Chapter 8

When Chin and Kono recovered from the blast, their first thought was to run into the building with the hope Danny had somehow survived. But as the flames consumed the structure, their instincts told them otherwise. Danny was gone.

They stood frozen as HPD officers rushed forward to apprehend the thugs who had been dazed by the blast. The cousins didn't know what else to do. They stared at the destruction before them.

Chin put an arm around Kono, but no words could make the situation any less of a nightmare. How would they ever make sense of it all. And how would they ever find out what happened to Steve.

"Hey," a hoarse voice called from behind them. "Could I get some help over here?"

They turned to find Danny struggling out of a red shed with Steve cradled in his arm. Covered with dirt and blood, the two men looked ready to collapse.

"Danny! How in the world…" The question remained unfinished as Kono and Chin helped their teammates to an area away from the blaze..

"Put Steve here." Duke directed Chin to a blanket he had laid on the pavement. "Paramedics will be here any minute."

Danny dropped next to Steve and tapped his shoulder. "Come on, buddy, wake up. I just saved the day and you're missing it."

Kono grabbed a water bottle, twisted off the cap, and offered it to him. "Here, Danny."

He ignored her. "You still owe me twenty bucks from last week, McGarrett. You've gotta wake up, wake up!"

Chin grabbed Danny by the shoulders and pulled him back as the paramedics arrived. "Danny, give them some room."

"Hey, that's my best friend. You've gotta save him, you hear me?"

"Come on, Danny," Chin insisted. "You've done your job, now let them do theirs."

Danny let the cousins lead him away. As much as he didn't want to leave Steve's side, now that he had found him, he knew he had to. Chin led him to the back of an ambulance where he sat down and Kono draped a blanket over his shoulders. He watched as the paramedics worked on Steve and then took him away in another ambulance.

Danny wondered if he'd be able to follow. He figured they were just letting him rest a few moments before putting him in handcuffs and carting him away to prison. He'd known that would be the outcome, but now that it was going to be a reality, he wasn't prepared for it. He knew that given the choice, he'd do it all over again just to save Steve.

Kono pressed the water bottle into Danny's hand, her face just inches from his. "Drink it."

His mind registered her command. He lifted the bottle to his lips, and the cool liquid slipped down his dry, irritated throat. It helped relieve his thirst, but not the nagging feeling these were his last moments of freedom.

He set the bottle aside and held out his hands. "You guys should just get it over with. I know you hate me, and that I'm going to prison. Let's not pretend otherwise."

Chin raised an eyebrow. "Danny, we found your note on Steve's desk. We know you were trying to help him."

Danny looked relieved. "Really? So you know everything I did, I did to save him."

Kono nodded. "We kind of figured that out."

"Yeah, yeah," Danny looked at the bruise on Chin's face. "Hey, sorry about punching you. And, Kono, I don't love you, I mean I do, but not like that. More like a sister, a much younger sister, that's just a sister—"

Kono smiled. "I got it, Danny."

"We're good," Chin said.

Danny sighed. "But I still have to go to prison, right?"

#~~#~~#~~#

Danny was grateful that instead of sitting in a prison cell he was in the emergency waiting room, at least for now. During the ride to the hospital, exhausted as he felt, he told Chin and Kono about his misadventures with the crazy Dr. Tric. They in turn recounted their side of the story, including how they managed to find him at the warehouse. Fortunately for Danny, one of the drug dealer's gang members was an undercover police officer who had recognized him and called HPD fearing for Danny's safety.

While the three waited for news about Steve, Governor Denning, with two of his aides, entered the room. The Five-0 members were about to stand, but the governor held up his hand.

"Please, don't get up," he said. "I heard about Commander McGarrett and I just wanted to come by and see how he's doing."

"We don't know very much, yet," Chin said. "But the doctor should be coming out soon."

The governor nodded. "This situation is very concerning. Do you have any leads on the person who did this?"

"No," Kono replied. "None of us actually saw the man, but we think McGarrett might have, so we're hoping he'll be able to give us a description."

"Very good." Governor Denning turned to Danny. "Detective Williams, I'm well aware that everything you've done today was only to protect your partner, and while I don't condone deviant behavior, these were extenuating circumstances, which I will make everyone aware of. I would greatly appreciate a full report of this incident as soon as is possible for you. And if there's anything Commander McGarrett needs please don't hesitate to let me know."

Danny's expression was a mixture of embarrassment and relief. He choked out a grateful thank you before the governor and his aides exited the room. He released a low whistle and sank further into his chair, rubbing his hands over his weary, lined face.

"He seemed pretty understanding," Chin said. "Considering how upset he was about our last case."

"Now if it could be this easy with Grace and Gabby."

"Why don't you give it a try," Kono said, inclining her head toward the door. "I'm sure they'll understand."

"Grace. Gabby," Danny said. "How did you know to come here?"

"Kono texted me," Grace responded, rushing forward to hug him. "I wanted to know when you were safe. I told her you'd never tell me to have pineapple on my pizza unless something was wrong."

"You know me so well, monkey. I love you."

"I love you, too, Danno."

"Between the note we found on Steve's desk and Grace's phone call we were sure you were acting under duress," Chin explained. "We checked in with everyone close to you in the event they had encountered your strange behavior."

Danny nodded, holding Grace in his arms, a bit overwhelmed. He met Gabby's eyes. She was standing off to the side, watching. He looked at Grace. "Can you give me a minute?"

Danny walked over to Gabby. "Look, I know you're probably really mad at me right now." He pressed his hands together. "But please, please give me another chance. I've got a story to tell you. And I need you to tell me how it's gonna end."

#~~#~~#~~#

Steve woke to the muffled beeping of his alarm clock. It was usually louder, he thought. As he became more conscious, he realized the noise was unfamiliar. He forced his heavy eyelids open trying to establish his location. Foggy memories slipped into his mind, he groaned. Someone called to him. "McGarrett." He was uncertain if the voice belonged to Danny, or if Dr. Tric was still experimenting on him.

"McGarrett." This time a hand touched his shoulder. Steve shifted his head on the pillow. The face he saw brought relief.

"Danny..." Steve mumbled.

"I told you we were gonna make it, buddy," Danny said.

Steve tried to smile. "Thanks, Danno."

"You guys had quite the adventure," Chin remarked. Steve turned to see the cousins sitting on the other side of the room.

Kono smiled. "Good to see you, boss."

"Hey," Steve breathed.

"We promised the nurse we wouldn't get you too excited, so we can't stay long," Danny said.

"I don't think you have to worry about that." Steve coughed. "How long am I stuck here?"

Danny raised his hands. "That depends on how cooperative you are."

Steve closed his eyes. "I think it's safe to say I'll cooperate."

Danny snorted. "Yeah, of course you will."

Steve opened his eyes again and looked at Danny. "Did you find him?" he asked. "The doctor?"

Danny shook his head. "Not yet."

"Anything you can tell us would be helpful," Chin added.

"I think he was hired by someone," Steve replied. "But I don't know who."

"With how personal this whole thing was, that would make sense," Kono said. "Maybe it's connected to our last case. We did anger a lot of powerful people."

"I don't know," Chin responded. "It seems a little too dramatic."

"He must have had help," Steve added. "But the part leading up to me being strapped to that chair is kind of foggy. I think I was drugged somehow."

"Just give it some time, Steve. It'll start coming back to you."

A quick rap on the doorframe announced an employee from the hospital gift shop, struggling with balloons and a teddy bear that was half his size. "Excuse me, I have a delivery for a Mr. McGarrett."

"Can I give you a hand," Chin offered.

"No, I got it," the man replied. "Where would you like it?"

"Put it over there," Danny said, gesturing toward a table. "Thanks."

"Okay," the man said. "I'll be out of your way in a jiffy."

"Oh, how cute," Kono said, looking at the bear. "I wonder who it's from."

"Maybe the governor," Danny said. "He actually stopped by to check on you, McGarrett."

"Would he really send a stuffed bear?" Chin asked.

"Probably not," Kono said.

Steve was having trouble concentrating on the conversation. There was something odd about the delivery man busying himself with nothing. When he finally left, Steve relaxed a little. He knew he must be overreacting. It was going to take some time for him to get back to normal after this nightmare. He needed rest.

Steve realized, his eyes still hadn't left the door. What was he waiting for? Suddenly, the man poked his head back into the room and waved as he slid on his silver framed reflective glasses.

Steve nearly jumped out of bed, but his body protested.

"Hey, calm down," Danny said, holding Steve back. "What's wrong."

Steve fought against him. "That's him! That's Dr. Tric!"

Steve didn't need to say anything more. Danny, Chin, and Kono bolted out into the hallway in pursuit of the doctor. A nurse ran into the room to see what was amiss and had a hard time trying to calm Steve down.

Twenty minutes later Danny returned. Steve knew by the frown on his partner's face that Dr. Tric had escaped.

#~~#~~#~~#

Governor Denning stared at the wrecked BMW in his driveway, He wasn't sure why it was there, or who was responsible for it being there, but it was the last thing he wanted to see. It was a painful reminder of how terribly wrong things could go. Thankfully, Commander McGarrett would recover, and Detective Williams seemed to be in one piece, but he still felt uneasy. The deep hole detective Williams was in would be hard to dig him out of, Governor of Hawaii or not. He felt responsible, but he knew he had to be careful, or this whole mess would blow up in his face.

He turned away and walked into the house. All was quiet as he entered his study. He clicked the switch on the wall, and the recessed lights blinked on. Denning stepped back as he watched his leather chair swivel.

"I thought the car was the perfect touch. Don't you?" Dr. Tric said.

"Who let you in here, professor?" Denning demanded.

"Now, now. Let's not be hostile. This is just a follow up visit to show you the findings of my experiment, and to see if you are satisfied with my work?"

Denning strode over to where the man sat. "Satisfied? You expect me to be satisfied?" He leaned on the desk. "You kidnapped, tortured, and almost killed the man in charge of my task force. Then you coerced his partner to act in ways unbecoming of an officer of the law. And you almost killed him. This was not what I hired you for!"

"You did ask for the most innovative assessment for determining how well your task force would work together, and to what lengths they would go to protect each other."

"Yes, I did, but you were supposed to conduct the assessment by interviewing them and observing them while in the field. I never asked you for this circus performance."

"My methods are scientifically based. Beforehand, I calculated the amount of mental, physical, and emotional stress each of the subjects could withstand and—"

"You're insane." Denning hissed.

"Perhaps I am," Dr. Tric responded. "But I have you to thank for opening my eyes to my real potential."

"I should have you arrested."

"But you wouldn't do that. Your political career would be over." Dr. Tric rose from the chair. He tapped a folder on the desk. "Here are my findings if you care to look them over. I also left a contact number in the event you wish to enlist my services again."

"That won't be necessary."

Dr. Tric smiled. "Thank you, governor, it's been electrifying." He paused by the door. "By the way, you may want to fix the holes in your security, anyone could just waltz in here and take something...or someone."


A/N: Only one chapter left. Thanks for reading.