AN: so i would just like to make note of the fact that this story is pure whump. The plot is flimsy at best, so please don't get on me for the many plot holes that will inevitably occur :) like I said, this is all about whump. This is NOT SLASH. a little bromance, but not awkward over-caring stuff. set sometime after Doris comes back... I'm a whumpaholic, so I definitely wouldn't bother reading this story if you care about interest plots and stuff. this is the first time I've published on this site before, so may the force be with me!

PROLOGUE

Danny let out a hiss of frustration. He was so stubborn. It was Steve's most damnable trait, his stubbornness.

He paced his office restlessly, covering his concern with waves of anger and frustration at his partner's damn hero complex.

"Found anything yet?" he called over to Chin in the other room.

"Still looking," Chin replied, not taking his eyes of his work.

His hero complex. That, together with his stubbornness, was bound to bring upon Steve's doom someday. Danny tried to ignore the feeling he had in the pit of his stomach… that things were far from being alright, and that Steve was in serious trouble.

That 'someday' was likely to become today.

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Steve was starting to regret not listening to Danny. He'd never actually admit it, of course. Danny had told him quite heatedly over the phone to 'under no circumstances enter that freighter without backup!'.

Steve had, predictably, rolled his eyes and told Danny he just wanted to have a look around.

"What, you think I can't handle myself?" Steve had mocked him.

"Just wait, OK Steve? Just wait. I'm 10 minutes out. 10 minutes. We've got nothing to lose waiting 10 minutes. Just stay put, Superman," Danny had said sarcastically, "Wait for back-up. I know you have absolutely no regard for protocol, but if there was ever a time to start following it, it would be now. I'm telling you: do. Not. Enter. That. Freighter."

"What? What? I can't hear you…. what was that again? Danny, I think we're breaking…" Steve hung up, rolling his eyes and smirking slightly at his partner's ridiculousness.

He had cut the engine and stepped out of car. He glanced up, noting the rather gloomy gray sky above, a rare occurrence in Hawaii.

...That was the last thing Steve remember before he woke up with a killer headache, alone in a dark, musky room with a bullet in his shoulder and no recollection of how the hell he had gotten there.

If he had been counting correctly, that had been 22 days ago. He was definitely starting to regret not just waiting for Danny.

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CHAPTER ONE

Steve had woken up completely disoriented. Had he not been a skilled Navy SEAL who had been trained for these kinds of things, he would have completely panicked. He took in deep breaths, trying to get a load of his surroundings while ignoring the pain in his head.

As he began to grow accustomed to the pain in his head, he began to become aware of a different throbbing, this time in his shoulder. Steve ran his hand over the source of the pain, and was not encouraged when his hand emerged covered with blood. He slowly reached to feel his back, taking a sharp intake of breath when he discovered that every move he made hurt. He felt around for an exit wound, but there was none.

"Aw, fuck," Steve muttered, slumping against the wall.

He was in a dark, windowless room about the size of a small apartment kitchen. It was completely empty. There was a door, but without any handles on the inside. On the door there was a small barred window. Steve made to go try to see if he could see anything out of it, but quickly gave up at the agonizing wave of pain that resulted from him trying to stand.

The poor air circulation in the room resulted in a rank, musty smell. Steve's head was swimming, and he found himself having difficulty focusing on anything.

Steve heard footsteps approaching. His mind was in a fog, and by the time Steve had told himself to prepare to face his captors, they had already entered. He tried to focus on the faces of the two (or was it three?) men who had entered, but they kept swimming in and out of focus. The dizziness was starting to cause the edges of his vision to blur, and the last thing he thought as he saw the butt of a gun swinging towards him was that he probably would have been unconscious anyway.

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When Steve found himself struggling out of unconsciousness, he thought for a second that he was back in North Korea.

He could feel the strain on his shoulders (especially on the one with a bullet in it) as his arms had been raised above his head and he had been strung up from the ceiling. The first thing Steve was able to make out was the unmistakable arrogant face of Wo Fat.

"Commander McGarrett. We really need to stop meeting like this. It seems to be becoming an… unfortunate habit of yours." Wo Fat slowly made his way over to him, twirling a glinting knife in his hands.

Steve rolled his eyes at Wo Fat's theatrics. "Long time no see. You should be careful, I'm starting to think you like having me around."

"So confident, Commander McGarrett," Wo Fat mocked softly as he circled Steve's suspended body, relishing in Steve's frustration at not being able to see him. "Such confidence is unique for a man in a predicament such as your own."

Wo Fat's footsteps stopped directly behind him, and the hairs on the back of Steve's neck stood up as Wo Fat spoke mere inches away. "I am sure, by now, you are aware that there is a bullet in your shoulder."

Steve took a deep breath, bracing himself for what he knew what about to come.

"It stopped bleeding about an hour ago, but I believe that I can… arrange for that to be changed." Wo Fat circled to face Steve once more.

A condescending smile graced Wo Fat's face as he reached forward and dug his fingers into the hole in Steve's shoulder.

Steve let out a grunt of surprise as the pain hit him like a tidal wave. He felt like his shoulder was being ripped apart, and he was only vaguely aware of letting his head fall backwards and letting out a muted, but audible, moan of pain.

It took several minutes for Steve to realize that Wo Fat was no longer digging through his shoulder. The pain seemed to be prolonged due to the amount of pressure that was on his shoulder from his arms being tied up above his head.

As Steve peeled his eyes open, the sight of Wo Fat casually leaning against the wall, smirking, swam into view.

"That wasn't too fun, now was it, Commander McGarrett?"

Refusing to show weakness, Steve looked Wo Fat calmly in the eyes. "Go directly to hell."

Without warning, Wo Fat plummeted his fist into Steve's bare abdomen. Steve gasped as he had the wind knocked out of him. "Now that is no way to treat your host, Mr. McGarrett. You are my guest here."

Struggling to restore air to his lungs and doing his best not to wheeze, Steve asked, "And where exactly would 'here' be again?"

Wo Fat chuckled slightly and smiled mockingly at him. "I really don't see any reason for you to have that information," Wo Fat said, before leaning a little closer, adding, "I can assure you of one thing, McGarrett. This is not North Korea. This time, your little friends have no chance of finding you. You are completely and utterly alone. Keep that in mind when you try to resist while you wait for rescue. Rescue is not coming."

There was a silence. Steve really hoped that Wo Fat was underestimating 5-0's abilities. But that brought Steve to another question. "I know you have this whole arch-villain speech planned, but I hope you won't mind if I just cut to the chase. You still haven't told me why I'm here."

Wo Fat raised his eyebrows. "Surely you can guess, Commander… I want what I've always wanted. I want Shellbourne. I want your mother."

Steve stared at Wo Fat for several seconds before letting his face break out into a wide grin. "Well, I'm afraid you're shit outta luck then, my friend."

Wo Fat smiled. Steve saw that the knife he had seen earlier had returned. "I think you will find, Commander McGarrett," he said, running the back edge of the knife along Steve's cheek, "that I can be very persuasive."

dundunduuuuun. yup. not too terrible, i hope. the next chapter's going to get a lot more whumpy. just to clarify, the prologue jumps forward in time from chapter one. again, sorry for the many plot flaws. i'm here for the whump :)