I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: a bit of a bonus chapter. Blame it on the 2010 Chardonnay. ;-)
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
Ponch stood in the middle of the spartan room with a rivulet of blood streaming down his right arm. He had taken the first opportunity offered to him and had quite unfortunately, lost. In the short tussle, the gun had discharged and Ponch currently had a deep bloody furrow entrenched in his bicep. While it certainly hurt and was freely bleeding, it was far from being dangerous.
Both of his hands were tightly clenched as he stared angrily at the camera lens in the far upper corner and then purposefully back towards the one and only door. Other than one dark green cot more commonly used for camping and a small white sink, there was nothing. Once they'd been forced into the small room, Ray had been mysteriously quiet and Ponch sensed that they had actually been briefly left alone.
Behind him, Riku stirred weakly as if in pain. As before, two intravenous lines ran into his arms and the oxygen mask was in place with the portable tank stuck between the head of the cot and the wall. One IV held the antivenin and the other continued to run fluids however, his vital signs were crazily fluctuating.
"Well that's taken care of." The hollow voice intoned suddenly from one corner of the room and Ponch couldn't hide his startled reaction.
"I've moved your truck back here behind the stable. Away from any prying eyes. If there's any other equipment you may need from it, please don't hesitate to ask and I'll retrieve it for you."
Every so often, Riku would give out with a sharp, short barked cough followed by a shallow, pained inhale as if he'd suddenly lost his breath. The new sign was worrisome and Ponch had already rummaged through his medical kit for an ambu-bag, but he needed to know more. Focusing on that instead of what Frank said, Ponch used it to control his temper.
"What's going to happen?" Ignoring the explanation entirely, Ponch spoke loudly into the room knowing full well that Frank could both hear and see him. "I need to understand his symptoms to know if I can manage them."
From where he sat in the comfortable observation room, Ray smiled happily as he studied Ramirez. His friend was angry, but he was sure that the medical doctor would eventually understand. Ray was more than pleased because Riku was still alive. However, that fact only allowed a myriad of new ideas to readily take up residence in his mind. Working with Ponch could revitalize the original purpose of the coral snake project and such a novel idea gave him a new hope. He could do so much more with Ramirez by his side.
"Yes, it's meant to be." Ray whispered to himself as his smile deepened at the realization. The possibilities suddenly seemed endless to him and it meant that Riku would stay, too.
"We could be a very powerful team, you and I. It's something I should have though of even before today." Ray's elated voice thrummed again through the speakers and Ponch no longer restrained himself from expressing his true feelings.
"You're a lunatic!" Throwing caution to the wind, Ponch knew that Jazz would have done something by now for having missed an entire day's worth of work at the clinic. Upset about Ellen and worried for his newest patient regardless of his yet unknown involvement, he growled out his own demands while gesturing angrily towards Riku. "Tell me now what I can expect to have to deal with in here!"
"Take care of your arm first." Ponch froze in place at the unexpected request. "You're bleeding and you really need to dress that wound, Ponch. Do that, and then I'll explain what's going to happen to Riku."
Mired in place, he stood like a statue not even remotely interested in doing as Franklin Ray asked. It felt wrong, a subservient demand to even render him overly docile and he bristled against all of those feelings. Yet he did need to take care of the wound so in the very least, he was prepared to take Ray head-on later. And with the advent of that next time, he would have no intention of losing.
Scowling at the necessity, Ponch turned without a word to drop to his knees so that he could rummage through what was left of his medical kit. Ray had insisted on going through it to remove any implement that was sharp, such as his scissors, penknife and scalpel. He only deigned to leave the sterile needles meant for a syringe knowing that Riku could very well require adrenalin, sedation or added pain medication.
With ease, Ponch laid out gauze pads, medical wrap and antiseptic solution. Refusing to look, speak or give away any more than his tension already communicated, Ponch wiped the blood from his arm as he cleaned and then expertly wrapped the deep gouge using his teeth to rip bandages in lieu of his scissors.
Closing his eyes before rising to his feet, Ponch inhaled one long breath to steady his nerves and corral his temper. He would focus on Riku and await his next chance. It was all he could do until help arrived. Regaining his feet, he stood over the injured man intentionally giving Franklin Ray a bland view of his back before speaking loudly.
"Now, tell me, Frank. What the hell is going to happen to this man?" But there was no answer to his query. In fact, Ponch didn't even hear the faint flick of the switch indicating that the speaker had been turned on for Ray to reply. There was no mechanical hum. No background noise. Nothing.
"Damn it. Now what?" Ponch's whisper was to Riku who couldn't have answered if he wanted to. The lack of a reply was confusing and Ponch felt a tiny bit of his resolve waiver before he slammed it firmly back in place. He stood quietly, controlling his breathing as a different glimmer of a possibility teased his mind. Slowly, he actually began to smile.
The only reason Franklin Ray would have left them once again and so very soon, was because help had arrived.
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Outside the gates to the mansion, Danny stood between the Five-0 team's two vehicles. Chin and Kono sat patiently in one, but he and Steve had gotten out of the Silverado for a quick visual reconnaissance. Each of them was vested, ready to go and already displeased that their page to the main house had gone unanswered.
"When we get into this place, you can have the second floor." Danny muttered into the ground. On edge and fidgety for action, he couldn't keep the canopied bed from his thoughts. For his part, Steve had already banned him from the stables, calling HPD in to take care of that task. They waited now as two police cruisers traveled the dusty unpaved dirt road to the property's distant rear entrance.
"Not a problem, Danno." Steve lightly agreed. "Once we get in, you can have the entire first floor with Chin, while Kono and I go up. If we have to; let's just take one thing at a time."
As before, he knew Danny both required space but a certain amount of honest support delivered within his own terms. The stable had been one thing because it made sense for Five-0 to pay a direct visit to the main complex, but Steve nodded now without making a spectacle of the rueful comment. No matter what his response, Danny would have gone charging up to the second floor if the need ever arose.
The short story was that his partner was itchy and worried. It meant that Steve was virtually the same as he reflected a similar preoccupation.
"Thank you." Danny mumbled quietly, disgusted with himself for the persistent nagging feelings of déjà vu.
"We're in position, Steve." Sergeant Duke Lukela's voice boomed through their comm links. "We're well back from the building and there's no sign of activity, yet. But Steve … I have eyes on Doctor Ramirez's Suburban which is parked near the barn."
"Excellent." Steve breathed in appreciation because it certainly indicated that Ramirez had never left the property. Or if he had, then Franklin Ray was the responsible party. He looked up to find Danny staring at him though.
"Sure it's excellent until we have to tell Ellen." The tone was tired and fraught with worry as Danny clenched one hand into a tight fist. He blinked and shook his head as his stomach lurched at a remembered dream-state argument. However, his comment had made Steve begin to back pedal in apology which wasn't precisely what Danny had intended either.
"No, stop." Holding up one hand, Danny blew out a sigh because he hadn't meant anything by his words. "Before you say anything, yes I know that's not what you meant."
There was a huge but left lingering and Steve nodded to heave out a rush of air that sounded a lot like a strong affirmative. "We don't have to go there just yet, Danno. Let's get this done."
An idea crept through Steve's mind and a small smile slowly appeared on his face. "Hey." Shoulders slumped, Danny had already turned towards the truck. He had one hand on the door's handle when Steve smirked even more.
"What?" When Danny looked up distractedly, Steve cocked his head towards the house and then cupped his free hand to his ear.
"You hear that?"
"A thing? You want to do a ... thing? Now? Seriously?" Incredulous, Danny's dramatic eye roll took only a millisecond and then he was biting back a broad smile. It took him even less time to consider the option and he shrugged, happily sliding back into the big Silverado.
His unexpectedly quick reaction and the spark of a genuine smile left Steve standing alone by the truck's big front grill with his hands raised high in askance.
"Well, let's go." Mimicking his partner from inside the truck, Danny held his hands up as if wondering what his issue was for not moving. Pantomiming Steve getting into the truck by walking two of his fingers across the dashboard, Danny then patted the driver's seat. A stress-enduced surge of adrenalin pushed away everything except for the scary images which he attempted to ignore. Focusing instead on the one-sided smile slowly brightening his partner's face, Danny killed those shadows too for a moment as he put his own cupped hand to one ear.
"Happy now? I totally heard it, too. So unless you want me to do this thing, it's high time we all got to see what this bigass behemoth is really made of." Danny was smirking as he buckled his seatbelt firmly across his lap.
"Behemoth. I like it." With a laugh, Steve waved Chin and Kono back before bounding to the driver's seat of the larger Silverado where he purposefully put the truck into reverse so it was lined up precisely in the center of the thick wrought iron entrance gate.
"Ready?" The one word was all kinds of eager though he wasn't actually waiting for permission by that point.
"Neanderthal. Just do it, Steven!" Eyebrows raised for the gleeful smile plastered firmly across Steve's face, Danny braced himself for the coming impact just as his partner hit the gas.
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Ray had seen the Five-0 contingent arrive on the second set of cameras setup to manage the main entrance to his mansion. His shocked gasp when the first vehicle paused by the intercom to page the house, preceded a stumbled rise to his feet which toppled the chair he'd been sitting in. He hardly heard its resounding crash to the tiled floor as he bolted back to the main house in the van Riku had preferred to drive.
He had no plan because this wasn't supposed to have happened regardless of incarcerating Doctor Ramirez against his will. It was all happening too fast and Ray spun in place once he reentered the back entrance to the main house. His only thought was to save his children first. But which ones? He stood downstairs amongst them, out of breath and sweating profusely, wondering which to select for he thought he could just escape by plane with them.
"I have to save you." He was conversely whispering and then moaning out his words in frightful fits. "Four. Yes, I can take four of you." He could manage up to four by himself from their enclosures to the van and then out to the private airport. He could do that and run ... he could just leave Ponch and Riku. In fact, if he intended to save at least a few of his children that would be exactly what he would have to do.
"But the others." Moaning for their combined futures, Ray selected his first two which included the Black Mamba. But as he expertly captured and caged the truculent Mamba, he knew he was taking far too long. He was upset and drenched in sweat now as time ticked dangerously in his head. He couldn't take another; there would be no way.
"One. Just you? I can't have just .. one. No." Running shaky fingers through his hair, Ray's next feral groan was for his pending losses and he was near to tears. Without really thinking, he attacked the first enclosure, opening its side doors and then moving to the second. "Let them find you then. Let them have you all but on your terms, my loves."
Franklin let them all loose in his fit born of a frustrated sense of utter desperation. He smashed hinges and tore open enclosures lock by lock, fleeing as he heard a distant deep explosion from the front of the main drive. The sound proved that the authorities had indeed arrived and there would be no avoiding the truth if he didn't force himself to leave.
His final glance back, with only one cage in hand, was one of pure misery. The female Rhinkals was already on the move as the snakes took advantage of newly found freedom and shied away from each other for their differences. Ray watched as the Thai cobra reared defensively against a recalcitrant Eastern Brown snake.
His beloved children were angry and out for retribution. "Welcome them, now. Your way." It was the best that Franklin Ray could do and so, he ran.
~ to be continued ~