AN's in Chapter 1

I was lucky enough to co-write this one with the amazing Mari! A blast as always.

Chapter 3

"What have we got?" Steve asked a young HPD officer as he and Danny stepped around a group of forensic techs and entered a small apartment building in downtown Honolulu. They'd received a call from Duke twenty minutes earlier about a crime scene that he thought might be related to their current case.

"Over here," Catherine called from her position just outside a door at the end of the hall.

The two men moved carefully around the small, yellow markers on the floor that indicated evidence to be photographed then collected. In addition to spent bullets there was a blood trail that lead out to the sidewalk then disappeared.

"How'd you beat us here?" Danny asked as he grabbed a pair of rubber gloves from the box on HPD's evidence collection unit.

"We were in the area." Catherine nodded towards Commander Gosnell who was standing just inside the apartment door. "A couple young ensigns reported they were in the bar down the street last night and overheard several guys talking about how they had discovered a no risk way to bring guns and drugs in from Afghanistan. They didn't specifically mention naval transports, but we thought it was worth checking out."

Steve continued to survey the situation. "Did you get anything?"

"The bartender said he knew one of the guys and gave us a name," Catherine replied. "By the time we got here the crime scene tape was going up and Duke said he'd already called you."

Steve peered over her shoulder and saw at least three dead bodies on the floor. From the amount of blood spattered on the floors, walls and ceilings it looked like they'd been taken out by some kind of high caliber weapon.

"What makes him think this might be related to our case?" Danny asked but before Catherine could answer Duke and Commander Gosnell joined them.

"We found this." Duke handed Steve an evidence bag containing a copy of a bill of lading in the name of Lieutenant Hank Harper. "I recognized the name right away as being associated with one of the missing crates from Pearl. That's when I called you."

"Any sign of the missing items?" Danny asked hopefully.

Duke shook his head. "Not in there. We'll have the dogs come in after the bodies have been removed and search for drug residue, but the apartment was tossed so if there was anything here it probably left with the killer or killers."

"Looks like one of the victims might have gotten a shot off." Steve indicated the blood trail leading to the street.

"We collected a sample for DNA testing," Duke said. "I'll let you know when we get something."

Steve's jaw tightened. He had hoped they could get this case solved before there was any violence related to the contraband, but it appeared that wasn't going to happen. "Any ID on the victims?"

"We're running it now," Duke said. "Three out of state drivers' licenses. Two from California and one from Nevada. The name on the apartment lease is Aoki Keakawa. Born and raised on the island. Works for a small, local construction company. We're tracking him down."

"Let us know when you find him," Steve said. "We're gonna have a quick look around to see if anything jumps out."

"Sounds good." Catherine's phone buzzed and she pulled it from her pocket and checked the screen. "Lea wants a meeting to catch her up on what's going on. I'll head over and take care of that then meet you at HQ later."

Catherine glanced at her ringing phone and smiled when she saw the name on the screen. She told Commander Gosnell she'd meet him Lea's office in a few minutes then stepped into an empty conference room to take the call.

"Hello."

"Rollins!" The slightly tinny transmission didn't mask the genuine happiness her friend's voice held. "What can I do you for?" Lieutenant Commander Gilhooley's cheer was as evident as always. "Sorry I took so long getting back to you. Took a while for your message to catch up to me."

"Not a problem, Gilhooley, how are you?"

"Good, good. How's your little mini me? Damn if she's not your spittin' image."

Catherine's eyes sparkled. "She's wonderful, thanks. Are your kids all good?"

"Right as rain, thank God." She could hear him tap on wood. "So, what's up?"

"I need a favor. Someone found a way to get around security and smuggle guns and weapons into Hawaii on naval transports. We're trying to find out who the smugglers are but also who's helping them."

"I read about that in yesterday's security memo," Gilhooley responded. "New regs going into effect right away to prevent it happening again."

"Which is great," Catherine replied. "Problem is we need to find the stuff that's already here and stop whoever's bringing it in before they find another way."

"This the kind of thing some bigshot governor's aide usually handles?" he teased. He'd been so proud of Catherine when he heard about her getting the job as chief of staff. She was special. He'd known that from the minute they met.

"Special circumstances." Catherine pulled out a chair and took a seat at the large, rectangular conference table. "One of the in-country assets is skittish and only wants to reveal evidence to me since we have a history."

"You always did have a way with people." Gilhooley knew Catherine had formed strong bonds with some of the locals during her time in Afghanistan. "How can I help?"

"I need you to review some intel with me. I've been looking at suspicious activity reports for anything drug or gun related in and around Kabul. Most of it is strictly local stuff but there are three or four groups I think might be big enough, and well-organized enough, to pull something like this off on an international scale." Gilhooley had a top security clearance and nobody was better with connecting the dots on this kind of thing than him. "You can access the reports in the intel files of Operation Clean Streets operating out of Kabul. Captain Holland is the commanding officer."

"The navy never gets any more clever with those operation names, do they?" Gilhooley chuckled.

Catherine smiled, thinking of all the operations names Grace and the Allen kids had come with over the last several years. "No, they don't. Listen, I've got a meeting I need to get to but I'm gonna send you what I have and then maybe we can touch base later after you've had a chance to look at everything."

"Sounds good," Gilhooley said. "Talk to you soon."

Catherine entered Lea's office after a quick stop by her own to check with Jen about anything that might need her attention and found Lea and Commander Gosnell engaged in conversation with a man she'd never seen before. He appeared to be about 40 years old. Blonde haired and tanned. Dressed in a suit and tie. Something about his demeanor and body language told her he wasn't a local. A low level of tension in the room also indicated he was not completely welcome.

"Catherine." Lea looked up with a tight smile. "This is Captain Willoughby from LAPD Gang and Narcotics Division." Catherine crossed the room and extended her hand. "Captain, this is my chief of staff Catherine Rollins."

"Nice to meet you," Catherine said, taking note of the fact that the man refused to look her directly in the eyes. "Is there something we can help you with?"

Lea took a seat on the couch and Catherine joined her. Gosnell sat in one of the arm chairs facing the two women. Willoughby remained standing.

"I was just explaining to the governor that we received a request for information from HPD on anyone who uses the alias Oscar Emsworth." Willoughby fidgeted with his hands in a way that lead Catherine to believe he was very tightly wound. "LAPD has an active case involving that alias."

"What kind of case?" Catherine asked.

Willoughby squared his shoulders. "I'm not at liberty to say."

"Do you have the real name behind the alias?" Catherine pressed.

"I am not at liberty to reveal any information about an ongoing investigation," he said defiantly.

Catherine kept her tone even. "Then it appears we have nothing to talk about."

"We have a lot to talk about," the Captain snapped back before taking a deep breath to regain his composure. "We need everything you have on Emsworth. "We've been trailing him over a year. He's a very dangerous man. If he's expanding his operations outside of LA we need to know."

"As do we," Lea interjected. "It seems like working together and sharing information is the smart move here."

"You have no idea how many man hours we have in on this case already." Willoughby's face reddened. "I'm not going to jeopardize that by reading in people who hadn't even heard his name a week ago."

"I assure you we have our best people working on this," Lea said sharply.

Catherine and Gosnell exchanged a look. They'd both dealt with jurisdictional issues involving local law enforcement in the past.

"Be that as it may, I flew all the way here so I could impress upon you how urgent it is we receive any and all information you have on this matter right away. You can hand it over and I'll be back to LA and out of your hair."

Lea stood. "It appears you wasted your time. I'll be directing my people not to share any information with someone who isn't willing to reciprocate. Have a nice flight back to Los Angeles."

"I can make one phone call and get someone to order you to turn over the information," Willoughby growled.

Lea took a deep breath and pinned the man with a glare. "Is that so?"

Catherine stood. "I think you might want to measure your words here very carefully," she said. "Remember you're talking to the governor of Hawaii."

"I know exactly who I'm talking to, toots," Willoughby snotted. "I think you people are the ones who need to get a little perspective. I can have my boss on the phone in a matter of minutes. California has a governor too you know."

"I look forward to reiterating my position to him when and if he calls." Lea moved behind her desk. "Until then you'll have to excuse me. I have work to do."

Catherine entered the bullpen and stood between Steve and Danny at the smart table. She smiled to herself at how easily she'd fallen straight back into the old routine. Although she'd liaised on many cases with the team since becoming Lea's chief of staff, she didn't often spend quite so many hours at HQ. The fact that 'her' office remained as a place for her to work when she was there - even though it was occasionally used by HPD officials or even Frank Kaewa or his assistants if they needed a place to take a call or review priority materials that couldn't leave HQ - always made her smile.

They absolutely could have repurposed the space, but Steve claimed there was no need. The desk even sported ever changing photos of Angie, Grace and Joan in the silver frames next to the leather blotter.

"Okay." She tightened her ponytail and nodded. "Chin, can you …" Gesturing to the display, she pointed when he swiped the image she'd be discussing with him earlier onto the screen. "Thanks. So, I got word to Dharini through a member of the American naval contingent in the area and she indicated she was willing to give the information she has to another member of the intel unit as long as we skyped first, with her included on the call, so I could vouch for the person. She wanted to see us on screen so she was sure it was me. I chose my friend, Macide. I think she and Dharini are a good match. Once Macide and I chatted about the weather and family for a few minutes we hung up and I just got word that Dharini agreed to an in-person meeting."

Captain Macide Yzun was a US Marine of Turkish descent who was fluent in seven languages. She'd been in-country with Catherine on her second tour and they'd remained friends after Catherine moved to Hawaii. Currently stationed in the United States' Embassy in Kabul, she was known and trusted by many of the locals. The striking, green eyed woman who looked a decade younger than her forty years had a heart for the local elderly population. She had helped initiate funding for, and spent many off-duty hours in, a clinic that provided medical care to those on the outskirts of the city. Macide's high security clearance level made getting her assigned to help run fairly smoothly even by NI standards. Catherine, and therefore Steve and the team, trusted her implicitly.

"Macide is going to let me know as soon as the meeting wraps up but, in the meantime, she sent me these satellite photos of a compound not too far from the airport where they've detected some suspicious activity lately."

"Do we have any info on who lives there?" Steve asked.

"Not yet," Catherine replied, "But we're getting closer."

Catherine was snuggled up with Cammie and Angie when Steve exited the bathroom after his shower. The sight stopped him in his tracks and for a full five seconds, all he did was look at them with a slow, crooked smile lighting his face.

"Any room on there for Daddy?" He asked and was rewarded with matching smiles and Cammie's thumping tail.

"Dada, ah ba hee." Angie patted Catherine's arms from where she was cocooned in mother's embrace.

He climbed up and sat against the headboard, kissing first his wife, then their daughter's head.

"Here," Catherine said, passing him a book with a tiny smirk. "She picked one of her favorites."

Angie grinned at both parents and patted the cover. "Ahh bah, Caa-mie, Dada."

"Okay, I know, you're ready for your story." He opened the book. "But I think it's actually Mommy's favorite."

"Woof," Cammie said softly and reclined tucked up against Catherine's legs.

"You're ready, too, hmm?" Steve smiled at the dog and began to read. Doggies was a counting book and while Angie delighted when her mommy read each different bark aloud, anyone watching Catherine watch Steve read it to their daughter would be hard pressed to decide who enjoyed it more.

Seeing her husband say each dog's bark in a different voice to entertain their daughter would reduce her to giggles every time.

At his first go around with that book, he'd raised his brow at her laughter and pointed out, "It says right in the review: Be silly as you count the 5 dogs, and switch up the barks - your child will find it hysterical."

Angie's current favorite doggie was number three and when Steve read, "The doggy says ...nnn...nnn...nnn…" in a gruff voice, the sound of her laughter floated through the room.

Their daughter's giggles along with Cammie's comforting snuggles, combined to lift the stress of the day from Steve and Catherine better than any magic elixir ever could.

Sharing a smile until Catherine once again laughed at the image of Commander McGarrett reading animatedly to their 18-month-old, Steve leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips.

She marveled yet again at how their daughter's presence could chip away the tension from herself and Steve almost instantly. She kissed Angie's head and smoothed a hand over the tousled curls as the little one yawned and snuggled droopy eyed, against her mommy while keeping one tiny hand on her best friend's fur as her daddy finished up the book.

Steve ended his call to Esther and glanced at his best friend as he drove through the streets of the warehouse district.

"Everything okay with Angie?" Danny asked. His partner didn't normally check in an hour after leaving home.

"She's great. She woke up about midnight and was a little … clingy, but then she slept normally." A small smile lifted his lip at the thought of his daughter. "I just wanted to make sure."

Danny shifted his weight as Steve took a corner. "She's only got one molar left to come in, right?"

"Yeah, and it's already broken through, but I called the doctor this morning."

"For clinging?" Danny smiled.

"Catherine was concerned it might be another earache coming on and with this case…" He waved a hand.

No parent wanted to get a call about a child not feeling well while they were neck-deep in an investigation, but the experienced dad knew if Steve's baby girl wasn't feeling well and he was in the field, it would eat at him not being able to accompany her to see the doctor. "Catherine was concerned, huh?"

Steve shrugged, busted.

"What'd the doc say?"

"That she's at an age where they wake up a little clingy sometimes and it was probably a nightmare. She kept asking for a story at midnight. She was saying ' 'mere, Mama' to Cath and was literally holding onto my shirt with both hands when I put her back to bed."

"Ahh." Danny nodded. "She just wanted more time with mommy and daddy. Grace when through those stages. A bad dream would wake her up and she just wanted to see we were there." His eyes glinted. "You read her a story, didn't you?"

"No." Steve looked straight ahead as the light they were coming to went yellow as he drove through it. At his partner's snort of disbelief, he muttered, "I told her one."

Danny barked a laugh at exactly how wrapped by his daughter Steve was.

Rolling his eyes, Steve took another turn and added, "Esther said she's doing great. And she really was fine this morning." Again, the smile flitted across his features, then he sobered, refocusing on the task at hand as they pulled up to a dingy looking warehouse that appeared deserted but had been rented by the same shell company that rented the one where they found the first crate. "Let's break this case so I can get home and spend some extra time with her this afternoon."

TBC Friday

Book: Doggies by Sandra Boynton