A/N: Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who posted a review on the last chapter. I've written emails and tweeted to Fan Fiction with regard to the inaccessible Reviews page on the site but so far, no response. Like I said yesterday, I do see the full text of all your reviews in my email notifications so don't think I'm not seeing them or don't appreciate them. You guys ROCK!

So here's the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!

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Pride, Admiration and Respect

Chapter Three

Steve was finding it very difficult not to laugh. He wanted to, but he was quite certain about two things. The first being that the events in the warehouse were not the least bit funny and they really needed to know what the hell was going on and second, he was positive Danny would beat the shit out of him if he laughed now. But Danny was standing there… well… actually, he wasn't standing, he was pacing and ranting and waving his arms and he just looked so comical that Steve was having a very hard time keeping it together. Annie, on the other hand, was sitting at the conference table, leaning back in her chair with her arms crossed. She seemed extremely interested in the unique pattern of the cracks in the ceiling while at the same time looking spectacularly bored. She had seen this performance from her brother too many times before to be bothered or impressed by it. Chin and Kono were just sitting at the table enjoying the show.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Danny raged at Annie. "Colombian drug dealers? Are you out of your mind? How the hell did a rookie cop get inside that organization? And what the hell is this about NYPD? You're supposed to be working in East Orange! When did this happen? Mom and Pop never told me about this. How did this happen and no one tell me?" It seemed to go on and on but finally Danny stopped to take an actual breath and Steve took the opportunity to jump in. Throwing Danny a withering look that clearly told him it was time to get down to business, he turned to Annie.

"Ok, fill us in on what was going down and how you're involved in all of this."

Annie took a deep breath, looked directly at Danny, and said "As hard as this will be for you, I know, please just try to keep your mouth shut until I get this out." Danny folded his arms across his chest as if physically trying to control himself.

"First of all, dear brother, I am not a rookie cop. You have selective amnesia and only remember what you want to. And I am not in Cordoba's organization!" She then addressed her story directly at Steve.

"I graduated from the Academy almost 4 years ago and went to work in Newark. Unfortunately for me, everyone on the force knew my dear brother here and, of course, they all respected him and his ability as a cop. That was a lot to live up to. Danny has a lot of friends on the force and it was like having a hundred big brothers on my ass all the time. It was stifling. Add to that my father is a friend of the Chief of Police and he felt he owed it to my Dad to make sure nothing happened to me. So, I found myself spending most of my time at elementary schools on playground patrol. I didn't become a cop to be a babysitter. Hoping for a real shot at being a cop, I decided to transfer to East Orange. Unfortunately, it wasn't much better there. Family ties run deep in Jersey. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I moved to New York, transferred to NYPD, and was assigned to the Narcotics Division.

She looked to Danny. "I told Mom and Dad not to tell you, Danny. I knew you'd hate it and try to talk me out of it and harp on it every time we spoke. I knew you'd worry about me all the time and hate that I was in New York. I intended to tell you the next time you came home to visit the folks but then this case came up and, well, this is not the way I intended for you to find out."

Danny looked like he was about to put his fist through the wall but somehow managed to contain himself. Steve was amazed. He'd actually never seen that before. He was beginning to think he could really like this girl.

Annie continued. "About 6 months ago NYPD began following the movements of the Colombian cartel in NYC. After dozens of dead ends, it finally looked like the cartel had made a mistake. NYPD tracked a shipment and several major players to a drop down on the docks. It was the first time we heard that Cordoba himself was going to be in on the drop. He never shows up himself for these types of things, preferring to leave it to his lieutenants. My partner Tony and I were one of a dozen different units dispatched to bring them down. But it was a trap. We were one of the first units in when all hell broke loose. Until today I'd never heard so much shooting. We were holding our own when all of a sudden one of the perps came out from behind a large dumpster and took aim right at me. I never saw him but Tony did."

Annie's eyes filled with tears she refused to let fall as she remembered how it went down. Danny looked like he was getting paler by the minute… afraid of what she was about to say. Annie swallowed hard and in a barely audible voice said "Tony pushed me out of the way, he saved my life but he…he…" She looked up at Steve "he had a wife and a three-year-old son and he gave his life for mine. I see his face every time I close my eyes. I hear that shot in my sleep. That little boy is growing up without his father because of me. I just couldn't let it go."

Steve nodded. Of course, he understood. Even after all these years, there were still nights when he relived every OP that had ever gone bad in his mind. And the moment when his father was murdered still haunted his dreams. He understood exactly what it felt like to hear that shot over and over in your sleep. Chin, Kono and Danny were nodding too but this was Danny's baby sister, and nothing about this case was sitting well with him. Going after the Colombian cartel to avenge her dead partner wasn't something Danny wanted to think about her doing. He hated it on so many levels that they were going to have to invent new levels so he could hate it even more. They were just in the middle of a shootout where she was one of only two people to survive. The thought of what could have happened froze Danny's heart. What would he tell their mother? Danny swallowed a huge lump that seemed to spontaneously form in his throat.

While Danny silently fumed, Annie went on with her story. "After that, Narcotics continued to work the case, digging into any and all information they could find, no matter how insignificant it seemed. About 6 weeks ago they stumbled onto some intel that showed Cordoba was expanding his distribution into Hawaii. Like I said, normally he doesn't like to get his hands dirty but, hey, this is Hawaii right? I guess he wanted to check it out for himself. Why give up a chance to visit paradise, right? I followed him here.

Actually, I was going to follow him on my own until my Captain got wind of what I was planning. I still don't know how he found out but he said if I was determined to come to Hawaii, he didn't want me to go rogue. He arranged a temporary assignment with HPD. When the raid went down today I was sent in with a plain clothes HPD squad. Well, you know what happened after that. When the shooting stopped the rest of the squad was busy clearing the scene and the uniforms didn't realize who I was. Since I was with the one perp left they just assumed I was one of the bad guys and hauled me in here. I didn't identify myself on the spot because I had seen Danny and didn't want to have to deal with him in the middle of all of that."

Danny gave her an extremely dirty look but Annie ignored him and just went on. "Look… with everyone taken down in the bust and with Escobar dead Cordoba is seriously compromised. We need to regroup and go after him before he gets back in business. He's not going to abandon Hawaii. He feels it's a fresh market for his coke but he's now down several of his top men. We have to strike now," she finished excitedly.

Danny didn't know what to do with himself. Pushing off from the wall he'd been using to brace himself and running his hands through his hair, he began walking in circles of frustration. Finally, he stopped in his tracks directly in front of Annie.

"Hold on…. we aren't going to do anything because you are out of this! If you think for one minute, I'm going to allow you to continue with this reckless behavior… you're going to get yourself killed. Oh no... no... no… not while I have something to say about it. I have enough to deal with trying to keep this one," he disgustedly waved his hand in Steve's direction, "from getting himself killed without having to worry about you too."

Annie was livid. "Allow?! And what the hell do you mean "as long as you have something to say about it?" You have nothing to say about it. You are not the boss of me!"

"I am your eldest brother"

"So what?! I'm not 12 anymore, Danny."

"Well, you're acting like it, doing stupid shit without thinking about the consequences."

"Oh sure… you're always the responsible one, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean? You've never complained whenever I've gotten you out of trouble before."

"Oh God, Danny, you do not have to protect me anymore."

"Really? It seems like I do!"

It was like watching a tennis match. Steve, Chin and Kono looked from one to the other and back again. It seemed like it would never stop. Finally, Steve broke in and brought it to an end.

"Ok... hold up a minute! She's right, Danny. With Escobar and most of Cordoba's top men dead this is the time to take him down and get him out of Hawaii for good." Annie looked gratefully at Steve but before she could say anything, Steve continued. "But, Annie, Danny is also right. We can't go off half-cocked without knowing all the facts and having a cohesive plan, and that's going to take a little time. We have no real evidence to prove Cordoba is even in Hawaii and a sweep of the warehouse today turned up nothing. We can't even get him for murder of the guy they were holding there because everyone involved today is dead. Well, except for the one guy we have in custody and he's not saying a word. He knows he's a dead man if he does. We have no evidence at all about what Cordoba may be up to."

"Well," Annie said, "we may have something. After the bust went bad, after Tony…. well, we searched the warehouse from top to bottom. While I was in the office I went through the desk there and I found a flash drive. I couldn't open the files on it, they're all encrypted, so I don't know what's on there. Hell, it could be pictures of Cordoba's kid's birthday party, for all I know, but it was in that office where Cordoba was conducting business."

"Where is it now?" Chin asked. "Breaking the encryption shouldn't be all that difficult, we've done it plenty of times before."

"It's in my hotel room. I didn't want to run the risk of losing it by carrying it around with me".

"Why didn't you give it to your superiors at NYPD when you found it?" Steve asked. "That would have been standard procedure." Danny actually snorted at Steve's reference to "procedure." Steve just gave him an exasperated look and turned his attention back to Annie.

She looked quizzically between them. "I know... I should have. But… I don't know... it just didn't feel right. I didn't want to hand it over and run the risk of never knowing what was on it. I don't know why but something made me hold on to it."

"Ok, Chin, you and Kono go through everything you can find on Cordoba and the Colombian cartel. Have another go at the other suspect, maybe you two can get something out of him. I want all the information you can gather on this. Danny and I will go with Annie back to the hotel and retrieve that flash drive." Steve said.