Hawaii Five-0 1. Chapter 1

**Hostage**

**Notes:  
**1) This story is set at the end of season 1, I'd say around the time when Steve broke his arm. That means there are just Steve, Danny, Chin and Kono, no Doris, no Lori, no Grover, no Jerry... Kamakona sells shaved ice instead of shrimps. The Camaro is silver instead of black. Governor Jameson is doing her job…. Oh, and of course Danny still wears a tie :-)

2) English is not my native language, so please forgive my mistakes.

**Disclaimer:  
**Unfortunately I still don't own anything of Hawaii Five-0, it all belongs to CBS – I'm just playing and whumping a little bit.

**Thanks:  
****rewob17**, thanks a lot for your help – as always I enjoyed our conversations very much!  
**JazzieG**, thank you so much for betaing! I don't know how I can ever repay you.

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**Chapter 1:**

Robert 'Bobby' Blake was sitting next to his lawyer, the gaze from his watery blue eyes fixed on the judge in front of them. He saw the man's mouth moving but he honestly didn't care a bit what the old fool had to say. Sighing silently, Bobby tried to at least look as if he was listening; for the moment he was willing to play along but only because he knew that this whole farce would soon be over.

Shifting his weight a little bit, he slightly bent forward and a little bit to the left to throw a look at his lawyer's expensive, golden Rolex. Blake smiled grimly when the clock-hand finally approached the eight o'clock mark – soon, very soon he would be reunited with his lovely wife and then they could finally finish the task they had started almost three years ago.

Hearing the shackles around his ankles rattle faintly with every move he made, he leaned back in his chair and thought about his current situation. Briefly glancing at the judge who was still talking about all the nasty crimes Christine and Robert Blake had committed, Bobby slightly rolled his shoulders and enjoyed the feeling that for the first time in over a year he didn't have to wear that ugly orange prison jumpsuit. Ever since he had been a child, he hated the color orange; he wasn't exactly sure why but he supposed it had something to do with his father. He had only very few memories of the man who had killed his mother and his little sister when Bobby was only five years old but most of the time he pictured his father in shackles and an orange jumpsuit.

Robert huffed out a grim snort and ignored the angry look of his lawyer as he tried to chase away the unpleasant memories of his father. After all, he was nothing like his father, right? Of course, he had also killed people, but contrary to his father he would never – never in a thousand years – hurt his lovely wife, the best thing that had ever happened in his life.

Smiling fondly when he thought about the woman he loved with all his heart, Bobby cast down his eyes and looked at his hands that lay folded on the table in front of him. He had absolutely no idea how a woman like Christine could fall for a guy like him, a shabby surfer type guy with a crooked nose and unruly sandy curls, but he was clever enough not to question her choice.

Christine Blake, née van Hagen, came from a wealthy, renowned family; her parents, both of them successful business people, had always hoped that Christine would follow in their footsteps and take over their company but as soon as she had met her future husband at a campus party she had dropped out of university and worked as a waitress ever since. The couple had married only two weeks after their first meeting; feeling that they were soul mates they decided they didn't need anyone else, left everything behind and moved to Alabama to start a new life.

Raising his shackled hands, Bobby tugged at the fabric of his light blue dress shirt and briefly traced his fingers over his chest. He smiled affectionately when he thought about the brand-new tattoo that covered his skin, right above his heart. The new artwork was a surprise for his wife and it had been finished only the night before; the skin around the colored lines was still red and slightly swollen.

Robert had been delighted when he had found out that you could get everything in prison, be it drugs, tattoos or information. You just had to know the right people or pay enough money; and being a serial killer obviously helped a lot to meet the right people.

He dropped his hands back onto the table, not caring about the annoyed looks of the judge and the low, angry whisper from his lawyer. He concentrated on the image of the multicolored tattoo and literally felt every single line, the pain almost as real as if it was made right now. The heart-shaped artwork contained not only his and Christine's initials but also a reminder of all of their victims; eleven little stars so far and Bobby hoped that once they were finished that exactly fifty stars were engraved into his skin.

Robert and Christine Blake had started their 'career' about three years ago in Montgomery, Alabama where they had silently lived up to that special day in October 2008 when they had suddenly decided to murder people all around the US. Innocent people of all race and gender whose only fault it was to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.

They always killed their victims with a single gunshot directly to the heart, undressed them and wrapped them in a US national flag. They cut out one of the fifty stars of the flag and sealed the gunshot wound in the chest with the star-shaped fabric before they left the body in front of the capital's city hall for public display.

No one knew what caused them to start their killing spree, or why they chose a particular victim or how they planned the time of their next attack; the only thing that was clear was that the couple worked themselves through all the US states in alphabetical order.

The first victim in Alabama was a retired teacher from their neighborhood, a lovely seventy-year-old grandfather who had just bought himself the vintage Porsche he had dreamt about his whole life.

The second victim in Alaska was a sixteen year old girl who had disappeared on her way to school and had been found dead two days later.

The third one in Arizona was a physically fit Ex-Marine; followed by a politician, a homeless junkie and a nurse in three more states. And it went on like this for almost two years until they arrived in Hawaii in early summer 2010 where HPD had finally been able to catch Robert Blake, unfortunately not before the couple had killed their eleventh victim. Bobby had then sacrificed himself so that his wife Christine had been able to get away.

Never before had they been separated for such a long time and the longer he sat in front of the judge, the more Robert longed for his wife. For almost a whole year he hadn't seen her, hadn't held her, hadn't kissed her; he had only heard from her sporadically through the dark prison channels, secretly planning their reunion.

Nervously fidgeting in his chair, Bobby threw another look at his lawyer's watch. It was exactly eight o'clock and suddenly, from one second to the other, Robert felt how all the little hairs on his arms slowly rose up. His skin prickled with excitement and he forced himself to sit still – his wife was near, he was sure of that.

A millisecond later Bobby whirled around when two shots rang out and the door to the courtroom was thrown open with a loud bang. His breath caught in his throat and for a long moment he just stared; there she was, his wife, his Christine, standing in the doorframe like a beautiful, dark avenging angel.

He almost didn't notice the small, maybe 8-year-old boy that she held hostage, a gun tightly pressed against his temple, because he had only eyes for the woman he loved. Her copper red hair was a bit shorter than he remembered but the thick plait still almost reached her hips. With her black boots, the tight-fitting black leather pants and the black leather jacket Christine looked like a mixture from Terminator and Lara Croft; she was definitely the most beautiful thing Bobby had ever seen.

"Nobody moves," Christine said loudly, her bell-like voice easily reaching the end of the courtroom. She briefly looked down at the dark-haired boy in her grip and almost tenderly caressed his face with the barrel of her gun. "Or the boy dies," she added coldly.

Slowly shuffling across the room with the child still in front of her, Christine finally locked eyes with her husband and very tentatively both of them started to smile.

"Hello sweetheart," Robert said hoarsely, not daring to avert his eyes from his wife. His heart went a mile a minute, feeling like it would burst any moment and his hands trembled in excitement when he thought about the fact that he would soon be able to touch her again.

"Bobby," Christine breathed in response, lasciviously licking her bright red lips. "I missed you."

Looking around, the red-haired woman laughed out cheerfully when she realized that their plan really seemed to work. "Good job, Marty," she said, nodding at her husband's lawyer who grinned smugly and wordlessly nodded back at her.

Due to the abomination of their actions, the Blake case had made massive waves and no one was interested in creating a public turmoil so Marty Sanders, Bobby's lawyer, had arranged that today's hearing took place very early in the morning, without acknowledgement of the public or the press and with minimal security details. Only a handful of people knew that Robert Blake was in the court building that day and except for the judge and his aid, the attorney, Robert's lawyer and two police officers the room was empty. There had been two more officers outside the room, guarding the door, but remembering the two gunshots, Bobby assumed correctly that both men were probably dead.

"Put your weapons on the floor and kick them over," Christine ordered, briefly waving her gun at the two police officers. "And don't try anything stupid or the boy is dead," she repeated her threat from before, making her point clear by forcefully shoving the weapon back against the boy's head, bluntly ignoring the pained whimper that escaped his mouth.

Exchanging a quick look, the two police officers hesitated for a moment but then they realized that they stood no other chance than following Christine's orders and slowly disposed of their weapons.

"Thank you very much, Gentlemen," the red-haired woman smiled humorlessly. "I see you know how to follow orders. That might save us a lot of trouble." Taking a few steps backwards to have a better field of fire, she narrowed her eyes as she gave further instructions. "Now free my husband. Then take his shackles and your own handcuffs and tie up those fools and yourselves," she said, pointing at the judge, his aid and the attorney.

Impatiently observing every move, Christine sucked on her lower lip and nervously tapped her right foot. She didn't allow herself to take a closer look at her husband because she knew that one glance into his lovely light blue eyes was enough to make her come undone. So she kept her eyes on the police officers, making sure that the handcuffs were tightly in place and that everyone – except Robert's lawyer – was in restraints. No longer in need of a hostage she released her grip on the little boy and rudely pushed him away, not caring at all that he stumbled forward and fell to the floor.

"Gag them all," she said to the lawyer, finally daring to face her husband. "Make sure they don't sound the alarm before we have left the building." Her fingertips began to tingle in anticipation and her breath quickened when she suddenly found herself face to face with Robert.

"I missed you," Christine repeated, slowly raising her left hand that didn't hold the weapon. Her fingers trembled slightly when she hesitantly cupped Bobby's cheek and she briefly had to close her eyes to deal with the onslaught of emotions. "Kiss me," she whispered and a heartbeat later she moaned with joy and pleasure when Robert's lips touched her own.

"We have to go," Bobby whispered breathlessly after one or two minutes of passionate kissing, playfully squeezing Christine's butt before he turned around and bent down to pick up the police officers' weapons, tucking both guns into the waistband of his jeans. As much as he longed for his wife, he knew that now was not the time to get lost in their feelings; they would have enough time later to celebrate their reunion but now they needed to leave the building before anyone realized what was going on. They had maybe a few more minutes to get away undetected before the courthouse would start into its busy daily routine and the corridors would be swamped with employees and visitors.

Knowing that her husband was right, Christine heaved a disappointed sigh and grudgingly nodded her agreement; after a year without him the short kiss had been nothing more than an evil teaser that didn't satisfy her at all.

"What do you want to do with him?" Robert asked, disparagingly nodding toward his lawyer who had just gagged the other five men and was now approaching the waiting couple.

"I think we don't need him anymore, do we?" Christine answered with an indifferent shrug of her shoulders. To be honest, she had never liked the man and she knew that Robert felt the exact same way; he had been extremely helpful in planning today's actions but now he was just a burden. She briefly smiled at her husband and then, without further hesitation, she raised her weapon, pointed it at Marty Sanders' forehead and pulled the trigger.

The loud bang drowned out the collective gasp of horror from the other men in the room, and they unconsciously clustered closer together when Robert turned around to face them. "Goodbye Gentlemen," he said, bowing slightly and doffing an imaginary hat. "It's been a pleasure," he added sarcastically before he stepped over the dead body of his lawyer and yanked up the boy who was still sitting motionlessly on the floor.

"Come on, kid, we have to go," Bobby said, pressing one of his newly acquired weapons against the child's temple, just like Christine had done before, and without another look back he marched out of the room, the boy in front of him and his wife at his side.

Except for the two dead police officers in front of the court room the corridors were indeed still completely empty so that the three of them made it to the exit without difficulties.

"Hey sweetheart, where did you find him?" Bobby suddenly asked, turning his head to throw a curious look at his beautiful wife. "He was just perfect," he said, giving the boy in his grip a proud little shake.

"Just picked him up in front of some school," Christine shrugged her shoulders. "Thought he could be useful," she said, quickly leaning toward her husband to steal a kiss.

"Do you want to keep him?" Bobby teased her, knowing exactly how much his wife despised children.

Stopping dead in her tracks, the red-haired woman glared at her husband, frowning in anger. "No way," she huffed out, forcefully shaking her head. "Get rid of him."

"As you wish, milady," Robert said, grinning brightly when his gaze fell onto a small door to his right.

The supply closet provided just enough space and after effectively tying up the boy's hands and feet with a piece of wire he had found on one of the shelves Bobby crouched down and locked eyes with the weeping child. "If you call for help or try to get out of here I'll come back and kill you," he said coldly, dangerously narrowing his eyes. "Don't tell anybody what happened, do you hear me?"

"Good boy," Robert added with a humorless smile when the boy finally nodded shakily. He quickly turned off the light and closed the door before he put his right arm around his wife's waist and led her outside toward the parking lot.

Breathing in the fresh air of the early morning, Bobby stopped for a moment and turned his face toward the sun. A joyful smile slowly appeared on his lips when he realized that he was no longer a prisoner; he was finally free, free to do whatever he wanted to and to go wherever he wanted to.

Christine smiled fondly when she watched the display of emotions on Robert's face. The year without him had been so hard but now they were reunited and she swore to herself that nothing and no one would be able to separate them again.

"We need a car," the red-haired woman said hoarsely, pulling her husband into a tight embrace and kissing him passionately when the desire to touch him suddenly became overwhelming. She didn't seem to care anymore if they got caught, moaning gutturally when he reacted to her kiss and ran his hand up and down her back.

"Pick one, sweetheart," Robert whispered between two kisses, lazily waving around the parking lot. "They're all yours."

Giggling huskily, Christine reluctantly ended the kiss and slowly turned around her own axis. "I want…" she drawled, licking her red lips as she looked for a car that matched her ideas. "This one," she exclaimed happily, her green eyes glistening in anticipation when she raised her right hand and pointed at the silver Chevrolet Camaro that had just turned into an empty parking space.

**(tbc)**

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_I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, even if we didn't see much of Five-0 – I promise there will be a lot of Steve and Danny (and the rest of the team) in all the other chapters. There will also be a good amount of whump and, of course, the one or other cliffhanger ;-)_

_Against all reason and against my own promise I started to post the story despite the fact that it's not finished yet, so feel free to nag me about working on it at any time. However, there will be regular updates; you will get a new chapter once a week._


	2. Chapter 2

_Wow, __I'm blown away by__ all your fantastic comments! Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a review, for all the favorites and alerts - I really appreciate it._

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**Chapter 2:**

"Yes, Rachel, I know that the documents are due today, I just arrived at the court," Danny said into his cell phone just as he turned into the parking lot in front of the court building. At this early hour there were a lot of free spaces and after a short glance around he chose one near the entry; he was already in a hurry and he had no desire to upset his Neanderthal partner by being late for work.

Danny smiled slightly when he listened to his ex-wife and noticed that there was absolutely no malice or tetchiness in her voice. Things were really running smoothly between him and Rachel lately and he had been pleasantly surprised when she had suggested changing the visitation rights in his favor. With Rachel's agreement it was merely a matter of form but nevertheless he needed to submit his part of the paperwork on schedule.

"Of course I want to pick her up on Thursday instead of Friday." A huge smile spread across Danny's face when he thought about the prospect of spending so much unexpected, additional time with his daughter.

"Tell her, Danno loves her, will you?" he asked as he pulled the Camaro into the parking space and shut down the engine. "Thank you. Goodbye Rachel," Danny replied happily when his ex-wife positively answered to his request. He ended the call and looked down at the picture on the display of his cell phone; gently tracing his finger across Grace's smiling face. "Love you, Monkey," he whispered affectionately before he sighed silently and reached over to the passenger's seat to grab the dark blue folder with his documents.

Opening the driver's door and climbing out of the car, Danny gasped in surprise when, despite the early hour, a gust of hot wind met him; scrunching up his face in disgust he once more shifted the permanent heat to the very top of his mental list of reasons why he hated this goddam rock of lava in the middle of the Pacific.

Smoothing down his tie he briefly grinned when he thought about McGarrett's constant comments on his choice of clothes. If he was honest Danny had to admit to himself that during the last few weeks he had indeed sometimes thought about a change of style – nothing too serious, maybe he would just get rid of the tie? Blowing out a breath of air Danny slightly shook his head and chuckled under his breath; no, he would make sure to stick to the tie just a little bit longer if only for the single purpose of annoying his partner.

Throwing a quick look at the display of his cell phone he grimaced in annoyance when he noticed that it was already a quarter past eight. The early morning traffic had been unusually thick and it had taken a lot longer to cross the city than Danny had anticipated. He had planned to be at the court at eight o'clock at the latest so that he had enough time to drive by HPD and talk to one of the police technicians before he got to the Palace. Since one of Steve's crazier stunts during their latest car chase, when his lunatic partner had used the rear of the Camaro to stop an equally crazed bank robber on a Harley Davidson, the GPS device in the trunk was somehow acting up; it was sending completely wrong coordinates and shutting itself down after a maximum transmission time of two seconds and so far neither Chin nor Kono had been able to fix the problem.

Trying to stow away the cell phone into his right pocket while he wrestled with his keys and closed the door at the same time, the thin document folder slipped from Danny's grip and dropped to the ground, sliding halfway under the car.

Determined not to let that little mishap disturb his good mood, Danny thought about his daughter as he crouched down to pick up the file, unintentionally missing one of the sheets that had obviously slipped out of the folder and somehow ended behind the left front tire, just out of Danny's sight.

Hearing two sets of rapidly approaching footsteps, Danny didn't take much notice, assuming that some employees were late for work and were hurrying to get into the court building. Laboriously standing up he supported himself on the Camaro to take some weight off his recently healed right knee, he just got suspicious when the steps suddenly stopped right behind his back.

He felt how the back of his neck began to prickle, instantly knowing that something was wrong. Taking a deep breath, Danny invisibly squared his shoulders and prepared himself for whatever he was about to face. Slapping on a fake smile he slowly turned around but the greeting he had on the tip of his tongue caught in his throat when he looked directly into the barrel of a gun.

"Whoa," Danny exclaimed, instinctively taking a step backwards but he soon bumped against his car with no further possibility of retreat. "Whatever it is you want from me, I'm sure we can solve it without violence," he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible as he defensively raised his hands. "Why don't you put the gun away and we just talk?"

Danny swallowed dryly as he looked at the couple in front of him; he had the strange feeling that he should know them but at the moment he just wasn't able to place their faces. He tried to take in as much as possible but with a gun pointed directly at his forehead he found it pretty difficult to concentrate on anything else than the very real fear of getting shot every moment.

The man was tall and lean with blond curls and light blue eyes. He was clothed in jeans and a dress shirt, looking over his shoulder from time to time, probably to make sure that no unwelcome spectators were coming their way. His right hand lay casually on the handle of one of the two guns that were tucked into the waistband of his jeans while his other arm was slung around the waist of the woman next to him. The redhead was almost as tall as her companion, her green eyes glistening coldly when she stared at Danny over the barrel of her gun. She was dressed in a tight-fitting black leather outfit that Danny thought was completely misplaced in the Hawaiian heat.

"Did you hear that, Bobby?" the woman laughed out throatily, the gun in her hand never wavering. "He wants to talk." Briefly nibbling on her lower lip she cocked her head a little bit to the right as she studied Danny's face. "He's actually pretty cute. I think I want to keep him."

Narrowing his eyes, Danny racked his brain about the two people in front of him; the name 'Bobby' definitely rang a bell but he still had no idea who the couple was or what they wanted. "Who are you?" he asked hoarsely, inconspicuously looking around for help but the handful of people who just walked into the courthouse didn't seem to notice that something was wrong. "What do you want from me?"

"Shhh," the woman whispered with an amused smile, pressing the gun tightly against Danny's forehead before she almost tenderly traced along his right temple and down his cheek.

"Christine, stop playing with him. We have to go," the man, Bobby, urged, after having thrown another look over his shoulder. "Now," he added tersely when more and more people strolled into the building and a few cars arrived at the other end of the parking lot.

"But I want to keep him," Christine pouted, flashing her companion a Lolita-like look. Without leaving Danny out of sight she leaned over to her right and brushed Bobby's ear with her lips. "I bet he will be fun," she whispered, noticing contentedly how Bobby shuddered with lust at her feather-light touch.

"Alright," Bobby finally agreed with a defeated little sigh; right now they had no time to argue any longer and to be honest he'd never been able to deny her anything she wanted anyway. "But there's one more thing, sweetheart," he said, reluctantly taking his hand off the woman's waist to point at the badge on Danny's belt. "Did you notice that he's a cop?"

"I did indeed," Christine replied, laughing out gleefully as she lasciviously licked her lips.

Feeling an ice-cold shiver running down his spine when he saw the malicious flicker in the woman's eyes, Danny unconsciously shrank back. "Listen," he said pleadingly when a wave of panic surged through his body, desperately looking around to find a way out of this mess. "That's not a good idea. Why don't you…"

But he was never able to finish his sentence because Christine suddenly struck out without warning and the blink of an eye later the barrel of her gun connected forcefully with Danny's right temple. Pain exploded in his head as he stumbled to the left, trying with all his might to stay upright, but then he felt his knees buckle, the document folder that he had still clutched in his right hand slipped from his numb fingers and the last thing he heard before everything became dark was Christine's delighted laughter and his own hoarse groan.

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"Steve, what do we have?" Chin asked as soon as he had dismounted his bike and had joined his boss and his cousin who had already parked her little red Chevy next to Steve's Silverado.

"I have no idea," Steve shrugged his shoulders while the three of them rushed up the stairs to the court building, passing a bunch of waiting police officers who looked at them with a mixture of curiosity and animosity. Five-0 was still relatively new and not everyone approved of the 'full immunity and means' concession and the unlimited trust Governor Jameson had in her task force. "The Governor called me about twenty minutes ago," McGarrett explained a little breathlessly as he pushed open the door and waited for Chin and Kono to follow him inside. "She's in Washington right now and she seemed really angry about whatever happened here but before I could ask anything she just hung up on me. All she said was that she expects Five-0 to solve the case as quickly and quietly as possible."

"There's Sergeant Lukela," Chin said, pointing at the older man who was just talking with two other officers at the other end of the corridor. "I'm sure he can fill us in."

"Hey Boss, where's Danny?" Kono asked, a little bit surprised that the fourth member of their team was missing. If it wasn't for an emergency that involved his daughter, it was very rare for Danny to be late.

"I don't know," Steve said impatiently, throwing a brief look at his cell phone. "I tried to call him but I keep getting the voicemail. I left him a message to join us here."

"I think he said he has an appointment this morning," Chin remembered his conversation with Danny the other day. "He wouldn't say what it was but he didn't think it would take long. I'm sure he will be here soon."

"So, do we wait for him?" Kono asked, curiously looking around for any hint about what had happened but one glance at Steve's face immediately answered her question.

"We don't have time to wait for him," Steve replied, impatiently furrowing his brow as he slightly shook his head. Staring at the entrance door for a short moment as if he expected Danny to appear there any second, Steve huffed out an angry sigh and turned around to approach Sergeant Lukela.

"Duke," he greeted the older man with a sharp nod of his head. "What can you tell us?"

"Steve, I'm glad you guys are here," Lukela said, flashing Chin and Kono a tired smile. On closer inspection the man looked totally spent and he was obviously more than relieved to hand over the responsibility of the case to the Five-0 team. "My men are at your command," he said with a short flick of his hand. "Just tell me what you need."

"What happened here?" Steve wanted to know, still not able to make sense of the chaos and hectic movements around them.

"Robert Blake escaped about an hour ago," Duke said, gloomily shaking his head.

There was a long moment of stunned silence following his statement when everyone just stared at the Sergeant but then Kono gasped in shocked surprise while Chin grimly gritted his teeth.

"Who?" Steve asked, confusion evident in his face and voice.

"The serial killer?" Kono wanted to get it straight, raising her right hand to cover her mouth when Duke nodded his approval.

"Damn," Chin breathed out, stepping a little bit closer to his cousin. "That's bad news."

"Who?" Steve repeated his question, confusion quickly mixing with impatience as his gaze darted among the three people next to him. "Anyone care to fill me in?"

"Robert and Christine Blake, Boss," Kono said, gazing at the dark-haired man and searching his face for any hint of recognition but Steve just narrowed his eyes and shook his head.

"Never heard of them," Steve replied slowly as he shrugged his shoulders. "Who are they?"

"They are serial killers who cruelly murdered eleven people all over the States," the young woman explained, her voice trailing off as she shook her head in astonishment. "You really never heard of them?"

"No," Steve answered hesitantly, racking his brain about the name Blake but his mind came up absolutely empty.

"Robert Blake finally got caught here in Honolulu about a year ago," Kono continued her explanations. "I was still in the academy then; I think it was shortly before your..." Biting her lip, she briefly interrupted herself, hoping that Steve hadn't notice her faux pas; she certainly didn't want to be the one to remind him of his father's death and the sad reason for his return home. "… before you came back to Hawaii. His wife Christine has been on the run ever since and went into hiding."

"Well, at least until this morning," Duke sighed wearily, quickly outlining the events that led to Robert Blake's escape. "They killed two police officers and Robert's lawyer before they just walked out of the building like nothing had happened," he completed his explanations, shaking his head about so much brazenness.

"Sorry Steve, I have to go," Sergeant Lukela said when he looked up and noticed a young police officer waving in his direction. "Just call if you need anything," he added and after a fatherly slap on Steve's shoulder he turned around and shuffled toward the waiting officer.

"So, this Blake couple is bad news?" Steve asked, gazing at his teammates for more information. "What do we know about them?"

"As I said, I was still in the academy when they showed up on the island," Kono replied, slightly shrugging her shoulders. "I just know what the press wrote about them and what was told on the quiet. Sometimes another cadet knew a little more or one of our teachers accidentally slipped us bits and pieces, but that's about it."

"Sorry, Boss," the young woman added bleakly when she noticed the hint of frustration on Steve's face. "Maybe Danny knows more," she exclaimed when a sudden thought crossed her mind, quickly turning around to face her cousin. "He was already here at the time, wasn't he?"

"I think he was," Chin answered, pensively nodding his head. "It was a big case back then. Even if he wasn't involved directly, I'm sure he got some insider information."

"I'll try to reach him again." Impatiently pulling out his cell phone, Steve pressed his thumb on the display and waited for the call to connect. "Dammit Danny, where are you?" he grumbled under his breath, frowning angrily when once more the call went directly to voicemail. Shoving the phone back into his pocket without leaving a message, Steve pursed his lips and huffed out an annoyed little sigh.

"Alright, where do we start?" he asked no one in particular, slowly turning around his own axis to get an idea of the situation.

"Chin, why don't you fill in Steve about everything you know about the Blake case while I ask around and try to get some more information about the events this morning," Kono suggested, knowing full well that it would do no good if Chin was the one to talk to HPD. A lot of his former colleagues still treated him with no respect at all and were not willing to even look him in the eye.

"Alright, cuz," Chin nodded back at her, quickly hiding the flash of sadness that appeared in his eyes. He knew that his cousin wanted to protect him but nevertheless it hurt a lot that fellow officers, men who he had regarded as friends, were treating him like a criminal. Breathing out a frustrated sigh, he shoved the gloomy thoughts to the back of his mind and began to tell Steve everything he knew about Christine and Robert Blake, about the murders they committed and about the circumstances of Robert's capture.

After twenty minutes and two more unsuccessful attempts to reach their missing teammate, Kono finally returned, her expression a strange mixture of anger and worry.

"Kono, what's wrong?" Steve asked when he saw her face, instantly knowing that she was bringing more bad news.

"The Blakes… they took a hostage," Kono blurted out as soon as she had reached the two men. "A young boy, maybe eight or nine years old."

"What? Where did he come from?" Chin chimed in, scrunching up his face in frustration when Kono shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

"Damn," Steve cursed under his breath, running his right hand through his hair before he put his arms akimbo. For a moment he was glad that Danny wasn't around; he knew that it was always hard for his partner when the safety of a child was at stake. "What do we know about the boy?"

"Not much," Kono reported, once more shaking her head. "Dark-haired, about eight or nine years old, he was wearing jeans and a Superman T-shirt. I checked with HPD but so far there was no missing person's report filed."

"Alright," McGarrett said, taking a deep breath before he leaped into action. "Kono, put out an Amber alert, we need to find that child," he ordered, briefly waiting for her affirmative nod before he looked around and waved at a group of HPD officers who gaped back at him in surprise before they hesitantly walked over.

After they introduced themselves as Officers Starck, Rodriguez and Kaimana, the three young men who were probably only a few years older than Kono, listened silently to Steve's orders, their initial surprise and hesitation soon changing into deep concentration and maybe even a little pride.

"I want you to organize a room where we can talk to all the eyewitnesses," Steve said to the first officer, who eagerly nodded in agreement. "I also need a list of everyone who knew about today's hearing and a list of all the people who were in the building this morning."

"Rodriguez," Steve addressed the second man, a sturdy Latino with dark, almost black eyes. "Check if there are surveillance videos of the court room, the corridors, the entrance area and the parking lot. Take a few men and go through the videos. We need to know exactly when and how the Blakes left the building."

"Yes, Sir," Rodriguez said with a brief nod, turning on his heels to rush toward the security office.

"Officer Kaimana, is that right?" McGarrett asked the last remaining man, not sure if he got the name correctly. He smiled briefly when the young Hawaiian nodded nervously, slapping his hand on the man's shoulder as he pointed toward the exit. "Take as many men as you need and search the parking lot. Ask around if anyone has noticed anything unusual. I'm pretty sure the Blakes didn't just walk away, they must have had a getaway car."

Breathing out a tired sigh, Steve watched briefly how Kaimana spoke animatedly to a group of other officers, obviously explaining their given assignment. He rolled his shoulders in a vain attempt to release a bit of the pent-up tension before he turned around to face his teammates.

"Still no sign of Danny?" he asked tersely when he noticed that Chin was just putting away his cell phone, assuming correctly that he had tried to reach their missing friend.

"No, I still get the voicemail," Chin answered, exchanging a worried look with his boss. "That's very unlike Danny, don't you think."

Scrunching up his face, Steve nodded silently but after a quick glance at his watch he just said pensively, "We give him another thirty minutes. Maybe there's something wrong with Grace, I don't know." Jerking his head toward the stairs, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for the upcoming task. "Come on, guys, we have some witnesses to interrogate."

Silently walking up the stairs, the three of them had no difficulty locating Officer Starck who had already prepared a small, quiet room with a table and a few chairs. "Here's the list with all the people who knew about the hearing," the young man said, handing Steve a sheet of paper with just a few names on it. "The first one is Judge Weyerman," he explained quietly, pointing at the bearded man who was already sitting at the table, stirring a cup of steaming tea or coffee with slightly trembling hands. "I'm still working on the other list," Starck added, waiting a moment to see if Steve had another task for him before he turned around and left the room.

"Alright, let's start with the Judge and then we just work off the names one after the other," Steve instructed his teammates, briefly studying the handwritten list before he folded it once and put it in one of the pockets of his beige cargo pants. "Judge Weyerman, we would like to ask you a few questions if you don't mind," he said; he was just about to close the door behind him when suddenly Officer Kaimana burst into the room.

"Commander McGarrett," the young man said breathlessly, agitatedly waving around a dirty, slightly crumpled sheet of paper. "We found this in the parking lot…" His voice trailed off and he stopped dead in his tracks when he noticed the expression of utter annoyance on Steve's face. "I thought it might be important, it… it has…" he stammered, nervously biting his lower lip as he handed Steve his finding.

"Thank you," Steve replied, taking the sheet of paper without really looking at it, trying with all his might to suppress a sigh. He just hoped the young man wouldn't show up with every piece of garbage he found outside. "I'm sure it is important, but why don't you just collect everything you find and we look at it later?" Steve suggested, forcing himself to stay polite.

Releasing the Hawaiian officer with a nod of his head, he gritted his teeth and briefly squeezed his eyes shut when his cell phone started to chirp demandingly. Angrily clenching his fist, he inadvertently crumpled the paper even more as he fumbled for his cell phone.

"Yes, Governor?" Steve answered the call, slowly walking across the room and sitting down on the edge of the table. Absently putting down the sheet of paper he raised his eyebrows when he heard the impatient voice at the other end of the line. "Yes, absolutely," he answered with as much patience as he could muster, pinching the bridge of his nose to fight back the looming headache. "Yes, of course I'll keep you informed," Steve nodded, slapping on a fake smile even if Governor Jameson was not able to see it across the line. He ended the call with a little sigh and slightly shook his head as he stowed away his phone, hoping that there were no more interruptions in the near future.

"Boss, what's that?"

Kono's hoarse voice pulled him out of his musings and for a moment Steve could only gaze at the young woman, not really sure what she was talking about, but then Kono leaned forward and grabbed the crumpled sheet of paper from the table next to him.

"Officer Kaimana gave it to me," Steve answered with a slight shrug of his shoulders, dismissively flicking his wrist. "He just found it in the parking lot. It's probably nothing."

"It's not nothing," Kono interrupted him agitatedly, her eyes widening in surprise when she skimmed the first lines and a few familiar names leaped out at her. "Did you see that? There's Danny's name… and Grace's… and Rachel's," the young woman said, pointing at the top half of the document. "It looks like an official document, something about Grace's custody maybe?"

"What?" Steve exclaimed, jumping to his feet and snatching the paper out of Kono's grip. "You're right," he said, starting to pace the room as he read and re-read the document over and over again. "That is definitely Danny's," he added, furrowing his brow as he looked at his teammates.

"But how did it end up in the parking lot?" Kono asked hesitantly, confusion evident in her voice. "Does that mean that Danny was here this morning?"

Her questions were greeted with a long moment of silence before Chin finally cleared his throat. "If Danny was really here," he said, his calm voice a sharp contrast to the worry in his dark eyes. "Then where the hell is he now?"

**(tbc)**


	3. Chapter 3

_Alright, obviously I made a stupid little mistake in my previous chapters (thanks a lot to **Kippy Vee** for pointing it out to me!) Of course Hawaii is not the 10th but the 11th of all US states (in alphabetical order) so the Blakes have killed eleven people so far, not ten. I totally hate it when people make stupid errors like that one and I'm actually feeling a bit stupid right now because I had a list with all the states and I checked it over and over again to make sure I've done it right… Until I finally realized (after Kippy Vee's message) that the list was in German and in German California is called Kalifornien, so of course it didn't show up at the beginning of the alphabet. Did I alreday say that I feel stupid? LOL  
So, to cut a long story short, I've gone back to the first two chapters and changed the number of victims and the number of tattooed stars on Bobby's chest to eleven._

_Anyway, here's the next chapter (one day ahead of schedule because it's my best friend's birthday tomorrow and I probably won't find the time to post), I hope you enjoy..._

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

"I need to see the surveillance videos. Kono, come with me. Chin, you stay here and talk to the witnesses," Steve barked as he stormed out of the room, trusting that his teammates would carry out his orders without questioning. "If Danny was really here this morning, he must be captured on one of the videos."

"Try to reach him again," he instructed curtly, throwing a brief look over his shoulder to nod at Kono. The small, nagging thought that something wasn't alright had suddenly sparked when Steve had seen his partner's name on the dirty, crumpled sheet of paper that had been found in the parking lot.

"Nothing, Boss," Kono replied breathlessly only a moment later, her answer only reinforcing Steve's concern. Her voice was barely above a whisper when she added almost apologetically, "It still went directly to voicemail."

Steve slowed down his steps a little bit to throw another look at the paper in his hands, quickly skimming through the names and dates. He gritted his teeth in frustration when his gaze fell on one particular date at the beginning of the text and he noticed that the filing date for the document seemed to be today. It might be coincidence, maybe Danny hadn't been here this morning, maybe he hadn't dropped the sheet of paper; but then why didn't he answer his phone? Huffing out a frustrated breath, Steve slightly shook his head. No, his gut feeling told him that something was wrong – and that Danny's disappearance most likely had something to do with the Blake case.

"Rodriguez," Steve barked in best military style as soon as they had reached the security office, wildly looking around for the young officer in charge. Taking a deep breath when he felt Kono's slender hand on his forearm and her calming presence next to him, he blinked a few times, reminding himself that he was no longer a soldier, talking to disobedient subordinates.

"Easy, Boss," Kono whispered quietly so that only Steve could hear her. "I think you're scaring them." The corners of her mouth twitched slightly when she looked at the stunned faces of the three police officers who were sitting behind different monitors, staring wide-eyed at the two newcomers.

"Officer Rodriguez," Steve repeated after flashing a brief, grateful smile at his teammate, his voice a lot calmer than before. "What did you find?" he asked, approaching the young man who immediately pointed at the screen in front of him.

"There are no cameras inside the court room so we don't know what happened inside," Rodriguez said, quickly regaining his composure as he explained his findings. "But I found this," he briefly turned his head to look at Steve before he returned his attention to the video feed. "She appeared at exactly 8 o'clock in front of the court room, but so far we have no idea how or where she came in."

Pressing a few buttons, Rodriguez started the video at 07:59:30 and Steve and Kono immediately stepped a bit closer, slightly bending forward to have a better look at the screen. They watched silently how a young woman with long red hair, dressed in black leather pants and a black leather jacket, leisurely strolled down the corridor. Her posture was calm, almost arrogant and when she reached the two police officers who guarded the door to the court room, she stopped briefly and reached into her pocket. Judging from their reaction and from the gazes they threw her the men had obviously absolutely no idea with whom they were dealing. Lasciviously putting on some lipstick Christine Blake smiled at the officers, put the lipstick back into her pocket and blew them a kiss before she slowly walked on. A few steps later, she suddenly whipped a gun out of her jacket, whirled around and killed both policemen with two well-aimed shots to the head.

Everyone winced in shocked surprise when the two bodies hit the floor, even Officer Rodriguez who had watched the video a few times before and already knew what was coming and for a moment it was deadly silent inside the small security office.

Crossing his arms in front of his chest, Steve gritted his teeth when he watched how the woman on the video briefly bent down to pick up the officers' guns. Then she turned to her right and disappeared out of the picture only to return a short moment later with a young, dark-haired and obviously weeping boy. Shoving the child in front of her she pressed her gun against the boy's temple and stepped over the dead bodies with arrogant ease before she opened the door and walked into the court room.

Pressing a few more buttons, Rodriguez cleared his throat and explained quietly, "They left exactly six and a half minutes later."

Silently nodding at the young officer to start the second video, Steve and Kono watched how Christine and Robert Blake came out of the court room, still holding the young, dark-haired boy hostage and after a few seconds the couple disappeared out of sight.

"That's it," Officer Rodriguez said as he turned around in his chair to look at the two members of Five-0. "We're just looking through the rest of the videos from inside the building, but so far we weren't able to find anything else."

"Good work," Steve praised curtly, his thoughts already switching back to his missing partner. "Are there surveillance cameras at the parking lot? Did you find anything of interest there?"

"I think I have something, Sir," the brunette policewoman at the table next to Rodriguez said. "The angle of the video is not very good but that's all we have," she added, smiling shyly as she pointed at the top right corner of the screen and started the video at 08:14:00.

Closely watching the screen, Steve angrily furrowed his brow when he noticed that the woman's statement had been correct. The camera had obviously been shifted, maybe by a storm but most likely by some teenagers who wanted to have a little fun; instead of the parking lot it was now showing a large green bush that filled almost the whole screen, except for a very small area in the top right corner.

After a few moments there was movement on the screen and a car came to a halt in the obviously empty parking place that was just visible in the top corner of the screen. It was hard to tell what kind of car or even what color it was because only a very small part of the tires were visible on screen, but Steve was pretty sure that it was a silver roadster and he unconsciously clenched his fists when he thought about Danny's Camaro. The shadow on the asphalt showed that the driver's door was opened and a few seconds later a pair of feet appeared in front of the car.

"That's Danny," Kono exclaimed immediately after having noticed the black leather loafers, the multicolored dotted socks and the gray dress pants. Whirling around, she exchanged a shocked look with her boss but Steve just nodded grimly and pointed at the screen.

"Look, there's more," he said hoarsely, watching silently how a blue document folder spiraled to the ground, spilling some of its content halfway under the car. The man in front of the car crouched down and now Steve and Kono were absolutely sure that they were looking at their teammate, even if they never saw his face.

Two more pairs of feet appeared just when Danny had gathered all of his documents and struggled to his feet, briefly putting his hand on his right knee when the movement obviously caused him some trouble. Just like Danny's, the upper bodies and faces of the newcomers were not visible on screen but the black boots and leather pants didn't leave any question that they were dealing with Christine Blake.

For almost a full minute nothing happened but then suddenly Danny stumbled to the right and dropped the document folder, his knees buckled and he limply slid to the ground, allowing the camera nothing but a brief glimpse at his blood-covered face before he disappeared from the picture, only his motionless feet still visible.

"Dammit," Steve growled in worry and frustration when he watched his partner go down, unconsciously leaning forward and a little bit to the left, craning his neck in the futile attempt to get a better view.

"Oh God," Kono exclaimed wide-eyed, covering her mouth with her right hand as her gaze darted from the screen to Steve and back to the screen. "Did they… did they shoot him?"

"I don't know," Steve said, clearing his suddenly much too dry throat as he watched with growing concern how Christine Blake picked up the document folder before Danny's limp body was dragged completely out of the picture and a few moments later the Camaro was pulled out of the parking space and the screen turned black when the police officer hit another button and shut down the video.

"Kono, put out a BOLO on Danny's car," Steve whispered hoarsely without turning around or averting his eyes from the empty screen. Remembering their recent problem with the Camaro's GPS device he angrily shook his head. "And check if the GPS is working…" he added nevertheless; maybe they were lucky and the device had somehow fixed itself.

"I'm on it," Kono nodded curtly, already fumbling for her cell phone with slightly trembling fingers. She threw a worried glance at Steve's rigid back, knowing exactly what her boss was thinking right now; she cursed herself for not having been able to repair the GPS or at least insist on installing a new one.

"Can you play it in a loop?" McGarrett asked the female officer in front of him, ignoring Kono's hectic talking in the background. "Only the last few seconds," he added, knowing that he didn't need to give her more detailed instructions. Crossing his arms in front of his chest when the woman nodded and wordlessly started the video, he watched over and over again how Danny collapsed to the ground, trying to find out how severely his partner was injured. "Stop right there when I can see his face," he requested, wondering silently how calm his voice was sounding despite the fact that his heart was hammering in his chest.

Narrowing his eyes, Steve stared at the grainy picture but all he was able to recognize was that the right side of Danny's face was covered in blood; everything else was either too far away or too blurry and he couldn't tell if the blood came from a gunshot wound or from a simple cut. "Is it possible to sharpen it?" he asked but he already knew the answer before the last word had even left his mouth.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but our possibilities here are very limited," the woman shook her head, throwing him a sympathetic look when she noticed his worried expression.

"Alright," Steve huffed out as he ran his right hand through his hair. "Thank you. Good job," he added, finally remembering his good manners.

Gritting his teeth when he thought about the current situation, Steve breathed out a frustrated sigh. It was bad enough that the Blakes had taken a child hostage but now they had also injured and abducted a police officer which made the situation a hundred times worse. Blinking in surprise when a sudden thought crossed his mind he turned around to face his teammate.

"Kono," he said pensively, waiting impatiently until the young woman had stowed away her cell phone. "Did you see the little boy on the video? I don't think he was there, right?"

"He was there when they left the court room," Kono replied, cocking her head a little bit to the right when she stared at the blank screen, trying to remember every single second of the video they had just watched. "But you're right, he wasn't there when they took Danny's car," she agreed, furrowing her brow in confusion. "What does that mean?"

"That means that they either kept him out of sight or that he's still somewhere in the building," McGarrett answered, briefly locking eyes with Kono before he addressed the three police officers in the room. "Keep going through the videos, maybe you can find something else. Keep a special eye on the young boy, maybe he shows up somewhere. Rodriguez, take some more men and search the building, every corner between the court room and the exit. If the boy is still in the building we need to find him."

"Kono, come on," Steve added without waiting for Officer Rodriguez' answer, already leading the way to the door. "Let's go back to Chin and see if he has found out anything."

"Steve?" Kono asked shyly, quickening her steps to catch up with her boss. "Do you think…" she interrupted herself to bite her lower lip, briefly looking at the dark-haired man before she cast down her eyes and stopped dead in her tracks, forcing Steve to also come to a stop. Taking a deep breath she slowly shook her head before she finally squared her shoulders. "They didn't kill him, right?" she rephrased her question, defiantly locking eyes with Steve. "I mean, if they killed him, why would they take the body? Danny's still alive, isn't he?"

"I'm sure he's alive," Steve answered without hesitation, simply not allowing himself to think anything else. "Knowing Danny's big mouth he had probably already talked them into handing themselves in," he added with a little smirk, trying to lighten the mood a little bit.

Uttering a choked laugh, Kono slightly nodded her head. "Yeah, right," she agreed, the corners of her mouth slightly twitching in amusement. There was a moment of heavy silence when Steve and Kono just looked at each other before they simultaneously nodded their heads.

"Danny's alright," Steve repeated quietly, for Kono's sake as well as for his own. 'He has to be,' he added in his thoughts, knowing full well that the fate of his partner was in the hands of two serial killers.

* * *

"I missed you so much," Christine Blake whispered hoarsely once she was sure that Danny was out for the count.

Carelessly looking down at his unmoving form she tucked the gun into the waistband of her leather pants and turned around to face the man she loved, eyeballing her husband silently for a long moment before she leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on his lips, closely followed by a second and a third one.

"I missed you too," Robert answered between some more, teasing kisses, closing his eyes to breathe in the scent of Christine's hair. Tightly clenching his fists by his side, he prohibited himself from touching her, knowing that as soon as he felt her warm skin underneath his fingertips he wouldn't be able to stand down.

"We really have to go," he said reluctantly, kissing his wife a last time before he slowly started to grin and nodded toward the car. "I guess you want to drive?"

"You know me too well," Christine laughed out throatily. Slowly raising her right hand she gently ran her fingers through Bobby's unruly hair, smiling wickedly when she noticed the shudder that ran through his body upon her touch. "Later," she breathed, promising herself that nothing and no one would ever separate them again.

Without any more words they jumped into action, acting like the well-oiled couple they actually were. Christine picked up the blue document folder while Bobby quickly dragged Danny to the back of the car and efficiently stripped him of his belongings. Pocketing the weapons and the keys, Robert tossed Danny's cell phone into a nearby bush before he secured him with his own handcuffs, ignoring the soft groans that came from the unconscious man.

Never fighting shy of blood or violence, Christine indifferently stared down at Danny's blood-covered face; the cut above his right eye was still bleeding sluggishly and his brows were knitted in pain and stress, indicating that he was on the border of coming round.

Quickly lending her husband a hand, the red-haired woman opened the trunk lid, raising her eyebrows when she pointed at the scattered contents.

"What's all this stuff?" Christine asked disgustedly, carelessly tossing Danny's documents into the trunk before she gingerly picked up one of the many items, a small, rose and yellow colored backpack that Grace had left in the car two days ago.

"Maybe the cop has a thing for pink," Bobby answered with an amused laugh, sweeping away a pink hairbrush and a plush monkey of the same color.

Working together, the Blakes manhandled Danny's limp body into the trunk of his own car, not caring at all that they bumped his head against the metal edge or that his legs were bent in an uncomfortable angle.

"It's a good thing that he's short," Bobby Blake smirked, giving his wife an impish wink. "Otherwise you would have had to choose a bigger car."

"But I really love this one," Christine replied, tenderly caressing the silver car paint. Jingling with the set of keys in her right hand, she grinned in pleasant anticipation as she jerked her head, "Come on, let's go."

They were just about to close the trunk lid when Danny slightly began to stir, groaning hoarsely as his eyes moved rapidly behind still closed eyelids.

Exchanging a brief look of mutual understanding with her husband, Christine briefly nibbled on her lower lip before she remarked pensively, "I think he's waking up."

"I'll take care of him," Bobby said with a grim little smile, motioning his wife to get into the car. Briefly gazing around he noticed more people on the other end of the parking lot; it really was high time to disappear.

Looking back down at their hostage, Robert angrily pursed his lips when Danny weakly rolled his head from side to side and his eyelids started to flutter.

"Sorry buddy, but I'm afraid you have to sleep a little longer," he murmured under his breath, slowly starting to sneer as he cracked his knuckles. He didn't look at all as if he felt sorry, he rather seemed to enjoy what he was about to do.

Supporting himself with his left hand on the edge of the trunk, he leaned forward, and without further hesitation he rammed his fist against Danny's already bruised right temple. Completely satisfied with his punch, Bobby watched how Danny breathed out a choked groan, the muscles of his neck and upper body briefly constricted before he went totally limp.

"Good boy," Bobby said sarcastically, quickly slamming the trunk lid shut before he hurried to the passenger's door, slipping into the seat just when his wife started the engine.

For a few minutes they drove in complete silence, just content with each other's company. Enjoying the refreshing breeze that came through the open passenger's window, Robert closed his eyes and breathed deeply in and out a few times, allowing a huge smile to creep across his face when he finally realized that he was truly free.

Taking a final deep breath, he reluctantly closed the window, turned around in his seat and leaned his head against the window, silently watching his wife. He just stared at her, taking in every tiny little detail; the strand of coppery hair that had come free from her plait, the soft smile on her shining red lips, her long fingers that were casually curled around the steering wheel, the slender golden wedding band with the three little brilliants on her ring finger.

"What are you looking at?" Christine asked without averting her eyes from the traffic, slowly starting to smile as she accelerated the car a little bit.

"You," Bobby answered, tentatively stretching out his left hand to caress her cheek. "You are even more beautiful than I remember."

Laughing the throaty laugh that was typical for her, Christine cocked her head to the right and slightly leaned into Robert's touch. She could have stayed like that forever, but she knew that they had to get rid of the car soon. As much as she loved the classy roadster, it was far too prominent for their purposes and she was sure that the police were already looking out for them. After all, they had not only stolen a car but also killed a few people and taken a police officer hostage.

"Did you realize that our guest is a member of Five-0?" Robert asked, causing his wife to shake her head in amazement. He had always seemed to have the ability to read her mind, obviously knowing exactly what she was thinking right now.

"Five-0?" Christine asked, breathing out a disappointed sigh when Bobby removed his hand from her cheek. "Oh, you mean, he's one of the Governor's new pets?" she asked, briefly turning her head to throw a look at her husband. "Well, I guess he's even more fun that I thought," she added gleefully when Robert silently nodded in agreement.

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Bobby asked with a laugh, feeling a shiver of anticipation running down his spine when he imagined all the things they could do with their hostage. He smiled fondly when he thought back to their very first victim; he honestly couldn't remember who had first hit on the idea of murdering people. All he knew was that killing people together with his beloved wife had been the weirdest, most beautiful and definitely sexiest experience in his whole life.

"I think we need to get rid of the car," Christine said after they had spent almost twenty minutes in comfortable silence, picking up on her thought from before, furrowing her brow when she looked in the rearview mirror. She briefly scowled at the squad car that seemed to follow them at a careful distance, turning left at the next section to check if they were really being followed.

Quickly turning right again, she swerved to the left lane and passed a few slower cars, accelerating the car up to the speed limit, quickly increasing the distance between the Camaro and the squad car.

"Do you think they're looking for us?" Robert asked with a hint of worry in his voice. He unconditionally trusted his wife's driving skills, but after all they were on a damn island and they had known in advance that it wouldn't be easy to get away.

Christine nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders, slowly stretching out her right hand to place it on Bobby's left leg. Running her fingers up and down his thigh, her fingernails scratched slightly across the fabric of his jeans and she smiled hungrily when she felt his muscles tense underneath her touch.

"Relax, everything's gonna be fine," she whispered hoarsely as she leaned to the right as far as possible without losing control over the car. "Kiss me," she ordered, turning her head to meet her husband's lips for a brief, passionate kiss before she returned her attention to the traffic.

Only a moment later Robert's question was answered when the police car behind them suddenly sped up and switched on the emergency lights.

"This is where the fun begins," Christine smirked when about a minute later a second squad car appeared right in front of the Camaro with wailing sirens, flashing its lights in an attempt to slow them down.

"Oh, I don't think so," she said, licking her red lips in anticipation as she threw a short glance in the rearview mirror. She laughed out in joy when she pressed her right foot on the gas pedal and heard the engine roar loudly, enjoying the feeling of unlimited power the car gave her.

Easily passing the slower squad car, Christine waved mockingly at the baffled officers, barely missing a few cars in the oncoming lane when she swerved to the left. One of the cars, a small, blue Toyota, started to swerve dangerously when the driver overreacted, crashing into a parked car at the side of the street with screeching tires.

Heading northbound for Moanalua Freeway, Christine zigzagged rapidly through the early morning traffic, using all available lanes, neither caring about oncoming cars nor about their precious cargo in the trunk. She knew that they needed to end this wild chase before more squad cars were joining the race and they had forfeited their chance of getting away.

Pulling the steering wheel sharply to the right, she noticed from the corner of her eyes how Bobby quickly reached for the grab handle above the passenger's door, clutching it tightly to keep his balance as the car raced through the streets of Honolulu.

Christine took the next turn left and sped up the car to run through a red light, missing the large red truck in the oncoming lane only by a hair's breadth. Huffing out a satisfied breath of air, she took the time to look in the rearview mirror, chuckling gleefully when one of the two squad cars didn't make it and crashed into the side of the truck, steam immediately rising from its badly damaged motor compartment.

For a few moments it looked like they had shaken off their tail; they had almost reached the entrance ramp to the freeway when suddenly the second squad car appeared at the passenger's side of the Camaro out of nowhere.

"Stop them," Christine hissed through gritted teeth, accelerating the car even more, dangerously swerving around the next corner.

Needing no second invitation Bobby nodded silently and swiftly pulled down the window before he pointed Danny's service weapon at the police car and opened fire, planning to hit either one of the tires or the officer at the wheel.

"Watch out!" his wife called out when his attempts proved to be futile. Swerving slightly to the left only to violently jerk the steering wheel to the right a heartbeat later, she caused the Camaro to bump against the side of the squad car, trying to force it off the road before they reached the freeway, but the slender roadster stood absolutely no chance against the bigger squad car.

Yet it was enough to make the police car swerve a little bit to the right so that the driver had to hit the brakes and pull the car further to the right to dodge the red and white striped pillar that marked the entrance ramp to the freeway. For a moment the shrill screeching of the tires drowned out everything else including the loud engine noises of the two cars but then the sickening sound of metal on concrete filled the air when the rear end of the squad car crashed into the pillar, causing it to spin wildly around its own axis over and over again.

Finally free from their pursuers, Christine Blake steered the Camaro up the ramp and onto the freeway, but not before one or both of the police officers had somehow been able to return fire, riddling the entire passenger's side of the silver car with bullets from end to end, leaving a trail of smoking little black holes all the way from the hood back to the trunk.

**(tbc)**

* * *

_I warned you about cliffhangers, didn't I? ;-) See you next week..._


	4. Chapter 4

_Okay, we start with the same scene as before, this time from Danny's POV... enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

Very slowly, woken by his own hoarse groans of pain, Danny started to become aware of his surroundings and of his own body.

The first thing he perceived was a loud roaring sound, constantly humming through his whole mind and body. Unable to define the noise he desperately tried to bite back the nausea, keeping his eyes closed as he deeply breathed in and out through his nose.

Somewhere at the back of his mind he knew exactly what had happened. He felt the cold metal of his handcuffs around his wrists, so he hadn't only been knocked down by that crazy, red-haired woman with the gun but also tied up and probably kidnapped. He also still had that nagging feeling that he should know the woman and the tall, blond man by her side, but at the moment thinking about it was an effort much too big and so Danny just lay there with closed eyes, trying to find out where he was.

He had the strange impression that the world around him shifted and moved, that his body was constantly rocked back and forth and left and right. Scrunching up his face he tried with all his might to get past that weird feeling. It was ridiculous; he knew that the world didn't move and yet he felt exactly that way.

Another bout of nausea suddenly surged through his body and Danny squeezed his eyes shut more tightly, swallowing over and over again until he was relatively sure that he wouldn't start to puke the very next moment.

Taking a deep breath he started to take stock of his injuries. His head and his right knee pounded in synch with his heartbeat, but as long as he kept his eyes closed, the headache was bearable. Slowly stretching his right leg to lessen the dull pressure in his recently healed joint, Danny frowned in confusion when his foot bumped against something hard and his heart rate involuntarily increased.

He suddenly knew exactly where he was and why the world around him shifted and where the loud humming came from. He was lying in the trunk of a car and judging from the familiar roaring of the engine it was not just a random car but his very own beloved Camaro.

Groaning in pain and annoyance when his body was violently rocked back and forth once more and the movement spiked the pain in his head, Danny angrily furrowed his brow. After almost a year with his new partner he thought he was accustomed to a rough driving style but this was a completely new and uncomfortable experience and suddenly Steve's driving skills didn't seem so bad anymore.

Stretching his arms and legs to find purchase on anything around him and protect himself from further unexpected changes of direction, Danny winced when he was unable to fully stretch his limbs because of the confined space he was lying in. His breathing quickened but his obviously concussed brain refused to produce the familiar surge of panic and Danny snorted disbelievingly in a mixture of amusement and disgust.

Only very few people knew about his claustrophobia; his family of course, Rachel, a handful of close friends back in Jersey but so far he hadn't told his new team or anyone else in Hawaii. To be honest, he was a bit embarrassed about this particular condition of his and he was usually able to fight back any panic attacks by rattling off Baseball facts in his mind. But it was always good to know that there was a second option and Danny humorlessly chuckled under his breath; next time he had a panic attack he would just hit himself over the head and give himself a concussion.

Sighing silently, Danny took another deep breath and prepared himself for the inevitable. Very cautiously he blinked his eyes open and squinted into the dusky light inside the trunk, pleasantly surprised that his headache was only slightly increasing. Blinking a few more times more he slowly turned his head but it was too dark to see a thing and for a moment he felt the familiar sting of panic constricting his chest. To distract himself from the claustrophobic surroundings he deliberately and forcefully bent and stretched his right leg a few times as far as possible, concentrating every single thought on the dull throbbing inside his knee joint.

Wincing in surprise when the car unexpectedly turned around a corner, Danny hissed in pain when his back and head bumped against the wall of the trunk. Cursing under his breath, he raised his shackled hands, noticing for the first time that his left arm and hand prickled uncomfortably, probably from lying in the same position on his left side for too long.

He also noticed that he was lying on something soft and hard at the same time, a small hump that was uncomfortably pressing into his side. Wiggling his upper body a little bit back and forth, he awkwardly tried to reach the item, gritting his teeth when the handcuffs painfully cut into the skin of his wrists. Frowning in confusion when his fingers touched something soft and furry, Danny grabbed the plushy thing, finally realizing that he was dealing with the pink monkey that he had bought for Grace a few days ago.

Tightly clutching the stuffed animal when the car obviously rounded another corner and picked up speed he briefly sought comfort in the fluffy toy before he caringly set the monkey aside before he cautiously touched his right temple. The whole side of his face was uncomfortably numb and when he ran his fingers gently across his brow and cheek he could feel the nasty cut above his obviously swollen right eye and the almost dried blood that was caking his face.

"Whoa," Danny cried out in surprise and pain when the car suddenly swerved to the left and he was thrown once more into the wall of the trunk. The jerky movements made him dizzy and he had to fight back another bout of nausea. The panic that he had been able to suppress so far was now slowly searching its way to the surface even if Danny tried desperately to make it disappear.

He couldn't contain a gasp of fear when the car accelerated even more and he was violently tossed across the confined space he was lying in. Danny knew that something was wrong; he could hear the screeching of tires over the noise of the engine and the rising tension was almost palpable.

Pressing his feet and his back against the walls of the trunk, he raised his hands and tried his best to protect his head but without seeing a thing it was almost impossible to anticipate the sudden changes of direction and despite his best efforts he couldn't prevent his body from painfully bumping against the hard surface over and over again.

Danny didn't know how much time passed, all he knew was that his back, his hips, his knees and elbows hurt from constantly colliding with the walls. The nausea and the streak of panic from before were almost drowned out by the overwhelming feeling of helplessness and pain and at some point, after an especially violent swerve to the left, he was almost convinced that he was going to die.

The car lurched one final time to the left and immediately back to the right, closely followed by a noticeable crash that made Danny briefly wince for the well-being of his Camaro. He heard a few strange metallic pops and then the car slowed down a bit and went smoothly straight forward. As fast as it had begun, the wild chase seemed to have ended, leaving him dizzy, breathless and nauseous in his dark prison.

Breathing out a relieved sigh, Danny hesitantly opened his eyes, totally unaware of the fact that he obviously had them squeezed shut during the last few minutes. Blinking a few times he stared dumbfounded at the thin rays of light that seemed to come through three little holes in the corner right above his head, illuminating the trunk with a faint, golden glow.

The bruises all over his body and the pounding headache made it difficult to concentrate on anything else but very slowly Danny experienced a new kind of pain, hissing like a wounded cat when he carelessly shifted his weight and a searing, white-hot pain surged through his body. Feeling the warm trickle of blood, he groaned hoarsely, realizing belatedly that he obviously had just been hit by a bullet.

* * *

After they had learned what had happened to their teammate, Steve, Chin and Kono all needed a bit of fresh air to clear their thoughts. Standing on top of the large staircase in front of the court building, the three of them chatted quietly, updating each other on their respective findings.

Every now and then Steve turned his head and threw a frustrated look at the parking lot where his friend and partner had been abducted by Christine and Robert Blake. What a damn coincidence that Danny had been here at the court today of all days, right at the time when the serial killer couple had needed a getaway car.

Gritting his teeth, Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned his head back toward his friends, concentrating on Chin's calm voice.

"I talked to Judge Weyerman, to his aid, the attorney and the two police officers," the Asian man explained, his gaze traveling between his cousin and his boss. "They are the only people who know what happened inside the court room and they all agreed on the same thing."

"It seems that Marty Sanders, Robert's lawyer, was involved in planning the escape," Chin continued quickly when he saw the impatient and concerned look on Steve's face.

"But he's dead, right?" Steve asked grimly, trying to remember everything that Duke Lukela had told them earlier about the case.

"Yes," Chin answered Steve's question with a short nod of his head. "Christine Blake shot him in cold blood; right after she thanked him for his help and ordered him to gag all the other people in the room. Both police officers reported they had heard her say _'I think we don't need him anymore'_ before she killed him."

"Alright," Steve sighed, briefly running his right hand through his hair. The worry for his partner increased another notch when he had new proof about the woman's ruthlessness and he saw his own emotions reflected in the eyes of his teammates. "Sanders obviously can't tell us anymore about the Blakes' plans. But maybe he has…"

Steve was interrupted when the door behind him flew open and Officer Rodriguez rushed out of the building. "Commander McGarrett," the young policeman said breathlessly, agitatedly waving his hands as he approached the small group.

"Rodriguez," Steve turned around, nodding a curt greeting at the newcomer, on the one hand annoyed about the disturbance but at the same time slightly amused about the man's eagerness. If the situation wasn't so serious he'd probably smirk about Rodriguez' behavior and he was sure that Danny would also have come up with a fitting remark. The young officer was so excited that he even grinned at Chin, for a moment completely forgetting about the usual hostility that almost all members of HPD showed towards their former colleague.

"We found the boy," Rodriguez blurted out, his announcement followed by a moment of stunned silence.

"Thank God," Kono finally breathed out, briefly smiling at her cousin when she felt Chin's hand on her shoulder. "Is he alright?"

"He's scared to death, but except for a few superficial abrasions he's alright," Rodriguez nodded, still grinning brightly before he suddenly seemed to remember who he was talking to. Awkwardly clearing his throat, he slightly shook his head and squared his shoulders. "He was locked up in a supply closet right here on the first floor," he explained, jerking his head toward the entrance door. "He can't remember much of what happened, or maybe he's just too scared to talk about it. We already called his parents, maybe he'll open up a bit when they're here."

"Good job, Rodriguez," McGarrett said, dismissing the HPD officer with a genuine smile. "Keep us updated in case he remembers anything important," he added, pondering for a moment if it made sense that Five-0 interviewed the boy but his gut feeling already told him that they wouldn't get useful information from the frightened child.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Steve briefly squeezed his eyes shut, allowing himself to enjoy a short moment of relief. At least the boy was alright; now they could completely concentrate on bringing Danny home, preferably alive and whole.

"Let's go to the palace," he said, letting his gaze travel between Chin and Kono. "We need to find out how deep Marty Sanders was involved. Does he have family? Associates? Anyone else who might know what the Blakes are planning or where they're heading to."

"Alright, Boss," Kono said while Chin silently nodded in agreement.

"You said that Christine Blake was on the run for almost a year?" Steve asked rhetorically, leading his teammates down the stairs and toward their vehicles. "If she was on Hawaii the whole time she must have left marks, anything that helps us find out where they are now."

"If there is anything we will find it," Chin said confidently, always trusting in his and Kono's abilities to find everything they needed in the depths of their powerful computer system.

The three friends briefly stared at each other in utter silence; they all knew the seriousness of the situation and nobody had to speak out loud that time was crucial. They had absolutely no proof that Danny was still alive, but they would do everything in their power to find their teammate and bring him home safely.

Steve sighed silently as he watched Chin mounting his bike and Kono approaching her little red car, asking himself when exactly his team had become family, Ohana to him. The four of them knew each other for less than a year and yet their friendship was already deeper than anything he had experienced before. Of course he had some very close friends from his time in the Navy, men that he had spent endless days and nights together, that he had fought to the death with, but somehow this here felt different. He had always been on the move since he had been forced to leave Hawaii, almost twenty years without a real place to live, but now – despite the sad circumstances that had caused his return to the island – it felt like he had finally found a home.

He felt a deep connection to the people on his team, but especially Danny, who was in every single way his complete opposite, was somehow on his way to becoming his closest friend and Steve just couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to him, especially not so soon after Freddie's death.

Slightly shaking his head to banish those gloomy thoughts, McGarrett was just about to open the driver's door of his dark blue truck when he heard a voice shouting his name. Turning around he furrowed his brow when he noticed Sergeant Lukela leaving the court building, agitatedly motioning him to wait.

"Steve, wait," Duke shouted, animatedly talking into the radio on his left shoulder as he limped down the stairs as fast as possible.

"Duke, what do you have?" Steve asked curiously, exchanging a brief look with Chin and Kono who were following on his heels as he approached the older man.

"Two different squad car crews just reported that they have seen a silver Chevrolet Camaro," Duke explained breathlessly. "They were chasing it northbound towards Moanalua Freeway."

"Are they sure it's Danny's car?" Steve asked excitedly, unconsciously clenching his fists as he nervously awaited Duke's answer.

"License plate number is DV2 399," the older man confirmed with a sharp nod of his head. "That is his number, right?"

"Yes," Steve said curtly, frowning when he noticed the worried expression on Duke's face. "What? What's wrong?"

"We don't know what happened but we lost contact with one of our cars," Sergeant Lukela replied quietly, the concern for his fellow police officer clearly audible in his voice. "The second crew reported back a minute ago that they were forced off the road and lost the Camaro. We will immediately block the freeway and all exits…"

Without waiting for Duke to finish his sentence Steve turned around and stormed toward his Silverado. "Chin, Kono, let's go," he shouted hoarsely without looking back, trusting his teammates to follow his orders. "We need to find Danny."

"Coming!" Kono exclaimed, turning on her heels to follow her boss while Chin stayed for another moment and locked eyes with Duke Lukela.

"Thanks Duke," he nodded sharply at the other man, wordlessly apologizing for Steve's brusque behavior before he also turned around and sprinted toward his bike.

"Good luck," Duke sighed silently as he looked after the three members of Five-0, knowing full well that Steve's rudeness was just an expression of worry for his partner and he just hoped that they would be able to find their missing friend in time.

* * *

"You did what?" Steve roared, furiously glaring down at the Hawaiian police officer who was sitting at the back of an ambulance, a paramedic just tending to a few minor cuts on his forehead and left cheek.

"We fired at the Camaro," the man said slowly and distinctly, gazing at Steve as if he was dealing with an intellectually challenged person. "We tried to stop it but then they shot at us and forced us off the road." He shrugged his shoulders and briefly nodded towards the completely destroyed squad car that was coiled around a red and white striped concrete pillar. "Guess we were lucky," he grinned, winking at the female paramedic who was just applying a white patch to a particular nasty gash on his cheek. "That crash might have easily killed us."

"You shot at the Camaro?" Steve hissed through gritted teeth, obviously not at all interested in the officer's well-being. "How many shots? Did you hit one of the passengers?" he asked hoarsely, his voice slightly quivering with anger and concern for his partner.

"I'd say we pretty much riddled it," the second police officer, a bulky young man with cropped brown hair, chimed in from his place on the gurney inside the ambulance, grinning proudly despite his obvious injuries. "Too bad," he added, wincing when he tried to shrug his shoulders, protectively cradling his broken left arm with his right hand. "It's a really nice car."

"We peppered it from bumper to bumper," the Hawaiian cop bragged, winking again at the young paramedic before he exchanged a look of satisfaction with his partner. "I'm pretty sure we hit the blond guy in the passenger's seat," he added reluctantly when he noticed Steve's growing impatience.

Steve felt how his blood started to boil while at the same time a cold shiver ran down his spine; he clenched his fists to prevent himself from hitting the cop and he was pretty sure that only Chin's presence next to him helped him to stay relatively calm.

"What did he look like?" Chin asked coldly, his gaze equally cold as Steve's.

"Haole," the Hawaiian cop said absent-mindedly, indifferently shrugging his shoulders. He slowly eyeballed Chin from head to toe, snorting scornfully when his gaze fell on the other man's badge. "Who on earth gave your badge back, Kelly?"

"I did," Steve replied curtly before Chin could even think of an answer, his eyes burning with anger as he stepped closer to the ambulance until he was standing right in front of the older man. "The blond guy in the passenger's seat of the Camaro," he repeated Chin's question, his voice barely above a whisper. "What did he look like?"

Obviously enjoying Steve's and Chin's anger, the cop took his time to think thoroughly about his answer, even raising his right hand and pensively tapping his forefinger against his lips. "Tall guy with curly hair, I think," he finally said slowly, turning his head to look at his partner. "That's about right, isn't it, Joey?"

Grinning at each other, both cops missed the collective sigh of relief from Steve and Chin when they realized that the guy in the Camaro hadn't been Danny.

"Yeah, I think so," Joey answered, narrowing his eyes as he cocked his head to the right. "But I can't rule out that we hit someone else. I didn't get a good look at the back seat, you know," he added with a cocky grin for the sole purpose of adding fuel to the fire. Both cops knew full well that a member of the Governor's task force was missing but like a lot of HPD members they took every chance to pick a quarrel with Five-0.

Growling audibly, Steve took another step forward, ready to climb into the ambulance to knock some sense into the insolent cop but he was immediately stopped by the young paramedic. "Sir, you cannot go in there," the woman said, raising her hands as she put herself between Steve and the injured cop, defiantly locking eyes with McGarrett.

Breathing heavily, Steve scowled down at the petite woman, completely ignoring his cell phone that chirped and vibrated in his pocket. For a short moment he honestly thought of shoving her away to get to the brown-haired police offer but then he slowly shook his head and reluctantly backed off.

"Dammit," he exclaimed angrily, hitting his fist against the open door of the ambulance before he threw a last furious look at the two cops.

"Steve," Chin called after the taller man, reminding him to stay calm, but to be honest, he knew exactly what Steve was feeling. At the moment, Chin himself felt like punching something – or better someone – and without looking back he followed Steve back to their vehicle.

"Hey Kelly, what's the matter?" the Hawaiian police officer asked loudly, causing Chin and Steve to stop dead in their tracks and turn around. "The Governor's special task force, that's what they call you, right? What the hell is so special about you? Ah, I know, you're especially deranged, right? Well, your boss is certainly completely lolo," he said, briefly nodding toward McGarrett before he smirked derisively and turned his gaze back toward Chin. "After all, he has to be. I mean, who else would hire a little Haole, a dirty cop and his slut of a cousin for his task force."

"Steve, don't," Chin said in a hoarse whisper, trying to hold his boss back when Steve darted forward. "They're not worth it," he said quietly, the calmness of his voice a sharp contrast to the hurt and anger in his dark eyes. He placed a hand on Steve's forearm, not willing to let the other man start a physical fight; Chin wished nothing more than to wipe the smirk off the officer's face with his own fists but he knew that would do no good right now. "Steve," he repeated, turning his head to look at his boss, squeezing tightly when he felt Steve's muscles tremble underneath his touch.

"Alright," McGarrett finally replied, gritting his teeth as he locked eyes with his teammate. "Let me go." Shifting his gaze from Chin's face down to the hand on his arm, Steve pressed his lips together as he waited for Chin to release his grip. Taking a deep breath he nodded once at his friend before he whirled around and stormed back toward the ambulance.

Rising up to his full height, he narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the Hawaiian officer who was still smirking at him. "Let me tell you one thing," Steve said icily, invading the other man's personal space as he slightly bent forward to make his point clear. He contentedly noted that the officer began to fidget nervously but Steve didn't plan to stop here; he swiftly grabbed the collar of the police uniform with his left hand, slightly twisting his wrist so that the man was forced to raise his chin and bend his head to the back. His dark eyes widened in surprise and he opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water when he saw Steve angrily clenching his right fist.

"My partner was in that car," Steve continued quietly as he tightened his grip on the policeman's collar. "If he was injured and I find out that one of your bullets hurt him I will make sure that you suffer the consequences," he threatened, holding his gaze for almost half a minute. Then without further warning he forcefully hit his fist against the door of the ambulance, only a hair's breadth next to the officer's head, before he finally released the man and without another word he turned around toward his teammate.

"Did you hear from Kono?" McGarrett asked after he and Chin had silently walked back to Steve's Silverado, massaging his hurting right hand as he shoved the unpleasant conversation with the two cops to the back of his mind; now was definitely not the time to dwell on all those nasty things they had said. Steve sighed silently when he reminded himself that they were not only on the search for Danny but also on the hunt for a couple of very dangerous serial killers.

"Not yet," Chin shook his head, slowly pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "Do you want me to call her?"

After the short conversation with Duke the Five-0 team had decided to split up; while Steve and Chin had gone to the location where Danny's Camaro had been last seen, Kono was checking what had happened to the second squad car.

Steve answered Chin's question with a silent nod of his head, suddenly remembering that his own cell phone had announced a call a few minutes earlier, but before he was able to check his phone, the little device in Chin's hand started to buzz.

"It's Kono," Chin said with a little smile, briefly locking eyes with his boss as he answered the call.

"Hey cuz, I put you on speaker," he said, tapping lightly onto the display before he slightly raised his hand so that they could better hear what Kono had to say.

"I talked to a few witnesses," Kono replied without a proper greeting. "They all reported that the squad car was obviously chasing a silver Camaro when it crashed into a truck." There was an almost inaudible pause in Kono's speech and Chin could easily picture his cousin taking a deep breath before she continued. "One of the officers died on impact, the other one sustained severe head injuries," she explained her findings, and now both men could hear her little sigh. "I talked to the fire fighters on scene… they don't think he'll make it."

"Okay, thanks Kono," Chin said quietly, his heart constricting for the lost lives despite the fact that he was usually met with open hostility by all members of HPD. "Anything else?"

"Yes," the young woman answered, her voice suddenly colored with barely hidden excitement. "I just got a call from Duke. He obviously tried to reach you, Boss," she addressed Steve, a slight question wavering in her sentence; it was very uncommon for the Ex-SEAL not to answer his phone, especially in the midst of a case.

"Yeah, I was… uhm… a little distracted," Steve replied after a moment of contemplation, sheepishly staring down at the bruised knuckles of his right hand which caused Chin to breathe out a humorless snort. He finally checked his phone and furrowed his brow when he indeed noticed one missed call from Duke Lukela. "What did he say?"

"They found Danny's car," Kono exclaimed excitedly, quickly continuing when she heard the sharp intake of breath from her teammates. "It is abandoned but I'm sure we can find at least some traces."

"Where? How?" Steve asked hoarsely, motioning Chin to get into the car. He opened the driver's door of his Silverado and hopped in, already starting the engine when Chin climbed in the passenger's seat.

"An old repair shop near Moanalua Gardens; a real-estate agent coincidentally stopped there and noticed the Camaro," the young woman replied. "I'm sending the address to Chin's phone. I'll meet you there." She ended the call as abrupt as it had begun, without further explanations or a goodbye.

The drive to the small garage was fast and uneventful and neither Chin nor Steve spoke a single word. They both knew that time was critical – now more than ever; but for the first time since Steve had seen the video where Danny had been knocked down and abducted, he felt a tiny glimmer of hope. If Robert and Christine Blake had really abandoned their getaway car and if Robert had really suffered a gunshot wound like the two police officers had said, then the couple couldn't have gone very far in the short amount of time. Plus they were still dealing with a hostage and, be it consciously or subconsciously, Danny would definitely slow them down and now was probably the best chance to catch them before they were able to kill more people.

It was not even ten minutes later when the small spark of hope was mercilessly crushed.

Danny's Camaro was parked in the messy backyard of the old repair shop, next to two rusty Fords and a huge pile of discarded metal, the whole passenger's side of the silver car riddled with bullet holes.

The dirt and oil on the ground all around the car was mixed with blood, footprints and tire tracks criss-crossing the sickly chaos in a horridly fascinating pattern. The air was filled with a nauseating, coppery smell that got even thicker when Steve cautiously opened the passenger's door causing Kono to clasp her hand in front of her mouth and shrink back in horror. The back rest and the seat on the passenger's side were smeared with half-dried clots of blood, at first sight barely visible against the dark gray leather of the seat.

Grimly gritting his teeth, Steve silently stared down at the mess for a long moment before leaned a little bit forward and threw a glance at the backseat, but there was no blood or other signs that Danny had been held hostage there.

Breathing out a small sigh he stiffly strode toward the rear of the car, trying his best to not destroy any of the tracks on the ground. He suspiciously eyed the bullet holes on the top right corner of the trunk and a few bloody fingerprints on the rear bumper before he took a deep breath, preparing himself for the worst when he slowly stretched out his gloved right hand to open the trunk lid.

The first thing Steve saw was a stuffed monkey and his lips curled into a hesitant smile when he thought about Grace and Danny's odd nickname for his daughter. But then he noticed the traces of blood on the monkey's pink fur and he quickly let his gaze travel across the inside of the empty trunk. The dark fabric was soaked with blood, probably not as much as on the passenger's seat but still enough to be worried.

Forcefully slamming the lid shut, McGarrett impatiently pulled off the blue one-way gloves and angrily tossed them away. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he briefly squeezed his eyes shut and tried to make sense of the recent findings. Even if there was absolutely no indication, Steve's gut feeling told him that the blood inside the trunk was Danny's and he was only able to derive a little comfort from the fact that they hadn't found a body which probably meant that his partner was still alive.

"Call CSI," Steve said hoarsely when he finally turned around to face his teammates. "There has to be something that helps us find out where they took Danny."

**(tbc)**


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you so much for all your reviews, I really appreciate every single one of them.

Here's the next chapter, back to Christine and Bobby Blake right after the cops shot at the Camaro… now we'll finally find out how badly Danny is hurt. I hope you enjoy :-)

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

"Yes," Christine Blake hissed out, laughing maniacally when she watched in the rearview mirror how the squad car crashed sidelong into the concrete pillar and span around its own axis.

Accelerating the Camaro, she swerved onto the left lane of the Freeway, easily passing a few slower vehicles before she steered the car back to the right and slowed down, trying not to draw more attention to them. She knew that they had to get rid of the car as soon as possible; with all the bullet holes it was even more prominent than before.

Checking all mirrors for possible followers she slowly started to smile when she found none, keeping her eyes on the heavy morning traffic as she stretched out her right hand and ran it teasingly across her husband's thigh. "They're all gone, Bobby," she said happily, frowning when she felt the slight tremor of his muscles underneath her touch.

"Bobby?" Christine asked hesitantly when there was no answer, briefly turning her head to the right. Her heart literally stopped for a second when she took in her husband's appearance; his pale face was covered with sweat, and he pressed his lips together in a thin line while he rapidly inhaled and exhaled through his nose, laborious breaths of air that almost sounded like moans. "Bobby?" Christine repeated her question, letting her gaze travel up and down Bobby's body before she was forced to return her attention to the traffic. "What's wrong?" she asked worriedly, her voice a lot shriller than usual.

"I'm hit," Robert groaned, grimacing in pain when he reached for his right side. "Those damn pigs shot me," he cursed weakly, blinking sluggishly as he stared down at his fingers that were covered in his own blood.

"How bad is it?" Christine asked, gritting her teeth as she gazed at her injured husband; that was definitely not how she had planned their escape.

"Don't know," Bobby replied hoarsely, impatiently shrugging his shoulders. He had never been shot before, so how the hell was he supposed to know if it was bad or not. "I'm bleeding like a stuck pig and it really hurts," he rasped angrily, but his words were lacking their usual strength.

"We need to get rid of the car," the red-haired woman said grimly, throwing a brief look over her shoulder before she once more switched lanes and passed a few more cars only to leave the Freeway at the next exit. "Then we see how bad it is, okay Bobby?"

"I think I need a doctor…" Robert drawled without reacting to his wife's comment. Shaking his head to get rid of the sudden dizziness be breathed out a faint sigh and then simply pitched forward as he lost consciousness, only the seatbelt holding him relatively upright.

"Bobby, no," Christine cried out, stretching out her right arm and curling her fingers around Bobby's hands that lay limply in his lap, his right hand still holding Danny's service weapon. She squeezed tightly, growling worriedly when there was absolute no response. "No," she screamed, for a moment completely unable to cope with the current situation. Releasing her grip around Bobby's cold hands she angrily hit her fist against the steering wheel a few times until the pain finally helped her come to her senses.

Turning right at the next traffic lights she glanced over at her husband, sighing in relief when she noticed the faint up and down of his chest. They were only a few minutes from their destination but Christine didn't dare to drive faster – the last thing they needed right now was another police car at their heels.

She had spent almost a whole year planning the escape and even if stealing the Camaro had been a pure gut decision she had left nothing else to chance. There were several hideouts all across the city, each one stocked with a car or a motorbike, some money and a change of clothes. From Honolulu they would take a boat to Molokai, then a private jet to the Big Island and from there back to the mainland to finally continue their killing spree across the US.

Christine smiled briefly when she thought about their next stop; she had never been to Idaho before and Boise seemed to be a really nice city. Envisioning their next murder she sucked on her lower lip and shivered in anticipation; she was sure that they would easily find an appropriate, innocent victim there.

Throwing another glance into the rearview mirror the red-haired woman veered to the left and steered the Camaro into the narrow backyard of an old, abandoned repair shop. The backyard was crowded with scrap and old cars, making the black Mercedes that was parked amidst all the junk look clearly out of place.

Shutting down the engine of the car, Christine squeezed her eyes shut and allowed herself a moment of contemplation. She knew that they had to discard their original plan; trying to leave the island injured and bleeding would definitely draw too much unwanted attention. And then they still had a hostage. Scrunching up her face she remembered the cop in the trunk; she had thought it would be fun to take him but now she wasn't so sure anymore. For a moment she honestly thought of killing him right here and now but then she slightly shook her head and breathed out a faint sigh; maybe having a hostage would pay off later.

Christine unfastened her seatbelt and got out of the car, grimacing in disgust when she stepped right into a large puddle of old grease and oil. Quickly rounding the car she opened the passenger's door and tenderly caressed her husband's face. "Bobby?" she asked quietly, trying to wake him up but the only response she got was a soft moan from the unconscious man. Gently lifting his blood-soaked, light blue dress shirt Christine frowned worriedly when she noticed the gunshot wound at his lower back, slightly beneath the last rib; the wound was still bleeding sluggishly but her greatest concern was the fact that there was no exit wound.

"Putain de merde!" she cursed, unconsciously using the French term her father had always muttered when she was younger. Pensively staring at the gap between the Camaro and the black Mercedes Christine pondered for a moment on the best way to get Bobby into the other car.

Smiling humorlessly when a sudden thought crossed her mind she finally stood up and without further hesitation she rushed to the back of the car. Drawing her weapon she tore open the trunk lid and immediately pointed the gun at their reluctant passenger, not willing to take any risks.

"Good, you're awake," Christine said coldly, staring down at Danny without the slightest hint of sympathy. "Get out," she ordered; taking a small step backwards as she impatiently waved her gun. "Now!"

Groaning hoarsely when the trunk lid opened and bright sunlight hit his face, Danny turned his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Gritting his teeth at the onslaught of pain he completely missed the woman's instructions, at the moment solely concentrating on his pounding headache and on the fact that he was still alive and no longer trapped inside the confined space of the trunk.

Breathing in the fresh air he slowly blinked his eyes open and squinted into the bright light. Raising his shackled hands he touched the gash on his right temple; his right eye was almost completely swollen shut and he had trouble focusing his gaze. Danny suddenly cried out in surprise and pain when a sharp ache travelled down his right arm.

"I said, get out," Christine repeated forcefully, once more deliberately poking the barrel of her gun into the gunshot wound at Danny's right bicep. The bullet had obviously just grazed his upper arm but the wound was still bleeding freely and judging from the expression of pure agony on Danny's face, it hurt like a bitch.

"Stop it," Danny groaned out, licking his dry lips as he tried to catch his breath. Glaring at his captor he noticed the icy glimmer in the woman's green eyes, swallowing down the rude comment he had on the tip of his tongue. Unable to really make use of his bound hands, Danny awkwardly wriggled his body closer to the ledge until he was finally able to climb out of the trunk.

Involuntarily plopping down onto the edge of the trunk he sucked in a sharp breath of air when he tried to stretch his legs. His right knee felt like it was the size of a pumpkin, throbbing painfully with every beat of his heart; being forced into a crouched position for almost an hour without the chance to move his limbs was obviously not the right treatment for his recently healed ACL.

"Stand up," Christine ordered, pointing the weapon directly at Danny chest. She grinned sardonically when she noticed the maroon and light gray striped tie. "Who the hell wears a tie in Hawaii?"

"I do," Danny replied, defiantly raising his eyes to look at the woman as he struggled to his feet. He kept most of his weight on his left leg, cautiously testing the strength of his hurting knee. Eyeballing his captor from head to toe, he slowly raised his eyebrows. "Who the hell wears black leather clothes in Hawaii?" he retorted, the words slipping from his tongue before he could think them over.

Christine Blake's eyes glistened dangerously and Danny unconsciously took a small step back until he bumped against his car but there was no way of retreat. He tried to bend to the left but he was too slow and his head snapped sideways when Christine's weapon forcefully connected with his jaw.

"I do," the woman parroted, raising her left hand to tuck a stray strand of red hair behind her ear. "And now stop being a cocky asshole and help me move my husband into the other car."

"And why would I do that?" Danny asked angrily, grimacing in pain as he licked the blood from his split lip. He still had no idea who the woman was but he had the nagging feeling that he should know about her and her husband. The information was hidden, somewhere in the rearmost corner of his mind, but it stubbornly refused to come to light.

"Because otherwise you die right here and right now," Christine replied coldly, cocking her weapon and pressing it tightly against Danny's forehead. She locked eyes with her hostage and very slowly she started to smile. "Your choice," she said quietly, her voice almost friendly, but the gaze from her green eyes was so intense that it sent a shiver down Danny's spine.

"Alright," he said hoarsely, slowly nodding his head. His heart hammered in his chest and he had suddenly no doubt that the woman would carry out her threat without batting an eyelash. "Alright," Danny repeated, slightly raising his shackled hands in a placatory gesture. The small movement was enough to send a sharp pain through his upper arm; blood from the gunshot wound had already soaked the rolled-up sleeve of his shirt and was now sluggishly trickling down his right arm and hand. Trying to ignore the pain Danny licked some more blood from the corner of his mouth and took a deep breath, slowly blinking his eyes as he nervously waited for Christine to remove her weapon from his forehead.

"Good choice," Christine nodded her head, reluctantly dropping her right hand, and Danny was convinced that he'd heard a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"I'll give you the key so that you can uncuff yourself," she explained curtly and for once Danny managed to keep his mouth shut and just listened. "You will open just one side; leave the handcuffs attached to your wrist. Then you will go to the passenger's side of the car and move my husband to the Mercedes. He's hurt and unconscious, so I suggest you are careful. If you try anything stupid I'll shoot you." The corners of her mouth twitched slightly as she flashed him a sardonic smile. "Maybe I'll kill you right away but I think it'll be more fun making you scream." Searching through the pocket of her leather jacket, Christine briefly hesitated, narrowing her eyes as she stared at the man in front of her. "Did I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Danny answered her rather rhetoric question, trying to fight back the stubborn headache, the pain in his knee and right arm and the overall stiffness of his body. He knew that he had to keep a clear head if he wanted to survive the whole mess; and maybe, just maybe, he got the opportunity to escape or at least to leave something behind, some sort of sign for his team so they knew that he was still alive. Well, that was if they ever found the Camaro – with the GPS not working it would probably be easier to find the proverbial needle in a haystack than to stumble across a single car in a city like Honolulu.

The weapon still trained at Danny's head, Christine finally found the key to the handcuffs. Tossing it at the dirty ground in front of Danny's feet, she instructed him with a sharp nod of her head to pick it up.

"You could have just given it to me, you know?" Danny murmured angrily, taking a deep breath before he slowly crouched down. As expected, his right knee protested painfully against the movement and he briefly had to squeeze his eyes shut when he bent forward and a sudden bout of dizziness washed over him. Blindly groping around for the key, Danny gritted his teeth and laboriously got back to his feet, supporting himself on the bumper of the Camaro. He grimaced in disgust when he noticed the smears of blood he left on the silver car paint, but then his breath caught in his throat when a spontaneous inspiration crossed his mind.

Hoping with all his heart that the woman behind him wouldn't notice the brief moment of hesitation he faked a small stumble and once more placed his blood-covered right fingers on the bumper. Swallowing down a satisfied smile when he saw a couple of almost perfectly shaped fingerprints Danny took a small step to the left to conceal his doings and turned around toward his captor.

Awkwardly trying to put the key into the keyhole of the handcuffs he cursed his slightly trembling hands. The fact that his fingers were slick from his own blood certainly didn't help but after what seemed to be an eternity he breathed out a sigh of relief when the handcuffs finally clicked open.

"Throw me the key," Christine ordered, easily catching the small item and stowing it back into her pocket.

"You know, that's really disgusting," she said after a look at Danny's bicep, screwing up her nose when she nodded at the blood that was still trickling down his right arm and slowly dripped down from his fingertips, leaving a small puddle on the dirty ground.

"Oh, excuse me for bleeding," Danny retorted sarcastically. He knew that it would be better to keep his mouth shut but he hurt, he was tired and he was scared to death about the whole situation; a dangerous combination that seemed to decrease his usually low tolerance threshold even further. "But that's what human beings do when they get shot."

Christine cocked her head a little bit to the right and narrowed her eyes as she stared at Danny before she finally bust out in a hearty laugh. "You're a hilarious little guy," she said, ignoring Danny's angry glare when he heard the term 'little'. "I knew it would be fun taking you." She giggled for another few seconds but then her thoughts returned to her injured husband and in the blink of an eye she got serious again. "Take that stupid thing," she ordered, sharply nodding toward Danny's tie. "And patch up your wound."

Impatiently tapping her right foot while she watched how Danny awkwardly tried to bandage the wound with his left hand, Christine threw a glance to the passenger's seat and smiled softly when she noticed that Bobby had obviously regained consciousness. He had managed to slightly turn around in his seat and maneuver his legs out of the car, but now the injured man was sitting slumped on the passenger's seat, his left hand tightly pressed against the wound in his side.

"That'll do," Christine hissed when Danny had finally managed to stop the bleeding, briefly waving her gun through the air before she pointed the weapon back at Danny's chest. "Now help him."

Taking a deep breath, Danny wordlessly limped to the passenger's door, making sure that he deliberately stepped into all the oily puddles on his way. He hoped to leave the one or other footprint for his team, knowing that his partner would recognize the tread mark of his leather loafers if he saw them.

It took a good five minutes to heave Robert to his feet and seat him comfortably in the large black Mercedes and after that collective effort both men were covered in cold sweat and breathing heavily. Weakly leaning his left side against the car, Danny squeezed his eyes shut and willed himself to take deep calming breaths; the headache from before had increased tenfold and he had the feeling that the world around him wavered in and out of focus with every beat of his heart.

He was just about to debate with himself if it would be a smart move to just plop down to the ground and give in to the weakness of his body when he heard Christine's voice behind him. Forcing his eyes open he stared blearily at the woman, trying to make sense of her words.

"I said, hands behind your back," she repeated angrily, impatiently nudging him with her weapon. Violently pressing the barrel against the side of Danny's neck she waited until he sluggishly followed her orders. Ignoring the pained groan she tightly cuffed his hands behind his back before she stormed back to the Camaro and fetched the small rose and yellow colored backpack from the trunk.

Closing the trunk lid she stared melancholically at the silver car and gently ran her fingers across the shiny paint. "It's a pity that we have to leave it behind," Christine said as she returned to Danny's side. "It's such a nice car," she added, briefly sucking on her lower lip as she stared back at Danny's Camaro. "But why the hell did you choose such a girlish color?" she asked as she slightly shoved Danny away and opened the rear door of the Mercedes. "I love black," she remarked, rummaging through Grace's small backpack.

"I'll make sure the next one will be black," Danny said tiredly, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he rolled his eyes. The woman was slowly grating on his nerves with all her claims. "And don't touch that, it's my daughter's," he snapped with as much emphasis as he could muster.

"How cute," Christine replied snidely, grinning humorlessly at Danny as she produced a set of bandanas out of the bag. Without further ado she took one of them, a bright green piece of cloth with little pink polka dots, and blindfolded Danny before she rudely pushed him onto the back seat of the Mercedes.

"Stay down and don't move," she hissed, slamming the door shut and rounding the car to get into the driver's seat.

"Hey Bobby, how are you," Danny heard her say, surprised by the sudden gentleness and affection in her voice.

"Not good," a male voice answered hoarsely. There was a long moment of silence, only disturbed by the faint rustling of clothes and a soft moan now and then. Danny shook his head in annoyance when he finally realized that his captors were obviously making out like two lovestruck teenagers.

The inconsiderate movement sent a new wave of pain through his skull and for a moment Danny was actually glad about the blindfold, so at least he didn't have to deal with the bright sunlight anymore. Making as little noise as possible he tried to wiggle his body in a halfway comfortable position but he soon gave up when his knee and his arm protested painfully against every, howsoever tiny, movement. Tiredly letting his head sink onto the leather seat, he strained his ears when the noises from the front suddenly changed.

"I really think I need a doctor," the man said and Danny could hear the utter pain and exhaustion in his voice. He had been able to throw a brief look at the wound in the man's side when he had dragged him into the car and Danny had seen enough gunshot wounds to know that the man's injuries were severe; a gut shot was never something to take lightly, especially not when the bullet was still inside the body.

"Christine, please…" the voice rasped, barely audible over the starting engine and suddenly something in Danny's mind shifted and the missing piece of the puzzle clicked into place.

Christine and Bobby.

Of course, how on earth could he have been so stupid? There was no longer any doubt in his mind that he was dealing with Christine and Robert Blake, two of America's most wanted serial killers. Danny had still been fairly new to HPD when the couple had killed their latest victim about a year ago but the case had been all over the news and even if he hadn't been directly involved in Robert Blake's capture, Danny had caught enough information to know that his situation was even worse than he had thought.

Gritting his teeth when the Mercedes took off and Danny was once more tossed around like a discarded puppet, he prayed for his team to find him soon, knowing that his life was in the hands of two extremely dangerous and unstable people who wouldn't hesitate to kill him if circumstances so required.

**(tbc)**

* * *

See, I can be nice, no cliffhanger this time ;-) More next week, thanks for your patience!


	6. Chapter 6

_**Thank you** so much for all your fantastic reviews, unfortunately I didn't find the time to answer them individually.  
Here's the next loooooong chapter - I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

It had been almost two hours since they had found Danny's abandoned Camaro and not only Steve but also Chin and Kono were bursting with pent-up tension and the need to do something; anything that might help them to find their missing teammate. They all knew that the longer Danny was in the hands of those serial killers the slimmer became his chances to survive and the unspoken threat of finding Danny's body rather than their friend alive and well was hovering over their heads like a dark, heavy thundercloud.

The lab results had finally come back a few minutes ago, confirming that most of the blood on the scene, especially on the passenger's seat and on the ground in front of the passenger's door, was Robert Blake's. The blood sample from the trunk as well as the small puddle behind the Camaro matched Danny's blood type but what really made Steve's heart beat faster was the fact that the bloody fingerprints on the rear bumper also belonged to his partner.

Despite the slight expression of doubt on Chin's and Kono's faces, Steve was convinced that Danny had intentionally left them some traces so that his team at least knew that he was still alive, even if they still had no idea where the Blakes had taken their hostage, how they had left the old, small garage or where there are headed to.

It was also unclear how badly Danny was injured; the blood loss didn't seem to be life-threatening and the many footprints on the oily ground that clearly came from Danny's trademark leather loafers indicated that he was at least able to walk on his own but that certainly didn't ease the worry of his teammates.

The amount of blood on the passenger's seat of the car told another story though. Judging from the bloodstains on the leather cushion and from the bullet hole in the back rest, Robert Blake had most likely been hit in the lower back and it was clear that he probably needed medical attention as soon as possible. Not only all hospitals and doctors but also every single veterinary clinic, pharmacy and drugstore on the whole island had been informed and advised to look out for any gunshot victim or anything else that seemed suspicious.

Eyeing once more the data on the big smart table in the middle of their office, Steve raised his right hand and sighed in frustration, worry and anger as he tiredly rubbed his face. Except for the information about the blood types there was not much more they could get from the traces they found on the scene. Apart from the Camaro's tire tracks there was one other set of tracks but it was a standard tire size and type, which probably eighty percent of all cars on the island were equipped with so that the team disappointedly had to discard the idea of finding the new getaway car with the help of the tire tracks.

"Alright," Steve said hoarsely, turning around to face his teammates. "The tire marks are obviously a dead end." He briefly gritted his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose to clear his thoughts. "Kono, what did you find out about Robert Blake's lawyer?" he asked, shoving his disappointment to the back of his mind as he tried to concentrate on another, more promising clue.

"Marty Sanders," Kono answered without hesitation, nodding toward the screens on the wall as her fingers danced over the surface of the smart table. "He was 42, divorced, no children. He lived with his younger sister Laura in their parent's house in Kaneohe on the other side of the island. He worked as a lawyer here in Honolulu ever since he had left law school." Flicking her right wrist, she swiped her hand across the display, bringing up some more information about the man. "He seemed to have a thing for small time criminals, burglars, pickpockets, car thieves. He never dealt with any big case his whole career."

"So, how did he come across the Blakes' case?" Chin wondered, exchanging a quick look with Steve who was thinking the exact same thing. "Why did he get such a big case of nation-wide interest?"

"I have no idea, cuz," Kono shrugged her shoulders, quickly reading through the data on the screen. "It seems like Robert Blake had explicitly requested him."

"We already suspect that he was involved in planning Robert Blake's escape," Chin said slowly, remembering what the witnesses from the court room had told him about Christine Blake's final words before she had shot Sanders in cold blood. "What about his sister?" he added after a moment of contemplation, slightly raising his eyebrows as he looked at his cousin. "They lived together; maybe she overheard the one or other conversation and can tell us something useful."

"Or she was involved too," Steve chimed in, angrily pacing the space between the table and the screens on the wall. The corners of his mouth briefly curled into a humorless grin when his thoughts drifted back to the day he had first met his new partner. He would never admit it, but Danny had been right about him; he really seemed to be the 'shoot first, ask questions later type of a guy' and the whole concept of 'innocent until proven guilty' was something that he had always had trouble to believe in, now more than ever when the life of his partner was at stake. "What do we know about her?" McGarrett asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest and impatiently tapping the fingers of his right hand against his left arm as he waited for Kono to search for the required information.

"There she is," Kono finally replied, slightly shaking her head in frustration about the almost non-existing data. "That's all I got," she said with an apologetic smile in Steve's direction before she started to read loudly. "Laura Sanders, 35, single, no children. She apparently has no job; she rather seems to live off her brother." Kono's eyes widened in surprise when she rattled off the next facts and her gaze darted excitedly between her boss and her cousin. "She obviously wanted to become a doctor but she was accused of stealing drugs and money and was expelled from university shortly before her final exams," the young rookie said breathlessly, almost stumbling over her next words in a hurry to get them out. "Boss, maybe she knows how to treat a gunshot wound?"

Slowly nodding his head, Steve took a deep breath as he stared at the picture on the screen, showing a young, friendly looking, brunette woman with large, sad looking brown eyes. Making a quick gut decision when he pondered on Kono's words he finally unfolded his arms and pointed toward the door. "There's not much more we can do from here," he said, hoping with all his heart that this was the final clue they needed to find Danny. "Let's go and pay her a visit."

* * *

"Laura, open the door," Christine Blake shouted angrily, throwing a nervous look over her shoulder while she simultaneously supported her barely conscious husband and trained her weapon at the back of Danny's head. She had secretly lived in the very same neighborhood long enough to know that the people were usually not interested in their neighbors' doings but one bleeding and one blindfolded man would definitely draw attention and the last thing she needed right now was stupid questions.

The newly painted front door was torn open just when Christine started to call out once more and she found herself face to face with a pale, brunette woman, her large brown eyes wide with worry and surprise.

"It's about time," Christine growled under her breath, flashing the other woman an angry look as she tried to maneuver her husband into the house without letting her hostage out of sight, but she quickly realized that she needed both of her hands to keep Bobby upright who seemed to get weaker with every step he took.

"Dammit," she cursed loudly when Bobby's knees suddenly gave way and he sagged in her grip with a soft moan. "Laura, help me get him inside," she ordered hoarsely, giving Danny a hard push so that he blindly stumbled forward and tripped over the single stair that led into the house.

As much as he tried to stay upright, blindfolded and with his hands still tied up behind his back Danny had absolutely no chance to prevent his tumble to the floor. Before he could brace himself, he crashed to his knees, hard, and he couldn't help but cry out in pain when he shifted his weight and rolled to his side, unintentionally landing on his injured right arm. Panting heavily, he squeezed his eyes shut under the blindfold, trying to clear his head and breathe through the pain.

Lying on the back seat of a car without the possibility to see anything had left him dizzy and slightly nauseous and as much as he had tried to find out where they were heading, Danny had absolutely no idea where they were right now. His sense of time and space had vanished somewhere between being knocked down and getting shot; he assumed that the drive had lasted about half an hour but with all the changes in direction they had taken it certainly felt like they had crossed the whole island at least twice.

"Get up," Danny heard Christine Blake's bell-like voice and a heartbeat later a booted foot connected painfully with his stomach. "Now."

"Stop it," he groaned, suppressing a cough as he laboriously struggled to his feet before she could kick him again. Ever since he had realized whom he was dealing with, Danny figured out it would be better not to upset his captors and follow their orders as quickly as possible. Swaying for a moment once he was upright, he winced in surprise when the blindfold was suddenly roughly pulled from his eyes, painfully tearing out a few hairs on the back of his head where the knot had been tied.

"Who is that?" Danny heard a second female voice and when he turned his head he looked into a pair of large brown eyes that were so similar to Grace's that his heart literally stopped for a beat. "What happened?" the woman in front of him asked, clasping her hand in front of her mouth when she finally noticed Bobby's blood-soaked shirt. "And where's Marty?" she wanted to know, raising herself on tiptoes to throw a look over Christine's shoulder out of the door. Slightly shaking her head when she saw no sign of her brother, she turned around and faced the read-haired woman. "Christy, what happened?" Laura Sanders asked, her voice getting shriller with every question she asked. "Where's my brother?"

"Be quiet," Christine silenced her with an icy look out of sparkling green eyes. "Shut the door and help me get Bobby inside," she said curtly, ordering Danny with a sharp nod of her head to lead the way into the adjacent room. "I'll explain everything but first we need to tend to Bobby."

Looking around, Danny tried to take in as much of his surroundings as possible but there was nothing inside the house that told him where he was and even a brief look out of a nearby window just revealed a few trees and some more houses. Sighing silently in frustration he slightly shook his head and started to catalogue his injuries. His right arm was throbbing painfully and he grimaced in disgust when he looked down and noticed that the wound had started bleeding again, probably from his fall to the floor a few moments earlier. The headache from before was still persistent, now accompanied by a dull ache in his stomach from Christine Blake's kick but at least his knee was slowly getting better now that he was finally able to stretch his leg.

He didn't want to show any signs of weakness so he tried to hide the faint limp to the best of his abilities as he slowly walked into the large living room. There were a couple of comfortable looking recliners, a large leather couch, a dinner table with a few chairs and a small TV next to a fake fireplace. Two more doors led out of the room but they were both closed so Danny had no idea what was behind them or how big the house actually was.

The TV was mutely running and Danny immediately recognized the court building behind a young female reporter who agitatedly talked into her microphone and now and then pointed across her shoulder in the direction of a group of police officers. A banner flickered across the screen but before Danny could read the text he was once more rudely pushed forward, groaning in pain when his shin connected with one of the recliners.

"Sit down next to the fireplace," Christine Blake ordered harshly, waiting a second to make sure he obediently followed her instructions before she turned her attention back to her husband. Carefully helping the injured man to lie down onto the couch, Christine tenderly caressed Bobby's cheek and stroked a strand of blond hair from his sweat-covered forehead. "Bobby, how are you feeling?" she asked, hesitantly lifting his shirt and throwing a worried look at the wound in his side.

"Kiss me," Bobby replied hoarsely, speaking for the first time since they had entered the house. He swallowed dryly and flashed his wife a cocky little grin. "I'm sure… that will make me… feel better," he groaned, briefly squeezing his eyes shut in pain when he tried to shift his weight.

"Unbelievable," Christine replied after a long moment of stunned silence, but then a happy smile crept across her face and she bent forward to lock lips with her husband. "Now I'm convinced you won't die on me," she said between a few passionate kisses, giggling hoarsely when Bobby weakly raised his hand and grabbed her butt.

"We don't have time for this right now," the red-haired woman laughed, reluctantly wiggling herself out of Robert's grip. "Later," she promised in a low whisper, her eyes dark with lust when she placed a final kiss on her husband's lips. She laughed out loud when she noticed the pout on his face and heard the disappointed moan when their lips finally parted.

"Laura, see what you can do for him," Christine impatiently barked at the brunette woman who was standing in the middle of the room and nervously wrung her hands, the gaze from her sad brown eyes darting between the TV and the three people in her living room.

"They said…" Laura Sanders stammered shyly as she briefly nodded toward the TV screen, "that there was a shooting…" Her voice trailed off and her forehead creased in a mixture of worry and denial. The young woman took a deep breath and squared her shoulders, raising her chin to lock eyes with Christine. "Where is Marty?" she repeated her question from before, her lips starting to quiver when she noticed the expression on the other woman's face.

Exchanging a quick look with her husband, Christine Blake almost invisibly shook her head before she approached Laura and laid both of her hands on the smaller woman's arms. "I'm sorry, Laura," she said and something in her voice made Danny shift uncomfortably. He had dealt with enough criminals and heard enough lies in his career to tell if someone was hiding the truth. "One of the policemen at the court room drew his weapon and…" She made a short pause and slowly pulled Laura into a gentle hug but Danny could see that her green eyes were completely void of sympathy or grief. "Marty's dead."

Narrowing his eyes when he watched the scene in front of his eyes, Danny's mind raced as he tried to figure out what had really happened at the court and how the woman and her brother were involved in the Blakes' case. Despite his own unpleasant situation he felt a wave of sympathy wash over him when the brunette woman started to sob and cry in Christine's hug, desperately clinging to the other woman as she mourned for her brother.

Danny knew for sure that Christine was lying about what had happened, but if said Marty – whoever the man had been – was really dead, that could only mean that he had been killed by Christine or Bobby Blake. But why should they shoot someone who had obviously helped them escape? Danny briefly squeezed his eyes shut when his headache flared back to life and he took a deep breath to clear his head.

From the corner of his eyes he noticed that the picture on TV changed and he turned his head just enough to be able to throw a surreptitious look at the screen. He assumed that his captors wouldn't be too happy if he knew too much about their current situation but he desperately needed to know what was going on here. He needed to know if Laura was maybe a weak link because somehow Danny had the feeling that the woman might be his only chance to survive this whole mess.

Danny swallowed down the lump in his throat when he saw his own face staring down at him from the TV screen. Luckily the picture soon changed again and the picture was replaced by a photo of a brown-haired man who looked so similar to the still sobbing woman in Christine's arms that there was no doubt about his origin. Quickly reading the text that flickered across the screen, Danny gritted his teeth when some of his presumptions got confirmed. He learned that the man in the picture was Robert's lawyer Marty Sanders; and the police was sure that he had been killed by Christine Blake with a single gunshot to the head.

Turning his head to look back at the two women, Danny noticed that the icy gaze from Christine's green eyes was now resting on him and he was barely able to prevent himself from squirming when a cold shiver ran down his spine. The woman's gaze travelled to the TV screen and her eyes narrowed dangerously when she finally noticed that their escape was obviously all over the news.

Impatiently shoving the smaller woman away, Christine gripped Laura's shoulders and gave her a forceful shake which surprisingly stopped the flow of tears in an instant. "Bobby is injured," she said sharply, locking eyes with the brunette until she was sure that Laura listened to her words. "He needs your help. Now." Pushing her slightly towards one of the doors, Christine nodded encouragingly when Laura just stared at her and blinked slowly. "Go, get what you need from downstairs," she huffed out, raising her hand to shake her again but Laura suddenly shook her head like a wet dog, turned on her heels and rushed out of the room.

Not wasting any more time, Christine took a deep breath and turned around to face Danny. "Yes, it's correct," she said with a smug little grin as she approached her prisoner, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear as she looked around for the remote control. Snorting angrily when she didn't find it, she turned her attention back to the man on the floor and smiled brightly. "It was me who killed Laura's brother," she bragged, obviously enjoying the hint of disgust that she was seeing in Danny's eyes. "Turn around so that your back is in front of the fireplace," she ordered harshly, searching through the pockets of her leather jacket for the key to Danny's handcuffs.

"Where are we?" Danny asked hoarsely while the red-haired woman crouched down behind him and started to open the handcuffs. He knew that it was probably better to keep his mouth shut but talking was the best way for him to release tension and right now he had the feeling that he might explode anytime soon when he didn't ask some of the questions that swirled through his head. "What do you want from me?" Now that he had started to talk he just couldn't stop himself and while he felt Christine threading the handcuffs through the metallic railings in front of the fireplace before she refastened them around his wrists, he just blurted out the next best thing that was coming to his mind. "I suppose you didn't plan to tell her that you killed her brother, right?"

"You're such a clever little guy," Christine laughed out as she stood up and took as small step to the side so that she was standing in front of Danny. Crouching down once more she looked him directly into the eyes, patting his left cheek almost tenderly.

Trying to back away Danny felt the cold metal uncomfortably press against his back and he realized that he couldn't move at all with his hands tightly tied to the railings. Turning his head to avoid her touch he gasped in surprise when she removed her hand only to dig her fingers painfully into the sides of his neck a millisecond later.

Obviously enjoying Danny's pain and discomfort, Christine slowly leant forward until her lips were directly next to his ear. "I'll make you suffer more than you can ever imagine if you tell her one word about it," she whispered and Danny had absolutely no doubt that she was capable of carrying out her threat.

Releasing her grip around his throat, Christine slowly stood up and smiled down at her prisoner. "I'm in a fairly good mood right now, so I will answer one of your questions," she said with a throaty little laugh, briefly turning around to look at her husband who was still very pale but who seemed to do a little better since he had had the chance to lie down. "This house here belongs to our dear Marty," she said, interrupting herself when she thought about her words. "Or I guess it's now Laura's house," Christine mused quietly, but then she slightly shrugged her shoulders and continued her explanations. "And little Laura uses her medical skills to help the ones who don't want to draw the attention of the law, if you know what I mean," the red-haired woman explained, seeing in Danny's eyes that he actually understood what she was trying to tell him. "Unfortunately the girl was never able to finish her studies but she is usually skilled enough to treat all kind of injuries; gunshot wounds, knife wounds, cuts, bruises and everything else that keeps our regular small-time criminal from showing up in a normal hospital."

"She runs an illegal medical practice?" Danny asked in surprise, asking himself silently how many of her customers were simultaneously her brother's customers. "How convenient," he added sarcastically after a moment of contemplation when his gaze fell upon Christine's husband who was now snoring softly on his place on the couch. "Do you think I can borrow a couple of Tylenol from her?" Danny asked, immediately regretting his last question when Christine's green eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I don't think so," she growled angrily, turning around to pick up the pink dotted bandana that she had used as a blindfold earlier. Crumpling it up in her right hand she raised her head when Laura came back into the room, hastily tossing an armful of dressing material, drugs, syringes and other medical equipment onto the large dinner table.

Smiling diabolically, Christine swiftly grabbed a roll of medical tape and before Danny could even blink she had crouched down once more in front of him. Painfully digging her fingernails into his cheeks, she forced him to open his mouth and rudely shoved the small cloth between his teeth. His small outcry of protest quickly turned into a choked cough when he felt the fabric touch the roof of his mouth and almost reach his uvula. With eyes wide open Danny retched against the foreign body in his mouth, trying with all his might to breathe slowly in and out through his nose because the last thing he wanted to do right now was starting to puke. Tears of panic and stress formed in his eyes while he had to watch helplessly how Christine slowly tore off a few pieces of tape and firmly secured the gag.

"And now stop asking all those stupid question," the red-haired woman said with a friendly smile, briefly patting Danny's cheek before she stood up and walked back toward the table.

Swallowing reflexively when the gag slightly shifted inside his mouth, Danny wasn't able to pay attention to the other people in the room. He tensed all the muscles in his body and clenched his fists behind his back as he willed himself to suppress the urge to retch again. Tears were now running down his cheeks but after a few more shaky breaths of air, he finally managed to calm down a little bit.

Cautiously wiggling his tongue he tried to move the cloth away from his throat and after what seemed to be an eternity he finally no longer felt the need to puke. Almost sobbing in relief he bit down onto the fabric so that the gag couldn't move before he allowed himself to close his eyes and exhaustedly leaned his head back against the side of the fireplace, listening with half an ear to the quiet conversation of the two women.

Danny couldn't understand what they were talking about but he furrowed his brow when their voices slowly took on an angry undertone. His eyes snapped open when the sound of the TV above his head was suddenly turned on and the deep voice of a news reporter briefly filled the room only to be silenced a few seconds later.

"Turn that off," Christine Blake said, snatching the remote control out of Laura's hands; she pressed a button on the small black device before she tossed it angrily onto one of the recliners.

There was a moment of heavy silence and Danny was sure that he would actually be able to hear the proverbial pin drop but then the moment was gone when Laura Sanders took a deep, shuddering breath. "You killed my brother," she said quietly; it was rather a statement than a question, but nevertheless she looked expectantly at Christine Blake as if she waited for an answer.

"Well, what can I say," Christine answered with a little shrug of her shoulders. Different emotions crept across her beautiful face when she pondered on her next words but then she slowly blinked her eyes and breathed out an annoyed little sigh. "He was of no use anymore and to be honest, I never liked him very much," she said indifferently, slightly shaking her head as if to banish Marty Sanders from her thoughts. "But none of that anymore," the red-haired woman added impatiently, grabbing Laura's arm and pushing her towards her husband. "Help Bobby," she ordered, tenderly looking down at the injured man.

"No," Laura replied forcefully, taking a small step backwards and slowly sitting down on one of the wooden chairs. Defiantly crossing her arms in front of her chest, she stared at Christine Blake as if the other woman was an especially disgusting bug and Danny could only admire her courage. He just hoped that the young woman knew what she was doing because he was sure that Christine wouldn't take no for an answer.

"And you can shoot me if that's what you want," Laura added hoarsely when Christine silently drew her weapon and very slowly released the safety catch. "I don't care," the brunette spat out, anger and grief evident in her voice. "I cannot live without my brother! He cared for me; he made sure that I was able to be a doctor, even without having a proper degree. Without him I am nothing. I don't want to live without him." Tears were streaming down her pale face by the time she had finished her speech but she just angrily wiped them away with the back of her hand and kept her eyes fixed on Christine's face.

"Oh, really?" Christine replied, apparently not the slightest impressed by Laura's outburst. An awkward little smile was playing around the corners of her mouth and Danny felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise in a sense of foreboding.

"Don't forget that I know you for almost a year now, Laura," Christine said quietly, the smile still prominent on her face but now her tone held a definite hint of threat. "Maybe you don't care about yourself, but what about your much-cited Hippocratic Oath?" she asked, huffing out a derisive little snort. "What about 'I want to help people'?" Christine mimicked the other woman as she slowly walked toward the fireplace. "How about I just shoot him?" she asked, carelessly waving her gun through the air as she pointed at Danny. "Do you really want to be responsible for the death of an innocent man?"

"I… I don't know him," Laura answered, trying with all her might to keep her façade but her gaze flickered uncertainly between Danny and the weapon in Christine's hand. "I don't care what happens to him," she added defiantly but she quickly had to avert her eyes when she noticed the expression of pure horror on Danny's face.

"Is that so?" Christine asked and for a moment her bell-like, gleeful laughter filled the room. "Alright," she said with another shrug of her shoulders. Briefly nibbling on her lower lip she took a step forward and flashed Danny an almost apologetic smile before she cocked her weapon and pressed it against Danny's forehead. "It's your choice, my dear."

**(tbc)**


	7. Chapter 7

_I've almost finished the story so you get an extra chapter this week :-) I hope you don't mind._

_So, will Christine really shoot Danny? We'll see in a minute…  
Hope you enjoy the next chapter:_

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

Danny tried to move away from the weapon that painfully pressed against his head but he was still tied to that damned fireplace with no chance of getting away.

'Who the hell needs a fireplace in Hawaii?' The weird thought settled in his mind before he could stop it and he suddenly felt a crazy giggle bubbling up inside him. Danny knew that the thing behind him was a fake, nothing more than a piece of decoration, but he couldn't help but picture people in flip-flops and shorts sitting around the crackling fire.

Closing his eyes he shook his head to get rid of that awkward image and the feeling of cold metal rubbing across his forehead finally brought him back to reality. Biting down onto the gag Danny shook his head again; if he really was about to die, he certainly didn't want to waste his last thoughts on a fake fireplace or those ridiculous flip-flops. Taking a deep breath he let his thoughts travel to his daughter and he felt a tiny spark of hope blooming in his heart. Desperately clinging to that feeling of hope and warmth he slowly opened his eyes, suddenly noticing in surprise that the gun was no longer pointed at his head.

"No, killing you would do no good," Christine said with a throaty little laugh as she stared down at her prisoner. "At least not now. I think we need to keep you alive a little longer."

Turning around she faced Laura Sanders who was still sitting on the wooden chair, her hands slightly trembling as she watched the scene in front of her but her big brown eyes were still sparkling defiantly and Danny knew that she wouldn't give in.

"I see you haven't changed your mind," Christine sighed as she cocked her head a little bit to the right. "You won't help Bobby?" she asked rhetorically, sighing again when Laura just shook her head and tightly pressed her lips together.

"Oh, but I think you will, sooner or later," the red-haired woman said, casually taking a pillow from one of the recliners. "And for your sake, I hope it will be sooner rather than later," she added toward Danny as she crouched down by his side and placed the pillow onto his outstretched left leg. "Because I will put one bullet after the other through one of your limbs until our dear Laura here finally decides to help my husband."

Time seemed to stand still after her announcement and for a moment Danny heard nothing but the soft rustling of fabric against fabric and felt the pressure against his lower leg. He vigorously shook his head, shouting with all his might against the gag and tried to move his body out of Christine's reach but it was to no avail.

A shot disturbed the silence, dulled to nothing more than a soft pop by the pillow, and at the same moment Danny's left leg exploded in pain when the bullet ripped first through the pillow and then through his calf muscle.

He barely heard his own harsh breathing over the blood that was rushing in his ears and for the first time Danny was actually glad about the gag, biting into it to suppress the cries of pain so that only a low guttural groan escaped his throat. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried to breathe through the worst of the pain but his leg felt as if it was on fire, a white hot agony that slowly consumed his whole being and suddenly he had the feeling that he wasn't be able to draw in enough air through his nose.

His back arched when he tensed his muscles, his head connected with the fake fireplace behind him, and the handcuffs cut painfully into the skin of his wrists but at the moment Danny didn't notice a single one of these things, his whole being concentrating on the single task of taking in enough air. He puffed his cheeks around the gag, trying to suck in some much needed air through the tiny gap between the tape and the corners of his mouth and finally he felt how his lungs filled with enough oxygen to keep him upright.

He just concentrated on the strained in and out of air, his eyes still tightly squeezed shut and his whole body trembling from the effort of staying conscious. Cold sweat was running down his deathly pale face but slowly, very slowly, the all-consuming pain decreased bit after bit, retreating down into his left lower leg that throbbed painfully in synch with his too fast heartbeat.

Still breathing heavily, Danny finally opened his eyes and noticed in surprise that only a short moment seemed to have passed since the bullet had hit him. He watched silently how Christine just stood up from her crouched position next to his legs, carelessly tossing the destroyed pillow back onto the recliner.

"I'm impressed," the red-haired woman said and for a second she looked like she really meant her words but then the derisive little smile crept back onto her lips. "For a moment I thought you'd pass out there."

Danny tried to glare at her to the best of his abilities even if he knew that his eyes were probably clouded with raw pain but at the moment he simply didn't find the strength to mask his feelings. Risking a brief look at his maimed leg he quickly averted his eyes when he saw the bloody mess, fighting back the bile that was rising in his throat.

"So, Laura?" Christine asked, her bell-like voice calm and almost friendly. "Did you change your mind?"

Closing his eyes as he waited for an answer, Danny hoped with all his heart that the young woman would be able to fight back the grief for her brother. He knew for certain that Christine wouldn't hesitate to shoot him again and to be honest he wasn't sure if he would be able to survive another round. His thoughts travelled to his team and his heart constricted painfully when he remembered the news report he had watched on TV. There had been absolutely no sign of Steve or his teammates on the screen and the short snippets he had seen hadn't mentioned Five-0 at all. But certainly the Governor's task force was involved in such a big case, right? At least Danny had to believe that his friends were looking for him, otherwise he would go crazy. He just needed to believe that his Neanderthal animal of a partner would burst through the door any moment, providing some much needed backup, stocked with guns and hand grenades as if he was going to war.

"I said, did you change your mind?" Christine's voice tore Danny from his musings and his eyes snapped open when he noticed that her tone was now bordering on impatience and anger. "He has a few more limbs, you know, and then there's still the possibility of a gut shot."

Christine's words were colored with so much glee and lust that Danny's stomach turned in disgust and he unconsciously shivered as he once more bit onto the gag to keep himself from groaning in fear. That woman was obviously completely insane and judging from the hoarse laughter that came from the injured man on the couch, her husband wasn't far behind.

Wiggling himself into a slightly more upright position, Danny once more threw a brief look at his wound. There was a lot of blood on the floor around his leg but it looked like the bleeding was already slowing down. He was sure that the Blakes knew exactly how to hurt him without killing him too quickly, so he just hoped that he wouldn't bleed out before either help arrived or he could somehow convince his captors to patch him up.

Raising his head Danny tried to lock eyes with Laura Sanders, silently begging her for help, but the young woman just stared down at her slender hands that lay limply but slightly trembling in her lap. For a long moment nobody moved but then the brunette woman slowly turned her head and looked back at Danny, taking in his injuries and the lines of pain and fear on his face and from one second to the other all the resistance seemed to flee her body.

"Alright," she whispered, tightly pressing her lips together as she audibly inhaled through her nose, causing Danny to almost sob in relief because that single word seemed to be the most beautiful word he had ever heard in his whole life. "Alright," Laura repeated, taking another deep breath before she squared her shoulders and jumped up from her chair.

Without further hesitation she crossed the short distance to the table and rummaged through the medical items she had tossed there only minutes ago. Unwrapping a small syringe and an injection needle she briefly shook a small, brown bottle and then swiftly transferred some of the colorless, clear fluid into the syringe. Grabbing a tourniquet and some disinfectant she walked over to the couch, knelt down by Robert Blake's side, rolled up the sleeve of his shirt and placed the tourniquet around his upper arm.

"Wait," Bobby cried out in surprise, his voice hoarse from disuse and pain. He exchanged a short look with his wife as he tried to sit up and yank his arm out of Laura's grip, but he quickly crashed back down onto the couch when a wave of pain shot through his side. "What's that?" he groaned, raising a trembling hand and pointing at the syringe in Laura's hand.

"It's a pain killer," the young woman replied, staring down at her patient in a mixture of impatience, annoyance and amusement. "You certainly don't want me to dig through your intestines without some pain relief, do you?" She laughed out humorlessly when she noticed the expression of pure horror on Bobby's face. Although she had agreed to help the injured man that didn't mean she necessarily had to be gentle with him; after all Robert and Christine Blake were the reason why her brother was no longer alive. "And I figured you probably won't be sedated, right?" Laura added, letting her gaze travel between Bobby and his wife as she waited for further instruction.

"Alright, go ahead," Christine finally nodded hesitantly, narrowing her eyes as she suspiciously eyed the syringe. "The sooner the bullet is out, the sooner we can get away from here."

"Wait," Bobby shouted once more while Laura started to tighten the tourniquet, causing her to roll her eyes in annoyance. "Prove it," he barked at her before he turned his head to look at his wife. "How do we know that she won't poison me?" he asked, closely watching the woman by his side, trying to find out what she had in mind.

"And how exactly would I do that?" Laura replied with an impatient shake of her head, briefly shrugging her shoulders as she thought about the question.

"Inject yourself." Bobby had just opened his mouth to give her an answer but it was Christine who spoke out the words loudly. "Or better, inject him," she added, nodding her head toward Danny who was leaning limply against the railing of the fireplace, breathing laboriously as he watched the scene in front of him out of half-closed, cloudy eyes.

"If it's really just a pain killer, you can see it as a little gift, a sign of goodwill from our side," she explained to Danny, giggling throatily when she saw the expression on his face. "If Laura tried anything stupid… well, I guess then we will enjoy your suffering."

Jerking her head from Laura to Danny, Christine ordered the other woman to prove her statement and only a moment later Laura knelt down by Danny's side.

"It's really just a pain killer, I promise," she whispered so that only Danny could hear her while she fastened the tourniquet around his left arm, disinfected the skin around the crook of his arm and expertly inserted the needle into his vein. Slowly pressing down the plunger she simultaneously opened the tourniquet and gave Danny a sad little smile. "You'll feel better in a minute," she said quietly, worriedly watching Danny's much too pale face and his laborious breathing.

Danny tried to smile back at her but the gag and the tape around his mouth didn't allow a proper smile so he just hoped that his gratefulness was showing in his eyes. He immediately felt how the pain killer started to work its magic; a warm, comfortable feeling rushed up his arm and through his whole body and Danny contentedly breathed out a little sigh and closed his eyes when the pain from all his different injuries decreased to a more bearable level.

"Are you happy now?" Laura asked curtly with a brief look over her shoulder, waiting just long enough to see Bobby's affirmative nod before she turned her attention back to Danny. "Can I tend to his wounds while I'm here?" she wanted to know but Danny was not at all surprised by Christine's immediate rejection of her request and so the young woman walked back to the table, drew up another syringe from the same bottle as before and started to work on her other patient.

Danny kept his eyes closed, exhaustedly leaning his head against the wall behind him as he enjoyed the effects of the injection, thankful that he was actually able to doze a little bit. He tried to ignore all the pain, the hard floor beneath him, the stress of the situation and the strain in his shoulders from the fact that his hands were still tied behind his back, listening tiredly to Laura's gentle voice as she calmly explained every movement she was going to make.

Laura had suggested a few times to move her patient downstairs to her exam room but Christine and Bobby had both insisted to stay here where they were at least able to see what was going on outside. It took more than an hour to retrieve the bullet from Bobby's body and the floor around the couch looked like a battlefield, covered with blood-soaked gauze swabs, disposable gloves and medical instruments.

Halfway through the bloody and messy procedure Danny's desperately needed rest was disturbed by Bobby's pitiful moaning, the cries of pain so loud that Danny was convinced they could be heard throughout the whole neighborhood. The pain killer Laura had administered and that had immensely helped Danny to regain some of his strength was obviously not made for such a surgery and Danny felt almost sorry for the other man.

Bobby finally lost consciousness, allowing Laura to finish her work, carefully cleaning and stitching his wound before she patched him up properly. Briefly grabbing one of his wrists she checked Bobby's pulse, indifferently shrugging her shoulders when she found it strong and regular. Laboriously struggling to her feet she stretched her back and started to gather the used items on the floor, leaving it to Christine to tend to her unconscious husband.

"I need to wash my hands," Laura said quietly to no one in particular once she had cleaned up the mess to the best of her abilities. "And I need some more dressing material and more drugs," she explained matter-of-factly when Christine turned her head and threw her a judging look, torn between the wish to stay at her husband's side and the need to keep an eye on the other woman.

Laura briefly looked down at Danny, letting her gaze travel up and down his body but she didn't ask again if she was allowed to dress his wounds, knowing that Christine would deny her request anyway.

Danny slightly shrugged his shoulders, trying to silently tell her that it was alright. Both gunshot wounds had stopped bleeding a while ago and even if he felt that the effect from the drug was slowly decreasing, the pain was still bearable.

He wasn't usually squeamish but seeing the pools of half-dried blood on the floor, knowing that it all came from his very own body, was a little bit too much in his current situation and so he tried to avert his eyes from the mess around him. It was enough that he had to hear the ugly, squishing noise of the barely coagulated blood every time he moved his body and he grimaced in disgust when he breathed in the sickly, coppery smell.

Watching detachedly how Christine placed a tender kiss on her husband's slack lips before she got up and placed one of her guns into Bobby's limp right hand Danny snorted humorlessly into his gag, asking himself if she really thought he would be able to get away or if she just wanted to be prepared for the unlikely case that someone was suddenly waltzing into the room.

"Lead the way," Christine said as she rudely pushed Laura toward the door, her right hand casually resting on the handle of another gun that was still tucked into the waistband of her leather pants. She flashed Danny a smug little smile and whispered, "I'll be right back, don't go anywhere," before she followed the brunette out of the room.

Danny waited another second until he was sure that the women couldn't hear him anymore. Then he took a deep breath and with one eye on the still unconscious man on the couch he started to test his handcuffs, wiggling his hands and rattling at the railing with all the strength he could muster. Breathing heavily after only a few seconds he gave up his attempt to free himself when the handcuffs just cut deeper into his flesh but the metal frame didn't move at all.

Desperately looking around for anything within his reach that might be useful, Danny suddenly noticed that his whole body was slightly trembling. His shirt was soaked with sweat, unpleasantly clinging to his body and adding to his overall discomfort. A wave of dizziness washed over him and from one second to the other he found it incredibly difficult to keep his eyes open. His throat and jaws were hurting from the gag, and he wasn't able to tell the difference between his tongue and the piece of fabric in his mouth anymore. Longing for something to drink, anything to wet his aching throat, Danny had to fight back the tears when he thought about all the times he was enjoying some Longboards with his crazy partner, sitting in those weather-worn wooden chairs in Steve's backyard and talking about all and nothing.

A loud, jarring sound filled the air, tearing Danny's mind out of the bleariness that it was threatening to sink into and he unconsciously winced in surprise. At first he had absolutely no idea where that sound was coming from, but then his eyes snapped wide-open when he finally realized that someone had been ringing the doorbell.

Shouting into his gag as loud as he was able to, Danny tried with all his might to make a sound that was loud enough to reach the front door. Ignoring the pain from his gunshot wound he vigorously kicked his legs, trying to knock over one the recliners but they were just out of his reach. Twisting his arms and wrists in an almost unnatural angle, he curled his fingers around the metal railing behind him and shook it back and forth, putting all his hope and fear into that one movement but the frame stubbornly resisted to give more than a tired little squeak.

The doorbell rang again and Danny desperately screamed against the gag until his throat felt like it was ripped open and his voice was nothing more than a hoarse croak. He was just about to start banging his foot onto the floor when Christine stormed into the room, pushing a slightly hysterical Laura in front of her.

"Be quiet," she hissed in Danny's direction, stopping briefly by his side to kick forcefully against his left leg in an attempt to silence him.

Her booted foot connected precisely with the gunshot wound and the pain that travelled up his injured leg and settled down in his mind was beyond everything Danny had ever experienced. A flash of white hot agony shot through his brain and the world in front of his eyes exploded in a million different colors. The hoarse cry of pain died in his throat when his eyes rolled back in his head and he never heard the doorbell ringing a third time or the agitated voices that drifted through the front door.

* * *

They reached Kaneohe on the north-east coast of Oahu about 20 minutes later, much faster than anticipated and now both, Chin and Kono, finally knew what Danny meant when he said that Steve drove like a maniac.

"Well, that was fast," Kono murmured under her breath as she stumbled out of Steve's Silverado, exchanging a slightly amused look with her cousin who just nodded back at her with a good-humored smile that didn't completely cover the worry for their teammate.

"How do you want to do this, Boss?" the young woman asked while she watched the big white house that belonged to Marty Sanders. The neatly trimmed trees up and down the street that swayed slightly in the warm breeze showed that the neighborhood seemed to be rather wealthy and nothing indicated that the house might host some of America's most wanted serial killers.

Steve looked like he was ready to burst through the green painted front door without even knocking. He stood very straight, the tension that radiated from every fiber of his body almost palpable. The fingers of his right hand that hovered above the handle of his weapon twitched nervously now and then but otherwise he stood motionless, showing absolutely no sign that he had heard Kono's question. Gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes he watched the building like a hawk might watch his prey, ready to strike any moment.

Then suddenly he slightly shook his head and whirled around. "Gear up," he ordered hoarsely, already starting to put on his tac vest and fastening an additional holster around his right thigh.

"You know that we can't just storm in there, right?" Chin asked calmly, but nevertheless he followed Steve's example and grabbed his own vest and his trusted shotgun. "We don't really have anything on Laura Sanders," he said, sighing softly when he noticed the expression of grim doubt on the other man's face.

"And maybe she hasn't heard about her brother's death yet," Kono chimed in, pensively nibbling on her lower lip as she checked her weapon. She wasn't usually shy but trusted Steve blindly, following him without second thought into every danger that might present itself but right now she had the strange feeling that Steve's approach might not be the best.

The cousins totally understood Steve's feelings, they also worried for Danny big time; but they also knew that sometimes there were rules that needed to be followed, and this time they were not only talking about rules of law enforcement but plainly and simply about rules of humanity and politeness.

"We should at least ring the doorbell first and try to talk…" Kono suggested, but she quickly interrupted herself when Steve huffed out an annoyed sigh.

McGarrett knew that Chin and Kono were right; they had absolutely no reason to believe that Laura Sanders was somehow involved in the whole mess. But his worry for his partner grew with every passing second and suddenly he wasn't able to wait any longer.

"Alright," he said through gritted teeth, his voice cold and very quiet. "But if we see the slightest indication that Danny is here…" his voice trailed off and a grim smile appeared around his lips when he looked into the faces of his teammates; he knew that Chin and Kono would support every decision he made and at the moment he couldn't ask for a better backup.

Heavily armed, the three members of Five-0 silently crossed the short distance to the brightly colored front door, taking in every little detail of their surroundings. Standing in a half circle in front of the door, their weapons not yet drawn but ready to jump into action any moment, they exchanged a final look of mutual understanding before Kono stepped forward and pressed her finger onto the doorbell push.

The loud, jarring sound could be heard through the wooden door but otherwise it was deadly silent inside – at least as far as they were able to tell above the soft wind that was rustling and whistling through the nearby trees.

"I'll see if there's a back door," Steve said impatiently after a long moment of tension. "I'll be back in a minute." And before Chin or Kono were able to give an answer he silently disappeared around the corner of the house.

Raising her eyebrows, Kono sighed faintly and pressed her finger once more onto the doorbell push. The shrill sound began to strain her nerves and she nervously twiddled with the Velcro fasteners of her vest.

"Do you think Danny is here?" she asked hesitantly, clearing her throat when the words came out as a hoarse whisper. "Do you think he's…"

"I'm sure we'll find him in time," Chin interrupted her before she could finish her thought, briefly placing his hand on her forearm to provide some comfort.

Taking a deep breath, Kono flashed her cousin a sad little smile; she didn't miss the fact that Chin didn't tell her that everything would be alright. They both knew that the chances of finding Danny well and alive were getting smaller with every passing minute but none of them dared to speak out loud what was on their minds.

"Whoa, Boss, you almost scared me," the young woman exclaimed in surprise when Steve suddenly appeared at her side, silently emerging from the shadows of a few bushes next to the door. "Did you find anything?"

"Nothing," Steve answered, angrily shaking his head. "There's no back door, only a few windows. No movement inside," he explained, clipped, before he briefly jerked his head toward the large wooden garage. "Dark Mercedes and two motorcycles in the garage, but it looks like there's space for at least one other car."

"Marty probably took his car to go to the court this morning," Chin said, looking at the smaller building as he pensively nodded his head. Then he turned his attention back to his teammates and motioned Kono to ring one last time.

"Okay, that's enough," Steve finally declared when there was still no sound or movement from inside. He had to raise his voice a little bit because the wind had picked up since they had arrived at the scene and the rustling of the trees was now almost loud enough to drown out their voices. "We're going in."

Drawing his weapon, Steve waited a second to make sure that his teammates were prepared, then he took a small step backwards so that he had enough space to kick in the door and cleared his throat.

"Laura Sanders, this is Five-0, we're coming in now."

**(tbc)**

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_More next week - thanks a lot for all your reviews!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

Drawing in a deep breath to clear his mind and prepare for the upcoming task, Steve curled the fingers of his right hand tightly around the handle of his weapon.

"Laura Sanders, this if Five-0, we're coming in now," he shouted loudly and took a small step backwards.

He was just about to kick in the door when he heard footsteps behind him and, simultaneously with his teammates, he whirled around in surprise, not hesitating one second to point his gun at the newcomer.

"Oh, no… please…" an elderly woman with short gray hair that almost looked lilac in the bright Hawaiian sun cried out, her eyes wide open in horror and shock when she suddenly found herself face to face with the three members of the Five-0 task force and their weapons.

She dropped the large, light blue plastic container that she carefully balanced onto her outstretched hands and stumbled backwards. The container burst open as soon as it touched the ground and spilled its contents – a dozen multicolored and artistically decorated cupcakes – all over the graveled path. Losing her balance the woman would have certainly tumbled down if not for Chin who was jumping forward just in time to grab her upper arm and prevent her fall.

"Are you alright, Ma'am?" he asked politely, making sure that the old lady was steady on her feet before he let go and carefully retreated a little bit, mindful to not step into the remainders of the shattered cake on the ground.

"Who are you?" Steve barked impatiently before she was able to give an answer, narrowing his eyes as he suspiciously watched her shabby clothes that didn't seem to fit into this wealthy neighborhood. He seemed to be almost as surprised as the old lady and his question came out a lot angrier than he had intended.

The woman's eyes widened even more when she heard the tone of his voice and her gaze darted nervously between Steve's face, his black vest and the weapon in his hand and she squeaked anxiously, looking as if she would try to run any moment.

Turning his head Chin flashed Steve a brief look, telling him silently to let him handle the situation. Very calmly he raised his right hand and handed Kono his shotgun before he stepped closer to the woman and repeated his question from before.

The gray-haired woman blinked owlishly, obviously needing a moment to process his question. "Oh," she finally replied breathlessly, slowly nodding her head. "Oh, yes, I'm alright. Thank you, my dear," she smiled and hesitantly stretched out her hand to briefly pat Chin's forearm. Looking down at the shattered cupcakes she sighed sadly and pointed a knotted finger at the mess.

"They were for Miss Laura, you know," she explained, locking eyes with Chin who listened patiently to her words even if he could feel Steve's annoyance and impatience like a huge wave behind him. "I heard the terrible news about her brother and I wanted to see if she's already back and make sure that she's alright."

"Back?" Steve chimed in, not able to keep silent any longer. "Back from where?"

Stepping a little bit closer to Chin, almost as if to hide from McGarrett's imposing form, the old lady swallowed nervously and fumbled with the hem of her worn-out blouse. Looking up at Chin who gave her a gentle smile she finally found the courage to answer Steve's question. "Miss Laura and Mister Marty leave every morning together to drive to Honolulu," she said, making a wide gesture with her arms that could have easily suggested that Honolulu was at the other side of the globe and not just a few miles away.

Her eyes took on a distant look and she sadly pursed her lips. "Mr. Marty is such a nice young man, I can't believe he's dead," she whispered, more to herself than to anyone else, before she slightly shook her head and looked back at Chin.

"Are you sure that Laura's not here?" Chin asked as he exchanged a quick look with his teammates, not yet willing to admit that they possibly made the trip for nothing.

"I'm absolutely sure I saw them drive away this morning," the woman answered with a sharp nod so that her gray-lilac curls bobbed up and down. "I was a bit surprised because they had left a bit earlier than usual, you know? But I know their car, the big gray one with the nice little three-point star..."

"A Mercedes?" Chin interrupted her softly, smiling when she once again nodded her head.

"They have three cars," the old lady explained, shyly letting her gaze travel toward Steve and Kono before she quickly averted her eyes. She seemed to be fairly impressed by the fact that someone needed so many cars, briefly furrowing her brow as she pondered on her next words. "Three cars and they all look the same, except for the color. One is gray, one is black and one is blue," she listed, raising three of her knotted fingers to emphasize her statement.

"Do you know what Laura is doing in Honolulu?" Chin asked, slightly waving his hand behind his back when he felt Steve impatiently shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"She's a doctor," the gray-haired woman answered proudly, smiling brightly when she continued her explanations without noticing the astonished looks on the faces of the people in front of her.

"A doctor?" Chin narrowed his eyes, clearly remembering the fact the Laura had been expelled from university before she could finish her exams. "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, my dear. Laura's a really good doctor, you know? She helped me when I badly cut my finger one day," the old lady smiled, wiggling her right thumb in front of Chin's face to show him a pale, smooth scar. She blinked a few times and furrowed her brow, obviously thinking about something. "I think she works for her brother…" Her voice trailed off and she slightly shrugged her shoulders. "I never understood what a lawyer and a doctor have in common but that's what she told me. She said that all she ever wanted to do was help people and that she was so grateful that her brother – God rest his soul – would provide her with patients," the woman rambled on but then she suddenly interrupted herself, clutched her hand in front of her mouth and stared wide-eyed at the man in front of her. "Oh God, I think I was not supposed to tell you about that," she whispered, stumbling backwards so that Chin once more had to grab her arm to prevent her from falling. "Laura told me not to talk about her job… oh God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" The old lady shook her head and she rapidly blinked to hold back the tears that were forming in her eyes.

"It's alright," Chin tried to soothe her, throwing a quick look over his shoulder to exchange a pointed look with his teammates before he slowly turned her around and lead her from the property, talking constantly to her in his usual calm voice.

Behind him he could already hear Kono talking into her phone and Chin knew that she was probably calling Duke Lukela to find out about Marty's car and researching the hint that Laura Sanders might provide medical attention to her brother's clients. At least that was what the old woman's word had indicated; and suddenly it made sense that Marty Sanders' favorite clientele were small-time criminals who could have good reasons not to show up in a hospital or in any other medical records.

"Oh, one last thing, Ma'am," Chin said, pulling out his cell phone and scrolling through the pictures until he found a photo of Christine Blake. Now that they knew that Marty Sanders had not only his lawyer's office but probably also another place in Honolulu where his sister was running an illegal clinic, he doubted that the old lady would recognize the red haired woman but nevertheless he had to try. "Have you ever seen this woman around here?"

Squinting her eyes, the old woman gently curled her fingers around Chin's hand and brought it nearer to her face so that she had a better look at the picture on the display. Closely regarding the photo for a long moment she finally shook her head and released Chin's hand. "No, I'm sorry, my dear, I'm afraid I don't know her," she said with a little smile. "And I certainly would remember that beautiful red hair." Pressing her light blue plastic container to her chest, she briefly patted Chin's arm before she turned around and slowly shuffled down the street.

Looking after her, Chin finally took a deep breath, slightly rolled his shoulders and turned around to go back to his teammates, surprised to only find his cousin who was still talking on the phone and briefly nodded toward the house when she saw Chin's inquiring gaze.

Noticing the open front door, Chin flashed Kono a soft smile and gestured her to join them once she had finished her call before he crossed the short distance to the house and went inside to search for their boss.

"Dammit!"

Chin followed Steve's angry outcry and the loud bang, indicating that the other man probably let out his frustration by hitting a wall or a door frame.

"I was so sure that Danny is here," McGarrett growled without taking much notice of his friend, turning around his own axis as he scrubbed his hands over his face and angrily gritted his teeth. "So sure."

"I guess we all were," Chin sighed in affirmation as he watched the room but nothing indicated that the Blakes or Danny had ever been here. He walked over to a small sideboard and swiftly skimmed through a few documents, shaking his head when they turned out to be nothing more than old invoices and junk mail and with every letter he put back onto the sideboard the feeling that they were at the wrong place increased.

Worriedly looking at Steve who agitatedly paced the room and grumbled something unintelligible under his breath, Chin almost dropped the last letter in surprise when Kono suddenly appeared next to him.

"No sign of Danny?" she asked softly, trying to banish the disappointment and hopelessness from her voice when she saw the expression on the men's faces.

"No," Chin replied quietly, pulling his cousin into a brief hug before he released her and gave her an encouraging nod.

"Alright," the young woman said, taking a deep breath and waiting for her teammates to listen before she continued to explain what she had found out. "I talked to Sergeant Lukela. HPD found Marty's car, a dark gray Mercedes, in the parking lot of the court."

"The one out there in the Garage is dark blue," Steve chimed in, finally stopping his angry pacing and joining the cousins. "According to the old lady, there's also a black one…"

"I already put out a BOLO for it, Boss," Kono interrupted him with a flick of her right wrist, smiling slightly when Steve gave her praising and grateful look. "Duke also told me that HPD had already searched Marty's office. He doesn't seem to have any employees and there were no obvious signs that showed how he might have been involved in Robert Blake's escape."

"His sister?" Steve asked curtly, gritting his teeth in utter frustration when he realized that they still had absolutely nothing that helped them find out where Danny was.

"No trace of her," Kono replied shyly, wishing that she had better news to share with her teammates. "I rechecked Marty's and Laura's files, but except for the house here in Kaneohe and Marty's office in Honolulu they don't own any other property…" Her voice trailed off and she briefly turned her head to wipe the moisture from her eyes, her worry for Danny evident in her voice when she whispered, "What do we do now, Boss?"

The room was filled with heavy silence when everyone dwelled on their thoughts until Steve finally slowly shook his head and gloomily shrugged his shoulders. After the recent disappointment his mind felt like a black hole and for a moment he just couldn't think of what to do next. Then, very slowly, he remembered what the old lady had said and he narrowed his eyes while he tried to make sense of her words that sluggishly rolled through his head.

"Let's get back to Honolulu and have some shave ice," McGarrett suggested after a final glance at the empty living room. A grim smile slowly crept across his face when he exchanged a look with his friends and saw the flash of comprehension in their eyes. "If Laura Sanders really runs an illegal clinic, I'm sure that Kamekona has heard about it."

* * *

"Open the door," Christine Blake ordered impatiently after the third ringing, rudely pushing Laura Sanders towards the entry door while she carelessly stepped over Danny's unconscious form, grimacing in disgust about the newly opened gunshot wound and the fresh pool of blood on the floor next to his left leg.

She threw a scrutinizing look at her husband, smiling brightly when she realized that the man was awake. Bobby slowly blinked his eyes and longingly stared back at her but then he remembered the noise that had woken him and he turned his head in confusion. "What…" he croaked, clearing his throat and licking his dry lips as he let his gaze travel across the room.

"Sssh," Christine said, rushing to his side and silencing him with a long, passionate kiss. "There's someone at the door," she whispered, her red lips caressing his cheek as she explained what was going on. "Keep quiet, I'll be right back."

She jumped to her feet and quickly approached the other woman who nervously nibbled on her lower lip. Grabbing her arm, Christine pressed her weapon against Laura's neck and growled threateningly, "If you try to run or warn them, I promise I'll shoot you and whoever that is in front of the door." Digging her fingers deep into the skin and giving her a rough shake that caused the brunette to involuntarily moan in pain, Christine spat out angrily, "Do you understand me?"

"Yes," Laura hissed back defiantly, yanking her arm out of Christine's grip and briefly massaging the area where her fingernails had left a couple of crescent-shaped marks before she took a deep breath and tried to school her features. The young woman squared her shoulders and threw a nasty look at her red-haired captor who had drawn back into the shadows, far enough from the door to be invisible but near enough to be able to make her threat come true.

Briefly clenching and unclenching her fists, Laura slowly placed her right hand on the handle and opened the door. She forced a fake smile onto her lips when she recognized the three people in front of her, a teenage girl and her maybe 10-year-old twin brothers who lived in the nearby neighborhood. Laura deeply buried one hand in the pocket of her jeans to hide the trembling while her other hand grabbed the door handle so hard that her knuckles turned white while she wracked her brain for the girl's name, all the time highly aware of the gun that was probably pointed at her head – or even worse, at the three children.

"Suzanne, what can I do for you?" she asked when she finally remembered the name, surprised that her voice sounded clear and steady. She flashed the two boys a brief smile, furrowing her brow when she noticed the expression of deep sadness on their young faces.

"Hi Mrs. Waschilewski," the girl answered shyly, pulling a sheet of paper from her pocket and slowly unfolding it. "Our Samson… he ran off last night…" She handed Laura the paper which showed a small white rabbit that happily nibbled on a dandelion flower. "Maybe you have seen him?" she asked hopefully, nervously playing with her long blond ponytail as she watched Laura Sanders out of big blue eyes.

"No, I'm sorry, Suzanne, I haven't seen him," Laura replied, pulling her hand out of her pocket and taking the paper from the girl's outstretched hand. She smiled apologetically, almost forgetting her own trouble when she saw the disappointment in the children's eyes. "I'll look out for him and call you if I see him, okay?"

"Thank you, Mrs. Waschilewski," Suzanne answered politely, slightly nudging her brothers so that they also gave their thanks before the three of them turned around and silently walked away toward the next neighbor.

Looking after the children for a brief moment, Laura felt how her knees started to tremble and she quickly slammed the door shut, closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the cold wood, thanking whatever deity might listen that the children got away safely. Drawing in some deep breaths she winced in surprise when she suddenly felt a movement behind her and she turned around when she heard Christine's sarcastic voice.

"What a heartbreaking story," the red-haired woman snorted derisively, cocking her head a little bit to the right to watch her hostage. "Mrs. Waschilewski?" she suddenly laughed out, shaking her head in amusement as she motioned Laura to get back into the living room. "How on earth did you come up with such a name?"

"It was our mother's maiden name," Laura hissed, not willing to listen to any more insults. "Marty," she choked, briefly stumbling over her brother's name when she once more realized that she would never see him again. "He bought this house under her name."

When the two women entered the living room they found Robert Blake sitting at the edge of the couch, his right arm pressed against the wound in his side. He was a little pale and slightly trembling but he seemed to feel well enough to point his weapon at Danny who was groaning hoarsely, obviously on the brink of waking up.

"Is everything alright?" Bobby asked, smiling when his wife stepped to his side and immediately began to run her fingers through his hair and then up and down his back so that he had to fight back a lustful moan.

"Just a few children," Christine replied, briefly flicking her wrist before she dug her fingers back into Bobby's unruly blond hair. "Nothing to be worried about," she added as she bent forward, slowly starting to nibble at his left earlobe.

"I'm surprised you didn't shoot them…" Bobby laughed, his voice trailing off when he was distracted not only by his wife's actions but also by Danny who was groaning again and starting to stir. "I think the cop's waking up," Bobby said, slightly nodding his head toward their hostage.

"Leave him, he can't go anywhere," the red-haired woman whispered into Bobby's ear, frowning in annoyance about the unwelcome disturbance. Interrupting whatever she had in mind she gritted her teeth when she heard Danny's stressed groans, her green eyes sparkling dangerously when she stood up straight and turned around.

"That's enough!" Laura suddenly exclaimed, protectively stepping in front of Danny. She might not be a real doctor but the need to help people was deeply ingrained in her being; without her brother she didn't care any longer what happened to herself but she certainly wasn't willing to idly stand by when someone was hurt. "I'm gonna help him now," she said determinedly when Danny's groans became louder, pressing her lips together as she stared defiantly at the Blakes.

Closely watching the other woman, Christine's anger finally turned into amusement and she slowly started to sneer. "Alright," she shrugged her shoulders, dismissively waving her right hand. "Go on, take care of him. He's actually more fun to play with when he's alive."

"So far you had all the fun with him, sweetheart," Bobby complained, playfully placing one hand on her butt. He grimaced slightly when pain flared through his inured side but he soon forgot about it when Christine sat down next to him and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

"Next time it's your turn, I promise," she whispered with a final, malicious glance at Danny before she kissed her husband again and started to run her fingers across his arms and chest to examine every part of his body she had missed for so long, but not without keeping her gun in reach and constantly having an eye on their hostages.

**(tbc)**

* * *

_Did you really think it would be that easy? *evil grin*_


	9. Chapter 9

_Sorry for that evil little twist in the last chapter... or maybe not ;-)_  
_Thanks a lot for your reviews and for all the favorites and alerts - I hope you enjoy the next chapter:_

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

He didn't know what hurt most.

His head, his right knee, the bruises all over his body, his shoulders, the graze on his right bicep; all those injuries throbbed painfully in synch with his heartbeat. For a moment Danny wasn't able to concentrate on anything else and he just wished that he could drift back into unconsciousness and block out all the pain. He vaguely remembered a gunshot and an agonizing pain in his left calf but right now he was much too tired to care about that and as long as he didn't move, his leg was mercifully completely numb from the knee downwards.

Danny weakly furrowed his brow when he heard a low guttural groan and after a while he embarrassedly realized that the pitiful sound was coming from his own throat but as much as he tried he just wasn't able to stop it. His mouth and lips were completely dry and even those weak groans sounded hoarse and raw in his own ears. The frown on his forehead deepened as he tried to swallow and lick his lips but his tongue just wouldn't cooperate. His heart rate unconsciously sped up when he suddenly remembered the gag and before he knew what happened, another groan escaped his aching throat.

Trying to fight back the rising panic, Danny weakly wiggled his fingers only to find out that his hands were still tied behind his back and this time he had no intention of keeping a new groan inside when a new wave of pain surged through his arms and shoulders that had been forced into that uncomfortable angle for far too long. Slightly turning his head, he thought that he heard voices but he wasn't sure what they were talking about and he just couldn't muster enough energy to open his eyes.

For a while he was just lying there on his side, trying to decide if he was uncomfortable enough to maneuver his body into another position but the thought of just moving a single muscle was far too tiring and so he kept his eyes closed and exhaustedly let his mind wander around.

Danny didn't know how much time had passed, it could have been hours or minutes or only a few seconds but then he winced in surprise when he suddenly felt a hand on his cheek and heard a soft, female voice urging him to open his eyes.

'Grace?' he thought, unconsciously leaning into the gentle touch. A slight smile crept across his face when he thought about his daughter but then his mind sluggishly caught up with reality and his brow furrowed in confusion. No, that wasn't right; Grace wasn't supposed to be here. For a moment Danny felt cold fingers reaching for his heart, almost panicking at the thought that his little girl might be somewhere near.

Gathering all his strength he finally forced his eyes open, trying to fight back another groan when he rapidly blinked into the bright daylight. At first Danny had trouble bringing his surroundings into focus, mainly because his right eye refused to open to more than a mere slit, almost completely swollen shut from the punch to the face he had received earlier that morning.

The first thing he saw when he finally managed to clear his blurry vision was a pair of big brown eyes that gently stared down at him and his mind immediately jumped back to his daughter.

"Grace," Danny tried to say but all that came out was an unintelligible groan. He briefly squeezed his eyes shut again in panic and frustration; it was too dangerous for Grace to be here, he had to get her out of here and take her to safety. His eyes snapped open and he tried to sit up, only to plop back down when a fierce pain shot through his no longer numb left leg. Panting heavily through the pain he looked up and saw the skin around those familiar brown eyes crinkle in concern and sympathy and finally he recognized the young, brunette woman from before. Laura, his mind slowly provided him with the fitting name and Danny felt his heart throbbing in his chest, the sudden adrenaline spike leaving him shaky and weak.

Blinking a few more times and trying to take some deep breaths, Danny looked around, frowning when he saw his captors sitting on the couch, kissing and making out like two lovesick teenagers. Watching the scene for a short moment he also noticed that Christine Blake had not only her gun placed right next to her but also interrupted the loveplay now and then to glance at their hostages causing Danny's initial thought of somehow taking advantage of the moment of distraction to quickly vanish into thin air.

Very slowly Danny became aware of the fact that the young woman by his side was talking to him and he turned his head, hesitantly averting his eyes from the couple on the couch. Grimacing in pain when Laura started to peel off the tape from his cheeks so that she was able to remove the gag, Danny squeezed his eyes shut again. For a very brief moment the sharp, ripping feeling was able to drown out all the other pain in his body and he sighed in relief when the tape was finally off and he could spit out the gag.

Danny wanted to thank the woman but his mouth was bone dry and his tongue stuck to his palate when he tried to form the words. His throat started to tickle and before he knew what happened he was greedily drawing in air when a bout of coughing rattled his body.

"It's alright," Laura tried to soothe him, gently squeezing his shoulder to provide as much support as possible. "Try to breathe slowly and deeply, I'll get some water," she said quietly, briefly smiling down at him.

"He needs water," she declared louder as she stood up, not waiting for Christine's or Bobby's consent before she went into the nearby kitchen, only to return a short moment later with three bottles of water.

"Drink, you need to stay hydrated after losing so much blood," she said curtly, handing Bobby one of the bottles. Laura placed the second bottle next to his wife before she turned around to go back to Danny, crying out in surprise and pain when Bobby suddenly jumped up and grabbed a fistful of her hair so that her head snapped backwards and she stumbled against him.

"Don't do that again," Bobby hissed angrily, whirling her around and placing his other hand on her throat, squeezing threateningly so that Laura opened her mouth and gasped for air. "Don't ever leave the room again without asking for permission." He closed his fingers a little more, grinning in satisfaction when he heard Christine giggle excitedly behind his back. "You got that, you little bitch?" He held Laura for another long moment, gloating at the fear in her brown eyes, before he simply released her without another word and returned to his wife.

Almost dropping the third bottle of water, Laura reached for her throat with trembling hands, wheezing heavily as she stared wide-eyed at Christine and Bobby who had gone back to kissing each other as if nothing had happened.

Without her brother Laura might have no reason to live on but nevertheless that recent display of crude violence frightened her more than she was willing to admit. The brunette woman stood motionless in the middle of the room, completely unable to form a coherent thought until she heard Danny's hoarse coughs behind her and suddenly her mind started to work again. She had no idea who the man actually was; all she knew was that he was hurt and that he needed her help and that was enough for her to forget her own trouble and get into action.

Throwing a hesitant look at the Blakes, Laura slowly but determinedly walked toward the table and grabbed a handful of dressings, gauze pads and some disposable gloves before she finally knelt down by Danny's side. Quickly opening the bottle she supported his head with one hand and offered him some water.

Greedily sipping at the cold fluid, Danny groaned hoarsely when Laura removed the bottle much too soon, the small amount of water barely enough to wet his mouth and throat.

"Slowly," Laura said quietly, putting the bottle away to help Danny sit up and lean his back against the fake fireplace.

Danny closed his eyes when a wave of dizziness hit him and his headache briefly increased before his body got accustomed to the new position. He took a few deep breaths and hesitantly blinked his eyes open, sighing in relief when he found the pain in his head bearable.

"Thank you," he croaked hoarsely when Laura once more put the bottle to his lips. He swallowed as much as she allowed him, trying to heed her advice and drink as slowly as possible. A few drops of water trickled down his chin and into the collar of his crumpled dress shirt, but with his hands tied behind his back he had no chance to wipe them away.

"I'm going to have a look at your wounds," Laura explained, quickly putting on a pair of gloves before she fumbled with the sleeve of Danny's shirt and removing the bloody tie that he had applied earlier to stop the bleeding.

Turning his head so that he could see what she was doing, Danny gritted his teeth when Laura dropped the tie to the ground and gently probed the gunshot wound on his right arm but the pain was not too bad and he tried to relax his muscles.

"It's just a graze," the young woman confirmed his assumption, flashing him a brief smile before she took a few gauze pads and started to patch up the wound. It was not easy to apply a dressing while Danny's hands were tied to the fencing behind him but finally a bright white dressing was wrapped around his upper arm.

Without another word, Laura stood up and knelt back down next to Danny's injured leg. "This is probably going to hurt," she said apologetically, briefly waiting for Danny's approval before she ripped open his already destroyed pant leg with one swift move.

She had barely touched his skin but the movement was enough to jostle his injured leg and instantly cold sweat broke out on Danny's forehead and all the remaining blood left his already pale face. He clenched his fists behind his back, trying to ride out the pain but the breath caught in his throat at the thought that it would probably get a thousand times worse once Laura actually tended to the wound.

"It's a through and through," Danny faintly heard Laura's voice above the rushing in his ears. He leaned his head against the fireplace behind him, increasing the pressure against his skull to distract himself from the pain in his leg.

"You were lucky, I think the bullet didn't hit the bone or any major blood vessel," Laura explained while she examined the wound as gently as possible, looking up from her task when she heard Danny's sarcastic snort.

"Don't feel so lucky right now," he groaned out when he saw her inquiring gaze, thinking that this day easily qualified as one of the worst days in his whole life.

"It's a nasty wound and I'm not able to clean it the way I'd like," the young woman replied without responding to Danny's comment. She worriedly nibbled at her lower lip while she gingerly picked a small piece of fabric from the corner of the wound, placing her other hand on Danny's thigh to keep his leg from twitching. "All I can do right now is wrap it tightly to stop the bleeding," she added, ripping the pant leg open a little more so that she had better access to the wound.

"Oh God," Danny huffed out when he turned his head and caught a glance at his mutilated leg. He swallowed convulsively when he felt bile rise up in his throat and quickly averted his eyes from the nasty wound. He wasn't usually that squeamish but in the current situation he just couldn't stand the sight of all the blood and he forced a grateful smile on his face when he felt Laura reassuringly squeeze his thigh.

"Don't forget to breathe," Laura said gently while she put a few large gauze pads on the wound and then began to wrap a bandage around Danny's calf, working fast and with an experienced ease.

Closing his eyes, Danny leaned his head back against the wall and tried to ride out the pain that increased with every passing moment. His whole leg felt as if it was on fire and he could feel cold sweat running down his face and back. He tried to think of something else but his thoughts unconsciously wandered to his crazy partner and he snorted humorlessly when he pictured Steve who would probably sew a wound like this in perfect Rambo style with nothing but a blunt needle and a thread from one of the sofa cushions.

"I'm done," Laura's soft voice finally reached Danny's ears and after a few deep breaths he dared to open his eyes.

"Thank you," he hoarsely whispered once more, slightly shifting his weight to find a more comfortable position but he soon gave up when every movement either jostled his leg or increased his looming headache. Breathing out a defeated sigh Danny slumped against the wall, trying to clear his mind so that he could finally analyze the situation.

The Blakes were still making out on the couch, looking like they had all the time in the world. Danny asked himself what they were planning and deep inside he knew that whatever it was, it probably wouldn't end well for himself or for the young woman by his side. At least Christine and Bobby had allowed her to patch him up so Danny was sure that they hadn't the intention of killing him in the next few moments. But he also knew that their chances to escape the island were more than slim from the beginning and they certainly wouldn't increase with two hostages in tow.

Danny let his gaze travel to the window; he had no idea what time it was, but there was still bright sunlight outside so he guessed it was maybe midafternoon. The Blakes hadn't talked about their plans – at least not in front of Danny – but his gut feeling told him that they would probably wait until it was dark before they tried to leave the house.

"Alright, that's enough." Danny was startled from his musings by Bobby's gruff voice and he turned his head just in time to see how the man stood up, grabbed Laura's arm and rudely yanked her to her feet. "No more playing doctor. Get away from him."

Bobby effortlessly tossed the young woman into a nearby chair just like she was a huge doll and threateningly loomed over her for a moment. "Don't move," he sneered and his eyes glistened in dangerous expectation, almost hoping for her to contradict his order but Laura was obviously smart enough to correctly judge Bobby's current mood and kept silent.

Narrowing his eyes Bobby stared at her for a long moment before he finally huffed out an annoyed snort and started to angrily pace the room. He briefly stopped by the window and glanced outside before he resumed his pacing, pressing his right arm against his injured side.

"Hey cop, where are you from?" he finally asked curiously after taking a closer look at Danny's dress shirt and pants. "You're certainly not a native Hawaiian, are you?" Bobby added with a nod toward the bloody tie on the floor, exchanging an amused grin with his wife before he turned his attention back to his hostage.

"New Jersey," Danny answered reluctantly, clearing his throat when the words came out as a hoarse croak. He didn't like to give the Blakes more information about his person but he also thought it wouldn't be wise to aggravate them even more by being stubborn.

"New Jersey?" Bobby repeated with a cold little grin and the sudden glint in his watery blue eyes sent a cold shiver down Danny's spine. "I think New Jersey's number 30 on our list, sweetheart," Robert Blake suggested as he returned to his wife who was still sitting on the couch, her long legs lazily stretched out on a nearby chair. "Maybe we should keep him until then?"

The red-haired woman laughed out and briefly nodded her head. "Why not," she answered, slowly opening the zipper of her leather jacket, revealing nothing but a tiny black lace bra underneath. "As I said, he's fun to play with."

"What do we do now?" Bobby asked a moment later, licking his lips as he teasingly ran his fingers across his wife's abdomen and up and down between her breasts.

"I guess we have to leave soon," Christine answered with a little sigh, smiling when she placed her hand on top of Bobby's and moved them above her heart. She kept silent for a moment, just enjoying her husband's proximity before she turned her head and looked at Laura. "How many people know about this… establishment?" she asked, briefly waving her hand through the air to emphasize her question. She had known before that Laura was running an illegal clinic but stranded here, with Bobby injured and with two hostages, had never been part of her escape plan.

"No one," Laura shrugged her shoulders, indifferently staring back at the red-haired woman. A small smile slowly crept across her lips and she added derisively, "Except everyone who comes here to get treated, of course."

Narrowing her eyes, Christine coldly smiled back at the other woman, not willing to take her obvious bait. She tried to hide the fact that she was worried but Danny could see a flash of fear in her green eyes and he inwardly smiled. If Laura really used her clinic to treat small time criminals, one of them certainly would talk, if only the right questions would be asked or enough money would be provided; Danny just hoped that his team would be able to find out about this place before it was too late.

"I would have preferred to leave at dark but maybe we need to go earlier," Christine sighed pensively, exchanging a deep look with her husband before she leaned over and kissed him. "Why don't you go and see if you can find a fresh shirt," she finally suggested, glancing at Bobby's bloodstained clothes as she reluctantly broke off the kiss. "I'm sure our dear lawyer kept spare shirts around here." Christine smiled when she noticed the expression of grief and anger on Laura's face, knowing instantly that her assumption was right.

"I'll be back soon," Bobby promised as he laboriously got up from the couch. "Don't go anywhere, sweetheart, we're not done yet," he added with a lustful wink before he slowly shuffled out of the room.

Staring longingly after her husband, Christine finally heaved out a sigh and also stood up, not bothering about closing her jacket and covering her bare abdomen. Slowly licking her lips she threw back her shiny red hair and started to grin when she looked down at Danny. "Do you like what you see?" she whispered seductively, putting her hands akimbo and lasciviously wiggling her hips.

Raising his eyebrows, Danny sat up straighter, gritting his teeth when a new wave of pain flared through his left leg. "You know that you'll never get away from this island, right?" he asked, looking straight into the woman's eyes. He had to admit that she was very attractive and under different circumstances he would have definitely taken another glance at her well-trained body but right now, and given the fact that she had knocked him down, taken him hostage and shot him all in a matter of hours, she could have danced naked right in front of his nose without triggering any reaction. "The whole island – and probably the whole country – is looking for you and your husband," Danny added hoarsely, swallowing dryly and clearing his throat. He felt hot and thirsty as never before in his life but he forced himself not to look at the bottle of water that stood next to his right arm, so near but yet so unreachable. "Why don't you do the right thing and give up? Turn yourself in before…"

"Oh, come on. Stop being a stupid asshole," Christine interrupted him, angrily closing the leather jacket over her black bra when she realized that Danny showed no interest at all. "We will never turn ourselves in! First of all, we're not done yet, there are so many more states we need to visit," she said, laughing quietly under her breath when she thought about their plans. "And secondly, we will most likely face the death penalty. Do you really think we want to die?"

"Then at least let her go," Danny tried to reason, briefly nodding his head toward Laura who was still sitting in the large chair, her arms protectively crossed in front of her chest. He knew that Christine was right – the couple had already killed at least eleven people in cold blood, there was no way they would get away with that and nothing they would do could help to decrease the penalty.

"Nice try, but at the moment I'm still having too much fun with the both of you," Christine laughed out loudly, shaking her head in amusement as she stared down at Danny. "You're a real gentleman, aren't you?" she asked, mockingly cocking her head a little bit to the right. "I like that." Her eyes sparkled coldly and her lips curled in anticipation when she imagined all the fun she could have with the blond cop before she finally killed him.

"You like what, sweetheart?"

Bobby's voice held a slight hint of jealousy and he suspiciously narrowed his eyes as he returned to the room, buttoning up his new black shirt. He slightly grimaced when the movement pulled the stitches in his side but he quickly forgot his pain when he heard Christine's surprised gasp.

"Oh Bobby, what's that?" the red-haired woman cried out without answering his question. She quickly approached her husband and stopped him from completely closing the shirt. "It's amazing," she said, carefully tracing her fingers across the new tattoo on the left side of his chest.

"It's especially for you," Bobby grinned proudly, bending forward to kiss his wife. "And there's enough space for all the other stars. I cannot wait to see it finished one day."

"Me too," Christine replied, admiring the artwork for another long moment before she sighed again and reluctantly closed Bobby's shirt. "And we will complete our journey and see it finished," she added, sealing her promise with another deep kiss that made her husband breathe out a deep moan.

"I missed you so much, sweetheart," Bobby murmured, slowly raising his left hand to tuck a strand of stray hair behind Christine's ear. He let his gaze travel across her body, smiling proudly when he took in every tiny detail of her appearance. "Do you still want to stick to our original plan?" he finally asked, reluctantly taking a small step back to get a little distance between himself and Christine. He knew that after almost a whole year of separation too much proximity would definitely crack the tiny amount of self-control he was able to muster, and as much as he wanted to, now was not the right time to sleep with his wife.

"Yes, I think that's the best course of action," Christine said pensively, pouting slightly about the loss of contact. "We need to leave Oahu and the boat to Molokai is waiting for us at the other side of the island."

"Alright then," Bobby replied, throwing a quick glance at the clock on the wall. "It should get dark in about two hours." He exchanged a look of mutual understanding with his wife before he turned his head and slowly started to sneer, nodding first to Laura and then to Danny. "So, what do you think about a little boat trip? I bet we will have lots of fun together."

**(tbc)**


	10. Chapter 10

_Here's an early chapter for you, because it's Monday morning (at least where I live) and I need something to brighten my day before I start another work week. I hope you enjoy..._

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

Steve disgustedly tossed his untouched shaved ice into a nearby bin and angrily started to pace in front of his truck, once in a while glaring at Kamekona who was still talking to Chin and Kono. He impatiently clenched and unclenched his fists and gritted his teeth so hard that his jaws hurt; it took all of his willpower not to storm back to the small booth and violently shake the information they needed out of the big guy. It was one thing that Kamekona always required them to pay for information – Steve knew that was how police/informant relationships usually worked. But being forced to try his newest ice creations, and that included weird combinations like coconut-lime-tuna or pineapple-strawberry-shrimps, was just a tad too much for Steve's liking.

Usually he didn't mind Kamekona's little power games and he was always willing to play along, much to Danny's annoyance who stubbornly refused to accept the fact that the Hawaiian islands and their inhabitants had their very own way of handling time. But not today. Not when two serial killers were on the loose, Governor Jameson breathed down his neck and the life of his partner was at stake. No, today Steve definitely wasn't in the mood to make conversation with Kamekona and eat shaved ice while literally begging for information.

His anger and frustration had obviously been prominent on his face because Chin had gently but determinedly grabbed his arm after the first few heated words and had silently motioned him to step away and let Kono and him handle the situation. Despite his huge size Kamekona had delicate sensibilities and was easily offended and right now Danny's life depended on Kamekona's will to cooperate with Five-0, so McGarrett had grudgingly caved in and had gone back to his car, but not before glaring coldly at the other man when Kamekona had insisted that he buy a huge portion of shaved ice.

'At least I don't have to wear a stupid T-shirt this time,' Steve thought, snorting grimly when he remembered the first time he had met Kamekona. He couldn't believe that it had been almost a year ago when he and Danny had been standing at the exact same location, wearing stupid light blue T-shirts with Kamekona's face displayed on the front. The corners of Steve's lips briefly curled in slight amusement when he pictured Danny in said T-shirt that almost reached down to his knees.

"Hey Boss," Kono's excited voice interrupted his musings and in an instant he was back to the here and now. "Kamekona gave us a name."

"Go on," Steve breathed out as he tiredly scrubbed his face, relieved that they seemed to have a real lead and that they finally were able to do something. He stared expectantly at the young woman who apologetically smiled back at him and quickly took a huge bite from her own shaved ice before she ruefully tossed it in the same bin that Steve had used before.

"Brian 'The Weasel' Bozinski," Chin chimed in, good-humoredly shaking his head about his cousin; he knew about Kono's secret love for fancy flavors of shaved ice and her childish joy when the ice colored her tongue blue or green. "According to Kamekona he's the man for auto theft on the island. Apparently one of his coups went wrong the other day and he showed up this morning with a newly applied dressing to his left arm, bragging about a huge fight and a bunch of nasty stab wounds. Kamekona said he had heard him talking about a certain Dr. Laura who had treated him, but that's all he could tell us."

"That can't be coincidence, right Boss? Dr. Laura must be Laura Sanders," Kono concluded, quickly licking the last drop of ice from her lower lip before she added with a huge grin, "And if we find that Bozinski guy…"

"He can tell us where that clinic is," Steve finished her sentence, absently noticing that the tip of Kono's tongue was colored dark blue, reminding him of the chow chow that belonged to one of their neighbors when Steve was a kid. He slightly shook his head to get the weird image from his mind and looked back at Chin. "Did Kamekona tell you where we can find 'The Weasel'?"

"According to our big friend over there," Chin replied with a nod toward the shaved ice booth where Kamekona was busy advertising his goods to a couple of young, pretty tourists, "his favorite place of work are the streets around Ala Moana Center – he's usually there from late afternoon until early morning."

"Good," Steve said with a content nod of his head. He threw a short glance at his watch before he opened the driver's door of his truck and impatiently motioned his teammates to get in. "Let's go. It's just after four o'clock; if Kamekona's right Bozinski should show up there soon."

They all knew that they had no more time to lose and while Steve silently steered the Silverado through the rush hour traffic that got thicker with every minute, Chin and Kono logged on to the Five-0 computer system and gathered all information they could get about Brian Bozinski. By the end of the short trip they had sent a few pictures and a general description of the man to their cell phones so that every team member knew who they were looking for.

"Alright guys, we split up," Steve explained curtly after he had parked the car in a quiet side street next to Ala Moana Center. He murmured a brief thank you to Chin and quickly put in the small earpiece the older man had handed him. "Approach carefully, we just want to talk to Bozinski, okay?"

"Copy that," Kono answered eagerly while her cousin just silently nodded his head.

The three friends bent over the street map on Kono's tablet PC to discuss one last time their allocated sectors before they silently nodded at each other and rushed off in different directions.

Grimly looking left and right without turning his head and drawing too much attention, Steve roamed the crowded streets, scanning every single face with cold efficiency. He kept constant contact with Kono and Chin, and now and then he even saw one of them when their streets crossed, but they just exchanged a short glance and maybe a slight nod before they continued their search.

The golden light of the late afternoon slowly turned into an early dusk and Steve got more and more frustrated with every passing minute. Danny had been missing for almost ten hours now and Steve felt the time running through their fingers like sand in an hourglass.

Dangerously narrowing his eyes when his gaze fell on a dark-haired guy who matched Bozinski's description, McGarrett placed his right hand on the handle of his weapon and cautiously approached the suspect. He had just opened his mouth to identify himself when the man turned around and Steve was able to see his face.

For a short moment Steve just stared at the shorter man before he realized that this was not the guy they were looking for. He quickly averted his eyes and forced himself to calmly walk further down the street, needing all his willpower to uncurl his fingers from his gun. "Dammit," he growled disappointedly, huffing out in frustration as he rolled his shoulders to release some of the pent-up tension.

"_Steve, everything alright?"_

Chin's calm voice came through the earpiece and Steve nodded slightly despite the fact that the other man couldn't see him. "Sorry, false alarm," he murmured, sighing faintly as he ran his right hand through his hair and scanned the people in front of him and on the other side of the street.

Steve didn't know how many times he had searched the same streets, he had lost count somewhere between the fifteenth and twentieth round. It was slowly getting darker and the later it became the more difficult it was to identify the people on the streets. Turning left at the next corner he was just about to abort the whole operation when finally Kono's voice sounded hoarsely in his ear.

"_I got eyes on Bozinski."_

"Where are you?" Steve asked, stopping dead in his tracks as he pressed two fingers against his earpiece to reduce the crackling. Impatiently waiting for an answer he bounced on his toes, ready to move in the given direction as soon as Kono answered his question.

"_Kapiolani Boulevard corner Kona Iki Street, heading south,"_ Kono replied quietly but a little out of breath. _"Chin, I think he's coming your way."_ She was obviously walking fast, trying not to lose their precious target and in an instant Steve was on the move, running as fast as possible toward her position.

"_I see him, cuz,"_ Chin replied slowly, his usually calm voice suddenly changing when the man had obviously realized that he was being followed. _"Kono, I think he noticed us."_

"What's going on?" Steve panted as he quickened his steps, frowning when he suddenly heard Chin's and Kono's simultaneous shouts.

"_Brian Bozinski, this is Five-0, stay where you are."_

"Chin, Kono, talk to me, what's going on?" McGarrett barked, cursing under his breath as he listened to the sounds that came through his earpiece, barely audible over his laborious breathing. He rushed around a corner into Kona Iki Street, desperately repeating his question a few more time as he looked out for his teammates. His worry increased when there was no answer, only more noise, a few unintelligible words and shouting but then, finally, Kono's voice that immediately caused Steve to relax a little bit.

"_We got him, Boss,"_ the young woman said good-humoredly and Steve could almost picture the satisfied grin on her lips that accompanied her words.

Taking a few deep breaths, Steve slowed down into a more comfortable jog, briefly wiping away the beads of sweat from his forehead. He rounded another corner that lead into a quiet side street and immediately noticed Chin and Kono who were just handcuffing a dark-haired man and searching him for weapons.

"Good job," McGarrett said quietly, exchanging a look with his teammates before he turned his attention to Brian Bozinski and eyeballed the man from head to toe, his gaze briefly resting on the fairly new white bandage around his left upper arm.

"Brian "The Weasel" Bozinski," Steve said coldly, his words more a statement than a real question. He sharply nodded toward the bandage and asked curtly, "Where did you get treated?"

"You have no right to arrest me; I did nothing wrong," the smaller man interrupted him before Steve could ask anything else, not bothering about answering Steve's question. Despite the handcuffs he lazily leaned against the wall and smirked at the three people in front of him. "And I won't say anything without my lawyer anyway, so I think you're just wasting your time here."

"Your lawyer?" Chin chimed in, raising his eyebrows as he noticed the defiant expression on the other man's face. "And who might that be?" he wanted to know although he was pretty sure about the answer.

"His name is Marty Sanders," Bozinski replied self-confidently, not knowing that he was unconsciously playing into Five-0's hands. "His card is in my wallet. I want to call him immediately," he demanded, frowning uncertainly about the grim smile that suddenly appeared on Steve's face.

"Well, that might be a problem," Kono said slowly, slightly cocking her head as she also started to smile coldly. "Why don't you just tell us about Dr. Laura and her clinic?" she asked, her humorless smile brightening when Bozinski suddenly paled significantly and started to fidget nervously.

"I don't know what you're talking about. And I know my rights, I don't have to answer your questions," Bozinski said, his gaze anxiously darting between the two men and the young woman. "I want to talk to my lawyer," he repeated stubbornly, shrinking back against the wall when Steve suddenly took a step forward and deliberately invaded his personal space.

"Marty Sanders is dead," McGarrett said curtly, ignoring the shocked look on Bozinski's face. His eyes sparkled dangerously when he placed his right hand on the other man's left shoulder and squeezed slightly, only barely above the newly applied bandage. "Now would you be so kind and answer Officer Kalakaua's question?"

"I don't know about a Dr. Laura," Bozinski said smugly, shaking his head as he tried to yank his arm away from Steve's grip, but it was to no avail and a ghost of pain appeared on his face when Steve's hand slipped down a bit so that it rested directly on the white bandage.

"Listen, all we need is the address of Dr. Laura's clinic," Chin intervened, giving the man one last chance to cave in. He knew that Steve was rapidly losing patience and judging by the expression on his face, things were likely to become messy very soon.

Turning his head to look at Chin, Bozinski flashed him a derisive little smile, completely ignoring Steve's menacing posture. "I have no idea what…" he replied, interrupting himself mid-sentence and crying out in pain when Steve's fingers curled around his arm.

"I'll ask you one last time," McGarrett hissed through gritted teeth, swiftly grabbing Brian's chin with his left hand and pressing his head back against the wall while the fingers of his other hand dug deeper into Bozinski's upper arm with every word he was uttering. "Where. Is. That. Clinic?"

"What are you doing?" Bozinski screamed, squirming with pain under Steve's hands. "Stop it… I don't… stop it…" He tried to wriggle out of Steve's grip but McGarrett just readjusted his grip and smiled icily. "Stop it… please… you have to help me…" he begged, almost sobbing when he tried to turn his head to look at Chin and Kono.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do for you," Chin replied, indifferently shrugging his shoulders. He might not totally agree with Steve's method but right now all they needed was a simple answer; and if he had to choose between Danny's life and Bozinski's well-being, he certainly didn't have to think twice.

"If I were you I'd just answer his question, brah," Kono advised him calmly as she curiously watched the white bandage slowly turning red under Steve's fingers.

The man was still squirming and screaming and cursing but Steve simply increased the pressure on his wounds and after only a few more seconds Bozinski finally gave in. "Alright… alright…" he sobbed hoarsely, his pale face covered with a fine sheen of sweat and his lips quivering in pain. "The address is… 141 Ahona Street," he panted, his knees buckling in relief when Steve finally released his grip and wordlessly stepped back.

"He is nuts," Brian whined, staring wide-eyed after Steve who determinedly walked down the street, trusting that his teammates would follow him back to the car.

"Yes, maybe he is," Chin replied calmly while Kono motioned Bozinski to turn around so that she was able to open the handcuffs.

"You're bleeding," Kono said with an almost friendly smile, slapping her hand onto Bozinski's shoulder none too gently. "You should get that checked out before it becomes infected," she added with a nod at the bloodstained bandage.

Feverishly shaking his head, Bozinski stumbled backwards to get away as fast as possible. "You are all freaks," he shouted over his shoulder before he dashed down the street and disappeared around the next corner.

"I think you scared him, cuz," Chin said good-humoredly, winking at his cousin as they left in the opposite direction, soon catching up with their boss who was just pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and starting to dial a number when they approached him.

"Check out the address Bozinski gave us," Steve instructed briefly, pressing the phone to his ear as he waited for the call to connect. "I'll call Duke and make sure a SWAT team is available."

"I'm on it, Boss," Kono replied and only a minute later she had already gathered the required information. "The house belongs to a Laura Waschilewski," she explained her findings after Steve had ended his call and the three of them hurried back to Steve's Silverado to meet with the SWAT team at the given destination. Grinning excitedly she added a little breathless, "And I don't think it's coincidence that Waschilewski is the maiden name of Laura and Marty Sanders' mother..." Her voice trailed off as she looked at her boss who grimly nodded back at her.

"Certainly not," Steve agreed just when they reached the car and climbed in. "I'm sure it's the right address," he assured, for his own sake as much as for his friends. It needed to be the right place and they needed to find Danny well and alive –because the alternative was just not something any of them wanted to think about.

* * *

"Hey, no sleeping, Jersey boy. Wake up," Bobby said, snickering as he kicked forcefully against Danny's injured leg. A few minutes ago he had finally switched off the TV that had been running silently in the background the whole afternoon; ever since then he was pacing the room, now and then throwing a look out the window at the empty street, obviously slowly getting bored about the whole situation.

Painfully jolting back into awareness, Danny gritted his teeth but he couldn't completely prevent the hoarse groan slipping from his throat. Biting his lower lip he clenched his fists behind his back in an attempt to ride out the wave of pain and sluggishly blinked his eyes to bring the dimly lit room into focus. It was slowly getting dark outside but the lights were still switched off to not give away their hide-out.

All the windows were closed but despite the heat and the stale air in the room Danny was shivering slightly. It had become more and more difficult for him to stay awake and alert during the last two hours and he felt how his mind and body slowly started to shut down. His eyes slipped shut every few minutes and obviously he hadn't bothered to open them again until Bobby's foot had painfully connected with his left leg. The adrenaline surge woke him up in an instant, his heart loudly throbbing in his chest, his breathing rapid and shallow.

Trying to find a slightly more comfortable position Danny sat up a little straighter, his whole body aching and numb at the same time. His hands and feet were ice cold while his neck and face seemed to be on fire. His mouth and lips were completely dry and the incredible thirst added to his overall discomfort. The bottle of water was still standing untouched next to his leg but the Blakes had just laughed when Laura had tried to give him some more water and after a few minutes of asking and begging she had just thrown a defeated, apologetic look at Danny before sitting back in her chair. Staring at her folded hands in her lap she hadn't spoken a single word ever since, only moving her head now and then to glare angrily at their captors.

"Laura, my dear," Christine said into the silence, slowly standing up from the couch and lazily stretching her body like a huge black and red cat. Her lips curled in an amused little smile when she looked down at the other woman. "Would you be so kind and check Bobby's wound again before we leave?" Her voice made clear that it was an order rather than a question and despite his own dire situation Danny worriedly raised his head when Laura didn't move. "I don't want to face any trouble on our way to Molokai, you know?" Christine explained patiently but her green eyes sparkled coldly as she stepped closer to the chair and stopped right in front of Laura. "Look after the wound. Now!" she hissed, yanking the other woman out of the chair in one swift move, causing Laura to cry out in surprise.

"Something's going on," Bobby's dark voice interrupted the two women, and in an instant Christine forgot about Laura and joined her husband by the window to look at the direction he was pointing. "We have to leave, sweetheart," Bobby said, angrily furrowing his brow as he grabbed his wife and stepped away from the window. "That's the second squad car in the last five minutes. I think we're busted."

"Dammit," Christine replied in annoyance, throwing a final look outside before she whirled around and approached Laura Sanders. "Take everything you need to patch him up," she barked, forcefully shoving the smaller woman toward the table where she had put the medical supplies earlier. "Hurry up!"

"I'll get our bags," Bobby growled, pulling his wife into a brief one-armed hug and kissing her passionately before he rushed out of the room to fetch their belongings.

"Alright, time to go," Christine said with a grim smile as she crossed the room and crouched down by Danny's side. "Lean forward," she instructed him, huffing out an impatient snort when he reacted too slowly for her liking. She pushed him forward a little bit and quickly opened the handcuffs that tied him to the metallic railing in front of the fake fireplace, bluntly ignoring the pained groan that escaped his lips. Before Danny could react she had secured his hands behind his back again and grabbed his right arm, roughly manhandling him to his feet.

After having sat in the same position for hours the sudden, unexpected movement was almost too much and a massive bout of nausea and dizziness hit Danny full force. He dangerously swayed on his feet, convinced that only Christine's strong grip around his upper arm held him upright. The world around him tilted awkwardly and wavered in and out of focus, his sight slowly graying around the edges. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Danny squeezed his eyes shut and tried to concentrate on his breathing, heavily leaning against the wall behind him when the steadying grip around his arm suddenly vanished.

It took all of his meager strength to keep his knees from buckling and Danny was barely able to hear Christine's muffled voice over the blood that was rushing loudly in his ears.

"There's no way we're dragging your cop ass to the car," the red-haired woman said in utter annoyance, her red lips curling mockingly when she looked at her hostage. "Either you manage to get out of here on your own two feet or I'll shoot you right now," she hissed into Danny's ear, roughly patting his cheek until he sluggishly blinked his eyes open. "Did you hear me?"

All Danny wanted to do right now was sit back down and sleep for at least three whole days but he had experienced first-hand what the woman was capable of and his self-preservation instinct screamed loudly in the back of his mind so he just stared back at her out of bleary eyes and nodded slowly.

"Loud and clear," he replied hoarsely, taking a few deep breaths until the world around him finally stopped spinning and he was able to push himself off the wall.

"Good," Christine grinned coldly and with a last, forceful slap on his cheek she sharply nodded her head toward the kitchen. "This way, we're using the back door," she ordered curtly, rushing back to the window and nervously glancing outside.

"Why the sudden hurry?" Danny asked tiredly as he slowly shuffled across the room. He knew that it would probably be better to keep his mouth shut but he needed something to distract him from the white hot pain that shot through his left leg with every step he was taking. "I just started to like this place, it was kinda cozy," he said, briefly stopping to catch his breath.

"Shut up," the red-haired woman growled, obviously not in the mood to respond to his comments. She just shook her head and turned her attention to Laura, grimacing in annoyance when she noticed that the other woman was still fiddling with the medical items on the table.

"That's enough," Christine said, grabbing Laura's arm and shoving her toward Danny but the brunette swiftly yanked her arm free and whirled around, furiously wielding the short scalpel she had used earlier to remove the bullet from Bobby's side.

With a low, guttural rasping sound Laura jumped forward, aiming for Christine's neck or face, but the taller woman instinctively raised her right arm so that the scalpel just sliced the sleeve of her black leather jacket without inflicting further damage. Nevertheless the attack had taken her by surprise and she stumbled backwards a few steps from the violent force of the impact.

"You killed my brother," Laura half sobbed, half screamed, once more thrusting the small knife in Christine's direction, leaving another slash at the front of her jacket. Tears of anger and grief were streaming down her cheeks and she blindly reached out again and again until Christine finally overcame her initial surprise and was able to push her back.

Reaching for the gun that was tucked into the waistband of her leather pants, Christine watched in satisfaction how Laura almost tumbled to the floor, wildly waving her arms to keep her balance. Her right hand with the scalpel came threateningly near to Danny's face so that he quickly had to step backwards in order to avoid getting accidentally hurt.

The sudden movement caused him to shift his weight to his injured left leg and with a hoarse outcry of pain he heavily crashed against one of the chairs, knocking it over in the process, but somehow Danny managed to stay upright. It all happened so quickly that his muddled mind was barely able to catch up with the events and everything seemed to happen simultaneously.

From one moment to the next, the world around him became eerily quiet, like all sounds had been sucked away. The only thing he perceived was the blood rushing in his ears and his own rapid heartbeat, the scene in front of him burning into his mind like snapshots taken with a Polaroid camera.

Christine raising her weapon, the surprise in her eyes a sharp contrast to the evil smile playing around her full, red lips.

Behind her back and slightly to the right, her husband just returning to the living room, instantly dropping the large black duffel bag that he had been carrying in his left hand.

Laura stumbling forwards with the silver scalpel shining in her outstretched right hand; her mascara dissolving, leaving black trails on her cheeks.

Danny wasn't aware that he was also moving, unconsciously trying to maneuver his body between the two women in a desperate attempt to defuse the situation. With his hands still cuffed behind his back his options were rather slim and without thinking he tackled Laura from the side, ramming his left shoulder against her body just when she struck out again.

His injured leg gave way and the sudden wave of pain caused the soundproof bubble around him to burst and all the sounds were suddenly coming back with a vengeance. Danny heard himself groan in pain, Laura's desperate screams for revenge, Christine's angry hissing and Robert's deep snarl, but then every noise was drowned out by two deafening shots when the Blakes fired their weapons in rapid succession and two bodies dropped to the ground with a dull, sickening thud.

* * *

It was not completely dark yet but many houses up and down Ahona Street were already brightly lit, except for number 141 that loomed grimly and foreboding against the dark blue sky. The area around the house was cordoned off widely, the large playground across the street forlorn in the early evening. The trees were slightly swaying in the light breeze and the atmosphere was almost peaceful if it wasn't for the multitude of policemen, squad cars and ambulances.

Steve ran his hand through his hair before he put his arms akimbo, his impatience increasing with every passing second while he watched the bustling activity around him. He was in full tactical gear and more than ready to burst through the door of 141 Ahona Street first, not happy at all that he needed to allow the SWAT team to go in before them; but after all they were not only searching for their missing friend but first and foremost chasing two of America's most wanted serial killers.

"They are ready, Boss," Kono informed him with a sharp nod toward Captain Barkley and his team, her quiet words betraying her own excitement. She fiddled with the Velcro straps of her tac vest as she unconsciously stepped closer to her cousin who didn't seem to be nervous at all. As usual Chin was the tower of strength, casually holding his shotgun while his dark eyes were set on the scene in front of them.

"Alright," Steve replied hoarsely, exchanging a silent look with his teammates before he squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and finally issued the order to advance.

McGarrett narrowed his eyes as he closely watched every move of the SWAT team; the SEAL in him itched to join them and only the worry for his partner kept him from storming into the house. Danny always scolded him for his rash actions, and now, of all times, when Danny wasn't at his side, might be the first time that Steve actually listened to him. He would never do anything to jeopardize the operation or the life of his friend.

They all knew that the next few minutes were crucial; storming a house and trying to overpower the hostage takers was always a delicate task and Danny could easily end up dead because collateral damage was never completely avoidable.

'If he wasn't already dead,' a small, persistent voice said in the back of Steve's head.

Grimly shaking his head, Steve gritted his teeth and forced back the nagging doubts with all his might. Concentrating on the sounds that came over the radio he tried to find out what was happening inside the house, waiting tensely for the first shouts or gunshots.

"_All clear."_

Steve almost jumped in surprise when he suddenly heard Barkley's voice over his earpiece. He didn't have to look left or right to know that Chin and Kono were as confused as he was about the lack of fight.

"What happened?" McGarrett wanted to know, motioning his teammates to follow him toward the house. Did Bozinski give them the wrong address? Or did the Blakes just surrender? The questions swirled rapidly through Steve's mind, leaving back a feeling of hollow disappointment and utter confusion.

"_The house is empty but there are signs that someone was here not long ago," _the SWAT team leader replied slowly and there was something in his voice that made Steve's hair stand on end. _"There's a lot of blood and… Oh God…"_

"Captain?" Steve asked brusquely when Barkley's voice trailed off mid-sentence, unconsciously quickening his steps as he ran through the rising darkness. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"_We found a body, Commander,"_ the other man replied, his heavy breathing sounding loudly in Steve's ear.

Chin and Kono hard on his heels Steve rushed up the few stairs to the front door and dashed into the house, stopping dead in his tracks when his agitated mind finally caught up with the meaning of Captain Barkley's words. Briefly squeezing his eyes shut for a moment, he shook his head and grimaced in a mixture of worry, anger and agony when the gravity of the situation almost caused him physical pain.

'Not Danny. Please, not Danny.'

That single thought swirled through his head over and over again, relentlessly shoving all hope to the darkest corner of his mind.

Steve's heart literally stopped for a second, only to restart beating wildly in his chest when he heard Barkley's next exclamation, sending his emotions on a wild rollercoaster ride that almost made him dizzy.

"_No, wait, there's a pulse… we need the paramedics in here right now."_

**(tbc)**

* * *

_Ooops, a cliffhanger... I think I go hiding now..._


	11. Chapter 11

_Thank you so much for all your reviews, they really make my day :-)_

* * *

**Chapter 11:**

Danny rammed his left shoulder against Laura's body in a desperate attempt to keep her from attacking Christine again. The tiny scalpel in her right hand was surely no match against a gun and he knew that Christine Blake wouldn't hesitate to shoot, or kill, the other woman, and he just couldn't let that happen.

Pain flared through his injured left leg when he tackled the brunette and this time Danny had no chance of preventing his knees from buckling. He stumbled against the slender woman and heavily crashed to the floor with a hoarse cry of pain, just when two gunshots rang out almost simultaneously.

Danny literally felt one of the bullets whizz above his head, his involuntary plunge to the floor probably saving him from getting hit. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he turned his head just in time to watch Laura collapse right next to him; the young woman slightly staggered backwards from the force of the impact and then ungracefully dropped down with a soft, almost surprised moan, coming to a rest flat on her back. The fingers of her right hand were still tightly curled around the silvery scalpel while her left hand restlessly moved across the floor next to her body. Her eyes were wide open in shock and pain, the location of the rapidly growing bloodstain on her blouse indicating that the bullet had certainly pierced her lung, maybe even grazed her heart. Laura's breathing came in shallow, wet gasps and with every laborious exhale bubbles of bloody foam trickled from the corner of her mouth.

Furrowing his brow in sympathy and helpless grief, Danny briefly forgot about his own injuries and his eyes flickered upwards to his captors. He knew that Laura was as good as dead; without medical help she would either drown in her own blood or probably die from blood loss or shock in the next few minutes. When Danny looked into Christine's and Bobby's faces, he saw that they knew it too, but one glance in Christine's cold green eyes also told him that she had absolutely no intention of helping Laura.

"Please…" he whispered, not exactly sure what exactly he was begging for. He silently cursed the fact that his hands were cuffed behind his back, wishing nothing more than to take Laura's hand and provide at least some physical contact, some comfort so that the young woman wouldn't be alone when she took her dying breath.

"Please," Danny repeated hoarsely as he struggled to sit up. His words sounded loudly in his ears, Laura's pained wheeze the only other sound in the room until Bobby's dark voice finally disturbed the eerie atmosphere.

"We have to go," he said brusquely, bending forward to grab Danny's upper right arm without wasting a glance at Laura. Not caring about Danny's injuries he impatiently yanked the smaller man to his feet, briefly contorting his face when the movement pulled at his own wound. "Move," Robert barked as he roughly shoved Danny toward the kitchen before he quickly picked up the black duffel bag he had dropped earlier.

Looking at his wife Bobby started to smile brightly when he saw the same satisfaction on her face that he was feeling right now. "You liked that, didn't you?" he noted, laughing out when the red-haired woman just nodded and licked her lips. "I love you, sweetheart," Bobby added quietly, intertwining his free hand in her long, coppery hair and pulling her into a brief, passionate kiss that ended much too soon for his liking.

"You're right, we have to go," Christine sighed silently as she raised her right hand, using her thumb to wipe off a trace of lipstick from Bobby's lips. She turned her head and angrily narrowed her eyes when she noticed that Danny hadn't moved at all, favoring his injured leg as he heavily leaned against a chair and helplessly stared down at the dying woman.

"I said, move," Robert repeated impatiently, shaking his head when he followed Danny's gaze. "What the hell are you looking at?"

"She needs help," Danny pressed, trying to reason with his captors; there had to be a way to help Laura. Reluctantly he averted his eyes from the woman who mercifully seemed to have lost consciousness, the up and down of her chest barely noticeable anymore. "Please, let me help her," he begged, the expression of grief on his face slowly morphing into disgust when Christine just threw him a derisive look and actually started to laugh.

"She will soon be reunited with her beloved brother," the red-haired woman waved him off, indifferently stepping across the ever-growing pool of blood on the floor. "That's what she wanted, right?"

Bobby laughed out just as if his wife had told a funny joke and lovingly placed his free arm around her waist. "So, we actually did her a favor," he snorted, obviously feeding on the horror he saw on Danny's face.

"It certainly looks like…" Christine replied, still giggling quietly until she cocked her head a little bit to the right and fastened her eyes on Danny. "Now you're our only guest," she said coldly as she wriggled herself out of her husband's embrace and threateningly approached Danny. "I suggest you behave and do what we're saying," she whispered, the icy tone of her voice sending a shiver up and down Danny's spine. She slowly raised her weapon and pointed it at Danny's chest, her hand not even showing the slightest trembling as she cocked the gun. "Are we clear?" Christine asked in an almost friendly tone, a ghost of disappointment flashing in her green eyes when Danny swallowed against the lump in his throat and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"Good," the red-haired woman said, lifting her hand and pressing the barrel of her weapon against Danny's cheek. "There's a backdoor that leads to the garage," she explained curtly, increasing the pressure and forcing his head around so that he looked towards the kitchen. "This way. Let's go."

Having no other choice, Danny finally yielded to her orders and slowly limped out of the house. His mind was completely numb; the only thing he could think of was Laura Sanders. His heart constricted in grief about that lost life and he just hoped that she wouldn't have to suffer any longer.

At the moment Danny was just too tired and in too much pain to pay attention to his surroundings or to think about any means of escape. Maybe he would have been able to pull himself together, had he just known that his team was only a stone's throw away, but he didn't so, he didn't object when the Blakes roughly manhandled him into the backseat of the black Mercedes, a pained groan the only sound that came across his lips when Bobby cuffed his hands to the grab handle above the door.

Uncomfortably squeezed behind the driver's seat, his arms forced upwards in a painful angle, Danny exhaustedly closed his eyes and leaned his head against the backrest, briefly asking himself where they were heading to. He was slowly coming to terms with the possibility that his team probably wouldn't find him in time, a deep sadness taking hold of his heart when he realized that he would probably never see his daughter again.

Slumping in his seat Danny hopelessly listened to the sound of the starting engine, totally oblivious to the fact that they were leaving the premises through the backyard at the same moment when a SWAT transporter entered Ahona Street from the other direction, closely followed by his team in Steve's blue Silverado.

* * *

"Danny!"

Steve's worried shout caught in his throat as he rushed along the corridor toward the living room, guided by Captain Barkley's voice that came through his earpiece. He hesitated for a brief moment in front of the door, feeling in his gut that whatever they might find would be bad.

Shoving all his emotions to the back of his mind, Steve took a deep breath and dashed into the room; he didn't have to waste a look at his teammates, knowing that Chin and Kono were directly behind him, and he briefly closed his eyes in relief at the sound of more footsteps, indicating that the paramedics were not far behind.

His military training allowed Steve to subconsciously take in his surroundings in the blink of an eye – a few chairs, a table with medical supplies, a comfortable looking couch, its leather stained with dried blood. He heard Kono's shocked intake of air behind his back and his gaze rested for a moment on the fake fireplace and the large amount of blood on the floor in front of it.

Two members of the SWAT team were kneeling in front of the table, partly concealing a motionless body on the floor, while Captain Barkley stood beside them, frantically waving his hands. "Over here," he harshly cried out, quickly signaling his men to make way for the paramedics who were just storming into the room after the three members of Five-0.

Steve's head whipped around and he was finally able to throw a good look at the body, blinking in confusion when he slowly realized that it wasn't his partner who was lying on the floor, bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest. Furrowing his brow he tried to come up with a name, faintly remembering the young woman from the pictures he had seen earlier that day at their headquarters.

"That's Laura Sanders," Chin said somewhere behind him, his usually calm voice laced with emotion as he provided the missing detail. For a long moment he stared down at the paramedics who frantically worked to save the woman's life before he slowly looked up and let his gaze travel across the room.

"What happened here?" Kono whispered, taking the question right out of her cousin's mouth. Her dark eyes were filled with worry for their missing teammate when she asked hesitantly, "Where are the Blakes and Danny?"

"I don't know," Steve shook his head, running his right hand across his mouth and chin. He didn't know if he should be disappointed or relieved that Danny wasn't here; he just hoped that the fact that the Blakes took him meant that his partner was still alive.

"Captain?" McGarrett addressed the SWAT team leader, clearing his throat while he impatiently waited for the man to join them. "Where's Detective Williams? Where's my partner?"

"Sorry, Commander," Barkley apologetically shrugged his shoulders. "The rest of the house is empty, there's no one else here."

"Boss," Kono suddenly choked out, pointing a trembling hand at a bloody bundle of fabric on the floor in front of the fake fireplace. Danny's striped tie lay crumpled in a pool of dried blood, next to a half-empty bottle of water and a pair of discarded one-way gloves. "That's Danny's tie," she explained unnecessarily after quickly stepping closer and crouching down to have a better look at the piece of clothing.

"So at least we know that he has been here," Chin said, trying to find the silver lining of all this mess.

Gritting his teeth, Steve slowly nodded a few times in response to Chin's remark. He worriedly looked at the tie and the mess on the floor before he obviously made a decision and returned his attention to the injured woman.

The two paramedics worked feverishly, mostly in silence, only now and then muttering some vital parameters or other medical jargon. One of them was just about to put an oxygen mask over Laura's mouth and nose when Steve stepped forward.

"How's she doing? Can I talk to her?" he asked brusquely, not really sure where to place his own emotions. Of course he felt sympathy for the young woman who had been shot and left behind without help, but on the other hand his first and foremost priority was to capture a couple of serial killers and, needless to say, the safety of his partner.

"She'll die if we don't get her to the hospital as soon as possible," the younger paramedic answered bluntly, not trying to sugarcoat Laura's condition as he icily glared at McGarrett. It was obvious that he thought that Steve was talking totally out of turn and he quickly turned back to his patient with an annoyed clicking of his tongue.

His colleague, who was older and probably more seasoned, seemed to have a better understanding of the seriousness of the situation; briefly interrupting his work he looked up and locked eyes with McGarrett. "I don't think she will make it to the hospital," he said silently so that only Steve could hear him, a deep sadness in his eyes when he slightly shook his head. "I'm surprised she even regained consciousness after the immense trauma she suffered." He moved a little bit to make room for Steve as he continued to prepare Laura for the transport to the hospital. "I'm not sure if she will be able to answer your questions," the paramedic added seriously, once more turning his head to look at the leader of Five-0. "We don't have much time. Ask what you have to ask, and then we have to go."

Thanking the other man with a sharp nod of his head, Steve quickly knelt down and tried to get Laura's attention. "Laura," he urged as softly and patiently as possible under the given circumstances. "Laura, can you hear me?"

He grimaced in sympathy when he heard her gurgling breathing and immediately knew that the paramedic had been right – the young woman was beyond help. Unfortunately Steve had seen injuries like that before and suddenly Steve had to fight back the unbidden memory of a cold autumn night in the Afghan desert when he had knelt next to a dying comrade in a very similar way.

Gritting his teeth against those old demons and the onslaught of emotions McGarrett tried to clear his mind and cautiously placed his hand on Laura's shoulder. He squeezed gently, calling her name again until she finally sluggishly moved her head and tried to focus on his face. He saw her forehead creasing in confusion when she didn't recognize him, pain and fear evident in her dark brown eyes that looked awkwardly familiar.

"Laura, where are Robert and Christine Blake? Where did they go?" Steve asked hoarsely, watching worriedly how the woman fought for every laborious breath, the blood on her lips a sharp contrast against her deathly pale face. "Do you know where Robert and Christine are?"

Laura's mouth moved under the oxygen mask and despite her injuries she somehow managed to raise her arm, placing a trembling hand on Steve's leg. Ignoring the frosty look from his colleague the older paramedic gently removed the mask so that she was able to talk and soothingly stroked her hair when she agitatedly started to roll her head.

Despite the blood that bubbled from her lips with every strained exhale, Steve bent down low and brought his ear closer to her face. "Laura, where did they go?" he gently coaxed her, slightly turning his head a little bit to the right to better understand her rattled words.

"Boat…" Laura gasped out barely audible, her trembling fingers restlessly moving across the fabric of Steve's pants. "Molo… Molokai…" she whispered faintly, her gaze briefly flickering to Steve's face.

Her eyes were wide open when she slightly turned her head to fixate on an invisible point above his left shoulder, a tentative smile slowly creeping across her face. Apart from her faint, wheezing breathing the room was eerily quiet; nobody moved or dared to say a single word.

"Marty?" Laura asked a moment later, her voice suddenly high and very clear. The lines of pain on her young face morphed, giving way to a calm, peaceful expression when she drew one last deep breath and exhaled with a soft little sigh, her hand slipping from Steve's leg as her eyes glazed over.

**(tbc)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

"I want all harbors closed," Steve barked his orders while he stormed out of the house, Kono and Chin close on his heels. "Here and on Molokai. No ship or boat, no matter how big or small, leaves the island without being searched thoroughly."

He briefly interrupted himself, furrowing his brow in concentration when he pondered on their next steps. "And I want roadblocks every few miles, especially on all streets that lead to the coast," he continued, hoping that they weren't too late and that all those measures would help find the Blakes and Danny before they left the island. "Make sure all airfields are under surveillance too, maybe they'll change their plans and try to leave by air," he added as an afterthought, turning around to face his teammates. "Tell everyone they should pay special attention to that black Mercedes, maybe the Blakes still use Sanders' missing car."

"I'm on it, Boss," Kono replied as she swiftly left to carry out Steve's instructions, talking into her cell phone while she waved at Sergeant Lukela who had already gathered his men around him.

"You alright?" Chin asked quietly, studying the lines of anger on Steve's face. He knew that the younger man was on the edge of snapping and to be honest, he was a little surprised that McGarrett had managed to keep his cool after they had found out that Danny wasn't in that house.

Gritting his teeth and reflexively nodding his head in response to Chin's question, Steve kept silent for a moment before he turned his head and locked eyes with his teammate. "How could that happen?" he whispered, his eyes dark with worry and fear for their friend. "I was so sure that we finally found Danny. So sure…"

His voice trailed off and he ran his right hand through his hair only to whirl around a second later, banging his fist against his blue Silverado. "Dammit, Chin, how the hell could that happen?" he repeated furiously, trying to find a way to release some of the pent-up tension and frustration. "They left right under our nose," Steve said, shaking his head in disbelief when he remembered what the paramedic had told him about the seriousness of Laura's injury; according to his opinion the woman couldn't have been shot longer than ten or fifteen minutes ago, otherwise she would have bled out long before help arrived. "If we had been five minutes earlier, Chin. Only five goddamn minutes."

"But we weren't," Chin replied matter-of-factly, trying with all his might to fight back his own emotions. He was also deeply concerned for Danny's well-being but dwelling on the 'what ifs' certainly wouldn't help them now. "Let's concentrate on what we can do right now," he suggested calmly, noticing from the corner of his eyes that Kono was just about to talk with Duke. "And I'm pretty sure that destroying your car won't help Danny," he added with a wink and a nod toward the faint dent in the hood of the car where Steve's punch had landed.

Smiling sheepishly when he followed Chin's glance, Steve pinched the bridge of his nose and briefly closed his eyes before he huffed out a deep sigh. "You're right," he said, the lines of anger on his face slowly being forced back by a hint of hope and determination. "Sorry. It's just that Danny…" His voice trailed off and he faintly shrugged his shoulders when the words failed him.

"No need to apologize, brah," the older man answered sincerely, nodding in understanding. He had witnessed first-hand how close Steve and Danny had become during the last few months and even if they knew each other only a short time, and despite their constant bickering, they were already best friends.

Steve tentatively nodded back and flashed Chin a brief smile before he turned his head, watching with mixed emotions how the members of the SWAT team were just climbing back into the belly of their black transporter. Captain Barkley briefly looked in Steve's and Chin's direction and waved a short goodbye before they left the scene; all three men knew that they would most likely meet again in the not so distant future, as soon as they had figured out the Blakes' whereabouts.

Switching his focus to the large group of policemen who were concentrating on Kono's explanations, Steve narrowed his eyes and tried to read the expressions on their faces, surprised when he found only a little hostility in them. After the encounter earlier that day with the officers who had shot at the Camaro his faith in the members of HPD had honestly started to falter and he still felt the anger burning in his system when he thought about the two men.

"What do you want to do now?"

Chin's quiet voice yanked Steve from his gloomy musings and the younger man sighed once more before he slightly shook his head. "Let's get back to HQ," McGarrett said reluctantly after a long moment of heavy silence. He knew that there was nothing else they could do right now but somehow he had the strange feeling that they abandoned Danny when they got off the streets and into the confined space of their offices. He hated nothing more than to idly stand by, unable to do anything useful, and every fiber of his being craved for a chance to jump into action.

As soon as Kono came back, the three remaining members of Five-0 returned to the Palace, while all available police officers were roaming the streets and setting up roadblocks all over the island, and the coast guard checked every single boat that was about to leave the harbor despite the darkness and the late hour.

Kono and Chin immediately started to work on the big smart table, pulling every video feed they could get their hands on, traffic cameras, surveillances cameras of banks or large companies, everything that could help them find Sanders' car. Right now the black Mercedes was their only lead and the team had come to the unspoken agreement not to mention the possibility that the Blakes might have switched cars in the meantime.

While Kono was skimming through all the videos and simultaneously running the face recognition software for any sign of Christine or Robert Blake, Chin was busy checking Laura and Marty Sanders' background. He tried to track every single step the siblings had taken during the past twelve months, hoping for any hint that they had been in contact with Christine and maybe finding a clue of where the Blakes were heading to.

At this time of the day, late in the evening on a regular workday and way after closing hour, the traffic on the island mainly concentrated on the greater Honolulu area and so most of the traffic cameras Kono was logged in to showed empty streets. The young woman fast-forwarded through the video material of the last hour, focusing on the streets around Ahona Street at first and then constantly expanding the search area. She had narrowed her eyes, her gaze flickering from one picture to the next as her fingers danced over the surface of the smart table to call up more and more videos. She knew that she couldn't watch every second of every video and she just hoped for a little luck to find their missing teammate.

Almost another hour passed without any findings and Kono only raised her head once in a while to glare at her boss who was agitatedly pacing the room in front of the smart table. Ever since they had come back to the office Steve had been on the phone, coordinating the coast guard and HPD or talking to Pat Jameson. The Governor was on her way back from Washington, demanding an update on the case and strongly voicing her opinion that it was more important to catch the Blakes than to get Danny back alive. 'The greater good' she succinctly called it, hanging up on Steve before he could press his point of view.

"Dammit," McGarrett huffed out, angrily stuffing his cell phone into a pocket of his cargo pants. Of course he knew that it was important to stop the Blakes before they could leave the island and do more damage but Steve would never allow putting Danny's life at risk.

Kono raised her head when she heard Steve's outburst, furrowing her brow in annoyance about the ongoing disturbance that repeatedly pulled her out of her concentration. She had just opened her mouth to complain when Chin placed a hand on her forearm and quietly interrupted her.

"Why don't you take a break, cuz?" he suggested, cocking his head a little bit to the side as he took in her appearance. Her face was pale, her eyes red-rimmed from staring at the video footage without enough blinking and judging from the way she was squinting she was most probably suffering a headache. "It won't do Danny any good if you miss something because you're too tired."

"I'm not done yet," Kono objected like a child that didn't want to go to sleep, defiantly shaking her head. She briefly locked eyes with her cousin before she averted her gaze and silently started another video.

"Chin's right, Kono," Steve unexpectedly chimed in, stopping his nervous pacing to join the cousins. "Take a break," he hoarsely repeated Chin's words, briefly scrubbing his hands across his face.

"I think we could all use a few minutes," Chin said quietly when he noticed the dark shadows underneath Steve's eyes. "Let's have a cup of coffee and then make a fresh start," he added, knowing full well that some caffeine wouldn't really help them, but maybe a short break would be able to take their minds off things, at least for a few minutes.

He had just turned around and headed for the coffee machine when a strangled gasp behind him made him turn around. "Kono? What is it?" Chin asked, furrowing his brow when he rushed back to his cousin.

The young woman was bending deeply over the smart table, her slender fingers swiftly dancing over the display. "I think I have something," she said breathlessly, sharply flicking her wrist before she pointed at the screens on the wall. "There's a black Mercedes," Kono explained, narrowing her eyes as she drew a circle around the number plate and enlarged the area. She impatiently tapped her fingers onto the smart table to sharpen the picture and unconsciously held her breath while she nibbled at her lower lip. "It's Marty Sanders' car," Kono finally exclaimed triumphantly, her gaze flickering to her teammates and then back to the screen. "We've found them," she added, her voice suddenly only a hoarse whisper.

"Where?" Chin asked immediately, stepping closer to throw a look at the display, trying to find out where the video had come from.

"When?" Steve barked almost at the same time, impatiently clenching and unclenching his fists as he waited for Kono to answer.

"It's from a traffic cam at the Interstate H-3," Kono replied after she had finally found the information she was looking for. The breath caught in her throat when she looked at the time stamp and she unconsciously bent further down as she rechecked it again to make sure she didn't get it wrong, her dark eyes glistening in barely hidden hope and excitement when she finally raised her head. "The footage is from five minutes ago."

* * *

It was completely dark outside and at first Danny had absolutely no idea where they were; but then, bit by bit, he recognized a building or a crossroad and after a while he had a fairly good idea in which part of Honolulu they were and where they were heading to. Not that this knowledge would help him in any way because there was no one to tell but at least he felt a little bit less helpless.

Despite his state of exhaustion and the constant pain he was experiencing, Danny tried desperately not to doze off and forced himself to take in his surroundings while he listened to Christine's and Robert's low conversation. He might have accepted the fact that he most probably wouldn't make it out of this mess alive but he was not yet willing to give up without a fight. And whatever happened to himself, Danny could at least make sure that the Blakes didn't get the chance to kill any more people and that they would be punished for their crimes.

Danny's right eye was almost completely swollen shut and with his limited range of vision the drive through the Hawaiian night felt weird; the lights from streetlamps and all the passing cars added to his ever-present headache and he was suffering from a lingering nausea, strong enough to leave him shaky and unwell.

Carefully wiggling his fingers he tried to ease some of the pain in his shoulders, but it was to no avail. His hands were tingling uncomfortably from being fastened to the grab handle above the door and the handcuffs were painfully cutting into the skin of his wrists. He already dreaded the moment when he would get untied, knowing that the change in position would hurt like hell.

Forcing his concentration back to his captors Danny rolled his eyes in annoyance when he heard the pet names and declarations of love Christine and Bobby were constantly whispering to each other. From his position behind the driver's seat Danny had a fairly good view of the front, and he was pretty sure that Christine's right hand was lying on Bobby's thigh or maybe even in a more delicate place. Now and then Bobby leaned over to the left and the couple shared a passionate kiss, just short enough that Christine didn't get distracted from the traffic ahead.

Craning his neck to cast a glance at the dashboard clock Danny was shocked when he learned that almost an hour had passed since they had left the house. He had noticed that Christine was turning off very often, even going to the lengths of driving back the same streets they had come along just minutes before, and Danny could only assume that they wanted to avoid any roadblocks or other confrontations with the police.

And he had absolutely no doubt that there had to be roadblocks all over the island, after all two of America's most wanted serial killers were on the run for more than twelve hours – and his crazy partner was probably in charge of the case. Danny suppressed a small grin when he imagined Steve in his best Rambo style, heavily armed up to his ears with grenades and machine guns, but the ghost of a smile quickly vanished when he heard that the tone of Christine's and Bobby's voices had changed. The couple suddenly sounded worried, obviously discussing heatedly which route they should take toward their goal, wherever that was.

Carefully sitting up straighter in his seat, Danny tried to ignore the new wave of pain that flared through his whole body and took a deep breath before he silently cleared his throat. "What's wrong?" he asked hoarsely, the words leaving his mouth before he could really think them over. He bluntly ignored the icy look that Christine shot him through the rearview mirror and added sarcastically, "Trouble in paradise?" It took all of Danny's willpower not to sound too happy about the obvious delay in their escape but obviously he wasn't very successful in hiding his joy because Bobby whirled around and growled threateningly at him.

"Shut up, pig," he spat, eyeing Danny for a long moment as if the smaller man was an especially nasty bug, before he turned back to his wife without taking further notice of his prisoner. "I still don't think it's a good idea, sweetheart," Bobby said gently, but with a determined undertone, as he placed his left hand at the back of Christine's neck. "Let's find another way."

"But it's the direct way, Bobby," Christine replied impatiently, smiling slightly and briefly closing her eyes when her husband started to absently toy with a strand of her red hair. "You know that I want to be there before it gets light. Otherwise we have to make a huge detour and I really don't want to lose more time."

Throwing a look out the window, Danny furrowed his brow as he once more tried to find out where they were heading to. He was pretty sure that they were driving northbound, just about to enter the H-3 Interstate, and Danny started to smile grimly when the hushed conversation between the Blakes suddenly made sense.

"Where are we going?" Danny asked, leaning forward as much as he was able to with his hands cuffed above his head. He knew that he probably sounded like a grumpy child who was getting on its parents' nerves with all its questions but he really didn't care and with the constant fear of dying he decided that he had been silent for much too long.

He felt in his gut that everything would come to an end soon and he was absolutely sure that the Blakes would kill him sooner or later. He just hoped that it would be quick and relatively painless but having experienced their sadistic streak first-hand he doubted that very much. Danny knew that they planned to take a boat to Molokai and his worst fear was that they would just throw him overboard in the middle of the goddamn ocean. He couldn't prevent that his thoughts drifted back to his childhood and he briefly felt the familiar pang of guilt and grief before he forcefully shook his head to chase away the old ghosts. He rather preferred to get shot right here and now than to drown, alone and injured in the middle of nowhere, and if his comments sped up his fate then so be it.

"Maybe I can provide you with some alternative route suggestions if you don't want to drive through all the tunnels," he said cheekily, casually leaning his head back against the seat as if he didn't care for an answer.

The H-3 Interstate to the north-east coast of Oahu was riddled with tunnels which obviously were the perfect spot for a roadblock because they provided absolutely no room for escape and the gaze that Christine and Robert threw each other confirmed that Danny seemed to have been right with his assumption; the many tunnels ahead were indeed the reason for their little dispute.

"Did anyone ask for your opinion?" Christine asked impatiently, her voice dripping with annoyance. She narrowed her eyes as she threw Danny another icy glance through the rearview mirror. "Why don't you just shut up?" she added dismissively, averting her eyes from her hostage as she pensively sucked her lower lip and unconsciously slowed down the car a little bit but then she seemed to have made a decision and forcefully shook her head.

"No Bobby, there is no other way," she said determinedly, briefly petting her husband's thigh before she placed her right hand on the steering wheel and turned left at the next corner, approaching the ramp to the H-3. "Everything will be fine, you'll see," she promised, leaning a little bit to the right to steal another kiss from the man she loved, laughing throatily when she heard Bobby's defeated and at the same time pleased snort.

"I think your husband's right, you know," Danny said after they had driven a few eventless minutes on the interstate, surprised that his voice didn't show the excitement he was feeling. He knew that they rapidly approached the first tunnel and his heart was beating faster in his chest with every mile they were covering. Squinting his uninjured eye Danny leaned to the right as far as possible and tried to take a glance at the street ahead, but it was too dark outside to see anything useful. "You will never make it to the other side of the island, the police…"

"Shut the hell up," Robert Blake furiously interrupted him mid-sentence and Danny winced in surprise when he suddenly looked directly into the barrel of his own service weapon.

"Hey, I was on your side," Danny protested weakly but then he snapped his mouth shut when Bobby's face contorted with anger and the man slowly cocked the gun.

"Bobby, calm down," Christine laughed out, placing her right hand again on her husband's leg. "Don't shoot him yet," she whispered conspiratorially, briefly letting her gaze travel to the rearview mirror and giving Danny a wink that sent a shiver of foreboding down his spine. "Imagine the trip to Molokai and all the fun we could have," the red-haired woman said, lasciviously licking her lips before she continued with another little laugh. "All alone in the middle of the ocean, just the two of us and our little toy."

"God, I love you so much, sweetheart," Bobby replied, obviously highly delighted with Christine's idea. He gave Danny a nasty grin, his gun still pointed at the other man's head, before he sighed theatrically and finally turned around in his seat without wasting another moment on his hostage.

"I knew you would like that," his wife answered playfully, softly scratching her fingernails across the fabric of Bobby's jeans but then she removed her hand and tightly grabbed the steering wheel when they entered the first tunnel.

The tension inside the car was almost palpable and Danny literally had to remind himself to breathe. He still felt a little bit shaky after that unexpected encounter with his own gun a few moments ago and he nervously shifted his weight a little bit to find a more comfortable position, grimacing when the movement jolted his injured leg. His hands and fingers were almost numb by now, the constant dull ache in his arms and shoulders made it almost impossible to concentrate on anything else.

But Christine seemed to have been right and they made it through the tunnel without incident, the few lonely cars in the oncoming lane didn't pose a threat. There was a collective exhale of breath when the black Mercedes left the tunnel, but while Christine and Bobby sighed in relief, Danny gritted his teeth in frustration and disappointment.

The next two or three miles passed in silence, the Blakes getting back to their mutual petting and kissing, much to Danny's annoyance. He tried to block out the whispered conversation, tiredly closing his eyes as he once more leaned his head back against the seat. His arms had started to tremble a moment ago and the sounds around him seemed to fade in and out. Even with his eyes closed Danny had the strange feeling that the world around him started to spin; he tried to take a deep breath to get rid of the dizziness but even the simple task of breathing was suddenly too much. He registered absently that he was probably about to lose consciousness but he was too exhausted to do anything about it.

Drifting in this weird state between consciousness and unconsciousness Danny didn't know how much time had passed but he was jolted back to awareness when Christine suddenly started to curse loudly and hit the brakes full force so that Danny was thrown forward into the back rest of the driver's seat. All of a sudden he was fully awake, groaning in pain as he laboriously crawled back onto the back seat, ignoring the new onslaught of pain in his shoulder joints.

"What…" he murmured hoarsely, blinking rapidly to get his surroundings into focus, frowning in confusion when he noticed that they were again inside a tunnel.

"Roadblock," Bobby stated the obvious, angrily staring at the police cars and blue lights ahead. He spoke more to himself than really answering Danny's stammered question, banging his fist against the dashboard as he locked eyes with his wife. "Dammit! What do we do now?"

"Find another way," Christine answered grimly, pressing her red lips together as she hurriedly changed gears and turned the car around. She stepped on the gas and rushed back along the same road they had just come, not caring about the fact that she was using the wrong lane.

"Fuck off!" she shouted when another car came their way, ignoring the angry and surprised honk of the other driver. At the last second she violently jerked the wheel to avoid a collision, never taking her foot off the gas pedal as she rushed out of the tunnel and into the darkness.

Hanging on for dear life when the Mercedes unexpectedly swerved once more, Danny desperately fought back the rising nausea. His heart beat rapidly against his ribcage and the breath caught in his throat when they passed another oncoming car, this time only barely evading a crash.

"Stop the car," he tried to reason with his captors, knowing that it was only a matter of time until they would inevitably run out of luck and meet their fate but Christine didn't seem to have even heard him, let alone react to his plea.

They were about halfway between the two tunnels with no chance of switching back to the correct lane when a pair of headlights announced the arrival of another car. It was almost like an electric jolt was running through Danny's veins and he suddenly forgot all his injuries and exhaustion as he leaned forward and narrowed his eyes.

It all happened in the blink of an eye and Danny actually flinched when they flashed past the larger truck but then he whirled around in his seat as far as possible with his hands cuffed above his head. "Steve," he whispered soundlessly, heavily breathing as he stared after the dark blue Silverado. They were much too fast and it was much too dark to recognize the driver or any passengers and deep inside Danny knew that it just wasn't possible but he would have sworn that, for the length of a heartbeat, he had seen his partner's strained face in the rearview mirror of the truck.

**(tbc)**

* * *

_That doesn't really count as a cliffhanger, does it? ;-)  
_

_Final two chapters next week... hope you have a great weekend.  
_


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

"Danny," Steve breathed out, not completely sure if he said his partner's name loud enough for his teammates to hear but to be honest, he just didn't care. For a moment he stared into the rearview mirror, narrowing his eyes as he tried to perceive anything in the complete darkness but all he saw were the rapidly vanishing tail lights of the wrong-way driver they had just passed.

Steve hadn't been able to catch more than a short glimpse of the dark Mercedes but his skin had immediately started to prickle and he was absolutely certain that his partner was in that car. His fingers unconsciously tightened around the steering wheel and he briefly cleared his throat before he gave his teammates the shortest of warnings. "Hold on," McGarrett rasped, clipped, and only a heartbeat later he stepped onto the brakes to slow down the car before he pulled the handbrake and turned the wheel sharply to the left, guiding the truck into a perfect bootleg turn.

"Whoa, Boss, what the hell?" Kono shouted in surprise, glad about the seat belt that held her in position. Without having to think she grabbed the tablet PC that was resting on her knees to keep it from falling off and only her sharp reflexes and good sense of balance from years of surfing helped her to avoid hitting her head on the side window. From her position on the back seat and busy with checking more video footage she hadn't been able to see the oncoming car and now Kono impatiently furrowed her brow in confusion as she waited for an answer.

"Black Mercedes in the wrong lane," Chin explained curtly, hastily dialing a number on his cell phone before he pressed the little device to his right ear. He briefly turned around in his seat to lock eyes with his cousin, pointing his left hand in the direction they were now driving as he breathlessly added, "We think it's Danny."

"What?" Kono stammered, the frown on her forehead deepening as she tried to grasp the meaning of Chin's words but then she suddenly sat up straighter in her seat and held her breath before blurting out. "Danny? What? Where?" she asked wide-eyed before she forcefully shook her head to clear her thoughts. Taking a deep breath she also pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and grabbed her tablet PC. "What do you need?" the young woman asked all business after she had overcome her initial shock.

"Roadblock at the south side of the tunnel, SWAT team, ambulance," Steve barked out while he switched on the blue lights and accelerated the car, gritting his teeth as he chased after the Mercedes. The entrance to the tunnel was still a few miles away and he just hoped that they were able to establish the roadblock before the Blakes left the tunnel at the other end. "This has to end here and now! No way they're getting away again," he growled, leaning a little bit forward in the driver's seat as he squinted into the darkness.

"I'm on it," Chin and Kono answered with one voice, exchanging a brief humorless grin and a glance of mutual understanding; they knew each other long enough to communicate without words and not even a minute later they had carried out Steve's orders and finished their respective phone calls.

The next few minutes until they finally reached the entrance to the tunnel passed in tense silence; the road was luckily completely deserted except for one other car that was very slowly driving at the very edge of the right lane, its occupants obviously scared to death by the encounter with not one but two wrong-way drivers.

Chin's cell phone started to chirp agitatedly at the exact moment as they finally drove into the tunnel and he silently listened for a moment until he started to smile grimly and ended the call with a clipped, "Thanks, Duke."

"Roadblock and SWAT team are in position," he announced, slightly turning to the left to address his teammates. The blue lights of the Silverado reflected from the walls and the ceiling of the tunnel, bathing it into an eerie, almost nauseating light. "Duke is sending another bunch of squad cars to shut down the tunnel from the north end," he added, allowing himself to feel a tiny bit of satisfaction. "No one's getting in or out."

"It seems that there are no other cars inside the tunnel right now except for the Mercedes and us," Kono chimed in, turning off her tablet PC and putting it away. She removed the seat belt and grabbed her tac vest from the seat next to her, slipping it on in one swift move and fastening the Velcro straps before she wordlessly reached over for Chin's vest. She silently watched how her cousin wiggled forward in the passenger's seat and also put on his vest before he motioned her to hand him his shotgun. As a matter of prudence they had stored their vests, weapons and technical equipment on the rear bench seat within easy reach; Kono pondered for a moment if she should suggest to briefly stop the car so that her boss could also gear up but she knew that Steve would never allow a delay right now, no matter how short, and so she only sighed silently, bit her lower lip and kept Steve's vest within arm's reach.

"There," McGarrett suddenly croaked out, harshly pulling Kono out of her musings as he slowed down the car and finally stopped completely but didn't turn off the engine. Narrowing his eyes he leaned forward to have a better look at the scene in front of them, his fingers still tightly clutching the steering wheel.

The end of the tunnel was clearly visible from their position, blocked by a multitude of squad cars with at least twenty or thirty police officers crouching down behind their vehicles, their weapons at the ready. The black Mercedes was positioned about halfway between the road block and Steve's Silverado, standing absolutely motionless in the dim light of the tunnel, only some soft whiffs of smoke from the exhaust pipe showing that the car was still running.

For a long moment nothing happened but then the Mercedes stuttered to life and was turned around in a sweeping U-turn but it immediately came to a halt again when the way was blocked by Steve's Silverado, leaving the two cars facing each other like the protagonists in a surreal western movie.

* * *

"Dammit, what do we do now?" Robert Blake shouted, banging his fist against the dashboard. For a long moment he stared angrily at the row of squad cars that blocked the exit of the tunnel before he huffed out an annoyed snort and turned his head to look at his wife.

"Keep calm, Bobby," the red-haired woman answered in a low whisper, flashing her husband a brief smile before she looked back out the window, impatiently thrumming her manicured fingers against the steering wheel. "Let me think."

"Do you want to hear my opinion?" Danny chimed in from the back seat, bluntly ignoring the nasty looks from his captors. "I think now would be the best time to give up and turn yourselves in."

"Very funny," Christine said icily, angrily narrowing her eyes but otherwise ignoring Danny's comment. "Shut up."

"Why?" Danny continued, lazily leaning back as he tried to get as comfortable as possible in his current position. "Am I making you nervous?" he asked derisively, briefly grimacing when a wave of pain flooded his system. He knew that it was probably very unwise to anger his captors but he was so tired of the whole situation and he just couldn't stand the thought of another attempt to escape. "You know that you'll never make it out of here alive, don't you?"

"Well, if we die, you'll die too," Christine answered with a shrug of her shoulders. She pensively nibbled on her lower lip for a moment before she started to grin maliciously. "Then your daughter will have to grow up without her Daddy," she added mockingly, laughing out loud when she saw the expression of anger and grief on Danny's face through the rearview mirror.

"Don't talk about my daughter," Danny growled, angrily sitting up straighter. He desperately shook his head, suddenly wishing nothing more than to be able to hug his little girl and tell her how much he loved her.

"Hey Bobby," Christine addressed her husband, still smiling diabolically, for a moment completely forgetting about all the squad cars and police officers in front of them. "What do you think? Maybe we should pay his daughter a visit? We never had a child before; it could be so much fun to play with a little girl for a change."

"Leave my daughter alone, you sicko..." Danny moaned, his face contorting in disgust when he thought about all the things those psychos could do with his beloved Grace.

"Hey, don't talk to my wife like that," Bobby interrupted him in a low growl, whirling around in his seat to face the other man but his sentence ended in a pained groan when the movement pulled the stitches in his side. "Dammit," he whined, cautiously turning his upper body back and pressing his left hand against the wound. He briefly closed his eyes and breathed deeply in and out through his mouth to ride out the pain. "I'm bleeding again," Bobby said quietly a moment later after he had thrown a look at his blood-covered fingers, carelessly wiping them clean on one of his pant legs.

Slowly turning his head he locked eyes with his wife and raised his left arm to place his hand at the back of her neck. Then he pulled her over into a passionate kiss, murmuring against her lips, "I really can't wait to finally kill that guy."

"And you will, Bobby, you will," Christine promised, running her fingers through his unruly blond hair until he moaned in pleasure. She deepened the kiss before she reluctantly let go and rolled her shoulders. "But first of all we need to get out of here," she said firmly, and without further hesitation she grabbed the steering wheel and threw a final look at the roadblock at the exit of the tunnel before she turned the Mercedes around in one swift move.

Christine was just about to accelerate the car when she noticed the big dark blue truck a few hundred feet away, standing motionless in the middle of the tunnel, its blue lights eerily reflecting from the walls and the ceiling. Abruptly hitting the brakes she stared open-mouthed at the new obstacle, breathing out an annoyed little sigh. "Who the hell is that?"

"That's my team," Danny replied casually and not without a hint of pride in his voice and for the first time that day he allowed himself a tiny spark of hope. "I told you, you won't make it out of here, didn't I?"

"Your team?" Christine Blake repeated Danny's words, slowly licking her red lips as she thought about their next steps. "The Governor's task force?" she asked and the tone of her voice suddenly made Danny shiver. The red-haired woman exchanged a deep look with her husband before she sharply nodded once and started to grin. "Well, let's find out what the famous members of Five-0 are capable of."

"High Noon," Bobby laughed out gleefully and before Danny could ask what they were planning, Christine stepped on the gas so that the Mercedes dashed forward with squealing, smoking tires and Danny was thrown back in his seat, trying with all his might to keep his balance.

"Bobby, my dear, do you still want to kill him?" Christine asked while they rapidly approached Steve's Silverado. "Why don't you do it now, right before the eyes of his team?" She giggled in delight about her idea, grabbing the steering wheel tighter as she narrowed her eyes and tried to decide if she should pass the other car left or right.

"I love you so much, sweetheart," Bobby answered, grinning proudly at his wife before he turned around in his seat as far as possible, ignoring his bleeding wound and the pain in his side. He raised his gun and pointed it over his left shoulder directly at Danny's chest, the expression on his face a weird mixture of pleasure and scorn.

"Say your final…" Bobby started but he was never able to finish his sentence because Danny suddenly yanked up his legs and tried to kick away Robert's arm and the weapon.

Danny acted on pure instinct, his will to survive increasing with every passing second, now that he knew that his team was near. A hot rush of adrenaline surged through his bloodstream and for a moment he forgot about all his injuries and pains. He couldn't tell if he really managed to kick Bobby's hand or if he maybe accidentally jolted the driver's seat, but the car suddenly jerked to the left just when a shot rang out with an earsplitting bang in the confined space of driver's cabin.

Time seemed to stand still when Danny waited for the blinding pain that would certainly follow a gunshot wound, blinking in confusion when he heard a rattling cough instead, quickly followed by Bobby's agonized outcry.

There was another gurgling gasp, clearly audible over the roaring of the engine, and Danny finally realized where the sounds were coming from. He raised his head just in time to watch how Christine pressed a trembling hand against the wound in her neck, blood mercilessly and unstoppably spilling between her fingers. The red-haired woman managed to slightly turn her head, her eyes wide open in speechless surprise as she looked at her husband. She opened her mouth to take a final gurgling breath and then her head simply rolled back, her lifeless left hand slipping from the steering wheel.

The car started to swerve dangerously and a heartbeat later it crashed against the left wall of the tunnel, all windows at the driver's side bursting on impact. Shards of glass rained down on Danny's unprotected arms and face, leaving a multitude of lacerations of all different sizes and he groaned hoarsely in pain and shock.

Bouncing off the wall the Mercedes tilted to the right and before Danny knew what happened his whole world was turned upside down when the car rolled over once. He was not buckled up and with his hands cuffed to the grab handle above the door he had absolutely no possibility to hang on to something and so his head and body connected painfully with the roof of the car when he was thrown out of his seat. He felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder when his arms were stretched and twisted in an almost impossible angle and then everything became briefly black when his head was once more rammed against something hard.

Blood was roaring loudly in Danny's ears when he came to only a moment later, drowning out his own harsh breathing and every other sound around him. His whole world was an ocean of pain and he honestly couldn't tell if there was a single part of his body that didn't hurt. Danny felt warm blood running down the left side of his face and he groaned in pain when he licked his lips and laboriously tried to blink open his eyes.

"Christine?"

Danny's attention was drawn to the front of the car when he heard the moaned question and he unconsciously turned his head to see what was going on. A small voice in the back of his mind whispered that he probably shouldn't move too much after such an accident as he had just been in but he was too exhausted to listen to it even if the movement sent an additional spike of pain through his neck and down his spine.

"Christine?" Robert Blake asked again, his voice heavy with grief and denial as he desperately tried to rouse his dead wife. He had obviously made it through the crash much better than Danny, only a small rivulet of blood that was trickling down from a gash on his right temple showed that he had been injured. "No," he whispered, tentatively raising his left hand to stroke a strand of red hair from Christine's pale face.

Bobby's features briefly contorted in pain before he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist, dropping his head to look down at his lap where the fingers of his right hand were still curled around the handle of his gun.

"It's all your fault," he snarled furiously, whirling around without further hesitation and pointing the weapon at Danny' head. His hand trembled visibly and large tears of rage and anguish were running down his face but his eyes sparkled with cold determination as his forefinger flexed around the trigger.

"Wait," Danny whispered, too exhausted and in too much pain to say anything else or to defend himself any further. From the corner of his eyes he saw a movement outside the car and he absently registered his team racing his way, weapons drawn and frantically shouting his name.

'_Too late,'_ he thought with a twinge of regret and Danny's lips briefly curled in a sad little smile just when another shot rang out and all his conscious thoughts ceased to exist.

**(tbc)**

* * *

_Well, I think THAT was a cliffhanger ;-)  
Guess I will just silently crawl back into hiding now...  
_


	14. Chapter 14

_Thank you so much for your support throughout the story. I can't say it often enough, all your reviews, favorites and alerts are the greatest gift a writer can ask for!_

_**JazzieG **and **rewob17** \- thanks again for all your help, I love you both!_

__So, are you ready for the final chapter? Here it is...  
__

* * *

**Chapter 14:**

_3 months later_

Steve pulled the silver Camaro into an empty parking space and shut down the engine, briefly squeezing his eyes shut when the unbidden memories of that horrible day all those weeks ago flashed through his mind.

The last three months without Danny had been hard, harder than Steve would have ever imagined. He had never thought that he would miss his loud-mouthed, annoying and ever ranting partner so much and he could only imagine how the little girl on the back seat must be feeling.

"Hey, how are you doing, kiddo?" he asked with a little nod of his head when he opened his eyes and caught Grace's gaze in the rearview mirror.

"I miss Danno," Grace answered quietly, confirming Steve's presumption, and he immediately turned around in his seat when he heard the sadness in her voice.

"I know, Gracie," Steve said, taking a deep breath to chase away his gloomy thoughts. "Me too," he added after a moment of silence, before he forced a smile onto his face and gently patted Grace's leg. "But I promise everything will be fine, okay?"

He waited until a hesitant little smile finally found its way onto Grace's face and then he said with an encouraging nod toward the entrance of the building, "Come on, let's go in."

Not giving her the chance to answer Steve exited the car and folded the driver's seat forward in one swift move so that Grace was able to hop out. He smiled fondly when the little girl quite naturally slipped her small hand between his fingers and the unequal pair slowly left the Camaro behind, walking down the same way they had taken every single day during the last three months.

Steve couldn't believe how fast everything and everyone seemed to have returned to normalcy. With Christine Blake dead and her husband back behind bars, probably facing the death penalty for all his crimes, the case was closed and two of America's most wanted serial killers were out of the game. They had left many innocent victims behind and not only Five-0 still tried to come to terms with what had happened.

Sighing silently Steve gently squeezed Grace's hand and let her lead the familiar way while his mind wandered back to the dreadful events inside that tunnel on the Interstate H-3.

* * *

"_What the hell are they doing?" Steve asked, raising his eyebrows in confusion when the black Mercedes suddenly jerked forward and started to race toward them with squealing tires. There was obviously some kind of movement inside the car but the overhead lights of the tunnel were reflected in the windshield, making it impossible to see any more details._

_Before any of his teammates were able to answer his rather rhetorical question, all three of them watched in horror how the car suddenly swerved to the right and crashed full force against the wall of the tunnel only to bounce back and turn over with a screeching sound when the metallic roof scratched over the asphalt. The Mercedes landed on its wheels not even four or five seconds later, turning halfway around its own axis and finally came to a complete stop, badly damaged and almost every window shattered to pieces. The engine was still spluttering for another moment before it died down, white steam slowly rising from under the hood._

_Without losing any more time or waiting for the SWAT team, Steve, Chin and Kono jumped out of the Silverado, desperately shouting Danny's name while they raced toward the other car. They knew that they needed to approach with all given caution; after all they were still chasing two very dangerous serial killers who seemed to be game for anything, caring only for their own well-being._

_Their weapons at the ready they slowed down their pace a little bit the nearer they came to the Mercedes, splitting up at Steve's wordless gestures so that they approached the car from three different directions._

"_Danny?" Steve tried a few more times but he immediately stopped shouting when he heard the distant murmur of a male voice coming out of the car. Narrowing his eyes he cautiously stepped forward until he was finally able to see what was going on._

_His partner was half lying and half sitting on the back seat, his arms forced above his head and for an incredibly long and scary moment Steve wasn't sure if Danny was dead or alive but then the blond man started to move and slowly turned his head. Steve breathed out a sigh of relief that immediately caught in his throat when he got a better look at his friend and he gritted his teeth in barely restrained anger. If he hadn't known that this was Danny, he honestly would have had trouble recognizing the other man; blood from a few fresh lacerations was running down the left side of Danny's face and caking some of his hair, his lip and his right eye were swollen, mutilating his face almost beyond recognition._

_Steve only needed the blink of an eye to take in the scene in front of him and he forced himself to avert his eyes from his partner and shift his gaze to the man in the passenger's seat. Chin and Kono were approaching the car from the other side so he knew he didn't have to take care of the driver, concentrating solely on Robert Blake. Completely oblivious to the events around him the man was slowly moving, probably talking to the other people in the car as he uttered more words that Steve couldn't understand. Bobby remained motionless for a moment but then he started to move again, raising his right arm before he turned around in his seat and Steve could see the metallic glint of a weapon in his hand._

"_Five-0, drop your weapon," McGarrett shouted a warning and with only a millisecond of time to react he dashed forward. Leaving nothing to chance he took aim to the best of his abilities from his less than perfect position and fired a shot, smiling in grim satisfaction when the bullet had obviously found its target and the weapon dropped from Bobby's limp fingers._

"_All clear, Boss, we have it," Kono said loudly, her strained voice cutting sharply through the stunned silence that followed Steve's shot. "Go, look after Danny."_

_Trusting his teammates to have everything under control Steve didn't hesitate and stowed away his weapon, frowning impatiently when he tried to open the right back door. The body of the car was badly damaged by the crash but with some trouble he finally managed to yank open the door before he slowly crawled in to take care of his partner._

_Taking in Danny's battered and bloodied form, Steve froze for a moment, not sure where he should touch his partner because every single part of Danny's body seemed to be covered in blood or bruises. Swallowing heavily he finally raised his right hand and carefully pressed his fingers against Danny's neck, briefly closing his eyes and allowing himself to breathe out a sigh of relief._

"_Danny? Can you hear me?" Steve asked hoarsely, placing one hand lightly on Danny's chest while he tried to think of a way to get his friend out of the car without inflicting any more damage. He smiled grimly when Danny's forehead started to crinkle and his eyelids fluttered slightly, barely noticeable in the dim light of the tunnel._

"_That's it, buddy," Steve encouraged him, not caring about all the blood as he gently cupped Danny's face with his free hand. "Can you open your eyes? Danny?"_

_His right eye still swollen completely shut, Danny finally managed with big effort to open the left one and hesitantly focused on Steve's face; grimacing in pain when he tried to take a deep breath, he licked his dry lips before he started to talk. "Steve?" he rasped, blinking a few times, not sure if what he was seeing was real._

_That one word was badly slurred, barely audible despite the oppressive silence around them, but nevertheless it was one of the most beautiful things Steve had heard in a long time and he humorlessly laughed out in relief. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here, Danny," Steve replied quietly, listening with half an ear to Chin's and Kono's hushed voices. It seemed like Christine Blake had been dead long before the team arrived while her husband had obviously somehow survived Steve's shot. Robert was groaning in pain when Chin manhandled him out of the car, protesting weakly against Chin's attempt to arrest him but the Asian man left nothing to chance, handcuffing his captive and leaning him against the front bumper of the car while he read him his rights._

"_Danny, I'm getting you out of here, okay," McGarrett said, turning his attention back to his partner. "Hey, no sleeping, try to stay awake," he added quickly when he noticed that Danny's eyes were closed again, gently patting the other man's cheek to bring him back to awareness. "Can you do that for me? Danny, can you hear me?"_

"_I'm not deaf," Danny murmured in response, laboriously blinking his left eye open to glare half-heartedly at his friend. Danny's lips held a slight tinge of blue, his breathing was fast and shallow and Steve could see beads of sweat forming on Danny's forehead; he didn't have to be a doctor to know that his partner's life was hanging by a thread._

_Worriedly gritting his teeth, Steve turned his head to exchange a look with his youngest teammate. Kono was staring back at him through one of the shattered front side windows, her dark eyes mirroring his own fear and concern. "Kono, we need an ambulance here, now," Steve said very quietly, the tone of his voice telling her everything she needed to know about the seriousness of the situation and with one sharp nod of her head she wordlessly disappeared from his sight._

"_Alright Danny, I'm getting you out of here, okay?" Steve softly explained his next steps while he rummaged through his pockets in search of his keys. "Try not to move too much, let me do the work. Just lie back and relax," he added in a desperate attempt to coax any reaction from the injured man._

"_Can do that," Danny panted, sluggishly blinking as he tried to follow Steve's movements. "Finally… open those… damned handcuffs," he begged, suddenly highly aware of the cold metal cutting into his wrists._

"_I'm on it, you're gonna be free in a minute," Steve promised, worriedly pressing his lips together as he took a first real look at Danny's arms and shoulders._

"_You have… aneurysm… face," Danny stated when he saw the display of emotions on his friend's face. "Why?" he added, much too exhausted to utter a whole sentence._

"_I think your right shoulder is dislocated," the dark-haired man replied honestly, right now not in the mood to comment on Danny's passion for naming his faces. "This is probably going to hurt," he said sympathetically, locking eyes with his partner as he showed him the key for the handcuffs._

"_Can't be… worse… than… right now," Danny giggled breathlessly, crunching up his face when a new wave of pain rolled over him. "Just… get me… out of here. Please."_

_Steve had absolutely no idea how they did it, but with a lot of effort and Chin's and Kono's help he finally managed to heave Danny out of the car. The four teammates just stood there silently for a moment, Danny heavily leaning onto his friends, breathing heavily and barely able to keep on his feet. His whole body was trembling and if possible his face was even paler than before, blood constantly seeping from a nasty gash on his left temple. Every laborious breath he was taking ended in a pained groan and before he knew what happened his knees buckled and he would have dropped down if not for Chin's and Steve's strong arms that kept him upright._

"_Easy, Danny," Steve said gently as they slowly guided him down onto the asphalt, his eyes wide-open in horror about his friend's obvious stress and his own inability to provide help. "Can you tell me what hurts?" he asked, trying to get back some control over the situation._

"_Everything," Danny whispered, barely feeling how he was completely lowered to the ground or how Kono quickly stuffed her jacket underneath his head to provide at least a tiny bit of comfort. "Back… chest… can't breathe," he wheezed, trying to fight back the cough that was tickling in his throat._

"_Hey, come on buddy, don't do this to me," Steve begged frantically when he saw Danny's body spasm, blood slowly trickling from his lips after a faint bout of coughing. "Danny, can you hear me? Help is on the way, okay? Everything's gonna be alright, do you hear me?" he asked loudly, desperately squeezing his friend's uninjured shoulder but despite all his efforts Danny's eyelids fluttered closed and he went limp underneath Steve's touch._

_Danny breathed out a faint sigh, his blue tinged lips slightly parted, and then, from one moment to the next, the strained up and down of his chest simply stopped._

* * *

Steve still remembered clearly how Danny had collapsed in his arms, his partner's dead weight and the terrible moment when he had stopped breathing. The agonizingly long minutes of CPR until the paramedics had finally arrived, then the seemingly endless drive to the hospital and all the waiting and praying and hoping. First in the waiting area in front of the emergency room, then the never-ending hours outside the operating room, and afterwards the countless days in the ICU, until Danny's prognosis had finally been confirmed.

"Hey, Steve."

McGarrett turned around when he heard his name, Sergeant Lukela's voice unexpectedly pulling him out of his musings. Nodding a silent greeting he curiously furrowed his brow at the expression on the older man's face.

"Duke, what's wrong?" Steve asked, a gentle smile creeping across his face when he watched how the other man laboriously crouched down to talk to Grace first instead of answering Steve's question directly. Duke Lukela had come here often in the last few weeks and every time they had met he had taken the time to chat with Grace, never seeming to be in a hurry. There had also been sporadic visits from other cops, some of Danny's former colleagues who had obviously changed their mind about the Governor's task force, and Steve had been pleased to learn that the animosities between HPD and Five-0 slowly seemed to settle. And he had even been more pleased by the fact that the two officers who had shot at the Camaro had not only been put on administrative leave for an indefinite period of time but that they also would probably have to face criminal charges for their actions.

"I need to speak to your Uncle Steve for a moment, Keiki," Duke said, fatherly stroking Grace's hair before he handed her a few coins and nodded toward a large vending machine at the other side of the entrance hall. "Would you mind getting me some jelly beans? I love them, you know," he whispered as he gave her a conspiratorial wink. "You can keep the rest of the money and get whatever you want, okay?"

"Of course, Sergeant Lukela, thank you," Grace answered politely, her brown eyes glistening as she eagerly looked up at her adopted uncle to wait for his approval before she dashed across the room, coming to a slithering halt in front of the vending machine and pensively eyeing its contents.

"She's a good girl," Duke said when he looked after the dark-haired girl, sighing softly as he stood up and turned his attention to Steve. "How's she doing?"

"She misses her father," Steve answered honestly, slightly shrugging his shoulders as he tried to come up with a better answer.

"We all do," the older man replied sympathetically; Duke had always liked Danny, his honesty, his professionalism and his unwavering sense of justice, from the moment over a year ago when the loud-mouthed Jersey cop had walked into his precinct for the first time.

Smiling gratefully when he heard Duke's words, Steve had to swallow past the lump in his throat before he locked eyes with the Sergeant. "So, what's up?" he asked, knowing that there had to be a reason why Grace had been sent away.

"Robert Blake is dead," Duke answered tersely, nodding sharply when he saw the surprised look on Steve's face.

"Dead? How?" McGarrett wanted to know, already feeling how a huge weight seemed to be taken from his mind.

"He killed himself. Cut his throat with a sharpened spoon." Lukela grinned grimly as he explained what had happened. "I guess he wanted to die the same way his wife did," he added with a snort of disbelief.

"Well, that's no big loss…" Steve said, his voice trailing off as he ran his right hand across his mouth and chin and took a deep breath. He had the feeling that he was finally able to breathe freely for the first time in a long while and he hesitantly started to smile. "Thanks for telling me, Duke," he added after another deep breath, stretching out his right arm to shake hands with the older man. "That's good news."

"You're welcome," Duke replied as he grabbed the offered hand just when Grace returned to join the two men. A gentle smile colored his weathered face as he once more stroked the little girl's hair and silently accepted the small bag she handed him, immediately popping a few of the multicolored jelly beans into his mouth. His smile brightened when he noticed that Grace had also bought a bag of jelly beans for herself, now mirroring his actions and testing a variation of colors and tastes.

"Mahalo," Steve repeated sincerely, hoping that the older man knew that he was thanking him not only for the information he had brought but also for his unlimited support over the last few weeks and for everything he had done for Five-0 in the past.

Duke nodded silently as he placed his hand on Steve's shoulder and gave him an encouraging squeeze. "I have to go," he said, offering Steve a final smile before he turned around and slowly headed toward the exit. "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything, whatever it is, okay?"

"Hey Duke, wait," McGarrett called after him, placing an arm around Grace's slender shoulders and gently pressing her against his thigh when he saw her nervous anticipation. He was much more relaxed than before the short conversation with Duke and he felt how a tentative smile crept across his lips, but nevertheless he was also bursting to finally see his partner and maybe even take him home today. "Does Danny know?" he asked, jerking his head toward the elevators that would bring them to his friend's hospital room.

"I wanted him to be the first to hear it," Duke nodded with a bright grin. "I think he's in a good mood today," he added with a knowing wink and without another word he turned around and left the hospital.

Steve looked after him for a long moment, asking himself what the older man had meant with his last statement, until he felt Grace hesitantly tug at his sleeve. "Alright Gracie, are you ready to go?" he asked before the little girl was able to say something, shoving her gently in the direction of the elevators. She answered him with such a bright smile and such an eager nod of her head that he had to suppress a good-humored snort when he saw her dark brown pigtails bobbing up and down. "Then let's go, Danno's waiting," he added as they stepped into the elevator, letting her press the button to the third floor.

Feeling the nervous energy that radiated from every fiber of her little body, Steve wordlessly stretched out his right hand, smiling gently at his adopted niece when she immediately placed her smaller hand into his. It was no wonder that she was nervous and Steve also felt the knot in his stomach tightening again the nearer they got to their goal; because today they would learn if Danny's injuries had healed enough so that he finally could be released.

Danny had worked very hard during the last few weeks to overcome his severe injuries and regain his physical strength. The two gunshot wounds in his upper right arm and lower left leg had luckily been minor, a graze and a clean through-and-through which had been cleaned and stitched and soon been forgotten. In comparison to all the other injuries the dislocated right shoulder was another minor detail, very painful but far from life-threatening and also checked off with a few days of rest and physical therapy. The first few days after the accident, with all the bruises, cuts and lacerations on his face and arms, Danny had looked like something that had directly arisen from a horror movie until the colors had slowly faded from black over blue and green to yellow and finally had disappeared completely, leaving only a few little scars where the cuts had been especially deep.

But it had been all his other injuries that had been a lot worse and that had almost cost Danny his life. After he had stopped breathing on scene, it had only been his team's fast reflexes and determined actions that had kept him alive until the paramedics had arrived and the doctors at the hospital had not even dared to voice his slim odds of survival. With a concussion, a severe whiplash, two broken ribs and one cracked vertebra combined with internal injuries like a contused lung and a ruptured spleen it was a mere wonder that Danny had even survived the first twenty-four hours after the emergency surgery, let alone fighting back his way into a normal life so fast.

It had been a rocky road and at the beginning Danny hadn't allowed anyone to see his tears of fear and frustration, always putting on a strong face for his friends and especially for his daughter. But then, one evening after a day of especially painful and frustrating setbacks, Steve had unexpectedly dropped by for a late night visit and had caught his partner off-guard, almost shrinking back from the raw emotions on Danny's face.

The two partners had had a long, serious talk and after a lot of ranting and cursing from Danny's side and a few quickly wiped-away tears from both of them, Danny had dropped his stubborn posture and hesitantly accepted his friends' support. Steve had finally convinced him that he didn't need to do everything alone and that his Ohana were more than willing to help; they all knew that Danny would always fight to come back to them, no matter what, and especially now that the visitation rights for Grace had changed to his favor. But he needed to realize that it was also okay to show some weakness now and then.

Barely able to fight back some more tears of frustration, Danny had finally admitted to Steve how much he was struggling and from that day on he had heavily relied on his friends and more than once Steve had been there to catch and encourage him. This new attitude had not only sped up Danny's recovery immensely but with every passing day the friendship between the two men had intensified until they felt almost like brothers.

"Uncle Steve?" Grace's quiet voice reached McGarrett's ears and he reflexively curled his fingers around her smaller hand while he slightly shook his head to force his thoughts back to the here and now. "Do you think that Danno is really allowed to go home today?" The little girl nibbled on her lower lip in nervous expectation as she shyly looked up at Steve, her free hand unconsciously strangling the half-empty bag of jelly beans.

The elevator door opened with a low hiss and Steve guided Grace outside, turning to the right like so many times before. "We'll know in a minute," he answered with a reassuring smile and another gentle squeeze of her hand, stopping for a brief moment in front of his friend's hospital room. Heaving a deep sigh Steve softly knocked before he pushed the door wide open without waiting for an answer.

A bright smile instantly appeared on his face as he took in the scene in front of him with military efficiency and he briefly locked eyes with his partner before he let go of Grace's hand and gently shoved her forward. "I guess he is…" Steve said happily, his words almost drowned out by Grace's shrill shriek of joy.

Danny was leaning against the edge of the bed, fully dressed and obviously waiting for his ride home. He had lost a good amount of weight in the last few weeks and his clothes seemed to be at least one size too big but nevertheless he looked content and well. Opening his arms just in time to catch his daughter, he bent forward to wrap her into a loving embrace, letting her bury her head into the crook of his neck while she hugged him tightly, however mindful of his recently healed injuries.

"Are you really coming home, Danno?" Grace asked over and over again, looking like she never wanted to let go of her Dad.

Steve just stood there in the middle of the room, for the first time in a long while totally relaxed, his arms hanging loosely by his side, as he closely watched his best friend. Danny's eyes were closed, a happy smile colored his still somewhat pale face while he rested his chin on top of Grace's head, obviously completely enjoying the moment. But as if he was feeling Steve's gaze resting on him, Danny opened his eyes and slightly cocked his head, trying to come up with a fitting name for the face Steve was just displaying; for a moment the two men just stared at each other but then Danny slightly shrugged his shoulders and raised his arms a little higher.

"Come here, you goof," he said simply, huffing out a good-humored laugh when his partner eagerly stepped into the hug. "Thanks for everything," Danny whispered after a moment of comfortable silence, squeezing a little harder when Steve replied with a quiet nod of his head.

They stayed liked that for a long moment until Grace finally wiggled out of her father's arms. "Can we go home now, Danno?" she asked impatiently, agitatedly bobbing up and down on her toes, obviously unable to wait any longer to have her father all for herself again.

"Can we go home now?" Danny repeated her question after he had released Steve, quickly clearing his throat and secretly wiping the moisture from his eyes. He reached over and playfully tugged at one of Grace's pigtails, laughing when the girl tried to slap away his hand. "Of course we can go home now, Monkey. In fact, I've been ready for hours; I was just waiting for you to pick me up."

He narrowed his eyes a little bit and turned his head toward Steve, making sure that Grace didn't see the pointed look he gave his partner. "By the way, what took you so long?" he asked still smiling, but the tone of his voice a little more serious than before.

"Oh, we just ran into Duke in the lobby," Steve replied with a slight shrug of his shoulders, quickly shaking his head to reassure his friend when he noticed the alarmed look on Danny's face.

"Don't worry, Danno," Grace chimed in, obviously knowing her father well enough to figure out what he was thinking. "Sergeant Lukela sent me away to get him some jelly beans," she explained, raising her left hand to show him the half-empty bag. "I think he wanted to discuss some grown-up stuff."

"Oh, he did?" Danny asked, his worry forgotten when he lovingly watched his daughter rummaging through the bag until she found a pink bean and put it into her mouth. "So he told you?" he addressed his partner, slightly shaking his head when Grace offered him one of her jelly beans.

"Yes," McGarrett answered simply, knowing that now was not the right time to discuss the topic.

"Good," Danny said equally clipped, flicking his right wrist as if to wave away an annoying fly. He took a deep breath, making the first step to remove Christine and Robert Blake from his thoughts once and for all. "Alright, I'm ready to go. Are you coming?" he exclaimed, gleefully clapping his hands as he made two steps toward the door. He briefly grimaced in disgust when a nurse appeared as if on cue, wheeling a wheelchair into the room and telling him friendly but determinedly about the hospital rules.

"Alright," he repeated with a defeated little sigh, heavily dropping down; if it meant that he was allowed to go home after all this time he would gladly accept the stupid rules, although not without complaining. Waving at his daughter he tried to make the most of the situation, smiling contently when she hopped into his lap without hesitation.

"Usually I would never allow you to wheel my wheelchair, Steven," Danny said, placing his arms around Grace's slender frame to keep her from sliding down. "But I trust you to not do anything crazy with my daughter on board. Please try to drive like a normal human being, just for once, okay?"

"Knowing his style of driving, he'll probably manage to crash the wheelchair on our way to the lobby," Danny whispered into Grace's ear, making sure his words were loud enough for Steve to hear.

"I can hear you, you know?" Steve replied as expected and Danny smiled when he imagined the look on his partner's face.

Grace giggled good-humoredly, snuggling deeper against her Danno's chest as she picked the last pink jelly bean out of the small plastic bag and happily chewing away on it. Half of the time she had absolutely no idea what her father and her uncle were talking about but she always liked the to and fro of their familiar voices and so she just closed her eyes and listened.

"Anyway, it's all your fault…" Danny started as they waited in front of the elevator and Steve just grinned as he listened with half an ear to whatever reasons his friend was bringing up this time. He slightly shook his head when he thought about Danny's ability to blame everything that was happening to him either on Steve, his Ex, the Hawaiian weather or the island itself. But for once he didn't complain, just glad about the fact that his partner was finally back and he even thought that – maybe – he would be able to ignore all the ranting a few days longer.

"Let's just go home, shall we?" McGarrett interrupted him mid-sentence when the doors of the elevator opened and he wheeled the chair inside, purposely ignoring the annoyed frown of Danny's face when the other man turned around and glared at him.

They silently looked at each other for a moment but then the frown disappeared from Danny's forehead and he placed a tender kiss on top of Grace's head before he gave Steve a bright, shit-eating grin.

"Yeah, let's go home."

**THE END**

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_Merry Christmas and all the best for 2015 - hope to see you all next year :-)_


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Hawaii Five-0, Friendship, Hurt-Comfort