I do not own Hawaii Five-0 or any characters. No copyright infringement intended.
Notes: Sorry for more bad language plus the scary subject (well .. not really because that's the point!) THRILLED to pieces by the great reviews! thank you all so much!
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Once he cleared the front door, then landed on the mansion's wide porch, Steve was shouting again. This time to warn people away because he was stunned to see the two HPD cruisers next to the Five-0 vehicles and three officers running their way. In the not so far distance, he heard additional sirens and prayed it was the ambulance which Kono had the foresight to request.
"No! Stop! Don't go in there. " Steve breathlessly demanded next that the available HPD officers and Duke Lukela setup a perimeter. Over his shoulder, Danny had ceased struggling but his occasional garbled groan and pain-wracked tremors tore at Steve as he plunged for the supposed safety of sunlight.
"What's going on? We got Franklin Ray in custody and found Doctor Ramirez with Ray's counterpart. But, what's going on here?" At his side, Duke and another officer helped lower Danny to the ground. Duke was mortified by the inflammation streaking across the otherwise pale, sweat-streaked face.
"Steve?" Duke gently kept a hand on Danny's shoulder, feeling the heat through the sweat-soaked shirt. Steve was busily removing Danny's tac-vest and gloves, then loosening his shirt in an attempt to help his erratic breathing, however the fear and pain were palpable as he struggled against a full-blown panic attack. "What the hell happened in there?"
"Get EMT's here. Tell them we have a snake bite victim." Unsure of how to explain the airborne venom, the immediate description was good enough to relay what they were dealing with. Steve sighed in relief when Chin and Kono both reached his side. He vaguely noticed that Kono had the presence of mind to bring the remnants of the dead snake's body with them for identification. The gory evidence was something the doctors would need in order to determine what had so badly attacked his partner.
"Duke, get me another med kit, bottled water or more eyewash and a portable oxygen tank. And stay out of that damned building!" Back to holding Danny's wrists to prevent him from tearing at his eyes, Steve gruffly made demands and pushed out orders.
The only way Danny knew he was laying on the ground was for the feel of grass under his head. Beyond that, he had no idea which way was up or down as he tried to reach for his face but was thwarted time and again. He vaguely sensed other people, dimly realizing it was Duke along with his small contingent of HPD officers. He struggled to free his hands but there was no way Steve would permit it and he tossed his head from side to side until that too was prevented by stronger hands placed on his forehead and one side of his face.
"Get it...out. Please." Raspy-voiced, Danny was begging for help as his heart pounded violently in his chest. His eyes were burned out holes and his hand...his hand was beginning to blaze in an entirely new way.
"Steve...gonna...die." He knew he was in serious trouble. Even blinded, Danny sensed the crazed activity and Steve's near panic. He'd never made it to the end of his nightmare but he knew now how it was going to end because he couldn't wake up from reality.
"No, you are not!" An entirely new pressure rattled the very teeth in Danny's head as Steve's voice sounded directly in his left ear. The steadfast even-tone momentarily fled Steve's voice as he angrily castigated his best friend. Steve must have been leaning over him at that point, too, desperately trying to help by simultaneously shouting out orders and caring for his partner as best as he could.
"Chin, use that damned bottle up." Out of breath, Chin was already there with Kono resuming her original position at Danny's head to hold him in place. Exhausted and covered in sweat, he slowly ceased his movements to lay there trapped and almost too pliable as his team worked to help him. Every so often though, his heel would dig into the grass as Chin focused on his eyes.
"Hurts," he choked out as an ample amount of water was poured thoroughly into his left eye. It dripped down his face, fell into his ear and puddled in the grass by his hair. Reality had replaced the faint images of dreams and he suddenly couldn't remember their ending, if they'd even gone that far.
"Gonna...die. Hurts...too much." Danny was mumbling between trembling moans, only loud enough for his team to hear. Chin's jaw was firmly set as he continued and he chose to ignore the tears in Kono's eyes. Instead, Chin focused only on Danny and the bottle of water which was nearly empty.
"Sorry, Danny. Get me more water ... I need more." Though his voice was soft and nearly steady, Chin's usual calm was gone as he gently resumed peeling back each of Danny's inflamed lids to flush and re-flush badly damaged tissues. His hands were shaking, spilling water prematurely and he cursed quietly under his breath at his own inability to be more careful.
"Water, guys. Now." Teeth gritted, Chin was almost done with the bottle and he looked up, frustrated. The timing was perfect, for one of Duke's officers was there to hand him a full bottle and to set three more by his knee. There was no hesitation as he went back to the opposite side of Danny's face despite the resurgence of moaned complaints.
"It's not true, Danno. You're going to be fine." Truly petrified as Danny moans increased once more, Steve took a moment to run his thumb over Danny's whitened knuckles. He struggled to keep his voice as even as Chin's, though his success was dubious. "You are not going to die, Danny. Not with me...not with us...it's just not going to happen."
Back to rubbing Danny's knuckles gave Steve time to pause for a better view of the damaged hand knowing that they still had serious issues. The skin around the wound was already discolored and swelling at an alarming rate. Without a doubt, Danny was beginning to experience pain from that sensitive area too as shocked tremors began to run through his body.
He needed a pen or marker to denote the size of the affected area and so that he could time and date stamp the marks. Ingrained military habits and diverse training finally returned as he forced himself to focus. The doctors would need to know how quickly the venom was progressing through Danny's system based upon the extent of swelling and discoloration. Grasping both of Danny's wrists in his left hand, Steve fumbled through his pockets to complete the task, ignoring Kono's initial questioning expression when he saw the understanding creep across her face. He used the pen to mark the ragged outline and then shoved it back into his pocket. Bending down as Chin continued to flush Danny's eyes, Steve was then at a total loss. The only other thing they could try to do was keep Danny calm, which was going to be an impossible task.
Still, Steve persisted as Kono used one hand to smooth soaked hair from the sides of Danny's face and pinch forehead. "I know it's hard but try to calm down. Try to slow your breathing down. Come on, Danno. Deep breaths, nice and easy...let it out slowly."
Danny tried to focus on Steve's voice, but his fear and the pain were winning out despite years of formal police work. Nothing had prepared him for something like this, crushed by nightmares, and now the frightening reality of being blinded simply made it all the worse. All he could think of was the dire half-truths of his dreams as he found himself facing what felt like the impossible.
"Can't." His heart continued to hammer mercilessly in his chest as Steve restrained his wrists and Chin relentlessly flushed his eyes.
"You can. Danny, you have to. Please," Steve whispered just as persistently, though dread was taking over his usual steadfast demeanor as well. A pulse beat had taken residence in his own temple and Steve could feel his own heart hammering wildly in his chest. The cousins were equally distraught as they all did their very best without knowing if any of it would help in the long run. The damnable bedroom was in the mansion. It was on the second floor matching his partner's perfect description down to the area rug and Steve hung his head, closing his eyes for a moment to regain a hold upon his emotions. The whole thing seemed impossible and yet the tangible proof was right here.
The three stilled as one when Danny coughed around a broken whimper just before he completely stopped moving. He was conscious but wrung out by shock, pain and pure exhaustion. The adrenalin dump was severe as he coughed again and almost lost his ability to suck in a shaky breath of air. The physical change was communicated through each of their hands and where they lay on their friend.
"Steve?" Kono gasped, as her eyes flew to meet Steve's whose stunned response wasn't much better.
"Where's that damned med kit! I need the oxygen over here now!" Steve roared across the grass lawn as what he requested seemed to take much too long to arrive. Then he didn't move when he felt the large hand fall to his shoulder. He thought it was Duke or possibly even an EMT finally arriving to help. But he looked up when the hand became an arm, reassuringly draped across his back.
"Let me in there, son." Stupidly, Steve stared into Ponch's face. Caught up in their emotional frenzy, the team hadn't actually heard what Duke Lukela had said about Ramirez being found. HPD had stopped Franklin Ray's flight as he sped in the van out the rear entrance. Just beyond the stables and at the top of the dirt secondary road off the property, the van had connected with the aggressive grill of Duke's own cruiser; soundly head on and without remorse, Duke's vehicle crumpled the van's bumper and front end.
While rattled, Duke and his partner were fine, though Franklin Ray's condition at first was a bit more suspect. Now on his feet, he hadn't been wearing a seatbelt and his head had connected over the steering column with the van's windshield to spider-web the glass. After he'd been taken into custody and the deadly cargo secured, the other two HPD officers had entered the stables, running upstairs to check the apartment. Inside what they would eventually call the 'experimentation room', they discovered a very much relieved Doctor Ramirez and deathly ill, Riku Bhandari.
All of that team were now assembling at the front of the main residence. As the second car rocked to a halt, Ponch had seen the desperately huddled group, understanding instantly that something was very wrong. With medical bag in hand, he had abandoned the sanctuary of the police car to sprint across the rambling lawn to lend a hand.
"Ponch. Thank god. It...it sprayed him...in the eyes. He can't see." Steve had never been called 'son' by the big doctor before which was telling as Ponch gently pushed him aside to make room for himself. It scared him as he maintained a strong hold of Danny's wrists in case he tried for his eyes again.
"Danny. It's Ponch. We're going to fix this and I need you to calm down for me. I know it hurts and I know you're scared. But breathe .. just like Steve said .. nice and slow." Ramirez's anger had dissipated only slightly once the two officers had shot the lock off the door. The three had carried Riku to the patrol car where one officer continued to use the ambu-bag to aid in the Indian's breathing. Two ambulances had been called now and those sirens could be heard approaching quickly.
"Doc." It was a miserable half-attempt at the man's title as Danny's voice broke on the short exhale. There was no way for him to do as he'd been told. It was impossible as what felt like jagged glass continually pierced his pupils. Even Chin's flushing offered no relief; if anything, the profuse washing hurt even more against the highly sensitive area. "You gotta...do something...burns...bad...sick...hurts."
"I know. I know and we'll fix it. Hang in there, Danny." Ponch hunkered down closer, shaking his head ruefully as he visually evaluated the reddened skin and caustic results of the venom. They had a very real problem and he grimaced unhappily when he gently picked up Danny's wounded hand to examine Steve's careful pen marks. The swelling had already extended beyond the lines as the poison damaged more of the tissues in his hand.
"A bite, too?" he confirmed with a glance to Steve who could only nod. But then Steve was tapping his own temple more-so about Danny's eyesight.
"Ponch, do you know what this is? What kind of snake does this sort of thing?" Trying to simultaneously keep his partner calm, Steve rocked against the big man's side to communicate their real concerns.
"I do not." Ponch breathed out angrily as he looked over to where two HPD officers guarded Dr. Ray in their cruiser. They were making moves to depart with their suspect and were a distance away from where he and the Five-0 team huddled with Danny. The medical doctor's anger rippled through his body and Steve glanced from Danny to Ponch, and then in the direction where Ponch stared in a fury. Using his chin, Ponch gestured to make his demand known.
"I don't know but he does...he'll know. Get him the hell over here!"
"Done." Steve was up and running before Ponch finished speaking. Intercepting the two officers before they could leave, he snared Ray out of the rear seat by the collar to forcibly bring him back to where Danny lay on a fast awkward jog.
"Tell us. Now. What did this...where's the antivenin?" Lurching to his own feet, Ponch went toe to toe with his cuffed, former friend. Kono gasped and followed to help Steve as the atmosphere suddenly altered. The change left Chin to block Danny's hands from his face and he cursed quietly as the budding altercation began virtually over his head.
"Do something right for once, Frank. Anything...just do it fast and do it now."
"How am I supposed to know which one it was?" The snide comment was meant to be rude and it succeeded until Kono countered the challenge. Her demonstration was perfectly timed and presented with an appropriate amount of confident ease.
"I'm sorry," She was dangerously blithe as she bent down to pick up the gory mess she had the foresight to retrieve from the mansion's floor. Her comments were casual and purred softly as she held the remains out for Ray to view. "Maybe this will help you out?"
Ray blanched when Kono held the dead remnants up by it's sizable tail, yet the reaction was not for himself or for the injured man on the ground. The head was missing but he knew his Rhinkals female. "Not her...not that one...you killed her. You didn't need to kill her!"
"Riku just died because of you!" It was an out and out lie since the Indian was very much alive if only for that moment. But if there was one card left to play, then Ramirez knew that Ray at least seemed to have some sympathy for his employee.
He was right when the crazed man's face turned ashen and his jaw dropped open soundlessly. A moment later, his words were mumbled in disbelief about what Ramirez had just told him. "He's...dead? Riku...can't be dead because you...you were caring for him. And now my girl...she's dead, too."
"What!" The guttural rage that burst from Ponch was indescribable as he drew his weight backwards to level a solid fisted punch directly to the man's jaw. His ploy had worked and then failed as Ray moaned about the dead Rhinkals. "Still...you stay worried about the damned snakes?"
Ray sagged dangerously in Steve's hands, almost bringing the two of them to the ground under the doctor's furious assault. Before he could get too far down though, Ponch had the man up again by the collar.
"Chin?" At their feet and defenseless, Danny cringed as voices rose and a strong aura of violence suddenly spiraled out of control. Staying close, Chin remained nearest to Danny, doing his best to flush his eyes and prevent him from touching his face because Kono was still part of the fray. Bypassing the group, Duke joined Chin on the ground to help with Danny. However, both were also managing to clearly remain in protective postures as moods fluctuated dangerously.
"It's alright. Steve's got it handled," Chin quietly promised as Danny brokenly wanted to know what was going on. Undeniably stressed, there was no point in telling him anything else. Duke was now in Steve's place, gently restraining Danny's wrists while avoiding the bite wound. The help freed Chin to resume the painful flushing of Danny's eyes, which he did while attempting a soothing chatter. "Duke and I are going to keep getting this stuff off you. We're going to get to the bottom of this, Danny. We will ... Steve's got everything else under control."
As angry voices raised in volume, Chin watched and inwardly flinched as Ponch literally removed any supposition of personal space between himself and Franklin Ray. The only reason the cuffed man didn't stumble backwards over his own two feet was because Steve was still holding him physically up in the air.
"Tell me, Frank." Less than an inch from Ray's nose, Ponch had the fingers of his right hand wrapped menacingly around his throat. They tightened and Frank gave out with a tiny choked sound. "Tell me now! What is that damned thing!"
"Hemachatus haemachatus. She was my beauty." Ray wheezed as he spat blood from his mouth, blinking in shock when Ponch readied himself to provide another pummeling. Simultaneously, strong fingers threatened his throat and he felt the determined stricture alter his breath. Blearily trying to clear his head, Ray stared down at the blonde detective able to see just enough to be mesmerized by the man's severe level of distress.
The detective was in such a paroxysm of sheer pain...so helpless...that Ray forgot everything as he simply watched. He chuffed a garbled sound then, recognizing Danny as the blonde plainclothes detective he'd met one time at the clinic. Riku was dead; so why not one of Ramirez's own friends? Besides, Ray had never abducted a man before and the difference in pain threshold and reaction were of a keen interest. Lost in cataloging mental notes, Ray suddenly found his head rocked roughly on his neck.
"Hey," Steve shook the man by his arm, hard and then abusively slammed the flat of one palm into the side of Ray's temple when he noticed the blatant focus. "Hey! Knock it off ... help him!"
Technically cold-cocked three times in less than ten minutes, Ray feebly sucked in air through his nose to clear the concussed fuzziness from his mind. He had no answer though. Engrossed in his own time and space, Ray acted as if Steve didn't even exist.
"Frank! You son of a bitch!" Shocked by the ongoing inability to gain ground, Ponch's voice began to rise in a new fervor as Danny twitched in the grass. "Say it in English! I want more...now!"
The clenching of Ponch's fingers around his throat were now of a strangling strength. It was finally enough to gain his attention. Ray felt the tension loosen ever so slightly so he could speak.
"Tell me," Ponch demanded.
"She is...she was...a lovely Rinkhals cobra. A ring-necked spitting cobra from South Africa." He whined for his loss, shaking his head as he watched the Asian female officer shove the tattered remains into a common plastic bag.
"Son of a bitch," Steve bit the words out in a sharp whisper when he heard 'cobra'. His newly worried downward look met Chin's eyes who had heard the same very frightening description. Danny was trembling and seemed unable to stop as Chin vainly lay a hand across his chest in support.
"Well," Franklin Ray smirked at the dark-haired man who was so obviously distressed. He felt a spark of victory since his children had done well; because she had done so very well despite her sacrifice. With a queer look, Ray cocked his head to meet Ponch's eyes while he briefly clarified his words. "She wasn't actually a true cobra. Not really."
"What the hell does that mean?" Not understanding how that could possibly matter, Steve had to restrain himself from killing the man on the spot. "Ponch...what do we do?" Eyes wide, Steve's fingers felt like ice which seeped sickeningly into his very core as he took a more firm grip of Ray's arms when the man wobbled.
"And? What else...what else do we do?" Tendons standing out on his neck, Ponch was literally yelling in the man's face as he once more leveled a solid punch to Ray's midsection. No one intervened or had a word of objection as they watched Steve physically work to keep the man completely on his feet.
"Flush...flush his eyes. Use...water...or even...milk but...don't stop." Gagging and spitting into the grass, Ray was now staring at the plastic bag which held his beloved cobra's ruined body.
"Sirs?" The interruption was from an HPD officer. Ambulances were arriving and being directed to both the HPD cruiser where Riku lay and the other towards Danny's group.
"This should help." Gesturing to Chin as another of his peers ran up with a portable oxygen tank and a few fresh bottles of water, the added supplies were gratefully accepted. Relieved for Danny's sake, Chin quickly positioned the oxygen mask on his friend's face before breaking open a new bottle of water to continue his critical task at hand.
Eyes narrowed dangerously, Ponch waited scarcely a heartbeat for more from Ray but as he expected, nothing was readily offered. His next question caused Steve to close his eyes as he waited for the terrible answer. "She bit him, too. How lethal?"
Franklin Ray's demeanor continued to change with every passing second. Nearly grinning now, Ray looked up from behind darkly hooded eyes. No longer gasping around his words as blood dripped from his torn lip down his chin, he shrugged without a care.
"She's...lethal enough...her venom is neurotoxic and will soon interfere with his respiratory system. Without the antivenin and proper medical intervention, he may stop breathing within the hour...or maybe two...and he could die. Every person is a bit...different."
The coolness of the delivered report staggered the team until Ponch once more nearly strangled the man into confessing that the antidote was in the mansion.
"Where? I know you have it." One large hand was back to fisting his throat and Ponch waited almost too patiently as eyes began to bulge around a reddened face. There was the barest of nods when Ray failed at speaking only for the strong hand purposefully strangling him centimeter by centimeter.
"In...side." The raspy sound of a gagged cough preceded the glance of watering eyes in the direction of the mansion and for a moment, no one moved.
~ to be cotinued ~