CHAPTER 11

Tuesday evening, North Shore:

Grace was lying under a thick bush, trying hard not to move despite cramping up in the confined space. She concentrated on keeping her breathing steady and quiet. She could hear the sound of a car on the other end of the phone and the occasional swear word, followed by an apology, every time Danny had to slow down for something. At any other time, she was have found it comical and would remind her father to put a quarter in the swear jar. Right now, however, she was grateful just to hear her Danno's voice.

Grace normally enjoyed exploring forests and finding good hiding spots. What was normally enticing to the young girl, was now terrifying as the sun began to set. The dipping of the sun brought shadows into the forest that made Grace believe the bad guys were standing right next to her hiding spot. Deep down, she knew it was just her mind playing tricks on her. She hadn't heard anything moving in a very long time. She was starting to feel cold. It was then she realised that she had lost both of her slippers. They must have fallen off when she was running.

She was worried about Uncle Steve. She didn't know what had happened to him. She hadn't heard anymore gunshots after he had told her to run and leave him. She assumed he had gone ninja on the bad guys and taken them down. Now, he was looking for her somewhere in the bush. She knew Uncle Steve could look after himself, but she was still worried something bad had happened to him.

The only thing that comforted her right now was that her father was coming. She knew he would never intentionally lie to her. When he said he would get there as fast as possible, she knew he meant it.

"Gracie?" Danny's voice came through the phone she had clamped to her ear.

Grace was too scared to say anything back, afraid the bad men would find her if she even whispered.

"Gracie, we're here. We are coming through the forest now. When you hear us, you can come out, okay?"

Grace nodded, although she didn't say anything. She looked up from where she had pressed her face to the ground. Everything was dark and the trees weren't even visible anymore. She knew her father hated jungles. He loved cities and concrete and would often grumble about the 'pineapple infested hellhole' they lived on. She knew that, despite his desire to be anywhere but the forest, he would find her. Because he had promised.

Tuesday night, North Shore:

Danny cursed quietly as he tripped over yet another root. The darkness wasn't helping at all. It was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It all looked the same, not that he could even see his hand in front of his face. Chin, Kono and Danny had opted not to use flashlights for fear of alerting Fuentes' men to their presence. Danny began to panic as the forest felt like it was going on forever. He was going to lose Grace!

He couldn't call out to her because it was possible that Fuentes' men were also wandering around, trying to find his daughter. That made it even harder for them to find her, because it meant that he, Chin and Kono needed to move with as little noise as possible. Which was difficult, when you were tripping over roots and logs every two minutes.

Danny kept the phone glued to his ear as he trudged through the forest. He kept his eyes peeled for Grace, but also Fuentes' men. Then, in the darkness, he spotted a flash of what was probably white, but it the darkness appeared more grey.

"Grace," Danny whispered into the phone. "I think I can see you. Can you crawl out, Monkey?"

Waiting with bated breath, Danny waited until he saw the grey patch move. His heart pounded when he saw Grace stand up, looking around for him. Danny forget, in that moment, about everything around him as he rushed to his daughter and held her in a bone-crushing hug. He forgot all about the forest, the armed bad guys, Steve, Fuentes, even Chin and Kono. His whole world revolved around Grace in that moment.

"Danno?" Grace whispered, unsure if she should speak.

"It's okay Grace," Danny murmured as he ran a hand through her hair. "I've got you. Nothing is going to happen to you now. You're safe, it's okay."

"You came," Grace said as tears drew tracks down her grubby face. "You found me! I was so scared I couldn't move."

Danny wanted to spend eternity holding onto his daughter, but a nudge from Chin reminded him of why he felt that way. Reminded him of why he had to find his daughter in the jungle. He picked Grace up and followed Chin and Kono back in the direction they came. Danny was relieved. Grace had been found, but they were not out of the woods yet, so to speak. They still had no idea where Fuentes or Steve were.

When they arrived at where they had parked their cars, Danny put Grace on the ground again. He had been reunited with his daughter, but now he had to be a police officer. He needed to question Grace.

Danny knelt down in front of his daughter. "Okay, Grace. I know you want nothing more than to go home right now. But Danno needs to ask you some questions, okay? When we are done, Auntie Kono is going to take you back to your mum."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kono nod that she understood her task. She knew Danny didn't want Grace anywhere near there anymore. Besides, if they found Steve, they had no idea what condition he would be in and Danny definitely didn't want Grace to see her Uncle in any condition other than fine.

"Grace, do you remember anything about the place you were being held?" Danny asked.

Grace nodded. "It was a house. Uncle Steve and I were in the basement, I think. We had to climb up some stairs to get out. There was a really ugly room. They made me talk to Uncle Matt. The chair was so big, it felt like sitting on a marshmallow. Uncle Steve got us outside. He told me to run. He was right behind me when the bad men started shooting their guns. I ran into the forest and Uncle Steve followed. He gave me the phone and told me to find a good place to hide and call you. He said he was going to make sure the bad men didn't find me. I think he got lost, because he didn't come back to find me."

"Gracie, you were so brave. I need you to be brave for little bit longer. How far away do you think this house is?"

"Um…I ran for a really long time. Maybe twenty minutes. There was bush everywhere. I don't even know which direction the house is," Grace pouted, upset she couldn't be more helpful.

"Grace, that's very helpful. Uncle Chin and I are going to go find Uncle Steve, okay? You stay with Auntie Kono and do everything she asks."

Grace nodded before hugging Danny again. Danny looked up at Kono. "Can you please call Rachel for me, please?"

Kono nodded. "Of course, Danny."

Both Kono and Grace walked over to her Cruze. Before Grace got in the car, she turned and pinned her father with a serious look.

"Find Uncle Steve, please. You need to save him from the bad men like he saved me."

With that, Grace got in the car with Kono. Danny watched as the pair drove away. He felt like he could breathe better now that he knew Grace was out of harms way. However, the fact that his partner was still missing weighed heavily on his mind. Danny often figured that the SEAL thought he was invincible, but Danny knew otherwise. He bled red blood like every other human on this planet.

With Grace now on her way back to her mother, Danny forced himself to focus on finding his partner. He had to act like a detective now, not a father. He had to concentrate entirely on the task, like he would any other case. But this was not just another case. It was personal.

Chin moved through the brush ahead of Danny. It was silent except for the small amount of rustling they were making. They only walked for about a half hour before they came across a house in a small clearing. The wooden house appeared to be quite old. There were several old, rusty vehicles scattered about the clearing. They hadn't come across any of Fuentes' men in the bush. That meant they had either withdrawn and returned to the house, or they were lucky enough to have avoided them in the dark forest.

Danny was torn. In all likelihood, Steve was in that house. The best option would be to wait for backup before charging in to an enclosed space with an unidentifiable amount of armed men. However, Danny had the urge to just go in, regardless of the consequences. That was often what he berated his partner for, rushing in without preparing in advance. Danny was not a fan of being a hypocrite, but right now, he wanted to take a page out of Steve's playbook.

Danny glanced over at Chin. He could just make out his face in the darkness. Chin was ready to do whatever Danny decided. Danny stood still, listening for any movement in the house. It was still silent. Too silent. That did not bode well.

Danny motioned to Chin that he was moving. Chin nodded and raised his gun, indicating he had Danny's back. Danny nodded back appreciatively. Danny really admired the group of people Steve had brought together to create this tight-knit team and family unit.

Danny ran across the clearing to the front porch while Chin followed closely. Danny glanced into the window by the front door. It was completely dark inside. Counting down on his fingers, Danny opened the door quietly. It squeaked open ominously in the quiet. No one came to investigate the noise, for which Danny was relieved.

They cleared the rooms one at a time. They took the room on the right first. Turning on the light, they found it to be a kitchen of some sort. There were multiple beer bottles littering the bench top and a few crumbs scattered on the floor. The cup of coffee on the table was stone cold, indicating it had been a while since anyone was here.

They moved on to the next room, which was probably the ridiculous room Grace had described. It looked like someone tried to make the room into an extravagant library, but had given up halfway through. Just looking at the horrible decorating choices make Danny shiver. The colours alone were of poor choice, let alone the furniture that was scattered throughout the large room.

Chin and Danny exited that room and stood facing the last remaining door. If Grace's description was correct, this door would lead to the basement. Danny wasn't sure if he wanted to see the conditions in which his baby girl was kept against her will. Chin motioned that he would take point and Danny agreed appreciatively.

Danny followed Chin through the door and down the stairs. At the end of the stairs, they reached a dark corridor. Following the corridor to the end, they found a single, large door. Inspecting the door, they found a large bolt as the locking mechanism. Danny got ready to pull the bolt across on Chin's signal. At Chin's nod, he pulled and Chin entered the room.

"It's okay, Danny. Come in," Chin announced.

Danny reluctantly entered the room. It was empty except for a thin mattress in the far corner of the room. The walls were bare and the room was cooler than the rest of the house. There were no windows and no other source of light. Danny moved further into the room, stopping when he heard a crunching sound.

Turning on his flashlight, he pointed it down to the ground to see what he stood on. Lifting his foot, he saw pieces of glass and the remains of what looked to be a light bulb. Danny moved his light over the rest of the room, noting the single, broken zip tie also on the floor.

"That must be how Steve got out," Chin commented.

"If he got out, then where is he now?" Danny asked.

"He could still be tracking Fuentes' men in the forest," Chin suggested.

"Or, he could have been captured by them, again. Or worse, dead!" Danny yelled.

Chin held up his hands in a placating manner. "We don't know that for sure, Danny. Let's wait until morning. Maybe we can pick up his trail."

Danny ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah, yeah. Okay. We're going to need more manpower to help us."

"We'll call HPD. In the meantime, I think you need to spend some time with Grace."

"What do I tell her about Steve?"

Chin sighed. "The truth…that he wasn't here and is probably chasing the bad guys as we speak. Don't try lying to her…she'll respect you more for telling the truth."

Danny turned to face Chin. "Chin, since when do you know so much about children?"

"I don't. I just know as a child that my father always told me the truth, no matter how hard it was. I respected him for that. I'm not saying it's easy, but I think she'll be more prepared if the worst does happen."

Danny pondered that for a moment.

"Where do you think Fuentes is now?" Danny asked.

"I think he's moved. He didn't find Grace, so he cut his losses, took what he could and split. He probably suspected Grace got word to us and decided not to hang around for the welcoming party."

They walked out of the house with their shoulders slumped in defeat. They made their trek back to the Camaro in silence. Danny kept his eyes open, hoping to get a glimpse of Steve somewhere in the darkness. He had a really bad feeling developing in the pit of his stomach. He just knew something bad had happened.

Wednesday morning, Five-0 Headquarters:

Danny stood next to the smart table, watching his daughter and ex-wife embrace in his office. As much as he wanted to be in there with them, he had a job to do. Find Steve McGarrett and put Fuentes and his entire enterprise out of business. Except that was easier said than done.

Steve had now been missing just over two days. And they had nothing.

Danny kept checking his phone, hoping for details on one aspect of the case or another. So far, his message bank remained annoyingly empty. Duke had already organised teams to search the forest at the house where Steve and Grace were held hostage. Once they had cleared the area, CSU would be sent in.

Danny wasn't holding out hope. He doubted Fuentes or his men would still be there, looking for Grace. The house itself didn't have anything significant in it either when he and Chin had searched it. So, they still had nothing.

Danny looked back through the glass at his daughter. He dreaded having to tell her he had lost Uncle Steve. He wouldn't tell her what he thought happened, because that was too traumatic for an eight year old girl. Danny slowly made his way over to his office. He was about to knock on the door when his phone rang.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, he looked at the caller ID. He saw it was an unknown number and quickly answered it, thinking it could be Matt.

"Williams," he said into the phone.

"Ah, Detective Willams…" a sinister voice came over the line. "It's good to finally talk with you."

Danny motioned for Chin and Kono to come to the smart table. He pointed to his phone and Kono quickly started a trace and recording. Danny placed the phone on the smart table and put it on speaker.

"Fuentes?" Danny asked timidly.

"Correct. It's good to see you have been doing your homework."

"When it comes to slime ball drug lords, I tend to pay attention," Danny growled.

"Enough chit chat. Let's get down to business. I believe you are missing something…" Fuentes said suggestively.

"If you do anything to…" Danny began angrily before he was cut off by Fuentes.

"Temper, temper, Detective. I was simply making a statement. No need to be so hostile."

Danny gripped the smart table so hard his knuckles began to turn white. The rage was simmering just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed. But Danny knew he had to keep a level head if he was going to be able to help Steve in any way.

"I propose a trade," Fuentes continued. "I must admit, this was not my original plan. You are supposed to be in your partner's place. However, your partner is quite unpredictable. While I have lost one valuable hostage, I still have the other."

Danny's anger almost spilled over at that. The injustice of it all was getting to Danny the most.

Danny spoke with venom in his voice. "If it's me you want, I will come to you. Just leave my partner out of this! He doesn't need to be involved."

"While it is true that you were the original target, I have been able to adjust my plans accordingly. I have since discovered how valuable your partner is. Head of the Governor's elite task force, a Navy SEAL and Intelligence Officer to boot. I wonder how many secrets he has buried in his head?" Fuentes continued snidely.

Danny was silent for a few moments.

"Are you still listening, Detective?"

"Yes," Danny growled.

"Excellent. As I said earlier, I propose a trade. Your partner for your brother. Simple, right?"

"If you say so," Danny said sarcastically.

"I am a man of my word, Detective. I told your brother that I would not harm my hostages. That still applies to the Commander. If you partake in the trade, he will be returned to you in his already slightly tarnished state…Don't worry, it's just a flesh wound."

Danny gripped the table even tighter. "There is only one problem with this plan. I don't know where my brother is. I haven't heard from him since he disappeared five months ago."

"Don't lie to me, Detective. We both know that is not true. We both know he contacted you very recently. Use those Detective skills of yours and find him, otherwise your partner suffers the consequences."

"I'm going to need some time to find him," Danny said, trying to buy some more time.

"You have forty-eight hours. I will contact you with a location for the exchange and the details shortly. Oh, and one more thing…"

"What's that?"

"I have had some time to do some research on your partner here. It appears your Commander has a few enemies. Well, more than a few. Some have expressed a desire to get their hands on him. He has been set up as part of an auction, which ends in forty-eight hours. If you deliver your brother to me within time, the auction will be called off. If not…well, I'm sure you can imagine what would happen next. Await my next call."

"Wait, Fuentes. Fuentes!" Danny yelled into the phone as he heard the unmistakable sound of a dropped call.

Danny turned to Kono with a look of desperation. "Did you get a trace?"

"No, the call was bouncing off so many towers. I could have pinned down a general area if he had stayed on the line another twenty seconds," Kono said sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

Sighing, Danny said, "It's not your fault, Kono."

"Well, at least he won't be harmed if Fuentes thinks we will give him Matt," Chin said.

"But he's already hurt, Chin!" Danny argued.

"Fuentes said it was a flesh wound," Chin said. "And if I know Steve, he's probably giving them hell right about now. They won't want to hold on to him for too long."

"That's what worries me," Danny said.

"What I want to know is why they think Matt is even here? I mean, these guys could have come to Hawaii at any time. Why do they choose now to come looking for Matt here?" Kono asked.

"I don't know," Chin said. "What should we do?"

Standing up straight, Danny announced, "We find my brother and we trade him for Steve. I will not let my partner suffer for my brother's mistake!"

"Okay. I think we need to bring the FBI in on this," Chin said carefully.

Dany vehemently disagreed. "No. Not yet. Kono? Can you play back the call. Something Pedro said…"

Kono played the recording of the call and fast forwarded until Dannys stopped her. He played it again, so the others could hear what he had heard.

"We both know that is not true. We both know he contacted you recently."

The team stared at each other with wide eyes, having come to the same conclusion.

"We have a mole," Chin said quietly.