Earlier:

It hadn't been that long since Gabriel and his men had left the dank cell that Danny and Tani were being held in, or at least it didn't seem like it, but the same three, minus Gabriel, returned and set about their task as if on a mission.

Danny had just gotten to the point where he thought he had his stomach under control. He found the nausea was best controlled when he kept his eyes closed and his head still. The same trick helped with the abominable pain that was wreaking havoc inside his head with every movement and permeation of light whenever opening his eyes was necessary. The corner, where they had left him, had filled this purpose quite nicely. Unfortunately, he knew this latest arrival did not bode well for his attempt at a settled stomach and a tolerable headache.

He saw Tani scramble to her feet and look on helplessly as Emilio and the older man each grabbed one of Danny's arms and pulled him to standing.

"What's… what's going on?" Tani got out.

"You just stay right there and behave yourself and we'll try not to let anything else happen to your boyfriend here," Ron warned.

"Danny?" Tani was ironically looking to their target for reassurance.

"S'okay," he forced out as he squeezed his eyes together tightly, willing his stomach to cooperate. The air in the small room felt hot and stale. Drops of sweat rolled down his face and back. When he decided he had it under control, he opened his eyes and was looking Ron right in the face.

"You don't look too good, detective." Ron started laughing at his own statement. Then he engaged the blade from a folding tactical knife. "Turn him around," he commanded the others, who immediately obeyed. Danny's body instinctively put up a resistance in response, not knowing Ron's intention with the brandished weapon, but another pain, coincidentally akin to a stabbing in his head, caused him to cease movement as his struggle reverted back to the one with his nausea.

The men holding his arms tightened their grip when he felt his hands being cut free from the zip tie. Without needing direction, they then turned Danny back around to face Ron.

Danny made a move to rub the burning sensation from his wrists but was restrained further. "What is this?" Danny questioned the odd activity.

Ron unbuttoned one of the buttons that had not yet popped off of Danny's shirt. "Don't take this the wrong way. I'd rather be doing this to her, but boss man needs your shirt."

"What the hell?" Tani argued for Danny in his weakened state as Ron finished his task.

The men holding Danny took turns pulling the sleeves off each arm and the one named Emilio draped the shirt over his shoulder. Then, Danny's hands were secured by another plastic tie but this time in front, either out of convenience, or lack of time, or another unknown reason.

Emilio snarled his nose in repulsion at the smell of the shirt and the dried blood stains. "This is disgusting. I don't know about all this."

"Get over it," Ron scoffed.

"What about his pants?" Emilio questioned.

"Yours are close enough, but maybe the shoes?" the older guy wondered.

Lowering Danny back to the ground, Ron bent over and slid Danny's shoes off and tossed them to Emilio. "What's with the socks?" Ron laughed at the bright pattern that had been revealed.

Emilio tried on one of the shoes. "They don't fit, Simon," Emilio informed, not paying attention to Ron's amusement at Danny's fashion sense.

"F*ck it. Just wear your own. Who's gonna notice the damned shoes anyway?"

"Why? … What's happening right now?" Tani asked, baffled by what she was witnessing.

"We're going for a ride, sugar," Simon enlightened her. "Here, I got an accessory for you." He pulled out two black hoods and tossed one to Emilio. "There's yours." Then he started to put one on Tani.

She finally realized what was going on. "Nooo! Daaanny!"

Danny tried to get up but was knocked back down with the bottom of Ron's boot. The back of his head bumped the wall behind him making the room spin. With his hands in front of him now, he was able to press his fists to his eyes to gain some stability.

"You probably need to do something about that mouth, Simon. She's gonna give everything away," Ron said with a grin.

Simon stopped short of getting the hood on. "Guess you're right. Be right back."

Emilio grabbed onto Tani's arm when she acted like she was going to follow Simon out the door. "Just chill, lady. You ought to be glad. You're getting sprung. That is if your people come through."

"Emilio!" Ron spat. "Shut your mouth. Looks like you're gonna need a gag, too."

"What? Who the crap cares if she knows? Go to hell!"

"What about him?" Tani pleaded, wondering about Danny. "He's going, too. Right?"

"Nah, we're going to hang out together while you're gone. Sound like fun?" he asked Danny, arching his eyebrows in anticipation.

Danny raised his eyes above his curled-up fingers and sought out Tani's attention. While something inside him wanted Tani to be with him, where he could know she was okay, he also understood that just 'knowing' was his own selfish desire. He accepted that, in his state, he could not do anything to protect her and therefore, his reasoning kicked in and he felt a wave of relief that her chances of making it out of here were looking better than his own. He gratefully saw her eyes meet his. "Tani?" Danny mumbled. "Tani, it's going to be all right."

As soon as Simon came back in, Emilio released Tani into Simon's care and left the room as he needed to get away from the pompous Ron and he also needed to get ready himself. Simon wrapped the strip of cloth he had acquired in his absence in Tani's mouth and tied it behind her head.

"Da… " Danny's name was cut off in the middle as her protest was squelched.

"It's all right," Danny stated again. "Just get home. I'll be fine," he stated as resolutely as he could so she would believe it, even though he did not.

Simon then proceeded to put the hood on her. She fought against this too but lost the battle as she heard Ron drowning out Danny's last muttered assurances as she was ushered out.

"Gonna miss you, sweet thang!" Ron called out after them. After they were gone, he turned his attention back to Danny. "Now it's just you and me," he menacingly alluded to the potential for more impending… 'discomfort'.

~~~~~H50~~~~~

"That's not Danny," Steve stated prosaically. "He's not with them."

He wasn't sure what it was that gave it away, but somehow, he knew the hooded male hostage was not his best friend. Yes, he was about the same size in stature and his build was similar, but there was something else… something about the way he carried himself. This man didn't have Danny's bearing or his air of resolute confidence.

He shifted his gaze to Tani who was confirming his deduction. She was straining to communicate something to Chin. She was trying to let Chin know that the other hostage was not Danny. That Danny was not there, and if he was not present at this 'trade', then he was being kept somewhere else, for some other reason.

"Damn it," Steve breathed out. "That's his backup plan… in case things go sideways. Damn it!"

\~/

Gabriel had stopped Chin from saying anything further. He paused, himself, remaining silent for several seconds. He stepped back and pulled Tani close to him. All of the sudden he felt he needed a shield.

"She's not here, is she?" Gabriel was cold in his delivery.

"Gabriel, listen."

"You lied!" He spit out. "You've got people in your ear. So do I." As he held onto Tani's arm with his left hand, Gabriel tapped at the device in his right ear. "What I'm hearing is not good." Then, he raised his right hand into the air.

\~/

"What's going on? What's he doing?" Junior sensed a trending change in the general undercurrent. The air was stagnant and felt electrically charged. He'd felt this before, more than once, the last time being in Fallujah. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, just as it had done then.

\~/

Gabriel pulled Tani back toward his car, keeping her close to him. His man on the other side guided the hooded man there also.

With his hands held up in a stop motion in front of him, Chin had to do something to calm the situation. "Gabriel, stop. Where are you going? We need to talk this out," Chin pleaded with desperation.

"Too late," Gabriel answered. Tani continued to struggle, pulling and squirming to get free, fighting to break the firm hold. "Stop it," he growled at her as his irritation grew. Though success seemed to be evermore elusive, her battle was not quelled. Gabriel pulled out his own gun and was almost behind his open car door. "Stop or I'll put a bullet through that pretty head of yours."

\~/

"He's taking them," Junior assessed, including both hostages, still not convinced of Steve's conclusion. He broke his cover and headed toward the meeting site. His initial jog turned into a run.

"Junior, get back here!" Steve yelled out unsuccessfully.

Junior was gone, acting on impulse. His brain acknowledged his superior's command and maybe if it had been augmented with an 'that's an order', he could will his body to obey by calling on his instilled training. However, without that extra stimulus, he couldn't stop. He just couldn't let Gabriel take them away.

\~/

There was a roar in the dark distance, the sound of multiple vehicles approaching quickly. Steve, as well as the rest of the team, heard it and knew something was about to go down.

On cue, Steve heard Lou's voice through the comms. "McGarrett, we're picking up several cars headed in your direction. They're moving fast."

"Damn it. He signaled them," Steve said of Gabriel lifting his arm. "Lou? Get the SWAT team in here. How far out are they?" Steve put his finger to his ear to secure the device. His eyes were wide as he scanned the area. He was aware that HPD had been instructed to maintain a wide radius to prevent a hitch in the plan. "Lou? Do you read me? Status update!" The next thing he heard Lou say was not what he wanted to hear.

"Oh, shit."

"Lou?" Steve heard the thumping of helicopter blades. "Lou, tell me that helo's ours."

"Hell, no. Y'all need to fall back now. McGarrett? Get outta there! Now!"

\~/

Kono heard Lou's warning and had seen Gabriel now brandishing his weapon. Their window of opportunity was shrinking before their eyes.

"Gabriel! Stop!" Kono yelled. She had exited Chin's car. She was behind the semi-safety of the car door, training her gun in Gabriel's direction. Chin had retreated to the pretense of protection of the other side of the car and got his hands on his gun that had been stashed in the floorboard.

"Do you have a shot, cuz?!"

"Not yet!" she answered. "Not yet," she spoke to herself.

\~/

Junior was closing in on the meeting site. His night vision goggles crashed to the ground when he purposefully threw them off in haste as he got near. He could see Gabriel and Tani in the headlights. Gabriel was now holding a gun, but thankfully not directly on his hostage. He still may have a chance. As he ran, he raised his gun and yelled, "O kaʻohana mua! O ka'ohana mua!"

\~/

Tani heard the predetermined phrase, jerked her arm free, and fell to the ground. Then she heard a shot, followed a second later by another one… then multiple shots rang out. She squeezed her eyes closed at the familiar clapping sounds, their direction and sources indiscernible. There were too many and they were too near to try to get up. At this point, she knew the safest place for her to be was as low to the ground as possible. She half expected to be forced up by Gabriel or one of his men. She thought she would be tossed into the car again only to be rushed away from the freedom that she had been teased with, that had been so near, but if that was meant to be, at least she could possibly get back to Danny… to see if he were still alive.

~to be continued~

\,,,/BronsonL