New Starts

Where Waldo

Steve stepped out of the car and we watched him walk away.

"So tell me about you," I said turning my gaze off Steve so I didn't have to watch.

"What would you like to know?" Danny asked angling his body so he also didn't have to watch and could talk to me easier.

"Why did you move to Hawaii?"

"What makes you think I moved and didn't grow up here?"

"One the fact you wear that to work," I said gesturing toward his outfit.

"My ex got remarried and moved here with my daughter. I wanted to be closer to her as she's my world and I want more time with her before she's grown up."

"Alright that's a cute reason."

"Why are you in Hawaii?"

I stiffened as my brain flashed back to memories I didn't want to remember. I quickly shoved them back in the box and locked it tight. "Got out of the Navy and wanted to travel."

"So why did the Governor make you work for us for two weeks if you want to travel?" Danny asked confused.

"I guess my old commander told her I was coming and that I needed to be kept busy."

"Why would you need to be kept busy?"

I clenched my jaw making sure the lid on those memories stayed firmly shut. "Maybe I'll tell you one day," I said with a forced smile.

Luckily before Danny could reply Steve slid back into the driver's seat. He looked at Danny then me, who still had the forced smile on my face.

"Let's listen to the radio." He said as he threw the car in reverse and hit the stereo.

I laid down in the backseat as an old song came on the radio.

"What the hell is this?" Danny asked finally after a minute.

"I like it," Steve answered.

"There is music and then there's whatever the hell that is."

Steve didn't answer and the radio quickly shut off.

"I know you do torture but I didn't expect torture on me."

"I liked it," came Steve's reply as the radio flicker back on.

"You guys fight like an old married couple," I laughed as I shut my eyes.

I could hear both of them grumble a response but couldn't make out the words. The lull of the music and the sound of the car soon has me drifting off to sleep.

"I wouldn't wake her."

"And why not you just want her to sleep in the back of the car? At night when there's a killer? Some over protective friend you are."

"You wake her up she's going to throttle you or punch you. She doesn't like being woken up."

I kept my eyes shut listening to Steve and Danny bickering again.

"You didn't even give her a gun to protect herself today either."

"She didn't have the right credentials yet. The Governor just got everything in order so she can have her badge and gun now."

"You guys are still bickering like a married couple," I said sitting up with a yawn.

"Good morning sleepy head!" Steve replied turning to face me as he opened the car door making the light turn on in the car.

I shielded my eyes blinking rapidly to adjust to the light. It was night out now, and we were sitting in front of the HQ. I rubbed my temples trying to clear the fog of sleep from my brain as Steve stepped out of the car. He pulled the seat forward and reached his hand toward me as Danny got out grumbling under his breath. I knocked Steve's hand out of the way and crawled out of the car taking a breath of the cool night air. It helped clear the fog from my brain.

"How long did I sleep?" I mumbled following them up the steps.

"Almost an hour," Danny responded holding the door open for me.

"I should have just skipped sleeping I feel hungover now."

"When was the last time you slept?" Steve asked glancing at me as he led the way inside.

"What's today?"

"The thirteenth."

"About 32 hours ago." I answered.

Steve stopped dead causing me to run right into his back and stumble back. My feet hit the edge of the stairs and I let out a yelp as the momentum was still pulling me backwards. A pair of arms wrapped around my waist pushing me back to the top of the stairs and back on balance.

"I gotcha," Danny responded as he helped me find my balance again. "You haven't slept in 32 hours?"

"Shit Ali I forgot you can't sleep on planes," Steve said turning toward me as Danny let go.

"I did tell you I was tired," I said with a forced laugh.

"I can drop you off at the house if you'd like?"

"No I'm fine I'm already here." I said striding past him and into the office room that Chin and Kono were waiting in.

"What have you guys found out?" Steve asked as he came in after me.

"This has happened before," Chin said pulling up different files on the tv. "This will be the third year that this has happened meaning these aren't random killings. They are result of a serial killer."

"And he seems to only kill couples, last time was three couples so I'm guessing he's not done killing. But the murders are all done on different islands meaning he probably isn't on Oahu anymore."

Steve's phone started ringing and he immediately answered. "Hello?.....we are on our way." He hung up the phone quickly. "HPD found Erica and Jake's rental car abandoned on the side of the road let's go, there might be a chance he is still on the island. Ali stay here with Kono and Chin see where you an help, as you said earlier today you don't have shoes to go around hiking."

"Oh wait the photos!" I quickly rushed past Steve and headed out to the Camaro and grabbed the stack of photos out of the backseat. Steve and Danny hurried down the steps as I stepped back.

"We will be back soon, don't murder anyone while I'm gone."

"If I was to murder anyone it's going to be you," I mumbled turning around and smacking into Danny.

He steadied me as his chest shook but he quickly covered his laugh with a cough. I ducked to the side of him and hurried up the steps as the sound of their bickering started again.I quickly made my way back inside with the photos.

"Let's scan these into the computer and we can start going through them," Kona said as she took the stack from me.

I followed her into her office with Chin.

"So you know Steve?" Chin said as he flopped down in one of the extra chairs.

"We were in the Navy together, I saved his ass a few times and since then it seems we were always in the same squad together it seems."

Kono brought the photos up on the screen and we fell silent as we begin sorting through the hundreds of photos. My eyes burned with the staring at the photos but suddenly three photos caught my eye. I passed the photos to Kono without a word and she glanced at them her eyes widening as she saw what I did. Each of those photos where a different place with Erica and Jake smiling and laughing at each other, but in the background was a man staring at them.