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.
Chapter 8
The Problem with Antidotes: You Never Know Exactly What You're Getting
Evan had been moaning in his sleep for the better part of an hour. Hank had resigned himself to the far side of the kitchen when he couldn't stand to see the pain etched on Evan's face any longer knowing he could do nothing about it.
Jill stepped up behind him and rubbed his back. "It's almost 5:00. He'll call soon and this will all be over." She said quietly.
"Will it?" Hank asked absently. "I've been thinking. How do we know that what he gives us is an antidote; what if it's something sinister, something that will kill us all once we take it?" Hank looked towards the couch, "Evan's suffered through enough, what if it's something that makes him sicker, instead of better?"
Jill moved in front of Hank and took his hands. "You can't think that way. Evan is going to get better and we have to trust that what ChemLab sends us is an antidote to this virus."
Hank's eyes met hers, "we need to test it."
Jill's brow furrowed. "How?"
"A sample of Evan's infected blood and a small amount of the supposed antidote, we'll check it under a microscope and . . ."
Jill shook her head. "You'll need a centrifuge and despite everything you seem to have on hand, I seriously doubt you have that piece of equipment here." Hank slumped back into the chair with the realization that Jill was right. Jill cupped her hand under his chin and lifted it slightly. "Hank, we're going to have to trust ChemLab on this one."
Hank nodded. "We don't even know what side-effects to look for, or anything."
"I know. Maybe you can ask when . . ." Her thought was interrupted by the telephone.
"Hello!" Hank answered. He swore he could hear the man smiling on the other end.
"Well, hello, Dr. Lawson. How is your patient?" Mr. Donovan asked.
"I'm sure you know quote well how he is!" Hank yelled into the phone. "He needs the anidote!"
"I can assume that you are ready to sign the contract then?"
"It's already signed. Where do we trade off? Where do I meet you?" Hank asked.
"No, not you. Send Ms. Katdare to the end of the drive with the contract. I'll meet her by the gate in 10 minutes." Without another word, or waiting for discussion, Mr. Donovan hung up. Hank held the phone for another second before hanging up.
"What?" Jill asked.
"He wants Divya to bring the contract to the gate, he said he'll meet her there in 10 minutes."
At the mention of her name, Divya let go of Evan's hand, paused a moment to make sure he was still sleeping, and approached Hank. "Did I hear my name?"
Hank nodded. "He wants you to bring the contract to the end of the driveway."
Divya nodded and looked back to the couch. "I'll do it. Hank, Evan's not doing very well. His breathing is more labored and he's burning up with a fever again."
Hank sighed as he stepped towards the sink and ran cold water over a cloth, all the while speaking to Divya; "Divya, don't take any chances with this guy. Give him the contract, wait for the antidote, and come back here."
She nodded as she pulled a pair of medical gloves from her bag. "Hank, if the contract's been in here and was in Evan's possession earlier, isn't it contaminated?"
Hank and Jill stole a glance at each other and Jill began opening cabinet doors. "Where do you keep your baggies?" She asked.
"Right there." Hank directed as Jill opened another cabinet "OK, Divya, once you have the antidote, come right back as quickly as you can."
"Can I drive out, or did he ask that I walk?" Divya asked.
Hank and Jill shrugged. "I see no reason not to drive." Jill stated. "You'll be able to get the antidote back quicker."
Divya grabbed her keys and the contract and started out the door.
"Divs?" Evan called weakly from the couch.
She looked at Hank and Jill, then back to Evan. "I'll be right back." She said quietly, glancing at her watch, knowing that if she took time to check on Evan, she'd miss the drop and maybe their only opportunity at the antidote.
Mr. Donovan was parked at the gate, waiting. He had just picked up his cellphone to dial Hank again when Divya's SUV could be hear flying down the driveway. Mr. Donovan smiled.
Divya slid the SUV to a stop, just inside the gate and carefully got out. "I have the contract." She announced as she watched Mr. Donovan exit his car with a small box.
"I have the antidote." He replied, passing the box to her and taking the contract from her hand at the same time.
"You do realize that if you remove the document from the plastic bag, you'll be exposing yourself to the smallpox virus, don't you?" Divya asked as she stepped back into the SUV.
Mr. Donovan did not reply, but placed the, still bagged, document in the front seat of his car and sped away.
Divya turned the SUV around and sped back to the guesthouse, back to Evan.
Hank placed the cold cloth on his brother's forehead. "Shh." He said softly as he felt the heat radiating off of Evan's body.
"Div?" Evan mumbled.
"She'll be right back." Hank soothed as Divya burst through the door.
"I've got it!" She shouted.
Jill took over Hank's position of keeping Evan somewhat comfortable while Hank went to check out the antidote. He carefully removed the lid from the box and found it contained four viles of fluid. He looked at Divya, "Evan may need more than one, so we'll start him on one full vile; and you, Jill and myself on 1/4 vile, that should leave 2 1/4 viles in case we need a booster."
"Evan first." Divya said, knowing Jill would agree.
Hank took the vile, filled a syringe and started towards Evan. Before he made his way to the couch where his brother lay, he stopped and shook his head. "No, maybe I should take it first, in case it isn't the antidote." He looked at Jill and Divya. "If it's not, Evan won't be strong enough to recover."
"Hank . . ." Jill stared and then watched as Hank injected himself with 1/4 of the vile.
"How long do we wait and what are we looking for?" Divya asked.
"It shouldn't take long to react. It only took 15 minutes or so for the virus to react on Evan. I can't say for certain that I've contracted it yet, but it would make sense to assume that I have since I've been around him longest . . . since he got sick." Hank took a seat near Evan. "Just a little while longer, buddy. Hang in there."
Thirty minutes later, the only complaint Hank had was a mild headache and a killer itch. He took another needle from his bag; filled the syringe from another vile and inserted it into the port in Evan's arm. "Now, we wait."
After leaving Boris' estate, Mr. Donovan went to a bar just down the street. As previously instructed, he called Mr. 'X' at precisely 9:00 p.m. "I have it." He said when Mr. 'X' answered.
"Good. Now the other matter I needed attended to before you leave The Hamptons."
"I'll take care of it." Mr. Donovan replied, paid for his drink, and left.
A dark car hidden in the shadows, followed after Mr. Donovan to the main road and towards Ms. Newburg's house. "Why is he going there?" The driver questioned, but continued to keep a safe distance so as not to be spotted.
As they drew closer to Ms. Newburg's house, the car following Mr. Donovan pulled down a side street, to be certain that he reached the destination first. He climbed out of the car, over the fence onto the swimming pool patio, there he bypassed the security alarm, jimmied the lock to the patio doors, closed the door behind him and quietly waited in the foyer.
The wait wasn't long. Mr. Donovan also bypassed the security system, jimmied the lock on the front door and closed it behind him. He was shocked when the lights were turned on and he found himself nose to nose with Eddie R. Lawson, "surprise." Eddie said quietly.
Mr. Donovan drew back his fist and punched Eddie in the jaw. Eddie staggered forward slightly, but quickly recovered and slammed his fist into Donovan's stomach, causing the man to double over.
Ms. Newburg, hearing the commotion downstairs, picked up the phone and dialed 9-1-1.
"9-1-1 operator, what is your emergency?"
"Someone has broken into by house and they're downstairs right now!" Ms. Newburg whispered excitedly.
"Ma'am, please stay on the phone with me until the police arrive. Are you in a safe area?" The 9-1-1 operator asked.
"Yes, I think so." Ms. Newburg answered.
Downstairs, the fight moved from the foyer into the living room. Mr. Donovan had managed to land a few more punches to Eddie's face, leaving a streak of blood from his lip and already visible bruising around his left eye.
Just as sirens could be heard, Eddie R. Lawson summoned every ounce of strength he had in him and threw one punch, landing it to Mr. Donovan's jaw. "That's for Evan!" He shouted. He threw another punch, landing it to the man's nose. "That's for Hank!" He shouted again and threw one final punch, landing it to Mr. Donovan's jaw again. "And that one's for scaring Ms. Newburg!" The police entered the house as Mr. Donovan fell. They steadied Eddie and led him to the couch.
"Eddie!" Ms. Newburg cried out as she was given the all clear to come downstairs. "Oh, Eddie, you're hurt!" She exclaimed. "I'll call Hank!"
Eddie held his hand up to stop here. "No, don't bother the boys at this hour, I'll be fine." He smiled. "I'll be just fine."
TBC
