Fic: Stealth and Sudden Violence (Chapter 10)
Danny still hated the desert, and he'd never been keen on riding horses, but he couldn't get over the little thrill of excitement he felt as he galloped across the open desert dressed pretty much like the hero in his favorite story. Okay, so he wasn't going to save hapless women from white slavers, something he wasn't really sure existed in the first place, but he was still dressed like a Bedouin, an abaya over his shirt and pants and a keffiyeh wrapped around his head. Unlike Steve, he'd even been given an agal, the rope band to hold the keffiyeh in place, because he was a married man.
They'd been in the saddle, him, Steve and two of Hamid's relations, for five hours with only a short break for some lunch, and he ached everywhere. His head still hurt, as did his arm, but now he had pain in his legs, ass and back. He was going to be a cripple when he got to Cairo. And still the thrill of playing dress up, even if it was for very real reasons of disguising their movements, was making him grin like a fool every now and then.
Even without Hamid's insistence that they should dress for the desert, he and Steve had already decided that they should try to keep their journey to Cairo as discrete as possible. They were in Bedouin clothes, but they both knew that a sudden journey to Cairo by people from the oasis would be likely to raise suspicion if they were spotted. They couldn't avoid it though, and had to trust to luck that they'd get there without incident.
Danny wasn't too pleased about relying on luck, the way theirs had been playing out recently, and said as much to Steve. The other man's grim face and determinedly set chin told Danny that he felt just the same. They'd discussed why they'd been ambushed as they lay side by side on the thin mattresses Hamid had provided for them to sleep on.
It wasn't a cheery conversation. They hadn't come to any definite conclusions, as they could have been spotted by some lookout as soon as they arrived, but the level of organization of the ambush suggested to both of them some kind of planning before their arrival. The fact that Hamid and his family had not seen any cars around the oasis also suggested that the vehicles had come from elsewhere, possibly Cairo. And that indicated they had a mole.
They agreed it couldn't be Chin and Kono, and both hoped it wasn't Kamekona. Danny thought it might break Steve's heart if someone as close to his father as the big guy was could betray him. They'd gone through the list of who they'd told about the journey: Ambassador Jameson; Assistant Commissionaire Russell; Superintendent Smith, head of the Giza division; Captain Davidson at the Army fuel dump; Danny's landlady, but she'd gotten nothing about location, only that he'd be away. It was a short list of people they'd specifically told, but any number of people could have had access to the information after that, they supposed. They hadn't specifically asked to keep it quiet, although they both thought that Russell wasn't likely to tell too many people.
They'd been nowhere near coming to a conclusion when Danny realized Steve had fallen asleep. He'd grinned to himself, curling on his side to watch his partner sleep. It was kind of creepy, he knew that, but he couldn't resist. He couldn't see much, not in the almost complete darkness of the little room in Hamid's house, but he could hear Steve's breaths, slow and steady, just the hint of a snore, and that was enough. He had fallen asleep himself not long after, his forehead pressed against Steve's shoulder.
He'd woken that morning to find Steve watching him, the room only slightly lighter than it had been the night before. Steve had blushed when he realized Danny had seen him, almost rolling away before Danny caught him and pulled his mouth to his for a quick, closed mouth kiss. Neither of them had lingered in bed, hearing sounds of the household already awake and wanting to begin their journey to Cairo.
One of the men shouted something, jarring Danny out of his reverie and crashing him back into the painful now. He looked where the man was pointing and far in the distance he could see a dust cloud that he guessed was someone or something coming towards them. He glanced around, but there was no cover for miles, just flat white desert littered with small rocks.
“Keep riding, try to look uninterested but draw your gun” Steve ordered from his place next to Danny, before kicking his horse on and shouting what Danny assumed was the same in Arabic to their two companions.
They rode on, all eyes on the approaching dust cloud, which eventually resolved itself into a car as it came closer. Danny knew that in all probability they were going to be gunned down where they rode and tightened his grip on his gun. He was not going down without a fight.
They were about two hundred yards from the car before Danny was able to see the make. It was a Chevrolet, just like his, and after only a moment's confusion he realized it was not just like his car, it was his car. He felt an irrational stab of betrayal that some bastard was going to use his car to attack them.
“Danny,” Steve shouted, obviously having spotted that it was his car, too.
They closed in on the car and the vehicle slowed, slewing to a stop in front of them. Danny could make out two occupants, both dressed in European clothes, although with Arabic scarves wrapped rather inexpertly around their heads. The passenger stood up and waved at them to stop, shouting, “As-Salāmu `alaykumā.”
“Wa `alaykumā s-salām,” Steve replied, in his perfect Arabic, not removing the keffiyeh from his face. Better whoever was in the car not know who they were.
The passenger shouted something in Arabic which Danny couldn't make out, but whatever it was, it had Steve pulling the keffiyeh from his face.
“Steve?” the passenger shouted in disbelief, before unwinding his own scarf and revealing his face.
“Chin!” Danny shouted, sliding from his horse and hobbling, slightly bow-legged, over to greet his friend. And his car. Steve wasn't far behind him, although, bless him, he was clearly taking time to explain the situation to their companions. He'd never been so glad to see anyone as he was them, and he'd never been so thankful for comfortable seats in his car.
“Danny!” the driver said, the voice giving away that it was Kono. “Man, look at you.”
“Look at you,” Danny said in return. She was dressed in men's clothes, as usual, but had an indigo scarf wrapped around her head and face, with a pair of driving goggles covering her eyes. Strapped to her hip was a pistol and Danny was pretty sure he could see the top of a long knife in the side of her riding boot. She looked every bit the desert warrior and the murmurs coming from their two guides suggested she was making an impression with them.
She pulled up the goggles, looked right at the two men, and spoke to them in Arabic. After a moment's pause, one of them said something that made Chin and Steve laugh, and Kono scowl. When Danny looked questioningly at Steve, he translated. “He said, if that's your wife, no wonder you got lost in the desert.”
“Tell him I'd think myself a lucky man and never leave the house, if Kono were my wife,” Danny replied, feeling a little sorry for his friend. Kono grinned at him, at least he thought she did. Her eyes crinkled in a smiley kind of way, most of her face still hidden by the scarf.
Steve frowned at him, but translated it anyway. Okay, so he was probably going to have to apologize to Steve to make him understand that it was just a joke. He didn't want Kono, and she certainly didn't want him. The guides were still laughing when Kono unwrapped her scarf to take a drink of water. Danny didn't doubt she was thirsty, but she was also smart enough to know her face would be enough to silence the men.
“How did you guys find my car?” Danny asked, because really, that was the most important thing.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Chin said, raising an eyebrow at Danny. “Well, more or less the reverse of that, but you know what I mean.”
“Can we save the discussion until we're in the car?” Steve asked, and Danny couldn't really fault is logic.
Steve handed the reins of both his and Danny's horses off to their two guides, obviously thanking them and giving them messages for Hamid. Danny waited until he'd finished, before adding his own “Shukran,” to Steve's thank yous.
The two men waved, turned their mounts and the two now riderless horses around and headed back to the oasis. Danny looked back at the car, not really surprised to find Steve shooing Kono out of the driver's seat. She climbed over the seat and squeezed herself into the back seat amongst the blankets, fuel cans, water bottles and what looked like enough food to feed an army. Danny felt suddenly guilty about sending their guides off without offering them some.
“Will they be okay?” Danny asked Steve, forcing his aching bones into the front passenger seat after Chin also climbed into the rear compartment, ending up with a picnic basket on his knees. “Shouldn't we have offered them some tea or something?”
“I did,” Steve replied, starting the engine and swinging the car around. “They wanted to start back. If they're lucky, they'll get back before sunset.”
“It's five hours back,” Danny said, doing the math and wondering what time sunset was.
“Less. They were taking it easy for us.”
“And by us, you mean me?” Danny asked, wishing he could cling onto his fantasy about being the hero of his own adventure for a while longer.
“No, us,” Steve replied, accelerating the car towards Cairo. “I'm out of practice riding like they do.”
“Right,” Danny agreed skeptically, not buying it for a second. “Anyway, tell us how you got the car.”
He turned around in his seat to speak to Chin and Kono, trusting Steve would keep his eyes on the desert and not steer them into danger. Chin and Kono looked at each, obviously having some kind of conversation that was beyond the range of human hearing. It was Chin who spoke.
“It was complete coincidence. We were following a lead of Kamekona's and we just came across it.”
“A lead?” Danny asked before Steve could.
“Yeah,” Chin continued. “He's been asking around, subtly, in the coffee houses about Hesse. He finally heard a rumor that some top man, some crime boss, had an arrangement with El Gharbi.”
“El Gharbi?” Danny squawked, hoping he'd heard wrong.
“Who's El Gharbi? Steve demanded, clearly frustrated that there was someone in Cairo that he didn't know.
“He runs pretty much the whole red blind district,” Danny explained, wondering how much detail he should give his partner. It wasn't that Steve was an innocent, far from it, but telling him what the lives of the women, and boys, who worked in the brothels were like would likely send him off on a mission to rescue them all.
“So Hesse is getting women from him?” Steve asked, letting Danny off the hook.
“Or boys,” Chin replied.
“Or girls,” Kono said, real heat in her voice. Okay, so maybe Steve wasn’t the one he needed to worry about.
“So,” Danny prompted, nudging the conversation back into a relatively safe direction. “You followed a lead?”
“I paid the man a visit,” Chin said grimly, letting Danny know just how bad it was with his expression. “And I use the word 'man' in the loosest of terms.”
“Yeah, bit of a shock, isn't it?” Danny said with a chuckle.
“What do you mean?” Steve demanded, turning to look at Danny who silently pointed out of the front windscreen until he turned his eyes back to the road.
“Ishmael El Gharbi is, well, he's hard to describe without it sounding like you're exaggerating,” Danny explained. “He's a Nubian, not sure from where exactly, but I think quite far south as he's as dark as ebony. He's big, not tall, but flabby and soft, and he wears women's clothes.”
“Really?” Steve asked, sounding as disbelieving as Danny had known he would be. “And he's a crime boss?”
“When I say women's clothes, he's not wearing corsets and overly fussy hats. He wears colored robes, way too much jewelry and eye make-up, his nails are too long and he stinks of patchouli oil. He's always got some half naked kid waiting on him hand and foot, which makes me want to just kill him where he sits. But leaving aside how he dresses, he's one of the smartest people you'll ever meet, a brilliant business man and utterly ruthless with his rivals or people he perceives as a threat. He's also, perversely, one of the kinder brothel owners and, despite how much he sickens me, I'd rather he was running the place than some of the other people I've heard about.”
“Is it weird that I kind of want to meet the guy?” Steve asked, half seriously.
Before Danny could respond, Chin coughed and shifted uncomfortably in the back of the car. It could have been down to the dust in the air and the cramped position the man was in, but Danny didn't think so. Turning around, he looked at Steve's old friend and raised his eyebrow.
“You may get to meet him,” Chin explained, looking a little sheepish. “The cover story I gave him when I went in there was that I worked for someone wanting to have a supply of girls.”
“Chin!” Steve exclaimed, trying to turn around and look at him, too.
Danny punched him in the arm and yelled. “Eyes front, sailor.”
“I had to come up with some reason for being there and asking questions about how he delivered women to a house,” Chin reasoned, even though he looked guilty. “I didn't use your name, but he knew exactly who I was already.”
“Christ,” Steve sighed, gripping the steering wheel hard.
“It's not so bad,” Danny reassured him, a friendly hand on his shoulder. “They got my car back in the process.”
“Screw you, Danny,” he replied, but there was a smile tugging at his mouth and Danny grinned back unrepentantly.
“El Gharbi didn't give much away, as you'd expect,” Chin continued. “But he did explain that a discretely dressed woman, covered in a veil, could pass quite easily through the streets and not draw any attention. He even called some poor girl he was about to send out, she couldn't have been more than about fifteen, and had her put on her veil and cloak to show just how conservative she looked.”
“Poor kid,” Danny said, wishing he could go in and shut down all the establishments in the red blind district and free the people, virtual slaves, who worked there.
“I know,” Chin sighed, obviously agreeing with Danny. “Anyway, once I'd left him and gotten back in the car, we saw the woman coming out of a small alley behind the building and heading off down the street. Kono followed her, on the off chance she'd lead somewhere interesting, but I had to drive away because your dad's old Ford is almost as recognizable as this. I kept circling back, making sure Kono was safe, and seeing where they went.”
“You took Kono with you?” Danny gaped, knowing as soon as he said it he was going to get his ass kicked once they got back to the house. “I mean, how did it not look suspicious?”
“I was disguised as a man,” Kono said with a triumphant grin. “I had a jelabiya and turban on, and kept my head down.”
“And where did the woman go?” Steve asked, seemingly unconcerned that his friend was roaming the streets dressed as a man. Danny knew he should be pleased with the results, and clearly she'd been unharmed, but there was still a part of him that was old fashioned enough to feel aggrieved.
“That's the odd coincidence,” Chin said. “She went to a house in Old Cairo. Nothing special, but not the worst of places either. We wouldn't have thought anything of it, but your car was parked three blocks away in a dead end alley. Kamekona arranged for it to be 'stolen' by some of his rather dubious contacts, and for them to be seen doing it, and then they secretly brought back to the house. Of course, we knew you were in trouble and once we'd packed up the car, we set off right away.”
“That's not a coincidence,” Danny said, wondering what game the pimp was playing. “El Gharbi's too smart to send off a girl to just the house we need, or any house, when he knows who you are and who you work for. He knew you'd follow her, he probably knew Kono was outside, too, so that was his way of cooperating without actually giving a name.”
“You think he's cooperating?” Steve asked, his face serious.
“I do,” Danny replied, hoping his words wouldn't make whatever plan Steve was coming up with even more crazier.
“Then I think I need to go and visit him,” Steve said grimly, making Danny sigh. “Because we need to get inside that house.”
Yep, crazy, Danny thought. Oh well, it wasn't like he had any better ideas himself. As long as he got to spend some time with Grace before they did anything stupid he wasn't going to complain. Much.
Steve tried not to fuss over Danny's injuries and whether he should really be getting them wet. They'd swung by Miss Forth's clinic on the way into Cairo that night to get checked out. He supposed that most of the people he knew, or at least knew him, would be horrified at the thought of subjecting themselves to a female doctor, let alone one who treated the native Egyptians, particularly the women who worked in the brothels. But she was a good doctor, that much he'd learned from Ramses, and that was all he'd needed to know.
She'd examined Danny's injuries, making him blush and babble in the process, cleaned them again and then smeared some appalling green ointment on them. She swore it was the best thing, especially because she couldn't stitch them as they were already starting to heal up. When Danny complained about his hair being turned green, Nefret had just laughed and told him it was a small price to pay for not getting blood poisoning.
Danny was still grumbling about his hair when they'd arrived at Steve's house, even though they'd stopped at his rooms on the way to collect some clothes. Both of them had been grateful to discover that the nosy Mrs. Hudson had been out. Danny had wanted to stay and get cleaned up, but Steve had persuaded him to use the better bathing facilities at his house. Besides, Steve had caught his eye as he mentioned the bath, and Danny had understood what he'd wanted.
Chin and Kono, because they both seemed to be psychic, had just smiled at him and disappeared upstairs to use the bathrooms there, leaving Steve and Danny to head down to the basement and the stone bathing pool there. Steve padded down the stairs first, turning the faucet on to fill the huge round, stone bath with hot water. He turned back around to see Danny looking around the room as though he'd expected to see something else.
“You've been down here before?” Steve asked, sure that Danny had been one of the ones to search the house after his dad died.
“Yeah,” Danny said, looking around warily again. “It's just... Are we really... Is that a bath?”
“Is that a problem?” Steve said, wondering why the man, the one who'd kissed him first, who'd seemed the more comfortable of the two of them, was suddenly so wary. “I can go upstairs.”
“No, no,” Danny replied hurriedly. “I just, we're being discrete, aren't we?”
“Chin and Kono don't care what we do, and Kamekona's at the market,” Steve reassured him, adjusting the temperature of the water and tipping some of the bath salts Kamekona had given him into the bath.
“Okay,” Danny said, still sounding unsure.
“Look, guys bathe together all the time in the hammams,” Steve explained, pulling his shirt off and flinging it on the floor near the stairs. “That's all we're going to do here.”
“Really?” Danny asked, his gaze sweeping over Steve's chest.
Steve felt himself blush. He had no problem being naked around guys, he'd done it since school, but he'd never had anyone look at him the way Danny did and it made things flutter in his stomach. And places lower down. God, the man was right; they were never going to just bathe together. Maybe it was a bad idea. He hadn't actually done this before, despite knowing for a long time he preferred men, and he was suddenly terrified.
His thoughts must have shown on his face because Danny stepped up to him, rubbing his arm comfortingly. “Hey, we don't have to do anything. We can just get ourselves clean and get back to work.”
“No,” Steve said quickly, both thankful and embarrassed that Danny was being so understanding about his sudden attack of nerves. “I want to, it's, I mean.”
“This is a new thing, isn't it?” Danny asked gently, still smoothing his hand up and down Steve's arm. “That's fine. I've only ever done this with my wife and one guy, once. Well, I never saw him naked and, you know, I'll stopping talking now.”
Steve grinned at him, suddenly a lot less nervous now he knew Danny wasn't that much more experienced than he was. “Slow's good.”
Danny smiled at him, reaching up to unbutton his own shirt. Steve stared as golden skin was revealed, dusted with blond curls that he wanted to comb his fingers through. Danny winced slightly as he pulled the shirt off his injured arm and Steve couldn't help reaching up to help, to try to make him not hurt.
“I'm fine, babe,” Danny said, smiling fondly at him. “I'm going to keep the bandages on and then we can redress them after. You can even slather on some more of that green muck Miss Forth gave us.”
“Okay,” Steve agreed, reaching for the button on Danny's pants with slightly shaky hands.
Danny didn't speak, just watched him as Steve's fingers fumbled a little before undoing the fly and pushing his pants down. Danny was wearing white undershorts that were crumpled and clinging after three days in the desert. Despite cleaning themselves as best they could each day, they were both getting a little ripe.
The air was filling with the aroma of rosemary and pine, thanks to the bath salts Kamekona said were his dad's favorite. It smelt clean and fresh and Steve felt his mind clearing, the fog of too little sleep lifting. He stepped back from Danny, even though he wanted nothing more than to get his hands on the man and never let go, and started to quickly remove his own clothes. Danny rolled his eyes at him and finished the job Steve had started, skinning out of his pants.
Steve tried to concentrate on stripping off, but he couldn’t help but watch as Danny pushed off his socks and their suspenders and pulled off his undershirt. God, he was beautiful. He might have been shorter than Steve, but Danny was powerfully built, his shoulders broad and his chest muscled. His torso was covered with hair, which tapered down to a line that pointed like an arrow into his shorts.
“Come on, slow poke,” Danny teased, pushing down his shorts and stepping out of them.
Steve laughed, only it sounded strangled even to his ears, his eyes locked on Danny's groin. His dick was hard, jutting out of a thatch of dark blond curls and Steve wanted nothing more than to test what it felt like. But Danny was, with a sly smirk that said he knew what Steve was thinking, already sitting on the edge of the bath and swinging his legs over the side.
“God, that feels good,” Danny groaned, sinking down into the warm water.
Steve stripped off the rest of his clothes as fast as he could, barely taking his eyes off Danny as the man relaxed against the side of the bath. He sat on the edge of the pool, thanking his mother for insisting that the hot water pipes had to run through the thick stone to warm it, and clambered into the water. It was heaven. The water was hot enough to be relaxing, but not so much that he had to wait for his body to adjust, and the scent of pine and rosemary wafting up to meet him was a relief after the dry dust of the desert.
He ducked under the water, scrubbing his fingers through his hair to get the sand and grit off his scalp. He popped back to the surface and found Danny watching him, a fond smile on his face.
“You really are a fish, aren't you?”
“You don't like the water?” Steve asked, not sure he liked being called a fish.
“I like it just fine,” Danny said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “But you? You relax in the water. Even asleep you didn't look this calm.”
“Maybe it's you who relaxes me,” Steve replied, sliding over to crowd into Danny's personal space. “Maybe we could relax each other.”
“Smooth, Steve,” Danny laughed, wrapping his hand around the back of Steve's neck and reeling him in. “Really smooth.”
Danny tasted of coffee and honey from the snack Kamekona had forced on them when they'd gotten back to the house. Steve chased the taste as their tongues slid together, his hands slipping around Danny's waist to pull him even closer. Danny groaned into the kiss and Steve knew any notion of taking it slow was going to be forgotten. The position was awkward, but he rolled his hips and felt the hard length of Danny's erection pressing against his stomach. God, it was already better than he'd ever imagined it could be and nothing had really happened yet.
Steve broke away and panted into the damp skin of Danny's neck, mouthing kisses up to his ear. Danny's hand skimmed down his side before coming to rest on his hip, his thumb brushing back and forth over the crease where leg met abdomen. It felt so good, but Steve wanted more. He wanted to finally feel someone else's hand on him in the most intimate of places, he wanted it to be Danny who introduced him into this new world. “Please.”
Danny pulled back to look him in the eye. His lips were red and swollen from their kisses and his face flushed, but his eyes were serious. “Are you sure? We don't have to.”
“I'm not some blushing bride,” Steve argued, running his hand down Danny's stomach and clumsily gripping his cock.
“Whoa, easy there,” Danny said with a grimace that made Steve yank his hand back, embarrassed by his actions. “Hey. Stop it.”
Danny grabbed Steve's wrist, pulling his hand gently back down to wrap around his cock. It was smooth and solid, like touching his own, but Danny's was thicker. Danny's fingers joined with his, setting the pace as he moved his fist up and down. Danny's eyelids fluttered closed and he dropped his head back onto the side of the pool. He moaned and Steve thought he might come just from watching Danny.
It was such a rush, knowing he was the one who was making Danny lose control, making him thrust his hips up and down as he searched for his release. All right, so Danny was still guiding his hand, making it good for himself, but Steve was learning what he liked, what he needed to do so next time he could make the other man come apart completely.
“God, Steve,” Danny groaned, his stomach muscles trembling. “I'm gonna come.”
Steve kept up the rhythm Danny set, but squeezed a little tighter, knowing he liked that himself. Danny cried out, a wordless shout of release, his hips snapping up as his dick twitched in Steve's hand. Steve looked away from Danny's face, watching in fascination as Danny's come clouded the water as it jetted out before swirling away and dispersing. He felt an illicit thrill at the idea of being covered in Danny's release.
“Jesus Christ, Steve,” Danny sighed, making Steve look back at his face. He looked wrecked but relaxed and so damn happy that something in Steve almost couldn't stand it. He wasn't used to being the focus of that much pleasure, of being smiled at like he was the most important person in the world, even if it was for just a few moments.
“We might need to take a shower after the bath,” Steve said, not sure what he was supposed to do with himself. He wanted to ask Danny if he should stroke himself to completion so Danny could relax, but he didn't know how to find the words.
“Come here, you giant goof,” Danny replied with a soft smile that made Steve's heart seem to skip a beat painfully in his chest. Steve went though, leaning in and letting Danny kiss his way into his mouth, making him moan with newly remembered need.
“Danny,” he breathed, into the other man's mouth, desperate to be touched again.
“Here,” Danny said, pulling away from the kiss and away from Steve and patting the side of the pool. “Sit up here.”
“I don't,” Steve started, not sure what was happening.
“Do you want to get off, too?” Danny asked, giving him a look that was probably supposed to be a glare but was too filled with happiness and affection to be anywhere near. “Or do you want me to draw you up a battle plan and do a risk assessment of the situation first?”
Steve didn't need to be told twice. He pulled himself up and sat on the low wall of the pool, Danny muscling between his legs before he'd barely settled his ass on the warm stone. His brain stuttered and stalled when Danny grinned up at him before opening his mouth and taking the tip of Steve's cock between his lips.
Jesus Christ. It was warm and wet and just about the most perfect thing he'd ever experienced. One of Danny's hands wrapped around the base of his dick, covering the part not inside Danny's mouth, and the other came up to cup his balls.
Steve groaned, his eyes closing even though he really wanted to watch. He'd never imagined anyone would do this for him, not without him paying. God. It was dirty and so good. His hips were trying to thrust up, but they were pinned down by Danny's elbows, and that was another thrill in itself.
“Oh God, Danny,” he chanted, not really caring what came out of his mouth as long as Danny didn't stop. “Oh God. Oh God, please.”
Danny hummed, and the orgasm that had been building suddenly hit Steve like a tidal wave. Every muscle tensed and released, his skin flashed hot and cold and could have sworn all his hair stood on end. He shouted something, he had no idea what, and the world dimmed around him; the suction of Danny's mouth on his spurting cock the only thing that mattered.
He shuddered and twitched as Danny mouthed his spent flesh, drawing out his orgasm until Steve thought he might actually die from it. His partner moved away just before Steve was about to push him off as he became too sensitive. “Come on, back in the water.”
Steve wasn't sure he could make his arms and legs work enough to slide off the edge of the pool without drowning himself in the process, but Danny seemed to guess that and manhandled him down into the still warm water. Steve curled around the other man, pressing his face into the smooth skin of his neck, sinking back so that they rested against the side of the pool.
He was still shaking, just a little bit, and he wanted to say thank you to Danny, tell him just how much that meant. He didn't know how, or if he was supposed to. Danny's arms were tight around him, holding on as though the other man knew somehow he might go to pieces without it.
“You okay?” Danny asked, the words spoken against Steve's damp hair.
“Yeah,” Steve agreed, kissing Danny's neck. “That was... I never imagined.”
“Babe,” Danny said, squeezing him tighter. “I've got you.”
Maybe he didn't have to say thank you. Maybe Danny knew just how much it meant to him. He was glad, now, that he'd resisted all the times he'd thought about finding some willing partner in a back alley in one port or another. He had Danny, and Danny had him, and it was all he'd ever wanted.
Steve felt himself starting to doze, the warm water and the glow from the release catching up with his exhaustion. He should get out of the bath, it was dangerous to be this sleepy in the water, but he couldn't seem to find the energy to move. Danny had him; Danny would make sure he was safe, just for the next few minutes. He'd have to get up soon, he needed to get his thoughts in order to brief the ambassador first thing in the morning, but right now he was going to relax and let someone else watch over him.
Steve fought the urge to stand, ignoring the coffee cup that had been placed on the table in front of him. He wasn’t used to giving his reports to his superiors sitting down, and the fact that he had nothing to show for their time in the desert except for a few extra bumps and bruises didn't make him feel any better. Danny, who he had to admit had the majority of the injuries, slouched in Ambassador Jameson's easy chair and drank the offered coffee as though it was his right.
“And so you didn't see your attackers?” Jameson asked, stroking his little mustache pensively.
“Not close enough to recognize them,” Steve admitted, wishing he had more to offer the man. “Although I'm pretty sure they were driving a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost.”
“You never mentioned that,” Danny said, sitting up a little straighter.
Steve wondered what he was missing, it was just a car. “Didn't seem that important.”
“Not important!” Danny exclaimed, waving his hands and making Steve want to take the coffee cup from him. “We can trace all the Silver Ghosts registered in Cairo.”
“Oh,” Steve replied, feeling stupid for not realizing the police had that ability. He had so much to learn about what was and wasn't possible in his new role.
“It seems you gentlemen still have some kinks to iron out of your working relationship,” the ambassador murmured, taking a sip of his coffee.
“Yes, sir,” Steve replied, sitting a little straighter and taking the words for the rebuke they were.
“Commander McGarrett, that wasn't a reprimand,” Jameson clarified, his face softening a little and a smile curling at his lips. “You've worked together for under a week, you've been back in the country for about the same amount of time, and you're doing a job you've never done before. I think it's all right to take your time to find your feet.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Really, McGarrett,” the man insisted, sounding a little exasperated. “You've done an excellent job so far. You've gotten much further than the police, no offense meant, Detective Williams.”
“None taken, sir,” Danny replied, looking like he actually meant what he said. “We'd pretty much hit a brick wall until Steve arrived.”
“And I gather your two friends are proving useful,” Jameson said, a smirk playing about his lips. “I had Russell in here telling me about Miss Kalakaua and her antics.”
“You did say I could run my operation as I saw fit,” Steve pointed out, hoping he wasn't going to have to fight to keep Kono as an official part of the team.
“Oh, I'm not complaining, Steven,” Jameson said, holding up his hands in protest. “Far from it. You have a great asset in her, something the police are too hidebound by tradition to realize. Well, I think Russell wishes he had a few like Miss Kalakaua, but he's a rather forward thinking man. And one who's been exposed too often to your friend Mrs. Emerson and her propensity to be just as involved in any trouble as her husband.”
“I didn't know you knew the Emersons,” Steve said, wondering more how the ambassador knew he knew the family.
“Everyone knows the Emersons,” the other man pointed out, putting his empty coffee cup down and getting out his cigarette case to offer them one. “Or wants to know them.”
“That's true,” Danny agreed, declining the offered tobacco. “Stan's been trying to get an invite to dinner with them for weeks. I can't wait to let it slip I ate with them the other night.”
“We should have them over to dinner one night,” Steve suggested, more than happy to help Danny get one up on Stan. “Maybe have Grace come, too.”
Danny grinned at Steve, happy with the way his mind worked, before obviously remembering where they were and that they couldn't let this new thing between then show. Steve looked away quickly and Danny coughed. Christ, they had to get better at hiding how they felt in public.
“You are a devious man, Steven,” the ambassador said, smiling at them as if they hadn't just almost declared their relationship in front of him. “And you too, Daniel.”
“We try, sir,” Danny said, sounding as if he'd just been given the highest compliment ever.
“So, what's your next move?” Jameson asked, checking his pocket watch in a sign their interview was coming to an end.
He and Danny hadn't talked about the idea of someone they knew feeding the enemy information since their conversation at Hamid's house, which he realized now had been stupid. They couldn't very well have a discussion about what to tell the ambassador when he was sitting right there, so Steve had to make a snap judgment and hope Danny agreed.
“We've gotten the address of a house we believe Hesse is using as his headquarters,” Steve explained, glancing at Danny and seeing no obvious objections to passing on the information.
“And what do you propose to do about it?” Jameson asked, sitting forward in his seat, obviously excited by the news.
“We're going to infiltrate the house,” Steve replied, being intentionally vague about the plan he had. Partly because he hadn't thought it all through yet, and partly because it involved Kono putting herself in danger and the cooperation of a notorious peddler of human beings. The less the ambassador knew about it, the better.
“And what do you hope to find?”
“If Hesse isn't there, we'll look for any leads on where he might be hiding and what his plans are. If nothing else, losing his safe houses might rattle him enough that he'll start making mistakes.”
“Will you inform Russell?” Jameson asked, looking at his watch again.
“Yes,” Steve replied, although he wasn't sure if he was going to yet. “We'll need to get some backup from the regular police.”
“Excellent,” Jameson agreed, standing up. “Now, I'm sorry, gentlemen, but I have a meeting with the French ambassador.”
“Thank you for your time, sir,” Steve said, standing and feeling suddenly much more relaxed. He was really going to have to work at reporting from a chair. “I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but please keep this information to yourself. The fewer people who know, the less likely Hesse is to find out our plans.”
“Of course,” Jameson agreed easily, none of the annoyance at being reminded of something so basic Steve had feared he'd see on his new boss's face. Hopefully it wasn't just that he was a brilliant actor.
Danny nodded at the ambassador and preceded Steve out of the door, passing the empty secretary's desk, and out into the corridor before speaking in a whisper. “Are we really telling Russell?”
“No,” Steve said, finally making his choice as he walked down the stairs to the entrance hall and its grand doorway. “I want to start excluding people who could be the mole. The sooner we can know who the trust, the better.”
“Okay,” Danny said with a little nod of his head at the marine who held the door open for them. “Although I'd like some backup when we go in.”
“Actually,” Steve said, thinking the journey back to his house was likely to be as good a place as any to explain his plan. “We're going to be the backup. Kono will be going in on her own.”
“What?” Danny exploded, stopping on the steps to the embassy. “You can't be serious?”
“Not here, Danny,” Steve hissed, grabbing his arm and hustling him down the steps and towards the car. “I'll explain in the car.”
“Oh, this I want to hear,” Danny said, anger rolling off him in waves. “Because there is no scenario you can give me where this is a good idea. You do not send people into danger, no matter who they are, without any way of calling for assistance.
Steve didn't have all the pieces in place yet, but he was ninety percent there. He was pretty sure that Danny was going to come around to his way of thinking once he saw the plan laid out, even if Steve still needed to work on some of the more minor details. He did already have the solution to Danny's concern about not being able to know if Kono was in trouble. And she was going to love it.
Chapter 11