"And why does Aaron think the serum works?" Cadence clarified.
"Well, when he asked me last night, I didn't tell him the percentages, exactly. He just asked me if it was ready to go, and I said yes. I didn't know he was going to.... I thought I'd have a chance to do some more work before we actually used it. "
"What else did he say?" she asked, fighting back anger at his deception.
"He asked me if I was certain, and I told him I was pretty sure."
"That's what you said?" she questioned, nodding.
"I think so. I think I said, 'Should be good to go,' or something like that," he confirmed.
Cadence leaned back against the lab table, crossing her arms. "And he didn't say anything about taking it, or needing it for... anyone? Nothing?"
"No," Christian insisted. "Nothing at all. I had no idea he was going to take it. None."
Cadence couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her mind began to calculate all of the possibilities, and what she could do about it. She didn't want to believe the most obvious reason why he would take it--it just didn't make sense to her--but then, nothing was making a whole lot of sense right now.
Before she could voice her primary concern, Christian said, "You don't think he'd actually use it on himself, do you?"
She looked at him for a second before replying. He looked like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown himself. However, that didn't change her answer. "Can you think of any other reason why he might take it?"
"I don't know," Christian admitted, shaking his head. "Maybe someone contacted him, wanted to change back into a man in a hurry, and he didn't waste time letting the rest of us know about it."
"He wouldn't do that," she said dismissively. Suddenly, the weight of Christian's words hit her, and she realized what it was Aaron was trying to tell her the night before. "Shit," she exclaimed. "A man--he said he was going to be the best man he could be for me. Damn it, Christian! He is going to use it on himself. We've got to find a way to stop him."
"Okay..." Christian said, clearly trying to think of something he could do.
"There's no way to force his IAC on?" she asked. Christian had designed and installed them, so he would know.
"No," he said definitively. "What about his cell phone?"
"Hannah said he left it in his hotel room," she replied. "Maybe if I can figure out where he went and get there before him..."
"He's got a four-hour head start on us," he reminded her.
"Mrs. Carminati, were you able to get a hold of air traffic control?" she asked over the IAC.
"Yes," she replied. "I was just about to tell you. The plane was spotted in New York airspace just a few minutes ago, headed east."
"East," Cadence repeated aloud. "Okay. Thank you!" Then to Christian, she said, "If he's headed east, where's he going?" she thought for a second, but it didn't take her too long to realize. "He's going home!"
She immediately got Hannah on the IAC and forced Jamie on as well, even though he had just woken up and was extremely groggy. "Hannah, where would he be going in Ireland? Do you have any idea?"
"He bought some property there a few years ago," she remembered. "It was in Killarney, near Torc Mountain, I think he said."
Cadence nodded. “Of course it was. That's where he was born. All right. I'll get over there as quickly as I can and see if I can catch him,” she decided, resolved that she would get there in time. "Christian, if he's already taken it, what can I do to reverse it?"
"Nothing," he said, shaking his head. "Once it's administered, there's nothing you can do."
"That's not necessarily true," Jamie chimed in.
Cadence had added him for just such purpose. "All right, friend, what are my options?"
"Well, it is a long shot," Jamie admitted, his voice still fragile sounding, "but if you administer a double dose of Transformation serum it might counter-act whatever this serum is doing--if you get it in him in time. I don't know for sure that it will work--at all--but I do know that we were able to save some Hunters once who were having negative reactions to re-Transformation serum. But it's very rare that it actually works. Remember I told you, Hunters with negative reactions almost always die, Cadence. It's not a sure shot at all. But it's worth a try."
"Okay, I'll take it with me. Do you know where it is Christian?" Looking over at him, she could see tears streaming down his face, but he nodded the affirmative. He silently walked out the door, crossing the hallway to Jamie's lab. "What else? Anything else? Anyone?"
"Don't give him the pain medication," Jamie warned.
"What?" Cadence exclaimed. "Why not?"
"It's too risky," Jamie explained "We don't want anything else to potentially interfere with the juice."
"But... that will be excruciating," she reminded him, thinking of the severe pain she had been in when she had gone through the Transformation process herself.
"I know," Jamie confirmed. "But hopefully, he'll pass out quickly."
"Now that we know where he's going, can we get someone on the ground already in Ireland to attempt to intercept him?" Cadence asked.
"We can try," Hannah admitted. "But there aren't a lot of us left over there. There's not even a headquarters closer than London. I'll get on it," she assured Cadence.
Somehow, Cadence knew that wasn't going to work. "Would they have the serum?" she asked Jamie.
"No," he replied. "We don't let very many people administer that stuff. It's too dangerous. That's why we insist everyone come to KC to Transform."
"Shit," she mumbled. "All right, I'm going to get on an airplane, and then I'll check back in with you guys," she said, physically rushing to the door.
Christian met her in the hallway with the requested items placed discretely in a bag marked "Insulin." He asked, "What do you want us to do in the meantime?" as she grabbed them and headed toward the exit.
"Pray!"
