Here is the next chapter for U-Turn. Sorry it took longer than we hoped for. More notes at the end of the chapter.

U-Turn - Chapter 11

Kona Reef Resort
Early Wednesday Morning

Lou and Danny had gotten back to the room after they finished up with Tally and snatched a sandwich from the hotel kitchen. The nice young chef took pity on them and provided the much appreciated food.

They felt that they had nothing to show for the day. It seemed that every smidgeon of information they had received was soon disregarded or they had not been able to uncover any proof. It had made for a tediously long, relentless interrogation of Steve's attacker.

Danny sat down at the room's small desk and kicked off his shoes and yawned. "I'm going to try to do some research," he told Lou while trying to unsuccessfully stifle another yawn.

"That's fine," Grover told him. "I plan on using as much hot water as I can, but I'll be a mensch and try to save some for you. What's the research about?" He asked while he also kicked off his shoes and shed his shirt.

"Oh, that word that Steve said today. 'Nofrolot'. I've been trying to figure it out since he mumbled it. I feel like I should know what it means. Maybe something here will click with me. Do you think it is someplace he has been?" Danny rambled on, more to himself than expecting an answer from Lou. "I mean, there's a shitload of 'need-to-know' stuff Steve never talked about. Sometimes I think he says 'classified' just to annoy me. Anyway, I can't figure out what this word has to do with this case unless it is something he worked on with the other SEALs. Do you have any idea?" Danny finally looked up from setting up the computer.

Lou thought for a moment and shook his head. "I've never heard of it," he finally admitted. "Let me know what you find."

"Yeah, you'll be the first to know, I guess," Danny said while pulling his laptop toward him. "Steve, why can't you just make things easy and speak in real words," he muttered, waiting to access the search program.

Lou shook his head and disappeared into the bathroom. A minute later he allowed the hot water to cascade over his body as he went over the day's problems in his mind. Like Danny, he was puzzled by "nofrolot" and although it sounded familiar, he just couldn't put his finger on it. He kept sounding the word out in his head and finally the meaning dawned on him. He grinned, now totally understanding McGarrett's befuddled and drugged brain. He turned off the water, ready to see if Danny had also worked it out.

Grover opened the bathroom door and exited in the midst of the pent-up steam. He glanced at the desk and grinned. "How's it comin'?" he asked, seeing wadded up pieces of paper strewn on the desk.

Danny's hair was standing on end from the numerous times his hands had run through it. His pen was in his mouth as he concentrated on the screen. "I got nuttin'," he said around the ink pen. He spit out the pen and added, "I've tried Google, Bing, Yahoo, Ask and some crazy searches like Magellan and Inknomi. I thought maybe it was a city or a region of some country, but I've come up with nothing." He shook his head in frustration.

"Do you think he said 'Nefrolog'?" Danny asked Lou. "It's a medical term, but I thought we could run it by Wade to see if maybe it is a code name for something the SEALs were involved in. What do you think? Or there is 'Nefrolit'. That's another medical term but it is also foreign. There were lots of notations in the search sites that were in foreign languages. I'll need some help on that…" Danny grumbled under his breath.

Grover smiled at the chaos before him. He had been excited to tell Danny what Steve had said, but this was way too much fun to watch. The truth could wait another few minutes.

Lou tossed his towel into the closet and grabbed his phone. "I'm gonna make a call home," he said, heading toward the balcony. "Be back in a few." He closed the glass doors and chuckled, wondering, not for the first time, how McGarrett handled this craziness on a daily basis.

At the same time Hilo Medical Center, ICU

The room was dimly lit, the only sound being the low hum from the computer showing the latest scans that were done for Commander McGarrett.

"Dr. Brill," Kelly Kioni greeted the neurologist when she stepped into the room.

"Oh, hi Dr. Kioni," he said without taking his eyes off the screen.

"I hope you don't mind that I ordered the scan for McGarrett?" Kioni knew that Brill wasn't big on other doctors 'messing' with his patients.

"No, not at all. It was the right call. Sorry I was held up in the ER for that long."

Kioni took a double take at Brill, not being used to such nice manners. She would have sworn he even smiled. "Thanks. Anything on the scan? I was worried when we couldn't rouse him."

"Well, you can clearly see the hairline fracture here on the side," Brill said and pointed it out for the orthopedist. "That, and the severe concussion will give him grief for weeks to come."

"He was alert and had no neurological problems except a headache in the last 48 hours. He had no significant dizziness, trouble with speech or anything. He was even allowed to leave the hospital for a few hours, so why is he now unresponsive? Is there any bleeding?"

"No, his scan is good," Brill said. "There's no bleeding and no swelling, at least none that causes any reason to worry."

"So why-"

"He's not in a state of unconsciousness," Brill interrupted. "His EEG is showing a lot of activity. He is simply asleep," Dr. Brill told her with a smile. "Albeit he's deeply asleep and we need to monitor him closely."

"He's sleeping?" Kioni asked surprised.

"The adrenaline dump after the attack, the surgery with the anesthesia, the pain and medication, and also the general exhaustion was simply too much for the body. So, to protect him, it shut itself down."

"Did we over medicate him?" Kioni worried.

"No, he got what he needed at the time," Brill said. "I looked at his chart and agree with all he was given. But some people react differently to the muscle relaxant. But he also needed that one. So..." Brill shrugged his shoulders.

"He will be OK?"

"I expect him to 'sleep' for at least 12 to 16 hours," Brill gave his estimation. "But yeah, he should be OK."

"Thank you, Dr. Brill," Kioni said, and finally relaxed a little.

"I didn't do anything," Brill downplayed his role in Steve's care. "Although his head injury is severe and will give him trouble for a few weeks, it's nothing that should cause any problems in the long run."

"What about his memory?"

"Well, in most cases people don't recover the incident where they were injured. Often it includes hours, sometimes days before the initial injury," Brill explained. "The commander's loss of memory is a bit more than what we usually see, but nothing out of the ordinary. My guess is that he will remember parts leading to the attack, but probably not the attack itself."

"That would at least give his team something to work with."

"That's good. I hope they get whoever did this. I wanted to ask... do you expect him to make a full recovery? I saw the pictures of his fractured arm; that looked nasty."

"I did what I could, but we have to wait and see," Kioni answered. "There was not just damage to the bones, but due to the delay in treatment, also nerve and muscle damage. He at least will need extensive PT."

"Well, I hope it will work out," Brill said while closing the file on the computer. "I need to go back to the ER. I left a note to call me if there is any change with the commander. See you later Dr. Kioni?"

"Yeah, of course. And thank you again."

"Sure," Brill waved over his shoulder and left the room.

Kioni watched him leave and shook her head. That had been an almost friendly conversation, and for sure one of the longest she ever had with the neurologist. Shaking her head she also left the darkened room to go check on her patient. She also needed to call his friends, a conversation she wasn't looking forward to.

Five-0 Headquarters
Wednesday morning

"Danny, how's Steve?" Chin quickly asked when his call was answered.

Danny sighed and Chin could envision the detective running his hands through his hair. "I don't know, Chin. We had a call from Dr. Kioni this morning saying that he was transferred back to ICU during the night. She said it was just a precaution, but I don't know what to believe. Lou and I will go see him later."

"That doesn't sound good. How about his friends?"

"No changes there."

"Keep me posted."

"Will do. Did you find anything out on base?" Danny asked, hopeful for something that would make sense in this case.

"Not much, I'm afraid. Kono's on her way back so I'll know more soon. I stayed here to review footage from the airport on Sunday. They finally came through with the feeds. It took a while but I've found Steve and his friends when they arrived at the airport. They ate at Laniakea and that's where I am in searching the video. I'll continue to review the tapes to see if I can get a view of what might have happened. Something caused those guys to not make their flight back to Pearl."

"Keep digging," Danny requested. "Thanks, Chin."

"Will do," he replied. "Hey, wait a minute, Kono's back," Chin told Danny and then turned to Kono. "Any news? Danny and Lou are on the line."

"Not a lot," she said. "Hey, guys, how's Steve?"

"Not too good," Danny replied. "Did you find out what the guys were working on?"

"Not yet. The captain said they were here under pretense of a two-week training but were really involved in an intelligence breach. He got his orders from SECNAV and was told to allow them access to anything they needed."

"And he doesn't know anything?" Lou asked.

"Claims he doesn't," Kono replied. "But… I went for another angle."

"What's that?"

"I sent a text to Wade Gutches and asked him to meet us for lunch. Maybe he can find some answers."

"That's a smart move," Danny replied. "Let us know if you find out anything."

"Yeah, and keep us posted about Steve," Chin replied.

H50 - H50 - H50

Kamekona's Shrimp Truck
Wednesday Lunch

"Wade, thanks for joining us," Chin said when Commander Gutches sat down on the opposite side of the picnic table that was set away from the shrimp trunk, giving them the ability to speak without their conversation being overheard.

"Kono mentioned free lunch, of course I'm in," the SEAL said with a smile. "Where's the rest of your team?" he asked and glanced around looking for the others.

"That's why we called you," Kono said in a low voice. "How about we get our food first? I'm starved."

"Works for me," Wade agreed.

"Lunch is on me," Chin told him. "So enjoy."

"You probably shouldn't have said that," Wade replied with a grin.

After settling down with their food, Chin began to speak. "I won't keep you in suspense any longer, Wade. We need some Navy expertise."

Gutches nodded. "If it's something I can help with, you know I'm in."

"Do you know either Zac Wilson or Parker Dennison?"

The commander smiled. "Yeah, had dinner with both of 'em last Tuesday." He looked at both Chin and Kono and sobered. "What's going on?"

"Steve met them on the Big Island this past weekend," Kono told him. "All three were targeted and attacked… they're… all of them were hurt pretty badly."

Wade set down his fork. "OK, tell me everything. How bad are we talking?"

Chin gave him a rundown of their injuries. "Parker and Zac are both still unconscious; Steve woke up on Monday but as of today is back in ICU. They were worked over by at least a half dozen guys. In, what we figured were three separate incidences."

"Shit."

"Yeah, it's pretty bad."

"Do you know why they were targeted?" Gutches asked.

"We're hoping you can help with that," Kono told him.

"Me?"

"Yeah, do you know why the guys were at Pearl? We're trying to backtrack what they were looking for here," she told him.

The commander rubbed his hand over his face before picking up his fork once again. "Honestly, I don't know the real reason they were here." He glanced at them and added, "Really, I don't; with guys working Intelligence, you hear 'need to know' a lot. I didn't ask."

"Oh," Kono sighed, hoping for an answer that could help them.

"But," he continued, "That doesn't mean they didn't ask me questions."

"As in?" Chin asked, leaning his elbow on the table when his interest was piqued.

Wade took a bite of his scampi. "Park asked what I knew about the Supply Department. How things are logged in and out. Who does what." He shrugged his shoulders. "I really don't know much, but told him what I could. Like I said, I didn't ask questions. Do you think the attack is related to the reason they were at Pearl?"

Chin shook his head. "We really don't know anything but are trying to piece things together. Danny and Lou - he's a new guy – are on the Big Island trying to figure out what happened. We're trying to fill in the pieces here. Whatever happened, these guys were supposed to fly out on Sunday afternoon headed to Corpus Christi. They never made it off the island."

"I'll do some digging and get back to you," Wade told them. "It might not be much but I've got some guys I can trust."

"Thanks, Wade. We appreciate it."

"Anything for these guys. They're all good people."

"That they are," Chin agreed. "Do you want seconds?"

"No way," Wade said with a grin while digging into his food again. "But this is good stuff."

"Thanks for your help," Kono told him. "Lunch is the least we can do."

H50 - H50 - H50

"Chin, tell us something good," Grover said when he called headquarters after seeing a text indicating Chin had something for them.

"I think I can," he told him. "But first, any word on Steve?"

"He's still unconscious. Dr. Kioni promised to call as soon as there is any change," Lou explained what he had learned from the conversation they head with Steve's doctor. "But the good news is that Zac Wilson appears to be waking up. Doc said we should be able to talk to him later this afternoon."

"That's good news," Chin said over the phone. "We had lunch with Commander Gutches. He talked to both Zac and Parker last week, but doesn't really know what they were looking for at Pearl. It had something to do with the routing of supplies, but Wade is digging and will get back with us."

"Great," Danny said. "Anything else?"

"Who is Commander Gutches?" Lou interrupted.

"I'll tell you later," Danny told Lou. "Guys, anything else?" He repeated his question.

"Yeah," Kono said. "Chin found a lot from the airport videotapes."

"Let's hear it," Grover requested.

"Like I said earlier, the guys had a late breakfast at a restaurant called Laniakea. They arrived around 11:15 and got ready to leave around noon. During that time, Steve made some notes on a paper, a napkin or something. He put it in his shirt pocket when he left. Looks like an argument ensued over who was paying and Wilson won… or lost, whichever way you look at it."

"We need to check Steve's belongings when he was brought into the hospital," Danny said.

Grover shook his head. "Nah, I heard the sheriff say they have everything in evidence. We need to talk to him."

"Yeah, good," Danny agreed with a nod. "Is there any more, Chin?"

"The guys shook hands at the doorway of the restaurant and Steve walked away. I watched the others walk toward the shuttle flight area presumably for their trip back to Pearl."

"Here's where it gets interesting," Kono interjected.

"Yeah," Chin agreed. "They set down their bags and Parker headed to the restroom. Five minutes later I pick him up on the video again, walking out of the restroom with another man. By checking three different video feeds, they go outside where these two get into the back seat of a taxi. I have a partial plate."

"Could you see a weapon? Was he coerced?" Danny asked.

"I didn't see one, but yeah, he wasn't going willingly, I can tell you that," Chin replied.

"We'll get someone on this end to look into the taxis so send us that info."

"Got it, that will help," Chin replied.

"How about Wilson?" Grover asked.

"After a few minutes, Zac keeps looking at his watch and then down the hallway, looking for his friend. I'm sure they had called the flight because it was set to leave at 12:40. He stands up and grabs both bags to head to the restroom when a security officer stops him. Wilson took off with the officer, heading toward the restroom. When they come back out, they also head out the door. And that time, we did get a glimpse of a gun as they were getting into another taxi. No way to get the number from the angle that time."

"Any good face shots of the perps?" Grover asked.

"I'm sending them right now. Hopefully it is something you can use."

Danny's phone dinged and he opened the text, smiling at what he saw. He angled the phone so that Grover could also see the man dressed as a security guard.

"Well, lookee there," Lou said. "Chin, you just made my day. I think it's time we go back and have a nice little chat with Raymond. That boy sure likes to play dress up, don't he? First a guard and then a nurse. He's just a jack of all trades."

"I'll let you know if we hear from Wade," Chin told them. "Keep us posted on Steve?"

"Will do," Danny replied. "We'll check there after we go to the sheriff's office. Thanks, guys."

H50 - H50 - H50

"Oof! Hang on… this guy weighs a ton."

Yeah, I know, and it's dead weight. Get it? 'Dead' weight," the voice snickered.

"Didn't the boss say to leave 'em breathing and let fate kill them off?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Cause I'd hate to steal a watch off of a dead guy."

Steve slowly came to the surface after his dream and tried to open his eyes, but soon decided the task wasn't worth it. He was awake enough to realize he had finally remembered something and he knew where he had heard the voice before.

He also knew that same guy had stolen his watch. It had been a gift from Catherine and he was going to fight to get it back.

With his foggy mind he realized they must have him on something strong. He was lying on his side and he knew someone was in the room with him. Steve tried to fight through the sluggishness to wake up, hoping to hear his friends' voices. Instead he felt a hand rubbing his shoulder and heard a soft voice beside him urging him to relax.

He didn't want to relax; he needed to help them with this case. But it seemed he had no choice; Steve thought, realizing he was slipping back into the fog.

H50 - H50 - H50

"Sheriff, we meet again," Danny said from the doorway of Ken Salomon's messy office.

"Come in, guys. Set the files on the floor and have a seat."

Lou did just that, setting a stack on the floor by the chair. "You got a system or what?"

"Sure I do, it's called chaos," the sheriff shot back. "How's the commander doing? My deputy said they took him back to ICU. That was after he got his ass chewed for leaving his post last night."

"Yeah," Danny told him, slouching into a chair and running his hand through his hair. "They said it was just a precaution, but they're watching his head injury."

"What can I do you for this time?"

"Oh, it is what we can do for you, Sheriff," Lou said with a grin when Danny passed his phone over the desk for Salomon to see.

"We pulled airport footage from Sunday," Danny explained. "Got a photo of the person who ushered Zac Wilson out of the airport. Anyone you know?"

Salomon leaned back in his chair and smiled. "I'm gonna enjoy talking to that boy again. Want to join me?"

"Not just yet," Lou told him. "There's more. Both guys were taken out of the airport and put into taxi cabs. We've got a partial plate. Anyone around here who can start checking that out?"

"You got it. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Steve's clothes and stuff were brought here for forensics, right? We need to get a look at his things."

"Sure, I don't think they've come up from the lab yet. Let's take a walk. Looking for anything particular?"

"Chin, our guy back home, said Steve was making notes on a napkin at the airport Sunday morning. He slipped it into his shirt pocket. Just wondered if it was still around."

H50 - H50 - H50

The three stared at Steve's belongings laid out before them on the table.

Dusty tan boots with some blood splatter and other unknown stains. Jeans which were still covered in dirt and dust, both legs cut from ankle to waist; a bloody tee shirt and buttoned-down shirt, also cut to shreds. And a pair of navy blue socks and underwear. Everything still held the stench of the dumpster, reminding Danny and Lou just how lucky they were to have even found their friend.

"Shit," Danny breathed, staring at everything. A Ziploc bag held some personal items. Steve's wallet, badge and watch were gone, but the small bag held a silver chain and the napkin which was mottled with smeared bloodstains.

Grover snapped on gloves and reached in the bag for the napkin, pulling it out by one corner. The chain came out with it and he picked it up from the table, holding up the ring for Danny to see. "He really loves her, doesn't he?"

"Huh."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Lou asked

Danny shrugged. "Well, I mean, she left him, you know. It's been a year. He should get over it."

Lou looked at Danny like he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Do you even hear yourself? You can't just turn off your love for someone." He paused, then quickly added, "Maybe you can, but I'm sure if Steve commits to something, then he commits," Lou said with conviction. "I've only known them for a short time, but even I could see what that woman means to Steve. Why can't you?"

Salomon looked from one to the other, clearly not following the conversation. Danny glanced in his direction and shook his head. "Maybe because I live in the real world," he shot back. "Now, can we focus on the napkin?"

Grover huffed, but turned the napkin over. "1900 – Airport Cargo – Ben C," he read.

"That's it?"

"Would you like to read it?" Lou asked, shoving the paper close to Danny's nose. "That's all he wrote."

"Well, that tells us squat," the sheriff surmised. "We have the time, location and person. We learned the vic was Ben Carson and he was employed by Airport Security so we already knew all of that."

"Steven," Danny grumbled while shaking his head. "I think it's time your wonky brain woke up and decided to work again."

"Yeah," Grover agreed. "Or maybe one of the other guys will wake up and know what's going on."

"Have you heard anything further from Wilson?" Salomon asked.

Danny shook his head. "Not yet. Doc said he would have someone call when he could speak with us. Seems like all we do is hurry up and wait. Ken, do we have a warrant to search Tally's premises?"

"Not yet, but it's coming. Should be this afternoon. How about we go and tell him the good news that he's busted big time?"

"I can hardly wait," Grover agreed, putting the napkin back into the evidence bag. "Sheriff? Has this been processed?" Lou asked and held up the chain with the ring.

"Yeah, you can take his personal belongings if you want."

"Thanks," Grover answered and pocketed the ring while ignoring the look he was receiving from Danny.

H50 - H50 - H50

"Hey, Danny, I've got a question for you," Kono said into the phone.

"Ask away," he told her while they headed back to the sheriff's office.

"Have you seen Steve's laptop?"

"No. It's not with his stuff in the hotel and I'm sure the rental car was also checked. Why?"

"It looks like Steve was doing some research on Sunday. I can see where he tapped into our secure server, but without his computer we can't track what he looked at."

"Hey, Ken," Danny called, seeing the sheriff was off his call. They had again reached the office and Danny dropped into his seat. "There wasn't a laptop in Steve's rental car, was there?"

The man shook his head while pouring himself another cup of coffee. "No, but the trunk had been popped so if there was anything in there, it's gone. Is it important?"

"Could be," he replied, and then spoke into the phone, "Sorry, Kono, it isn't here."

"Yeah, well, I was afraid of that. Anything else new?"

Danny sighed. "No, not yet. Anything from Wade?"

"Still waiting," she replied. "Later."

"What was that all about?" Lou asked when Danny released the call.

"Kono said Steve had accessed the work server on Sunday afternoon. But without the laptop, we don't know what he was looking for."

"Another dead end to add to the list," the sheriff grumbled. "Just heard from the lab. Neither of the phones we found gave us anything. Since they were burners, it was a long shot, but I was hoping we could at least get some bit of information from them."

Grover leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hand behind his neck. "I might have an idea," he told them.

"The floor is open for suggestions," Ken told him, sitting back down behind his desk.

"We're holding both Tanaka and Tally and we know they are both involved. Up to their eyeballs, is my guess. What say we play them against each other?"

"Tell us more," Danny requested.

H50 - H50 - H50

A/N You have to mostly thank Cokie for this chapter, she's the driving force behind our writing at the moment. :-) What she really wants to say is that I bugged the crap out of her…

There is just one more chapter to go, and if everything goes according to plan, you will read it before the new season starts. Thanks for reading, and we hope you enjoyed this Steve-light chapter. We promise he will be back soon.