Vengeance Will Be Mine III
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. I adore playing with the characters and hope the real owners don't mind that I do.
I want to express my gratitude to all the guest readers who have commented on my chapters. I am so sorry that I am unable to send you a personal reply. Also some readers who aren't unknown have disabled their PM status and I cannot reply to you either. RhioTre, I would dearly love to answer all your wonderful comments that have been recently posted but your Personal Message is disabled and I am prevented from answering any of your reviews. I will continue to try and hope that changes.
I have the week off so I was able to add an extra chapter this week.
Chapter 3
Arriving at 5-0 headquarters, Steve found Danny and Chin standing at the smart table and neither man looked very happy.
"We are going to need that sketch from Kono. "I've put the description into the system but it's too general to give us any hits," Chin said in disappointment.
"Were there any prints at the house?" Steve asked.
"The only prints at the house belonged to Kono, Adam and Chin," Danny replied. "The back door lock was definitely broken but as we figured there were no prints there to find. He had to be wearing gloves. And the knife he used was one of Kono's but it is missing."
Steve nodded, his face showing what Danny liked to call his "aneurysm" face but for once the man didn't call him on it. The Jersey detective was pretty sure his own face mirrored McGarrett's.
"Let's go over exactly what Kono remembers," Steve suggested. "What did she tell you before Danny and I arrived?" he asked Chin.
"As she said, the man had dark hair and pale green eyes that reminded him of someone. She guessed he was about six feet tall and had considerable martial arts training," Chin reviewed. "He didn't say anything to her until he had stabbed her and broken her arm." Chin's expression grew angry as he remembered what Kono had told him next. "She said he knelt down beside her and put pressure on her throat as he told her that 5-0 was going to pay and that he held you mainly responsible for his anger."
"That tells us that we have undoubtedly hurt someone he loved," Steve said thoughtfully. "The answers we are looking for is in one of our old cases."
"We can initiate a search but that's over two years of cases for us to cover," Chin answered. "We don't know where to begin."
"All this is going to take time Steve," Danny said rubbing the back of his neck, trying to ease the tension out of it. "We had better hope that Kono's picture will connect us faster."
Steve glanced at his watch and nodded.
"You're right. We should all go home and get some sleep. Then we can come in with fresh eyes in the morning. We know that Kono is safe tonight so we just need to be alert at our own homes. Don't ignore anything suspicious or unusual," he advised.
Both men agreed and Chin shut down the table. They all walked out into the deepening darkness to their vehicles. Danny had dropped Chin at Kono's on the way to the office so he could collect his motorcycle. With a goodnight, the three men headed to their separate homes.
*H 5-0*
As Steve pulled into his driveway, he couldn't help smiling when he saw Catherine's blue Corvette parked in front of the garage. He hadn't known she was stopping by but with his mother on the mainland visiting Mary, this was a very pleasant surprise.
Carefully scanning the yard he moved quickly to the door and was relieved to discover that Catherine had left the alarm on and had kept the door locked. Entering, he punched in the code, reset the alarm and relocked the door.
"Cath?" he called out as the smell of food cooking wafted out from the kitchen.
"In the kitchen," she called back.
"Wow….that smells great," he said as he entered the room. The sight of Catherine Rollins in front of his stove was very appealing. "What did I do to deserve this surprise?"
"You showed up in a tux and took me out for dinner," Catherine said turning to smile back at him. "I wanted to thank you."
"Well…..I remember you thanking me that night," Steve said moving in close and taking her in his arms with a smirk on his face. He became serious. "I owed you that dinner and so much more. You are very important to me," he added just before kissing her.
Catherine could sense there was something more in those simple words. When he raised his head she pressed her hands to his chest and pushed back slightly.
"What's up Steve? Is something wrong?"
McGarrett knew better than to lie to her, she could always tell when he was hiding something from her.
"Someone attacked Kono tonight. He broke her arm and stabbed her. Before he left her lying on the floor of her house he told her that 5-0 was his target. Mom is with Mary but you are here and I don't want you caught in the crossfire. Maybe you should stay on base until we put this guy away," he said reluctantly.
"I can take care of myself," Catherine protested.
"So could Kono and he still put her in the hospital," Steve pointed out.
"But Kono wasn't expecting trouble and I've been warned. I don't plan to hide out at Pearl, I have a home I won't be driven out of," she argued.
"I'd feel better if you were safe."
"And are you planning on having a protection detail? After all we know he is after you," Catherine shot back.
"No…and that is not the point," Steve stated.
"Yes it is," Catherine insisted. "I can defend myself and I've been warned." She tried to step out of his embrace.
Steve refused to let her go as he stared deeply into her eyes. He recognized that stubborn gleam that burned back at him and knew that she was not going to give in on this. The truth was she did have the skills to take care of herself but so did Kono and that had not prevented her from ending up in the hospital.
"Please, do as I ask," he said softly.
"Steve…..we will discuss this later. Dinner is going to burn if you don't let me go. Grab a beer and let me dish things up," Catherine said with a sigh, trying to buy time. She gently shoved him back and he released her. He was well aware that he could only push her so far.
Grabbing a beer from the fridge he went into the dining room and sat at the table. He would wait until morning and then press his case once more. Catherine brought out the food and they relaxed over dinner, not discussing the situation at all. Once dinner was over and the dishes finished, Steve swept Catherine up in his arms and headed for the staircase.
"Are you planning to seduce me into submission Sailor?" Cath asked with a throaty laugh as she slipped her arms around his neck.
"Whatever works," Steve grinned then sobered. "Don't ever doubt how much I care," he said with a rough edge to his voice.
"I never have," Catherine murmured back.
She didn't say anything more, overwhelmed by the protective streak he was showing. They always played the "never admit just how much we mean to each other" game and she had followed the unspoken rules. But she never doubted that Steve cared even though he found it difficult to speak the words out loud. Snuggling close she giggled as he carried her up to the bedroom.
*H 5-0*
The next morning Steve escorted Catherine to her car and kissed her goodbye. They had woke up in each other's arms, completed a swim and she had managed to deflect any attempt by Steve to get her to commit to staying on base. Now she was in uniform and ready to head to work and Steve was all ready eager to see if Kono had completed her session with the sketch artist. He kept one arm locked around Cath's waist as they stood next to her car.
"Have a good day, be safe," he told her.
"Good luck finding this guy," she answered. "Call me if I can be of help."
"I don't want you involved in this," he replied in a low voice. "Stay alert." He gave her a second quick kiss and watched her get in her car and drive away.
Steve got in his truck, not able to see the man on the roof across the street with the long range camera lens aimed at him. Andrew Salter waited for McGarrett to drive away before he slipped back off the roof knowing that the owners were all ready gone to work. He checked his camera to study the photos he had taken that morning. He hated to admit it but McGarrett had good taste in women. First he had hired the lovely native chick for his team and now it turns out he had a hot Navy babe heating up his bed. Andrew nodded approvingly as he studied a shot of Catherine pushing her hair out of her face as she emerged from the surf that morning. Oh yes, he was looking forward to getting to know this woman better. She was a perfect way to make the Commander suffer.
Making his way to his truck that was parked on a side street, Salter got in and headed back to his boarding house. He knew that shortly Kono Kalakaua would be giving the task force a description of him and that would lead to his name. That knowledge would give McGarrett the clues he needed to figure out why the team and he in particular was targeted. Not that would make it any easier to catch him since Andrew had gone to a lot of trouble to cover his tracks. He had entered Hawaii under a false name and was now using another fake identity. He had found a part time job in a warehouse moving crates of canned pineapple so he had plenty of time to plot his next steps. He had made use of one of his sister and brother in law's friends who had not been caught in the deadly raid to assist him in his plans.
On his way home he checked a used car lot a mile from his rented room and was pleased to see the white panel van was still on the lot. That was just the vehicle he needed for the next step in his revenge and tomorrow he would put that into motion. A rush of pleasure ran through him as he thought of striking at McGarrett through his team members. The Commander would carry a load of guilt before he finally paid for his actions with his own life.
"I'll avenge you Abby," he promised out loud as he parked outside his boarding house. "I wasn't here to protect you but your murderer is going to suffer before I take his life. I swear that." He went inside with a smile of satisfaction on his face.
End chapter.
Thanks for reading. The plot is now getting thicker and Salter is very slippery.