AN: A treat for "meixel" for being the lovely person that she is.

Thanks for reading and putting up with my irregular updates! Special thanks goes to my beta :)

Chapter 31

Kajukenbo Dojo, Pine Street, San Francisco, 1972

Like a shark circling its prey, Sean Tate paced the garage where he had dragged the unconscious young Inspector. He needed to think. Griffin should've been back by now! Where the hell is he? And why isn't Charlie answering my calls? Breathing deeply, Tate stood still and closed his eyes as he tried to meditate. He needed to clear his mind so he could focus. The cop lying on the ground had to go but he didn't want to kill him there. In fact he would have Griffin or Charlie do the deed. If it came down to getting arrested again, there was no way he wanted blood on his hands. A moan followed by the sound of movement caught his attention and his eyes flew open. He looked down at Keller who began to stir.

The Inspector slowly opened his eyes and tried to move his arms and legs. He was only able to move his arms slightly. He could feel the cool hard touch of metal rubbing against his skin and concluded his hands were more than likely hand cuffed behind him. His legs were free and he tried to use his knees to lift himself up groggily from the floor. In his dazed state, his movements felt slow and uncoordinated. Sensing he had company, Keller looked up and saw through his blurred vision a tall man glaring at him as he took several steps closer. Tensing up the muscles in his aching body, Keller waited for more blows to rain down.

"What are you looking at, cop?" Tate spat then let out a scathing laugh. "Don't worry, you'll be joining your partner and his friend soon."

Keller lay back down and gave up his attempts to rise to his feet. He decided to conserve his energy until he could catch Tate off guard. If I should be given the opportunity, he thought drily.

…..

Townsend Street, China Basin, San Francisco, 1972

The sound of sirens could already be heard even before McGarrett left the vicinity of the warehouse office. He rushed back to Stone's side and checked the wound in the Lieutenant's shoulder. The bleeding appeared to have slowed down, though the older man's face was still unnaturally pale.

"Mike!" A voice called out.

"Roy, I'm fine." Stone answered the call when he saw it came from Lieutenant Roy Devitt who ran up to them.

"Look at you, you're all shot-up and you're saying you're fine." Devitt shook his head in mock disbelief though his smile didn't reach the worry in his eyes.

"I wouldn't call this shot-up, Roy. I think I'll just sleep it off." Stone smiled back weakly then quickly introduced Devitt to McGarrett before gesturing toward the two young men who sat cuffed nearby.

"We'll bring them in. In the meantime we best get you both to the hospital." Devitt declared.

"No, I don't need a hospital." McGarrett firmly stated, shaking his head.

"Fair enough, Detective but you Mike, on the other hand, are not going home with that wound in your shoulder. An ambulance is on its way."

A sudden though occurred to Stone, "Where's Steve?" he asked Devitt.

"The last I heard he was cruising down Pine Street hoping to meet up with you and McGarrett. I guess he missed both of you." Devitt replied.

"Are you saying that he drove over there on his own?" Stone questioned with an edge of concern in his voice. He started to climb to his feet but was stopped by a firm hand on his good shoulder.

"Easy." McGarrett tightened his grip on Stone's shoulder as he tried to shrug him off.

"What's going on, Mike? What was on Pine Street that you guys were staking out?" Devitt queried.

"Sean Tate runs a martial arts dojo on that street. We followed our young suspect over there to the dojo after he fled the scene of a crime. Tate and the kid bundled us into our LTD then drove us here. If Steve is there on his own, he's in big trouble!" Stone explained grimly.

"One thing's for sure, Lieutenant, you're not going anywhere but the hospital before you bleed to death. I'll go with some of your men. We'll get your partner back, I promise." McGarrett's words were spoken with conviction as his eyes locked on Stone's.

"Alright but I don't like it!" Stone replied before lowering his voice so that only the detective could hear. "Bring him back to me, Detective. He's a good cop and more importantly, the son I never had."

McGarrett nodded, the look in his eyes spoke volumes and he knew that was enough of an answer for Stone. An ambulance parked nearby and McGarrett straightened up as the medics hurried over to them. He motioned for Devitt to follow him to one side and informed him of his plans to bring Tate in and secure Keller's safe return.

…..

Kajukenbo Dojo, Pine Street, San Francisco, 1972

Standing stock still, Tate thought he heard a noise issuing from the front of his establishment. His ears caught the faint sound of glass breaking. With his pistol cocked and ready, the kajukenbo master made his way to the door but not before he kicked the Inspector lying on the ground in the jaw. Though the blow was enough to knock the younger man unconscious, Tate's lack of concentration saved Keller from serious injury. Locking the door behind him, Tate slowly and quietly headed for the lobby.