5-0

Chapter 8

After a shootout with the assassin Erica Reins that lead to her getting hit and killed by a bus. It was time for us to assist Nick Taylor and his team in the escort. We had not quite solved the murder so we had to be careful. We would not allow General Pak to die on our hands. We line up behind our black SUV, as the General's plane opens up and General Pak alongside his wife and son walk off the plane. My mind keeps going back to Nae Shan and his family. How can we call ourselves cops when we have to protect men like him. I can only hope that we get this over with as soon as possible.
Danny shoots him a glare as we watch from afar, "Let me ask you a question: what kind of animal brings his wife and kid to a place where he knows people are trying to kill him?"
Chin lets out a sigh, "The kind that loves a good photo op."
"He wants people to see him as a father and a husband, not a mass murderer," I tell them as the General's small family walk closer to us.
Kono walks up, getting Steve's attention, "Did you get anything off the assassins phone?"
She shakes her head, "No. HPD's scrubbing it now."
"Alright, look sharp," Steve states sternly before moving to open the door, letting General Pak and his family into our SUV.
Chin and Kono head to their own car and Danny climbs in to sit in the back with General Pak's son and wife. I get in afterwards, sitting next to the monster himself. Not long after Steve sits down in the passenger seat, we take off headed in the direction of the Summit.
The car is filled with dead silence as the nerves grow higher than ever. General Pak and family's safety rests on our shoulders and I'd preferr to not lose my job to something like this.
Steve's phone rings, breaking the silence of the car and all eyes are on him as he answers it with a curt hello.
"Taylor?" I hear him ask, his voice filled with shock. He hangs up his phone and turns to the driver, "Take the next right!"
It takes me no longer than a second to realize what is happening. Nick Taylor and his team are out to assassinate the General. The feeling I had in my gut when we first met him was right. The driver does not comply with Steve and pulls out his gun, aiming it at Steve. The two of them begin fighting over the gun and the vehicle begins swerving all over the road.
"Steve!"
I turn over to the General and his family, "Get down!"
A gunshot goes off, followed by the screams of the General's wife. I turn back to see that she had been shot in the shoulder. I breathe a sigh of relief as she is not dead, but we are not nearly out of the woods yet. The vehicle in front of us blows up in a firey cloud of smoke. The driver of our vehicle loses complete control and we go slamming into a fence. My head slams roughly against the window and I feel the trickle of blood fall down my temple.
Nick Taylor and his men hop out of the SUV behind us and Steve and I are quick to follow, our guns drawn in an instant. Gunshots fly back and forth as Stven and I move quickly over to Chin and Kono's vehicle to get a closer shot.
"McGarrett, give him to me and no one else gets hurt." Nick shouts from behind his door.
Steve shakes his head from beside me, "Not gonna happen!"
Nick rolls his eyes, "Fine, always has to be the hard way."
He pulls his trigger and in instant, a firey pain surges through my arm. I clench my teeth and slam against the car door from the impact of the bullet. I let out a groan and look down at my left bicep to see a hot flow of blood coming from the bullet would.
I clench my teeth and force myself to grasp the gun back in my left hand returning to the fight as gunfire flies back and forth.
"Take out the engine Chin!" I call out over the noise. I look over and aim at one of his men, shooting him down.
"Guys, get in the car!" Steve calls out.
I fall back and turn around making a dead sprint for the passenger seat. Glass flies as Steve gets inside and takes off. The gunfire continues as Steve swerves back and forth in order to avoid it. I turn around and look at Danny, "Is she okay?"
He shrugs his shoulders a film of sweat on his forehead, "She'll live."
****
I let out a sigh of relief as we pull into the driveway of Steve's house. Pain flares in my arm as blood continues to spill from my would. I feel myself getting light headed, but I clench my teeth and ignore it. Now was not the time to lose it. I pull my black leather jacket tighter around myself and step out of the vehicle.
"What are we doing here?" Danny asks.
"This is the closest and safest place I know. We're gonna hole up here until HPD SWAT arrives," Steve replies as he opens the door for the general.
I nod my head looking at Steve who has a nasty cut on his forehead, "Has Taylor ever been here?"
"Never."
We follow Steve into his house, leading the General and his family inside. "Alright, Quinn there's a first aid kit in the kitchen and see what you can do."
I nod my head and walk into the kitchen leading the General's wife with me, finding where Steve keeps it.
I open it up and look through the kit, before having his wife sit down at the table. I shoot her a small smile, "I'm Quinn, what's your name?"
She looks up at me with scared eyes, "Mya."
"Okay Mya, we're going to keep you safe, don't worry. Now I have to get this bullet out of your arm. I'm going to try and be as careful as I can, but I'm going to have you bite down on this rag."
She nods her head and I begin. I carefully clear the blood from the bullet hole. I then take a tweezers and begin fishing for the bullet. I stare in guilt as she clearly tries to hide her pain. I finally pull it out and drop it into a bowl. I grab a set of gauze and secure that tightly with a sticky wrap.
I pat her arm gently and shoot her a comforting look, "You're good to go, you can return to your family if you would like."
"Thank you so much, Quinn. You have no idea what it means to us that you are here to protect us." she states quietly before walking out of the kitchen.
I take a deep breath, the adrenaline leaving my body, pain replacing it. I feel the blood trickling from my arm down to my fingertips. My head pounds as I carefully pull off my jacket, trying to ignore the small surges of pain that come with it. I slowly look down at my arm to see how bad the damage is.
My whole arm is covered in blood, a single bullet wound on the middle of my bicep. My body grows heavy, so I sit down to keep myself upright. I take a deep breath and pick up the clean pair of tweezers.
"Hey Quinn, where did-" I hear Steve's voice ring out and I look up in shock to see Steve standing there. Shock and guilt run over his features, "Oh Quinn, what happened? Why didn't you tell me?"
I let out a sigh, "It wasn't the right time and I didn't need you guys focused on me. We had to get the General and his family to safety."
It is silent for a while as he walks over to the sink wetting a towel. He moves back to me and kneels in front of me,"You are way to selfless sometimes. Hand me the tweezers."
I roll my eyes, "You would've done the same thing."
I pass the tweezers over to him and take in his attractive features as he furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. He then begins to pry the bullet out. I clench my teeth and grip the table tightly. The pain is so intense it radiated throughout my body.
He finally pulls it out the bullet from deep inside my arm before looking up at me, his fierce green eyes filled with worry, "I'm sorry Quinn."
I shake my head, "It's fine Steve. It's just a flesh wound."
He does the same thing I just did with Mya, wrapping my arm as tightly as he possibly could. He lets out a sigh, "You know Quinn, we're never too busy to come to you if you're hurt. Just let me know next time."
I shoot him a small smile, "You got it boss."
He rolls his eyes, standing up, "You think you'll live until we get you to a hospital?"
I nod my head confidently, standing up to look up at him, "Yeah, I'll be okay, thanks Steve."
"No problem. I'll meet you out there," Steve states, beforing moving closer to me. He plants a quick kiss on the top of my head, before stalking out of the room. I stand there in shock, my heart pounds so loudly, I'm surprised he didn't hear it on his way out. What was that? Goosebumps raise on my skin as I try to pull my body out of the shock it's feeling. He's never done something so intimate before. Does he feel the same as I do?
I shake the thoughts from my mind and walk back into the living room. I gasp as I bump into Danny on the way.
His gaze narrows straight to my bandages, "What the hell is the matter with you? You got hit and didn't tell anyone?"
I roll my eyes, "Danny it's fine. Steve patched me up."
"You're seeing a doctor after this. I don't care if I have to drag you there." he states with a glare, and with that he saunters off into another room.
I walk back into the living room and sit down on the couch next to General Pak's son Tun and Mya. The two of them huddle close to each other, surely filled with nothing but fear.
"Why do you think I brought my family here?" I hear the General ask, making my attention turn to him.
Danny comes from the other room and lets out a sigh, "I don't know. Because you're a mass murderer."
The General seems unfazed by Danny's accusations, "My family's here because I'm seeking political asylum."
"That's why you couldn't postpone the trip. That's why everybody's trying to kill you, "I state, my eyes wide with realization.
"Let me get this straight. So you commit all these horrible, horrible crimes, and then you come over to the United States, and you say, I'd like to make a deal now. Please."
The General's face scrunches up as he shakes his head, "I'm going to testify at the U.N. against a military junta and my chairman. I am going to admit to the world what I've done and pay for the crimes I've committed."
Steve lets out a sigh, running a hand through his dark hair, "Well thats... that's good man. You should've told us, okay? Somebody should have told us."
"The information was too dangerous," the General argues.
Steve shoots him a glare, "That information is more dangerous if I don't have it! My entire team could've been killed. Hell, Quinn was shot, and it could've been a lot worse. Not to mention your family."
"My testimony will end the war! The suffering. You save me and my family, and you save a country." the General calls out, as the stakes of this situation fully sets in us all. The lives of so many people are on our shoulders.
Red and blue lights pull our attention from the General and to the window. As far as I can see, there's quite a few of them here.
Steve moves over to the window, pointing his night vision glasses towards the cops. His eyes widen in shock as he turns to us, "Those aren't cops. Danny, get away from the door!"
The General's eyes are wide, "Where are the police? Where is help?"
"Helps not coming."
"How the hell did they know we were here?" Steve asks as his gaze remains focused on the window.
Danny lets out a sigh throwing his phone on the ground, "My cell phone's dead."
"Same here, and the internet too." Kono responds with a sigh.
I pull out my own phone to see that I also have no service, "Me either."
Chin picks up Steve's landline and presses it to his ear, "Everything's dead."
Steve looks down at his phone then back up at us, "I got full bars... Wait a minute. Taylor's killed your signals and he's cloned mine."
"So earlier you weren't talking to 911 operators, you were talking to his team," I add, my eyes wide in shock.
"HPD has no idea where we are," Steve adds.
Danny rolls his eyes, "I told you that I hated that guy."
Steve chooses to ignore his comment, "Danny, take the upstairs. Chin, get the gas can off the bench in the shed. General, bring your family."Steve leads the family to a small room under his stairs,"No matter what happens, no matter what you hear, you stay in this room, you understand?"
General Pak nods his head and Steve quickly locks him in the room. I pull out my gun from it's holster and crouch down to keep watch at the window. Taylor and his team were not going to win this one, we are getting the General out of here alive.
"Kono, find me some rags," Steve calls out as I hear him pulling glass bottles out of a cupboard.
I glance back to see Chin run into the room with the gas cans, "I'm gonna go upstairs with Danny."
As he runs up the stairs, Steve's phone begins to ring. Kono, Steve and I look at each other in confusion, then it sets in. That's Nick calling. I continue to keep watch, while Steve puts it on speaker so he and Kono can work with his makeshift lantern bombs.
Nick's low voice comes booming out from the other side of the phone, "Agent Atwater was working with us for months. He was fully prepared to kill the General for money, but... he drew the line at his wife and child. I don't share that kind of conflict, how about you, Steve?"
"You son of a bitch," Steve growls as Kono and him continue to work.
"Are you really prepared to sacrifice your entire team and a woman and child for a corrupt General who's killed thousands of innocent people? I mean I already got a shot at that hot partner of your's. Come on Steve, when are you gonna give it up?" Nick states, causing my eyes to widen in realization, he was the one who shot me.
I hear Steve slam a bottle down on the floor, "Don't talk about her or the rest of my team. I fought beside you, Nick. For years. We were friends."
"That's the only reason you're still alive. Give me the General and no one else has to get hurt."
I continue to peer out the window into the dark night as Steve states, "That's not gonna happen."
"Well then everyone in that house is dead."
Steve lets out a sigh, "What happened to you, Nick?"
"I killed for God and country for years. I figured it was about time that I got paid for it. Five million dollars to keep Pak from testifying and I'll cut you in, Steve. All you gotta do is put a bullet in him."
I feel Steve move close to me to look out the window alongside me. I try to ignore the feeling I get when he's this close to me, "You know what? I'll put a bullet in you first. How's that?"
"Well I'm glad to see civilian life hasn't dulled your sense of humor. You trained me, remember? I know your moves."
His green eyes dart back and forth viewing the land in front of his house, "Why don't you and I'll show you a couple of the moves you missed."
"You should have taken the deal. By the way, you and your partner have some nasty cuts on your head."
My eyes widen and in under a second, Steve pulls the both of us away from the window, diving just out of the way of the gunshots that shatter the glass of his window.
I sit up beside Steve and call out, "He's to the north, maybe 300 meters!"
The three of us lean away from the window, lighting our makeshift bombs. The light from the fire illuminates the room.
"They've got to be getting close," Kono states, filled with nerves.
"This will slow them down," Steve states before throwing them out the window. The fire lights up the yard in front of us. I pull out my gun and look through the window, ready to shoot. The glass shatters more as Nick and his team send gunfire our way. I squint through the fire and aim my gun, shooting one of his men. Picture frames shatter as the walls become littered with bullet holes. Kono fires and takes down another man.
My gun clicks telling me I'm out of bullets, "Guys, I'm out."
"So am I."
"Me too. Here they come." Steve states, his eyes wide as he pulls out a knife. "Hey Quinn, there's another gun in the shed, it's in the closet taped to the right side behind the door. You think you can make it over there?"
I nod my head, "Of course I can. Be safe."
With that I crouch down and begin crawling in the direction of the shed. The sound of gunshots erupt all from beside me and it's a miracle I haven't been hit yet. I finally make it to the shed and am able to stand up. I make my way through the dimly lit shed before finally making it to the closet. I open it and sigh in relief to find the gun on the wall. The second I grab ahold of it, it's pushed out of my hands and I'm thrown to the floor. A man dressed in all black gets on top of me and punches me in the cheek, my gaze is thrown in the other direction. I groan in pain, but focus. I needed to get this gun to Steve. I block the man's next punch, catching him off guard. I send my elbow at his face, causing him to cry out and fall off me. I shove myself backwards trying to get closer to the gun. I man stands up and kicks me down, my head slamming on the cement. He puts his foot over my chest and begins to press down, cutting off my air supply. I gasp and nothing comes in, my face begins to grow hot as my lungs burn. I reach around trying to find the gun. Black dots surround my vision as my fingers come across the cold metal of the gun. With the rest of my strength, I pick it up and aim at him, shooting him down.
The air fulls my lungs again as I quickly stand up, I had to help Steve. I run back inside, fatigue taking over my body as I move as fast as I can. My eyes widen when I look out the back window and see Nick kneeling over Steve with a knife pointed at his chest. I move outside quietly, aim and point, shooting Nick three times, sending him flying into the water.
Steve looks up at me, his eyes wide, "We cut things a little close there."
I let out a small laugh, helping him up from the ground. My eyes rake over his body, seeing his arm deeply cut, the blood mixing with the water he was in. "Yeah well I got a little busy. You okay?"
"Yeah I'm good," he states, shooting me a tired smile. The sound of sirens fills my ears as I breathe a sigh of relief, we did it. "That's HPD."
"The both of you are ridiculous. Steve, you've got to learn to pick your friends," I hear Danny's voice, causing me to turn around and see him, Kono, and Chin. We're all okay.
Steve rolls his eyes, "What are you talking about, I picked you guys didn't I? Hey Chin and Kono, can you do me a favor and make sure that the General and his family get into HPD custody?"
As they walk away, Danny turns to us, "Let's get the both of you patched up."
****
Steve's POV
I let out a sigh and walked through the front door, looking at the damage to the house I grew up in. It was a mess, this would take forever to get back to normal. I walk into the kitchen and look at the bloody gauze and towels at the table and the droplets on the chair where Quinn was sitting only six hours ago. My eyes widen as I think back to that moment. I kissed her on the head. I'm a dumbass, why would I do something like that? It was just the heat of the moment and I was worried about her. Hopefully she didn't think anything of it. But she's smart, of course she'll have noticed.
The sound of the doorbell pulls me out of my thoughts. I walk slowly to the door and pull it open to reveal Quinn, standing there with a smile on her face. Standing there in her jean shorts and tank top, her tan skin stands out and I can't help but admire how beautiful she is.
I shoot her a surprised smile, "Hey Quinn, what are you doing here?"
She moves over to show me the broom in her hand, her brown eyes gleaming brightly, "Did you think I was going to leave you to clean up this mess all by yourself."
"Ah Quinn you don't have to do that, you should go get some rest," I tell her, looking down at her chest where light bruises paint her skin.
She rolls her eyes and pushes me aside lightly, "How about this, I help you clean and you provide the beer."
I let out a laugh, "Alright West, you have yourself a deal."
She nods her head and walks over to the window and begins sweeping up the glass. I can't help but watch her as she swiftly cleans up the class, her nose scrunched in concentration.
She looks up, catching me staring, a smile grows on her face, "Are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna get me a beer?"
I let out a sigh, "I will, but hey, I just wanted to thank you for saving my ass out there last night."
She leans the broom against the wall and walks closer to me until she's only about a foot from me. I clench my jaw as she looks up at me with her brown eyes, from this close, I can see the golden flecks in them. "Always. Besides, I owe you.
With that she closes the distance between us and wraps her small arms around me, moving to be flush with my body. I freeze for a moment, I was not expecting her to do this. I let out a sigh and lift my arms to pull her small frame even closer to me, resting my chin on her head. I'm by no means a touchy person, hell I was a Navy Seal, built to be hardened. But for some reason, standing here hugging Quinn felt like the most right thing in the world.