Welcome back to The Will of Sin. Last time, Adam revealed the identity of the person who tried to kill Kamekona, revealing that it was an assassin known as 9, and that 9 is in the perrennial employ of Sin, who executed Elora in the hospital. So, what awaits as the hunt for Sin and 9 intensifies? Read on to discover...
(Our story resumes on the streets of Hawaii, where Chin is seen on his motorcycle, with Hunter leaping from building to building nearby)
Chin: (To Hunter) The spot where Elora was found isn't too far from here. Should be just around this corner.
Hunter: Still cordoned off?
Chin: Yeah, but the officers on scene are mostly plainclothesmen, to avoid attracting too much attention from the wrong crowd, one of HPD's finest leading them.
Hunter: (Landing atop a street sign) Good call, with Sin, you can't be too careful.
(Within a few minutes of this, we arrive back at the dead end alley where Elora was shot, and just like Chin said, a group of HPD officers stands there, but you wouldn't know they were as such. But when Chin and Hunter roll up, one of them, dressed exactly like you'd expect Magnum PI to be, steps up)
Duke: Chin, good to see you. (Seeing Hunter) You must be one of the Realms officers.
Hunter: Guilty as charged, officer.
Chin: Hunter, Sergeant Duke Lukela.
Duke: Please, call me Duke.
Hunter: Hunter. Pleased to meet you. (Seeing something no one else does) Have we met before? I swear we've met.
Duke: Not that I can recall. (Thinking about it) It could have been my father though.
Hunter: That's got to be it.
Chin: You guys found anything?
Duke: So far, not much. These two are ridiculously good, well one of them is.
Chin: Two? I know we're looking for two people, but both of them were here?
Duke: (Pointing out an ATM down the street) Caught the whole pursuit. Sent it to Jerry a few minutes ago. Bank confirms the camera was recently installed and working perfectly before Elora came down here. Chances are it caught a better glance at her pursuant's face.
Hunter: So where was the other figure standing?
Duke: (Pointing up to the rooftops) Standing right up there.
Chin: Ideal position for a sniper to stand, perfect downward angle to the vic.
Duke: We're still trying to get up there and check for brass.
Hunter: Leave that to me.
(With that, Hunter starts into a sprint right at the wall and parkour leaps his way up to the rooftop, at which point we can finally see it in clarity, revealing very little of what once happened)
Chin: Anything up there?
(At that point, something reflects a bit of light into Hunter's eye, and then he sees it)
Hunter: I think I've got something.
(As Hunter is about to examine what he saw, one of the plainclothes officers approaches Duke with news)
Duke: (After hearing the officer) Hold up, Hunter! We're on the way up!
Hunter: (Trying to figure their method out) How the heck are you going to get up here?!
Duke: A couple of nearby window-washers agreed to loan us a ladder.
Hunter: Fair enough.
(Within minutes, a few of the plainclothes officers arrive with a ladder, which Chin and Duke immediately ascend, being helped to the roof by Hunter, at which point both see what Hunter saw earlier, an as everyone gathers around the object, we finally see it, a small open ended cylinder of brass)
Chin: (Picking the item up) Looks like our shooter forgot to police their brass.
Hunter: Further proof it's 9.
Duke: (Honestly confused) If this guy can't even police his brass, how has he never been caught?
Hunter: Stems into his madness. He actually thinks his guns are laser weapons, because they have laser sights. He doesn't police his brass because he doesn't even think there's brass to police.
Duke: Okay, this guy's a lunatic.
Chin: And likely not patient enough to have been the one who poisoned Elora.
Hunter: Oh no, not even remotely. That was Sin, almost certainly.
Duke: Exactly what we don't need. Two psychos running loose.
Hunter: No need to worry Duke, we've got this under control. In the mean time, better get the footage from those ATMs to Ember and Jerry. They may just be our best chance to have caught Sin on camera.
(As the trio stands there on the roof, we transition to a stone room in the basement of Iolani Palace, covered in conspiracy theory and science fiction related posters, where Jerry and Ember, both on computers are sorting through every ounce of footage sent their way)
Jerry: Whoever this Sin creep is, they're good. Nothing in the hospital footage other than the back profile.
Ember: (Seeing an email) Don't get too comfy yet. Hunter just sent footage from bank ATMs near where Elora was shot.
Jerry: ATM footage?
Ember: Looks like there were some ATMs that captured Elora's trail before she got shot.
Jerry: And they just sent the footage?
Ember: (Slightly confused) Where are you going with this, Ortega?
Jerry: Do we know where the ATMs are?
Ember: (Checks a few files) Yeah, they're geotagged. Probably to verify ATM location.
Jerry: If that's the case, we can use it to figure out where the chase began...
Ember: (Seeing where he's going) And possibly where Sin is hiding! Jerry you're a genius! We've got to tell the others!
(With this in mind, Jerry and Ember run upstairs, where McGarrett, Spyro, Cynder, Flame, Kono, and Grover are checking in with the teams out checking for Sin.)
Flame: You'll forgive me for insulting our co-workers here, but this is a complete waste of time. We need to be canvassing the city to find Elora's killer!
Cynder: We're working on that, Flame. Do you want to canvas all the Hawaiian Islands yourself?
Flame: If it means getting that monster Sin and his wacko monkey 9, gladly.
Grover: (Picking something) You've got a personal vendetta against this guy, don't you?
Flame: Let's just say I owe that bastard a bullet for Elora and my family.
Grover: (Remembering the reason he left Chicago) Trust me Flame, I get it. You can't let this consume you.
Flame: Last I heard, your family was still alive.
Grover: They may be, but this rage nearly destroyed my family either way. I couldn't go anywhere in Chicago and not feel that rage. Hence why we came here. I'd really suggest taking a vacation after this case is up.
Flame: Only once I put a bullet in 9's head.
Kono: (To Spyro) Are you sure about Flame? He looks like he's got some serious rage issues.
Spyro: He lost a lot to Sin's enterprise, yes, his wife and unborn son specifically. But he's not like that usually. He's usually an affable guy, but very protective of his family and friends. Elora specifically was close to him, being his wife's sister. (Seeing Kono has a surprised look on her face) Flame's wife was adopted. He's lost the only family he had, since his parents died shortly after he got engaged.
(This story caught Kono completely off guard, and as she looks back at Flame, she sees a tear fall down his face, with Grover confirming he saw it too. And just at that moment, Jerry and Ember burst in, catching everyone off guard)
McGarrett: (Seeing the two) Whoa, whoa, where's the fire?
Ember: No time to explain. Genius idea going into action!
Cynder: Somebody mind explaining what's going on?
Jerry: After we got the footage from the ATMs, I realized we should be able to link the footage to create a trail of where Elora ran from.
Ember: And by extension, where Sin may be hiding.
McGarrett: Go for it! We need any lead we can get.
(With that, Ember and Jerry hook their computers into the table, and then together for some reason, and within a few minutes, the data of the cameras flies between the two tech geniuses as they exchange video feeds before projecting them on a map of Honolulu, before a route starts to form. And once the route is complete, the two simultaneously slam their laptops shut)
Jerry and Ember: Got it!
(With that we see the route, and Grover immediately recognizes the location)
Grover: Wait a second.
Spyro: (Confused) You know where that is?
Grover: Spent a long night at that exact motel last Valentine's Day, after forgetting Valentine's Day. Long story, everyone here already knows it, I'm not telling anyone.
Cynder: Fair enough. Let's go!
(With that we transition to the motel, where Spyro, Cynder, Flame, McGarrett, Kono, and Grover enter the scene, armed in tactical gear with their usual sidearms, with Spyro, Cynder, and Flame in armor as well. After getting the go sign from McGarrett, the team breaks down the motel room door, where we see the entire room is covered in cork boards and papers, with red twine binding everything across the room. As everyone is baffled by what's going on, Grover recognizes the place)
Grover: Okay, this is freaking me out.
Flame: Elora's usually not this disorganized, something must've really thrown her for a loop.
(While the team looks around the room, Cynder spots something beneath the mess)
Cynder: (Clearing papers off the object she saw) We're in luck. Elora left her laptop.
Spyro: We'll need to get that to Jerry and Ember, see what they can pull from it.
(Just as the laptop is lifted off the table, a familiar red laser dot appears in the room, aimed directly at McGarrett's head, but Cynder spots it, throwing the computer to Spyro and running in his direction)
Cynder: HIT THE DECK!
(And just as Cynder shoves McGarrett out of the way, a gunshot can be heard as a bullet pierces the wall and embeds itself in the floor. As the shot echoes, everyone hits the floor while trying to get out of the room as the gunshots continue. Once the shots stop, the team exits the room, and on a nearby rooftop, in broad daylight, stands an ape in full dark army green tactical gear holding a gigantic rifle, the same rifle he used to shoot Elora, which he is reloading.)
McGarrett: Guessing that's 9?
Cynder: The one and only.
9: (Seeing everyone is alive still) What?! (Talking to his gun) I thought you got them, Mr. Laser Blaster! (Sighs frustratedly) No matter. DIE!
(With that, 9 starts firing again, prompting everyone to get into cover before McGarrett, Kono, and Grover start firing back at him. This shootout proceeds for a few minutes, before Flame has had enough, and grabs Grover's pistol, catching him off guard, but not before Flame can fire a few shots, one of them hitting 9 in the head, but not enough to kill him)
9: (Laughing maniacally) Your measly bullets are no match for me and Mr. Laser Blaster! DIE YOU WORMS!
(So the shootout continues, with 9 seemingly having the upper hand, but then, having had enough, Flame checks the ammo in Grover's pistol, realizes he's only got one shot left, then places the clip back into the pistol and aims straight at 9's face)
Flame: This is for my family, you bastard.
(With that, Flame pulls the trigger, and manages to shoot out 9's eye, which draws his ire.)
9: You think you can just do that?! No chance, froggy! Get him Mr. Laser Blaster!
(Now 9 shoots directly at Flame, and even with one eye, his aim is great, as he strikes Flame in the chest, just like Elora, before he starts running out of there. In the chaos, the team rushes to stabilize Flame's wound as Grover calls in for an ambulance. When they finally do arrive, Flame is barely conscious as the team divides)
McGarrett: Kono, Grover, go with Flame to the hospital. Tell Chin and Danny to rendezvous with us.
Kono: Where are you going?!
McGarrett: (Cocking his gun) We're going after 9.
(And with that, Spyro, Cynder, and McGarrett get up to the roof of the motel, with Cynder carrying McGarrett to do so, and begin to give chase to 9 as the scene ends)
And that looks like a good spot to wrap it up for today. Yeah, we've got a cliff-hanger here. I knew we'd need one somewhere. So where better than right before the rooftop chase with the assassin? Made sense to me. So, will Flame pull through? And will 9 be brought in alive, or dead? Tune in next time to find out! Same time... same channel!
