Chapter 2

Command Center
Pu'upe'ahinai'a Trailhead

Steve trotted into the mobile command center, pulling the door shut behind him. He turned, finding people hastily packing up things. At the far end, Chin was on a computer. Steve pushed his way back to him.

Chin looked up when he stopped next to him.

"We're pulling out. It's not safe to stay in this trailer until the hurricane passes," Steve told him.

"I can't find Danny."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean no one has seen him since you two went out. His phone is going straight to voicemail and the GPS on his phone went dead. This was the last place the GPS reported from." Chin pointed to a red dot on a topographical map on the computer.

Steve was worried, but he couldn't ask anyone to stay in this trailer right now.

"We have to go, Chin. As soon as we can, we'll start searching there."

"He's never been through a hurricane, Steve. Even if does downgrade to category one by the time it hits O'ahu, he won't know what to do."

Steve nodded. "Danny's smart and we cannot stay on this mountain when it hits. If he gets back here before we do, the restrooms are hurricane safe structures. He'll be safe."

"Then I'm staying in the restrooms. I'm not leaving."

"Neither am I," Kono said.

Steve looked at her, and then the eyes of the officers watching him. Their expressions told him they did not have the same devotion or passion to wait out a hurricane on a mountainside as his team had.

"Okay. Five-0 will stay. As soon as this storm passes, guys, get back up here," Steve told the officers. "Kono and Chin, grab some camping gear. It's going to be a long twenty-four hours."

Kono and Chin did as ordered, preparing to wait out a hurricane in a bathroom.

Lux's Shanty
Pu'upe'ahinai'a

Danny opened his eyes, staring at the ceiling far above. He realized this shanty house was inside a much larger building and that he was cold. Someone moved near him and he looked down. His shirt was unbuttoned and open, and his undershirt was cut open. The female in the gray hoodie was leaning over him, taping bandages on his side. Her long brown hair hung over one shoulder, almost touching his stomach and hiding her face.

"Where am I?" Danny whispered.

"My place. Nice nap?"

Danny smiled a little. "Yeah."

She pulled his shirt back down and moved up to his shoulder. He winced when she began working the bandage off.

He saw her face now. She was a teenager, probably close to eighteen. She had an average appearance at this age. However, his trained eye could see the beautiful, attractive woman she would blossom into over the next few years. She frequently chewed on the bottom of her fully ruddy lips and her chocolate brown eyes focused on the work she was doing. She had dark tan skin from being in the sun often and it brought out a few freckles across her nose and cheeks.

"The bullet didn't go through. The wound in your back must have nicked something cuz you won't stop bleeding," she told him. "You have a good concussion and you are covered in deep cuts and nasty looking bruises. What did you do? Wrestle a bear?"

"There's no bears on Hawaii."

"Could be."

"There are no bears on Hawaii."

"Might be."

Danny smiled a little. "Maybe I did."

She smiled. "You're not hurt. Now you're trying to tell me there's bears on Hawaii!"

Danny smiled a little more. "That wasn't fair."

She scoffed. "Fair is overrated."

She finished and buttoned his shirt back up. She picked up a bottle of water and with her help, he drank most of the bottle.

"There," she said. "Now you can go back to sleep." She pulled a couple tattered blankets around him, tucking it under his shoulder and arms. Warmth slowly began seeping in.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

"Lux."

"I'm Danny."

"I know. I hid your rifle, wallet, and badge. You wouldn't exactly be welcome here."

"I need a hospital."

She ran her fingers through his hair a couple times. Her cool skin felt good against his fevered forehead.

"I know," she told him, "but no one's going to come here in a hurricane. Once this passes, I'll… I'll figure something out. Until then, just relax and don't move much. Okay?"

"Deal."

"Hey, can I take two bucks out so I can make some soup?"

He was surprised she even asked, so he nodded.

"Get some sleep. I'll keep it warm until you wake up again." She was gone before he could say anything.

Danny closed his eyes and passed out.

Rain Forest
Pu'upe'ahinai'a Trailhead

After a long, nearly sleepless night, Kono, Chin, and Steve emerged from the park bathrooms. Trees had toppled. Branches, palm fronds, and other debris littered the ground. Someone was missing the door wrapped around a nearby tree. Steve lifted his radio and keyed the mic.

"McGarrett to dispatch."

He waited.

"Dispatch," a woman replied.

"When can we expect search and rescue at the Pu'upe'ahinai'a trailhead?"

There was a pause. "Three hours. The road is blocked."

"The sooner the better. McGarrett out."

"We can start searching on our own," Chin said.

Steve nodded, shouldering his tactical rifle on one shoulder. He secured his radio and checked his gun. Chin pulled out a portable GPS tracker and pulled up a red mark.

"The last known location was about four miles up the trail. It's going to be a climb if the damage is as bad in there as it is here."

Steve nodded. "Let's get moving then."

The three headed up the trail in search of their missing friend and officer.

Lux's Shanty
Pu'upe'ahinai'a

The smell of something cooking was the first sense Danny had followed by awareness of sounds. He heard people talking, somewhere there were people shouting, metal clinked, and there was the sound of wind howling. He opened his eyes, finding his mouth dry. He needed to use the restroom but the thought of moving made his head hurt.

Lux appeared next to him again, wiping his face with a damp rag. It felt good on his burning skin.

"I…" His thoughts were scattered and he had difficulty focusing.

"Shhh. Just relax."

"Help. I need help."

"I know. It stopped raining a little bit ago. I'll leave first thing in the morning."

He almost nodded.

"I got some meat and made a broth. Do you want some?"

He barely nodded.

She left his side and returned with a metal cup. Lux sat down and gently moved behind him, resting his head on her leg. She lifted the warm cup to his lips and gave him sips. Danny shook his head half way through.

"Full?"

"I need… Restroom."

"Oh. Uhm… We don't really… Have… that. We use the rain forest."

"We?"

"The other homeless here."

"I have to go."

"Okay. Give me a minute."

She moved away. He closed his eyes, thinking she was gone. His heart stammered when a hand touched his shoulder. She lifted him up and laid him back against her.

"You can't go out in your clothes. People will know you aren't homeless. I got a T-shirt and you'll have to lose the belt. I have a rock here to scuff up your shoes."

"I like these shoes."

"Too bad."

"We're not scuffing up—"

"Someone shot you, Danny, and it's probably the same jerks who terrorize us. They shoot people if they look sideways at them. Please, just trust me? Please?"

Danny didn't answer.

"Danny?"

"Give me… A minute."

She waited. He realized now that this teenager was probably risking her life to help him, especially if the people she was talking about were the same ones Five-0 had been after. He slowly nodded.

"Okay?"

He nodded.

She helped him out of his shirt and undershirt and pulled on a worn and stained T-shirt. She laid him down and went to work on his shoes. With his clothes changed and shoes scuffed, Lux helped him onto his feet and the two went through the curtain. They walked along an alley to the wall of the building they were in and down to a door lightly banging open and close. She led him outside into blowing rain and through a hole in the fence into the rain forest.

"Tell me when," Lux said.

"Here. The tree."

She leaned him against the tree.

"I'm going to go over there and turn around. Call me when you're done."

Danny nodded and felt her leave him. He had to grab the tree with both hands to keep from falling over…

Lux pulled the hood of her hoodie around her head and then put her hands under her armpits. She waited and waited and waited.

"Are you done?" she called.

He didn't answer.

She looked back. She didn't see Danny.

"Danny?"

She turned and took a step toward where she left him.

"Are you done? You need to get back where's it's dry."

He didn't answer. She took another step and saw movement. Danny slowly maneuvered around the tree. He leaned on it, resting his forehead against the trunk. Lux walked up and slid an arm around him.

"I need a hospital," he almost whispered.

"I know."

"There was blood."

"I can't go through the rain forest in the dark, Danny. I'll go as soon as I can, I promise."

The two slipped unnoticed back into her shack. Danny began shivering as soon as he was laying down. She grabbed piled more tattered blankets on him. She used a towel to dry his face and dry his hair.

"I can't die here," Danny whispered.

"Wife?"

"Grace. I have… To get back… To Grace."

"You're daughter?"

He passed out before he could answer.

Rain Forest
Pu'upe'ahinai'a Trail

The three were wet and tired from tromping through the mud, but refused to say anything or turn back. Chin looked at his phone. "Last signal is another quarter mile ahead."

"How did he get this far?" Kono asked.

"He must have been following someone. He wouldn't have gone this far without a reason," Steve said, more to reassure himself.

He was actually wondering why Danny would have gone this far too. Maybe he became turned around or lost. Steve was feeling guilty for not listening to him for once and waiting for the storm to pass.

Shantytown
Pu'upe'ahinai'a

Lux walked through the market the homeless had created. It was at the center of their shantytown and most anything you could want was found there. Barter was accepted, but money had to be used to buy the expensive stuff like soap and toothbrushes. The food was plentiful though. Before the gun smugglers showed up, they had a harvested the gardens behind the building. The smugglers set the gardens on fire in a drunken stupor, but many of the plants were starting to come back. Sometimes there was meat, usually there wasn't. She used two dollars of Danny's to buy a basket full of vegetables.

Lux walked to another vendor and handed him Danny's watch.

"I need Advil or something."

He handed her a tiny bottle.

"That's it?" she asked.

"I don't give more for stolen watches."

She opened the bottle and stared at the four round white pills inside. "What is it?"

He leaned over the counter. "Percocet. Men who get shot need some real pain killers." He winked at her.

Lux smiled. "Thanks, Gary." She walked off with her vegetables and Percocet.

Back in her shanty, she built a fire in the cut off barrel she used to cook on and placed the grimy grill rack over the top. She sat a worn pot on it and poured in some water. She tossed in some vegetables and then walked over to sit next to Danny. Lux rubbed his arm, getting a reaction as his fingers fluxed. He opened his eyes some.

"Got some good stuff here," she said. "Not exactly a hospital, but…"

She turned her head when she heard shouting. Lux capped the bottle and pocketed it. She walked to the curtain door and looked outside. Down the alley, she could see people running. A gun went off.

"Oh no," she whispered.

"What?" Danny asked.

"The men are here." She looked down at him, then around her shanty. "I gotta hide you somewhere. They'll kill you."

"Give me my gun."

"Right. Cuz you have enough strength to hold a rifle and fire it right now. Let's be real about this."

Danny wanted to argue but the truth was right there. She dashed across her shack and pulled boxes of clothes away from the wall. She dashed back to him.

"Come on. Up, up." She grabbed his arm.

Gritting his teeth from pain Danny got to his feet. She walked him over to the space she'd made and laid him down.

"Here," she said, pulling the Percocet back out and held it in front of his mouth. "This will help the pain."

He didn't take it. They heard more gunshots. Lux looked away anxiously and then back at him.

"What's it going to be?" she asked him.

He opened his mouth. She dropped the pill in and helped him drink water to wash it down. She quickly covered him with clothes and blankets, pushing the boxes around him. Lux grabbed the bloody blanket that had been on top of him and ripped it to pieces. She dropped the pieces in the fire and then spread the other blankets over the bloodstains on the mattress.

Lux just got back to the pot of vegetables to stir it when the curtain flew open. She stared at the man that stepped in. He had a scar from his check to his neck, jagged from a bad stich up. He pushed the curtain back and another man came in followed by two more who looked just as sour as the first. The man in front was a tall, lean Asian, wearing tailored Western cut clothes. He looked around her shanty before setting his eyes on her, and smiled.

"Lux," he said as if they were friends.

"Mr. Choi."

"How many times have I told you to call me Seung?"

She didn't answer.

"I'm looking for something, honey," he walked over to her, laying his hand on her neck.

She tensed but didn't try to pull away.

"I'm looking for a man. He was shot and stabbed, I believe. His trail ends outside the fence on the north side."

She didn't answer. Choi leaned in, pulling her close to him.

"Lux… Tell Seung where he is."

She shook her head. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you. You have a heart of gold. If you found someone hurt like that, even one of my men, you'd try to take care of him. So tell Seung, where is this man?"

"I haven't seen anyone shot or stabbed since last week."

He smiled, giving her a little jog with his arm. "Honey, don't lie to me."

"Why would I lie to you?"

He smiled, kissing her cheek. She turned her head.

"You don't deserve this, honey. You should come live with me. I would take real good care of you."

She pulled away and turned back to her soup. He leaned over her shoulder, laying his hand on her back.

"When I get tired of this game, it will be my way, Lux."

"Then it won't be as fun, will it?" she said.

Seung laughed. His men laughed. He stopped. His men stopped. He kissed her shoulder where her shirt dipped away.

"You make a good point." He grabbed her hand with the spoon and turned it so he could scoop some hot liquid out of the pan. He lifted it to his lips to taste it and then let her hand go.

"Needs salt."

"I don't have salt."

He turned to his men. "I know one of you had fast food."

A man stepped forward, handing him three packets of salt. He opened them and dumped them in the pot. Seung wrapped his arms around her, talking against her ear.

"If you see a man shot and stabbed, a policeman, you tell me, Lux. I'll give you more than just three packets of salt for your soup. I'll give you a house, and clothes, and everything you could ever want."

"I'd still say no."

He chuckled, kissing the exposed skin of her shoulder. "You are hard headed. That's why I am so into you."

"And not that I'm sixteen?"

"That has something to do with it, I'm sure." With one more kiss on her neck, he left with his men.

Lux froze and listened. They terrorized her neighbors before their voices faded away. She stepped back from the barrel and smacked at the spot he'd kissed.

"Asshole!" she spat at the door.

She turned and dug the clothes off Danny. He was sound asleep. She smiled, patting his shoulder.

"Sleep makes things happen faster, doesn't it?" she asked the sleeping officer.

Lux covered him with blankets and left the boxes around him to keep him hidden. She went back to making her soup.