****** WARNING - this chapter contains teen drug use and abuse ******

Steve took Danny's call at five thirty on Monday morning.
He sounded winded as he answered, "Hey Danno, how ya doing?"

"Good Morning, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm running"
"I'll never understand why you torture yourself like this every morning Steve"
"It's not torture buddy…..it's fun"
"When this is over Steven we really need to talk"
Steve asked seriously, "What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? The fact that you think jogging before the sun comes up is fun, that's what's wrong. It's not natural buddy, and as your best friend and partner I need to form an intervention. I need to save you Steven"

The SEAL chuckled, "It makes me feel good partner. You should join me"
"I love you babe, but no….that's not going to happen"
"Are you on the way to the school now?"
"Yeah. I just wanted to see if you have any other info for me"
"No, I talked to Kamala late last night and as far as he knew, no other students overdosed over the weekend"

"Good….that's good"
"Yes it is. I'll be meeting with a Judge at one o'clock to hopefully get an order to bring Miller in for questioning"
"Do you think he'll grant it?"
"I'm hoping the fact that more children could die if we don't move quickly will help our case"
"What are you going to do if Miller's attorney wants to cut a deal?"
"I've thought a lot about that and Danny I'm going to do whatever I need to do to make sure no more kids die. Miller is thirteen years old and he's fucked up. If his attorney and his parents will agree to get him the treatment he needs, I won't have any problem cutting a deal. Fong has said that none of the drugs were altered in any way and I'm sure this kid's intent was not to kill anyone"

"Are you sure about that Steve?"
"I am…I looked into his eyes Saturday and I saw a kid who was scared shitless Danny. He needs help. If he cooperates and helps us get to any other kids before it's too late, we need to help him. I don't want to destroy him D', too many kids have died, and too many lives have been destroyed already. He's just a kid"

"I agree with you partner. I'll call you when I get a break later"
"Hey, before you go…how was your weekend?"
"Good Steve"
"Just good?"
Danny chuckled at his partner's persistence, "Okay…it was great. She's a great girl Steve and I'm really happy"
Steve had stopped running and he responded warmly, "That's super Danno. I'm very happy for you"
"Thank you. I'm at the school now so I'll talk to you later. Good luck with the Judge"
"Thanks, bye"

Steve again began to jog and a smile crossed his face. Danny was happy, and that made him happy too.

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Danny met the others in the parking lot of the school and they all entered together.
Principal Kalama greeted them and they met with three teachers who would 'shadow' them while they were here.

The day went well for all of them, with Danny probably having the most difficulty as a phy-ed teacher. The students were partaking in track and field events this week and Danny couldn't help but laugh at the irony of that as he remembered his conversation with Steve this morning.

While Chin and Kono were able to leave for the day by four thirty, Danny's day was just beginning, as after school he headed to the football field to join Coach Palacio.

As they had previously discussed, Coach Palacio pulled the team around him before practice.
Blowing his whistle loudly he called out "GENTLEMEN, FRONT AND CENTER….NOW! MOVE IT, MOVE IT!"

In seconds the boys were all sitting in a circle, their full attention focused on their five coaches in the middle.

"Men before we start today I want to introduce you to our new assistant coach, Danny Williams. Coach Williams will be floating amongst your squads helping out wherever he's needed. I expect you all to answer any questions he may have and you will treat him with the same respect you show to me and your other coaches. Do you hear me?"

In unison the boys all called out loudly, "YES SIR!"
The coach was then quiet for several seconds as the boys remained perfectly still.
He then spoke quietly, "Men, I want to once again talk to you about our teammates and friends we tragically lost last week. As I told you before, if any of you know anything about what happened or even if you don't know anything but you just need to talk, all of our doors are open. Coach Williams has also been told what has happened and if you feel more comfortable talking to him, please do so. It is very important to do the right thing in life men. If you know how our boys obtained the drugs that killed them, it is your duty as their friend and teammate to let one of us know. Your identities will remain confidential. At the end of practice, I'll hand out a card to each of you with our cellphone numbers. You can call any of us at any hour, do you understand me?"

Again the boys replied loudly, "YES SIR!"
"I want each and every one of you to remember that you are special and you are valued by your teammates, your classmates and your families. No one wants to see harm come to any of you, so please talk to us…..we will listen" Coach Palacio then nodded to one of his assistants who clapped his hands together and without a word being spoken, the boys all stood and raced off in several directions to their pre-ordained stations.

Once they had all dispersed the man turned to Danny and asked "So what do you think?"
Danny nodded, "You did a great job. I think we'll be hearing from at least a few of them"
Coach Palacio said softly, "I certainly hope so detective"

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Danny was exhausted and he'd been so busy all day he hadn't been able to contact Steve.
He left the school at about seven o'clock and dialed Steve.

He was yawning as his partner answered the phone, "Oh excuse me!"
Steve chuckled, "Sounds like those kids wore you out today Danno"
"Yeah they did, and the weekend I had didn't help either"
"Well…my interest is certainly peaked partner"
"That's all you're going to get out of me Steven, so don't go there"
The SEAL laughed softly, "My imagination is running wild"
"Trust me...…it's all good buddy"
Steve chuckled, then asked "So, how did your day go?"
"You knew didn't you?"
Steve was puzzled as he responded, "Knew what?"

Danny couldn't help but laugh, "You knew that I would be doing track and field all day didn't you?"
Steve began to laugh hysterically, "I DIDN'T KNOW THAT DANNY!"
"Uh huh…..sure"
"I swear to you I didn't know. But it sure is good!"
"GOOD FOR WHO? It's certainly not good for me Steven, I can tell you that!"

Once Steve stopped laughing he asked, "Other than that, how did things go?"
Danny sighed and then he told Steve about having the coach talk to the boys and of giving out their phone numbers.
"Good, that's great work Danno. Did you get any vibes from the kids?"
"It's hard to say Steve. It's clear that they're all shook up, there were a lot of tears"
Steve sighed "Shit, I hate this partner"

"Me too. At least it appears that Kono was right though. There hasn't been any more OD's since last week….the kids are scared"
"Yeah….they're not the only ones. So what are your plans tonight?"
"I'm bushed. I'm heading straight home, gonna order a pizza and have a beer"
Steve chuckled again, "Pizza and beer and then back onto the track tomorrow huh?"
"I've got to work it off baby!" Danny then added, "Did Chin or Kono have any luck?"
"Nothing yet. Basically the same as you, the kids are shocked and quiet. All we can really do is reach out to them and hope someone talks"

Danny then inquired, "Did you have any luck getting to Miller?"
"Yeah. I got word just before five o'clock that I can interview him. His attorney called me and he's bringing Jason in at nine o'clock tomorrow morning"
"That's great Steve….maybe we can end this without any more deaths"
"I sure hope so. How about if we all meet at Manny's tomorrow for dinner, at what do you say seven thirty?"
"That sounds great"
"I'll call Chin and Kono….will Tracy be coming with you?"
"You never quit do you?"
"Well is she?"
"MAYBE!"
Laughing Steve replied, "You have a good night and we'll touch base tomorrow buddy"
"'K, good night"

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Danny then called and spoke to Tracy for a few minutes.
She answered quickly, "Hi Danny"
"Hi, how are you doing?"
"So much better now that you've called. How did your day go?"
"Pretty good, but it was long"
"Are you just getting home now?"
"Yes and tomorrow's going to be more of the same. I'm meeting the team at Manny's tomorrow night for dinner, can you join us?"
"Are you sure I won't be imposing?"
"Are you kidding? Steve asked me if you were coming"
"Then, I'd love to join you"
"Great, I'll pick you up at about seven thirty"
"I can't wait….good night"
"Good night honey"

Hanging up the phone, Tracy sighed deeply…..she was developing strong feelings for Danny and she had to move things along before she lost her nerve. She was happy to be going out with the group tomorrow night, it would make Friday night easier. Friday night…they were all taking Kono out for her birthday and after dinner, they were going dancing. That was when she needed to put the next phase of the plan into action. She had to do this….or she would die.

Danny showered when he got home and a short time later, with a half-eaten pizza and two empty beer bottles on the coffee table in front of him, he fell asleep on the couch. He woke to his cellphone ringing. Sitting up and grabbing the phone he noted it was almost midnight.

Not recognizing the name, he answered groggily, "Williams"
There was a slight pause before a young voice asked "Coach Williams?"
Sitting up, Danny asked, "Yes, who is this?"
"Coach, this is Troy Grothe from the football team…I'm sorry to be calling you so late"
"It's fine Troy, I'm glad you called. What is it son?"
"I'm scared coach…."
"What are you scared about son?"
"If I tell you…oh God coach if I tell you….."
The boy's voice was shaking with emotion as Danny tried to keep him calm, "Troy, you need to tell me what you know. You did the right thing by calling me"

"I bought the drugs" The boy was now sobbing, "It's my fault coach…"
"Troy, this isn't your fault"
"I….oh God I gave…I gave the drugs to Simon….he's dead because of me"
"Troy, tell me son. Who did you buy the drugs from?"
"It's my ffaault….OH GOD IT'S MMY FFAULT"
"Troy I need you to relax, take a deep breath buddy"
Danny listened quietly to the distraught child on the other end of the phone and he kept talking to him soothingly, "It's going to be okay Troy, but you need to tell me who you got the drugs from?"

"Jason….Jason Miller"
Danny sighed softly and closed his eyes. They now had confirmation of Jason's involvement.
The detective said softly, "Thank you Troy, thank you for telling me"
"Coach….pplease tell Simon's parents I'mm sso sorry"
Danny's blood went cold as he noted the boys speech slurring, "Troy, I need you to tell me….. buddy did you take something?"

Danny could hear the boy whimpering softly, "TROY, TROY TALK TO ME KID"
Still not getting a response he raced into the kitchen and with his landline, he dialed Coach Palacio.
"TROY, BUDDY COME ON…TALK TO ME!"
In his other ear he heard the Coach come onto the line. Setting his cellphone onto the counter he talked softly, "Coach, it's Danny. I've got Troy Grothe on the other line and he's taken something. Do you have his address and a home phone number?"

"Yeah, hang on a minute"
"Hurry Coach"
When Palacio returned he heard Danny still trying frantically to get the boy to respond to him.
"Danny…"

Turning his attention back to the Coach, Danny wrote down the boys address and phone number. "Coach, hang on a minute" He picked the cell back up, "TROY, TROY CAN YOU ANSWER ME BUDDY? YOU STAY WITH ME KID….. Coach, I'm calling 911 and then going to the house. I'm got to keep him on the line. Please try to call his parents and alert them"

"Got it Danny"
Hanging up the house phone he again talked to Troy until the 911 operator picked up.
After giving 911 the address Danny raced from his house talking to Troy the entire way.

****** I hope you're enjoying! Please remember all reviews are greatly appreciated and very motivating! I'd LOVE to hear what you think! ******