"You've barely touched your food," Gabriel observed as Tani pushed a tomato around the plate with her fork.
"Yeah, sorry. I guess I'm not very good company, am I?"
"Completely understandable. So, you say you've been on this task force for over a year now? I'm new to the islands. I haven't heard of it."
"Oh yeah. It's kinda a big deal, commissioned and backed by the governor herself."
"Well, forgive me for being blunt, but do you have enough… experience… to be on a task force like that?"
"Most people would probably say no, but my…" Tani choked on her words and tried to cover the slip with an added cough. "… boss and his partner thought I had what it took to come on. They saw past some of my flaws and still thought I'd be an asset to the team. I was hesitant at first, to say the least. I was helping to fill some pretty big shoes, but I'm glad I gave it a shot. Best move I ever made."
"Big shoes?"
"Yeah, two of the original members moved on to other projects on the mainland."
"You don't say?"
"They were a big part of Five-0 and are missed. I'm just honored to be able to do what I can in their absence."
"Absence? Are they coming back?"
Tani shook her head. "The door's always open, but I don't think so. They're pretty settled from what I understand."
"Settled? Like… with families?"
Tani was getting more comfortable with her company and the light conversation was effective in taking her mind off of Steve. She finally took a bite of her salad. "Mm, hm." She dabbed at her lip with her napkin. "Well, Chin and his wife have a beautiful little girl and Kono… well she's been… well no children yet."
"And you?"
"Children? Oh, no. My younger brother is as close as I'll get for a while. Anyway, I don't think I'm 'mom' material and besides, I'm not involved with anyone right now. What about you?" She flipped the script. "Family?"
"My only sister died several years ago and I lost my wife not long after that."
"I'm so sorry," Tani genuinely felt bad for this stranger she was getting to know.
"I do have a daughter, though. It's been a while since I've seen her. She's with her uncle right now." Tani's phone buzzed in her back pocket and she regretted the timing. She pulled it out to see she had a new message.
"Anything wrong?" Gabriel asked.
Tani took a minute to read the message and quickly typed a reply. "Yeah, I'm going to have to go."
"Oh, I hate to hear it. I've enjoyed this little break. Maybe we can do it again sometime. I don't have my phone with me, but here, may I?" He held out his hand, reaching for her phone.
She gave it up to him and watched as he put in his name and number. He handed the device back to her. "I hope your friend shows improvement soon."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
Gabriel said his goodbyes, but Tani lingered and he narrowed his eyes in confusion. Tani explained, "That text. One of our team members is on his way. I let him know where I was so he could meet me here."
From where he was sitting, Gabriel saw Adam before Tani. He tried to remain calm and not show the change in his demeanor. He knew he needed to get out of there fast. He had already taken a big chance of being seen by unwanted eyes. He lowered his head to avoid Adam's searching gaze and spoke normally to disguise his urgency. "Well, I need to get back to my shift." Gabriel had no choice now. He had to flee. Appearances be damned. He stood up, facing away from the familiar arrival.
"Wait, there he is now. Adam! Over here!"
Adam turned to see Tani waving her arm to call him over. Even with the somber circumstances, he still displayed his customary amiable smile as he neared her. He gave her a hug and asked, "So, how ya doing?"
"I'm okay. I'm okay."
"Have you heard anymore from Steve and Lou?"
"Steve's in ICU and still can't have visitors. Lou's awake and doing better. Renee's with him now. Hey, Adam, I want you to meet…" She turned with her hand raised, ready to make the introductions. "John?" She turned to look behind her and then back again the other way. Adam smiled but narrowed his eyes in confusion. "He was… he was just here a second ago."
"Who was it?"
"Oh, it was just… you know, never mind. We need to get going, right?"
"I guess you saw. Jerry got an address for the owner of the vehicle. He said Danny and Junior were on their way."
"We'd better hurry then." Tani took one more, quick look around and saw no one.
"What about Steve?" Adam asked before leaving.
"They've got my number and Lou's resting."
"I'm out this way." Adam pointed in a direction down the corridor, holding his keys with the same hand.
"Put your keys away. I'm driving," Tani insisted.
"My car's faster," Adam enticed.
"You're right." She grabbed his keys and headed in the direction he had pointed.
"Danny's right. You are a female version of Steve."
"I'll take that as a compliment."
~~~~~H50~~~~~
The ride to the promising location had been a quiet one for the most part. Junior had not even mentioned the shattered windshield that he was forced to look through on the trip. He had a good guess of what had happened and felt that he may have done the same thing in Danny's shoes. In fact, he probably had done something similar in expelling his frustration and rage while in the service, so he reserved all judgement. Danny appreciated the omission of questions about it and respected him for not even asking.
The silence was broken on one occasion when Junior decided to ask about their mark. "Is there anything I need to know about this guy… Gabriel?"
"We thought he had died. He should have died. Somehow, the son of a bitch survived. Made a deal with the devil or whatever it took to make it back here and exact his revenge on us." Danny harrumphed at the humor of his next thought. "We all almost died because we were trying to save his sorry ass. Fought off a damned Yakuza army to get him to the hospital safely after he'd been shot, just so he would live and we could put him in prison for the rest of his pathetic life. I wish we had let the asshole die. Maybe Steve wouldn't be fighting for his own life right now."
"If I may, sir, it doesn't do any good to second-guess what's been done. You just have to work the problem. Plan your tactics for the current operation and adapt to what's thrown at you."
"You're right, but if I'm given the opportunity again, I'm going to adapt my tactics with Steve and Lou in mind."
"Copy that." Junior allowed a slight giggle. "Me too."
Danny smiled. He was liking this guy more and more.
The small, shack-like house appeared to be unoccupied when they pulled up. There was no parking set aside for the property, so they had to park in the street. Vertical bars were on the windows, matching the water damaged, pale gray vertical plank siding. What appeared to be bed sheets, one seafoam green and the other, tangerine orange, were stretched out over the inside of the windows in place of curtains, blocking the view of the interior.
Danny led the way, both with their side arms drawn. The chain-link gate screeched when Danny lifted the handle and pushed it open. He quickly set up a post on one side of the door as Junior took the other side.
"I'll take this door. You go around back," Danny whispered. Junior hesitated. He had not known his superior that long, but he had not witnessed the cold seriousness before in the face he was now seeing. Much like many prior SEAL missions, he embraced his acceptance of the possible end result with a long, calming breath. He joined Danny in their unspoken shared desire and nodded in compliance before agilely leaving Danny on his own.
Danny's heart pounded as the possibility of sweet, satisfying retribution to Steve's killer hit him full in the face. If Gabriel was in here, he would pay.
'Danny, remember who you are.' Steve's voice assaulted his thinking.
"Get outta my head, Steven," he whispered as hot adrenaline pumped through his veins in anticipation. He swept his left arm across his sweat laden brow. He first tried the door to see if it was open. As expected, it was locked. Then he robustly pounded on the door, "Five-0! Open up!"
Nothing… no sound was heard. Danny thought about giving any occupants a countdown in warning but chose to give in to his impatience instead. He turned and kicked open the old, brittle door with ease. At hearing the breach, Junior was in the back entrance immediately after. The domicile was so small, they were able to clear it in a matter of seconds.
Realization settled over him, but this time Junior was there to come between his rage and the wall. His quick reaction stopped Danny's fist with the palm of his hand. "It's not worth it. We'll get another chance," Junior soothed as he looked him directly in the eyes to make sure he had his full attention.
With his gun still in his hand, Danny's shoulders slouched and he let his arms drop to his sides. This had been it. His opportunity dissolved in front of his eyes. "What am I doing?" he spoke to himself. He then spoke to Junior. "Huh? What the hell are we doing here? I need to get back to Steve. I should be there."
"Come on. Maybe we can find something that will clue us in to where he is." Refusing to give up, Junior left Danny to start searching in another room.
"HPD can handle that. Let's get outta here." Danny was headed for the front door that he had kicked in when he heard Junior call out to stop him.
"Detective Williams! Wait! Come check this out."
As small as the house was, there was still a separate dining area off the kitchen. Danny followed Junior's voice into this room. A single bottle of scotch and a lowball glass were sitting on the antiquated metal-rimmed table. Under the glass that contained about an ounce of the dark amber libation was a plain white envelope, blank, except for one name written on the outside: "Chin Ho".
~to be continued~
\,,,/BronsonL