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Another night had fallen on Oahu and there was still no sign of Steve or their suspects. Every lead they had was a dead end. It's been way too long since Steve was kidnapped, that wasn't a good sign. Danny realized that their chances to find him alive were lower every minute. What if… No. He blocked that thought. No what ifs. He couldn't afford to think like this. He will find his partner no matter what.

He excused himself from the room and went to the men's room. Pausing in front of the mirror he reluctantly examined the reflection. His eyes were sunken and dark-rimmed. He had the appearance of a man who had been out on a bender for the last two nights. Running the cold tap, he threw some water over his face, giving it a fierce rub with his hands in an attempt at bringing back some color.

He found his thought shifting back to eleven weeks ago when his best friend decided to go solo to Mexico. Back then he was almost certain it's the last time he saw him. After Steve decided to go, Danny took off and locked himself in his office as he couldn't bear the thought of losing him but he understood why Steve decided to go at the same time. And this time he felt the same, angry and afraid at the same time. Scared for the life of his best friend. Scared of losing him. Angry at his partner for getting into this situation, angry at the people who kidnapped him, angry at himself for not being able to find him. Unlike the Mexico trip, this time Danny could help him, but he didn't know how and it was way worse - like he failed his best friend. "I'm so sorry, Steve," he whispered, barely holding the tears back.

He leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to force his tired mind to work harder, to figure out the next step which would bring him closer to finding Steve.

Taking out his phone Danny was about to call Catherine to ask what time does her plane land when it buzzed. He answered it. It was Noelani.

"I think we've identified our Jane Doe, detective Williams."

"That's the good news, then," Danny said genuinely. "Fill me in."

"Sure. But there is also bad news."

"What bad news?"

"It would appear that your suspect topped herself."

"We're on our way," Danny said and hung up. He resisted the urge to say "I know."

"Chloe Park died of cardiac arrest, having first slipped into a coma and suffered pulmonary edema," Noelani explained to Danny and Lou, who stood there speechless for a while, trying to absorb the information.

"What brought that on?" Lou asked after a while.

"She had ingested cyanide. Apparently, a capsule had been loosely sewn into the collar of her shirt. I found the hole and produced the COD."

"Cyanide?" Danny asked. It just confirmed what he thought - she rather killed herself than give them a chance to ask anything. Which was another reason to believe Junior's theory about 'something bigger' going on.

He held the phone which was on the speaker in front of him. "What do we know about this Chloe Park?" he asked the team members on the other side of the line, knowing they're already trying to dig up anything useful about their suspect.

"She was thirty-two," Tani's voice started to sum up what she could see on the screen. "She moved to Hawaii from Korea two years ago and… Wait… Give me a second." Her voice changed suddenly.

Danny shook his head. What was her connection with the Bennetts? What was she doing in Esther's house? And what the hell was a Korean citizen doing with the flash drive with the maps of the US military facility? Did she know it was hidden in the house? Did she know what was on the flash drive? Did she hide it there? Why did she run and tried to shoot the cop? Why did she think death is better than talking to Five-0? He had so many questions that might stay unanswered thanks to her choice to rather die than tell them what's going on here. But the main question was bothering him more than anything else. How was she connected to Steve's abduction?

"Oh shit," Tani broke the silence. "Guys, I'm sorry to say it but it seems Junior was right. Our suspect was a North Korean spy. My guess is she was looking for the flash drive, we interrupted her so she took off. And being taken alive is not an option."

"Wait a second," Lou said. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Okay, try to reach the commanding officer in the Red Hill facility and warn them, just in case," Danny ordered. At least now he had the answers to his questions. Most of them, except the most important one.

It was pushing 1 p.m by the time Catherine's plane landed. Twenty-three hours since Danny called. That meant Steve was gone for two days now. She was glad he had called her, she wanted to be there for Steve, to help him. It didn't matter how painful it was for her to be that close to him. The long flight gave her enough time to think about the discussion she had with her boss after she found out Steve's life was in danger. She couldn't push it out of her mind.

"Lieutenant Rollins, I understand your concerns but we are in the middle of something, you can't just take off anytime you want. This is the CIA, not a high school."

"I understand, Sir," she answered. "But I'm not asking for permission. Either you allow me to take a few days off or consider this my resignation."

She knew her superior realized that she was an important asset for them, that's why she decided to play this risky card. But in case it didn't pan out, she was ready to make her threat come true. Luckily, it wasn't necessary.

She arrived a little earlier, so she nervously paced around, waiting for Danny to pick her up, wondering. Would she really leave everything she worked so hard for just to come here and look for Steve? Would she risk it all for the only man she has ever loved? Knowing there was a possibility he was not even alive anymore? Always. She thought. She would always come for him. And she was sure he would do the same for her. So here she was, leaving work behind for once, hoping she will get a chance to tell Steve what she wanted to tell him a long time ago.

The blonde detective emerged from the black car in front of her at the pick-up point, his eyes red-rimmed and tired, concern and worry written all over his face. His lips smiled at her but the smile never reached his eyes.

"Hey," he welcomed her and embraced her into a tight hug.

"Hi, Danny."

"Looks like this is our tradition now, huh?"

"What do you mean?"

"Us meeting only when something goes south," he explained.

Catherine allowed herself a slight smile. He was right. Ever since she left Hawaii the last time, she only met Steve and Danny when someone's life was in danger or for the purposes of Steve's personal vendetta. "Yeah."

"We have nothing, Cath," Danny answered the unasked question hanging in the air, looking into the floor like he was ashamed to even say that out loud.

"We will bring him home," she said, unsure who she was trying to convince. Danny seemed to notice the way she formulated the sentence. She hoped they'll find him on time, she really did. But no one could promise Steve will be all right when they'll find him. It's been two days without a word about him. And she never wished to be wrong more than this time. "Let's go, you'll tell me everything on the way."

Alice's gaze was fixed on the glass in her hand, she was comfortably seated in a modern sofa in the lounge, sipping her white wine, waiting for her boyfriend to wash his bloody knuckles.

She didn't say anything when he joined her and lowered himself next to her. Her gaze fixed on the glass of wine in her hand, she was gently biting her lips. The sense of guilt was coming to the surface. She didn't want it this way, it wasn't what she imagined when Aaron asked her for help. But she knew him well enough to doubt him, it was always better to be on that man's good side. He never hurt her, she wouldn't be put up with that. But he was leaving a trail of bodies behind him, getting rid of everyone who stood in his way, without regrets. And it freaked her out a little. Enough to be afraid to say her opinion.

"You seem worried about something," Aaron said.

She stopped nibbling her lips and switched to pulling invisible thimbles off her fingers. She hesitated, unsure whether it's wise to speak up after all she saw him do. After she heard the muffled screams of the man who tried to help her two days ago, risking his life for a complete stranger.

"Talk to me!" This time it sounded more like an order.

"I am worried, to be honest," she said hesitantly. "I'm not sure about all this."

"About what? What's on your mind?"

"Look, I thought we'll take the money, take the diamonds and leave," she paused and took a deep breath. "I didn't know you and your sister were going to torture a cop."

He reached up and gently rubbed his fingers over the back of her neck. "Oh, this. Don't worry about that, babe. It'll be over soon."

"But you didn't tell me the whole plan, did you?" she asked, looking down to the floor. "Why do we even need him?"

"Look," Aaron said, gently lifting her chin to look into her bright blue eyes. "We have a chance to go big. One last time. And after we are done, all of us can live like royalty for the rest of our lives."

She was eager to cut him off. "Go big? What are you talking about? We have more than enough."

"Yeah. We've got the money, we've got the diamonds. Enough to invest it in a good crew and guns and meanwhile, Esther will convince Commander McGarrett to help us access the Red Hill facility."

"Red Hill? You mean the underground fuel storage here in Hawaii?" Her jaw dropped. "But… why?"

"Yes, that's the one."

She remained silent for a moment, thoughtful. "Do you want to destroy it?"

"Yes."

Her heart skipped a beat. She never agreed to do something like this. All she wanted to spend the rest of the life somewhere in the Bahamas, enjoying Aaron's company, sipping cocktails and not to worry about a thing. "Then what?" she asked hesitantly, almost whispering.

"I'm meeting my contact from North Korea tomorrow. We'll talk about the details but the idea is to take care of Red Hill and sell the information to the right people at the right time."

She couldn't believe her ears. "Wait. North Korea? You realize what they can do with that information, right?"

"Indeed, I do. But we won't be here when they decide to strike. We can go to any place in the world. Place of your choice." He leaned toward to kiss her but Alice pushed him away with fire in her eyes, pushing the fear aside.

"We can't do that, Aaron! I didn't agree to any of this."

"Well, it's too late to back off now, babe. You're either with us or against us."

He was right. There was no way she could get out of this if she wanted to stay alive. She turned her face away, looking for words, drawing shallow breaths and letting the information to sink in.

"So should I take it you'll cooperate?" he asked after a while.

"Yes," she answered reluctantly, avoiding the look into his eyes.

"I need to take care of something now, but how about we go out when I come back, have dinner somewhere nice? Esther has got it under control anyway." Aaron suggested. "It'll help you to clear your head. What do you say?"

Alice nodded, swirling the last sip of the wine around the bottom of her glass.

"Good, wear the dress I bought you last week. You look great in it," he said, kissing the top of her head. "I'll be right back."

She waited for a few minutes, making sure Aaron left before she reached for her phone on the coffee table in front of her. She swiftly typed a few words into a message, glanced on the screen and hesitated. She was unsure whether it was a good decision or not. Aaron can't find out about this. With a deep breath, her thumb hit 'send'.

Danny told Catherine everything they knew so far on the way to the headquarters. She seemed to be a little surprised by their theory of a possible threat to national security, but he noticed something hanging in the air. She was quiet, too quiet. Her blank gaze glancing out of the window for most of the time of the ride. If the circumstances would be different, he would certainly question that, but he decided to let it slide, he wasn't in the talking mood anyway.

After he introduced her to Quinn, Tani, and Junior and gave her a minute to reconvene with the others, he glanced over the table and hoped someone will tell him they found something. Quinn slightly shook her head when their gazes met.

They spent another few hours checking all the possible security footage they found, looking for anything about their suspects, previous robberies, family members, bank accounts, but they had nothing at all. They were all tired and unable to focus properly. Some of them tried to get some rest on the couch in Steve's office for a while but Danny couldn't. He couldn't sleep. Not until he gets his best friend back home safe.

The feeling of helplessness was creeping into his brain, every lead they had appeared to be a dead end. He should have never allowed Steve to go into that bank, it was all weird from the beginning. But that stubborn son of a bitch just never listened to his concerns anyway. And now he is gone.

A gentle beep sounded from somewhere behind him but he was just deep in thoughts to even be bothered about its origin.

"Guys, I just got a text," Lou's voice made him turn around.

"I think it's from Alice Green. Or Veronica Miller, whoever she is," Lou said.

Danny quickly grabbed the phone out of Lou's hand to read the text, he could feel his heart beating quicker. It was a short, yet simple text: 'Let's talk. Puu O Kona trail car park. 11 p.m. A.G.'

"She might know where Steve is," Danny stated the obvious. He glanced over his wristwatch, it was only 6 p.m. He wondered what is it she wanted to talk about, but there was a fair chance she knew where Steve is, or at least where to look for him.

"I just tried to locate the number she sent the text from but I don't have a signal. She must have turned it off," Junior said before Danny could even ask him to trace the phone.

"Damn it!" Danny swore, rubbing his hand over the face. Five hours until the meeting. What was he supposed to do?

"Man, I'm sorry to say that but you look terrible," Lou said, studying Danny's face. "You should try and get some rest. You don't have to go anywhere, just stay in McGarrett's office, take a break."

He shook his head before Lou could even finish the sentence. "No. We need to do something, we need to find him."

"I know. But you're no use to him if you are dead on your feet," Lou insisted. "You can't think straight. Come on, just an hour or two."

"He is right, Danny," Catherine chimed in. "You'll be more useful if you get some rest. And we will wake you up if we find something. I promise."

Danny resisted saying a snarky comment about her promises and how she couldn't keep them. But instead, he just nodded and reluctantly headed to Steve's office, closing the door behind him. He knew he won't be able to fall asleep, but maybe he can lay down for a few minutes. There were six people working on it anyway, all of them wanted Steve back and they will let him know if there are any news. And Lou was right, he can't think straight anymore, and the last thing Steve needed was a liability. He laid down on the leather couch but as soon as he closed his eyes, the pictures of Steve's motionless body lying in the dirt. His best friend in a puddle of his own blood. Pale. Cold. Dead.

He opened his eyes again to ensure it's just his tired mind playing with him. He sighed in relief as he was still in Steve's office. He wondered what Alice Green wants to tell them. Does she know where Steve is? Does she know where to find that son of a bitch, Aaron Bennett? They'll find out in a couple of hours. He just hoped it won't be too late for Steve by he could even realize it, the fatigue took over and his eyes closed, giving his body some much needed but restless sleep.

He bolted awake as he felt a gentle touch on his arm. He stared at Catherine standing above him with an apologetic look in her face.

"I'm sorry I had to wake you up," she said. "I'm really glad you managed to get some rest. But it's almost time."

He glanced over the wristwatch that said it's 10.15 p.m. He sprang upright too fast, a wave of dizziness washed over him.

"Are you okay?" Catherine asked.

He'll be okay when they find his best friend, alive, and bring him home. He just nodded and headed for the door, out of the office and down the hall.

Catherine and Lou followed him closely. The rest of the team remained in the headquarters, watching over them and looking for other cues meanwhile. They didn't want to scare Alice away if too many of them showed up.

As they reached the car park outside, Danny pointed out in the direction of his car and all of them began to walk. The phone in his pocket started to ring.

"Detective Williams," he answered.

"I need you guys to come to the corner of South St and Pohukaina St asap." It was Duke, his voice sounded urgent.

"I'll send someone over, I've got somewhere else to be-"

"That will have to wait. You'll want to see this."

Danny ceased walking and listened patiently as Duke went on. His ashen expression conveyed the gravity of the conversation as Lou glanced across and he also stopped. The call was over swiftly.

"What's going on?" Catherine asked.

"Change of plan."

It took Steve a few minutes to open his eyes again. Keeping them open was getting harder every time he woke up. His vision was blurred from the beating he'd taken. He could only hear his own heart, that was all, beating very fast. His brain felt scrambled. He felt more than tired. Exhausted, ready to fall into the darkness, so he closed his eyes again.

But someone touched his shoulder. His eyes fluttered open, he looked up, then a face loomed over him, the face he couldn't recognize at first. She was touching his neck, checking that he had a pulse. She was mouthing words but Steve couldn't hear them.

The face over him cleared up a little, but he didn't understand. His breaths came in short, sharp rasps as he wondered what was Alice Green doing here. She was supposed to be dead. Another evil trick of his drugged mind? Could he see the dead people who died because of him? Because if that was the case, there should be another few people here. Starting with Freddie, then his dad, Joe, and his mum as well. Where were they?

Are you all right? He could read Alice's lips. He wasn't sure, he was alive… wasn't he? The pain in his head was almost unbearable, he hoped it would pass but instead, it seemed to intensify with every second of being awake.

Are you all right? Her lips kept asking, but Steve couldn't hear anything but his heartbeat and blood rushing in his ears. His body felt blissfully numb but he didn't mind, it was better than being in pain.

She was holding something, he only recognized a blurry shape of the object. She moved it closer, pressing it to his lips. There was a weird, moist feeling on his lips, in his mouth. Water? Yes, definitely water. He was greedily sipping the fluid and groaned quietly when she removed the bottle from his lips.

Slowly. Steve figured she said, then she pressed the bottle to his lips again. He swallowed as much as he could, trying to take the advice and drink as slow as possible.

Thank you. He wanted to say but the words died on his lips. A wave of dizziness swept over him, he was glad he was sitting. At least he thought he was, it was hard to be sure of anything. Everything was happening in some strange, detached, dreamlike state.

The minutes passed that felt like hours, making it harder and harder to stay awake. There was something. Something he was supposed to do, to be somewhere, to think of something. A voice inside his head chanted at him to give up and go back to darkness again.

He could see two figures now, he didn't notice anyone coming in. Another woman, she seemed angry. He refocused on her face, it was Esther. They were talking, maybe arguing but the words didn't make any sense to Steve, it sounded too distant. Then one of the women left, leaving him alone with the other one.

He felt a sting, a distant pain in his arm. He looked up. Alice wasn't there anymore, it was Esther who stood above him. Her lips kept moving but not a word reached Steve's ears. Another massive bout of dizziness hit him in full force. Drawing a few shallow breaths he squeezed his eyes shut again. But something was different. Something was wrong. A sudden touch on his cheek made him jolt. A fear of something, he had no idea what or why, was slowly creeping into his brain. The sounds he heard were just not right, something changed. But what?

A distant, dull pain spread through his body along with the warm feeling. No, not just warm, it was getting hotter and the pain sharper. Slowly, until it started to slowly burn him from inside, making him unable to move an inch, dazed from the excruciating pain taking over control of his body. Somewhere inside him, he felt a scream building, but he didn't have the strength to release it.

*to be continued*

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