Steve woke before his alarm even sounded and looking at his watch we noted he'd slept about two hours. His entire body ached and he needed a damn fix. As he pushed his body up he gasped at the pain in his ribs. Unbuttoning his shirt he examined his midsection the best he could in the dimly lit room. The first rays of sunlight peeked through the single, dirt covered window and he could see that the bruising was horrible but he could also tell from the coloring that fortunately he wasn't bleeding internally. He ran his hand across his abdomen and chest for a few seconds before buttoning back up. His phone rang and he reached onto the floor picking it up. 'Danny Williams' lit up on the screen and his finger hovered over the button but he couldn't bring himself to answer it. He couldn't deal with this problem now. He needed to focus on Jack, he had to find Jack…'Wait a minute? I'm in Hawaii? Our mission was in South Africa?' His mind was a blur, 'When did the team come here? It doesn't matter when, he's here and I've got to find him' Moaning as he stood he walked over to the table. Blood had again soaked through the bandaging on his left hand and after re-dressing it he pulled out a vial of meth. Pulling up his sleeve he exposed his forearm. He hadn't really looked at the arm before, but now he did. Track marks and bruising covered his arm and he stared at it for several minutes before cursing to himself, "What the fuck are you doing McGarrett…." Throwing the vial across the room it fell broken onto the floor and he turned and quickly left the shed.

Leaning against the outside of the rotting wood of the shed, he folded his arms across his chest. He was shaking uncontrollably and he stood there for a long time, struggling to compose himself. As he stood there he heard his cell phone ring several times. Danny…..God he hurt him so…..what a mess he had made of everything. Suddenly he heard movement in the wooded area a short distance from the shed. The paranoia of the drugs, causing him to mistake the rustling of feral cats in the woods for the enemy. He moved swiftly back into the shed and grabbing two guns from the bag he loaded them and taking position at the small window he broke out the glass and his eyes frantically scanned the woods in front of him. He was ready for them.

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The Governor was there to meet the plane as it landed safely in Oahu.
Danny and Duke shook his hand as the Jersey detective asked, "Have you found him?"
"No, nothing yet Danny. I've got an APB out and choppers in the air looking for his truck. Do you have any idea where he may have gone?"
"Not a fucking clue. And the scary thing is, if he doesn't want to be found…we won't find him"
Governor Denning saw the fear in Danny and Kono's eyes as he added, "True…but it sounds like he might not be fully focused and maybe he won't be thorough in covering his tracks"

"I hope you're right because we need to find him fast. From what my brother tells me, they were pumping him with junk every couple of hours"
Governor Denning then addressed Danny, Kono and Duke "So tell me, how do you want to handle this?"

Danny ran a hand through his slicked back hair and sighed deeply, "In his state of mind he could be dangerous. According to Matt, Steve thinks he's on a rescue mission with his SEAL team and he's been separated from them. We all know that he's highly trained and let's just say…..he can be lethal. Governor, Duke…...I think the best way to assure this ends safely is for Kono and I, along with Chin to go after him alone"

Duke chimed in, "Danny, you're going to need help"
Kono placed a hand on Danny's forearm and squeezed gently, "Danny they're right. We don't even know where to start looking"
Duke added, "Danny listen to me. Let my men help in the search. Once we locate him, we won't move in. We'll let you take it from there"
The stress and strain of the situation was evident on the Jersey detectives face as he responded softly, "Okay, thank you" He then turned to the Governor, "Has anyone searched his house?"

"Yes, HPD Officers searched the house briefly. Danny, Kono…..they found….."
As he hesitated Danny grew frantic, "What? What did they find?"
"They found a large amount of meth and…they found blood in the bathroom"
Danny's voice shook as he continued, "I need to check out the house. Kono, can you go pick up Chin and meet me there?"
"Yeah, my car is at my place though"
Duke jumped in, "I'll drop you off at your place Kono and then I'll get to headquarters and lead up the search"
Danny shook his hand, "Thank you Duke"

After agreeing to stay in touch with the Governor and Duke he hugged and kissed Kono's cheek and they all parted ways. As he raced down the freeway Danny dialed Steve's cell, again getting his voicemail, "Steve….Steve I'm sorry buddy. I'm sorry about the things I said. I didn't mean it, you've got to know that. I talked to Matty and he told me everything. Please call me Steve, oh God please let me help you. I love you partner…..I'm so sorry" He then called Rachel and Joe with updates and then hanging up the phone he sent out a prayer for his best friend and partner.

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Sweat was pouring down McGarrett's face and his breathing was rapid. His belly hurt and he needed a fix badly. Honestly, what he really needed was food but even the thought of it turned his stomach. He hadn't seen or heard anything coming from the woods. 'Am I imagining all this?' After waiting a few more minutes he stood and clutching at his abdomen he walking slowly back to the table. He took out a couple bottles of water and the first aid kit and then moving back to the light of the window he sat onto the hard, wooden floor. After downing a bottle of water he turned his attention to his left hand. The pain was horrible and it was still bleeding. Pulling out a needle and thread he again unwrapped the gauze. The gash started midway down the side of his pinky finger and it snaked about five inches down the side of his hand. After rinsing it with water and with a shaky hand, he stitched the wound and then re-wrapped it with fresh gauze. He needed to get going. He had no idea where to start looking for Jack but he knew he had get his head clear first. 'No more drugs McGarrett…..you gotta beat this shit' Carrying a gun, he went outside the shed and after checking the perimeter of the building he was confident that he was alone….for now.

As he re-entered the shed the mustiness nauseated him and he walked back to the table. Looking at the open bag of drugs, he grabbed it and flung it angrily across the room spilling the contents all over the floor. He then picked up his cell phone. There were twelve calls from Danny, with two messages being left. Hitting the button he waited to listen to Danny's message again. He couldn't have heard his partner right last night…but as Danny's voice played in his ear, shaky and full of raw emotion, Steve realized that unfortunately he had heard him right. Everything they had been through for three years….it all really meant nothing. He couldn't bring himself to listen to the second message. If he had it would have changed everything that was going to happen over the next twenty four hours but instead Steve McGarrett would suffer. As he laid back onto the bed and covered himself with a blanket, he curled into a fetal position and he sobbed.

******** I wanted to make sure to thank you all for reading and a special thank you to those of you who have taken the time to review. Your kind words are appreciated more than you know and they do inspire me to continue writing. I hope you continue to enjoy ! Much more to come !**********