Thanks a lot for all your reviews - it feels good to be back after all this time :-)

A strange warning

Half an hour later the small plane finally approached the Big Island and to Danny's immense surprise and relief they landed safely at Upolu Airport on the northern shore another few minutes later. The rain had stopped shortly after they had passed the island of Maui, but the wind was even stronger than before, chasing dark clouds over the gray sky at a dizzy speed.

Followed by Chin and Kono, Danny stumbled out of the aircraft, theatrically pretending to drop to his knees and kiss the ground. "Thank God," he exclaimed, breathing out a loud sigh as he straightened himself and smoothed back his wind-blown hair. "I never thought that I'd survive that flight."

"You know that this is Hawaiian soil you were just kissing, right brah?" Kono asked, amused, playing along. Sharing a look with her cousin who also smiled brightly at Danny's behavior, she shifted the heavy black bag that contained their radio equipment, Kevlar vests and a bunch of weapons from one shoulder to the other. "I thought you hate Hawaii."

"Uh, yeah, you're right," Danny replied, making a show of wiping his mouth with the back of his hand; now that they were on terra firma again he had swiftly regained his good mood. Grinning back at his two laughing teammates he added cheerfully with a twinkle in his eye, "My fault." Reaching over he quickly snatched the large bag from Kono and swung it over his own shoulder, raising his eyebrows when he felt the heavy weight. Danny briefly nodded at Chin who was carrying a similar bag with even more vests and weapons, wondering if they really needed that much equipment.

"What's your fault, Danno?" Steve asked curiously when he left the aircraft together with their pilot, looking warily at his three grinning friends, totally oblivious to Danny's little performance.

"Nothing of your concern, Steven," Danny answered nonchalantly, smirking contentedly when he saw that the expression of curiosity on Steve's face slowly morphed into his famous aneurysm face. "You don't need to know everything, do you? And what did I tell you about my name?"

Narrowing his eyes, Steve just opened his mouth but before he could come up with an appropriate answer, Kono pointed across the runway at two approaching police officers. "I think our welcome party is here," she said, waiting for the two men to join their little group.

"Sergeant Moore?" she asked the older one, a tall man with short gray hair and a friendly smile. "I'm Officer Kalakaua, we spoke on the phone," Kono added when the man gave her an affirmative nod, before she started to introduce her teammates one by one. "Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett, Detective Danny Williams and Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly."

"Thank you for coming; I've heard a lot of good things about your task force," Sergeant Moore said after they all shook hands and he had introduced his companion, Officer Jonathan Kekuku, a young man who looked like he was almost too young to have finished his training and who stared in awe at the four members of Five-0. "I'm glad that you are here. Marianne Eberlein was well known on the island and the gruesome homicide has already made massive waves."

"We are here to help, Sergeant," Steve answered, only briefly turning around to wave a short good-bye at their pilot before he led the way toward the exit. "You can fill us in about everything you got so far on the way to the crime scene."

Following Steve and Sergeant Moore, Chin and Kono immediately started to talk animatedly with Officer Kekuku; apparently the young man had not only been one of the first police officers at the murder scene but he had also grown up in the same neighborhood as the Eberleins and after having overcome his initial shyness he was able to give the cousins valuable insights to the case and the family itself.

Feeling a little bit like the fifth wheel for a moment, Danny slightly shrugged his shoulders and slowly strolled after his teammates, when a hoarse voice from behind stopped him and made him turn around.

"Daniel," Walter Crowfoot said quietly, his dark eyes shimmering like two black pearls in his aged face when he looked at Danny. Cocking his head a little bit to the left, he silently held Danny's questioning gaze, his beaked nose really made him look a little bit like a giant old bird.

"Yes?" Danny answered politely while he repositioned the heavy black bag on his shoulder, wondering what the old Cherokee could possibly want from him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Stepping closer, Walter Crowfoot kept silent for a moment, the intense look from his dark eyes making Danny shift uncomfortably. "Beware of the flames and the white smoke, they are dangerous," the old man finally said solemnly, his voice barely audible over the noise of the strong wind that still blew across the airfield.

Blinking in surprise, Danny raised his eyebrows as he tried to decide if that silly piece of information required an answer but then he remembered his good manners and replied cautiously, "That is… uhm… good advice. Thank you."

But Danny wasn't able to completely hide the irony that laced his voice and the corners of his mouth twitched when he asked cheekily, "Any more advice? Maybe something like 'Stay away from the gray dog that barks under the oak tree when the sun rises over the river'? Or 'Hide from the hawk that hunts in the moonless night when the shadow of the clouds darkens the Plains'?"

Staring at each other the two men measured each other for a few seconds before Walter Crowfoot suddenly burst out into hoarse laughter, the many wrinkles in his weather-beaten face deepening and his eyes sparkling with joy.

"Have you ever thought of becoming a fortune teller?" he asked hoarsely, still chuckling quietly when he clapped his hands. "I bet you would make good money." But then he became sincere again and all playfulness left his face when he locked eyes with Danny. "I know this sounds stupid, but I've lived long enough to trust my feelings and right now I have the strong feeling that this newest case of yours is not what it seems."

He held Danny's gaze for another moment before he finally looked away and sighed tiredly. Raising his right hand, the old Cherokee nodded toward the small group of people who walked over the airfield, smiling softly when he noticed that Steve had turned around to look for his missing partner. "I've known Stevie almost his whole life," he said gently, ignoring the smirk on Danny's face when he heard his partner's childhood nickname. "Even as a young boy he had the talent to get into trouble and although he's now a full grown man, I doubt that this part of his personality has ever changed."

Shifting his gaze back to Danny when he heard the affirmative snort, Walter Crowfoot didn't give the younger man the opportunity to voice a proper answer, instead he just looked at him and his dark eyes clouded slightly when he asked solemnly, "Just keep an eye on him, Daniel. Will you?"

Seeing the sincerity in the other man's face, Danny quickly swallowed down all the other witty remarks about Indian wisdom he might have had on the tip of his tongue and tried to ignore the tingling feeling of uneasiness that slowly crept across his back. He licked his lips and nodded sharply before he replied with a genuine smile, "He's my partner, I'll always have his back."

(tbc)