Chapter 11: Katia Maksasinskya

Team Headquarters

"You like to fight," Danny told Steve as they walked into headquarters.

Steve didn't remember why they began talking about why he was always alert, but he knew Danny somehow initiated the conversation. He had to admit, though, he never thought of himself as that combatant until Danny pointed it out.

"I like to fight?" Steve retorted, opening the glass doors which led to the main room of headquarters.

"You attract danger, you're like a magnet," Danny fired back. "But when bullets fly to you, the magnet, they stray and hit me!"

Steve shook his head as the duo approached Chin and Kono by the tabletop computer, "You got shot once!"

"Once is enough, my friend!" Danny shouted as Kono and Chin exchanged a glance with each other.

"Did you guys get anything?" Chin interrupted them.

Steve looked at his father's old partner, happy he had interceded before Danny was able to go on with the quarrel. He leaned against the tabletop computer and took a quick peek to see what the two officers were working on. It was a very long list of people that were associated with Frakstioon Valitud.

"Yeah," Steve replied still engrossed in the list, which caused the blonde detective to scoff.

"If getting files we need in a couple of days counts as getting something," Danny said.

"So what happened?" Kono asked as she scrolled through the list that commanded the SEAL's attention.

"Grant needed some convincing that Francois's files should be shared with us," Steve said as Kono shot Danny a confused look.

Steve realized Ali was the only one who wasn't present. He hadn't seen her in her office when he came in. It made him wonder if she decided to leave for Langley like she did all those years ago or if she merely stepped out.

You're paranoid, she isn't going anywhere, he thought.

"Where's Ali?" he asked, turning his head towards her office.

"Her old captain called, she stepped out," Chin explained, "She looked a little troubled."

"I can go see if she's okay," Kono offered, still sliding her fingers around the tabletop computer. "It really looked like she didn't want to talk to her captain."

Steve shook his head and faced his team, "I'll talk to her later. What's going on here?"

"When Ali told us Jacques Francois was sent to an MI-5 holding cell she mentioned the cult members were ordered to find her and bring her back dead. I checked to see if Interpol had any records of ex-followers," Kono explained.

Steve was impressed with the rookie's quick thinking. "Nice work-"

"Commander McGarrett," a smooth, female voice interrupted Steve.

He turned around and saw Ali's friends, Odette and Declan, making their way towards the center of the team's headquarters. Steve had to admit, the brunette was really attractive, but something about her struck him the wrong way. She seemed devious as opposed to Ali's truthfulness. Steve felt that if he told her something in confidence, his entire SEAL team would know about it the next day.

"Agent McCollough," Steve greeted her.

"Commander, I understand why you wanted us to stay and watch over Ali's house, but it's been all day," Odette reported. "An entire, uneventful day."

Steve didn't mind that the weapon's specialist was expressing her boredom; he knew how tedious it could become sitting in one place all day, waiting for something to happen when nothing was actually going to happen. It annoyed him, though, that Odette left the house without taking any measures to ensure nobody else gained access inside of it.

"It's only one in the afternoon," Steve said.

"Unless assassins operate on island time and are late to everything, nothing will happen to Ali," Odette shot back as the main doors slowly opened and Ali slipped inside. "See, she's in one piece. Right, Declan?"

"Hmm, yeah," the Irishman grunted, suggesting to Steve his mind was elsewhere.

"Yeah, but I won't be when the captain gets a hold of me," Ali interjected.

"Hey!" Danny shouted from his place by the computer. "Can you let us in on the big secret!"

"Would you just help Kono?" Steve shot back, not bothering to look at his annoyed partner.

"Look, we would be able to contribute more if you just let us do something, maybe with a little risk, a little action," Odette suggested.

"No risk!" Declan shouted, fully engaged in the conversation now.

Odette rolled her eyes, "Look, the media reported on a new case an hour ago; please give us something to do with that."

As much as Steve wanted their help, he didn't know what they could do. Naval Intel files on Francois would be here in a few days, Kono was already looking into their victim's identity and Ali had figured out the motive.

"Call Demetrio," Ali finally proposed.

"And do what?" Odette asked, a little aggressively.

"Ask him to send over the files on Frakstioon Valitud," Ali calmly ordered.

Satisfied, Declan nodded and quickly whipped out his phone as he turned to leave.

Not long after, Odette followed suit leaving Steve with an uneasy feeling. He didn't know what it was, but something about that woman made Steve, want to hide in a bunker.

"Who was that?" Danny asked Ali.

"Old friends, Declan and Odette," Ali answered as she shoveled through mountains of paper on her desk. "Seriously, this task force isn't even two weeks old! Why do I have so many papers on this desk?"

"You said her name was, Odette?"

She gave Danny a look that suggested he drop the subject. She felt the lonely, sad feeling she felt in Kenya creep into her heart. Ali knew she had to stop thinking this way, but it was hard. How was she supposed to ignore the feeling of uselessness whenever Odette was around? Odette was smarter, prettier and funnier. Her friend could name any type of weapon, fight using any technique and everyone longed to spend time with her. What did Ali know? She was a professional liar; that was what she was paid to do.

Ali wouldn't be so insecure about it if her boss, Captain Olsen, didn't praise Odette so much. She realized that it sounded like she was jealous, in some ways she was. Each day she spent in Langley was a day she had to let Odette receive all the praise. Olsen's latest phone call had been about how Odette accomplished something amazing.

It would surprise everyone, though, if they knew Ali had been the one who nearly died because her cover had been blown. That's the piece of news nobody heard about. Unfortunately, that was what one sacrificed as an operative. Bragging rights, egos, jealousy all had to be put aside to finish the job. Ali just wished her captain remembered that.

A knock on her door broke Ali out of her thoughts and Steve stood in the doorway.

"Can I have a minute?" Steve asked Danny.

"Oh, yeah, I was just…getting this," Danny lied about his motive for being in Ali's office and picked up her stapler.

Ali smiled as he left. It amused her how he didn't want to admit he was trying to find out more information about Odette.

"You okay?" Steve questioned Ali as she sat down in her small swivel chair.

She sighed, "Yes."

"You don't sound like it."

Ali's eyes met his encouraging ones, "I just get frustrated when Odette's around."

She saw Steve's face take on a confused look. She didn't know whether to interpret that as a good sign or a bad one. One might mean he didn't know why she allowed herself to get frustrated and the other might mean he was simply confused.

"You want to elaborate?" he pried, giving her a warm smile.

She glanced at her desk, trying to not let her insecurities get the best of her.

"Maybe later?" she suggested.

"Over drinks at my place?" Steve proposed.

"Maybe at eight?" she countered with a smile.

"Guys!" Kono called from the tabletop computer.

Ali quickly stood and dashed out of the room before she let Steve confirm or deny her suggestion. Her reaction didn't seem to surprise him, though, because instead of standing lost in thought, he was close behind her. When she reached the computer, she saw a picture of their blonde victim on the screen next to her information.

"Our victim is Katia Maksasinskya. She came into the United States a few days ago and does anyone want to take a wild guess what she's a part of?" Kono stated.

"Frakstioon Valitud," Steve answered, with his arms crossed over his chest. Ali thought it made him appear a little intimidating, but she knew it was how he stood when he was trying to piece things together.

"Lucky guess," Danny mumbled as Kono nodded her head. "Okay, this definitely eliminates rape off the list of motives."

"So now the question is," Chin began. "Why did our victim die?"

Ali knew the answer was that Francois killed her. When she was pretending to be a cult member Ali remembered Francois didn't need a motive. If someone looked at him the wrong way, they were shot on the spot and if not shot, reports of an "accident" would circle throughout the cult.

She was really glad that her old team member, Derek, had informed her about the entire scheme Francois had planned. Thinking of Derek made Ali worry about how she let him leave by himself. If Francois was on the island and he knew Derek had suspected something, the chance of Derek being alive was slim.

He hasn't called at all and my car is still gone, she thought as her heart rate increased.

"I have to call someone," she said suddenly, pulling out her phone and, despite, everyone's surprise ran into the nearest office.

Her heart seemed to be punching her ribs as the phone rang.

Pick up, pick up, pick up,she internally begged Derek.

"The number you have reached has a voice mailbox that has not been set up yet…" the annoying robot woman's voice droned on as Ali pressed the end button and dialed Demetrio's number.

"Solara Petroleum, please hold," Demetrio formally greeted her out of habit.

"No, it's me!" Ali interrupted.

"Oh, hey, Ali," Demetrio casually greeted her.

"Listen, did Derek ever make it back?" she asked, trying to control how frantic she was becoming.

"Agent Falconer? He requested time off a couple of days ago to visit his family," Demetrio informed her. Ali knew that was a lie because Derek rarely visited his family.

Ali covered her face with her hand, hoping it would help, but it only made her more anxious. What if Derek was dead? Dead like her brother, dead because of her.

"You need to get a read on him, today," Ali demanded.

"Will do," her task handler assured her, which eased her worries a bit. "I'll let you know via text."

Ali stood in the office for a second, trying very hard not to let her emotions get the best of her. To her, it felt like everything was falling apart and she couldn't stop it.

Maybe you should let it crumble, a small voice in her mind said. You could rebuild it all.

She took a few deep breaths to clear her mind and walked out of the office. When she came up to the computer again she noticed everyone, aside from Kono, had left.

"Where is everyone?" she asked.

"All three of them went to search Maksasinskya's hotel room," Kono informed her. "Steve wants us to wait for your CIA files and then go through them."

Ali smiled at Kono. She was impressed with Kono's skill at following a paper trail. If she hadn't gone through and found where Katia Maksasinskya had used credit cards, they wouldn't have found her hotel room.

"You're a good cop, Kono," Ali remarked as the native smiled.

"Not a cop yet," she corrected.

Ali shrugged, "You might as well be. I mean you already survived a case with Steve and Danny as partners and you're leading this case."

"Thanks," Kono smiled. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ali replied. "There's just a lot on my mind."

Ali could tell Kono felt awkward around her. Who wouldn't? Ali was an awkward person; it was one of the many things that contributed to her insecurities.

"I know you probably already confide in the boss, but if you ever need a friend, I'm here," Kono smiled.

The operative appreciated Kono's gesture and ignored the bit about "confiding in the boss". She already felt at ease with Kono, as if they had been close friends before the task force.

"Thank you," Ali said.

"And I have another question," Kono began.

Ali glanced at her, "What is it?"

"My graduation is in two weeks, the sixteenth of June," Kono explained. "Would you want to come? It isn't anything special."

The agent smiled and felt somewhat odd. It wasn't that she was never invited to an event. She usually was never able to go to these events because of her job. She had to admit, that it was nice to be able to come to her own house in the evening, go out for drinks with friends and be able to see her family every day. She now suspected that her brother, Josef, had planned her falling in love with Hawaii when he asked her to stay for a few weeks. If he had, he was one smart guy. Ali realized that while she was completing missions she had been miserable, but now that she was in Hawaii, she felt more content.

"Yeah, I'll be there," Ali confirmed and with that substantiation she knew that she had, somehow, said yes to moving back to Hawaii.