A short one, but needed to update this already.

Two things happened almost simultaneously.

First, a text from the unknown number arrived in Danny's inbox. The message read:

The trade is off. I hope you're happy, Detective.

As soon as he vocalized the message to his teammates, his phone rang. It wasn't agent Brooks as he expected. It was the Governor calling. And her words possessed the power to steal air from his lungs. He almost dropped his phone during the call. All color drained from his face when she detailed what had happened just minutes ago.

"Yes, Ma'am, I'll keep you informed," he said and ended the call.

Gathering around the smart table, his teammates fixed their eyes on him.

"What happened?" Tani was the first to break the silence.

He took a deep breath to steady himself before responding, "Someone just blew up the HPD headquarters."

They all stared at him in silence, processing the information.

"That son of a bitch!" Lou swore after a moment.

"How bad?" Jerry asked.

Danny, his mind racing, said, "There are casualties. They don't know how many yet."

"Can we be sure it was Makoni?" Chin asked.

"It was him alright?" Danny said, still in shock, recalling the note in the container addressed to the team.

The next one's on you.

It couldn't possibly be real. Did more innocent people, some of them his former coworkers and friends, just die because he pursued Makoni despite the warnings? And did he really change the long-awaited trade to avoid getting caught? It spelled a disaster.

He felt sick to his stomach. What was he thinking? He'd played with fire, and this was the result.

"I…" he started. "Excuse me."

He brushed past his friends and made a beeline for the washroom.

In the brightly lit bathroom, he fumbled with the faucet, his hands trembling. Desperately, he splashed some cold water onto his face, as if it could wash everything away. Drops splattered on the counter, a dissonant rhythm against the turmoil echoing in his mind. His eyes, bloodshot and haunted, met his own gaze in a mirror. His own reflection seemed foreign.

You did this, he thought. It's all your fault.

A hollow feeling settled in his chest. The governor's words played on a loop in his head–HPD in ruins, lives lost. The consequences of their pursuit of Makoni were severe and good people had died because of it.

The tiled walls seemed to close around him. He wanted to scream. To punch the reflection in the mirror. And keep doing so until all the frustration was out. Until this nightmare was finally over.

His hands shook as he gripped the edges of the sink. The nauseating blend of guilt and regret was simply too much to take. It was suffocating. He could almost hear the mocking echo of Makoni's words from the note.

The next one's on you.

Brooks' text haunted him the same way.

The trade is off. I hope you're happy, Detective.

He was on the verge of a breakdown when a knock on the door disrupted his spiral into self-condemnation.

"Danny, you okay in there?"

Chin's voice, full of genuine concern, pierced through his haze.

He didn't answer. Gripped the sink tighter, trying to compose himself. To get his tangled thoughts straight.

"Danny?"

"Yeah," he called out. "Just give me a minute."

Chin went silent, but Danny could hear the feet shuffling in front of the door.

"Okay, I'm coming in," Chin said after a long moment of silence from his friend.

As the door creaked open, Chin's eyes met Danny's avoiding gaze. They stood there in silence for a long minute before Danny finally relented. He sighed, letting the frustration out, and lowered himself to the floor, leaning on the tiled wall behind him.

Chin sat right next to him. Didn't speak.

"I should've known," Danny said.

"You couldn't have prevented this, Danny," Chin opposed. "He's a maniac killing everyone in his way. You were just doing your job."

Danny shook his head. "They didn't deserve this," he said. "He blew them up because I went after him."

It was Chin's turn to shake his head. "He probably would have done it anyway," he said. "Kill some cops, distract the others, so he can operate unnoticed. He just wants you to think it's because of what you do. Don't let him into your head."

It was easier said than done.

"And the trade?" Chin asked.

Danny and the team had told Chin everything they knew already. Everything that had happened since that fateful Friday night. There was no more explanation needed.

He looked ahead of him, away from Chin's glare, then spoke in a hushed tone, "I should have listened, Chin. The CIA warned me this might happen. That going after Makoni might jeopardize the trade. And now… now we might have lost our only chance to prevent a disaster and get that son of a bitch. Steve, too. Makoni won't keep prisoners if he has to flee again."

Chin took a deep breath next to him. "You made a choice, Danny," he said, his voice shifting from concern to empathy. "The one you thought was right at that moment."

"I just couldn't let Steve rot there for that much longer, you know?" Danny said. "Who knows what he's doing to him? I just… I just can't… I–"

"I know." Chin placed his hand on Danny's shoulder. "I know. I don't blame you. It's Steve's life we're talking about. You followed a lead, that's all."

Danny didn't look at his friend. His gaze fell on the floor. "What if we won't find that radioactive material anymore? What if Makoni gets his hands on it and then disappears without a trace? What if they go through the trade before we can find them? What if he–"

"He won't," Chin stopped him. "We'll find a way to stop him. Just like we'll find Steve."

"I don't know about that anymore." Danny's eyes teared up. It was all too much to handle. Steve being taken. Waikiki explosion. HPD in ruins. The trade being compromised. It was getting out of hand at lightning speed. And it could get much worse soon if a miracle didn't happen.

Chin opened his mouth to speak when Danny's phone rang. He checked out the called ID. Unknown.

"Detective Williams," he answered.

"I've got news." It was agent Brooks.

"What news?"

"About the trade. They changed the time and time."

It was like twisting the knife in a wound. "We know that already, don't we?"

"We do," Brooks said. "But I just found out the new ones."

"What?" Danny's heart fluttered with a sudden flood of hope. "So we can still stop it?"

"Yes."

"When? Where?"

Danny noticed Chin's puzzled side glance.

"Tonight. I'll text you the address."

Danny couldn't believe it. "Looks like they really want to get this through in a hurry, huh?"

"It's likely that Makoni will flee the island for good after this," Brooks said. "You know what that means?"

He did. "We only have one shot."

"Don't screw it up again or it's over. We need that cargo. Makoni can't have it."

"I know."

He ended the call, and turned to Chin. Managed a weak smile as he got on his feet and explained everything.

There was hope after all. One more chance to get justice. One more chance to save Steve. One more chance to save this island.

*to be continued*

Let me know what you think.