McGarrett's Daughter

Chapter 10

Steve and Junior arrived at Ionlani Palace at about the same time. They waved to the security guard and walked around the scanners.

They headed up the stairs into HQ. Danny was there but no one else was.

"Danny? What's going on?"

Danny jumped at Steve's voice. "Oh, good, you're here. I didn't really need Junior but I didn't want Amelia to think anything was up."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked.

"So, this morning I wake up pretty early. I couldn't fall back asleep and I had some work to do so I came on in. I got here just in time to receive a phone call from Georgia."

"They got the guy who killed Amelia's parents?" Junior asked.

"Well, they didn't catch him. But they're pretty sure that they were murdered by this lovely Middle-Eastern gentleman."

Danny pressed a button and swiped up to display the man with the name underneath it.

"Wait a minute," Steve muttered.

Danny immediately caught the tone. "You know this guy?"

Steve nodded. "If I'm right. . . Danny, this is all my fault."

"Hey, buddy, what are you talking about?"

Steve took in deep breath. "13 years ago I led a team in Afghanistan on an op. We infiltrated a major drug cartel and retrieved an HVT that had been being held captive. Our primary target was retrieval and as a result we never actually took out any of the people associated with the cartel."

"Ok, I assume this guy has a relation to that cartel?"

"We researched all the major players in the cartel before we conducted the op. This guy was their go-to hitman."

Danny nodded. "So. It could be a colossal coincidence. . ."

"But we both know it isn't."

Junior glanced at Steve. "We must've had some sort of data breach, right? SEAL teams are classified, so how did they know you were involved?"

"Well, I think we all have an obvious guess, right?" Danny said. "I mean, one person who could've known about both the SEAL team and Amelia is obviously Greer. We know she sold you out once, it's possible she sold you out twice."

Steve shook his head. "She wouldn't have known about this op. It's the highest level of classified. There's no way she could've known. And besides, Amelia was her daughter, too. It's possible, but I doubt that she would've sold her out."

Junior nodded agreement. "Yeah, a CIA agent probably wouldn't have had access to that information."

"Alright," Steve said. "First, no one tells Amelia anything until we have something more definitive. I'm going to tell her. . . I just don't know how yet."

Danny nodded. "She'll probably be mad when you do tell her. Good luck."

"Danny, Junior, fill in the rest of the team when they get here. I want to find this guy before he goes after Amelia again. I'm going to check in at the navy base for any kind of data breach. I'll let you know what I find out. After that I'm headed home. I'd like to keep Amelia close for now."

Danny and Junior nodded agreement.

-------------------------------------------

Steve sat in a chair inside Captain Matthews office. The Captain had stepped outside for a minute and Steve was waiting for him to come back in.

The door opened and the Captain stepped inside. Steve stood up and shook his hand.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet me, Captain Matthews."

"Any time, Lieutenant Commander McGarrett. Why did you ask to see me?"

Steve took his seat and Matthews did the same. "Listen, this is very important. I need to know if there has been some type of data breach recently. Anything within the past year or so."

The Captain studied Steve. "Steve, you know I can't tell you that."

Steve leaned forward. "Listen, ok? You know me, you know I wouldn't be asking if this wasn't important. I have reason to believe that the SEALS that were a part of Operation Strawberry Fields have been compromised."

"Steve. . . ok, why do you think that?"

"Look, Jace, you were on that mission with me. You remember Rayyan Siham?"

"The hitman? Yeah, I remember him."

"He attacked a member of my family."

Jace took a deep breath. "When?"

"About three and a half weeks ago. Look, Jace. If my team is in danger. . ."

"Steve, we are all SEALS. We can handle ourselves," Jace said.

Steve shook his head. "So am I. But my daughter's adoptive parents weren't SEALS, and they couldn't protect themselves. And they're dead now."

"Wait, hold up. Daughter?"

"That's a long story, one I'll be happy to tell over beers at some point. But right now I need to know if there's been a data breach."

"Steve. . ."

"Jace. They went after my daughter. I need that information. Now."

Jace studied Steve for a few more minutes. "You know, you would have this information if you hadn't transferred to the reserves. It seems wrong that I'm a higher rank than you." Jace turned on his computer and started typing.

"Thank you, Jace."

The Captain nodded. "You owe me."

Jace stared at the computer screen for a few more minutes. "Steve, there hasn't been any data breaches."

"Go further back."

"No, Steve, we haven't had anything in the past 5 years aside from an incident 4 years ago. But that was a hardware breach, not software. And they didn't get anything involving Operation Strawberry Fields."

Steve nodded. "Ok. Please, let me know if you get anything new."

"I will."

"Thanks, Jace."

They shook hands and Steve left more confused than he had been before. If the navy hadn't had a security breach, then how did the cartel know about Steve's involvement? The idea that Greer had sold him out was seeming more and more likely, but it still didn't make sense. She shouldn't of known about the operation.