Chapter Six "The Art of Breaking"

Thanks for the faithful readership and encouraging comments. This chapter title comes from a Thousand Foot Krutch song; I've been listening to them a lot while writing this story.

Danny rocked his pencil back and forth as Kono set up the webcam. He straightened his tie and Chin laughed at him.

"What?" Danny spread his arms.

Chin just shook his head and pointed at the screen. Kono was ready to turn on the camera. Danny gave her a short nod and there appeared the priest of the "Order of the Great Spirit." At least that's what he called himself. His name was Herman Burton. He was in his mid-sixties with white, receding hair. He looked deceptively normal.

"Greetings," he said, "what can I do for you?"

"Mr. Burton," Danny said, "recently some members of your... group were murdered here in Honolulu. I'm going to show you some pictures and I want you to tell me if you knew them."

Danny held up pictures of the four men and the priest gave a nod of recognition at each.

"This really is too terrible, Detective," he said. "The Spirits do not look lightly upon murder."

Danny managed to avoid rolling his eyes. "Yeah, well, HPD doesn't like it much either. Now can you think of anyone who would want to hurt them?"

The priest seemed to be thinking for a moment. "Unfortunately," he said. "Yes. There were some disputes among our members just before these four left. I did not think it would come to this, though."

"Yeah?" Danny said. "Okay, who exactly were these disputers?"

"One in particular. Arnold Hadley. He has very radical views. He fought with Mr. Lee and his friends on multiple occasions."

Danny once again managed not to roll his eyes. "Okay, gather whatever information on him you can. You're local Police Department will get it to us. We'll find out if he's in Hawaii."

"May the Spirits guide you."

Danny hesitated. "Um, thank you, Mr. Burton."

Kono ended the video conference and Danny sighed.

"Please excuse me while I audibly roll my eyes," he said.

"At least he seems to know something," Chin said, shrugging.

"Maybe," Danny replied.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can find this Hadley," Kono said.

H-5-O

McKenzie's session with Dr. Eisner did not exactly go well. Steve sat in this time to fill in the details that she didn't remember. McKenzie made frequent stops and had to be reminded to breathe. When Eisner left, he gave her a small pill bottle with instructions. She glared at it as he walked out the door.

"As if I wanted to be that sort of person," she muttered.

Steve's head snapped in her direction. "What kind of person?" he asked, darkly.

"The sort who has to take medication to function."

"You know, I knew a lot of guys like you. They saw things they couldn't deal with and they haunted them. The medication is to keep you calm... because you cannot survive like this."

McKenzie tipped the bottle up and down, listening to the rattle it made. "But I won't take it unless it happens again," she insisted.

Steve nodded. He knew she would say that. He also knew it would happen again. When he heard McKenzie say that she remembered the night before, he had been hopeful to get a description of the shooter, but now, he was thinking they were in for a very long road.

For the rest of the day, McKenzie was quiet and Steve wondered if it would be a good idea to ask her about the murders, but decided against it. He thought that very ironic because a week ago, he would have been pressing the matter forcefully.

I didn't know her a week ago, he thought. Now where did that come from?

He brushed it off. McKenzie was certainly different, and he had dealt with his share of different people.

McKenzie went to bed early, saying she was tired from sleeping poorly on the couch. Steve frowned as she went to her room. He had been there from four on and she slept fine as far as he could tell. He considered that the dreams might be interrupting her normal cycle and she did have a huge rush of adrenaline that morning.

Steve stayed up late again reading and reached the end of The Horse and His Boy. He decided it was his favorite so far because of the battles and intrigues.

He went to bed around midnight, but was awakened an hour later by McKenzie. As always, he rushed to her room, prepared to shoot an attacker. There was none, of course and she seemed, if possible, more upset than the night before. Steve set his gun on the bedside table and flicked on the lamp.

"You okay?" he asked, holding one of her hands.

She nodded and a drop of sweat fell from her chin to his hand. "Sorry." She wiped it away with her other hand. "No, I'm not okay."

Her hands were clammy, so Steve took both of them in his and held them together. "What do you need?" he asked.

"Can—can you stay with me. Just until I fall asleep."

"Sure," Steve said. He turned the light off again, but not before McKenzie caught a glimpse of the angry purple marks on his stomach and lower ribs.

"I did hurt you," she said as he walked around the bed.

"It's nothing," he replied, sitting next to her. "Be gone in a couple of days."

"Okay, but I think it covers you pulling me in the ocean."

Steve smiled, but she couldn't see him. "Go to sleep," he said.

H-5-O

Kono found that Arnold Hadley was in fact in Hawaii and using the information Mr. Burton sent them, the team was able to justify a visit. Therein lay the difficulty. Mr. Hadley was not at his hotel, and no one seemed to have seen him. The manager said he usually came in late at night and left early in the morning.

"So do we wait for him?" Kono asked Danny as they stood outside the car.

Danny squinted in the sunlight. "I don't know. We have no idea when or if he'll be back, but if he's our killer and he's looking for Steve and the witness we need to find him quickly."

"Sounds like a stake out to me." Kono smirked. "I'll go get some food."

"Yeah, nothing with pineapple, okay?"

"Anything for you."

Danny smiled and slid into the front seat of the Camaro. It was sort of incredible that Kono probably meant what she said. The feeling was mutual.

While he was waiting, Danny called Chin to tell him their plans.

"We've decided to wait here to see if he comes back," he said. "Did you find anything else on him?"

"Not so far," Chin said. "He doesn't have a criminal record, not even a parking ticket."

"How about a library card?"

"All I've got is an Illinois driver's license. I can't even find employment records. It's like this guy never had a job or gone anywhere. The spirit cult thing has a record of his membership, but that's not very helpful."

"Maybe he is a ghost."

"Who's a ghost?" Kono said, climbing into the car.

"No one," Danny replied. "I'll talk to you later, Chin." He hung up and looked over at Kono with an expectant expression.

She smiled and held up a paper sack. "Bacon cheeseburgers," she said. "Is that acceptable?"

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

"Yeah, but you can keep saying it." She handed him a burger and took out her own. "So what do I get for these french fries?"

"Mmm, how about my unswerving devotion?"

Kono shrugged. "Sounds good."

Danny laughed. "Okay, but that's as sentimental as I get."

"Not if Grace is around."

"Well, that's different. She's not a bacon cheeseburger."

"Neither am I."

"That is not what I meant."

"I know."

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"Because it's so easy."

"I suppose I've resigned myself to an eternity of teasing."

"That's good." Kono popped a fry in her mouth. "You dish out enough of it anyway."

"It's a defense mechanism."

"'Cause you're so persecuted." Kono put her feet up on the dashboard.

"Hey! Stop that." Danny waved his hand at her.

"What?" Kono put up her hands.

"It's the car. You're scuffing it."

Kono raised her eyebrows. "Really? Scuffing it?"

"Yes. Steve will freak out when he gets back, and he'll blame me."

"Then you can just tell him I did it."

"And allow you to incur his wrath? I don't think so. Feet down."

Kono laughed and her feet dropped back to the floor. "Thanks for looking out for me."

H-5-O

When McKenzie woke up there was something heavy laying across her side. She wasn't quite conscious enough to be concerned about it. Shifting slightly, she noticed that there was something hard and warm behind her that was attached to the heavy thing. Then it moved. No, it was breathing. McKenzie quickly climbed out from under it and out of bed. Turning back she saw the thing was in fact Steve and that he was sleeping soundly on to of the covers. In less than a second, McKenzie went through the events of the previous night in her mind and determined that Steve must have fallen asleep around the same time she did, or he thought she wasn't safe alone.

Those reasons were rational enough, but McKenzie couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable at the thought of sharing her bed with someone she hardly knew. That's what she told herself anyway.

I asked for it, she thought, taking another step away from the bed. Desperate times and all that.

She gathered some things and decided to take a shower so as not to be there when Steve woke up.

He woke when she turned on the water and came to the same conclusions she had. And he felt bad. It had been an accident; he never would have stayed on purpose. He might have agreed to sleep on the floor. He made a mental note to tell her that.

However, now Steve had to worry about things becoming awkward. He had the feeling McKenzie was beginning to get comfortable with him, to trust him. This might throw a wrench in that.

When McKenzie came out of the bathroom, Steve was up, dressed, and making breakfast again.

"Sorry about ruining it yesterday," McKenzie said, pouring herself a cup of coffee.

Steve looked up from the skillet. "You've gotta stop saying that," he said. "Just remember, I threw you in the ocean and we're even."

"Okay."

Steve noticed what they weren't talking about. "Look, about last night," he began, "I didn't mean to fall asleep. I should probably stop staying up so late."

"Don't mention it," McKenzie said quietly. "I asked you to stay."

"But that wasn't what you had in mind."

"No..."

"I'd sleep on the floor if you wanted."

"No, don't worry about it. I'll be fine alone... but thanks for offering. I don't think that's in your job description either."

"We've gone so far beyond that, I don't even remember what is... breakfast is ready."

They ate and enjoyed pleasant conversation for awhile and then Steve decided to take a shower after they did the dishes. The sound of the water and the bathroom fan drowned out the noises from the main room. So, when Steve came out, he wasn't expecting a fist to the face and the shock distracted him from blocking the second hit.

He fell to the floor and just before losing consciousness, he saw McKenzie staggering across the wood floor, waving her arms.