors are right and he suffers flashbacks, he will do anything to stop them, to avoid them. And if he has gotten the idea that the 'shrinks' are the reason that he is still getting them, he will stop at nothing to punish them for his suffering." Steve speaks up to make them understand their suspect's desperation.

"Why would he make them responsible for his failure to get over what happened to him?" Tony still doesn't see the benefit of knowing about the killer's psycho problems. And he's probably not the only one.

"I don't know. Maybe because he is deranged? Maybe he really is nuts, or maybe he simply needs an outlet for his anger? Who knows, but the why is not important."

"Steve is right," Dr. Mallard comes to his friend's aid. "Our killer suffers from a psychological disorder that makes him believe that to ease his own suffering, he has to kill off therapists. I'm even going as far as saying that he thinks he will spare others the suffering by killing them. Killing them off before they can make any more mistakes in the treatment of their patients."

"But that would mean he is aware of his disorder," Danny says after listening to Dr. Mallard's explanation.

"Yes, of course. Almost everyone recognizes that having recurring nightmares, anxiety attacks and flashbacks is not normal," Dr. Mallard explains.

"But why are so many avoiding treatment if they are aware of their problems?"

"Danny, there are many reasons. Mostly out of shame. Most are also afraid about the reaction from their friends or co-workers if they would find out. Most patients think in the beginning the nightmares will pass and they will be able to handle it on their own, and that often works. But if they get panic attacks or flashbacks, then they can't handle it alone. Unfortunately, society still mostly thinks that people with ASD or PTSD are just crazy, unstable people. But let me tell all of you… it can happen to any of us. It doesn't need to be a traumatic event like a combat experience, or a shootout. Losing a child, or a parent or partner can cause severe cases of PTSD. For example first responders like EMTs are at high risk for problems from dealing with drama on a daily basis." JoJo pauses to let her little speech settle in. "Not every PTSD patient is affected in his day to day life. Most of them can 'function' very well with the right medication or even just the right therapy. They are not crazy."

"So, what you're saying is what exactly?" Tony still doesn't see the benefit of the information about the 'psycho-status' of their killer.

"I'm saying that despite his disorder, he has either a high end job to be able to afford his travels all over the country. Or that he has a job with the military that lets him travel a lot, with quite a lot of free time. I'll put my money on the military." Ducky chimes in again. After all he was asked about the profile he came up with. "In my opinion he is highly trained and his intelligence is above average."

"Ducky, thank you. Gibbs, did your team check every panelist?" Steve can completely understand Tony's reservations for the 'psycho stuff'. It's nothing new to him, he has experienced the doubt and suspicion from others often enough.

"Yes, Ziva is just comparing the list we received from the Navy this morning," Gibbs informs his friend about their progress.

"What about the security?" Danny cuts into the conversation.

"It's in place. We have MPs and MAs, let's just hope they can work together."

"That's not what I mean. Did you check them?"

"Check them, Detective? They are Navy." DiNozzo tells Danny, as if that would explain everything.

"I know that they are Navy, or Army or whatever. But did you check their background? Are they who they say they are?"

"Danny is right, who ran the background on the security for the event?" Steve backs his partner up.

"We checked their IDs of course, but we didn't run any background checks on them." Tony must admit.

"Tony, get on that," Gibbs tells his senior agent.

"Yes, Boss, on it." DiNozzo leaves the conference to get a background check on the way.

"When will the first panel start?" Steve turns to JoJo.

"In about half an hour. But you really don't have to babysit me there. I mean no one is coming after me in a secure room," JoJo smiles at her friend.

"Sorry, but there is no such thing as a secure room." Steve will not take any chances.

"The K9 unit went through the hotel, they finished just a few minutes before we met. No explosives in the conference rooms. We will repeat this tonight and in the morning." Gibbs wonders who will pay for this joint operation of NCIS, Navy and Five-0. The Navy and Army are making a training drill out of it, but his boss, the director was not thrilled about the whole thing. After all it is not their case.

"Thank you. We really appreciate all your help."

"No problem, Steve. But remember, after this we're even," Gibbs tells Steve, knowing that he won't be even any time soon.

"Yeah, right," Steve grins right back.

"Oh, damn it, Steve, tell us what you did for him," Danny tries his luck again.

"Danny, I told you it's classified."

"So you said," Danny grumbles and is clearly not happy.

"Are you going to mingle with the 'press'?" Steve still is amused about Danny's reluctance to see his cover as a great opportunity.

"As far as I know there is only one other guy here. From the Navy Times."

"Yeah, I know. This conference is not really that interesting. No offense, JoJo." Steve tries to stop her upcoming protest, "even though there are a surprisingly large number of 'guests' attending from all over the states."

"That, my friend, is because it IS a very interesting conference," JoJo informs Steve and everyone else who wants to hear it.

"Yeah, for a bunch of shrinks."

"You know, Cath and I have considered switching rooms with you guys tonight, but I think that is off the table now," she grins at Danny and Steve.

"Thank you, but Danny and I are very happy with our sleeping arrangement."

"Yeah, I believe that," Catherine says with a laugh.

Steve only shakes his head and turns to Max and Ducky, "what are you guys up to today?"

"Dr. Mallard will take me to his work," Max announces happily.

"That's good. So, we will see you tonight?"

"Yes, you remember where I live?"

"Yeah, Ducky, no problem." Steve will never forget where Ducky lives after he spent two days there in the presence of Ducky's then still alive mother. It took him two days to be well enough to finally escape her clutches.

"Good, good. You all take care then." He and Max stand up from the table and say their goodbyes to the rest of the team.

A few minutes later they all leave the conference room. Gibbs to coordinate with his two team members; Levin to spend the morning in the video surveillance room; Danny to mingle and 'surveil'; and Steve and Cath to accompany JoJo wherever she goes today.

*~* *~* *~* Hawaii Five-0 *~* *~* *~*

Five-0 Headquarters, Monday morning, 0900 hours – 1500 hours D.C. time

"Petty Officer Roberts, please have a seat. What I can I do for you?" Officer Kono Kalakaua motions for the petty officer to please sit.

"Please call me Bob, I'm not in the service anymore," The young man tells Kono as he sits down in front of her desk.

"Okay. Bob, you talked to Lt. Kelly and wanted to speak to Commander McGarrett about something. He is not available at the moment, but I hope I can help you?"

"Um, I guess so. McGarrett told me if I remember anything else I should call. Um… I'm not sure if this is important… maybe I should wait until he's back?"

"Did you remember something about Dr. Webster?" Kono can see that Bob is very nervous, and she is not sure why.

"Not really, no." It seems that Bob Roberts needs some time to come to a decision to tell his story or not.

"Would you like something to drink? A coffee or a soda maybe?" Kono tries to make her witness feel a bit more comfortable.

"No, thank you. I'm sorry, I'm a bit nervous."

"That's okay, take your time."

"Um… when I was still active I was seeing Captain Jordan. But when I was medically discharged… I broke my ankle and I lost over fifty percent function of the joint, so I was not able to perform my duties anymore… anyway… Captain Jordan was my therapist… for some other issues back then," Bob tries to explain without revealing too much.

"You don't have to tell me why you're seeing your therapist, it's okay."

"As a veteran I was switched to a different health plan and had to switch my therapist. Dr. Jordan referred me to Dr. Webster. That was kind of okay, I mean she was not Dr. Jordan, but she was okay. Um… at Dr. Jordan's office I ran into one of her patients a few times while I was waiting. He had appointments before me. Two weeks ago I saw him at Dr. Webster's office. He was talking to her assistant, making an appointment."

"Do you know his name?"

"No. He's a lieutenant, but I don't know his name."

"Okay. Please go on," Kono is curious where this is going.

"I wasn't thinking about it back then. I mean why would I? But last Thursday I saw him again. This time at the bar at the Hilton. The guy he was with, I knew him from somewhere, but I didn't know from where."

"So he was with another guy at the Hilton? Was that also an officer?"

"No… I mean… I don't know… they were both in civilian clothes."

"Do you remember now where you know him from?" Kono doesn't see anything unusual about this report so far.

"Yes. That is why I called. Yesterday the 'Star Advertiser' ran an article on the serial killings. Have you seen it?"

"Yes, I did," none of them was very happy about the article.

"They recounted the timeline of the killings on the mainland, and there was a picture of the latest crime scene. In the background is the guy from the Hilton. And then it just clicked, I saw him and the lieutenant in New Orleans."

"New Orleans?" Kono looks at her sheet with the background information about PO Roberts. It said that he was in New Orleans after the murder took place.

"Yes, I was there with my new boss. I'm a mechanic and he took me to New Orleans because he wanted to buy one of those old second World War planes. I checked the plane for him. Anyway… that man and the lieutenant were at the hotel we were staying. They were having a very heated discussion, I don't know what about, but the guy from the picture was really mad. Here is the picture from the newspaper," Roberts puts the cut out article on Kono's desk.

"Are you sure it was this man you saw in New Orleans and at the Hilton?"

"Yes, absolutely."

"And you're sure that the lieutenant was at Dr. Jordan's, Dr. Webster's office and also in New Orleans?"

"Yes."

"Can you tell me when you saw him at Dr. Jordan's office?"

"Um, I haven't seen her for about four months, so I'd say five or six months. But I can't tell you the day or week."

"That's okay, we will find out who had an appointment before yours, that way we can find the lieutenant. Would you wait here for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure."

It takes Kono only a few minutes to get PO Coates on the phone, and after another five minutes she has the information. Three lieutenants are displayed on the screen in front of her. Now Roberts only needs to ID the right one.

"Bob, does one of them look familiar," Kono asks her witness after she brought him to the smart table and showed him the pictures on their screen.

"That's him. Lieutenant Donaldson."

"That's the guy I just learned about," Chin says just as he comes out of his office.

"What?"

"I just got off the phone with the bartender at the Hilton, he described the only 'guest' Levin had, other than Steve and me. That's him," he motions to the picture on the screen. "How do you know him?"

Kono asks Roberts to wait in her office for her to take his formal statement, and fills in her cousin.

"We need to call Steve."

*~* *~* *~* Hawaii Five-0 *~* *~* *~*