PD – Chapter 10
Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam
Great. Ended up in a darn gown anyway. Steve is not happy when he finally finds his way back to wakefulness. It's clear right away that he's not lying in a private room, but what seems to be some sort of ICU. Wires are attached to his chest, leading to the monitor behind his bed that is beeping in a slow regular rhythm.
Other than a very mild headache and an aching right hip and belly he's feeling rather good. There is still an IV attached to the back of his left hand, but thankfully there are no other tubes shoved into him. Thank Goodness for small favors.
When Steve hears a shuffling noise he opens his eyes to a sight he did not expect. "Mark?"
"Nice of you to join us again." Dr. Mark Hope doesn't look happy.
"Um… Hi?" Steve looks around but sees that they are alone.
"How do you feel?" Mark moves closer to his patient and pulls his penlight out. When he sees Steve grimacing even before he turns it on, he can't quite suppress the grin. But he puts the light back into his pocket.
"Thank you. I feel pretty good. What are you doing here?" Steve pushes himself a little higher up in bed and raises the headrest so that he's almost fully sitting up. He is happy not to get dizzy from the motion.
"Your doctor, Lt. Nokes called me. You had them really worried. But I told them that you checking out for a while is just your typical MO after a blow to the head." Mark smiles at his friend. "Besides didn't I tell youto call me if you got hit in the head? Steve, you know you can't joke around with a concussion. You've had too many head trauma already."
"I wasn't joking around. I didn't even put up a fight when she admitted me." Steve has no intention of taking any head injury lightly and he has said so on numerous occasions to almost all of his friends. But every time he ends up with a bump to the head they bring it up again. As if he would run and just leave the hospital. "No one gives me any credit for doing the right thing." Steve grumbles under his breath.
"Ever wonder why that is?" Mark smiles at him; of course he heard him.
Steve only glares at him. "So, Mark, what's the verdict?"
"Well, your MRI looks good. But I agree with Lt. Nokes that you suffered a mild concussion. I'd rather have you stay here over night, but, let me finish, I'm sure you won't. I think it's safe for you to leave, but, Steve, please take it easy for a couple of days. No unnecessary risks. Step back a little. You have a good team, don't be the first to run in. Let someone else kick in the door for a few days." Mark knows of course what he is asking and that it won't happen.
"Okay. Did you give me anything? My head doesn't hurt much." Steve swings his legs out of bed and has to laugh at the gown he's wearing. But at least they left him in his underwear.
"Yes, I shot you up with the same drug as yesterday," Mark tells him as he disconnects him from the monitors and takes the IV out. "And this time keep taking the pills. Steve, they won't make you drowsy or anything, they will only help with the pain."
"I forgot this morning, it was not intentional."
"Yeah, well, don't forget again," Mark shakes his head at his patient who has become a friend over the last few months.
Steve inwardly groans when he looks at his watch; it's past 1700. He slept half a day away. Not good at all, he needs to catch up with his team and the investigation. He feels totally out of the loop. And he needs to find out why he was attacked, he still has no idea why that even happened. "Mark, you know where my clothes are?"
"They are in the bathroom, you get changed and I'll drive you by HQ. It's on the way."
"Thank you." Steve gets off the bed gingerly, but he's not getting dizzy or nauseous. It's a great improvement from earlier.
His surprise must have shown on his face, because Mark comments on it. "What, you thought I'd let you out of bed, if I thought you would get sick?" Mark Hope looks in amusement at Steve who seems rather surprised at how good he is actually feeling.
"Has Cath been here at any point?" Steve calls out of the bathroom where he is changing into his clothes.
"No, she's not on the base."
"What do you mean she's not on base? She should be." Steve comes out of the bathroom looking for his boots. Seeing them standing at the end of the bed he bends down to pick them up. When he gets back up he needs to hold on to the bed as he gets dizzy from the movement.
"Don't do that, Steve." Mark was right at his side when Steve sways. "Sit down for a minute. Don't change positions that fast. You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Steve puts his shoes on and this time comes back up a lot slower than before, which results in him not getting dizzy at all. "What do you mean, Cath is not on base? Where is she?"
"She is at Kaneohe Bay. Attending a conference at the Marine Corps Base. They said she will be back later tonight." Mark tells Steve what he learned about Catherine's whereabouts.
"Oh, okay. Have you been here the whole time?" Steve clips his gun and badge to his belt and is ready to leave.
"No, I went back to Queens when it was clear that you're okay and just needed to sleep for a bit. I've only been back here for about half an hour. What's wrong, are you in pain?" Mark looks at Steve who is gently pressing his hand on his lower belly and stands slightly bent forward.
"No, it's okay. Guess the bruises are making themselves known, my belly hurts a little. I don't remember getting kicked, but there is a lot of bruising, so I guess Thomas got some good kicks in." Steve straightens up and the sudden stabbing pain from a minute ago has already abated to a feeling of mild discomfort.
"You were very lucky. Come on, I'll spring you from this joint. I'm sure your team is waiting for you. I'm surprised that Danny's not here. You are normally joined at the hip." Mark had wondered for a while now where the detective was.
"He's at HQ. No need for him to watch me sleep." Steve leaves it at that. He has no intention of discussing the subject with anyone but Danny.
*~* *~* *~* Hawaii Five-0 *~* *~* *~*
Five-0 Headquarters
"Danny, shouldn't one of us stay with Steve?" Kono asks. She hadn't really wanted to leave the hospital and tries again to persuade Danny that one of them should have stayed there.
"No, his doctor said she wouldn't let us see him anyway. Besides, you know Steve, he'll just sleep it off and will be his old self in a couple of hours. Don't worry, Kono, he is fine." Danny knows that he would normally not have left the hospital but what good would it be if he just hung around there without being able to see his friend?
"Danny, he is in the ICU. That is not fine." Kono doesn't understand why Danny doesn't even seem to be worried.
"Kono, he is only there for observation. He is not seriously injured. I think they put him there so we can't get to him. Really, stop worrying, he will be fine."
"If he is so fine, why did they call Dr. Hope?"
That is something that has worried Danny to no end. And he won't admit it, but when he saw his friend in so much pain, something he most likely caused, Danny slightly panicked. He remembers very vividly what a concussion can mean for Steve. He truly hopes that Steve will be okay. "Kono, all the stuff they are doing is just a precaution. They know Steve's history of head trauma. They are just careful. Now, we have a job to do. Agent Levin will be here in about an hour. Have we found any new information from the crime scene photos?"
Chin, Kono and Danny go over the photos again in the hope of finding some connection between the victims. Danny fills them in on Steve's theory of two separate crimes, the A plus and B plus. Danny tells them about the pattern Max detected and what Steve made of the number of stab wounds. But after looking at it from that angle they must admit that they don't see any connection at all.
An hour later they haven't accomplished anything and are glad to get interrupted by Special Agent Niles Levin.
*~* *~* *~* Hawaii Five-0 *~* *~* *~*
After Steve said his goodbye to Mark with the promise of taking his pain pills later tonight, he makes his way into HQ to meet with his team. He knows that he missed the meeting with Agent Levin, but he also knows that the three remaining Five-0 will fill him in soon enough. And besides he is not sad to have missed seeing Levin again.
Steve takes the stairs to their floor a little slower than usual since his belly is bothering him again. After the sudden intense pain he experienced at the hospital he only felt a slight discomfort on the way over. Now the pain seems to pick up a notch again. He's just happy that Thomas didn't aim any lower than he did. It's painful enough as it.
Steve stops in his tracks when he hears laughter coming from their offices. He stands at the double glass door and looks in, seeing his team and Agent Levin gathered around the smart table, laughing at something Levin just told them. They are obviously getting along just fine.
Steve opens the door and walks in, putting on a hopefully neutral face.
"Agent Levin," Steve greets the NCIS man with a nod of his head.
"McGarrett." Levin's voice changes as soon as he starts talking to Steve.
"So, what did I miss," Steve looks at his team but avoids looking at Danny.
"Well, Steve, while you were taking a nap we gathered all the evidence and went over it with Agent Levin. He filled us in on the seven murders on the mainland. You can read the report later. We were just heading out, Chin and Kono will go see Dr. Webster's daughter. And Niles and I will go and talk to Max, he called with some new evidence. We will be back in about an hour." Danny tells him matter of factly.
Everyone can clearly hear that he's not in a good mood. Which actually causes Steve to look at him, but before he can even voice any agreement or disagreement for that matter, Danny and Levin are already on their way out. At least Chin and Kono stay behind with him.
"Welcome back, Steve… How are you?... I'm fine, thanks for asking." Steve mutters at the retreating form of his partner. Well, so much for being welcomed back. He is not happy about Danny going out with Levin, excuse me, Niles. And he is even less happy that he is still in the dark, not just about the serial killer, but also about why he was attacked, and if that has anything to do with their case.
"Boss, are you okay? What did Mark say?" Kono speaks up and brings Steve out of his thoughts.
"I'm sorry, Kono, what?"
"Are you okay?" Kono looks at her boss with a critical eye. She still can't understand what just happened, why Danny would just leave without even asking Steve how he was.
"Yes, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Steve smiles at his two friends. It's not their fault that he and Danny are at odds right now. "Can you tell me what happened after I passed out? I still have no idea why Thomas attacked me. And did Levin have anything interesting to say?"
It only takes Chin and Kono ten minutes to bring their boss up to speed. They tell him about their 'interview' with Dale Thomas, how Steve's quiet behavior had led him to believe that he was made. They tell him that Agent Mountin is waiting for his call. And they tell him about the information Levin brought them, which is practically nothing.
"So, we don't know anything more than before?" Steve will think about Thomas at a later point, right now the serial killer has priority.
"That about sums it up." Chin tells his friend. "Is it okay if we go and talk to Claire Webster, or do you want to come?"
"No, that's fine. You two go. Kono, I take it the interviews with HPD were also not much help?" Steve didn't expect anything to come out of them.
"That was a total waste of time." Kono tells him frustrated.
"Well, file it under experience. Not your fault, we didn't expect them to help in any way. I'm going to take another look at the crime scene. I take it, we'll meet here again later?" At least Danny said he would be back after they talked to Max.
"Okay, brah. See you later." Chin watches his friend for any signs that he is not as okay as he said he is. But Steve looks perfectly fine, except for the small cut at his temple that was obviously treated with some glue.
Steve watches his team mates leave and after a short moment he decides not to dwell over Danny's strange behavior any longer.
He is already half way out the building when he realizes that he still doesn't have any transportation. Since Danny picked him up this morning his truck has been parked at his house. It would be a waste of time to get his truck first, so he heads back in to snatch the keys for their SUV, which they have used various times before. Finally after getting the key, he's on his way out of HQ and calls Scott Mountin as he drives towards Dr. Webster's office.
He wants to check the crime scene again, hoping to get some kind of inspiration.
Ten minutes later he ends his call with the NCIS agent and has learned what the attack on him was all about and what will happen with PO Thomas and Lt. O'Hare. Steve can hardly believe that without even knowing it, he brought a drug ring to light. Too bad he wasn't aware of it at the time. It would have saved him a lot of pain.
A couple of minutes later he parks his car and makes his way over to Dr. Webster's office. To walk a crime scene always causes a somber feeling. And it's no different with this scene even after it has been processed and is left abandoned.
Steve first takes a look around the outer office that was used as a waiting area for Dr. Webster's patients. He looks through the doctor's assistant's desk, not a very interesting task since all the files are already at HQ. But that is not why Steve is here.
The outer office doesn't 'tell' him anything, so he moves on to the inner office. He has seen quite a lot of psychiatrists' offices during his years in the Navy. His annual evaluations were always done in different offices of different psychiatrists, depending on where he was stationed at that time and who was available. And of course he has seen some of JoJo's different offices. Steve likes her latest one the most, he feels comfortable there.
The office he's standing in right now feels cold and somehow not real. Something is missing, but he can't quite grasp what it is that makes him feel uneasy.
Steve goes around the desk and looks down at the now dried pool of blood soaked into the carpet. He can only imagine how terrified Dr. Webster must have been in her last moments. He looks at the blood spatter everywhere and shudders involuntarily.
He wonders how the killer was able to kill the first victims without giving the second victims a chance to do anything. He would imagine if a person gets stabbed in front of someone, everyone would try to do something. Fight or flight. But they couldn't find any signs of struggle in any of the eight cases, which leads Steve to believe that their killer must have superior skills. Or there was more than one killer.
Steve sits down in Dr. Webster's chair, wincing slightly by the discomfort sitting causes him. Thankfully the pain in his head is kept at bay by the shot Mark gave him. And Steve has every intention to keep it that way. He already filled the prescription Mark gave him, right at the hospital pharmacy. His headache is just a dull throbbing right now, a very welcome change from the intense pain he suffered just a few hours ago.
Steve leans back in the chair and looks around, something is not right and he just can't see what it is. And then it hits him. The splatter free space on the desk where Dr. Webster's personal organizer was lying yesterday. He remembers it clearly, because the open book was covered with blood splatter. He knows it was not on the evidence list, so where is the book? Who took it?
He takes his phone out and calls Charlie Fong, who was processing most of the evidence. Two minutes later he knows for sure that the book didn't make it into evidence. How the heck did it disappear while the scene was crawling with police? Maybe it was just misplaced, an honest mistake. But Steve doesn't believe in coincidences.
A noise from the outer office brings Steve to his feet only to double over from an incredible pain shooting through his belly. But as fast as it came, it leaves him again. Steve straightens up and makes his way silently to the halfway open door. He can see a man in his twenties looking around the office.
"Five-0, what are you doing here?" Steve steps out of the office and confronts the young man.
Steve obviously startled him, he throws the book he had in his hands at Steve and dashes out the door.
Why do they always have to run? Steve takes off after the man, who was either just using the opportunity for a breaking and entering, or has something to do with the murders. Either way, he needs to be brought in for questioning.
But for that, Steve needs to catch him first. While he is running down the stairs after the suspect he gets his phone out and calls HPD to request back-up.
The young man is a fast runner and Steve needs to pull out all his reserves to keep up with him.
*~* *~* *~* Hawaii Five-0 *~* *~* *~*
Steve's boots hit the pavement hard and with every step, a shot of pain goes straight into his brain. He has no idea how much longer he will be able to chase the suspect. It feels like they had run the last mile at full speed. His lungs are screaming for air, for some reason he can't seem to get enough of it right now. Steve is panting and he's not sure, which is screaming louder to stop, his right hip and his belly or his head.
He won't stop though; actually he's getting closer to the suspect. For the first time since they started their chase, it seems the guy is slowing down. Steve is dodging cars as they cross Waiakamilo Road, and he almost gets clipped by a van when he darts in front of it. Steve and his 'prey' leave a concert of honking horns and wildly cursing drivers behind.
Steve has thought a few times now to just get his gun out and simply shoot the guy running in front of him, but that is only the very last resort. Besides, it appears the runner is not armed. And Steve won't shoot an unarmed suspect in the back. He can hear sirens in the distance. It's about damn time. Steve wonders why the heck it took them so long to send any back-up. He called it in when they left the doctor's office, which feels like ages ago.
Steve is now doubling his effort to get closer to the young man still running a good fifteen feet in front of him. Steve hasn't managed to reduce the distance up until now. Steve curses when he sees that North Nimitz Highway is in front of them. It will not be easy to get across. If his runner keeps going that way, they will be down at the harbor in a few minutes.
By now Steve has managed to ignore all the pain signals his body was sending to his brain. There is the fierce pain radiating from his lower right belly and hip, and the agony that has taken up residence in his head again. He is sure Mark would have a fit if he knew what Steve was just doing.
They reach the crossroad at the corner of Nimitz and Waiakamilo. Luck will have it that the crossing traffic has a red light, so they run across without any danger of being hit by oncoming cars. But it's still dangerous enough to run between the cars going their way. The sirens are very close now and out of the corner of his eye he can see a very familiar car heading their way. The Camaro is still a good distance away, but his back-up will be here soon.
Steve shakes his head a little at the stupidity of his running suspect, because by the direction he is heading, he will run out of ground really soon. This way only leads to the end of the pier, and after that it's just the harbor basin. Left and right of them, containers are coming into view; maybe his runner hopes to disappear among them.
A huge stack of containers is now in front of them and his suspect decides to go to the left of it, nearer to the water. Steve follows in hot pursuit, hearing that the Camaro has just reached the harbor grounds behind him. But he can't pay attention to it right now because he's getting closer to his runner… just a few more feet and he will finally be able to stop him. He estimates he will be on him at the end of the containers.
He is... but not as he hoped. They are just a couple of feet apart, almost in tackling distance, when they come back into the open. Out of nowhere something silvery invades Steve's peripheral vision. He has no time to think; he sees it happen like in slow motion. The runner in front of him has even less time than Steve. He doesn't have time to react and impacts with the standing car, flies head over heels over the hood and tumbles down into the water with a splash.
Steve has just enough time to jump and try to get over the hood of the car that was so suddenly in front of him. He almost makes it, but his right foot catches the wheel case and he crashes down on the hood. The impact is hard; it leaves a dent in the hood and all the air rushes out of his lungs. Steve can only roll with the motion and tries to protect his head as best he can. Next thing he knows, the water is rushing his way. He splashed down into the harbor basin right after his runner.
*~* *~* *~* Hawaii Five-0 *~* *~* *~*
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please tell me what you think. I really value your opinion and like to learn what worked or didn't work for you. So, please take a minute and tell me. Thank you.
To get your appetite up for the next chapter, here is a tiny little sneak peek. (I know they were very popular in the past, so let me know if you like to have them back on a regular basis.)
Protective Detail – Chapter 11
Parking lot ME's Office
"So, Danny, you wanna grab a bite to eat before we head back?" Niles Levin looks at the second in command of Five-0 as they're making their way over to the car. He is not sure what he thinks of him. If one of his subordinates talked to him like Williams did with McGarrett, there would be hell to pay. The NCIS man might not like McGarrett much, but he has a lot of respect for the guy and can't understand how Williams was treating him. After all, McGarrett is his boss.
"No, I think we should head back. Converse with the team before we call it a night." To tell the truth, Danny just wants to go back to Steve. He feels really bad about how he acted when Steve came back to HQ. But he wanted to get out with Levin and if he had talked to Steve, that would never have happened. Danny is sure that Steve will have some choice words for him when he gets back. He knows that Steve ordered them not to go out with Levin and Danny ignored that. Unfortunately Danny didn't even accomplish what he hoped for from this trip.
"Okay, sure." Levin thinks the best approach to get an insight into their team dynamic is the direct approach. "You don't like your boss much, do you?"