Chin stretched his leg out on the couch and gently massaged the area above the wound. He'd taken advantage of his cousin's spare room, but had finally taken one of the pills the doctor prescribed for pain. Now, he sat at the dining room table, his laptop open and several files keyed in.
Anastasia Kwiatkowski was a cold blooded murderer who took pride in her work and didn't give a damn who she hurt to get to her target. McGarrett was right about the woman, but there were several things that had plagued Chin about the woman's past. He didn't think the woman was stupid enough to use her real name, especially if she did have family.
Chin had never told the others about his own experiences with black ops, but he was pretty sure John McGarrett knew about it. Steve was his father's son, and that meant he'd probably checked into the backgrounds of his team. He didn't blame McGarrett for doing that, hell, he'd have done the same damn thing. The truth was, he'd done it, checking Steve's background to find out if he was his father's son in every way possible.
"What are you working on, Cuz?" Kono asked from the kitchen. She'd been awake long enough to know her cousin hadn't slept much and the fact that he hadn't noticed her presence told her he was totally engrossed in what he was doing.
"I've been checking with some of my contacts to see if anyone's heard of Anastasia Kwiatkowski. According to them there's no record of her before that first bombing she's credited with."
"An alias?"
"Has to be," Chin said and nodded when she offered him a coffee. "I've called in a couple of favors and it looks like Anastasia Kwiatkowski was born in 1999."
"That would make her 14 and means she was killing at the tender age of four or five," Kono said and closed her eyes. The headache was a dull reminder of the explosion, but at least they weren't as bad as they'd been the first few days.
"I've been checking into people who seemed to have disappeared in the year prior to her 'being born'," Chin said and used his fingers to make quotation marks when he said the words.
"Did you find anything?" Kono asked and sipped the hot brew.
"There are a couple of strange deaths that happened the year before, but only one sounds like our bomber. The story has it that Anna Borchevsky was killed in an explosion aboard a yacht while sailing with her husband and daughter. The strange thing is the husband and daughters made it into the dingy and were found alive."
"Do we have an address on them? How old was the daughter?"
"No address…just that they were living in Warsaw, Poland. He works for a government agency. The daughter was 10 at the time of her mother's death."
"That would make her 24 now. Are there any pictures of her?"
"There are, but her face is always obscured. She's either camera shy or trying to keep her identity a secret," Chin explained and brought up the few pictures he'd managed to find. The woman's face was either turned away from the camera or covered by a scarf. She had shoulder length black hair, while her father's seemed to be dark brown.
"That could be the woman Steve saw at Mana's place," Kono observed.
"That's what I thought. I'm going to do a little more digging and maybe we can get a better shot of her," Chin said.
"Did you get any sleep, Cuz?"
"Not much," Chin answered honestly.
"Maybe you should go back to bed. Visiting hours isn't for a couple of hours," Kono advised.
"That sounds like a plan. Call me at eight and we can check with Duke on the way to the hospital," Chin said, standing and stretching the kinks from his back. He made his way toward the spare bedroom and knew Kono was right about him needing sleep. He felt like hell, and that could lead to him making a mistake and missing something important where this case was concerned.
Chin lay down on the bed; not bothering to take off is clothes as he waited for sleep to come. He could hear Kono moving around in the living room and knew she was probably going to keep searching for information.
5050505050
Steve looked up as Carl Lewis entered the room and readied himself for the battle he usually had with the man. Danny was seated in the chair near the window, but his attention was also on Lewis.
"So, you were caught working after visiting hours," Lewis observed and placed the two charts on McGarrett's bedside table.
"I need to find out who did this before anyone else gets hurt," McGarrett told him, surprised when the man sat on the bed and nodded slightly.
"I understand where you're coming from, Commander, and I know you want to do your job, but I have to do mine as well. My job is to make sure my patients get the care they deserve even if they put others ahead of themselves. I know we agreed that you would be released tomorrow…"
"I'm leaving today, Doc," McGarrett said.
"Commander, you realize you're…"
"I know I'm hurt, Doc, and I don't plan to go back to work, but I need to check out a few leads on my laptop. I'll work from home and I'll sleep better in my own bed."
"Will you…sleep I mean?" Lewis asked.
"I will…I just need to check a couple of sites."
"What if you did that from here?"
"No, I can't. There are some things on my home computer that I can't get to here. I need to reference them without worrying about someone hacking the sites off my laptop," McGarrett explained.
"Commander…Steve, I know how you feel about what happened at HPD and to your friends, but you're not to blame for what someone else does. You and Detective Williams chose a dangerous career, and admire you for what you do to make this city a safer place for people like me. There aren't many people who have the skills you and your team have and I'm sure you'll figure out who's behind this, but let me do what I do best. Let me make sure Five-O is around for a long time."
"That's why I need to go home, Doc. Look, I'll come back if I need to, but right now I'm able to move…so let me do what I do best," McGarrett told him and knew Lewis had finally run out of arguments when he glanced at Williams.
"No, don't even think about asking because one fool is one too many. You're not getting out of here until your surgeon signs off on you so don't give me any grief…"
"I didn't say a word," Williams said.
"No, but you were going to," Lewis said and turned to McGarrett. "The truth is, Commander, I can't think of a valid reason to keep you under wraps, but I can assure you I will come up with something if I hear even a whisper of you being at HPD," Lewis warned.
"I'll go straight home," McGarrett said. "How's Kamekona?"
"For a big man he's a coward where his doctor is concerned. I've never seen anyone so willing to do what he was told. Maybe you two should take lessons from him."
"Kamekona is going to milk the attention for everything he can. I'm betting his doctor is probably a pretty woman…"
"She is, but she's too smart to fall for his antics. All right, Commander, I'll sign your discharge papers as long as you come straight back here if you have any problems. Especially if you develop a fever."
"Thanks, Doc."
"Don't thank me…I'd rather keep you here for another day or two, but I'll have to settle for Detective Williams."
"He doesn't have a choice," McGarrett said of his friend's casted leg.
"Be that as it may he's not as stubborn as you," Lewis said and stood up. "Detective Williams, Dr. Martinez will be in to see you later today and discuss the treatment you'll need after you're released."
"Thanks, Doc," Williams said and watched his partner as the doctor left the room. "Steve…"
"I'm not going after her, Danno, I'm just going to do some research," McGarrett told him.
"Who are you trying to convince?" Williams asked.
"I'm not sure," the SEAL answered honestly. The truth of those words was obvious in the set of his shoulders and he looked at his partner. "If she is Anastasia's daughter she won't stop until either she's dead or I am," McGarrett told him.
"I'd rather it not be you…"
"Me too," McGarrett agreed as Chin and Kono entered the room.
"Hey, Boss, Lewis told us he's agreed to let you go," Kono observed.
"I just need to wait for the nurse and scripts," McGarrett told them. "What's that?"
"Pictures," Chin answered of the papers in his hand. "I did some research last night and found several things that might be related to the bombings."
Steve listened as Chin went over the information he had and stared at the pictures. There were no full pictures, but Steve was sure he knew who the woman was.
"Her name is Anna Borchevsky," Chin said of the dark haired woman who stayed in the shadows. "I found several pictures of her father, but her mother is something of a ghost. She disappeared the year Anastasia Kwiatkowski was born."
"She could be the woman I saw behind the reporter the other night," McGarrett told them and studied the pictures. "Chin, is there anything about her father?"
"He worked for a defunct government agency in Warsaw until his death last year. Anna has been traveling extensively and I'm running a check on the cities she's visited to see if there were any explosions where a black rose was left," Chin answered.
"I can't help feeling that this is her," McGarrett said of the woman in the pictures.
"Commander, I have your walking papers," the nurse said upon entering the room. "Am I interrupting something?"
"No," McGarrett answered and took the paperwork.
"You have two prescriptions you need to fill and you have an appointment to see Dr. Chow in her office in one week, but if you have any problems then come back to the ER."
"I will Lana," McGarrett assured her
"Very well," the matronly woman said and moved to Williams. "Detective, I am going to help you out of bed after Commander McGarrett leaves. Do you need anything for pain?"
"No, thanks, Lana, I'm okay right now," Williams said.
"Very well. I'll be back shortly. Commander, take it easy and get the rest you need," the nurse said before leaving them alone.
"Do you have any clothes here, Boss?" Kono asked.
"In the closet," McGarrett answered and waited for her to get them.
"I'll wait outside," Kono said and closed the door behind her.
5050505050
She cursed as she looked at the messages in her inbox. She knew her way around computers and had set up red flags when someone searched for any name associated with hers. Chin Ho Kelly was a lot smarter than she gave him credit for and his actions were forcing her to step up her schedule.
It had been a simple matter to find out that Steve McGarrett had been released from Queens. Most times it was just a well-placed question to a harried hospital volunteer. The man behind the desk was busy with several people when she'd asked for his room and he'd quickly checked the files while trying to help three other visitors.
She knew her mother would have been proud of her, but she would never hear it from her because of Steve McGarrett. The man deserved to die in an explosion like the one that killed her mother, and she would make damn sure he did before returning to Poland. She had a tidy sum of money from several 'jobs' and could be choosey about the assignments she took. This one would give her the satisfaction of avenging her mother's death.
In Poland she was using her father's name, one that was well known to government officials because he'd helped rally the people around the officials running the country. It was amazing how gullible people could be, and she wondered if her father had any idea of who she really was or that she had watched her mother create the masterpiece behind the explosions that had killed so many.
She picked up the bottle of brandy and poured herself a glass before walking out onto the terrace. The apartment she was living in belonged to an old boyfriend who would do anything she asked of him. He was at work now, but when he returned she would go to bed with him as a reward for helping her. It also meant he would have to die in order to keep her secret.
She reached for the phone and smiled before making the call that could very well be her last one to Steve McGarrett.
TBC