SO SORRY for the delay! I have five stories going right now and have realized that is a LOT to have going at one time. I mean, there is only so much 'inspiration' that can come at one time! LOL….Especially when I've aldo been taking care of sick kiddos for the last several weeks (This winter has not been kind to us. HA!)
Anyway….I know many of you have been waiting to see how Sophia would be rescued, so here it is! Let me know what you think!
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Steve didn't like putting Mary directly into the line of fire, but she had insisted and he'd had to admit, albeit begrudgingly, that they didn't have any other choice at this point. The clock was ticking and they had to do whatever was necessary to get Sophia back.
Kono left first in a vehicle that would be unfamiliar to anyone on Mancini's team who may be doing surveillance. She parked a couple of blocks away and was getting settled on the rooftop of a warehouse nearby with her sniper's rifle ready to go. She was the sharp shooter of team, so Steve trusted her completely to provide cover for Mary as she walked into the building.
Steve, Danny, Brian and Mary all rode together in Steve's truck to the meeting place. Chin and Grover followed separately and had SWAT on standby in case things turned ugly.
Steve parked the truck and turned around to look at his sister, "I still don't like this, Mar."
"Steve, I can handle this. Trust me." She said as she rolled her eyes and gave him her well-known 'give me a break' look.
Steve sighed. "Okay but….just don't say anything that could put Sophia or you in any more danger."
When Mary shot him another one of her looks, he explained. "Look, we both know how sarcastic you can be…and I know you never back down from a fight…..but this time I need you to what I told you and trust that we're handling it from out here. Okay?"
Mary was wearing a pair of earrings that doubled as cameras. Once she was inside, she would be recording everything she looked at. Her job was to scan the room as well as she could to give them a layout…..and hopefully allow them to see how many people they were up against. She was also wearing an earpiece that would allow her to hear Steve's voice for any additional instructions and a necklace that would give them infrared images to see anyone else who might be hiding in the building and out of sight.
Brian shook his head and smiled appreciatively, "I gotta hand it to you. You guys have some pretty cool hardware…Even better than some of the technology I use in surgery."
Steve's only response was to smile at him before looking down at his watch. It was time for the exchange. They saw one of the warehouse doors open right on time as two men exited the building and stand by the door as if they were guarding it. Moments later, Steve's cell phone rang.
"Are you ready, Commander?" Mancini's voice asked on the other line.
"I'm ready. But you need to bring Sophia into view so I can see she is okay."
Steve heard a huff of frustration on the other line.
"That is NOT what we agreed, McGarrett." Mancini spat.
"Listen to me!" Steve barked, "It's taking all I've got not to come in right now and beat your ass to a pulp. Now….bring Sophia out so I can see that she is okay. Once you do that, I will send my sister over with the memory card. But BOTH women will stay in full view the entire time. Do you understand me?"
From the backseat, Danny whispered, "What are you doing?"
Steve shot him a look that told him to shut up, so Danny did so even though he didn't like it. Time was of the essence and it was not on their side. Changing plans at this hour was not a good idea. He trusted Steve's instincts, though, so he had no choice but to back down and hope things would turn out okay
Dominic Mancini reluctantly agreed to the new terms and ended the call abruptly. They watched as one of the men seemed to be listening to something in an earpiece before going back in to the building and closing the door behind him. After what seemed like an eternity but only amounted to a few minutes, the side door to the warehouse opened and he came back out with a tight hold on Sophia's arm.
Steve looked at Mary. "Okay, sis. This is it. Are you ready?"
Mary shook her head, "Ready as I'll ever be."
Minutes later, Mary was out of the vehicle and walking towards the men waiting just outside the doors with Sophia between them. From Five-0's vantage point, Sophia appeared to have some bumps and bruises. Of course, that was only going by what they could see from fifty yards away. She would have to be examined by medical staff and interviewed extensively before they could be certain how much damage had been done.
Steve and Danny stepped out of the truck and watched closely for any sign of hesitation that things were 'going South'. Steve started to tense as Mary got closer. Something didn't feel right, but they had no choice but to remain calm unless something happened to give them reason to react. The worst thing to do in a hostage situation was panic because it could make things go to 'hell in a hand basket' before anyone could blink.
They almost had her…..They just had to stay calm a little while longer.
Mary got within reach of the two men standing with Sophia and stopped. One of them reached a hand out for the memory card, but she told them to let Sophia go first as Steve had instructed her to do. The men hesitated and Steve's eyes darted towards movement at the door right behind them. Before anyone had a chance to react, the man holding on to Sophia quickly moved her back inside while the other man reached for Mary. However, before he could get hold of her, Kono took him down with one shot.
With Sophia back inside and one man down, Steve watched in dismay as Mary ran inside the building right behind Sophia.
Danny looked at Steve in disbelief, "What the hell is she doing?!"
Steve was too upset to respond. He looked back towards the truck where Brian had started to get out and told him to stay put. Brian looked as if he were about to argue, but Steve's glare warranted no argument.
"Get back in the truck!" He demanded. "I promise I'll get her back."
Steve said a silent prayer that the man would do as he said….The last thing they needed was another hostage. Brian didn't look happy about it, but he did as Steve asked. Whether he liked it or not, he had to trust that Steve would be a man of his word and rescue Sophia from this God-awful mess she'd landed into.
Within seconds, Steve, Danny, Chin, and Lou were all making their way towards the warehouse. Kono was at a vantage point and able to cover the entire building, so she was standing ready to give them back-up and take down anyone who exited the building with either one of the women.
Chin and Lou moved towards the side of the building with an exit door…..and a likely place for them to try to escape…..while Steve and Danny moved directly to the door they had all scrambled back into.
Finding the door unlocked, Steve shot a look towards his partner to provide cover while they entered. It was pitch black inside and they had to allow their eyes time to adjust which cost them precious moments. Steve listened for signals as to what direction they may have gone when he heard Kono coming over the earpiece.
"Boss….SOUTHWEST SIDE…They're firing up a helo. You'd better hurry or we're gonna miss them!"
Damn! Steve fumed. That was the opposite side of the building where Lou and Chin were watching because it also the least likely scenario of where they'd considered an escape.
"We're moving that way, McGarrett!" Lou shouted over their ear pieces!
Steve and Danny began moving cautiously and quickly towards that side of the building from the inside. Before reaching the exit, they both heard a pained scream which seemed to be coming from a door to their left. Steve motioned for Danny to check it out while he continued towards the exit where the helicopter could be heard starting up.
Danny walked in and was surprised to see the other "thug" on the ground holding his 'man-parts' and wincing in pain. He looked up to see Mary standing above him with what looked to be a heavy metal pipe in her hands. She had obviously hit him with it at some point although Danny had no idea how it had transpired. Not that it mattered; What mattered was that tiny little Mary had somehow managed to get the upper hand on a 230 pound muscle bound 'bad guy'.
She noticed Danny approaching and immediately went in to a defensive stance.
"Woah, slugger," Danny began as he held up his hands. "It's just me."
"Danny…." Mary sounded relieved. She looked back to the man on the floor. "I got him!" she said excitedly.
"I can see that," he smirked. He approached the man on the ground and quickly got cuffs on him while Mary held his gun in case the man made the stupid decision to try and escape. After getting him cuffed, Danny got up and turned towards Mary. "If he moves, shoot him." He instructed.
"Got it!" Mary said confidently. "Now go help Steve!"
Danny took his extra revolver out of his shoulder holster and started running towards the door leading to the southwest side of the building. He felt a moment of panic settle over him as he saw the helicopter taking off.
Were they too late?
He looked around and quickly found Chin and Lou taking shots at the helo. As he continued to surveil the area, he found Steve. He had Sophia tucked behind a dumpster as he also fired shots towards the helicopter.
Unfortunately, they were too late and Mancini's helicopter succeeded in making it away safely before they were able to ground it. As Danny saw it all taking place, he was already on the phone with HPD ordering Duke to get a police helicopter in the air as soon as possible to try to apprehend them.
As soon as the helicopter holding Mancini was out of site and it was obvious they weren't going to do anymore, Danny sprinted over to where Steve and Sophia were. Lou and Chin followed close behind. Steve quickly pulled Sophia into his arms and started cradling her as if she was the most precious thing he'd ever seen.
He was still in "Commander-mode", however, and running high on adrenaline, so there were things that needed to be addressed.
"Someone call HPD!" He demanded. "We need a helo in the air before we lose this son of a bitch!"
"Already done," Danny responded.
Steve gave him a quick 'thank-you' look before turning his attention back to Sophia.
"I've gotcha, Soph…..It's gonna be okay, honey. I've gotcha."
Sophia clung to him as if her very life depended on it. He continued to hold her and stroke her back in an effort to calm her down. Even though he was focused on Sophia, there was one other person on his mind as well.
He looked towards Danny. "Where's Mary?!"
Sophia's head shot up to look at Danny as well. Mary came in after me! If something happened to her, I will never forgive myself, she lamented.
"She's fine," Danny assured them. "I found her with a pipe in her hand while the other guy rolled on the floor in pain." He couldn't help but chuckle, "Looks like your sister not only hit him with that pipe, but also managed to give him a good kick in the balls. He couldn't make a coherent sentence when I left them."
When Steve's expression still remained furrowed with worry, Danny continued, "I cuffed him first, of course….but trust me, your sister had it completely under control. She is a 'McGarrett' after all."
Steve couldn't help but grin at that statement. She was still going to get an earful from him for doing something so wreckless, but it was a great relief to hear she had managed to protect herself and bring the other guy down at the same time. With one dead and Mancini gone, hopefully the third guy would give up enough details to finally apprehend Mancini.
Within minutes, the team was making their way back around the front of the building. As soon as Brian saw Steve come around the corner with Sophia in his arms, he bolted from the truck.
"Is she okay?" His expression was pained and filled with worry as Steve continued to make his way towards the paramedics who'd just arrived.
Sophia heard his voice and lifted her face from where it had been sheltered on Steve's strong shoulder.
"Brian?!" she said with confusion. Recognizing her best friends face, she gasped, "Oh my God….Brian, what are you doing here?!"
Steve stopped in front of him but kept a tight hold on Sophia. He had no intention of setting her down just yet.
"I was worried about you so I decided to give you a surprise visit," Brian answered. "Looks like the surprise was mine, though." He reached out to stroke her cheek. "Are you okay?"
Steve felt Sophia's arms tighten around his neck. "I'm okay," she said.
"We still need to get you checked out. I'm riding with you to the hospital." Brian said
Sophia's brows creased before she looked from Brian to Steve.
"I don't need to go to…"
"You're GOING," Steve said.
"Non-negotiable," said Brian at the same time.
She looked again from one man to the other…..the men she loved more than anything in the world…..and gave in. Partially because she knew it was an argument she would never win with two alpha males at her side, and also because she was just too exhausted to argue.
Steve put her down on the gurney waiting by the ambulance. Within minutes, Brian was in the back of the ambulance riding to the hospital with Sophia while Steve followed right behind in his truck. The rest of the team made their way back to HPD to follow up on the surveillance on Mancini and pray this would end soon.