"I will ask you again, Detective. Where is the money?"
Danny winced as he tried to regain his footing on the wet concrete floor. His toes barely found purchase, slipping through the water and the blood. "I told you, you lunatic, I don't know what you're talking about." He spit a mouthful of blood onto the floor, not caring that he was adding to the mess.
Alec Tantori nodded at him, a smiled spreading across his face. "You don't know anything. You, Detective, don't know about the $4.8 million that was transported by the HPD after a raid at the old paper factory. You don't know that the money never made it to evidence. You don't know that Five-0 has recently reported that it had been secured in an alternate location." He walked around Danny, wiping his hands on a towel as he did so. "So, forgive me if I need to ask you just one more time, as I find it hard to believe that you don't know a thing!"
Danny bit back a scream as the knife sliced down his back. He bit his tongue to prevent the bastard from hearing his pain. He felt the rush of blood slide down his back and puddle near his belt, before wetting his pants. The fabric was already damp from his sweat. They had been here for hours! Danny coughed as the blood trickled down his throat, the motion causing his pain to flare as the broken ribs and other lacerations jerked.
Danny was hovering near unconsciousness when he was doused in ice cold water. He groaned and blinked to clear his eyes. When his vision finally cleared, the Tantori was standing directly in front of him. Danny struggled to draw in a breath. "I am g-going to k-k-kill you," he seethed.
The man smiled. "We'll see." He gently patted Danny on the cheek, "But if you're not going to tell us, how about we bring in some incentive? Loosen you up a little?"
Danny frowned and stiffened when his captor motioned a hand forward. The door to the dark and damp room creaked open and two men started in, pulling something behind them. No…someone. For a moment, Danny panicked that they had grabbed Grace. But no…this person was too big to be Grace. The men moved closer, only feet away now, and heaved the person to the ground in front of him.
Danny felt the blood leave his face and his mouth go dry. His hands grabbed the chains that were wrapped around his wrists, yanking them in anger. He looked up at the man who had been torturing him and then down to the ground once more. In a broken voice, he said, "Steve?"
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Steve didn't know why his eyes wouldn't open. His lids felt heavy, like he had been sleeping for weeks. The sensation was disturbing to a man who didn't sleep too soundly. He groaned as he shifted, his left arm numb. His hip ground into the hard ground and the pain bit without mercy. McGarrett, though he struggled to regain his senses, did know one thing. He was definitely in trouble.
Just as he was about to attempt his resurgence, a sharp kick to his kidney had his eyes snapping open and him grunting in pain. The dim lighting still seemed too bright and he could barely keep his eyes open.
"Steve?" A concerned voice gasped.
Steve knew that voice. He rolled onto his back and winced at the movement. "Danny? What the hell man-" Another kick to the side had Steve bringing his knees up to protect his mid-section.
Danny jerked on his chains, "Stop! Just stop for a second!" Steve blocked a kick to his ribs, but he was still disoriented. "Please," he pleaded.
Steve groaned and tried pushing to his knees. His hand slipped in Danny's blood, but he was able to recover. Danny winced as he watched his friend suffer. His captor side stepped Steve and moved in front of Danny. "Details, Detective. I want details."
Danny shook his head slightly, "Come on. What's the matter with you? This isn't going to help anyone."
"I want information! I know you have it!" He roared, his cool resolved slipping.
"I can't give you any details!" Danny yelled back.
He frowned, "Wrong answer." Tantori grabbed his gun and Danny winced when he pulled the trigger, the noise sounding louder than usual.
It took him a second to process that he wasn't the one who was shot. Once he realized that he was mostly intact, his gaze snapped to the floor where Steve lay at his feet. His heart jerked when he saw the blood blooming on Steve's midsection, his gray shirt clinging to his abs at the sticky life force spread.
"No! You son of a bitch! You think this is going to help me talk? This is crazy!" He turned his attention to Steve, "Steve? Come on, buddy, look at me." Steve blinked as he pressed his hands to his wound. "That's it. Look at me, babe." Steve caught his gaze, "You're going to be ok. You're going to be fine. This is nothing. You've seen worse, right? You're fine." He smiled at Steve, who groaned as he was pulled from the floor. "Where are you going? Where are you taking him!?"
Danny's questions were cut short when he was hit across the face. His vision blurred for a second and he fought off a wave of nausea. "I am not a patient man, Detective. But since we can't have Commander McGarrett dying just yet, we are going to take a short break." He nodded to one of his men, and Danny felt the chains give way.
It had been several hours since his legs had held him, and they weren't planning to start again so soon. Danny fell to the floor in a heap, his cuts and bruises flaring to life. His arms screamed in agony as the muscles protested with the new direction. He barely had time to push himself up before he was being dragged up to his feet. He was half-dragged and half-walked down a dimly lit hall, before being tossed into a nearly empty room. Danny dragged himself up enough to see a bucket in the corner and a thin mattress in the other. But there was nothing else. No water. No blankets. No Steve.
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The fire that Steve felt in his side wasn't too unfamiliar. He had been shot plenty of times before and they all hurt like a bitch, but this one…this one felt a bit different. The fire burned hotter. The pain felt stronger. He couldn't draw in a breath without the sensation spreading. It also didn't help that these jackasses were dragging him down the hall. It didn't help when they tossed him onto a cot, not caring if he landed on it or not.
He groaned and tried to sit up, but the pain was too much. Steve gave up and fell back onto the dirty mattress, his hands pressing to his wound once more. Warm blood gushed through his fingers and he grimaced as he came to the realization that he just might not come out of this one alive.
So much for saving Danny. Granted, he didn't mount an assault on the place he currently resided. He was at home, just coming in from the surf as the weather had started to turn. He didn't have his weapon or phone on him, because those aren't necessary when surfing. He had just pulled on his shirt and started inside when he was hit from behind. He didn't even have a chance to fight back before someone jabbed a syringe in his neck. His body went immobile first and then his mind went blank. Next thing he knew, he was at Danny's feet being beaten and shot.
The door opened and Steve gritted his teeth and tried to pull himself up once more. His vision had blurred and all he could see was a figure moving towards him with a bag in hand. "No, I can't…" he started. He couldn't survive if they tortured him. They wouldn't get any information out of him. Steve flinched when a soft hand pressed on his shoulder. He tried to fight the person off, but they caught his wrist and pressed him back into the bed. Horrible thoughts ripped into Steve's head as he was pinned to the bed. He needed to fight! "No!"
"Shhh," the person said and Steve froze. "I'm here to help you."
Steve blinked to clear his vision, "Who-?"
"It doesn't matter. You need to relax and keep still. You've been shot and I need to tend to your injury." They released his hands and Steve stayed still in shock.
He reached out carefully and continued to blink back the fog. He touched soft skin and thin bones. "You're a woman," he gasped. His vision cleared somewhat and he could make out a young woman with blond short hair. Her t-shirt was dirty and stained, her jeans ripped at the knees. She smiled kindly at him and he wrinkled his brow in confusion.
"Very good, Commander, though I have been called worse since my stay here." She quickly pressed gauze to his wound and Steve groaned again, struggling to stay conscious. "Commander? Commander, I need you to stay awake for me!"
Steve's eyes snapped open, "I'm fine." His head rolled back, "And my name is Steve."
"Okay Steve. My name is Kris and I'm going to try and get you fixed up, okay? But I need you to help me." When Steve nodded, Kris grabbed his hands and pressed them to his gunshot wound. "Keep pressure. I know it hurts and I know you're weak, but you've lost a lot of blood and I need you to do this." She rummaged through her bag of supplies, grabbing several items as she did so. One of the items was a bottle of pills. She knew they were pain pills of some kind, and from the small round shape, she guessed it was oxycodone of an unknown strength. She snatched her bottled water from the floor and juggling it and the tablets in her hand, she maneuvered on the bed behind Steve, propping him up slightly, trying to ignore his cry of pain. "I know, I know. I'm so sorry." She gently brushed his hair back, wiping blood and sweat from his forehead. "Steve? I need you to take this for me." She held out the tablets. Steve weakly shook his head and tried to push his hand away. "It's for the pain. I know you don't trust me, but I do know that you are in immense pain. Please, please, please take this."
Steve looked up from Kris's lap and met her gaze. She was worried for him. He wasn't used to being the one needing rescuing…well, okay, maybe a few times…but this was different. He knew he was going to die here. If he died, so would Danny. He needed to get out of this room and to Danny. He grabbed the pills and put it in his mouth. Kris held the water bottle to his lips and he sipped enough to swallow. He glanced back up at Kris and saw her pull in a shaky sigh.
"Good. That's good." Steve wasn't sure if she was aware of what she was doing, but as Kris stroked his hair back from his temples, he finally began to relax. After a few minutes, his ears began to buzz and his limbs felt heavy. He struggled to keep his eyes open. He felt Kris shift out from behind him and gently lower his head to the cot.
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Kris wiped the sweat from her brow and lowered to her knees beside Steve. God, how did she ever end up here? She gently lifted Steve's shirt up and over his bullet wound, swallowing hard. This was never something that she thought she'd been doing so soon. Sure, she's patched up a few of Alec's men since she had been brought here, but none of them had been injured this badly.
Alec Tantori. Kris became lost in her thoughts as she started in on Steve's gunshot. She grimaced as he moaned from the pain, slipping in and out of consciousness. Kris had met Alec while out at the beach one day. He was handsome and charming, curious as to what brought her to Hawaii. Kris had told him she was there for continuing education via a medical conference. When he asked what she did, she informed him that she was a newly licensed doctor. He was impressed and had asked her out for drinks later that night. She was so stupid. So stupid. She had left the bar to use the restroom and when she came back, Alec had ordered her another drink. And she drank it! Minutes later, she was feeling woozy and blamed it on the booze, since it had been some time since she had drank anything alcoholic.
Then Alec offered to call her a cab. She graciously accepted, but when the cab got there, he got in with her. She started to tell him she would get back to the hotel just fine, when he covered her mouth with a cloth soaked in chloroform and she woke up in this building.
She learned while being here, that Alec Tantori was a very dangerous man. He was a major crime boss that moved to Hawaii a couple years ago after pressure got too much in his home state on the mainland. He pushed drugs and weapons to whoever wanted to buy, and being midway between Asia and the US, he had plenty of business. The only reason that he wanted Kris was because she was a doctor. He needed one and she fit the bill. She was an only child whose parents died three years ago in a boating accident. Her residency wasn't starting for another 2 months, so she wouldn't have an employer looking for her either. After he roughed her up some and told her his men would have freedom to do what they wanted with her, she agreed to help him. That was four weeks ago.
Kris was done being their pet. She hated the person they made her become. But she was thankful that she was here with Steve. She was told he was a cop, former military, hence the Commander title. She was finally able to dig the bullet out and started to stitch Steve up. He was clammy and his skin was hot, so she flushed the wound with antibiotics and then gave him a shot to help prevent sepsis. Steve had lost a lot of blood though, and he would need volume to recover. She was O+, so she couldn't simply donate to him and know it would work.
She finished bandaging him and sat back. Her hands and forearms were covered in blood and she desperately wanted to wash it off. But Steve needed blood and fast. She glanced up at the camera in the corner of the room and waited.
Seconds later, the door to Steve's room swung open. Alec walked in and past her, looking down at a semi-conscious Commander. He stared for a few moments before pressing hard on her freshly applied bandaging. Steve jackknifed up from the bed, screaming in agony. Kris cried out and ran to him, but she was backhanded by Alec as she neared. Kris crashed into the wall, holding the side of her face. Alec pulled his gun and pointed it at her and Steve continued to writhe on the bed.
"Alec stop! You're going to kill him!" Kris screamed.
Alec looked over at her, "He better not. If his partner won't talk, then he will."
Kris shifted forward, "Alec please! He lost a lot of blood. His body can't take this stress. If you continue to torture him in this state, he will die!"
Alec stared a bit longer before removing his hand from Steve. Steve flopped back onto the mattress, gasping for breath and retching when he finally caught it. "If he needs blood, give it to him." Alec started to leave, but Kris stopped him.
"I can't! I need a universal donor, or I need to know his blood type. I can't give him whatever blood I want!"
Alec grabbed her from the floor, "Then let's go get him some blood."
