The room is empty when he opens his eyes.

His shoulders hurt, and his abdomen feels blistered. He wants to go back to sleep, back to where he knew the blond man and pale woman. He doesn't want the memories of dying strangers.

Leave get out wake up go

He has to go. It's not good to linger in places like this one. Besides, his next assignment is waiting.

Pain flares all over as he forces himself to his feet, but he calls upon all his practice at hiding pain and limps into the next room. The red stains on the floor make him wonder who bled in this place, but he is quickly distracted by the gun waiting on his table.

It feels good in his hand. Natural. Easy.

He leaves, but doesn't go too far.

Now he waits.

Kono fidgeted with her seatbelt as the car rolled to a stop at a red light. The car ride had been taut with unsaid words and unspoken feelings, from both her end and Chin's.

Two and a half years ago, they were cousins, best friends, partners.

A year ago, they were cousins and best friends, but their partnership was no more.

And what were they now? They were cousins, and she worked for him. They shared a past. That was about it.

Sure, there were moments where she felt connected to him again. When they met Danny at the airport and went to the shrimp truck, it seemed as if the last two or three years had never happened. She had felt as close to him as ever three weeks ago, when he and Malia had told her that they were trying for a baby.

Most of the time, the only thing keeping her from expressing her dislike for him was a cool sense of professionalism. She thought he felt the same way.

But suddenly, there they were, driving towards a potential crime scene to investigate the murder of their oldest perp. She suspected Chin had fought to get them this assignment, but she couldn't be sure.

If only she could spit out the question.

"It's been a while since we've investigated something this major," Chin said. Though his voice was quiet, Kono jumped in surprise. "You think you've still got what it takes?"

"Of course I do," she replied. He chuckled, causing her to glare. "What's so funny?"

"You sound more petulant than Grace did this morning," he laughed. "I've missed that about you."

"What are you talking about?"

"Your stubbornness. You've been so passive recently, even when you're protesting something. I've missed it." Chin looked over at her as the light turned green. "I've missed my cousin."

She turned her gaze away and watched the curb speed past as Chin accelerated. She wanted to tell him just how much she had missed herself, how she wanted things to go back to the way they were before the shooting, before Steve's kidnapping, but the words just wouldn't come out. Instead, she diverted the conversation. "So I take it the governor has cleared us to approach Wo Fat?"

"The governor doesn't know anything about…wait, how'd you know the governor banned us from investigating?"

She snorted. "You can't hide everything from me, Chin. I got a letter from his office, telling me that I was being watched and that if I did any investigation into Wo Fat, even a Google search while I was off-duty, I would be arrested for terrorism. I figured you would have gotten the same thing."

"That letter must have been sent to you by mistake," he said after a moment. "The governor told me that it was my job to make sure you didn't stick your nose in, and that he wasn't going to be warning you personally."

"You could have at least told me yourself," she started.

"Plausible deniability. If you had no idea what you were doing was illegal, it would be a lot harder to prosecute you."

"Okay, fine," she retorted, "but what really concerns me is the fact that they're threatening us with a life sentence for doing our jobs. Where does Denning get off, calling trying to find a bad guy who has our friend treason or terrorism or any kind of crime whatsoever?"

"If I'm not mistaken, Denning's not the one making all the calls anymore. I'd bet he got orders from someone higher up to make sure everyone around here kept away from Wo Fat." The car turned to the right, and Chin parked the car in front of a seemingly-abandoned warehouse. "This is our stop."

"Alright. Are we waiting for backup?"

"I don't see why, unless you spot movement inside." Chin Ho sounded different. Kono thought there was something of her cousin's old persona in there, and the idea made her smile.

Perhaps he wasn't such a wimp now, after all.

The warehouse was unlocked, despite the chain stretched loosely over its door. They went in quietly, Chin leading the way with his Mag drawn rather than his gun. "There doesn't seem to be anyone in here," he whispered. "Kono, go check the other rooms while I make sure we don't have any guests."

He was letting her go solo. She hadn't even asked this time. "Alright. Be careful."

"You too."

She crossed to the rooms that looked to have been offices at one time. In the dust and grime that resulted from months of disuse, multiple sets of footprints and a drag path were starkly visible. She skipped from one side to the other as the path shifted direction, praying that she wasn't stepping on the evidence. Something was creating quite a stench in one of the rooms, and it seemed a more pressing investigation than a possibly cold trail.

All thoughts of footprints left her mind when she shined her flashlight into the first room. "Chin, you need to see this!"

Her cousin ran to her side, and gagged at the sight her light still illuminated. "What the hell is this?"

A dried puddle of fluids attracted a large number of flies. Above it, a single chain with an attached pair of handcuffs dangled ominously from the ceiling. A desk bore several signs of torture: a cattle prod, a barbed whip, a collection of used hypodermic needles. Kono felt queasy just looking at the scene. "I'd say a torture chamber."

"This is just like…" Chin shook himself off and turned away. "I think I'll call in some backup, of sorts. I think Fong might want to come out of the basement for this one."

Kono hadn't seen it, but she had heard enough about the North Korean compound to realize that Chin was seeing it again here.

Sang Min had been here. Wo Fat's set-up was still here. Sang Min and Wo Fat were obviously, then, working together.

More importantly, who exactly was Wo Fat torturing?

The thought was almost too horrible, but Kono couldn't help but wonder if Steve was also back on the island.

A/N: Aloha! Mahalo once more for reading and reviewing. I really appreciate all of the support!

Take care until we meet again!