Chapter 12

"Aww, come on, man. What'd I do this time? I swear I've been staying away from anyone in a uniform," Fish whined when he saw Torres.

Torres grinned at him. "What, no 'hi how are ya, Nicky?' And here I thought we were best buds," he said, pouting.

"Is that what you call it? Last time I was here, it took me a week to get the stains out of my underwear because of you," Fish shot back. "What do you want this time?"

"Not you, that's for sure," Torres said, laying a photograph of Fish and Dr. Marks on the table. "We want your dealer."

"What do I get out of it?" Fish demanded.

"Not getting busted for having the stuff on you in the first place?" Torres asked. "We just want this guy, and that means setting up a little tea party with a few extra eyes."

"And you'll let me off the drug charges?" Fish demanded.

"This time, yeah," Torres said. "Sorry, Fish, but we got bigger fish to fry, and you're just a little minnow compared to the great big shark we're after."

Fish didn't look too happy about that, as evidenced by the way he folded his arms across his chest. "And if he shoots me, then what?"

"Then we get him for your murder, and you get a pretty nice little plot of land to spend the rest of eternity in."

Fish eyed him. "I want to be facing the sunrise, and not in the same place as all those other guys."

"We can do that," Torres said, already thinking of quite a few places he could stick Fish's cremated remains, and not all of them were in a cemetery. Like the bottom of the nearest river, he thought. How's that for not being in the same place as all those other guys? "But if you screw this up, the only thing that's going to happen to your remains is they will be in the nearest fireplace, and that's if you're lucky."

"And if I'm not?"

"I'd really hate to pollute the river," Torres said. Fish gulped at the hidden meaning. "You give us your dealer, specifically this guy, I don't bury you alive and you get to live another day. You don't, and this goes sideways, not only will I bury you alive, I'll personally make sure you dig your own grave while I'm at it." And he gave Fish his meanest tough-guy look.

Torres left the room, laughing, a few minutes later. Fish had made a call and Dr. Marks had agreed to meet him for a buy at the regular location in about an hour. Gibbs and Cooper would be watching but remain hidden, as Dr. Marks had met them prior. However, on scene would be Sergeant Fairchild and Duncrest for CID, and McGee and Bishop for NCIS, as Torres would make Fish too nervous and possibly blow their cover, but he would be hidden and watching. Fish, himself, was nearby, waiting at what he called his usual spot, and he was hooked up to both a camera and a recorder. His instructions were simple; make the buy and ask if Dr. Marks was going to keep doing this, as he knew someone who was looking for what Dr. Marks was selling, and then get out of the area and back to Torres.

As for Sloane and Sky, Sloane was taking Sky shopping for some badly needed clothes and personal items. As soon as Dr. Marks was caught, Sky and Makana would be on the next available flight out of DC and straight to Oahu, even if that meant a military flight. Neither federal agency was taking the chance that Dr. Marks might retaliate against Skylar, either directly or through one of his so-called buddies.

"You know, this is a very nice little luncheon area," McGee said to Bishop. "Might come here again, after all this is over, with Deliah and the twins."

"Sounds like a good idea," Bishop said, savoring her coffee. "Their menu looks decent enough, and I'm hungry."

"How's our mutual friend doing? I understand she was shot at?" Cooper asked over the radio.

"Ducky said she's got a cracked chest bone, and a whole lotta bruises, but she's okay," Torres said from his position.

"She's a tough lady," Duncrest said. "Takes a lot of guts to be willing to do what she's done and still be willing to keep doing it."

"She wants to open her own vet clinic to serve low income families, just like this guy does on Dr. Jeff Rocky Mountain Vet," Bishop said.

"I wish her well," Cooper said. "And I'm not wishing this guy well. Heads up; company's coming."

Sure enough, Dr. Marks was heading right for a table in the luncheon.

"Fish, you're on," Gibbs said.

Fish moved in, and quickly approached Dr. Marks. "Hey man, how's it going?" he asked, offering his hand, which also had the money hidden in it.

"I'm good, I'm good. And you?" Dr. Marks asked, shaking Fish's hand with a barely concealed look of disgust on his face.

"Been better these days. Listen, man, a buddy of mine, he wants to know if you're gonna keep with the stuff because he's looking to buy," Fish said.

Dr. Marks shrugged. "Hard to say at this point. Things are getting a bit hot here, so I might have to pull up stakes and move to a cooler climate."

"I hear ya, man, I hear ya. Thanks anyway," Fish said.

"Oh, by the way, friendly warning; if certain people were to find out about our mutual business, well, it wouldn't be very good, now, would it?" Dr. Marks said, smiling.

"What business?" Fish asked. "My only business is staying alive."

"And that's the way it should be," Dr. Marks said. "Have a nice day."

"You too, man," Fish said, backing away and quickly leaving the area. As soon as he was out of sight of Dr. Marks, Gibbs gave the order.

"Move in," he said. "Torres, get the gear off of Fish and get him out of here."

A chorus of "Moving in"'s reached Gibbs ears, and Torres said, "Got him and getting the gear now."

"Dr. Marks," Cooper said, going over to the table the doctor was sitting at, and sitting down casually.

"Staff Sergeant Cooper," Dr. Marks said coldly. He glanced up at Gibbs, who sat down across from him. "I see you brought your lackey."

Both men chuckled. "Yeah, about that, Doc, we kind of have a bit of a problem," Cooper said. "You see, we secured a warrant for your house, and my people are currently tearing it apart. I'm betting we're going to find the gun that you used to murder Private Cameron with. We will also find the gun that you used to try and kill Skylar Raven with."

"I didn't do anything," Dr. Marks said calmly.

Gibbs laughed and accepted the phone McGee handed him, which was displaying the video they had gotten from Skylar's camera from the night before.

"Fine. There's just one little thing, Skylar. You don't like being threatened. Well, neither do I," came Dr. Marks' voice from the video.

"And just what are you going to do with that damn gun of yours?" Skylar demanded.

"You're right; I am dealing drugs. My wife likes a certain lifestyle, and I've discovered that so do I. And if that means dealing with low-lifes who can't stay away from the kind of garbage that the drugs I have offer, well, that's no skin off my nose. They'll be dead one way or another. As for you, you stupid bitch, you'll be joining them."

And the gun fired.

"We have you for attempted murder," Gibbs said, watching as Dr. Marks face went a bit pale.

Duncrest handed Cooper a video she'd just gotten from Torres. "And we have you for the drug dealing," Cooper said, studying the video. "Very nice picture of you."

"Now, I don't know how well the attempted murder charge will stick," Gibbs said, leaning forward and lacing his fingers together, "but with regards to Dr. Yun and Private Cameron, oh I think we can make something stick, don't you, Sarge?" he asked Cooper.

"I look forward to it," Cooper said, smiling coldly at Dr. Marks. "The way I see it, right now, is you can do this one of two ways. You can either come with us quietly and peacefully and we can avoid all sorts of public embarrassment, or we can have you arrested right here, right now, and everyone, and I do mean everyone, will know just what kind of garbage you really are." He reached behind him and held up a pair of cuffs. "Your call."

"I want a lawyer," Dr. Marks said.

"You're gonna need one," Cooper said, standing up. "You're under arrest for murder, attempted murder, selling and possession of illegal narcotics, possession of illegal narcotics with intent to distribute, theft of restricted narcotics, and I'm pretty sure we can add arson to that list. Get up and put your hands behind your back." As Cooper cuffed Dr. Marks, who was looking none too happy with life, he continued. "I do believe I told you what CID's motto was."

"Do What Has To Be Done," Fairchild said.

"And we did," Duncrest said.

"And we will keep doing so," Cooper said. "Let's go."

A day later:

"Dr. Marks is being charged in connection to your husband's death," Gibbs told Kayoko Yun, Dr. Yun's wife. He and Sky were at Dr. Yun's funeral, where he was being cremated, in accordance to his final wishes. It was one of the last things Sky wanted to do before she left for Oahu with her new name and new life.

Kayoko nodded. She was dressed in a black dress suit, and her two sons, Chan-woo and Jong-hyuk, were beside her. Both boys were trying to look strong and emotionless, as per their cultures, but it was obvious they were hurting.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you for everything."

Sky pulled back a corner of her black dress shirt, showing a new tattoo on the left side of her chest; a group of cherry blossoms on a branch with some petals flying away. "This is in his memory," she explained. "He loved the blossoms, and said he always looked forward to when they bloomed."

"It's beautiful," Kayoko said, her eyes misting. "Will you be here for the trial?"

Both Gibbs and Sky shook their heads. "There won't be a trial," Gibbs explained. "He confessed; there was too much evidence against him and if he tried to take his chances with a trial, he would lose and he would be subjected to even worse humiliation than he already was, and he knew it."

"I see," Kayoko said.

"Do you know why he wanted our father dead?" Chan-woo asked.

"Hatred. Pure and simple hatred," Gibbs explained. "Your father was a good doctor, a good man, and a good officer, and he wasn't born in America, and Dr. Marks couldn't stand that."

"Seems to be a lot of that going around," Jong-hyuk said bitterly.

"There is," Gibbs said. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know," Jong-hyuk admitted. "Right now, I'm trying not to be angry, but…"

"So be angry," Sky said. "Be angry, be sad, be whatever it is that you feel, as long as you don't let that anger control you and have you doing stupid things, like lashing out at innocent people, even if they are idiots like Dr. Marks."

"So what do you suggest we do?" Jong-hyuk asked bitterly. "Let it go? Pretend it doesn't hurt?"

"No. But if you start lashing out at people who don't like you for your nationality or your skin or your eyes, or even who you choose to bounce the mattress with, then you're going to prove them right," Sky said. "You can't change what people will think; I get plenty of that, trust me. But what you can do is change the conversation. Be the kind of person you think your dad would have liked. I know he was pretty proud of you guys for who you are now." She smiled and shrugged. "If I was gonna remember him, I'd remember him for his kindness. He was always kind, didn't matter if it was a person or an animal. I'm not Army, but he was kind to me, and he always had something to teach, and that's what I'm gonna remember the most. The guy who killed him," again she shrugged, "he's not worth remembering. The only thing I'm going to remember about him is that he was a jerk and he was instrumental in taking away a bit of good in this world. That's going to catch up to him; always does."

"Do you really believe that?" Jong-hyuk asked.

Sky smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I do, and I'm going to keep believing that, because that's what's going to keep me moving forward."

Gibbs looked at Sky, and thought, And somehow, I believe you. You'll be just fine.

Two weeks later:

"Why are we here?" Detective Danny Williams asked, as Commander Steve McGarrett led the way into what looked like a veterinary clinic, with Eddie the former drug-dog-turned Five-0 dog on a leash.

"Want to check in on someone. Protected witness DC NCIS sent us, want to see how she's doing," McGarrett explained, after he checked in with the receptionist.

"A protected witness? And you're checking up on her personally? Since when?" Danny demanded.

"Since I got the file two weeks ago and haven't had time to catch up to her," Steve said. "Besides, it never hurts to make friends with a vet, especially with Eddie."

Danny grinned at him. "And you're sweet on her."

"I am not! It's simple professional courtesy!" Steve shot back. "NCIS asked us to keep an eye out for her, make sure she's safe and doing okay."

"And you couldn't have sent, I dunno, Junior or Tani to do that?" Danny shot back.

"They don't have pets," Steve reminded him. "We have Eddie here."

Before Danny could fire something back, they were called into an exam room, where they were greeted by a woman with a shaved head, a seahorse tattoo in one ear, and in colorful scrubs, a stethoscope around her neck.

"Hi there. I'm Abalone Seymour. Is this Eddie?" the woman asked, crouching down to cuddle with the wagging dog.

"That's right. I'm Commander Steve McGarrett and this is Detective Danny Williams, Hawaii Five-0," Steve said, shaking her hand when he offered it. "How've you been settling in, Skylar?" he asked gently.

The woman froze when she heard the name, but relaxed a bit when both men showed her their badges.

"I'm doing okay. Climate's taking a bit of adjusting, but I'm doing okay," Abalone said. "What do you know?"

"I know you're a witness to the murder of an Army officer caused by a Marine but orchestrated by another Army officer, and said officer is currently in jail but both CID and NCIS had concerns he might try and come after you because he was also dealing and had apparently made a few friends who owed him a few favours," Steve said. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a business card. "If you ever need anything, even if it's just someone to talk to, you can call me," he said, writing his personal cell phone number on the back, before giving her the card.

She hesitated. "Do you know anyone, like counselor-type, who can be trusted with these kinds of things? Agent Daniels, my contact here, said I couldn't talk about it to anyone, and he pretty much emphasized that word, but the problem is, the nightmares ..."

"I know someone, and she's a trauma counselor and she can be trusted," Steve said, pulling out his phone and looking up a contact. "Her name is Amy, and she's fantastic. I'll put her in touch with you, because you shouldn't have to deal with what happened alone."

"Sounds like agent Daniels is a bit of a jerk," Danny said.

"He's, I dunno, maybe a bit resentful? I dunno," Abalone said. "Anyway, I will keep this in mind, and in the meantime, let's take care of this fine example of a dog," she said, turning her attention to Eddie. She lifted him up on to the table and started checking him over. "You are a handsome beast, you are, and you are in fantastic shape. Your coat, aww, thank you," she cooed when Eddie covered her in dog kisses.

And Danny grinned at Steve, who was watching Abalone and he privately bet anything anyone would like that his partner was wishing Abalone would pay attention to him the way she was with Eddie.

Before they left, Steve quietly told Abalone, "When you're with us, you're safe. No one will hurt you when you're around me. I promise you. You have a friend, if you need it."

And she smiled at him.

Four months later:

"I distinctly recall you telling me that when I was around you, no one would hurt me, that I was safe," Abalone snarled at Steve, shaking the dust out of her hair from the plaster around the walls.

"You're still alive, aren't you?" Steve shot back, brushing off the plaster from his tactical vest.

"You're not going to be if I get my hands on a scalpel, you walking netherandral!" Abalone shot back.

To be continued… maybe.