Olivia Marie 20 and Beth – those are great story ideas, but I am going in a bit of a different direction. I hope you continue to enjoy it.

moonjat54 – I'm glad you picked up on those character points. But don't worry, more will be revealed soon. And yes, Danny will definitely not let this go!

Kajal – Thanks for reading! I haven't decided if Catherine exists in this realm or not, so I hope you keep checking in as I figure it out

And to the rest of the readers and reviewers – Thank you, thank you, thank you so much! The amount of support this fic has gotten is overwhelming and humbling!

I've said it before and I'll say it again…writing interrogation scenes are hard! But I gave it my best try…

Chapter Four – Sometimes the Answers Lead to More Questions

"The idea that the police cannot ask questions of the person that knows most about the crime is an infamous decision." ~ Edwin Meese III

Honolulu Police Station Bullpen, 15 minutes later…

"So this is an interesting development, huh?"

Kono had been the first one of the team brave enough to approach their boss and Steve looked up at her in feigned confusion at the question.

"What's that?" he asked, pretending that he didn't know what she was talking about. "Our local gang kingpin being suspected of killing that cop up in Chicago?" But when Kono gave him a knowing look, he smirked and said, "Oh, you mean the ex-wife in the woman's locker room thing."

"Yeah, that thing," Kono shot back, shaking her head at his attempt at humor. "You were married?"

"In another lifetime."

"And all of the times that we talked about my ex-wife and my divorce and my misery, you never once thought that was a relevant piece of information to share?" Danny asked, moving over to the desk and taking the file that Steve was pretending to read out of his hands.

"No."

"No?" The New Jersey detective asked, raising an eyebrow at his partner. "Why not?"

"Because we were talking about your ex-wife and your divorce and your misery, all of which you decided to share," Steve pointed out, grabbing the file back from Danny, "I chose not to share."

"Why-?" Kono started to ask, but her wiser cousin cut her off.

"You really didn't know she was here in Hawaii?" Chin Ho asked, feeling confident that their boss would answer that question instead.

"I really didn't know she was in Hawaii." The Commander reiterated, opening the case file up again.

But Danny was not ready to put this issue to rest, so he asked, "How is that possible?"

"Because we are DIVORCED!" Steve exploded, frustrated by the situation and all of the questions that surrounded it. Realizing that it wasn't fair to take it out on them, he lowered his voice and added, "And it didn't end…well."

"Which, in McGarrett speak, means that he skipped town and served me with divorce papers two months later."

All four heads snapped around to see that Harper James had re-entered the bullpen with an amused smirk on her face. And Steve's mouth went dry. After all this time, she still got to him. He couldn't believe it. So when he looked up and saw her standing there in her "get down to business" outfit with her head slightly tipped to the side, her eyebrow arched and looking bold as sin, he felt his breath catch in his throat. After ten years his body was trained to respond to hers and Commander McGarrett couldn't stop himself from letting his eyes take a familiar walk down her body…tailored black pants and jacket, crisp white blouse, standard issue black boots, hair brushed out and falling loosely over her shoulders in crimson waves, face freshly scrubbed and remade with light make-up, and her mother's locket hanging from a simple silver chain around her neck. As fantastic as she had looked in that sparkly two piece and stiletto heels, this was how he remembered her…soft, natural, and ready to kick ass at a moment's notice.

Sensing that her ex-husband (and every other male in the room) was giving her the once over, she held out her arms and did a little spin as she asked, "So, do I look presentable enough to interview my suspect now?"

"Presentable is a good word," Danny answered, winking at her in a comical way.

"Okay, let's do this," Steve managed to choke out, standing up and giving his partner a shove for his last comment. Giving his team a look that told them that they were not going to be joining in on the interview, he fell into step with his ex-wife as they walked down the hallway to where Kai Akino was sweating it in the interrogation room. Sensing the intensity radiating from her, Steve suddenly felt the need to warn, "We don't want to spook him, so you might want to tread lightly…"

"I was done treading lightly the moment that Sammy's body hit the pavement," she answered, looking straight ahead and not glancing over at him. "Now I'm strapping on the combat boots."

Before Steve could say anything else, they had arrived at the interrogation room door and Harper pushed it open. She walked into the little room, followed closely by her ex-husband, and evaluated the man opposite her as she sat down at the metal table. Tall, bleached-blonde spiky hair, dark stubble, tanned skin. His posture was relaxed, but there was a distinctive wariness around the man's eyes. Being left alone in the interrogation room for an hour didn't appear to have rattled him; he sat with his chair tilted against the wall. It wasn't too surprising; two stints in prison for drug trafficking and sexual assault would have hardened him.

"My diamond girl," Kai exclaimed the moment that he saw her walk into the room. There was a slight leering nature to the way he looked at Harper as he spoke and Steve clenched his jaw and his fists simultaneously. Grinning like the cat who ate the canary, Kai gave her the once over and added, "I gotta tell ya, doll, I liked the other outfit better. But this buttoned up, professional look has its advantages, too."

Harper did her best to ignore the way that he was blatantly checking her out as Steve sat down across the table from him and asked calmly, "How do you know TJ Carlton, Mr. Akino?"

Kai nonchalantly shifted his chair back onto all four feet and smiled as he asked innocently, "Who?"

Steve pulled a photo out of the folder he had placed on the desk and slid the photo towards Kai as he repeated, "TJ Carlton. Known drug distributor on the island."

The man picked up the photo and made a pretense of studying it, before throwing it back on the table as he said, "Sorry, don't know him."

"We have a witness who can place you with Mr. Carlton two weeks ago."

"Really?" the gang leader leaned back, smiling and raising his eyebrows. "I find that hard to believe."

"Why is that, Mr. Akino?"

The creep leaned in towards Steve and flicked the photo at him. "Because I have never met Mr. Carlton, and anyone who said that I had would be lying."

"Let's try a different tactic then, shall we?" the Commander suggested quickly, anticipating his response and picking up the folder as he pulled out the surveillance photos Kono had taken at different drug buys around the island. "Here we are meeting with TJ Carlton in Kapiolani Park…it's kind of a dark photograph but that neat hairdo of yours is pretty recognizable. And here you are meeting with him in the parking lot of an ABC store…meeting in his car is very cloak and dagger. It seems like you may have done this before…"

Kai didn't even blink before he replied, "That's not me, man."

Harper, who had remained silent up until this point, suddenly opened the folder she had brought into the room with her and said, "Well then maybe you'll remember this man…Chicago Police Detective Samuel Jameson Norval."

The detective dropped her photographs unceremoniously on the table in front of Kai Akino. Photos taken on the streets of Chicago the night that Sammy Norval had been murdered. Death in all its graphic glory, shown from every angle. Nothing hidden, all revealed. She watched Akino's reaction and saw a flicker of something that was quickly suppressed, too quickly for her to determine what it was.

Kai's lips twitched into a smile. "Not such a good protector of the people, is he? He can't even protect his own self."

Harper could feel Steve's steadying hand on her leg under the table. She knew he could sense that she was about to blow and get the entire interview thrown out. Quickly squeezing his hand to let him know that she was still in control, Harper took a deep breath and steadied herself as she said, "He was ambushed on the street in Chicago…gunned down while he was off duty. His pregnant wife and four year old son were waiting for him in their favorite restaurant down the street."

Her eyes, which could flash fire hot enough to burn a man's soul, bore into his with such a cold ferocity that it made McGarrett feel uncomfortable. But Kai Akino just smiled and looked at her.

"That's a very sad story, diamond girl."

"It is," the redheaded detective agreed, looking for any sign of recognition on his smug face. "But it is not as sad as your story is about to be."

"My story?" Matthews asked, interest showing in his face. "My story is already sad. But I'm a survivor."

"That's good," Steve remarked dryly, leaning back in his chair, "Because you're gonna need that kind of spirit while you're sitting on death row."

"Hawaii don't have the death penalty, man."

"No, it does not," Steve agreed, "but Illinois has executed a total of twelve people since 1976. That's practically right up there with Texas numbers…"

"Illinois?"

"Yeah, see that is where Chicago is located," the Commander informed him, as if he were talking to a six year old child, "And where you are going to face charges for the murder of Samuel Norval."

On the other side of the glass, Danny looked at Detective Ed DeLuca, who was watching the interview with him, and asked, "Didn't Illinois put a moratorium on the death penalty?"

"He don't need to know that," DeLuca remarked with a smirk.

Back in the interview room, Kai was rendered speechless for a moment and it gave Harper the opportunity to say, "Save your breath, McGarrett. He's not afraid of you. Or me. Or Chicago's death penalty. He's a proud drug kingpin who lives his day to day life under the possibility of execution. And his enemies executions are a lot less dainty than ours and tend to take place without the bother and expense of due process."

"So you're just giving up?" Steve asked, feigning surprise but following her lead willingly. They were good at this part.

"Giving up? When have you ever known me to give up, Steven?" Harper asked, almost sweetly. "That's not what I said at all. We're just going to have to figure out something that does scare him."

"Nothing scares me, bitch," Akino replied, narrowing his eyes at the redheaded detective. And in that moment both Steve and Kai knew that Harper James knew exactly what scared him. So, Steve just sat back and got ready to enjoy the ride.

"Do you have family, Kai?" Harper asked calmly, measuring his reaction. When he tried to ignore her question, she simply smiled as she informed him, "Of course you do. Did you really think I would come in here without knowing that about you? See, I am a very good investigator, Kai. And after we found your DNA on my partner's body, I began investigating you. So I know all about your little brother, Mehki."

Steve watched as Kai unconsciously straightened up in his chair the minute his brother's name left Harper's lips and knew that she had hit on a sensitive spot. He had to keep himself from smiling as she continued, "But he's not in a gang, is he? No, he managed to stay the course…freshman at Honolulu University, never been arrested, living with mom, helping to pay the bills by working for a living at The Steak Shack."

"Sounds like a real stand up kid," Steve remarked, lacing his fingers together on top of the table in front of him before he asked, "Are you sure the two of you are related?"

Harper chuckled as she mused, "Ah, brothers. They are something else, aren't they?"

"She should know," the Commander explained, tilting his head in Harper's direction, "she has four of them."

Nodding in confirmation, the detective continued, "Four brothers. All cops. Plus, I was raised by cops…dad, grandad, a couple of uncles. You know those Chicago cop families…it's a multi-generational thing. And one thing the cops in my family liked to do was sit around and tell stories. Mainly, I'm sure they were trying to one up each other. But in listening to all of those story swapping sessions, I learned a lot about how gangs and corruption work. See the guys I grew up with were dealing with gangs long before you were ever on the scene, Kai…the Irish, the Italians, the Russians, all the big name players. And what I learned was that when the head of the gang is cut off, the body has this innate ability to reform itself. Like salamanders or lizards."

Harper stood up and moved away from the table to lean against the far wall. Crossing her arms over her chest, she simply glared at Kai as she added, "So if we took you back to Chicago to sit on death row…because that's what happens to cop killers in Chicago…but wait, you already know that. That must be why you high tailed it back to Hawaii after killing my partner. Anyway, while you are sitting on death row up in Chicago, I'm sure one of your top lieutenants would step up and take over the Wilson Crips in your absence. It would probably turn into an all out war…"

"And we thank you for dropping that on our doorstep, detective." Steve deadpanned.

"You are very welcome, Commander." Harper retorted without missing a beat, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "But it does leave me to wonder…what would happen to your mother and brother if you are not around to protect them, Kai? Would they become casualties in this gang war? Or rewards?"

"Is that what scares you, Kai?" Steve asked, leaning across the table to get right in the face of a visibly shaken Kai. "Leaving mommy and baby brother to fend for themselves against your gang bangers?"

"You've made a lot of enemies, haven't you Kai?" the redhead added, picking up where Steve left off, "Enemies that wouldn't hesitate to use your family as collateral on their climb to the top."

"Was that a threat?" Kai asked Harper accusingly. Then turning to Steve, he asked, "Did you just hear her threaten me and my family?"

"No," they both answered at the same time causing Steve to grin and say, "We gotta stop doing that."

Kai watched Steve for a moment and then looked over to a smug Harper as he informed her, "You can't mess with family, bitch."

Both the murderer and the S.E.A.L. watched as her face turned to stone. Emotionless, yet bubbling just below the surface Steve could detect all of her anger and hatred as she said icily, "Samuel Norval was my family. My partner. And you shot him dead like a dog in the street. So the list of things I can and can't do became drastically shorter the day you killed my friend."

Steve could tell that she was trying very hard to control her emotions and if he wasn't mistaken he could see her blinking back the hot tears that had to be forming. She was the daughter and granddaughter of cops, the sister of cops…all men in blue were like family to her. But most especially her partner.

"But that wasn't enough for you, was it Kai?" she continued, reigning in her temper because she knew she had the upper hand, "You had to insult him, didn't you? You had to see for yourself that he was dead and then you spit on him. Right on his face. And that was your fatal mistake. Because in your spit was the DNA evidence that we are going to use to nail your ass to the wall."

"I want a deal."

Both Harper and Steve looked at him incredulously, as if he had just told them that it was raining unicorns.

"Well, I want my partner back," Harper sneered, "I guess neither of us are going to get what we want today."

"You don't know what it's like!" Kai exclaimed, focusing his gaze on Harper. "You think I don't know who you are? I know you're Chicago royalty." He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair and tried to play his hand by saying, "Harper Elizabeth James…daughter and granddaughter the last two Chicago Police Superintendents. And your mother was old money Chicago…I bet Oprah and Hillary Clinton came to dinner at least once a week while you were growing up. You never had to survive on the streets."

"No, I didn't," she agreed, coming back to the table and leaning over to look Akino in the eye, "But this isn't about me. This is about a little boy who saw his father gunned down in the street, gun pointed right at his daddy's face. Point blank. But that's not the worst part of it. Because you see, his father was killed for someone else's crime. The horror, the random unfairness of it. The boy doesn't remember any of his childhood after that day and his father's murder hardens the boy. It then becomes his mission to take to the same streets, join a gang, carry a gun, try to right some of those wrongs from oh so long ago." Standing up straight and crossing her arms over her own chest, Harper leveled him with a piercing look as she continued, "But that's not your life story, Kai. It's Sammy Norval's. You see the difference between the two of you is he put on a Chicago police uniform and carried a service revolver. There's a huge difference between his gang and yours. He worked to keep your gang alive…them, their families, their neighbors. Samuel Norval would have been willing to give up his life to save yours. That's was his job. That was his mission. And you killed him for it."

This time Steve was almost sure he saw her blink back the tears as she came to stand right in front of Kai Akino and moved closer, leaning over the table as she sneered, "Me? I don't pity you, Kai. There's lots of people with worse stories than yours and they never hurt anyone. You killed an unarmed Chicago Police Detective and you want me to feel sorry for you because your daddy didn't kiss you when you were a baby?" Straightening up again, Harper moved toward the door as she delivered her parting shot, "Rot in hell, you son of a bitch."

"That was a brilliant speech, Diamond." Kai spat out, watching her walk away from him. When she turned to face him, he asked, "But haven't you ever heard that you shouldn't kill the messenger?"

Steve could see the flash of anger in her brilliant green eyes and he immediately moved in…not to protect Harper, but to protect the poor slug who didn't know what he was in for.

"No, no let him speak," she told Steve, practically pushing him out of the way, "What are you trying to say to me?"

"I'm not the one who wanted your copper dead." Akino told them, gaining some of his swagger back after Harper had mopped the floor with him. When he saw that he had her full attention, he added snidely, "In fact, I didn't even know his name until you mentioned it. I was just the hired gun."

"Who hired you."

"No way," Akino shook his head, "I want a deal."

"And we want a name." Steve interjected, "You're not in a position to deal."

"Oh really?" Kai asked, smirking up at the Commander, "Because what I have to say will be of some interest to you, too, Commander McGarrett. You and your father."

McGarrett didn't even have to motion to Harper because she instinctively turned off the cameras in the interview room and as soon as she had, Steve had Kai up out of his chair and pinned to the nearby wall. His large muscular arms reached out and drove his fists of steel into Akino's surprised face. He then drove the palm of his left hand into Kai's upper chest, just below his throat and delivered a heavy blow to his gut with his right. And in one swift, deft motion, the Navy S.E.A.L. had the suspect on the floor with his hands pinned behind his back. He put one of his knees on his back and commanded, "Give us a name."

The tough gang banger crumpled under the fierce strength of Steve McGarrett and he squirmed as he cried out, "Police brutality!"

"He's not the police," Harper informed him smugly and then repeated, "Give us the name of the guy you are working for."

"Wo Fat."