CHAPTER 3

Friday afternoon, Ohana Greenhouse and Garden Supply:

Contrary to what Danny believed, Steve did not have a plan.

He had no idea how this day had turned so quickly. He had woken to the cheerful sound of birds chirping outside his window and had spent the early hours of the morning on his beach, staring out at the ocean and watching the birds swoop over its brilliant expanse.

His decision to go into the office, only to be told by the Governor to go home or anywhere other than the office, had ended in a hostage situation. In his defence, he was only following orders. Regardless, he could hear Danny's rant right now in his head.

'You, Steven, are a trouble magnet. That means that you are attracted to trouble. Trouble follows you. You can't go anywhere without something horrible happening. That is why I get shot at when I'm near you. I bet you can't take a day off without getting yourself into a situation that I need to rescue you from.'

Imaginary Danny was not wrong. It seemed like ever since he had returned to Hawaii there had been a series of unfortunate events. His father's murder was just the beginning. Being framed for Governor Jameson's murder and Qari Nazeef coming back from the dead were just some of the highlights.

So, it wasn't a surprise that he found himself, once again, in a situation involving guns and potential bodily harm.

Steve narrowed his eyes at the one he assumed was calling the shots. He could hear the sound of helicopters flying overhead, making several passes over the roof of the shop. He knew at least one of them had to be the HPD helicopter. The rest were probably local news choppers.

'Great,' Steve thought. 'Just what we need.'

He knew, without turning around, that SWAT and HPD had to be outside looking for a way to get inside. After having quickly assessed the situation, Steve knew they wouldn't have much luck getting in the shop without being seen. Which meant it was up to him to end this. Peacefully.

'Spectacular!' he thought in frustration.

Steve raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay."

Steve scanned the shop again, looking for anything that could help the situation. His initial scan had revealed several useful items, but there was a catch. He wouldn't be able to get to them without first getting himself shot.

On a good day, he'd risk his personal safety to get the job done. Today, however, his diminished physical capabilities would put people in danger rather than help them. So that option was out, leaving only one course of action.

Negotiation.

Steve flicked his eyes over to Dylan. He was trying so hard to be brave, but his eyes betrayed the utter fear he felt. Steve felt a pang of guilt knowing that he was, although inadvertently, partly to blame. If he'd just told Dylan to go out the back door, then maybe…what? The men would have chased him, maybe shot him? Steve shook his head, trying to get himself back in the moment.

"Hey, Dylan," Steve said.

The boy turned his tearful eyes to Steve.

"Do you remember what I told you earlier?" Steve asked. Dylan nodded. "Well, I meant it. I always keep my promises."

Steve's thoughts turned to Ari briefly. The young boy he had saved from his murderous father. He quickly locked down those thoughts and returned his attention to Dylan, who was looking at him with an expression of open trust.

"Shut up!" the leader yelled. "Stop talking!"

"Look, I just want to keep everyone calm," Steve said.

"Well, it's not working, is it?" the leader spat, taking a step closer to Steve.

Steve shrugged slightly. "Not if you keep waving those guns around. How about you let Dylan go to his mother?"

"No, because then we lose our only leverage."

Steve snorted. "You still have all of us as hostages. You're not losing anything except to show HPD out there that you are a somewhat decent person who is probably just in way over your head."

The masked man paused and appeared to be thinking it over. He looked over to his partner and nodded. The other man released Dylan from his grasp and Dylan ran to his mother's arms. The two sank to the floor, not wanting to let the other go.

"Good. That's good," Steve said in a calm, measured voice. He tried to hide his relief at seeing Dylan out of the armed man's grip.

Neither of the masked men responded, which Steve took as a good sign. So far, all he had managed was to get Dylan out of their direct line of sight. Now came the hard part; taking both men out of the equation and releasing the hostages.

Simple, right?

It was silent inside the shop, except for the occasional sniffle and Marlene's gentle whispering to her son. Steve remained standing where he was. He knew he had to do something to end this.

Steve went through what he knew already. They were armed, he was not. There were fourteen people's lives he needed to consider. Admittedly, he'd faced worse odds before. He just needed them to turn their backs to him for a moment and that would be all he needed to make his move. Easier said than done.

"So, who's Claudia?" Steve asked.

"None of your business," the leader growled.

"I think it is my business. You're holding up a garden store to find her. What did she do to you?" Steve interrogated.

The leader approached Steve and shoved his gun under his chin. Steve glared back stoically.

"I thought I told you to stop talking?" the man whispered angrily. Steve could almost taste the stale coffee on his breath.

"I don't follow orders very well," Steve replied with a small smirk. "So, who is she?"

The masked man sighed sadly. "She took my daughter. I just…I just wanted to talk to Claudia, get her to see reason. I just wanted to hold Elise in my arms and tell her Daddy loves her."

"And you thought this was the right way to do it?" Steve asked, still very aware of the gun poking into the underside of his jaw.

"All attempts to be civil have failed, so I came here…just to talk."

"What about all these other people? Why did you involve them in this? You could resolve this without threatening people with guns."

"Claudia moved house, changed her cell number. I couldn't get in contact with her, so I came here. Turns out, she's not here either. So, here we are. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

Steve highly doubted that. The fact the men were wearing masks and carrying guns suggested it was premeditated. There was more to the story, Steve was sure of it. However, right at this moment that wasn't his main concern. He had other, more pressing issues to worry about. Like getting everyone out of there in one piece.

BANG!

The sound was followed by what Steve assumed to be metal rolling on concrete. Something had fallen over and Steve didn't have time to analyse where the sound had come from. The distraction gave him the opportunity he needed to end the hostage situation as both masked men turned their backs on him in order to identify where the sound had come from.

Steve ducked while simultaneously using his left hand to push the gunman's arm upwards. He was thankful when the gun didn't accidentally fire in the struggle. Keeping hold on the man's arm, Steve spun around and used his right elbow to hit the man in the stomach. Steve grinned when he felt the man's breath on his cheek as all the air rushed out of his lungs.

Steve drove his head backwards, colliding with the other man's and he heard a loud grunt. He brought the man's arm down over his shoulder, hearing the tell-tale pop of his shoulder as it dislocated. The gun fell from his grasp as Steve turned around and drove a knee into the man's groin, followed by an elbow to the jaw. The man dropped like a sack of potatoes, writhing in agony on the floor.

Steve searched the floor for the gun. He saw a glimmer of silver and crouched to reach the weapon. Just as he did, he heard the sounded of a bullet being chambered followed by sound of the small projectile whizzing passed his ear. Steve threw himself to the ground, his adrenaline pumping as his ears started ringing. That had been too close.

Steve reached out to grab the gun. All around him, he could hear what he thought was people screaming, only to be dulled by the incessant ringing in his ears. As his fingers closed around the weapon, he turned onto his back in time to see the other masked man bearing down on his, gun aimed at his head.

Steve swung the gun around and fired at the figure looming over him. The sound of the gunshot broke through the annoying shrill sound, allowing his mind to clear for just a moment. He saw more than heard the man drop to the floor.

Steve allowed himself to breathe a sigh of relief. Slowly, he drew himself up off the floor, his legs shaking from the adrenaline dump. Gun at the ready, he approached the man he'd shot and relieved him of his weapon. Steve saw the blood pooling under the man's shoulder. Not a kill shot, but it would cause the man pain for a while.

'Good,' Steve thought bitterly.

Keeping his borrowed weapon on the two pathetic men whimpering on the ground, Steve looked around at the rest of the patrons. They were all wearing identical expressions of fear and shock, but appeared to be unharmed.

Steve cleared his throat. "It's okay everyone. Please stand up and make your way slowly out the front door. The officers outside will take care of you."

Slowly, one by one, people gathered themselves up off the floor and followed Steve's instructions. Marlene and Dylan were the last to leave, making sure to take a path as far away from the masked men on the floor.

"Thank you," Marlene whispered in a shaky voice as she exited, tugging her son along by his hand.

Dylan looked back at Steve one more time before following his mother out the door. Steve would never forget the starstruck, almost comical expression on the kid's face. Steve chuckled before turning his attention back to the hostiles.

"You're insane!" the leader said. "I think you broke my nose! Ahh, and my shoulder!"

"Be glad that's all I did!" Steve spat.

"Why is it, wherever you go, trouble follows you?" Steve rolled his eyes when he heard Danny's voice. "You can't even take a vacation without getting involved in a hostage situation. You know what you are, Steven? A trouble magnet."

Steve watched out of the corner of his eyes as the SWAT team came in and took control of the room. They were efficient in clearing the scene and taking the two men off his hands.

"Who are they?" Danny asked, pointing at the two men as they were escorted outside in handcuffs.

Steve shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care." Steve looked around at the now empty shop. "Where are Chin and Kono?"

"They are looking after the hostages, getting their statements," Danny answered.

"Let HPD handle that," Steve said as he rubbed a hand over his face.

"I would, but they are not here," Danny said. "It's just SWAT."

Steve narrowed his eyes. "What?"

"HPD is not on the scene. It seems they've been held up—"

Steve growled angrily. "I called dispatch ages ago. They should have been on scene before SWAT."

Danny glanced out the window and saw several HPD cruisers pulling up as well as multiple ambulances. "Well, it looks like they are here now."

"Good," Steve said as he wobbled dangerously.

Danny held out a hand to steady him. "Woah, Steve. You good?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah. Adrenaline dump."

He refrained from rolling his eyes as Danny looked him over with a worried expression. He knew exactly what Danny was thinking - that he'd over-exerted himself taking out two armed men.

"Would you quit that? I'm fine," Steve said irritably.

"Says the man that can barely stand right now," Danny quipped as he slung Steve's arm over his shoulders.

It was a testament to how worn down Steve was that he didn't protest to Danny's manhandling. Once outside, Danny situated Steve in the passenger seat of the Camaro. Steve leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Okay, so maybe he wasn't firing on all cylinders.

Steve's eyes popped open when a feeling of being watched suddenly came over him. He relaxed instantly when he saw it was just Dylan.

"Mr. Steve?" the boy asked hesitantly.

"Hey Dylan. Are you okay?" Steve asked as he looked down at the boy.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I just wanted to say sorry."

Steve frowned. "What for?"

"For not finding a good enough hiding spot. You said to not come out until either you or a policeman came to get me."

Steve shook his head. "It's okay, Dylan. I'm just glad it worked out in the end. You were a very brave boy, you know that?"

Dylan nodded.

Steve smiled. "I couldn't have asked for better backup."

Dylan looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I think you know what I mean," Steve said with a sly wink. "You helped me take down the bad guys by distracting them."

Steve realised, admittedly a little late, exactly where the distraction had come from when he saw a piece of metal pipe on the floor not far from where Dylan and his mother had been sitting.

Dylan shrugged and tried to contain his smile. "I didn't think anyone saw that."

"Well I did. Good job, buddy," Steve said with a genuine smile.

Dylan's face flushed with embarrassment and maybe a little bit of pride. "Thank you, Mr. Steve."

"You're welcome. Now go look after your mum, okay?"

"Yes, Sir!" Dylan said before running over to his mother, who waved appreciatively.

Steve watched him go with a smile on his face. That boy would go places.

"McGarrett!"

Steve jumped at the sound of the Governor's voice. He carefully extricated himself from the car and stood to face his boss. Governor Denning strode over to him with an unreadable expression on his face. Steve gulped. This did not bode well.

"What the hell do you think you are doing? I thought I told you to take a vacation, not get involved in a hostage situation? Why did you not call HPD?" Denning said. To anyone else, the Governor's tone was calm. To Steve, it was just the calm before the storm.

"Sir, I was just following your orders," Steve tried to explain.

"What were you thinking, taking down two armed perps on your own? You haven't been cleared for duty," Denning continued.

"Sir, you told me to go shopping. It's not my fault those two idiots decided to hold the place up. I took them out when the opportunity presented itself," Steve argued, anger starting to bubble to the surface.

"You should have waited for HPD."

"With all due respect, if I'd waited for HPD the situation would have escalated further. It's not my fault HPD took their time getting here."

"Wait, you did call HPD?" Denning asked, frowning in confusion.

Steve took a deep breath to calm himself before answering. "Yes, Sir. I reported the situation and requested backup. They laughed at me, so I hung up and called Detective Williams. After two failed attempts to reach him, I tried to call Lieutenant Kelly, but I was discovered by that point and was no longer able to make contact with anyone else. As far as I was aware, I was on my own."

Denning gave him a thoughtful look and Steve continued his explanation. "Sir, I know my limits. I know I'm not quite hundred percent yet, but if I hadn't acted when I did, we would be looking at fatalities."

Denning sighed. "I know, Steve. If you hadn't been there, who knows what could have happened." He paused. "Go home and get some rest. You look like you need it."

"Yes, Sir," Steve said.

He watched as Denning walked away. He understood the Governor's concerns, he really did. But he'd just proved not only to himself, but everyone else, that he was still capable of doing his job. He was tired of being on the sidelines.

"Hey," Danny's voice shook Steve from his thoughts. "You ready to go?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Let's go," Steve said as he walked around to the driver's seat.

"Ah, no. I'm driving," Danny said.

"Come on, Danny," Steve whined.

"Have you seen yourself? You look like a light breeze could knock you over. I would rather make sure we get to your place in one piece rather than wrapped around a tree because you fell asleep at the wheel."

"We are not going to my place," Steve said.

"Did you hear anything else I said?" Danny asked, throwing his hands up in the air.

Steve ignored Danny's comment. "Which hospital are those idiots going to?"

Danny sighed, knowing there was no way Steve was going to back down after a fight. "Queens."

"Alright, let's go. I have a few questions I need answered," Steve said, holding his hand out for the keys.

"Fine, we'll go. But there is no way you are driving. You shouldn't even be questioning suspects, let alone driving," Danny said.

Steve opened his mouth to say something before realising what Danny had said. Steve smiled and eagerly jumped into the passenger seat. Danny shook his head at his partner. A small victory, but he would take it nonetheless.

As yet another news helicopter passed overhead, Danny took in the crowd gathered around the Governor as he made a statement. The hostage situation would be the top story of the day, if not the week, with the amount of coverage it was getting.

Danny's attention was caught on one of the reporters standing off to the side, evidently not interested in what the Governor had to say. Danny made eye contact with her and thought he'd seen her somewhere before.

"Danny, come on," Steve said impatiently.

"Coming," Danny said.

He turned back to look at the crowd and discovered the woman had disappeared. He shook his head to rid the woman from his thoughts and got into the Camaro. He pulled out of the carpark and proceeded in the direction of Queens Medical Centre.