EPILOGUE TO:
Distant Thunder
SPOILER
Synopsis:
A neo-Nazi
group is threatening a Senator. While Five-0
protects the politician, Dan goes undercover to gain evidence against the Nazi
group.
ECHOES
OF THUNDER
gm
November 1978
As the neo-Nazi leader,
Stoner, was dragged away by officers, McGarrett tuned
out the screamed invectives and threats of the criminal. The extremist had proven more dangerous than
McGarrett had expected, coming after the newly elected Senator Tamara with a
gun -- right in the middle of a crowded rally!
Thankfully, the only one
hurt was the Nazi leader and his fascist cause.
McGarrett glanced around the campaign headquarters. Some news hounds were chasing after Stoner
while others tried to corner Tamara.
Dazed campaign supporters were cleaning up; still glowing in the flush
of victory, still shaky in the aftermath of the near assassination. What was missing from the picture was the
second in command of
Dan Williams left the
building with the officers escorting Stoner. In the moment of crisis, the
danger to Tamara had dislodged McGarrett's concern for his detective. Now that the threat to the senator was over,
the anxiety he originally felt for Williams returned full force. With a chill, McGarrett realized how close he
had probably come to losing Williams on this assignment.
Because of both Williams'
skill and experience as a cop and his obviously Aryan appearance, Danno had
been the natural undercover operative to send into the Nazi movement. At the
time McGarrett suggested the assignment to Williams, they did not know the
neo-Nazi leader was unbalanced enough to constitute the deadly threat exhibited
today. There had always been the threat –
the hazard that was implicit with every undercover assignment. The image of Chin’s dead body on the pavement
below his office slammed into his thoughts.
No, those perils were never far form his
mind. Why had he not been more careful
this time with Danno?
*****
“Danno, how would you like to do a number on Stoner?”
It had
seemed such a good idea at the time. Obviously Aryan, Danno was not known to Stoner and would be
perfect to infiltrate the gang.
“Sure, what did you have in mind?”
Just like
Danno, minimizing the risks and always eager to do what needed to be done. Do what Steve wanted him to do.
“It could be dangerous.”
Even then there was the impression of the unbalanced nature of
their enemy; the hazards of undercover work, the memory of Chin’s death.
“Well, surfing could be dangerous. Lay it on me.”
Always willing to go along with McGarrett’s schemes to obtain
justice. Or to just go along
with his wishes?
*****
McGarrett thought back to
the anxious hours earlier in the day when communication with Williams was
broken, failing
to make his usual contacts. Duke Lukela,
the other staff Five-0 detective, was sent to stake
out the Nazi headquarters. McGarrett didn't have the whole story yet, but he had the impression
that the appearance of Lukela had probably saved Williams' life. It seemed the whole operation had been a
hairsbreadth from disaster.
Anxious to talk to his
friend, McGarrett caught up with Dan and Duke outside the conference
center. Williams seemed well, and most
importantly, alive. Steve walked over
and squeezed the younger officer's shoulder.
"It's good to see
you, Danno."
It
was a colossal understatement, but the only thing McGarrett could relate for
now. Later perhaps, when the adrenalin was subdued
and they held a post-case discussion of events, he could express himself
better.
'Probably not,'
he reflected ruefully.
He had never been
eloquent with relaying feelings. His
simple statement was sincere and truthful and after the tension and fear of
Dan's undercover assignment, it really said it all. After the tangle with the neo-Nazi group,
Williams was back safe, and that was what mattered.
"It's good to be
here," Williams said with relief.
McGarrett gently touched a
finger to Williams' chin, turning the face to get a better view of the split
lip and puffy cheek. Apparently, Danno
had good reason to be relieved.
"Rough?"
Williams shrugged. "Just another perfect day in
paradise," he said flippantly. The
seriousness in his steady blue eyes contradicted the words.
"I'm anxious to hear
about it," was Steve's curt reply, his tone gruff, reflecting his
displeasure at how the case had turned too dangerous for Williams and the
Senator.
"I'll say these guys
were a bunch of nuts," Williams quipped with a touch of lightness, a touch
of relief. Couched in the tinge of
wryness, a bit of bitterness came creeping into the comment.
It was an obvious attempt
at Williams' own brand of quirky humor/bravado to counter McGarrett's
gravity. It didn't
work. Steve felt a stab of anger at his
own carelessness. He had let Dan go off
on an undercover assignment without adequate backup. There had not been enough safeguards this
time. When Dan had not arrived for his
check in, McGarrett should have stormed the Nazi hideout with the full force of
an HPD SWAT team. They probably would
have ruined their case against Stoner, but wasn’t that
preferable to losing his officer? Not
only had delay endangered Williams, but also Tanaka. Shouldn’t Steve have prevented the crisis
from ever escalating so far as to have a madman
pointing a weapon at a candidate? So far as to lose his detective?
Conversation came to a
stop as the three detectives watched the neo-Nazi leader driven away in a blue
and white patrol car. The raving,
obsessive Stoner was just one more example of how unpredictable their enemies
could be, how risky undercover work could get.
The last few years had been bad luck for subterfuge.
It had started with
McGarrett's own ill fated, secret mission to find Frankie, a witness to a mob
murder. Incognito, Steve had been tracked down by -- and fought with -- his own men when
Five-0 had moved in. In the end,
Frankie had died anyway.*
The worst and most painful
blunder of all had been last year when Chin Ho Kelly was
killed while undercover in
A few months ago,
McGarrett had tried undercover work again to gain information on illegal
gambling. It had been a trap and the
Feds arrested him. The mess had been a
colossal embarrassment for Five-0. ***
A very short time ago, he
had experienced another, frightening undercover blunder, which nearly matched the
horror of Chin's death. While
undercover, Danno had been captured, tortured and brainwashed
by a Chinese spy. ****
Involuntarily, the terror
of both Chin's death and Williams' torture pressed into Steve's memory. Today he had made the same, near fatal
mistake he had made last year with Chin Ho; with
Williams and the spy ring. McGarrett had
left his man out in the open on an assignment as shark bait and the sharks had
come for blood. This time the shark had
not been deadly, but still obviously dangerous.
McGarrett cursed himself
for that horrid blind spot which still seemed to plague him: His belief that his team and he were
invincible; that there would never be another loss like Chin's, or the others
who had died in the service of Five-0. So, this time, he had pushed Williams out into the line of
fire. Why? Because Williams was the
right, obvious man for the job? Or, to prove McGarrett's theory -- that the Five-0 staff was
invulnerable again? That they could all
bounce back form Chin’s death and everything was back to normal again?
Infiltrating the Nazi
group had seemed so easy at first. In
hindsight, McGarrett felt he should have never let Williams go through with the
masquerade. He wondered when he was
going to come to his senses and stop tempting fate. If he kept playing these games, one day he
was going to lose -- maybe lose Danno.
The life of his friend was much too valuable to imperil unnecessarily. It was precarious enough just going through
the paces of daily life as a cop!
McGarrett COULD
rationalize and spread some of the blame for this operation to Williams. Dan was partially at fault -- he volunteered
for dangerous assignments and discouraged McGarrett from being overly concerned
and protective about his welfare. It was
Williams' way of over-compensating with his own traits of eagerness and pushing
the limits. Williams wanted to prove
that nothing had changed since his brainwashing and that he could handle any
assignment. The detective was a skilled
and talented operative and did not want to be limited because of his boss'
worry. Being a cop was a risky business
and sometimes those risks were fatal.
Adversely, Steve
overcompensated with a sense of invulnerability for his guys
and himself. Perhaps that was the only
way he could live with the dangers they faced every day. He was the one ultimately responsible for
sending his detectives into the fire. He
was the one who died a little inside when one of the team was injured, or did
not come back at all.
The core problem,
McGarrett reasoned, was that he had grown too close to his team, to
Williams. He had never
been drawn so close to anyone in his life. Getting personally involved meant getting
hurt. Without meaning to, without
realizing it, he had become too emotionally attached, too vulnerable about his
friends -- about Danno.
The first time Williams had been wounded as a Five-0 detective, a deranged man had
held him hostage. McGarrett had lost
control and reason trying to get Dan safely out before he bled to death.*****
Those long years ago,
Steve had realized, but not really understood, that Williams had slipped under
his skin to become his indispensable, closest friend.
There had been many other
times since then when McGarrett had recognized his greatest susceptibility was
in Williams. Never, in all the worry and
fear, had McGarrett questioned the weakness in his emotions. Danno had proven to be everything a friend
should be -- more than a friend -- a close, caring brother. Danno was now an indispensable part of his
life. McGarrett had become too attached
to break the strong ties even if he wanted to, which he did not.
So there was his dilemma:
He couldn't back away from his responsibilities as head of Five-0 --
from utilizing his skilled personnel.
Neither could he conquer his fear of losing what meant the most to
him. Nor could he change the nature of
their work to assure Williams would be protected and never
placed in harm's way again. It
was a bittersweet place.
*****
McGarrett dropped a hand
onto Williams' shoulder. "You're
sure you're okay?"
"Yeah,
really." Dan's blue eyes mirrored the sincerity of his
tone. It was a silent reinforcement to
let his boss know there was no cause for concern. "Don't let it worry you."
The slightest hesitation
in the tone gave McGarrett a trace of doubt.
Williams was covering up something -- probably the details on the
bruises and split lip. Steve would be
anxious to read the report -- it would probably worry him more than ever once
he found out the real dangers Danno had faced.
For now, he would match Williams' mood and play it cool.
Steve gave a slight
nod. "Good work, Danno. Need a lift?" He led the way over to his sedan.
"Home, please. I'm gonna take a shower." Williams tugged at his blue work shirt, which
was stained with dirt and sweat. His tone was purposely light, pushing Steve's
soberness from the conversation.
"Then I'm gonna relax and hang out on my lanai with some cold
beers. You know that nut wouldn't let us
have any drinks!"
"You mean you'll
relax after you turn in your report?" McGarrett responded in a matching
light vein.
There was a momentary
grimace on Williams' face. "All right. But
if I've done such good work and I have to turn in a report, then you can spring
for my beers."
McGarrett opened the
driver's door to his car and Williams crossed to the passenger side. "Deal," Steve agreed over the roof.
He smiled fondly at his
friend, relieved this danger was behind them.
For now, he would push aside the anxiety of this assignment. And he refused to
worry about the future. Today,
everything had turned out fine -- Danno was alive. For a cop -- for McGarrett -- that was the
best finish they could put at the end of any day in paradise.
*
Short Walk on a
** Death in the Family
*** Small Potatoes
**** Deadly Courier
***** King of the Hill