Danny looked at the dark haired man, knowing that he was the one responsible for the mess his life was right now. The swell of hate that he felt for the man on the screen made him have to curl his hands into tight fist in order not bash the screen in front of him.
The other man chuckled. "What's wrong, Williams. Have you finally run out of words?"
"Why don't you just tell me what the hell you want?" Growled Danny.
"My, my… Aren't you grouchy today…" Said the dark haired man with a pleased smile on his face.
"You'll have to forgive me, but I haven't had a very good couple of weeks… Now would you just get this over with and tell me what the fuck you want?" Danny growled.
The dark haired man laughed. "Well, Williams. All I want is an answer to my proposal…"
Danny groaned, passing a hand roughly through his hair. "Well, you see, a couple of weeks ago I was kidnapped, beaten and tortured by some asshole, and left to drown in the middle of the ocean. Unfortunately, after that lovely experience, I've had a bit of trouble remembering some things, one of which is the time I spent being kidnapped, beaten and tortured. I have the feeling that you were present for most of the beating and torturing part, so I'm afraid you'll have to refresh my memory about said proposal. And before you ask, no, there is no way in hell I'm marrying you…" He said, glaring at the face on the screen.
The man on the screen raised his eyebrows. "Are you serious? Don't fuck with me, Williams, or your little girl may have to take a sick day tomorrow, if she survives the night that is…"
Danny shook his head frantically. "No! Stay away from Grace! I'll do whatever you ask, just stay away from her! I wouldn't put her in danger by lying; I swear that I'm telling you the truth…"
The man on the screen seemed to study Danny for a few minutes. "Well, that is unfortunate… If you're fucked up in the head, then you're on sick leave. That means that you're of no use to me…" He said, leaning forward to press a key on his keyboard.
"Wait! Wait!" Danny knew that being of no use to this man meant that Grace would be hurt. "I'll find a way to do whatever you ask, just don't hurt my daughter!" He said, leaning forward to look at the screen.
The man on the screen rubbed his chin. "Anything? Would that 'anything' include getting Rick Peterson out of Halawa and bring him to me?" He asked, a wicked smile on his face.
Danny had to sit down on the bed. "W-what? What do you have to do with that son of a bitch?"
The man on the screen laughed. "You really don't remember, do you? He was my partner before he became your training officer, Williams. We had a good business going and then he had to go and get caught, with your help of course…"
Danny froze, a name coming suddenly to his head. "George Villa." He growled. At the man's nod and smile, he went on. "What do you want with Rick? He's in jail because he kidnapped my girl, he threatened to kill her!"
Villa laughed again. "How do you think he managed to go back and forth from Jersey? Once he got out of jail I had already left the force and was working full time in my once alternative business… Rick needed money and the means to find you here in Hawaii, and I needed someone to move merchandise to and from Hawaii… If it wasn't for your Marshall friend, we'd still be doing business and Rick would have taken his sweet time to put his plan in motion… Unfortunately, things didn't go according to plan, and I need Rick to retrieve something that belongs to me."
Danny's mind was spinning. He had no idea how he was going to get out of this one. "I… I can't get Rick out of jail…" He said weakly.
Villa winced. "Well, it would be a shame if you're not up to it, Williams. I hate hurting children, they scream so much…"
Before he could continue, Danny interrupted him. "I'll do it! I'll find a way to do it! Just stay away from Grace… Please!"
Villa smiled. "Alright… I'll call you tomorrow around the same time to tell you where to drop Rick off…"
Danny shook his head. "Tomorrow? I won't… It's too soon!"
Villa lifted an eyebrow. "I thought you said you'd find a way to do it…"
Danny nodded jerkily. "I'll do it… just, please! Don't hurt my Grace…" He said, passing his hands through his hair.
Villa gave him an evil smile. "Oh, by the way, I don't believe I need to warn you against asking for help from your fancy taskforce… If I hear anything about Five-0 getting word of this, the deal is off… We'll talk tomorrow, Williams." And cut the video call.
Danny paced around his room nervously, trying to find some way to get Rick out of jail without alerting anyone. He could only think of one way, and he needed to move fast if he wanted to pull it off.
He took a minute to wash his face, take a few deep breaths and psych himself to look like he was not at the edge of a nervous breakdown. Once he made sure he looked as normal as he could under the circumstances, he went outside, moving towards the patrol car parked just outside.
He approached the officers. "Hey there, I was wondering if you'd mind giving me a ride to Kalakaua Avenue?" Danny asked with a smile on his face.
The officers looked at each other and the one at the wheel shrugged. "Sure, no problem, detective Williams. I'll just let Commander McGarrett know about it…" He said.
"Great, thanks!" Said Danny, getting into the back seat of the patrol car. He was not surprised to hear his phone ringing, and even less surprised when he saw that Steve was calling. He pressed the screen to connect the call. "Hey babe…" He said.
"Hey Danno… Where are you going?" Steve asked from the other side of the line, failing completely at hiding his concern.
"I'm going to the beach… and before you tell me that you have a beach in your backyard, I'm going to a beach with people, with children playing and laughing, and loud enough to distract me from all the stuff in my head…" Danny said, trying to make it sound like one of his regular rants.
Danny could hear Steve sighing. "Do you want me to come over there?"
Danny chuckled. "Are you still in the middle of a case?" He asked, in way of an answer.
Danny chuckled again when Steve didn't answer. "Don't worry about me babe. I'll even stop to have some shave ice if it makes you feel better…"
Steve sighed again. "Call me if you need anything, Danno…" And with that, he cut the call.
Once they reached their destination, Danny took some time to sit at the beach and pretend that all he wanted was to sit there and watch people walk by. When he decided enough time had passed, he moved to his original destination, trying not to appear too rushed.
The man in front of him looked surprised to see him, and even more surprised when he heard what Danny had to say.
"Kamekona… I need you help…" Danny said, not being able to keep the fear from his voice.
TBC...
A/N: Ok, now you have some answers... How I manage to make sense to what's supposed to come next is another matter...
I'd really like to hear what you think of the baddie so far, and of this chapter too!
Thank you very much for reading!