Wow I really didn't expect this story to have such a success. Thanks a lot for your support, especially to those, who always find a minute to leave a review or a PM.

I know the last chapter was hard to read - it even made me cringe a couple of times when writing it - but I just felt the need to make things worse for Steve before they get better. Hope you don't mind.

Okay, enough rambling, enjoy reading!

The residence they've been at wasn't much different from the first one. But this time the windows had been taped, and some of the old furniture was still left in the rooms.

The night was quiet, and Danny spent some time talking to Steve's SEAL buddies, trying to find out as much as possible about what the hell happened, but it turned out they couldn't tell him much, to his great frustration.

While waiting for the confirmation from Joe's informant, they've been going through several tactical things with Joe, who took command of their rescue mission. Gutch, Davis, and Martinez fixed them two SUVs, but wouldn't tell him how.

It wasn't until after five in the morning that Joe's phone began to ring. He answered it, and after just a few seconds of talking with someone on the line, he ended the call and turned around to face the team. All eyes in the room were fixed at him in anticipation. "Good news," he said, smiling. "We know where the boys are."

"Where?" Danny asked, his heartbeat speeding up.

"My guy confirmed they were taken to the building on the north end of the town believed to be a safe house to the group that is probably responsible for the attack. It's about eight clicks from our position."

"How reliable is the intel, Joe?" Davis asked.

"As good as we can get," Joe answered. "He talked to one of his friends on the inside. When I described our boys, he said he couldn't be sure there were any Americans in one of the places they've been using to interrogate prisoners. But he confirmed the arrival of three new prisoners the same day you guys had run into an ambush." He glanced over Davis and Martinez. "Gotta be them."

Danny tried not to let his excitement get the best of him. Knowing where Steve was and getting him out were two completely different things.

"So what are we waiting for?" Lou asked. "Let's go get them."

"Not so fast, Lou," Joe said. "The sun will be up in less than an hour. We'll wait till sundown."

"Sundown?" Danny wasn't sure if he heard right. "That's what… another thirteen, fourteen hours?"

"Danny-" Joe began.

"What if they don't have that much time? Huh?" Danny snapped. "We need to move now."

Martinez huffed a laugh. "Trust me, you don't want to be out there during the day. There's a good reason why we do things at night."

Danny's shoulders sagged in defeat. He knew they were right, he knew that. But still, he couldn't help but think about what every extra hour in there could mean for his friend.

Gutch lay his big body down on one of the mats on the floor and yawned. "I got a feeling it's gonna be a long night. So you guys try and get some shut-eye."

It was amazing how fast Danny fell asleep. Sleep was the last thing on his mind. He was a nervous wreck. But he found a space on the floor next to Kono, stretched out, and closed his eyes. He woke up a couple of times, had a walk around the house, talked to his friends whenever awake, then lay back down despite the inner turmoil, and let the exhaustion take over. The next thing he knew Joe was shaking him awake.

"It's time to get ready," he said as Danny stood and stretched. "Briefing in the kitchen in five."

Joe gave them a quick briefing, but Danny's mind was elsewhere. It wasn't dark outside yet, but it would be soon, and it'd be their go time. His stomach was rumbling, and he wasn't sure whether it was nerves or hunger, as he hadn't been able to force any food down his throat since they've arrived.

"All right, listen up. We'll split into groups. Gutch, Martinez, Kono, and Chin will come from the east. Me, Davis, Danny, and Lou will arrive from the west. We'll meet up here." He pointed at the spot on the paper map of the town. "It's open ground between them and this place, so we gotta see what they are up to, what's the security like. Once we get there, we'll decide who goes in. Any questions?"

"I've got one," Davis spoke up and looked at Danny and the rest of Five-0 next to him. "Are you guys sure you are ready for this? I mean… no offense, but this ain't Hawaii, and babysitting a couple of cops is the last thing we need."

Danny could feel the anger bubbling inside his veins. There was no way he'd be left out of this one. Not a chance. He might not be a soldier, but his best friend was in there and this wasn't his first rodeo, after all. "Babysitting?" he snarled at the SEAL. "I-"

"They might not have the same training as you and I, but I've seen them in action. They can take care of themselves," Joe interrupted him, answering Davis's question. "Any other questions?"

No one said a word this time.

"Good, then go get your weapons ready. Get your minds straight. We leave in forty-five minutes."

Every single one of those minutes felt like an hour, and against his will, Danny's mind kept taking him to Afghanistan once again. Back then he was just a bystander, watching a highly-trained group of men kick the door and shoot everything that moved. He'd been barely breathing in anticipation back then, waiting impatiently for the confirmation of success. It was something completely different to stand here, all ready to be a part of it. He hated to admit it, but he was scared. Afraid something would go wrong and he wouldn't be able to react properly. Scared that he might make a mistake which could end up in Steve's death.

There was no going back, though. No time to dwell on it either. Finally, it was time to go and do everything in his power to get his best friend back.

Gutch led Kono, Chin, and Martinez to one of the cars, and they all disappeared from sight in seconds.

Making sure there was no one around, Danny and the rest of the team left in another vehicle, taking the path on the west. He didn't like the idea of being separated from others at first, but he had to admit that one car was definitely less suspicious than two, and after what had happened to Steve's team, they shouldn't repeat the same pattern.

After they left the car hidden in the shadows of the buildings, Joe took lead, Danny and Lou followed, and Davis brought up the rear. Despite all the years by Steve's side, Danny was still amazed by how big men like Joe and Davis could move as quietly as a cat. Danny too tried to make very little noise as he scurried along.
After a minute of sneaking by the walls, Joe stopped without warning and put up his right hand in a fist. They burrowed up against the side of one of the buildings, and a few seconds later two men with rifles walked by, heading south, away from them. When the men had disappeared into the darkness, they took off again, finally reaching the street where the safe house was located. Joe waited. When he decided it was safe, he waved Danny and others forward, and they cut north toward the meeting place. Before long they reached the end of the residence row and could see a bigger building that was no doubt their target.

The night was almost pitch-black and Danny had to strain to see anything. He was searching for Gutch's group, but didn't see them anywhere. He didn't like it one bit. Anxiously going through all the scenarios that could've happened along the way, Danny was already about to say something to Joe, when he heard a whistle. It sounded like a bird call, but not one he'd ever heard before. The same whistle came back from the other side of the building a few seconds later. It was Gutch. They'd made it and Danny exhaled in relief.

They moved to meet in the center. Before long, four shadowy figures appeared.

"We've only seen one guard patrolling in the front so far," Chin reported, his voice barely audible. "It looks like it's the only entrance, but if we time it right, we should be able to get inside without being seen."

Joe nodded. "Good. Once we're in, we need to be quick. Overwhelm them before they get a chance to alert the others," he said. "Secure the targets, take our boys and exfil ASAP."

Danny's heart began thudding faster. This was it. He'd have Steve back in a couple of minutes. He'd just have to shoot his way through first. But he was ready.

"All right," Joe said. "Lou, Kono, you stay here and keep watch. If anything looks suspicious, give us a whistle. That means we hunker down. Another whistle means all clear. Got it?"

"Sure," Kono confirmed, already assembling her sniper rifle.

"If anything goes south, and this is meant for all of you guys," Joe said, giving Danny a quick look, You wait until it's safe and abort. Are we clear?"

"Abort," Danny interrupted. "But Steve-"

Joe put his hand up and stopped him. "Just because we might not get them tonight doesn't mean we ain't gonna get them. But we're going in blind. No overwatch, no QRF, just us. Something goes wrong, the main thing is to get out and live to fight another day. Everybody clear?"

No one raised any objections, but Danny hated the idea of leaving without Steve. He could only hope all would go as planned and there wouldn't be a need to abort the rescue mission. He couldn't even imagine how that would antagonize the captors and what it'd mean for Steve and his friends.

"Look, I know we're all hyped up for this, but let's remember who's inside, okay?" Joe added. "Take a second to ID everyone you encounter before you act. Just a usual hostage rescue scenario. I'm pretty sure Five-0 is familiar with that too."

Danny nodded, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and focus.

"Yes, Sir," Martinez said. "Emphasis on search, not destroy, got it."

Joe waited in case someone wanted to ask a question, but when all he got were determined faces of them all, he said, "All right, then. Go time."

They watched silently as the guard moved past the building's entrance. When he was about thirty yards away, they sprinted toward the door.

The former SEALs were nearly invisible in the darkness. Danny tried to keep an eye on their general location and on the patrolling guard. They made it inside.

Danny was already sweating heavily. His heart was thundering like a horse on a racetrack. Blood roared in his ears, making it hard to hear anything around him.

At first, it all seemed quiet. Too quiet for Danny's liking. They moved along the short corridor and checked the ground floor room by room. There was no one in sight. When moving back to check out the upper floor, though, Danny noticed movement in the shadows.

It all happened too quickly to even make full sense of what was happening. The man dressed in a long robe with a rifle in his hand was dead on the floor before he had a chance to do or say anything. Another one appeared in the doorway on Danny's right. He leveled the rifle in their direction and shouted something Danny didn't understand. Danny wasn't even sure who had first broken the silence of the night with a barrage of automatic fire, or where all the men had suddenly come from.

They had the advantage of surprise, though, and men who used to do this for life on their side. Soon, five men lay still in a pool of their own blood. All around them the safehouse was coming alive. Guards were shouting, lights were turning on, and the sound of running feet was everywhere.

Joe kept going, Danny and others followed. They darted from dark space to dark space, shadow to shadow. He could barely keep up but the thought of Steve forced him to try harder.

The gunfire died out after a while, at least it seemed so. They made their way up the stairs and readied themselves to search the upper floor. A second later two gunshots boomed, and the whizz and crack as the speeding bullets narrowly missed Danny and sank into the wall next to him caused Danny to duck and stumble. Danny fired off a few shots without taking proper aim. The man cried out and his back to the wall, he slid down onto the floor, leaving a bloody trail on the wallpaper. He was still breathing, though, lifting his AK-47 again, when Joe closed the space between them and smashed the butt of a rifle to the man's head. The weapon slid out of the man's hands, and Joe kicked it to the other side of the room, not letting go of the aim on his target.

Joe stayed with him, while Danny followed others, searching the rest of the floor. There was no more gunfire, no running, no shouting. Just them, moving in sync, until they've opened up the last door and found… nothing.

It was empty.

Danny's heart sank. This couldn't be right. He was certain Steve would be here. He had to be here somewhere.

"They're not here," Chin stated the obvious, his voice disappointed.

"Damn it," Davis spluttered.

Gutch gestured them to move with his head. "Come on, we can't stay here much longer. See if you can find something helpful. But hurry up. I'm sure there are more on the way."

Reluctantly, swallowing back the worry, Danny followed Gutch back to Joe. He found the older man squatted down by the guy who was bleeding out, but still alive, watching all of them with hatred in his eyes. Joe was holding something in his hand, and Danny would swear he could see the pain etched in Joe's eyes, albeit for a second, before he regained his composure and put the strong mask back on.

"Joe?" Danny said, sensing there was something wrong. Something else besides Steve not being here. "You all right?"

Joe didn't answer.

"Joe?"

It took Joe a moment, but he stood up and outstretched his arm to Danny. He turned it palm up, and revealed the object in his hand. "I found it in his pocket," Joe explained, gesturing to the man on the floor with his head.

Danny stared at it in disbelief for a few seconds before he finally took it to his hand.

He froze. It felt like he couldn't move at all. For a moment he wondered if his heart had stopped beating. After a few agonizing seconds, he slowly exhaled, his eyes fixed on the two small rectangular pieces attached to a metal chain. He read it, then read it again, and again. There was no doubt of who it belonged to, though. The text printed out on it read:

McGarrett
Steven J.
142-29-1938
AB POS

*to be continued*

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