Kamekona knew he had very little information for Five-O, but once he closed the truck he would go to Queens and let McGarrett know what he did find out. He leaned on the counter as a young couple walked toward the truck and smiled when they linked their hands.
"What can I get you lovely people?" Kamekona asked with a grin.
"I want Shrimp Jambalaya," the woman said.
"Make that two," the man told him and kissed the woman who had an engagement ring on her left hand.
"Would you like that extra spicy..."
"Why not…I do love my food spicy and my woman hot," the man said and pulled the blonde closer. "Right Cindy?"
"Right, Todd," the woman said and giggled as he tried to kiss her..
"Why don't you two take a seat at the table and I'll bring it over when it's ready," the big Hawaiian told them and smiled as the couple hugged as they walked to the picnic table. It was hot inside the shrimp truck, but the breeze from the ocean felt good as he took the large wok and quickly added everything needed to make his favorite specialty. "Do you want tofu?"
"No!" the couple said at the same time.
"Hey, Mr. Kamekona," the man said.
"Just Kamekona."
"Kamekona, what's that stuff under your truck?" the young man asked.
"It's sand, Todd," the woman said and laughed until her fiancé pointed to something near the front of the truck. "There is something there…what is that?"
Kamekona turned off the wok and stepped out of his truck as the couple moved closer. "Where is it?"
"Close to the front wheel," the woman answered.
Kamekona heard the something that sounded like the sizzle created when you poured hot oil into a hot wok and let his instincts take control. "Run!" he shouted and shoved the couple away from his truck. He heard them curse as they stumbled and barely had time to shout the warning again as the sizzling grew louder and the heat behind him intensified.
"Kamekona!" Kono screamed and exited the car as the shrimp truck seemed to be tossed into the air and landed on the roof. She'd seen the panic on his face as Chin pulled the car to a stop near the guardrail.
"Kono, call 911!" Chin ordered as the couple managed to climb to their feet. He hurried toward them, relieved that they just seemed shaken up as he hurried across the sand to the spot where he'd last seen Kamekona. The truck was fully engulfed in flames, and he held up his hand as if to ward off the heat. He rounded the back and spotted the big man lying face down in the sand.
"Chin, did you find him?" Kono called as she helped the young couple away from the truck.
"I saw it and then the truck exploded," the man told her.
"Are you hurt?" Kono asked.
"No, he pushed us away and then it blew up!" the woman answered excitedly.
"Kono, tell them we need an ambulance!" Chin said and knelt beside his cousin. He gently moved his head and wiped the sand away from his mouth and nose. He listened for sounds of breathing, relieved when the big man chuffed out a breath of air and tried to get up. "Easy, Cuz, are you hurt?"
"My truck just blew up. Of course I'm hurt," Kamekona snapped and managed to turn onto his back. He stared at Chin for several seconds, and then groaned as he looked at the flames eating away at his truck.
"What happened?" chin asked.
"My truck blew up. What do you think happened?" Kamekona tried to sit up, but his body wasn't cooperating as he looked at his cousin. "I would have been in there if it hadn't been for that couple. Where are they? Are they okay?"
"They're okay, Cousin," Kono offered. "I told them to stay away from the truck and show the paramedics where we are."
"I don't need an ambulance."
"Yes, you do," Chin said. "I saw how far you were thrown in the explosion."
"It was…wasn't that far," Kamekona said and swallowed when he looked at his truck.
"It took a lot of fire power to throw you, Cuz," Chin teased.
"No pun intended," Kamekona said as he tried to stand, but was easily stopped when Chin placed his hand on his chest.
"Stay down, Kamekona. The ambulance and fire trucks are on the way."
"My truck…"
"Your truck is beyond help…and the insurance will cover it. You did get insurance like we discussed?"
"Of course I did…I'm not stupid," the big man said and blinked his eyes as a trickle of blood ran down his forehead.
"No, you're not…it looks like you cut your head pretty good….might have scrambled your brains a little," Chin told him as an ambulance, fire truck, and police car arrived at the same time. He heard Kono directing the paramedics over to him and moved back so they could check on the downed man.
"I'm okay," Kamekona said.
"Humor is, Cuz," Kono said and smiled at the big man before talking to the paramedic. "He was pretty close to the truck when it blew and it was enough to send him flying like…"
"A big old blimp," Kamekona said and chuckled at his own joke.
"Can you tell me where you're hurt?" the paramedic asked.
"My ears are ringing and my head is ready to explode and if that happens I'm not cleaning up the mess, Brah," Kamekona answered.
Chin and Kono moved to speak to the police officer who was getting statements from the couple as firemen worked to put out the blaze.
"He was cooking hot Jambalaya when Todd saw something under the truck," the woman explained.
"It looked like something out of an old science fiction movie where the scientist was mixing two liquids and smoke rises just before all hell breaks out," Todd offered.
"Maybe it was too hot…the jambalaya I mean," the woman said and frowned as she looked at the fire. "That wasn't very funny was it?"
"It's okay, Ms. Tucker," the cop said and realized the young couple were probably in shock and should be checked over by the paramedics.
"I can walk…no way are you going to carry me," Kamekona was telling the paramedics.
"We need to put you on a backboard and C-collar," the lead paramedic told him.
"That's not happening…you'd need two collars and I 'm not going to sue anyone if I can't walk anymore," Kamekona said.
"Problems?" Chin asked.
"He's refusing to let us put him on a backboard," the woman said as she covered the wound above his right ear.
"Kamekona…"
"Look, Cuz, I'll go to the hospital, but putting me on one of them tiny backboards isn't going to happen. Besides my back's not hurting…just my head," Kamekona told them and managed to climb unsteadily to his feet as Chin moved to lend support.
"We need to get him into the ambulance," the female paramedic told them.
"Come on, Kamekona, I'll ride in with you," Kono said as reporters arrived. She knew it wouldn't be long before the story broke and Steve and Danny would find out about the explosion.
"Kono, I'll get Steve's laptop and meet you there," Chin said.
"Okay," Kono agreed and got into the passenger side of the ambulance as Kamekona and the female paramedic got into the back. It wasn't long before they were pulling away from the burning truck and on the way to Queens.
5050505050
Dr. Kylee Jareau met the ambulance as it pulled into the emergency bay and was slightly surprised when the back doors opened and a rather large man smiled at her.
"Hello, Mama," Kamekona said.
"Well, it appears we'll need two gurneys," the physician teased as she quickly checked his eyes and listened to what the paramedic had to say. "Any allergies, Big Fella?"
"No, and I can walk," Kamekona told the pretty red head.
"He's stubborn," Kono told her and moved out of the way as her cousin exited the ambulance.
"Any nausea or dizziness?" the doctor asked as she walked beside the patient.
"I'm sick…not the throw up kind but the kind that happens when you lose your dream," the big Hawaiian told her.
"Better to lose your dream than your life, Cuz," Kono said as they reached a cubical and Kamekona sat on the gurney.
"What's your name?" Jareau asked.
"Kamekona, what's yours, Pretty Lady?"
"I'm Dr. Jareau, and I can tell you're going to be a barrel of laughs," the resident observed.
"A big barrel and I can be a lot more entertaining than some monkeys," Kamekona vowed.
"I bet you can and just maybe I might let you entertain me, but right now I need to take a look at your head," Jareau told him. "Now lie down and we'll take a look at you?"
"Oh, I love it when a woman orders me around," the big man said and did as she told him. His head felt like it was ready to explode and he moaned softly when she touched the wound above his ear.
"Hey, Cuz, it looks like you're in good hands so I'm going to go let Steve and Danny know you're here," Kono told him.
"Good hands…she can handle me just fine," Kamekona said and gasped when she began cleaning the gash.
Kono chuckled softly, a mixture of relief and worry as she headed for the elevators. Kamekona never ceased to amaze her and flirted with anyone who caught his eye. Dr. Jareau was right up his alley, and she'd proven she could handle him just fine. She reached the floor where Steve and Danny were and hurried toward their room. She pushed open the door, somewhat surprised to find both men sleeping soundly.
Kono tried to ease the door closed, but stopped when she heard movement inside the room. It didn't really surprise her when she looked at McGarrett and found his eyes open. She stepped into the room and glanced at Williams who seemed to be sleeping.
"Kono, where's Chin?"
"He's gone to get your laptop."
"I thought you were going to check in with Kamekona?"
"I was, but there's been another explosion…"
"Sonofabitch," the SEAL snarled. "Where?"
"Kamekona's truck…"
"Jesus…is he all right?"
"He's in the ER, but he should be fine. He's probably got a concussion, but his truck is totalled," Kono told him.
"Damn it," McGarrett curse and slid his legs over the edge of the bed. "I need to get out of here!"
"And do what?" Williams asked. He'd been awake since his partner's first expletive and understood his anger, but there was nothing they could do until they laid down the groundwork. That meant they would have to get as much information as they could off the websites. He was pretty sure McGarrett had enough clearance to get to any website and if the woman was on there, they'd find her.
"Danny, she's going after everyone I care about…"
"Then let everyone you care about help you find her. We've already been through this, Steve. You need to let us help you…you're a SEAL, not a lone wolf," Williams said.
"Listen to him, Boss, he makes sense," Kono said and moved to the chair by the window. God, her head felt like it was ready to explode and she knew she'd overdone things again.
"Kono, you should be home…in bed," McGarrett told her.
"I will be as soon as Chin gets here," the woman said.
"And you shouldn't be alone. She's already proven that she'll go after everyone," the SEAL said.
"I'll ask Chin to stay with me," Kono told him as the door opened and Chin entered the room with McGarrett's laptop.
"Kono, it's time you went home," Chin said and placed McGarrett's laptop on McGarrett's bedside table. "Come on, Cuz, we might as well head out. Steve, call me if you need some help with the search. I'll be online for a couple of hours at Kono's place."
"I will, Chin," McGarrett said and powered up the laptop once the duo left the room.
"You know if Doctor Lewis finds out you're working he'll…"
"He's not going to find out," McGarrett said.
"Really? This is a hospital and I'm pretty sure the nurses tell the doctor everything their patients do," Williams said.
"I'll just make sure the nurses don't see me working, but if you keep talking I'm not going to get anything done," McGarrett said. He tapped several keys, bringing up websites that were unavailable to the layman and next to impossible to hack even for those who thought they could hack anything given the time.
"Well, if your hell bent on doing this then I might as well help," Williams said and threw back the blankets.
"Danny, in case you haven't noticed you're in a cast and there's no way in hell you're getting up on your own," McGarrett said with a hint of a smile. "I'm just going to check a couple of files and see if there's anything new on Anastasia Kwiatkowski since the operation he'd been involved in. There was no doubt in his mind that she was dead, but did she have relatives he didn't know about?
"I hate it when you're right!" Williams said and lay back with a sigh. "Tell me what you're doing?"
"I'm checking to see if there's anything new on her dossier," McGarrett answered. "I know she's dead, Danny, but if she had a daughter then she's the best kept secret since the question about how Cadbury gets the caramel in this chocolate bars."
"That good…I don't think anyone has the answer to that yet," Williams said, hoping to ease the tension he sensed in his friend. He understood how McGarrett felt and would probably be doing the same damn thing if the roles were reversed. He studied Steve's face, a mixture of concentration and anger evident as the SEAL searched through file after file.
Steve perused the files, searching for anything that would give him an idea of who the woman was, but nothing about Anastasia Kwiatkowski pointed to her having a family. That didn't mean there was none; it simply meant she'd kept her private life cut off from her dark side. He kept opening up the hidden files, but each time he did he was disappointed by what he saw.
"Commander, I hope that's not what I think it is," Carl Lewis said when he pushed the door open and looked at the man engrossed in something on his computer.
"Sorry, Doc, I was just…"
"Working," Lewis finished for him. "Look, Commander, I'm not going to tell you to stop what you're doing, but you need to realize you're not going to be much help if you don't give yourself time to heal."
"She's out there, Doc, and she's going after the people I care about. I can't just sit this one out," McGarrett said.
"No one expects you to, but there's only so much you can do from here. I don't want you working past visiting hours or I'll have that laptop confiscated. It wouldn't take much…just a call to Governor Denning should do it," Lewis scolded.
"I won't," McGarrett told him.
"I'm taking your word on this, but just so you know I have a friend who used to threaten to use dull needles on her patients and I'm beginning to understand where she's coming from. Don't make me regret leaving that laptop with you."
"I'll try not to," the SEAL told him. "Doc, have you heard anything about Kamekona?"
"As a matter of fact I just left him with Dr. Kylee Jareau and she's got his number. I don't think I've ever seen anyone that big afraid of Kylee," Lewis said and checked McGarrett's chart, not surprised to see it had been nearly six hours since the man had asked for anything for pain. He moved to the other bed and picked up Williams' chart as the man raised the head of his bed. "So, Detective, where are you hiding your laptop?"
"I'm not hiding one," Williams said and had the good grace to lower his eyes as Rachel and his daughter came into the room carrying a familiar case.
"Not yet anyway," McGarrett said with a hint of a smile as Lewis closed the chart and looked at the newcomers.
"Okay, Detective, I'm going to read you the same riot act as Commander McGarrett…"
"You don't need to do that, Doc," Williams said. "Unlike Steve I know when to shut it down. Hey, Monkey, how's Danno's favorite girl?"
"I'm okay, Danno, but mommy says we can only stay for a little while because Uncle Stan is coming home today," the child said.
"I have a couple of other patients I need to check on before I leave, but I should warn you both that the nurses will tell me if they find you doing something you shouldn't be doing," Lewis said before leaving the room.
"We brought malasadas for you, Danno," Grace said as her mother placed the laptop on the table. "We brought some for you too, Uncle Steve."
"Thanks, Grace," McGarrett said and closed the lid of his laptop. He wanted to give Danny some time alone with his family and was relieved that he had long pajama pants and a t-shirt to go with the slippers someone had brought for him.
"Are you going somewhere, Steve?" Rachel asked.
"I need to stretch my legs. You guys enjoy yourselves…and Grace?"
"Yes, Uncle Steve."
"Don't let Danno eat all the malasadas."
"I won't," Grace promised and smiled as she turned to her father.
Steve let the door close behind him and hoped Danny enjoyed his visit with Grace and Rachel. There was no mistaking the love he had for his daughter, nor was there any way he could miss the chemistry between the two adults. Someday, he hoped they'd both realize they belonged together, but something told him Rachel would never accept the fact that Danny Williams was a born cop, one who wanted to protect the innocent and lock up anyone who thought they were above the law.
McGarrett walked toward the stairs and made his way down to the main floor. He made his way to the ER and stopped at the main desk where several people were talking to the nurse.
"Hey, Brah, do you think they got pajamas in my size?"
Steve turned to find Kamekona sitting in a wheelchair with an IV attached to his large left hand. The man was pale, and there was still dried blood on his head.
"I don't know, but is that a gown or a sheet they wrapped around you?" McGarrett asked.
"Dr. Kylee helped me into this herself. Think she likes her men big like me," Kamekona said and smiled at the nurse pushing his chair. "What do you say, Nurse Joan? A big fella like me got plenty to spread around."
"I think you already spread it around, Brah," McGarrett teased and then grew serious as the nurse went to the desk to update the file. "I'm sorry…"
"What you got to be sorry for? Did you blow up my truck?"
"No, but if I'm right then it happened because of me," the SEAL said as the nurse returned and took control of the wheelchair.
"They have a room ready for you, Big Fella," the pretty nurse said.
"It's not your fault, Brah, besides now I got an excuse to get a bigger truck and expand my horizons," Kamekona said as McGarrett walked along beside him.
"I thought you were happy with the shrimp truck?"
"I am…I was, but there are so many things an enterprising young man like me can do. Isn't that right Nurse Joan?"
"A man like you could do anything he put his big old heart into," Joan Murdock answered as she pushed the wheelchair into the elevator. "Would you push three for me?"
"Sure," McGarrett said and pushed the button. He listened to Kamekona flirting with the nurse and thought about the woman who was behind this. She was out there, somewhere, and until she was caught everyone he cared about was in danger. How many people had he put in danger because he'd gone after people like Anastasia Kwiatkowski? If he'd known the danger he'd be putting those he cared about in would it have changed his profession?
Steve understood there was no right or wrong answer to that question, because if he'd chosen to live his life differently, people would still die. Did it matter that right now it was people he cared about? Yes, it did, but that didn't mean he could give up what he did. There were too many people like Anastasia Kwiatkowski and Wo Fat waiting to take what didn't belong to them and too few cops to make sure they failed.
"Excuse me, Commander, but maybe you should return to your room," the nurse said once they reached the third floor.
"I'm okay," McGarrett lied and followed her out the door. He knew she was right, but he didn't want to leave until he knew Kamekona was all okay.
"Go, Brah, I got me this pretty lady to tuck me in and make me comfortable. Nurse Joan here is my very own Florence nightingale…isn't that right?" the big Hawaiian asked.
"Sorry, Big Fella, but I need to go back to the ER. Your nurse is going to help you into bed," the woman said.
"As long as she looks like you I would die a happy man!"
"You're not going to die," the nurse said as another woman moved to take control of the wheelchair. "Be careful with this one Paula, he's all talk and doesn't need the action!"
"You wound me, Mama," Kamekona said and smiled in spite of the throbbing in his skull.
"Come on, Commander, I'll walk you back to your room," Joan Murdock ordered.
"Thanks," McGarrett said and made his way toward the elevators as Kamekona was wheeled toward a room at the end of the hallway. He couldn't help, but smile when he heard Kamekona say something about protecting his virtue. By the time they reached his room he knew he'd need something to take the edge off, but he called on his training as he entered the room to find Rachel and Grace just saying goodbye to Danny.
"Uncle Steve, I made sure we saved some malasadas for you," Grace told him and she hugged him and said goodbye.
"Thanks, Grace, I'll have them after dinner," McGarrett said and smiled at Rachel as she left the room.
"Are you okay, Partner?" Williams asked as McGarrett dropped heavily onto his bed.
"I'm okay. Kamekona is going to be all right. He's already flirting with the nurses," the SEAL answered.
"Sounds about right," Williams said and studied the other man's face as their nurse came into the room.
"Commander, I need to set up your antibiotics," the woman told him and hung the bag above his head. "Would you like something for pain?"
"I'm good…"
"Tell him he doesn't lie very well," Williams interrupted.
"Danny…"
"I know you think you have to be SuperSEAL all the time, Steve, but now's not the time. I'm going to take something and since we're sharing a room I'd rather not listen to your moans and groans," the Jersey native told him.
"Commander, there's really no need to be in pain when we can give you the medication to help you rest. Sleep is something you need if you're going to heal properly," the nurse lightly scolded.
"Listen to her…she makes sense," Williams told him and saw the slight nod that told him he'd gotten through to the man, either that or Steve was hurting a lot more than he let on.
Steve closed his eyes and soon felt the nurse start the IV antibiotics and heard her tell him she was also giving him morphine and that it would work fast so he should not fight sleep. It surprised him when his mind gave in to the need for sleep and knew the guard who\d followed him around was posted outside the door.
TBC