As we rumbled up the tarmac to the hangar, Virgil looked over at me and said, "That was a superior job you did, kid."

I fluttered my eyelashes. "Why thank you! It means ever so much coming from you. No really."

Virgil snorted, shaking his head in pretended disgust. I just grinned. Virgil parked Two over the conveyor belt, and triggered the lift, raising us up on stilts so that the pod could be deposited on the conveyor. I unbuckled my safety harness and stood up stretching. "I'm thinking a nice long swim is just what I need."

Virgil glanced over at me as he hit the final shutdown sequence. "You deserve it. Me, I'm thinking alcohol, and plenty of it."

I laughed at that. Virgil's idea of plenty of alcohol was a whisky neat, instead of with ice to water it down. Still, to each his own. Together, we took the catwalk that extended from the cockpit hatch to the balcony that surrounded the hangar. We only used it when Two was up on her stilts, but more and more that seemed to be every rescue.

Alan stood at the far end of the catwalk, jittering in place. As soon as we approached, he said, "Dad wants us all in the lounge right away."

Well, so much for my swim. I guess something showed on my face, because Alan punched me in the arm. "What are you worried about? You did almost as good a job as I would have done. You're the employee of the day."

I snorted. "I'm the employee of the decade, if we're comparing me to you."

We loaded onto the elevator that would take us up to the house. I waited for Al's response. He sniffed, "We let you think that. It's easier than buying little plastic trophies for you all the time."

The elevator door sprang open, and I strode out into the lounge. "Dad, I think Alan's been sniffing glue again, he's hallucin…"

I stopped dead at the look on my father's face. I hadn't seen that look since I wrecked his Lexus for the third time. Amazing how one look could make me want to curl up and die.

"Boys, come in here and sit." It was a command that none of us were able to ignore. I headed for the couch, Virgil right behind me. Al took a chair. Apparently he assumed we were the culprits and wanted to distance himself from us.

For my part, I was racking my brain for something that I could have done to get my dad this flat-out angry. As I sat, I spotted Brains lurking in the doorway, white-faced.

Dad was never much of one for small talk, and as soon as our butts hit, he looked at Virgil and grated out, "Son, where is your brother?"

Whoa. I think my jaw just about dropped to the floor. You gotta understand… Dad never, ever got mad at Virgil. Ever. And for him to be mad because of something Scott had done was, um, unprecedented. A glance at Al showed he was just as shocked as I was.

We both turned to stare at Virgil, who looked like his best friend had just betrayed him, which I figured wasn't that far from the truth. He kept his eyes down, practically whispering, "I promised him I wouldn't say."

Oh man, I could have told him that was the absolute wrong answer. I found myself scooting down the couch to keep from being leveled by the blast I knew was coming. To my surprise, Dad instead called out, "Brains, get over here."

The thing about Brains is, he's really great under pressure, so where I might have expected him to fall apart at the tone of Dad's voice, instead he stiffened his spine and put his chin up and marched over. Dad didn't even notice. "Tell him."

Did you ever have that sinking feeling in your stomach? You know the one where you just know if you look up, you'll see an anvil falling right for your head? My stomach went down like the Titanic. I knew before Brains opened his mouth that it was going to be bad, really bad.

Brains swallowed once, and started in full lecture mode. "I, uh, took a sample of Scott's blood when he said he was, uh, sick. The results were so, uh, odd, that I re-ran the tests two more times to be sure of my information."

Okay, this was worse than I thought. Was it something terminal? Was that why Dad looked so fierce? If I looked scared, I think that was nothing to the terror that surfaced on Virgil's face. He was literally on the edge of the couch, looking like he'd jump up and shake Brains if he didn't explain faster.

Brains is no idiot, and he saw that look too. "Scott's blood has a high level of androgens. Testosterone, dihydrotestosterone and androstenedione are all far above normal. There is also evidence of a substance that I have yet to identify, but that appears to have hallucinogenic properties."

Alan blinked. "In English, please?"

While Brains is always totally comfortable in science-speak, he's less so in layman's terms. He fiddled with his glasses, and his cheeks turned red, but when he spoke, it was with typical directness. "Yes. Uh, it's as if Scott's sex drive has been uh, ratcheted up."

Alan blinked again. "Okay. Well, that doesn't sound so bad…"

I snorted. I'd been bar-hopping with my big brother on a couple of occasions, and I knew for a fact that he had a totally healthy libido. Brains, though, was shaking his head. "No, uh, Alan, it is that bad. Hormones at these levels can be deadly. It places a tremendous strain on the uh, heart and lungs."

"What kind of hallucinogen?" Virgil interrupted, frowning.

Brains shook his head. "It is hard to, uh, say, Virgil. It is definitely linked to the increase in the hormones."

"The bottom line here is that Scott isn't thinking straight. I ask you again. Virgil, where is your brother?"

I found that I was breathing hard. More than anger, nothing twisted me up quicker than the sound of fear in my father's voice. Virgil was made of sterner stuff, though, and he sat, considering his answer. I knew better than to push him. Virg could put a Missouri mule to shame when it came to stubbornness.

Alan, on the other hand, wasn't the most patient guy in the room. He jumped out of his chair, and headed for the door. "I'll find him, Dad. I'll track his wrist comm."

"Alan." Dad barked it, and my brother stopped dead in his tracks. Dad's attention never wavered from Virgil, though, and I could see my big brother start to squirm.

Finally, he came to his decision. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Dad. He made me promise. I knew something was wrong, but I just figured he'd come to his senses. He went over to the mainland. He was going to hook up with John and that woman."

Wow. I mean, WOW. My brother, the poster boy for responsibility? Clearly, he could not be thinking straight.

Virgil shook his head. "He said he couldn't stop thinking about her. He said she was the perfect woman, and he had to see her again."

"Wait, I thought this was Johnny's girl. Are you telling me he was going to beat Johnny's time?" Yet another shocker. I didn't know how many more surprises I could take.

Virgil ducked his head, more embarrassed than anything else. "I asked him that, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer. He was kind of manic about it, but I thought… I thought he'd realize it was wrong, and come back on his own."

"I believe that, uh, based on both John and Scott's reactions, and the uh, unidentified substance in Scott's blood work, that they have both been uh, compromised. This woman appears to have drugged them both. The uh, flu-like symptoms are possibly a side effect of the drug."

Crap. This was just getting better and better. Dad took a deep breath and said, "Boys, it's time to go get your brothers."

Time to 'fess up. "Dad, I don't know that it's going to be that easy. The other day, when John said he was going to go back to see this bit… uh, woman, I said he was too sick, and I swear to God, he looked at me like I was a total stranger. One that he could kill. Seriously."

"Yeah," Virgil nodded reluctantly. "I got the same look from Scott. They're both out of their minds, and I think they'll fight us if we try to tell them to come home."

Dad looked over at Brains like a starving man praying for a meal. "Brains, can you come up with an antidote to whatever this is?"

Brains just flat out turned white. Damn, it would suck to be in that position. I knew that, but I couldn't help but stare with the same hope in my eye. Brains had done some amazing things, and I could only hope he had one more trick up his sleeve. My heart seized up when he shook his head. "I, uh, am afraid that I would need far more data to have any, uh chance at success. The involvement of these particular hormones makes any antidote uh, risky."

"I'm hearing this right, right? You're talking about sex hormones?" Alan asked, frowning.

"Uh, yes, Alan, sex uh, hormones. These hormones are closely linked with aggression, which in turn triggers the uh, adrenal glands. Even in young healthy males like your brothers, spikes in adrenaline are dangerous."

"Brains, we're in the rescue business. We get adrenaline spikes all the time."

"Yes, uh, Virgil, and that should afford them some, uh protection, but it is an matter of degree. A man who regularly lifts four hundred pounds might be able to lift five hundred in a pinch, but if you increase that to uh, two thousand pounds, that man will fail."

Talk was cheap and not getting us anywhere. "Okay, so Brains, how do we get the data you need?"

Brains took off his glasses to fiddle with them. Shrugging, he said, "More samples. Or better yet, a sample of the drug that was used."

"So it still comes down to going over to the mainland and getting either Scott, or John, or both," Virgil stated flatly.

I could see he was getting his game face on. I felt my own resolve start to stiffen too. My mouth was dry at the thought of confronting Johnny. I didn't want to ever see that look in his eye again, but I'd face down that look a thousand times if that was what it took to get my brother back.

Without any outward signal, Virgil, Alan and I all stood up and faced our father, waiting for the final go. Dad looked haggard, and for a moment, I thought he was considering not letting us go, but the moment passed, as he found his own measure of determination, and he nodded, saying quietly, "I want you boys to be very careful. I don't want Scott or John hurt, but I don't want you three injured either. We don't know what is going on here. This woman may be acting on her own, but she could also be part of something larger. Do your reconnaissance, and only go in if you can do so safely. If you can extricate your brothers, do it. We'll worry about antidotes when they're safe. Take the tranquilizer guns. Use them if necessary."

Alan perked up. "Hey, why don't we just use that anesthetic bomb Brains came up with? Drop it on the house, everyone goes to sleep, no muss, no fuss."

Brains had started shaking his head even before Alan spoke up. "No, uh, Alan. Until I have a better uh, understanding of the drug used, any, uh, additional medication would be extremely hazardous. Uh, and that includes tranquilizers. I'm sorry, Mr. Tracy, but if Scott or John can not be coerced into returning voluntarily, their lives will be at risk."

Everybody was tense enough to break into pieces. I could never really stand seeing my family like that. "Okay, I'm picturing a big cardboard box, a stick to hold it up, and one of Grandma's apple pies."

Dad and Virgil both frowned, and Alan looked at me as if I were out of my mind, but a little bit of the tension left them all, which is the most I could hope for. Virgil shook his head. "We're wasting time. We need to get over there and at least scope this place out."