As a dive professional, I've been playing with scuba diving theme for a while. So I thought, why not write it now?
The sun hung high in the sky, casting a warm golden glow on the sparkling waters of the Pacific ocean. Steve McGarrett stood just next to the wheel of a motorboat with a wide grin on his face as he watched Charlie eagerly command the steering wheel of the vessel.
"Alright, Charlie, keep your hands steady on the wheel," Steve instructed, his voice calm and reassuring as he lowered the speed significantly, keeping himself ready to intervene if necessary. "And Grace, make sure you're paying attention to the compass. We want to head due east for our snorkeling spot."
Grace nodded, studying the compass in front of her, following Steve's guidance. "Got it, uncle Steve," she exclaimed, her eyes brimming with excitement. "We should turn slightly to the right."
Steve helped Charlie turn the wheel in the right direction.
"Like this?" Charlie asked.
"Exactly like this, buddy, you're doing great," Steve said.
With Steve's patient guidance, the kids navigated the boat through the gentle swells, their laughter filling the air as they reveled in the thrill of adventure.
Grace, ever the eager learner, leaned in close to watch her brother's every move, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Can I drive again?" she asked.
"Nooo, I want to drive," Charlie protested.
Steve chuckled, ruffling Charlie's hair affectionately. "You both got your turn. How about you drive again on the way back and for now I get to drive too, huh?"
"Okay," Charlie agreed and let go of the wheel. "Danno, did you see me? I did so well!"
Danny, comfortably seated at the back, smiled when Charlie rushed toward him with the excitement. "Yeah, you did! You're the best captain in the world."
"Do you want to try, too?"
Danny shook his head. "I think I'll leave it up to uncle Steve so we get there safely."
Steve sped up, letting Grace help him navigate towards their destination. As they approached Steve's secret snorkeling spot near a secluded island, he called the kids over, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Alright, you two, time to gear up for some exploration."
Grace and Charlie whooped with excitement, quickly donning their masks, snorkels, and fins as Steve dropped an anchor into the sand near the pristine shore.
"Now remember, stay together and keep an eye out for any interesting sea creatures," Steve reminded them, his voice tinged with excitement. "And if you see anything cool, be sure to let me know!"
With that, Grace and Charlie wasted no time in diving into the crystal-clear water, their laughter echoing across the tranquil bay.
"You sure it's safe?" Danny asked, lounging on the deck with a cold beer in his hand.
"Danny, the most dangerous things here are sea urchins. They'll be fine."
Danny watched the kids fooling around in the water, searching for sea life. "Looks like they're having a blast," he admitted, a soft smile playing on his lips.
Steve nodded, his eyes alight with pride as he leaned against the railing with a drink of his own. "Yeah, they're naturals. Unlike their dad, who can't even swim."
Danny rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about? I can swim. You saw me swimming."
"Just once," Steve said. "When our lives were at stake."
"So?" Danny shrugged. "That counts."
Steve took a sip of his drink. "You should relax, Danny. There are no criminal masterminds on the agenda today. Why can't you just enjoy some quality time away from the office?"
"Right, because every day with you is a vacation," Danny said.
Steve nudged him with his elbow, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Hey, you can't deny you love our little adventures."
Danny scoffed. "Adventures? Last time I went on a boat with you we got boatjacked and nearly got eaten by a shark."
Steve waved his hand around. "Do you see any sharks?"
Danny looked around, to the calm blue waters around. There was nothing but a tiny tropical island surrounded by coral reefs. Save the dive boat in the distance, it was just the four of them there. He shook his head in satisfaction.
Steve's grin grew wider. "Relax, buddy. We deserve some rest, too."
"Alright," Danny said. "But let's try to keep it low-key today, okay? No guns, sharks, or I don't know, rogue submarines?"
Steve held up his hands in mock surrender. "Deal. Just a relaxing afternoon with my favorite partner and the best snorkeling buddies ever."
"Uncle Steve!" Charlie called out from the water. "I can see a turtle!"
Steve looked in the kids' direction. "Keep your eyes on it, buddy! I'll be right there."
He quickly took off his tank top, revealing his tanned torso, donned his snorkeling equipment, and dove into the water off the side of the boat.
"Where?" he called out as he swam toward the kids.
"Over here," Grace said, pointing down in the water.
Steve looked under the surface, and admired the graceful movements of the sea creature slowly passing by them, unbothered. When the turtle swam away, he stayed in the water with the kids, exploring the reef with them for a good hour or so before heading back to the boat, where Danny waited, watching over them and the waves gently lapping at the nearby shore.
Steve dried himself up, and made his way to Danny. "You sure you don't want to get in? The water is perfect today."
Danny didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on something in the distance.
"Danny? You alright?" Steve asked, all playfulness gone from his voice.
"Yeah," Danny said without looking at him. "It's just…"
"What is it?"
Danny gestured toward the dive boat in the distance with his chin.
Steve looked at the vessel and watched its occupants moving with purposeful haste.
"There's something about the way they act," Danny said. "Two of them just got out of the water with some kind of a crate."
Steve squinted as he tried to make out the details. "A crate? Maybe they're just collecting some samples or something."
Danny shook his head, his instincts honed by years on the job obviously telling him otherwise. "I don't think so. I've watched them for an hour and they're too… nervous. Like they're trying to get something done quickly and get out of here."
Steve's eyes narrowed as he continued to watch the dive boat. Two of the men clearly just finished their dive, and were still dressed in the tight wetsuits. There were two more men, both moving around with purpose, helping the other two with the equipment.
"You want to go check it out, don't you?" Steve asked.
"No, Steven, I don't want to. But we should. I'm telling you, these guys are up to something and if we had a chance to stop them and we let them go instead, I couldn't look my kids in the eyes anymore."
"I thought you wanted to keep it low-key today," Steve smirked.
Danny let out a frustrated breath. "What did I just say, huh? I don't want the criminals to follow us everywhere we move. But somehow they always find us. You attract trouble."
Steve frowned. "Me? What did I do? How is it my fault?"
Danny shrugged. "I don't know. I just know that wherever you go, trouble follows."
"Hey, it might be nothing, you know?" Steve said. "A bunch of divers on Sunday afternoon is nothing unusual around here."
"It could be nothing. But I need to know for sure."
"Alright," Steve said. "Let's check it out."
Danny nodded. "Grace, Charlie, come back to the boat!" he called out.
Grace and Charlie swam towards the boat, their faces flushed with excitement from the adventure. "What's going on, Danno?" Grace asked as she climbed aboard.
"We're just going to check something out," Danny said, trying to keep his voice light.
The kids nodded, sensing the shift in Danny's and Steve's demeanor.
Steve secured the anchor and they motored over to the dive boat, approaching it cautiously. As they drew near, Steve called out, "Aloha! Everything alright over there?"
The men onboard watched them with interest, their eyes darting towards the approaching vessel. Steve figured they would probably misplace them as tourists, given their leisurely clothes and the presence of children, so he tried to maintain the facade. He noticed the tension in the men's stances and the nervous energy they radiated.
One of the men, a burly man with a scar running down his cheek, stepped forward. "We're fine, just wrapping up our dive."
Steve's sharp eyes caught sight of the small metal crate on the deck, partially covered with a wetsuit removed by one of the divers.
"Dive out here? That's cool," he feigned the interest of a non-diver tourist.
The men exchanged more glances. At this point, Steve was sure something was off.
"Look, we're a little busy here," the man said. "What do you need?"
"I'm sorry to disturb you, we just snorkeled off the coast over there," Steve said, pointing behind him. "But we thought there must be some better spots. Maybe you'd know some."
"We're cave divers, not snorkelers," another man said with spite in his voice as he took off his suit.
Steve's brain whirred. He knew this place, and he never heard about any underwater cave out here. Was it possible these guys were secretive because they found a new one? Sure. But likely, it was more than that.
He managed his easygoing attitude but his mind raced as he tried to piece together the situation.
"That's interesting," Steve continued, his voice calm. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Danny shifting subtly, positioning himself between the divers and the kids. "You mind if we take a look at your gear? I've always been fascinated by dive equipment."
The man with the scar scowled. "It's just gear. Nothing to see."
Danny stepped forward, his eyes narrowing. "If it's just gear, why are you so jumpy about it?"
The men shifted nervously. The atmosphere was thick with tension.
The scar-faced man's hand twitched towards his waist. "I said it's nothing to see," he repeated, his voice low and threatening.
Steve's eyes flicked to Danny, and in an instant, they both knew that these guys were more than just divers and they had a pretty good idea of what was about to happen.
Steve's movements were swift and calculated. He lunged forward, jumping across the gap between the boats, knocking the man's hand away from his waist just as a gun appeared. The weapon skittered across the deck and splashed into the water. The other men reacted to the threat on their boat immediately, lunging for their own weapons.
"Danny, get the kids!" Steve shouted.
Danny moved with lightning speed, scooping Grace and Charlie into his arms and pushing them down onto the deck. "Stay down!" he commanded, using his body to shield them.
The man launched at Steve, but he stepped aside and threw a punch to the man's ribcage with all the power he could muster. It crumpled him. The guy lost all the balance and dropped forward and sunk to all fours, face contorted in a grimace as he gasped for air.
Steve saw the diver to his right drawing a weapon. He ducked behind the dive boat's console, drawing his own pistol in a smooth, practiced motion. He fired at the man with the weapon. Once. Twice.
The bullets pierced the man's chest, and he fell face forward onto the deck. Blood pooled underneath him, staining the white deck. But there was no time to linger on a grisly view. Another diver lifted his weapon. Aimed it at Steve, who noticed a split second too late, and moved to bring his own gun around, even knowing he would never be fast enough.
Bang.
The gun went off, and for a split moment, Steve thought he was hit. Then he saw a crimson stain growing on his opponent's torso. The man's knees gave out and his limp body folded like a house of cards.
Steve looked past the bleeding man. Danny stood on their boat with his weapon drawn. He nodded a quick 'thanks' to his friend and went for the man to his right and–
The burly man with the scar bull-rushed him. Steve grunted as he hit the deck, the impact knocking the wind out of him. He struggled against the weight of the man pinning him down, his mind racing as he tried to regain control. They brawled, and just when Steve thought he was nearly free from the constricting grasp, the man delivered a perfectly aimed blow into his liver. And then another one, even stronger than the first.
Steve felt the instant fiery jolt of pain tear through the adrenaline and nearly crumple him. He felt his insides shriveling, the natural response to the overwhelming pain. His whole core was numb, and he knew he wouldn't be able to throw a punch without collapsing from the agony for at least a few minutes, if not hours.
The scar-faced man seemed to know this, too, because he let go of Steve and launched for Steve's P226. He aimed it at Steve's head just as the other man, standing on the other side of the boat, drew his weapon in the direction of Danny and the kids.
"What the hell is going on here?" A new voice thundered from the doorway of the cabin.
Steve, fighting the burning pain, looked up. There was a fifth man, wearing a confused frown as he emerged from the inside. He fumbled for the gun at his waist as soon as he realized what was happening.
"That's enough," the scar-faced man said. "Drop the gun or your friend is dead."
Danny stood his ground, his weapon drawn but hands visibly unsteady. Grace and Charlie huddled together next to him, partially covered by the boat's console. Steve noticed Danny's gaze flicking constantly between his children, Steve, and the armed men, his eyes filled with desperate protectiveness. Danny's stance was tense, every muscle coiled like a spring, ready to leap into action despite the overwhelming odds.
But it was a standoff they couldn't win.
If Danny was fast enough to put a bullet through the scar-faced man's skull, his finger would twitch, squeezing the trigger and shooting Steve in the process. And even if somehow, by a miracle, Steve would avoid a bullet in the head, the second man would shoot Danny, or the kids hiding not far from him, before Danny had a chance to turn around and react. And then there was the guy at the doorway.
With a pained grimace, Danny came to the same conclusion. "Alright, alright!" he shouted, his voice trembling with panic and fury. He slowly lowered his weapon.
"Drop it," the other diver demanded. "In the water."
Danny did as told. "Just… relax, okay? Nobody needs to get hurt."
The man scoffed. "A little late for that, don't you think?"
The scar-faced man nodded toward the ladder in the back of the boat. "Get onboard," he said. "All of you."
Steve and Danny exchanged a quick, desperate glance. For a fleeting moment, Danny's tough exterior cracked, and Steve could see right through his best friend. There was raw fear in Danny's eyes, a silent plea for reassurance. Danny's normally steady hands were shaking, and his face was etched with worry lines deeper than Steve had ever seen. It struck Steve how profoundly Danny's fear for his children's safety was affecting him, making every second a torturous wait for something to go wrong. Steve nodded slightly, knowing they had to keep calm for Danny's sake, and most importantly, for Grace and Charlie.
Danny helped the kids stand up, whispering reassurances to them as they moved towards the dive boat. It was hard to miss the way he moved, taking each step slow and deliberate, as if each one was a monumental effort to keep it together for the kids.
"Move," the scar-faced man barked.
Danny and the kids climbed aboard the dive boat. Danny's eyes never left the three divers as they did so.
"Over there," the scar-faced man gestured toward Steve. "On the ground."
Danny took Charlie's hand, and reached for Grace's too, when the man shook his head. "Uh-uh," he said. "Just you. The kids stay over there."
"Danno?" Grace whimpered, her voice trembling.
Steve saw Danny's face soften for a brief moment, his eyes brimming with a father's desperate worry. Danny's breath hitched, and Steve could see the internal battle raging within him — the need to protect his children versus the harsh reality of their situation.
Danny pulled the kids closer to him. "Not a chance," he growled, his voice thick with barely controlled terror.
Steve gritted his teeth in frustration, knowing Danny didn't have much of a choice. Not without endangering the kids.
"You have three seconds," the scar-face growled. "Then we shoot you all and throw you to the sharks."
Charlie buried his head into Danny, his thin arms wrapping around his father as tight as he managed.
"Three."
Danny sucked in a shaky breath, torn between what he knew was necessary and the need to stay with his children.
"Two.'
Danny looked at the kids. "It's okay," he said. "Everything's gonna be okay. Stay here, alright?"
"No!" the kids screamed in unison.
"One."
Steve's heart broke for Danny when the blonde detective pulled himself away from the kids and walked over to Steve as ordered, keeping his hands visible up in the air. But when Grace and Charlie's whimpers and protests got louder, his heart shattered into a thousand pieces.
The diver in the back waved his weapon as soon as Danny sat next to Steve, and forced the kids towards the third man standing in front of the cabin. When Grace stopped and turned her head to look at Danny and Steve, he pushed her in the back, prompting her to keep walking.
"Don't you fucking touch them!" Danny growled. It seemed it took all of his self-control not to spring back to his feet and squeeze the guy's throat. But there was still a gun trained at all four of them. He wouldn't risk it.
They watched one of the divers disappear inside with the kids. The other remained standing by the door with his weapon ready.
"Nothing will happen to them if you cooperate," the scar-face said. "But if you try something–"
He didn't need to finish. Both, Steve and Danny got it.
Steve shuffled on the floor and sat up with a pained groan, fighting nausea at the movement.
"You okay?" The concern in Danny's voice was clear as day.
"Yeah," Steve croaked. "It'll pass."
"Now," the man spoke again. "Why don't you tell me who the fuck you are?"
*to be continued*
Let me know what you think so far. It'd mean a lot.