"Sorry we're late," Danny apologized when he arrived at Crimson Inc. with Cat and the others. He figured since Cat would never express guilt for ignoring Komazzi, he might as well do it for her. Bane led them into Matt's room and they found Komazzi pacing like a caged animal.

"It doesn't take three hours to search a fucking one-bedroom apartment," Komazzi snapped. He took a threatening step forward. Danny's eyes widened and he stumbled back against the doorway. Bane quickly placed himself between Danny and Komazzi, shoving the younger man out of the room. When Komazzi was in a mood like this he could easily tear someone apart.

"I told Cat there was no hurry, we managed just fine without her," Bane insisted. He closed the door, giving the four boys out in the hallway a look that said, stay out. "We got Matt out of there undetected; if any spies were lurking around they saw three men in a delivery truck picking up equipment for repairs."

Komazzi sighed. He knew Bane was right, at least the transfer was over now and Matt was back on the sedative. Making the decision to bring him to Crimson Inc. was an easy one. Here, they were in a secure facility that had armed guards on duty 24/7. His lair was in the basement, and he could get some much-needed rest without the interruptions that happened all too often in the hospital.

"So what's the verdict?" Cat asked, dropping into the chair beside Matt's bed. Despite the numbing effects of the medication, his body twitched as if it were being held over an open flame.

"The bullets tested positive for vampire poison," Komazzi explained. He turned on the computer monitor beside the bed. "He's got a very high fever...it's the kind that's deadly for an ordinary person. The poison wiped out the vampire cells in his blood, and his weakened immune system can't fight off germs."

Bane followed his gaze to the information on the screen. His eyes darkened when realization sunk in that he was looking at lab results updated in real time. "When did you put a new tracking device in Matt?"

"About six months ago," Komazzi admitted quietly. "Matt was fighting me about going in for routine blood work. The trials for the implant were finished and he wanted one, so I thought it was a good compromise." To be honest, Komazzi felt more comfortable with the chip in place, because it enabled him to keep track of Matt's progress more often than every six months.

"You knew what would happen if the organization got ahold of Matt, yet you allowed him to make that decision?" Bane reached for the knife that hung off his belt. He approached the bed, eyes roaming over Matt for any tiny implant scar. "Where did you inject it? I'm going to fucking cut it out right now."

"Bane, stop!" Cat hissed, forcing the man to lower his arm. "Matt isn't a child, and he should have a say in what goes on with his life. Besides, I'm sure Komazzi made sure the implant was encrypted."

"I did," Komazzi said defensively. He glanced up to see Danny standing at the window with his face pressed up against the glass. Komazzi scowled and jerked the blinds shut. He knew what this was about, Bane was still pissed at him for Jessica getting loose. But they didn't have time to argue. "We have bigger things to worry about—the T.V is out of remission."

"What?" Bane growled. His hand tightened around the knife and he looked at the computer again. He used the touchscreen to bring up a 3D render of Matt's blood. Hundreds of viral cells were spreading through his bloodstream like wildfire. "Son of a bitch!"

"If we don't start treatment soon, we're going to lose him," Komazzi insisted.

"Then you know why that implant has to come out. We can't risk it being hacked. We have no idea who else is involved with the organization, and if they find out Matt is sick, they will amp up their efforts to take him," Bane snarled, locating the telltale scar on the inside of Matt's upper arm. "If you don't want to watch, you can wait outside." He sliced through the skin on Matt's arm, and at the first drop of blood Komazzi backed out of the room to go find Mordecai.

******
Pamela Witherspoon may have been the third-born quint, but everyone knew she was her father's favorite. She had graduated from Shire Bottom Academy at the top of her class and earned a nursing degree at the Community College, something none of her other siblings had accomplished.

She'd had every intention of working alongside her father at the hospital until Komazzi approached her about a job at Crimson Inc.
Five years later, Pamela didn't regret not pursuing a nursing career. She worked in the Development Lab of the medical device division. The skills she learned at college were just as useful to her as a lab technician, and there was never a dull moment. Like when that idiot Jesse Foster passed out cold a few weeks ago.

But right now, she was sitting at home, bored out of her mind on Wednesday afternoon because the company had been closed for the last two days. She practically jumped for joy when her cellphone rang in the middle of watching a stupid reality show on television with her sister Polly. It was Komazzi calling!

Her excitement vanished when she heard the reason why.

"Mom, I'm headed back to the office, I'll probably be gone for a while," Pamela said, walking past the kitchen where her mother was attempting to bake a cake. She could already smell something burning in the oven.

Pamela ran outside to her car and pulled out of the driveway so fast her tires squealed. She must have broken every speed limit in town because after she picked Rory up from the hospital at Komazzi's request, she arrived at Crimson Inc. in less than twenty minutes. The first thing Komazzi had instructed her to do was retrieve the antidote from Lab 6 and then go straight to the medical wing.

"What's with the bandage?" Pamela asked as soon as she walked through the door, her eyes drawn to the gauze taped around Matt's upper arm.

"Bane found out about the implant," Komazzi muttered. He was grateful when Bane finally left to do some more investigating because his patience was starting to wear thin with the demon. Bane never understood why he cared so much about Matt. Komazzi chalked it up to Bane's lack of emotions, but sometimes he treated Matt more like property than an actual human being.

"That sucks, does he know I was the one who put it in?" Pamela questioned nervously, hooking the bag of antidote onto a metal pole beside the bed. It hadn't occurred to her that they even needed Bane's permission to do it.

"I told him it was me," Komazzi insisted. He watched as Pamela tied a rubber band around Matt's forearm. She lifted his hand off the bed and attempted to insert the IV. She cursed under her breath and stuck him again, trying to find a good vein. He noticed her hands were shaking. "What's wrong?"

Pamela swallowed against the lump forming in her throat. "His veins are shot," she said tearfully, knowing Bane would probably kill her if this didn't work. They couldn't even start the antivirals until the toxins were flushed out of his system.

"It's because of the poison. Just take your time," Komazzi said. He was afraid this would happen, vampire poison burns like liquid fire. But once they got the antidote in him his veins would recover.

Pamela breathed a sigh of relief as she got the needle in, and they watched the antidote snake down the tube into his hand.

******
Rory gazed out the window at the pine trees as they swayed in the wind. Her phone buzzed with messages that went unanswered, dozens of texts from Allie and her parents, emails from Nellie, and voicemails from Rose. Bane had strictly forbid her from contacting anyone. She felt like a prisoner here, sealed off from the rest of the world, alone in her terror while her boyfriend was clinging to life.

Cat dropped by whenever she could, and for that Rory was grateful. The days and nights flowed together. Komazzi and Pam were here around the clock, the hours punctuated by their changing shifts. Rory wasn't even able to go inside Matt's room; she could only look through the window. Every day she pressed her hand against the cool glass, and a few times he opened his eyes and stared right at her. She took that as a good sign.

Suddenly, a commotion down the hall interrupted her train of thought.

Komazzi entered the room, dragging Edwin Harker by the arm. He stopped in front of Matt's room and grabbed a handful of Edwin's hair, smashing his face up against the glass. Rory heard a crack as Edwin's nose broke. "Look at him!" Komazzi shouted, and Edwin let out a wail of pain. Blood and snot smeared on the clear glass.

Edwin averted his eyes, but Komazzi roughly jerked his head up. He had no choice but to look at Matt, lying motionless on the bed with tubes and wires running out of him. "Komazzi, I...I didn't mean for this to happen," Edwin sobbed. "I thought they only wanted b-blood."

"You have no idea the hell you've put me through," Komazzi hissed. He had barely slept, watching the person he tried so hard to keep alive these past eleven years rapidly deteriorate. It was a nightmare, and he couldn't just snap his fingers and make it go away. "But if you ever pull this shit again, you're going to find out what hell is like because I won't hesitate to kill you next time."

"I'm sorry," Edwin whimpered. Komazzi glanced down and saw urine leaking down Edwin's leg onto the white tile floor.

"Sorry doesn't fix this," Komazzi said bitterly. It took every ounce of willpower for him not to murder Edwin on the spot; he was a gullible fool to believe the organization's lies. "You're officially demoted. Icelene will have a new assignment for you in the morning. Now get the fuck out of my sight."

Edwin staggered out of the room, nearly bumping into Cat on his way out the door.

"Well, that was interesting." Cat laughed. Komazzi said nothing, and Rory pretended to be engrossed in writing an article on her iPad. But secretly, she was happy to see Edwin suffer. He deserved everything he got.