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"2-4-1" - chapter 2, written from the guys' POV
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Danny's POV:
"Alright." Danny heard himself finally agree, although only verbally. His heart, his mind, even his instincts as a cop, definitely did not agree.
He knew time was of the essense, Wo Fat would be back, he could even return any second, but despite this knowledge Danny could not get himself to move yet.
"Danny." Was all Steve had to say.
"Yeah." Danny mumbled, probably because he was biting his lower lip. He straightened himself and squared his shoulders before adding, "I know." Yes, he did know, there was no use putting this off. He needed to leave, now. God, this just felt so wrong, leaving his partner like this, a bomb strapped to his chest and ready to die.
Danny made a decision; he would do this Steve's way, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to make it back in time. Maybe if he kept telling himself that he'd believe it. Okay, maybe that wouldn't work. Maybe if he made his partner believe it that would work. Okay, he could try that first.
"Listen to me, Steve," Danny began, holding a hand up as Steve began to speak, probably wanting to tell him to shut up and leave already. "I'm leaving now, but you've gotta know one thing, Steven, one thing... I'm coming back for you. I'm gonna go find help and we're coming back for you." Danny's voice was thick with emotion and determination, but he refused to leave his partner, his friend, his brother, without hope and feeling alone. "And I want you to hang on to this for me until I get back." He added, putting his 's medal into Steve's hand before standing up.
He watched as Steve's eyes looked down at the medal his fingers rubbed over, then back up at him. Not being able to move his head, it was all he could do. "Thanks, Danny."
If it weren't for the bomb Danny would have pulled Steve into one of those manly bear huggs, just to see him squirm and make light of the situation, but there was no doing that. There would be no manly bear hugs. There definitely should be no squirming. There would be no making light of anything at all right now. All because there was a bomb strapped to Steve.
Knowing he would never see his friend again made Danny want to say something really grand, really wonderful, really significant, really memorable, maybe even poetic. But for all the ranting he had done over the years, his words did nothing but fail him now. Sure, Steve was being brave and would tell him to just shup up and leave arleady, but he wanted so much to give him something to think about while he sat there, alone. So instead, he gave his friend the only thing he was asking for, walked to the door, and left.
Steve's POV...
"Alright." Steve finally heard Danny say and was relieved to hear his agreement to leave. He knew it went against everything in Danny, but he also knew that doing what's right and doing what's easy are usually two different things.
Now if he could just get Danny to go, to actually leave, because he wasn't, he hadn't moved even an inch and that wasn't going to work. Wo Fat would be back any time and he needed Danny to get out of there before that happened. Of course it could be a trap, the locks had not been neglected and there was always that possibility, but Steve didn't think so. Wo Fat was after him, not that he minded colateral damage, which is what Danny would be, but Steve was fully aware of what Wo Fat was doing. He wanted Danny to leave and attempt to go for help, because he knew he would fail. He knew Steve would die. He knew that Steve would die alone, it was part of the game he was playing. Wo Fat had claimed to have something, taunting that fact, but Steve knew what it was. Time. Wo Fat had all the time he needed to play this game before killing him.
Well, Wo Fat may have had all the time he wanted, but Steve knew the longer Danny waited to get out of there the harder it would be for him in the end. "Danny." Was all he had to say.
He'd noticed his partner biting his lower lip, a nervous habit he had. Not that he would tell him that, because he would just deny it, probably go off on some rant even. There was no time for that now. And it hit Steve full force that there would never again be a time for it.
'No, Danny, there is no time for me to listen.' Steve thought to himself as his partner began to speak. He wanted to much to tell him to shut up and just go already, but he would not, or could not, deny his friend another moment, and another word in Danny's case, to come to terms with this scenario. So he listened. He listened to Danny's promise to come back for him, with help; Chin, Kono, SWAT, the Bomb Squad, every law enforcement employee he could get within a fifty mile radius if possible were Steve's guesses. Steve wanted to stop him, but two things occurred to him; first off, to stop Danny from talking would take energy he did not have nor could spare right now, second, he could tell by the emotion and determination in his voice that Danny was trying to convince himself as much as anyone. Yes, Danny definitely had a tone, that's for sure, and right now he knew exactly what that tone meant.
When he felt the 's medal being pushed into his hand he knew it was finally time to part ways. He knew it was Danny's way of saying goodbye, because he knew those were words that would just never be heard out loud.
Steve rubbed his fingers over the medal, grateful for the comfort it offered and for his partner and friend for passing it on. He felt guilty for taking it though, knowing it would soon be an unrecognizable puddle of melted silver. "Thanks, Danny." He said.
Steve wished he could have at least extended a hand in addition to those words, some sort of physical contact, as if to seal the deal they had just made. 'Damn bomb', he though to himself, wondering why it hadn't already gone off just from the way his heart was pounding in his chest.
No more words were spoken, which surprised Steve, although he was grateful. He really did need for his partner to get out of there, to be some place safe, to be anywhere but here. He was asking a lot of him, to leave him there like that to die, he knew it, they both knew it. It would be bad enough that Danny would hear the explosion, he didn't want him to see it as well, or worse, be injured by it.
With one final glace the men broke eye contact as Danny finally left the room. He listened as his partner made his way up the stairs, impressed at how quiet he was. He could tell that he went right, the same way Wo Fat had gone. Probably going to see where he is, that's good, that's what I would have done, you've got to know where the enemy is in order to avoid them. The footfalls were faint, but Steve knew Danny had come back to the stairs and continued on the other way, seeking a way out.
Ten minutes later Steve got his reassurance that Danny had made it out as he heard the heavy footfalls of Wo Fat's guards running down that same hallway. 'He'll be okay', Steve assured himself, he knew that they were only trying to scare Danny, Wo Fat never did want him. Wo Fat did however want to capture him initially, to make sure he saw Steve with the bomb strapped to him, to make sure he felt like he had failed, something Danny would live with for the rest of his life. That was part of Wo Fat's game, a game that Steve did not get to make the rules to, a game he was forced to play,... a game that would take his life.
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One more chapter to go.