"Jeez, I swear to god, your driving will be the death of me," Danny said, hand wrapped around the handle in the roof so hard his knuckles whitened.
"Oh, would you calm down," Steve said with an eye roll. "It's a one-way lane with no traffic; it's impossible for us to crash."
Danny swallowed his comments about his partner's control issues and instead focused on the black convoy they were chasing. It was operating swiftly among the parked cars along the sides of the road, keeping their head start, while their own car- in Danny's eyes- clumsily swerved to narrowly avoid the obstacles.
"Besides, what do you want me to do?" Steve asked, throwing an eye at his partner. "Slow down? If I do that, we'll lose the convoy."
"I know, I know," Danny surrendered, "just keep your eyes on the road." He gestured anxiously toward the windshield.
Steve grinned slightly at his partner's nervousness. It was all gonna be fine; he had the chase under control. Besides, how many times had they done this before?
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His earpiece made a crackling sound as it came alive. Finally. He'd grown tired of waiting. He could tell that his men in the backseat were growing impatient as well.
"Cuando digo ir", the voice on the other side ordered.
"Copy that", he replied, starting his van that was parked on a side road. His fingers danced nervously over the steering wheel.
"Ahora!"
He pressed the gas pedal all the way down and the van lunged forward, leaving the alley and driving onto the main road in a couple of seconds. He turned left onto the road so swiftly that the other car didn't even have the time to react before the van crashed into the front right corner of the car. The impact sent the car flipping over several times before ending up upside down next to a building.
Mission accomplished, he backed the van up and drove off in the other direction, his finger against the earpiece. "Es terminado, sir."
"Well done. Espere y vea si nadie está vivo."
"And if they are still alive?"
It was quiet for a moment before the voice spoke again with an obvious spanish accent. "Finish them."
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Steve's world was spinning, literally. Not just because he hit his head against the windshield, but because the car was sent rolling over several times before finally coming to a halt. As he took in his surroundings he realized the car had come to a stop upside down, his seat belt the only thing holding him up. He grunted in pain as his entire body ached when he shifted and his head throbbed in protest against being hung upside down. Steve pushed the pain aside and looked over to his partner. Danny's eyes were closed, the left side of his face covered in blood from a cut on his forehead.
"Danny?" he asked, but his partner's eyes remained shut. Steve assumed Danny had suffered most from the impact since the van hit them from the right; where Danny was sitting.
"Hey", Steve said, grabbing Danny's shoulder and shaking him slightly. "Hey. Danny?"
Danny finally stirred, his eyes opening slightly. After a moment's confusion, the reality seemed to hit him and he groaned, face contorted in pain.
"Hey, man, you okay?" Steve asked, eyes flashing with concern.
"Mhm", Danny mumbled, looking up at his torso. "God."
Steve followed his gaze and what he saw made his heart race. The dashboard in front of Danny had been pushed toward him from the impact of the crash, pressing against his waist and legs. A shattered piece of plastic stood out from the dashboard and was cutting into Danny's side, which was covered in blood.
Danny groaned again, squeezing his eyes shut. His breaths were coming fast, a sign which Steve immediately recognized as claustrophobia.
"Listen, buddy, i'm gonna get you out of here, okay?" Steve said, forcing his voice to be steady. "I just have to get out and call for an ambulance, alright?"
Danny nodded slightly, the pain etched onto his face.
"Here we go", Steve mumbled to himself, placing his hands on the roof of the car, which was now the floor, so that he could catch himself. Then he reached up and unfastened his seatbelt, letting himself drop to the ground. Struggling in the small space, his back pressed against pieces of shattered glass from the windshield, Steve kicked repeatedly kicked against the window in his door as hard as he could. Several cracks formed in the glass before it finally broke. He crawled out slowly, attentive of his surroundings, and pulled out his gun as he stood. He did not believe for a second that the van driving into them was an accident, especially as they seemingly left the scene immediately.
He quickly scanned the area in case the perps who hit them were still there, but he couldn't see anyone. The small town was still deserted.
Steve put his hands in his pockets to search for his phone, but found them empty. Scowling, he got down on his knees next to the car and stuck his head inside. On the floor, which was really the roof of the car, he found his phone. Only the screen was shattered and wouldn't turn on.
"Damn it", Steve mumbled. He looked up at Danny, and noticed that his lips were now spotted with blood. Not a good sign.
"Hey, buddy", Steve said, trying to sound calm, "do you have your phone on you?"
"Yeah", Danny grunted. "Can't reach it though. M'legs are pinned."
Of course it wouldn't be that easy. Steve's mind was racing. "Okay, I'm going to come around to your side. We're gonna have to try to get you out on our own, alright?"
Danny nodded slightly, his expression strained.
Steve got up and walked around the car, pulling at the passenger door. It was completely crumpled and came off it's hinges when Steve opened it.
"Alright, I'm going to back up your seat to free you", Steve explained. "I need you to try and push yourself away from the dashboard, okay? It'll hurt but it'll be over in a second."
"Yeah," Danny mumbled, "okay."
Steve reached up beside the car seat and found the lever that let you adjust the seat's position. "Ready?"
Danny gave a short nod, placing his hands against the dashboard.
"One, two..." Steve pulled the lever. "Three."
With joint force they manage to push the seat away from the dashboard. Danny moaned as the piece of plastic was pulled out of his side, and wrapped his arm around the now-open wound.
"Good, Danny, now place your hands against the ground, and I'll unfasten your seatbelt."
Danny did as he was told without a comment, which almost worried Steve more than anything. His usually quick-witted, always opinionated friend remained quiet.
Steve clicked open the seatbelt and Danny dropped to the ground, hissing in pain.
"Danny?" Steve asked. "Danny, you okay?"
"Can't feel my legs", Danny replied, his voice shaking.
Steve swallowed hard. If the dashboard had pressed against his body hard enough, his back could've taken damage...
No. He shook the thought away.
"Alright, buddy, I'm going to pull you out now, okay?"
"Mmm."
Steve ignored the concern wrapping it's claws around his heart and hooked his arms under Danny's, pulling him out into the street and leaning him back against the wall of the building right next to their flipped car. Danny leaned his head back, squeezing his eyes shut as his hand pressed against his side. Steve crouched down behind his friend, assessing the cut on his forehead but deciding the wound at his side was the most imminent. Steve quickly pulled of his shirt, leaving him in a tank top, and handed it to his friend.
"Keep pressure on that", Steve instructed. "Now, I'm going to need your phone so I can call for help, okay?"
Danny nodded again and reached for his pocket. He paused for a cough and frowned at the metallic taste in his mouth.
"Not good", Danny mumbled to himself, then handed Steve his phone.
"Alright, hang in there, buddy", Steve said, giving Danny a weak smile, before dialing 911 on the cell.
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"Boss, we got movement", one of his men suddenly said.
He found himself feeling annoyed with the guy. As if he couldn't see that himself.
They were waiting behind the corner of one of the buildings, occasionally looking out at the street toward the flipped car. Finally, one of the crash victims had gotten out of the car and walked around it.
"Alright, we go in", he ordered. "Be stealthy, take them by surprise. Remember, they've got guns."
His men nodded obediently and headed around the corner.
He himself pressed a finger to his earpiece to call it in. "Tenemos movimiento."
"Kill them", the voice said. "You got one chance."
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"Steve", Danny tried to say, but his voice wouldn't work. It just brought on another cough.
Steve had stepped to the side, talking to somebody on the phone. Danny couldn't tell what they were saying, but he had noticed something that Steve hadn't because his back was turned. A few buildings down the street, Danny had seen movement. Just a flash of something black, but since he knew their 'accident' wasn't really an accident, it was more than possible that the guys were still there.
Danny shifted against the wall, reaching for his gun that was luckily still holstered at his side, and his side immediately protest with bursts of sharp pain. Everything hurt, like nothing he'd experienced before. Well, except for his legs, which were numb. And that, the thought that maybe he was paralyzed and would have to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair, was even more unbearable than the pain.
Danny tried to blink the blurry out of his eyes and looked down the street again. This time he saw them for sure. Three guys heading towards them, dressed in black, and they were moving fast. Only seconds away, they raised their guns, aiming for Steve's back; Steve, who was currently thanking the guys on the phone.
Taking matters into his own- very weak- hands, Danny fumbled for his gun that was still holstered at his side. The world swayed but he fired at the guys anyway, three fast shots,
bam,
bam,
bam.
Two of the guys went down. Danny's arm gave up on him and fell to his side, the gun clattering against the ground.
Steve swirled around at the sound of gunshots, and instantly had his gun out, dropping the third guy before he could get a shot off. His eyes were wide as he crouched next to Danny.
"Thanks, man", he said with a smile. "You did good, buddy."
His smile disappeared as Danny's eyes were fluttering close.
"Danny?" Steve's hand was on his partner's shoulder. "Hey, stay with me, buddy."
He was trying. Danny was fighting the part of him that desperately wanted to sleep, the part that threatened to drown him so that he'd never breathe again. But it was too hard. And then he knew that he was going to die.
Danny reached out, his finger's fumbling to grip Steve's shirt.
"Grace", he mumbled, locking eyes with Steve. "Gracie, Steve. Promise me..."
"Hey, man, I got it covered", Steve assured him, a weak smile playing on his face. "You focus on hanging in there, alright?"
Danny's face twisted, with pain or sorrow, Steve couldn't tell.
"Grace", he repeated sluggishly, eyes closing. "You have to... be there. Tell her... sorry."
"No, no, no", Steve said, panic flashing through his eyes as Danny's head dropped to his chest. "No, you don't, buddy. You stay alive and you tell her yourself." He placed a hand against his friend's neck, tilting his head up. "Danny, you hear me? Danny, hey!"
No reply. But Steve didn't give up, because there was still hope. A faint flutter of a pulse beneath his hand, that was his hope. He sat back against the wall next to Danny, an arm wrapped around his partner's neck to keep a hand against his neck to keep track of his pulse. He pressed the other hand against the bloody ball of fabric that used to be his shirt against the wound in Danny's side, and took a deep breath to fight the grief that made his heart ache. It wasn't over yet.
A/N: So this is just a one-shot prompt I got for Hawaii Five-0, and it's also my first H50 story. Please leave a review telling me what you thought, and if you want more. There's a back story to this case that I'd be willing to write, if you want! Thanks for reading!
The prompt was: "Danny and Steve in a car accident please, where danny dies or almost dies. it can be normal or a case if you want!"