A/N - Thank you to everyone for reading. In case I missed replying to any of the lovely reviews, your comments are greatly appreciated and I thank you for your time.

Chapter 4

Danny waited as the oversized door slowly moved. A grey haired Samoan woman bent over with age stepped into the opening.

"Yes?" the voice was raspy but the tone polite. The woman's eyes never lifted from watching their shoes.

"Hello," Danny said warmly, wanting nothing more in that moment than to get the servant to meet his gaze. Whether she was well trained by work ethic or by the trials of life, the results were the same. Danny would never be able to describe more than the part in her hair.

Steve sighed at the frown on his partner's face and knew that Danny had added another crime to Terashima's list.

"We'd like to see Mr. Terashima." Steve pulled his badge and handed it to the woman, knowing her view didn't extend above his knees and she'd never see it sitting on his belt loop. "Is he home?"

A wrinkled hand stretched out to return the badge as the woman nodded, somehow seeming to get even closer to the ground. "I will call him. Please wait here." She gestured to the wide open space of the foyer. After quietly closing the door behind them she shuffled further into the house to track down its owner.

Rather than look about the bright and tastefully decorated entrance, Danny's face took on a dark scowl. "Did you see that?"

Steve was unable to comment before Danny continued.

"She can only tell how bad it's raining by the size of the puddles. How can someone treat a person - have them in their employ! - and allow that to happen?" Danny's hands were aimed in the direction the old woman had gone.

Steve put a calming hand on his partner's shoulder. "You can't rescue everybody."

Danny made a disgruntled snort, "If she were a puppy I'd be allowed to take her to a shelter, find her a better home."

"She's not a puppy, Danno," Steve said quietly.

Both men became still as they heard approaching footsteps. Thomas Terashima was a well dressed Japanese man of late middle age. He smiled when he greeted his guests, but neither of the visiting 5-0 officers felt welcomed.

"How can I help you, gentlemen?"

"What can you tell us about the explosion near your dock this morning?" Danny cut to the chase, not in the mood to fake pleasantries.

Terashima's eyebrows rose at the directness, but after a moment seemed to decide that he could respond in the same manner. "Akino Salvator wasn't a trained mechanic. Obviously whatever he did to his boat caused it to …" Terashima's hands came together and his fingers motioned a mushroom cloud.

Danny looked ready to leap at the smiling Oriental man. Steve took over the questioning. "So you have no idea as to the cause of the explosion?"

Terashima smiled benignly and shook his head.

Steve continued, "Mr. Salvator was having some problems with his windows. Did you notice anyone suspicious hanging around your dock? Any problems with vandalism on your property?"

Terashima's smile remained as he paused to think over his answer. He was about to respond when Danny interrupted, "Oh, you remember," Danny's hand flicked his partner's shoulder, "Mr. Terashima here was listed as a possible source for the vandalism in Mr. Salvator's police report."

Terashima's mouth closed and formed a deep frown. "Are you accusing me of something?"

Steve gave a slight shake of his head, "We're just here to ask some questions. We're looking into the sudden death of Mr. Salvator."

A feral grin broke out on Terashima's face. He had been through enough police interrogations to know if there was any real evidence they wouldn't be questioning him in his own home. "I'm sure Akino's loss will be felt throughout the docks, but business will still go on."

"You mean your tour business?" Danny asked. "Or maybe the business you run on the side?"

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about, officer..." Terashima's eyes narrowed as he met Danny's gaze.

"Oh that's right, we never did introduce ourselves," Danny smiled, his grin matching Terashima's. "I'm Detective Danny Williams and this is my partner Commander Steve McGarrett. We're with 5-0, the Governor's new task force. Perhaps you've heard of it?"

Terashima's features became more wary; his eyes scanning over the men before him. Danny's smile grew. Considering the short time their taskforce had been together, they already had an impressive reputation, mostly due to the crazy antics of his very un-policeman-like, Navy SEAL partner. (Not even under the pressure of torture, would Danny ever admit to enjoying this benefit.)

"If I think of anything that will help the Governor's taskforce with this situation, I'll be sure to call." Terashima stepped past them and opened the door. "Please pass on my condolences to Mrs. Salvator."

Danny pulled out a business card and stuck it in Terashima's shirt pocket. "So you don't have to look up the number." He patted the pocket as he headed through the open door.

Steve barely cleared the doorway when the door snicked shut behind him. "I see you're making friends and influencing people again."

"You knew we weren't going to get anything," Danny sighed.

Steve shrugged, "That may be, but you didn't help."

It was Danny's turn to shrug. "I must be hanging around you too much. At least the building is still standing and we aren't waiting on the coroner to arrive."

Steve let out a small laugh. He knew to be grateful that after meeting Terashima's hired help, some level of professionalism was maintained. He slapped his partner's shoulder. Their taskforce was still relatively new, but they were fast coming to some sort of understanding of each other.

The rain had started while they were inside. The car was parked just around the curve of the circular drive, maybe 100 meters away. The top of the stairs was covered from the elements, but there was no way they could make it to the vehicle without getting soaked.

"You've got longer legs," Danny's eyes roved up and down his partner. "You could get to the car in what, five steps? I'll wait here while you back it up to the stairs." Danny looked expectantly at his partner.

One of Steve's brows went up. "You are aware that's not going to happen, right princess?"

Danny's hands went up, "Of course not! That would require a certain level of thoughtfulness on your part; stemming from some basis of manners."

"I've got great manners," Steve pulled the shorter man into the downpour; Danny not the least bit surprised by the move. Together they made a mad dash for the car. Even with the height disadvantage, Danny's door closed at the same time as his long-legged partner.

"As a matter of fact," Steve twisted in the driver's seat to smile at Danny as he turned the ignition key. "To show you how thoughtful I can be, I'll meet you at the pool for the birthday party. You'll be busy helping the kids, so I'll make sure to get lots of pictures of you and your daughter together."

Danny glared. "You will not! Do you hear me? I'll post a police guard at the entrance. No SEALs allowed." His arms flashed back and forth in the space between the two men.

Steve drove towards the quiet residential road. He paused long enough to check for traffic before turning left. "Don't worry Danny." Steve's smile did not calm the simmering man's concerns. "I'll make sure to get just the right angle to show off those shiny new trunks you'll have."

"You're not invited. You can't come. I'll shoot you myself," Danny threatened.

Steve smiled, "I think Kono's on to something. Pink could really be your colour."

Danny hid behind his hands as he leaned back into his seat. "I'll save everyone the hassle and shoot myself instead."

~H50~

Now back together in their HQ, the four members of the 5-0 taskforce gathered around the Smart table comparing notes.

Chin was going over a copy of Akino's will. "Mrs. Salvator is the sole beneficiary, and the insurance policy is one you'd expect any married couple to have. The claim isn't really substantial, and having met Mrs. Salvator, I believe her to be the grieving widow she appears to be."

Kono nodded, she was in complete agreement with her cousin.

"Thomas Terashima does seem the likely one responsible," Steve said.

"Likely?" Danny rounded on his partner. "How about he is the only one with motive and means? You've seen the financials and both Kono and Chin back up the wife. Blowing up someone's boat just doesn't seem like a random thing. Someone wanted something and there's only Terashima left standing."

Steve nodded, "I get that, Danny. But this was sloppy. Terashima is a smart man, and this was a dumb move."

"Dumb?" Kono looked confused. "I'd say it was a bold move. The bomb destroyed the boat and most of the evidence."

"That's right, Kono," Steve was pacing, keeping up with his racing thoughts. "Most of the evidence. Terashima would have made sure there was no evidence for us to find. He's been staying ahead of the police for years. He wouldn't start getting sloppy now."

"He's laughing at us," Danny fumed. "He knows we found bits and pieces of the bomb, just not enough to determine a signature. We know Salvator was murdered but have nothing to prove who did it."

"Fong is still looking at the device. He said there was the possibility of prints on interior pieces if he could pull apart enough of the outer workings where heat melted the plastic," Chin said, always the voice of hope and reason.

"I'm just happy there was enough trace of the plastic explosive to determine what it was," Danny still felt the relief of hearing that bit of news from Fong. "Otherwise we wouldn't even have enough reason to continue with the case."

Chin turned from the unchanging, lack of information on the computer table to smile at Steve. "You know, what we need is a reliable informant with their finger on the pulse of criminal activity."

Steve's confused look was brief, before he had a smile matching Chin's, "Kamekona." The two men were nodding their agreement on the next move.

Danny was not in agreement. "Every time we go see the big guy, I come back with an empty wallet and funny stains on my tie." With a deep sigh, he recognized a lost cause and started toward the exit.

Steve moved to keep step with his partner. He tapped lightly on Danny's chest, leading the blonde man's eyes to focus on his current neck wear. "It's a sign from the gods, buddy. This…" Steve flicked the offending cloth and earned a heated glare from the man wearing the belittled item, "is not meant to be worn in Hawaii."

Danny pushed his partner's hand away as he held open the door for the dark haired man to go through first. "Keep your hands to yourself, Steven. You're not in preschool anymore." Danny straightened his tie before heading after his partner. "At some point in time, you're going to have to acknowledge that professional attire never has, and never will, include cargo pants and T-shirts."

If there was more to the conversation, Chin and Kono couldn't hear it as the door closed and sealed out the voices of their teammates.

~H50~

It hadn't been long since the rain had stopped, and Danny watched as a small group of tourists walked back toward the beach, each holding a large dish of shave ice. Crazy tourists.

Kamekona spotted the two 5-0 men and his grin made Danny cringe as he stopped a few feet short of the order window causing Steve to bump into him.

"What's up?" Steve asked laying a hand on Danny's shoulder.

"I am not paying any amount of money for the flavour of the day."

Steve couldn't help the quick laugh that escaped. "What's the big deal?" Steve squinted past the glare from the glass to find a small notice taped to the window. It announced the flavour of concern to be a vanilla-pineapple mix.

"Come on, Danny, time to share in some of the adventures of the Islands." Steve gave a little push, but the shorter blonde pushed back just as hard.

Steve sighed admitting, "OK, so it won't be my favourite either, but if it gets us the information we need, you'll be asking for seconds."

"Fine," Danny growled as he started forward, "But you'll be the one eating the damn thing!"

Kamekona was waiting at the open window, "Howzit bruddahs? You trawling for some sweet goodness on this fine afternoon?"

Steve leaned close to the open window. "We're after something, but it certainly isn't sweet and there's nothing good about it."

Kamekona's smile dimmed, "Your business sounds serious."

Steve nodded in agreement. Danny only sighed as he crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall. He waited for the requirements to be laid out on the negotiating table.

"I've got some serious business too," Kamekona voice dropped conspiratorially.

Resigned, Steve sighed, "What do you need, Kamekona?"

"I got a new flavour that I could use some market analysis on."

From the sidelines, Danny piped up, "If it's got pineapple, I'm telling you right now it's a bad idea. This island has more than its fair share of fruit flavours."

Kamekona pushed a shaved ice cup through the window and into Steve's hand. "You're lucky, little Haole, no pineapple. I'm introducing chocolate strawberry."

Danny turned to make a sour face at the large entrepreneur. "Shave Ice with chocolate? You serious?"

A second shave ice cup was pushed through the window.

"I'm always serious about shave ice."

Kamekona continued to look very serious too. Danny sighed as he accepted the treat. "How much?" he asked.

The smile returned to Kamekona's round face. "Depends. What are you fine officers chasing after?"

"Whatever you can tell us about Thomas Terashima and his business," Steve grabbed a plastic spoon and began poking at his frozen treat.

"Thomas Terashima runs tours down at the harbour," the large man answered.

"His other business," Steve's aneurism face loomed through the window

"Ahhh," Kamekona nodded, "That will take a couple of phone calls to get current data."

"Thanks, big man," Danny stepped back, leaving the unwanted ice treat sitting on the counter.

"Unh," Kamekona's hand popped out the window. "You still have to pay for your shave ice. Fifty bucks, Haole."

"Fifty bucks for frozen chocolate?"

At the stern nod from the large Hawaiian, Danny complained, "Just so we're clear, I'm not going to pass out any more funds when you get back to us."

Kamekona only grinned as several bills were handed over. "You're paying for quality shave ice."

Danny turned to head back to the Camaro, muttering, "Quality shave ice? It's frozen chocolate with strawberry bits."

Steve was on Danny's heels laughing quietly. "And you paid fifty bucks for the privilege."

"Actually, Steven," Danny held up a thin, leather bill-fold before tossing it over his shoulder in his partner's direction. "You paid fifty bucks. You've got so many damn pockets in those pants you should keep a better eye on all of them."

Steve paused, looking incredulously between his wallet which he'd caught one handed, and his quick fingered partner. "You grabbed this when you bumped me."

Danny snickered, "You should be more careful."

"I'm gonna call the cops," Steve threatened. When Danny continued to snicker, Steve added, "An honest cop!" With no real anger he shoved his wallet back into a deep pocket, muttering, "From now on, I'm leaving it at home."

~TBC~