Steve's conversation with WoFat's man in the emergency room had been . . . productive. Between the intel from Catherine and the additional information, they had their first definitive lead.
Chin flicked the map onto the plasma.
"Okay, Catherine said that the SUV left and headed north; WoFat's man said that he was set up in an old cannery."
"If we assume they didn't change direction, this gives us two most likely locations," Kono said. Red markers appeared over two canneries; one further east and one toward the west.
"Which do we hit, Steve?" Danny asked.
Steve looked at the map for a long moment. "Both," he said. "Get Grover. Danny, you and I will take one team to the west location; Chin, you and Kono take another team to the east location."
Steve paused, braced his arms on the table, and hung his head down.
"You okay, partner?" Danny asked.
Steve straightened and looked directly into the built in camera on one of the plasma screens.
"Agent Fielding," he said, "I'm sure you're watching our every move; you may have backed off at the Governor's request but you're not going to stop surveillance. You know where we're headed. If WoFat is at one of those locations, and you want to give him a warning, by all means, go ahead. If I find my sister, alive, I swear to you that . . . " Steve took a deep breath. "I swear I will not pursue WoFat today. Just . . . stop him before he kills her, please. Give him the information yourselves, I don't care." The rest of the team watched, not daring to breathe, as their leader pleaded for help from an agency he clearly despised.
To their amazement, the tiny green light that indicated the camera was in use blinked twice, and then turned off.
The distance to the western cannery location would take forty-five minutes under normal circumstances. With lights and sirens, Danny hoped to make it in twenty-five, but even then he wasn't sure that Steve was going to make the trip without spontaneously combusting.
His partner was a wreck; clenching and unclenching his hands, checking and double checking the safety on his gun, his knee twitching, jaw grinding. No wonder he didn't argue and let Danny drive; he must have realized that he would have run them off the road.
"Steve," Danny said, "You're going to do no one any good if you explode. Come on, man, we're going to find her. You gotta think positive, right?"
"I'm thinking we're positively going to find her, Danny," Steve answered.
"There you go, good."
"I'm positive we're going to find her . . . Danny, I'm terrified, absolutely terrified that we're not going to find her alive. This is different; this isn't the random thugs kidnapping Mary to scare her and send me a message. This is WoFat. He is sadistic. He's enjoying playing with us, Danny. He's going to go at her hard, and I don't think he's prepared for her to resist."
"That's good, though, right?" Danny asked.
"No, Danno, it's not good," Steve explained. "Because he won't understand that she's been trained not to give up information, trained to withstand torture. He won't know her limits, and he'll kill her without meaning to, Danny."
"Steve," Danny said slowly, "what do you mean she's been trained to withstand torture?"
"Joe," Steve responded. "In Korea. Part of the WITSEC training she thought she was getting."
"I shoulda let you kill him in that hospital bed," Danny muttered.
"I understand", WoFat said into the phone. He smiled sadistically and added, "Thank you, Agent Fielding; that's very helpful indeed. No, my men will see to it that I have plenty of time to make a clean exit."
He took off his gloves and tossed them onto the table behind him, littered with syringes. Bending down, he caressed Riley's cheek. She made an unfocused effort to turn her face away from him, but he held her face in a bruising grip.
"Well, well, little one, thank you for our lovely chat. Your big brother is on his way to fetch you. I'll leave you here to listen to the sounds of the gunfire that will end his life and that of his friends. He consistently underestimates the resources at my disposal. Once again, your government has been so incredibly helpful to my cause," he chuckled.
Chin and Kono arrived with their team to the closer, eastern location. It was completely deserted, with no sign of recent activity. They made a thorough sweep, and when they were satisfied that there was no chance of WoFat being at the location, Chin called it in to Steve.
"Nothing here, brah," he said. "We're going to head to your location."
"Okay, Chin, we're about two minutes out. Come in with caution, we have no idea what we're walking in to."
"Copy that, Steve," C hin answered. He hesitated, then added, "Should we go ahead and call for EMS to that location?"
Steve was silent for a moment.
"I've got my field medic gear, but yeah. Go ahead. Call in EMS, have them on standby. But have them stay back; we don't need any civilian casualties."
"On it," Chin answered.
There was no sense trying to go in quiet; Steve was sure that thanks to Agent Fielding, there would be no element of surprise.
"Is everyone wearing a vest?" he asked, grimly.
They approached cautiously, Steve and Grover communicating with hand signals and getting as many men in place as possible behind the shipping containers and discarded dumpsters that dotted the area surrounding the building.
"Okay, Danny and I are going to try to go in through that door on the west wall, beneath the staircase," Steve decided. "Grover, have your men cover us."
Steve hesitated for a moment. Danny was risking his life, yet again, above and beyond the call of duty.
"Danny, you stay in cover, you hear me? Just get to Riley, don't worry about me, okay?" Steve grabbed the front of Danny's tac vest. He had to make sure Danny was going home to Gracie.
"Steve, we go in together and we bring Riley out together, yeah?" Danny said. "No crazy hero shit from you?"
"This isn't your fight, Danny," Steve said.
"The hell it isn't – if that maniac is loose on the island, then Gracie is in danger, and that makes it my fight. Besides, Riley is ohana . . . that's not a concept that only applies to surfing and Longboards in your backyard, you got that?"
Steve nodded. "Okay, on three. Stick to cover as close as you can, move fast and low."
As soon as they moved free from the first series of shipping containers, the men inside the cannery started using them for target practice. Grover's SWAT team furiously returned fire; Steve was grimly pleased with their accuracy as more than one body fell from the second story windows.
Steve realized that they were clearly still outnumbered and out-positioned, though, as was evidenced by the bullet that just grazed his forearm, and a second one that lodged in the shipping container inches above.
He heard Chin in his earpiece. "Steve, my team has Kono in the second story of the office; directly at your six. I've got five men securing the first floor, I'm coming in at your two o-clock. If we can flush some of these guys out . . . "
"Copy that," Steve said, grinning at Danny. "The cavalry has arrived. Chin has Kono in a sniper's nest."
"Okay, what do you have in mind?" Danny asked, panting from their run across the open lot.
Steve reached into his pockets and pulled out handfuls of flash grenades. "I come prepared, Danno," he said.
"What about Riley?" Danny asked.
"These won't hurt her; she's likely already disoriented. I'm counting on these drawing anyone close to her away. Ready?"
Danny nodded. Chin slid behind the shipping container with them as Grover's men laid down cover fire. He smiled at the grenades in Steve's hand and nodded as well.
"Here goes nothing," he said, and kicked in the door.
The next five minutes were pure, unadulterated chaos, ending with over a dozen Yakuza bleeding and in custody.
Grover was in control of the scene; barking out orders.
"These go to HPD; those go to the hospital. Don't take them to Queens, that's where any Five-O injuries will be taken," he instructed.
"One of yours got clipped, Grover," Kono called from behind him. She was kneeling next to the wounded officer, applying pressure until a paramedic could take over.
Grover jogged over to the injured man. "You okay, Kameka?" he asked.
"I'm good, sir, just a graze," the officer replied.
"Okay, you get that taken care of right away," Grover said, motioning for another officer to come over. "Get him over to Queens, okay, get him sorted."
"Yes, sir," the young officer nodded, relieving Kono of her patient and moving toward a squad car.
"I've got this, Kono, you go on in with your team," Grover nodded his head toward the building.
Kono didn't need to be told twice; she took off at a fast clip across the lot, calling in to Chin as she ran.
"I'm coming in through the same entry point that you used, Chin," she said. "How many still inside? Have you found Riley?"
"We're still clearing the place, be careful, Kono," Chin warned. "I'll double back to you, so we can move in two teams. There are very few clear lines of sight, we're having to move more slowly than we'd like."
'That's an understatement,' Danny thought, as impatient desperation rolled off of Steve in waves.
He saw the bucket first.
They'd rounded yet another corner in their desperate attempt to clear each section of the cannery. There was a set of stairs, just three or four, that led to a slightly elevated platform; probably used as a supervisor's station when the cannery was in operation.
It put Steve about eye level with the floor, so he saw the bucket first, with the soaked burlap hood partially obscuring Riley's boot.
He saw the IV next.
"Danny!" Steve choked out, holstering his sidearm. He knew without a doubt that Danny would have his six; his only concern at this point was Riley.
He cleared the stairs and knelt next to her, checking for a pulse.
For a moment, he felt nothing. His frantic eyes met Danny's.
Danny looked at Steve's hand on Riley's carotid. His hand was shaking . . . Danny checked the other side.
"She's got a pulse, Steve, I feel it. It's slow, and it's weak, but it's there. Is she breathing?"
Steve listened carefully for breath sounds.
"Yes," he sighed in relief. "Shallow and raspy, but she has steady respiration."
Steve cupped the side of Riley's face gently. Danny saw the flash of rage as he made out finger shaped bruises beneath his hand.
"Riley?" he called softly. There was no response. He gently patted her cheek – still nothing. Hating the idea of it, he pinched her forearm. Maybe a slight twitch? No, nothing. As Danny began to gently cut her free from the duct tape holding her to the chair, Steve gently knuckled her sternum and was rewarded with a faint moan.
Chin and Kono rushed onto the platform. "All clear, Steve; Grover has the scene under control and the building is secure," Chin said.
"Oh no . . . Steve . . . " Kono breathed, her eyes filling with tears as she took in Riley's damp hair, the hood, and the empty bucket.
"She's alive," Steve said grimly, "but I don't know how badly injured."
Danny pulled away the last of the duct tape as Steve carefully removed the IV. Riley collapsed forward into Steve's arms, another faint moan escaping.
"Shhh, Riley, I've got you," Steve murmured.
Chin and Kono pulled out evidence bags and gloves and began collecting the syringes and other items from the table.
"Get the IV bag, too," Steve directed.
"I'll get it all to Malia first, and then to Max," he said.
Steve stood up with Riley in his arms.
"There's still a bus outside, Steve, ready to go," Chin said. "Danny, go with them, Kono and I will follow right behind with this stuff."
Danny kept his gun drawn and covered Steve as he walked out of the building cradling Riley against his chest. She was still alarmingly unresponsive.
Paramedics waved them over to a waiting ambulance, and Steve disappeared into the back with Riley. Danny followed, lights and siren, as they sped toward Queens.
Danny parked and ran into the emergency entrance.
"My partner brought in a young woman," he said to the staff at the intake desk.
"Five-O, right?" she asked. "Right this way." She led Danny to a small waiting room where Steve was pacing.
"Steve," Danny said, closing the door behind him. He stopped short at the stricken look on Steve's face.
"Whoa, you okay, buddy?" he asked, reaching out a steadying hand to Steve's shoulder.
"She . . . she stopped breathing, Danno," Steve said, in a stunned tone, "She stopped breathing and her heart stopped . . . in the ambulance."
Danny's heart stopped. "Steve – no, oh no . . . "
"They did CPR, used the defibrillator . . . they got a pulse back . . . they intubated her . . . rushed her in here. I don't know anything, no one has come to tell me anything. I can't find her, Danny, I don't know what room she's in . . . I can't find Malia –"
Danny pushed Steve gently into a chair and sat down next to him, grabbing him by the shoulders.
"Steve, look at me . . . if they got a pulse and they intubated her, then her chances are very, very good, do you hear me? Very good."
"Danny," Steve rasped out, "He's not going to stop. He's going to take everyone away from me."
"No," Danny said firmly, "we are not going to let that happen. I'm going to go find Riley, get some information for you. Stay right here."
Chin and Kono were rushing in when Danny stepped outside the room.
"Danny!" Kono called out. "What's happening? Chin can't find Malia and no one will tell us anything."
"Guys, it's not good," Danny said. "On the way here, Riley's heart stopped and she stopped breathing."
"Oh, no," Chin gasped, his normally unflappable demeanor obviously shaken. He'd witnessed Steve's loss of both his mother and his father . . . he wasn't sure how much more the SEAL could endure.
"They brought her back, but Steve hasn't been told anything else. Let's see if we can find some answers, quickly, before he brings the place down."
The three team members headed back toward the waiting room with Malia. It was a testament to how truly shaken Steve was, that he hadn't been storming up and down the halls. Danny suspected that he was terrified of what he would find.
Malia went into the room first. Steve jumped to his feet.
"Malia," he said, his voice pleading, "please tell me what's going on."
"Steve, Riley is in ICU. I'm not going to lie, she's in critical condition but we expect her to make a full recovery."
He sank back into a chair. Kono sat down next to him and put her arm around his shoulders.
"Her heartbeat is almost back to normal, so we are just monitoring that. Her lungs . . . she's on a respirator right now. She had water in her lungs and her airway was – well, there was damage."
"Waterboard," Steve gritted out. "What else? What other injuries? And why did her heart stop?"
"There is indication of additional electrocution, Steve. We found multiple circular burns that look like typical taser burns on her lower back."
"Multiple?" Danny asked.
"At least seven distinct sets," Malia said. "There were also numerous superficial lacerations, some severe bruising. A few small bones broken in her left hand; her shoulder was dislocated at some point, we believe."
"Probably in the fight with Joe," Danny said. "She gave 'em hell."
Chin swallowed hard against sudden nausea. "Were you able to determine what was in the IV, Malia?" he asked.
Malia nodded. "I'm afraid it's not good news, either. The IV was a saline delivery system; the syringes appear to all have been doses of Ketamine. Massive doses, I'm afraid. It certainly contributed to her respiratory failure. As the drug wears off –"
Steve cut her off with a mumbled curse. "I know, Malia. I've – there was an op. In Afghanistan."
Danny and Kono exchanged worried glances.
"We're not letting Steve go through this with Riley alone, so you may as well tell us what to expect," Danny said, as Kono nodded in agreement.
"As the ketamine wears off, Riley will experience muscle spasms, hallucinations, and disorientation. She's also likely to suffer both amnesia and flashbacks – she may not be able to consciously remember what happened, but unfortunately, she'll relive it in flashbacks. I hate to say this, but from a perspective of collecting evidence, you'll . . . well, you'll have to observe the flashbacks."
"I don't give a damn about evidence," Steve said. "we know who did this and why. Can't you just sedate her? Until the drugs wear off?"
"I wish we could, Steve," Malia said gently. "Any sedation would further depress her respiratory system and we just can't risk it. We need to get her off that ventilator as soon as possible; her airways are already irritated, raw, and the tube is just going to make it worse. I'm so sorry, but we can't give her anything stronger than Tylenol right now. Even stronger NSAIDs, like Motrin, will promote bleeding in her esophagus, and cause further damage."
Chin placed a steadying hand on Steve.
"Look, she is unconscious at the moment, but she will be coming around soon, since we can't sedate her," Malia explained. "I know you all carry go-bags with you; why don't you take a few moments, get cleaned up. I'll clear you to use the doctors' locker room. I'll be with Riley, if she starts to come around before you get there, she won't wake up alone, okay? And, Steve – we need to dress that wound on your arm."
A kind orderly was waiting for them outside the doctors' locker room, and led them to Riley's room. Malia had arranged for a private room, with four comfortable chairs. She was outside the door, waiting for them.
"You shouldn't all be here at once, for the most part, but I know how you operate; there's going to be time that you need to be together. I can only imagine the paperwork on this one. I'll give you a few minutes, then I'll send in an intern to stitch up that arm, Steve."
"Malia," Steve said, "thank you. For everything."
"You're welcome," she said warmly. "I'm so sorry that you and Riley are here again. Riley's cleaned up, stitched up, and still out of it for now. Go on in, be there for her when she comes around. I'll be back in a while; I'll have some food sent in for you."
Steve thought that Malia's description of Riley's injuries had prepared him; he was mistaken.
"Oh, dear God . . . "he whispered, as he entered the room.
Three long strides had him at Riley's bedside. The nurses had carefully cleaned and dressed her minor wounds; still, the split lip and vicious bruising from WoFat's harsh grip stood out in sharp contrast to her pallor. Steve brushed her hair back from her face and gently kissed her forehead.
"Hey, Riley," he murmured. "Your family is here. You're safe, and everything is going to be okay."
Danny pushed one of the chairs close to the bed. Steve smiled at him in thanks, and sat down, taking Riley's least injured hand in his own. He squeezed her hand gently, hoping for a response.
"Anything?" Danny asked quietly.
"Not yet," Steve shook his head.
Danny stepped to the opposite side of Riley's bed, and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, kid. You scared your big brother to death, you know that? I think he has at least a dozen new gray hairs. Rest up, and when you feel better, we'll tease him about that, okay?" He gently rubbed her shoulder, frowning when her hospital gown slipped down to reveal the scars on her collarbone.
"Steve?" he asked, nodding toward the scars. "These look old . . . "
"Yeah," Steve sighed. "Part of Joe's WITSEC training that I told you about."
Danny backed away, horrified.
Chin stepped up behind Steve, and squeezed his uninjured shoulder. "She's tough, like her big brother. She's gonna be just fine, Steve. We're all here to make sure of that."
"Steve, do you mind –" Kono had retrieved a small tin of coconut oil out of her bag. "This stuff is amazing for scarring; I've used it on my knee, the graze on my shoulder. It even works on old scars."
"That'd be great, Kono, thanks," Steve said, smiling up at her. He'd never given much thought to scars, but it figured that Kono would have a more feminine perspective.
Kono murmured softly in pidgin as she gently applied the coconut oil to the old burn scars, and then to the cut on her lip, and the older cut over her eyebrow that was starting to heal. When she finished, she smiled at Steve, her eyes shining with tears. "I really look forward to becoming friends with your sister, Steve," she said. "I'll teach her to surf. And we are so gonna prank you, brah."
Steve couldn't help but laugh. Kono was a breath of fresh air in their team.
A quiet knock on the door let them know that the intern was there to look at Steve's arm.
"No, don't get up," he said, coming in with a suture kit and tray. "You're fine right where you are."
Removing the gauze pad that Steve had hastily slapped on his arm after his shower, the intern grinned. "Missed the ink, brah, nice."
"Least of my worries, but good to know," Steve smiled at him. "Thanks for coming up."
"Yeah, Dr. Waincroft said it would take wild horses to drag you out of this room, so I may as well come up. She wants me to check the split knuckles on your sister, too; see if she needs stitches there before they cast her hand," he added.
He quickly finished stitching up Steve's arm and then turned his attention to Riley's hand.
Chin gave a low whistle as he pulled away the qauze. The white bone of two knuckles was visible through the split skin.
"Ok, yeah, that's going to do better with stitches," the intern said, opening a fresh suture pack. "Girl must have a wicked punch; I'd hate to see the other guys."
Riley stirred and whimpered as he probed her battered knuckles. She tightened her grip on Steve's hand.
"Hey, there," he said softly. "It's okay; you busted up your hand on some asshole's face, no doubt. They're going to stitch it up for you, okay? I'm right here."
Riley's eyes twitched violently and she tried to pull her hand away from the intern. She jerked her other hand away from Steve and moved as if to grab at the ventilator tube.
Danny quickly stepped over to the bedside. While Steve restrained Riley's hand from the ventilator, Danny gently took her injured hand in his.
"Riley, you're on a ventilator, so don't try to talk or pull out the tube, okay? We'll talk to Malia when you're more awake about when that can come out," Steve said.
Danny held Riley's injured hand in his own, and placed his other hand gently on the back of her wrist. "Hey, kid, I'm just going to hold your hand steady for the nice intern, okay? Make sure he gets your stitches in straight, yeah?"
Danny addressed the intern quietly. "We know she can't have narcotics – can you give her something local while you stitch her up?"
The intern nodded. "Absolutely; I'll use the usual lidocaine for this." The intern went to work quickly, and Riley drifted back off before he was quite finished.
Grover stopped by with an update.
"No sign of WoFat, Steve, I'm sorry," he said. "We got guys out as quickly as possible, set up a perimeter radius. He slipped through, somehow."
Steve had promised that he wouldn't go after WoFat today – naturally, he couldn't speak for other law enforcement agencies. WoFat was wanted for a multitude of crimes, after all.
Steve sighed. "Thanks, Grover, you did what you could. What's the damage, otherwise?"
"I had one officer with a minor bullet graze to the shoulder. Otherwise, all injuries and fatalities were on the opposing team. We did good today. That Kono – she's an amazing shot. Watch out, I'll poach her away to SWAT."
"Not a chance, brah," Chin said, quietly joining them in the hallway. "Grover, Kono and I will go back to HQ, help you sort out the paperwork. Steve, I know there'll be no convincing you to leave, but the rest of us will rotate in shifts. I'll swing by your house, bring you anything you need."
"Thanks, Chin," Steve said, exhaustion creeping in to his voice.
"Get some rest, my man, you're going to need it," Grover advised.