Chapter Text
“This was a good idea.”
“I thought so. That’s why I suggested it.” McGarrett smirked at the woman sitting across from.
Jacq didn’t take the bait. “We should do this more often.” She continued.
“What were you thinking?”
“Once a month. You, me and John have Sunday brunch somewhere on the island.”
“No animals?”
“Not a one, except for those naturally occurring wherever we end up.”
“Sold.” The former SEAL took another bite of his steak and watched his fiancée sip her orange juice.
The couple and their son, who was in a highchair between his parents, were having brunch at a little café in Honolulu that a Navy friend had recommended to the head of Five-O. Steve was enjoying a large plate of steak and eggs, while the profiler was eating a twist on the classic Eggs Benedict. John was chasing mushy peas around the tray in front of him, with his mother feeding him spoonfuls of carrot puree at random intervals. The baby had started on solids a couple of months ago. It was nice to be out together enjoying the sunshine as a family, sans the furry members of the household.
“Do you want to talk about the wedding? It’s just a few months away.” The Lieutenant Commander asked, sitting back in his chair to allow his meal to digest some.
“If you want to. I think we’ve got almost everything handled. I finalized the flowers after we got back from LA last month.” She replied before taking another bite of food. Wiping her mouth clean with her napkin, she scooped up a little more of the carrots and fed them to her baby. The orange puree went into his mouth without issue, unlike the peas which were splattered all over his face. They’d have to wipe him down before they put him in the car and drove home.
“Were they able to do the arrangements you wanted?” He asked. He’d let his bride-to-be select the flowers. He liked all her favorite kinds and since they weren’t doing colors or a theme, they could be any colors she liked.
“No exactly. Using orchids in flower arrangements isn’t the norm and they also don’t last long once they’ve been cut. Because of that, I opted to go with lilies, roses and irises, though the irises aren’t going to be in the bouquet. And they’re going to try to use live plants where they can, which means the flowers will last and I can have them added to the flower beds.”
“You’ll have to talk to Bobby.”
The profiler smiled at him. “Already on my to-do list.” That reminded her of something. “Don’t forget we’re meeting with the caterer on Friday to sample our food options and make final decisions.”
“Is he coming to the house or are we meeting him somewhere in town?”
“She’s coming to the house. She needs to see the set-up in the guest bungalow and make sure she has all the equipment she needs.”
“Why not have her use your grandfather’s bungalow?” The couple had finished most of the cleaning out inside the house Dr. John Stone had used as his final residence. He was sure she was still having trouble letting going.
“Stop that.” She chided him, almost as if she was reading his mind. “There is a large collection of first editions and other expensive items still in the bungalow and I don’t want to tempt fate. However, the next time Deb comes to visit, I’ll give her the option of using it. I’m sure she’d get a kick out of it.”
“I bet she…. What’s wrong, honey?” Her gaze had moved from his face to some point over his left shoulder. He would’ve swung around and checked it out for himself, but without knowing what the issue was, he didn’t want to tempt fate.
“Can I ask a dumb question?”
“Okay, but I’ve never known you to ask a dumb question.”
Jacq chuckled and smiled at him. “Let me rephrase. I’m looking for confirmation I’m not imagining things.” He nodded to encourage her to go ahead. “Hawai’i doesn’t have any native monkey or ape species, does it?”
“Not that I’m aware of. Why?”
“Because there are two chimpanzees in that tree over there, babies, I believe.”
“What?” McGarrett swung around in his seat and scanned the tree in question. The cafe was sitting on the edge of a small park and there were a variety of trees scattered about, some native and others not. The tree in question was an old fiddle-leaf fig with lots of branches and greenery. Two little faces were watching the people eating on the cafe’s patio. “They shouldn’t be there.”
“No, they shouldn’t.” The profiler got to her feet. “Watch John and call animal control. Or maybe the zoo would be better.”
“What are you going to do?” He pulled his phone out and watched as his fiancée began to walk in the direction of the tree.
“Catch the chimps.” He grabbed her arm and stopped her from leaving. “What?”
“Leave it to the professionals.”
“Then they might get away and there will be two defenseless non-indigenous animals wandering around the island. They could be hurt or killed while we wait for someone to catch them.” She put her free hand over his. “I’ve got this.”
“Fine, but how exactly am I supposed to contact the zoo? That’s not a number I have.” He let her go and stared at his phone, trying to see what numbers he had listed in it.
“Call dispatch. I’m sure they can find the number.” She continued in the direction of the tree and the two little faces.
*****
“Babe, can’t you and Jacq go on a normal date or outing?”
“This is not our fault, Danny.”
The Detective sighed as he ambled over to his partner. He was standing at the edge of the cafe patio along with several people in uniforms and a couple of official looking vehicles. “I know it’s not your fault, but only you and your crazy fiancée would find two monkeys while you were having brunch.”
“I heard that, Danny.” Dr. Stone shouted from her place back at the couple’s table. John was still in the highchair next to her seat, but in her lap sat the two baby-chimps, who were munching on pieces of banana she was giving to them. “And they’re apes, not monkeys.”
“Why hasn’t animal control taken them?” Williams asked, opting not to engage with the profiler, mainly because he knew she was right. He gestured at two of the people in uniforms. On the backs of their shirts “Animal Control’ was printed in bold letters.
“They refused to take possession of them. They don’t have the proper facilities to house or care for them. But they agreed to stay until the lady I spoke to from the zoo arrives. She’s an expert in primates.” He paused, then added. “The one Animal Control guy told me something interesting.”
“What’s that, babe?” Danny inquired; however, he was watching Jacq and the chimps together. They really seemed to like her and he had to bite back a chuckle when she saw they both had diapers on, probably so they wouldn’t pee on the psychologist.
“This isn’t the first exotic animal call they’ve gotten in the last week. It’s the third.”
The New Jersey native whipped his head around and focused on his partner. “That is interesting. What kind of animals were the other calls about?”
“A helmeted hornbill, which is native to Southeast Asia, and a western taipan, which is a poisonous snake from Australia.”
“Sounds like animal trafficking.”
“Yeah, it does and I think it’s something the team needs to look into, especially since it interrupted time with my family.”
“Ditto, babe. Though it seems like Jacq is having a blast.” He finally chuckled when he saw one of the babies grooming the profiler, while the other continued to eat.
“I think it’s motherly instinct since they’re babies. They came right to her when she went to get them out of the tree.”
“Probably because they could smell that she was a mom and they’re too young to have been taken from theirs.”
“Eww, Danno. Not something I want to be thinking about.”
Williams laughed outright. “You’re the one who brought it up. What do you need me to do?”
“See if we can get copies of Animal Control’s reports on the other two incidents and find out what they did with the animals. They’re evidence.” An HPD vehicle screeched to a halt behind the Animal Control van, piquing Steve’s interest. “I’m going to make sure Jacq doesn’t get too attached and speak to the zoo lady when she gets her.” A familiar face got out of the SUV and the head of Five-O started towards him, expecting Danny to do as he asked. “Doc, what are you doing here?” The two men shook hands.
“I was at dispatch getting some recordings I needed when your call came in. I couldn’t pass up the chance to see these chimps. As the HPD vet, I usually only get to handle dogs. I’ve always had a penchant for exotic animals.” Dr. Riley Tanner smiled at the head of Five-O. “Now, where are they?”
“Over there with Jacq.”
“Excuse me.” The vet hurried away and slid into the empty seat next to the profiler. One of the chimps immediately crawled into his lap.
McGarrett shook his head and addressed the two other people in uniform. There were HPD patrol officers. “You can return to your duties. I think we’ve got this handled.”
“Will do, Commander. We’re just a radio call away, if you need us to come back.” Said one of the officers. They both nodded respectfully at the former SEAL and climbed into their marked police car, pulling away a couple of minutes later.
Steve made his way over to the table where his family was. He addressed his fiancée, a big grin of his face. “You can’t keep them, honey.” The new mother was fawning over the tiny animal in her lap.
“I’m aware of that fact. I just want to keep them safe until the zoo’s primatologist arrives and can take them. These babies could’ve died if I hadn’t spotted them in that tree. They were both extremely hungry.”
“That’s because they’re malnourished, Dr. Stone. I’d say they were taken away from their mother or mothers roughly two weeks ago and haven’t been properly cared for. They should be on mix of formula and solids.” The HPD vet shared. He was examining the chimp in his lap carefully, while also playing with him.
“Don’t look at me. I haven’t started weaning John yet. I was going to start on that next month.” The profiler shared.
Riley laughed. “I wasn’t suggesting you give them regular formula. The zoo should have the right thing, or better yet, they might already have a nursing mother who would be willing to take the babies on.”
“Who could take these sweet little angels away from their mother?” Tears entered Jacq’s eyes. She couldn’t fathom the sorrow of losing her baby.
“Not to make you feel any worse, but she was probably also taken. Likely sold to a zoo or circus. There’s big business in animal trafficking and it makes me sick.” Dr. Tanner offered as he shook his head in disgust.
Dr. Stone looked up at her fiancé, her eye still watery. “We’re going to find out who’s behind this, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, honey.” McGarrett leaned down and kissed her forehead. “You have my word.”
*****
“How’s Jacq, Steve?” Chin asked as soon as his old friend walked into the office.
“She’s been better. She and John went home as soon as the primatologist showed up and took possession of the two chimps. Thankfully, the zoo has a couple of chimp mothers who they believe will adopt and care for them.” He smiled at his teammate. “I appreciate you coming in on the weekend.”
“Not a problem, bruddah. I want to help.” He tapped on the interactive table. “Animal Control and HPD sent over their reports on the other two exotic animal incidents. I’ve been going over them since I got in. We were lucky about the snake.”
“How’s that?” McGarrett came over to stand beside the other man and scanned the report on the screen.
“It’s extremely venomous, more toxic than any other snake on Earth. And none of the hospitals on any of the islands carry the antivenom, since it isn’t an indigenous species.”
“Good to know. Hopefully, just one escaped.” In that moment, the former SEAL was glad he’s only had to contend with baby chimps and not deadly snakes. “Have we put out feelers to any of our CIs?”
“Actually, Kono and Adam are picking one up and bringing him here. We thought you might like to speak with him, personally.” Lt. Kelly was trying his best not to smirk.
“Who?”
“You’ll see.” Chin chuckled. He couldn’t help himself. Their CI wasn’t going to be happy about being dragged in.
After a few minutes, a raised voice was heard from the direction of the elevator. “I have a business to run. And get dragged in by Five-O isn’t going to help any.” Steve stared at his old friend in disbelief. Three people walked into the bullpen. Kono was doing her best to calm their CI.
“We didn’t drag you anywhere, Kamekona. I’m not sure that’s even possible.” Her husband laughed at her comment and earned a glare from the entrepreneur. “We asked you to come to the office to help us with a case. Any ways, Flippa had everything under control when we left. He’ll be fine for a few minutes. Boss.” She nodded at the head of Five-O in greeting.
“McGarrett, you need to learn to control your people better.” The big man ambled over to the Navy officer with a frown on his face.
“I think they do a pretty good job of that on their own.” The former SEAL scanned their friend and asked him a point-blank question. “What do you know about animal trafficking?”
“Not something I ever got involved with. It’s an ‘oihana ‘ino, with too much risk and not enough reward. Why?”
Ignoring Kamekona’s question, he continued. “Do you know anyone who might have their hands in it? Someone who isn’t as much of a forward-thinking businessman as you are?” Steve knew a little flattery would go a long way with the man before him.
“I might. A friend of a friend. You have to be lolo to deal in animals. Most of the guys who do it are kapulu and not the sort I associate with. But some of my friends ain’t as picky as me.”
“Good to know, big guy. Could you reach out and see if you can get a line on who might be trafficking animals through the islands?”
“Sure, anything for the big kahuna.” Smiling, Kamekona looked around the office. “Where’s the little kahuna and big momma?”
“Big momma?” Adam asked with a smirk. He couldn’t wait to tell the profiler her new nickname.
“You can’t call Jacq that.” McGarrett glared at his friend and teammates, who were all grinning. “She’ll kill you, then me for not putting an end to it.”
“But she’s momma to the little kahuna. It’s a term of respect.”
“Think of something else, buddy.” The head of Five-O looked at his watch. “Don’t you have a call to make?”
“Nah. This isn’t a conversation for over the phone.” Kamekona turned around and locked eyes with Kono. “Take me back to my truck. I’ll reach out once I have something.” He headed towards the elevator, expecting Officer Kalakaua to follow.
Kono sighed and rubbed her eyes, pulling her keys out of her pocket while she did, only to have her husband snatch them away from her. “Adam?”
“I’ll take him. Chin could probably use your help going through the reports.” He hurried out of the bullpen before she could object, not that she really wanted to. She appreciated his willingness to deal with the entrepreneur.
“What’s next, boss?” Kono asked as she joined her teammates at the interactive table. “And where’s Danny?” He was the one who’d asked her to fetch Kamekona on her way into the office.
“He and Grover are interviewing the people who reported the other two exotic animals.” Lt. Kelly answered, before adding. “And before you ask, Steve, we can’t take possession of the hornbill or the taipan. Both of them are in quarantine at the zoo.”
“But they’re evidence.” McGarrett countered.
“I get that, bruddah. But considering how dangerous the taipan is, I think they’re in the best place. I was about to give Eric a call when you came in. I want him to see if he can get any trace off them. I know it’s a long shot considering they’ve been at the zoo for several days, but we don’t have a lot to work with yet and we need anything we can dig up.” Chin explained.
“You’re probably right. Call Tani, too. Have her pick up Junior and tell them to meet Eric at the zoo. Maybe one of the keepers can give us some additional information about the animals or where they could’ve come from.” The former SEAL sighed. He hated the fact that he was ruining everyone’s weekend, but he appreciated the team rallying to handle the case as quickly as they could. “Let’s find these guys.” He clapped his hands and strode over to his office. He didn’t need to micromanage the cousins. They knew what to do. Sitting behind his desk, he sighed again and thought about the woman he loved. He was going to do everything in his power to do as she asked and find out who was behind the trafficking. They needed to be stopped and he was going to make sure they were.
*****
“Is this the right address?” Kono asked as she finished getting her vest on and slammed the trunk of her vehicle.
“It’s what Kamekona sent us. He wasn’t able to get any names, just the address of this warehouse.” Williams shared as he pulled gear out of his Camaro, handing some of it to his partner. “Are we getting HPD back-up?”
A voice over the radio answered him. “They’re ten minutes out and are going to set up a perimeter.” It was Jerry. “I have Animal Control and the zoo standing by, if we do recover any animals.”
“What about EMS? We have no idea what kind of animals we might encounter.” Grover complained.
“That’s why we aren’t going to touch or handle any of them, if they are in there.” The head of Five-O stated firmly as he secured his vest. The whole team was present for their op.
It was two days after the incident with the chimps and the Task Force had made a lot of progress. Tani and Junior had gotten a surprising amount of information from the zookeepers about animal trafficking and how it worked, even supplying them the name of a customs agent they could talk to. While they were unable to reach the agent in question, her boss at ICE had spoken to them on Monday, when he was back in the office. Stopping traffickers of any kind was a struggle for customs as the bad guys kept coming up with new and interesting methods to get around federal regulations and the people charged with stopping them. He was happy Five-O was jumping in to help them, since they had to keep their focus on terrorism and human trafficking which were a bigger threat to national security than a few stolen or illegal animals. By the time McGarrett and his partner had returned from the federal building, Kamekona had supplied the team with a location, nothing else. They’d tried to get more information, but their friend simply said something shady was going on at the warehouse and that Five-O should check it out. Taking the tip at face value, they planned out their op and were ready to execute it as early in the morning as they could with support from HPD, Animal Control and the Honolulu Zoo.
Chin walked over to the former head of HPD SWAT and set a hand on his shoulder. “What’s bothering you, Lou?” He was staring off down the street, ignoring the building in front of them.
“Does that seem odd to anyone else?” Grover pointed in the direction of a truck that was parked up the street from them and the warehouse they were about to hit.
“It’s a delivery truck. They’re probably dropping something off.” Adam stated as he came over to stand with the other two men.
“It’s a bread truck.” The Captain responded. “And all of these buildings are industrial, machine shops and manufacturing. Maybe even a sweatshop or two. None of them seem like the kinds of places to be getting fresh pastries. Also….” He checked his watch. “It’s almost 9am. Little late for deliveries.”
“He makes a good point.” The Navy officer replied. “Lou, I want you, Chin, Adam and Kono to stay here and keep eyes on our warehouse.”
“You got it, buddy.” Grover turned his eyes away from the out of place vehicle and grabbed the former Yakuza member by the arm, leading him away. “We’ll take the back. You take the front.” He didn’t wait for a response from the cousins. They’d worked together long enough to follow each other’s’ lead. Plus, the married couple wasn’t allowed to be together, not in the field.
“Tani, Junior, circle around and come up from behind the truck. Danny and I will take the front.” Steve ordered.
“You got it, Commander.” Junior responded crisply. He and his teammate hurried down the alley to find a way to get to where they needed to be.
“After you, babe.” Williams gestured towards the truck and let his partner go first. If they were going to get shot at, he’d prefer to be behind his friend and not in front of him.
They both drew their sidearms and made their way cautiously towards the truck. The two newest members of the team appeared from between a couple of buildings and booked it to the back of the truck, covering it for their bosses. There was no one in the front seat of the vehicle, but there was a door to the back. McGarrett and Danny climbed in and stopped by the door.
“Do you think we should knock?” Williams whispered.
“Seems only neighborly, Danno.” The former SEAL banged on the door and shouted. “Five-O, come out with your hands up.” The door slid open slowly and the muzzle of a gun peeked out the opening. The head of Five-O grabbed it and yanked it forward, pulling the person holding it forward and into the door and causing them to release their weapon. They stumbled backwards and the two men entered the back. “Let me see those hands.” Steve shoved the confiscated gun into his vest and pointed his own weapon at its former owner.
“You just assaulted a federal agent and are interfering in an official investigation.” The person mumbled as he held his face. Blood was seeping from his nose. It had likely been broken when he rammed into the door.
“I highly doubt it’s official.” Williams declared as he put his weapon away. The injured man was wearing an ICE vest and had a badge clipped to his belt. The back of the truck was set up for surveillance. “Especially since we met with the head of the Honolulu ICE field office yesterday and he didn’t mention any ongoing surveillance operations. Now, what the hell are you doing here? And who are you?”
“Agent Jeff Morrison. And I’m trying to find my partner. She disappeared a week ago.” Jeff stood up straight and pinched his nose, trying to stem the blood flow. It didn’t make any sense to lie, not after they’d already called him on it once.
“And who’s your partner?” The Lieutenant Commander asked. He still had his gun out. He was a bit more cautious than his partner.
“Monica Jensen. Who are you guys?”
“That’s the name the zookeeper mentioned to Tani. The one we couldn’t get in touch with.” The Detective said to his partner under his breath.
“Now we know why she was unavailable.” Steve replied quietly and put away his gun, before addressing the ICE agent. “I’m Steve McGarrett, head of the Five-O Task Force, and this is my partner, Detective Danny Williams. We noticed your vehicle from down the street and it seemed out of place. We came to investigate. Now that we know you’re not a bad guy, we can get back to hitting the warehouse. Let’s go, Danno.” After returning the other man’s weapon, he turned away and headed to the front of the vehicle, his partner a step behind him. The Jersey native was radioing the team to let them know there was nothing to worry about and to stand by to enter the building. They’d be there shortly.
Morrison wasn’t finished. “Wait, what warehouse?” He stepped towards the two men, holding his sidearm against his leg pointed at the ground.
“The red one two doors down. It’s supposedly a garment manufacturer, but we received intel it’s a front for an animal trafficking ring. You’re less than stellar attempt at blending in distracted us.” Williams explained, as he exited the vehicle behind his partner. Tani and Junior were waiting for them.
“I want in.” Jeff exclaimed, leaping down to join them.
“Why?” McGarrett countered. He scanned the Fed. He didn’t know enough about the ICE agent to determine if he’d be useful or not.
“I found the address for that place in my partner’s notes and have had the building staked out for the last two days. It’s my only lead to where she might be.” Morrison was desperate.
“Babe?” Danny got the former SEAL’s attention. “It wouldn’t hurt to have another body help in the warehouse. It’s a big place. We can keep him with us and make sure he doesn’t mess anything up.”
“Fine.” Steve growled. He looked at the other two members of their team. “Tag up with Lou and Adam at the back of the building. Don’t enter until I give you the go-sign.” They nodded at him and hurried off. “Come on.” He stalked down the street towards Chin and Kono who were waiting for them. Williams and Jeff were a couple steps behind him. The two Five-O members went to the trunk of the Camaro and grabbed their rifles. Then they stood together and waited.
Their radios coming alive caught all their attentions. It was Jerry again. “HPD is in position. They’ll move in at your command… Commander.” A couple chuckles sounded through the connection.
“You heard the man. Let’s move.” The former SEAL lifted his long gun and started towards the building. He stopped at the door and let Chin pull it open. They pushed into the building and began to sweep the place.
The room they were in was large and filled with sewing machines, looms and a bunch of scared and startled people. Chin, McGarrett and the ICE agent fanned out across the space, while Williams and Kono gathered the workers off to one-side. Danny radioed for their back-up to converge on the warehouse and asked Duke to bring a team with him to handle the seamstresses.
“We’ve got a room with a padlock on it back here. It might have been a walk-in freezer or refrigerator at one point.” Grover informed them over the radio. They could all hear sirens coming closer to their location.
“We’re on our way to you.” The head of Five-O declared. He nodded at Lt. Kelly and quickly found Morrison’s location, motioning him to join the teammates as they entered the back of the warehouse. Noshimuri and Lou were standing in front of the door in question.
“Tani and Junior are guarding the rear entrance. They’ll join us when HPD arrives and secures the scene.” The former head of SWAT shared. His teammates nodded at him.
Chin handed the bolt cutters he had with him to his old friend and spoke. “We saw this on the schematics for the building. It takes up roughly a quarter of the warehouse. More than enough room to store a bunch of exotic animals, before sending them on to their final destinations.”
“Let’s see for ourselves.” The former SEAL stepped forward and broke the lock, handing the cutters back to Lt. Kelly. Adam got the lock off the door and grabbed the handle, ready to pull it open for the team to sweep the space inside. “On me.” Steve said with a nod of his head. As the door slid open, he stepped into the room, his gun scanning the space
The former walk-in freezer was filled with dozens of cages and the sound (and smell) was staggering. A cry of dismay had the Five-O members turning to find the ICE agent frantically trying to get a large wire crate open. Inside it was a woman, barely conscious. “It’s Monica. She needs an ambulance.” With the door open, he carefully began to pull her free until she was lying flat on the floor. The former Yakuza member rushed in with a first aid kit in his hands and knelt down beside the two Feds.
“Jerry?” Lt. Kelly inquired. He’d hoped the conspiracy theorist had heard the request.
“I already alerted EMS. They should be there in five. I’m also contacting ICE to let them know.”
“Good work, Jer. We also need Animal Control and whoever we can get from the zoo. We have a huge number of animals to process and catalog.” The Navy officer ordered. His gaze swept the room, noting a few empty cages. “We may also have other animals on the loose. Find out who owns this warehouse. Somebody is going to answer for this, on all fronts.”
“On it, Commander. It’s a bit of a shell game, but I won’t give up until I have a name for you.” The conspiracy theorist responded. They all heard beeping over the radio. “ICE is sending agents to assist and the zoo replied that they’ll have people there in thirty. How’s Agent Jensen?”
“She’s alive, Jer, and her vitals are strong.” Chin answered. He was helping his cousin’s husband do what they could for the injured woman. Jeff had her head in his lap and was speaking to her in a whisper.
“Jerry, when you get a chance, call Jacq and give her an update. And let her know I’ll reach out once I’m back in the office.” McGarrett wanted his fiancée to know that the bust had been successful to a point. They had the animals and had saved an ICE agent. Now all they needed to do was find out who the mastermind was and put him out of business. But that was all in a day’s work for their team.
*****
“What exactly are we missing?” Danny asked.
“Based on the invoices we found and the animals already recovered, only four animals are still unaccounted for.” Kono shared from her place at the interactive table.
Five-O had returned to the office after ensuring Agent Jensen and her partner were on their way to the hospital and the Honolulu Zoo would be able to care for the animals they’d seized. A few of them were species that the zoo didn’t normally handle, but they planned to reach out to colleagues on the mainland to see if anyone would be able to take them. The zoo’s quarantine area was going to be filled to the brim. Knowing Duke would call with any further information from the scene, the team was now focused on finding the person or persons behind the trafficking and the attack on Agent Jensen and what happened to the missing animals.
“You didn’t answer my question. What kind of animals?” Williams prodded.
Officer Kalakaua laughed and hit the table a couple of times. A list came up on the screen along with a few photos. “Two are birds, but based on what’s written on this invoice, they appear to have been delivered. HPD is canvasing all the pet stores on the island, looking for anyone who recently bought cages or food for an exotic bird. We should be able to find them with minimal issues, especially if we find out who’s behind this and they kept track of their buyers.”
“And the other two animals?” Steve prompted. He wanted to finish up the briefing so he could call the profiler and check on her.
“They’re a bit more concerning.” Two menacing photos came to the forefront on the display. “One is an Asian water monitor. While they can be docile, they will attack if threatened and are carnivorous. If we don’t find it, it could have major environmental impacts.”
“That thing’s like a dinosaur. Who in their right mind would want one of those as a pet?” Grover bellowed.
“It’s a status symbol.” Adam shared. “An… associate of my father had one at his compound. He liked to show it off to friends.” He chuckled. “Or use it to scare his competitors.”
“Craziness….” Lou muttered. “And the last one?”
“A wolfdog.” Kono stated simply.
“What’s a wolfdog?” The head of Five-O wasn’t familiar with the term, beyond what the two parts of the word meant.
“I know this one.” Danny declared. All eyes turned to him. “It’s when a domesticated dog is bred with one of four species of wild wolf, creating a hybrid. The temperament of the resulting animal is a crapshoot. They can be anything from completely tame to overly aggressive. Hopefully, this one is the former, not the latter.” He scanned the room and everyone was staring at him, agape. “What?”
“Where the hell did you learn that? “His partner asked.
“Discovery Channel. I watched a documentary with Charlie about wolves.” He shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal. He was a fount of knowledge, if anyone gave him half a chance.
“Chin.” McGarrett pointed at his old friend. “Reach out to the Governor’s PR person. We need a notice to go out warning the public about our lizard and wolfdog. I….” He trailed off when his cell began to ring. He pulled it out and smiled when he saw the caller ID. He answered it and held it to his ear. “Hey, honey.”
The whole team was watching him, but he ignored it and listened to his fiancée. A puzzled expression appeared on his face.
“Four. Two birds, a water monitor and a wolfdog. Why?”
He listened some more and confusion morphed into alarm. He pulled his phone away from his ear and put it on speaker.
“Say that again, honey.
“I said. I believe I found your wolfdog. He’s playing with Burt in the backyard and having a grand old time.” Dr. Stone stated.
“Are you sure, honey? It could just be someone’s dog that got loose.” Steve tried to play devil’s advocate. These things only seemed to happen to them.
“Based on coloring and the shape of his head, I was thinking German Shepherd or Husky, but given how much bigger he is than Burt, I’m pretty sure this is your wolfdog. I already called Animal Control and asked them to bring a large crate and tranq gun, though I don’t think they’ll need it. He seems rather friendly.” Jacq’s voice held no concern, just clinical interest in what was happening outside her home. Her fiancé was another matter entirely.
“Stay in the house. I’m on my way. DO NOT go outside.” The former SEAL tried to keep his voice even. He knew the profiler didn’t take kindly to being ordered around.
She sighed loudly and muttered. “Just get here, Lieutenant Commander.” The line went dead.
“I’m going to….” The head of Five-O walked backwards towards the elevator.
“Go, babe. We’ll keep working on figuring out who our bad guy is and get the Governor to put the alert out.” Williams replied. He chuckled once his partner was gone. He surveyed the team. They were all amused by their boss’s antics. He cleared his throat and patted the conspiracy theorist on the back, since he was standing next to him. “You’re on, Jerry. Show us what you found out about our warehouse.”
“Sure thing, Detective.” He stepped forward and took Kono’s place at the table, tapping until the items on the screen changed to display ownership records. “Here’s what I’ve got. I discovered….”
*****
McGarrett’s truck screeched to a halt in the clearing outside the profiler’s house. His fiancée’s SUV was the only other vehicle there, so he knew he’d beaten Animal Control to the house. Lights and sirens (for part of the drive) did wonders in shortening a commute. He didn’t even lock his vehicle as he slammed the door and sprinted around the house to the back. He stopped cold at the sight that greeted him. Jacq was sitting in the middle of one of the grassy sections with Burt on one side of her and a grey, furry lump on the other. She was petting her dog and the furry mass and staring in the direction of the ocean.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay inside?” He stated calmly. He didn’t want to upset the wolfdog, which was now watching him as he neared the profiler.
“Since when did I obey orders from you?” She countered. She gazed up at him and smiled. “Any ways, I’m fine. They tuckered each other out and I brought them a treat. I decided to sit with them until Animal Control got here.”
“Where are John and Coronado?”
“Inside. I didn’t want to tempt fate having a small edible animal out here with him.” She pointed at the wolfdog, who had set his head in her lap. “And I laid John down for a nap right before I came out.”
With a sigh, the Navy officer plopped down in front of her. “What if he hadn’t been friendly?” He indicated the wolfdog.
“Wasn’t an issue since he is.”
“Please tell me you didn’t name him.”
“I got it down to two options. Either Apollo or Lon.” He raised an eyebrow at the second name. She explained. “After Lon Chaney Jr., who played Larry Talbot in the Wolf Man, though I was always rather partial to when he reprised the role in Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.” She smiled at him again.
“What am I going to do with you?”
“As you like to say, I have some thoughts about that.” When he didn’t laugh at her joke, she asked. “What’s wrong?”
“You shouldn’t be getting attached. Danny called me while I was driving out here. The zoo won’t take a wolfdog and that means Animal Control might decide to put him down.”
“They can’t do that.” She was outraged that they would kill a perfectly healthy animal.
“I’m sorry, honey. They’re illegal in Hawai’i.”
“But so are most of the other animals.” She didn’t understand.
“But they’re legitimate animals and the zoo is taking some of them and rehoming the rest.” He looked at the wolfdog that was leaning against her while she scratched his head. “He was bred, crossing two species in order to be a pet. It’s probably the best thing for him, verses living in a cage for the rest of his life.”
The profiler began to argue. There were lots of crossbred animals out there, ligers, tigons, zorses and quite a few others. Zoos housed them for people to see or to save them from being bought and sold. There had to be a solution. Then it came to her. “We can send him to a sanctuary on the mainland.”
“What?”
“I see them on Instagram all the time. There are several in the US. We can send him to one of them.”
“But the cost. It’s-.”
“I’ll pay for it and give them healthy donation to make sure he’s well-taken care of. We can’t let them kill him.” She pleaded.
“I… I….” McGarrett sighed again and caved. He didn’t want the wolfdog to be put down any more than she did. “All right. I’ll speak with them and see what we can do.” At that moment, he heard a door slam and knew Animal Control had finally arrived. He got to his feet. He needed to talk with the officers before they got anywhere near his fiancée. He knew she would do whatever was necessary to protect her dog’s new friend and ensure he got to live out the rest of his life. Also, he had no desire to be on her shit list.
*****
“Any issues?”
“Not a one, babe. He tried to run, but once we had hands on, he didn’t even put up a fight.” Danny’s voice crackled through the speakers of the head of Five-O’s truck.
“Good.” The former SEAL pulled into the clearing outside of Jacq’s house and parked. He sat back in his seat and continued his discussion with his partner. He eyed the unknown vehicle behind the profiler’s SUV and realized he needed to hurry things along. “I’m sorry I had to leave before we made the arrest.”
“Steve, the team can arrest bad guys without you being there. We worked as a team to gather the evidence and figure out who our trafficker was. Let the people you hired do the jobs you hired them to do.”
“I know that. I-.”
“Have to be in control at all times. I’m well aware as is the rest of the team and your fiancée. It’s more important that you don’t miss the meeting with the caterer. But that doesn’t mean I don’t need you to send me your report as soon as you can. I have to send it over to HPD, ICE and the Governor’s office with the rest of the case file.”
McGarrett chuckled. He was very lucky to have Danny looking after things when he wasn’t available, not that he’d tell him that. “I’ll get it to you after a bit. I need to get inside. I really hope I’m not late.”
“Go then. You shouldn’t be sitting there gabbing with me when you have wedding things to do. Later, babe.” The Detective didn’t even wait for his partner to respond before he hung up and the connection died.
Unbuckling his seatbelt, the Navy officer climbed out of his truck, closed the door and locked it. He ambled around the house and smiled when he spotted the woman he loved sitting on the lanai at the little table. John was in his playpen next to her, Coronado was in her lap and Burt was sitting beside her. “Hey, honey.” He said in greeting as he approached her
“Perfect timing, Steve. Simone should be out with the first set of samples in the next few minutes.”
“I’m glad I’m not late.” He walked up the stairs, gave her a kiss and sat across from her.
“You are late, but you only missed the admin stuff. The kitchen in the guest bungalow is more than adequate for what she needs to do and I confirmed the choices we narrowed down the menu to.”
“Sorry.”
“No reason to be sorry, you were working.” She paused and looked down at the cat in her lap. Then she lifted her head and caught his eyes. “Did you get him?”
“The team did. I had to leave before they made the arrest, but Danny called me right before I got here.” He laughed. “They also found the water monitor. Seems our trafficker decided to keep it for himself. Lou about had a heart attack when the thing came out of the guy’s pool. Called it Godzilla and ran away.”
“I’m sorry you missed that.” She had a big grin on her face and was doing her best not to laugh.
“Adam recorded it. I’ve requested a copy of the video.”
“I can’t wait to see it.”
“Me, too.” He reached across the table and she placed her hand in his. Silence descended between them, but they were content to just be with each other.
It was the Friday after their interesting Sunday brunch and the team had gotten the case wrapped up quickly. After some diligent hard work and not giving up no matter how many dead-ends he reached, Jerry had finally found the owner of the warehouse. Actually, he found a company name, but it only had one listed employee and that person had a local address. The team worked together to come up with a plan of action and scheduled the operation for that morning. However, McGarrett had to leave when the team was gearing up in order to get to the house for the meeting with the caterer. He’d been somewhat hesitant to leave, but the team handled it like the pros they were. They were perfectly capable of doing their jobs without him being present, just like his partner had told him and he had experienced in the past.
On a more personal note, Animal Control had agreed to ship the wolfdog, Apollo as he’d been dubbed, to a sanctuary in Colorado that had the proper facilities to house him and several other wolves and wolfdogs for him to interact with. He and several of the other animals, which were being taken by zoos on the mainland, were sent out on the same cargo flight the day before. Dr. Stone had spoken with the director of the sanctuary and got him to agree to send regular updates about the animal. The updates would ensure in her mind that Apollo was being well-taken care of and was happy in his new home. Also, the previous day, the team had gotten word that Agent Jensen would make a full recovery and her partner, Jeff, personally thanked the team for helping him find his partner. The blanket authorization the Task Force had to act without oversight or warrants did come in handy from time to time and ICE now owed them one.
The former SEAL broke from his introspect when Jacq squeezed his hand. He looked up and spotted a woman coming towards them from the direction of the guest bungalow. Releasing the profiler’s hands, he straightened up and studied her. She was probably around the same age as the couple, African American and trim. She had a mess of black curly hair and stunning green eyes, and in each hand, she carried a long wooden board with a variety of bites sitting on it. It would appear the tasting had begun.
“Simone, I’d like you to meet my fiancé, Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett.” The profiler made the introductions as the other woman reached the stairs and climbed up to join them. “And Steve, this is Ms. Simone LeBlanc, our caterer.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. LeBlanc.” He sat back and smiled at her.
“You, too, Lieutenant Commander.” From the grin on Simone’s face, it would seem that Dr. Stone had already warned her to use the Navy officer’s full rank when addressing him. She slid one of the boards in front of each of them. “These are the eight appetizer options you expressed interest in. Each has a little label in front of it to denote which is which.” She pointed at a piece of paper on the table that McGarrett hadn’t noticed before. “The more detailed descriptions are on there for you to review. Go ahead and start. I’m going to get to work on the entree options and will return in a few minutes to answer any questions.” With a final smile, she turned and went down the stairs, heading back in the direction she came from.
“Thanks, Simone.” Jacq called out after her retreating form. The caterer waved a hand over her shoulder and continued on her way, disappearing down the path. She sniffed the items on the board. “They all smell delicious. Where do you want to start?”
“Left to right?” The head of Five-O suggested. She nodded in agreement and they began.
The engaged couple methodically worked their way through the eight bites, discussing each and occasionally pausing to read the full description from the provided sheet. All of them were tasty and would likely please their guests, but they needed to get it down from eight to four.
“Which was your favorite?” The profiler asked, before taking a drinking of water.
“I really liked the shrimp puff. It’s a nice twist on the crab puffs you normally see at weddings and it uses locally caught shrimp. What about you?” He grabbed the sheet to review the descriptions again. They didn’t want to get anything that was too similar.
“Which do you think?” She smiled at him when he lifted his head and smirked at her.
“The cheesy bacon and tomato bite.”
“Exactly.” He knew her so well. She quickly added. “But the Cajun meatball was nice, too.”
“Yeah, it had a little kick to it and the brown gravy was pretty awesome. That leaves us one more to pick. We should probably pick one of the two vegetarian options.” He glanced back down at the paper in front of him.
“Let’s do the mushroom turnover. The artichoke dip was heavy and I don’t want people to be too full to eat their main courses. Plus, I love mushrooms.”
“I know.” The Navy officer chuckled and grabbed one of the pens off the table. He put a tick-mark next to the four they’d picked to give to the caterer when she returned. “What’s next?” He sat back in his chair and gazed at her. She was studying him. “What?”
“Thank you.”
“What are you thanking me for?”
“For finding the trafficker and stopping him and for making sure all the animals were properly taken care of.”
“It’s my job, honey.”
“Yes, but you didn’t have to take on the case. You could’ve left it to HPD or ICE. You went after him because I asked you to.”
“Of course.” Leaning forward on the table, he held out both his hands to her and when she placed her hands in his, gripped them tightly. “We’re a team. And no, I’m not referring to the Five-O team, I’m talking about you and me. You and I are a team and always will be. You’re my partner and soon we’ll be married. We help each other when needed and you asked me to stop this guy. Since it was in my power to do so, I did. Plus, it helps Hawai’i as a whole and the next trafficker who tries to set up shop here will hopefully think twice before he does. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“Yes.” Her eyes were watery and she shook her head to clear her vision. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, honey, and you’re welcome.” Steve smiled at her. “But remember, you helped, as well. You made sure Apollo found a good home with a group of people who know what he needs and you saved those baby chimps. Dr. Morrow called first thing this morning and said we are welcome to visit them whenever we want, since they’re staying at the Honolulu Zoo.”
“Could we go tomorrow? I think John would love to see all the animals.”
“Sure.” His smile widened and he added. “But Burt and Coronado stay here.”
“I can live with that.”
“Good.” He squeezed her hands and asked his earlier question again. “Now what’s next?”