****** THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS A REFERNCE TO A SEXUAL ASSUALT *******
Rachel entered Danny's hospital room and moved to his side.
He had a nasal cannula to assist his breathing and IV's dispensing fluids and antibiotics into his veins. His head was bandaged, his face and neck were peppered with small cuts from the windshield. His ribs were bound tightly. His right shoulder was severely bruised and swollen and was bound tightly up against his body. His right leg was in a cast up to the knee and was elevated in a sling.
She tenderly caressed his cheek and his eyes slowly opened. "Hey beautiful, good to see you"
"You're going to be fine Daniel, you just need to rest. How do you feel?"
"Honestly, I've felt better. My head's killing me….. I'm thirsty"
Rachel poured him a glass of water and held the straw to his lips.
After a few swallows she pulled the glass away as Danny brought his hand up to his head, closing his eyes. Suddenly everything seemed to come back to him and his eyes popped open, "Steve….Rachel how's Steve?"
She looked at him, closing her eyes, "Danny…..I don't…."
Her hesitancy in answering brought panic to Danny, "Oh God no…..Rachel…"
"Danny he's alive….he's alive, but…."
"Jesus Rachel tell me...…..but what?"
"Steve is not here"
"What do you mean he's not here?"
"I need you to stay calm and I'll tell you everything I know"
"Rachel…...where is Steve?" Danny's jaw tensed as his fear began to rise.
"Danny, the people who attacked you and Steve kidnapped Kono"
"Oh my God…..I've got to get out of here….." Danny tried to sit up, stopped by the intense pain in his ribs. He gasped for air as Rachel pushed him back onto the bed. He was so weak she had no trouble controlling him.
Tears were in her eyes as she held his shoulders, "Daniel stop, you'll hurt yourself"
"Tell me...what you know Rach"
"I don't know much. Chin called me last night to ask if I could come be here with you and Steve while he searched for Kono. Chin called me a couple of hours later to check on you two. Steve had just been moved to a room and you were still in surgery. Apparently Chin came and saw Steve and took him out of here. Something must have happened though because the police came to talk to me. Steve called me about an hour ago. He told me that the police are after Chin but he didn't tell me why….Danny that's all I know"
"Okay…okay….so Steve's alright then, that's good" Danny watched Rachel's reaction closely, "From that face my dear, am I to assume Steve is not alright?"
"Danny, the Doctors are…...concerned"
"Concerned about what? What are his injuries, do you know?"
"He has a fractured sternum and two broken ribs. The bullet wound did not hit any vital organs but he had lost a lot of blood. His wrist is broken. They're worried about the sternum injury Danny, he has bruising on his heart and lungs"
"How could Chin risk taking him out of here?"
"From what you have told me about Steve, he can be quite convincing"
"Damn Super Seal….he NEVER thinks about his own health. Rachel I've got to talk to him, can I have your cell phone?"
"Danny, Steve said he would call us. He was using an untraceable phone"
"Oh God Rachel…..that man….."
"He said to trust him Daniel. At this point, what else can you do?"
"Not a thing…...he'll find her Rachel, he'll find her"
"Sleep now Danny, I'll wake you when he calls"
"Thank you Rachel. Thank you for being here"
"I will always be here for you, I promise" She leaned in and kissed his cheek and in moments the injured man was sleeping.
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The four thugs re-entered the warehouse. Kono watched as the men moved over to nearby shelving where they talked quietly before moving to her.
They untied Kono roughly pulling her to her feet.
"Undress!"
"What?"
"You heard me, undress now or we'll undress you!"
For the first time since she was taken, Kono Kalakaua was afraid. Her first instinct was to fight but she knew she could not possibly escape at this point. She had to hope that Chin and the HPD would find her. Kono did as she was told and soon she was standing in only her bra and panties.
"Don't stop….take everything off"
"Please, please don't do this" Kono was terrified at the thought of being sexually assaulted.
One of the men grabbed her neck and spoke in a hushed tone, "You're not so tough anymore are you Kalakaua. Your boys aren't here to protect you are they?" Her skin crawled and she struggled to compose herself as the man ran his tongue across her ear and cheek.
One of the officers then spoke, "Knock it off Bill. You're not going to touch her, we all agreed to that"
Bill backed off and the officer looked at Kono, "Take them off now"
"Please…...why?"
"I promise you that you will not be sexually assaulted but having McGarrett think you might be will help us to get him to do what we ask"
"What do you want him to do?"
"We want him to release Omar Quintana"
"He'll never do that"
"We'll see about that, we'll see"
Before Kono knew what was happening she was struck on the side of her face, knocking her to the ground unconscious. The men then removed her bra and panties and taking her to the shelving, they tied her up, hanging her with her arms above her head. They allowed her feet to touch the ground but they also tied her feet to the shelving.
As blood ran down her face from a deep gash to her cheekbone the men took a picture of the unconscious woman and prepared their next text to McGarrett.
