Chin and Kono knew they were getting nowhere with the files they were going through and shut them down. There'd been no hits on O'Brien's aliases and so far the man had managed to keep from being seen. It was time to interrogate Cole Howard and the other men they'd arrested. Hopefully the men would give them something to help them find David O'Brien. They hurried toward the interrogation room where Howard sat as if patiently waiting for an order at a restaurant.
Chin opened the door and stepped inside, Kono directly behind him as they moved to the opposite side of the table. He wanted to wipe the smug look off Howard's face when the man seemed to be openly sizing Kono up and down. He stepped between them and slammed his fist on the table as Kono moved to the back wall.
"Nice," Howard said lewdly, but shut up when a hand grabbed him by the throat. "You c...can't do t...this. I k...know my r...rights!"
"Really? What about the rights of those women?" Kono snarled.
"What women?" Howard said, straightening his shirt when the cop released him.
"Sandra, McMillan, Cam Ngo, Tao Pham..."
"Sorry, I don't know them," Howard said, his eyes again watching the woman who'd spoken.
"Oh really?" Chin snapped and brought the man's attention back to him. "It's strange how you suddenly develop amnesia considering those women were all at that house..."
"I was house sitting for my uncle and have no idea what he does in his spare time. Maybe you should talk to him."
"Your uncle is out of the country, but we did have a nice little chat with him. It seems you were an unwelcome guest in his house, and he wants you charged with trespassing."
"And here I thought you were going to try to arrest me for something serious. Well, my lawyer will talk to my uncle and get those charges dropped so why don't you save the taxpayers some money and let me go?"
"Wouldn't you love for it to be that easy?" Kono snarled. "You're facing charge of kidnapping, assault, rape..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about Miss..."
"That's Officer Kalakaua to you," Chin warned, anger evident in his eyes. "Now why don't you quit with the bullshit and tell us where we can find David O'Brien?"
"Who?"
"Do you have a problem with your ears, Howard?" Kono spat and got face to face with the man. "Where is David O'Brien?"
"I have no idea who you're talking about."
"So this is all on you?" Chin asked. "You're the brains behind this whole thing so I guess the charges should hold up especially once we've talked to your men and get them to roll over on you."
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Come on, Chin, we're wasting time here. Lets go talk to Kyle Marcus. I'm sure he'll be glad to take a plea bargain," Kono said and moved to the door.
"Wait," Howard snapped.
"I don't think so," Chin said. "We're done here unless you give us something we can use."
"I don't know where O'Brien is..."
"Like I said we're done," Chin said with a grin as Kono opened the door.
"But I can give you the client's name," Howard said.
"I'm listening," Chin said.
"I want a deal."
"That depends on whether or not what you have to offer is worth something," Chin said.
"I can give you the woman behind the human trafficking," Howard said. O'Brien had not given him the name, but he had contacts of his own and one name was as good as nay when it came right down to it.
"I'm listening," Chin said.
"Her name is Celina Frey," Howard answered. "She visits the island several times a year, but she's not an American citizen."
"Where's she from and how do you contact her?" Kono asked.
"She's German and she calls me when she's going to be in Hawaii."
"When is she supposed to pick them up?" Kono asked.
"I don't know..."
"Let' go, Kono..."
"No, wait. I can find out, but you need to let me have my phone."
"Not a chance," Chin told him.
"Look, I can call her and find out when..."
"When was she supposed to pick them up?" Kono asked suspiciously.
"I don't have an exact date..."
"So you pick up women whenever you feel like it without knowing if she'll take them?" Chin asked.
"Sometimes..."
"Bull, come on, Kono, this is a waste of time!"
"I'm giving you everything I got."
"No, you're not! You're not telling us anything that'll get us whoever is behind this!" Chin snapped. "When is this woman going to be in Hawaii?"
"I don't know! I told you she calls when she's coming!"
"I guess that means you're out of luck! Come on, Kono..."
"Sonofa...look, O'Brien has his own contact and I know it's someone on the big island, but I don't have a name," Howard said.
"That doesn't help us," Kono told him.
"Look, I know this isn't the first time he's used this person before and I know it's a man. I think he's Asian, but I'm not sure. O'Brien told me he likes certain types and that's why they look so much alike."
"Did O'Brien say whether or not he had contact with this 'client' before coming to Hawaii?" Kono asked.
"He never said, but I'm pretty sure he did."
"Why is that?" Chin asked.
"Because he ordered these before he got here," Howard answered.
"Who did?"
"O'Brien. He called me and told me the client wanted a certain type this time."
"A certain type?" Kono spat. "You're talking about human beings here and yet you make it sound like you're dealing with something you'd find on a supermarket shelf. They are women with loved ones who will miss them and they don't deserve what you did to them! Are you Married? Do you have children?"
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"Plenty, you sonofabitch," Chin swore. "How would you feel if your wife or daughter..."
"I'm not married and have no children."
"Then what about your sister or your mother? What if one of them was taken and raped? How would you feel then?" Kono spat and shoved the man.
"Easy, Kono, he's not worth it."
"You're damn right he's not and what he gave us we already had so I don't think there'll be any deal so maybe you should start learning how to enjoy being another man's toy because I'm pretty sure they'll enjoy a new fish like you," Kono snarled and left the room with her cousin.
"Nice, Kono."
"I hope his cell mate shows him just how those women felt...up close and personal," Kono said.
"Me too, but for now we have a job to do," Chin offered and nodded to several officers as they left the area.
5050505050
Steve could hear the soft sound of his roommates breathing, and looked at the pump that was feeding the IV into his arm. He didn't want to push the button for the morphine, but the pain in his side was growing steadily worse. He shifted slightly and sat up a little more before reaching for the remote and tuning in to the baseball game. He reached up and rubbed at his throbbing skull and didn't hear the footsteps approaching his bed.
"Commander, no one will think any less of you if you use that medication the way it's supposed to. You don't need to be in pain," Wilson told him.
"I don't need..."
"Don't listen to him, Doc, he doesn't like to admit he's as human as the rest of us," Williams said. He'd heard the man enter the room and sat on the edge of the bed when he moved to Steve's side of the room. He knew his friend was in pain and running a fever, but there wasn't much he could do to help.
"I have a feeling you two are more alike than you admit," Wilson observed and placed McGarrett's chart on the table. "Tell me how you feel, Commander."
"Hot," McGarrett answered.
"That's the fever, but it looks like it's come down some so hopefully the antibiotics are working. The infection in the wound may take some time to clear up, but once it does you should feel much better," Wilson said as the nurse came into the room. "I'm going to check the wound and change the dressing and I think you should push the button so we can give the medication a chance to work before we start."
Steve knew the man was right and that there really was no point in trying to fight past the pain when relief was so readily at hand. He pressed the button and heard Danny say something to the doctor, but didn't quite catch what was being said as the nurse move the table closer to the bed.
"Commander, I'm going to lower your bed," Alana said and smiled sympathetically when he held his right arm tight against his side.
Steve swallowed convulsively until the sharp pain eased and the movement stopped. He shifted his right arm away from the wound and soon felt cold hands touch against his skin. He listened as the surgeon and the nurse told him what they were doing, but didn't understand some of the more technical words they used to describe the discharge coming from the wound.
"Steve, it looks better than it did, but there's still signs of infection in the wound itself. Now I'd rather not have to go back in, but if it doesn't clear up in the next 24 hours I'm going to put in a drain. For now we'll continue with the antibiotics and Tylenol for the fever," Wilson explained.
"Okay," McGarrett said.
"I also want you to use that medication because otherwise you'll be uncomfortable and that means you're not resting and right now rest is exactly what you need," Wilson said and saw the dark head nod once. "Commander, if the medications not helping let the nurse know."
"I will," the injured man said and listened to the doctor tell the nurse what new tests he wanted performed. He closed his eyes and felt the nurse pull the blanket up over him. "Thanks."
"You're welcome, Commander," Alana said and left the room with Wilson.
"Are you two up for some company?" Kono asked from the open doorway.
"Sure, Kono, come on in," Williams said and nodded when Chin followed behind her.
"How are you feeling, Brah?" Chin asked when Kono moved to the second bed.
"Not too bad...right now they're giving me the good stuff," Williams said and lay back against the pillow.
"We came to update you on the case, but if you..."
"No buts, Chin, what's happening?" Williams asked.
"Howard talked, but he doesn't know where O'Brien is hiding. He did give us the name of his client, but he said O'Brien had his own contact," Chin answered.
"We need to find the sonofabitch," the Jersey native spat.
"We'll get him, Danny," Chin vowed.
"What about the women? Are they going to be all right? Have their families been notified?" McGarrett asked.
"Their physical wounds were minor, bur the emotional ones could take years to deal with. I'm going to speak with Sandra McMillan and see if she's willing to have her husband visit her. She's been through so much, but so has he and he's loaded down with guilt over what happened," Kono explained.
"They'll need to be strong for each other," Williams said and closed his eyes as he thought about Rachel's last visit.
"Danny, are you all right?" Kono asked.
"Rachel was here. She said she can't do this anymore," Williams told them.
"Hell, Danny, I'm sorry," Chin said.
"Me too, but I shouldn't be surprised," Williams said
"What do you mean?" Kono asked.
"It didn't work out the first time so why the hell should this be any different."
"Danny..."
"I don't feel like talking about my life right now," Williams said and slid his legs over the edge of the bed, wincing when he jarred his arm. "Look, David's probably using an alias and holed up in a small hotel outside the city. He'll be waiting for the heat to be off and then he'll come after me before he leaves the country."
"Why would he chance coming after you?" Chin asked.
"Because he'll blame me for ruining his plans."
"Why was he after Steve?" Kono asked.
"Steve was in the way," Williams answered and looked at his partner. "David figured if Steve was out of the way he could control Five-O."
"The man had a big ego of he thought he would have control of this team," Chin observed.
"He does," Williams agreed. "That's why he won't leave the country until he makes sure he gets back at me."
"Danny, do you think he'd use any of the aliases he used while with the Newark PD?" Chin asked.
"No, he's too smart for that. He's probably got accounts set up in other names," Williams said.
"Maybe we should be watching someone a little closer to home," Kono offered.
"Who?" McGarrett asked.
"Higgins and Sheffield," Kono answered.
"The IA agents?" Williams asked.
"Exactly. From what I heard at HPD those two were a little too friendly with O'Brien," Kalakaua answered.
"I wouldn't put it past those two," Chin said.
"So how do we investigate IA without them investigating us?" Kono asked.
"Easy, they're still after me so we make it look like I really am dirty," McGarrett offered.
"And just how do you propose to do that from here?" Williams asked.
"I can..."
"No..."
"Danny..."
"Steve, there has to be another way. You're hurt and those two are already after you. We don't need to give them more reason to..."
"You went after O'Brien..."
"Yes, I did, but I wasn't injured. I know damn well I should have figured out another way, but we needed to find those women. Higgins and Sheffield will make a mistake and we'll catch them," Williams explained.
"We could keep an eye on them ourselves and I know there are several members of the HPD who'd be willing to help with surveillance," Chin said. "I'll also talk to Kamekona and see if any of his people know where O'Brien is hiding."
"Ask him if there's any word on the street about Higgins and Sheffield," McGarrett said tiredly.
"Will do," Chin said. "You two look like you should get some sleep so we'll leave you alone."
"Keep us updated on what's happening," McGarrett ordered.
"Sure, Boss," Kono agreed and left the room with her cousin.
"Danny, I'm sorry about Rachel."
"I know and I appreciate it, Steve, but right now I'd rather not talk about it," Williams said. He closed his eyes and thought about Rachel and vowed that no matter what happened to them, Grace would always be a part of his life.
Author's Note—- Thanks for the wonderful reviews. You guys are amazing...Winnie