Ultimatum III

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. I wonder if CBS would consider letting me adopt it for a short time.

Thank you everyone who has taken time to encourage my muse. I appreciate all of you who have read this story.

Chapter 3

The Camaro roared forward as Catherine reached the truck, clicking the key control to unlock it. As Danny expertly swerved the car to a stop behind the truck, Rollins was leaning into the cab on the passenger side. Slamming the door to the Camaro shut, Danny rushed towards her only to find himself with a gun aimed at his heart.

"Whoa….don't shoot," Danny announced holding up his hands as he halted abruptly. "Catherine, what happened?"

"Sorry Danny," Catherine said raggedly and lowered the Sig she was clutching in both hands. She leaned against the truck, her whole body trembling. Able to finally get a good look at her, Danny became very concerned.

Blood was smeared on her chin and swollen lower lip. Her white camisole was smeared with too much blood to have come from the cut on her lip. One knee of her sweat pants was torn and dirty and she was wearing only flip flops….slippers, Danny mentally corrected himself. He winced when he saw the raw, swollen flesh around her too tightly, zip-tied wrists.

"Catherine, what happened?" he asked for a second time. "Where's Steve?" he added as he pulled out a pocket knife and approached her. He swiftly cut her free as Gabby joined them, putting a supportive arm around Catherine's waist.

"Three men invade our camp earlier this morning. They have Steve; the leader said that he was going to use Steve as a hostage. I am supposed to tell you and the Governor that he wants Richie Choy released from Halawa. Marcus Choy is the man calling the shots and he wants to exchange Steve for his brother," Catherine related urgently. She pulled away from Gabby and ducked back into the cab, rummaging around under the seat and emerging shortly with a pair of running shoes. Cath was never so grateful that she had left something in Steve's truck as she was right at that moment. "I've got to help Steve, they've stabbed him, and he doesn't have much time. Go get Chin and Kono, tell HPD, Steve needs us to move quickly," she continued in a rush as she bent to pull on the shoes.

"Slow down Catherine," Danny ordered sternly. "You can't go charging back into the jungle, you're hurt."

"It's just a split lip Danny, I'm fine," Catherine scoffed, sounding a lot like McGarrett.

"And what about all that blood?" Danny pointed out, indicating the dark stains on her top.

"That's Steve's blood. Choy wiped the blade off on me, the bastard," she spat out angrily. Climbing back into the truck cab, she reached between the seats and then turned back to them holding a navy T-shirt. As she pulled it over her head, Danny could see it was one of Steve's SEAL shirts. Tugging it down, Catherine retrieved some extra ammo clips from the glove box, quickly shoving them into her sweat pants pockets.

"You are not going after them alone," Danny ordered roughly.

"You have to go get help, there's no cell service here. I know this area, I can follow them and help Steve," Cath argued.

"I can go get help," Gaby spoke up. She reached out to place a comforting hand on Catherine's shoulder. "I'll drive until I get cell service and call Chin and Kono. You and Danny go help Steve, we can't waste time." She knew that Danny would never go back to town knowing that Steve was in danger right here.

As she spoke, Danny immediately pulled his phone out of his pocket. He handed it to Gabby.

"Chin and Kono's numbers are on speed dial. I won't need the phone here so just drive and keep checking until you get a signal. Once you have contacted them, get home and wait. Be safe," he instructed as he drew her aside. He gave her a quick kiss and then went to the Camaro and popped the trunk open.

Going to the rear of the car he reached in to withdraw the two backpacks that he and Gabby had packed for the hike. He also collected his weapon and slammed the trunk closed, returning to the women. Gabby was softly reassuring Catherine that McGarrett was a tough man and that they would get to him in time. Danny set the packs down, hooked his holster to his belt and then took hold of Gabrielle by the shoulders.

"You be careful," she told him, her hands resting on his chest.

"Always am babe," he assured her. "We'll rescue Steve and arrest the bad guys, don't worry. And remind me not to plan any more hikes with McGarrett again. I swear the man is a trouble magnet," Danny complained, hoping to make her smile. She obliged him and they both looked at Catherine who was putting on Gabby's backpack and locking the Silverado. "Go and contact Chin and Kono, tell them what is happening. Let them know where we are."

"Take care of Catherine," Gabby whispered, seeing how stressed Cath was feeling. "I know she's capable and trained for this but she's really scared for Steve."

"I will," he promised. "Now go, get us some back up," Danny told her and kissed her once more before gently pushing her towards the car. He reached down to put on his own pack as Catherine was all ready heading towards the trail. Gabby drove away as Danny jogged after Rollins. "Hey Catherine, wait up."

Pausing to let him catch up, Catherine glanced up the trail impatiently.

"Time is running out," she said urgently.

"We cannot go charging into your campsite with guns blazing," Danny argued. "That's a perfect way to make sure they finish Steve off. We need a plan."

"Choy said they were moving on, so they won't be at the camp any longer. Steve is bleeding so we should be able to find a blood trail and it won't be difficult to follow. I know Steve, he'll do whatever he can to slow them down," Catherine said confidently, although the thought of Steve losing more blood because he was resisting turned her stomach. It helped to settle her nerves to know they were taking positive action and she headed once more up the trail. Having a weapon in her hand also increased her belief that she was doing the best she could to save Steve's life. Danny moved beside her, his eyes searching the jungle around them.

"All right Wonder Woman, but I still feel we should have a plan and I need details. You said there were three men….describe them to me," he insisted. He felt better about her attitude and demeanor but knew that she was still operating under a great deal of stress. The blood that was drying on the camisole under Steve's shirt had to be a constant reminder of how injured Steve was. Anything to keep her focused on the task at hand was a plus. Catherine gave him a small smile of understanding.

"Marcus Choy is of Asian descent, in his late twenties…maybe early thirties. He was the boss, said he wanted his brother Richie released from Halawa. Steve said he remembered that Richie had murdered four women for refusing to service his kinky clients," Catherine related.

"Oh….I remember that guy," Danny said as it all fell into place. He didn't like the vibe he was getting. "He was operating on the Big Island, one nasty dude. I forgot he had a brother, I don't think he was on the island when we arrested Richie. What about the other two?"

"The Caucasian guy who held Steve while Choy stabbed him was about 6'2" and muscle bound. He had light brown hair and light eyes, I think blue. I never heard his name. The Hawaiian native who held me was called Hiu. I didn't get a great look at him but he had long hair and many tattoos," she said grimly. "They took Steve, threw away our weapons. Choy had a Glock while his men were armed with AK-47s."

"Didn't you and Steve have a SAT phone with you? If it is at the camp that will be a big help," Danny said hopefully. He really hoped we could catch a break in the case.

"No, Choy took it with him," Catherine said with a shake of her head. "He said that he would use it to contact the Governor and see if he would do as he was told. Evidently he hadn't gotten a phone of his own," she added bitterly.

"Well then let's hope we can trace where he is when he places that call," Danny muttered, tired of this being difficult at every turn. "Meanwhile we will have to hope that we can leave enough of a trail for Chin and Kono. You say you know this area? Is there a logical spot they could be heading for?"

"I am familiar with this area, we have camped and hiked here before," Catherine nodded.

"Lead on then, I'll follow," Danny said as they continued up the path. He touched her arm lightly. "Hey, we saved Steve's butt once before by working together, we'll do it again," he promised.

"Sure thing Danno," Catherine said with a faint smile.

"No….no….no, it's bad enough McGarrett has high jacked my daughter's nickname for me, no way you get to do it too," he sputtered but with little heat in his words.

"Sorry Danny, I guess Steve has rubbed off on me," Catherine apologized, her lips quirking in amusement. A little levity helped ease the pressure she was feeling. Looking ahead, she suddenly abruptly stopped and extended one arm to halt his progress. "The camp is just a few yards up this slope," she whispered. "Come on."

They carefully moved up the trail, pausing to listen in case Choy and company had not moved on yet. As they neared the campsite, Danny wished he hadn't taken the tactical vests out of the Camaro for the weekend. He felt naked going into a possible confrontation with an armed opponent without them but then a wave of guilt rushed over him as he remembered Steve was even less protected and at the mercy of his captors. This was not the time to wish for what he didn't have to protect himself.

Catherine led him off the trial and they worked their way closer to the clearing, pausing at the edge to observe the site. Danny could see the tent pitched off to the right and the rest of the space was silent and empty. They exchanged looks and agreed silently to head into the clearing, holding their weapons ready.

Catherine spotted a pile of cloth at the entrance to the tent and hurried over to it. Bending down she recognized the remains of one of Steve's shirts and could see blood in the dirt around the cloth. She let out a sigh of relief, hoping against hope that this meant that some attempt to bandage Steve's wound had occurred.

Danny stopped by her side to look at what she had found.

"Is that part of a shirt?" he asked.

"It is Steve's. I think they made an attempt to bind his wound," Catherine said straightening up. She glanced around the site. "Now just what way did they head out?"

End chapter.

Let's hope that Choy showed some human decency and tried to stop Steve's bleeding. And now the hunt begins. Thank you for reading.