CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

TWENTY-FIVE BUCKS

About Five minutes earlier - WILLIAMS' RESIDENCE - KĀHALA - O'AHU

"Sure you are," Steve said and grabbed Danny's hospital bag off the concrete. "I'm gonna put these inside then."

Steve turned his back on Danny and walked up to the front door of his partner's house. Steve noticed the neighborhood was quiet. The house was still and silent too, except for a tiny subliminal hum that raised the hairs on Steve's arms and sounded like a faint alarm in the back of his mind, but he ignored it.

This time around Steve didn't need to kneel down to the pile of rocks. He had Danny's house key right in his hand, as it was looped onto the same key ring as the Camaro's. Steve put the house key in its lock, turned it, and opened the door. He went in. Took two steps and stopped. Inside, the hum he had sensed was louder. And there was a smell in the air that filled the house. Both were unmistakable. He had heard similar sounds and smelled similar smells more times than he wanted to remember.

The hum was a hundred flies going crazy.

The smell was dead flesh, rotting and decomposing.

Steve didn't have to search where the horrible smell was coming from. A guy was sitting in a chair at the head of the dining table. Both arms and legs tied to the chair with duct tape. Head slumped, chin to his chest. He seemed dead and judging by the terrible smell he actually was dead. Nonetheless, Steve dropped the bags and instinctively pulled his gun out of his holster. He jacked a round into the chamber and clicked the safety off. Steve covered his mouth and nose with his left hand and aimed his SIG-Sauer P226 straight ahead with his right. Steve stepped further into the living. Two paces. Three. The closer he got the worse the smell got out there, and the noise became louder. There were stray flies in the air, big and blue and shiny, buzzing and darting and hitting the walls with tiny papery sounds. Some went out the front door that was standing partially open.

Most of the flies were interested in the dead body. And so was Steve.

For a second Steve considered checking the rest of the house, but he guessed whoever left the body here, was long gone. Steve went closer to the point where he was standing next to the corpse. He tried to look up as closely as he could. There was a gunshot wound to the head and flies were feasting on the crater-shaped hole. Steve examined the back of the head. More flies. Another gunshot wound. Meaning, it had been a through and through. Or in other words— an execution. Steve looked around the dining. There was no blood pool or blood spatter, therefore, the body was dumped and the crime scene was someplace else.

Steve focused back on the body. By now he had established it was male, around forty, forty-five years old. Dark-haired. Short buzz cut, wearing a dark greenish t-shirt, a pair of faded jeans, and sneakers. Casually dressed. Steve walked around and tried to get a good look at the guy's face. Then he noticed something weird. There was a black arrow drawn on the guy's chin. Pointing up to the guy's mouth. Steve put the muzzle of his gun on the guy's forehead and pushed it upwards. / underneath the guy's chin and pushed it up. The mouth opened and an angry black cloud of flies billowed out at him. Steve turned away and batted the air. Turned back and peered through the buzzing insects. All of the guy's teeth were missing and Steve guessed they cut out the tongue as well because Steve looked right at an F1 grenade. With its pin pulled. And now that Steve had opened the man's mouth, there was a big chance it would go off.

Steve took a slow step back "Danny!" Then backed out quick.

He was too late. There was a split-second pause and then the guy's head exploded loudly. A forceful bang rolled through,— the living room window behind him shattered into a million pieces and the detonation blasted Steve off his feet. Eventually, the shock wave knocked him down and Steve landed with a hard thud on his back, crashing into the coffee table. It gave way and smashed flat on the ground. The momentum had caused Steve to crack the back of his head on the hardwood and the lights switched out in his brain.

WILLIAMS' RESIDENCE - KĀHALA - O'AHU

The teeth-rattling explosion that had billowed outward settled. Leaning against the closed car door, Danny needed a moment to recover from the earsplitting explosion that had tossed him back against the Camaro. He shook his head, and mimicked a yawn, trying to cancel the still deafening noise that echoed through his ears. It didn't help so he pushed himself off the ground. Or he tried to. Danny stumbled upright when he suddenly got a sharp pain in his chest. The air had been knocked out of him. Danny took a few sharp gasps of breath and watched a million tiny shards of glass scatter the front lawn.

A cloud of dust had emerged through what used to be the front door and living room window. It slowly vaporized into the air. Then Danny remembered. Steve. He had been inside when the explosion went off. Danny instinctively made the attempt to run inside, but his knee sent a flare of pain through his leg and reminded Danny that running wasn't an option and that walking already required certain assistance. Danny searched around himself for that cane, but it had blasted all the way to the end of the driveway. The house seemed nearby, so with pain ripping through his knee Danny limped to the front door.

Or what was left of it. The door had been torn right out of the doorframe and hung only attached to the lower hinge. Danny pushed the door open and aside and stepped inside his house. Grit and dust hit his eyes and throat and stopped Danny from taking another step. Blinking rapidly and coughing against the fine, dry, waste-like powder that carried in the air, Danny grabbed the door for support.

Through the coughing, Danny shouted at the top of his lungs, "Steve!" Partially because his hearing hadn't come fully back yet, but mostly because Danny didn't see his partner anywhere.

Fighting the dust, Danny wiped his eyes clean and cleared his view. He looked around the living room. Everything had been blown out of place. Shelves had come off the wall. The same went for his TV. Books and photo frames lay scattered on the floor. Plants were knocked down. His entire living room was a mess. And that's when he spotted his partner. Buried in the rubble, Steve lay inert on his back. He had crashed onto the coffee table, its legs had cracked and it had smashed flat on the ground. With Steve on top of it. He had his eyes closed and though his face was sprayed and smeared with dust and blood, most of it didn't seem to belong to him. Because Danny's eyes found a couple of superficial cuts, probably from flying glass and other debris, but nothing serious. Danny inhaled some more dry dust as he said. "Steve!"

Steve didn't move or respond.

Danny couldn't get rid of the dust in his throat. Couldn't breathe properly. Couldn't move either. His chest locked up solid. He doubled over, got hold of the couch, and leaned on it. A hacking cough filled the living room. It sounded loud and rough. Fighting the dry dust Danny felt winded, his chest started to seriously hurt and breathing wasn't entirely painless. It reminded Danny about the fact that he was less than an hour ago discharged from the hospital. Danny didn't have time to worry about himself, he had to help his partner.

"Steve?" He coughed, on the inside of his elbow.

Consumed by the continuous coughing Danny quickly grabbed a throw pillow from the couch and tossed it over to Steve.

"Steve, you okay?"

It bounced on Steve's head and onto the floor.

Finally clearing the cough and getting back some air, Danny yelled. "Steve!"

Steve's eyelids fluttered and he let out a low moan.

"Danny?" Steve shouted. "Danny, you good?"

First, taking in a deep breath, Danny let out a big relieved sigh. "Yeah, you?"

"What?" Steve called out with squinted eyes, meaning his ears were probably ringing too and he couldn't hear a thing Danny was saying.

Danny upend his volume and spoke loudly. "I said— I'm good, are you?"

"All good," Steve said, slowly sitting up straight and brushing some dust off himself. He shot a look back at Danny. "You sure you're all right?"

Danny nodded and watched his partner stand up, a little unsteady. "Would you please, get up carefully."

"I'm fine, don't worry."

"I'm not worried about you," Danny pointed at the hand-shaped bloodstains Steve was leaving behind. "You're leaking all over my rug."

Steve looked annoyed at Danny. "You're worried about your rug?"

"Yeah, careful, okay?"

Steve adverted Danny's eyes to the gaping hole in the roof above the dining room. "There's a hole in your roof. Your living room window is gone and a guy exploded at your dining table, yet you're worried about your rug?" Steve checked cynically.

"About that," Danny started as he took in the damage done to the dining. "What the hell happened?" he asked furious and confused as he was staring at a half-imploded body, missing the top half. Danny snapped his eyes back at his partner. "What'd you do?"

"I didn't do anything," Steve said defensively, then explained. "The guy was already sitting there. Dead. Bullet to the brain. I checked the rest of him when I noticed he had a grenade in his mouth."

Utterly confused Danny questioned. "A grenade? What— why is there even a dead guy sitting in my house?"

"I don't know," Steve shrugged and made his way over to where Danny was standing. "Let's go outside, okay?" he suggested and added. "I'll call it in,"

Danny sighed. This was not near anything he had imagined when coming home. Steve pulled the front door back up straight and a cloud of dust hit Danny's throat. He bent over, coughing, his hands on his knees. His breath was coming in shudders which gave his wounded chest brief, sharp waves of dull pain.

"You good?" Steve put his hand on Danny's shoulder. "Because it doesn't sound so good to me."

"Yeah," Danny nodded and got rid of the cough. "Just dust."

"Can you walk?" Steve asked.

Danny nodded again and straightened. Steve turned away and went outside. Danny set off after him with a lingering limping stride. Steve tossed a look back over his shoulder and probably noticed Danny's discomfort because he said.

"All right, I'll call for an ambulance too."

"Maybe you should." Danny agreed and grabbed Steve by his bicep.

"Why? What's wrong?" Steve looked slack with fear at Danny. "You don't feel good? Did you get knocked down?"

"No, not for me," Danny pointed at the blood dripping down Steve's neck. "You're bleeding pretty bad from the back of your head."

WILLIAMS' RESIDENCE - KĀHALA - O'AHU

Around ten minutes after Steve called it in, blue flickering lights flooded the street. HPD parked their two town police cruisers on the street, at careless angles. The bomb-squad van arrived as second and parked at the curb in front of the house. The HPD fire truck and ambulance arrived last and blocked the road from any trespassers and all traffic. The neighborhood was suddenly buzzing with police officers, guys in EOD bomb suits, firefighters running back and forth between their truck and Danny's house and the paramedics were taking care of the two men who had survived the blast. Steve and Danny.

The paramedics pulled the gurney out of the ambulance and asked Steve to sit down on it so the EMTs could clean up his head wound. Steve didn't think so. He didn't need urgent medical attention. At least not before they took care of his partner.

"I'm fine, really," Steve stated, looking straight at the EMT and pointing at Danny. "I need you to look him over properly. Take him to the hospital if you have to."

"I don't need— Are you nuts?" Danny reacted to Steve, then he focused on the paramedics. "Please, don't listen to him. He's actually the one that's actively bleeding," he signaled to his own head. "He got his bell rung, good."

"I probably did," Steve agreed. "But I vividly remember the fact that you spent eight days inside of the hospital and got discharged less than an hour ago,"

The female EMT's eyebrows went upward. "Is he serious?"

Danny mumbled. "He might."

Just to be sure, Steve summed up the list of injuries. "He's got four broken ribs, is still recovering from a thoracotomy on his right side, let's not forget a cardiac complication after the surgery, and he had a mean concussion. Plus a collapsed lung prior to all of this," he paused and added. "O, and a banged-up knee."

Annoyed, Danny shook his head. "You're an idiot."

The male paramedic suggested. "How about we take care of both of you."

Steve breathed out. "Fine."

Finding the medical attention a little unnecessary, Steve reluctantly sat down. Just on the edge of the stretcher and with his feet still planted on the street. He watched the fuss closely, but Steve didn't lose his partner out of his sight for a second. The other EMT had focused her attention on Danny, who had to sit on the step at the back of the rig. To Steve's satisfaction, the paramedic checked him out thoroughly, with a stethoscope she listened to Danny's breathing and manually checked his heart rate by putting a finger on the pulse in his neck. Danny held an oxygen mask to his mouth. Providing him with some supplemental oxygen, to possibly help clear his airway from the dust and smoke. Danny appeared all right, but Steve didn't take it for granted after the week his partner just had.

As the paramedic finished up his examination, the high ringing in Steve's ears finally died back down and his hearing slowly came back. The EMT decided the cut on Steve's head didn't need stitches and glued the cut after he cleaned it with stinging antiseptics. After he was done with the head wound the medic put a Steri-strip on the cut above Steve's eyebrow and declared him all good to go. Steve jumped off the gurney and right when he did Steve could see Lou pull over his truck as close as he could get. Tani was sitting beside him in the passenger seat. Grover killed the engine and both Lou and Tani opened their doors. They slipped out of the vehicle, slammed their doors shut, and jogged toward the hustle and bustle.

Tani found them amid all the chaos. Her eyes were tight with worry as she looked straight past Steve. "Danny!" she exclaimed. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Danny lowered the oxygen mask. "No, I'm not okay," he said. "They tried to blow up my house."

Lou, who had followed Tani, signaled to the oxygen mask. "That's not what she meant. Everything all right?"

"O, yeah— no, I'm fine," Danny replied. "It's nothing."

Lou turned to Steve. "What about you?" he asked, examining. "Get knocked on the head?"

"All good," Steve answered and felt at the back of his head. There was a tender spot where he had hit the coffee table. "Just a cut. It's all glued back together."

Lou gave a nod, looked at Tani, and held out his hand. "That will be twenty-five bucks."

Tani rolled her eyes and shook her head. Then she pulled some cash money out of her back pocket, counted it and handed it over to Lou.

Steve followed the exchange with a furrowed brow. "You guys took a bet?"

"You bet we did," Lou beamed. "I told her it wouldn't take more than a week for either one of you to be back in the hospital. She didn't believe me, but I have to say, two hours later is a new record."

Tani shot a look back at Danny and then at the paramedic. "Are you taking him to the hospital?"

The EMT shook her head. "No, no need to,"

"In that case, I'll take this back," Tani said and snatched the money out of Lou's hand. Lou's smile disappeared too.

Danny shrugged his left shoulder. "Told you guys, I'm fine."

"And I would like to keep it that way," The EMT said sternly. "Try not to enter any other exploded houses so you can avoid smoke, dust, or anything toxic you can inhale. Your lungs have been through enough recently, you need to take it slow. It's also important to follow your post-op instructions and contact your general practitioner if you're experiencing anything unusual."

Danny handed back the oxygen mask and mumbled. "Sure— whatever."

Lou shook his head in disbelief. "What is it with you two? Never taking medical advice seriously."

Fed up, Danny said. "Please, don't compare me to him, okay? I just spent a week inside a hospital. I'm the picture of obedience." Danny stood up off the step of the ambulance. Maybe too quick, or maybe his knee was causing him to slump.

Lou reached out. "All right, easy now," he said and helped Danny stand steady. "I got you,"

Steve searched around himself. Found what he was looking for. "Here," he said and handed over the cane to Danny. Danny took the aid, regained his balance, and hobbled away. Steve shared a puzzled look with Lou and Tani. Then he frowned and called after his partner. "Where you off to?"

Danny didn't look back. "Home."

Steve jogged after his partner and seized him by his arm. "Danny— hold on, you can't stay here," he said and pointed at Danny's house. "Your front door is missing, there's a hole in your roof, the place is a mess and smells like burned human flesh."

Hard-headed, Danny said. "I don't care. I'm staying."

"No, you're not," Steve ordered. "No discussion. You're staying at my place. You can have the guest room, it's ground level and next to a bathroom. It's perfect."

Lou questioned. "Isn't Junior in the guest room?"

Steve shrugged. "It's fine. He can sleep on the couch."

Tani offered. "Junior's welcome to stay with me."

Lou smirked. "Now won't you like that."

"O, stop it," Tani nudged Lou in the ribs. "I'm just trying to come up with a solution. Do you have a better idea?"

Lou shook his head, still smiling. "No, I don't."

A guy wearing an EOD suit approached them. He was holding his helmet underneath his arm and was already peeling himself out of his EOD suit. Steve guessed the house was all clear from any devices. The bomb squad member confirmed, "You guys can go back in. No explosives or active devices. HFD finished constructing the roof with supporting beams. It should be safe, but be careful."

The four of them went back to Danny's house to assess the damage and investigate the crime that had happened and now what was left of it. HFD and the Bomb Squad cleared out and HPD police officers, Noelani, the medical examiner, and CSU entered along with the Five-0 Task Force. They went over the evidence, talked through possible scenarios, and searched for clues.

About forty-five minutes into their crime scene investigation Lou walked up to Steve.

"Steve, I think it's time to head home," he nodded in Danny's direction. Who stood on the other side of the room. Leaning heavily on his cane, trembling with fatigue. He looked deathly white and wiped out. Lou added. "I'll wait for forensics to wrap up."

Steve placed his hand on Lou's shoulder, briefly. "Thanks, Lou," he said and went over to his partner. "Buddy, let's go over to my place."

"Okay," Danny said.

There was no argument, no disagreement, no discussion. Telling Steve everything he needed to know. It was time to take care of his friend.

MCGARRETT'S HOUSE - 5329 KALANIANAOLE HWY - O'AHU

Steve pulled up the Camaro behind his own grey crew-cab Silverado in front of his house. He turned the keys backward, killing the roaring engine. He stepped out and slammed his door shut. Steve went around the hood and opened the passenger door. He didn't reach his hand out or help his partner out of the vehicle. Not because it didn't come to mind, but because Danny wouldn't accept the help. Too stubborn for it, and this way Steve spared him the argument and therefore his breath. Steve once again popped the trunk and grabbed Danny's bags. As Steve slammed the trunk shut Danny climbed out of the Camaro and slammed his door too. Steve locked the vehicle and together they walked up to Steve's house.

Or his parent's house where he just happened to move in once he returned to the island. The house itself wasn't spectacular or anything. It was made out of wood mostly, painted white, neat, and plain. With an oak wooden door in the middle, a large window on the left, and a smaller window on the right, with a red slated roof. Simple and decent and outdated, not picturesque. However, from the backyard, the magic hour before sunset was spectacular. But none of that mattered to Steve, it was all about the memories and the time he had spent there growing up as a kid that made it worth living there.

Steve unlocked the front door and let Danny go in first. He shuffled inside, favoring his left leg as he did so. Steve closed the door behind him. Danny hobbled on instead of sitting down in the living area.

At a loss, Steve frowned and asked. "Yo, where you going?"

"I'm gonna sit outside for a bit," Danny answered, his legs wobbling under him.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, you can barely walk with that knee. Just go sit down on the couch, I'll go find an ice pack for your knee and get you something to drink." He said, dropping the bags on the floor near the stairs.

Danny stopped, hesitated, but turned back around. He made his way to the brown leather chair, slowly, and dropped himself into it.

Satisfied, Steve went over to the kitchen. He opened the fridge and took out the water pitcher. He grabbed two glasses off the shelves as his phone started ringing. Steve put the glasses down on the counter, dragged the phone from his jeans pocket, and answered.

"Hey, Lou," he said. "What's going on?"

Lou spoke from the other side of the line. "Forensics just finished and cleared the scene. Junior's getting some tools to cover the hole in the roof and board the window and door."

"Good. Excellent," Steve said. He clamped his phone between his ear and shoulder and with both hands free, he started pouring the water into the glasses. "Did CSU discover anything interesting after we left?"

"Nothing interesting, they need time processing the evidence, but Noelani ran the guy's bloodwork," Lou said. "We got a DNA hit."

Steve stopped pouring the water. "And,"

"You're not going to believe this."

Steve put the pitcher aside and took hold of his phone again. "Who was he?"

"Bob Henderson," Lou informed. "A DEA agent."

"DEA?" Steve repeated and shared a look with Danny in the living. As he did his aneurysm face appeared.

"That's correct," Lou stated.

"And you're sure?" Steve questioned, doubting.

"I mean, I'm looking at his file right now. I can't make a positive facial ID if you're asking me for it. The guy got his head blown to pieces."

"Do you have a picture?"

"I do," Lou said. "Hang on, I'll send it to you." The line went silent for a moment.

Five seconds later, Steve's cell phone pinged with a notification alert. "Got it," he said and lowered his phone to open the message. He looked at the picture good, lifted the phone to his ear again, and confirmed. "That's the guy."

From the corner of his eye, Steve noticed that Danny eased himself out of the chair. He grabbed the cane and limped over to the kitchen. "Let me see." He said.

"Lou, I'm putting you on speaker," Steve said and did so. Then he showed Danny the photograph.

Danny stared at the photo on display and after a split second, he said. "I've seen that guy before."

"You do?" Steve leaned forward with his shoulder. "Where?"

Danny carried on looking at the picture. "He's one of Kim's guys," then he looked up at Steve with no hesitation, no second-guessing, and no self-doubt on his face. "He's the one that shot and killed the CIA agent."

"What?" Steve's face twisted with confusion. "That doesn't make any sense."

"It doesn't," Danny agreed. "But I'm sure that that guy accused the other guy of being a snitch."

Steve shrugged. "How? I thought you said you didn't see the guy?"

"I didn't," Danny shook his head. "I didn't see the one that got killed," he said and nodded in the direction of Steve's phone. "This guy showed his face not long after. I recognized his voice from the conversation he had with Kim and put two and two together."

Lou's voice popped up through the call. "So you're saying a DEA agent shot and killed a CIA agent?"

"That's not what I'm saying," Danny pointed at the photograph on Steve's cellphone. "It's what I heard him saying. He's the one that told Kim the other guy was CIA."

Steve declared. "Bob Henderson lied."

Danny shared a look with Steve. "He did. The dead guy wasn't CIA. He was just one of the men that are on Kim's payroll. I mean, you called and checked with your contact from Langley, right?"

"I did," Steve affirmed and let out a deep breath. "And I think I have to make another phone call, only to another agency this time."

Lou said. "Keep me updated,"

"We will," Steve reported and hit the button to disconnect the call.

MCGARRETT'S HOUSE - 5329 KALANIANAOLE HWY - O'AHU

Later that day at nighttime, Steve flicked off the kitchen light. Danny had called it a night two hours prior. In those two hours, Steve had taken Eddie for a walk, showered, and spent over an hour being tortured by Danny's restless sleep. Maybe it was discomfort, sleeping in a different bed, or maybe a cruel nightmare. Steve could hear bits and pieces even though the door was completely closed. It was an old house.

Steve exited the kitchen and walked past the closed guest bedroom. He tried not to listen but it was tearing Steve apart hearing his friend struggle. Steve had withheld himself from going in and checking on Danny. Twice now. Eddie noticed it too. He whined, looking up at Steve with literal sad puppy-dog eyes from his dog bed. Eddie slid his front paws forward and dropped his head down on the edge of his dog bed.

Steve knelt down and scratched the dog's head. Near his ear. He said with a low, quiet voice, "I know. I hear it too," he placed a kiss on top of Eddie's nose. "You know what. Go take care of Danno, buddy." Steve straightened, put the guest bedroom door ajar, and let Eddie go in.

— TBC / HAWAIIFIVE0 —

A/N: As always, thank you for reading, reviewing and following this story,

always love to hear what you think of it,

and I really appreciate the continuing support!

I'll be back soon with a new chapter :)