CHAPTER 22

Saturday morning, Five-0 Headquarters:

The blank screen mocked them yet again. The team stared at the screen, hoping it would come alive again, showing them that their co-worker and friend was not dead, murdered with a single bullet. The not knowing was killing them, making them, if possible, more anxious and worried. Steve had now been MIA for almost six days. Six days their friend and colleague had been in the hands of a mad man. Up until this moment, before they had watched the video, they knew Steve was still alive and fighting with everything he had. Now they wondered if Steve's luck and persistence had run out.

The team knew the videos were Fuentes' way of distracting them, keeping them from their main task. They knew, no matter what, that they could not give Fuentes what he wanted. As soon as they did, Fuentes would kill Steve and probably Matt. Their only option was to find Steve before Fuentes killed him, if he hadn't already.

"What was he thinking?" Danny muttered under his breath as he paced in his office, having excused himself after watching the video.

"He was doing what he needed to do, Danny."

Kono's voice made Danny jump. He hadn't noticed her enter his office. There was a lot he was missing these past few days. Danny sighed. He really needed some sleep, or at least more caffeine.

"How is getting…tortured…a necessity?" Danny said, stumbling over the dreaded word.

Kono sat down on the couch and looked up at Danny appraisingly. "You know the answer to that, Danny, even if you don't like it."

Danny sighed. "You're right. Damn it, you're right."

Danny sat down next to Kono, his head in his hands.

"As much as I would love to let you rest, Chin and I think we have narrowed down our search radius," Kono said.

Danny looked up instantly, suddenly alert despite being exhausted a moment ago. "What? How?"

Kono stood, holding out her hand to pull Danny off the couch. "Come on, I'll show you."

Danny took her hand, allowing her to pull him up and followed her outside his office to the smart table, where Chin was typing at a ridiculous speed. Danny smiled, glad the other team members were just as dedicated to finding Steve as he was. Except they weren't letting their emotions impinge on their ability to get the job done. Suddenly, Danny was ashamed with himself. Instead of actively searching with the cousins, he had taken some time to mope. Time they couldn't spare right now.

Kono caught the look on Danny's face. "Danny, let it go," she said intuitively. "You're in a hard place right now. Don't feel bad for taking some time to sort through everything. We would be even more lost if you didn't. You need to do it to keep yourself in the game, which is where we need you. Don't you think we've done the same?"

Danny looked up at Kono, the understanding on her face making him feel better, despite the situation. Danny smiled back, half-heartedly, but enough to let Kono he appreciated her support.

"Okay, we have about an hour and a half until the next…video…comes in. What have you got?" Danny said, snapping himself back into action, spurred on by the support of his teammates.

"Thanks to Kamekona, we have a general idea for where they might be keeping Steve this time…" Kono began.

"How can we be sure that Steve is even up there? It could be a decoy, Fuentes trying to throw us off," Danny argued.

"That's what we thought. But first, has Kamekona ever steered us wrong?" Chin said, his eyebrows raised.

Danny looked down at his feet. "No," he muttered.

"Also, thanks to Steve interrupting his plans, Fuentes had to improvise. He would go somewhere he knows. With Steve distracting him, Fuentes has no choice but to stay where he is," input Kono.

"Exactly. Also, we found some evidence that points to the North Shore being the main base of operations," Chin said with a smug smile.

That caught Danny's attention. "What evidence?"

"Remember the DNA that we got from the beer bottles at the house where Steve and Grace were held?" Chin asked.

Danny nodded. How could he forget?

"What about them?" he asked.

"Well, we ran a search on them," Kono said, pulling up their profiles. Danny recognised them from the photos he had seen briefly.

"Didn't we do that before?" Danny asked.

Kono chewed her lip. "No. Not long after Charlie sent the information through, Kipton arrived and you had an argument. Then Fuentes called. Not long after that, Matt showed up. Understandably, we may have overlooked that bit of information at the time."

"Okay, so I take it you found something?" Danny said, waiting for the cousins to get to the point.

"Oh, we found something alright," Chin said with a smile, highlighting two of the men. "These two rented a house on the North Shore only two weeks ago. Apparently they were here on holiday, wanting to see the sights and the beach."

"This guy," Kono said, highlighting a third man, "rented a property, also on the North Shore. These two houses are within three kilometres of each other. In that area, there is only one other house. A house with a wooden shack in the backyard."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Danny asked, not daring to get his hopes up.

"If we're right, we've found where Steve is," Kono finished.

"Let's…" Danny trailed off as the unmistakable sound of an email appearing in his inbox stopped him in his tracks.

Looking at his watch, he noted the video had arrived an hour early. Swallowing nervously, Danny opened the email and followed the link to the video.

Saturday morning, unknown location:

Steve groaned as he shifted his increasingly sore body. Steve had no idea how long he had been Fuentes' captive, but it felt like days. He could no longer decide what part of his body hurt the most, all of it blending into one giant ache. He was beginning to regret his decision to be the focus of Fuentes' wrath. At the time, he had decided it would be worth it as long as it kept Danny and Grace safe.

Steve tried to stretch his body to relieve the pain in his shoulders. Hanging from the ceiling by his wrists wasn't exactly a picnic in the park. His boots barely touched the floor and his shoulders were close to dislocating if he even breathed wrong. Which didn't help given his abused ribs and the waterboarding he had endured.

After the altercation with Fuentes' men, Steve had been strung up and left in this position. The bullet Fuentes had fired into the air was a warning; make a move and the next one goes in your head. Believe it or not, Steve wasn't stupid. He had surrendered and not put up a fight when he was trussed up like a slab of meat. Fuentes had grinned, teeth glinting in the morning sun that streamed through the cabin. Steve hadn't liked the look that came over Fuentes' features. Not one bit.

The whole situation reminded him of another time, another place. A time he wished he could forget. He closed his eyes, willing the memory that was lurking at the fringes of his mind to go back into the box where it belonged with all the other horrible memories from his past. He opened his eyes when he heard the door open, announcing it was time for another round of torture.

"You were a foolish man to try and escape, Commander McGarrett," Fuentes growled.

"I guess I didn't like the accommodations too much," Steve spat, glaring at the Columbian.

Fuentes approached Steve slowly and then suddenly reached up to grab Steve's hair, yanking his head back forcefully.

"You must be suicidal or just really stupid, Commander. Mark my words, your death will be very painful. I will have revenge for my brother. Then I will find Matthew Williams and all that are related to him and murder every single one of them," Fuentes whispered angrily into Steve's ear.

With that, Fuentes left the room, leaving Steve wondering what his next round of torture would entail. When Fuentes returned with just the cattle prod, Steve relaxed. It wasn't as bad as he expected. He could handle this.

Fuentes applied the cattle prod to Steve's kidneys. Steve's muscles tensed involuntarily as the cattle prod was applied, his neck straining as the current coursed through his beaten body. Steve clenched his eyes shut as the familiar ripples of pain spread through his body.

"Alright boys. Strap up."

The commanding shout brought Steve instantly out his doze. He stood up and quickly donned his gear, turning to his partner to check their chute. Steve felt a small pat on his shoulder, indicating everything was in working order. Steve motioned for his partner to turn around so he could check their gear.

Steve grinned when he saw his comrade shaking like a leaf. Steve knew exactly how he was feeling. The first missions were always the most adrenaline inducing, but most terrifying times of anyone's lives. Steve finished checking the chute and signalling with a thumbs up that they were ready.

Within moments, the pilot gave them the green light. Steve watched with great anticipation as his other teammates jumped out before him. He waited in line for his turn. He watched as his partner, Andrew Johnston, hesitated for a moment before jumping. Steve followed shortly after, the last one to leave the plane.

Steve saw five other chutes open in the night sky. Once he reached the agreed altitude, he also opened his. He landed moments later in the field, watching as the team removed their gear. Everything was going according the plan. Their infiltration had been successful. Following their commanding officer, they moved silently in the direction of the compound they were there to infiltrate.

The sound of automatic gunfire broke the silence around them. Steve dropped to the ground, withdrawing his weapon and searching for targets. In the dark, it was difficult to discern where the targets were coming from.

"Smooth Dog, do you copy?"

In amongst the chaos, Steve heard his call sign through the headset.

"Roger Red Falcon," he responded.

"Smooth Dog, continue to target location. Take Dry Fish with you. We will hold them off."

Steve heard his commanding officer's order and tapped his earpiece twice, indicating he understood his task. He looked around, hoping to see where Johnston had gotten too. He spotted a mound in the darkness and belly-crawled over. He found Johnston hunkered down in a ditch. Tapping him on the shoulder, Steve indicated for him to follow.

Standing, they dashed for the nearby trees, hoping to conceal themselves in the shrubbery. They could hear the rapport of gunfire in the near distance. Steve grinned. Their boys were keeping them busy. They stood and made to move in the direction of their mission objective. As soon as they stood, they were peppered with bullets. Steve ducked behind a tree, escaping the barrage of bullets just in time.

His heart sank when he heard Johnston cry out…

Steve was brought back from his memory when the electricity stopped coursing through his body. He felt rung out, like he had just experienced his past again, feeling the pain and emotions he had at that point in his life. He knew what this was. He knew reality from memory. He just wasn't sure which was worse. Steve wondered how much time he had lost. He didn't remember Fuentes bringing in the camera or setting it up.

"Are you back with me Commander?" Fuentes' voice drifted through his mind as he tried to escape the hold of his memory.

Drip.

Drip.

Drip. Drip.

Drip.

The sound of liquid hitting the concrete floor allowed his foggy mind to be brought back to reality. It was oppressively humid, causing sweat to run down Steve's neck and arms. Steve tried to wipe the sweat from his brow before he realised his arms were shackled above him.

There was a man standing in front of him. Steve could barely make him out, his vision having long since deteriorated. The man was asking him something, but Steve couldn't make it out. It sounded like he was talking underwater. He felt a pinch in his arm. In all reality, it was minor compared to his other injuries.

"…friend…extreme pain…damage…death…" the words came to Steve haltingly. He was confused. Were they talking to him?

The pulsating pain reminded him of his situation. He came to expect the pain, knowing it would stop after a few seconds. Then he would be asked questions, questions he couldn't remember anymore. Then he would be shocked again. Over and over again until the next day.

He felt the surge of a current again. He breathed through it, knowing it would end soon. He could hold on, for Johnston. Instead, the pain became worse. Why wasn't it stopping? He threw his head back and screamed as pain engulfed him. Mercifully, darkness came for him and the gave in thankfully.

He heard a scream, a horrific sound that echoed in the small, stuffy room. Opening his eyes, he saw Johnston strung up in the middle of the room. They were beating him. The sickening sound of bones breaking angered Steve.

"Johnston!" he yelled as loud as his voice allowed.

He knew there was nothing he could do to stop it. He had already tried everything. No matter how much he struggled, he could not break free. He could not stop the torture taking place in front of him.

He felt someone approached him, talking to him. He assumed it was another round of questioning. Looking up, he saw Johnston swinging from the roof. A sudden rage engulfed Steve's entire being. Suddenly, Steve felt someone touching his legs. Instantly, he grabbed the assailant with his legs, wrapping them around the person's throat, using his last remaining ounce of energy to take out anyone responsible for Johnston's death.

He woke, his eyes opening to a bright light that caused him to squint. He saw three, what he assumed were people, standing around him but not touching him. He didn't feel threatened by them. He wondered if help had come at last. If only he was so lucky.

Saturday morning, Five-0 Headquarters:

In an instant, the video began playing without being prompted. The footage began with Steve hanging limply from the ceiling, held up by chains. His feet were barely touching the ground. Danny winced when he saw one of Steve's shoulders was out of place. Steve appeared to be semi-conscious. His eyes were not focused, but they were open. He looked like he should be dead.

Pedro Fuentes approached Steve with the cattle prod, applying pressure to the kidney region. Steve's muscles tensed as he rode out the wave of electricity. As soon as the cattle prod was turned off, Steve appeared to become more aware.

"Are you back with me, Commander?" Fuentes asked in a falsely sincere voice that grated on the team's nerves.

Steve either didn't hear Fuentes or he refused to respond. His eyes took on the unfocused look from before. The look that said the lights were on, but nobody was home. It was concerning to say the least. Fuentes turned to face the camera, producing a syringe from his pocket. He waved it in front of the camera.

"I have a friend who deals in pharmaceuticals. He says this concoction causes severe pain. Even touching someone injected with this will cause them unexplainable pain. It's also mixed with a powerful hallucinogen. In cases of overdose, he said it could cause brain damage or even death. Let's test it, shall we?" Fuentes said before turning around and injecting Steve in the shoulder.

Fuentes smiled into the camera before leaving the room. "Enjoy!"

For the moment, nothing happened. Steve was too out of it to register what Fuentes had just done. Fuentes turned to the camera and smiled, producing the cattle prod again. Fuentes turned on the cattle prod. Steve's body shook, his muscles quivering. Within seconds, Steve was screaming. Agonising, torturous screams.

Danny turned away from the screen and ran his hands through his hair. Chin tensed his jaw, the only visible reaction from the normally zen man. Kono, however, was working furiously at the table. Reluctantly, Danny turned back to the footage, hoping to objectively find a clue, anything to help Steve.

After his initial outburst, Steve went quiet. His body continued to shake as pain caused tremors to run rampant throughout his body. The team could only imagine the pain their boss was in at that moment. They watched as Steve began mumbling. The camera was too far away for them to hear what he was saying, but it was disturbing none the less.

A few minutes later, nothing else had happened. Fuentes hadn't returned to bring Steve more pain, but the video continued to play. It was much longer than any of the previous videos. Much longer…

"Is this a live feed?" Danny asked, not sure if he wanted an answer.

Kono turned to Danny with a huge smile. "Fuentes finally made a mistake!" she exclaimed before returning to the smart table.

"The answer to your question, Danny, is yes," Chin said, also smiling.

"And that means?" Danny said, still not catching on.

"It means that we can trace it. And…I know where Steve is!" Kono announced happily.