And here ya go...a little distraction from this crazy world of ours...Enjoy!
"This is taking forever." Kono tapped the window and then kicked the seat. "You drive like one of the aunties."
"Kono stop it. Or I'm sending you the detailing bill." Chin kept shooting her annoyed glances in the rearview mirror.
She punched the driver's seat. "This would be faster if we'd borrowed Kamekona's chopper."
"There was no time, Kono. You know that." Chin growled. "And you're not helping."
Lou cleared his throat and turned so he could glare at both of them. "Alright you two. Man, I thought riding with Steve and Danny was bad."
The cousins didn't disagree, but Lou didn't give them a chance to respond. Kono flopped back against her seat, shaking her head as he continued.
"There's only so much we can do til we get there. HPD is on stand-by, waiting for our word. They've canvassed the area and have two possible locations. We can't have anyone rushing in when we don't know what we're up against."
Chin took control of the conversation. "Well, we have at least another 15 - 20 more minutes. What do we know?"
Lou jumped in first. "Dr. Madison Gray grabbed Grace at school after a text from Danny's phone okayed the pickup."
When Kono offered only a scowl, Lou added. "Steve and Danny were set to meet with Dr. Gray today. They'd already met with Ms. Brown."
Chin swung out and passed a slow-moving rental car. "Yea and they said they didn't get anything from her."
"Jeez, warn a body before you do that. Steve teach you how to drive?" Lou braced himself with a big old paw against the dash. "Alright, so she stonewalled them."
"How long had this been planned?" Kono seemed to be more talking to herself than anyone else. "This is just so crazy. What are they after?"
"If we knew that-" Chin sighed. "Let's stick to what we do know. This morning, Alicia Brown broke into Danny's house, dosed the milk and waited."
Lou frowned, clearly at a loss. "What I can't figure out is why didn't she just steal his phone and leave? Attacking two cops seems like a huge risk."
"She had to create a diversion. To distract us from the real plan. To buy time for her partner."
Kono's phone chimed and she scrolled through some fresh info from Jerry. "Oh no guys."
Her cousin couldn't hide his exasperation. "What now?"
"Alicia had a daughter." Kono didn't give them much. She kept her eyes on her cell.
"And? Come on, Kono, didn't your mamma teach you how to share? Don't leave us hanging."
She only grew more serious, ignoring Lou's ill-timed attempt at levity. "The daughter was an agent too. She was killed on the job. They never caught the perp."
/././
Alicia towered over him, grinning, and shook her head, the terrible sneer taking over her visage.
"And I thought you were worthy. Look at you. You're pathetic."
All Danny could do was raise his hands in supplication. His face a mess, there was blood in his eyes and streaked across his cheeks from where he'd hesitantly felt the damage her partner had inflicted. He must have lost some time because Grace was no longer at his side.
The profiler paced a short track between Steve and Danny. His instincts told him she was vulnerable. They screamed at him at act.
He tried to get his bearings but his vision kept whiting out if he moved his head. God, he needed to do something. Save Grace. Check on Steve.
Because his best friend hadn't moved. Or made a sound. Seeing Steve this way tore Danny apart. Flashes of memory from the plane assaulted him. He wanted to call out. Needed to hear Steve's voice. But first things first. One thing tethered him to the here and now.
"Please, where is Grace? Let her go. Please. You have us."
"Let her go? You must be joking." Alicia's lit up like he'd told the best joke in the world.
"Please, she has nothing to do -"
"I'm afraid she has everything to do with this."
"What? She's just a kid. Please." Danny shook with the intensity of his emotions. His composure all but disappearing. He felt like he was being sucked into a very dark hole. "Please let her go home. Please just-"
"Stop trying to reason with her, Danny." Steve's voice was strong and very pissed off. "You can't reach her. She's broken, you know that."
"Steve, thank god." You're alive. Danny laughed and sobbed at the same time. "Grace. They have Grace. Please don't hurt her. Let her go, please."
"Danny - stop." Steve scolded. "Get a grip, buddy. You've got this. And I've got your back."
Danny digested what his partner said, the words sinking in but just not completely gelling. He knew Steve was right. He needed to get a grip. His whole face throbbed with his pulse. He was one giant ball of pain, and this hampered efforts to slow his breathing. But he hung on - Steve had his back.
Until it all fell to shit.
"Daddy!" Grace screamed from somewhere out of his sight, and Danny's whole world came apart.
He dissolved into another fit of pleading and negotiating.
"Danny!" Steve covered a pained groan with a growl. "Don't do it. Don't give in. They won't hurt Grace!"
Danny stopped. Alicia turned to Steve.
"And why do you say that, Commander? You've seen what we're capable of...all those dead serial killers."
"No, you won't hurt her." Steve turned his focus to his best friend. "Think about it, Danny. What do you know about Alicia here?"
"Steve, I don't know if I can -"
"Yes...you can.." Steve faded for a second, his words slurred. "Think about it."
"Steve, you alright?"
"Yea buddy. M'okay." Steve cleared his throat. "What do you know? Think."
"She killed her daughter. God...she needs..." The gravity of the situation dawned on Danny. He almost lost it again and Steve sensed this.
"See? They won't hurt her. She's a replacement."
"You think you're smart, huh?" Alicia snarled and moved closer to Steve. "Looking for this?"
She held up his weapon. He glared back, half propped on his elbow.
"I won't need a gun to take you down." Steve grit his teeth.
Danny sat up cautiously, taking a deep, slow breath. He knew Steve was purposefully drawing Alicia's attention. He couldn't waste the moment. One careful scan of the room, and he didn't see his gun. He wondered how long he'd been out because everything she'd pulled from Steve's pockets was gone too. Despite his bravado, his partner was pale and working too hard to keep up that Navy SEAL death stare. To make matters much worse, Danny didn't know where his daughter was. He couldn't gauge what action to take. They were fucked.
Steve continued to goad the profiler. Poking at her with pointed insults. Danny couldn't decide if his partner had lost his mind or if he had a solid plan. Sweating and heart pounding, he fought to stay upright. At least Steve sounded relatively strong. He couldn't have been wounded too badly.
Alicia chuckled, shaking her head. "I really wish I'd met you when I was younger. The fun we could've had."
"Nah, I'd rather have known your daughter. I bet she was the class act. Unlike you."
"Shut up." She threw her body into saying those words, lunging toward him. Eyes wide, nostrils flared, teeth bared.
Her sharp retort echoed. Both men took notice of the fracture in her composure.
"You killed her because you were jealous. Your own flesh and blood. Your baby." Danny added fuel to the fire.
And Steve continued, boldness that bordered on glee evident in his voice. "What kind of mother does that make you? And I know terrible mothers..."
"Shut up!" Alicia waved the gun between the two men.
"Stop." Dr. Gray appeared, dragging Grace. "Ignore them, Alicia. They're playing you. We have the upper hand."
The shrink made eye contact with each man, and then focused on Danny.
"This is the thanks I get? I take your brat to wash up. Her hands covered in your blood? And this is how you act?"
She shook Grace to illustrate her point before tossing the teen to the floor.
Alicia wasn't moved by her partner's assurance. "But what if they're right? What if I'm not a good -"
Dr Gray exhaled loudly. "This is why I told you not to engage. Just kill them."
"No...no...no... She's not a brat." Alicia was cracking up. "She's mine."
She yanked Grace off the floor by her hair, moving into the kitchen area. "They can't have her. Just me. I can start over."
Dr. Gray kept her voice even as she approached, adding just a hint of affection. "Let me take Grace to the car, baby. We'll disappear like we planned. They'll never find us."
Alicia backed up, arms wrapped around Grace. "This will never work. We were wrong. I know what to do."
She continued babbling, but shot a quick glance over her shoulder. The French doors leading out to a lanai overlooking steep ocean cliffs were open.
Dr. Gray now had her back to Danny and Steve. They exchanged glances. Steve was already getting to his feet; blood ran from his ear down his neck, soaking the collar of his shirt. He tested his balance, and without a sound, he barreled into Alicia, knocking her and Grace through the doors.
Alicia howled, releasing Grace, and grappled with Steve. The gun she'd been brandishing skittered across the ground. The pair slammed into the rotten railing, the crack of the wood breaking sounded like a gunshot. Without warning, they rolled over the edge, knocking a dead potted plant with them. Danny screamed his partner's name. Dr. Gray grabbed Grace and pulled her back from the brink.
Grace was shaking and sobbing, trying to look over the edge. "Uncle Steve...Uncle Steve."
"Don't worry about him. He's gone." Dr. Gray held the struggling girl tight.
Danny scooped up the weapon, aiming reluctantly in the direction of the monster who was holding his precious daughter. "Please. On your knees. Hands behind your back."
"You're serious?" She laughed and shook Grace. "I still hold the most important piece in the game. You're done. Drop the weapon. Slide it to me."
He tensed his jaw and hardened his stance. "Grace, get ready."
She was oblivious to everything but the smashed railing. "No, you have to help him. Danno...Uncle Steve..."
Arm now at Grace's throat, Dr. Gray choked the girl ever so much. "Try anything and I smash her windpipe. Don't make me do this."
Grace clawed at her captor, eyes frantic, she coughed as she realized she couldn't get enough air.
"You know I'll do it, Detective." Dr. Gray jerked her arm tighter.
Danny didn't blink as he knelt and set the gun on the ground.
"Easy now. Make it come to me. No games."
He slid the gun to her, tears mixing with the blood on his face.
Dr. Gray crouched and snagged the weapon, releasing her hold on Grace somewhat.
"You're okay, Grace." Danny choked on his own sobs. He tried to move so he could see what had befallen his faithful friend and partner. "Please, let me check on them. They might be alive. What about Alicia? Doesn't she mean something to you?"
She nudged Grace to the ground. "Don't move or I'll kill your father. Got it?"
Grace definitely got it. She nodded and did as she was told.
"Alicia? Baby?" Dr. Gray inched closer to the cliff, keeping an eye on Danny and Grace. "Commander McGarrett?"
The ocean was loud, waves pounding the rocks below them. They all held their breath, waiting for an answer.
"She's dead." Steve didn't mince words.
Danny closed his eyes and deflated, relieved to hear his best friend's voice.
"What?" Dr. Gray peered over the edge. "You're lying. Check her pulse."
Alicia and Steve lay entangled on the rocks about five feet down. They'd hit a ledge rather than falling into the thrashing water.
"Check her pulse, now." Dr. Gray gestured with the weapon she held. "Don't make me kill your partner or his sniveling kid."
Steve did as he was told. "She's still dead."
The only reaction from Dr. Gray was one of frustration. "Get up here. Make it quick."
"What about her?"
"Leave her. I'm done with her anyway. She was weak."
Steve got to his feet, using rocks to steady himself. "I might need some help."
"Don't fuck with me, Commander. I'm the one with the gun, remember?"
He held up his hands to show he understood, yelling and aborting the action just as quickly as he did.
Eyes narrowed, she studied him. "What's wrong with you?"
"Arm's busted." He grit his teeth and leaned on the outcropping.
"This better not be a trick." She waved the gun at Danny. "Get down there and help him. One wrong move, and I kill your sweet girl and your partner."
They stared at one another.
"The tide's coming in, Detective. Those rocks will soon be covered with water."
Special thanks to Tracey for her suggestions but not for the stuffy nose. Seems it's now possible to spread a cold via google docs. Hopefully I won't make you all wait a week for the rest.