Chapter 2 - Risking it All
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After exchanging words with a few of the HPD men on the scene, Kono made his way to the Reptile House. It didn’t look like Steve, Danny, or Chin were there yet but Kono noticed Sergeant Duke Lukela ordering the HPD men to form a barrier around the building.
“Duke!”
Duke turned and waved the Five-O detective over. “Can’t take two steps without tripping over the press.”
“Steve’s not gonna like dat.” Kono stated before turning his mind to the task at hand. “What do we know?”
“Not much,” Duke confused. “Witnesses heard two gunshots at 1:17 from inside the Reptile House. Looking through the windows on the front and rear doors we can see one man guarding each door but the enclosures block us from seeing the hostages or any more gunmen that might be in the room.”
Kono grabbed a pair of binoculars and confirmed the information while Duke continued, “The gunmen haven’t made any demands yet nor have we tried to establish contact.”
“Okay, where are da witnesses?”
“Over there.” Duke pointed to a roped off area next to a hotdog stand where a crowd of people were being interviewed by the media.
Great more reporters, Kono thought as he walked over to where Duke pointed. He was forced to push a cameraman out of the way who looked like he was going to complain until Kono pulled out his badge. “Kalakaua, Hawaii Five-O. Interviews can wait. Turn off da cameras and back up.”
Several groans broke out but the detective was not in a patient mood. “Now!” he ordered. Once the reporters obeyed, Kono addressed the crowd. “I was told ya heard the gunshots, is dat right?”
“Yes,” several people answered as more nodded in the affirmative.
“Did anyone see people enter right before da shots?”
The crowd was silent. “Anyone?” Kono asked again. “Any detail no matter how small could help.” When it didn’t appear that anyone would answer the detective looked around at the crowd and was drawn to an employee standing behind the hotdog stand. “You, did you see anything? Your stand looks right at da Reptile House.”
The hotdog seller looked surprised by the question. “Hundreds of people walk into that building every day. How am I supposed remember them all?”
“Anyone ya remember could help.”
The man appeared to think for moment before answering, “Sorry.”
As Kono begin to walk away the hotdog seller called out, “Wait, I do remember something. There was a Chinese family. Really large, I guess that’s why I noticed them.”
Kono heart stopped in his chest as he knew only one large Chinese family and they had told him earlier that they were planning on coming to the zoo today; this couldn’t be a coincidence. He took a deep breath to keep his nerves steady as he knew he couldn’t give any hint of worry to these people, especially since he didn’t trust that all of those cameras were turned off. “Describe them.”
“A husband, wife and a lot of kids.”
“How many kids?”
“I didn’t count, at least six, I guess.”
“Anything else?”
“No, sorry.”
“Thank you.” Kono tried to keep his face emotionless as walked back to the police barrier, ignoring several microphones that were shoved in his face. Each step sent a jolt of worry and fear through his body. Hadn’t Chin dealt with enough problems lately?
Kono struggled to keep tears from flowing but that struggle must have been visible to those who knew him best for when Steve and Danny, who were currently being briefed by Duke, saw him they immediately turned their attention toward the Hawaiian.
“Kono, what is it?” Steve asked softly.
“A witness saw a large Chinese family go inside right before da shots.”
The reactions were immediate: Danny’s face went white, Duke looked down and started murmuring a prayer, and Steve’s eyes’ darkened as his hands formed into fists. Around them a large crowd watched from behind the police barrier with cameras capturing every second.
Steve broke the silence with a rare moment of weakness. “Oh, God.” Then as if realizing his duty, Steve straightened and became strictly professional. “I think we can safely assume that Chin is inside with his family.”
“Chin will go berserk before he lets those guys touch his kids.” Danny said.
“I know,” Steve stated. “But if Chin loses his cool it will only make things worse.”
A loud voice called out, “Are you telling me that crooked cop is in there?”
Kono immediately turned around and noted that a reporter had snuck past the police barrier and was standing next to them. “He’s not a…!”
Before Kono could finish Steve grabbed the Hawaiian’s arm and pulled him away from the intruder. Then Steve stated calmly and firmly, “One: Detective Kelly has been cleared of all charges. Call the Attorney General’s office if they haven’t sent out the press release yet. Two: we don’t know if the gunmen have radios with them. So if you breathe one word about there being a cop inside and it causes us to lose the one advantage we have, I will hold you responsible for every child that dies. Clear?”
The reporter nodded vigorously. “Now get back behind the barrier,” Steve snapped.
Once the reporter was gone, Steve turned his ire towards his Hawaiian detective. “What were you thinking?”
Furious, Kono shot back, “It’s not right, Boss. Chin’s not like dat.”
“I don’t care what he said; we’ve got enough problems without you losing your cool. Now go find a manager or someone who can give the plans to that building.”
Admonished, Kono hurried toward the administration buildings knowing the quicker he found what Steve wanted the better chance they’d have of getting all of the hostages out unharmed.
*~*~*
Fifteen hostages sat in silence as the reptiles mostly slept, oblivious to the tense situation that surrounded them. Three gunmen stood solemnly guarding their posts: two the exits, one the hostages. The fourth gunman was getting impatient as he started to pace back and forth in front of the hostages, occasionally checking with the other gunman as to the situation outside.
Chin wished he could have a hint of what was going on outside but the setup of room only gave him a clear view of the animals across from him. When the pacing gunman passed them again, Tilda cringed back in fear and started to sob.
The pacing gunman stopped and waved his gun at them as he yelled, “Shut her up or she’s the first to go.”
Chin heard gasps from several of his daughters as he used his left hand to grab Tim who was about to jump the man. “Don’t.”
Tim glared daggers at his father. “Do something.”
“Trust me,” Chin hissed and didn’t let go until his son backed down. Then turning his attention to his crying daughter, the father picked her up and rocked her in his arms as he whispered, “Shush, Tilda. It’ll be okay. Daddy will make everything better. I need you to be a brave girl and be quiet. Can you be Daddy’s brave little princess?” Slowly, Chin’s words began to have an effect on the toddler as her sobs turned to hiccups and eventually to silence.
It didn’t escape Chin’s thoughts that it was going to extremely difficult was him to act in a way that would help the police forces gathering outside if Tilda remained in his arms. But he doubted that the gunmen would let him pass her down to her mother nor did he think that it would help; Tilda had been a Daddy’s girl from birth.
Noticing that the same gunman was still watching him, Chin decided to take a risk. “Look, can you tell us what this is about?”
“Quiet, man. You think you a big cop or something? I don’t want to hear a word from you, fatso, or anyone else.” The man waved his gun at the line of frightened captives before placing it against Chin’s temple. “Have I made myself clear?”
Out of the corner of his eye, Chin could see Tim tense but, thankfully he remained still, and the rest his family allowed various expression of fear to show on their faces while Amy looked away, unable to watch.
Slowly, Chin nodded and satisfied the gunman walked over to his colleague guarding the entrance.
To his family and the other hostages, the detective kept a calm demeanor but inside he was beginning to get very worried as the lead gunman’s short temper didn’t bode well for them at all.
*~*~*
Steve’s mind raced as he considered their predicament. This situation was unthinkable. Not only was one of men and his family being threatened, it was the very same man he had risked his job for last night. Last night, when he had taken the biggest risk of his career in order to save Chin from disgrace. When he had come very close to crossing the line by ordering his men to fire at Calhao. Or did he cross it? Was this his punishment? How much further would he go now that it was the lives of Chin and his family that were at risk?
Steve didn’t know if he wanted to know the answers to these questions.
“Steve,” Danny said, handing his boss a bullhorn. “We’ve got men ready to storm the building in case negotiations go sour.”
“Right. Let’s see what these guys want.”
But before Steve could begin to attempt to speak with the gunmen the door partially opened and a voice shouted from within, “Hey, any fuzz out there?”
Raising the bullhorn to his lips, Steve replied, “This is Steve McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O.”
“Look, Mr. Big Fuzz, I don’t care who you think you are but I have fifteen hostages in here that I’ll start shooting if I don’t get what I want. And I won’t make a distinction between children or adults.”
Steve bit down an angry retort and stated firmly, “I won’t negotiate with someone who threatens children.”
“That’s your problem not mine.”
“Let the children go. The adults can serve as hostages and then we’ll talk.”
“Oh no, Mr. Big Talk Fuzz, what you want you don’t get. Not until I get what I want.”
“Who am I talking to?”
“A concerned citizen of this planet, one of many who are concerned about the overdevelopment of our land, the killing off of endangered animals and plants just so a bunch of tourists can have fun and not care about the mass destruction they leave in their wake.”
Getting more than a little frustrated, Steve tried reason, “You’re endangering the lives of a few animals right now by holding a bunch of hostages in the middle of the zoo.”
“Oh, so you’re Mr. Logical Fuzz now? Well here are some facts for you to chew on. Did you know that there are more endangered plants and animals per square mile in Hawaii than anywhere else in the world? So, yes, I put the lives of these innocent reptiles at risk so if we fail they will serve as martyrs for the thousands of creatures we destroy everyday without a second thought.”
Putting down the bullhorn, Steve looked over at his second-in-command. “What do think, Danno?”
Danny shook his head in disgust. “He’s fanatic and more over he’s convinced he’s right. Notice how he changes what he calls you based on how you respond. He’s trying to define you, to prove to you that he’s the one in charge of the situation here.”
Trusting Danny’s psychological analysis, Steve had to ask, “Do you think he’ll kill if he doesn’t get what he wants?”
Taking a deep breath, Danny answered, “Yes.”
Steve didn’t display any emotion; he just turned his attention back on the Reptile House and continued his conversation with a man who would kill the children of a man he thought of as family without a second thought. “Why don’t you tell me what this is about?”
“There is a piece of undeveloped land on the windward side of Oahu that has been a refugee for the plants and animals of this land to grow and live without human interference for centuries. Now the government has sold off the land to build the Ikehu Power Plant without a thought for the creatures that live there. This wanton destruction of the land must stop!
“My demands are threefold. First, Governor Jameson must sign an order banning the construction of the Ikehu Power Plant. Second, he needs to make that land a state preserve. Third, he must pardon us for any actions we have done or may have to do to get you to comply to these demands.”
Privately, Steve was raging. These demands were outrageous and impossible! There was no way that he was going to let these fanatics get off without any consequence for their actions! However, the pardon demand did give him an opening. “The Governor can’t grant pardons without knowing the names of those he pardoning.”
“Oh, Mr. Tricky Fuzz, I don’t think so. Once Jameson signs an order that the banning the building of the Ikehu Power Plant, makes the land a state preserve, and publically states his intentions of pardoning us then we will give you our names.”
Realizing that he was at an impasse, Steve lowered the bullhorn and shook his head. “This guy isn’t dumb, Danno.”
“He’s definitely thought things through,” Danny agreed. “He was expecting you to try and trick him.”
Knowing he had no other choice, Steve turned to Duke and ordered, “Get me the Governor.”
No deals.
No deals.
That was Steve’s mantra. He lived by those words. But today he was tempted. Today, he would make a deal in an instant to save the lives of those inside if believed that it would be kept. But that was the catch. How could he trust the words of monsters who threatened the lives of children?
Duke jogged back over. “The Governor’s on the line.”
Steve followed the HPD Sergeant over to the communications van that HPD had brought over and picked up a mike, “Governor, what have you heard?”
“The media carried your whole conversation live on the television.”
Steve stopped himself from saying an inappropriate word; while he recognized that the presence of the media was inventible it didn’t mean that he enjoyed having a very difficult and volatile situation broadcast live throughout the islands. “Have they mentioned anything about who the hostages are?”
“No, why?”
“Sir, we have strong evidence that suggests that ten of the hostages are Chin Ho Kelly and his family.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Kelly’s a good man. But, Steve, even if I was inclined to give this nut job what he wants, what he’s demanding is impossible. That power plant required several layers of government approval; I can’t simply overturn that with a stroke of a pen even if I wanted to.”
“I know that, Sir.”
“Any ideas on how to handle this?”
“None yet. The problem is what you heard on the television is most of what we know. We need more information before we can proceed. Is it possible to you act like you have the authority to give him what he wants to at least get the children out of there?”
“I can’t fake those pardons and I don’t think he’s going to give up any of his leverage without them.”
“Unfortunately, I have to agree with you.”
“I trust you, Steve.” Governor paused on the other end of the line and then added, “Do what you need to and may God help us all.”
Steve set down the mike and used the privacy of the van to put his head in his hands. The fact that Jameson had just given his blessing to use force if necessary was of little comfort. Without knowing the ages of all the children inside there was no way he could use tear gas without risking lives and a gun battle in a room full of children, he would have to be insane to entertain such a option. But with each second that passed by it was looking more and more likely that force would be their only option.
If only there was some way that Steve could sneak Danno and a couple sharpshooters inside…
Speaking of that building, why was Kono taking so long with those plans?
There was another call and Steve let Duke handle it. The frustrated detective was about to exit the van when Duke called out, “Steve, I think you need to take this call.”
Steve let Duke hand over the mike and said, “This is McGarrett.”
“Mr. McGarrett, my name is Adam Gios. I’m the owner of the future Ikehu Power Plant.”
“Thank you for calling, Mr Gios. Can you give us any insight into this situation?”
“Yes. I recognize the voice of the man making demands. He’s been trying to convince me to stop the project for months.”
“And you didn’t report him?”
“Mr. McGarrett, you must understand, it’s my son, Adam Gios III.”
“I understand that this must be difficult for you, Mr. Gios, but I need any information you can give me on your son and his ecological activities. Do you know who the other people in there with him are?”
“I don’t know their names but he fell in with a group of kids at school who call themselves ‘Defenders of the Land.’ They seem to think that the tourist industry is responsible for the overdevelopment of the land.”
“What school is that?”
“The University of Hawaii.”
“Wait a minute.” Steve put down the mike and ordered, “Duke, I need you to get on the horn and have some of HPD’s detectives head over to the University of Hawaii and dig up what they can on Adam Gios III and a group called the ‘Defenders of the Land.’ And ran a background check on Gios through the computer and see if anything turns up.”
When Duke moved to follow the orders, Steve continued “Does your son have any history of violence or mental illness?”
“No.”
“Does your son have any experience with weapons?”
“Yes, we used to hunt together when he was younger before he decided that the killing of animals was evil.”
Steve thanked Gios for calling and headed back toward the Reptile House. As the detective walked, he couldn’t help but be struck by the fact that if only the younger Gios believed that killing people was just as evil as he believed killing animals to be then they wouldn’t be in this predicament.
*~*~*
Each second seemed like an eternity as Chin waited among the hostages. As the situation prolonged, he was slowly driving himself mad by trying to keep a close eye on all of his family and the four gunmen in the room.
Hearing Steve’s voice should have been a comfort but Chin knew too much about situations like these and was very aware that the negotiations weren’t going well. The gunmen’s demands were completely out of the realm of possibilities and Steve would never let these fanatics get off with a pardon. However, the problem was the leader was too clever by half; Steve had tried several tricks to get more information out of the gunmen that Chin had seen work in the past but this guy didn’t fall for any of them. The gunman was stubbornly persistent in stating that things would be done his way and the detective knew that Steve was just as stubborn in his belief of ‘no deals’ with hostage takers.
So which stubborn personality would blink first?
If the gunmen starting shooting, Steve would act not deal. The only hope for this to be resolved peacefully was for Steve to pull off some trick but with the way the lead gunman had seen through Steve’s verbal tricks the likelihood of this happening was not good.
If Steve recognized this, and Chin knew that he would, the only option would be for Five-O and HPD to move in and disarm or kill the gunman before they starting killing the hostages; an extremely risky proposition that would put the lives of everyone in the Reptile House in peril.
Chin told himself that he needed to be strong but the hopelessness of the situation was threatening to overwhelm him. He would do anything to protect his family but if this situation became violent he would be powerless to protect them from harm.
For what could one bullet do against a bunch of fanatics who were willing to kill children to get what they wanted?
*~*~*
Danny had been circling the Reptile House looking for locations where he could possibly get a sightline into the building and use the rifle he had strapped to his back. He had just returned to the front of the building when Gios restarted his conversation with Steve.
“Hey, Mr. Slowpoke Fuzz, you making any progress out there?”
“These things take time, Mr. Gios.”
Danny could hear Gios growl. “It seems to me, Mr. Thinks He’s So Smart Fuzz, that you’re spending your time doing the wrong things. Do I need to encourage you to start being a little more productive?”
Steve ignored the last jab and said, “I just got off the phone with your father. It seems to me that you’re biting the hand that feeds you. It’s your father’s power plants that pay for your college education and for you to spend your time with your little group.”
“I don’t need my old man nor his blood money that comes from the raping of our planet! It is only through standing against the destruction of this land that I begin to amend for my father’s sins!”
The force in Gios’ words chilled Danny to the bone. He was very glad that Steve was handling all the negotiations because he doubted that he would be able to keep a civil tone when talking with this lunatic.
“Amazing, isn’t it, Mr. Big Fuzz? How far a person will go to safe a human life, but in the next instance squash an ant under his foot without a second thought. We place so much value on ourselves and so little on the animals that make up this world. I’ve a little Chinese girl in here, can’t be any older than three. It’d be a shame if I had to kill her.”
Danny’s heart stopped. Tilda!
“Do I need to make my point?”
“Not necessary, you’re point has been made,” Steve replied his voice terse. “I’m calling the Governor now but we need some time to get this approved.”
“Time. You cops always want time. Time to set something up, time to get out of doing what I want you to. Why should I give you time?”
“I need to contact the Governor. He will need to meet with his advisors. Then we have to set up the media…”
“Shouldn’t you have done that already?”
“Governor Jameson’s a busy man. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him yet.”
“Twenty minutes. And no funny business. Try anything and no one makes it out of here alive.”
Danny saw Steve’s jaw clench as the elder man answered, “Twenty minutes isn’t enough.”
“Your problem, not mine. Have Jameson make his announcement within twenty minutes or I’ll start shooting.”
Steve lowered the bullhorn. The ultimatum had been given and now every second was precious. The detective’s eyes went cold as he turned and faced Danny and Duke. “So twenty minutes.”
“Steve,” Kono shouted. “I got Manager Fowler and the plans.”
The three detectives and Duke gathered around a small table and watched as the Zoo Manager unrolled the plans. “As you see there are only three entrances,” Fowler said, pointing to make his point care. “The front, back, and service door on the side but it only leads to the area behind the cages.”
“Is any way to get from the staff area to the viewing area?” Duke asked.
“Not unless you want to break glass.”
Kono grimaced. “And dat would hurt da animals.”
“Actually, no. The cages are movable. When you remove a cage the only barrier is the pane of glass.”
Steve considered this. “So we could see into the main room…”
“Steve,” Danny interrupted, “if I remember correctly the cage area is well lit but the main area is dark. So even if we could move a cage without the gunmen noticing we’d be looking through light into a dark room, at best we’d see shadows.”
Fowler nodded, “Your detective is right.”
Danny leaned over the map. “What about here.”
“Just a vent to help circulate air.”
“How big?”
“Not very.”
Steve focused on where Danny was pointing. “What do you think, Danno?”
Looking closely at the map, Danny pursed his lips as considered the measurements. “It’ll be tight but I think I can get in there. Does it run into the main room?”
“Yes,” Fowler said, pointing.
Knowing what his duty would be if could fit into that vent, Danny tried to look at the possibility logically. “The problem is how is how many gunmen are in there. If there are three I can probably take out two before they react and count on Chin to take out the third but it’s still a big risk. If there’s four or more…”
Danny left the rest of sentence unspoken but Steve knew the odds were not good. “Okay, here’s what we are going to do. You get to where you can see into the room.”
Steve handed over a walkie-talkie. “Use Morse code. As soon as you get a view let me know how many gunmen are in there and if you have a line of fire. Stay quiet unless all hell breaks loose or you hear me give the signal to open fire. You snipe down as many as you can and I’ll have units go through both doors.”
“Steve, if one kid dies of friendly fire…”
“They’re already dead if we continue to stand here and do nothing.”
They both knew that Steve’s words were true but they also knew that the press and the public would never see it that way. Nor would they ever forgive themselves if one of the Kelly children died in a firefight. However, they had to take that risk. At that moment Danny wished that he had half of Steve’s courage because he wasn’t sure that he would have been able to make this call.
“Duke, I want you to gather two teams of five men willing to rush that building. You’ll lead the team that takes the front; Kono will lead the team that takes the back. I want everyone in vests. I’ll talk to Gios and see if I can get him to back down but if I fail speed is the only thing that will save the people inside.”
Steve looked like a man who had made the hardest decision of his life but his eyes were full of trust and determination as he placed on hand on Danny’s shoulder. “Shoot fast and accurate and trust in Chin. I don’t see these guys backing down.”
“Right, Steve,” Danny answered as he gripped his rifle.
Kono patted him on the back as he walked off. “Good luck, Bruddah.”
“Mahalo. I’m going to need it.”
Danny grabbed Fowler and together they jogged around to the side of building, veering wide so that the gunmen couldn’t see them approach. Obeying, Danny’s nod, Fowler unlocked the door and the two of them quietly entered the staff area.
Danny spotted the vent above the back of the third cage from the entrance. He motioned for Fowler to help him move two chairs over so that they could remove the grate from the wall. Handing over his rifle, Danny hosted himself up into the vent, his shoulders protesting at the tight fit. Once inside, Danny gestured for Fowler to pass up his rifle. Then slowly but surely Danny inched forward, knowing that a single sound would mean death for those on the other side of the wall.
Somehow, Danny made it the few feet required without making a sound. Looking through the grate, he immediately spotted Chin and his family sitting against the far wall with five other hostages. Worry coursed through Danny’s mind, he had known that the odds were high that Chin was a hostage but having that good chance become a certainty raised the pressure the young detective placed upon himself; he’d never forgive himself if he missed and hit one of Kelly kids.
Then remembering the rest of his task, Danny spotted two gunmen below him; one keeping a close guard on the hostages and the other murmuring to himself and studying his watch. Danny saw a third near the entrance looking out and when he studied the exit he could just see the head of a fourth. Fiddling with the grate so that the vents were fully open, Danny knew he could hit three of the four gunmen if they stayed in their places. Mentally going through the motions, Danny knew he’s have to hope Chin could take care of the gunman closet to him which left Danny with the one guarding the hostages, who would have to go first, and the gunman at the entrance.
As Danny reported in to Steve, he couldn’t help but think of all the things that could go wrong with this plan. To put it simply, they were risking it all on a hope and a prayer.
Ten minutes.