Open Water – Chapter 08

Between Oahu and Kauai – 1300 hours

"NO, don't go!" Steve shouted, realizing that was a silly thing to say.

He had deemed himself safe while the dolphins swam with him, and now that they were leaving he felt alone and his situation became grave again. He watched them jump out of the water one last time and then they were out of sight.

Steve made a 360 turn to see if the Tiger Shark would make an appearance once again, now that he was an easy target. He was pretty sure that the shark had left after he had been attacked by the dolphins, but Steve was worried that he might come back. He knew that he wouldn't have the slightest chance against the huge shark. He would be fish food for sure.

Steve could barely swim anymore; he was shivering so violently at the moment that he had trouble coordinating his arms and legs. Legs. Steve wasn't even sure if he still had legs. He couldn't feel them; they were so damn cold. Of course the cold had one good point, he wasn't screaming in agony. He knew that he had deep abrasions on his legs, especially on his right one. Without the cold the salt water on the wounds would send him into a world of hurt.

Speaking of hurt. His right hip, groin and upper thigh were still throbbing and he wondered if he had seriously injured his hip in some way when the shark had slammed into him. There was a dull constant throbbing from his hip down to his thigh. And a sharp intense pain to the side of his groin area when he tried to move his leg sideways. So, he tried to avoid that as best he could. Which was a problem if he wanted to swim.

But swimming was out of the question right now anyway. Steve was more like dog paddling, trying desperately to keep his head above the water. And he wasn't always successful with it. He felt like he was more under water than above the waves. Steve knew he couldn't keep this up for much longer.

He was disoriented and sick. The saltwater he had swallowed was not just messing with his stomach, but also with his electrolyte balance. He hadn't had anything to drink in over seven hours. That combined with all the salt he had swallowed was also a big problem for his kidneys. The cold already caused a high frequency of urination, but without any input of liquids his kidneys would soon be in trouble.

Steve knew that his problems would only get worse with every passing minute. His biggest problem right now was the cold. It had started raining what felt like hours ago, and it was not a warm drizzle but instead a really cold rain. So, even his head was constantly being doused with cold water. The body loses the most heat through the head, so, the rain was a big problem.

Steve suddenly realized that he had stopped shivering. That was the first time that he actually panicked. His body had stopped its attempt to produce heat.

That was bad, really, really bad.

H50 – H50 – H50

Steve McGarrett's House – Friday 0030 hours

Steve McGarrett couldn't suppress a yawn as he unlocked the door to his house. He was tired and the headache from earlier was back. It was aided by the day's events and the meeting with the Governor that ended just half an hour ago. Steve was actually looking forward to getting a few hours of sleep. Tonight they wouldn't be able to accomplish anything anyway, so no harm in sending everyone home to get a bit of rest.

He and Danny had swung by the hospital, but couldn't talk to Chin. He had been sleeping and they thought it best not to wake him. Steve had been able to convince Kono to head home and get some real rest. Sleeping in an uncomfortable hospital chair did not count as resting in Steve's book. And since Chin was out of the woods, he insisted on her going home.

They needed to start the day early and hopefully with clear minds and a few hours of sleep would do them all good.

Steve pushed open the door and sighed when he found the living room dark and empty. Of course, it was what he had expected… his girlfriend was probably still at the Hilton… but deep down he had hoped she would spend the night with him.

He made his way into the kitchen, got juice out of the fridge and poured himself a glass. Next he took the Tylenol bottle from the top of the cabinet, swallowed two and washed it down with the juice. After he put the glass into the sink he turned off the light and a minute later was in his bedroom only to almost shriek in surprise when he turned on the lights. Of course a SEAL doesn't squeal like a girl, and for sure can't be surprised, so, the only thing that came out of his mouth was a mumbled curse as he stumbled back against the door.

"Took you long enough to get up here, Sailor." Cath said from the bed, barely able to contain her laughter.

"Jeez, Catherine. You wanna give me a heart attack?" Steve was glad he wasn't wearing the EKG. He was sure that thing would have gone off the charts. He could feel his heart racing, and wondered when Nancy would realize that she never put the device back onto him.

"Uh, I'm sorry, did I scare the big bad SEAL?" Cath asked as she moved from the bed.

"Very funny," Steve grumbled, but one could hear the smile in his voice. "What are you doing here? I thought you'd stay with your parents."

"At the Hilton? Tonight? No. Why would I?"

"Uh, I thought… well…"

Cath wasn't really interested in hearing why her boyfriend thought she would stay with her parents at the hotel, so she stepped even closer and was finally able to get the kiss she had been waiting for all day. But stepped back laughing when Steve again couldn't keep the yawn in.

"Sorry," Steve mumbled and tried to pull her back in for another kiss, but was halted by Catherine with her hand on his chest. He hissed at the contact when she touched the most tender spot right in the middle of his chest.

"Does it hurt?" Cath asked while she gently rubbed the obviously painful spot.

"Not much," was Steve's answer as he took his shirt off to grant her better access to his injuries.

Cath only shook her head at the lie and softly kissed the angry looking bruises. "Come on, let's go to bed. I'm sure you can use some sleep." Cath tugged on his arm to get him to move.

"Bed sounds good," as much as Steve hated to admit it, but he was sure he wouldn't be of much use for anything other than sleep. Maybe some cuddling, that he could master for sure, but anything else had to wait until morning.

Two minutes later his still aching head hit the pillow and even his plans of snuggling up to his girlfriend went out the window. He was asleep in seconds.

H50 – H50 – H50

En route to Tripler Medical Center – Friday 0630 hours

Steve looked at his friend who he had picked up on the way to see their injured teammate. Danny was obviously not a morning person. "Did you sleep well?" Steve asked, and tried to keep the grin off his face. Not very successfully.

"You kidding me? Five hours of sleep, Steven. Five hours. Do you really have to ask if I slept well?"

"Ah, come on, Danny, five hours is not so bad." Steve remembered a lot of nights they had all slept a lot less. Five-0 didn't exactly operate on normal business hours. But it was important to get at least a few hours of sleep every night, even while in the middle of a case. No one can work efficiently if they don't get at least a minimum of sleep. Of course, that was not always possible.

"Says the SEAL who gets by with little to no sleep, and gets up before the crack of dawn. Willingly." Danny grumbled.

"Actually, I really like to sleep. If I have the time, I even sleep in. On occasion," Steve added. Sure he liked to get up early and take a swim, but also had no problem sleeping in with his girlfriend, or even staying in bed and skipping his morning routine altogether. It was rare, but not unheard of, Steve thought to himself.

"Uh huh," Danny grumbled and changed the subject. "How're you doing this morning?"

"Good. Headache's a lot better."

"Any nausea, dizziness—"

"What? You're a doctor now, Danny?" Steve asked a little irritated as he turned into the parking lot at Tripler.

"Hey, I'm just concerned for my partner, who, in case you didn't know, suffered a concussion yesterday…"

"I do NOT have a concussion. I'm fine." As far as Steve was concerned there was nothing more to discuss and he hoped Danny got the message.

"Fine."

"Good, let's just meet with Chin and Kono and fill them in on what's going on." Steve told his friend and together they made their way into the hospital to meet with the rest of their team.

H50 – H50 – H50

Office Building on Kapiolani Blvd. - Friday 0700 hours

"No, Sir, it did not go as planned."

"I paid you a lot of money, and I expect you to do the job."

"Yes, Sir, I know that. Trust me, before the end of the week McGarrett and Williams will be dead." Skip Redding looked at his three companions and rolled his eyes at the man on the phone.

"You better make good on that promise."

"You can trust me, Mr. Cannon. Your money is very well invested. I never fail my clients."

"Good. When will I hear from you?"

"On Sunday, Sir."

The line went dead without another word exchanged. Skip turned to his partner, "I think Cannon is getting nervous. We should keep an eye on him. Call Tommy and make sure he keeps in line."

"Okay," was the short answer and the short, stocky man went to another room in the rented office space to call one of his associates in New York.

"Jim, how are we on the plans for Sunday?"

"Almost done. We have everything in place. I'm just waiting for one more confirmation. We are ready when they come back from their trip to the Big Island," the red haired man explained. "What about the little girl?"

"We're not getting paid to kill her, so she will not be harmed."

"Good." Jim was glad to hear that. He had no problem killing for money, but every death of a child tore at his heart. He had seen enough children getting killed during his military career; he didn't need to add to the count.

"Ron, where are they now?" Redding asked the youngest member of their team.

"At Tripler."

"Did you find out how Kelly's doing?"

"It seems he will pull through," Ron told what he had found out during the early morning hours.

"Doesn't matter. He will probably stay in the hospital for a while?"

"He will not be released before sometime next week."

"Good, so he won't be in the way. Are we ready for the next game step?"

"Absolutely, we're ready to roll as soon as you say the word."

"Alright. Let's move it up to noon. Make sure we get them together today. I won't accept a failure like at the quarry. Our client wants them both to suffer before we kill them. Today will be just another hit, but nothing too serious."

H50 – H50 – H50

Tripler Army Medical Center – Friday 0700 hours

"Chin, how do you feel?" Steve asked his friend who had awoken a couple of minutes ago. He was still weak, but the doctor had assured them that Chin was going to be okay.

"Felt better, but okay."

"That's good. Chin, thank you. You saved my life."

"Steve, I don't really remember what happened, I'm just glad you're okay. Kono said they didn't even take the money?"

"No. Are you up to this? We can come back later—"

"I'm up to this; tell me," Chin interrupted and sounded a little stronger.

"Okay," Steve said and sat down in the chair next to Chin's bed. Kono was sitting on the edge of the bed, and Danny stood at the foot of it. "Last night we had a late meeting with the Governor…"

Governor Denning's office – Thursday 2300 hours

"Gentlemen, please have a seat," Governor Denning said and motioned for the two Five-0 to sit in front of his desk. "How is Lieutenant Kelly?"

"His doctors are optimistic that he'll make a full recovery, but are still a little cautious about long term effects from the blood loss," Steve informed Denning. "He is in and out of consciousness, they haven't been able to do a proper neuro test yet. Officer Kalakaua is with him."

"Good. How about you, Commander? You were shot point blank?"

"Ehm, yes, Sir, but I'm fine. The vest did its job," Steve told the Governor and ignored Danny's look.

Denning looked at Steve as if he wanted to question that statement, but chose to keep quiet about it. "You said on the phone you had news about the suspects?"

"Yes, Sir," Danny answered. "We received information from the FBI. Sir, two years ago an agent on an undercover mission came to Hawaii to see his wife and son. Reggie Williams."

"Wasn't there a shooting and an FBI agent got killed and another arrested for it?"

"Yes, Sir," Steve said. "Williams was investigating Jimmy Cannon, a big fish from New York. His son Richard was behind the killings here in Hawaii and a few things back in New York. He was arrested and put behind bars in New York."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with the bombing?"

"Sir, Richard Cannon was killed two weeks ago in a prison riot. Authorities think it was a cover up for his killing. One week ago Reggie Williams was shot to death. The FBI thinks it was a hit ordered by Jimmy Cannon, Richard's father."

"He is not in prison?"

"No, Sir. There was still not enough evidence to link him to any of the dealings." Danny elaborated. "A boot print was found at the scene of the murder; the same boot print was discovered at the quarry."

"You think this has something to do with the Cannon's?"

"Yes, Sir. We think Jimmy Cannon is out for revenge. We are not sure yet how the bombing fit into the scheme, or the blackmailing, but we think Cannon senior hired a group of professionals to kill everyone involved in his son's death." Steve was sure they were on the right track even though he couldn't explain the whole case yet.

"So, he's coming after you next?"

"We, think so, yes."

"Commander, I want you to take precautions. Put a detail on all of you—"

"Sir. We've placed a detail on Chin at the hospital, even though it is highly unlikely that they will try anything in a military hospital. We've also put a detail on the Edwards. But we will not run around with a swarm of officers following us."

"I agree with Steve, we can't let them know that we know what is going on, Sir. If we were suddenly under protection, they would know, and who knows what they would do then. We need to play their game for now."

"Danny is right. We don't know what their plan is. Our first priority must be the safety of innocent people. I'm sure they will call in the morning for another money drop. And this time they will not get away."

Governor Denning thought a moment before he commented on their findings, "Okay, good, Gentlemen. But I want you to be careful. Don't take any unnecessary risks."

"Understood, Sir."

"Good. Keep me posted."

It was clear that their time was up until they had anything new to report.

"Reggie is dead? What about his son?" Chin asked after Danny and Steve finished the recounting of their meeting with Denning from last night.

"After first losing his mother, he now also lost his father in a violent way. The file said he's staying at his father's sister. With her husband and two kids," Steve said and felt sorry for the poor kid.

"Boss, you think they will come after us now?" Kono looked at Steve for an answer.

"Yeah. The FBI New York is already working on the new information from their angle. They took in Cannon for questioning this morning. We hope to hear from them soon." They had talked to the FBI field office in New York last night, and they had promised to talk to Cannon right away. Since New York was six hours ahead of Hawaii they should have talked to him by now.

The ringing of Steve's phone interrupted their conversation. "McGarrett." Steve listened for a minute before he ended the call.

"The Governor got another call. Let's go."

They said their good-byes to Chin and were again on their way to meet with Denning.

H50 – H50 – H50

Between Oahu and Kauai – 1330 hours

Steve tried to calm down, but his stomach was rebelling and he had been dry heaving for what felt like the last hour. It was probably just for the last couple of minutes, but Steve felt completely drained. He was coughing and retching at the same time. He went under and swallowed water which again made him gag. If he didn't swallow water he snorted it in through his nose, which was even worse.

The inhaled spray made him cough in earnest now, and Steve became aware that he was in danger of drowning if he didn't manage to get his jerky movements under control, if he wasn't able to stay afloat for more than a few seconds.

The biggest problem was he couldn't tread water. Every time he moved his right leg, such fierce pain went like an electric shock through his leg, groin and backside that he cried out. And that again made him go under. He needed both arms to stay above the high waves. His shoulders hurt, his arms felt like they were filled with lead. He knew if he wasn't injured he would be able to swim for many more hours. But the leg injury, whatever it was, and the concussion made it almost impossible to swim. His head hurt so bad from the bouts of coughing and retching that he only saw blurry images and his vision wavered in and out. Not that there was much to see, except water all around him.

Steve didn't feel cold anymore, and in the back of his head he knew that was very bad. But right now he was just happy that he wasn't shivering anymore. But unbeknownst to him he had reached a stage that by now clouded his judgment. He wasn't sure anymore what to do. Even coordinating his arms was difficult. Confusion had already set it; Steve couldn't even remember how he ended up in this situation. Or what day it was, and how long he had been swimming for.

Suddenly Steve stopped moving altogether. Maybe it's best to just stop for a minute? It only took a second for him to sink under the surface, but feeling the water closing over his head made him jerk alert again, and Steve fought his way back up. Gasping in air when he broke through the water. To get back up he had to use his leg again, and was now screaming in agony.

Steve instantly curled in on himself, but that only resulted in him again going under. Suddenly his mind was crystal clear and he realized he was in the middle of losing the battle against his injuries and the ocean. He was only minutes away from drowning. Right now he was still fighting with all he had, but Steve knew he would only last a few more minutes before his body would simply give out.

Before he would sink under the surface and not find his way back.

H50 – H50 – H50


Doesn't look good for Steve, does it? Yeah, you can put in an evil grin here. Do you enjoy the cliffhangers? LOL