Meal

*Rosetta watches the van intently.* "They are eather on to us, or in no hurry to get back to who ever told they to take Jason and let them know he is gone." *Rosetta eyes the red light that seems to be taking for ever to change. Rosetta takes her gun from its holester and puts it along side of her by the door. She looks to Mick again.* "Old habbits die hard eh."

*Damien keeps a close eye on all the window, making sure no one sneeks up. His eyes pearcing through the dark.*

*Katie rests her head on Jason's hand as her tears start to flow making his hand and the blankets around him wet. The lack of sleep is wairing on Katies emotions as her best friend is laying in a coma. Katie mind is quiet, an errir stillness inside of her. As Jason rests she cant feel him anymore. Katie feels empty like a peace of her is missing. Finally Katie gives in and shuts her eyes. With in minutes she sleeping.*

*Annie heads to her bunk and grabs some papers. and than once again make her way back to the mess hall. A strange grin on her face.*

*Wendy smiles at Becky.* "Thank you. Well I thought maybe we could make up some eggs, and cut up some ham, maybe some fresh veggies." *Wendy tummy grumbles.* " I dident think I was that hungry."

Asleep

JT waits until Katie is gone before looking back to Austin and Con.

Austin eyes him skeptically. “There’s something you haven’t said.”

“No…” JT shakes his head.

“But you’re not quite as confident as what you said.”

JT shrugs. “I guess not, but if anyone needs to stay positive, it’s Katie. I find it hard to be confident about anything that can’t be explained, and things like this just can’t be predicted or understood completely.” He studies Austin closely for several moments. “The last eighteen years have been hard on you.”

Austin leans back in his chair, now even more skeptical. “Who are you, Doctor? Why are you helping us? I saw you avoiding security and law checks so we wouldn’t have any hassles. What gives?”

JT gives a slight smile. “A long time ago I saw your gang in turmoil, then they vanished into thin air. My guess is that something has cropped up again, bringing a lot of you back together again…”



Monitors beep quietly in the dim room. Jason lies peacefully still, his eyes closed in quiet sleep. Bandages line his arms, and stitches are visible along his face. Though bruises have become more prominent, the swelling has gone down, making his face look even thinner. His breathing is rhythmic and calm, his rough hand enveloping Katie’s as she holds it.


Mick follows the van as it winds around town, making stops at a quick mart and gas station. He sighs as they wait for a red light. “These guys don’t even seem like they’re in a hurry anymore. Do you think they’re on to us?”



Becky chuckles and leans down to help Wendy. “Be patient – you’ll be out of that chair in no time.” She helps to start making preparations. “I think a salad is a splendid idea. What do you have in mind?”

The Call

*Katie nods at JT than stands up.* "I'm going to go in and see him. If you guys need me let me know." *Katie heads our the door and down the hall.*

*Rosetta nods to Mick.* "Lets do it." *Rosetta feels a bit of excitment as hey younger day pass through her mind.*

*Wendy looks to Becky as she sits by the firg.* "I was thinking make a nice big Salad. I am sure the dont have much of an appitite so it will be something lite for them." *Wendy lets out a sigh as she trys to take the stuff out of the fig but drops it.* " OH come on...I'm so usless right now. I cant wait to get out of this thing." *Wendy bends forwork to pick up what she droped.*

*Annie heads outside and pulls out her phone dialing a number.* "Hey, Ya they did. I'm not sure. They dident say where. Nope they dont know. Ya alot easyer than I thought. Ok....when I know more I'll let you know. Later."

*Katie slowly enters Jason's room. Seeing him laying in the bed brings a tear to her eyes. Pulling a chair over to him she sits down.* "I'm here Jason. I'm here for you." *Katie slips her hand into his, maybe in his dreams he would feel her presence and know she was there for him.* "Fight this Jason and come back to us. We need you, You mom, your grandfather, your friends." *Katie keeps holding Jason's hand as she watchs him sleep.*

Details

Cindy searches Wes’ eyes for reassurance, even though her instincts are telling her that all is not right. “I’m scared, Wes…”


JT moves to sit closer to Katie, his voice steady and gentle. “It happens sometimes, Katie, and it can’t always be medically explained. While Jason was on the table, he had a couple reactions to the meds, but nothing uncontrollable. Basically the anesthetic should have worn off by now, but he hasn’t woken up. It’s my opinion that his body simply shut down in order to heal itself from the inside out – it’s happened before…it can be a body’s defense mechanism. The tricky part is waiting…he’s in stable condition, and the monitors show healthy brain activity, so I’m not real worried at this point. We just don’t know if it’s going to be a few hours, or a few weeks.” He smiles encouragingly. “But he’s young and strong, Katie. I have full confidence he’ll pull through…we just have to be patient with him.” He gestures to the door. “I had him moved to his own room, number three-thirteen. It would be fine if you want to see him.”


Mick straightens in his seat as he sees the headlights in the evening light. “Hey, yeah….”


“I can’t believe you did that!” One thug argues.

The other rolls his eyes. “I didn’t think we’d get pulled in for not using the parking meter! How was I supposed to know?”

“Yeah, well our little jaunt for lunch turned into an all-day excursion. You just better hope that kid we got in here is still there.”

“Ha! Where was he going to go and how was he supposed to get here?” The crook shakes his head. “You worry for….” His voice trails off as he looks at the broken lock on the door. “Hey…this looks like it’s been kicked in.”

“What?” His partner takes a closer look, drawing his gun. “Let’s check it out.”


Mick watches intently, waiting for more movement. It isn’t long before the two figures appear again, in an obvious hurry. They jump into their van and burn rubber as they back out onto the road and speed away. Mick turns on the ignition and keeps his lights off. “Alright, guys. We’re on. Let’s see where these idiots go.”


Sparky nods his agreement and grabs his phone. “I’ll call Adam…”

Becky comes in from the living room and joins Wendy in the kitchen. “Hey, hun, find anything good we can fix up for this hungry mob?”

Stuned

*Wes looks at Cindy and put his other hand on hers.* "He's at the hospetal Cindy. Other than that Austin dident say. Austin said he will call me back in a while. We just need to wait now. At lease we know he is safe now." *Wes trys to give a smile to Cindy though he know from Austins ton it was pretty bad.*

*Katie gets a look of fear that pass over her eyes. No not again, please not again.* "How....how he was talking before you put him under? What happend? I dont understand. How could his condition change so fast? Is he going to be ok?" *A tear forms in Katies eyes, she can feel best friend sliping away.* "Can I see him?"

*After a long moment of silence Damien looks out the window.* "Hey guys, they are back?" *He points to the van pulling back up to the wairhouse.*

~*~As night falls on the ranch everyone is joined in the Mess hall still. Some chating quietly some doing more research. While others just sit and think about all the is going on. Everything is quiet outside for now but the night air is thick. A heavy gloom hanging over everyones head as there friends have yet to return.~*~


*Angel look up from the paper work she was working on to keep her mind off everything.*" We should probley get in contact with Adam and let him know they found Jason, and make sure everything over there is ok. We havent hurd from him since he left."

*Wendy pushes herself away from the table.* " If I sit here any longer I am going to go crazy." *Starting to push herself twords the kitchen Wendy announces.* "I'm going to start some dinner dince non of us have had anything to eat yet. I dont know what I will make but I'll find something."

*Annie stands and streches.* "I'm going to go to my bunk fast and get some stuff to work on while we are in here. I'll be back shortly."

Diagnosis

Jason grips her hand tightly, showing his fear for the first time. He can barely see what’s going on, and that combined with his mental state, creates a panic he resists, but can’t seem to overcome. On a certain level, he knows the people around him are trying to help, and he’s desperate to accept their help, but the pain keeps him at a point of ire.

JT prepares an injection and gives Jason a quick shot. “This should calm him down a bit and give him some relief until we put him under.” He raises an eyebrow as Katie requests the presence of the others. “Ah, grandfather huh? I wondered if there was a relation there. Yes, they can come too, as long as you keep them in line.” He grins at her. “Come on, follow me. You can come into the next room, and you’ll be able to see into the O.R.” He gets several nurses to push the gurney through the next set of doors, and motions for the others to follow. He preps himself and as he’s entering the O.R., he’s stopped by another doctor.

“I went ahead and drew up the papers for the report, since this was a beating.” The doctor shows JT several printouts.

JT shakes his head. “Got it taken care of already.”

“But I didn’t see…”

“It’s taken care of,” JT repeats sternly, turning the other doctor away. He goes into the O.R., letting the door swing shut behind him.


Austin and Con join Katie in the adjoining room where there is a window into the O.R. They wait for hours, pacing, sitting, standing, and pacing. Finally, Jason is taken out another door, and JT emerges, easing himself down into a chair and removing his mask. He sighs wearily and wipes some sweat from his brow. “Well…”

Austin looks at him expectantly. “How is he?”

JT doesn’t answer the question directly. “The worst time I had was reconstructing that knee of his. He had quit an impact to his kneecap – shattered the whole thing. I almost waited to replace it, but I decided to go ahead and do the surgery while I had him in there. Only time will tell how much mobility he’ll gain back in it. And…” He thinks. “That gash on his face is going to leave a nasty mark, but as long as it doesn’t get infected it shouldn’t be a threat. He has five broken ribs, plenty of cuts and bruises and he was pretty dehydrated.”

Con cocks his head. “How long will he have to stay here?”

JT grows solemn as if having something he doesn’t want to say. “Jason apparently experienced an awful lot of trauma, physically and mentally… Right now he’s in a coma.”


Cindy’s eyes widen, and she grips Wes’ arm. “What do you mean he’s in pretty rough shape? What did they say? Where is he?”

New face Old friend.

*Katie shakes JT's hand than goes to Jason taking his other.* "Hey J, I'm here....I'm right here with you." *Katie keeps herself aware of the new doc, and throws a look to Con saying, She dosent know who this is so keep an eye on him. Katie looks back to JT.* "Can Con, and his grandfather be in there to please?"

*Wes nods his head even though Austin cant see him.* " Ok.....I'll let know know.ok...ya things are calm here at the moment. Ok...Wish Jason the best for us. ok...if ya need anything call. OK later." *Wes hangs up the phone and lets out a sigh walking back into the mess hall. Siting down next to Cindy he notices everyone looking at him.* "They found Jason. He is in pritty rough shape but he's live and thats what matters." *Wes smiles to Cindy than looks around the room again.* " We cant go see him just yet. Everything is fresh and new we dont want to draw any attachen. Austin will let us knwo when everything is ok."

Doctor

The doctor nods at Katie while working with Jason. "That's very helpful, thank you."

Jason suddenly groans and tries to sit up. One of the nurses gently restrains him, but Jason retaliates on instinct, grabbing her wrist. The doctor is quick to force him to let go. "Would someone give him that sedative, please?! What's taking so long?" He turns back to Katie, having a hard time staying calm. "Where was he when this happened? What was he doing?"

Another doctor pauses in his route down the adjoining hall. He cocks his head as he sees what's going on, and lifts an eyebrow as he sees Austin approaching the chaos as well. Shutting the folder he has in his hand, he walks quickly into the situation, giving Katie a kind smile, then turning to the first doctor. "You're free to go now, Frank. I'll take this one."

"But I was here when he came in. I've already started getting him prepped for several scans and it looks like he'll need surgery on that leg of his."

The new doctor looks at him sternly. "I said you're free to go." He hands him the folder. "Mrs. Johnson in 409 is waiting for you."

After a brief eye-to-eye stand off, the first doctor relents with a scoff, leaving to stalk down the hall.

The new doctor winks at Katie. He sees Jason fighting with the nurse, and goes quietly to his head, soothing Jason with his voice instead of brawn. "Hey, killer, let her go. We're just helping you out here. Take it easy."

Stuck between panic and reality, Jason can't make out any of the faces around him. "Katie," he manages.

The new doctor grasps Jason's hand firmly. "You're alright. Everyone is alright." He turns to Katie. "I'm assuming he's talking about you." He offers his free hand. "I'm Dr. Jack Timble, Katie. You can call me JT." He lowers his voice slightly, remaining soft and gentle. "You don't have to give any details...I'll make sure you're not hounded by anyone else. And if you're concerned about safety, I'll even let you in the room next to the O.R. so you can see what's going on with your friend here if you want."

Con raises a suspicious eyebrow and glances at Katie, wondering if she knows this doctor.


Austin sighs deeply. "Yeah, Wes. We found Jason. He's in bad shape though. We're at the hospital now and the doctors are looking at him. We pulled off the rescue slicker than snot, though it worries me. Some of the others stayed there to make sure nothing else happened. Listen, be sure Cindy knows we found Jason, but...make sure she knows we're not out of the woods yet. Don't have anyone come up here yet...I don't know how long we'll have to stay, and I don't want to draw any more attention than necessary."

Answers

*Katie holds Jason's hand not wanting to leave his side till she new he was gonna be ok. Keeping her emotions in check was what was important right now. This fight was won but it wasent over yet. There was still a long road ahead.Keeping calm wasent to hard for Katie. As the doc asks her questions she thinks for a long moment. It wasent important she choose what she said wishly, no one could know about what was going on at the Ranch and with the Agency.* "He..He got jumped. They messed him up pritty bad. I think his knee is smashed in, and the cut on his face. On the way here I cleaned a bunch of his wounds." *Katie looks down at Jason. She might not be showing it, but she was nervouse and scaired for Jason.* "Ya he has low bloodsugar, and he gets flashbacks pritty bad from the past. Other than that nothing alse. He eat a little bit or Orange on the way here, I tryed to get his sugar back up, but he couldent keep it down. Your probley going to need to give him an I-V. And the last thing he said was he was tired."

*Rosetta laughs as she watches the building.* "I have to say this part is the part I missed the most. Nothing like spending hours in a car with a close friend. Ah heck miss it all, it was rough and tiring but it made us all come together." *Rosetta counts* " I think we did more than a million stakeours. Usaly you are I were the ones doing it too."

*Damien sits in the back seat and listens to Rosetta and Mick. Not sure what to say. He had been the cause of some of there pain and now he was on the same side. This was strange but a good feeling.*

*Wes sits and chats with the other as his phone rings. Looking down at the number he stands.* "I'll be right back guys." *Wes gets up and leaves the room steping onto the porch.* "Yeah whats up?"

Questions

Austin keeps his eyes on the road, trying not to let his emotions surrounding the situation get the best of him.

Jason squirms slightly, only half aware of really what's going on. "I'm just...tired....I can't..." His voice trails off as his body suddenly relaxes and his pulse rate becomes more rapid.

Finally the hospital comes into view and Austin is quick to find the ER entrance. Con jumps out and comes to Katie's aid, taking Jason, now unconscious, and doing his best to get him inside. Once the doors open, he shouts to the first nurse he sees. "Hey, get us some help of here, now!"

The nurse's eyes widen and she picks up the phone to page the doctors. A strange chaos ensues as a group of doctors and nurses arrive with a stretcher. The doctor who appears to be in charge starts to poke and prod Jason, shining a light into his eyes, checking his pulse, and giving a cursory glance to his cuts. "What happened?" He aims his questions at Katie. "Do you know the extent of his injuries? Did he say anything before he lost consciousness? Does he have any medical conditions?"

Austin parks the vehicle and heads inside, grabbing his phone on the way. He dials Wes' phone and waits.


Mick leans back in his seat and gives a little laugh. "Just like old times, eh? How many times did we sit at a stakeout?"

*Katie smiles at Jason.* " I couldent just leave you. Of corse I would come and find you. I new you would do the same." *Katie turns her attachen to Con and AUstin again.* "It should be coming up soon."

*Rosetta nods.* "We might as well stay here for a bit. See if we can find anything out."

*Damien nods.*

To the hospital

Austin immediately pulls away from the curb to follow Katie's directions. As he drives, he shakes his head. "Thanks, Katie."

Con replies to Rosetta. "Yeah, we're going to the hospital. Jason's in pretty bad shape. I'd high tail it out of there before those guys get back. Though...you might want to stay at a distance and see if you can get a better look at them. Might be something we could use."

Mick exchanges a look with Rosetta as they get back to his truck. "I think luck was on our side with two really stupid criminals...but it feels too quiet...can't be a trap though, or they would have sprung it already..." He questions her and Damien. "Want to stick around or follow them to the hospital?"

Jason manages a small bite of orange, but coughs and refuses more. He winces as Katie cleans some of his cuts. "My face... feels like it's on fire," he mumbles, not realizing the severity of the knife wound across his eye and down his face. He frowns and tries to bring Katie's face into focus, but it's still a blur. "Thanks for....finding...me... I knew..." He coughs again, but still tries to talk. "I knew you'd come..."

As they hit a bump in the road, Jason's leg shifts and he cries out. Sweat trickles down the side of his temple as he breathes through the pain.

Con looks back at him with concern. "Hang on, Hotshot..."

On the way

*Katie nods to Con.* " GO down this street here. Take a left on Altamont, than 3 roads to Western than a left and its about a mile down."

*Rosetta pushed a mic button.* " We heading to the hospetal now?"

*Katie looks down as Jason as he rests his head in her lap.* " Hey you." *Katie peals the orange and puts it to Jasons lips.* "Eat some of this, you need your strength. You had us scaired Jason. I'm glad we found you." *Katie runs her hand through Jason's hair trying to keep him calm and his mind off the pain. Katie pulls a med pack from her backpack and slowly starts to clean out some of the nastyer looking cuts.*

*Rosetta lets out a long sigh.* "That seemed TO easy."

Jason

Austin sighs, contemplating his options. “How about we try that, Damien, it would…” his voice trails off. “No, wait, look…”


The two thugs exit the building. “You think that kid’ll be alright?”

“Ha!” The taller one gets into the driver’s side of the van. “We’re only going for a burger, and where do you think he’s going anyway?”


Austin watches as the van pulls away. “Surely it couldn’t be that easy…”

Con gives him a sly grin. “You said you’d been praying. And now you’re surprised?”

Austin rolls his eyes. “Oh me of little faith. But we’re not going in there blind. …Mick, Rosetta, Damien… get out of your truck and position yourselves around the building, and if any of you see those guys coming back, for pete’s sake warn us. Con and Katie are going in.” He glances back to Katie. “Here’s your shot.”


It takes only a few seconds for Con and Katie to make it to the building. After a swift kick to the door by Con, they’re able to enter. No sound…the room is vacant. Con sweeps the area with his gun, finding nothing…. “Jason?” he calls quietly. No response.

He points to a basement door. “There, Katie…follow me.” He cautiously opens the door and switches on the light, glancing down the narrow stairs. Hearing no movement, he moves down the steps, his gun poised in front of him. Once he reaches the bottom, he stops in his tracks, too stunned to rush in.

Jason is several feet from the back wall, standing with feet apart and both arms stretched above his head. Ropes bind his wrists together and are secured to a rafter high above him, allowing no room for movement. His clothes are grimy and blood-spattered, and his head is hanging as if he’s unconscious, or worse. Fear grips Con as he’s suddenly scared to see if Jason is even alive.

Sensing someone’s presence, Jason lifts his head. His face is bruised and cut, barely recognizable. One eye is swollen shut, the other barely open with a deep knife slice across it that runs diagonal down his face. Seeing at least one figure, but unable to see who it is, a smile spreads, despite the pain it evokes. “Hey, Bubba!” His voice comes out hoarse, but not lacking sarcasm. “Time for the ol’ hourly interrogation, huh? Why don’t ya just kill me and get it over with, eh?” He laughs, but it comes out more as a dry cackle, and ends up in a harsh cough. “That’s what you really want, isn’t it, ol’ buddy, huh? One bullet to the head and I’d be outta your hair.” His grin remains, though he winces through a wave of pain. “Ah, yes, but your boss man said no, didn’t he? So come on… take your best shot, go ahead. At least knock me out again so I don’t feel the next one.”

“Have mercy,” Con breathes. “Jason, what have they done to you?” He makes his way across the basement floor, emotions flooding his eyes.

Jason tilts his head, still unable to make out faces through the blur. “Con?”

“It’s me Jason…and Katie. We’re here to get you out. Take it easy.”

“Well, well, well, ya came after all.” Jason winces as he’s moved so Con can reach the ropes with his knife. “Thought maybe ya’ll forgot about me.”

“Of course not.” Con slices the ropes.

Jason’s arms drop down and he holds back a cy, forcing himself to continue his train of thought. “That’s alright…kinda cozy down here after all…dark…away from it all…pretty quiet most of the time. Kinda wish they woulda had a radio or something so I could sing along though.”

Con raises an eyebrow and exchanges a look with Katie. “Either they’ve doped him or he’s completely lost it.”

Jason swings his head blindly in Con’s direction. “Tell ya what, Pal, switch places with me, then see who appears to be insane. In the meantime let me live in happy ignorance of my pain until we’re out of here.”

Now understanding, Con nods. “You’re hurting pretty bad, aren’t you?”

“Don’t make me measure it.”

Con reaches under Jason’s arm to start guiding him across the floor, but Jason stumbles, almost taking them both down. “Watch it, Con, my knee is gone.”

“What do you mean?”

Another laugh escapes to cover up a cry. “Don’t ya know that’s what happens when a sledgehammer meets bone?”

Anger courses through Con’s veins. “If we had more time, I’d…”

“Just get me outta here Con.”

Con grits his teeth and lifts Jason again, this time prepared for the extra weight leaning on him. “Katie, take his other side. …Alright…one step at a time, Hotshot. You can do it.”

They make it back up the stairs with more difficulty than planned, and once they hit the door, Con lengthens his stride against the resistance from Jason. “Help me get him in the back, Katie,” he directs.

Austin’s eyes widen as he sees what kind of shape Jason is in. “Good land…”

Con helps get Jason settled laying down in the back seat with his head toward Katie, then hops in the passenger seat. “We gotta get him to a hospital, Austin.” He turns around in his seat. “Katie, you saw the map of this area back at the ranch… do you remember where the nearest hospital was?”

Many Differnt ways

*Katie nods.* "He's in there. I can feel him."

*Rosetta looks around at the building.* " There is a back door here, dosent look like there is an alarm system."

*Katie thinks and looks around at the saroundings.* "We could have someone Drive there truck away and see if they come out to chanse it. Than we go in. We find Jason and if we have to hide till nightfall. Than get him out. At least than we would know he is ok, and if we need to we will be right there for him." *Katie digs into her bag and pulls out an orange.* "I'll need this when we go in."

*Damien pipes up.* " I could always go and get in there and act like I was sent by Sam. I dont think those guys would know anything differnt. I can see what I can find out."

Need a plan

Cindy grips Wes’s hand, all of her fear returning.

Luke gives Angel an encouraging nod, even if he doesn’t feel that much confidence. “Of course…they’ll be fine and you know it. We haven’t been through all this before for nothing…it’s old hat to everyone now.” He throws her a quick wink. “It’ll all be over before we know it.”

Austin raises an eyebrow at Damien, thinking it over. Finally he nods. “Alright. You go with Mick and Rosetta.”

He begins to sift through some of their equipment. “I want everyone wired and in communication with each other. I’m hoping that by the time we get to Myersville that Lukas will have figured out where we need to go. If not, we’ll split up. Either way we’ll need surveillance to figure out patterns before we move in.” He grabs the case with weapons for himself and Con. “Let’s hope we don’t have to use them. My ultimate plan here is to get in and get out without so much as a peep out of anyone. I don’t know what kind of a setup they’ll have, but no matter what, our objective is to get Jason out without anyone from our side getting hurt. Any questions?” He looks around, hearing none. “Good. Let’s move out.”

Mick catches Rosetta’s eye as she hands him his gun, and a slight grin shows through. “Thanks.”


The drive seems to take an eternity. Austin is in the lead with Con and Katie, while Mick’s truck follows with him, Rosetta and Damien.

Austin’s cell phone rings. He immediately picks it up and hits the speakerphone, turning on his mic so everyone in both vehicles can hear. “Yeah?”

“Lukas here. I think I know where they’ve got Jason.”

“Where?”

“Don’t know how you figured it was Myersville, but if that much is true, he might very well be in the brick warehouse on the east side of town. I’ve seen a black van coming and going from there, but nothing that looks like legit business. So far I’ve seen two men, but there could be more. I’ve kept my distance so no one suspects anything.”

“Good work, Lukas. High tail it out of there so no one thinks you’re still in town if they are watching. We’ll take it from here.” Austin ends the call, and speaks, continuing to use his mic. “Hear that everyone? Sit tight for the ride – we’re going in for a closer look.”


Three hours later…

“It looks deserted.”

The two vehicles are parked along the side street, able to just see the back of the warehouse, using binoculars. Con shakes his head. “Seems too quiet to me.”

“Agreed.” Austin sighs, thinking deeply. “We’ve got to figure out how many men are in there, and we have to figure out how to get in and out without them knowing. Anyone got any suggestions?”

Mick looks through the window of his truck. “Three ways we can do this. Create a diversion and get them out in the open, sneak in and hope that we’re not seen, or barge the door and catch them by surprise…”

Austin rubs his chin wearily. “What do you think guys?” He glances at Katie. “You think this is where Jason is?”


The crook slams the basement door in frustration and plops down in his chair across from his partner, picking up the hand of cards that had been waiting. “Nothing.”

“Again?”

“He’s so out of it now, either we give him a break or he’ll die off before we even do it on purpose.”

The other one grunts. “Go down in another hour. At least we won’t get blamed for not trying hard enough.”