I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended. The same goes for the fantastic show and wonderful characters portrayed in Flashpoint.
Notes: Happy Mother's Day to all the "Mom's" ... get yourselves spoiled rotten!
Chapter 5
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They all paused to stare at each other in complete astonishment as Steve slowly repeated her words. "Danny? He requested to have them closed?"
Nodding, Kono broke the trance first as she bent back down to her tablet. "He filed for the court order himself."
"While we wait on Denning, I've got another idea about finding this Clancey character. Just give me a few more minutes." Steve leaned back heavily in the driver's seat and closed his eyes. His mind was a jumbled mass of disorder and he sensed Chin in a similar turmoil.
"Why would he do that?" Chin asked softly. "It's got to be something about the case with Runyon. Something about the shoot-out and Jana Madison's death in the cross-fire?"
Steve only scowled in response because Denning was working hard on getting the files opened for them. Guessing did no good when they needed hard facts. If she were there, HPD was in the process of retreiving Ana Madison from her place of employment. It would only be a matter of time before they had what they needed; however, time was still the most critical factor. But knowing his partner and now learning that a child had been involved, Steve had his own private opinions forming.
"It could be, but it's more likely that the reason revolves around Ana." Steve hadn't meant to voice his thoughts, but as he did Chin caught his eye and he saw the germ of agreement. Sealing records kept their individual files and documents from being publicly accessible. Valid reasons could include a number of things, one of which pertained to protecting the interests of a juvenile.
They turned as Kono shifted in the back seat of the truck and then mumbled to herself. Her voice gained in intensity as she confirmed her findings.
"Yes, this is something. No hits on Robert, Rob or Robbie Clancey; if he did stuff as a juvie offender, there's a good chance that those files are going to be locked too. However as Gladys so aptly stated: with a long line of meth heads, I've got a Joe Clancey, resident of Honolulu. He's forty-five years old and has multiple convictions. Possession with intent to distribute. Assault with a deadly weapon and look -."
"That is nasty." The snarky comment was said as Kono turned the screen to face the front of the truck so they could both see the man's mug shot. The tattoo was bold and large, and it also didn't look as if an expert had done the work. "Look at his neck."
Chin muffled a curse as Steve physically pulled the small tablet out of her hands. "Scorpion tattoo. Just like our bag lady described."
"And another member of this esteemed Clancey clan right here on our island." Steve offered her a grateful smile as he shook his head in awe. "All I need to give you is a laptop and a car charger and you're unstoppable!"
She smiled and only shrugged at his next challenge. "So now, I want this entire connection hashed out from beginning to end. Ana, Robbie, Joe and these closed case files. We're closer but it's still not making too much sense."
There was one confusing tid bit of information and Chin voiced their common question. "If we believe our bag lady, this Joe Clancey was left behind - and maybe on purpose? He was angry. Violent."
"Yup, but we have a name now .. and a place. It's building and we have more. There is no way on earth that another Clancey is just a coincidence." Kono shrugged before tapping quickly on her tablet again. "Let's go pay him a visit. He was arrested last week for disorderly conduct. I have an address. It's a few blocks over from where Danny was attacked."
The man might not be there. In fact, the odds were not in their favor of finding him at all. But it was rock solid evidence, they had a neighborhood where people would have seen him, and a firm starting place. A name, a telling photograph and a detailed history on a critical perpetrator that had personally been involved with Danny's abduction. And the grin on Steve's face was priceless as he got back on the road and sped to Clancey's location.
The true reason was still illusive, but they were decidedly closer on whomever had laid a trap for his partner.
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Clancey's residence was a dilapidated barely livable series of rooms above a tattoo parlour. It was obvious that a few people were there based on the blaring music and rowdy laughter. As they approached the door, Steve motioned for Chin and Kono to take offensive stances as they stormed the main room. Other than the fire escape, they were standing in the only doorway as a few stunned inhabitants tried to stumble to their feet or merely rolled over to continue drug-enduced napping.
But Steve saw Clancey instantly as he tried to struggle to his feet from a worn and terrible mattress that lay directly on the dingy floor. By the stunned expression on his face, the junkie wasn't expecting company.
Steve however, was elated.
"Where is he." There were no introductions or preamble as Joe Clancey was helped roughly to his feet in one smooth motion when Steve gripped his filthy t-shirt by the neck and nearly ripped it off his body. The deadly stare bore into the drug addict with one clear warning and he only tried once to pull away by picking weakly at Steve's wrists.
"Where .. the hell .. is he?"
"Don't know who or what you mean." Clancey whined as he hung limply in Steve's hands. He knew better than to struggle with cops and these three looked like more than just the basic, run of the mill kind. Ogling their weaponry, he was undeniably scared as both Chin and Kono blocked the man's acquaintances from leaving. It took only a few seconds to line those who were physically able up along the wall in submissive positions as Steve roughly frisked the addict, himself.
"What do we have here?" The brass knuckles lay dangerously now in Steve's palm and he flipped them idly over and over with his gloved fingers. The whispered question was hissed out on an exhale.
"Did you hit him with these?"
Clancey's eyes bulged in fear as Steve wrapped his fingers even more firmly around his neck to cut off his breath. The very personal affront was clear and he wasn't so very stupid to realize what it implied. Reacting too slowly to the 911 call being made; and then not quite hearing what the victim was saying. Clancey had also screwed up. But Robbie had given very specific instructions about timing the abduction. Starting with the flashy silver Camaro, Robbie had even described what the blonde business man would look like down to the boring mainland shoes he would be wearing.
"I'll be watching. When Paul flashes the highbeams, count to five and we'll be there. Hit, scoop and run. Don't screw up, Joe. This is cake and trust me .. this guy .. he won't suspect a thing."
So he had done precisely what he'd been told to do and Robbie was right that the guy had been distracted and very unsuspecting. But as Joe cowered in Steve's hands, he realized that he had screwed up in an incredibly big way. Robbie had intentionally left him hanging and that hadn't been part of the original deal. And here he was - staring fearfully up at a big man who was near to strangling him alive. He had helped his psychotic cousin abduct a cop and he was now left holding the proverbial bag.
"So? Did you?" The man gave him a solid shake and Joe gagged against the tight fingers as he dimly noted the name on the black tac-vest. "McGarrett". Maybe he was of Irish ancestry and Clancey could plead for a distant camaraderie; but as he looked into the angry face he decided against the poor idea. In fact, his own brass knuckles were so close to his eyes they were a shiny golden blur.
"Because this is going to be a real problem for you. A very, significant problem."
Chin sidled closer to make another point very clear as he put a gentling hand on Steve's forearm. "Are you sure you don't know something? Because if we book all your friends here but decide to let you go ... you know what that will look like, right?"
The left side of Steve's face lips twisted upwards in an approving sneer as he simply dropped his fingers from the man's neck and carefully smoothed the wrinkles from the grubby t-shirt. Without support, Clancey rocked unsteadily on his feet to regain his balance. Totally confused by the terrifying change in tone, he looked from one to the other before taking a tiny step backwards.
The bigger cop folded his arms arrogantly across his chest as he thumbed the brass knuckles idly and nodded with a tight, grim smile. "There you go, pal. I think that's a great idea. It should improve your stance in the community. You'll be a super star. You'll be the life of the party."
"What?" Clancey swallowed hard and nervously glanced at the dealers and junkies lining the wall in his miserable apartment. Some were already glaring at him in a threatening way and he would be either badly beaten or killed by sunset. But he was also in trouble with the new brand breed of cops that were still brandishing his brass knuckles under his very nose.
"Umm. So, yeah maybe I do know." He coughed uncomfortably and then motioned towards the door. If these cops didn't find his cousin first, he was already planning multiple ways to pay him back for this very special favor. And starting that moment as a form of down payment, talking to these cops wasn't such a bad idea.
"That boy is crazy you know. I introduced him to a few people back in Jersey who helped him relocate here. You know how that is. So I help him do one more little thing and he goes off the deep end. He definitely takes after his mother's side of the family. She committed suicide you know." His nervous ramblings were brought up short since Steve only wanted to expound on only one particular item.
"What boy? I want a name." The snarl was back in Steve's voice as he anchored his hand firmly to the back of Clancey's neck. He knew for certain then, but he wanted Joe to say it out loud. Kono shifted her feet uncomfortably because they were all thinking the same thing before the junkie uttered the first syllable.
"Robbie." And then Steve was pushing him violently forward and out of the small apartment. "It was Robbie. My cousin Robbie Clancey. He hit the islands just a few months ago .. he said this guy .. this business guy .. owed him a lot of money. I was just helping him out. He was going to cut me in on it."
Chin worriedly looked at Steve as his hand tightened around the man's neck again. "This guy. I guess your cousin forgot to mention that this guy, just happened to be a cop."
"Cop?" It was a weak whimper that only confirmed Clancey's growing nightmare as he paled more and visibly shrunk into a smaller ball. He'd been catching on during the unexpected intrusion. He only hoped he was wrong. He was definitely going to pay Robbie back for this rather significant omission.
"No, I uh .. no. He .. ah .. he only said the guy owed him a lot of money. He was from Jersey and had stiffed Robbie for a lot of cash back there. Just money. But .. I know where they are and I can get you there." Joe glanced behind him nervously as his low-life peers eyed him up and down. With the volume of menacing looks, he decided that he'd much rather take his chances with the cops.
"In fact, I can take you there right now."
"Wise decision." Steve hesitated only for a moment before rocking the man hard into the wall of the dilapidated building one final time. In Steve's mind, Joe Clancey was stupid and he needed constant reminders. If Robbie's side of the Clancey clan was deviously psychotic, then Joe's was plain stupid and he didn't mind doling out another one of life's more difficult lessons. The junkie winced at the physical pain when the air left his lungs and his head crashed into the hard plaster.
Chin's whisper was something only Steve heard and its warning was clear. "Steve. We need to get a move on. Find Danny."
He heard Chin but couldn't stop himself from one more hard shove. The connection between Ana, Robbie and Danny was confirmed but a lovers-quarrel between teenagers seemed like a poor excuse to kidnap a cop. They needed the case files opened; but for now, Joe Clancey would do just fine.
Flicking imaginary dust from the junkie's shirt, Steve lowered his voice threateningly. "Oh, and I forgot something else. If you try anything funny ..or if anything happens to our friend .. trust me, you won't live to regret it."
~ to be continued ~