"I really hope you have something for me this time Arty," Danny said firmly, "I'm not going to be happy if you're wasting my time again!" Kono watched covertly as Danny cocked his head to the side as he listened to the man's reply. The younger detective then reached for a pen and began to jot down the address. "Okay, got it. I'll be there in," Danny glanced at his watch, "I'll be there in about ten minutes. Don't open the door until I get there, understand?" Danny sighed at the man's reply, "I mean it Arty; you only open the door for me. I won't be long."

Kono looked at Danny as he stood up and grabbed his jacket, "You're not going to meet with him alone, are you?"

Danny grinned as he slipped the piece of paper with the address into his pocket as he looked back at his friend. "Why, do you want to come and hold my hand?"

"Hey bruddah, a little back up never goes astray." Kono shrugged, a little embarrassed as Danny stared at him silently for a moment before bursting into laughter.

"Hey, Kono, thanks for the offer but stay here and get your paperwork done. Steve is expecting your report on his desk when he returns. I'll be fine, its only Callin, and we both know that he's harmless!" Danny reassured him as he headed towards the door.

"I really think that I should come with you Danny, especially after the threats that Hoy made against you!" The Hawaiian detective warned, all traces of humor gone from his voice.

The warning tone caused Dan to stop in his tracks. Pausing near the door, he turned and looked back at Kono annoyed. "I'm a big boy Kono," he sighed, aware that McGarrett had placed his safety squarely on the shoulders of the other detectives, "I can take care of myself. This is just a meet with a snitch! If I need back up, I'll call it in, honest." He added in what he hoped was a significantly more jovial tone and hurried out of the office before Kono had a chance to voice anymore of his objections.

Kono stared at the vacant doorway and sighed. "You have an hour, Bruddah, if I don't hear from you by then I'm coming to back you up, whether you want me to or not!"

Deciding that there was nothing left here for him to do, the large Hawaiian slowly returned to his own cubicle and sat down. He picked up a pencil and pulled the file closer to him with the objective of finishing it. After a few moments he threw the pencil down onto the file as he sighed. His mind was restless and incapable of concentrating on the words written on the page in front of him; it kept wandering back to the events that had taken place a short few weeks ago. He shivered unconsciously at the rawness of the memory.

Danny had left the office intent on meeting with a snitch but it had all been a set up. Five-O's newly appointed Second -in-Command was gunned down as soon as he entered the empty apartment and was not discovered until just in the nick of time. Bergman had said that if they had not gotten Dan the proper medical help when they had then there was a very real chance he would have died. The vicious shooting had left the team shocked and traumatized; McGarrett had almost torn the island apart searching for assailant but the low life had killed himself when cornered, leaving Danny and the rest of the Five-O team with no sense of justice or closure.

The young detective had returned to work a little over a week ago to immediately throw his full weight into the Hoy investigation. Five-O had been trying to find enough evidence to convict the wanted felon on several extortion charges and at least four contract killings in Honolulu that he had commissioned. In the past few days Danny had almost closed the net over the wanted felon and Hoy was clearly aware of the fact. Word on the coconut wireless was that Hoy had made several threats to permanently silence Danny Williams to stop his meddling and there were further unsubstantiated rumors of that a contract had been placed on the young detective's head.

Upon hearing this McGarrett had stepped up into full protective mode; Danny was pulled back from field duties two days ago. The lead detective insisted that the young detective was to remain in the office unless he had someone with him for protection. Dan had baulked at the orders and adamantly insisted that he was going to continue to pursue Hoy, doing whatever was needed to bring the felon to justice. The opportunity was here now; in the first time the boss had left him in charge of the office since his return to duty and he was not going to squander it away.

Kono sighed again and glanced at his watch. If he didn't hear from Danny soon then he would simply follow Danny's lead and disobey the Second-In-Command's instructions, just like the younger man had just disregarded Steve's orders that had been given to ensure his safety.

XXXXXXXX

Danny parking the car outside the rundown apartment building before carefully scanning his surroundings for any hidden threats or dangers. When satisfied that there were none he moved to get out of the car. He knew the area was a dangerous one and briefly wished that he had accepted Kono's offer of back up but he shook his head as he corrected himself; he didn't want to show Steve any signs of self-doubt or weakness. The Five-O boss had been smothering him constantly since...since…that night he…he had been shot and left for dead. He had to prove that nothing had changed and that he was still capable of doing his job!

Drawing a breath to calm his now slightly anxious nerves, Danny headed into the building to the apartment where the informant would be waiting. Reaching the apartment he knocked on the door, announcing himself quietly as he heard Arty nervously ask who it was. He heard the door unlock and stepped through it as it opened. "Okay Arty, I'm…"

The rest of his words were lost as he found himself staring into Arty's terrified eyes but before he could react he was suddenly grabbed from behind and his arms were pinned painfully behind his back. A hand slithered past his jacket to remove his gun. He struggled to free himself but the breath exploded from his body as a hard punch to his kidneys doubled him over in pain. His legs sagging beneath him, unable to support his weight and it was only the vice like grip his arms where in which stopped him from collapsing to the floor.

"Well Williams, just the person I want to have a little chat with. I warned you to butt out but you couldn't leave things alone could you, cop?" The cold voice taunted, sending a shiver down Danny's spine before someone seized his hair and pulled him upright. The muscles in his neck protested the painful strain the move had caused.

He blinked desperately trying to will away the darkness that flitted around the edges of consciousness and struggled to bring into focus the face that was just inches away from his. Drawing a small breath of air his vision finally cleared as he murmured, "Hoy!"

"Mr Hoy to you, Williams!" The large oriental drug lord spat angrily into his face, delivering a painful blow to his abdomen, laughing as Danny folded further into himself, retching in pain. "I told you to stay out of my business, but you didn't seem to get my message, so you have forced me to deliver it personally!"

"Go to Hell!" Danny gasped, forcing himself to stare Hoy in the eye refusing to show any fear.

Hoy growled in anger, nodding to the man who stood just out of Danny's line of sight. "I think this pig needs to learn some manners!" He said quietly, stepping aside to watch.

Madison grinned as he stepped around his boss. The large Hawaiian slowly entwined his fingers together and cracked them in preparation. "Want me to kill him, boss?" He asked casually as he curled his huge hands into tight fists and slammed one into Danny's midriff, causing the man pinning Danny's arms behind his back to stagger backwards by the force of the blow.

Hoy chewed on his bottom lip for a few minutes watching as Madison reigned blow after blow into Danny's stomach and chest; enjoying the way the cop groaned at each punch as his legs slowly gave out beneath him during his feeble attempt to move away. After a while it was only Hitchens' tight grip on his arms forcing him to remain upright. "Na, I think this time we might leave the pig with a little taste of what he can expect if he sticks his nose where it's not wanted again,' he finally decided as Williams' head rolled limply onto his chest. He grinned in obvious pleasure at how the pig had retreated into the darkness of unconsciousness, unable to take it like a man and showing them all just how much of a coward he was.

He nodded to Hitchens to release the arms and watched as Williams dropped lifelessly to the ground. Stepping in front of the unconscious man he drew back his foot and kicked the cop in the head as hard as he could before leaning down and lifting his head off the ground as a slow trickle of blood oozed out from Dan's ear. "Next time Williams, do what you are told!" He warned the unconscious man, slamming his head hard back onto the floor and rising to his feet.

"What about Callin?" Madison asked staring at the terrified man huddled on the floor near the sofa.

Hoy turned and looked at the cowering man on the gun as he raised Williams' gun and aimed it at his head, smiling as the terrified snitch whimpered and tried to get away. The shot echoed through the small apartment as he turned back and dropped the gun near the unconscious and bloodied cop. "That will warn everyone about running to Five O with stories." He announced as he kicked Williams again, "Damn cops," he muttered angrily, wiping his bloodied shoe against Williams' coat before he left the apartment, followed closely by his two bodyguards.