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Disclaimer: I do not own anything of H50.

Warning: some bad language in this chapter.

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Steve reluctantly laid on the floor, scanning his surroundings. David and Akamu disappeared somewhere as soon as he was on the floor. He heard loud sobs and heavy breaths close to him and turned his head to the side to inspect it. A young woman with eyes hidden in the crook of her elbow breathed shallowly and quickly, whimpering. Sweat ran down her forehead and her whole body was trembling.

"Shh, it's all right."

She rolled her head along her bent arm, just enough to peek up at Steve, who tried to soothe her.

"Hey, calm down, you're going to be all right," he whispered. "What's your name?"

She hesitated for a moment, before she locked her glassy eyes with Steve's, her lips shivering. "A- Alice."

"Alice, it's all right, just remain calm," he ensured her, whispering. The marble floor felt cold against his face, trying to keep his head down as he spoke.

"Hey!" A pair of boots stopped in front of Steve's face and Alice quickly hid her face back into her arms. "What did I say? I told you to keep your mouth shut!" Kai exclaimed, rifle pointing at Steve.

"Five minutes! Fuck, it's been only five minutes without you making trouble, McGarrett! Can't you just do as told for once?!" Aaron chimed in, gritting his teeth and squinting his eyes. "I don't like to repeat myself, so I think you need a little lesson," he added as he gripped Alice's blonde hair and pulled her up. Her loud scream echoed the lobby.

Steve lifted his head in a fraction of second, his body following, getting to the knees and trying to stand up to his feet before Kai pushed him back to his knees. This was not supposed to happen. "Hey, let her go, all right? I'm sorry." His heart pounded fast against his chest, his gaze fixed to Alice's pale face and tears running down her face.

Aaron passed her over to Kai, who wrapped his fingers around her arm tightly and walked her away.

"No! Come on, let her go," Steve demanded. He tried to stand up again and he saw the back of Aaron's rifle in a blur as it crashed against his left temple and a stab of pain erupted in his skull. His knees crashed to the hard floor and blood from his head dripped to the marble tiles.

The barrel of Aaron's rifle aimed at him as he looked up. "Stand up again or say a word and I'll take another one. Is that clear?"

Steve could hear Alice's cries from the room next door, just for a couple of seconds. His heart skipped a beat when he heard a subdued gunshot and the crying stopped. Alice. What the hell did he just do? His jaw dropped in shock, fixing his eyes on Aaron. Son of a bitch.

"It's on you," Aaron announced, his voice cold.

No. That couldn't be true. Did he just cause that? He was there to protect the hostages, not to get them killed. His heart sank and he sighed in defeat, the sound of the gunshot echoing in his head.

"Now lay down again and stay there," Aaron ordered.

Steve reluctantly obeyed, still unable to take in what just happened.

Aaron stepped away as Kai returned and took over the guard again.

A small, golden object on the floor close to Steve caught his attention. A bobby pin. It must have fallen out of Alice's hair. He slowly shifted a little closer, turning to the side when Aaron, Kai, and Keoki didn't look, picking up the bobby pin and quickly tossing it to the back pocket of his cargo pants. Now he needed to wait for the opportunity to use it and free himself.

David and Akamu emerged from somewhere behind him and walked to their boss. "Are we ready?" Aaron asked them.

"Ready to detonate it," David answered. "It's party time."

Detonate? What the hell is going on here? It didn't look like the crew wanted to wait for the police to meet their demands. Steve lifted his head for a second, just enough to notice the criminals taking cover and sealing their hands on the ears.

"Breaching!" David yelled.

A deafening bang mixed with the noise of breaking glass and the hoarse howling of people spread through the bank. The flash of light illuminated the lobby before the dark, dense cloud of dust swallowed it. The floor under Steve shattered, and sudden dizziness took over. He didn't hear anything but loud ringing in his ears and his vision blurred out, unable to focus. The explosion left his mind as blurry as his vision. He felt two pairs of firm hands lifting him up. Then the world became dark as someone threw a black bag over his head and he felt someone manhandling him forward, dragging his feet behind him, his ears still ringing.

After a while, his mind cleared and the ringing in his ears stopped. He couldn't see anything through the black textile on his head, but the sense of sudden cold flooded his body. The air was much more humid than before, no sign of smoke or dust, which meant they were not in the bank anymore. Only the sounds of their steps and water dripping interrupted the silence. Someone dragged him beside them, their grip tight on his arms. What the hell just happened? This certainly didn't seem like a usual bank heist. He remained silent, pretending his sluggish steps, hoping for them to speak, so he can learn something.

"Here, the van is up there." Aaron's voice.

Someone pressed their hand into Steve's back to move faster, not releasing their grip. It was not a good idea to protest with his hands cuffed behind his back. The metal was cutting into his skin and his shoulders hurt from being in an uncomfortable position. He can get break free from the cuffs, he just needs a little time of their inattention. He's done it before, all he needs is to get the bobby pin from his pocket and a few seconds of them not watching his back.

The temperature of the air changed suddenly, the warm rays of the shining sun fell to his skin. Some light shined through the black textile, he could say they are outside. The place was pretty quiet, he could hear the busy street in the distance though.

They stopped and he heard the van doors opening. "Take him to the back, come on, hurry up!" Aaron ordered. Two pairs of hands forced him to get inside the van, falling to his side. He moaned in pain as his already throbbing head hit the wall of the van. The door closed and he rolled over and sat up, leaning his back to the wall in the corner.

"Look who is back to his senses again," one of the men giggled.

Steve ignored him and with his hands hidden from their sight he reached for the bobby pin in his back pocket. He quickly removed the rounded part in the end with his thumb and broke it into two parts. Turning it in the palms of his hands, he inspected the broken ends of the bobby pin to decide which side will work the best. It took a while but eventually, he managed to find the locking mechanism of the cuffs and turned the pin to the right first until he heard a soft click. Then he turned it left and the handcuff opened.

Good. That was the easy part. He wasn't sure how many of Aaron's men are in the back of the van with him, so he listened closely with hands still behind his back to fool them. Every move, every breath. His mind was racing. Three. He figured out after a while.

As soon as the vehicle slowed down and stopped, one of the men stood up, grabbing Steve's arm, forcing him to stand up. At that exact moment, Steve jumped up on his feet, jerked his arm off the man's grip and whacked his elbow into his face while pulling the bag off his head with his free hand.

That drew an angry response and Steve barely managed to avoid the blow as David lashed out, with a closed fist. Slipping to the side, he used David's body weight to pull him across, avoiding Akamu's punch, putting David off balance. He slid his shin above the floor, throwing Keoki's feet into the air, Akamu stumbling on his partner, sending both men to the ground.

Pressing home the advantage, Steve pivoted, sending David to the floor too. He hit the ground with a loud thud. With a howl of frustration, he rolled and tried to rise, his face contorted with uncontrolled rage, but Steve was upon him in an instant. Driving a right cross, he sent David sprawling to the floor again.

Akamu and Keoki both jumped up on their feet meanwhile, quickly grabbed Steve's shoulders and pinned him to the ground while David drew his rifle and aimed it at Steve. He kicked the gun out of his hands and freed himself from the grip of two men, throwing himself in the direction of the gun. David grabbed Steve's feet and pulled him back, making the gun out of Steve's reach. Steve rolled around and stood up as quickly as he could, trying to regain his balance. Akamu pressed his forearm to Steve's neck, pinning him to the wall of the van, while David threw a strong punch into his midsection. Steve stumbled backward and groaned in pain, the blow taking his breath away for a moment.

Keoki drew his gun and Steve blocked David's fist, sliding under his arm and attacking Keoki, disarming him swiftly while wrapping his arm under Keoki's neck. He aimed at David and pulled the trigger, the bullet hitting David's chest. David swayed for a moment but quickly regained his balance, realizing the vest just saved his life.

Akamu picked the Colt M4 from the floor and fired at Steve, bullets whizzing around his head. The burning pain seared across Steve's bicep as the bullet hit his right arm and stained his shirt red. He returned the fire, holding Keoki in front of him as a shield, strangling him. This time a bullet hit the target, Akamu's stumbled backward as his forehead stained red, his dead weight sliding to the floor.

Steve looked for David but didn't see him. Before he could turn around, the back of David's gun hit his head from behind, making him nauseous and dizzy. Keoki used the opportunity and released himself from Steve's grip and unarmed him swiftly. Steve dropped to his knees, panting, both men standing above him with weapons aimed at him. His head felt as it was about to split in two.

"That's enough!" shrieked Aaron. The door of the van opened, Aaron and Kai stood there with jaws dropped, weapons drawn.

Steve closed his eyes for a second and sighed in defeat, the moment of surprise was long gone and with a rifle pressed to his neck and three other armed men he had no chance to move fast enough to gain the advantage. He gasped for air, the sharp pain in his skull was almost blinding him. He firmly pressed his left hand to the wound on his arm, trying to ignore the burning pain, blood oozing slowly through his fingers.

Aaron's face turned red, the veins on his neck popping out. "What are you idiots doing here? You're not supposed to shoot him!" He clenched his jaw as he noticed Akamu's still body, moving his gaze back to Steve. "You are lucky someone wants you alive, McGarrett! If it was my call, I'd kill you right now."

He gave David a slight nod and the muzzle moved away from Steve's neck for a second before the back of the gun hit the side of his head once again, sending him into the darkness.

*to be continued*

Writing the fight scene was a challenge for me, I hope the outcome is at least acceptable.

It would mean a lot if you found some time to let me know what you think.