The Long Journey Home (PG-13) Chap 5- Challenge 140

[darkstarrising]

Dearest Readers,

This is the fifth chapter (of nine) in my answer to the challenge for a Moonlight Crossover story, challenge 140. Originally, this was supposed to be a relatively short story, but the muse cackled wickedly and off we went. For me the challenge (initially) was getting inside the head of a character I wasn't overly sympathetic (Mary Ann McGarrett) with and change that perception.

A/N 1 - It should be noted that several of the characters in this story periodically fell victim to the muse's warped sense of humor, Danny Williams in particular.

A/N 2- Part of this story involves the tattoos that we see on Steve McGarrett's shoulders, but were hidden from view when Alex played Mick St. John. I don't have a flaming clue what those ornate designs mean (if anything), but that's never stopped the muse before.

I hope you enjoy.

The usual disclaimers apply. I mean no copyright infringement on any of the characters described herein. This is all for fun, nothing more.

The Long Journey Home

Chapter 5

Danny’s head hurt like hell. Moving only made it worse. Whatever hole he was in was cold and dark with a very solid door.

Where am I and what the hell happened?

The last thing he remembered was getting into a cab to go to the airport. He’d found out as much as he could about Mary’s attacker and while curious about St. John, Danny was smart enough to know he was in over his head in LA.

As a Jersey cop, Danny had been exposed to all sorts of people on both sides of the law and had developed a pretty good sense of who to steer clear of. It didn’t take a genius to see that Kostan was a major player in LA and that he and St. John were pretty tight, not to mention just a little creepy. Maybe all of his questions about Mary’s attack had ruffled a few Armani clad feathers and if Danny wasn’t careful, he might well go the way of that Tejada dude. With a daughter to consider, Danny decided it was time to pack it in and go home.

The cab….something about the cab…

Despite a splitting headache, Danny tried to recall what had happened.

OK, Danno. Think. The driver was standing next to his cab…the trunk was open. I told him I wanted to go to LAX. He tried to take my bag, but I told him I’d keep it with me. He sorta smiled, kinda did a half bow, then walked away. We got in, we drove off and here I am, all alone, in a dark, scary place.

He checked, but wasn’t surprised to find his cell phone gone. This was a bad news – good news – bad news situation. The bad news was that Danny couldn’t contact anyone. But if he didn’t arrive in Oahu as scheduled, Steve would call him and when he didn’t get an answer, would get concerned. That was the good news. The other bad news was that by the time Steve figured out his friend was in trouble, it would probably be too late.

What? You give up so easy, Williams? You should be ashamed of yourself. Think of Grace. You want to make her cry ‘cause her daddy wasn’t smart enough to get out of this? No! Keep thinking of Grace and you’ll find a way home…

**********************************************************************************

Late that night, two men stood at the base of a C-130 transport plane at Hickam Air Force Base on Oahu.

“Are you sure you don’t one of us to come along?” Chin Ho Kelly already knew the answer, but figured he’d ask anyway. Having Danny go missing was bad enough. Knowing how worried Steve was only made it worse.

McGarrett shook his head. “No. I want you and Kono here in case 50 is needed.”

“How are you going to find Danny?”

“I contacted his hotel – they said he’d already checked out. One of the bellman recalled seeing him get into a cab. I’ll check that out when I get there.”

“What if that’s a dead end?”

“Then I’ll go see the man Danny went to talk to, Mick St. John. Maybe he can shed some light on where he went.” Steve checked his gear, which included some impressive firepower, then handed his colleague a piece of paper. “Chin, I want you to track me via my phone’s GPS. Once I land, if you lose my location for more than 4 hours, call this number and ask for Susumu Takeo. Tell him where I’ve gone and that his order has been violated.”

“Order? What order? Who’s Takeo?”

“Chin, right now, I can’t tell you, but you’re going to have to trust me on this. Danny’s life may depend on it.”

Chin started to protest, then nodded. McGarrett had trusted him when no one else but Kono did; it was time he returned the favor. “All right, but I want a call every hour.”

“Every other hour. And Chin? Keep an eye on Mary.”

************************************************************************************

The door to the St. John apartment clicked open and Beth made her way in, carrying two bags of groceries. Normally, it would be less with only one human in residence, but Beth had invited a few of her friends over for girls night out, or in this case, in. Living in the world of vampires was a conscious choice, and one Beth wouldn’t dream of changing. But every once in a while, she felt the need for very human, female company to do what women her age normally did – gossip about anything and everything and bitch about their husbands/boyfriends. In her case, she’d have nothing negative to contribute to the latter topic.

She never saw the man emerge from the shadows and follow her inside.

“Mrs. St. John?”

Startled, Beth dropped the bags, turning to find herself face-to-face with a very intense and very human male, one that looked incredibly like her husband. When she started to back away from him, he reached out and grabbed her arm.

“Please, I mean you no harm. I just want to talk…”

“You’re Commander McGarrett, aren’t you?”

“Yes, ma’am. Is your husband around?”

“Yes, and if I were you, I’d let go. Now.”

“Sorry, I just wanted to ….”

A familiar click preceded the menacing command. “You heard the lady. Take your hands off her. Now!”

Steve slowly turned his head and found himself looking down the barrel of a gun, one held by a half-dressed, fully pissed-off husband who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. He immediately released Beth, who moved to Mick’s side. Raising his hands, Steve tried to explain. “Hey. I apologize for frightening you. As I said, I only want to talk.”

“About what?”

“About Detective Danny Williams. I know he’s in LA and that he came to see you. I’m trying to find out what happened to him.”

Mick lowered his gun. “What do you mean, what happened to him?”

Steve recounted how Danny had never arrived back in Oahu and seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth. “Last we knew, he got in a cab heading for LAX yesterday afternoon, but the cab company had no record of that fare. They did, however, have a cab stolen that morning which was later found abandoned and torched.”

“Destroying any evidence. Which means….”

“Danny was targeted. Question is why?”

“And who?”

Beth shook her head; watching this exchange was just too weird for words. But what worried her was that McGarrett’s arrival had abruptly awakened Mick, not giving him a chance to feed. If McGarrett was as observant as she feared, he’d have noticed the oddly golden appearance of Mick’s eyes. If she was lucky….

“Commander McGarrett, why don’t you have a seat in the great room and I’ll get some coffee. You look like you could use something to drink while we discuss your friend’s disappearance.”

Mick immediately understood Beth’s message and turned away from their guest. “Let me go get a shirt…I’ll be back in a minute.”

With Mick upstairs, Beth handed her guest a steaming mug, smiling as she recalled a memory. “You know, it wasn’t all that long ago when I did the same thing for your sister, seated just where you are. How is she doing?”

“Better, ma’am, although she’s still a little..”

“Fragile? For everything Mary’s been through, she’ll need time to heal.”

“Yes, ma’am, and I’d like to thank you for all you did for her.”

“You’re welcome, but all I did was listen.”

Steve looked disgusted. “Something I was apparently too busy to do.”

“Then listen to me as she did; forget the past, look toward what you and Mary can do in the future. And for heaven’s sake, stop with the ma’am bit. My name is Beth.”

Steve flashed Beth a boyish smile. Not quite the same as Mick’s, but close. “Please, call me Steve and again, I apologize for startling you. Beth.”

“I’m curious. Why did you grab my arm if you didn’t mean to frighten me?”

Mick answered from the staircase. “He was checking to see if you were human. It seems that there’s more to Commander McGarrett than meets the eye, Beth. He knows about my kind. Question is, does Detective Williams?”

“What?!!”

“I just talked to Josef. I told him McGarrett was here and why.”

Mick’s comment confirmed Steve’s suspicions about the PI. “Danny doesn’t know anything about…your kind, and believe me, I’d like to keep it that way. Who’s Josef?”

“Someone who’s both anxious and sorry to meet you. He knows where Williams is and why he was taken, something he’ll explain in person. He wants us at his place. Now.”

As Beth took the mugs back to the kitchen, Mick found Steve staring at him. “What?”

“It’s just weird, that’s all. It’s like looking in a mirror, but not seeing yourself and wondering what you do see.”

But for the grace of God and an honorable man……

“Trust me, it’s not easy for me either.” Mick’s voice grew wistful. “You know what I see when I look at you? The man, the human man I once was.”

“So, your turning wasn’t voluntary?”

“No. But since you know what I am, let me give you some friendly advice.” Hazel eyes flashed silver. “Touch my wife again, and I won’t just hang you off the roof. I’ll drop you.”

Steve swallowed hard – this guy wasn’t kidding. “Duly noted. It won’t happen again, sir.”

“See that it doesn’t.”

********************************************************************************

The darkness of his prison cell had caused Danny to lose track of time. He was cold and tired and getting more frightened by the minute. A couple of times, his captors had opened the door to his cell and given him water and food, if you could call it that. Every time he ate, he seemed to fall asleep shortly thereafter so he figured they were keeping him alive, but drugged. Alive was the key part.

Why? He hadn’t a clue. Every time the door opened, he tried to get his captors to give him some idea of why he was being held. No one ever answered his questions, nor did they ever really speak in any fashion. The last time he tried, he’d grabbed his captor’s arm and for his troubles, found himself flung across the cell like a rag doll. He’d cracked his skull on the stone wall, resulting in a small cut and what would likely be a huge bruise. As he wiped the blood from his head, his captor seemed to freeze, then left.

It would have been easy to give way to panic at this point, but Danny knew he had to keep calm.

C’mon, Williams. You’re a detective. Work with what you’ve got….which admittedly isn’t much. OK, what do you know? These guys are all Asian, strong as hell and not into talking much. They don’t seem to want anything from you, just keep you alive. Wait…when that guy tossed me, he was cold, real cold. C’mon, Danno, put it together!! St. John said Mary’s attacker was Asian and Mary said he was strong and cold. Yeah, but St. John was cold as ice, too, and my guess is he could bench press me without breaking a sweat.

The door to his cell creaked open and an Asian male stood in the doorway, the same guy that was driving the cab. He gestured for Danny to come out, and when Danny didn’t move, his captor moved a few steps in and gestured again, this time more impatiently.

Danny planted his feet, crossed his arms and shook his head. “No. You want me to move, you tell me what’s going on. Why am I here, huh?”

His captor merely sneered, and gestured a third time. Danny rudely gestured back, causing his captor’s eyes to glow silver.

Shit!! Who the hell are these guys and what do they want with me?

[Marigold]

I was on the edge of my seat throughout the chapter , until I got to:

His captor merely sneered, and gestured a third time. Danny rudely gestured back, causing his captor’s eyes to glow silver.

At this rate, Danny is definitely going to need help escaping! And he was so close to getting out of LA in one piece...

I'm anxious to find out what Josef knows, and how Susumu Takeo fits into things.

Thank you, DSR! I'm really enjoying this story.

[jen]

Well, Danny went looking for trouble and he seems to have found it.

He may not have put all the pieces together yet, but that is a matter of time--for all the good it will do him. He is fully contained, totally in over his head and the only chance he has of getting out of this with his carefully sprayed hair in place (oh, wait. That was already ruffled when his guard had to toss him across the cell, so let's go with his attitude en tact) is if Steve and Mick show up and calm the seriously ruffled feathers (or fangs)

You really weren't kidding about Danny causing a lot of trouble.

Fabulous.

Thank you!

Jenna

[r1015bill]

Very exciting chapter!!!

I'm not sure whether Danny is being held by Takeo's people or by Josef's. But I'm definitely looking forward to what Josef has to say.

And, of course, interested in your story of the tattoos in the next chapter!

[darkstarrising]

I was on the edge of my seat throughout the chapter , until I got to:

His captor merely sneered, and gestured a third time. Danny rudely gestured back, causing his captor’s eyes to glow silver.

At this rate, Danny is definitely going to need help escaping! And he was so close to getting out of LA in one piece...

I'm anxious to find out what Josef knows, and how Susumu Takeo fits into things.

Thank you, DSR! I'm really enjoying this story.

Thanks, Marigold Danny doesn't know when to back down, does he? And yes, he'll definitely need help getting out of this in one piece. The answer to how Takeo fits in will be in the next chapter.

Well, Danny went looking for trouble and he seems to have found it.

He may not have put all the pieces together yet, but that is a matter of time--for all the good it will do him. He is fully contained, totally in over his head and the only chance he has of getting out of this with his carefully sprayed hair in place (oh, wait. That was already ruffled when his guard had to toss him across the cell, so let's go with his attitude en tact) is if Steve and Mick show up and calm the seriously ruffled feathers (or fangs)

You really weren't kidding about Danny causing a lot of trouble.

Fabulous.

Thank you!

Jenna

Thanks, Jenna And Danny's not out of trouble yet, nor causing it. Somehow, though, I think he'll meet his match

Very exciting chapter!!!

I'm not sure whether Danny is being held by Takeo's people or by Josef's. But I'm definitely looking forward to what Josef has to say.

And, of course, interested in your story of the tattoos in the next chapter!

Thanks, Rhonda Who is holding Danny as well as the story of Steve's tattoos will be revealed in the next chapter.

[allegrita]

Oooooh, Danny's stuck, but good! But at least his captors seem to want him alive. Why are they keeping him on ice (so to speak), and who is in charge???

Steve may be able to sneak up on a human woman, but he's way out of his league when faced with an angry vampire husband. I loved it when he called Mick "Sir." I'm looking forward VERY much to finding out how Takeo is involved, and why Steve knows what he knows!! And I really hope we're gonna get the Kings of Snark together next chapter...

[moonlightlover60]

At first I thought that maybe Josef had Danny to grill him on what he knew but now I think these Asian vamps are using him as bait to get to Mick for killing their other vamp boy that attacked Mary. Just guessing here on why they took him. There's gonna be a showdown coming I bet, and I can't wait.
I love this, thanks DSR.

[darkstarrising]

Oooooh, Danny's stuck, but good! But at least his captors seem to want him alive. Why are they keeping him on ice (so to speak), and who is in charge???

Steve may be able to sneak up on a human woman, but he's way out of his league when faced with an angry vampire husband. I loved it when he called Mick "Sir." I'm looking forward VERY much to finding out how Takeo is involved, and why Steve knows what he knows!! And I really hope we're gonna get the Kings of Snark together next chapter...

Thanks, alle 'keeping him on ice' Love it! As for who Takeo is and how Steve knows about vampires, that will be explained in the next chapter.

alas, I fear I'm going to disappoint relative to the kings of snark Once the story is completed, I'll explain why.

[darkstarrising]

At first I thought that maybe Josef had Danny to grill him on what he knew but now I think these Asian vamps are using him as bait to get to Mick for killing their other vamp boy that attacked Mary. Just guessing here on why they took him. There's gonna be a showdown coming I bet, and I can't wait.
I love this, thanks DSR.

Thanks, moonlightlover60 Indeed, there will be a showdown, but not quite for the reasons you think.

[allegrita]

Hey, no worries. You'll just have to write a sequel.

[Claudia]

I love it!!! Mick and Steve face to face, and Steve knows about vamps. And Danny is funny even in imprisonment; ha!! So Josef knows where he is?

[darkstarrising]

I love it!!! Mick and Steve face to face, and Steve knows about vamps. And Danny is funny even in imprisonment; ha!! So Josef knows where he is?

Thanks, Claudia How Steve knows will be unveiled in the next chapter....Danny is funny now, but he gets cranky toward the end.

Josef had Danny followed once he left Mick's apartment.

[Kara]

So. They finally meet. I don't know why, but I always liked half-dressed jealous Mick. And Mick knows that Steve knows what he is. Very intriguing indeed.

Uh. Danny really should not be antogonizing his captors.

Thanks.

[francis]

I'm finally finding some time to finish this story. I so enjoyed the way Mick talked to Steve about touching Beth.

[darkstarrising]

I'm finally finding some time to finish this story. I so enjoyed the way Mick talked to Steve about touching Beth.

Thanks, francis Yeah, Mick may see Steve as the human he might have become, but that doesn't stop the ever-possessive vamp from protecting what is his.