They were still in the office, proposing theories, when Kono returned. "He all settled in," Kono reported. "Seems like a nice guy."

"Seems so," Danny agreed. "He wants to see Judith," he added, directing the comment towards Steve, "but I said he had to wait." Steve nodded. "Judith has enough to deal with at the moment."

"You like her, don't you?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Danny nodded. "She's a very brave lady." He caught the hint of a grin on Kono's face. "I don't like her like that," he chided the Hawaiian detective.

"I never said nuthin'," Kono denied.

Moments like this were necessary to keep everyone sane, but Steve was not in the mood for it on this day and was about to put a stop to it when Jenny stuck her head around the door. "Sorry, boss, but there's a call for Danny."

"Thanks, Jenny," Steve said, as Danny rose to go and take the call. He glanced at the clock and realised that Jenny should be heading for home. "See you in the morning, love," he smiled. The petite redhead smiled back.

"Good night," she replied.

Entering his cubicle, Danny picked up the phone. "Williams."

"Detective Williams, I am Brian Leadbetter," replied the caller.

At once, Danny's heart rate speeded up. This was beyond his wildest dreams. "Mr Leadbetter, I was hoping to hear from you." The voice sounded exactly like Richard Collins. "Please tell me where you are. I can offer you protection."

"I doubt that," Leadbetter scoffed. "I've been warned that my life is in danger and if he has tracked me here, there's nothing you can do to stop him killing me. I have to get away from this rock, but I am told that Five-O has locked the island down."

"Who is looking for you?" Danny asked.

"For all I know, you could be working with him," Leadbetter continued, ignoring the question. "Your boss's interference caused my minders to back off and I'm vulnerable. If you hadn't got him to release you, I could have been spirited away to safety by now."

This was confusing. "Wait," Danny begged. "I don't understand. What are you talking about? Those agents – they're your minders? Who are they protecting you from?"

"You seem to have managed to find out plenty about me," Leadbetter snarled. "Are you really telling me that you don't know who is after me?"

"Let me prove I'm on your side," Danny suggested. "I'll meet you and bring you back here safely."

"All right, I'll meet you," Leadbetter agreed after a moment. "Come alone. I'll meet you by the entrance to the zoo. How fast can you get there?"

"About 15 or 20 minutes," Danny guessed, thinking of the time of day and the traffic.

"I'll be waiting," Leadbetter agreed. "And you'd better be alone." The line went dead.

"Who was that, Danno?" Steve asked.

"Leadbetter," Danny replied and filled Steve in on the confusing conversation.

"It's too risky to go alone," Steve objected, although he was pretty notorious for going to meetings like this alone.

"We don't have time to put anything in place," Danny objected. The seconds were ticking away quickly. "Steve, I'll be fine."

"I'm following you," Steve insisted stubbornly. "I'll stay back, but you are not going alone. We know nothing about this man."

There was no time to argue. Danny knew he wouldn't win anyway. He nodded. Steve told the other two detectives to go home He would call them if he needed them. Then he and Danny hurried to their respective cars and headed towards the zoo.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The zoo was already closed. Danny parked in the car park and walked towards the entrance. There were still people in the park, but they were further down and heading towards home. Tomorrow was a school day and there were no children left in the park. They would be already at home, having supper, doing homework and thinking about going to bed.

There was nobody in sight. Danny stopped, glancing around. He was sure that Leadbetter would be concealed somewhere nearby, checking to make sure that he had come alone. Danny hoped that Steve would not choose the same patch of concealment as Leadbetter. That would surely set the cat among the pigeons!

A flicker of movement at the corner of his eye made Danny look in that direction and he saw Leadbetter coming towards him. It was eerie to realise that this was not Richard Collins, the man he had met only that afternoon, but his identical twin brother. Danny realised that he could not tell them apart. For all he knew, this was Collins. "Mr Leadbetter?" he asked.

Nodding, the other man drew nearer, looking around suspiciously. "You came alone?" he queried.

"Yes," Danny replied, fighting the urge to cross his fingers because he was lying. "Mr Leadbetter, please, tell me who is after you. I can't protect you against this person unless I know who it is."

Instead of replying, Leadbetter searched Danny's face. "You really don't know, do you?" he breathed. He glanced around once more. "Let's walk while we talk," he suggested.

"My car is over this way," Danny began, but Leadbetter shook his head.

"No; I can't risk being caught inside a car. Not yet." He turned in the opposite direction, towards Kalakaua Avenue. Danny had no choice but to follow. "I expect you know by now that my name is not really Brian Leadbetter," he began.

"Yes," Danny agreed. "You're really Neil Collins."

"Good," Leadbetter grunted. "I was a witness to a crime back in Chicago 20 years ago. Unfortunately, the person who committed this crime has powerful friends in high places. It was decided that I should disappear and to do so, it would be useful for me to assume my brother's identity. So I went back to Ohio and married Judith and we left."

"You know this person, don't you?" Danny challenged him.

"Yes, I know him," Leadbetter admitted. He glanced around suspiciously once more. "I need to get away from Hawaii, Mr Williams. Can you help me?"

"I probably can, but I need to know more than you've just told me," Danny replied. "Who is this man? What crime did you see him committing? I can't protect you if I don't know who I'm protecting you against."

"I suppose I have to trust you," Leadbetter mused. "You came alone, after all." Danny said nothing, feeling intensely guilty that Steve was lurking somewhere in the vicinity. "I…"

"What is it?" Danny asked as Leadbetter stopped speaking.

"There's someone…" Leadbetter was looking behind Danny, across Kalakaua Avenue.

A shot rang out and Danny felt the wind as it whizzed past his cheek, missing him by inches. Leadbetter ducked and Danny dived for cover at the same moment as the other man pushed him out of the way. Caught off balance, Danny was fumbling for his gun as he stumbled on the kerb. He lost his footing and started to fall. From nearby he heard another shot and then all he was aware of was the screech of brakes as a pair of headlights bearing down on him filled his vision!