For the record, I don't know any schools in Hawaii, or in fact anything about the education system in America in general. I've lived my whole life in the UK and I've never been to the states, so you might have to forgive me for any inaccuracies. I have no idea if 'Nanakuli High School' exists in reality, and if it does, I apologise for using your school. If it doesn't, it does now :)
I know that there's been a bit of a wait for this chapter, sorry about that. I'm on holiday (again) and I'm finding it really very distracting. Also, I've never written a story this challenging before.
Just another, slightly shameless plug, if you could vote in my poll, I'd greatly appreciate it :)
So, enough rambling. Hope you enjoy it.
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"You went to school in Nanakuli?" Danny asked in surprise, as soon as he realised where they were going. Steve nodded vaguely, concentrating on the road signs. He might know the island well, but he hadn't been in this area much since he was just a teenager. "Why?"
"Seemed like a good idea at the time. Nanakuli High is a good school." He quietly defended. Danny just shrugged. Apart from his daughter's school, he had very little contact with the education system on the islands.
For a moment, Danny looked at his partner, sizing up the tightness in his shoulders, the crease between his eyebrows. Steve looked exhausted, dark bags forming under his eyes. From under the sleeve of his shirt, the Jersey native could make out the edges of the bandages still wrapped around his arm. The SEAL was aware of the eyes on him, and he shifted uncomfortably under the gaze. Within a minute he cracked.
"What?" He demanded.
"You look like you could do with a rest," Danny deadpanned. He didn't want to invoke his partner's wrath, but sometimes, Steve just didn't have to common sense to keep himself alive.
"I'm fine." At his partner's raised eyebrows, he amended his statement. "I'll cope. Right now, the only thing that I care about is getting this case finished." As he spoke, they pulled over outside a set of wrought iron gates, above which sat an aged sign reading: 'Nanakuli High School: Populus accipiuntur hic doctrina.'
As they climbed out of the camero, Danny gestured to the sign.
"What does it mean?"
"It's the school motto. It literally translates as: 'People of learning are welcomed here.'" The way that he spoke, the Jersey native could tell that it was something he was used to reciting.
Their conversation was interrupted at that point, by a middle aged man rushing towards them to open the gates.
"Commander McGarrett?" He asked. The SEAL noticed with mild amusement that it wasn't until he nodded and smiled at him, that the man unlocked the chain around the gates. He couldn't recall the security being that tight when he had been a student here. But then again, he and Danny had frequently reflected on how Hawaii's crime had risen over the last decade.
"This is my partner Danno Williams," he said, gesturing, ignoring the scowl that the detective in question threw his way.
"Mr Renaulds," the man introduced himself as he shook their hands. The man was short and rather chubby. He had a round face that had the redness of someone who was always a little too warm. The colour of his skin made it clear that he wasn't a Hawaiian, though his accent sounded somewhat British. "I'm in charge of the school during holidays and weekends. I understand that you need to have a look around?"
"We have reason to believe that we might find evidence involved in a murder investigation on the premises," Danny supplied. It was a stretch of the truth, they had no idea if they'd find anything at all, let alone evidence.
"Would this be the murder of that Komua fellow?" At the bewildered looks of the two cops, Renaulds chuckled good humouredly. "I have been known to watch the local news from time to time. I find that it helps to know what's going on, especially when two policemen turn up at the door. And an Army man at that."
"Navy," Steve corrected, ignoring Danny's snigger.
"Yes, well," Renaulds muttered as he led them down a corridor. Both walls were covered in lockers, covered in all forms of graffiti. "It's all the same to me, anyhow. This is the room you want, I believe." He pushed the door open and ushered them both inside. "I'll leave you to it. Just give me a shout when you want to go." A quick glance at his partner told Danny that Steve was in no state to be answering, so he turned back to their guide.
"Thank you," he said. As soon as he was sure that the man was gone, the Jersey native turned his attention to the Navy SEAL who was gazing around the room as though it was another world. "Are you sure that you're ok to do this?"
"Yeah. It's just..." He trailed off, swallowing thickly. A thousand emotions danced across his fast, too fast for Danny to read them all. "It's weird being back here. I never thought that I'd come back. Once I was sent to the mainland, I resigned myself to the idea that I'd never see this place again. Now I'm here... I wish it was under different circumstances." Crossing the room, Danny patted Steve's shoulder, offering him a life line.
"I know. Take all the time you need." The Jersey native knew that Steve was as comfortable with emotional talks as he was, as in, not at all. Extracting himself from the situation, he wandered around the room, glancing over displays of work pinned to the wall, not really taking them in.
"Any thoughts on what we might be looking for?" The ex SEAL asked after a few moments. He had pulled himself together as best he could and was now looking around the room for some form of inspiration.
"You're the one who's supposed to understand the riddles. Are you sure that there's nothing else in the letter?"
"Nothing that I can see. If the next part is as obscure as the letter, then it could be anything in here!" Steve groaned in frustration. He couldn't let this be another dead end.
"Let's think about this logically. Everything so far has been something that was personal to the two of you. What in here is personal to you both?" Steve thought about it for several moments.
"These were our desks," he said after a minute, pointing. "But I doubt that they are the same ones as back then." Despite his words, he opened up the closer one of the two, sifting through its contents and tracing the graffiti carvings in the wood of the lid.
"See anything?" Danny queried, coming over to have a look. Normally he would have gotten to work on the second desk, but there seemed little point. If there was another clue, it was likely to be something that only Steve would recognise.
"Nothing that screams 'I'm a clue, read me,' no." Danny grinned at him. "It would be a help to know what I'm looking for." For several minutes, the ex SEAL just kept searching in silence. He kept trying to see anything that he could link to some memory, but every time he came up blank. Once he was certain that there was nothing in the first desk, he moved onto the next one. The second one had been Benji's, and Steve thought that if anything was here, it was more likely in this desk.
"This is hopeless!" He cried eventually, shoving at the desk violently. "There's nothing here!"
"Then we keep looking, and try again. We've solved cases before without clues leading us to the killer. We can do it again. Just have a little faith," Danny tried to console his partner. He could sense a small part of the larger man flying to pieces, and it worried him greatly. If Steve wanted to stay on this case then he needed to remain objective.
"Faith isn't going to solve this."
"But it will keep us going."
"Not forever, Danno." Steve pushed himself away from the desk he was leaning on. "I really thought..." He trailed off. He had been so sure that there would be something here, but it was just another dead end. A waste of time. Absent mindedly he glared at the two open desks, as though it was their fault. Maybe it was.
Just as he was about to look away, something caught his eye. Carved into the lid of one of them was a list. A list of numbers. And above the list, in very small lettering, two word were carved. He didn't know how he had missed it.
'For Steve.'
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Lots of things :) First off, my latin is probably awful, I haven't learnt it for a few years now, and I wasn't great at the time. I tried my best.
As for the desks, I don't know if they're used in America all that often. They're essentially a table that has a lid that lifts, so that there is a drawer like space in the table for books and such.
Also, please tell me if I'm getting characters OOC. I'm aware that Steve was wildly OOC this chapter, I'm still trying to find a balance with him when he's not being beaten to death. And yes, my mind works in twisted ways. I just can't see Steve being completely untouched by someone attacking him psychologically.
Anyways, lots of AN for you :) Thanks for reading, as always PM me with questions.