Chapter Twelve:
Buchanan works his jaw. His lawyer, Shannon Triste, is not helping him, having denounced him for his apparent betrayal of their boss. So far, he's been advised to plead guilty to everything himself, including Wo Fat's first excursion from prison to torture Steve McGarrett.
"I'm not responsible for Wo Fat's actions," he tells the lady Five-Oh. "Please believe me, if I'd known that he wanted to kill McGarrett, I wouldn't have gotten Annetta involved."
"Shut up," Triste growls.
"You know what?" he retorts, finally losing patience. "You can go back to Wo Fat and tell him I am done. He may want to kill me before I let all the cats out of their bags."
She stands abruptly. "Very well, Mr. Buchanan."
"Give Mr. Cusac my regards," Buchanan calls after her. He knows he's dead, and it's only a matter of time before someone higher up in Wo Fat's ranks arrives to take him out. Triste would do it herself, but she's already under suspicion for Niko Pokani-Puka's cyanide-induced passing. If she kills him, she'll have to be killed too, and she wants to live. They all do.
Officer Kalakaua stops Triste as soon as she has a foot in the corridor. Officer Kelly helps her arrest the lawyer. Evidently, Niko had one last trick in his book, and she stuck in it.
Then, Kelly enters the room.
"You are being offered protective custody for everything you can tell us about Wo Fat's operation." He doesn't sound pleased, and Buchanan guesses it wasn't his idea.
"I'm a cleaner, albeit a highly tasked one. I don't really know much about the operation, I just clean up evidence. With my help, you may have a few pieces of the puzzle, but you won't be able to solve it."
"What are the pieces you'll give us?"
"Everything I know, but I advise you to record it all. I have only one request; provide me with a means to end my life should I be confronted by any members of my former employer."
Kelly nods slowly, hesitation only in how to fill Buchanan's request—Buchanan reads it in his eyes. "I will see what I can do. Now," he clicks on a recorder hanging on the wall next to the door, "begin with your most recent assignment."
"I was contacted by Wo Fat's personal lawyer, Michael Cusac, to eliminate Detective Williams, trace technician Fong, and Commander McGarrett. I outsourced Williams's murder to a local gang, and Fong's to a sort-of friend practicing to be an assassin. I contacted Annetta Hainey to slip a delayed toxin to McGarrett. None of them were supposed to be killed."
"Why?" Kelly hasn't moved since Buchanan began speaking, but his face, although impassive, reflects a growing anger as his jaw clenches and his eyes blaze.
"Jeanette Dawson."
"The woman murdered in the trailer where we found—"
"Yes, she's my sister. Wo Fat's revenge against McGarrett was ill-advised and broke many of his own rules. My sister should never have been in that position. He murdered her, so this is my retaliation. He will not remain unscathed by your investigation."
"You have my word that Wo Fat will not escape," a new voice, gravelly like a six-pack-a-day smoker's, says as the door swings open, bathing the room in a bright light. A heavyset man with thick, gray hair and a gray suit stands in the doorway, surveying Kelly and Buchanan. "Detective Kelly, you may continue to interview your suspect for another thirty minutes, but you may not ask him for anything that doesn't pertain to your current case against Wo Fat."
Kelly shifts, mouth opening, even as the man raises a hand.
"This is our suspect now, Detective. It is a courtesy to your department that we are allowing you to continue your interrogation."
"What's your authority?" Kelly manages. The man motions with his hand, and Kelly's eyes go wide.
"CIA," Buchanan says, guessing that the man has just shown Chin an I.D. "You couldn't catch me, so you had to get Five-Oh to do it for you."
"Keep being lippy to me and I'll personally see that you can't off yourself before Wo Fat gets his revenge against you." They glare at each other.
"I'll only turn over Buchanan," Kelly interrupts their staring match, back in his interrogative stance, "if you promise Wo Fat will die."
"Why should we kill him?"
"Because if you don't, I will."
ooOoo
Max has a small black bag tucked under one arm as he juggles his I.D., phone, a change of clothing for both Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett, and a mini carry case for Mary McGarrett.
The guard, a young man in his mid-twenties with short blond hair and wide-set blue eyes, takes pity on him, extracting the carry-case and the clothing from Max's perilous grip so Max can open the door.
"Thank you, Max," Danny calls from his position on the bed. He and Steve are sitting up, bumping shoulders as they compare pictures Danny's daughter has drawn for them. "Hey, Spud," he continues, "think you can get Kono and Chin back here before he gets discharged?"
"No, sir." The guard smiles. "Detective Kalakaua said no one was to bother them while they sort the mess out.
"Is your name really 'Spud'?" Max asks the guard as he returns to the door.
"No, it's 'Idaho,'" Steve says. Max shoots him a puzzled glance, before turning back to "Spud."
"Samuel Kale," Spud says. "I'm from Idaho, hence being called 'Idaho' and 'Spud.'"
"My apologies," Max says, sending a glare at both Steve and Danny for good measure.
Kale smiles, "Not a problem." He's very quick with the charming grin, Max notices, and he's got nice, even teeth, too. "Makes me feel a part of something."
Max knows the feeling, felt it recently himself when Danny had called him to see if he could do a favor.
"Oh, good," Danny says suddenly, scrambling off the bed to grab at the set of clothes that are his. Max notices Steve listing sideways, an unhappy look in his eyes, mouth turned down in the barest of frowns before Danny returns to the bed, shoving at him until he's back under Steve's side.
"Danno," Grace says from her corner where she's collecting all her things and putting them neatly into a backpack the pink of a new blossom. "Mommy's picking me up soon. I don't want to go."
"I know, Monkey, but you need to listen to your mother. Besides, I'll be discharged soon and you have school tomorrow."
"I can skip school tomorrow," Grace says, but she doesn't look up, so Max surmises that she knows it's not a good thing to say.
"Skipping school is not something you should be doing," Steve says before Danny can. "It's not fair to you to sacrifice your education so superficially. Grace, I know you want to stay with Danno, but it's best if you go with your mom when she gets here."
Max guesses it's a conversation they had earlier because Grace concedes easily, albeit with a pout and an angry slouch.
"Before I forget," Max says into the silence that follows. "I brought the thing you requested." He hands Danny the black bag. Danny unwraps it quickly, breathing in the steam still rising from a nice cluster of malasadas.
"That?" Steve raises an eyebrow. Danny nods. "That is not top-secret-don't-tell-the-nurse-on-me. That is a heart attack waiting to happen."
"Do you want some?" Danny asks. He's already bitten off two generous mouthfuls and set some of the confection on a napkin for Grace.
Steve says, "Yeah, okay," and accepts a piece.
"Max, you want some too?"
"Ah, thank you." Max takes a small portion and nibbles on it. "Where is your sister, Commander McGarrett?"
"In the lobby waiting for Rachel." As if the words conjure them, Kale opens the door to admit a pretty blonde and a very pretty brunette into the room. The blonde approaches the bed and snatches a piece of malasada before Danny can protest while the brunette goes to Grace.
"Ready, darling?" Her voice lilts in a pleasant English accent.
"I guess so." Grace's pout is firmly back in place, marred a little by some sugar stuck by her bottom lip. She hugs Steve and then Danny.
"Be good, Monkey, and I'll visit you after school tomorrow."
"Promise?"
"Of course. Now, go. Be good for your mother. I love you, Grace."
"Love you, Danno."
Rachel hurries from the room, Grace's hand clutched in hers, and an awkward silence sweeps through the room once the door clicks shut.
"I should really be going," Max says, startling everyone, including himself. He hands the remaining woman, who, by process of elimination, must be Mary McGarrett, her requested carry-case. "It was very nice to see you both, Detective Williams, Commander McGarrett."
"Okay," Danny says. "Thanks again, Max."
"Anytime." Max breathes deeply as he exits the room too. He is not sad that he's not staying, but he can't help feeling odd for not hanging out. He knows he's important to them, but he doesn't think he's supposed to know what Commander McGarrett went through.
Better safe than sorry, he thinks, and let them think he only thinks Steve was physically tortured.
He slides behind the wheel of his yellow Camry. Better to ask permission than to seek forgiveness in this instance.
The thought doesn't make him feel any better.