By NubianGeek

The Red Dragon organization had been a thorn in McGarrett's side long enough. They had finally arrested their leader, Macualan, and he was about to go to trial for various inhuman acts.

The only problem was that they had thought that with his arrest, the members of his organization would just dismantle. They were wrong.

The rest of the organization had regrouped under one of the lieutenants and they were now doing various acts of terrorism to try to gain the release of Macualan.

Five _ O headquarters had just received word of another threat. The organization was going to blow up some government site if their demands were not met. McGarrett and his men were desperately trying to figure out where the terrorists would strike, so that their plans could be thwarted.

*********************************************************************

Monica Ames, a pretty, young woman of African_American and Polynesian descent was doing her usual Saturday errands on this bright, sunny morning. She had already picked up her dry cleaning, and was planning on going grocery shopping later on. She had to stop by the post office to get stamps from the post office machine so that she could do the fun_filled activity of paying bills that night.

She was reaching into her purse to get her wallet, just as two men came barreling past her knocking he to the ground.

It happened quickly, but, one of the men stopped as he found that he was staring directly into her eyes. The man quickly reached down and picked up the wallet and ran on to catch up with his friend.

"Oh, of all things . . . "she said angrily as she stood to her feet. Her purse, and the rest of its contents, lay scattered all over the parking lot. She angrily picked the things up and jammed them down into her purse. Luckily, she still had her keys.

"I hope I don't get stopped by the police. That would just make my day."

Monica got home without incident, but felt that she should at least cancel her credit cards. She was happy that she hadn't come home to pick up her grocery money.

"Oh, they're not open." She slammed the phone down.

"Well, at least I can call the police and report it." She dialed the number and spoke to the receptionist.

"What do you mean? I have to come down there to report it?"

*********************************************************************

About ten minutes after Monica had her encounter, the Kahala Post Office exploded in fire and flying glass.

Dan Williams was in McGarrett's office when the call came through.

"Yes . . . just now? We'll be right over."

Steve slammed the telephone down.

"They just blew the Kahala Post Office. Let's move."

Steve and Dan headed for the car and sped off to the scene. When they arrived, the post office was a smoking heap of wood ruble and glass. Luckily, there was no one inside at the time.

"Do we have anything yet, Chin?"

"We have the device that was used. It looks like the kind The Red Dragon uses. That's all we have."

McGarrett was not happy. We should have found out where those guys were before they had a chance to strike, he thought.

"I want to know if anyone saw anything."

*********************************************************************

Monica had come all the way down to police headquarters just to get the run around and fill out forms in triplicate. She was about to leave, when Dan Williams came running down to the Robbery Unit. Monica saw the good_looking man running in her direction.

"Are you Monica Ames?" He asked, apparently out of breath.

"How do you know my name?" She asked suspiciously.

"Dan Williams, Five_O. May I talk to you?"

Monica looked up at the young man standing before her. He was cute.

"Well, I haven't eaten all day. Will you take me to lunch?"

A smile slowly spread across Danny's face.

"Sure. What's your pleasure?"

*********************************************************************

It was a beautiful afternoon. Monica chose a sidewalk café and Danny ordered lunch for both of them.

"So, Mr. Williams, what did you want to ask me?" Danny took out his notebook and pencil and made ready to write down her answers.

"Call me Danny. Tell me what happened at the Kahala Post office." Monica smiled. She was obviously impressed with this man.

"Wow, you mean they send a genuine Five_O guy down for a purse snatching?"

Danny smiled. He liked her; she had a great sense of humor.

"The Kahala Post Office was bombed around the time that you were mugged." He watched her for a reaction.

"Oh, my, you mean I could have been killed?" Monica realized.

He could tell that she was taken aback by this.

"Tell me what happened." Danny said.

Monica collected her thoughts and proceeded.

"Well, I was walking up to the post office building, when I was practically mowed down by these two guys. I don't know where they came from. I had my head down trying to get money from my wallet. They knocked my purse and wallet out of my hands. Then, the one guy picked up my wallet and ran on."

Danny was trying very hard to listen and concentrate on what she was saying, but he was distracted.

"So, basically, you were in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

There was nervous laughter until Monica said,

"Well, actually, maybe I was in the right place."

Was it her imagination, or was he actually blushing?

When he brought her back to her apartment, he had already decided that he would kiss her goodbye. But, just as he was about to kiss her, they both heard a noise in her apartment. Monica jumped.

"What was that?"

Danny put a finger to his lips signaling her to be quiet. He drew his weapon and listened for another sound. He took her keys from her and slowly opened the door.

Danny was prepared for the man that jumped around the corner.

"Freeze, police." The man turned and ran in another direction. Danny immediately ran after the man.

Monica didn't know what to do. She liked Danny and didn't want to see him hurt. Suddenly, she heard gunfire.

"Danny!" She yelled and ran into the bedroom. Danny was alright. He was firing at the man who was running down the alley.

When it was obvious that he didn't get the man, Monica was at his side immediately.

"Oh, Danny, are you hurt? I was so worried." He held her as he thought about the man who had fled.

"He must have been planning to kill you when you returned home." He looked at her. Boy, that was a dumb thing to tell her, he thought. She looked really frightened.

"I need to call Steve to let him know what's going on." She reluctantly let him go, which he noticed and smiled.

"I'll be right back."

When Steve answered the phone, Danny explained what had happened. Steve didn't ask how Danny came to be in the company of Miss Ames.

"I suppose that you would need to stay there and protect her." Danny loved how Steve could make a joke without cracking a smile. Even though he couldn't see Steve, he knew that Steve wasn't smiling.

"Yeah, see you in the morning."

Monica was already getting blankets and pillows out and making up the pull out couch.

"Can you stay?" It was a plea more that a request.

Danny came over and held her. He saw the opportunity to kiss her again and, this time, he took full advantage of it.

The kiss was very passionate and in Danny's opinion, it was much too short.

"I've wanted to do that all evening." Danny said softly. Monica stroked his cheek and looked straight into his eyes. She was smiling beautifully. She is beautiful, Danny thought to himself.

Suddenly feeling awkward, Monica stepped out of the embrace.

"I've made up the couch for you. I hope you're comfortable." She said nervously. She was even more beautiful when she was embarrassed. HE decided to change the subject.

"Did you do those pictures?" Danny asked.

"Yes, I did these. Do you like art, Danny?" Danny decided to take the truthful way out.

"I never really thought about it before." He said sheepishly. Well, at least he's honest thought Monica.

"Have a good night's sleep." She whispered as she walked into the bedroom and closed the door silently.

Danny swallowed hard as he realized that she was now probably undressing behind that door.

The next morning, Monica was up early and was fixing breakfast. She saw as Danny woke up and looked a little disoriented for a moment. Then, his eyes fell on Monica in the kitchen and he smiled.

"How did you sleep?" Monica asked.

"Fine. Except I think that I made a friend." Danny picked up a huge black and white cat and placed her down onto the floor.

"Oh, I see you've met Jigsaw. It was a puzzle where she came from."

Danny smiled again. He was really beginning to like this girl.

"Well, Mr. Williams, what do you say to a picnic today? Who says that watching me has to be a drudgery."

Danny watched as Monica pulled a picnic basket from behind the counter and began filling it with good things to eat.

"Do you mind if we stop by my place first so I can change?"

The park that they chose was beautiful and green. There were very few people out despite the beautiful day.

Danny had spread the blanket that Monica had brought and now they both were unpacking the basket.

Danny took this moment to look at Monica more closely. Her African_American and Polynesian heritage had made her skin a golden brown. A lot of women spent many hours trying to get their skin just the right color. Monica was born that way.

Her black hair was wavy and waist length. The wind was blowing a little as Danny reached over to absently pull a stray curl from her face.

Danny, trying to be a gentleman, did not let his eyes wander below her neck. But, he had stolen glances at her exquisite body in the short time that they had been together.

"So, Danny, tell me about these people. The one's you are after _ the ones who are after me."

Danny finished chewing the piece of fried chicken in his mouth barely having time to appreciate its wonderful flavor.

"They're called The Red Dragon. They're a militant group of Polynesian descent. They oppose Hawaii being in U.S. possession." Monica was nodding her head.

"I am aware of them. My mother, who is Polynesian, knew of friends of friends of friends who belonged to the group." Monica didn't look very happy about coming that close to knowing the people responsible for those terrible acts.

"Tell me about your family." Danny asked quietly.

"My father, who is African_American, was stationed here after World War II where he met and married my mother."

Danny was listening to her, but he was thinking about how much he wanted to touch her.

"You're beautiful." Danny said matter_of_factly. Monica ignored the compliment.

"My mother is very beautiful. You would like her. My father is still somewhat suspicious of white people."

Danny knew of a lot of people of mixed heritage in Hawaii. He knew of the heartache of some of them. Suddenly, it didn't matter. He was falling in love.

What neither of them realized, was that they were being watched. He was told to keep an eye on them and not to approach. Sooner or later her Five_O bodyguard would leave her side and then he would go to work.

Danny and Monica could barely get into the door before they started kissing one another. He was running his fingers through her beautiful hair and moaned with desire.

"Danny, stay with me in my bed tonight, please?"

Danny didn't need to be asked twice. He half_dragged, half_carried her into the bedroom. Monica was frantically pulling at his clothes.

Danny placed her gently on the bed. He sat next to her and let her unbutton his shirt. Danny was trying desperately to control his breathing. He wanted to see what her body looked like, but was willing to go slow and let Monica control things.

Having unbuttoned and taken off Danny's shirt, she put his hands on her shirt indicating that she wanted him to unbutton her shirt.

Danny's mouth suddenly went dry and he licked his lips in an attempt to wet them.

After unbuttoning her shirt, Danny realized that Monica wasn't wearing a bra.

"Oh . . . " was all that Danny could manage to say.

Before he realized it, Danny was kissing and taking one of Monica's nipples into his mouth. Monica moaned as she plowed her fingers through his hair.

"Oh, Danny . . . " Before either of them realized it, they were both unclothed and making love.

Danny watched as Monica lay sleeping in his arms. This should not have happened, he kept telling himself. He had let his emotions come and interfere with a case. What would Steve say?

"What are you thinking about?" He looked up and found that Monica was awake now and staring at him.

"Are you sorry about what we did?" Monica asked.

OF course he wasn't sorry. He was just sorry about the timing. HE reached out and stroked her cheek.

"I'm falling in love with you." He admitted. Monica smiled.

"You make it sound terrible." Danny smiled and realized that he was acting as if it was the end of the world.

"We'd better get some sleep. I've got work tomorrow." Danny laughed out loud.

"What is it?" Monica asked self_consciously.

"Oh, nothing." Danny realized he didn't know what she did for a living.

*********************************************************************

Danny dropped off Monica at Melikala Elementary School. Monica was an art teacher. He then went into the office.

"I'm glad you made it, Danno." Danny was met with knowing smiles.

"We already know that the man who took Ms. Ames wallet and was waiting in her apartment was a member of The Red Dragon." Danny looked concerned.

"Do you think she's still in danger?" Danny asked.

Steve saw the look of concern on the young man's face.

"I'm not sure. They've got to know that we know who they are. I wouldn't let up security on the young lady, though." Was it Danny's imagination, or did Steve wink at him?

*********************************************************************

"Well, is she dead?" The man asked impatiently. The other two men were understandably nervous.

"We tried, but there's some guy watching her." The man nodded.

"Ah, yes, that would be Dan Williams. So, what do you think your fate should be?" This man was so calm and cool while deciding about life and death.

"Kill them." His henchman nodded but the asked,

"Do you still want us to kill the girl? They have to know by now that we were responsible for the bombing." The man looked him squarely in the face and said,

"I don't like leaving loose ends."