Cujo III Reloaded – This Time It's Personal
Chapter 7
I know this is late! The guilt has been killing me but RL still isn't letting me off the hook. Must have been really bad in a past life 'cause karma's come round to bite off big chunks of my ass right now. I'm sorry if you were thinking the story was abandoned. I wouldn't do that to you guys. Thank you so very much for your response to the last chapter. As always, your suggestions and criticisms are welcome.
Imaginary Beta hasn't gotten much sleep so please ignore any screw-ups unless they're too troublesome. If so, please feel free to rat her out and I'll kick her butt.
Disclaimer: Not getting paid for this and despite many attempts at persuasion, the powers at CBS are still unwilling to take me on as a volunteer-body-make-up-applier. I know I'd do a fabulous job of covering up those tattoos. Will be extremely diligent and make sure I take the time . . . lots and lots of time . . . to do it right.
*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0* Hawaii 5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*
Homicide – Goal or Accomplishment?
"Danny!" interrupted Chin, stepping between his friend and the guy he personally knew to be bad news. Kilkenny had been one of the worst of those who'd given him a rough time when rumors of an I.A.D. investigation had circulated through the department like wildfire. Even after it was proven Chin didn't take the money, he knew Kilkenny had continued to diss him to whoever would listen.
Pinning the HPD detective with a cold stare, he then turned to Danny to announce, "We may have a lead. You need to talk to this guy we're questioning over there on the other side of the walk."
Williams, vibrating with the need to choke the ever-loving shit out of Mickey Kilkenny, didn't give up his nose-to-nose stance and intense glare for another couple beats before snorting dismissively and turning to look at Chin.
Kilkenny only stood smirking; hoping to cover-up the relief he felt when they'd been interrupted. He wasn't entirely sure he could take the pint-sized investigator in a throwdown. Williams has quite the reputation and not just for his mouth. Anyone who could back-up that crazed asshole McGarrett without a second thought wasn't a pushover to say the least. Maybe it would be wise to back-off a little.
Knowing this was no time for macho bullshit; the Hawaiian detective placed his hand on his colleague's shoulder and nodded toward where Kono stood talking to a somewhat tattered looking man. No matter how much Kilkenny deserved what Danny would do to him, they had business to take care of.
With one last hard look at the smug looking Kilkenny, the blonde took a step back before turning abruptly and stalking toward where Kono waited with a possible witness, as he muttered under his breath, "Later asshole."
Next time, I won't break it up, I'll just let Danny clean his clock, thought Chin who had no doubt the Jersey detective could make minced meat out of the obnoxious Kilkenny. He just hoped he'd be around to witness the annihilation.
As they walked toward Kono and the guy she'd been questioning, Chin cautioned in a low voice, "Danny, chill brah. It won't do us any good if you get hauled-in for beating the crap outta that jerk - no matter how much he deserves it."
Replied the thoroughly ticked-off Williams, "Now I know why he and Steve need to be kept in separate cages. There's no way SuperSEAL would put up with that kinda shit. Next time they get into it, I won't stop Steve from turning him into a pile of smoking rubble."
"If they get into it again, half the department's gonna be on Steve's side. Kilkenny's never gone out of his way to make friends unless he thinks they can get him somewhere."
"That just means he's probably gonna be a big-shot politician someday." observed Danny with undisguised venom.
Taking a deep breath and shrugging off his recent desire to commit homicide, Danny came to stand beside Kono who was engaged in conversation with a weather beaten man wearing clean but tattered clothing.
"Danny, this is Arthur Lopaka, he says he may have seen something."
"What was it that you saw Mr. Lopaka?" asked Danny, taking in the bloodshot eyes and baked appearance of the man in front of him. It's only half-past seven freakin o'clock in the morning. Who gets stoned this early in the day? Oh, right, Toast. Well, it's perpetual with him. He probably wakes up that way.
Seeming to suddenly realize someone had just asked him a question, Lopaka roused himself and began, "Brah, there was this guy."
…
It wasn't hard for Steven J. McGarrett to sit still. It was impossible.
Pacing from the living room to the kitchen for what seemed the thousandth time, he stopped to stare at the animal watching him curiously from the top of the tiled counter.
"You know this is your fault." said the tall man accusingly.
The cat said nothing.
"If you hadn't decided, for whatever reason, that you just had to jump into an empty pot and knock it off the counter . . . well . . . I wouldn't be stuck here feeling like I just got hit by a train."
The animal only blinked lazily at him from his perch on the countertop, apparently feeling no responsibility whatsoever for his human's current condition.
McGarrett, needing an outlet for his annoyance at being stranded stared back for a moment before giving up to try to blink away the multiple images of his miniscule assailant, "You know what? Next time you and Danny get into it, I'm gonna be on his side. No more Mr. Niceguy, cat."
Cujo only stared back at him - the very picture of innocence as he licked a velvety paw to then scrub it over his face and behind his ears in an impromptu bath.
"Really got you worried, huh." muttered Steve at the cat's obvious lack of being impressed with the threat.
With the ache in his head growing ever fiercer with each passing minute, he spied the prescription bottles Danny had left out on the counter. Reading the labels at this point was impossible. He knew that one bottle was a painkiller and the other was probably an antibiotic . . . whatever. He emptied one tablet from each bottle into the palm of his hand and without bothering with water, dry-swallowed them.
Even though he felt like unmitigated crap, he needed to get out of here. He couldn't see clearly enough to read so going to H.Q. to deal with the dreaded pile of paperwork wasn't an option. Television was out too; besides, daytime T.V. offered only soaps, reruns of old sitcoms or programs with what seemed a hundred pissed-off and/or argumentative women all speaking at once. Even if he didn't already have a headache, he was sure he'd quickly acquire one after a few minutes of listening to 'The View' and even on a good day; that pompous tool Dr. Phil got on his nerves.
He thought of going for a swim but he was still too dizzy and becoming disoriented in the water wasn't anything to mess with - even though he knew the ocean as well as he knew his own living room. Despite Danny's opinion of his supposed lack of regard for his own safety, he wasn't that foolish.
The cat chose that moment to leap off the counter and madly dash across the room. He may actually be chasing something or he may just be hallucinating as cats seemed to sometimes do. If only it was that easy to find entertainment! was his thought as he chuckled softly.
After another half-hour of feeling sorry for himself and with his head feeling slightly better, he picked up the kitchen phone's handset and punched a familiar number into the keypad on the battered unit mounted beside the door.
…..
"Tell my colleague, Detective Williams, what you saw Mr. Lopaka" directed Kono as their witness seemed to mentally wander off once again.
"Oh . . . yeah . . . " said the man apparently startled to find three detectives staring at him and expecting some sort of response, "Well, there was this ninja-lookin' dude that ran from the building to the other side of the parking lot."
"Ninja looking?" asked Danny
"Yeah, you know brah, all dressed in black like in the movies and with a kinda hoody kinda masky thing."
"Uh huh. A hoody kinda masky thing. Got it." acknowledged Danny (rather patiently thought the blonde detective) as he grit his teeth before asking slowly and clearly, "Can you describe this person other than the clothing? Height, weight . . . ?"
"Well, he wasn't all that big. Maybe kinda smallish, not real bulky or anything. It was still pretty dark, ya know. I only got a quick look before he went back up the slope into the trees."
"What were you doing here at that hour Mr. Lopaka?" asked Danny, having already decided the guy, in addition to being stoned out of his mind, was probably homeless though he obviously made the effort to not appear so. He was clean shaven and though a bit tattered, his clothing was clean as well.
"I was ahh, just wakin' up. Wanted to come down to get an espresso. You know to kinda kick the neurons into gear."
Yeah, whichever ones you haven't already fried, thought Danny as he waited only a little impatiently for the man to continue.
"It's nice havin' a place so close."
"You live near here?" asked the blonde, having realized this was a business park built at the very outskirts of town and there were no residential areas close to where they now stood.
"Yeah, right over there." said the man waving vaguely toward the treeline at the top of the slope.
"You camp up there?"
"No, well, yeah." stammered the man who, surprisingly, wasn't too out of it to not look embarrassed. "I'm sort of between places right now, ya know."
"Uh huh." said Danny non-committaly, it wasn't all that uncommon to run into such people. There were plenty of places to squat in the surrounding forested areas. This business park had been carved out of what had been previously been undisturbed ground densely covered with trees and other vegetation. Even he, a transplanted haole, was bothered by the seemingly ruthless destruction of habitat. Surely the island didn't need another of the ubiquitous coffee shops that seemed to infest the state like an invasion of roaches.
"Anything else you can tell us about this guy? Race, ethnicity?"
"Didn't really get to see anything other than the ninja stuff. Wasn't any skin showing or anything."
"You have a way for us to get in touch with you?"
"Yeah brah, uhh I mean officer, got a cell-phone. One of the girls at the coffee shop always lets me plug in the charger there. I guess she's one of the one's who didn't make it huh?" he said sadly
"What was her name?"
"Mona, her name was Mona. Really sweet."
"You know her last name?" asked Kono
"Uhh, no. Never asked."
"So, you and Mona know each other well?" asked Danny almost casually, eyebrows quirking with his inquiry.
"No, no, it wasn't like that man. She was just being nice. "answered Lopaka quickly, having begun to lose the mellow haze of his early morning toke. He suspected the little blonde cop may be hinting at something.
Deciding the guy was telling the truth about the girl, Danny said to the now much more focused looking man, "We'll be contacting you, Mr. Lopaka. I don't have to tell you not to leave town, right?"
"Got nowhere to go." said Arthur Lopaka rather sadly "Besides, since the old lady threw me out, I try to stay as close to my kid as possible. I don't go too far away from here. They still live in my house . . . well my ex-house, about three miles from here."
"How old is your child?" asked Danny curiously
"Ten. She's like the best brah, like a light in the dark. Right now, the only light I guess." he said, looking as though he was about to cry; his glazed and reddened eyes becoming shiny.
Danny nodded in understanding then turning toward the sound of approaching footsteps, he did a double take at the man walking toward them.
What the hell! he muttered
Striding up to them as though it was just another day in the field came their recently concussed leader.
"What do we have Danny?" he asked coming to stand beside the blonde detective who glared daggers at him as Kono's eyes widened at the appearance of the man who was supposed to be recovering at home.
"Hey boss. How are you feeling?" she cautiously asked knowing Danny was about to rip him a new one.
Chin only nodded at the tall man and prepared to once again inject himself between Danny and a person who was taking his life in his own hands.
"Good. I'm good." he responded with a smile, ignoring the man standing beside him whose glare should have made him burst into flames right there on the sidewalk.
Kono took that moment to turn to the homeless man to get his phone number and confirm that he would sign a statement if and when it became necessary. Chin joined her and winced unconsciously when Danny roughly took his partner's arm and dragged him away toward the street.
"What the fuck are you doing here!" hissed the detective
"Danny, I am the boss . . . remember?" replied McGarrett, trying to go for indignation.
"Oh, you mean the boss with a concussion, several stitches in his rock hard head and absolutely zero common sense who is supposed to be home right now?"
"No, the boss who has a job to do." calmly answered McGarrett with as much authority as he could muster. Of course it wasn't quite as effective as it could be. He swayed a bit as he tried to ignore a sudden bout of vertigo and the accompanying queasiness that may have caused him to pale a bit. Shit, this wasn't going well.
The unfocused look in his partner's eyes and the greenish tint to his complexion didn't escape Danny's notice. "Your job right now, you moron, is to stay home and keep from inconveniently passing out or puking! How'd you even get here?" demanded Danny, "I took both sets of your keys." then without waiting for an answer said, "You hot-wired your truck didn't you! You pulled some SEAL crap and drove here without being able to see straight! I knew I should've cuffed you to your bed!"
"No, Danny, I didn't hot-wire my truck!" was the defensive answer, "I called someone for a ride. I'm not stupid enough to try to drive right now!"
"No, thank God, but you are stupid enough to try to come to work with a fucking concussion!"
"It was boring at home." answered the tall man in what sounded suspiciously like a defensive whine.
"What? You and your wolverine couldn't entertain each other? Maybe you guys could hunt mice together but SEEING AS HOW YOU SHOULD BE IN BED YOU MORON – PROBABLY NOT!" Danny arms and hands were a blur as he settled into the familiar rhythm of a rant, his hapless partner standing rigidly before him with arms crossed over his chest and looking as though he could chew nails.
Though there were several members of HPD within hearing distance, they pretty much ignored the commotion. It wasn't anything new. Five-0 seemed run very successfully on conflict and adrenaline. There was no need to interfere even if it sounded as though the commander and his 2IC were once again about to kill each other.
"Knock it off Danny! I'm not leaving! We have a job to do and I can't just sit at home and listen to news reports."
"You said 'listen' didn't you?" suddenly accused the astute detective, hands stilling as he narrowed his eyes at the pale man, "You didn't say 'watch' the news. I bet you still can't see straight can you!"
"Uhh . . . "stammered McGarrett, knowing he was busted
"Moron" said Danny, knowing he was pissing in the wind to even try to get the Five-0 leader to do something reasonable like stay home and recuperate. Finally, with a frustrated sigh, he said "Come on then. Let's get to the top of the slope to see if the C.S.I.'s have found anything up there. And you'd better not pass-out or toss your cookies Rambo 'cause I'm not carrying your ass or holding your head while you puke."
Smiling a crooked smile of triumph, Steve clapped his hand on Danny's shoulder as they walked toward the hillside on the other side of the parking lot
Whether the hand on his shoulder was in friendship or Steve just trying to keep his balance the detective wasn't sure. Didn't matter, Rambo was here now and he'd keep an eye on the idiot.
Whew, at least I don't have to stay home and listen to those women on The View! thought the SEAL, head still pounding and fighting nausea as they began to ascend the leafy slope toward where the suspect had last been seen.
…..
With a galloping heartbeat, the realization that that homeless guy had almost seen what had happened had sunk-in during the hasty retreat up the slope to the waiting vehicle. That had been an uncomfortably close-call.
It certainly wasn't the time to become overconfident. It wasn't yet complete. There was still more to do. The blade of the knife that lay on the towel on the passenger seat was still sticky with the darkening liquid.
Have to take care of that. Can't leave any traces. That one had been messy. It's a good thing black clothing doesn't show stains all that well.
The quickly warming morning air was relaxing as it flowed through the vehicle that entered the flow of commuter traffic on Ala Moana Highway. After a quick clean-up there'd be a trip to set the next one up – just a little more carefully this time. A caramel Macchiato sounds good right about now.
It had been a busy morning.
*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0* Hawaii 5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*5-0*
Still searching for the 'funny' that seems to be incredibly elusive this time. May be posting an angsty one-shot to try to get it out of my system once and for all.
Will try very hard to update within a week. If you're still talking to me, reviews would be nice.