CHAPTER THIRTEEN

ROADBLOCKS IN A THIRTEEN MILE RADIUS

ENROUTE - O'AHU

Steve ran back to his car, opened the door, and squeezed behind the wheel. He jammed the key in the ignition, started the engine, and shoved the stick in reverse. Stamped on the gas, fastened his seatbelt with one hand, and pulled hard on the wheel with the other. He hurled the crew-cab out of the driveway and braked hard. Tani slid inside on the passengers' seat, and Steve took off with the front tires howling and smoking. He was twenty yards down the road before Tani could pull her door shut.

With lights and sirens on, Steve headed back to the highway. He blew through two red lights and swerved the car like a dodgem from one lane to another. He was moving as fast as he dared and as fast as he found necessary. Then he called HQ. The call connected immediately, and Lou was the one that answered.

"Lou, listen, Kim Leung took Danny. Tani's texting you the location where they're keeping him. Have an ambulance send there right away and call HPD. Have them get a helo in the air and I want roadblocks in a thirteen-mile radius, 360 perimeters. Put the whole place on lockdown. No one gets away, you understand me?"

"Copy that," Lou said. "And Steve, I know you don't want to hear this, but please wait for back-up. SWAT's on its way, and so are Junior and I."

"We can't wait. If Kim knows we're coming, he might— I don't wanna find out what he's capable of, okay?" that said, Steve charged east on the H1, fast and furious. Vehicles moved out of his way like he was radioactive. "Jerry, you there?"

"Always," Jerry responded.

"Good, I wanna know everything there is to know about Kim Leung, okay? I wanna know every business he runs. Who all his employees are. Every family member. Every friend he has. All of it, you copy?"

Steve could hear Jerry's fingers whiz on the computer table as he confirmed with, "I'm on it."

Grover popped back up and said, "Steve."

Steve cut him right off. He knew what Lou wanted to say, and on any other day, he might've taken it into consideration, but not today. The end of a kidnap was always the period of greatest risk. Especially when law enforcement tried to end it on their terms. And that was exactly what Steve was about to do. He didn't have another choice. He did not want to find his best friend half-dead at that abandoned hangar.

"Lou, I'm not waiting for back-up, and that's the end of this discussion. If we don't move fast, Danny's— he's not gonna last."

SKATE HANGAR - O'AHU

Danny was indeed not going to last. Moreover, no one lives forever. In his head, Danny had always known he would die. Every human does. But in his heart, he had never really imagined it. Never imagined the time and place and the details and the particulars. It might sound like a lie for someone as cynical and overthinking as Danny, but it was true. He had never imagined any of it, and looking down at his chest tube, he wouldn't get the chance for it either. It was already decided for him. Not that he was dying this instant, but his chest tube was completely filled with blood. It had reached its maximum capacity because blood was dripping out of the valve. Danny didn't know whether it was a good thing that blood was leaking out of him, but blood building up inside his chest wasn't a good thing either.

Danny didn't have much time to think about it, though. He was standing at the bottom of the skate bowl, again and face-to-face with Kim Leung. Danny didn't know who threw the first punch, but suddenly Kim's fist was slamming into Danny's face while his own fist sunk into Kim's stomach. Blood pooled in Danny's mouth, and Kim gasped for air. They stumbled apart for a brief second to catch their breaths before diving back at each other, eyes narrowed in determination. Kim hit Danny again. A hard straight right to the face. Danny's head snapped back. Blood spurted, and he dropped down. Kim smiled.

Danny rolled over and got up on all fours. Blood poured out of his mouth, off his chin. Danny spitted out blood and breathed hard, and shaped up once more. His mouth hurt. His head hurt. His shoulder hurt. His chest hurt. He was sick and dizzy. He spitted again. Traced his teeth with his tongue. It made him feel like he was smiling back at Kim. However, Danny didn't feel like actually smiling. He was slowly bleeding out. Medicals call that a fatal injury. Not something to be smiling about. More something to be furious about. Danny spat for the third time. Then he threw himself at Kim.

Kim stepped back, easily evading the blow. "Is that all you got?" He crowed, smirking at Danny.

Danny circled back at Kim, but his right knee slowed him down. Allowing Kim to reach for the taser and zap Danny straight on the left side of his torso. Danny yowled as the electric jolt of pain flashed through his chest. Every muscle in his body locked up in a tight contraction. Danny went stiff as a surfboard and dropped involuntarily to the ground. After a good ten seconds, the pain faded, his muscles let loose, and Danny could breathe again. Before he could even think about his next move, he was hit with the taser again. He yelped and went entirely rigid as the electric current pulsed through his torso. Kim repeated this over and over again up to the point where Danny was praying to pass out. But he didn't.

Then a sharp whistle echoed through the hangar, and Kim stopped instantly. He tucked the taser in the back of his pants, took several steps back, and launched himself straight at the halfpipe. Something was happening, Danny could tell. Something Kim wasn't expecting. That whistle was meant as a warning sign. Danny watched Kim scramble up the curved ramp, with a kind of hurry like someone said squirrel to a dog. Coward. The thought brought a smile to Danny's busted lip.

With enough strength, Kim climbed out of the skate bowl and out of Danny's sight. He was once again alone, but he wasn't sure how much life he had left to ever see anyone again. And if that were true, there was not much more to lose. He was a dead man, and there was nothing more at all, except the chance to take someone with him.

Dazed by all the hits, Danny managed to roll over. A pained grunt forced its way out of his throat, morphing into a hacking cough before it's halfway out. He couldn't wait for the pain to lessen. He had to move. Right fucking now. It was like trying to jump-start a car on a freezing New Jersey morning. With more effort than he'd ever summoned in his entire life, Danny scrambled to his feet. He leaned forward like a runner out of the blocks, body trembling. The skatebowl blurred, his vision doubled. It was now or never.

Danny took a five-stride run-up and ran straight at the halfpipe.

HICKAM SKATE HANGAR - JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM - O'AHU

Fully dressed in tactical gear and their Heckler & Koch MP7s aligned, Steve and Tani jogged toward the aircraft hangar. The huge hangar was the only one standing around on the lot. Its roof was shaped in a great curve of corrugated iron, and with only walls on both sides, it allowed access to the launch site. However, Steve knew for a fact that it was no longer part of the US Air Force Base. Back in the day, they used the hangar to repair aircrafts, but that was until they transformed it into a skatepark— wildly popular up to when a brand new skatepark opened a couple of blocks from here. Nowadays, the state of Hawaii marked the hangar as abandoned terrain.

The massive iron structure appeared indestructible. The rest, not so much. Over time the corrugated steel plates had weakened. The white paint wore off, and rust had formed, covering them with a yellowish-brown flaky coating. At nighttime, the aging would barely be noticeable. Although, Steve could see every dent and scratch. Fine. That might be a bit overdramatic, but he had no trouble seeing his surroundings. Thanks to the artificial light that beamed from the front and rear opening of the hangar. Steve figured construction lights because nothing else could illuminate such a large abandoned space like it did. Unfortunately for Tani and Steve, the bright light ruined their night sky cover.

Trying to stay out of sight, Steve and Tani huddled up to the side of the hangar. Coming closer, Steve realized that the light wasn't the only thing coming from inside. Every now and then, there was a piercing scream. One with a raw quality, coming from a person consumed by pain. It was not like one of those guys in some Tarantino movie being tortured, but worse. Steve stopped. He knew instantly that it was Danny. What they were doing to him, Steve could only imagine. He bowed his head as the wails came and went, like waves crashing into the rocks. He couldn't bear listening to the pain of his closest friend.

With not a minute to spare, McGarrett moved forward. He stayed close to the wall. Crept onward until the screaming became louder. He stopped at the corner and flattened against the wall as the noise died back to nothing. Took a breath and leaned out to check the hangar. Steve was looking at two guys from behind. Standing side by side with their backs to him. Each of them holding an AK-47. One guy scratched the back of his head with the muzzle. Both of them were carrying the weapons like they never had fired one. If these dumb-asses got hired to guard the place, they were not the sharpest knives in the drawer. Steve hauled the nylon strap of his secured MP7A1 around until the weapon hung down his back. He needed a more subtle approach than to riddle those guys with bullets. Steve pulled the tactical knife out of his thigh holster. Flipped it open and secured the knife back. He paused to see if he had an all-clear. Then took a silent step into the hangar.

A chilling breeze moved freely from front to back of the hangar. Steve held his hand on the knife when he closed in on the men. Picked the guy standing on the right as his first target. Just as Steve hoped, the guy turned around, and Steve gave a solid punch to the guy's larynx. The man dropped the gun as his hands reached for his throat. He slumped forward, gasping for breath, and stumbled a few steps backward.

In response to his fellow guard being attacked, the other guy spun around and faced Steve. The man's face registered surprise. But only for a moment. Because as he stepped forward, Steve pushed his fist against the guy's jaw to bring him off balance. It worked. McGarrett wrapped his right arm around the guy's throat and locked his grip with his left arm. He then squeezed. The best way to silence a guy as big as this dude was simply to crush his windpipe. No shooting, no banging around. He just had to make sure there was no noise. No shouting, no screaming. Just a long labored last breath.

The attack played out like an organized hit. Smooth movements and without warning anyone else. Except this guy was still alive and kicking, trying to squirm out of Steve's grip. Steve squeezed the guy with all his strength. The guy went crazy with panic. Steve tightened his grip. Crushed harder and harder. He kept the pressure full-on for another whole minute until Steve was sure the guy lost consciousness. Steve felt the body go slack. Then he eased off slowly and bent down and laid the body gently on the floor. Steve breathed hard. He squatted down to check for a pulse. There was one, but the guy was out cold.

Steve flipped the guy over onto his stomach. Secured his wrists and ankles with a zip tie and took his AK-47. With the gun in his hands, Steve strolled over to the other guy gasping for air. With wide, panicked eyes, the man stared at Steve. There was no need to go all big. The guy was unable to put a fight, so Steve simply butted the rifle on the guy's temporal lobe. Hard and vicious. The guy went quiet, fell face forward, and stopped moving. Steve repeated the step to secure the wrists and ankles with a zip tie and tossed both the AK-47s without the reach of the unconscious guards. Steve took the strapped MP7A1 from his back aligned it once again.

Tani was right behind him. She gave the nod, saying they were good to continue.

"Moving," Steve stated quietly and navigated them through the hangar. They passed all kinds of skating equipment that once formed the skatepark. It was all there; half-pipes, bowls, handrails, stair-sets and ramps, all sorts of objects that would make a skater's heart beat faster. Other than the equipment, the hangar was empty. Empty, as in no people in it. Also, empty as in abandoned. No skaters. No Danny. No sign of life at all. The screaming had stopped too. Steve paused to take in the situation. He didn't let his gun down because they hadn't cleared the entire place. There was one thing left to clear. On the outer end of the hangar was a raised, hollowed receptacle completely made out of wood. The entire thing was enormous as in equally wide as the hangar itself. Also known as a skatebowl.

Tani whispered. "Steve," and pointed ahead. Steve followed her signal. A man showed on top of the skatebowl. It was Kim Leung. He climbed out of the kidney-shaped bowl and onto the deck that served as a staging area surrounding the bowl. He wasn't alone. A bloodied and battered guy climbed out behind him. Danny? Steve's insides turned cold. The black-and-blue marks on Danny's torso confirmed what they had been doing to him, although it wasn't all. Steve hardly recognized his partner. Danny's face was busted up, bleeding and severely bruised, and the rest of his maltreated body matched his face. His torso was covered with blooming bruises and congealed blood as well. All of it was right on display, with Danny only wearing a pair of jeans. To Steve, the damage almost seemed beyond the point at which recovery was possible. Yet it didn't stop Danny from fighting.

He stood face to face with Kim Leung on the deck. They were ready to charge at each other any second now. Danny drew him in and allowed Kim to initiate the first move. Two slow left jabs were launched straight for Danny's face. Danny blocked them with his right hand and then ducked under a big hook that would've knocked him off his feet if it had connected. Danny stepped back to his left as Kim kept throwing hard punches. Danny dodged the first one, and the second one hit him in the left shoulder. The blow was solid, and Danny stumbled to his right.

This was Steve's cue to interfere. "Hey! Five-0!"

Kim froze, for a second eyed Steve and Tani standing down below in the hangar. However, it didn't pause the fight. All it did was bring Danny off his game as he looked over his shoulder. Kim took the opportunity. He reached forward and mercilessly ripped the tube out of Danny's chest.

Danny screamed and doubled over in pain. Steve's heart cringed. No one could ever truly feel another's pain, but hearing Danny's yelp came close. Then Kim charged in again, ready to deliver a knockout blow. As he brought up his fist, Danny straightened and propelled his foot at the man, giving a final kick. His foot cannoned into Kim Leung's chest, sending him crashing through the flimsy wooden barrier that fenced the deck. The guy disappeared off the deck like Victor Hesse once did when he fell off the Chinese freighter ship. There was a hard thud, and then it stayed quiet. The fall couldn't have killed the man, but Steve hoped the blow knocked Kim out.

Now standing alone on the deck, Danny stood with his back facing Steve. "Danny!" Steve shouted and watched his partner turn around. Steve went rigid with fright all over him. Danny's chest was a mess of red. It was all over him. Welling and pumping out with a sickening determination of the big ragged hole in his chest. Danny raised his hand to the gushing wound, his eyes wide as he looked up at Steve. Confusion took over Danny's shocked expression as their eyes locked like magnets. Danny probably tried to say Steve's name, but his busted lips failed at the first syllable. That didn't matter. Steve was already on his feet and running.

Still aiming his MP7A1, Steve sprinted toward the bowl. He had only one goal, and that was to save his best friend. However, Kim Leung had dropped out of their sight, and Steve was not about to let that man go scot-free. "Tani!"

"Go, I'll get Kim!" She called back, running past Steve and leveling her weapon too.

Steve ran up the stair leading to the deck two steps at the time. His heart pounded so loud in his ears that he could barely hear his footsteps underneath him. Danny was out of his sight for a second, but when Steve almost reached the top, he spotted his friend again. When he set foot on the deck, Danny dropped down on both knees, hit the stage headfirst, and rolled right back into the skatebowl.

"Danny!"

— TBC / HAWAIIFIVE0 —

A/N: First of all, a very special thanks to all the lovely reviews!

Second, my sincerest THANK YOU for reading this story and sticking with me as this story continues.