A/N: This is so short that I feel guilty making you wait till Saturday for it. That being said, the next chapter is nowhere near complete, so some patience might be necessary. May this tide you over until the next chapter is prepared!

"So…" Chin stretched and grinned at his younger cousin who was lying in a hammock on the hill overlooking the beach. "We fly back soon."

"Yup." Cocktail in hand, Kono closed her eyes against the warm breeze, determined to not think about their upcoming flight until the last possible second.

"You sound disappointed."

"No… not really. It's just so… so…" Kono sighed, searching for the right word, "so quiet here."

"Ah." Chin could only nod in agreement at that statement. "No bickering, no arguing, no snide remarks… You don't miss it?"

"No," Kono laughed. "Do you?"

Chin considered it for a moment. "A bit. I like the quiet but this… this is almost too quiet. I guess I've gotten used to a bit of noise in my life."

Cracking an eye, Kono peered at him over the edge of her hammock. "What do you think we'll find when we get back? Think Steve destroyed anything?"

"Not if Danny destroyed Steve first," Chin joked. "I know Steve had a bad case of cabin fever. Hopefully something came their way. All he needs is a nice, little case to sink his teeth into."

…

Danny wasn't stupid. He knew he'd been extremely lucky so far: the guards he had encountered were patrolling alone and in areas where any noise was less likely to be heard. He was also grateful for the silencer on his weapon, which allowed him to take them out easily, quietly, without attracting attention.

The locker room was entirely different. Situated along a narrow hallway with only one entry point, it was a highly-defensible position and not one that Danny could tackle by himself. Steve, of course, might have something in his arsenal that would help, but Danny was done being Lone Ranger for the day.

His call to Thule had apparently been all that the colonel needed to take action. Less than three minutes after the phone call, the colonel's forces breeched the building. One cluster entered the front lobby at the same time that a second group came in through the upper story windows, having apparently rappelled down from the roof. Danny watched the operation unfold on the screens with curious fascination, but one eye remained on the monitor showing the downstairs corridor and the locker room entrance. He studied the two men crouched in the doorframe. How soon until they noticed the assault?

"…?"

Danny jumped, startled, as a thick Russian voice came over the dead man's earpiece. Cupping the tiny device near his mouth, he cleared his throat and assembled his best Russian accent.

"Uh… nyet!" he tried in a gruff, muffled voice. What had the man asked? Had he bought Danny's reply? Danny watched the monitor showing the locker room door, but there was no change. When no one else came over the line, he heaved a sigh of relief.

A short time later, he saw several of Thule's men creeping down the corridor outside the security office. He wasn't surprised when one of them entered the tiny room and immediately commandeered the space.

"Sir," the man acknowledged Danny with a quick nod.

Danny stepped back to give him space when his attention was suddenly drawn to the Russian earpiece.

"You will die, one piece at a time."

Danny whipped around to view the monitors. Had they discovered the approaching soldiers? Was the man talking to him?

"Where is the drive, Commander McGarrett?"

Steve. They were talking to Steve.

"We will start with this ear."

Danny tapped the soldier on the arm. Mouthing for quiet, he gestured toward the earpiece. The man took it and held it up to his own ear. He listened a moment and his eyes widened. Passing it back to Danny, he hurriedly called in orders to Thule.

Danny hardly paid attention as they argued- he was too focused on what was being said in the locker room. The Russian must have forgotten to turn it off after his last communication. Danny cupped his hand over the small device to mask the noise and held it near his ear.

"Five seconds, Lieutenant Commander."

Danny didn't wait to hear what else was said. Taking the earpiece with him, he flew down the corridor to the stairwell -"Four…"- and leaped down the stairs two at a time.

"Three…"

He darted down the hallway, past the gym where they practiced and the weight room where they trained.

"Two…"

Thule's men were in the corridor ahead. One reached out to grab him. Danny ducked the outstretched arm and ran on.

"One."

…

"Three... "

The guard's arm tightened around Steve's neck.

"Two…"

Steve squinted as dark spots appeared in his vision.

"One…."

As the knife bit into the skin behind his ear, Steve threw himself to one side, jerking his head away from the blade. Instead of cutting off his ear, the knife plunged into the arm wrapped around his neck, causing the guard to suddenly release his grip.

Gasping with new breath, Steve put his full weight on his good leg and pushed, throwing himself into the guard and causing all three men to topple to the ground.

Someone bumped the one of the handles, sending a fresh stream from the showerhead. Sergei's knife skittered across the ground and stopped somewhere near Steve's head. If only his hands were free… but they weren't. Steve scrambled under the cold spray, trying to stay away from the others. Twisting, he managed to wrap his legs around his guard's head, placing him in a chokehold.

The guard struggled, gasping for air and choking, much as Steve had done a few seconds earlier.

But Steve couldn't fight both men at once. Sergei, free and far from Steve's grasp, backed out of the shower and drew his weapon.

"Release him."

Steve held on.

"NOW!" and Sergei fired a warning shot into the tiles near Steve's head.

Steve reluctantly complied. He relaxed his hold, allowing the guard to roll away. The man scrambled hastily out of the shower, massaging his throat, but not before giving Steve a brutally-hard departing kick to his bad leg. As pain flooded his senses, Steve cried out and rolled over. He heard the slight click of the gun being cocked behind him.

It was followed by a vaguely familiar, metallic clink and something rolling across the floor.

Then his world exploded for the second time that day.

…

A/N: short, I know. Sorry! Busy week at work. Busy weekend coming up. Should have a decent-sized chapter for you next time.