Chapter 5

"Put down the book. I'll explain the birds and the bees." – Teuila 'Kumu' Tuileta

.

"How's it going?" Kumu asked, walking into the office an hour later with the mail and a fresh pot of coffee. She placed a cup beside Juliet. "Here you go."

Higgins glanced up and smiled. "That's lovely, Kumu, thank you. And nothing so far, I'm afraid," she said, turning back to the laptop screen before her. She'd been trying, without much success, to retrieve Aiona Kealoha's last-known location, while Thomas paced restlessly behind her, pausing every now and then to peer over her shoulder at the screen. The next time he did that, she looked up at him and took note of the faint lines of pain etched around his mouth. "Perhaps it's best you sat down, Magnum."

"I'm okay," he responded automatically with a dismissive shake of his head. He straightened as Kumu drew nearer, a concerned look on her face. Accepting the cup of coffee from her, he said reassuringly, "Thanks, Kumu, and I'm fine, really. It just looks worse than it is."

"Well, I'm going to have to take your word for it, Thomas," she answered, her expression doubtful, before adding gently, "but that doesn't mean that Juliet's wrong."

Deciding that it was easier to comply with the simple request than argue his way out of it, Magnum walked towards the chair in front of Higgins' desk. He sat down, one hand absently rubbing his bound ribs as he stared blankly at the floor.

"This isn't your fault, you know."

A strangled laugh escaped the PI. "That seems to be the theme of the week."

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing," he replied, looking up to meet the kind eyes of the cultural curator. "I talked Aiona into helping and now she could be in real trouble because of me."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Thomas, but not everything revolves around you," Kumu replied in a teasing manner, her smile widening when he chuckled in response.

When he'd first arrived at Robin's Nest, she had been a little suspicious of, and yet intrigued by, the good-looking, happy-go-lucky former Navy SEAL. As she got to know him better, Kumu found that she really liked having the fledging PI around the estate. There was something about Thomas Magnum that made him different from the other veterans she'd encountered on the island so far. It didn't take long for her to figure out that behind his charmingly carefree and easygoing demeanour was a man with a heart of gold who was willing to lend a helping hand to anyone who needed it. It was obvious that he did most things from the heart, rather than from the head.

Of course, his blasé attitude and the way he generally lived life in joyful abandonment didn't sit too well with Ms H, especially during their first year together at Robin's Nest. While she mostly enjoyed their bickering – it was always amusing to watch him deflect Juliet's sarcastic jibes with a few gems of his own – Kumu had lost count of the number of times she'd been caught in the middle of their many disagreements. She couldn't be happier when Juliet agreed to be Thomas' business partner. Privately, she felt that they were good for each other – they might not be aware of it yet, but Juliet needed him in her life as much as Thomas needed her in his.

Sitting down beside him, Kumu was glad to see some of the tension leave his face as he relaxed somewhat. "So, how did you come to meet this young woman?"

"You know the cheating spouse I was hired to follow?" he asked. When she nodded, Thomas continued with a conspiratorial wink, "Miranda Lewis, Larry Beck's sister, was the client and she thought that Aiona was the other woman."

"Ooo… really?" Her smile widened when the exaggerated expression on her face made him laugh. Higgins glanced up a moment, her lips curving at the rich sound, before she quietly returned to her search.

"Yeah, but she wasn't even close. Her husband was having an affair but it was with someone else."

"But why did she think it was Aiona?" Kumu asked, baffled.

"They live in a house within the compound. Jim Lewis has a wandering eye and tends to go after the attractive new hires, at least, according to some of Beck's older staff. Mrs Lewis got suspicious when she caught him watching Aiona one time too often so she hired me. The rest you know," Magnum finished with wry look before turning serious. "After her brother was killed while doing something shady for Beck, Aiona took the job cleaning the main house to see if she could find any evidence she could use against him. She was the one who showed me the secret compartments in the containers they used to smuggle drugs and other illegal items. She also said they even used it for people sometimes."

Kumu's eyes grew large. "I'm glad you got that horrible man off the streets."

"Not yet," he shook his head. "He made bail and now she's missing..."

"I'm sure you and Juliet will figure this out together," she said after a brief pause, giving Thomas a reassuring pat on his arm before standing up. "So, for the last time, this is not your fault and I don't want to hear otherwise."

He leaned back in his chair, his eyes crinkling in amusement. "You don't pull your punches, do you, Kumu?"

"Someone has to tell you the truth. It may as well be me."

"Mahalo, Kumu."

"Anytime, Thomas," the cultural curator replied cheerfully, pleased to hear him laugh. She paused at the doorway on her way out. "All right, I'm off to the cultural centre for my meeting. You two please stay safe out there, okay? Especially if this man is as bad as you say he is…"

"Always, Kumu," Juliet answered with a thankful smile.

Magnum waved goodbye and was just about to check with Higgins on her progress when his phone rang. Digging it out of his pocket, he looked with mild curiosity at the unfamiliar number before pressing the answer button.

"Thomas Magnum, Magnum and Higgins Private Investiga–" he broke off, sitting up straight in his chair. "Aiona! You okay? Where are you?"

~O~O~O~

Higgins frowned doubtfully when her partner pulled up at the dingy budget motel. She'd offered but he was insistent that he'd be the one to drive them there. After a brief hesitation, she gave in to his request but kept a close eye on him the entire drive over. She was happy to note that, other than a slight tightening of his lips each time they went over a bump or a rough patch on the road, he didn't show any other signs of discomfort. She took a quick look around as he parked the Ferrari and turned off the engine. "Magnum, are you absolutely sure you got the right place?"

He squinted at the rundown building through the windscreen and then pointed. "There, Room 16B."

Without another word, they made their way to the second floor and she kept a watchful eye on their surroundings as he knocked cautiously on the door.

"Aiona? It's Thomas Magnum."

The door slowly opened after a moment to reveal a young woman in her early 20s, her long black hair tied up in a thick ponytail. Her pretty features were tired and pinched but she brightened considerably at the sight of the PI.

"Mr Magnum!" she cried out. Opening the door wider, she hurriedly ushered both of them in. "Thank you for coming. I didn't know who else to call."

"I'm glad you did," he answered as the door closed behind them. "This is my partner, Juliet Higgins."

"Hello, Aiona," Juliet gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. It was obvious that the younger woman was terrified but she returned the greeting with a tentative smile.

"Aiona, what's going on?" Thomas asked, drawing her attention back to him. "Why did you disappear like that?"

"A man was waiting for me when I got home last night," the young woman started, her eyes wide with fear. "I only got away because of Bruno."

Higgins tilted her head slightly. "Bruno?"

"My brother's dog. I adopted him after my brother died. He let go when Bruno bit him… and I ran."

"Any idea why he was after you?" Magnum frowned.

The frightened woman wrung her hands. "I forgot I had it…"

"Forgot you had what?" Higgins prompted gently when the other woman stopped talking.

Aiona looked up from where she sat at the edge of the bed and met their questioning gaze. "I noticed that Mr Beck goes to the kitchen for a snack every now and then. It doesn't take him more than 5 to 10 minutes, so he rarely locks the door to his study when he does that. A day before we met, Mr Magnum, I waited until he went off before I slipped into the study." At Thomas' encouraging nod, she continued, "There was a laptop on the desk with a flash drive connected to it. I was so desperate for something, anything, that would tell me what really happened to my brother that I took the drive without thinking. I thought I could just copy whatever that was on it and then put it back, or pretended that I found it on the floor during my next shift. When I got home, I discovered that I couldn't access any of the files on my computer. I hid the drive but before I could start my shift and return it, you got him arrested, and I haven't been back to the house since."

"I think the drive only works on that specific laptop," Higgins stated thoughtfully. "Rather high level tech for someone who is allegedly not hiding anything."

Magnum nodded in agreement before asking, "Aiona, do you know what the files were about?"

"Not really. Before I disconnected the drive from the laptop, I clicked on two of the files but they were mostly random names and numbers…" she answered haltingly and took a shuddering breath. "Somehow, he found out it was me who took it."

"Beck was pretty angry when I got to the house that day, yelling about something that was missing," Magnum recalled. "He must have been referring to the flash drive."

"Where is it now?" Higgins asked.

"I hid it under a loose tile beneath the kitchen counter," the dark-haired woman replied. "I'm not sure if it's still there."

"There's only one way to find out," Magnum said, getting up from the chair. "Whoa, are you all right?" he exclaimed, hands automatically reaching out when Aiona swayed a little as she stood up after him. He frowned at the small stain on her right sleeve. "Wait, are you hurt?"

She sat back down, her face suddenly pale beneath her tan. "He… he had a knife."

"Can I?" At her nod, Juliet sat down on the bed beside her and checked the wound. Putting her hand on the younger woman's forehead, she remarked with a frown, "This is quite a deep cut, Aiona, and unless I'm mistaken, it looks infected. You're already running a fever."

"I've been achy since this morning," Aiona admitted, smoothing down her sleeve. "And a little dizzy."

"Higgy, can you take Aiona to the hospital?"

"Yes, of course. But what about you?" Higgins looked intently at the man before her. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like where this conversation was headed.

"I'm going to get the drive to Katsumoto."

"What makes you think it's still at the house?"

"They wouldn't still be looking for Aiona if they already have it," Thomas reasoned.

"I'm not sure this is a good idea, Magnum…"

"Higgins, you heard what Katsumoto said. Right now, almost all the evidence they have against Beck is circumstantial. I think what's on that drive is what HPD needs to put him away for good," he said, his tone low and urgent. "We just have to get to it first. They probably searched the house the first time they went after her so it should be the last place they'll think to look."

She was still leery of him going off on his own, given his current condition, but Higgins knew that Magnum was right. As long as Beck was free, Aiona would be in danger. The only way to keep her safe was for them to get to the evidence before Beck and his men. Reluctantly, she nodded. "Speaking of Katsumoto, we should let him know."

"I'll give him a call on my way there."

~O~O~O~

"Hello?"

"Kumu, it's Juliet. Is Magnum there at the Nest?"

"No, I thought he was with you," the older woman replied, feeling a flash of worry.

"We had to split up. I'm still at the hospital with Aiona – they've just admitted her for the night," Higgins said. "Magnum went off to her house to retrieve a flash drive over an hour ago and I haven't been able to get hold of him."

"Have you tried Detective Katsumoto?"

"I did. I left him a voicemail earlier and called the station when he didn't pick up his cell. They told me that he's in a middle of a major case debrief."

"Maybe Thomas' phone died. You know how he often forgets to charge it," Kumu reminded the younger woman, trying to remain positive for the both of them. "He could be on his way back right now."

"True, that's always a possibility," the majordomo conceded reluctantly.

Kumu was almost afraid to ask. "But…?"

"I'm not sure…" Juliet paused for a moment and then said, almost to herself, "I just have a terrible feeling about this."

~O~O~O~

Magnum's head snapped back at the force of the blow and he bit back a groan, tasting blood in his mouth. Something wet and warm trickled down his left side and he knew that he'd torn his stitches, likely due to the earlier scuffle. Beck and his men had pulled up to the house just as he'd gotten hold of the data storage device and he'd quickly placed it safely back into its hiding place. He'd only had time to type out a two-worded text to Higgins but before he could send it, they'd burst through the door. While he managed to take out two of the men, a third must have hit him from behind because the next thing he knew, he woke up with an excruciating headache, tied to a chair.

"Where is it?" the blond man before him asked in a low, seething voice, while Larry Beck stood a few feet away, a cold, calculating look on his face.

Being bound so tightly made it hard for Magnum to move much but he managed to lean over to spit out blood and saliva before grinding out the words through clenched teeth, "You'll need to help out me here because I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap. We know you're the private eye hired by–"

"Private investigator…"

Another hard blow landed, this time directly to his stomach, and he curled into himself as much as the zipties holding him would allow, struggling to catch his breath. "Not trying to… point out the obvious here," he panted, trying to breathe through the pain. "But you should really… consider seeing someone about your anger issues…"

His interrogator growled in response but before he could land another punch, Beck said firmly, "Enough. I need him conscious." Walking closer, the older man bent down until he was at Magnum's eye level. "Let's try this again. Where is the drive?

His ears ringing, the PI squeezed his eyes closed against the pain, trying to shake off the dizziness. He gave a weak chuckle, "I really don't know what to say to that… I'm just here to water the plants."

"That's funny," Beck remarked mildly, looking almost amused at the show of defiance. "You know, when the girl got away, I told Cutler here that the idiot responsible for this whole mess better hope I never find him. Then, I got word that you were stopping by the Kealoha house on your way to HPD…"

"How did you–" Magnum started then stopped, realisation dawning on his face. "You have someone on the inside. The message I left–"

"Aren't you clever," Beck interrupted in a mocking tone. "But you're right – it's extremely useful leveraging the right people. I don't know why you're in this house, since neither the girl nor my missing drive is here, but no matter. One thing's for sure, you know exactly where they are."

Look who's the clever one now... It took some effort but Magnum resisted the temptation to give voice to his sarcastic retort, and carefully kept his expression neutral as he stared unblinkingly at his captor.

"The way I see it, sooner or later, you're going to tell me what I want to know. Or not," Beck all but purred, his smile turning sadistic. "Either way, I'm really going to enjoy getting the answers out of you." Straightening, he stepped away from the PI and nodded at Cutler. "Bring him."

~O~O~O~

"Kumu, slow down," Rick said into the phone, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Nothing good ever came out of a sentence that contained both the words Thomas and trouble. The last time the cultural curator had called them using those exact words, they'd ended up having to rescue him from a group of mercenaries. Rick was almost certain that those two words alone had caused him more anxiety compared to the 18 months and 11 days that they were held as prisoners of the Taliban. He mentally braced himself. "What happened again…?"

After a quick but troubling conversation, he hung up the phone and dialled TC's number as he got into his car.

"What's up, brother?"

"You still flying?" Rick asked, speeding up as he hit the open road.

"Just finished the last tour. Why? What's wrong?"

"TM's in trouble. I'm on my way to you."

TC frowned. "What? How? The guy was supposed to be resting at home."

"No idea but Kumu just called. Turns out his simple case wasn't as over as they thought," Rick explained. "Jules managed to track the Ferrari to Katsumoto's missing witness' house. It's on our way, so we'll be heading there first to check things out before meeting up with her at the Nest."

"What missing witness? You know what? Forget I asked," TC said, shaking his head. "I'm locking up – I'll be waiting when you get here."

~O~O~O~

Magnum jerked into consciousness and, after a moment's disorientation, realised that he was being held up under the arms and roughly dragged along a deserted corridor by two men. The uneven, jarring motions caused him to grit his teeth in agony against the rush of intense pain along his ribs and around the left side of his abdomen. However, it was the moving floor beneath him that had him struggling to control his nausea, especially when the pounding in his head intensified considerably. The cut above his right eyebrow had also reopened, and blood was dripping from his temple onto the floor. Closing his eyes, he took slow, deep breaths. Briefly, he wondered how long he'd been unconscious.

After being made to get into his captors' car at gunpoint, he was taken to what he guessed was one of the off-the-books warehouses owned by Beck. Once there, he again found himself being questioned, this time in a small, windowless room on the second floor. The latest interrogation session, however, didn't last long because Cutler, who predictably didn't take too well to his mocking tone, had hit him so hard after his last sarcastic taunt that he'd blacked out.

Forcing himself to relax so that the men had to drag his deadweight along, he fought past his light-headedness and queasiness to assess his current situation. His heart was pounding, likely due to blood loss – the bleeding from the gash on his left side had slowed considerably but he knew from experience that he'd lost enough, if the slight floating sensation he was feeling was any indication. Aware that his chances of escape decreased with each step the men took, especially if it was to another locked room, he mentally braced himself against the inevitable pain as he put his spur-of-the-moment plan into motion.

"'m gonna... be sick..." he choked out, only half-pretending at this point. He struggled weakly in the men's grip, trying to get them to release him.

It worked. Someone swore loudly but they immediately let go of him, stepping away, and Magnum dropped heavily to the floor with a yelp of pain. He curled into himself, still making loud, exaggerated retching noises and groped around blindly until his hand closed on the end of a discarded metal pipe that he'd seen earlier during his quick scan of the corridor.

"Enough! Get up!" a voice snarled above him, following the harsh command with a hard kick to the small of his back.

Breathing through the pain, he ignored the order, and waited until one of them bent down to grab his shoulder. With one smooth motion, he turned over, swinging the metal pipe hard at the man's head. The first guy went down with a grunt, and Magnum scrambled to his feet, kicking out at the second man when he rushed forward. The guy dropped his gun as he staggered back and Magnum quickly kicked it away. The PI then swung his arm in another wide arch, striking his opponent in the face with all the energy he had left in him.

Unable to stop his own momentum, he crashed painfully to the ground after the guy he'd just knocked out. In too much pain to move, Magnum lay sprawled, half on the unconscious man and half on the hard, mezzanine floor, as everything around him washed in and out.

.

A/N: Full disclosure, I'm terrible at action scenes so please just pretend that they work, lol. And now you know the part that took me forever to write.

This is for Drjscully, guest, Cottsie, and Tobster73. Thank you for your encouraging reviews for Chapter 4. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too.