Well, here we are, at the end of what's been quite a ride for Steve and his team. I hope you've enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

I've left the ending open for a future sequel (I'm working on some ideas, Claire, and thanks so much for the inspiration!). But for now, I'll close this story with some issues resolved, and others left open for Team McGarrett to take on in the next.

Thank you again to everyone who has taken the time to leave reviews and suggestions, and I hope to be back here soon.

Calculated Risk - Chapter Ten

Target Acquired

Steve McGarrett knew the reaction that his question would cause. But he still asked it anyway.

"You sure you're up to this?"

Rolling his eyes, in a way that only he could, Danny then shot his friend an equally familiar glare – the same measures of appreciation and exasperation betraying themselves in a genuinely grateful smile.

"Yes, Mary Poppins, I'm sure. I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise," he said at last, recognizing that nannying concern for what it was, and too touched by it to be offended. His partner, his friend, was worried about him, and - well, that's what partners and friends did.

However independent you were, however fiercely you kept that independence, it was a good feeling.

Still picturing Steve flying over London's chimneytops as a beefed up Julie Andrews, Danny bit his cheeks against a tide of laughter, and explained, for the sixth time that morning, why they'd come to the ground of a potential enemy.

"Look, if she's really involved in this, if she knew about that ambush, the last person she'll be expecting to see striding into her office is me, right?"

Aneurysm-Face told him that Steve still wasn't happy, so Danny sighed and tried again – still tender ribs and lingering soreness restricting the usual rant to softly emphatic reasoning.

"Hey, you're always saying how well I read people, right? If she's in on this, I'll know. Okay?"

Faced with such logic, not to mention Jersey-side stubbornness, Steve finally nodded in reluctant defeat. He'd never admit it aloud, of course, or he'd never hear the end of it, but… no, Danny was right. With years of training and experience behind him, his partner could read people as well as any professional profiler. He could recognize lies and deception a mile off. So yes, if Governor Jameson really was in Hiro Noshimuri's pocket, if she'd had any knowledge on the attempt on Danny's life, then Danny would be able to see it.

He still made a point, though, of keeping his hand on Danny's shoulder as they entered her office – his own eyes searching her face for her reaction, before they met Danny's in private agreement.

The shock on her face as she strode forward to greet them was genuine. You couldn't fake a reaction like that.

"Daniel? My God, Laura told me what happened when I got back last night. She said you'd been hurt, but I had no idea it was this badly. Are you alright?"

Filing that seemingly innocuous comment away for later analysis, Danny smiled at her and nodded, accepting her offers of a comfortable seat and a reviving mug of coffee with politely courteous grace.

"Yes, ma'am. Kinda sore still, but… yes, I'm fine."

"We're still following up leads, Governor. Trying to identify who did this," Steve added quietly, the deceptive softness in his voice promising revenge for everything that his friend had suffered.

Pat Jameson had heard that tone, and seen that expression, enough times to know what they meant. Yet if she felt any disapproval, for the hell that was about to hit her island, she certainly didn't show it. Instead she just nodded, watching Danny with the same protective concern as he related his ordeal – every response subtly watched, analyzed and, even if she didn't know it, steadily built in her favour.

When she left them to fetch a fresh pot of coffee, Danny glanced at Steve, and shook his head.

"It isn't her, Steve. Even with her connections to Noshimuri, she wasn't in on that ambush."

Nodding agreement, Steve sighed through the same conflicting emotions of relief and frustration. She hadn't had any part in the plot to kill his partner, but they were still no closer to finding out who had, or who had leaked their movements to the hit squad that had attacked them.

As they drove back to the house, both hoped that Charlie had found them more leads to work on. Judging by the hive of activity that greeted them in the den, he'd certainly found something.

Amidst a clutter of papers and photographs, everyone was huddled over their clattering laptops. But it was left to Don to channel his brother's hyperspeed chatter into a softly calm summary.

"We have a new suspect, Steve. His name's Wo Fat. He's an associate of Hiro Noshimuri."

"Yeah, I've seen him before," Steve nodded, explaining the rest to his startled partner, and the rest of his equally surprised team. "You didn't see him, Danny, you'd already left with Hiro. But he was with the Noshimuris when we arrested Hiro at the golf course."

"Yeah, and he's just as much a charmer," Danny muttered, reading over Colby's shoulder. "You name it, he's had a hand in it. Drugs, prostitution, extortion, money laundering. But he's never been charged."

"Yeah, well, that's gonna change, Danno. He's up against us now," Steve replied just as quietly, his turn to stare now, as Chin dropped another gently broken bombshell.

"And look who else he knows, Steve. These were taken a few weeks ago, when he visited an inmate at Halawa."

Staring at the CCTV images on Chin's screen, Steve felt his throat constrict with a fresh surge of hatred. Damn it, he should have known. When he finally spoke, he put a lifetime of bitterness into a single word. A single name.

"Hesse."

Fighting back a tide of emotions, Steve looked back at the image in front of him while recalling Malmo's description of his mother's killer. A six foot Asian male. Wo Fat's profile and police ID photo logged him as a shade over five eleven. And for Steve, a seemingly unconnected encounter now took on a new, highly significant meaning. So did the smug 'I-know-something-you-don't' smirk that he'd seen on an equally arrogant face.

Everything was falling into place now. The investigation into HPD that had cost his parents their lives. The attack on him, the stolen Champ-box, and Mary's abduction. What had just happened to Danny and Colby. All of it now connected together.

There was only one way that someone who was involved in so much crime could evade justice. Someone in HPD was getting rid of any evidence that could expose him, and brutally killing anyone who tried to take him down.

Well, not any more. He'd ruined countless lives. Killed too many people. Escaped justice for too long. Enough was enough.

Glancing around at six equally determined faces, Steve finally smiled, so proudly, back at them. His team, both his own and the one he'd inherited, was on the case now, and that meant only one thing. Wo Fat, his mole in HPD, and anyone else who associated with them, were living on borrowed time.

Target acquired. Now he'd take that target down.