Fic: Pineapples Are Not The Only Fruit (H50, Steve/Danny, M) Part 5

[alassenya]

For introduction and warnings, see Part 1


Part 5

Chin met them at the airport when they flew back the next day. It was another bright sunny Sunday morning in Honolulu, and the airport was relatively quiet.

"Where are the other two?" asked Chin.

"They're on a later flight. They had to sort out the rental van and a couple of other things," answered Steve.

Danny suppressed a smirk. Gray had accidentally dented the van backing it into a parking space, so they were going to have to do a whole heap of paperwork before they could fly out. He didn't expect to see them back on Oahu before the afternoon.

They walked out to the SUV Chin had brought and stowed their bags.

"Good call on that human trafficker, brah," said Chin, as soon as they were on their way.

"What did you find?" asked Danny.

"His name is Sang Min. Born in China, came out here in the 80s as a kid with his parents. We don't have much in the way of a criminal file -- juvenile stuff, mostly -- but the guys in Organized Crime says he's known in the right circles as the man to go to if you need to get someone in or out of the islands on the quiet. They didn't care so much while it was just ones or twos, but lately -- since we took down Brian Wong's set-up last year -- it seems he's expanded into the wholesale market, and appears to be developing closer connections with the triads. He's starting to move serious numbers of people, so they've had him under surveillance. Unfortunately, the guy is as slippery as a snake, and they haven't been able to get anything they can use in court."

"I hate people-smugglers," muttered Steve.

"Yeah, me too," answered Danny. "You got anything we can use?"

"Not much. We know where he lives, but he's smart enough not to do business there. He has a legitimate small-scale import-export business with an office and a small warehouse in Honolulu Harbor, but it's very hard to get anyone in there. He only hires people he knows personally or on personal recommendation, and Honolulu is small enough that it's hard to find anyone who can work undercover for any length of time."

"What about bringing in someone from the mainland?" asked Danny.

"Can't do that, they'd stick out like a sore thumb," answered Steve.

"I didn't say he had to be white."

"No, it's not that. Islanders aren't like the rest of the country. We have our own dialect, a particular way of looking at the world. No one who didn’t grow up here would be able to fake it."

"He's right, Danny," Chin added. "Infiltration is pretty much impossible."

"Couldn’t we just raid the place?" asked Steve, a little wistfully.

"Couldn’t get a judge to agree we had probable cause."

"What about sentinel surveillance? Surely one of them has picked up something?"

"We've tried, but he has white noise generators going all the time, plus some sort of odor masker.

"And that isn't probable cause?" exclaimed Danny?

"According to OC, Sang Min claims that the white noise generator helps him to concentrate on all the paperwork the government makes him fill out, and the odor masker is to counteract the smell of diesel fuel, which gives him headaches.

"That is such a crock of shit. I want to arrest this guy for being annoying now."

"You and me both, buddy." Chin sounded tired, and Danny wondered how much sleep he'd got the night before. Probably no more than he had got himself. They were all too tired, and he hoped it wouldn't lead to mistakes being made.

"How close can you get to his warehouse without a warrant?" asked Steve.

"We can drive by the front or the back, no problem, but stopping for any length of time would be difficult. I'm not sure we could get access to one of the neighboring spaces without alerting him, either -- it's very much a closed world there."

"Roof?"

"Corrugated iron. No way you could be up there without them hearing you."

"Well, let's try a slow drive-by anyway. I might be able to hear something."

"You can hear through a white-noise generator?" Chin asked.

Steve looked at Danny. "I can try."

Danny considered that. If anyone could *do it, Steve could, but it was going to be hard, and there was a pretty high risk that the concentration would trigger a zone. "It's worth trying."

"OK," Chin replied, and turned onto the Sand Island Access Road.

Sang Min's warehouse wasn't one of the new shiny buildings that featured so prominently in Honolulu's business publications. It was old, poorly maintained, years overdue for a coat of paint, and the alleyway between it and the next building was littered with an assortment of crates and containers.

They did a slow circuit of the warehouse, but apart from a couple of guys by the door, there was nothing to see. Chin managed to stop the car on the far side of a container, and Steve closed his eyes. Danny could almost feel the power of his concentration as he dialed up hearing and shut down all other senses except touch. Danny put a hand on his arm and commenced a touch program that would -- he hoped -- stop Steve from zoning. As the minutes passed, he became less hopeful, but continued the random tapping, stroking and pinching of Steve's arm, making an effort to avoid falling into a regular pattern that would feed into a zone.

Unfortunately, there was nothing to hear. Steve tried for nearly fifteen minutes, but all he had to show for it was a blinding headache and tense shoulders. Danny handed him some Tylenol and rubbed his neck gently, easing out the knots.

He caught Chin looking at him and tried to stop himself from turning red, but he could tell from the heat in his face that he was failing. Luckily Steve was still looking over towards the warehouse so missed Danny's embarrassment completely.

"I'm sorry," said Steve. "That white-noise generator is industrial-grade. I could only make out snatches of conversation from people at the door -- at least, I think they were at the door of Sang Min's place, they might have been neighbors." He shrugged. "Someone is expecting a delivery later this morning, that's all I could get."

"Was there anything to indicate it might be illegal?"

"Not from what I heard."

Danny sighed. "Oh well, it was a long shot anyway. Come on, let's get back to the station, we can review the files and see if we can come up with a plan."

"OK. I could do with a coffee."

"We can stop at the Aloha Tower on the way."

"Good choice."

Chin started up the car and they made their way slowly to the exit.

There was a container truck coming through the gate as they got there - it was a tight turn and the driver was going very slowly, using both lanes of the drive to avoid hitting the fence. A dent in the gatepost and the crumbling remains of the kerb indicated that many other drivers weren't so careful.

Suddenly Steve's head snapped up and he looked around. He looked at the container on the back of the truck, then around at the various buildings. "Is there a school or a child-care center around here?" he asked Chin.

"Not that I know of. Why?"

"I can hear a kid crying. And ... someone trying to soothe them. Asian language, possibly Mandarin. People moving around, frightened ..."

Danny looked all around but there was nothing that looked like a residence, day-care or health center. When he looked back at Steve, he saw that the sentinel was concentrating on the truck's container, which was now passing them and proceeding into the dock area.

"The container?" he asked.

"Yes. At least ten people, maybe more." His nose wrinkled. "It stinks, too. They've been in there for several days."

Danny looked at Chin, who was already reaching for the radio. "Even if it's not heading for Sang Min, we have to take them down."

"I know." Chin called it in and asked for immediate backup, but from the look on his face he wasn't getting it. "Bad news," he told them. There's been an accident on the highway, all units have been called in to help. Best estimate is thirty minutes."

"Too long," said Steve. "Once the container is delivered the people will be split up and transferred. We need to get to them before they open it."

"Yeah," Danny agreed. "Did the driver see us call it in?"

"I don't think so," Chin said, turning the car around and following the truck as it wove through the dock.

Steve leaned over into the back and pulled his vest and gun out of his bag.

"I think this is our lucky day," murmured Danny as the truck turned between warehouses. "He's heading for Sang Min's place."

"Let me out," said Steve. "I'll approach from the other side. It'll take them fifteen minutes or so to offload the container, and their attention should be on the truck for most of that time."

"I'll come with you," Danny said instantly.

"No, I need you to give me info from this end - be my eyes."

"You don't have any spy-eyes?"

"Rosetti has them." He shrugged. "I wasn't expecting to need them so soon."

"OK then, I'll give you a running commentary. But stay out of sight -- they'll be keeping a close eye out for intruders."

"I'll be careful." He gave Danny a grin and slipped out of the car.

"You'd better be," Danny said under his breath.

"Looks like you two are getting on a whole lot better than you used to," said Chin with a smile.

"Bite me," said Danny, succinctly. "I'm just doing the job you volunteered me for."

"Sure," said Chin, his smile broadening into a knowing grin.

Chin parked the car behind a pile of containers. He and Danny quickly put on their vests, checked their weapons and made their way cautiously around the warehouse opposite Sang Min's. The truck had stopped right outside the main doors, about halfway down the long side of the building, and the driver was chatting with one of the men, handing him a clipboard. Chin got his phone out and started taking pictures.

"You think the driver's involved?" whispered Danny.

"Hard to tell. I got the impression from OC that he preferred to use his own guys, but would they be so careful about paperwork if he was?"

"False trail? Plausible deniability?"

"Maybe. We'll take him in, anyway, even if we can't charge him."

The driver climbed back into the cab and started up the crane mechanism to offload the container. It was a slow, laborious process but eventually the container was on the asphalt and the men were uncoupling the chains.

"Steve, don't move in yet," said Danny in a low voice. "We want to see them open the container if possible, to check the contents."

There was no acknowledgement that he could hear, of course, and he could only hope that Steve had heard and was prepared to wait patiently until Danny and Chin moved in.

"Do we let the truck go?" asked Chin, as the driver stowed the crane mechanism back on the trailer. "If he's not involved they aren't going to do anything until he's left."

"Yeah, I think so. We have the registration plate and photos. We can pick him up later."

"OK."

They watched as the truck moved slowly off. The men milling around the container became a lot more furtive as soon as it had left, casting anxious looks around the area. Danny and Chin ducked back behind the wall, hoping they hadn't been seen.

"I wish that backup would hurry up," Danny murmured. "It looks like they're going to open it."

"We'll have to move soon. They probably have vans inside the warehouse already."

"I guess we're lucky they didn't take the container inside. At least this way we get to see the people come out of it."

"Containers are a bitch to move without a crane, especially if the load shifts. My concern is they might wait for nightfall before moving the people out," said Chin, as he cautiously pushed his phone around the corner, took a photo and pulled it back. "No, I'm wrong. Looks like they're about to open it."

They peered around the corner. A lanky Asian man was coming out of the warehouse, flanked by a huge islander.

Danny could scarcely believe his eyes. "Wow. I haven't seen a mullet like that since the eighties," he whispered.

"That's Sang Min. Weird fashion sense, but don't let the haircut fool you. He's intelligent, cunning and slippery. Organized Crime's been trying to get him for a while, but he's too fly to do anything out in the open."

"I guess it would be a slap in the face for them if we get to take him down then?" asked Danny.

"Oh yeah, brah," said Chin, smiling broadly. "And Lieutenant Aguinaldo would be devastated."

"Couldn't happen to a better prick," Danny smiled back. They'd both suffered from the lieutenant's arrogant attitude and withering sarcasm on too many occasions not to relish the prospect of him being embarrassed.

Chin risked another glance around the corner. "He's at the door, I think they're going to open it."

"We could use that backup about now."

"Yeah."

Chin took a few more photos with the phone. "OK, they have the door open, Sang Min doesn't look at all surprised, so we're good to go as soon as backup's here."

No sooner had he said that than they heard a police siren, sounding close enough to be already in the dockyard. That was followed immediately by a torrent of voices from the warehouse and a loud clang as the container door was shut.

"Shit, didn't you tell them no sirens?" muttered Danny, hoping that the sound hadn't spiked for Steve.

"I did."

"Whoever it is, I'll have him strung up by his balls."

"I'll do more than that," promised Chin. "That was a deliberate warning."

"Oh fuck," breathed Danny. If it had been deliberate, it meant that someone was on the take, and that was never good.

He quickly ran over the situation, trying to salvage as much as he could. OK, so the bad guys had been warned, the container was locked up and everyone was grabbing the nearest weapon. On the plus side, they had Chin's photos, and the people in the container were definitely expected there, so with eyewitness testimony they still had a case. All they had to do now was survive the next few minutes and try to capture Sang Min alive so they could take him to court, but given the odds were approximately three to one, that was seriously in doubt.

At that moment a man came around the corner, brandishing a gun. He gave a yell as he saw them, and Danny's heart sank. Chin shot him without hesitation, but all hope of surprise was lost, and they heard the rest of the gang hurrying towards them.

"Now would be a good time for a diversion, Steve," said Danny, and squatted down.

They shot the next two who appeared. Both went down immediately, with multiple shots through the chest. Danny glanced at the three bodies in front of them and wondered if they'd get enough to build a barricade.

He heard footsteps behind him and turned. Two plain-clothes cops were running up, guns drawn.

"Honolulu Police! Drop your weapons!"

Fuck, I don't believe this, thought Danny. "We're HPD too. Bad guys are round the corner." He couldn't remember their names, but he knew Meka didn't like either of them.

"Drop your weapons!" one repeated.

Chin turned and gestured for Danny to keep a lookout while he dealt with this. "Kaleho, get your head out of your ass and shoot the ones who come around the corner. We have approximately ten armed bad guys, a container full of illegal immigrants and a sentinel at the other end of the warehouse."

"Do not shoot the sentinel," Danny snarled.

"Right. Do not shoot the sentinel. Tall, white, dark hair, vest. Our side. And try not to shoot the container either."

"Definitely do not shoot the container," said Danny. "Unarmed civilians."

"Sure," said one of the cops, presumably not Kaleho.

Danny wondered how long it would be until Sang Min realized he could use his illegals as hostages.

"Hey, police!" came a shout. "You gonna make a deal?" The voice had a curious sing-song quality, and Chin mouthed "Sang Min".

"No," Chin shouted back. "Put your weapons down and come out with your hands up."

"Not gonna happen. Maybe you should put your weapons down and then I won't shoot all these people."

Not long at all, obviously.

"Well, shit." That was Kaleho.

"Marks, tell HQ this has turned into a hostage situation," ordered Chin. "And get us more backup!"

"Sure," said Marks.

Danny kept watch, but there was no more movement. He was starting to worry about Steve - he'd asked for a diversion but so far there had been nothing. Had the sentinel zoned? Had he been captured? Was he all right? He wished that he had one of the semi-concealed radio sets the SEALs wore so that Steve could talk to him, but he had nothing. Communication was one-way only, and he would just have to hope that everything was going well.

"You listenin' to me?" called Sang Min. "Do I have to show you how serious I am?"

"We can tell you're serious," Chin attempted to placate him. "Don't make this a hostage situation."

"I think it's a little late for that," came the reply.

Then there was a single shot. Danny and Chin looked at each other, aghast. Had they just precipitated Sang Min into killing one of the civilians? There was a shout and a flurry of shots, and they realized -- with some relief -- that Steve must have shot one Sang Min or one of his men. They risked peeking around the corner, and saw that everyone's attention was towards the far end of the warehouse. Danny took the opportunity to drop the one he had a clear sight on, and Chin managed to take out the one hugging the wall, trying to sneak up on them, though not without having to duck quickly to avoid the bullet that flew past him.

With shots coming from both ends of the alley, Sang Min's remaining men panicked. Two of them ran straight past Danny and Chin, only to encounter Marks, on his way back from the car. Surrounded by police, they gave up, dropping their guns on the asphalt and raising their hands.

Danny left Chin and the other two to secure them and ran to the container, using it as a shield while he checked the warehouse entrance. Sang Min was on the ground, cursing a streak and clutching his wrist. Another man lay nearby, bleeding from a head wound. That made seven accounted for, but he didn't know how many more might be in the warehouse - they had only seen five when the truck was there, after all.

He kicked away Sang Min's gun and reached behind him for his handcuffs. "Game's over, sunshine. Roll over so I can cuff you."

"Go to hell."

"I don't think so," said Danny approaching him. "Roll over onto your front or I'll shoot you."

"You already shot me."

"Wasn't me, but I don't mind contributing to the cause if I have to."

He was startled by two more shots coming from the other side of the warehouse. He dropped into a squat, automatically scanning for threats, but he couldn't see anyone aiming at him. Naturally, Sang Min decided to try his luck while Danny was distracted and made a break for freedom, knocking Danny over in the process. His head hit the ground with a thump and he felt dazed. He could feel someone trying to wrest his gun away from him, but he couldn't allow that. Then his head was lifted and thumped against the asphalt, and all the lights went out.

* * *

When he came to -- which, as he worked out afterwards, was only a few minutes later -- he was in Steve's arms, and the sentinel was examining him frantically. "Danny, Danny, are you all right?"

"Mmm," he groaned. "Head hurts."

"Oh, thank Christ," said Steve, cradling Danny to his chest for a second before resuming his examination, then burying his head against Danny's neck and taking deep breaths in, as if he was absorbing Danny's scent.

"Sang Min," muttered Danny, looking around. "Where is the mullet-headed son of a bitch?"

"Chin has him, I think. He tried to get away, I shot him."

"I hope you didn't kill him."

"Don't know. Don't really care."

"You'll care soon enough if we find out he's our only lead."

"He hurt you," said Steve, simply, as if it made everything clear -- which, to some extent, it did.

Danny gave an exasperated sigh. "You are going to have to get those caveman tendencies under control, you know. You're supposed be getting information, not a body count."

"I think you managed that on your own quite well."

Danny had the grace to look a little sheepish. He and Chin between them had got five that he knew of, which was pretty much a record for him. He wondered if Steve's trigger-happy nature was rubbing off on him, then thought about other forms of rubbing off and then cursed himself for using that phrase, since it conjured up images far too stimulating for business hours. He reminded himself -- again -- that Steve would be leaving the islands as soon as Hesse was in custody or dead, and indulging in sexual fantasies was not going to make the eventual separation any easier to deal with.

There was a noise from inside the container behind them.

"Have you opened it up yet?" he asked.

It was Steve's turn to look sheepish. "Erm, no," he admitted. "I was checking you were still alive first."

Danny knew he shouldn't smile, but he did anyway. "It's OK, babe," he said softly. "I'm fine, apart from the headache that killed Elvis, so now we can let the people out of the container and make sure none of them got hit in the crossfire."

Steve concentrated for a moment. "I don't think so."

"Good. Now help me up."

They got up and moved around to the door of the container. Steve unbarred it and opened the door, coughing a little at the stench that flowed out. He spoke softly in what Danny presumed was Mandarin, though he couldn't be sure. At least two of the people inside understood him, because they answered. After a few more words, Steve stepped aside and let them out into the fresh air. They blinked as they encountered the bright Hawaiian sun, and stood around in the alleyway, still huddling in their family groups. It didn't need Danny's empathic sense to know that relief at being out of the container was mixed with equal parts anxiety at what the future might hold for them. They weren't going to get residency visas, and they certainly weren't going to get their money back from Sang Min, so they were doubly out of luck.

Chin and Kaleho approached them. "Are they all OK?" asked Chin.

"Yes, though they're understandably anxious. They'll need check-ups, they may be dehydrated and they definitely need showers, but I don't think any of them got hurt."

"Good. I've called Immigration, they'll be here in half an hour with a bus."

"You speak Mandarin?" asked Steve.

"No, brah, Cantonese."

"OK. They're all from northern China, mostly Mandarin speakers, plus a Shanghainese family," he indicated the small group standing to one side. "We'll need interpreters, since none of them speak much English."

"I'll let them know," said Chin, and pulled out his phone.

There were more police cars pulling up now -- typical, thought Danny, everyone turns up when the action's over -- and officers were milling around looking for things to do. There was more than one respectful look cast in their direction as Marks explained that the bodies were all down to Chin and Danny. Two of the junior uniforms were sent over to keep an eye on the immigrants, and Danny, Steve and Chin made their way up the alley towards the SUV.

"Should have got that coffee before," muttered Danny.

"Yeah, it's going to be a while now," Chin replied, opening up the car and taking off his vest.

"Can we go back via Liliha?"

"You need a coco puff fix?"

"Absolutely. Coffee and coco puffs, breakfast of champions."

"He needs to get checked out first," Steve interrupted.

"I'm fine."

"You were unconscious."

"I have a little headache, that's all."

Steve just looked at him. Too late, Danny remembered that he was trying to fool sentinel, and sighed. "All right, it's a big headache. And I'm feeling like a lie-down would be a good idea, but honestly, that's all. No nausea, no photophobia, no weird flashing lights. Just a headache."

"You're still getting checked out before you eat or drink anything."

"Yes, ma," he grumbled, and got a smile in return.

"Just looking out for my guide," said Steve, and the sudden lurch in Danny's chest was so strong it was almost painful.

There is no future in this, he told himself again, and turned away. He could feel Steve's confusion, followed by resignation, and wished he could simply melt into his sentinel's arms, but life was always unfair. They had Sang Min to question and Hesse to find, and then it would all be over. He had to remember that. It would all be over and he would be alone again and he would have to learn to deal with it.

He stifled another sigh and got into the car.

Part 6