AN: A tale written in response to a Halloween writer's challenge where a story is to be created based on the word of the day. I chose to use the word, "mesmerized". Happy Halloween to all who celebrate this day and I hope you'll enjoy my new one-shot.

Disclaimer: All creative rights to the characters from "Hawaii Five-O" belong to their original creators. Only the plots and fanon which includes characters that I created belong to me. No profit is gained writing this story.

Kiss of Death

Staring, mesmerized into her eyes, the young Hawaiian detective leaned forward and kissed her ruby red lips.

Breathless from running at full speed to the apartment, Dan Williams slammed into the door bodily and yelled, "Open up! Five-O!"

Breaking away from the kiss, the young woman craned her head back and shouted, "He's mine!"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, Dan forced the door open. His shoulders connecting with the wood, broke through the hinges. Seeing his friend standing in the middle of the room, unblinking, was not something Dan knew he would be able to forget easily. He fixed his gaze on the young woman who stood between him and his friend. "You're under arrest, Miss Graves!"

"Aw, come one, what's the matter, detective? I'm just getting acquainted with your friend here. Why don't you join us?" the young woman drawled.

"What did you to him?" Dan demanded, roughly.

"I didn't do anything! Don't you see? Your friend is sick and tired of walking in your shadow. Yours and McGarrett's!"

Dan shook his head and stepped forward. To his horror the Hawaiian man moved to position himself between him and Amy Graves.

"Kono, get away from her. Do you hear me?" Dan's heart skipped a beat as he looked into his friend's eyes for some hint of recognition. His stomach plummeted several floors when all he saw was a vacant stare. The jovial glint in his soft brown eyes had vanished, leaving an empty shell behind and it chilled Dan's insides.

Dan took several steps toward his friend. He reached out to touch Kono's arm but a hard shove in the shoulder caused him to stumble backward.

"Snap out of it!" Danny called out firmly when he saw a dangerous look pass over the Hawaiian's glassy stare.

"Kill him. Do it. Do it for me," Amy whispered into Kono's ears. A smirk played across her face as Kono lunged at Dan.

The young sandy haired detective grasped Kono by the arms as he felt powerful hands push him up against the wall and pinning him in place, before the same hands released his collar and wrapped themselves around his throat. "Kono, don't do this!" Dan let out a strangled cry as he struggled to break free without hurting his friend in the process. As dark spots invaded his vision and the ringing in his ears turned to silence, Dan knew he was running out of oxygen. Suddenly he felt the pressure against his throat ease and more familiar faces drifted in and out of focus. He dropped to his knees, coughing and spluttering, unable to breathe.

Held down by Ben Kokua and Steve McGarrett, Kono fought to break free.

"You're under arrest, Miss Graves!" Duke Lukela wasted no time in reading the young raven haired woman her rights while he secured handcuffs around her wrists.

"You'll never get your dumb Kanaka friend back!" Amy laughed manically.

"That's where you're wrong, young lady. We've found an antidote to counter the effects of the drug you gave him," said a crusty voice from the doorway.

Doc Bergman rushed to Kono's side and dropped the bag beside him. He could hear the young woman raving as she was dragged out of the room.

"Hurry Doc! I don't know how much longer we can hold him!" McGarrett growled between clenched teeth. A sharp elbow jab caught him in the midsection as the delusional detective fought harder. Steve maintained his hold despite the pain seizing his diaphragm as Bergman pierced the needle through the flesh of Kono's arm. They counted down the seconds as they waited for the antidote to work its way through the detective's system.

Still on his hands and knees, Dan felt a comforting hand rub his back soothingly. He raised his head and saw Chin Ho beside him with a worried expression plastered on his face. "Are you alright, Danny?"

Dan nodded as sharp pains stabbed the inside of his throat. "Kono?" He croaked.

"Doc's with him right now,"Chin replied.

"Will he…be alright?"

"We don't know yet. Easy," Chin replied in a gentle voice as he placed a sure hand on Dan's shoulder to keep him from trying to rise to his feet.

When at last, Steve and Ben felt the Hawaiian detective relax beneath them, they slowly eased their hold on him.

"Is he going to be alright, Doc?" Steve asked in a voice filled with concern.

"The antidote takes a few hours to counteract the effects of the drug Miss Graves administered. We were lucky to find him in time. Another hour, we would have lost him. The drug would've eaten away at his brain cells, turning him into a vegetative state before killing him. We'll know of any damage he could have sustained when he regains consciousness. I'll have Dr. Lenny Murchison on stand-by. He flew in this morning from San Francisco to help treat the two officers who were brought in a couple of days ago," Bergman informed the lead detective.

Steve nodded then for the first time since he helped subdue Kono, he searched the room for his second in command. His eyes fell on the sandy haired detective who sat, leaning against the far wall with Chin holding a glass of water to his lips.

Dan looked up and saw Steve crouch down in front of him. "Steve?"

"Doc's hopeful he'll make a full recovery but we won't know for sure until he wakes up. How's it Danno?" Steve placed a hand on Dan's shoulder, reassuringly.

"I'm okay. I just wish I got to him in time."

"Don't beat yourself up. You got here as fast as you could. No one can fault you for that."

With a sigh, Dan watched the paramedics lift his friend onto the gurney.

Exiting the elevator side by side, the two detectives silently walked down the corridor toward the recovery room.

"Danny, how did you know about Amy?" Chin Ho asked, curiously. Ever since his return from the mainland with Dr. Lenny Murchison, the case had almost spiralled out of control.

"I did some digging and it turns out that Miss Graves is also known as Su Lin Chen. She's a Red Chinese agent, possibly working for Wo Fat, and dabbles in the dark arts. According to Che and Doc, they believe she uses a combination of drugs and hypnosis to make her victims do anything she tells them to do. First, she would offer her victims a drink, spiked with a drug that leaves the mind vulnerable to hypnosis. The drug, however, wears off after a few hours and is rather harmless. The most damaging weapon she uses is in her lipstick which is infused with a lethal poison that leaves the victim's mind completely in her control before it attacks the central nervous system, ultimately causing death. Good thing Doc and Che found out what killed her first victim. They immediately started working on an antidote. The only thing we didn't know at the time was, who administered the drug, until we traced Su Lin as the key to all the victims. We already knew how the drug got into their systems when traces of it was found in the lipstick smudges on her first victim's shirt. I just wish I got to Kono in time before he went to her apartment," Dan recounted.

"You did what any friend could do," said Chin, and he placed a hand on Dan's shoulder, willing him to look deep into his eyes to know that what happened to Kono was not his burden to carry.

The younger man nodded and smiled in return just as he stopped outside the recovery room.

Chin Ho knocked courteously then entered the room with Dan right behind him. They were greeted by their boss who sat by the bedside of their friend and colleague.

"How is he?" asked Chin.

Steve stood up and smiled wanly at the two detectives as Kono stirred to wakefulness.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," Kono replied weakly, his eyes barely open.

"How's it, Kono?" Danny said tentatively as he walked up to the rail, resting his fingers lightly on the cool steel and peering into his friend's face which appeared rather pale despite his normally tan complexion.

Kono started to reply but his throat was so parched, that all he succeeded was a croaked, "Thirsty."

Steve reached for the glass of water on the bedside table and helped Kono raise himself on the pillows. After several sips of water, the Hawaiian detective's eyes settled on Dan and a pang of guilt started to gnaw at his insides. Fragmented images of what he wished was a nightmare came back to haunt him. Though he couldn't remember Dan's arrival to the apartment or what was said between them, the painful memory of his hands wrapped around the slighter man's throat was enough to rob him of speech. He took a deep breath and swallowed but the burning sensation in the back of his throat remained as his gaze fell on the dark bruises that marked Dan's neck; a stark reminder of the damage his strength had inflicted on his friend.

"I'll get the Doc," Chin said worriedly and turned to leave the room but Kono's voice stopped him.

"No, I'm okay. I…I'm sorry, for what I did last night," Kono's apology was barely audible as he struggled to find the right words to say how truly sorry he was.

"Don't be. It wasn't your fault. You were drugged," Danny replied sincerely.

"Drugged? Where's Amy?"

"She's in lock up. Do you remember anything from last night?" Danny questioned hesitantly, seeing the confusion written on Kono's face.

"Sorry. Everything is still hazy," Kono sighed. There were too many questions swirling in his mind but he didn't know where to start.

"Dr. Murchison will be spending some time here to help you recover any significant memory loss you may have as a result of the ordeal. It's not going to be easy but you won't be alone," Steve assured the Hawaiian detective. Then feeling Dan's eyes on him, he turned to face his protege and knew that as much as Kono yearned for them to fill in the blank holes in his mind, now was not the time.

"I almost killed you," Kono said dejectedly, the guilt becoming more defined in his eyes as he searched Dan's face for forgiveness.

Dan's face broke into a crooked grin as he tried to ease his friend's sorrow. "Not even close. Get some rest. As soon as you get out of here, you and I have some unfinished business at the Pipe."

"Take it easy," Steve added, giving Kono's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I'll come back tomorrow with some candy corn," Chin said with a wink.

"Mahalo, all of you," Kono replied, his eyes struggling to stay open. As the three men quietly filed out of the room he called out to Dan's retreating back: "Danny, you and me, Bruddah, we'll show dem wahines who da bettah surfer."

"You bet we will. You just hold that thought and you'll be out of here before you know it!" Dan exclaimed. The smile lighting his boyish face was testimonial to the relief he felt inside that his friend was already taking his first steps on the road to recovery. With one last glance, he exited the room and pulled the door shut behind him.

Kono leaned back against the pillows, exhausted but at peace. The tugging pain in his heart eased to a dull ache as the power of forgiveness and unconditional friendship began to heal his mind and soul.

PAU