CHAPTER 13

The multi-faceted crystal lamp was old, seventy-one years to be precise, cut to perfection it sparkled as the light from the window hit it at just the right angle and a spectrum of colors shone onto the carpet from the projected sunshine like stained glass jewels. The rich blue moire taffeta lampshade complemented it perfectly adding to its fine opulence. Today was the last day of its life.

It shattered into a hundred flickering pieces as Rent Barlow threw it at the door frame and it bounced off the wood leaving a dent in the jamb that would be hard to repair. The shade was badly ripped and the wire skeleton bent out of shape before coming to rest in the middle of the floor. Such a beautiful object was never meant to be treated so harshly but to Barlow it made a satisfying sound as it was used as a projectile, venting his anger and frustration on the inanimate object. He had just received a telephone call from Kahama; Williams was still alive, Dobbs in custody and the plan had failed.

"Idiots! I am surrounded by idiots!" He shouted and kicked the desk leg for good measure. He looked at the faux Ormolu clock sitting on his desk, it was just before 1pm – four hours and he could relax, but the fact remained that he had promised detective Williams' head on a platter, so to speak, prior to delivering McGarrett to Doyle Weston. If he didn't there was no telling what penalty he might have to pay. The fee for the Five-0 chief stood at a cool million, there was no way he was going to jeopardize that kind of money because of the morons he employed. He tried to think of a plan but time was running short and there was a good chance he would have to deliver McGarrett's man after the deadline. Barlow spat out a curse.

Picking up the phone he decided to come clean and throw himself on Weston's disreputable mercy.

Upstairs in the attic Steve was thinking through a haze of confusion and concern. After Noah knocked him out he knew nothing more for hours, his body hijacked his brain and made the most of his insensible state to begin the healing process. It wasn't nearly enough and when Steve finally regained use of his mind he slowly awoke to pain. Tied hand and foot everything was either cramping or had gone to sleep, his head ached, his mouth was bone dry and he desperately needed to relieve the pressure to his ribs. He was lying in an awkward position and had struggled to sit, making his situation ten times more painful as he slid repeatedly onto his strapped ribcage.

Once he was fully awake, McGarrett had spent half the night marking time contemplating; not wasteful self-indulgent thoughts about his possible last moments on earth or the precise method of his dispatch from life, but of ways to bring Thomas Barlow and his ilk to book. He simply refused to believe that Danny had died in the fire at the Marketplace or that he himself wouldn't be found in time to prevent his being passed over like a cow for the slaughter. Someone would come. And if Danno was in any condition to help then together his men would pull a rabbit out of the hat, he had to believe it was true.

On and off his thoughts were punctuated by the unwelcome presence of Barlow's goons, one of which Steve was gratified to note looked very unwell indeed thanks to him. Brett sported a makeshift splint on his hand and a bruise on his head that made his eye bloodshot, it warmed the Five-0 chief no end. Neither man spoke, each taking turns to check on him. They simply switched the light on making him squint, roughly tested his bonds and disappeared. Steve could think of no way to pry himself loose this time.

He wondered what, if anything, Williams could have gleaned from his time in captivity, if Danny had been anything like Steve was when first found after the explosion he doubted his detective could even see or hear properly, let alone make any sense of his surroundings. The thought of Dan suddenly made him melancholy and he tried to shift his thoughts away from his friend. Apart from wanting to know Williams was alive, he wished for three things; one was the painkillers that were sitting in his pocket, their light weight so close but so far away, the second was to be able to feel his hands that were tied so tightly he was sure they would drop off, and his final wish was something he had no control over either and it made him embarrassed, there was a pressure in his bladder as well as his chest and there was no way he was able to relieve himself without some distinct alterations to his situation. How many more hours he was supposed to endure these indignities he wasn't sure.

Steve leaned back, daylight outside was thankfully filtering in through gaps in the roof and he could make out the barest detail around him thanks to the minute beams. It was no good though, he was well and truly stuck. How was he to get free?

-&-&-

At first Doyle Weston hadn't taken the news that Dan Williams was still alive with good grace and had broken off the conversation to talk to someone in the background which didn't go down too well with the already irritated Barlow. After the inaudible discourse ended Weston agreed, rather too easily Rent thought, that McGarrett's boy could be taken out of the picture after their business dealings were completed. With the hours counting down until he was a rich man Barlow needed everything to run like clockwork.

"Look when it's all done you'll get a nice fat bonus." Barlow promised as Noah and Brett shifted uncomfortably in their perspiration-soaked suits. They were standing inside Rent's office carefully avoiding the broken crystal and both looked the worse for wear after a long night and equally long morning. Rent was becoming as agitated as his two colleagues with the continual hiccups in his plan.

"Boss, we've hardly had any sleep – can't Joey take over – at least let me get my hand seen to huh?" Brett asked reasonably.

Barlow spun around in his chair and leveled an unlit cigar at them both like a gun, he was becoming even more short tempered than normal with a deadline looming, "You walk out on me now and you get nothing, I need you here! We've got a big deal coming down today and I have to have you, Joey, Kapa and the rest of the guys here when Weston comes to pay up. You watch the others and don't say a word about the pay off, the smallest hint and you're fired and I don't mean out of a job!"

"Uh we understand boss." Noah said quickly, not even looking to Brett for agreement. He was going to get his bonus no matter what it took - they'd worked too hard on this McGarrett/Williams thing not to.

"Hey bozo don't I get a say in this?" Brett said under his breath addressing Noah, his meaty fist clenched in anger.

Barlow launched himself from his seat so fast that it spun back and hit his desk. In spite of his diminutive height he still managed to look menacing as he approached his man, "No you DON'T get a say! I haven't got time to replace you. You figure I'd give you a choice eh Brett? You're in this until the end. Don't be stupid enough to cock up now because you need some shut-eye! Have you any idea what I've had done to guys like you that don't do as they are told? Of course you have. Well I won't hesitate to dismiss you from my employment - permanently. You want to mess with me you go ahead but you won't have time to pass wind before someone finds you face down in a ditch. Capiche?" he paused, lending weight to his statement, "Of course if you still don't want the bonus that's fine by me!"

The taller man knew from experience that his boss wasn't kidding, he had done similar jobs to others in Barlow's employ so he knew it was no bluff. There was only one choice he could make, he looked down at the floor, avoiding the man's gaze and said, "Sorry boss." It was the equivalent of a dog rolling on its back in submission. Barlow was pleased.

Before they had time to say anything further there was a noise downstairs and the sound of clip-clopping feet running up the staircase. The blonde woman Brett had been toying with the night before knocked and entered the office both at the same time. She was slightly overweight and slightly out of breath, bursting out of her short bustier and skirt as she teetered on heels too high for her.

"What do you want?" Rent growled, eyeing up her disheveled and half made up appearance. The girl placed a hand on her full and heaving bosom, swallowing her saliva before blurting out, "There was a man in the alley out back!"

Camomile sidled up to Brett and blew him a kiss before turning back to see what effect her remarkable news had on everyone.

"And this is interesting to us because?" Barlow said sarcastically.

"Gee boss, just thought you ought to know cos he has a gun!"

&

On admittance Danny's clothes had been taken by Che Fong or trashed so the young man was now wearing a loose-fitting pair of black track pants and a soft red T-shirt that didn't stick to his salved burns or hurt his damaged leg. Kono had brought them from Dan's place and it was the quickest thing he could locate under the circumstances. Bergman was fussing over him. "Now Danny you know what I said, an hour at the most. If they don't bring you back here by then I'll call…"

Dan smiled weakly as he eased himself into the wheelchair a nurse had ready for him, "McGarrett!? Unfortunately not this time Doc, nice try though."

Bergman frowned and tucked a warm blanket over Williams' lower half. "Look Danny, I concede that there's no one I can go over your head to this time but mark my words, you're not well enough to be running around out there! You've barely got over the operation, you need to be on pain medication and fluids and….oh what's the use!" He turned to Chin Ho Kelly, hoping that the Chinese detective being older would be wiser, "The slightest sign of something wrong with him and I want you to exercise the right judgment and get him back straight away, is that understood?"

Chin looked down at Danny and shrugged, "Sure thing doc, just so long as Danno here lets me."

"Will someone please act like a responsible adult?! I'm beginning to regret helping you already."

Dan wrapped a shaky hand around Bergman's forearm. "Mahalo Doc, don't worry about me, I promise I'll be back as soon as we've found Steve."

Unplacated the M.E. looked at Danny pointedly but addressed Kelly, "Chin, keep that leg up, don't jostle him, mind his head and make sure he doesn't become sluggish or dizzy, don't leave him in a draft with the windows open, take care of those ribs and don't speed!!"

Mumbling something incomprehensible in Chinese, Kelly began wheeling Williams away, one eyebrow raised as he continued to listen to the barrage of motherly medical advice from behind. Danny smiled up at his colleague, "Don't worry Chin I'll be fine."

"One hour Dan!" Doc shouted down the hallway after them, "Or I may just come after you myself!"

The further Dan got from the childishly comforting safety of the ward, the more anxious he became. He still didn't know what good this would do other than give him a different perspective on the case. He wanted to get out of the hospital even though he felt awful, it was the only way he could feel like a cop again and not an invalid. He felt he couldn't concentrate on pulling the pieces together until he was outside and breathing fresh air but he also knew that physically he was in bad shape. He had to have faith that the pain he was feeling now was going to be worth it in the end. With nothing but the remnants of his sedative and localized painkillers to take the edge off there was a very real concern that when the next wave hit him he would be less than useless to Steve or his fellow detectives. He would just have to steel himself for it and do the best he could.

"Duke's been checking the funds angle on that list of suspects, he's going over them now for any Rent' connection but it's taking time Danny, truth is Steve has a lot of enemies bruddah."

Danny sighed and concentrated on freeing up the portion of his brain that dealt with police work. He could feel it coming back to him, pushing away the anxiety and focusing his mind on McGarrett's captors.

They were in the lift now, the nurse - a spare pillow under her arm - held the doors open until the Chin eased the wheelchair comfortably inside. The enclosed space was claustrophobic with three of them, especially as Chin wasn't a small man, but each bore the short trip stoically until they finally reached the ground floor. Kelly pushed him out. "And the cigars?" Williams asked, squinting as the bright light filtering through the reception doors hurt his sensitive eyes.

"Cross-checking that too – quite a few importers of specials from Nicaragua, Cuba and Brazil, we're looking at regular customers but it's a tenuous link Danny with so little time left its unlikely we'll get a hit on that."

"Yeah Chin, I know - I'm working on the rest. Whoever this man is he speaks well, has a taste for fine things, I remember the carpets were expensive, maybe even rare."

"Thought you were blindfolded?"

"I was, it's just the men were careless and sometimes I could see things, not much just antiques and such." Danny didn't realize it but his memories were slowly trickling back without any conscious work on his part, the closer he came to his freedom the more fluid his thoughts.

They stood at the entrance for a moment until the nurse had time to say goodbye, hand Chin the pillow and wish Dan well with his temporary liberation. He reiterated he would be careful, as he had promised Bergman, and breathed a sigh of relief when Chin Ho finally pushed him through the doors and down the ramp to his waiting car.

Hearing the release of air the oriental detective said, "Don't get too comfortable, you're coming back soon!"

Danny smiled, "I know but man it feels good to be outside!"

The air may have smelled good but it was also having the effect of tiring him out quickly and as Kelly manoeuvred the chair to the passenger door and opened it Dan stifled a yawn. At this rate he wasn't going to last ten minutes, he already needed to sleep.

"Last chance to go back inside Danny."

In answer to the question Williams rose with difficulty from his vehicular seat, wincing with pain as he used muscles he shouldn't and held onto the top of the door to avoid putting any pressure on his injured leg, his ribs grumbled as did every other part of his abused body and he inadvertently let out a distressed moan.

"Danno, you okay?" Chin flitted around him like a nervous parent knowing the younger man should be lying upstairs in bed not stumbling around on duty.

"Stop fussing Chin, it's my choice." Dan hissed, "I'll be fine just give me a second to get in."

"You're one pupule haole you know that bruddah!"

"So Steve tells me."

Kelly went around to the other side of the car and reaching inside the passenger side propped the pillow he was carrying on the back seat against the door. He returned to where Dan was plucking up the courage to get himself in and watched as sweat literally broke out on his friend's forehead.

"Need some help there?" Before waiting for an answer Chin moved the wheelchair to one side and, careful to avoid hurting Williams further, helped to fold him into the inadequate ambulance so he could half sit, half lie sideways on the long back seat. Danny's knuckles were white as fire lanced up and down him. "Ow - hell that hurts!" he couldn't help exclaiming as he tried sliding backwards and lifting his damaged leg up. Kelly got the other pillow from the wheelchair and tucked it carefully under Dan's thighs. He kept shaking his head each time Williams made small noises of complaint and finally, when the second-in-command was as far back as possible and leaning against the bolster, he popped the blanket over his friend, tutted, made sure Danny's loafer-clad feet were inside, tutted again and gently closed the door.

This was going to be a long ride.

-&-&-