"How're you feeling, Danny?" Jenny asked solicitously as Danny entered the office the next morning with Steve a few steps behind.

"I'm fine, thanks," he assured her. It wasn't quite the truth. He was a little sore, but not enough to really slow him down much. He had been collected by Steve, as his car was in the shop for repairs, and Steve had privately determined to keep an eye on the young man to make sure that he didn't over do things that day. Danny had swapped out the large swathe of gauze over the stitches on his hand for a large band aid, but Steve had already decreed that he wouldn't be out on the street until the stitches were removed. His hand was stiff, but remarkably pain free. Steve wanted it kept that way.

The detectives gathered for their early morning update in Steve's office. Both Chin and Kono expressed their relief that Danny was not badly hurt and Danny thanked Kono and Steve for taking him home the previous day. He was mortified that he had had to be 'put to bed' by them and so didn't mention that. Kono had a twinkle in his eye as Danny thanked him, but he didn't mention 'tucking in' his friend.

With those pleasantries over, Steve took charge of the conversation again. "So what do we have?" he asked.

"We've had the hospitals alerted to tell us about any gunshot wounds they admitted," Chin replied. "I know they tell us anyway, but they were warned this is extra important and to tell us wikiwiki. There's been nothing so far. No dead bodies have been reported anywhere, either, so we have to assume that the one Danny winged is still alive and being treated by the other gang members."

"Or that we just haven't found the body yet," Danny added.

"I spoke to the TV station and they said they got an anonymous phone tip-off about the raid," Kono offered. "A man's voice, but that was all they could tell us."

"I wonder if it would be worth putting a trace on their line," Steve mused. "Chin, Kono, I want you out on the streets, pushing your snitches for information. Somebody has to know something! Danno, I want you to stay in the office and look at what we have already. Maybe something will jump out at you."

"All right," Danny replied. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in the office, but he knew that Steve had a point. If something happened when he was talking to some of the low-lifes he used as snitches, he was not really in a position to defend himself.

As his three detectives rose, Steve rose with them and rounded his desk to pat Danny's shoulder. "I know you'd rather be out there, aikane," he murmured, "but I don't want to take that risk."

"I know," Danny agreed ruefully. It didn't mean he had to like it, though. "I'll get started reviewing what we have."

"I have another meeting with the governor," Steve told him. "Hold the fort until I get back."

"Governor Jameson is really putting the pressure on this time, isn't he?" Danny asked sympathetically. Steve had had to see the governor almost every day.

"Sure is. With the election coming up later this year, he's getting flak from his supporters, too, I suppose," Steve surmised. "Another reason why I would never enter politics." He buttoned his jacket. "I hope I won't be too long."

"I hope so, too," Danny smiled. He headed into his own cubicle as Steve headed out of the door.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

About an hour later, Steve was still not back. Danny was unsure if he was making any headway or not. He had jotted down a few notes as he reviewed the evidence, but so far had come to no earth-shaking conclusions. Nothing new had leapt out at him and he was beginning to feel rather discouraged.

"Danny," Jenny called across to him. "It's Leahi hospital ER on the phone. They had a young man dropped off a short time ago, suffering from a gunshot wound. We asked to be notified quickly about any such injuries."

"Thanks," Danny replied, grabbing up the phone. "This is Detective Williams."

"Leahi ER," answered a clipped male voice. "We just found a young man on our doorstep with a serious gunshot wound. You asked to be notified at once."

"I'll be right over," Danny promised. "What is his condition?"

"It's serious," the man replied. "He has lost a lot of blood and the bullet is still in him and there is infection present, too."

"Thank you." Danny put the receiver down and grabbed his gun from the drawer, sliding it into his holster. He shrugged on his suit jacket. "Jenny, tell Steve I'm at Leahi hospital. It looks like one of our perps from yesterday has turned up and he's not in a good way. I hope I'll be able to ask him some questions. I'll hang around at the hospital for as long as I need to." He made a quick detour into Steve's office to collect the keys to Steve's car and headed out of the building at a rapid walk.

He hoped the young man would not die – and for more than just one reason. Danny knew he would feel dreadful if he had caused the young man's death, regardless of the crimes that man had committed. He also hoped the guy wouldn't die, because he would be able to give them some answers – provided he was willing to talk!

Although it didn't take him long to reach the hospital, by the time he got there, the young man was in surgery. The ER doctor who had treated him initially assured Danny that they had managed to stabilise him before taking him up to surgery and the surgeon who was operating was one of the best they had. As yet, they had no name for the man, but they had kept his clothes and Danny summoned someone from the lab to go over the garments. They would get the slug as soon as the operation was over, but there seemed little doubt that it would match Danny's gun.

Waiting was always the hardest thing to do. Danny paced a little, but ultimately settled himself in a corner of the waiting room so that he didn't disturb the other people who were sitting there. He didn't know how long the operation would last, and picked up a surfing magazine to pass the time with, but it couldn't capture his full attention.

After a while, Danny realised that a youth in another corner of the room was surreptitiously watching him over a different issue of the same surfing magazine. The youth's clothes were grimy, he was incredibly thin and he had dark circles under his eyes. Danny found himself examining the youngster more closely, although his surreptitious scrutiny was far more discreet than the boy's. As the youngster twitched nervously, Danny became convinced that this boy was waiting to hear about the same person that Danny was. His pulse quickened, although he kept his posture relaxed. Maybe they were finally going to get a break on this case!

Putting down his magazine, Danny made a big show of stretching and yawning and rose to amble a few paces, apparently working the kinks out of his legs and back. Goodness knows the chairs were uncomfortable enough to warrant that action, even if he hadn't been playacting. He carefully did not look at the youth straight on, but something must have given him away, for the boy suddenly dropped his magazine and made a bolt for the door.

For a fraction of a second, Danny thought the youth would get away, but he lunged for door and beat the youngster there by mere inches. "Going somewhere?" he asked ominously.

"You got nothing on me!" the boy spat. "Get outta my way!"

Leaning his back against the door, Danny casually produced his badge and flashed it for the attention of the few other people in the room who had been looking at him in outrage at his behaviour. They all subsided and returned to their waiting. "I think we need to have a talk in private," Danny told the kid and took him by the arm.

Another flash of his badge got him a tiny private room. Danny made the kid sit down and leaned against the door. "So, you're waiting to see if your friend lives, huh?" Danny asked. There was no response apart from a black look. "Me, too," Danny informed him. "I'm pretty sure it was me who shot him yesterday. Must have been quite a scare for you when he went down."

Again, there was no response, but the youth looked pale. "What's your name?" Danny asked. He sighed as yet again the youth ignored him. He took a step closer and grabbed the youth's arm. Alarmed, the kid surged to his feet, pushing and hitting against Danny as the detective ignored his antics and pushed up the sleeve. As he had expected, there were needle tracks on the pale skin. Disgusted, Danny let go of his arm and the kid gave him a hard shove as he lunged towards the door of the small room.

Catching the youth easily, Danny pushed him down onto the seat and rubbed his smarting chest where the kid's hands had hit the small wounds left from the previous day. "Calm down, kid," Danny ordered. "When was your last hit?"

"I ain't talkin' to you, pig!" the kid shouted and Danny guessed that he had had a hit a little while ago.

"You'll talk, one way or the other," Danny told him bleakly. From the sudden blanching of his skin, Danny realised that the youth thought he was likely in for a beating. "Once you're desperate for a hit, you'll sing like a canary," Danny elaborated. "Cooperate, and you might find yourself in a bed here, coming down easily. Don't cooperate and you'll go through withdrawal cold turkey while you wait to go to court."

The youth replied with a profanity. Danny shook his head sadly. He would not fancy going cold turkey on withdrawal, not from the things he had seen and heard in his career. Shaking his head, Danny moved to search the young man's pockets.

As Danny leaned over, the youth kicked him hard in the shins and swung a haphazard punch at his ear. Despite being scrawny to the point of emaciation, he staggered the detective and slipped through Danny's fingers, fleeing for the door.

Groaning, Danny straightened up and ran after the youth, catching him in the corridor by one arm. The kid whirled and threw another punch at Danny and this time managed to bloody his nose. Danny was seriously hacked off by now, and pushed the kid against the wall, handcuffing him while doing. "You're under arrest," he told the kid as he searched him. "Assault of a police officer just to start with and…" His questing fingers found a small packet in the kid's pants pocket and he pulled it out. "Possession of a prohibited substance." Danny put a finger in and gingerly tested the contents. "Heroin," he surmised.

"Detective Williams!" The voice was reproving and Danny glanced up to see the head nurse glaring at him. Her expression changed when she saw the blood on his face. "Are you all right?" she asked.

"Yeah, fine," Danny agreed distractedly. He had to get the kid out of there, but he also had to wait to see if the other youth would survive surgery. "Do you have a tissue?" he asked and the nurse kindly brought him a box of tissues and some ice. Dragging the kid back into the small room, Danny brought the bleeding under control while he debated what to do.

He didn't have to debate long. There was a knock on the door and a doctor entered the room. "Detective Williams, I'm Dr McKenzie. I was operating on the GSW victim."

"How is he?" Danny asked, but the sinking feeling in his stomach told him he was not going to like the answer.

"I'm afraid he died on the table," McKenzie replied. "There was too much damage, he had lost too much blood and the infection he had contracted was virulent. Those factors combined were too much for his system. From what we could see, he was also a junkie. I ordered blood tests and the retrieved bullet is waiting for your orders."

"Thank you," Danny replied, although his heart had sunk at the news. He had killed someone and every time, it was a horrible shock. "Do you have a phone I can use?" He asked the doctor to stay with the kid while he went out to phone the office and report what had happened to Steve. Feeling rather sick, he returned to the room to wait for Steve's arrival.