Chapter 10
"I don't like it, Chin," Steve ended the call without leaving a message on his partner's voicemail; the loud tap of his finger slamming the 'end' button only helped to vent a little of his frustration.
The quirk of a lone eyebrow betrayed Chin's concern. He reached across the front seat of the Cruze to lay a stilling hand on his boss' arm. "Steve," he started.
"No. Don't 'Steve' me," the Navy SEAL was clearly agitated as he pulled away from the placating gesture. He was unwilling to have the Hawaiian man's peaceful nature soothe him. His current mood was quickly burning off the lethargic state from the pain medication. "Something's up. I don't like this," his volume increased with his rising worries; the hard look on his face dared Chin to disagree.
Chin, for his part, only sighed at the dramatics. "I was going to say - we should call Kono, see if she's heard from Danny."
"Oh," Steve's anger left just as quickly as it had arrived. He was nodding his head slowly at the suggestion. "That's actually a good idea." He hoped his nod would convey the thanks he felt because voicing them could, potentially, leave both men feeling awkward.
"How about I make that call?" Chin pulled out his phone from a pocket.
Steve was sure the other man had noticed the slight tremble in his hands and was just being helpful without mentioning his concerns.
"You are in need of some lunch, so don't wait for the rest of us." Chin nodded at the paper bag holding burgers and fries.
So much for not mentioning his concerns. Steve thought about arguing but Chin held his fingers over the touch screen of his phone, waiting. With a resigned sigh Steve shoved his free hand into the bag on his lap. His hand paused midway to his mouth, several French fries sticking out from between his fingers. He gave a pointed look to the silent phone in Chin's hands. With a wry grin, Chin made a clear gesture of pushing the speed dial button for his cousin.
Waiting for the call to connect, Chin had time to comment, "I thought those were Danny's fries?"
Steve managed a crooked smile with his mouth full as he took a second helping of the tasty, but usually taboo, take-out treat. Kono's voice through the phone stopped any further discussion. Steve continued to dig into the bag and munch as he kept tabs on the conversation beside him.
It wasn't long before Chin finished the call and returned his phone to his pocket. "She hasn't heard from Danny since she asked him to look for Wayne Roesler."
"Then that's where we'll start; at the tour office."
Regardless of injury or doctor's orders, Steve was back in leader mode and Chin was quick to start the car and drive. He also didn't miss the grin Chin let slip as he rummaged through the bag and continued to munch on his partner's fries.
~H50~
"Hurry up!" Wayne yelled from his perch at the front window.
"It's okay," Danny whispered to the shaking woman behind his chair. "Take a deep breath and try again." He needed to calm Mrs. Salvator down. Her fear of Wayne Roesler and his waving gun brought out nervous energy and she was having a difficult time fitting the key into the little slot to open the cuffs around Danny's wrists.
Wayne hadn't let them in on his plan yet, but he accepted Mrs. Salvator's request to help Danny. Without help, there was little doubt the injured man could move at anything more than a snail's pace.
"Is the cop free yet?" Wayne growled.
"Getting there," Danny puffed just before he felt his left hand come free and slide out from behind the chair. He couldn't help the painful moan as the stretched muscles became his to control again.
"Leave the other cuff on," Wayne commanded causing Mrs. Salvator to jump, pulling her hands away from Danny's wrist. Danny could only scowl deeper as he realized Wayne intended to keep his hands locked.
Mrs. Salvator came to the same conclusion as she quietly pleaded, "Please, he'll need help to stand and walk."
"He'll manage."
Danny didn't like the smirk Wayne cast his way and really wanted the opportunity to wipe it off, but as pins and needles were now rushing through both arms, and neither limb was listening to any commands from Danny's brain, the likelihood of that satisfaction was closer to naught than Wayne handing over his weapon and ending this now.
"I'm sorry, Detective," Mrs. Salvator whispered as she gently placed the open cuff back around his free wrist. Both hands now sat cuffed in his lap.
"It's Danny, remember?" he offered her full forgiveness with one of the smiles that Rachel used to refer to as charming.
She placed a comforting hand on one cheek as she gave a grateful peck to the other. "Come on, Danny. It looks like we're going for a walk." She grabbed his right bicep and lifted as he did his best to push out of the chair.
He closed his eyes as he wobbled unsteadily on his feet. A few deep breaths helped with the rising nausea until his blood pressure equalled out and his wounded leg found a balance with his stronger right one.
"So what's the plan here?" Danny managed to ask while keeping his arms still in front of him; he did realize that his balance was precarious at best and falling on his face wouldn't help his cause any. Mrs. Salvator was curious too as they both waited for Wayne to answer.
"We're going to borrow that nice little cabin cruiser there, and go for a bit of a ride."
Danny couldn't see out the slightly lifted blinds to where Wayne pointed with the end of the Sig, but he assumed the boat in question was a short distance away. Those in front of the Salvators' office were commercial boats; personal pleasure crafts were housed at docks further down the boardwalk.
"That seems a little risky. Is that your best plan?" Danny didn't like being a hostage, but he wavered between having more escape options and involving innocent bystanders in the potential gun fire. "You don't think we'll draw attention?" He rattled the cuffs on his wrists as he indicated the towel bandage on his thigh.
Wayne's forehead crinkled as he eyed Danny from top to bottom. Danny knew he was being assessed and hoped he came off looking worse than he actually felt. He knew how to capitalize on being underestimated, but this time he worried there wasn't much difference.
"We'll just hide those cuffs and there doesn't seem to be too much blood showing through that wrapping," Wayne seemed content to continue with his plan. "What have you got around here to cover his hands?"
Mrs. Salvator didn't like having the attention on her, and gave a nervous look around the office. "I keep a sweater in the closet." She pointed to a narrow door in the far corner of the room.
"Good. Get it. Those too," He motioned with his gun at the pile of orange life jackets on the closet floor. "Hurry up! Hang your sweater over his hands."
Mrs. Salvator tried to be quick to follow the orders, but her nerves were making it difficult. It took a few tries to get the light garment to hang right and keep from falling. Danny did his best to use quiet, calming words, but they became useless mutterings when Mrs. Salvator turned around and they were both faced with a grinning Wayne Roesler.
"Come on. It's time to go." Wayne had unlocked the door and gestured with a well hidden Sig in an armful of dangling life vests.
With Mrs. Salvator's hand on his arm for support, Danny managed an awkward gait towards the door. With Wayne's accepting nod of approval he realized that they appeared as a young man helping out his elder instead of the other way around.
Closing the door behind them, Wayne's gun hand pushed a life vest into Danny's back. Mrs. Salvator was quick to keep Danny upright, but Danny couldn't help the pain riddled snark, "Just so you know, me face-planting on the boardwalk…that's bad; if you really want to avoid drawing attention." He kept the Dumbass remark to himself, but felt it was clearly implied.
"Just keep moving," Wayne growled. "You do anything stupid and I give you a matching hole. You got that?"
Danny got it, painfully clear. He could feel the edge of the life vest pressed into his ribs. It took little imagination to picture the barrel of the Sig behind that edge. The flotation device would do nothing against a bullet from that distance. Even if by some miracle the bullet missed him, it would still find its mark in Mrs. Salvator, pressed to his other side.
They made their way down the boardwalk at a reasonable pace and didn't draw the attention of the few other people around them. However, by the time they reached the entrance to the pleasure craft dock, Danny could feel what little energy he had left, running out. It was more of a drag of his injured leg than a walking step and his vision was almost blurry as the view spun around him. He knew he was leaning more heavily on Mrs. Salvator than when they started, but it wasn't until he stumbled against a bait pail and fell to his knees that she fully realized the extent of his condition.
Wayne turned the air blue with his muttered curses as he used his left arm to hoist Danny back to his feet. Danny felt very lopsided with the concerned support of Mrs. Salvator on one side and the angry yanking of Wayne on the other. It was hard to find his balance with the Sig Pro forcibly pushed between two of his ribs and the impatient prodding urging him down onto the dock. Wayne was quick to account for the people around them and, as none seemed to be heading in their direction, he dropped the bulky disguise of the orange vests and pushed the tip of the Sig's barrel further into Danny's skin.
"Move!"
There was little choice but for Danny to ignore the quiet sniffling at his side and add a little more weight onto the arm of the frightened Mrs. Salvator. The dock rocked gently in time to the ebb and flow of the water below, but to Danny it was a form of torture to find his balance and make his way toward the cabin cruiser near the end of the dock.
~H50~
Chin found a parking space along the boardwalk and not too far from the Salvators' tour office. Concern for his partner seemed to be giving Steve an energy boost and Chin quickened his pace to keep up with the injured man. His speed picked up as they passed the dark office of Terashima's tour business. The yellow police tape quietly waved them on as they rushed by.
"Steve, will you at least wait for me?" Chin jogged the few steps needed to come abreast of his boss.
Steve didn't slow down, but he did at least check to make sure Chin was now traveling along beside him. "There's the office, the blinds are all closed. I didn't see the Camaro. Do you think Danny's already moved on?"
"Hey," Chin's hand on his arm slowed him down enough that Chin was able to step in front and bring them both to a standstill. "We don't even know if anything's wrong. We'll check out the tour office and if it's locked tight we'll take a quick look around for the car. Maybe we'll find Danny in one of the nearby coffee shops. Could be he's just talking to people, trying to track down this Wayne Roesler guy."
Steve could tell by the worried look on the Hawaiian's face that Chin believed in that possibility about as much as Steve did; but he was right. They needed a plan and a clear head. Taking a deep breath and putting away the worry he felt for his partner, Steve felt a sense of calm. He tugged at the edge of the sling, providing a bit of comfort to his arm with the extra weight it was holding. He had tried to remove the piece of fabric before he left the vehicle, but Chin had insisted the sling stayed if he was coming along. As he was forced to wear the thing, it would at least serve a purpose and hide the Smith & Wesson he borrowed from Chin's collection in the back of the Cruze.
With a sense of caution they approached the Salvators' tour office. Steve tried to peek through the windows but the closed blinds offered no clear view. Chin stepped up to the front door and the knob rattled in his hands, locked.
Steve could see Chin preparing to offer another explanation, but before he could voice it, they were both distracted by a bang and commotion from further down the boardwalk. There was light foot traffic and it was easy to home in on the noise from a metal pail rolling along the walkway. It looked like someone had tripped over the small obstruction and two people were now helping him up. Steve was about to turn away, back to discussing the possibilities for locating Danny, when a breeze blew in from the water. The warm wind ruffled the light coloured hair of the downed man, but it also brought into view a flapping piece of fabric, knotted around the man's neck.
"Danny!"
Chin was at his side as they rushed towards the small group now entering the docks for private pleasure craft.
~TBC~