The familiar sight of the Aloha Tower greeted the tall, dark-haired man as the plane taxied to a stop. Grabbing his bag from the overhead storage unit, he made his way out of the plane and into the terminal, searching the many faces for the one he sought. "That's odd," he muttered to himself, "I wonder why Danno isn't here?" He knew that he had told Danny when he was coming back but after the argument they had had before he left, he was not surprised that Danny had opted not to be the one to greet him. But for Danny not to send one of the other guys to meet him was unusual and disturbing. Looking around again and seeing none of his detectives, he walked out to the curb and hailed a cab.
Waiting for the bright yellow taxi to make its way through the heavy traffic to his location, McGarrett glanced at the headlines of the paper in the news stand next to him. The words screamed out at him, causing his heart to skip a beat, 'FIVE-O DETECTIVE CRITICAL AFTER PALACE SHOOTING'. Pulling some change out of his pocket, it took two attempts of his shaking hand before the coins dropped into the slot and he was able to yank the door open and snatch the last paper before running to the cab. "Iolani Palace," he shouted shoving his badge in the stunned driver's face, "And step on it!"
McGarrett scanned the article, his heart in his mouth as he read the few scant details the article offered. 'Doctors are tonight battling to save the life of Hawaii Five-O's Second –In-Command Detective Danny Williams after a gunman entered the offices of the elite State Police Unit and opened fire this afternoon. The unidentified assailant who was wearing a mask and armed with a gun burst into the office just after 5:00 p.m. apparently catching Detective Williams, who was alone in the office at the time, completely off-guard. The sound of the gunfire alerted people working nearby but the gunman was gone when they arrived and witnesses' statements at this time are sketchy. An unofficial source has told reporters that the wounded detective is undergoing emergency surgery at Queens Hospital and his condition is listed as critical. So far, Hawaii Five-O detectives have made no official statement about the shooting although the Governor has promised to hold a press conference as soon as more information becomes available."
"Forget the Palace, take me to Queens Hospital!" McGarrett ordered as their eyes met in the rear view mirror.
"Sure thing, Bruddah," the driver answered, shoving the pedal to the floor, recognizing his passenger.
As the cab skidded to a stop in front of the Queens Hospital's Emergency Department, McGarrett tossed some bills onto the seat as he opened the door and ran towards the glass entrance doors.
Exploding through the doors of Queen's Hospital Emergency Department, Steve charged towards the admissions desk, intent on finding his injured detective. "McGarrett, Hawaii Five-O," he barked anxiously at the gray haired nurse who sat behind the desk, showing his badge. "I understand that one of my detectives, Danny Williams was admitted here this afternoon."
Shuffling deliberately through the papers, it was all the frantic detective could do not to grab the forms out of her hands and search through them himself, "Mr. Williams was admitted earlier and taken to surgery."
"What was his condition?" McGarrett demanded anxiously.
"I'm sorry Sir, but I can't give you that information. You will need to talk to the attending physician." The nurse answered quietly bracing herself for the explosion.
"And where can I find the attending physician?" he asked, gritting his teeth at the delay.
"Steve!"
McGarrett turned as he heard Chin call his name. The Chinese detective hurried across to where his boss stood and took his bag that he had forgotten he was even holding as he demanded, "Chin, how is he? What the hell happened?"
The older detective shook his head as he led his boss to a more private place to talk. "He's critical Steve, he took three bullets, two in the stomach and one in the arm. The docs are doing all they can but it's touch and go. As to what happened, we just don't know. Danny was in the office alone. They must have taken him by surprise cause he didn't even have time to pull his gun before he was shot. A witness who heard the shooting saw a man run from the office wearing a ski mask and gloves."
"So there was just one? No one saw anyone else? Maybe someone waiting in a car?"
Chin shook his head, "Not that I know of Boss, Ben and Duke are looking for more witnesses now."
McGarrett frowned, "Any idea of motive?"
The older detective looked down and shuffled his feet before he looked back up at the man watching him and nodded, "Yeah Steve – You." At McGarrett's stunned expression, he quickly explained, "The witness heard the shooter yell as he ran out of the office that he gave you what you deserved." Chin's voice dropped as he added, "Danny was shot in your office."
"Oh God!"
"Boss, the guy was lookin' for you, but obviously didn't know what you looked like since he thought Danny was you," Chin looked seriously at his boss, "seems to me this may have been an attempted hit that went bad."
"And Danno took the bullets meant for me!" Steve murmured guiltily as Chin nodded solemnly.