08x08 - He Kaha Lu'u Ke Ala, Mai Ho'okolo Aku (The Trail Leads to a Diving Place; Do Not Follow After)

[bunniefuu]

Well, it's been a very emotional week here at the Hammerade Air Races.

Through it all, we've seen some incredible flying.

We still have one final run to go.

And here comes our pilot now.

And there's the smoke as he begins the first lap, coming through the chicane.

♪ Or the track leading down to the beach... ♪ He's pushing up against that 200-knot starting speed, but he's got to watch his altitude. And it looks like... yes, he's a little late with the turn.

That's gonna carry over to gate three.

He's got to make up the time, and... oh, it looks like he has just made the correct level for gate five.

He's got his wings nicely leveled.

Now, we don't know much about this new pilot, but if he's anything like the old Shadow Baron, he could be the dark horse in this race.

♪ You're driving too fast ♪

♪ You went straight past the curve ♪

♪ And you never go back ♪

♪ Driving too fast ♪

♪ The road was a blur and... ♪ Danny?

Danny, you there? Pick up, Danny.

♪ Driving too fast, hang on to the wheel... ♪ I got you, babe. What's the matter?

Nothing's wrong. How's my time?

Time? I... Your time's fine.

What does it... what does it matter?

Matters to me.

You know, Steve, the only thing you had to do was put the plane up in the air. That's it. Nothing else.

Okay? Hold that thought.

Into the second lap now, and there... that's a very nice, controlled turn through gate two.

I'm getting motion sickness just watching this.

Better watch your feet, 'cause I may boot.

Jerry, these are new shoes.

If you puke on them, I will hurt you.

Now, every time those wings are not completely level, when he's not centered up going through those gates, it's gonna be harder not to clip one of those pylons.

And now coming towards eight...

Oh, that was very close.

All right! An inch higher, and he would have been in the red band.

And now just two more gates.

As long as he flies clean, he can pull off a respectable time, and... oh!

He just clipped the pylon.

Looks like he couldn't adjust for those north headwinds, and it looks like he's having some trouble with the turbulence.

He's got to straighten out the wings.

Steve? Steve?

Steve! Oh, my God.

If he doesn't get level, he's gonna risk hitting the water at 175 knots, and... he's struggling.

And it looks like... Oh, my God, he's losing control of the plane! theme song plays]

♪

♪ Ooh, yeah ♪ ♪ Sun kissing in the morning ♪

♪ Ooh, yeah ♪ ♪ Sun kissing you right now ♪

♪ Ooh, yeah ♪ ♪ Sun kissing in the morning ♪

♪ And we'll be kissing till the sun goes down ♪

Look at that.

Is that Rockin' Ronnie Turner right there?

Dude...

Ensign McGarrett.

“Ensign McGarrett.” What's it been, 15 years?

Give or take. Give or take. Buddy.

You look good, man.

You, too. Danny Williams, my partner.

Nice to meet you. Same here.

I was just telling Danny on the way over, this guy was the best mechanic we ever had on base, and-and probably the best mechanic I ever met.

I learned a lot from this man. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Hey, you and your dad ever get that old Mercury out there on the road?

Nah, man, we never really got there.

Oh, that's a shame. What brings you to the island, man?

Well, I'm here for the Hammerade Air Races.

I've been one of their chief mechanics the last ten years.

Hey, I heard one of your pilots crashed the other day. Is that right?

Yeah, that's actually why I asked you here.

I need your help.

That pilot was my pilot.

His plane nose-dived into the water during a training session, and, uh, he was k*lled on impact.

I'm sorry, Ronnie.

What was his name? Jason Sachs.

But the public knew him as the Shadow Baron.

Shadow Baron, huh?

It was his alter ego.

The races are like, uh, pro wrestling.

All the pilots have fake personas.

The Crimson Ace.

Uh, Midnight Flyer.

Amelia Sweetheart. A lot of showmanship.

But the flying's all legit.

Jason's angle was anonymity.

Always wore a helmet.

Never showed his face.

Didn't talk much.

Figured, uh, the more mysterious he was, the more interesting he'd be.

So, what do you need from us?

I'd like for you to look into the crash.

Right. That's, um... that's NTSB's thing.

Yeah. And they've been investigating.

But they only just fished Jason's plane out of the water yesterday, and I'm already hearing they're going to declare this thing pilot error.

You don't agree with that, obviously.

Not for a second. Could've been anything.

You know, a defective part, design flaw.

Hell, sabotage, for all I know.

You got any evidence to back these theories up?

NTSB won't let me near the wreckage.

Well, if they've seen the plane and you have not, why, uh... why not just take their word for it?

Jason was the best pilot I've ever seen.

This guy came out of nowhere five years ago.

No m*llitary background.

Never flew any commercial aircraft.

But he could do anything in the sky.

Up there, he was ice cold.

You know, no mistakes.

There's no way this was pilot error.

Ronnie, I got to ask you something.

Is it possible this could have been mechanical?

You know me, Steve.

There's no way I would ever let anything leave the ground I wouldn't fly myself. Right.

Hammerade and the pilot do one final inspection the day of.

But I looked that plane over myself the night before.

Nose to rudder.

That thing was clean.

Look, I know you guys don't normally do stuff like this, but Jason was a good guy with a wife and little boy.

The NTSB declares this crash pilot error, insurance won't pay his family a dime.

Neither will Hammerade.

They'll be left with nothing.

It's tragic.

It could have been worse, though.

If this had happened closer to shore, during the actual race, there could have been dozens of casualties.

Agent Callaghan, where are you guys at with the investigation?

Our preliminary investigation should be wrapping up soon.

But at this point, all indications are this was pilot error.

Okay, it's a little early to make a call like that, though, right?

This wasn't a 747 that just dropped off the radar.

It's a little more cut and dry when you're dealing with an aircraft like this.

Believe me, I've been covering these races for NTSB since '06.

When you've seen as many of these incidents as I have, you recognize when it's the plane and when it's the pilot.

Now, we're gonna ship the wreckage back to D.C. for further analysis, but otherwise, we should be done in the next day or two.

Oh...

Have all the pieces been recovered?

There are a few components that are still unaccounted for.

Uh... couple left-wing bolts, uh, part of the landing gear, the trim tab. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Trim tab? You don't have the trim tab?

We're confident the conclusion will be the same with or without it.

I-I don't know too much about planes.

What's a trim tab?

Tr-Trim tab is the rudder of the plane.

It goes right here. If anything were to happen mechanically to this thing up in the air, the pilot would lose control of the plane. Isn't that right?

So, without that piece, pretty hard to come to a real conclusion, right?

I'm sure you gentlemen have closed plenty of cases despite not having access to every piece of potential evidence.

We work with the clues that we have.

Okay. Maybe you can, uh, do something else for us.

We'd like to see the cockpit video if that's not too much trouble.

You're welcome to put in a request to review any footage after the investigation is complete.

You're in charge of this investigation, right?

Yes. Okay.

All I'm asking is for you to cut through a little red tape and let us see that video as a professional courtesy.

Look, don't take this the wrong way, Commander, Detective, but unless a crime has been committed, we're the sole investigators on this case.

That means that we don't have to share anything with anyone.

Especially if you're gonna come in here and question my team's work.

But I would be more than happy to keep you guys in the loop from here on out.

As a... professional courtesy.

Now, unless there's something else, I've got to get back to work.

No, go ahead, man.

We'll, uh, see ourselves out.

Thanks. Yeah.

You know what I think?

I think that you being exposed to that radiation is the best thing to ever happen to you.

Oh, this should be good. No, no, no, look at this.

Peter Parker, right? He gets bit by a radioactive spider, turns into a superhero.

You, a superhero, you, uh, get hooked up with some radiation, and you turn into a human being, huh?

What's your point?

Pre-radioactive Steve would have punched that guy right in the mouth.

Proud of you.

Oh, you think I didn't want to punch him in the mouth?

Let me tell you something, this guy making a call like that without a crucial piece of evidence, one of two things-- either he's a complete idiot, or he's hiding something.

Hey, so where were you this morning?

I called to see if you wanted to go for a paddle.

Yeah, I went to see my parents.

How'd that go?

My dad and I had some scintillating eye contact.

Scintillating?

Yeah. I'm showing off.

So, your mom must have been happy to see you.

I waited an hour.

She never showed.

So it was just you and your dad, then?

I guess.

You must have talked about something.

Yeah. When he emptied his drink, he mentioned wanting to put a garbage can on the porch.

Yeah.

What's the deal between you two?

He didn't want me to enlist.

Wait, but wasn't he in the Navy, too?

That's the reason why.

It's complicated. Trust me.

I get complicated.

Yeah, see, your brother, my father-- they'd probably get along just great.

Hold on.

Everything okay?

Yeah. It's McGarrett.

I'm getting called off the bench.

Big-league playa.

Yeah, hardly.

I'm really sorry. I have to go.

See, I can't wait to say that.

Well, be careful what you wish for.

All right.

We'll finish this conversation later.

All right. sh**t.

Since the NTSB wouldn't give you guys access to the cockpit footage, I scoured YouTube looking for video of the crash.

Unfortunately, there weren't too many people on a closed beach watching a practice flight at 7:00 in the morning.

This is all I could find.

So, how does this work?

It's like Indy 500 in the sky.

This is the practice run.

It takes place a couple days before the timed heat.

All right, the pilots have to maneuver their planes between those pylons at a certain height, all right?

Any of them fly outside of the designated window or clip a pylon, it's a time penalty.

Wait a minute. That's weird.

Jason's plane should have banked left to make the next gate.

Maybe this is where something went wrong.

Jerry, play it back.

So, what, you think that trim thing you were talking about caused the crash? It's possible.

Maybe it didn't open, or it came loose during the flight.

I can't tell from this footage, but you know what?

Ronnie said that the same company that made this plane had trouble with the trim tabs on a bunch of other planes they made.

The only way we can tell if that's the case in this instance is by finding that trim tab.

Well, you said the NTSB guys took a couple of days to drag that wreckage out of there, didn't you?

Yeah. Well, then isn't it possible somebody just dove down there, knew what they were looking for and grabbed it?

Sure. Anything's possible.

Including the “S” word?

The “S” word?

Yeah, you know-- “sabotage.” Oh, that “S” word. Yeah.

Sabotage, Jerry?

Yeah, like someone messed with this guy's plane on purpose.

I know what the word means, Jerry.

Wait a minute.

Actually, he may be on to something.

Air racing is a very competitive sport.

There's loads of prize money at stake.

It's possible that somebody got sick of Jason Sachs winning it all the time.

I looked at Jason Sachs' autopsy report.

Cause of death was blunt abdominal trauma.

I'm guessing that's pretty consistent with most crash victims.

Correct.

Well, how was his general health otherwise?

Did he have any kind of a preexisting thing that might have flared up at the wrong time?

Based on the medical reports, Mr. Sachs was in excellent health.

And his tox screen was negative for any dr*gs or alcohol.

So there's nothing that could have happened to him physically that might have led to the crash?

Not quite.

Flying at g-force speeds can put a tremendous amount of stress on the human body.

At four g's, most people tend to lose consciousness.

During a race, pilots like Mr. Sachs can pull up to ten g's.

Really? Okay, well, then how come all these air jockeys aren't blacking out and just dropping out of the sky, then?

They take certain precautions-- utilize special breathing techniques, wear antigravity suits.

But they're still taking a huge risk when they're up there.

Hold your breath for a millisecond in that environment, and your brain can shut down.

Okay. Well, with all the damage that Jason's body sustained, is there a possibility that the M.E. who conducted this autopsy might have missed some of the signs of oxygen deprivation?

Given the extent of the damage, yeah, I'd say possible.

Doc, I need you to do me a favor.

Do you think you can go back and double-check the math on this thing?

Maybe conduct a second autopsy and see what we get from there?

Jason always felt more comfortable in the air than on the ground.

His father had him flying crop dusters by the time he was a teenager.

How'd you guys meet?

I was working at a bar in Puerto Palomas, near the U.S. border.

He came in for a drink one night, and we started talking.

He was wearing this old brown leather jacket that belonged to his father.

He always wore it when he flew.

He said it brought him luck.

He loaned it to me that night.

He was flying out, so I tried to refuse, but he said he didn't want me to be cold on my way home.

And then he smiled.

And I just knew.

He came back a few times after that.

Back then, I was with someone else.

Someone who didn't treat me well.

One day, I was at work, and I heard a plane land in the field.

It was Jason.

He told me to get in.

I was terrified.

But Jason, he was always so sure of himself.

Once he made up his mind to do something, he did it.

So I got in.

And we flew over the border to Texas.

And I never looked back.

Elena...

Did Jason have any... problems with any of the other pilots?

Any rivalries?

No. Most of the pilots stage rivalries for publicity.

Mm-hmm. Maybe a couple of them don't get along, but no one had a problem with Jason.

Okay, but... the day of... the day of the crash, was there anything that-that could have distracted Jason during that practice flight?

Like what?

He was always so focused out there.

I don't know.

Did anything unusual happen that day?

What?

That morning, we were going out for breakfast before the practice run.

Tomás was fussing, so I told Jason to meet us outside.

When we went downstairs, I saw Jason talking to a man.

He walked away before we got there, but I could tell he was upset.

I asked Jason who he was, but he said there was a misunderstanding.

Okay.

You okay?

Yeah.

You know, they say every m*rder has two victims.

The deceased and the family they leave in the wake.

It's good to care, Tani.

Should I see if Jerry can pull up the hotel's security footage, see if we can I.D. this mystery guy that Jason was talking to?

That's a good idea. See if we can figure out what that conversation was about.

It's Ronnie.

Hey, Ronnie. Hey, we just spoke to Elena.

Steve, I found it.

What? What'd you find?

The trim tab.

What?

How'd you get that?

One of the Hammerade race technicians fished it out of the ocean.

What, and he just gave it to you?

Not exactly.

What'd you do, Ronnie?

Look, Jason was like a brother to me, Steve.

I don't have to explain that to you.

Don't move, all right? We're on the way.

Those look like government plates.

Can't be good.

Yo.

NTSB was just here.

They confiscated the tab before I could get a good look at it.

I don't even know how they knew I was here.

Callaghan's boys must have been keeping an eye on you and anybody else on Jason's team.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let them take it.

You didn't exactly have a choice, Ronnie.

What do we do now?

You still got that technician?

Hey.

Can see why you two were friends.

Isaiah Phillips.

Been with the Hammerade Air Races since 2014.

You were with the Reno Air Races before that for six years.

Rumor has it, though, you were fired after two planes went down due to mechanical problems that you missed during your final inspection.

All right, here's what I'm thinking.

You know the history with these trim tabs.

Right? So you must have known there was something wrong with the one on Jason's plane, which is why his plane crashed in the ocean. Okay?

Now, of course, it was up to you to spot any problems-- which you didn't because you got sloppy again.

So now it's CYA time, isn't it?

So you go fish the trim tab out of the water.

That way, nobody knows that your third screwup in nine years cost a man his life.

All right, yeah.

The way that plane spun out of control, I knew there had to have been something wrong with one of the tabs-- something I should have caught.

But I'm not the only one responsible for what happened.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know.

The-the company that made Jason's plane-- they're the big villains in all this, da-da-da, right?

Not this time.

What do you mean?

Those other tabs that failed were made from an alloy that would heat up whenever the planes hit a certain speed.

The heat would cause the tab to warp.

But the tabs on Jason's were standard steel.

He wouldn't have had the same problem.

What are you saying? This was a mechanical issue?

I don't think so.

See, I got a good look at that tab before your crazy friend showed up.

I think somebody messed with it.

You're saying it's sabotage.

Yeah.

Tani.

You buy any of that?

I don't know.

I mean, even if it was sabotage, doesn't get this guy off the hook.

I know. Why would he lie, though?

I know.

NTSB just held a press conference.

They announced their ruling on the crash.

What did they say?

Earlier this week, we pulled the wreckage of Jason Sachs' plane out of Waikiki Bay, where it crashed during a practice run for this week's Hammerade Air Race.

After analysis of the aircraft, as well as the cockpit and the exterior footage in the moments leading up to the tragedy, we've concluded that the crash was caused by pilot error.

Son of a bitch.

Mr. Sachs, known to most by his alias “the Shadow Baron,” was a well-respected aviator with thousands of hours of flight time...

It looks like we may have another government cover-up.

All right. We got to get our hands on that trim tab, do our own analysis.

That's the only way we're gonna figure out what actually happened.

Will the NTSB allow that? I highly doubt it.

I can call the governor, see if she can help. And if she can't?

If she can't, we're gonna have to figure out something else.

Thank you.

Norman Andrews?

Captain Lou Grover.

That's Detective Danny Williams.

We're both with Five-O.

What do you want?

We just want to talk to you about a conversation you had with Jason Sachs the other day.

Ten years ago, this guy comes to me with an investment opportunity.

Says he's working on the next Google, and he... he shows me the business plans, the algorithm.

He says I can get in on the ground floor, make a fortune, so...

I invested my entire life savings, and that bastard ran off with every penny.

Guy's name was Jason Sachs.

I looked for that son of a bitch for a few years, but he disappeared.

But a couple months ago, I catch this “behind the scenes” clip of the Air Races on YouTube, and in the background there he was-- the guy that ripped me off.

He's wearing the... the Shadow Baron outfit, but he had his helmet off.

So I did some digging, confirmed his name was Jason Sachs.

So I flew over here and tracked him down to his hotel.

And that's where you confronted him.

All right, what'd he say?

Not much, 'cause he didn't have to.

'Cause he wasn't the Jason Sachs who ripped me off.

So you see this guy in a clip, he looks exactly like the guy that ripped you off, he's got the same name, but it's... it's not him?

They were dead ringers except when it came to height.

Two guys with the same name, same face?

Wh-What are the odds of that, right?

Just tell Governor Mahoe I need to see her as soon as she's back in the office, please.

Yes. No, it is time-sensitive.

You know what? Uh...

Forget it. Thank you.

Excuse me, Tani?

Could I see you in my office, please, for a sec?

Yeah.

Hi. Hi.

What's up?

You want to explain this?

Oh, my God. Is that the trim tab?

It is.

Great. Yeah.

You know how it got on my desk?

You're saying it was just here when you came in?

Uh-huh.

That's so weird.

It is, isn't it?

Yeah. Very weird.

So you have no idea how it got here?

I don't know.

But, um... don't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?

Right.

Okay.

Is there anything else?

No. Do me a favor, will you?

Take this down to the crime lab, and... see what they can tell us.

Okay, yeah. Will do.

Hey, Tani?

You're fitting in just fine around here.

Mahalo.

Okay, so check this out.

See that discoloration on the tab?

That's fresh paint right there.

Now, see these grooves?

Those were made a couple of days ago.

Okay, so what... what does it all mean?

All right, these screw threadings, they've been ground down to almost nothing.

Now, normally, it would be due to wear and tear, but these markings, they're too precise.

This was done with a tool of some kind.

And then with the paint, whoever did this was trying to cover up the work they did.

Right, so you're saying that somebody tampered with the screws, loosening them so that the trim tab would come off during the practice run.

Somebody wanted to make sure this was Jason's last flight.

What the hell is this?

Agent Callaghan.

You're under arrest for obstruction of justice.

After you.

You tried to cover up what really happened.

That's a... that's a serious offense.

You understand that, right?

We have a difference of opinion over what happened.

You say it was sabotage.

I don't agree.

That's hardly a cover-up.

Okay. Tani, why don't you tell him what we know.

Sure. So, we looked into Hammerade's financials, and it turns out that they were paying a lot of money to an anonymous shell company in the Virgin Islands.

That same shell also controlled a trust in Bermuda.

A trust that linked back to you.

And so those payments, they started back in the fall of 2010, which was the same time that the NTSB assigned you to oversee Hammerade's races.

So, what's the deal?

Hammerade keeps you on a retainer, and in turn, you squash anything that comes up that's bad for the brand? Is that right?

Like, for example, a pilot's sabotaged plane going down during a practice run.

Why-why you smiling?

Yeah, you should be proud of yourself. You just tried to screw over a widow and her child to save a multi-million-dollar company a PR headache.

Well done.

Okay.

There are a lot of people involved in this who are guilty of something, Commander.

Okay.

Someone sabotaged Jason Sachs's plane.

Isaiah Phillips failed to catch it.

I covered it up.

But let's not forget your team.

Go on.

You're in possession of one trim tab-- a piece of evidence in a federal investigation.

Evidence that was illegally seized from a federal facility by someone connected to your task force.

You really think that there won't be a fallout from that?

See, you try to bring me down, and I'll make sure our agency holds every member of Five-O responsible for interfering with a government inquiry.

Okay, you done?

Good.

That trim tab was on my desk when I walked into my office.

How it got there, I don't know.

Really?

Yeah.

And-and who, pray tell, left it there?

The-the evidence fairy?

Maybe.

You really expect my people to believe you didn't steal it?

Yes, I do.

Because that's the truth.

Ain't that right, Tani?

Yes, sir.

Norman Andrews' story checks out.

It seems he was indeed scammed by a different Jason Sachs.

So Norman Andrews is not our k*ller.

That is correct.

But something was kind of eating at me, so I had Jerry dig a little deeper.

That Jason Sachs-- Norman Andrews' Jason Sachs-- was k*lled in a car accident six years ago.

Okay.

All right. Go on.

This got me to thinking.

Here we have a pilot who was about the closest thing to a real-life Racer X of the sky, and this pilot also has the name and the likeness of a dead guy?

I don't think so.

Anyway, I had Noelani run our Jason Sachs's prints, and guess what.

Jason Sachs is as big an alias as “the Shadow Baron.” Because, according to CODIS, our Jason Sachs's real name is Luke Nixon.

Okay, so our victim, aka Luke Nixon, stole the late Jason Sachs' identity.

Is that right?

I mean, well, it's not like he was using it, but yeah.

It looks like our victim was really trying to hide from something. Or someone.

Either way, I think this whole thing's connected to the DEA.

Why? Because the DEA arrested Luke Nixon in 2009.

Problem with that is, we don't know what the hell happened after that because the file is sealed.

Then we need to get it unsealed. I'll put in a call.

Hopefully there's something in there that can tell us why somebody would want this guy dead.

What do you want to do with this guy?

Well, we can't hold him.

But I do know some people in Washington who might be very interested in his financial records.

Luke Nixon, aka Jason Sachs.

Born 1981 in Amarillo, Texas.

He was caught flying drug shipments for the Maldonado Cartel in 2009.

DEA gave him a choice: to either go to prison or turn informant.

I'm guessing he opted for the latter.

Yep.

This is Juan Camilo, the cartel's Grand Poobah.

Now, DEA and the Mexican Federal Police have been trying to take this guy down for years.

But Luke was the only CI they had that could get close to him.

In fact, Juan took a real shine to Luke.

Treated him like blood.

Now, according to his file, after 18 months of snitching, Luke begged the DEA to let him go, but they refused.

I'm guessing, when he figured out there was no other way out, he decided to cut and run.

Is that right? Yeah, but he wasn't alone.

He took Juan Camilo's only daughter with him.

Uh-oh.

Whoa. That's Jason... Luke's widow, Elena.

Yeah. It's kind of an epic Romeo and Juliet story.

DEA mole falls in love with the drug lord's daughter, and they take off together and go into hiding from both the good guys and the bad.

Okay, so apparently that story that she gave us this morning was not anywhere near as interesting as the truth.

Well, the details have changed, but the-the circumstances are similar.

All right, so we got a guy who only knows how to do one thing.

Lucky for him, he ends up landing himself a gig where he can keep doing it on the low.

Right, and those races, they go all over the world, so he gets to keep moving.

It's like he's hiding in plain sight.

Yeah, I guess he didn't move fast enough.

They caught up to him.

So I'm thinking somebody connected to the cartel must have seen that video of Luke online somewhere, right?

So they come out here, they mess with his plane, k*lling not only the guy that ratted on 'em, but the guy who ran away with the boss's daughter.

But the one thing I can't figure out-- these people, they're... they're badass drug lords.

Why waste time sabotaging a plane when they can just put a b*llet in him?

I don't know.

It seems like it's obvious.

Attract too much attention.

Yeah, but it's still a big risk k*lling him that way. Why?

Clear!

Clear.

Well, if you're right, sabotaging the plane wasn't the only reason they came here.

No.

They came to take the boss's daughter and grandson back.

Elena and Tomás are probably on a boat or a plane back to Mexico right now.

Jerry, what do you got?

Inspector General Miguel Cortines of the Federal Police on the line, just like you asked.

Good. Put him through.

Hello.

Señor Cortines, this is Commander Steve McGarrett.

Yes. What can I do for you, Commander?

We need your assistance, sir.

We know you must have the Maldonado Cartel under surveillance. Do you have any wires up on Juan Camilo himself?

Commander, you must understand, I can neither confirm nor deny...

Sir, I understand this is highly irregular, but we have a hostage situation on our hands.

We believe members of the cartel have abducted Juan Camilo's estranged daughter Elena and her son Tomás with the intent to transport them back to Mexico.

I can tell you we've heard no chatter about that.

All right, well, can you at least tell us if Camilo has placed any outgoing calls to numbers in the 808 area code of the United States in the last 24 hours?

Jerry, I lose him? Is he still on the line?

I'm here, Commander.

All right.

Give me ten minutes. I'll see what I can find out.

Thank you.

We're not going back.

You don't have a choice.

Your father searched for you and your husband for years.

He just wants you home.

And he wants to meet his grandson.

You have no idea how much you've disappointed him, Elena.

Time to go.

Turn around. On the ground.

You all right?

Thank you.

Yeah. Come on.

Come on.

Hard to believe he could hide that kind of history all those years.

Thank you.

For looking into the crash and finding out the truth.

Yeah. Yeah.

I know the rest of his crew is grateful.

NTSB's gonna issue a new statement, just so you know, stating that the, uh, cause of the crash was malicious tampering.

When that happens, Elena should get the full insurance payout, right?

My guess is she's gonna have to fight for it.

Jason...

Luke had that policy under “Jason Sachs.” Insurance company's probably going to say it's fraud and use that as an excuse to avoid paying.

What about Hammerade?

I mean, Th-they gotta give the family something, right?

Not according to the contract.

Those guys got their asses covered.

We don't race, they don't pay.

We got a backup plane, but without a pilot, we'll have to pull out.

You got another plane?

Yeah.

Wait a minute-- all you gotta do is-is get that plane in the air?

And Elena and Tomás will get a little something.

Won't be a huge payout, but it'll definitely help.

Hold on. Can you, um... Can... can we talk?

Can I talk to you for a second, please?

Sure.

Steve?

Steve. Oh, my God.

Oh!

Oh...

Oh, this guy.

This guy.

Buddy, how you doing? You all right?

Yeah.

That was almost unpleasant.

That was definitely almost unpleasant. Yes.

Whew.

Wait a minute. Were you worried about me, Danny?

Just put the plane on the ground, please, maniac.

Hey, I'm sorry.

Did you just call me “Maverick”?

'Cause if you did, that's, like, the great compliment you've ever given me.

Thank you. I love you.

Land the plane, you idiot.

Copy that. Permission to buzz the tower?

Whoa!

I feel the need.

The need for Steve.

I just said that out loud, didn't I? Oh, yeah.

You're a kiss-ass.

Hey.

How'd I do?

Uh, you know.

Not too bad.

Very respectable.

Cool. How respectable?

Came in 12th.

12th?

Out of how many?

12.

Victory's in the effort.

Wait a minute.

12th out of 12?

What about without the... I almost crashed.

You take that time away, you do that math...?

Yeah, but it's still 12th, though.

Chin up, baby.

Got this bad boy in the air.

That's all we needed. Thank you.

Nice going, Ace.

12th. Dead last? Dead last?

Dead last. Yeah, dead last.

It's better than dead period, right?

You know what? These guys, these flyboys, they do this for a living. You thought you were gonna...

I mean, you're you, and they're them. You know what I mean?

Come on. Maverick, I'll buy you a...

I'll buy you beers. Come on.

But it seemed... it seemed so fast when I was...

Very, very fast. It did, right?

Ooph. It felt very fast.

♪ I put the pedal down ♪

♪ 'Cause I want to go fast ♪

♪ 'Cause I want to go fast... ♪ You the man.

You did so good, McGarrett.

Thanks, buddy. You didn't over-g.

Tight vertical turn maneuvers.

Not bad for an amateur.

Thanks, buddy.

Yeah, I've been thinking, if I ever get tired of being cooped up in that bunker all day, maybe I could be one of those Hammerade racers.

You know, travel the world, have a cool alias like...

Conspira-Soar.

Conspira-Soar. What do you think?

Catchy.

If you like dinosaurs.

No, it's not a dinosaur name.

It's a hybrid between “conspiracy” and “soaring.” You know, never mind.

Yeah, maybe stick to Bigfoot sightings there, Conspira-Soar.

You know what, though?

Your new catchphrase, it's perfect.

What?

I feel the need, the need for Steve.

You heard about that?

Everyone heard about that.

That's okay.

Boss man's your hero.

Where you going?

Go flog myself.

Oh, perfect. On your way back, bring me another beer.

So, uh, did you ever find out who put that trim tab on your desk?

No. No, I never did. I never did.

I guess it's one of those, uh, mysteries that are just gonna need to remain... Yeah.

...unsolved.

Yeah.

What was that about?

Tell you later. All right.

Now you and I have even more to talk about.

We do. Yeah.

You know, something I gotta do first, though.

Yeah?

Hey.

Hey.

So, me getting you that metal thing-- did it make a difference?

Yeah.

Yeah, we... we closed the case.

So we're even now?

Yeah, we're even.

Good.

Hey, sis. You eat?

What?

I was thinking about going to Rainbow's for a bite.

You hungry?

Yeah.

Yeah, I'm starving.

Cool.