And here we have Chapter 23! I am sooooo excited that I got to write this today! I have to admit that I'm kind of proud of how this chapter turned out and I really hope you like it! I can't wait to know what you think of it!
I won't make you wait any longer so, without anything else to say: ENJOY!
The minute he saw Sean's form retreating into the back of the facility and heading towards the opened back door, he knew what he needed to do. He didn't care how many people were currently shooting at them and he didn't mind exposing himself while he got up and run for the door. Just after a brief glance to ensure that neither Danny nor Annabeth had been injured during the first assault of bullets, he had shouted.
- Danny! I'm going after Sean! Cover me! – he didn't even heard the curse his partner had sent his way before he, too, disappeared behind the door that only seconds before Sean had slipped through.
The door led him to an open wide space that served both as a dumpster and a parking lot for a few rotting looking vehicles. Once he stepped outside, he pointed with his gun quickly on either side of him covering every direction Sean could have taken before he spotted him running to the end of the facility they had been on and disappearing behind the corner. Steve held down his weapon with his right hand and went running after him.
Just before reaching the corner of the building, he pressed himself against the wall and brought his gun up again, peeking carefully to the other side.
This side of the building faced a part of the docks reserved for the bigger boats that actually could qualify as cargo ships or really big industrial fishing ships. There were three long piers with boats tied to either side of them, and far from being clear walkways, all the wooden piers were flooded with ropes, anchors, big trash cans, cleaning supplies, repair and maintenance machinery and a bunch of other stuff that made the path all the way to the end not only difficult but filled with places were Sean could have ducked behind ready to open fire the minute he approached either of the three piers.
Once he had peeked though, he couldn't wait forever for Sean to make a sound or a movement to let him know his position; he needed to act first. He contemplated the best way to approach the situation. If he had been looking for an escape route he would consider highjacking one of the boats and heading into open sea were, at least for a good half an hour, Steve wouldn't be able to chase him down. He would choose one of the smallest boats so he could maneuver it better and, seeing the smallest boat on this side of the ducks was anchored on the third pier, he made his way over there hoping his instincts were right.
He came closer to the first boat and peered around, making a mental map of everything he could see between himself and the end of the pier were the smallest boat was ducked. He glanced up in case he saw Sean actually inside one of the boats and pointing his gun at him from above but the place seemed deserted.
So he slowly and carefully stepped on the pier holding his gun high with the finger on the trigger, moving efficiently covering every possible hiding place while he made his way towards the end.
Later he realized that he had a tendency to always search the places on his right side first and then turning around and searching the ones on the left, not only in this situation specifically, but every time he approached a situation like this he always looks first to the right; and that's why he failed to see the metal pipe coming his way until it was just a second too late.
Sean had been hiding on a small space between a boat and a big garbage can with a rather large and heavy tube on his hands ready to bring it down the moment he saw McGarrett step into his line of vision. Steve had tried to use his left hand to protect himself, hoping to deflect the blow and then angle his weapon to aim and fire, but the blow held so much force behind it that the only thing he registered for a moment was an incredible amount of pain and a sickening sound that signaled his forearm had just been broken. The pipe was so long that it actually managed to hit him in both arms, making him drop his gun to the floor and watch helplessly as it went over the side of the pier and into the water.
He couldn't hold back the scream of pain that escaped his lips when his broken arm came in contact with the floor. He could swear he felt the bone fragments inside grate against each other and the fiery hot pain was almost unbearable. Either way, he had to suppress the urge to just cradle his arm and wait for the wave of agony to pass because there was a more pressing matter to attend to: to avoid getting hit by the stupid pipe again, which was coming down again looking to make contact with his head.
He quickly rolled out of the way and stood up, putting a few feet of distance between his attacker and him and evaluating the best way to approach him and take him down. He was keeping his left arm close to his chest trying his best not to jostle it too much.
Sean was standing with both hands holding the pipe like it was a baseball bat and grinning like a maniac. He took one stepp forward and Steve took one step back, keeping the same amount of distance between them. He studied his opponent for a moment and the look on his eyes unnerved him greatly: his eyes were just a little bit glassy and his smile was turning from maniac to downright hysterical. This man couldn't be on his right mind and that made him just the more dangerous.
- You liked it didn't you? – asked Sean, eying Steve carefully, his eyes lingering on his broken arm just a little bit longer than necessary. Yep, the guy was definitely out of his mind. Steve thought to himself.
- Shut up! – Steve yelled as a way of answering. The other man just kept grinning with a glee in his eyes.
- What did you do to get rid of your erection huh? Did you fuck her again? Did she make you come? – the man was clearly insane. Steve's vision suddenly turned red and he disregarded any safe approach, choosing instead to just throw himself at the guy.
He hadn't felt so much rage going after anybody since he first arrived to the island looking for his father's killer, Victor Hesse, and chasing him into that Chinese frater. All he wanted right now was to punch the life out of this sick son of a bitch, and so he lunged forward.
He ducked the swing of the pipe and barreled into Sean hitting him with his shoulder on the midsection, hopefully sucking the air out of his lungs. He landed awkwardly on top of him, not being able to use his left arm for support, but managing to keep his balance enough to land the first of many punches to the man's face.
He hit him once, twice, three times while remembering all the things this crazy person had done to his sister, both at the bathroom of that bar and at his house, invading their home and making them trespass limits that should have never been even considered. He let his anger fuel every one of his punches and by the time he stopped to catch his breath, Sean's nose was completely broken and blood was spilling from it and also from his mouth. But the guy wasn't unconscious.
Somehow he had managed to keep his hold on the pipe and, using first one of his free hands to grab Steve's left arm and twisting with all his strength, he brought the pipe around and hit him on the shoulder.
The hit wouldn't have been strong enough to send him off to the side, but the twisting grip Sean had on his broken arm had him seeing stars in his vision and grunting with the agony that involved someone constantly jerking a broken limb. Nausea suddenly took over and dizziness made itself know soon.
Sean had taken advantage of his moment of weakness by standing up, still with a death grip on his broken arm, and dragging him by it until the edge of the pier. Steve had to actually follow him because resisting would mean trying to yank his arm free and he knew that the moment he pulled against the force Sean was using to drag him, he would pass out from the pain in his arm.
They made it to the edge of the pier but before Sean could do anything to him, he brought his right arm towards his legs and punched him behind one of his knees, making him loose his balance just enough for Steve to then take a hold of one of his ankles and pull towards him, effectively making Sean fall to the floor as well. Somehow, during their clumsy stagger toward the edge and after the punches Steve had thrown to make Sean fall, he had ended up face down on the floor with half of Sean's body on top of him and he had to yell again because now Sean had twisted his left arm behind his back.
Sean was now gasping with the effort of holding the SEAL down and Steve couldn't help but notice something hard poking him on the side of the leg were Sean was currently sitting. He looked down and saw it and, for all that was holly and sacred in the world, he could not believe what was happening: Sean was getting off from this!
Now he really wanted to throw up. The guy was getting hard by subduing a stronger person than him and after this, Steve had definitely no doubt that this man was completely sick.
Well, damn him if he was going to allow this to go any further. He had already let the fight go on long enough, rage blinding his movements and sending his fighting skills over the board because he had been too busy letting his anger towards this man guide him. So, with renewed strength, he skillfully and efficiently sent his right elbow back and hit the man in the face, making him loose his balance just enough to roll from underneath him and turning around to kick him as hard as he could on his groin, eliciting a grunt of pain and sending him over the edge and into the water.
Unfortunately, Sean had taking a really good liking to his left arm and hadn't let go, making Steve dive into the water right after him if he wanted to avoid the pain of having his arm pulled more than it already had.
Sean was hanging into his left arm as if it was a lifeline and the pain from the grip was making him sick, but they were in his home turf now. They were in the water, and soon Steve had maneuvered himself to be behind Sean, using one of the arms holding into his left one to grab him in a choke hold, ignoring his own pain, while reaching down with his free and uninjured right hand into the inside of one of his boots where he always kept a knife hidden and bringing it up to rest at the base of the other man's back.
Gathering up his strength, he plunged in the knife.
- No one… - he hissed.
He took the knife out
- Touches…
The knife sank back in
- MY…
Knife out
- FAMILY! – he yelled.
And with a final push, he sent the knife back in twisting it along the way and witnessing kind of morbidly the way Sean's body jerked with every last breath until life finally left his body and he let him go.
Steve was breathing heavily and the moment he felt the grip around his left arm loosen, a wave of pain hit him again and he moaned/grunted/whimpered holding his abused left arm toward himself while trying to keep afloat on the water. He kicked his feet a few times, getting closer to the edge of the pier and bringing his right arm up, which was still gripping the bloody knife, and taking a hold of the wooden floor.
He tried to hoist himself up, but failed at the first try. He didn't think he had the strength to climb back up without both his arms working properly and, sure enough, when he tried to do it again, his arm gave out and he sank into the water again, dropping the knife into the pier and having to kick furiously with his legs to keep himself afloat. He took a couple of breaths and tried for the third time to get up, and just when he felt his right arm give again, two sets of hands (one pair big and strong, and the other one slightly smaller and gentler) picked him up and helped him climb all the way back into solid ground, where he lay panting and trying to clear the fog from his mind.
Oh my! This was really really fun BUT hard to write! I really hope the way Sean was taken down was enough to satisfy your own hunger for revenge and I hope I didn't write the chapter a little bit too over the edge!
I CAN'T wait to know what you guys think of this! I already have a few ideas as to how next chapter is going to play and poor Stevie needs to have that arm looked at!
I also wanted to let you know that this story is coming to an end soon, what with the brothers dead and all. I think a few more chapters are in order and then that'll be it. DON'T WORRY though, I have A LOT of ideas for other stories featuring Steve, Danny AND Annabeth and apparently my muse is hungry for work, so it won't be long before I start posting something else!
Anyway… I really hope you guys leave a comment letting me know what you think of this chapter!
I'll be waiting!
Until next time!