Okay, so I managed to finish all my homework pretty quickly, actually, which left my week wide open for relaxation and writing; I've even managed to finish the next chapter as well. It started out as one chapter, but I felt it was getting too long, so I split it into two chapters.
I have had a lovely day out with Skyflower51 and our best friends; we went ice skating in London, where we fell over loads (bruises are now showing up all over my body), we ate at this posh French café which was ridiculously expensive, and then headed up to Covent Garden for a touch of window shopping. We didn't get a lot of time there, because we had to be back on the train before four o'clock, because of the peak travel times, and finished with Halloween. We've got some good decorations, but we've got nothing on my neighbour, who absolutely adores Halloween. So, because I've had an absolutely brilliant day, I'm going to post both chapters tonight for you. Enjoy!

Danny and Steve strode back into HQ, slamming the glass door open and coming dangerously to shattering the glass.

"Did it not go well with Miriam?" Kono asked warily.

"She told us that she didn't do this herself," Danny replied. "But I don't think any of us had any doubt of that. She clammed up after that, though; wouldn't tell us who forced her to do this."

"I think she's afraid of him," Steve added. "I think she's afraid that he'll know she told, and come after her."

"So basically, we're still stuck at square one?" Chin summarised. "No link and no credible suspects?"

"'Fraid so," Danny confirmed, and ran his fingers through his hair. "God, this is the worst situation a cop can ever be in."

"And it's just going to get worse from here on out," Kono sighed.


Now. He had to do it now. He couldn't put it off any longer. This had to be done now. He had watched from a distance, scrutinising the devil's moves. It hadn't been too hard, but he had waited for long enough now. It was time to carry out his duty.


Danny, Chin and Kono all flinched as they heard Steve swear loudly in his office.

"Oh, that does not sound good," Danny murmured, staring at their leader's office, where the SEAL had curled his fingers into his hair and had his eyes scrunched closed. The others knew that this was not normal for their stoic team leader, and frankly they were all starting to feel concerned.

As if sensing their gazes on him, Steve's eyes snapped open and he turned sharply to look at the team. He swallowed heavily as he walked around his desk and left his office.

"Is everything okay, Steve?" Kono asked cautiously, knowing everything was not okay.

Steve wet his lips with his tongue before answering. "That was, er… That was Duke. We've got victim number 4 now."

Alarm grew in all of them at that news. "But… But it's only been three days!" Kono exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. "There's always been at least a week between the murders!"

"I know, Kono, and that's why, as of now, this case is our highest priority," Steve replied. The determined glint had once again returned to his eyes. "All other cases will be handed to HPD until this one is closed. This is to be our only focus for now." No-one argued.


The Camaro and the Cruze skidded to a stop outside the house, and the Five-0 team got out and strode towards the building. The HPD and CSU personnel at the scene all parted for them; everyone knew how high-profile this case was, and no-one was stupid enough to get in the way of Steve McGarrett when he was out to catch a killer.

"Duke?" Steve called out as the team entered the house. "Fill me in."

The sergeant left the living room, a harried look on his face. "It's bad, Steve," he started. "We got the call just under an hour ago. A kid – Chris Lawrence – was found convulsing in his room. He had a '4' carved into his neck. The mom called an ambulance, and then us."

"Do we have any idea yet what caused this?" Danny asked.

"Not yet. I've got HPD searching the kid's room with CSU to try and find some evidence, but so far, we haven't found anything."

"Is the kid still alive?" Steve interjected. A surviving victim was the best thing that could possibly happen for this case.

"As far as we know," Duke replied. "We haven't had any word back from the hospital yet."

Steve nodded. "Let's assume he's still alive," he said. "Chin, Kono, head over to the hospital. Speak to his mother and his doctor. If you're able to, speak to Chris as well." The cousins nodded and left.

"The victim's father is in here," Duke added, leading them into the living room. A man in his late-forties was sat on the sofa, head in his hands, not acknowledging their presence. "Mr Lawrence, this is the Five-0 taskforce; they'll be investigating your son's case."

The distraught father raised his head to look at Steve and Danny with bloodshot eyes. "Are you going to find who did this to my son?" he croaked.

"We'll do our best to do so, sir," Steve promised. "We need to ask you a few questions, though."

Mr Lawrence nodded. "O-Of course. What do you need to know?"

"Can you tell us exactly what happened? Can you walk us through it?" Danny asked.

"Umm… I don't- I don't even know myself exactly what happened," Lawrence admitted. "I was at work until half past twelve. I only have to drive fifteen minutes to work, so I usually come home during the day so I can have lunch here. Jen called me when I was driving back; said there was something wrong with Chris. By the time I got here, he was already having a fit and the ambulance was here and…" He stopped suddenly, pressing a fist against his mouth and trembling slightly. "I don't even know if he's still alive," he whispered.

Steve and Danny paused for a few moments to allow the father to compose himself again before continuing. "Mr Lawrence, your son had a four cut into his neck. We've been investigating a case where the killer numbers his victims."

His eyes widened as what little colour remaining drained from his face. "Wha… My boy's the victim of a serial killer?" he repeated, horrified.

"It's the killer's signature," Danny confirmed. "We're still trying to establish a link between the victims."

"Do the names Richard Harrington, Laura Henderson or Stefan Bowen sound familiar at all?" Steve asked.

Mr Lawrence thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "No, I don't recognise those names; I'm sorry."

"It's all right; don't get worked about it," Danny calmed him.

Mr Lawrence looked away from them, towards several photos on a bookshelf. Most of them showed a young boy in various stages of childhood. "Why would someone do this to my son?" he asked, almost to himself. "He… He's just a kid. Why do this?"

A loud curse from the bedrooms had Steve and Danny, along with Duke, sprinting to the back of the house. The CSU techs were running from the room as if the devil himself were chasing them, while two HPD officers had their guns pointed towards the doorway.

"What the hell is going on?" Duke demanded, glaring at his officers.

Steve grabbed one of the techs as he ran past. "What happened?" he asked as calmly as he could.

"Th-There- There… There's a snake in there!" he yammered in terror, before yanking his arm out of Steve's grip and bolting down the hallway.

Steve turned to Duke. "Call Animal Control," he ordered, and Duke nodded, grabbing his radio, as he and Danny each removed their guns from their holsters and entered the room, the two HPD officers following behind them.

Chris' room was a tip; clothes seemed to litter every surface here, along with a small pile of plates and glasses by the bed. A schoolbag lay in front of a chest of drawers, papers littered around it. The curtains were still drawn, plunging the room into near-darkness. Steve thought it was a wonder the techs had managed to see anything at all in here.

A quiet hiss had him whirling around and pointing his gun in the direction of the wardrobe. He glanced at Danny, who confirmed with a quick nod that he had also heard it, and slowly withdrew his torch from his pocket. He flicked the switch and pointed the beam towards the wardrobe. There was a guttural hiss, and a small snake reared up, baring its fangs at the partners.

Steve squinted as he took in the snake's colouring. "Red touch yellow, kill a fellow. Red touch black, friend of Jack," he recited the rhyme. The snake had yellow on either side of its red bands. "That's a coral snake."

"How potent is their venom?" Danny asked, never taking his eyes off the snake.

"Extremely," Steve answered shortly. "Its venom is a neurotoxin. It paralyses the breathing muscles and causes respiratory failure."

"God," Danny murmured.

"Call Chin. Tell him to tell the doctor it was a coral snake. Chris needs antivenin now." Danny slowly backed out of the room, extracting his phone from his pocket. As soon as he was out of the room, he sighed heavily and quickly dialled Chin's number.

He bounced on the balls of his feet impatiently, as the phone rang one, two, three times. "Pick up," he growled.

"Danny?"

"Chin, listen to me…"


Chin hung up with Danny and looked urgently at Kono. "The kid was bitten by a coral snake."

"Seriously?" Kono questioned, eyes wide with disbelief. "They're not native to Hawaii, though."

"Well, they found a really pissed off coral snake in Chris' bedroom," Chin replied, and strode to the front desk, looming over the surprised receptionist. "Page Chris Lawrence's doctor."

"I'm sorry; I can't-"

"This involves the patient's life," Chin shouted, cutting across her words. "Now page his doctor or I will hold you personally responsible for that boy's death."

The now terrified woman nodded jerkily and called for a Doctor Meritts to come to the waiting room. Nearly five minutes passed before the doctor made an appearance. He was in his mid to late-fifties, with salt and pepper hair, but with an air of authority about him.

"This had better be important, dammit," he snapped at the poor receptionist. "I'm still trying to diagnose my patient."

"Doctor Meritts, I'm sorry," Chin apologised. "I'm Detective Kelly with the Governor's taskforce. We're investigating Chris Lawrence's attack. Two of my colleagues found a coral snake in his room."

"Are they sure it's a coral snake?" Dr Meritts asked urgently, the irritation long gone and replaced with anxiety. "It can be incredibly tricky, treating snake bites."

"My boss identified it as a coral snake; it has touching red and yellow bands," Chin confirmed. "You need to give Chris antivenin now."

"Yes, I know," Meritts nodded. "Thank you; you may have just saved the boy's life." He turned and dashed back through the double doors, leaving Chin and Kono to wonder if they had been quick enough.


Danny hung up with Chin as he watched Animal Control carry the snake out of the house, coiled in the back of the cage and hissing angrily.

"Chris Lawrence has been given the antivenin," he filled Steve in as the SEAL came out. "Now it's just a matter of wait-and-see."

"Hopefully, he got it in time," Steve replied.

"Where do you get venomous snakes?" Danny wondered. "I mean, it's not like you can just walk into a pet shop and ask for a coral snake. "

"Plus coral snakes aren't indigenous to Hawaii," Steve added. "The only thing I can think of is the killer stole it from a zoo."

"Then let's start there," the detective said, spreading his hands as if it were obvious. "I can check with HPD if they've had any reports of thefts at any zoos in Honolulu."

"Do that," Steve nodded. "Get Miriam back in the interrogation room, as well. We need to talk to her again."