CHAPTER 27

Monday evening, safe house location:

Danny pulled up to the entrance of the safe house. He was surprised by the amount of activity already outside the house. Several HPD cruisers and three ambulances littered the large front garden. It was reminiscent of the night Steve and Grace went missing. Danny parked the Camaro on the road in front of the property. He hesitated before exiting the vehicle. He really didn't want to know what happened inside, but he needed to know if Rachel and Matt were safe. Then he could concentrate on getting Grace back.

By the time Danny had gotten enough courage to exit the vehicle, he saw Chin and Kono pull up beside him. Without saying a word to each other, they entered the throng of the crime scene. They approached Duke on the way to the house. He appeared to be in charge, coordinating with the other officers.

"Hey Duke. What can you tell us?" Chin asked the sergeant.

Duke dismissed the officers and turned to face the Five-o team. He looked stressed. "Hey guys. Danny, before you go in, you should know that Rachel and Matt are safe and unharmed. They are in the kitchen."

Danny nodded, appreciative of this information. He excused himself and went inside to find Rachel and Matt.

Duke continued explaining the situation to Chin and Kono. "The FBI, however, were not so lucky."

"How so?" Chin enquired.

"They had two casualties, three injured and one in critical condition," Duke explained quickly.

"Damn," Chin muttered. "How do you think it went down?"

"It appears to be an ambush. Forced entry from the front, back and side doors simultaneously. The kitchen window was broken, but we aren't sure if that was part of the ambush or not. The agents didn't stand a chance. They were outnumbered and outgunned. The injured agents said there were at least twelve men. The two dead agents appear to have engaged the group that entered at the front, allowing the other agents to protect Danny's family. From what the injured agents told me, Kipton instructed Rachel, Matt and Grace to run upstairs. Apparently, Grace froze and didn't move. Kipton was injured trying to stop them from taking Grace."

"What are Kipton's injuries?" Kono asked.

"He was shot three times in the chest and once in the shoulder. He's in critical condition," Duke relayed. "It doesn't look good."

Chin sighed before clapping a hand on the sergeant's shoulder. "Thanks Duke."

"Hey, how's McGarrett doing?" Duke said.

"Actually, better than expected. If he follows the doctor's instructions, he should be out of there by tomorrow or Wednesday and home resting. If he doesn't…well…he may set himself back a bit. You know how he is about hospitals…" Chin answered.

Duke chuckled. "Oh boy, do I. Well, let him know we're hoping for a speedy recovery so he can go after this son of a bitch."

"Let's hope so," Kono said.

Chin and Kono entered the house through the empty doorway. The door had been taken clean off its hinges. Looking around, they spotted two bodies on the floor, blood pooled underneath their fallen bodies. They didn't even have a chance to withdraw their weapons. A pang of remorse surged through the cousins as they walked past their fellow law enforcement colleagues. As much as the inter-agency rivalries caused problems, everyone felt it when one their own was taken down.

The cousins moved into the hallway and found another pool of blood. Chin and Kono looked at each other, knowing instantly whose blood it was. The debris left by the paramedics was scattered around the hallway. As they continued down the hallway, they could hear Rachel's hysterically sobbing coming from what they assumed was the kitchen.

Sighing, Chin and Kono headed towards the heart-wrenching sound. Standing in the doorway to the kitchen, they could see Danny hugging a sobbing Rachel. Her hair was messy, out of place from its usual perfect style. Matt was standing by the broken window, looking out across the grass and into the darkness.

"It's going to be okay, Rachel. We are going to get her back," Danny murmured into Rachel's ear.

Instead of comforting her, she just sobbed harder, holding onto Danny even tighter. The cousins felt for them. Having the young girl kidnapped once was traumatic enough. But twice? What was Rachel supposed to think?

The sound of a phone ringing startled the five people in the room. Everyone watched with bated breath as Danny took his phone out of his pocket. Everyone visibly relaxed when Danny indicated it wasn't Fuentes. Danny excused himself and walked to the back of the house, the cousins following closely behind.

"Detective Williams," Danny answered.

There was a pause as Danny listened to the person on the other end.

"Yes," he replied. "I apologise…He can be a bit stubborn. I ca barely get him to list…What?!…He did what?…No, I haven't seen him since I left about an hour ago…Yes, I understand…yes…yes…thank you. Again, I apologise," Danny sighed as he hung up the phone.

"What did McGarrett do this time?" Chin asked, with a small smile tugging at his lips.

Danny jumped, startled by the presence of the cousins. He thought he was alone. Apparently not. The ninja tendencies of his partner were brushing off on the cousins. He was going to have to get all three of them a bell, just so he knew when they were coming.

"Yeah. Did he try to scale out the window using bed sheets?" Kono said joyfully, an image of her boss climbing out of said window in just a hospital gown dancing across her mind.

"Wait. Let me guess. He got bored and tried to make an obstacle course in his room?" Chin guessed.

Danny, however, was not amused.

"Um…no. Neither of those things. That was Doctor Palamo. They went to start him on some physical therapy for his shoulder…Only, he wasn't there. He's gone, vanished. The doc was wondering if I had seen him," Danny explained.

"Well, I saw surprised he even agreed to stay an extra day. Now, he knows Grace is missing. Steve won't just stand by and do nothing," Chin said and Kono nodded, agreeing.

"But, he can barely move…" Danny began.

"Brah…" Kono interrupted, raising her eyebrows at him. "He's SuperSEAL, remember?"

"Okay, okay. I get it," Danny said, waving his hands. "What if Fuentes got him?" the concern in his voice evident.

"If Fuentes had him, we would know by now," Chin assured Danny.

"Alright…Can we just go find the idiot now, please?" Danny said.

The cousins smiled at Danny's reaction. He might be mad at Steve for leaving the hospital, but Danny understood why he did it. It was Grace, after all.

"What about Rachel and Matt?" Kono asked, breaking the good mood.

"We take them with us. With the Palace security, they should be safe. Also, we can keep and eye on them there," Danny said.

"Good idea," Kono said. "I'll go get them. You guys get the car started."

Danny and Chin made their way back to the car and waited for Kono to arrive with Matt and Rachel. Chin looked over at Danny, wondering how much more of this one man could take. Chin was impressed that Danny was holding it together so well. He just hoped the whole ordeal would be over soon and the Williams family could recover.

"We'll get her back, Danny," Chin said quietly.

"I know we will…Because if we don't, I don't know what I'll do."

Monday night, Five-0 Headquarters:

Danny, Chin and Kono entered headquarters with Rachel and Matt trailing behind them. They hadn't said much since they left the safe house. They were beyond being traumatised. Now they were just exhausted, much like the Five-0 team. The team had been working non-stop for over a week, thanks to Fuentes. They needed time to recharge, time they didn't have.

"Commander McGarrett?" came Rachel's English voice, echoing in the bullpen.

Looking around, the team spotted Steve leaning against the smart table, poring over its surface. Everyone froze and looked at Danny. They were expecting a rant from the small detective. Unexpectedly, Danny just shook his head and quietly walked over to his office, returning a moment later with a chair.

"Well, at least you didn't kill yourself getting here. Sit down before you fall down, will you?" Danny said, pushing the chair behind Steve's knees.

Steve sat down, looking confused at Danny. Evidently, Steve had also been expecting the verbal explosion from Danny. Looking past Danny to the cousins, he could tell they were just as surprised as he was. Steve was at a loss for words. He had a whole speech prepared for when Danny stormed in and yelled at him.

Danny sighed and looked down at Steve and the bruises that still marred his face. "Don't get me wrong. I am mad at you…so mad. But right now, I just want to find my daughter and I will need all the help I can get…Thanks for being here."

Steve nodded in response, still shell-shocked.

Danny patted Steve's uninjured shoulder, leaning in and whispering in his ear. "Oh, and by the way, your doctor is not very impressed with you. I see lots of needles in your future."

Steve's face went pale at that. It wasn't much of a threat, but Steve knew he had pissed off more than a few people by escaping from the hospital without telling anyone. He would accept his punishment when the time came. In the meantime, they had a job to do.

"Right. What do we know?" Steve said, clapping his hands together.

"Grace was taken roughly three hours ago. Fuentes called with another deadline: 3:55pm tomorrow. Fuentes wants me to bring Matt to an abandoned construction site on Kapiolani Boulevard, alone and unarmed. There, he will trade Grace for Matt," Danny explained.

"Right, but the chances Fuentes will play ball are slim," Chin said. "As soon as we give Fuentes Matt, we have no leverage. We don't know if Grace is even going to be at the site."

"That's true. He's likely to keep Grace at a secondary location. Somewhere close, but not at the trade location. As soon as Fuentes sees Matt, Fuentes will probably kill him…" Steve was interrupted by Rachel's sobbing.

Kono quickly took hold of Rachel's arm and moved her towards the break room and away from the conversation. Steve's eyes followed the pair, sadness expressed in them.

"Okay, so playing by Fuentes' rules is out. How do we get the upper hand?" Chin asked, getting them back on track. There was no time for emotions.

"I haven't worked that out yet," Steve admitted. "I've been looking at the blue prints for the construction site."

Steve brought up the plans on the screen. "I don't see any weak points we could exploit. Fuentes probably chose it for a reason. It's easily accessible, but strategically, it's able to be defended easily. Fuentes will likely have the place well guarded. If we were to provide any sort of backup, Fuentes would know before we had anyone in position."

There was a moment of silence as the group contemplated this.

"What if I went in alone?" Matt asked.

Danny turned to face Matt. "Are you crazy?! He's just going to kill you. Then he will kill Grace as collateral damage."

"He's going to kill me anyway. What if I distracted him, giving you time to find Grace?" Matt suggested.

"Danny's right, Matt. As soon as you go in alone, he will kill you. It won't work," Chin said. "He would be suspicious if you went alone. Besides, Grace probably won't be with him."

Chin watched as Steve rubbed his chin with his uninjured hand. He looked deep in thought. "What are you thinking, boss?"

Steve looked up at the group around the smart table. "I don't think there is a way we can get Fuentes inside the construction site. Even if Grace was there, we would have no way to extract her safely…"

Danny groaned. "Great, so we have nothing?"

"No, not nothing," Steve said. "We need a distraction, something to draw Fuentes and his men out of the main confines of the structure. We might have a better chance of taking them out in the open than inside that fortress."

"What kind of distraction?" Chin asked.

Steve just smiled and looked knowingly at Danny.

"Oh…" Danny said as it dawned on him. "No. Tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"You told me to get rid of them and to not put them in the glove compartment any more. You never said anything about the trunk," Steve said mischievously.

"Do I want to know what you are talking about?" Matt asked curiously.

"Probably not," Chin answered, shaking his head.

"Come on, Danny. It would be the perfect distraction. The sound would be enough to draw them out to the front. Then we could have a team enter the back and search for Grace," Steve explained, grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

Danny sighed and rolled his eyes skyward. "Why can't I have a normal, sane partner?"

"Danny, just admit that you love me. Besides, it's been a while since I've blown anything up," Steve justified.

Suddenly, it dawned on Matt. "Wait, are you talking about grenades?"

"I told you that you were better off not knowing," Chin said, smiling slightly at the look of unease on Matt's face.

Danny sighed, a sign Steve's crazy plan had won him over. "Okay, so that draws Fuentes out. What happens if Grace is not at the construction site?"

"I'm still working on that part," Steve admitted with a small sigh. "Danny, did you record the conversation between you and Fuentes?"

"Yeah," Danny said, grabbing his phone out. "Why?"

"I'm not sure. Just something Fuentes said that doesn't quite make sense…" Steve trailed off.

Danny found the recording and played it.

"There!" Steve said when he heard the recording. "Play that part again."

"Tell Commander McGarrett I look forward to seeing him again in the future. Perhaps we can pick this up where it all started, huh?"

"Sounds like he's taunting you," Chin observed.

"Maybe…" Steve muttered. "Or it's a message."

"Steve, we are not mind readers. Do you know what Fuentes meant?" Danny asked, desperately.

"Maybe…I don't know. It's just a hunch," Steve started before sighing frustratingly. "I don't know…"

Danny looked at Steve. He looked like death warmed over. How he was even conscious escaped Danny.

"Chin, can you take Matt to get some coffee please?" Danny said, effectively dismissing the other two men.

Chin nodded and took Matt to the break room where Kono and Rachel were. Chin knew Danny would help Steve organise his thoughts. Danny leant against the smart table and observed his friend. Although bruised and battered, his partner was back in SEAL mode, analysing all possible solutions and making plans. It was an admirable trait, one that Danny envied.

"Okay, before you start, where's your sling?" Danny said.

Steve looked up at Danny guiltily. "It's at the hospital."

"Of course it is. How's the pain?" Danny asked.

"It's fine…" under Danny's glare, Steve added, "it's manageable."

"Did you get a prescription for pain meds?" Danny asked, already knowing the answer.

Steve shook his head, not meeting Danny's eyes. With a huff, Danny went into his office and produced a bottle of Tylenol. He grabbed a bottle of water from his desk draw and went back to the bullpen. He placed the two items in front of Steve and watched as he obediently took the pills.

"Now, tell me what's going on in that crazy head of yours," Danny said.

It took a moment before Steve began. "When Fuentes had me, he kept threatening Grace. Saying as soon as I was gone, he was going to find her and kill her or do…other…things. I couldn't let that happen, I just couldn't."

Danny felt his heart clench at Steve's admission. He felt sick to his stomach. To know what Fuentes had planned for his daughter made him sad, confused, scared, but above all, angry.

Steve took a shuddering breath before continuing. "Fuentes kept threatening Grace and there was nothing I could do. Then Matt showed up and I got an idea. It was just luck that Andre Fuentes was in the room. I killed Fuentes' brother. He had pictures of Grace and your family. I couldn't let them hurt you or your family. It worked like I had planned, as a distraction. With Fuentes concentrated on me, he wasn't able to come after Grace. But, I failed…"

"How did you fail, Steve?" Danny asked, genuinely confused.

"Fuentes went after Grace anyway and it's all my fault. I drove him to become irrational and now Grace is going to pay the price. I'm sorry Danny, it's all my fault." Steve said, looking down at his lap, refusing to make eye contact with Danny.

"Steve. None of this, I repeat, none of this is your fault. We will get Grace and we will make Fuentes pay. I promise you that," Danny said.

Steve nodded. "There's something that's bugging me about this whole thing. I just can't figure out what it is."

"Okay…?" Danny said, giving Steve some time to organise his thoughts.

"Why did he break into the safe house and take only Grace? If Fuentes really wanted Matt, he would have killed everybody and then taken Matt. So why take Grace? What use is she to him?" Steve pondered.

Danny realised what his partner was getting at. "It's not about the money. There's something else going on here."

Steve looked at Danny. "Exactly. The construction site is just to draw us in. First, it was about the money. Then, after he got a taste for it, it was about the pain he was inflicting. He wants to kill everyone Matt loves, so he can feel pain. Fuentes is vindictive and merciless."

"Okay, so we won't let that happen. Let Fuentes think we are cooperating, then use their diversion as our diversion. We draw them out and take them down, capture Fuentes and make him tell us where Grace is," Danny said,

"I don't think that will work, Danny. I don't think Fuentes will be there. Remember what Fuentes said? About picking up where it all started? I think Fuentes wants me to go back to the warehouse where I killed his brother. I think that's where Fuentes has Grace," Steve explained.

"Why would he tell us to go to the construction site then? Why does he want you to go there?" Danny asked.

Steve sighed. "Because we have unfinished business."

"You mean because you killed his brother?"

"Yeah, that."

It took Danny a moment to digest that. "Okay, so what do we do? Right now, I will take any of your crazy ideas. As long as my daughter comes home safe."

Steve grinned. "Just remember, you asked for it. Get the others in here."

Fifteen minutes later, Steve had relayed his plan to the team. Initially, it was met with a few disbelieving looks. There were too many things that could go wrong, too many variables. However, they trusted Steve with their lives and Danny trusted him with Grace's. Danny looked around at the Five-0 team. The fact that they were willing to put their lives on the line to save his daughter was amazing. And a little scary.

Danny smiled ruefully. Fuentes wouldn't know what hit him.