Missing scene to -- Man In A Steel Frame

BOND AS STRONG AS STEEL

by

AS

Danny Williams turned his head in the direction of the water that had been suddenly silenced but didn’t speak, knowing too well that his boss was already wrapped in a towel and out of the shower room. Sighing quietly, he turned to allow the hot water to beat on his shoulders. After the strenuous workout on the court, his muscles were sore and his body was nowhere near ready to leave the relaxation the hot water provided. He leaned his palms against the stone wall and thought back through the vigorous game that had been completed.

He’d been and still was surprised at how much Steve’s game had improved and had said as much. Steve, of course, had brushed it off with the comment to Yoshi. But still the development had been unexpected. Getting McGarrett to relax in any way, shape or form during the work week was a minor miracle and worth the price of soundly losing a few sets of tennis.

Knowing that he’d wasted enough time and water, Williams slowly shut off the valve and reluctantly reached for a couple of the towels the club graciously provided for its members’ use. He silently snorted. Gracious – whatever. With what he paid for his membership, it was the least they could offer. Wrapping a towel firmly around his waist, he headed for the lockers as he used another to rub the excess water off his curly hair. He opened the door to his locker and sat down on the small, hard bench in front of it as he examined its contents.

His toiletries were all there and once again he was glad he’d taken to keeping a complete set here. It made stopping off straight from work much easier now that he kept workout clothes, an extra pair of trunks and everything he’d need to shower and change in stock. It had also helped that he’d been able to talk McGarrett into doing the same. Now neither man was able to use that as an excuse for not utilizing the club more often. Danny dressed in the comfortably loose jeans and blue v-neck sweater he’d put on early that morning. He’d nearly forgotten it was his day off. Guess that was what meeting Steve at the club for an afternoon match did to his internal calendar.

He strapped on his ankle holster, sliding a hand over his off-duty piece before straightening to grab his wallet from the shelf. Movements smooth and precise the way one would expect from the second-in-command of the Five0, he slid the billfold into his rear pants pocket as he slammed the locker door closed before exiting the locker room. Walking out of the club into the ever-brilliant Hawaiian sunshine, he paused to allow the warmth to seep through his skin and into his bones. He’d completed his errands in the early morning and had been trying to decide what to do when Steve had called with the last minute invite to tennis. Williams chuckled to himself. After seeing how much the man’s skills had improved since he began working with Yoshi, Danny was positive that the invite had more to do with McGarrett wanting to show off his skill to his athletic friend then just a friendly game.

“Looks like there’s hope for you yet, Steve.” He mumbled underneath his breath as he headed for his car.

Danny opened the door and slid behind the wheel, questioning again why he had decided to drive the LTD instead of the Mustang. It seemed like he drove it less and less as time went on. He wasn’t sure why but silently promised himself that he’d make an effort to drive the sports car more when he wasn’t on duty. He was just ready to pull out into traffic when the police radio on his dash squawked to life.

“Dispatch to Five0 2. Dispatch to Five0 2 – come in.”

He sighed audibly reluctantly reaching for the mic. Didn’t anyone in law enforcement know the meaning of the words day off?

“This is Williams.”

“Danny, Sergeant Ochaka here. Just got two unusual calls, one from McGarrett and one from an anonymous caller. Both calls were about a D.B. Got cars headed to the scene now but, Danny…”

The brief pause caught Williams’ attention more than the words had.

“What is it, Ray?”

“The first caller – the anonymous one – claimed he saw a suspect, gave us a description and a partial on a plate.”

“Great, makes our job that much easier.” Williams tried for a light tone, wanting to seem a bit nonchalant but knowing in his gut that the lead in was not going to end with something easy or good.

“Danny, it’s McGarrett.”

“What? What’s McGarrett?”

Williams listened in developing shock and near horror as the details were given. He was barely able to say mahalo before he clicked off the radio and sped out of the club’s entrance – only one destination in mind. His thoughts and emotions were all jumbled. Cathy Ryan – Steve’s girlfriend of the last several months. He had met her once briefly. She’d come to the Palace to get the ‘Super cop’, as she called him, to take a break for dinner. At the time, Danny had noted how little coercion had been necessary to get Steve to leave the office.

Sure, they had not been working on anything overly urgent and their normal take-out dinner had sounded highly unappealing. But there had been a light in Steve’s expression and an ease to his step that his second-in-command couldn’t recall seeing.

Danny’s chest tightened as he pressed down on the accelerator, anxious to reach the address he had been given. The emotions that coursed through him could not have been simply sorted or named at the moment. He was anxious to get to the scene of a crime as a law enforcement officer. Solving crimes was what he did – his career, his vocation and his passion. And there was no crime more heinous than murder as far as he was concerned. No crime that called for the best efforts of an officer then the taking of another’s life. Adrenaline stoked to even higher levels as he pushed the vehicle faster down the pavement.

Fear and sorrow were also raging through him. He couldn’t describe or measure the pain and sorrow he felt for his boss and friend. Steve normally didn’t allow himself to get close to others but the few who had managed to get past the tough exterior usually ended up imbedded deeply into the older man’s heart and life, becoming an almost permanent part of him. A small smile fleetingly crossed Williams’ lips as he remembered how long it had taken before he realized how close he was to his boss. Many years had passed since then and Danny was still there at the Palace beside Steve. He knew they had become well-known both on the islands and the mainland, making a name for themselves and their unit even with the federal agents that they dealt with. At times he found it almost humorous that many considered the two men a matched set. That they were often referred to along the same lines as salt and pepper or ketchup and mustard. But then thoughts of leaving his position, of moving on or up had not seriously crossed his mind since shortly after Kono resigned. Now he just wanted to get McGarrett and support him the way a close friend would.

Then there was the fear that bubbled inside. Sergeant Ochaka’s words – an unofficial warning to the second-in-command of Five0 - had chilled him, causing him to shiver despite the tropical warmth around him. He knew immediately and instinctively that someone was framing Steve for Cathy’s murder. He also knew that whoever it was who had done the actual killing and placed the call to HPD was simply the grunt labor and not the mastermind. Briefly he wondered who had been dispatched to the house to conduct the initial investigation and berated himself for not asking. He knew without a doubt that Five0 would be taking over the case. He also knew that it would take all of their focused energies as a team to clear Steve, but he had no doubt that they would be able to do it.

Danny reached around the wheel and flipped on his turning signal, barely slowing as he whipped the LTD into the driveway. He braked behind McGarrett’s Mercury, shoving the gear into park and turning off the engine. There would be time later to investigate and plan how the team would handle this. Now he needed to be a friend and support Steve. He reached for the door handle at the same moment that he spotted McGarrett. Steve looked more than just distraught and Danny knew that he needed to get to the other man’s side.

pau