CHAPTER 19

Thursday morning, unknown location:

Sweat dripped from his forehead and into his eyes as he wrapped the filthy piece of fabric over the protruding bone. He knew that it was just busy work; the wound had to be infected already and without a splint, he couldn't even attempt to set it. Not that he'd risk it.

It was so damn hot.

Johnston sat there in silence, trying to internalise the pain. Steve found he didn't have anything to say either so he focused his attention on Johnston's injury.

He knew they were screwed. They had been set up and now, separated from the rest of their team, they were sitting ducks.

"How you doing, Fish?" he asked, just for something to break the silence.

"Just spectacular," Johnston replied with a small laugh. "I knew I'd die serving my country, but I didn't think it would be like this."

"Hey, don't talk like that. Besides, we're not dead yet."

"How can you think like that right now? The rest of the guys are probably dead. No one is looking for us. We are on our own and if Nazeef knew we were coming, there is probably someone in our own ranks who leaked the intel. We. Are. Screwed."

Johnston was spiralling.'Time for a distraction', Steve thought.

"You know, this is not the worst situation I've found myself in." Johnston's look of incredulity spurred him on."I will save you having to listen to me drone on, but basically no matter how bad something gets, there is always a light to hold on to. Something to hope for."

Johnston snorted. "That sounds pretty sappy, Sir."

"That may be, but I survived then. And I know we will get through this too."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because I made a promise to someone," he smiled to himself before adding, "and I intend to keep that promise. No matter what. You understand me?"

Johnston's eyes drifted down to his broken leg as he muttered, "yeah."

Steve paused before adding, "Besides, there is someone who would kick my ass if I never made it back and I do not want to get on her bad side."

Johnston met his eyes and smiled; the first smile since the mission had started. "Ah. I see."

Steve shrugged; the burning of his cheeks had nothing to do with the stifling heat of their confined prison.

"So, she's special?" Johnston asked.

Steve thought for a moment about the Ensign he had met the year before. He didn't really know how to explain it, but he had never felt anything for anyone before. At least, not like it was with Catherine. They had never talked about it, but he knew in his heart that she was…well, special.

"Yeah, she is," he answered softly.

"We get out of here, and I get to meet her, alright?" Johnston demanded.

Steve grinned. "Sure."

The lighthearted atmosphere suddenly vanished as the sound of the key turning in the lock echoed through the small space. Steve looked over at Johnston and saw the stony, determined expression he had adopted.

He really hoped he could keep this promise.

The screech of the door woke him from a restless doze. He looked around the room and immediately recognised his surroundings. He looked over to the table beside his bed and took in a whiff of something flowery. The stupid roses were still there; a vivid reminder of his incompetence.

How had he missed this? Marsden hadn't even been on his radar.

"Good morning, Steve." Her voice was seriously starting to grate on his nerves. "I hope you slept well?"

Steve knew he was expected to respond, but he just rolled his eyes and looked at the ceiling. He felt a cold hand slip into his and shuddered. He couldn't shake it off as her other hand grabbed onto it.

"I know everything feels surreal right now, but I will always be here to help you remember. You just need to let them all go so we can be together again."

Steve turned to look into the blue eyes of the woman that was holding him captive and snorted. "You think you can make me believe that we are married while you have me tied to a bed?"

Rebecca smiled sadly. "No, of course not. But until you return to reality, the doctor can't release you."

"Even if he does, I still won't be free, will I?" Steve asked.

Even if he somehow managed to make this woman believe that he was buying her story that he was a patient in a mental hospital, he knew he would never be allowed to leave her side. Not without dire consequences.

"You will still have some recovery time, yes, but then we can go home," she explained as she shifted to sit on the side of the bed.

Her close proximity had him tensing. Steve knew she had sensed his discomfort because she smiled at him victoriously. He silently cursed the unnatural helplessness that he felt in this situation.

"And you will be free. Free of the people that hurt you. You don't need to put your life on the line for these imaginary people anymore. You will always be safe with me. I would never hurt you like they do. I can give you everything you've ever wanted."

"I think our definition of freedom differs," Steve remarked.

Rebecca sighed. "So you would rather get hurt or killed than live happily with your true love?"

His thoughts suddenly strayed to Catherine. She had always understood his burning desire to help people. She understood because she felt it too. This woman, however, would never be able to comprehend that.

"You are not my true love."

Anger flashed across her face. She yanked her hand away from his and turned away from him.

"Maybe not right now, but you will come to see what you are missing. Just let go of your past and you could be so, so happy."

"And which past would that be? The real one or the one you would have me believe is real?"

Any doubt he had that he was actually not in a psychiatric ward vanished as she turned around with a smirk. "I always knew you were incredibly smart."

He felt like a cornered rat; no chance of escape no matter how hard he tried. The predatory look in her eyes had him on edge. Her gleaming eyes looked him up and down and Steve had the sudden desire to bolt.

"I remember the first time I laid eyes on you. You were on the beach by your house, talking to Detective Williams. I knew, looking at you then, that you were a troubled soul. Just like me."

He shivered when he realised that this woman had been watching him for longer than he'd realised. Barely a week after he'd returned to the islands, he had somehow acquired a stalker.

"Barely a week later, you returned sporting a sling and some cuts to your face. Instead of taking the time to recuperate, you just worked yourself harder and harder. I let that slide. I know a little something about searching for answers and I knew you wouldn't rest until you found Hesse. I knew that you were intelligent, capable and above all, dangerous."

Steve shifted slightly as he realised just how much this woman knew about the circumstances around his father's murder. He suspected she knew even more than that as he recalled a conversation he'd had previously.

-Flashback-

"Look, you must have some idea of who you are looking for. I believe a man like you would be able to get inside this person's head. You have valuable insights. Use them."

Steve frowned. "Ms Marsden, I don't know…"

She interrupted him. "Please, call me Rebecca…And I believe you do know what I'm talking about. Having lost your mother at such a young age and then being separated from your family must have left a large impression…"

Now it was Steve's turn to interrupt. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Rebecca Marsden shook her head. "No, you don't. But I know a lot about you."

-End flashback-

"…but underneath that hard shell you adopted after your mother died and your father sent you away has always been a heart of gold. You have a desire to help people, but you don't need to anymore. You don't have to sacrifice yourself for people that don't care about you. Danny, Chin, Kono - they don't matter."

If he'd just followed his instincts, maybe all of this could have been prevented. He'd felt uneasy around this woman from their first meeting. He should have picked up on it sooner, realised that she had been around him far too often.

"Ever since that first meeting, I knew that I'd be the one to show you the way to happiness. You just had to see it. I waited and waited. Then you just disappeared suddenly and I knew then I'd have to act before you did something irreversible."

She paused. "I tried to show you so many times. I sent you roses from my own garden. I tried calling you to explain but I felt so nervous every time. I had butterflies in my stomach every time I heard your voice on the other end."

The flowers. The mysterious phone calls and hang ups. The excuses to be in the same room as him. All the times he'd felt like he was being watched. How had he not seen this coming? He was suddenly overcome with panic. If he had been this clueless about the obsessed woman, then how would the team be able to connect the dots?

"Can't you see, Steve? I'm doing this for you. For us! We can be happy together. You can smile freely and forget your painful past," she explained with a sadness in her eyes.

She brushed a finger over his right bicep, tracing the outline of his tattoo. He flinched at the contact and wanted nothing more than to push her off him. He had a feeling that any outward display of anger would result in unexpected consequences, none of which have a good outcome for him.

"My past is what makes me who I am," he said instead as he tried to tolerate her touch.

Marsden huffed a laugh. "No, your past is what has made you a reckless, self-sacrificing idiot. I won't allow it any more."

'She sounds just like Danny,' Steve thought before saying out loud, "You think that I'm just going to conform to your delusional expectations?"

"Of course not! That will take time and we have all the time in the world now. I will break through that conditioning no matter how long it takes."

A brief knock at the door interrupted them and the first 'doctor' he'd met poked his head inside the room. Marsden looked at the intruder with a heated glare and the unknown man withered slightly.

"We're ready to go," he announced.

"Get him ready. I will meet you there," she said before turning back to Steve. "Just wait until we get home. You will enjoy living with me as my—"

"Prisoner?" Steve interrupted.

"Partner," Marsden finished as though he hadn't spoken.

She left the room, leaving the other man behind. Until that moment, Steve had deduced there were at least three major players in this game: Marsden and the two fake doctors. His theory was put to the test when two different men, each armed with weapons in their poorly concealed shoulder holsters, entered the room.

They held him down as the fake doctor released the shackles on his wrists. Steve sensed a moment of opportunity and tensed in preparation as the man reached down towards his ankles.

"I would advise against that," the 'doctor' muttered dangerously.

"Why's that?" Steve spat.

"Because I'd rather not have to explain to her why you have a bullet in your leg."

Steve relaxed reluctantly. Any attempt now could result in injuries that could seriously hamper his ability to escape his captors. Logically, he knew he needed to bide his time and wait for the right opportunity to present itself. Tactically, he was outnumbered and greatly disadvantaged. He needed more intel before he could act.

"Good choice, McGarrett," the man said. "Now, you can either walk or we drag you to your next destination."

"I'll walk," Steve answered.

Steve was released long enough for him to sit up and put on a pair of sneakers before his two guard dogs gripped his biceps tightly. As he was escorted from the room, he finally got a good look at the rest of the building. It looked to be an abandoned hospital.

Dust blew into his eyes with every step. Regardless, he kept his eyes open for anything that could indicate his location. He was shoved out a large door and the sun almost blinded him. He breathed deeply before a sudden chilly wind sent shivers through his body.

Pushing the cold aside, he focused on his surroundings. He heard waves breaking against rocks somewhere to his left. He added that piece of information to the mental picture of his surroundings that was already forming in his head.

"No time for sightseeing. Keep moving."

Steve stumbled along a steep path that descended a cliff. His legs were not yet accustomed to moving after being bed-bound for an undetermined amount of time. As they approached a tight bend in the path, he saw a medium-sized boat docked at the end of a jetty.

Steve walked slowly, letting the men believe he was docile. He heard the fake doctor curse as he stumbled over a rock behind him and Steve knew he found his opportunity.

Without warning, Steve pitched to the left and shoved the man holding his left arm toward the cliff edge. He didn't look back to see if the man had gone over as he turned to the second man and slammed his left elbow into his face. The man let go of his arm and staggered backwards, howling in pain as he clutched his nose.

The third man charged at him. Big mistake.

Steve took a step to the right and the 'doctor' lost his footing, tripped and went over the edge. He could hear the man scrambling below and knew he didn't have long before he made it back up to the path.

He moved to the man he'd struck in the face and grabbed the gun from his shoulder holster, tucking it into the waistband of his shorts. Steve saw what looked like a satellite phone protruding from the man's pocket and grabbed it before kneeing the man in the face. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Steve looked around, waiting for more men to emerge after the sound of the scuffle. No one was coming but he knew he didn't have long before the men he had incapacitated were missed. That left him with two options: get on the boat and risk capture or call his team and try to evade capture until they arrived.

He quickly dialled Danny's number as he jumped off the main path. He cursed as his foot slipped on some loose rock and he slid down a small slope, feeling every rock that dug into his back. He managed to keep a tight grip on the phone but his right hand took the brunt of the impact as he tried to break his fall.

The pain that shot up his recently healed wrist caused his vision to black out momentarily. He took a few moments to regain control of the pain. He didn't have long before he heard crashing sounds that signalled his escape had not gone unnoticed. He struggled to his feet while simultaneously holding the phone to his ear.

"Come on, Danny," he muttered quietly. "Answer the phone!"

The sounds of pursuit grew closer as he looked around for a hiding place. He looked down the cliff face to the water crashing below before glancing behind him as the phone finally connected.

Thursday morning, temporary Five-0 offices:

Danny glanced at the clock on the wall and did a quick mental calculation. It had been two days since Steve had vanished and they were no closer to finding out the where or why.

"…gave you clear instructions to find Commander McGarrett. I did not, I repeat, NOT, give you permission to piss of HPD!"

Danny tuned back into the conversation as the Governor's voice started ringing in his ears.

"Sir, it was out of our control. Detective Kelly and Officer Kalakaua were under fire after being run off the road. They were barely able to escape the car themselves, let alone remove the suspect from the backseat. They acted well within their means," Danny argued, although he was convinced that he'd already told the Governor that moments earlier in the conversation.

"What part of questioning a suspect involves dragging a deceased HPD officer and his fiancee through the mud?" Denning bellowed.

'Breathe. Don't yell at your superior,' Danny told himself as a pulse of annoyance foreshadowed a yelling match. "Officer Kalakaua only told them the truth."

Danny paced in the cramped office while simultaneously rubbing a hand over his chin. He really needed to shave. "Clarke was out of line. Kono was only defending her colleague because Steve couldn't do it himself."

There was silence before Danny heard Denning take a deep breath that was released harshly. "Okay. So why was your suspect murdered?"

"We believe he was involved in McGarrett's abduction," Danny explained. "From what Chin and Kono discovered before he was killed, his older brother paid him to drive the van that was used to snatch Steve."

"Do you have any idea why McGarrett was taken?"

"No, Sir," Danny answered. "Most of his enemies are dead or behind bars and as far as we are aware, there are no terrorists seeking revenge on him this time. But evidence suggests there may be other motives behind his disappearance."

"Such as?"

"We suspect a secret admirer. He's been receiving gifts from a yet unidentified person for the last few weeks."

"A stalker? I have to admit that was not one I was expecting."

"Yeah, same here," Danny answered. His phone buzzed, indicating an incoming call. "Sir, I have another call coming in—"

"Take it. We'll finish this conversation later. Do whatever it takes to find McGarrett."

Danny was taken aback for a moment. "I hope you understand exactly what you are giving permission for."

"I do," the Governor said before he hung up.

Danny paused when he saw an unknown number flashing on his screen. Given his partner was missing, most likely kidnapped, he decided to answer it.

"Detective Williams."

"Danny!"

Danny's heart leapt into his mouth as he heard his partner's breathless voice. "Steve! Where the hell are you?"

He heard what sounded like Steve running through dense foliage. "Not sure, but it's cold. I'm near the coast. There's a boat and some kind of abandoned building."

"Okay, okay," Danny said as he worked to get the computer to start a trace.

"I definitely took out one guy but only briefly incapacitated…two others. They…are in pursuit. I'm going…to have to…ditch the phone."

Danny could tell Steve was running out of breath. Before Steve was taken he was only sub-par on his running ability. Danny had no idea how long Steve had been running for, but he was certain it was taxing on his still-healing body.

"Steve…Steve! Are you there?"

Danny knew he was yelling, but he was desperate to hold onto the lifeline for as long as he could. All he could think about was how similar this moment was to when Fuentes had taken Steve and Danny was forced to listen as his only connection to his partner was severed.

Danny banged his fist on the table when the computer refused to respond to his commands. If they'd had the smart table, he would already have the location. As it was, all he had access to were slow desktops that were incapable of waking up with any sense of urgency. Danny clicked the mouse repeatedly while trying to listen for anything that could give him an indication that Steve could hear him.

Everything was quiet on the other end until he heard his own name spoken from an unexpected source.

"Detective Williams, I presume?"