Thank you so much for all your nice reviews - I really appreciate every single one of them :-)
Chapter 3:
Danny groaned in annoyance when he was woken up by the cheerful beeping of his cell phone. Opening his eyes to mere slits he threw a tired look at the alarm clock on his nightstand, immediately squeezing shut his eyes when he noticed the time. It was only a few minutes past seven and he knew for sure that only one single person would torture him with text messages at this insanely early time of the day.
"I hope for your sake that it's something really important or otherwise I'm gonna kill you," Danny murmured into his pillow. "I swear I'm gonna kill you, Steven."
After weeks of stress and a hectic schedule, today was the first day without a case for Five-0 and Danny firmly intended to stay in bed as long as possible. Battling with himself for a long moment, Danny's sense of duty finally gained the upper hand and heaving a deep sigh, he stretched out his right hand, blindly fumbling around for his phone.
Without getting up he tiredly blinked at the display, groaning again when he read the message.
Good morning partner. Going for an extended run today. Gonna be late. See you at the office. Steven
Closing his eyes, Williams slightly shook his head. Only his crazy, badass Navy SEAL partner would consider it fun to choose an early morning run over the possibility to sleep in. Sighing again, Danny wondered if it was worth the effort to type an answer but figured that since he was awake he might as well send back a little text message.
Don't think you can dump all your paperwork on me, Steven! I expect your lazy ass in the office no later than ten!
Not really expecting an answer, Danny waited a few moments before he threw the cell phone unceremoniously back onto the nightstand. Turning around he snuggled deeper into his pillow and closed his eyes, a content smile spreading across his face. When Steve would be late, he didn't have to feel guilty if he also started the day a little bit later than usual. And after all, why not? He was sure that the paperwork certainly wouldn't run away.
Swallowing convulsively against the overwhelming desire to throw up Steve tried to take some deep breaths to keep the nausea at bay. He didn't know if his eyes were open or closed, all he knew was that it was pitch-dark around him and that he hurt literally from head to toe. The worst thing was the almost unbearable headache, and suddenly he was grateful for the darkness he was in because he was sure that every tiny ray of light in his eyes would certainly kill him.
He had regained consciousness a few minutes ago and after what seemed to be an eternity of concentrating only on deeply breathing in and out Steve finally felt the nausea and headache retreat enough to allow him to at least assess his situation.
His hands and feet were still tied up; he could feel the rough rope cutting painfully in his bare wrists and ankles. Most of the mud that covered large parts of his body and clothes had dried, leaving behind an uncomfortable matted feeling. The whole right side of his body felt numb, probably from lying in the same position for too long. Trying to stretch his bent knees, Steve's feet quickly came in contact with something solid and when he fumbled around as far as his bound limbs allowed his movements were rapidly constricted by the walls around him and he soon detected that he was trapped inside a rather small metal box.
A wave of panic involuntarily washed over him, but remembering his SEAL training, where he'd had to endure a lot of more terrifying situations, he willed his mind and body to relax and soon the incipient panic decreased back into nothingness. He needed to stay calm and focused if he wanted to find a way out of this mess.
Awkwardly turning around and moving his body into a half kneeling position McGarrett squeezed his eyes shut when the throbbing in his head briefly peaked to an unbearable level. Puffing out a few shaky breaths he waited for the pain to subside then he bowed his head forward and pressed his shoulders and upper back against the closed lid, confident that he'd be able to open it up if he only pushed hard enough.
But after several minutes the lid hadn't budged not even a tiny bit and panting from the exertion Steve finally abandoned his attempts, slouching back down onto the metal surface as he tried to calm his ragged breathing. Deeply and slowly inhaling and exhaling the stuffy air, Steve started to catalog his injuries.
The headache and nausea were clear signs of a concussion, but there was nothing he could do about this right now. The left side of his face and his neck felt sticky from all the dried blood but Steve was pretty sure that the wounds on his temple and on the back of his head at least had stopped bleeding. His shoulders hurt like hell from the constant contorted position they were forced in and every movement of his right hand sent a sharp pain through his injured wrist. The only advantage of the tight bonds was the stabilizing effect they had on the most likely broken bones.
Shoving all the pain to the back of his mind Steve tried to move his body into a position where he could handle the bonds around his ankles, a task that was not that easy considering the fact that he was lying in a box that was much too small for his tall frame. But after much wiggling and winding accompanied by as many curses as pained groans, Steve finally reached his goal and immediately started to patiently work on the rope around his ankles.
He was able to undo the knots in a surprisingly short amount of time and now knowing about the used technique he shifted his concentration to the bonds around his wrists, absolutely determined to get rid of them. However, that task was a great deal more difficult, not only because of his broken wrist and the fact that the rope was matted with mud but first and foremost because of the awkward angle he had to twist his hands and fingers in.
Steve didn't know how much time had passed but finally the rope dropped from his sore wrists and he closed his eyes in exhaustion and gratitude. Breathing heavily he leaned his head against the wall, carefully rolling his shoulders to ease the pain. He refused to do the same with his wrists because now that the rope was gone the slightest of movements sent an almost unbearable wave of pain through his right wrist.
Pondering for a moment on the best way to immobilize the joint he finally started to take off his top, a task that took him quite a few minutes. But despite the restricted space he managed to twist his body and his arms enough to succeed and he finally held the garment in his hands, panting laboriously from exertion and pain.
For a long moment Steve just lay in the dark, gathering his strength for the painful task of splinting his broken wrist. Grabbing his right hand with his left one, he pulled carefully, groaning loudly when he felt and heard the broken bones scratching at each other. With gritted teeth he held his breath, his whole body trembling from the agonizing pain, as tears were running down his face but he didn't stop until he was convinced that the joint was halfway straightened. Puffing out his breath in strangled sobs Steve quickly wrapped his top tightly around his wrist and tucked the ends inside the makeshift bandage before he leaned his head back against the metal wall and tried to fight the waves of agony that racked his body.
After a while the pain slowly retreated to a more bearable level and Steve noticed in satisfaction that he could move the fingers of his right hand almost pain-free. Raising his uninjured hand he gingerly touched the wound on his left temple, hissing silently when he felt the amount of dried blood on his face but at least he found no fresh blood.
Now that his hands were no longer bound and the broken wrist was satisfactorily immobilized, he quickly searched through his pockets but unsurprisingly his cell phone was gone. The only thing he still had apart from his shoes and clothes was his wristwatch. Well, at least he knew how late it was, whatever benefit he would draw from that knowledge, and maybe the illuminated display could help him to find a way out of his prison.
Pressing his right thumb against the small button the display of his watch flared to life, causing Steve to groan in pain when even that faint light sent a new spike of pain through his skull. Squinting, he waited a moment before he opened his eyes to mere slits, blinking rapidly to clear his blurred vision. The small display wavered in and out of focus and Steve had to close his eyes again when a wave of dizziness crashed over him. After a few deep breaths he renewed his attempts to read the time, breathing out a startled gasp when he finally managed to make out the numbers.
McGarrett couldn't believe that it was already three minutes past eight, which meant he had been lying in this fucking box for more than one hour by now. Fighting back the sudden unexpected yawn that built up in his chest he took another deep breath as he pondered his next steps.
Calling for help was probably more than useless given the fact that not many people hiked here at the moment because of the half-closed trail, and if he was still somewhere near the point where he'd met that crazy woman – whoever she was – he was much too far away from any path that there would be hope of being heard. Nevertheless Steve banged his left fist against the metal lid and shouted loudly, "Hello? Is there anybody out there? Hello?"
A few minutes later he stopped his ineffective tries when he realized that he'd achieve nothing aside from another increase of his headache and some shortness of breath. He could only hope that Danny, Chin and Kono already missed him by now, but to be honest he wasn't sure if they would be able to find him here in the middle of nowhere with absolutely no hints of where he'd gone or what had happened to him.
Heaving a deep sigh Steve turned his aching body a little bit and started to meticulously examine every inch of his metal prison. He let his fingers slowly travel along the walls, across the floor and the lid, especially concentrating on the edges between the different parts, every now and then pressing the small button on his watch, using the faint light to scrutinize every little unevenness in the material but his vision was still hazy and every time he illuminated the display a new wave of dizziness and nausea rolled through his body.
While systematically working his way across the box, McGarrett let his mind wander, racking his brain about the woman who was the cause of his current misery. He was pretty sure that he had never dealt with her before but there was something about her looks that struck a chord in him; those bright green eyes seemed to drill a hole directly into his mind and soul.
Stifling another yawn he remembered her comment about her son, but as much as he strained his concussed brain he couldn't think of anyone he knew. But to be honest, the pounding headache and the oppressive silence and darkness of his narrow prison made it difficult to concentrate on anything else other than the pain he was in, or to phrase it more simply – thinking plainly and simply just hurt right now.
Steve couldn't suppress a small chuckle when he once more clearly heard Danny's voice in his head, stating his opinion that he had always known that Steve's brain probably was too small for the task of thinking and that is was no wonder if his head hurt while trying it.
Without warning the chuckle suddenly turned into a full-blown coughing fit, causing Steve to twist his body to one side as far as the constricted space allowed. The coughing dissolved as quickly as it had come leaving behind a slight but uncomfortable pressure on his chest that made Steve draw in deeper breaths. He felt his heart rate pick up speed and as much as he tried to calm down his breathing his body just didn't obey his orders.
The feeling of not being able to properly catch his breath sent an icy shiver down his spine. Unconsciously pressing his forearms against the walls left and right of him, McGarrett stared wide-eyed into the darkness when his dazed mind finally registered what these scary new symptoms meant for his current situation.
It meant that he had not only been squeezed into a dark, narrow box, that he was dirty, concussed, injured and unable to call for help, that absolutely nobody knew where he was but that, to crown it all, said box was probably sealed completely and utterly airtight.
This is Steve McGarrett. I'm not available at the moment, please leave a message.
Throwing a glance at the clock on the computer screen in front of him, Danny furrowed his brow as he ended the call and jumped to his feet, carelessly pushing his desk chair out of the way. Grabbing a handful of unworked files he shook his head, half angry and half amused about the fact that his partner still hadn't arrived at work and that he obviously didn't bother at all to answer his phone.
Grinning smugly he strolled out of his office, straightly marched into McGarrett's room and carefully put the papers onto the desk, stacking them up onto the other documents that already sat there. Danny, Chin and Kono had decided that for every ten minutes that Steve was late, he would have to take over some of their work and now, at almost nine o'clock, there was already an impressive pile of files and documents waiting at their boss's desk.
The smile on Danny's face grew even bigger when he looked up, noticing that Kono also headed for Steve's office, a mean grin on her lips and two or three sheets of paper in her right hand.
"Hey Kono, how you're getting along?" Williams asked when the young woman entered the office.
"I'm almost done with my paperwork," she replied with a tired little sigh as she placed the sheets in her hand onto McGarrett's desk before she turned around to lock eyes with her teammate. "Now I'm done," she giggled, the statement earning her a hearty laugh from Danny.
"Well done, rookie, I think there's not much more I'll be able to teach you," he said gleefully, giving her a high five. "How about a well-deserved coffee break?"
"Oh yeah, I'd like that," she agreed happily, tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear as she led the way out of the office. "Black with two sugars, please," she added with a wink, gently shoving Danny toward the coffee machine.
"Don't overdo it, Kalakaua," Danny growled, wagging his finger in her face but the huge smile on his lips betrayed the tone of his voice and he dutifully and gentlemanly walked away to obey her wishes.
When Danny returned only a few moments later, balancing three cups of coffee in his hands, he found Kono and Chin standing in front of the big computer table, animatedly chatting about one of their elderly aunts who apparently had devoted her life to find an appropriate husband for Kono, a fact that Chin found highly amusing while Kono herself was outright annoyed.
"Hey Danny," Chin interrupted their conversation, much to Kono's relief, nodding a thank-you toward his teammate when he accepted the cup Danny was handing him. "Is Steve still not here?"
Sipping at his own coffee, Danny slightly shook his head, a hint of concern coloring his features. "Nope," he said uncharacteristically clipped, fiddling nervously with the cup in his hands when a sudden wave of presentiment washed over him.
"You worried?" Kono interposed when she noticed Danny's behavior, exchanging a brief look with her cousin.
"Nah," Williams replied, once more shaking his head in denial. Taking a deep breath he shoved the small touch of concern to the back of his mind, furrowing his brow as he said pensively, "He probably just wants to duck all the paperwork."
After a short moment of silence a bright smirk crept across Danny's face when he put his cup down onto the computer table and waved his hands through the air. "But that plan already failed spectacularly," he gloated, referring to the huge pile of documents on McGarrett's desk. Rubbing his hands he said gleefully, "Let me just dump the last of my files on his table and then I'll try again to call that lazy partner of mine."
But before Danny could put his plan into action he heard a familiar sound behind him, the unmistakable creak of the big glass doors that lead into the office. Without looking toward the entrance, he exclaimed loudly, "Ah, it's about time, lazybones…"
Seeing the surprised look on Chin's and Kono's face, Danny interrupted himself and whirled around. "Oh sorry," he said when he finally noticed that it was not his partner who had entered the office but rather a lean, middle-aged woman who pressed a black and red backpack tightly against her chest. "I thought you'd be my lazy partner who thinks it's fun to leave all the boring paperwork for his colleagues." Waving his hand, he dismissed that thought as he remembered his manners and asked politely, "What can we do for you?"
The woman didn't answer immediately; she just stared silently at the three members of Five-0 for a long moment, causing Danny to exchange confused looks with his teammates.
"Ma'am?" Chin asked quietly. "Do you need help? Are you alright?"
Blinking slowly the woman let her gaze lazily travel over Chin and Kono before her bright green eyes settled down on Danny. "I want you to listen," she finally said lowly, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Uh, sure," Williams answered hesitantly, raising his eyebrows about her strange behavior. Throwing another confused look at Chin and Kono he briefly shrugged his shoulders before he pointed over his right shoulder, "Why don't we go in my office?"
"No," the woman answered firmly with a sharp shake of her head, taking everyone by surprise when she suddenly pulled a weapon out of her backpack in one swift move. Carelessly dropping the backpack onto the floor she raised the gun, pointing it directly at Danny's head before anyone could even think of going for their own weapons. "I just want you to listen," she repeated hoarsely, and the pure hate and anger in her eyes sent a cold shiver along Danny's spine.
"Okay, okay, no problem," Danny replied without hesitation, rapidly thinking about the best way to defuse the situation. Slightly raising his hands with palms upwards he suggested gently, "Why don't you put the gun down and we can talk like civilized people?"
"No," the woman repeated, her green eyes glistening when she barked out her next orders. "All of you, step back from the table and put your hands behind your head. I don't intend to hurt anyone; I just need you to listen."
"Okay, alright," Danny agreed, very slowly raising his hands behind his head, giving his teammates a little nod to follow his lead. How on earth this woman – whoever she was – had managed to enter their headquarters with a weapon in her bag and catch them off-guard was beyond his grasp. "I'm Detective Williams, this is Lieutenant Kelly and Officer Kalakaua," he introduced calmly, trying to ease the tense atmosphere a little bit. Keeping his eyes glued to the woman's face, Danny asked softly, "What's your name?"
Staring at Danny for a long moment, the woman cocked her head a little bit to the right as if she was considering his words. Her weapon still aimed at Danny's head she finally replied quietly, "It doesn't matter who you are or what my name is. I just want to tell you why he deserves to suffer…"
Her voice trailed off and the woman held Danny's gaze as if she expected him to give an answer.
"Uhm, I'm sorry, but I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Danny said hesitantly, his voice laced with confusion, not daring to look at his teammates to see if they knew what was going on. "Who exactly do you want to suffer?"
But as soon as he'd opened his mouth Williams had noticed the dull shadow that was slowly creeping into her eyes and as almost expected the strange woman didn't answer his question.
"I want him to suffer the same way I've suffered the last ten years," she explained flatly. "I want him to live in darkness the same way I've lived in darkness ever since. He shall know how it feels to hurt, to be crushed and suffocated by the darkness, unable to draw a single pain-free breath."
She briefly laughed out joylessly, the sound eerily flowing across the office.
"But my darkness was the darkness of the mind, it was the pain of my soul that suffocated me, my grief that didn't give me space to breathe or move or live. And even if his pain will be much more physical he will nevertheless learn what it feels like to spend the rest of his life in utter darkness, alone with nothing but his troubled thoughts and memories."
Her hand that held the weapon wavered a little bit when she breathed out a faint sigh but not enough that Danny, Chin or Kono dared to intervene. The ghost of a smile flashed over the woman's face and her green eyes suddenly glistened brightly again.
"But there will be one crucial difference," she said quietly into the silence of the room. "He will die slowly and painfully while I'll be released from my pain, my suffering will finally come to an end in the blink of an eye."
Blinking slowly, the woman swiftly raised her arm, pressed the barrel of the weapon against her right temple and without further hesitation she pulled the trigger.
(tbc)
I warned you about cliffhangers, didn't I? ;-)
