Worsening condition

It turned into a quiet day, and too quickly the hours passed. It was after supper now, and people were starting to filter out of the dining hall for the evening. Some to run errands in town, some to finish last minute chores, and some to just go home and relax. A small group remained though, and the sound of shuffling cards could be easily heard.

Jeff sits back in his chair and fingers the deck of UNO cards. Laughing at something Clint had said, he engages in a conversation with Dan before rescuing his cup of coffee that Luke had just stolen.

Jade munches on a cookie and glances around the room to see if anyone else was sticking around. Smiling, she calls out to a nearby table. "Hey, Ashlee... wanna stay up for a while for some UNO?" It was still early evening... even if Ashlee needed to go to bed sooner than the others, it would be a couple hours yet, and Jade really did want to get to know the younger girl. They weren't all that far apart in age and Ashlee seemed like she could be a lot of fun.

Dylan looks up from his usual corner table where he'd been doing schoolwork throughout supper, gingerly seated with his foot propped up on a chair and leaned back so his ribs and shoulder didn't hurt as much. He wasn't surprised to see a group playing cards, nor was he surprised his sister was inviting Ashlee to join in. Jade had always been like that... friendly, popular... the most rebellious thing Dylan had seen her do was come looking for Mick a while back. She liked people and probably genuinely wanted to include Ashlee in the fun.

Dylan knew his invitation wouldn't be coming - he'd said no so many times that they'd finally quit asking. Not that he cared... right? He needed to get his schoolwork done and besides, UNO wasn't his favorite game...

He puts his eyes back on his history book. Maybe he should go back to his bunk so he wouldn't be distracted.


"Hey, little sister." Con towers over Katie's cubicle wall and smiles down at her. Since Jason had been sick, it seemed the close friends rarely interacted anymore and Con missed it.

"Jamie's off today and I'm hungry for lunch. Wondered if you'd let me buy you a sub or something... take a short break from work...?"


"I don't understand." Rick rubs his eyes and moves away from the microscope. The lab table in the infirmary was cluttered with data readoffs, bloodwork and DNA analysis. And none of it was making any sense.

"There's got to be something to work with. It can't just be invisible." He shakes his head, frustrated. "I know it's a foreign thing to begin with - the telepathy that Jason and Katie have can't be medically or scientifically explained, even though we've tried. But what's happening to Jason's body is real. He's really getting sick. He's really being killed from the inside out. I mean look at this!"

Rick grabs an x-ray and waves it in the air. "That scan we took of his knee when all this happened? Look at the damage! He was fine before the last couple attacks. Now suddenly he needed surgery again because all that cartilage that grew back simply deteriorated. Every weak spot he has is attacked, like whatever it is has intelligence and knows where to go. But there's no reason why!"

Slamming the x-ray back down, he heaves a sigh. He didn't mean to yell at Misty - she had no control over any of this, and she was trying just as hard as he was. He was just so frustrated. Con had been to see Jason this morning and when he'd returned to TJY, he'd come to see Rick. Apparently after Katie had left the house this morning, Jason had taken a nosedive. Thankfully, Con had been there to help him when he'd gotten sick and to get some liquids in him and get him settled down on the couch again before leaving. But Con had said he'd never seen Jason look so pale and it was very obvious that he was extremely worried. And so was Rick. With each passing day, Rick knew that Jason was worsening. He'd stopped visiting TJY... he'd stopped going anywhere but for short walks... he'd stopped playing the guitar.

"I can't tell him he's going to die." Rick's tone had quieted. "He knows it's killing him, but I can't tell him there's nothing we can do... I just can't. I won't."

He gathers up some things to put in his bag. "I'm going to the house to check on him while Con keeps Katie distracted for a while. There's no need in getting her upset." He searches the counter then his bag, then the counter again. "Do you know what I did with that syringe of antidote and pain killer I was going to give Jason?"


"I want to speak with you about your upcoming hearing."

Alec scoffs at Justin and remains slouched on his cot. He was getting tired of these routine sessions... every day was the same... every day went by without hope of any change except when he'd be carted off to be placed behind bars. "What about it? We all know I'm gonna get a guilty verdict."

"You may still have a chance if you fight for it. I just don't want to see anybody else get the guilty verdict, too."

Alec furrows his brow. "Anybody else?"

Justin shrugs as he shifts a little in the folding chair, tapping his pen on the table. "Well, yeah. I mean, you go to prison, there's gonna be other people on trial right behind you who could end up in prison, too."

"Who? I don't understand."

"It's pretty simple really." Justin remains casual, even though on the inside he was continually reminding himself how to deliver the message the way he wanted. It was a little hard to keep his head in the game today. He'd slept well though - even that, he had to admit. It had been a little embarrassing, waking up on the couch with Beth this morning, but she hadn't seemed to mind and really... he hadn't minded so much either. So they'd shared some breakfast before parting ways and by then, Justin had gotten to TJY almost late. But it was getting up and going that had brought back all his worries and stress about everything else, which made it difficult to focus on Alec's bad attitude today. But he had to. "See, Reese got permission to help people like you who have been in the Agency. You go to prison, that will be proof that the program failed."

"So?" Alec was still confused.

"So if the program fails, that's gonna open up the doors to investigation. And if they investigate, they could pull out other people who are on the straight and narrow now but were connected with the Agency in some way or another in the past, and put them on trial."

"Like who? Gage?"

"Him..." Justin pauses, making Alec want more. "And people like Carson... Phinox... Ryder... Misty..." He pauses again. "Ryan."

Alec's eyes flash. "Ryan? Why? She didn't do anything."

"No, but she was planning on contacting the Agency when you disappeared. Now, the other law enforcement may not have all of that information, but believe me you, they will find it. If they get their foot in the door, they'll dig up anything they can. They'll say that Ryan had her own contacts or that she wanted to join the Agency - it would be too risky to let her go. And Misty? Carson? They've both been in a few scrapes since being out of the Agency and those will certainly be used against them. They could even drag Scott back into all of this and put him on trial all over again as a new case."

Alec swallows hard. He wasn't so sure he liked the sound of all that. "Well they can't do that just because I went off the deep end. I mean, that's not fair. Just because I turned doesn't mean the others did."

Justin shrugs. "Maybe not. But you know how the system works. Right now, the Elite is under extreme scrutiny. Reese has put more than his neck on the line with this thing."

"He was stupid to," Alec mutters.

"Was he? He did it because he cared and you know it. Thing is, he cares about those other people too. More is riding on this than just your own future."

"Well what would I have to do? Go grovel in front of the judge or what?"

Justin hides his hope that maybe they were getting somewhere. Alec was thinking through it now. "You just need to tell your story the way you and I both know it needs to be told. Do you want to go to prison?"

Alec glares at him. "Of course not."

"Then you're gonna have to behave like it. Yeah, you're gonna have to swallow your pride, but isn't it worth it? Isn't it worth it if it will keep people like Misty and Ryan out of prison too?"

Alec's eyes drop and he fiddles with his fingernails. He didn't like this. When it was just him, he couldn't care less. But... with the others on the line too... it wasn't so easy to just turn his back and give up. "So I gotta pretend I actually care and lie and say I promise to be a model citizen from here on out."

"Who said anything about lying?" Justin quirks an eyebrow. "You do care. And you can say you'll do your best at reintegrating into society. If you're saved from prison, I would hope that wouldn't be a lie."

Alec still doesn't raise his eyes. He knew he cared. Way deep down, he knew it was true, whether he wanted to admit it or not. Prison was the last thing he wanted... and seeing others put there because of him was not a pleasant thought. But to go and basically beg before the judge? Could he really do that?