„What are you going to do now?" Al asked quietly. He and Pitt had met in the cafeteria in the hospital and Pitt had just told his friend about the new development regarding his son.

"I'm going back to Washington. I'm going to get the antidote and Hatch is going to pay for what he did." Pitt replied determinedly.

"When are we leaving?"

"The next flight goes in three hours. But I'm going alone. I want you to stay here and watch over my children."

"Because that worked so well the last time?" Al said bitterly.

"Don't blame yourself, Al. You couldn't have known something like this would happen."

"I've been on the deck the whole time. Those damn cylinders have been standing practically right next to me and I didn't notice a thing."

"There was no reason to mistrust anyone on that ship, so don't be too hard on yourself. I know you'll look out for them until I'm back." Pitt assured him. If there was anyone he would trust with the lives of his children, it was Al Giordino.

"You might not have to come back. I'll talk to NUMA. Maybe they can transfer Dirk to a hospital in Washington. This way we can protect them better and maybe they find an antidote so we won't need Hatch at all."

"I can't wait for that. I'm going to get it from Hatch, no matter at what cost."

XXXXXXX

Late at night Pitt arrived in Washington. He didn't bother going back to his apartment for fresh clothes or to get some sleep. He went right to Hatch's house. It wasn't difficult for him to go round the alarm system and within a few minutes he was inside the house. He could here voices coming from the living room and a female voice talking – probably Hatch's wife. He looked around and saw a light shining through a door a few feet away. Quietly he moved closer to the door. This could be Hatch's office. He took a deep breath and pulled out his loaded gun, then he opened the door.

"Caroline, I told you I don't want to be disturbed. I have some important papers to read through tonight." Hatch said without looking up.

With a grim smile, Pitt closed the door behind him. This was easier than he'd thought.

"I'm sorry but I can't wait that long. I need to talk to you know." Pitt said quietly, the gun pointed at Hatch.

Surprised Thomas Hatch looked up from the papers in front of him and stared at the gun pointed at him. Then his eyes wandered to the man holding the gun.

"Maybe you should have gotten an appointment, than I would have made sure to have time for you." Hatch replied, a sarcastic smile on his face.

"Let's not waste any more time. I want the antidote. Now!"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. …"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Pitt moved a few steps closer to Hatch until he stood directly in front of Hatch's desk. "You will give me the antidote or I'll put a bullet in your head."

"If you do that, then you'll never get what you want. I can't give you anything when I'm dead, can I?" Hatch chuckled. "Now, why don't we talk as two civilized people and you put that gun down. Whatever problem it is you have, I'm sure we can solve it together."

"Cut the games, Hatch. I want that antidote and you better give it to me. If my son dies, there is no place on earth for you to hide. Not even prison."

Hatch kept smiling and leant back in his chair. His attitude was unnerving for Pitt, but he tried not to show it. If he ever wanted to achieve anything with this man, he couldn't let him get to him. He was just about to say something else, when the door to the office flew open and two men in suits stormed in, their guns pointed at Pitt.

"I think it's time for you to leave now, Mr. Pitt." Hatch said smugly. "It was nice to make your acquaintance."

Slowly Pitt turned to him again. "This isn't over yet. You won't stop me from testifying against you. You will go to prison. And should my son die, you'll stay in prison until the day you die."

Then Pitt dropped his gun and put it back in his jacket. One of the men grabbed him by the arm and began pulling him out of the office. Angrily Pitt shook him off. "I know the way."

He slowly went to the front door. Hatch's guards followed him until he was back on the street.

XXXXXXX

Angrily Pitt sagged down on his couch. As there wasn't anything else for him to do tonight, he had returned to his apartment. He thought about calling Al or Summer, but they would both be asleep at this hour and he didn't want to wake them. Neither of them had gotten much sleep lately.

After a while his eyes fell on the beeping light of his answering machine. Sighing he got up and pushed the button to listen to his messages.

"Dirk, this is Al. I just spoke with Sandecker. Dirk will be transferred to Washington first thing in the morning. I already send them a sample of Dirk's blood by mail. They should get it in a few hours and Sandecker assured me that he would put his best men to work on it. Call me when you hear this. I want to know how it went with Hatch."

Pitt waited a moment before he listened to the second message. Dirk would be in Washington tomorrow. He wouldn't arrive here before noon, but it felt good knowing that he would be close. The trial was in two days and he wasn't ready to give up on getting the antidote from Hatch. Going to him directly had been stupid. He should have known he wouldn't achieve anything by that. Hatch was too clever. But there had to be a way to get the antidote.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Pitt pressed the button to listen to the second message.

"Pitt, this is Sandecker. Giordino just called me. I'm sorry about what happened to your son. I want to assure you that we will do everything in our power to help him. I already put Hatch under surveillance. Wherever he goes, we'll know about it. And Pitt, don't do anything stupid. And call me when you hear this."

Pitt decided to wait until morning to call Sandecker. But he would call Al. After all, he had asked for it, so he could ignore the time. He just needed to know how his son was doing. Otherwise he would never get any sleep.

When he'd dialed Al's number, he didn't have to wait long for him to answer.

"Yes?"

"Hi, it's me. Did I wake you?"

"No, I wasn't sleeping. How did it go? Did you get it?" Al asked.

"No, that bastard wouldn't even acknowledge to know me. I gotta find another way. How is Dirk doing?"

Pitt didn't even have to hear Al's reply. The pause before he spoke told him all he needed to know.

"His condition got worse. He's in a lot of pain, so they sedated him. He's asleep most of the time. He has trouble breathing again and gets extra oxygen to make it easier for him." Al stopped. It was hard to tell his friend all this. This was his son they were talking about. Al couldn't even begin to imagine how Pitt must feel right now.

Pitt swallowed before he asked his next question. "How is Summer?"

"So far she's doing okay. She's a lot stronger than she looks. Don't worry about her." Al assured him.

"She comes after her mother." Pitt said quietly. "Okay, thanks Al. Get some sleep. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. And Pitt … don't do anything stupid."

"Why is everyone telling me that?"

Tbc