The park had been closed off. Danny sat in the car in the car park and mentally went through his plan one more time. He had to hope that it would work because they were almost out of time. He took a sip from the bottle of water that someone had handed him, then eased his way out of the car as the patrol car carrying jimmy Johnston pulled alongside.

"Bring him this way," Danny ordered and ignored the jubilant expression on the prisoner's face. He crutched slowly over to the bandstand, cursing his own weakness. "There." Danny was panting, in pain and exhausted, but there was no time to feel sorry for himself.

Obediently, the HPD officers led Jimmy over to one of the massive pillars and wrapped a long chain around it. The end was fastened to the chain belt locked around Jimmy's waist. The criminal sniggered. "What's the matter, pig?" he asked. "Am I too tough for you?" He tugged against the chains, straining to get closer to Danny, but the shorter man did not react. Jimmy was not going to get free of his bonds. "Mickey'll get me out of this and then you watch out!"

"You can go now, thanks," Danny offered to the patrolmen, who left reluctantly, looking back over their shoulders curiously.

Everything was now in place. All Danny could do was wait. He leaned heavily on his crutches, taking the weight off his injured wrist. What had he done to annoy the gods so that he was facing one of the most important moments of his life injured? He shook off the thought. He could not afford to be distracted. Steve's life depended on his plan going down perfectly.

It was already hot and humid and Danny blinked sweat from his eyes. He was standing with the water-edged side of the bandstand behind him, but there were trees all round offering cover for Mickey arriving. If the criminal was that way inclined, he could just shoot Danny down, retrieve his brother and the whole plan would fail.

Movement caught his eye and Danny dropped his crutches with a clatter. He couldn't be encumbered with them now. He straightened up unconsciously and tugged the bandage from his sprained wrist. He forced himself to take some deep, calming breaths as Mickey Johnston appeared from the park side of the trees, pushing a bedraggled, blood-stained Steve McGarrett in front of him.

"Mickey!" Jimmy shouted. "I knew you wouldn't let me down!"

"Shut up!" Danny snapped.

"I wouldn't talk to my brother like that if I were you," Mickey warned. He had a gun to Steve's head and the boss of Five-O had his hands restrained behind him and was gagged. "I would like nothing better than to blow a hole in this one's head."

"What's stopping you?" Danny asked bitterly. He flashed a glance at Steve and collected the slightest of nods in return. Steve was all right – comparatively – and trusted Danny to get him out of this mess.

"My brother is over there and I want him here." Mickey had yet to take his eyes off Danny.

"You'd better come and get him, then," Danny replied. "Oh – but I forgot. He's locked to that pillar and I don't have the keys."

"I don't believe that," Mickey replied, pushing the gun harder against Steve's head.

"Believe what you want, it's true." It was true. Danny did not have the keys. Kono had them. "Jimmy isn't going anywhere with you."

That had the desired response, although it was the diciest bit of the whole plan, almost. Mickey could kill Steve on the spot. However, despite his jaw tightening, Mickey was not going to do anything rash. "You're wrong, Williams. Jimmy is coming with me and so are you."

"You can have me," Danny agreed. "You can have me in exchange for Steve." He held his hands out to show that he was unarmed.

Puzzled, sure it was a trap but not sure how it was going to be sprung, Mickey opted to push McGarrett closer. "You and Jimmy," he declared. "And we're going to enjoy taking you apart, Williams."

"If you want Jimmy, you'd better come up here and get him, then," Danny goaded. He was starting to shake now and sweat beaded his face.

"This pig ain't well," Jimmy called. "He's got crutches. He's a real pushover."

As malicious glee crossed Mickey's face, Danny saw Steve wince, but he didn't dare look at his boss to show this was part of the plan. Mickey had to take the bait; had to come on to the bandstand. "Shut up, Jimmy!" Danny snapped, as though he was annoyed about that titbit of information being passed on.

Close enough now to see into the shadowy, covered interior, Mickey could see that Danny was battered. He grinned. He could take this cop down easy, get Jimmy and kill McGarrett and then this island would really be theirs. Nobody would stand against them. They wouldn't need to hide out any more. The sky was the limit. He thought of the cave where he had been holed up for the last day. He would never need to use the emergency hideout again. Giving Steve a push, he started to mount the steps.

Slowly, one careful step at a time, Danny retreated until he was standing beside Jimmy. He dropped his hands casually to his sides. His .22 nestled in his pants pocket within easy reach, should he need it. He just hoped his hands would be steady enough to make the shot count. Mickey followed him, one step at a time. "Don't move!" he warned Danny when it seemed that the detective would retreat out of the bandstand.

With a sudden shove, Mickey tossed McGarrett aside and the Five-O chief fell to his knees and then to the ground, barely able to prevent himself tumbling down the steps that circled the structure. As Mickey grabbed at him, Danny yelled, "NOW!"

A trapdoor in the floor sprang open and HPD men poured out. Mickey, with one hand on Danny, tugged frantically at the chain that bound Jimmy, but realised that it was secure. With a snarl, he threw all his weight against the injured detective and the pair tumbled down the steps and splashed into the pool at the bottom.

Danny knew that help was right there, that he didn't need to worry, but in his weakened condition, he was aware that Mickey could kill him before anyone got to him. He struggled to reach his gun, but Mickey had grabbed his wrist and the pain exploded in his head and his thoughts scattered to the four winds. Dimly, he realised he was under water.

As his head broke the surface and he gasped in air, Danny punched ineffectually at the bigger man. He could hear shooting and wondered if someone was trying to take Mickey out, but there seemed to be a lot more shooting than just a sniper would cause. He barely gasped in a lungful of air before he was plunged back under the water again.

Up on the bandstand, the cops were involved in a shootout with the members of Mickey's gang who had not been captured a couple of days previously. They had been hiding in the park, and now came to try to rescue their leaders. It was a desperate battle and one that the criminals were not destined to win.

"Get Steve out of here!" Kono shouted to Chin as they emerged from the surprisingly large storage room that lay under the bandstand. Most people did not know of its existence.

"Danny…"

"I'll get Danny!" Kono assured him and rushed down the steps towards the figures struggling in the water.

Ducking and weaving, Chin reached McGarrett in time to throw himself over his boss to stop him from getting up. "Stay down," he urged and reached to untie the gag.

"Danno," Steve croaked.

"Kono's getting him," Chin assured the boss and felt around for his handcuff keys to free Steve's hands. There was a gash on Steve's head and it looked as though his nose had been bleeding, too. The boss's wrists were chafed by the handcuffs and he seemed exhausted. It could have been much worse.

"Clear!" came the shout, confirming what the lack of shooting had told them all. The operation was over. Now, they just had to find out if it had been entirely successful. Chin sat up and looked around, helping Steve to a sitting position.

There were bodies littered everywhere. One of the HPD men was down, clutching his upper arm, but the injury looked superficial. The police were cautiously moving amongst the downed men, checking for pulses and removing the weapons from reach. Jimmy cowered on the floor by the pillar he was chained to. Chin stood and helped Steve get up, sensing that the taller man was not very steady on his feet.

There was no sign of Danny, Kono or Mickey.