CHAPTER 20

Friday afternoon, warehouse district Honolulu:

The Five-0 team stood around the body silently. No one moved or made a sound. Danny was crouched next to the body, shaking uncontrollably. Chin and Kono exchanged concerned looks at their teammate's behaviour. After a few moments, Danny began laughing out loud, unable to hold it in any longer. Soon after, Chin and Kono laughed along with him.

Anyone watching the scene in front of them would be honestly concerned for the team's sanity. However, they only felt relief. Relief that the body lying in front of them wasn't their boss and friend. Relief that one half of the Fuentes operation had been put down. Eventually, the hysterics died down to be replaced by seriousness.

They looked down at the now deceased Andre Fuentes. They saw the perfect hole in his forehead, probably placed there courtesy of Steve McGarrett.

"That idiotic Neanderthal animal," Danny said as he wiped tears of laughter from his eyes.

"What on earth was Steve thinking?" Kono muttered.

"This was probably his idea of a distraction. A way to keep all of Fuentes' attention on him rather than on us. He's buying time," Chin explained.

"Buying time for what?" Kono asked.

"Buying time for us to get Grace to safety," Chin explained.

"Okay. If that's the case, where is Steve now?" Kono asked, concern evident in her voice.

Chin sighed. "I'm guessing Fuentes didn't take too kindly to Steve killing his brother. Either Steve got away and Fuentes is pursuing him or…"

"Or Fuentes killed him?" Kono whispered, not wanting to believe it even for a second.

"Steve's not that easy to kill," Danny countered angrily.

"Okay. So, Steve has a plan. We just need to figure out what it is," Kono summarised, ignoring Danny's comment.

"Steve would try to achieve the mission objective with as few casualties as possible. By getting Matt out, he has protected Grace. Obviously Fuentes threatened her life and Steve didn't want to take a chance. The only thing left to take care of would be Fuentes. Steve killed Andre to derail Pedro, push him into making mistakes that would allow us to find him. Fuentes would not be acting rationally and Steve must be counting on that," Chin suggested.

"How does that help us to find the boss?' Kono asked.

"Steve's message," Danny said quietly.

Chin turned to face Danny, who was lost in thought. "What about it?"

"Remember a few weeks ago? When we had that poker tournament at his place?" Danny prompted.

"Yeah. He won, big time," Kono said smiling.

"He played like he had never played poker before. We all thought he was hopeless. Then he asked me to buy him back in because he had a killer hand. It turns out that he actually did and that's how he won the pot. He told me he was 'going all in'. He pretended to be a bad player so he could wait for his moment. His message; it means that his moment came and we just need to be there to back him up," Danny explained.

"So basically Steve killing Andre was the distraction. He needs us to secure Matt and Grace while he 'plays' with Fuentes until he makes a mistake?" Chin clarified.

"Yep. At least, I hope that's what his message meant. I could be completely wrong," Danny said.

"Okay, so if this was the distraction, where is Steve?" Kono asked, getting back to the point at hand.

"I don't know, Kono," Danny sighed.

"Let's look at the facts. It's obvious Fuentes' attempts to get Matt by auctioning off Steve has failed. Steve put a hole in that plan. What would Fuentes do next?" Chin asked the people in the room.

"Fuentes still wants Matt. I assume he's going to suggest another exchange," Danny suggested.

"We all know there is not going to be an exchange. I mean, not really. It's not like Fuentes will just forget what Steve did to his brother. Even if we go through with the exchange, Fuentes will probably kill Steve once he has Matt," Kono pointed out.

"That's true. The only reason Steve is still alive is because Fuentes believes he can still use him to get Matt," Chin said.

"Yeah, as soon as Fuentes has Matt, Steve is as good as dead. So is Matt," Danny said despondently.

"Either way, it buys Steve some time. Time for us to find him," Chin said.

Danny ran his hand down his face, scrubbing the two-day old scruff on his chin. "We need to find him soon. I have a feeling Fuentes will not be as nice as before."

Friday afternoon, unknown location:

Steve came around quickly, gasping awake between one breath and the next. His eyes popped open of their own accord and he really wished they hadn't. He groaned as the pain in his head ratcheted up a few more notches. Getting hit in the head multiple times was definitely not ideal and could cause any number of problems. Problems he really didn't want to think about right now.

Carefully opening his eyes again, he took in his surroundings. Instantly, he realised he was in some kind of wooden shack. Sunlight was drifting through the wooden slats, illuminating the interior of the shack. If he had to guess, it was sometime in the early afternoon. It was hot inside the shack. He could feel the sweat pouring down his back and neck.

Looking down, he found himself in yet another chair, restrained with rough rope around his wrists, ankles and chest. A brief struggle with his bindings told him what he already knew; he wasn't getting out of there that easily. Fuentes obviously wasn't taking any chances this time. The attempt to loosen his bonds only caused his wrists and ankles to become more abraded.

Taking a few deep breaths, Steve attempted to calm himself. After all, he had been in worse situations than this. He knew whatever was coming he had brought upon himself. In his mind, killing Pedro Fuentes' brother would put all of his attention on himself and not the Williams family. He had to protect his best friend and his daughter. He just had to. He hoped Matt had found Danny and that Grace was now in protective custody.

Steve could only imagine what was going through Danny's mind. Having his daughter kidnapped by drug lords that have a passion for violence and vengeance. Having his brother threatened by said drug lords. It was more than enough for anyone to be dealing with. He just hoped Rachel wouldn't try to rescind the custody agreement after this incident, like she did at the football game.

The door to the shack suddenly swung open. Steve had been so engrossed in his musings about Danny that he hadn't even noticed the three men approaching the shack. Pedro Fuentes and two of his men sauntered into the room (if you could call it that). Steve sighed inwardly at the typical stereotype; the evil villain and his muscly goons.

Fuentes stood in front of Steve and crossed his arms menacingly, glaring down at Steve. Steve glared back, not daring to flinch. Steve noticed the vein on the side of Pedro's neck pulsing with what he assumed was barely withheld rage. For some reason, that delighted Steve. At least Fuentes' rage wasn't directed at anyone he cared about.

"Commander McGarrett…You have been a thorn in my side for way too long," Fuentes began slowly.

Steve smirked cockily. "I try my best."

Fuentes smiled back malevolently. "I must say, I do enjoy the verbal sparring. But that is something we won't have much time for, I'm afraid. I was hoping you could help me with a bit of a dilemma."

"I'll see what I can do," Steve replied, still with a smug look on his face.

Fuentes began pacing circles around Steve, like a bird circling its prey. Steve remained as still as possible, not giving away how uncomfortable it made him feel.

"You see, I'm at a bit of a loss here. I really just want to kill you, but unfortunately, I still need you. I want Matthew Williams. I want to see him suffer. Yet, instead, I have you. And you…you have managed to foil all of my plans and kill my brother. As much as I would love to break your neck for that, I still need you to get to Williams."

"Thanks to the other Williams, I have also lost your buyer. Your meddlesome team managed to fake a bid and somehow win the auction. Did Detective Williams seriously think that I would fall for that? Hiro Noshimuri has no interest in my affairs. Why would he get involved now?"

Steve was impressed. Danny had somehow managed to create a way to win the auction. It was inventive and stealthy. He would have to remind himself to thank Danny for it later. But really, Hiro Noshimuri?

Fuentes stopped pacing and knelt in front of Steve. "I propose another trade. Perhaps this time your partner will play ball."

"You obviously don't know my partner that well. Why would he listen to anything you have to say? You are threatening his family. He's not going to risk that for me," Steve said calmly.

"I don't really care. Either way, I get what I want: Matthew Williams and you dead. How you die, however, is my dilemma," Fuentes said menacingly.

Fuentes grabbed Steve's chin and held it in place. "You have two options. You can tell me where you sent Matthew Williams and I promise not to harm Danny or Grace Williams. Then I kill you for murdering my brother."

Steve ripped his chin from Fuentes' grasp. "Well, unfortunately for you, I don't know where Matt went. He never told me where he was going before we parted ways," he said smugly.

Fuentes' lips upturned slightly in amusement. "Or your second option. I make Detective Williams watch while I torture you until he gives me what I want. Then, I will kill you and every member of the Williams family. Personally, I like this option much better. Although I hate the thought of having to clean up your blood. However, the choice is yours. Are you going to tell me where Matthew Williams is?"

"You know, with all the head trauma, I just can't seem to remember where he…" Steve managed before he was struck in the face with Fuentes' fist.

The force of the blow knocked the chair over and Steve along with it. The force of landing on his injured should nearly caused him to black out from the sudden spike of pain. Suddenly, hands were grabbing the chair and righting it. His head spun with vertigo at the sudden change in position. Another punch was delivered directly into his shoulder wound, causing Steve to hiss in pain.

Fuentes leant over Steve, his hands pressing down on his restrained wrists. Their faces were so close Steve could almost taste the bitter coffee the man must have drunk earlier. Fuentes grinned at Steve, the smile lighting up his entire face and not in a good way. It was almost hysterical in nature.

"Option number two it is then," Fuentes announced.

Pedro clicked his fingers before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. The two henchmen left being cracked their knuckles and stretched their massive limbs. One grabbed a bat while the other produced a pair of brass knuckles from his pocket.

'Not at all like the stereotypes,' Steve thought sarcastically to himself as the two men approached and began their assault.

Friday afternoon, Five-0 Headquarters:

The team returned to headquarters in defeat, yet again. It seemed every time they got close to finding Steve, he got further away from them. Catherine came running out of Steve's office, a hopeful look on her face. She only needed one look at the glum faces of the team returning to know that they had not been successful. Again. She retreated back into Steve's office and sat on the couch, staring out the window.

Danny, Chin and Kono exchanged looks, a silent tic-tac-toe to see who would talk to her. They all knew Steve and Catherine had a bond that extended outside of their work lives. All you had to do was look at the way they interacted with each other. What Steve and Catherine decided to do with it was up to them.

Having 'won' the contest, Danny was headed to his office when Kipton entered the bullpen, Matt in tow. Danny motioned for them to go to his office and wait for him. Kipton nodded and steered Matt over to his brother's office. Danny sighed before heading over to where his brother sat in the chair in front of his desk.

Chin and Kono watched as Danny and Agent Kipton discussed the arrangements for the safe house. They watched as the brothers shared an intimate hug before shaking hands. Danny turned back to Kipton, saying something they couldn't make out, before shaking his hand also. They watched as Kipton and Matt exited the office. Danny was slumped in his chair, his head in his hands.

Chin and Kono approached the office slowly.

"You okay, brah?" Chin asked, his voice full of concern.

Danny looked up. His eyes were tired and sad. "Yeah. I will be once this nightmare is over."

"Is Grace also going to the safe house?" Kono asked.

Danny nodded. "Yeah. Grace, Matt and Rachel will be at the safe house. Kipton said it was best I didn't know where he was taking them, just in case Fuentes finds out. It means I can't see them until this whole thing is over."

"I'm sorry, Danny. That's tough," Kono said sympathetically.

"As long as this ends with Fuentes behind bars, it's worth it," Danny claimed. "How's Catherine?"

Chin cleared his throat. "I haven't talked to her yet. I don't even know what to say."

Kono sighed. "Me either. What can we say? Until we actually get Steve back, she is not going to be okay."

"Yeah, you're right," Danny said as he stood up. "In the meantime, let's keep looking for Fuentes."

The trio entered the bullpen again and gathered around the smart table. It was at that moment that Danny's cell phone started ringing. Danny took it out of his pocket and showed the team the blocked number. Kono started the trace immediately.

"Detective Williams," Danny answered when he saw Kono was ready.

"Hello again, Detective. I would say it's good to hear your voice, but I was kind of hoping I wouldn't have to listen to it again."

"Fuentes," Danny growled. "What do you want?"

"Oh, so eager. Let's just say I should be about twenty-three million dollars richer right now. Instead, I have nothing. Did you really think I would fall for your subterfuge?" Fuentes stated.

"It was worth a try," Danny admitted.

"You and your partner have left me at, how do you say…crossroads? I would really love to kill your partner for killing my brother. However, I should probably thank him instead. My brother wasn't exactly the…brightest, if you catch my drift. He wouldn't have made a good second in command anyway. However, despite all of this, I still don't have what I want."

"That's too bad…" Danny remarked.

Fuentes continued as though he hadn't heard Danny. "As you know, the auction is off. You will not pull wool over my eyes so easily. Instead, I have a different game to play. If you really care about your partner, you will abide by the rules this time. You should check your email, Detective."

The room echoed in silence as the call was severed.

"How did Fuentes know it was us?" Kono asked, panicking slightly.

"He probably thought it was suspicious that Noshimuri would be interested in that kind of business. We had to take the shot on the chance it would work," Chin answered.

"What did Fuentes mean about a different game?" Kono asked, not concealing her panic.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't sound good," Chin said.

The cousins waited patiently as Danny typed in his password and accessed his emails. He scrolled through various unrelated messages until he found one from an unknown sender. The email was titled 'McGarrett'. Looking up at the cousins, Dany hesitantly opened the email, afraid of what it would contain. The email consisted of a single link to a webpage. There was nothing else, no instructions or explanation. Taking a deep breath, Danny clicked on the link. They were immediately directed to a webpage that was blank except for a video file.

"Can we trace this webpage or something?" Danny asked, unsure if that was even possible.

"We can try and trace the IP address or see if anyone else has visited this page, but it's a long shot," Chin replied.

"Do it anyway," Danny said, watching as Chin started working on it.

"Should we watch the video?" Kono asked.

"Probably," Danny said.

No one voiced what was going through their minds. Who knew what Fuentes had planned? The video could contain anything. Speculating about it was pointless. The only way they were going to get answers was by watching it. Taking a deep breath, Danny clicked play. The team waited with bated breath as the events began to unfold on the screen.

The video began with a shaky frame, as though the person holding the camera was moving. The person holding the camera stopped outside a wooden door. Pained grunts could be heard in the background, presumably coming from behind the door. The door was pushed open, revealing a partially lit room. The camera focused on the scene in front of them: Steve, tied to chair in the middle of the room being beaten by two men.

"Stop!" the person holding the camera said.

There was no doubt the person behind the camera was Pedro Fuentes. His voice was becoming very familiar to the team. The two men that had been beating Steve stopped and stood aside. The camera zoomed in on Steve's face. He had blood dripping down the right side of his face, some old and some fresh. His left eyes was almost swollen shut. There were almost certainly other injuries that they could not see. Steve, despite having been beaten, appeared to be conscious.

The camera suddenly turned so they could see Pedro's face. "Detective Williams. I hope you understand exactly what your brother's actions have caused. This is just a taster of what is to come. I have so much more planned for the Commander. I will be sending a video every three hours until you hand over your brother. The sooner you hand him over, the sooner this can stop. How long do you think Commander McGarrettt can last?' Fuentes taunted.

"Continue," Fuentes said to his men.

The sound of Steve's pain filled grunts echoed throughout the room before the screen went black, signalling the end of the video.