Chapter Text
The four members of 5-0 were on their way to the house of a suspect, who had allegedly tried to fill in the gap left in the arms trade when Shane Warner had disappeared. Despite months of searching and false leads the team had been unable to locate Warner and Danny had given up living his life wondering when the man was going to reappear and try, once again, to finish him off.
The man they were about to visit had been low down in Warner’s gang of dealers but had somehow managed to escape their raid on Warner’s warehouse and then stay below the radar until recently. There was a slim hope that the man might also have an idea where his old boss had vanished to.
“Kono, Chin, go round the back,” Steve instructed as they met up just down the road from their suspect’s house, “Danny and I’ll take the front.”
Nodding, the cousins disappeared behind the row of single storey houses and radioed their teammates once they were in place. Steve led the way towards the house and Danny fell into step just to the side of him and slightly behind. The detective would never know if that was why he was the only one to regain consciousness quickly after the house they were approaching exploded.
-5-0-
Danny hadn’t been out more than a few seconds and that was probably more from the shock of the impact of his body hitting the ground. It took a few more seconds for him to register what had happened; when he did he quickly pulled out his cell and called for backup, ambulances and fire department. Once that was done he crawled to Steve’s side and checked his brother’s pulse, holding his breath as he did. He let it out with a whoosh as he felt the strong beat beneath his fingers. Steve had a gash on his forehead but nothing worse. Trying the radio Danny called for Chin and Kono but got no response. He cursed before turning back to Steve, he didn’t want to leave him lying there, vulnerable, but the cousins could be badly hurt.
Staggering to his less than steady feet he glanced one last time at Steve before going round to the back of the house, giving the building, which was burning hot, a wide berth. As he rounded the corner he saw both Kono and Chin lying prone on the ground and not moving. His heart shifted from his chest into his throat as he forced his wobbly legs to move faster. Dropping between them he pressed his fingers to their necks searching for a sign that they were both still with him. Another whoosh of air escaped at the relief of feeling both of their hearts still beating strong.
Having established they were alive he started to look for injuries. Kono had a piece of debris embedded in her upper left arm but it didn’t look too bad, though if she was conscious he was sure it would be painful. Chin was lying on his front and the back of his hair was shiny with blood. Danny quickly parted the hair and saw the cut that was causing the bleeding, it wasn’t deep and it just followed the standard rule that head wounds bleed like a bitch.
Resting back on his haunches Danny breathed a sigh of relief. Yes, this visit to a suspect’s house had gone to hell in a hand basket and they’d need to figure out the how and why, but his ohana were alive and, although injured, would be fine with a little bit of care which he would be happy to provide.
The detective could hear the faint sound of sirens in the distance and knew he needed to get back to the front of the house so he could direct the EMTs to his friends. Pushing to his feet he started to make his way passed the still burning house, the smoke making his eyes water. Perhaps that’s why he didn’t see the man as he came up behind him, in fact he had no clue there was anyone else there until a hand came round and a cloth was pressed over his mouth. Danny fought for all he was worth, knowing that the cloth had chloroform on it from the smell. He held his breath as he struggled but a well-placed elbow to his side caused an involuntary intake of air and before he could do anything else he was out cold and under the cover of the chaos, smoke and flames Detective Danny Williams vanished.
-5-0-
Officers Kai Kealoha and Ani Kale were first to arrive on the scene. They exchanged concerned glances when there was no sign of Danny but hurried to the side of the prone form lying in front of the house. Steve was just starting to come round, groaning as he did.
“Ani, stay here with Steve, I’m going to check round the back,” Kai instructed his partner before disappearing, hoping that perhaps Danny was round there as well.
Kai was disappointed to see only Chin and Kono. The older detective was sitting up with his hand on the back of his head, with the other resting on his cousin’s shoulder trying to keep her from moving.
“EMTs are on the way,” Kai informed them as he helped Kono sit up, seeing that there was no way she would stay down.
“Where are Steve and Danny?” asked Chin.
“Steve’s out the front, he has a gash on his forehead but looked fine apart from that. He was just coming round as we arrived, Ani’s with him.”
“Danny?” prompted Kono as she realised that Kai was trying to avoid answering.
“He’s not here, but he called for backup so I’m sure he’s around somewhere.”
The EMT’s arrived; once again it was Jake and Andy. They quickly assessed their patients and then gathered the three at the front of the still burning house, which the fire department were now trying to deal with.
“Alright, Steve you’re lucky. No concussion and the cut doesn’t need stitching,” said Jake as he put a few butterfly strips over the wound.
“Chin you have a mild concussion and will need to have a few stitches,” advised Andy, “Kono you’ll need to come to the hospital and get that piece of wood removed and stitches as well.”
Steve was relieved that his two team members hadn’t been badly injured but he was worried about Danny. He’d been calling him on the radio for the last ten minutes but there had been no response. Kai had arranged a search of the nearby area in case Danny had actually been hurt and collapsed somewhere.
Chin and Kono protested going to the hospital, but Steve ordered them into the ambulance and told them he’d let them know when he had news on Danny, so they reluctantly climbed in with Jake.
Steve stood and surveyed the area looking for any signs of his partner. Kai had already told him that nothing had been found nearby but there was something bothering the SEAL about this whole situation, other than the fact that his partner was MIA.
“Steve, I found something,” Kai stood next to the man he had come to respect and admire.
“What?” asked Steve, a little distracted.
“This,” Kai held up a cloth that he’d slipped into an evidence bag and a cell in another, “The cloths got chloroform on it and its Danny’s cell.”
“Get it to the lab. Tell them to test for any DNA and fingerprints. Put out a BOLO on Danny.”
“You got it,” Kai turned away and quickly spoke to Ani. She jumped into their unit and drove away with the evidence, lights and sirens sounding. Technically this wasn’t an emergency but time was of the essence. They didn’t have any proof that the chloroform soaked cloth was linked to Danny’s vanishing act, but none of them believed in coincidences. Kai issued the BOLO hoping that they’d get a hit quickly.
Once the scene had been cleared and no further signs of Danny had been found, Steve got into the Camaro and headed for Queens. He needed to see how Chin and Kono were doing and then he could concentrate on finding his brother.
-5-0-
Danny woke up with a headache that rivalled any hangover that he’d ever had. Groaning and keeping his eyes closed so as not to incur more pain from any light, he tried to lift his hands to his head in the hope he could massage the pain away, that’s when he discovered that he couldn’t move.
‘What the hell?’ he thought as he tried desperately to move his hands and legs he realised it wasn’t possible, opening his eyes he found he couldn’t see anything either. Moving his head to see if he could find even a sliver of light, he felt material moving and that’s when it dawned on him he was blindfolded.
“Detective Williams, as much as it amuses me to watch you struggle against your bonds, I really must insist that you stop before you hurt yourself,” a deep voice nearby stated.
“Seriously? I’m strapped down and you’re worried about me hurting myself?!” Danny asked incredulously, “’Cos I would think if you were worried about that you wouldn’t have me strapped down in the first place, in fact I wouldn’t be here with you at all!” The moment the voice had sounded Danny recalled the hand coming round and using chloroform to knock him out. At least that explained the headache.
“Of course I’m worried; I don’t get paid if the merchandise should arrive damaged.”
“Merchandise?!” spluttered Danny, “I am not merchandise I am a Detective with the Governor’s taskforce and a human being!”
“That may be but you’re also worth quite a bit of money. Now you’re just going to feel a sharp scratch and the next time you wake up you’ll be with the person who has wanted to get their hands on you for some time.”
“What…?” Danny couldn’t finish the sentence as the sharp scratch of a needle piercing his skin was followed by the overwhelming desire to sleep.
“Let’s get him loaded,” instructed the man.
Danny was untied, the blindfold removed, and the doors to the unmarked van opened, revealing a parking lot at a marina. He was then lifted into a wheelchair, a blanket thrown over his lap as one of the men pushed the chair along the jetty to one of the yachts moored there. The chair easily made it up the smooth gangplank and then once out of sight of any potential onlookers, Danny was hoisted over the man’s shoulder and carried into one of the staterooms and unceremoniously dumped on the bed there and his hands and feet were tied once again.
-5-0-
Steve arrived at Queens to be greeted by Doctor Jensen who quickly showed him through to a room where both Chin and Kono were being seen.
“Chin has a mild concussion and I’ve stitched up the wound on the back of his head. Kono had a piece of wood embedded in her arm, which I’ve removed. The wound has been cleaned and stitched. Both of them should rest for the next twenty four hours,” Henry told Steve as he walked him through the ER.
“Danny’s missing; I don’t think they’re going to want to rest Henry.”
“Missing?”
“Yeah, we all went to a suspect’s house, the house blew up and when we came round, Danny was gone. HPD found a cloth with chloroform on it.”
“Damn. I’m sorry Steve.”
“Any news Boss?” asked Kono the moment he entered the room.
“No. Henry says you two need to rest for twenty four hours.”
“That’s not gonna happen brah!”
“No way!”
Steve looked at Henry and shrugged. He wanted what was best for all his team but he knew that he would still want to help in the search for their lost team mate even if a doctor told him to rest.
“Alright, fine, but you have to promise that if you experience any dizziness or problems with your vision or nausea you’ll come back in Chin. Kono, if you start running a temperature you need to come back and don’t do anything that will pull those stitches,” Henry knew this team and there was no point arguing with them. The two injured members of 5-0 agreed and then signed themselves out.
“We’ll go back to the Palace…” Steve was interrupted by his cell ringing, “McGarrett.”
“Steve, we’ve had a hit on the BOLO,” Kai’s voice told him.
“What? Where?”
“La Mariana Sailing Club, about an hour ago. Ani and I are near there and we’ll go and speak to the witness.”
“OK, we’re on our way,” Steve closed his cell and hurried in the direction of the Camaro, Kono and Chin following him, he filled them in as they went.
They arrived at the marina within five minutes, half the time that it should have taken but with Steve driving and Danny missing nobody was surprised.
“What have you got Kai?” he asked as he got out of the Camaro and saw the police officer approaching.
“One of the security guards that patrols the parking lot saw some men pull in driving that black van,” he pointed, “He didn’t think much of it and carried on but when he glanced back he noticed that they had just put a man in a wheelchair and were pushing him towards one of the moored yachts.”
“How does he know it was Danny?”
“He wasn’t particularly close but did say that the man in the chair was blonde however, what really caught his attention was the dress shirt and tie.”
“I never thought I’d be grateful that Danny still wears his tie occasionally! Did he see which yacht they took him to?” Chin asked.
“Yes, she was called Moana ‘Anela. She set sail not long afterwards. I’ve already contacted the Coastguard and CSU.”
“Good work Kai, thanks.”
“Do you think they’re taking him to one of the other islands?” Kono asked Steve as they walked back to the Camaro, there was nothing else they could do at the marina.
“No, it doesn’t feel right,” Steve’s instincts were telling him that they were perhaps supposed to believe that Danny had been taken somewhere other than Oahu, so that they’d waste time searching other islands for him.
Getting behind the wheel he pulled out his cell and made a call to the one person he knew that might be able to help him find the Moana ‘Anela somewhere in the Pacific ocean. Putting the cell on speaker he quickly pulled out of the parking lot and headed back to the Palace.
“I hope you’re calling to arrange for that dinner you owe me McGarrett!”
“Cath, Danny’s missing, I need your help.”
Immediately Catherine Rollins demeanour changed, she could hear the edge to Steve’s voice, “What do you need?”
“A yacht called Moana ‘Anela left the La Mariana Sailing Club pier about ninety minutes ago, can you pull up satellite imaging from that time and track it for me?”
“Absolutely,” she didn’t care if it could potentially get her court martialled. She had met Danny and she couldn’t help but love the guy, not in the same way she loved Steve but the New Jersey man just somehow managed to find his way into her heart. Maybe it was because of what he did for Steve. The detective had managed to pull the SEAL out of his vendetta with Wo Fat long enough to give him a family, something he desperately needed, even if he would never admit it. “I’ll send anything I find to your email.”
“Thanks Cath.”
“You’ll find him Steve,” she replied with all the confidence she could muster. She couldn’t be there to support her man right now and she was finding that hard, “Call me if you need anything else and definitely call me when you find him!”
“I will, bye Cath,” he hung up allowing himself a small smile at the concern he had heard in her voice. He knew it wasn’t just for him but for the man that had managed to get under all their skins since Steve had returned to Oahu.
-5-0-
Danny was transferred from the yacht to another boat in the middle of the ocean far away from prying eyes. He didn’t even realise, as he was still in a sedated sleep. Cash exchanged hands and the yacht headed for the horizon in the direction of one of the other islands. The other slightly smaller boat went in a different direction, back towards Oahu.
The men on board brought the boat into a tiny private cove on the North Shore and removed their captive and placed him in the back of a four by four. Two of the men climbed in the front and drove off; the other two returned to the boat and sailed back out into the ocean.
Danny came round to find himself no longer wearing a blindfold but now tied to a chair. There were a few new things about his current situation, the location being one; the second was that he was dressed in nothing but his boxers. The temperature outside might be in the seventies but in this room it was chilly. The room was brick, with no windows and a concrete floor which was cold underneath his bare feet, there was a metal door which he was facing.
Sounds came from outside the door and just a few moments later it swung open revealing the bane of his life.
“Warner!”
“Ah, Detective Williams, so good to know that you remember me!”
“How did you get back on to the island without 5-0 finding out?”
“Well Danny, I can call you Danny right,” the smile he gave was feral, “I can’t reveal such secrets under normal circumstances, but since you’re not going to survive this little encounter I suppose I could take pity on you. I paid the right people the right amount of money and they smuggled me on to Oahu and set me up in this wonderful remote location. Simple really.”
“There is nowhere on Oahu that is safe for you right now, you know that right? McGarrett will come after your sorry ass and then I’ll take great pleasure in watching as he dumps you in the ocean with the sharks!”
“As far as Commander McGarrett is concerned you left the island on a yacht. He won’t even know you’re still on Oahu.”
“You underestimate him, my team and me!”
“I don’t think I’ve underestimated you, but I have a few ways to put that theory to the test.”
Danny really didn’t like the sound of that, the glee in his voice combined with the manic look on his face all spelled pain as far as the detective was concerned but he couldn’t and wouldn’t let the other man see any fear, “Bring it on!”
Shane clicked his fingers and one of the men walked over behind Danny cutting the ropes around his wrists and ankles, the moment he was free he did the only thing he could and fought back. Unfortunately the combination of the chloroform and sedative made him less than stable on his feet and it didn’t take the man long to bring him under control.
“Oh Danny, such a futile waste of effort my friend.”
“I’m no friend of yours!” panted Danny.
“That we can agree on! Bring him!” instructed Shane to the man who had Danny’s arms pinned, “If he struggles further then feel free to subdue him!”
It wasn’t in Danny’s nature to just roll over and let someone do what they wanted with him, so naturally he struggled; the result was the butt of a gun to his temple which left him out cold with a gash that had blood running down his face. The man picked him up and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and there wasn’t a thing Danny could do about it.
The next time he returned to consciousness he found his arms stretched above his head and held in metal restraints that hung on a chain from the ceiling. The pain already in his wrists and shoulders was enough to cause him to try to find his feet, despite the headache and nausea he was now suffering following the blow to his temple. Danny discovered that he couldn’t put his feet flat on the floor, the best he could manage was standing on the balls of his feet but that did at least help to alleviate some of the strain on his wrists.
The room that he was in was different, there were steel beams running overhead, which was what the chain he was hanging from was attached to. The walls were still brick and the floor concrete. Using his feet he turned slightly so he could see what was behind him, another solid looking metal door, which he was sure even if he could get out of his chains, was probably locked, but what really caught his eye was a small table to the left of the door. There wasn’t much on it, a car battery and a couple of other items that he’d never seen before. Next to the table was a bucket which sat directly under a tap that came out of the wall. Danny had a feeling that at some point in the future he was going to be getting wet.
Footsteps sounded outside and the heavy metal door swung open to reveal Shane Warner with two of his heavies. Danny didn’t like the look on any of their faces.
“Oh good you’re awake. You must forgive Darren,” he indicated the tall thick set African American to his right, “But he does take pleasure in his job. I see you’ve been looking at our table.”
“Well the room lacks anything else to look at,” Danny rolled his eyes but no longer able to maintain his position facing the door, he allowed his body to turn back the way he was facing when he first woke up.
“I don’t think that will be of much concern to you shortly,” there was a definite note of glee in the tone, “Let me tell you about the car battery. You see I have this new toy to try out, it’s called a picana. Do you know what that is Danny?”
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard of it,” replied Danny. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to know what it was either.
“I guess you would compare it to a cattle prod…”
‘Yup, definitely could have gone my whole life without knowing about a picana then!’
“It connects up to the car battery and there’s a control connected that can raise or reduce the voltage. The wonderful thing about this little device is that it delivers a high voltage but low current electrical shock. Basically it hurts but won’t kill you. Shall we demonstrate?”
“No, that’s OK thanks.”
“It really was a rhetorical question,” Shane told his captive, “Darren…”
Danny couldn’t see what was going on but he could hear the noises of something being taken from the table. He couldn’t decide if it was better to see them as they approached or not. At least if he could see it then he might be able to prepare himself a little… A yell was pulled from him involuntarily as the device touched his back, his eyes automatically slamming shut.
There was the sound of movement and when Danny opened his eyes Warner was standing in front of him. The man’s eyes were full of malice and he wore the most evil grin that Danny thought he’d ever seen as he slowly moved the picana towards the detective’s abdomen. He forced his eyes to remain open, staring at Warner and bit his bottom lip to stop the yell that wanted to escape as the torture device touched his skin again. There was no way he was going to give his tormentor the satisfaction of hearing him shout.
Warner wasn’t too thrilled that his nemesis wasn’t cooperating, so he touched the picana all over Danny’s torso half a dozen times in quick succession, barely giving the man time to breathe in between. Still he didn’t cry out.
“Water,” barked Warner to his men.
Danny heard the water running and then the movement as it was carried over to where he was chained. He held his breath knowing what was coming; he wasn’t disappointed. A full bucket of ice cold water was dumped over his head, causing him to gasp at the chill.
“Just a little something to make it more uncomfortable for you.”
“Fuck you!” snarled Danny.
Warner growled and proceeded to touch the picana all over Danny’s body. His body jerked with each shock but he refused to cry out, drawing blood as he bit down on his bottom lip to prevent it.
“That was only the start,” Warner advised Danny as he handed the picana back to Darren, “Your team won’t be able to find you, so I can keep this up as long as I see fit and then I will kill you and I promise it will be a slow painful death.”
“They will… find me,” Danny said breathlessly, “Then they’ll… kill… you!”
“How refreshing to see a member of law enforcement have such trust in his colleagues,” Warner responded sarcastically, “They won’t find you. They’re going to think that you’ve been taken off Oahu and they won’t know where to. They’ll waste precious hours searching the other islands.”
If Warner thought he was going to convince Danny that the team wouldn’t find him then he was sadly mistaken. The only question in Danny’s mind was if they’d find him in time.
“They’ll find you… and kill you!”
“Well as much as I’ve enjoyed this little chat, it’s time for dinner. I’ll leave you to, er, rest but I will be back later to continue our session.”
The sound of the door closing meant that finally Danny could drop the façade. His whole body felt like it was on fire where the picana had touched. The torture session had left him in pain and tired but there would be no rest for him given he was still strung up. If it was dinner time then he’d already been missing all day and it would be getting dark soon or it was already dark, with no windows he couldn’t be sure. They couldn’t search for him in the dark.
‘Come on Super SEAL I know you can find me.’