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Pride, Admiration and Respect
Chapter Fifteen
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"This is ridiculous! Let's get out of here! Just kill them all now and be done with it! I get her!"
Cordoba forcibly pulled Alex away from Annie.
"Fool! We still need that flash drive. They will all die soon enough but, for now, we need at least one of them for leverage to retrieve that drive. Once we have it in hand, I promise you, she is all yours."
"All right…. all right." Sanchez huffed, running a hand through his hair. He turned toward Cordoba's men. "You! You're local. Where is a good spot to dump a body that's remote but accessible enough to be fairly easily found?"
"I know a place," the big one said. "The Maunawili Trail, on the windward side of the island, off the Pali Highway. Runs through Waimanalo Forest Reserve. Not over crowded. It's used mostly by hikers and mountain bikers."
"Excellent," Cordoba said. "Now, Annie, have you made your choice? Who will be my messenger?"
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"Chin…. we're running out of time," Kono whispered.
"Duke…. are your men in position?"
"Ready whenever you are, Lieutenant."
"Wait for my signal. No one is to engage without my go-ahead. Is that understood?"
"Copy that."
"Kono…. we need to access the room with the door that leads down to the sub-basement. Once we take those guards out, we can move our people in position."
"Chin," Toast's voice called over the coms.
"I'm here."
"There's another door, Chin."
"What? Where?" Kono asked.
"The wall where the two heat signatures are standing, behind it is another room. If you access that room, you can enter the main area from opposite directions and really take them by surprise. And if those signatures are your people, there's less chance of them being hit by crossfire from that direction. But Chin…. those signatures haven't moved in a long time. Whatever you're going to do, you better do it soon!"
"Copy that…. great work Toast. Duke… did you read that?"
"Yes sir, Lieutenant. I've already sent half my men to cover the new location. Just give us the word. I've also got EMT on standby right up the road."
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Steve, and especially Danny, were dying. Of that, Annie had no doubt. But she'd be damned if she'd give Cordoba or Sanchez the satisfaction of hearing her voice her fears. "Choose a messenger, my ass," she thought.
She'd been steadily working on the ropes around her arms and wrists as they were plotting their next move and little by little she'd been able to loosen them. All she needed was an opening.
"Let me see," Cordoba pondered as he moved over to where the two unconscious men were hanging from the wall. He reached out and lifted Steve's head by his hair. "If only I could have men such as this working for me. Such strength of body, mind and character. Such fierce determination. What a waste. His death would send a powerful message."
He then moved over to Danny. "This one is gone…." (Annie's heart literally stopped that very second, until Cordoba continued) "... well, nearly so anyway. Perhaps we should be merciful and help him the rest of the way. Yes, I think that would be best."
"Nooo!" Annie wailed
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"We have to move now, Chin," Kono pleaded.
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"He's not long for this world as it is. If we use the SEAL, this one will probably die very shortly anyway. I'd be left with only you. I'm not ready to lose two-thirds of my leverage just yet."
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"Duke…. are your men in position?"
"Yes sir!"
"On my mark…."
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Sanchez was disgusted with what he saw as a total waste of time on Cordoba's part. As much as he said he was tired of the game, he was still toying with Annie and enjoying it. Sanchez couldn't stand to watch it for another second so he wandered away from the small group. That's when he heard it. A scuffling above his head. "No… it couldn't be... they were so careful".
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what? I didn't hear anything."
"Be quiet…. I'm sure I heard something"
"You're letting your imagination get to you. Come over here and help me get this one down."
"Get your hands off of him" Annie screamed. Not only was she terrified for Danny but Alex had been right… she'd heard the noise above them too. It could only mean one thing and she wanted … needed to be heard, to provide sound that could be followed.
"You bastard!" Annie loudly spit out. "You were worthless as a cop, Alex, and you were worthless as a prosecutor. What was it? The money, the power, the adrenaline rush? Why am I even bothering to try to figure out what's in the pathetic mind of such a worthless, contemptible little weasel as you? Thank God your father didn't live to see what scum you've become."
It only took a second for her to get the response she was hoping for…. getting him away from Danny and closer to her. Sanchez wheeled around, the rage that had been in his eyes all day finally at its breaking point. He stormed over to her chair, leaned over and put his hands firmly around her throat.
"Now you die bitch… like you should have before!" he seethed and his hands began to tighten around her neck.
"Maybe this wasn't such a bright idea, after all," she quickly thought as Alex's strong hands clenched tighter. She could feel her airway being cut off and spots were beginning to form in front of her eyes. Knowing she only had a matter of seconds to make her move she gathered all the strength she had left and…...
"FIVE-0…. FREEZE!"
It happened so fast Annie wasn't even sure what was coming from where. All she knew was at the sound of Chin's voice the grip Sanchez had on her throat vanished. Taking only a split second to regain a breath she pulled on her arms as hard as she could. The skin ripped and burned but it was a small price to pay when she was able to pull both from the ropes that she'd managed to loosen. Once her arms were free, the rest of the ropes fell away, freeing her legs as well.
Sanchez had looked in the direction of Chin's shout. Annie spared only a second to try and glance in that direction as well but that didn't slow her down. She viciously lifted her knee as hard and fast as she could and was immediately rewarded with a howl of pain as it brutally connected with Sanchez's balls. He staggered back and fell to the floor, eyes watering, but her legs had been immobile so long; the kick hadn't been very strong. Before she was able to get herself completely out of the chair, he was back on his feet.
Both Chin and Kono had stormed in from the door behind Annie, taking Cordoba totally by surprise. Reaching for his gun as he wheeled around, Kono didn't hesitate to shoot to kill. He hit the ground like a sack of wet cement.
Chin immediately took aim at the men flanking Steve and Danny. "Put the guns down and back away… now!"
Both strengthened the hold on their weapons as well as their aim. "Don't come any closer… "
But it was a ridiculous maneuver as Duke and his men suddenly burst through the door none of them even knew was there, in the wall where both men still hung. The thug with his gun on Danny wheeled toward the oncoming officers and began firing. Duke and his men dove for cover but Chin had already taken control. Carefully aiming his shot to avoid getting anywhere near Danny, Chin took the goon out easily. When his companion turned his gun in Chin's direction he was met by the stone cold stare of Kono. "Don't even think about it!" she warned. Seeing Chin as well as the other officers all turned and aiming in his direction he lowered his weapon to the floor then followed it, landing on his knees with his hands behind his neck. "Smart play, brah," Kono smirked
Annie, of course, could hear what was going on but she didn't spare a second thought to any of them. Her focus was on Sanchez and Sanchez alone.
As the others stormed the room, Annie leapt to her feet just as Sanchez was regaining his balance. Throwing a body tackle on him, they both went to the floor in a heap. He was bigger and stronger and his combat training at the police academy had been the same as hers, but several years behind a desk, stalking courtrooms and being a lap dog for the cartel had slowed him down. Annie, on the other hand, had kept up her training and was in top form.
Annie's initial tackle sent Sanchez to the floor hard, knocking the wind out of him and sending his gun skittering a few feet away. She took the opportunity to hit him with a hook to the jaw that had his head buzzing. Playing dirty, he grabbed her by the hair to give himself more maneuverability but she quickly knocked his arm away, each fighting for dominance over the other. Somehow they both managed to get back on their feet, circling each other, looking for an opening. Annie got her chance when the goon covering Danny began to fire. Sanchez instinctively flinched at the sound and Annie saw her chance.
Using a roundhouse kick to the face to bring him down again, she immediately scanned the floor, seeing the gun under the tipped over broken chair she had been tied to. Realizing what she was going for Sanchez reached out and grabbed her ankle, bringing her down to the floor again. Rolling away from her, he attempted to get back up but using her feet, she swept his legs out from under him and began a frantic crawl to the chair and the gun.
With a howl of pure animalistic fury, Sanchez rose to his feet and advanced on her, ready to finish it when Annie rolled over and holding his gun, aimed right at his heart.
"Do it!" she shouted. "Give me a reason, you son-of-a-bitch!"
He almost did. Just for a second… a momentary flinch in her direction until the sound of multiple HPD weapons preparing to fire reached his ears. If the old adage "if looks could kill" were indeed true, Annie would have perished in that very instant. Instead, she climbed first to her knees, then to her feet, the gun never leaving its position aimed right at his heart, daring him, begging him, to do anything so she could pull the trigger.
"On your knees, Sanchez," Duke ordered, then reached to secure his wrists in cuffs and haul him to his feet. "You are under arrest, for murder, attempted murder, kidnap…"
Duke's voice faded as he and his men marched Sanchez and the one surviving goon from the room but Annie didn't give them another thought. Her sole focus now was Danny and Steve. She ran to where Chin and Kono were unsuccessfully trying to get any response from them. Almost simultaneously as Duke walked out of the door, EMT's burst into the room and also ran to the two men.
"We have to get them down," Annie said.
"We will… just give us a second to assess the situation. We want to do it without causing further injury." The senior EMT responded.
"Please... hurry!"
"Annie… let's move back and let them do their work," Chin said as he gently yet firmly pulled Annie away. He was horrified at the condition of his friends, especially Danny.
"Sam…. this one needs to go now… before now!" The younger of the EMT's called out. "You…." he said pointing at Chin. "Help me over here, will you? Take his legs and lift so I can cut these cuffs off him. Easy now… easy…"
It only took a couple of seconds to get Danny down and laying on a backboard, while two HPD officers helped the other EMT, Sam, get Steve down as well.
"A second EMT unit was dispatched right after we got the call," said the first EMT, a young local, going by his name badge, which said Maleko Mahelona. "They should be here any second. Your buddy here is a "scoop and run." The next unit will take care of the other one."
"But….." it was as far as Chin got. Maleko was as good as his word as he and Sam grabbed both ends of the backboard holding Danny and literally ran from the room.
"Wait!" Annie called. She took one instant to look at Steve on his own backboard, then a quick glance at Chin.
"Go!" Chin said as he pushed her toward the door and the retreating backs of EMT. "You need to be with Danny. Don't worry….." he called after her as she sped from the room…. "we'll look after Steve!"