Jax runs until the pain from his feet registers in his brain. Gasping for air as his mind races, he sits on the steps of a nearby building and tries to catch his breath. The sound of the monorail floods his ears and he covers his ears as the unwelcome sound and vibrations course through his body. A person leans forward, a woman. Jax watches her mouth moving, but it is just a noisy chatter. He stands up and tries to walk but ends up stumbling and leans against a building. Gasping for air, his lungs fill with the suffocating street smells. He looks down at the street in time to see the glow of the sun reflecting off of a car's metallic surface. The reflection curses him with a temporary but terrifying blindness. He slides to the ground unable to continue until he can regain some control of his senses. He closes his eyes, unable to resist, and withdraws into the madness of his mind.  

***

Jax opens his eyes to the small weak glow of a lamp. He panics, as he doesn’t know where he is. There is sweat collected on his brow and his clothes are soaked. He stands up and looks around. His phone vibrates and he wrestles it from his pocket. He has missed a ton of calls and texts from Bren and Fuchsia. As he scrolls through a couple he remembers what happened earlier today. He must have fallen asleep against the wall but where is he now? The sound of a door opening and a waft of sweat and alcohol brings him back to reality. His heart begins to beat fast as he is afraid to see who is on the other side. As his eyes begin to adjust to the darkness and he starts to recognize his surroundings. He wonders how it could have gotten this much worse. Lance, his Blue Cryo supplier, stumbles through the door drunk, which makes the situation even more uncomfortable. Lance lays a hand on Jax's back and says, “Oh good, you're awake! Just in time for you to do a job for me.” Jax cringes at his touch. 

Jax responds, “What makes you think I’m doing a job for you!” 

 “I drug your sorry screaming ass from the streets back here after one of my runners came and told me some crazy story. They said some kid with silver and white hair was tripping the fuck out and scaring people. I knew it must be you. I'm surprised you hadn't been picked up by the cops yet.” he says with a wicked smile. 

Jax stares at Lance, no words could come out. He knows he has messed up by leaving his apartment in his condition, his head is a mess and he doesn't know what else to do. Now he is in a worse situation than he was in before.  

Jax bites his lip and says “I don’t have any Blue Cryo. If I’m going to do this job you will have to give me an advance on my pills."  

Lance laughed and mumbles, “Sure!” He throws open a cabinet and opens a lock box. He grabs a bottle out and throws it at Jax. Jax grabs it just before it hits the floor. 

Rotating the bottle in his hands, a nervous sweat forms between the slick bottle and his hands. “What and where is the job?” he asks.  

Lance chuckles as he sits down and takes out an envelope. He says “Aww, relax, this is like old times. You do as I say and everything will be just fine!” 

Jax knows he isn’t going to like this as he sits back down and listens to Lance.  

He knows this job is going to be dangerous, that is why Lance has given it to him. He also knows he can’t say, No. There is nowhere else to get Blue Cryo from and now he has the fact that Lance has saved him to add to the list.  

He wonders if he calls Bren and Fuchsia if they could help him get out of this mess. But how can he do that after he walked out? Especially when he left with Fuchsia crying. He starts to feel even more sick as that begins to register. He really feels horrible now!  

He walks to the bathroom and opens the bottle and shakes several pills out in his hand. He stares at them wanting to take them all so he can forget this mess that he has gotten himself into. But he knows if he does that, he won’t be making it out of here alive.   He shakes all but one pill back into the bottle and takes it to ease his hyperesthesia and allow him to function. He then texts Bren and Fuchsia and tells them he is sorry and that he will call them tomorrow.  

He tucks the envelope into his pocket and picks up the locked metal case that he was told to deliver and steps out of the building only to be hit with a wave of nausea. The night air is warm and a light drizzle has begun. The darkness barely illuminated by the amber lights causes him to feel uneasy, but it doesn’t matter he has to do this. All he can think about is getting back to Fuchsia, Bren, and Sina. 

The area that he is headed requires that he get a ride to a different area of the city. It is close to Nova North Hospital, a place he has not been since he was released from their care. It makes him nervous to be so close to it, especially after what he has heard from Fuchsia this morning. He motions for a taxi and crawls in. He gives the car directions and leans back and closes his eyes. It takes longer than he thought it would and he has almost fallen asleep when the taxi comes to a stop. He pays the fare with the money Lance had given him. He slides off the seat and onto the sidewalk and finds a bench to sit on to look at the directions inside the crumpled envelope. It doesn’t take long to find the place, but he hesitates approaching the building. There are several groups of men smoking outside the building and they don’t look nice. Taking a breath to steady himself, he walks straight to the door, knocking twice. A man opens the door and asks what business he has. He tells the man he is making a delivery for Lance. The man nods and walks him into a room with chairs and a large table. The man tells him that Mr. Creso will be with him in a minute.” 

Jax fidgets uncontrollably as he waits for Mr. Creso to arrive. His back is to the door when he hears a deep voice say “Please have a seat”.  

This voice makes Jax freeze and hold his breath. His heart feels like it will explode out of his chest as he feels a hand grab the back of his neck squeezing ever so slightly.  

“I almost didn’t recognize you, Liam.”