A/N: Alright, I had planned to get this up a few days ago, but RL interfered. (It does that sometimes, ya know). Trying to move this process along a little... I'm getting a bit impatient myself. ;) Should have the next chapter up soon. {It's not written yet, but I'll be working on it.}

Thanks for sticking around guys, and I hope you enjoy the next chapter. (Previous disclaimers still apply.) xx

Chin Ho Kelly appreciated many things about Steve Mcgarrett. In spite of the Ex-SEAL's exasperating tendency to dive into dangerous situations head first and without a second thought, he was organized, efficient and professional. Most of the time. Work seemed to be the only place Steve did anything spur-of-the-moment, and unplanned. But since Mcgarrett's entire life was pretty much spent working, that wasn't saying much. However, the thing Chin had come to appreciate most about his boss - besides the SEAL's fierce loyalty and unwavering friendship - was the man's orderliness, and careful systemization. Time spent in the Navy was not wasted, and old habits die hard.

At the moment, however, Chin was wishing the man was just a little less organized.

Everything in Steve's house was exactly where it should be. That was, everything except Steve and Danny. The driveway had been blatantly empty when Chin had arrived 5 minutes before - there was no sign of Steve or Danny anywhere. After entering the house with the spare key Steve had hidden out front, the native Hawaiian had been searching the most likely places for any documentation of Steve's 'plan' for the day, but so far, his search had been fruitless.

Swallowing a sigh of frustration, Chin took in every angle of Steve's spotless living room, with a slow, sweeping gaze. Nothing was out of place. Every pillow was in it's usual position, even the remote controls to the TV were aligned squarely on the arm of the couch. Everything organized, categorized, perfectly ordered. Just how Steve liked it.

Chin flipped out his phone distractedly, and glanced at the screen for the 2nd time since his arrival.

Nothing.

It figures.

With a heavy sigh, he tucked the exasperatingly silent device back in his pocket, and moved hurriedly into the next room - the kitchen - to continue his search.

For the umpteenth time since he'd first heard about the storm, he cursed himself for not finding out the specific location of Steve and Danny's hike. Steve was an experienced hiker, and skilled outdoorsman, but unexpected things happened in the jungle. And the fierce storms that arose at a moments notice could catch anyone off guard; even someone who had been born and raised in Hawaii.

All of this trouble would have been averted if he would have just thought to ask Mcgarrett where, exactly, he was planning on going.

Worry was a sensation Chin had become accustomed to. Working everyday in potentially deadly situations hardly encouraged calm, relaxing thoughts. Especially when your teammates were more than teammates, but friends and family members as well. Danny would have called, Chin knew, to allay the rest of the teams' fears. Although SuperSEAL Mcgarrett didn't seem to understand the concept of explaining any of his actions, Danny, at least, could relate with Chin's unease when a member of the team was missing. Or in this case, two members.

Blowing out an impatient breath, Chin scanned the room quickly, searching for anything that appeared to be out of place, but nothing stood out. One thought ran through his mind with wearying repetition. They should've called. And to make matters worse, Steve's spotless house seemed reluctant to give up any clues to it's owner's whereabouts.

"Come on, there's gotta be something," Chin muttered under his breath, standing in the middle of the kitchen, and turning slowly as he surveyed the room impatiently, "Anything." A piece of paper with a hurried line scrawled on it, or a note on Steve's calendar. Just something that would give him a hint of any kind; something that would tell him where to start searching.

If it even came to that.

They had no proof that anything had even gone amiss with Mcgarrett's and Williams' hiking trip. The two men were probably on their way back at that exact moment. Maybe Danny's phone had died, or he'd turned it off. Or maybe they had lost service from the incoming storm, and had been unable to call. They might even be moments from HQ.

Maybe.

One last quick glance over the empty counters once again confirmed what he'd suspected from the beginning - there was, in fact, nothing to find. At least not downstairs. With a dismissive shrug, Chin exited the kitchen, and headed up the stairs that led to Steve's bedroom, taking them two at a time in his haste. The sound of his footsteps echoed eerily through the empty house, and for a moment, he felt slightly foolish for searching Steve's house to begin with. The impulsive action was so unusual for him; it was something Steve himself would do.

Chin was known for his deliberate, calculated, level-headed actions, but he couldn't ignore the feeling of unease that gripped him. Something was wrong. He didn't know what, but he felt it. Call it intuition, call it instinct. He just knew.

He had just finished his hurried but careful inspection the landing at the top of the stairs and was moving into Mcgarrett's orderly bedroom, when his cell-phone vibrated against his leg, startling him. Hastily digging the device out of his pocket, he glanced eagerly at the screen, and hit the green button, pressing the phone against his ear with one hand.

"Kono, you got something?"

She got straight to the point. "Yes... and at the same time, no."

Chin frowned, and shook his head slightly at her vague answer. "What's that supposed to mean?" As he waited for her to explain, he moved through the doorway, and glanced distractedly around Steve's bedroom.

"Someone dropped something off at the office, Chin," Kono explained, the tightness in her voice evident over the phone, "It was addressed to 'The Five-0 Team'."

Wrinkling his brow in confusion, Chin paused in the middle of the floor so he could concentrate on his cousin's words. What? Addressed to the team? What does this have to do with finding out where Steve and Danny went? In spite of his curiosity, he had a bad feeling about this. For some reason, Kono sounded worried sick, and not a little afraid. Those were two emotions that his kick-ass cousin hardly ever seemed to experience. And even when she did, she very rarely let it show.

"Did you open it? Kono?" He fought to keep his impatience out of his tone as Kono hesitated, the silence on the other line echoing back at him mockingly, "Cuz, what is it? Is it about Steve and Danny?"

"Yeah," Kono's voice shakier than Chin had ever heard it before. "I opened it, Chin, and..."

She trailed off again, and suddenly, Chin knew he did not want to hear his cousin's next words. They had spent so many hours together, even when he couldn't see her face, he could read her tones as easily as an open book. And he could tell what she was about to tell him was something he did not want to hear.

"Kono?" He lowered his voice, his gaze wandering thoughtlessly out the window behind Steve's bed. The light was gray, and he could hear the sounds of wind whistling around the hollows of the roof, and tearing at the trees. "Kono, what is it?"

As impatient as Chin was for Kono to continue, and whatever he had been expecting to hear, it certainly wasn't the words his cousin spoke the next moment.

"I-It's a picture of Danny, Chin," Kono's voice quivered slightly as she spoke, "He, uh," She cleared her throat before continuing in a slightly muted tone, "The picture... he..." She took a deep breath, the sharp inhale loud over the line, and then blurted out the words, "Chin, someone painted a red "X" over Danny's face."

A flood of dread spread across Chin's body, weighing his limbs down, and for a moment he couldn't move. He felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. His mind immediately took off, racing a hundred miles per hour, calculating, adding up, piecing together. No, he thought frantically, no. Not again.

Kono was speaking again, her voice teetering on panic, and with an effort, he forced himself to focus on her words.

"Chin, I have a bad feeling about this. They haven't called, they probably don't have service, and now with this storm coming up and all the systems down, we can't trace either of their phones. If someone went after Danny while they were up on the mountain today..." She trailed off, and taking a deep breath, Chin blinked furiously, and shook his head to clear the muddled thoughts from his racing brain.

"Kono," He steadied his voice with an effort, and spoke calmly, "Is the envelope marked? Does it say anything?" Still holding the phone to his ear, Chin forced himself to resumed his search, more determined then ever to find a clue - any clue - to where Steve and Danny had gone.

"Yeah, on the back of the picture it says, 'We never forget. Now you won't either.'" Kono paused, and for a moment, neither of them spoke.

"This is starting to sound like a lot more than a hiking trip gone wrong," Chin muttered, throwing one last glance around Steve's spotless bedroom. "And this, happening right now, is definitely more than a coincidence."

"Yeah." Kono's answer was short, and Chin could hear the worry she was struggling to keep out of her voice. "Did you find anything at Mcgarrett's?"

"No," Gritting his teeth in frustration at the reminder of his fruitless search, Chin whirled around, and hurried down the stairs, his footsteps echoing eerily in the empty, gray house. "I haven't been able to find a single thing here. There's no telling where, exactly, Steve and Danny went. Did you call Kamekona to see if knew where they are? Sometimes they drop by there before going on a hike." After throwing one last hurried glance over his shoulder, Chin exited the house, locking the door behind him.

"I called, couldn't get a hold of him," Kono replied, her tone undeniably tense as Chin hurried down Mcgarrett's driveway, keeping his head down against the stiff wind. "He's not answering his phone."

"Damn it," The wind tore at the door of Chin's car as he opened it, threatening to rip it out of his grasp. Holding his phone between his shoulder and ear, Chin collapsed on the seat of his car, and pulled the door shut behind him with both hands. "And you said GPS still isn't working?"

"Yeah. Nothing's working here. But for some reason, we still have cell-service. Get that." Kono huffed.

"Hmm. Perfect," Chin grunted absently, punching the "speaker" button on his phone, and clicking it onto the stand attached to the controls. Dropping his head into his hands, he sat motionless for a minute, his mind working furiously. There had to be some clue that they'd missed. Anything. A word, a phrase that Steve had spoken that would point them in the right direction.

"I can't believe we didn't ask them exactly where they were going," he muttered, more to himself than to his cousin as he raised his head and stared pensively out the window. "All this could have been avoided..."

"Chin," Kono's voice was suddenly steely, unmistakable determination in her tone, "There's nothing we can do about it now. I'm having the letter sent over to Fong, and see if he can get any prints off of it, but everything's been delayed because of this storm. Right now, we just need to focus on finding Steve and Danny."

"Right," Shaking himself, Chin nodded in agreement, grateful - once again - for his cousin's presence of mind. He couldn't remember the last time he had been this edgy, and they really needed to focus. "This letter... it could just be a coincidence; a kids prank, or something, but I really don't think so." Chin wrinkled his brow worriedly. "Something happened up there, Kono, I'm sure of it, but until we find out exactly where Steve and Danny went, we-"

He was abruptly cut off by a slight, unrecognizable beeping sound, and then Kono's voice came over the line excitedly, "Hold on Chin, it's Kamekona. Lemme take this."

The line went silent, and Chin sat impatiently, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel as he waited for the return of his cousin's voice. Hopefully she would have some information. Maybe Steve had told Kamekona where they were going. Chin could only hope. He knew earlier that something had been wrong. Either Steve or Danny would've called as soon as they got to a location with cell service. They wouldn't leave their teammates in ignorance of their position; if for no other reason, than to make sure Chin and Kono didn't worry about them.

With a heavy sigh, Chin threw a distracted glance at his watch. 1:15 p.m. We were supposed to meet in 15 minutes. His mind wandered as he waited, going over and over the new developments carefully. The last thing he wanted to be doing was sitting in his car in Steve's driveway, waiting. He wanted to be doing something... doing anything. But until they figured out where their teammates had gone, exactly, there was nothing else they could do.

Danny's picture: a threat - or someone gloating? Was it coincidence that his teammates hadn't checked in? He didn't think so. And the arrival of the letter was too timely - too perfect to be a joke, or pure chance.

A few moments passed, and Chin cast periodic worried glances out the car window, listening to the sound of the rising wind with unease. Come on, Kono... where are you?

Almost in response to his thought, his exasperatingly silent phone came alive again, and his cousin's voice came over the line. "Chin, you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here. What did Kamekona say?"

"Okay, he said Steve and Danny did stop by his shrimp truck before they went hiking. They were going up to the Ko'olau Mountain Range."

Chin exhaled, and rubbed a hand wearily over his face in relief. Finally, they were getting somewhere. "Okay, okay, good. Anything else?"

"No, not really, except..." Kono hesitated, and took a deep breath before continuing, "I guess, after Steve and Danny left, some guy came up to him and asked where they were going."

"What?" Chin frowned darkly, "Why would someone do that?"

"I don't know," Kono answered tightly, "But I guess he told him, and right after that, the guy left."

"Did he know who the guy was? Why is he giving out information to strangers?" Chin wanted to know, fighting the anger that was rising in his chest. Kamekona was a good man, and a faithful friend, but sometimes - scratch that, all the time - he wasn't exactly the brightest penny in the piggy bank.

"He said the guy had been hanging around a lot lately, and that he was really nice. I guess they'd been talking a bit, and Kamekona figured it wouldn't hurt, especially since he said he was a friend of Mcgarrett's. So, he figured it would be alright," Kono explained the conversation with the 'shrimp truck man' in a rush, her voice undeniably tense, and nervous.

"Oh god," Chin groaned, dropping his head into his hands for a moment and squeezed his eyes shut. "Why the hell would he do that?" Why the hell would he tell anyone where Mcgarrett and Danny were going? It's none of their business.

"I don't know," Kono sighed, "You know Kamekona. He's a good guy. Wants to help everyone out."

"Yeah," Chin growled, "But this time, I think he might have helped the wrong person out; I don't think that was a friend of Steve's." Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Chin raised his head, and jammed his keys into the ignition. "Kono? I'm on my way back, alright? Meet me at the Governor's place. We'll have to get a chopper in there ASAP, as soon as this storm blows out."

There was no time to waste. If instinct was anything to go by, their teammates unusual silence, that unsettling picture of Danny delivered to their very door, and Kamekona's own report more than likely meant Steve and Danny were in trouble. Which was what Chin had been feeling ever since the storm had risen so unexpectedly. But with the information Kono had just given him, it was more than a premonition; they finally had something to go on, and they had to act on instinct. That was something Steve himself had taught them, and now, they had to go about it as quickly as they possibly could.

Hopefully they weren't too late.

"I'll be there," Kono answered firmly. Then, "Oh, and... Chin?" There was an unmistakable tremor in his cousin's voice as she spoke, her voice suddenly muted, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Backing out of Steve's driveway, and pulling onto the road, Chin hesitated for a moment before he answered. He knew exactly what she was thinking. They weren't detectives for nothing. He could only pray they were wrong.

"If you're thinking that Steve and Danny are still up on that mountain," Chin replied finally, "and that, somehow, Kamekona gave out information to someone who was targeting them, and that this is a lot more serious than a dead cell-phone battery, or a forgotten phone call?" Chin blew out a heavy breath, his eyes focused on the road as he drove, "Then, yeah, I think we're on the same page, Kono."

TBC

A/N: We'll return to our boys in the next chapter... my apologies to those of you who really wanted more of Steve + Danny in this chapter... I'm trying to shorten my chapters a little, so writing them isn't quite as daunting. And thank you so much to all those of you who have reviewed. I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond to your reviews personally; I figured y'all would rather have another chapter. ;) Thanks for reading guys. Lemme know your thoughts. Pretty please? x