Wrong Place, Very Wrong Time IX
Disclaimer: I do not own Hawaii 5-0. Is it September yet?
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Chapter 9
Pulling into the garage of his small house on the outskirts of Kawela, Trey shut off the engine and hit the remote to close the garage door. He remained behind the wheel, contemplating the move he had just made. There was no doubt that taking on 5-0 was a dangerous move but holding McGarrett's partner should be the leverage he needed to control the situation. Angelo wanted that cocaine and knowing the task force leader's reputation didn't change Trey's mind. If McGarrett refused to play ball Trey would just kill Williams and disappear off this rock. He knew several spots along the North Shore where he could dispose of Williams' body in the ocean.
The sound of pounding from the truck bed pulled him from his planning and reminded him that Williams was awake back there. Exiting the cab, he approached the rear of the truck and peered into the window of the topper hatch. Danny had wiggled around to a position that placed his feet against the tailgate and was attempting to kick the rear gate open. Unlatching the topper, Angelo raised it up and glared at the cop.
"Keep that up and I might as well shoot you now and save myself a headache," he taunted.
"That would be a dumbass move," Danny said as he stilled and returned Angelo's glare.
"You underestimate me cop."
"And you totally underestimate my partner. His reputation is not an urban legend, he is a highly skilled Navy SEAL and he will hunt you down and take you out," Danny stated with conviction.
"He'll have to find me first. I'm bored with Oahu so I am not hanging around this rock after I get what I want. That cocaine will set me up for life in a new location. No one is going to be able to track me, I'm good at disappearing," Trey bragged. "Cooperate with me and you will live longer."
"Dream on babe, McGarrett doesn't make deals."
"Then you die sooner."
"And so will you."
Trey shook his head in annoyance and unlatched the tailgate, keeping clear of Danny's feet. Drawing his gun from the holster beneath his jacket and made sure Danny could see it.
"Until I am able to contact your partner I would suggest you cooperate with me or you'll force me to shoot you in the thigh. And if that doesn't convince you I will shoot you in the other leg. I can put bullets in several places in your body that won't kill you outright but will hurt like hell. You'll bleed out eventually but it will be a slow, painful death. Would you like to experience that Detective?" Trey laughed cruelly.
Danny continued to glare at his captor, the desire to drive his shoes into the man's face surged through him but he knew he'd never avoid the bullet that would strike first. Adopting an air of nonchalance, he shrugged.
"Okay…fine. Do you plan to carry me or are you going to untie my ankles?" he said snidely.
"I could leave you in the truck until I'm ready to settle with you," Trey said as he pointed the gun at Danny's head. "I'm sure you're comfortable in there."
"Okay…okay….," Danny said quickly. "Relax, relax, I'll cooperate." He carefully wiggled forward until his legs began to dangle over the edge. He looked up at Angelo. "Are you going to help me here? I can't hop any distance on my own."
Keeping his gun trained on Danny, Angelo grabbed his right arm and jerked him out of the truck bed.
"I will stop you from falling and don't sweat it, you aren't going all that far," Trey informed him as he gripped Danny's arm tightly, managing to keep Williams vertical. "You are going there," he added pointing the gun in the direction of the steps leading up to the house door.
Danny followed instructions, hopping carefully and hating that he had to rely on a drug dealer to stop him from planting his face in the garage floor. It did puzzle him how he was going to navigate the four steps that led up to the raised ranch's door. To his surprise and dismay, Angelo did not take him to the wooden stairs but directed him to the back of the staircase. There Danny saw a door fitted into the wall, providing an entrance to the crawlspace under the house. The wooden door stood open, revealing a dark space beyond. Freezing, Danny stared at the space in horror.
"No…..no…..no…..." Danny stated firmly. "You won't put me in there."
"Oh but I will," Trey laughed. "I need you out of sight where you can't cause trouble."
"No…..not in that hole," Danny refused his blood pounding in his ears as his heart raced.
"Are you afraid Detective?" the black man taunted. "What a shame because you have no say in this. You go where I say you go." He waved his weapon close to Danny's face. "I can always shoot you between the eyes and put you out of your misery."
"Enough with the threats to shoot me," Danny grumbled as he bit back on his fear. "You need me if you have any hope of convincing McGarrett to do as you ask. I am not afraid of that space." Now was not the time to let his weakness control him. There was no doubt that Angelo would shoot him eventually but his only hope of survival was to delay that from happening. He had to ride this out until a way to escape presented itself.
"Do you think that I won't shoot you?" Trey asked curiously.
"Oh I believe you but you do need me alive. I promise you that my partner is going to ask for proof of life. Dead you only get an annoyed McGarrett hunting you down. Alive, I could be your ticket off this rock…..with or without that mother lode of drugs. Play it smart babe and you could survive this," Danny coaxed.
"Oh I plan to survive, don't you worry," Angelo sneered. "And you are going into that hole. Did you expect to be staying at the Hilton? I need you out of the way for now."
Danny nodded, resigned to going in the dark hole. Trey shoved him downward to his knees and pushed him forward towards the space.
"Get in," he growled.
Danny rolled from his knees to his back to stare up at Trey. The drug dealer kicked out, hitting Danny in the side and forced him to roll away from the blows, closer to the crawlspace. As much as he hated going in the hole, Danny's ribs now hurt as much as his head and he tried to inch into the doorway. Angelo impatiently shoved at Danny's feet, pushing him the remaining way into the space, banging Danny's head against the far wall.
"All right…I am in all ready," Danny protested.
"Shut up and you will live longer," Angelo ordered. "I will be back later." He slammed the door closed and pushed the bolt into place.
Before the light failed completely Danny was able to see that the crawl space did not extend all the way under the house. His prison was a walled off area that was no longer than a 8x6 foot space if his guess was accurate. Placing his feet against the door, Danny kicked out several times, hoping to break the bolt but it held steady.
"Damn it!" he swore angrily. He lay on his side panting heavily from the effort to calm his fears. As the panic rose inside him, Danny fought to control his fears not wanting to give in to the negative reaction to small spaces. He kicked out at the door again, hoping to loosen the bolt holding the door closed.
"Damn…this is not possible," he groaned as once again the bolt failed to break. "Breathe Williams; it is not going to help matters if you panic now. Hold it together or you will never hear the end of it once McGarrett shows up," he muttered. "Chill out." Mentally he began to go through the Mets lineup once more to keep him calm. "Come on partner…Steven, I need you" he whispered between the second baseman and shortstop.
*H 5-0*
Steve and Kono had driven up to Kapono Lee's convenience store to check if the boys were there. Learning that wasn't the case, they sat in the parking lot, planning their next move. Kono looked at Steve.
"This business looks legit Steve, the boys aren't here," Kono observed.
"That's what I expected but I wanted to be sure. I think they are close to home and with our leaving that they would come out of hiding," Steve replied. As he finished speaking, Chin pulled up beside them. Steve rolled down the window to confer with him.
"What did you learn?" he enquired as Chin got out and walked up to the truck.
"Maui did find James Wilson's prints at the last robbery. By the time he was identified, Wilson had fled the island. The police had several other cases on their plate at the time and put this one on the back burner. They didn't place a high priority on finding him. Evidently the boy kept his nose clean once he got to Oahu until his encounter with Danny," Chin related.
"The minute Danny identified himself as a cop when James ran that girl off the road, the kid must have panicked," Kono observed.
"And he and his brother decided to shut Danny up," Steve said angrily. "Stupid kid, we need to talk to those boys now," he added as he pulled out the SAT phone. "We are wasting time."
"Could Danny have been held somewhere on the property?" Chin asked. "Were there any places to hold him out of sight?"
"The officers we left watching the place searched after we left. They did it without alerting Lee, he never left the house after we pulled out," Steve told him. "There was no sign of Danny and I am pretty sure that Lee wouldn't have let us in if Danny was still nearby. They have him stashed somewhere else."
Before he could say anything else, the phone rang.
"McGarrett," he snapped. Steve listened for a moment and then smiled. "Hold everyone in the house, we are on the way." He looked at his teammates. "The boys are back. We have them."
End chapter.
There you go my friends. The muse has decided to help things move along. Thanks for reading.