Epilogue

"What news do you have on that flashlight?" Steve asked, bursting into headquarters. "I need it back today or Natalie is going to have a meltdown."

Three heads turned toward him, but only one gave an answer. "The guys at the lab found a lot of fingerprints," Chin informed him, "but they all belong to Natalie."

"What?"

"They checked everything inside and out," Kono added.

"That leaves us with nothing," Steve said crossing his arms.

"Maybe you should talk to Natalie again," Danny offered.

"I can't do that, it upsets her and Alex isn't' here to pick up the pieces if she falls apart."

"Is it absolutely necessary that we find this person?" Kono questioned. "I mean he or she did help us out."

"We can't have another vigilante running around," Danny said. "We have our hands full with our resident Ninja." His comment earned him a glare from Steve.

"You're right," Chin agreed, "but we don't have anything substantial to go on. "All we know is the person is a highly skilled individual and leaves without a trace. We can't tie up resources looking for someone we may never find."

"I can't just let this go," Steve said. "Come on, Danny, we're going to see if Keller's right hand man can tell us anything about our vigilante other than 'it was dark'. Give me your keys, I'll drive."

Chin and Kono smiled as Danny let out a frustrated sigh. Shaking his head he replied, "Therapy, McGarrett, you need therapy."

"Glad to have you back, boss," Chin said.

"Now things can get back to normal around here, just as soon as you give him the keys, Danny," Kono smirked.

"Why do you people hate me?" Danny wondered. He reluctantly held up his keys in surrender as the door swung open and a young man walked in carrying a manila envelope.

"This was delivered for you, Commander McGarrett," the man said handing the envelope to Steve.

"Who delivered it?" Steve asked, glancing at his name which was typed on the front instead of hand written like the others he had received.

"I don't know, sir. I was just told to bring it to you."

The man left as Steve opened the envelope and pulled out the contents. It was a USB flash drive which he held up for the others to see.

"I don't remember this being in my dad's toolbox," Steve said.

"Let's see what's on it," Chin suggested.

The others waited as Chin opened the only file on the drive which contained four video clips. He pulled up the first one and they all watched in silence.

Steve's face darkened as he recognized the two men whose images were captured on the video.

"What the hell?" Danny whispered in disbelief.

The two cousins' faces held a look of shock.

"Chin, play the other clips," Steve ordered.

The last three videos clips revealed the same two men, only in different settings over the past four years, according to the date shown on the video.

Seeing these men together on the same screen translated into a nightmare for Steve. His heart pounded and his stomach churned while his mind raced through possible scenarios as to why they would be meeting.

Steve swallowed hard before he voiced the thought on everyone's mind. "What the hell is Keller doing with Wo Fat?"

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

The radiant sunshine warmed everything it touched, except for the shadowy figure of a young man standing over an engraved stone marker. A pained expression covered his face as he stared down at the name John McGarrett. His blue eyes wandered over the description of the man who was buried there:

Lt. Navy

Vietnam

DET. HPD

Beloved husband and father

Nate let out a shuddered breath and closed his eyes for a moment. He knew his father had been in the Navy and had been a respected detective for HPD, but to Nate, John McGarrett was just his dad.

Interesting, he thought, the family part is last. That's how it felt most of the time. We were last.

Nate hardly knew his dad, but he did not blame him for that. He understood that his father had not meant to put his family after everything else. John McGarrett had been a focused man and his job had not been one he could leave back at the office. It followed him home. Literally. His wife's death was proof of that.

Nate's heart twisted within him at the thought of his beautiful mother. If he could cry he would, but it had been a long time since any tears had fallen from his eyes.

The day she died she had shopping to do and Nate had begged her to let him go with her. He remembered his mother telling him, "Your daddy needs help fixing the car. Why don't you help him. I'll be back before you know it. I love you, Jamie."

Nate's mother was the only one who had called him 'Jamie'; it was her special name for him. He knew she had wanted his first name to be 'James', after her younger brother, but his father had been adamant that his first name be 'Nathan'. To this day Nate did not know why.

The last image he had of his mother was her smiling face as she kissed him goodbye. Unfortunately, the final time he had been with his father had not been as pleasant and the conversation they had still haunted him.

"Dad, let me help you with this," Nate pleaded.

"Leave it alone, Nate," Jack ordered, his hand resting on the red toolbox.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?"

"It's not a question of being stubborn it's a question of you respecting my wishes. I trusted your uncle to keep you safe. How could he let you get involved with these people?"

"Uncle James did keep me safe, but I can make my own decisions now. I'm twenty-four years old, not seven!"

"I don't want you to bring this up anymore and if I find you digging in this toolbox again I'll…have you arrested."

"Arrested! For what! For trying to help my father? That's ridiculous."

"If that's what it takes to keep you safe, I'll do it."

"Keep me safe? That's not what it is and we both know it! It's because I'm not Steve!" Nate shouted. "I'm a miserable disappointment to you, aren't I?"

"Nathan James, I am ordering you to stay out of this!" Jack demanded, grabbing his son's upper arm.

Nate looked at his father's hand before he yanked his arm away. "You can't tell me what to do anymore," he said through gritted teeth. Then he stormed out of the garage and never looked back.

The way that conversation ended was the biggest regret of Nate's life. It was also part of the reason he had been in Hawaii a week and had not visited his father's grave until now. The long delay in coming here only heightened the sense of guilt and failure that ate at him. He would give anything to have a few more minutes with his dad to try and fix things, but he knew that was impossible. He would live with his regret forever.

"Sorry, Dad," Nate said aloud. "I can't leave it alone."

Slowly turning away, he headed back to his car, his thoughts weighing heavily on his mind. When had his life become so fraught with complications? He was only twenty-five; would life get better from here on out or worse?

As Nate reached for the door handle he heard a resonant voice call out to him.

"Bonjour, Nathan. Avez-vous eu beaucoup de repos à Paris?"

Nate withdrew his hand and let it fall to his side. There were only two people in the world that called him Nathan and spoke French. He was positive one was in Africa and the other, apparently, stood behind him. "You know I've never liked Paris," he replied, not bothering to turn and face the unexpected visitor, "much less be able to get any rest there."

"You didn't return my phone calls yesterday."

"I was busy," Nate said in a flat tone.

"Take a walk with me, Nathan," the man ordered.

Nate turned and glanced up at the imposing figure before him. His boss wore dark rimmed sunglasses, which Nate could see his reflection in. He noted the dark blue blazer, which meant the older man was not here for a social call; his boss always wore a blazer when conducting business.

The deep maroon button up shirt the man wore under his blazer was the only colorful thing about him at the moment and Nate felt he should tread carefully until he found out why his boss made this special trip to talk with him face to face.

They strode in silence through the cemetery until the older man finally spoke, "I thought I gave you strict orders to stay away from Hawaii?"

"You did," Nate answered, unfazed by the man's question.

"And?"

"Are you going to fire me?"

"I'm actually not here to reprimand you."

"Why are you here then?" Nate asked, his curiosity peaked.

"There's a small matter of business I want you to take care of."

"I'm listening."

"It has come to my attention that a few days ago, a certain person of interest to our operation was, unfortunately, apprehended by the authorities." The older man paused a moment, looking out over the cemetery, contemplating his next words. Turning back with a hardened, grave expression focused on Nate, he spoke again, "I want you to break Paul Keller out of prison."

The End…

…for now

A/N: How many people think Nate is going to do what his boss is telling him to do? I would love to know your thoughts about the end of the story and if you have any ideas or anything you might like to see in the next story let me know.

The sequel will be called Deceptions, but I'm still working out some plot details. Feel free to message me if you want to check on my progress. You can also add me to your Author Alert so you will know when I post it.

If you're looking for something to read while you're waiting, my sister has some funny Hawaii 5-0 stories you might like. Her pen name is Autumn Fury.

And most importantly THANK YOU so much for reading this story. This has been my first attempt at fan fiction and all your feedback, story alerts, etc. have been so encouraging. Thank you again!