CHAPTER 4

Sunday evening, Mr Chang's supermarket:

Danny Williams smiled to himself as he walked down the aisles of Mr Chang's supermarket. Danny knew he could have gone to one of the average supermarkets to find a simple bag of chocolate chips but he knew his partner preferred Mr Chang's because it was an organic food shop, with fresh produce and all the healthy things his partner enjoyed. It probably also had something to do with the fact that it was a ten minute walk from Steve's house and it was one of the few shops open late in the evening.

Danny hummed as he perused the aisles, looking for organic chocolate chips. He passed several items that he had never seen before, including something that looked like shredded tree bark. After having reached the last aisle with no success, he conceded the fact that he may have to ask someone. Grudgingly, he made his way to the front of the store where a kind faced Asian man greeted him.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" the man, Danny assumed was Mr Chang, asked.

"Hello. I'm, uh, looking for organic chocolate chips," Danny replied.

The man smiled at him from behind the counter. "Ah, you must mean cacao chips? They are in aisle three. I'll show you."

"Thank you," Danny replied as he followed the man towards the rear of the specified aisle.

The man pointed to where the chips were and Danny grabbed a bag. He smiled as he looked at the contents in the bag. It honestly looked like a bag of small, black rocks.

"I take it you found what you were looking for?" the man asked.

"Yes, thank you, Mr…?" Danny inquired.

"Call me Dennis. Dennis Chang. My father owned the store before me."

"Thank you, Dennis."

"So, what are you making at this time of night with cacao chips?" Dennis asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Um, well. My weekend plans changed with my daughter, so we went to my friend's house. He has a house on the beach, so she spent the afternoon in the sun, building sand castles. Then she had a really long nap and woke up hungry about twenty minutes ago. She wanted pancakes and she promised to show my friend how to make the best chocolate chip pancakes. Only, he is a health freak and doesn't have anything remotely unhealthy in the house. Hence, I was tasked with finding some chocolate chips, of the organic kind, mind you. But not because my friend requested them, but my daughter."

Dennis chuckled. "Your friend sounds like one of my regular customers. He comes in here at least twice a week, always buying his fruit and vegetables. He just came back to the islands, but his family lived here for years. I remember when I was about twenty five, working here with my father, and the McGarrett's would come in all the time. Young Steve would always ask for the freshest mangoes, while his sister would complain that she hated mangoes. Their parents would always roll their eyes at that."

Danny's eyes widened. "Wait, you know Steve McGarrett?"

Dennis nodded. "Yep. He was such as nice young boy and has grown into a fine young man, despite what happened to his mother. I heard he's heading up the state taskforce?"

"Yeah, he is. Please tell me you have some embarrassing stories about him?" Danny asked almost pleadingly.

Dennis chuckled. "Unfortunately, I don't. You might have to ask his father or sister."

Danny's eyes suddenly grew sad. "I would, but unfortunately his father passed away about seven months ago and he doesn't have the best relationship with his sister."

"Oh. I didn't know."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like Steve to share anything personal," Danny said.

"That is very true."

Danny looked down at the bag in his hands and decided to pick up another one.

"Just how many pancakes are you planning to make?" Dennis asked with a confused look on his face.

"I don't plan on using these all tonight. I am hoping to hide some so we don't have the dramas we did tonight. My daughter sounded like the world was ending when she realised her Uncle Steve didn't have any chocolate chips."

Dennis laughed at that. "So, these are preventative measures then?"

"Something like that," Danny said, smiling.

They walked up to the counter together as Dennis rang up the charges. Danny went to hand over the money, but Dennis put up his hand, stopping him.

"It's on me tonight. Don't tell Steve, otherwise he will come here to try and pay me," Dennis said.

"Oh, thank you Dennis."

"That boy could use some happiness in his life. Hopefully these can help provide some of that. Now, go and make sure your daughter doesn't starve to death."

"Thank you, again," Danny said as he gathered up his purchases.

"Thanks for looking out for him… Sorry, I didn't catch your name?"

"Uh, I'm Danny Williams."

Dennis' eyes widened. "You're Danno?"

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes skyward. "Yep, that's me."

"Although he doesn't talk about himself much, Steve always has stories about you. Did you really drive around with a guy strapped to the hood of your car?"

Danny's eyes nearly popped out of his eye sockets. "He told you about that?"

"Yep. He kept grumbling about how if he did something like that, you would be yelling at him. He thought it was unfair."

Danny laughed. "Of course he would. Only that Neanderthal would think that. Of all the things…"

Dennis held up his hands in surrender. "Don't rant at me, save that for him."

Danny smiled. "Right, thanks. And thanks for these."

Dennis waved him out the door. "No problem. Have a good night."

"You too," Danny called over his shoulder.

Danny climbed into the Camaro, placing the cacao chips on the passenger seat, and started the car. Danny ranted to himself about his loud mouth partner the entire short drive back to McGarrett's house. He had a good rant prepared for when he saw his partner. Steve wouldn't know what hit him. Danny smiled in satisfaction.

Entering Piikoi street, Danny settled himself down as he prepared for the likely mess that would await him in his partner's kitchen. Pulling in to his partner's driveway, he noticed the removal van from earlier was gone. Danny frowned.

Perhaps they do late night removals, he thought as he got out of the truck.

Sunday evening, McGarrett residence:

As soon as Danny had gone out the door, Steve turned to see Grace grinning at him. The absolute joy etched on her face made his heart soar. He remembered feeling that carefree when he was young, before everything changed. He hoped Grace would never have to experience anything like he had. Despite the dangerous job they had, Steve would always do his best to protect his partner and ensure father and daughter had the opportunity to make more memories that they would cherish.

"Alright, Gracie. Show me how to make the best pancakes in the world," Steve said with a huge smile.

"It's really easy, Uncle Steve. The secret is to add the chocolate chips after you have poured the batter. That way they don't mix with the batter and make a chocolate soup," Grace said, like it was obvious.

Steve, however, was actually shocked. After all those years of making pancakes with his mother, they could never figure out how to actually stop the chips from melting into the batter.

"Huh," Steve said as he grabbed a cloth from the sink.

"What's the matter, Uncle Steve?" Grace asked.

"Oh, nothing Gracie. I thought I knew everything about making pancakes, but you have just proved me wrong," Steve said as he poked her in the side with his finger. "How about we clean up a little bit before Danno gets back?"

Grace nodded eagerly and grabbed the cloth Steve passed to her. She went to work vigorously scrubbing the batter from the bench top. Steve went to the laundry to get the mop so he could clean the floor when they were done.

Returning to the kitchen, he was amazed at how quickly Grace had cleaned up after herself. The bench top was now mostly clean and she had already started on the dishes, filling the sink to the brim. Steve shook his head, thinking that Grace would probably make more mess cleaning up than actually cooking.

Steve heard the front door click open and quickly deposited the mop and bucket on the floor before going to greet his partner. He knew Mr Chang's was only a five minute drive away, but that was a really quick trip to the store. Danny had only left eleven minutes ago, according to his watch.

"Hey, that was quick. Did you break every traffic law on the way he…."

Steve stopped short at the sight in front of him. Three men dressed in dark clothing and white masks were standing in his living room, semi-automatic guns in their hands. The one immediately to his left was taller than the rest, but was by far the thinnest of the group. The other two were of medium build but had large muscled arms that bulged from under the sleeves of their black t-shirts.

Steve surveyed the room, trying to determine how he could get the upper hand without causing too much damage. After all, the General Pak incident wasn't that long ago. Even more importantly, the idea of guns anywhere near Danny's only reason to live made Steve's blood run cold. In any other situation, Steve would act with little thought. His partner thought it was recklessness, but it was more calculated risk. However, with Grace only in the next room, Steve needed to eliminate all risk.

Stalling for time to think of a plan, Steve asked nonchalantly, "Can I help you?"

The tall man only smirked in response and the other two men remained silent. Their reactions sent a shiver down Steve's spine.

"Okay guys. Are we just going to stand here all night? Because I would like to go to bed at some point, maybe read a book," Steve said sarcastically.

The man on Steve's left, the shortest but more solidly built one, responded. "Where's the little girl?"

Steve frowned in concern, although it could be played off as confusion. "I don't know what you are talking about. It's just me here tonight."

"Detective Williams, I thought police officers were supposed to tell the truth?" the same man said condescendingly.

Steve's frown now turned to one of true confusion. Detective Williams? Did they think he was Danny? Why would they look for Danny at his house? Steve glared at the three men that had invaded his house, apparently in search of Danny and Grace, as he thought of a response.

Before he got the chance, however, he heard movement from behind him. Whirling around, he hoped it wasn't Grace coming to see what was happening. In fact, it was much worse than that. A fourth man was holding a limp Grace Williams under one arm and a gun in the other. This man was also tall, but had a pot belly.

"Grace!" Steve exclaimed.

When she didn't respond, Steve glared at the man holding her. "What did you do to her?"

The man shrugged and bent down to place her gently on the ground. "Just gave her something so she can sleep."

Clenching his hands into fist, Steve turned so he could see all four men. "What do you want?"

"That's simple," said the shortest man. "We would like both you and Grace to come with us."

Steve growled. "Why would we do that?"

"Put it this way, if you don't come with us, we will be forced to go after the rest of your family. Your sisters, your parents, your ex-wife. I'm sure you don't want us to do that."

"You're right. I don't," Steve said, glancing down at Grace. As far as he could tell, she was unharmed and resting somewhat peacefully.

"I knew you would see it our way," the masked man said with a small laugh.

Steve remained silent, trying to think of a way to get Grace out of harms way. He didn't know who these men were or why they wanted Danny and Grace.

"Take me and leave Grace here. I will go with you voluntarily," Steve bargained.

The four men snickered at his request. The sound grated on Steve's already frayed nerves.

"I'm afraid the boss wants both of you," the smaller man said.

"Oh yeah. Who's your boss?" Steve asked, hoping to gain some intel.

"Not much of a detective," the fourth man muttered.

The short man, whom Steve assumed was the leader of this group, smirked. "You will find out when the time is right."

Steve didn't like that idea at all. Obviously whoever ordered the kidnapping wanted them alive for some reason. The fact that the kidnappers hadn't revealed themselves played in their favour. For now.

"Now, time is getting short. So if you wouldn't mind following my associate and we can be on our way," the leader said smugly.

Steve felt something shoved into his back, right between the shoulder blades. The man with the pot belly was jabbing his gun into his back. One quick glance at Grace slumped on the floor gave Steve all the incentive he needed. He moved a few steps forward, moving away from Grace, allowing the man behind him to move away also. When he was far enough away that Grace was out of reach, Steve exploded into action.

Steve pivoted on his right foot to face the man behind him, grabbing the gun in the process. Holding the man's right hand down with his left, Steve delivered a vicious elbow to the chin with his left arm, causing the man to stumble backwards. Steve pulled the gun from his grasp and aimed centre mass, firing. After a second, he realised he must have missed and fired again. This time his aim was true and the man was still not down. The man stood there, laughing as blood dripped from his mouth.

Looking down at the gun, Steve cursed. Blanks! They must have used blanks. Tossing the gun to the side, Steve took a running jump and tackled the large man to the ground. The momentum of the tackle drove them towards the lanai doors, causing glass and wood to shatter around them. Steve landed on top of the assailant and before the man could recover from having the wind knocked out of his lungs, Steve delivered a quick right hook to the side of the man's head, knocking him out cold.

He heard footsteps approaching him from behind. Reacting quickly, Steve rolled off of the man underneath him and rose to his feet to confront the tall, thin man. The other two men were nowhere to be seen, which worried Steve. He had to get back to Grace!

The tall man was much more agile than Steve had expected. Steve blocked each of the successive punches thrown his way, unable to find an opening to get in a hit of his own. The man drove him back out onto the lanai, still dodging punches.

The continued absence of the other two men concerned Steve. In desperation to find Grace, Steve dropped to the ground and swung out his left leg, sweeping the other man's legs out from under him. Steve didn't even check to see if the man had recovered before racing back inside to find Grace. Steve made it to the remains of his lanai doors when he felt something cold on his neck before a paralysing current coursed through his body, causing him to seize up and drop to the floor.

When the electric current ceased, Steve coughed and weakly tried to get up on his knees. A foot planted on his back forced him back onto his stomach. Steve didn't have the energy to fight back. His limbs were still numb from the shock from the taser. He couldn't get his arms or legs to cooperate with him.

Steve cursed himself and his inability to fight back. Grace was his responsibility and he couldn't protect her like this. He saw her still slumped on the floor, completely oblivious to what was occurring around her.

"Grace," he mumbled.

"Don't worry, Detective Williams. We will take good care of her. Now just relax," someone whispered in his ear.

Steve felt a sharp prick in his neck as he tried to fight against the person holding him down. Within mere seconds, he felt a lethargy he couldn't explain spreading throughout his body. His movements grew weaker and his thoughts scattered as he tried to remain conscious.

The last thing Steve McGarrett saw was two men picking up Grace Williams. Just before a wave of dizziness and nausea overtook him, he felt himself being picked up off the floor. As his world faded to black, his last thought was 'Danny's going to kill me.'