Lexi watched with amazed wonder as his team rallied around him with support.
Chin arrived within an hour of getting Danny's call. He entered through the backdoor carrying a military duffle bag and set it on the table. He acknowledged Lexi immediately with an outstretched hand, "Aloha, I'm Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly, you must be Lexi."
Lexi was taken back by his calm, welcoming smile and gentle touch as he shook her hand. "Nice to meet you." she replied. "Thank you for helping me."
Chin was equally surprised by the fact that she was strikingly beautiful.
Steve entered from the office and greeted Chin, "Thanks for getting here so quick. What do got for me?" Steve asked, pointing to the duffle bag.
Chin unzipped the bag, "Lot's of fun toys, Boss."
Steve rested his hand on Chin's shoulder as he leaned over, examining the contents, "I knew I could count on you."
Chin first pulled out the Cell phone. "I pulled the main frame from this phone and cleared any data, it should only accept calls from Danny, Kono and I." He set it on the table. Next he took out an IPad, "Again I removed any GPS data and linked it to a wireless signal that if traced back, will be coming from Montana."
Steve looked at him bewildered, "How did you do that?"
Chin smiled, "How did you get out of two assassination attempts today? You know your job, I know mine."
Steve chuckled, "Ok, what else you got?"
"I threw in some special toys just in case," Chin pulled out a 35 automatic, two extra loaded clips, plus a box of bullets. "Just in case." he smiled, "My boss tells me to always be prepared."
Danny leaned over and peered inside the bag, "If we are talking the same boss, then you must have a couple of grenades in there too."
"C'mon guys," Steve contradicted, "You're making me sound reckless."
Chin and Danny looked at each and then at Steve, they both spoke almost simultaneously, "You are!"
Steve grinned down at Lexi and shook his head, "Not true."
Chin spoke up, touching Lexi on the shoulder, "With all joking aside, you couldn't be in better hands than with this guy."
Lexi agreed with the information that she already knew first hand, "Yes I know, believe me, I know."
"I've also brought some change of clothes," Chin continued, dissecting the bag, "I did the best I could on short notice." He looked at Lexi, "My wife Malia is about the same size as you except maybe shorter and Steve..." he pulled out a couple pair of board shorts, "sorry, but I'm running low on cargo pants at the Kelly house."
Lexi looked at Steve, "I can't go back to my hotel can I?"
He shook his head no, "You'll have to make do with what Chin brought."
She understood, "Ok. Thank you, Chin. Whatever is in there will be fine. Tell your wife thank you."
"Where were you staying?" Danny asked.
"The Tradewind condos." Lexi responded.
Steve glanced down at her, "Let me guess, room 314?"
"Yes!" Lexi said, surprised. "How did you know that?"
"That's where I met Agent Powers this morning."
Lexi looked from him to Danny, "I don't like Agent Powers. He wanted me to forget about the murder and just focus on the gun trafficking charge. That makes no sense too me." She looked back at Steve, "Does it to you?"
"No." he responded, but none of this made much sense.
"One last thing," Chin spoke up, "I have someone from Aloha Flyers that's going to take you to Niihau."
Danny looked down at his ringing cell; he held the phone up, "Kono." The three men went into the office so they could speak to her in private.
"Kono," Steve spoke up, "You're on speaker. What did you find out?"
"Some interesting stuff, Boss." they could all picture her in the office working her magic fingers on the table computer, "Michael Lenes has several priors including possession of a stolen firearm confiscated during a routine traffic stop. His bail was set at $20,000, and guess who bailed him out?"
All three of them spoke, "Wo Fat."
"Congratulations, you win a trip for three to Hawaii."
"Funny Cuz."
Kono continued, "Agent Jack Powers convinced the DA to drop the charges on Lenes after a license with Lenes name on it suddenly appeared that traced back to the gun in his car."
"Powers could have had the charges dropped so it wouldn't interfere with the gun trafficking investigation." Steve chimed in.
"If that was his intention," Kono replied, "but I don't think it was. Are you ready for this? Power's was suspended from the FBI a week ago. He's under investigation from the their Internal Affairs for accepting bribes. I also spoke with the Governor, he claims that Powers came to him, asking for McGarrett, not the other way around."
"Son of bitch," Danny growled.
Steve's eyes turned black with anger, "You need to find Power's before he can get off the island and bring him in." He spoke in the direction of the phone, "Kono, run a check on the Tradewind condos, room 314, that's where I met them this morning. See if you get any prints from the two guys that were there with Powers. They were the shooters in the restaurant. Also, check out local clinics and hospitals, I got one in the right shoulder."
"I'm on it." she replied.
"And one more thing Kono," Steve looked at Danny, "Danny, get the print off the glass that Lexi had. I want you to run the print Kono, and see if anything comes up for Lexi Daniels."
Chin showed his surprise, "Do you think she's in on it?"
Steve shook his head, "No, but when it comes to Wo Fat, I want all my bases covered. Like I always say, just in case."
Danny handed Steve the duffle bag and he tossed it in the front seat of the helicopter. The pilot fired up the engine and the rotors began to slowly turn. He pulled on Steve's arm to get out of hearing range of Lexi. "I'll call you as soon as we know something. I know it's a remote island and all, but keep your eyes open. We'll try and get this thing cleaned up ASAP."
"Yea, you too, watch your back, Danny. This guys a slippery son of a bitch."
"Are you sure you don't want me to go?" Danny asked, looking over Steve's shoulder at Lexi.
He narrowed his eyes at him questionably, "What do mean?"
"Why is it that you get to be stranded on a deserted island with the beautiful girl?" he complained.
Steve slapped him on the shoulder, gloating, "Because I'm the boss. When you're the boss, you can be on the island with the beautiful girl."
"Me the boss!" Danny huffed, raising his voice over the rotors that were at full speed. "That won't be until you die, but I'm pretty sure I'll go first in one of your crazy stunts anyway."
"I'll tell you what partner, next time the FBI calls, I'll forward them on to you."
Danny recalled his story of the shootout at the restaurant, "Never mind what I said. Have a nice trip."
They did a handshake and shoulder-to-shoulder hug, before Steve turned and ran back to the helicopter.
He climbed in the back and sat in the seat next to Lexi. The helicopter slightly jerked as it rose off the ground, startling her. She reached over without thinking and grabbed Steve's arm. He smiled reassuringly and reached over pulling her seatbelt across her body and locking it in place. He motioned for the headphones behind her back. She slipped them on and understood the reason for them. It was noisy in the cabin. She suddenly heard Steve's voice in her ear.
"If you start to feel sick, just close your eyes. It helps."
She looked over and nodded that she understood. The helicopter gained altitude and veered out over the Pacific headed toward the island of Niihau. The view from her seat was spectacular. They were approaching the Northern part of Oahu and everything looked even greener and more amazing from the air. In the distance, rain clouds encased the tip of the Mount Ka'ala giving it an even more magical appearance.
"It's so beautiful," she said out loud, forgetting they could hear her.
Steve leaned over and pointed toward Makua Valley. The trade winds blew rain mist into the gorge, producing a perfect double rainbow that exploded with color.
"Oh my God," she whispered, "It's paradise." The helicopter turned away from the island toward the open Pacific and she was suddenly jolted back to reality and their real reason for being there.
Once again she heard Steve's voice, "When this is all over, I'll take you up and show you the whole island."
She settled back in her seat and closed her eyes, "I'd like that." She tried to concentrate on the beautiful view she just witnessed rather than the ugly mess she was in.