AN: I want to thank all those who have read and commented. I have replied to all registered users. To my dear guest readers: Thank you very much for reading, your reviews have come into my soul. I have to say, I'm really excited by how this story is coming out.

Dana: I'm truly honored and I'm glad you are enjoying this. I hope you enjoy it even more.

I have other stories in mind, so I'll be here for a while.

Thanks again

Chapter 10: On and off the battlefield

"I serve with honor on and off the battlefield. The ability to control my emotions and my actions, regardless of circumstance, sets me apart from other men."

United States Navy Seal Code

Rescue mission. Day 2

Washington DC.

The man, enraged throws his phone on the desk, while walking as a caged lion around his office. How could this happened? When did they get out of the car? Tries to calm down and come up with a new plan of action. Yahdad will be furious when he knows McGarrett and his team survived the explosion. Immediately raise the phone to call him.

Ten minutes before...

"Sir, this is Jenny Michaels, I'm sorry to bother you, but I have alarming news", the voice on the phone sounds fearful.

"What's happening?" he asks startled and thinks: It is assumed that everything is going according to the plan. At this time, McGarrett and his team are dead, half of the revenge of Yahdad has been achieved.

"I have received an inform about Haifa police department have found the burned vehicle" says Michaels, her voice acquires a more restless tone "They reviewed it and reported a calcined not identified body in the driver's seat".

"ONE body?" the man shouts "what the hell is going on Lieutenant? You said everything was done".

"I don't know Sir. The bomb was scheduled for 90 minutes, to give time agent McCallister to pick up the team and were on their way to Haifa so it detonate. The helicopter reported that the vehicle exploded in the place and at the time indicated. "We don't know when the team got out of the car, Sir".

On the edge of exasperation, the man rises from his chair and asks "How could you be so stupid? Damn it! I should have known McGarrett would give us many problems! Have they checked the area to locate them?"

"Not yet, Sir. I received the report ten minutes ago and wanted to inform you first" Michaels responds.

"I want them to form four search teams. Three elements for each team. They must look at all the villages and towns within a radius of 30 miles. Also look in the tree area for some vestige of camp, is likely they wait the daylight before moving freely. Call Peterson at Haifa, to see if they have noticed something unusual in the surroundings of the house. If find them, they should shot without asking questions, not to fail and make sure that they don't stand up again".

"Yes, Sir" Michaels replies succinctly "I'll give the order to begin the search immediately". Jenny ends the call and dials the number of Frank Peterson's cell phone, the leader of the group of mercenaries that Itzhak has contracted to make justice. Two tone after someone answers "Hello...?"

"Mr. Peterson, it's Jenny Michaels"

"Hmmm. Tell me." Obviously, Peterson is a man of few words.

"I have new orders for you. McGarrett and his team have survived the explosion. You should organize four search teams to locate and kill them at once. Orders are to look at all the villages and towns located within a radius of 30 miles of Ma'anit" Michaels briefly explains.

Peterson doesn't agree at all, "this wasn't the deal, Miss Michaels." We will have to talk about money" he tells her with a voice void of emotions.

"Of course, Itzhak will talk with you to agree on an adjustment in your pay" Jenny says, trying to sound sure.

"Okay. I'll organize the men" Peterson says and hangs up.

At dawn, four teams of mercenaries begin to explore the area near the explosion, looking for these SEALs who started to become a headache.

In the air, somewhere between Honolulu and Newark.

Danny have been in the air for a few hours. Shakes in his tourist class seat, trying to sleep for a while, but it's impossible, he is too restless. His thoughts are back to Steve. The nearby they have now, after these eight years is amazing. They have gone through so many things together, both know perfectly well what the other thinks, even before he say so. Steve knows him better than anyone, because he looks beyond the image. That image of the loud and restless detective, the good cop, the loving father, the perfect son and the reliable brother . He sees beyond. He knows his fears and weaknesses, dreams and hopes. And, despite what everybody thinks, Steve does not judge him.

Last year, Danny has been concerned about Steve, mainly for his health. He's afraid. He likes to think of that image of indestructible superman, which Steve usually projects, but Danny knows that it's just a brick in the wall that he builds to protect himself. Danny has looked through the wall and what he sees scares him. Steve has felt lonely and is afraid, because for the first time in his life, he has no control over what might happen.

He cannot help but think at how close has been Steve to be killed. But finally, he is now on track to do something to help his friend. He keeps thinking for a while until finally falls asleep.

Hadera

The darkness fades. Still feeling a little dizzy and realizing he's lying on a soft and fluffy surface. He's tempted back to sleep, but a persistent pain finally wakes him up. Open his eyes and sees Evan's concerned face only a few centimeters away. "Commander, can you hear me?" Evans asks. Steve frowns and raises the right hand to rub his eyes "Damn it Evans!" You don't need to shout me!"

"Sorry sir. It's just I tried to wake you up, but you didn't listen to me" Evans answers intimidated.

"You've been lucky Doggie" Lynx says. "Fortunately, the bullet not passed through the femoral artery and Evans has done a good job to remove it. It will be hard to walk, but you'll be fine".

"Thank you Evans" Steve says. "How is Gordon?"

"Also had luck," Evans says, "the bullet didn't reach vital organs and got out to the right side. We've cleaned both injures and stopped the bleeding. He is now resting". Steve looks at the bed on his right and sees Gordon deeply slept, shirtless and with a bandage that surrounds his abdomen.

"How long was I out? What time is it?" Steve asks, looking for his watch. "It's 13:00" Lynx answers "you were out little more than one hour. Who were those guys?"

"Mercenaries, I guess. I assume they must have found the ashes of the truck and whoever that is behind this, sent them to find us. I'm concerned they have approached so much in so little time, but I guess they are looking for in the villages around the explosion."

Steve meditates about the implications of a search. Doesn't like the idea of cat and mouse game, but he knows at the moment they're safe in the apartment. The local police must already have collected the bodies of the three guys. He knows they weren't alone and there are probably more people looking for them. It's only a matter of time so the rest becomes aware of the shooting and to know those three are dead. They only have to add two plus two, to realize his team toppled them. Just waits they assumed that, because of the shooting, the SEAL team thought it was better to put distance and stay away as much as possible of Mikhmoret and, therefore, of Hadera.

Steve slowly sits on the bed, feels a little dizzy, but in general he's good. Looking to the room's door, just as Crackerjack shows his the head "Hey Doggie. I think you should see this. Your guys from Hawaii have sent interesting things". He gets up slowly, trying to measure his strength. The leg hurts, but not too much, so he limps into the other room.

Anders turns to Steve, as he sits in bed next to the desk, "Sir. Officer Rey has sent interesting information about Lt. Michaels", says showing the image of a young Jenny Michaels on the screen of the laptop. She is about 25 years old, wears camouflage uniform and has short blonde hair. "It seems that Michaels was assigned to Europe after graduated from Annapolis. She was in Rota Navy base, in Cadiz Bay, as a part of the naval arm of the anti missile system of NATO". Anders is still reviewing the information sent by Tani, "officer Rey have found that during the stay of Michaels in Spain, she traveled across the country. She also visited France, Germany and Italy. "Rey is intuitive, isn't she?" Anders asks with a smile. Steve sighs and answers, turning the eyes and recalling certain incident with a racing plane central flap "you don't know how much!" says "Why do you ask?"

"Because she used facial recognition software in dozens of pictures of her tours and Voila! She found these. Do you recognize the guy, sir?" In the screen there are ten pictures of Jenny with a medium height guy, black beard and deep eyes, by the images it seems they are in love and very happy.

Steve hesitates for a moment, goes a little closer to the screen "Yahdad?" "Yes. In her search, officer Rey found some interesting emails, in which she calls him 'Itzhak'. It seems that Yahdad met Michaels in Madrid. They were together for a few weeks and fell in love".

"Wow!" Steve exclaims surprised "all this time, the pretty Lieutenant has been helping her boyfriend in his personal vendetta". Steve thinks it's another matter to talk about, at his next call to New York. "Michaels was assigned to Rota for some years, and then returned to the United States. She was in Norfolk for a while, six months in Coronado and was finally transferred to Washington" Anders explains.

"The little traitor!" says Crackerjack, furious "years sharing military secrets with her boyfriend as pillow talk, and helping him to plan his revenge! How do you want to handle this?" asks to Steve.

"I don't know. She will face a court martial and definitely will not be good." Steve answers, making a nod to Lehrer to go with him. Both come out of the room. "We'll have to be very careful," Steve says in a low voice. "What are you thinking?" Lehrer asks restless.

"Aaron, I'm not naive. Michaels is not alone in this. Her authorization level is not high enough to organize this, even with Yahdad's help. She must have needed help from someone above. So, I think that we must not warn her. Otherwise she will tell them and we never catch the guy" a moment later, they return to the room.

"What do we have about Yahdad?" asks to Anders. "Captain Grover sent information. One moment please" Anders use the laptop and displayed the information "It seems everything Michaels sent us is correct but incomplete", Anders explains as he moves across the screen. "Mr. Yahdad has been very successful since he graduated from Madrid. He opened an electronic supply company in Alcala Street in 2007. He did very well and within eight months had an office floor in a skyscraper in Castellana avenue. In 2010, opened a branch in Tel Aviv. He is also a shareholder in LyddinTech, an important enterprise of electronic supplies with offices in Silicon Valley and Lausanne, Switzerland"

"Well!" Steve said surprised "this guy has done very well. Do we have something about his financial statements?" asks

"Grover sent information about that" Anders selects two files and displays them on the screen "according to this, there are only two unusual transfers in recent months, and have been made to two bank accounts in Singapore, apparently for equipment purchase, they're 5 million each, in total 10 million. Strange, don't you think sir?"

Steve thinks for a while. Singapore, one of the few countries that still maintain bank confidentiality. They are not legally obliged to give the name of the account holders. "We have to find out who is the owner of those accounts," he says finally.

"Grover is in that, he's making inquiries with a contact in Singapore who already previously helped Five-0, says that as soon as he has it, he'll let us know" Anders ends.

Someone knocks on the door, Steve stands startled and goes to the living room, taking his gun from the table and getting ready, makes a sign to Lehrer to check who is. Aaron looks out, turns to calm down Steve and opens the door. Asaf appears with a smile, bringing a tray with something that smells delicious "Well! The sleeping beauty woke up at last" he says while placing the tray on the table, "How are you boy?"

"I'll be fine", Steve say, with a grateful smile.

"I brought you something good to eat. Who is hungry?" asks raising his voice a bit. Removes the cover of food and the hungry men approach. "This is one of my wife specialtie. Is called Jraime, they are fish pieces in a sauce with tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and spices, it's delicious!" he says, places the dish in the center of the table, also puts a lot of Pita bread and a small plate with hummus. "Enjoy", says as he puts on the table a jug filled with an amber liquid. "It is black tea with honey," he explains. "Have a good meal."

"Thank you buddy. My debt is growing day by day. Will you join us?" Steve asks.

"I should eat with my wife or she'll unskin my nice face" Asaf says smiling and gets out through the door.

Suddenly they hear a sound coming from the bedroom. They all go there, to see Gordon trying to get up and Lynx trying to avoid it. "I told you I'm fine!" the wounded man looks at Lynx with fury "I'm hungry and something smells really good. So let me go and eat!" Lynx looks at Evans, powerless "What do you think doctor?" asks with sarcastic tone. Evans looks at him and finally says "if he feels good, I don't see why not". All go out of the room to the living room.

Twenty-five minutes later, they sigh satisfied "Oh my God! This the best I've ever tasted", Crackerjack says licking his fingers. They all finish their meal while Steve, thoughtful drinks a glass of tea. As they cannot risk to get out, he spends the afternoon discussing possible plans of action with the team, while waits for the time to call Danny.

At 20:30, takes the phone and dials the number.

New York

Plane lands on time. Danny stretches to get up from his seat. Rigidly walks down the hallway and gets into a travelers crowded room. It takes forty minutes to get out and calls a taxi, barely he has time to get to the Plaza.

At 12:45, he passes through the door of the hotel, goes to the reception and showing his badge requests access to the Presidential Suite.

"I have an appointment with the President at 13:00" Danny tells to the Secret Service agent who approaches him, showing again his badge and his ID. The agent answers "I'm agent Sanders from Secret Service. The President will see you in his suite. Come with me please". They walk towards the elevator. After endless seconds, the door opens and they get out. Both men walk along a corridor heavily guarded by armed men and head to a door located at the end. Sanders knocks twice, and the door opens immediately. Danny follows him inside.

In the suite, the President is sitting on the couch of a large living room, talking with two men. All three get up when Danny approaches. "Detective Williams" the President says shaking his hand. Danny is somewhat shy, "Mr. President..." salutes. The President continues, introducing their companions, "this is General Robert Carson, Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Joe Ramsey, director of the Secret Service" continues looking at Danny "this is detective Daniel Williams, from the Hawaii Taskforce Five-0". The three men shake hands.

"Excuse me gentlemen, as I told you, detective Williams and I will have lunch in private. We must finish details of the funeral service for Commander McGarrett" he says with a grim voice.

"Can we help, Mr. President?" Carson asks. "No, thanks Robert. As I had tell you, I'd like to preside over the funeral. Steve was my dear friend and sacrificed his life for helping me. He was also Detective Williams best friend, so it will be a very sad lunch. If you excuse us gentlemen. It won't take much time". The President turns to his Secretary and asks "Is lunch ready?"

"Yes Sir," the woman answers, "we served it in the private dining room, as you ordered". "Fine. Please no one bothered us. Join me detective Williams" and precedes Danny into the dining room, closing the door behind them.

It's a nice large room, at the bottom, on the corner there is a small dining room with four chairs, with service for two people, two covered dishes and two cold beers.

"I hope you like beer" the President sighs, goes closer to the table and takes one of the bottles drinking a long sip. "Has been a terrible week, really need it".

"Yes, Sir. Thank you". Both men take seats. The President looks dejected, but recomposing says, "Please call me Tom. Steve called me so and I know that you were like brothers, detective", to which Danny answers, "okay, Tom. Please call me Danny". They take another sip of their beer.

"I must admit that your call took me by surprise, Danny. Although I appreciate it. I think the least I owe Steve is presiding over his funeral," he says ruefully.

"Tom, there is something very urgent to talk with you, but it must be absolutely secret, for Miranda's sake," Danny says quickly, looking at his watch. Steve's call should come soon. The gaze of Tom's eyes is intrigued and surprised. He thinks briefly, 'How does he know?'

"Can we trust no one can hear us?" Danny asks. "Yes, of course. This is the dining room where I usually spend time with my family and the Secret Service thoroughly reviewed it before my arrival. Speak with trust," Tom answers.

"Well, then I'll speak bluntly. Steve is alive," Danny says quickly before the amazed eyes of Tom. The sat phone rings at that time. "Excuse me for a second, Hello?" Danny answers.

"Danno, are you okay? Are you already with the President?" Steve asks with low voice.

"Yes, Steve. He's here with me, Are you okay? You don't sound very well" Danny's voice shows concern.

"I'm doing well. Something painful, but I'll tell you later. Turn on the speaker please," Steve replies. Danny presses the speaker button and both men hear Steve's voice "Tom..."

"Steve, thank God! But how? I had been told that you were dead..." Tom says. The relief in his voice is obvious. Steve explains briefly what happened the days before, and finally says "this only has begun... We have a serious problem..." The concern returns to Tom's face, who asks finally "Is this about Miranda?"

AN2: To be clear. All the names of places and gastronomic specialties of Israel are real, although the house in Haifa, the apartment in Hadera, The Electronic Supplies Company name and the description of the Presidential Suite come completely from my imagination. Please continue enjoying this.