Since Cap’s ordeal began, the proprietor of the Stick and Move Gym had gone from a cruiserweight, just below the unlimited heavyweight rank, down close to a light heavyweight, and his wonderfully handsome face showed it. But as his eyes fluttered open, there was no mistaking the spirit in them.

No surprise.

“Hey, buddy,” Cap said, grunting as he reached for the adjustable bed controls.

As always since the infection began, Lou cringed. Watching his boxing coach and best friend struggle with even small movements was heartbreaking. Cap pushed a button and a motor whined as it elevated the bed to an angle more comfortable for him, although comfort, with his leg in a frame and up on pulleys, was certainly a relative term.

Cap gestured toward Vaill but was too weak to shake hands. Lou noted the flush in the agent’s cheeks and sensed he hadn’t given the man vivid enough preparation—probably by not accounting enough for the changes they were seeing in Cap’s condition.

“Looking pretty good,” Lou managed.

“Don’t bullshit me, Welcome,” Cap replied before being cut short by a brief coughing spasm. “Why don’t you just sell me some swampland in Florida. There’s a mirror in my tray table, remember. I look like crap and we both know it. They’ve even decided I’m too dangerous to take me for any more hyperbaric treatments.”

“You always did have a lousy self-image, my man. More meetings. That’s what you need. Cap, meet Tim Vaill from the FBI. He arrested me yesterday afternoon for obstructing justice, threw me in jail, and then changed his mind this morning about exactly what justice was.”

The two men greeted each other with their eyes and a nod.

“You don’t want to shake hands with me, even with those rubber gloves on,” Cap said. “According to Dr. Puchalsky, my charming mortician-turned-infectious-disease-specialist, this bug inside me has mutated again. He’s a specialist in infections you get from just being in a hospital. Believe it or not, there’s actually a name for that. I’m not a big fan of people who are full of themselves, even when they’re smart.”

“I have exactly the same take on him. Holier than thou doesn’t even cover it.”

“He thinks I might have to be moved to some kind of special facility in Wyoming or Nebraska or one of those other states that are all corners, in order to get me even more isolated than I already am. He said it to me like he was announcing what dietary was going to give me for dessert.”

“Great image of the man. I got it.”

“Believe it or not, when all this started, he actually asked me what kind of insurance I had, so he could find out if I was covered for certain experimental antibiotics.”