Chapter 11

Nate felt slightly ridiculous sitting high up in a tree watching the Reilly's home, but this position gave him a good vantage point of the area surrounding the house. He had this nagging feeling that Keller was going to come after Natalie and he was concerned that the undercover HPD officers positioned around the house would not offer adequate protection.

On the street below Nate saw a young couple approaching "his" tree. They stopped underneath him.

Out of all the trees they could have stopped under, Nate thought. It had to be mine.

He rolled his eyes as their whispered conversation reached his ears.

"I…um…like you…" the young man stammered. "Like I really…um…think I…I…"

Nate had to smother a laugh.

Just say 'I love you', Nate thought. Or, 'I love you more than words can say'. Better yet, get out from under my tree!

The couple of course was oblivious to his presence and the young man continued his pitiful declaration of love.

A movement in the Reilly's yard caught Nate's attention and he raised his night vision binoculars to get a better look. A man was stealthily crossing the lawn. Nate was sure it wasn't one of the HPD officers, they were still at their posts or so he thought. He moved his binoculars to the different locations where he had spotted them earlier, but from what he could see they appeared to be either sleeping or something far worse.

He had to get out of this tree; Natalie needed him. He looked down at the young man who was still babbling on trying to tell his girlfriend how much he loved her.

Will you just leave already! Nate screamed in his head. Oh, forget it!

He climbed down the tree and jumped the last several feet to the ground. The startled couple spun around.

Nate looked at the young woman and donning his best English accent he said, "What he's trying to tell you is he loves you more than words can express."

Then he disappeared into the darkness leaving the perplexed couple behind.

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

"Run!" Steve ordered as he gave Alex a push forward.

He knew there was someone coming up behind him and he wanted to put himself between the attacker and Alex. He spun around switching on the light of his gun and caught a man wearing night vision goggles in its beam. The man immediately threw up his hands as the light blinded him and Steve took that opportunity to rush forward. He launched his fist into the man's stomach and as he doubled over in pain Steve whacked him on the head with his gun. The man slumped to the floor of the terrace unconscious.

Steve had subdued the attacker, but before he realized it two more came at him from opposite directions. The men were not huge, but they were fast. Steve went to block a punch from the one on his left while the man to his right knocked the gun from his hand.

Steve hoped Alex was safely out of the way, but he hardly had time to think about it. The man on his left sent a kick to the back of his leg causing him to stumble to his knees. Before regaining his footing Steve received a hard blow to his stomach. He struggled to breathe for several seconds as the other man directed another kick at him. Steve managed to grab hold of the man's leg twisting it outward which threw the man off balance and he fell to the ground. Steve jumped to his feet blocking a punch from the other attacker and countered with his own.

Alex knew she should listen to Steve, but she couldn't leave him alone. Looking back she was just able to make out his outline as he fell to his knees. She rushed forward to try and help him when another man appeared. Taking a defensive position, she waited for him to attack when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind. Unable to move her arms she raised her right leg and slammed the heel of her shoe into the man's knee, causing him to curse vehemently and loosen his grip. Breaking free, Alex did a swift half turn and hit him on the side of the head with her fist making him stagger sideways.

Her freedom was only temporary as the other man grabbed her and placed a cloth over her nose and mouth. She struggled to get out of the man's grasp, but she could feel the anesthetic beginning to numb her mind.

The last thing she saw was Steve being knocked to the ground once more. She saw his face in the beam of light shinning from his gun that lay on the ground next to him. His eyes were closed and he wasn't moving, but she didn't have time to panic before she drifted out of consciousness.

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Before the lights went out Danny had been casually keeping an eye on Steve and Alex through the window. When Steve had taken Alex in his arms Danny had felt awkward and looked away. He regretted that decision now as he stumbled in the darkness among the chaos of the confused guests, trying to find the door that led to the terrace.

The lights came on as he reached the door. Hurrying out onto the terrace the first thing he saw was Steve slowly pushing himself off the ground. Danny noticed blood oozing from a cut on his forehead. Then he saw the unconscious man lying on the ground ten feet away.

Alex was nowhere in sight.

"Steve, are you alright?" Danny asked running up to him.

Steve didn't respond, but instead picked up his gun and surveyed the area. He spotted one of Alex's shoes on the pathway that led to the front of the building and he took off running in that direction while Danny yelled after him.

As Steve ran he cursed himself silently for being so lax with Alex's safety. He rounded the corner of the building in time to see a car door closing. Running forward, he jumped onto the hood of the car as it began to pull away. He could see Alex slumped over in the back seat.

Pulling out onto the road the driver started swerving the car back and forth trying to loosen Steve's grip, but he held tightly. Steve wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew he couldn't let them take Alex away.

The driver suddenly took a hard right turn into a parking lot and Steve's body slid to one side, causing him to lose his grip and he tumbled to the ground. The car spun around and it came charging back to where Steve lay. He barely had time to roll out of the way before the car zoomed passed him. There was nothing he could do but watch as the vehicle disappeared, taking Alex with it.

* * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Nate had just crossed the street when he saw car headlights illuminate the night. He quickly dropped to the ground and rolled into some bushes. The car came to a stop at the end of the Reilly's driveway and a man stepped out and walked quickly toward the house while his accomplice stayed in the driver's seat to ensure a fast getaway.

Nate shifted slightly trying to get away from a branch on the bush that was digging into his side. He hated having to sit here and watch, but he couldn't just barge into the house because Natalie might get hurt. Nate's only comfort was that as cruel as Keller might be he wasn't heartless enough to kill his own daughter. Nate was sure he wanted nothing more than to have Natalie back again.

A plan formulated in Nate's mind and he knew it was the only way he could proceed. He pulled himself out from under the bush and crept over to the rear of the car. He waited for a moment to make sure the driver hadn't seen him before he slipped off his backpack and rummaged through it pulling out what he was looking for.

He was just taking his hand out from under the car when he heard footsteps coming toward the vehicle. Retreating into the bushes once more he watched as one man opened the car's back door while another placed Natalie's limp body on the back seat.

At the sight of the little girl his heart wrenched. He didn't know why, but from their brief meeting on the beach she had endeared herself to him. She accepted him without question. Not even his own brother could do that.

Nate watched as the car drove off and hoped his plan would work.

* * * * * * H50 * * * * * *

Steve stared down the road where the car had vanished. He couldn't believe he had lost Alex. He had to remind himself to breathe because he felt like he was being suffocated by grief.

It just wasn't right; something had been nagging at him since the beginning of this case. There had to be more to this whole ordeal than he realized. Why did Keller wait until now to eliminate Alex? As far as Steve knew he hadn't attempted anything since China. What was the link that connected China four years ago to Hawaii right now?

Suddenly everything made sense.

How could I be such an idiot? he thought putting his hands over his face. I'm the link. I'm the one that Keller is really after, not Alex.

Keller had purposefully waited until Alex had come to Hawaii to make an attempt on her life, but that had only been a smokescreen. He knew that Steve was here and because of Hannah Reilly's connection with the governor, 5-0 would be handed the case. Everything that had happened from the shooting until now had been done to provoke Steve.

Steve knew this wasn't about the two bullets he had fired into Keller's chest. It wasn't a simple "you shot me and I'll shoot you" revenge, it was "you stole something precious of mine and I want her back". That something was a little girl named Natalie.

Steve had not intentionally stolen Natalie's affections, but she had willing given them to him. She had decided early on that Steve was "Daddy", thus leaving her real father feeling betrayed.

"Steve, are you alright?" Danny asked as he came running up to him.

It was a question that didn't need to be asked; Steve didn't look alright. His tuxedo was now wrinkled, ripped in several places and covered in dirt and blood.

Steve looked at Danny with a blank expression and wiped the blood from his forehead and mouth. He had so much going through his mind at that moment he felt like it would explode. Danny seemed to understand that Steve needed some time, so they began walking back toward the hall in silence. HPD squad cars were coming to a stop outside of the building by the time they reached it.

"Did you get a license number?" Danny asked his partner.

Steve shook his head. "There wasn't one."

"Okay, well, I'll get an APB out with the description of the car. Did you see anything else that might be helpful?"

"No, I was too busy holding on," Steve said wiping a hand over his face in despair.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. Chin and Kono have the guy you knocked out in custody, so we can question him."

"Danny, this is all my fault."

"What do you mean? This is not your fault."

Steve had the most agonizing look on his face and Danny thought he was going to see his partner fall apart before his very eyes.

"Steve, we are going to find her," Danny said firmly, but Steve only shook his head. "Listen to me! You need to keep it together, okay; we are going to find her." Steve began walking away. "Hey, where are you going?"

"I have to make sure Natty is alright."

"I already called in she's fine," Danny informed him.

"I need to check for myself."

"Steve, we need you here right now. Alex needs you."

Steve stopped and took a deep breath. He knew Danny was right, Natalie was safe and he needed to focus on finding Alex.

* * * * * * H50 * * * * *

The governor's party had ended prematurely due to the circumstances and the guests now stood in groups speaking in hushed tones waiting until they were told they could leave. Steve and Danny entered the building, catching the attention of several of the guests, including Hannah Reilly.

"You!" she said venomously, running toward Steve and holding her clenched fists in the air. "Do you see what you've done? It's your fault that Alex was taken."

Steve swallowed hard. If Hannah had been paying attention she would have noticed his anguish filled eyes and his face that held the look of a man who had just lost his greatest treasure.

"Why couldn't you have left my baby girl alone?" she cried out. "You ruined her life!"

Hannah began pounding her fists on Steve's chest, unleashing her fury upon him. It was as if she was hammering the last nail into his coffin.

Steve stood there accepting the blows from her; both verbally and physically, because he felt responsible for Alex's abduction and he knew Hannah had no knowledge of the real life that her daughter led.

"Hannah," Henri said coming up behind his sobbing wife.

He took her arms and folded them against her chest as he gently pulled her away from Steve. Hannah collapsed in her husband's arms, wailing mournfully.

"Steve, what the hell is going on?" Governor Jameson demanded as she stormed over to him.

Acting as a buffer Danny put himself between the governor and Steve in an attempt to save his partner from anymore grief.

"I know you are the Governor and I need to be respectful," Danny said with his hands pressed together out in front of him. "But this man has had about all he can take."

"I'm not interested in what he's had I'm interested in what he did!" the governor stated.

She hadn't considered the extent of Steve and Alex's relationship prior to this, because Hannah had never said a word about it; but after watching them dance together this evening she knew there was more to their history than she realized. She had never questioned Steve's character, she knew what kind of man he was, but her dear friend was accusing him of ruining Alex's life and she wanted to get to the bottom of it.

"I assigned him to protect my friend's daughter and he should have told me that he couldn't carry out this assignment in a professional manner because of his personal attachment to Alex."

"I agree with you, Governor," Danny said.

"Agreeing with me isn't going to fix the situation, Detective Williams." She focused her eyes on Steve and continued firmly in a low voice. "I don't know what happened between you and Alex, but you had better put it aside and focus on finding her. You and your team are the best people I have and I don't care how you do it just bring her back."

"Yes, ma'am," Steve said quietly.

She looked at him a moment longer and added, "When this is over we will be having a discussion."

She left them to see what she could do to try and console Hannah.

Danny turned to Steve. "Are you going to be able to do this?"

"Yeah," Steve said, but he didn't sound very convincing.

To make matters worse, Lynch sauntered over at that precise moment.

"I can't believe you let her get dragged off. Even after I warned you about making sure nothing happened to her on your watch," Lynch sneered.

Steve clenched his hands at his sides as his anger flared.

"Hey, back off!" Danny warned Lynch, holding up his left hand in front of the obnoxious CIA agent.

"What are you going to do, Williams, hand gesture me to death? Besides you only have one good arm to do it with, so you're not really striking fear into my heart."

Steve lunged forward and grabbed Lynch by his jacket.

"You'd better be scared," he hissed. "Because I have two good arms."

Lynch backed down. "Okay, you win. I'm scared."

Steve glared at him for a moment and began loosening his grip, but that was a mistake. Lynch belted him in the face with a killer right hook and Steve stumbled backward.

"Now we're even, McGarrett," Lynch said.

His victory was short lived, however, because a fist struck his face and he fell to the ground.

"What do you think of that hand gesture?" Danny said rubbing his left fist. "And that doesn't even bring us close to being even, but it makes me feel better."

As much as Steve wanted to pulverize Lynch, he didn't get the chance because Chin and Kono came in with the attacker that Steve had taken down. Steve's attention moved from Lynch to the man in handcuffs as the governor's words echoed in his mind.

"I don't care how you do it just bring her back."

Steve stomped toward the man and grabbing him by the collar he dragged him back out to the terrace. Danny, Chin and Kono looked at each other apprehensively and followed Steve outside.

"Listen closely because I don't want to repeat myself," Steve said fiercely. "You tell me where they are taking her or I will resort to whatever means necessary to get the information out of you."

The man smirked and Steve shoved him face first to the ground.

"Danny, get over here and hold him down," Steve ordered.

"What are you doing? Danny asked, not liking the look on his partner's face.

"Just hold him down!"

Danny stared at Steve for a long moment knowing that he wasn't going to take "no" for an answer and would continue whether or not he helped him. He resigned himself to the fact that what Steve was about to do would probably be illegal and most likely be considered torture, but this guy was a scum bag, even though in reality scum bags had rights too.

Danny reluctantly knelt down putting one knee on the man's upper back and a hand on his head.

"Kono, go inside," Chin said firmly as he grabbed hold of the man's legs.

Kono looked from her cousin to where Steve was standing, his eyes transfixed on the man lying prostrate on the ground. She hesitated, not wanting to leave her team, but also not wanting to witness what was about to take place. She complied with Chin's wishes and disappeared into the building.

Taking the man's right hand Steve said, "Five fingers, five chances."

Apparently scum bags don't have rights in Steve's reality, Danny thought."Steve, this is crazy! You can't do this!" Danny exclaimed. And here I am helping him.

Steve ignored him and continued, "I am going to ask you again. Where are they taking her?"

The man remained silent. The snapping of his index finger produced a bear like growl and a string of curses from his mouth as Steve released the now broken finger.

"Do you have a different answer for me?" Steve asked angrily.

"I'm not saying anything," the man seethed. "You can go to-"

The man's words were cut off by his cry of pain as Steve broke another finger.

"I'm not playing with you!" Steve yelled, anger burning in his eyes. "When you run out of fingers I'll find something else to break. I don't care what happens to you!"

Danny stared at his partner wide eyed. He knew he shouldn't be surprised. Steve had done plenty of crazy things to get suspects to talk, but this was getting out of hand.

"Listen," Danny pleaded with the man, "just tell him what he wants to know and you can keep your other body parts intact."

The man was drenched in sweat and his face was twisted with pain, but he would not give in.

The snapping of yet another finger caused an inhuman sound to emanate from the man's throat, but still he gave no answer to Steve's question.

Steve's determination intensified and he grabbed the man's wrist with his two hands just as Henri Reilly came rushing out onto the terrace.

"Commander McGarrett!" Henri barked. "That is enough!"

With a slight hesitation Steve released the man's wrist and looked at Alex's father.

Henri was known for his quiet ways, but when Admiral Reilly gave a command you listened.

"He knows where Alex is," Steve said frustrated.

"Take a walk with me, Commander," Henri ordered.

"But he-"

"Now!"

Steve almost flinched from the sharpness in Henri's voice, but he followed him away from the others and out into the garden.

"Sir, I was just try-"

"I know what you were doing," Henri said his voice returning to his usual quiet tone. "But do you think Alex would want that. You were breaking a man's fingers one by one and threatening to do worse. I understand you are angry and frustrated, but what you are doing is wrong. The man I introduced my daughter to eight years ago was better than that and I know he still is."

Steve had the look of a son being scolded by his father.

"It's my fault," he said closing his eyes. "I was distracted, I wasn't doing my job."

"If it's anyone's fault it's mine," Henri confessed.

Steve's eyes flew open. "What?"

"It was at my insistence that the governor asked you to protect Alex. I have to admit I was hoping my daughter would come to her senses after being with you again." He gave Steve a small smile. "I'm sorry my selfishness has caused you a great deal of pain, but she hasn't been the same since you two broke up. I just wanted to see her happy again." Henri placed a hand on Steve's shoulder and continued, "Steve, I've always had a lot of faith in you, I still do. If anyone can find her you can."

Henri's confidence in him encouraged Steve greatly, but he didn't have a chance to reply because the ringing of his phone interrupted their conversation. He looked at the number, but didn't recognize it.

"McGarrett," Steve said answering the call.

An electronic voice replied. "I know where Alex Reilly is."

"Who is this?" Steve questioned.

"I am sending you her location."

"How do you know where she is?"

"Just get there…fast," the voice said and the call ended.

His phone beeped as he received a text with an address on it. Steve didn't even stop to think that maybe this was a trap.

"Who was that?" Henri asked.

"I have to go," Steve said running toward the front of the building.

"Where?"

"To find Alex!"

A/N: My sister (Autumn Fury) and I, at the suggestion of our mother, actually acted out the part where Steve was breaking the guy's fingers. For some reason I ended up being the bad guy and my very kind sister offered to actually break my fingers so I could experience firsthand the pain Steve was inflicting upon the bad guy. But then I wouldn't be able to type any more of the story and you wouldn't like that…right?

I am headed out of town for a week, so it is going to be a bit of a wait for the next chapter…sorry to leave you hanging.

Thanks for the reviews.