So this is a long chapter. I tried to cut it up a bit but it just didn't work. I hope you don't mind (:
Unlike my other story this one won't be as long. I really had a difficult time deciding whether or not I should post this story. It was written round the same time as One Man's Paradise. Mainly because it was really hard to come up with a proper ending. Okay I'm kinda rambling here.
But please leave a review. It really helps a lot and I am really interested in your opinions.
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Kono drove Joey to the hospital. For a minute she was afraid that Joey had passed out but as soon as she killed the engine he looked at her, bleary eyed.
"We're at the hospital. Think you can make it out on your own?" Kono asked him.
"Yeah." Joey said hoarsely. The pain was now evident in his voice. Kono got out moved around and helped Joey out.
They were sitting in the ER. His cut had stopped bleeding, so now he had dried blood on his face. The headache still persistent as ever. Joey was sitting next to Kono with his eyes closed and his head on her shoulders. Thirty minutes later a nurse came to get them and led them into one of the cubicles. His head was hurting so badly that he couldn't even answer the questions being asked. Thankfully Kono answered most of the questions.
"Sir, could you tell me your name?" A nurse asked him.
"His name is Arkady Chirkoff." Kono answered.
"Okay mister Chirkoff. Can you tell me what happened?" Joey swallowed a couple of times before answering. "Got...mugged."
"Alright, I'll go and get the doctor. Are you nauseous?" The nurse asked him.
"Yes." Came Joey's short reply.
"I'll see what I can do about that." She said. "Alright, you might feel a tiny prick." The nurse said as she swabbed his arm. She injected the antiemetic. "I'll be back with the doctor and you'll feel less nauseous."
And the nurse was right. By the time she arrived with the doctor the nausea was almost gone.
"Mr. Chirkoff, my name is doctor Dunlock. Nurse Rose told me you got mugged and you have a headache along with some nausea. Now I'm going to take a look at your head first. I see you also have a laceration near the hairline. That will probably need stitches." The doctor took out his penlight and shone it in Joey's eyes. Joey groaned loudly and tried to move away from the light.
"I'm sorry Mr. Chirkoff but it is necessary to see if you have a concussion or a skull fracture." After examining Joey's head, he looked at Joey. "Hmm. I want a CT for the head. After that we'll close the laceration." Dr. Dunlock ordered. Joey laid down on the gurney and allowed himself to be transported through the hospital corridors. Half an hour later the doctor came back with the results.
"Alright, it seems that you don't have a concussion but I still want to admit you for the night."
"Not..going..to..happen." Joey grounded out with his Russian accent.
"Do you have anyone here that can keep an eye on you because it's important that someone is there to check up on you?" The doctor said to Joey.
"My...cousin." Joey said.
"Very well. Let's get put some stitches in the laceration. It's bleeding again. I want to see you in three days. Have a look at the head and the stitches."
"Yes doctor."
Another thirty minutes later Joey and Kono left the hospital. Joey was sporting three stitches and a bag of medicines.
"You sure you're going to be alright?" Kono asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to call Zhukov. Take my car and park it near Kilauea Ave. I have Chirkoff's car here." Joey said. Kono gave him a peck on the cheek. "Take care, brah."
"Mahalo." Joey said as Kono walked away. He pulled out his cell phone and called Zhukov. "Mne nuzhna vasha pomoshch (I need your help). YA v bol'nitse (I am at the hospital). YA napali (I got mugged).
"Chto bol'nitsa? (what hospital?)
"Leahike."
"Khorosho, my nakhodimsya na nashem puti." (Okay, we are on our way).
"Spasibuh.(Thank you). Joey put the phone in his pocket. Shit. He just called them with his cell phone. If he got mugged they would have taken his phone as well. He closed his eyes. He could say that they were interrupted and that they only took his wallet.
An SUV pulled up onto the hospital terrain and Joey knew it was Zhukov's SUV. Dmitri and Misha got out of the SUV. Joey was slightly relieved to see Misha. Misha was the son of a Russian mother and American father. Fortunately, his mother never taught him Russian. It meant that he could just talk English, albeit with an accent. He opened the door and slowly got out of the car. He was swaying so he had to grip the car door to prevent him from falling over.
"Arkady, what happened?" Misha asked as he put an arm around Joey and helped him to the car.
"I got mugged. One of the maids interrupted them and drove me to the hospital." Dmitri eyed him suspiciously.
"Then where is she?" He finally asked.
"I send her away." Joey responded groggily.
"What's her name?"
"Makani. She's a real beauty. A sweet Hawaiian treat. She smells like coconut and the sea." Joey smirked. If Kono heard him he would be dead. Dmitri eyed him, this time eyebrows furrowed.
"You like maid?"
"I'm a healthy man with a healthy appetite." Joey said with a smile on his face. Misha started to laugh.
"He he he, I hear you." Misha said smiling. Dmitri shook his head.
"We drive to hotel. Drop off Arkady then we come back and bring car back to hotel." He said.
"No, Vasili said that Krycek and Andrej are on their way as well. They should be here any minute." Misha said.
"Okay, then they bring car to hotel. We go now." Dmitri said.
Joey was sitting in the back, eyes closed. The medicine was working a little too well, Joey thought. He was sleepy but needed to stay alert. He forced his eyes open and was surprised to see that they were already in front of the hotel. Misha helped him out of the car and into the hotel. Dmitri was talking to the receptionist. Probably to check on Kono's id. His room was on the second floor and Misha helped him walk the stairs. He had disabled the elevator when he started this op. The mechanic had come by a couple of times but couldn't find anything wrong with it. That way Joey didn't need to take the elevator when he was with his Russian friends. Misha helped him into the room and to the bed. "Don't worry Arkady we'll get them." Joey couldn't talk. He was to spend to utter a single word so he just grunted. He closed his eyes and was out like a light.
Dmitri knocked on Joey's door just as Misha opened it. "Did the girl check out?" Misha asked. "Da. Vasili wants to see us." Dmitri answered. "Alright, Arkady is asleep." Misha said as he closed the door.
Danny saw the two Russians leave the room and for a moment he was tempted to go and check on Joey but he knew that would compromise the op. So he refrained from doing anything stupid like that. Two hours later Chin arrived.
"Hey Danny, Steve said you should go home and catch some sleep." Danny nodded.
"How did the meeting go?" Chin looked at Danny and was wondering what to tell him. The meeting had gone far from perfect.
"Come on buddy. Don't start lying to me know." Chin sighed.
"They said that if he blows this they'll have him brought up on charges." Danny threw his hands in the air.
"They can't be serious. He is risking his life to help them. What the hell. If something goes wrong they're to blame." Danny said exasperated.
"McGarrett said the same thing. He also added that if they would threaten Joey again, they would suffer the consequences." Danny's smile matched Chin's.
"Now that's the Steve I love." Chin nodded.
"So did anything happen?"
"No, two Russians brought Joey here. One of them was talking to the lady at the front desk, probably checking out Kono and the other brought Joey upstairs."
"How's he doing?"
"I dunno. They left a few hours ago but I think he's asleep."
"Should we go and check up on him?"
"I've been asking myself the same question but how do we know if the Russians are really gone? I mean what if they're waiting to see who'll visit him?"
"We could send Kono. They know she was with him. It would also make it more authentic." Chin opted.
"Authentic, Chin?" Danny laughed as his phone rang. He answered it.
"Yeah Steve?"
"You on your way home?"
"No, not yet. Chin and I are kind of worried about Joey. The Russians left two hours ago. Everything seems quiet but something feels off."
"Alright, we'll have Duke pick him up." Steve said.
"On what grounds? We can't just pick him up on zero grounds."
"We have grounds. He told the doctor that he got mugged. The doctor filed a report and so did Kono because it happened on hospital grounds. We can have Duke pick him up and say something about finding his wallet on someone?" Danny rolled his eyes. Steve had been pretty accurate but the last part was a bit far fetched.
"Alright, let's do that. I'll meet you at HPD. Chin can keep an eye on the hotel."
"Danny, you should go home. It's been a long day for you."
"I'll meet you at HPD, Steven." Danny hung up the phone. He looked at Chin. "HPD is going to pick him up." Chin nodded.
"So you're going to HPD and wait for him there?" Danny nodded.
"I'll see you tomorrow." Danny said as he walked to the car. Chin kept an eye on Joey's room. Soon enough Duke Lukela arrived. He walked to the front desk and asked for Arkady Chirkoff's room. Along with Kai Lopez, Duke made his way over to Arkady's room.
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Joey was sleeping. For the first time in a long time, he was really sleeping. No nightmares to keep him up or taunt him. He was rudely awakened by a pounding on the door. The pounding continued in his head. He groggily opened his eyes. Blinking a few times to get rid of the double vision. He slowly got up and opened the door. He was surprised to see Duke and Kai standing in front of him.
"Officers, what can I do for you?"
"Mr. Chirkoff, we arrested a man. He was carrying your wallet. We received a call from the hospital that you were mugged earlier this evening?"
"Yeah, I'm sorry but I've got a headache and forgot to report it."
"We understand but we'd like you to come down to the station to make a positive id of the mugger."
"Sure, let me just get my jacket." Joey took and followed Duke. Duke looked at Joey and noticed just how pale the man looked.
"Are you sure you're okay, Mr. Chirkoff?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." He tried to sound chipper but failed miserably when his voice faltered mid sentence and he started swaying. Kai Lopez reached out and steadied the detective. Kai knew Joey Ryan from the first case he ever worked. He was on security detail in the hospital. That was a few months ago. Joey was injected with a large dose of GHB and some other ingredients. Kai had read Joey's file and was impressed and respected him. He was one of the youngest person to ever make detective and also knew that everyone thought he hadn't earned it.
Joey felt Kai's steadying hand and truth be told if the officer decided to remove his hand, Joey was sure that he was going to keel over. He was led to the car and Kai helped him get in the back of the squad car.
"How are you really doing, Joey?" Duke asked him.
"Like my head is going to explode." Joey answered.
"Do we need to swing by the hospital first?" Duke asked him.
"Nah Duke, I'll live. I hope." Joey added. He rested his head against the window and closed his eyes.
Duke glanced in the rearview mirror. Not happy about what he was seeing but also knew that he couldn't do anything about it. He also knew that if Steve or Danny saw him like that they would be inclined to call the whole thing off. They had informed Duke about the operation. The rest of HPD also knew in general what was going on but Duke was the only one with extensive information. Duke pulled up to the precinct and parked the car in the garage. They both got out and Duke opened the door for Joey. He had to reach out to prevent the young detective from falling out of the car.
"Joey? Joey, we are here." Joey felt a hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times to get the world into focus. He looked at Duke.
"We're at the station." He got out of the car and gritted his teeth when a wave of pain nearly knocked him off his feet. Again it was the arm of Kai Lopez keeping him steady. Kai led him into the station and to one of the interrogation rooms, where Steve and Danny were waiting.
"You look like crap." Was the first thing Danny told him. He said down on one of the chairs.
"Thanks." His voice still held that pained tone.
"We should call of this whole thing." Steve said.
"NO. I'm almost in."
"Joey, you look like crap. You're in no condition to be anyone, right now." Steve said.
"This is our best lead. We have a real chance of putting Zhukov behind bars and getting the NSA mole. I'm not backing down."
"Joey, have you looked at yourself lately? You look like you should be in the hospital and not playing a Russian arms dealer." Danny said voice slightly raised, and those hands, yeah those hands were all over the place emphasizing his worry.
"I'm fine Danny." Joey lied.
"Fine? You are fine? You, my friend, are far from fine. If someone was to push you, I'm sure you wouldn't be able to keep yourself upright. Am I wrong?" Danny was right.
"Don't worry, Danny."
"Don't worry? You were in the hospital for a month. That was not even four months ago. You can't ride the elevator because you'll pass out. You're suffering from migraines. You are not getting enough sleep. Of course I worry." Danny was now ranting in full force. Each word louder than before, making him cringe a little more.
"I don't expect you to understand." Joey said.
"But we do, Joey. Why do you think you're here? We are worried about you. We understand that you want to catch Zhukov but at what cost? Your own life?" Steve asked him.
"No, of course not. But I feel like I have a real chance of stopping Zhukov. Everything is in place. We'll never get another opportunity like this." Joey said. And he was right. Zhukov was scum from the deepest of the earth. For the first time in twenty years they had a real shot of getting Zhukov of the streets. But that didn't ease anybody's minds. Because that also meant that Zhukov had been roaming this earth for twenty years, polluting it with his weapons and what not.
"I can't believe you still want to go through with this." Danny said. Joey got up. Fuming.
"I knew you wouldn't understand. But I'll say it one more time. I'm not backing out. I have the chance to right the wrongs I've done. Besides Zhukov caused a lot of grief for a lot of families. Zhukov is responsible for a large shipment of Russian weapons reaching the US. Those same weapons were used to target police officers. Back in '04 Zhukov had a deal with the triads. The deal went sour and a lot of people were killed that day. Five officer's lost their lives because of his weapons. Five families were robbed of someone they loved because of him. Two NSA agents died because of him. Good agents that were doing their best to keep the US safe from people like him. And that's only the US. Zhukov is responsible for sponsoring militia's and the Taliban. They all use his weapons on our troops. Good people trying to make this world safer. I will not stop until Zhukov is arrested or dead." Joey said.
"So, this is about revenge?" Danny asked.
"You're damn right this is about revenge. Zhukov should pay for all the lives he ruined." Joey said harshly.
"Even if it could cost you your life?" Steve asked him. And that was it. Joey deflated on the spot, sat down and sank deeper in the chair. All the adrenalin from before slowly seeping out. The headache was back with a vengeance.
"I just want to make things right." Joey said softly. Guilt still gnawing at him.
"You've been carrying that guilt around for so many years. Let it go Joey. It won't bring them back. You should've never been in that position to start with." Danny was right. But Joey had been carrying this burden around for his whole adult life. He couldn't just let it go. It was with him wherever he was. Maybe they were right and they had to let it go. He was just about to say that he was going to walk away when his phone rang. He took out his cell.
"It's Zhukov." He said and then he answered the call. "Da." Joey said.
"Ty v poryadke?" (Are you okay?)
"Da ya v politseykom uchastke. (Yes, I am at the police station)
"Prishel ko mne kogda vy zahorchite." (come to see me when you're done)
"Da, serse" (Yes sir)" Joey hung up the phone. "He wants to see me. This is make or break time." Joey said.
"So what do you want to do?" Steve asked him. And for the first time since the craziness started, Joey didn't know what to say. He shrugged. "I'll go and see what he wants." He finally said. Steve nodded and Danny looked at him before asking him if he was sure. Joey nodded.
"Maybe we'll get somewhere and if not I'll get out." Joey said but both Steve and Danny knew it wasn't that simple.
"Alright, if you're sure."
"Yeah, but I have to go. I'm going to meet him in the "Red Lounge". The club belongs to his cousin Lev Muzhestvo. He's a real piece of work. He's heavy into people smuggling and prostitution. But ever since moving to Hawaii, his business has been slow. Thanks to the Snakeheads. They were very adamant about him trying to fish in their pond. He owns a brothel on S King St." Joey got up, lightly swaying on his feet. He squeezed his eyes shut and when he opened them he was still wearing that tell-tale headache frown.
"You okay?" Steve asked him.
"No, but I don't have a choice." Joey said through gritted teeth.
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Mahalo