The rain had slowed to a drizzle and the late day sun was intent on creating one last rainbow before darkness fell. Gabriel got back to the main warehouse just as Masuda was preparing to leave. He stood by the open door as Gabriel approached.

"Everything looks good. Mitchell says the boat will be in Thursday. That's two days. I'm assuming you'll be able to keep everything secure until it ships out?"

Gabriel was pleased his absence had not been noticed, but not so much relieved because his level of care on the give-a-crap gauge had just dropped to an all-time low. He had found out his daughter was on the island and right now, that was all that mattered. "I don't foresee any problems."

"Excellent. Keep me informed if anything changes in the schedule."

"Yes, sir," Gabriel spoke obligingly.

After Masuda's car had driven away, Gabriel turned to Simon. "We don't have much time. We've got some work to do. We're about to have company."

~~~~~H50~~~~~

The sun had set, but there was still a glow of orange and purple on the horizon as the Camaro did a slow crawl down one of the access roads at the docks. Darkness had brought an end to the workday and had left the area seemingly deserted.

"Looks like if you turn left there," Tani pointed at another road up ahead, "the building will be on the right, about one hundred twenty yards down." She held a tablet that was displaying a map of the vicinity. Jerry had sent the location of the phone and it was pinpointed on the map. Danny pulled to the left and parked on the side of the road.

"Hey, yeah. Right up there… on the left," she directed, wondering if maybe he hadn't heard her the first time.

"We're stopping here."

"All right… Okay, then. Let's go," Tani worked herself to accepting his decision.

They retrieved their rifles from the trunk and checked their ammo. "If we're lucky," Danny said, "it'll be Gabriel and just a handful of his lunkheads."

"And if we're not?"

"If we're not… he'll have his whole freakin' army waiting for us. I'm going to put my money on the former. He hasn't had the time and he seemed off."

"Hope you're right," she mumbled, sincerely hoping his experience and expertise had it right this time.

"The place is too big and has too many access points for us to split up. Our best bet will be to stick together."

"Sure, no problem."

Danny grabbed her shoulder before she could take off. "Hold up there, McGarrettette. I'm going in first. Stay behind me."

"Is that anything like Smurfette? Because she was my favorite. Except I always thought she should be a brunette."

"That's fantastic. Me and my big mouth. Would you just come on?"

Tani straightened up and stood at attention with a big smile beaming in the darkening light.

Danny rolled his eyes and swiped his hand forward. They rounded the corner of the building that concealed their car and covertly made their way down the road.

The air felt thick after the rain. Danny used his sleeve to wipe away the sweat from his brow as they each stood on either side of one of the three rear doors they had found unlocked. After quietly trying them, they found that all the others, besides those three, had been locked. Danny understood that the doors could have been left that way purposefully, but if that had been the case, why not just one?

The door had thankfully not made any noise when it was opened and Danny was a little surprised to see light coming from inside. Again, he tried to get in Gabriel's head. Did he really think that Chin would meet him here and surrender his daughter? He quickly dismissed the thought and led the way in. He immediately took cover behind a container that was about fifteen feet to his left. Tani found one ten feet to her right. There, they were able to see each other and peek around the corner to see about three fourths of the large area inside. The rest was in their blind spot.

At first, they didn't see another soul. Then, a thin older man came into view from the blind area.

A crackling sound followed by Adam's voice could be heard in their earpieces. "Danny, Tani? You read?" Danny and Tani shared a look. They couldn't respond without revealing themselves. "Danny, it's Adam. Junior and I have arrived on scene. Chin, Kono, and SWAT are coming in mute behind us. Danny, do you read? Over."

A door on the far side opened and Gabriel appeared and met the man in the center of the room. Tani knew him right away, even without the put-on charm she had experienced from 'John'. She felt a wave of heat as she felt her anger spike.

In direct contrast to her reaction, Danny had an ice-cold chill roll down his back. The stuffy warehouse felt like an oven, so he wasn't quite sure why he was having this sensation of cold. His reasoning was fighting his emotions for control. This wasn't right. He got it now. He had been wrong. Abort.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

"Shots were fired. SWAT's gone in. I don't know. It's still active. We don't really have anything else."

"Jer… Jerry stop. Put Lou on. Let me talk to him," Steve was in a panic. He was still at home, pacing his floor. Ever since the rest of his team had left, he couldn't be still, gunshot injuries or no, exhaustion be damned.

"Hey, McGarrett. Yeah, it's like the man said. We don't know much. We got word from Junior they had arrived first and then Chin and Kono and then SWAT. Shots started soon after that. We're waiting to hear." Lou was deliberately leaving out information. He knew it was coming. He'd have to address it, but he put it off as long as possible.

"Lou! What about Danny and Tani? Have you heard from them? Does anyone have eyes on them?"

Lou heard the panic in his voice and he tried to pacify him while still being honest with him. "Not yet, but listen," he threw in quickly as he heard the 'damn it' fly on the other end, "that's not unusual. In these situations, sometimes the operatives have to keep radio silence to avoid detection and that's what they were doing, going in with hopes of being undetected. So, it just makes sense…"

"Save it, Lou, all right? Remember who you're talking to."

At that, Lou did feel a little bit dumb. He had been talking to a Navy SEAL as if he were teaching Will the finer points of shaving. "You're right, man, I just thought…"

"I know. It's okay. I'm sorry. I'm just a little wound up over here." His voice had lowered.

"Hey, I know you're probably running on adrenaline and Danny will kill me, but how'd you like it if I sent a uniform over to bring you here? Do you think you're up for it?"

"Lou, that's the best suggestion I've heard all evening. Lights and sirens, get 'em here fast."

"Copy that. They'll be there before you can say deep-dish-delight and I promise, I'll let you know as soon as I know anything."

"Thanks, man. I appreciate it."

Steve was bouncing on the balls of his feet as he waited out front for his ride. His jitteriness was probably a combination of nerves and the lack of the dulled senses he usually got from his pain meds. He had taken all of his prescribed medicines that evening except the ones for pain. He needed to be alert and in his right mind until this was all over and he could finally go to bed knowing his ohana was safe and sound… and Gabriel was behind bars.

The second-year officer had followed orders and had arrived in the cruiser with lights on and sirens blaring.

The officer didn't even have time to get out of his car, as Steve was already getting in on the passenger side.

"Commander, I would have helped you."

"I'm fine, Officer…?"

"Petty. You know like Richard, The King. Are you a NASCAR fan?"

"Well, no, I…"

"I know some of the guys in the academy tried to be cute and pin me with Tom or Heartbreaker, but I'd take racin' over singin' any day. There's just something about the sound those machines make when they speed by the mics on the side of the track. I've been a fan of racing since, well, since as long as I can remember."

"Speaking of racing, can you step on it?" Even though the air was on, Steve cracked his window. He needed some air… and a muffler for the sound. He needed to introduce this loquacious young man to his partner. He'd love to see which one would get the best of the other.

"Sure, plus The King's from North Carolina and I'm from South. We're not related though. At least not that I know of. There might be a distant connection somewhere. I need to call my pop. He'd probably know." He put on his turning signal.

"We're not going that way."

"Iolani Palace is right down that road."

"Keep going straight. We're headed to the docks."

"But, sir, my orders were to…"

"Your orders have been revised. Get me to the port at Kalihi-Palama."

"Yes, sir, commander, sir." He turned off his signal and continued toward the boat docks. Oddly, the ride thereafter was much quieter.

~to be continued~

\,,,/BronsonL