Teaser
Late at night at an state, one man (George Murdock) talks on the phone for Mr. Cunningham (Paul Burke). Ben greets his wife Claire(Marian McCargo) as she says hello to Hank who was on the phone. Ben tells her has a shipment to inspect and check into a warehouse. She goes downstairs for bed when the guard dog starts barking. The power goes out and Claire leaves the bedroom only to be chloroformed by a man who carries her to a van with another man. Hank reaches downstairs first, only to be hit over the head with a sap by a third guy. Ben has a rifle and fires at the group but they are able to escape, except for one who's dead on the lawn.
Act One
The next morning, McGarrett and Five-O are on scene. The coroner has the body as Chin describes him as "John Doe, Steve. Male, Oriental" probably a foreign national based on the markings on his shoes. Danno briefs, "Three, maybe four men broke into the house, kidnapped the wife. Cunningham got that one on the way out ... Hank Merrill says about 12:30. There was a guard patrolling the grounds, had a dog. Somebody sneaked up behind him, killed the dog". Kono digs a slug out of the grass telling McGarrett "they broke in from around the back. Got out with Mrs. Cunningham through her window. Weren't too quiet about it. Four slugs so far". McGarrett calls the operation "crude, desperate".
McGarrett and Danno talk to Ben in his office. He tells them she was alone in the bedroom while he and Hank worked. Ben claims no one has contacted him and McGarrett warns if he's holding back, it won't help her. McGarrett handles the rifle Ben used, a "Dutch AR-10" prototype of M15. McGarrett asks if Ben was selling these guns and Ben confirms it clarifying he do so within the law. McGarrett points out Ben could make enemies in his line of work, such as the kind who kidnapped Claire. Ben doesn't cooperate and McGarrett realizes he's getting nowhere fast. He hands the rifle to Danno ordering Che Fong to run ballistics on it comparing the slugs in the dead guy. McGarrett tells Ben it's his job to find Claire, with or without his help. He and Danno leave with Hank pleading with Ben to allow McGarrett to help.
The next step is tapping Ben's phones and McGarrett aids in the setup. Danno shows up with the court order for the phone tap, a photo of Claire who seems decent and hates her husband's business and the results of the ballistics: the slugs match Ben's AR-10 and it killed instantly. McGarrett tells Danno he'll split the phone duty with Chin and Kono of eight hours each with around the clock monitoring. He also tells him to get copies of Claire's picture to HPD patrol units.
Chin walks into McGarrett's office with the identity of the dead guy as Danno receives an update on the phone tap: nothing yet. Chin reports the guy was "Kemal Rojani. Twenty-five years old. Arrived here three weeks ago from the island of Arasunda". Arasunda is trying to break away from the Republic of Malanesia and like all "separatist movements" they need guns. McGarrett switches the investigation's focus to all shipping companies: they need to find the arms before Ben "starts bargaining with those people".
McGarrett visits the Malanesian Consulate, Sangree (Arthur Batanides). McGarrett tells him about the kidnapping and those suspected are citizens of Malanesia. He shows the picture of Rojani. Sangree lets McGarrett know about the problems they are having with Arasunda and while McGarrett is aware, his prime concern is maintaining law and order in Hawaii. After giving a list of nationals to Sangree, Sangree produces a folder on Lieutenant Emir Kanjil (Daws Dawson) an agent of the Arasunda Separatist Party. Sangree tells McGarrett they are in Hawaii to gain arms for "an illegal uprising". An aide (Albert Waterson) interrupts with a phone for McGarrett: it's Kono with information on the van. No prints yet but the lab is "still dusting" but they found blood, "maybe from dragging her in". McGarrett wants it typed as soon as possible. Kono also reports the van belongs to Bajano (Phillip E. Pine), "export-import business. Resident alien. Comes from the island of Arasunda".
In McGarrett's office, he grills Bajano to get needed facts. Bajano claims a group came to his shop, one was his cousin who talked to him while the rest stayed outside. Bajano says his cousin talked politics and wanted to use the van, but Bajano was unaware of the purpose. He has been in Hawaii 10 years and "I like it here". McGarrett tells Bajano he's an accessory because he loaned them the van. Looking to Danno who isn't impressed, Bajano claims his cousin put a gun to his head and forced him to loan the van. He also tells them he still has family on Arasunda and if he didn't cooperate, they would be in danger as well. McGarrett gives him a group of photographs and Bajano identifies the dead guy as his cousin. He doesn't know where the others are but if he hears anything, he'll call Five-O right away. McGarrett says if he had done that the first time, "things would be a lot different, wouldn't they?" Bajano leaves and Danno asks McGarrett if he believes him. They both have doubts and Bajano has no record. McGarrett tells Danno to cable the Malanesian authorities to see what they have on him.
Act Two
McGarrett checks in on the phone monitoring. Danno reports Ben is in trouble financially with calls from the mainland and Holland about deals he hasn't paid yet. A call comes in from the 1st kidnapper (Clayton Nalvai) as Chin traces it from the phone company with a technician (Winston Char). The kidnapper demands the weapons shipment destined for the Malanesian government. Their plane is to let them fly out of Honolulu Airport but want Ben to direct the pilots to fly to Hong Kong where they will take the shipment. The trace continues as Ben asks to talk to Claire. The kidnapper makes his demands clear before slamming the phone. The phone company is able to pinpoint a location and Chin is on his way there. Chin arrives to the location with an HPD unit, only to find a pair of pay phone handsets duct taped together to provide a "perfect splice" and a dead for the police.
Kono talks to a clerk (Kwan Hi Lim) at the airport asking about a shipment from Amsterdam. The clerk says the shipment went to Pier 39 as Kono takes a copy of the manifest.
Ben is in McGarrett's office at his wits end. He hands over the note he received, something McGarrett is all too familiar with. He plays the tape for Ben who feels he's between a rock and a hard place. McGarrett tells Ben he's not going to give them the guns. McGarrett also wants time to chase down some leads and tells Ben to make them listen, especially since he's negotiated some tough deals before. Before leaving, Ben says he'll cooperate in every way and no matter what he loves his wife.
Kono checks out Pier 39, finding the shipment of 'toys' from 'M. Van Droot Co. Holland'. He reports to McGarrett what he's found. In McGarrett's office, Danno walks in telling McGarrett Ben bought them 36 hours, not the 48 McGarrett wanted but "it's better than nothing".
Act Three
Ben goes to see the Melanesian Consulate and a military general (Daniel Kamekona) informing them of some problems with the shipment. They don't buy it and ask if something else has happened to "cause this delay". Ben reluctantly tells them his wife has been kidnapped by fanatics from their country. The general is able to convince Ben that Claire is already dead, "let her live long enough to convince you". The Consul knows they can't compensate for his loss but they are also aware of his financial straits. Ben tells them he told McGarrett he would wait but the general is so desperate for the arms, he's willing to get them from another source. The Consul is prepared to offer $500,000 for the shipment to be delivered today. Ben tells them the arms are in the warehouse at Pier 39. The aide calls Kanjil and tells him the deal is happening today and where the arms are located.
Two trucks back into the warehouse at Pier 39 to pick up the guns. Kono is still watching from afar and notices the Consul, the general and Ben also present for the shipment to be loaded. Kono calls it in as McGarrett leaves his office to meet him with Danno and Chin in tow.
Kanjil and a couple of others drive up to Pier 39 in a small boat. Hiding behind equipment, one shoots the two men in the first truck. The 1st separatist (Beau Van Den Ecker) comes out of hiding followed by Kanjil. Ben shoots the 1st man dead. The 1st separatist is taken out as Kanjil throws a grenade but Ben shoots him as well. Five-O arrives on scene after the gunfight. McGarrett is ready to rip off Ben's head as Danno reports Kanjil is "in pretty bad shape". As McGarrett tries to talk to Kanjil, Ben loses it as he and Danno begin an intense shoving match. Just before he dies, Kanjil says he didn't kidnap anyone.
Act Four
McGarrett talks to Doc (Robert Costa) about he blood type found in the van: AB Negative. Claire's blood type is "O". Because the blood found doesn't match her, the lab checked the dead guy and it did match. Discussing what transpired, McGarrett tells Doc they took a dead man to the kidnapping.
McGarrett brings in Hank to talk to him on what he saw. Recognizing Bajano, Hank tells McGarrett the separatists tried to buy the guns first with Bajano being the middleman. Hank also talks about Ben's financial problems including a deal in Central America six months before that went bad to the point it nearly wiped him out. He figured with the Melanesian deal, it would put him back on his feet: "almost". As Hank leaves, Danno walks in with information on Bajano: he has no relatives in Arasunda. McGarrett hypothesizes Bajano has Claire with Ben's help. The dead guy was killed hours before the kidnapping and rather than self-defense, the charges are "conspiracy and murder one". McGarrett wants around the clock surveillance on Ben because McGarrett believes he'll lead them to Claire.
Claire is able to loosen the ropes around her. The phone rings as Ben calls Bajano telling him to release Claire. Ben is sweating because McGarrett is all over him: questioning Hank again and he doesn't know what Kanjil said before dying. Bajano pushes back because they've taken some big risks themselves, "kidnapping, murder". Bajano suggests Ben talk to the Malanesian Consulate to get an advance of $50,000 so they can be paid for their part in the scheme. Ben agrees and leaves the phone booth for the Consulate with Chin right behind.
At the hideout, Claire is able to get her eyes uncovered but falls over when she tries to untie her feet. The three rush in and she's able to see them clearly. Bajano says they will kill her when they get the money, but not before.
Chin radios McGarrett about Ben's stop at the Consulate and Kono will pick him up on the tailing. As Ben turns right, Kono radios Chin to hand him off. As they tail Ben, McGarrett talks to the Consul and it doesn't go well. Sangree considers it interference by McGarrett in the internal affairs of his country. McGarrett reminds him they are involved in a very messy deal and threatens to make it a front-page story in the international press. Sangree tells McGarrett they advanced Ben $50,000 in cash and confirms they offered him a lot more money once they discovered his wife had been kidnapped. At the car, Danno reports the latest that Ben just left his house and "headed north on Monsarrat". They drive out.
Ben heads to the hideout with Five-O on his tail. Chin radios he turned onto a private road. Ben takes a gun out of the glove box grabbing the money to go inside. Chin jumps into the Park Lane directing Danno where to drive. Ben enters the house only to see Claire at the table and discovering Bajano has told her everything. Ben pleads with her, telling her he had to do what he did in order to receive another $500,000. Danno drives up and parks behind Ben's car with Kono arriving seconds later. McGarrett splits the team with Chin and Kono taking the back with he and Danno hitting the front. Bajano demands the money but Ben wants Claire out first. He tosses the briefcase at Bajano when he pushes Claire to the floor. The 1st kidnapper shoots Ben as Five-O moves in. The 1st kidnapper is about to shoot Claire when McGarrett rattles the doorknob. Danno shoots the 1st kidnapper as McGarrett kicks in the door shooting Bajano. Chin and Kono catch the second guy as he tries to run out the back. McGarrett gingerly walks Claire out as Danno takes possession of the money. Claire knows this was about the last gun deal and McGarrett tells her the guns are legally hers. She knows exactly what she'll do: "sink them in the ocean".
This plot summary Copyright Bobbi Baker ©2019. No reproduction of any kind without permission.