After a short drive to HPD headquarters, Steve and Danny immediately detected the extra activity around the outside of the police precinct. The parking lot was a blur of noise and activity until one by one officers began to notice the head of Five-0 approaching and fell silent.

Steve moved past the officers, eyes locked on what seemed to be the focus of all the commotion.

A body lay at the edge of the parking lot.

Instinctively Steve advanced, searching the area for clues, taking in the scene before him, observing every present clue and filing them in his brain to process later.

The body was female, that much was obvious by her slight, feminine build and the summer dress she was wearing, but beyond that she was unrecognizable. Long, jagged cuts ran the length of the girl's face, distorting her features. Her eyes had been removed, as had her nose and ears.

"Is she… was she…" Steve felt Danny's tension as he stood beside him.

"Scalped?" Steve murmured. "Looks that way."

Danny shuddered. "I never get used to this. No matter how many times we see it, it always turns my stomach."

"Yeah." Steve said quietly, staring at the gristly sight before them.

Snapping out of his trance, Steve's sharp eyes sought out the medical examiner he knew would be called in on this case.

"Max? Chin said there was a threat against Five-0. This looks like a murder. What do we know?"

Max looked up from the camera he was using to flip through pictures of the crime scene.

"Oh, hello Commander. So far we have an unidentified female. The body was dumped here sometime between 7:00 when the morning shift reported and 10:15 when it was discovered. Cause of death is yet to be determined, but all the damage you can see was done while the victim was still alive."

Danny shuddered.

Steve looked away and swallowed before centering himself and refocusing on the ME. "And the threat to Five-0?"

Max nodded. "Oh yes. This was discovered on the body." He handed Steve an evidence bag with a single sheet of paper splattered in dried blood. Steve pulled on his gloves, took it gingerly, and began to read.

"Hello Commander. You don't know me, but I know you and your Five-0 team very well. Your arrogance knows no bounds. You think you and your unit of superheroes can just run all over this island fighting crime and there will never be any consequences. You think you and your unit are untouchable. Invincible. I'm here to show you that you're not. While you were sleeping comfortably, praising yourself for a job well done I was kidnapping and torturing this young lady for no other reason than to show you that you are not nearly the man you think you are. No matter how hard you try, people will get hurt, and people will die. Especially the ones you care about. I'll see to that. Just wait and see."

Steve finished reading and glanced up. "Max, send this to the lab and have them analyze the handwriting. Let's get the K-9 units down here and see if they can pick up the killer's scent. Duke, have your men canvass the area, see if anyone saw anything. Danny, you and I need to go back through our old cases and see if anyone we put away has recently got out and might have beef with us. I want this guy dead or in jail in less than 24 hours."

Everyone scrambled to follow Steve's orders, and after staring for a few more moments at the disfigured corpse in front of him, Steve turned on his heel and headed back to the palace, Danny and Chin on his heels.

As the Five-0 team entered the office, they were met by a concerned Kono.

"What happened? Chin called, but I was at lunch with Adam and just got his message."

Danny shook his head. "A demented killer who has threatened to target Five-0."

Kono looked surprised. "Are you sure?"

Chin nodded. "Pretty darned. A letter was addressed to Steve and threatened Five-0 by name."

Kono turned to confirm this with Steve, but found him staring at a box sitting on the edge of the smart table.

"Who put this here?" Steve asked suspiciously.

The three other members of the team stood silently.

"I didn't notice it until you said something." Danny said.

Steve strode across the room to look at the box and search for a return label. The top of the box was blank, but he scanned for a trip wire or any other booby traps. Finding nothing, he flipped out his switchblade and cut open the tape. Danny sucked in a breath, half expecting something to explode. When nothing happened, Steve used the edge of his blade to open the lid. Slowly he glanced inside and paled. Seeing his reaction, Danny stepped up to the table to look, and gasped. One by one the members of Five-0 looked inside the box and saw two severed human ears.