A/N: Hey! Sorry, I got caught in a bit of a busy spell. I'll try to update this story much more often. I really appreciate everyone who reviews. I've never had this many reviews on a story ever! I'm just going to thank everybody who takes the time to read this and double thanks to everyone who reviews! I can't wait to show you where I'm going with this one, but for now here's a new chapter. Enjoy!
Kono's heart pounds as she finds each and every person Dr. Cane sent away. She started by digging through all of the claims held against him during his trial, but by now she has three pages worth of names; all of whom could not have done it. She looks at each name and each face. Most rose above the challenges bestowed upon them by this man, but there were the few who were not able to overcome the challenges. Kono divides her list into three lines, not likely, in jail, and possible suspects. There are no names in the final category. She sighs as she reaches the last name. She puts it down in the 'not likely' category and runs her hand through her hair.
"You find anything?" Steve asks.
"Nah, all of these people seem to have natural alibis. They are all either at some business conference or another, or are locked up. Almost half of these people don't even live in this country anymore!" she sighs.
"How many names are on that list?" Steve questions.
Kono shrugs, "One hundred twenty six. I was able to just run the names through a program to weed out the ones who no longer live in this country, which leaves me with about seventy three names. I used another one to take out the people who are on parole or in jail. That left me with about twenty five names. I did a little extra digging only to find out that they're either too poor to be able to book a flight here once, let alone both ways three times, or they are in another part of the country confirmed by their bosses. None of these people are likely suspects."
"Go back over all of the names who are in prison and parole," he instructs, "Thanks to Keleo, we know that it is possible for them to organize something big behind bars." Kono nods, shuddering as she remembers the dirty cop. She goes through the different files, but comes up with nothing. Kono keeps working as Danny leaves to go pick up Grace and Grover goes home to see his kids. Eventually even Steve and Chin go home to get some rest. Chin tells her as he leaves that he had one of their cousins bring her car to HQ, and that the keys are on her desk. She nods and gives a tired smile as a thank you. After promising Chin that she would not stay too much latter, Kono wills her eyes to stay open as she keeps on searching. Her eyes can only stay open for so long, and after coming up with more dead ends then leads, she drifts to sleep, leaning up against the smart table.
The little girl lays in her bed, under the light sheets, shivering. She hears footsteps in the hall and pretends to go to sleep. Jackie slips in the door and quietly closes it. She sits down on the little girl's bed and rubs her back.
"Hey, kid, wake up," she whispers. The little girl opens her eyes and sits up. Jackie places a cookie on the girls lap and says, "I snuck it up here. Mom got a whole plate of them at a bake sale at our school. Are you excited for tomorrow?" The little girl shakes her head while nibbling on the treat. Jackie asks, "Why not?"
The little girl looks down at the ground and says, "I wanna be wit my Ohana. Can't see Chin or Syd no more. If I can't see Daddy…"
"Kid, that's not gonna happen," Jackie interrupts, "Kanji will see you every weekend. He promised. You'll see your Ohana, and eventually you'll come home to us."
"Bet you're gonna like havin' your room back," the girl mumbles.
"I don't know," the older girl ponders,"It's going to feel really empty without you." The little girl cuddles up against Jackie's side and closes her eyes. Slowly the two drift to sleep feeling safe, until dawn arrives.
Kono feels a firm grip on her shoulder shaking her awake. "Cuz, have you been here all night?"
"Chin, its Saturday!" she mumbles.
"That answers that," he mumbles to himself. He pulls his cousin up onto her feet and says, "Happy Sunday! You are going home. Take a shower, eat some breakfast, and change your clothes. I don't want to see you back here until you do." She nods and stumbles out half-awake. As she goes to her car, she realizes that it is pouring rain. Kono sprints to her car and hops inside. While she drives, she listens to the constant pounding of the rain on the roof of the car.
The little girl stares out the window of the room she shared with Jackie. The older girl stands next to her holding her hand. She attempts to comfort the younger child, but to no avail. The little girl fidgets with the hem of her shirt while keeping tears at bay. The girl's father walks in and picks up her bags.
"You ready to go, Keiki?" Kanji spiritedly asks. She shakes her head. The man sighs, "You'll like it when we get there, okay? Say goodbye to your sister." The little girl hugs Jackie, who bends down and picks her up. This makes the girl smile, but only for a short while. Once Jackie puts her down, her father takes her hand and leads her out to the car, while carrying her bag. The rain drips down her face as she walks, but she does not notice. "Its a shame that Irene, Nash, and Theo couldn't be here. They said that if they missed this practice, then the boys wouldn't be able to move up to the next belt." The little girl flinches at the mention of their names. She hops in the back seat of the car, and connects the dots of the raindrops on the window with her finger.
Kono gets out of her car and drags herself into her house. She does just as Chin says, except opting to pick up malasadas and a cup of coffee on her way back instead of making breakfast. As she stands in front of the mirror putting on makeup, she looks down at her left wrist. Seeing the faint lines etched into her skin so many years ago, her stomach churns. The rush of yesterday had made her negligent. Kono quickly covers up the scars with a bit of waterproof foundation and finishes her mascara. She walks into the living room and picks up her board. Regardless of the whether, after this case, surfing off the stress will be very necessary.
Once she gets back to HQ with an overpriced coffee cup in hand, Steve walks up to her and smirks, "I didn't realize that the HQ floor was so comfortable. I might try sleeping here sometime!"
"Oh, shut up, brah!" she retaliates, "Tell me you've got some good news so that the crick in my neck won't be in vain!" She nudges his shoulder and follows him to the table. He puts an unfamiliar face up on the screen and points up at him.
"This is Logan Hert," Steve explains, "I used your list of kids who no longer live in the U.S. to find him. He lives in Waikiki, and has a record for drunk and disorderly from back when he lived in Colorado. He actually only lived a mile from Crane's clinique. The charge happened several years after you left when his daughter, Marcia, graduated highschool and announced that she was never coming back. She changed her name to Marisa Hart and now resides in Weybridge, London where she works as a medical journalist."
Kono nods her head and says, "Yeah, I remember her. I had the hardest time tracing her. I had to go through her medical records to find her. So, let me guess, he was one of the parents who claimed to be tricked?" Steve shakes his head, so she continues, "He wants revenge on the parents who actually did pay Crane to send them away. That's why he is targeting them! I think we should go pay him a visit."
Steve smiles and says, "After you!"