The waves at the Pipeline were moderate that day. There were a lot of surfers out enjoying the chance to surf it without risking their lives completely. Danny had hoped for some bigger waves, but after his first few curls, he realised that he was not quite in the shape he ought to be for surfing the bigger waves – or for the up-coming competition either.

Deciding that he needed more practice elsewhere, he went to one of the beaches where the waves were steadier and less dangerous and more the kind of thing he needed for practice and toning. The fact it was also closer to civilisation meant that he had ready access to food and drinks if he wanted to extend his practice time.

By mid-afternoon, Danny had had enough surfing for the day. He was pleasantly tired, his muscles slightly achy, but he felt his rhythm was back and the waves had been a joy to surf. He had attracted a bit of attention, too and as he towelled off for the last time, a blonde woman approached him. She was curved in all the right places and her bikini showed off her figure to great advantage. She clearly knew it as well.

"You're not bad on that board," she offered. Her look said a whole lot more.

"Thanks," Danny responded. I'm Danny."

"I'm Penny."

It was as simple as that. Within a few minutes, Danny had a date for the evening. Penny was from the mid-west and her trip to Hawaii with a couple of friends was a graduation gift from her father. Danny arranged to meet her at her hotel a little later on.

The sun was just going down as Danny met Penny and took her to one of his favourite restaurants on the beach. It wasn't fancy, but the food was good and the views outstanding. They flirted over the meal and Danny was seriously thinking about inviting Penny to spend the night with him. She wanted to go dancing, so after the meal, they strolled along the road, heading towards the Ilikai hotel. Sirens could be heard in the near distance and Danny wondered vaguely what was going on, but the lovely lady by his side successfully kept his attention.

Right up until he spotted Steve's black Mercury behind a patrol car. Automatically, he scanned the ranks of police officers that were manning the barricades up ahead at the Ilikai for his boss, but there was no immediate sight of Steve.

"What's going on?" Penny asked, sounding rather petulant. "They've blocked off the Ilikai!"

"I don't know," Danny replied truthfully. He had no idea, but it had to be something pretty big for that number of police to be there and Steve, too. Where was Steve?

"Move along there," a voice ordered brusquely. "This is no place for spectators." The officer's tone changed as Danny glanced at him. "Oh, Danny! Thank goodness you're here! That was quick." The cop's tone was pure relief.

While Danny still had not the least idea what was going on, alarm bells were now ringing wildly in his head. Steve was obviously on-scene, so why was the cop so pleased to see him? It could be because Steve was swamped and wanted one of his own detectives on hand and as a consequence had been snapping impatiently at the HPD officers. It could easily be that, yet something told Danny the situation was a lot more serious than that. "What's happening?" he demanded, unconsciously freeing his arm from Penny's grip.

"Danny?" Penny questioned uncertainly.

Without looking at her, Danny patted her arm. He hadn't told her he worked for Five-O; he had simply told her he was a cop. She had reacted to that with the ambivalence that seemed to be so prevalent in society. It was great that cops were there when needed, but they were regarded as almost the enemy the rest of the time. Being a part of the state police would almost certainly have been beyond the pale.

"A couple of guys went nuts in the lobby of the Ilikai," the cop replied. "Broke a lot of stuff, killed somebody as far as we can tell and hurt a few others."

"Armed?" Danny asked.

"One gun, one baseball bat. Steve went to negotiate with the batter, because the phones are all out and he hasn't come back."

Danny's breath caught. Even in the few short months he had been with Five-O, he had become aware of Steve's habit of thrusting himself into situations where angels would fear to tread. One day, he would get hurt doing that and Danny feared that day had come. "Penny, I'm so sorry, but I have to help here," he told his date. "Rain check?"

"Why do you have to help?" she asked petulantly. "There are plenty of other cops."

"He's the only member of Five-O on scene," the officer answered helpfully. Danny wished he had kept quiet. Penny took a step back.

"Penny…" Danny began but got no further.

"I could put up with you being a cop, but Five-O is different," she told him. "How did you get to be a big shot so young? I've heard stories about Five-O since I got here." Her tone ably implied the stories were not good. Her expression backed up her tone.

"Maybe you should have asked me about them," Danny replied bleakly. "Goodbye, Penny. This officer will take you back…"

"I can find my own way." Penny turned on her heel. Danny felt a fleeting moment of regret, then returned his attention to the job on hand. He made his way forward to the shelter of a patrol car where various cops were crouching, including Duke Lukela. The veteran cop greeted the younger man with a nod and silently handed him a pair of binoculars, indicating the lobby. Danny trained them on the brightly lit building and the first thing he saw was the unmoving body of Steve McGarrett!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Is Steve alive?" Danny asked, rather surprised at how calm he sounded.

"We think so," Duke replied.

"Sharpshooters?" Danny enquired. He wasn't much of a drinker, but he had had a couple of beers that evening and wasn't going to handle a rifle, although the urge to get his wonderful new weapon was strong. It would only take a patrolman a few minutes to go to his apartment and retrieve it…

"Yeah, two, but getting a good position is difficult because of the porch." The front of the hotel had a covered area right outside the front doors to offer protection from the sun and the rain. It looked good, but Danny could understand the frustration for the marksmen.

Looking over the hood of the car, Danny saw the planted area on his side of the hotel doors with fresh eyes. It was no longer just decorative; it was potential cover for the sharp shooters. Someone had to check it out and Danny reasoned that someone was him. Without a word to Duke, and not even thinking that he was unarmed, Danny put down the binoculars and made a run for it.

"Danny!" Duke's frustrated cry was ignored and the younger man slipped through his grasping fingers. "You have picked up some bad habits already," Duke snarled under his breath.

A volley of shots caused all the cops to duck and when Duke lifted his head he fully expected Danny to be sprawled dead on the asphalt. "Don't fire!" he hastily ordered as he saw Danny crouched by the base of a pillar, partially camouflaged by the large leaves of a big green plant. Holding his breath anxiously, Duke waited for the shot that would take out his young friend, but to his relief it didn't come.

After a couple of minutes of looking around, Danny made the run back to the safety of the patrol car and a couple of shots peppered the other side of the vehicle. "What were you thinking!" Duke chided him.

"I was thinking that I've found a great spot for our marksmen," Danny retorted sharply. He seemed somehow older in that moment, although the youthful face had not changed. What had changed was the level of responsibility that he had taken on. He was the ranking officer at the scene. It was his responsibility to find a solution to this problem that kept everyone safe and it wasn't something he was taking lightly at all. "Someone give me a gun," he requested. "I'm going to…"

"You're not armed?" Duke was incredulous.

"I was on a date," Danny snapped, irritated that the other man was wasting time when Steve was lying in there, possibly dying.

"You still need to be armed," Duke replied, appropriating a gun from another cop. "Something small that you can carry in an ankle holster. Discreet, but to hand. You never know when a situation like this will crop up."

"Good thinking," Danny acknowledged. He knew he had a lot to learn. He tucked the gun he was handed into the waistband of his jeans under his shirt. "I'm going to talk to them," he added. "Get the sharpshooters into position and tell them to take the shots the moment they can. Get the men alive if possible."

"Be careful," Duke urged. He held out a vest, but knew Danny would turn it down. Danny briefly shook his head and picked up the bullhorn. Duke started issuing Danny's orders.

"You in the lobby. I'm coming out to talk to you."

There was a pause. "It won't make no difference," a man shouted back. "You can talk all you want."

"I'm coming out. Don't shoot." Taking a deep breath to calm his quaking nerves, Danny stood up and walked out into the open.