EPILOGUE TO: NINETY-SECOND WAR

 

By Jackie Edwards

 


AGAINST THE TIDE

 

 

Dan Williams, second in command of the elite police unit, Hawaii Five-0, paced a small waiting area outside the testing room where Steve McGarrett had disappeared over an hour before. When he had tried to follow the gurney, Doc Bergman had stopped him with an attempted smile and, "Keep the faith, Danny."

 

Faith, Dan snorted. Right. In what? Justice? Right triumphing over wrong? That just did not happen in the real world -- not all the time, anyway. And it sure as hell would not happen if Steve McGarrett died or ended up paralyzed for life because of a car accident. A sick feeling ran through the young man, chilling him. For Steve McGarrett, being paralyzed would be almost the same as dying.

 

Wakening from a sound sleep shortly after midnight, Dan had raced to the accident location heard pounding, visualizing one scenario after another. All he had been told by dispatch was that McGarrett had been involved in an accident. They had not even been able to tell him whether Steve was alive.

 

When he'd reached the scene, there'd been the grueling wait while the rescue unit painstakingly freed McGarrett from the overturned car and loaded him into the ambulance.

 

Williams' mind raced over the evidence they'd found in the car Steve had been driving; blood-stained money -- a lot of it -- and a code book that the lab would have to go over, but looked like it was written in McGarrett's handwriting. It just could not be Steve's handwriting -- not unless this was the best frame since -- Danny shrugged, shaking his blond head. It was not like it had not been tried before, but the head of Five-0 had always slipped free -- outwitting the criminal before a frame could stick.

 

That was his problem, Williams realized. Was he good enough, with Steve out of commission, to get to the heart of the frame and break it apart? He ran a hand over his curly hair. Dan was a good cop and he knew it -- knew he was a valuable part of the Five-0 team -- but all his insecurity surged to the surface in desperation at the thought of McGarrett caught in this web of deceit.

 

'I'm a cop and a criminologist, but am I a good enough detective to crack this if it is a frame?'

 

His head snapped up as the swinging doors opened and Bergman came toward him.

 

"How is he, Doc?"

 

"Until we get the tests back, we won't know for sure." The older man sighed. "But at this point, I'd say that there may very well be some spinal damage." He hurried on at the fear on Williams' face. "It's just a guess, and we won't know to what extent until we get those tests back."

 

"When?" Dan asked tersely.

 

Bergman glanced at his watch. "Couple hours. Why don't you go and see what you can do on the other end, Danny?" He studied the young cop fondly. If there were such things as heroes these days, Steve McGarrett was Danny's hero and Bergman was certain that if anyone could get to the bottom of what happened on the deserted Hawaiian freeway at Two AM, it would be Dan Williams. It hurt when heroes fell and he felt certain Danny would do all he could to make sure McGarrett didn't take a fall. He slapped the officer gently on the back. "Go on, get out of here. Check back in two or three hours."

 

"Okay," Williams nodded. "Thanks."

 

He left the hospital, grimly determined to attack the evidence and piece together the puzzle of what had happened early that morning.

 

*****

 

Dan stood at the airport observation window, watching the plane that bore Steve McGarrett to Switzerland take off. When it was out of sight, lost in the blue Hawaiian sky, Williams turned and left the airport, bound for the Five-0 offices. Once there, he wandered onto Steve's lanai, listening to the early evening sounds. Everyone else was out -- undoubtedly following up on any leads Che might have come up with. Fortunately, they did not have anything pending and the unit had been able to devote their full attention to clearing Steve. Only they would not have to now. Once Steve had figured out that Wo Fat was the only one capable of masterminding the elaborate frame, the entire plan had fallen into place. As did their defense.

 

The Governor had released a press report, stating that McGarrett was suspended, pending a complete investigation. He'd given them just enough information so that when Wo Fat saw the broadcast, and McGarrett felt sure that he would, the Oriental would know why the head of Five-0 was leaving the islands and where he was going,.

 

Williams sighed heavily and went back inside, carefully closing the doors to the lanai. There was nothing more he could do until he heard from Steve. Even though sleep probably would not come, he needed to go home and try to rest. He had a feeling he was going to need it before long.

 

*****

 

"Good night, Danno." McGarrett patted his friend on the back and went into his office, leaving Williams on the lanai.

 

Dan leaned against the railing, listening to the night birds calling, feeling the soft breeze shift through his curly hair. It was the first peace he had felt -- real peace -- since they'd pulled Steve out of that car days ago. It seemed so long ago. Time had lost meaning since then.

 

Now, with McGarrett cleared and the Chinese plan sabotaged, he found it hard to remember just how frightened he had been. Frightened for Steve and for himself. For Five-0. Selfishly, he admitted that while he had never doubted McGarrett's innocence for a moment, a part of him had wondered if they would be able to prove it. And a large part of him had been terrified at the thought of losing his closest friend; not just losing him as a superior and leader of the unit, but as a friend, as well, if Steve'd been forced to leave the islands.

 

Dan shook his head, dispelling some of the melancholy that threatened. It was over now and everything was back to normal.

 

Once McGarrett had gone to the Swiss bank and run into the double that Wo Fat had manufactured to impersonate him, everything had started falling into place. They had found the scientist that, for fear of his daughter's life, was planning to black out the Pacific Missile Tracking Center for 90 seconds so that the Chinese could launch a thermo-nuclear device. They had gotten an observation satellite over the launch site barely in time to monitor the test. It had failed. Wo Fat had failed. McGarrett had won -- again. This time. Williams sighed.

 

"Danno! You going to daydream all night?" McGarrett stuck his head out the door, a smile on his face. "Come on, let's get out of here."

 

"Sure, Steve."

 

Williams followed his McGarrett out of Iolani Palace to their cars and, with a wave to his friend, pulled out into the light traffic. As the night breeze worked its magic on his senses, Dan finally smiled. His first real smile in far too long. It was good to be back to normal. He had not liked his brief glance of Five-0 without McGarrett, and he was grateful that it hadn't become a reality -- this time.

 


PAU