As always, thanks for your support. It means a lot.

Steve was right about the guards' intention.

He didn't even make it to the yard. He was taken back to the showers and thrown inside. The guards waited at the doorway, blocking his way out. It didn't matter. Where would he go?

He heard the sound of feet approaching along the corridor. The guards parted and Savage made his way inside.

"You again," Steve said, backing away to put a little space between them. "You didn't get enough last time?"

The big man grinned at Steve's bravado and launched forward.

Steve was ready, though, and didn't give Savage a chance to throw the first punch. Instead, he closed in and led with a right jab. His fist found its mark, glancing off the corner of Savage's jaw, but it had a limited effect. Savage tried to grapple him, but Steve was able to dance away to the right, ducking beneath the clumsily attempted bear hug and swinging a big left hook that terminated in the side of Savage's temple.

The punch hurt him. Savage fell away to the side, his right hand reflexively going up to protect the point of impact and leaving his ribs exposed. Steve swung another left, putting all of his power into it, and his fist sank into the rolls of flab that protected the bigger man's ribs.

Steve was caught up in the moment. He forgot that his future would not be best served by embarrassing Savage, that he was guaranteeing a worse beating with every punch that he landed, and that they would take pleasure in ripping away every last shred of resistance. He surrendered to instinct and hammered a right-hander that detonated against the left side of Savage's head. The big man staggered back, turning away from the open doorway and retreating to the other side of the room. Steve followed him, closing in quickly and drilling him with a right-left-right combination to the head, ribs, and head once again.

Savage ran out of room. He backed against the wall, both hands raised to protect the sides of his head with a wide gap left open between his chubby forearms. Steve drew back his right fist until it was all the way back behind his head, felt the tension and power surge into his shoulder, and then released it, pummelling Savage square in the face.

The big man slumped back against the wall and tried to gain advantage again, but Steve managed to block all his futile attempts.

Steve kicked him, left and right, the side of his foot landing against his ribs and shoulders. Savage began to slide down the wall, and Steve decided the man had had enough. He stepped back in hope Savage would stay down on his haunches and didn't give him a reason to finish him off when—his vision went black and his head was filled by a single high-pitched tone.

He lost consciousness and, when he came around again, he found he was flat on his face on the floor. The concrete was cold and damp and it smelled foul. He caught a quick glimpse to his side and saw one of the guards, his baton raised above his head, and realized that he had been knocked out. The guard slammed the baton down, the wooden end cracking against his crown. The other guard came into the room, his own club raised. They rained blows down onto Steve, the ends of their clubs finding their marks as the men fell upon him. Steve tried to cover up, but they just switched their targets, hammering his trunk and then, as he rolled up, his kidneys. Steve curled into a ball, bringing his knees up to his chin, painfully aware that his back and ribs were vulnerable. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as the blows rained down on him again and again and again.

Steve must've blacked out again because suddenly he became aware of hands on either side of his body. He was being gripped beneath his shoulders. He opened his eyes and looked straight down at the floor. It was moving beneath him. His head hung limply and his face felt like one huge, throbbing bruise. His mouth was open, and streamers of saliva stretched down. He dabbed at the inside of his mouth with his tongue and tasted blood. He felt for his teeth; he thought that they were still there. A small mercy.

He looked left and right and saw the legs of the men who were hauling him onwards. They were shod in shining leather boots. The guards. He allowed his head to dangle enough so that he could try to look behind him, but the effort made his head pound so that he felt like retching.

He closed his eyes again.

When he opened them again, he was back inside. He recognized the floor of the cell block. His cell door was open and he was thrown inside. He landed on the floor with a thud.

"Hello again, Steve."

He looked up: Roederer was standing above him.

Steve didn't move. His body pulsed with pain.

"You still with us?"

Steve tried to speak but all he managed was a quiet groan.

Roederer laughed. Steve concentrated on what he could feel without having to open his eyes. His arms were splayed out, and, as he moved his fingers, he felt the imperfections in the concrete floor. He concentrated his attention on the multitude of individual aches and throbs that he could feel. His face was the worst. He was lying against something sharp, and it provided a pinprick of intensity that was just perceptible as a peak amid the general swelling. He allowed his attention to travel down his body. His ribs throbbed, as did several distinct areas on his back and legs. He could feel the blood on his head, the warmth of it ebbing away as it started to clot.

"They told me you took the fight to Savage this time. How'd that work out for you?" Roederer said.

"I think I broke his nose," he mumbled.

Roederer chuckled again. "You should have just taken your medicine. He wants to kill you now. I told him no. Don't want you checking out, not yet. He's going to be in charge of your morning exercise. I managed to placate him with that. He's looking forward to it."

Steve tried to roll over, but the effort was too much. He lay still. He heard Roederer's footsteps as he moved around the cell, and then felt the toe of his boot against his tender ribs.

"You look pathetic, Steve. Weak. It's not how I thought you'd be like. I expected more from a man with your experience."

Steve took a deep breath and felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He crawled ahead a few feet, pain flashing with the effort, and managed to fall onto the floor again. He brought his knees up beneath his body and pressed up with his hands, raising himself enough so that he could turn and sit, his back up against the wall of the cell.

The guards who had beaten him up were standing in front of the open cell door. Aydan's cell was empty and the door open too. Steve's guess was that they didn't need any witnesses for a special visitor right in Steve's cell.

"You know, I wanted to see how you were doing one last time before I leave you in these gentlemen's care," Roederer said and gestured to the guards. "I've got a lot of work. A lot of things to fix thanks to you. But it's all right. I can rebuild my business while knowing you're here, paying for what you've caused. I'm sure it's going to be a good year." He paused, chiding himself with a theatrical tut. "I'm sorry, that was insensitive. It's going to be a good year for me. Not such a good one for you."

Roederer took a step toward the open cell door.

"Wait," Steve managed.

Roederer stopped. "Yes?"

"You said…" Steve paused as a wave of pain washed over him and took and sucked in a breath that felt like a knife in his chest. "You said this would be the last time you saw me."

"It will be."

"No," Steve said. "It won't. I—"

Roederer interrupted him with a chuckle. "Oh, come on, Steve," he said. "Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?" He turned and took the step necessary to bring himself directly in front of Steve. He crouched down and put a hand on Steve's shoulder.

Steve clenched his teeth and pulled away through the pain.

That made Roederer's grin wider. "Look at you," he said. "You're done, old boy. You're finished. Threats only work when they have substance. You can't threaten me. You're in here. I'll be out there. But when I say that you're going to be beaten every day, you should take that seriously. It's not an empty threat. And when I say you're going to die, you should believe that, too."

Roederer stood and backed out of the cell.

Savage stepped up from somewhere Steve couldn't see him and took his place.

The big man had a dressing across his nose. He laced his fingers and pushed, cracking his knuckles.

"More?" Steve said.

Roederer smiled through the bars. "Lots more. Have fun, Steve. And remember our deal. I'd rather not remind you how easy it is to get to your family. Goodbye."

Danny was the first one in the office.

By the time others arrived, he kept going through everything that his friends had managed to find out while he'd been locked up. But there wasn't a single piece of solid evidence proving Hoffman's involvement and Steve's innocence.

A knock on the door startled him. He lifted his head from the files. Tani stood in the doorway with a paper coffee cup.

"I thought you might need this." She walked over to Danny's desk and placed it right next to the pile of papers.

The smell of fresh coffee invaded Danny's nostrils immediately. "Thanks," he said. "Something new?"

Tani shook his head. A grim expression accompanied the silent movement. "We're looking into the police officers who were at the safehouse yesterday. Maybe it can lead us somewhere," she said. "But we've got nothing useful so far."

Not able to hide the frustration, Danny rubbed his face with a palm of his hand and glanced at his watch. Half-past eight. "Okay. I'll go talk to Lynn's mother," he said. "See if she can shed some light on this."

"You want me to go with you?"

Danny shrugged. Maybe it would be a good idea to bring Tani with him. There was no doubt the old lady would be upset, and from experience, Danny could say mothers of the victims sometimes preferred having a female officer talk to them. "Sure, why not."

There was no reason to wait any longer. Danny stood up, picking up the hot brew as he did so, and gestured toward the doorway.

The ride was quiet, as if Tani didn't dare to interrupt the thoughts that were raging in Danny's head. Or maybe she was overwhelmed by her own, he couldn't say. They arrived at the house that belonged to Lynn's mother in under twenty minutes, walked over to the doorway, and knocked.

Danny had expected an old lady to greet them, but when the door opened, a pretty little girl not older than four or five stood on the other side instead.

"Hello," the girl said with a smile.

Her blonde hair tied in two braids revealed her softly sculpted face. Big hazelly-blue eyes watched over Danny and Tani with excitement.

"Maddie!" came a shout. A second later a lady in her sixties showed up. "What did I tell you about opening the door on your own?"

The girl looked up at her, guilt written all over her face. "You said not to do that and wait for you," she said.

"Exactly." The old woman exhaled and turned her attention to the guests. Her red-rimmed eyes were puffy from recent crying. "How can I help you?" she said.

Danny cleared his throat. "Diane Downey?"

"Yeah."

"I'm Detective Williams, and this is officer Rey. Five-0. We'd like to talk to you about Lynn."

Unmistakable sadness washed over Diane's face. She ran her hand gently down the girl's head. "Maddie, honey, can you please go play to the living room? I'll be right with you," she said.

Maddie exhaled theatrically. "Ookaaaay," she said, and reluctantly walked away, taking small and deliberate steps as she did so.

Danny waited for the kid to disappear from his sight. "Mrs. Downey, we're sorry about your daughter, but we have a couple of questions," he began.

Diane's lips curled into a confused frown. "I thought FBI is in charge of the investigation," she said.

"They are, but we'd really be grateful if you could help us too."

"Are you mommy's friends?" Maddie's voice came from behind the corner.

Danny looked in her direction, and saw a half of her face peeking in the doorway.

"Mommy?" Tani asked, obviously as confused as Danny about the girl's question.

"Maddie is Lynn's daughter," Diane explained.

Danny's eyes widened. "I didn't know she had a child," he said.

Diane opened her mouth to speak, but Maddie interrupted her.

"So are you mommy's friends?" she repeated her question, not hiding from the sight anymore.

"Yes, you could say that," Danny answered.

"Maddie, please, don't make me repeat myself," Diane warned.

"Okay, I'm going," Maddie said and disappeared again.

"I haven't told her yet," Diane spoke up, her voice quiet and trembling. "I… I don't know how. The funeral is tomorrow and she's still expecting her mom to come home." A great sob escaped her, and she covered her face with shaking hands. She took a moment to regain her composure, suck in a breath, and look at Danny and Tani again. "Wh… what do you need to know?" she asked.

Danny felt sorry for her. To lose a child like that… he couldn't even imagine it. He wouldn't want to be the one to announce that to the kid, either.

"Did you notice something unusual about your daughter lately? Anything?" Tani asked.

"No."

"Was Lynn in some kind of trouble, maybe?"

Diane shook her head. "I don't know. Why?"

Tani exchanged a glance with Danny before continuing. "Before she died, she did a couple of things which we're trying to understand."

"Like what?"

"Like asking McGarrett to meet her. Or booking a hotel room when both of them live close by."

Danny wasn't sure what kind of a reaction they would get, and maybe he had half-expected a surprise, or maybe anger for that kind of a question about Diane's daughter, but it wasn't there.

Diane shuffled her feet and meddled her hands together. "Look, FBI told me what happened," she said. "I already told them I have no idea why she'd be in that hotel room. They said it was Steve who had done that. That… that they've been drinking too much and…" A tear escaped her eye and she wiped it off her face with the back of her hand. She glanced away for a moment. There were more tears in her eyes when she turned back. "I hope you'll find the real killer," she said.

Danny drew his brows together, thinking. "What do you mean by that?" he asked. "You don't think it was Steve?"

"I… He didn't strike me like a man capable of such a thing."

He had been doing his job for long enough to know Diane didn't tell them the whole truth. "There's more to that, isn't there?" he said.

Diane crossed her arms over her chest. Her whole body was tense. She opened her mouth halfway and grimaced, as if something was pulling her face and she was trying to fight it. She blinked a few times and looked away.

"Did you know she asked him out?" Danny kept pressing.

"Yes, she told me."

"Did she tell you why?"

Diane rubbed her face and exhaled a slow breath. She didn't answer. A look in her eyes gave Danny enough reason to believe she knew something.

"Come on, if you know any reason why Steve couldn't have done that, you have to tell us." Tani chimed in.

Diane's lips began to tremble. A tiny movement, almost invisible, but Danny noticed.

"Look, I can say you're scared," he said. "But we can protect you, okay?"

Still, no answer came from Diane, but her gaze shifted from Danny to Tani and back.

"Mrs. Downey, please, don't let an innocent man pay for someone else's crimes," Tani kept trying. "If you know something, tell us."

A long and tense silence stretched over the air for a few long seconds. "Okay," she said eventually. "But I… uh, I don't know the details."

Danny nodded, his heart beating faster in anticipation. "Just tell us what you know," he encouraged her.

"There was a man. He… he broke into Lynn's house at night and she found him standing in Maddie's room." Diane shook her head slightly and continued. "She said he wanted her to do something she would never forgive herself and that a good man would end up hurt. But that guy had threatened to hurt Maddie if she didn't do it or if she went to the cops. She was terrified."

Danny's nails dug into the skin on the palms of his hands as he curled them into fists. Anger surged through him at a coward this guy no doubt was. The son of a bitch really didn't mind threatening the kids to get his way. And if there was one thing Danny couldn't stand, it was this.

"Did she tell you who this man was?" Tani asked. "Or how did he look like? What exactly did he want her to do?"

"No. That's all I know," Diane shook her head. She froze mid-movement and her eyes shot up wide. "Wait, no, I remember. Lynn… she said he had a foreign accent. From Europe, maybe. She wasn't sure. That's all. She didn't want to tell me what he wanted her to do. But I put the pieces together after… you know."

"When did this happen?" Danny asked.

"Wednesday night."

Danny exchanged a look with Tani. "So she called Steve right away in the morning, set up a meeting, booked a hotel room, and then met him on Friday night."

Tani nodded in agreement.

"Look, Lynn was a good person," Diane said. "Whatever she had done, I can assure you it was just to protect her daughter."

"Yeah, I know. But it got her killed," Danny said.

Diane's eyes filled with tears again.

"Mrs. Downey, the people responsible for this are still out there. We'll make sure you get police protection until this is over," Tani said.

Diane shook her head. "Oh, no, thanks. No way."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to raise the suspicion. What if he comes back? You said it yourself, he's still out there. I've lost my only daughter already. I have to protect Maddie."

"That's exactly why I–"

"No. And unless you have any more questions, we're done talking about it."

"Actually, I do have a question," Danny said, stealing a glance at Maddie over Diane's shoulder. He could see the girl playing in the distance. "Maddie. How old is she?"

Diane threw him a sad smile. "She turned four three months ago."

"Huh."

Tanni narrowed her eyes in question as she looked at Danny's unmistakable pout.

"Does Steve know about her?" Danny asked, unable to hold the question back anymore.

"Excuse me?"

"Look, one doesn't need to be a detective to put the pieces together. I can count and unless Lynn was with someone else, and I think that's not the case because I've known her, Maddie's Steve's daughter. So will you please answer the question?"

The old woman replied with a resigned sigh. "No," she said after a long stretch of silence. "He doesn't know."

Danny shook his head in disbelief. A concoction of emotions flooded him. He couldn't believe Lynn didn't tell Steve that she'd been pregnant when they broke up. Thanks to Rachel, Danny knew exactly how it felt to be lied to about having a child, and he'd never understand why anyone would do such a thing. Tiny bubbles of anger began forming under his skin and he was about to speak when Diane interrupted.

"Lynn wanted it that way," she said. "I tried to convince her it wasn't a good idea, but… she… she didn't want it to be a burden for Steve. She said that he's not the kind of guy who would settle down for quiet family life. And then she almost changed her mind when Maddie was two, but he had left the island and…"

"That's a pretty lame excuse," Danny said, his mind traveling back in time to the moment Rachel had told him about Charlie. "She had no right to keep it from him."

"I absolutely agree, Detective. But it wasn't my choice to make."

His mind was spinning with all the new information when his phone rang. He took it out of the pocket and glanced down at it. It was Adam.

"Adam?" He answered the phone. "Please tell me you have good news."

"We might have something on those HPD officers," Adam confirmed. "Junior and Quinn are interrogating one of them right now. I thought you might want to be here for it."

A spark of hope lit up inside Danny's heart. "We'll be there in ten," he said and ended the call.

"What?" Tani asked.

"We need to go." Danny turned to Diane, gesturing toward the girl in the next room. "This conversation isn't over," he said. "And officer Rey will arrange for someone from HPD to stay with you until it's safe again. I'm not arguing about that."

The old woman wanted to protest, but Danny didn't give her a chance.

"Let's go," he told Tani and led the way out with hope they might finally move on with the investigation.

"Are you all right?"

Steve coughed. He felt bubbles of hot blood in his mouth. His nose was clogged up with plugs of solid blood. He had to breathe through his mouth, and, as he did, he felt stabs of pain from the back of his mouth. He probed with his tongue and felt the sharp sliver of enamel that had once been his back molar.

"Steve?"

He managed to groan. It was the best he could do. He was in too much pain to move or talk. His body throbbed, as if every last square inch had been pummelled repeatedly with a hammer. The pain swamped over him in waves.

"Steve?" The old man persevered, waiting for a reply.

Steve lay still, face up, his eyes closed. There was more blood in his mouth, and, lying like this, it trickled back into his throat. He managed to turn his head so that his mouth was pointing down and then tried to push the blood out with his tongue.

He opened his eyes.

Aydan was glued to the bars of his own cell, staring at Steve with a frown. "It was Savage again?" he asked.

"Yeah." Steve managed a moan. "But guards first."

"You were unconscious when they brought me back from the yard. They beat you more than the last time."

Steve wanted to tell Aydan that he had embarrassed Savage and that he didn't think it had gone down very well, but the sentence was too long and he didn't have the strength for it.

"We need to do something," the old man said. "You can't go through this every day."

Steve tried to speak, but all he could manage was an uncontrollable cough.

"What?"

Steve waited until it subsided. "Got any ideas?"

"Not really." Aydan let out a sigh. "But if there's anything I can help with, let me know. I'll see what I can do."

"Message," Steve mumbled.

"What?"

"Need to get the message out."

"To who?"

"Someone outside," he said. "You think you can help with that?"

"Perhaps. But can't you ask your lawyer to do that?"

Steve shook his head, but the movement was dizzying and it made him feel sick. The last time he'd spoken to Odell, the guards had been listening and Roederer was clear about what would happen if he so much as hinted anything. He wasn't about to risk the lives of the most important people in his life like that. But the older man was right. He wouldn't last long if it kept going like this. So trusting Aydan seemed like his only option right now.

"Okay. I might be able to find an inmate who has a visitor. I am friendly with some. Perhaps they could arrange it. Who do you need to deliver a message to?"

"Five-0," Steve said.

*to be continued*

Okay, I'm really not sure I like this chapter. The scene with Danny and the kid looked way better in my head, but I just couldn't write it the way I imagined it. I hope it wasn't too bad. I'd appreciate if you found a moment to share your opinion.