Danny kept glancing at the man in the passenger seat as he drove toward the McGarrett home. In the short time he'd known Steve he'd grown to respect and admire him, but there were still those times when he craved the company of a normal, un-Super-SEAL type of partner. David O'Brien was just that kind of man and he wondered if they'd still be partners had he stayed in Jersey.
Williams had felt like an outsider the minute he'd stepped through the doors at HPD, and even though McGarrett had proven he trusted him, Danny still felt like he didn't quite belong. It felt like he was an outsider no matter how often he'd proven he could do the job. That had changed when Steve offered him a place with Five-O.
Danny pulled into the driveway and stopped behind Steve's Vehicle before reaching out and touching his partner's shoulder. "Come on, Steve, time to get you settled so I can get to work."
"Danny," McGarrett said and looked at the Jersey native hopefully. He knew Williams was right, but that didn't mean he had to like it.
"Sorry, but you're out for the time being. Get some rest and maybe I'll swing by and update you tonight. Fight me and I'll make sure Chin and Kono know exactly what the doctor's orders are."
Steve reluctantly opened the door, stepped out and reached into the backseat for his bag. He glanced at Williams and knew there was no point in arguing with the stubborn man. He made his way to the door and unlocked it before turning and saluting the other man and stepping into his house. Once inside he leaned against the wall and sighed tiredly when he looked toward the sofa in the living room.
Steve made his way inside and dropped wearily onto the couch before throwing his keys on the coffee table and placing his overnight bag on the floor. He leaned back and closed his eyes, rubbing at his temples as the headache he'd been trying to ignore ignited with near blinding repercussions. Now that he was alone, he allowed himself the luxury of not bothering to hide the pain. He knew his prescription was in the bag and fought to get it open. The pills were in a white bag at the top and he fumbled to get the bottle open before dry-swallowing two.
A soft moan escaped as he placed the pill bottle on the table and lay back once more. He closed his eyes and ignored the nausea churning through his gut as he waited for the pain meds to take effect. He thought about the newest member of Five-O and the case they were working on and knew there was no way he was going to stay away from his job for a week. He'd just get some sleep first, and drive into the office once the headache was gone.
5050505050
Jason Fugata knew the layout of the hospital and had worked as a cleaner there for several years until he'd been fired for stealing. The supply closet near the nurse's station was his best bet to find what he needed and since most of the staff was on their lunch break it was simply a matter of waiting for the nurse at the desk to be called to a patient's room.
He still had his uniform and ID card pinned to it as he walked confidently toward the supply closet, whistling softly as if he was enjoying his work. So far he'd only seen two people he recognized, and he'd easily avoided them as he pushed the dry mop along the floor. Once he reached the closet he glanced left and right before pushing the door open and slipping inside.
The closet was set up just as it had been back when he worked at Queens and he reached for one of the simple masks that would cover the lower half of his face. If anyone stopped him he would simply tell them he had a cold and was following hospital policy by wearing a mask. He knew he could have slipped past the nursing staff without the mask, but he'd learned long ago not to take chances.
The call from his old friend had come at a time when he needed to make some quick money and he'd jumped at the chance. He'd be paid five thousand dollars for this gig as long as he made sure McMillan would not live through the day. He opened the door and looked up and down the hallway, relieved to find it was still deserted.
Fugata made his way toward the room where Kevin McMillan was sleeping and stepped inside. He reached into the pocket, his fingers touching against the syringe as he made his way toward the bed. The injured man slept, blissfully unaware of the danger closing in on him. Fugata had no idea why this man was slated to die, and he wasn't about to question it when so much money would come his way.
Jason took the syringe from his pocket and looked at the IV juncture closest to McMillan's arm. He removed the cap and reached for the line, intent on doing this as quickly as possible, surprised when the man opened his eyes and looked at him.
"What...who..."
"Sh, it's okay, I'm just going to give you your meds," Fugata said, his heart trip-hammering in his chest as he tried to put the syringe into the opening.
"No...don't!" McMillan tried and reached for the call button. His fingers fumbled with it as his assailant tried to complete his task.
"Stop fighting and it'll go a lot easier!"
"He...help!" McMillan managed to get some force behind his words, but he wasn't sure it was enough as his attacker dropped the syringe and grabbed the pillow from beneath his head. Kevin knew he was fighting for his life and pushed against the pillow in an effort to keep the man from smothering him. He could see the call button beside him, but to reach it he'd have to use one of his arms and that would probably cost him his life.
"Stupid sonofabitch" Fugata spat and tried to regain control.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"He...he..."
"I heard him call for help," Fugata lied quickly as the man passed out and slumped back on the bed.
"Who are you?" Nancy Jenkins asked angrily.
"I work here. I was cleaning the floor and..."
"Why are you wearing a mask?"
"I have a cold..."
"You need to come with me," Jenkins told him.
"I need to do my job!"
"You're job is to clean the floors, not take care of patients...you should have called for a nurse."
"I will...he just sounded like he needed help." Fugata moved away as the nurse checked her patient, and tried to hide the syringe but his movement brought her attention back to him.
"What is that?"
"What?"
"Is something wrong, Nancy?" Shirley Donaldson asked.
"Get security up here!" Jenkins ordered and checked the IV line as the second nurse came into the room.
"Jason? Is that you?" Donaldson asked as the man turned toward her.
"Do you know him, Shirley?" Jenkins asked as she took a set of vitals on her patient.
"He used to work here..."
"Used to?"
"He was fired a couple of years ago for stealing," Donaldson answered and bent down to pick up the syringe near the bed. "What is this, Nancy?"
"I have no idea...maybe we should call the police and have them get some answers," Jenkins said and reached into her pocket for the cell phone she carried with her.
"I need..."
"You need to sty where you are until security gets here," Donaldson warned, but didn't try to stop the man when he brushed past her. She knew security had been alerted and could not take the chance of putting more patients in jeopardy. "How is he?"
"His blood pressure is a little high and his heart rate is too fast. Could you call the ER and have Dr. Wahine come up to take a look at him?"
"Sure...I just don't understand what Jason was doing here. Maybe we should have the contents of this syringe analyzed."
"Good idea," Jenkins told her and gently brushed the hair away from her patient's eyes as Donaldson hurried out of the room.
5050505050
Jason Fugata hurried toward the stairs, but stopped when two security guards headed toward him. He turned to go the other way, but found several gurneys being pushed along the hallway, effectively blocking his secondary escape route. His breathing grew rapid as he sought an avenue of escape, but there didn't seem to be any way of getting around the security personnel.
"Derek, stop him," Shirley Donaldson ordered as she exited the patient's room and spotted Fugata near the main stairwell.
"Hold it right there!" Derek Oswald ordered as his partner joined him and they moved toward the one time cleaner.
"I didn't do anything!" Fugata said, but could see no way of escaping as the two men reached him.
"Then why were you in Mr. McMillan's room with this syringe and dressed in a cleaner's uniform?" Donaldson asked.
"I came to visit a friend. I work as a cleaner at a clinic..."
"Really?" Derek asked and reached for the name tag. "Then why are you using this? It says you're a member of the cleaning staff here at Queens?"
"I must have grabbed the wrong one."
"Well, I'm going to call the police and have them hold you until we find out what is in this syringe," Donaldson said.
"I never saw that before!" Fugata snapped and struggled to get free of the security guards.
"We'll see about that," Derek said. "Shirley,, we'll hold him here until the police arrive."
"Thanks, Derek," the nurse said and hurried away.
5050505050
Chin and Kono were working on a compilation of the information they'd gathered so far, and filling David O'Brien in on what they'd learned from Kevin McMillan. They looked up when Williams entered the office, but Chin and Kono looked at each other when they noted the man was alone.
"Where's Steve?" Chin asked.
"He's at his place," Williams answered.
"How did you manage that?" Kono asked.
"He's on medical leave and since David is officially part of Five-O there was no reason for Steve to disobey the doctor's orders," Williams offered and motioned to the info displayed above them "So what do we have?"
"Kevin McMillan is still our best hope of finding out what happened to the missing women, but he's still cloudy on the details. I'm going to talk to him again this afternoon," Kono explained.
"Hey, Chin, aren't you guys working on the McMillan case?" Lilo Amoy asked from the open doorway.
"Yes, why?" Kelly asked.
"We just had a call from a security guard at Queens. It seems a disgruntled ex-cleaner was caught in his room with a loaded syringe," Amoy told him.
"Is McMillan all right?" Kono asked.
"Think so...a nurse caught him in the act and he's being brought in for questioning. They're also trying to identify the substance in the syringe," Amoy answered.
"Chin, you and Kono go over to Queens and see what you can find out."
"What are you going to do, Danny?" Kelly asked.
"David and I are going to question the cleaner," Williams answered and turned to Amoy. "How long before they bring him in?"
"He should be here in a few minutes," Amoy told him.
"Thanks, Lilo," Kelly said and hurried out with Kono closely behind him.
5050505050
Steve had no idea how long he slept, but at least his headache was at a bearable level. He pushed off the couch and stood up, reaching out to steady himself against the wall before making his way into the kitchen. He could almost hear Danny tell him he was stubborn sonofabitch, but right now he needed to prove to himself that he still had the edge he needed to do the job.
Steve reached into the fridge, grabbed a bottle of vitamin water and a couple of apples before making his way outside and into his vehicle. He bit into the apple and drove away from his home, headed for Five-O headquarters. It took less than fifteen minutes to reach the building and he silently cursed when he saw a car parked in his spot. He drove around until he found an empty space, parked, and grabbed his water before heading for the main entrance.
Once inside McGarrett headed for the office, but frowned when he found it empty. Williams car was parked in his spot, so he'd either gone somewhere in someone's car, or he was in the building, probably in HPD. Steve strode purposefully to the door leading into the station and smiled at the woman behind the main desk.
"Good afternoon, Commander, I thought you were on sick leave? Are you all right?"
"I'm fine, Sarah, is Danny here?"
"Yes, he and his partner are questioning a suspect. Do you want me to have him paged"
"No, thanks, just tell me where they are," McGarrett said and thanked her when she gave him the information he requested. He held his arm against his side, and ignored the twinge of pain from injured ribs. If he was going to do this then he needed to show Williams and his 'partner' that he really could stand on his own two feet.
"Hey, Steve, I heard you had a run in with Jacobs...glad to hear you got the best of him in spite of his dirty tactics. He's out for at least a month and will probably need surgery on his knee. Are you pressing charges?"
"No, Duke, I'll just let him lick his wounds for now."
"You're a bigger man than me," the man said and went back to work.
Steve was greeted by several others before reaching the interrogation room where Williams and O'Brien were busily playing good cop/bad cop. He frowned when he say Danny sitting docilely in a chair while David grabbed the prisoner by the collar and shook him. The scene was a familiar one to him, but it was usually him playing the bad cop and Danny ranting at him for taking the act too far. It seemed as if things changed when O'Brien was manhandling the prisoner.
"You better tell him what you know, Jason. I've seen him like this before and he knows how to hurt you without leaving any marks," Williams' voice was clear and again Steve felt a hint of anger that Danny seemed to not only be okay with O'Brien's tactics, but he approved of them.
"I told you I don't know what you're talking about! I worked at the hospital and was visiting friends!"
"Worked is the operative word isn't it, Fugata? You were fired a couple of years ago and now you're trying to kill patients..."
"No, I wasn't! I was visiting..."
"Then why were you wearing your old uniform and name tag? You're going down for this and with your recent record you're probably looking at 15 to 20 in maximum security. That means you'll be the new fish and I'm pretty sure the gang bangers will have a field day with you! You're not much to look at, but you got a pretty nice ass and..."
"No, this isn't right!"
"Sit your fucking ass down!"
Steve could see the fear on the mans face, but he had no sympathy for him. Most prisoners were full of piss and vinegar when they were first brought in for questioning, but as time went on they began to realize that this wasn't going away. Jason Fugata, like so many others would eventually talk, but until he did he'd be subjected to intense questioning.
"They make a pretty good team."
Steve turned to look at the woman who'd spoken, and sighed tiredly. "I guess so."
"They were quite the pair when they worked together in Newark."
"Is that why you brought him here?"
"Maybe," Jameson told him. "We need to talk."
"Yes, we do," McGarrett told her.
"Your office," the governor told him.
"Is it still mine?" Steve asked.
"Yes, it is, unless you don't want it anymore." Jameson knew she'd used underhanded tactics in this case, but she needed to make things happen as a favor to an old friend. They reached McGarrett's office and she closed the door once they were inside.
"Why is he here?"
"Look, Steve," Jameson purposefully used his first name in an effort to put him at ease, but it had the opposite effect when she noticed his stiff shouldered pose. "I know you're angry at being kept out of the loop."
"What loop?" McGarrett snapped and felt the headache returning with a vengeance.
"Can we sit down and talk about this?" Jameson asked and took the seat opposite the desk when McGarrett moved to stand in front of the window. "I had a call from Jake Partington asking for help..."
"Who is he?"
"An old friend who works for the Newark Police Department. He came on after Detective Williams moved here and worked fairly closely with David O'Brien for several months. He noticed some inconsistencies in several case reports, but no one seemed to want to listen to him."
"Case reports by O'Brien?"
"And Detective Williams. I know you don't want to hear this, Steve, but Jake seems to think both men were on the take and heavily involved in drugs and human trafficking."
"Human trafficking?"
"Several women disappeared in a short amount of time...they were all..."
"Let me guess...Asian decent...dark hair and eyes."
"Exactly. Jake grew suspicious when O'Brien transferred here and he found out Detective Williams was also here."
"So why aren't they investigating the case in Newark?"
"They were, but with no new evidence it's been put in the cold case files until they get new information. I told him Detective Williams..."
"Danny's not involved in this."
"I hope you're right, but if he is and he's working with O'Brien things could get ugly. I need you to keep this between us..."
"I won't go behind my team's back for you, Governor."
"That's not what I'm asking you to do, Steve."
"Isn't it?"
"Maybe, but there's no choice for now. Jake sent me several key pieces of information," Jameson told him and reached into her bag. She took out a file and handed it to him.
"What's this?"
"It's what Jake sent me. You need to look at it and then tell me you still think Detective Williams is clean."
"I know he's clean, Governor...I'd trust him with my life."
"I hope you still feel that way when this is over, Steve," Jameson said and stood up. "I heard what happened with Jacobs and I know it's my fault that you went to the gym angry. I can arrange to have him charged."
"I can handle Jacobs," McGarrett told her.
"Go home, Steve, you need to take care of yourself if you're going to take charge of this."
"I'm going to do what you ask, Governor, but when this is all over you'll owe Danny an apology...we both will," McGarrett said and felt the weight of the world settle on his shoulder when she left him alone.
Author's Note—-Well, the house is done and everything is back to normal so here's hoping for regular updates again. Thanks for the wonderful reviews and alerts. You guys are great...Winnie