A/N: I really can't thank you all enough for reading and reviewing! I'm so happy you're enjoying the story so far :D

I hope you will enjoy this chapter too. It will kind of maybe give a hint at where this story is going...

Chapter 7

It was a fifteen-minute drive to the motel. Steve got them there in eleven.

"Kono's two minutes out," Chin said from the passenger seat as Steve pulled up in front of the shabby looking building, and scanned the area carefully. He had kept his eyes open the entire way, but no one seemed to have followed them and there was no suspicious activity around the motel.

Maybe a good sign. Maybe not.

Maybe they were too late.

"Alright, call her back, tell her to wait outside when she gets here. We need someone to keep an eye out for Fuentes' people." Steve got out of the car, a hand going automatically to his gun, subconsciously confirming it was there, before he readjusted the straps of his tac-vest. Without being too obvious about it, he carefully watched as Agent Lake did the same, making sure she was good to do this, prepared. He didn't need to check back with Chin. He trusted his team to be able to handle themselves in the field. It was different strangers. He felt responsible for her, for her safety. Even though, technically, he was probably rather her responsibility than vice versa.

"Chin, you go round back, in case he runs."

Chin confirmed the order with a nod and started jogging away from them while dialing Kono on his cell.

"Lake, you're with me." This way, he could keep an eye on her and make sure she was safe. Make sure she didn't do anything stupid.

They quickly made their way up the outdoor stairwell and along the narrow balcony until they reached the door with the number sixteen on it. Not knowing what they were going to find behind it, Steve unholstered his Sig and waited for Lake to do the same.

"I'm in position," Chin's voice crackled over the com-link in Steve's ear.

"Me too, everything's quite down here."

Steve looked down to the parking lot and spotted Kono next to her red car, scanning the area for any signs of trouble.

"Alright, let's move in."

Lake nodded and positioned herself next to the door. Steve stood in front of it and knocked twice. "Matt, it's Steve McGarrett, Danny's partner. Open the door."

Nothing.

"Matt, you in there?" He rapped on the door a few more times.

Still, there was nothing. No answer, no movement. Just silence.

Bad sign.

Steve took a step back, confirmed with Lake that she, too, was ready to bust in there, and then kicked down the door, mentally preparing himself for whatever they would find behind it.

He quickly stepped inside, gun first, scanning the small, scarcely furnished room thoroughly and effectively. But it was just empty. He waited for Lake's "clear" as she checked the tiny bathroom, before he lowered and holstered his gun again.

"He's not here," Lake stated unnecessarily as she walked back into the main room.

Steve cupped his chin in one hand while he let his gaze once again wander over the room. Everything looked to be in order, no signs of a struggle or anything else that would suggest Matt Williams had left against his will. The bed wasn't made though, so housekeeping hadn't been through here yet.

"Looks like he checked out," Lake said, gesturing towards the open, yet empty closet at the far end of the room. "All his stuff is gone. No clothes, no nothing."

"Kono, get up here. Chin, check in with the front desk, ask the manager whether Matt's checked out," Steve said into his com-link.

"You think he's running? Again?"

Steve didn't answer Lake's question, he just kept looking around the small room, trying to find something that suggested otherwise – even though he wasn't sure that finding evidence that Matt had left against his will was what he wanted. Because if he did, it meant that Fuentes had gotten there first. And that Matt's chances to get out of this alive where shrinking by the second.

But what if Matt had decided to run again? What would that do to Danny? And what would Fuentes do to him, his family, Grace, if he didn't get his hands on Matt?

Either way, the situation was fucked up.

"Hey," Kono's voice startled Steve out of his thoughts. "What do you need, boss?"

"Get a crime scene unit in here, have them process the entire room." His eyes were still scanning the surroundings, still looking for something. A clue.

"What are we looking for?"

"Any signs of a struggle. I need to know if Danny's brother left voluntarily or if he was taken." He looked up at Kono, who nodded with a determination in her eyes that told Steve that she understood they needed this fast. Before he had to tell Danny.

"You got it," she said, already dialing her cell.

"Steve," Chin's voice sounded over the com-link in his ear again.

"Go ahead, Chin. What do you got?"

"According to the manager, Matt checked out about half an hour ago."

"Shit," Steve muttered under his breath and ran a hand over his face. "Ask him if there was anyone with him when he checked out . . . if he noticed something suspicious."

"Already did. He said Matt seemed like he was in a rush but there was no one else there. No one picking him up or anything. Didn't even want the manager to call him a cab."

"So we got nothing."

"There something else. Matt left a note for Danny."

"What's it say?"

"Just 'I'm sorry'."

With a polite smile in what's-her-name-again's direction, Edith walked out of the small and stuffy room, out to the balcony where she took a deep breath of fresh air. She watched McGarrett walk down the stairs towards the front desk to meet with Kelly, and pulled out her cell from her pants pocket. Seven missed calls and a text, all from Bixler. She quickly scanned the message – he didn't find Kipton – and then hit speed dial number one.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, Bix, you called?" A lot.

"Edie, where the hell are you?" her partner burst out when he realized who was calling.

"Calm down. We got a lead on Williams but it didn't pan out. We're at some motel in Pearl City. Williams had already checked out when we got here." She sighed and leaned forward, propping her elbows up on the railing and letting her gaze wander over the parking lot below her. "Looks like he's gone."

"Well, so is his brother."

"What?" Edith stood up straight again. "Where are you?"

"At the field office. I only got here a couple of minutes ago."

"And Detective Williams is not there anymore? What about his daughter." Edith couldn't help but look down to the reception where McGarrett and Kelly were talking, feeling like the guy with his super powers would somehow be able to sense that something was wrong.

"What about his daughter?"

"Jesus, Bix. Is she still there?"

"You left her here?"

So not the point right now. "Conrad!"

"She's not here."

Oh no. No, no, no. This was so not happening. "Shit. Where did they go?"

"I'm trying to find that out right n- Oh, crap."

"What?"

"Kipton. He took 'em."

"What? How? How do you know?"

"I'm looking at the surveillance footage right now. He just walked right out of the front door with them. He's hiding it pretty well, but I think he's got a gun on the little girl."

"What? What about the agent guarding the door?"

"The footage has no audio, but it looks like Kipton talked to him for a few and then the guy just left. Edie, please tell me you flagged Kipton's ID before you left."

Oh. Fuck.

"Edie, did you at least tell Section Chief Hayes about this?"

"I-" was all Edith managed to choke out. She gripped the railing with her free hand tightly and tried hard to force some air into her lungs. Because, fuck, this was her fault. She should have flagged Kipton's ID, she should have told the Section Chief about what was going on. Make sure Kipton couldn't just walk into the field office as if nothing was wrong, flash his ID, have some small talk with the junior agents and then just walk Danny Williams and his daughter out of the building. But she hadn't. Because she still couldn't quite wrap her head a round this whole mess. Because she still didn't want to believe that her boss was working for Fuentes.

"Edie!"

She slowly blew out a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "I- I was hoping you'd find him and- and that we could sort this whole fucking mess out . . . I thought that maybe this was all just a misunderstanding . . . I-"

"Damnit, Edie."

"I messed up, I get, okay," Edith snapped, her heart still pounding furiously in her chest. She sucked in another deep breath, desperately needing to calm down. Fix this. Make it right again. "Okay," she shakily breathed out after a moment, her hand still tightly clenched around the railing. "How long ago did this happen?"

"About fifteen minutes, according to the timestamp on the footage."

"Is there any way we can track Kipton?"

"His cell is still dead. And I doubt he took one of our cars."

Shit. Edith glanced over the where McGarrett and Kelly were still talking. What the hell was she supposed to tell them? She wanted to fix this before they even heard about what happened. Because McGarrett would sure as hell rip her head right off for this.

Not that she didn't deserve it.

"Edie?" Bixler urged.

"Just . . . give me a minute." Edith looked around, frantically, as if Kipton, Williams, and his kid would just pop up right in front of her if she only looked hard enough.

Kipton took Detective Williams. Detective Williams, who he himself arrested last night. Whose personal affects were still in lock up, including his cell phone, so tracking that wouldn't give them squad. And the girl . . . Maybe if she was McGarrett's daughter she'd have a subdermal tracker implanted or something. But Williams . . . Edith didn't have him pegged as too overly protective, but then she didn't really know the guy at all. And with a girl that age these days . . . They were all over the place. Facebook and all that crap. Some kids had cell phones before they could even talk and- Cell phone. "Hold on, Bix."

Edith quickly jogged down the stairs to meet McGarrett and Kelly in front of the motel manager's office.

"McGarrett!" she called, inappropriately out of breath considering the short distance of the sprint.

"What?"

"Does Grace Williams have a cell phone?"

"Why?" McGarrett asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously as his spider senses went off.

"Just answer the question."

"Yeah, she does. What's going on?"

"What's the number?"

"555-0136."

Edith brought her phone back up to her ear. "You got that, Bix?"

"Got it, I'll let you know as soon as I got something." The line clicked dead and Edith suddenly felt very much alone (and scared), looking into the grim, questioning face of Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. She swallowed hard, but didn't say anything. There was that teeny tiny little chance that McGarrett didn't really want to know why she just asked for Grace Williams' cell number like her life depended on it.

"What's going on?"

Okay then, not Edith's lucky day. With a resigned sigh, she decided that it was probably best to just get it all out as quickly and – hopefully – painlessly as possible. Like ripping off a band-aid. Or – considering that huge, pulsating vein on McGarrett's neck – like ripping off that wax strip from the bikini zone. "Kipton took Detective Williams and his daughter. Bixler is trying to track her cell right now."

McGarrett just looked at her blankly for a moment, then turned around and ran a hand through his hair. "No, no, no," he muttered, coming back around to face her again.

"Commander-"

"How could he just walk in there and take them, huh?" His face was red with anger and dangerously close to Edith's now. "Why didn't anyone stop him?"

"I-" Edith started, not sure what she was supposed to tell him. But then, McGarrett didn't really give her a chance to talk, so it kind of didn't matter.

"Why wasn't Kipton arrested as soon as he walked into that building?" he shouted, still stepping closer to Edith, making her stumble backwards a little. "Don't tell me you-"

"Boss, what's going on?"

McGarrett took a step back and looked at the girl of his team coming quickly towards them. "Kipton took Danny and Grace," he informed her with a sigh, running a hand over his face.

"What? Why?"

Good friggin' question, honey.

"That's a good question, Kono," McGarrett echoed Edith's thoughts.

"Alright, let's all calm down, recap this thing," Kelly said with a sense of calmness and collectiveness he couldn't possibly be feeling right now. "Fuentes' brother wants two things, right? His money back, and Matt."

"Yeah, and we can't give him either," Kono interjected. She was frustrated, bouncing on her heels, obviously itching to do something.

"One thing after the other," Kelly said, giving her a look. "He's got Kipton working for him and probably got the money from him by now."

"Probably," McGarrett agreed and – if the circumstances were any different – Edith would have sworn he had only said it to prove a point to her. But she doubted that he had the emotional capacity to mock her right now. He still looked angry and he had every right to be furious with her. But he also looked scared. For his partner and the little girl. He looked so fucking scared it made Edith tremble inside.

"So all he wants now is Matt," Kelly added.

"Shit, they planned this." McGarrett turned away from the group and walked a few steps, punched a wall – hard – and then came back, eyes wild, jaw set so tightly Edith was afraid he'd break it. "He's fucking using us."

With bouncing eyebrows, Kelly just looked at McGarrett ominously knowingly.

"I- I don't follow," Edith admitted, looking confused around the three quarters of Five-0 who still seemed to be busy communicating via looks and eyebrow-movements.

With a sigh, McGarrett turned to her. "Kipton didn't get a location on Matt from Danny. He probably figured that Danny would only give up that info to someone he trusted. So he waited for us to grab Matt, and while we were gone, he grabbed Danny."

"He wants to set up an exchange, Detective Williams for his brother," Edith finished the train of thought, nodding absently as everything fell into place for her. Almost everything. "But Kipton is FBI. He knows we won't make a deal like that."

"Guess he thought it was worth a shot," McGarrett snapped, staring blankly ahead, his mind probably going a mile a minute, trying to figure out how to fix this whole mess. "Not that it matters. We don't have who he wants anyway."

As if on cue, Steve felt his phone vibrate in his pants pocket, seconds before it started ringing. Caller ID was blocked. Great, this was the call. Already. They sure didn't waste any time.

"McGarrett," he answered, swallowing hard.

"You have one hour to bring Matthew Williams to the abandoned SGB construction site. If you don't, his brother and the little girl are dead." Heavy Mexican accent. This wasn't Kipton calling. It was probably Carlos Fuentes himself.

"Who is this?" Feigning ignorance was always a good way to stall and buy some time. And he needed time to come up with a plan.

"Lake makes the drop. She comes alone, if I see anyone else, people will die." Fuentes definitely meant business. He sounded determined, confident. He probably had experience with situations like this. Not good. This wasn't Steve's first hostage situation either. But with Danny and Grace involved, things were just . . . different. He needed to focus. Treat this like any other kidnapping, follow the protocols, do what experience taught him was the right thing to do and not get distracted by his feelings for the victims.

God, calling them victims sounded so, so wrong.

"You know I can't give you what you want," he said, trying to remain calm, trying not to scream bloody murder at the man who was threatening to kill two of the people who were most important to him in the world. "The US government doesn't negotiate with terrorists." Standard. Protocol. Hopefully not the words that got Danny and Grace murdered.

"This is not a negotiation, Commander. One hour, starting fifteen seconds ago."

"We need more time." Because Matt Williams could be well on his way to anywhere in the freaking world right now. They needed more time. But he also needed Danny and Grace to be safe right this second.

"This is still not a negotiation."

"Look, if you want him, you'll have to give us more time." Shit, he was losing it. Fast. He'd almost just told the guy that they didn't have Matt. And if he knew that a trade was not gonna happen then Danny and Grace would become expendable.

"Fifty-nine minutes and twenty-three seconds, Commander. Detective Williams dies first. While his little girl watches."

"You son of a bitch, if you hurt either of them, I swear, I'm gonna come after you and-" The line clicked dead. "Shit."

"What's going on?" Kono looked at him with a determination in her eyes Steve knew she wasn't feeling. The way her lips were twitching was a dead giveaway of how things were looking behind that tough front she always put on.

"Fuentes has Danny and Grace. He wants Matt in an hour."

"What are we gonna do?" Kono asked and Steve almost flinched at the tone of her voice. There was so much confidence in her words. So much faith that he would have the answer. That he would just come up with a solution to fix everything.

But his mind was just . . . blank.

"Lake," Steve said, looking away from Kono and to the FBI agent, no longer able to look into those huge expectant eyes and not quite ready to disappoint the rookie's eternal trust in him. "You still got that BOLO out on Matt?"

"Yeah, sure," Lake said, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"Alright, good. Authorities will pick him up if he tries to fly out commercially." He wouldn't try. "Chin, send units out to all air fields, marinas, the works."

"Shutting down the island," Chin confirmed, pulling out his cell.

"Trace the last incoming call to my cell, too. ID was blocked, I know it's a long shot but . . ." he trailed off. It was all they had to go on right now.

"You got it."

"I just got a text from Bix," Edith said, eyes still fixed on her cell phone. "Looks like Grace Williams' phone is still at your offices." She looked up and bit down her bottom lip. "Sorry."

"Great." Steve squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, trying to think. "We need to find Matt," he muttered while running a hand across the back of his neck.

"Even if we had Matt Williams, there's no way we could just hand him over to Fuentes," Lake said. Unnecessarily. Because there was no one here who didn't already know that.

"Then what are we gonna do?" Steve asked and took a step towards her, stepping into her personal space again, trying to intimidate her, make her shut up. They didn't need anyone pointing out to them how they were fucked seven ways from Sunday right now. They were all very painfully aware of that.

"We can't just do nothing." Kono, all that hope now drained from her voice. Steve didn't dare look her in the eyes.

"Where's the exchange supposed to go down?" Lake asked, straightening her back and putting her hands on her hips, signaling him loud and clear that she wasn't quite that easy to shut up.

"The abandoned SGB construction site."

"Shit, that's like a huge open pit with nothing around it. It's an impossible spot to set up a trap," Kono said, blowing out a frustrated breath and stomping her foot into the ground.

"I know," Steve said, his voice sounding defeated to his own ears.

"He'd see a trap from miles away."

Steve just nodded. "It's too dangerous anyway, with Grace in the middle of all this."

"So what are we gonna do?" Would Kono ever stop asking him that question?

"I don't know," Steve admitted, running a hand over his face again.

"Why does he want Matt anyway?" Kono asked, bouncing on her feet again, needing, itching to act. She was having a hard time playing defense. Hell, they all were, but the rookie wasn't as good as hiding that wild need to do something just as well as he and Chin had learned to over time. "He got his money back, why go through all this trouble?"

"Revenge for his brother's death," Lake said with a sigh. "Pedro got taken out for the money Matt took. Mexican drug cartels tend to take disappearing money very personal."

"So I guess offering this guy more money won't help," Kono said, frustrated chewing her bottom lip.

For a moment, Steve just stared at her, somewhat in awe. Here he was – the boss, the one in charge – going in circles over the level of how fucked up they were right now. And there she was, the rookie, the one least expected to do anything in this situation, trying to come up with a plan. Even if she wasn't getting anywhere. At least she was trying.

Think, McGarrett, think.

"No," Lake said, shaking her head. "This is personal, he won't-"

"Wait," Steve said without thinking about it, as a thought flashed through his head. Just a thought, not an idea, definitely not a plan, but a thought that seemed really important for some reason. Three pairs of eyes looked at him expectantly. "This is Fuentes' brother, right?"

"Yeah, Carlos," Lake confirmed. "Why?"

"Was he there when Matt met with Pedro?"

"No, according to our intel, Carlos only came to Hawaii when Pedro was murdered," Lake said, looking at him suspiciously. "He's been running the family business all the way up and down the west coast on the mainland before that. Why?"

"So, it's likely that he doesn't know what Matt looks like, right?" And if he didn't know what he looked like, then maybe they didn't need Matt at all. They could send in someone else. An idea.

"We don't know that." It was so like Agent Lake. She really did love her facts.

"But there's a chance," Steve argued, giving her a look.

"Where exactly are you going with this?" Kono asked, sounding much more intrigued by the idea than Lake. God bless her, always up for anything. The more dangerous, the better.

"If Carlos doesn't know what Matt looks like then we can just send in someone else."

"Oh let me guess, you're volunteering for the job?" Lake said, almost with a frustrated groan, and Steve wondered why she knew him so well.

"That's crazy, boss," Kono somewhat agreed, even though there was still that hint of excitement in her eyes.

"Fuentes is definitely gonna have some way of making sure we're giving him the right guy," Chin tried to reason, his voice even and calm as ever.

"Maybe. Probably. But it's all I got right now. Look, we're running out of time here. If anyone's got a better idea, I'm all ears." He looked around, three pairs of clueless eyes staring back at him. Nope, no better ideas. Shit. He was really hoping that someone would come up with something less . . . suicidal.

"Okay, let's assume for a crazy second that this is gonna work," Lake said, gesturing wildly with her hands in front of herself. "How are we gonna get you out?"

Oh hell, I didn't realize you cared. "You guys just make sure that Danny and Grace are safe. I'll find a way out," Steve said, his voice carrying much more conviction that he actually felt. He looked around to the two remaining members of his team, trying to assure them that he was gonna be fine. Trying to make sure they both knew what their priorities were.

"Boss-" Kono tried to argue, but was cut off by Lake.

"And what exactly is the point of exchanging one hostage for another? Especially considering the risk your plan involves?"

Steve felt his blood pressure go up. Once again, he stepped right in front of Lake, invading her personal space to press his point home (not that it had ever worked before, but if at first you don't succeed . . .).

"The point is to make sure that Grace is safe," he said slowly, his voice dangerously low, emphasizing every single word, making sure the message was received loud and clear. "Something she isn't right now because of you. Because you messed up. And if Fuentes hadn't requested that you're the one making the exchange, then you wouldn't even be here right now."

Lake opened her mouth to say something but Steve didn't give her the chance to interrupt.

"So I suggest you just keep your mouth shut from now on. You've done enough damage for one day."

He turned around and started walking towards Chin's car. "Let's move!"

-to be continued-