From his position in concealment, much further away than he was happy about, Steve was frustrated that he couldn't hear the conversation between Danny and Leadbetter. Unfortunately, the man was too skilled to stay close to anything that might hide an assailant and Steve did not want to reveal himself and destroy any progress that Danny might be making.
When the indistinct figure with the gun appeared from nowhere on the other side of the road, Steve bolted from his hiding place, but he was already too late. The first shot had been fired and Danny was tumbling into the road. Forgetting the need for concealment, Steve raced towards them, knowing in his heart that he would be too late. Danny would die under the wheels of the car that was racing towards him, going far faster than the speed limit surely. "Danno!" he screamed.
Time seemed to slow, as Leadbetter threw himself at Danny, catching him under the arms and propelling both of them further onto the road. The car's brakes were screeching and it was fish-tailing all over the road. Steve felt as though he was running on the spot and getting nowhere as disaster bore down on his closest friend.
Moments later, Leadbetter and Danny crashed onto the road, rolling over and over. The car came to a stop, blocking Steve's view of his friend and he found his heart was in his mouth as he skidded to a standstill by the vehicle. The man who was driving the car was clinging to the steering wheel, his face as white as a sheet. "It wasn't my fault," he stuttered.
Steve had no time to spare for the distraught driver, yet he knew he had to say something. "I know," he replied, only belatedly aware that he had snapped when he should have soothed. "Stay there."
Rounding the car with his heart in his mouth, Steve found Danny on the road, just climbing to his feet. Of Leadbetter, there was no sign at all. At the moment, that didn't matter. All that mattered was his friend and Steve rushed to his side, unsure if he was going to help Danny or stop him from moving. "Danno!"
"I'm all right, Steve," Danny replied unsteadily. He rose shakily to his feet and was glad when Steve grabbed his arm in a show of support. "I'm fine."
The knee of Danny's suit pants was torn and the skin underneath was abraded and bleeding. His palms were covered in road rash and there was a raw patch on the point of his chin, but Danny was right; he hadn't been hit by the car and that could only be thanks to Brian Leadbetter.
Drawing a couple of deep breaths and regaining most of his usual calm, Danny glanced around. "Where's Leadbetter?" he asked. "He saved my life."
"I don't know," Steve replied. He glanced all around, seeing that the gunman had also vanished. "Go and sit down." He gestured around. "I'll deal with this mess."
"I'm fine," Danny reminded his boss, but Steve was adamant and Danny found himself sitting on the kerb while Steve reassured the driver who had nearly hit him that he was no in way to blame for the near accident. Danny probed his bleeding knee and decided that the damage to it was superficial, although his suit pants were beyond help. He felt shaky and sore and he was mad clean through that Leadbetter had disappeared. He owed the man his life and he wanted to help him. He wondered if he would get another chance.
With the car driver mollified, reassured and calm enough to drive, Steve sent the man on his way. He walked back to Danny, realising that darkness had fallen. It was impossible in the light cast by the street lamps to tell if Danny was pale or not, but either way, Steve knew their day was over.
"I'm not going to the hospital," Danny announced as Steve approached. "It's just a few scrapes."
Not commenting, Steve looked at him, but Danny did not back down. "Did I say anything about the hospital?" Steve enquired mildly. He helped Danny to his feet.
"I know you," Danny reminded him. He wanted to shake off Steve's supporting hand, because he really was fine and could walk by himself, but he didn't do that, because he knew that Steve needed the reassurance that Danny was fine and a helping hand under his elbow was a discreet way of doing that. The iron man of law enforcement had a very soft centre.
"Did you see Leadbetter run off?" Steve asked.
"Not really," Danny replied ruefully. "I was too busy rolling around on the road."
"What did he tell you?" Steve asked and Danny repeated the conversation. "You have to wonder who this person is that Leadbetter saw committing this crime," Steve mused after Danny had finished. "And what kind of crime it was."
"I wonder where he went," Danny sighed, looking around as though expecting Leadbetter to materialise out of the undergrowth. "I said I'd help him."
"I don't know where he went, but we keep looking for him and hope that he contacts us again." Steve opened the passenger door of his car. Danny baulked.
"Steve, I'm fine," he protested. "I can drive myself home quite easily."
"Humour me," Steve growled. "We can collect your car in the morning."
"I'm not going to the hospital," Danny reminded his boss as Steve gently shoved him into the car.
"I know," Steve replied through gritted teeth. As he climbed in behind the wheel, Steve reflected that his promise did not mean that he wouldn't be doing some first aid when he got Danny back to his apartment. He keyed the engine to life and swung out of his parking spot and into the traffic.
They hadn't gone more than a few yards when the radio squawked out Steve's name. Danny passed the mic over and Steve answered. It was a call from the HPD officer who was guarding Richard Collins. "Mr McGarrett! I've been trying to get hold of you or Mr Williams. I went to the can and when I came back Mr Collins was gone!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They raced through the dark streets of town and neither man's thoughts were comforting. What had happened to Richard Collins? Could someone have taken him thinking that he was Leadbetter? But who? Danny was infuriated that he had been unable to get more information from Leadbetter and even more annoyed with himself that his careless tumble into the road had caused them to lose their most important suspect – or was he a witness?
As they screeched to a halt outside the safe house, the cop on duty hurried out to meet them. His expression was a mixture of fear and relief. "What happened?" Steve demanded.
"He's back," the cop bleated. "Just a minute ago." He led the way inside and both Five-O detectives followed closely on his heels.
Richard Collins was standing in the living area of the bungalow and he looked totally perplexed. "Mr Collins!" Danny exclaimed, relief overwhelming him as he realised that the man was unharmed. He felt again the same confusion he had felt while talking to Leadbetter. It was as though the man he had just been talking with had suddenly appeared here, in different clothing. "Where were you?"
"I went out for a walk," Collins replied. "I wasn't gone that long."
"Why didn't you take your protection officer with you?" Steve demanded, furious with the man.
"I'm not under arrest," Collins protested. "I was only going for a walk."
"You've got a protection officer for a reason," Steve hissed. "Did you think it was just for show? Your life could be in danger if the person who is after your brother mistook you for him! Or didn't you think about that?"
For a moment, Danny thought Collins was going to start shouting back at Steve and he winced, not in the mood to intervene between the two angry men, but Collins suddenly seemed to think about what Steve had said and suddenly looked abashed. "No, I didn't think about that," he agreed lamely. "How embarrassing. I'm so sorry to have caused so much trouble."
Leaving Danny to deal with Collins, Steve turned his attention to the luckless protection officer and led him out of the room to find out exactly how long Collins had been gone. Danny didn't envy the cop. "Mr Collins, I thought I made it clear to you that you could be in danger here?" he reminded the man.
"Yes, you did," Collins agreed. "But I didn't see the harm in just going for a walk. After all, nobody knows I'm here, do they?"
"We don't know that," Danny argued. "We don't know who is behind your brother's disappearance and they could have eyes and ears all over the place. The airport is the obvious place to watch for arrivals and it isn't as if you and your brother don't look alike. Please, stay here with your guard, for your own safety."
"All right," Collins agreed grudgingly. He looked Danny over. "What happened to you? You look like you lost a fight."
"Nothing for you to worry about," Danny replied. He was suddenly wary of telling Collins he had just been speaking with Leadbetter, although quite why that should be he wasn't sure. "I'm fine." He turned to leave, seeing that Steve was finished 'chatting' with the cop. "And please don't leave here without an escort."
"Yes, yes," Collins replied impatiently. "I get the message." He gave Danny a sour look.
Exhaustion swept over Danny as he joined Steve by the door. Steve gave Collins a cold look. "I hope you take Detective Williams' words on board," he suggested as they took their leave.
"Yeah, yeah," Collins said again and Danny was no more convinced that the man would do as he was told than he had been the first time Collins 'agreed' with him.
