This is a story I have been working on while finishing the sequel to 'Whispers of the past and primed for the storm'. Please enjoy.

CHAPTER 1

Tuesday morning, Five-0 Headquarters:

Steve McGarrett was sitting in his office, late Tuesday morning. It wasn't even midday and he was already tired and done with the day. In fact, he was done with the entire week. He had spent the previous afternoon thinking about his sister, Mary, and wondering if he had done the right thing in sending her away. It was exactly what their father had done to them when they were younger. Steve knew, and Mary knew, that it was for her own safety. Steve just hoped the danger would pass soon and he would be able to have some kind of relationship with his younger sibling, one that involved more than just periodical phone calls.

Steve rubbed a hand over the back of his neck as he glanced down at the files spread over his desk; the reason for his headache. Five-0 had been assigned to work collectively with the feds to take down the head of the Galinto crime family: Roberto Vivaldi. The FBI had come to them after hitting multiple dead ends and a pool of dried up leads.

Steve smirked mirthlessly when he thought about the collaboration between the two law enforcement entities. The FBI were not happy to be sharing the high profile case with the state task force. Steve and his team had been nothing but cordial with them, but the FBI had made it clear what they thought of Five-0; that they were nothing more than dog excrement on the bottom of their shoes.

Ordinarily, Steve loved a challenge. This one, however, was not welcome at this time and had caused his never-ending headache. He had other things to concentrate on besides petty rivalries. The head of the Yakuza had kidnapped his sister and taken the contents of the Champ box. While his sister was safe, he had no idea where the evidence his father had collected was and why it was so important to Hiro Noshimuri.

Steve could almost feel the current still running through his body from the night he had been tasered. He could distinctly remember the fear that had captivated him when he realised Mary had been kidnapped and was in the trunk of a car. He remembered the relief he felt when he found her, safe and relatively unharmed. He still felt the surge of pride when he thought about how she had the forethought to document all the evidence in the box. Without that, they would be nowhere closer to discovering what John McGarrett had been working on before his death.

Steve shook himself and brought his attention back to the files in front of him. What had started as a (relatively speaking) simple case had quickly turned personal. They were always one step behind Vivaldi it seemed. He had left bodies in his wake and the Five-0 team were often left to investigate and gather evidence while the FBI just crafted more ridiculous theories as bodies began dropping.

Just last week, one of the bodies left by Vivaldi had been brutally murdered. The body had been dumped in a fish warehouse. The amount of blood left the floor of the plant slick and had caused various slipping accidents. The body itself had more holes in it than a strainer. It was not a pretty sight. Worse still was the fact that Danny recognised the victim. From there, the whole case had gone downhill.

-Flashback-

"Why can't the crime scene ever be somewhere nice, like a National Park or something?" Danny ranted.

Steve turned his head towards Danny as they walked through the entrance of the fish plant and were met with the smell that only came from dead fish. "I thought you hated nature? You always complain about it."

"I do. I just think anything would be better than this place. I mean, could it smell any worse?"

Steve smirked. "Remind me to take you to an abattoir next time."

"No. There will be no next time. I quit. Once this case is done, I'm out of here," Danny commented.

"You mean it only took one smelly crime scene to get you to quit? I should have done this sooner," Steve remarked.

"Whatever Steven."

The partners walked up to a crate where Chin and Kono were already standing. They just smirked at Steve and Danny when they approached.

"Hey guys," Steve greeted them. "Where are our fellow law enforcement officers?"

Kono hooked a thumb over her shoulder. "They are talking to the owner of the warehouse."

Steve looked over Kono's shoulder and saw two agents, both dressed in business suits, talking to an older Asian man with grey hair. He recognised the agents, but couldn't remember either of their names.

"Where' s Agent Weir?" he asked Kono.

Kono shrugged. "I haven't seen him. It's just those two."

Steve took a cursory look around the warehouse, hoping to spot the agent in charge. He was surprised not to see the man that had gotten on everyone's nerves. At the Governor's request, Five-0 had been forced to work with the agents. That didn't mean they had to like it, or the people the FBI had sent.

Agent Weir, from their first meeting, had given off unfriendly vibes. Initially, he had politely introduced his own team before demanding to know the names of the Five-0 team. From then on, instead of referring to them by rank or name, Weir had called them 'you', which the team had taken offence to. Except for Kono, whom he called 'little miss'. Regardless, Steve and the team had remained diplomatic throughout the investigation. Now, however, three weeks in, Weir was walking a very thin line.

Steve shook his head, deciding to take it up with the Agent later. "What have we got?"

"We have a male, approximately thirty to forty years old. No ID. In fact, no personal items except for the clothes he is wearing. I think it's clear what the cause of death was," Chin said, motioning to the holes penetrating the man's body.

"Do we think it was Vivaldi?" Steve asked.

Kono nodded. "No doubt. He left his signature, a bullseye on his forehead in his own blood."

"Even so, don't you think this is a bit of overkill?" Chin asked, staring at the large pool of blood.

"Yeah. Whoever this is made Vivaldi mad," Kono commented.

"Mitch…" Danny said.

"What?" Steve asked, whirling around to face his partner.

Danny was ghostly pale and staring at the body in the crate.

"I know this man," Danny said, clearing his throat before continuing. "This is Mitch Reardon. He was a detective in New Jersey, mostly dealing with gang cases."

"Oh jeez. I'm sorry Danny," Steve said sympathetically.

"Yeah. He was a good man. He was divorced, but had two kids," Danny said sadly.

Steve, Chin and Kono exchanged concerned looks at that. They knew Danny was thinking about his own daughter, Grace. The man had given up everything to be close to his daughter. He loved her with everything he had. They all wanted to give Danny time to grieve, but they had a case to solve.

"Did you know he was on the island?" Chin asked Danny.

Danny shook his head. "No, I had no idea."

"Could he have been investigating Vivaldi?" Kono asked.

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. I'll call my old partner from Jersey and see if he can tell us more about what he was investigating recently."

They watched as Danny walked outside to make his phone call. As he exited the building, the one and only Agent Weir sauntered inside the building. He gave Danny a tap on the shoulder as he passed, but in reality it was more of a shove. Danny regained his footing and kept walking, not wanting to start a fight at a crime scene. Especially in the place his friend had died.

Malcolm Weir walked over to where the rest of the Five-0 team were, his face scrunched up as he took in the gruesome scene. Or it could have been from the smell. It didn't matter.

"Wow. It stinks in here," Weir announced loudly.

The Five-0 team ignored his comment and continued looking around at the scene. Either Weir didn't notice or he chose to ignore their indifferent behaviour. Of course, being an elite task force, Five-0 had seen many gruesome scenes in their short time together. They didn't think it was prudent to make such comments at a crime scene, no matter how much it may be affecting them.

Suddenly, Weir clicked his fingers. "Hey, you," he said. "What's this?"

Rolling her eyes, Kono knelt down next to the FBI agent. She picked up a shell casing with her gloved hands and inspected it.

"Shell casing. Nine millimetre," she announced.

"Could be from Reardon's service weapon?" Chin suggested.

"Maybe," Steve muttered as his keen eyes searched the warehouse for the weapon.

"Who is Reardon?" Weir asked.

Chin pointed to the dead man. "That's Reardon."

Weir placed his hands on his hips in what he perceived to be an intimidating manner as he glared at Chin. "How exactly do you know that?"

Steve stood between Chin and Weir and got in Weir's face. "If you had been here earlier, you would have known that Danny identified the man as Mitch Reardon, New Jersey detective, and apparently the latest victim of Vivaldi."

"Get out of my face," Weir growled.

"Gladly," Steve said with a small smile as he stood back.

"Next time you decide to withhold information from the FBI, I will be speaking to the Governor," Weir said smugly.

Weir turned to Kono and smiled toothily at her. "Thanks sweetheart," he said as he plucked the casing from her hand and then proceeded to slap her rear.

Before either Chin or Steve could do anything, Kono had Weir on the floor (thankfully away from the blood pooled on the floor). She had grabbed his hand and twisted it behind his back. Then she had hit the back of his knees and forced him to kneel on the ground before leaning over the whisper threateningly in his ear. No one could hear what she had said, but they all saw the way the man had paled in fear.

Kono let him go and walked outside without so much as a backwards glance. Chin and Steve smirked at each other, proud of the rookie for teaching the arrogant man a lesson. Chin followed Kono outside and noticed the amused expressions of the HPD officers. His smirk emerged into a full-blown grin as soon as he had exited the building.

Weir stood up and shook his arm, trying to regain some feeling in it. Looking around, his face turned red when he saw the smiles on everyone's face. He turned to face the Five-0 team, only to find their leader the only one still in the vicinity. Weir approached the Commander and got in his face, just like Steve had a few moments beforehand.

"You had better teach your subordinates some respect," he spat in Steve's face.

"With all due respect, Agent Weir, my team only respects people that deserve it. Since you have arrived, you have been nothing but disrespectful. It will not be tolerated. If we are to continue working together, you need to change your attitude," Steve replied calmly.

Malcolm Weir snorted. "You know, I've read up on you. You like to do things a little differently. Not by the book. I wouldn't be surprised if you had turned those good people into little killing machines like yourself, Mr SEAL. Especially that bitch. You are not fit to be leading a team. You are a menace to society."

Steve waited for the angry man to pause. "You may be correct, Agent Weir. I may be a menace, like you say. But no one on my team deserves your slander. If you have a problem with any of them, you come straight to me. Say what you want about me, but don't you ever insult my team."

Weir looked Steve up and down, as though evaluating how serious he was. All he saw was the anger flaring in the Commander's eyes and the tight set of his shoulders. He wondered if he had pushed the man too far. It was true that he had looked the man up. Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett was impressive and intimidating. But Weir didn't want him to know that. He wanted to belittle him and his team.

After the top brass had suggested that they may need some additional help on the case, Weir hadn't agreed. Sure, their leads had dried up and more bodies were dropping, but he knew that Vivaldi would make a mistake soon. It was just a matter of time. However, his supervisor didn't want to hear it. Now, he had to answer to the Governor of Hawaii and work with this ridiculous Five-0 task force.

Weir huffed out a breath and turned on his heel, exiting the warehouse. He could have taken the Commander, but he didn't want too many witnesses, in case it didn't work out in his favour.

Steve smiled at the Agent's retreating form. He didn't like the man at all, but he was pleased that the conflict appeared to have been put on hold. For now.

By the end of the day, however, Steve thought how wrong he was to have thought that in the first place. He had received an angry call from Governor Jameson, demanding him to be in her office the next afternoon.

-End flashback-

Steve sighed and looked down at his watch, surprised that two whole hours had passed whilst he had been lost in thought. If he didn't leave right now, he would be late for the meeting with his angry boss, the Governor of Hawaii. He scrambled to grab his keys and phone before making a beeline for the door.

Chin and Kono waved at him as he rushed by them. Danny actually saluted Steve as he went by Danny's office. Steve smiled to himself as he raced down the stairs and outside the Palace to where he had parked his blue Silverado earlier that morning. He knew he had the full support of his team, no matter the outcome of this meeting.

Steve arrived at the Governor's mansion five minutes early. He was worried he was going to be late for the meeting thanks to a pile up that had blocked both lanes of traffic. He had resisted using his lights; Danny's voice in his head telling him it was an abuse of the badge. Steve shook his head, unable to believe how quickly his team had gotten under his skin since he had started the taskforce.

The Governor's receptionist told him the Governor was in another meeting and would be available soon. Steve sat in the waiting room and picked up one of the various magazines on the coffee table. He flipped through the glossy pages, not taking in any of the content. Suddenly he heard yelling coming from the Governor's office. He stood up to see if he needed to interfere. As he approached the double doors, none other than Agent Weir, stormed out of the office. Steve quickly stood back as the man charged angrily by him. Steve watched him walk passed the receptionist's desk and deliberately knock a pile of paperwork on the floor. Steve went to help the receptionist pick it up when he heard the Governor's voice calling him.

"McGarrett?"

Steve turned and saw the Governor standing in the doorway. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Come on in," Governor Jameson said.

Steve followed her into the office and immediately stood at attention behind the chairs situated in front of the desk.

"Have a seat, Commander," she said, motioning for him to sit in one of the large chairs.

Steve sat down in the chair on the right-hand side, closest to the door. He sat on the edge of the seat, his back ramrod straight as he gave the Governor his full attention.

The Governor sighed before speaking. "When I requested that you work with the FBI on this case, this is not what I had expected."

"Ma'am—" Steve began to explain.

Jameson held up her hand, interrupting Steve's explanation. "As I'm sure you are aware, I just had an extensive meeting with Agent Weir. He has expressed some rather interesting views on you and the way you run your team."

"Ma'am, if this has anything to do with last week's—"

"Commander. I am not reprimanding you."

Steve frowned. "I don't understand, ma'am."

Jameson smiled. "It's common knowledge that Malcolm Weir is a piece of work."

"You could say that," Steve muttered in agreement.

"I believe last week's confrontation was unfounded. The man was looking for a fight. Your team handled it very professionally. Although, I have to say that Officer Kalakaua's approach may have been a bit too much."

Steve clenched his fists angrily. "With all due respect, ma'am, the man basically sexually assaulted her. If she hadn't done it, one of us would have. Half of HPD can vouch for her actions, ma'am."

"Noted. Regardless of the obvious animosity between your team and Weir, you will still be working this case together. I don't care how you do it, but make it work. Weir has been told the same thing. I don't want to have the director of the FBI calling me again accusing me of allowing 'wild cowboys with grenades' to run the investigation. His words." She smiled at the ridiculousness of it. "Weir and his team will be meeting you later this afternoon."

"Yes, ma'am."

Jameson nodded in acceptance. "Good. Now I understand that Detective Williams knew the most recent victim?"

"Uh. Yes ma'am. Mitch Reardon, a detective from New Jersey. Danny is waiting for New Jersey PD to send through his file to us," Steve answered.

"Good. Detective Williams could prove to be a great asset, due to his…knowledge of the victim. Use it and catch this Vivaldi character. I want him gone."

"Yes ma'am. Is that all?" Steve asked.

"Yes Commander."

Steve stood up and made to leave.

"And—"

Steve stopped and looked at the Governor.

"Be careful. From what I've heard, Vivaldi is ruthless. He won't let anything stand in his way and will use any means necessary to get what he wants, whatever that is," the Governor warned.

"I understand, Governor."

Steve left the room, preoccupied with the many thoughts now running through his head. As he exited the mansion and walked towards his car, he thought about his friend, Danny Williams. He was a guy who wore his heart on his sleeve. Steve hoped this case wouldn't affect his partner too much. Which lead Steve back to Vivaldi. Why was he in Hawaii? What was he looking for?