April 20th, 11:00 a.m. The Upper West Side, New York City

This chapter is dedicated to wattpadder Jarrel Lewis, who was the third person to read through my story.

The outstretched fingers of morning sunlight through the blinds illuminated her weathered face. Aroused from her not-so-sound sleep, Kate raised them all the way, allowing the sunlight to flood the apartment. The overcast that had cloaked the City had lifted. In the light, her weight loss definitely showed. She had scratched the crooks of her elbows and knees raw during the night. Her nails looked ragged. She hadn't eaten anything with real nutritional value in weeks. Her face had that unmistakable emaciated look to it, cheek bones poking out through her skin. Why drink coffee when I can snort cocaine instead? And she did just that; two deliberate snorts, one up each nostril.

Her physical condition notwithstanding, Kate took the time to stretch. She allowed herself to enjoy the respite away from Vanessa and the time to pursue her new project that was Eric Stone. Didn't a knight in shining armor actually rescue me last night? She decided to find out, leaving the Vanessa issue by the wayside for the time being. She took a pleasant stroll to the gym, with no intention whatsoever of working out.

She wasn't disappointed. Walking in, she spotted Eric instantly. He was spotting a balding, middle aged man with a barbell, helping him with reps. She found herself staring at him again, caught herself and charged ahead as she walked up to him. "Hey, stranger," she said.

"Just a sec'." He excused himself from his portly client. "Well, don't you look as pretty as a peach today," he said, charmed by her beaming smile.

"Hey, you said if I wanted something more from you, I should stop by...and you never gave me your number."

He led her to the door to the stairwell.

"I didn't think you'd stop in so soon. That's all. I'll give you my number then. How's that?" he said with a reassuring wink.

"Hey, I like you and I want to know if what you have is real."

"Sure. I can arrange something tonight. Ever been to the Dance Factory?"

"It's on my to-do list."

"I can meet you in front of the club, or...?"

"You know where I live," she said, sparing him the discomfort of having to ask.

"Sounds good. I'll be by around 9. Just remember to bring cash."

"Just remember to bring cash," he instructed before leaving her to wonder whether he was really into her or not.

* * *

Some like to build model airplanes or do needlepoint but Kate liked doing science experiments to pass the time by preparing cool chemical reactions of the kind that high school science nerds would die for.

When she let Danny in, she hadn't even bothered to get ready for her 'night out', playing the familiar role of absentminded professor.

"Sorry, Eric. I was working on something in the kitchen. I still gotta change. Feel free," she said, motioning to the sofa, unaccustomed as she was at being an ever-so-gracious hostess. "I'd offer you something, but...here," she said, tossing a bag of gummy bears at him before she walked into her bedroom.

Danny's detailed dossier on her described her continuous drug use through college, finding friends who perpetuated her habit but eventually, her habit escalated to such a level that it drove them away while they matured and settled into high profile jobs. The constant search for the next high and subsequent low exceeded her desire to maintain meaningful friendships. They saw what heroin was doing to her but no one had been willing to pull her out of the abyss.

Kate left him alone to breathe in the burnt metal and tobacco aroma amongst the collection of take-out containers at his feet. She emerged from the bedroom wearing a clubbing outfit consisting of one black Ali Ro stretch jersey, a long sleeve drape dress and a pair of black Tory Burch ballet flats. Her recent, dramatic weight loss made the dress look billowy on her, yet still attractive. Her pale skin was in stark contrast to her black dress, shoes and glasses.

"Been working hard?" he asked, glancing over toward the kitchen as she came out.

"Oh, sorry. Yeah. Wanna see?"

When Danny saw her set-up out in the open, it confirmed she was the type of person who went all out.

The set up on the kitchen table consisted of a lone heating pad with a beaker held up on a base. Inside the beaker were fine crystals.

"What is that?"

"Just watch," she said, turning up the heat of the pad. When the crystals turned to liquid and started to boil, she grabbed a few gummy bears from an open bag on the table and dropped them in. A fiery light shot upward.

"Whoa."

"Cool, right? That is if you ever want to impress your friends."

"Nerd alert. Nerd alert," he said with a tightened throat, his half clenched fist covering his mouth as a makeshift megaphone.

"Shut up! It's heated potassium chlorate with added sugar, you jerk! A redux reaction."

"A what?" he asked, like a dumbfounded muscle head.

"A redux--just forget it and let's go," she said. "Lesson's over."

She'd just made it known she would run the show tonight.

* * *

Dance Factory was one of a hand full of hot dance clubs on the West Side on 27th Street. From the entrance, Kate and Danny could feel the vibrations of the thumping bass from the floor as it shook the sidewalks. Danny paid Kate's cover as they walked through the strobe-lighted dance floor, packed with twenty-somethings. He held Kate's hand to guide her through the crowd on the main floor to the rear of the building. They took the stairs down to the basement level restrooms.

"I gotta pee," she said.

Before he knew it, Kate came out more alert than he had seen her. A dimly lit narrow hallway led past the men's room to an exit door that opened to a brightly lit alleyway below street level. Three other couples were present, one of them in mid-embrace, the other two sets exchanging drags. No one paid attention to them as they continued downward.

At the bottom of the stairwell, Shannon, a towering broad shouldered CIA agent with short blond hair was waiting.

"This is her?" Shannon muttered.

Danny nodded.

"I think you're gonna' like this. It's up-market, very pure."

Shannon palmed a glass vial of the heroin into Danny's hand. He looked at it up close and nodded to Kate. "It's real," he said."

Kate reached down, removed her left shoe and withdrew a wad of cash.

After counting it, Shannon grabbed it unceremoniously and jogged up the stairwell without another word.

Danny reached into his left pant pocket and pulled out a glass vial filed with water that Joanne had given him. "Me first," he said, emptying its contents into a syringe, quickly tossing the plastic vial to the ground. He injected himself with the inactive solution, quickly grabbing another vial from his right pant pocket and filling it about half way.

Danny saw that that ruffled her feathers, as intended.

"Hey, mister, I want my fair share! I paid for it!" she shouted.

"Sure and you're also about eighty pounds lighter than I am."

"Fuck you!" she snarled. She grabbed the syringe and vial away from him and pulled the plunger all the way out. "I'm a chemist. I know what I can handle," she proclaimed, sounding like the spoiled brat that she was.

"No." Danny knew he should have stopped her but thought about how blowing his cover here could jeopardize the grand plan. It was too late.

After Kate emptied the brew into her bloated veins, she tossed the syringe and vial to the floor.

He saw Kate smile with euphoric glee like a proud daredevil who'd just survived a death defying leap. When the concoction that should have calmed her down didn't, he grew alarmed and knew something was off.

"Let's go!" Kate yelled, grabbing his hand and leading him out of the stairwell out onto the main dance floor with the music still pounding while strobe lights manically flashed. Kate hit the floor and started dancing in contorted gyrations while laughing like a deranged hyena. She was oblivious to him and everyone one else in the world.

"Whoo-hoo! I wanna' dance all night!" she yelled through the noise. She grabbed his arms and tried to twirl him around with reckless abandon. Danny played along reluctantly.

"Take it easy!" he shouted. "I'm not gonna take it easy! I'm floating on air!"

Then Kate's energy appeared to plateau as she stopped in her tracks. Her pupils rolled upward to the back of her head. Multicolored flashing lights swirled around them as her breathing faltered. She went limp.

"Kate!" he said, catching her mid-fall. She had lost consciousness. Danny lowered her to the floor flat on her back.

He fell to his knees and shook Kate's diminutive body in desperation. "Please stay with me, Kate, stay with me!" No chest movement told him her breathing had stopped. When an intermittent strobe shined onto her face, that's when Danny spotted the white residue in both of her nostrils.

Oh, God.

He couldn't believe he'd missed it. She'd obviously snorted in the ladies room before the injection.

A club bouncer appeared and knelt down next to Danny. "What happened? He shouted amidst the din. What's wrong with her?"

"Don't know. Too much to drink," Danny lied, hoping he could somehow carry her out without creating more of a scene.

Fortunately for Kate, this particular bouncer was a registered nurse by day. When he pulled out his pen-sized flashlight, he too noticed the residue, shook his head and then lifted an eyelid to find dilated pupils no larger than pin pricks. Moving quickly, he grabbed firm hold of the cuff on her right sleeve and ripped it apart lengthwise upwards past the elbow. He saw the long dark tracks that stretched from elbows to wrists. "Oh, Shit!" He turned to Danny and said, "Dude, you better call 911, now!"

We have now reached the end of Part 1 in this four part story. Where do you think it will go from here?

Copyright © 2016 by Alan Field. All Rights Reserved.