I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended. The same goes for Starsky and Hutch, and its characters.

Not mine ... nope. Not a single one of them!

I lay claim my original characters (Becca and the rest of the Ramirez clan).

Notes: there's not a regular posting schedule for this one, though you can count on at least one chapter per week. Depends on the muse and the re-jiggering of supposedly completed chapters. The idea behind my story is respectfully borrowed from the Starsky & Hutch Episode of the same name (The Trap, 1978) with Kristy McNichol.

Thanks to CinderH for the beta, KomodoQueen for all things medical (and whumpy whumpage) AND ... GIFTED to Swifters (for Starsky and Hutch camaraderie, getting the Ramirez family BACK into a story AND AND ... for extra Steve whumpy whumpage)!

H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O

Chapter One

They'd done their homework with impeccable skill. Upon their arrival on Oahu, their first stop was to visit Tua Akana.

"We know all about you," the eldest man calmly advised the snitch. He was smiling, his voice soft, yet he was anything but sincere. Still, he was definitely trying to act the good cop of the pair within the ugly mix. The thing was ... he was failing miserably. "We know so much, your own mother would be embarrassed."

"So make the call," the second man threatened nastily, his face only inches from Tua's. The Hawaiian wrinkled his nose as he winced away from the sour smell of the man's breath. Not that he smelled like a bed of roses, but the mainlander had a stench about him.

Yeah, bad cop ... neither were actually cops, but this guy was definitely playing the badder role of the two. Twitching uncomfortably as the men invaded his space and hustled him to the privacy of a back alley, Tua's attention was forced to the first man who was speaking again. The man's voice was calm and yet the threats were tossed about idly within a game of words. A skillful game where the man vacillated between a marked indifference and demanding that Tua remain careful of how he conducted himself. That Tua think wisely and simply agree to everything he'd been told to do.

"Just like we rehearsed it. Deviate and we'll kill you right where you stand. No fuss, no muss." The elder mainlander cackled loudly at the other's threat, his eyes glinting at the poor humor. "Trust me … you snitches are a dime a dozen ... but you should be honored that we chose to work with you first. Still, losing you isn't going to be much of a loss at all. So make the call and say exactly what we told you to say."

The younger second had already thrust the burner cell phone into Tua's hands. But in the end, it was the gun held to the aged informant's temple which more than did the trick.

"Danny? It's Tua," he yammered inanely into the phone, his eyes never ceasing to move from one of his abductors to the other. His fingers shook, his voice trembled badly as if he needed a hit. But in reality, his nerves had kicked in with a vengeance and he was petrified. The two had done their homework very well indeed. Tua Akana was a nobody in the grand scheme of things. Yet he'd been searched out with a rabid hunger as a very special link to a certain detective.

"Tua, brah. Yeah ... howzit?" Tua stammered over his tongue, the warning look from the elder mainlander enough for him to find the words. "I gotta see you, brah. Tonight. Its gotta be tonight. I got something for you; important stuff 'bout that Lendon case - that rich bitch's murder - you know, that haole lady from last month? You'll like it, brah. Alone though … I gotta see you alone. I'm being watched, brah."

"Good boy," the elder mouthed to Tua, unbothered by the obvious quaver in the Hawaiian's voice which could be blamed on any number of reasons. Drugs. A habitual case of nerves. Alcohol. The list was endless really. After all, those tendencies were the nature of being a snitch junkie and so, he was far from worried as Akana nearly forgot what to say. It was par for the course ... it was expected.

As his younger cohort rapped the muzzle of the gun against the old Hawaiian's temple, he sniffed in amusement when the snitch managed to rediscover his tongue. With an encouraging nod, his grin then turned evil as he held the piece of paper under the scruffy man's nose. The address to the meet was simple and designed to be remote. Private. Perfect for their plans. If the detective hesitated or paused, it would be here at this juncture. However, Tua had been duly prepped for such a negative response.

"Gotta be there, brah," Tua insisted, sweat pouring down his face as Danny did indeed object to the location. "No can do, brah! No where else!" The neck of his thin t-shirt was drenched, his eyes widening to communicate his fear when Danny pushed back hard for a second time. His mouth flapped open soundlessly as he silently pleaded with the two men for reprieve, but they remained steadfast.

"Convince him," the elder mouthed angrily.

With a nervous bob of his head, Tua licked his lips and pressed back in kind, his voice reedy and thin, the whine obvious as the barrel of the gun was wedged painfully into his hairline. A few minutes later, he heaved a loud sigh and almost smiled as he rushed through the rest of the call, his language falling into a natural and heavy pidgin.

"Okay, brah ... tanks, bruddah!" When the call ended, Tua was wracked with relief as he shakily handed the burner back. He shook his head in fear though. His overall success wasn't exactly as they'd demanded and he wasn't sure what the men would do next. "He don' like it though, brah ... and he don' wanna come alone," Tua shared hesitantly. "He won' listen to me bout tings like that … you know … he just … and early, brah. Danny's always early to our meets."

But the two mainlanders merely shrugged at this news. They'd adapt to whatever it might take to get their target in hand because that first step was critical for all the others to fall into place.

"You did good, so don't worry about it," the elder soothed dangerously. "Everything will work out in the end. We know Detective Williams as much as we know you, Tua. We know him ... better in fact."

A few minutes later, they left together for that exact address; including the long-time snitch, Tua Akana, who had another purpose to serve.

~ to be continued ~