Fic: Stealth and Sudden Violence (Chapter 7)
The last of the dinner plates had been cleared off the table and Kamekona had returned with a pot of coffee when they finally sat down to seriously analyze the notes Chin had translated. They'd rushed through dinner, barely doing justice to the excellent food Kamekona had made, all of them keen to get on with the notes. Steve had explained what little information they'd got from Byron, to which Danny had felt obliged to add his view of threatening suspects with crocodiles, which caused Steve to pout and the others to laugh.
Chin had rigged up a kind of magic lantern that projected his neat handwritten translation onto the wall of the courtyard. Danny shook his head in disbelief at the technology the man gave them. He had no idea where the lantern itself came from, probably Steve's dad, but the idea of writing the notes on the slides and projecting them was amazing. Chin had also typed up a set of the translated notes on the machine he'd persuaded Russell to supply, making copies for all the team using carbon paper. The man was a genius.
Danny had scanned through his set of notes, as everyone else did, while Chin got the projector up and running. He was hoping when they read through them together they'd make more sense than his quick read through. Steve, bless his little over achieving heart, was reading the original notes alongside his translation, his face scrunched up in concentration.
The first slide, and he trusted Chin to get the noes in the right order, read: The one who is Turk begins his journey with the hen. There is Tuesday on a week. The leader who is mine brings greetings.
Danny had no idea what that meant. The Turk had a hen? Seemed an odd thing to send a message about, and not really related to any plot to arm the Senussi.
“Are you sure the word's hen?” Steve asked, squinting at the original note.
“I have no idea,” Chin sighed, both hands braced on the table. “It makes no sense, but I can't make the word into anything else.”
He pushed the next slide into the magic lantern, the note he'd translated projected on the wall. It read: The man of the past has spoken to the leader. He does bring himself in the house at dawn.
“At least that one makes more sense,” Danny said, watching Steve frown over the note. “Well, except for the man of the past part. What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I did some reading on the Senussi from Jack's files,” Kono said, stumbling a little over McGarrett senior's name as though she wasn't sure how to refer to him. “The Senussi are a religious order rather than a separate tribe, who believe their founder is still with them, even though he's dead. At least that's what it seems to imply in Jack's notes. He also says they weren't violent fanatics until the Germans started whipping them up.”
“Maybe that's what the man of the past means,” Chin speculated. “They've consulted their dead leader and he's on board with the plan.”
“Seems a bit peculiar,” Danny said, scratching his nose. “But I suppose it's no stranger than thinking the wine drunk at communion actually becomes the blood of Christ.”
“Next you'll be saying you don't believe in Santa,” Chin said with a wry smirk, changing the slide.
The words appeared in the wall: Turk brings guns. The fire is good. More will come.
“Well, that makes the most sense of all of them.” Danny was feeling a little more confident that they were on the right track with the investigation. “Although it doesn't tell us anything about Hesse.”
“Except that we've disrupted his plans by killing the Turk,” Kono pointed out, trying to lighten the mood slightly.
“True,” Steve agreed, but Danny could hear the frustration in his voice. “I just wish we had more to go on. What did you make of the last note, Chin?”
Chin winced slightly, and pushed the button on the lantern to display his translation of the last note. The final slide read: Our brother the black mountain is in the desert. In three days it will come home. The valley of the fifteen sheep is the place. One hundred rifles.
“About the only thing I got from all that is someone, whose brother is a topographical feature, is getting some guns from Hesse,” Danny said, disappointment at being as confused as he was before making him sarcastic. He threw his copies of the notes down on the table in annoyance. This case was the most frustrating case he'd ever worked on, and he'd had some doozies back in New Jersey.
“I did the best I could,” Chin said, mostly apology, but tinged with a little defensiveness.
“No, hey,” Danny soothed, realizing what his comment must have sounded like. “You did a great job, way better than I ever could. The notes were written by a moron, is all.”
“Maybe not,” Steve suddenly said, standing abruptly and making his chair squeal backwards on the tile floor. He dashed across the courtyard and into his father's study, which Danny figured he should possibly be thinking of as Steve's study now. The team all stared after him, not moving until he rushed back clutching a map.
“The Black Mountain is out near Bahariya Oasis,” Steve explained, spreading out the map of the Western Desert and jabbing his finger down on a mess of contour lines and trackways. “It's a huge area of basalt in the middle of the desert. And Byron said the messenger came from Bahariya.”
“And the fifteen sheep?” Kono asked, because she was a brilliant woman who could also see Steve's next suggestion was to go out there.
Steve frowned at her, like she'd affronted his pride by asking a question he obviously didn't know the answer to. Before Danny could tell him off for being an idiot, Kamekona chipped in. “Dat's a story 'bout a shepherd who lost his sheep and when he gets home he tells his master that thieves took them. I forgets how it happens but the sheeps turn to stone in a valley. They're still stayin' there.”
“Really?” Steve looked genuinely surprised at Kamekona's contribution. Danny wondered why he'd included the man if he thought he had nothing to bring to the discussion. He suspected that Kamekona was an awful lot more than just a cook and housekeeper, and that the elder McGarrett had relied on him for much of his information.
“I like the storytellers,” the big man replied, looking a little defensive.
“Do you know where the valley is?” Steve asked, ignoring the other man's discomfort.
Kamekona looked at the map for a few moments before sitting back and shaking his head. “No, but I know a man who will.”
“Can you find him tonight?” Steve asked, clapping his left palm over his balled up right fist.
“Whoa there!” Danny interrupted, hoping he could derail the plan Steve was obviously formulating in that messed up head of his. “Are you planning on marching into the desert tonight? Are you crazy?”
“I was planning on driving,” Steve said placidly, as though he'd just suggested another round of drinks.
“Oh, you were, were you?” Danny questioned, standing from his chair at the table and crossing his arms. “And what will the rest of us be doing while you're chasing shadows in the sand? I suppose we'll be doing the real police work and following the leads that don't require us to take stupid risks. I'll ask Ambassador Jameson to sugarcoat it in the telegram he'll send your sister, shall I? We'll tell her you died on your own, mad with heat and thirst, chasing some fairytale about sheep. I'm sure she'll like that, two telegrams in the space of a month.”
“It's not a stupid risk,” Steve argued, his expression closing down and a frown wrinkling his brow. “It's the next logical step.”
“Why have you got aneurysm face?” Danny asked, gesturing at the taller man's face which then screwed up in disbelief. “You can't have a team of people working with you, people who care about you, and expect us to all just agree with your mad schemes without voicing our objections.”
“For, not with,” Steve stated, his face hardening into an expression Danny couldn't read. “You work for me, not with me. I'm in charge of this team and I get to say what we do.”
“Oh, I see,” Danny said, suddenly unaccountably angry with the man who had barged into his life and taken him away from a job he hated but was at least his own on merit. This man who made him want to care about him, made Danny get involved in the case like he rarely did anymore, was suddenly turning out to be a complete ass. Well, he thought, that's what you get for caring. He should have learned his lesson when Rachel tore his heart out.
“Danny,” Steve said, taking a step forward, the concern on his face showing he probably realized he's said the wrong thing.
“No, Commander,” Danny interrupted whatever he was going to say, because he really didn't want to hear it. “I'm not getting paid overtime here and I think I need my sleep. If you don't like that, you can find yourself another liaison to the police department. If you want to go and kill yourself chasing a stupid nothing lead, that's fine. I have a daughter, who I've barely seen this week I might add, and I intend to be there to watch her grow up. If you're still here, I'll see you in the morning. Chin, Kono, Kamekona, good night.”
Danny turned on his heel, grabbed his jacket and hat from the stand in the lobby, and walked out of the front door. He fumed as he marched to his car in the stable yard. He flung his jacket in the passenger seat and slammed the driver's door behind him. He started the engine and had barely flicked on the headlamps before he was speeding out down the carriage drive and into the road.
He had meant what he said about getting another liaison to the department, but as he got further away from the house a growing part of him really hoped Steve wouldn't take him up on it. He wanted to see this case through and find Victor Hesse. Not just because it was the right thing to do and would obviously eliminate a threat to the whole country, but because he wanted to help Steve get the man who'd killed his father. He wanted to see if Steve would find some peace, loosen up and smile more.
As he sped through central Cairo, barely seeing the camels and carriages he automatically swerved around, he was forced to acknowledge that some of his anger was directed at himself. He'd started to believe that he and Steve were friends and had unconsciously started forming a real attachment to the man. He thumped the steering wheel in frustration. Damn it, he'd done this before a few times and it never ended well.
He pulled the car into the yard he rented near Mrs. Hudson's house and took a few calming breaths. He was going to go back to McGarrett's house in the morning and work the case. He was going to carry on as though he hadn't made a complete fool of himself storming out like a prima donna, and hope that the others could, too. He also hoped that Steve would be there and wouldn't go off on some fool's errand into the desert without him, because he couldn't bear the thought of him out there on his own.
“Well, that was smart,” Kono said, as Danny walked out. Steve was staring after him as though the man had just walked off with his puppy. She expected him to run after the Danny, but instead he seemed to shake himself and retreat behind the cold mask he wore when he was preparing for a mission. Curious.
“Kamekona, can you find your source?” Steve asked, as though Danny hadn't said a word about how stupid this plan was.
“Sure,” the big man agreed, getting up from his seat. He didn't say anything else, but Kono could see the look he shared with her cousin. That spoke volumes about what he thought of Steve right now.
“You know,” Chin said, his tone light, but Kono could hear the annoyance hidden there. “You really are a complete ass sometimes.”
“What?” Steve snapped, a look of betrayal flashing across his face. “Are you going to leave, too?”
“When Black Jack Pershing made you re-plan the Maimbung mission, what did you say?” Chin asked, and Kono sat forward in her seat. This was something from before her time with the two men and neither of them was prone to sharing their experiences.
“It's not the same,” Steve objected, crossing his arms mulishly. “He was a senior officer.”
“What did you say?” Chin repeated, his tone steely.
Steve sighed and his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I said I was glad someone worked through all my bullshit and made me think about what I was doing.”
“And what do you think Danny was trying to do?” Chin asked, not backing down.
Steve sighed again, and Kono thought he looked suddenly a lot younger, like a lost kid. She often wondered what Steve, who she loved like a brother, would have been like if he'd grown up in a bigger family. If he hadn't lost his mother, if his dad hadn't sent him away. He did so well disguising this part of himself that didn't function quite like it should. She was glad he'd had Chin all these years to help him, but she thought maybe Danny was going to be the one who could fix him. If Steve let him.
“He was pointing out that my plan wasn't very well thought out,” Steve admitted, looking so sad Kono wanted to hug him. “He just goes about it in all the wrong ways.”
“That he does,” Chin said with a chuckle, standing up and clapping his hand on Steve's shoulder. “So what are you going to do to make it better? And I think you might need to work on an apology.”
“I need to ask Russell if he's got any intelligence about the Senussi,” Steve said, making Kono smile as his posture went from defeat back to focused determination in the matter of seconds. “And I should ask Ramses what he knows, too.”
“I've heard that Russell likes to take a drink in the Turf club,” Chin said with a little smile. “Ramses might also be there, although his reputation as a coward tends to keep his evenings free.”
“He's no more a coward than I am,” Steve said emphatically, and Kono had to agree.
Ramses Emerson seemed to her frighteningly brave, especially after Steve had told them stories about him and let them know he'd given Steve all kinds of information that only someone working for the intelligence services could have. He was playing what must be an excruciatingly difficult role, letting all of society think he was avoiding the duty many of their sons had undertaken, all the while working in the shadows to keep them safe. She liked to think she could do the same if she needed to, but she wasn't sure. Especially if she didn't have the support of her family. Not the family back in Hawaii that seemed to think she needed to find a husband, but the one here that consisted of Steve, Chin and now Danny.
Grace was running towards him across the desert, she was all smiles as though she hadn't seen him for an eternity. Behind her, Rachel was standing at the entrance to one Mamo's tents, wearing the robes of a Bedouin woman, but without a face veil. When he looked back at Grace, he realized she, too, was dressed like the one of the girls he'd seen at the camp.
“Daddy,” she shouted and threw her arms around his neck. “I missed you so much. We ate a camel.”
“Huh?” he managed in return, because that was confusing. And sickening. Camels weren't for eating. He wasn't sure what they should be for, hideous creatures, but eating was definitely not it.
“It was chewy,” she said, looking at him with those big brown eyes that he couldn't resist. “Are we going home?”
“Not yet, Monkey,” he said, hating that they had to stay in the desert. “It's not safe yet.”
“Will that be when the war's over?” she asked, but she was Rachel and they were in their old house in New Jersey.
“I don't know when that'll be,” he replied, which wasn't the answer to that question. “I need to keep you safe.”
“Of course you do, Danno.” She was Grace again and they were standing under the baking desert sun. “You need to go.”
“I do?” He didn't want to leave her, he'd only just arrived and he missed her so much.
“There's someone here for you,” she said, pointing over his shoulder.
“Remember, Danno loves you,” he said, squeezing her in a hug.
“Who's Danno?” Steve asked and Danny rolled over to answer him, but he wasn't in the desert, he was in his bed in Cairo.
He blinked into the darkness, disorientated and confused. He sifted though his memories trying to work out what was real. Had he been in the desert? He'd taken Grace and Rachel to Mamo's because they'd be safe there while the war raged around them. Had he done that or just dreamed it?
“Who's Danno?” Steve asked again from the darkness at the end of his bed.
“Jesus, Christ!” Danny yelled, his heart hammering in his chest. “What, in the name of all that's holy, are you doing here?”
“We need to go,” Steve said, stepping closer to the bed. “Before it gets light.”
“Are you actually insane?” Danny felt obliged to ask, although he suspected no one who really was admitted to it.
“Danny,” Steve said, well, he sounded a lot like he was whining. “Come on.”
Danny blinked at the man, the little he could see of him anyway. How could this be his life? In less than a week he'd gone from being a responsible father and diligent police officer to being woken in the middle of the night by madmen. “I thought I made it clear last night that this is not a good plan.”
“I know,” Steve agreed, stepping further forward, eager to make his point. “It wasn't, but I worked really hard to make it better. We all did.”
“You made Chin and Kono help you?” Danny asked, horrified at the thought of the two of them being forced to work through the night to fix what was his screw-up. His and Steve's.
“Chin shouted at me,” Steve admitted, sitting down on the side of the bed and looking for all the world like a sulking kid. “He told me I was being an ass and I needed to apologize to you.”
“I always knew the man was smart,” Danny quipped, before falling silent expecting Steve to fill the silence. “Well?”
“Well, what?”
“Are you going to apologize?” Danny asked, shuffling up the bed and sitting back against the headboard.
“Danny,” Steve complained, giving him what he probably thought was an imploring look. “I made a better plan. I did all the research.”
Danny looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He knew he should make Steve go through all this research he'd allegedly done. He suspected Chin and Kono's night had been very busy, and probably Kamekona's. He should make Steve talk him through the plan before he even got in the car, but it was pointless. He was going to go with Steve regardless because he didn't trust him on his own and Danny had to have his back. And the man was trying to apologize in his own completely inept way. It was sweet really.
God, Danny thought, he was so gone. “Alright. Let me get dressed.”
Steve grinned at him, his face lighting up like Grace's whenever she saw him. Danny felt as though something in his chest had bloomed open at the same instant something else twisted up. Steve was beautiful when he smiled. More beautiful, he corrected himself. Danny had been attracted to men before, even acted on it once, but Steve was something special.
Danny’s pulse quickened at the thought of making Steve smile, amongst other things, for reasons that had nothing to do with agreeing to go dashing about the desert. He could happily drag Steve into bed with him, spread him out on the rumpled sheets and lick him all over. It would be so easy to do. Well, up until the point Steve worked out what Danny’s intentions were and punched him in the mouth.
Taking a breath and holding it for a few moments, he pushed the thoughts of what he wanted to do to his partner away. He conjured up unpleasant memories of his ex-mother in law and willed certain over eager parts of his anatomy to behave. Feeling giddy and nauseous, as unsteady on his feet as a new born colt, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. Words, always his first defense, came spilling out to cover his nerves.
“Did Mrs. Hudson let you in?” he asked, turning towards Steve to see him shake his head. “How did you get it then? No, you know what? Don't tell me, because I'll only have to yell at you. I hope she's not in her room convinced there's a stranger here to murder her in her bed. She keeps telling me it'll happen one day, but frankly I think she's more likely to be offed by one of the lodgers she stings for extra rent.”
“You should come and live at my place,” Steve suggested, sounding hopelessly earnest in the dark. “I've got room and I wouldn't make your life difficult like she does.”
No, you'd make it difficult in totally different ways, Danny thought. “Let's just get this first piece of insanity dealt with before we start worrying about my living arrangements.”
Steve pulled the car over to the side of the well worn track they were on and turned off the engine. He wanted to get out into the desert as fast as he could, hence taking Danny's car again, but there was something he needed to do first.
“What's wrong?” Danny asked, sitting up from where he'd been dozing in the passenger seat.
“Nothing, I just wanted to show you something,” Steve said, waiting for Danny to spot what it was he wanted to share.
Danny blinked owlishly at him in the near dark before glancing over Steve's shoulder and taking in the spectacular view. In the east, the sun was just peeking its bright edge over the horizon, coloring the sky pink. Silhouetted against that delicate canvas, the three pyramids on the Giza plateau rose up, emerging out of the shadows as the light grew. Cairo with all its bustle and noise was waking in the distance and to the north, the lights of the Mena House hotel twinkled at the edge of the plateau. This was why people came to Egypt.
“Wow,” Danny finally murmured, turning to look at Steve. “That's something else.”
“My dad and me used to come out here,” Steve said in return, feeling the urge to tell Danny all the things he'd never really told a soul before. “It was horses back then, of course, and we'd come out slowly when it was still dark. And then, once it was light enough, we'd ride back, letting the horses have their heads and just run.”
“My dad taught me to play baseball,” Danny offered, probably guessing Steve didn't share much about his childhood. “But then we didn't have this on our doorstep.”
They sat in silence for a few more minutes. Steve had that same feeling he'd had as a kid, the first time he'd seen this sight with his dad next to him, explaining how the pyramids' ancient builders had worshiped the sun. He'd felt small, microscopic against the vastness of time that stretched out behind him to people who'd no doubt stood in the same spot and marveled at the things they'd built. He wished he'd seen the pyramids as they were built, covered in smooth, gleaming white limestone, tipped with a golden cap that reflected the sun's light.
“You should bring Grace out here one day,” Steve suggested, feeling suddenly overwhelmed by the eons that separated him from the pyramids. He needed to connect to the now, back to what they were doing and why. Danny's daughter, whom he hadn't yet met, anchored his partner in the now and Steve was starting to feel the same pull, the same need to make sure she was safe.
“I might just do that,” Danny agreed, stretching in his seat. “We should get on. I'll drive for a while so you can rest.”
Steve wanted to argue, but he was tired and he was trying to take more time to listen to Danny. Chin had been right the previous evening, and he wasn't going to ignore Danny, or the others, again if he could avoid it. Besides, it made more sense to let Danny drive this part of the journey, at least now it was mostly light, when the trackways were more used and easier to follow. Steve would be testing even his knowledge of the desert later on when they had to leave the track to Bahariya.
“Okay,” Steve agreed, getting out of the car and walking around the passenger side.
Danny gaped at him for a few seconds. “Who are you and what have you done with Steve McGarrett?”
“Ha ha,” Steve said, opening the car door.
Danny scrambled out, shaking his head and muttering to himself as he made his way to the driver's seat. Steve settled in and watched the other man adjust the driving position and get everything to his liking before he started the engine. Steve felt his eyes drift closed surprisingly quickly. He usually found it hard to trust other people to drive, or to simply be around him when he slept, but somehow this noisy, opinionated man had gotten past all his defenses. He supposed he should be worried, but he couldn't find the energy to care as he slipped into sleep.
Chapter 8