Stein lunged with lightning-fast reflexes and caught Birkin's hand, bringing it up to shackle it next to the first. "Spirit is mine," he said idly. "And you and Vanessa aren't going anywhere, either. You understand why I'm doing this, Birkin. I know you're scared, but you just aren't used to the roles being reversed."

He smiled, then, and patted Birkin's cheek.

"Of course, silly," he said, as if it were obvious. He slipped a hand into his own pocket and pulled out a capped syringe. "I have the dosage all prepared."

And he bent down to give his friend another kiss. To make him feel better as he injected the anaesthetic into his arm and numbness flooded through Birkin's torso, leaving him awake and alert, but paralyzed from the neck down to his waist.