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"How'd it go while we were gone?" Steve stood beside Chin, voice low.

Chin shook his head and sighed. "Nothing productive as far as the investigation goes. Eric won't talk to anyone but you and Danny. We did manage to get him cleaned up though."

"Okay good." Steve reached out to his friend. "Thanks, Chin."

"How's Danny holding up?" Chin motioned toward Danny in his office.

Steve looked at the floor. "As well as can be expected."

"He looks like he should be lying down."

Steve shrugged and gave Chin a half smile. "Yea I know. He – uh – well he's Danny."

"I get ya." Chin turned toward the door. "Well, Eric's all yours. I'm sure Kono could use a break."

Steve grinned. "I bet she set him straight."

"She almost gave him a matching shiner."

/././

Steve nodded to Kono and she smiled. "He's all yours, brah."

"Thanks for your help." He gave her a quick hug. "It's been a long day."

"How's Danny?" Concern shadowed her eyes.

Eric sat up straighter in the chair at the mention of his uncle. Steve ignored him and looked back at Kono. "He's holding up. Still needs more sleep, but he'll manage."

"I'll manage, what?" Danny walked into the room. He acknowledged his nephew with a quick shake of his head, but he kept his distance.

"Nothing, man. Let's get this over with." Steve clapped his partner lightly on the back, and then smiled at Kono. "Thanks. Again."

"Don't mention it, boss." With that, she left the boys alone.

Steve turned to Danny who was circling his nephew, cracking his knuckles. He simply watched not knowing if he should start. Danny didn't make him wait for an answer.

"So." Danny cleared his throat. "So would you please tell me what happened? Cut to the chase so we can all get on with our lives."

Eric opened his mouth but didn't say anything. He just glanced from Danny to Steve and then back to Danny.

Steve gave him a little push. "Go on, answer your uncle. You don't want me to leave you alone with him."

"Okay, okay. I mighta lost some money." Eric put his head down. "A lotta money."

"Lost some money? What are we talking?" Danny asked his nephew. "Like you tripped and fell and dropped it down a storm drain or something? What do you mean, lost?"

"Your money? Whose money?" Steve added.

The partners stood side by side, arms crossed. A united front. The room dimly lit.

Danny still had a terrible headache and his ears were buzzing. He ran his fingers through this hair, ruffling it obviously, exasperated. Sighing loudly, he spun around and began pacing, not looking at his nephew.

"You coulda called me. Any kind of trouble." Suddenly Danny was in Eric's face. "Any time of the day or night. You can call me. You know that."

He felt Steve's hand on his shoulder and barely registered the soft murmur of his name. Steve had warned him to keep a lid on it. HPD was a little uncomfortable with the last exchange in this room. Eyes were watching.

"Ok. Ok." Danny backed off a bit.

Steve took this as his sign to take over the interrogation.

"So Eric." Steve moved in a little closer, his tone softer. "You lost some money. Clearly not your own."

Eric nodded. "I had just enough to pay it off but the vig was too high. Couldn't make it."

"Vig? What are you? A mobster?" Danny jumped back into the conversation.

Steve glared his direction. He worked hard to remain calm. "But you know someone who is, right Eric?"

"You could say that." Eric's voice had just the slightest tinge of smart ass.

"You could say that?" Steve raised his voice just enough. "Your uncle was buried alive."

"Yea you keep circling back to that."

Danny lunged at his nephew, grabbing his shirt. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Two HPD officers rushed into the room. "We warned you, Detective Williams. Time's up."

Danny held his ground.

Steve nodded at the officers. "Danny, leave the room." When Danny didn't budge he tightened his glare. "I mean it, D."

This time, Danny obeyed, slamming the door.

Once they were alone, Steve cleared his throat and tried to clear his head. He decided to go right for it.

"Were you there when they kidnapped and tortured your uncle?" He had to keep it fairly formal and together or they might drag his ass out of the room too.

The room was silent for a moment. Then Eric shifted in his chair. Steve shook his head.

"Come on, man. What the hell happened?"

"Like I said, I mighta lost some money." Eric realized he better not go that route an instant too late. Steve whacked him across the back of the head. "Okay. Ok. Sorry Steve."

"McGarrett. You have to earn back the right to call me Steve. And drop the tough guy act. I'm not buying it. And it's hurting your uncle."

Eric nodded. "I lost some money and couldn't pay it back. I tried to do some odd jobs but I could never go through with it. Uncle Danny kept popping into my head."

Steve let the mention of odd jobs go and continued with his questions. "How did you end up here, in Hawaii?"

"I mighta mentioned I turned over a new leaf because of Danny. They knew he was a cop."

"Still doesn't add up. You're not telling me everything. Keep talking."

"They showed me pictures. Ya know. Street shots – of Danny. Him out and about. Some with Grace too."

Steve bristled at the mention of Grace. He let Eric continue.

"They said if I didn't come with them and help with some big job, they'd hurt Grace. Then Danny."

"You didn't think to call your uncle and warn him? Ask for help, maybe?"

"They said they'd know if I did. And I believed them." He held up his hand and for the first time, Steve noticed the discolored nail and swollen finger. "Smashed my hand in a car door. They were some bad dudes. And there was another guy they met here who was even scarier."

"Another guy?"

"This other guy shows up once we get here."

"What did he look like? Did you catch a name? Anything?"

"He was tall, dark hair. Some kind of accent. White guy but not American."

"Okay, that's good." Steve gave him the sign to keep going. "You're doing good."

"He was very organized. Plane tickets and everything. First we flew to LA and then Hawaii. They kept showing me more pictures. Some of you too."

"Me?" This surprised Steve. He'd been operating under the assumption that this was all about Danny.

"Yea, you at work. You at your house. You and Danny driving."

"Okay, what did they ask you to do?"

"Just tag along on a job. They'd tell me what to do when the time came."

"I still can't figure out why you went along with this." Steve shook his head, but deep down he knew Eric had little choice.

"I was scared, man. And worried. But I thought I could come up with a plan. That I could get out of this."

Steve sighed. He knew the boy cared but he was clearly in over his head.

"I didn't know where we were until it was too late. They made me watch."

Steve slowed his breathing. He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him. Eric kept his gaze focused on the floor as he spoke.

"They beat him up real good. Kept asking him questions he didn't know."

This perked Steve up a little. "What questions?"

"I can't remember."

"Sure you can, Eric. What questions?"

Eric closed his eyes. Steve waited for an answer. His patience was slipping.

"Questions!" Steve got in his face and then backed away just as fast.

Eric sucked in a deep breath. "I can't remember!"

"Seriously? You don't remember anything?" Steve glared, arms crossed in an obvious effort to keep from hitting Danny's nephew again.

Eric hung his head. "Okay so maybe they only asked him one question."

He fidgeted in the chair a little. "The guy kept asking where it was."

"Where what was?"

"He never said. Just kept asking. Uncle Danny didn't know. He didn't even seem to know who the guys were. He kept his cool – made jokes and then – "

His voice trailed off.

"And then what?" Steve's voice was softer now as he sensed Eric was coming to something difficult.

"They hit him pretty hard. I've never seen anyone's eyes roll back in their head like that." He looked away and closed his eyes. "And the blood. I just about barfed and they dragged me outta there. I didn't see what happened after that. I thought he was dead."

Steve sensed he could be losing Eric. He needed to keep the conversation going.

"What happened next? Where did they take you?"

"Back to the hotel where the cops found me. I can't pronounce the Hawaiian name. They said I was weak. Worthless. I thought I was dead, man." He straightened and was suddenly very calm. "I figured paradise was a good place to die. And I had to be brave for Uncle Danny."

Steve didn't want things to get all emotional and messy so he veered clear of talking about anybody dying. There was a larger matter at hand.

"I still don't understand why they dragged you all the way to Hawaii."

Danny burst into the room. "I do."