Life has been ridiculously busy so updating this story is taking a lot longer than I'd hoped, but I hope you're enjoying it so far. Not an expert on anything, sadly don't own the show or its characters. Thanks for reading! -abby
"I still can't believe this was all because of some spoiled brat teenager. What a soulless little punk," Rick seethed, and TC put a comforting hand on the smaller man's shoulder.
Gordon nodded, his normally impenetrable expression replaced by one of anger. "Jordan Manoa is clearly used to doing whatever he wants and getting away with it. He's been in and out of trouble since he turned fourteen."
Juliet had been examined and released into the waiting room with the others. The doctor had wanted to keep her overnight for observation due to a mild concussion, but Higgins had refused and signed herself out AMA. She was curled into a chair next to Kumu, slowly sipping a bottle of water at her doctor's insistence. The two women listened raptly as the detective continued to explain.
"Jordan was out for a late-night joyride with some friends in the new heavy-duty pickup truck he got for his seventeenth birthday last month. It's entirely probable they had been drinking. And they were definitely speeding - he blew through a red light going twice the speed limit, which is when he hit the Ferrari."
Juliet briefly pressed the cool water bottle against her aching head before setting it down. "On the driver's side," she guessed softly. Kumu rubbed the younger woman's back reassuringly.
"Yes," Katsumoto confirmed. "We were able to pull security footage from a gas station at the intersection. It seems to indicate that Thomas saw Jordan's truck coming. Given the speed they were traveling he had only a split second to react, but managed to turn the Ferrari just enough to keep it from being a direct impact on the driver's door." He turned to Juliet, his tone gentle. "Given the extent of the damage that quick reaction undoubtedly saved his life, and most likely yours as well."
"My god," Kumu said. "But I don't understand. If it was a car accident, how did Juliet and Thomas end up in that storage unit?"
"That's where 'soulless' comes in," TC offered bitterly. He fell silent, clearly willing to let Gordon continue telling the story.
The detective nodded and addressed Juliet directly. "Jordan's truck was still driveable, so he and his friends-" he hesitated, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "They dragged you and Thomas out of the car and put you in the truck bed."
"What?!" Kumu gasped.
Juliet just closed her eyes, barely able to contemplate how that may have exacerbated her partner's serious injuries. Thomas had been whisked into surgery upon arrival at the hospital almost five hours prior, and they had yet to receive an update on his condition.
"They chained the Ferrari to the back of the truck," Rick's angry voice broke into her musings, "and towed it to one of his dad's facilities to hide it along with the two of you."
At the shocked look on Juliet's face, Gordon elaborated further. "Jordan's father owns a number of successful local businesses, including a self-storage company. He's got storage facilities all over the island, and just built a new one in a remote area outside of Haleiwa. It's not scheduled to open until next month."
"Is that where…" Kumu trailed off.
Katsumoto nodded. "Jordan had the keys, so they locked Juliet and Thomas in one of the units - climate-controlled and already functioning, thankfully, otherwise you might have overheated before we could get to you. Those unairconditioned units can get very hot during the day. Anyway, then they destroyed your phones and dumped them and the Ferrari in the nearby woods."
"How did they do all this without being seen?" Juliet asked. "Haleiwa is remote, but it's not that isolated." She shivered, and Kumu wrapped an arm around her. "But…wait. It was late? Really late. Well after midnight. We'd just finished…" she thought back, searching her spotty memories of the day before. "We'd been surveilling a house in Pūpūkea for a case and were headed back to Robin's Nest." She sighed. "The next thing I remember is waking up in that storage room."
"That tracks," Katsumoto confirmed. "The timestamp on the security video indicates that the accident happened just past one a.m."
"No witnesses that time of night," Juliet mused. "So how did you find us?"
"It seems that Jordan doesn't treat his family's house staff any better than he treated you," Rick replied, barely-controlled rage still simmering in his words. "The Manoas' gardener noticed the damage to Jordan's truck and got curious. The Ferrari's license plate came off in the crash and Jordan and his friends thought to grab it from the scene, but then forgot about it. The gardener found it in the truck bed and called the police. Of course he had no idea of the scope of the accident. Just figured Jordan had hit a parked car or something."
"We're lucky he hates the little bastard," TC supplied.
Gordon chuckled dryly. "Yeah. Anyway, Jordan cracked like an egg the minute we hauled him into the station. Told us exactly what had happened and where to find you."
"This is all so unbelievable. Like the plot of a movie," Kumu said skeptically. "What was Jordan's plan? Someone would have discovered Thomas and Juliet eventually."
With a derisive snort the detective replied, "Clearly the brain trust hadn't thought it out that far. Presumably they planned to go back at some point." He paused. "Probably to…dispose of the bodies before Jordan's father started renting out units at the storage building. In any case, Jordan will be spending the rest of his adolescence in a juvenile lockup, along with his two buddies."
"It's too bad they can't be tried as adults," Rick said.
"Agreed, although there's still a chance. The judge doesn't seem to be feeling too lenient," Katsumoto said. "Either way, at least Jordan's parents aren't trying to buy his freedom. They've bailed their son out of trouble many times before, but apparently this was a bridge too far." He smiled thinly at Higgins. "Mr. and Mrs. Manoa want me to apologize to you. They are horrified by and truly sorry for their son's actions, and made it clear that they intend to cover all the medical and repair bills. And said they'll replace the Ferrari if it's too damaged to be repaired, which seems likely."
Juliet's return smile was strained. "A new car won't do Thomas much good if he never walks again."
Gordon, Rick and TC murmured their agreement as Kumu's arm tightened around Juliet's shoulders. "He's going to be fine," the older woman said. "Thomas is strong."
"I know he is, but...he couldn't feel his legs." Just saying the words triggered the terror that Juliet had felt at the moment of her partner's admission. Her voice shook. "He couldn't move and could barely breathe, but tried to hide how bad it was."
TC and Rick sighed. They were not surprised that Thomas would have tried to downplay the extent of his injuries, no doubt an attempt to protect Higgins from worry.
"Even though he didn't admit it, I could tell he was so scared. Terrified." Juliet took a shuddering breath. "I was…am…terrified for him."
Rick crossed the room to kneel in front of the blonde woman. "I know. Believe me, I know," he said, with all the compassion of a man who indeed knew exactly what it was like to be helplessly terrified for a friend. "But Kumu's right. Our boy is going to be just fine."
"What if he isn't fine? What if he's permanently lost the use of his legs?"
TC joined them. "So what if he has? Do you think TM is gonna let something like that stop him?"
Tears glistened in Juliet's eyes and she swiped them away angrily.
"Hey, look. I'm pissed too," Rick said. "I'm so pissed I can barely think straight. TC and Gordie had to hold me back from throttling that little brat."
Higgins glanced up at the two men, who nodded their confirmation.
"But beating Jordan to a pulp doesn't help Thomas, okay? He's strong, but he's also gonna need us to be strong for him. And we can't do that if we're distracted by rage. What do you think he'd say about this, huh?" Rick squeezed her knee gently.
A watery laugh escaped as Juliet sniffled. "He'd probably tell us that it was an accident. That Jordan is just a selfish, scared kid that made a bad choice." She laughed mirthlessly. "His heart is too big for his own bloody good sometimes."
Everyone chuckled quietly, acknowledging the truth of Juliet's words. TC put his hand out, covering her other knee. The pilot held her gaze as he said, "Hey. No matter what happens with Thomas, we'll be here to support him. We'll help him get through this. Yeah?"
"Yeah," she replied softly. Another sniffle, then she sat up straight and nodded sharply. "Yes, absolutely."
