Another chapter! Possibly the last one, I'm not sure. I sure hope you're enjoying my take on this! And I will finish my other stories once this is done, I promise!
Two hours later, a young doctor came out and found them. Instead of the smile that Danny's last doctor had worn, her face was pinched with anger.
"Are you here for Detective Williams?" she asked. They nodded. "Dr. Lindsay Rothmeyer. I've been overseeing Mr. Williams' care."
"What's going on? Why was he acting that way?" Her eyes flashed in anger once more as she pulled a small plastic container out of her pocket.
"This is why." She said, allowing them to see the contents of the container. Inside was a small piece of what looked like plastic.
"Is…is that a computer chip?" Steve asked incredulously.
"Yes. We found that inserted just under the skin in Mr. William's head. We believe it was put in there when he was getting stitched up after his last head injury two weeks ago."
"His doctor…" Chin began.
"Yes, we think Dr. Hoshino was the one who planted it." Her disgust with her colleague was evident.
"What exactly would this do to him?" Steve asked.
"Preliminary tests show that when sent a signal, the chip emits sounds and electric pulses that only he Mr. Williams would have been able to hear and feel. The vibrations of these noises are enough to cause temporary insanity in anyone. We believe that this was all directed at the amygdala. It's the part of the brain that-"
"Deals with social skills and moral behavior." Steve finished, remembering the case they had been working when Danny had been injured. "But Ellery's dead. If this is his research, who's doing the experiments and why Danny?" he asked Chin.
"I don't know. Hoshino maybe. But I think I know why Danny was hiding in his basement. You said that the chip is only active when sent a signal?" Rothmeyer nodded. "Then the walls of the basement would have blocked out the signal, at least partially." Steve nodded, then turned to Rothmeyer.
"Do you know where Kevin Hoshino is?" she shook her head.
"No, the bastard stopped showing up for work a week ago." She said bitterly. "But we do have an address on file." she handed Steve a piece of paper with all of the hospital's information on Hoshino.
"Thank you. Really."
"Anything to get him off the streets. Doctors are supposed to be the ones we can trust and that son of a bitch is experimenting on his patients? Damn right I'll help in any way I can." Steve smiled at her.
"So how is Danny?"
"Exhausted, dehydrated, but there should be no long term effects. We did have to sedate him in order to remove the chip, but we got it out with no problems. He's resting in a private room right now. We have him on a few IVs, but they'll come off soon enough." She gave them the room number, then left to attend to her other patients. Knowing that Steve would call if anything changed, Chin took the chip and left for Charlie's lab. Steve continued on to Danny's room. He believed Rothmeyer, but he needed to see for himself that Danny was okay. He sat in the hard plastic chair and waited for his partner to open his eyes. After half an hour, Danny stirred.
"Mmmphh…Steve?" Steve's head shot up and he donned his trademark goofy smile.
"Hey Danno! How ya feelin'?
"Fine, I guess. You wanna explain why I'm back in the hospital Steven?"
"You don't remember?"
"No…what should I be remembering?"
"Depends. What's the last thing you did?"
"Uhhhhh…getting the oil changed on the Camaro."
"That was four days ago."
"I've been out for four days?"
"Not exactly. But you haven't really been yourself."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you kinda went…crazy."
"So…where's the straight jacket and rubber room?" Danny joked halfheartedly. It was obvious that he was confused and a bit scared.
"It's not like that. It wasn't your fault. You can blame Dr. Hoshino for this." Steve spat out with venom in his words.
"Hoshino…you mean the doctor who stitched me up after I got conked over the head?"
"Yeah. He put this chip in under your skin before he closed up the wound. Looks like he was experimenting with continuing Ellery's work. The chip put out these noises and electric pulses that messed with your head."
"Bad enough to put me in the hospital?"
"Danny, you called me McGarrett, pointed your gun at me, and almost blew my head off." Danny stared at him.
"Jesus…sorry man." Steve chuckled.
"It's okay. Believe me, I could tell it wasn't really you doing that."
"Even so, what if I had shot you?"
"Hey, you didn't, okay? So let's not think about that."
"Yeah…so, you've got a plan to take Hoshino down, right?"
"Oh yeah we do, buddy. I've had Chin going over his life with a fine tooth comb and we found some interesting stuff. Like large purchases of medical equipment and part for chips just like the one that was in your head. Hoshino's also paid for a contractor to discreetly dig him a larger basement. Combine that with his other purchases, we think he's built himself a lab underneath his house. According to the staff here, he hasn't been to work all week. I've got HPD surrounding the place secretly right now. In about forty-five minutes, Chin and I are gonna see if the good doctor's home." Danny raised an eyebrow.
"That half assed piece of shit is your plan? Only you would consider that well thought out." Danny grumbled.
"Hey, if I remember correctly, my half assed 'McGarrett Plans' as you call them almost always work."
"Yes, but do you remember the times they failed? Because when they fail Steve, they tend to fail rather spectacularly and usually end with explosions and someone getting shot!" Danny practically yelled. Steve could see the concern behind the anger. He knew his partner felt guilty about not being able to have his team's back. That's what Danny was best at. He was the backup and, over the years, he had come to embrace that role. It was in his nature to be loyal and protective.
"We'll be careful, Danny. I promise."
"You better be." Danny said, a small smile showing Steve how much he needed them to be safe.
One more chapter after this. It got a little longer than I thought it would, but if ya got something good, go with it!