CHAPTER 3

Wednesday morning, Danny William's residence:

The sound of his phone ringing woke Danny from the first good dream he had had in weeks. With a groan, Danny rolled over and glared at the clock on his nightstand. 04:13am. Sighing, Danny grabbed his phone and pressed it to his ear.

"It is four o'clock in the morning. This had better be good," Danny answered, foregoing all pleasantries.

"Hey man. It's Dave," Dave McClean said, sounding way too energetic for that time of the morning.

"Dave, you should know better than to wake me this early," Danny said with a smile when he realised it was his old partner from New Jersey.

"Sorry man. I didn't think about the time difference. How you been?"

"I've been better," Danny replied around a yawn.

"Sorry again. Anyway, I have that file you requested. I'm sending it to you now. It looks like Mitch was following a trail of bodies. The bodies stopped dropping here, so he traced it and found more popping up in Hawaii."

Danny rubbed his eyes as he tried to concentrate on Dave's words. "Why was he following the bodies?"

"You know how he was in the gang division, right? Of course you do. Anyway, they've been watching the Galinto family for years. They have been mostly under the radar until about two weeks ago when Roberto Vivaldi apparently decided to go on a killing spree."

"If you know it's Vivaldi, why hasn't he been incarcerated?" Danny asked.

"You know how these cases go. All we have is circumstantial evidence. Mitch went to Hawaii to see if Vivaldi left some real evidence. It was a long shot, but he had to try. I can't believe he's gone."

"I'm sorry, man. It looks like Vivaldi discovered he was onto him and took him out…Well, thanks for the information. We'll look into it and keep you in the loop," Danny said.

"Of course, man," Dave said.

"Hey, Dave?"

"Yeah?"

"Give Macy and the kids my condolences. Tell them we will do everything we can to put this guy away for a very long time," Danny said.

"Of that I have no doubt," Dave replied before hanging up.

Danny placed his phone back on the nightstand. He shook his head at the clock showing him it was still too early to be awake. If he was in New Jersey, it would be ten o'clock in the morning. A time for normal human beings to be awake.

Danny closed his eyes and tried to get some more sleep before he really had to get up. Instead, he found himself staring at the ceiling as his mind churned out question after question regarding the case. With a frustrated groan, Danny sat up and got dressed. If he couldn't sleep, he would at least go and do something productive.

So, there he was, driving to work at an ungodly hour. The only bright side was that the traffic was almost non-existent. A trip that would normally take him half an hour to an hour (depending on the traffic) only took him seventeen minutes. He pulled into the Palace parking lot and sighed when he saw a familiar blue truck in its usual spot.

Shaking his head, Danny got out of the car and walked inside the Iolani Palace. When he entered the office, he made a beeline for his partner's office. Instead of finding him filling out paperwork, Steve was sitting with his chin on his fist, staring into space. He was obviously very deep in thought.

Danny didn't bother knocking and entered Steve's office. "Couldn't sleep either?"

Steve shook himself from his thoughts and was surprised to see Danny standing in his office. "Yeah. You too?"

"Early morning wake up call," Danny replied.

Steve quirked an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh yeah?"

"Get your mind out of the gutter…My old partner from Jersey sent through Mitch's files. He apparently forgot about the time difference. Anyway, I couldn't get back to sleep, so I thought I would come here and be somewhat productive," Danny answered.

Steve nodded thoughtfully. Danny thought he looked even more tired than yesterday. Dark circles shadowed his eyes and his face was gaunt and pale. Danny wondered if the man was getting much sleep, if any.

"Did you go home yesterday?" Danny asked.

Steve frowned. "Of course I did."

"Okay. Did you sleep at all?"

Steve looked down at his desk. "Some."

Danny sighed. "What was on your mind?"

Steve looked at Danny in the eye. "Lots of things. The case, mostly. My mind wouldn't turn off enough to let me sleep."

"How many times are you here at dark-o'clock?"

Steve shrugged defensively. "It's only happened a few times."

"Since when?" Danny asked.

"Since Mary was kidnapped, I guess. I'm just…always high alert. Waiting for the next attack," Steve answered with brutal honestly.

"So, what are you going to say to Weir when he gets here this afternoon?" Danny asked, changing the subject.

Steve groaned. "I forgot about that. I really wish we didn't have to work with that man."

"You and me both," Danny replied with a smile.

It wasn't often they agreed on things. Danny relished the moment because he wasn't sure if there would ever be another moment like it. They had only been working together for half a year and they disagreed on most things. Yet, their partnership still worked and cases were solved.

"So, what was Mitch working on?" Steve asked.

"According to Dave, the Jersey PD has been monitoring the Galinto family for years. However, they never had any physical evidence to tie them to any of the crimes they suspected the family had committed. Something must have happened two weeks ago to cause Vivaldi to snap. Mitch was following the trail of bodies and came to Hawaii to hopefully find the physical evidence to make the charges stick," Danny explained.

"Didn't Kamekona say something about Vivaldi coming to Hawaii two weeks ago?"

"You're right. The timeline fits."

"So what happened two weeks ago and what is Vivaldi after?" Steve pondered.

"If we can answer those questions, we can solve the case," Danny replied.

The two sat in silence as they waited for the other half of the Five-0 team to arrive. Three hours later, Chin and Kono entered the bullpen and spotted Steve and Danny in Steve's office. Steve waved them inside.

"Morning guys," Kono said cheerfully.

"Morning," Chin said, his face neutral like always.

"Since when are you at the office early, Danny?" Kono jested.

"Since we have work to do," Danny replied with a smile. "Mitch's files came in earlier."

Danny spent the next few minutes explaining to the cousins what he had found out. While it answered a few questions they had, it didn't help them with finding Vivaldi.

"At least we know we are definitely on the right track," Kono commented when Danny had finished his explanation.

"Yeah," Chin added as his phone rang. "Sorry, excuse me," he said as he turned to take the call. "Oh, hey Max."

Chin quickly turned the phone on speaker so the others could hear the conversation.

"You're on speaker with the rest of the team, Max. What have you got?" Chin said.

"Good morning everyone. I have completed the autopsy for Mitch Reardon. My preliminary observations were correct; Reardon died due to blood loss from multiple gunshot wounds. There was one bullet remaining in the body. I send it to ballistics for analysis. There are no matches yet," Max Bergman, the medical examiner, explained.

"Great. Thanks Max," Chin replied.

"That's not the only reason I called, Detective Kelly," Bergman said.

"Okay. What else do you have Max?" Chin asked, his brow furrowed.

"Another case came in overnight. Two skeletons were discovered midway up the Koko Crater Trail by some hikers. More like they found a bony hand sticking out of the dirt," Max explained.

"Okay. What does this have to do with our current case?" Chin asked impatiently.

"Oh, nothing as far as I can tell. However, the bodies have been identified as Charlene and Gavin Webster. I believe this was your case four years ago?"

Chin was silent as he thought back a few years. "Yes, I remember. The couple disappeared while hiking around four years ago. I worked the case with John McGarrett," Chin flicked his eyes over to Steve. "We never found them."

"Until now," Danny offered.

"Max, what was the cause of death?" Chin asked.

"They were both shot in the head, execution style. I was able to extract a bullet from the skull of Gavin Webster and forensics are running it now."

"Hmm. John thought they were involved in drugs, but there was no evidence to prove it. Maybe they got in over their heads and had to run for it?" Chin theorised. "And whatever or whoever they were running from caught up to them?"

"Sorry I can't tell you more. I will send my—"

"Max?" Chin asked, wondering why Max had stopped mid-sentence.

"Oh, my apologies. The ballistics report just came back…That's interesting," Max said.

"What's interesting Max?" Danny asked.

"The bullet I extracted from Mitch Reardon matches the bullet I found in Gavin Webster. Both people were killed with the same gun," Max announced.

"How is that possible? The Webster's were killed four years ago," Chin asked.

"Maybe it's a coincidence? Maybe Vivaldi bought the gun off the street?" Kono suggested.

"Possibly. For the time being, let's assume the two cases are connected. Find out everything you can about the Webster's," Steve ordered.

"The trail's pretty cold, boss," Kono commented.

"That's true, but don't let that deter you," Steve answered.

"What are we thinking?" Danny asked. "This couple got caught up with the Gilanto crime family somehow and tried to get out. They ran to Hawaii and were killed. Now Vivaldi is back in Hawaii, four years later, using the same weapon to kill people here?"

"It's a theory," Steve said.

"Maybe Vivaldi didn't kill them four years ago. Maybe it was someone else in his organisation?" Chin suggested.

"Until we have evidence, we can't say either way. Let's get to work," Steve said.

They spent the next few hours working to find information on the Webster's and their possible connection to the Galinto family. After exhausting all their usual avenues of investigation, they had come up with nothing. Steve called it and allowed the team to break for lunch before the FBI arrived later that afternoon.

Steve was sitting in his office after lunch, thinking about the case. Any case that involved gangs or cartels were destined to be messy. This one was going to be no exception. It made his gut churn with dread just thinking about the possible bloodshed.

There was a knock on the glass and Steve waved Danny inside his office.

"Hey," Danny said.

"Hey," Steve replied.

"I just thought I should remind you that Weir will be here within the hour. We should probably work out what we are going to share with them," Danny said.

Steve groaned loudly. He had been dreading this moment all day. He honestly didn't want to see Weir's face. He was too tired for that. Then he decided it was easier to catch flies with honey. With a smile, he left the office and told the team his plan.

Wednesday afternoon, Five-0 Headquarters:

When Agent Weir walked into Five-0 headquarters that afternoon, he wasn't expecting to be greeted by the stony faces of the Five-0 team, minus their leader. He could tell his fellow agents were also a little unsettled.

"Where's McGarrett?" Weir asked timidly.

"He's on a coffee run. He'll be back soon," Danny answered with a sinister smirk.

The room was eerily quiet while they waited for Steve to return. Steve walked into the bullpen with two hands full of coffee for his team mates and the FBI agents.

"Good afternoon, Agent Weir. Can I interest you and your team in some freshly brewed coffee?" Steve said, gesturing towards the coffee he had placed on the table.

"Um. Thank you," Weir said as he selected a styrofoam cup of black coffee.

Agents Clearwater and Dartmouth did the same. There was a tense silence as they sipped at their coffee.

"So, Agent Weir," Steve began casually. "Could you please tell me why you were tailing my colleagues yesterday and why you failed to mention it?"

Agent Weir choked on his coffee. Steve smiled, happy to see his comment had the desired effect.

Weir cleared his throat. "Um…it was…uh…"

Steve's voice changed from charming to low and threatening. "I would like an answer as to why you thought it was a good idea to endanger the lives of my team!"

Weir gulped nervously. "We, um, we believed that because of Detective Williams' personal connection to one of the victims, that he may know more about his movements, and in turn, Vivaldi's movements on the island."

The vein in Steve's neck bulged. "Let me get this straight. You thought that tailing Detective Williams was the best way to find Vivaldi? Do you have any idea how idiotic that was? All you have done now is make Danny and Chin a target! Vivaldi wants to stay under the radar. All you are doing is broadcasting your intentions to find him…In addition to putting the members of my team in danger, you may have driven Vivaldi away!"

The room was in shocked silence. They hadn't thought about the fact that Vivaldi could be keeping an eye on law enforcement entities, just like they were watching him. If Vivaldi wanted to eliminate a potential threat, he would do it. Steve was not willing to let his team be perceived as that threat because of the FBI's incompetence. Steve stared at Weir with his arms crossed over his chest, breathing deeply.

"You are absolutely right, Commander. I apologise. We didn't consider that fact that Vivaldi would be watching every move we make. We should have told you about the tail. It won't happen again," Weir said contritely.

Steve evaluated him for a moment, and then nodded. "Just so you are aware, if you try anything like this again, I will not be the nice guy I am today. You got that, Weir?" Steve asked through his tightly clenched jaw.

"Yes," Weir said.

"Excellent. Let's see where we are on Vivaldi," Steve said. His demeanour changed instantly, as though the previous argument hadn't happened. The tension in the room broke.

The rest of the afternoon was spent collaborating on possible locations for Roberto Vivaldi and tracking down his associates. The Five-0 team had also divulged the link to the Webster's. The FBI agreed that it was possible they were victims of the crime family.

As the sun began to set below the horizon, they decided to adjourn until either team had more information pertinent to the investigation.

Wednesday evening, Five-0 Headquarters:

It was a little after six o'clock that evening when the FBI agents left with the promise to call as soon as they had anything. The Five-0 team retired to the break room for some much need coffee.

"Hey boss, very well restrained. I seriously thought you were going to sucker punch the guy when he told you why he was tailing Danny and Chin," Kono said proudly.

Chin smiled. "Yeah, we were prepared to get the fire extinguisher out when you glared at him."

Steve grew concerned when Danny didn't join in on the banter and remained quiet, as thought lost in thought.

"Well, as much as he would have deserved it, it wouldn't have gotten us anywhere. Besides, I think he's got the message now…As much as I hate it, we will need their help on this case," Steve said.

"How very diplomatic of you, SuperSEAL," Danny quipped, joining the conversation.

"You'd be surprised how diplomatic I can be," Steve said with a small smirk, which was interrupted by a large yawn. "I suggest we all go home and get some rest. The case will still be there in the morning. Fresh eyes tomorrow."

Kono instantly jumped up. "Yeah boss. Sounds good. See you guys tomorrow." She waved to the group and left.

Chin got up more slowly, but no less eagerly. "See you guys."

Steve and Danny remained, sipping their coffee in silence.

"I'm sorry Danny," Steve said, breaking the silence first.

Danny sputtered in surprise. "Sorry? Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry your friend got murdered. I'm sorry that the FBI dragged you into this. I'm sorry that Agent Weir thought you were distrustful. I'm sorry the FBI put you and Chin in danger."

Danny sighed exasperatedly. "You know none of that is your fault, right?"

"Some of it is. If I had fought the Governor harder, maybe…"

"Then you'd be fired. You did everything you could, but you can't take the blame for Weir's actions. You had no idea he would tail us. He's arrogant and disrespectful and a bad agent. That's not your fault. As for Mitch, he knew the dangers of the job. He knew what he was getting himself in to."

"Well, then I'm sorry about your friend," Steve said sympathetically.

"Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that," Danny said sincerely.

Silence lapsed again as they finished their coffees. Steve stood up and stretched before taking Danny's empty cup. He washed both cups at the sink and put them in the dish rack to dry.

"Ready to go home?" Danny asked as he too stood up.

"Yeah," Steve said.

They walked to the parking lot together.

"Got any plans tonight?" Danny asked curiously.

"Not really. I need to go grocery shopping. We've been working non-stop and I'm out of eggs…I might drop into the gym on the way," Steve answered.

Danny smiled. "Let me guess, so you can imagine the punching bag is Weir's face?"

Steve's laughter filtered through the air. "Got it in one, Danny. See you tomorrow."

They parted ways and walked to their respective cars in the parking lot. Danny's Camaro, Steve's Silverado and another large sedan were the only vehicles left in the lot. Danny drove off first, turning left towards his home. Steve turned right, towards his favourite twenty-four hour gym. He didn't notice the sedan that pulled out after him and followed as he drove.