The car braked to a halt and the engine was switched off. "Now what, darlin'?" Scott asked.

"We go up the hill," Sue Shem replied.

There was only one hill they could be going up and only one destination when they got to the top – they were at Diamond Head and they were going to the bunker where William Shem had died. Danny knew he had to get away before they got to the top, but trussed up the way he was, unable to see, he stood no chance. He yelped as the tape was ripped off his eyes, taking a few lashes with it. He longed to raise his hands and wipe the sticky residue off his face, but his broken collarbone would not allow such a manoeuvre and he suspected that any attempt to do that would be interpreted as an attempt to remove the tape from his mouth. Of course, he reflected wryly, trying to push aside his fear, that is exactly what he would be trying to do.

The highway was quiet as Danny was pushed from the car. He glanced around and realised instantly that they were in the wrong parking bay! This was not the bay below the bunker! The urge to say something was powerful, but more than just the tape kept Danny quiet. This might be his only chance of escape, although he had no idea who that opportunity might present itself. He was dragged across the road and it was only as they stood at the base of the steep hill that it occurred to his captors that there was no way they could take a bound man up that hill.

"Damn it!" Sue shrieked and swung round and slapped Danny, as though it was his fault. There was almost nowhere for anyone to get any purchase at that part of the hill, able-bodied or not. "How did you get up there?" she demanded. "How?"

With silence his only option, Danny kept his gaze on the young woman. She might figure it out on her own. She might not. He winced as her nails scraped on his cheek and then she tore the tape from his mouth. "Answer me!" she yelled.

"I walked," he replied and let her think what she liked. He knew she had seen him disappear into the undergrowth. It just wasn't this undergrowth.

For several minutes, she prowled backwards and forwards, looking for the path that Danny had taken. Donaldson kept his gun tightly against Danny's ribs and maintained his hold on the injured man's elbow. Danny tried to ease his position, for his shoulder was incredibly painful, but that just earned him a sharp shake that set everything throbbing.

At length, Sue came back to them. "We must be at the wrong spot," she decided. "There's no way up the hill here."

"Sugar, why don't we just shoot him here and throw him onto the rocks?" Donaldson asked.

"No! It's got to be at the bunker!" she retorted sharply. "It has to be where Bill died."

"Ah, Sugar, don't fret yourself," Donaldson coaxed. "He's gone and you got me now. Kill this guy, yeah, and then we can be happy and go back to California."

"Shut up, Scott!" Sue shouted. "You don't understand."

The man looked offended. "I thought you loved me," he whined.

"She doesn't love anyone," Danny told him. "She only loves herself."

"Shut up!" Sue swung on the hapless detective, but Scott beat her to it. The punch he drove into Danny's belly knocked the detective off his feet and as pain flared in his shoulder, Danny thought he would be sick. His head swam as the pain shot up the side of his neck and down his arm and when he was dragged to his feet he thought he would pass out.

Somehow, he made it back to the car without throwing up or passing out. He slumped along the back seat, breathing carefully through his mouth and trying not to groan aloud. He wasn't entirely successful.

The car drove for only a short time before it pulled over again. Donaldson dragged Danny from the back seat and had to support him for several moments before Danny was able to find his balance. He cautiously raised his head, winced at the pain that caused, and squinted at his surroundings. His heart sank. It appeared that Mrs Shem had found the correct spot this time.

As he was dragged across the road, Danny knew that there was no way that he could climb that hill. The fall a few minutes before had done something to his injured shoulder, for he could no long carry his head properly; if it wasn't canted over to the left, the pain threatened to overwhelm him completely. Spots danced in front of his eyes.

"This is it!" Sue crowed. "This is the place." She started to scramble up the path.

Moving at all was a nightmare and Danny baulked as Donaldson pushed him onto the path. "No!"

"Get up there, cop!" Donaldson replied. He spun Danny around and shoved him upwards. Danny stumbled and fell, screaming out in agony as he landed face down. The world contracted abruptly and he blacked out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mrs Shem's house was deserted. That was no surprise, but it was frustrating. As yet, they had no address for Donaldson, but Steve was sure Danny was not there. "Where could she have taken him?" he demanded angrily. Time was ticking away and every second put Danny's life in more danger.

"The phone company confirms the call was made from Mrs Shem's workplace," Kono reported, exiting the car. "HPD came up with Donaldson's address, but it's a demolished building."

"They wouldn't have taken Danno there anyway," Steve muttered. He paced up and down, thinking.

"Her co-workers say that apart from Donaldson, she doesn't have many friends," Kono offered.

"She wouldn't take Danny somewhere that there would be many other people," Steve thought aloud. "She won't want witnesses."

"Diamond Head," Chin breathed.

"What?" Steve had heard perfectly well, but he wanted a few more seconds for that idea to take root.

"Diamond Head," Chin repeated. "Where Shem died."

"That's it, Chin!" Steve shouted. "That's it!" He dived for the car, the other two men hurrying after him. "She's taken him back to the bunker! Alert all units to close in there, but no sirens. We don't want to spook her!" He turned the big car and gunned it down the road, heading for the scene of the shooting. Beside him, Kono was shouting instructions into the microphone. Pleased, God, Steve thought, let Danno still be alive!