Hello my dear readers! I hope you're still there and you keep reading because the problem with the stats hasn't been fixed yet. For the next couple of chapters we're going to accompany Rick, TC, Kumu and Gordon with their struggle to find their friends. So let's start now and have a nice reading.

Chapter 23

"So what are we going to do now?" Kumu asked her friends after ending the call with Jin.

"What do you mean? We're waiting for that girl's address and as soon as we get it, we're taking guns and ammo, then we're hopping on the chopper and start to search the jungle on the other side of the island, right TC?" Rick replied, his eyes focused on his friend.

TC didn't have the time to answer that as Kumu beat him to it. "Rick, you must be joking, right? You can't just take your gun and burst in there like John Rambo?" The woman stated.

"What's wrong with John Rambo? I love that guy." Rick said.

Kumu sighed. "Look, I know you want to find Thomas and Juliet very much. I want that too but you have to think about what you may find there. We don't know anything about the place they are being held in or the number of their captors. And there are only three of us here."

"Kumu, we would never let you go with us and endanger you." Rick protested.

"Well, too bad for you, then. That makes only two of you against who knows how many bad guys." She replied at once.

Rick sent her a meaningful look. When she noticed that, she turned to her other friend.

"TC, tell him that I'm right and we should contact Gordon ASAP." The woman told him.

TC was completely taken by surprise. He felt he was caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, it would surely be wise to inform the police about their latest findings but on the other hand, Rick was like a brother to him. During those days in the military, he proved many times that he had a good hunch and TC trusted him with his life. It was a tough situation that's why the man remained silent for a few minutes while both his friends were eagerly waiting for his answer.

Finally, he spoke. "Well, I have to agree with Rick – we wouldn't let you near the people who took TM and Jules. It's too dangerous."

Kumu instantly eyed him sharply and when he noticed that, he added.

"But… I think that it's a good idea to have some back-up in case we were outnumbered, you know?" He said that full of worry and glanced at Rick who at first was obviously not very happy about it.

Rick would gladly deal with things his own way and not listen to his friends but deep down he felt that they were right and it would be extremely reckless and such way of disregarding the danger could lead to serious consequences rather than saving Magnum and Higgins. So he dropped his head and nodded sadly.

"Yeah, you're right." Rick said quietly. "We can't go there without any preparation and back-up. That would be a suicide. I should have thought about it."

TC was instantly at his side. "Hey, brother. All you thought about was to save TM and Higgy."

Rick raised his head and found his friend standing next to him, wearing a wide grin.

"And we will save them and bring them home." TC added then.

"Oh yes, we will." Kumu joined him.

Rick glanced at her determined face, then looked back at TC and nodded his head with a warm smile.

Now that they finally decided what should be their next step, they left La Mariana in a hurry, got in TC's car and sped towards the HPD Headquarters. At first they were driving in complete silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts, thinking about getting the beloved members of their Ohana back.

Rick was wondering what he would do to one of those kidnappers if he got his hands on him when he was brought out of his daze by a sudden swerve of the car and the screech of tires. He noticed to his utmost terror that they were driving way past the speed limit and since the traffic was quite heavy, they were overtaking cars quite sharply, swerving from right to left.

When he looked at TC, he knew it wasn't good. The man was sitting there, looking straight ahead, his eyes glued to the road, hands gripping the wheel tightly and his jaw clenched. Another sharp swerve to the right and they missed the other vehicle by a hair.

"Hey, man. Slow down a bit. We all want to get to the HPD in one piece!" Rick shrieked.

"What?" TC asked when he took his eyes off the road for a few seconds before he went back to observing it again. "Sorry for that. I guess I got carried away with the want to drive there as fast as possible."

"I think it won't be of any difference if we got there a few minutes later." Kumu said from the backseat, looking quite pale.

"I'm sorry, Kumu, for driving so fast." TC apologized, looking at her in the rear-view mirror.

"Actually, I don't mind driving fast… just not today." She replied.

"Do you think Gordon will listen to what we have to say? Will he take it seriously?" Rick asked. He thought that changing the subject would be a good idea.

"Of course." TC told him. "I'm sure he will. He told us that so far he didn't have any leads and he would be grateful if something came up and helped find Thomas and Juliet."

Rick didn't reply, just nodded his head and pondered. He really hoped that his friend was right. He had a feeling it could be their only chance.

The rest of the way was spent in silence. Luckily, TC's driving became calmer, less hectic and not much against the speed limits so they reached the HPD without causing any road accident. The first thing they noticed when they went inside the building and headed to Katsumoto's desk, was that it seemed to be unusually busy. Officers and detectives were moving frantically around, some of them running with papers and some sitting at their desks, evidently searching for something on their computers. You could feel that there was some tension hanging in the air. Something was going on.

They reached Gordon's desk and stopped at the sight that greeted them there. It was surrounded by police officers who were listening closely to Gordon himself. When he noticed his friends, he finished quickly and dismissed those around him, making sure they knew what they were supposed to do.

When TC, Rick and Kumu were sure it was okay, they approached their friend.

"Hey, Gordie. What's up? What's the commotion here?" Rick asked.

"We finally found something that may lead us to Magnum and Higgins." The detective replied. "I was just going to call you."

"Oh, that's funny cause we found something as well." Kumu spoke. "What's your lead? Maybe it's the same."

"We were looking through the files from Juliet's laptop and when running a background check on possible suspects, something interesting came up." Gordon told them and reached for the file folder lying on his desk and took out a photo.

"This is Harold Jones." He showed them a photo of a tall grey man in his sixties, dressed in elegant suit. It must have been taken during a party as there were some other people wearing tuxedos and evening dresses. Everyone was smiling and obviously having fun.

Kumu looked at the photo closely and then said. "This man wasn't Thomas and Juliet's client, was he?"

"No," Gordon shook his head. "He's a wealthy businessman, an owner of a big IT company who often donates to charity and is highly respected in some social circles."

"So why do you think he may have something to do with TM and Higgy's kidnapping?" TC asked.

"Well, although he didn't hire them, he turned up in one of their cases when they were digging for some financial irregularities in a bank. It turned out that Harold Jones was laundering money and some of his businesses weren't quite legal. When he found out Magnum and Higgins knew about him, he even tried to bribe them with a large sum of money for keeping their mouths shut but of course they didn't do that and soon he was arrested, tried and convicted for many years in prison."

"Okay but how is he involved in their disappearance since I assume he's staying in prison now?" Rick wondered.

"Because two weeks ago he managed to escape from a federal prison on the mainland." Katsumoto replied.

"Wow, he's been on the loose for two weeks and hasn't been found yet?" Kumu asked.

"Unfortunately, yes and the police managed to get the information out of his inmate that Jones talked about getting his revenge and he may have escaped to Oahu in order to do so." Gordon said sadly.

"That can mean only one thing – if he planned his escape..." Kumu stated what all of them thought and they nodded their heads in agreement.

"…then he may be the one behind the kidnapping." TC finished for her.

"Yeah, we think that too." Gordon said.

At that moment, his phone rang and he answered it at once. He wasn't saying much, just listening. Kumu, Rick and TC waited impatiently, observing their friend's face expression and trying to guess whether that phone call brought good or bad news. After knowing him for a few years now, they were aware of the fact that he wasn't very forthcoming and he rather concealed his feelings but at that moment he became tense and his face determined which indicated that it must have been something important.

Soon he ended the call and pondered for a few seconds. Then he slowly met his friends' worried eyes and spoke. "We may have something. I've just got a call from my colleague that there's a high probability that his informant spotted Jones near an old warehouse."

"Do you have any information on whether he's alone or has any helpers?" TC asked.

Gordon nodded his head. "Yeah, there are at least three of them and they're heavily armed." He said and then called attention to all the officers present there.

"Listen, everyone. We've just got the lead on Harold Jones. He was last seen thirty minutes ago in Makaha. He's highly dangerous and he's got at least three armed men with him so watch your backs. We're leaving in five minutes."

When Katsumoto finished saying that, he took his gun out of his desk's drawer and put it in his holster.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Rick stated eagerly.

Gordon froze instantly and looked at them. "I'm sorry but you're not going. I won't let you anywhere near that man. It's too dangerous." He informed them.

"What?! You can't be serious, Gordie. You know that we were in a much worse situation back in Afghanistan, right?" Rick replied.

"Yes but not all of you and that was something completely different." Gordon said and glanced at Kumu.

"Oh no, no way. I'm not going to stay here while Thomas and Juliet are out there and need our help." The woman protested. She really didn't want to be left out in such a grave situation.

"I'm serious." Katsumoto told them, trying to show his determination, however, again he was met with a strong objection which actually he shouldn't be surprised about.

"So are we." TC said. "We'd really like to be there when you finally find them. It's important to us."

Gordon was pondering about it for a long moment. What should he do? Should he take them with him? It surely wasn't a good idea but he had a feeling that even if he didn't let them join him, then knowing Kumu, Rick and TC, they wouldn't listen to him one bit and they would go there anyway which would probably be even more dangerous than going with him and the rest of the HPD. He sighed heavily cause he knew there was only one option in this situation. He made the decision even though he didn't like it.

"All right." He stated and noticed the relief on his friends' faces when they heard him. "But I want you to put on the vests, stay behind and don't try to play heroes. It may get nasty. That man is on the run which makes him extremely dangerous. An armed man is dangerous but if he's also desperate not to get back to prison, then…" Katsumoto trailed off.

"His behavior may become unpredictable, he could be ready for everything, including taking lives of those he's holding." Rick finished for him, his voice quiet as he became aware of the fact what that meant for Thomas and Juliet.

All four of them exchanged worried looks.

"Okay, we'll keep our heads down." TC said.

"Mahalo, Gordon." Kumu added and gave him a grateful smile.

The man nodded his head in return and then stated loudly, going back into his detective mode. "All right, guys. Grab your gear. Let's go."

With that being said, all those present there left the building with great haste.

That's it for now. Thank you for reading. More to come next time. See you then.