Sitting in the driver’s seat of his Impala, Tim was still trying to recover from the shock of the imminent shutdown of the facility. Feeling guilty over the fact that their date had cost Josephine her job, he was desperate to help her out. It occurred to him that he would very soon have to deal with a number of questions that would put him in an impossible position, but he had already made up his mind. He would be honest with her. Lying to Josephine could destroy the single relationship in his life that he thought was worth fighting for and he was not going to make such a mistake.

Still, even in this dire situation, he had something to smile about. She had not reacted at all, when he informed her of the reason why Laura stopped funding her research. To him, this was a clear sign that she had not regretted going out with him. It also proved that she meant what she said the night before, when she spoke of living a normal life.

“Alright,” Josephine said with a sigh, opening the passenger door, as he started the engine. “Dr. Silver will contact me with the details. I also told my colleagues that they can take a rest. Why are we going to New York, Tim?”

“I’m meeting someone there tonight.” He murmured, driving off. “He’s an old friend of mine.”

“He’s not by any chance a millionaire, is he?” She inquired with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

“He’s a burglar, just like me.” He groaned. “He’s a hacker; he knows his way around alarm systems. He also knows the guy who killed Jitter.”

“Ok, stop the car,” Josephine asked urgently, her voice riddled with panic. Tim then took his foot off the gas and eased on the brakes, bringing his car to a halt on the right side of the road outside the compound. “What did you just say?”

“You heard me,” Tim declared, turning his head to the right to face her. “I want to help you out, Joey.”

“By committing a crime?” she wondered, her voice high-pitched as she opened her eyes wide. “What about your parole? You could go to jail for that! And…” She faltered, leaning over him. “Paul’s killer? Who is he? What do you know about him?”

“He’s a hitman,” he responded sharply. “His name doesn’t matter. It’s the guy who hired him I’m worried about. He’s going to help me find him. Losing your job was my fault. I need to do something.”

“No, it wasn’t,” she whispered. “I chose to go out with you. Ok, she found out about us a little too soon, but she would have found out eventually. I refuse to live in fear because of some spoiled rich girl.”

“Thank you,” He said in a low and tranquil voice, as he smiled down at her. “That’s a great thing to say. But I’m still doing this. I have no other way of helping you.”

“You would do that?” She looked at him in wonder, her lips shaking as she gazed deep into his eyes. Finally she was able to form the words, “For me?”

Tim merely nodded, sucking in yet another deep breath. Josephine squeezed her eyes shut, circling her thin arms around his neck. She put her head on his shoulder, pulling him closer for a side hug, as he wrapped his right arm around her back.

“Hey…” Tim whispered, “It’s no big deal. Why not do it for a good cause, right?”

“It’s a huge deal.” Josephine leaned back and corrected him. “It’s the best thing anybody’s ever done for me.”

Her words brought a bitter smile to his face. Tim averted his gaze from her and looked at the snowy road up ahead, biting his lower lip.

“There’s something else you don’t know about me.” He spoke, attempting to banish the sadness that turned his voice into a low, trembling whisper. “I’m an orphan; I don’t even remember my real parents. They got killed in a plane crash when I was six. But I do remember my grandparents; my mom’s parents. The court deemed them unfit to raise me and my sister. My grandmother was unstable. She spent most of her life in mental institutes. They found her hanging by a rope, back in 2004. My grandpa was a nice guy. He was a drunk, but he was cool. He loved her a lot. About ten years ago, he began suffering from Alzheimer’s. All he did near the end, was ask why she wasn’t at home. Every time I said she was dead, I saw him take that loss like a car wreck.”

“Oh, my God…” Josephine whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“Joey…” He spoke in a much clearer voice, once more turning to her. “Don’t be sorry. Just find that damn cure.”

“We had a breakthrough, two days ago.” Josephine informed. “I can’t get into details; I’d show you more if we were in my lab, but we managed to reactivate inactive brain neurons. It lasted about thirty seconds. I guess it’s a start.”

“Good job.” Tim gave an appraising nod. “Is that why you guys were cheering?”

“Yeah,” Josephine snorted. “It’s the closest thing we have to a cure. It’s going to take some time, but I think we are on the right track.”

“Well, you’d better be.” He laughed. “Can we go to New York now? I forgot to mention that my sister Caitlin lives there.”

“Great!” She chirped. “I’d love to meet her. Big Apple, here we come.”