CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CATCH TWENTY-TWO

FIVE-0 HEADQUARTERS - DOWNTOWN HONOLULU - O'AHU

The first stop Steve made, was the Five-0 headquarter. He figured Jerry might be there and might be able to give more insights into Kim Leung's background. Something Steve craved, desperately. So, Steve went inside the i'olani Palace and headed straight for the freight elevator. Rode it down to the basement. The door slid apart and then he stepped out. Steve went left and walked up where he expected to find his team member, — Jerry's bunker.

Steve stepped into the doorway. Stood still and didn't go in. The whole place was cleared out. The four-by-four concrete cube contained the familiar desk, chair, and file cabinets, but the rest of it was all gone. No computers, no folders, no boxes full of whatever Jerry kept in there, no stacks of papers, no newspaper articles, no memos. The desk and file cabinets had been cleared out, and the drawers were pulled open and empty. It either looked like it had been cleared out in a hurry or like someone searched the place and had taken everything with it.

Steve fished his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and dialed Jerry's number. Steve held the phone at his ear and heard the connection go through. He listened to the patient electronic purr. Ten times, fifteen times, twenty. He hung up. Checked the number and tried again. Same result. Steve put his phone back and went the same way back as he had come down. Through the concrete corridors, back to the freight elevator, up to the ground floor, where he transferred to another elevator and rode the cart up to their headquarters.

With a level of concern, Steve marched out of the elevator and stopped dead in front of the glass door leading to the open workspace. All the things that had disappeared from the basement bunker were scattered around the open-plan work area. Boxes everywhere. Stacks of files everywhere. Papers everywhere. Steve literally couldn't tell what color the floor used to be. The tiles were covered with documents.

Steve slowly pulled one door open and stepped inside the giant mess. He went passed the empty offices and up to the chaos creator standing in the middle of what used to be their workspace. Jerry stood at the technical table, fingers on the device's keypad, staring down at the screen. Not realizing Steve had entered HQ. Steve tried to find a way around all the paperwork but there wasn't. Jerry had locked himself within all the files. There were even newspaper articles taped onto the glass office walls and memos stuck to the flat screens standing in front of the technical table.

Annoyed by the paper explosion Steve asked. "Jerry? What is all of this?"

"Commander?" Jerry looked up and Steve could see bewilderment in his eyes. "You— you're here." Jerry panicked and started stacking up some of the papers.

"I am here. Yes," Steve said and looked around the mess. "Now please tell me what's going on?"

"Oh? This?"Jerry looked around himself. "Well, I started out in my office…"

Steve raised his eyebrows. "Your office?"

"Yeah, the one in the basement."

"I know where your office is, Jer," Steve briefly closed his eyes and shook his head. "Please continue."

"Right. So, I started out in my office, but there was just so much information. It just kept piling on and I needed more space, so I took it upstairs."

"All of it?"

"Obviously not all of it," Jerry stated, then he hesitated as he scanned around. "But, most of it, I guess."

Steve stepped over a few boxes and joined Jerry at the Tech table. "I'm really hoping all this hasn't been for nothing, so did you find anything good?"

Jerry pointed at the biggest pile of paperwork and HPD labeled boxes and the wall covering Danny's office. "Well, as you can see I visited HPD's archives and I combed through the Triads activities and went years back on that, but the things I found won't stick," he said and moved over to another stack of paper and went through it. "Then I focused on Kim Leung, his criminal record and the rumors about drug trafficking, but I hit a wall, and then you called about the John Doe, so I focused on that," Jerry looked up. "But you already know how that turned out."

"I do," Steve nodded. "But let's back up a minute. When you went through the Triad's activities, did you find anything that might involve the CIA's interest?"

"CIA?" Jerry questioned. "I mean, it won't surprise me, but no I didn't find any involvement. Why'd you ask?"

"Just— I'll get back to you on that," Steve said and changed the topic. "We said we wanted to focus on the guy's on Kim's payroll, right? As Kim himself is being careful."

"Right," Jerry started typing and swiping on the tech table. "I haven't figured out yet who they are," he let a bunch of photos appear on the centermost screen. "I checked out all Kim's associates from back in the day, but that's a long, very long list," Jerry scrolled through the images. Steve couldn't count that fast, but there were easily over a hundred guys. Jerry added. "Any one of them could've guarded the hangar. They're all capable. In a bad way."

"Sent the list over to the HPD officers tracking Kim, maybe they can confirm active contact," Steve instructed and asked. "Have we heard back from Noelani yet? About the autopsy on our John Doe?"

"I have the autopsy report right here," Jerry revealed one of the open files on the left screen and summed it up. "She wasn't able to ID him either, so I've contacted the Chinese authorities, but that's going to take some time."

"All right," Steve said and felt even more annoyed than ten minutes ago, the office had received a makeover for absolutely no reason. They weren't any closer to putting Kim Leung behind bars and this case was becoming a catch twenty-two— a no-win situation. However, Steve had to admit, that his feelings about Jerry's doings were mixed with worry. Jerry's hair looked like he had run his hand through his hair, multiple times and because of that, it looked the same as the office— exploded. His eyes seemed dark, like he was tired. Even though, enough empty paper coffee cups were standing among the paperwork. Some empty Chinese food containers as well. Steve put his hands on his hips. "Jerry, have you been home?"

"No," Jerry stared back at Steve with innocence in his eyes. "I just paid your guys a quick visit and went straight back. Why?"

Steve sighed. "All right," he started and signaled at all the files. "Is there anything time-sensitive somewhere up on these walls— or on the floor? Something we need to act on right this moment?"

Jerry shrugged. "Not really, no."

"Okay," Steve concluded. "Then I think it's time for you to take a break and go home."

"Why? What time is it?"

Steve checked his watch. "Almost five pm," and added. "Also, it's Tuesday."

"Tuesday?" Jerry asked, taking a moment to digest the information.

"Yeah," Steve put his hand on Jerry's shoulder. "Go home, buddy. Take a break, we all need one."

"I guess," Jerry admitted and started stacking papers and putting them back in a folder. "I just don't get why someone would do something this awful to Detective Williams."

Steve looked up at Jerry. He seemed struck with worry. "Hey, Danny's doing a little better. Doctors are positive he's going to make it. Don't worry about him he's a tough cookie."

Jerry stared at Steve for a beat and then went on with the filing. "Good, and I know he is, but I just felt so helpless. You guys went off searching and rescuing Danny, and, I know it's not much, but this— this is all I can do to help, you know."

Jerry Ortega was truly one of a kind and was as eccentric as one can be. He used to be the island's local conspiracy theorist, and nowadays he was still a conspiracy theorist, but he also was a valued member of the Five-0 Taskforce. Despite the obvious differences between Steve and Jerry, Steve really valued him. It had taken him some time, Steve would admit that, but he had learned earlier on that, getting frustrated with Jerry wasn't worth the oxygen. Although Jerry had done fieldwork a handful of times, he wasn't as experienced as Steve. But that was okay. Steve didn't need another shooter. He needed an eccentric thinker, an electronic wizard capable of bringing justice with just one keystroke. He needed Jerry Ortega. Frankly, it hurt Steve that his team member felt insignificant.

"Not much? This workspace used to be empty," Steve eyed some food containers. "And also spotless," he joked. "But my point is, look at it now. That's all you, buddy. We might go run off someplace, but we wouldn't be able to do that without someone guarding the fort. Without someone capable of providing critical information to us from distance. You know that, right?"

"Sure. No, I know," Jerry pouted but smiled. He looked at Steve with a sudden twinkle in his eye. "Does that mean I get an office above ground?"

"No," Steve hung his head theatrically. "It does not."

DANNY'S ROOM - KING'S MEDICAL CENTER - O'AHU

Tani had stayed behind. Exactly like she had offered her boss, she would stay until HPD would get here. When she'd offered she figured HPD would be there in ten, maybe fifteen, maximum twenty minutes. Junior had already made the call and put in the request and therefore her timeframe should be accurate. Theoretically, her timeframe would still pan out, HPD would arrive somewhere in the next twenty minutes, except in her initial offer Tani meant to leave once the HPD officers arrived. Turned out, she wasn't going home. She wasn't going anywhere.

McGarrett had radically changed her offer shortly after he said, 'Tani, a word.' They had gone out to the hallway where Steve asked— well, Tani was sure her boss intended it to be a question, but it came across more like a demand. A demand she felt like she couldn't refuse or adjust and change his mind. The demand was put into the following words: 'you do not leave his side, even when the HPD officers arrive, do you understand?'. Now that was a demand with no room for adjustment or Tani's opinion, so she answered by saying, 'of course.'. And after giving it some thought, she didn't mind. Except she did.

Not because she didn't want to have tasks that qualified her as a babysitter. Or simply because she wanted to go home. Or because she was self-centered, which was a word she'd never use to describe herself. No, she did mind, because she felt inner panic. Her heart actually fluttered in her chest, and not in a cute way, thinking about the fact that she was now responsible for Danny's well-being. Up until the very point where Steve would get back from his deserved and much-needed break. Deep down Tani knew she wasn't actually responsible, but it did feel that way and in her belief, she had something to make up for. Big time.

Tani did not want to fail once more and let her boss down a second time, but that was going to be a tough assignment for two reasons. One, Danny wasn't going to let Tani stay all night, not in this universe. He would demand she'd go home the minute HPD showed up, for sure and there would be nothing Tani could say to change his mind. She found herself sandwiched between two stubborn men's opinions, of whom if worked together were a force of nature, yet they chose not to and rather argue against each other. Just perfect.

And reason number two, Tani felt intense guilt when looking at the wounded detective. So much that the guilt felt like ice in her guts. It didn't matter that it was a hundred degrees outside, she was still frozen on the inside and it was a terrible feeling. It didn't even come close to the guilt she had felt yesterday when visiting. Yesterday, Danny had been asleep, resting and looking relaxed. Right now, he was awake, seemed in pain, and looked exhausted. But his face was the worst to look at. The bruising and swelling and the stitched-up lacerations. The one open eye made it evident that he had been beaten so badly that it was impossible to open his left eye. Hence, Tani's intense guilt.

Standing in the doorway, Tani wasn't sure about what to say, so she said. "HPD will be here in fifteen minutes."

"Good," Danny said and his one good eye flicked at Tani. His eye narrowed and he gazed at her like he could read her mind. "He told you not to leave my side even when the officers arrive, didn't he?"

It wasn't her mind he could read. It was Steve's. And to be honest, Tani wasn't even surprised.

"He did," Tani admitted with a smile.

"Figured."

"You doin' okay?" Tani asked as she entered the room. "Are you comfortable?"

"It's fine," Danny smiled a thin humorless smile and said, "What else did he tell you?"

"Nothing," Tani answered, truthfully, something the detective hadn't done when she asked her previous question. He wasn't fine and he didn't look comfortable. He seemed in pain. Tani guessed that wasn't a strange thing considering he was prodded with needles and tubes, lines and wires. Yet, it concerned her, so she asked again. "Are you sure you're comfortable?"

"No," Danny said, this time genuine. "And I won't be until I get home, so please let it slide."

Tani fell silent again. She didn't know what to say to that. Instead, she sat down in the chair at the bedside. There was more quiet in the room and eventually, she said the only thing that felt important and came to mind. "Danny, I'm really sorry."

Danny glared at her one-eyed. "You too, huh?"

Tani wasn't sure what he meant by that so she questioned. "What'd you mean, you too?"

"The guilt," Danny stated as he looked away for a second, only to lock eyes with Tani after. "I'm gonna tell you the same thing I told Steve.— It's not on you. It's not on any of you guys, okay?"

"It's not on you either," Tani said as she realized Danny wasn't blaming any of them because he was blaming himself instead. He didn't answer her, which confirmed her thoughts. Tani tried to soften the blow. "I just keep thinking that if we went by your place or maybe called you to check up, we would've realized it sooner that you were missing."

Danny sighed and twitched his head, bearing a resemblance to shaking his head. "You have to stop thinking like that," he said. "I mean, it's not like you waited for Steve to come home, right?" Tani didn't answer quickly enough and he instantly knew. "You did wait."

Tani's heart burst in her chest, she felt terrible. "We didn't know. Lou and I— I know it's not an excuse, but we caught a case. And if we hadn't been called away by Hirsch I swear we would've stopped by your place to check on you. And maybe if we had done that, we would've noticed you weren't at home, and maybe—." Danny cut her off.

"Stop— just stop, please," he urged with a pleading glance. "What's done is done, okay? It's fine. I'm fine."

Tani nodded along. "I'm just really sorry you had to go through that."

"I'm glad it was me and not you."

Tani wiped away a tear that rolled down her cheek and frowned. "Why would you say that?"

"The other day you said you wanted to come with me or Steve next time, to have more fun?"

Tani rolled her eyes. "When I said that, I didn't exactly have something like this in mind."

"Be careful what you ask for."

"Yeah, you really look like hell." Tani joked, carefully.

It put a smile on Danny's face. "I just got back. Don't recommend it."

WILLIAMS' RESIDENCE - KĀHALA - O'AHU

The second stop Steve made, was his partner's house. Steve didn't need a medical license to know Danny would be in the hospital for at least a few more days if it wouldn't stretch to a week. And therefore Steve figured his friend could use some clothes and personal items, like a toothbrush and other things. For the second time in almost 48 hours, Steve kneeled down to a couple of piled-up rocks and took hold of the house key. He really should get a key of his own, he thought to himself.

Steve put the key in its lock, turned it, and opened the door. He went inside and closed the door behind him. Just as certain as he knew Danny would be in the hospital for a while, Steve knew for certain that Danny wouldn't be at home for a while either. With that knowledge, Steve made his way over to the kitchen. He checked the dishwasher, the refrigerator, and the trash can. Sadness washed over Steve as it was clear that Danny had gone out on Saturday morning expecting to return. The dishwasher was half-loaded and had not been run. There was food in the refrigerator and trash in the kitchen pail.

First things first. Steve put in a dishwasher detergent pod. Selected a wash cycle and started the dishwasher. Then he took out everything that might expire within a week out of the refrigerator and threw it away. And at last, Steve took the trash bag out of the kitchen pail, took it out the back door, and trashed it in the container. He made sure to lock the back door again as he went back inside. With all of this taken care of, Steve went over to Danny's bedroom. There once again he was hit with sadness. Almost 48 hours ago Steve had taken the neatly made bed, the half-finished book, resting on the night table, and the folded clothes on the chair as a sign of no distress. Right now, it made Steve downhearted to be in here again.

Steve opened the door of the built-in wardrobe, grabbed a grey canvas duffle bag from the top shelf, and started packing some clothing items. Next, he went into the bathroom, packed the personal items, and stuffed them in a toiletry bag, one that Steve had found underneath the sink. He went back to the bedroom and put the toiletry bag inside the duffle bag and zipped it up. Steve closed the built-in wardrobe again and just as he got hold of the duffle bag, he heard a key going inside the front door lock. It didn't turn. Whoever was trying to enter, realized the door was left unlocked.

With a deep frown, Steve left the bedroom. One hand holding the bag, the other hand riding his holstered gun. He stepped into the hallway leading from the bedroom back to the living room, when a female, but young voice said. "Danno?"

The voice sounded loud through the vacant house and Steve recognized it instantly. He closed his eyes, briefly, and walked over to the living room to face the voice that had entered the house. Steve looked right at her from behind and said. "Gracie,"

Grace Williams turned around, astound, yet she seemed happy to see him. "Uncle Steve?"

"Hey kiddo, what are you doing here?" Steve questioned as he stepped closer.

"Oh, I think I left my physics homework here. Can't find it at mom's, so it's got to be somewhere," she said, picking up a textbook from the side table and leafing through it. Then she looked up, frowned, and asked. "What are you doing here?" before Steve could answer, her eyes landed on the grey duffel bag he was holding in his hand. "Why do you have Danno's bag?"

Steve pointed at the couch. "Gracie, let's sit down for a minute, okay?"

"No," Grace took a step back. "Where's Danno? Why won't he answer any of my calls?" she stared with giant, worried, eyes at Steve— she knew, "Where's Danno, Uncle Steve?"

— TBC / HAWAIIFIVE0 —

A/N: I'm afraid this is going to be it for a while and I realize this is a terrible moment to hit pause. I'm sorry for that, please know I'm doing my absolute very best to write and finish up the next chapters. However, I do want it to be as good as it possibly can be, for you readers and myself, ( I am a bit of a perfectionist ) therefore I need time to write, edit and edit and edit before I can upload the next chapters.

Thank you for your understanding and make sure to follow this story if you want to receive an update when the next chapter is available.

Again, thank you for your support and understanding!

I'll be back with more!

Mahalo X Danno7576