Chapter Fifteen
AN: I am not a stunt coordinator and I am not a military tactician, so bear with me and hopefully I have described what was in my mind well enough for you all to follow and enjoy.
Warning: Violence
"Today's your lucky day sweetheart. We're stopping off for lunch, fresh sea food" James said to her when he came up behind her.
She quickly wiped the tears that had been running down her face. She put on a fake smile on her face and said, "Sounds great. Where are we going?"
"You'll see" that was all he said as he kissed her neck, like he always did.
They stopped off at one of the Greek islands, although at the time she had not known where they were. She had no idea they had traveled so far from US soil. When she had asked, she had been politely told that she had been drugged and flown in James' private jet to a small island near Crete that he owned.
All through their trip to the small island, which was not bigger than a fishing village they had walked hand in hand as if they were lovers. All the time she had looked for a way to run. But she didn't speak the language so she couldn't tell anyone of the trouble she was in.
When they stopped for lunch at a small taverna, she excused herself to use the bathroom. On her way she spotted an old wall telephone. After using hand signals and limited English that the old man sitting near the phone knew, she managed to make him understand that she needed to make an international call to the US. The old man gave her a toothy grin and reached for the phone.
Meanwhile Naomi looked around nervously, praying that James was still sitting outside. She breathed a sigh of relief when she spotted him talking to one of the servers. She felt a pat on her shoulder when the old man passed on the phone to her.
After a few minutes of babbling into the phone that she spoke no Greek, the operator switched to a broken English, enough to understand that she could make a collect call, so she relayed Shayla's phone number.
As she waited, she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. Daring to look she turned and saw James' face. Her breath caught in her throat as she realized how much trouble she was in.
"Enjoying your phone conversation?" he asked her very casually with a smile on his face.
To the others around there seemed to be no problem. In fact, the old toothless man actually smiled at her.
"I actually trusted you, fool that I am. In spite of warning you of the consequences" he brought his face close to hers, then kissed her lips, "Now we're gonna go back and I'm going to teach you a lesson you'll never forget".
-X-
Danny watched Steve get ready to board the little motorboat, which looked more like a little dinghy. Steve systematically checked his weapon, both his backups strapped to either ankle. Then not surprisingly watched Steve slip a deadly looking knife into the sheath he had strapped to himself and was placed in between his shoulder blades. Then he donned his black t – shirt and Kevlar vest.
"Are you sure it's the right decision to go it alone?" Danny asked.
Steve looked at him, "I cannot take any chances when it comes to her safety".
"I know what you mean but I think its putting yourself and her at risk by going into this blind" he argued. "Do you honestly think he is going to fairly exchange her for the evidence you have on him?"
"Look, all I can do is trust you guys to get there on time if and when I need backup. I cannot go in there arrogant in the knowledge that we can fool him".
"Okay so you have a point. But just be careful will you?"
"Don't worry Danno. I'll be back to be the pain in ass you always expect me to be" Steve smiled as he moved to the motorboat.
Danny watched as his partner spoke to Sam Hannah and Chin. "We'll be tailing at a fair distance and we have all the surveillance we need to without risking McGarrett with a wire" Sam reassured him.
"Then why do I have this sick feeling that something isn't right" Danny muttered to himself as he followed the others to gear up. This was probably the most risky mission he had been on, and honestly, he had a whole new respect for what McGarrett had done as a SEAL.
-X-
It took Steve around an hour and a half to reach the yacht that held Naomi hostage. He saw the four armed guards dressed as crew pull their weapons out and point them toward him. One of them peered into his little boat to see whether he had anyone hiding in there but it was glaringly obvious that he was alone.
Sam had given him a twenty-minute head start before they would follow him in a stealth craft. That would get them close enough to come in when needed, and Steve knew without a doubt that he would need them.
Next to him was the bag of money, which James had also requested in order to sweeten the deal. He had probably smelled the desperation that Naomi's camp was feeling and decided to milk them to the max. If it were any other situation Steve would have stuck to his guns, but considering the fact that it was Naomi's safety, he was ready to do anything. Lucky for them the senator had enough contacts in Greece to come up with the money they needed at such short notice.
Steve raised his hands by his side in a sign of surrender as one of the men jumped into his craft to check the money. He also patted him down for weapons, however because he had hidden them so well, he only found his main weapon, which meant he still had his back up and knife. He only hoped he would be able to make do with it. He had been unarmed in much worse situations than this.
"He's all clear" the guy checking him said. When they boarded the yacht, the bag containing the money was taken from him while he was led below deck.
As he followed the guard, he checked his surroundings. The yacht was luxurious and large. He counted at least three staterooms and a large galley. The guard stopped in front of the last door, then knocked once before opening it and letting Steve in.
From what he could tell it was a den combined with an office. James was seated on the antique leather couch nursing a crystal glass of whiskey.
"Welcome to my humble abode" he greeted Steve with a wide grin.
"Let's get business over with before we move onto other things. Where is Naomi?" he asked.
James laughed, "Man, you are stubborn" he sipped his drink. "Share a drink and then we'll talk". He poured him a glass as well, then before passing it onto Steve, he took a sip himself, "See? Not poisoned".
Steve took the glass, grateful that it was a small drink, "Thanks". He sat on the couch, the entire situation completely bizarre. "Aren't you going to count your money?"
"I trust you to not be fool enough to risk Naomi's life". He then motioned to another guard standing in a corner, "Make sure Mr. McGarrett is unarmed".
Without a fuss, Steve stood and faced the guard's gun while he was instructed to take off his Kevlar. As a show of faith, he decided to hand over one of his back up weapons. When the guard made a move to pat him down, Steve braced his arm then felt a gun poking him in the back, "You know me enough to not fool around with Naomi's life and I trust you're not stupid enough to hurt her. So, you better trust me and believe I'm unarmed". Steve prayed he was making the right decision, "Trust goes both ways. You have your money, bring me Naomi and you get the evidence you want".
James observed him, then nodded for his guys to lower their weapons, "Get her" he said to one of them who disappeared from the room.
Steve resumed his seat but was stopped when James said, "She's waiting for us on the deck" he smiled as he indicated Steve to proceed him.
When they reached the deck, the sight that greeted him was an echo of his most horrific nightmares.
Naomi stood barefoot, dressed only in a pair of denim shorts and a black sleeveless tank top, which had been ripped in the front revealing the horrible bruises and knife cuts. She had obviously been tortured because the same knife cuts ran down her arms, legs and also one of her cheeks. Her arms were bound together in front of her and she was shaking like a leaf.
All the calm left his body, replacing it with deadly rage. Steve lost his mind.
-X-
She was numb to the pain from the numerous cuts that James had inflicted on her. They were painful and she had lost some blood but not enough to effect her more than weakness, at least for a while. Then she knew she would need medical help.
When she first spotted Steve, she almost fell to her knees in relief, but when she saw his expression of rage take over, a fear settled over her. What was about to happen would not end well.
It all happened so fast. One moment Steve was watching her, the next he had pulled a huge knife from somewhere, got hold of James from the back and held the knife to his throat. Immediately the guards pointed their guns at him, lucky for him they were all in front of him and not in his blind spot.
"One wrong move and he's gone" even Steve's voice had changed. It was quiet, but held so much rage, it even scared her. "Tell them to let her come to my side. If they try and do anything, I will slit your throat and gut you for shark bait" he said to James.
James had gone white, "Listen to him. Just let her go".
Naomi was limping her way to Steve's side when there was a sound of engines. It was obviously a trigger for James because he exploded in movement. He managed to use his strength to twist out of Steve's hold. Before one of the guards could fire his weapon, Steve ducked and pulled out a gun, aimed and shot him in the chest.
Naomi knew she couldn't just stand there so when she saw another one coming toward him, she ran head long into his side, which he obviously was not looking out for. They both went flying into one of the sails. Naomi was lucky enough to land in the mans lap, so she straddled him and with her bound hands, took a hold of his hair and banged the back of his head hard against the mast twice before he went limp.
She got a hold of his gun and ran back to see Danny, Kono and Chin along with a tall, bald black man board the yacht. Steve was covered well so stood where she was, taking in the mayhem in front of her.
Chin and Danny had a hold of James, while Kono rid one of the surviving guards of his weapon. The chaos seemed to be coming to an end, when Steve came toward her, his knife making quick work of her bound wrists.
"You okay?" he asked as he looked at her face.
"I'm fine. Lets just get out of here".
She was calm now but it was because of shock. The real test would be when the adrenalin wore off.
Steve took her hand and led her to the others. She looked at James, his hands handcuffed in the front.
"You sneaky bastard" James spat at Steve. "You're welcome to the whore. She was never a proper wife and she never will be. I only wish I had the satisfaction of watching her die at my hands".
They all watched Sam get a ranting James onto the stealth craft that had brought them to the yacht.
James was as big as Steve, and no one realized how deadly he was until he managed to use his strength to shove Sam to the floor, grabbing his weapon.
In a move so fast he pointed the gun toward Naomi who stood on the deck near the low railing, waiting her turn to board the craft. She watched, almost in slow motion as James discharged the weapon. But she only felt a shove from her side as she fell to the ground. She looked up and realized that Steve had shoved her to the ground.
But only when he started to fall over the low railing into the water did she realize that Steve had taken the bullet that had meant for her.
Before anyone else could react or think, herself included, she jumped in after him.
Please review!