AN's in Chapter 1

Danny approached the smart table where Steve, Catherine, Chin and Kono were reviewing photos of the seized contraband as well as satellite images of the area surrounding the warehouse where the first crate full of guns and drugs was discovered.

"Any luck figuring out who really rented that warehouse?" Steve asked as Danny inserted a thumb drive into one of the table's ports and swiped several images onto the overhead screens.

"We're getting a little closer," Danny replied. "These are copies of the rental agreement. The company's name is ABD Imports. No big surprise … it's a shell company. The name of the person who actually signed the rental contract, Oscar Emsworth, appears to be fake."

"Also, not a surprise," Chin noted.

Danny nodded then continued. "HPD is running a check for anyone who might have used that name in the past but so far no luck. They're expanding the search to the mainland. Luckily Lea was able to make a few calls and speed things up so we should have answers on that by the end of the day."

Kono smiled. "It helps to have friends in high places."

"It certainly doesn't hurt," Danny agreed. Please tell me you guys made some headway. We need to get a little traction going on this case. The navy might be stopping anymore contraband coming in under the guise of a sailor's belongings but once they know that route is closed off to them the smugglers will just find another way in."

"They will," Steve replied. "And the last thing we need is more drugs and guns on the street. We need to stop them before that happens."

"Baby steps." Catherine exhaled heavily. She was as eager as anyone to stop the flow of contraband but if there was one thing she'd learned over the years dealing with human intelligence sources it was that they couldn't be rushed. The people sharing information with any kind of law enforcement authority did so at their own peril. Even after the perpetrator was arrested the informant still had to live their life in a community where friends and associates of the person they informed on still lived and worked. They had to deal with the daily fear that their identity would be revealed placing their own life, and the lives of their friends and family, in jeopardy.

The decision to share information was not one that was made easily or could be taken lightly. Over the years Catherine had encountered many different motivating factors in informants including money, fear, and straight up revenge. The informant in this case was a woman named Dharini who Catherine had worked with many times. She ran a small school in her village and had been attacked on several occasions for her ongoing efforts to educate al the young people in her community, both boys and girls. Because of her close ties with village elders she had a certain level of protection from Taliban forces, but she had learned the very painful lesson that there were limits to that safety.

She lost her oldest daughter to a bombing in her village a decade earlier. Shayda supported her mother's efforts and had begun working as a teacher at Dharini's makeshift school. A school which the Taliban objected to in the strongest possible terms and wanted closed. Shayda's first week on the job a bomb went off just after dinner one evening which destroyed the building that housed the school. It was meant to be a warning. The Taliban assumed the structure was empty but Shayda, eager to do a good job, had stayed late to work on lesson plans. She was 20 years old when she died.

The reaction from Dharini's brothers and uncles, who ran the council that oversaw all activities in the village, was swift and brutal. They killed five Taliban members and drove dozens of others out of town before sunset the next day.

But none of that brought Shayda back.

By the time Catherine met Dharini several years later it was clear that all the woman wanted was peace and safety for everyone in her village, along with the right to educate children of both sexes. Sadly, over the years she had come to the realization that even though the Taliban was the biggest threat to the safety of the people she loved, there were members of her own family whose actions also brought potential danger to the everyone she knew and loved.

Her uncle Hamzad, for example, had provided protection to local drug dealers for decades in return for a cut of the profits. As Dharini watched more and more of the precious children who had attended her school leave and become addicts in their teens and early twenties she knew she had to do something. When an understanding American naval officer came to town looking for information Dharini felt an immediate connection. She knew instinctively she could trust the pretty brunette with the dark eyes.

She didn't open up at first. The risk was high, and she had to be sure. She had three other children and she didn't want to lose any of them the way she had lost Shayda. She had no doubt that if her uncle found out she had given information against him to anyone, especially the Americans, he would not hesitate to kill her, and those she loved, himself. And there would be nothing anyone else in her family could do to stop him.

So Dharini observed closely. She watched the young woman, who had introduced herself as Catherine Rollins, interact with the people of the village. She saw the young officer arrange for a neighbor's child, a young boy who was failing to thrive due to a cleft palate, to receive treatment in an American facility. She watched her pitch in to help a local farmer whose livestock had been infected with a virus. And several times a week when the young woman and her team visited the school, Dharini could see the sincere compassion in Catherine's eyes.

Eventually she gathered her courage and revealed to Catherine that her own uncle was the man behind the drug trade in her village as well as several other surrounding ones. She had never been more scared in her life, but she knew if she didn't do something the young people would continue to die.

Finally, her uncle was arrested. And true to her word the young naval officer protected Dharini's identity. No one ever knew she was the one who had given the information that lead to her uncle's arrest. The Americans remained in the village for several weeks just to be sure the flow of drugs stopped and no one else tried to step in and fill the vacuum left by Hamzad's absence. Villagers speculated on who might have turned Hamzad in but for the most part they were so happy the easy access to drugs had been stopped that they didn't really care and moved on to other topics.

During those weeks, Dharini got a chance to know Catherine better and even after the lieutenant moved on to her next assignment the two women stayed in touch. If Dharini ever heard of any illegal activity in the region, which happened from time to time, she would pass the information on to Lt. Rollins. On a few occasions Catherine contacted Dharini with questions about suspected criminals in the area. Sometimes Dharini knew nothing about the men Catherine was investigating but, on those occasions when she did know something, she was happy to pass along relevant information.

After Catherine returned to the states Dharini did her best to continue her mission of education with as low a profile as possible. Even though she interacted with American service members on a fairly regular basis she never provided them information. She never found anyone she trusted as much as she trusted Catherine Rollins.

Life continued for Dharini and her family in a fairly low-key manner for years. Her children all grew up, married, and had young families of their own. She enjoyed her new role as a grandmother. She was even considering turning the school over to one of her daughters to spend more time her grandchildren. Life was good. Peaceful and quiet. Until three months earlier when a dark new force invade their town.

He was an outsider. No one knew too many details about him. He kept to himself. He was surrounded by a large, well-armed entourage. Word began to spread that he dealt in drugs. And guns. And girls. He was brutal to anyone who defied him. The head of the local police department was found with his throat slit after a visit to the man's compound to ask questions. A cloud of fear and desperation descended over the village.

When an American naval contingent arrived and started asking questions most of the town refused to say anything. Dharini knew that left unchecked this man would destroy the only home she'd ever known. And that her family and friends, including her beloved grandchildren, were in danger until this man was dealt with. As she looked in it the eyes of the young American lieutenant leading the investigation, she knew she had to do something.

She might be willing to talk, she told the young man, but only to Lieutenant Rollins.

"I managed to get in touch with my informant Dharini," Catherine said. "We have to proceed with a certain amount of caution here. She's really sticking her neck out."

"It's not like we can provide protection for her because that would make it clear she was talking and put a big target on her back," Steve explained "She's worried about her kids and grandkids."

Chin opened up a manila folder laying on the top of the smart table. "Judging from these pictures of what happened to the police chief I'd say that's understandable."

"This guy is an animal," Kono agreed.

"I have someone I trust implicitly headed for the region as we speak," Catherine said. "As soon as she's in place I'll vouch for her to Dharini and then hopefully we can get the information we need to take this guy down."

"Why can't she just give you the information?" Kono asked.

Catherine shook her head. "We can't take the chance on any communications being intercepted. There's no way we can guarantee any line into her village as secure. As it stands, we had to use a code we developed years ago just to get through the initial call. I'm just glad I remembered it."

"Of course, you remembered," Steve said proudly.

Danny couldn't help but smile at how easily his friends fell right back into the rhythm of working closely together.

Not that he was surprised.

"Ok," Steve said as he surveyed all the evidence laid out in front of them. "Catherine, why don't you talk to Commander Gosnell and see if he's had any luck tracking down the missing crates. Chin, you and Kono keep digging on the identity of whoever rented that warehouse. Danny and I have a meeting at HPD with reps from the DEA and ATF to see if they have anything that might help. Let's say we meet back here around 4:00 to compare notes."

"Sounds good," Catherine said, and the others all nodded in agreement.

"Let's get this guy," Steve said resolutely, "Before anyone else gets hurt."

TBC Monday