Chapter 3

Upon reaching the beach, Steve, Catherine, Helen, and Danny boarded a helicopter and flew back to Oahu, so Steve could get to a hospital as quickly as possible and Catherine could get checked out as well. After all, she had been without water for about five hours in a tent directly under the sun.


After 20 minutes, the helicopter landed at the hospital's helipad, and since Danny had already announced their arrival, two doctors were waiting there. Steve initially wanted to walk into the hospital, but his strength gave out. He was dehydrated, in pain everywhere, and very tired. Consequently, he couldn't stay on his feet, and the doctors helped him onto a stretcher and took him inside. The others followed them, and Catherine was escorted to an examination room while Danny sat with Helen in the waiting area.

About 20 minutes later, Danny's phone rang.

"Detective Williams."

"Danny, it's Chin. We have a problem."

"What's going on?"

"Among the people on the island was also the alleged officer who shot at Steve during the school ball. We just questioned him, and he confessed, telling us the truth. He was ordered to shoot at Steve, and he got that order from Wo Fat, who apparently also knows that Steve has a daughter now. So, he might not only be after Steve but also Helen, to use her as leverage. The guy also said that Wo Fat ordered the abduction of Helen and to get Catherine to shoot at Steve."

Danny was momentarily speechless. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. So, Wo Fat was most likely on the island and after Steve. They needed to find Wo Fat as soon as possible and lock him up.

"Okay, did the guy reveal where Wo Fat is?"

"No, unfortunately not. Either he doesn't know or he won't say. But we have to find him somehow. Any updates on Steve and Catherine?"

"No, unfortunately not yet. But I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything new."

"Okay, talk to you later."

Danny hung up, and Helen looked at him questioningly.

"What's wrong?"

Danny briefly considered whether he should tell Helen the truth and then decided to just not tell her everything. Steve could tell her the rest later in peace.

"Do you remember the officer at your school ball who shot at Steve?"

"Yeah, why?"

"He was among the people on the island and confessed that he had been ordered to shoot at Steve. And that order came from someone who has been after your father for a while. Anyway, the others are working on finding and arresting that person."

Before Helen could ask another question, Catherine entered the waiting room. Helen immediately got up and ran to Catherine.

"Mom!"

Catherine hugged Helen and stroked her back.

"Hey, everything's okay."

"Do you know how Dad is?"

"No, nobody could tell me anything. But I'm sure he's okay. Don't worry."

Now Danny approached Catherine, and when Helen sat back down, he hugged Catherine briefly.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. I was just a bit dehydrated, but that's all. The doctor said I should drink a lot today and rest a bit."

"Good to hear. Could I have a word with you privately?"

"Sure."

Catherine and Danny stepped out of the waiting room into the hallway and closed the door behind them.

"So, Danny, what's going on?"

"The officer who shot at Steve during the school ball was among the people on the island."

"That means he was probably active on both sides."

"Exactly, but that's not the main issue. Chin questioned the guy, and he confessed that he had been ordered to shoot at Steve. And he got that order from Wo Fat, as well as the task of kidnapping Helen so that you would shoot at Steve."

"Wo Fat is back on the island?"

"It seems so. And he's probably after Steve. So, Helen is also in great danger since Wo Fat now knows that she's Steve's daughter. He might want to use her again as leverage."

"Okay, that's not good at all. Do we have any clue about his whereabouts?"

"No, not yet. But the others are at the HQ now and are surely working on it. The most important thing now is that you're there for Steve and keep an eye on Helen. I'm heading to the HQ now and will keep you updated, okay?"

"Yeah, that sounds like a plan."

"Good, see you later."

Danny turned away and headed towards the hospital's exit, where he took a taxi to the HQ.

Meanwhile, Catherine rejoined Helen in the waiting room, and a few minutes later, a doctor finally approached them.

"Are you with Commander McGarrett?"

"Yes, how is he?"

"Considering the circumstances, he's doing well. He has some abrasions, a head wound, and a broken forearm. We've ruled out a serious head injury, and the fracture should heal in 6-7 weeks. I can take you to him now."

"Thank you, Doc."

The doctor led Catherine and Helen to Steve's room and then left them alone. Steve was awake and happy to see his family. Helen quickly walked to the bed and looked at her father with concern, while Catherine sat in one of the chairs next to the bed and took his hand in hers.

However, Steve didn't miss Helen's worried look.

"Hey, honey, please don't worry. I'm fine."

"I just want you to get well soon. Otherwise, I'll have to go swimming alone every morning."

"I'll try my best. But one thing's for sure. I've had enough vacation for the next few years. Somehow it always goes wrong when I try to relax."

So, the three of them sat there for a while longer and talked. Catherine had also decided not to tell Steve about Wo Fat for the time being. At least not while Helen was there.


Two weeks later:

Steve now knew about Wo Fat and had therefore ensured that there was always personal protection near Helen when he or Catherine couldn't be with her. Because there was still no trace of Wo Fat, and Steve wanted to keep Helen safe until they caught him. However, Helen was not happy about it at all. She didn't like being watched all the time whenever she stepped out the front door. This was very clear again on this evening. It was Sunday, and Steve was sitting on the couch with Catherine, watching a movie. Helen hadn't come out of her room since noon today, as she was very angry with Steve. One of her friends celebrated her birthday today, and she had been invited. She didn't usually care much for parties. Too crowded, too loud, too many people. But she really wanted to go to this birthday party because this friend was very important to her. However, Steve had forbidden her. He said that no one could guarantee her safety there. So, the two of them had argued, and Helen hadn't spoken to him since yesterday morning.

Meanwhile, it was 7 p.m., and Steve had been upstairs several times today, knocking on her door, but she simply ignored him. However, Steve planned to go to her room after the movie and talk to her calmly again so she would understand him.

Twenty minutes later, the movie ended, and Steve went upstairs. First, he knocked on Helen's door. But when there was no response again, he simply walked in and froze. There was no one in the room. Only the window was open. Steve felt his pulse quicken, and he immediately ran into the bathroom to check, but Helen wasn't there either. So, Steve ran down the stairs, opened the front door, and grabbed one of the officers from the personal protection.

"Where is she?!"

"Commander, what's going on?"

"Where is my daughter?! Your job was to make sure no one enters this house and to protect my daughter! But now she's gone, and my wife and I were only out briefly today!"

"I assure you, we had the house in sight the whole time. I can't explain how your daughter is gone."

Steve realized that arguing with the officer wouldn't help. He needed to focus on finding Helen now. So, he went back into the house, quickly told Catherine what was going on, and took out his phone to inform the team and HPD. At the same time, he also blamed himself. His daughter could have been gone since noon today, and he hadn't noticed anything because he hadn't gone to her room earlier to talk to her. Now she could be anywhere and might even be in Wo Fat's hands or worse...

He quickly shook off that thought. She was surely still alive, he just knew it.

Suddenly, Steve and Catherine heard a thud from upstairs. Steve immediately grabbed his gun, which was on the living room table, and went upstairs. Then he heard faint noises from Helen's room. Catherine was right next to Steve, and at his signal, she opened the door, and he stormed in with the gun raised.

"Don't move!"

But the person in the room was actually Helen.

"Oh my God! Dad, don't scare me like that! What's going on? Why are you pointing a gun at me?"

Steve first turned briefly to Catherine before looking at his daughter.

"Cath, please let the people from personal protection know that it was a false alarm."

"I will, and you, stay calm."

Catherine went downstairs, and Steve first put his gun on Helen's desk before turning to his daughter.

"Where the hell have you been?!"

Helen was startled by her father's harsh tone. She hadn't expected that.

"Well, um, I...uh..."

"You don't need to come up with a lie, do you think I wouldn't notice? Now tell me the truth! Where have you been?!"

"At Aliya's birthday party," Helen admitted meekly.

"I had forbidden you to go there, and for a good reason! What were you thinking?!"

"You just don't understand! For two weeks, I can't take a step anywhere alone! It's just annoying! And besides, Aliya is one of my best friends in Hawaii, and her birthday is important to me!"

"That's no reason to just run off! How did you even get past the people from personal protection?"

"Well, I watched when they walked on the side of the house where my window is, and then I climbed out at the right moment and quickly ran away."

Internally, Steve had to smile now. She really was his daughter. However, he didn't show anything outwardly.

"You should have thought twice about what you were doing! I was about to call the team and HPD and look for you! I was thinking whether someone might have kidnapped you and you might be dead by now!"

Tears glistened in Steve's eyes as he spoke, and now Helen felt really sorry. She had hoped no one would notice, but she hadn't thought about what would happen if someone did.

"I'm sorry."

Meanwhile, Catherine was standing behind Steve and reassuringly placed a hand on his shoulder. Steve understood what she wanted from him and went out of the room, downstairs. Catherine went to Helen and gestured for her to sit next to her on the edge of the bed.

"You know, Steve didn't really want to yell at you like that. He was just very worried."

"I know, and I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to scare you like that. I just didn't want to be watched all the time anymore and wanted to celebrate Aliya's birthday. I don't have many friends here, and I don't want to disappoint the ones I have."

"I understand that, but you also have to understand Steve's side. Both of us were really worried when we noticed you were gone. Anything could have happened."

"I just didn't think about that."

"Next time, just leave it and listen to what Steve tells you. He's not doing it to annoy you but to protect you. The best thing now is for you to apologize to him."

"Okay, I will. But I also want to apologize to you. It really wasn't my intention to scare you like that."

"It's okay. I forgive you, and Steve will too once you apologize."

Helen nodded, got up, and went downstairs. Steve found her in the garden. He was standing by the garden chairs, his arms crossed over his chest, staring at the sea. Helen approached and stood a little behind him.

"Dad?"

Now Steve turned and looked at her.

"I want to apologize. It was a mistake, and I didn't think about the consequences. I'm really sorry."

As lovingly as Helen looked at Steve, he couldn't help but forgive her.

"I really don't like what you did, and I just told you that clearly. But I forgive you, believing that something like this won't happen again. I also want to apologize to you for raising my voice. I was just very scared, but believe me, I love you, and I didn't want to be so rough on you."

Steve took a step forward and pulled Helen into his arms. They stood like that for a moment, and Catherine watched them smiling from the house...


The next morning, everyone behaved normally again, and the tense atmosphere had disappeared. They had breakfast together and then set off. First, Steve and Catherine took Helen to school, then they went to the HQ.

At school, Helen met Grace, and together they went to the first class session. It was a double period of math, and then there was a break.

Helen walked with Grace down the school corridor when suddenly they heard a loud scream. It sounded like that of a young girl and didn't seem to come from far away. The corridor fell silent momentarily as everyone stopped talking. Helen and Grace looked at each other briefly, then started walking in the direction from which the scream seemed to have come. They walked a distance down the corridor and then turned left, where the girls' restroom was.

As they opened the door, they saw a young girl, perhaps in the sixth grade, standing there completely shocked and frightened, trembling. Then they also saw the reason for it. In the back corner, next to the sinks, lay another girl, about 16 years old, not moving. Grace took care of the young girl while Helen approached the other one and cautiously felt for her pulse. Then she was shocked. The girl was dead.

While Grace took the young girl outside and informed the teachers, Helen instinctively took out her phone from her pocket and called Steve. It didn't take long for him to pick up.

"Hey, sweetheart, what's up?"

"Dad, you have to come to the school with the team. Right away."

Steve immediately noticed that something was wrong. Helen's voice sounded different, somehow anxious and shocked.

"What's going on? Are you okay?"

"You have to come to the school with the team. There... there's a body here."

Then Helen hung up. Steve was initially shocked by the information that there was a body at the school, but he was also worried about his daughter. She didn't sound like herself, and the fact that she didn't answer his question but just briefly said what was going on and then hung up made him even more concerned.

Quickly, he informed his team, called Duke, and drove to the school. Upon arrival, the team first found a teacher who led them to the location of the body. Steve kept looking around for his daughter, just as Danny was searching for Grace. Steve found Helen in the corridor outside the restrooms. She was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, arms wrapped around her legs, chin resting on her knees, and simply staring ahead. Steve was by her side in a few steps, knelt down next to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, look at me. How are you feeling?"

But Helen didn't respond, continuing to stare straight ahead. Steve's heart broke seeing his daughter in such a state. He needed to get her out of here now.

"Come on, talk to me."

But Helen showed no reaction, as if she didn't even notice him. Not wanting to leave her like this, Steve gently lifted her up and carried her outside, where he placed her on the back seat of the Silverado. Then he sat next to her and continued holding her in his arms. Since it was quieter here, Steve hoped that his daughter would snap out of her shock.

After about two minutes, that was partly the case. Helen began to move again and looked into her father's eyes.

"That was Aliya," she whispered to Steve. Now he understood why the body had affected his daughter so much. It was one of her friends.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart."

Now Helen began to cry, and Steve pulled her even closer into his arms, stroking her back soothingly...