Danny and Chin acted as soon as Kono stood up and the man seated beside her wrapped his arm around her. They entered the bar in time to hear O'Brien shout a warning and then all hell broke loose as 'Jerry' produced a gun and several shots rang out. Kono fell to the floor, and for an instant they thought she'd been shot, but she started to giggle and sat up.
"Hey, Danny...wha's up?" she managed and turned to watch Chin kneel down beside the man she'd been talking to.
"Kono!" Williams tried and looked into glazed eyes. "Kono, look at me!"
"No...I need a drink!" the woman said.
"Kono, are you hurt?" the Jersey native asked as O'Brien called for an ambulance and backup.
"No, I'm fine...just a little dizzy...but it was supposed to be a virgin Hawaiian, but he said there was no such thing," Kono said and frowned. "My head hurts..."
"Just hold on...help's on the way," Williams said and watched as she leaned against the bar. "Kono, I have to help Chin and David. You stay where you are until the paramedics check you over."
"I just want to sl...sleep," Kono told him.
"Steve, hold on and we'll get him off you," Chin said as O'Brien moved to the other side. "Danny, how's Kono?"
"She's out of it. I think the bastard slipped her a ruffie," Williams answered, and caught sight of his partner's pale face. The lines of pain were evident and Danny cursed when Chin and David lifted the man off Steve McGarrett. There was blood covering much of his body, but what caught Danny off guard was the hole in the right side of the shirt. "Chin, Steve's been hit."
"What?" Chin snapped and dropped the other man to the floor. "Check him, David!"
"Steve, lie still!" Williams ordered and pushed the man's hands away. He lifted the shirt and spotted the ragged hole to the right of McGarrett's navel. Someone handed him several clean bar towels and he quickly pressed one firmly against the wound. He heard a sharp gasp, but ignored it as he tried to stop the bleeding.
"The bastard's dead," O'Brien told them and stared at McGarrett who seemed to be looking right at him.
"Damn, I was hoping we could question him," Chin said.
"Sorry, it was him or Kono," O'Brien said.
"Dan..."
"Just lie still, Steve," Williams warned as McGarrett tried to sit up. "Why the hell didn't you stay in the hospital?"
"I...need...need..."
"To stop being so damn stubborn. Now shut up and save your strength because when this is over I'm going to kick your ass from here to Jersey!" Williams said as the sound of sirens reached his ears. He looked into McGarrett's eyes and was shocked when McGarrett stopped talking and went still. "Steve! Steve! McGarrett! Don't you do this to me!"
"Easy, Danny," Chin said, in a voice that was edged with fear as he tried to find McGarrett's pulse. Relieved when he felt the two fast flutter beneath his fingertips.
"Where's the damn ambulance?" Williams snapped and turned to see Kono trying to stand. "Kono, stay put!"
"Wha's w...wrong wif Steve?" Kalakaua mumbled.
"Steve's fine and so are you," Chin said.
"Not f...fine...tired," Kono told him and sighed as she closed her eyes.
Chin looked toward the entrance as several uniformed cops entered. "It's clear! Get the paramedics in here now!"
Danny continued to put pressure on the wound to Steve's side as the paramedics pushed a fully laden gurney into the bar. The two men looked at each other before separating, one going to McGarrett while the other moved to Kalakaua.
"There's a second ride on the way," one of the officers told Chin.
"Good, thanks, Cal," Chin said and looked toward O'Brien who seemed to be watching everything with a smug look that sent a chill through his spine. He knew Danny was fine with Steve, so he moved to check on his cousin who seemed to be totally unconscious. "Her name is Kono Kalakaua. We think she was drugged," Chin told the paramedic.
"We'll get an IV started and send her to the hospital. Her vital signs are good and they'll run tests to find out what she was given there," the man assured him.
"Thanks," Chin said and again watched O'Brien, but the man's face appeared guarded now and he knew there would be no answers forthcoming for now. He watched as the second paramedic worked on McGarrett and silently cursed when he took note of the blood soaked towel. He knew a man could only lose a certain amount of blood before things became dangerous, and Steve had to be close to that now.
"Luka, as soon as you got that IV in I need you here."
"I just need to tape it in place," the paramedic said and finished securing the IV before directing Chin on how to hold the bag of IV solution while he checked the second injured man before moving to help his partner.
Danny moved back to give the two men room to work and knew things were critical when he heard the two men speaking rapidly about getting McGarrett loaded onto the gurney. He moved to help them and didn't miss the washed out corpse like caste of his partner's skin as a second team of paramedics arrived.
"Chin, you guys go with Steve and Kono. We'll secure the scene until the coroner gets here," Duke told him.
"Thanks, Duke," Kelly said and watched as the newcomers placed Kono on the second gurney and took her outside. "Danny, I'm going with Kono. I'll see you at Queens."
"All right," Williams said and walked alongside the gurney carrying McGarrett.
"Danny, I'll stick around and see you at the hospital once I'm done here."
"Thanks, David," Williams said. Once outside the paramedics loaded McGarrett into the back. The first man climbed in and shut the door.
"You can ride up front, Detective," Luka told him. "And wear your seat belt."
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David O'Brien glanced at the man who could have ruined everything and felt no remorse that Jerry Lamont was dead. He cursed the fact that his second bullet hadn't killed McGarrett outright, but he already had a story ready for Williams. In hindsight he knew he could have left it to Lamont to kill the head of Five-O, but the man had missed anyway and the bullet was probably buried in the wall near the bar.
"You're the new Five-O guy aren't you?" Duke Lukela asked.
"Yes, I am." O'Brien said and introduced himself.
"What happened here?"
"We set up a sting operation and it was going fine until Commander McGarrett showed up. I think he," O'Brien pointed to the dead man. "Recognized Steve and things went to hell pretty fast."
"Did you fire your weapon?"
"Yes, I shot him and he had a gun. I think...I'm not sure, but I may have been the one to shoot Commander McGarrett," O'Brien said keeping his voice soft.
"What did you say?"
"I think I may have shot Commander McGarrett. He moved at the same time 'Jerry' pulled out his gun. Jerry shot at the same time I did and he fell into McGarrett. We didn't know he was shot until they pulled 'Jerry' off of him."
"I'll need your gun," Lukela told him and waited for O'Brien to hand over his weapon. "There'll be an enquiry."
"I know," O'Brien said and swallowed as he reached for the bar.
"Are you all right? Do you need something to drink?"
"I'm fine...I just...I can't...I mean if I shot him...I..."
"Easy, you said yourself it might not have been your bullet that hit McGarrett. Even if it was it sounds like a righteous shot, and IA will clear you of any wrongdoing."
"Maybe, still doesn't help make it easier."
"No, I guess it doesn't, but let's not go there unless we have to," Lukela told him as he motioned another cop over and bagged the evidence. "Look, get a bottle of water and sit down. We'll get this taken care of and find out how McGarrett's doing."
"Thanks, Duke," O'Brien said and took a seat on the bar stool. He nodded at the bartender who passed him a bottle of water and hid the smile that was fighting to be born as the officers continued to investigate the shooting. If he was lucky McGarrett would die and he wouldn't need to take any further action, but if he lived and he'd heard Lamont, then he'd have to make damn sure the bastard died. He silently cursed that things seemed to be unravelling when this should have been the perfect setup.
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Keanna Wahine looked up as the ambulance pulled into the ER bay and hurried outside to meet the newest arrival. She knew there'd been a shooting, but had no idea who the victim was. One look at the pale man on the gurney had her heart beating so hard she thought it would burst through her chest.
"Keanna, I'll take this one," Dr. Akoni Wilson told her. As head of the trauma team he'd been called when the report of a man with a serious gunshot wound came in. He knew Wahine was also on duty and of her relationship with Steve McGarrett. He recognized the man from pictures in the paper when Governor Jameson had announced that she was forming a new task force and McGarrett would be in charge.
"Trauma one is ready for you, Dr. Wilson," the ER nurse said and helped push the gurney toward the room.
"Danny, what the hell happened?"
"That's what I'd like to know. How the hell did Steve end up in the middle of our operation when he was supposed to be here?" Williams snapped.
"I don't know, Danny. I saw him this morning and he wasn't supposed to be released until tomorrow."
"Did he have any visitors?"
"I don't know," Wahine said and watched as Kono Kalakaua was wheeled in. She immediately turned her attention to the newest arrival and set her mind to taking care of her. She listened as the paramedic explained what little they did know, gave her a list of vitals, and what treatment they'd given on the scenes as Kono was moved onto an ER gurney.
Keanna pushed the thoughts of McGarrett from her mind as she checked Kono's eyes and gave orders for blood work and other tests to be done while monitoring equipment was set up.
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Akoni Wilson listened to the paramedic as he gave a list of treatments and vitals signs even as he checked the wound to the right side. He knew there could be internal damage and that the blood loss was critical. McGarrett's heart rate and pulse were way too fast while his blood pressure was dangerously low. He ordered a third IV line and blood work as the nurse set up for a blood transfusion.
The paramedic finished removing his equipment and exited the room as the nursing staff continued to work like a well oiled machine. Wilson knew they needed to find out where the bullet was and remove it as soon as possible, but first they needed to get the man stabilized.
5050505050
Chin looked at Danny and knew the man was as angry as he was worried. He grabbed him by the arm and led him to the waiting room where Williams immediately began pacing the floor.
"Danny, I know you're angry..."
"I'm way beyond angry, Chin! What the hell was he doing there" Not only is he in there fighting for his life, but he could have gotten Kono killed too!"
"Steve being there had nothing to do with what happened to Kono. We set her up for 'Jerry's' trap. We underestimated how far he'd go or how quickly he'd act."
"And now the sonofabitch is dead and we're no closer to solving this damn case!"
"Danny, how many shots did you hear?"
"I don't know...two...no wait it was three in quick succession. Why?"
"That means David fired at least once because 'Jerry' was shot in the back. Steve was hit, but whether he was hit by O'Brien's bullet or..."
"You can't be serious, Chin? David wouldn't shoot Steve."
"Maybe not, but he fired his gun and..."
"And probably saved Steve and Kono's life," Williams said.
"Maybe, but what if he..."
"What if he what, Chin?"
"What if he saw a chance to get rid of Steve?"
"Okay, this is getting pretty old, but let's just say you're right for a minute...tell me what David gains by getting rid of Steve?"
"A place in Five-O...and nobody questioning why the governor appointed him to the task force," Kelly answered. "I know you don't want to hear this, Danny, but there's something just not right about all of this."
"Chin, did Steve tell you anything about the Governor hiring David?"
"Just that he wasn't happy about it, but we all knew that. Why?"
"He told me she gave him a file some guy named Jake sent her from Newark. The file supposedly has proof that David is bad."
"Where's the file?"
"At Steve's place, unless IA confiscated it. It's on a disk."
"I doubt IA took it they were too interested in finding drugs to worry about a disk. Did Steve watch it?"
"He did and that's not the only thing in this file."
"What else?"
"Supposedly there's proof that 'm also dirty."
"Somehow I don't think Steve believed that or he wouldn't have told you about the evidence."
"What about you?"
"I don't think you're dirty, Danny."
"Why, Chin?"
"Call it instinct or anything else, but I trust you with my life,"
"I feel the same way about David...at least I did until all of this happened."
"So you believe Steve?"
"I don't know, but I'm no longer blinded by David's friendship."
"That's good to hear. Once we know Steve and Kono are all right we should head over to Steve's and check for that disk," Chin said and watched as Williams sat down tiredly.
"You know being friends with McGarrett is going to drive my health insurance sky high."
"Why is that?"
"Because I can feel the damn ulcer forming already."
"Yeah, good thing our premiums are locked in," Chin said and leaned back in the chair while they waited for word on their friends.
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Author's Note—- Well, here's another part...and thanks again for the reviews...both signed and anonymous...Winnie