Royal Pains

Painful Choices

By: Lorrie Ellis

Disclaimer: I do not own, or claim to own, the rights to any of the TV Show Royal Pains, or any of its characters. This story is written for entertainment only.

Note from the author: Again, thanks for all of the reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. This chapter will give a little bit of back story as to exactly what ChemLab, Inc. is up to, who's behind it, and why the guys are involved.

Chapter 7

Eddie R.'s Problem

Eddie R. Lawson was relaxing by Ms. Newburg's pool when he noticed his cell vibrating on the poolside table. "Eddie, darling, is that your phone?" Ms. Newburg called out as she picked up the phone and passed it to Eddie.

"Eddie R. Lawson." He answered.

"Mr. Lawson, its time for you to fulfill a promise." The voice at the other end of the line said quietly, but forcefully.

Eddie looked genuinely puzzled as he sat up from the lounge chair. "Who is this?"

"You do remember the deal you made with Mr.'X' a few years back, don't you, Mr. Lawson . . . a favor for a favor?" The voice replied, still not answering Eddie's question.

Eddie cupped his hand over the phone and turned to Ms. Newburg, "honey, could you give me a minute here?" Ms. Newburg nodded and went back inside the house.

"What exactly does Mr. 'X' need?" Eddie asked after he was certain Ms. Newburg was out of earshot.

"Our mutual friend is in need of a cure for a supposedly incurable disease, one that a local pharmaceutical company, ChemLab, Inc. has a potential cure for; only the drug does not have FDC approval and currently cannot be used in the U.S."

"Then I don't understand exactly how I can help." Eddie replied.

"HankMed, Inc. can help." The voice answered.

Eddie shook his head. "No, I won't involve my boys in this."

"Mr. 'X' thought you might feel that way. Your sons are already involved." He paused to let that sink in with Eddie R. "Your youngest, Evan I believe, is a little more directly involved than Doctor Lawson at the moment."

"What do you mean Evan is more directly involved? You haven't . . ."

"Hurt him? Well, yes and no. You see, your son Evan has been infected with a synthetic, hyper-developed smallpox virus, to which only I have the antidote. I imagine Evan a very sick young man at the moment and I'm hoping that brother Hank is going out of his mind with worry. If so, he will be more than willing to sign a contract I've had drawn up between HankMed. and ChemLab. This would give us the foot in the door we need to allow Mr. 'X' access to the experimental drugs for his illness."

Eddie was fuming and on the verge of tears at the same time, his voice cracked as he spoke. "How do I know you're telling me the truth about Evan and if you're telling the truth, it seems you have what you want, what else can I possibly do?"

"Make sure no one goes to the police, medical board, FDA, FBI, anyone who might jeopardize Mr. 'X's plan. If this gets fowled up, I can assure you at least one of your sons will die a terrible, painful, death." The man hung up.

Eddie R. dropped to the lounge chair and hung his head, phone still in hand. He jumped when it rang. "Eddie." He answered sullenly.

"Dad?" Hank replied softly. "Dad, Evan's sick and I can't help him."

It broke Eddie's heart to hear Hank's voice crack as he spoke. "Son, what's wrong?"

Hank proceeded to explain the details of the synthetic, hyper-developed smallpox and Evan's symptoms and how he became infected. "Dad, I don't know what else to do. I can't take him to the hospital, I can't involve anyone else; Divya and Jill are already here and that's more than should be. The guy's supposed to call back around 5:00 and even though Evan doesn't want me to, the only thing I can do is sign the contract."

"Hank, I'm coming over." Eddie said.

Hank shook his head. "No, you can't. You'll be exposing yourself to smallpox and I don't know how much antidote there is. There are already four of us to inoculate and Evan's dosage will need to be higher and . . ."

"OK. I get it." Eddie replied, somewhat relieved that there was a legitimate reason he couldn't go, but also upset. "Hank, you need to sign the contract. It's the only hope Evan has right now." He paused before confessing to his son, "I know who's behind this and I will take care of it."

Anger and disbelief flew all over Hank. "You know who's behind this!" He shouted. "Eddie, what have you done? Evan can hardly breathe right now! He could die before I get my hands on the antidote, even then there's no guarantee that he's strong enough to pull out of this! You do realize that if he dies, it's your fault and I will NEVER forgive you for it, NEVER!" Hank slammed the phone down on the table.

Eddie closed his eyes as Hank screamed at him. It wasn't the first time he had been reamed by his oldest son and it wasn't the first time he had deserved it. He closed the phone and put it in his pocket. Before Ms. Newburg could make it back out to the patio, Eddie went inside and pulled out his laptop, opening his email, he quickly typed out a letter to Hank.

Hank,

I know I'm the last person you want to hear from right now, but son, you need to know this in case I can't come back.

I'm leaving right now to go back to the city and speak with a Mr. 'X', and yes, that's the only name I know him by. When you and Evan were kids and I left you after your mother got sick, I got into some financial trouble (big surprise, right?). I borrowed money that I had no way of paying back, but I also made friends with a man much like your friend, Boris. He paid off my debt, only asking that when he needed my help, I couldn't refuse. Since leaving New York, I really hadn't thought much of it, until I received a phone call this morning, just before you called me.

Mr. 'X' has a supposedly incurable disease and ChemLab has the only 'remote' cure for it. If you sign the contract, then Mr. 'X' will most likely contact you to become his personal physician and obtain the drug through HankMed. I don't know all of the specifics, Hank, but I do know that the drug does not have FDA approval.

I am so sorry for putting you and Evan in this position and you don't have to worry about never forgiving me if Evan . . . if Evan dies. I would never be able to live with myself if anything happened to either of you because of me.

I love you, son.

Dad

Eddie re-read the letter, typed in Hank's email address and hit 'send'. He then quickly ran upstairs and packed a bag.

"Darling?" Ms. Newburg called out in a puzzled voice as she watched him pack. "You're gong somewhere?"

Eddie looked up, smiled and nodded. "I have to go to New York to take care of some business. It shouldn't take long." He paused to kiss her cheek before leaving.

A cab pulled up in front of Ms. Newburg's house. Her hand pressed lightly against the upstairs window as she watched Eddie R. climb inside; somehow knowing she may never see him again.

"The airport, please." Eddie announced as he stuffed his duffle bag inside. He looked longingly at the house as the cab pulled away.

"You've taken care of everything?" Mr. 'X' asked his friend.

The man nodded as he spoke into the phone. "It'll all work out, Mr. 'X'." He glanced at his watch. "It's getting close to 5:00 p.m., should I call Doctor Lawson now?"

Mr. 'X' paused. "Yes, and make sure you have enough of the antidote to accommodate Doctor Lawson and the two women."

"You knew about them?" The man asked.

Mr. 'X' laughed. "I have eyes everywhere Mr. Donovan, of course I knew they were there. I'm certain at this point, Doctor Lawson will be eager to sign the contract and if you followed instructions, Eddie R. Lawson will be eager to make certain that his sons are on board; which reminds me, you will need to pay a visit to a Ms. Newburg. It seems that Eddie is planning to pay me a visit soon, and I would love for Ms. Newburg to be here when he does."

"Eddie's leaving The Hampton's? With his son possibly dying?" Mr. Donovan asked.

"Shocking, isn't it? Of course, Eddie R. has a history of not coming through where his family is concerned, that's why I would like Ms. Newburg as a little added insurance." Mr. 'X' replied.

"I understand." Mr. Donovan replied as he hung up the phone and dialed Hank.

TBC