And the rock cried out part 2

The conspiracy

2 days before…

Chin, despite his reputation and Zen-like calm, felt anything but when he watched Joe White leave their bull pen. Yes, Steve had dismissed him, but the elder SEAL still watched the younger one with an odd expression on his face as Steve and Danny left the office.

Something had to be done about the older guy before he dragged Steve down with him, and from the expression on Danny's face when the pair of Navy men had walked back into the offices showed Chin he wasn't happy about it either.

So the Lieutenant waited until they had closed the case and everyone had gone their separate ways before he made his move. The hotel Danny was staying at wasn't far, Chin was pleased to see the Camaro parked outside it, and he parked his still damaged SUV near it, and quickly went inside to find his friend.

It looked like Danny had just stepped out of the shower when he opened his door to Chin's knock. He was damp, dressed in a fluffy robe, and he smiled in greeting at Chin and stepped back, opening the door fully for him. "Hey, Chin." he said as his colleague walked in. "You got me just out of the shower. What can I do for you?"

Chin stepped in and firmly shut the door behind him, looking around the suite. "Is McGarrett here?" he asked him quickly. "White?" When Danny shook his head he relaxed a bit and ushered the blond further into the suite and shut the door behind him. "I don't trust White," he told Danny firmly. "Has he been here long enough to plant bugs?"

Danny frowned and shook his head. "I don't trust him either," he agreed, and walked back to where he had dropped his towel when he had heard the knock on his door. "But bugs? Really?"

Chin nodded and Danny rubbed his hair with the towel while he thought about it. "He's not been in here, anywhere, on his own," he answered him. "Just when we were being fitted for your wedding, and then just momentarily. How is that going, by the way? Good?"

The smile Chin gave him lit up his face and eyes and he nodded. "Brilliant," he answered him. "Best thing I ever did. I know you're going to tell me it won't last, but…"

Danny shook his head and smiled wryly. "My parents will be married for forty three years in a couple of months." he told him and waved him into one of the easy chairs. "They still like to embarrass their kids with PDA." He walked over to the minibar and grabbed a couple of Longboards from it, handing one over to his friend before he sat next to him on the couch. "What are we gonna do about White?" he asked as he passed over the bottle opener he'd kept on the coffee table. "Steve's trying to hide it but it's obvious it's bothering him." He shook his head and flipped open his own beer. "What with him, Wo Fat and Jenna, it's no wonder he's not sleeping or eating well."

Chin nodded, of course Danny would have noticed. "I don't suppose he's spoken to you about it?" he asked.

Danny nodded. "After a fashion," he replied. "He tells me about White, what he's said, done. But not about nightmares and stuff," he added grimly. "Those I've found out by myself."

Chin decided not to go there, at the moment anyway – despite his perchance for verbal diarrhoea Danny could be very reticent when he wanted to be. "The Yakuza have already come at White," he informed him. "They damaged my car when I went to pick him up from the airport."

"And HPD pulled him in for questioning today as well," Danny added. "With both the Yakuza and HPD gunning for him, Steve's going to get caught in the middle. I can't let that happen, whatever Steve feels about the guy."

Chin nodded and took a mouthful of beer while he thought about it. "Where's Steve now?" he asked him after a few moments. "Did he tell you?"

"He said he was going to talk to Joe," Danny answered him grimly. "Said that he was gonna try and get some more information out of him."

"Do you think that'll work?" Chin queried and smiled grimly too when Danny snorted in derision.

"White is even more stubborn than SuperSEAL." he retorted. "I didn't think it was possible, but it is. Maybe they both got taught stubbornness in the SEALs?"

Chin smiled. "But you can out-stubborn them both," he stated, and smiled wider when Danny looked at him over his beer bottle and mouthed 'out-stubborn'.

"I'm taking that as a compliment," the Jersey native informed him. "White's been telling Steve he's trying to protect him," he added after some thought. "But the only person I can see him protecting is himself. We lost Jenna over this," he said quietly. "And Steve? Well, we know what happened to him."

Chin reached for him and laid a hand on his nearest arm. He knew Danny had been affected by Korea more than he had let on, he had stayed with Steve after his rescue, making sure he slept on the plane and then that he stayed in hospital for the full amount of time when they got home. It wasn't easy for Chin to see the Commander in such a mess; he couldn't comprehend what it had been like for Danny. Steve wasn't the only one of the pair to look like he'd not been eating properly or sleeping well. "So it's down to us to make sure Steve doesn't get caught in Joe White's mess," he told him firmly when Danny turned to face him.

"Hmm." Danny agreed, sort of, and drank some more beer. "So, basically you're saying we need to do something drastic to a man Steve classes as a surrogate father," he clarified darkly.

Chin nodded slowly. "And probably illegal too." he added, just to compound Danny's woe.

Danny signed. "If Joe doesn't kill us, Steve will."

Chin really couldn't disagree with his depressing statement, which was one reason why he had come to Danny in the first place. "Rock and a hard place, Brah," he agreed bleakly.

Both men were on their second beers, pizza ordered from room service, Danny's laptop out in front of Chin, the other detective drawing out what he was trying to explain to Chin on a paper notepad in front of them, when a loud banging on the suite door surprised them both.

Danny, now dressed in some loose track pants and a t shirt shoved the notepad at his companion and stood. "It's probably Steve," he cautioned him, and Chin quickly shoved the pad under the seat cushion he was using and turned to the laptop as Danny quickly walked over to the door. Indeed it was, Danny could see Steve through the peephole in the door. "Holy …" he murmured, and quickly opened the door to him. One look at his ninja attire and mobile face made the detective quickly grab his arm and pull him into the suite. "Steve!" he said firmly as he shut the door behind him, and shoved the security chain on for good measure. "What the hell happened? Are you all right?"

Steve didn't answer right away, he couldn't, he was so angry and hurt by Joe White's actions and words he was virtually speechless. He had just gone and rescued the asshole only to have him walk away, saying nothing, again, and he was so … disturbed that the only thing he could do was this, go find someone he knew wouldn't betray him.

Danny welcomed him with a demand about his welfare, a call over to Chin (who the Commander hadn't known was there), and some comforting, calming, patented Williams mother-henning. "Steve?" Danny called again to him when he didn't get an answer the first time. "Are you all right? Where have you been?"

"… Joe …" the Commander murmured, his voice hoarse, so he swallowed some saliva and tried again. "Yakuza took Joe. I had to go and get him back," he explained.

He missed the look Chin and Danny shared, but not the soft curse his partner growled out. "You went on your own," Danny stated, rather than asked, he already knew the answer. With a sigh he gently pulled his partner over to a nearby armchair, checking for limps or any other injuries, and manoeuvred him into it.

Steve was compliant in his shock, and he let his partner relive him of his vest and weapons, handing them off quickly to Chin while he used his hands and eyes to check Steve was okay. He had no injuries, he was fine, and all Danny needed to do was get some information from him.

Danny crouched in front of him and tapped his knee to get his attention. "Steve, talk to me Babe. What happened?"

Steve took a deep breath and looked down at him. "Joe got caught by Adam Noshimuri." he explained, calming down as he did so. "I got him out. But he wouldn't tell me anything. He's not telling me anything!" he shouted, calm evaporating. He banged his fist on the arm of the chair and was going to leap up again and pace the room, but Danny's hand on his knee stopped him.

"Back up," Danny said after another look at Chin. "You went, on your own, to Adam Noshimuri's house?" he queried, trying really hard not to lose it. "To rescue a guy that's caused nothing but stress, trouble and aggravation?"

Steve took note of his words and tone and looked at him. "He's my friend," he replied, as if that was enough of a reason.

"You went on your own," Danny forced out through clenched teeth. "How many times do I need to tell you? You are part of a team. Why don't you realise that?"

Steve had the good grace to look away for a moment before he shrugged again. "I needed to go in a hurry," he explained. "And you and Chin don't trust Joe."

Danny shoved himself to his feet and stalked away, hands in the air. "Damn straight!" he snapped at his partner. "But did you really think I would want you to go into the Yakuza's den on your own just because of that? What is wrong with you?" He turned round and stalked back over. "Why don't you understand this, Steve? After eighteen months you still think you're in this on your own?" He shook his head and looked down at his feet before he spoke again. "I don't trust Joe White," he told him, changing the subject. "He's lying to you. You keep telling me he's saying he's trying to protect you, but it seems that he's only protecting himself," he snapped. "Why is that? Do you know?" He glared at Steve, who looked right back at him and shook his head.

"No, I don't," Steve answered him truthfully, and didn't hide anything from him. He couldn't anyway, Danny could read him like a book, but at the moment his best friend and partner was an enigma to him. He studied Danny for a moment and then glanced at Chin, noted he was standing nearby, arms folded across his chest, watching them both. "What are you two up to?" he asked them, frowning now. He sat up straight when Danny looked at him with a matching frown. "Danny? Chin? What?"

Danny stepped closer to him, arms held wide in an open gesture, making his partner's frown deepened in confused curiosity. "You know I love you, right? Steve?" he asked him firmly, and waited for the SEAL to nod. "You know Chin and Kono do too." he stated, and glanced over at the other guy to see him nod. "So you know we're your back up? Right?"

Now Steve knew something was definitely going on and from Danny's words and Chin's stance he knew he wasn't going to like it. He stood quickly and got into Danny's space, looming over him. "Joe White had been in my life for all of it, Williams," he said to him, almost snarled. "A lot more time than you."

Steve had seemed to forget that the man in front of him wasn't easily intimidated, or what had happened the first (and last) time he had tried such a manoeuvre. But Danny hadn't. He laughed up at him, which was not what Steve had wanted or expected. "Do you want me to punch you again, Steve?" he asked him, amused. "I can do that, if you like."

Steve took in a deep breath and calmed himself; he didn't want to get punched again. "Just tell me what you're plotting, Danny," he ordered instead.

"I need to get the information White is hiding," Danny told him with a nod. "Because at the moment I can't tell whether he's working with us, with Wo Fat, for himself, or some third party we don't yet know about." He looked at his friend, straight into his eyes. "He's not telling you, he's definitely not going to me, Chin or Kono. So…" he paused, but knew, if he wanted to keep any sort of relationship with the guy in front of him, he needed to be completely honest with him, something Joe White was not. "So we're trying to come up with something, anything, to get him to talk."

Steve's frown turned into a scowl and he glared down at Danny before he looked over at Chin. "You in on this too?" he demanded, and shook his head when Chin nodded. "Joe is a SEAL." Steve reminded them both, his words clipped. "Adam Noshimuri found that out earlier. Whatever you two come up with won't work either."

It wasn't a boast, or bravado, and the other two knew it. "Then do you suggest, Steve?" Chin asked, stepping forward too. "We ask him? Because that hasn't worked, even for you. Has it?"

Steve deflated a little and shook his head. He was right, it hadn't, and Joe had just clammed up and walked away. "The only thing he's told me is he helped Hiro Noshimuri escape to Japan." he admitted, and couldn't look at Danny's shocked expression.

"He did what?" Danny demanded loudly, incredulously. "Hiro Noshimuri killed your mother, Steve! How is that protecting you?"

The SEAL could understand his shock and anger, he felt the same when Joe had told him, which was even now settling as a deep hurt in his soul. "I don't know, Danny," he agreed and walked away from him, unfolding his arms as he headed for the closed balcony doors. Danny's suite was lovely, he had won a fortnight, and then paid for another fortnight, so had another ten days or so before he had to make decisions about his accommodation woes. Steve liked it here, the balcony was large and breezy, and the view from here and the bedroom was of the sea, which always calmed him, wherever he was in the world.

Except maybe tonight. Joe had been a large part of his life for a long time, had been 'Uncle Joe' when he was a kid, had watched over him when he was going through training and then when he was on active service. It was partly Joe's encouragement that had made him apply for the SEALs, and also because young Steve had through if he was more like him, how own father would give him as much attention as he gave Joe. He trusted the elder SEAL implicitly; well he had, until now. He had been the most consistent person in his life for a long time.

Until Danny had come into his life. Steve knew he had actually grabbed the guy and pulled him into his own world, not that he was ever going to admit that to him, but the Commander knew he was a better man because of it, because of Danny. Hell, the short blond had given up everything for him, the chance he had to have a family again to save his butt when he had gone on another crusade on his own.

Danny had never done anything to betray him, he had backed him up, protected him, given him everything from the use of his car to the fantastic status of 'Uncle Steve', something he could never, ever repay him for. The least he could do, he thought to himself as he saw his friend simply watch him in the reflection of the windows in front of him was hear him out. He was right after all – how could freeing the guy that had Steve's mother killed be protecting him. "All right," he said finally and turned back to face Danny and Chin. "But I reserve the right to veto, Joe isn't some bought juror."

Danny nodded and his shoulders released their tension. "Okay," he said, his tone showing his relief. "We can plan over dinner. I don't suppose you've eaten, have you?" he asked his partner pointedly. "You're still looking a bit on the skinny side."

In the end it was Chin that had simply said "Adam Noshimuri" to them when the three had eaten – Danny making sure his partner ate most of the spicy chicken and rice Steve had ordered with gentle, teasing persuasion.

Steve put down the beer he had been drinking and looked over at the other Hawaiian with a frown. The trio had swapped seats, now he and Danny were on the sofa and Chin in the armchair, Danny's laptop and notebook on the coffee table in front of them. "I just got him away from there." Steve reminded him, wondering what he was thinking (just like most of the time with Chin).

"Yeah, Chin. What are you getting at?" Danny asked him. He was sitting close to Steve, as usual SuperSEAL had gotten into his personal space and stayed there, which relieved the shorter man no end – he had not forgotten who they were talking, planning, plotting over. So he put down his own beer and laid that hand on Steve's knee to comfort and keep him down in necessary, to give Chin at least a few moments head start.

"I know that," Chin replied gently, keeping his tone easy and calm – he had spotted Steve's sudden tenseness and wasn't stupid. "But I also know that he's got a lot invested in this too, he wants to find out what happened to his Dad."

Steve looked down at the table, away from the two other men, and thought about it. "He had a couple of guys beating Joe," he explained to them both bleakly. "I can't condone that, I know exactly how that feels."

"We're not going to condone that," Danny assured him, and gently rubbed his though where he laid his hand. "And Joe's had the same training as you, so that won't work."

"Hmmph," Steve grumbled and grabbed his beer again for some more. "There's not enough training on the planet that gets you prepared for that."

Danny huffed this time and squeezed his thigh. "I hate that you've had to find that out."

Steve looked at him and his face softened to a fond expression. "Me too," he murmured and leaned into him for some support.

"So do I," Chin joined in, he did feel the same. "So what are we going to do about Joe?" he prompted, trying to get them both back on track. Danny had a knack of getting Steve to give more information about his past than the SEAL wanted to give, but he felt that they didn't have the time for that to happen now.

"What were you thinking about Adam?" Danny asked him curiously as he pulled himself away from Steve's face. "He's kept his nose clean, he's not like his father or uncle it seems."

Chin nodded. "He's clean," he assured them both. "He's spent most of his adult life training and being a doctor. He had a thriving practice at HMC," he told them, remembering from his research on the guy. "The only illegal thing he's done is grabbing Joe," he added, glancing meaningfully at Steve.

"And he had plenty reasons for that," Danny commented darkly. He turned to face Steve when he felt him tense against him. "You look exhausted, Steve," he deflected. "Why don't you go have a shower and go to bed? Chin and I won't do anything without your okay, but you need to rest and let us plan."

A shower was a good idea, and the one here would massage Steve's anger away, he knew, but he wanted to be involved in whatever they were planning. "You promise?" he asked him, and hoped Danny and Chin would excuse his sudden regression into kidhood.

They both nodded, and Steve found himself nodding too. "Okay," he agreed, and put down his bottle. "I'll take you up on that." He pushed himself up and walked slowing to the bedroom, pulling the door to but not closed behind him. He understood where the two were coming from, he knew if it were Danny in the situation he found himself in he would try and do something about it, it was his protective nature, but … this was Uncle Joe, someone his father had told him to always trust.

But then again he thought to himself as he stripped, why Joe was being so reticent sent his hackles sky high, as well as his blood pressure, and he found himself trusting the two in the other room more than he did Uncle Joe.

Danny waited until he heard the shower turn on before he walked over to the bedroom door and shut it properly, and then turned back to Chin. "What's going on in your head, Chin Ho?" he asked him as he walked back over. "Adam Noshimuri?"

Chin nodded and indicated to the file on Danny's laptop. "Give him back," he suggested simply.

It took a few moments for Danny's brain to compute that one and he stared at Chin in surprised confusion. "Give him back." he parroted and blinked when his friend nodded.

"With a couple of caveats." Chin continued, warming to the idea. "Adam's a doctor, he's not full-blooded Yakuza, like Hiro was. He just wants to know what happened to him, same as Steve with his father. If we could supply him with some… I don't know," he paused with a shrug. "Truth drug the man hasn't been trained to withstand, then maybe we could both get something out of him…"

Danny sat down heavily and looked down at his hands. On one hand was the very real possibility Steve would walk away from him, ditch him as a friend and never speak to him again, but on the other? On the other hand was information that could ease the pain in Steve's eyes, stop him or at least reduce his need to blame himself for everything, finally get him some closure, and could lead them to Wo Fat and get a dangerous criminal off the streets. He sighed and murmured: "the good of the many" (Max the Trekkie was rubbing off on him) and looked up again. "Okay," he agreed and sat up straight. "How are we going to do this? The guy's a SEAL, it's going to take more than just me to subdue him."

Chin smiled and looked him up and down. "I don't know about that," he commented and pulled out the notepad. "I've seen you take down people bigger and better armed,"

Danny grinned at him. "I do have more than just my winning personality." he agreed, and after a shared chuckle, they got down to business.