First of all, I apologize for the late update. The chapter was written for a while already but I had a crazy week so no time to upload. But here it is. Enjoy!

As always, I'd like to say thank you to all the reviewers, you always make my day!

When Steve left Danny's house and headed to his red Silverado, he noticed his hands were trembling. At first, he thought it was just from the adrenaline of the fight or the anger building up inside him. But after a few minutes, he knew that wasn't the case. As the adrenaline wore off, the trembling didn't stop. It got worse. And it wasn't just tremors in his hands. By the time he was back at the car, his legs felt like jelly, his head was in a spin, his stomach was churning, he felt like he was about to throw up. He was in shock. His body was reacting to what had just happened. Steve had seen plenty of action in his life. But he just hadn't been ready for that situation. Not mentally at least.

Facing Esther again had made him feel vulnerable. It had made him feel scared. It had made him remember the time of being Bennett's prisoner, the damage she'd made him cause not only to his ohana, the physical and mental rehabilitation after that. That in itself had been almost as painful as his experience at the hands of Aaron and Esther Bennett.

Esther once again managed to trump him, using the worst possible way she could. She has been trying to take away everything good in his life since the day he had met her. And now she had control of his best friend's life.

His heart rate built up again as his mind went back to the dark period of his captivity. He squeezed the steering wheel as strong as he could, trying to stop the memories flowing. And trying to stop the trembling that had taken control of his hands. It worked, but only for a few seconds. Sweat was dripping down his forehead. He opened the window to get some air and took several deep gulps. It helped to slow his heart rate back to normal. Finally, after a few more minutes trying his best to focus his mind away from Esther, away from everything else that was clouding his thinking, the shaking in his hand began to subside. He banged on the steering wheel with the palms of his hand, angry that he'd let himself get this way. That he was being so weak. Get a grip, man. Danny needs you. You need to focus.

Why was he so pathetic? This wasn't how Steven McGarrett acted. Steven McGarrett could handle anything. Just get a grip.

Steve put the car into gear and drove off, fighting through the busy traffic back to the headquarters, making a few calls to his friends on the way. By the time he arrived, the shaking in his hands had all but gone. But Steve was left with a feeling of betrayal. It felt like he'd betrayed who he really was by being this emotional wreck. Betrayed the life he'd led since he was sixteen. Or was it his parents, Joe White or even the Navy that had betrayed him, for turning a sixteen-year-old boy into a machine? A boy who'd only really wanted to be loved by his family, who'd really wanted protection from a world that had chewed him up and spat him out.

Steven McGarrett of today was a different animal to that naive and deprived teenager. But in many ways, he was back at the beginning again. And right now, however hard it was to admit, perhaps he needed just as much emotional protection as he had back then.

The palms of his hands gripping the edges of the smart table, Steve's mind was whirling, trying to figure out his next moves. He glanced over the loading screen that informed him there is a little over five minutes left before the process of the downloading files to the flash drive will be complete.

The first one to enter was Lou. He marched in toward Steve with urgency in his steps, stopping right next to Steve.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, his eyes wide with surprise as he looked at Steve.

"I know I'm not supposed to be here, but I have no choice, Lou," Steve started to explain.

Lou shook his head and drew his brows, as it was the most stupid thing he'd heard that day. "Cut the crap, man. You belong nowhere else but here. You're right where you're needed the most. Now tell me what happened and why there is blood on you." His voice was calm, as though trying to rub some of that pretended calmness on Steve.

Tani, Quinn, and Adam arrived just seconds later, the same worried looks on their faces.

"Oh my God," Tani croaked. "Are you bleeding?"

Steve looked down at his torso where Tani was looking. He remembered wiping his hand into his shirt, leaving some blood on his right hand. There was no time to wash it.

"That blood isn't mine," he explained and heard a collective sigh of relief.

"Who's blood is it then?" Adam asked.

"Esther Bennett's," Steve answered.

The silence filled the room for a few seconds. Quinn was the first one to speak up, still shaking off the surprise off her face.

"Okay. Where is she then?" she asked.

"Gone," Steve gave them a simple but clear answer. "Look, I'd like to explain more but now is not the time. She's got Danny." Steve fought hard to keep his voice solid despite feeling broken and scared inside.

"What does she want?" Lou asked, his eyes wide.

"All the evidence Five-0 and HPD have on her on that flash drive," Steve pointed to the flash drive in the smart table and the loading screen that was now at fifty-nine percent. "And all of it deleted from our system."

"That doesn't make sense," Tani stated the obvious. "Why did she come back to get our evidence if she could live a happy life somewhere else? Somewhere where she wouldn't be hunted for."

"I don't think she actually cares about the evidence that much," Lou said, exchanging glances with Steve. "Maybe that's just a little bonus for her while on the visit to Hawaii."

Steve knew his older colleague was right. As much as he didn't want to admit it. "She's not done with me," he announced. "That's why she came after Danny. She knows it's the best way to get to me."

His mind wandered to the dark times of being her prisoner once again. To the first days of those drugs in his system when he'd hallucinated about Danny coming to save him, about Esther shooting his friend right in front of him. He'd been mumbling Danny's name while in that state and that gave away how much he cared about his partner.

"All right, let's get our boy back," Lou said.

Steve glanced over his watch and looked around to see the faces of his colleagues. He could see a mix of fear and determination in their eyes. "Okay, we've got thirty minutes before she calls," he said.

"Steve, are you sure you are, you know…? Are you ready for this?" Adam asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I'm fine," Steve answered, without a moment's hesitation.

He knew it wasn't true, however much he wanted it to be. But what else he was going to say? He didn't have a choice anyway. Esther didn't give him a choice, she wanted him to come out and play. And if there was anything that would make him march into the HQ and chase her, it was Danny in danger. His best friend was in the hands of this twisted woman because she was angry with him. He had to focus, to try his best to push his own fears and problems aside and get Danny back.

"What's the plan?" Tani asked, staring at Steve.

"Adam, would you pull the security cameras records from the area close to Danny's house?" Steve ordered without any more waiting. "She left the house half an hour ago. I'm assuming she had a car with a driver waiting for her nearby the entire time. Focus on the window between the time Danny had left the HQ and quarter past eight. Go through the records, try to find her, then see if you can find out where she'd headed."

Adam nodded. "You got it, boss," he said and headed to the office to work on it.

"Quinn, make a backup copy of the files. Let me know when you're done. Do not delete anything until you're sure we've got the backup," Steve said.

"Of course," Quinn replied, instantly typing something on the keyboard.

"Tani, call Duke," Steve kept giving orders as he'd never left. "See if they found anything at Danny's place. Anything that might help us figure out what happened there or where they took Danny."

Tani nodded, taking out the phone out of her pocket and walking a few steps aside so she can talk to Duke.

"Lou," Steve turned to Lou and rested a hand on his arm, gently pulling him aside. "We need to go through the plan."

"Okay," Lou said. "What's on your mind? Got any of those super SEAL moves ready?"

"No," Steve shook his head. "Look, we'll try to find Danny without her. But we don't have much time. If there is no other option but to play by her rules, I will do that. But I might have an idea how to make it less risky."

"Slow down for a second," Lou stopped him before he could continue. "By playing by her rules you don't actually mean giving her what she asked for, right? You know she'll try and trick you in some way."

"That's exactly what I mean. And yes I know that."

"But…" Lou protested, but without any success.

"Lou," Steve stopped him, fire raging from his eyes. "It's Danny, okay? And he's in the hands of that woman just because of me. I'll do whatever it takes to get him back."

Lou rubbed his temples with the fingertips before speaking up again. "We'll find him, all right? One way or another, with Esther or without her. I don't care how, but we will get him back. You know we will."

"Yeah," Steve confirmed, not entirely convinced. The image of Danny going through the same ordeal as he had, made him want to throw up. "It's just… I don't want to… I can't let him go through that, Lou. He doesn't deserve any of this."

Judging by the look on Lou's face, Steve didn't have to explain any further. The older colleague understood what 'that' was supposed to mean.

"You're right, he doesn't. And neither did you," Lou replied with compassion in his voice, resting his hand on Steve's shoulder. "He'll be all right, man. Danny is a tough guy, he'll hang in there by the time we find him."

The next minutes passed rather quickly and the deadline was now just about two minutes out. Steve's anxiousness was growing every second as he realized they don't have anything useful to find out where Danny was taken.

Steve heard the entrance door open and turned around as a familiar figure dressed in a uniform made his way to the rest of the team.

"Juns!" Tani exclaimed, throwing her arms around Junior's neck.

Steve glared at Junior, half smiling. "I thought you were called up," he said.

"I just came back," the young SEAL explained. "I got Tani's voice mails and I came here straight from the airport."

"Great timing," Adam noted. "We could use some help."

Steve scanned through Junior's face and frowned, noticing the dark circles under his red-rimmed eyes.

"Junior, I don't know if it's a good idea," Steve protested. "I know you want to help but you must be tired and I don't want to put you in harm's way because of it. "

"With all due respect, Sir, I won't sit this one out. Danny is family," Junior stood his ground. "I'm okay and I've slept on the plane."

Steve knew that was a lie but he admired his determination to help a friend in need. He couldn't help but feel proud of the young SEAL.

At that moment Steve felt the mobile phone in his pocket vibrate. He grabbed it, quickly and greedily, knowing it was a call he had been expecting.

"Guys?" he called out and waited for everyone to gather around him.

"Tani," he pointed to the screen, putting the phone down on the smart table.

Tani's fingers danced across the keyboard for a few seconds, turning on the tracing. "Go ahead," she said eventually.

Steve answered the call and put in on the speaker so everyone can hear it.

"Is it done?" Esther asked on the other side of the line.

"Yes," Steve answered, the hair on the back of his neck standing up. He could feel his heart begin to quicken. "Yes, it's done."

"Good. Meet me in Kualoa Regional Park in twenty minutes. Bring the flash drive. Come alone and unarmed."

Lou glanced over the watch and looked up at Steve nervously. Steve knew what he was thinking. He didn't like the idea either.

"Wait," Steve said, knowing he needs longer to track the call. "I need to know he is all right. Let me speak to him."

"No." Esther's simple answer felt like a punch in the gut. "I know how these things work. No stalling. Don't be late."

"No, wait," Steve said, but it was too late. She hung up.

Steve looked at Tani, who shook her head. "Not even close, it was too short," Tani confirmed what Steve had thought.

"How do you want to do this?" Adam asked.

"Tell me you're not going there alone," Quinn said, staring at Steve.

"Not gonna make that mistake again," Steve replied, gritting his teeth. "Quinn, I need you to stay here. The rest of you, gear up. We're gonna bring Danny home."

"Hey, boss?" Junior said, giving Steve a slight smile. "Good to see you back in the saddle."

Lou crouched low with a gun in his hand, watching Steve from the safe distance. Close enough to see what was happening, far enough for Esther's people not to spot him.

"In position," he said when he was satisfied with the spot he'd chosen.

"I'm all set," he heard Junior's voice in the earpiece.

"How is the signal?" Lou asked.

"Tracker is up, good to go," Quinn replied.

"Tani, Adam, are you guys ready?" Lou asked.

"In position," Adam replied and Lou could see him taking cover closer to Steve.

"Tani?"

"Yeah, I'm ready," Tani confirmed.

Minutes had passed, but it felt like an eternity since Steve had been standing at the meeting point, looking around, searching for any sign of Esther or her men. But she wasn't there.

A phone that she'd given him began to ring in his pocket. He took a deep breath and answered it.

"Hello, darling," Esther's voice rang through his ears, sending a chilly feeling down his spine.

"You're not here," Steve said, ignoring her attempt of exchanging the pleasantries.

"We've got you, Steve," Lou's voice came from his earpiece. "Just keep her talking."

"Why don't you take that earpiece out of your ear?" Esther demanded.

"I don't have any," he lied, looking around, wondering if she'd been watching him.

"Don't tempt me or I'll kill your blonde partner straight away," she threatened. "Do it. Now."

She might be watching him after all, or have someone else to do so. Or it was just a lucky guess. He didn't know, but he wasn't willing to risk Danny's life in case she had eyes on him. "Okay, okay. Easy," he said, following the demand. He threw the earpiece to the floor, glancing into the direction where he knew Lou had been hiding. "It's done, all right? It's done."

"Well done, now take your clothes off. Shirt, pants, and boots too," she ordered.

Steve scoffed. "Really? Shouldn't you invite me to dinner or something before we jump into that?"

"Very funny," she responded. "I just want to be sure our conversation is private."

Steve released a sigh, knowing what that request meant. Then he did as he was told, taking his clothes off reluctantly.

"Take the bag out of the trash can on your left," Esther ordered as soon as he was done.

He turned his head to left and noticed the trash can she'd been talking about. He strolled toward it and took a black bag out of it. He opened the bag, staring at the clothes inside of it.

"Wear that."

Again, Steve followed her demand. "Now what?" he asked.

"Look to the parking lot. You see the red Chevrolet?" she asked and Steve looked in that direction.

"There is a map inside, with the spot marked on it," Esther kept talking. "That's where you will drive and where I'll exchange your friend for the flash drive. Considering there will be what I asked for on it, of course. The key is inside."

Steve felt his heart began to pound faster. He didn't expect her to change the meeting point. "That wasn't a deal," he protested,

"You're right, it wasn't. As well as bringing your friends wasn't a deal," Esther answered, a hint of anger in her voice. She didn't sound surprised though.

"I don't know what you are talking about," he lied again.

"Really? Are you sure?"

"Listen, it's just me, okay? I've got what you wanted," he tried to reason with her. By now he was certain she'd been watching him and his team and his eyes scanned the surroundings to spot her, but without success.

"That's enough of lies," her voice changed suddenly, anger now obvious. "Someone should teach you a lesson for not following the orders, darling. You wanted to know your friend was alive, right? Fine, here is your proof."

Steve's heart skipped a beat as a gunshot echoed in the phone, followed by a shrill scream. He was certain that voice had belonged to Danny. "No!" he yelled. "Danny? Danny!" He felt the fury surge up inside him, the fury that was accompanied by fear.

His jaw dropped and tears rushed into his eyes as he realized what had just happened. He brushed his fingers through his hair, desperately trying to remain calm and focused.

"There," Esther noted. "Next time I tell you to do something, you do it. Understand?"

Steve curled his hand into the fists as his hands began to tremble once again. "I'm gonna find you and kill you!" he barked, speaking through the gritted teeth.

"Come on now, Steve. No need to threaten me, we both know that won't happen," she taunted. "Don't worry, it's a flesh wound only. He's got some time to get medical attention. But I would hurry if I were you. And this time don't try to trick me. Come alone and make sure no one follows you or the next bullet will be into his head."

The phone went quiet, leaving Steve alone with his thoughts. He shook his head in disbelief. She shot him. She shot Danny.

He made an apologetic look in the direction of his friends' covers and headed to the car. Trying to keep his breathing under control, he jumped in and drove off with the pedal on the floor.

Lou watched the scene intently, looking for Esther's crew to show up, but there was no sign of anyone but Steve. Minutes had passed before he saw Steve answer the phone.

"Quinn, he just answered the call," Lou said.

"I'm tracking it now," Quinn answered.

"We've got you, Steve," Lou said. "Just keep her talking."

Tani's voice sounded in Lou's earpiece just a few seconds later. "What the hell is he doing?"

Lou glanced through the bushes used as cover and looked in Steve's direction. He drew his brows in confusion as Steve took the earpiece out of his ear and began to take off his clothes.

"Damn it," he swore. "She knows about us."

"He's taking something out of the bin," Adam announced. "Looks like clothes."

Lou watched Steve slip his legs into the black trousers and button up the army green shirt, patiently waiting for his next move.

Just seconds later, he stiffened as Steve's panicked voice reached his ears despite the distance. The SEAL was turning around his axis, jaw opened, still holding the phone on his ear.

"What the hell just happened?" Lou asked.

"That doesn't look good," Junior stated the obvious. "Do you think…"

"That she'd hurt Danny?" Adam finished his sentence. "Judging by the look on Steve's face, probably. Or worse."

Lou wasn't close enough to see the detailed face of their boss, but his body language was pretty obvious. He seemed frustrated, running his hand through his hair and desperately looking around to catch a glimpse of the person watching him.

"Quinn?" Lou said as he noticed Steve ended the call. "Were you able to trace the call?"

"No, it wasn't long enough," she replied.

"Guys, he's sitting into the car," Tani's voice announced. "Red Chevrolet, the plate number NSG five-eight-seven."

"Running the plate now," Quinn said.

"Can you see anyone else in that car?" Lou asked as he couldn't see the car properly from where he was.

"No," Adam answered. "He's driving off."

"No, no, no," Lou shook his head. "That's not in the plan."

"Guys, the tracker was hidden in his shirt. If we lose him, we won't be able to track him anymore," Tani said with urgency in her voice.

"Then don't lose him!" Lou said, his voice frustrated.

"I'm on him," Junior said and Lou caught a glimpse of the younger colleague rushing into the car along with Tani.

Lou stood up, rushing into the direction of his car to do the same. By the time he had reached the car, Steve drove off and disappeared from his sight.

"You see him?" he asked as he drove off.

"Lou, take the next right," Quinn's voice navigated him.

"Junior?" Lou said, hoping for the update.

There was no answer from him for a while, which gave Lou a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Junior? Do you copy?" he tried again.

"I've lost him," Junior's voice announced after a few seconds of silence.

"Oh, no," Quinn murmured. "Guys, we have a problem."

"What problem?" Lou asked, still trying to find the vehicle on the road.

"He's headed to the area without cameras. I've lost him too," Quinn said, confirming what he'd been afraid of.

"What about the car? You got a hit?" Lou asked her.

"A dead end. It's registered to one of the dead guys that Steve had left in Danny's house earlier today," Quinn answered. "I'm looking into him but nothing pops out so far."

At that moment Lou realized they've lost him. If Steve wanted to disappear, they wouldn't stand a chance at following him. He just hoped that their stubborn friend had a plan instead of just going with Esther's plan.

"What the hell are you doing, McGarrett?" Lou asked aloud. He slammed the palm of his hand on the steering wheel, frustration taking over.

"What are we gonna do?" Tani spoke up after a few seconds.

Lou didn't answer for a while, his head in a whirl. Steve's words came into his mind, his determination to do whatever it takes to get his best friend back. He knew Steve and Danny for long enough to know they were like brothers and neither of them wouldn't hesitate to risk their lives to save each other.

"Lou?" Adam's voice echoed in his ear.

"I'm here," he said, his gaze fixed on the road in front of him as he pulled to the side and stopped the car.

"What now?" Tani repeated.

"I don't know," he said, his voice broken. "I don't know."

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