Teaser
It's late night/early morning in Colorado when two men set up near a tunnel. They load up a bazooka to take out an armored truck owned by 'World Wide Traveler's Checks'. After blowing up the truck, they arrive at San Francisco International Airport meeting a tourist group led by an older gentleman (Buddy Ebsen) who is a professor. The pair meet him at the top of the escalator as George (David Canary) tells him they have $750,000. Their charter flight takes off for Honolulu.
Act One
In the HPD computer room, a message comes through for McGarrett. In the Five-O office, Chin rips the message off their terminal and walks into McGarrett's office. McGarrett is looking over the file of another case, handing it to Danno telling him to keep the guy under surveillance for a couple more days. Chin reads what's come through: shootout in Chicago, a three-state gambling ring busted and a truck heist outside Denver. The thieves used an Army bazooka taking in $750,000 in traveler's checks. McGarrett has Jenny (Peggy Ryan) call Frank Okawa (Tom Fujiwara) at World Wide Traveler's Checks.
Close to 5:00 p.m., Okawa answers his phone as his staff leaves for the weekend. Okawa tells McGarrett information including serial numbers came through the company teletype and to about 300 other cities. He plans to distribute the serial numbers out in the usual manner so businesses can be ready not to accept them. Okawa asks his secretary Luana (Lani Kim) to send out notifications of the stolen serial numbers. Meanwhile, someone lurks in the building watching Luna do her work and Okawa leave.
The flight makes its way across the Pacific with the professor sitting with George and his friend (Charles Bolling) from the Colorado heist. The professor tells George he never forgets anything, "a fact you will come to learn".
Back in Honolulu, Luana finishes up her task at about 6:30 p.m. but she hears something in the building calling out. She stands up to look around only to have the power go out! She walks downstairs to find the utility room open and she goes in to turn the power back on but is shut inside. The goon who has been watching puts on gloves to finish her.
On the flight, a disturbance begins with one of the passengers (Glenn Cannon) becoming delirious. He stumbles down the aisle toward where the professor and George were sitting. The professor has Davis sit with them as the stewardess (Jo Ann Larsen) sees what's wrong. When the professor tries to pass it off as airsickness she doesn't buy it and heads to the front to have the captain radio for an ambulance to stand by when they land. Davis starts babbling about "two days" and "checks" and George gets antsy. The professor, on the other hand, isn't worried as they are being "tested" not broken.
In Honolulu, "Phase II" is near completion as the goon takes the notices and he leaves a note. Meanwhile, the 707 flies over Diamond Head preparing to land at Honolulu International Airport. Davis keeps mumbling as George and his buddy become uneasy. The plane lands at 7:15 p.m. with Davis taken off first to the awaiting ambulance. The professor insists Davis doesn't require hospitalization but the doctor (Winston Char) tells him to back off. George tells the doctor whatever Davis needs including a private room the club will take care of the bills. The doctor agrees taking Davis in the ambulance. The ambulance leaves racing through Honolulu streets eventually arriving at the hospital. Davis is admitted with the nurse (Judi Meredith) emptying his jacket pockets and telling the technician to be careful of the I.V. However, the technician is George's buddy! He pockets the traveler's checks pulling out a gun and silencer firing twice.
George paces as the professor looks at his watch: 8:00 p.m. They begin doling out the checks at packs of $7500 each while George reminds them to remember receipts. They pass the checks out to the next group and so on.
McGarrett and Danno race to the hospital where they meet Chin in the room. Chin reports it was a professional job with no witnesses and no sound, a silencer was used. Chin identifies him as a teacher, Whitney Davis who was in town for "a college tour" and became ill flying over. The nurse explains his condition as Mˇni¸re's Syndrome with possible tumor in the middle ear causing deafness and loss of balance. The nurse introduces herself at Patricia Higgins and tells them about the technician who was in the room. All of his belongings are there including the clothes in the closet but she recalls seeing an envelope that is now missing.
The group starts spending their checks with no one the wiser. McGarrett lays out what they have so far: a college professor gets sick on a plane then is hit an hour after he lands. McGarrett wants to know why as the spending continues.
Act Two
In McGarrett's office, Nurse Higgins continues to kick herself for leaving Davis but there was no way to know the lab technician wasn't who he said he was. McGarrett wants Chin to take her through the mug shots thoroughly and orders Danno to find out all he can about Davis through mainland police and federal agencies. He also wants Davis' prints to go to CII in Sacramento before leaving for the Ilikai to visit the "Faculty Discount Travel Club".
Okawa goes to work as the goon calls the professor to tell him "Phase Four" has started. The professor asks George if they have heard from the hospital about Davis and George says not yet. Meanwhile, at World Wide Traveler's Checks, Okawa see a note telling him the distribution of the serial numbers happened signed by Luana.
McGarrett arrives at the Ilikai Hotel to visit the Professor Pierce. McGarrett shows him his badge and introduces himself. McGarrett explains he tracked him down through the airline and discovered Davis was a member of their club. McGarrett breaks the bad news to Pierce: Davis has been murdered, "shot to death". Pierce is genuinely shocked and dismayed wondering how and why something like this happened. McGarrett lists a whole slew of things that might help: friends, enemies, rivals, women, gambling habit, and did he use drugs. Pierce explains their club is very large and is open to faculty members statewide. He goes on to say Davis joined them recently and he was a bachelor. There is a possibility someone knew him well but everyone is currently scattered "buying everything in sight". The group's members continue their shopping spree. Pierce gives McGarrett a list of club members and where they are staying along with their addresses. McGarrett asks about the information Pierce told the stewardess about knowing Davis well and Pierce admits he knew Davis was "deathly ill" but didn't want him to know. As McGarrett leaves, Pierce is visibly ticked off and confronts George with now three deaths on their hands. George comes unglued because it's his decision to take care of things like this and the people working for him carry out the orders. He had Davis killed to protect the operation. George reminds Pierce he came to them with this proposition and they liked it, which is why they jumped at it. Pierce asks about Luana and George says they took her out for "a couple of days". George tells him he has to start trusting people.
Nurse Higgins goes through the mug shots in McGarrett's office as the phone rings. Okawa calls about information on the stolen checks: $10,000 was found in a Philadelphia hotel room. Danno walks in with the same information as the group continues to spend. Danno has more though, information on Davis thanks to the California State Police. Davis is age 40, unmarried, and an Economics professor at Pacific Western College who is now away on summer vacation. Everything checks, except one thing: the real Davis just sent his brother a postcard from Paris!
Act Three
McGarrett talks to Jenny outside his office about needing 14 men for a security detail at the airport when the "Vice President comes in" going straight to his hotel as Nurse Higgins keeps searching and hits pay dirt. Chin calls in McGarrett to look at the mug shot: Terry Whitman Doran, George's buddy, is a "syndicate soldier". McGarrett plays is straight with her telling her about Doran's murder indictment in 1969 that was dismissed when the main witness disappeared. She agrees with McGarrett putting her into protective custody and telling Chin to put out an APB statewide. As Chin and Nurse Higgins walk out, Danno walks in with the real identity of the dead man: Floyd F.X. O'Neal and his several aliases. McGarrett puts some of the pieces together: "Chicago hood hit by syndicate torpedo" but the why still bugs him. The group keeps spending. Chin reports back the Feds want to talk to Doran about a bank job in Texas using an Army bazooka as well. The phone rings, it's Kono in Missing Persons who has a Mrs. Mawalai being inconsolable because her daughter is missing. She works for World Wide Traveler's Checks and didn't come home after work. McGarrett tells him to get to World Wide and see what he can find. McGarrett grabs his jacket and leaves.
Club members start calling in with their totals with Pierce adding them in his head. George reminds them of the receipts when Pierce asks when is he going to start trusting people! Pierce totals it so far at $391,842.20 but George would feel better if Pierce wrote it down. Pierce reminds George, he'll do the thinking. There is a knock on the door and Pierce answers it as George hides in a side room. McGarrett tells Pierce of Davis' real identity being O'Neal, "an ex-con from Chicago". Pierce is shocked to learn a criminal is among his ranks. The group is spread by word of mouth and advertisements in certain publications. Pierce claims the members are checked to the extent they can be but not all of them are. Pierce comments about a criminal "harboring" himself among his group with McGarrett adding O'Neal may not be out of place. McGarrett backpedals a bit saying if there's one there could be others because the group is a perfect cover for moving from the mainland to Hawaii. Pierce asks why would people want to do that and McGarrett answers, "exactly, why?" The spending continues. The phone rings but it's for McGarrett who's been expecting the call. McGarrett has a theory that Pierce is a criminal as well or is at least surrounded by them. McGarrett has asked someone to meet him in the suite, someone who knows Pierce very well because he teaches in the same field. McGarrett is hoping to trip up Pierce but the plan blows up in his face when Professor Jordan (Bill Edwards) does indeed know Pierce!
Act Four
HPD patrols area near Aloha Tower at 8:10 a.m. with another patrol unit passing a church at 10:22 a.m. McGarrett shows up at World Wide Traveler's Checks as Five-O and HPD search for Luana in earnest. Danno and Kono keep up their searches but no Luana. Danno briefs McGarrett the janitor saw her working late Friday night and she never signed out of the building but no everyone does. McGarrett wants the neighborhood searched as he leaves for his car. Meanwhile, the goon reports all the police traffic with Pierce telling him to leave the area as quickly as possible.
George emerges from the side room as Pierce tells him what's going on at the "World Wide Building". George asks for a tally: $517,428 net according to Pierce. Pierce suggests they gather everyone, set a new takeoff time and go back to the mainland. George doesn't agree because Federal officials will start asking questions. They argue about their next move with Pierce pointing out the trail of violence George has left behind. George wins the argument when he pulls his gun on Pierce. The spending continues yet again. However, at The Chart House, the plan begins to unravel: the cashier (Galen Kam) notices two traveler's checks cashed by separate customers with sequential serial numbers. The second one is cashed as he is talking to his boss (Yankee Chang) about his girlfriend.
At Five-O, Chin takes a call from the restaurant about the two weird checks. Chin notes the serial numbers and they are on the list from the Denver theft. He briefs McGarrett who is wondering how they were cashed but Chin tells him the list didn't get out. McGarrett wants to see Okawa right away so he puts Chin on sending a car on a Code Red to Ala Wai Golf Course to pick him up. Meanwhile, Danno and Kono keep searching with an HPD officer. An HPD unit picks up Okawa and brings him to Five-O straightaway. Danno and Kono begin looking in trash cans behind World Wide Traveler's Checks with Danno finally making a grim discovery: Luana stuffed in a can with garbage on top of her. Okawa walks into McGarrett's office with Chin right behind him wondering what's going on. Okawa explains the serial numbers are sent out to all the shops and Luana does it. McGarrett tells him she's been missing since Friday night. Okawa tells McGarrett about the note she left or at least a note someone left. McGarrett tells him about the two checks cashed and that the shops don't have the list. The phone rings with Danno calling in about Luana. McGarrett passes on the news then becomes royally ticked off, "what a fantastic, warped, genius scheme". He reviews what's happened so far: the Denver heist of $750,000 with $10,000 planted in Philadelphia while the mob visits Honolulu with fake teacher's IDs except Pierce who probably thought it up and is being backed by the mob. The problem was O'Neal who had to be stopped fast in order not to give them away. McGarrett orders the stolen check numbers broadcast on every radio and television station on the islands. He plans to hit them where it counts: their way off of Oahu.
At the airport, the group boards their charter flight back to the mainland as George counts the envelopes dropped into the bag. The group finishes boarding with the airline paperwork handed off and the door closed. Pierce isn't thrilled about the violence used in their plan that "triumphed even with the excursions into violence". The captain speaks over the PA system telling the group they have been cleared for takeoff for a departure time of 7:14. As everyone settles in, McGarrett takes over the PA: he points out to both sides as HPD and federal agents surrounds the aircraft. McGarrett sums it up, "aloha. Aloha, suckers".
This plot summary Copyright© Bobbi Baker 2019. No reproduction of any kind without permission.