Thanks for reading and for your patience. I wish I was able to update more regularly but life's a mess, lol. Here's another chapter, tho.
The sun now hung low on the sky, casting long shadows across the Five-0 office. Danny had spent the entire day there, unable to sit still or accept the grim reality. He knew he couldn't wait until Monday night. Couldn't let Steve hanging when he needed him. Even though the agent's warnings about blowing up their plan made sense, Steve was his partner, his best friend, and he wasn't about to wait.
Frustration gnawed at him as he combed through security footage, checking cameras all over the city, looking for any sign of Steve. He replayed the events of that terrible evening over and over again in his mind.
Steve had left the office in a foul mood, and that was the last time anyone had seen him. Danny didn't have to ask what was wrong with his friends. He knew. Steve didn't take the recent loss of his mentor and second father well. That's why Danny hadn't pushed him to join them. Maybe he should have. Maybe if he had, Steve would now be okay. Danny shook his head. There was no point of speculation. No point in wondering about what-ifs. It wouldn't help Steve in any way.
But he couldn't help but wonder if Steve had even made it home from work. Maybe he had, but there was no trace of a fight at his house and his truck wasn't there when Danny came to check in on him in the morning. So whatever had happened, it must have had to go down somewhere else.
As he sifted through hours of footage and sipped his fifth cold coffee, his eyes widened as he noticed something on a CCTV camera across the road from one of the hotels with a prime view of the beach bar's parking road just minutes away from the Hilton Hawaiian Village.
Steve's truck was unmistakable in the bar's parking lot. The timestamp on the video placed it there ten minutes before the explosion that had torn apart the restaurant in Waikiki.
He hit the backward button and stopped it at the moment Steve pulled up. Nothing seemed off. Steve had parked and left the car, headed toward the beach bar's direction.
Danny's breath caught in his throat as he fast-forwarded a few minutes.
"Hey!" he shouted, alerting the rest of the team in the adjacent rooms. "I think I've found something."
Tani rushed in first, followed by Lou and Jerry. They gathered around Danny as he pointed at the screen of his laptop.
"Is that Steve's truck?" Tani asked.
'It is," Danny confirmed. "Look at the time."
"That's just before the last night's explosion," Lou said.
"Uh-uh," Danny nodded. "And look at this."
Danny fast-forwarded the footage once again. Five minutes after the explosion a man dressed in a nondescript shirt and pants entered Steve's truck and drove away.
"Who's that?" Jerry asked.
Danny wished he had an answer. "I don't know," he said. "But he left in Steve's truck, which was then driven off the cliff."
"It'll be impossible to ID this guy," Lou stated. "Can't see his face at all."
"But at least now we know Steve was there, but didn't leave," Tani chimed in. "At least not in his truck."
"Whatever happened, it happened around the time of the explosion," Lou said, his brows furrowed. "Coincidence?"
"You know what they say about the coincidences," Tani said.
Lou nodded. "They require a lot of planning."
"What is this place anyway?" Jerry asked.
Danny shrugged. "Kai's Tiki Cove," he said. "I don't think I've ever heard Steve mention this place."
Jerry squinted his eyes. "I thought Steve didn't join us for dinner because he didn't feel like going out."
"Looks like he changed his mind," Tani said.
Lou scratched his head, deep in thought. "Why? Why here? Why not join us? What was he doing there?"
Those questions were the same ones Danny wanted to ask. Hopefully, he'd still have the chance to ask the only person who could answer them.
"Let's find out what we can," he said. "Lou, you're with me. Jerry, Tani, you stay here and see if you can find anything else. And check on Adam and Junior, will you?"
The team nodded in agreement. It wasn't much. But it was a lead to follow. A glimmer of hope they all needed so desperately now.
Danny grabbed his keys and headed for the door, the determination in his eyes unwavering. He wasn't about to give up on his friend. Not now, not ever.
The bar was bustling with activity when they arrived. Lively chatter filled the spacious terrace, where locals and tourists alike enjoyed their iced cocktails and savored the perfect ocean views. Danny glanced around, his eyes quickly spotting a surveillance camera on the outside of the building.
"Lou," Danny pointed at the camera. "They got security cameras."
Lou nodded in agreement. "Let's hope it'll explain what happened here last night."
They pushed through the interior, where a second camera was mounted near the entrance, capturing everyone who came and went. They made their way to the bar, where a middle-aged woman with a friendly, welcoming smile served the drinks to the customer.
The bartender looked up as they approached. "Aloha. What can I get you, gentlemen?"
Danny and Lou exchanged a quick glance before Danny spoke up, flashing his badge. "How about information?" he said. "I'm Detective Danny Williams, and this is my colleague, Captain Lou Grover. We're with Five-0. We'd like to ask you a few questions if that's alright."
She eyed the badge shortly, her expression composed. "Sure. How can I help?"
"We have a reason to believe someone who was here last night might have information that could help us. Did you work last night?" Lou asked.
The bartender leaned against the bar and nodded. "Yes, I was here," she said. "I own this place, so I'm usually around."
"Did you notice anything unusual or any customers that stood out?" Danny asked.
She furrowed her brows, as if searching in the memory. "Not really, no," she said. "It was just a usual night. Busy as always. We get all sorts of people here. Tourists, locals, some regulars. Can't remember them all, but there weren't any problems as far as I know."
Danny lifted the phone and showed her a photo of Steve. "How about this man?" he asked. "Do you remember him?"
She stared at the photo for a while before shaking her head. "I don't think so."
"Look again," Danny persisted. "Please."
She sighed heavily and scanned the screen again. This time, she took longer before answering. "I'm not sure, Detective," she said. "Sorry."
"Here." Danny swiped his finger across the screen, showing her another photograph. "Does it ring a bell?"
She studied the new picture.
"We believe he was here between eight and nine," Lou said.
She tapped her finger on the bar as she fished in memory. "Was he here with a friend?" she asked after a few moments.
"A friend?" Danny scrunched his brows.
"Yes," she said. "I remember him now. It could have been around eight when he arrived. He came alone, sat at the bar, and ordered his drink, but never touched it. Then I saw him talking with a friend and they left together."
"Are you sure?" Lou asked.
She nodded, glancing at the picture one more time to confirm. "Yes, it's him."
"Can you describe this friend?" Danny asked.
"Tall and lean," she said, squinting her eyes to think. "He had dark skin and eyes, and short hair."
Danny exchanged a glance with Lou, and tapped something into his phone. He turned the screen toward the bartender one more time, showing her the photograph of Roko Makoni. "Was it this man?"
"Yes, it's him," she said.
Danny's stomach dropped. Did Makoni really have the audacity to ambush Steve in a crowded beach bar? How did he even get away with that?
"You said they left together," Lou said. "Did you notice anything suspicious?"
"Like what?"
"Anything at all."
"No," she said. "As I said, the bar was busy. I had better things to do than to focus on leaving customers."
There was no way Steve would just walk away with Makoni if not under a threat, Danny was sure of that. There must have been an explanation.
He gestured at the camera in the corner. "Would you mind if we had a look at the security footage?"
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's broken. It's been for a few days. I'm still waiting for the repair service to come get it fixed."
Danny sighed in frustration, thinking. It didn't seem he'd get any answers here.
"But I can show you the ones from the outside," the bartender said. "If that helps."
"Please," Lou said.
She waved at one of the waitresses to come over and headed to the doorway on the left. "This way," she said.
They followed her into a small office room, where she logged in to the laptop on the desk, and after about a minute she turned it around for Danny and Lou to see.
"All yours. I have to head back. Let me know if you need anything else." She turned around and left, closing the door behind her.
Danny and Lou huddled around the laptop, focused on the footage. They fast-forwarded to the time frame when Steve was in the bar and hit play.
"There," Lou said, pointing his finger at the screen.
The camera's angle was mostly focused on the terrace, but it also partially covered the south side, which led to the car park behind the bar. That's where Steve and Makoni came into view. Steve was walking slightly in front of Makoni. Even through the screen, Danny could see his body tense.
A chill ran down Danny's spine when he realized why. "Looks like Makoni's armed," he said, noticing his hand hidden under the jacket.
"Yeah," Lou nodded in agreement. "And what is that?"
Makoni took something out of his pocket, and Danny's eyes widened as he recognized it–must have been a bomb detonator. "Son of a bitch," he said.
Lou seemed to reach the same conclusion, judging by the horror in his eyes when Makoni pressed the button. A moment later, Makoni looked up for a split second. Enough time for Steve to act.
Danny watched, horrified, as Steve launched himself on Makoni, and within seconds, the warlord lay disarmed on the ground. He could see the exact moment Steve turned and realized what had just happened, and went to finish Makoni off.
They brawled. Steve put up a good fight, but Makoni gained the upper hand moment before a black SUV pulled up by the side of the road, seconds from the two of them, and three armed men flooded out of it.
Blood drained from Danny's veins when he watched one of them incapacitate Steve, and the other two restraining him and throwing a sack over his head, rendering him helpless. The men pushed Steve into the SUV and sped away. It only took seconds.
Danny felt a heavy lump in his throat , a sense of helplessness washing over him. He couldn't even describe how painful it was to watch his best friend's abduction.
"Why didn't someone do something? Anything," he said, sudden anger flooding his system. "No one bothered to report this?"
Lou pointed at the screen. "I don't think they noticed," he said.
Danny stared at the screen. The crowd of people focused on something out of the screen. The explosion, no doubt. It was big enough to be visible on the city line even from here.
He took a deep breath, knowing he had to focus now. "We have a license plate of that SUV," he said. "I'm gonna send it to Jerry."
Lou nodded in silence.
Danny sent a text to Jerry's number, and it only took seconds for Jerry to reply.
On it.
Good. At least they had the lead. Danny tried to tell himself it was better than nothing, but his overthinking mind didn't let him have this small victory.
Lou placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Listen, man," he said, his voice steady and calming. "Makoni had the chance to kill Steve right there and then, but he didn't. That means he wants him alive. We'll find him, okay?"
"Yeah," Danny said, a mixture of relief and worry washing over him. "We will."
*to be continued*
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