Not phased by the gun in Lewis's hand Sanchez glared at the older
man,"If you think I'm driving you anywhere you're more delusional than I
thought."
Lewis shrugged,"Then the good Doctor will drive. You claim that Doctor
Parker's life is no concern to you but you are wrong. She is a part of a
much bigger picture than you realize. And that is what I was trying to
show you before you pulled this little stunt. Now if you will be so kind
as to switch with Doctor Attwood we can get on our way."
Lucy glared at him for a moment before relunctantly opening the driver's
door and switching seats with Attwood.

Ed Tate blinked away the dark spots that appeared in front of his eyes
as he fought the affects of the poison. No matter what he couldn't loose
conscienceness, not now.
"How's Sloan?"Ed asked in a hoarse voice as Peterson returned with the
items they needed.
Ray glanced up at the heart monitor,"She's still with us. What do you
need me to do?"
Ed licked dry lips as he fought the wave of dizziness that threatened to
overwhelm him,"You're going to have to set up an IV. Here's what you
do....."

Tom Daniels returned to the suite and put away the crossbow and waited
for Colin.
Tom could only hope that his plan had worked.
If it hadn't and Tate died, Sloan would never forgive him.
A knock on the door revealed a fortish man with blond hair,"Mr. Colin
wants to see you."
Tom nodded and followed the man down the corridor to Colin's office.

"Okay,its in."Ray said praying he had followed Tate's instructions
correctly.
Ed felt his head droop to the side and used the last of his strength to
straighten it,"Now we wait."
"Ed,what do I do if its not the poison you think it is?"Peterson asked
as he glanced up at Sloan's still form.
Tate swallowed hard,"Nothing, because there's nothing you can do. If my
theory's wrong than I die."
Ray shook his head,"I don't buy that."

Ed reached out his hand,"No time to argue,Ray. You're the one who kept
telling me to trust Tom. Now we have no choice but to do just that."
"Ed....."
Tate felt his strength weakening. His vison was dimming. It was
difficult to breathe,"Ray,do me a favor....I-If I don't pull through
this tell Sloan I love her."
"She knows that,Ed."Peterson replied softly,"She knows."
Ed felt his eyelids close as his strength left. His last thought was of
Sloan and the baby as blackness closed in.

"I take it the job is complete?"Colin asked as soon as Tom stepped into
the office.
Tom was tired of playing games,"You know the answer already so why drag
me in here for a status report?"
Colin smiled as he rose behind his desk,"Because I like to cover all my
bases. The poison dart was a very nice touch, by the way."
"It was a means to an end."Tom replied as he sat down in a chair across
from Colin's desk.
Colin retook his seat,"And I suppose you now want our alliance to end?"
"That was our deal."Tom replied struggling to keep all emotion out of
his voice.
Colin leaned back in his chair,"I'm afraid that deal has changed."

"This is the way back to the university."Attwood commented as he
recognized the familiar street names.
Lewis leaned forward resting the gun on the back of the seat,"Ironic
isn't it? All those days of waiting for news and she was less than two
blocks away."
Walter looked back at Lewis then to the cluster of highrise building
that rose above the university. "So are you going to tell us who is
behind this or are we just going to go into this situation blind?"

Lewis glanced at Sanchez and momentarily catered the thought of shooting
her and tossing the woman out of the car. She was too highstrung for the
delicatcy of this mission. But he dismissed the thought as quickly as it
had come. Like it or not he needed both of them if his plan was going to
work.
"You might say I have an inside track on who is holding the good
doctor."
"You said that already."Attwood snapped his migraine increasing by the
second. He was growing increasingly tired of theh man's riddles.
"The person holding Sloan is my dear brother, Colin."

Lucy laughed as she turned in her seat to face Lewis,"That's a good
one,Lewis. Do you really expect us to believe that you come from a
family like the Waltons and are just the black sheep? And that the good
little John-boy is the one holding the all-mighty Doctor Parker?"
Attwood winced at the televison references but Lewis didn't seem
to notice them.
"There has been a power struggle taking place among my species over the
last few weeks that Doctor Parker consequently became a pawn in."
"So what do you want us to do?"Sanchez demanded as she folded her arms
across her chest,"Wait for the cover of darkness and storm the castle
and rescue the fair damsel?"
"Precisely,Ms. Sanchez, that is exactly what we are going to do."
Attwood sighed inwardly as he eased the car through an intersection and
followed the instructions Lewis gave them.
He could only hope that Tate had things under control at his end.

"Why the change?"Tom asked as he leaned back in the chair,"I thought
Tate was dead?"
Colin nodded,"He is, but did you really think it would be that easy to
slip away from your own kind?"
Tom didn't say a word waiting for the other shoe to drop.
"You are correct that our deal to ensure Doctor Parker's freedom has
been completed but in order to gain yours I'm afraid it will be more
complicated."

Over the next hour Ray lost count of how many times he reached for the
phone to call an ambulance.
Ed's breathing had become increasingly labored and his skin was the
color of moonlight.
Peterson ran a weary hand over the back of his neck and sighed. At least
Sloan's condition hadn't changed. Ray didn't know what he would do if he
lost both of them the same day.
Especially if he could have done something to save them.
He had continued to try to reach Attwood without sucess.
Which sent Ray's police instinct's on edge. The timing was just too
coincidental for Ray's taste.
Sloan was dying from an unknown poison.....
Ed was fighting the affects of a poison that may or may not have been
given by Tom......
Now Attwood had gone incomunicado......
Not good, not good at all.
When had everything gone to hell?

Just as Ray was about to hit redial for the hundredth time he saw Tate
stir.
Peterson raced to his friend's side. He glanced at the IV and saw that
it was nearly empty. Which he hoped was a good sign.
Ed coughed and struggled for air as his body fought to regain
conscienceness.
"Easy....take it easy,Ed."Ray commanded softly.
After what seemed like an eternity Ed managed to force his eyes open.
He felt like he had been run over by a train but otherwise he couldn't
feel any other effects of the poison.
Ed glanced out the window and saw dusk starting to color the sky,"H-How
long was.....I out?"
Ray felt relief wash over him as he realized at least part of this
nightmare was over,"Almost two hours. How do you feel?"
"Like I had two hundred tequlia sunrises."Tate replied drily as he
struggled into a sitting position,"How's Sloan?"
Peterson placed a hand on his shoulder easing him back down,"She's fine
Ed, no change. You need to rest."
Tate shook his head,"No time. I gotta find a way to counteract whatever
the hell those bastard's gave her."