Author's Note: Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed, alerted, and read this story so far. I tried to respond to individual reviews, but I'm getting an error message when I click on the links. Please know that I really, really appreciate when you take the time to review.

MEMORANDIUM

FROM: THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY

TO: UNITED STATES LAW ENFORCEMENT ENTITIES

SUBJECT: THE HANDLING OF PERSONS DISPLAYING SUDDEN AND EXTREME AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR

All encounters with persons displaying unexplainable, sudden, and extreme aggressive behavior are to be treated as high level threat. These subjects are to be regarded as highly dangerous.

If the subject(s) cannot be safely restrained, lethal force is both authorized and advised. Because the subjects exhibit an unusual tolerance for pain, head shots are considered optimal.

Further information will be made available as soon as possible.

H50****H50**** H50****H50**** H50****H50****

Danny snarled as he balled up the memo and flung it into a nearby trash can. The other four members of Five-0 assembled in the squad room looked at him questioningly.

"It's that same damn memo from Homeland Security again," Danny explained, "Came in inter-office mail this time."

No one had to ask which memo he was referring to. For the past 9 days, the memo had been appearing constantly: in email, on the fax machine, even as a text message. It was always exactly the same.

"It's so vague," Ben Alt (still on loan from HPD) complained.

"You think?" Danny asked sarcastically, "You mean you don't think it's important that they remind us constantly that highly aggressive people are dangerous?"

"It scares me that they're authorizing lethal force," Lori admitted quietly.

"You worked in Homeland, don't you have any contacts who could tell us more?" Chin asked the petite blonde.

Lori shifted uncomfortably, "I've been trying. All I get is voicemail. Even people I consider to be personal friends are ignoring my messages and emails."

Everyone considered that for a minute until the silence was broken by Governor Denning's unexpected arrival.

"Captain Williams, I need to speak to you in your office," Denning walked past them towards Danny's office without once looking to see if Danny was following.

The other members of Five-0 exchanged uneasy looks. Denning never came to them. If he wanted to see his taskforce, one of his aids called with a summons to the Governor's office.

Danny half expected Denning to take his chair, but Denning sat in one of the visitors' chairs, setting his briefcase at his feet. Danny settled himself behind the desk.

"This is a very small office," Denning observed, glancing around, "You should be using the larger one."

Danny smiled tightly, "That's Steve's office. I prefer my own."

Denning nodded, "Have you heard anything from Commander McGarrett? Has he given you any idea when he'll be returning?"

"No, there's still been no communication from Steve," Danny sounded like each word was being forced out against his will.

Denning sighed, "I thought that would be the answer. I was just hoping. This would be so much easier if he was here. You've seen the memos from Homeland Security?" he waited until Danny nodded, "Today, further directives were issued to the governors of each state."

Danny's heart was racing. At last he was going to get some answers.

"By now you've seen the news reports about the incidents that have been occurring throughout Asia, as well as South America and now Africa?" Denning asked.

Danny nodded again, "I've been following them but there's a lot of conflicting information. All of the outbreaks are sudden, no one seems to agree on what causes them, and they leave people dead. Some of the news outlets seem to think they're linked, but they can't explain how, and others say there's no connection."

Denning was looking at Danny oddly, "You have been following this closely, haven't you Captain?"

Danny realized that he had revealed too much. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to find out about the conversation Catherine had overheard.

Thinking fast, Danny decided that a half truth was the best lie, "With Steve deployed, we've all started to pay attention to international news."

Denning appeared to accept his answer and continued on without further questions, "The truth is that a very powerful new designer drug is the cause. Some of the people exposed to it react very badly. They become extremely aggressive, to the point of being unable to communicate and losing some motor function. They attack and often kill everyone they come in contact with."

Danny was skeptical, "How is this drug popping up in so many different places? Why are people taking it? How does the press not know about this?"

"The Federal Government is working on locating the source. They are investigating to see if there is a terrorist element involved," Denning replied, "What I'm here to talk about is that each state has been instructed to create a Rapid Response Team that can respond to an outbreak within our borders. Since Five-0 has jurisdiction across the islands, and we don't have a state police department, I want you to head it up."

Danny understood immediately why Denning had asked about Steve. Super SEAL would have been ideal for this. He wasn't sure that he himself was up to it, "Maybe the National Guard would be better for this? If it's state wide . . ."

"It can't be the Guard," Denning was firm, "They've been alerted that deployment is imminent. Your team will be drawn from SWAT and local police. According to the guidelines, you must respond to any incidents in less than 60 minutes, so you'll need to be able to draw on personnel throughout the islands."

Denning checked his watch and rose to his feet, "I'm on my way to another meeting. Everything the Feds sent is in the file." He produced a disturbingly thin folder from his briefcase and left it on Danny's desk.

Thirty minutes later, the members of Five-0 were grouped around the table in the conference room, the contents of the file spread across the wooden surface.

"Everyone knows that this is insane, right?" Danny asked, "I'm supposed to outfit a team of twenty people with full body armor to take down unarmed civilians?"

"These instructions were obviously put together by the military," Chin observed, "The National Guard may not be handling this assignment, but I bet it was intended for them. "

"It doesn't give enough information," Kono was clearly frustrated, "It says 'subjects exposed to an unknown agent.' How are they exposed? Ingested, injected, inhales, absorbed through the skin? What are we looking for?"

"You're looking at this like a cop," Lori told her, "Chin's right, look at from a military view point. They're not telling us to prevent anything. We're only supposed to contain it once it happens. Other agencies are doing the investigating."

Danny hated that, but she was right. They needed to focus on this assignment, which was confusing enough. "What does 'aggressive behavior that reduces motor skills and ability to communicate' mean? Is that like an Incredible Hulk thing?"

"Am I the only one concerned by all the warnings about avoiding physical contact and needing to report all contact immediately?" Alt was giving them the look he often gave them – the one that said he was the only sane person in the room.

It occurred to Danny that the longer the young rookie worked with Five-0, the less he seemed to like them. Still, he had to admit that the lengthy and dire warnings about avoiding physical contact (accompanied by more advice to use lethal force) were creepy.

"This is insane," Danny repeated, "There's nothing here about how to prevent these . . . episodes. And I know, that's not our job, but still. There aren't even any instructions about what to do afterwards except isolate – not treat – the injured and secure the area until a Federal (and I bet that's code for military) unit can take over."

"Do we really believe this is some kind of designer drug?" Kono asked quietly, "It doesn't sound like any drug I've heard of. It sounds more like a plague, but what kind of plague has these kinds of symptoms?"

Everyone was silent as they each tried to make the pieces fit together into some kind of coherent picture.

Danny finally sighed, "We're not going to figure this out right now. There's still too much that we're not being told. Let's play ball, since we're not exactly being given a choice, and see what we can learn along the way."

Assessing his team, Danny began handing out assignments, "Chin, we need rapid and immediate transportation. Talk to HPD. We'll need helicopters on stand-by. You may have to reach out to a private company if HPD can't accommodate that," he paused, "At least this project comes with a big budget. Lori, see what you can find out about the clean-up teams. At the very least, we'll need to know how to contact them and what their response time is."

Lori nodded, "I'll try to build some connections there. That could be a good source of information."

"Kono, start running down the equipment on this list. Start with HPD SWAT. If anyone gives you a hard time for taking their toys, let me know and I'll involve the Governor's office." Danny studied Alt for a moment, trying to decide what the kid would be capable of handling. He seemed very shaken by this, "Sean, I need you to keep Five-0 running. Make sure all paperwork on our last few cases is complete, follow-up on our court dates."

Danny handed everyone the appropriate paperwork and gathered the rest back into the file, "I'll start working on recruiting the team."

Everyone separated to get to work.

Alone in his office, Danny considered the impossibility of creating an effective team out of people he didn't know, to face a threat they knew next to nothing about. It occurred to him that this was a wonderful way to get himself killed.

Damn it, Denning was right. This was definitely a job for Steve. Steve, who hadn't been heard from in 6 months.

Suddenly, Danny couldn't get the instructions about head shots out of his mind. His imagination conjured up a vivid image of Steve in a jungle, lying dead with blood seeping from a gunshot wound between his empty, sightless eyes.

The soft ping that signaled incoming email brought Danny back to reality. He gratefully grabbed the mouse, relieved to have something to distract him. Staring in disbelief at the screen, Danny waited for the words on the screen to change, certain that he was still imagining things.

He had an email from Steve! If Steve was sending email, then he was alive. Danny's hand was trembling as he opened the email. Reading quickly, Danny's joy turned into a cold, deadening weight.

H50****H50**** H50****H50**** H50****H50****

Danny,

I don't know how much information had been released to the civilian authorities, or has gotten out into the press. I know that I've seen several reporters arrested. I'm hoping that you already know at least some of this. It will make it easier for you to believe me.

There is a plague and, despite our best efforts, it's spreading. It's decimating the civilian populations and we've lost far too many of our men.

This will sound crazy, but you have to trust me. The first symptoms are fever, chills, and vomiting. In a healthy person, these symptoms worsen for about 3 days. Near the end, the person will slip into a coma and then die. If a person is already sick or injured, they'll die much sooner.

Pay attention – this is the really important part. About an hour after death, limited lower brain function resumes. Do not be fooled. The victim is dead. It is the virus using the central nervous system to assume control of the body.

The dead person cannot speak. They do not respond to outside stimulus. Danny, you cannot help these people. They are dead. Destroy the brain or run away.

The disease spreads through bodily fluids. The reanimated will try and bite you – DO NOT LET THEM! Even the smallest bit is fatal – every time.

Danny, you have to trust me. I don't have any proof to send you. This isn't about exposing secrets or warning the public. All I want is to keep you, Cat, the baby (God, I've lost track of time out here – is the baby born yet? Do I have a son or a daughter?), the rest of our ohana safe.

The Governor has a secure shelter. It was built into a system of caves during WWII. It was upgraded after during the Cold War and then again after 9/11.

If the situation on Oahu gets bad, the Governor will retreat there. You MUST make sure that our family makes it into that shelter.

I pray that you never need this information. I am doing everything in my power to get home but, I don't know.

I still promise that you can drive my truck in our next high speed chase.

Tell Cat that I love her. Hug my baby for me.

Memorize the coordinates at the bottom of this email. Then delete it and wipe your hard drive.

Steve

H50****H50**** H50****H50**** H50****H50****

Danny reread the email three times. It was crazy. It had to be some kind of sick joke. Only the phrase about Danny driving Steve's truck was part of their agreed upon code. It meant that the email really came from Steve and he was not intentionally lying or being coerced.

When Danny combined the knowledge in Steve's email with the information he had received from the Governor, everything started to make a horrible, horrible kind of sense.

His eyes still locked on the screen, Danny reached blindly for his phone, "Chin, can you come in here. I want your opinion on some of these names the Governor's office sent over." He was proud of how normal his voice sounded.

End Note: Okay, so now you know it's a story about zombies. I put AU and Horror in the summary but I didn't say zombies because I liked the way the suspense built better if you didn't know going in. If zombies aren't your thing and you stop reading, I completely understand. I'd like some opinions: Should I now change the story summary to say zombies? Should I wait and change it after the story is complete? Should I leave it alone? Thank you!