Take Two: Chapter Five

A/n: Who's excited for episode 6.15? I hope Danny and his mom discuss Mattie in depth. There definitely needs to be closure in the Williams family.

A well-rested Eric returned to work that afternoon, eager to please. This was his first big case. Moreover, this was the first time Commander McGarrett trusted him with a secret mission, as it were. Eric was feeling really validated. He quickly took the new evidence to his spot in the lab, and returned to the 5-0 floor in record timing.

"Okay, key." Eric set the key down on the computer table. "No fingerprints. Envelope-" he set this down, too, "also free of prints. "But this-" he held up the briefcase in his gloved hands. "Fingerprints. Belonging to Joel Novak."

"Joel Novak?" Danny repeated. He was standing next to Steve, his hands behind his back. "I think you mean Michael Novak, bud. The one who was kidnapped."

"No." Eric shook his head with a wry grin. "I mean Joel. Joel Novak's prints are on this briefcase."

"Okay, so maybe it's his briefcase." Chin reasoned. Steve took the briefcase from Eric and opened it. Inside was another envelope.

"Now, this was cool." Eric said, taking the envelope from Steve's hands in his excitement. "Look." He pulled a photograph out of the envelope – its only contents. It was a photograph of a city, taken from a helicopter.

Danny recognized the city immediately. "Newark." He said. His heart had leapt all the way to his mouth.

"Yeah!" Eric nodded enthusiastically, completely and utterly oblivious. "Newark! Our old stomping ground, eh, Uncle D?"

"You worked for the Newark PD before you came here, didn't you?" Lou asked Danny. Danny swallowed and nodded. He had started out with Newark PD.

"You think this could mean anything?" Erica sked.

"Well, Joel Novak did say he lived in Trenton." Kono said. "Maybe Michael's has been moved closer to Joel than he thought."

"Neat, does this mean we get to go back home?" Eric asked, looking at his uncle. "Can I come?"

Danny was silent. He looked at Steve helplessly. Steve had no idea what to say. He looked back at Danny, his jaw clenched.

"All right, you two have been speaking in some sort of goddman code since this case begun." Lou grew impatient. "Are you going to tell us what the hell is going on or should I brush up on my sign language?"

Danny sighed before shrugging resignedly. What was the point? Lou was part of the team, he was ohana. He deserved to know. "Eric, could you give us a moment?" Danny asked his nephew.

Eric's face fell. "Hold on, U-"

"I'm serious, Eric. Get out of here, would ya?"

Eric looked ready to protest further, but held back. He left the room.

"Should I step out as well?" Abby asked cautiously.

"You're part of the team now. You can stay." Danny said. He gestured for Steve to begin the tale.

"All right, listen up." Steve began. "There are far too many similarities for this to be a coincidence. The events surrounding Michael Novak's kidnapping are almost exactly what happened to Danny brother, when he was kidnapped last year."

"What do you mean?" Abby asked.

"My kid brother, Mattie." Danny cut in. "He got caught up laundering money for the Colombian cartel." He sighed. "They kidnapped him and demanded ransom. We tried-" Danny glanced at Chin, whose face was grim. "We eventually got enough money for the ransom, but it didn't matter. Uh, he was already…they had killed him by the time we showed up with the money."

"But it's all the same." Steve continued quickly, so Danny would be forced to think about something else. "The postcard leading to the briefcase, New Jersey, a younger brother in the finance world caught up in some bad business. I…I just don't think this can be coincidence. Chin, Joel could not have just called you because you're an old friend and he knew you would do him a favor. I mean, could he have?"

"I've been thinking the same thing." Chin agreed after some thought.

"So, what does this mean?" Abby asked from her spot next to Chin. "Could the cartel be attempting to contact Danny somehow? Do they want revenge?"

"Joel seems genuinely concerned about his brother." Kono said. "I don't think he's setting us up. He hasn't been able to sleep in days, and he calls Chin or me constantly."

"But he could easily be collateral." Chin countered. "Just a pawn."

"But how do we know this Joel character isn't tricking us?" Lou asked skeptically. "Can anyone vouch for his character? Chin? You went to school with him."

"I didn't know him very well." Chin admitted. "We played football together, apparently, but he was a freshman when I was a senior. If we spoke at all, I don't remember it. I didn't even know he had a brother."

"You didn't know him either?" Lou asked Steve.

"No." Steve shook his head. "Or his brother."

"Hey, guys?" There was a knock on the door. Jerry popped his head in. "You asked me to look into the flashdrive?"

"Yeah, what'd you find?" Steve asked.

"Uh," Jerry stared down at the stick, contemplative. "Just…it's easier to show you then to tell you. I definitely think there are some similarities here, however."

"To what?"

"Just look." Jerry stuck the flashdrive into the side of the computer table. Instantaneously, a list of documents appeared on the screen. They were all in Spanish, and Jerry translated. "So," Jerry began, "it appears our kidnappie is definitely involved in laundering money for the Colombian cartel. The documents here are basically copies of his correspondence between an unknown cartel member and Michael Novak. I'll send these your way, Commander. But, uh, there's something else here that was pretty concerning."

"What is it?" Steve asked.

"This." Jerry singled another document in Spanish. Inserted at the top was a black-and-white photograph of Mattie Williams. The photograph had clearly been taken without Mattie's knowing it. In the photograph, he was speaking with Marco Reyes.

Danny felt like the air had been knocked out of his chest. He forced his breathing to remain even.

"Who are those men?" Abby asked curiously. "Is one of those men Michael?" She meant the white man. Mattie.

"Detective?" Jerry glanced cautiously at Danny. He didn't know how to answer the question.

"That's my brother." Danny said. "That's my brother, and the guy who killed him. Marco Reyes."

"Here." Jerry handed a folded-up piece of paper to Danny that had been in his pocket. "I thought you might want to look at it."

"What does it say?" Danny kept the paper folded.

"Basically it says Reyes had been following your brother for months before he kidnapped him, and I'm pretty sure the cartel is doing the same thing to Michael Novak."

The rest of the day was a blur. Everyone else seemed to move but Danny. He remained in his office. He left half an hour early. No one said anything.

Grace was doing her homework at the kitchen table when Danny came home. He kissed her on the top of the head, sat next to her, and didn't say a word. When Eric came home an hour later and wanted to know why he was kicked out of the meeting, Danny wasn't in the mood.

"It was a confidential matter. You know what that means, right?" Danny said, one arm around the back of Grace's chair. He was happy Grace was staying with him for another day. Her presence was calming. Ever since the reveal of Charlie as his son, Rachel had been a lot more lenient about when Grace stayed with her father. Perhaps it was her way of making up for her lying.

Danny wasn't sure how he was going to make up for his lying to Eric. In the end, they ordered a pizza. That seemed to make everyone happy.

Steve dropped by the house around nine, mostly out of worry. Danny was still sitting at the kitchen table. His shirt was unbuttoned. He had swapped the pizza for a can of beer, and was looking out the window. Grace had gone out to a movie with some friends. Eric was out as well. Danny sat alone, thinking.

"How you doing?" Steve didn't bother with a proper greeting. He simply sat down next to his partner.

Danny had heard Steve come in and was therefore not surprised when he was joined by his partner. He didn't answer Steve's question right away, however. He took his time to finish his beer. When he set down the bottle, he finally looked at his best friend.

"Steve-"

"How are you?" Steve asked again, firmly this time.

Danny scowled. "You're being a little pushy, babe."

"Don't do that. Not now." Steve retorted. "Danny, how are you?"

"Honestly? I feel like…I feel like there's a knot in my chest, and I can't do anything to unravel it." He was whispering, now.

"Wow. Poetic."

"Steve, listen to me. What if there's something more to this?" Danny was suddenly serious.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what if someone is trying to reach out to me?"

"From the cartel?"

"About Mattie." Danny sounded desperate. "Steve. I never actually saw my brother's body."

Steve sat back. "Danny."

"Okay, okay." Danny shook his head. "Okay, yes, there was a body in that bin. I saw that body. But it was so…I couldn't tell…maybe it wasn't my brother, yeah? Maybe he's reaching out."

"Don't do that." Steve said seriously. "Danny, don't."

"Mattie could be trying to send me a message. He could be in tr-"

"Shut up!" Steve exclaimed. "Danny! I've been down this road, man. Don't get your hopes up."

"But it's a possibility." Danny's response was immediate. He sat up. "Tell me it's a possibility. Steven. Your mother is alive. C'mon, you thought she was dead for decades."

"So?"

"So? So? Steve, c'mon, I'm not playing around, here." Danny was frustrated.

Steve sighed, cursing under his breath. He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. "I was worried about this," he muttered.

"Worried?" Danny protested. "I don't think I'm being out of line, here. Steven. I don't think this is a crazy theory."

"Well, whaddya want me to say, huh?"

"Saw it's possible!" Danny threw up his hands. "Say Mattie could be alive! Say I could be on to something!"

"Okay, okay! I agree, is that what you want to hear? It's possible. Better?"

"Better!" Danny scowled. "See, it's not so farfetched."

"But why would the cartel be after you?"

"Gee, I'm not sure. Maybe because I killed Marco Reyes?"

"Yeah, and then they threw you in prison and beat the shit out of you." Steve said. Danny looked away. He tried not to think about his time in that prison. "And we made a deal. So you're out. It's done. It's done, Danny."

"You honestly think it's that cut and dry, babe?" Danny said quietly.

"A deal's a deal." Steve protested.

"And my brother could be alive."

"Okay, then how do you explain the Novak kidnapping, then?" Steve asked. "Like Chin said, just collateral? Or what?"

Danny was silent. "I don't know."

The front door opened, then, bringing Steve and Danny out of their conversation.

"Still working, Uncle D?" Eric asked, shrugging off his jacket and waving at Steve.

"No." Danny said after a pause. "Just waiting for you and Grace."

Eric shook his head with a grin. "Aunt Liss always said you-" Eric suddenly stopped. Danny hoped his face was clear of emotion. Eric's eyes had gone wide. "Sorry." He cleared his throat. "I'll be in my room." He began to walk towards the bedroom before laughing. "I feel like you're my parents, huh? And I'm telling you-" Eric shrugged. He seemed to realize Steve and Danny weren't in the mood.

"Uncle D?" Eric took one last stab at a conversation.

"Yeah."

"This case, what's so special about it?"

"Well, it's not an official case, so we have-"

"No," Eric interrupted, shaking his head. He was thinking about how to word his next sentence. "I mean, why is it affecting you so much? Seriously, man, you're down in the dumps." Eric said. His uncle's silence encouraged him to continue. "But I spoke to Jerry when I sent him the flash drive and the phone. He said there's some connection to Colombia. Isn't that where you…I mean, Ma said…Listen, Uncle D, is there anything I should know about this case?"

"Nothing." Danny answered steadily. Steve could see Eric was trying to read his uncle's face. Eventually, however, Eric simply nodded and disappeared down the hallway. Steve watched him go.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't critique me right now." Danny said, getting up to grab a second beer.

"Yeah, I'll think about that." Steve said. "But I want to know what exactly you told your family about your brother's murder."

Danny cringed at the word, his hand halfway in the refrigerator. "You want a beer?"

"Danny."

"Why do you want know?" Danny said exasperatedly. He returned to the table, taking a drink.

"Your sister, Liss-"

"Melissa." Danny corrected. "Mattie was the only one who called her Liss. Eric just copied him. He was completely obsessed with Mattie."

"I didn't know that." Steve sat back.

Danny shrugged noncommittally. "Mattie was the youngest, you know. He was everyone's kid brother. Melissa, Stella, and I. And Stella had Eric so young, you know, she was hardly twenty, and…and Mattie just always thought of Eric as a younger brother. You know, finally he had someone who was younger than him."

"Eric's the oldest grandkid."

"Yeah." Danny nodded.

"So what did you tell them?"

"Don't use that tone, Steven. You know, it's not that easy. Unlike you, I find it difficult to tell my mother how exactly her youngest child, who I was supposed to keep safe, made his way into an oil bin, chopped up into bits, huh?" Danny's face screwed up. He shouldn't have said that. He was thinking about the oil bin. Danny exhaled loudly. "Ma and Pop know, okay? They know everything. They deserved to know."

"Okay, and your sisters?"

"It's different." Danny said into the bottle.

"What? Danny, I don't understand. How is it different?" Steve grew impatient. "Listen, man, I have a sister, too. It's not like I'm completely in the dark when it comes to wanting to protect my sibling."

"No. Not like this." Danny shook his head. "Mattie was my responsibility. He came to me for help. I wasn't supposed to make another mistake."

"Another mistake?"

"Yeah, another mistake! Apart from my divorce? Apart from my line of work getting in the way of my knowing my son for the first three years of his damn life? Apart from my Charlie's illness?"

"Danny-"

"No. No! Listen to me, Steve. I'm divorced. I screwed up. Stella, she had Eric when she was a kid, but she married his father as soon as she found out, and they've been together ever since. Eric didn't even know Stella was a kid when she had a kid until he learned how to subtract, you know what I mean? So Stella fixed her mistake. Melissa hasn't messed up one goddamn time in her entire life. I love her for that, I do. But that's a lot of expectation on Mattie, especially growing up. 'Look, here are your two perfect sisters, and your brother, who did pretty well for himself until his wife couldn't stand the sight of him anymore.' So when Mattie messed up, I was supposed to get him. Then I could fix my mistake. But he died. He was dead the whole time." Danny paused. "When I brought his body back, I told Stella and Liss that he was alive when I found him, but before I could get him out of Colombia, he was shot. It was easier to say that, then to say he was dead the whole time and I couldn't do a thing about it, you know. It was a hell of a lot easier to tell them he died in my arms. But it doesn't matter. Either way they wouldn't understand. Stella forgave me. She even trusts me to look after Eric, you know. That's huge. He's a pain in the ass, but it's huge that he's here. But Melissa doesn't understand. Don't say anything, Steven, because you haven't met her. She expects things to be a certain way, and I let her down. I'm her big brother, and I let her down." Danny finally stopped talking. He shrugged helplessly. "So if Mattie's alive…or if he's not…I have to know. For my family's sake. I mean, Eric and everyone else just think he died in a freak accident. Grace knows more than Eric, for God's sake. What if I can fix that? Steve, what if I can fix it?"

Steve had not heard Danny speak this openly, since before Danny's brother died. Since they were stuck in the collapsed building and Danny was panic-stricken and anxious. He only knew little about Danny's family in Jersey. It was easiest to glean this information when Danny was around his family, like his mother, or when Mattie first visited.

Danny was looking at Steve for an answer. His eyebrows were raised slightly. He knew that he had said much, perhaps too much. Steve didn't know what to say.

It was then that Grace was dropped back home from the movie with her friends. Danny cleared his throat, immensely relieved.

Steve stood up. "I should let you sleep."

"Too much interrogation for one night?" Danny muttered, but he stood as well. He was focused on the front door, now, and the moment his daughter walked in. Steve could see this.

"Danny, I didn't know it was all so complex." Steve said as Grace turned the key in the door. Danny didn't even look at Steve. Danny hung back, hands in his pockets, as Steve walked towards the door.

"Steve," Danny said suddenly as Steve Grace walked in. "Don't, uh," Danny kept his gaze on Steve. "Don't mention this, okay?" He meant the conversation. He didn't want to relive it.

"Yeah." Steve agreed. He hugged Grace quickly before he left. From outside, Steve could hear Danny cheerily saying "Hey, kiddo, how was the show, huh?" as he walked away.

Once again, Danny was hiding his emotions for the sake of his family. Steve just hoped, for the sake of his friend, that the Novak case still was a coincidence, and that a good night's sleep would curtail Danny's thoughts of his brother.