The beginning

By

Landon Richardson

Official Disclaimer

The characters of Lieutenant Commander Steven 'Steve' McGarrett, Chin Ho Kelly, Kono Kalakaua, Victor Hesse, Anton Hesse, Former Detective John 'Johnny / Jack' McGarrett, Mary McGarrett, Lieutenant Catherine 'Cath' Rollins, Frederick 'Fred' Doran, Detective Meka Hanamoa, Amy Hanamoa and Billy Hanamoa do not belong to me in any shape or form. I am merely using them for my own entertainment purposes.

The character of Detective Sergeant Danielle 'Danni' Williams probably can be considered to be mine by now. Although she was originally based on male Danny, she soon evolved becoming her own person. She has her own background, her own family, her own history and her own distinct personality. This isn't to say that the Danny Williams we all know and love is completely gone, he still emerges through her at times. I like to think of female Danni as what Danny could have been if everything in his life had gone his way. As in full custody of Grace and a decent relationship with his ex.

The character of Grace has also changed slightly due to the change in Danni. Her surname is Taylor as this is her father's surname and was Danni's married name (Danni reverted back to her maiden name when she was divorced). Her parents also are amicable which has also impacted Grace but never fear, she's still the sweetheart we know and love, if anything she's more a sweetheart now.

The character of Duncan Taylor, Detective Rory Clements, Supervisory Special Agent in charge Ryan Moore, Special Agent Kale Meade, Special Agent Alexis Moss, Jeanine Landon, William 'Will' McGarrett, Noah Landon, Anna Michaels nee Landon, Theresa Law nee Landon, Deborah 'Debs' Landon and Michael Landon also belongs to me as does any other character who you do not recognise from the show. Please do not use them, or my version of Danni and Grace without first asking for my permission to do so.

Thank you.

Author Note

Here's the next chapter for you all.

I've always been fascinated by Steve's and Danni's working relationship with each other because its so integral to what they become later on. I wanted a chapter to show that even at this early stage where everything was so new and confusing for them both that there was still a connection between the two of them which has been there from the start

Please enjoy

Official Summary

When Danni Williams moves to Hawaii, all she wants to do is keep her head down and survive the time she had to stay there. The last thing she expected was to meet Steve McGarrett, a man who seems more intent on getting her blown up and finding out everything about her life than he is about following proper procedure. Danni has a job to do though and one way or another she is going to do it.

Chapter Summary

The ride up the elevator was quiet, Danni lost in her own thoughts as she tried to decipher what Steve had meant when he spoke about his reasons for hiring her.

Overall Romances

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Danni Williams (McDanni)

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Mentions of past Duncan Taylor / Danni Williams (Dunni)

Hints of Ryan Moore / Danni Williams (Rynni)

Meka Hanamoa / Amy Hanamoa (Mekmy)

Mentions of past John McGarrett / Doris McGarrett (Joris)

Michael Landon / Karen Landon (Micren)

Chapter Romances

Hints of Steve McGarrett / Catherine Rollins (McRollins)

Warning

This story features a female Danni Williams in place of a male Danny Williams. Although in some stories I write, Danny does exist, he does not exist in this one.

If this is not your cup of tea then please hit the back button.

Other note

I do not have a Beta so please forgive any mistakes which may creep in, I always do my best to edit the story and check it but sometimes mistakes do creep in.

The places I've mentioned in Hawaii are ones which come from google, including the addresses. I've never been to Hawaii myself in person so I apologise for any mistakes which I may make, these are not intentional.

Chapter Nine

It's all in the strategy

Thursday 23rd September 2010

3rd Floor

Ali'iolani Hale

417 King Street

Honolulu

Oahu

The ride up the elevator was quiet, Danni lost in her own thoughts as she tried to decipher what Steve had meant when he spoke about his reasons for hiring her. Reasons indicating that he had more than one for his decision. She wanted to pry more, to find out why he had arrived in her life like a whirlwind and disrupted everything which she had thought was set in stone but she knew already that it would be pointless.

Any question which wasn't regarding the case would probably be ignored unless he was the one asking it. She could already picture the look he would give her if she tried, either that small half smile which she had only seen a few times or the same blank expression which seemed to be his natural resting face. It was no doubt a defence he had learnt, like she had learned to keep her own expressive face in a thoughtful expression to stop people from knowing what she was thinking. But knowing that didn't stop her wishing she knew what he was thinking or feeling.

She kept her eyes forward, aware of him doing the same as she was, simply watching the numbers move slowly towards the number three and wondered idly whether it would be worth taking the stairs in the future. She stepped forward when the doors finally slid open and out into an empty corridor.

"This way Danni" Steve remarked as he brushed past her, heading to the right, his stride sure and confident as though he had walked the corridor hundred of times rather than this being the first time.

Danni moved, the sound of her heels against the marble flooring comforting and familiar, her eyes looking around her, taking in as much detail as she could until Steve stopped outside a set of double doors. For a moment he looked at them blankly before he set his shoulders and pushed one open, stepping back and making a movement with his hand to indicate for Danni to enter first.

"Thank you" She murmured automatically, slipping under his arm and into the room, looking around her curiously.

The room was surprisingly large. Several good-sized offices segmented the room while leaving a large space in the middle of the room which Danni knew already would become the nerve centre for the team to meet and discuss cases. At present a single table stood in the place, with only two chairs surrounding it. The offices appeared empty as well bar the one which was situated directly in front of them which had a desk with a computer on it. Large window broke up the beige coloured walls in strategic spots to allow the maximum amount of light in the room which was an added bonus in her eyes.

"What do you think?" Steve asked from just beside her, startling her. She remained quiet for a moment, finishing her visual walk of the room before she turned to look at him. There was an intense look on his face, as though her opinion mattered to him.

"I like it, it's a good size and there are plenty of office space if you decide to expand the team in the future. The space in the middle will make a good bul-pen for us as well." She answered with a nod. "I don't think I've actually worked in a place as nice as this if I'm being honest. You saw the layout back at HPD and the one in New Jersey wasn't much better though I did get an office there. This place has the potential to be somewhere pleasant to work in which will be important for team morale. What about you though? Do you like it?" She queried, waiting patiently for him to answer her.

"It's a place for us to work Danni, what else is there to say?" Steve answered her absently, giving the room a brief disinterested look.

"Just a place for us to work?" Danni repeated with a shake of her head. For a moment she thought about leaving it at that but the puzzled look he shot her forced her to continue. "Trust me Steve when I say that this room if going to end up being much more than a simple place for us to work. I learnt a lot of things back in new Jersey as a lead Detective and one of the most things was to do whatever it took to have a happy team. We are going to be working long and difficult cases and we are going to see a lot of things which we won't be able to forget. The work place has to create an environment where people are comfortable in, it has to be a place where they want to come back to or it will cause major issues. The simplest way of doing that is ensuring the actual office we work in has everything which we need for it."

"You speak as if you're talking from experience." Steve commented with a raised eyebrow.

"I am" She stated simply before she sighed. "The fact is that I have worked both sides of it. New Jersey was hard but because of my team we got through it. We could rely on each other and we had a workplace where we actually enjoyed going to, then I came here and I saw the opposite side of that… the last six months of my working life have been six months which I wouldn't even wish on my worse enemy. This place cannot turn out like that." She remarked, swallowing hard.

She was aware of Steve watching her but refused to look at him, already kicking herself for showing any sign of weakness in front of the other man.

"What can we do to ensure it isn't like that?" He asked her.

She looked towards him sharply, scanning his face for any sign that he was mocking her but there was nothing, just a look in his eyes which she couldn't read. Breathing out she shrugged at him.

"A lot" She stated. "Most of it will take time, the feeling will grow as the team grows together but there are small things we could do to start off with. I mean you should never underestimate the feel-good factor of having a good coffee machine. I'm guessing that this place must have a small kitchen attached right?" She asked him.

"Through that door there, its got a microwave, fridge, freezer and an oven apparently." Steve remarked casually, waving his hand towards the door in question which was situated at the far end of the room.

"That will help on the long evening in the office when we're working a case. We should probably do something about the walls as well." Danni stated, moving her own hand towards the nearest wall to them with a look of disgust.

Steve followed the movement looking at the wall critically before he looked back at her.

"Got a problem with beige?" He questioned, sounding almost amused.

"Beige is a lovely colour I'm sure but not for a work place, it's too impersonal. We need a colour which is the opposite of that." Danni said thoughtfully, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'll keep that in mind. The Governor's assistant stated that the Governor was setting aside a small budget so that we could redecorated if we wanted to. I'll add a coffee machine to the list as well. Let me know what colour you want the place to be painted and we'll order it in. The Governor has decorators on standby so they will be able to get it done quickly. She, like you it seems, has an idea in her head of what this place should be like." Steve remarked, the comment causing Danni to smile.

"Of course, she does" She replied, turning on the spot so she could look at him. "We're her taskforce, which means that we're representing her. She will want this office to reflect that which will meant that she will ensure that we have the best of the best. Make no mistake Steve, this whole taskforce is probably a PR stunt as its election year. She wants the citizens of Hawaii to know that she cares enough about them to put this team together. We just need to ensure that we complete our side of the bargain by closing as many cases as we can and ensuring those same cases end in convictions in the courts."

"Nice to see that you have the same read as me on the situation" Steve told her, a smile lurking around his mouth before his face hardened again. "Just give me the details of the paint and any other changes as soon as you can. I rather this not be hanging over us."

Danni remained quiet for a moment before she spoke again.

"What's your favourite colour?"

Steve frowned as he stared at her.

"What?" He replied, the comment causing Danni to tilt her head to the side slightly.

"I asked what your favourite colour is, it's not that difficult a question." She replied, keeping every emotion other than genuine interest out of her voice.

For a moment he looked at her as though he was concerned for her sanity before he spoke, almost reluctantly.

"Blue, I like shades of blue" He told her.

"Okay, in that case you can go back to the Governor's assistant who for the record is called Brandon and tell him that we want the office walls to be painted a blue, not dark and not pale but somewhere in-between veering more towards the light end of the spectrum." She replied with a smile and a quick nod at him.

"I tell you that my favourite colour is blue and that's all you need to pick blue for the walls?" Steve stated, sounding puzzled as he glanced around him, eyes lingering on the areas of the room where the walls were exposed as though he was visualising it. "There must be more behind it." He pressed.

Danni couldn't supress the smile which came to her face as she shrugged.

"I always have reasons behind everything I do" She stated.

"In that case you should be able to tell me your reasons behind this choice. Why not go for your favourite colour rather than mine?" He asked, a tone to his voice which warned her that he wanted an answer. For a moment she considered moving the topic on but decided that she may as well tell him.

"Firstly, however much I love purple it is not suitable for an office space so we couldn't use my favourite colour regardless." Danni stated, holding up one hand and ticking off a finger. "Secondly you are the boss of this team which means that really all decisions should be made by you though giving your background I'm sure you are more than aware of that rule and lastly let's just say it's for self-preservation." She finished, dropping her hand as she did.

"Self-preservation?" Steve repeated with a raised eyebrow.

"That's what I said" She said with a nod before relenting and continuing. "The fact is that we will spend a lot of time here as a team, perhaps even having to spend the night on occasions during certain cases. We're going to be stressed at time and always scrutinised by everyone we encounter which means that I need you at your best. It may sound ridiculous but if I had picked a colour by myself and you actually hated it then that you effect you whether you believe it or not. Staring at a colour you hate would put you into a bad mood which would then place me into a bad mood because I am your partner and would be the one to take the brunt of it. By picking a colour you actually love it will hopefully stop that occurring regularly because it should help relax you."

"You've put a lot of thought into this." Steve remarked after a pause sounding bemused.

"I put a lot of thought into everything" She countered with a shrug. "If anyone asks then we tell them that you made the decision. We have to put on an united front because nearly everyone we encounter is going to look down on you because you're not part of a law enforcement agency and you're not police, not in the same way I am. We need them to realise without a shadow of a doubt that you are the right man to lead us."

"And you think people finding out that I chose the colour of the walls will help?" He asked her, making no effort to hide the tone of disbelief from his voice.

"They'll no doubt take the piss about it but the message we want to get out is that you are willing to make any changes regardless of whether they are set in stone or not. This is just a small step Steve, there will be more and all of them will add up and hopefully gain you respect with the other departments which we need by the way."

"And you have their respect?" Steve queried, looking towards her.

"That will depend on who you ask" She replied. "In my eyes though I've gained the respect of the people who matter. The other Detectives don't matter regardless of what they may think. Well apart from Meka I should say" She stated.

"Blue, it is then" Steve remarked with a shrug.

"What do you have planned with the offices? Are you going to allocate them to each member of the team or allow them to pick their own in a first come first serve sort of scenario?" She asked as she took a step further into the room, peering around her taking in more detail.

"The Governor allocated me the one which has the table and computer in" Steve said with a nod towards the one in question. "I want you to take the one next to me Danni, anyone else who we hire will be able to pick their own office."

Danni nodded turning her head to look at the one which Steve had indicated would be hers. It was situated next to his with a gap between the two of them, separating them enough to give privacy but allowing them to see each other if they needed to. It equalled his in size and clearly shared the same view as his.

"What makes me so special that I get a handpicked office? Not that I am complaining about it because it looks like a very nice office to have but…" Her voice trailed off as she waited for an answer.

"You're my partner Danni which means that you are second in command of the team. If I'm away at training or on leave then it will be you who takes over for me during the time period. I want your office next to mine to establish a clear command chain which will be respected, not just by the team but by any other department we're forced to work with. HPD may not have been able to see your value but I do. I told you before you had qualities I needed and I meant it." He informed her.

Danni watched him for a moment, ignoring the surprised feeling which came over her before she forced herself to speak, aware of the slight husky quality to her voice.

"I'm your second in command?" She repeated, a slow smile coming to her face when he nodded at her.

"I've already discussed it with the Governor who approved the request. It means that you will get a higher wage then the other members of the team as my second."

"Have you anyone in mind for the team? How many members are you planning on having because as much as I appreciate the vote of confidence from you in making me your second it doesn't mean too much when there are only the two of us on the team." She told him, her smile spreading.

Steve stared at her for a second before he suddenly grinned, the smile changing his face, making him look younger and more carefree in a way that she wishes she could see more often. It was a grin which also made her heart ache when she thought about how rare a sight it must have been to see considering all the pressure on him.

"It's only the two of us at the moment Danni but I am planning on hiring more people. The Governor has made her wishes known that she wants us to have at least four members on the team at one time though from the way she was speaking having more than four would be far more preferable for her." He explained before he held a hand up. "Give me a moment" He stated before turning and heading across the room into his office.

Danni watched him through the glass as he picked up a cardboard box which has been left on top of the desk, he lingered for a moment, looking down at something before he headed back out of the room and in the direction of the table which Danni had spotted earlier.

"Having at least four active members does make sense, it would make our ability to follow leads easier if we could split into groups." Danni commented as she headed over to the table. "If you are given the chance to handpick every member of the team then can you at least make sure that one of them is an expert with computers because out of the talents I may have, computer skills isn't one of them unless it's a police database or something because on that I am fairly competent at." She remarked with a sigh. "You never replied earlier when I asked you if you had someone in mind for the team" She pressed as she leaned down and placed her bag beside the table, straightening in time to see Steve unpack several files from the box which he spread out on the surface of the table.

"I know one person who I want to ask, it's just a case of getting him to agree to the job which may be slightly tricky" Steve answered her with a slight frown. "I'm not sure about the last position yet, if someone doesn't come up then we can start looking into hiring from the proper channels" He reassured her as he glanced up at her.

"The sooner we can get a full-strength team the better it will be for us, especially with a case like the one we're currently on." She remarked before looking at the surface of the table. "Some of these looks familiar" She said indicating the files.

"These are everything which I have on my father's murder, both my personal ones and case note which I've made based on the information I had. I added yours and Hanamoa's to the lot as well." He explained to her, effortlessly switching the subject as he placed his hand against one of the files. Danni nodded, recognising that the time to talk about anything non-work related was at a past and instead focusing her full attention on the task at hand. She reached out and picked up a thin, unfamiliar file. Glancing at the front she saw the name Victor Hesse. It was surprisingly light as though there was little in there. "There was more" Steve suddenly said, answering her as though he could read her mind. "I had to remove them due to the classified nature of them."

"That makes sense" She answered, turning her attention back to the file in her hand. Danni rested it on the table and opened it, picking up the piece of paper from the top which was a surveillance picture, from the angle it was clear that it had been taken from a distance away, no doubt to avoid detection.

The man featured in the picture looked to be in his early forties and was roughly around five foot nine. He hair was short and wavy and was dark brown in colour though she could detect some silver in the strands, an indication of age and a tough life. His eyes looked blue, a pale intense colour which came across despite the slight grainy quality to the photograph.

It was the expression on his face which caught her attention the most and held it. He looked cunning and extremely intelligence, a combination which cause a shiver of unease to go down her spine. This was a man who clearly knew what he was doing and that made him dangerous.

"So" She remarked into the silence. "This is the famous Victor Hesse who we are chasing. He isn't quite the type of man who you would want coming after you. I'm guessing by the fact that there is only a surveillance photo that he has never been caught? Not even when he was starting out?"

"Not even then unless someone has him on their records and hasn't made the connection yet" Steve confirmed as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Both Hesse and his brother has managed to avoid capture from any authority or agency which has gone after them and several of them have tried. They clearly have moles and connections through every branch of the military and law enforcement because whenever there was enough information to actually plan a raid they would always somehow get wind of it and be gone by the time we struck. The two of them were on every Government watch list both here and abroad and they still manage to run a successful business, a business which Victor still is." He stated, an undercurrent of bitterness to is voice.

Danni shot him a thoughtful look, eyes lingering over the frown on his face before she looked down, her attention back on the file as she spoke.

"You should probably amend that speech" She remarked lightly.

"Amend the speech?" He replied in confusion.

"You said that Hesse and his brother have managed to avoid capture but that's not true anymore is it?" She remarked as she looked up at him and caught his gaze. "Because if the report I read from your Commanding Officer was correct then you had captured Anton Hesse during a classified mission. You caught Anton and managed to do something which according to what you just said no one else has managed to do. It's only a matter of time before you catch Victor as well." She said as she lowered the picture of Victor Hesse back into the file and picked out another one, this time of Hesse with another man. "He must be a dangerous man if he is on every Government watch list going."

A movement caught her attention causing her to glance up in surprise to see that Steve had moved from where he had previously been standing and was now by her side with a look in his eyes which reminded her with a vengeance that the man next to her was as dangerous if not more so then the man they were hunting.

She stilled when he reached out to her, one large hand wrapping easily around her bicep, the grip tight though not tight enough that it would bruise her or cause her pain.

"Victor Hesse is one of the most dangerous men who I have encountered Danni. He is a man who would kill someone for no other reason then he didn't like the way they looked at him at that moment in time. When we find Hesse, I want you to give me your word that you will leave his take down to me. I've been trained to take out people like him, I've studied him and his methods for five years now. I know the way his mind works and I know the way he fights as well. If he catches sight of you and finds out that you are one of the people involved in hunting him down or worse that you are the person who is clearing the way for his takedown then he won't hesitate to turn the tables on you and make you his prey instead. He will use whatever means and methods he has at his disposal to stop you including using your daughter against you. That's the kind of man we're dealing with Danni. The fact that I have made you my partner will only increase your worth in his eyes."

Dann remained silent for a moment, dropping her eyes from him to look back at the picture in her hand, her eyes focusing on Hesse. A small trickle of fear moved through her at the combination of Steve's warning and the look in his eyes which told her that he meant every word which he had just said to her. Biting down on her lower lip, she allowed her mind to focus on Grace for a moment before she looked back at her new partner.

"What if I manage to find him first Steve and you aren't there to take him down? You can't be suggesting that in that situation that I just stand back and allow him to escape from us if we have the chance of taking him in?" She demanded, hiding a wince when his hand tightened on her.

"It's not a suggestion Danni" He responded calmly. "If that situation happens then I'd rather you pull back and call me while remaining hidden from his sight line. I mean it Danni, do not try and engage him in any form of combat because it is a fight you won't walk away from. I will make this an order if I have to" He threatened, his voice cool like she would expect a Commander in the navy to sound like.

Danni straightened her spine, her eyes narrowing slightly as she spoke equally as calmly as he had been.

"Firstly Steven, you have never seen me in hand to hand combat before so you don't actually have the knowledge to make a statement that he would wipe the floor with me. I am a lot tougher then I look." She remarked, ignoring the unbelieving look he shot her at her comment. "I appreciate your concern for me but standing back and allowing someone who we are actively after to escape because there is a chance I may be hurt is not the job I signed up for. I've always known since the Academy that injuries were a risk I would have to face. You are my partner now which means that the two of us need to have each other's backs and learn to trust each other. If you can't trust me to do my job properly then we might as well end this partnership now and you transfer me back to HPD so that you can find someone who will follow your orders blindly because that person won't be me. If you are wrong then I will tell you that you're wrong regardless of your position on the team."

"This has nothing to do with trusting you Danni" Steve interrupted.

"Then what is it about?" Danni retorted. "I'm not inflexible and I'm not stupid either, I'm actually fairly sensible in the large scale of things. I know that on this occasion that what you're suggesting when it comes to Hesse's takedown is the right idea and I will listen to you and take it under consideration and if possible then I'll let you deal with it and stay behind cover but don't expect me to continue staying in cover if it looks like you're losing the fight because if that happens all bets are off. You might as well accept it because nothing will change my mind over it."

Steve breathed out, his eyes flickering away for a moment before he looked back at her, clearly choosing his words carefully as he spoke.

"Danni, I appreciate the concern from you as well but its unwarranted. I know this man and you don't. I've seen first hand what he does to people who fall into his hands, him finishing them off is the kindest thing he does to them." He warned her.

"I've seen it as well Steve" She said quietly, noticing the way his jaw clenched at her words as images of the John McGarrett autopsy came to her mind and the amount of damage which had been done to the man. "It's because I've seen that which makes it so important to catch him regardless of the risks it entails. I'm aware of this and you need to be as well."

Steve looked away from her away, a vein throbbing in his temple before he sighed suddenly, the sound loud in the room, breaking through the tension between the two of them. She waited patiently, meeting his eyes when he eventually looked backed at him, hoping that they would show all the resolve that she was feeling.

"There is nothing which I can say which will change your mind over this is there?" He queried, sounding almost tired for a moment.

Danni shook her head slowly.

"Not on this subject." She admitted with a shrug, aware of his hand moving with her since it was still wrapped around her bicep. "You see Steve, I would rather that you were alive and able to order me around then have your death eating away from me because I didn't back you up like a partner should when you needed me. You may have been a SEAL but being a SEAL doesn't make you invincible or imperious to harm and I made a promise to myself long ago that I would never lose another partner and so far, I've kept that promise, I'm not going to break it now." She told him, reaching up and brushing a stray hair away from his eyes.

Steve watched the movement for a moment before he pulled away from her, his fingertips trailing across her skin as he took his hand off of her and moved back around the table. Danni looked down, taking a moment to compose herself as she gathered the papers and photos from Hesse's file together and placed them back in neatly and in the correct order.

She rolled her shoulders back trying to loosen some of the tension in them, her mind focusing briefly on the fact that she could still feel the imprint of Steve's hands on her skin.

"Have you had any luck in finding out who Hesse's accomplice is? The one who you think was with him in the room when your father was murdered?" She asked, forcing her mind back on the job at hand.

"There's been nothing substantial yet" Steve answered after a brief pause. "I sent the palm print I found earlier at my Dad's house to a friend of mine who still works with the Naval Intelligence Unit. She's running it through our databases now to see whether she can get a hit from it. She said that she's going to call or text me when she has something to tell me." He explained to her.

"That's good" Danni replied, reaching up and pulling thoughtfully on her lower lip before she dropped her hand and looked up at him thoughtfully. "I sent a picture of it to Alexis Moss who is the fingerprint expert with CSU. She's pushed it to the top of the pile which should mean giving the time past that she is running it as well. Hopefully one of them will come back to us soon with some information we can use." She told him, ignoring the way his eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"When did you do that?" Steve asked her sounding curious.

"When I arrived at the house and saw the palm print, I knew it hadn't been in the report, which reminds me that I still need to let Alexis know that your fingerprints will be in the house now. Ryan will no doubt send her down there to fingerprint the house again which for the record will make you one of her least favourite people. I was going to suggest we take physical prints of your fingers but thinking about it, you must be in the system already." Danni said thoughtfully.

"They will be" Steve replied with a nod.

For a moment Danni remained quiet, torn between being impressed by the resources which Steve seemed to have available to him and being vaguely interested about who exactly the woman from Naval Intelligence was who was helping him by running the palm print for him.

Danni's experience when it came to the military and the way which it worked was limited to the air force where her younger brother Chris had enlisted as a fighter pilot. They had rarely spoken to each other about their jobs preferring to focus their conversations on happier things when they were together though there had been one or two occasions when they had spoken about it. She knew from those conversation that the military, regardless of what branch it was, only dealt with cases which had a clear military angle, such as the victim was military or the killer was which wasn't the case in the McGarrett murder.

Whoever it was who was running that print for Steve was risking serious trouble if she was caught by one of the higher-ranking officers. Shaking her head, she smiled wryly. No doubt there were plenty of women out there who would willingly risk getting into trouble for the man opposite her. A fact which she was sure that he knew and had probably exploited in the past.

"It will be unlikely that the Agent in CSU will get a hit from the print." He commented, pulling out his cell phone from one of his pockets and looking down at it for a moment before slipping it away again.

"Why is that then?" Danni queried, feeling a slight tinge of annoyance towards him at how readily he dismissed the CSU department.

"The Hesse brothers are very suspicious when it comes to who they will allow to work with them. They tend to only use the people they have worked with in the past, the majority of who grew up with them in Ireland. That group is getting smaller and smaller as more of them are being picked up. All of them will be on a watchlist" He remarked.

"So, they were both originally from Ireland then" Danni said in surprise. "I guess it makes sense in a way. Victor has that whole Celtic look going on with the dark hair and blue eyes. Victor is definitely far from home that's for sure, if he even considers Ireland his home still." She leaned forward, planting her palms on the desk as she continued speaking. "So, the guy who was with Hesse, you think that he is a foreigner rather than someone who is local? Someone who Hesse grew up with back in Ireland who no one knows about?"

"Whoever it is Danni will have a record but it's unlikely that record would flag up on any police database" Steve responded. "It would eventually trigger somewhere because the all the people the Hesse brothers work with have records which are miles long and are known to the bigger agencies like Interpol or the FBI. The problem is that by the time your CSU find the link and go through the necessary channels and then receive a response to it then it would be too late. Hesse and his accomplice would be long gone from Hawaii and instead in a country where we can't get them expedited from. We would have to wait for them to show up again. I sent the print to Cath two hours ago and from the update she's just given me she should have an answer within the next two hours. The helpful thing about having this access to the military database is the fact that it covers the rest of the world as well as America. If this man or woman has a record anywhere then we'll soon know about it. He won't be able to hide from us."

"That sort of database would be useful to have access to" Danni agreed as she bent down and rummaged through her bag for a moment, pulling out her cell phone and looking down at it for a moment. "When you get the name of the accomplice from your friend could you send it to me? As soon as I have that information then I can get a visual of him. I'll contact the judge on duty and get a warrant for the CTV footage from Honolulu airport for the past month. It could help us narrow down a timeline for when Hesse entered if we could find when his accomplice entered."

"Going through a month's worth of footage from a place like Honolulu airport is going to take up a lot of your time Danni and is likely not to turn anything up. If Hesse travelled here via the trafficking route then it stands to reason that his accomplice did as well. He won't want there to be any chance that the man or woman could be ID by anyone" Steve pointed out to her.

"You're right that it will take a while to go through which is why I'll take it home with me today to watch once Grace is tucked up in bed. There is a good chance that Hesse's accomplice came in the same way but we can't know it for certain. Everything comes down to the type of person who he got to hep him" He stated thoughtfully, tapping her fingertips against the table as she frowned down at the closed file in front of her.

"What are you thinking then?" Steve pressed, crossing his arms across his face as he watched her closely with a small frown.

"Right now, I'm thinking a lot of things." She responded, breathing out before she began explaining her thoughts to him. "We're both in complete agreement that Hesse himself used the trafficking route to enter Hawaii because he had no other options available to him. There was no way that Hesse could enter Hawaii without having the numerous agencies and military branches down here to take him down, probably with you leading the charge." She remarked, flashing him a quick smile before continuing. "He's smart so he won't risk that."

"You're right, we are in agreement about that" Steve assured her, still with the same slight frown.

"I know that earlier on you said that Victor and Anton would only use people who they trusted and who had grown up with them but I don't think you're taking into account the situation Victor found himself in. The group he relied on was depleted because those people had been targeted and already taken out of the equation. His brother was in your custody and was looking at a life prison sentence of execution. Time was not on his side. He didn't have the luxury of handpicking someone to help him get his brother back, not when the window was so slight. Maybe on this occasion he had to make do with the resources he had around him, including his accomplice. I'm not claiming in any fashion to be an expert on the man because that is your department of expertise but it is something we have to consider as an option." She commented, standing straight. "Maybe Victor is paranoid enough that he always keeps a small army around him, built to counter every possible scenario but given how you say that he is distrustful I doubt it. He would have been too worried about being betrayed."

"What do you think he would do?" Steve queried after a brief hesitation.

"I can only say what I would do if I was him." She warned him, waiting until he nodded before she spoke. "I would use someone who had the ability to move around the island unhindered. Someone who could blend in without arousing suspicion from anyone so that they could scope out my target for me without raising alarm bells from anyone. Whoever he or she was they were able to follow your father closely enough to learn his routine. They knew when to strike which indicates to me that they knew what his neighbour's routines were as well and knew when they would all be away. That person would have to have come into Hawaii via legal methods such as a plane. If we can locate the accomplice then there is a good chance that we can locate Hesse as well." She finished by taking in a deep breathe.

"That could be what happened Danni or it could be completely wrong. All that we have at the moment is speculation at the moment. What I do know for certain is that Hesse would have though of that possibility already and taken the necessary steps to cancel it out. He would constantly be on the move, never staying in a place for longer than a few hours, less than that if the area was too crowded for his liking. He doesn't make mistakes Danni because it's not wired into his DNA. He plans for everything and has informants and moles planted everywhere. If he didn't then we would have caught them both long ago.

"Exactly right" She agreed, watching as his eyes narrowed slightly in though as though he was trying to see where she was going with it. "Hesse from what you told me is a man who doesn't make mistakes but I'm not talking about Hesse right now Steve. I'm talking about his accomplice. We can't fall into the trap of assuming that they are both as good as each other because they won't be, the partial palm print proves that. Even the best tactician can't prevent or counter something which they aren't aware has happened in the first place. The accomplice wouldn't exactly tell him what has happened if he knows about it, not if Hesse is as dangerous as you say it is."

"Okay" Steve said with a nod at her. "I'll stay on the Hesse lead, trying to figure out what his next move will be. When Cath sends me the accomplice's name I'll let you know what it is or forward it to you via text if we're not together at that point. When you have the name then I want you to use your connections and everything at your disposal to find out everything about the person. I want a full bio, who he has contacted, where he has been. I want to know if he's even looked at something funnily. Anything we can use against him Danni is what we need. If we can't get Doran to flip on Hesse then perhaps this accomplice will give us what we need instead." He instructed her, a note of command to her voice.

"Don't worry Steve, putting files together on cases or suspects is a speciality of mine. I know what we need for it and I'll make sure that we get it. I may not have access to your military database but I have plenty of other contacts in the major agencies who I can speak to on our behalf, if there is information out there then they will send it to me." She commented before she glanced down at her watch. "We have thirty minutes left, perhaps the best thing to do is to figure out our time line and see whether ours merge together."

"That sounds like a plan, did you contact the officers' downstairs so that they can mention in Doran's hearing that we're back?" Steve queried.

"Yeah, I sent a text to dispatch and got a reply back saying that they had spoken to Lieutenant Kalikow and that he had confirmed that it had been done. Doran knows we're here and he'll be waiting for us, just like we wanted." She told him as she reached up and rubbed at her eyes, running through everything in her mind for a moment before she began to speak again. "I think we can say with almost certainty that Hesse arrived in Hawaii beneath the radar by using the trafficking route which we discovered today"

"Agreed. We can probably place the time of his arrive about the thirteenth of September, a week before my father was murdered by him." Steve added, his jaw tightening at the words.

"Why would he come a week before?" Danni questioned curiously, tilting her head to the side with a puzzled look.

"His brother was captured a few days before that date. Hesse would have needed a couple of days to make arrangements to get to Hawaii."

"Okay so around the tenth or eleventh of September your SEAL team found and detained Anton Hesse in a classified location in Korea. Victor, most likely through one of his moles, heard about the arrest and decided to retaliate against you. Whether this was because you captured his baby brother or because of the disruption you caused to his plans is something we won't know until he is in custody and you can interview him. Whatever the reason it was enough to put you directly in his line of sight and he ended up hatching this plan. A hostage for a hostage. Your father for his brother. Your father was probably the easiest target to get to in the time limit which he had." She commented before her voice trailed off. "What I don't understand is why he came after you personally, you were a part of a team, a team who probably had easier targets he could have come after so why you?" She asked.

Danni pushed the file of Victor Hesse across the table and picked up a secondary one which was thicker. A glance at the front told her that this one belonged to Anton Hesse. She opened it and found herself looking at Anton's mug shot. His hair was longer than his brother and lighter in colour, there was a similar look between them both though it was clear that Anton had inherited the good looks in the family. She stared down at the blue eyes staring cockily into the camera, his eyes a dark shade of blue than Victor's.

"I was the lead investigator after them. I was the only one on the team who could understand the way their mind worked and they knew it" He answered her. "They also probably knew that as the lead on the team I was the only one present who could authorise Anton's release" He said, a dark tone coming to his voice which caused her to tense up automatically.

She frowned slightly at the comment before speaking, injecting an almost gentle tone to her voice.

"The only one?" She repeated. "Surely there was someone who you must have spoken to on your team, even if it was just to run ideas with them."

She was watching him as he stiffened at her words, his eyes flickering up to her with a flash of pain which caused her own eyes to widen.

"There is no one left bar me" He said, the pain in his eyes lacing his voice.

"Oh" She said, breathing out before she forced herself to change the subject back to their previous conversation. "That was clearly Hesse's mistake then, for all the time you've chased him he didn't realise that you wouldn't have given his brother up. If you were in charge it does make sense that you would be the target. They knew who you were and that you were the reason why they were constantly on the run and who was interfering with their operations. It says in this file that Anton was a computer genius? He went to a top listed university and graduated top of his class. That's no mean feat, it makes me wonder what he could have made of himself if he had kept on the straight and narrow instead of joining the family business. Such a waste" She said with a shake of her head as she looked at the photo again.

"There is no point in thinking what could have been Danni" Steve stated, his voice becoming emotionless again. "But you are right that Anton was a genius when it came to computers. He was a world class hacker, one of the best who I have come across and I have been in this job a while now. He would have been the one who broke through the firewall which had been protecting the personnel files in the military database. It's the only explanation I can think of when it comes to my father's information. His information, and my sister's information, would have been listed there including their current addresses and contact numbers in case they needed to be informed of my death in the service." He remarked.

Danni glanced sharply at him, concerned about the dispassionate way he spoke about his own death, as though it was something unimportant though she decided not to mention anything about it at the moment in time.

"I spoke to your sister a few days ago on the telephone, I had… well I had to break the news to her about your father's death." Danni admitted, ignoring the intent look that came to Steve's face. "I'm guessing that she is currently staying with you or at least near you?"

"Staying with me?" Steve asked with a frown at her. "Why would Mary be staying with me or near me?" He demanded, the question causing Danni to stare at him in confusion.

"Because when I spoke to her she said that she would make arrangements to fly out to for your father's funeral which was this morning. I assuming that means she is here." Danni explained, keeping her voice soft.

For a moment he stared at her, emotions moving across his eyes too fast for her to know what they were before he spoke.

"My sister isn't on the island Danni, she must have changed her mind since speaking to you." He stated after a brief silence, the tone to his voice making it clear to her that he wanted the subject of his sister dropped, a theory backed up by the fact that he turned their topic of conversation back to their previous one. "So, when Hesse arrived in Hawaii, the first thing which he did was find somewhere he could hide before obtaining a gun from Doran" He said, picking up the file which Danni had made up on Fred Doran and flicking through it. "Looking at this and Doran's criminal record and the type of crimes which he has been brought in on, it wouldn't be a great leap to assume that they have done business with each other in the past. Both Victor and Anton have an extensive network of agents and moles working for them as we already discussed. Doran was most likely one of them for Hawaii."

"I don't think we can make the assumption that it was Hesse who met Doran to pick up the gun, not if he is as careful a person as you've indicated. It's far more likely that he would have sent his accomplice in his place to complete the deal. Hesse is far from stupid, he must have known that if we got the gun then there was a chance however slim that it could be linked back to him. This way however ensures that we can't. The lab has already sent their report on it to me and it says in it that there were no fingerprints on the weapon and there are no witnesses who physically saw him pull the trigger and kill him unless we locate the accomplice and flip them. You are the only witness to what happened here Steve and you were in another country at the time listening in on the phone. The DA are going to demand more from us because your testimony alone isn't enough to convict Hesse. We have to have to find something more." She remarked, her shoulders slumping down slightly at the thought of what they still needed to do.

"It was Victor Hesse who murdered my father Danni, there's no doubt about that." Steve growled at her, his eyes darkening in the overhead light. Danni stilled for a moment before she slowly placed Anton's file onto the surface of the table, she brought her hands up, spreading them out to the side of her, her palms facing Steve in a peaceful, non-threatening gesture.

"I know he did Steve" She assured him softly, speaking to him the same way she would speak to Grace if the young girl was upset. "I've read your testimony and I've worked this case since day one. Every instinct I possess is screaming at me that Hesse is the man we want. I am on your side Steve so please don't doubt that. Its my job as a Detective to look at a case from every angle and to be practical about what we need to close a case. You'll soon find that half the job is actually bringing the bad guys into justice while the other is collecting evidence and doing things by the book to ensure that he is convicted. When this case goes to trial Hesse's defence team will try everything to convince the jury that Hesse isn't guilty."

"But he is" Steve responded instantly.

"I know" She stated firmly, waiting a moment until she was sure that he was listening again before continuing. "They will question your state of mind to try and put doubt on you and they will try and say that you fabricated the evidence and several other things which we know are lies which is why Steve it is so important that you leave all the paperwork and arrest for this case to me and the other members of the team to do. You can lead the team but we can't allow the defence to use your connection to the victim as a way of putting doubt on the case.

"I wouldn't mess with evidence Danni" Steve growled, looking away when Danni gave him a pointed look. He breathed out, reaching out and running his hand through his hair. "Which you know." He muttered, quietly enough that Danni wondered for a moment whether he had meant her to hear the words.

"Its just for this case" She assured him again.

"But the gun is useless from what you're saying." He asked her, placing his hands on the table surface and leaning towards her.

"It is and it isn't. CSU has confirmed that the gun is the weapon which killed your father, the bullet from the gun and the one retrieved from…" she stopped for a moment.

"Retrieved from my father's house" Steve prompted.

"They are a match, what CSU can't do is prove that it was Hesse who was the one who actually pulled the trigger. Hesse's defence team can't deny that he called you and indicated that he killed him. They can't deny that his words were followed by the sound of a gunshot but they can try and deny that it was the bullet that killed your dad. The DA will obviously throw that argument out the window by pointing out that you spoke to your Dad seconds before he was murdered and Hesse was there but…"

"I see" Steve said after a moment. "And no doubt the clothes he was wearing at the time would have been destroyed already. He may have some gunpowder residue on his skin or in his hair which he is unaware of but given the length of time that has passed it's unlikely." He said, a look of frustration coming to his face.

"I've built up cases for the DA with less then we have because that phone call was recorded and it is damning" Danni replied, reaching up and squeezing the back of her neck. "You will have to take the stand as a witness which will help our cause since I have no doubt that the jury will believe you. You have an outstanding service record and people always react well to that. The men on the jury will admire you for your bravery and the service you've given our country while the women will just admire you full stop. I will feel better once we prove this link to the trafficking ring and arrest him though, none of this will mean anything unless we manage that" she mused with a shake of her head.

"The women will just admire me full stop?" Steve repeated, his voice sounding half amused, half smug. The tone making Danni roll her eyes as she mentally willed her cheeks not to redden.

"I think we both know they will" She replied, keeping her voice professional. "You're an attractive looking man Commander, I'm sure there are plenty of women out there who would respond to that and believe what you are saying because you are saying it." She crossed her arms giving him a critical look. "You should wear your naval uniform when you are called to take the stand. It would reinforce your position with the jury which is never a bad thing" She advised before she dropped her arms with a nod. "The point is that the jury should be on your side regardless of any attempts the defence may make to discredit you which is what we need."

"And what about you Danni?" He asked suddenly, the intense look returning to his eyes, pinning her to the spot. "Is my word good enough for you?"

Danni breathed out slowly before she nodded at him.

"It is" She admitted "But I'm not the one who you have to convince Steve, it's the twelve men and women sitting on the jury who we need to convince."

"You say that but why do you believe me?" He pressed, his eyes narrowing slightly as though her answer was important to you.

She considered it for a moment, running the question through her mind before answering, a ring of truth to her voice which she knew he picked up on if the slight way he straightened was any indication to go by.

"Because I know what type of man you are Steve. It may surprise you but you are not the first military man to have entered by life. I know what it takes to be one and I know that you aren't a liar." She stated before looking back at the files and moving the subject onto one which she felt more comfortable with. "We both know that regardless of the lack of evidence that it was Hesse who killed your father using the gun we found at the scene. What we don't know is what happened after he killed him. No one has seen or heard from him since then so he's clearly in hiding somewhere on the island. He can't leave Hawaii because his face is plastered everywhere and every man and woman with a badge is now looking for him thanks to the BOLO Meka and I placed out on him. Given what you say about his connections there is a chance he has a mole in law enforcement which means that he will know you are on the island after your trip earlier to the precinct. That will change everything for him because he won't be able to sit back and allow things to cool down anymore. He has to get off the island now because you are possible the one person who can track him."

"There's no one who know him better than I do now that Anton is dead. My local knowledge of the area will be a bonus for us since he won't have that knowledge."

"Exactly and he has to know that as well" Danni agreed, her mouth curling into a small smile. "On top of that there is a good chance that he has heard about Doran's arrest. They may have worked together in the past but that doesn't mean that they know each other well. Hesse won't be able to guarantee that Doran won't talk to us in a bid to save his own skin. Hesse is likely feeling torn now, on one hand he has to get off this island before you find him and bring him in but on the other he has Doran to contend with as well because Doran is a loose string which he can't afford to let hang loose. He needs to deal with Doran to keep his operations safe, for example the human trafficking one which he may well be involved in."

"He'll be calling on some of his contacts to help him deal with the Doran problem." Steve told her. "So, his main goal will be escape which means that he will make his move sooner rather than later. He won't risk hanging out longer than necessary which means that he will aim to go somewhere like China because he'll know that we won't be able to touch him there."

"If he plans to use the trafficking route again then we need to know when the next boat is heading out to China because he'll be on it, which means that we have to find out who runs it and to do that we need Doran to talk." She said, glancing towards his office. "Is that computer set up or just for show?" She asked, looking back to him.

"That one is working, they had to test it to see whether there were the right connections and everything" he commented.

"Good, we need to log onto it then" She replied, moving across the room and into his office, giving it little more than a customary glance before focusing on the computer. Steve brushed passed her, taking the seat behind the desk and booted the computer up.

"What exactly are we looking for?" He asked as he typed in his log in and password. "The files you made up on Doran were excellent and has all the information we need in it" He complimented.

"Thank you" Danni muttered absently. "I'm not sure what they teach them here at the academy but its certainly not how to make a decent file up. I've had to make a new one up for every case I've had so far because the one handed to me was shocking."

"Is that so" Steve responded with a raised eyebrow. "If that is the case then you won't mind me making the file creation portion of the case your responsibility since you already have so much experience with it."

"How about we focus on this case first and then once it's completed and we've actually hired people then we can figure out job roles and what they will entail" Danni suggested with a shake of her head as she moved to his side. She leaned across him and brought up the HPD intranet system and typed in her username and password granting them instant access to all the systems they needed. "As for what we're looking for" She remarked as she leaned back, resting her arm against his shoulder. "It's not Doran who I'm interested in, it's his family. I want to see if there is anything on them that we can use as leverage against Doran to loosen his tongue up slightly."

"Now you're beginning to speak my language Danni" He commented, a tinge of satisfaction to his voice which she picked up on, he moved his shoulder beneath her arm but made no effort to shake her off which surprised her.

"Don't read too much into this" She warned him. "I'm only doing it this way once because I want Doran to give up the name of the man or woman who is in charge of the trafficking ring and I think that my normal method of persuasion won't work this time, at least not as quickly as we need them to hence us going this route as a one off." She stated, rolling her eyes when the small smile on his face widened.

"It's a good call" He agreed. "You said earlier in the trailer park that you thought that there was a chance he may have been abused as a kid?"

"There's a good chance of it" She confirmed with a nod. "People never hate without a reason. Sometimes it's because they've been taught to be that way due to someone in authority teaching them it but there are other times when its due to something happening to them which has made them that way. Doran's hatred of women is strong enough that I can almost taste it when I'm around him and hared that strong has to stem from something personal. That level can't be taught and it can't just appear out of the blue one day. For someone to hate women the way he does strongly points to the idea that something happened to him when he was younger which involved a woman in some fashion. It's a natural leap to assume that it was to do with someone he initially trusted like a mother or a sister or even someone who had regular contact with him. He could easily have blamed his mother for not stopping it. That's all it would really take for that hatred to become established."

"That angle is definitely one we can work with." Steve said thoughtfully after a moment before he tilted his head back so he could see her face. "I need you to follow my lead down there Danni, whatever I tell you to do is what I need you to do, even if it doesn't necessarily make sense to you immediately." He instructed.

Danni hesitated for a moment, considering his request as she pushed herself off his shoulder.

If this partnership between them had any hope of flourishing then she had to trust him.

"Okay then, you are the boss after all." She pointed out, keeping her voice light. Steve shot her an unreadable look, searching her eyes for a moment before he turned his attention back to the computer, his fingers flying over the keyboard as he brought up Doran's details. "I see that you're good with computers" She remarked with a tilt of her head.

"Its all part of the training" He replied absently before he nodded towards the screen. "Here we go, the details on Doran's family. He has one brother and one sister, both of whom are older than he is. His brother is a high-powered lawyer based at a law firm in Washington DC, looks like he's made partner there a couple of year ago while the sister is a trauma surgeon working in Presbyterian Hospital in New York. Both of the siblings are married with families of their own and from what I can tell they both have clean records unless you count his brother getting a parking ticket six years ago." Steve read out.

"A Partner in a law firm and a trauma surgeon?" Danni repeated. "Well there's no prizes for guessing who the black sheep of the Doran family actually is. What is the age difference between them?" She queried thoughtfully.

"There's a big one" Steve answered as he consulted the screen again. "There's twenty years between him and his brother and eighteen between him and his sister. Clearly he wasn't planned."

"So, it would seem" Danni agreed with a slight frown. "Either he was a late in life mistake for his parents like you said or he was a very early in life mistake for his sister. She was eighteen years old when he was born, there is always a chance that she is the mother but that she gave him to her parents to raise as their own so she could get on with her life and the career awaiting her. It's hardly the first time something like that would have happened."

"It's a possibility" Steve remarked, leaning back in his chair. "If he was a late in life mistake then it could support your idea that his relationship with his mother was a poor one. She had probably thought that her days of child rearing and being a mother were finally over only to find out that she would have to start all over again. If she had plans which she had always planned to do once her daughter turned eighteen then Fred's arrival would have pissed her off causing her to resent him."

"What did his parents do for a living? I'm assuming they are retired now?" Danni asked, leaning forward again so she could see the screen.

"His mother was a secondary school teacher at Farrington High school for thirty-five years, the school is actually near here. It looks like she mainly taught maths though it looks like she covered some science classes when they were short on staff while his father was a postal worker though like you said they are both are retired now." Steve answered, gripping the back of her dress and using the hold to pull her back so he could see the screen clearly.

"Postal workers tend to work in long shift patterns, they often work twelve hours long shifts in one go so the Dad wouldn't have been around much when Fred was growing up, anytime he was in the house he was probably sleeping or getting ready for his next shift so the majority of Fred's upbringing would have fallen to his mother. His brother and sister would have probably moved out by then and possibly already moved over to the mainland depending on where they went to University which means that they wouldn't have been around either." She remarked.

"There's enough here for us to work with" Steve announced.

"I think so" Danni replied before glancing down at her watch. "And the hour is up. I suggest we head down there now and speak to Fred and see what we can tell us."

She moved away from the desk, and back towards the bul-pen.

It was time to get some answers.

Author Note

Thanks for taking the time to read. An especially big thank you if you have left me a review, favourite the story or decided to follow it.

I really appreciate it