FanFic: "Ground Fire" (Hawaii Five-0) - Chapter 3 of ??
H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O* H5O*
CHAPTER THREE
Kono wrapped her hand firmly around the trembling bicep of Mr. Al Totorro; the one man on earth who could send Carl 'Angel' Totorro to a maximum security prison for life. The former mafia-owned accountant was small, wiry and down to his thick glasses - (which were now lost somewhere inside the depths of the plane's wreckage), - every bit the epitome of what a desk jockey might look like.
Most knew the beady-eyed man for the killer he also was - his physical appearance belied the man's lack of ethics, empathy or any degree of good virtue. So while he was trembling, it certainly was not likely from fear.
The Totorro genes were anything but angelic. Al had worked for his brother Carl for years. The two were successful as they mutually leached off society, the underground and it seems, each other. One readily able and wiling to throw the other under the bus to save his own personal skin. The other obviously more than willing to take a hit out on his younger brother to prevent just that very thing from happening.
"My ribs are busted and I can't see where I'm going." Totorro whined as he sagged into a seated position onto a damp log. He weakly lifted his cuffed hands in askance, but was once again summarily denied.
"I need a chance .. you know that .. I cut a deal with the Feds. It's your job to keep me alive. Uncuff me so I have that chance."
"Shut up." Caught blotting her temple with her scuffed shirt sleeve, Kono's whisper was harsh. "It's not happening; besides, we are your chance."
She was simultaneously watching Danny as he braced himself stoically against a tree. All three of them were soaked to their skin from seawater. Each was injured from the crash and together, fleeing steadily into the jungle from the two well-armed mercenaries dispatched from the speed boat to finish the job. The only other thing they currently all agreed upon was the iffy closure to that job. If Al didn't show for the trial, there was every indication that Angel Totorro would simply go free. Without his brother's damning testimony, the mafia lord was essentially a free man. While one intended to live by sabotaging his brother, the eldest would see to it that it never happened.
Stifling a pained moan, Kono used a fist to rub the blood away from her hairline. Every bit of her body ached and burned from the crash. They hadn't had time to think about their mutual injuries until that very second; caring for what they could was still only something on a future agenda.
As she heaved in settling lungfuls of air, she cataloged her own woes first. Bleary vision, a touch of nausea, and a solid ache substantiated a concussion. A gash on her right arm was deep but not life-threatening. Gently, she probed her ribs and winced but was relieved when nothing seemed to move under her skin. Their prisoner had sustained a through and through to his lower arm and had at least two busted ribs. Despite the disorienting pain, Totorro had gamely run into the jungle along with the two Five-0 officers but clearly only to save his own somewhat worthless life.
"Danny." Kono's questioning whisper resulted in a raised hand and she instantly quieted. From where she covered Totorro, she was failing in making out her friend's own injuries. The raised hand was streaked in blood though. Danny's awkward use of the tree as a brace meant something more, but Kono couldn't quite figure out what, yet.
Leaning against the tree, Danny surveyed the darkening jungle from as many angles as possible. He wasn't at all jubilant that they might have lost their pursuers. That would only be a temporary respite until their trail was picked up by the highly trained and well paid killers. Carefully sucking in a slow breath, Danny closed his eyes and focused on how the tree's roughened bark poked his shoulder and then ground into his forehead. Their short plane flight with Tortorro had been under wraps; on a need to know basis only. The second leg of his journey back to California was controlled even more tightly by FBI mandate.
There was a leak somewhere in either the FBI or HPD and they'd been setup.
Al's big brother was out gunning for him and it was all much too easy to bring the plane down over the water. "Inside job." Muttering to himself, Danny dismally shook his head as he tried to control the persistent headache and the more worrisome pain in his side. Like Kono, he'd been thrown about by the hard landing and then stunned by the plane's final sideways flip. The violence and noise had been overwhelming but when it stopped, his stunned eyes had met Kono's first for a long pause.
Between them and for what seemed like an eternity, only their shattered breathing could be heard as they stared at each other in mutual bewilderment. Their stunned silence lasted up until Tortorro moaned, cursed and began to struggle in the only fear he'd ever shown as torrents of water rushed in from all sides.
"Danny." He heard Kono and instantly raised his hand to demand silence. It was bad enough Totorro was a whiner and fully inept at finding his feet through the jungle undergrowth. It was worse that he was as evil as his elder brother and yet, it was their duty to keep him alive. With another piercing look through the trees, Danny satisfied himself for the moment as he pushed himself weakly off the tree's knobby trunk.
"We need to go up and find a safe place until help arrives. Higher ground." Danny didn't dare hunker down as a ripple of nausea raced through his stomach. If he sat or took a longer moment to regain his equilibrium, he'd be done until further notice. Based upon Kono's studious evaluation, she knew that sad truth and agreed as she eyed the blood stain made worse by ocean water as it soaked the material of his shirt.
"You okay?" Kono asked, almost smiling as he in turn made a face about her head injury. "What's with your side?"
"My side. Your head ... and your arm." Kono's hair was lank from water on one side and clumped with blood on the other. Her gaze was uneven and hazed. He looked at her arm, now cradled across her chest. Wincing through a spasm, Danny tried to smirk. But he failed, and to cover it up, he gestured to where Tortorro sat. "His ribs are no better. On top of that, he lost his damned glasses!"
"Danny." She stopped his whispered rant mid-way by picking at his shirt. Of them all, he was undeniably more hunched ... more tired. "Just. Please. Let me see it."
Carefully, Danny unwedged his elbow where he'd anchored it firmly against his left side. At first, he thought he'd been cut by metallic debris in the crash or hurt his ribs, but as they made their escape and blood continued to soak his shirt, his assumption had definitely changed. Edging forward, Kono motioned for Danny to watch Totorro's every tiny movement. The man rolled his eyes mockingly when Danny's gun unerringly found his chest. They were smart. Much smarter than any authority engaged in watching him in the past and Totorro's mocking expression altered to one of pure hatred.
"Like I'm going anywhere." Totorro muttered unhappily. Dabbing at his own scraped chin, he watched suspiciously as the female Five-0 officer raised her peer's shirt.
"Not good, brah." Kono's eyes darkened more with worry as she gently probed the puffy and damaged skin. She glanced up when Danny stilled her fingers and reflexively moved away. "Oh man. You got shot back there."
"Join the club." Tortorro snorted softly in disgust as he recognized another gunshot wound. He knew that there'd be a leak in his supposed protection detail and he'd never truly be safe. But having the Piper brought down over open ocean was a novel exercise and he was indeed, impressed.
He narrowed his eyes as he waited for the female officer to announce the wound's severity. He squinted worriedly as the Detective paled more and then briefly swayed. It obviously was bad based upon the man's reaction alone. Yet, the Detective never lost eye contact or faltered from his watch. He wanted to argue the point again, because Totorro was stuck and injured, too. While he didn't relish his current state, he didn't want to necessarily die either and he was determined at least in that. He needed their protection .. he needed both officers alive and on their feet ... at least in the short-term.
"It's through." There was some relief in Kono's voice, but the wound was steadily bleeding under her fingers and there was no denying Danny's level of pain. "We've got to stop the bleeding though."
Back on the crashed Piper, with the water pouring in where they sat and the terrifying sounds of a speed boat's engines, they'd no time to think. There had been no time to do anything except to run. Definitely not enough wherewithal to even try to locate the first aid kit. Now, Kono winced in frustration while she took stock of what precious little they had. With only their own weapons and their cuffed convict, they had no water, food or real gear of any kind. Each was badly banged up and suffering from an equal number of cuts, scrapes and bruising.
"Let's go. We're losing our advantage and we need to keep our distance from those two guys." Preferring to get on the move, Danny shook his head as if reading her mind. "The distress call went out and we know it was received, so it's only a matter of time. Let's go." They'd have to deal with the plain truth that they were at least alive and that help was already en route.
"No." Kono ground her jaw in frustration before turning on Totorro and bending down. She needed five precious minutes of real time - on her terms - for essential triage. "Don't move. Give me this."
Surprised by the sudden physical closeness, the criminal gasped as her fingers found his belt and unbuckled it. Almost jerking the convict off his moss-covered seat, she pulled the leather strap from his pants loop by loop.
"Hey, honey. All you had to do was ask." Totorro leered up at her with an inexcusable shrug when Kono obviously needed to hold herself back from pummeling him into the earth.
"It's a good thing you're all dressed up for the Feds." Kono drawled, as she then attacked his suit coat despite the handcuffs. In fact, Totorro had been in a neat three-piece suit as orchestrated by his lawyers for the meetings on the Big Island, after which he would be escorted in style back to the mainland for the trial. Soaked through and ruined by seawater though, his originally well-designed layers of corporate-looking fine clothing was something they could use now.
"Where did you get that?" Danny snorted softly in amusement as a sharp, thin knife appeared in Kono's hands. He noticed then that she had a small sheath down by her booted ankle. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head before waving off his question. "Never mind .. at least it's a more practical size."
"You know, Danny." Despite their circumstances, Kono smiled to herself as she hacked Totorro's suit coat to particularly sized shreds of material. "Practical is .. as practical does." She snarked back quietly over her shoulder.
"You know what I like? I like assertive women." Lewdly eyeing her again and ruining the private friendly moment, Totorro lifted his cuffed hands as Danny snarled a warning. But Kono neatly cut off his next rude comment with a dry warning of her own as her blade sliced cleanly downward towards the jacket's hemline.
"Do you now, brah? I might just miss and it won't be very pretty." Kono paused briefly to let her intentions sink in, pleased when Danny chuffed a supportive sound behind her back.
"One slip right now and odds are you'll either bleed out or never have kids again." When Totorro dropped his gaze, she continued on to finally remove the material completely from his body. "Sit there and shut up because your next."
There were certain things Steve proved were invaluable assets. A nicely stowed sharp blade was one of those perfect implements. A few minutes later, she had packed Danny's wound front and back. The man's belt was snugged tightly to hold the wadded cloth in place.
"God, Kono. Easy." Danny's vision sparkled warningly and then nearly grayed out as he swayed in place when the pain skyrocketed. Seconds later, the leather belt's cinched girth took his breath away. Kono's name came out as a garbled moan. Unsure if he was even standing, Danny lost sight of Totorro when his hand dropped alarmingly against his will.
"You're okay. I got him … and you, too. Just breathe nice and slow. You know the drill, Danny." Afraid that he'd reached a point of no return, Kono gave Danny a small shake while she continued to whisper. He was still standing but his eyes had closed in a face ashen from stress and pain. She couldn't afford having Danny keel over now or even later. He knew it too as his free hand blindly sought out her fingers.
"Okay, 'kay." Biting back another groan, Danny felt his seeking hold returned with a firm desperation. Her steadying hand and quiet affirmations allowed him to get his jumbled thoughts back together as the nauseating pain thrummed down to a more manageable level. Blinking back tears brought on by a gut-wrenching ache, he watched more clearly as Kono deigned to treat Totorro's lesser wound; the convict clearly surprised by the gentle care.
"Thank you." Lips set in a stern straight line, Totarro mumbled under his breath momentarily confused by the simple yet diligent dressing. The two officers were indeed much smarter and much more astute than any officials he'd come across in his own past. For a moment watching them and being a recipient of their unexpectedly benevolent care, Totarro thought he might just survive his older brother's treacherous murder attempt.
"Here." Feeling ill and off-kilter, Danny's voice sounded tinny in his ears as the two turned in a logical motion. But with Kono skillfully caring for the two men, he needed to do the same for her arm. "Now you."
Kono took charge of watching Totorro as Danny used remaining material to tightly wrap the slashing wound in Kono's arm. With care, he tried to dab away the blood along her hairline and sighed when he finally got down to the actual injury.
"You're going to need stitches." Danny pushed her hair back for a better look, not surprised when he got an off-hand shrug. There was no doubt she was having difficulty focusing based on the ever-constant pained squint. Her pale features and persistent swallowing were giving away the obvious nausea. "You have a concussion."
"It's not so bad." Her wry grin communicated that they all would worry about the specifics later. Much later, after they survived what had been thrust upon them and until help arrived. Switching places once more, Kono re-sheathed her knife and gathered up the remaining bits of destroyed suit coat. Balling the material in her hands, she diligently hid the pile under the thickest parts of the closest jungle undergrowth.
"I think that's it." Kono rotated her arm slowly and gave Danny an appreciative smile. "Let's go onwards and upwards and wait this out."
Ignoring Totorro's mumbled complaints about his ruined coat and belt, the two hauled the man up between them to begin their staggered retreat to higher ground.
~ to be continued ~
Previous Chapter: http://ireneclaire.livejournal.com/1671.html
Chapter 4: http://ireneclaire.livejournal.com/2206.html