Ka Pio XII

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. I am eagerly awaiting the start of season 4 and having new episodes to watch. Is it September yet?

I think that life is now getting back to normal and if things don't go crazy again, I should be back to my regular posting schedule. Thank you for your patience.

Chapter 12

Time had lost all meaning for Lili Kwan. She sat in darkness, her wrists tied behind her back and her ankles bound as well. There was a dark cloth hood over her head and her shoulders ached from being held in an awkward position. Unable to see through the hood, she was able to sense that she was in a small confined space, most likely a closet. Shivering in fear, she tugged at her wrists bindings, trying to make them loosen. As she had discovered with previous attempts, they were too tightly tied and she then turned her attempt to removing the hood by rubbing against the wall closest to her. Tears streamed down her face as she reached the conclusion that it was pinned to her shirt and wouldn't budge.

Wearily she leaned against the wall and tried to find a comfortable position to sit. She had been disoriented ever since the large van had stopped next to her on her way home and someone had grabbed her, dragging her inside. A sharp needle had poked her arm and she had slid into unconsciousness. Once she had regained consciousness, she had discovered she had been tied up and this nasty hood was over her head. The people holding her only lifted the hood enough to give her water and some fruit along with crackers and peanut butter. If she resisted, she was punished and made to go hungry for what seemed like hours. Lili quickly adapted to the rules and no longer fought her captors so she was fed and given bathroom breaks

The woman in the group was her main caretaker and she was gentle if Lili cooperated. Lili was able to figure out that there were three others, two younger sounding men and one whose voice was harsh and older. Things had become tenser when one of the younger men seemed to go missing and there had been lots of yelling and then Lili had been put back in a vehicle and moved to this new place. It all seemed so hopeless to the little girl and she wasn't sure why they had taken her except she had overheard one conversation that was about her father. She prayed her daddy would come and find her, knowing that he had an important job and knew lots of policemen. Desperately she hoped that he had people looking for her and they would soon rescue her. Finally exhausted, Lili slid down to the floor and lay on her side, hoping that she could sleep and everything would be better when she woke.

*H 5-0*

McGarrett pulled the Camaro over to the side of the road on Koaniani Drive and parked. There were six houses on large lots between the corner and the Kaapana house. Chin stopped right behind the car and there was a SWAT van parked on the side street just around the corner.

"Well partner, are you ready to go rescue Lili?" Steve asked as he reached for the car door handle.

"More than ready. Remind me to thank the idiots for leaving their SUV in plain sight in the driveway. I like a criminal who advertises that they're home when HPD sends a helicopter over to check," Danny responded with a snort. "I guess Newalu didn't know we'd discover all the vehicles he owned before he was arrested. Hoku should have just bought something new for this kidnapping."

"Like I said…..amateurs," Steve nodded, his expression grim. "Once we move in we have to hope they'll be smart and just give in or this fight could get ugly."

"You do realize that they will most likely panic and start shooting, don't you? They may not be in awe of your military training and fight back," Williams replied with waving hands. "They may shoot first and think it through second."

"I'm aware of that Danno and that's why I said it could get ugly. So what do you suggest we do? Should I just politely ask them to surrender? I'm sure they'll just hand Lili over to us if we ask nicely."

"We…..need to pinpoint where everyone is in that house and then move in to extract Lili with as little fuss as possible. If Lili is alone in the room we suspect she is in, then we send Kono in after her. We arrest the others once the girl is safe," Danny explained as they exited the car and headed for the trunk.

"I agree that we use the sensors to locate everyone before we move. But…" Steve said as he reached into the trunk and extracted his vest, feeling Danny's eyes locked on him. "We do not want to risk anyone getting shot while crawling in through that small window. If they use Lili as a shield then we will have a whole new set of troubles," Steve pointed out as he fastened the straps on his vest. "I won't put Kono or Lili at risk that way."

"Still trying to push me through that window Danny?" Kono asked as she and Chin joined them. They had on their vests and were carrying the heat sensor and audio enhancing equipment.

"I can't help thinking that Lili will be less frightened if a woman shows up, that's all," Danny shrugged.

"Nice save brah," Kono chuckled. "If that window doesn't open easily, I'm sending you in first."

"Maybe they will give up if they find themselves outgunned. After all, they've lost one of their own," Danny quipped.

"Mokiao called us and ordered us to back off. I don't think he is inclined to give up easily. We had better be prepared to fight because this is too personal for Hoku to back down. We can try to reason with him but don't count on it," Steve answered. "Our main mission is to get Lili Kwan out safely."

"Then maybe we should go to the back of the properties from here and then head up towards Kaapana's house," Chin suggested.

"Before we move on this place we should have someone go house to house and make sure that everyone in these houses stays indoors. We do not need a curious neighbor interrupting this op," Steve instructed, pointing towards the homes nearby.

"I'm on it," Kono announced pulling a radio off her belt. She spoke to the SWAT captain and was assured that the problem would be dealt with. Moments later a uniformed officer jogged past them with a wave, while others could be seen setting up a roadblock at the intersection to keep traffic out.

Satisfied that the owners were going to be kept clear of the fight, Steve grabbed his weapon and nodded to the others.

"Let's move then."

Danny grabbed his own weapon and slammed the trunk shut and followed McGarrett to the back property line and the wooded area beyond. Once they were in the woods and knew that they could not be easily observed they made their way to a spot behind the Kaapana house.

"I just love how everything on this island becomes a jungle adventure," Danny groused as a branch slapped him in the face. "I think I need to carry a machete."

"We can arrange that," Steve remarked, recognizing Danny's need to let off some steam. "I'll let Denning know of your desire to carry a large sharp blade. Now can we focus?"

"Aye, aye Captain," Danny shot back.

"That's Lt. Commander to you," Steve ordered with a smirk. "Now let's get down to business."

Danny nodded and hurried to catch up with Kono and Chin. They positioned themselves behind the house and the cousins set about monitoring the house with the equipment they had brought along.

"I am getting four body heat readings," Chin announced as scanned the house from one end to the other. "There are two located in the kitchen/dining area, one is in the hall near the bedrooms and there is a smaller one in the room we thought that Lili might be held in."

Steve stared at the house, digesting the information.

"No one is going in that window while there is someone in the hallway outside. I will not risk it," he declared, not happy that this was going to be more difficult. He looked at Kono who was concentrating on the sounds from the audio sensor. "What are they saying?"

Kono clicked on the speaker while training the microphone on the kitchen area of the home.

"We need to move Hoku. I support your mission to free Kekoa but 5-0 is smart, they'll find us again," a young man's voice could be heard saying. "Kele is dead because of them. We underestimated them when we tried to take Williams' kid."

"They will not risk the Kwan child's life," a different voice responded.

"You don't know that. What if we are forced to kill the child, are you prepared to deal with the fallout for that? So far we are guilty of kidnapping but not murder. I lost a friend because you didn't take 5-0 seriously."

"Michael Kwan will not let 5-0 put his child in danger. He will stop them from looking for her. I will call him and tell him to make them back off."

He had barely finished talking when the cloned phone buzzed in Steve's pocket and then withdrew it to see a call to Kwan coming in. Steve waited for the DA to pick up the call and then he listened in.

"Yes?" he could hear the hesitant voice of Michael Kwan.

"You call 5-0 off…..if they come after us then Lili dies immediately."

"I can't call them off. They answer to the Governor. They are not under my jurisdiction," Kwan protested. "Please don't hurt Lili."

"Convince the Governor to call them off. This is the only warning you will get." Hoku demanded and broke the connection.

5-0 exchanged looks as the speaker once more let them in on the conversation in the house.

"See Hoku; let's take Lili back to Maui. We need to get off Oahu and find somewhere further away to hide the girl. We need to make it more difficult to find us."

"Shut up Hanale, I make the decisions in this family. Show me some respect. Go tell Alika to check on the child. Make sure she is fed and has taken care of her business. I will plan our next step," the older man could be heard commanding.

The four teammates exchanged looks.

"There is dissention in the ranks," Danny observed.

"Hoku is getting desperate," Chin added.

"No one is going in that window right now. They are on alert. Time for plan B," Steve decided.

"We go in through the patio doors by the lanai," Danny said. "We draw everyone down there before they get Lili out of that room."

"All but Kono. Once we have them distracted, she does go in that window but only once we have the three occupied," Steve decided. He looked at Kono. "Make sure we have them all busy, got that?"

Kono set down the audio scanner.

"Let's do this," she agreed.

End chapter.

Thank you for reading. Some chapters are just a struggle to write.