 During a traffic stop in the boonies, the driver slips out a concealed handgun and shoots the HPD officer down in his tracks. Before dying, the cop gets off a couple of rounds at the fleeing car, causing it to crash. McGarrett and Danno visit the killer in the hospital, where he still couldn t care less about murdering a man ("I chopped a cop ... put a pig in a blanket"). The incident preys heavily on both men s minds, particularly Danno s. Later that same night, Danno witnesses a liquor-store robbery where the masked thief takes a shot at him. Danno follows the thief to a house, but loses him on the grounds. When a person steps out appearing to be carrying a pistol, Danno fires -- and finds to his horror that the young man was an innocent kid living at the house -- carrying a soldering iron. As the wounded boy lingers comatose and in critical condition, McGarrett must try to save Danno s reputation by proving that the robbery did occur and that the robber tricked the shooting victim into walking into the line of fire.