This story plays early in season 1. I always like that careful tutoring still happening at that time, as a young Steve is learning to fit into the world of Homicide. This story is long. And gruesome. And pretty interwoven, as our guys travel across town chasing a dangerous adversary. Enjoy!

ACT I

It wasn't exactly the Sunday morning he had planned, but Mike was nonetheless relieved to see the tan Galaxy parked along the docks. With the sun barely rising over the city off in the east, the unseasonably cold temperatures chilled him to the bone the moment he exited the mint green LTD. Wrapping his black overcoat tighter around his chest to ward off the stiff breeze coming off the bay, he glanced at the commotion ahead, until he saw his partner's slender form bending over their latest crime scene.

Inhaling the brisk morning air, he nodded at a few familiar faces amongst the patrol units securing the scene and keeping the growing assortment of onlookers at bay.

As he slowly walked up to the group of people surrounding a yellow backhoe parked alongside the docks, Mike recognized both, Sergeant Solomon and Lieutenant Topps by his partner's side, as the three men eagerly discussed their findings. Next to them, a shorter, dark haired woman in white lab coat was bent over the shovel of the backhoe, examining what looked to be a human arm.

Sighing sorrowfully at the dawn of another disturbing homicide case shaking the San Francisco Bay area, Mike bridged the distance to the other policemen, before clearing his throat.

"Well good morning.", he greeted the team as cheerily as the circumstances allowed, before pointing his chin at the backhoe, "Not the type of morning I was hoping for…"

The case discussion ended abruptly and the three men straightened out to face the Lieutenant. The worry on Sergeant Solomon's face mirrored that of his African-American Lieutenant, who was shifting from one foot to the other to stay warm. Mike had worked several cases with Topps on and off over the years, delightfully remembering the day he found out that Frank had been promoted to Lieutenant.

Steve was the first one to acknowledge him with an amicable grin, as he buttoned up his beige overcoat when the wind threatened to blow it out of place.

"Morning Mike. We got a flattened one here."

"Yeah, I can see that…", the Lieutenant breathed, as his eyes drifted to the hand and leg sticking out from underneath the large shovel of the backhoe. Judging by the river of blood that had seeped from the body and pooled in a low spot on the concrete, he figured that their latest victim was very much alive before getting crushed to death by hundreds of pounds of steel.

"Are you ever going to retire?", came the frisky remark from the woman examining the parts of the body that were accessible. Even though it took him a moment to remember where he heard the voice before, a smile readily spread on his lips.

"Doctor Nancy Burkall.", Mike said and reached for the smaller woman's delicate hand, "It's good to see you again. How many years has it been? Five? I thought you had transitioned out of the coroner's line of work?"

Adjusting her thin-framed purple glasses against the glare of the rising sun, Nancy shrugged.

"Yes and no. I still do most of the lab work behind the scenes. But with Bernie on vacation, I had to step in. I'd almost forgotten why I hate being outside of my warm office."

Chuckling, Mike shook his head before returning his attention back to the rest of the team.

"What have we got so far besides the obvious?"

"Victim's ID is Eugene Scalino.", Steve explained matter-of-factly, trying to ignore the wind blowing his sandy hair all over the place, "Otherwise known as Gino Scalino."

Mike drew in a deep breath, as his mind began to shift into overdrive.

"Gino Scalino…that's Mario's brother, isn't it?"

"The one and only. Suffice to say, there's a certain possibility that this is some sort of mob hit. The creativity of the murder method speaks for it."

"How'd you ID him like that anyways? You've got some sort of fingerprint database in the back of your skull, Buddy Boy?", Mike asked facetiously and watched the young Inspector shake his head with a smile.

"No. Whoever killed him left his ID in plain view right by the body. They wanted us to know exactly who was underneath that backhoe. We were waiting on lifting the shovel until you got here. The body might be able to tell Doctor Burkall here if there was some sort of fight that led to this…this outcome."

"I certainly appreciate you putting so much faith in me, young man.", Nancy said from her crouched position by the body. Bringing up the cold dead hand one last time and examining the fingertips, she let out a pained sigh before rising back to her feet and approaching the two detectives, "I will try my best. But I won't lie; this might take a bit longer than usual."

"We completely understand.", Mike pointed his chin at a nearby warehouse before clearing his throat again, "Before we lift that shovel off our guy, I want to take a look around. See if there are any other signs of foul play. Gino wouldn't have been down here alone. He usually has two or three bodyguards with him. Let's see if we can find some bullet holes or anything that may have been disturbed. We also need to get the lab crew down here to lift any fingerprints they can find off that backhoe."

Steve nodded understandingly and began walking toward the warehouse, when both Solomon and Topps turned to face him.

"Lieutenant Stone, you guys got this…or do you need us around still? We just got a call from dispatch about a possible 10-50."

"We're good Frankie, thank you guys so much.", he answered cordially and watched the two policemen nod and leave. Tightening the fedora against his head when the strong breeze threatened to blow it off, Mike turned around to follow his partner to the nearby warehouse.

Once he noticed his company, Steve slowed his pace, allowing for him to catch up.

"Say, when did you get here?"

"About an hour ago.", the young Inspector said and rubbed the back of his neck, "The call came in just after 5am. From what she could discern, Dr. Burkall said he must have been killed around midnight."

"Midnight. Mhm."

Letting his trained eyes drift over the dilapidated warehouse on the far west side of the docks, Mike wondered if there was any connection between their murder and the recent spike in drug traffic reported from Vice a couple of weeks ago.

Maybe there was a new dog in town after all.

"I talked to my buddies down in Vice, and Marc said that there'd been a recent spike in drug traffic around the Embarcadero area…my guess is we have a new player in the heroin market", Steve explained as he read off his note paper. Smiling proudly at the fact that his partner had once again read his mind, Mike reached over to pat his back affectionately.

"I also walked the side streets checking for tire marks but couldn't find any.", Steve continued and slowed his pace, "I did however find this right here…"

Pulling a plastic evidence bag from the breast pocked of his beige sportscoat, the young Inspector pointed at the small box of matches inside. Mike immediately recognized the red, yellow and light blue coloration of the logo.

"LaPlaz, eh? That's outside the Scalino district.", Mike reached for his partner's elbow and came to a halt in front of the warehouse, "Who owns this? Isn't it…what's his name…DeSoto…Tommy DeSoto? No, it's Johnnie. Johnnie DeSoto."

Steve nodded, as his bright green eyes met Mike's.

"It could just be a strange coincidence, but there's been rumors about DeSoto getting to be a big-time player in the drug market. Marc's been trying to bust him for years but he's always a couple steps ahead of the game. That man has a very intricate network of mules doing all the dirty work for him. Could be that he got into hot water with the Scalino's over a territory conflict. Or he wanted to get rid of the competition altogether."

Mike pursed his lips, before glancing down at the matchbox in Steve's hand again.

"Let's scan the area top to bottom and see what-"

He was disrupted when Nancy came walking up behind them at a fast pace.

"Uhm Michael…I think we got a few more problems…", Both detectives turned around to face the Coroner, as she pointed past the docks at a spot in the water, "Looks like we're just scratching the surface. There's a floater down there."