AN: I still have no beta. Sorry for any mistakes, I hope they are few and far between.

AN2: In case the SARAH stuff doesn't make sense, this part of the fic was written before 4X07 aired. For the purpose of this fic, that episode doesn't exist

Chapter Two

"Jo, I think the water's been poisoned," it was Carter and he sounded very groggy. "We... We need you..."

"Carter? Carter!"

Zane looked concerned. "What's up?"

"Where did you get the water for this coffee?" she asked.

"Uh, I bought it with me."

"From a tap?"

"No, I bought a couple of bottles yesterday. Why?"

"Jack said the water has been poisoned."

"The town water?"

"I don't know, he sounded drowsy and then he just just stopped talking. Did you break the seal on the water bottle?"

Zane thought back. "Yes."

"Then we're probably safe, I brought bottled water with me too. Have you drunk from a tap at all?"

"Not since last night. I came straight up here after I left GD."

"Let's hope that's enough," she stood up and headed in the direction of her car. "I need to get back to town."

"Lets take the Sky Cruiser back," Zane said joining her. "It'll be much faster."

Jo grabbed his arm to stop him. "You rode your project here without permission!"

"I had permission, this is it's first field test. Besides, don't you have more important things to be focusing on right now?"

"Right. Okay, lead the way."

The Sky Cruiser was parked close to her car. Zane got on and handed her his helmet.

"What about you?" she asked.

"I built the thing, if it goes down, I deserve to be the one with head injuries."

"Zane-"

"Lupo, just put the damn helmet on and stop worrying."

For once Jo did as he said and climbed on the bike, wrapping her hands around his waist. She made a conscious effort not to cling too tightly, as much as she might want to.

"Hold on tight," Zane said as he fired the cruiser up.

The ride back to town wasn't the smoothest but it was much faster than her car. Main Street looked deserted.

"Land it near the sheriffs office," she shouted over the engines.

"Sure thing," he said, manoeuvring the cruiser down to the ground.

Jo jumped off the bike and ran inside with Zane right behind her.

"He's not here," she said having checked everywhere.

"It's early, maybe he's still at home."

Jo nodded. "Okay, we'll try there next." They headed back outside. "I know it's early," she said, slowing to a stop before they reached the bike, "but there should still be someone about. This is like a ghost town."

"You're right," Zane frowned. "But lets find Carter first. Even if he isn't home, SARAH might have some information we can use."

They climbed back on the Sky Cruiser and headed over to the smart house. Jo banged on the door.

"Sarah, is Jack here?" She called.

"Yes, Jo. He is in need of medical help but I am unable to summon anyone."

"Then let me in."

"I'm afraid I cant do that, Jo, I am under strict orders not to let Mr Donovan on the premises."

Jo frowned. "What? Why?"

"When the sheriff caught Zane with Zoe, he forbade me from granting him access ever again."

Jo turned to Zane. "You made out with Zoe?"

"No! Well, kinda, a little maybe. But I only did it to upset Carter."

While Jo had a hundred and one questions, she also had more pressing matters at hand so she bit her tongue and glared at him. "We'll talk about it later," she snapped. "Jack will make an exception this time, SARAH, he needs our help."

"I'm sorry, there are no exceptions."

"Just go in without me," he said, backing away. He sounded a little disappointed. "I'll wait outside."

"No." Jo turned back to the door and typed into the screen beside it.

"Override activated," SARAH announced as the door opened.

"Whoa, he gave you his access codes?" Zane asked.

"Only for emergencies. I think this counts. SARAH, where is he?"

"He is in the bathroom."

They found Jack on the floor, his phone still gripped in his hand. Jo turned him over and felt for a pulse.

"He's still alive. What happened, SARAH?"

"He had just finished cleaning his teeth then he stumbled and fell to the floor. He managed to call you before he passed out."

"He said the water was poisoned," Zane said to SARAH as he picked up the half full cup beside the sink. "Can you conform that?"

"I have detected an new substance in the water supply, but it is not in my databanks."

"Don't you check the water?" Jo asked.

"I check for all known contaminants, yes, but this did not register as dangerous."

"Let's get him up," Zane said, "Maybe we can rouse him."

Together they got Jack upright but he was completely unresponsive. They carried him through to the living room and placed him on the sofa.

"So what now?" Jo asked.

"Sarah, can you show me this molecule?" Zane asked.

"Of course." A three dimensional hologram appeared of the chemicals molecular structure.

"Does it mean anything to you?" Jo asked.

Zane shook his head. "Not much. Sarah's right, it's like nothing I've ever seen before, although it is similar to a benzodiazepine in structure."

"Wait, aren't they sedatives?"

"Yeah, they're a hypnotic and anti-convulsant as well as being a common anti-anxiety medication. But to induce sleep that quickly the dose would have to be massive. Enough to kill and clearly Jack's still alive."

Just to be sure, Jo checked his pulse again.

"SARAH, do you know the concentration of this stuff?" Zane asked.

The data flashed up beside the molecule and Jo watched as Zane looked through it.

"Anything?" she asked him.

"The level is only two hundred parts per million." He saw her frown so elaborated. "These doses are tiny, the levels of fluoride in water are larger than this. If this was diazepam or even alprazolam it wouldn't have any discernible effect at these levels."

"What are they?"

"Um, Valium and Xanax, they're common benzodiazepines."

"So why is this so quick acting?"

Zane shook his head. "I'm not a pharmacologist but I would say that the alterations in it's molecular structure make it a hundred times more potent and much easier to absorb."

"Can we reverse it?" she asked him."

Zane shrugged. "With stimulants maybe, but I wouldn't want to counteract this without knowing exactly how it works."

"But if this thing is so potent, couldn't they overdose?" Jo asked

Zane hesitated before reluctantly answering, "It's possible."

"Then we have to try."

"A drug interaction could do even more harm," Zane argued. "I'm not a doctor and I'm not comfortable administering drugs to counteract other unknown drugs."

"What do you suggest?" Jo asked.

"That we find a doctor," he said, like it was the simplest thing in the world. "Because I am not taking the rap if he dies," he pointed at Jack.

"No one will blame you," Jo reasoned. "In case you haven't noticed, we're all that's left. And right now you are this towns only hope for a cure."

Zane looked frightened for a moment before he shook his head in defeat. "I guess I don't exactly have a lot of choice, do I?" He sighed.

"Nope," Jo shook her head. "But I believe in you. You can do this."

"I hope you're right," he said with a sigh. "Okay, lets take him to GD."

Together they carried Jack out to the cruiser.

"What I really want to know," Zane said. "Is who would want to put the whole town to sleep?"

"That's what I've been wondering too," Jo answered.

"Any ideas yet?"

"Not yet," Jo shook her head.

They took Carters car to GD since they couldn't carry him on the Sky Cruiser and they carried him to the med lab. The few people they encountered were asleep, lying sprawled in the hallways.

They hauled Carter onto one of the beds and Zane headed straight towards the computer as Jo leaned against the bed. The exertion of helping to carry Carter up here had aggravated her surgical wounds and she took a few calming breaths as she tried to bury the pain.

"Jo?"

Zane was at her side but she hadn't heard him approach.

"I'm fine."

"You don't look fine," he said, putting a hand on her shoulder to turn her to him.

"Trust me," she pushed his hand away and winced in pain again.

"Okay, you are definitely not fine."

"We need to be working on a cure, Zane."

"No, we need to make sure you haven't done any serious damage." He shook his head in frustration. "If you'd told me I would have carried him up here myself."

"Zane, just leave it."

Zane walked away and she thought she had won. Unfortunately he returned a few moments later with a scanner.

"Weren't you the one saying you're not a doctor?"

"Don't need to be a doctor to work a scanner," he said. "I don't suppose you'd lie down for this, would you?"

"Zane, I'm fine."

"You are not fine," he said softly. "And I am not going to be the only one still awake when help arrives. You're my alibi, Lupo, so just shut up and do as you're told for once."

He turned the scanner on and ran it over her chest and abdomen. Reluctantly Jo turned towards him to make the scan easier.

"Your stitches are fine. It looks like you've torn the chest muscle again, very slightly. It'sothing to worry about but on top of the damage already done to that area, it's gonna hurt."

He walked away again and Jo rested against the bed, in pain and confused. She hadn't wanted Zane to help her, yet now that he had just walked away because she wasn't in danger of dying, she felt let down.

"Here," he made her jump slightly as he appeared at her side again. He took her hand and put what looked like a pen into it. He pressed the end and light poured from the end onto her chest. "That beam penetrates the skin and promotes healing. Hold it over your chest for a few minutes, about," he positioned her hand a foot away from her chest wall, "here."

"Thanks," she said softly.

"Any time,"

Zane flashed her the smile that he used to use when he was pleased with himself. She missed that smile.

She watched as he went over to the computer and sat down.

"So that ring around your neck-" he began to ask.

"How did you know..."

"The scanner picked it up." his eyes were firmly fixed on the screen but his attention was on her reaction. "Is it his?"

Jo didn't answer immediately. "Yeah."

"Why don't you wear it properly?" he asked.

"Because it would be difficult to explain and... I never actually said yes."

Zane looked up. "Why not?"

Jo shrugged. "I froze."

"Do you love him?"

"Yeah."

"Then what was the problem?"

"There was no problem, I was just caught off guard. I got scared and tongue-tied... and his last memory of me, if he still exists, is of me not saying yes."

Zane looked back to his screen. "If he knew you well enough to propose, he could figure your reaction out for himself."

"Maybe."

"Definitely."

Jo kept expected him to ask who her boyfriend had been but thankfully he never questioned her on it. She held the light on her chest for about five minutes until the pain began to ease. She checked Carters pulse one last time then turned off the healing pen and headed over to stand behind Zane.

"What are you looking for?" she asked.

"Right now I'm just confirming doses of epinephrine."

"Will that wake him up?"

Zane shrugged. "It's synthetic adrenalin, so I hope so."

"You hope so?"

He completed the calculations and headed to the supply cabinet. "Yeah, I hope so and until I have an MD after my name, that's the best you're going to get!" The drug cabinet refused to open for him. "Can you unlock this thing?" he asked.

Jo opened the cabinet with her thumb print and watched as Zane found the drug and filled a syringe with it.

He returned to Carter and placed electrodes on his temples and chest, connecting them to the closest monitor. Jack's heart beat was slow but steady.

When he could delay no longer, Zane turned Jacks arm over and exposed the inside of his elbow.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to inject that into his heart?" Jo asked.

"Only if his heart had stopped." He injected the needle and slowly pumped the contents of the syringe in the vein.

"Nothings happening," Jo said, staring at the monitor. "Why is nothing happening?"

"Give it a minute," Zane reassured her as Carter's heart rate began to rise.

"It's working," Jo smiled but a few minutes later when Carter still hadn't woken up she sighed. "Can you give him more?" she asked.

Zane shook his head. "That's the highest dose I want to risk."

"So what now?" she asked, looking worried and a little scared.

"Hey," Zane stepped towards her and put his hands on her shoulders. "Everything is going to be all right, okay?"

"You're lying."

"Well yeah, but I'm a good liar," he joked before turning serious. "We'll get through this, Jo Jo. I promise."

Reluctantly Jo smiled slightly. "I know."

"That's my girl. Okay, now you go and check the security log and see if you can figure out what's happening, while I take a crash course in pharmacology."

"Right," Jo nodded. "Call me if you find anything."

"I will," he promised as she backed towards the door.

III

Jo was nearly finished in the security office when Zane rang.

"Zane, have you found anything?"

"Maybe. How about you?"

"I found out why. I'll be with you in a few minutes."

"Great. Could you stop into Doctor Pollock's lab on your way back?"

"What for?"

"You're looking for a metallic cylindrical device, about five inches long with three seams."

"On it." She hung up and headed to Pollack's lab. It took some hunting but she eventually found something like Zane had described in one of the cupboards. She hoped it was the right thing.

"Any luck?" Jo asked as she came back into the med lab. She glanced over to Carter and was relieved to hear that the machine was still beeping steadily.

"Some," Zane turned towards her. "This computer can run virtual medical trials on new drugs so I ran this compound through it. Turns out it's already being tested. It's called X-127P, it's a new anticonvulsant medication. It stays in the blood stream, inactive and harmless until it's activated using an external signal that communicates with the integrated sub-atomic nano-technology."

"In English?"

"Everyone in town has this drug in their system, including me and, I haven't tested your blood but probably you too."

"Then why weren't we affected?"

"Because the drug doesn't work until it's turned on and the signal that turns the drug on probably didn't reach us in the hills."

"So will it wear off?"

"No," Zane shook his head. "It has to be turned off. The idea is that eventually people will only ever need one dose of a drug and they'll be able to turn their medication on and off instantly without waiting for drugs to be absorbed or injected."

"Okay, so how do we turn it off?"

"That's what I'm hoping that doohickey you collected will do."

"Is doohickey it's technical name?"

Zane turned to her, frowning until he saw her smile. The enforcer had just cracked a joke!

"No. Thingamabob is its technical name," he grinned.

"Okay then, let's do it," she handed him the cylinder.

"Well, I can't just do it, not without knowing the precise signals used. If I guess I could turn the drug on even more and end up overdosing everyone."

"So what do you need?" she asked.

Zane began examining the device. "I've already hacked into Doctor Pollock's computer and I'm reading his research now. I'm hoping to find something in here to help."

"How long will that take?"

"I don't know," he frowned. "This cylinder looks slightly different to the specifications in the computer."

"What does that mean?"

He looked up at her. "Was this the only one?"

"Yeah, and I had to hunt for it. It was stored at the back of one of his cupboards."

"Then it's probably a prototype that's been replaced."

"Will it work?" she asked.

"I'm pretty sure I can make it work, once I've found the correct frequency." He turned back to the monitor and Jo leaned over his shoulder to watch. Zane stole a sideways glance at her. She really was beautiful.

"So what did you find out?" he asked.

"We had a theft."

"Theft?" Zane turned to her.

Her breath caught in her throat as she realised how close they were. "Is there a problem with that?"

"Well yeah. I mean this drug is nearly perfect in it's design, it's almost beautiful. To corrupt it for something as prosaic as a theft is an insult to science."

"Well I'm sorry if your scientific sensibilities have been offended but we have more important things to worry about right now."

"Right," he turned back to the screen. "What did they steal?"

"I don't know."

Zane turned to her again with a questioning look on his face.

"It's a top secret section five project. All I could see on the monitors was a black box."

"Where'd they take it?"

"They left on a helicopter. I've contacted the DOD and they're tracking it by satellite and sending fighter jets to intercept it."

"They're not going to shoot it down, are they?"

"No," Jo shook her head. "Without knowing what's in that box we can't risk it. They're going to try and force it to land instead."

Zane turned back to his computer. "Any idea who did it?"

"Not yet but it has to be an inside job. Doctor Pollack is my prime suspect for the moment but anyone with access to that lab could have stolen the device and the drug. The thieves themselves wore masks and the ID used to override the security protocols were Fargo's."

"Well they could use his sleeping body for the finger print and iris recognition, but they'd need his voice print too."

"They could have recorded it," Jo suggested.

Zane picked up the cylinder and began dismantling it.

"It looks like it shorted out," he explained, "but I should be able to repair it."

"Be careful," she admonished.

Zane grinned. "It's okay, you can trust me, Jo."

Jo looked serious. "You don't get a lot of that, do you?"

"What, trust? It doesn't matter," he shrugged.

"It does matter. You're brilliant, Zane, and I'm sorry for the problems I've caused you."

"As much as I enjoy having ammunition to hold over your head, Lupo, and while I confess it does give me a cheap thrill when you snap those cuffs on, it's not actually your fault that I act out."

"What do you mean?"

"It's Fargo. You and I actually got on okay for a while but Fargo hated me from day one. Stuck me in dead end projects and with jobs a five year old could do."

"So that's why you act out?"

Zane shrugged. "Pretty much. He deserves it."

"Why? Maybe if you proved yourself in these projects he'd have moved you on to bigger and better things."

"You think I didn't try?" Zane shook his head in disgust. "What do you even see in that guy? He's a dick, and that's putting it mildly."

"He's not so bad."

"Oh really? You want to know why I released those monkeys a few months back?"

"Why?"

Zane shook his head and changed his mind. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. Tell me."

Zane hesitated briefly. "Okay. That sky cruiser was a side project, something I worked on in my spare time, just to see if it was possible. When Fargo got wind of it he told me that everything I do while employed here, even if it's on my own time, is the intellectual property of Global Dynamics. He took the designs from me, put Doctor Henderson in charge of the project and left me to design the steering column, the easiest part."

"Fargo did that?" she asked.

"Yeah. You should know, you- I mean the other-you, is the one who searched my apartment for the schematics."

"I'm sorry."

Zane shrugged. "You were just following orders. Fargo would probably have fired you if you'd said no."

"I'd like to see him try."

"I don't know what your Fargo is like, but the Fargo in this reality is a petty, power-hungry dictator. He's not afraid of you. He's not afraid of anyone, except maybe Mansfield."

"Well my Fargo is afraid of me. It wont happen any more, Zane. I promise."

"Yeah well, we'll see. Anyway, that's my life since I got here. It's not so much a case of not wanting to fit in, more a case of being excluded."

"But you and I used to get on okay?" she asked.

"For a while, why?"

"My-Fargo likes me," Jo sighed. "He always has. I'm guessing this Fargo's dislike of you is because I liked you in this timeline too."

"So Fargo's a dick because he's jealous of me?" he sounded uncertain.

"Yeah. I think so."

Zane shook his head and grinned. "Head of global Dynamics and still an insecure little geek," he said to himself.

"Zane?"

He looked up from the device.

"If you designed the steering column, is that why only you could fly that thing?"

Zane grinned. "Maybe."

Jo found herself smiling too.

"Okay," Zane announced a few minutes later. "I've reprogrammed the wave generator and set it to the lowest power so we can test it without risking affecting everyone in the vicinity."

Jo looked over to Carter. "Are you sure it's safe?"

Zane turned serious. "I'm as sure as I can be."

Jo nodded. "Do it."