The Perfect Ring
By
Jackie Edwards
Steve McGarrett drove along
The word had rankled in his mouth -- retirement. He wasn't sixty yet and had reluctantly stepped down, letting his second in command, Dan Williams, take over. McGarrett had known it was time, but that hadn't made the transition any easier for either of them. Williams had been ready to take over, restless to take the next step, and McGarrett had to admit that he was becoming disillusioned. Solving the mysteries and busting the bad guys had lost the element of excitement it had always held for him and Steve finally realized that that part of his life was ending. He needed to move on to the next level. Williams still called on his friend for advice when the cases were unusual and Steve was grateful for the diversion. He suspected the younger man was doing it as much for the former cop's sake as his own.
And then one day when he'd gone to the airport to pick up his long-time girlfriend, Nicole Wylie, he'd realized what was missing in his life. He needed someone to share it with and that person was Nicole. Every time she left the islands to cover a story or visit friends on the mainland, Steve experienced a wrenching emptiness just as strong as the first time he'd let her go so many years ago, after she'd testified against Victor Ravasco[1]. That time he hadn't known if he'd see her again, now he knew she'd always be back, but the times they were apart grew lonelier. He needed her with him forever. It was like a wave had parted, revealing his path with crystal clarity. Despite the fact he could see the answer clearly, it had taken a week of hemming and stumbling before he'd finally asked the beautiful brunette to marry him. He smiled at the memory. She'd stared, opened mouthed, as he'd proposed, and then thrown herself into his arms.
Now Steve was on his way to pick her up for an afternoon of searching for the perfect wedding ring. He supposed that he hadn't really been sure she'd accept. Now he hummed a bright tune as he contemplated this new road his life was taking.
McGarrett pulled into the bungalow
Nicole rented on her ever-increasing visits to
"Nicole?"
The second he stepped over the threshold, McGarrett knew something was wrong. The air around him held panic and fear -- a sense of being violently disturbed. He ran to the living room, heart pounding as he viewed the disarray; end tables overturned, a vase smashed, water soaking into the rug. Obviously Nicole had been forcibly abducted and hadn't gone without a struggle. Despite his fear that she was hurt or worse, Steve felt a stab of pride at his lover's courage in fighting her assailants.
He ran to his car, dialing Dan Williams' office at Five-0.
"Steve, hi." Dan was glad to hear from his friend. He had no important cases at the moment that warranted his personal attention and McGarrett was a welcome diversion.
"Danno, I need your help."
Immediately the younger man sobered. There was fear underlying McGarrett's voice and that was something he'd seldom heard over the years. "Steve, what is it?"
"Nicole, she's been kidnapped, Danno."
"What?" Williams straightened in his chair. "When?"
"I don't know. I just got to her house and there are signs of a struggle. I need Five-0 to look into it."
"Of course." Dan was already out of his chair, grabbing his coat. "I'll be right there with a team."
Hanging up the phone, Danny headed
out the door, telling his secretary to have a crime team meet him at Nicole's
house. Then he ran down the steps of
Dan got out of the car and hurried to his friend's side. "Steve, the lab's here. We'll find out what happened."
McGarrett nodded. "I know, Danno. It's just not knowing if she's hurt, or -- "
Dan gripped McGarrett's arm. "You can't think like that, Steve. You always told me not to give up hope. You've got to believe she's okay."
Visibly steeling himself against his fears, McGarrett nodded. "Thanks Danno." He tried a confident smile that would have succeeded, had it not been aimed at his oldest friend. "I've been thinking about why anyone would kidnap Nicole --"
"And you came up with Mamaki." Williams cocked his head as McGarrett grinned at him.
McGarrett was slated to testify in two days against Mamaki for the murder of several rivals. During his last year as head of Five-0, Steve had spent most of it undercover, gathering evidence to put the mobster away for life.
"Seems like the best bet, doesn't he?"
Danny nodded. "And with the picture of the two of you announcing your engagement on the front of the society page last week, he knew just who to go after."
"Yes." McGarrett gazed out over the water, willing down the panic that rose like bile in his throat. They had to find her and she had to be all right.
"Steve."
A gentle touch on his arm refocused his attention. "Yeah, Danno?"
"We'll find her."
Steve nodded. "I think we should put a tap on my phone. If it is Mamaki, he'll call to let me know his terms."
"I agree." Williams went
in to talk to the head of the crime team, then rejoined McGarrett. "
The corner of his mouth tugged with a smile of affection for the sandy-haired officer. Subtly had never been Dan's strong point when it applied to McGarrett and the former Five-0 head could see that his friend didn't want him to drive while he was upset.
"All right, Danno."
The younger man smiled his relief and the two set off toward McGarrett's beach house.
*****
It was several hours later that the call they'd been waiting for finally came through. Steve exchanged a glance with Williams, then picked up the receiver. "McGarrett." He barked.
A low chuckle floated through the wire. "McGarrett. So impatient. So bossy... I can't understand why a beautiful woman like this would want to spend any time in your company."
"Mamaki, if she's been hurt --"
"Relax, McGarrett, Ms. Wylie is my guest. For the moment." The voice became deadly. "I think you know what I want for her safe return."
"You want me to change my testimony."
Again the voice chuckled. "Exactly. Not too difficult."
"You won't let her go even if I do change my story." Steve challenged.
"Ah," Mamaki sounded as if he were explaining to a child. "But I will kill her if you don't. Slowly and painfully, I assure you. If I get what I want, I have no reason to hurt her. She hasn't seen me or heard me and I don't want you on my tail for the rest of my life, McGarrett. Do what I say and she's free."
Williams could see McGarrett's jaw working as he fought to get his anger under control.
"McGarrett?"
"All right." He ground out, knuckles white on the receiver. "But if anything at all happens to her --"
"You have my word. Ms Wylie will be returned to you, unharmed, before you return home from the trial."
"She'd better be." Steve slammed the receiver back on its cradle. The tape machine slid to a stop.
"Steve?" Dan drew his friend's attention from his inner turmoil. "Let's take the tape in and see if we can figure out where they're holding Nicole."
Nodding, McGarrett watched as Williams disconnected the machine then followed him outside.
*****
"That's the surf in the background, it's got to be." Henry Kolono said as he bent over the tape recorder sitting on Williams' desk. "Wind, too."
The two Five-0 men and McGarrett sat in Danny's office, listening to the tape over and over, trying to separate the various background noises. Only a partial trace came through on the call, but Five-0 was able to narrow it down to somewhere on the windward coast.
"And that sound right there is a heavy truck going by." Williams added, glancing at Steve.
"Okay. Where do you have a major highway by the beach?" McGarrett looked from one man to the other. "That's narrowing it down on an island laced with major highways!"
Fortunately, Kolono ignored the sarcasm or didn't even hear it. "That's heavy equipment, listen!"
"Construction," McGarrett deduced.
"Windward coast, next to a freeway or construction site," Williams concluded. "But not something too public."
"Like a warehouse?" Steve suggested.
Steve and Dan stared at each other. "Waimanalo," both said at once.
"That little industrial complex right off the beach by King Kam highway."
"Right. Let's check it out."
"Henry, get a team together and get ready to move."
"Right."
"Steve," Williams stopped his friend as Kolono left the office. "You shouldn't come."
"Danno --"
"I know, I know. But you're too emotionally involved in this one, Steve. And Mamaki will be gunning for you. If it gets sticky, you may do Nicole more good than harm by being there."
"I have to be there, Danno." McGarrett said quietly, eyes meeting his friend's.
"Especially if anything goes wrong -- I have to be there."
Williams let go a breath, nodding. He understood McGarrett's feelings, he just wished he could talk him out of it. "All right. But you stay out of sight."
McGarrett nodded. "I will Danno. I want her back safely more than anyone."
Together the two men headed for Williams' car.
*****
McGarrett scanned the area as Danny pulled his car behind the cover of a building across the truck yard from the construction warehouses. Steve wished it wasn't broad daylight, but he wasn't willing to wait until nightfall to go after Nicole. Despite the mobster's assurance, McGarrett knew that his underlings probably had no such sense of honor. Every minute that Nicole was a prisoner increased her danger... and his own anxiety.
"Looks like that one." Dan nodded to a small storage building. It afforded an unobstructed view of both the road and the truck yard. A black sedan was parked almost out of sight nearby.
"Yeah." Steve nodded. "That's the one I'd pick." He nodded to the highway. "That's why we could hear heavy traffic so clearly on the tape."
Williams gave whispered ordered to his team and they spread out, outfitted in flack suits with high-powered weapons. Williams positioned his best marksman on the roof of the warehouse across from the one they suspected housed Nicole and her captors.
As Danny turned to follow, gun drawn, he turned to his friend.
"Steve..."
"I know, Danno." He scanned the yard, searching for signs of activity. "I'll stay here unless it looks like trouble." He met his friend's gaze. "But I won't sit here if Nicole's in danger. Not if I think I can help her."
Williams nodded, expecting no less, and moved forward in a crouch. It was a good hundred yards to the entrance of the neighboring shed and he too wished for the cover of darkness. He glanced around, noting the position of each man on his team, then sprinted for the doorway. Kolono joined him. With a nod to the younger man, Danny stepped behind the wall and shot the door lock. Henry kicked the door in, followed by Williams and two other Five-0 officers.
"Freeze! Five-0!" Williams shouted.
Three men sat playing cards at a folding table; beer and junk food scattered around them. Beyond them Dan could see another room. One man went for his gun, but Kolono's automatic pointed at his chest changed his mind. All three stood up, hands raised. Outside gunfire sounded and Dan went for the door.
"Cuff these three and read them their rights!" he shouted as he cleared the door and looked up at Pete Haunau on the neighboring rooftop.
"Pete!"
"There!" The marksman shouted, "I couldn't stop him!"
Williams took off after a fourth man who had apparently fled through a back entrance and now ran across the truck yard toward the hidden black sedan. Neither he nor his remaining officer would reach the mob underling in time.
"Steve!"
But McGarrett had seen the fugitive and was already intercepting him at a run. He dodged as the man fired, then continued his pursuit, tackling him feet from the intended escape vehicle.
When Dan and his officer reached them, McGarrett had the man against a tree, arms pinned behind him.
"Thanks, Steve." Williams grinned at him. "He must have been in the back room."
"Nicole?"
Dan shook his head. "I don't know. I didn't have time to check before I heard the shots."
McGarrett took off at a run for the shed, slowing as Henry Kolono gently led Nicole outside.
"Steve!"
She ran to him, arms going around his neck, holding on for her life, her fears finally finding release.
"Shhh, shhh, it's okay. You're safe now." McGarrett held her tightly, face buried in her tousled hair, thanking God she was safe. He slender body quivered with her sobs and he whispered reassurances.
"I knew you'd come." She gasped, tears wetting his neck. "I knew you'd come."
"Are you hurt?" He pulled back to brush the hair from her eyes, his smile soft.
"No," Nicole shook her head, pulling him back to her. "They just tied me up on a cot and put tape over my eyes and mouth. I didn't know what was happening or who they were."
"That's good." McGarrett smoothed her back, kissing the side of her throat. "It's okay now."
Dan Williams stood a few feet away, watching the couple as they stood, holding each other tightly, and smiled. It really looked like Steve McGarrett had finally found the thing he needed to complete his life. Dan had known for years that the Five-0 chief was in love with the photographer he'd rescued so many years before. He was just glad that Steve had finally figured it out.
When he felt her calm and the tears stopped, McGarrett slipped an arm around Nicole's waist and led her to Dan's car. The Five-0 team had taken the four kidnappers in and he slid into the back with her. Williams leaned over the seat.
"I need you to make a statement, Nicole." His smile was understanding. "If you want to do it tomorrow --"
"No." She shook her head, still clasping McGarrett's hand. "I want to get it over with. I'll make the statement now." She turned to look at her lover. "You'll stay with me?"
He kissed her forehead. "Of course I will. Besides, we still have important business to take care of."
Nicole sniffed and settled back against McGarrett, her head on his shoulder. "What?"
"What?!" Dan grinned at the mock astonishment in his friend's voice.
"Well, we can't go anywhere, you have to testify tomorrow." Nicole pointed out, laughing despite her earlier fears. Now that she was nestled safely in Steve's arms, her terrors were fading rapidly. "At least I think its tomorrow. I lost track of the time."
Wanting to divert her attention from her ordeal for the moment, he continued, "And what were we planning on doing yesterday?" Steve cocked his head, eyeing her.
"The ring!" Nicole jumped, then leaned forward to lay a hand on William's shoulder. "Danny! Did he tell you he's actually going to buy wedding rings?"
"Guess that makes it official then!" Williams laughed back at her. "When's the wedding, Steve?"
Williams expected an evasive answer to his joking question; instead his friend surprised him.
"As soon as possible after this trial, Danno." He pulled Nicole back to settle against him.
"I think it's time I got on with my retirement."
Nicole wrinkled her nose. "How about, 'extended vacation'?" She suggested. "It sounds more romantic."
McGarrett laughed. "Extended vacation, it is. And Danno?"
Williams glanced over his shoulder.
"Don't make any big plans to leave the island this month. I'm going to need my best man."
Danny blinked back the sudden mistiness. "Don't worry, Steve. Nothing will keep me away."
"Good." He kissed the top of Nicole's head, tightening his arm around her. "That's good."
PAU
1 -- SINGAPORE FILE