Thanks for all the comments on this story. I love to hear from you guys. This will be the only story I update this week since I'm going out of town tomorrow, but I'll try to have something for you next week.
Chapter One "When Push Comes to Shoot"
"What. The hell. Was that?" Danny stood over Lane, watching her cuff the unconscious suspect on the ground. Their other perp was lying on a pool of his own blood across the alley, clearly dead.
Lane looked up at him. Her eyebrows knit together. "What was what?"
"The epic take down. Didn't know you had it in you." Danny crossed his arms.
"Guy drew on me." Lane nodded at the body with the gun lying beside it. "And this one—" She rolled him to the side to check that he was in fact still alive. "—came at me with that 2x4." The bloody board was leaning against a pile of garbage bags next to the Dumpster.
"So you thought you'd use his weapon of choice against him?"
"Seemed the most efficient way." Lane stood up and rested her hands on her hips. "Think I got splinters. Where's Steve?"
"Went after the other guy. Probably still running, knowing how he likes to drag these things out."
Danny and Lane were in the alley behind a popular Korean restaurant where they had tracked down their latest suspects. They had gone in with Steve and seen the three men sitting at a table, but the were spotted and had to give chase. Lane was faster, or possibly more energetic, than Danny, so she reached both of their targets first. She took care of them very quickly.
Steve's guy had gone the other direction, so they didn't know where he was until he came back, dragging along a very unhappy man in handcuffs.
"I'd say I did better than you two," he said. "Mine's still standing at least."
The suspect had a bloody lip, and Steve looked like he was sporting a new bruise under his right eye.
"Blame the new girl." Danny waved at Lane. "They were like this when I got here."
Steve smirked and said, very seriously, "Nice Job."
"Yeah." Danny checked the safety on his gun and put it back in its holster. Then he smiled and looked at Steve. "Do I get to tell Captain Awesome to book 'em, now?"
Lane cleared her throat. "It's Major Awesome."
"Seriously?"
Lane shrugged.
"That's not as catchy."
"I'm sure you'll come up with something." Steve pushed the suspect toward Danny. "Book 'em, Danno."
H-5-O
Back at the Palace, Chin and Kono were running background on their three suspects. They were suspected of running a drug ring on the island, and from how insistently they resisted arrest, the team was pretty sure they had the right guys.
Lane came into the main room after she'd helped Steve and Danny deposit their suspect in the interrogation room.
Kono looked up from the table as she came in. "We sent you after three guys, and you brought us back one?"
"One's in the hospital; one's in the morgue."
Chin smirked. "Steve got a hold of two of them, huh?"
"Uh, no." Lane didn't look either of them in the eye.
"Not you?" Kono said.
"Yeah." Lane rubbed the back of her right ankle with her other foot. "The one guy had a gun, and the other came at me with a 2x4."
"Where were Steve and Danny?" Chin asked.
"Steve was chasing the other guy, and Danny... wasn't as fast as me."
"You took two guys down all by yourself?" Kono said. "That's... impressive."
"That's what I keep hearing." Lane came forward and leaned the palms of her hands on the table. "So what did you find about these guys?"
Chin and Kono exchanged curious looks, but left the matter alone and filled Lane in on what they had discovered about the drug dealers. Lane skimmed the information, familiarizing herself with names and histories. She was good at remembering these things.
Everything seemed cut and dry, and she was actually getting a little bored with the pace of things around here. But things would be speeding up soon. Thinking of that, Lane excused herself to her office to make a call. When she knew Chin and Kono weren't looking, she pulled out her personal cell phone, and hit the first number on speed dial. It rang a couple of times before the answer came.
"Ahern's Auto Repair," came the chipper voice.
Lane smiled. "How are things, Mac?"
"Fine until I heard from you." There was a smile in his voice.
"Then I'm sorry you'll have such a terrible evening. Is everything set up?"
"Yeah. It's all good. Gonna take a while to... finish the process."
"I expected as much. Things around here are pretty quiet, so I shouldn't have any trouble slipping out once in a while. I'll meet you for dinner like we planned."
"Wear something nice. They like it when you try to impress."
"Oh, you know I will. So, how's the shop?"
"Dull, boring, easy. It'll be nice to get some action. It's been a while. You sure you're all right on your end? From what I've heard, those Five-0s are pretty tough."
"I think they're trying to be a little standoffish since their last governor-appointed member didn't turn out so well. They really don't ask too many personal questions."
"Well, be careful, Sis."
"I always am. See you later."
"Later."
Lane put her phone away and checked her watch. It wouldn't be long before her brother would be coming to pick her up, so she should get changed. She had left her dress clothes in the locker room that morning in anticipation of tonight's event.
When she came back to the main room, Lane was nearly unrecognizable in a tight-fitting black dress and heels. She wore her hair piled up on her head, along with a pair of diamond earrings and a necklace. It was a stark change from her usual t-shirt, khakis, and boots. Of course, Danny had to comment.
"Got a hot date tonight, Captain Awesome?"
"If you consider my brother a hot date. And I told you, it's—"
"Major, I know. It just doesn't have the same ring to it. So, why are you so dressed up for your brother?"
"Him and some of his friends. He thinks I'm getting bored. Wants to show me a good time or whatever."
Steve smirked. "Define good time."
"Unfortunately, not target practicing or anything involving hand-to-hand combat." Lane gave Danny a cheeky grin.
"I told you from the beginning." Danny looked at Steve. "We will all die. That's it." He threw up his hands.
Everyone fell silent when they heard someone clearing their throat from the doorway. Lane's eyes lit up, and she pulled her brother into the room.
"Guys, this is my brother, McNevan."
"Everyone calls me Mac," he said as he shook hands with the Five-0 group. He was quite a bit taller than his sister, almost as tall as Steve. But even in his finely tailored suit, it was clear that he was built small like she was.
"We've heard a lot about you." Steve smiled.
Mac gave his sister a mock horrified look. "Nothing too bad I hope."
"There might have been something about throwing apples over the neighbors' hedges," Danny said.
"Rotten apples." Mac put up his hands. "So they didn't do much damage when they hit the cars."
"Dad still grounded your ass for a month." Lane smirked.
"He thought I worked alone," Mac explained to the others.
Danny laughed. "And you didn't flip on her?"
"We had a system. We were a team, you know?"
"Yes." Steve nodded. "I never told on my sister."
"But you're older than her," Danny said. "My brother and sisters told on me all the time."
Kono huffed. "Try having a hundred cousins." She glared at Chin who only shrugged.
"Well, we have to get going," Lane said. "See you guys on Monday."
H-5-O
The restaurant Mac had chosen made Lane glad she always kept a little black dress on hand. They had driven his new Aston Martin, and the valet had a heavy French accent. Lane recalled that she did not like French food in the least, but she could fake it. She also recalled that Mac loved it.
They were seated immediately, but their company had not arrived yet. Mac ordered some fancy wine for them, and Lane pretended to be interested in the nonsensical artwork on the walls. She tapped one red-painted nail on the off-white table cloth.
"Nervous?" Mac's voice sounded amused.
"Hardly." Lane still didn't look at him. "Was this your choice or theirs?"
"Theirs. They tend to make the decisions around here." Mac unfolded his napkin and laid it across his lap.
"Happy coincidence for you then?"
"Yes, isn't it?"
"You get to put on your designer clothes and drive your fancy car to your stuck-up French restaurant; you're enjoying this far too much."
Mac smiled. "I love my work."
"So is it common for these people to be fashionably late?"
"They are very fashionable. Or think they are."
Just then, two men came into the restaurant and seemed to recognize Mac. They came over and greeted him before sitting down. Lane watched them with interest until they turned their attention to her. One of them was a Chinese American of diminutive stature, and the other was a lanky Irishman.
The Asian spoke first. "So this must be your sister, Miss Ahern. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He was smooth, confident. Lane could use that.
"My brother speaks so highly of his friends. But I haven't heard many names."
"You may call me Mr. Ling, and this is Mr. Callaghan."
"Wo Fat couldn't make it?"
A flash of discomfort crossed both the other men's faces. Mr. Ling recovered. "He has not been appearing publicly as of late. I'm sure you know why. However, you will be meeting him soon enough. Assuming tonight goes well."
Lane gave her best innocent smile. "Of course."
H-5-O
Steve stayed late finishing up the paperwork on the drug ring case. Once he was done, it would be in the hands of the prosecutors. Another successful bust. Somehow it didn't feel like such a huge accomplishment. Maybe Steve was still distracted with Wo Fat and Shelburne, though he made sure never to speak of it. It had been months since they'd even heard reports of the crime lord, much less anything substantial to go on. And with Joe out of the picture, Steve was left to wonder if he was expected to just forget about it.
That would not be happening any time soon. The talk of siblings earlier had reminded him of the danger Mary was in when she was on the island. He couldn't just accept that she would never be able to return to her home. So instead of closing things down for the day, he returned to his computer and began searching for any signs of Wo Fat.
He didn't realize how much time had passed when he heard a knock on his door. Startled, Steve sat up straight and closed out of the programs he had open. He relaxed when he saw that it was Lane, back from her evening with her brother.
"You're still here?" She looked amused.
"Yeah." Steve rubbed his eyes because they were beginning to hurt from staring at the computer screen for so long. "I didn't realize what time it was." He stood up and turned off his computer. "You have a good time?"
"It was... educational."
"That doesn't sound like fun."
"I like learning. Anyway, I left my stuff in the locker room and needed to pick up my car. I saw your light on, so..."
"I was catching up on some paperwork."
"From the huge cases we haven't had?"
Steve smiled. He'd been caught. "I was looking into some things. About an old case."
"About Wo Fat?" She wasn't supposed to know that.
Steve frowned. "What do you know about him?"
"Nothing." She sounded like she was lying. "I mean, only what the governor told me before I came here. I didn't want to say anything since it hadn't come up, but obviously it's important to you."
"Yes." Steve switched off the light in his office, and they went out into the main room.
"I'm sorry." Lane shuffled her feet. "I didn't mean to pry."
"You didn't." Steve's hands rested on his hips the way they did when he was uncomfortable with something. "I would have asked if I were you."
"Well, thanks I guess." Lane appeared to be thinking. "You wanna go get a drink or something? It's Friday, after all, and I'm thirsty."
"You didn't have enough fun with your brother's friends?" Steve smirked.
"They are very boring."
"I thought you said 'educational'?"
"Educational as to how boring they are. It was a revealing observation of human behavior. Not so much fun in the traditional sense."
Steve grinned. "Then I'll just have to show you what real fun looks like on this island."
"Here." Lane tossed Steve her keys. "Bring my car around, and I'll get changed."
As he watched her go, Steve didn't say that he would rather she stayed in the little black dress.