Hello there again. Sorry you had to wait this long for an update. Something got in the way and I didn't have much time to write. But hey, I made it eventually, and here it is.

Thanks for your reviews as always.

Steve came around and opened his eyes, unaware he'd closed them in the first place. For a moment he was uncertain where he was and how he had come to be here, and tried to stitch together the fragments of memories that he could recall. After a brief moment of blankness, it all came back to him in a rush.

Had he fallen asleep? Had he passed out? He wasn't sure. It was still dark, though, and even though he didn't know how much time had passed, he knew he couldn't stay there any longer.

But what was he supposed to do? He couldn't just wander around the jungle, running from the police, and hope to come across the one man responsible for all this. And even if he did find him before getting caught, then what? He was still a fugitive. And it wasn't like Roederer had any intention of confessing his crimes, was it?

The bad shape Steve was in was another reason for concern. His body was one enormous bruise, and he was hurting all over. The bullet wound in his left arm was the worst of it all, along with deep, stabbing pain in his chest coming with each breath. Gnawing headache made it all too difficult to focus and think clearly on top of it all, and he was exhausted to the core. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to keep going like this.

A sickly feeling in his stomach told him that he was on his own. The team wouldn't help him this time. If Danny really went to see the governor, there was a high chance he was somewhere in a holding cell right now, making things even worse. Jerry might have been arrested too, as he hadn't contacted Steve so far. None of his friends had, which meant nothing good and Steve didn't want to risk calling their phone numbers. If the police knew where to look for Steve, his guess was they knew about the rest of the team too and all of his friends might be in trouble for helping him. Just the thought made Steve's chest tight with worry. There was still a warm feeling of hope in his chest, though. Maybe he was wrong and there was a different reason for Danny being at State Capitol and no one calling Jerry's phone. He clung to that thought because right now, he really couldn't do anything to help them. Not until he was clear of the charges.

Either way, he needed to move.

He swung his legs around, wanting to scramble up to his feet. But the rush of pain was sudden and shocking and made his head spin and his vision blur. He sat back down, gasping for breath, and raised his arm so he could look at the damage. He carefully removed the dressings. The entry wound hadn't become infected, but the exit wound didn't look good. He had to do something about it before it got too much worse. But for now he just wrapped the wounds with the last bandage from the first aid kid and secured it with the tape.

He was about to try and stand up again when Jerry's phone rang in his pocket. Hoping it was one of his friends, he fumbled for it as fast as he could. The caller ID was hidden, arousing suspicion. He answered the call but remained quiet, decided he would let the other person speak first to determine whether it was safe to talk to them.

"Jerry?" A female voice. "Is that you?"

Steve heard this voice over the phone so many times it was impossible not to place it. "Cath?"

She let out a relieved breath. "Oh, God, Steve. Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he lied. "Why are you calling Jerry?"

"I've been trying to contact others for hours but couldn't reach anyone. I rang Kono and she told me that Five-0 was about to break you out of prison. She said Jerry was involved too, so I gave it a try. Where are you? What's going on? Why no one answers the phone?"

That was a question Steve wanted an answer to as well. "I think they're in trouble. The police came to the place where we stayed and Jerry was there. He gave me his phone and I had to run and…"

"Hang on…" she interrupted. "Did you just say you had to run from the police? I take it I'm calling too late, then. You didn't get released. They went through with the plan, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did."

There was a brief silence on the other side of the phone.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"Danny said he couldn't get in touch for days." Steve wanted to say how worried he was Roederer got to Catherine as well, but he didn't.

"I know, I had to get something done so I wasn't near my phone. Work. But I found Roederer. That's why I wanted to call the team. I was hoping I could reach them before they did something crazy."

"Where?" Steve felt a sudden surge of adrenaline. "Is he still on the island?"

"He was at the airport gate, ready to board the plane, but he got a call and obviously changed his mind about leaving."

"How do you know that?"

"I hacked the cameras," she said. "I found out he got a plane ticket under a fake name and checked the live feed at that time."

"Is he still there?"

"No. He left hours ago. I've lost him for an hour or two but I've got eyes on him again. But he's not alone anymore. There's a child with him."

Steve's brain whirred, and a sudden chill seeped into his bones.

Jamba.

"A… child?" he stuttered.

Roederer's threat was still vivid on his mind. He must have heard about Steve's escape and went after his son. But didn't Danny said the kids were safe? That they were all together with Rachel and HPD?

"Yeah, a little girl."

"A girl? Are you sure?"

"Hundred percent. Maybe four or five years old, blonde. He must've picked her up between the airport and Ford Island bridge, because that's where I lost him. When I saw him on traffic cameras again she was with him."

It took a moment for Steve's dazed mind to realize what Catherine was saying. But when it sank in, his throat tightened. The house Lynn's mom lived in was exactly on that route, and he remembered Danny telling him about Lynn having a daughter about that age. It must've been her.

"Steve?"

"I'm here," he said. "I was just thinking. I think she might be Lynn's daughter. You know where are they now?"

"The harbor under the bridge. Just on the other side from Pearl Harbor. You've got a plan?"

"Kind of," he lied again. "Just let me know if he moves, would you?"

"Steve, I know you. I know you want to go after him right now. But Kono and Chin are on the way over to Hawaii. Their plane lands in less than an hour," she said. "Can you please wait for them?"

That wasn't gonna happen. Especially not if an innocent child could be in danger.

"They're coming?"

"They are. Steve, you don't sound good. Please wait for them."

He ignored Catherine's plea. But with a pleasant surprise of his old friends coming to the island in order to help them, he might have an idea. "I need you to do something for me," he said instead and explained what just popped on his mind.

He ended the call after thanking her for help and scrambled up to his feet, using the rocky wall for support, pushing the pain into the back of his skull. He was done running. There was a clear goal on his mind, forcing him to ignore the pain and weakness and keep going to end this all.

There was no time for sitting around. The police were nowhere to be seen, so he still had a little head start and he had to make it count. He knew if he went now and moved as quickly as he could, he would stand a decent chance of getting clear. He expected that Hoffman would have divided the jungle into grid squares and have people search them. There would be more police there already, but the longer he waited, the more there would be. If he went now, he was confident he would be able to get away.

Steve clambered carefully down the slope, going as fast as his body allowed. He stopped only for a few seconds when the pain got nearly unbearable and he had to take a couple of deeps breaths to ride it out. But it was still there, and he had been reminded of it by the jolt that greeted every upward swing of his arm, or if he took too deep of a breath. He turned back and tried to assess how far he had traveled. Maybe two miles in the last hour? Or less? His aching body, especially the arm, had compromised his stride. He was covering much less ground than he would have liked and he had little time.

He set off again, pushing himself harder, gritting his teeth to ignore the pain.

Refusing to give up, he kept going. He didn't have a choice anyway. It wasn't just about him anymore. Lynn was dead. His family threatened. His friends in trouble. And a little girl in danger.

There was simply too much at stake and failure wasn't an option.

The rattle of the chain as Danny leaned back in the chair was the only sound in an otherwise quiet room. The cuffs on his wrists were attached to the loop on the table in front of him. He tried to keep his breathing even, knowing he might be watched through the huge one-way mirror on the wall. But inside, he was in turmoil.

This wasn't what he had on mind when hoping he could speak to the governor. Getting arrested again, and this time for a damn good reason, didn't sit well with him. Especially after taking the whole team down with him. Had he been more careful and didn't let them follow him, maybe they wouldn't all be in rooms like this one.

No matter how hard he tried, no one didn't seem to listen to his plea of seeing the governor nor the reasons behind his actions. The only fact that seemed to get the interrogator's attention was that there was a missing child.

The officer leading the interrogation had left to confirm the validity of this information and hadn't come back since. But it had been at least an hour ago and Danny was losing his patience. There was no time for this. He had to get out and help to clear Steve's name. To get him some medical attention and find Maddie before it was too late.

He hoped at least Steve and Jerry were safe back in the cabin. Not for a second he thought one of his friends would give any relevant information or their boss's location up to the police, but his stomach was churning with worry anyway. It was just a question of time before someone found out. If they hadn't already.

More time passed and Danny grew jumpier with each minute. Eventually, the officer returned, and Danny's hopeful gaze met his.

"It looks like you were right," the officer said, standing in the open doorway. "About the girl, I mean."

"And it took you this long to figure that out?" Danny snapped. "Two of your colleagues are in a hospital for God's sake! Surely someone would know about it."

The officer ignored Danny's raised voice. "How can I be sure you're not using the information about the kidnapping to take the heat off Five-0? You sure are facing some serious charges."

"Look, I know I've done some things I shouldn't have, but–first of all–leave the others out of it. They had nothing to do with this. Second of all, I'd do it again if I had to. If the authorities didn't choose to ignore the facts pointing out to McGarrett's innocence, it never would have come this far." The blood was boiling in Danny's veins. It was like repeating himself over and over and over again, yet no one bothered to really listen. "Do whatever you have to. You want to charge me? Fine. But please, don't let that kid and an innocent man pay for someone's crimes and the ignorance of others. Everything I said is true and I can prove it, okay? I've got witnesses that would tell you the same. Let me help. Then, by all means, I'm all yours."

The officer stared at him, his eyes narrowed. "So you're saying you know who took the girl?"

"Yes!"

"And it is the same man who, according to you, framed McGarrett of Downey's murder?"

"Correct."

The officer let out a sigh. "I can't do anything about the murder case. FBI took that one over, but–"

"Sure they did," Danny interrupted. "Because it was convenient. Roederer has agent Hoffman on his payroll and he managed to somehow get the case assigned to him so he could make sure McGarrett would end up behind the bars."

The officer frowned. "I wasn't done talking," he said. "So, as I said, I can't do much about that. But I can certainly speak to my boss and ask him to talk to someone who could have a closer look at this if what you're saying is true. I'm sure you know accusing a federal agent of such a crime would make you no good if it turned out to be a lie."

Danny did know. "It is true."

"What about the Downey's kid?" the officer said. "Any idea where to look for her?"

He shook his head. "But I can help you find her."

"How? Do you know something we don't?"

"I'll tell you everything I know. But is this necessary?" Danny raised his cuffed wrists. "I am not going anywhere, right? And I'm on your side."

The officer closed the door and took a place in a chair across the table, staring at Danny. "Tell me what you know and then we'll see."

So he did, not leaving out a single detail in hope that maybe… just maybe he could finally get someone to listen.

*to be continued*

Not much happened in this chapter, but I did sprinkle some hope in it for everyone involved. You guys keep asking for Kono and Chin, so... why not? I think once ohana, always ohana, right? No matter where they are.

We're coming near the end - maybe 2 or 3 chapters remaining.

Let me know what you think, I always appreciate each and every opinion.