Vengeance Will Be Mine XV
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. I only want to entertain my readers because you are the best.
Well let's see what is happening to Steve, shall we? Thanks for reading.
Chapter 15
Hiding in the brush at the edge of the clearing, McGarrett surveyed the area and saw no movement in the yard. He prepared to rush the larger block building but took a moment to check the rooflines of the surrounding buildings. Unable to see Noa who had drawn back from the edge, he rose to a low crouch and got ready to run.
The knowledge that time was passing ate at him as he gripped his handgun and wished he had put a rifle in his truck. He was not foolish enough to believe that Salter only had Keahi Amoy to aid him in this revenge and was sure there was some extra muscle somewhere around the compound. How long did he dare delay things to let Kono and HPD get into position? Every moment he went beyond the time Salter had allotted would put Danny and Catherine at risk. It was a calculated risk to attempt freeing them alone but he was sure Salter would not be eager to give him a quick death. So he decided to move, knowing his capture would help buy time for the backup to arrive.
Clamping down on his emotions so he could operate fully, Steve gripped his Sig Sauer and burst out of the brush, taking a direct line between the bunkhouse and the larger block building. When he saw the movement, Noa rose to his feet and moved closer to the roof edge, firing once at Steve's right thigh. The force of the hit took McGarrett down to the ground but with his training he rolled to his knees in spite of the pain and fired twice at the rooftop. Both his shots found their mark in Noa's side and shoulder. The Hawaiian toppled from his perch and landed on the soft ground next to the building.
Pushing to his feet, Steve limped the rest of the way to the door to the large block building. If he could just get inside he felt he could reach Danny and Catherine. Grabbing the door handle, he twisted and pushed inward just as two blasts from a shotgun tore into his all ready wounded right leg and his right shoulder. With an involuntary grunt of pain, Steve fell forward, losing his grip on his gun. As he attempted to rise from the ground, Steve found Keahi Amoy's AK-47 pointed in his face. Amoy kicked the handgun out of reach and smirked down at the Commander. A voice from behind him spoke up.
"Commander, you really didn't think you could outsmart me, didn't you?" Salter taunted.
Painfully Steve rose to his feet and put his weight on his left leg, fighting off the agony as he faced Salter. He didn't like the smug look of triumph in the man's light green eyes.
"I'm not sure smart is the word I would use for you," Steve said through gritted teeth. "You didn't kill me. Where are Danny and Catherine?"
"In due time Commander. Right now Keahi will escort you to the garage," Salter ordered, waiving his shotgun at McGarrett. "If you try anything, Keahi will shoot you in the other leg and drag you there. Got that Keahi?"
"Sure thing Andrew," Keahi nodded and nudged Steve with his rifle barrel to move out of the building. As Amoy herded Steve forward, towards the garage, Salter went to where Noa had fallen and was now sitting up, holding his shoulder. Andrew pulled his radio off his belt and called Mac.
"Mac, we have McGarrett. Get back here, Noa got himself shot and I want you here to guard the prisoners," he radioed.
"Yes sir."
Salter looked down at Noa.
"Pull yourself together and come to the garage," he told him. "I need your help with McGarrett."
"What about HPD? How do you know that McGarrett didn't bring them along?" Noa gasped, not wanting to have anything more to do with Salter's plan. He didn't want a second go around with the 5-0 task force leader even if the man was wounded.
"All right…then you keep watch," Salter said not wanting to debate it with the man. He shook his head and hurried back to the garage. He didn't have time to nurse useless men along to get his revenge. He reloaded his shotgun.
Inside the large metal building, Keahi had ordered Steve to stand before one of the car lifts and then stood back several feet, keeping his weapon trained on the task force leader from a safe distance.
Steve was balanced on his good leg, trying to ready himself for the right moment to make the right move at the right time. He fought back the pain in his right leg which was throbbing unmercifully from the bullet in the front of his thigh and the shotgun pellet lodged in the back of his leg. So far he was able to ignore the pain from his shoulder since the leg hurt worse but he knew sooner or later that would become too painful to block out. Quickly he scanned the area, looking for anything he could use to his advantage. Even with his injuries, Steve knew he could have taken care of Keahi at any point before they had gotten to the garage or once inside it but that would not have gotten him to Danny and Catherine. Everything from here on out was aimed at achieving that objective and Steve needed to know where all the players were before he started attacking. Aware that Salter wanted him to suffer before he killed him; gave Steve some room to negotiate. Salter charged into the garage as McGarrett was planning his next move.
"How is Noa?" Keahi asked as he kept his attention centered on McGarrett. Unlike Andrew, Keahi wasn't sure McGarrett wasn't still lethal and he was taking no chances.
"He'll live. I have him keeping watch in case the Commander was stupid and brought friends," Andrew replied as he walked casually towards Steve. He raised his shotgun and aimed it towards Steve's face as he halted several feet from the Commander. "Well Commander, you finally have your face to face meeting. So are you prepared to pay for your crime?"
"What crime Salter? I have only done my job. Your sister was shooting at us and I returned fire, nothing more," Steve said firmly. "I want to see Danny and Catherine. I came as you instructed, now show me my friends." He slowly limped a few steps closer to Salter, trying to calculate if he could clear the distance before Andrew fired. Steve knew he only needed a moment to get to the gun strapped to his ankle.
"You murdered my sister," Andrew shouted angrily. He took a step back and continued to wave the shotgun at McGarrett.
"I was doing my job," Steve repeated calmly. "Think what you want. Now let's settle this."
"I will kill your woman right in front of you," Andrew snarled, letting his anger rise. McGarrett was not behaving the way he wanted. He needed the man to crawl in fear and suffer for what he had done. This was not going the way he wanted. "You won't be so high and mighty once you see Lt. Rollins bleeding in front of you."
"That won't happen," Steve said feeling his own anger rise. "Your fight is with me, not her." He shifted to keep both Salter and Amoy in his line of vision and could see how close to snapping Salter was. Having this man lose control could only result in either Catherine or Danny or both dying before Steve could stop it. He needed to take another tactic if this was going to end well. "Okay…you win Salter…just let me see them. Let me know they are okay," Steve pleaded swallowing his anger.
"I like that tone much better," Andrew nodded with pleasure. He had been planning this for so long that he would not accept the fact that he would fail. Of course McGarrett would cave in once he was faced with the loss of his lady. "Keahi, radio Mac and have him bring Rollins here, she should be awake by now. William can stay where he is for the moment."
Amoy nodded and let his weapon lower as he pulled out his radio to pass on the instructions.
*H 5-0*
Catherine had moved immediately to the wooden door after freeing Danny and pressed her ear to it, trying to hear what was going on beyond the room. The gunfire had ended and nothing else was coming through the solid door. She glanced over her shoulder to see Danny experimenting with lifting the metal chair over his head. He winced in pain as the effort pulled on his wounded shoulder.
"See if the door is locked," Danny instructed through gritted teeth.
"Okay," Catherine said and grasped the door knob, twisting it easily. With a look of surprise she pulled it open a few inches. "It's not locked," she whispered.
"Arrogant bastards, aren't they?" Danny grinned. "I thought that I didn't hear the lock turn after Salter took those photos of us to send to Steve. But I'm willing to bet we've got a guard out there," he responded just as softly.
"So what do you suggest?" she asked, easing the door closed again.
"We take the guard out. Then we take them by surprise. Times' a wasting babe, Steve needs us."
"And we will do this with just a chair?" Catherine questioned.
Danny nodded, lifting it above his head and moving closer to the door. "It is all we've got."
"Okay, ready?"
"Yes," Danny answered.
Catherine yanked open the door and Danny charged into the corridor with the chair raised high. He blinked in surprise to discover the area empty. The exterior door to the building was ajar and he lowered the chair to the floor as Catherin exited the room, Danny's cuffs and a short length of rope in her hands.
"Something is fishy," Danny said. "They wouldn't leave us unguarded."
"Definitely arrogant," Catherine confirmed and headed down to the exterior door. She found the blood first and had the sick feeling she knew exactly who it belonged to. Looking outside through the narrow opening, she saw an armed man striding towards the building. "Here comes trouble," she announced backing up.
Danny grabbed the chair and glanced around, trying to plan.
"We still have surprise on our side. I'll wait in the room with my trusty chair while you go down the corridor and pretend to hide. He walks past me and I hit him over the head," he quickly explained. "Don't let him shoot you."
"Works for me," Catherine said with a quick nod, going with the idea. There was no doubt that she and Danny could handle one man even if he was armed. She shoved the rope and cuffs in a pocket and headed down the hall while Danny dragged the chair into the room. Reaching the next door down the corridor, Catherine grasped the knob just as the outside door swung open and Mac entered.
"What the hell are you doing free?" he demanded as he stepped inside and saw Catherine.
End chapter.
Well now….the muse has had her fun. We are nearing the end of this story and I really do appreciate all the support you have given me. Thanks for reading.