EPILOGUE TO:

THE HOSTAGE
 
 

HOSTAGE
 
 

By

Peggy Hartsook

Steve McGarrett, Dan Williams, Chin Ho Kelly and Frank Kamona watched as the media circus departed following Jesse Cooper’s surrender. Cooper himself was being loaded into an HPD car, supervised by Duke Lukela. The press had reluctantly decamped, intent on being at the Honolulu Police station to try and get some shots of Cooper being booked. After all, it was big news and would play well on the six o’clock reports.

"Poor slob," Kamona remarked, watching the baffled Cooper being driven away. "He has no idea of what he’s in for."

"At least it won’t be for murder," Dan Williams replied, thinking of Officer Wade and the wounding of SWAT Officer Pearson.

"Thank God for that," Steve McGarrett added. He felt utterly drained; not only dealing with Cooper, but also with the reporter Wiley Shepherd, Cooper’s ex - wife, the shadowy Reverend Craighill and Mrs. Martin, the hostage’s mother. Then there was Richard Holden, the young man who thought to promote himself into the police department and of course, the irascible and hostile Captain Grover of HPD. So many crises and so much could have been avoided had people just kept their heads.

Dan Williams noticed his boss’s weary manner. Steve had been on the literal run since the call had first come in about a shooting in an apartment complex. From that moment on it had been non-stop tension. Seeing McGarrett stare into the distance with unseeing eyes, he touched Steve’s arm lightly. "Ready to call it a day, Steve? Chin and Frank can wrap it up here."

Chin nodded. "Yeah, let us clean up, boss. Won’t take long."

McGarrett smiled wryly at being caught so obviously daydreaming. "All right, you’ve got it. Let’s go, Danno."
 
 

*****

Dan Williams drove the big black Mercury back to the Iolani Palace. The drive was long, being snarled in Honolulu traffic as the after work rush hour headed for home. Uncharacteristically, Steve McGarrett sat in silence in the passenger seat, so quiet was he that finally Dan had to ask, "You OK, Steve?"

"Yeah, I’m all right," Steve answered absently. "Just thinking about Jesse Cooper, that’s all."

"Yeah. Guy’s a purple heart winner in the war, then he’s a bum in civilian life. Life hasn’t been kind to him."

Steve sighed. "Oh, Jesse made some of his own breaks, Danno. Couldn’t keep off the booze for one thing."

Dan thought of the predatory looking ex - Mrs. Cooper. "If I was married to that wife of his, I’d drink too, Steve!"

McGarrett shook his head with a rueful grin. "What about Reverend Craighill? What church is he out of, anyway? He looked like the face of doom," Steve added and they shared a ironic laugh.

"Good tragedy really brings out the opportunists and curiosity seekers, doesn’t it?" Dan mused.

McGarrett thought of Richard Holden, the young man who thoughtlessly volunteered to be a ‘substitute hostage’ for Ruth Martin, the young girl Cooper held in the apartment building. Naturally, Holden also expected to win himself a spot on the Honolulu police, primarily from an approving Captain Grover. By that time, the hard line Grover had wanted a resolution to the hostage crisis at almost any price. Even if it met goading the glory seeking Holden into something rash. "If it’s the last thing I do, that Holden guy is never gonna be a Honolulu policeman," Steve vowed, remembering the young man’s self satisfied smirk after getting himself shot..

Dan snorted. "I doubt that Chief Dann is going to take him after today’s little performance."

There was a few minutes of comfortable silence as Dan finally got to an exit and got off H -1. "Thought we’d do better on the side streets," he said. McGarrett simply nodded and continued staring out the window.

"That Ruth was a cool customer," Steve finally remarked. "I think she’s the only one who kept her head during the whole mess."

Dan snorted. "A teenaged girl did a whole lot better than most of the adults involved. That’s a sad commentary!"

"Most of the adults involved couldn’t think straight today!" Steve retorted bitterly.

Dan shot his boss a sidelong glance. "Well, you did. I’ve got to hand it to you, Steve. You really kept your cool today, with Cooper, with Grover, with everyone."

"Well, Grover worked hard to light my fuse on several occasions," McGarrett admitted. "Do you have any idea what it is he has against me, anyway?"

"No, not really," Dan admitted. "Just that he’s old style, no guts, no glory and you’re the new way, high profile, high success rate." Dan paused for a moment, then added, "I’m really happy that he didn’t get to you, Steve."

"Oh, he ‘got to me’, all right," Steve replied softly.

"Then why didn’t you let him have it?" Dan wondered. Privately, he was astounded. McGarrett of a few short years ago would have probably taken a swing at Grover and his belligerent attitude. Steve’s patience was legendary by its brevity.

McGarrett sighed. "Several reasons, Danno. First, I do believe Grover’s a good cop, even though we don’t share operational ideas. Secondly, there was that kid’s mother, sitting there watching everything and trusting me to get her daughter out alive. Somehow, I didn’t think watching Five - 0 and HPD argue it out over tactics was going to instill any confidence in her."

Dan turned into the palace parking lot. "What else?"

Steve smiled wryly. "Just that the whole situation could have probably been avoided if everyone had kept their heads earlier. Colonel Chadway refusing to see Cooper, tired of him coming around for money and embarrassing him. Cooper tired of rejection, losing his head and shooting Officer Wade. Then, all these ghouls coming out of the woodwork; Wiley Shepperd with Cooper’s wife and the good Reverend there for all the publicity they could get. And Grover egging that idiot Holden on." Steve passed a hand over his eyes. "I tried not to be another sideshow for Shepperd’s viewers."

Dan parked the car and turned off the ignition. "Well, Steve, I’d have to say this was a huge success. Hell, even Grover had to admit it worked!"

McGarrett smiled. "Yeah, now that was a shock!"

"Well, if you’re ready to let the fruit and nuts go for a night, I’d like to buy you dinner. Celebrate a job well done. If you hadn’t gotten Cooper talking, it might not have turned out so well."

Steve was a bit surprised by the depth of Dan’s obvious admiration. The day had been acting and reacting to one crisis after another and frankly there were many times he’d thought he’d lost whatever tenuous control he’d had of the situation. To hear Danno speak of it as a great victory was a bit overwhelming; to McGarrett, it had been one large bullet dodged.

Part of him wanted nothing more than to go home and shut the door on the world. But, Steve had to admit, eating decadent ‘real’ food with a friend like Danno was very inviting. They could unwind and relax unlike their hurried take out meals in the palace. "Why not?" He suddenly remembered something. Feeling in his pocket, McGarrett pulled out the five hundred dollars Jesse Cooper had handed back before being hauled off to jail.

Dan, seeing what Steve had in his hand, grinned. "And you get the bill!" he added happily.

Steve shook his head. "Very funny. Let’s go up to the office where I can put this in a safe place, then we’ll go eat."

Dan glanced at his watch as they entered the palace. "We’ll probably miss Wiley Shepperd’s ‘exclusive’ report," he said with a snide smile.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Thank God!"