Apologies, redrafting brain was on overdrive yesterday and failed to pull it back together in time...
EUPHORIA
CHAPTER 12
Steve scanned the yacht through his high-powered monocular, left to right, absorbing every detail. 62" Navigator Pilothouse, c2010 model. Not the flashiest of luxury yachts- lower end of the range but nice enough- the perfect nondescript escape vessel for a former billionaire crime boss. Steve knew the layout already which was an advantage. Some random murderer they'd been after a few years back had taken refuge on one. He smiled a little at the memory of Danny bitching about the 'bedrooms' being bigger than his whole apartment while he had tried to scrub the guy's blood off his pants with a monogrammed towel.
Steve had counted three men coming and going between a van and the yacht, loading and making other preparations to set sail. One of them was 'Gigantor' himself. Just seeing him again had set Steve's adrenaline levels on an upwards trajectory. He eyed the man's bruised knuckles, baring his teeth just a touch at the knowledge of how they had ended up that way.
Thermal imaging had demonstrated there was no one else in the vessel as yet- Blake wasn't there. The team were now lying low in strategic locations, poised for action, waiting for him to arrive. Steve had found himself cover behind a ubiquitous stack of shipping crates about thirty feet away from what he hoped would be the epicenter of the action.
Steve hated this bit. He wanted to pound heads, not sit still and surveille.
"Any sign of movement?" he said, speaking into his radio. "Updates everyone, please."
"Negative from eastern approach road," came Kono's voice.
"Negative from western approach road," said Chin.
"Negative from ten freaking feet away from you, McGarrett."
He could hear Grover's hushed growl in stereo. Grover was a smart-ass. The muttered radio response was followed up by a series of grunts as the big man made his way over to Steve, crouched down and doubled over in an effort to stay low. He flopped down beside him, leaning back against a crate, out of breathe. "I'm too old for this shit," he muttered. "Hey….I was just thinkin'. You ever stop to think this could be a diversion?"
Steve let out a sigh. "Maybe. I don't think so though," he whispered. He pointed at the passing figure of Blake's big brute. "Either way I want The Incredible Hulk there anyway. And there should be another one just like him somewhere."
Lou frowned. "Are those the guys..?"
"Yeah, those are the guys." Steve interrupted, grim-faced, never taking his eyes off the boat.
Lou was silent for a few moments but Steve could feel his eyes drilling into the back of his head. There was clearly something on his mind.
"Are you concerned any of them might talk to the wrong people about what Blake did to Danny?" Lou said eventually.
Steve shrugged. "It could happen. But as long as we maintain plausible deniability it won't matter what he says."
"You've been hanging out with Danny too long using words like that!" said Lou with a snort. "You mean as long as we keep our boy on the straight and narrow….we can just say Blake's lying?"
"Yeah. It's not ideal, but it's the kind of thing a lying scumbag like Blake might make up about a cop. It's the best we've got. Of course it's pretty likely he'll be dead shortly and that'll eliminate the problem."
The resultant silence told Steve this had been what Lou was angling to find out from the start. "Steve…you know we need to try to take Blake alive, right?"
Steve snorted and dipped his head down for a second. "That's easy to say but… Lou, if you had seen what they did to Danny. To Danny. What do you expect me to do, restrain them gently? Read them their rights? Offer them coffee and malasadas? Seriously Lou, they tortured Danny. They turned him into a heroin addict."
Lou reached over and gripped his shoulder. "I know. I know what they did but you are not them and I expect you to do the right thing dependant on the circumstances. If you can't say you're gonna do that, you shouldn't be here at all."
Steve ignored him for a moment, because all he wanted to do was tear Blake apart with his bare hands, one piece at a time. He wanted to listen to him beg for his life, he wanted to sneer in his face then slit his throat, he wanted to…Oh yeah, but they were the good guys.
Lou was right. Of course Lou was right. "Okay, we'll try to take him alive," he spat. It actually hurt to say it.
"Guys?" Kono's voice, accompanied by a burst of static, cut through the airwaves. "I've got a vehicle approaching, 200 meters from your position. Black Bentley Continental. Tinted windows- no visual on the occupants."
Steve shifted slightly, trying to get eyes on the car, adrenaline ramping up instantly. "Right, this could be it. Hold tight, let's see who's inside."
….
Danny lay on his side in Steve's bed, staring at the wall.
He felt weak and raw and exposed.
It was the first time he'd awoken alone since they'd brought him here, the first time Steve hadn't been here to reassure him. He knew his partner had gone after Blake, he'd been dimly aware of the conversation with Chin…but he needed him.
It was pathetic. He hated this, he hated what he'd become. Steve's words went round and round in his mind. They had cut deep, and he was right. Danny hadn't tried to fight. He had never thought for a single moment that he had a hope in hell of beating this. His desire for the drug was all-consuming. He needed it so badly, still, even after all these days. He needed that escape because this world of shame and hurt was just too much.
But now he wanted to fight, he really did. He wanted be the person he was before, that person who Steve clearly wanted back so badly, that person who was loved by his family; the father, the partner, the friend. He just didn't know if that person even existed anymore. He was afraid the old Danny Williams had died in that basement.
The clinging memory of that perfect, euphoric escape, that peace and tranquillity, was ingrained into his very being and his body craved it more than anything else. It pulled at him.
He wished Steve was there right then because he felt so very weak. He needed him, with his unerring faith, strength and conviction. He was the only one who would shake him, yell in his face and tell him 'no'.
His gut spasmed, mean and sharp, and he groaned as the want screamed through his body again. He couldn't do this, he couldn't fight it alone. He couldn't.
There was a soft knock at the door, then in came Max. He walked over to the bed then stood awkwardly, arms by his sides, blister pack of pills in his hand.
Danny suddenly felt scared, because for the first time he wanted to try to fight, but for the first time he also had a real chance to run, because Max's well-meaning logic and bag full of drugs would simply not be enough to stop him if he lost control.
"Detective Williams" Max was saying, "I am glad to see you are awake. I am currently responsible for your welfare and am happy to offer you assistance with managing your on-going symptoms in the form of medication to alleviate your current suffering and distraction by means of a board game of your choosing."
Danny wasn't listening. Danny was looking at the open door Max had left behind him.
He started to breathe hard, shaking his head slowly from side to side. The pain rose up inside him again and he doubled over, moaning. He could hear Max talking again, droning on about over-the-counter medication. He had to get away.
He pushed back the covers and stumbled unsteadily out of bed, towards the door, ignoring Max's insistent objections.
The demon inside him, the one that Blake had foisted upon him, cheered at the prospect of freedom and that sweet, sweet escape. But he didn't want to do it, he didn't want to let Steve down, let everyone down. He wanted his life back. At the last minute he turned away from the bedroom door, staggering instead into Steve's en-suite and slamming the door behind him. He locked it, leaning heavily against the door, panting, trembling from head to foot.
He could hear Max moving around uncertainly outside.
This was okay. This was safer. He was behind a locked door and Max was right on the other side. There was no easy way out of here. He could ride it out here until Steve got back.
He sank down onto the toilet, buried his head in his shaking hands.
The need hit him again, harsh and undeniable. He shivered violently.
Can't have it. No way out. He told himself, biting his lip so hard it bled.
A fresh breeze blew softly across the room, carrying with it the sweet scent of plumeria and the sharp salt tang of the sea.
He looked over at the open window.
Yikes! Hiding. Please review.
