Chapter 7
"Our suspect has Diplomatic Immunity," SecNav addressed the room as Director Vance and President Saunders walked into Five-0 Headquarters without introductions.
"His name is Ra'as al Jafar bin Rafiq. The eldest son of Egyptian President Suddah Jafar bin Rafiq," United States President Richard N. Saunders supplied. The President was just entering his second year of his first four year term as President. The way this crisis was handled whether the public knew of the details or not was critical.
A silent Secret Service agent threw the dossier onto the projection table everyone was now standing around. Kono reached out and started reading the contents.
"Why would a virtual Sheikh help in the orchestration of an abduction of this scale," Catherine asked no one in particular. "They would have known that this was a teenager they were dealing with, am I right?"
"Not if they had very good insider intelligence," Director Leon Vance interrupted. He held up a thumbnail flash drive, then handed it to G. Callen. Callen downloaded the drive onto the projection table and drew up a picture of a woman on the wall monitor.
"The data on that drive is heavily encrypted but what my Washington team has figured out is that this woman provided the information on the Commander," Leon finished.
President Saunders turned to Steve, "I understand that you know who this woman is."
Steve didn't blink an eyelid, his jaw twitched as he saw his mother's face staring at him. "Doris "Shelburne" McGarrett, my mother."
"This woman is our rogue CIA operative," President Saunders demanded. Steve just nodded. "This doesn't make sense why turn her turn over her own grandchild into an Enemy of the United States.
"Doris McGarrett isn't a family person," Gracie supplied to the adults in the room. "From what I've learned over the years, she has no loyalty to anyone except herself. A by product of the CIA vetting process I gather. Every time Mrs. McGarrett has shown her face Kalani has been on deployment."
President Saunders looked at the other adults in the room, wondering why a thirteen year old girl was answering his questions. "Is having teenagers aiding an investigation normal around here?"
Gracie rolled her eyes as she walked out of the center of the strategists. It's cleared that the President hadn't really been paying attention to the conversation in this strategy room. If he had been actively listening he would have absorbed the information that Kalani was a teenager quicker than his crisis panicked mind was letting him.
Gracie stopped in her tracks and turned to the President. "With all due respect Mr. President, just how old do you think Eris is?" Defiance was something Kalani taught Gracie very well. Despite feeling her father's anger at the back of her head, she stood her ground, hands on her hips and challenge in her eyes.
The President stood silent. He was clueless how to answer the question, because he did not have an answer.
"Commander McGarrett while on active duty only responds and acts upon orders from two people in the military. You both are standing before me and only one of you knows how old she is," she questions turning a questioning eye to the Secretary of the Navy.
Secretary of the Navy Admiral Greer Ryan Falcone, had the decency to be embarrassed by this dress down by a thirteen year old civilian.
"What the hell is going on here Falcone," President Saunders ordered. He had taken the moment of admonishment to clear his head and anger started to spread over his facial features. He had children of his own and he would never allow them to so rudely interrupt an advisory meeting like this girl before him was successfully succeeding at doing.
"Commander Kalani McGarrett is fifteen years old Mr. President," Greer answered. "Ms. Williams and the Commander are members of this task force."
"How the hell did I not know this," The President fumed. "I have teenage daughters. I would never send them to do an adult's job."
"It was on a need to know basis. The stipulation came from the former President who acquired Commander McGarrett six years ago."
"The E.R.I.S. Act, I had wondered why that was the first Act to fall on my lap for my orientation. I hadn't realized that ... So all of the national security information we have given to Eris is being held in that little girl's head."
"She has never been and never will be a victim." Steven interrupted, disliking whether this could possibly be going. " I raised her to be independent and that Little Girl has more enemy kills than Chris Kyle. United States Government trained her to be the most efficient extractor and assassin in Military History." Steve supplied I tone of voice growing quieter by the second.
Sam and everyone else on the Hawaii 5-0 Task force braced themselves. Steve becoming quieter only meant destruction and chaos. Sam took them moment to step into the line of fire and try to diffuse the situation. He couldn't have his friend charged with Treason for the murder of the President of the United States.
"With that being said Mr. President. Commander McGarrett is injured, angry and in unfamiliar territory," Sam interrupted Steve. "Whether or not this suspect has Diplomatic Immunity, he aided and conspired to kidnap a United States Navy SEAL as well as conspire to extract secret government information. The United States will not release this insurgent to the Egyptian Government until we have the evidence we need to exonerate him of any wrong doing."
"I was afraid you would say that," Saunders stated. "President bin Rafiq is threatening War against the US if we don't release his son within the next 72 hours."
"We have a problem guys," Nell Jones stated appearing on the wall monitor. A bounty warrant appeared next to her live feed. "An anonymous source just placed a $150 million bounty on the Egyptian President and the rest of his family's heads."
"We're talking the extinction of a whole entire family," G. Callan stated looking at Sam, knowing this is something that his partner would definitely do if he himself were in this same situation. "Nell how many immediate family members in President bin Rafiq's family?"
"With the President and suspect included ten. $15 million a head," Nell answered.
"Where was the bounty placed?" Steve asked having a feeling this may be the work of his daughter.
"That's the strange part. The bounty was placed from within the Egyptian Special Forces. However after the loss of their men by the hands of Commander McGarrett, there can only be about twenty ESFs left. These are loyal soldiers, they wouldn't turn traitor on their own government."
Steve worked hard not to show the smirk attempting to appear on his face. His daughter had many unequaled talents, rerouting her IP address and hacking into enemy computer servers was one of those talents. She always covered her tracks it usually took a quantum super computer to crack her tracks.
"She wants to start a civil war," Kono whispered to Steve. "It's smart considering she wouldn't be anywhere near the fighting. She gets revenge on the people who attempted to kill her and distract potential hunters from Doris."
Steve nodded. His daughter was many things a victim, like the President was trying to surmise, she was not.
"Shit..." Danny cursed. "She just made Honolulu battle ground zero." The ESFs would come to US soil and spread bloodshed if that didn't get the prisoner off of Honolulu.
"We need to relocate the prisoner," Grover addressed the group, "but where and how?"
"She? Who's this She?" Saunders asked bewildered with all the sudden chatter. Then it donned on him, "You're not implying that Commander McGarrett is behind this bounty. How would she come up with these funds," he inquired.
"The Commander has some financial assets that can help fund this effort, Mr. President. She is registered as SEAL Team Echo." Falcone explained. He knew first hand at what length a McGarrett would go to finish an assignment. All he had to do is take a look at Steve and remember his not so recent unauthorized mission to North Korea. The red tape he had to use to cover that messy situation up took months.
"Team Echo doesn't exist on any SEAL database. ," Nell deducted while typing a mile a minute, looking for information on this Team, "which explains why she shadows all the other Teams during her deployments and it also explains how she can acquire a large bounty reward. However that paltry amount won't stir up enough anarchy to start a civil war. Our sources say that the Egyptian Populates are fed up with the Government, they've been in a civil war for the past two years. It's taken the Government grant lengths to cover it up so press doesn't get wind of the crisis."
"No, it's just enough to deflect mercenaries from taking out her primary target," Catherine finished the deduction, "while trying to recuperate from injuries sustained during capture and escape."
Kalani drove to the Vladivostok U.S. Consulate General in extreme pain, hoping against hope that they could transport her safely to Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy. It would be the only safe location for her to receive the care she needed and get a transport home.
She only hoped that the bounty she set on the Egyptian First Family was enough diversion to get Doris off bounty hunters' RADAR.
"Can I help you Miss," An NSA agent asked in Russian and then translated the question into English, when Kalani didn't answer fast enough to his liking.
"I'm an American citizen. I need medical help. Tell the Ambassador the code name ERIS," she pleaded.
The agent looked at Kalani with a look of depredation before speaking into his earwig in a muted tone. Kalani didn't fail to notice the man's posture once he received a response. "Please follow me miss."
In stilted movements, Kalani followed the man through the intricate maze in which the Consulate was made. She had to stop a few times due to injury fatigue, the man's eye rolling didn't escape her notice.
After what seemed like an hour of walking, in reality only five minutes, the two made it to the Ambassador's office. "Thank you Jones, you're relieved to your post," the woman behind the desk dismissed the NSA agent.
The two women waited for the agent to leave before greeting each other, "My word Commander look at your state," Jennifer Hardgrave, the U.S. Ambassador to Vladivostok Russia, greeted Kalani. Then pointed to a chair in front of Kalani, indicating for her to sit down to ease her pain.
Kalani grimaced as she took the proffered seat. She knew of her appearance. "I need to get to NAS Sigonella like ASAP. Can you help me Jen, please?" She asked.
Jennifer Hardgrave was one of the only few Government Officials who knew of Kalani's enlistment. Jennifer had been a SEAL before retiring to the Ambassador position she was in now. Jennifer had been Kalani's CO on one or two HOPs. The two were close friends despite their age gap.
"Of course, but why not go to a Russian Hospital," Jennifer asked her friend.
"I can't risk blowing my cover. Yaroslava Shirinova isn't supposed to be back in Vladivostok until after Christmas. I was abducted almost a week ago by Egyptian Special my current state."
Jennifer knew of Kalani's Russian cover. It was the main reason why she gunned for the Vladivostok Embassy with a vengeance. She wanted Kalani to have as much support as she needed while in Russia. The other Ambassadors where old fashioned and stubbornly refused to conform to new standards. They would have not taken too kindly to a fifteen year old giving them orders to transport them to a Naval Air Station.
"I have a Helios on standby. I can get you wings up in less then twenty. Be careful McGarrett ESF isn't easy to shake." Jennifer warned. Kalani nodded. She trusted Jennifer just like any other SEAL with her life.
"Thanks Jen, Once a SEAL..." Kalani started.
"Always a SEAL..." Jennifer finished. "Take care little sis." She pressed the intercom button on her desk and the same agent was back standing in attention.
"Always do," Kalani finished. She rose from the chair wincing in pain.
"Jones escort Commander McGarrett to the Helipad pronto. Order the Pilot to set course to Naval Air Station Sigonella," the Ambassador ordered.
Agent Jones' surprise was written in his eyes. Then glared at the teenager before him as he affirmed his orders. "Yes Ma'am."
"Jones, make sure the flight plan is filed as enroute to Moscow. This flight to Italy is black ops. I'll give the pilot need to know instructions."
"Ma'am that isn't protocol." Jones countered.
"I gave you an order Agent. Commander McGarrett is not a civilian and is injured. She can't receive care here in Russia. Closest base is Sigonella is that clear."
"Yes Ma'am," Jones affirmed. "You're a pain in my ass McGarrett," Jones muttered.
Kalani smirked. Anthony Marcus Jones and Kalani haven't had great interactions in the past. The man before her was ten years her senior and Kalani outranked him to the point where she had sent him packing to Consulate Patrol because he made a fatal error in judgment.
"Jones, I could say I'm sorry but quite frankly I don't tell lies. You're only ticked because Jennifer is putting you on my babysitting detail until I'm wings up. Trust me I don't want this anymore then you do." Kalani supplied. "Now take me to the helipad."
