My thanks to all of you for the Adds and Favorites, and for sticking around for this extra chapter.
I've got a few options with this alternate ending;
* Steve still dies, but does not succeed in taking Wo Fat with him.
* Steve does not die, but Wo Fat does
* Neither one dies
* Danny dies instead
Hmm, decisions, decisions. Well, I'm just going to start typing and see what I feel like at the time. Regardless of which I choose, I hope you enjoy it. We begin with the slightly re-worded ending to chapter 3...
HAWAII FIVE-0
"Tell me who Shelbourne is!" Wo Fat demanded as anger poured from him over Steve's defiance.
"No." Steve declined, looking straight ahead in continued defiance.
"Then are you ready to die?" Wo Fat screamed at the side of Steve's face.
Steve slowly turned to look at the man, then asked, "Are you?"
As soon as those words left Steve's mouth he dug both of his fists into the front of Wo Fat's shirt, and pulled as hard as he could to his right, rolling both of them over so that Wo Fat was down on the concrete with Steve hovering over him, their faces only inches apart. This new vantage point allowed Steve to see something in Wo Fat's eyes that he doubted had ever been there before; fear.
Steve had been right, the last thing Wo Fat would ever see was the look on his face; determination.
MEANWHILE...
Danny's heart was beating so fast and hard all he could hear was his own pulse in his ears above the sound of his heavy footfalls on the rough terrain of what had eventually become a path in what Steve had assessed correctly,... a jungle.
Thirty-seven minutes. That's how long it had been since he had left his partner in that dark and dingy room with a bomb strapped to his chest. Thirty-seven minutes of running as fast as he could between trips and falls. The uneven terrain making it hard to stay upright, something his knee would pay dearly for later. He knew that if he would just slow down that he wouldn't fall so much, or twist his ankle, again, but those things were not important right now. Steve was. 'No. Steve is. Steve is important. Present tense. Steve is not going to die.' Danny reminded himself as he raced on.
It was another eleven minutes before Danny spotted the two hikers just East of him on another trail. He called down to get their attention as he raced towards them. After a brief, make that very brief, explanation, followed by names, phone numbers, and instructions, the two hikers raced off back down the path they had just come up, with promises to call the numbers they had been given as soon as they reached the Ranger Station.
Knowing that help was on the way, Danny about-faced and ran back the way he had come as fast as he could. Back towards the structure that reminded him of the bunker in North Korea. That similarity included a dark, dirty, windowless basement, and surely all the bad guys were obsessed with the same shade of drab gray paint. Not a pleasant association, that was for sure. But this time he knew exactly where his partner was and despite the protests of both his knee and ankle he pressed on.
About half way to his destination, Danny heard two things at once; the sound of multiple ATVs coming from slightly behind him and to the West, and an explosion, the direction of which he did not want to think about.
Unsure if those coming were Wo Fat's men or just off road enthusiasts, Danny chose to position himself on a different path to find out.
Just two minutes later Danny was leaning against a tree. Well, hiding was more accurate. He would be able to see the ATV's riders in time to know if he should get their attention or remain hidden. Not that he would want to remain hidden if the latter was the case, as he would very much like to have a set of those wheels right now so he could get back to Steve quicker, but multiple vehicles meant multiple riders, and he was unarmed.
'I'll bet Super SEAL would know several ways to take out multiple riders without them even knowing what hit 'em.' Danny thought to himself just before they came into view.
"Chin! Over here! Kono!" Danny shouted as he waved his arms to get their attention.
Chin was on the back of the first ATV that was driven by a Ranger, while Kono was driving the second ATV, which she slowed down only enough for Danny to jump on the back of before speeding up again.
The explosion had been huge, as smoke and flames could be seen from over a mile away. Kono slowed to pull up behind the Ranger who had stopped at a small clearing on an elevated ridge with a decent vantage point of what was once a structure.
"Should we continue?" Chin asked, the thought of getting close enough to the building to smell burned flesh making him swallow hard.
"Any reason not to?" Kono asked. She knew none of them would ever give up as long as there was even a chance to rescue Steve.
"Only that if anyone fled the building before it exploded, that puts them out here with us. So we need to scope out the area and proceed with caution. The question is; should we proceed on foot?" Chin explained, while being glad there were multiple things to think about to keep his mind off the one thing he didn't want to think about.
"Might as well keep the wheels." Danny chimed in. "Anyone who fled has already heard us coming anyway."
"Unless that makes us a target." Kono thought out loud. There was no chance of helping Steve if they were taken out.
"Good point, Cuz." Chin replied.
"You folks might wanna check this out." The Ranger spoke up as he handed the binoculars he had been using to Chin.
"I've got movement." Chin confirmed. "Down below, about a half mile ahead."
"Can't see who or what it is." Kono said, as she had retrieved a pair of binoculars form the ATV's storage. "Or how many." She added as they watched the foliage move, the only indication that someone, or something, was there.
"It's gotta be human. Too much movement to be an animal." Chin noted.
"Well, whoever it is then, is headed this direction." Danny said, as Kono had handed the binoculars to him.
"It could be Wo Fat's men, coming to head us off." Kono stated.
"Only one way to find out." Chin said before nodding to the Ranger.
A few minutes later the Ranger was still in the lead, but it was now Danny who followed behind. Chin and Kono had gotten off to hide. Danny had used the excuse that Kono had an advantage on foot as she had worn proper hiking boots while he was in his usual dress shoes. But the truth was his knee and ankle both hurt. But he wasn't about to admit that part.
The movement in the bushes had stopped, and that meant one of two things; whoever they were looking for was hiding from them, a possible ambush came to Danny's mind, or they had simply changed direction and were now on a different path.
After another fifty yards they stopped the ATVs to regroup.
"Nothing?" Chin asked as he approached.
"Nothing." Danny confirmed.
"Hey, guys, over here!" They heard Kono calling from nearby.
"Now that sounds like something." The Ranger piped in.
"There's someone down there." She informed the guys as they approached. They looked down the revine to where she was indicating.
Okay, so there was a third option; they were injured and unable to move.
"I can't see who it is with all the foliage in the way." She added.
"We've gotta get down there. It could be Steve." Chin said, ready to take on the descent.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Danny insisted. "We have no idea who that is. Or even if it's a trap."
"Yeah, it could be a trap." Kono said, "Or it could be Steve."
"Yes, it could be." Danny agreed, "And if it is, and if he's hurt, he'll be in Rambo mode and will come to swinging. Which will only result in one of us ending up the rest of the way down to the bottom of this slippery slope with him."
"I've got an idea." Chin said, but was cut off before he could tell it.
"Hey, you gonna stand up there yappin' all day, or is someone gonna at least throw me down a rope?" They heard a familiar voice call up.
To say that relief at their boss, and more importantly, their friend, being alive flooded all of them would be an understatment.
Only minutes later Chin had descended to bring Steve a harness and rope. "It's good to see you alive and in one piece, brah."
Steve had to smirk. If only they knew what he'd just been through, "It's good to be seen, Chin." He said, grateful to even be alive.
"Whao, wait a minute." Chin said, gesturing to Steve's arm, "That looks pretty nasty."
"Nah, I'm good." Steve lied. "Let's just get out of here." He added, not wanting the full extent of his injuries know, at least not yet.
Kono was grateful she had gloves in her pack as she took up and secured the slack each time Danny pulled on the rope that brought Steve closer to the top. Chin had insisted that Steve go up first.
Danny's outstretched hand wrapped around Steve's wrist for the final tug that brought his partner up onto stable ground. Then Steve leaned his head and shoulder against a tree while listening to another ATV approach as Chin was being brought up.
"Don't touch him!" Chin called out to Kono as he removed the harness once back on stable ground. Steve only looked up at him with piercing eyes. "I knew there had to be a reason you were so agreeable about going up first." He said as he walked over to Steve.
"It's not as bad as it looks, Chin." Steve said, still leaning against the tree.
"What's not as bad? Someone wanna clue the rest of us in." Danny requested in his I'm-about-to-start-a-rant tone.
"Yeah. What's going on?" Kono asked, as her cousin had stopped her from giving her boss a we're-so-glad-you're-still-alive hug.
"You'll see." He said in a surprisingly calm tone before he turned to Max, who was just arriving on the back of another ATV driven by another Ranger.
"Commander McGarrett, it's good to see you alive." Max greeted as he awkwardly dismounted the vehicle, yet while taking note of the blood on Steve's left arm and the bruises on his face.
"Alive, yes. But we may need your assistance in the 'well' department, Max." Chin said as he gestured for the man to move around where he could see Steve's back.
"Oh,... my." Max stated as he sucked in a breath. "That looks, um, painfull, Commander McGarrett."
"Are we back to formalities, Max?" Steve asked.
"Oh. Um, yes, sorry,... Steve." Max mumbled, remembering how he had been asked by the man to call him by his first name. "Apparently my calling you by your first name is tied to your need for medical assistance."
Steve smired, "Will you just pull the damn thing out, please." He requested, while ignoring the 'oh shit' and 'oh my God' comments from Danny and Kono.
"Actually,... Steve," Max said, pleased that he had remembered to call him by his first name, "it would be best if I didn't." This was of course in reference to a piece of metal sticking out of his back, right below his right shoulder blade.
"Max," Steve said with a bit of an exasperated tone, and Danny would surely say he had the face to match, "I would do it myself if I could reach."
"Again, Steve, it would be best if it was not removed. By either one of us." Max stated firmly. He could tell the man was in more pain than he was letting on, and the blood loss was not helping matters. "Although the piece that is sticking out is a good seven inches long, I cannot tell how far it is embedded. And although it does appear to be at a downward angle and not high enough to have hit a lung, removing it could cause more damage and blood loss than should be treated in this setting."
"Danny." Steve said through gritted teeth, although he was still looking at Max.
"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, Steven. I am not pulling that thing out of you." Danny stated adamately. "Absolutely not." He added for good measure with the wave of an arm, as if it had been even necessary.
"Steve, let's just get you to a hospital." Chin, the always calm voice of reason, stated.
"Well then, you're going to have to bring the hospital here, because I am not moving from this spot until that thing is out of me." Steve declared.
Much to Max's disapproval, and everyone else's as far as that was concerned, he soon found himself cutting away the bloody fabric of Steve's ripped up shirt from around the piece of metal.
"Steve," Max began with the shake of his head, "now that I have a better view, I can see that the metal made a long cut on your back before entering. You will require a lot of stitches as well."
"You got a first aid kit with you?" Steve asked without even looking over his shoulder.
"Of course." Max answered, as if it should be obvious, and of course he was glad to be offering this type of service instead of his usual variety.
"Start sewing." Steve replied.
Max just wordlessly nodded as one of the Rangers handed over a first aid kit. He heard Steve exhale and could see he was forcing his muscles to relax as he removed the piece of metal. Which turned out to be a fragment of the building's aluminum siding that had flown in the explosion. Once he had most of the bleeding stopped, he irrigated the large gash and picked up the needle.
"Okay, Steve, while Max perfects his sewing skills," Danny began, while crouching down low in front of Steve who was sitting on a downed log and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, "why don't you tell us what happened." He requested, hoping to at least distract his partner from the pain.
Steve exhaled heavily, not at all surprised at his partner's attempt to distract him, or his curiousity. "When Wo Fat returned," He began, trying hard not to wince at the pain from Max's skills, "he kept asking me about Shelbourne. Over and over. Then at one point I realized that he was standing close to me. Too close. Too close for him to be worried about being blown up. In other words-"
"In other words, there was no motion sensor on the bomb." Kono deduced.
Steve nodded, which he immediately regreted. "Keep going, Max." He said, after feeling that the man had stopped, then continued. "Correct, Kono."
"So you took the vest off and made a break for it?" Danny guessed.
Steve was about to shake his head 'no', then thought better of it, "No. Even though there was no motion sensor, there was still no way for me to get the bomb off. The one Hesse put on Chin was designed by Wo Fat, so I knew that it would blow if I tried to take it off."
"Then how did you get it off?" Danny impatiently asked.
"You would know by now, if you'd stop interrupting me, Danny." Steve said in a monotone, teasing voice.
Danny's hands immediately went up in moch-surrender before wordlessly gesturing for Steve to continue.
"Just like the previous one, it also required a print to disarm it. So, when Wo Fat made his final mistake of coming too close, I took him down." Steve paused, remembering and almost cherishing the moment, "You should have see his face, the look in his eyes. It was fear."
"Wo Fat afraid of something." Chin snorted out, "It's about time."
"So, did the vest blow after you got it off?" Kono saught to confirm her assumptions.
"Nope. There was a second bomb in the building." Steve informed them all, "Danny, remember those two tag-alongs?" He asked.
"Yeah. Big and Bigger." Danny replied.
Steve nodded, again wishing he hadn't, "Well, after they heard the snap of Wo Fat's neck, they turned into two sniveling babies and said I had to let them go because the building was set to blow." He said.
"But you already knew that. Didn't you?" Kono asked at seeing a very pleased with himself expression on her boss' face.
"Yes, Kono, I did. Another of Wo Fat's mistakes." Steve confirmed while turning to her. "He looked at his watch, twice. Dead giveaway."
"Of course." She agreed, although truth was she didn't quite correlate how looking at one's watch, even twice, would indicate that. But she wasn't about to ask Super SEAL that.
"Anyway, the room where they had been earlier," Steve paused while looking at Danny, who remembered the location.
"Yeah. Up the stairs, to the right, fifty feet." He repeated.
"Right. Well, that's where I found our guns and badges, and the disarming device. But not the second bomb, and I wasn't about to go looking for it." Steve said.
"So, where are Big and Bigger right now?" Chin asked.
"I found Bigger just outside the building. Well, actually I landed next to him when I was thrown by the explosion. He had a several pieces of metal sticking out of his back, and one out of the back of his head." Steve said. "I have no idea where Big is, though."
"All finished, Steve. This dressing should keep the wound clean for now." Max announced as he put on the final piece of tape. "Since your arm can wait, let me just wrap it for now. Detective Williams, this would be one time I wish you still wore a tie."
"Huh? A tie? Why is that, Max?" Danny asked.
"If you still wore a tie, I would ask to borrow it, as it would make a good tourniquet for Steve's leg." Max said.
"There's nothing wrong with my leg, Max." Steve said, surprised at what the man had said.
"Oh. There is blood on the side of tour pants." Max stated with a gesture.
"Oh, that." Steve said, "Actually, that's not mine."
"It's not? Do I want to know who's it is?" Max asked.
"Actually," Steve began, as the reached into the side pocket of his cargo pants, "It's Wo Fat's." He stated as he placed an object in Max's gloved hand.
"What the hell." Danny said as he took a step closer.
"Steve,... is that-?" Chin began to ask.
"Wo Fat's thumb." Kono finished for her cousin.
"Well, yeah. I didn't need all of him to disarm the bomb." Steve clarified as Max continued to hold the object up while he was clearly inspecting it as if fascinated.
"Just,... his thumb." Danny stated while rubbing a hand around his jaw.
"Exactly." Steve agreed. "Time was of the essense and I wasn't about to lug his whole body up those steps unnecessarily."
"So you just-" Chin began, but again didn't finish.
"Exactly." Steve again agreed.
"This is quite fascinating." Max stated while still holding up the object for his inspection. "You will have to tell me some time, Steve, how you removed it with so little tissue damage."
"Uh, yeah, maybe some other time." Danny said, not wanting to think about the twenty-seven ways Super SEAL would know how to remove someone's body part with so little tissue damage. "For right now, how about we just get out of here. In fact, how about we get you out of here and get you to a hospital." He suggested while turning from Max to Steve.
"I'm find, Danny." Steve said, as expected by all of them.
"No. No, my friend, you are not 'fine'." Danny began to rant with an up and down wave of his arm to indicate Steve's general appearance, "Although we all appreciate Max's medical expertise and sewing skills," He paused to look at Max, who smiled in appreciation of the compliment, "you still have smaller cuts all over your back, your arm still needs to be taken care of completely, don't think we haven't noticed that blood running down from your hairline there," Another pause as Danny gestures to just behind Steve's right ear, although Steve does not even bother to acknowledge it, "not to mention the need for antibiotics. Lots of antibiotics, after being in this place. Antibiotics that are available in a hospital, Steven."
"Thank you, Danny, for your suggestion. I will take it into consideration." Steve replied with a smirk.
"You're not going to the hospital, are you, Steven?" Danny deadpanned.
"I'll tell you what, if someone will give me a ride to Pearl, I promise to stop by the Naval hospital while I'm there."
"Pearl?" Kono asked, "Why Pearl?"
"I need to see Catherine." Steve said, taking in his apprearce and lack of a shirt since Max had to cut if off of him, "Oh, that reminds me, I need to swing by my house first."
Danny chose to keep his mouth shut on the topic at that point. He knew that once Catherine saw Steve, she would take him over to the Naval hospital herself. This of course made him feel better.
After stopping by the Ranger Station and giving their thanks for the assistance, and making arraingements for Max and the CSU to head back up to retrieve the bodies, the team headed to their vehicles. Kono would give Danny a ride home while Steve rode with Chin.
"Thanks for the help, Danny." Steve said, turning to his partner before they parted ways.
"Any time, partner." Danny replied before turning towards Kono's car.
"Oh, and Danny," Steve called out, "you'd better get some ice on that knee."
Danny just waved over his shoulder as he kept walking. He wasn't at all surprised that Steve had noticed the slight limp he had attempted to conceal.
After stopping by his house briefly, Steve borrowed Chin's phone as they drove towards Pearl. His call to Catherine had been mostly one-sided as he explained what had happened and that he would be there to see her soon.
His second call was to Joe, "Joe, it's Steve. We need to meet and talk. Wo Fat is dead and it's time for you to tell me the truth about Shelbourne."
HAWAII FIVE-0
I hope you enjoyed this alternate ending. Origianally I had planned the option of Danny dying instead of Steve, but there were just too many requests for it to be this way... and I like to make my readers happy.
Since the whole Shelbourne storyline isn't over with until the S2 finale, and most of us realize that Joe was lieing to Steve when he claimed that he was Shelbourne, I decided it was time that Steve called him on it and demanded the truth,... now that Wo Fat is dead.
I still wanted Wo Fat to die, and die at Steve's hand, hence the broken neck (and missing a thumb, too). Plus, Steve would feel like he had completed his father's work.
Did Steve just clean up and change clothes while he was at home, or did he grab the ring, too? I left that part open for you to decide.