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Esther is back on the island. She got here two days ago.

It took Steve a few moments to process the new information. "Two days ago? Why didn't you tell me sooner?" he snapped, not even attempting to hide the obvious anger in his voice.

Catherine reached for his hand, holding it firmly in hers. "Steve," she said, looking into his eyes. "I know you're angry but it's not Danny's fault."

She was right. There was no reason to be angry at the only person who had been there for him the whole time. Steve sighed, turning to his friend. "I'm sorry, buddy. I just… I…" he stuttered.

"It's all right," Danny assured him. "I tried to call you when I found out about an hour ago. You didn't answer so here I am."

"So she was gone this whole time?" Steve asked.

"That's what we think, yes."

"How did she get out of Hawaii and back here? She's on the no-fly list, Interpol has a red notice on her," Steve said. "And why risk coming back at all?"

He suspected he knew the answer to the last question, but he didn't want to admit that she might not be done with him.

"She came through Russia. A Russian passport in the name of Tamara Nikolayevna. It's fake, obviously. We don't know how she got to Russia, but it doesn't appear to be through any major airports. My guess is that she was smuggled in."

"It doesn't make any sense," Steve said, shaking his head. "How did they let her through into Hawaii?"

"I don't know," Danny said, trying to stay calm, in contrast to the obvious emotion that Steve was feeling. His pretended calmness seemed to do the trick and Steve's anger, his exasperation, went down a notch.

"Do you have anything to work with?" Steve asked. "What do you know about her whereabouts?"

Nothing so far, everyone's working on it right now. It's got the highest priority," Danny replied. "I just wanted to tell you and I'll go right back." He glanced over Steve hesitantly. "I thought you might want to join me," he added.

There was nothing Steve wanted more than bring Esther to justice. But as much as he hated to admit it, he wasn't ready to get back into action. Not mentally, not physically. It was a step too far, too soon. Just the mention of Esther was enough to trigger the unwanted reaction, to take away all his focus, to take his mind back into the darkness. He couldn't think straight when it came to her. And it might endanger not only his life but the lives of his ohana as well. And he wasn't willing to risk it.

"Steve, are you okay?" Catherine asked him with concern in her eyes.

He realized his hands began to tremble and his breathing sped up. "Yeah," he lied. Looking back to Danny, he shook his head. "I can't, Danny. Not yet. Sorry."

"Don't be," Danny replied, reaching for Steve's shoulder to reassure him. "It's all right, take your time. We'll find her. You just be careful, okay?"

Steve nodded. "Okay, thanks."

"You're in good hands," Danny said, giving Catherine a grin.

She shook her head and looked at Steve. "I was actually leaving. I've got a plane to catch and if I'm not in that plane…" she got stuck, pausing for a moment. "I can't tell you the reason just yet, but I really need to be on that plane, Steve. I promise I'll tell you more when I come back."

Steve's eyes widened with that sentence. She was planning another visit already. And just the prospect of meeting her again soon lifted his spirits considerably.

"I get it, Cath," he said. "I'll give you a ride to the airport."

"No, I've called a cab already," she said, glancing over the watch. "It should be here by now anyway."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

Danny squeezed Steve's shoulder lightly and gave him one more worried look. "Are you gonna be okay? You sure don't want to come with me?"

"I'm sure. I'll be fine, Danny."

"Okay, I need to go," Danny said. "I'll keep you posted. Turn your phone on."

Steve nodded and Danny turned on his heel, making his way to the doorway.

"Danno?" Steve called out. "Be careful, please."

"I will," Danny said and closed the door behind him.

Steve exchanged glances with Catherine and pulled her into a hug. She pulled away after a few seconds. She held both his hands, staring into his eyes, her face just a few inches from his.

He wasn't sure whether he should kiss her or not. He wanted to. But he waited too long and the moment had passed.

"That's my ride," she said as a black Toyota parked outside.

"All right," he said. "Thanks for coming, Cath."

"I'll be back soon. I promise."

She smiled and kissed him on the cheek, then turned around and disappeared in the back seat of the car. Steve stood in the doorway, his side leaned on the frame, arms crossed and watched her disappear behind the corner.

Steve's anxiousness was over the top since the morning. He thought he would prefer the solitude so he could drown himself in guilt like every other day, but he'd been wrong. Not today. Not since he knew Esther was back in Hawaii. He couldn't help but wonder why would she come back if she managed to get away without them noticing. And there was only one rational answer - she wasn't done yet.

He tried his best to push her out of her mind, but every time he'd closed his eyes, the memories came rushing back at him. The living nightmares, so vivid that it was hard to recognize the difference between the dreams and the reality. Sitting on his bed and staring into the distance, he found himself panting and sweating once again. He looked down and saw his hands trembling and he hated himself for it. For allowing her to do all this to him, to break him like this.

A phone buzzing on the bedside table had brought him back from the reverie. It was Danny.

"Hey buddy," he said. " You got something? Everything okay?"

"Hi. All good here, but nothing new. We're running a few leads but nothing major so far. I just wanted to ask the same thing. How are you holding up?"

Steve wanted to say he was fine, but it was a lie. He really wanted it to be true for once. His lack of response made Danny's voice worried.

"Steve?"

"Huh? Yeah. I mean, I will be," he replied. "It's just that…" Steve stopped to look for the right words, but he didn't know how exactly to express his messed up feelings. But he didn't have to. Not with Danny.

"You want me to come over?" Danny offered immediately. "Cause if you need me, I'll be there in twenty."

Steve couldn't help a slight smile about his friend's loyalty. He'd never met a more caring person than Danny. And he was grateful for such a great friend in his life.

"No, no. You've got your hands full," Steve objected. "But how about we grab a drink later on? Let's say at eight?"

"I'd like that," Danny agreed. "My place? You should get out of the house for at least a while."

"Okay, I'll be there."

"All right, just be careful. Okay? We don't know what she is planning. Call me if you need anything."

"You too, buddy."

Steve ended the call and returned to the painful thoughts. He didn't want to just sit around and do nothing anymore, it just made everything worse. He stood up, changed himself into his swimming shorts and headed toward the ocean.

Hoping the waves would take away at least a tiny bit of his suffering, he swam for as long as he was able to move his arms before heading back to the land.

Danny rubbed his tired eyes with his hands as he walked out of the shower. It's been a long and tiresome day, which he'd survived just thanks to caffeine. Despite all the effort, they were no closer to Esther's plans or whereabouts, which added to his frustration. He was looking forward to a quiet evening with his best friend, despite knowing Steve won't be his usual self.

He glanced over the watch. It was a little over half an hour before Steve's scheduled arrival. Thinking about what to do with the time, he decided to call Grace just like almost every day. He headed to the coffee table where he'd left his phone. He picked it up and was about to dial the number, but as he did so he felt movement behind him.

He instinctively ducked low, swiveling as he did so, his right arm recoiling, ready to unleash. In the split-second that it took him to turn, his brain half-recognized surprise at the empty space in front of him, where he'd expected someone to be standing, ready to take him out. Unable to stop his momentum, his right arm arced through the air, connecting with nothing at all.

As his body reeled, his head turned and he caught a glimpse of the doorway immediately on his left and the shadow of a figure standing in it. Before he'd even fully processed what was happening, he felt a sharp stab in his neck and the strange feeling of the cold liquid rushing into his warm veins. That feeling was the only thing he was aware of as his legs gave way and his body slumped to the floor, his head in a daze. He closed his eyes, hoping that the world would stop spinning. But it didn't. It only spun faster. And within seconds, he was out.

As he pulled over to the side of the road and got out of the car, the first thing Steve had noticed was the open door of Danny's house. The open door was never good in his line of work. He picked up the pace and peeked in, calling his partner's name.

"Hey, Danny?"

But he got no response. Steve tried to call for him two more times as he looked around, searching for him.

"Danny? Danny, are you here?"

Nothing. Just a silence that was filling the house.

"Danno?"

When he didn't get the answer, he took out his phone and called Danny's number. To his surprise, he heard the phone ringing somewhere close. He looked in the direction of the sound and saw it on the floor, partially under the couch.

He hurried to the drawer where Danny keeps his gun and found it laying inside. He picked it up and headed upstairs, hoping his friend might be there.

"Danny!" he called out even louder, panic creeping into his voice.

By now he knew something had happened. He could feel his heart thudding against his ribs as he realized that his friend was gone. Before he could think about the possible scenarios, he heard a voice coming from somewhere behind him.

"I heard you guys were looking for me. You miss me already?"

The blood in Steve's veins froze and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up when he heard that voice behind his back. The voice he hasn't heard for two months, the voice of a woman he loathed so much.

As he turned around, Esther came into view, a look of quiet satisfaction on her pretty face. His mind was racing, thinking about what he was going to do. A whole host of emotions had swept through him, from joy, at the unexpected prospect of defeating his foe, to pure dread.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, darling," she taunted.

"Where is Danny?" he asked, trying his best to look and sound stoic.

"Somewhere safe," she answered. "For now. The rest depends solely on your cooperation."

His training taking over, Steve's eyes quickly glanced around his surroundings to assess the situation. Esther was standing on the other side of the corridor and had a handgun in her hand, lowered beside her body. She didn't seem like she was about to use it unless necessary. There was one man standing right behind her and the other two men standing on the stairway, with the handguns in their hands.

He didn't want to give them an opportunity to corner him, he had to act. Getting captured again was simply not an option, he'd rather die than go through that again. He decided to take his chances and fight.

Steve lunged forward and readied himself for firing, lifting his gun up. The two men on the stairway were ready to pull on their triggers, but Esther and the other man were still processing their next move.

He fired two shots in quick succession. One of the bullets hit the man on the left in the chest, the other in his neck. He went down before he'd had the chance to pull on his trigger.

Steve heard a crack as the man on the right opened fire. He wasn't holding back. A succession of shots blasted from his weapon and the bullets whizzed and ricocheted nearby. Steve ducked and rolled forward, hoping his quick movement would make him a harder target.

As he came up against the guardrail at the top of the stairs, he'd already positioned himself for the next shot. He fired off three times, not wanting to take any risks. Only one of the three hit the target. That was enough. The man went down, falling to the ground.

Esther was rushing for cover, heading downstairs. Steve adjusted his aim as best as he could and fired off another two shots. He hadn't the time to measure up properly for the shots. He'd wanted to get to her before they found cover. He heard Esther cry out and he knew that he must have hit her. Her shouting and moaning, though, told him that she wasn't yet down for good. But she was now out of sight.

Steve headed to the stairway to go after her, but as he turned around, her last man leaped out in front of him. Steve began to raise his gun. But the man had already set his position before he'd come out into the open. Steve instinctively ducked and twisted to his right, hoping to get the chance to retreat. As he did so the man fired.

Steve's quick maneuver saved him and he managed to get two shots off without even looking. But his quick change of direction threw his balance off. He tried to steady himself. His body thumped against the stair railing. He reached out with his free hand, trying to grab the rail, but his fingers slipped. With the bulk of his weight still in motion, he could do nothing to stop his momentum. He toppled over the edge, his arms flailing uselessly as he fell toward the ground.

Steve had no time to prepare himself for the landing. He slammed into the floor, shoulder and hip first. The shock of the landing was enough to leave him on the floor dazed, unable to move.

From the lack of further fire from the man on the stairs, Steve could only assume he'd been lucky and hit him.

Lying on the ground, Steve looked around the room, his vision blurred. As he started to regain himself, he spotted Esther over in the near corner. She was sitting upright against a bare wall, breathing heavily, her right arm slung across her body, cradling the wound in her left shoulder.

Steve tried to sit up but it was too much too soon. He shouted out from the pain that tore through him. The whole right side of his body was throbbing. Danny's gun he'd been carrying had been thrown from his grip and was lying two yards in front of him, toward where Esther was sitting.

He concentrated and picked himself up, gritting his teeth. Crouching low, more because of the pain and stiffness than anything else, he crept forward toward his gun, his body awkward and unwilling.

Esther's hand moved down toward her side. Toward the gun that lay by her. She wasn't going to get the chance to use it. From somewhere within, Steve suddenly found clarity of movement and thought. He leaped into action.

Ignoring the fallen gun he'd been heading for, Steve rushed straight at Esther. She was trying to ready herself as he reached her. He grabbed hold of her right hand and slammed it against the wall behind her. She cried out and let go of the weapon. Without giving her a chance to recover, Steve punched her hurt shoulder twice in quick succession. She screamed in pain. But Steve wasn't about to start playing nice. Two months of pent-up anger, hatred, vengeance had built up in him. And she was one of the biggest causes. She'd used him as a lab rat. She'd forced him to hurt people he cared about. She'd forced him to go against his own country. And now she had Danny. He was fed up. He really wanted to hurt her.

Steve sat on top of her and dug his knuckle into her stricken shoulder. She cried out again but he held his hand there, grinding into the wound that lay beneath her clothes.

"Where is he?" Steve shouted.

Despite her position and the obvious pain, her steely resolve didn't waver. She stared at him coldly, only blinking each time the pain got too much.

"You really didn't have to do this, Steve," she said with a slight smile on her face. "I didn't come here to kill you."

"Are you sure? Because to me, it seems your men definitely did," he replied.

"They didn't aim to kill," she said.

Steve pressed his hand against her wound even harder, making her hiss. "I don't care if you wanted me dead or not. Tell me where Danny is," he ordered.

She was staring into Steve's eyes without a word despite the pain.

"I'm going to make this real easy for you," Steve said. "Tell me where he is and I'll make the pain stop."

Her hard glare didn't shift. Her mouth curled into a mocking grin.

Steve grabbed the collar of her blouse with his right hand and pulled her close to him.

"Where is he!" he screamed.

He wanted to punch her. Wipe that smirk off her face. He wanted to punch her again and again until there was nothing left of her. But nothing Steve could do would bring satisfaction. Even killing her wasn't going to make all the bad things she'd done go away, it wouldn't help him find his friend. As hard as it was, he had to rise above it.

Esther began to laugh. Actually more of a cackle. "I wouldn't act like this if I were you, not if you want to see your friend again," she said with pride.

Somehow, despite everything, she'd once again managed to trump him. He hated her for it. He hated her more than anything.

"You'll have to let go of me first," she said, enjoying her moment. "Then we can talk."

Steve pushed her away from himself, pressing hard on her left shoulder, eliciting another cry. This had gone on for too long. There would never be a satisfactory conclusion. He stood up and strode back to Danny's gun, picked it up, turned around and aimed at her head.

She began to laugh again. "I wouldn't do that. You will lose more than just your blonde friend if you kill me," she said.

He ignored her jibes and walked back up to her. He crouched down by her side and pushed the barrel of the gun onto her forehead.

"What did you do?" Steve asked, struggling to compose himself. "What are you talking about?"

"A little surprise for you. The cherry on top," she said, a beaming smile on her face. "Don't you want to find out what that means? I'm sure you'd love to know, darling."

"What did you do?" Steve yelled, pushing the barrel of the gun deeper into her head.

"This is it, Steve," she said, looking up. "This is your chance. Do it! But I promise you that you're gonna regret that decision for the rest of your life. Do you really think I would wait for you here if I didn't have good leverage?"

Steve realized he'd been trying to manipulate him again, to get into his head. Maybe she'd even wanted him to kill her because she had some kind of insurance. Something triggered by her death. Something that would trigger more pain and guilt. Something she knew would cause him more suffering than anything else because that was her style. And he was certain he wouldn't be able to take any more. Maybe she was bluffing. But how could he be sure?

"Stop playing around," he barked. "Where is Danny?"

"Let go of me," she said with calmness in her voice. "And we can talk about business."

Steve could see his hands trembling with anger as she kept smiling at him, staring into his eyes. He hesitated, considering the options. She would never just tell him where Danny is, not without something in return. Pulling the trigger was something he'd wanted to do since she came into his life, but it wouldn't solve anything. He could try and look for Danny himself, but it could be too late by the time he found him. He sighed and released his grip of her, lowering the gun as he stood up.

She grabbed her hurt shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding, and picked herself up too. "Good boy," she grinned. "Now give me the gun."

"Forget it," Steve refused.

"Okay then, how about you drop it? I'm not armed either," she suggested. "I just want to talk, darling. No need to be cranky."

He stared at her for a few seconds, then dropped the gun to the floor, sliding it far away from both of them. He didn't need it to handle her if something went south anyway.

"Where is he?" he growled, blood boiling in his veins.

"There is a flash drive and a cell phone on the kitchen counter," she said, ignoring his question. "I want all the evidence that Five-0 and HPD have against me on that flash drive and I want it deleted from the system. And I mean all of it, till the last bit."

Steve's mind whirred. He should have known she wanted something like that. "Why bother to come back to Hawaii because of this?" he asked. "You were safe wherever you'd been at. Why come back where every cop is looking for you?"

"That's not your concern," Esther answered, enjoying the whole situation. "Just do it. And I'd like to warn you that I have eyes and ears everywhere, so don't even try and trick me or he'll die."

"I'm not in Five-0 anymore," he tried to object, but he knew she wouldn't care.

She hummed. "For the sake of your blonde friend I hope you can find a way around that little problem." She walked over to Steve, stopping just a few inches in front of him, staring at him as though she expected him to take a step back.

"You know I can't do that," Steve said.

"Oh, you can and you will. Or I'll send you your friend in pieces," she threatened.

"It's not about the evidence, is it?" Steve snapped, clenching his fists. He knew he'd been right. She was just messing with him once again, trying to get into his head. Trying to force him to do something he didn't want to do, trying to make his life even more miserable. He was tired of her mind games. "You just want me to go against my people again."

She didn't respond and just smiled at him, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

Steve held her gaze, unable to find the words. There could be anything on that flash drive, and he was sure it was either to spy on Five-0 or get the information, or both. He couldn't do that. Danny would never let him do that, no matter the stakes. He wished his friend was there with him, so he could help him to find another way. But he wasn't. And Steve needed to do something to bring him home safely.

"As much as I enjoy our little chat, I have to go now," Esther said. "Don't try to follow me or stop me, darling. Because if I don't make a call in the next five minutes, Detective Williams will die. And I won't make that call until I'm sure that I don't have a tail. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Steve replied through gritted teeth.

"Good," she gave him another smirk before she turned on her heel and walked toward the doorway. She stopped and looked over her shoulder. "You've got one hour. I want it done by the time I call you."

Steve had a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach as he watched her disappear behind the closed door. The surge of rage flooded him instantly and he was unable to resist the urge to lash out. He thumped the wall twice, as hard as he could. His knuckles were immediately throbbing but he didn't care.

Why did it have to be Danny who suffers because of him again? All just because he'd knocked on his door ten years ago. Everything from that moment led to today and he couldn't help but wonder what Danny's life would be like without him in it. At least no one would kidnap him to get to Steve. And once again, the guilt felt like a fire inside him burning him alive.

When Danny regained his senses, he couldn't see anything. There was something that felt like a cloth bag over his head. He was leaning his back against the hard surface and judging by the constant rocking and bumps he assumed he was in the moving vehicle. By the time his mind cleared up from the drugs used to knock him out, he was fully aware of the ride. His mind whirred, trying to work out a plan of action to free himself with the next available opportunity. He silently cursed about getting into the situation in the first place.

The vehicle came into a sudden stop. With his hands cuffed behind him, Danny struggled to keep his balance and he fell sideways, smacking his shoulder off what he guessed was the side of the van. The engine shut down, the constant reverberation that had been coursing through his body for about half an hour and making him feel queasy finally coming to an end. Then he heard the doors of the van being opened.

Someone grabbed his arm and pulled Danny toward him. He kicked out with his legs, trying to keep his feet on the floor of the van, but failed. His body fell out of the vehicle and crumpled to the ground. The man still had hold of his arm and it twisted around painfully as he fell, causing Danny to groan.

"Get up!" shouted a voice. The man was still pulling hard on his arm, then he felt a dull whack as a strike, from what felt like a fist, landed hard on his back.

"Get up!" shouted the voice again.

Danny struggled as best as he could to get to his feet. A second man grabbed hold of his other arm, giving him the help he needed, and they escorted him along. After a few strides, he was ushered up two steps. He assumed he was now inside.

'Sit,' one of the men said, pushing Danny down to the floor after he'd been marshaled to a stopping point. He landed on the cold, hard floor with a heavy smack that sent a shock all the way up his spine.

He heard the two men walk away. For a while after that, there was almost complete silence. No more voices. No sounds of footsteps or other movements. Just a low-pitched electric hum – which Danny guessed was from either lighting or heating – and the sound of his own breathing.

But then he realized there was someone else in the room with him, he could hear the labored breaths of another person.

Danny wondered what was happening. His hands were tied together but his legs were free. He could get up and walk if he wanted. Could he try to escape? In the end, he didn't move. He just sat there on the floor, his mind wandering in and out of reality.

Finally, after what seemed like ages, during which Danny was not sure whether or not he had drifted off to sleep, he heard the sound of footsteps coming toward him. He lifted his head. Seconds later, he recoiled when he felt fingers around his neck. At first, he thought someone was going to choke him, but he soon realized they were loosening the sack on his head.

When the cloth bag was removed from his face it took Danny's brain a few seconds to recalibrate his sight and decipher what his eyes were seeing. And when the woman kneeling down in front of him finally came into focus Danny gasped.

"Hello, Detective," Esther said. "I hope you enjoyed the ride."

*to be continued*

I really hope you enjoyed reading this chapter and I'd really appreciate if you found a few moments to review. It's what keeps me motivated.