A/N: A very short chapter, as things begin to fall into place, or do they? Thanks for the reads and reviews.

Steve hung up the phone. Mike had agreed to Steve's plan, with the caveat of Mr. Pence's blessing. He had no sooner hung up the phone, when it rang again. On the line was Mr. Settle, the gym teacher, inviting Steve to a shoot-around on Sunday morning with the rest of the faculty team. Steve readily agreed, not believing his good fortune. He would be able to get the locker numbers and combinations right from the gym teacher after the practice, without the need for a nighttime foray.

He tried Mike at home, but the line was busy, so he continued with his lesson plans, rounding out the evening with pizza and grading papers. When he finally heard back from Mike, he had the green light from Mr. Pence. As a bonus, Mike was very happy that the inspection could take place with the blessings of the principal and the gym teacher, in the light of day. Mike and Steve debated the wisdom of bringing the gym teacher into the loop, but in the end, it only made sense. They wouldn't tell him the nature of the investigation but they needed to look in those lockers, and he held the key to the access required. Steve tried to ring Diane before he retired, but there was no answer.

ooooooooo

Steve got up early and dressed in sweats. He was a little concerned about his basketball ability, but discovered he shouldn't have been. When he arrived at the school, he was gratified to see a team of men and women who were a little older, and a little more out of shape than himself. He was just grabbing a basketball when, to his amazement, Diane came out of the women's locker room, attired in a pale blue and gold UC Berkeley Bears warm up suit. She came over to the rack and grabbed a basketball, handling it with ease.

"What?" She said to his stunned reaction, "How do you think a six foot girl from the sticks paid for Berkeley?"

"Basketball Scholarship?" He asked.

"Yep, four years, full ride."

Steve was still digesting this new information when he spoke, "I thought you said they called this the Payback Game, I didn't think you would go anywhere near it."

"I never said I wouldn't play, I said you shouldn't play. You know, the students aren't the only ones who dish out payback. Plus, I can't let you get too banged up." She said with a smirk.

Steve just shook his head at her.

Mr. Settle jogged over to Steve and Diane. "Thanks for volunteering, Steve. I know you're new, but we can use all the young blood we can get. I see you've met our Secret Weapon, you know she was an All-American at Berkeley her junior and senior year.

"I had no idea," Steve replied, realizing just how little he knew about her.

Steve stared in awe as Diane expertly dribble the ball down the court, pulled up and hit a perfect jump shot from the foul line. "Confidentially," Settle added with a smile, "she is the only reason we win every year!"

The practice went reasonably well. Steve felt he didn't embarrass himself too badly, although nobody on the team could hold a candle to Diane's skill and grace on the court. He was glad to see that she seemed to be enjoying herself. It was as if the time on the court helped her release some of the demons haunting her since Mona's disappearance.

Mr. Settle handed out Gold Mission high T-Shirts to wear the following evening as the team gathered their things and exited the gym. Steve wanted to catch Diane before she left, to see how she was doing. His priority, however, was to talk to Mr. Settle privately and inspect the lockers. Steve followed him into the locker room.

"A cop, really?" Mr. Settle responded with shock.

"Yep, we are looking into something and I need to get into a couple of students' lockers." Steve showed him his shield and continued, "Mr. Pence is aware of the situation, and I have his permission to take a look."

Settle gave him the locker numbers and combinations for Walen and Ballinger. He also gave him the key to the basketball team room and bid him goodbye, reminding Steve to lock the main entrance and set the alarm. Steve was surprised to find out that the rest of the school doors were a locked and chained. "Well, you know this neighborhood isn't the best." was Mr. Settle's response.

Steve walked down the rows in the locker room until he found Mitchell Ballinger's locker and dialed in the combination. He popped open the locker and was unsurprised that it had been cleaned out. He slammed it shut in anger, now convinced that the students had been tipped off. He proceeded to Walen's locker, without much enthusiasm. Again, the locker was empty.

Steve left the locker room discouraged. He was about to unlock the team room when he hear voices coming from around corner. He pocketed the keys, quietly went down the hall and let the darkness swallow his presence. He could not see who was speaking but he heard three muffled voices, two male
and one female. They opened the team room and went in, letting the door close behind them. Steve crept forward, low to the ground. He tried to peer in the door-light, but could not see who had gone in. The sound level in the room suddenly raised as the occupants seemed to be engaged in a lively argument. He only caught a few words: one male voice saying something about being well paid, the female voice replying shrilly about more than she bargained for. The third voice clearly stated they have nothing on us. He heard a locker door slam, and the sound increased as the voices approached the door.

Choosing speed over stealth, Steve took off up the hall and turned at his first opportunity. He hugged the wall and crouched down, catching his breath. He heard the team room door shut and one voice shushed the other two. Time seemed to stand still as he listened intently, and heard nothing. Finally one of the male voices, laughed and said, "You two are hearing things, the school is deserted," and started off in the other direction. Steve couldn't swear to it, but he was pretty sure it was Marc Walen.

Steve sat down on the floor. There was definitely someone else involved, but who. He hadn't heard the female voice clearly, but by his reckoning, only two women knew he was a cop and also knew about his request to see the lockers, Bri Molen and Diane Bader. He need to talk to Mike.

A/N: Cal Berkeley did have a Women's Varsity Basketball Program as early as the 1950's.