Pressure Makes Diamonds

Chapter 10

Steve couldn't rest or sleep. He was cuffed to a hospital bed and Danny was off doing something that he knew Danny would have accused Steve of taking a stupid chance at doing. He paused and thought, "I'm sounding like him now". If he weren't so frustrated, he'd be laughing. He needed to do something. He needed to stop him. Helpless was something Steve didn't know how to be. The more he was cornered, the harder he pushed, the riskier the action. Since joining Five-0, he had learned a lot from his partner about tempering his fight or flight response, but he had to admit that he hadn't learned enough because it was just that instinct that had gotten him into the trouble he was in and now, his team, his partner were putting themselves at risk to bail him out. He wasn't used to that and he didn't like the feeling of being a bystander.

He was feeling better and knew that it would only be a matter of time before he'd be escorted back to prison. It made him sad to think that because of his rash decisions people could get hurt, especially Danny. For all of Danny's rants about Steve's "techniques", he knew that Danny was determined to get him cleared. He had seen what he had done for his other partner, Meka and knew what Danny was capable of accomplishing. Bullheaded in his own way, Steve knew that Danny wouldn't rest himself until he had gathered all he could to clear him. He wasn't going to wait for things to happen. That was what worried him. Despite Lono's comment, Danny was the rational one of the two of them so for him to do something irrational as Steve would do was beyond worrisome for him.

Steve had enjoyed the freedom the Governor had given him. Maybe he should have suspected something was wrong, the adage, "if it's too good to be true, it usually is" probably should have applied, but at the time that it had been offered to him, he had been seized with the single-minded mission of getting Hesse for killing his father and taking the offer meant accomplishing that goal. Perhaps Wo Fat had known that and had used the Governor to keep him in their sights, to use that anger against Steve, just like Nick had used their friendship against him. He always had considered himself closed off and suspicious due to the nature of his training, but after everything that had happened, Steve had to admit that he had been played well, his trust efficiently manipulated. Despite that though, he knew that not everything had been a farce, not everyone had an agenda to destroy him. Chin, Kono and Danny, they had been the best things that had come from Five-0, nothing could convince Steve otherwise. They had done good work, but now Five-0's reputation was connected to a corrupt Governor. Recovering from that seemed impossible.

Suddenly, he heard the door to his room open and Chin walked in. He walked over to his bedside.

"How are you feeling?" Chin asked.

"Better. I'll probably be released soon," Steve said without any hint of excitement.

"Well, how does now sound?"

Steve's expression was one of confusion then surprise when Chin produced the key to his cuffs and released him. Chin had to admit that he had enjoyed seeing the shock on Steve's face. It then wrinkled into concern.

"What's happened?"

"We found evidence that the Governor had her office rigged with a camera. She caught Wo Fat tasing you and killing her."

Steve sat amazed at the simplicity of the resolution when suddenly the alarm voice in his head said, "if it's too good to be true…"

"What about Wo Fat?"

Chin paused for a second, worried about what Steve would do once he gave him all the details. As it was, Steve's mind was already churning into overdrive with all of the possible scenarios, none of them good.

"We also found files on a flash drive that she was keeping. She was definitely on Wo Fat 's payroll. So was the DA."

"Wait a minute, if the DA was on the take, how did you get me cleared?"

"We flushed him out and found someone not working for Wo Fat to process the evidence. Technically, you're in protective custody."

"What about Wo Fat?" Steve asked again, now knowing the answer, but needing it confirmed.

"Danny is –"

"Get me out of here! NOW!" Steve yelled, realizing that time was of the essence, that Danny's life was at stake.

TBC