CHAPTER 4

Wednesday night, Mr Chang's Supermarket:

Steve emerged from the gym feeling better than he had in a few days. It felt good to unleash his anger on the bag. In fact, the fatigue that had been plaguing him had almost entirely disappeared. He felt like he had just woken up from a restful sleep. The miracle of exercise.

Smiling to himself, he hopped into his truck and drove towards the fresh food shop near his house. He liked this particular shop because it always had the freshest produce on the island and was open late. He knew the owner, Mr Chang, very well. The old Asian man had run the store since Steve was a young boy. When Steve had returned to the islands after his father's murder six months ago, he had been surprised to find the shop was still there and that it hadn't changed one bit. The only real change was that Mr Chang's son, Dennis, sometimes ran the store.

When he entered the store, he greeted the older man standing by the registers cheerily. "Good evening, Mr Chang."

"Hello again, Steve," Mr Chang said.

Mr Chang was a nice, older Asian man. He was slender and had grey hair that he combed back. His kind old face was always smiling; a trait that he had passed on to his son. Mr Chang's smile and joyous attitude was sometimes contagious. It was another reason why Steve enjoyed shopping there.

Steve grabbed a basket and followed his usual path to the back of the store where the vegetables were. As he walked down the aisle, he noted he was the only customer in the store at this time of night. It wasn't unusual and it often gave Steve a chance to chat up the owner and catch up on old times. Tonight, however, that would not be the case.

From the back of the store, Steve heard the chime that indicated someone had entered the shop. He heard Mr Chang's muffled greeting and smiled to himself. Even from the back of the store, Steve could tell the old man was smiling at his new customers. The unmistakable sound of a gun cocking caused Steve's good mood to quickly fade.

Steve quietly placed his basket on the ground, so as not to alert the intruder to his presence in the store. He carefully took his gun out of its holster, grateful he hadn't locked it in the glovebox in the truck like he normally did when he was off duty. He slowly moved up the aisle furthest from the door towards the front of the store, gun pointing downwards.

He reached into his back pocket for his phone and inwardly cursed when he released he had left it in the car. He had no way to call for backup and would have to stop this robbery on his own.

'Oh, Danny is going to have a field day with this,' Steve thought to himself as he peered around the shelving and spotted four armed men by the entrance.

One of the men had his gun pointed at Mr Chang, who was lying on his stomach on the floor. The other three men were surrounding the fourth man, each facing a different direction. Steve thought it was odd that they weren't rummaging through the till. He didn't have time to debate the intelligence of armed robbers. He had to formulate a plan.

While Steve was trained for all manner of scenarios, he was still only one man with a gun against four men with semi-automatic weapons and a hostage. Steve poked his head back around the shelving before ducking back out of sight. Every angle was covered by a man with a gun, meaning Steve couldn't make a move without being seen. At least if they did shoot him, only one of them would have a clear line of sight.

'That doesn't help,' Steve scolded himself.

If he was going to make a move, he would have to do it soon. Otherwise, some poor unsuspecting civilian could get caught in the robbers' scheme.

"Freeze! Five-0! Drop your weapons and get down on the floor!" Steve yelled as he moved around the shelving, raising his gun as he went.

Steve didn't know what he expected, but what occurred next was very low on the list of expectations.

Before he even had time to react, one of the men aimed his gun and shot without hesitation. Steve felt the bullet punch into his left shoulder and the force of it caused him to spin around. Steve hit the floor, face down, and he lost hold of his weapon. Groaning, Steve turned over onto his side and looked for his gun, spotting it under one of the shelving units.

In the time he had spent looking for his missing weapon, he hadn't noticed one of the armed men approaching him. He didn't see the fist coming towards his face until the last minute and he couldn't block it. The last thing he saw before everything blacked out was the ceiling of Mr Chang's Supermarket.

Thursday morning, Five-0 Headquarters:

Danny, Chin and Kono were gathered anxiously around the smart table, waiting for McGarrett to show up. It was quickly approaching nine o'clock in the morning. Steve McGarrett was officially late for the first time since the taskforce was established. Normally, Steve would have beaten them all to work and would treat them to snarky comment if they were late. Today, however, he was almost an hour late. And it made the team nervous.

"Perhaps he had another meeting with the Governor and he forgot to call us," Kono suggested.

"Maybe his marathon swim and run went a little long this morning?" Danny guessed.

"He would have called, unless he didn't take his phone with him," Chin reminded them.

"He's not even an hour late. Let's give him until nine before we start freaking out. He probably just overslept and will get our messages when he wakes up," Danny insisted. "Besides, we all know how tired he's been."

With that decided, they attempted to continue working while sneaking covert glances at the door, as though Steve would magically appear any minute, smiling and apologising for being late. At five past nine, however, they were officially worried.

"Should we ping his phone?" Kono asked nervously.

"Yeah, maybe," Danny said thoughtfully. "Actually, do that. And his truck too. I'm getting a bad feeling about this," Danny said, pacing as he called Steve's phone for the third time in a row.

Kono got to work tracking Steve's phone and truck while Danny and Chin took turns calling Steve's phone, only to have it go straight to voicemail every time.

"I'm going to his place," Danny said as his seventh call to Steve's phone went unanswered.

"Wait, Danny. I'll come with you," Chin said, racing after Danny. "Kono, let us know when you get a location."

Kono nodded, her face impassive as she tried to contain the stress she was feeling. Danny and Chin raced out of headquarters to where the Camaro was parked. They were stopped by Duke, who was on his way into the building.

"Are you guys heading to the crime scene?" Duke asked them.

Chin frowned. "What crime scene, Duke?"

"There was a robbery and shooting at Mr Chang's Supermarket last night. Apparently McGarrett is already on the scene," Duke answered.

Chin's shoulders relaxed with relief. "Oh, he didn't call us."

Danny shrugged. "You know how he gets. That laser focus of his. It is probably the last thing on his mind." Danny was almost giddy with relief. "Let's get out there."

They bid Duke farewell and walked at a much slower pace towards the Camaro. At that moment, Chin's phone rang, indicating an incoming call from Kono.

"Hey Kono," Chin answered. "I'm here with Danny. Go ahead."

"Hey guys. I found Steve's phone and truck. They are at the same place—"

"Let me guess, Mr Chang's Supermarket?" Danny interrupted.

Kono was surprised. "Actually, yes. How did you know?"

"We ran into Duke on our way out. He said there was a robbery and shooting there last night and that McGarrett was already at the scene. I think he must've left his phone in his truck and forgot to call us. We are on our way there now," Danny answered.

"Okay. Let me know when you find him so we can rip him a new one for making us worry," Kono said as relief flooded through her body.

"Will do, cous. Talk to you soon," Chin said, hanging up the phone.

They arrived at the supermarket twenty minutes later. As they pulled in to the parking lot, they spotted Steve's blue truck parked outside. Outside the shop were several uniformed officers analysing the scene or questioning witnesses. Danny flagged down one of the officers and asked about the whereabouts of Commander McGarrett.

"Commander McGarrett? I haven't seen him, but I will send him your way if I do," was the response from the young officer.

Danny and Chin shook their heads at each other before entering the store. The first thing they saw was a small puddle of blood in front of the registers. Chin leaned down to inspect the puddle.

"Whoever was shot didn't lose too much blood by the looks of it," Chin observed.

They looked around, hoping for another officer to be around to answer their questions. Finding no one, they walked back outside. They found the same officer they had spoken to before talking to the store owner, who was sitting on one of the nearby benches.

"Excuse me, Officer. Who was the victim?" Danny asked.

"We don't know yet, Detective Williams. Whoever it was is gone now, along with the assailants. I was just about to ask Mr Chang if he saw anything," the officer replied.

"Hello, Mr Chang. My name is Chin Ho Kelly. I work for Five-0. This is Detective Williams, also Five-0. Can you tell us what you saw last night, Sir?" Chin politely asked the older Asian man.

"Um, it all happened so fast. I'd had no customers all night until one of my regulars walked in. He went immediately to the fresh produce at the back of the shop. A few minutes later, four men walked in, all wearing dark clothing. They were all carrying big guns. One of them pointed their gun at me and told me to get down on the ground, face down and cover my ears. I did as they asked. Nothing happened for a while. Then I heard a loud bang. I took my hands off my ears and heard them run out of the store. I didn't move for a while longer, just to make sure they were gone, before I allowed myself to look. There was no left in the shop, only the blood on the floor. I went outside and called the police," Mr Chang explained.

"You did the right thing, Mr Chang," Chin said, reassuring the frazzled old man. "I just have one more question for you. Who is your regular?"

Mr Chang grinned. "Oh, he is a nice man. I've known him since he was a young boy. In fact, I've known the McGarrett family for a long time—"

"Wait, are you saying Steve McGarrett was in your store last night, Sir?" Danny interrupted.

"Yes, Detective. I believe he chased the suspects away," Mr Chang frowned. "I thought that was why Five-0 was here."

"Thank you for your time, Mr Chang. May we contact you if we have any more questions?" Chin asked the old man.

"Of course. Whatever I can do to help."

They were just about to walk away and let the young officer continue with getting the man's statement when a thought occurred to Danny. "Mr Chang, sorry, one more thing. Do you have video surveillance inside the store?"

"Yes, I have a couple of cameras inside, and a few outside ones. The outside ones haven't been working too well lately and I've been meaning to get them fixed. Would you like the footage?"

"Yes please. That would be greatly appreciated, Sir. If you could give a copy to this officer when you have finished your statement, that would be great," Danny said.

Danny and Chin walked over to where Steve's truck was parked. Peering inside the windows, they could see Steve's phone on the front passenger seat. That would explain why he wasn't replying to their calls. A thoughtful look came over Danny's face.

"What are you thinking, Danny?" Chin asked.

"I'm thinking Steve got caught in the middle of an armed robbery. He couldn't call for backup," Danny said, pointing to the phone in the car. "So, he tried to defuse the situation and confront the assailants himself. Four against one are not great odds, even for Steve. Either Steve got shot trying to be a hero, or he got one of the assailants and is chasing down the rest."

"So, either he is still chasing down the armed robbers, or something happened to him," Chin summarised.

"Yeah," Danny said grimly. He sincerely hoped it wasn't the latter.

Thursday morning, unknown location:

When Steve regained consciousness, everything was dark. No amount of blinking would chase the darkness away. He shifted slightly, igniting a fiery pain in his left shoulder. He remembered being shot during his aggressive confrontation with Hesse and decided this wasn't as bad as it was then. But if it went untreated, he could be in a lot of trouble.

A flood a memories came back to him. He remembered being shot at Mr Chang's Supermarket when he interrupted an armed robbery in progress. He remembered the feeling of a bullet tearing through his flesh and then, nothing. Now, he is here. Wherever here is.

Steve stretched his legs out, only to immediately meet resistance. He was in a cramped space, allowing limited movement. It was then that he realised he appeared to be moving. Now that he concentrated, he could feel the rumbling of a car engine as it drove over a smooth surface. Suddenly, the car hit a pothole, causing Steve's head to bounce off the roof of the trunk. Steve groaned and shifted in the cramped space of the trunk.

As he moved, he felt something hard and cold dig into the skin of his wrists. He groaned in frustration as he realised, belatedly, that his hands were cuffed behind his back, probably with his own handcuffs.

'Well, this just keeps getting better,' Steve thought as the car continued on its route.

He had no idea how long it had been since he had been abducted from the supermarket. By the cramping in his legs, it had to have been at least a couple of hours. He had no idea who these people were or why he had been taken. Sure, he had enemies, but those people just wanted him outright dead. He couldn't think of anyone that would want him alive. If his team didn't know he was missing by now, he would have to do everything he could to get help. The first thing he had to do was find out where he was.

Steve shuffled his body so his feet had ample room to move. He kicked out at the taillight, disappointed to find it sturdy. Not one to give up, Steve continued kicking until the housing gave way. Carefully, Steve shuffled his body around until his head was near the opening, which took longer than he cared to admit. Just as he got his first glimpse of his surroundings, the car hit another pothole. Unlucky for him, he was lying on his injured shoulder and the pain increased tenfold.

Ignoring the pain, he focused his attention on the road, looking for any sign of where he may be. He was frustrated when all he saw was shrubbery and tall, lush trees on both sides of the paved road. He could see no landmarks to help him identify his location. Sighing angrily, he pushed himself away from the hole and back into the middle of the trunk, where it was slightly more spacious.

Steve's thoughts turned to his sister, who had recently experienced his exact dilemma. Luckily, her kidnappers were stupid enough to leave her phone, which she had used to contact him. Steve didn't know what he would've done if she hadn't been able to contact him. However, thinking about the past didn't help him with the present situation.

Using his cuffed hands, Steve searched his back pockets, hoping to find the bobby pin that he had put there weeks ago. Ever since he had met Grace Williams, he had started keeping various items around that he used in her presence; the latest being a bobby pin to help keep the hair out of her eyes when she's building sandcastles on the beach. He sighed with relief when he got his fingers around the slim piece of metal.

He broke the pin in half and slipped a piece into the locking mechanism of the cuff on his left hand. After a bit of wiggling, the cuff opened and he was able to bring both arms in front of him. He groaned inwardly when the movement reminded him of his bullet wound. He quickly released the cuff from his right wrist before inspecting his bullet wound as best he could. From what he could tell, it was a through and through. Not in a life threatening position, but still bleeding sluggishly. For now, there wasn't much he could do about it.

Feeling around on the floor of the trunk, Steve found the tab that revealed the tools for replacing a tyre. He awkwardly rolled his body to allow the compartment to open before rolling back on top of the tools. Every move aggravated his shoulder and made him want to scream. He grit his teeth to stop himself making too much noise. The last thing he wanted was his kidnappers getting wise to his escape attempt.

Steve grabbed the tyre iron and used the flat edge to try and pop the trunk. It took him a few goes before the lid popped open, revealing the early morning sun on the horizon. Instantly, the car began to slow down. Steve didn't wait for the car to stop. He jumped from the trunk and rolled as he hit the bitumen. As soon as he lost momentum, he stood and ran into the nearby brush.

Behind him, Steve heard the squeal of the tyres as the driver braked hard. He heard several doors opening and slamming closed. Then there was yelling. Lots of yelling. In a language Steve didn't understand. French? Italian? It was definitely European. Not for the first time, Steve lamented that he learned mostly Asian languages during his time in the Navy. He couldn't dwell on what could have been now. He had much bigger problems.

The sound of several guns cocking reminded him of his current situation. Without hesitation, Steve ran further into the bush, trying to put as much distance between himself and his assailants as possible. He knew that without a weapon, a method of communication, or any kind of backup, that he was in serious trouble. Of course, he had faced situations like this in the SEALs, but at least then he knew why he was being pursued. This was totally different. He found himself wondering if his training would be enough to get him out of this alive.