Chapter 49

Steve wrung his hands together plucking up courage to ring his sister - she may be small, but she was certainly deadly. He wasn't going to tell her why he wanted her to come over to Hawaii, but the girl was as sharp as a tack. He finally manned up and picked up the phone, putting on what he thought was a convincingly happy voice. He had to do this right or Mary would be immediately know that something was up, "Mary, hi! It's Steve."

Mary immediately knew that something was up, ""Ooo-kay. What's going on, big brother?"

Steve sighed. Goddamnit, he couldn't get anything past Mary, "Look, I've found out some stuff relating to the evidence in the Champ Box and our family. I don't want to get into it over the phone, can you wrangle a few days off work and get a flight to Honolulu? I can ring your boss if it helps, pretend its official police business?" Mary caught something in his tone that made her drop the attitude,

"Sure, my job's pretty flexible and if it suddenly isn't then I'll just blow them off. I'll call you when I've got my flights booked."

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Mary Ann booked a flight out of LA the next day, giving Steve a little time to do some planning for the Cambodian op. He had let Danny give it a code name, sick of the man's grousing about the names that the Navy chose for their operations. The detective had given it serious consideration and come up with 'Operation Razza' after what he claimed was the best pizza joint in all of America, which also just happened to be in New Jersey.

"Seriously, Danno – Operation Razza?" Steve questioned incredulously, "And you say that our code names are ridiculous?" Danny was unmoved,

"No, Steven. You said I could name it, and name it I have. It has a certain ring to it . . . hmmm, Operation Razza." Steve shook his head and carried on with his planning. He needed to ask a favor from Joe to get them there and then onto China, all without using commercial flights that could be easily traced. If they did this right then nobody would be any the wiser. He asked Danny if he fancied a HALO jump when they were over their destination. His partner didn't even dignify that question with a response, but it got him to shut up and so Steve chalked that up as a win.

Steve suddenly noticed the time and shot out of the office to get to the awards ceremony for James Keoki. He took his place amongst the many HPD officers and proud family members of all of the recipients and clapped loudly when it was the young officer's turn to walk across the podium and receive his award. After the ceremony Steve was just getting up to leave when a voice shouted out from the crowd, "Stevie – my boy. Howzit!" He spun round to see Ben Keoki coming across to meet him, enveloping him in an enormous hug. They both whispered their condolences to each other, Ben saying how sorry he was about Steve's Dad and Steve saying the same about Chelsea. They just held each other for a while and then Steve stepped back to take in his 'Uncle' Ben,

"Hell, you just don't age! You look the same from when I was just a little kid. Whatever you're taking, I want some." Ben laughed,

"So, back on the island again then. How's it going with the Task Force?" Steve gave his Dad's friend a smile,

"It's good. In fact it's just good to be home," he didn't have to say anymore, Ben knowing exactly what he meant. Ben spotted another face that would be familiar to Steve,

"Hey, Troy. Look who I've found!" Officer Troy Ookala came over with a big smile on his face,

"I heard you were back, Steve. Welcome home, Son." The men reminisced for a few minutes, Steve's warm welcome from two of the most respected old-school officers on the force not going unnoticed by the other HPD officers and detectives present. Their chatting got around to the time that the two men had been on the exact same stage with John McGarrett and Duke Lukela, all receiving an award for their part in foiling a vicious bank robbery. Troy explained further, "Hell of a nasty business that, Steve. You father fired at one of the bank robbers and because he had his hands on a detonator at the time, it blew them both clean off when the explosive was activated." Ben shuddered,

"I'm not ashamed to say that I lost my breakfast, right there in the bank. Your Dad was a trooper, he had half the robbers in restraints and was stemming the blood of the injured man before I even had chance to react. It was chilling in the courtroom though, something about the man made my blood run cold. What was his name, Troy?"

"Er . . . Stoner. Curt Stoner." Ben continued with the grim tale,

"Yeah - this Stoner fella looked at us from the dock, with his stumps all bandaged up, with absolute evil in his eyes. I've seen my fair share of criminals, but that has stayed with me all this time. I hope he never gets released." Duke had made his way over and caught the last bit of the conversation. He spoke up,

"I've been involved in hundreds of cases over the years, but that one was something else. They were a vicious crew, an officer was shot a few weeks before when the same crew hit another bank. That Stoner fella got what he deserved. I'm with Ben on this, that man was pure evil."

Steve resolved to look into the case and find out where Curt Stoner was imprisoned and if he was up for parole in the new few years. Ben had been on the force for over 40 years and if this one man stood out from the hundreds of criminals that the police officer had put away, then it warranted extra investigation. If Stoner did get released then Steve wanted to know about it so he could arrange covert surveillance, at least until he could be sure that the mutilated bank robber wasn't going to be coming back to Oahu to make trouble for the long-serving police officers.

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Steve was parked illegally in his truck outside the airport arrivals hall as he waited for his sister and had been required to flash his Five-0 badge at the same airport parking attendant. The embittered man was starting to hate the Task Force and turned on his heel to find another unsuspecting motorist on which to take out his frustration. Mary Ann appeared from the arrivals hall and couldn't miss the massive blue Silverado.

Steve got out to meet her and the two siblings hugged. Much to his relief, she didn't immediately ask him any questions - instead, they just chatted about their lives on the drive back to the house. Steve told Mary that he and Catherine were no longer in a relationship. Mary Ann was sad for her brother, he seemed happy when his 'not-girlfriend' was around - she sincerely hoped that he found someone who would make him just as happy. She told Steve about her latest 'loser' boyfriend whom she had just kicked into touch. He offered to come and sort him out if he caused any trouble and Mary felt a warm feeling from his natural protectiveness. She wondered if it was just LA where the men that she met seemed to be such losers, it could be a really strange place at times. In fact, the only thing holding her there was her beloved Aunt Deb but since Mary had grown up and left home her aunt was travelling more and even singing in the more laid-back clubs where they still appreciated the old classics. Mary knew that her unexpected arrival all those years ago had disrupted a highly promising musical career for the talented lady and she felt very guilty about what her aunt had sacrificed.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the truck pulled into the very familiar family home. Steve helped her with her bags and when she was all settled they sat out in the Adirondack chairs and watched the ocean. Steve cleared his throat and started to tell Mary about everything that had happened in the last few weeks. She had been very relieved to hear that Wo Fat and Hiro Noshimuri were no longer going to pose any threat to anyone and that this mysterious vendetta against their family was over.

Mary saw how upset Steve was about Agent Greer's death and hoped that he wasn't somehow managing to blame himself. Her brother had stopped, as if he was unsure about how to continue and she felt fear rise up inside her – just what was so bad that he had to tell her in person? She asked him, her voice wavering a little, "Steve, what do you have to tell me?" He didn't meet her eyes and steeled himself for what he needed to tell his sister,

"Mary, do you remember what I told you about a CIA agent called Shelburne?" She nodded,

"Yeah, they killed Wo Fat's mother instead of his father and set all this in motion." Steve replied,

"There's more to it than that. Shelburne was a young agent just out of her training called Sarah Pattison. She botched the assignment, but it turned out to be an unsanctioned hit and she felt so guilty about leaving the baby without a mother that she stayed undercover and raised the kid as her own for years. Then the CIA found out and made her leave. She left the agency, went back to her real name and came to Hawaii and got married and had two kids . . . Mary, that agent was our mother." Mary was shocked,

"Mom killed people for a living before she married Dad? Oh my God! Is that why she was really murdered?" Steve shook his head and gave himself a little pep talk, he had to finish this,

"Mom wasn't murdered. She faked her own death and has been an active agent with the CIA ever since. Mary – our Mom is still alive. Dad had found out and was investigating her disappearance when he inadvertently told Wo Fat about Shelburne, not understanding the connection between our families."