A/N: Some of you have left reviews as guests so I can't actually respond (and we all know me and responding to reviews on FFN anyway lol), but I just wanna say thank you! Seriously, my day gets made when I get a review! :D

The minute they'd heard Kumu was at the estate, they'd wasted no time in racing back. And it wasn't just because reception on the call wasn't very good.

Granted, that was true, and none of them wanted to deal with trying to decipher words through static, especially not with the situation as serious as it was. But besides that, even though Kumu insisted she was fine, Rick wasn't going to believe it until he actually saw her. For all they knew, their friend might be hiding the truth about how things had gone down in order not to worry them and might be worse off than she let on. Even if she wasn't injured, they did know she'd been kidnapped at gunpoint; no matter who had taken her, she almost certainly needed their support.

They also were all fully aware the call could be a trap, and going back to talk to her in person could be as dangerous as simply following whatever information she gave them on Magnum's location. Going back to the estate as a group was the best way to address all of their concerns.

The drive took a fraction of the time it ordinarily would have. No one spoke much on the way, each caught up in their own thoughts. By the time T.C. roared up to the gates of Robin's Nest, they were all even more on edge and anxious to see Kumu.

When they pulled up to the main house, T.C. didn't even have a chance to brake all the way before Higgins and Rick threw open the doors and leaped out. Kumu was coming out of the main house to meet them, and they weren't about to waste a second getting to her.

"Kumu!" Rick quickly looked her over, searching for any sign of injury, but he couldn't make out much. There was a slight bruise around her left wrist, but even that looked faint and far from serious. After the hours they had spent worried sick about what Ivan might have been doing to their missing friends, the fact that Kumu was home — completely safe and sound — was more than a little confusing. Not that Rick wasn't relieved to see his friend alive and unharmed, but he now had even more questions and no answers.

Higgins beat Rick to Kumu and immediately hugged the older woman. Then she stepped back and looked Kumu over intently. "Are you okay?" Higgins asked, concern evident in her voice.

"I'm fine," Kumu said firmly, turning to give the same reassuring smile to Rick and T.C. as the pilot came up behind the others. "I promise!" she added, unable to hold back a small chuckle as T.C. wrapped her in a bear hug. "Really."

Rick followed up T.C.'s embrace with one of his own as soon as the other man stepped back. "We're just glad to see you again," he told her warmly, giving her a tight squeeze before releasing her. His hand lingered on her shoulder as he gave her one more once-over just to make sure he hadn't missed any sign she wasn't actually okay.

Putting a hand on Rick's arm, Kumu returned the gesture with a grateful smile. "He didn't hurt me; just drove me around for a while to talk and then dropped me off here."

"'He'?" Higgins asked. "Did you get a good look at him?"

Kumu shook her head in answer to the question. "No, unfortunately not."

"And Magnum?"

Rick held his breath at Higgins' question as he watched Kumu's face. He noticed the shift in her expression as her smile fell, and he swallowed. Even though she'd told them on the phone she knew where Thomas might be, there was a part of Rick that almost expected his buddy to be at the estate with Kumu.

"The man who grabbed me had nothing to do with Thomas's disappearance," Kumu said, continuing quickly before the others could ask more, "but he gave me something that could lead us to where Ivan's holding him."

"Wait, you know about Ivan?" T.C. asked.

Kumu nodded. "Courtesy of our friend in the SUV." She tilted her head toward the house. "He also gave me several addresses, along with surveillance photos and other papers with information on Ivan's operation."

"Smart," Higgins commented, shooting a look at the two guys.

Rick knew what she meant. Printed papers were harder for anyone to trace back to a source; electronic information always held some sort of identifying aspect that could reveal too much to someone who knew how to look for it.

"Come on," Kumu said then, interrupting the unspoken conversation. "We need to get working on these. Rick, I'm sure you can call around and dig up something on these addresses."

"Yeah, Kumu," Rick replied, giving T.C. another look in answer to his friend's raised eyebrows. "Just point me in the right direction."

Kumu nodded but didn't make a move to go inside. She cleared her throat. "I know you all, and I'm sure you've been hard at work trying to find out what happened while I was gone. Do you have any leads on the people who took Thomas yet?"

Higgins spoke first. "All we know is the white SUV was responsible for taking you. We've been trying to track it down but haven't had any luck. So far, we've been operating under the assumption that the same people who took you are the ones who took Magnum." She sighed. "We found out Ivan's name just before you called, and we had thought he was the one who'd rented the SUV."

"We thought Ivan had gotten to you to leverage Thomas," Rick added. He shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck. "And now that Katsumoto is missing…"

Kumu nodded, her expression serious. "Okay," she said slowly. "I know you're all convinced the guy in the SUV is a bad guy… with the way he's been following Thomas around the island, I thought so, too. But we were wrong."

Magnum squinted against the pressure behind his eyes that had built to an almost unbearable level. He was trying to focus on the workbench just a few yards away, where Katsumoto was currently hunting for something he could use to get rid of the cuffs holding Magnum to the chair. The problem was, no matter how hard he tried to ignore his injuries, they seemed to assert themselves even more.

He could hear rustling and muffled metallic noises as Katsumoto sifted through the tools at their disposal, but everything past a couple of feet was a bit of a blur. Magnum gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. This was not the time to be losing focus; he needed to be at his best — at least, as much as he could given the situation — if they were going to break out of… wherever they were being held. Ivan's goons couldn't be far away, and Magnum was willing to bet they were right outside. That meant he and Katsumoto would have to be on high alert if they hoped to sneak away unnoticed. And that meant Magnum couldn't afford to be off his game.

"I think this'll do the trick," Katsumoto's voice came then, breaking Magnum out of his thoughts.

With a slight shake of his head, Magnum blinked and looked up at the detective. Katsumoto had turned back toward the chair, a pair of rusty bolt cutters in his hands.

"These have definitely seen better days, but they should still work," the detective was saying. He gave Magnum a wry smile. "They might be a little dull, but I think they'll do the trick."

Magnum nodded, smothering a cough. He shifted slightly to keep his eyes on Katsumoto as the other man crossed in front of him and moved behind the chair. There was a tug on his arms as Katsumoto fiddled with the handcuffs, and the metallic sound of the chain rattling reached Magnum's ears. He couldn't see what Katsumoto was doing, but he didn't need to. Coupled with the movements he could feel, Magnum could visualize the detective's every move as the other man positioned the bolt cutters around the links in the chain and applied pressure to the tool.

When Magnum felt the tension of the bolt cutters fall away, he moved to pull his arms in front of him, but he was met with resistance as the chain between the manacles caught on the chair.

"Sorry, Magnum," Katsumoto said quickly. "These are even duller than I was expecting. Let me try again." The detective sounded winded, and Magnum tilted his head in concern but didn't say anything. Neither of them was in very good shape at the moment; they were just going to have to trust the other was okay… at least, okay enough for the time being.

Magnum felt a tug on the cuffs again and waited for the sound of Katsumoto successfully cutting through his bonds. He didn't realize he was holding his breath in anticipation until the cough building made him aware of the burning sensation that was spreading across his chest. There was no holding this one back, and it felt like sandpaper grating across his throat as the cough came up from deep in his chest.

He knew he was pulling against the handcuffs and that it was probably making Katsumoto's job impossible at the moment, but he couldn't do anything about it. The deep, rumbling cough just kept coming, and Magnum winced in pain as he hunched over. When they finally subsided, he found himself leaning forward, hunched against his bonds, trying desperately to regain his breath.

His headache had been exacerbated by the violence of his coughing fit, and it was now pounding even more than before. As the gray haze that had crept across his vision started to subside, Magnum took a tentative breath and tried to quiet his thoughts. His head was throbbing, and he wasn't sure if the room was just silent or if the pressure in his head was just drowning everything else out.

The weight of a hand on his shoulder drew Magnum's attention to the man behind him, and then Katsumoto's low voice broke into the roaring in his head.

"Hey, you good?"

Magnum didn't answer right away. He swallowed and slowly licked his lips, wincing again at the pain even that small movement elicited. "Yeah…" he replied slowly, not daring to even nod his head just yet. "Just, uh, let's just get out of here."

"You got it," came the response. Katsumoto patted his shoulder once before his hand moved from Magnum's shoulder.

Magnum felt a tug on his wrists again as Katsumoto repositioned the bolt cutters. There was a brief pause, and then he heard a deep grunt of effort at the same time as a jolt of pressure traveled along the chains and into the cuffs themselves. A moment later, though, Magnum felt a surge of relief as he heard the clanking of chains falling and his wrists fell to the sides.

"Hang on," Katsumoto said as Magnum started to bring his arms forward.

Noticing his right arm felt heavier than his left, Magnum glanced down and saw the length of chain still attached to the cuff around his wrist.

"Sorry," Katsumoto continued apologetically. "There's no way this is going to cut through the cuffs themselves, but let me at least get the rest of the chains off."

Wincing at the stiffness in his shoulders as he moved his arms more than he had in hours, Magnum nodded in response. He held still as the other man applied pressure to the bolt cutters again. A moment later, the rest of the chain fell to the ground with a clanking noise that sounded much too loud as it echoed through the room. The two men exchanged glances.

"We need to get out of here," Magnum said, frowning at the way he could hear his voice grating. There was no way Katsumoto could miss how bad he sounded. Trying his best to smother the pain, he pushed to his feet. It wasn't as smooth of a motion as he had intended it to be, and he knew that wasn't lost on Katsumoto.

And, sure enough, the detective raised his eyebrows as he looked Magnum up and down. "You sure you're all right to walk?"

Magnum clenched his jaw. "I'll be fine," he said as firmly as he could manage. "Let's go."

Katsumoto gave him one more uncertain look, and Magnum could tell the detective was trying to decide how much truth there was to the statement. However, rather than repeating the question or voicing any objections, Katsumoto just nodded and let out a shallow sigh.

Now it was Magnum's turn to raise an eyebrow in concern as he saw Katsumoto put a hand to his side and wince.

"Don't start," Katsumoto warned. "Let's just get out of here."

Magnum didn't let on how concerned he was if he'd even be able to make it to the door, let alone far enough to safely escape. He was going to have to rely on adrenaline and sheer stubbornness if he hoped to succeed. But he knew they didn't have any other options just then. There was no telling when rescue would come, and they had no way of knowing how close their friends were to finding them. That meant they might very well be on their own for the moment, and they couldn't afford to wait around.

There was no doubt that Ivan coming back would mean a lot more pain and possibly even worse, and they weren't about to wait around for that.

Unfortunately, his legs betrayed him when he took his first step, and he had to put out a hand to grab the back of the chair when everything tilted around him.

"Magnum!" Katsumoto hissed, coming up next to him.

Magnum felt the other man's hand on his shoulder but didn't turn. He was too focused on trying to breathe through the rush of pain that was threatening the edges of his vision. It wouldn't take much to tip him over into unconsciousness, not with the way his sides were aching and his lungs felt like they were on fire. And that wasn't even considering the way his head was pounding.

"Are you sure you can walk?" Katsumoto asked, his voice low and concerned. He might not know the specifics of what had happened, but Magnum knew Katsumoto could guess at least some of it. "And don't try to play the hero. If you can't, I need to know so I can make a different plan."

Gritting his teeth, Magnum forced his eyes open again and looked over at Katsumoto. "I can make it," he said firmly. "I have to."

Katsumoto raised his eyebrows, but Magnum just returned the dubious look. He'd seen the way the detective had been limping around the room, and he could hear the slight hitch in the man's breath.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Magnum replied.

"Don't think I didn't notice what you just did," Katsumoto remarked. "I'm not the one who's been tortured for information for the better part of a day."

"And you can take my statement when we both get out of here." Magnum started to shake his head, then aborted the movement when it caused the pain in his temples to spike. He took a shallow breath, trying to steel himself for the next few minutes.

There was no question in his mind that he needed to make himself move. If he admitted he wasn't sure he could make it very far, Katsumoto would end up trying to defend them both when Ivan and the goons came back, and there was only one way that was going to end. For that reason alone, Magnum needed to keep going. He could worry about whatever was wrong with him later, once they reached safety.

Swallowing, Magnum let go of the chair and tried to push the pain to the back of his mind. Focus, escape, worry about the rest later.

At least, that was his plan. And then the metallic sound of clanking from the direction of the door echoed through the room.

Kumu's statement was met with a moment of silence.

"What?" Higgins was the one who finally asked the question they were all thinking.

"You are talking about the guy who kidnapped you?" T.C. added.

In response, Kumu gave them a firm look. "All he did was drive me around for a while," she explained after a moment. "I suspect we took a roundabout route to the estate. He just said he wanted to talk, that he had important information for us, and gave me details about Magnum's disappearance."

"But why did he go to such extreme lengths?" Higgins asked. "Why not just come to us?"

Kumu shook her head. "He didn't want to take a chance you'd figure out his identity or that one of you would fight back. He said he needed to just talk and that he wants to help rescue Magnum from Ivan."

"Do you believe him?" T.C. wanted to know. "After all…" he trailed off meaningfully.

"I do," Kumu said with a firm nod. "It sounds crazy, but I just have a feeling about this." She paused, then continued. "He said he knew Thomas's father."

There was another moment of stunned silence as the others exchanged looks.

"And I'm inclined to believe him," Kumu continued before anyone else could say anything. "He knew Ivan took Magnum. He told me that Ivan had regrouped to come after Magnum after everything that happened in the Triple Frontier, and rumors of Ivan's move started making their way through the intelligence community. Apparently, it was all credible enough that our friend came out here himself to start protective surveillance."

"Did he say why he had such an interest in Thomas?" T.C. wanted to know.

Kumu nodded. "He served with Magnum's father and had promised to look after his son if anything happened to him." Her face softened as she looked between Rick and T.C. "He feels guilty and like he owes Thomas even more because he wasn't able to keep him out of the camp. By the time he found out about it… you guys had already been taken. He said he tried to find you when news of the capture got out but couldn't."

T.C. blew out a breath and ran a hand over his head while Rick swallowed.

"And then you rescued yourselves," Kumu added, the pride evident in her voice.

"So," Rick said, clearing his throat and dismissing the memories the conversation had brought up, "when the news of Ivan heading to Hawaii got through the channels, this friend headed straight here to do what he could to protect Magnum. Only… he couldn't just show up because that would tip off Ivan if he was watching, which he most likely was at that point." He was tracing the logical progression of events if what Kumu was telling them was the truth.

"Which is when he rented an SUV and started following Magnum around the island," T.C. picked up the train of thought. "And let himself be seen a few times so Thomas would start looking into things."

"And, knowing Magnum would trace it back to the rental company, he gave the name 'Thomas Magnum' as a local contact," Higgins continued. "Finding that out would keep Magnum on his toes that someone was following him." She shook her head. "Not so Magnum could track this… guy, whoever he is, down but so he can be aware someone is after him, even if he doesn't know who it is."

Kumu nodded along. "That's essentially it."

Rick could tell T.C. and Higgins were trying to process the unexpected new information just as he was. It was so far from anything they had been expecting, and yet, somehow… somehow, it all still made sense.

Honestly, it even made more sense than thinking Ivan had been the one following Magnum and Higgins around for weeks. Rick knew there would have been more than enough opportunities for the occupants of the SUV to have caused an accident or ambushed his friends if it had been Ivan trying to get to Thomas. The fact that nothing bad had happened yet seemed to point to whoever had taken Kumu telling the truth.

Sure, they had thought Miles Hamler had been the one driving the white SUV when the guy had ambushed Higgins to get to Thomas. Rick had hoped the trouble with the Tahoe was in the past once they'd rescued Higgins — and then Thomas — from the Hamlers, but then the vehicle had resurfaced again and proved that wrong. Rick sighed and ran a hand through his hair; the fact that his friend was once again missing wasn't lost on him, although the guy at fault this time made the Hamlers look like a pair of angels.

Rick glanced over at T.C., who shook his head sympathetically as their gazes met.

"Well, are we going to stand around talking all day, or are we going to rescue Thomas?" Kumu asked when no one else spoke up. "I know none of you talked to this man in the SUV, but I believe him. And our friends are running out of time the longer Ivan has them."

"Okay," Higgins spoke up then, glancing at the door to the house. "Let's get to work; I want to do our due diligence on this intel before we go rushing into anything. Rick—"

"I got you," he replied, pulling out his phone. "Get me the address, and I'll make some calls."

The door swung open, and Ivan's henchman stepped inside, observing the scene with satisfaction. Neither prisoner had moved — the one in the chair looked like he wouldn't last long on his feet even if he did manage to get free, and the cop was still passed out on the floor — which was just fine with Jimmy. The less trouble he had to put up with dealing with these guys, the better. There was plenty to do, and he didn't exactly feel like dealing with mouthy prisoners at the same time.

He crossed over to the workbench where he'd left the car battery, running through a list in his head, paying little attention to the two men slumped unconscious nearby. So little attention, in fact, that quick movement by his feet caught him by surprise.

In a flash, the cop had swung a leg around and knocked Jimmy's feet out from under him. There was no time to wonder how the guy had managed to get free before Jimmy hit the hard ground and the air was knocked out of his lungs.

Katsumoto was on top of him in an instant as they struggled for the upper hand. Blows were exchanged with fists and elbows and knees, the two men rolling around on the ground, locked in a fight for survival. There was no doubt in either's mind that losing the fight would mean serious danger.

Jimmy managed to connect a fist with the bigger man's temple, then started to scramble to his feet as his opponent fell away. He reached into his waistband and pulled out his pistol, but he didn't have time to even bring it to bear on a target before the other man tackled him from the left and sent him sprawling again.

Having kept a hold on his weapon when he hit the ground, Jimmy swung it up to point at the cop, only to find himself suddenly struggling for control as the other man grabbed his gun.

They fought against each other, muscles straining, and Jimmy's finger twitched on the trigger as he tried to aim at his opponent. If he could just get off a shot…

And then Katsumoto slammed Jimmy's hand back into the hard floor. The gun went off, and the sound of the shot was deafening as it echoed around them, and Jimmy couldn't hear a thing past the roaring in his ears. But he gritted his teeth and focused on trying to aim again, only for another shot to go wild at the same time as a second strike successfully dislodged the weapon. Jimmy barely heard it go skittering along the floor as a hard punch landed on his jaw; then the next punch slammed into the side of his head, and everything went dark.

Katsumoto wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, keeping a wary eye on the criminal lying on the concrete floor. The detective was panting heavily, and he winced as he put a hand to his side.

Short-lived though it was, it hadn't been an easy fight, and everything hurt even more than it had before. Except now, there was the added bonus of the few things that hadn't hurt before now added to the list of things that ached or stung.

Katsumoto groaned and shook his head to clear it. "Right, Magnum, what do you say we—" He broke off as he looked up at the chair where the P.I. had been sitting.

Somewhere in the roar of the gunshot going off right by his ear, he must've missed whatever sound Magnum had made when one of the stray bullets had found its mark.

The private detective was slumped on the floor next to the overturned chair. Even from where Katsumoto was sitting, he could see the way blood was starting to leak through the fingers of Magnum's left hand. He was even paler than it had been moments before, and sweat was visibly beading on his face.

"Magnum!"

"I would be more concerned about yourself right now, Detective."

The familiar voice pulled Katsumoto's attention from his injured friend and over to the large, commanding figure standing a few yards away — and pointing a gun directly at Katsumoto.

Ivan.

To be continued...

A/N II: So... more answers I've been working up to in this story (and a cliffhanger because, you know, I'm an evil writer that way). I had this whole document full of plotting as to how I wanted the different aspects of episodes to play into the plot I'd come up with for the white SUV, and I've been writing the narrative to fit that whole plotline. Which has made this story a pretty involved piece of writing — hence, why it's taken me so long to post each chapter. xD

I do have a few more things up my sleeve still... hope you're all still enjoying the story!