A few more chapters before the end. This one probably won't be as long as my other longer stories. But... There might be a sequel. More on that later. Thanks for the reviews and for reading this at all.
Chapter Eleven "Almost Over"
Steve hung up his phone with something like resignation. Kono knew that's not what it was. But she had already heard the story of Erikson and his nephew. The more recent details couldn't be that much worse.
But when Steve didn't say anything, Kono felt like she should ask. The silence wasn't good for any of them.
"Everything okay?" she asked.
"Not really," Steve replied, not looking at her. "Catherine and Eric are hacking military satellites to try to find this island. Technically, they both have clearance, but under these circumstances..."
"She's helped you before."
"And I never should have asked. Danny was right when he said that we cross too many lines."
"But if it leads them to Sam, isn't it worth it?"
"Maybe. But they don't think Erikson will actually hurt him."
"Why not?" Callen had come into the middle of the conversation and they remembered that he hadn't heard any of this.
Kono quickly recited all the information Eric, Nell, and Catherine had discovered, and Steve told him about their current activities.
"So the next logical move is to find out what Danny knows," Callen said.
"Yeah," Steve replied and looked down the hallway as if that could make the doctor materialize and tell them Danny was fine and ready to have visitors. It didn't happen.
Callen sat down and shared the food he had brought back with him. The three of them ate in silence, not really tasting, or thinking about what they were doing. Time passed irrespective.
Steve leaned back in his chair. His head rested against the wall and his legs stretched out in front of him. Kono and Callen hadn't moved, except to breathe in what felt like hours. Steve couldn't help his mind from wandering.
Maybe Danny was worse off than they thought.
Maybe they were too late.
Maybe Sam was already dead...
"Commander McGarrett?"
Steve stood up in one fluid motion and Callen and Kono weren't far behind him.
The doctor smiled softly. "You can see Detective Williams now," he said.
X
Danny could hear noises and they weren't sea noises. That was an improvement. They might have been hospital noises which was unfortunate, but better than the ocean by leaps and bounds.
Then there were muffled voices. He thought they sounded familiar, but there was definitely one he didn't know. Maybe a doctor.
Sam!
Danny suddenly felt everything come into focus. His eyes flew open, his side felt like it was on fire and his skin burned.
"Danny!" Steve's voice seemed to be in his ear. "Calm down; you're all right."
Danny felt himself being pushed down. It didn't seem right, until he realized he had been sitting up. So, maybe he wasn't as focused as he thought.
"Steve..." Danny's throat felt like steel-wool. Someone held a straw up to his lips and he felt cool water running down his throat. Much better. "Sam..." Danny whispered to be easy on his throat.
"We'll find him," Steve said. "We're looking for the island."
"It's... a long way," Danny said.
"What do you mean?"
"They took us on a boat—ship, and we didn't get there until dark."
"Okay, that's good. Anything else you remember?"
"It was small. Took me all of a couple hours to get from the fortress thing to the dock."
"What was the fortress like?"
"Uh... concrete. Big. A few stories high. I don't think there were any other buildings, but a lot of boats. I mean... There must have been thirty."
Steve nodded. "We know who owns them. It's only a matter of time before we find this island."
"Who... who's looking?"
"Catherine and Chin and a few people from Sam's team."
Danny finally looked around the room. He saw Kono at the foot of the bed, watching him intently. He gave her a weak smile. Then he saw another man, who was certainly not a doctor, standing on his other side. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and he looked tired.
Danny searched his mind for everything Sam had told him. The logical conclusion was, "G. Callen?"
The man gave a surprised smile. "Yes," he said. "How did you know."
"Sam talks when pressed."
"Really?"
"Maybe he was just tired of listening to me."
"Probably," Steve said.
"How do you feel," Kono asked, changing the subject.
Danny seemed to be thinking. "Not as bad as the sarin."
He saw the movement of Steve's head out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey," Danny spoke a little louder. "None of this is your fault. I don't care if those crazy people have some ax to grind against you. So stop."
"Stop what?" Steve asked.
"Feeling guilty." Danny turned to Callen. "You too."
"What?" Callen said, and Danny saw the calm mask slip a little from his face.
"You're glad I'm okay, but you'd really rather it were Sam here and you feel bad for wanting that. Don't. I wish Sam were here too. Personally, I think he'd prefer escaping to sitting in a cell, whereas, I am content to wait for someone to rescue me."
Steve shook his head, nearly laughing. "Good to have you back, Danno."
X
Eric seemed excessively nervous. Nell and Catherine both thought about asking him to do something else.
"We really shouldn't be doing this," Eric said for probably the tenth time.
Nell stood up straight, as tall as she could. "You really need to calm down," she said in a low voice. "We're doing this for Sam. You know for a fact that he would do the same for us."
Eric nodded to the side. "Yes," he said. "I didn't say I wouldn't do it."
Catherine smiled to herself. It was like all the times Steve asked her to do something. She always knew she would in the end.
"Look at this," she said, pointing at an image on the screen. "This looks like it fits Danny's description."
Nell bit her lip and gave the computer a command to bring them in closer. As the satellite image of the island came into focus, they could see it was the one they were looking for.
"That's it," Eric said, checking the thermal imaging on another monitor. "Looks like a lot of guards. Is that Sam?"
Nell looked at where he was pointing and nodded. "He's pacing," she said. "You can tell by the way he walks."
By this time, Kensi and Deeks had heard the conversation and come over to see. For a moment no one said anything, but watched the orange outline of their friend moving across the small space.
"He's limping," Kensi said.
"How can you see that?" Deeks asked.
"Like Nell said, his walk is unique."
"Right, so what are we waiting for?"
Catherine stepped away from the table and pulled out her phone. "Steve?" she said after a few moments. "We've found him... Yeah, okay... Good idea. He's okay?... Right. See you soon."
She hung up and turned to the other's questioning looks. Chin had come back from getting coffee by this time.
"Steve and Callen are on their way. Kono will stay with Danny. He's doing fine still."
Catherine saw the looks of hope on everybody's faces, even Chin who normally looked stoic. It was almost over.
