"Where are you, Cuz? Where are you?"
"There's nothin' here this time. No evidence of Kono ever being here at all."
MEANWHILE...
Kono's head hurt. The three guys had been less than gentle with her as they'd moved her from location to location while Waldman was out deciding what to do with her. She was sure he was simply cutting a deal for someone to kill her and dispose of her body. He was a bookie, not a murderer, she'd figured that much out. He didn't like to get his hands dirty, which was why these three dim-whits were still around, or he'd have had them killed already. At least for now they were leaving her alone. Her hands were again cuffed behind her, this time to a steel pipe in the upstairs storage loft while they were all hanging out downstairs. It was late in the day now and getting dark. If they hadn't arrested Zimmerman so early, at least she would have had more than just a protein bar to sustain her the rest of the day, not to mention the breakfast she and Charlie were to have had after surfing. But that was not the case and she was hungry and thirsty.
"Oh shit, you hear that?" Fuller asked, looking up from his poker cards.
"Yeah." Nichols paused, listening to determine the source, "Sirens."
"Leave the lady. Let's get outta here!" Pauley yelled.
All three guys bolted for the exits, each running in a different direction.
"There goes Fuller." Chin called out, recognizing him from his photo and giving chase.
Steve saw another perp exiting the side of the building as he pulled up and chased after him.
Danny saw one headed his direction from the back, then seeing Danny, he turned and ran back to the back of the building. Danny gave chase.
Lukela and three HPD officers went into the warehouse; two upstairs, two downstairs. They all moved cautiously with guns drawn until the building was secured.
"Don't touch me!" Kono yelled as she drew up her feet, drawing back when Lukela rushing over to her. She could hear voices via one of their radios. "Get Charlie up here!"
"They've fond her!" Danny called out as he put Pauley in the back of a squad car and Chin approached with Fuller also in cuffs.
"Where is she?" Chin asked, urgency obvious in his voice.
"Somewhere upstairs. But she won't let anyone but Charlie near her." Danny informed him. "You go. We got this." He waved another officer over to take Fuller from Chin so he could go be with his cousin.
"Kono,... are you alright?" Charlie asked rushing over to her, still a bit breathless from running the stairs and concern over why she wouldn't let anyone near her.
"I scratched him." Kono stated, setting up on her heels and leaning forward to show her hands while turning around as best as she could, "I've got his skin under my nails. I didn't want anyone touching me until you've collected it."
Charlie couldn't help a small smile, "Good job." He said, opening his kit to collect the samples and also wipe Kono's hands for blood. "That was good work with the bloody hand print."
"I took a punch to the jaw to leave that." If Kono hadn't had her head tipped down with her hair fallen around her face, she would have seen the look on his face as she said those words. It was the same expression as the officer who was listening.
Charlie had no response for the bravery that must have taken. He just gave a slight nod, although she couldn't see it. "Almost done." He said as Chin ran into view.
"Kono!" Was his only word.
"Don't touch her yet." Charlie said, holding up a hand as if to stop him. "She's got evidence on her I need to collect first."
Kono craned her head up enough to make eye contact with her cousin and hoped her hair covered enough of her face to keep him from seeing the bruises.
Several minutes later Kono walked down the stairs with Chin and Charlie, an empty water bottle in hand. "We got three of 'em." Steve told her as they reached the bottom steps.
"There's a fourth." She informed him, immediately back in cop-mode. "A Nick Waldman. He's the leader behind all this and the bookie Zimmerman owed money to. He was ticked that we were arresting Zimmerman this morning, because he can't get money out if him if he's behind bars. I was only taken because I got in the way."
"The mask." Danny stated simply.
Kono nodded. "I got hair with it, didn't I."
Steve nodded, "You were good. Nice work with the hand print and the hair, too." He complimented her, then paused, "Listen, Kono, we found semen at two locations." He noticed Chin give a slight flinch at his words.
"Is that why the bus is here?" Kono asked, looking out through the large bay door that had just been opened, revealing an ambulance parked outside in the dark. She saw his slight nod. "I'm okay, Steve." She assured him, "They were only into doin' themselves and each other." She saw Steve give a nod of acknowledgment and heard her cousin give a sigh of relief. She shuddered at remembering what she had had to hear. "If they wanted to do that, couldn't they at least have gone to a bedroom or something?" She said, making a face. "I mean, seriously, I could close my eyes, but with being cuffed, I couldn't exactly cover my ears." Another shudder.
"Any idea where Waldman's at? Anything you overheard?" Danny asked, partly to change the subject.
Kono shook her head, "No. But I can tell you that he smokes cigars. Reeks of 'em real bad. But not the kind you buy just anywhere. They were real expensive specialty cigars. Had a very distinct smell to 'em, like you'd get in a high end cigar shop."
"We'll check into that, see if we can track him down that way. Good job. But right now, Kono, you are going to go get in that ambulance." Steve insisted. She gave him a look. "You have a lot of bruises and those cuffs have cut into your wrists pretty good."
"And that's probably a knot on you head you keep rubbing." Chin said. "Let's go." He added, not giving her a chance to dismiss the option.
"How's Harrison?" Kono asked as they walked out of the warehouse.
HAWAII FIVE-0
One more chapter to go, and it will have an alternate ending for all you Kono/Charlie fans.