Troubled Waters X

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. New season coming up, I hope it provides plenty of inspiration.

I am home from the north woods and I think that the muse mellowed out quite a bit. I am not sure I recognize her anymore. I hope you enjoy what she insisted on.

Chapter 10

"Will do," Chin agreed as he and his cousin followed Danny's instructions to check out the mobile home off to the left of the garage.

Danny headed directly to the service door of the garage as Grover paused to check the area in front of the large door that showed signs of a scuffle in the dirt. Danny shifted his weapon to only one hand as he reached for the door knob.

"Danny…..wait!" Lou cautioned as he hurried to Williams and pulled him away from the door.

"What's your problem?" Danny asked in irritation as he pulled free of Grover's grasp. "Are you worried that someone is hiding inside?"

"No…..I've got a gut feeling I don't like," Lou said quickly. He turned to where the cousins were at the steps to the mobile home. "Chin…. Kono, check for booby traps first. Be careful."

Chin waved back and the two began to do a careful examination of the structure.

"What has gotten into you all of a sudden?" Danny enquired but didn't reach again for the door knob.

"Think about it for a minute. This place appears deserted but if that van and truck were from here, then they were here not that long ago. It wasn't all that long ago that Steve called us. This Tambor guy, if that's who is running the show has a good sized operation if he needed a garage this big. Maui police say he is slippery, they haven't been able to pin anything on him. Do you think they had time to pack up and remove all the evidence of their presence here in that time frame?" Grover asked bluntly.

Danny thought about his words and his face reflected the impact of them. He glanced at the door knob as if it was a snake and swallowed the lump that suddenly lodged in his throat.

"So you think this might be rigged to blow?" he finally asked. "Thanks for the warning."

"No problem, working on SWAT makes a guy wary of closed doors," Lou confessed. "If this crew intends to keep working on this island, they would try to cover their tracks. There is no way they could have wiped down both buildings completely, pack up their product and chase after Steve."

"Hey, we found some wire clippings near the door," Kono called out to them. "Looking in the side window by the door shows a box not far from the door with wires."

"Sounds like they rigged the house to blow, odds are the garage is set up the same," Lou stated, looking meaningfully at Danny.

"Time to call in the bomb squad," Williams announced and headed back to the car.

He had just finished his call when Kono joined him.

"We need to see if this Michael Wyler made any other cash purchases on the island or any other name. It will take longer for that search but it's necessary," she suggested.

"I mentioned that to Duke, he said he'd get someone on it. He also said that there was no van or pick up spotted where the road joined Highway 93. They must have turned off on another road," Danny said in disappointment. "We are going to have to find these guys through the property purchases or prints once we get into these buildings. All that takes time and all we have for proof that Steve was here is that Taurus sitting over there. We don't even know if Steve is in the jungle still or if they found him and have him."

"Well he was here," Chin answered as he joined them in time to hear Danny's last statement. "I got a good look at the kitchen from another window and there's a first aid kit and bloody towel on the table in plain view. No one took time to clean up. I think it's too much of a coincidence that it was used for someone else."

"We need to get in there and check things out. Once those officers get here we need to begin searching the jungle. If he was able, Steve would have shown himself once we arrived. Since he hasn't, he is either unable to get himself here or he is still searching for a way out," Danny instructed in concern.

"There's a lot of blood in the front passenger seat of that car," Lou added as he came over to them. "I checked and the Tanaka's registration is in the glove box."

"Damn it, we don't know what condition Steve is in. We don't know if he called us after they bandaged him or if he's still trying to find the road and reach us…..or if he collapsed in the jungle and is waiting for us to find him," Danny growled as waved his hand at the green expanse that surrounded them.

"Kono and I will check the jungle perimeter, see if we can figure where he went in," Chin suggested, wanting to do something while they waited. "You bring the officers up to speed and we'll see if we need to do a search," he added as sirens could be heard approaching.

"Sounds good," Danny agreed, not comfortable about tackling the jungle just yet. Lou nodded in agreement.

Kono headed to the driveway immediately, studying the ground alongside the area where the Camaro now sat.

"What are you looking for Cuz?" Chin asked as he caught up to her.

"If Steve was patched up before he went into the jungle, we should have seen more blood on the mobile home steps. He had been bleeding pretty heavily in the car, he would have left evidence on the way to the house. There was none that I noticed," she explained as she continued to examine the ground. Pausing, she pointed to some dark stains on the grass alongside the driveway. "Unless Steve escaped before they took him into the house. Look at this."

"That would mean that they recaptured him," Chin said glumly.

"It is a possibility," Kono murmured as she headed across the lawn, following drops of red that had now dried darker. They reached the edge of the jungle and paused before heading into the overgrowth where broken branches showed someone had entered.

"The blood in the grass is too heavy for someone recently bandaged unless they did a very bad job," Chin observed.

"Let's see where this leads," Kono commented and followed the trail, trying to see where blood had stained the ground. Moving deeper she found the tree where McGarrett had paused to make his call to Danny and Lou. There were patches of rusty, dried blood on the dirt and grass that covered the ground. Enough to show someone had stood there bleeding for a period of time.

"Chin, look," she said pointing it out as he joined her. "I think Steve stood here awhile, probably when he called Danny. I'm thinking he isn't in this jungle anymore. I think they caught him and took him back to be bandaged later. If Steve escaped after they tended to his wound there would not be this much blood present," she insisted. Neither she or Chin knew that Steve had used his shirt for a bandage after making that call.

"I hate to say it but I agree," Chin sighed. He had to agree with her reasoning because nothing else made sense. He had hoped to find Steve out here, probably unconscious but now that didn't seem possible. "We had better get back to Danny and Lou and tell them what we think."

"I hate guessing but I don't think we should waste time searching out here," Kono said seriously.

"I hear you. Go back and let Danny and Lou know what we found. I'm going to explore just a bit more just to be sure," Chin told her.

"Okay…I am going to tell Duke we need to find another place to look and we need it fast. I don't think that Danny is going to like what I have to say," she sighed.

"He'll get over it," Chin said pragmatically. "When we find Steve, he'll insist that McGarrett never go on a fishing trip again," he added trying to lighten the mood. "And he won't let anyone forget why."

Kono chuckled in spite of her mood. Her cousin did his best to make her feel better. That rant by Danny would be one she would love to hear if it meant that Steve had been found alive and well.

"I'll bring Danny and Lou up to speed," she confirmed.

As she headed back to the others, Chin followed the broken brush that led deeper into the jungle. He knew he didn't have a lot of time because in here the light was beginning to fade as the sun dropped lower. He continued along the path that both Steve and Terry had taken, wondering just how far Steve could have gone given the blood he had lost.

He soon found the small clearing where the amount of broken brush and scuffed up dirt showed that a fight had taken place. Crouching down to examine the ground, Chin saw a rock that had a broken phone lying near it. He recognized it as Steve's and then saw the filtered light reflect off another phone a few feet away. Using an evidence glove, he picked that one up and tried to turn that one on but it was clear that the battery was dead. He pocketed the phones and hurried back to the clearing. He was pretty sure that they would need an ambulance on standby when they found Steve.

Danny was leaning over Kono, breathing down her neck as she spoke on the SAT phone when Chin emerged from the jungle. Lou saw him and headed towards him, meeting him near the edge of the driveway.

"You think that these creeps still have Steve?" he asked.

"That's what it looks like. If they had bandaged Steve up before he escaped into the jungle we wouldn't have found that much blood on the ground. It looks like he was found and treated later. I found Steve's phone, broken, near the scene of a struggle and also another phone whose battery is dead. I plan to check that one to see what it can tell us," Chin replied.

"Well it is about time we caught a break," Grover complained. "Bomb squad should be here shortly but not much before dark. That phone may give us more information faster."

"I'll see if I can get it charged up," Chin said as he headed towards his car's trunk. He had made a habit of carrying various phone chargers in case he needed them and for once it was going to pay off. He found the box and dug out a car charger for an iPhone.

"What are you playing with?" Danny asked as he came around to the driver's side.

"I found this cell in the jungle near Steve's broken one. I'm charging it so that we can see who the guy was that chased Steve into that jungle."

"I'd kiss you if you weren't busy," Danny said in relief. "Thank goodness Steve didn't hang on to that phone."

"We'll have to have an ambulance ready when we do find Steve…he bled pretty heavy in the jungle. Even if they treated his wound, he has to be in bad shape," Chin said seriously.

"We will," Danny agreed.

"We have a hit!" Kono announced gleefully from the other side of the car. "A building in Poamoho was purchased in cash by someone named Edgar Tripps. Same initials as Edward Tambor. I refuse to believe that is a coincidence."

"I am with you on that," Danny said grimly. "Give me that address Kono, it is time we move. Let Duke know where we are headed and have him send an ambulance."

"Yea…..these guys can help out the bomb squad when they arrive. We can't wait around," Lou added. He ran to the passenger side of the Camaro.

"Sounds good," Chin responded. "Give these guys the address we are headed to and then come monitor what this phone tells us while I drive,"

Kono did and then got in as Chin started the car and pulled out, following Danny to head to Poamoho. Time couldn't be wasted now that they had a strong lead on the whereabouts of Steve McGarrett.

End chapter.

So here we go. Yes…..I know there was no Steve in this chapter but this is what had to be covered first. I promise he is still with us, next chapter I'm sure. Unless the muse is really behaving abnormal. Thanks for reading.