Author's Note: Here's another short one, but hopefully a goodie. I apologize for the long wait between chapters – life still demands too much of me, lol.

Thank you to all who have reviewed this story – you keep me pushing to stay up until 2 a.m. on a Friday night putting my thoughts down on paper when I should be studying or sleeping. :P

Chapter 4: Perseverance

Chin ran one hand through his hair as he slumped into the seat in front of the glass partition.

The other hand grasped the black telephone receiver in a loose grip. He brought it to his ear, staring resolutely down at the dirty white ledge his elbows leaned on for support.

He sensed movement on the other side of the glass, and knew that Steve was sitting across from him in that offensive orange jumper. He could hear the man's breaths through the telephone connection, could feel the former SEAL's eyes boring into him, demanding answers he couldn't give.

Chin couldn't even look him in the eye.

As the silence lengthened, a million horror scenarios ran through Steve's mind. He imagined that the reason Chin couldn't speak - couldn't even make eye contact – was because Danny had been found…found dead.

His mind nearly shut down at the thought.

When he finally broke the oppressive quiet, Steve's voice was soft with fear. "Chin."

The anxious uncertainty in his friend's tone forced Chin to finally lift his head, his tired eyes full of self-doubt and recrimination.

"I can't find him."

Steve pursed his lips. "What have you got so far?"

Chin sat back in his chair, looking about as miserable as Steve had ever seen him.

"Nothing. I've got nothing. I found blood on the pavement next to Danny's Camaro, but there wasn't a trail, and no other evidence. Not a hair, not a fingerprint. Nothing in his apartment was touched. If any of the neighbors saw anything, they're not talking. And if any of our CI's heard anything, their lips are sealed. Kaye tried to trace his cell, but it's either not on him or not working."

Steve leaned forward, pressing the palm of his free hand into his eye.

"What about the description I gave you from the photos?"

"Kaye's doing a composite analysis of the abandoned warehouses in Hawaii. But it's a long shot considering we don't even know if Danny's being held in a warehouse, much less if he's still in the state."

He threw up a hand in frustration. "I've got nothing, brah."

Steve fixed him with a hard look. "That's unacceptable."

Chin glared back. "I know."

He sighed, then sent a furtive glance over his shoulder to make sure the guards weren't listening in.

"Look, is there any way you can those pictures to me? Maybe there's a print…a clue."

Steve shook his head. "I can't trust that it won't be intercepted."

Chin nodded, running his hand through his hair. "We just gotta keep at it. Something will turn."

His own words sounded hollow.

Truthfully, he was about at the end of his rope. Not only was he working hard to inconspicuously keep tabs on Steve and Kono's cases at HPD, but he now had Danny's kidnapping to investigate. It was getting to be too much.

"Listen, Chin," Steve began, lowering his voice. "The cards are stacked against us…."

Chin's head shot up, his eyes flashing. "No, Steve."

The former SEAL averted his gaze, his adam's apple bobbing at a frenetic pace.

"Danny's life is on the line."

"Damn it, Steve!" Chin hissed, smacking the palm of his hand down on the ledge. "You'll jeopardize everything! It's exactly what they want you to do!"

Steve looked at him then, his eyes filled with a calculated rage. "I guarantee you, they won't see me coming."

Chin leaned back, spent. He knew he would never be able to talk McGarrett out of it. He was too tired to try. The world continued to spin out of control, away from him, like water droplets falling unbidden off the ends of his fingertips.

"You find me something. A location, a name, a hunch – anything."

The older man nodded, finding absurd the sudden burning sensation behind his eyes.

"We're gonna find him, Chin." Steve's voice was resolute. "Failure's not an option."

Kono, having fallen into a sugar-coma, had been dozing on the couch for almost half an hour when she started at a sharp, frantic knocking at her front door.

"What the - ?"

She peeked out the front window, frowning at the sight of a strange man standing on her porch.

Biting her lip, she walked over to a nearby closet and pulled her backup piece out of the hanging holster, tucking the gun discreetly in the back waistband of her jeans.

"Who's banging?" Jenna asked, walking out into the main room wearing an expression of annoyance.

"Shhh – just –" Kono motioned for the ex-CIA agent to stay back.

Eyes wide, Kaye pulled out her cell phone, ready to hit speed dial if needed.

Kono opened the door, having to step aside as the athletically built Hawaiian half-shoved, half-fell his way inside.

The slender woman slammed the door shut and pulled her gun out, not giving the man a chance to rise from his knees.

"Keep your hands where I can see them," she ordered sharply.

She noted the man's appearance. His clothes were saturated with sweat, and his hands, held at about ear-level, were trembling violently. He was breathing as if he'd just run a marathon.

"Who are you?" Kono demanded.

"My name is Kahuna Taluwaika," he said. "I'm Kamekona's cousin."

Chin got the call not less than ten minutes after leaving Halawa Correctional.

"Chin – we know where Danny is."

He practically floored it back to Kono's place.

Steve knew there was really only one way to get outside of prison, aside from tunneling through a wall.

His plan was risky, but incredibly simple.

He waited until dinner time, when all of the inmates marched in double lines to the cafeteria.

He scanned the crowd, found the man he was looking for, and waited for the guards to turn their heads long enough that he could make his move.

He timed it perfectly, then launched himself at a large Samoan man with the tattoos of a gang-banger.

Within seconds, the cafeteria fell into chaos, and Steve found himself outnumbered six to one.

He'd had worse odds, but the game was different this time. It took everything he had in him to not fight back. After all, it had to look bad if he was going to get a ticket out of there.

A hard blow to the chest left him flat on his back, the air knocked out of lungs.

The Samoan leered above him, his buddies in a half-circle around them, cheering him on.

Steve could hear the guards shouting and knew they were only seconds away from regaining control.

Suddenly, a searing pain shot through his gut, and Steve's body recoiled.

His hand flew down to the source of the agony, where it wrapped around something slippery and hard.

He'd been stabbed.

His vision narrowed with the spiking pain, tunnel-like, and he struggled to focus on his surroundings.

The Samoan was still above him, and Steve watched as the man was tazed by a guard.

The shouting began to fade and everything grew hazy as Steve's hearing became more and more distorted.

The last thought he had before losing his tenuous hold on consciousness was that getting shanked hadn't exactly been part of the plan.

He'd failed again.

TBC...

A/N: Alas, I couldn't fit Danny into this chapter - it wouldn't have flowed right. Anyway, this chapter's a bone for all you Steve-whump lovers out there. :P :P

I would like to point out that my story's events will parallel the Season 2 premiere - with some differences made to support my plot. Just an FYI.

Please do let me know your thoughts!