Act 3: Chapter 1
Steve was sitting relaxed at the breakfast table with Catherine and Helen. It was Saturday, and Steve had planned a weekend getaway with Catherine to a small island where his father often took him and Mary. There, the two of them wanted to relax after a long time and bring their relationship back to the same level it was before Helen's abduction.
While Steve would be away with Catherine, Helen would stay with Danny and spend the night there since she had become very close with Grace in the meantime, and both of them had immediately agreed to this idea. Steve had also insisted that Helen stay with Danny or someone else from the team because although he trusted her to be alone at home for two days, they still hadn't found the person behind Helen's abduction, and therefore Steve didn't want her to be alone.
After breakfast, everyone packed their bags and set off. First, Steve and Catherine dropped off Helen at Danny's. Then they went to Ala Wai Harbor, where they boarded a boat Steve had rented and set off. Steve naturally stood at the helm, and Catherine stood right beside him. "I completely forgot how much I love this."
"Does that mean I should organize more little vacations for us?"
"I wouldn't mind Sailor."
"Good. But for now, let's focus on this vacation. Do you feel like snorkeling?"
"Sure."
Steve drove the boat a bit further until they arrived about 100 meters from the island's shore. There, Steve stopped the engine and took off his shirt; he was already wearing his swim trunks. Catherine also wore her bikini under her clothes, so she just had to quickly take them off. Now they only put on their snorkel masks, and Catherine couldn't help but push Steve off the boat as he was putting on his mask. It took Steve by surprise, so he couldn't hold on to anything and fell into the water. Catherine stood laughing at the edge of the boat as Steve suddenly bumped against it, causing it to move. This made Catherine fall into the water too. Both laughed, and this little fun had driven away even more tension between them.
Now they went snorkeling for about half an hour. The water in front of the small island was beautifully clear, and being underwater was always wonderful because it gave you the feeling of being free. When they were back on the boat, Steve drove directly to the shore and anchored the boat there. Then he and Catherine took their backpacks from the boat and started their walk around the island after putting on normal clothes again.
After two hours, the walk was still not boring as this island had many beautiful spots, such as a small waterfall or clearings with various flowers. As Steve and Catherine approached the beach again, they suddenly heard voices, and as they got closer, they also saw who they belonged to. Two men were standing on their boat, carefully examining it. However, Steve's alarm bells only went off when he saw that both men were carrying guns. Steve and Catherine stayed in cover for the time being, trying to eavesdrop on the conversation, which wasn't easy due to the sound of the waves. However, they were sure they heard words like "boss," "danger," and "witnesses."
"Cath, you stay here in cover. I'll go to them and have a chat."
"No, you won't. They'll just shoot you."
"I don't think so. They mentioned something about a boss, so they'll probably take me to him, and you can follow us unnoticed. Besides, they have weapons, and we don't, and they have our boat, so we won't be able to leave once they've destroyed it. And since they're not carrying those guns for fun, something illegal is going on here on the island, and we can't just let that slide."
"Then let's call Duke, HPD will handle this. We're only two, and these people might have a camp here with ten times as many as us. We can't handle that."
"That may be true, but we can't just keep walking around the island forever until they maybe leave. We can't call Duke either because our phones have no reception here, and the satellite phone for emergencies is on our boat. So we have to take matters into our own hands. So, I'll go over there now. They'll probably take me to their boss and possibly the camp, and you follow us. But first, grab the satellite phone from the boat and call Duke."
"Steve, please don't do it. I just don't want anything to happen to you."
"I'll be fine. Once you've informed Duke, you'll already be behind me, and if it's only those two guys, we can take them down quickly."
"Alright, but please don't provoke them."
"I'll be careful."
Steve emerged from cover and approached the boat, addressing the men. "Hey, can I help you guys?"
Immediately, the men turned to Steve, aiming their weapons at him and stepping off the boat. One of them began to speak to Steve. "Who are you? Is this your boat?"
"Yes, I occasionally vacation here."
"Who else is here?"
"No one."
"Are you kidding me? There's snorkeling gear for two people on the boat. So tell us who else is here and where."
"Well, you see, I would really like to help you, but somehow I don't remember."
For this statement, one of the men struck Steve in the chest with the stock of his rifle, causing him to bend over and fall to his knees. "Stop with the games. We'll find the person, and you're coming with us. Our boss will be delighted to meet you. And believe me, once you're with him, you'll wish we had just shot you."
One man roughly pulled Steve up by the arm and shoved him forward. The second man didn't follow them yet but threw something onto the boat, and shortly after, there was an explosion. Then the second man joined his partner and Steve. Catherine had to watch as Steve was taken away and the boat burned. So, she could forget about the satellite phone. Now her goal was to free Steve, which is why she started walking, following the men and Steve at a distance. However, Catherine was getting closer and since she had no weapon, she simply grabbed a stone and, when she was close enough, threw it with all her strength at one of the men's heads, knocking him unconscious. The second man was surprised, and Steve took advantage of it, quickly bringing him down as well. Then Steve took the gun and turned to Catherine. "We need to hurry and gain some distance before those two wake up and come after us. Run!"
Steve and Catherine ran as fast as they could away from the men and deeper into the jungle. After 20 minutes, they slowed down and continued at a normal pace. "Steve, do you have a plan?"
"No, but you'll be the first to know when I do."
"Wonderful. Okay, let's think. We can't call for help, we can't get out of here because we don't have a boat, and we're being chased by who knows how many guys who want to kill us."
"A little adventure, indeed."
"You can turn this story into a book if you want, but for that, we have to survive and get out of here. Another problem is that I only have two bottles of water left in my backpack, and your backpack is still lying somewhere on the beach. So if they don't kill us, we'll die of dehydration."
"No, we won't. We were supposed to drive back to Oahu and pick up Helen tomorrow afternoon. If we don't show up, she'll surely look for us. So we just have to survive until then, and the water will be enough for that. So we won't die. We just have to stay away from the men and make sure they don't shoot us."
"Well, at least that's a kind of plan."
Steve and Catherine continued walking to gain more distance. After about an hour, they found a small cave near a waterfall, hidden behind some bushes. It was a pretty good hiding spot, so they decided to stay there for the time being. They ate something and talked a lot, strengthening their mutual trust.
As it slowly got dark and the sun disappeared, Steve sat down by the cave wall entrance, and Catherine sat next to him, so he could put his arm around her. After a while, it was dark enough to see the stars. They shone beautifully, and for a moment, it felt like a vacation for Steve and Catherine. Right now they simply enjoyed each other's company and tried to push away the worry about the people chasing them. Eventually, Catherine fell asleep, and Steve intended to stay awake through the night to keep watch, but after a while, his eyes closed as well...
