Disclaimer: Still own nothing. Darn USA won't give me rights to Hawaii, or Magnum PI. Anyway, read on!
Julie could barely see through her tears. She ran into someone and mumbled an apology while trying to wipe her vision clean.
"That's ok, girlie. You made our job that much easier."
Her blood ran cold when she recognized the voice. She slowly looked up into Tony's eyes.
A scream ripped from her throat.
"Shut her up!" Carlo snapped, grabbing at her flailing legs. Tony covered her mouth with his hand, pressing her against him to muffle the sound.
"Miss Julie!" The valet came out of nowhere. Annoyed, Carlo pulled out his gun and let out two shots.
Screams erupted from the club and Julie's eyes widened. They quickly closed, however, and her body went limp from a lack of oxygen. Tony caught her and threw her over his shoulder.
"Quick, get to the car!" he shouted, running.
Rick shoved past the people running from the door, shouting Julie's name repeatedly. He finally reached the outside in time to see a car peel away.
"NO!" Rick ran to his own car and jumped in, speeding after them.
"I'm not letting you take her," he muttered as he weaved steadily in and out of traffic after them.
"The short one's following us," Carlo said, looking over his shoulder. "Should I shoot him?"
"Too many people, it'll cause too much attention."
Carlo looked back at the unconscious girl in the back seat. He grinned with a look that would make most women shrivel in revulsion. "She's a looker, ain't she?"
"You're not allowed to touch her!" Tony snapped. "If she's raped, it'll cause more attention to the body!"
"Too bad."
Rick saw the light turn red. He floored it, trying to catch up with the sedan.
Unfortunately, his car collided with another.
Ignoring the swearing driver of the other vehicle, he struggled out of his car and ran as much as he could, until he realized that Julie's kidnappers were out of sight.
"Julie…"
You know I can't smile without you
I can't smile without you
I can't laugh and I can't sing
I'm findin' it hard to do anything
The police station in Honolulu always was chaotic, but today I could do without the havoc.
Magnum sank onto the bench in the police waiting room, burying his face in his hands. Rick sat next to him, a tragic look in his eyes. TC only kept twisting his cap in his hands. Higgins tried to pace in his crutches. Under any other circumstances, Magnum knew he'd be laughing until his sides ached. But Julie was now at the mercy of the Mob.
Mac came out from one of the room, accompanied by a police officer. Magnum rose to his feet, Rick echoing his actions.
"Well?" Magnum asked after a long pause.
"Well, we've checked the information you've given us, Mr. Magnum," the officer read the report. "It all checks out. Two men Chicago's identified as Mob hands arrived on the flight after your sister. We're sending some men to their hotel to see if we find anything."
"Find anything? They're probably gone by now!" Magnum argued. "This is my little sister, damn it!"
"Magnum, we're trying!" Mac argued. "You should have come to me sooner. Now our hands are tied until they show their hand. We can't find them at the moment."
"This is all my fault," Rick said with no emotion in his voice. His face looked numb.
"It's nobody's fault." Mac took off his cap and wiped at the sweat on his forehead. "From what you've told me, these guys were desperate. They would have gotten her eventually."
At Magnum's glare, he fell silent.
"What can we do?" Higgins filled the silence.
"At the moment?" The officer shook his head. "Pray as hard as you can."
You see I feel sad when you're sad
I feel glad when you're glad
If you only knew what I'm goin' through
After much persuasion from Mac and Magnum, Rick went home. As soon as he walked in the door, though, the smell of Julie's perfume hit his nose and sent him senses whirling.
Why didn't I just shove Charlene away? Rick asked himself angrily for the hundredth time.
Despite the many assurances that this wasn't his fault, he knew better. If he hadn't picked that stupid fight with Julie, she would be safe and sound, maybe in his arms right now.
For the first time since he met Julie, he didn't feel guilty when he lit a cigarette.
He needed to wash away the smell of her. For his sanity.
I just can't smile without you
Magnum stared at the phone as if willing it to ring. Mac and the police crowded the main room of the Guest House. Higgins had agreed willingly to let them wire the phone in case the kidnappers decided to try and fleece some extra cash out of this whole deal.
I felt like I should be doing something. But what else could I do? The hotel search had proved fruitless- these guys apparently weren't as stupid as we originally thought. The room was cleaner than it usual was after the maids went through. They left no clue about where they were taking Julie.
We only knew they couldn't escape. The Coast Guard watched the water, the airport had been notified, and there were no roads off of Hawaii.
Now all we did was sit and wait.
Zeus and Apollo seemed to have sense what had happened, because they lay at Magnum's feet whimpering every once in a while. When the door opened, their heads perked up until they saw it wasn't Julie.
But, patiently, they only would lie down again, until the door opened again.
Their faith was reassuring. Slightly.
You came along just like a song
And brightened my day
Who'da believed that you were part of a dream
Julie woke up to hear someone yelling. The accent reminded her of Chicago.
That woke her up instantly. And made her regret trying to sit up.
"Mr. Romo, I have her in my possession right now! All we need to do is kill her and get going. Why not get a bit of extra cash from it, eh?"
Muffled talking responded. Julie blinked repeatedly to try and focus on what details she could perceive. They appeared to be in a cheap hotel, as she gathered from the cigarette ash on the floor and rank smell. She grimaced and tried to move away.
Her hands were tied behind her back, as were her feet at the ankles. She tested the rope. With a good knife, she could probably break free. The gag at her mouth appeared to be a clean handkerchief.
Thank goodness for small miracles, she thought wryly.
To her dismay, the one not on the phone kept giving her a lecherous eye. When she glared at him, he winked and blew her a kiss. Disgusting.
She wondered if Tom was making an effort to find her.
Now it all seems light years away
Magnum jumped when someone knocked on the door to the Guest House. One Lieutenant signaled for him and Higgins to get down. The dogs started barking suddenly.
The door swung open and the Lieutenant pointed the gun at Rick.
"Hey, ease off, will ya?" Rick demanded, raising his hands in the air in the universal, 'Don't shoot,' gesture.
"Rick, what in the hell are you doing here?" Magnum demanded.
"My staff kicked me out," Rick admitted, climbing down the stairs. Zeus and Apollo growled at him. "Look, she likes me, so knock it off!" he demanded to them. They gruffed then sat back down.
"They kicked you out?" Magnum repeated, as if he didn't hear properly.
"Yeah, I can't keep my mind on my work." Rick sat down next to him. "Any word yet?" he asked, clasping his knees. Magnum recognized the twitching and edginess in Rick's body.
"Nothing." Both men stared at the telephone, as if that would make it ring.
Now some people say happiness takes so
Very long to find
Well I'm finding it hard leavin' your love behind me
The hours passed. TC arrived after finishing his work. He came in looking as pale as he could with his dark features.
"Anything?" The silence answered him eloquently.
Mac stepped around, picking up items and putting them back. Magnum wanted to yell at him to stop. He only moved when Mac picked up a copy of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's greatest works.
"PUT THAT BACK!"
Jumping like he'd been touched with a live wire, Mac's wide eyes accused Magnum. "You scared the hell out of me, Magnum! What's so special about a dusty old book, anyway?"
"It's Julie's," Magnum answered.
The anger in Mac melted away into embarrassment. "I'm sorry." He handed it gingerly over to Magnum, who flipped through the pages.
Rick looked at it with longing. Magnum noticed, and, after carefully holding it and studying it, handed the book over to Rick. "It's her favorite poet," he explained.
Nodding, Rick opened it and flipped through the pages. The margins had notes commenting on style, meanings, images, and other fancy lingo Rick didn't recognize. A bookmark rested at a poem. When had she last read this? Rick wondered.
He read silently, "First time he kissed me, he but only kissed/ The fingers of this hand wherewith I write…" He half-smiled, remembering that kiss on her hand at the club, her first night in Hawaii.
The phone rang.
Everyone jumped, visibly. Higgins hobbled over, leaning on his cane. TC leaned over towards the table. Magnum looked over at Mac, waiting for his nod.
The phone recorder was connected. Mac nodded silently.
Magnum picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Tommy?"
"Julie, what-" Tom could faintly hear her muffled cry as she was dragged from the phone. "Julie! What are you doing to her?"
"Hello, Mr. Magnum." The Chicago accent grated on Magnum's nerves. "It seems your sister has a little problem with our hospitality. She's already bit me twice to get out of here."
"Good." Mac shook his head at Magnum, but Magnum glared back. Why shouldn't she defend herself?
"Well, it makes me upset, Mr. Magnum. And do you know what happens when I'm upset?" Magnum felt his stomach flop when he heard Julie crying out.
"No, no, please, don't—TOMMY!" The scream ripped his heart.
"STOP IT!" Magnum shouted at him. "Leave her alone, this is between you and me!"
"Will you listen?" the voice asked, confident and smug.
Rick's fists tightened into white rocks. He longed to bash that idiot's head in.
"What do you want?" Magnum asked.
"You know where the Mahua Hiki dock is?"
His instructions were simple. I was to arrive alone, with no one else, at the dock and leave a garbage bag with half a million in it. I was to wear a red bandana so they could identify me. I would drop the money in a trash boat at the end of the dock. If the police came, Julie died sooner and in a lot of pain.
Rick and TC stood in disguise at their posts. Rick pretended to be a Union Worker building a wall. TC drove one of the construction vehicles. Both had smudged as much dirt as they could onto their faces, making it hard to recognize them. They had arrived three hours early.
Magnum drove up in the Ferrari.
Mac and his men stood ready to get out when necessary. Hopefully, Magnum would distract them long enough so Rick and TC could get Julie. That was, if Julie was on this dock. Mac was starting to have his suspicions.
"Something's not right, Magnum," Mac breathed into his walkie-talkie.
"Since when is my sister being kidnapped right, Mac?" Magnum retorted.
"No!" Mac snapped. "I mean, this is too easy. I don't think she's on this dock."
Hanging his head, Magnum replied, "I have to take that chance, Mac."
Mac sighed. "I know."
Rick looked up from his place at the brick wall then back at his task. He hoped with all his heart that Julie was nearby and safe.
Stepping out of the Ferrari, Magnum slowly tied the bandana on his forehead, with sure movements. He reached back in and picked up the garbage bag and slung it over his shoulder.
He walked slowly to the other side of the pier. After looking both ways, he dropped it onto the barge.
Walking back, he could feel someone's eyes on his back.
But no one came out to get the money. They waited for three hours to no avail. Finally, they went back to the house, depressed. Julie was probably dead now.
Apollo started barking like crazy. Higgins stood, his heart in his throat.
The cars pulled up as Higgins hobbled out of the house.
When Higgins opened his mouth to ask how it went, Magnum held up a hand with curt movement. He stormed passed Higgins to the Guest House.
"I take it this was unsuccessful." Mac shook his head at Higgins' talk.
"You could say that."
Magnum snapped off the lights inside the Guest House and walked over to his bed. He collapsed on it.
After about ten minutes of silence, he finally gave into the sobs.
The bed shook with the force of his crying.
He had failed Julie.
After picking up the money that Magnum had left, Tony and Carlo had put Julie in the bathtub. That way, less blood to clean up.
But that was hours ago. And she was still alive.
Julie could hear Tony's drunken slur from the other room. "Yeah, and the boss thinks I can't keep my mouth shut. But you know better, dontcha, doll?"
A fake, but definitely feminine giggle answered him. Julie's ears perked.
Another girl in the room? Her hopes soared.
She could hear someone coming and sank back down in the bathtub, pretending to be asleep.
"Jeez, what a couple of losers," a think accent mumbled, definitely female. "Think they're kings of the world, bet they're lying through their tee- AAH!"
Julie opened her eyes to see a dyed red-head with thick makeup and barely-there clothes staring at her with dark wide eyes.
"Shh!" Julie whispered desperately.
"What did they do to you?" the girl whispered, thunderstruck. And Julie couldn't blame her.
Thanks to her attitude yesterday, she now had thin slivers of cuts up and down her arms. The blood had dried, and they wouldn't scar, but they hurt like hell. She now also had a huge bruise on her cheek from the back of Tony's hand. And her ribs… if they weren't broken, it would be a miracle.
"That's not important," Julie whispered back. "Please, you got to help me get out of here. They're going to kill me!"
The girl stared at her, still stunned. But then she slowly nodded. "I may be trash, but even I have my limits." She held out a hand, covered with lacquered nails and cheap rings. "My name's Rochelle." She gave a tentative smile.
"Julie." Julie nodded towards her tied up arms. Rochelle wisely put her hand away.
"So do you want me to cut these open?" she asked instead.
"No! We'll never get both of us out of here; I've already tried that." Julie tried to wriggle over so her voice wouldn't carry. "I need you to go to the police and tell them where I am. My brother's looking for me."
"Ok." Rochelle pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, which surprised Julie. Rochelle shrugged. "Directions to places."
"Ah." Julie wisely did not comment, but told her the phone number to Robin's Nest.
As Rochelle left, Julie whispered, "Please hurry."
Author's Note: Can't Smile Without You, by. . . Barry Manilow? I think? Don't quote me on that, I just know that I didn't write the song. Anyway, enjoy, people!