Williams had heard McGarrett's warning, but was slow in reacting as the force of the blast seemed to eviscerate McGarrett's office. He saw the young man lifted off his feet and was pretty sure there wasn't much left of him. His mind registered the heat from the explosion at the same time his eyes caught sight of his partner's body hitting the wall. He felt something impact with the right side of his body and was thrown backward by the force of the explosion. A dark veil, filled with fiery images fell over him as the deafening roar continued around him.

Chin had time to throw himself at Kono and use his body as a human shield, but the force of the blast threw them both against the computer table. Glass and other debris became missiles and rained down around them. Something struck his lower leg, but the pain didn't register as he tried to protect his cousin. The world around them was heated as flames violently ignited everything in their path while thick black, smoke blanketed what was left of the office

Kono tried to push her cousin off as her world became a chaotic jumble of what had once been Five-O headquarters. The smell of smoke and something she couldn't quite grasp permeated the immediate area as Chin finally rolled off her. She wasn't sure if she heard alarms going off, but it could have been the remnants of the explosion playing tricks on her senses.

The air was alive with the acrid smell of smoke as the dust and debris settled, leaving the office unnaturally still after the effects of the explosion died down. Chin opened his eyes and groaned as he lay on his back, fighting to breathe as smoke, thick and heavy, lingered in the air above him. He coughed, and turned onto his side as Kono climbed to her hands and knees beside him.

"Chin…y…you okay?" Kono asked, and coughed as she inhaled the rancid smoke. She couldn't see Danny or Steve, but she remembered seeing the deliveryman, and tried not to think about how close he and Steve were to the explosive device.

"Ask m…me later…need to get o…out."

"I know..."

"Get the extinguisher now!" Duke Lukela shouted as smoke, thick and acrid permeated the area and moved through the open doorway of Five-O headquarters. The alarms were shrill and he could hear people exiting the building as several officers moved to care for the injured. The initial blast had all but destroyed the offices, but smoke and flames were as dangerous as the explosion itself.

"Duke, make sure everyone's out!" Chin called through gasping breaths as he helped his cousin to her feet. He grabbed the edge of the ruined computer table as a wave of dizziness threatened to floor him.

"Chin…Da…Danny's over there!" Kono called and staggered toward the trapped man. She knelt down, blinking sweat or blood from her eyes. Whatever it was she didn't give a damn because right now Danny Williams was her priority.

"Duke, we need paramedics and the bomb squad here ASAP," Chin gasped, holding his arms tight against his ribs as he moved to help Kono with their friend.

Williams seemed to be trapped beneath what was left of a filing cabinet, and Chin looked at Kono when she touched her fingers against his neck.

"He's alive," Kono said and glanced toward McGarrett's office as several emergency personnel hurried toward them. She recognized Duke even with his face covered by an oxygen mask.

"Bomb squad and paramedics are on the way. You two need to get outside," Lukela said and looked toward McGarrett's office. "Was Steve….was he in there?"

"Yes," Chin said, moving aside as two officers worked to move the heavy filing cabinet.

Kono stood and wiped her hand across her forehead, not really surprised to see blood when she looked at her fingers. Her head pounded with every beat of her heart, but she needed to check on McGarrett and moved to the ruined office. She couldn't see anything through the flames and smoke, but she thought she heard someone cough. "Steve!"

"Kono, get outside. We've got people who are equipped to go in there!" Lukela ordered.

"Steve!" she called again.

McGarrett wasn't sure if he'd even lost consciousness, but Kono's worried voice brought him back to the reality of what had once been his office. He rolled onto his back, grunting as pain slammed through his right arm and abdomen. He wanted to lay back and close his eyes as the smoke burned his eyes and lungs, but Kono's worried calls had him fighting to get to his feet. He needed to know that everyone was all right.

"Steve!"

"I'm…he…" he tried, but wound up grasping his abdomen as he choked on the acrid smelling smoke.

"Come on, Steve, I got you," Lukela said.

"Danny and Chin?" McGarrett managed between hitching breaths. He'd heard Kono and hoped that meant that she wasn't hurt.

"I'm trying to get Chin and Kono out of here," Lukela answered as he supported McGarrett to the outer office.

"Dan…Danny?"

"He's trapped," Lukela answered and felt McGarrett trying to pull away from him. "Don't… we've got people helping him."

"I can help…"

"Sure you can, by getting out of the building. This whole place could come down any minute," Lukela warned, but relinquished his hold as McGarrett's stubborn streak came through in full force.

Steve started barking orders that, even to his own ears, sounded like he was talking through crushed glass. "Kono, get out of here. Chin, make sure you both get checked over."

"Steve…"

"I'll be right behind you!" McGarrett said as emergency workers and firemen began working to put out the flames in what had once been his inner sanctum. He knelt beside Williams, worried that the man was still unconscious, but relieved that he seemed to be breathing on his own.

"Commander, we need you to stay back so we can get him out," a man ordered.

Steve knew he wouldn't be much help, but that didn't mean he couldn't be there in case his friend regained consciousness. He looked toward the outer door and realized the initial blast had taken out Five-O headquarters and the surrounding offices. The liquid explosive had done more to take out the building than an earthquake at the same level. He thought about the young man who'd delivered the flowers and stood on shaky legs as the paramedics arrived and moved to treat Williams as the rescue workers tried to remove the debris from around his lower body.

Steve could hear the firemen in his office and reached for an emergency oxygen mask offered by a fireman. He mumbled a quick thanks before putting it on and stepping into the smoke enshrouded room. The windows had shattered in the explosion and Steve could hear people outside and even the sound of a newspaper reporter, but the ringing in his ears was growing steadily worse.

"Commander, you shouldn't be in here!" a fireman told him.

"Did you find…there was a young man here, but he was so close to the explosion…I don't know if he…if he survived," McGarrett said.

"There's no one else, here, Commander…"

"You might want to take a look at this," a young female firefighter called from the far corner.

"What is it?" the older fireman asked.

"It's part of…it's a leg," the woman said. There was no disgust in her voice, just the sorrow that someone had lost their life here and it was time to get the coroner involved.

"It belongs to the kid who delivered the flowers," McGarrett managed, but was shaken to the core as the accumulated smoke he'd inhaled made him cough. He lifted the oxygen mask off his face and leaned forward with his hands on his knees.

"That does it, Commander, there's nothing more you can do here, but you need to get checked out," the fire chief ordered and motioned to one of his men. "Garcia, get him out of here and if he refuses just throw him over your shoulders!"

"You heard him, Commander," John Garcia said and moved to lift McGarrett when the stubborn man refused to move. "Come on, or do I have to carry you?"

"I can w…walk," McGarrett ground out and glared at the big man as he fixed the oxygen mask back over his mouth and nose. He walked to the outer office, but instead of heading for the door he moved to the area where Paramedics and rescue workers were trying to free Williams.

"Commander, the chief wanted me to escort you outside," Garcia told him.

"I need to be here," McGarrett said and watched Danny's face.

"Come on, Steve," Lukela said from his right side.

"Where are Chin and Kono?" McGarrett asked without moving.

"They're outside and being treated, just as you should be," Lukela told him.

"Good, anyone else injured?" McGarrett asked.

"Carter was on her way back from a coffee run and was caught in the blast outside the office. Donnelly's in bad shape…but he's a tough sonofabitch," Lukela answered. "A couple of others were caught in the explosion, but it seems the damage is mostly to this office."

Steve nodded and watched as a C-collar was placed around Danny's neck and an IV was secured to his left arm. His face was partially obscured by the oxygen mask and a white swatch of gauze covered a wound above his right eye. He still hadn't moved and Steve silently prayed the man was as stubborn as he thought.

"Steve, I think we should get out of the way," Lukela said and saw the dark head nod, but McGarrett didn't go far and reached down to help move the last of the debris out of the way. "Steve, you need to come outside and call Rachel Edwards. She needs to hear about this from you, not from the damned reporters."

"Rachel," Steve said and frowned as he tried to make sense of what the other man was saying.

"Danny's ex-wife…she needs to be told. Grace is probably at school, but she needs to find this out from her mom. Come on…you can use my phone," Lukela said.

"Okay, we're ready to move him," the paramedic said.

"Steve, you can't help Danny right now, but you can help Rachel and Grace," Lukela said and saw McGarrett nod. "Come on."

"Stay with me, Danny," McGarrett ordered and staggered toward the entrance. He lifted the oxygen mask off his face as he exited the building and took a deep breath of air. He took Lukela's phone and searched the faces in the crowd, relaxing slightly when he saw Chin and Kono being treated near an area that was set up for triage.

"Steve, I need to go help make sure the building is clear," Lukela said as McGarrett used his phone to make the call every officer hated to make.

"Thanks," McGarrett said and moved toward Chin and Kono.

"Hello."

"Rachel, it's Steve…"

"Thank God, Steve…I've been watching the news. Where's Danny?"

"He's hurt, Rachel. I don't know how badly, but the paramedics are working on him and they'll be taking him to Queens. I'm sorry I didn't call you before," McGarrett told her.

"Thank you, Steve. I'm going to call the school and make sure no one talks to Grace about this. Will I see you at the hospital?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Do you want me to send someone to pick you up?"

"No, Stan's home and he'll drive me. What about you? Are you all right?"

"Think so, but I need to go check on the others."

"Okay, Steve, just be careful. The building looks like it is ready to collapse."

"I will, try not to worry too much, Rachel…you know Danny. He's a stubborn…"

"SOB…be careful Steve."

"I will," McGarrett said and hung up as the phone went dead.

"Commander, let me take a look at you," a paramedic said.

"In a minute," the SEAL said and moved toward Chin and Kono. "You two go to the hospital and get checked out. I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Steve, you look like hell and you really should let them check you out," Chin warned.

"I will. As soon as I make sure everything's secure…"

"Commander McGarrett, I'm Tanya Walker can I have a word with you?"

"Get back behind the police line!" McGarrett ordered.

"Do you have any idea what caused the explosion? Rumor has it that it was a bomb intended to take out Five-O."

"Lady, get behind the line or I'll have you arrested and make sure you don't ever make anchor at whatever station you work at!" McGarrett snarled and turned to see the gurney carrying Danny Williams being pushed into the back of an ambulance. The paramedic jumped in while his partner went to the front and with sirens warbling they drove away from the building.

"Excuse me, Commander, but I need to get these two to the hospital, but they refuse to go unless you go too," a young paramedic told him.

"Chin, Kono…go, I'll be there as soon as I can," McGarrett said.

"Then I guess we stay too," Kono said and tried to get off the gurney, wincing when her bruised body protested the move.

"Kono…"

"Sorry, Boss, Kono's right. We all go or we all stay," Chin said and didn't miss the slump of McGarrett's shoulders.

"Come on, Commander, let me take a look at you while we're at it," the paramedic said.

Steve nodded and watched as Chin and Kono got into the ambulance. He frowned and tried to ignore the ringing in his ears and the pounding headache that seemed to suddenly manifest itself as he sat down on an empty gurney. He flicked at the paramedic's hands when the man tried to shine a small light into his eyes.

"Sorry, Commander," the paramedic apologized, but didn't stop what he was doing.

"Look, I'm okay…"

"Sure you are, but why don't we let the doctors make sure of that," the paramedic said and shook his head when McGarrett stood up and moved away from the ambulance.

"Duke, make sure Sgt. Lucas and his team go over everything and tell him the explosive was in liquid form and reacted when mixed together," the SEAL told the older man who'd just exited the building. God, his head felt ready to explode, but he wasn't ready to relinquish command, not when there were so many unanswered questions.

"Commander McGarrett."

Steve turned to find the governor standing behind him. "Governor, you shouldn't be here!"

"And you should be in that ambulance. Go on, Commander, and get checked out with the rest of your team. Don't make me relieve you of command because you're too stubborn to realize you need help."

"There's too much to do…"

"I agree, but there are other men and women who can do the job until the doctors clear you. Now go or I'll have to pull an officer from this detail to escort you to Queens. I'm sure you'd rather not pull these people away from this job. I thought I heard you say that the first few hours are the most important in any crime scene investigation."

"Commander, we need to get moving," the paramedic said.

"Go, Commander, you need to be taken care of," the governor ordered, relieved when McGarrett got into the passenger seat of the ambulance. He knew he should have made it a direct order, but at least the stubborn SEAL would be at the hospital. He hurried toward the police officer who seemed to have taken charge of the situation.

"Governor, you need to stay back. The building isn't structurally sound right now," Lukela told him.

"Tell me what you know so far," Denning ordered.

"Not much. The explosion was centered in McGarrett's office and we have at least one fatality. We don't know his identity, but it's believed to be the deliveryman."

"How did an explosive device get past security?"

"We're not sure, Sir, but according to Commander McGarrett it was some kind of liquid explosive," Lukela told him. "I need to make sure all my people are accounted for, but I'll update you on everything as we get it."

"Thank you," Denning said and watched the man hurry away.

"Governor, we saw Commander McGarrett and his people taken away in the ambulance. Can you tell us how badly injured they are?"

"All I know is that they need medical attention," Denning answered.

"Do you know if Five-O was the target?"

"I won't speculate on that right now. The crime scene investigators and explosive experts need to go over the offices and figure out exactly what happened. Now move back and let these people do the job without having to worry about anyone else's safety," Denning told them and wished he could have been sterner with them, but they were only doing their jobs and he could not fault them for that.

TBC