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A Wrinkle in Time
by Cokie and Sam
McGarrett Residence
Early Evening
"So, when are you going to tell Governor Denning?"
"Dad, what makes you think I will agree to take the job?" Steve asked and looked at his dad who had come home a few minutes earlier.
"Because I know you, son. And," John paused for dramatic effect, "I talked to Chin," he said with a smile.
"Uh huh." Steve shook his head. It was obvious that his dad was very happy about the development of him staying in Hawaii. "About that. He's coming by to bring some files, and I told him to have dinner with us. Hope that is OK?" He said while putting the salad bowl into the fridge.
"Files? Are you already working your first case?" John asked laughing.
"No, dad, I'm recruiting. And I have some candidates I hope will be interested in working with us," Steve explained and motioned to Catherine.
"That's good. Wait… us? As in you and Catherine? Steve, that is fantastic. Cath, I'm thrilled that you're staying," John called out and smiled at her.
"Well, it's not a done deal yet. I still have to go back in four days, and Steve also has to talk to his CO. But I will resign and hope that process won't take too long," Catherine explained their plan.
"That is wonderful news."
Steve watched his dad and could see that he was happy with the development; maybe this was the best time to ask him to join them. "Dad, I was thinking."
"Oh, that is never a good thing," John joked.
"Funny," Steve grumbled. He winked at Cath who chuckled at his dramatics. "I was hoping you might be willing to lend your expertise."
"What do you mean, what do you have in mind?"
"Well, you know how HPD works, you have contacts… and a lot of experience as an officer with HPD. And, let's face it, I have none," Steve sheepishly added. "So, I could really use your advice."
"You want me for the paperwork… admit it," John said laughing.
"No, that thought never crossed my mind," Steve replied with a straight face.
"Uh huh. Seriously though, you would want me as some kind of consultant?"
"Yeah, something like that. You don't have to work full time, Dad. I thought you might be interested in a few hours, you know?" Steve explained what he wanted from his dad.
"That sounds interesting. I think I'd like that. Thank you, Son."
"No, thank you," Steve honestly said.
"Steve, have you thought about anyone else yet? How about that detective you worked with?" Catherine wanted to know.
"Danny Williams. Chin will bring his file."
"You sound reluctant," John remarked.
"I'm not quite sure what to think of him, Dad. His methods were… let's say I can't agree with what he did. And he is way too chipper. And loud, you know?"
"But I had the impression you worked well together," John said.
"We did. Yeah, we did. I don't even know if a task force is what he thought about when he asked me to come work with HPD," Steve laughed, thinking about Danno's offer. "I'm sure he had a different pecking order in mind."
"Nah. I don't know him that well, but I think he works well with most and has no problem with the chain of command. I wouldn't worry about that, Son."
"We'll see," Steve replied. He wasn't sure Detective Williams would be a good fit for the task force. But sometimes first impressions can be wrong. "There is another guy I want for our team. A captain from Chicago. Lou Grover."
"Oh yeah, I heard about him. He wants to be the new SWAT Captain."
"Yeah, well, I hope I can warm him up for another job."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. "I'll get it," Steve said, tossing a pot holder onto the counter. "Dad, would you mind getting the steak and salmon out of the fridge? The grill should be ready," he asked over his shoulder while heading to the front door.
"Captain!"
"Chin, remember?"
"Yeah, come on in," Steve said with a smile. "We'll eat out back. Here, I'll take the files."
"I brought three for you to consider," Chin replied, handing over the jackets.
John met them on their trip toward the lanai. "I'll take those," he told them, snaring the files in mid-hand-off. "Dinner first, then business. It's a rule."
"Huh?" Steve said in confusion. "We've never had that rule."
"Your consultant just made it up," John said with a wink to the two men before heading out to the lanai.
"He seems pleased with himself," Chin muttered to Steve.
"Yeah, but don't humor him. It gets worse," Steve replied with a grin.
Steve reached out his hand to Catherine. "Chin, this is Lieutenant Catherine Rollins; Cath, please meet Captain Chin Ho Kelly."
"Captain, I've heard a lot about you from John. It's so nice to meet you."
Chin shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, too," he replied.
"Cath would be my first recruit for the theoretical task force," Steve explained.
"Give it up, Son… you know you're taking the job."
"You don't know that for certain," Steve argued with his dad, but he couldn't keep the smile from his face.
Chin smiled as well and asked, "Lieutenant, are you former Navy?"
Cath smiled. "Please call me Catherine. And I'm not former yet. I've been thinking of retiring from active duty and then this "theoretical" job offer came about," she explained, flashing a smile in Steve's direction. "I would remain in the reserves."
Chin nodded. "How's the Navy going to feel about losing both of you?"
"That remains to be seen," Steve admitted. "But Cath has vast experience in Naval Intelligence. I can't think of anyone I would rather have on my team." He flashed a smile in her direction before turning back to the grill.
"This still sounds like business talk to me," John grumbled. "And a few minutes ago, I thought *I* was your best recruit."
"Thought we weren't talking business before dinner?" Steve asked, pointedly looking at his dad.
"Wait," Chin said. "He recruited you? John McGarrett, are you saying you're back in the game?" he asked in surprise. "I told you retirement was only for old men…"
H50 – H50 – H50
An hour later, they were in the living room and Steve picked up the files. "Chin, I had an interesting conversation today after I left you."
"With?"
"Yesterday, there was a guy who had his golf clubs stolen. He was at the front desk when I was leaving. He was there to pick them up today and we had a conversation. It was Lou Grover."
"Really? So, what did you think?" Chin asked while Steve flipped through the folder.
"Seemed like a good guy at first glance."
"I was on the interview process for the SWAT captain position. Grover's good; great credentials, a good record back in Chicago. I really liked him over the other candidate, maybe for his personality. And he's a hard worker. If you could snare him, I think he would be an asset and then the Chief could hire the other candidate he had his eye on. It is a win/ win situation because they are both people I would hate to lose."
Steve nodded. "Grover mentioned he was here for a week. I'll try to get an interview with him. Secondly, give me your gut feeling on Danny Williams."
Chin took a deep breath. "He can be a hot head, but he's got good instincts and is very passionate about the job. I brought his file for you to examine, but there could be a problem."
"What's that?" Steve asked.
Chin sighed and glanced at John. "Rumor has it that Danny shot Victor Hesse in the leg yesterday."
"Ah, yeah, he did," Steve admitted.
"Is that what you meant with you couldn't agree with his methods?" John McGarrett wanted to know.
"Yeah, part of it. And for the record, I tried to stop him but I was along for the ride and had no jurisdiction," Steve further explained.
"I doubt that would have mattered," Chin replied. "Anyway, he may be up for disciplinary action. And even if Hesse doesn't press charges, I'm not sure he would want to transfer out of HPD, but I think he could be an asset. You just need to decide if you want to take the risk. Now, about that third jacket I brought…"
Steve reached for the last folder. "You thought of someone else…" he asked, his voice trailing off as he looked first at the name on the folder and then back to Chin.
The captain shrugged. "While I love my job, I never thought sitting behind a desk could be so boring. Would you consider giving me an interview?"
"Dad, what do you think?"
"That's a no brainer, Son. Sign him up before he changes his mind," John replied. "Uh, Chin, you have talked this over with Malia, haven't you?"
"Of course. She's been at the hospital all day but I texted a note saying I was thinking of resigning. That's all that is needed, right?" he asked with a smile.
John shook his head. "It's your funeral, Kelly."
Chin grinned at his friend. "We've had discussions about me wanting to get back out in the field and she is on board. I did text Malia today saying I was going to apply for the task force and she said 'as long as I had a paying job that made me happy, she's all for it'."
"Dad has always spoken highly of your abilities even back when you were a rookie," Steve said. "So I will definitely use his recommendation as our interview. If you want a more hands-on job, you're hired."
"Chin's also great with computers, Steve. That will come in handy. Maybe he can actually teach me what I need to know."
"Absolutely," Chin agreed, then looked back to Steve. "Do you have an office area yet? A task force will need headquarters."
Steve chuckled. "Maybe I need to give the governor a call, right?"
"That might be a start," Cath agreed, standing and reaching for her glass. "I'm going to have a bit more wine. Any of you want another beer?"
"Yes, please," John replied as Chin nodded his acceptance before draining the bottle in front of him.
"Steve?"
"Uh, would you mind bringing me a water?" he asked, smiling at her.
"Coming right up." Commander, you and I are having a talk later!
"About offices," Chin began. "I know there is vacant space in the palace where HPD had their administrative offices. Its great space; close to HPD and also close to the governor. HPD consolidated space last year and it has been vacant for a few months. That might be a good option if you want to check it out."
"Sounds good," Steve said, nodding. "Let's see if the governor has a space chosen or if we can pick our own. That location sounds perfect."
Cath returned with drinks and a notepad. She sat back on the couch next to Steve with the pad and a pen. "So, what are your first steps? Let's create a timeline."
Steve smirked at her. "Are you going to be my secretary, Rollins?"
"Not in this lifetime," she shot back. "I just want to see everything we need to do."
"Shut it, Steve," John said. "She's a planner... that's a very good thing."
"I suppose," he mumbled, receiving an elbow in his ribs.
"Ouch!"
"Listen to your dad, Steve. Planning is a very good thing."
"All right," he conceded laughing. "First thing on the list is for me to talk to Governor Denning. Hell, for all I know, he could have changed his mind."
"Negative," Chin said. "He has wanted a task force for the past year. We just didn't have the manpower to provide it for him. No way would he just give up on it after asking you to head it up."
"Good," Steve replied. "What's next?"
"I leave in four days," Cath replied. "How long are you here for before you need to return to duty?"
"I have until Sunday," he said. "We both need to begin out-processing I'm not sure what all it entails, but I've got a lot of leave I can fall back on if it takes a while."
"I will need to give notice, too," Chin reminded them. "And anyone else we hire should do so as well."
"Maybe while you guys are bugging out, I can work on getting an office in shape," John offered. "That is, if you tell me what you want and need."
Steve shook his head. "Let me get with the governor and see what kind of budget we will have, but that would be a big help, Dad if you can oversee all that." He turned to Cath. "Do you have all that down?"
"I do."
"Up at the top, after where I talk to the governor, slide in that I need to interview Grover, Danny and Duke. Chin, do you think Duke might be interested?"
Chin shrugged. "He's a solid guy to have on your side. He would definitely be an asset to any team. And I really like working with him," he added. "He has been a fixture around HPD as long as John has."
"Hey, now," John groused. "Watch it, Rookie."
Steve grinned, listening to their banter and realized that his dad was really looking forward to this. "Good, it would be great to have Duke on board. I'll give the governor a call first thing in the morning—"
"I would do it tonight," John interrupted.
"Tonight?"
"Yeah, make his day. Give him a call."
"All right, I'll call. Then I'll try to set things up with the other three tomorrow and see if they are at all interested."
"That sounds like a plan," Chin said, setting down his beer on the table. Glancing at his phone, he added, "If all has gone according to plan, my wife is off work in fifteen. I need to get home and justify quitting my job."
"Will the chief have a problem with you jumping ship?" Steve asked.
"I don't think so," Chin replied. "But we'll find out once you get approval from Denning. Let me know how that conversation goes."
"Will do." Steve stood and they moved toward the door. "Thanks for coming, Chin," he said, handing back the files.
"Those are copies... you need to set up your own file system."
Steve grinned and handed the folders to Cath. "I'll have my secretary do that."
"I so hate you, McGarrett."
H50 – H50 – H50
Catherine exited the bathroom at the same moment Steve entered his bedroom, cellphone still in his hand.
"So, do we have jobs?" she asked, towel drying her hair.
"Let's just say that we have a very happy governor," Steve told her, setting the phone on the nightstand. "He pretty much said we could have whatever we want and he had already flagged the vacant space in the palace for a task force hoping that one would materialize in the near future. We can go look at it tomorrow."
"Wow, this may happen faster than we thought," Cath said.
"Yeah, with any luck we can have equipment and people in place in about six weeks. At least, that is Denning's goal. Hopefully the Navy will comply."
Cath grabbed a tee shirt and pulled it over her head before sitting on the bed next to Steve. The bed made a squeaking noise and she grimaced. "Are you sure your dad doesn't mind me staying here at the house? I feel like an imposition."
Steve turned to face her. "Don't worry about that. Besides, when I was talking to Denning, I overheard Dad and his 'girlfriend'," he shuddered at that thought. "Sorry, I can't wrap my head around that," he explained with a grin. "Anyway, they are going shopping for condos over the weekend. He sounded like a kid at Christmas."
"He deserves to be happy," Catherine replied. "He's been alone for a long time."
"Yeah," Steve agreed, reaching up and rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.
"Now, we need to talk. What's up with you?" Cath asked.
"Huh? What do you mean?" Steve asked while kicking off his boots.
"I've noticed the sun bothers your eyes and you are drinking a lot more water and a lot less beer than the Steve McGarrett I know and love. What gives? And don't say it's nothing."
"It's... I'm OK," he began. "Just a headache. When we were in the shootout a couple days ago, Wo Fat caused an explosion and it knocked us off our feet. I'm just sore and achy. It's no biggie."
"What did the doctor say?"
"Ehm..." Steve turned to grin at her. "Stop worrying, I'm fine."
"If it continues, I will worry. And don't think you will be able to cover it up."
He stood to remove his pants and then pulled his shirt over his head. "I can think of something that might make my head feel better..."
Cath pulled back the cover on the bed. "Really? Let me see if I can figure out what that is," she whispered while lying down on her side. When he joined her, facing her in the bed, she whispered, "You know, I don't think I've ever played around with a governor's task force leader before."
"Um, really?" Steve asked, moving in for a kiss. "Wait..." He pulled back and looked at her. "You don't think? Don't you know?"
"Shh," she whispered, ready to kiss him again. "Task force leaders talk too much."
H50 – H50 - H50