"I gotta say, guys, this is a good day for a hike in the forest," Rick commented from the rear of the line on the narrow trail. Second in the line, was TC who, despite his big size, nimbly turned around and walked backwards while replying to Rick's comment.

"I told you, you would enjoy it, man. Nothing but peace and quiet out here. What do you think, Higgy?" the pilot said and turned back around again, before he accidentally tripped over a root. They were all carrying backpacks of possibly necessary equipment, one might need on a hike in the forest, like rope, raingear, provisions, compass and a good deal more.

"I'm curious as to how you found out about this place, Magnum?" Higgins asked from between TC and Rick. Magnum, as the leader of the group, had set the pace quite high, but for now it was still easy going, so he trudged on while talking over his shoulder.

"After the whole thing with the NOC list and Junior being kidnapped, McGarrett asked me to join him on a hike. This is the trail we took," he explained and shrugged.

"Wait, hold on a second, why is this the first I'm hearing of this?" Rick asked, astounded, that he hadn't been told.

"You went on a hike with Steve McGarrett, the head of Five-0, and you didn't tell us about it?" TC asked incredulously.

"I'm sure he must have had his reasons not to share, right, Magnum?" Higgins asked and earned a brief, curious stare from TC.

"Did you know about this?" Rick asked, before TC could.

"No, this is the first I'm hearing of it, too," Higgins quickly explained.

"Come on, guys, it wasn't that big of a deal," Magnum said as he trudged on up the hill.

"What did you talk about?" Rick wanted to know and vaguely swatted at a bug.

"Nothing much, really," came the reply, to which TC scoffed.

"Really, TM, this is a half-day hike. Do you expect us to believe, that you and McGarrett walked in silence, all that time?"

"I don't think Magnum is capable of being quiet over such a long period," Higgins added with a smile. "McGarrett would have no problem with that, I'm sure."

"Alright, alright… we talked about a lot of things, actually. Our differences and similarities, Robin and the novels, ops, Five-0, the future-"

"I'm sorry, Thomas, was he offering you a job at Five-0?" Higgins interrupted and the question had all four of them stop in their tracks. Magnum turned around with an indeterminable half-shrug. "Oh my God, he did," Higgins exclaimed with pure shock clearly written in her face. TC and Rick remained quiet, but equally shocked.

"Not in so many words, exactly," Magnum admitted and broke off a twig to fiddle with its leaves before he explained further. "Somehow we got to talking about our time in the camp and how we ended up here on the island. Turned out, he asked me to go hiking, because he needed some objective advice, one thing led to another and he basically told me, that if I wanted, I could take over his spot on the team," he said and tossed the mangled twig aside. His three friends said nothing, too astonished by what they had just heard.

"Okay, one, I have the urge to laugh at the idea of you with a real badge and, two, I think this calls for a break, 'cause I need some water after hearing that," Rick said and headed straight for TC's backpack. Magnum rubbed a hand over the back of his neck before he shook his own backpack off and took a seat on a smaller log in the side of the trail. They were currently on a smaller incline with trees and vegetation in every direction. On one side, the ground was rising at a shallow angle. It would be possible to climb it without extra gear, but not comfortable. On the other side, the ground was shying away, some places it was a near vertical drop of thirty feet.

"Why you?" Higgins asked and accepted the cold beverage Rick offered her. She leaned on the nearest tree and Magnum shrugged again.

"Believe me, I've wondered about that too," he said and uncapped the bottle Rick threw at him.

"Why didn't you tell us, man?" TC asked after guzzling down half a bottle.

"Look, McGarrett is a solid guy and I got the feeling that it was all on the DL, so I didn't share it with you guys, besides I didn't accept the offer," Magnum said. "Us team-guys, we gotta stick together," he said and took a sip of the water bottle as Nuzo's kind, laughing face flashed before his eyes. They were quiet for another couple of minutes before Higgins spoke again, her eyes fixed on something down the steep hill.

"What's that?" she asked and stepped to the edge of the trail to get a better look. The three guys approached her and they all looked down.

"A backpack?" Rick asked and carefully leaned forward, hand locked onto TC's wrist. The backpack was about thirty feet down, resting in a thicket of thorns.

"I see that. Look further down, about ten feet to the left. I think there's a person down there," she said urgently and looked around for any kind of path down to the unmoving form. It was kind of hard to spot, because of the green and beige colors of the clothes and all the vines tangled around them.

"Hello? Can you hear us? Are you hurt?" Rick called out and almost lost his footing before TC pulled him back. They didn't get an answer. Magnum had returned to their backpacks and retrieved rope, harness and a first aid kit. He stepped into the harness and secured it tightly before hooking the kit onto the belt.

"Magnum, take a look at this," Higgins said. She had moved away from the edge and was crouched down in the middle of the trail. Something red was smeared on her finger.

"Blood?" TC asked and curiously looked down to the unmoving form again.

"Yes. Not even dried yet," she said. Rick had grabbed the end of the rope to secure it to a tree.

"Guys, I've got no reception up here," TC said, having wanted to call for a medevac.

"I had a couple of bars about a mile back," Rick replied.

"Let's get down there first, see how bad it is," Magnum said and walked to the edge.

"Be careful," Higgins said when he took the first step down and slid a couple of feet before the combined weight and power of Rick and TC arrested his fall. Magnum, too focused on getting down unscathed, didn't answer. It was far and tedious work to pass through the bushes and not get stuck because the rope snatched on a branch. A couple of times, he lost his footing and only thanks to the rope, he didn't end up with a broken neck. He passed the backpack and continued another twenty feet down, before he carefully rested on a somewhat level rocky formation right next to the person, Higgins had spotted.

"Sir, can you hear me?" he asked and reached for the man's wrist. He was lying face down and the only thing keeping him from toppling further down was the fallen log he had landed on. The pulse was strong and steady, so Magnum moved along to perch awkwardly on the log and tapped the man's face gently.

"Wha'…" the man mumbled and jerked his head. He looked to be mid-thirties, had a ring on the finger and a goose-egg-sized bump on his head. Other than a few cuts and scrapes he looked to be alright. Nothing that would account for the blood Higgins had found.

"Hey, don't move too much, I need to, hey, hey, hey…" Magnum said as the man pushed himself up on his knees, wincing.

"Where is she? Is she alright? Please, tell me, she's alright," the man said and Magnum had to wrap an arm around the man, before he fell over again.

"Whoa, stop, don't move," he said as the fallen log jerked a couple of inches below them. "What's your name?" he asked, as the man grabbed a bruising hold on his arm.

"Jake Coulson," the man replied anxiously. He looked down for a moment and then clenched his eyes shut.

"I'm Thomas Magnum. Can you tell me, where you're hurt?" Magnum asked and Jake gestured to his ankle. "We'll keep the boot on for now, it'll act as a stabilizer, until we get back up on top. Any kind of dizziness or nausea?" Jake shook his head and looked up the steep hill. Magnum cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Busted ankle, I need some slack in the rope," he yelled and soon after he pulled another ten feet of rope down. He couldn't exactly hear the response, but identified Rick's voice.

"Maeve? Is she up there?" Jake asked and then it was Magnum's turn to shake his head.

"Who's Maeve?" he asked instead as he made a makeshift harness of the rope.

"My daughter. She's nine. Maybe she got away?" Jake asked, visibly worried.

"Got away? What are you taking about?" Magnum asked, not recalling any reports of wild animals in the area. Of course, a boar could take on a small girl, but hardly with a grown man around.

"They had guns, I don't know what happened. Just that they grabbed her and pushed me over the edge," Jake said now on the verge of tears.

"They? Who? When?" Magnum asked, his gut clenching.

"I don't know, three men and a woman. Not long ago, I think," Jake replied. "We were just out for a hike, just me and Maeve, quality father-daughter-time, while Sarah took care of the boys," he continued and explained, "Sarah's my wife, we've been together for fourteen years, the boys are just five years old, Michael and Morgan, real troublemakers," he said with a smile. "Oh, no, what am I gonna tell Sarah?" he said and Magnum put a hand on Jake's shoulder to calm him down.

"How about we'll get back up on the trail and take it from there," Magnum suggested and shortly after they were ready to start the climb. Jake was now wearing the harness and Magnum in the makeshift one and he gave the rope two sharp tucks, knowing Rick and TC would get the message. It took some work and time, but finally they reached the top and TC pulled Jake up by the harness as Rick reached down for Magnum.

"We need to call Katsumoto," Magnum said urgently as he took the bottle of water offered to him by Higgins.

"What? Why?" she asked and Jake explained hurriedly about his daughter and the four strangers.

"We don't have any time to waste, we have to split up," Magnum said and glanced at Higgins who looked about to argue. "By the time the cops get all the way up here, they'll be long gone. And Jake needs to get to the hospital," he reasoned and got no objections except a stunned look from Jake.

"Who are you guys?" he asked in wonder and Rick pointed as he made short introductions.

"Magnum, private investigator. Juliet Higgins is his partner, business partner," he quickly corrected himself at the stern look he got from her. "TC's a pilot, he owns Island Hoppers and I'm Rick, I own La Mariana." Jake stared at them in return, mouth slightly agape.

"But they have guns! What are you going to do? Believe me, I appreciate you wanting to help, but wouldn't it be better to let the police handle this? I can't believe, I just said that," Jake marveled and guzzled down the water.

"Rick, you go back and call for back-up when you have service. TC, you'll stay here with Jake in case they double back. Higgy and I will try to catch up with them and get Maeve back," Magnum said as he started for their backpacks resting over at the tree. He transferred all the essential stuff to the two of them.

"Trust me, Jake, these two know what they're doing," TC said before Higgins made a valid point.

"Jake's right, Magnum, they have guns, and unless you got weapons and ammunition in those pockets, we're quite unarmed," she said and Magnum shrugged.

"We can't do nothing, Juliet. That girl is in danger. Are you coming or not?" he asked as he shrugged a backpack on. Higgins sighed and grabbed the other backpack. She knew he was right.

"Guys, it's not that I don't trust your abilities, but the two of you up against four armed? I don't like those odds," Rick said, trying to hide his hesitation for Jake's sake.

"We'll figure it out," Magnum simply said, surely, they would have some advantages, element of surprise and plain old luck, for example. "We'll call if we get any reception," he said instead and looked a question at Higgins who nodded. She was ready. No other words needed to be said. Rick started jogging back down the trail, while Magnum and Higgins hiked in the opposite direction. Jake was sitting on the ground and looking at the trail ahead. TC was glancing back and forth, mind now in sentry-mode as the Ohana split up.

MAGNUM

Magnum and Higgins was both breathing hard as they reached a small clearing in the trees. Their pace had only quickened as they didn't exactly need to use tracking skills. The only way was the trail they were on and the foliage and nothingness on both sides only made it that much clearer.

Higgins was losing track of how far they had run, the endless scenery of trees and green flowing together. But judging by the burn in her legs and her breath, she would say at least three miles with a lot of it being uphill. Magnum was faring only a little bit better, even though he was carrying the heaviest of the backpacks. They paused and looked around and back down the trail.

"Have we missed them?" Higgins asked between small sips of water and Magnum shook his head.

"Not unless they were hiding in the trees," he said and thought back to his hike with McGarrett. This clearing was sort of the halfway mark for their hike and served as a great spot for breaks. In addition to the trail they had arrived on, there were three others, one in each direction and Magnum scratched the back of his neck as he walked over to inspect the openings to the other trails.

"Which way?" Higgins asked and Magnum shrugged with a sigh.

"It's not that one," he said and pointed to the one on their left. "I went that way with McGarrett and it doesn't have any other trails. It goes straight to the waterfall. I don't know about the other two. There's a lot of footprints on both of them," he said and checked his phone for signal. Nothing, just like he had expected. Higgins voiced her thought, reading Magnum's face.

"So we split up, fifty-fifty on finding them, but unable to contact the other in case we do," she said and corrected the backpack. Magnum nodded.

"It's the best option. We can't do nothing. One of us with Maeve is better than her being alone," he said and Higgins nodded in agreement.

"Alright, I'll go this way," she said and headed to the trail on their right. "If we do end up finding her, we need to signal each other somehow. I doubt we'll get any service out here," she said, pointing out the obvious.

"I'm sure we can think of something," Magnum said and took a few steps towards his trail. "Be careful, Juliet, we don't know who we're up against," he said, a bit quieter and more serious. She nodded somberly and caught his eyes.

"Take care, Thomas," she replied and they both turned around and started jogging.

MAGNUM

Another mile into his quick jog, Magnum's ears picked up voices and sounds of footsteps. He slowed and crouched as he crept closer, trying to get a look at the people speaking. He couldn't make out the words, but he thought there were at least two males and one female discussing something.

Once they were within his sight and he actually laid his eyes on none other than Maeve, he simply walked right up to them, as if he was just another man out for a walk. It didn't matter, that he could only see the backs of them or that the four people were armed. It didn't matter, that he was completely alone and miles from any kind of back-up. The only thing that mattered, right now, was that Maeve seemed to be unharmed and walking by herself.

They seemed to be a very mixed group, none of them looked to be related. The two young men were both wiry and barely a day over twenty-five, one a dirty blonde, the other darker, both in hair and skin tone. The woman looked to be ten years older and the older man could be anywhere above sixty, his face hard and square.

"Hey, guys," he said, voice cheery and with a smile plastered on his face. All five heads whirled around and he couldn't help but notice that at least two of the men, the oldest and the blonde, had reflexes and wit enough to reach for said weapons on their belts.

Fortunately, they didn't regard him as a threat, so they remained holstered and covered by their clothes. The woman, luscious red hair and deep blue eyes, had a hand on Maeve's shoulder, holding her back, squeezing a warning of silence, that was evident even for Magnum at the distance.

Maeve was a beautiful young girl, looked nothing like Jake, so Magnum assumed she was the spitting image of her mother. Her bright green eyes were puffy, red and tearing up and her long, fairy-like blonde hair was completely messed up in the braid. She had obviously been putting up a fight.

"This is a good day for a hike in the forest," Magnum echoed Rick's comment from earlier as he approached the group. They still hadn't replied as he came within six feet of the nearest man, the blonde, though they had exchanged worried, inquisitive looks with each other. They all looked jittery and spooked, as if coming off a high of something.

"It is," the biggest man replied and walked closer. His hair was mostly grey, but Magnum was aware of how good his reflexes had been, so he kept a watchful eye on the old man. "You out here all by yourself?" he asked and subtly looked over Magnum's shoulder.

"Yeah, my girlfriend had some friends over, so I came up here to enjoy the peace and quiet," Magnum said, easily falling into the role as he took in all the information from his peripheral vision. The two other men had stepped closer, flanking the old one, while the woman and Maeve firmly stood their ground behind them. He couldn't exactly see if the woman was armed, but he knew he had to prepare as if she was. "I've never been down this trail before, do you know where it goes?"

"Nowhere in particular. If you want a better trail, you should backtrack and go for the waterfall," the old man said.

"It's beautiful up there," the woman insisted. Maeve gasped and tried to shy away from the hand on her shoulder, clearly it wasn't comfortable. Magnum took a closer look at the girl and then the adults.

"Is everything alright here? Are you hurt?" Magnum asked, his question directed at the girl, but she didn't answer.

"Everything is fine. You should get on your way now," the man on the left said as the three of them took a small step forward. Magnum stood his ground, knowing his plan was failing. Not that he had much of a plan to begin with, but he had the feeling this was going downhill fast.

"See, I don't think I should," Magnum said, tensing his body invisibly. "Let the girl go and get out of here before the police gets here," he said and the confrontation was enough to visibly startle the woman and anger the three men.

"What have you done?" the woman hissed and produced a small handgun from the waistband of her shorts. It had been covered by her shirt, Magnum realized, and the small size had made in damn near invisible. Now, despite its small caliber, it looked dangerous.

In her rage, she was distracted enough to let go of Maeve and Magnum saw her take a hesitant step backwards. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw the girl look back over her shoulder. Smart kid, Magnum thought. He could keep them distracted enough for her to slip away unnoticed.

"Nothing, that can't be undone, yet. Put your weapons down and get out of here," Magnum said, fully aware that he had nothing but empty words against them. The woman took a step forward and raised her gun, pointing it right at Magnum's chest. The old man looked like he considered their options for a brief second before backing up the woman with a gun of his own. This one had a lot more stopping power, Magnum vaguely noted.

The two younger men followed his lead and in no time, Magnum had four guns pointed squarely at him. He didn't move, but kept his eyes locked onto the woman, she was clearly the most unstable of them all. In his peripheral vision he could see Maeve had turned around and was hurrying quietly down the trail.

"Who are you?" the old man asked and Magnum shrugged. His thoughts were going a mile a minute, thinking of possible scenarios and outcome. Chances weren't optimal, even though the four of them didn't seem to have any real training with firearms.

"Just a guy out on hike," Magnum said without taking his eyes off the woman. "The police are on their way, right now. Last chance, you should get away while you can," he told them again and looked to the older man.

"No, you've ruined everything!" the woman screamed and took the safety off the small gun. Magnum didn't flinch, though he really wanted to take cover. A sound made them all turn and Magnum saw Maeve freeze. She had accidentally stepped on a dry twig and the sound had alerted them of her escape.

"Maeve, run!" Magnum yelled when the woman flung her arm around, followed by an agonizing wail as Magnum surged forward and grabbed her by the wrist, seizing the small gun. The old man was the first to pull the trigger at the spot where Magnum had just been standing. Magnum jumped behind a tree, knowing it was a futile attempt to hide.

"Get her!" the old man yelled and the two younger ones took off running. Magnum aimed the gun at the back of the two, and though it was a dirty move, he hit the two in the legs and they fell to the ground, writhing. Not killing, merely incapacitating. All this happened while the woman was screaming her lungs out in a frantic anger.

"Put your weapons on the ground and lock your fingers behind your head!" Magnum yelled from behind the tree and another two bullets whizzed past the trunk, he could hear a third one slam into the bark.

Now they were all furious and screaming, the woman trying to get the young men back on their bleeding legs. Magnum looked around the tree grabbed the opportunity of the confusion to take off running after Maeve. Another couple of bullets chased him away, luckily none of them hitting their mark, as he rounded the bend and started looking for Maeve. She couldn't have gotten far.

As for signaling Higgins, the sound of shots being fired would have definitely reached her. The booms from the old man's gun were still rolling through the trees. The trail was sloping gently up and down and around a series of small bends and turns before Magnum caught a glimpse of Maeve, running as fast as her little legs could carry her.

"Maeve," he called out and she looked over her shoulder before hesitantly stopping and Magnum caught up with her. "Come on, we have to get off the trail and double back," he said and seeing her confusion he took a deep breath and tried to relax.

"Who are you?" Maeve asked and Magnum briefly look back over his shoulder.

"I'm Thomas. Your dad told me about what happened. My friends are with him now," Magnum said calmly and glanced backwards again. He wasn't sure how fast they would be moving with two of them bleeding and in pain.

"My dad? Is he okay? They pushed him over the edge," Maeve said and Magnum nodded, reassuring her.

"He'll be fine. He's very worried about you. The police are also coming, so we have to get back. Come on, we should hide before they come back," Magnum said and offered Maeve his hand. She spent a moment thinking before trusting him and grabbed his hand. Magnum led them off the trail, careful about leaving any tracks.

MAGNUM

Higgins stopped dead in her tracks when the first echo of a shot sounded. She had no doubt what it was, but pinpointing the direction from where it had come wasn't all that easy. The following shots had her zeroing in on a course but even though a straight line might be shorter, she knew it would take longer than actually doubling back and staying on the trail.

"If this is your idea of a signal, Magnum, we need to have a serious talk," Higgins muttered under her breath and briefly checked her phone for a signal. Two bars, surprisingly. Briefly debating who to call, she tried Magnum's phone first. It didn't connect. Next up was Rick and the call connected.

"Higgy? Is everything alright? Are you okay? We heard the shots," Rick said, not trying to hide his worry. She could hear Jake panicking in the background and TC trying to calm him down.

"I'm fine. We split up. Magnum must have run into them. I'm heading back to the other trail now," she said and itched to get going.

"Alright, we're coming, too. Gordon should be here in a few minutes," Rick replied, but somehow it didn't calm her down.

"Go straight until you come to a clearing. Then take the trail in the middle. I don't know if it splits up after that," she said. "I'll call you again, if I get a signal," she said and ended the call without waiting for a reply. She started running back up the trail and estimated she had at least two miles to cover before reaching the place where the shots had been fired.

MAGNUM

The going was tough, through the shrubbery and wild plants and Magnum was somewhat impressed, that Maeve could keep up with him, though he had to lift her over the worst of it. He paused, listening attentively before turning to Maeve and kneeling, looking her in the eyes.

"Listen, Maeve. They're not far behind us. I need to lead them away so you have to hide for a while, can you do that?" Magnum asked her and though visibly scared, Maeve nodded.

"You'll come back for me, right?" she asked quietly and Magnum nodded.

"Of course. I promise," he said. "If not me, then my friends will come get you. They're really good at finding people," Magnum reassured her.

"How will I know them?" she asked and both of them briefly looked back as they clearly heard another sound.

"Well, Juliet talks funny, she's British. Rick talks a lot and he might not look like it, but he's as soft as a marshmallow. TC is huge, like twice as big as me, but I'm better looking than him," Magnum said and pulled Maeve to the tree nearest them. "I'll give you a push so you can hide up on the branches. You have to be really quiet, even though you can't hear anything, alright?" he explained and Maeve nodded again.

It didn't take long for the little girl to scale the tree after reaching the first branch and she quickly found a good hiding spot behind the leaves. Magnum was sure, that if moving fast and not looking up, she would be invisible. He signaled her to be quiet and then took off running.

He heard a yell of alarm from behind him as he crashed through the thick bushes and pushed the young trees out of his way. He didn't really care about which direction he was going other than leading their chasers away from Maeve.

He could feel how thorns tore at his clothes and skin and he ducked instinctively when he heard two shots from behind him, even though the bullets went wide. One of them splintered the tree right next to him.

Thankfully, the terrain was mostly flat or sloping down. He pushed downhill, and came to a small creek which he crossed, and kept on running. He could still hear yelling behind him, though making out the words were harder. He pushed through a particular thick area and halted in surprise when he came to the clearing behind it.

He was staring at rows upon rows of fully grown cannabis plants. Impressive as is was, an alarmed yell from his right, had him turn sharply towards the sound and he froze in his tracks. Two men, both around forty, were aiming a couple of modified shotguns at him from twenty feet away.

"Do not move, asshat," one of them said and Magnum complied, not moving a muscle. He was not taking any chances with buck shots, no matter the distance. His chaser came crashing through the thicket and took in the sight before him. It was the old man from before, Magnum was slightly surprised of the man's ability to follow him through the forest.

"What do you want us to do with him?" the other man asked and the old man looked hard at Magnum.

"Where's the girl?" the old man asked Magnum instead and the private investigator shrugged.

"Probably on her way home to her family, already," Magnum replied smugly. The old man didn't look impressed as he turned to his two friends.

"Tie him up and take him back to camp. Then come help us look for the little girl. She's got to be somewhere in the forest," the old man said, as part of the puzzle cleared up for Magnum. They were living up here and growing pot, something he had just stumbled into. "And bring everybody but John and Strauss. I want them to watch him," the old man continued and looked at Magnum. "I'll deal with you later,"

"Come on, man, I only came for the girl. No need to show me your camp, I can find my own way back," Magnum said with a smile. That earned him a stinging right hook from the old man, that knocked him off his feet. The two newcomers were on him in a matter of seconds, having him turned onto him front and tied his arms behind his back with zip ties.

Magnum spit out some blood before he was hauled to his feet, turned around and pushed down the path. The old man was long gone, already back out to search for Maeve. Magnum prayed back-up wasn't far away.

One of the shotguns were roughly pushed into his back and the force of it almost had him stumble before he looked back over his shoulder and gave the grinning man what was supposed to be a stern look, but in reality, it was more like a grimace.

MAGNUM

The walk back to camp wasn't long and Magnum estimated they had at least a million dollars growing out here. And that was just the smallish crop he had seen. Logically, it wouldn't be their only field.

The camp wasn't made out of much, but a few tents around a fireplace, hammocks and other equipment sheltered by tarp, camouflaged with branches and leaves. People were milling around. There was probably a dozen of them, all together. Men and a couple of women, mostly younger people.

Magnum was pushed to a spot between to trees where the zip ties were cut and each wrist tied to the end of a rope, which looped around strong branches of the tree. The rope kept his arms out straight and if he pulled at either of the ropes the other side would tighten. His belongings were tossed to the side and stomped on for good measure. He could hear the screen on the phone crack under the heel.

The people were looking at him, disgustedly and talking amongst themselves until the one, who had pushed Magnum, spoke up.

"This man hid the girl Beau and Summer found this morning. He shot Indigo and Jackson. Beau will deal with him himself later, but right now he wants everybody out there, looking for the girl. We have to assume that authorities are coming, so be careful and check in every thirty minutes. John and Strauss, you'll stay here and watch him. Let's go, folks," he said and Magnum watched them all pick out firearms and knives.

As they started fanning out the two biggest men in the camp turned to look at him and walked closer, each with a hunting dagger in their hands. They even looked like a John and a Strauss, Magnum thought, without moving as the skinniest of the two stepped right into his face. He had a couple of inches on TC, so Magnum really had to crane his neck to look the man in the eye.

"What? Are you just gonna stand there, staring at me until your boss comes back?" Magnum asked defiantly. He found it hard to be his normal, cocky self, when thinking of Maeve and how scared she would be right now. The man tensed and was about to give a retort when the other man slapped him on the arm gaining his attention.

"Relax, John. Beau wanted him for himself. I'm sure you have the leftovers, once he's done," Strauss said and John pinned Magnum with another brief glare before stepping back. He lowered himself into a foldable chair and began sharpening his knife, almost as if trying to scare Magnum. The other man, Strauss, pulled another chair closer and sat down. He even had the audacity to close his eyes.

"So, all of you live out here? Growing pakalolo and kidnapping little girls?" Magnum said and Strauss opened one eye to glance at him.

"What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to know what to tell the cops. With all this product you might not want to get involved in anything else, much less a kidnapping. If you untie me now, I'll put a good word in for both of you," Magnum said and John looked to Strauss who barely moved his head.

"What makes you think they'll listen to you?" Strauss asked and Magnum shrugged.

"I help them every now and then, they trust me," Magnum said. Strauss moved to his feet and walked back over to Magnum, who still didn't flinch as the man brought his knife to the private investigator's throat.

"Are you a cop? Do you work for the police?" he asked with a slight pressure on the knife. It was sharp enough to draw blood and Magnum felt it trickle down his neck. Magnum huffed, and carefully shook his head. No need to aggravate the small nick.

"No, the hours don't suit me," Magnum replied and was about to continue when gunfire in the not so far distance had all three of them alarmed. Even John jumped to his feet and holstered the knife before reaching for the firearm propped up against the chair.

Strauss took a step back and lowered the knife. He looked to John and nodded in the direction of the sound. John moved off and into the woods. The shooting was over in less than ten seconds, but the silence that followed was enough to get people on edge.

"You should probably go with him. I'll wait right here," Magnum said, pushing his luck. The goal wasn't to be left alone, but very subtly get Strauss closer and somehow get a hold of the knife, so he could cut the rope. Odds were a lot better, with only one opponent.

Strauss looked at him before looking back to the origin of the sound, clearly considering his options and wondering what Beau wanted. He looked to Magnum again with a frown.

"You are a cop," he said as he stepped closer. This time, Magnum pushed back in the ropes, gaining half a step before launching at the big man with probably the dirtiest trick of them all. The arch of his booted foot hit its mark perfectly, resulting in Strauss crumbling to the ground with a breathless 'ughf', clutching at his hurting manhood.

Magnum was quick to reach for the fallen knife with his foot and dragging it closer while Strauss was still seeing stars and unable to move. Magnum fiddled with the knife and somehow trapped it between his boots before raising both feet up to his right hand and carefully grab the handle.

While his feet were off the ground, he could feel the rope dig into the flesh on his wrist and his fingers began tingling. But he managed and seconds later the knife slid through the rope as if it was butter. He made quick work of tying Strauss up with the same rope.

He did the hands and the ankles and connected the two tightly enough with a length of rope going around the man's neck. Basically, if Strauss moved his ankles, he would pull on the rope and strangle himself. It was a simple and crude but very effective. Better than being knocked out, Magnum thought.

He placed the knife in his belt and grabbed the walkie talkie and the satellite phone from Strauss before he jammed an oily rag in between Strauss's teeth. The man grimaced and Magnum instinctively ducked when he heard gunshots and a couple of bullets whizzed past him.

He looked behind him to see John come racing back into the camp, his eyes raging and lighting up at the same time. Magnum didn't have time to grab a weapon before hightailing it out of the camp in the opposite direction. Further away from any possible back-up.

Another round of bullets raced past him and he was momentarily pushed of balance when he felt the hot punch of a bullet go through the skin on his right side, below the ribs. Though the pain was flaring and on the edge of blinding, he didn't stop running and he crashed through the thorny bushes and tangly undergrowth to get away.