Test of Will XI
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0, mores the pity.
Thank you again for all who have read this story. Those who have shared reviews with me, I am deeply grateful.
Chapter 11
Before the action began outside, Steve had moved carefully down the hallway. He approached an archway that indicated a larger room beyond and he could see a large metal door in the right wall. At the corner he halted and listened carefully.
Suddenly several shots could be heard outside the bunker, hitting the metal door. Steve knew he had to take action or whoever was outside would walk in to a shooting gallery. Pounding footsteps could be heard as McGarrett holding his rifle ready, stepped into the large room to face Kala charging out of a room ten feet away. The Hawaiian looked at McGarrett in shock and began to raise his rifle. Steve dropped him with one shot. He then swung his attention to the doorway that Kala had emerged from as Diego Sanchez stepped into view.
Diego's hand wavered, holding a handgun as he found himself face to face with the Commander standing just beyond Kala's body with a rifle in his hands.
"Drop the weapon Sanchez. Then move against the wall. Falcon, you do the same," Steve ordered sharply.
Diego raised his hands but did not put down his weapon. He took one step out of the doorway, aware that Leon was right behind him and had a gun of his own. Taking a second step outward and keeping a wary eye on McGarrett, he could feel Leon move with him.
"You are mistaken if you think you are in charge here Commander," Leon announced from behind his human shield.
"I said you should put your weapons on the ground," Steve repeated.
"It's two against one," Falcon reminded him.
"So which of you is willing to die for the other? Is that your job Diego?" Steve asked coldly. "Do you honestly think that I can't take both of you out before you can fire a single shot? You seem to enjoy underestimating me Falcon."
"Are you sure that we two are the only ones?"
"Well Kala is dead and Jay is tied up back in my cell, so yes I do believe that you are the only two in this bunker. There were shots fired outside and since Kala was the only one running for the door I think you are out of men. All that noise means the Feds have found where we are," Steve said smugly.
Diego felt a slight nudge in his back and knew what Leon wanted him to do. They had to make a move before the Feds came crashing in. They would need McGarrett as a hostage if they were to escape the Feds. He trusted that Leon would act and only he could provide the distraction that his friend needed. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he prepared to move.
"Now Leon," he cried out and brought his weapon down to fire while diving to his left.
McGarrett had been watching Diego and saw the man tense seconds before he made his move. He fired, his bullet slamming into Sanchez's shoulder as he dove. Diego's bullet missed his target and hit the wall behind where Steve had been standing moments before. Steve had fired on Diego and then immediately pivoted to bring his rifle to bear on Leon. Falcon had frozen, unable to react as fast as the Commander, his handgun was only partially raised to fire.
Standing there blinking in surprise, Falcon slowly raised his hands in the air. He couldn't believe that McGarrett could move that fast. It was now crystal clear that he had misjudged his ability to break McGarrett's will.
"I'm not going to keep repeating myself. Put your weapon on the floor and then kick it towards me. After that, do the same with Diego's gun and then you can see to his wound," Steve ordered, jerking his head toward Diego, who was huddled on the floor clutching his shoulder but never taking his eyes off Falcon.
Leon slowly crouched down to put his gun on the floor and then kicked it towards Steve. Rising he then went to where Sanchez's gun lay and did as Steve had instructed. Once that was done he went to Diego and crouched beside him. He could see that blood was coming from a wound on his right shoulder just below the collarbone.
"How are you doing amigo?" he asked softly.
"It hurts but I'll live," Diego answered through gritted teeth. "What do we do now?"
"Play it by ear," Leon said softly. "Stay alert."
Falcon helped Diego sit against the wall, keeping an eye on McGarrett and looking for an opening to make a move. Steve moved to the handguns and looked down to kick them further away from his prisoners. Leon jumped up, lunging for the rifle but Steve once again moved quicker and pinned him back against the wall, jamming the rifle under Falcon's throat with both hands. He also kicked out sideways, knocking Diego over on his side.
At the same moment the bunker door swung open. Steve risked a quick look over his shoulder and saw Lou and Danny rush inside, weapons ready. He smiled and eased the pressure on Leon's throat a bit.
"Hey guys, glad you could make it. I really could use some way to secure these characters, I seem to be missing my cuffs," McGarrett said cheerfully.
"Looks like someone is less in need of rescuing and more in need of cleanup," Lou said dryly.
Danny said nothing and handed his cuffs to Lou, who then moved forward to take charge of Falcon. Tani and Junior joined them, also keeping an eye on Diego as he continued to lay where Steve had kicked him. After securing Leon's wrists behind his back, Lou looked at Diego.
"You want me to cuff this joker too or should we try to stop his bleeding first?" he asked.
"Junior, check out that room there, see if there is anything that can be used to stop the bleeding. They called it the office so it may have something you could use. Tani, go outside and see if you can call for an ambulance. Your best chance at getting a signal is out there," Steve said issuing instructions to the younger members of the group. Both nodded and went to do as they were told.
"Are these two the only ones here?" Danny asked moving next to Steve. He looked McGarrett over from head to toe, taking note of his injuries.
"There's another one tied up in a room down the hall," Steve answered, nodding back and to the left from his position. "I took care of Kala but I assume there were more outside."
"Junior took out two who were standing guard and then we have a third cuffed inside a van out front," Danny told him. "You look in tough shape by the way."
"Thanks for letting me know. Kala mistook me for a punching bag but he is sorry about that now. I'm fine," Steve said looking down at the body.
"Of course you are fine," Williams muttered shaking his head. "You do realize you won't be able to see out of those eyes soon, don't you?"
"Don't worry about me, I just need some ice on them," Steve said shrugging off his concern.
"I told…"
"Don't say it," Steve cut him off sharply. He glared as best he could at his partner. "I knew all along what I was doing. I had a plan worked out with Marshal Terkel, who I assume you have met since you are here. I had backup. Where is Roy by the way?"
"There were two cartel locations with bunkers and they're at the other one. We lost your signal before they got you in this bunker. And why the hell didn't you tell me about the GPS chip?" Danny demanded.
"I was keeping the team out of the loop on everything for your families' protection. The less you knew the safer you were. I was prepared to handle whatever was thrown at me to give the Marshals time to move the Wong family," McGarrett said seriously. "And look, we now have Navarro's right hand men. This shuts the cartel down."
As they spoke, Junior had returned with some hand towels and was trying to staunch the flow of blood from Diego's shoulder. The man had paled and provided no resistance so for the moment he hadn't been cuffed. Not that any attempt to get away would have worked, Grover was still keeping guard.
Falcon sat against the wall scowling, furiously trying to figure a way to get out of this mess. He felt humiliated that he had underestimated McGarrett. Orlando would not be pleased that he had failed so miserably. Next to him, Diego submitted to Junior's attempt at first aid. He stared at the gun at the young man's waist but the close watch of the big man with a rifle made that thought suicidal. The truth was that Diego was not a man of physical action, he was a planner and supervised others doing the dirty work. Now that this had blown up in their faces, he wished he had convinced Leon that this was a foolish idea to begin with. Unfortunately they could not undo the day.
Tani came back inside the building.
"I got through to HPD barely, they are sending an ambulance and backup. They said that the Marshals should be here shortly," she reported.
"Good," Steve nodded. He looked at Junior who had finished tending to Sanchez. The man was once again sitting against the wall next to Falcon. Diego kept a towel in place against his right shoulder and his right wrist was now cuffed to Leon's left wrist. "Junior, what is the status of the two men you subdued outside?" he asked.
"One is dead and the other is unconscious and tied to a tree with some vines," Junior answered.
Steve nodded, a smile lighting his battered face. He was proud of how the young man had responded to the situation. He could see that the other three threw the kid looks of respect.
"I didn't hear any shots fired….." Tani began to comment and then looked sheepish. "Never mind," she muttered.
"Skills," Lou chuckled quietly.
Danny returned his focus to Steve. He could see the perspiration on the man's forehead and he guessed it was sheer willpower that was keeping him upright.
"You need to sit down before you fall down," he declared.
"I have been sitting. It feels good to be on my feet. I am thirsty though," Steve said stubbornly. He didn't want to be bossed around by his partner even though he did wish to get off his feet.
"There is water in the other room sir. I'll get it," Junior said quickly and rushed away.
"Steven…you really…"
Steve held up one hand and stopped Williams in mid-sentence.
"Do not tell me what I need. I sat through a beating to keep the Wong family safe. It was my choice and I stand by it. I would do it again to protect our witness. We succeeded here, the cartel is out of business. It's a win Danny, just go with it," he declared strongly. "I will be fine. I don't need a mother hen and I don't have to justify every decision I make." He walked over to Junior who had emerged from the room with a bottle of water and a towel with some ice in it.
Danny watched him walk away with a surprised look on his face.
"Let it go Jersey. He is a grown man," Lou advised quietly. "He knows you are concerned. He has his pride."
Williams swiveled to face Grover but held his tongue. Lou was right, Steve did know what he was taking on. It was just a need in Danny to try and save Steve from himself. And Danny couldn't even say why he insisted on doing that. Perhaps he hadn't dealt with the loss of his partner in New Jersey as well as he believed. He had a difficult time understanding why Steve was so willing to sacrifice himself and took all the risks he did. But for now he could back off of poking at his friend.
Steve accepted the bottle from Junior and took a drink. He then took the towel and moved to the wall on the other side of the doorway. Sliding slowly down it, he leaned back and placed the towel over his eyes. He was tired and his body was now beginning to ache all over as the adrenalin rush faded away. He had not wanted to admit to Danny just how his strength was fading but now he didn't care if anyone saw. The coldness of the ice in the cloth felt wonderful on his sore eyes. He savored the few minutes that he could just let his eyes rest. It was five minutes that passed before he lowered the cloth and looked at the others.
"Junior, take Tani and collect the man you left tied to the tree. The body of the other can be collected later by the Feds or HPD," he told the younger members of the group.
"Sure thing," Junior nodded and motioned for Tani to follow him.
After they left, Steve looked at Danny.
"Danny, can you go check on Jay, the guy I left tied up down the hall? I don't want him freeing himself. Bring him back here if he is awake," Steve requested.
"I live to serve," Danny rumbled, still upset with how Steve had cut off his concerns. He also saw the sense in bringing all the prisoners together. He headed for the room down the hall.
End chapter.
So it is almost over. With the upcoming holiday weekend and since I won't be near a computer as much, the next chapter will likely be delayed. I will work on it while in the northwoods so it shouldn't be too long of a wait. Thank you again for reading and a big thanks to those who review.