Author's Note: I'm from Southern California and I've been through three significant earthquakes, none really big where I was, thank heaven. A 5.0 isn't huge, but is likely to cause some damage. People fall, pieces of buildings fall, power lines fall (did that in Stormy, not here), and stuff falls off shelves. Damage can happen miles from the epicenter. The Northridge quake caused damage at Anaheim Stadium, 50 miles away. People have heart attacks out of fear and tie up the phone lines calling family members and calling the police to kindly tell them there's been an earthquake. Hawaii Five Point 0 is likely to have more feel-able aftershocks than any quake I've been in, but, hey, plot device. Anyway, some of the aftershocks are seen twice, from Danny and Steve's point of view and from Chin and Kono's. Oh, and the motorcycle officer story in the last chapter was, sadly, a true story.
Chapter 3 — It's Not Hyperbole When It's True
Chin and Kono ran into the ground floor with their hands on their guns.
"No, nonono," a man cried, waving his hands as he ran toward them. "He's not dangerous, please. He's confused. Please, he has Down syndrome."
The officers put their guns back and showed their IDs to the distraught man, the volunteer coordinator, who happened to be the only paid employee at the museum at the moment.
Looking up the grand staircase, Chin and Kono could see a short man with an oversized head, standing with his hands spread, blocking tourists from descending the magnificent artifact. Made of precious koa wood, the staircase was a historic work of art. The staircase had felt the steps of the Hawaiian king and queen and all their noble guests (also all their servants, because it was the only staircase in the building). What it didn't feel was the footsteps of all the tourists visiting the restored palace. They ascend to the second floor in a tiny elevator.
But after two temblors, they didn't trust that tiny space. They wanted to escape down the wide-open steps, but the mentally handicapped man was defending the stairs.
His voice could be clearly heard from below. "Visitors are not allowed on the stairs."
"Please, he doesn't … He's a very good worker, but he's not flexible. He knows all the rules and gets upset if someone violates them," the volunteer coordinator Mitch Langston said. "I told him to let the people come down this once, but he looked at me like I was breaking the law."
"What's his name?" Kono asked.
"Vinnie, Vinnie Roland."
"All right, we'll talk to him," Chin said. He took one step toward the forbidden stairs.
"Would you please put on the booties?" Langston asked.
He pointed at the paper booties that he and everyone in the museum wore to protect the wood floors.
"Really?" Kono asked, raising her eyebrows.
"It will help if Vinnie sees you obeying the rules," Langston pointed out.
The officers pulled the booties over their shoes hastily. The visitors were getting restless. When the building shivered in a minor aftershock, the crowd surged forward and seemed about ready to push Vinnie down the stairs to escape.
"Everybody take it easy!" Chin raised his voice in command as he held up his badge for everyone to see. "We are police officers. What seems to be the problem here?"
He and Kono began to ascend the precious stairs, causing Vinnie to squawk at them, "Visitors are not allowed on the stairs!"
"We're not visitors," Chin said calmly. "We're police officers." He showed his badge again, as did Kono. "We are here to clear everyone out of this building."
"About time!" one of the tourists muttered.
Kono quelled him with a glare, then motioned everyone to keep quiet and let chin work his magic.
"Vinnie, you need to stand aside and let these people walk down the stairs and go outside," Chin said.
"Visitors are not allowed on the stairs," the docent said, almost in tears. "They have to use the elevator."
"Vinnie, you felt the earthquake, didn't you?"
"Two of them," Vinnie agreed.
"The State of Hawaii rules say in case of an earthquake, elevators can't be used until they have been checked by an expert. People on an upper floor must take the nearest staircase to the ground floor. This is the only staircase in the building," Chin said. Really, there was no actual law that forbade the use of elevators. It was recommended practice.
"But these stairs are a work of art," Vinnie pleaded. "King David Kalakaua walked here and Queen Liliuokalani."
"I guess I'm entitled, then," Kono said. She showed the man her ID with the Kalakaua name. She had noble blood (much diluted) running through her veins.
"Don't confuse the man," Chin murmured. "Keep it simple. Vinnie, you know you have to obey police officers."
"Yes sir."
"I'm telling you that this is an emergency and you need to let these people come down the stairs. They all have their booties on. They won't hurt the stairs."
Vinnie hesitated. Langston added his pleas to Chin's. "He's telling the truth, Vinnie. They need to come down the stairs, so we can close the museum."
With two recognized authority figures exhorting him, Vinnie surrendered. He moved aside to allow the visitors to leave.
"But don't touch the handrails with your dirty hands," he snapped, salvaging some control out of the situation.
"We'll make sure they don't," Kono said, touching her weapon.
The tourists were not impressed by the mock threat, but Vinnie was appeased. Everyone walked down the broad stairs, sticking to the center, away from the railings.
"You come down, too, Vinnie," Chin urged.
Vinnie took a deep breath as if diving into the ocean and walked down the steps with as light a tread as possible.
"Good man," Langston said, taking charge of his volunteer.
Chin and Kono continued up to clear the floor officially, in case someone was hurt or hiding in a panic. They found a man in the King's Bedroom, one foot stepping over the velvet ropes out of the exhibit area, one hand tucked inside his jacket. The very definition of "red-handed," Kono thought.
Her gun seemed to leap into her hand. "Five-0," she barked. "Hands up!"
The man's left hand shot up, but his right stayed hidden inside his jacket. "Five-who? What's going on?"
"You're on the wrong side of the ropes, friend," Chin said. His gun was also out. He separated himself from Kono, making it more difficult for the suspect to target them if that was a gun in his jacket. "Take your hand out of the jacket, slowly!"
"Uh…"
"Now!" Kono ordered.
"OK, OK, don't shoot!" the fair-haired tourist said in a strong Midwestern accent. He began to withdraw his hand and the officers could see something in it.
"Drop it!"
"Uh, I probably shouldn't. It might break," the man said regretfully. "Just take it easy." He slowly pulled out the object so Chin and Kono could see it was a photograph in a silver frame. Gripping it with two fingers, the subject held it out to the officers.
Without lowering her weapon, Kono edged forward and took the frame. A glance showed a photo of King David Kalakaua shaking hands with a young Teddy Roosevelt.
"Is that any way for a visitor to act? They sell souvenirs in the gift shop, you know," Kono said severely.
The tall man shrugged his broad shoulders. "When everyone ran out, I couldn't resist," he said.
They handcuffed him and searched him, finding his ID and learning his name was Lindquist and he was from Indianapolis. They also found the Queen Liliuokalani's gold and ivory hairbrush and matching hand mirror in his pockets.
"I guess you'll be spending a longer vacation in Hawaii than you thought," Chin commented.
"Yeah, I hear Halawa Prison is lovely this time of year," Kono said sarcastically.
Kono and Chin took their big blond thief down the historic staircase and outside where Langston was waiting to lock up. He had sent Vinnie home and all the tourists had dispersed, though a group was taking photos of the exterior of the home.
Kono tried to use her cellphone to call HPD, but couldn't get through. Cell service was still spotty because of the overload of frantic callers. She had better luck reaching Lori, who was able to relay her call to HPD. But the police were swamped with more critical calls than an art thief. "Can you bring him in?" Sgt. Duke Lukela almost pleaded. Kono agreed.
"Come on, the car's across the street," Chin said, giving the suspect a nudge in the right direction. "We're taking you to HPD."
"OK. Thanks, Lori." Kono giggled when she put her phone away.
"What?"
"Lori said Steve and Danny are on their way to the last place on their list — a fireworks factory!"
Chin chuckled. "I bet Danny loves that!"
Steve and Danny headed for the final stop on their list, Han Lee Fireworks Inc.
"I can't believe I'm willingly walking into a fireworks factory with you," Danny grumbled. "You and high explosives are never a good idea."
"In the first place, it's not a factory," Steve corrected. "It's a warehouse. No manufacturing, just storage. In the second place, I am entirely comfortable with high explosives…"
"Too comfortable," Danny muttered.
"And in the third place," Steve continued. "Fireworks are not high explosives."
Danny rolled his eyes. "Hello, Steven, police officer." He tapped his own chest. "I know gunpowder and fireworks are not high explosives. You, my friend, fail to grasp the thrill of hyperbole."
"With you as my partner, Danny, hyperbole has become a way of life," Steve retorted.
Danny snorted. The Five-0 duo walked through the heavily reinforced door to hear men yelling and footsteps running, and to see sparks falling from the ceiling like a waterfall.
"It's not hyperbole when it's true!" Danny shouted.
TBC
A/N: The Iolani Palace is not the "Five-0 building" with the King Kamehameha statue in front. The palace is across the street. The gorgeous and historic koa wood staircase in the Iolani Palace is real. The tiny elevator is real. The booties are real. The docent and the stolen artifacts are products of my fevered imagination.
Another note: Many people with Down syndrome prefer routine, but all individuals are different. No offense to any Down syndrome readers.