Chapter Three: Tripto Blues

Sandra made her way over to Norman's office. She wanted to apologize for Blake and McCormick's ridiculous behavior- or at least assure him she was still willing to work with him.

She admired the way he was able to keep a level head. Patience wasn't exactly her strong suit and she doubted she could have done the same.

Blake was a creature of habit- very set in his ways. He was bound to reject any new strategies Jayden would try and present. Sandra, however, liked the direction he was going. It was refreshing and made sense.

Knocking on the metal door labeled "Office", Sandra waited for a response but none came. She knew he was in there so she knocked again. After a moment, she decided to take the liberty and walk in.

"Agent Jayden?" She asked, closing the door behind her. Sandra was struck by a jolt of panic as she saw Norman collapsed on the floor, his back against the wall. A scarlet trail of blood dripped from his nose and over his lips. His eyes were half closed making it difficult to tell if he was conscious or not.

"Oh fuck..." she breathed, scrambling over to him and placing two fingers on his neck. His skin was slick with sweat and his pulse erratic. "Hang on, I'm going to get help." She told him.

As she turned to leave, Norman grabbed her wrist. His grip was solid and the dead weight of his arm practically dragged her down to the floor with him.

"No don't..." he muttered through his delirious haze. He seemed emphatic on this point. "It will pass soon."

Sandra briefly wondered why he was so determined to stop her but quickly connected the dots. He was high on drugs.

Shucking his hand off her wrist, Sandra kneeled in front of him and patted him down. Feeling something in his jacket pocket, she reached in and pulled out a vial of fine blue powder.

"What is this, Jayden, some kind of meth?" She asked accusingly.

"No... it's Triptocaine," he said, clumsily reaching for it. Sandra pulled the vial closer to her. She wasn't about to give it back to him.

"Triptocaine?" She repeated, having never heard of it.

"I take it to help calm the side effects of ARI." Norman explained.

"Side effects... what do those glasses do to you?" Sandra asked. She merely thought ARI was some kind of AI/VR integration. It was disturbing to think it had negative side effects and FBI agents were actively using it.

Norman's bloodshot eyes met hers. They looked more focused. "It comes in waves- sweating, shaky hands, hallucinations... the more I use ARI, the worse the symptoms get. The Tripto helps take the edge off but it's not been as effective lately."

"So you've been taking more to compensate," Sandra finished.

Norman's gaze fell to the floor, "Yeah."

He was ashamed by the truth. His one addiction was feeding the other, both gradually getting worse every day. Admitting it was painful.

Sandra saw the defeated look on his handsome face and her steely gaze softened. It saddened her to see him this way. Just moments ago in the meeting room he seemed so determined, so strong. Realizing she was no longer mad at him, she sat down on the floor beside him. "Does the FBI know how bad it effects you?"

"No," he said, shaking his head. "I know what you're thinking, but I can't stop using it. We have less than 72 hours to find Shaun Mars alive and I can't make that timeframe without ARI."

Sandra stared at him for a long moment considering what he just told her. The certainty in his voice was enough to give her pause. But if he continued to use ARI, she would be complicit in hiding his addiction from the others. He told her he couldn't find Shaun Mars without ARI, but if anything went wrong, they would both be screwed.

"Fuck..." she breathed, realizing the position she was in. She sat for a minute in contemplative silence before speaking. "If you let that shit take over your life, you're going to have nothing left."

The graveness in her voice struck Norman. She seemed so certain. Gone we're the coy looks and clever jokes. She was being dead serious.

"Once the killer is found, I'll get clean," he promised her.

"No you won't," she said.

Norman watched curiously as she reached into her back pocket and pulled out a coin and held it out for him to see. It was a sobriety chip that had '2 years' stamped on it.

He was surprised by this revelation. Sandra seemed like a woman who had everything together- someone who was confident and very much in control of her life. He supposed none of that mattered in the face of addiction. He would know that more than anyone.

"For five years I told myself I would get sober. But when I'd close one case, a new one would open. I convinced myself that if I could just make it through, find the killer, I could finally quit. But we both know that the cases never stop coming. I was just enabling myself. The only reason I'm telling you this is because if you don't stop now, you never will."

He knew she was right. Once this killer was found, another one would crop up and then another. The cycle would be never ending.

"I'll stop taking the Tripto but I can't give up using ARI. Not for this case," he said, needing her to understand.

What he was proposing was risky, Sandra thought. But she doubted he would change his mind on the matter. She supposed it came down to whether she was willing to trust him or not.

After a moment of hesitation, she spoke. "Alright. Deal."

She held out her pinky to him then. A weak grin tugged at his lips as he realized Sandra was going to make him pinky swear. He did it, all the while thinking she had an odd sense of humor.

Taking out a crumpled Starbucks napkin from her pocket, she leaned towards him and began dabbing away the blood on his lip. She was careful to be gentle with him. When her other hand came to rest on his cheek, Norman resisted the urge to close his eyes and lean into her warm touch.

He saw her gaze fall on his scar briefly as she folded the napkin over and wiped the rest of the blood away from his chin. She didn't ask him about it, but he could tell she was curious.

"There." She said standing up and tossing the napkin in the small wastebasket by his desk.

"Thanks," he told her, slowly pushing himself up to his feet. He knew he looked like shit but he attempted to straighten himself out.

"You'll want to stop by the bathroom and rinse your face before we get going," she told him.

"Get going?" He asked, looking up at her in confusion.

"Yeah, you said there were two people within the comfort zone you wanted to interview. Go get cleaned up and I'll bring the car around front."

Norman wasn't going to argue with her. Grabbing ARI up off the desk, he placed it in his pocket.

"Alright, I'll see you in five minutes," he told her as he exited the office.

AN: Review Favor Follow! Well well well, looks like Sandra found out Norman's secret. What's gonna happen next?

Also if anyone is reading this and likes it... let me know. I know I'm late getting on the Heavy Rain train so I totally get it if no one cares anymore.