Danny pulled into Steve's driveway and made his way into the house. On entering, his eyes instantly fell on the needles, vials of meth and tubing that lay strewn on the floor near the television. He closed his eyes and sighing deeply he made his way up the stairs. He noticed drops of blood on the stairs and in the hallway leading to Steve's bedroom and to the bathroom. Standing in the doorway of the bathroom he stared at the shattered mirror and the amount of blood scared him, "Oh my God Steven, what did you do buddy?" He then moved into the bedroom, noting more blood droplets on the bedspread. He stood and looked around the room trying to spot anything out of place. He noted the filthy and tattered clothes lying on the floor. Matty said he'd been beaten and kneeling down to examine the clothes he was relieved to see only a small amount of blood on them. As he was leaving the room his eyes fell on the empty space on the dresser. The picture was gone….the picture of Steve's last team. Eight men, eight brothers….smiling, laughing, arms draped around each other. That last mission together had taken the lives of three of them and it tortured Steve even to this day.
Danny slowly made his way back downstairs to search for any clues as to where Steve may have headed.
505050505050505050505050
Kono arrived at the hospital to find the Doctor giving final instructions to Chin who was sitting on the edge of the bed, dressed and ready to go.
Moments later the two cousins were alone and embracing.
"How do you feel cuz?"
"Good, really good. I didn't expect you guys back so fast, are Steve and Matt okay?"
"Matt was shot but Steve got him to the hospital and he's going to make it"
Chin noticed Kono gaze leave his, "Kono…..where is Steve?"
"He's in Hawaii, but we have to find him"
"What are you talking about Kono?"
She sat on the bed next to him and told him everything they knew. Once she finished, Chin placed his hand tenderly on her cheek. "Kono, we'll find him and he'll be okay. Let's go meet Danny now, we can't waste any time"
A short time later the two cousins were enroute to the McGarrett home.
505050505050505050505050
Back at the shed Steve's withdrawal symptoms were steadily getting worse. He was hot…..he was cold…..he was drenched in sweat and he was shivering uncontrollably. But worst of all was his stomach, the pains shooting through his body were horrific. About half an hour earlier he had begun to vomit. But he could handle the physical pain, he'd been shot, stabbed and tortured before…..he could handle the physical pain. The mental anguish was another story. Danny's words played over and over in his head, "I want nothing to do with you Steve…I want nothing to do with you" Deciding he wasn't going to sleep, he slowly sat up and once the nausea passed he stood and staggered over to the table. Taking a pen and paper from the bag he sat down and began drafting a final letter to his partner.
Twenty minutes later Steve was leaving the shed with a duffel bag full of guns, ammo, food and water draped over his shoulder. As his hand touched the doorknob his phone rang again. He had left the phone on the table next to the letter and without hesitating Steve simply glanced back at the phone before opening the door and walking out into the hot, bright Hawaiian day.
505050505050505050505050
Kono and Chin arrived to find Danny rummaging through the desk in Steve's office looking for clues. He looked up as they walked into the room and he stood, moving over to them and embracing Chin.
"Hey brother, you're looking good. How do you feel?"
"I'll feel a lot better after we find Steve"
Danny nodded, "We all will buddy. Come on and sit down"
They all moved to the desk and Chin eased himself into a cushioned chair.
Kono set up her computer on the desk as they listened to Danny, "I can't find anything telling me where he went. Our best bet is going to be trying to trace his cellphone. You ready Kono?"
"Almost"
Chin then asked, "Have you checked the whole house Danny?"
"Yes. I assume you two saw the drugs all over the living room floor?"
"Yes, we did….Danny that's a good sign brah. Hopefully he left all the junk here"
"Yeah, I hope so. It looks like he took the picture of his SEAL team with him though"
"Where is his head at?"
"I don't know Chin, but we've got to find him and help him. He's physically hurt too. Matty told me he was beaten and it's a bloody mess upstairs" He saw the fear in the other's eyes as he continued, "It looks like he lost a fight with his bathroom mirror. How's it coming Kono?"
"I'm ready"
Danny again dialed Steve's cell and as it rolled to voicemail he spoke, "Steve, it's Danny again. I'm here with Chin and Kono and we're worried about you buddy. Can you pick up so we can talk please? Matty's doing good partner. I owe you big time, my whole family does. Thank you for saving his sorry ass yet again" Kono watched him intently, wiping a tear from her cheek as he continued, "Steve….I'm sorry for what I said. Please pick up the phone babe, let us help you…" |
He hung up the phone as Kono called out, "I've got it"
"Where is he Kono?"
"Hanauma Bay"
Chin sat forward in his chair saying softly, "Wait…wait...I know where he might be"
Danny stood, "What? Where….?"
"The shed. Steve's Dad took a few of us on a retreat when we were rookies and a major storm kicked up unexpectedly. We took cover in this tiny, dark shed and John told us he and Steve had done the same thing several times over the years. It's very isolated and if he's trying to get off the meth, this would be a perfect place to do it"
"You remember how to get there?"
"Yeah, yeah….of course"
"Chin, are you sure you're up to this?"
"Danny, it's not me we have to worry about. But brah, thanks for the concern. I'm good….I promise"
"Guys before we leave I need to tell you something. I made a horrible mistake…"
He paused and Kono prodded him, "Danny, what is it?"
"I left him a message. I was angry at him. I was so damn angry and I said some things I never…...never should have said over the phone" His voice was shaking as he continued, "I told him I couldn't do it anymore…..that I couldn't be his partner any longer because he doesn't trust me"
Kono took hold of his hand, "Danny…he knows you didn't mean it"
"Kono, I did mean it though. I meant every word I said, but I didn't know about the meth when I said it. Oh my God if he does anything to himself….."
Chin interrupted, "Danny stop. Don't think like that. We'll find him and you can talk to him and work things out"
Kono's voice was shaking as she added, "He left the drugs here Danny. He won't quit, he's a fighter"
Danny nodded but he could not speak. The lump in his throat hurt as he swallowed hard. He knew all too well that one of the side effects of meth withdrawal was depression and he was scared to death that Steve would do something impulsive. He was injured, out of his mind and searching for his dead friend. Now if he had listened to that damn message he was probably feeling abandoned as well. Add depression onto that and even the strongest man could snap. He took a deep sigh and looking at his friends he stated shakily, "Let's bring him home"
Moments later the three were driving down the Pali Highway towards Hanauma Bay.
505050505050505050505050
Steve walked and walked deeper into the woods. He was off the main path but it was still in sight. He had been walking for two hours, stopping frequently, dropping to his knees in pain or to vomit. He was in horrific pain and his body shook uncontrollably. He was sweating profusely and his clothes were drenched and covered in sweat and vomit. He sat on the path and pulling his head down to his knees he cradled his head and cried. As he sat there images suddenly began to flash through his mind, Joel…. dead from a gaping bullet wound to the throat. Carlos…..beaten until he was nearly unrecognizable and Jack….Jack looking up at him with lifeless eyes, eyes filled with terror. The words choked from his throat as the reality of what had happened to his team suddenly sunk in, "He's dddeaad….ooh God nnno, he's ddead"
He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there when he heard someone approaching from behind. Slipping his hand into the bag at his side he moved at catlike speed even in his weakened condition. Spinning to face the strangers as he jumped to his feet he called out, "STOP RIGHT THERE"
Staring down the barrel of McGarrett's gun were a young couple in their early twenties.
The young man protectively pulled his female companion behind him and holding out his hands in front of him he spoke nervously, "Hey buddy…..we don't want any trouble. Are you alright?"
"He's ddeead…..it's all mmy fault….hhe's dead"
The young man was terrified as the unkeep stranger with the gun stared back at him with crazed eyes as he repeated the same words over and over again. Nudging his girlfriend they began to slowly back away until finally the gunman pulled his hands up to his head and screamed, "GET OUT OF HERE! LEAVE ME ALONE! GO…..GO!"
As the couple ran, had they turned back to look they would have seen Lieutenant Commander Steven J McGarrett drop the gun and collapse to the ground….a crushed and defeated man.
********* MUCH MORE AHEAD – Hope you're still enjoying ***********