A/N: My thanks, as always, to Fifilla for reading and rereading this story and helping me figure out a direction when all I started with was a title! Thank you also to Wenwalke for proofreading. Any mistakes in the story are my own. This was going to be a one-shot, but it ended up a bit long for that so I think two chapters will do it.

For a man on crutches, Danny Williams managed to pace very well. Of course, he'd had a lot of practice in the last six days. He paused momentarily to gaze out the window, but his eyes did not see the beautiful Hawaiian sunset or the nearby palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze. His mind's eye saw a dark warehouse and lots of pain. He quickly swung himself around as if to erase that memory, but the memory from the warehouse followed him. He stopped his pacing next to the hospital bed that contained his unconscious partner. He ignored the throbbing in his left ankle as he studied his partner's face.

Without looking, Danny sat in the chair next to the hospital bed. It was right where he knew it would be. Right where it had been for the last six days. He sighed and whispered, "You're a fool, Steve. Why would you do that?"

Steve's response was the same as it had been for the last six days. Silence broken only by the sound of the beeping hospital monitors attached to him.

Danny continued to sit with his partner and will him to wake up. As the sixth day turned into the seventh, his eyes involuntarily closed and he couldn't help but see the dark warehouse in his dreams.

H

5

0

Late on a Friday afternoon HPD called Five-0 requesting their assistance on a raid about to take place. The raid on the suspected chop shop had been planned by HPD and SWAT, but a last minute tip from an anonymous source claimed the chop shop was in league with a home grown terrorist group. Hence Five-0's last minute addition to the party.

Commander Steve McGarrett worked with HPD and SWAT as the rest of the team geared up. Steve jogged back to his group as they finished up their last minute preparations. Danny cinched his vest tight one more time while Chin made sure he had enough rounds for his trusty shotgun as well as his handgun. Kono, sniper rifle slung over her shoulder, fiddled with her earpiece. "Okay, guys, we're going to be lead on this little operation."

"Joy," Danny snarked.

Ignoring his partner, Steve continued, "Their Intel is a little sketchy, but the warehouse is suspected of being a chop shop as well as a storage area for other illegal and smuggled goods. A last minute tip led SWAT to believe that there may also be a wannabe terrorist cell hiding out here. That's why we're here."

"Any idea how many hostiles may be inside?" Chin wondered.

Steve shook his head, "No idea."

"Even more joy," Danny added.

"I'm going to take half of the SWAT team with me and breach from the main doors on the west side. Kono, I want you to gain entrance from the north fire escape - get up high and get me eyes up top and have your rifle ready. Three SWAT guys are with you."

Kono nodded as she patted the stock of her sniper rifle, "Got it, Boss."

"Chin, I want you to go round to the south and get in there with three SWAT guys and make sure no one goes out that way."

"Danny, you're going to take the rest of SWAT and go in from the east. We're going to box 'em in and make sure no one gets out again. HPD is going to hold the perimeter just in case."

Two minutes later they were all quietly leading their groups around the block to their respective positions. They halted and waited only a split second before hearing Steve over the comm units, "Team One in position."

"Team Two in position," Kono responded.

"Team Three in position," Chin confirmed.

There was a pause and Steve came back on, "Team Four, you in position? Danny, you okay?"

"Hang on," Danny hissed.

"Danny?" Steve's voice was laced with worry. "What's going on?"

"Hang on," Danny insisted, annoyance creeping into his tone.

"All teams hold," Steve instructed. "Team Four needs some time."

Danny's team had crept around the corner and just as they were about to step from behind the cover of the bordering hedge, Danny caught movement from a shadow near the building. He halted his team while he and one of the SWAT members peered around the corner searching for more movement. It was very dark on their side of the warehouse so it took them a moment to find the other figure on the opposite side of the door, also in shadow. "We've got movement outside of our entry point," Danny relayed to the rest.

"Do you need help?" Steve wondered.

"I got this," Danny insisted. "Just give me a minute."

Danny and his team quickly conferred before going about their plan. One SWAT officer kept watch from the corner while Danny and the two others circled around and silently approached. Danny grinned as he watched the two sentries stop less than ten feet from their position. One man held out a cigarette while the other reached in his pocket and produced a lighter. Danny signaled and without a sound, he and his officers quickly knocked the two men out and had them secured with zip ties almost before the unlit cigarette hit the ground.

"Alright, we've taken out two hostiles and Team Four is now in position," Danny relayed.

Steve took one last look around and gave the order to proceed, "All teams go! Move in."

Danny heard the "Go" order and quickly led his team inside the rear entrance of the warehouse. Despite the two sentries they'd taken out, the door was unlocked, giving them easy access. A small part of Danny's brain wondered about that fact.

Danny let the commands and other sounds from the take down coming through his earpiece flow around him as he took in his surroundings. His side of the warehouse was dark though the other side, where Steve's team breached, was full of light. Danny could just make out that fact through a walk-in door set in the middle of a dividing wall separating the two sections of the warehouse. As expected, it sounded like the majority of the suspects were there as he heard shouted orders to put down weapons and get on the ground. He motioned for his team to fan out and slowly advance towards the far side of the warehouse where the action was taking place. He heard the crack of Kono's sniper rifle and smiled grimly; hopefully that would be incentive for the rest to put their weapons down and surrender. After a moment, it sounded like that's exactly what happened.

Danny kept a careful eye out for anyone trying to escape past them. Despite the fact that it seemed the raid was wrapping up without much issue, Danny felt uneasy and had a nagging feeling of impending disaster that kept him alert. His eyes scanned the gloomy shadows ahead and up to the walkways and dark offices overlooking the open floor space. His gaze dropped back to the ground floor, but a sixth sense told him to look back up at the walkway again. As he did, he caught a flash of light off metal, "Sniper! Team Four take cover!"

Danny saw the three SWAT officers quickly dive for cover as he dove behind a stripped car up on jacks. It wasn't much cover considering it was up off the ground and the wheels had been removed, but he did his best to make himself small at the rear of the car as he carefully peered around to assess the situation. Shots peppered the car and ground around him.

"Danny?!" Steve's shout in his ear caused Danny to jump. "You okay? What's going on?"

"We're taking sniper fire," Danny told him as he crouched next to the car, keeping his head down while still trying to look around to see if he could return fire.

"Stay down, we're on our way."

"Stay down, the man says," grunted Danny as three more rounds rocked the car he was hiding behind.

"What was that, Danny?" Steve paused from giving directions to a SWAT officer he was putting in charge of the suspects already in custody. "Where are you exactly?"

"I'm behind what looks to be a 1967 Ford Mustang that has seen better days," Danny cringed as the car rocked and then tilted dangerously as the jack under the front of the car gave out, leaving it resting on only the jack holding up the front end where Danny crouched. "But it's not going to last much longer."

"Hang on," Steve urged.

"I'm gonna have to move," Danny told him as the car started to sway and rock. "There are a dozen cars up on blocks. I'm going for one of the others."

"Are you sure you can make it?" Steve worried.

"No choice," Danny grunted as he calculated his target cover not ten feet away. As Danny started to raise himself out of his crouch to make the dash to his newly selected cover, he felt a punch to his chest as a bullet from the unseen shooter lodged in his vest. The shot knocked him flat on his back, breathless and dazed.

"Danny?" Steve heard the tell-tale grunt followed by a dull thump over his comm unit. "Danny, you okay? You hit?"

Danny tried to gulp in a lungful of air but for a few panicked seconds was unable to get his body to cooperate. As he struggled for breath, he watched as the remaining jack supporting the car gave out, tilted and almost gracefully tipped over: right onto Danny's left ankle and lower leg, effectively pinning him in place. Danny finally found his breath and had to bite his lower lip to prevent himself from screaming as he felt something bend and break in his ankle.

"Danny?" Steve suppressed a shudder as he heard his partner's moan. "Talk to me, Danny! Are you hit?"

"Yes, but no," Danny gasped. "Took one in the vest, but I'm okay. The damn car fell on me. I can't move."

"Okay, hold on," Steve reassured him. "We're almost there. We're at the divider between the two sides. Where's the shooter?"

"Up on the catwalk somewhere. I can't see... wait! There he is! Steve, stay back!"

"Danny, what's going on?" Steve didn't get any farther before he was interrupted by the sound of automatic rifle fire strafing the dividing wall they were currently behind.

"Steve, you guys okay?" It was Danny's turn to worry about his friend's safety.

"Yeah, thanks for the warning. Can you still see him?"

"Mostly, and I think there might be two of them." Danny explained. "Wait, they're doing something else. I can't see..." Danny was interrupted by a small explosion to his left, "Grenades! They have grenades. You guys need to fall back."

"I'm coming in to get you, Danny," Steve's tone brooked no arguments, for anyone other than his partner anyway.

"No, you're not, Steven," Danny growled. "Perhaps you missed the part about them having automatic weapons and grenades. "Fall back and regroup. I'm not going anywhere."

"Exactly!" Steve argued right back. "You're not going anywhere so I'm going to come get you out of there."

"It's not worth it, Steve. You'll never make it with them lobbing grenades all over the place."

"I've done it before, buddy," Steve informed him. "And it is worth it so just hang on a minute."

"You're never going to be able to get this car off of me by yourself," Danny pleaded. "Don't worry about me and just figure out how to stop those maniacs."

Steve cautiously peered through the doorway and took in the situation. He holstered his gun and pointed at the SWAT captain, "I'm going to go get my partner. Cover me if you can, but keep your heads down. Danny, I'm headed your way."

Danny shook his head and tried to see what the suspects were up to on the overhead catwalk, "You're a stubborn Neanderthal, you know that? Looks like our friends are busy with something so go now while you can. I'll try to keep an eye on them."

Steve dashed through the walk-in door and made it to the second car up on blocks before the shooters resumed firing. Danny cringed as more rounds hit the car pinning him to the ground. He couldn't see Steve, but he could see shadowy movements on the catwalk, "Steve, keep your head down. I have eyes on the suspects on the catwalk. I'll tell you when you can move. Team Four, sound off! Everyone okay? Anyone in position to take out the shooters?"

"Jenkins here. Every time I move they start shooting at me. I don't have a real good angle on them."

"Stay down then, Jenkins," Danny told him, "Lee, what about you?"

"Sorry, sir, I'm down. I took a round in the leg and the arm. I lost my gun when they hit my arm. I can see it, but I can't get it."

"Hang on, Lee," Danny told him as he gritted his teeth against the pain in his own leg. "My crazy partner is working his way over, and I always have EMS on standby when he's around."

"Yes, sir. I'm fine."

"Donaldson, what about you?"

"I'm under the catwalk, sir, so I'm no help. I can see you, but I can't get over there."

"No, stay under cover, Donaldson." Danny ordered. "Be ready to help if possible."

"Danny?" Steve wondered.

"Hang on a minute," Danny shifted to get a better look at the activity on the catwalk and hissed in pain as he jostled his leg. "Okay, the one guy is kneeling down messing with something... Now, Steve! Both guys are looking down. Go!"

Without hesitation, Steve dashed in a crouch and as he rounded the third car, finally caught sight of his partner. Eyes fixed on his target, he didn't see the new danger from the catwalk, but he did see the look on Danny's face. He had no time to react or question what made his partner's eyes go wide before his world was turned upside down.

For Danny, time seemed to slow as he told Steve to move. He had no time to shout a warning, and it was far too late to take back his command to go. Whatever came next he felt was entirely on his own shoulders. He watched in horror as the two suspects stood with military grade grenade launchers on their shoulders.

A/N: I know, I know, I'm evil. Blame Fifilla, the queen of the cliffhangers, she told me this would be a great place to put the chapter break. :-)