Chapter 16

Helen ran as fast as she could. Finally, the small Hana Town police station came into view. Out of breath, Helen ran into the building. Startled, the two policemen on duty looked up.

"You've got to help me. There are some guys after me and they have my father in their grasp."

"Calm down and tell us what happened."

"Please, you have to hurry. Otherwise they'll kill him."

Again the door opened and two guys entered the office.

"Well, here's our little girl. Thank you officers for catching her."

Now clearly confused, the two cops looked back and forth between Helen and the men. Annoyed, Helen looked at the officers.

"Please, these are some of the guys, please, ..."

"But daughter, what kind of fairy tales are you telling these nice policemen?"

Jack pulled a gun from his waistband and pointed it at the officers. Then he grabbed Helen's arm and pulled her away. Tears were streaming down Helen's face. Why didn't the cops do anything? Backing up, Jack and his buddy stepped out the door.

"Hands up."

To the right and left of the door to the police station stood Chin and Danny, guns at the ready, pointing at the two gangsters. Relief spread through Helen.

"Danny!"

"Helen, are you okay?"

She nodded. She quickly wiped the tears from her face. Chin and Danny arrested the two hoodlums and took them to the cell in the small police station. When they came back out, Helen was still standing in the same place.

"Where's Catherine?"

"She went with Lou and Kono to the last location of Steve's cell phone. Unfortunately, it's off by now. Come on, we'll take you to a friend of mine first ..." Helen shook her head vehemently.

"No, I'm not going anywhere, Danny, I want to help you."

"Okay, you definitely got that stubbornness from your dad. Come on."

They got into the Ranger and drove to the building where Helen and Steve were being held.

Catherine, Lou and Kono approached the building slowly. Nothing was heard or seen. Lou took the front entrance while Catherine and Kono secured the sides. At the same time, they entered the building.

"Clear" rang out three times.

Then they stood together in a room where someone had recently been held captive. A chain hung from the ceiling, and there were fresh bloodstains and splatters on the walls and floor. A bloody trail led through the door to the outside. Steve's smashed smartphone lay on a table in the corner. They exited the building and met Danny, Chin, and Helen pulling up in the Ranger. Helen jumped out of the car.

"Where's Steve?"

Catherine shook her head.

"He wasn't here."

She pointed back at the building.

"Apparently the guys realized he'd his cell phone with him. It's smashed in one of the rooms."

Danny looked at her intently. "There's something else."

Catherine, however, was reluctant to speak and gave Helen a strange look, which she caught and straightened.

"Catherine, I'm not a baby anymore. What's wrong?"

Catherine swallowed.

"They tortured him. There's fresh blood and a taser in the room."

Now it was Helen's turn to swallow; she hadn't expected this. She fought back tears, if only she had stayed with Steve. Danny put an arm around her shoulders.

"Helen, you were right to leave. Steve couldn't have taken it if anything had happened to you."

"And what about Steve? If they kill him too, I won't have anyone left."

Danny gave the girl a quick hug. "We'll find him. I promise."

But he wasn't quite sure. They had no idea where the men with Steve had gone.

Just before:

The men beat Steve again and again. By now his face was swollen, one eyebrow was busted open, and blood was running down his neck. His torso was covered in bruises and burns from the electric shocks. He felt his heart beating a little out of sync and tried with all his might to focus on Joe's words and distance himself from the pain. Another electric shock went through him and his muscles twitched uncontrollably. That was the moment his body surrendered and Steve lost consciousness.

"You killed him."

"Bullshit, he'll wake up."

The boss entered the room. "You got what we need?"

His men shook their heads.

"He's a tough guy, but he won't last long."

"We need to get out of here, people are coming."

"How did they find us?"

"The girl, or..."

He approached Steve and searched his pockets. He pulled out Steve's smartphone and threw it against the wall, shattering it on a table in the corner. The two men loosened the chains and dragged Steve by his arms across the floor to the outside. There they loaded him into the trunk of their car and drove off.

Slowly the spirits came back to Steve and he opened his eyes. It was dark around him and he was really shaken. Some light came into the trunk through a crack in the back seat and Steve looked around. Still tied to his hands and feet, he tried to find something to free himself, but before he could, the car stopped and the trunk lid was ripped open. Two men brutally dragged Steve out of the trunk and threw him into an old container standing in the middle of the sun, the air inside already stuffy and hot. Before closing the door, the boss grinned, "You're going to tell me what I want to know."

"Guys! There are fresh tire tracks here." Kono pointed to the ground beside the house. "They went that way."

The team got back in their cars and followed the tracks. But soon the ground was so dry that no tracks were visible.

"Okay, we're not going anywhere like this. I'll go back to Hana Town and question the two crooks and get back to you.", said Lou.

"Okay, we'll try to find the trail again. Time is running out, who knows what they'll do to Steve now."

Catherine glanced sideways at Helen, who had flinched noticeably at her words. Concerned, she looked at the girl.

"Would you like to go with Lou and question these guys?"

Helen shook her head vigorously. "No, I want to stay with you and Danny."

Catherine sighed. The girl was really stubborn.

"Okay, then stay here."

Lou got into one of the cars, turned around and headed back to Hana. Catherine and the others walked a little farther, looking for clues as to where the guys might have gone.

Steve was thirsty, his whole body ached and covered with sweat that burned like hell in his wounds. Again the door opened and one of the guys came in and asked for the password. Again he punched Steve and used the Taser. As his fist struck Steve's cheek again, Steve felt and heard the cheekbone break. A pain shot through his face to the back of his head, and he knew he would soon have nothing to fight it with. But he would rather die than reveal the password. Again the fist of his tormentor struck the already broken cheekbone. Stars exploded in Steve's head and he collapsed unconscious.

They still hadn't heard from Lou, and they hadn't found any more clues. Catherine pulled out the laptop, annoyed that she hadn't thought of it sooner. She typed wildly on the keyboard, then finally had the satellite image of the area on the monitor. She quickly zoomed in on the images, Danny looking over her shoulder.

"There!"

He pointed to a car parked in a clearing next to some tents. Quickly they took off.

They surrounded the clearing and then charged in. One thug after another fell to their gunfire, then it was quiet. The team searched the camp, but there was no sign of Steve anywhere. They widened their search. About two hundred yards from the camp, Danny came across a discarded container with the sun beating down on it. He opened the padlock and pulled open the door.

"Steve."

Shocked, Danny stared at his bleeding friend. "My God, Steve!"

He stepped into the container, put his hand on his friend's shoulder, and knelt beside him.

"Danno."

Steve's voice was barely above a whisper. He was so happy to see his friend.

"Come on buddy, let's get you out of here."

Danny untied Steve, put Steve's arm around his shoulders for support, and left the container with him. As they approached the camp, the others spotted them.

"Dad!"

Helen ran to Steve and threw herself against his chest. Steve swayed for a moment, struggling to stay standing, then put his free arm around the girl and hugged her gently. He whispered softly, "It's all right, Helen, it's all right."