Chapter 3
Steve couldn't believe the turn that the day had taken. He was one man short, there had been an assassination attempt on the governor and now Jameson's wife had been taken hostage. One man short … he hadn't even had the time to check up on his wounded second-in-command since the young man had been loaded into the ambulance that morning. No time now, either.
"Chin, I want statements from those witnesses now. Get a description of that car! And let's keep this away from the press as long as we can."
"Done, Boss!" Chin called on his way out the door.
"Kono, come with me," Steve said as he grabbed his jacket and shoulder holster. "We're going to have to break this to the governor. No choice, he deserves to know."
o-o-o-o-o
As Chin pulled up in front of Washington Place, there were already a couple of HPD officers taking statements from a small group of shaken tourists. Ben Kokua was leaning against his car gingerly massaging a lump on the back of his head. Concerned for his fellow officer, Chin approached the tall Samoan.
"What happened, Ben?" Chin asked the dazed officer.
"They must have arrived right after I did, Chin," Ben replied, his anger and frustration evident in his voice. "I was hit from behind, but I wasn't out long and I saw them leaving. Big Hawaiian guy, six feet tall maybe, long brown coat and a younger guy, Hawaiian, skinny, t-shirt and jeans. They left in a beat up, light blue van…I didn't get the plate… kind of rusty like a beach car, roof rack …maybe they're surfers, Chin!"
o-o-o-o-o
The next time Danny woke, it was beginning to get dark. He sat up slowly and ran his hand over his face and through his sandy curls. The meds were definitely wearing off now. His arm was really sore, but he was also beginning to think coherently again. His stomach growled and he couldn't remember the last time he had eaten.
Steve…I thought he'd bring dinner. Strange that he hasn't been here yet. I wonder what's going on.
The ache in his arm returned his thoughts to the morning shooting and then to pieces of that earlier memory. Was it a drug-induced dream? Or was it real?
Big guy…Sunset Beach…the Duke Kahanamoku Classic! Brown and yellow surfboard…long brown jacket…
The images in his mind were rapidly becoming clearer. When the memory sharpened to certainty, Danny was seized by a terrible truth: the Hawaiian in the long brown coat was none other than Maleko Kapule – Kono's cousin!
Damn! Have to tell Steve…
o-o-o-o-o
"Thirty-three years…" Governor Jameson whispered, his face showing sign of shock as he slumped over in a chair. The fight, the resolve was missing and Steve was looking at a broken and grieving man. "Thirty-three years. That's how long Patti and I have been married. Thirty-three years of her sacrificing her time and her career to support me to be a politician's wife. Thirty-three years of always having to being careful about what she said and she wore, and never once complaining about the strain politics puts on a marriage."
Jameson looked up with eyes full of tears. "Find her, Steve. She doesn't deserve this."
After promising that they would do everything in their power to find Patti, Steve and Kono walked outside to the car. However, Steve didn't start the engine as his brain was working overtime because he failed to understand why their suspect did what he did.
"I don't get it, Kono. Why kidnap Patti Jameson? If the news had leaked that he going to veto the bill I would see the motivation but if he had no knowledge either way, all our suspect is doing is hurting his cause."
"It isn't `bout convincing da Governor ta give us da land," Kono responded emphatically. "It was always our land. Having da Governor sign a paper saying it is our land means we give dem the power over our land."
Steve struggled to follow Kono's train of thought. "You're saying this man doesn't want the Governor to return the land to Hawaiian people?"
"He wants da land to be ours. He just doesn't want the Haoles to act like dey are giving us a gift after dey stole it from us years ago."
"Then what is the point?"
"To protest da process; to show ya cannot give something dat was never yours ta give!"
"You sound like you agree with him!"
Kono grew quiet before stating honestly, "Da sentiment: yes. Da methods: no."
Steve studied the man before him, a man he thought he knew. Steve was aware that Kono had a strong passion for righting injustice but Steve was now beginning to see just how deep those feelings went, especially when the injustice was personal.
Before Steve could speak, Kono spoke again, "When Hawaii became a state we never got a vote. The day it was announced my makua said to me: Ya want to earn da Haole respect ya dress like dem, act like dem, work ya way into power and den dey will respect ya. But inside never forget that you are kama'aina."
"I became a cop to protect my people and my land. Whoever tried to kill da Governor, whoever kidnapped his wife feels exactly da same way."
As Steve listened, he became convinced by the conviction and the passion in his detective's voice that every word Kono spoke was true and he feared for what that would mean for Patti Jameson.
o-o-o-o-o
Maleko Kapule towered over his captive. Patti Jameson made the perfect hostage. One call to Five-O and his demands would be met-would have to be met. This was a threat that would not be ignored. He dialed the number and demanded to speak to McGarrett.
"McGarrett, you hear me? I got the Governor's lady. He want her back, we get our land. It's ours, Bruddah, never yours." The anger in Kapule's voice leaked through the phone, nearly burning the detective's hand in its ferocity.
Steve signaled for a trace as Kapule went on, "You tell the Governor dis, you understand? We give him forty-eight hours or he not see her anymore." He slammed the phone down.
"Too short to get a trace, Steve," Chin shook his head.
Steve clenched his fist. Forty-eight hours until . . . what? Murder? More violence? Forty-eight hours!
o-o-o-o-o
Kono sat at his desk, his head in his hands. He recognized that voice, his cousin Maleko, one of his ohana. They'd grown up together, been friends, but had taken different paths in life. Yes, he agreed with the sentiment—as kama'aina, he belonged to the land, it was part of him. But kidnapping, an assassination attempt, a threat of murdering an innocent woman, that he did not understand, could not condone as a cop and as a Hawaiian. He knocked on Steve's office door, then entered.
"Steve," he began, "I gotta tell you-I recognize that guy on the phone. It sounds like my cousin Maleko. And if it is, we got another problem. Danny could have recognized him. He's competed against him in a couple of surf meets."
"And Danno's getting shot protecting the governor was all over the news," McGarrett considered. "If he thinks Danno recognized him . . ."
"Danny could be in big trouble," Kono finished.
o-o-o-o-o
"Bruddah," a sound of fear crept into Kimo's voice as he called to his older brother. "You got to see this. The Five-O cop you hit, it's Kono's buddy Williams. What if he recognized you?"
"Den I'll just have to take care of him, too," Kapule growled.