After a week's hiatus, here is Chapter 10 of our "alternate" story. If you enjoy this taste of our alternate reality, please let us know. We would love to hear from you!
A Wrinkle In Time
by Cokie316 and Sym64
10:30 a.m. Monday, Five-0 Headquarters
Steve was working in his office reviewing notes he had received from his numerous meetings on Friday. He had thought the meetings themselves were boring; reading about them was even more so. But he was glad the governor had a staff member present who took notes, so he now could read through them. He still had an hour before he had to attend the Governor's press conference to introduce Five-0 to the public.
He glanced up to see the rest of the team working on various projects. Catherine and Chin were in the conference room comparing notes about human trade issues; the others were working individually. He was still pleased to see the initiative and quality of people he had chosen for this endeavor and hoped they would all be assets in one way or another. And he was extremely pleased that Danny's meeting with IA had gone well that morning. While the investigation was still going on, Williams had been released for normal duty on a probationary basis. Which meant he was to be accompanied by another member of Five-0 at all times he was out in the field.
Steve smiled remembering the scene when they had arrived earlier that morning. John had left the house early, saying he had a meeting. When everyone got to the office, he called them into the conference room and opened a box that had each of their badges displayed inside. Steve now picked up the new badge from his desk, running his thumb over the surface. Each day, it seemed this job became more "real" to him although it was still hard to believe he had so quickly switched careers. His musing was interrupted by a phone call.
"McGarrett. Yeah, hey, Duke."
Steve listened for a few moments then replied, "We'll be there in a few."
He stood up, thankful that his leg was feeling much better after a weekend of mostly rest. Cath had made sure of that after the debacle from Friday night. She had cut him no slack but he had to admit, the forced rest had been good.
He grabbed his SIG and clipped it on, heading out the door. "Hey, everyone. We have a case. Grab your vests and weapons. We need to move."
"What's up?" Chin asked as he and Cath came out of the conference room, followed by the others. They were quickly reaching for their gear, all excited to be called to an actual case for the first time.
"At 10:20 the Bank of Hawaii on Waialae was hit. Shots were fired and there are hostages inside. Duke called us and SWAT. Lets' roll." He was half way out the door before he finished filling them in. "Dad, set up connection with Duke and monitor what's happening. We may need some tech help."
John was already at the computer pulling up the bank's schematics. "I'm on it. Be careful out there," he called to an empty office. For a moment he wondered if this was what a consultant was supposed to do, but who was he kidding? He had known from the moment his son had asked him that his 'consultant status' would be a pretty active one. And truth be told, retirement had gotten old after a few months. This work, making his own hours, suited him much more.
"I'll take my bike," Chin said when they reached the cars.
"Lou, Cath, you're together. Danno, you're with me."
"I'll drive," Danny offered.
"No, I will," Steve said, heading to his truck. "Get in."
"Why can't I drive?" Danny asked, barely shutting the door before Steve peeled out of the lot. "My car is fully equipped with siren and all," Danny added, pointing out that Steve's new truck still needed to get fixed with all the 'trimmings'.
"Because I don't want to twist like a pretzel getting in and out of it," Steve replied. "You might want to buckle up."
"Do you even know where you're going?" Danny asked.
Steve spared him a quick glance. "I grew up here, remember? I'm taking Beretania to Kapiolani to Waialae."
"King Street might be better…"
"Do you always argue or is it just me?" Steve asked.
"No arguing; I just always like King Street." Changing subjects, he asked, "What else do you know about the hostages?"
"Nothing. HPD had just arrived on scene. You'll know when I know."
Steve rolled the truck to a stop at the intersection just across from the bank. He slid from the seat and fastened the straps on his vest while heading toward Duke. Chin arrived along with them, with Lou and Cath pulling in behind the truck.
"What do we know, Duke?" Steve asked, seeing that HPD had set up a perimeter around the structure.
"Not much yet. The alarm came in at 10:20. When we arrived, shots were fired, but over our heads. The shades were being drawn and the door is apparently now barricaded. We tried making contact through the bull horn but got no response. We have no word on how many people are in the bank or how many robbers we are dealing with."
"OK, get me a line set up to call."
"Sure thing. John is working to hook us in. He has already established communication, so you can talk to him directly."
"Chin, you and Lou walk the perimeter. See if there are any other ways to get in. Dad, can you hear me?" Steve asked, using their connected ear-pieces. Steve had insisted that they purchase the advanced Navy-models with a wider range and more people able to connect.
"Loud and clear," came the immediate answer.
"Comm-check," Steve said and waited for everyone on his team to reply.
"Danny, can you hear us?" he asked when his partner didn't reply verbally.
"I nodded, what else do you want?"
"A simple 'check' would do," Steve glared at Danny and wasn't sure if he was messing with him, or if police protocol was different from what Steve was used to. "John, can you try and tab into the bank cctv-feed?"
"Already working on it. They might have disabled the… wow, I'm in. All cameras are still on," came the surprised reply. "Do you have the feed?"
"Yes. Thanks," Steve said and looked at the 4-split screen on the laptop one of the tech-guys had set up on the hood of one of the cars.
"SWAT's here," Cath announced as the dark blue truck rolled to a stop behind the squad cars.
"Steve, we have a line," Duke called him and passed the handset to him.
"Ring it."
Steve listened for four rings before the line was answered.
"Yeah?"
"This is Commander Steve McGarrett with the governor's task force. Who am I speaking with?"
"Who I am doesn't matter. Get those people out of the way or someone in here is gonna get hurt."
"Look, there's no need for that," Steve assured him. "Let me come in and—"
"I'm not that stupid." The call abruptly ended.
"Well, that worked," Danny said. "Any other brilliant ideas?"
Steve glared at him before glancing at Cath whose eyes were cutting daggers at Williams. Further comment was contained when Chin came jogging toward them.
"Hey, Steve, Lou has a present for you."
They turned his direction to see Lou coming around the corner of the bank pushing a young native man in front of him, the man's shirt collar locked in his beefy hand.
"Let me go, you moron!" The man twisted and tried to get out of Grover's grip even though his hands were cuffed behind him. "I didn't do nothin'."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have tried to run, Smart Guy."
"OK, what do we have?" Steve asked.
"He was in the parking lot with the motor running. When he saw us, he put the car into gear to get outta there." Chin grinned. "Only thing is, he put it into reverse and backed into the dumpster. Kind of got our attention."
"Yeah, that he did," Grover added. "And when we looked inside the car, we saw a black mask on the seat settin' right next to a .38. Kinda thought just maybe he might be involved with what's goin' on inside."
"I ain't sayin' nothing."
Chin handed the man's wallet to Steve. "Maybe he doesn't have to. I'll get this info to John and see what we can find."
"Good work, guys. Now, you," he said, pointing to the man in custody. "We can charge you with accessory; if you talk now, things will go a lot easier for you. Clearly you are the get-away driver. You don't have to be involved in anything that goes on in there," he told him, pointing toward the bank. "Unless you don't talk. Then whatever happens behind that door falls on you, too."
H50 – H50 – H50
Governor Denning's Office
"Macy, has Commander McGarrett called?" Denning asked his assistant over the phone.
"No, Sir."
"Thank you," Denning said and ended the call, only to take his cell out and make another call.
"McGarrett."
"Commander, I expected you in my office about ten minutes ago," Denning said without bothering with a greeting.
"Sir, I'm sorry, but we caught a case. I won't make the press conference. I should have called, I'm sorry."
"What case?" Denning wanted to know and listened to Steve's sit rep. "Keep me posted."
"Damn," the Governor called out after ending the call. He knew that this could end badly. And that would mean bad press for his newly formed task force. Something he didn't need at all, shortly before the new election. He hoped McGarrett was worth all the praise he had heard from everyone he had contacted before asking him to head the force.
Denning was confident he had made the right decision, but also knew a team needed time to form, and he hoped they would all work together smoothly. He was well aware that some of the other agencies were not that thrilled about a Navy guy heading the elite task force. But McGarrett had been confident, friendly and professional in their Friday meeting. Most of the other department heads had been impressed. And the two who weren't, well, Denning was sure McGarrett would deal with it.
He had to chuckle thinking about McGarrett and the new SWAT captain butting heads. It would be interesting to see when Bings would cave in and become friends with McGarrett.
"Damn!" Denning again called out when a special report by HNN popped up on his muted TV.
HOSTAGE SITUATION AT BANK OF HAWAII * SHOTS FIRED * HPD, SWAT AND SPECIAL TASK FORCE ON SCENE * NO INFO ON INJURED * JUST IN: GET-AWAY DRIVER ARRESTED
H50 – H50 – H50
"Steve. TV's here."
Steve turned to look at the News truck stopping just behind the yellow police tape. "Darn. Guess Denning gets his press conference after all."
"Want me to handle them? I know her from previous interviews," Chin offered.
"Thank you, Chin."
"No problem."
Steve watched his second in command walking over to the news crew that was just setting up shop. Then he turned to the waiting SWAT Captain.
"We're ready to go in, Commander," Captain Bings told Steve.
"We're not storming in there blind, Captain."
"My men are ready and will end this in a matter of minutes."
"We will not endanger the hostages. We are in negotiations, and we will continue to talk."
"McGarrett, you're not getting anywhere with that. We need to end this," Bings insisted.
"Captain, I am in charge here. And I'm telling you to stand down," Steve calmly told the SWAT captain. "Although I want you to be ready at a moment's notice. As soon as the situation changes we will go in."
"Alright, we will be ready. Just give the word."
"Thank you, Captain," Steve nodded at the man and then turned to his team. "Lou, I want you to keep an eye on Bings. Keep him from doing anything stupid."
"Sure thing," Lou replied and followed the new SWAT captain. "Hey, Jeff, wait up," he called and hurried to catch up with Bings.
"Chin, what about the news crew?" He asked his colleague who had jogged back from his short talk with the HNN reporter.
"They agreed not to air any live pictures. For the next hour they will only report but not show anything else but the reporter," Chin said.
"Great work, Chin. Thank you. Danny, did you get the file on our driver?"
"Yes, Sammy Keona, 26, Hawaiian, high school drop-out has a long sheet with HPD," Danny explained and showed them the findings on the computer screen.
"So, for this he will go away for life?"
"Third strike," Danny explained. "If he is charged with a felony, he's done."
"Good. Now, let's talk to him again," Steve said and made his way over to the cruiser Sammy was sitting in.
"I still ain't talkin'."
"That's fine by me, Sammy. You listen; I'll talk," Steve said as he leaned against the police car, facing the handcuffed young man. "You will be charged with a felony, which will be your third strike. Which means you will go behind bars for the rest of your life. Pretty long while if you ask me."
"You don't scare me."
"Oh, I don't wanna scare you," Steve said, shrugging his shoulders. "Just stating the facts. But you know what, I think I've lost interest in helping you," he decided, pushing away from the cruiser. "Book 'em Danno."
"Gladly."
"Wait. No, no. Don't," Sammy cried out, realizing that life as he knew it would end soon.
"Now you're scared, huh?" Steve asked and smiled at Keona. "Are you willing to cooperate now?"
"No felony charges?"
"If you haven't done anything we don't know yet, no felony charges for driving the car if you help us," Steve said.
"OK. Tom's a high school buddy of mine, asked me to drive the car. He promised me ten grand for it. All I had to do was sit in the car and then drive them to the north shore. That's it. I don't know any details," Sammy said.
"Names. I want Tom's name, and his accomplices," Steve demanded.
"I don't know his two buddies. I swear. He said their names were Keanu and Ren. Tom Pent. I went to school with him until I dropped out. He finished and I think he enlisted in the Navy," Sammy elaborated. "Said he had a score to settle."
"What did he mean by that?" Catherine chimed in.
"Something about them screwing him over. Or something."
"Who?"
"I don't know, man. I think maybe the NAVY, or… I don't know," Sammy called out. "He sounded pretty crazy, you know. Like he wasn't all here."
"All here? What do you mean by that?" Catherine asked.
"Well, I heard that some of the guys never really got back, you know. Getting crazy in the head while at war… and then… well, they're back… but not really."
"You think he's not aware of reality?" Danny asked.
"What? NO, man, I don't know. He just seemed kinda crazy."
"Alright. Thank you, Sammy. You'll be taken to HPD and processed. We'll talk to the DA on your behalf," Steve told the troubled young man.
"I'm sorry. I kept my nose clean for the last two years, I just thought I'd do him a favor," Keona confessed.
"For ten grand, of course," Danny pointed out.
"Damn," Sammy said before Williams shut the car door.
H50 – H50 – H50
Steve looked at the screen and shook his head over what he read. Tom Pent had been a highly-decorated sailor. His record was exemplary. He had enlisted right out of high school, and served three tours overseas, and also three years on a supply vessel in the pacific.
He was honorably discharged as a Petty Officer Second Class. And after that something seemed to have gone wrong for him. He held a job at a local medical supply company for barely six months before he moved to the Big Island for another six months. The file didn't show what he did during those months.
Three months ago he was back on Oahu, at least according to a ticket he received from a traffic cop for speeding on Pali Highway. And now he was in a bank holding hostages.
"What are you thinking?" Lou asked.
"We need to talk to him again. And we need to get in there," Steve replied.
"I think you're right not to storm in there at this point," Lou said. "In my experience, it is always better to exhaust negotiations, find out what he really wants, before going in guns blazing."
"I'm all for a non-violent solution, Lou. Always the top goal," Steve agreed.
"I thought you guys always had a happy trigger finger," Danny said.
"No. In my former job we got the job done in the best possible way. Hopefully without engaging in any firefight, and without any casualties," Steve explained and then talked to his dad. "John, do you have any information on Keanu and Ren. Any connection to Tom?"
"No, Steve, nothing yet," came the reply over the com. "But I found more info on Pent."
"What is it?"
"His girlfriend was pregnant, but she and her unborn child died while she was at work. She was seven months pregnant," John McGarrett told them. "Guess where she worked?"
"Bank of Hawaii," Steve said.
"Yeah. According to the report, she was feeling unwell and her supervisor refused to call an ambulance. A few minutes later she collapsed and died on the scene."
"Fuck."
"The report also states that she died of an aneurysm. Even if she had been in the hospital she would still have died. Maybe they could have saved the baby though," John further told them.
"So, he lost his girlfriend and his baby? In his eyes the bank is responsible I guess," Catherine summarized what they had just learned.
"He has nothing to lose, that makes him very dangerous and unpredictable," Steve said. "John, ring him again, please."
"OK."
Steve looked at his team and waited for Tom Pent to pick up the phone. He focused on the screen in from of him and looked at the pregnant woman sitting on the floor, leaning against one of the columns. "She might be our ticket in there," Steve said and pointed to the woman, but was interrupted when the call was answered.
"What?!"
"Petty Officer Pent, this is Commander McGarrett again. Can we talk please?"
"There is nothing to talk about, Commander," came the angry reply.
"Petty Officer, if we don't talk I won't know what you want."
Steve listened to silence and hoped his approach calling him by his rate was the right call.
"You can't give me what I want, Sir."
"Do you want to tell me what that is?" Steve asked and watched Tom Pent stop walking and lean against one of the counters. He put his assault rifle on the counter, and draw his handgun out of its holster.
"I came here to kill that son of a bitch that killed my girl and my baby. But he has the day off," Pent said. "Can you believe his fucking luck?"
"I am very sorry for your loss, Petty Officer," Steve said and was careful not to patronize Pent, who for sure knew that Steve knew what happened. "But killing any more people won't make this right."
"No, but it sure would feel good."
Steve wasn't sure what to say to that. He knew that killing the bank employee wouldn't make Pent feel better, but he was sure Pent wouldn't listen to reason. "Maybe. But it still wouldn't change anything. And do you think your girlfriend would want you to revenge her?"
"Darly would kick my ass," came the soft reply. It was the first emotion other than anger from the hostage taker.
Steve looked at Lou who encouraged him to keep going. He knew that Captain Grover had negotiated with offenders in various situations. He relied on his experience, so he kept talking.
"Darly was a smart girl, huh?"
"She was the best thing that ever happened to me."
"Yeah, I know the feeling," Steve replied and looked at Catherine.
"Wouldn't you hunt down her killer and rip him apart?"
"I would hunt him down..."
"And you would kill him," Tom called out.
"I don't know," Steve honestly answered. "I hope not."
They all watched Tom start pacing again. He seemed agitated and not sure what to do next. "Tom? Can I call you Tom?" Steve interrupted the silence.
"Yeah, yeah sure."
"You have a pregnant woman among your hostages. Is she alright?" Steve couldn't let him know that they had a visual and know that she was injured in some way.
"She… she fell. It was an accident."
"OK. Is she hurt badly?"
"No, she hurt her leg. She's OK… I think."
"Tom, how about we talk face to face?" Steve again tried to get Pent to agree to let him come into the bank.
"I… I don't know."
"Listen, Tom. My partner and I will come in, he will help the injured woman get outside. You don't want her to die, now do you?"
"No, of course not. It was an accident," Tom Pent again assured.
"OK, then let us come in and help her," Steve replied.
"Just you and your partner?"
"Yes, just us," Steve assured and looked at his team. Danny was shaking his head, but the other three nodded encouragingly.
"Unarmed. And your partner will leave with Peggy."
"Peggy is the pregnant woman?"
"She and Darly were friends," Tom said and squatted down next to Peggy.
They could see him talking to her. She looked at him with fear, but also compassion on her face. Finally she nodded.
"OK, you can come in. But if you trick me, I will shoot 'em all," Tom said and motioned to the ten other hostages with his assault rifle he had picked up again.
"No tricks. We just want to help, OK?"
"OK… good."
H50 – H50 – H50
"This is the stupidest idea I have ever heard," Danny ranted. "This is nuts. He is nuts and will kill us all."
"Will you shut up, Danny. Look, we go in, you get Peggy and lead her out," Steve calmly explained not for the first time. "If you prefer, Chin can come with me, although I'd rather have him dealing with the press."
"No, I'll go. I just want you to know that this is a stupid idea."
"Duly noted. Now, get ready."
"I am ready," Danny replied.
"Take off your holster."
"Are you kidding me? I'm not going in there unarmed," the detective argued.
"Take off your holster. We're going in," Steve said and gave his gun to Catherine.
"Be careful."
"We will," Steve assured her. "Danny, are you ready?"
"As ready as I'll ever be," he grumbled under his breath.
Steve contemplated for a moment to ask Chin to go with him, but he was confident that Danny would do a good job. He had realized quickly that Danny talked a lot of crap without really meaning most of it. A trait Steve found most annoying.
"Lou, Cath, I want you and SWAT take position at the door. At the slightest problem I want you to head in. Those hostages are our priority."
"We'll have your back," Cath said.
"Count on us," Lou replied and again walked over to Captain Bings.
"Alright. John, call Tom and tell him to meet us at the door," Steve told his dad over their communication line.
"On it. You two be careful."
"Roger that."
H50 – H50 – H50
Steve looked at Tom Pent and his two buddies who stood about ten feet from him, with their assault rifles trained on them. They had entered the bank without problem.
"If it's OK with you, Detective Williams will help Peggy outside," Steve said and looked at Pent for permission to approach the pregnant woman still sitting on the floor to the right of them.
"Go ahead," Tom said and motioned with his weapon for Danny to move.
Steve watched Danny squat down next to the frightened woman. All eyes were on Danny, and all saw the holster strapped to his ankle when his pants rode up.
It only took a couple of seconds for all hell to break loose. Steve experienced it like in slow motion; a sensation he had had a few times before.
He heard Tom cursing Danny to hell and back, and at the same time heard explosions from the entry. No doubt his team getting access to the bank after realizing that the plan had gone south.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Keanu and Ren looking panicked and confused, but Tom Pent had laser focus. And that was directed at Danny and Peggy.
Steve knew it would only be another second before Tom would pull the trigger; and there was no way that the two people kneeling on the floor would survive the shooting.
"Noooo," Steve yelled and jumped forward, right into the line of fire.
He heard gun fire from the left of him, screaming from the hostages, Grover's booming voice, and then the bullets slammed into him.
Time sped up to normal speed when he crashed onto the floor in front of Danny and Peggy. Hit by four bullets. But he registered none of them. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor.
H50 – H50 – H50