Troubled Waters V

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. Just because I say that doesn't mean that the muse doesn't believe otherwise.

Thanks for all the reviews, I do love to hear from you. I promised a very good friend that the muse would consider a shirtless Steve scene so read carefully…..it is in here.

Chapter 5

"No….no I don't mean that but it's true that his impulsiveness scars me at times," Danny confessed, his stress showing. "Damn it Lou this sounds bad, just how long do you think that man's luck will hold? He was supposed to go fishing and relax not be bleeding to death in some asshole's stolen car," he added angrily.

"You are worried, I get it," Lou acknowledged. "We will find him. This whole operation was botched up big time, there are loose ends all over the place. They aren't getting away with this, we'll find them."

"From your lips to you-know-who's ears," Danny muttered. "Let's hope Steve can hang on that long."

"It's to their benefit to keep him breathing. McGarrett's a tough bird, he will hang on that long," Grover said gruffly.

"He had better, if he dies I'll never forgive him," Williams breathed as he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

"I totally understand," Lou echoed.

*H 5-0*

McGarrett began to swim back to consciousness as his body was being tossed around in the car's seat. He could feel himself slipping towards the floor and couldn't stop it. As his knees hit the floor mats, a wave of pain rushed through him, starting in his side and then joined by a vicious pounding in his head. Struggling against the blackness that threatened to pull him back under, Steve clenched his jaw tightly and hung on. His strong will supported him but he continued to keep his eyes shut and concentrated on keeping his breathing steady.

The sounds of honking horns and squealing tires assaulted his ears amid the violent swerves of the car that bounced him against the seat. Suddenly there was an abrupt bump with the sound of scraping metal and Steve knew they had hit another vehicle and he heard his abductor swear under his breath and then laugh as they continued forward. Pressing his right hand tighter against his left side, he attempted to keep his breathing even. As he struggled to steady his body's reaction to the pain he could hear the blonde man talk to him.

"Aw…did I forget to tell you to fasten your seatbelt?" the voice mocked him. "You're looking pretty bad buddy and I don't think your friends are going to get to you in time now." Steve felt a finger poke him in the cheek and remained still, not reacting. "It's probably a good thing you are out cold."

Knowing it would be wise to not let his kidnapper know he was aware, Steve continued to pretend he was out cold and not present a threat. Fully aware that he was not in a position to overpower the driver Steve decided to bide his time and recover more of his strength if possible.

The vehicle began to slow and not long after that they turned off of 93 and headed inland. Steve tried to remember all the turns and direction changes but it became difficult as he had to battle the ever present blackness that wanted to overwhelm him. Each turn brought on a rougher road and since Steve did not want to reveal his awareness to the blonde man, he fought to remain still and unresponsive. He could tell that every turn was taking them further into the jungle as the air around them became cooler through the open back window. Finally the vehicle headed up a brief incline and then levelled off before it came to a stop.

Steve lay still, continuing his charade, waiting for the next move that his shooter would make. The driver got out of the car, slamming the door behind him. Alone inside the car, Steve gripped the seat in preparation of moving quickly when the man opened the passenger door but after several minutes he realized that wasn't going to happen. Carefully raising himself up, Steve shifted to sit in the seat and observed his surroundings, blinking several times to clear his vision as his head continued to pound.

The car was parked facing a large over-sized garage with one large door and a smaller service door to the right of it that was standing ajar. An older mobile home was off to the left and a Dodge truck and a panel van were parked between the two buildings. This was all set in a clearing carved out of the surrounding jungle.

Reaching for the door handle caused Steve to grimace in pain as the action aggravated his side wound. Clenching his jaw tight he eased the door open and considered his next move. Seeing the keys to the car were gone quickly eliminated the option of driving away and McGarrett was painfully aware that he wasn't physically able to take on his abductor and anyone else who was in the garage. He had no weapon and was sure that those in the building were undoubtedly armed. Not knowing how quickly the blonde would return for the bags in the backseat and for him, Steve decided his only option was to make for the jungle and see if he could contact his team.

Attempting to move his legs out of the car Steve felt his foot strike an object and he leaned forward to see a cellphone. Knowing his was in his pocket this had to belong to his shooter and could be helpful later so Steve picked it up and put it in his left pocket. The effort made his head hurt more but he gritted his teeth and finished swinging his legs out of the vehicle. With a grunt of pain he then gripped the back of the door frame and the door to help him rise to his feet.

Once upright McGarrett felt his legs give a little as a wave of hot pain radiated from his side. Clamping his right hand against the spot he shoved off with his left and took a few stumbling steps away from the car. The protection of the dense jungle was approximately twenty to thirty yards and through sheer will Steve forced himself forward as fast as he could. He was an easy target for anyone coming out of the garage. Just a few feet from his goal he stumbled over a rock and he fell to his hands and knees. Gulping in air, McGarrett pushed up and staggered into the foliage that grew at the edge of the jungle. Unsteadily, Steve continued deeper into the brush until he could not see the clearing or buildings behind him and stopped to lean against a large tree.

Withdrawing his own phone from his pocket, he activated it, unhappy to see there was only a weak signal. Unwilling to give up, he found Danny's number and pressed it, hoping he could get through.

*H 5-0*

As their search for the green Taurus became more frustrating, Danny's phone rang suddenly. He activated the hands free option thinking Kono and Chin had news.

"Williams," he barked.

"Danny…..you…..me?" a static interrupted voice asked.

"Steve, is that you? Are you okay?"

"Need help. Don't …..I am….jungle."

"We're looking for you partner," Danny said anxiously as he glanced at Lou. "Help us find you."

"Steve, leave your phone on. We'll see if we can track your GPS," Lou added.

There was a long pause with more static.

"Steven, can you hear us?" Danny demanded.

"Leaving it…okay…," came a faint reply. Then there was more static until another response could be heard. "Got…go….hurry." Then the connection broke completely.

"Damn!" Danny exploded as he slammed his palm against the steering wheel. "We needed a better connection."

"He got the message. I'm not sure he knows where he is but somehow he got away from that guy," Lou answered as he got out his own phone to call Kono and Chin.

"That should be some story," Danny muttered.

"Kono, we just heard from Steve. It was a bad connection but he has his phone and is leaving it on. Can we track his GPS up here?" Lou asked when he reached Kono.

"We can try, I will get right on it," Kono answered. "Where are you two?"

Grover filled her in and they agreed to meet at a location nearby so they could try to pinpoint where McGarrett was. Lou grinned at Danny after pocketing his phone.

"I knew McGarrett would hang tough."

"Wish we knew more. Is he on the run or safe? And what condition is he in?" Danny said worriedly.

"I imagine he'll hang on as best he can. He knows we're coming that's the important thing," Lou replied.

"I'm thinking we need to find him fast," Danny stated grimly.

*H 5-0*

Steve was thinking much the same thing as he leaned weakly against the tree after slipping his phone back in his pocket. It hadn't been a good connection but he had gotten through and he trusted his team to find him. Sounds of shouting from the clearing brought his attention back to his current predicament. Since his escape was no longer a secret he needed to move on but not until he did something more effective to slow his bleeding. Pulling his sleeveless SEAL shirt off over his head, he looked at it in regret as he tried to rip open one of the side seams. It took a couple of tries but thankfully it was one of his older ones and finally the seam gave way.

Steve quickly folded it over several times the long way and then wrapped it around his torso, knotting it over the bullet wound to provide pressure as well as maximum material to slow the bleeding. He wiped his right forearm across his forehead, then pushed off from the tree to head deeper into the jungle. He needed to put as much distance between himself and the men who would come looking for him Hoping that he could eventually find the road they had come in on, he knew that right now he wanted to make it more difficult for them to track him. On an open road he'd be more easily spotted and he had to provide his team more time to find him. Moving through the thick brush, his skin was scratched and poked and the pounding in his head refused to go away. Nausea continued to threaten to make him stop and throw up but he refused to give in to that weakness when he had to keep moving.

As the initial adrenalin rush faded and his strength began to leave him, McGarrett knew he was fighting a losing battle and he had to find a place to rest or he would drop in his tracks. Seeing a large tree that was surrounded by thick foliage, Steve made his way over to it and crawled in to settle at the base of the tree. Leaning against the trunk, Steve was happy to see that the ferns and other plants closed in around him, blocking his sight of the surrounding area and effectively hiding him from sight. Wanting to stay alert didn't last and fatigue and pain took over, letting the blackness come up and claim him.

*H 5-0*

Terry had rushed into the garage, eager to find Edward Tambor and tell him he had made it safely. The big black man came around a shelving unit to look at him sourly.

"Did you lose the cops?" he asked.

"I did sir. I have the bags and that 5-0 guy has been out cold the whole ride," Terry said quickly. "We're good."

"This job was supposed to be simple Terry. You were supposed to collect the bags at the dock and come up here. What went wrong?" Tambor demanded.

"Nohea didn't come to the usual place. By the time we tracked him down he was on his dad's boat heading up the coast. Keo knew of a fast boat so we followed," Terry explained.

"You chased him on the water instead of just heading up to meet him at his dad's home dock? And in the process you alerted 5-0 to what you were doing. That's sloppy work Terry."

"We weren't sure they'd go straight to his dad's dock. We didn't know 5-0 would be out there," Terry whined. "We got the bags back."

"And you lost Chuck, possibly Keo and Nohea and his dad. That's a lot of bodies Terry."

"I'm sorry Boss."

"What does this 5-0 guy look like? Did he give you a name?"

"He's tall, dark hair, a white tough guy with tattoos on his arms," Terry replied.

"Holy shit….you managed to grab McGarrett," Tambor exclaimed in surprise. "We're in trouble."

End chapter.

Thank you for reading. I had to shove a lot into one chapter. So who finds Steve first? The muse hopes you enjoyed it.