Troubled Waters II

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. So excited to see the gang back at work after the blessing on Wednesday. The muse is rejuvenated, I hope.

Thank you all so much for the warm welcome back to the world of H 5-0. Your reviews, alerts and follows have made my week. I will strive to put out chapters on a regular basis but summer is a different lifestyle than the winter and I have less time to write.

Chapter 2

Lou moved to take the wheel while Steve shifted to where he could get the best shot at the powerboat.

"Keep moving away…..towards the shore," Steve ordered.

"Are you crazy?" Lou exclaimed. "We can't outrun these guys." Even as he spoke he swung the boat towards the distant shoreline.

The powerboat swung around and rode along travelling parallel to their boat as Steve fired a couple shots at the driver. When the sleek boat moved ahead in an attempt to cut them off, Steve crawled up on the bow of the boat and laid flat to steady his aim. He fired at the driver once more as the boat cut across their bow, rather close for comfort. The two in the boat returned fire and Lou ducked down to avoid any stray bullets. Raising up on his elbows, Steve coolly fired twice more, one shot causing the Hawaiian at the wheel to flinch and briefly slump over. The boat swerved away and began to head for shore.

"Follow them," Steve shouted as he rose to his knees and sent more shots towards the rear engine of the boat speeding away from them. A puff of smoke was his reward before a hail of bullets from the other craft caused him to again drop to his stomach, one shot pinging off the deck and creasing across his forehead. Grover continued his pursuit but angled the Aigle De-Mer out of range of the rifles on the powerboat. He had noticed how McGarrett had flinched amid that last burst of gunfire.

"You okay Steve?"

"I'm good, it's just a scratch," Steve yelled back as he touched his forehead. It came away sticky but it just stung and the bleeding was already easing up. "Follow them." He carefully made his way back to the boat controls.

Once beside Grover, Steve reached for the radio and contacted the Coast Guard. He informed them of the coordinates they were now on and asked that they would inform 5-0 to cover the 93 highway in that area. Steve added he had damaged the powerboat's engine and they were headed for shore. He was told that Lt. Kelly had been contacted and was waiting at headquarters as the rest of the team was reporting in.

"We have to keep these guys from getting away," Steve told Lou grimly. "It is going to take time for backup to arrive."

"They can make shore ahead of us, even with a damaged engine," Lou pointed out.

"We do the best we can," Steve answered. "Once they reach shore, they can get to the highway and hijack a car. We can't let that happen."

"I think I can see what Danny was trying to say about fishing with you. It's certainly more of an adventure than I was counting on," Lou groaned as he tried to coax more speed from the fishing boat.

*H 5-0*

Danny Williams was escorting his daughter Grace back to the Camaro after her cheerleading competition, listening to her cheerful chatter as she recounted the high point of her performance. She proudly held a second place mini-trophy that every member of the team had received as she talked, only to be interrupted by Danny's phone ringing. Seeing Chin Ho Kelly's name on the caller ID, he immediately answered.

"Hey Chin, what's up?"

"Danny, I got a call from the Coast Guard. McGarrett called in that there was a crime in progress off of Kahe Point," Chin informed him.

"Are you telling me that he managed to attract trouble while out fishing once again? Why does this not surprise me? Your uncle will never let Steve take his boat again," Danny exploded.

"Steve and Lou aren't in trouble, at least not yet. They witnessed the crime and are now pursuing the suspects. They need backup. The Coast Guard is heading out to them but Steve asked to have us go up highway 93 as land backup since the boats are now heading in to shore," Chin explained.

"Danno, is Uncle Steve in trouble?" Grace asked Danny anxiously.

"No Monkey, not at the moment. Why don't you go along to the car and wait for me, I will be there shortly," Danny said handing her the keys. He wanted to spare her the details of the conversation.

"Okay Danno," Grace said obediently and took the keys before running on ahead.

"Chin…how fast can the Coast Guard respond?" Danny then asked.

"They have two boats heading out as we speak. Kono is on her way here and we will head up 93. Join us as soon as you can drop off Grace. These perps attacked another boat and are now heading to shore because McGarrett damaged their engine."

"Of course he did," Danny groaned. He shook his head in wonder as he hurried to the Camaro. Of course SuperSEAL would be able to damage a boat's engine, what else was new? "Keep me informed, I will be there as quick as I can."

"Will do Danny. Kono just walked in, we are heading out," Chin said and broke off the connection.

As Danny slid into the driver's seat, he accepted the keys from Grace and started the engine with a roar.

"Is Uncle Steve going to be okay?" Grace asked anxiously.

"I think so Monkey. He and Capt. Grover are chasing after some bad guys and they need the rest of us to back them up. I'm going to have to drop you back at your mom's house until I take care of this," Danny told her.

"Okay Danno…..But don't forget to come back and get me. We are supposed to have the whole weekend together," Grace said firmly.

"I won't forget," Danny replied.

"All right but shouldn't you be driving faster, Uncle Steve needs you," Grace said in a very grown up voice.

"Yes ma'am…..I will drive as fast as allowed with you in the car. Call your mom and give her a heads up that we are on the way. Thank goodness we aren't on the other side of the island," Danny said, always careful when he had Grace in his car. He might want to go faster but his daughter's safety was more important. Grace did as she was told and called Rachel.

*H 5-0*

AS the powerboat approached the shoreline, Steve took over the boat controls. Lou assess the approaching bay and looked back at Steve's intent gaze.

"Can that boat make it all the way to shore? We sure can't follow them to shore in this boat," Grover said worriedly.

Steve checked the boats depth finder before answering.

"I don't know about that boat but we will most likely not make it all the way to shore. It is still pretty deep here but we will have to stop further out than them. There's an inflatable dinghy and some oars down below. Go bring them up," Steve instructed.

"A dinghy? You aren't serious, are you?" Lou said shock.

"Yes I am. Go on, we are going to need it fast," McGarrett said urgently.

Lou followed orders and going down to the compartment under the bow, found the box labelled as the inflatable raft and a set of oars. He came back up and set them on the deck eyeing the box skeptically.

"You're telling me that there's a boat in there that is big enough for the two of us?"

"It will be big enough," Steve assured him. He could see the smoke getting thicker from the powerboat's engine. The two men were wrestling with the driver, trying to take control as the boat continued to streak for the sandy beach. "Get the boat inflated, we are going to have to stop soon," he warned as he throttled back on the power, watching the depth finder so he didn't rip out the hull in the shallows.

The words were barely out of his mouth when the speedboat hit the shallows and came to an abrupt halt a few yards from shore. It had come to rest in a horseshoe shaped bay with an outcropping of rocks to the left side and rough shore to the right. The boat was stuck in the middle of the bay, the driver slumped over the side of the driver's seat and the two men picking themselves up off the boat deck.

"Get the dinghy in the water as soon as we stop," Steve said as he eased their boat towards the rocky protrusion on the left. He could see the two shooters had gathered the duffel bags they had taken off the other boat and were preparing to jump over, into the surf. Tall bluffs stood over the bay, creating a steep climb up to the highway that was not far from the edge. "They are going to have to climb that bluff to reach the highway."

Shutting down the engine, Steve moved up onto the bow to drop the anchor. By the time he returned to the controls Lou had the dinghy inflated and had placed his small bag and the oars inside it. Steve grabbed a backpack by the controls and went to help Lou lower the dinghy overboard.

Grover went over the side first, followed by Steve, who took the oars and began to row to the rocks to their left.

"You do realize we are sitting ducks out here," Grover commented as he kept his eyes and gun on the men wading to shore.

"I know…I know. Watch them, I'm trying to get to those rocks," Steve panted as he rowed.

Grover kept watch on the men who had reached the beach and were looking at the bluffs for the easiest way to the top. The darker haired man looked back and saw them heading for the rocks and raised his weapon.

"Faster McGarrett, they've noticed that we are getting closer," Lou warned. "You are aware that this raft isn't bulletproof, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am aware of that," Steve groaned rowing as fast as he could. "Almost there," he added glancing over his shoulder.

The water around them erupted in mini-geysers as the man fired at them. Lou returned fire as McGarrett strained to move them to the shelter of the rocks. The dinghy bumped into the side of a rock just as a lucky shot struck the thick vinyl of the dinghy. The two men scrambled to safety with a stone shield between them and the shooter, grabbing their bags before the dinghy could completely deflate.

"Timing is everything," Steve grinned as he shoved a new clip into his gun. He rose up to shoot back between the rocks.

"I can see why Danny doesn't want to fish with you," Lou said as he joined Steve in firing towards the men on the beach.

"This is not my fault," Steve protested. "You were on the boat too."

"Fair enough," Lou said as they fell into a pattern of rising up to fire then crouching down to try and edge along the rocks, closer to shore. "How long until help arrives?"

Steve pulled out his phone and was relieved to see two bars of service. He hit Danny's contact number with his thumb and waited for an answer.

"Hey babe, please tell me that you and Lou are still in one piece," Danny responded quickly.

"We are but we're pinned down on some rocks just below highway 93, below some bluffs. Are you on your way? We can use some backup."

End chapter.

So we are now off the water…sort of but the trouble is not over. Thank you for reading.