AN: The next two chapters are dedicated to Nadja...a gift you! A big thank you to my beta and my fellow readers! Apologies for the little evil cliffies :p
Chapter 33
Kajukenbo Dojo, Pine Street, San Francisco, 1972
His head throbbing and his body aching, Steve Keller regained consciousness as he lay on the ground in the garage. He looked up and noticed light streaming through from the doorway above the short flight of steps. As his vision cleared, he could see the door was ajar. He heard shouts and the sounds of a fight from the lobby. A shot rang out and adrenaline rushed through him. Somehow he managed to get to his knees, then to his feet. He took two steps before his legs gave way. The dizziness threatened to take him under again. After taking several deep breaths, he was thankful the room stopped spinning and the ground felt like it stopped moving but the pain in his ribs intensified. Rising to his feet once more, he headed to toward the doorway using the light as a beacon and the brick wall for support.
…..
With his eyes watering and his stomach churning, Devitt forced himself to climb to his knees as he saw Tate reach inside his jacket. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as he pushed himself off the ground. His eyes widened as he saw Tate taking aim and squeezing the trigger with McGarrett in his sights. Then from the corner of his eye he saw a figure dart past him and take Tate down to the ground.
Seeing the danger he faced, McGarrett threw himself across the room. He thought he saw someone colliding with Tate just as the gun fired but he couldn't be sure. The bullet missed him by a narrow margin and damaged the blinds before it shattered the window. Sirens blared outside as SFPD's finest skidded to a halt. McGarrett peered around the desk and saw that someone had knocked Tate down and saved his life. Keller. Stone was right.
Still armed with Keller's gun, Tate scrambled to his feet. He cursed as he saw the man who ploughed into him was none other than Inspector Keller. There was no time and no sense in shooting the young Inspector so he ran to the doorway to the garage. He raced through it as the black and whites could be heard barging through the front doors. He ignored the shouts and pounding of boots as he pulled the tarps off his Mustang. The wound high up in his arm flared angrily with fresh waves of agony. Up until that moment he had managed to control the pain level but his concentration was lapsing as panic began to invade his consciousness.
….
McGarrett pulled himself to his feet just as back up cops dashed into the premises. He directed them to the open door up ahead before making his way to Keller. He bent down and placed a hand on the downed man's shoulder. "Are you alright?" he asked breathlessly.
"Go!" Keller's reply sounded more like a pain filled gasp but McGarrett got the message loud and clear. Without another moment's hesitation, he sprang forward and headed after Tate.
…..
With a shaky hand Tate reached into his pants pocket and took out his car keys. Breathing heavily and sweating profusely, he dropped the keys as he fumbled to unlock the door of his car. Cursing loudly he bent down to retrieve the keys with one hand while clutching the gun in the other. A voice he recognized immediately stopped him in his tracks. A voice that brought forth a deep hatred from within him. All rhyme and reason left him as he straightened up, leaned his elbow against the car and raised the gun.
"Don't do it, Tate! Drop it!" McGarrett barked from the top of the stairs at the doorway. He started to climb down the stairs holding his pistol out in front of him.
"I've never hated anyone so much in my life as I hate you, McGarrett!" Tate's loathing burned deeply as he disdainfully spat out the syllables in his words.
"Drop it." McGarrett repeated louder this time as more cops filed in through the doorway. "You have nowhere to go."
As the tension heightened, Tate continued to glare at McGarrett before his shoulders slumped and he loosened his grip on the gun. Letting out a scornful laugh, the Kajukenbo master felt the pistol slip from his trembling blood smeared fingers. The loaded weapon dropped to the ground and the tension slowly dissipated.
"Up against the car, now! Feet apart and hands up against the roof." McGarrett ordered as he rushed toward Tate. He stowed his pistol back in its holster and moved to frisk Tate while a young SFPD officer picked up the revolver on the ground.
"One day McGarrett, you'll get what's coming to you! One day." Tate snarled.
"Maybe. But you won't be there to see it! No, the only things you'll see will grey walls and iron bars,"McGarrett replied drily as he pulled Tate's arms roughly behind him, causing the man to wince, and cuffed him. "Let's go!"
…..
Lieutenant Roy Devitt's face was etched in worry as he uncuffed the young Inspector's wrists. Keller's way light brown hair was drenched in sweat and there were bruises on his face. "Mike won't be too happy to see you like this."
"Yeah." Keller replied weakly. "Where…where's Mike?"
"Hospital. Waiting for you I imagine."
"Hospital?"
"Yeah, he took a bullet in the shoulder,"
Keller sat up too quickly and groaned.
"Easy! He's fine but you on the other hand look terrible." Devitt pushed Keller back down gently. He noted that the young man lay doubled over and was now wrapping his arms around his midsection. Busted ribs. "An ambulance is on its way, Steve."
Keller closed his eyes and nodded. His jaw ached each time he talked and the pain in his side was killing him. In fact his whole body felt like it had been in a train wreck. He opened his eyes again at the sound of McGarrett's voice.
"Get him out of here!" McGarrett directed two SFPD officers over to Tate before making his way to Keller.
"McGarrett." Keller said in a quiet voice.
Devitt rose to his feet slowly as he acknowledged the detective then walked away to speak with his men.
"You did good, Inspector." McGarrett smiled weakly as he lowered himself to a crouching positon.
"You hurt?"
"Nothing that a good night's sleep can't fix."
Keller smiled back as he saw just how similar McGarrett was in some ways to his partner. It was a thought he wasn't going to let the detective know about. McGarrett didn't strike him as a man who openly shared his feelings with anyone so when McGarrett's next words were spoken, Keller was left speechless. This time his loss for words was not due to the pain.
"You saved my life. Stone has every reason to be proud of you, Keller"