Steele
and Holt were in the Throne Room of the Palace to check it over for places to
install some of the security sensors and cameras. They had strict orders to be careful with what they did.
The room was not to be damaged in any way that would change the overall
appearance of the Throne Room.
There
would be a total of twenty display cases for the coins being loaned to them for
the occasion. Each case has a
built in alarm system. In order to
run electrical power to the cases they would need to secure power some how.
The cases would need to be placed in such a manner that people
couldn’t trip over any exposed wires.
Since the room had a
round couch in the center, Steele believed that they should place the cases
around the walls so the power cords could be hidden behind the red curtains.
This would also allow the ability to hide battery powered auxiliary
power units that would continue to provide power to the security system.
Authorization
had been given to Steele and Holt for the installation of the security cameras in the Throne Room.
These would be permanently affixed to the ceiling.
Once the exhibit was over, they would remain as part of the new
surveillance system being installed within the Palace.
Steele Investigations would supervise the placement of the camera mounts
and the installation of all the cameras on the first floor of the Palace.
When that was done, they would need to make sure the cameras worked
properly.
In addition, the
cases would have a hidden laser beam installed six inches or less from the floor,
which would prevent access to anyone who might try to go under them.
Additional beams would be placed at random heights all around the Throne Room
in a maze pattern and only two or three people would actually be aware of.
Steele also toyed with the idea of alternating the beams in vertical
patterns at an unpredictable rate and pattern.
It had taken Steele
and Holt two hours to review the room and make a number of floor plans.
Finally, they moved to the room that would house the Security Control
Center monitors where the cameras and alarms would be connected to in the next few days.
Most of this room had been remodel and fitted with the proper equipment
to install all the necessary security systems throughout the entire Palace.
Steele and Holt sat
down with Chief Engineer Juan Marcus who would oversee the installation of all
the equipment.
“Your ideas, Steele,
sound a lot like the security system that I tired to figure out at the Academy,”
Juan stated as he
looked over the plans.
“That could be, Juan, I worked with the man who installed it just
about a year ago,” Steele told him. *
That was not the full truth but it wasn’t a lie either. * Steele thought
to himself, * but he couldn’t tell his old friend in front of Laura about the
job, at least not yet. *
There was a measure of surprise in Laura’s face at the fact that
Steele revealed something of his past. *
A small clue to his past, I wonder if he worked with that man or tired to break
into this academy? I’ll have to
ask him about it later. *
Laura made a mental note to herself.
Steele realized that he would have to explain that remark later to Laura * But what I’ll say is a good question, * he thought, * Now it was time to finish the security system for the Throne Room. *
As the first camera
was being installed in the hallway, which covered the entrance of the main doors, Steele
noticed that Williams was on the bottom step just as he about to turned towards
the Security Control Room.
“Afternoon
Danny,” Terri said to greet him at the Security Control Room door.
“Afternoon, I
gather Steele is in there?” Dan
asked as he pointed towards the door.
“Yes, Sir,” Terri
said as she opened the door. *
What does he see in Caterina? No one else would put up with her the way he
does? He deserves better then the
Queen Witch of the Academy, * Terri thought as she closed the door behind
him.
“What’s the
latest update on the security camera installation?” Dan inquired of no one
in particular as he entered the room.
“We have the main entrance way camera fully programmed and working,” Laura told him
“We're working on the secondary hallway camera now.
The two camera’s in the Throne Room are being mounted now, and once
that is done, they will be programmed as well.”
“Good, you are
going to install the additional cameras in the other room today or tomorrow since it’s almost three now?” Dan
asked when he looked at his watch to see the time plus he wanted to know the
timing to getting the job completed.
“We should have all
the cameras in place this evening at this rate. That’s if we don’t have labor union problems by working
pass quitting hour,” Steele half asked.
“That’s not a
problem for my people. Lady Caterina agreed we could work late to get the job
done but could not charge extra for the labor, even if I went into overtime.
I was looking to confirm that fact with you, Mr. Williams.
We’ll have to put in the extra hours this evening to get the job done in
one trip to the Palace.” Juan
was the Engineer in charge of this installation and it needed to be done
immediately. He had arranged for his crew to work double shifts for
several days so that the job could get done faster, which would allow his crew
equal time off to spend with their families during the day. The late hour for his crew was not abnormal.
“The faster the
better with the exhibition opening in less then a week now.
How late are we talking at this rate?” Dan inquired because he wanted
to know how late he would be working. *
He would have to have a chat with
Catie about these late hours. Or
better yet, get her over here to keep an on them with him, * Dan considered to himself.
“I would say no
later than nine or ten, Steele? Juan
stated and questioned at the same time.
“Ten should the
latest, I would think at this point in time,” Steele said from behind the
desk that he was working on.
“All right, I’ll let Steve know the status and I’ll be
in my office until you finish for the evening.
I would like to see the system in action before you leave this
evening,” Dan told them before he left the room.
“No problem, Mr.
Williams, but only the camera’s will be installed this evening. The
testing will not be done until tomorrow afternoon.
On Wednesday, my crew and I will start to work on the cases once they
are arranged in the Throne Room. I
believe that the last tour until the exhibition is over will be on Wednesday,
around noontime. So, my full crew
will be here no later than one to begin installing the security on them,” Juan informed him.
“Why not do it
tomorrow?” Dan questioned before
he left the room.
“Because Mr.
Williams, Mr. Steele and I need to acquire a few more items to make the system
work the way Mr. Steele has designed it to work,” Laura answered.
“That’s why we
want to finish up tonight, then my crew can have tomorrow off.
But I will be here with one crew member, and hopefully Steele, to workout
any bugs that may be in the system,” Juan told him.
“That’s good,”
Dan stated and then considered he would like to see the testing done for
himself. “I’ll clear my desk
as much as possible tomorrow to be here while you test the system.
Just let me know what time you plan to start tomorrow,” he said as
left the room.
The next morning Steele was up before the crack of dawn Honolulu time, which was about the normal time he got up in Los Angles. After he showered and dressed, he headed off to the Academy before Laura could catch him. He needed a full day to finish the security system there. * Possible this morning and tomorrow morning and I will have Caterina off my back, * Steele thought.
Steele considered the
few things Caterina wanted done in her office area and he
knew he needed to get started and get the job
done before Daniel saw him there at the Academy and he didn’t want him to
catch him with Caterina again.
When Steele arrived at the Academy, he kept out of sight when he saw Daniel drop Caterina off. He watched as they kissed each other good-bye before Caterina got out of the car to head into the building. After Daniel drove off towards the Palace, which is where Steele assumed he would go. When Daniel was out of sight, Steele ran to catch up with Caterina before the door closed behind her.
“Morning Juan,”
Caterina greeted him.
“Morning Lady C,
how are you this morning? Morning
Steele, you’re up early after our late night,” Juan greeted them.
“Morning, Love,
Juan,” Steele responded with a warm smile.
“Morning Steele,
sneaking in as usual I see,” Caterina teased.
“Well Love, have to
keep you on your toes, plus I didn’t want Daniel to see me here this early in
the morning,” Steele told her.
“I’m fine Juan.
Dan said you got a lot done last night and then some,” Caterina
commented as she opened the door to her office.
“Yeah, what a day.
I’ll tell you this, Lady C, Steele here knows his business. In fact,
he showed me a trick or two in setting up a good security system,” Juan said
in praise of Steele as actions of the day before.
“That's Steele for
you,” Caterina said as she put her things down around her desk area.
“I stopped by this
morning to ask if I could get a look at that security system here in the
Academy to see if I can fix it for you now that I have a hint of what the
original person who put it in did,” Juan asked.
“Really, just
spending one day with your old comrade in crime taught you what you need to
know?” Caterina asked in a very firm voice as she looked from one man to the
next to see the look of surprise on their faces.
“She knows about
you Mick?” Juan shook his head in surprise that anyone knew the Steele secret
other then people he worked with in the past.
“Than Mick here,” Juan pointed to Steele with his thumb, “was the
one to install the security around here?”
“Yes, he was the
one,” Caterina confirmed.
“Love, I could use
Juan to help me with the last of the connections here and there and show him
how to maintain the system for you on a basic level,” Steele said to
Caterina.
Caterina was thrilled
at the idea to have some local person capable to make the necessary adjustment.
“All right, the faster you get done around here the better it is for
all concerned. Dan wants this job
done as quickly as possible and you off the Academy grounds even faster.”
Caterina noticed a touch of surprise in Steele’s eyes.
They discussed a few
fine-tuning ideas for the security system, then Steele and Juan finished the
last of the security connections and tested the system before ten o’clock.
Next was the installation of the surveillance cameras in Caterina’s
office itself and to set up the trip connections for the hidden cameras.
It took another two hours to finish up the installation and
programming.
“Catie, I’ll be
back tomorrow morning with the last of the trip lasers and motion sensors for
you. The one’s we were testing
with are needed at the Palace today,” Steele told her when she returned to
her office from the class she just taught.
“That’s great!
That means you are finished ahead of schedule,” Caterina was thrilled
to have her office back to normal again.
“See you later Lady
C, now to go and deal with your Boss Man for the balance of the day,” Juan
teased her as he finished packing up their equipment.
“Hope you have
fun!!!!” Caterina returned the tease.
“Right!
Can I borrow your phone to let Williams know I’m on the way over?”
Juan asked for permission as he reached for the phone.
“Sure, no
problem,” Caterina reach over and hit the interoffice connection for Juan.
“Hello, Mr.
Williams, this is Juan, I wanted to let you know I’ll be over shortly.
I should be there within a half hour or so. . . Okay, an hour then,
bye,” Juan hung up the phone.
“Bye Love, I’ll
be back in the morning,” Steele reached over and kissed her hand.
“All right, you
two, enjoy your afternoon.” Caterina
said good-bye while she sat down at her desk and looked around at the mess she
had to clean up.
After that Steele and
Juan left and head downtown for various items and lunch at the local Greek Restaurant.
Once they started to
relax while they waited for their food, Juan questioned his old friend, “Mick, does
Lady Caterina or your partner, Laura Holt, know the full truth about you?”
“Laura knows some
things about me but not much. We
met over my trying to retrieve the Royal Lavulite for South Africa government and Laura
was in charge of guarding the stones. That’s when I took on the mantle of Remington
Steele and have been there since, which was about six months ago and it has been an interesting
challenge,” Steele said. “Laura
knows there is more to my past and she is always trying to find out more and
more, but she only gets it in little bits and pieces,” Steele stopped talking
when the food arrived. “It was over ten
months ago
that I met Caterina.”
“Just how did you
get involved in installing the security system in the Academy?”
Juan then continued before Steele could answer his question. “When I looked
the system over a couple of months ago, it had your signature all over it.
But I
didn’t know how to get in touch with you for some advice on how to figure it
out.”
“Well, Mate, now
you do,” Steele handed him his business card.
“As for installing the security, Caterina caught me and offered me a
chance at my freedom for a price. A price I couldn’t refuse.
The price was to put in her security system for free and then leave
Hawaii never to return unless I had her permission.” Steele remembered that
faithful night with fond memories.
“That explains your
relationship with Lady C, but what’s with you and Williams?” Juan had tried
to figure that one out all night but came up with no reason that made sense to
him.
“That my old
friend, is a subject that I’m not sure about myself.
Let me, just say, he saw what he wanted to see and not what really
happened.” Steele thought to
himself, * the old adage is true love is
blind. *
“Whatever Williams
saw had to have something to do with Caterina.
That’s the only reason that I can come up with why he gives you such a
cold, cold shoulder,” Juan laughed.
“You could say
that, at least for Daniel. He's a man that doesn’t want his lady seeing anyone else other
than him.”
Steele always thought that Daniel was just a little over protective of
Caterina.
They continued to
chat over all times until they finished their meal and headed for the Palace
for the next go around on the security system.
Once at the Palace, an angry Laura who had been there since noon confronted Steele because it now after one.
Before Laura could
say a thing, Steve McGarrett and Dan Williams arrived at the door to join them.
“Sorry to keep you waiting but work does get in the way at times,”
Dan said.
“No problem,
Daniel, Juan and I just arrived ourselves.
We now have the last equipment to finish up the job and for testing the
system,” Steele told them.
“Let’s see what
you have so far,” Steve requested.
“Okay, Mr.
McGarrett, this way to the security closet,” Juan lead the way down the hall.
When they got to the
door, Dan opened it to let everyone in because he had the only key.
“Juan, the first
thing we need to do is install that combination lock for the door, so we
can come and go without borrowing the key or bothering Williams,” Steele
suggested.
“I agree, I have
the lock in the truck and after we show Mr. McGarrett what he needs to see we
can install it. Just need someone
to tell me what combination to use for this exhibition,” Juan stated.
Steve and Dan
listened and watched as Steele and Juan examined the door.
“I can give you’re the first combination. Just how hard is it to
reset the combination?” Steve
asked since he had not seen the combination lock to be used.
“Not that hard, Mr.
McGarrett. According to my contract with Lady Caterina, I will be in on the
average of once a month to change it and I’m not to show up every month on
the same day. I’m suppose to
pick a random day, that way no pattern is set for anyone to follow,” Juan
told them all.
“I’ll tell you
Steve, Catie does like to cover all the bases when she puts a contract
together. Just how long is the
contract that Catie set up?” Dan questioned.
“It has been set up
for eighteen resets from the first change in the combination. So it can take up
to twenty months to fulfill,” Juan told him.
“Why twenty months,
when you said once a month?” Laura asked.
“Because Laura, the
changes are to take place no less then three and half weeks to six weeks
between changes. As a result, it
could take up to twenty months, which is what Lady Caterina is hoping for,”
Juan said because he know Caterina wanted the most for the money she had to
spend.
“Good reason, that
would never give anyone a pattern to follow,” Laura commented.
“I’ll most likely
change this combination when I change the combinations at the Academy,” Juan
said more to inform Williams and McGarrett then the rest of their little group.
“The Academy?
That is the second time you mentioned it,” Laura wanted to know about
this Academy. “What academy?”
“The Honolulu State
Police Academy that Assistant Deputy Chief Caterina is in charge of the Five-O
side of it,” Steve said with pride about his cousin.
“Oh, that’s the
Academy you two were discussing yesterday?” Laura asked.
“Yes Laura, it was.
Now can we get back to the business at hand,”
Steele said because he did not want to get into a full discussion on that
subject here and now. “Juan, why
don’t you bring up the system and Laura and I will go to the various
camera’s to give you the high sign to see if they are working correctly this
afternoon.”
“All right,
here’s a hand radio for you to use. It
is hooked up to the Police security system to record the activity of our
checking the equipment,” Juan handed them the radio as they left.
As Holt and Steele
left the security closet, Sergeants Whitman and Kalima greeted them.
“Afternoon, which room are we starting with first?” Kalima asked.
“Let’s start with the Blue
Room first and go from there,” Steele and Holt headed off followed by Sargent
Kalima following, with Whitman left as guard at the security closet door.
For the next
half-hour or so, under the watchful eye of Steve McGarrett, every camera and
hidden microphone was checked and rechecked.
When Steve was satisfied with that part of the operation was being
handled correctly, he headed off to his office, which left Danno to over see
the rest of the installation.
Dan watched from the
Security Closet as the four security experts installed the laser
equipment and then tested it and retested it until it worked perfectly.
“Anyone in here
interested in a tall cool drink of soda, juice, water or maybe a little
something else?” Caterina teased.
Dan was alone in the
security closet when he heard the sweet voice of his lady come in.
“I could use a nice cold beer right now, but will settle for a soda
and a nice loving kiss,” Dan teased as he took hold of Caterina’s hand that
was now on his shoulder.
“Really, you should
behave yourself, Mr. Williams. You are on duty and that kind of comment could be
considered sexual harassment,” Caterina teased him as her hand moved to
caress his chest under his unbuttoned section of shirt.
When Steele came into
the room, he could see Caterina as she leaned over Daniel shoulder to kiss him.
“Now, I know how you got that promotion to Deputy Chief, Daniel, or is
that Assistant Deputy Chief Caterina?”
Dan grimaced at that comment but joined Caterina and Steele in a good laugh at the
bad joke.
After the security cameras and
entrance systems were set up and tested, the display cases security was set up
in the Throne Room as well. The
red carpeting was as well protected as possible from the various sizes and
shaped cases. After long hours of
hard labor in putting the system in, everyone was tired and ready to crash.
So one by one, or couple by couple, they all went their own beds
to get a good night’s rest for the next day.
Original content © 2001
Betty's Book-Me Danno
Last modified: April 27, 2002