We fade in to a a waiting room in a doctor’s office. We see sick, well, relatively sick and well people all sharing the same air. The same stale, sterile air that everyone in the building is breathing. It’s cold, but not cold enough to see your breath. 68 degrees Fahrenheit to be exact. We then see the familar face of one Karl “Klutch” Klutchinson. He coughs. Not the kind of cough to clear his throat, but the kind of cough that signals that time is of the essence. Almost as if that cough was a buzzer signaling a “two minute warning.”

The door leading to the doctor’s office opens. Nurse Joy opens the door and calls for a name.

Nurse Joy: Karl Klutchinson?

Klutch gets up, slowly. He walks over, and smiles at Nurse Joy.

Nurse Joy: How are you today, Karl?

Klutch: Alright, I guess.

Nurse Joy and Klutch go over the normal hospital visit stuff: birthday, weight, blood pressure. Nurse Joy directs Klutch into an examination room.

Nurse Joy: Ok, Karl, go ahead and have a seat here and Dr. Nguyen will be with you shortly.

Klutch: Thanks.

Nurse Joy smiles and leaves the room.

15 minuets later.

A gentle knock on the door. Enters Dr. Jim Nguyen. Holding a clipboard, he speaks without looking at Klutch.

Dr. Nguyen: Karl, how are we feeling today?

Klutch: Decent, actually.

Dr. Nguyen: Good to hear. Are we staying active as we can be?

Klutch: Yeah, as much as I can. Ten to fifteen minute walks is what I’ve been doing lately. Still having that shortness of breath.

Dr. Nguyen: Of course. Like I was saying in the last visit, it will take a while for lung function to come back to full capacity after quitting smoking, but we’re making great strides to getting that functionality back.

Klutch: I mean, I already feel like I can breath much better.

Dr. Nguyen: Good, and that’s the idea. Now, we did get the results back from the exam.

Klutch: Ok, lay it on me.

Dr. Nguyen: So the collaspe in the ring was a lot worse than we anticipated. Had you had these tests done sooner, as opposed to going to Texas, we would have caught this early. But, it’s progressed a bit farther than you may like.

Klutch: What do you mean “it”?

Dr. Nguyen: Karl, you have an aneurysm in your heart. It’s essentially like a bubble in your heart that can pop at any time. But we can monitor it, which is the good news. But, as far as sizes, that’s where our concerns are right now. A somewhat normal, liveable size is around one to two centimeters. Right now, yours it at a four and a half. Which, by the looks of things, if it pops, you’re not gonna make it.

Klutch: So...let’s operate on it.

Dr. Nguyen: Unfortunately, we can’t operate on it at this time. We would have to wait until it grows to a five and a half or six.

Klutch: So what you’re saying is...another heart attack and I’m done.

Dr. Nguyen: Yes. That’s kind of where we’re at. But, looking at the optmistic side, your lungs are getter better, you’re losing weight. It’s not all sour grapes. I’ll see you in a month, okay?

Klutch stands up and shakes Dr. Nguyen’s hand. He leaves the exam room.

Two hours later.

Klutch is leaving a VFW hall after a special appearance. He is walking his way towards his car when someone shouts at him.

???: Mr. Klutchinson!

Klutch tursn around to see a man in a suit. He takes off his fedora and begins to speak.

???: Excuse me, Mr. Klutchinson. A moment of your time.

Klutch: Sure...

Klutch reaches for his gun in his jacket pocket as the man continues.

???: My associates and I have been working on a new experimental treatment when it comes to heart diagnosises. You being a high profile case, we thought that you’d be the perfect candidate.

Klutch: How did you?...

???:* Know about your heart aneurysm? It’s my job to know. How I got the information, is not important. What is important, is that we can fix you.

Klutch: Fix me?

???: The details aren’t important right now. What is important, is that you know that there is an opportunity for you to turn the clock back. To cheat death. To...get a second chance.

A second chance. Those were the words that stung Klutch more than the heart aneurysm.

Klutch: How?

The man hands him a card with a phone number on it.

???: Call this number when you’re ready. Then we’ll tell you when and where.

The man walks away. Klutch stands there stunned. We fade to black.