Epilogue to WOE TO WO FAT

WOE TO WO FAT:

CONCLUSION

by

Jackie Edwards

Dan William. took a breath of courage and pushed open the door to the offices of Hawaii Five-0. It had been almost a year since he'd crossed this threshold -- since he'd quit as second in command of Five-0 -- and only his all-encompassing fear for Steve McGarrett's life had driven him here now.

McGarrett had gone undercover as a scientist in an effort to find out what was happening to a group of Nobel prize winning scientists sequestered on a remote island outside Hawaii. His only contact was an Army general and other than Dan, he'd told no one, not even his new team.

'Typical,' Williams thought sourly as he stopped by the reception desk.

"May I help you?" asked a young woman he didn't know.

"I'd -- I'd like to speak with Kimo Carew." Williams had to push the words out. In reality, the last person he wanted to see was the ex-Bostonian, but he was the only one who could help him trace McGarrett.

"Your name, sir?" She smiled at him.

"Dan Williams."

The woman buzzed Carew and in a moment the second in command appeared from Steve's office, an incredulous look on his face.

"What are you doing here?" The lines in his craggy face deepened in a frown. "Steve's on vacation."

"No, he's not."

The urgency in Dan's tone must have gotten through Kimo's tough exterior because he motioned for the other man to follow him back into Steve's office.

The second the heavy wooden door closed, Carew spun to face Dan.

"What do you mean Steve's not on vacation?" He demanded. "He wouldn't lie to me."

Williams fought to keep the amazement from his face. Who was Carew kidding? If he'd lie to his best friend . . . but then he realized the other man truly believed the head of Five-0 wouldn't go undercover without a backup. Well, now was as good a time as any to learn the truth.

"Believe me, Kimo," Dan said, "Steve is undercover at that mansion to root out whoever is behind this. And I haven't heard from him in twenty-five hours. Something's wrong."

The other man stared, hard.

"Why would you have heard?" He said, cruelty lacing his tone. It pricked at Williams, but he brushed it away. Kimo had a right to feel annoyance. He'd felt it himself the times McGarrett hadn't filled him in on his jaunts into the world of undercover.

"Because I'm his best friend and since I'm out of 5-0, I don't have the power to stop him." Dan pushed away the nudge of guilt he felt at the lie. Of course he'd tried to dissuade his friend, but Steve had been his usual, stubborn self and . . .

"What makes you think he's in trouble?" Carew repeated.

"Because he hasn't checked in for 25 hours." Williams hesitated, reluctant to let the man know how informed he was. But it was Steve's life they were talking about, not Carew 's feelings. "I checked with the Army general that was his contact. Steve's transmitter malfunctioned or was destroyed. He's out of communication."

"We'll send out a team." Kimo moved to the phone, but Danny stopped him.

"If they see you coming and something has gone wrong, they'll kill Steve." His eyes bored into the other man. "Come with me. Just the two of us."

"What?" Carew stared at him, but did replace the receiver.

"You and me. Find out what's happened to Steve and get him out."

Kimo studied his adversary. "Why did you come to me? Why not just go yourself? You know where he is, you know the situation."

"Because I'm not official." Dan candidly admitted. "You have the authority if we run into trouble." His earnest features hardened. "But if you try and shut me out, I'll go alone."

Kimo believed him. The passion in his fervent blue eyes convinced him. "All right, let's go talk to this General."

***** McGarrett strode out of the prison, an unexpected spring in his step. Wo Fat was in jail, for life if they were lucky, and for the first time in over a year, he felt complete.

His pace slowed when he saw Williams and Carew standing beside Kimo's sedan. He slowed even more at their expressions -- Williams' features were hard from worry or anger, McGarrett couldn't be sure. The fire in Kimo's eyes left no doubt as to his particularly unpleasant mood. Steve took a breath and quickened his pace. It really didn't matter now, not with Kimo. He'd accomplished his purpose, Wo Fat was behind bars. The important thing, as always, was to make Danno understand.

"Danno." McGarrett clapped the younger man on the back, then turned to his second in command. "How did you know --" he began.

"We talked to the General." Dan explained. "He told us what happened. Sort of. As he knew it."

McGarrett thought he saw the hint of amusement in the blue eyes, but he couldn't be sure. Carew's interjection tore his attention from his former second.

"We know all right." Kimo interrupted. "Williams here filled me in on your habit of going under without backup and I think it sinks!"

Steve's face set in a mask of unreadable immobility. "You don't have to like it. It worked. That's all you have to worry about."

"Steve..." Williams began.

The burly officer sharply silenced him. "Butt out, Williams!" Carew almost snarled, his frustration getting the better of him. "This isn't about you."

Dan bit back his response. Kimo was right, this had to be worked out between the two Five-0 officers. Dan saw his friend's eyes harden, glinting in the evening light. Tact was obviously not one of Kimo's strong suits, and he had apparently not learned that you didn't push Steve McGarrett -- not if you wanted to win a battle.

"That was uncalled for, Kimo." McGarrett snapped. "Danno has as much right to this discussion as you and I."

"He's got no rights!" Kimo said, outrage invading his voice.

"Steve, I'll -- "

McGarrett stopped him from leaving, his fingers like a vice on Dan's arm. "No, Danno. You need to hear this, too."

Williams' gaze darted to his friend's face. Something was wrong -- or right -- he couldn't tell. Steve had come to a decision. An important one from the look in his eyes. Had he finally decided the team wasn't working? Was he going to tell Kimo he was finished? Would he finally quit Five-0 and join him in their security consultation business? Intrigued, Dan waited.

"For the last 12 months I've tried to mold a team that could work on its own when Duke and I retired. It's worked pretty well, Five-0 accomplishes most of it's goals." Steve paused, licking dry lips. "Now, with this last mission, I finally accomplished my goal -- the last goal I needed to reach in Five-0. I put Wo Fat away for good." His gaze shifted, resting on Danny. "I'm retiring." Back to Kimo, he said, "I'm turning the unit over to you and Lori."

Astonishment, then excitement, then something Dan thought resembled panic chased across the other man's face as Kimo stared at his ex-superior.

"Steve, you can't just . . ." He trailed off.

'Articulate, as always.' Williams thought, then reprimanded himself. He doubted he would have done much better, had Steve told him the same thing a few years ago.

"You and Lori and Truck are as ready as you'll ever be, Kimo," Steve assured, his gaze softening along with his voice. "You'll do fine."

"But why?" the baffled officer asked.

"Because it's time for me to start living for myself. For over twenty years I've given everything to the state of Hawaii. Now it's time I gave myself something." He smiled at Williams. "Don't you think?"

"I thought that a long time ago, Steve."

McGarrett clapped the two men on the back and headed for his car.

"I'll meet you back at the office and we can go to dinner." His eyebrow quirked up to the dark hair that shagged across his brow. "I'll buy."

"No way." Williams snorted.

"If I lose..." Steve swung into the Mercury, turning the ignition key before the door had closed, the big car leaping across the lot.

"Let's go!" Danny shouted, his heart leaping as fast as the black car as the enormity of his friend's decision hit him. "Or we'll be stuck with the bill!"

Still shaking his head, Kimo hit the gas and took off in pursuit of the former head of Hawaii 5-0.

The Beginning