One of the men in the warehouse yelled, “Hey boss! We’ve got a package that’s buzzing.”

The man’s words played slowly in Nate’s mind.

Oh no.

Nate hung up and sprinted to the man who’d just yelled. “Which package?”

The mail processor pointed at a small Priority Mail shipping box. It was addressed to Tops Pharmacy in Hamlin, New York.

With a bad feeling, Nate hit redial on his phone.

The box immediately began to vibrate.

“Son of a bitch!” Nate grabbed the box from the processing line.

“You’re not allowed to open that without a subpoena!” the boss yelled, rushing toward them.

Alex showed the manager a photocopy of the court order while Nate ripped open the box.

Gritting his teeth, Nate peered into the box and spied a smartphone.

They’d been had.

###

Dr. Al-Siddiqui entered the examination room and gave Kathy a friendly smile. “Good afternoon, Miss O’Reilly. I hope you had a good winter break.”

Kathy shrugged. “It was certainly an eventful one.” That was an understatement.

The doctor opened her chart. “Let’s see, we’re following up on your fatigue and anemia, is that correct?”

“Yes, but…” The truth was, Kathy felt great. No fatigue at all. She’d considered canceling the follow-up appointment, but felt like she should check in just to be sure. “I actually feel fine. No fatigue at all.”

“Well, that’s fantastic.” Dr. Al-Siddiqui pulled down the wall-mounted otoscope. “Let’s just do a basic exam and get you on your way.”

The doctor checked her ears, listened to her breathing, shone a light in her eyes, took her blood pressure, and measured her temperature.

“Your temperature is 100.2,” he said. “You don’t feel any symptoms of a slight fever?”

“Really? No, I feel really good. Better than I’ve felt in months.”

“Well, it’s not so high that I’m particularly concerned.” He flipped a page in her chart. “Seems like you were running a low-grade fever last time you were here as well. Perhaps you just have a high baseline temperature. Some people do.” He scribbled something in her chart, then looked up. “Well, everything looks fine, so if you’re feeling great, then I recommend you just keep doing whatever you’re doing.”

As Kathy left the clinic, she realized he was right—she must be doing something correctly, because she’d never felt such a satisfying energy coursing through her limbs. She felt like… like a new person.

She smiled and wondered if she’d brought any of her running gear to school.

###

The private jet accelerated down the runway, pressing Nate against his seat. Gripping the leather-wrapped armrests, he felt his insides shift as the jet climbed away from Dulles International Airport.

The speaker overhead crackled and the captain’s voice broadcast through the otherwise empty cabin.