Troubled Waters XI

Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. I do enjoy spending time with the characters.

I apologize for the late posting of this chapter. I had a visit with my granddaughter this last weekend and then was blessed with jury duty this week. They tend to frown of daydreaming when you are supposed to listening to testimony. And in earlier chapters I misspelled the city of Wai'anae, my map has very small print.

Chapter 11

Steve slouched low in the backseat of the car and felt his strength ebbing away. He continued to try and work his wrists free of the tape that bound them behind his back but Jack had done a thorough job and the effort to free himself was draining him. Pain raced through his body from the bullet wound site and became more intense as he struggled with his bonds. Looking down he could see spots of red on the white gauze that was wrapped around his middle. Steve paused, taking several deep breaths and tried to gather his energy but failed. His spirit was willing but his body was unable to respond to his will. McGarrett slid sideways, his forehead coming to rest on the window of the door, eyes closing as exhaustion won out over will.

"The Commander is losing steam Boss," Jack reported with a laugh as he noticed McGarrett had become unconscious.

"Good, he'll be easier to handle. Once we're settled in, if he's dead, someone can haul his body up to the North Shore and dump him in the ocean," Tambor said keeping his eyes on the road.

"Do you think his team triggered the bombs?" Jack asked, aware that everyone's prints were all over the two buildings.

"I don't know. If they're eager enough, they will have rushed in."

"And if they didn't?"

"Then they'll have our prints. What they don't have is where we are moving to. I bought the Poamoho place under a different name but we will probably have to clear out of there as well. Terry screwed things up by attacking Nohea publicly and putting 5-0 on our scent. Bad luck. I may be forced to leave the island completely," Tambor complained. "If I wasn't down two men I'd shoot Terry myself but for now I need him."

"I'm sure that Terry didn't mean to attract attention. He was just trying to get your stuff back Boss. If you want to punish him, make him dispose of McGarrett's body. Maybe he'll get caught with it. He doesn't need to know where we are moving the operation so he can't rat us out," Jack suggested. "And maybe Pono can find us a new space, he has connections here on Oahu." Jack had been with Tambor longer than anyone on the crew and was freer to express his opinion. "Perhaps we should rent this time, no purchase paperwork to be traced."

"That is an idea. I don't like the idea of nosey landlords though," Tambor reflected.

"Pono's contacts are not exactly law-abiding citizens. I am sure he knows people who would be willing to mind their own business and stay out of yours. It might be a good idea not to unpack when we get to Poamoho right away."

"Good thinking Jack," Edward Tambor approved. "You have a good head on your shoulders. With our guest back there, we may have to move fast."

Jack checked his phone and smiled.

"I've got service now…I'll call Terry and tell them not to unload the van. They're probably close to arriving at the building."

"Do that and then keep an eye on McGarrett, he could be faking."

"Sure thing Boss."

*H 5-0*

Danny was driving exactly like the partner that he always criticized, weaving among cars and trying not to cause an accident. He was desperately trying to make up for all the time lost at the clearing. By now Tambor's group had time to get to their new location and there were no short cuts across the Wai'anae Mountain range. He cursed the amount of time it took to follow the highways.

Williams had been so sure that McGarrett would be out in the jungle when they arrived at the buildings in the middle of nowhere and that this would be a simple matter of rounding up the bad guys and then finding his partner. Given what Kono and Chin had discovered and knowing that their logical deductions made sense, Williams stomach now churned at the thought of Steve back in the enemies' hands. As he swerved to pass another car with lights flashing, Grover grabbed the door's grip and finally spoke up.

"I would like to survive this ride Danny. I'm just as anxious as you to get there but it will help if we get there in one piece," Lou stated firmly.

"Steve doesn't have time for us to be cautious," Danny bit out.

"I'll remember that reasoning the next time you go on a rant about Steve's driving. What's good for the goose…," Lou let it trail off, a grin on his face.

"Shut up Lou," Danny growled and continued to drive as if the hounds from hell were nipping at his bumper. Grover just hung on and kept smiling.

In the Mustang, Chin grinned as he tried to keep up with the Camaro. He could only imagine the conversation in the lead vehicle and could tell how worried Danny was by how he was mimicking McGarrett's driving. Kelly was frustrated as well by the lack of a short cut to Poamoho. The island's terrain made travel a challenge and often longer than it might have been if the landmass was flat.

"Danny is stressing," Kono observed as she worked on extracting information from Terry's iPhone. "Wish we had a short cut."

"Only if we had access to an off-road vehicle," Chin said grimly.

"Always a ray of sunshine Cuz. Do we have HPD coming up 90 to stop them from escaping south?"

"We do," Chin confirmed. "I don't know who will get there first but we should have them blocked in."

"They can't just slip away again," Kono said fiercely. "We can't be too late for Steve again."

"We won't," Chin promised. "Have you gotten anything useful off that phone?"

"It belongs to a Terrence Whitley. Unfortunately the guy thought he was clever with his contact list, he hasn't used full names, just initials or nicknames. He does have one contact that simply says 'Boss' so I'm betting that's Tambor…if we have the right guy. Should I call and confirm that?" Kono enquired with a grin.

"Let's not play that card just yet. Keep them in the dark, that way we have the upper hand," Chin cautioned. "Keep combing through it, we need all the information we can get if they use Steve as a bargaining chip."

"That's probably why they patched Steve up," Kono murmured.

"Bet on it," Chin nodded as he followed Danny around a car that had pulled over. "Of course that is going to make it difficult to storm the place with Steve inside. Hostage cases are difficult."

"We'll work it out Chin. We will get Steve out of this," Kono vowed confidently.

Chin chuckled, enjoying the confidence his cousin exuded. The young woman had embraced McGarrett's view of police work and how to get things done. Kono had turned out to be their leader's best student.

"You're right, we will," he agreed.

*H 5-0*

Edward Tambor pulled the car into the large building on a side street in Poamoho. The structure had once housed a surfboard company that had decided it would be more profitable to move up to the North Shore and had been happy to unload the building for a cash purchase. Pono pulled the large door closed behind the car as it rolled inside. Tambor stopped next to the pickup.

"Jack, put our guest where we can keep an eye on him," Tambor ordered as he exited the vehicle.

"Sure thing Boss."

Tambor went to talk to Pono while Lyle and Terry gathered around to watch as Jack rousted McGarrett and extracted him from the backseat of the car. Holding tightly to Steve's upper arm, Jack marched him to a bench against the wall. McGarrett stumbled a couple of times, his legs unsteady under him after being folded in the car for so long. He hated how weak he felt and was grateful to sink down on the bench before he fell on his face. Steve glared at the three men and couldn't suppress a twitch of his lips as he noted that all three men refused to stand within reach.

Terry drew his gun from his shoulder holster and waved it at McGarrett.

"So who's the big shot now? You feel lucky McGarrett?" Terry taunted. "Your future isn't so bright now. You should have kept on fishing."

"My future is brighter than yours," Steve growled.

"No one is coming to rescue you," Terry stated.

"Has there been any reports of explosions near Wai'anae?" Steve inquired mildly.

Terry looked at the others, Lyle shook his head slightly.

"Doesn't matter, they have no idea where you are," Terry sneered.

"They will track you down and they will find you. You don't know my team, you won't beat them," Steve said confidently.

"You can die now Commander," Terry snarled as he leveled his weapon at Steve's chest and prepared to pull the trigger.

"Stop right there Terry or I'll shoot you," Tambor's voice rang out from across the room. "McGarrett stays alive for now. He doesn't die unless I order it."

Terry froze, fear written all over his face. He had not counted on Tambor paying attention to his rant. The calm, almost amused look on McGarrett's face only made the situation worse. How was it that after everything the damned man showed no fear and was so controlled?

"I'm putting the Commander in his place Boss," Terry tried to reason. "He needs to respect you, he needs to realize who is in control."

"Back off Terry, it is not your place to teach him anything," Tambor spat out as he crossed the space. "Do I need to remind you who is in charge here? Are you suddenly calling the shots?"

Whitley cringed as Tambor invaded his personal space and stared down at him. His anger and the embarrassment of being beaten by McGarrett in the jungle was still eating at him. He wanted Steve McGarrett's blood…for himself and for Chuck.

"No Boss…I just what my payback," Terry said, forcing himself to calm down.

"You will get what I give you," the big man said pointedly. "If you can't control yourself then I will. I am in charge."

"Yes sir," Terry mumbled and holstered his weapon. He ached to wipe the satisfied look off McGarrett's face but knew Tambor might actually shoot him. He needed to bide his time and wait for his shot at the Commander. "Sorry sir." He moved over by the vehicles.

"Don't look so smug McGarrett, your team may or may not have tripped my bombs but it certainly served to delay them. We won't be here long so they still won't find us. If they get to us before we clear out of here, your life with be forfeit. I promise that you will not come out on the good end of this," Tambor told Steve.

Feeling very weary but confident that his team was coming for him, Steve kept his face neutral and stared back at the black man.

"Make all the threats you want, you won't win," he said coolly.

End chapter.