Chapter 10

Steve was trying very hard not to stir. He concentrated on his breathing, keeping it even and low, tempering it with the hum of the engine. His head was laid against the metal of the Jeep's floor, the point of contact on his temple felt cool against his flushed skin, but that was the only comfort he could find in this achingly uncomfortable position. That and the weight of the gun held in his hand and pressed against his hip. He also knew that moving would not bring any relief, there was no relief for him in the near future. The dose he took few minutes ago was already wearing off, and he was not going to take another one. Not unless he would absolutely have to. Not in front of Danny.

So he just laid there, still as stone, on the floor of the Jeep, covered with a heavy canvas that chafed his raw skin, and didn't move. He felt the vehicle shift when his friends took their seats, and then they started to move, but it was no more than a few seconds before an abrupt halt pulled a groan out of his mouth.

Inhale. Exhale. slowly.

Someone was approaching the jeep, gravel mashing under heavy steps, then a harsh, angry voice penetrated his fight to remain in control, causing his muscles to tense in an uncontrollable response, his grip on the gun tightened.

Duarte.

"What are you doing here, Karina?" He demanded in Spanish.

It was dark, Steve tried to calm himself, Danny and Chin were wearing military hats shadowing their faces. Duarte will not recognize them.

"Why do you care, father?" Her voice was defiant, Steve could hear Duarte's boots shuffle.

"Do not talk to me like this!" Duarte hissed angrily, Karina didn't answer, and the silence lingered a few seconds before the drug baron spoke again "I thought I told you not to come close to our prisoner. What did you do?"

"I did nothing…"

"Do not lie to me!" the tamed anger in his tone was too familiar, and Steve hated the effect it had on him. A Shiver went through his body and he had to stifle a whimper. The SEAL's thumb moved lightly, sliding on the stock of his gun. He had the element of surprise. He could just get up, take aim and shoot. Two seconds. Objective met. Mission accomplished.

But that would put Danny and Chin at risk. Steve had no doubt that Duarte was not here alone. The Drug lord continued "Are you the reason I cannot contact my men in there?"

"I do not know why you cannot contact your men!" she answered, her voice was angry too, but she seemed in control of it. "They are your men! You made it very clear, Father, so clear that they felt they can dismiss me."

Boots shuffling the gravel again. Is she making her father feel uncomfortable? His voice was still hard when he spoke again, but not as angry "There was a report, shots were heard."

"So what, you think I shot that bastard?" she spat back. Steve had to admire her calmness. This time Duarte paused with his answer, and Karina claimed the silence "It was you who sent my husband after him, Father, and these are your men that are not able to find him. Yes, I wanted to know if he saw Romero, maybe…he knew…" her voice broke. it was an amazing performance. Or maybe not a performance. He heard her taking deep breath, then her voice steadied again, "But if I'd want to shoot someone responsible, it would be you."

"You don't mean that, child" Duarte's voice was almost unrecognizable, rimmed with softness and concern.

"I...don't, father." her voice was also soft now "I am sorry."

"I will find him, Karina. And I will find the traitor who caused that. I promise you."

"I know, father" she sounded so subdued now. Steve was in awe at how she played her father. She made Steve's relationship with his mother seem normal.

"You must not come near here again. We have guests, the timing is not good. Go back to your barracks. You! Do not let her out of your sight!"

There was silence for a few minutes, nothing but the combined sounds of vehicle engines. Then the jeep sprung forward, throwing him against the back wall and sending him into a haze of pain.

He must have let out a groan cause he heard Danny's annoyed protest "Careful!" and then "You OK, buddy?" but he could not answer.

"We don't have time to be careful, he is going to find out McGarrett is gone within two minutes." Came the cold answer above the roar of the engine.

"Joe. go. now." was Danny's answer. He felt a hand fumble gently through the canvas and Danny whispered "Hang in there, Steve."

The hand went away and Steve needed all his attention to keep from crying out with every bump on the unforgiving dirt road. But it was a losing battle.

Soon other noises joined the monotonous hum of the moving vehicle. There was shouting, gun- fire, explosions. There was no point in staying under cover now, and the SEAL wanted to join in the fight. He tried to get up, but the canvas covering him was suddenly so heavy, his muscles so weak.

"Danny!" he called desperately. He couldn't hear his own weak voice. It grew unbearably hot under the heavy fabric, and breathing became even harder. He needed to get out. Why did they stick him here? Why did they get him out from Duarte's confinement just so he could die as helpless and strangled as he was before, tied up to that chair? At least there he had the short, questionable comfort of the drugs…

No, no, these thoughts, they weren't right.

"Danny!" he tried again. The sounds of the fight grew distant. But so did the noises of the engine. Was he even in the jeep anymore? The Darkness was choking, the world swirled. He had to get out.

The SEAL released his grip on the gun, and spread his left palm on the hard metal surface below him. He hung on to that knowledge, hard surface below him, pressing his palm against it, grounding himself and gathering his will. Then he threw all his strength into getting up. Fighting off his confinement, releasing himself.

"Wow! Steve! Stop the car! Stop it!" Danny was shouting

"We are not far enough! They are on our heels!"

"Stop it NOW!"

Steve was thrown backwards, still entangled under the canvas, the sudden jolt expelling what little air he felt left in his lungs. But then the canvas was gone, and there was fresh air against his damp skin, and Danny was standing next to him, his hand on the back of Steve's neck, face inches from his. "Steve? You OK, babe?"

His body shaking. His left hand shot up to grab Danny's arm. He gulped in the heavy, saturated jungle air. The panic receding quickly, leaving mostly exhaustion and shame.

"Yeah, yeah, I….couldn't...the cover...I couldn't breath."

Danny squeezed his nape lightly, "I'm sorry, buddy. Come on, we don't need this anymore."

Chin was beside him too now, and both of them moved him to the back seat.

In the darkness he caught a glimpse of Karina's face, the gleam of her eyes mostly. The memory of pain in her words, the only thing that seemed real in the conversation she had with her father, surfaced in his mind.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to her, but it was Danny who answered.

"For what?" He sat beside him, while Chin hoped to the passenger seat in front. Karina hit the pedal even before he was completely settled. "You good, babe?" Danny's hold on him moved to his shoulder.

"Yeah...I'm fine." he needed the focus on him to change "Where's Joe? Doris? Did they get out?"

"Yes, they are on their way to the rendezvous point with Lou and Kono. We took separate routes."

Steve closed his eyes. Something else was bothering him, something he was forgetting. He concentrated on it, pushing the waves of tremors and jolts of the car out of his mind. They were out of the compound. His team came for him. His team.

"Karina," he suddenly asked "Shanks...the helo pilot and Romero?" he felt he knew the answer to that. She asked him if her husband was on the helo. But the way she talked to her father...maybe they were still looking for them…

"There were two burned bodies in the helicopter wreckage." she answered, her voice dry.

He swallowed, violent shivers wrecking his body. Maybe it was the drugs. Maybe the news.

"Clark?" he asked, bracing himself.

"He's fine," Danny answered immediately, "We met him in the hospital. And he was very happy to meet the famous yapping, claustrophobic detective Williams. Thanks for that, doofus."

Steve couldn't hold back the chuckle, as painful as it was. "Good. that's...good."

His eyes felt heavy, he was exhausted. But they were still in Duarte's jungle. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and peered into the darkness between the trees, trying to catch the sound of pursuit. He thought about looking up, trying to get his bearing, but that thought itself was enough to send his whirling mind into vertigo again.

"Danny, the north roads, they were littered with mines."

"Yes, we know. We read all your mission reports and Clark's briefing. We are on the north-eastern side of the reservation, moving east."

"They...they had...we weren't ready...intel was…"

Danny's hand was back on his nape. "I know, buddy."

Karina suddenly spoke "Romero hid the phone in one of the buildings. My father's men found it. Romero deleted everything after each correspondence, but Duarte has a guy in the provider's company. They pulled enough information to figure out the method the messages were encrypted, though not who the informant was. So they were ready for you. Romero was safe but had no way of warning you."

Steve ran all the events of the mission in his head. His fuzzy mind fought him, but he preferred focusing on that than on the signals coming from the rest of his body.

"So when I asked him if he could get to the secondary location?"

"You were talking to Javier Alphano. Duarte's hacker genius. Romero was there, he heard the conversation. They didn't know where the secondary location was, and he hoped to get there first, to warn you...I did not agree to go with him." Emotion finally penetrated her last words, leaving it hard for Steve to question her further.

"I'm sorry." Steve said again, and felt Danny's grip on him tighten. She didn't answer.

They drove through the jungle in silence. Danny divided his attention between Steve and the road behind them, but no other sound other than their own jeep engine could be heard. It was hard for Steve to remain alert. Although he had not been lying on a hard surface covered with suffocating canvas anymore, he could still feel every bump on the road, and soon all his attention was again on managing the pain, and pushing away the thoughts of the two syringes still buried in his pocket, filled with the clear substance.

Then the car slowed to a stop, the change of pace jarring him back to full awareness.

The darkness around him was deep, but he could see movement between the trees, and he tensed.

"It's OK, babe" Danny's soft voice invaded the night sounds of the jungle. "We are almost clear, it's the backup."

The silhouettes approached them, and their voices revealed their identity.

"Hey, boss." came Kono's whisper and then "Good to see you alive, McGarrett" from Lou.

He couldn't answer with more than a smile, which they probably could not see in the darkness, but it didn't matter.

They helped him out of the Jeep, he thought he heard Joe's voice asking him something, but by that time the darkness started invading his mind as well.

And then he was lying again, on his right side, but it was better than before. He was lying on a blanket, another one was placed over him, and his head was rested on something soft.

A cool hand was gently stroking his left cheek, the touch so alien and so familiar at the same time. "It's alright, Steve." came his mother's soothing voice from somewhere above him. "I've got you. You can rest now."

He thought how strange it was that he found it so easy to believe her, after all she had done. And still, he let the darkness take all the pain and fell asleep in her lap.

A/N: You might find this chapter a tad anti-climax... I promise, action follows soon!