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First Hawaiian Bank, Kapiolani, Honolulu

Pacing in front of the bank, Danny checked the time on his wristwatch. It's been five minutes since Steve called, it seemed to be quiet inside. He already made a call and after a while of persuading, Kamekona agreed to borrow them his chopper. He had to ensure him it will be back by the evening, which he hoped won't be a problem. Lou made his way to Danny, grim look on his face. "It doesn't look like the conversation with the Governor went smooth," Danny stated.

"No, he said we're not negotiating with criminals. As expected," Lou said.

"Okay, so what's the pl…" Tani didn't finish her question.

Danny's eyes popped out and his heart squeezed when the gunshot echoed inside the bank, everybody's gaze fixed on the building.

"Was that a gunshot?" a young HPD police officer asked.

Danny was certain about it, there was no doubt. He fought the urge to run inside and check out what happened.

"Do you think…" Quinn's voice was shaking.

Danny shook his hand. "No, we don't know anything, they might have fired a warning shot." He wasn't sure if he is trying to convince others or himself. What if they just shot someone? It's been just a few minutes since they announced their demands, why would they kill someone? His eyes were locked on the building for a minute until Tani's gentle touch on his shoulder made him turn around. He tried to clear his mind and focus.

The SWAT negotiator walked toward him with a puzzled look on his face. "Should we call them? If something like this happens, we usually call the suspects and ask what happened."

"No. McGarrett was clear about that. No calls. You guys figure out how to get us in, we will work on another plan, just in case," Danny answered.

He was about to speak again when a deafening blast came from behind. Turning his head to the source of the explosion in a fraction of second, he saw a dense cloud of dust, sprouting the broken pieces of glass all over the car park in front of the bank. Only the alarms of the nearby cars were interrupting the grave silence that stretched out for a moment. No one said a word, no one moved, their jaws dropped and gazes locked to the bank.

"I hope that was one of those McGarrett's crazy ideas how to save the day," Lou said after a while, sweat running down his forehead.

Danny opened his mouth, lips slightly apart, he gasped for air. There were people inside, Steve wouldn't do it.

"Maybe they blew up the vault," Adam said.

"No," Danny opposed. "Why would they wait until now? If they wanted to blow up the vault, they would do it long before HPD arrived at the scene."

"Then what the hell just happened?"

Danny's feet felt heavy, like glued to the ground. He looked in that direction, trying to process what happened. He didn't see any movement inside. After a few more seconds in shock, he reached for his gun and lunged forward, ready to run towards the building.

"Danny, wait!" Adam pressed his palms against Danny's chest, stopping him. "You can't go there, the building might not be stable."

"I just called the fire department, they will be here in a few minutes," Junior said.

Danny looked at Adam, a wild expression on his face. "Let me go." His heart was pounding in his chest and his knees started to shake like jelly.

"Adam is right. We should wait for the clearance, Sir."

"To hell with clearance, Steve is inside!" He pushed Adam aside and sprinted toward the building.

"Danny. Danny, wait!"

He slowed down at the door, drawing his gun and peeking inside. No sign of the suspects, just civilians laying on the floor, covered in dust, whimpering. The pieces of paper, debris, and glass from the explosion covered the floor and the desks, a thick cloud of the dust lingered in the air. He took a cover behind a pillar, peeking to the sides to spot the suspects. Nothing. He sprinted toward the hostages. "Is anybody injured?" he shouted.

"I... I think I am," a male voice muttered. "My head… it hurts."

Danny knelt next to him to inspect the injuries, coughing from all the dust in the air. "All right, everybody out, now!" he yelled and watched the group of ten scared people standing up and rushing out of the bank. His look jumped back to the injured man. He scanned over him briefly, he didn't see any life-threatening injuries, only a couple of cuts on his arms and face and a thin streak of blood running down his neck. "Can you stand up?"

The man nodded and lifted himself up, his arm around Danny's neck for support.

"Good, I've got you. You're gonna be all right. Let's get you out of here, okay?" He held his arm around the man's waist, quickly scanning the rest of the lobby. His eyes landed on the body of the security officer, lying on the floor with a gunshot wound in his chest and he couldn't see Steve nor the suspects. Junior and Tani rushed to them as they approached the door, taking the injured man from Danny and carefully supporting him.

"Have paramedics look at him and get them inside, there is a man, he's been shot."

"Steve?" Tani asked.

Danny shook his head, he could feel his heart rate speeding up every second. "I didn't see him, I'm going back."

His mind racing, he threw a look to the man on the floor. He sighed, realizing it was too late for him. "Steve?" he called. He looked around, desperately trying to see his best friend. Nothing. "Steve!" Damn. Where is he? And where the hell are all the suspects? He realized only ten people ran out of the door, one man was injured, one dead. That's twelve. "There is one more person missing," he said partly to himself.

"Detective Williams, how can we help?" he heard Junior's voice behind him. He turned around and saw all of the team members standing there, scanning the lobby in shock. He was glad they were there.

"We need to find them," he muttered. "I don't know where Steve is, one hostage is missing and there is no sign of suspects. We need to spread out and search the whole place."

Before he could even finish the sentence, Tani with Quinn rushed to the back of the building, Lou with Adam upstairs. Junior stayed with him and gave him a determined look. Making their way to the side of the front desk, they checked every corner of the lobby. Danny dropped his jaw when he saw a hole in the floor, big enough for two men to fit in. "I think I know what was the explosion," he said. Junior turned his head into Danny's direction.

"Their escape route."

Danny looked down. There was a sewage tunnel right under the bank, which would be the perfect way to get out of the building surrounded by cops. He sighed and hesitated for a moment. One part of him wanted to go after those criminals but the other one was afraid of the panic attack once he jumps down there and the walls will close on him.

"Clear!" he heard Lou from upstairs.

"Clear! We found the last hostage." Tani's voice.

His thoughts shifted to Steve. Why is he not here? Did he go after them alone? It wouldn't be the first time his partner didn't wait for backup, he might need some help. Pushing his fears aside, he took a few deep breaths and jumped down into the dark tunnel, the young recruit following him.

His feet landed in the thin layer of water. The tunnel was pretty wide, it wasn't so tight as he expected, but he would rather stay above the ground. "Okay, let's split up. Be careful." He pointed his thumb in the direction he chose to check out, sending Junior to the other side. Junior nodded and Danny watched him disappear in the darkness.

Danny's deep breaths, careful steps and the drops of water dripping from the ceiling were the only sounds he could hear as he moved further inside. The further he moved, the darker it was. He tried really hard not to panic from being in the enclosed space, focusing on his breaths. Breathe in for four, breathe out for four. As Steve taught him. His gun raised in front of him, Danny reached to his pocket with his free hand and pulled his phone out, using the screen as a source of light. Then he saw it. A brief glimpse of something before it was gone.

"Steve?" The only answer was the echo of his own voice.

He focused his attention on where he had been looking, unsure of exactly what had caught his eye. Taking fast steps towards, he caught his shin on the pipe sticking out of the wall and stumbled, phone sliding out of his hand. He cursed as the distraction made him lose his focal point. His eyes were scanning the point where he saw the movement when a scrambling noise from behind him drew his attention. Quickly turning to see the cause, everything was plunged into the darkness again. Danny thought to search for his gun that was no longer in his grasp, but he didn't, the surface of the floor felt cold against his face, firm and yet pleasant. The darkness was no longer something to induce fear but was somehow, strangely comforting.

Undisclosed location

Present

"Steve?" a familiar voice echoed the dark, cold room. "Steve," the voice repeated. "Are you all right?" Steve forced himself to open his eyes, lifting the gaze from the ground. The door was wide opened and he managed to focus his sight on the blonde detective's face.

"Danny?" He called out, but his voice made no sound, there was only a burning sensation in his dry throat. His eyes blinked several times and his vision blurred in and out for a while, helplessly jerking his arms against the restraints. The pounding in his head was almost unbearable. His heart skipped a beat when he got a better look at his best friend. Streaks of red stained the blonde hair on the side of his head, his wrists tied in front of him, struggling against two muscular men beside him, firmly holding his arms. They manhandled him inside the room, close enough for Steve to see the panic in his blue eyes.

"Oh hello, darling," Esther's singing voice cut in as she danced into the room with Danny's P30 in her hand. His gaze moved to her with a raised eyebrow and frown. "I brought you a gift." She settled herself on Steve's lap, caressing his cheek with her free hand, ignoring his shocked look.

He turned his face away and his gaze flicked briefly to his best friend, his jaw opened and heart racing. "Danny," he managed to say. "Are you okay?"

His friend nodded, locking his eyes with Steve's.

Esther gripped Steve's chin and turned his head back to her firmly. "I hope you don't mind. I thought it'd be a nice surprise."

His heart squeezed with the thought they are both trapped here and there is nothing he can do. He forced his aching mind to try and figure out some crazy plan as Danny calls it, now would be the right time. Nothing. A total blank. Think, McGarrett. Still nothing, his mind refused to cooperate, his brain was on fire.

"What the hell is going on here? What do you want from me?" he asked.

Esther slid back to her feet, taking her time, locking her eyes with Steve's. "There is something I need you to do."

"What is it?"

"Oh you would do anything for him, wouldn't you?" Esther murmured. She sounded almost pitying. "Always a hero. That's why I like you." She ghosted her fingertips over the hard line of his clenched jaw. Steve jerked his head away, breathing shallow.

"Don't hurt him. Just tell me what do you want."

His best friend shook his head in disagreement. "Don't," he begged. "Whatever she wants, don't do it! It's all right-"

"Hush now," Esther said. She flicked the hand to muzzle him, gaze fixed on Steve. "We are talking."

Steve's mind was racing. 'Whatever she wants, don't do it!' He heard something like this before. His father's face emerged from the darkness of his thoughts. 'Whatever these people want, Steve, don't give it to them! Don't you give it to them!' The sound of the gunshot that followed rang in his ear through the phone. Then his mind shifted to Catherine, to the incident from six years ago, when she was kidnapped by El Condor to blackmail Steve. 'Don't do it, Steve. Don't you dare to do it!' He almost lost her that day. He heard their voices inside his skull like both of them were there right now, it struck him like a lightning, blood boiled in his veins, heart beating like crazy. He can't lose Danny, not now, not like this.

"It's me you want." Steve threw her a scared look, his sore muscles fighting the restraints. "Just let him go, I'll do whatever you want, all right?"

She stared at him. "No fighting. You do everything as I say," she said softly and stepped closer.

Steve nodded, looking for words, but his mind didn't work as fast as he would like, his voice felt stuck in his throat. "Let him go and tell me what do you want me to do," he whispered in defeat, knowing it won't be that easy.

"You would do anything for him. You would fight for him." She continued to watch him, for a moment, before sighing. "No more fighting."

With a grin on her face, she turned to Danny, aimed the gun directly at his chest and fired.

Steve watched in horror as Danny staggered backward after the deafening bang, falling to the floor, his white shirt drenched in blood.

"Danny! No!… NO!" For an instant, Steve felt as if time had stopped, his mouth opened wide, eyes popping out.

Danny laid motionless on the floor, blood gushing from his chest.

"No!" Steve whined, savagely trying to get out of his restraints and run to his partner, his eyes filled with tears as he watched the crimson red blood pooling to the floor.

"There…" Esther reached down to Steve, cold fingers caressing his jaw. "Now you have nothing to fight for."

*to be continued*

I'm sorry for this evil cliffhanger. I'm just kidding. Not sorry at all *evil grin*

I'll appreciate if you can spare some time to write your opinion about the chapter. Thanks for reading.