The body was not the first that Danny had seen and he had little doubt that it would not be the last either, but it was certainly one of the more gruesome. Danny crouched by the remains and looked at the note that was pinned to the chest, telling Danny that he was responsible for Benny's death. The money that he had given Benny was scattered on top of the body, stained with blood. Since the raid was successful, Danny had been due to meet with Benny that very evening to give him the other half of the cash he had promised.

Rising, Danny exchanged glances with Steve and then nodded to the crime lab that he had seen enough. They moved in to efficiently process the scene before the coroner took the body for autopsy. "Poor Benny," Danny said softly. "He overheard the right thing for us, but the wrong thing for him."

There was nothing McGarrett could say to refute that, so he just laid his hand on Danny's shoulder in silent sympathy. The snitches they used knew that if they fingered someone powerful, they might well get hurt or killed, but for most of them, the money they got from the cops was their most regular income. Benny was somewhere in late middle age and had been on the streets for most of his life. Danny knew no more about him. He kept his past private and now he was dead.

"Let's go," Steve suggested after a few moments.

Silently, Danny followed behind him. Benny's death made finding Mickey even harder than it had been before. One snitch's death tended to make the others go into hiding. Mickey and Jimmy, for all they had not been on the island that long, had instilled terror into everyone. Danny didn't speak all the way back to the Palace. Steve cast him several anxious glances, but didn't speak either.

All four detectives gathered in Steve's office when they got back. "What've we got?" Steve asked.

"The place the Johnstons were staying is empty," Kono reported. "All their stuff is gone." He shrugged eloquently. "Ain't nobody seen nothing."

"Che checked on those prints on the note and they were from the downstairs janitor," Chin told them. "He found it on the desk in the lobby. He never saw anyone leaving it." He glanced at his notebook. "The fire chief called and said that they had found traces of an accelerant in several places in Danny's apartment building. A burning rag had been thrown through the door of the apartment directly below Danny's."

"The apartment below?" Danny asked sharply. "That doesn't make sense."

"According the fire chief it does," Chin replied. "He says that in buildings like yours, the fire climbs the walls quickly inside the apartments. You would have died from the smoke before the fire got to you, but your apartment would have burned out completely before the fire crews could get it out." He gave Danny a sober look. "You'd have been a crispy critter, as the fire-boys say."

"So why is Mickey targeting Danno particularly?" Steve asked. "We were all there."

"It was my snitch," Danny replied. "And I'm the one who took Jimmy down." He shrugged. "It's my fault that Jimmy got caught."

McGarrett eyed Danny thoughtfully. There was no doubt in his mind that Danny had just nailed the reason right on the head. "We already know that Mickey is determined to get his brother back. I want extra vigilance on him, just to be sure he doesn't slip through our fingers somehow. Have we heard when he goes to court?"

"Day after tomorrow," Chin replied. "Walter Stuart called the office earlier."

"All right. We know that Mickey wants Jimmy out of prison by tomorrow. That isn't going to happen. I want a 24 hour watch on you, Danno. Don't go anywhere alone, do you understand? No heroics! We can put Jimmy away without your testimony, but I don't intend to do that. You will be there the day after tomorrow." He fixed Danny with a stern eye.

Much as he hated to be cooped up and followed around, Danny nodded. It wasn't worth arguing over and besides, there was a tiny, persistent itch between his shoulder blades, as though someone was watching him. "Yeah, all right."

"What's the coconut wireless saying?" Steve asked.

"Nothing," Chin replied. "Everyone is too scared to say anything."

"Mickey is still here," Kono advised. "We've got the airport and the docks under surveillance and the coast guard is patrolling the perimeter of the rock."

"Good." Steve paused to think.

"Since we picked up the Johnstons' drug supply last night, there are going to be quite a few users going without today, aren't there?" Danny asked.

"Probably," McGarrett agreed. "What do you have in mind?"

"Some of the smaller dealers, the ones that the Johnstons squeezed out, are going to be scoring today, aren't they?" Danny's mind was racing. "If we can grab a couple of users, we might be able to find out where Mickey usually deals from, apart from his place. There's bound to be somewhere else. After all, we haven't seen a steam of users turning up at their place, have we? And there's always the chance that if we squeeze the right dealer, we might find out where Mickey is going to get his next consignment from." He already had a dealer in mind.

"Good thinking," Steve agreed. "All right, Danno, you do that. Kono, you go with him and remember what I said – no heroics!"

"No heroics," Danny promised and Kono nodded.

"I still think you'd be easier to look after in the HPD lock-up," Kono told Danny as they left the room and Steve could not help but smile. Kono might have a point there.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XX

Stakeouts could be incredibly frustrating. Danny sat in the passenger side of the car and drummed his fingers on the hot metal of the door, his elbow out of the window. Kono had wanted the car windows closed, but after a few short minutes in the baking sun, he agreed that the glass would not stop a bullet anyway and it was far too hot to have the windows up.

"Who we waiting for?" Kono asked for at least the third time.

"I told you," Danny replied. "I know him as Don, but I'm sure that's not his name. He's thin, looks to be about 15 years old and is usually dressed in jeans and sneakers. Blond hair. Don't let his looks fool you, though. He's at least 25 and he's been a pusher for years." Danny had busted him when he was with HPD and Don had somehow managed to wriggle out of the charge, pleading that he was still a child and had been led astray by older youths. The judge, notoriously soft-hearted with juveniles, had bought the sob-story, even though Don at the time was at least 20. He was given community service and didn't bother to show up. It wasn't an uncommon story. When Danny finally caught up with the pusher again, Don had given him a good tip on a murder and Danny had agreed to look the other way for the moment, as long as Don kept supplying him with information.

"I don't know how you find all these guys," Kono grumbled.

"I don't have a big family network like you do," Danny retorted, grinning. "I have to work with who I find under the rocks." Kono seemed to have relatives everywhere and Chin was much the same. "There he is." Danny unconsciously sat up straighter.

"You sure he's 25?" Kono asked, looking at the skinny child that Danny indicated.

"He could be older for all I know," Danny admitted. "I told you not to let his looks fool you." He watched Don find a good place on the street, visible enough for those who wanted to find him, but with a convenient alley to give him a getaway should he need it. "Let's go," he suggested.

Don spotted them the moment they got out of the car. He froze as Danny pointed at him, his face showing clearly that he was less than happy to have a pair of detectives cornering him, especially now. Danny kept his gaze on Don as they crossed the road. "Don."

"Mr Williams." Close to, Kono could see that Don was older than he looked from a distance. He stood behind Danny and kept a close eye on his surroundings as this was not the most salubrious of areas, never mind the threat against Danny.

"You know what I want, Don," Danny said. "Where's Mickey Johnston going to get his stuff now?"

"I dunno," Don whined. "Please, Mr Williams, I dunno."

"Don't give me that!" Danny snapped. "Come on, or this time I will take you back to court." He grabbed Don's arm just to emphasise his words.

"He gets extra stuff from a warehouse down the docks," Don stuttered.

"There are lots of warehouses and lots of docks," Danny shot back. "I'll let Detective Kalakua have a go at you if you don't tell me." Kono drew himself up and tried to look intimidating.

Whimpering that Danny wasn't playing fair, Don finally stuttered out an address in the industrial area of the docks. It was, of course, the roughest, most dangerous area where a lot of the warehouses were waiting for redevelopment. "This information had better be good, Don," Danny warned him, "or I will let Detective Kalakua deal with you."

With that parting shot, Danny turned away, leaving the pusher all but snivelling on the corner. Kono followed obediently. Both men felt besmirched by their contact with the pusher. Danny was sorely tempted to just take him in anyway, but now was not the time for side trips. They needed to find Mickey Johnston and they needed to find him now.

A shot rang out and a bullet kicked up dust at Danny's feet. "Get down!" Kono yelled, throwing himself onto Danny and forcing the smaller man to the ground and covering him with his own body. Another bullet sang overhead and Kono dragged Danny across the ground to the comparative safety of the car. they both drew their guns and peered over the hood, but there was no more shooting.

They remained behind the car for several more minutes until they were convinced that the shooter had gone. By then, sirens were drawing near and Danny slid down to sit with his back against the car, letting out a shaky breath of relief that neither he nor Kono had been hit. He glanced across the street and felt his heart stop. "Kono."

At the strangled voice, Kono glanced down anxiously, suddenly terrified that Danny had been hit. "What?" he gasped and then followed the direction of Danny's gaze. "Auwe!" Kono exclaimed.

Crumpled on the ground was the obviously dead body of Don.