Chapter 3 - Shock
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Making guesses was never Danny's preferred method of detective work but today he had no choice. The ship was too big and simply wandering around would increase their chances of discovery. They had figured that the bomb would likely be in the lower levels of the ship in order to maximize danger and be located close to their cargo so to eliminate all traces of illegal activity. Knowing the general layout of ships like this one, Danny directed Ben to where he thought the most likely location was, hoping that they would get lucky.
When they rounded a corner, their luck ran out as they looked into a face of a crewmember. The man raised his gun and opened his mouth to shout a warning while Danny found himself helpless to respond. But, thankfully, Ben was not.
Without hesitation, Ben pulled the trigger and the silenced bullet found its mark. As the crewmember started to fall, Danny moved to catch him and slowly lower him to the floor.
Once they were sure that the area was secure, Danny noticed what the crewmember had been guarding: attached to a thick metal door was the bomb. On the other side of this door, he could hear the sound of people, of young Chinese girls who were destined to be sold into a life of prostitution.
They had found it; this was no bluff. This bomb was connected to enough explosives to not only would blow a hole in the ship's hull; it would also incinerate all traces of the girls they were smuggling into the islands.
It was enough to make Danny sick.
Looking closer at the bomb, Danny froze in shock. The bomb, the wires, the explosives…all the practice in the world could have never prepared him for this moment.
The strong smell of coffee filled Chin's nostrils as he brought a mug to his lips. As Chin set the mug back down and looked around the office, he could almost convince himself that things were back to normal. That was if one was willing to ignore the underlying sense of tension that filled the office. No one was comfortable with the ease with which the FBI was able to accuse and arrest Danny and then use that to threaten the rest of them. Steve's connections at the Pentagon had gotten them out of this mess but would that continue to hold true if they came back?
It was something that Chin couldn't afford to dwell on as worrying accomplished nothing and there was a pile of cases that were demanding his attention but as he scanned the HPD overnights he found another one. Chin was immediately drawn to the report of a body of a Jane Doe discovered in Chinatown; the case of death was listed as an overdose/possible suicide.
Not an another one, the Chinese detective thought to himself. This was the third girl in two weeks. All of them were Jane Does and Chinese with the case of death listed as overdoses or suicide. From the reports, Chin got the strong sense that HPD was writing off their deaths due to the high probably of the girls being prostitutes since that lifestyle lent itself to one trying to escape the reality of their life in the haze of drugs or the finality of death. However, in Chin's mind that was no excuse for not investigating further, especially when all of the girls where underage. The facts suggested that these girls where being smuggled in from China, most likely against their will and he wanted to do a little digging to see if his hunch was right. Chin hated to think of children the same age of his three eldest girls forced into such a lifestyle and if his gut was right Five-O had the duty to step in and stop this.
"What are you frowning at?"
Chin looked up and spotted Danny leaning against the doorframe of his cubicle. Chin handed over the paper and pointed to the line he wanted Danny to read. "That's the third case in nine days."
Danny's brow furrowed. "That's too many to be a coincidence."
Chin nodded. "I fear that either our local pimps have found a new source for their girls or we have a new player in Chinatown."
Sitting down, Danny mauled over the information that he had been given. "You don't think this could be connected to that organization Black was talking about?"
"I don't know. Black didn't share his information with us."
Danny snorted. "Of course not. Regardless, this is something we should look into."
Relieved that someone else saw what he was seeing, Chin nodded grimly. He hoped that he was wrong and that these were just some local girls who got tied up in the drug scene and came to a sad end because of it.
"Kono's busy ties up some lose ends on the Evans case," Danny continued as he easily fell back into his role of second-in-command. "I'll go talk to Doc and see and he can tell me anything useful. Then I should be able to convince Che to look at the forensics and see if we can discover if these girls are coming from China or not. You check with HPD and your sources in Chinatown and see what you can find."
Chin jerked his head toward Steve's closed door. "Do you think we should tell Steve?"
"Later," Danny stated. "Steve's still worked up over the whole incident with the FBI. I think the boss is going to have his hands full dealing with the bureaucratic aftermath today. I'll let Jenny know what we're doing in case he needs us."
"Sounds like a plan," Chin agreed as they both moved to carry out their tasks.
While the rest of the team was out investigating cases, Steve McGarrett waited patiently for a visitor to arrive so that he could begin an investigation of his own. When his office door finally opened, Steve stood and extended his right hand. "I'm glad you were able to come, Jonathan."
Jonathan Kaye shook the offered hand and sat down on one of the chairs opposite Steve's desk. "I hope you still think so once I shared my news."
Worried, Steve asked, "Are they coming back after Danno?"
"Danny's safe," Jonathan assured the worried detective. "I'm concerned about the job Black wanted you to do."
"About this mysterious syndicate that supposedly is being formed in Singapore?"
"Not supposedly; there is definitely something big is going on in Asia," Jonathan explained. "A lot of money being thrown around right now and we have proof that a new organization is being formed but until yesterday we didn't know where they were based out of."
Steve was skeptical. "I wouldn't take Black's word at face value."
"Nor would I. When we first received the information that a new major crime organization being formed in the Far East we notified our agents and one of our men sent this message back," Jonathan explained as he pushed a small piece of paper across the large wooden desk.
Taking the paper into his hands, Steve read aloud, "The rat threatens the lion." Then looking back at Jonathan, Steve asked, "What does it mean?"
"We think the rat refers to this new organization."
"And the lion?"
"Steve, how many years did you work in the Pacific?"
Steve thought for a moment before the answer hit him. "The Lion City. Singapore."
"Exactly."
"And Singapore is where Black wanted me to go. You do think that there is a connection between the organization Black mentioned and the one your department has been investigating."
"Yes. Steve, you know how hard it is to stop these people once they become established. We have the chance to nip this in the bud."
"There's one thing I don't understand," Steve said as he leaned back in his chair. "Why are you involved? Isn't your concern with national security threats rather than crime?"
"Crime can be a security threat and an established smuggling operation can bring in more than just drugs. After we investigate further we'll know just what we're dealing with. Until then I consider this new organization a threat."
Suddenly Steve realized where his friend was going with all this information. "Jonathan, you better not be suggesting what I think you are."
"Steve, I'm not going to insult you by suggesting anything, but I know you. This is going to affect Hawaii and do you expect me to believe that you don't want to be involved?"
Steve silently growled; Jonathan had him pegged and he knew it. Steve would not stand by and trust the Feds to handle this properly. He had more trust in Jonathan and the military but all too often 'need to know' meant that those who really needed to know were left in the dark. If Jonathan was inviting him into the investigation he couldn't afford to back out.
"Alright, Jonathan, but we do this our way. No FBI; I don't want Black involved."
"Agreed. If you can handle the investigation from the Hawaii side, I'll contact my agents in Singapore and…"
"No," Steve stated firmly. "Danny can handle the investigation here. I need to be in Singapore. I need to find out why it was so important to Black that I go. How soon can you create me a cover?"
Jonathan hesitated before answering, "By tomorrow. But, Steve, you don't have to do this. I have other men."
"I know that, Jonathan, but my gut is telling me that Singapore is where I belong. Do you have an agent I can meet up with?"
"Tang Yi. He works as an accountant for one of the major shipping companies and should have access to the type of information we'll need."
Steve nodded and the two men put their heads together and started working a plan to get to the bottom of this affair.
Danny returned from his fact finding trip to discover that the outer office empty expect for Jenny. Steve's office door was closed and Danny hoped that his boss hadn't been shut up alone in his office the whole day. Looking at Jenny, Danny asked, "Is Steve busy?"
"He's been holed up in there with Jonathan Kaye for the past two hours with orders for me to hold all messages unless it's an emergency."
"Thanks." Danny turned and went to his own cubicle. Steve hadn't told him that Jonathan was coming but he shouldn't be surprised. However, the fact that the two very busy men were in a meeting that had latest for two hours told Danny that they were up to something big. Even though he was worried, Danny had to trust that Steve would inform him of what was going on once Jonathan left.
Settling in to do some reading of the cases he had missed over his absence, Danny almost didn't notice Jonathan exit. As the outer office door closed behind Kaye, Danny watched Steve wander out in search of some coffee.
Deciding that he had waited long enough, Danny walked over to his boss. "Have you solved all the world's problems?"
Steve chuckled. "Only a few, Danno." Then with the hand not holding the newly filled coffee mug, Steve gestured for Danny to join him in his office.
Steve didn't make Danny wait long as he broke the news as soon as the door shut behind them. "I've decided to go Singapore."
Danny froze in shock and blinked a few times, not believing the words he just heard. Then looking at Steve's face, Danny realized that the older man was serious and declared, "You've agreed to do what?"
"With Kaye's men and intelligence not Black's"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Steve sighed as wondered over to the lanai windows. "I doubt it, Danno, but it's something that I feel that I have to do. I need to know why Black was willing to go to such extreme measures to get me to go. Jonathan has evidence that suggests that Black wasn't lying about the threat."
Forcing himself to not start screaming at this boss, Danny asked through a clenched jaw, "Have you considered that this whole scheme might have been a plot to get you out of Hawaii?"
"I have."
"And?"
"If it is I trust that you can mind the store."
"Steve…" Danny let a plea enter his voice. He didn't like this idea, not one iota. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was some sort of a trap.
"Danny, I can't take the risk that this organization is for real. I will not stand by and let Hawaii be turned into a gateway for smuggling into this country."
Danny shut his mouth because he realized that there was no point in arguing any further; Steve's mind was made up. Stubborn Irish cop.
Danny spent the rest of the day doing his work in silence as he watched Steve prepare for his departure. Chin and Kono were no happier about Steve's decision than he was but Steve was still determined to go. Danny just hoped that trusting Steve to do what he felt was right would not be a decision that he would come to regret.
When they rounded a corner, their luck ran out as they looked into a face of a crewmember. The man raised his gun and opened his mouth to shout a warning while Danny found himself helpless to respond. But, thankfully, Ben was not.
Without hesitation, Ben pulled the trigger and the silenced bullet found its mark. As the crewmember started to fall, Danny moved to catch him and slowly lower him to the floor.
Once they were sure that the area was secure, Danny noticed what the crewmember had been guarding: attached to a thick metal door was the bomb. On the other side of this door, he could hear the sound of people, of young Chinese girls who were destined to be sold into a life of prostitution.
They had found it; this was no bluff. This bomb was connected to enough explosives to not only would blow a hole in the ship's hull; it would also incinerate all traces of the girls they were smuggling into the islands.
It was enough to make Danny sick.
Looking closer at the bomb, Danny froze in shock. The bomb, the wires, the explosives…all the practice in the world could have never prepared him for this moment.
The strong smell of coffee filled Chin's nostrils as he brought a mug to his lips. As Chin set the mug back down and looked around the office, he could almost convince himself that things were back to normal. That was if one was willing to ignore the underlying sense of tension that filled the office. No one was comfortable with the ease with which the FBI was able to accuse and arrest Danny and then use that to threaten the rest of them. Steve's connections at the Pentagon had gotten them out of this mess but would that continue to hold true if they came back?
It was something that Chin couldn't afford to dwell on as worrying accomplished nothing and there was a pile of cases that were demanding his attention but as he scanned the HPD overnights he found another one. Chin was immediately drawn to the report of a body of a Jane Doe discovered in Chinatown; the case of death was listed as an overdose/possible suicide.
Not an another one, the Chinese detective thought to himself. This was the third girl in two weeks. All of them were Jane Does and Chinese with the case of death listed as overdoses or suicide. From the reports, Chin got the strong sense that HPD was writing off their deaths due to the high probably of the girls being prostitutes since that lifestyle lent itself to one trying to escape the reality of their life in the haze of drugs or the finality of death. However, in Chin's mind that was no excuse for not investigating further, especially when all of the girls where underage. The facts suggested that these girls where being smuggled in from China, most likely against their will and he wanted to do a little digging to see if his hunch was right. Chin hated to think of children the same age of his three eldest girls forced into such a lifestyle and if his gut was right Five-O had the duty to step in and stop this.
"What are you frowning at?"
Chin looked up and spotted Danny leaning against the doorframe of his cubicle. Chin handed over the paper and pointed to the line he wanted Danny to read. "That's the third case in nine days."
Danny's brow furrowed. "That's too many to be a coincidence."
Chin nodded. "I fear that either our local pimps have found a new source for their girls or we have a new player in Chinatown."
Sitting down, Danny mauled over the information that he had been given. "You don't think this could be connected to that organization Black was talking about?"
"I don't know. Black didn't share his information with us."
Danny snorted. "Of course not. Regardless, this is something we should look into."
Relieved that someone else saw what he was seeing, Chin nodded grimly. He hoped that he was wrong and that these were just some local girls who got tied up in the drug scene and came to a sad end because of it.
"Kono's busy ties up some lose ends on the Evans case," Danny continued as he easily fell back into his role of second-in-command. "I'll go talk to Doc and see and he can tell me anything useful. Then I should be able to convince Che to look at the forensics and see if we can discover if these girls are coming from China or not. You check with HPD and your sources in Chinatown and see what you can find."
Chin jerked his head toward Steve's closed door. "Do you think we should tell Steve?"
"Later," Danny stated. "Steve's still worked up over the whole incident with the FBI. I think the boss is going to have his hands full dealing with the bureaucratic aftermath today. I'll let Jenny know what we're doing in case he needs us."
"Sounds like a plan," Chin agreed as they both moved to carry out their tasks.
While the rest of the team was out investigating cases, Steve McGarrett waited patiently for a visitor to arrive so that he could begin an investigation of his own. When his office door finally opened, Steve stood and extended his right hand. "I'm glad you were able to come, Jonathan."
Jonathan Kaye shook the offered hand and sat down on one of the chairs opposite Steve's desk. "I hope you still think so once I shared my news."
Worried, Steve asked, "Are they coming back after Danno?"
"Danny's safe," Jonathan assured the worried detective. "I'm concerned about the job Black wanted you to do."
"About this mysterious syndicate that supposedly is being formed in Singapore?"
"Not supposedly; there is definitely something big is going on in Asia," Jonathan explained. "A lot of money being thrown around right now and we have proof that a new organization is being formed but until yesterday we didn't know where they were based out of."
Steve was skeptical. "I wouldn't take Black's word at face value."
"Nor would I. When we first received the information that a new major crime organization being formed in the Far East we notified our agents and one of our men sent this message back," Jonathan explained as he pushed a small piece of paper across the large wooden desk.
Taking the paper into his hands, Steve read aloud, "The rat threatens the lion." Then looking back at Jonathan, Steve asked, "What does it mean?"
"We think the rat refers to this new organization."
"And the lion?"
"Steve, how many years did you work in the Pacific?"
Steve thought for a moment before the answer hit him. "The Lion City. Singapore."
"Exactly."
"And Singapore is where Black wanted me to go. You do think that there is a connection between the organization Black mentioned and the one your department has been investigating."
"Yes. Steve, you know how hard it is to stop these people once they become established. We have the chance to nip this in the bud."
"There's one thing I don't understand," Steve said as he leaned back in his chair. "Why are you involved? Isn't your concern with national security threats rather than crime?"
"Crime can be a security threat and an established smuggling operation can bring in more than just drugs. After we investigate further we'll know just what we're dealing with. Until then I consider this new organization a threat."
Suddenly Steve realized where his friend was going with all this information. "Jonathan, you better not be suggesting what I think you are."
"Steve, I'm not going to insult you by suggesting anything, but I know you. This is going to affect Hawaii and do you expect me to believe that you don't want to be involved?"
Steve silently growled; Jonathan had him pegged and he knew it. Steve would not stand by and trust the Feds to handle this properly. He had more trust in Jonathan and the military but all too often 'need to know' meant that those who really needed to know were left in the dark. If Jonathan was inviting him into the investigation he couldn't afford to back out.
"Alright, Jonathan, but we do this our way. No FBI; I don't want Black involved."
"Agreed. If you can handle the investigation from the Hawaii side, I'll contact my agents in Singapore and…"
"No," Steve stated firmly. "Danny can handle the investigation here. I need to be in Singapore. I need to find out why it was so important to Black that I go. How soon can you create me a cover?"
Jonathan hesitated before answering, "By tomorrow. But, Steve, you don't have to do this. I have other men."
"I know that, Jonathan, but my gut is telling me that Singapore is where I belong. Do you have an agent I can meet up with?"
"Tang Yi. He works as an accountant for one of the major shipping companies and should have access to the type of information we'll need."
Steve nodded and the two men put their heads together and started working a plan to get to the bottom of this affair.
Danny returned from his fact finding trip to discover that the outer office empty expect for Jenny. Steve's office door was closed and Danny hoped that his boss hadn't been shut up alone in his office the whole day. Looking at Jenny, Danny asked, "Is Steve busy?"
"He's been holed up in there with Jonathan Kaye for the past two hours with orders for me to hold all messages unless it's an emergency."
"Thanks." Danny turned and went to his own cubicle. Steve hadn't told him that Jonathan was coming but he shouldn't be surprised. However, the fact that the two very busy men were in a meeting that had latest for two hours told Danny that they were up to something big. Even though he was worried, Danny had to trust that Steve would inform him of what was going on once Jonathan left.
Settling in to do some reading of the cases he had missed over his absence, Danny almost didn't notice Jonathan exit. As the outer office door closed behind Kaye, Danny watched Steve wander out in search of some coffee.
Deciding that he had waited long enough, Danny walked over to his boss. "Have you solved all the world's problems?"
Steve chuckled. "Only a few, Danno." Then with the hand not holding the newly filled coffee mug, Steve gestured for Danny to join him in his office.
Steve didn't make Danny wait long as he broke the news as soon as the door shut behind them. "I've decided to go Singapore."
Danny froze in shock and blinked a few times, not believing the words he just heard. Then looking at Steve's face, Danny realized that the older man was serious and declared, "You've agreed to do what?"
"With Kaye's men and intelligence not Black's"
"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"
Steve sighed as wondered over to the lanai windows. "I doubt it, Danno, but it's something that I feel that I have to do. I need to know why Black was willing to go to such extreme measures to get me to go. Jonathan has evidence that suggests that Black wasn't lying about the threat."
Forcing himself to not start screaming at this boss, Danny asked through a clenched jaw, "Have you considered that this whole scheme might have been a plot to get you out of Hawaii?"
"I have."
"And?"
"If it is I trust that you can mind the store."
"Steve…" Danny let a plea enter his voice. He didn't like this idea, not one iota. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was some sort of a trap.
"Danny, I can't take the risk that this organization is for real. I will not stand by and let Hawaii be turned into a gateway for smuggling into this country."
Danny shut his mouth because he realized that there was no point in arguing any further; Steve's mind was made up. Stubborn Irish cop.
Danny spent the rest of the day doing his work in silence as he watched Steve prepare for his departure. Chin and Kono were no happier about Steve's decision than he was but Steve was still determined to go. Danny just hoped that trusting Steve to do what he felt was right would not be a decision that he would come to regret.