Chapter 47
Steve had to accept his position back as the head of Five-0 over the phone, as he had just received a text with the arrangements for Greer's funeral and would need to leave on a flight to DC later that day if he was to make it in good time. The Governor had been very interested to hear that the Director of the CIA had requested a meeting with the man and ended the call with a very firm instruction for Steve, "Just make sure that the redoubtable Director Thompson knows that you're very much employed by the State of Hawaii, Commander." Steve had chuckled before he replied,
"Absolutely, Sir. She wouldn't have had any luck anyway, a career with the agency is just not for me."
Steve made his flight with no delays, his Five-0 badge smoothing his passage through the airport. The flight back to the mainland gave him some much needed thinking time. He had yet to tell anyone about his mother still being alive or his plans to dig up the Cambodian field at the site indicated by the mysterious coordinates. He resolved to share everything with his team as soon as he got back from DC and hoped that the old adage of 'a problem shared is a problem halved' would ring true.
Tom was waiting for him in the arrivals hall and they were soon on their way to their hotel for the night. Steve updated Tom on everything that had been happening over the last few days and the CIA Agent was delighted that Steve had gone back to Five-0. He sensed the change in his friend and told him so. Steve nodded in agreement, "I've spent so long never being in one place long enough to put down roots and that was a conscious decision on my part. But this last year, man – I don't know how to explain it, but everything's changed and I like having a house to come home to every night and people who will just drop by for no particular reason. It sounds a bit trite if you're not an islander, but having my ohana around was the only thing that got me through all of the shit that has happened." Tom listened with interest, not used to Steve being so open with his feelings and he decided to reciprocate,
"I'm not in such a dissimilar position myself. After years of clandestine missions you just start isolating yourself from people – it's not like you can tell them what you do. I feel that I have two lives and I'm sick of having to compartmentalize all the time. Maybe that's why I was so drawn to Gabrielle, she completely got it and I didn't have to worry about letting anything slip . . . God, I was getting so sick of it all and then to find out that your boss is a lying scumbag traitor . . ." Steve leaned over and placed his arm around Tom's shoulders,
"Hey, I get it. It's okay to feel angry as hell. Just promise me this, Tom – when you have had time to think everything through, give me a call. There are so many good career options for someone with your knowledge and experience. If you don't want to give Five-0 a try then I can help hook you up with some ex-SEAL buddies who have a good thing going on here in DC with their private security business." Tom gave him a weak smile,
"Thanks, man. I'll do that . . . look, do you mind if I call it a night? I'm bushed and I want to be okay for the funeral in the morning." Steve squeezed his shoulder,
"Sure thing. I'll see you in the morning. Try and get some sleep."
Tom had very carefully planned the funeral arrangements with Gabrielle's parents, it all went off without a hitch and was quietly dignified. Steve was wearing his full dress uniform and had also been one of the pallbearers along with Tom and Greer's brother and father. He was gratified to see such a large turnout, a smattering of Gabrielle's work colleagues as well as friends and family. He made a point of talking to a number of the attendees, knowing a few of them from his joint Navy SEAL-CIA SAD missions. He stuck close to Tom, offering unobtrusive support to the man throughout the proceedings. When the last of the mourners had left, he hugged his friend and made him promise to keep in touch.
Steve caught a cab to the upmarket DC restaurant suggested by the CIA Director, who had thoughtfully noted that he would be in need of a good lunch after the funeral. He scanned the tables and recognized the woman from a photo he found on the CIA website, having never met her in person. She stood up at his approach and shook hands before gesturing for him to take a seat in the sumptuous leather booth. It was very private in their corner of the restaurant and so they were able to talk freely, "Thank you for meeting me, Commander. I wanted to talk to you in person, it is quite a delicate matter." Steve frowned and leant forward in his seat,
"Of course. Can you tell me what this is about, Ma'am?" Margaret nodded,
"In the course of interrogating Jonathan Kray he revealed a number of his contacts within the agency. One of them works out of the Oahu-based office and Kray only ever knew him by his first name, Sam. A little bit of digging turned up Agent Sam Turner – he has been with the agency for years and has knowledge of a number of past missions. He specifically had intel on an asset with the code name Shelburne and had obtained this from an ex-agent who was dropped by the agency some years ago. His name is Edward Cobb." At this Steve cut in,
"That is very personal to my family's history and was something that Wo Fat was trying to uncover right before his death. He believed that Shelburne was responsible for the botched assignment that led to the death of his mother." The Director pursed her lips,
"And he would be right. I'm not proud to admit it, but it was an unsanctioned hit ordered when Cobb was the unit Chief. He had a newly recruited agent, with the code name Shelburne, get close to a person of interest and then plant a bomb in their car. In a tragic mix-up, the target's wife took the car and the bomb detonated before the mistake could be rectified. The agent was not cleared for wet work such as this, they were only just out of training and were completely unprepared for an assignment of this nature. When the mistake was discovered, Cobb arranged for the car and body to disappear, thus hiding all evidence of the agency's involvement. A substitute car was quickly arranged and a fatal car accident staged, with a body taken from the nearby morgue. It was hoped that no one would ever find out. Cobb was quietly 'let go' and the agent was cleared of any wrong-doing when it became apparent that they were only following what they thought to be legitimate orders from their superior. Please understand that I am sharing this in the strictest of confidence, Commander. This is highly compartmentalized and no one person at the agency is privy to the whole story, apart from myself."
Steve felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he really didn't like where this was going, "The agent with the code name Shelburne – it was my mother, wasn't it? She was going by the name Sarah Pattison back then. Wo Fat had uncovered almost the whole story, he just didn't know that Shelburne was actually my mother or the name of the senior agent who greenlit the op in the first place."
Margaret looked at him sadly, this was difficult news for the man to take in, "I'm afraid so. As you obviously already know she remained undercover, supposedly to keep on monitoring Yao Fat, but was actually using that as a cover to raise the baby that had been left without a mother because of her botched mission. It was years before anyone realized and took steps to extract her from the assignment. She left the agency very soon after that and as far as I know, led a completely normal life and married your father. That is until she came to the agency seeking help to fake her own death. She had prior knowledge that the Yazkuza had put a hit out on your father, his HPD investigation into their organization was getting far too close. She must have been covertly monitoring them and worked out that their plan was to plant a bomb in his car. It was like history repeating itself – using a body from the morgue to stage a death and nobody being any the wiser. Of course, the agency had her at their mercy then and immediately reactivated her CIA handle 'Shelburne' and used her as a ghost agent – able to undertake some of the most clandestine assignments on our books. She dropped off the grid just under a year ago. The agency has no idea where she is."
Steve thought about the timing, "That's when my father was murdered. I bet she knew exactly who had ordered his murder and that they would be coming for her next. My father made the fatal error of telling Wo Fat about the code name Shelburne. All Wo Fat then had to do was follow it up with Jonathan Kray and then Kray started digging and that led to this Sam Turner and Edward Cobb." Steve made a decision to share all he knew about the field in Cambodia, after all the lady sat across from him had told him everything that she knew, "My father had coordinates for an empty field in Cambodia hidden in code on a toolbox that he was using to store everything that he had uncovered during his 17 year investigation into my mother's 'death'. I believe it's a grave and that Lei Kuan Fat is buried there. With your permission I would like to go there and check it out. I made a promise to Wo Fat that if it was his mother then I would see to it that she received a proper re-burial in the family plot." Director Thompson raised her eyebrows at that,
"What would make you want to do something like that after everything the man did to you and your family?" Steve shrugged,
"It just feels right. As it turns out, our family buried a complete stranger as well so I have some understanding of what it feels like. Wo Fat's mother was an innocent victim – why should she languish in an unmarked grave . . . it's nothing short of disrespectful."
She thought for a minute, impressed by his integrity. With a determined nod she spoke, "Do it, Commander. Just don't tell anyone except your most trusted associates, if it got out what you were about to do then it could put you in jeopardy. After all, the people responsible went to a lot of trouble to cover this up. We'll play our part by weeding out everyone who has assisted Kray and I'll have the FBI start looking into Mr. Cobb - I don't like that he is still meddling in my agency's affairs. That will prove to be a costly mistake on his part . . . I apologize for the mess that we made all those years ago, it's a personal mission of mine to clean up this agency and stop this sort of thing happening again," she paused, "I don't suppose you fancy a career change to our agency yourself, Commander." Steve suppressed his smirk,
"Oh no thank you, Ma'am. The agency is just not for me and the Governor of Hawaii would not be at all pleased. Just between you and me, he scares me a little bit and I don't ever want to find myself on his bad side." The woman laughed out loud, she knew Sam Denning very well and had to agree,
"Ah well. It was worth a try. Perhaps we should look at ways to work more closely with your Task Force when geography dictates it. I'll hook you up with the field office on Oahu, you can see if there are any benefits to a more collaborative approach."
Steve smiled, "That's an excellent idea, Ma'am – I believe greater cooperation will help us both greatly in the future."