Danny stretched his arms over his head, pleased with himself for finally finishing the paper work. Now he could really enjoy his weekend. He hated to admit it, but a small part of him was okay with not having Charlie for the weekend as it meant he could sleep in and laze around. He glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already 8.17 p.m. How did it end up being so late, he thought to himself.
Walking to his Camaro in the parking lot, Danny took out his phone and tried calling Grace again. And again his call was left unanswered. He tried Rachel instead.
"Hi, Danny," came Rachel's voice after several rings.
"Hey, Rachel. I uh have been trying to call Grace and she's not answering. Is she there right now?" Danny asked.
"Of course she wouldn't answer, she told me you were interrogating her when you picked her up from the airport," Rachel let out a small laugh.
"Ah she did, didnt she. Well can I talk to her for a second?" Danny scratched his forehead.
"Hold on, I'll get her for you."
"Yes, Danno?" Grace's voice brought a smile to Danny's face, even though he caught the annoyance in her tone.
"Grace! You uh you need a new phone cos I think somethings wrong with your current one. Either that or you're ignoring my calls on purpose" Danny quipped.
"What is it, Danno? I was busy..." Grace started.
"Busy? Aren't you on vacation?" Danny had half a mind to go into a full on lecture with Grace right now but he decided he didn't need to make it worse than it already was. He took a deep breath and continued, "Anyway, I know you're mad at me. I was wrong, maybe.. not really.. BUT... I just called because I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry, okay. Maybe I was prying a bit too much but Grace, I'm just worried about you. You're in college so far away from home, and I'm worried. I just want to know that you're okay there and who your friends are. That's all," Danny explained as he climbed into his car and started the engine.
"I know, I know. I'm sorry I overreacted too and for dodging your calls." Grace felt guilty for having blamed it against her dad.
"Okay, so we're good? I'll see you on Sunday, okay, for dinner." Danny confirmed.
"Yeah, of course. I love you Danno,"
"Love you more, monkey," he probably should stop calling her that now that she was 18 but in his eyes, she'll always be his little monkey.
...
After taking a nice hot shower, Danny plopped himself on the couch and switched on the TV. He browsed the channels but there was nothing good on so he switched it off. He continued lying down on the couch, too exhausted to move. He had no idea when he fell asleep but he was abruptly awoken when his cell phone rang. Danny rubbed his eyes and looked at the screen of his phone. It was an unknown number. He looked at the time 10.19 p.m.
"Danny Williams." Still lying on the couch Danny answered the phone, slightly irritated that his sleep was interrupted.
"So nice to finally hear your voice, Detective Williams." The person on the line spoke. Danny didn't know who it was but the way he spoke sent chills down his spine.
Danny sat up on the couch and his hand clenched the phone tighter, "Who is this?"
"Why so uptight, Detective? You don't know me, but I know you very well. My name is Emilio. Emilio Reyes. Does that ring a bell?"
Danny closed his eyes, "Reyes? Marco Reyes.."
"Right. That's my father. You remember him? You killed him 5 years ago." The voice paused purposefully. "Who am I? I am his son."
"What do you want?" Danny asked although he knew the answer.
Emilio let out a small laugh, "What do you think? You killed my father. What do you think I want?" He continued, his voice hardening.
"Your father was a piece of scum. I don't regret what I did." Danny resolved.
"Pick your words carefully, Williams. Or your beautiful ex-wife and daughter are going to suffer because of you." Emilio threatened.
Fear gripped Danny's heart. "Wha.. what do you mean."
"Here speak to him," Danny heard Emilio say as he forced the phone onto Rachel's ear.
"Danny! Danny who are these people? Th.." Rachel's voice was frantic.
Emilio moved the phone away from Rachel and continued, "Did you hear that? Williams, listen carefully. I am going to make you pay for what you did."
Danny grabbed the car keys and his gun and raced towards his Camaro. "Please, don't. It's me you want, don't hurt them." Danny managed to say.
"Too late, Detective." Emilio taunted as he shoved a knife into Rachel's gut.
"Mom!" Danny could hear Grace screaming before everything went silent. Emilio had cut the line.
"No! No no no!" Danny stepped on the accelerator and drove towards Rachel's house, afraid of what he would find. He couldn't tell what Emilio had done but the pained screams from Grace told him it was bad.
When he arrived, the front door was open. His hand reached for his gun as he entered the house. The living room was a mess. Clear signs of struggle were everywhere. Rachel was lying motionless in the middle of the living room, blood pooling around her.
"Rachel! Grace?!" Danny looked around the house but there was no one. He went back to Rachel's side and checked for a pulse. He let out a sigh of relief when he could find one, albeit a weak one. "Rachel! Rachel!" He called out as his hands automatically went towards the gaping wound as he pressed down on it with a piece of cloth he found to stop the bleeding.
Danny took out his phone with one hand and started dialling the ambulance when his phone started ringing.
"How did you like my little surprise?" Emilio laughed. "Listen up, if you don't do as I say, your daughter is next, you understand?"
"What do you want me to do, huh?" Danny's voice shook with anxiety and anger. He wanted to kill this man but right now he had to make sure that Grace was safe. He could only hope that if he did what this man asked, Grace would be fine.
"You got away with murdering my father. Too easy for you. Grab the knife," Emilio growled. Danny knew exactly what he wanted. "I want you to call the police and tell them you did this. You killed her. Don't you dare mention my name to them. Or else you'll have the blood of both your ex-wife and daughter on you!" Emilio said again before hanging up.
Danny immediately dialled 911.
"911. What's your emergency?"
"This is Detective Danny William's of the Five-0 task force. I need EMT at my location." Danny paused, swallowing the bile forming in his throat. "I stabbed my ex-wife."
The EMT seemed to take forever to arrive. The cloth that Danny used to stop the bleeding was soaked with blood, as were his hands and shirt. He gazed at Rachel's face, her eyes closed and lips drained of colour. A large bruise forming on the right side of her face was a clear indication what she had to go through. She must have tried to stop the men and gotten hit in the process. I'm so sorry, Rachel I'm so sorry. You got to be okay. Please. The familiar sound of siren approaching the house filled the silence of the night. The paramedics rushed in and Danny made way for them to do their work.
As if on que, Duke entered the house next and walked towards Danny, his face full of concern. "Danny! Are you okay? What happened here?"
Danny blinked away the tears that clouded his vision. "Duke, I... I don't know. We... uh we had an argument and I don't know how it happened... I stabbed her." Duke stared dumbfounded at Danny.
As the paramedics carried Rachel out into the ambulance, Danny pushed past Duke to follow them out. "Danny! You can't go," Duke called out.
An officer standing behind Duke placed his hand on Danny's shoulder trying to stop him but Danny twisted the hand away and continued to follow the paramedics out. Two other officers standing nearby tensed up when they saw Danny trying to leave. One of the officers grabbed Danny's hands but he managed to shake free and land a punch on his face. "I need to go! Let me go!" Danny yelled. Danny pushed the other officer with full force, causing him to trip and fall on his back. The three battered officers quickly regained their bearings and chased after Danny, throwing him onto the ground. The three of them managed to subdue Danny who was still trying to break free. They took away his gun that was tucked in the back of his pants, cuffed his hands in front of him and pulled him up.
"Danny, you need to calm down. This does not look good on you. We need to get to the bottom of this." Duke reasoned. Duke did not believe what the man had confessed to but at the same time, Duke couldn't see a reason Danny would lie about it.
Two of the officers proceeded to bring him out of the house. Danny hung his head low in resignation as he was led out of the house to be brought into custody. His head was spinning, and his eyes starting to lose focus. Staring at his bloodied hands, Danny could hardly stand any longer but he had to be strong. His ex-wife is fighting for her life and his daughter was God-knows where with a lunatic out for revenge. He needed to be strong for them. He needed to stay strong till he brought Grace home.
"Yo, Danny! Danny?! What happened, huh?" Steve's panic-laden voice brought Danny out of his daze.
"Grace! Steve you have to find her. Find Grace!" Danny begged. He was so glad to see Steve. If there was anyone he trusted with his daughter's life besides himself, it was Steve. His thoughts went to Charlie, if Emilio was bent on making his life miserable, Danny knew that Charlie might be his target too. "And Charlie. Make sure he's safe. You hear me, Steve? You hear me?"
...
As Danny entered the patrol car, he locked his eyes on Steve. His eyes begged Steve to save him. To save Grace. The car drove off. The ride to HPD would typically take about 15 minutes from Rachel's house. Halfway through the ride, Danny shifted in his seat. He looked around, there were just two officers in the car. One was driving, and another sitting next to him in the backseat. Danny made his move. When the officer on his left let his guard down for a second, Danny used his elbow to punch the man in the nose and pin him onto the window. Danny punched him another time for good measure and moved on to his next target. He placed his hands over the headrest of the front seat and tried to choke the officer driving. The car got out of control as the man struggled to breathe. Before he knew it, the car was headed full speed for a tree.
Danny blinked open his eyes. His head was throbbing and he could feel blood running down his left temple. The ringing in his ear made the headache worse but he had no time to waste. Danny pushed the pain aside and searched the officer's pocket for the key to his cuffs. He found it and undid his cuffs, shoving it into his pocket. He grabbed his gun which they had taken away earlier and the portable radio from the car before running out. He could only hope the officers were fine, as he continued running, not entirely sure where he was headed.