Ho'ailona
by Cokie
Chapter 2
Afterward, Danny struggled to remember the order of all that had happened. The passenger side of the car was open and he was stretching his legs outside while waiting. "The countdown has begun," he mumbled to himself, checking the time on his phone, watching as McGarrett reached the governor's car. Not thirty seconds later, he heard Steve yell his name. He bolted from the car, heard two 'pops' and watched the commander push the governor to the ground beside the car. Danny drew his weapon as he ran, seeing the driver/bodyguard hit the ground in front of the car, his blood spraying the car and pier.
Weapon in one hand, he reached for his phone, dialing 911. "THIS IS FIVE-0. SHOTS FIRED; OFFICER DOWN. PIER BY THE MISSOURI. REPEAT, OFFICER DOWN, NEED BACK UP."
Hearing no further shots, Williams ducked behind the limo, checking for the unknown sniper's possible location. He saw no movement and glanced at the driver, knowing from the head shot that the man was beyond anyone's help. He hadn't even gotten his weapon clear of his holster before he was hit.
"Oh, God. Oh, my God."
Williams heard the governor's frantic voice and, gun still drawn, he duck walked around the car to find her struggling to sit up while supporting McGarrett's head and shoulders in her lap.
"Help him, please, help him," she begged, looking up to the detective.
"Oh shit on a stick," Danny whispered as he dropped to his knees by her side, quickly scanning the scene once again for the absent sniper. Setting his firearm on the concrete, he asked, "Ma'am, are you injured?"
"No, I'm fine, but—"
"I know, I know," Williams tried to calm her, watching, not her but the injured man she held. The friggin' coward shot him in the back. He pulled off his tie, and then half unbuttoned; half popped the buttons from the dress shirt, pulling it off before removing the tee shirt beneath. Quickly folding the tee, Danny pressed it against the dark, red blood that was welling up and flowing from the hole in his partner's back, soaking into the governor's skirt before staining the pier.
Governor Jameson reached up to help hold the material to the wound. "Detective, this is all my fault. I should have-"
Williams interrupted her, finally tearing his eyes away from McGarrett. "Ma'am, we do need to talk. But not here; not now, okay?" She nodded and the detective grabbed his shirt and hastily threw it back on, buttoning the buttons that were still hanging by threads, before kneeling beside his partner once again, flattening his hand next to the governor's over the make-shift bandage.
McGarrett coughed softly, and then sucked in a breath when the added pressure caused the pain to intensify, bringing him quickly back to awareness.
"Steve?" Williams leaned down close to his partner's face to speak to him. "Hey, it's okay. Don't move."
"God," he breathed, his fist reaching out to grab the front of his partner's shirt. "Danny?" The word was soft and garbled. "Danno, I called."
"I know. You did good. Just stay still. Help's on the way. I can hear the sirens." Williams knew babble when he heard it, but he was trying to reassure all three of them that everything would be all right. Even when he knew it wasn't.
Another cough and blood filled the injured man's mouth, frothy bubbles dribbling out the side. "Danno?"
"Yeah? Shh, don't talk," Williams cautioned his friend, using his thumb to wipe away some of the blood from his face. He hoped his voice and manner showed he was calm and in control, when, in reality, he was close to panic. He couldn't let Steve know how bad this was, and he couldn't lose his cool.
"Sorry 'bout… sushi." He choked on the words, causing his eyes to widen in panic. "Danny- can't..." He attempted to gulp in air, only causing him to choke again on the fluid. "Can't breathe."
Williams knew help was nearby from the sound of the sirens. He also knew he didn't have the luxury of waiting for that help to reach them. So he knowingly disobeyed the first rule he learned in emergency training: 'If at all possible, don't move an injured person'. No, wait, Danny thought. That was the second rule. The first was 'don't panic'. That ship had sailed when he bolted from the car about ten minutes ago. Ten minutes. How ironic.
"Move. Please." He ordered the governor to slide away so that he could scoot in behind the injured man. Leaning against the car door, he pulled McGarrett back against his chest, eliciting a heart-wrenching groan from the other man. "I know, I'm sorry," he apologized, still holding the now-soaked tee shirt between them. "There. Better?"
"Guess so," McGarrett whispered, choking on another ragged breath before his head lolled to the side.
"Steve? Steve! Come on; don't do this to me, man." I've been on this stinkin' island less than a year and I've already lost one partner. I'll be damned if I'm gonna lose another.
Governor Jameson quickly moved to Danny's other side, kneeled down and gently tilted McGarrett's head back. "He's passed out," she murmured, cupping his cheek in her hand. "That's probably a good thing."
"Sorry to disagree, but not so good, Ma'am." Williams pressed harder against the wound. "He's bleeding out and there's not a damn thing we can do about it. Where the hell is back up?"
When help did arrive, it was loud and fast. First around the corner was an HPD cruiser; sirens sounding and lights flashing. Behind the cruiser were Chin and Kono, who drove their car as close as they could before jumping out, weapons drawn. The officers exited the cars, weapons at the ready as they checked to secure the area.
"Williams, Five-0," Danny loudly identified himself. "I'm here with the governor." When the police officers reached them, he added, "There's a DB on the other side of the car – the driver. And you need to get her out of here," he nodded to the woman seated next to him. "At least get her into one of your cars."
"Detective, I'm fine," Jameson told them.
"Yes, ma'am, that's good," the officer agreed, "Nevertheless, all hell is gonna break loose in about a minute and you should be out of the limelight. May I help you up?"
When the governor stood, the three Five-0 team members saw the amount of blood on her clothing, before looking at the pier beneath her which was slick with blood.
"Where's the damn EMS?" Danny growled, looking up at Chin. "It's bad, man," he stated, meeting his friend's eyes. "Real bad. Look at 'im."
Chin Ho nodded in agreement. "What the hell happened?" he asked quietly, kneeling next to Williams' side and placing a hand on McGarrett's shoulder.
"I'm getting an ETA," Kono told them, as she reached for her phone. "No, never mind, they're here," she added, kneeling next to her cousin. "Finally." EMS rounded the corner with several more police cars following; the ambulance directed to the front of the pier as the cars pulled in a long line behind. In a matter of moments, the pier was crawling with HPD.
"Come on, Danny, talk to me. What can we do? Where was the sniper?" Chin asked Williams, needing to DO something constructive.
Watching while the EMS team opened the back door of the truck and unloaded the gurney and necessary equipment, he tried to focus on the question. With a jerk of his head, he replied, "He had to have been up there. On the ship. We need security footage and check for anything else –tourist logs or whatever. Chin, use HPD and if anyone gives you any lip, they answer to me."
Focusing back on the EMS team, he spoke to the woman who dropped down by his side. "He needs help fast." Williams urged. "Took a bullet in the back and he couldn't breathe lying down. I had to move him. I thought it was better for him, but then he just-"
"It's okay, sir," the young woman assured him. "We'll take over now. Aaron, get the gurney over here." She placed her fingers against McGarrett's neck, then called to her partner. "Pulse is thready, respiration's low, he's unconscious and shocky. We've got to roll."
With Chin's help, McGarrett was placed on the gurney, buckled down and a mask placed over his nose and mouth. The tech began pumping the balloon on the mask and ordered, "Okay, guys, wiki wiki," as they rolled back to the truck.
Danny stood and watched them, Kono at his side. His first frustrated reaction was to run his hands through his hair, but he looked at his hands, still slick with blood…McGarrett's blood. He splayed his fingers and turned both hands upward, staring at the wetness, then looked down at his bloody shirt… his knees where he had kneeled on the pier…and looked downward once again to the surface beneath him that was stained red. He swallowed back the urge to throw up. Crime scenes he could do. Crime scenes were impersonal and he was all business. But this was different. This was his partner. And he was seeing way too much blood.
Kono ran to the ambulance before they closed the door and quickly returned with a towel. "Here, let me help." She held one of Danny's wrists and quietly began to wipe the blood from his hand. Glancing at his face as he silently watched while she worked, she looked nervously to Chin Ho who returned to their side. They both knew a quiet Danny Williams was trouble.
Chin caught her attention and nodded, knowing exactly what she was thinking. He turned to the detective and grasped his shoulder in a strong grip. "We've got work to do, Danny. Pull it together, okay, Brah?"
Williams sucked in a deep breath and focused on the two of them. He reached for the towel, smiling at Kono. "Thanks," he whispered. He swiped at his pants, and realizing the futility of the action, let out a sigh, then cleared his throat. "Okay," he began, watching as the ambulance made a sharp turnabout and drove down the pier, before hitting the lights and siren. "First off, how the hell did the two of you get here?"
Kono answered with a chuckle. "We heard the words 'Five-0' on the police band, Chin whipped a U-turn and we booked it."
"Good," he nodded. "That's good." He looked at them with gratitude and admitted, "I need you here". He noticed the group of officers who had joined them. "You," he waved his arm in their direction, raising his voice so they could hear. "Scour that ship for anything you can find. You report only, and I repeat, only to Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua and I don't want to hear of any back-talk, you got that? Williams nodded his thanks as the squad agreed, before turning to spread out over the Missouri.
"Are you going to the hospital?" Kono asked, taking the bloody towel back from him.
"Yeah. Later," he muttered with a jerk of his head. "Right now, the governor and I need to have a chat."
Once again, Chin grasped Danny's shoulder. "You good?"
Williams put his hands on his hips and lowered his head, noticing the governor's manila envelope, half of it wet with blood. He reached down and picked it up and watched the pooled blood drip off the corner. He then turned and growled, kicking the car's tire. Limping away from them, he yelled, "Now I'm good."
He found the governor sitting in a town car, her liaison, Laura Hills having arrived to wait with her. They both got out as he approached.
"Detective Williams, I took the liberty of calling my personal physician. He's meeting them at the hospital and will get Steve the best doctors available."
Williams nodded staring at the numerous squad cars on the pier, before turning back to the women, a look of panic on his face. "Hell, I don't even know where they took him. The military base?"
"Queens Trauma," Ms. Hills replied.
"That was my decision," Jameson told him. "Or actually, Dr. Bassett's. He's on their Board and I assure you, he'll handle whatever is necessary."
Danny nodded. "Okay, good. Thank you." He held up the envelope. "Now, about this."
"Have you looked at it?" the governor asked.
"It's not mine to see."
"Open it."
He undid the clasp and pulled out the one sheet of paper, dropping the stained envelope to the ground. The detective looked at the photo, before turning his gaze to the two women with him. "Who knew about this meeting tonight?"
