After hours of investigating, the trio had managed to track the woman's car, a black Ford Explorer, from the HPD building to a couple miles away before it was lost from any camera footage. Another issue was the license plates had some sort of reflective coverings because every time Higgins thought she would be able to see the plates, there was just a glossy shine where the plates were.
"So obviously this woman had Magnum arrested on purpose, and she doesn't want to found," Juliet stated.
"But because we don't know who she is, we don't know why she got Thomas sent to jail," TC replied. "Man, this sucks."
TC looked out the window and towards to ocean. His eyes widened in shock as he realized that the sun was setting. "Guys, it's getting late-" TC said, but he was quickly interrupted.
"We're not stopping until we figure out what the hell is going on," Rick angrily stated.
TC put his hands up, palms facing Rick, in defense. "Whoa Brother. I'm not saying we need to stop. I'm just saying that we haven't taken a single break, not even to eat. Maybe a little nourishment might help us think."
Rick shook his head. "I'm not hungry," he stated. The quiet grumbling of his stomach didn't go unnoticed to Higgins nor TC, but Rick seemed to ignore it completely.
Higgins looked between the two men before catching Rick's eyes. "TC's right. Starving ourselves and staring at a computer screen for hours on end isn't going to be very helpful."
Rick pursed his lips and took a moment to reply. "You may be right, but I can't justify taking a single moment away from trying to clear Thomas's name. I've been without food and water for days before, a few hours won't kill me."
"Don't be ridiculous, Orville. Do you even hear yourself?" TC replied. "We're not in Afghanistan. Thomas is safe. He's in police custody, not back at the camp." He knew it sounded harsh, but Rick seemed to be digressing with every passing moment and he needed to hear it. Softening his tone a little, TC continued. "Thomas wouldn't want you suffering or doing anything drastic because of his predicament. He trusts us to figure this out, but you know exactly what he would do and say if he heard you talk like that."
Rick glared at his friend, and for a moment Higgins thought she would be sitting in the middle of an intense argument. Then she was surprised and relieved when Rick sighed and the tension in his body was reduced, even if it was only slightly.
"You're right," Rick muttered.
TC smiled and put a hand behind his ear, jokingly asking for Rick to be louder. "I'm sorry, what was that?"
"Oh, shut up," Rick said with a smirk as he reached behind Higgins and lightly punched TC's arm.
TC chuckled before he stood from his chair. "So now that we have agreed that I am right and we need to increase our blood sugar levels, I will go get some food while you two keep digging."
A couple minutes later, TC had called their favorite Chinese restaurant and ordered takeout. He grabbed his keys and left Rick and Higgins in the study, promising to be back quickly.
A short while later, Rick was on the phone with one of his contacts while Higgins was still going through Magnum's old cases, trying to find out who would want him arrested and why.
Higgins thought she heard the front door open, indicating TC was back with their dinner, however, when TC failed to announce his arrival or reappeared in the study, Juliet was curious. In addition, she didn't hear the door shut. As Rick continued chatting with one of the numerous people he knew on the island, Higgins excused herself to see what could've made the noise she swore she heard.
As she made her way to the kitchen, her former-spy instincts started kicking in. Call it a sixth sense or whatever, but Higgins felt the presence of another person somewhere nearby. Maybe rather than just dropping off the Lads, Kumu stopped in to see what was going on inside the house. It was wishful thinking, she knew, because if Kumu was there, the woman would've also made her presence known.
Juliet silently turned the corners of each room, but right when she walked into the kitchen, she froze.
There were three tall men that she had never seen before in the room all dressed in dark clothing. All of them were Caucasian: one with blonde hair, and two with black hair. The men were all athletic and muscular, so Higgins knew if it came down to hand-to-hand combat, the odds were against her.
They all seemed to be sneaking around, looking for something without being noticed. Once Higgins had entered the room and stopped, the men had also stopped whatever they were doing and turned to face her.
Before she did anything, she heard a distinct clicking noise to her left: a round entering the chamber of a gun.
"Don't move."
