Chapter 10 - Too Close for Comfort
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“There’s no reason for you to have to deal with McGarrett, Mr. Ling. He’s my problem.”

The punk crossed his arms in front of his chest as he shot back. “If McGarrett’s involved he’s all our problem. I want out.”

“Leave. It’s no loss to me if decide you don’t want the money I offer.”

Ling looked like he wanted to say something else but instead he turned and walked toward the doorway. Right as he reached them, one of the Asari twins blocked his path. “Wait.”

When Ling stopped, Haku asked, “Is there a problem, Tomo?”

Tomo nodded towards a window and said, “Cops.”

Haku moved quickly over to the window and Danny watched her facial expressions harden as she saw what had worried Tomo. Danny’s senses instantly came to full alert and he tried to silently calm his nerves as he realized that their tail had been spotted or McGarrett had decided to move in. Either way things were about to get interesting.

*~*~*

A ray of light shone across the files on his desk that Steve was reading in order to bring himself up to speed on all the new developments from he had gained since learning Danno’s identity. After Williams left his office, Steve had demanded that Duke send over all the information on their case and the young officer. Going over the files, Steve began to better understand why HPD had felt the need to send Williams undercover but he had been very shocked when he read Williams’ hiring date. Danno was a rookie officer with only a few weeks under his belt! But Williams’ service record with the Coast Guard was intriguing and in the short time he had been with HPD he had made people take notice of his talents.

Steve was interrupted by Ralph Irons walking into his office and sitting down in one of the white armchairs. “Kainoa and Lukela took over the stakeout. They have a vested interest in this.”

Steve nodded as he looked at another page.

“Are you reading about our suspects or HPD’s man?”

“Both,” Steve replied as he handed over Williams’ file. “What do you think?”

Ralph’s brow furrowed as he pursued the contents. “He’s pretty raw for this type of assignment.”

“They had to go with someone young.”

“Yes, but I could name a dozen guys on the force near Williams’ age with at least a year or two of experience.”

“Kono fits your criteria but I couldn’t see him on this job.”

“Point. Besides, this conversation is irrelevant now. HPD made their decision. Do you have anything new on Haku?”

“No,” Steve replied as he looked at the other file sitting on his desk. “I just have this sense that she’s got something to prove.”

“You really believe she’s behind all the thefts?” Ralph asked, looking skeptical.

“Yes. Though I want to know how she got the Asari twins to work for her.”

Ralph pondered Steve’s statement for a moment. “I think the better question is: what is Haku giving them that that they couldn’t get on their own? We know they’re capable of pulling these jobs so they had to find local help for a reason.”

Steve was about to respond to Ralph’s insight when the harsh ring of the telephone echoed through the office. “McGarrett.”

Henry Kainoa was on the other line and Steve listened attentively while he gave him a report. With the new information relayed, Steve quickly made a decision. “I want enough men to completely seal of that building. We’re on our way.”

“We got something?”

Steve jumped up and replied to Ralph’s question when he was already halfway out the door. “Duke spotted a woman matching Haku’s description through one of the windows.”

*~*~*

“Move.”

Danny jumped at the sound of Haku’s order. Once she saw that the police were outside, Haku had forced them all up to the top story of the building. Danny thought that she was going to make them go out the fire escape, which he knew that HPD would have covered, but now she was interested in the window Danny was standing in front of.

After Danny moved aside, Haku opened the window which looked out over an alley. Looking through the window, he could see through another open window directly in the building across from them. Danny was wondering if she was going to order them to scale down the side of building when the twins took a long wooden board and pushed it out the window so that the other end rested on the other windowsill. The scene that followed, Danny would have sworn was taken straight from a movie if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes: Tetso stepped up on the board and carefully walked across to the other building!

Danny’s jaw dropped. You’ve got to be kidding me!

Haku and then Ling followed Tetso across. When Kaiko stepped up he looked back at Danny with a look that gave him no illusion as to what he was supposed to do next. Walking across that board was the last thing that Danny wanted to do but the alternative was staying behind and watching Haku disappear while he was “arrested.” In the end, it was really no choice at all as he summoned his courage and placed one foot upon the board.

*~*~*

The building was surrounded by squad cars with flashing lights, McGarrett had called in enough backup to safely ensure that no one could escape their net but the building Duke was looking at was definitely abandoned. Therefore, Duke, Kainoa, and Five-O were left to try and figure out where they had gone wrong. They had moved in perfectly, guarding all the known exits, only to find an empty building: no car parts, no jewels, and no people. McGarrett, to say the least, was not happy.

Steve turned and caught Lukela in an angry glare as his ire was directed at the HPD detective, “Are you sure you saw them in this building?”

Duke answered calmly, “Yes, Steve.”

“Are you positive?”

“One hundred percent. They were in there fifteen minutes ago.”

Ralph agreed. “Steve, I followed Williams and Kikeona here. They must have spotted us through a window and left by an exit we weren’t aware of.”

Steve growled and began pacing. Duke watched as an HPD officer come out the building and walked up the group. Duke took pity on the man who didn’t look eager to try and get McGarrett’s attention. “Officer Kokua, you have something to report?”

Steve immediately stopped and brought his full attention to the officer who nodded and said, “There’s signs that were a lot of boxes stored on the first floor and that they were probably moved out sometime this morning or last night.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Scuff marks were boxes were moved and the lack of dust.”

“Good job. Tell the men that I want them out of the building until the lab boys have gone over every inch of that place.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Kokua walked away Chin offered up a theory. “If I was Haku I would have moved the stuff as soon as you picked up Kikeona this morning. If he started talking…”

“Right,” Steve agreed. “Kono, contact the airports and harbor patrol. Nothing leaves this rock without being checked.”

“Will do, Boss,” Kono answered as he turned to leave the scene.

When Steve started up a conversation with Ralph and Chin, Duke looked back towards the building and allowed his thoughts to turn toward the fate of Danny Williams. Was the rookie officer alright? How would he handle himself in a situation where he was cut off from all support? He had been so sure that sending Williams undercover was the answer to solving this case but now the idea seemed foolhardy. Duke had seen Danny’s talent and potential and looked over the fact that young man was still very much a rookie cop. They had not prepared Danny for anything like this and Duke prayed that that he would hang in there until they could get him out safely.

Duke looked at his boss standing next to him and knew from his face that Henry was thinking the same things. “Henry,” Duke whispered, “what were we thinking?”

*~*~*

As the sky outside darkened, Danny sat silently against a wall waiting for a signal of what to do next. He had survived his trip walking across a wooden board that had been too many feet in the air. Once everyone was safely in the other building the twins had pulled the board into the room and shut and locked the window behind them. Haku moved quickly from one window to the next, pulling the drapes shut and then gestured for them to sit down.

Hours passed in silence as the group waited in the dark building for the coast to clear. The tension in the room was so thick that Danny could have cut it with a knife. The twins stood apart from everyone else and occasional peaked through a draped window to check on the progress out on the street. Haku looked pensive and dangerous; Danny wished that he had the ability to know what the Hawaiian woman was thinking.

The silence was broken suddenly when one the twins announced that it looked like the police had moved on. Haku walked over to check for herself and seemed satisfied by what she saw outside. Turning around, Haku gestured toward Tomo.

The Japanese man leaned over and Danny saw Haku whisper issue a series of orders into his ear. Tomo’s eyes widened in shock as he replied, “You sure?”

“Yes,” Haku said firmly as she pressed a wad of money into Tomo’s hand.

As Tomo left the room, Haku returned to the position she had kept for their silent wait and no one dared suggest that do anything else. However, Danny noticed that Ling was fidgeting and growing more impatient with every passing minute.

The waiting was just beginning to get too much for Danny when Tomo returned and handed Haku a packet as he whispered several sentences in her ear. At that moment, Danny would have traded his wish for mind reading abilities for the gift of lip-reading.

When Haku made no moves to share the knowledge with the rest of the group, Ling jumped up and shouted, “I’m outta here.”

Testo moved between Ling and the exit as Haku made a slow deliberate turn towards the Chinese punk and stated firmly, “I don’t think so. I find it suspicious that cops showed up right after you appeared on my doorstep.”

Danny’s heart leapt into his throat. The accusation was directed towards Ling but Danny couldn’t help but start to worry. He couldn’t afford for Haku to start making connections between his presence and McGarrett’s.

Ling didn’t take the accusation lightly as he shot back, “Look lady, I didn’t go to the fuzz. Those two were ones in chief pig’s office, talk to them.”

Crap. This wasn’t going to end well. Danny bit the inside of his lip to keep his worry from showing on his face.

“Kaiko and Mr. Burken work for me. I have it on good grounds that I am not your only employer, Mr. Ling.”

The punk’s confident façade slipped as he asked, “So?”

Haku walked slowly toward the punk whom seemed to wilt under her glare. “Trust me. Sun Lu would never go to no cops,” Ling declared, his voice full of desperation.

“If he didn’t than tell me who did.” Haku asked as she pulled out a gun and pointed it directed at Ling.

Danny froze as Ling’s face became one of terror as he pleaded, “I don’t know. It wasn’t me. I swear it!”

“I figured as much.” Then before Ling had a chance to say another word a bullet lodged firmly in the front of his skull. His eyes remained wide as his body crumpled to the floor. Haku calmly put away the gun as if she had done nothing more strenuous than take a sip of tea.

A full scale riot could have broken out in front of him and Danny would have never noticed with the echoes of the shoot still ringing in his ears and the sight of Ling’s body on the floor. He had just witnessed cold blooded murder and had been powerless to stop it. Danny had never killed anyone and so not carrying a weapon on this assignment had never bothered him until now. Now, he felt naked. Now, he felt helpless. Now, for the first time, Danny realized just how much danger he was in.

That was not supposed to happen. That was something that he should never have encountered in a car strippings case. No simple car thief would have that sort of escape plan; no simple car thief would kill a man in cold blood without any remorse. McGarrett was right; this case was about something a lot more important than a few stripped cars.

Danny suppressed a shudder as he looked long and hard at spot on the floor where Ling’s body had fallen.

That could have been him.