Epilogue
in a Rainforest
By
GM and Karen
EPISODE:
Elegy In A Rainforest
Steve
and Dan go into a rainforest on a manhunt for a ruthless serial killer. Lost in the forest is Manicote’s
daughter. He arrives and complicates the
search. It culminates in a deadly
confrontation between McGarrett and the murderer. Steve is saved when
a young man who lives in the rainforest saves his life by throwing a toy at the
killer to distract him long enough for Steve to turn the tables.
January 1977
As he made a careful
path down the rain-slick, muddy mountain trail, Steve McGarrett was grateful
for the rough terrain. He was thankful
for the wet, the stormy January atmosphere that brought the cuttingly crisp
wind to the Windward side of
It had been a while
since he had encountered an absolutely raving lunatic
like Marcus Lucian. Staring down the
wrong end of a shotgun from the insane serial killer was something he did not
want to repeat again ever in life. The
whole time he faced down the escaped criminal he was angry that he had been cornered -- angry he was going to be die like that
-- helpless and unarmed against a ruthless murderer.
Adding to the crisis,
or perhaps a contributing factor to the crisis, John Manicote
had been shot, he and his daughter still under the gun of Lucian. If the frantic DA hadn't
blindly run into harm's way to save his daughter things would have been
different. Steve would never have
surrendered his weapon and been trapped.
Then, as so many
times in the past, events had switched instantaneously. Lucian was distracted and McGarrett regained
possession of his pistol. Within seconds the criminal was dead and the threat ended. Only afterward did McGarrett find the toy
fire truck on a rope. It didn't clarify anything.
He was hoping Karen would fill in the blanks.
"David is a mute
who lives up there," Karen explained as they struggled down the rocky
coastal ledge to the waiting arms of rescue personnel.
Immediately Manicote received emergency treatment. During the initial procedures, McGarrett
pulled the daughter aside. Williams, who
had been with them on the climb down, silently listened.
"David is the
person who saved me?"
"He lives on the
mountain. Probably since
he was a little boy. He protected me and
when that horrible man found us."
She took the end of the rope attached to the toy in McGarrett's
hand. "This is his."
"I found it near
Lucian's body."
"The fire truck
belongs to David. It's
very important to him. His father was a fireman and died in a fire.
It must have been very difficult for David to throw it away."
"It saved my
life," Steve assured her, his voice catching with strong emotions.
The relief of being
alive, the closeness to death, was beginning to register. The ragged young man who had distracted Lucian
had come out of nowhere. When he threw
something at the killer, Lucian had been distracted, had not followed through
with his plan to shoot McGarrett down in cold blood. At the time it had all seemed nearly surreal
and
Releasing an unsteady
sigh, he concluded, "It took a lot of guts for him to help me."
He stared up at the
mist-shrouded mountain. There was no
sign that any one was up there, but Steve had the strangest feeling the
castaway named David was standing up there in his sanctuary and observing them
right now.
The rescue personnel
were ready to move Manicote and Karen ran over and
climbed into the ambulance with her father.
As the vehicle pulled out a covered stretcher with Lucian's body was brought into the gathering of police and emergency
officers. So much
grief had been generated by this monster; six dead girls, two hippies up on the
mountain. Then Manicote wounded, and Karen and McGarrett nearly becoming
statistical victims. It was over now, but
it would be a while before he could assess it all.
Turning and hiking
back toward the Five-0 car, he realized Williams had been unusually reticent
throughout the entire episode. Now, as
always, Danno was with him, but there was a sense of distance that he didn't understand.
"Tough
day," he sighed, not sure what else to say.
"Yeah," came Williams' measured reply after some time.
McGarrett stopped
short of the car and stared at his friend.
"Something wrong, Danno?"
Momentarily the younger man's blue eyes flashed with some
indecipherable emotion. His already
troubled expression darkened, then he grimaced and
shook his head. “Nah.”
"What is
it?" the boss persisted.
Shrugging
disconsolately, Williams continued on to the car. “Nothing,” he surrendered.
As McGarrett
quickened his pace to catch up, he realized that his friend had been subdued
long before the standoff with Lucian. In
fact, for their entire excursion into the rainforest Williams had been restrained to an unusual degree. He had noted it before, but there it had been
a niggling shadow in the back of his mind.
Nothing he could address under the tense, deadly conditions they had
faced on the mountain.
First they were tracking the murderer. Then they had stumbled upon two mutilated bodies
of his most recent victims. That had
been enough to turn their stomachs. Even
after years of veteran police experience, what Lucian had done to those poor
wilderness hippies was sickening.
Was that what was
troubling Danno? There was something deeply
troubling the younger detective, and it wasn't just
the stand-off with the criminal. He
seemed disinclined to discuss it, and McGarrett was not going to pry. He had his own nerves, his own demons to deal
with at the moment.
Without pressing the
issue, he climbed into the car and drove down the mountain. Both wrapped in their thoughts, neither
Five-0 officer spoke as they returned through the drizzly rain to
When he turned onto Kalakaua and slowed down through the residential area,
McGarrett felt his own need to say something.
Silence was not helping sort through the turbulent emotions following
his very nearly fatal encounter. Just
blurting out how shaky he felt, how disturbing it was dealing with a psychopath
like Lucian, was not easy for him.
“That was a rough
one,” he finally, quietly revealed.
“Yeah.”
After working side by
side for years, Steve knew his friend very well. He knew the uncharacteristic laconic answers
were foreign to Williams. They were a
message that spoke loudly, in the eloquence of restrained silence, that there
were deep issues disturbing the young man.
Usually, all it took was an opening -- an invitation that he was ready
and willing to listen.
Steve chose a phrase
that demonstrated his readiness without exposing his own vulnerabilities. “It really got to you, didn’t it?”
”Yeah,” Williams nodded, breathing out a long sigh.
With a voice rippling
with emotion, he confessed, “We’re just spinning their wheels. We put Lucian away. Then because of other’s stupidity he escapes
and murders more people!” Shaking his
head, he took another deep breath, as if fighting to contain his deepest, more revealing emotions.
“It’s sick. The
senseless death and violence.”
Steve’s countered with completely heartfelt sympathy. “I know, Danno. I wish there was something I could say to
make us feel better. But, the only thing
I can think of to say is that we do the best we can to stop the criminals.”
He pulled to a stop
in front of Williams’ apartment. They
had both been off duty on this Saturday.
When the call about Lucian’s escape came through
they had not even left their respective apartments. When notified, they left sunny
*****
After a hot shower,
McGarrett bundled up in one of his running suits and sat on his sofa watching
the storm clouds dance an ever-changing pattern across the twilight sky. Blue sky patches
altered and quickly disappeared as the white and grey clouds dappled the
horizon and mostly obscured the fluted mountains behind
Later that night,
despite the cool drizzle, Steve could stand the inactivity and solitude no
more. He drove around to
When McGarrett
entered the room, Manicote was awake and gave a
slight wave to his friend. Karen, his
teenaged daughter, was sitting in a corner.
Both looked slightly worse for wear after the harrowing ordeal. She stood up and greeted the policeman with a grin and a big hug. Taken aback by the surprisingly emotional
moment, McGarrett mutely held onto her shoulders for a moment, cherishing the
affectionate contact that meant more than he would have ever guessed.
“My rescuer,” she
smiled.
McGarrett couldn’t speak past the knot in his throat and simply nodded
to the attorney. Karen should have been traumatized by the horrible
experiences. Lost during a college field
trip into the rainforest, Karen had been helped by
David the mystery boy. Then both were captured by the vicious murderer Lucian. She was remarkably resilient with the energy
of youth. Or
perhaps her focus was now on her injured father and kept her mind from the
horrors of her ordeal.
“Hi,
Steve.”
“John,” he finally
managed to utter in a semblance of a normal voice. “How are you?”
“Okay.” A weak smile faltered on his pale face. “I’m all right, but embarrassed. I’m sorry about the way I acted up on that
mountain.”
It wasn’t
easy for the tough Five-0 leader to forgive and forget a betrayal. John’s rash and hysterical actions could have
gotten them all killed -- John, Danno, him, even Karen;
the object of the passionate search. The
white-hot anger of Manicote’s insane interference in
the forest cooled long ago. There was
still some trace of residual irritation, but it seemed such a small thing in
comparison to the other events. To staring down the wrong end of a shotgun with Lucian at the
trigger end.
There would be time,
in the future, to deal with Manicote. Generously, McGarrett waved away the apology,
but the DA persisted.
“No, it was wrong of
me. I didn’t listen
to you or Dan. You were the
professionals and I was the emotionally distraught father. And look what
happens. I end up getting
shot.”
“It all turned out
okay, dad,” Karen assured. “Thanks to Steve. And David. They were
my guardian angels.”
John’s eyes
moistened. “I can’t thank you enough,
Steve, for saving her life.”
McGarrett didn’t stay much longer.
The ambiance was familial and the high sentimentality oppressive. Normally he would have felt like an intruder,
but tonight, with all feelings running high from all of them, it was too much
for him. He had not come to terms with
his own close brush with mortality yet, and didn’t
deem himself fit for company that wanted to shower him with praise.
At the car he leaned against the hood and pulled a toy fire truck
out of his pocket, playing with the rope as he recalled the amazing events of
the day. David had thrown this fire
truck at Lucian to distract him seconds before he was to pulled
the trigger to kill McGarrett. Under the gun, literally, it was the only thing that saved the cop. It seemed so strange -- the whole event --
that after all his near escapes, this time he was saved
by a wild boy and a fire truck.
As he melted into the
misty night air of the windward coast, he leaned on his car for a time, deep in
thought. There was no easy fix to the
day’s turbulent events. So much was still
unresolved, even though Lucian was dead.
The drive back to
Usually, after a
tough case, if there were problems -- things he had to sort through -- he did
that himself. When he couldn’t
manage on his own there was always a close and sympathetic ally in Danno. After the rough day, he wasn’t
sure his friend would want to rehash the events on the mountain. There was something troubling Danno,
too. Maybe they were sharing the same
mental distresses, but Steve wasn’t ready to go over
to talk to Williams just yet.
As soon as he entered
his apartment he crossed to the phone. Impatiently, McGarrett snapped his fingers
car as he waited through two rings.
Finally, the other end was picked up.
“Hello.”
“Danno, what are you
tomorrow?”
“Ah, I’m not sure.”
“I’ll pick you up
about eight. Bring your hiking gear.”
“Okay.”
“See you then.”
He hung up before
Williams could ask him anything, although he had noticed Williams was as
uncommunicative as he had been all day.
Explanations could wait until he was steadier. Tomorrow he would settle everything.
*****
Sunday broke clear
and fresh, the overnight rains and winds leaving
“So, what’s up?” the
younger man asked when he climbed into the Mercury and tossed a backpack in the
rear seat where McGarrett’s was already placed.
“We’re going back up
the mountain. Unfinished
business.”
Dan didn’t seemed surprised, and accepted the news with a nod of
his head. Dressed in a long sleeved
jacket-shirt and hiking boots, he seemed to have guessed the mission. Still laconic, McGarrett wanted to ask what
was still troubling Williams.
The morning found
Steve to a better mood. A decent night’s
sleep -- mostly the resolve of what he would do as an epilog to their experiences
-- had given him a much needed sense of peace. He sensed Danno was not ready to share his
trouble thoughts just yet, and Steve respected that. There would be time. And before the end
of this day they would find closure and tranquility. He suspected that would be
found in a return to the rainforest.
They parked near the
spot they had yesterday. They hefted their
backpacks and Williams followed McGarrett.
They were not carrying the automatic rifles as they had on the manhunt,
but Steve was sure his colleague carried a weapon in an ankle or back holster.
The day was bright
and sunny. All hint of the storm of the
previous day was gone escept for the smell of damp
dirt, the mud on the trail, the rainbows arcing above the thick foliage of the forest.
They retraced the
steps taken by the school group that Karen Manicote
traveled. McGarrett didn’t
want to go to the path along the ocean where he had nearly lost his life in Lucian’s
trap. Instead, he suggested they take
the trails into the deepest part of the rainforest.
Although the foliage
was thick, the trails were well defined, if muddy from
the recent storms. As they hiked,
Williams gradually drew out of his reticence.
He pointed out areas where people had trekked the day before. Those footprints were indistinct and nearly
washed away from the persistent rain that had dogged them in their
manhunt. Not far up into the jungle Dan
spotted fresh tracks. Barefoot
prints.
“That’s got to be
from David,” he analyzed, studying the marks.
They crossed the trail and disappeared into a thicket of bamboo. “These were made today after it stopped
raining.”
For a moment he studied the matted flora and trees provided a
curtain of density just a few feet from the path. Yesterday, they had coursed through here;
instincts wary, every nerve on edge, uncertain who would live and who would die
on the mountain. Aware that Williams was
watching him, waiting for an indication of their next move, Steve gave him a
nod and started into the heart of the jungle.
There was no distinct
trail here, but from slightly cleared dirt, broken branches, and compressed
leaves they knew they were on the right track.
Quietly, tenaciously, after much searching in the thicket, they came to more level ground.
The ocean’s melodic resonance was a noticeable backdrop. Gaps in the brush indicated a fork; one trail leading mauka -- inland, another leading makai -- toward the sea. The latter path being the one David must have
used yesterday when he tracked Lucian and stopped him from killing McGarrett,
the cop realized with a shiver across his shoulder blades.
If they had not been
following the meager track, they would have missed the jumble of fronds and
leaves that had been fashioned into a shelter.
Suddenly they were atop the hovel, a startled David.
He leaped to his feet
with a gasp and pressed his body against the far branches comprising his
refuge. McGarrett held up his hands in
universal symbol of non-aggression.
There was a large, painful looking bruise on the boy’s face.
“It’s all right,
David, we’re not here to hurt you.”
Like a trapped
animal, he obviously, desperately wanted to flee, but the intruders blocked his
only means of escape.
“We’re here to help
you,” Williams gently offered.
McGarrett reached
into his pocket and David flinched, cowering in fear. When the policeman
pulled out a piece of rope with a toy fie truck at the end, David whimpered
with a little cry of joy. McGarrett held
it out to him.
“Go ahead, take it
back. I wanted to return it.” The young man looked at the old, battered
toy, then stared into McGarrett’s eyes for a
moment. “You saved my life with this
when you threw it at Lucian,” he explained softly. He placed his other hand on his heart, then motioned toward David.
“I wanted to say thank you. Thank
you for saving me.”
The gratitude and
wonder was obvious in the awed expression of the young man. Tentatively he uncurled his body and took a
careful step forward. With lightening speed his arm flashed out, grabbed the toy, and yanked it
back to hold against his chest.
Unsure what to do
next, Steve tried to communicate, but from the confusion on his face it was clear that David was not comprehending the
questions. Several different hand
signals and enunciations were used.
“How did you get
here?” Nothing. “What is your last name?”
Crouching down, Williams
tried a few questions of his own.
“David, are you hurt?” He gestured to his own face, rubbing it in a
mirror image of where David was wounded. “Do you want to down the mountain with us to
a doctor?” These were
accompanied by motions, but David did not respond.
Crouching down also, McGarrett
felt a mixture of wonder and sadness at meeting his rescuer face to face. He was impressed with David for his outright
goodness, honesty, and bravery. Without
that, McGarrett would not be among the living right now. He also felt so sorry for him. What
was it like to be abandoned, left alone without
parents or guidance? If found up here in
the wilds he would have probably been subjected to the cruelty of those who
used him as an object of ridicule.
In
Slowly, with patient
moves, Steve shuffled out of his backpack, placed it on the ground, and
unzipped it. Inside was a sturdy
blanket, a sweatshirt, some sandals and packages of food. He ripped open a bag of crackers and ate one
to demonstrate. Taking the hint, Dan
Took a can opener and
opened a can of corned beef hash. He
dipped a cracker in it and laid it on the can lid, then
backed away.
David did not make a
move toward the food.
“I don’t think he’ll
eat while we’re here,” Williams whispered to his friend.
McGarrett
nodded. They were intruders here in
David’s sanctuary. It was best to leave
him alone now. In the future, he would
do what he could. Occasionally he would
return, he decided. He would return to
this mountain and drop off food, supplies, anything that might make David’s life
a little easer.
The
detectives stood and once more McGarrett put his hand over his heart and gave a
slight bow, thank the young man again. What else could he say? The communications gap between them was
profound, but looking into his eyes, he knew David understood. The wilderness boy gave them a nod. Then they backed away and left. On impulse, McGarrett took the makai path toward
the sea, and they soon broke out of the rainforest onto a rocky ledge
overlooking the stunningly beautiful panorama of
He had taken care of
his obligation to David. Now he had
another closure to address. This
excursion had to be a conclusion for both he and Danno. The narrow trail was right on the edge of a
long cliff that dropped straight into the waves far below. For a moment Steve
stood there looking out at the rolling water.
“This is where Lucian
caught you.” It was a statement grated
out in a deep growl.
“Yeah.”
"You were almost
killed here," Williams admitted with difficulty. "And I wasn't a bit of help. When it came to a critical point in the
manhunt and you were captured by Lucian, I had taken a
wrong turn! Even John got here before I
did!"
That was it. The silence, the pensive
guilt. That was the trouble
simmering under Danno’s reticence. At first, the vicious savagery of Lucian’s
murder spree was enough to twist the younger cop into introspective knots. But in the end, the
same thing that unraveled Steve -- the face-to-face confrontation with the
killer -- was what unhinged Williams.
They needed to be back here on mountain and find some kind of common
closure. In careers filled with close calls, yesterday’s had somehow tilted everything out
of control in their world. They were
supposed to catch the bad guys -- of, if necessary
kill them -- and go home. Close the file
and close the door of their emotions.
Nothing normal happened yesterday, so why should he expect that they
could put this case away like it was just another day
of crime fighting?
"Danno, we split
up. It was just dumb bad luck that I
came upon him first." He patted the
shorter man on the shoulder. "Don't
let it worry you.”
Maybe it was more
than bad luck, he quietly evaluated, the words spilling out in a reverie even
as he thought them. It had been his
decision to not call for back up once they heard Karen’s
screams. He was the one who picked the
shortcut, the rocky, more direct trail, to the sea. Then he indicated Danno and John should take
a trail, through thick foliage, to flank Lucian. With hindsight, he now saw how foolish his
choices, how his rare impulsiveness to get to the killer quickly -- or perhaps
find Lucian before Manicote did -- had been rashly
injudicious and nearly fatal. The
culpability should be his, but strangely, coming back here on the mountain,
helping David, seeing this all again with a clear perspective, had helped.
“I made those
decisions,” he finalized firmly. “Everything turned out all right."
And he believed the
trite comment. The advice was cliché,
but it seemed right. After nearly
twenty-four hours of jagged emotions over his near-brush with death, he knew it
came down to just that philosophy that got him -- and his staff -- through
every day on the job. The big answers
he was looking for, the quirk of Fate that brought David and his toy together
with Steve and Lucian on the edge of the mountain, were not there. There were no neat solutions to his unsettled
feelings. He had been scared. Someone else -- not a cop, not a friend, just
a person -- had helped save his life.
“It’s all right,” he
confirmed quietly. “Sometimes, despite
our best efforts, we are cornered and can’t get out on our own.”
Obviously not
impressed with the viewpoint, Williams shrugged disconsolately. “So we thank dumb luck that you’re alive?” His tone was still bitter. “Says a lot about how much help I was.”
“Hey, I sent you off
to search for Karen --“
“To
watchdog John.”
“Yeah. I wanted to keep a
civilian out of trouble and alive, Danno, and there was no one better qualified
for that than you.” His voice was
stern. “I was the one who ordered us to
split up. You were following my
instructions.”
Williams turned to leave
down the trail, but Steve stopped him with a strong grip on his arm, then faced him.
“It was my fault I
got caught by Lucian.” He took a deep
breath and for a moment lost his gaze in the ocean, then stared into his
friend’s eyes. “Everyday we put our
lives on the line. Cops being the day
believing we can overcome anything, outsmart and out gun whoever crosses our
path. Sometimes we’re
wrong. Like
yesterday. All the training and
experience meant nothing when all the varying events culminated in that moment
when Lucian had me in his sights. I was sloppy and it nearly cost me. It did cost Lucian. His bad luck and my good
luck. That’s
the only way we can look at it, Danno.
It may not be comforting, but it’s the only way I can come to terms with
it all.”
Within the blue eyes he saw the misery as it turned to acceptance.
Williams
surrendered. “Yeah, you’re right. We never want to admit it, but there are a
lot of situations we can’t control.”
“Then we do the best
we can and move on.”
Starting down the
path, they walked along the ocean, then wound their way along the rim of the
forest until the reached the car. It was
another silent trip back to