CHAPTER SIX

SIX STEPS AWAY FROM HIS FREEDOM

NAKAMURA FIELD - MILILANI TOWN - O'AHU

Kim Leung squatted down next to the slumped body. The only thing moving was the blood that dripped down from the detective's eyebrow, but other than that, he was out cold. For a guy who said he didn't like to fight, he quite easily took out three of Kim's best guards. He for sure had underestimated the stubborn detective. It made Kim even more thrilled about his plan. Kim searched the detective's jeans pockets. All he found was a car key fob and a cell phone. He took both items in possession.

He straightened and looked around the parking lot. Kim clicked the unlock button on the fob and checked which car would pop open. Orange lights flicked shortly. Black Camaro. Parked on the left side, fourth spot at the end of the line. Kim went over to the Camaro. He pulled the passenger door open and leaned in. He unlatched the glove compartment, stored the cell phone, and slammed it shut again. He reached toward the steering wheel and put the keys in the ignition.

Leung closed the passenger door and took out his own cell phone. He dialed a number and waited for the call to connect. "It's done." He spoke, and before he could disconnect the call, a black transporter van entered the parking lot. It stopped about ten feet away from the unconscious detective. The guard that'd been kicked in the crotch slid open the van's side door. Kim jerked his head to the other guys, saying they could take him. The guy who'd knocked out Danny grabbed the detective underneath his arms and dragged the unconscious body to the van. The dude with the busted nose jumped in to help. He took hold of the detective's ankles, and together they tossed Danny in like a garbage bag getting thrown out.

LOCATION UNKNOWN - O'AHU

Danny tried lifting his head an inch off the hard ground, but a pounding headache forced him back down. He squeezed his eyes shut as he struggled to focus and figure out what the hell had happened? The only thing he knew for sure was that his head was hurting badly. Hurting as in, waves of pain pulsating above his right eye. One with every heartbeat, bumping and grinding, bouncing around in his skull. He didn't know why, though. Danny brought his hand up to his face to pinch the bridge of his nose. Tried to think clearly and block out the throbbing headache. It didn't work. His mind stayed empty. Danny let go and blinked a couple of times. He traced his fingers to his right eyebrow until he felt something warm and sticky. Blood. Then he remembered— Jin Leung's son.

Danny's mental fog was starting to lift. His head still ached but he was able to make better sense of his surroundings. He was lying on his back. The ground cold and hard as stone. He could feel the rough concrete on his bare skin, chilling him to the core. He wasn't wearing a t-shirt, was he? Now fully awake and finally alert. He lifted his head again and stared down his body. His eyes going from his chest to his feet and back. No shirt. No shoes or socks either, just a pair of jeans on his butt. However, the chest tube was still taped to the right side of his chest, which reminded him that he had to be back at the hospital at three in the afternoon for the removal. Shit, what time was it? Danny patted his pockets to check for his phone. Of course, it wasn't there anymore. He figured, because why take someone's shirt off but leave a cell phone behind. Besides, something was telling him he wouldn't be making that appointment.

Unable to figure out the hour, Danny guessed not much time had passed as daylight made him see the high roof bending over him in an arch. He most certainly didn't recognize the place. That didn't necessarily mean anything. Even after living for eight years on the island, Danny still discovered new places every now and then.

Curious to find out more, Danny pushed himself back on his feet. Let out a pained grunt as his ribs protested against the action. With his hand propped up his ribs, Danny looked around. The metal shed was humongous. Judging by the size of the thing, Danny guessed it used to be an aircraft hangar. However, it had been turned into a skate park. He stood surrounded by half-pipes, skate bowls, stair-sets, and ramps. It was all there. Made by hand and build-out of wood, apart from the iron skate rails. Clearly, people had put a lot of love into this place, once, because on this day, the place looked like it had been abandoned for years. Some half pipes had collapsed, and others were about to. The hangar itself seemed decent, but Danny doubted it would survive a tropical storm.

As far as he could tell, he was alone. Other than the various skating elements and a few oil drums scattered around, the hangar was bare. No people either. It didn't make any sense to Danny. Why dump his unconscious body here and then leave him all alone? It felt way too easy for him to simply walk away, but he would give it a try. Maybe they just wanted to scare him a little. Let him know nobody messed with the Chinese triad, not even Five-0. Danny scanned the hangar. He had two choices. Both the front and rear end of the hanger didn't have any walls or doors. Danny could go out on both sides. He decided to take the front exit because, on the rear end, there was an enclosed skatebowl. The bowl was built up from the ground and was as wide as the hangar itself. There was even a deck built around it that served as a staging area. The kidney-shaped bowl was enormous. Yet it was simply a raised and hollowed receptacle, like an empty swimming pool. Nothing more. Nothing less. If he ducked, Danny could pass on either side and go underneath the thing, but why go through the trouble.

Danny jogged with a limited pace toward the front. He almost reached the exit when a sharp whistle echoed through the hangar. It stopped Danny dead in his tracks. He slowly turned back around. Jin Leung's son stood on top of the deck surrounding the skatebowl. "

"Where do you think you're going, Detective?" He shouted.

Danny looked over his shoulder, deciding if he should make a run for it. But that was too good to be true. Two muscled guys closed in from behind him. Blocking his exit strategy. Danny faced Jin Leung's son again. "Oh, nothing personal, but I was kinda getting hungry, and there's this place around the corner, sells the best Malasadas on the island," he called back. Not forgetting the guys behind him, Danny offered. "You guys want any?" None of the men answered. They didn't move a muscle. They stayed put, like loyal dogs waiting for their owner. "I'll take that as a no," Danny mumbled to himself as he focused on the man on top of the deck.

Leung's son pointed at his men. "Don't let them keep you here. You're a free man, Detective."

Danny raised his eyebrows. He eyed the hired muscles. Both big guys. Both intimidatingly pumped up. Both staring at Danny like he was fresh meat and they hadn't eaten in days. "Funny you say that because these guys don't particularly look like they're gonna let me through."

"That's because you'll have to fight them," confidently, Leung's son shoved his hands in his pants pockets. "If you win, you are, like I said, a free man."

"Ah," Danny pouted and nodded. "Well, why don't you come down here? We'll fight instead, and whether you win or lose, I walk out of here anyway, and we will forget about all of this."

The man started laughing demoniacally. "Good luck keeping up with that attitude after they break your jaw." That said, he snapped his fingers. Letting the figurative dogs off their leash.

If Danny really needed to take out those guys, it would be to his disadvantage if he'd be standing with his back at them. Danny quickly turned around. The men looked fueled up and ready to charge at any moment. The guy on the right had roughly the same height and body type as Danny. Him he could take. Theoretically speaking. It was the dude standing left of the duo that was going to give him a hard time. He was about twice as big as Danny, taller and more muscled like he spent every free minute at the gym. Fortunately, the right guy stormed at him first.

Danny waited for the guy to make the first move. Giving him time to come up with a plan on how to take out the left guy. They sparred until the shorter guy finally tried to punch his fist against Danny's jaw. Danny stepped aside in time, and the guy stumbled off balance as his fist didn't hit anything other than air. Then Danny went around, now standing behind his opponent. He wrapped his right arm around the guy's throat, wrenched his head back, and placed his left forearm across the back of the guy's head. The hold was commonly known as the sleeper hold, and if it wasn't broken in short order, it performed as advertised. Danny held on until every muscle in the guy went limp. Then dropped him on the ground.

In a split second, the muscled man was standing in front of Danny. The man brought his big right fist smashing down. The blow hit Danny square in the face. His head bounced off. Then his eyes started to water, and blood began to pour from his nose. Danny staggered back, wiped the blood from his nose, and blinked to clear his view. Before he could register the guy's next move, an iron fist landed on his ribs. Danny's eyes went wide, and he gasped for air. With Danny stunned due to the lack of oxygen, the man used the opportunity. He fired his fist over and over into Danny's chest. Like a punching bag. Left. Right. Left. Right. Repeat.

Danny coughed once, coughed twice, and blood foamed on his lips. That's when the guy made a mistake. He eased off, thinking he had won. Danny grabbed the guy's wrists with both hands. He twisted and pulled the arm until the elbow socket was on top of his right thigh, and then he raised his leg while pulling down as hard as he could with his hands. Danny didn't stop, not even when the guy started to scream. The entire thing took just under two seconds. There was a loud pop, and then Danny released the arm, which was now bent at a very unnatural angle.

Out of breath, Danny leaned with both hands on his knees. The icy pain in his chest was choking the breath from his lungs. Making Danny genuinely concerned that he had broken a rib or two. He lifted his head. Jin Leung's son had come down and was standing right in front of him. Danny spit out the blood that had made its way from his nose into his mouth. Drew in a breath and said, "As much as I— enjoyed this. I-I think it's time for me— to get that box with Malasadas."

The scumbag didn't answer. He smiled instead. Then he zapped Danny with a taser. Straight on the left side of his torso. Danny yowled as a jolt of pain flashed through his chest. Dazed, Danny tried not to go down, but his entire body was tingling as Leung's son didn't let go of the taser. Crackling electricity hijacked Danny's nervous system completely, causing his muscles to spasm. Two more seconds was all Danny could take. He lost his balance, and with no muscle control, he fell to the ground. His head hit the concrete, and the light went out.

KAMEKONA'S SHRIMP TRUCK - PARKING - HONOLULU - O'Ahu

On the other side of the island, Lou Grover parked his car as close to the beach as he could get. He was meeting Tani and an informant at Kamekona's shrimp truck for their new case. With Steve and Junior off the island and with Danny benched, Lou didn't have much manpower. However, this case was more of a friendly favor and personal interest than a time-sensitive crime, so he would manage with only Tani and Jerry on his side.

Lou stepped out of his black SUV and checked the parking if his coworker had arrived yet. Tani was nowhere to be found, but just as Lou pulled his cell phone out of his shirt pocket, a silver Chevrolet Bolt closed in on him. Tani was behind the wheel. She honked and waved. To Lou's surprise, Eddie was sitting on the passenger seat.

Tani parked her car next to Lou's and got out. "Sorry, I'm late," she exclaimed as she went around the back and opened the passenger's door. "Edward over here didn't want to get in the car unless he was sitting next to me." Eddie jumped out of the car and ran up to Lou to greet him.

Lou petted the golden boy on his head. "I'm starting to get why McGarrett likes you so much. You're the canine version of Danny. Always riding shotgun."

"Oh, come on, don't take it out on Eddie. It's not his fault that you can't spend your Saturday on the golf course, okay?" Tani teased.

"Now that would've been a real reason not to show up on that crime scene. But no, for your information, I had to ditch my family at the movie theater."

"Okay, that sucks."

"It's fine," Lou said and together they strolled onto the beach toward Kamekona's truck parked on the spot down on Waikiki beach, with the rainbow tower in the background and the Hilton Lagoon on the left. "Hey, speaking of Williams, how's he doing? Did you talk to him?"

Tani nodded, confirming. "He texted me back like an hour ago. He says he's all right."

Lou raised his eyebrows. "And you believe him?"

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Because he's as stubborn as they come," Lou stated the obvious. He had known Danny for a few years now, and to be honest, Lou had not ever met a guy more stubborn than the detective. Steve McGarrett came in a close second, though.

Tani agreed. "You have a point."

"We'll pay him a visit after we're done here," Lou concluded. He spotted their informant from a mile away. The man with a touristic fedora hat waved enthusiastically at them.

Tani noticed him too. "Who's this guy again?" She wondered.

Lou grinned as they approached the beach. "Gerard Hirsch. You're gonna like him. He's a real piece of work."

SKATE HANGAR - O'AHU

Back at the hangar, Danny jolted awake sometime later. He didn't need to think hard about his whereabouts as memories from before flooded his mind like water rushing into a sinking ship. With his mind still in fight mode and willing to punch the next guy coming his way, Danny surveyed the hangar. He was alone, again. He wasn't sure whether they really left him behind or that this was some sort of a trick. Probably the last. As leaving him all by himself would make him believe there was hope in escaping. They were playing with his emotional state too. Regardless, Danny should get up and try to get the hell out of that place.

He quickly realized how futile it was when his eyes landed on a metal chain wrapped around his wrists. His hands were tied together in front of him. Danny twisted his wrists around. The metal chains biting uncomfortably into his skin. He wiggled some more, tried to see if he could get out of them, but it was no use. The movement was not helping with his hurting chest, and it didn't make his headache throb any less, so he stopped. He glanced down to the left side of his torso. With his chest bare, the taser mark wasn't hard to miss. A little below his fifth rib, there was raised red skin, bump shaped, like a large mosquito bite. It stung a little, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Tied up, Danny dragged himself into a sitting position. Both his hands shot up to his right side as a torturous shock of pain went through his chest. Danny had to bite his lip to keep in a cry from the intensity. A broken rib, he figured. In which case, he was shit out of luck that it was on the right side of his ribcage. Because that broken rib could easily puncture his lung all over again. And if that were to happen, Danny questioned the chest tube's ability to function. The chest tube was still secure in place, that wasn't the problem, but Danny wondered if it was designed to do the job of reinflating his lung twice. His chest did hurt, and breathing wasn't entirely painless, but overall he was ok. For now, he would live. And frankly, they wanted him alive, or otherwise, they would've unplugged the tube already. Or maybe they didn't want him alive, and they would pull out that damn tube the first change they had. If those guys came back and Danny doubted that they wouldn't, he was a sitting duck if he stayed right here. He needed to get out. Anywhere as long as it was away from here.

Slowly breathing, Danny pushed himself back up on his feet. He wished he could breathe through his nose too, but dried blood and swelling clogged his nose, making it hard to draw air in or out. Danny panted by the time he was standing straight. Pain kept flaring through his chest, which confirmed that the guy from earlier had broken one of Danny's ribs. If not more. Danny paused, waited for the pain to go away or at least for it to become less intense. Then he took off.

Danny moved ahead, slowly, silently. Getting closer to the exit, Danny could hear an airplane take off. It made him wonder if the hangar was located near the US Air Force base. There were a lot of hangars no longer in use, so it would make sense. If that was the case, Steve would be landing there after his adventure, without even knowing Danny was there too. With Steve off the island, Danny wasn't sure how long it would take for anyone to notice he was taken. Even more reason to get out of this place before those guys would be back.

Danny was about six steps away from his freedom when one of Leung's men stopped him by leveling a big revolver straight at his face. Danny stopped moving. He held up his chained hands in defeat. "All right, relax."

"Back up!" The man ordered, jabbing the gun. Then he lowered it a few inches. The weapon was now pointed straight at Danny's chest. Dead centre. A lot of necessary stuff in that region. Like organs, various arteries, and veins. The gun was maybe five feet away from him, so there was no way it would miss if fired. Plus, Danny had seen enough guns to know that guy was holding a big old .357 Magnum revolver with a short four-inch barrel. And if fired, it would be capable of blowing another hole in his chest. One big enough to see daylight through.

The way the man was holding the gun told Danny that this guy was familiar with firing a weapon like that, so Danny did what the guy said. He took a couple steps back, watched the man closely. His finger was white on the trigger. Not good. Yet he hadn't moved it, which was kind of good. Also, that's where the good news ended. The hammer of the revolver was already cocked back, meaning the safety was off. The gun was as ready as it ever was going to be. All the guy had to do was tighten his finger, and a bullet would becoming Danny's way.

"Let's talk." Danny tried.

The man didn't reply, and the gun stayed where it was. Maybe something passed across his face, but Danny wasn't watching his face. He was watching the man's finger. It was the only part of him that interested Danny. With his eyes glued on the gun, Danny saw the guy inch his finger off the trigger, and that's when he made his move. With his hands still chained, he went for a two-handed grab around the barrel of the gun. His hands clamped down the steel, but the weapon was still swinging Danny's way. That needed to change. Danny drove the firearm straight up so a misfire wouldn't bury itself in his chest. While struggling, Danny delivered a quick knee strike to the guy's crotch. A bullet spat harmlessly into the air. Dazed, the guy gave up on the gun and folded forward.

Before the man could counter, Danny looped his chained hands over the guy's head and grabbed the back of the big man's neck, pulling him down and in. Danny kneed the man in the face before releasing him. The guy stumbled back, blood pouring from his nose, gasping for air. Danny stretched his leg and kicked the guy's feet out from under him. He crashed down, flat on the floor. Danny took the opportunity and grabbed the .357 Magnum revolver off the floor and stumbled back himself too. Four, five steps, then turned around and ran. Aiming the gun, he ran back toward the closest exit. The same he went minutes ago.

Danny wasn't sure there were any bullets left, but a gun was a gun, and people see what they see. A big old gun, ready to end your life in just a split second. It would do for now. Reaching the exit, Danny set foot outside the hangar. The Hawaiian afternoon sun burned directly on his skin. The sudden bright light made him squint while his eyes adjusted. Behind him, Danny heard the guy he just punched shouting something in presumably Chinese. Danny turned his head and glanced behind him. There was no imitate danger, so Danny turned back around and found himself facing a perfect semicircle of seven men. Six of them were hired muscle. The other guy was the one in charge, Jin Leung's son. The hired muscle were all holding semi-automatic weapons. The one in charge had something else.

— TBC / HAWAIIFIVE0 —

A/N: I tried to weave in episode 24 (where Steve and Junior go to Nigeria, Lou and Tani work a case and Danny's not even mentioned throughout the episode) as natural as it came to mind, therefore a few things aren't accurate with the actual episode, but hey it's fan fiction.

Hope you're enjoying the story this far, I did enjoy writing it as it is something out of my comfort zone.

I never really tried writing fights, so fingers crossed if it's going okay...

And yes when I said whump, I meant a lot of it.

Honestly, I appreciate every single review! It gives prospective on how the story is landing. You guys are too kind.

SO as always I love to hear what you think of it!

Thank you for reading! Chapter 7 will be out next week.