Thank you so much for your interest in my story.

"Ah shit!" the driver cursed. He slammed on the brakes and the truck screeched to a halt. He and his partner jumped out and rushed over to the inert bloody form sprawled crookedly in the middle of the road.

"Dammit, I told you to slow down you stupid idiot!" Carl lashed out.

"Don't howl at me!" Bill roared as he squatted down to feel for a pulse.

"Is he alive?"

"I got a pulse." He recoiled in disgust at the puddle of blood seeping out from underneath the head.

"You hit him pretty hard."

"It ain't my fault! I was trying to keep the damn truck from flying off the cliff and that guy was standing in the middle of the road. What the hell is he doing here anyway?"

"I'll go check his truck."

Carl did a quick sweep around before he went to inspect the Silverado. When he noticed a SIG sitting on the passenger seat, he carefully wiped his fingerprints off the window frame and headed back to his partner to study the man's features.

Meanwhile Bill continued to assess Steve's injuries. His constant prodding spurred the wounded man back to consciousness. Steve cracked his eyes open for a fleeting moment before they rolled back into his head.

"Shit!" Bill pulled out his gun and cocked it.

"What are you doing?" Carl scorned.

"He just saw my face. I'm gonna kill him."

"Oh yeah, sure, a gunshot wound to the head, that's going to look like an accident all right," Carl sassed.

Bill secured his gun and stowed it away in his holster.

"Then I'll snap his neck." He proceeded to wrap his hands around Steve's neck when his partner slapped them away.

"You fool! You'll leave fingerprints!"

"Well, what do you suggest we do?"

"Do you know who this guy is?" Bill glanced down at the unconscious man and shook his head innocently. "That's Steve McGarrett."

"McGarrett? Of Five-0?"

"Exactly."

"All the more reasons to get rid of him," Bill insisted.

"This man's worth his weight in gold. I'm sure the boss will have a good use for him."

"Like what?"

"I don't know but let's bring back with us. He could bring us a hefty bonus," Carl explained, already relishing the reward.

"Or he could get us into a heap of shit!"

"I don't think so. Come on. Help me carry him to the back of the truck."

As they prepared to haul the listless body off the road, Bill's ears pricked up. "Wait! I hear a car coming," he warned.

"Oh great! Just what we need. Witnesses."

"Play it cool. Let me do the talking. And stop fidgeting. You'll give us away."

The car slowed to a stop besides the two pseudo officers. The driver poked his head out the window to get a better view of the scene. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"Very kind of you, sir, but we've got everything under control. An ambulance's on its way. Thanks anyway," Bill assured convincingly.

The man and his wife both threw cursory glances the two officers, one standing and the other squatted down by the injured party with his head hanging down to conceal his face.

Following a tense moment with Bill's hand on his gun at the ready, the car went on its way, much to both partners' relief.

"That was close. Let's hurry before another car drives by."

Bill slid his hands underneath Steve's arm pits, whereas Carl grabbed his ankles. Together they lifted the dead weight off the ground and carried it to the back of the truck.

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Shortly after, Danny arrived on location. He parked his Camaro in front of Steve's Silverado and stepped out.

"Steve!" he shouted, scouring the surroundings for any sign of his partner. "Steve!" Still no answer. "Of course! I asked him to stay put and the goof wanders off. Typical!" he fumed, shaking his head in disbelief. "There's no teaching this Neanderthal." He pulled out his cell and dialed Steve's number.

A ringtone caught his attention, prompting him to switch from anger to concern mode. He warily looked around, trying to find the source of the sound. He squinted at what appeared to be a shiny object underneath the truck. He walked over it and bent down to look under it. Near the rear tire sat the small device. He picked it up and examined it. Aside from a few scratches it appeared to be in good working order. As he stood, his eyes roamed over the road where he caught sight of a bloody trail ending with a large dark stain.

He sat on his heels and dipped two fingers in the fresh blood, rubbing the sample between his fingers and thumb to feel the texture. His gut twisted and his stomach churned at the image forming in his mind. He quickly pressed Chin's number.

"Chin, it's Danny. Get in touch with Duke. Ask him to send a CSI crew up on Diamond Head where they found the murdered girl."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I don't know yet but I found some fresh blood on the road and Steve's missing. I found his cell phone on the ground."

"Consider it done. Me and Kono will be right there."

Danny hung up and with a mournful face, said. "Oh Steve, what have you gotten yourself into this time?"

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The two phoney security guards made it to their location without anymore hurdles. They parked the armored truck in the garage of a lone house nestled in the Diamond Head crater, away from the beaten path upon which dozens of sightseeing tourists tread on a daily basis.

The crime leader peeked out the window to spot any unwanted visitors before he walked out to meet with his cohorts.

"What took you so long?" he asked petulantly.

"We ran into a snag," Bill informed.

"What kind of snag?"

Carl opened the rear doors of the truck. Amidst an array of illegal drugs neatly tucked away in crates lay an unconscious Steve. "That."

"What's going on here?"

"We were driving along when we nearly missed a turn. I swerved to avoid going over the cliff and the truck got out of control. He was standing in the middle of the road and I hit him."

"Is he alive?"

"Yeah, but barely."

"Why didn't you just leave him there?"

"He saw my face," Bill said.

"Then you should have killed him on the spot! We don't want any witnesses."

"I thought about that but then Carl told me that this guy was Steve McGarrett of Five-0, and that you could probably make use of him given the high price on his head."

The ring leader studied the bloody face intently. "I expect you made sure not to pick up a tail?"

"No one followed us," Carl assured.

"Get him inside," He ordered curtly without so much lifting a finger to assist in carrying Steve inside the house.

"Mandy, get in here!" the boss shouted to his nurse.

"What is it, Ron?" She took one look at Steve and gasped. "My God, what happened?"

"We ran him over with our truck. The jerk was standing in the middle of the road," Bill explained as he and Carl gently laid the unconscious SEAL on a cot.

"Do what you can for him."

"Ron, this man should be in a hospital."

"No can do. Do whatever you have to do to keep him alive."

"Why?"

"Don't ask questions. Just do it!" he barked out, his tone raising her hackles.

"Okay then, I need room to work," she said firmly and the men acquiesced. "You there, bring me the first-aid kit and you," she pointed at Carl," bring me some fresh water and a clean dishcloth."

"Yes ma'am!" they chorused.

"Dare I assume you brutes handled him like he was breakable china?"

"Not really. We had to get him out of sight and quick so we didn't beat about the bush."

"Chances are you aggravated his injuries." She proceeded to cut away at Steve's t-shirt before she began prodding gently at his chest and abdomen. She cringed at the feel of fractured ribs underneath her hands. She disturbingly noted the shallow and wheezy breathing, obvious signs of a pneumothorax. As she pressed down on the belly to measure the abdominal distension, she heard a guttural groan slip through his lips.

"Do you know his name?" she asked without lifting her eyes off her patient.

"Steve McGarrett," Bill informed.

Her head jerked up at the name. "Five-0 Steve McGarrett?"

"That's him."

"Damn you! Half the island will be looking for him!"

"Not up here they won't," Ron assured.

"You're so sure of that, aren't you?" she sassed.

"We won't be hanging around here long enough to find out how resourceful they can be, that's for sure."

"What do you want with him, Ron? He's never been a bother to your organization. You said it yourself we're just passing through Hawaii"

"That may be so but this guy's worth his weight in gold and I'm not passing up the opportunity to get my hands on all that dough."

"You'll get killed, that's what," she snubbed while continuing her examination.

"Don't be snide, sis, and just take care of him." Then he turned to his two cohorts. "You two, get busy loading the goods into the basement."

The two aids complied and walked back outside while Ron pulled at the secret trap door behind a book case that concealed a passage leading down below.

Mandy finished tallying up the external and apparent internal injuries before she buckled down on cleaning and disinfecting Steve's face streaked with dried blood. After which she concentrated on the weeping head wound still oozing trickles of blood. As she wrapped a bandage around his skull, he began to stir.

"It's okay. Take it easy," she soothed. "I just want to stop the bleeding."

"Dann...Dannnny?" Steve breathed out with eyes glued shut.

"No, my name is Amanda. Just relax and let me take care of you." Steve's face suddenly contorted in pain. "Where does it hurt?"

"Head," he croaked out and licked his lips. "Back." He gasped in a breath that seared his lungs. Amanda's hand reflexively went to his shoulder to keep him still. "Lungs. On fire."

"You were hit by a truck and it did quite a number on you. You are banged up pretty badly. It's a wonder you're still alive and I intend to keep you that way, God willing."

Steve cracked his eyes open to look at his benefactor who smiled down at him, brushing her fingers lovingly through his hair. Her brows furrowed with concern at the hunted look in his eyes. "What is it?"

"My legs. I can...can't feel my legs."

She gingerly slid her hand underneath his lower back. Albeit gentle, her prodding elicited a small yelp of pain.

"Sorry."

"S'kay."

She stood and moved to the end of the cot where she hunched down and delicately removed his boots. She took a blunt object and stroke the sole of his feet. "Can you feel that?"

Steve shook his head and winced at what it implied. "No."

She then proceeded to poke his ankles. "And this?"

"No," he sighed forlornly.

She worked her way up to his thighs and looked up to gauge his reaction. "Nothing?"

Steve shook his head and began to shiver uncontrollably. "I'm cold."

She took a blanket on a nearby chair and spread it over his shuddering frame.

"There. It should help. There's sign of swelling in your lower back, which is likely blocking your nerve impulses and consequently causing the numbness in your lower limbs. Once it'll subside the feeling in your legs should return."

"Are y... are you a doctor?" he asked with a tremor in his voice.

"A nurse. I do have some pockets of knowledge in medicine. Your pelvis doesn't feel broken, perhaps bruised or might have some muscle damage. I'm conceivably not equipped to issue an accurate diagnosis unfortunately." She ran a soothing hand against his undamaged cheek and his forehead. The cold, clammy grayish skin and glazed eyes coupled with a rapid heart rate and breathlessness were unmistakable signs that he was going into shock.

She quickly elevated his legs and returned with another warm blanket to appease the shivers. "Stay with me now. Breathe deeply."

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A team of expert forensic investigators were quickly dispatched on site. As they dusted Steve's truck for fingerprints and snapped pictures of the scene, Duke sent a ground crew in search of the missing SEAL in the event that he might have dazedly wandered off.

"You see the fresh skid marks over there?" Duke pointed in the direction of the burned rubber trail. All nodded. "Looks like the car swerved to avoid him."

"So we can rule out foul play then," Danny inferred.

"Looks to me like a plain hit-and-run. He might have been knocked out and thereafter regained consciousness, got up and started wandering off, dazed and confused. My men are combing the area. If he's around here somewhere, they'll find him."

"Maybe the driver did call 911. The ambulance got here and took him to the hospital." Kono threw in her two cents' worth.

"I'm his emergency contact. They would have called me," Danny claimed.

"Not if he doesn't have any credentials on him."

"Steve may have a nasty habit of forgetting his money or so he says, but he's never without ID. And let's assume he lost it in the accident. We would have found it by now. Besides I would have seen some hints on the way, like police cars and an ambulance streaking past me."

"Not necessarily if they went the other way," Chin argued.

"True," Danny conceded. "Okay Kono, could you check all the hospitals within range to see if Steve or a John Doe was admitted?"

"Sure thing, Danny."

Danny stared vacantly at the large blood stain before closing his eyes in despair. Chin placed a friendly hand on his shoulder. "We'll find him."

"The worst part is not knowing whether he's alive or dead. Look at the bloody trail, Chin. He slid a good twenty feet before he laid there, bleeding. I hate to think this was a head wound."

"I'm sure he's on his way to the hospital," Chin emboldened.

Danny shook his head woefully. "Something in my gut tells me he's not."

"Then he's around here somewhere. Duke's men will find him."