A/N: Thanks for the follows and reviews! This chapter is a bit short, but it's annoying to type with a bandaid on my finger, so the longer chapter will have to wait until later.

…

Danny shook his head as both men exited the warehouse into the bright sunshine. "Shame on you, Steven. What did the horse ever do to you? The horse isn't going to shoot at you."

As he spoke, the wall behind them suddenly splintered as a gunshot rang out.

...

Steve dove behind the nearest pile of shipping crates while Danny ducked out of habit.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" the detective demanded.

"I don't know." Half-reclined on the pavement behind the crates, Steve tried to see- unsuccessfully, as another shot was fired- around his meager shelter. "You were facing that direction. Did you see anything?"

"How can I see anything when I'm being shot at?!"

"It was just two shots." Steve flinched as a third round embedded itself in the wood above his head. "Okay, three."

"Which I bet is gonna be four in a second," Danny said drily as he tried to pull his phone from his pocket. Reclined against an old metal drum, he fumbled for a minute before finally releasing the device from his pocket and turning it on.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling for backup since you won't."

"Danny, it's just one guy. We don't need backup," Steve protested. He risked a quick glance after a fourth shot was fired. "I saw muzzle flash behind that building," and he pointed to another structure across the street from the warehouse.

Following his finger, Danny eyed the low, cinderblock building with dislike. "Great," he muttered, returning his attention to his phone. "Good for you."

Steve squinted in the direction of the low, tan building. "Got him. Open window, second floor. I can see his sleeve."

"And it's just one guy?"

"Yes." But another round, this time angled from the junkyard off to one side, had both men hunkering down as the wood beside them shattered. "Okay, two guys. But we can take them."

Ignoring him, Danny pressed the phone to his ear and crouched uncomfortably against the hot pavement and rusting metal barrel where he had taken refuge. "Duke? It's Danny… No, we don't need Animal Control just yet. Actually, we haven't seen the horse yet. … No, it's complicated…. Yes, that was a gunshot. We're under fire in the harbor area. Need SWAT and extra units… Yeah, old warehouse near the junkyard… Great, thanks." Closing the phone, he nodded to Steve. "Duke is sending backup. Real backup."

A moment later, both assailants opened fire at the same time, sending loud ricochets off the surrounding metal trash and forcing the men to hunker down as close to the pavement as possible.

"Is this exciting enough for you?" Danny yelled over the noise.

"What?!"

"You've been bored and moping around all month, and now we might die because of a stupid unicorn. So: Is this exciting enough for you?"

"Danny, I don't do this for the excitement." Steve didn't fully understand his partner's need for banter in dangerous situations. While he was busy assessing the situation and deciding on a course of action, the Jersey detective seemed more interested in thinking up witty insults and creative protests. Looking to his left, Steve studied his partner's precarious position behind the barrels and noticed something else. "Danny, you've got to move."

"What?" Danny protested, unwilling to leave the meager shelter he had. "Why do I have to move? What if I like these digs?" Danny fired several shots of his own in the direction of the junkyard.

Steve wasn't interested in playing around. He knew Danny's bluster was more pronounced when the detective was nervous, but he had other problems to deal with.

"Those 'digs' put you in sight of our second shooter. And that barrel isn't going to last forever." He sought about for a more suitable location as several more shots rang out. The door to the warehouse was still open, but too far away to be a viable option. The car was also there but the path to it was exposed and therefore not high on Steve's list. A better option was the stack of crates and tires a few yards away.

"Danny- can you make it to those tires?"

Danny sized up the distance. "You gonna cover me?"

"On three," Steve confirmed. "One… two…"

"Whoa, whoa Rambo!" Danny objected. "That doesn't give me any time to-"

"Three." Twisting around his shelter, Steve let loose a barrage of bullets.

"You are impossible, McGarrett." Rolling out from behind the barrel, Danny ducked and ran low across the pavement, sliding safely into his new shelter a few seconds later. "Okay," he called. "I made it in one piece, no thanks to you. What now?"

"Now…" Steve looked around. "Now I'm going to try to make it to that door," and he pointed at the opening into the warehouse behind him.

"Yeah? Cause I see a problem with that."

"What problem? There's no problem, Danny." Steve paused the conversation to drop his empty clip and pull a full one from somewhere in the depths of his cargo pockets. "It's simple: I run for the door and you cover me."

"Yeah? I don't know if you've noticed, but that kind of maneuver takes ammo and this," Danny held up his half-full clip, "is all I got left."

"That's it?! Where's your spare?"

"I don't have it on me!"

"Why the hell not?" Steve demanded.

"Cause I thought we were picking up a horse, Steve!" Danny yelled back in exasperation. "And I know the horse isn't going to shoot at me!"

"But everyone else is."

"Thank you, Einstein, I can see that now." Danny flinched as a bullet embedded itself in the rubber pile behind him. "If you'd told me I was gonna be in a shootout, I would've brought extra ammo. And body armor."

"Lucky for you, I came prepared," Steve said between shots. Twisting, he aimed his next volley at the junkyard. "There's extra ammo in the trunk, along with all the other equipment you always gripe about."

"Great. I'm glad you're always prepared, Steven. I'm sure you'll be a great Boy Scout leader someday." Danny fired two shots toward the building down the street. "But that does me no good right now since the car is over there and I- argh!"

"Danny?" Steve called into the sudden silence. "Danny!"

A/N: I keep messing with the categories on this story because I'm not sure what fits it best. I feel like the website needs "bickering" and "whump" as category names. What categories do you wish were available for your stories?