"You wanted to see me?"
Steve looked up to see Joe White standing at the doorway. His old mentor stepped into the room casually as if nothing were wrong. It was approaching ten at night and his other team members were scattered throughout his hospital room, all asleep.
"Yeah, come in." Steve had been lying on his side. He pushed off his sheets and sat up the best that he could. Joe walked over to the side of his bed, swerving between Kono's dangling legs from her chair and Danny's spot on the floor. As Joe came closer, Steve could see dark shadows around the man's eyes and a busted lip.
"You look like hell," Steve commented.
Joe looked around the room and shrugged. "At least I don't look like your team does."
"I'm guessing you heard about….what happened in Kahaluu."
Joe pulled a chair to the side of the bed. He sat down and shook his head at the injured man in front of him. "Son, "Joe said, "All I know is that the man I told you to talk to is dead. What happened?"
"The lines that separate the hunt for Shelburne and doing my job disappeared today, Joe." Steve stopped and took in the injuries of his teammates. Some of the memories of the incident had trickled in during the last few hours, making Steve feel worse and worse.
"Well, that's the job, son-"
"No Joe!" Steve lowered his voice down to a whisper, "I made bad, stupid decisions that could have cost me my team member's lives. It already cost me my job as the leader of this team and nearly cost me my friendships. Joe, they gave me an ultimatum."
"You're kidding? What was it?"
"Them or the hunt for Shelburne….and I decided to go with them. That's why I called you over here. I promised them that I'd let Shelburne go for a few weeks and get myself together. That also means…..no contact with you."
"That's ridiculous!" Joe stood up and threw his hand in the air. The commotion didn't wake the other team members. "They can't tell you to just stop! And let me guess- Governor Denning gave the leadership job to whom- Danny? Chin? I mean for God sake's, we went to North Korea to rescue you and he didn't demote anyone on this team! You know what Steve- just tell me everything that happened….from the beginning."
14 Hours earlier- Kahaluu
"Is that the place?" Danny asked his partner as the Camaro pulled up to a large ranch home on a cliff. Steve pulled the car over to the side of the road and sighed. "Yep," he answered.
"For arms dealers, this is kind of weak. I was kind of expecting a mansion," Danny commented. He undid his seatbelt before he noticed that his partner was watching the house with a pondering look. Danny glanced between Steve and the house before exclaiming, "Oh, no…..I know that face! We're here to check this out, not blow or shoot the place up."
Steve furrowed his brow. "Seriously? So this is my ass-kicking face?"
"No, that's your how- do- I- get- everyone- else- out- of- here- before- I- do- something- stupid face," the blonde detective muttered. Danny stepped out of the Camaro and slammed the door shut. Steve watched him walk back to Kono's car. Although Steve hated to admit his faults, he knew that Danny was right. Joe White had given him information about one of the arms dealer- Loli Haluu. The man, according to Joe, had knowledge of Shelburne's wareabouts. Of course, Steve didn't tell anyone else about this.
"Hey, Jason Bourne- you with us?"
Steve looked up to see Danny now standing outside of his car window. The ex-SEAL stepped out and played off Danny's comment with an eye roll. Steve wanted to quickly interrogate Haluu in private without the team's knowledge. He already knew that fooling Danny would be a problem- the detective was already staring at Steve suspiciously.
Steve stepped in front of the group after strapping on his Kevlar vest. He said, "Here's what we do: Chin and Kono, you two are going to take the basement while Danny and I take the front. I want whoever's in that house alive, ok?" The other members nodded before pulling out their weapons.
Chin and Kono took point and crept under the house balcony towards the basement door. Steve and Danny waited thirty seconds before running quietly to the front door. Steve pressed an ear against the front door and heard silence. He then turned to his partner and mentally counted down, Three, two, one- go.
Steve kicked the front door open and yelled, "Five-0!"
Both men entered the home and found themselves in an empty living room. Danny ducked his head into the kitchen and yelled, "Clear!"
Danny and Steve could hear Chin and Kono yell from the basement, "Clear!"
"No one's here?" Danny asked. Steve ignored his question and looked down the hallway to see a door to a bedroom slightly ajar. Also ignoring Danny's glare, Steve raised his gun and started to walk slowly down the hallway, cautiously. When he reached the door, Steve pushed it open with his free hand and found a short Hawaiian man sitting in a wheelchair. From the mug shots of the dealers that the team had pulled up earlier, Steve recognized the man to Loli Haluu.
"Haluu! Hands up!" Steve yelled.
Haluu, who was staring blankly out the window, did not respond. Steve marched to the man's side and repeated, "Hands up!"
Once again, Haluu didn't respond. Steve contemplated using a unique tactic to get the man to comply, but his partner walked into the bedroom.
"Kono and Chin have cleared the basement, but we have a problem- Haluu's many, many friends are coming up the road. I personally do not want to die today so," Danny snapped a finger, "let's go."
"I'll meet you out front in a second," Steve took note of Danny's annoyed look, "Just give me a second. I'll head out the back and meet you guys by the back trail. I want to have a private chat with this guy."
"A private chat? What are you- I don't want to know." Danny sprinted off towards the basement, leaving Steve alone with Haluu. By now, the man in the wheelchair's demeanor had completely changed; he was now staring at Steve with a glint in his eye. Steve angrily grabbed Haluu by the shoulder and growled, "You know about Shelburne?"
"I have absolutely no idea-"
"Cut the crap, Haluu! I know that you have ties to Wo-fat and Shelburne! You tell me where they are and I'll protect you-"
"I don't need protection, haole," Haluu sneered at Steve. The ex-SEAL tightened his grip on the man's arm. . The ex-SEAL planned on a few more words with Haluu, but stopped when Danny reappeared at his side. It was at that moment that Steve could hear the loud noises of at least five big engine vehicles pulling up to the front of the house.
"Seriously McGarett, we have to leave!" Danny yelled.
Haluu smiled maliciously as Danny dragged Steve towards the backdoor. As soon as they stepped outside, they heard yells and gunshots from the front yard. Steve looked over his shoulder to see seven SUVs and trucks and fifteen heavily armed men running towards them. Both Danny and Steve sprinted towards the Camaro.
"That was a long second!" Danny growled. Steve started the car and saw a hail of bullets land in the grass nearby.
"Call Kono and Chin and have them follow my lead on the trail," Steve replied calmly. He drove onto the Waihee trail while Danny dialed Chin and Kono.
"Steve, what the hell was that?" Kono yelled as soon as she answered.
The ex-SEAL made a sharp turn onto a dirt road. He said, "Sorry, I had to ask Haluu about Shelburne-"
"Shelburne?" Danny exclaimed, "Where the hell did this come from?"
"Partner, you trust me?"
Danny gripped the arm rest anxiously. "Of course, I do, but now I'm beginning to doubt it!"
"Well….." Steve made a sudden sharp turn onto another dirt road. Danny whipped his head back to see that Kono's SUV to the left of the Camaro and the seven vehicles from the arms dealers catching up to them. The blonde detective lowered the window and started firing towards the cars. His partner made another sharp turn that put them over a bump in the road. Danny wasn't prepared and his shooting arm hit the window frame, resulting in a large crack.
"Son of a bitch!" Danny screamed at the top of his lungs. Steve yelled, "You ok, buddy?"
"No, Need for Speed, I am not ok. Stop driving this car like a lunatic!"
"I have to- it's the way these trails are. If you want to lose somebody; you do it on these trails!" Steve said. He suddenly floored the gas towards a dirt mound that separated the trails from a grassy field. With Danny screaming for him to stop, Steve drove over the mound and landed smoothly in the field. The SUV, however, did not have the same luck. The SUV went over the mound and bounced when it hit the ground before landing on its side.
Steve quickly u-turned the Camaro and drove over to the SUV. As Kono and Chin climbed out, the seven vehicles that had been tailing the team arrived. Steve sent cover fire, allowing Danny to sprint behind the SUV. The detective dropped to his knees and took a look at his team members. Both were in decent condition, but Kono was in worse shape than Chin.
"Kono what happened to your arm?" Danny asked the youngest member of the team.
Kono was cradling her left arm while holding her pistol in her other hand. "I hurt it going over the mound. I guess SUVs can't move like sports cars."
Danny shot a glare at his partner who said, "It wasn't my fault-"
Danny's eye twitched for a moment before he exploded, "You said one second! Not two, not three- one second, Daniel! What was so damn important that we couldn't wait until we had this guy in custody?"
Chin fired two shots over the top of the SUV. He then ducked back down and asked, "Anyone have a plan?"
Danny took another glance over to his partner, who was staring at his vest with a thoughtful look. The detective froze, immediately knowing that trouble was about to come.
"Oh, no. Please don't," Danny begged. Steve pulled a hand grenade from his vest. He pointed over to the ground. "Stay here and out of sight," he told them, "I've got a plan."
And before anyone could protest, Steve was back in the Camaro, racing down the hill with the seven vehicles chasing after him. The three remaining members sat behind the SUV in shock. Kono was shocked that the dealers had actually followed Steve, Chin was shocked that they were still alive, and Danny was shocked that he hadn't killed his partner already for his daily stupidity.
Present Day
"You did all that?" Joe said, "It's not a good thing, but a part of me is extremely impressed."
"What I had told you was the team's versions of the events. How I totaled the Camaro and set a house on fire, I'll never know," Steve replied, "Plus, Haluu is dead."
Joe rubbed the back of his neck. "And he was the only lead we had into finding Shelburne. Damn…"
Steve suddenly saw Danny stirring in his chair. The dark haired man looked to Joe and said sadly, "It will only be for a few weeks until I get everything under control. I'm sorry."
"Me too."
Both men stood quietly, gathering their bearings. After a minute, Joe started walking away. He stopped at the door and looked back to Steve. The younger man settled back in his bed before adding, "Joe, just because I'm not actively looking, doesn't mean that you have to stop as well."
Joe paused, his eyes suspicious. "I'm guessing that's on a need to know basis."
Steve grimaced and replied, "Yes, this stays between you and me."
