First responder came to the fore in all three brothers. Alan, being closest, had dived forward to try and prevent Scott's head hitting the car frame as Virgil lunged to grab him too. Gordon was out of the driver's seat like a shot.

Within two minutes Scott was laid out on the floor, shirt open and EOS was running diagnostics with Virgil. There was something uniquely unnerving about how Scott was so still. Alarms were sounding and Alan was quietly panicking. Virgil was yelling at EOS and Gordon, and maybe him too – he couldn't tell anymore.

Then the dreaded words were spoken, and his older brothers went to Defcon One.

Scott wasn't responding, wasn't breathing. And Virgil was breathing for his big brother while Gordon was diving into the car for the med kit they carried as standard – because, you know, they're Tracy's and trouble with an identical capital T followed them everywhere – and Alan was sitting back, allowing the medic and his wingman the room to work.

None of them were surprised to hear an ambulance in the distance, EOS would have called it the minute something had gone wrong. And there were the paramedics taking over, wires being attached and suddenly Scott was being moved and Alan – Alan was still kneeling on the floor, his brand-new suit trousers ruined but unnoticed.

In an unusual move, it was Gordon who accompanied Scott in the ambulance. Virgil had taken one look at Alan and realised that he was also needed here. Something had gone terribly wrong tonight, and he intended to make sure whatever had happened was discovered and sorted out.

A heavy hand on Alan's shoulder started him from his reverie. He looked up into concerned honey eyes and swallowed. Virgil was kneeling in front of him, radiating that concern like a fire radiates heat. He managed a small smile, and it was enough to get Virgil up and moving, holding out a hand to help Alan up too.

Virgil frowned as he looked at the decreasing ambulance. 'Was Scott like this all evening?' he asked. Alan shook his head. Scott had checked in with them numerous times throughout the evening and had been fine. 'How much has Scott had to drink?' He thought hard, mulling over the last three hours. 'I only saw him drink two then that last one.'

Odd. Scott could easily hold his liquor, even if they didn't drink regularly, and three Scotches, even if the last one looked to be a triple shot, should have been no cause for alarm. Then Virgil recalled the flash of anger on that woman's face. What if – what if it was something more than alcohol in that last drink? He had told the paramedics timings. Last alcoholic drink was about 20 minutes ago – seven minutes to get to the car, and ten minutes from the time Scott collapsed until the paramedics had taken over, three minutes for them to prep Scott and get him into the ambulance.

John had called the police the same time EOS had rerouted the ambulance crew that had just finished restocking at the hospital closest to the conference room and dived into the elevator. He had left the comms on so that he, and everyone on base, could hear what was going on. By the time Scott was loaded into the ambulance Kayo was already half-way there and Grandma had prepped Tracy Two ready for launch as soon as John was down. Fifteen minutes is a long time when you can't do anything but sit and listen and wait.

The police wanted to question Alan straight away, but Virgil wanted to get to the hospital. He outlined everything he had seen, and his suspicion that one of the drinks Scott had taken may have been spiked. At this news Alan added his own observation. 'Just before you entered, she put her hand over Scott's drink and stopped him from drinking it. I suppose it is feasible she spiked it then, it was the only time I saw her touch his glass other than when she carried it to the table.' The policeman wasted no time and sent three people into the building, one to get the glass and two to get the girl.

All Virgil could think was 'God, Scott, what has she done to you? What have you got yourself mixed up in now?' Relaying the information to John that there was a strong indication of some kind of poison in Scott's last drink, he gave the policeman the address of the hospital and steered Alan into the car.

They made it there in less than eight minutes. It was almost a given that he would have gained speeding fines if he hadn't had had a police escort. Not knowing the reasons why the eldest son of one of the richest men in the world had collapsed and potentially had been drugged meant they were not going to be left alone. That suited Virgil just fine – for now. He knew John may not be too happy at this, but they would sort that out later.

Gordon was waiting for them outside. John had been his usual efficient multitasking self and they already had a private waiting room. They hadn't let Gordon past reception, but that was no surprise, so he had come out to wait. Tracy Two would be here within the half hour, Kayo in five minutes. The hospital was about to find out what happened when the Tracy's came to town en masse.

Virgil snagged Gordon around his shoulders with one arm and Alan with the other, a brief hug the order of the day. He was the oldest brother present, and they all needed the contact, the comfort that hug gave, before facing the wait. Gordon led the way, and soon he and Alan were deep in conversation as Virgil hunted up someone to find out what was going on. By the time he had been asked to return to the room and promised someone would come shortly, Kayo had turned up.

Gordon and Alan went over the evening with them both and a policeman who had been instructed to stick to the family. When Alan mentioned about the woman stopping Scott drinking, Gordon mentioned seeing her around Scott almost all evening. He had thought it amusing at the time, their biggest brother did have a tendency to attract women, especially when he was in a suit. Kayo was given the name of the detective in charge and stalked out.

And they waited. Waited for the others to join them. Waited for news.