Chapter 57
Kono couldn't help but dwell on how gutted her friend and colleague was going to be when he had to say his final goodbye to his brother. She thought about the situation for the entire journey to Pearl on their way to meet the plane, offering to drive the distracted man and just be there for him. They had parked up and made their way through all the security checks and were waiting near the building adjacent to the main runway. They heard the plane before they saw it, the huge behemoth defying the laws of gravity just by being in the air at all. Kono distractedly wondered how much fuel it took to keep it airborne.
Danny watched the cargo plane touch down and slowly taxi to its unloading point. It was ironic that the last time he had seen his brother had been as he ascended the steps of a plane and now the last time he would ever see him was as he came down the steps of another plane. He looked around but couldn't see any marshals from WITSEC waiting on the tarmac. Maybe Steve was going to take Mattie to them. His partner was one of the first people off the plane with another man that he recognized as his brother once they got a bit closer. Danny set off at a run towards them and pulled Matt into a tight hug, "I'm so glad you're okay," he whispered into his ear, "I was so worried about you." His brother choked back a sob of his own, hugging Danny back as he apologized for all the trouble he had caused,
"I'm so sorry. Thank you for not giving up on me, big brother." Steve gave them a bit of privacy and went over to talk to Kono. He quickly filled her in on his plans for the younger Williams and she let out a sigh of relief,
"Oh thank God, Brah! Danny will be so happy, he wasn't ready to say goodbye for good." She tugged at his arm, "Come on, we have to tell Danny before he implodes."
When Steve went through his plan for the third time he got the biggest reaction of all. Danny just kept thanking him over and over again, rubbing his face with his hands in disbelief. He had been building himself up for this moment for days, knowing what had to happen to keep his brother and his family safe from Marco Reyes, and now he didn't quite know how to take the news that Mattie wasn't going to be completely lost to him after all.
Steve had radioed ahead during the flight and a young ensign had been dispatched to the local store with a suitcase and been tasked to fill it with various items of clothing and footwear in Matt's size. There was certainly enough to keep the man going until Steve could next take Danny to the island for a visit. Steve had disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a big smile on his face, "We have ourselves a helo, courtesy of the Navy. We need to go now so we can drop off Matt and make it back before it's needed for a training exercise."
He didn't even have to ask if the detective was coming with them to the small island, it was the first time ever that the man had eagerly jumped into a helicopter with him without complaining about imminent death and crazy SEALs. The noise of the chopper prevented them for having a proper conversation while they were in flight, but Danny was going to make sure that Steve knew how much he appreciated this. To not have to tell his family that they would never see their beloved Mattie again was a huge weight off his shoulders.
They gently touched down on the designated helicopter pad at the edge of a well-maintained dirt runway. A man and woman were leant against their utility vehicle, waiting for them. Steve made the introductions, he knew the island-dwelling siblings from way back. Their fathers had been good friends and the two younger children had followed Steve around like little ducklings. He had tolerated them, used to having Mary to look after, and taught them how to surf and dive for shells. They had been naturals in the water, staying in the ocean until their skin was wrinkled and only coming out for food and bedtime.
Kawai and Aloani Fenchurch were half-native Hawaiian, their dad had come to the islands as a marine biologist from a wealthy English family and never left. He had fallen in love with a native woman and together they had negotiated a good price for an island that had been uninhabited for years. It was an important ecosystem for many dwindling species of marine life and they had worked tirelessly to create the perfect environment for these important fish species and other marine life. The name of the islet perfectly suited its nature - it was called Kaʻawale, which loosely translated as isolated and free. Kawai and Aloani had come along and, together with a number of like-minded individuals and families, the Fenchurch family had moved onto the island permanently and built up a community dedicated to conservation.
Sadly their mother had died after a long battle with cancer, but they remained on the island as a family and vowed to continue their mother's legacy. Now that their father was ailing it looked like the full burden of managing the island would fall entirely on their shoulders. Matt would be a welcome asset, his knowledge of accounting just what they needed as neither of them was naturally skilled in that area and they would soon burn through their cash without some expert guidance. There wasn't much you could tell them about marine ecosystems but they really could do with some pointers when it came to financial spreadsheets.
When it came to introducing Mattie, Steve paused as he was unsure what name to call him by. Matthew stepped forward and did it for him, "Hi, thanks so much for inviting me to live with you on your beautiful island. I'm David Turner, but everyone calls me Dave, or if you're my brother here, Davey." He paused with a little frown, "Um, but only you know that Danny here is my brother – everyone else needs to believe that he's an old college friend with an interest in conservation. In fact the whole of his family are very dedicated to the cause and will probably want to visit from time to time to see our work for themselves." Aloani gave a little laugh, her cheeks dimpling in what 'Dave' thought to be the most adorable way,
"Of course, and they would be most welcome to come and see our conservation work on Kaʻawale for themselves . Hop in the back Dave, we'll take you back to the house. Don't worry, we don't live in mud huts – you're gonna love the hot tub, it's completely powered by wave power. Kawai here is a whizz with gadgets, he knocked up an electricity-capture system using interconnected modules submerged in the bay. It took 2 weeks to dig the trench to bury the cables back to the houses, but now we have as much electricity as we need to power everything. Kai's kids are beside themselves as they get to use their PlayStation as much as they want now. We're fully connected to the internet too, it was an essential requirement as we need to be able to easily communicate with our research collaborators around the world. We also host virtual tours for school kids around the country."
Dave looked very pleased, he had been a bit worried that it was going to be some sort of tented community with no running water. He turned to the other two men, "You should probably be heading back, I'm sure the Navy will be needing their helicopter at some point. I can't thank you enough, Steve. Not having to break all contact with my family means the world to me." He leaned over to hug his brother again, "Later, Danny. Come and see me when you can." Danny nodded, not trusting himself to speak and they waved the man off as the battered gator trundled off towards the little group of houses over in the distance.
Danny spoke to Steve as they made their way back to the helicopter, resting his hand on the other man's arm to make his point, "I can't thank you enough either, Steve. It's not just my brother that this means the world to, you know." Steve turned to his partner and just nodded,
"Yeah. I know, Buddy." Danny asked Steve a question as they climbed back into the helo,
"What did you have to do to get your hands on a sweet ride like this anyway?" Steve gave him a satisfied smirk,
"I just asked very nicely. The chief petty officer in charge of signing these babies out was charmed by my winning smile." Danny cottoned on quickly,
"Oh, Smooth Dog! This petty officer doesn't happen to be a lady now, does she? What, you hit her with the full force of your handsomeness? Poor woman, she would have been helpless to resist." Steve's smirk got bigger,
"You think I'm handsome?"
Danny shook his head in despair, "You're a goof, Steven. And yes, you are handsome. In fact, we're all gorgeous. Kono had it spot on when she declared us the most attractive task force ever formed. I think we should screen all future applicants based solely on their looks so as not to diminish our overall loveliness rating."
Steve let out a joyous laugh, "Pretty sure there's some anti-discrimination recruiting laws we would be falling foul of there, my friend . . ."