CHAPTER 9
"Well, well Mister McGarrett. I'm flattered you remember me! It's been many years since our last encounter and, as I recall – you weren't much more successful then than you will be now!" Rent Barlow shifted on the creaking floorboards and crossed his legs like a dapper Vegas showman as his nicotine-stained teeth glinted in the low-level light. He was enjoying himself immensely.
McGarrett thought he had recognized the voice on the telephone but wasn't sure. He now wished he could have mentioned his suspicions to Kono or Chin – at least then they would have had a starting point.
Surveying his prison, Steve struggled to sit up and found his hands tightly secured with ropes to a solid-looking pipe. His head ached mercilessly and his mouth had a bitter taste in it causing him to salivate more than normal; he resisted the urge to spit - but only just.
Oblivious to his guest's discomfort Barlow continued, "I'm glad we can see eye to eye, it was most inconvenient having your colleague blindfolded but I trust you understand it was necessary or we could never have released mister Williams back to the world at large."
Steve grit his teeth, the mere mention of Danny's name by the rattlesnake in a suit was offensive. Barlow knew it and smiled.
"If Williams is dead Barlow I'll see you swing!"
"Tut tut, a big law man like you ought to know that the death penalty doesn't exist in this State! Why McGarrett - is your affection for your former Second-in-Command causing your mind to warp?" He said sardonically.
Steve noted Barlow's use of the word former' and his stomach knotted in anguish for his youngest detective, "You know very well what I mean. Every law enforcer on this island will be looking for me and after what you did to Danny their blood will be up. Did you place the bomb as well? If you did you have another murder to answer for."
Barlow feigned horror at his prisoner's words, "I'm shocked at your accusations! No, I did not place the bomb nor have I killed anyone for quite some time. Had I or my colleagues wished to murder you I assure you we would have made a much cleaner job of it. We merely – how shall I put it? – picked up the pieces."
"So why the charade? The exchange?"
Rent shrugged and reaching into his inside jacket pocket he took out a small black leather pouch, retrieving a tooth pick he nonchalantly began scraping his nails with the slender wooden implement. Steve was disgusted at the toad-like man before him as he picked at his hands. At length Barlow replied, "You have to understand that this isn't personal," McGarrett snorted. "Okay I lied – it is personal - but it's also business. You are merely the means to an end."
Steve's eyes narrowed, "What end?"
"Money – lots of lovely money! I plan to make a mint on you McGarrett." He saw his captive's confusion and added "Oh well, you might as well know since you're integral to my plans and there really is no way out – there is a contract on your head, I'm just changing the rules a fraction. Once I contact your many enemies and let them know that I have the great king of Five-0 at my mercy it then becomes a simple case of who will pay the most for the privilege of getting rid of you! Naturally I'd be delighted to oblige and collect the original fee from my contractor; however I have a feeling that putting you up for sale to the highest bidder will command a much fatter fee than even he is willing to pay. What do you think?"
What Steve thought and what he would say were two different things, he was glad to have an explanation – of sorts – for the bombing but it didn't help him in his current situation, and it certainly didn't help Danny Williams. His mind drifted back to the scene of the fire and he shook his head, trying to clear the horrific image of Danny trapped on the staircase from his mind. He could only pray that someone had reached him in time. "When will this sale' take place?" he asked, wanting – no needing – to keep his mind occupied.
Rent stopped grooming his nails, twirled the end of the toothpick around and picked his two front teeth as he contemplated, "I think that we will start tonight. In the meantime I would urge you to get some rest. Oh and I must apologize for the shoddy accommodation – if I'd had time I would have had a bowl of fruit and a bottle of wine brought up; compliments of the management! Best I could do on short notice I'm afraid and your friend Mister Williams didn't seem to mind - although I have to say he did soil the mattress somewhat." Barlow angled his head and pointed the toothpick toward the greasy bedding that Steve was lying on. McGarrett was shocked as he looked under his hog-tied legs to see Danny's blood soaked into the stitched and quilted material. He felt sick.
Barlow laughed, "Sweet dreams, we'll be back to check on you every now and then and, like I told your predecessor – no point in yelling – you'll just make yourself thirsty and no one will hear you – there's a party going on most days downstairs and screaming like you wouldn't believe in some of the rented rooms! My guests always have fun. Adios McGarrett – sorry about roasting your sidekick – I know you two were close!"
With that he switched the overhead light off and carefully trod the noisy boards back to the door and out. After the key was turned securing his prison, all the illumination left in the room was an emaciated amber strip of light under the door emanating from the hallway beyond.
"BARLOW YOU COME BACK HERE!" Steve raged in the darkness. He was furious and pulled at the ropes so hard that agonizing pain in his ribs took his breath away and he was forced to stop. He idly wondered if he still had the painkillers in his pocket but also knew he had no way of reaching them even if he did.
Some of his anger vented but none of his depression, he leaned heavily against the musty wall and resisted the urge to bang his aching head against it. Steve felt a burning sensation at the corner of his eyes and knew that only now was he free to let go, the merest comfort in his blackened jail was the ridiculous notion that at least part of Danny lay beneath him. If only he knew that Williams was alive he thought he could cope with anything to come. He had walked into this trap to save his friend's life and by agreeing to do so may very well have ended it.
His reserves were depleted and Steve resisted the urge to sleep as best he could but the darkness surrounding him was like the Devil's canvas primed for paint and as the events of the day caught up with his over-taxed system he saw orange and grey crawling across the black as fiery wraiths laid claim to a tied, injured and vulnerable Danno. Finally he drifted into oblivion with the imagined screams of his best friend reverberating in his head and the guilt of his decisions and inaction smothering him like smoke.
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He felt guilty. Unaware that his friend felt the same mere miles from where he lay, Danny felt guilt pressing in on him. With the knowledge of his inability to keep quiet when his captors had tormented him Williams couldn't help but blame himself for the peril McGarrett was now in. Lying back in bed in a haze of painkillers that thrummed through his veins ,the drugs had obliterated all but the pain of his failure. He slowly brought a hand up to his chest and let his fingertips survey where the cigar had crisped his tender flesh like crop circles. Danny winced as he recalled the sound of his own skin burning but at least he hadn't screamed when the man did that to him. It didn't hurt now, why did it hurt before he wondered?
Deep down Dan believed that much of what he was feeling was the depression and shock after the operation and all he had been through, but it didn't stop him from wallowing in it and relating it to his guilt. His head still buzzed from the concussion and he fought to recall anything about his time in captivity that could possibly help them find McGarrett but his grip on the waking world was inexorably sliding away from him. "Need to be on streets!" He moaned weakly before slipping into a heavy and dreamless sleep.
"Soon bruddah, soon." Came the soft reply. Kono stood at the end of Williams' bed and watched the emotions wrestle back and forth across his colleague's youthful face as he fell into a healing sleep – he knew what Danno was thinking and it saddened the Hawaiian to know that neither he, nor Chin, had been able to prevent their boss from being taken nor their 2-I-C from being badly hurt.
As he watched his friend's damaged chest rise up and down, the detective stared down at his own reddened hands and their blisters – he hadn't bothered to get them checked out after the fire and was beginning to regret it. He made a mental note to see the nurse before he left. They were small reminders of what had happened that day and Kono would gladly suffer ten times more if he could have protected his Five-0 ohana. "We'll find Steve Danny – I promise. Get some rest now and one of us will be back soon."
But there was no reply save the thrum of machinery.
As Kono rounded the corner of the room he met Kelly coming in. "Any change?" the Oriental detective asked.
"Uh uh – he's sleeping. Doc says we shouldn't disturb him - they need to keep him quiet for a while."
"Well we may have to Kono – there's too much at stake here with Steve's life in the balance. If Danny knows anything we need to know wiki wiki!"
The solid Hawaiian shrugged his shoulders, "Well you wanna be the one to face his Doc Chin – go ahead and be my guest. Besides ain't no one gonna get anything out of Danno for the moment – he's out of it bruddah."
Chin studied his shoes for a moment, "Okay we wait but we need to get back to the office and see what we can come up with in short order. I had some bad news. Seems the bomb this morning was a definite hit – on Steve. Coconut wireless is jumping with the news of a contract – no one knows who ordered it but they sure know who the target was, I've got informants left, right and center claiming bread for coughing up that juice. Whoever has him may be planning to finish the job."
Kono shook his head, "That don't make no sense. If the people who took Danny wanted Steve dead why not shoot him at the Marketplace? They had him in their sights. Why take him first and not finish it when they could? Too elaborate. I dunno bruddah – seems to me like we're missing something."
"Not just something - we're missing the whole scene!" Kelly looked towards the doorway of the room where their colleague slept, "Just wish Danny was well enough to help figure this out. He may have more pieces of the puzzle - we've just got a heap of blank cardboard!"
"We'll get the Doc to call us when he comes round then see if we can put it together. I just hope Steve lives long enough for us to find him; I for one don't want to have to tell Danny we lost the boss out there while he lay in hospital; it would kill him Chin!"
"Not just him my friend." Came the serious reply.
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"I don't care what you think of me!" Barlow said calmly into the telephone as he scratched his nose with the unlit end of a cigar. His two henchmen were perched either end of the long leather couch in his office and looked like a pair of pottery book ends with identical poses as they stared at Rent with mild curiosity. In truth neither man was particularly bothered about the proceedings as their boss spoke to the man who hired him to hit McGarrett in the first place. Brett and Noah hoped that they could be released from what had proved to be a long day on duty so they could get something to eat and dance with the semi-naked girls in the Phantom bar.
Rent sat down with a thump in his executive chair and it spun around until he faced the desk then he kicked himself across the carpet until he slid more comfortably under the heavy wooden table top, "Will you listen to me!? You had your chance and blew it – literally. You sicked those incompetent bozos onto McGarrett and they killed the snitch alright but they didn't do a very good job of topping the top cop! You hired ME to take care of mister Five-0 then you went behind my back and got yourself some insurance. Well the insurance kicked in before the vase was broken and now the merchandise is mine. No way am I giving you back the down payment OR McGarrett. You have forty-eight hours to come up with enough money to buy him back or the deal's off! He's a hot potato and I can't keep him here much longer than that. Oh and if you want me to off the cop myself - the price just doubled!"
From across the room the noise of the click could be heard as the other end of the phone was slammed down. "Damn!"
"Guess he didn't like that eh boss?" Brett inquired.
Rent spun back round to his employee, receiver still in hand. "Very astute! No matter, the night is young and I have plenty of phone calls to make. We are just getting started gentlemen!"
"Uh boss?" Noah began, looking as his partner.
"What?"
"We uh, we'd like to get some dinner. Any chance of a break?"
Barlow put the phone down and rolled the cigar by his ear, listening to the dried leaves rustling and contemplating his response. "Oh very well – but leave Mercedes alone tonight – I heard what you did to her Brett and she was very unhappy!"
Brett looked suitably hurt at the accusation but didn't reply.
"I ah…I'll watch him boss." Noah offered nervously and Brett sent him a look of daggers.
"Well see to it you do, I want no more hospital bills and I want you to check on our guest every half an hour regardless of how engaged' you are!"
Noah's face lit up, "Sure thing! We'll be in the club if you want us. Want Johnson to send a meal up?"
"Yes and a bottle of the '48 Chateau Pichon Longueville, I feel like celebrating tonight!"
"But sir, boss do you know how much that costs?!" Brett said, stunned at his boss' extravagance.
Rent jumped up from his chair and stood hands on hips, "Of COURSE I know you idiot, it's my cellar and I bought it, now do as you're told and make sure it's not corked!"
"Right, on our way.."
"And CLOSE that door behind you!" They did, "Morons!" he mumbled at the panelling as it shook.
Barlow returned to his desk and checked through his address book, "Now Mister McGarrett let's see who hates you most…"
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