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Pawn
The siren pierced the night as Steve and Danny raced through the dimly lit streets. A radio call of a woman acting like a lunatic following a traffic stop only blocks from where they were had them responding to assist an HPD officer.
"Update," the dispatcher said, "Suspect violent and she's got a baby in the vehicle. Repeat, baby in suspect's vehicle.
Steve's jaw clenched, his mind racing with the potential risks involved and Danny said, "Jesus," under his breath as they sped up further to get to the scene.
When they arrived, the familiar blue and red lights of the HPD vehicle illuminated the area. A young officer faced a disheveled woman who was flailing her arms and spewing obscenities.
"What the hell?" Danny muttered to himself, taking in the scene.
"Probably stoned out of her mind," Steve replied, his voice quiet.
They cautiously approached the woman, her wild eyes darting from them to the HPD officer. She shouted and kicked, lashing out at anyone who came near.
"Tell this bastard to let me go!" she screeched, her voice hoarse and filled with rage. "Let me go or I'll kill you!" She glanced towards the back seat of the car.
Danny's heart clenched at the sight of the child strapped into a car seat. The priority was to neutralize the situation before he was hurt.
"Ma'am, Commander McGarrett and my partner Detective Williams, Five-0. We're here to help," Steve stated calmly, stepping forward. His hand rested on the butt of his weapon, but he didn't draw on her.
The woman wasn't interested in reason. "Don't want no help!" She lunged at Steve, then turned towards Danny, teeth bared, and tried to sink them into his arm.
"Woah, woah, take it easy," he said while skillfully dodging the attack. "Damn it, she's a biter. I hate biters."
In the midst of the chaos, Steve managed to maneuver behind the woman, attempting to subdue her with a tactical hold. "Stay calm, don't resist," he grunted, struggling to contain her furious thrashing. "Nobody wants to hurt you. Think about the baby."
The woman's eyes flickered with a momentary lucidity. She glanced over at the child, who now had a tear trickling down one of his dimpled cheeks.
"It's not my kid. He's leverage," she muttered. "I was supposed to make a drop, and I needed something to protect myself."
Steve exchanged a quick glance with Danny, understanding the gravity of the situation. The drop she mentioned could be a lead into any of a half dozen open cases.
While Steve held her, snapping cuffs around her wrists. Danny reached into the car, carefully unbuckling the baby and cradling him. "Alright, buddy. You're alright," he said softly. "Let's get you safe then we sort this whole mess out."
Steve nodded his agreement as he walked the still thrashing woman to the patrol car as additional officers responded to the scene.
Patting her down, he said, "Do you have any weapons or sharp objects on your person?"
"Bro, I didn't do shit, you're harassing me! And stop touching me, you perv."
"I'm checking for weapons," he replied. "You assaulted three officers and had a child in your vehicle while committing a crime you just admitted to and were using him as a pawn. Get in the car," he growled as the officer opened the back door.
"Fuck you," she spat out, kicking at him with surprising force. She was petite and thin, which didn't seem to hinder her ability to kick like a mule.
"Zips," Steve said over his shoulder and the officer complied. "You can get in the car or I'm gonna tie your ankles. Last time I'm saying it."
"Go to hell."
"Okay." He backed her onto the seat and zipped her ankles while the officer opened the opposite door, grabbed her under the arms and hoisted her across the seat so Steve could shut the passenger door before he closed the driver's side.
No longer screaming obscenities or even words, the woman began to wail and kick the inside of the door while the HPD officer removed his cap and ran a hand through his hair before replacing it. "Officer Jamie Tanaka," he offered a hand to Steve, then Danny, who expertly shifted the now smiling little boy in his arms to shake. "Commander, Detective, thanks. She had a tail light out. When I got to the window, she literally lost it."
Steve gestured at the young man's cheek. "Get that checked."
Tanaka raised a hand to touch it, then shook his head. "I'm okay, Sir."
"It's a scratch wound, you'll need it documented for court anyway," Danny offered about the four claw-like marks the woman had made on the officer's face.
"Ah, okay," Jamie agreed, glancing towards the paramedic who'd arrived at his side.
"Take a minute, I'll just clean it up," the man said as his partner approached Danny and the baby.
"He's about six months," Danny told her. Both paramedics, Chris and Nora were known to the team. "He seems okay, considering. There was a diaper bag in the trunk, next to the weapons she was gonna drop." He passed it over. "Diapers, formula, teething giraffe, change of clothes … I changed him after Steve got the crazy lady in the squad car."
"Of course you did." She smiled. "Come here, honey," she said softly. "Nora's got you, little man. I'll check him over. " Knowing Danny, she gave him a smile. "He's gonna be just fine."
As they walked away from the scene towards the ambulance, Steve chuckled softly, breaking the silence. "Nice dodge on the bite."
"Cut my teeth in Newark, pun intended. Too many biters. I hate biters." Danny shot him a wry grin. "He's going to be okay," the detective said as much to himself as to his partner.
"I know." Steve let out a breath. "C'mon, let's find his mother."
Back at HQ, the partners sat in Steve's office. Danny held the baby, gently rocking him while Steve leaned against the desk, checking his tablet.
"Anything?"
Steve sighed, his brows furrowed in thought. "Not yet, we need to find out who she was making the weapons drop for. Her known associates might lead us to the baby's mother."
Danny nodded in agreement, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Pull up the DMV records on the car, see if anything jumps out." The baby mewled softly and he adjusted his position ever so slightly. "Don't worry, we're gonna keep you safe. Uncle Steve and Uncle Danno are gonna make sure of that."
"Estella's on her way down," Steve said, in response to a text to the social worker.
"Great." Danny shifted again, the baby had drifted into a peaceful slumber. "She's good people."
Just then, Steve's phone rang. "Kamekona, it's not the best time, big guy… wait, what? We'll be right there."
Steve and Danny walked up to Kamekona's truck, the aroma of garlic and butter filling the air. Kamekona greeted them with a serious expression.
"I may have a lead on your MIA makuahine." He motioned for them to follow him to a quieter spot between the food and cupcake trucks. They sat and Danny leaned forward, his voice low.
"The woman we arrested is whacked out and not talking. We need to find the baby's mother."
"Look, my bruddahs, I been hearing things all day. Rumor on the street, there's a new player in town, someone running a tight ship. No one knows who he is, but they call him Snake Eyes. Looks like his drop didn't make it and the woman was from Makaha. "
"Snake Eyes?" Steve repeated, "DEA's kept us in the loop on him. If she's working for him, we can rattle an informant or two, maybe get her connection to the baby's mother."
Kamekona nodded. "Hard to say for certain. But from the way things went down, I hear she may have grabbed the kid from a friend."
Steve nodded, a grateful smile tugging at his lips. "Thanks."
With that, the partners were off to Makaha.
Steve's phone rang as they were driving and a tiny smile lifted the corner of his mouth at his wife's voice. "What's the status?"
"We're on the way to Makaha, Cath. We got a lead from Kamekona."
"Be careful. Call when you can." They could hear her deep breath. "Good luck."
Steve leaned forward, his eyes on the road. "Thanks. I will."
Several hours later, multiple leads had pointed to the woman in custody's name being Rosie. Apparently she'd been known to babysit children of local families. A stroke of luck and a loose lipped neighbor mentioned a little boy whose mother sometimes covered a hotel desk when the owner was away.
The partners walked into the Swaying Palms Hotel in Makaha. A desk that predated them both sat in the lobby, where a woman in her twenties was running a vacuum over a threadbare rug.
"Hi, are you checking in…" She began before recognizing Steve and Danny. "Oh." Her hand rose to her lips. "Is someone in trouble? I have the pass card to the rooms if you need it."
"Hopefully not," Steve said, confirming their identities with an introduction while casting a glance at Danny. The woman had a vague familiarity about her. Five five with short, black hair and a pleasant face, she dimpled when she smiled nervously.
"Sorry, I watch too much crime TV, I guess." She offered a hand. "I'm Felicia."
"Felicia, do you have children?" He got right to the point.
She beamed in response. "One. He'll be seven months next week." Her expression morphed from pride, to concern, to fear in a nanosecond. "Wait, why? Did something happen? Is my Randy ok?"
Danny pulled out his phone. "Is this Randy?" He showed her a photo of the smiling baby taken in Steve's office.
"Oh my God, yes, why are you holding him? He's supposed to be with Rosie, the sitter. Is he okay?" The huge brown eyes that had begun to shimmer with tears blinked and they spilled down her cheeks.
"He's fine." Danny held up a hand. "I promise. He's a hundred percent."
"Get your things, we'll take you to him," Steve said but she stood frozen to the spot. "Felicia? Get your purse, c'mon."
Suddenly animated by his words, she dashed to the desk and grabbed her purse before bolting for the door ahead of Steve and Danny.
HQ
"Oh my God, oh my God," Felicia repeated as she held her son close, breathing in his scent as she kissed his head and face.
Little Randy, unaware of the danger he'd been in, cooed happily and chanted, "Ah ah bahhh" while grabbing a fistfull of his mommy's hair.
"He's really okay?" She repeated for the third or fourth time and Estella Longo nodded.
"He's absolutely fine. So much so that I'm going to leave you both with the commander and detective and be on my way."
"Thank you," Felicia whispered before turning to the partners. "I was covering the Hotel for Mr. Ioaki this weekend because his daughter got married in Vegas. He and his wife are so sweet. I can't believe Rosie did this. Put my baby in danger. She had good references. Seemed so nice." She sniffled. "She said she babysat for extra money but she didn't seem hard up or anything. She stayed with him once when I had a doctor's appointment and when we went to a movie on our anniversary. Randy seemed to like her... my husband Robert and I both interviewed her…" She shook her head. "I have to call the Red Cross."
Steve reached out and placed it on her forearm. "Robert's deployed?"
She nodded. "TAD to Syria for 30 days. He left last week."
"I'll get a call through for you tonight," He said with a definitive nod. "In the meantime, you've been very helpful. Apparently Rosie Billings had a long history as a sitter. Especially at base housing. We're looking into if that was a long term cover or if she just went off the rails recently, but that's not for you to worry about right now. You get Randy home and get some rest." He smiled. "As much as you can with an almost seven month old."
"You remember, huh?" A tiny smile graced her lips as she glanced at the picture of DJ and Angie on his desk.
"My daughter's six, I absolutely remember."
"Mine's twenty one and I can still feel the sleep deprivation," Danny said with a grin of his own. "Seriously, go get some rest. Rosie's never seeing the light of day again in this lifetime."
She stood and gave each of them a one armed hug. "I don't know how to thank you, I …" she shook her head. "We appreciate it so much. We're lucky you were there, aren't we, Randy?"
Steve reached for a pen and jotted a number. "Here, when you're ready, call Elizabeth Rollins. She runs Tutor Time and she's my mother in law. She'll absolutely be able to get you a few sitters to interview and we'll run a check on anyone you'd like." He stepped back to send a text while Randy jammed his fingers in his mouth and Danny took the teething giraffe from the diaper bag and passed it to Felicia.
A second later, Steve checked his phone and said "Robert will call you in an hour."
"What? How?"
"One of my wife's super powers." He smiled.
"Wow. Okay, I'd better get an Uber and get us home."
Danny raised his hand. "How about I drive you? HPD picked up your car and it's already at your place. Besides, Randy here was telling me a story earlier and I want to see how it ends." He smiled when Steve offered a tiny nod of agreement.
"That would be great." She hugged both men again and waved Randy's tiny hand. "Say thank you and bye bye."
Steve ran a hand over the baby's soft hair. "Get home safe and if you need anything, you have our cards."
"Commander, Detective?" Felicia gave them a genuine smile. "Your kids are really lucky."
The best friends exchanged a look before Danny hoisted the diaper bag onto his shoulder. "So is yours."
# End thanks for reading
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