Chapter 11

"Officer Pretensky, Internal Affairs HPD. I'm here to see McGarrett." The pugnacious cop shoved his badge in front of the nurse's face before he closed it and returned it to his pocket without waiting for her response. As he walked away, he spotted the uniformed guard standing at the hospital door halfway down the hallway.

"But Mr. McGarrett is not to have visitors," the nurse called out to the short, stocky officer.

"I'm not here for a social call; it's business, baby doll," he answered as his partner fell behind him.

Pretensky greeted the officer and was again met with resistance but he pushed right through and into McGarrett's room.

"Damn, McGarrett," Pretensky said when he observed the IV lines and monitoring equipment hooked up to the sleeping head of Five–O. "Williams really sold you out good."

"Dan…no, is that you?" Steve called out when he heard Williams' name.

"Yeah, Danno. He's who I'm here to talk about," Pretensky said as he pulled out his note book and pen. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Danno," Steve mumbled and then groaned as he started to break through the fog of narcotics.

"Okay, let's try a different approach," Pretensky said as he rolled his eyes at his partner.

"Why does Williams want you dead?"

"Wh…at?" Steve said as he opened his eyes and looked around the room. He tried to sit up but someone had put a searing hot poker inside his left shoulder and forgot to take it out. His right hand, IV tubing trailing along, reached instinctively for his throbbing shoulder as he tried to calm the agony. "Danno? Dead? Oh God. How?"

"Williams is not dead. But he sure wants you dead. Do you know why he paid Big Chicken to kill you?"

"Big….Chick….en. Shot…." Steve swallowed hard as he fought the effects of the heavy dose of narcotics in his body. Bits and pieces of the shooting began to come back to him. Jenny! Her terrified face floated in front of his eyes and his heart rate increased, causing the cardiac monitor's incessant beeping to morph into rapid chirps in order to keep pace.

"Yeah, McGarrett. Big Chicken pulled the trigger but it looks as though Williams paid him. Found the gun Chicken used in Williams' locker. His prints and Chicken's were all over it. Now Williams has skipped town. We have a warrant coming and it won't be long now before we bring him in. One way or the other," Pretensky stated coldly. "Make it easy, McGarrett. Tell me what you were working on. Was it drugs, money laundering? What?"

Steve felt as if he were walking inside a thick fog bank. Someone was accusing Danno of…trying to kill him? No it was all too much, Steve reasoned. No way Danno would….

"Hey wake up, McGarrett. We're not finished."

"JUST WHAT IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING IN HERE?" Bergman's angry voice filled the room.

Pretensky turned to face the physician who looked ready to throw the clipboard he held in his hand at the stocky officer. Letting out an impatient huff, Pretensky drew out his badge and flashed it in front of the doctor's craggy face.

"That doesn't answer my question!" Bergman retorted.

"Now, you look here, Doctor, my partner and I are from Internal Affairs, HPD. If you'll just run along back to your office, we'll be able to do our job. The quicker McGarrett co-operates, the sooner he can continue with his nap," Pretensky drawled. A well placed smirk appeared on his face.

Bergman clutched the clipboard against his chest, took a deep breath, then looked Pretensky in the eye. In what he assumed was a cool and collected voice, he replied, "This is a hospital, not HPD Headquarters, Officer Pretzel!"

"Pretensky," the IA Officer corrected. His smirk slipped off his face as his cheeks reddened and his eyes began to bulge.

"I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE THE GOVERNOR OR THE QUEEN OF SHEBA. I WILL NOT HAVE YOU DISTRESSING ANY OF THE PATIENTS IN THIS HOSPITAL!"

Bergman's heated tone roseseveral notches, before he took a breath and continued in a lower voice, "Mr. McGarrett is a patient here and will be treated as such."

"Are you done here, Doctor?"

Bergman continued in a louder voice, "Furthermore, I must ask you and your partner to leave."

"And if we don't?" Pretensky's sarcasm was all Doc could take.

"THEN I WILL HAVE YOU BOTH THROWN OUT!" Bergman growled in retaliation. "And you know I am well within my rights to do so."

"Fine, but we'll be back and when we do, we'll slap you with a court order so fast, it'll make your head spin. Good day doctor," Pretensky threatened. He watched as Bergman's complexion took on a scarlet hue and the knuckles on his right hand went bone white from tightening his grip on the clipboard. Without another word, Pretensky purposefully shouldered past Bergman as he and his partner walked out the door.