Disclaimer: Hawaii 5-0 and characters belong to CBS, otherwise I would be a lot richer and might live in Hawaii.
Summary: What could have happened if Steve had listened to Danny's doubt about his old friend Nick Taylor?
This scene starts just before Pak's plane lands.
Chapter 2: Executing The Plan
The 5-0 unit arrived at the airport to find Taylor and his people waiting for them. Pak's plane had not arrived yet.
When Steve, Danny, Chin and Kono walked up to the waiting SUV's, Steve shook Nick's hand and asked in a friendly manner, "So which of these vehicles are we using Bullfrog?"
Nick smiled and pointed at the second and third SUV. "These will be your vehicles for the trip. Hope you don't mind the color?" The two men laughed. Steve nodded at Danny and Chin, who walked up to the vehicles and started to inspect them. Nick raised his eyebrows at this and looked at Steve. "What's up Smooth Dog? My people have already given the SUV's the once over. Don't you trust me?"
Steve smirked. "Now why would I trust an old Navy Seal like you?" Nick smirked with a raised eyebrow as Steve continued. "I trust you Nick. However, I am risking my team in this operation and you should have known that I would want to check up on things. Besides, this is technically my operation, and you are my back-up."
Nick nodded, appeased. "You're right, this is your operation. I forgot about that. Guess it's been awhile since we worked together. You were always a stickler for double-checking equipment."
"You double check things before you go rushing into a situation?" Danny pointed at Steve in disbelief as he joined Steve and Nick. He waved his hands, he demanded. "What happened to that, Mr. I'm going to rush into a situation without any back-up except me?"
Watching their team-mate's familiar rant, Kono and Chin covered their mouths in an attempt to stifle their laughter.
Steve tried to look innocent. "What? I thought that was the way you were supposed to do things? I mean the governor gave us carte blanch in our investigations." Nick had been watching to two with interest. He couldn't believe that Steve had just said that. The Steve he thought he knew was very careful and would not have let someone under his command speak to him like that. Little did he know that this was "normal" for the two men.
Danny scoffed as he threw his hands in the air. "You thought that the governor's giving you free reign was your ticket to be reckless? Or maybe you thought that since you weren't in the Army anymore you could do things any old way?" What Nick didn't notice was Danny's pre-arranged signal to Steve that let him know that the two SUV's were clear, no bugs, bombs or anything out of order; however there was still a problem.
Steve wondered what the problem was but put it aside for now. Danny would tell him later. Steve smirked at Danny, "I was in the Navy, Danny, when are you going to remember that?" Then shrugged. "Okay, maybe I have loosened up a bit since making 5-0 task force." Danny snorted at this; the cousins lost the battle and began snickering. "We still manage to get the job done don't we?" Again Steve made an attempt at looking innocent. All of this back and forth, even the cousins snickering was designed to keep Nick from noticing any silent communication between the two men.
Nick spoke before Danny could get started again. "So, Det. Williams, did you find anything wrong with the SUV's?"
Danny shook his head and waved his right hand in a dismissive manner. "Nope. All clear."
Nick nodded but asked, "So why did you ask the driver to leave the SUV?"
Steve answered, "I had told Danny to do that before we arrived. I will be driving today." Steve held up his hand before Nick could object, speaking in a no nonsense, my mind is made up voice. "My team, my responsibility, I'm driving." Steve shrugged, "I'm sorry if that upsets you or your plans, but I feel more comfortable being the driver." Steve noted the flash of irritation that he had expected cross Taylor's face before the man had a chance to hide it.
Danny piped up with a smirk, "You mean, you have control issues, McGarrett. Don't pretend otherwise." More snickering from the peanut gallery.
Steve huffed, "I do not have control issues Haole. I just know these roads better." Both men smirked at that statement remembering another time Steve had said those words.
Again Nick spoke before Danny could say anything. "If you want to drive Steve, go right ahead." He pointed down the runway, "Here comes Pak's plane now. Let's get ready to meet him."
When Nick had turned his back, Danny made a couple more pre-arranged hand motions that let Steve know that there might be an explosive device on the first vehicle. Steve nodded, saddened to have proof that his old friend had indeed changed. He was also relieved that he had listened to Danny and they were prepared to handle this situation.
Danny could tell that Steve was upset, only because he knew him and was looking for it. He couldn't blame Steve for being upset at receiving confirmation that his old buddy wasn't the guy he remembered. He became slightly angry at Taylor, who was obviously trying to use Steve's feelings of friendship and loyalty against him. Steve had had enough loss in his life, now he was losing an old friend to greed. Not only that, this old friend was attempting to take advantage of Steve. Well, Taylor was in for a surprise and Danny would be there for his partner even if he got him shot. He noticed Steve looking at him; he could see gratitude in the man's eyes. He knew it was for warning them about Taylor, and giving them a chance to get out of this in one piece. Well, maybe alive would be more like it. Danny allowed a small smile to grace his lips in acknowledgement.
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The caravan of black SUV's was on its way with Pak and his family in the same vehicle as Steve and Danny. Danny turned around to give the Paks instructions. "General, if I tell you to duck, I need all of you to bend down as low as you can and hang on. We", he indicated Steve and himself, "are aware of assassins who have been hired to kill you." Mrs. Pak paled at this and gripped her husband's arm tightly. The son looked just plain terrified and clung to his mother as Danny softly tried to reassure them. "Commander McGarrett and our team have a contingency plan in place if something goes wrong on this trip. I need all three of you to follow all directions that the Commander, Detective Kelly, Detective Kalakaua or I give you. Please do not listen to anyone else on the protective team."
General Pak looked at Danny and asked, "You believe that the assassin is one of the remaining protective detail?"
Danny nodded, "We are not positive, but it is looking like it. So we planned for it, hoping we were wrong." Danny glanced at Steve who appeared unaffected by the conversation but Danny knew better. Danny's phone rang before he could continue. He checked the caller ID. "What's up Kono?" He listened. "Hang on and I'll tell Steve." He pulled the phone from his ear as he looked at Steve. "The last call on the female assassin's phone was made to Taylor."
Steve closed his eyes briefly, took a deep breath and responded. "Understood. Let Kono know, we go to plan B immediately."
Danny nodded as he spoke into the phone. "Kono, plan B." Danny cut the call, turned off his phone; grabbed Steve's and did the same. This way, they could not be traced by their phones. Steve learned his lesson when he was transporting Victor Hesse's brother. He had realized this after the attack was over. He would never fall victim to that again, if he could help it.
Danny turned to the Paks. "It seems that we were correct and the assassin or assassins are part of our back up. This is what is going to happen. We will be leaving the prearranged route three blocks up. Our SUV and the one driven by Detective Kelly will separate at the crossroads. Detective Kalakaua and I will set off devices that will set off small explosions under the pursuing SUVs. This should give us time to get away." He waved vaguely at the SUVs behind them. "We will then transfer to a different vehicle and head to a safe house. Please follow our directions quickly, every moment could count."
The Paks huddled closer together as they nodded their understanding. The General spoke, "We understand. Thank you for doing this for us."
Danny nodded in acknowledgement as he pulled out the detonator.
Just as Steve reached the crossroads he swerved right as Chin sped up and went left. Danny watched as all but one of the remaining SUVs tried to follow their SUV. Danny held the detonator at the ready and waited. He whispered to himself, "Come on, just a little closer, a little closer will do it. YES!" He pressed the button and sent two of the three SUVs flying when the explosions blew out the tires and popped them off the road. Danny continued to watch to be sure that they were not being followed. Once he was sure that the pursuing SUVs were not following them, he turned to Steve. "All set. The third SUV could not get past the first two in order to follow us."
Steve nodded. "Good. Keep an eye out just in case. It will be a few miles before we rendezvous with the transfer vehicle."
Danny responded, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Of course I will! We did not go through all of this trouble just to be followed by one of Taylor's idiot buddies."
Steve smirked slightly as he glanced at Danny. Steve knew that Danny would be keeping watch but he just couldn't help baiting his friend. It always helped him in a tense situation, though he would never admit it, especially to Danny. He felt disappointed in Nick. They had been good friends, and when Steve worked with him, Nick had been a good guy. He pushed these feelings aside in order to keep focused. He felt a gentle squeeze on his shoulder from Danny; it eased the knot of disappointment in his chest knowing that his partner was there for him. He glanced at Danny, but Danny was looking out the rear window as if nothing happened. When this was wrapped up, he was going to treat Danny to some longbornes.
The group made it to the secondary vehicles without incident. They switched with the waiting driver, one of Kamekona's brothers. His job was to take the car to another safe house and leave it in the garage. Another brother would be doing the same with Chin and Kono's car. 5-0 knew that the SUVs had GPS tracking systems in them and that when Taylor regrouped, he would try and track. Meanwhile they could use Taylor's ability to track the SUVs to their advantage and set a trap.
Danny's throw away phone rang. He answered. "Williams." Smiled slightly at what he heard. He looked at Steve, "Kono and Chin are in the second vehicle and estimate they will be at the safe house in ten minutes."
Steve nodded, "We should be there in twenty."
Danny relayed the info and disconnected.
When they reached the safe house, Chin and Kono were waiting for them. Chin opened the garage and after Steve stopped the car, closed it again.
Steve shut down the car and turned to the Paks as he was opening his door. "Let's get inside and we will tell you what else we have planned."
A few minutes later, saw the Paks and 5-0 either sitting or standing in the house's living room. Once everyone was together Steve began, "As Det. Williams told you earlier, we suspected that the back-up that had been provided to us for extra protection actually contained one or more assassins who were paid to eliminate you General. Now, I am wondering who is after you. I doubt that most people in your country could afford to hire a high priced assassin. So, is there something we should know?"
General Pak nodded and took a deep breath, "I am here to testify about my participation and knowledge of the many crimes committed against the people of my country. If you can keep me and my family alive, you will help stop a bloody war."
Steve and the others were shocked. This is not what they had expected. It didn't mean that the liked the man any better but it did provide even more incentive to protect him, other than just duty.
Steve responded after absorbing this new information, "Well, that explains the high priced assassin. Now, this is what is going to happen. Det. Williams and I will be going to a decoy safe house in order to catch the men who are after you. Detectives Kelly and Kalakaua will stay here with you for protection." At the slightly panicked looks on the Paks' faces, Steve quickly reassured them. "No one but the four of us knows you are here. We have taken every precaution that we could to keep this location unknown. If by chance something does happen, there is an escape tunnel, which can be found in the basement. Detective Kelly or Kalakaua will show it to you after Det. Williams and I leave. There are provisions in the kitchen for all of you." Steve looked at Danny, "I think that about covers it." Danny nodded. Steve looked back at the Paks. "Do you have any questions before I leave?"
The General spoke after looking at his wife and son. "No we do not. You seem to have everything under control. Again I thank you for protecting my family."
Steve merely nodded in acknowledgement. He looked at Chin and Kono, "It's time for Danny and me to head out. Be careful and call us if something happens. As a last resort, call HPD for back-up."
"Good luck." The cousins said together, then looked at each other and shrugged.
Steve gave them a slight smile. "Will do. Let's go Danny."
Danny waved at Chin and Kono before following Steve to the garage to begin the next part of the plan.
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After Nick and his men extricated themselves from the damaged vehicles and assessed their injuries, Nick shook his head. Steve had surprised him with this move. He thought he had the other man fooled, apparently not. As he and his men waited for additional transport, he wondered if Steve's partner had anything to do with creating the distrust. Probably, the detective had not liked him one bit and was not shy about expressing it. Now they would have to try and track down the SUVs using the GPS systems that were installed in them. This assignment was not as easy as he originally thought. Nick shrugged mentally; he was earning his money with this one.
A/N: Ah, a cliff hanger, sort of. See what happens in the next chapter.