Chapter 4: Stupid, Stupid Girl!

It was late, very late. Steve could see she was bone tired. "You need to get home and get some sleep."

"Um," was all she could manage.

He walked Lori to her SUV. "So, I'll let you know what we find out on the dresses," he said catching her door as she slipped in behind it.

She nodded and smiled, eyeing him over the door that separated them. He leaned closer, bending his elbows, supporting himself with taut muscles against the divide. Lori tensed. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said on a breath and slid into the driver's seat. She pulled on the door, but it didn't move. Steve held on forcing her to look at him one more time.

"See you tomorrow," he promised and pushed her door closed. She watched him through the window as he backed away. The corner of his lip up turned in a seductive half smile. She shuttered and blew out a hard breath, hoping the tinted window hid the effect that smile had on her.

H5O

Lori slapped at her alarm clock, but the ringing didn't stop. She slapped at it again, slowly realizing that the offending noise was coming from her phone and not her clock. "Weston," she said, her voice thick with sleep.

"Hey sleepy head."

"Steve? What time is it?"

"5:26A.M.," he said precisely.

"That's very annoying at 5:26A.M. What do you want?" she said good humouredly.

"I'm headed to a crime scene. Two girls were attacked last night. One got away. They're both blond, mid twenties. The perp used a syringe to nab the first one. Came after the second with another syringe. I thought it was worth checking out."

"Yeah, I'll be right there. Address?"

Lori sat up in bed and squinted at the rising sun. She padded to the bathroom and grabbed a quick shower. Forgoing makeup, she stored a pony tail holder on her wrist and hopped down the steps to her truck. It was a twenty minute drive to the "club district". In her two years on the island, she had never been to one of the local clubs. She had spent her first six months working at FiveO, hanging out with Max, and, as long as she was being honest, pining over Steve. She had spent the next year and a half getting over Steve, getting physically strong, and working hard at the Bureau. Still, she wondered as the dance clubs and karaoke bars came into view, how had she not managed one night out clubbing. Probably because, although she wasn't old in physical years, she had always had an old sole opting for nights under the stars rather than under the strobe lights. She spotted Steve's truck parked next to Danny's Camaro and pulled in to a spot at the far end of a parking lot. She stretched before exiting the SUV, needing something besides the hot tea in her hand to wake her up. As if on cue, a brisk gust of wind caught her hair as she stepped from the truck. She gathered it in her hands and headed for the team, pulling it into a messy bunch at the back of her head. Steve watched her as she made her way toward Kono and Danny. He remembered the first time they met, in the governor's office. He had noticed her then. How could he not? Those long legs and sharp green eyes were startling. But once she had been assigned to FiveO, a relationship of any kind was off the table. He had simply shoved any desire he might have had for her to the back of his cluttered mind. It wasn't until she said goodbye that a flood of memories like snapshots flashed across his brain. He had found it nearly impossible to breathe as he stood in his office, holding her close for the first and last time. He wondered how those moments had passed so completely unnoticed as they were happening. He told her that he would miss her, but he hadn't realized at the time, just how much that would be.

"Hey sister!" Kono said and pulled Lori into a hug. "Good to see you."

"You too, Kono. I wish it was under better circumstances, though."

"No doubt. You think this is related?"

"Maybe. He's likely desperate enough to try and grab two at once. Steve said he used a syringe?"

"Yeah. It happened over here," Kono said and walked toward a brick building at the corner of the parking lot.

Lori slipped on a pair of black latex gloves and followed Kono and Danny. "There isn't much physical evidence. A few drops of blood, but they were contaminated by foot traffic. HPD took the girl's statement at the hospital. She gave them a pretty good description."

Lori listened as Kono gave her the second hand account of the attack. She looked at the wall where the blood from the survivor's broken nose was splattered. Everything around her faded as she visualized the attack. Her head turned slowly to the two yellow tags on the asphalt where drops of blood lay disintegrating in the early morning sun. She squatted down in front of the tags, thinking about the man who did this. Was it him? A cold chill ran down her spine and she turned her head quickly away from the crime scene as if someone had called her name from across the street. She immediately spotted a black Ford Taurus parked on the opposite side of the street one block from the parking lot. She stood without a word and started toward it. Danny and Kono glanced at each other as Lori's pace increased first to a trot and then to a run. The faded black Taurus pulled slowly onto the main road and stopped. Lori stopped too in the middle of the road, shielding her eyes from the rising sun, the glare obstructing her view of the driver. Without warning, the engine revved and the tires squealed. Lori dropped her hands from her eyes and froze caught in a deadly game of chicken. The Taurus lurched forward, finding its grip on the pavement, and sped toward her, alone in the middle of the street. As quickly as the game began, it ended when the Taurus made a sudden u-turn sending smoke and rock flying toward Lori. She turned away instinctively bending at the waist, crouching down in safety. Through squinted eyes, she saw Steve leap and deftly across the hood of a parked car, landing on his feet in one fluid movement. She saw rather than heard her name fly from his lips as he continued his charge toward her. He slid to a stop next to her as she rose to her feet and caught his arms. "It's him!" she screamed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, frowning, his faced clouded with concern.

She gripped his arm, willing him to understand. "That was him. He was watching."

Steve turned his head and shouted to Kono who was running toward them, Danny close behind. "That's our suspect. Call it in. See if HPD can grab him."

Steve turned back to Lori who was staring down the road where the Taurus had disappeared. She had both hands over her eyes. "Damn it!" she yelled to no one in particular. Steve saw the anguish on her face as she circled in frustration. "That was him. I should have expected him to be here." She stopped suddenly and looked at Steve, her eyes wide. "Make sure the girl stays in protective custody. He'll want her back. He may get information from the one he grabbed and come after her again."

"Got it," Danny said and started dialing numbers on his phone.

"You scared the hell out of me! What were you thinking running after that guy by yourself!"

She shook her head. "I don't know. I was looking over the crime scene and I got a feeling. You know, that feeling like your being watched. I turned around and that's when I saw the car. I knew it was him. I can't explain it. I just knew it was him."

Steve watched her hands as they flew around wildly before coming to rest, palms down on top of her head. She blew out a frustrated breath and dropped her hands to her sides. Steve reached for her arms, without thought, and pulled her to him. She knew everyone would be watching, but she didn't care. She knew it was wrong to enjoy the feel of his touch in this place, at this moment, but she was too tired to fight it. She would allow herself this one, fleeting moment of weakness. What she could have never guessed was how much Steve needed that moment too. Watching her cross the parking lot, headed for the Taurus, Steve had been hit with an overwhelming feeling of dread that didn't disappear with the faded black vehicle.

H5O

She woke on a dusty mattress, hands bound with duct tape in front of her, feet bound at the ankles. There was tape over her mouth, too which made it difficult to breath. Her head throbbed and her neck was sore. She was on her side, against the wall. Bile rose in her throat as the gravity of her situation settled like a bolder in her gut. From her position on the mattress on the floor, she could see under the bed in front of her, straight across to an open door. Through the door was a narrow, dimly lit hallway. She rolled onto her back and could see that the window above her had been spray painted over save one small spot in the corner, just big enough to see through with one eye. The only light in the room came from the open door. With effort, she rocked herself up onto her knees and searched the room. She let go of a soundless scream when she saw him watching her from the bed. He was fully dressed, lying on his side, both hands tucked under his cheek. He smiled at her sweetly, the way a parent smiles at a child when he or she makes a new and simple discovery. "Hi," he said without moving. "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you. I've been watching you sleep."

Terror washed over her face. It pained him to see it. He didn't want to hurt her. He didn't want to hurt any of them. Why couldn't they understand that? He thought about Rachel and her long, silky blond hair. It had reminded him of honey. And oh the way she smelled, like fresh cotton and lavender, so clean, so inviting. She was perfect, and he had loved her right up until the moment she had betrayed him. Even then, he thought. He still loved her. Deep down he knew these girls could never take her place, not really. For six glorious months he had felt complete. She had been so kind to him, so grateful for his attention. He had watched her with her friends walking back and forth to class, throwing the Frisbee around at the quad, meeting at Remo's on spaghetti night each week. He had understood that their time together transcended what was common place; that it was for them and them alone. No one else needed to know how she smiled at him from across the table. How the numbers he loved almost as much as he loved her came alive when they were together. How could she have thrown that all away? "Stupid, stupid girl!" he said aloud. He sniffed, focusing again on his new friend. "You must be thirsty after such a long sleep. I'll get you some water and we'll get to know each other a little better." Kerrie closed her eyes and fell back on her heals as silent tears rolled, one after the other, down her cheeks.

H5O

She was so unbelievably tired when they reached the safe house. Morgan Turner sat curled up in the corner of the couch clutching a pillow securely to her. She was staring across the room and out of the window at nothing.

"Morgan?" Lori began. The young woman's eyelids fluttered but she continued to look toward the window.

"Morgan, I'm Special Agent Lori Weston. This is my friend, Steve McGarrett. He's with Five-O."

Curious, she turned her attention to the pair. "Five-O?"

"Five-O is a task force, based here in Honolulu. They're gonna' help me find the man that did this to you and your friend."

The young woman's eyes jumped to Steve's. He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. She looked back to Lori. "Her name is Kerrie, Kerrie Leskosky. She's my best friend." Morgan looked back to the window, her lower lip quivering.

"You were very brave, fighting back the way you did. I read the report a few minutes ago," Lori said as she sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch.

"I should have stayed with Kerrie," the young woman lamented, her voice flat with sadness and regret.

"No," Lori responded. "Going for help was the right thing to do. If you had stayed with Kerrie, it's likely you both would have been taken and we would have no way of finding either one of you."

Morgan slowly drew her eyes from the window and found Lori's sitting across from her. "You have to find her... Please find her."

"Morgan, you gave the police officer a very detailed description of the man that attacked you. That will be extremely helpful in finding him and Kerrie. I just need to ask you a few more questions, if you're up to it?"

She nodded.

"You said that he grabbed Kerrie from behind?"

"Yes, he threw me against the wall so I didn't see him grab her, but when I turned around he was behind her with his arm around her neck." Morgan drew in a ragged breath and swiped at one mutinous tear.

"Morgan, could you show me?"

She flinched, reluctant to relive the attack in such physical detail, but willing to do whatever she had to, to help her friend. She and Lori stood together. Steve was struck by their similarities. They were approximately the same height and weight, both built like runners, light complected and blond. "My vision was a little blurry from where I hit the wall, but when I turned around I saw him holding her like this". She lifted her left arm and pretended to hold it tightly around an invisible victim.

"Steve, could you?" Lori asked. Understanding her silent cue, he moved behind her and gently wrapped his left arm around her neck. "Like this?" she asked.

Morgan studied the two of them in front of her. A curious look crossed her face. "No, not exactly... May I," she asked and stepped toward the two of them. "He pushed her head over like this," she said positioning Steve's hand so that Lori's head bent to the left. "He had his fingers out straight like this," she said and pushed the back of his open hand against Lori' cheek. She laughed, but there was no humor behind it. "I remember thinking that he was going to bite her neck, like a vampire. Then I saw the syringe. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and jammed it into her neck."

"Can you show us where on her neck," Lori asked from behind Steve's hand.

Morgan pointed to Lori's hairline. "It was high in the strap muscle. He used a 3cc syringe, but there was only an ml or so of liquid loaded in the syringe. I'm a nurse, I could tell by the push". Steve relaxed his hold on Lori's neck but he didn't step away. He felt an unconscious need to be near her, to protect her. "I've never seen anyone drop as quickly as Kerrie did. It was almost immediate. What drug does that?"

Lori shook her head. "I don't know, but I have a friend at the ME's office who can figure it out". Morgan looked as if she might collapse where she stood. "Here, why don't you sit back down, we just have a few more questions, okay?"

Morgan nodded and returned to the couch. Lori sat down next to her and Steve took her spot on the coffee table.

"Morgan," he began, "what happened next?"

She hesitated, gathering her thoughts. "He came after me, head on, and pushed me against the wall. He had crazy eyes. I've never seen eyes like that before. He started digging for something in his left pocket, another syringe I assume. That's when I hit him with my shoe. He grabbed his head and I kicked him as hard as I could, right in his numbers. He went down and I ran for help."

Steve was impressed by her strength. Although she shook from head to toe, her resolve never wavered.

"Morgan, you said that he had crazy eyes. Were they bloodshot from something like lack of sleep or drugs," Lori asked.

"No... I mean yes, they were bloodshot, like he had been crying. But it was the color that was crazy. His pupils were dilated, but around his pupils, his eyes were amber, almost yellow gold with a few streaks of color... blue maybe. I don't know. It was pretty dark."

"Thank you, Morgan. You've been very helpful. If you think of anything else, or if you just need to talk, you call me, okay? Here's my card."

Taking the card with a trembling hand, Morgan thanked them both and pulled the pillow back into a tight hold. Steve and Lori headed back to the parking lot.

"Let's go see Max. See if he has any idea what our guy may be loading his syringes with."

"Yes, Mam."

Lori stopped short and glared at Steve. "What?" he chuckled. "You look good in charge."

"Yeah I do," she said grinning. "Hop in. I'm driving."

TBC

More soon! Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think, would 'ya?