Pressure Makes Diamonds

Chapter 11

Danny sat in the park, enjoying another beautiful day in Paradise, admiring the ocean from a safe distance. He missed Rachel and Grace and wished that he could share the day with them, but was glad that they were safe in Jersey. He had called in some favors and had asked a couple of his cop buddies there to watch over them until he had settled a case. They didn't question and he didn't reveal details. It was reassuring to know that he still had a brotherhood there to count on.

Not just in Jersey too.

Both Chin and Kono had insisted that they help and wouldn't leave until he had relented. They had become a great team together and he cherished their loyalty. He and Steve did have one really annoying quality in common, self-sacrificial tendencies. Danny would have insisted that Steve was downright OCD about his, but after everything that had happened and what they had gone through as a team, Danny had begun to realize that his penchant for it was becoming just as finely tuned. Danny didn't approach self-sacrifice as cavalierly as Steve did, that's where they differed. He had a family to think about and quite frankly, to live for. He was beginning to see though that Steve was slowly coming around to the fact that he, too, had people to live for, not distance himself from, people who were more than just transitory soldiers-in-arms whom he had to rescue all the time, that they were just as capable of doing the rescuing. Danny also hoped that Steve's connection to his family, Grace, in particular, would make him think twice before leaping off a tall building without checking if there was a net below him first. Grace had taken to Steve, had seen beyond his irritating qualities and had embraced the inner uncle in him. The thought of her having an uncle that would die for her as he would was comforting. Matt's betrayal still weighed heavily on him and Steve's actions to allow him to rescue Matt, despite its failure in the end, made Steve just as much, if not more so, a brother and an uncle.

So, as Danny sat, waiting for Wo Fat to arrive, he was consoled by the thought that he would entertain one act of pure irrational behavior worthy of a Super SEAL to rescue his friends, his family, his partner. It helped knowing that those very same people were also watching his back, save for Super SEAL though he could time in his head that the moment Chin revealed what he was planning, that same said Super Seal would be barreling his way there as fast as he could ignoring that he was still recovering from botulism poisoning.

Danny then spotted a limo driving up the curb. The door opened and out walked Wo Fat, confidently straightening his suit, trying to act nonplussed as he walked towards him. Danny stood up from the bench, his gun unsnapped from its holster, at the ready. He was also wired. By the book, just the way Danny liked things. Wo Fat stood opposite him, his face stone cold and expressionless.

"So good of you to come. Guess you got the DA's invite, huh? Nice weather we're having, don't you think? Just another day in Paradise, right? I'd suggest you enjoy it because it will be your last view, except from maybe a prison yard," Danny goaded.

"Very amusing, Detective, but I wouldn't count on that just yet."

"Is that a threat? Really? Really? Because I don't know if the DA spelled it out clearly enough for you, but we have you dead to rights on killing the Governor."

"You have no idea the reach I have, neither does McGarrett. How do you think your task force was formed? The Governor was just a tool, a way to get it established, legitimized. You can't tell me that you haven't enjoyed the immunity and means it provided all of you. You were able to accomplish all that because of me."

"Let's not get too full of ourselves here. We did do the work after all," Danny countered.

"You're missing the point, Detective. You did all that work with my money; every piece of equipment you used, down to the paper clips on your desk, was paid for by me. You think yourselves above the law, but all of you were on my payroll. That money the Governor used to cover up your little burglary was mine. Soon when HPD learns about just how you were subsidized, shall we call it? You'll be no better than the criminals you take pride in putting away. Your careers are over."

Danny didn't act completely surprised, he had suspected as much, but the reality was still difficult to swallow nonetheless. What was more important now was that he knew he still had a job to do and he would enjoy doing it for as long as he could before it was taken away from him.

"Yeh, well, that may be true, we'll see, but none of that changes the fact that I get to have the distinct pleasure of arresting you for the murder of Governor Jameson."

Danny then spotted Steve walking towards them, a little more tiredly than his usual gait, but with a satisfied look on his face. Danny could only roll his eyes, a touch of a smile on his own face.

"Really? You just couldn't stay away, could you?" Danny teased. "Shouldn't you be in a hospital bed?"

Steve finally caught up to them.

"What? And let you have all the fun?" Steve said as he glared at Wo Fat. "Guess this finally ends things."

"Don't count on that, Commander. This isn't over."

"Book 'em, Danno," Steve said with a grin as Danny just shook his head then he turned towards Wo Fat. "I have to admit, you really had me there, but the Governor, she, at least, will bring you down."

"Now, who's being overconfident?" Wo Fat said arrogantly.

Danny turned Wo Fat around to cuff him. He had missed the smug smile on his face. Steve caught it though and immediately knew that there was something wrong. He scanned the area and caught a glint of light.

"Danny! Get down!" Steve yelled.

TBC