Hawaii Five-0 Imagines

Chapter 4

Alyssa was still thinking about what had happened that day. If that bullet had been any closer, she would have had much more than scratches to deal with. She pushed the thought away – she did not want to think about those possibilities – no cop ever did.

Her thoughts then naturally flowed to the Five-O team. She watched them interact at headquarters and they were an interesting bunch, to say the least... She did not know much about any of them, but she knew they were a crack law enforcement team and observing them she could see why. They were so different, but together they made sense. They were more than a team.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Ohana", she mouthed the word with a sour twist of her mouth. That's what they would say. They would say they were family. Alyssa snorted a cynical laugh... O, Lord. In twenty-five years of life in Hawaii, she had heard that word so much. She was yet to experience it. She knew she did not believe in it.

All of a sudden, she stopped walking. Somebody was behind her and approaching fast. Alyssa tensed and prepared. She felt a hand roughly grab her shoulder. She yelled loudly, turned and threw the bag of groceries at him. That lowed him for a moment. The man reached out for her again. She ducked his grasp, grabbed the arm and turned until his arm was pinned behind him. She continued the upward motion on his arm and shoulder until he dropped to his knees. He was able to push off the ground and

force her back. She recovered, stood and aimed a perfect roundhouse kick to the side of his head. The man dropped like a stone.

Breathing hard, she reached into her purse for the spare set of cuffs and her phone. She called the station for a cruiser to come and get her and her assailant. After she hung up, she stared at the phone for a while, reached into her pocket, got McGarrett's card and called him too.

"Hi, Steve. It's Alyssa. I'm sure its nothing, but somebody just tried to mug me."

Steve was on his way home when his cell phone rang... "What the hell is going on?" he muttered. Two incidents involving Alyssa in one day could not be a coincidence. He swore and turned his truck around back toward the station.

Steve stopped to see Alyssa's assailant in the holding cell. He was a big man – 6 feet at least and easily three hundred pounds. He had the look of a former boxer. He was nursing a sprained shoulder and a very bad headache. He checked the possessions that he had with him. A rag to be used to gag Alyssa and some handcuffs were all that were found. This guy had to be somehow connected to the sniper this afternoon, but how?

Steve walked into the main office area of the station and saw Alyssa sitting at a desk filling out paperwork. She looked up. "Before you ask. I am OK. Son of a Bitch never touched me."

"You certainly did a number on him though," Steve said.

"Second-degree black belt, Kenpo Karate," Alyssa said with a touch of pride.

Steve raised an eyebrow in question. "Boys in foster care seem to think that the girls are available for their entertainment and enjoyment, " Alyssa said bitterly. " The first time a boy touched me, I found a free karate class at the "Y". The next time they tried to force me, I broke the nose of one and the arm of the other. They left me alone after that, but I continued with the karate training."

Steve was troubled by this response. Did it mean that the first time she had been... His mind shied away from the thought. Kono was right, the kid had had a hell of a start in life.

"I am taking you home," he said.

"No. You are not." This is some type of mugging, but the poor guy picked the wrong girl. Nothing to worry about."

"If you think this is nothing, why did you call me?" Steve countered. "Somebody tried to shoot you early today, and now somebody tried to assault you. I know you are not stupid so I know you cannot believe that this is a coincidence."

Alyssa looked at Steve, but eventually, she had to look away from the intensity in his eyes. "What do you care?" That sounded combative, Alyssa thought, but she did not care. She was scared and annoyed and she did not like feeling out of control. And what the hell was the head of Five-O doing hanging around? None of this made sense and that made her nervous and uncomfortable.

"I care, OK. You are a good cop and somebody is out to hurt you. I am not OK with that on any level... You probably could use a friend or two right now and I am stepping up. Frankly, I figured you'd be grateful." Steve immediately knew that this was the wrong thing to say. He saw hurt cloud Alyssa's eyes. "Look," he said gently, "There is something going on and I want to help you solve it. That's it. Simple." Then an idea struck. "Kenpo karate, right? Second degree Black Belt? How about a sparring match. Loser buys dinner."

"You are on. Where?" Alyssa was intrigued.

"I have a friend who'll let me borrow his place." Steve was already reaching for the phone. "Come on. I'll drive."

They started with Bo Staffs. Steve was taller, stronger and had reached, but Alyssa was quicker and she was strategic. She watched as Steve spun the staff over his head, then in front, then above his head again. He was trying to entice her to approach, but she circled him warily waiting for the right time to strike. There it was. The spin hesitated just a second. She quickly moved her staff to sweep at Steve's feet. He did not expect that and went down hard.

"One. Zero."

Steve recovered and now the two of them circled each other. Steve struck and Alyssa knocked the hit away, spinning her body to put the full energy of that spin into a strike across Steves midsection. He blocked and used a jab into her stomach to knock her backward.

"One. One," he called.

Alyssa held the staff in front of her and slowly spun it approaching Steve with each move. He defended while moving back. She noticed a hesitation in the step, a quick look down. She changed direction and tapped Steve on top of his head.

"Two. One".

Steve changed tactics and charged. His reach and additional weight were an advantage as he delivered as he touched Alyssa on the shoulder. She appreciated his control. If he had not pulled back, she would be nursing a hell of a bruise if not a broken shoulder...

"Two. Two"

The sparring continued. But now the two opponents had the measure of each other and every strike had a counterstrike and neither one could score the point. After forty minutes, and without a word, the two mutually decided to call a draw. They collapsed on the mat breathing hard.

"That was some of the best sparrings I have ever seen," Steve panted.

"You should see my hand," Alyssa snarked.

"Another time. I'm hungry. Hit the showers. I'll see what the others are doing and I'll treat to pizza and beer".

Thirty minutes later, with pizza and beer on the way, Steve had to admit that he was having a good time. Danny had gone home to Grace, but Kono and Chin met them at the restaurant. They talked and laughed. All he knew was that this felt normal and right to have Alyssa there.

Alyssa too was having a surprisingly good time. She was still not sure why an HPD officer with a run of bad luck would merit this attention, but what the hell, the pizza, and beer were good, but she hated all the questions that Steve was asking.

"Why are you asking all these questions," Alyssa flared. "I am sure you have already checked up on me and you know all this," she did not notice Kono hiding a cough behind the napkin."What do you want to know? I really have no secrets. The foster system taught me that."

"It is interesting that you do not know anything about your mom," Steve said. "I was just wondering...."

"Yeah, me too. I really don't know anything. I guess my mom did not want me so she left me at the hospital and left. She probably went back to her husband and kids." Steve cringed at this. Alyssa was right, of course, but it did not make him feel any less guilty or any less angry at his mother for doing this to a baby.

"How did you like working undercover?" Steve asked.

"You changed the subject," Alyssa smiled. "But I liked it. I hope to have opportunities to do more."

"That's good," Steve said rather lamely. "Five-O is always on the lookout for people with potential." Kono and Chin just stare at him.