A/N – I really want to apologize for not posting as soon as I had hoped. School is getting a bit harder, and taking up most of my time. There's no way I'm going to be able to guarantee when I get these chapters up anymore, but I really appreciate your patience. It's got to be hard waiting, not knowing. At least for me, I know the ending of my story. Thank you for all the reviews and support although I haven't been as faithful as I would like with my postings…

Chapter 24:

Tara approached Lucy's desk. Her friend looked exhausted.

"Hey – how are you doing?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Lucy looked up from her work.

"I'm okay, I guess. I'm not a match." Tara tried to reassure her friend,

"We'll find one, don't worry. If it even comes to that. We haven't heard from Myles or Bobby yet – we're making good progress." Lucy nodded.

"I know. It's just every night when I go home… the apartment's empty, Levi just sits there, and he barely eats. All he does is sit in front of Sue's bedroom. It was one thing when she was with her family, I could call her, I could talk to her, and I knew she was coming home. Now, when we talk, she's so weak she can barely get a sentence out, and sometimes, she's not even coherent."

"That's got to be hard." Tara emphasized. She missed Sue too, and she couldn't even go and talk to her in her room, since she had been exposed to the virus. The doctors wanted to take every precaution, and therefore weren't letting anyone else enter, to reduce her risk of catch an infection. "Listen, Luce. Why don't you and Levi stay with me for a few days? That way you don't have to be home alone. I have a spare room, and we could just carpool together. Get out of the apartment for a bit; give yourself sometime to process everything that's going on."

"Thanks Tara. Actually, that might be a good idea. Sue's family should be here in the next few days. I don't even know where to begin telling them everything. All they know is that Sue is sick, and she might need a transplant. The bureau wouldn't let us tell them that it's because of terrorists and biological weapons."

"I'm guessing that's why they hadn't rushed up here when Sue was admitted 3 days ago." Lucy nodded.

"They only just found out that Sue was in the hospital, sick, so that way they could get tested. D made the phone call…" Tara decided it was time to change the subject, but before she had the chance, she saw Dimitrius hang up his phone, his face distraught.

"That was Myles." He said simply. Both Tara and Lucy got up and hurried over.

"What? What is it? Did they get anything out of Rakeem? Is it Sue?" Tara asked quickly. All he did was nod.

"They talked to Rakeem. They have a lead on the bacteria. The labs are testing the information now, but there's more." Lucy felt her heart drop into her stomach, as she whispered.

"It's Sue, isn't it? Something's happened?" All Dimitrius did was nod.

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"Where's Rakeem?" The man said angrily.

"I haven't heard from him. It's unlike him." Armand responded. He knew Rakeem was an idiot, but he was the perfect pawn for their game. He was perfectly situated, and he had the desire to avenge his father, a lethal combination.

"And you're sure we can trust him?"

"I know we can. He might not be very smart, but he would never rat us out. He wants to avenge old Jahir too much. When I talked to Jahir in prison, he assured me that his son would do whatever it takes to help us accomplish our mission." Armand explained.

"If we don't hear from him by tonight, we need to send someone else to pick up the rest of the package. If this is going to happen in a week today, Ramie must have the rest of the bacteria by tomorrow." The boss explained, angrily.

"If I don't hear from him, I'll send one of my other guys to pick it up. And I'll get my guys out looking for Rakeem…" Another man came hurrying in, wearing a lab coat.

"What is it Ramie?" The man behind the desk demanded.

"A bit of the bacteria is missing." Ramie said simply. "It's not much, and it won't affect our plans but I thought you should know. One of the vials had been opened, and about 1 mL is missing."

"It must have been Rakeem. He's the only one who had access."

"But why?" Armand said. "He must have been exposed." Ramie nodded in agreement, and added,

"There's no way he'll survive if he was exposed at that concentration."

"Then he might be dead somewhere, or in the hospital." The boss stood up.

"He needs to be taken care of. If they figure out what the bacteria is, and that it's still out there, the FBI might find out. They might even convince Rakeem to spill. Someone needs to silence him. As far as the feds know, all of the bacteria was confiscated when they raided our last safe house, and only 2 got away. They probably even think that Raman was one of us. We need to keep this under their radar."

"I'll get one of my men to dispose of him." Armand said, making his way out of the room.

-----

Jack made his way slowly into the sterile, dimly lit room. He appreciated that Myles and Bobby were giving him some time alone, though the looks on their faces mirrored his grief. He made his way over, sitting in the chair, feeling completely empty, beyond grief. He reached over and touched her hand. It was cold.

Jack didn't know how long he sat there in his anguish, until he heard a woman come up behind him.

"Are you Jack Hudson?" The nurse asked quietly. Jack just nodded.

"We found this just after she…" She stopped herself, noticing the look on his face. "I think she had written it for you." She handed him the piece of paper, and he held it in his trembling hands. "I'll leave you be…" The nurse said, as she quietly made her way out again.

Jack looked at the piece of paper, folded in half with his name written on the front; he immediately recognized Sue's writing, although it wasn't as tidy as usual. She had probably written it while she was in the hospital. Slowly, he unfolded it, and read the first few lines.

Dear Jack,

If you're reading this, the first thing I want you to remember is how much I love you.

Jack could feel the tears stinging in his eyes, as he folded up the piece of paper again. He couldn't read it, not then. He wasn't ready to let her go and hear her final goodbyes.

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A/N – Oh how I can picture you guys shaking the computer monitor in frustration. I know this is a sad chapter, and I promise I will post again as soon as I can. I did what I had to do, but please don't give up on this story! I look forward to reading the reviews…