Wow, chapter six already, and those plot bunnies are still hopping away. I know I'm tempting fate here, but as things stand, this story will run for a total of ten chapters.
I was so tempted to end this one with another cliffie, but - no, I think Danny, Colby, and you poor readers have suffered enough. For all you Numb3rs fans, there's another reference to Trust Metric here - it still ranks as one of my all time favourites.
Enjoy!
Calculated Risk - Chapter Six
Lost And Found
As the chopper swept over the suburbs of Honolulu, Steve McGarrett felt a crushing sense of déjà vu. Just two days earlier, he'd done exactly the same thing, in this same aircraft, to rescue his sister. Now he was searching, just as desperately, for his missing partner. Except this time it was different.
It wasn't just Danny's life on the line now, although God knew, that thought was terrifying enough. They'd taken Colby too, this enemy who'd stop at nothing to kill the people he cared about. His parents. But for the grace of God, Mary too, and… damn it, what the hell did he do now? What could he say, to the FBI agent who sat like stone beside him, scouring the ground below?
Colby was his friend too. What the hell must Don Eppes be thinking, for what he'd got them into?
"Don't worry, we'll find them."
Those five words, however quietly spoken, had still been enough to jerk Steve out of his thoughts, and turn to stare at Don with the same surprise. There was belief, reassurance, and strengthening faith in the older agent's eyes. Not the resentment that he'd expected to see. And what he said next made the fear that still gripped them just fractionally ease its grip.
"You've got yourself one hell of a partner, and if Colby's with him… yeah, they'll make it."
"Yeah, they're two of the most resourceful people I know," Steve replied through a sadly proud nod. "I know I'm the head of this unit, but… no, Danny's the real force behind it."
"That's why Noshimuri took him, Steve. He know how important he is to you," Don agreed – knowing from the jump along Steve's jaw that their relationship went beyond one of mere partners.
Danny Williams was as much a brother to Steve McGarrett as Charlie was to him, and… thank God. For so many reasons, this life or death call from his brother couldn't have come at a better time.
"Charlie, what have you got for us?"
In a rush of words, Charlie passed on the breakthrough that he, and Steve, had been praying for.
"A boat, Don. Leaving a marina where the van was dumped. No name for it yet, Kono's working on that, but it's a blue and white launch."
"But we have the marina, Steve. It's the Keehi," Chin added through their headsets – his next words swinging the odds that had been stacked so highly against them slightly back in their favour. "I've called the coastguard and Pearl. They're in the air now."
"So they'll be passing through Waikiki," Steve cut in, already banking the chopper sharply east – pushing it steadily down into search and rescue altitude as it shot towards the distant glint of ocean.
By the time they reached the water, they were so low that surfers below them instinctively ducked. A few raised their fists in ignorant protest, but Steve didn't care. Hell, he didn't even see them. All he cared about right now were two missing friends, and this race against time to save their lives.
To his left, he saw a welcome flash of red. The unmistakeable outline of a Coastguard Dolphin search and rescue chopper. Vital back-up that Danny would have nagged him to get was right there with him, and… Danny.
The thought of losing him still terrified Steve to his core, and… no, damn it, that wasn't an option.
'Hang on, Danno, I'm coming for you, partner, just hang on.'
Hanging on too, for dear life, beside him, Don was thinking the same for his surrogate brother – memories giving his version a variable that brought past and present despair into a spark of comforting hope.
'We got to you before, Colby. We're gonna get to you now.'
There were still differences, of course, between this race to find his friend and the one before. A private launch was much smaller than a freighter. That, of course, would make it harder to find. Against this expanse of endless blue, it was like looking for a needle in that proverbial haystack.
Even with high-power field glasses, Don couldn't see anything that matched Chin's description. Yachts, yes, in full and beautiful sail. Cruise ships too, carrying tourists on their trip of a lifetime. But no blue and white launch. No sign of the boat that imprisoned two very special friends.
No doubt Charlie would have some kind of name for it. A variable for such impossible odds. Then it happened. The words that he and Steve had been praying to hear made the impossible possible.
"Commander McGarrett, we have them. Bearing one five zero degrees. Moving in to intercept."
Less than a second later, hope turned to horror as a flash of orange erupted ahead of them – the voice that crackled through their headsets turning their worst fears into heartbreaking reality.
"It's exploded. The Red Sun has exploded. She's on fire."
Another pause, a handful of seconds that felt like an eternity, before their worlds collapsed around them.
"I see two bodies in the water. Retrieval team going in now."
Silence. Complete devastation. Ten seconds later, that devastation turned to tears of purest joy.
"Commander, we've got them. They're in pretty bad shape, but they're okay."
