Chapter 48

Steve sauntered out of the terminal building, just soaking up the warm island air. It had been unseasonably cold in DC, cold wind coming in from the east, and the difference in temperature between the two places was noticeable. He was just about to join the line for a cab with he spotted a familiar figure leaning on the hood of an equally familiar silver Camaro, parked completely illegally in the drop-off only zone. A flash of the Five-0 badge had been enough to send the airport parking attendant scurrying off to find some other poor schmuck to harass. Grinning like a loon, Steve hurried over to the car, "Wow, this is personal service at its best. How did you even know I would be landing?" Danny gave him an incredulous stare,

"Duh! Kono was tracking you from the minute you left Hawaii 2 days ago. She's terrified that we're going to 'misplace' you again after just getting you back . . . you may want to consider getting a restraining order taken out against her." Steve just smiled as he deftly plucked the car keys out of his partner's hand and nudged him aside as he jumped in the driver's seat,

"Nah, it's nice to be wanted. I'll just have to remember to take special precautions if I really don't want anyone knowing where I am." He glanced over as Danny walked around to the passenger side of his own car with a put-upon sigh. Steve spoke up, "Actually, about that, what are your feelings about a completely clandestine mission where no one can know where we are or what we are doing?" Danny peered at him through suspicious eyes,

"Am I gonna like it?" Steve smirked back at the reluctant man,

"Probably not, but you'll come with me anyway. You know, just to keep me out of trouble." Danny just huffed, knowing full well that Steve was absolutely right. They drove back to the Palace, Steve enjoying being behind the wheel of the Camaro again. His stroked the steering wheel, "Has he been treating you right, baby?" Danny looked mortally offended,

"I'll have you know I'm an excellent driver. Unlike you, I'm police pursuit-trained - coming in the top 10% of my class." Steve grinned to himself, it was just too easy. He briefly toyed with the idea of dissing the mainland and Jersey in particular just to wind up Danny even more, but decided that he would save that grievous insult for another day.

Back at the Palace Steve took in the shocked faces around him, Chin in particular was struggling to process what he had just heard. The SEAL had just finished telling his team everything that he now knew about the botched mission that killed Wo Fat's mother and how his own mother had brought up Wo Fat for years then started a new family with his Dad, faked her own death and had been an active CIA asset for all these years. He confided that she had been in hiding since his dad was killed and that the CIA had no idea where Doris McGarrett, aka Shelburne, was right now, "She's been getting help from someone with resources and connections who is completely outside of the agency. I think it's Joe White."

Chin finally recovered enough to speak, "I just can't believe it, Steve. I saw what this did to John, the sacrifices that he made to keep you safe . . . her actions cost him everything!" Danny glanced at Steve,

"Did your father ever find out what had really happened, or did he go to his grave still thinking it was his investigation that caused her death?" Steve recounted everything that Wo Fat had told him,

"Before he died, Dad had started to suspect what had really happened and found evidence to prove it. With a bit more time, I'm certain he would have found out that Doris was really Shelburne and then found the link to Wo Fat's family. At least I can take a small amount of comfort from knowing that Dad could let go of the guilt that he had been carrying for all those years . . . for a very long time I wasn't sure if he really loved me, but then he told me that he did in our last phone call."

Kono added her thoughts, "So, where do you go from here? Do you confront Joe and insist he takes you to see your mother? Do you even want to see her again?" Steve really didn't know what he wanted,

"I don't know – I hate what she did, but it's my Mom!" He took a calming breath, "Do you know what I am going to do first though? I'm going to talk this over with Mary. I've been treating her like some kind of problem child ever since we were sent away and she's not. She's one smart cookie and deserves to have just as much say in this decision as I do. There's no danger to her now, I'll see if she can get a few days off work and fly over from the mainland." Chin gave him an encouraging smile,

"I think that's the right decision, Steve. Doris is her Mom too."

Steve spoke again, "There is something else to discuss." Danny huffed,

"Even more? What else could you possibly have to tell us?" Steve rolled his eyes and continued,

"When Wo Fat had me locked up with Agent Hirsch, he gave me the Champ box that he had taken from my house and told me to find something that would identify Shelburne and also the remains of his mother."

Kono frowned, "Surely he knows where she's buried - in his family's plot?" Danny was starting to put two and two together,

"Except the body they buried wasn't his mother, was it? Just like your own mother's funeral. The bloody bumbling CIA do a clandestine switcheroo with the body so that no one can ever find out that she was actually killed in a bomb blast. So, where's the body?" Steve then took them through Josh's discovery of the toolbox's mysterious paint job and the hidden code which was cracked by Wo Fat's analysts. He pulled out a scrap of paper with the string of numbers and smoothed it out on top of the surface table,

"I think Lei Kuan Fat's body is buried at the spot indicated by these coordinates," Danny shoulders slumped and he made a resigned sigh,

"Okay, where is it? I don't suppose it's somewhere sophisticated and exclusive where we could have ourselves a little vacation like Bali or the Seychelles?" Steve grinned,

"It's in a seemingly empty field in Cambodia. Middle of nowhere."

"Of course it is."