THE GENTLEMAN BURGLAR

by

Jackie Edwards

Steve McGarrett, clad in black slacks and turtleneck, flattened himself against the cool brick wall that encased the stairs to the hotel roof. In the distance he could barely make out the figure of a man, dressed in black, moving silently across the flat surface toward the stairs where the cop crouched.

"Halt!" Steve swung into his firing stance, gun aimed at Patrick Caldwell, gentleman Burglar.

"Well, if it isn't Hawaii's finest." He set a small, black leather briefcase down. "Good evening, McGarrett."

The man's smile made McGarrett's teeth grind. It was one of the things he both admired and hated about his adversary -- his sense of fun and humor about breaking the law.

Steve jerked his gun. "Hands against the wall, feet apart."

Caldwell sighed. "You have potential, McGarrett, but you're too earthbound."

"Oh really?" McGarrett took handcuffs out and pulled one of the burglar's arms behind his back. "Well, it's we 'earthbound' cops who put you high-flying lawbreakers behind bars."

"How poetic." Patrick said drolly.

Steve holstered his gun in order to handcuff the prisoner, Caldwell swung suddenly, leveling McGarrett with a fist in the stomach. As the detective doubled up, Caldwell grabbed the attaché case he'd been carrying and sprinted for the roof. Taking in the options available, Caldwell yanked on the cloth banner that was suspended from roof to ground and, finding it secure, climbed over the side.

"Caldwell!" McGarrett bellowed, charging after him.

With a wave of his hand, the burglar swung off the roof, using the banner as a repelling rope.

The wind was strong and he was thrown hard against the side of the building. The case he carried fell back onto the roof while Caldwell swung over the city, suspended nine floors above the ground.

"Hold on, I'll get you!" Steve shouted, racing to the edge.

He reached it just as the heavy banner ripped and began to fall, Caldwell hanging on for his life. McGarrett grabbed the partially torn cloth and pulled, backing across the roof, slowly pulling Caldwell with him.

The material gave and Caldwell's weight was more than Steve could manage along with the heavy banner. Caldwell's scream echoed in Steve's ears as he was dragged across the rough asphalt, into the brick wall that edged the roof. That was the last thing he heard.

*****

"Hello?"

Dan Williams, second in command of Hawaii Five-0, picked up the phone in his apartment.

"Danny? Chin Ho."

Immediately Williams' tone sobered.

"What's up?"

"Guy fell from the roof of the hotel." his colleague told him. "Dead."

"ID him?" Danny asked.

"Patrick Caldwell."

"No kidding?" Danny whistled softly. "Steve know?"

"We can't find him."

Dan hesitated a split second, then, "I'll be right there."

*****

Steve woke to the sound of police sirens screaming in the distance. He sat up, gingerly touched the goose egg on his forehead.

"Ouch," he muttered.

He glanced around the roof, memory returning slowly.

"McGarrett..."

He got to his feet and stumbled to the edge of the short wall that protected the roof.

Looking over the side, he saw a crowd gathered below, around the body of a dark clad man. As he watched, two police cars pulled up to join the dark sedan that was already at the scene. An ambulance followed behind.

"He fell..." Steve shook his head sadly. "I rather liked him. He had imagination for a cop."

Glancing around, he spotted his attaché case and retrieved it, along with a set of keys that had fallen out, then hurried down the stairs to disappear into the hotel until things quieted down.

*****

Danny got out of the car and joined the HPD man who stood beside the blanket-covered form.

"Positive ID?" Williams asked.

The man nodded. "It's Patrick Caldwell."

Danny shook his head. "Brother." He glanced around. "McGarrett here?"

"No, sir. But Detective. Lukela is over there." He pointed to where Duke stood with Che Fong.

"Thanks."

Dan walked over to his friend.

"What have you got, Duke?"

The grey-haired man gestured across the sidewalk. "We got a call from a man who saw him fall. We I'd him as Patrick Caldwell, the jewel thief Steve's been after for a month."

"Anybody see what happened?"

Duke shook his head. "Only that he fell." He paused. "Danny, we haven't been able to locate Steve and nobody's seen him since early this morning."

Concern shadowed the younger man's face. "Was he working on anything?"

Duke shrugged. "Only this case. It's been driving him crazy since you left. He's been reading every scrap of information on the guy he could find. I swear he knew him as well as he knew himself."

Dan looked around, half expecting to spot the dark-haired cop in the crowd.

"He should be here, then. I talked to him a few days ago and he sounded like he had a line on this guy. He thought he knew what his next job would be."

"Well he didn't tell us." Chin Ho Kelly came up behind them. "His desk is piled with files and clippings on the guy, but the last two jobs he pulled, Steve was this much behind him." The detective held his thumb and forefinger a quarter inch apart and grinned. "You know how well he took that."

Williams grinned, too. "Yeah, I'll bet." Still, concern niggled in the back of his mind. "But I don't understand where he is."

"Maybe he finally fell asleep on his boat or something." Duke offered. "He's been going non-stop since you left for your vacation two weeks ago."

Williams nodded. "Okay, let's get things cleaned up here. I'm sure Steve show up soon."

As he turned away, Danny scanned the crowd again. He wished he could shake this foreshadowing that lurked at the back of his mind. Something was wrong and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was.

*****

Rubbing the back of his head for the dozenth time since he'd left the hotel, Steve stopped outside the door of his penthouse apartment. He reached in his pocket and came up with a strange set of keys. Frowning, he searched again, coming up empty.

"Must've lost them during the fight," he decided. "Wonder where I picked up these?"

Studying the keys in his hand, something nudged his subconscious, escalating the pain in the back of his head. Suddenly agitated, Steve remembered the keys he'd picked up off the roof and pulled them out of his pocket. Then he let himself into the apartment.

He looked around the penthouse living room. Spacious with early morning sunlight streaming in through windows that lined one wall. He smiled, relaxing. Familiar, yet unfamiliar, yet, undeniably his style. Yes, he'd known to come here, obviously because it was his place. Instinctively he knew that if he went down the plushly carpeted hall he would come to a master bedroom and bath, complete with sauna and Jacuzzi. Familiar, yet unfamiliar.

He set the case on the floor, and sighed. Probably the crack on the head he'd received eluding McGarrett. Again he felt a pang of sadness at the thought of the dead policeman. It had been a merry chase. Though he knew McGarrett would have taken him in, Caldwell had thoroughly enjoyed their game. He felt sure the other man had too.

"Probably not too many high caliber criminals in these parts." he mused, grinning to himself.

Steve pulled the turtleneck sweater he wore over his head and tossed it on the sofa. Then he headed for the bathroom and a hot shower and long soak in the Jacuzzi. The way he figured it, he deserved it. He grinned at the attaché case sitting by the door. Job well done.

*****

Dan Williams looked up from McGarrett's desk late the next morning. Now he was certain that something had happened to his boss and he was finding it hard to deal with the Caldwell case, so much was his mind on finding Steve.

Chin Ho came through the door, several items in his hand. "They found these at the scene -- on the roof."

He laid a watch and wallet on the desk. Williams snatched up the watch.

"This is Steve's." He raised worried eyes to meet Chin's. "I gave it to him for his birthday." His gaze fell to the wallet.

"That's his too," the older man said grimly. "Badge, ID and money. Looks like he dropped it while he was chasing Caldwell."

"Then where is he?!" Danny demanded, fingers closing over the cold metal of Steve's watch. "What happened to him?"

Chin shook his head. "I don't know, bruddah. I don't know."

"I want you and Ben to cover Steve's usual haunts -- his apartment, the stretches of beach he jogs on, restaurants -- anywhere you can think of. If you come up empty, I want an APB out on him."

With a terse nod, Kelly left the office.

Danny strode to the lanai, pushing open the doors, gazing moodily at the expanse below McGarrett's window. Somehow it was all connected -- Steve and Caldwell. When he'd talked to his friend earlier in the week from his Aunt's house on the mainland, McGarrett had told him that he knew where the burglar was going to pull his next job, that he intended to be there to apprehend the criminal and bring to an end eight months of jewel robberies. He'd gone so far as to search Caldwell's penthouse, trying to find some clue to the man's next move. He shook his head. Something had gone wrong and Steve was missing. Williams looked at the street below, not seeing the landscaped beauty, only the haunting image of his closest friend in trouble.

*****

Steve signaled to the waitress who had served him dinner. She smiled and hurried over to his table.

"Yes sir?" She leaned a little closer than necessary to hear her customer's request.

Steve reached up to rub a lock of blonde hair between his fingers. "I'd like another gin and tonic when you have a moment." he told her, raising sensual blue eyes to meet her brown ones. "When do you get off tonight?"

"About an hour." she said softly. "It's my early night."

"Maybe we could go to a place I know down the street," Steve suggested, his smile filled with promise. "Drinks, dancing," The smile deepened. "Who knows what we might find?"

She nodded. "I'll get your drink, Mr. Caldwell."

"Patrick." he said, injecting just the right amount of hurt into his voice. "Please, call me Patrick."

Charmed, the girl moved to the bar to fill his order.

*****

Danny pressed the intercom on Steve's desk. "Yes, Jenny?"

"It's one of Chin's informants says he's got something for you."

"Put him on."

As he picked up the receiver, Danny felt a rush of hope. Maybe Chin's snitch had some information on Steve.

"Williams."

"Yeah, this is Benny. I do some business with Chin and some of the HPD guys."

Williams knew him. As far as he knew, Bennie had always been reliable.

"What have you got?"

"Well, not information. I wanted to talk to you because I've always liked you guys I mean, you provide me a decent sideline and --"

Impatience overrode caution.

"What have you got?" Dan repeated.

"I just thought you should know that if your boss is trying to pull a undercover gig he needs a better disguise."

"What?" Danny looked at the receiver, mystified, then put it back to his ear.

"Well, just because he's wearin' fancy clothes, doesn't mean nobody's gonna recognize his face." The snitch complained. "I'm just givin' you a little free advice 'cause Chin's always been so good to me over the years." Bennie paused. "Just tell McGarrett he's been in the papers too much. He needs a mustache or something."

The connection went dead in his ear but Williams sat, staring into space, digesting the information.

"Damn!" He slammed down the receiver and bolted from the chair and to the outer office. "Chin! Ben!"

Jenny looked up from her typewriter with a frown.

"What's wrong? Did that man know something about Steve?"

"I don't know. Maybe," Danny told her.

The other two Five-0 detectives joined him and Williams headed for the door.

"Come on, Chin. We're going to pay Bennie Hiola a visit."

Exchanging puzzled looks, the two cops followed their friend out of the Palace.

*****

It was late afternoon when Danny and Ben got to the Turquoise Parrot. Having sent Chin to grill his informant about seeing McGarrett, the other two Five-0 men advanced on the bartender at the restaurant's lounge.

"Has this man been in recently?" Danny held out a picture of McGarrett.

The man took a brief look and nodded. "Sure. He was in last night. Big spender. Bought drinks for the house." He grinned. "Left with one of my waitresses after closing."

"Did she say where they were going?" Danny asked.

"Nope. But she said he was taking her dancing."

"Dancing?" Williams echoed. "Dancing?"

The bartender shrugged. "So? Lots of guys like to dance." He grinned again. "I like it myself. Gets close without too much commitment, if you know what I mean."

"Thanks." Williams handed him a card. "If he shows up again, will you give me a call?"

He glanced at it. "Sure thing."

"Thanks."

Once outside, Danny turned to his companion. "Something's up. Either somebody's put a ringer in to destroy Steve's reputation or he's gone undercover again."

"Without telling us." Duke finished. "I hate it when he does that."

"Yeah, and it's always so successful." Williams added, sarcastically.

Lukela laughed, slapping his young friend on the back. "Come on. Let's see if Chin's got anything."

Danny glanced at his watch. "You go on. I've got a meeting with the Governor."

"Right. See you back at the office."

*****

Danny stepped into the Governor's office with a sense of foreboding. He knew this meeting was because of Steve's absence, he just wondered how much the politician knew. He rolled his eyes. It had to be more than he himself knew!

"Danny." The older man rose, shaking hands, then gestured to a chair. "What is going on?"

"On, sir?"

"Don't look so innocent," the Governor said crossly. "I've gotten three reports today about Steve out on the town, drinking, a girl on each arm..." He appealed to the Five-0 man. "Which, while not exactly the behavior I'd like in the head of Five-0, is none of my business. But it's certainly not Steve!"

Danny nodded his agreement. "I don't have an answer for you, sir. I wish I did."

"Do you know where he is?" the older man asked, leaning forward.

"No. I traced him to the Black Lace night club, but it can't be Steve, sir. He wouldn't act like this guy did."

"You think it's a double?" Williams hesitated, then nodded again. "I think it has to be, sir. There's no other explanation."

The Governor's next question was serious and he hated to ask it. "Do you think Steve's alive?"

Williams swallowed, licking his lips. "I don't know, sir. I hope so, but I can't think of any reason they'd keep him alive, if they're putting a double in his place."

"Maybe they're just trying to smear his name. Then they'll turn the real Steve loose" Governor Jameson stopped, realizing how lame the scenario sounded. "Keep me posted, will you?"

"Yes, sir." Williams stood. "As soon as I find out anything."

*****

Leaving the Governor's office, Dan headed for Steve's apartment in the hope that they'd overlooked something -- some clue about what had happened to Steve.

"Five-0 to Williams." His radio squeaked to life.

"Danny, it's Chin. There was another jewel robbery, this time at the Hawaiian RegencyHotel."

"When?" He was already turning the car toward the plush, Waikiki hotel.

"About an hour ago. Guy knew just which rooms to hit. Members of the Mary Louise Beauty convention were all out of the hotel on a sightseeing tour."

"Great." Williams muttered. "Any idea who did it?"

"Yeah." Kelly snorted into the mic. "Patrick Caldwell."

"That can't be!" Danny exclaimed. "He's dead."

"You know that and I know that, bruddah, but whoever robbed this joint doesn't. He left Caldwell's trademark at the scene."

"Silk glove with a pink 'C' embroidered on it..." Danny said.

"Right."

"Exhibitionist." Williams muttered. Then, "I'm on my way."

*****

It was early evening by the time Dan returned to the office. He was tired and confused. By all appearances, Patrick Caldwell had committed another robbery. The only problem was that he'd seen the burglar's dead body and read Che's report on the man's fingerprints and dental records. There was no doubt about his identity: Patrick Caldwell, Gentleman Burglar, was dead.

"So who the hell is taking his place?" Dan wondered aloud.

"Danny--" Duke held up the phone. "Call for you."

"I'll take it in Steve's office." He moved to the office.

That was another weight on the young detective's shoulders. Where was McGarrett?! Except for his wallet, there was no evidence that the head of Five-0 had been there that night. No amount of digging had turned up any of his activity in the last twenty-four hours. Danny was more than mildly concerned.

He picked up the receiver. "Williams."

"This is Pete from the Turquoise Parrot lounge."

"Yes." Danny's spirit rose slightly. "What do you have?"

"That guy whose picture you showed me -- the big spender."

Danny's pulse quickened. "Yes?"

"He's here."

"Now?"

"Yep. With two very lovely ladies and my best champagne. He just bought drinks for the house."

"I'll be right over. Try to keep him there."

The voice chuckled. "Oh, I don't think that's gonna be a problem."

Tossing the receiver back onto its base, Danny sprinted for the door, calling for Duke to join him as he passed.

Twenty minutes later Danny entered the smoke-filled lounge.

The noise level was high as were the hems of the girls who danced on the stage at one end of the room. He'd had Duke wait by the back door, in case Caldwel l-- he was calling him -- made a break for it.

As his eyes adjusted to the gloom, Williams glanced around the crowded bar. He didn't have any trouble picking Steve out. The 'double' was ensconced at the largest table set in the hub of the lounge. A beautiful Hawaiian girl sat at either side and from the looks of things, they were enjoying themselves.

McGarrett -- Dan swallowed hard, it WAS Steve -- looked up as he approached the table.

"Good evening. I don't believe we've met." He held out a hand. "You're Dan Williams of Hawaii Five-0, aren't you?"

Danny was having trouble assimilating the facts before him. Without much doubt there sat Steve McGarrett, or an exact replica of the man. But he spoke with a soft, cultured accent that Dan couldn't quite place. Welsh, he suddenly realized. He'd read that in the pile of articles and files Steve had left on his desk. And the manner was wrong. It was Steve, but it wasn't. The conflict made him shake his head, like a dog out of water.

"Are you all right?" Steve asked, head cocked slightly to one side. "Sit down." He gestured to an empty chair at his table. "Let me buy you a drink."

Danny took a breath and stepped toward him, pulling out his ID.

"I need to take you in to ask you a few questions."

While Steve's smile faded, a twinkle remained in the blue eyes.

"Why, of course, Detective Williams." He leaned over and kissed each of his companions on the cheek. "Don't break up the celebration on my account." He told them. "I'll probably be back shortly."

"I'll meet you in the back." The prettiest of the girls smiled, promise of things to come in her dark eyes. "Don't be long."

"I won't."

"I wouldn't count on that." Dan said, jaw clenching.

Either Steve was giving an Oscar-winning performance or this man was an impostor -- a mirror-image impostor. They'd run up against this before, thanks to Wo Fat*, so it wasn't an unheard of situation.

Steve preceded him out of the lounge, then came to a stop beside the detective's car. "What's this about?"

"Steve?" Dan met the other man's eyes, searching for some flicker of recognition, some clue that this was the real Steve McGarrett and not a ringer planted by one of their enemies. He clung to the hope that Steve was on another of his undercover stints which in the past, at best, could be called disastrous.

"Yes, it's me," the look-alike Steve said softly, a hand on Dan's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Danny's brow furrowed. "Why are you doing this? Why didn't you tell me you were going to impersonate Caldwell?"

Steve's eyebrows rose. "Impersonate Caldwell?" Delight broke over his face. "Is that what I'm doing? Impersonating Patrick Caldwell?"

"Aren't you?" Dan demanded. "Somebody pulled that heist today and you're the only other one who knows all the details of his MO."

Steve nodded thoughtfully. "True." He reached a hand around Dan, briefly smoothing his back, then took one hand in his own. "You have to trust me, Williams."

Danno frowned. "What?" Steve had never called him that before.

"I said you have to trust me."

Realization that he was, indeed, talking to someone other than McGarrett clicked at the same moment his handcuffs did. His gaze jerked to his wrist which was now enclosed in the metal ring. Before he could react, Steve fastened the other end to the steering wheel of Dan's police car.

"Steve!" Then, realizing what he'd said, "Whoever you are, you can't do this!"

"But my dear friend," Steve protested gently, lightly searching his prisoner until he came up with the handcuff's key which he dropped into his jacket pocket. "I just did."

With a cheery wave, Steve turned and jogged down the darkened sidewalk and disappeared into the night.

Miserably Dan looked at his wrists, handcuffed with his own cuffs to his own car, and ground his teeth. He closed his eyes, then opened them, but the situation was unchanged.

"Danny!"

He looked up as Duke strode toward him. Humiliated, Williams waited for his rescuer.

"You find--?" Lukela trailed off, gaze fastened on Williams' wrist.

"Don't ask." Dan told him. "Just get the bolt cutters out of the trunk and cut the chain.

Duke looked at his friend's face then at the handcuffs.

"Right."

When he was free, Danny charged toward the lounge.

"I want the glass he was drinking out of and I want Che to run prints off it. By yesterday."

"You think it's a ringer?"

"It better be," Williams said, jaw set in grim determination.

*****

Steve strolled back into the lounge and headed for the back room where there were several rooms provided for the Turquoise Parrot's better clientele.

Sara, the brunette he'd been with in the bar, turned to smile at him, her silk dress in a pile on the floor.

"I hope you don't mind the floor." She gestured to a huge pile of harem pillows piled in the corner. "It's all there is."

"Not a problem." Steve told her, loosening his tie and unbuttoning the top buttons of his white shirt.

Slowly he sank to the pillows, Williams' gun still in his hand.

"I guess we won't be needing this anymore." He commented, tossing it aside.

"Oh, no." The girl agreed, slinking down beside him. "You don't have to hold a gun to my head, darling."

*****

"Sir, it was weird," Danny told the Governor the next morning. "It was Steve, yet it wasn't." He shook his head. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Can you find him again?" The Governor asked, eyeing the Five-0 man.

"Sure. He doesn't seem to be hiding." Williams threw his hands up in exasperation. "He's wined and dined half the girls in Honolulu in the last three days from what we've been able to find out."

The Governor suppressed a smile. "Well, that certainly doesn't sound like our Steve."

Danny shook his head mournfully. "No, it doesn't. But I don't see any point in ruining Steve's reputation. If they were able to kidnap him, why not just kill him? And what happens if they do succeed in the frame? What happens to this double?"

Jameson shook his head. "I don't know, Danny. I wish I did." He hesitated. "You're sure the man you saw last night wasn't Steve?"

"I'm 90% sure." Williams smiled ruefully. "On the other hand, Steve can be a pretty good actor when he wants to be. I just can't figure out why he wouldn't tell me."

"Maybe he was being watched," the Governor suggested.

"I don't think so." Dan sighed. "I've got a man posted at each of the nightspots he's been seen at since the accident. Hopefully we'll pick him up tonight and follow him."

"Before he pulls another job," the Governor finished.

Danny nodded, but he was thinking, rather, 'Before we lose the real Steve McGarrett.'

*****

Dan walked into Che Fong's lab late the next afternoon. "What have you got, Che?" He asked, ferverently praying that the forensics man did, indeed, have 'something'.

"I don't know what to make of it, Danny." Che told him. "The only answer is a double."

"What?" Williams asked, impatient now.

"The fingerprints at the hotel, they're Steve's."

Williams was silent.

"Wo Fat?" Che ventured?

Danny shook his head.

"We checked, he seems to be in the clear."

"Still, he's had an alibi before."

Danny nodded. "True." He took a breath. "Thanks Che. Call if you get anything else."

"Right, Danny."

Fong watched the young Five-0 man leave. He didn't envy Williams his job today -- or any day.

*****

Steve lounged on the couch in his living room, a glass of champagne in one hand, reading the paper.

"Should be in here," he murmured, flipping through the front section. "They must have discovered the bloody jewels are gone, by now." He frowned. "Something's not right, here."

In the next second excruciating pain shot through his skull, causing him to drop his glass and double over, onto the floor.

"Ahhh!!!"

He grasped his head, screaming as the disabling pain throbbed through his head until he couldn't see. Slowly it abated and he crawled onto the sofa, gingerly stretching out, eyes still closed against the sunlight that streamed in through the windows.

'What the hell was that?' Steve wondered, lightly massaging his temples.

He lay still, his mind struggling to remember something he couldn't quite grasp. Finally he gave up and opened his eyes. The piercing ache was gone and slowly he sat up. He looked at the overturned glass on the carpet, mystified. For a few seconds everything seemed disjointed, as if he were in limbo between two worlds.

"Must have been that crack on the head." he thought, picking up the delicate goblet. "Maybe a couple of aspirins and a hot soak will help."

Deep down he didn't think it would. Something was wrong, either physically or in his mind, and until it surfaced enough for him to get a good look at it, Steve would have to wait.

*****

When Dan got back to the Palace that evening, Duke was waiting for him with the evening edition of the Honolulu paper. He followed Danny into McGarrett's office.

"How's the surveillance going?" Williams asked, closing the door behind them.

"Great. I left Chin watching the penthouse. He hasn't budged since I came on."

"Great."

"Not so great." Duke said, handing over the paper.

The headlines screamed at him;

TOP COP ON THE PROWL

DOES Five-0 KNOW WHERE IT'S LEADER IS??

Beneath the headline was a four-column picture of McGarrett at the Turquoise Parrot Lounge, the girls he'd seen the night before nestled against him.

Danny's teeth ground together as his fingers tightened on the offending paper. "I don't believe it!"

Duke shrugged philosophically. "It had to happen sooner or later." he reasoned. "Steve's not exactly keeping a low profile."

"It's not Steve!" Williams almost shouted. It couldn't be -- not Steve McGarrett. He didn't know what the truth was, but the man who'd handcuffed him to his car was not his friend.

"Take it easy, Danny." Lukela soothed. "I didn't mean any disrespect. I know that if that was Steve the other night, there's a reason."

Williams nodded, chagrined by his outburst.

"I just wish we could nail this Caldwell."

Williams shot him a look. "Or whoever's impersonating him."

"Yeah, well, if I hadn't seen the body myself, I'd have my doubts."

"Who could know him well enough to use all the same MO?" Duke mused for the dozenth time in two days. "He'd have to have read all this stuff." He waved a hand at the piles of files and clippings on McGarrett's desk. "Or be his brother."

An idea sparked in Dan's brain and he went after it. "What if that's exactly what did happen?" He ventured. "What if somebody did read up on the guy, police reports and everything."

"How? Who?"

Danny shook his head. "I don't know, but that's got to be the answer." Then he smiled at his friend. "Go on home, Duke. You relieve Chin at sixAM."

"Right. See you tomorrow."

When the older detective left, Dan saw down at McGarrett's desk and pulled a stack of files to him. Since Caldwell was dead, he hadn't bothered to do more than skim the information they held. Now he wanted to know everything -- everything Steve had known before he'd cornered Caldwell on that roof. Because that, he was sure, was where this whole, mixed-up thing had started. He was going to get to the bottom of it before the papers crucified Steve. Somehow Steve, Caldwell and the man Dan had seen at the lounge were connected. He opened the top file. He was going to find that connection if he had to sit up all night reading these stupid files. Grimly he set to work.

*****

Steve eased open the safe door, a smile curing his lips.

"Oh, baby, come to me." he whispered, lovingly caressing the brilliantly sparkling diamonds that tumbled into his gloved palm. "What beautiful creatures you are."

Carefully Steve poured them back into the blue velvet pouch and reached into his black leather case. He withdrew a silk glove, embroidered with a pink 'C' and laid it in the now-empty wall safe and relocked it. Then he slipped out of the hotel window, onto the ledge. He fastened the hook attached to his belt to a wire he'd strung between the hotel and the building next door. Then he pushed off, skimming briefly over the city below, to land lightly on the other roof. A gentle tug brought the wire to him and he curled it around his fist and replaced it in his case. Then he jogged across the roof and let himself into the building.

*****

"I don't believe it!" Dan Williams slammed his fist on McGarrett's desk top. "It's just not possible!"

"You tell the gem broker that, Danny." Chin complained. "He reported $10,000 in unset diamonds stolen from his hotel last night.

"And the glove was left again?"

"You bet."

"Dammit!" Williams clenched his fist, forcing calm into his voice. "Any clues?"

"Nothing," was Chin's depressed reply.

"What about the tail?"

"UH, well, we lost him."

Dan bit back the expletive that sprang to his lips. "Okay, finish up there and come in." He closed his eyes, fingers gripping the hapless receiver. "Good-bye."

Carefully he replaced the phone, striving for control. "I don't believe this." he said to the room at large. "A High-society burglar pulls one too many jobs and falls off a building, undeniably dead." He ticked the points off on his fingers. "Steve's wallet and watch were found at the scene, but he's disappeared. And now suddenly Caldwell's back in business, better than ever, leaving no clues at any of his new crimes." Williams rolled his eyes and continued pacing. "And I find Steve in a bar with two women on his arm, buying drinks for the house," he snorted. "Somebody pinch me."

Disgusted, the young detective grabbed his coat off the rack and headed for his car. He was going to check the crime scene himself, maybe he'd find something they'd missed.

"Right." he muttered sarcastically. "Che, the lab, the cops, Chin." He shook his head. "Geez."

*****

Steve stood at the huge, floor to ceiling window that filled one wall of his apartment. The sunset was rich with orange and red, the city sparkling with lights and twinkling stars.

He couldn't shake the melancholy feeling deep in his chest, a feeling he'd had all day. Something he should know -- something forgotten -- but he couldn't quite remember.

The pain came with the suddenness of a lightning bolt and pierced through his head, just behind his eyes. He gripped his head in his hands, fingers twinning in his dark hair, tugging, as if that would stop the agony inside his skull.

When it abated enough to see again, Steve walked to the door, picked up the keyring he'd found in his pocket, and left the penthouse.

Once on the street below, he walked for several blocks without seeing, without thinking. Then he stopped and shook his head.

*****

"All right," Danny lectured his men. "This time we are not going to lose this guy."

Duke, Chin and the three HPD officers nodded.

"I want one of you at each elevator and in each stairwell." he continued. "Coordinate it with your men," he told Frank Ohilo, the ranking HPD man. "But make sure the whole place is covered. Chin, Duke and I will search each floor until we find him."

"What about the roof, Danny?" Chin asked, glancing skyward.

"It's covered." He took a breath. "Okay, let's go."

With determined steps, the men spread out to cover their assigned stations.

*****

In a fifth floor suite, Steve was transferring a diamond necklace from a woman's jewel case, into a blue velvet pouch.

He wanted to get this job done and get home. He had a buzzing in his ears that was too distracting for this kind of work. He had decided he was probably coming down with something. 'Maybe a week or two on the Riviera,' he decided. 'A change of scene's what I probably need.'

As he reached for another piece, a sharp pain sliced through his head and he dropped to his knees, tears rolling down his cheeks as he fought to retain consciousness under the onslaught.

"Oh dear God!" he murmured, gripping his head in trembling hands. "Make the pain stop!"

Finally the pain subsided and Steve slowly rose, leaning against the chest of drawers for support.

As his breathing returned to normal and his eyes focused on his surroundings, disorientation replaced the pain.

"Where am I?" he muttered, looking around the strange hotel room. "What am I doing here?"

Glancing down he saw the blue velvet pouch that lay at his feet. Kneeling, McGarrett picked it up and emptied the contents onto the carpet. Two rings and the diamond necklace tumbled onto the thick pile and McGarrett's confusion mounted. Again he looked around the room, struggling to put some sense to the situation. Something at the back of his memory flitted almost near enough to grasp, then disappeared. Rising, he moved through the hotel room, hoping that something would jar his memory.

"How did I get here?" he wondered aloud.

He swung around as the door burst open and Dan Williams moved into the room, gun drawn.

Seeing McGarrett, the sandy-haired man assumed a firing stance, gun pointed at his friend.

"Don't move." he advised through clenched teeth.

"Danno?" Steve took a step toward him, but Danny's gun urged him back. "Danno, what's happening?"

For a second, doubt flashed through Dan's blue eyes, then they hardened. He'd been here before. He wasn't about to repeat the performance. Yet, this time he had called him 'Danno.'

"No tricks," he cautioned, moving toward the Steve look-alike. "Hands on the wall, spread your legs."

The look in his friend's eyes led McGarrett to comply, but didn't keep him quiet.

"I don't know what's been happening, but --"

"Shut up." Williams growled, quickly frisking his prisoner.

"Shut up?" McGarrett repeated, slowly. He turned to face his companion. "Did you just tell me to shut up?"

Danny didn't know whether to duck or to hug the other man. From the look in McGarrett's eyes, Steve was back -- the real Steve.

Joy broke out across Williams' face. "Steve! It's really you!" He gripped McGarrett's shoulders.

"Where have I been?" the older man asked, bewildered once more. "The last thing I remember is being dragged across the roof -- " he stopped, remembering. "Caldwell! What happened to Caldwell?"

"Dead." Williams told him. "And that was five days ago."

"What?"

Danny would have laughed at the look on his friend's face if the situation hadn't been so serious. "Look, we've got to get you out of here."

"Where's 'here'?" Steve asked, gesturing around him.

"Uh, the location of your latest heist."

"What?" McGarrett thought he was beginning to sound like an echo, but everything was so confused.

"Never mind. We've got to hide you until--"

"Danny!" Duke's voice came to them from the hallway.

"Quick! Get in the bathroom!"

"But--"

"Do it!" Danno ordered, giving his friend a shove. "And keep quiet until I come and get you!"

His options being limited, McGarrett did as he was told -- telling himself it was on the condition that Danno had a lot of explaining to do once this was over.

In the other room, he heard voices: Danno and Duke. Dan was telling the other cop to check the next floor, the burglar wasn't on this one.

'Burglar'? Steve mouthed. What burglar? Danno just told him Caldwell was dead. Reason began to assert itself and he reached for the doorknob. What was he doing hiding in a hotel bathroom, anyway? He hadn't done anything wrong, had he? His hand hesitated on the cold brass.

In the next minute Williams returned, taking Steve's arm and pulling him toward the main room of the suite.

"You can stay here until everyone's gone. Then I'll take you home."

"Danno, what's going on? I feel like a, a . . . ."

"Criminal?" Williams suggested, tone laced with irony.

McGarrett looked at him. "All right, be mysterious."

"Thank you." Danny said, putting the walkie-talkie he carried to his lips. "All units, this is Williams. I spotted the suspect escaping across the roof." Danny crossed the room to look out the window. A thin rope was stretched from the ledge to the building across the way. "Everyone move to the apartment building on the Diamond Head side of the hotel and resume your search. I repeat, relocate to the apartment building and resume the search." He turned to face his friend. "Now we wait."

Knowing that it was useless to press Danno for information when he wasn't willing to give it, McGarrett sat down on the sofa. His head was still reeling a bit from the earlier headache and he was glad to sit and rest for the moment. But just for the moment. With a sigh he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

Across the room Danny sat in an arm chair, eyes on his friend. He looked tired and worn, but he looked like Steve again. His theory had been right, but instead of having to haul the detective in for psycho-therapy, it seemed that Steve's mind had healed itself and he was back to normal. Exhausted and confused, but back to normal.

*****

It was almost three hours later that Dan let himself into McGarrett's office and began to gather up the files on Patrick Caldwell and the evidence on Steve, that he, himself, had collected. The files went back into their proper places. The evidence went into Dan's briefcase which he took out of the Palace with him.

There hadn't been much in the way of evidence against the new cat burglar, but Williams didn't want what there was laying around to cast a dark light on McGarrett. He snorted, tossing the case onto the seat of his car. To cast any light. His official story to the Governor was going to be that Steve had been found, wandering the beach near his home, with temporary amnesia. Eventually the trauma wore off and McGarrett regained his memory. Not so far from the truth, the detective reasoned. It was the five days in between that he wanted to gloss over.

As far as the Gentleman Burglar copycat case, it would go into Five-0's 'Unsolved Cases' file.

Danny pulled his car into the parking garage of his apartment building and climbed the stairs to his place. Taking the glass he'd taken from the lounge with McGarrett's prints out of the briefcase, he put it in the top rack of his dishwasher and turned to knob to 'Hot/Wash/Dry' and hit the start button. He spent most of the rest of the night systematically destroying the remaining evidence against McGarrett.

*****

Two days later, three days before Doc Bergman had said he could return to work, McGarrett climbed the stairs of the Palace. He waved to Jenny as he passed her desk and went to his office. He closed the door behind him and hung his jacket on the coat rack. Finally everything felt back to normal. He still didn't remember anything that had happened between the blow on the head and waking up in that hotel room, but Bergman said he would probably remember eventually.

He pushed open the lanai doors and breathed in the sweet, tropical air. It was good to be back. His skin crawled a little when he thought about the five lost days, but at least he was back now. Steve frowned. Now, if he could just pry the real story out of Danno . . . . That Danno knew the whole story, McGarrett was sure. What he didn't understand was why his friend was refusing to tell him, or anybody else. They both knew the story about finding him wandering the beach was a lie. What had he done during those five days?!

"'Morning, Steve." Danny called to him. "How you feeling?"

"Better." McGarrett stepped back into the office. "Danno, about my memory lapse --"

"Doc says it's normal." Williams told him, avoiding the obvious point of Steve's question. "Your brain was bruised. You may remember pieces of what happened or you might remember it all."

Steve could have sworn there was a quickly-extinguished smile on the younger man's lips.

"Or you might never remember any of it." He turned away. "Don't worry about it. You're back now and that's what counts."

"Danno, what really happened during those five days? And what about this copy-cat burglar I read about in the papers?"

"No evidence." Williams shrugged, turning his back on Steve. He busied himself straightening the papers and files on the older man's desk.

McGarrett studied him suspiciously for a long moment, then tried again. "The five days?"

When Danno turned to face his friend, his blue eyes sparkled. "Let's just say I have enough on you to blackmail you for the rest of your life."

Mouth lax, McGarrett watched his friend slip out of the office with a cheery wave. He shook his head, wondering if he would ever learn what really happened.

PAU

* The Ninety-Second War