Taken
Chapter Three
Zebraboymom
Disclaimer: They do not belong to me. Could I borrow them like a cup of sugar?
Author Notes: Sorry guys. I wanted to post, but Easter weekend was packed with activities. The escape seems to be working, but where are Danny and Chin?
Steve hated to wake everyone up, but they needed to move again. He turned his head and placed a tender kiss to Kono's head where it was nestled in his neck. It had to be about 5:30 in the morning and they needed to move before the sun came up. He hated to stop for as long as they had. Little Cassie had her fist twisted into his shirt and Kono had her arm wrapped around her. Her hair cascaded down his shoulder and her eyes were covered. He had his arm around her and he began to run his hand up and down her arm. He whispered in her ear.
"Kono, wake up. We need to get going again."
"Mmmm."
Her voice was rough with sleep. He loved the way it sounded as she woke up.
"Kids, wake up. We have to go now."
Several little voices began to complain about being hungry and tired.
"Sorry kids. There's no food yet, but everyone can have another drink of water."
Kono took one of the canteens Steve offered and gave each of the girls a drink.
"Anybody need to go to the bathroom?"
"All four girl's hands shot up."
"Steve, what time does the sun come up today?"
"It's late, like 6:30. We can put another hour between us and them before then. Come on."
Kono took the girls one way after they came out of the tree and Steve took the boys another way. The girls all complained about going to the bathroom outside, but Kono told them to pretend they were camping and they all laughed at that. They were getting pretty loud and Kono had to shush them. They met back with the boys.
"You guys have it so lucky."
Steve grinned at that and handed Kono a pistol and a rifle. He pulled her in close for a minute and nuzzled her neck softly.
"Let's get these kids home. I have some serious plans for you Kono Kalakaua."
"Oh, really."
"Yes, really."
Steve moved his eyebrows up and down.
"Seriously? You have been spending too much time with Danny. That is so cheesy."
"You love it."
"Maybe."
Thirty minutes later they saw their first sign of civilization. It was a road. Steve motioned for Kono to stay with the kids out of sight while he walked up on the road to wait. He hid his rifle in the grass nearby and stuck the pistol in the back of his pants. He didn't want to scare whoever might stop to help them. They waited for another 10 minutes and Steve hoped the sun would hurry and come up. He finally saw a car moving towards them on the road. It was going pretty slow. Steve waved his arms and the car put its brights on him and then flashed them at him a couple of times. It stopped a few feet from him and the passenger door opened.
"Mister, what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"
"I need your help. I'm a police officer with Hawaii Five-0 and I've got some kids with me. We need help getting them back to their parents."
The passenger stepped away from the car and approached Steve. Steve couldn't make anything out about his face as he was walking in front of the car lights that were still on bright.
"Don't worry. We'll help you McGarrett. Nice picture on your badge by the way."
The man pulled a gun from behind his back and aimed it at Steve. The other car doors opened and three more guns were pointed at him. Kono pushed the kids behind her as her breath caught in her throat. No Steve! No!
"Call the other detective and the kids."
"They aren't with me. I left them back in the jungle to find help."
The man looked at Steve for a minute. He spun him around and took the gun from him.
"You know, I almost believed you. Almost."
The guy stepped up to Steve and put the gun to his head. He yelled where Kono could hear.
"Bring the kids out or I kill your boss."
"Don't do it Kono. The kids are more important."
More vehicles were coming up the road. Men started pouring out. Steve counted at least twelve. Kono put her finger to her lips. She was shaking and about to cry, but she listened to Steve and motioned the kids back further.
"Ten, nine, eight…better hurry before it's too late."
He cocked his gun. It was then that Kevin burst through the bushes and ran to Steve.
"Don't hurt him. We'll come."
Several men ran into the jungle. Kono knew if she fired one of the kids could be shot, so she dropped her gun and raised her hands. One of the men slapped her hard across the face and grabbed her arm roughly. He shoved her out of the jungle and she face planted on the road. Steve struggled against the two men who now held him. The kids were all crying as she went down and Kevin hauled off and kicked the one who had shoved her.
"Stop hurting Kono!"
The man who had gotten out of the car first slapped Kevin across the face and the little boy crumpled to the ground. Steve was raging. It took four men to get him subdued. They put the kids in the cars and threw Kono in the back of one and Steve in the back of another one. Kono could hear the children crying and sniffing. They had failed the kids. Now she and Steve were probably going to die and the kids would never get back to their parents, They would be sold somewhere in the world and who knows what they would endure. She cried softly to herself as the cars turned around and she assumed headed back to the compound.
Danny and Chin arrived at work about the same time. Steve had called for a 6:00 arrival as they were driving out to the shooting range for quarterly qualifying. Chin was obviously worried.
"What's up man?"
"I was supposed to give Kono a ride this morning and she wasn't home. Her car is still out in the parking lot. You don't think she went home with Steve last night do you?"
"Uh…I don't think Steve would do that Chin. Even if the guy does like her, he wouldn't make a move on her the first time they are alone together. That's not Steve. I'm concerned that he's not here this morning. He made a big deal about this morning. He always beats me here. I'm going to call him. You call Kono."
Both phones went straight to voice mail.
"Well, that's weirdly disconcerting."
"You don't think they'd really…?"
"Where were they headed last night?"
"To look at those last two properties on the list."
"Let's start there. We'll run by Steve's and if he isn't there we'll hit both places."
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but at this point I hope we do find them together at Steve's."
"Chin, I think it's inevitable man. Have you seen the way they've been looking at each other lately?"
"Let's go."
Once they discovered Steve's place was empty they headed straight to the first place on the list. It was a washout. As they drove up to the second location they were shocked to find it no longer existed. It had been burned to the ground!
"This can't be an accident. Let's get back to HQ and find out why it was on the list."
An hour later Danny and Chin were still studying the intel when the governor walked in with what could only be an FBI agent. He was all buttoned down with a tie. Danny smirked to himself.
"Any news?"
"No and it's almost noon."
"This is Agent Bradley Newsom. He has been working on this case and he has new information for you."
"When we first got this case, we thought it was an isolated incident. Since then at least three more children have disappeared. We didn't make the connection right away because they were on different islands. A tourist took a picture of a little girl who fits the description of one of the missing children. She was being placed in a car. Once the Amber Alert went out, they recognized her and called it in. We got a license plate. It's registered to a Liko Kamako. He's got a rap sheet a mile long. He owns property out in the Koolau Mountains. We've got SWAT ready to go. Want to come along? Odds are that's where your boss and teammate are."
Danny was clipping his gun on his belt and walking towards the door before Newsom could get the last sentence out.
"Be careful gentlemen and bring back Steve, Kono and those kids alive, okay?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
They were climbing in a chopper ten minutes later. Danny chuckled to himself. One thing about the FBI: when they finally figured things out, they didn't mess around.
It was daylight now and Kono estimated it was around eight or nine in the morning. The guys would definitely know they were gone by now and would have started looking hours ago, but would they even know where to begin? Kono recognized the same gravel road and then dirt road as before. When the cars came to a halt, she was grabbed roughly out of the back and thrown in the same shed face first again. She was kicked hard in the stomach.
"Try to escape again and we'll kill one of these brats right in front of you, got it?"
Seven little faces crowded around Kono after they locked them in again.
"Kono! Kono are you okay?"
Kono rolled over. It burned like hell. She was pretty sure he broke a few ribs.
"Where's Steve? What did they do with Steve?"
"They took him in the house."
Oh, God, no. They were going to beat and torture him and then she would be next. The kids all tried to get as close to her as they could. They tried to hug her, but she squeaked when one of them pushed on a rib. The eight of them sat together in the shed waiting for what would come next. All seven kids were crying now. Kono prayed for help to come and to come soon.
Steve was shoved into a chair and strapped down. Liko paced back and forth in front of him.
"Okay, Stevie Boy. We need a little information out of you before we uh…let you go."
He smirked and punched Steve in the face as hard as he could. He winced and looked at his knuckles.
"You've got a hard head Stevie Boy."
He gestured to a couple of his goons.
"Show him we mean business."
The next five minutes were hell for Steve. They beat him until he couldn't see out of one of his eyes. He never said a word. A grunt was the best they were going to get. Finally Liko held up his hand.
"Enough. This just isn't working. Bring the girl in here. Let's see if she's as strong as he is."
"Leave her out of this."
"Ah, but you see Stevie Boy, I have to know who knows about me and since you aren't going to tell me, I have no other choice."
Kono was brought in fighting tooth and nail. The shoved her into a chair facing Steve and she felt herself immediately tear up when she saw Steve's face. He smiled at her as best he could give how swollen his face was.
"Okay, Sweetheart, your boss here doesn't seem to be so forthcoming, so I'll ask you. Who knows about me?"
"Nobody does. We were the only ones that figured it out and we were working alone."
"Oh now see, that just came out a little bit too easy, don't you think?"
He slapped Kono hard across the face. Steve almost ripped the arms off the chair he was in.
"Kono!"
"Ah, so you have a soft spot for your detective do you? The big bad cop defending his teammate or is she more than that? What about it Stevie Boy?"
Liko pulled out a knife and put it under Kono's chin.
"What if I just slice her up right here and now?"
He started pressing the knife into her neck ad it broke the skin. She started to bleed a little.
"Dammit! She's telling the truth. No one else knows."
Kono and Steve looked at each other. They were having a silent conversation with their eyes. They were saying good-bye. Steve was saying he was sorry for getting Kono involved. She was apologizing for not getting the kids out when he told her to. They were both trying to tell the other one they loved them.
"Well, Stevie Boy. Looks like time's up. Kill her."
One of the men raised his gun and placed it at Kono's temple. She locked eyes with Steve. She wanted the last thing she saw to be his face. And then they heard shots outside and the door caved in and men went down all around her. She watched in horror as Liko went to stab Steve just as a shot took him out and he fell face first into Steve's lap and them dropped to the floor. She turned to see Danny and Chin lowering their weapons at the same time.
Steve kicked Liko's lifeless body.
"And don't call me Stevie Boy."