Thank you so, so, so, so much for all the support, reviews, and alerts. There aren't words to show how grateful I am to you guys/gals. Thanks again
So, please enjoy, review if you can, and I'll catch you in chapter 13
Bye...
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Steve…
Next to funerals, I hated hospitals the most. I'm sure I'm not alone, a lot of people hated them, but I was pretty damn sure a big bulk of them didn't end up in one on a monthly basis.
After checking with a nurse, I found Kono and Chin behind a curtained off cubical in the ER. She was relatively unscathed. He had a bruise across the left side of his head and an arm wrapped around his abdomen.
"What happened?" I asked glancing between them.
"Harley came up behind Chin, and got a couple hits in before I shot him in the arm," Kono explained quickly. "Then…"
"Kono overreacted," Chin butted in.
"I did not," she snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at her cousin.
"Yes, you did," he argued wincing when he moved too quickly. "I'm fine."
"Yeah, I'm sure." Silently I wondered when my team picked up on the whole 'under playing our injuries' thing. That was my thing, I didn't ask them to gravitate toward it.
The curtain behind me opened and I turned to see one of the several doctors we dealt with: Doctor Wesley. He was glancing down at a clipboard, but when he looked up he stopped and sighed, "Why am I not surprised? Let me guess, ninjas?" he gestured to my wounds.
"Nope," I responded shaking my head. "Pool cue and angry partner."
"Oh, so you're having a slow day?" he flashed me a smile and I shook my head.
"How is he?" I asked nodding toward Chin.
"A couple cracked ribs and a mild concussion. He'll be fine if he takes it easy. As soon as he signs these he's free to go." He handed Chin the clipboard, discharge papers attached to it.
Once the papers were signed, I led Chin and Kono toward the exit. "Okay, Kono and I are heading back to HPD to talk to Harley. Chin, head over to my place, check on Danny. Get him something to eat; he hasn't had anything in a couple days." They nodded and we split up. Kono and I headed toward Danny's Camaro while Chin trekked toward his Traverse.
"How's Danny?" Kono asked when we were both in the car.
"He's slightly better than he was before," I answered slowly, starting the Camaro. She nodded a barely concealed look of skepticism on her face. I threw the car in reverse and backed out of my spot.
"Is he alright enough to help if things get hairy?" she raised her eyebrows.
I didn't know how to respond to her question. On the one hand, his help would be beneficial if we ended up pinned down. But on the other hand, his thirst for vengeance could make him more of a hindrance than a help.
So, instead of answering I just put the car in drive and pulled out of the parking lot…
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Harley was completely bald, a tattoo of a spider sketched across the crown of his head. His eyes were two, flaming orbs of emerald as he glared up at me. He truly believed I couldn't break him, I could sense it. But, what he didn't know was I had broken men twice as tough as him. All I had to do was know where to apply the right pressure.
"Hollis Harland," I said glancing down at his file. "Assault and battery, assault and battery, assault with a deadly weapon, assault and battery…" I looked up meeting his eyes. "I'm beginning to sense a pattern here." He didn't say anything, but his scowl deepened. "Mason's lawyers must work overtime with you.
"No wonder you've been driving for him lately. He's probably getting sick and tired of bailing your ass out of jail." I flicked his wound and he winced slightly. "Sorry, forgot Officer Kalakaua hit you there." A medic had bandaged it before we interrogated him, but I still could see the blood slowly seeping through.
I began to pace back and forth in front of him, flipping through his file. "You were a suspect in a murder ten years ago. Did you do it? I bet you did it. I mean, come on," I slapped his injured arm and he winced, again, "look at you. You're a big, tough guy. I bet killing someone didn't faze you one bit. I mean," I smacked him a third time, "especially if the guy was pushing you around. Pissing you off." I hit him again; blood was soaking the bandage and staining my palm.
"Three gunshot wounds were nothing, nothing compared to the satisfaction that that guy would be gone. Isn't that right," I lightly punched his wounded arm, "Hollis?" Crimson dribbled from underneath the bandage and trailed down his arm. I made a show of wiping my hand on his shirt, noticing how he tried to flinch away from me.
"You okay?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Why am I here?"
"Just two dudes talking," I responded giving him a small smile. "Talking about a dead guy and how Mason's lawyers probably bailed your ass out like they always do." I fixed him with a steady look and said, "You know what I call guys who have to have a group of lawyers fight their battles for them? Worthless pieces of shit."
"You have no idea…" Harley trailed off.
"What? What was that?" I leaned in. "I have no idea… what? …of who I'm dealing with? …what I'm saying? …what color that wall is? Because I do believe it's blue." I wasn't the only bad influence on our team…
I started pacing again, smacking Harley's arm in passing. "Would you stop?" he growled.
"Stop what? This?" I smacked him again. "Is that what you want me to stop?" I smacked him again. "Tell me where Peter T'ak is and I'll stop." I punched him squarely in his wound, making him jerk with the pain. "Nothing, huh?" I smacked him. "Not up to talking? That's okay." I hit him twice more. "I can do this all night."
I made to hit him again, but stopped mid-slap when he snapped, "Dead."
"Dead? Like this guy?" I showed him a picture of the man he was suspected of murdering ten years ago. "Or dead like her?" I pulled a photo of Marla Oliver out of the file, showing it to him.
"Who's…?"
"This is Marla Oliver. She was kidnapped by T'ak and shoved in her car's trunk Saturday night. Then your boss decided to send you, Heckle, and Jekyll to get him. You chased him from his house, leaving Marla in the trunk." I leaned forward and whispered, "She suffocated by the way." I pushed away from him, noticing an unidentifiable flicker in his eyes.
"Of course, T'ak could also be dead like these two." I pulled two more photos from the folder, sparing a quick glance at the woman, and then showed them to Harley. "You see these two were hit, head-on, and killed by T'ak. She," I waved Rachel's picture at Harley, "died on impact." I tossed the file to the floor. "Did you know she had a daughter? She's eight. Did you know Marla had two daughters? Nine and six. And now all three of these little girls are without their mothers. All because of you and your stupid, selfish bastard of a boss."
"You can't blame me…"
"I can blame you for whatever I damn well please," I snapped leaning down so I was in his face. "You are going down for four murders, and I will personally make sure those expensive lawyers don't get you off on a 'technicality.' Because there isn't any damn way you are walking away from this. Do you understand me?" I moved away from him heading toward the door. I clenched my hands into fists, surprised at how badly they were shaking. I hadn't expected to get that angry.
My hand was on the doorknob when I heard a quiet voice say, "McGarrett, wait." I turned meeting Harley's green eyes, waiting expectantly. "I can tell you where Mason's gonna be."
"And what does it cost us?" I asked raising my eyebrows.
"Protection," he said slowly.
"For you?" I really didn't want to see this guy walk no matter how much he was cooperating.
"For my little sister," he responded taking me by surprise. I moved across the room, stopping next to the file I had left on the floor, Rachel's and Marla's pictures sitting on top.
"You have a sister?"
"Margo," he said nodding. "She's in college and doesn't know what I do. Mason hasn't touched her because I work for him, but if I flip…" a look of desperation flickered across his face.
"I'll see what I can do," I responded slowly…
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Danny…
2006…
We got a break in the case about an hour after Rachel took Grace to my mother's. I was heading out of the house, moving toward my car, my phone glued to my ear.
"You've reached Rachel Williams. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you." I sighed in frustration before hanging up. If she didn't want to talk to me then I wasn't going to leave a message.
I threw my phone in the passenger seat, started the car, and backed out of the driveway. A bad feeling washed over me as I began driving down the road, a shiver traveled down my spine. With some effort I pushed it to the back of my mind. Whatever it was I'd deal with it later…
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Present Day…
Chin had made soup, despite the fact that I told him I wasn't hungry, and watched me until I ate it. It was the first thing I had eaten in a few days, and although my stomach revolted at first, in the end it accepted the fact that I needed sustenance and stopped churning after every mouthful.
"Steve ask you to watch me?" I asked taking a drink of orange juice.
"Not in so many words," Chin responded flashing me a small smile.
"I don't need a…"
"I know, Danny," Chin interrupted nodding. "But we're worried about you. So, humor Steve and don't complain about me being here." I sighed, but nodded returning to my soup.
"You gonna tell me what happened to your face?" I questioned scooping up a spoonful of noodles.
"You mean this?" he pointed at the bruise across his head and I nodded. "Would you believe it if I told you I fell?"
"No."
"Then I tripped." before I could open my mouth to protest his evasiveness the backdoor opened and Kono and Steve traipsed into the house.
"Is that blood?" I questioned noticing the smear of scarlet across Steve's green shirt.
"It's not mine," Steve replied glancing down at it. "Good to see you're eating and less unsteady."
"So, what did Harley have to say?" Chin asked getting to his feet. He grabbed my empty bowl and walked it over to the sink.
"Who's Harley?" I asked looking from Chin to Steve to Kono.
"You didn't tell him?" Steve questioned raising his eyebrows.
"I didn't know if you wanted me to," Chin answered shrugging, turning from the sink to lean against the counter.
"What the hell are you three talking about?" I hated being left in the dark; especially if what they were keeping from me had anything to do with the case. The case I happened to be kicked off of, and was hoping Steve would allow me back on.
"I think we should tell him," Kono said quietly.
"Tell me what?" I was getting mad.
"We may have gotten a break in the case," Steve said meeting my eyes.
"What is it?" a swoop of anticipation rolled through me. A break, an actual break. This was what we've been waiting for since we got this case.
"I thought I kicked you off," Steve said slowly.
"Come on, you can't keep me away from this." I met his eyes, noticing a flicker of uncertainty flash across them. He sighed and said, "We managed to get a hold of one of Mason's guys. And he told me where Mason is going to be tonight."
"And is his information good?" I tried to staunch the ever growing hope bubbling up. I had to act level headed, not let my need to make Mason pay take over. This could be crap information from a dick who decided to work for an even bigger dick.
"He exchanged it for protection…" Steve murmured.
"Oh, that's wonderful. Let another criminal walk…"
"…for his sister." My eyebrows shot up. "I checked it out, she's real. Margo Beck is his half-sister on his mother's side. She's all he's got."
I nodded, glancing down at the table. "So, where's he gonna be…?"
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I could tell it was against Steve's better judgment, but he eventually relented and let me help in the gunfight. Kamekona had agreed to watch Grace while we went after Mason. Before I left I had given her a hug and whispered, "Love you, Monkey."
"Love you, too Danno," she had whispered back. I let her go, gave her one last wave, and then followed Steve out of the house.
We rode to HPD in silence, unusual for us. I could tell he was regretting allowing me to tag along, but I didn't care. I was a cop; I was trained to do this stuff. And he wasn't stopping me from putting a bullet into Mason.
We met up with Chin and Kono out front of the palace, along with two members from SWAT. It was a tense few moments of silence between us, then Steve went over the plan and we geared up.
Mason had set up shop in an old, rundown boutique (and I only know that word because of Rachel). He had one guard out front, and Steve easily took him out by sneaking up behind him and putting him in a choke hold.
He motioned for the SWAT guys, Chin, and Kono to take the back. They headed down an alley, leaving Steve and I alone. He flashed me a look, asking if I were ready. I took a breath, nodded once, and stood to the side.
"Okay," he said into his comm. He grabbed the door and threw it open, firing two shots at a couple guys, seconds before they drew their guns. He ran inside, I was hot on his heels, and took cover as a spray of bullets flew over us.
I heard a shotgun sound from above us, two more quick bursts from a SIG followed, and then we heard Kono shout, "All clear."
Steve was the first to his feet, I followed. He headed toward the door in the back, shoving it open to reveal stairs. "Okay," he whispered turning to face us and the two SWAT guys. "Harley said that the stairs breaks off into two corridors. Chin you, Quinton, and Sung go right. Kono, Danny, and I are going left."
We headed down the stairs, splitting off at the last step. Steve, Kono, and I were barely ten feet from Chin and his team when the bullets started flying. Kono and I took cover behind a stone pillar while Steve hung back, keeping his back to the wall.
He flashed Kono and I a look, we nodded, and all three of us opened fire at the same time. Steve and I managed to wound two guys, Kono killed a third. We took cover just as one of the wounded fired a round of bullets at us.
"I'm going to try and get closer," Kono whispered in my ear, gazing at a pillar a good three feet away. "Cover me." before I could protest she was already running. I stood up, firing cover fire as fast as I could. I kept an eye on Kono in my periphery, making damn sure she made it to cover. When I was sure she wasn't going to get shot, I ducked down, barely avoiding a bullet to the head.
My heart slammed against my chest. That was too damn close for comfort. I had about six seconds to freak about nearly dying before Steve plopped down next to me. "You okay?" he asked reloading his SIG.
"Yeah," I murmured pulling a fresh clip from the Velcro pocket of my vest. I reloaded my gun, sparing Steve a single glance before we stood and started firing again. The last few guys went down without a problem.
"Chin, report," Steve said into his comm.
"All good on our end, brah. No sign of Mason, though," Chin's voice crackled back through our ears.
"Keep looking," Steve said and headed further down the hall. Kono and I raced to catch up, stepping over bodies as we went. I spotted one of the Samoans that nabbed and ultimately helped hill T'ak. Blood was seeping through a hole in his shirt and dripping onto the floor. I barely spared him a second glance as I walked past his prone form.
"Kono, check out this room," Steve said pointing to a red door. I figured it was probably a storage room, the store wasn't that big. She nodded and ducked inside. "Danny." He pointed at a door across from Kono's. I nodded and ducked inside.
It was a spacious, semi-dark room-probably where the old owners used to keep his stock-with a desk crammed against the back wall. First appearances the room looked empty, but then I saw something move in the shadows. I had barely enough time to hit the deck when a bullet flew over me, impacting with the wall exactly where my head had been. Second near headshot since entering the building, this just wasn't my day.
"Mason?" I shouted hopefully crawling over to the desk to take cover, barely avoiding getting shot a third time. Score: I found the asshole. "Been looking everywhere for you," I said peeking over the edge of the desk, firing at the space where I hoped Mason was. Scraping shoes told me he had moved before the bullet could hit him, probably taking cover behind one of a half dozen beams situated throughout the room.
"Who flipped?" he called in a nasally voice, firing toward the desk. His bullets pinged off the desk's leg, leaving behind a deep gouge.
"Doesn't matter," I called back firing at the pillar, barely missing his exposed arm. "All that matters is what'll happen when I get my hands on you."
"Very un-cop-like of you," Mason retorted the bark of his gun echoing off the walls. All three bullets managed to miss me, but the last came very close to making contact. I was wondering when my luck was going to run out.
"What can I say? My partner is a bad influence." I fired again, twice more, before my gun clicked. Shit, out of ammo. I searched my pockets for any spare clips, but didn't find any. I threw my gun aside, peeking over the edge of the desk. Mason was reloading, the clip shaking with his trembling hand. I had, maybe, six seconds.
Pulling myself into a crouch, I threw myself around the desk and ran at the guy. I took him down just as the clip slid into the gun. Mason's .45 went flying, skidding across the cement floor just out of either of our reaches.
He threw a punch at me, hitting me in the jaw. My head barely snapped back, meaning he spent more time with guns than actually fighting. I threw an uppercut at him, my fist meeting the side of his head. He went down, but managed to grab my arm in the process. We felt to the floor in a tangled heap, an elbow slammed into my face.
I was stunned for a second, feeling more than seeing Mason try to get away. I shook my head to clear it, becoming aware just in time to see him trying to reach the gun. I dove forward, grabbing his leg and yanking him away from the gun. He kicked out with his free leg, his foot meeting my shoulder, but it was barely a strong enough kick to do any real damage.
"My eight year old hits harder than you," I spat before slamming his face into the cement. It wasn't hard enough to kill, but it did daze him. I scrambled to my feet, snatching his .45 off the ground. I moved toward him, Mason now on his back. His eyes widened when I pointed the gun between his eyes, my brain screaming at me to pull the trigger. My finger had tightened around the trigger, my hand gripping the butt tightly. But before I could pull the trigger, Grace's face flashed across my mind.
She knew me as 'Danno: catcher of the bad guys.' Not 'Danno: Killer.' I couldn't kill this guy, not if I wanted to look Gracie in the eye again, especially if he was unarmed. Growling internally, I threw the .45 to the side and pulled out my cuffs just as Steve and Kono burst into the room. Took them long enough.
"You have the right to remain silent…"
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Steve and I managed to barely beat the squad car holding Mason by mere seconds. Usually we were there sooner, but I had to get checked out by an EMT. Even though I told them I was okay. Neither Super SEAL nor the EMT believed me. So, after wasting ten minutes I couldn't get back, and getting cleared like I knew I would, we finally made it back to HPD.
"I thought you wanted Mason dead?" Steve said furrowing his eyebrows.
"I did," I replied quietly leaning against the car.
"But you didn't kill him?" Steve settled next to me, crossing his arms. "Why?"
"The damndest thing," I said shaking my head. "Grace's face flashed across my mind and I just stopped. I guess it wasn't worth losing Gracie's respect, me killing an unarmed man."
"I guess not," Steve murmured flashing me a smile. We were quiet for a second, watching as a uniform escorted Mason toward the building. For a brief moment he met my eyes, blue meeting brown, and then he smiled. I did not like how he was smiling, nor did I trust it. Then he moved, faster than I thought possible, his hands somehow free.
He elbowed the uniform in the face, snatched his gun from his holster, and fired directly at Steve and me. Several things happened at once. Steve fired a couple rounds at Mason, taking him down before he could squeeze the trigger more than a few times. The uniform scrambled to his feet, kicking the gun away from Mason's still hands. And pain shot through me, my legs giving out on me.
"Danny!" I heard someone say as hands caught me. "Danny, come on! Stay with me! Danny…." Everything slowly started to fade and the last few things I thought before the curtains fell were: Boy did I call it, somebody did get shot. I guess my luck just ran out…
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2006…
The gunfire started the moment we stepped into the building. My partner gave me a quick look, I nodded, and we split up. I fired a shot, hitting one of the gunmen between the eyes, and then took cover as an onslaught of bullet soared over my head.
I peaked over the edge of the metal barrel I hid behind, firing several more shots at a two other guys. I managed to hit one, but missed the other. I was about to duck down again, needing to reload my gun, when I felt a sharp pain erupt through my side.
I glanced down, noticed the scarlet soaking my white shirt, and slid to the ground…
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It was brought to my attention that Chin drove a Traverse and not an Escalade. So, I changed that from the last chapter. Thanks again, Norriski for pointing it out :D
Oh, and the last few flashbacks will be a series of three or four leading up to Rachel leaving Danny. If you read my story 'Can You Feel The Heat' you should recall the story Danny told Kono about how Rachel left him after he'd been shot. I liked that idea, so I'm sticking to it.
Anyhoo, I'd better go. Once again, thanks for reading and see ya in the next chapter
Bye...