Dosage

Rick keeps an eye on traffic as he listens to Jamie, and hears noise in the background. “Crap, it’s happening too fast…” He slams on the brakes, almost missing a stop sign. “Jamie, I won’t lie to you – Con’s in a lot of trouble. He’s been poisoned. I don’t know how, but it’s in his bloodstream. It’s similar to whatever took Jason down a while back when he was in Texas…remember hearing about that?” He pauses again to make a turn onto another street. “The poison causes an intense infection that spreads rapidly. It’ll hit any weak spot Con’s got, so I can imagine he’s in quite a bit of pain right now as many injuries as he’s had. But that’s why he’s got such a high fever – his body is trying to fight the infection.”

Rick makes another turn, glancing in his rearview mirror to ensure Jason is still behind him. “I’m on Con’s street now, Jamie. Hold on.”


Reality is a fog, and fear grips Con. Something is wrong. He needs to fight. He’s in pain…something is harming him…he can’t get away. Fighting blindly, he doesn’t even realize anymore that Jamie is with him.

Within minutes of Rick ending his call with Jamie, he and Jason are sprinting up the stairs. Seeing Con writhing in bed, Rick is quick to bark orders. “Jason, get a hold on him and keep him still. Jamie, go get a bandage for his hand.”

Jason moves quickly, winding up straddling Con and using all his strength to hold down Con’s arms in order to gain any control at all over the larger man. “Rick, I can’t hold him much longer.” He knew from experience that Con’s size was no joke – his strength matched it, making him near impossible to take down.

Rick goes for his bag, pulling out a syringe. “I didn’t want to do this, but we’ve got to get him calmed down.” He sidles in by Jason, aiming the needle at Con’s vein.

“What is it?”

“A sedative.” Rick pierces Con’s skin, keeping his eyes on the task.

Finished, it’s only moments before Con’s body begins to relax. Jason breathes a sigh of relief as he’s able to let go, and he slides off the bed.

Rick begins a thorough search of Con’s body, finally finding a small red mark on his right arm. “Mm…looks like a tiny puncture wound. I wonder if that’s it. He could have received it without even realizing it.” He shakes his head and stands up, studying Con’s sleeping figure. “I betcha anything that if Con were my size and in my shape, he’d be dead by now…which leads me to believe that whoever gave him a dose didn’t figure that in. It’s like giving a tranquilizer to a house dog versus an elephant.”

Jason grits his teeth, fighting the emotions of seeing his friend in this state. “So he’s stayed alive this long…what chance do you give him?”

Rick glances at Jamie for a moment, then back to Jason. “I don’t know. If we can’t stop the poison, it will start to affect other areas of his body. Allowed to continue, his organs will shut down on by one until his heart will finally give out.” He takes a deep breath. “But he’s made it this far, and he’s a fighter. Let’s just hope and pray that whoever did this really did misjudge the dosage, and he’ll be able to fight it off.”


Wyatt hangs up with Angel, and quickly dials his contact in Texas. “Yeah…have the jet waiting pronto. It will be Angel Lachey. …Right. Let her on and get her here as fast as you can.”

Luke is on the mess hall porch, and his eyes widen in question at Angel. He can tell from her body language that all is not well, and she’s packed, ready to leave. “Hey, where you heading? What’s wrong?”

…At the Texas airport, a small jet is ready and waiting for immediate takeoff, once its passenger arrives.



“So what do you think, guys?” Mike looks across the kitchen table at Kyle and Phil.

Kyle traces a water stain on the table with his thumb. “You first, bro.”

Phil purses his lips in thought. “Well…Jason, and Katie too, are in a pretty hefty business. I mean, finding out about their corporation itself is news, let alone knowing they work there.”

“You think it’s all true?” Mike questions.

“Yeah, I do.”

Mike nods. “Me too. It’s pretty amazing, but unless I’ve lost all sense of judgment, Jason and Katie aren’t the types to lie, especially about things as major as they talked about.”

“Sounds like they’ve both had it pretty rough,” Kyle adds.

“I think you’re right.” Mike sighs. “So…other than this TJY place being kept a secret, basically having Jason on the band would be like having any other law enforcement with us. If he’s got someone after him, it’s no different than having a cop who’s put a crook in jail.”

“That’s the conclusion I came to,” Phil agrees. “If we knew a cop who we wanted to join us, it would be the same thing.”

Kyle nods. “Which also applies to if he has to skip out to be on some case.” He shrugs. “If that ever happened, we could manage. Emergencies happen to anyone, even us.”

Mike allows a pause in the conversation, as they think. “Apparently Jason has had it rough enough that he’s got some problems deal with some of his past.”

Kyle looks down, knowing he can relate just a little bit. “Well…he can’t help that. He said he’d been abducted…I mean…wow…that’s heavy. He didn’t go into details, but being taken by a stranger…for over a year…that’s enough to mess anyone up.”

“What did you think about Katie’s comment regarding us being a Godsend?” Mike asks.

Kyle smiles just a little. “I’d say we succeeded in our mission…and maybe God did bring us together…we all know everything happens for a reason. Katie…and Jason too…they both have had it so rough that…I don’t want to sound like we’re ‘all that,’ but maybe the band gives them something to look forward to. I mean, we’re a crazy bunch, no doubt.”

All three of them laugh as Kyle continues. “Maybe that’s what they needed, ya know? I don’t want to be proud, but I wouldn’t want to think God never used us, either.”

The men grow quiet again before Phil speaks. “So…even if having Jason around wouldn’t be much different than law enforcement…do we want that risk? Do we want ourselves to be targets? Or our families?”

Mike swallows hard. He’d already lost so much to the hands of an enemy. But right now, it was all gone. What else did he have to lose? “I’m not scared by it.”

Kyle nods knowingly. “I don’t think I am either. If…well, if it was God’s plan to bring us together, you think He’s not going to protect us? We shouldn’t just go in blinding ourselves to fact, but even Jason said there would be someone to keep an eye out…probably Katie.”

“Anything could happen to any of us anywhere,” Phil concludes. “If we’re at an event where there’s a judge who put someone away, there could be a driveby shooting that had nothing to do with us, and we could get hurt. For that matter, any of us could get up in the morning, fall down the stairs and kill ourselves before the day is up. I’m not convinced we should say no to this because of the danger… Kyle, I like what you said… if this is God’s doing, He’s not going to let us down.” He gives a little a laugh. “And brother, you’ve got a good voice, but man…”

Kyle grins. “Jason can sing, can’t he?”

“And play the guitar,” Mike adds. He looks at the other two. “So does this mean we’ve come to a decision?”

Kyle and Phil nod. “All we need is a final ‘yes’ from Jason.”


Not much later, Kyle flops down into the couch in his and Phil’s living room, phone in hand. He glances at the piece of paper in his hand and dial’s Katie, knowing nothing of the emergency going on in that other part of the world. “Hey, KT! You decide where you wanted to eat or what?”