Yahoo! Thanks for all the reviews so far and follows and fav's... I love knowing people are reading my story born from a crappy situation in my real life!
Here we go again and I hope people don't mind my minor O.C. characters I like to keep the core characters as close to natural as I can. I do love my core Five-0 team!
Enjoy!
Oz
"Commander McGarrett?" Steve looked up from his desk and raised an eyebrow at the man standing in his door way.
The night before had passed with very little sleep and a whole lot of short fuses. After trying to figure out priorities in his truck, Steve had finally decided to head to his place to see what was going on. Walking through his front door nearly made him sick as he saw spatters of blood and broken furniture. His alarm system had been hacked and it looked like Danny and Ben hadn't stood a chance against their attackers. As crime scene had been going over every inch of his place, Steve had done his own poking around and found a crushed syringe that he quickly bagged and sent to the lab for analysis.
That had been several hours ago and Steve was about to go down to the lab and start throwing his weight around. If he could get away from his desk that was. Phone call after phone call had been coming through from various different people with information, with questions, with comments and without Danny, Steve was the phone who had to field the calls leaving the investigation work to the cousins. It was getting to a point that he was actually feeling bad each time he walked into their offices with one more thing for them to look into. But then he'd remind himself Danny was somewhere out there, injured and they were on more than one clock at the moment.
One of the calls was to Rachel and Stan letting them know Danny was missing but that they should probably hold off telling Grace until they had more information.
After that phone call Steve knew personal lives would have to wait.
"Can I help you?" Steve said a bit curtly. The man before him was as thin as a rake yet towered almost 6'3" and had to be the palest person in existence on the Islands of Hawaii. He had short brown hair and sharp wide blue eyes that made his already thin face appear that much thinner.
"Raleigh Schwartz I'm with the cyber-crime unit," the tall man introduced. The last name instantly had Steve on his feet as suddenly the man's blank expression made a lot more sense.
"Schwartz as in..."
"Yeah," Raleigh replied. "Mike Schwartz' little brother; being a cop runs in the family."
"Ah man," Steve said rounding his desk and extending his hand which was accepted willingly. "I'm sorry for your loss. If I could go back..."
"We can only go forward," Raleigh said shaking his head. "From what I heard you tried your best, thank you for being there for my brother." Steve shook his head and opened his mouth to say more but the cyber-crime officer shook his head. "Look Commander, I just spent the last several hours grieving with family, browbeating my superior and fighting off a couple dozen other officers to get put on this case so if you don't mind I'd like to get to work catching the monsters responsible for killing Mikey. Can we do that or are you are and I going to have a problem?" Steve opened his mouth but yet again was cut off when Raleigh narrowed his eyes, "So help me if you even UTTER "conflict of interest". You've got a missing man, your partner, and you're still working HIS case," he spat.
"I was going to say welcome aboard," Steve said once he was sure he wouldn't get interrupted again. "If there's anything this case needs its someone who wants this as much as I do and deserves it even more." As expected, Raleigh Schwartz's shoulders almost instantly dropped his hardened face easing a bit as he shook his head. It was definitely the look of a man who'd been on the defensive for several hours while attempting to understand his grief.
"Sorry Commander, think you can imagine I haven't gotten much sleep," he replied.
"None of us have or will until these perps are brought to justice, I promise you that," Steve nodded. "And call me Steve."
"Steve," Raleigh repeated with a nod. Clearly in trying to understand his grief the man was very similar to Steve in a sense of throwing himself into his work. He pulled a USB key out of his pocket, "A few hours ago cyber finally managed to shut down the website and are keeping are eye out for anymore like it. We're also in the process of tracking the IP address to see if we can find it's origin but it was bouncing off several different towers so it could take a while."
"Well at least the sites down," Steve nodded. "What else do ya got?"
"Two new videos were posted seconds before we shut the site down," Raleigh explained. Steve winced.
"You're brother?" he asked. The officer's face paled a bit, which was quite the feet, and he nodded but said nothing on the subject.
"The other one is why I'm here," Raleigh kept going. "Well that and to be more involved in this case... it's about Detective Williams." Steve straightened up and took the USB key from the cyber-crime officer as if it could some how produce the missing detective.
"Follow me," he said. He guided the man out of his office toward the computer table waving Chin and Kono to come join them.
"We got something?" Kono asked as she and Chin arrived. They both glanced at the new comer curiously.
"Guys this is Raleigh Schwartz with cyber-crime, he's going to be helping us out," Steve introduced. "Raleigh, Detective Chin-Ho Kelly and Officer Kono Kalakaua." Once pleasantries and condolences were out of the way, Steve put the USB key into the computer table while Raleigh explained to the cousins what he'd found.
Steve knew they'd need to see the video of Schwartz beating but that was something he would leave for his team to do another time. Clearly, simply skipping over it was the right thing as he got a nod of thanks from the dead officers brother.
Watching the video of Danny being forced to read a message with a gun to his head made Steve's face red with anger. It had clearly been edited at points as one moment Danny was on the floor starting to protest and the next he was seated in a chair looking seconds away from passing out. When Danny said he was going to be "Their lesson" Steve tensed up. When the needle was stuck into Danny's thigh, Steve's eyes went wide and his fists clenched.
"Those sons a b****es," he snarled. The message in simple font at the end of was simple; "Hoale's will watch the detective wither and die knowing they are to blame for angering the goddess Pele." When the screen went blank Steve pinched the bridge of his nose fighting the headache that was threatening there.
"I've gone over this video twice and something isn't adding up," Raleigh said. Part of Steve was glad the man was there as he and the cousins were probably too angry to think straight at the moment.
"What do you mean?" Chin asked. First one to tame his rage as usual.
"They say we'll witness his death," Raleigh explained. Steve looked at him and shrugged.
"And?"
"And, where IS he?" the cyber-crime office replied waving his hands through thin air. "How are we supposed to watch him if he's not here?"
"Are we saying the people that took Danny aren't necessarily the ones who made the video?" Kono asked.
"At the end of the video, after they duct tape them up, the camera turns toward the front door," Raleigh explained. "I freeze framed it and he moves toward the door as well. They left them to be found."
"And some one else found them," Chin finished. "But who?" With perfect timing the computer pinged and Kono brought up the face of their mystery motorcyclist. Except the man wasn't a mystery anymore.
"Jesse Palaumalei'lei," Kono read the information out loud. "18 years old, ward of the state recently released from foster care and has a few juvenile misdemeanors but nothing to serious."
"We got an address?" Steve asked.
"Only one on file is his last foster home," Kono nodded as she kept skimming the information.
"Send it to me so I can check it out," Steve nodded. He started toward the door only to pause as his inner-Danny screamed at him "Where the hell are you going without back-up Steven?" He turned back around to the three others in the room. "Chin what are you waiting on?"
"Word from Tox about whatever Danny was injected with on that video and I should analyze the footage of the last two videos," he replied. Raleigh winced at that and shuffled uncomfortably.
"Kono?" Steve asked.
"I was just about to head over to Max to see if he has anything for me yet," Kono replied. Again, Raleigh shuffled but then he looked Steve in the eye.
"I may sit at a computer all day but I'm still a trained police officer," he said. Then frowned and looked at the floor; "I can't be in this office when he watches that video Commander."
"You're with me then," Steve nodded in understanding. "Lets go."
The first thing Steve did as they pulled up to Jesse Palaumalei'lei former foster home was check his weapon. He wasn't about to run into a house full of traumatized kids, waving his gun around and demanding answers but he wasn't going to let Jesse blind side him if the young man was still hanging around. One look to his passenger and Steve suddenly wasn't so sure about bringing Raleigh along. The man's eyes were narrowed with rage as his hand rested firmly on his gun belt.
"Hey," Steve said a bit loud to draw the man out of whatever he had going on in his head. The trouble cyber officer looked at him questioningly. "Whatever's running through your head right now ignore it," Steve commanded. "We're going in there to ask questions not to have a stand-off at high-noon with a bunch of parent-less kids, get it?"
"Mikey had his first kid three weeks ago," Raleigh snarled. "Forgive me if I'm less than sympathetic to some punk who left my brother to die in an alley."
"I understand you're suffering right now," Steve said calmly. The officer opened his mouth but this time it was Steve's turn to cut him off. "And I'm sorry, especially because this should be a happy time for your family rather than the worst moments of your life. But I NEED you to understand the only way we can bring these guys down is if we do things the right way. Do I need to leave you in the truck?" For a second, Steve honestly thought Raleigh was going to say yes and would stay put but then the officer sighed and shook his head.
"I'll be good," he replied. "Let's just do this." The two men climbed out of Steve's truck and headed toward the door of the quaint Hawaiian home. Two knocks later and a child looking barely old enough to open doors appeared in front of them. When he saw the two towering men the small boy went wide-eyed in wonderment.
"Cool! You're McGarrett! I've seen you on the news!" the kid squeaked. Steve had to smile at the innocence and gave Raleigh a quick glance silently wondering if the man was now glad they didn't kick in the door. Raleigh just gave him a raised eyebrow. Turning back to the child, Steve knelt so they were at the same level.
"So what's your name partner?"
"Troy and I'm five!"
"Troy!? Where are you keiki?" A kind voice called out.
"At the door Auntie Leyla, Five-0 is here!" Troy called out. He zipped off only to be replaced by an older Hawaiian woman with weathered features but a soft look in her eye that just screamed "Mom".
"Hi Ma'am I'm Commander Steve McGarrett and this is Officer Raleigh Schwartz, we're wondering if you could tell us where we could find Jesse Palaumalei'lei?" The woman raised a sharp eyebrow.
"And why exactly are the police looking for him?" the woman replied almost immediately. Steve instantly knew this woman was ready to protect her kids even if they were adults and had moved on. She also seemed like the kind of woman to give them up if she felt they had truly done something wrong; which was curious considering.
"He's a person of interest in a case we're working," he replied. "We just have a few questions for him." Leyla raised an eyebrow, looked Steve and Raleigh up and down as if deciding whether to say anymore.
"Please ma'am," Raleigh said with a surprisingly gentle tone. "We only want answers." Whether it was the emotion in his voice or the engrained sad look on his face, those words seemed to give them the entry they needed.
Now it was up to Steve to get the rest.
SOMEWHERE IN THE PACIFIC:
It was the soft rocking that gently lulled Danny back to the waking world. A gentle roll this way and he grunted and shifted. A gentle roll the other way and his brain finally put together he needed to wake up and find out what was going on. It was the not so gentle roll that tossed him in the opposite direction that thumped his bad hand and send an adrenaline shot of pain that forced his eyes open.
At first he struggled to bring the area into focus but no sooner had he done so did he come to an odd conclusion.
"W'on a boat?" he slurred. He started slightly when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Yeah we are brah, how do you feel?" Blinking back the last vestiges of blurry vision, Danny finally managed to turn his head only to find Ben, wide-eyed with worry and fear.
"Ev'thing hurts," Danny replied honestly. The nurse let out a nervous laugh that definitely sounded like it had relief amongst the fear.
"At least you're alive," Ben chortled. Danny gave a tired nod, couldn't argue that logic.
"What happened?" he asked clearing his throat. Thankfully Ben offered him some water and it was only then Danny realized Ben's hands were hand cuffed together. To that end, Danny realized his own good arm was cuffed to the side of the galley they were in. "Guessing rescue is still pending," he huffed. Ben finished giving Danny a few more sips before he sat back and shook his head.
"I couldn't get you to wake up man," Ben sighed. "I tried to get free once those jerks ran off but I couldn't. I'm sorry."
"S'not you're fault," Danny smiled. "You okay?"
"Few scrapes and bruises but I'll live," Ben returned his gesture in kind. Truth be told, the galley they were in was poorly lit and was just small enough to be uncomfortable for the detective. To that end, in his condition, having a friendly face by him was a welcome thing. Danny sat up a bit with Ben's doting hands and breathed through the pain for a moment. When it was finally at a tolerable level, he looked around the small area. "So how'd we end up on a boat?" he asked.
"I'm not sure," Ben replied with a shrug. "'bout ten minutes after we were left alone someone came into the house. I thought it was McGarrett and started calling for help. Next thing I know someone sticks me with a needle and I'm out cold. I wake up here my hands cuffed and my ankle chained to the boat with a gun pointed at my head telling me to give you an injection." The adrenaline surge finally reached Danny's brain and he looked at the nurse curiously.
"Another one?" he barked.
"Yeah but I don't think whoever's driving the boat wants to hurt us Danny," Ben said with a shrug. "I mean, yeah he abducted us, knocked me out and put a gun to my head..."
"Real humanitarian," Danny scoffed. Ben smiled but shook his head.
"Danny, I could barely find your pulse," he said honestly. "I thought... I thought for sure you were dead and he's telling me to stick you or you'll die so... I did." Danny thought that over for a moment then shrugged.
"Well considering, sounds like it was the right thing," he replied. "I feel like hell but... I can breathe now. This guy give you anything else?" Ben shook his head then sat back and ran his restrained hands through his hair. It was obvious they were shaking badly and Danny didn't blame the man in the least. "Hey," Danny said as calmly as possible.
"Yeah?" Ben asked trying to hide his tremors of fear.
"You have met McGarrett, correct?" Danny asked. Ben frowned in confusion but nodded.
"What about him?"
"Odds are he's already burned down half the islands to find us," Danny replied with much certainty. "If whoever has us now went to the trouble to keep me alive, to keep YOU alive to help me, I think we're safe for at least a little while. Okay? We're going to be okay Ben." The nurse took a shaky deep breath but then managed to stop shaking quite so much.
"Okay," he nodded. Then noticing Danny was licking his lips Ben brought the bottle of water forward again. The detective was mid sip when the engines that had been humming away stopped abruptly bathing them in silence. Ben opened his mouth to say something but Danny shushed him. A second later and with the click of a lock, the upper part of the hatch opened. It wasn't enough to escape through but it was enough that a bag could be tossed through.
Both Ben and Danny found themselves staring dumbly at Ben's medical bag that he'd been carrying with him since they'd left the hospital. The rest of the hatch open as Ben snatched up his medical bag and dragged it farther from the stairs when a masked figure came down his gun pressing into Ben's head the moment he hit the last step.
"Hey!" Danny called up ignoring the pull on his ribs. "You want to take it easy with that thing? Maybe tell us where we're going?"
"He going to live?" the masked man asked.
"He needs a hospital, and whatever he's been stuck with I need to kn-" The gun was jammed into Ben's head even more.
"All I asked was if he's going to live," came the question again.
"I'd be better if you told us what the plan is here," Danny cut in hoping to spare Ben anymore pain and fear. However as the boat rolled a small patch of light caught the man's eyes and the detective's mind started reeling. It took him a split second but he recognized that dark gaze from the blue motorcycle rider from the surveillance footage. "You left a cop to die and now you're helping me?" Danny couldn't help but blurt out.
The figure jerked back, from his waist he pulled out a knife and slit a fine line into Ben's arm. The nurse hissed and cursed but froze again as the gun was yet again pointed at his head.
"Hey! That wasn't necessary!" Danny barked.
"I'll tell you what's necessary, hoale," the man hissed. "Now you I need to keep around, him..." he said shoving Ben with the gun again."He's expendable. So just shut up and don't bother me with stupid questions no more."
"Okay, okay!" Danny said seeing just how frightened Ben was getting. "You're the tough guy with the gun, where do we go from here?"
"No where," the man replied. "You stay here. I'll come get you when it's safe." It took a split second for Danny to realize what the man was implying and he did his best to start struggling.
"You can't leave us here!" he squawked. "We need food and water and ungh..." Danny's injuries didn't take to kindly to his frantic movements and sharp pain blinded him to all else. He felt Ben's hands on him but felt like every time he moved, it set of a chain reaction of pain all over.
By the time he could see clearly again and breath as best he could with damaged ribs, their captor was up the stairs and closing the hatches again.
"You have enough in the bag," he called down. Just as he was closing the second hatch Danny heard a cell phone ring before they were plunged into minimal light once again. The boat walls were tight but sounded sturdy and with the waves rocking them back and forth, no one would hear their cries unless they were inches from the boats hull.
"Danny?" Ben croaked nervously.
"We'll be okay Ben," Danny said through grit teeth. "I promise we'll be okay."
Now if only the detective could convince himself those words were true.
INSIDE JESSE PALAUMALEI'LEI'S FOSTER HOME:
Hundreds of miles away, Steve McGarrett gave Auntie Leyla a nod of appreciation as he listened to the first few rings over the woman's cell phone. She'd dialed Jesse's number and put it on speaker.
"You're doing the right thing," he said to her. "We just want to talk to him that's all."
"Yeah?" said a voice finally answering. Curiously, Steve swore he could hear the sounds of the ocean in the background, clearly this Jesse kid was on the water or at a dock somewhere.
"Jess, its Leyla."
"Aloha Auntie; Troy staying out of trouble?" Steve glanced at Raleigh, the voice on the phone didn't sound like someone who'd leave a police officer to die.
"So far," Leyla smiled sadly. "And when are you going to visit for supper? Hmm, it's been so long."
"I know Auntie," Jesse said with a heavy sigh. "I'm uh... I'm kind of busy with something but I'll see you in a few days yeah?" When Steve and Raleigh both stood taller the kindly lady rolled her eyes and sighed.
"Actually keiki... I need to talk to you about something," she said. "The police came by the house and... I'm worried about you. Can you spare ten minutes for your old Auntie?" There was a long pause followed by a grunt and a shuffling sound; in the background a seagull screeched out.
"Was it Five-0?" Jesse asked. Steve jerked his head back, if that question didn't show some guilt, he didn't know what could. Auntie Leyla looked startled as well and met eyes with Steve her concern evident as he gave her a nod.
"Yes, a Commander McGarrett," she replied. This time the pause lasted so long, Steve almost thought the kid had hung up but then finally a response.
"I'll be there in a few hours," Jesse said quietly. "I'm just out fishing."
"I'll see you then Jess, Aloha."
"Aloha." When the phone line was cut, Steve took a breath; hopefully this kid might have some answers as to where Danny and Ben were. If nothing else, the kid knew something of what was going on and the Navy SEAL intended to find out what.
"Thank you," he said to the older woman.
"I know I've said this but Jesse is a good boy," Leyla reiterated. Her kind eyes seemed to plead with Steve for understanding. "If he's involved with what you say he is... I know he didn't do it by choice. He's had a tough run of things and if you attack him he'll only react badly. Very badly." Before Raleigh could open his mouth, a clear need to protest in his eyes, Steve cut him off. He'd listened to the story the woman had told of Jesse's beyond troubled childhood. A single kid raised with two parents who worked day in and day out until his mother was taken over by addiction.
The father, unable to handle the situation abandoned his young five-year old son. It left the boy to suffer at the hands of his abusive mother until his ninth birthday when finally, social services stepped in.
"We're not in the business of scaring kids that may be a little rough around the edges, ma'am," he replied. "I promise you I'll do everything I can to help Jesse and hopefully he's willing to help us back okay? Does that sound fair?" Auntie Leyla took a breath but then nodded and extended her hand to the Commander which he took willingly.
"I can see you're a kind soul Commander McGarrett," she said. "I don't just believe you, I trust you."
After saying goodbyes for the moment, Steve and Raleigh returned to his truck. The moment they were inside, the cyber-crimes officer turned to the Navy SEAL and gave him a stern look.
"Just because you want to save the world McGarrett, doesn't mean it's worth saving," he said. Steve did up his seatbelt and then looked at the man.
"I heard you when you asked that woman for answers Raleigh," he said. "And I do promise you answers. I know you've got the heart of a good officer like your brother." Suddenly the pale officer looked a little uncomfortable but Steve went on. "I also promise you justice because I want exactly the same for Danny and Ben but honestly right now something does not smell right. This Jesse kid, it's been two easy to find him and if he does walk through that door later today it'll be to easy of a catch. Does that sound like the type of 18 year old who would be able to single handedly take-down your veteran police officer brother?"
"No," Raleigh snapped angrily. "But don't play dumb and think he's innocent in all this. You heard him pausing and asking if it was Five-0. That kid knows something."
"And I intend to find out what it is," Steve nodded agreeing with the officer. "But I need your help Raleigh; I need you to figure this all out." After a moment, Raleigh rolled his eyes, shook his head and did up his own seatbelt.
"I don't know how Williams has been partnered with you for so long," he grunted. "You talk way to damn much." Letting out a hearty bellow of a laugh at that ironic comment, Steve was about to pull the car onto the road when his cell-phone rang. Seeing Chin's face and hoping for information the Navy SEAL answered it immediately.
"Chin whadya got?"
"Steve…" The disturbingly calm yet dark tone of his teammate instantly had Steve on alert as he put his truck back into park.
"Chin what, what is it?" he demanded.
"Lab results just came back from the swab done on the fragments of that broken syringe you found at your place," Chin replied.
"And?" Steve asked with his patience running thin.
"It was filled with a natural but potent neurotoxin derived from a plant native and only found in the remote parts of the island of Kauai," Chin explained. There was a pregnant pause that Steve's steadily increasing heart rate didn't have time for.
"So? And? What Chin? What aren't you telling me?" he barked.
"Its Hawaiian name translates loosely to what the European settlers eventually called it which is "The 1,2,3"," Chin explained. A heavy, heavy sigh followed before the man added, "It's called that because it usually kills within three hours of exposure, there's no known cure… Steve…"
For a moment Steve's mind went dumb with the implication of what Chin was telling him and exactly how long Danny had been missing. The math swirled in his head and it computed to nothing he could accept. He swallowed convulsively for a moment before giving Raleigh a look and then turning back to his phone.
"No," he said certainly.
"Steve…" his Hawaiian teammate tried again.
"NO Chin," Steve barked back. "You keep looking for any and all leads as to where Danny and Ben might have been taken. We're going to find them and we're going to bring them home and screw anyone or anything that gets in my way! Danny is NOT dead until I see a body! Clear!?"
"I hear you Steve," Chin said as if his boss's word was G*d given law. "I'll keep working. See you soon."
"Yeah," Steve said and hung up without saying goodbye. Later he would realize the need to apologize for snapping at Chin and also thank the man for not even batting an eyelash at his outburst.
Taking a breath to calm himself, the Navy SEAL looked up to his current driving partner and was a little surprised to find Raleigh grinning back at him.
"What are you smiling at?" he demanded.
"Sounds like you're finally talking my language McGarrett," the officer smiled. Then he sat back, his body posture much more relaxed than moments ago. "Let's go get your brother back and solve this case for Mikey."
So... have fun with that. I did! *giggles to self while tenting fingers*
I'd love to hear feedback as always! Thanks for anyone who's read to this point!
Cheers,
Oz