I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.

Note: DEA Agents Joe Cano and Girardi are OC's established in my previous stories. Especially in "A Birthday to Remember" and "Amnesia" where no love was lost between Five-0 and Joe Cano. Hito Matsui, Benji Sato were also introduced in "A Birthday to Remember".

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*

Chapter One – The Deep End

DEA Agent Joe Cano returned to work just under six months after his altercation with Detective Danny Williams that had broken his jaw, nose and two ribs. The two had come to blows at the end of a tense joint raid where Cano's actions had left Kono blindly open for an assault by escaping Yakuza. Pinned down in a vicious fire-fight, she and another DEA agent had almost been killed until Danny and Chin had provided back-up.

Kono had been grazed in the temple by a bullet and Danny had been hit by friendly fire. While neither wound was grievous, Danny's adrenalin had led him directly to Cano and the angry confrontation had escalated immediately. In a fury, Danny had pummeled the man into the ground before being pulled off by Steve. Afterwards, Danny had been shocked by what he'd done to Cano and had even tried to apologize while the agent was still hospitalized; but that was to no avail.

Joe Cano could have returned earlier to work, but he had opted for an extended leave of absence in order to rest and heal properly. At least those were the words he spoke aloud when asked on his first day back in the office.

"Yeah, I feel great after the time off. Thanks for asking." The sentences were easily rolling off his lips now after having practiced them for hours at home. And even the smile he had plastered on his tanned face seemed quite real to anyone swinging by his desk to welcome him back. In fact, his team had thrown him a welcome back party of sorts and he even had adequately pulled off being quite touched by their gesture. The new Cano was pleasant and seemed happy. If anyone was confused by the changes in his attitude, they only could smile and be pleased at the lack of tension in the office.

But in reality his senior supervisor, Bobby Girardi, had called him personally two weeks prior to his rejoining of the DEA offices. Out of courtesy, Girardi explained the reasons behind and then prepped him for his new desk job that would have limited functional access and no direct reports until further notice.

He had tried to down play it, but Cano knew it for what it was .. a distinct slap in the face. A demotion for his perceived unprofessional conduct and bad decisions that put his peers at risk during two different past missions, both of which had included the Five-0 team. But already practicing his new role, he'd unexpectedly been quiet with Girardi and hadn't argued or gotten in his face. The change in demeanor had left Girardi nearly speechless and he had ended their conversation almost happy with evading the expected clash of personalities.

"It will be great to have you back Joe. You sound good." Cano had been tamping down his internal fury on the other side of the phone as he listened to Girardi's relieved and almost smiling voice.

"We'll work through this together and get things back on track."

"Sure we will." Cano had muttered angrily into the dead phone as he slammed it back into the charger. "Absolutely, Bobby. No doubt."

The time off had only stoked his fiery rage at the Five-0 team and for Danny Williams in particular. And two weeks ago, the news about his demotion only provided an additional source of hot fuel that had escalated his thoughts of revenge. In the two weeks before returning to work, whispering thoughts had become possibilities and these had then taken flight as he made plans for a proper comeuppance.

His emotional stresses quickly led to unreasonable beliefs and Cano was soon blaming the Five-0 team for the death of one of his own undercover operatives, Special Agent Kenneth Ito. He had mentored Ito personally and the two had been very close. Ken's death wasn't even remotely related to Five-0, but Cano had originally taken the loss hard. And now, his mind becoming a bit more delusional .. a bit more warped, Cano blamed them regardless of the real truth related to an undercover op simply gone completely and utterly wrong. And now, his demotion was also not of his responsibility. It was out of his control and more specifically Danny William's personal fault.

"You did this to me. All of you." He whispered in his silent condo after the fateful discussion with Bobby Girardi. His condo overlooked the distant marinas and it was only nine in the morning, but Cano sipped his scotch as he considered his new truths and validated his next steps. Danny's face was foremost in his mind as he angrily spouted his next words into the air.

"Yes, you did this. You managed to kill Ken and then took Hito away from me. Away from DEA's hands when he was ours to persecute. And now, you've taken my career."

He had taken a deeper sip from the glass and swirled the burning amber liquid around his mouth as he smiled crookedly. "And it's going to be my turn. My turn to make you pay."

And Cano happily didn't have long to wait for a new joint operation with the Five-0 team. As his divine luck would have it, the Yakuza soldier Benji Sato reared his ugly head only a few short weeks after Cano returned to work full time.

Benji had many aliases and had been Hito Matsui's key and most trusted underling. Originally escaping the authorities after Kono had killed Hito in a hostage situation at a local marina, Benji had slowly been rising within the Yakuza ranks. He was also one of the last ones to have seen Kenneth Ito alive and Cano was anxious to capture the man and bring him to justice.

DEA intelligence identified Benji in covert photos and had linked him now as a critical decision-maker for a pending drug deal on the Island with an Italian cartel. The treasure trove was destined for their Japanese strong-hold.

The new Joe Cano sat pleasantly amongst his team members at Girardi's kick-off meeting that introduced everyone to their next mission. He hid his reactions and offered no comments or questions related to the announcement that the DEA would again team with Five-0. But he was eager to review the warehouse schematics and plans as they gathered around their own smart table.

"Questions anyone?" Girardi asked the team in general. But he looked squarely at Cano with a frank sincerity. "Are you okay with this Joe? I need everyone one of us on the same page and working together."

Glancing up from the schematics, Joe schooled his features and nodded politely. In fact, his words were the most honest they had been since he'd returned to work.

"I have no problems with this. None at all. I'm looking forward to bringing Benji Sato in .. for Ken's sake."

The entire team murmured its approval at his words and Girardi also couldn't help but agree. Joe had been an entirely different person since returning from leave and Girardi liked the new man. Cano had become a team player and actively shared his wealth of knowledge with the younger and newer staff members. He didn't see a reason to mistrust or be concerned that Cano might actually be harboring such anger nor bore such a horrific grudge.

Closing the meeting, Girardi smiled and then emphatically slapped the table with his hand as he stood up from his chair.

"Alright people. I will personally be meeting with Five-0 later this week to discuss the plans and to coordinate our resources for the pending raid. We will reconvene together and I'll provide a detailed summary."

A brief flicker of annoyance crossed Cano's face before it was quickly pushed down and stifled. In his other more prestigious professional life, Cano would have held that responsibility. But he could certainly use the time to his best interests as he scanned the warehouse schematic. More information would be forthcoming as plans were solidified. With continued luck, not only would he bring down Benji Sato, but also Danny Williams.

~ to be continued ~