Chapter Thirteen "Out of the Woods...Or Not"

Okay, so there will be like two more chapter after this... and maybe an epilogue. I have some ideas for sequels, but I'm not sure which I'm going to go with. I think I'll post my ideas on my forum under "Stories," so you can go check them out and let me know what you think.

Once again, thank you for all the awesome feedback and so on. You guys are the best ever!

After Danny took Grace home, he, Kono, and Chin spent the rest of the day doing mostly nothing. There were several more Pixar movies viewed over the course of the day. At some point, Danny contemplated calling the Carpenters. He wondered how he would feel in their position, whether he would want to know anything. Danny would want to know everything, actually, but he wasn't sure if that was normal. In the end, he decided no news was good news. When he actually had something favorable to report, he would call them.

Danny thought ironically that for once, the crazy things happening were not Steve McGarrett's fault. And then he imagined with some satisfaction how bored his partner would be looking after the witness while the rest of them had all the "fun." Of course, Danny knew if anything like this ever happened again, he would be the bored one. He only hoped he didn't end up with someone who sang in the kitchen, because with his luck, it would be someone who couldn't carry a tune.

With these and other strange thoughts, Danny fell asleep and didn't wake up until the next morning. For once, he was glad to be going back to work. He couldn't wait to get rid of this guy.

H-5-O

McKenzie's neck felt stiff when she woke up. Then she realized that her head was going up and down, like someone was breathing under it. There was also something heavy laying across her shoulders and she remembered where she was. She tried not to move, but the crick in her neck was getting worse. She knew as soon as she did move, Steve would wake up.

McKenzie turned her eyes upward. It was a horrible angle, but aside from looking up Steve's nose, she wouldn't complain. Steve's eyelids fluttered, as if he sensed he was being watched. So, McKenzie decided she might as well relieve her neck. She sat up, causing Steve's arm to fall down her back and he opened his eyes completely.

"You sleep like a rock," Steve said.

McKenzie put her arms straight up in the air and stretched. "Rocks don't sleep," she said with a yawn.

"How about a rockfish?"

"I don't know. My dad always says I sleep better than Sleeping Beauty."

"But didn't she sleep for a hundred years?"

"Yeah, but I'm sure she tossed and turned a bit."

"I think it's hysterical that you can talk about this like it's real."

"It is real!"

"Then explain how she wasn't dead by the time she woke up."

"For one thing, you can't wake up if you're dead. For another, it was magic."

"Oh, that clears everything up."

"You're going to have to learn to stop being so sarcastic."

"I'm sorry. Danny rubs off on me."

"You're not sorry."

"But I can pretend to be. Just like you pretend fairytales are real."

"What do you call this?" McKenzie gestured around them.

"I suppose with all your singing and the complete lack of anything to do, this night qualify as a fairytale."

"You don't like the singing?"

"I didn't say that. Actually, you sound good."

"But you might be a little biased."

"Of course I am. As for there being nothing to do, if your arm is healed we could go to the beach again."

"Without all the..."

"No. I have to be armed all the time, and you could get some target practice."

McKenzie stood up. "Okay, but I'm not shooting anything alive... and I'm only going in the water of my own volition."

H-5-O

Chin grumbled quietly as he tried to adjust the uncomfortable sling. He was stuck in the office all day while Danny and Kono went to look for Hadley, which involved questioning the victims wives once again. Chin was left in charge of contacting Burton again, who wasn't answering his phone. Monday was off to a lovely start.

It was nearing afternoon when a man Chin vaguely recognized came into the office.

"Excuse me," he said, "I'm James Carpenter. Are you working on my daughter's case?"

"Oh, yes," Chin said, standing and shaking the man's hand. "Would you like to talk in my office?"

"Thank you."

James followed Chin and once they were seated comfortably, he began speaking.

"I just came by to see if there have been any developments since last week."

To the untrained eye, James seemed very calm, almost too calm, but from his experience, Chin could see that James was trying to get information without making a nuisance of himself. Chin greatly appreciated that.

"Unfortunately," he said, "we know who did it, but he escaped custody on Friday. We haven't had any news of him since, except that he threatened Detective Williams trying to find your daughter's location."

James exhaled deeply. "Then it's a good thing no one knows where she is."

"Exactly," Chin said. "We are doing everything we can to find him. Now that we know who he is, he won't be able to hide forever."

"Well, thank you for everything. I'm sure you'll catch him soon."

The two of them stood and shook hands again. "Thank you, Mr. Carpenter," Chin said. "Not everyone would be so understanding."

"We just want McKenzie back safe. And it's just Jim."

Chin smiled. "Jim. I'll be sure to let you know if we have any news."

H-5-O

After yet another fruitless conversation with four distraught, yet somehow creepy women, Danny was ready to pull his hair out.

"Hey." Kono rubbed his shoulder when they got back in the car. "They can't tell you what they don't know."

"Yeah," Danny said, sounding unconvinced. "But Jenny Lee knows something."

"How can you tell?"

"I know when a woman is lying to my face."

Kono wondered just how much experience he had with that.

"Anyway," Danny continued. "She knows Hadley, or knows of him. The question is whether she played a part in all this or if she's just afraid of him."

"The latter seems more likely."

"True. I still don't have to like her."

"I don't think anyone likes her. The others keep giving her funny looks and she's always sitting away from them."

"The problem is figuring out what good that information is. Hopefully Chin had more success than we did."

They arrived back at HQ shortly after James Carpenter left. Chin informed them that he hadn't had any luck with Burton and about James' visit.

"I should have called him," Danny said. "I said I would."

"You had a lot on your mind, Brah," Chin said. "He didn't seem offended anyway."

"That's not the point. His daughter is being held captive and he hasn't even had the chance to talk to her."

"And if you were in his place," Kono said, "you would want us looking for the man trying to kill her."

"Actually, I'd be hunting down the SOB myself."

"Just like you're doing now," Chin said. "So let's get back to it."

H-5-O

After a short breakfast of fruit and coffee, Steve and McKenzie headed down to the beach. As the climbed down the rocks, Steve looked back to see McKenzie agilely stepping from rock to rock. The gun on her hip couldn't look more out of place.

"What are you looking at?" she asked.

Steve realized that he had been staring. "You," he said with a smirk and turned to climb the rest of the way down. He heard McKenzie laughing softly behind him.

They reached their spot on the beach and set down their things. Steve realized that he didn't actually have any hearing protection and McKenzie wouldn't be able to plug her ears this time.

"I have a kneadable eraser," she said when he bright it up.

"A what?"

"It's like silly putty or something." She fished it out of her bag and broke it into two pieces. It didn't really work like earplugs, but it was better than nothing. Steve handed her a small but heavy box. The gun was already loaded. Obviously he expected her to go through a few clips.

McKenzie picked her target: a patch of weeds on the cliff. She aimed, careful to hold her arms steady. Still, the first shot went too high. McKenzie glared at the weeds. She would demolish them. A few more shots, and she managed to come close. By the time she finished the clip, she was able to knock out a few of the weeds.

Steve had a pair of binoculars to watch her progress. "You're gonna have to do better than that," he said.

McKenzie gave him a challenging look as she reloaded. "I'm just getting warmed up." The little cluster was gone by the end of the second clip.

"One more," Steve said.

"How much ammo do you have?"

"A lot." He pointed at further target. "See if you can hit that rock."

It took ten rounds, but McKenzie finally hit the stupid rock. She pulled the eraser out of her ears and threw it back in her bag. She reloaded the gun and stowed it away too.

"Are you satisfied?" she asked.

"Sure," Steve replied with a grin. "I don't think there's anything hotter than a girl with a gun."

McKenzie blushed. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Actually, I hadn't ever thought of it before."

"Sure." Then McKenzie took off running toward the water.

Steve didn't miss a beat and was on her heels. Before she knew what was happening, he picked her up and dove in, much like the last time. She had a feeling this was going to become a habit.

H-5-O

Dr. Harrison Eisner could not remember feeling so afraid. It was not even that he feared death so much. It was knowing that he could not protect his own family without putting someone else in danger. He weighed his options as he walked out to his car. The gun to his back was enough motivation for that little trip. Still, he hadn't decided whether to drive to the safe house or into the ocean. He decided that driving the car off a cliff would not necessarily ensure Hadley's death, however, a meeting with Lieutenant Commander McGarrett most certainly would.

Eisner tried to figure out the best way to alert the commander and his charge without getting himself or them killed. He thought about it the entire drive. He knew the roads by heart, even though he had been blindfolded every time. He wished now that he hadn't paid so much attention. It might cost innocent lives in the long run.