Here is chapter 5 for you. I'd like to thank you for all the feedback, it made my day to know you enjoy reading this story :)

For all McRoll fans: I'm planning on bringing Cath to the story, probably in chapter 8. So stay tuned, I'm already writing it :)

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything of H50, unfortunately.

Steve bolted awake, screaming. He heard someone's voice as if it had spoken inside his head. "Can you hear me? Open your eyes, sweetheart."

His eyes fluttered as the light slowly illuminated the darkness and blurry shapes of his surroundings sharpened gradually. His head throbbed, a gnawing pain. The soft female voice echoed in his mind. He closed his eyes again, trying to remember whose voice is talking to him. He turned his head, but the movement sent a spike of pain radiating through his skull. He took a deep breath and let the pain diminish a little before he opened his eyes again. The cold metal on his wrists reminded him of the restraints when he jolted his limbs. How long has he been here? His joints were stiff and sore from being stuck at the same place for too long. The wound on his arm was now patched up, a small red stain was seeping through the bandage.

"Good, you're awake," the female voice echoed inside of his head again. He turned his head to its source. There she was, standing tall right in front of him with a big grin on her face and spark in her eyes. "You were hallucinating, darling," Esther announced. Steve's mind tried to refocus on her soft, almost pitying voice. "Who is Danny? You were mumbling his name over and over." Her eyes twinkled and the smile widened as she caught his reaction.

Steve looked up and their gazes met, raging fire blasting from his look and heart racing. Danny. Where is Danny? She shot him. He is dead. He died right here. Unless… he didn't. Was it real? Or was it really a hallucination? He quickly glanced over to the place where he saw Danny's body, there was no trace of his best friend nor blood. That's good, he is not here, he never was. His partner was safe, at least as far as Steve knew. But Esther heard him calling Danny's name and now she knew. She could use Danny against him, he can't let that happen.

Steve turned his gaze away, jaw clenched, anger tugging at him. "Go to hell!"

"I'm kind to you, for now," she persisted. Cupping his face, thumbs stroking his jaw, ignoring the dried blood on his face. "But don't tempt me."

Steve scoffed. Every muscle in his body was swallowed by pain and his own mind failed to work, imagining things. He wouldn't call it kind. "You still didn't tell me why I am here," he demanded, trying to push the gnawing pain out of his mind.

Her grip tightened. "I have this really bad habit," she confessed. "Whenever I see something I like, I just have to have it. I'm a bit like a magpie that way. Can't resist a shiny thing, or a shiny smile."

"I highly doubt you would go through all the trouble just for your entertainment," he mumbled.

Her smile widened. "True. I won't reveal the whole plan to you just yet. Be patient, you will find out when the time comes. But for now, how about another round?"

Steve's heart sank as he saw a syringe in her hands again. He wasn't ready for it, his body and mind were still on fire from the previous dose. "Why? What do you want?" he asked.

"Because I like watching those pretty eyes of yours when you suffer. You deserve that much after letting me and my brother rot in the small prison cells for five years." She didn't hide the delight in her voice.

Steve's fingers flexed against the cuff, watching as she carefully injected the contents of the syringe into his vein. The rage and despair seared trough him as soon the crawling of the substance traveled up his veins and wrapped every single cell in his body, leaving him breathless once it hit his chest and squeezed his lungs. He gasped for air, every breath was harder and more painful, every swallow felt like glass down his parched throat. His body jerked in an attempt to do something, to stop it, cuffs digging deeper into his wrists. The fire in his chest was roaring louder than the blood rushing in his ears. He resisted the urge to scream in agony. Maybe he did scream. He wasn't sure anymore, all the thoughts blurred into a fuzzy mess.

"Is there a problem?" she had the audacity to ask, satisfaction gleaming her eyes.

"No," he managed to reply, gritting his teeth, desperately trying not to show his pain to his captor. He's been through hell a lot of times before, but this felt different. It felt like broken pieces of glass cut his entire body from inside, like a fire roaring in his brain. Cold sweat ran down his face and just worsened the overall uncomfortable feeling. It blurred his mind as much as his vision.

He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. The burning pain spread through his body, intensifying every second. His body could withstand more pain than most of the people, yet he wasn't sure how much longer he will be able to resist before his body gives up and slips into unconsciousness again after another dose of this unknown substance.

He could feel the gentle touch on the forehead, sliding down his cheek. Esther's cold fingers brushed his face leniently, soothing him. "Shh, it will be all right. Don't fall asleep just yet, darling. I'd like to appreciate you for a bit more if you don't mind," she said cordially. "Open your eyes. Your glowering is quite adorable."

Steve bit the bottom of his lip so hard his teeth broke the skin. He tried to say something in protest but his voice failed him, getting stuck in the throat as another wave of agony seized him. This time he was certain, he could hear himself screaming but he couldn't stop it.

"Look at me," Esther ordered, and when he reluctantly met her gaze, she smiled. "That's better. Yes. I'm going to enjoy keeping you around for a while."

Lou glanced in the direction of the young lady leaning against one of the police cars. Her face was pale and eyes glassy, gaze fixed to the floor. He made his way toward her, thinking about what happened inside, why this woman wasn't with the rest of the hostages.

"Hey. I'm Captain Lou Grover," he introduced himself.

She looked up slowly, hugging her shoulders. "Alice. Alice Green."

"Are you sure you're okay? You don't want to get checked out?" he asked, pointing in direction of paramedics.

"Just stiff," she said.

"Ms. Green, I'm going to ask a few questions, is that all right?" he asked, a slight not was the answer.

"Do you work in this bank?" Lou continued.

"Yes, I'm a teller. It's been my first month here yesterday."

"Okay. Can you tell me what happened? You can start at the beginning."

Alice hugged her arms tighter and took a deep breath before she started. "Five men came in, they were armed."

"Can you describe them?" Lou asked.

She shook her head. "They looked all the same. Like Jason, like Friday the 13th."

"You mean the hockey masks?"

"Yes."

"All right so what happened when they came in?"

"One of them jumped over the front desk and made us go to the front. They said no one gets hurt if we do as they say, so we did. We laid on the floor but…" she took a break.

"But what?"

"Jack," she said, her voice shaky.

"Is Jack the security officer?" Lou asked. Was. That was the right question. WAS Jack the security manager? He thought.

"Yes. He… uh, he tried to attack one of them and they… they shot him," she managed to say. "Then some time passed before this cop came in and they talked for a while." She took another break, looking for words.

"Did you hear what they talked about? Anything that might help?"

"No."

"All right, what happened then?" Lou encouraged her to continue.

"They… I think they tied him up and took him to the rest of us."

Lou stiffened, he didn't like the thought of it.

"I… I was scared," she continued, her voice shaky. "He… uh, he tried to help, to calm me down but they heard him talking to me and…"

Lou almost stopped breathing. The shot they heard. Did they shoot McGarrett? He tried to push that thought away.

"One of them took me away, to the back. He taped my wrists and my mouth and said he will let me live if I am quiet. Then he shot into the air and left," Alice continued. "Then I heard the explosion and a while after that they found me, that's all I know."

"Thank you, Ms. Green, it's very helpful. If you remember something else, please don't hesitate to give me a call," Lou said, passing her a paper card with his phone number. The knot in his stomach didn't disappear though. On the bright side he knew that the thieves didn't shoot McGarrett, not while still inside at least. But did he go after them or did they took him? He should check in with them if he was all right, but he hasn't yet.

It was cold and dark. It was impossible to tell how long he had lain there. A little time passed before he could figure out what had happened. The surface felt rough and cold against his face. He was on the floor but where? Something was trickling slowly down the side of his neck, it was irritating. Investigating the cause with his right hand he reached up. A process that sent shooting pain through his head. It felt damp and sticky to the touch. Had he fallen? No, there was someone else here. Gently easing himself up on to all fours, a wave of nausea swept over him and he barely resisted the urge to puke. It was so dark that he couldn't see anything before him but he had a vague notion that a wall was off to his left and he crawled towards it. He levered himself into a sitting position, his back against the wall. He sat there for a while, trying to focus, his breathing coming in short, rapid gasps.

"Danny!" Did he just hear someone calling his name?

His vision was foggy, not that he could see much in the dark. He managed to get a glimpse of the light on the floor. The screen of his phone lit up as it started to ring. He let it ring, it was out of his reach.

"Danny!" He heard his name again, this time closer.

"Over here," he whispered, unsure if someone could hear him. Was it Junior? No, it was a female voice.

"Oh my God, Danny!"

Tani's blurred face showed up in front of him along with the light. She dropped to the floor next to him, holding her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?" she asked. "What happened?"

"Someone was here. I saw something. Someone. Then I heard something. I turned around and… And I woke up here," he explained.

Tani looked at the blood oozing from Danny's head and shook her head. "Let's get you out of here, you need to get that checked out." She stretched her arm around his waist and helped him to stand up. She made a step forward when he stopped.

"No, wait," Danny protested.

"What is it?"

"Did you find Steve?" he asked.

"No, he is not in the bank."

Danny had learned to trust his instincts over the years. Doing so hadn't always panned out but he couldn't ignore the feeling his best friend is in big trouble. "We need to find him." He tried to free himself from Tani's hold but she didn't let go.

"Hey, calm down. We will find him, but he is not here. You need the doctor, come on," she said.

"No. No. They went this way, he needs to be close," Danny ignored Tani's attempts to make him leave. "Steve! Steve!" he yelled, but only the echo of his own voice was the answer.

"Danny! We will find him, I promise. But we can't stay here. Let's not lose time, okay?"

He didn't answer. Giving one more thoughtful look in the darkness of the tunnel, somehow he knew Steve was close, yet so far. Where are you, Steve? Reluctantly, and under great protest, he allowed Tani to help him keep his balance and take him back to the parking lot to get his head checked by paramedics.

I'd really appreciate if you took some time to let me know what you think :)