Kono studied the surface of the tech table as she retrieved her cellphone from her pocket. She laid the device on the table, noting that the little cluster of blinking dots had finally stopped moving.

She frowned, zooming in on the location further, noticing they were at the edge of the island, towards the docks.

"Where'd everyone go?" Catherine's voice drifted around her.

Kono shot her eyes up, finding Catherine leaning against the doorframe of Steve's office. She looked tired, her eyes still red-rimmed from her crying earlier. "Hey there," Kono offered, trying to evade the question.

"Kono?" Catherine shifted, moving into the room as the door closed behind her, "What's going on?"

"It's probably nothing," Kono supplied. Catherine gave her an appraising look and she finally relented and sighed, "We tracked the guys cellphone signals, it looks like Steve and Danny are with Fowler. Chin and Lou went to check it out, to make sure everything was okay."

"But it's not, is it?" Catherine felt her stomach start to churn.

Kono shook her head, "We don't' know anything for sure. It may be nothing."

"But it could be something! Dammit!" Catherine started pacing the floor. She was afraid for Steve and Danny. Afraid of Fowler and Bradley and what they might be capable of. "This is all my fault, Kono. How could I have been so stupid?" she whispered.

Kono glanced away, pointedly looking at some unknown spot on the floor. She didn't know what to say to that. She couldn't lie to her friend and tell her it wasn't her fault, because the truth was Catherine was responsible for whatever was happening. But she didn't want her friend to be upset either. She finally decided that silence wasn't going to solve anything, "Look, Cath, it's a complicated situation. We all know you didn't mean to start anything. It just happened. Everyone understands that, alright?"

Catherine sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I guess." She rolled her shoulders around and arched her back, trying to stretch. She managed to get her arms extended and started to yawn before she winced and brought her hands to her belly, "Oooh!"

"Are you okay?" Kono looked nervous. The last thing they needed was something happening with the baby.

Catherine shook her head, "No, it's fine. Just the baby's kicking, is all."

Kono moved around the table towards her friend, "Really? Can I feel?" She knew it sounded lame. She'd always made fun of people who did that before, but now she found herself curious about the experience.

"Sure," Catherine guided her hand to the right spot. It only took a moment before the baby gave another kick and Kono's eyes widened. Catherine smiled, "Yeah, the baby has been pretty active over the past month or so," she shook her head fondly, "I swear, some days I think she's using my bladder as a soccer ball."

Kono arched her eyebrow and cocked her head to the side, "She?"

"Crap," Catherine closed her eyes as she swore, then gave a shy smile, "Yeah sorry about that. It was supposed to be a surprise. Steve, he, uh didn't want anyone to know that we knew."

Kono smiled, "Well your secret is safe with me!"

The familiar buzz of a cellphone sounded as the phone started vibrating across the tech table. Kono raced back to the table to answer the call, placing it on speaker, "Chin, what's up?"

"Hey Cuz, you still tracking the signals?" Chin's voice carried over the tiny speaker.

Kono glanced at the screen and noted the three blinking dots, "Sure am. They've stopped though, looks like they're located at some old docks along the shore-"

"Kono!" Catherine interrupted, pointing to the screen as the red dot flickered and then disappeared.

"Hey Chin, we just lost the tracker on Fowler." Kono relayed.

"What do mean? Where'd it go?"

Kono typed a few commands, trying to refresh the GPS software, but nothing registered, "I don't know. It's just gone. Disappeared. I'm still reading Steve and Danny's cells though."

"Damn," Chin sighed, "Alright, we're already on the access road, no more than a few minutes out. Stay on the line, and keep trying to get that signal back."

"Copy that, Kono out." She glanced back towards Catherine, who was hugging herself and looking decidedly worried. "You know how Steve and Danny are, Cath. I'm sure they're fine."

"I hope you're right, Kono," Catherine nodded, "I hope you're right."

Bradley walked towards Steve with purpose, not even faltering when Steve shifted his aim from the goon to the dead center of his head. He walked straight up to the gun and swatted at the barrel as though he were trying to bat away a fly, "Commander, there's no need to get so worked up."

"Then tell your guy to release my partner," Steve countered.

"Very well," Bradley raised his arm and simply clicked his fingers, not even glancing back.

The goon let go of Danny, pushing him forward as he did. Danny stumbled but managed to find his balance before he forward. He straightened back up, eyeing Bradley.

"There," Bradley smiled, "No harm no foul." He glanced towards the barrel of the gun that Steve had pointed towards him, "Now, if you would be so kind." He gestured.

Steve looked to Danny, an unspoken conversation floating between them. He wanted to shoot Bradley for the sheer pleasure of it. The condescending asshole deserved it and was almost begging for it. It was his fault that Catherine was in danger, his fault that Danny had been injured.

But Danny's expression made him stop. It silently told him to think about what he was doing. To think about the repercussions of his actions.

Steve finally gave in and lowered the gun, Danny giving a small nod in agreement.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Bradley winked as he patted Steve on the shoulder before walking around him.

Steve watched Bradley as he moved towards Fowler. The wind was beginning to whip up off the water and it was blowing up the tails of the businessman's jacket as he inched closer to Fowler.

He stopped a few inches before the man, straightening his tie before he spoke, "I have to say I was a bit surprised by your actions today, Robert. I didn't expect you to be so hands on in your investigation. Perhaps I misjudged you as a competitor."

Fowler blanched, "Look, Miles, this was all a huge mistake and I apologize. I didn't mean to try and give you the impression that I was looking for anything illegal-"

"Eh, tut, tut, tut!" Bradley cocked his head and raised a finger to silence the man before him, "I don't suffer fools lightly, Robert. Nor did I figure you'd take me for one either. If you were merely interested in my company's financial outlook, you could have simply gone to the SEC and pulled a report. No, you were looking for something else, something you thought you could hold over me."

Bradley shoved his hands in his pockets as he continued, "The fact was I knew you were coming. See, I found this hacker, this kid, online. 16 years old, if you can believe it," Bradley shook his head, "Only had to pay the punk $300 and he wrote that beautiful snippet of code. All I had to do was bait the trap and wait."

Steve watched the exchange, trying to weigh his options. His hand flexed around the grip of the Glock. The wind picked up again and whistled around his ears. He wondered if he could use the noise to his advantage, maybe Bradley wouldn't hear him approach him from behind.

Fowler shifted in the goon's grip again, "Seriously, Miles, please! I never meant to hurt you. Honestly. How long have we known each other? You have to believe me!"

Bradley sighed, "Oh Robert. I really expected more from you. Given our previous encounters, I had hoped you would have learned your lesson by now. You were always trying to outfox the fox." He reached out and patted Fowler down, landing on the breast pocket of his suit. He gave another good pat before reaching inside and retrieving the data drive.

"See, this is why you can't stay out of trouble Robert," Bradley flourished the drive in front of the other man's face, "Ever since I've known you, you were always trying to play both sides of the game." Bradley gave one last glance at the thumb drive before he flung it out over the water. The device gave a small plunk as it hit the water and fell into the depths of the ocean.

Bradley turned around, facing Steve and Danny. He unbuttoned his jacket and reached into the inside pocket, retrieving a pair of black gloves. "Now, gentlemen. It's time to get down to brass tacks." He gave a quick nod to one of his men who disappeared behind the van. Bradley slipped the gloves onto his hands, "I have to admit, your arrival was unexpected. But I'm nothing, if not flexible."

The goon returned with two guns that Steve registered as his Sig and Danny's P30. He carried them on a white towel, presenting them to his boss. Steve felt a cold sense of dread start to creep up his spine.

Bradley picked up the Sig, giving an appraising look, "You know, Commander, I have to say I am quite fond of your choice of firearms. A man with your background and interests I have no doubt you can shoot practically any piece that comes your way. But I have always admired the P226. Easy to draw, quick to fire, it's a perfect compliment to you personality isn't it?"

Steve glared at the man, not giving him the satisfaction of a response.

Bradley smiled, "No matter." He turns back around and walks up to Fowler again and smiled, "I'm truly sorry it has to be this way." Before the man could respond Bradley fires the Sig, a single round discharging, slamming into Fowler's chest.

Steve watched in horror as Fowler's eyes grew wide as the man gasped and began to choke, a deep gurgling sound rising from his chest. The big goon griped Fowler and manhandled him across the edge of the dock, tossing his body into the water.

Bradley shrugged, readjusting his tie once more before turning back around. Steve raised the Glock and yelled to the man, "Put the weapon down now!"

"Or what?" Bradley raised his hands in a show of surrender, but kept his grip on the Sig. "You going to shoot me Commander McGarrett? The same way you just shot poor Robert Fowler?"

"No one will buy that story and you know it," Steve spat back.

"Really? Seems to me that you wanted Fowler dead. By your own admission he was the man responsible for the mess your wife currently finds herself entangled in. Disposing of Fowler and the evidence seems like a logical choice if it ensured the safety of your wife and unborn child. Wouldn't you agree?" Bradley reasoned.

Steve felt his anger begin to burn deep inside his belly. How dare that man even speak of Catherine or his child! What right did he have? "Drop. The Weapon. NOW!" Steve felt a slight tremor course through his hand, finger poised above the trigger.

"Steve." Danny's voice held a warning as it drifted from behind him, but Steve couldn't focus on it. Blood roared in his ears, his head pounded, his focus narrowed down to barrel of the gun and the man at the opposite end of it. There was no way Bradley would just walk away from this. The man was too big of a threat to simply let go. No, Steve was certain that the man wouldn't let the issue rest. His finger itched. He wanted to pull the trigger. He NEEDED to pull the trigger. The pad of his finger rested against the trigger and he'd just begun to put pressure on it when the searing pain shot through his right shoulder, causing Steve to stumbled forward and drop the Glock.

The weapon clattered against the concrete walkway as Steve crumbled to the ground, clutching his right shoulder with his left hand, blood beginning to seep between his fingers. Steve cried out in pain before clenching his jaw.

Bradley stepped forward and swept the Glock away with his foot, watching it skitter along the rough surface, out of Steve's reach. Bradley squatted down before Steve, "You see Commander, it didn't have to be this way. I never invited you to my party. I was prepared to deal with Fowler on my own terms. But you can't let it go, can you? You can't stand the idea that you are not the one in control. And believe me, you are most definitely NOT in control here."

"I'm gonna kill you," Steve gritted out, still clutching his shoulder, "You understand me?"

Bradley nodded, "You can try. And, who knows, one day you may even succeed. But not today." He looked over Steve's shoulder and gave another nod to the goon next to Danny.

The big man retrieved a switchblade from his pocket. Danny eyed him warily as he approached, bracing himself for an inevitable attach. Much to Danny's surprise he felt the blade slip between his wrists and slice open the plastic cuffs.

Danny brought his arms forward, rubbing his wrists as the blood rushed back into his hands. He stumbled as the goon drove him forward, finally toppling onto the concrete next to Steve. Danny scrambled over to his friend, trying to assess how bad the bullet wound was.

Bradley placed the butt of the Sig into Steve's limp hand. Steve instantly wrapped his fingers around the grip, wincing against the pain as he tried to raise the weapon with a shaky hand.

"Easy, Commander. I made sure my men emptied the clip, leaving only the chambered round before. I wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, now would I?" Bradley shook his head as he stood up, making a sweeping gesture to his men. They all began to scramble around, climbing into various vehicles and racing out of the parking area.

The goon with the weapons stepped forward again and presented Bradley with Danny's P30. Bradley picked up the gun, removing the clip and placing it into his jacket pocket. He began pulling back on the slide repeatedly, watching the bullets drop and bounce away. Satisfied that the gun was empty, Bradley tossed the weapon at Danny's feet, "I trust you men can find your own way back. Good day, gentlemen."

With that, Bradley disappeared around the van and was gone by the time the other vehicle moved. Steve groaned in a fury of a pain and disappointment. Bradley was certifiable. What the hell did he think he was going to accomplish?

Steve hissed as Danny pried his fingers from his shoulder.

"Jesus, Steve!" Danny shook his head, "I knew this was a bad idea."

"What did you want me to do, Danny?" Steve balled his left hand into a fist, "Fucking Bradley and is band of sycophants."

Danny shook his head, "Yeah, well no arguments there." He tried to study the wound closely, "I can't see anything for all the blood. You're going to need to take off your shirt."

"There's no time for that, Danno. We've got to tail Bradley, find out what his endgame is."

"Sure thing, buddy," Danny began sarcastically, "Let's just go right now. Oh wait, you're leaking blood all over the ground and we have NO CAR!"

Steve shook his head, "You're over exaggerating as usual."

Danny mumbled under his breath as he retrieved his cellphone, "Good thing those guys didn't take this." He had just dialed the number when he noticed another vehicle approaching fast. "Steve, we've got company," Danny warned.

Steve glanced up and blinked against the harsh sunlight as it bounced off the concrete laid out before him. The road shimmered as the dark SUV drew closer, blue lights blinking across the front fender. He slumped back down, relief flooding through him, "It's Lou."

Danny flagged them down as the vehicle approached. Chin and Lou jumped out of the truck as soon as it was parked, weapons drawn as they made their way towards their teammates.

"Steve! Danny! You guys alright?" Chin hollered as he advanced.

"We're good," Steve yelled back, "Did you guys see a bunch of cars hauling ass in the opposite direction?"

"We're good," Danny mumbled, "Unbelievable."

"Yeah, we saw them," Lou answered before slowing down, "Why?"

"Call HPD and have them track them down. It's Bradley and a bunch of Russian cronies posing as his security." Steve tried to stand up and move, only to get lightheaded. He stumbled, Danny catching him before he collapsed.

"Easy there tough guy," Danny wrapped his arm around Steve's waist, "You're not ready for that kind of fancy footwork."

Chin made it to the scene first, zeroing in on Steve's injured shoulder, "What happened?"

Danny started first, cutting Steve off, "Bradley already had plans for Fowler. He shot the guy with Steve's gun before having one of his goons toss Fowler into the water. He also tossed the thumb drive in as well."

Chin nodded, "Yeah, we figured something was going down. Kono said she lost the tracker on the thumb drive about 10 minutes ago. But we still had your cell signals."

"Chin? Are you there? Chin?" Kono's tiny voice drifted across the breeze. Chin holstered his weapon and then retrieved his cell from his beltclip, "Yeah Kono, I'm here. Steve and Danny are here too."

"Are they okay?" Catherine's voice interrupted.

Steve's eyes grew wide at the sound of her voice as he stumbled to get closer to the tiny speaker of the phone, "Cath?!"

"Steve!" Catherine's voice sounded relieved. "Please tell me you guys are okay!"

"We're fine," Steve tried to assure her, "Everything is fine." Steve shot Danny a steely look as the man looked like he was about to object before continuing, "How are you, are you okay? How's the baby?"

"I'm good, Steve. We're both good." Catherine assured.

Steve nodded and slumped back against Danny's side, the last of his fight leaving his body, "Good."

Chin cleared his throat, "Listen guys, I hate to interrupt but we've got a real mess to clean up."

Steve nodded, "Yeah, you're right."

Chin said his goodbyes to Kono and Catherine before ending the call, "Danny, you take Steve to the ER. Lou and I will finish up here. I'll call HPD and get them to start canvasing the area and pull any traffic cams along the service route. Maybe we can get lucky and catch a glimpse of some of the license plates."

Lou added, "And I'll coordinate with the dive team to try and recover Fowler's body and maybe even the data drive, if we're real lucky."

Catherine rushed through the doors of the emergency room department at King's Medical Center. She weaved her way through the sea of bodies as she made her way past the waiting area.

It hadn't taken her long to figure out that Steve wasn't as fine as he had claimed to be. Kono had gotten shifty after her phone call with Chin, trying not to answer any direct questions regarding her boss. Catherine managed to finagle the truth from her friend. Danny had texted Kono and told her that they were headed for the hospital. Catherine didn't need any more information to know that Steve was injured.

She chastised herself for believing Steve when he'd told her he way okay. Of course he wasn't and she should have known better. Catherine knew the man, knew how he was. How Steve could have had an arm chopped off and still tell the world he was "fine".

Catherine poked her nose into several triage areas before finally finding the right room. She barreled into the room, "Steve! My God! Is this your idea of being ok?!"

Steve glanced up from where the nurse was busy bandaging his shoulder. Fortunately the bullet hadn't damaged any major blood vessels or muscle tissue. Just a minor flesh wound but it still hurt like a son of a bitch.

He noticed the harried look of his wife as she waddled across the room towards the bed, "Catherine what are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here? Seriously?" Catherine shook her head, "I can't believe you, you know that."

"Did you come here alone? Where's Kono?" Steve looked around the room, trying to see into the hallway. He ignored his wife's questions, only concerned about her safety, "You shouldn't be here by yourself."

"Kono is back at the Palace. And I'm just fine, thank you very much. I'm a big girl, I can handle driving myself to the hospital, which is more than I can say for you at the moment."

Steve deflated, managing a quick nod to the nurse as he finished up the bandage and left the room, "It's just a flesh wound, nothing serious. I didn't want you to worry, that's all."

Catherine nodded, relief flooding through her as she realized that Steve would be okay just as he had stated. She glanced around the room, only then realizing that Danny was seated off to the side in a hard plastic chair against the wall. His head was tossed back, eyes closed. But he obviously sensed her gaze.

"Hey Catherine. I told the big ape to call you. But you know he never listens to me."

Catherine gave a small laugh, "Oh I know. He never listens to anyone." She gave a playful punch to Steve's left arm.

Steve mocked being hurt by her blow and pouted playfully, "Hey, injured guy here."

She smiled and then turned serious again, "Steve, if something had happened to you today, I don't know what I would have done."

"Hey, hey, come on," Steve took her hands, "I'm fine."

Catherine nodded silently before slipping onto the gurney next to her husband. She slid her arms around his waist before she placed her head against his bare shoulder. She closed her eyes and gave a prayer to whatever fates were listening that Steve stayed safe. She needed him, so much. And she didn't want to think about what his loss would do to her or their child.

TBC