CHAPTER 26

Monday afternoon, TAMC:

"Fuentes?" Danny asked, already knowing the answer.

"Good guess Detective," Fuentes answered jovially.

Now it all made sense; why Grace was calling him and why he was filled with a feeling of dread. Fuentes had his daughter. Again.

"I swear to God, if you harm one hair on her head, I will come after you and…" Danny growled before he was cut off by Fuentes.

"Yes, yes. I've heard it all before. Now, if you want to see your daughter alive and unharmed again, you will follow my instructions to the letter. We don't want a repeat of what happened last time, do we?" Fuentes said.

Danny swallowed and looked over at McGarrett. Danny was only slightly surprised to see him awake, with a scowl and murderous look in his eyes. Danny turned the phone on speaker so Steve could listen.

Danny sighed. "I'm listening."

"You know exactly what I want. I suggest you actually bring Matthew Williams with you this time. If you do this, I will give you your daughter, unharmed. If not…well, I'm sure you can use your imagination."

Danny clenched his fist around the phone, hating every minute of this.

"Where and when?" Danny asked the evil man.

"You have twenty-four hours. Bring Matthew Williams to the abandoned construction site on Kapiolani Boulevard at exactly 3:55pm tomorrow. I expect you and your brother to come alone and unarmed. Oh…Tell Commander McGarrett I look forward to seeing him again in the future. Perhaps we can pick this up where it all started, huh?…Twenty-four hours."

The call was dropped and the silence that followed was almost suffocating. The two men remained silent for a few moments, processing Fuentes' requests. Danny turned away, running a hand through his hair. He was anxious about his daughter, but also furious that Fuentes had found a way to leverage what he wanted once more. The sound of a pained grunt made Danny turn around, in time to see his partner trying to sit up.

"Whoa," Danny said, rushing towards the bed. "What are you doing Superman?"

"I'm getting out of here so we can go find Grace," Steve almost yelled.

Danny placed one hand on Steve's uninjured shoulder, effectively holding him down for the moment. "You are going to do no such thing! You are injured!…Besides, it's my fault you are in this mess in the first place."

Steve looked at Danny quizzically. "How is any of this your fault Danny?"

"It's because of my family that you got pulled into this in the first place. First, they accidentally took you instead of me. Then Fuentes tortured you because I couldn't give him what he wanted…" Danny explained solemnly.

"None of that is your fault, Danno. If anyone's to blame, it's Fuentes," Steve said. "Now, let's focus on getting Grace back. There will be plenty of time for the blame game later."

Danny sat back down in the chair, rubbing his face with both his hands. "Okay, yeah. Okay. You're right. What do we do now?"

"We know Fuentes has Grace and that she is alive. We know he wants Matt. We also know he wants to meet on his turf…I'm thinking ambush," Steve summarised.

"You think Fuentes will try and take us out? I thought he wanted Matt?" Danny said, confused.

"I think Fuentes has gone beyond a simple ransom. He wants revenge. He wants Matt to suffer. I'm thinking that as soon as you guys show up at the construction site, Fuentes will take out both you and Matt."

"Then what about Grace?" Danny asked.

"Grace won't be with him. Fuentes isn't going to give up his only leverage. She will be kept somewhere else, somewhere close by, so he can make a quick getaway," Steve thought logically.

"So you are saying that if we go through with the exchange, we are dead. But if we don't, Grace dies?" Danny asked quietly, not liking how this was shaping up.

Steve looked down at his lap and fiddled with his sling before answering. "I'm saying that it's a possibility. I've…seen it before."

Danny looked at his partner, wondering just how much experience he actually had with this kind of situation. Other than what happened with his father, Danny didn't really know anything about what Steve had accomplished during his classified Navy career. Danny suspected that Steve didn't want to talk about it and Danny couldn't blame him. War was messy.

Steve sat up suddenly. "Danny, didn't you send FBI agents to protect Grace and your brother? Shouldn't they have checked in by now?"

And yeah, the fact that his daughter had been kidnapped again by the same ruthless drug lord had diminished Danny's normally logical thought process. How could he have forgotten about that? Where were Matt and Rachel? Were they okay? Why didn't Fuentes take Matt when he took Grace? Why hadn't the FBI informed him about Grace?

Danny quickly dialled Kipton's number, pacing the room nervously as he waited for the FBI man to answer. When it went to voicemail, Danny hung up and proceeded to call again, getting the same result. Danny looked back at Steve, then at his phone. Steve could see the wheels turning in his partner's brain. Danny wanted to go check on his ex-wife and brother, but he didn't want to leave Steve's side. So Steve decided to make the decision for him.

"Go Danny. Go check on Rachel and Matt. Make sure they are okay. I'll send Chin and Kono your way. Call me as soon as you know what's going on," Steve said in his offical commanding voice.

"But…what about you?" Danny said hesitantly.

"I'll be fine. I'm in a hospital full of military personnel. Besides, I am not Fuentes' primary target right now. He knows I'm not dead, but he also knows I'm injured. He is counting on me being down for at least a little while. It's the perfect time for him to act. Now go!" Steve said.

"Okay…okay…okay," Danny said, still hesitant.

"Um, Danny?" Steve asked. "Before you go, do you think you could hand me my phone? I kind of can't reach it," he said, indicating to the arm in the sling.

"Of course. Sorry," Danny said as he handed Steve the phone and left the room.

As soon as Danny left, Steve called Chin and Kono, filling them in on the turn of events and instructing them to send backup to the safe house where the Edwards were staying. Steve sat back after making that call, surprised by how exhausted he felt. The small surge of adrenaline he had left his body quickly.

Steve looked down at his phone. There was another call he could make.

Monday evening, unknown location:

Grace Williams was cold. She was also scared. It was happening again. The mean man with the dark, cold eyes and expensive suit had kidnapped her again. What did he want this time? Why wouldn't he leave her alone? Grace shivered and curled herself up into a ball in the corner of the room.

The man with the scary face had locked her in the room after the phone call with Danny. Grace had heard her father's voice on the other end of the phone. He had sounded angry, even though she couldn't hear the words he was saying. She also heard the bad man mention her Uncle Steve. Maybe he was taking her to see him? She had been so worried about him, ever since he never came back to find her in the forest.

She sat in the corner, waiting. For what, she didn't know. She knew her father would come and find her. He was always there when she needed him, no matter what. She knew this time would be no different. He had found her in the forest, and he would find her now. Grace knew he would also send the bad guy to jail for a very long time.

Grace knew her father couldn't do it on his own. He needed help. He had Auntie Kono and Uncle Chin to help him. They could do anything. But her Uncle Steve was SuperSEAL. He would break down all the walls until he found her. Grace smiled when she thought about her Uncle's favourite line, 'Book 'em Danno'. She knew her father only pretended to hate it, just to annoy Uncle Steve.

Grace looked around the room she was in. There was a large window on the wall opposite her. She stood up and looked outside. She saw a familiar beach and instantly knew where she was. Now she just had to find a way to tell her Danno her location.

Monday evening, TAMC:

After having made his phone call, Steve couldn't help thinking about Danny. It was unfair; having to choose between two loved ones is the most difficult choice for anyone to make. Steve leant back against his pillows, closing his eyes as he ran through the scenario in his head. It was exactly like he had explained it to Danny; there was no way they could come out on top if they followed Fuentes' instructions. They had to come at him from another angle. One Fuentes wouldn't see coming.

Steve sat up with a small groan. Sitting on the side of his bed, he waited for the dizziness to subside before he attempted to stand. Despite what everyone thought, he knew his limits and his body's capabilities. Carefully, using his right hand, he took off the pulse oximeter. Then he pulled out his IV. Just that small movement jostled his injured shoulder. Steve pushed the pain to the back of his mind as he concentrated on the next phase of his escape plan.

Slowly, he stood up and was surprised when he didn't get dizzy. He shuffled over to the closet and found that someone, probably Chin or Kono, had brought him a change of clothes. He got changed rather slowly, tossing the sling back on the bed. It was difficult manoeuvring the button-down shirt over his injured shoulder. He hissed in pain when he accidentally touched his tender ribs as he was buttoning up the shirt. The pants were much easier. His shoes posed another problem altogether. Bending down was difficult with a concussion and busted ribs. Instead, he loosened the laces on his boots, then shoved his feet into them. Looking down, he decided that was the best he was going to get.

Now dressed in something other than a hospital gown, Steve walked over to the door and peered out into the hallway. It was part way into the night shift, which worked in Steve's favour. There was no one in sight. He slowly slipped out of his room and quietly headed to the nearest stairwell. Just before he reached the door, his nurse came out of another patient's room. In a moment of panic, Steve opened the nearest door and slipped in, quietly closing the door behind him.

He leant against the door, eyes closed as he waited for his breathing to get back to normal. He heard a gasp from behind him and turned around to see an older woman in a hospital bed. She was looking at him as though he was a serial killer, covered in blood and brandishing an axe. To be honest, Steve thought he probably didn't look all that attractive right now. He smiled at the woman, bringing a finger to his lips, pleading with her not to say anything or raise an alarm. She just winked at him and smiled.

"I understand, young man. This place feels a bit like a prison, doesn't it?" the woman said.

Steve nodded and grinned at the woman. She had short, white hair and was wearing a pair of small reading glasses that made her eyes look huge. She had kind features, almost motherly.

"Thank you," Steve said, almost sagging with relief.

The woman put down the magazine she was reading. "So, who are you hiding from?"

Steve looked down at his feet before admitting, "My nurse…"

The woman chuckled. "Ah…Does she have sharp pointy things?"

"Um…something like that…I just have some place I need to be," Steve replied.

"Is this place more important that your health? You know, these medical professionals do actually know what they are talking about."

Steve smiled at the woman's stern tone. "I'm sure they do. But this is important, and not just to me. A…friend has found themselves in a…sticky situation and I am the only one who can help."

"The only one?" the woman asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes, and time is of the essence. I really must go," Steve said quickly.

The woman only raised an eyebrow at him.

"Thank you, for…you know…" Steve said shyly.

"Alright, young man. I hope this friend is worth it. I hope I don't see you back here too soon, though," she said knowingly, waving him off.

Steve smiled and turned to check the coast was clear. He made his way to the stairwell and shuffled down three flights of stairs until he reached the ground floor. He was surprised when no one stopped him as he went out the main entrance and quickly hailed a cab. He knew he looked like roadkill. He didn't need to look in a mirror to know that; he could feel it. His last thought as he left the hospital was 'Danny is going to be pissed.'

Two men stood outside the front entrance and watched as Steve McGarrett entered a yellow taxi. One man dropped his cigarette, crushing it with the heel of shoe before reaching into his pocket for his phone.

"McGarrett is on the move," the man said into the phone while the other man watched the taxi drive away.

"Excellent. Keep me apprised," said the person on the other end.

The man hung up the phone and the two men walked over to a white sedan parked nearby. They got in and followed the taxi as per their boss' orders.