Steve sank back against the wall, gun dropped at his side, exhausted. He didn't think he could take anymore, and by the looks of him, neither did Danny.
"You all right?" he asked as his partner kneeled down behind the wall.
"Yeah," Danny said absently, hand on his shoulder.
"Are you hit?" Steve asked, suddenly alarmed.
"No, no," said Danny. "But I think I threw my shoulder out or something with that last one." He breathed deeply and looked around them. "Where are Chin and Kono?"
Steve momentarily closed his eyes at the thought of the cousins. "I have no idea," he said. "Did you see if either of them were hit?"
"I don't know," Danny admitted, sounding hopeless.
Just then, shots were fired directly over their heads. Steve and Danny both ducked low to the ground, then jumped back up again and fired in the direction the shots were coming from. Both quickly realized it was futile though, and once more ducked down.
One quick scan at Danny and himself told him that neither of them had been hit this time either. So even if they were quickly becoming exhausted, even if they had yet to find Chin and Kono, he could at least take heart in the fact that they were both still breathing.
"We've got to get the upper hand here somehow," Steve said, gaining his resolve back. "Are you running low on ammo?"
"Just a little. But I think I can make it last."
"Okay. Me too. Let's go around the west end and try to get behind them."
"You're the boss."
Together they left their temporary sanctuary and carefully made their way around the outer edge of the building. It was a slow process on its own, without mentioning that the two were both quite tired from the fight at this point.
"We've got to find Chin and Kono," Danny muttered behind him. "Otherwise, what are we even doing?"
"We're taking down two armed and dangerous assailants," Steve answered.
"Why does everything have to be a mission for you? Huh?"
"This is more than a mission, Danny. It's paintball."
H50
Just as Danny was about to give up—just when he had decided it wasn't worth it anymore, that no possible good could come from continuing on—it happened.
"Steve, duck!" he yelled as he shoved his partner forward behind yet another wall.
They landed side by side, hard, on the dirt. "What is it?" Steve yelled.
"Chin!"
Both men jumped to their feet, swung around with their arms raised, and for just a few seconds could see nothing but green and purple paint flying through the air. When the figurative dust had settled, Steve, Danny, and Chin stood together behind the wall, covered in paint.
"I got you two first."
"Oh yeah? Prove it!"
"I came up behind you and surprised you while you two were cowering on the ground."
"Well, since there are two of us, odds are that we hit you first anyway!"
"Well, since there are two of you and only one of me, it looks like half my team is still alive and therefore wins."
Silence.
"He's right."
"What?"
"Yeah. He is."
"Damn it. This is the last time I partner with you."
The three men walked out of the clearing and laid their guns on the ground, wiping the paint off of their faces. "Hey, how did you guys surprise us that last time?"
"You mean when Danny hurt his shoulder?"
"Yeah. How'd you do that?"
"Kono climbed one of the walls to look for you."
"Well that's a bit risky," said Danny. "Although typical rookie behavior, I really shouldn't expect anything less. I'm surprised you didn't think of that, Super Seal."
"Next time," he said, grinning. "Hey, where is your ninja of a cousin anyway?"
His question was answered by a paintball hitting him square in the back.
Danny and Chin watched him in shock, not daring to laugh yet not quite containing their smiles. Steve's expression did not change, remaining ever calm as he slowly pivoted on the spot to look at the building behind them. From about thirty feet away, through an open upstairs window, stood Kono. She waved, then flipped him off and disappeared.
Steve calmly put his mask back over his face, checked his gun for more ammunition, and set off in the direction of the building.
Chin couldn't contain his laughter anymore. Danny looked like Christmas had come early. Both followed Steve to the building.
H50
They entered the building behind Steve, Danny calling out, "Listen Kono, this is between you two! Chin and I—we quit, okay? No more for us, thank you, just carry on—"
Whack. A paintball hit him right in the stomach.
Danny looked in disbelief up to the second floor where Kono ran further back into the building.
"Wow, she's really asking for it," said Chin, amused.
"Don't look so happy, she'll probably come for you next," said Danny, angrily looking at his newest addition of color.
"She's turning this into something it was never meant to be," Steve said solemnly, eyeing the upstairs carefully. "She's turned it into something much more serious." He adjusted his mask. "And now we kill her."
H50
After searching the entire building though, Steve's hopes were beginning to dwindle. Danny looked like a snap of someone's fingers could set him off.
"Where the hell is she?" he whispered. He glanced constantly around them nervously, and small noises made him jump. He had left his gun outside.
"She's probably waiting to ambush you," said Chin, sounding cheerful.
'Hey, you never know, she could turn on you too!"
"She might. But I doubt it. Back in the real world I covered for her when she didn't go to one of our cousin's birthday parties. I counted: twenty-seven women and me. She sent me in there alone and she knows it. So I think I'm safe."
"Well good for you. Keep your voice down."
After another ten minutes Steve finally had to admit that Kono was no longer in the building. They had searched it twice with no results, not even a dusty footprint they could track to her location.
"Guys, I think we're just going to have to give up," he said.
"What? No! She's a cheater and she asked for it. I'm not quitting!"
"You don't have a gun," Steve reminded him.
"Well, let's go outside and get it. I'm not gonna be shown up by some rookie."
"Careful, she might be able to hear you," warned Chin.
"It's her who ought to be careful. Come on. Let's get my gun and we'll find her."
They started out of the building and were just near the door when they heard it: the ringtone of a cell phone and a frantic, whispered curse.
All three men stopped in their tracks and glanced to the doorway on their right. But before they could take one step in its direction the door swung shut as if someone small enough had been hiding just behind it.
Steve jumped to the door and twisted the knob, but it was apparent Kono was on the other side keeping him from opening it. She didn't last long, however, and Steve was able to push the door open where it bounced loudly off of the wall behind it.
But Kono was ready. She stood five feet back, gun raised, and fired.
Danny darted back out into the hallway. Steve fell to the floor. Chin took the paintball right in the chest.
For just a moment no one moved. Kono, Danny, and Steve all stared at Chin, who stared at the large green stain on his clothes. Then he slowly looked up at Kono who looked back, eyes wide. He said simply, "Get her."
H50
Fifteen minutes later a bruised and highly colorful team stumbled and limped out of the building. Kono had managed to get one more shot, one that hit Steve right in the head, before they quickly got the upper hand. Two held her arms while each one in turn fired at her. She was literally covered in paint.
Danny had never heard such cursing in his life. His ears rang from her screams and the triumphant yells of the men as they got their revenge.
"I'll never be able to erase what I heard in there," he told Kono.
"Good." She looked at them all. "Jerks."
Steve turned to her and stopped. "Whoa, wait. Us? Do I need to remind you who took this to such a violent level?"
"You could have helped me," she said, rounding on Chin. "I didn't mean to hit you. I was clearly aiming for McGarrett."
"Yeah, well, consider it payback for that birthday party," he said, smiling.
The End
Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! I might add on to this idea, coming up with more one-shots based on the team playing paintball or doing something similar together, but we'll see. Anyway, I read each and every review and I appreciate them so much.