A/N: First of all, a huge THANK YOU to everyone that reviewd, followed or just read the story. You greatly inspired me to continue it.
Second, I'm not really sure that I will manage it but I'll try to upload a new chapter every other day. So make sure to check for updates. :)
Two days had passed since 5-0 received the letter. They couldn't get more information and just spent the days helping with the ruins of Hilton. Today was the day when the research team would finally reach the bottom of the ex-building. The chances of them finding something important were minimal but still even a small piece of the bomb would be greatly appreciated, as it could lead them to the bomber.
For these days Steve had probably had a total of 4 hours of sleep. He slept just the first night when their investigation still hadn't met a dead end. After that his mind just couldn't stop thinking. Even if he somehow drifted off, his sleep would be interrupted by a nightmare. And the nightmares were various –from Hassan destroying Hawaii to him killing his friends that including Catherine as well. He had called her right after Hassan contacted him but she didn't pick up her satellite phone. For the last year he was always worried about her but after the talk he had with Hassan something deep inside him was sure something bad happened to her. Of course he wouldn't let these thoughts overwhelm him, not now.
Steve decided that it would be a waste of time to stay in bed any longer. He wouldn't get any sleep anyway. He stood up, took a quick shower and went downstairs. He made himself a cup of strong coffee (that being a routine now). If he didn't have much appetite before, he didn't have any now. He wouldn't drink coffee too if that wasn't the only thing that kept him on his feet. The clock on the wall showed 7:00 AM. Steve thought that he might actually try to do some paperwork, although he knew he wouldn't and headed to HQ.
-H50-
Steve couldn't help but laugh at himself. He was in his truck waiting for the green light and was getting mad over that. From his house till here he had hit all the green lights and the fact that he had to stop now was just plain stupid. He looked to the new building of "First Hawaiian Bank". They finished building it a month ago and now it was one of the most remarkable buildings in Hawaii. Most of it was covered in glass that reflected everything. The only thing that wasn't particularly a mirror were the giant letters that spelled the name of the bank.
Then, all of a sudden, hell just broke loose.
A huge explosion broke the glass building in pieces. The giant letters fell down, crushing two cars parked there. Flames fastly spread around the nearby palm trees and basically everything flammable. The blast wave pushed Steve's truck back. He leaned down just in time to avoid the broken glass pieces flying towards him. One piece managed to scratch his cheek but apart from that he was unharmed. Sirens could be heard in the distance. Soon the whole boulevard was full of ambulances, fire trucks and police cars.
-H50-
"Danny, I'm okay.., okay?" Steve shouted, secretly praising the red light that stoped him and saved his life.
"A building just exploded in front of your face. You are bleeding. I don't see you okay."
"It's just a small cut, Danny!"
"Okay guys, cut it out." Chin interrupted with a smirk. "What we know 'till now is that there weren't a lot of people in there. Just the cashier and the security guard. Unfortunatelly, we are pretty sure they didn't make it. A team will soon arrive too start a search but their number is cut in half, because of...Hilton."
"And speaking of that," Kono joined the men. " the search there should be over around noon."
"Good." Steve nodded. "I want the search to go as fast as possible."
His phone rang.
"McGarrett."
"Sorry, Commander. That was a close one, wasn't it? I hope you're not mad at me."
"Hassan." He had three pairs of eyes looking at him now. "I'll find you and when I do-"
"Oh, yes, yes. Don't worry, you are not getting to me soon. Sorry I can't chat right now."
Steve put his phone back in his pocket and sighed. The other members just had conserned faces. It was their second case, when they couldn't so much. And the first one didn't end good.
-H50-
Officer Jeremy Smith was aimlessly walking around the remains of Hilton. His hands were aching so badly he could barely move them. As he graduated from the Academy just a week ago, his boss decided it would be a good idea to send him here.
Smith didn't know how to feel about all of the things happening lately. First Hilton then FHB. His boss was very stressed for sure. He began to lose control over his department, something that just didn't suit a man with 30 years of experience behind him.
Something caught Jeremy's eye. He headed towards a bunch of tin-alike material. 'It's probably the air shaft.' he thought. But as he was getting closer something lying under the metal began to form. Something that looked like a body.
When he reached the place, Smith began to move the tin away, ignoring the pain in his arms. Once he removed the biggest piece he saw something that he would, for sure, remember his whole life. It was the head, well at least what was left from it, of a boy. Smith looked away and suppressed the urge to vomit.
"Hey, I found something!" He shouted.
-H50-
Steve left his working place, a huge pile of glass left from the bank, and went to see why was Duke calling him.
"Yes, Duke?"
"Steve, I came here straight from Hilton." The older policeman said. "They found a body there."
"What? A body?" Steve couldn't hide his surprise. "Shouldn't everyone have been evacuated?"
"Exactly. Seems like the boy, at least we think it was a boy, was there from before. In the air shaft. A pathologist is currently looking at the corpse."
"Okay, thanks Duke." Steve waited for Duke to leave and found the others.
-H50-
A few hours later in HQ the team got the results from the autopsy. Steve was currently reading the report, his expression giving nothing away much to Danny's annoyance.
"Well?" Danny's patience gave up on him.
"The victim was a boy, around the age of 13. Most of his body was dismembered, the cause from an explosion." Steve decided it would be better if he stopped reading. "Basically, the doctor found evidence that the bomb was really close to the boy, possibly attached to him. Due to the lack of any found organs, the cause of death cannot be specified."
Danny's face darkened. "So the boy was just tied to the bomb and...-"
"Yeah. That's Hassan's doing. I'm sure of it." Steve clenched his fists. "I want all the tapes from the night before the explosion at Hilton. Someone must have put the boy there. Also tell the research team of the bank to look for the air shaft. "He sighed. "If it was Hassan they should find something there."
She awoke to darkness. Her head was pounding, almost ready to explode. She could hear voices but couldn't understand a word. Her body failed her request to move. Where was she? What had happened? She heard someone coming. Oh yes. She was hiding from the Taliban and then they captured her. Her training kicked in and she tried to move her hands. They were tied as well as her feet. She managed to loosen the ropes a bit before she heard someone opening a door. The door that led to the room she was in. She tried to go back, away from the footsteps but she couldn't. Someone grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.
"Walk."
Thanks for reading! Please, leave a review to let me know what you think. :)