Hi everyone! A new chapter is here, I hope you like it. Have a nice reading now.

Chapter 18

Meanwhile in La Mariana, things weren't going very well. To tell the truth, things weren't going at all. The team still had nothing when it came to Magnum and Higgins' kidnapping. They tried a lot to find something, anything that would even remotely show them the place their friends were taken to but unfortunately it wasn't enough.

TC drove up to the bar, parked the car on his usual spot and turned off the ignition. For a moment there, he remained sitting behind the wheel, feeling the need to think things through. He has just finished one of his look-out tours in his chopper with no success whatsoever. At first, when he was flying, he focused on the streets and roads all over Oahu, trying to find that specific car. Although TC was aware of the fact that it was like looking for a needle in a hay stack, he just couldn't let go. This time, he flew over the deep rainforest to see if he could spot anything odd, anything that would stand out somehow. Unfortunately, the greenery was so dense that it would be a real miracle if he found anything. He was devastated, he was doing so much, yet it was still not enough to bring his friends back. It was hard to admit, even to himself, but he ran out of ideas as to what he could do to help them.

He sighed deeply. He hoped that at least Rick got luckier and found some lead, or Kumu – she was trying to help too. He sat there, looking at the bar and crowds of people passing by and going inside. They seemed so happy and carefree, wanting to have some fun and not thinking about bad things. Now it was so hard to believe that not more than a few days ago, he and his friends felt the same. That day in La Mariana, they were singing Christmas songs, laughing and talking happily. TM and Higgy were engaged in their usual banter and none of them was aware of the fact that in a few hours they were going to be brutally attacked, taken away and had to fight for their lives.

Yes, bad things happened in life and what's important, they could happen anytime and anywhere. At that thought, sudden anger filled TC's body and mind. It was so unfair. Thomas and Juliet didn't deserve something like this. They were both good people who often helped those in need, always dedicated to their clients and their cases. If only he could do something more…

It took the man a few moments to calm down before he finally opened the door and stepped out of the car. Once inside La Mariana, he wanted to go straight to the bar but noticed with utter surprise that Rick wasn't at his usual place. He looked around, trying to scan the crowds and eventually spotted him, sitting by the table in the far corner of the room. Judging by his body language – his head in his hands and hunched back – there was high probability that he didn't succeed either. TC approached him slowly.

"Hey, brother, how are you doing?" TC spoke gently, although now he pretty got the idea of that.

At first, Rick just sat there and didn't move for a long time. TC wanted to give him as much time as he needed because obviously he wasn't feeling well but their friends may have been running out of it so he tried again and gently touched his arm.

"Talk to me, man. I can see something isn't right." He told him and hoped he would respond to this.

He was right. Rick looked like something snapped in his mind and he finally raised his head and met his eyes. One glance at his friend's gloomy face was enough to confirm the painful truth.

"Rick?"

"I failed them." Rick spoke so quietly that TC wasn't sure he heard anything.

"Huh?"

"TM and Higgy… I failed them, brother. I feel so awful." He stated, his voice a bit louder this time. As soon as he said it, once again he buried his face in his hands.

"Hey, don't shut me out. Remember, back in that camp in Afghanistan, me, Nuzo, Magnum and you swore that no matter how hard it got, we would stick together, share our problems and try to fix them. Don't forget about that. Nuzo may not be here anymore but I still am…" TC paused for a moment and then he added in a hushed tone. "And so is Thomas."

At the mention of Magnum's name, Rick looked up.

"So, will you tell me now?" TC asked.

"I think I've tried everything to find that car, talked to everyone I know, pulled all the strings I could and I still have nothing."

"What about the computer files? Have you or Kumu found any potential suspects?"

"I've been studying them so many times that I feel like I know them by heart. We have some people who may be holding a grudge against TM or Higgy and Kumu offered to run a background check on them but it's not verified yet.

At that moment, a sudden thought struck TC's mind. "Speaking of Higgy, what about her past in MI6? Have you managed to find anything that could help us? You mentioned that hacker that lent a hand when she had been taken."

Rick shook his head sadly. "Unfortunately, her files are classified. I tried to use my contacts in the military but they weren't able to give me anything, neither the names of the missions she'd been a part of nor the people she'd worked with. And when it comes to my buddy, , I tried to get in touch with him but it turned out he disappeared which means that either he got back to his not very legal job or he broke with it completely and doesn't want anyone from his past to contact him. I left him a message though in case he thought things through. How was your search flight? Anything new?"

"I wish I had better news but there's no trace of that car anywhere and I looked for it all over the island." TC replied.

Rick pondered for a moment and then quietly asked the question he had been dreading for a while.

"What if they took them out of Oahu?"

TC answered with hesitation. "There is… such possibility although I really hope that it's not the case here. And in order to find TM and Higgy, we have to think like those kidnappers."

"So, if you were one of those men, where would you hide?" Rick asked.

"Well…," TC started thinking, "first of all, I would look for a safe place without any people around, somewhere quite far from civilization but close enough to the city in case something unexpected happened. Probably someplace old and long forgotten with good accessibility. What do you think?"

"I would choose a secluded location in the jungle, not visible from the air and difficult to access by the road. You know, there are probably plenty of such places around the island."

"Yeah, and that's what worries me." TC told him. "We'll need a miracle to find them." He added and both friends sighed deeply.

At the exact moment, Kumu entered La Mariana and the first thing she did was to head to the bar but she stopped dead in her tracks when she noticed neither TC nor Rick were there. She cast a look around the place full of people and finally spotted the two of them, sitting with not very pleased faces.

"Hey, boys." She greeted them after approaching them.

"Hey, Kumu." Rick replied sadly.

"Oh, I can see your search mission didn't go as planned." The woman told them.

"Yeah, you can say that." TC spoke. "How about you? Please, tell us you got luckier."

Kumu shook her head. "I'm sorry but I failed too. I went through the list of potential suspects that appeared in Thomas and Juliet's cases. I ruled out some of them, mainly those who are dead or locked out in prison serving a long time sentence but there are also those who moved to the mainland or to some other countries. And there are those who seem to change and who are living their lives, keeping it clean." She let out a deep breath. "Sometimes I think that it's a dead end and it's not the right way we're going here."

"We have to try every possibility if we want TM and Higgy back with us." Rick stated, his tone of voice very firm.

"What about Gordie? Has any of you heard from him today?" TC asked with a bit of hope.

"Nope." Rick shook his head.

"Not to me." Kumu replied and at the same moment, her phone beeped, signaling the arrival of a text message and startling the three of them.

"Oh." Kumu murmured and reached into her pocket to get her phone quickly.

"Maybe it's Gordon. Are you sure he doesn't have any bugs here?" TC asked his friend and business partner.

"Hey, I would have known if that was the case." Rick said.

"I would be so sure." TC spoke under his breath. "If he wanted to find out what we're up to, then it would be possible to plant a bug in La Mariana. We don't spend all the time here., you know?"

"Hmm… You're right but I don't think he would go to such great lengths."

"It's not Gordon, it's… Jin." Kumu interrupted their conversation.

"Jin? What is it that he possibly wants?" Rick asked and looked at TC who seemed to be as surprised as he was.

The woman explained at once. "I told him about Thomas and Juliet's kidnapping because I wondered if he could help us."

"Two heads are better than one." TC murmured.

"Actually, it's four heads." Rick pointed out but then a sudden thought entered his mind. "Wait. How can Jin help us? Will he go around the island and scan the streets in order to find that car?"

Kumu shook her head. "No, it's not what I really had in mind. My idea was something completely different."

"What?" Rick asked.

"Who is Jin?" She replied with a question which made both men puzzled.

They didn't answer her at all, wondering what it was that their friend expected them to say. When they remained silent, Kumu finally told them.

"He's a former thief or rather a former asset redistributor as he had called himself and as you may guess, he has lots of connections among a wide array of those who not always operate within the law. When he heard about the whole situation, he offered to ask around and contact those he knows whether they heard something that may help us. I know it probably is a long shot but seeing that we as well as the police haven't moved a bit further in the search of our friends, Jin may be our only chance."

When Kumu stopped saying that, TC and Rick both glanced at each other and nodded their heads.

"You're right, Kumu." Rick agreed with her.

"Your idea was quite good. So what about that text message? Has Jin found anything?" TC said.

"Let's see." Kumu replied and quickly read the message. "He may have something and he wants me to call him ASAP." She said and did that at once.

After dialing Jin's number, all three of them held their breaths and waited impatiently for him to pick up. Four rings and there was still nothing. Was it possible that he didn't hear it? He should have picked up right after the first ring since he wanted to be called. Right when they thought they wouldn't talk to him, they finally heard his voice.

"Hello? Kumu, is that you?"

Kumu, Rick and TC exchanged glances. Jin sounded weird. He usually was self-assured and fearless but this time his voice seemed quite weak and there was something else. Was he scared? They all felt something was wrong.

"Yes, it's me. Jin, are you okay?" Kumu told him.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why do you think so?" Jin asked.

"Cause to us you sound nowhere near being okay." The reply came and it evidently surprised him a lot.

"Huh? Who's that? Kumu, you haven't told me you're not alone."

The woman didn't have the chance to answer him as TC spoke again. "Hey! Calm down, man. It's TC here. Why are you so…?"

"Is there anyone else with you that could overhear our conversation?" Jin interrupted him, lowering his voice instantly.

"Only me. Hi, Jin." Rick spoke up.

"Where are you, guys?"

Kumu, Rick and TC exchanged puzzled looks. Jin was definitely acting weird, he had never been so paranoid before and they wondered what may have caused that behavior.

"We're in La Mariana. Our table is in the far corner so I can assure you that no one else is listening here." Kumu informed him.

They heard a loud sigh. "Good. Very good."

"Jin, what's happening? Why all this conspiracy?" Rick asked.

"Tell us what's wrong." TC joined in.

"I did what I had told you, Kumu. I asked around among the people I know…"

"You mean criminals." Rick cut in.

"I mean those who sometimes forget about the law." Jin corrected him and TC chuckled hearing that explanation.

"Yeah, it's a huge euphemism." Rick murmured, loud enough for Jin to hear.

"Anyway, I have to tell you guys, it was odd from the beginning."

"What do you mean odd?" Kumu asked.

"Normally, they're cool. We cons, I mean businessmen, stick together and if someone needs some help such as information for example, they gladly give it to you. Of course it's quid pro quo, it's a kind of a deal like with Magnum's favors, however, unlike with him you mustn't forget that each favor from these people will have to be returned at some point, you just don't know when." Jin stated.

"Jin, can you get to the point?" TC said, realizing that time was passing by and they still didn't get the information from the man.

"All right. I'll tell you. Wow, I guess patience isn't your thing, huh?" Jin pointed out.

"Jin…" Kumu warned him.

"Okay, I'm almost there, you'll see. So, this time when I started asking if anyone heard about two PI's being kidnapped, no one was talking. As I've said, normally I would get the info quite fast but here they pretended they didn't know anything about it." Jin said as Kumu, Rick and TC sat there surprised and waited for him to explain more.

"I wondered what it was all about and why all those possible informants became tight-lipped about this case and then I got struck by a sudden idea…" He paused for a moment.

The three friends exchanged a knowing look while Rick could barely sit still and started to clear his throat.

"Hello? Rick, is that you? Man, are you all right? If you need some medical advice for your sore throat, I can recommend a great doctor, he's a real professional. Tell him I gave you his name and you'll get a discount." Jin said.

"No, thank you, Jin. I'm fine. Just tell us, please, what you found out." Rick told him, losing his patience.

"Ah, yes. So suddenly it got to me – they were all scared and that could mean only one thing which is the person behind it must be very powerful."

"And this person is…" TC encouraged the man to finally share this with them.

What Jin replied to that, made all three of them struck dumb.

"I don't know that."

For a moment there, Kumu, Rick and TC were just sitting and looking at each other. A few minutes earlier, they got the impression that Jin phoned because he wanted to tell them something important that he had found out and now they were left with nothing again.

It was Rick who first recovered. "So, to sum up, you have nothing new for us and we still don't know where to find TM and Higgy."

"What?!" They heard Jin raise his voice. "Why do you say so? I never told you that I have nothing."

"But with what you gave us so far… We thought…" Kumu spoke but was instantly interrupted by the man.

"Nah, I had to show you the whole picture first."

"Jin!" All three friends shouted at the same time.

"Okay! I get it! Anyway, although I don't know the name of that mysterious man, I managed to speak to one of my colleagues and I must say it required a lot of my persuasive skills along with a little reminder about the favor he owned me before he gave in and finally revealed the information." He paused for a few seconds. "And before you ask again, I'm telling you what I heard then. A few days ago, there was a man, definitely not from around here, who after drinking too much, wanted to impress some girls and boasted that soon he'd be quite loaded due to his big job and that it involved snatching a lady and then holding her for the boss."

Kumu, Rick and TC looked at each other and their hearts suddenly filled with hope.

"Did he say anything else, like where he was supposed to hold her?" Kumu wanted to know.

"Not really. When being asked for more details, he became silent. Maybe he drank too much after all or started being careful then?" Jin wondered and then he quickly added. "Oh, there's one more thing, though. This friend of mine got to the girl that man was hitting on and she said he'd wanted to visit her so badly and when she gave him the address, he announced that although it was on the opposite side of the island, he would manage to come and see her even if he was somewhere in the jungle, sitting in that old thing."

"Jin, do you know where she lives?" TC asked right away, beating the others to it.

"Yeah, I'll send you the address."

"Thank you, man. You've just earned a free drink in La Mariana." Rick told him, grateful for the man's help.

"How about making that two?" Jin asked, trying his luck.

Normally, Rick wouldn't go for that but these circumstances were exceptional and he just laughed genuinely and spoke, "All right… if TC agrees."

"It's fine by me." TC replied.

"Great. I hope now you'll find Magnum and Higgins. Give me a call when you do. See you. Bye." Jin said.

"We will. Mahalo, Jin." Kumu spoke up.

The three of them smiled. Now that they finally had a promising lead, all they had to do was to follow it and free their friends.

Thank you for reading. Today, after so many chapters, we finally have a bit of hope. Do you think the team will find their friends? Or will there be some new obstacles down the road? Don't forget to share your thoughts with me. See you next time.