Chapter 6 — Catch Me If You Can
Chin started to run to the injured officer, but reversed course when Art sat up, cursing and waving them after the suspect.
Kono already had the Cruze started. Hardly pausing for Chin to tumble in, she roared after the blue and white.
Chin clicked his seatbelt into place just in time to keep his head from cracking against the roof when the Cruze vaulted over a speed bump. The small car bucked a moment, then Kono's firm hand sent it roaring after the patrol car, sirens blaring and lights flashing on both cars.
Chin grabbed the radio and reported the oddity — a small red Chevy in pursuit of a police car. Lori fielded the call on behalf of the dispatcher, but their teammate couldn't offer any assistance. Everyone was swamped and new emergency calls were coming in following the aftershock.
"Never mind, we'll handle it," Kono said confidently.
Lori back at Five-0 and Chin in the passenger seat rolled their eyes in unison and said, also in sync, "You've been hanging around McGarrett too long!"
Kono just laughed and shoved harder on the accelerator. The Cruze leaped like a scalded rabbit.
"Hang on, Chin," Lori said, then had to move to her next caller.
The young looter was a reckless driver, but not especially skilled. The patrol car drifted wide at each turn, letting Kono and her nimble Cruze narrow the gap.
The youth looked over his shoulder at the closing Cruze. As he turned, the light ahead of him turned red and an oblivious driver started across the intersection. Music blaring, the teen motorist didn't hear the approaching sirens but when he looked left, he saw the police car almost upon him. In a panic, he hit the brakes.
The looter looked forward again and found a roadblock just ahead. He yanked the steering wheel left. The car skidded, rear fender kissing the front fender of the teen driver's car with a grinding metallic screech.
The patrol car fishtailed. The looter overcorrected and shot up on the sidewalk. Pedestrians scattered as he plowed down a postcard display and sent a newspaper dispenser flying. When he finally jinked back into the street, Kono was right behind him.
The patrol car shot around a corner and plowed into a lake in the middle of the road. The aftershock had cracked a water line, sending a fountain high into the air and filling the street from curb to curb.
The patrol car hydroplaned, spinning like a top with spray flying everywhere. It slid sideways into a parked car. The looter leaped out, splashed over to the curb and fled along the drier sidewalk, then cut right between buildings.
Kono charged through the pond, sending waves of water to either side. She stopped just clear of the water and Chin sprang out. "Cut him off," he yelled unnecessarily.
Kono roared away, racing two blocks — past a one-way street — until she could make a right turn.
Chin learned Art was right, the looter could run! Fortunately, he'd banged his knee in the crash, so he couldn't reach his full speed. Chin reached out and caught the youth's shirt. The looter stumbled and fell, but did a graceful shoulder roll like a break-dancer and sprang away at right angles. Chin lost a little ground when he was forced to change direction.
The athletic youth ran through a neighborhood. "Brah, cops!" he shouted, pointing back at Chin.
A big man lumbered off of a porch, muscles bulging like a weight lifter. "Leave the little dude alone," he commanded.
"Not gonna happen, brah," Chin answered, slowing warily. "He attacked a cop and stole a police car."
The big Hawaiian laughed. "Makes him good in my book." His big paws snatched at Chin, but the lieutenant wasn't there. He dropped with a scything leg kick that would have decked most people. With this guy, though, it was like kicking a lamppost. The big man only dropped to one knee with a grunt of displeasure. His massive hand latched onto the Chin's ankle. Chin lashed out with his other foot, catching his attacker in the face. The Hawaiian sat back, blood streaming from a broken nose.
"Now you're makin' me mad!" he growled.
He lunged and caught Chin in a bear hug and head-butted him. Chin clapped his hands over the man's ears — making the big man scream — then brought his elbow up sharply under the jaw — once, twice, three times — until the man released him and staggered back. Chin leaped in a roundhouse kick to the head. The big man dropped, groaning.
Chin rolled him to his belly and cuffed him. "You should have stayed out of it, brah," the lieutenant advised, wiping blood from his split lip.
Chin looked down the street, figuring he'd lost his suspect. At the end of the block, sunlight flashed on a little red Chevy.
Chin grinned.
The young looter fled, laughing. He hardly knew the big Hawaiian, but he knew the man hated cops. Looking ahead, he saw a red car jolt to a stop and the skinny girl cop got out.
The youth laughed again and lowered his shoulder, like a football player trying to break past a defender. The slender woman held her ground until the last minute, then stepped aside, hooked his ankle with hers even as she caught him by the back of his collar. Kicking up as she pulled down, she slammed the escaping thief onto his back.
He tried to break his fall and only succeeded in breaking his wrist with an audible crack. Breathing in a wheezing whine, the youth lay on the ground, cradling his wrist.
Chin trotted up to them and looked down. "You thought she was the easy one, didn't you?"
"I almost let him get past me so I could just shoot him," Kono said.
"I've got to keep you away from Steve," Chin said with disapproval. "You know a shooting takes twice the paperwork as an arrest."
"Yeah, but then it's done. No bookings, no questioning, no court appearances."
Chin hauled the looter to his feet. The suspect cradled his broken wrist.
"But now look," Chin argued. "Now we have to take him to the hospital. More paperwork! Change of plans," the lieutenant told the suspect. "You should have settled for HPD. Now we'll be going to Honolulu General instead."
TBC