Authors:
As Duke walked through the halls of HPD it was with a lighter step and brighter mood than he had for awhile. To be honest, Duke hadn’t realized how much the stress of the past case was getting to him until he woke up this morning refreshed from knowing that it was all over expect for the paperwork.

And on a day like today, Duke wasn’t going to let the prospect of mounds of paperwork ruin his mood. Besides, he’d let Williams fill some of it out. After some time out in the field, Duke figured that the kid would benefit from learning about desk side of police work.

Duke slipped into his Henry’s office and was surprised to find his boss sitting alone at his desk looking over some report. “Morning. Where’s Williams?”

Setting down the file, Henry replied, “McGarrett wanted to debrief him.”

Any disappointment Duke had over not having Williams around to help with the paperwork quickly faded as he pondered how that conversation was going. McGarrett could be intimidating to veteran cops with ten years on the force let alone a rookie with a few weeks. McGarrett had made his displeasure at Williams’ actions known yesterday so had Steve asked for Williams’ presence in order to further correct the deviant behavior? If so, Duke wondered if the kid’s confidence could handle it; he hadn’t taken McGarrett’s disapproval well yesterday. Duke hoped the department didn’t lose Williams over one mistake, even if the mistake had been a significant one, because the kid didn’t strike Duke as someone who refused to learn from his errors.

Duke was jolted out of his thoughts when Henry announced. “I have some good news. The ship’s captain has been more than willing to cooperate with us. It appears that he’s more than a little upset that Haku tried to cut him out of his proper commission.”

Duke nodded in agreement. “Hiding the jewels in stolen car parts was a nasty trick.”

Henry softly chuckled. “The captain didn’t like when I mentioned that his actions meant that he cutting the State of Hawaii out of her proper commission.”

Duke was pleased at Henry’s news even though he wasn’t surprised for Tetso Asari had been a wealth of information last night. Asari had wanted to place the blame for all of the serious crimes at the feet of the late Haku Kikeona. According to Asari, a mutual friend had introduced them when they came to the islands and she had given them a plan for a heist that they couldn’t resist. Other inquires discovered that Haku had been secretly in a few of criminal organizations based in Pearl City which explained the mutual friend. The stolen car parts were to be equal parts distraction and cover. Though the smuggling did explain why the gangs were getting a better return on the parts they sold, Haku wasn’t looking to make any profit on the parts. She was just paying for something that she needed quickly.

It was amazing how a plan that gave them so many headaches and stress had made sense once they had all the pieces. But the credit for discovering the crucial pieces belonged to Danny Williams and Duke hoped that the young officer would be able to see that after he returned from facing McGarrett’s temper.

However, Duke couldn’t keep his concerns off his mind as wondered aloud, “I hope Steve doesn’t scare the kid too bad.”

Henry looked at him and the big man’s gaze softened as he stated confidently, “I don’t think he will.”

Duke just hoped that Henry was right.

*~*~*


It was ridiculous, Dan Williams felt like a little kid too afraid to walk into the principal’s office as he stood before the secretary in the outer Five-O office. Seemingly oblivious to his nervousness, the woman smiled sweetly as said, “Go on in. He’s expecting you.”

Danny nodded and opened the door into McGarrett’s domain; there was no backing out now. Entering the room, Danny saw that the French doors were wide open and that McGarrett was standing outside. McGarrett gestured him over and Danny walked past the Chinese detective who as deeply engrossed in some papers at the side desk in the room and joined McGarrett out on the lanai.

Standing tall and attempting to look more confident than he felt Danny removed his HPD cap and reported in. “Officer Dan Williams as requested, sir.”

Danny caught a flicker of amusement in McGarrett’s eyes at his words but it quickly passed as the detective studied him, making him grateful that he was in his HPD uniform instead of the raggedy street clothes he had been wearing undercover.

“Why did you become a cop?”

McGarrett’s question shocked him; it was definitely not a question Danny had prepared for. Excuses, explanations, and apologies for his actions yesterday ran out of his mind as he considered his answer.

The long answer would involve his life story so Danny decided to try a shorter answer first. “I didn’t set out to become a cop. It just sort of happened.”

McGarrett remained silent waiting for him to continue. Danny sighed; he didn’t like talking about his past but McGarrett wasn’t going to give him a choice. “My Dad died when I was young so my Mom raised me.

“I was seventeen when she died. Afterwards, I moved to California to live with my Aunt and graduated high school. I needed money for college so I joined the Coast Guard. Four years of active duty service for free tuition sounded like a good deal to me. After I finished basic training, it was decided that I should attend the Maritime Academy and study law enforcement. I graduated and served on a cutter for two years.”

“Why only two?” McGarrett asked. “You said the commitment was for four.”
“I was injured when a firefight broke out on a ship we were boarding. The injury was serious enough that I was given an honorable discharge.”

If Danny closed his eyes he would have been able to recall the incident perfectly; he had drawn his service revolver but never got an opportunity to use it. Not wanting to dwell on that incident he continued, “They told me that I’d never be able to walk normally again.”

As Danny looked out across the lawn, memories of waking up in the hospital, the tests, and the doctors bombarded him. The view was beautiful, and at that moment Danny understood why McGarrett wanted to have this conversation out on the lanai. There was something about the beauty of the landscape that provided him with some calm and peace of mind as he continued, “I was determined to prove them wrong.

“I studied psychology at the University of Hawaii while I went through psychical therapy. By the end of the first semester I was walking without a limp, a few months later I could run, and by the end of the year it was like I had never been injured. As soon as I got the clearance from my doctors I transferred to Berkeley and changed my major to police science. I graduated in May and joined HPD a few weeks ago.”

“And did you learn anything from that injury?”

Danny blinked several times as he considered the question, “Sorry?”

“Your injury in the Coast Guard was an accident, a consequence of the risks of your job. When you threw yourself in front of that gun you could have been seriously injured or worse and you would have had no one to blame but yourself. And this time you might have not been able to rehab yourself back into shape. There were plenty of men there, prepared for that situation. You sat in my chair last night and told me this might happen, did you think I wasn’t listening?”

Danny gulped. There was no good answer to that question but luckily McGarrett didn’t wait for him to come up with one.

“Trust, Officer Williams. You have to learn to trust those you work with or you’ll be a danger to yourself and those around you. There are enough risks in this line of work without you adding unnecessary ones to them.”

Danny’s mind whirled. He had been ready for this lecture when he walked in the door but McGarrett had knocked him off guard, brought done the walls he built around himself. But even with his emotions in a whirlwind, Danny managed to realize a few things.

“You already knew my story didn’t you?”

Danny knew by the quick widening of McGarrett’s eyes that his question had surprised the veteran cop, and that his observation had been correct.

“Yes,” McGarrett admitted. “And I noticed that you left out quite a bit. You didn’t mention that your father was killed during WWII or that your mother’s death was at the hands of alleged drunk driver.”

Danny tensed; he had purposely left those details out. “I’m not looking for sympathy.”

“I didn’t say you were. But can you honestly tell me that those two events had no bearing on your decision to become a cop?”

Danny looked away. To answer that question was something he was not prepared to do. It was too personal; even after all these years his parent’s deaths were too close to his heart. However, Danny hadn’t lied; he was not looking for sympathy, he was looking for justice that he know would never find. The war was over and dwelt with powers beyond any one man’s control and as for the nameless, faceless driver that killed his mother…

He would never bring her killer to justice but he could dedicate his life to make sure others were.

Steve’s eyes narrowed as he studied as he studied the young man standing next to him. It looked like some of what he was saying was getting through.

“As a cop it’s your job to learn to take calculated risks. Williams, you have the dedication a good officer needs, talent that must men will never see, and with your willingness to work hard you have the potential to be a great asset to this force.”

Shocked by the praise, Danny was about to thank McGarrett but the older detective wasn’t done.

“But you are also too stubborn for your own good and your impulsive streak has got to go.”

Steve let his harsh words echo before softening his voice. “Williams, I’m saying this as a man who seen too many good young lives wasted. There are two places that cops like you end up and the most likely option is the morgue.”

Steve paused for a moment in hope that his message was sinking in. “Understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Danny answered, his voice barely above a whisper. “And the other the other place?”

“Add some discretion to your thought process and you’ll find out. Dismissed.”

Steve expected Williams to protest but the young officer simply straightened and placed his cap on his head before heading toward the door. It bothered Steve that even when he was mad at him the kid still found ways to impress him. Maybe he was going soft but Steve couldn’t let Williams leave disappointed. “Danno,” he called out, making the officer look back. “Good luck.”

A quick expression of shock showed on the officer’s face before he recovered. “Thanks…Steve.”

Steve couldn’t help but smile after Danno left the room. If he took his advice, and Steve had a strong suspicion that he would, Danny Williams was going to make a fine cop one of these days.

Across the room, Chin spoke up for the first time. “Give Steve, where’s the other place that dedicated, talented, hardworking, yet stubborn and impulsive cops end up?”

Steve grinned evilly, “Chin, I’m surprised that a good detective like you would have to ask.”

Chin frowned but when he looked up at his dedicated, talented, and hardworking boss who happened to be extremely stubborn and more than a little impulsive at times the answer quickly fell into place.

*~*~*


Danny slowly slid into the seat of his car and put the key in the ignition but he didn’t turn it on. He needed time to think. Part of him burned at McGarrett’s critiques and another part dwelled on McGarrett wishing him luck.

Danny had walked into McGarrett’s office hoping for praise and expecting a dressing down but he received something much more valuable in return: respect.

McGarrett respected him enough to rebuke him, to give him an honest critique of abilities. How many people had he known to do that? How many in McGarrett’s position of power would be so willing to teach? Danny hoped that this case wouldn’t be the last time he got to work with the man because Dan Williams knew that there was a lot more he could learn from Steve McGarrett.

As Danny drove off into the distance, little did he know that Steve was watching him go and hoping for the exact same thing.

PAU