Danny smiled as he opened the car door and helped his daughter out. He hated leaving her this soon, but he needed to get back to the office. Chin and Kono had called with an update, but there really wasn't that much for them to tell him. He watched as Kamekona left the picnic table and came toward them.
"Hey, Pretty Lady, how would you like to help me decorate for Christmas?" the big man asked.
"Okay," Grace said, excited at the idea of helping Kamekona.
"Okay, Grace, you help Kamekona and I'll be back in a couple of hours."
"Okay, Danno, are we going to put up our Christmas tree tonight?"
"Yes, we are, Monkey," Williams said and knelt in front of his daughter. "We'll pick one out as soon as I pick you up."
"Okay," Grace said and hugged her father.
"All right, Grace, we better get started," Kamekona said and turned to Williams. "Don't worry, Brah, me and Grace are going to have lots of fun working on the knots."
"Thanks, Kamekona."
"It's always a pleasure having Grace here...you call if there's any news."
"I will," Williams said and hurried back to his car. He got into the driver's seat and watched as Kamekona chuckled at something Grace said and knew his little girl was safe with the big man. He drove to headquarters and parked in his usual spot before hurrying inside to find Chin and Kono going over what little information they had.
"Is Grace with Kamekona?" Kono asked.
"Yes, she's going to help him decorate for Christmas," Williams answered and looked at the overhead displays. "What do we have?"
"There are plenty of places a plane can go down and be hard to find even if you know where to start the search," Chin told him.
"Did Heraldo give us anything new on where we should start looking?" the Jersey native asked.
"No, but Kono and I were thinking one of the islands north of here. If Heraldo is right and the pilot was in on it he could have done something to obscure the signal before turning it off altogether," Chin explained.
"Where's the Navy concentrating their search?" Williams asked.
"The islands to the south. They're sticking with the route the plane was supposed to take," Kono answered.
"Okay, so when can we get a chopper in the air and start our own search?" the Jersey native asked.
"The chopper is available now, but it'll be dark soon and there's no point in going up until morning," Chin told him.
"Damn...what do we know about Garcia?" Williams asked.
"Just what Heraldo told us and a couple of things we dug up in our own files. Garcia is well known in Mexico and several South American countries. He has connections with the Ortiz brothers in Brazil and the Juarez family in Cuba. He made a mistake when he killed Donna Sterling and NCIS was able to get the evidence they needed to prove he was behind the attack. A hard thing to do in Mexico, but the authorities there seemed to want Garcia out of the country," Kono explained.
"If the Juarez family wants him released Steve could be in more trouble than he knows. The head of that cartel thinks he's God and everyone else is two steps below his level," Chin said. "They've also got ties to The Yakuza."
"Wo Fat," Williams said worriedly.
"Exactly and we both know there's no love lost between Wo Fat and Steve," Chin said. "Look, Danny, there's not much we can do until morning so why don't you go spend some time with Grace. Kono and I can take care of things here and we'll call if anything comes up?"
"You sure?"
"Go, take care of her and get your tree," Kono ordered.
Danny knew there was nothing more he could do here and that Chin or Kono would call him if there were any new developments. "Thanks, Kono, call me..."
"You know we will," the woman vowed.
Danny left the room, worried about the missing man, but looking forward to spending time with his daughter. He was going to make this a wonderful Christmas for her, no matter what happened. God, help him, but he was going to kill McGarrett if he disappointed Grace by not being there for the celebration.
5050505050
Grace smiled when she saw her father hurrying toward her and jumped down off the picnic table before running to him. "Hi, Danno!"
"Hi, Monkey, were you good for Kamekona?"
"She was excellent, Brah, you should see how good the tree looks," Kamekona said.
"Can we show him?" Grace asked.
"Of course, Pretty Lady," the big man answered and led the way into his home. The tree was a native Hawaiian one around five feet tall. Grace had really liked some of the decorations and Kamekona had given her several older ones after he told her the story and meaning behind each one.
"Wow, Grace, you and Kamekona did a great job with the tree," Williams said.
"Grace is real good at decorating," Kamekona told him. "Don't forget your decorations, Grace."
"I won't," the child said and reached for the package that held her items.
"Any word?"
"Not much, but we're going to start searching the north islands while Navy Search and Rescue checks the area to the south," Williams explained.
"Steve's strong...you'll find him, Brah" Kamekona told him.
"I know," Williams said as Grace walked out of the house.
"Does she know?" Kamekona asked.
"No, I was hoping we'd find him first..."
"Find who?" Grace asked, frowning at her father and the big man.
"Grace," Williams said and knelt down in front of his daughter. "Uncle Steve is missing, but we're going to find him."
"I thought he was going to help us decorate our tree?"
"I know, Honey, but..."
"Should we wait for him to come home?"
"I don't think he'd want us to do that, Grace," Williams said.
"Maybe we could ask Santa to bring him home."
"Sure, we could do that."
"Can we go see him now?" Grace asked.
"I think he's gone home now, Grace, but we'll go see him tomorrow."
"But you need to go find Uncle Steve...me and Kamekona can go see Santa. Right?"
"Right," the big man answered. "We'll go see Santa while your dad helps finds Steve."
5050505050
McGarrett heard a strange noise nearby and opened his eyes to see the moon shining high above his head. He shifted slightly and frowned when he realized he couldn't move his arms. His body ached and his arms felt stretched to the limit and he cursed the fact that Garcia was smart enough to cuff him to a tree. The bastard was stretched out not far from where Steve lay, but he was far enough away that there was no way to reach him or the gun that lay next to his right hand.
Steve drew his right leg up and tried to do the same with his left, but it seemed to have stiffened up while he was unconscious. Garcia must have changed the bandage while he was out, but there was fresh blood on the gauze. Steve heard sounds from far off and knew there were dangerous animals in the area. He just hoped they didn't decide to go after easy pickings because right now he'd look like a smorgasbord.
McGarrett shifted slightly, feeling the pull on the stiff muscles of his arm when he tried to sit forward. He bit his lower lip, and tried to pull his wrists from the cuffs encircling them, but Garcia had made sure he wouldn't get free that way. Steve heard a sound from his captor and waited to see if the sound would be repeated. When the man settled back into a deep sleep, McGarrett continued his efforts to get free.
"Get some sleep, McGarrett, I plan to get moving at first light," Garcia said, but didn't open his eyes as he turned slightly and reached for the gun.
Steve ignored the bastard until he was sure there was no escaping the locked cuffs. He sighed heavily and glanced over his shoulder at the tree, and knew there was no point in trying to beak it. There was no point in ignoring his need for sleep, not if he wanted to be at his best come morning. He leaned his head back against the tree and closed his eyes as the sound of birds twittered in the forest surrounding them.
5050505050
Danny looked at his daughter, relieved to see she was sleeping soundly. They'd found a tree in a small lot and brought it home in the trunk of his car. It didn't take long to set it up in his living room. The house he was now living in was a small rental property, but at least it gave him a sense of home whenever Grace visited. Steve had called him to let him know the house was available and the rent was reasonable. The selling point for him had been was the fenced in back yard with a gate that opened on to the beach. Even though he complained about the ocean, he often found comfort in the sound of the waves, but not this time.
Right now his mind was on his missing partner, and he silently prayed the man's SEAL instincts would keep him alive until they found him. If anyone could survive a plane crash it was McGarrett, even if he was saddled with a miserable lowlife scumbag. Hell, Steve probably tied the bastard to a tree and left him for the scavengers to find.
Danny smiled as Grace turned over in the bed, but continued to sleep. He didn't want to wake her so he walked quietly into the living room and over to the tree. It was shorter than Kamekona's, but was decorated with a mixture of old and new decorations. Some dated back to his great grandparents and would someday belong to Grace. There was one particular ornament that he'd picked out as a joke, but now the toy SEAL reminded him of his missing friend.
"Stay alive, Steve, we'll find you," he whispered and touched the SEAL as if he could send strength through that touch. He knew there was nothing he could do to help McGarrett right now and gave in to his body's need for sleep. He dropped heavily on to the couch, closed his eyes and was asleep before his head hit the pillow with the bright moonlight streaming through the partially open blinds.
TBC
