A/N: So the break I was taking is now over, thanks to TheDogo being such an enabler. She has me hooked on writing again, so I hope you all enjoy my latest story. It's complete, so I'll post regularly. As usual a big thanks to rewob17 for the beta.

Lack of Backup

Summary: Danny goes into a dangerous situation without backup and things go horribly wrong.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Hawaii Five-0 except my stories. No infringement intended, and no money earned.

Chapter One

It was breaking his heart. The thought of not being able to see his precious daughter for four weeks was almost more than Danny could bear.

The Hawaiian Airlines plane taxied away from the gate, and as Danny watched, memories of his final conversation with Grace came floating back to him.

"We can Skype every day, Danno."

"Not the same, Monkey."

"It's only for four weeks, and I really want to see Charlie, and Mum."

"I know, but I'm going to miss you, so much."

"Uncle Steve promised to take care of you for me, if you'll let him. Those are his words, not mine."

"Thanks for that. It's just what I need, a personal SEAL mother hen."

"Love you, Danno."

"Love you more, Monkey." And with that Grace turned to the waiting flight attendant there to escort her to the plane. She was thirteen now, and able to fly alone to Las Vegas.

When had she grown into such a smart teenager? Danny sighed. His phone chirped as it received a text message, taking his attention away from the plane which was further away now. "You okay? Stop staring after the plane and come back to HQ, We can pick up Malasada's to cheer you up." Steve, how did he know that was what Danny was doing? Oh right, Super SEAL radar or something.

"Soon." Danny texted back.

"You're still staying with me tonight, right? Beers on the lanai?" The reply came back.

"Yes." Danny sent in return. He watched the plane disappear as it turned towards the runway. With another sigh, Danny started to make his way out of Honolulu International Airport.

"Detective Williams! Detective Williams?" Danny stopped and turned around as he heard his name called. A TSA officer was walking briskly towards him. The man was familiar, but Danny couldn't put a name to the face, which annoyed him immensely. Myers that was the man's name, Danny realised as the officer stopped in front of him. They'd worked together during the Smallpox incident a couple of years ago.

"What can I do for you Officer Myers?" Danny asked.

"We have an incident on one of the planes operated by Aloha Air Cargo." Myers led Danny away from the crowded terminal to a quiet corner. "I have one of my officers ready to board, but protocol dictates that I need an HPD presence as well."

"You do know I'm not HPD, right? I'm Five-0." Danny frowned, wondering just what kind of incident could require HPD assistance on a cargo plane.

"Yes, and I called HPD, but there's an accident on the Queen Liliuokalani Freeway right where it changes to the H-1. They had to stop to deal with that and the pilot says the situation on the cargo plane is urgent."

Danny sighed, again. He seemed to be doing a lot of that this afternoon. It was only shortly after 4 p.m. and he had a long evening ahead of him, waiting for Grace to call when she arrived in Las Vegas. So why not give TSA a hand, it was at least a distraction.

"Okay, I was just seeing my daughter off, so I'll have to go to my car and get my gun and badge first." Now the decision was made, Danny was eager to get going.

"No problem, brah. Are you parked in the official zone?" At Danny's nod, Officer Myers continued, "Good, then I'll pick you up there and drive you over to the plane."

With that the two men parted. Danny sent a quick text to his partner as he walked to his car. "Short delay, see you soon." Danny smiled as he put his phone in silent mode before pushing it back into his pocket. He thought of Steve's reaction to his text. The overbearing SEAL had been coddling him ever since he'd learnt that Grace was leaving. It would do him good to wonder what had delayed him, because he didn't need to know every aspect of his day. Lately the saying, 'I'm not my brothers keeper' didn't seem to apply to his arrogant partner.

Myers pulled up just as Danny closed the trunk of the Camaro, having retrieved his gun from the lock box. "So what's going on with the plane?" Danny asked as he settled into the passenger seat, shrugging into his vest first.

"We don't know, for sure." Myers answered, as he drove over to the area of the airport where cargo planes were parked. "The plane had a rough landing, and shortly after taxiing to a stop the pilot called in that there was trouble in the main cargo area."

"What kind of trouble?" Danny busily secured the fastening on his vest as Officer Myers continued to fill him in.

"He didn't know. His co-pilot went back to check out the cargo, because of their landing. A couple of minutes later there was a shout of pain and the man yelled, 'get away from me', then nothing." They pulled up to the plane as Myers finished speaking.

"Did the pilot go back to see what happened?" Danny asked as he exited the car.

"No, he thought there might be a stow-a-way and didn't want to give him access to the cockpit. So he locked the door and called in." The two men walked up to the waiting TSA officer stood beside a set of rolling stairs pushed up against the plane's door.

"How long ago did this happen?" Maybe he should call Steve or HPD for backup, Danny wondered to himself. There was a huge potential for trouble, but then again, if it was nothing Steve would never let him hear the end of it, and HPD had already been called.

"Almost thirty minutes ago, now." Myers turned to the waiting officer. "Phillips, this is Detective Williams, he will board the plane with you."

Danny shook hands with Officer Phillips. He was a fairly young, inexperienced officer from the looks of him. But if Myers thought he could handle this, then who was Danny to question that? "Okay, first we need to verify whether or not there is someone on board who shouldn't be." Danny looked up at the door of the plane. "You know how to open that?"

"Yeah, I can do that." Phillips started up the steps as he spoke.

As Danny and Myers followed, Myers phone rang. "I have to go." He said. "There's a problem at the terminal. Phillips, radio me when you know what's going on." With that Myers went down the few stairs he'd climbed, jumped into his car, and sped away.

By the time Danny reached the top of the stairs, Phillips had the door unlocked and ready to open. Both men drew their guns. "Open it just enough to allow us access and close it behind us, okay?" Danny ordered.

Phillips nodded as Danny brought up his left hand with three fingers raised. As he slowly lowered each finger in turn, Phillips readied himself to open the door.

As Danny's third finger came down Phillips pulled the door open enough for Danny to squeeze through, his gun leading the way. It was darker inside the plane and it took a few precious seconds for Danny's eyes to adjust. When they did, he saw only the co-pilot lying on the floor not far from a small plastic cage that had apparently fallen during the rough landing, and was now open. There was no-one else, and nowhere for anyone to hide. The cargo was all stacked and netted, with no space for a man, but there was a tear in the netting, obviously where the cage had managed to fall through.

Danny cautiously approached the downed co-pilot, holstering his gun as he went. Whatever had happened to the man Danny certainly didn't what it to happen to him, too. He glanced at the cage, lying besides the man, and read the label inserted in a plastic slide slot. DeathStalker (Leiurus quinquestriatus) "Well, that doesn't sound good. What the hell is a Deathstalker?" Danny muttered to himself.

Carefully Danny reached his hand out to check the pulse at the co-pilot's neck, and sighed in relief when he found a rapid, erratic beat beneath his fingers. "He's alive. Radio Myers, have an ambulance standing by, but no-one is to open that door until we find out what a Deathstalker is, and how many of them were in that cage."

"Right." Phillips said nervously as he got on the radio to Myers and relayed Danny's request and instructions.

"Now, there has to be a manifest somewhere on this plane." Danny stated. "You see if it's anywhere near you." But stay over there, and keep a lookout. "I'll look around over here."

"Be careful." Phillips cautioned. "That cage isn't very big, so whatever a Deathstalker is can't be very big either."

"Oh joy." Danny muttered as he looked around for something that could be a manifest. "I get to look in the area where all the neat hiding places for small things are."

It was eerily quiet in the plane for a few minutes as both men searched. Phillips suddenly called out loudly. "I found it!" The shout caused Danny to jump, knocking his right arm against a stack of uneven boxes behind the netting. He felt a sharp, burning pain, and then it felt like his whole arm was on fire. The shock caused him to fall over backwards away from the boxes.

TBC