The flight was uneventful, with the exception of some minor turbulence the flight was relatively calm. Kate and Flynn decided to go check out the woman in the tabloid that had allegedly been raped by the man with no sperm. September, Newt and Sharlyn went to interview Dr. Quinones.

[Dadeland Memorial -- 3:18PM]

>>"All I can tell you is that we did a thorough examination of the young woman. She was not pregnant prior to the rape. And she had not had a period following the rape. All indications point to the fact that the rapist is the father of her child." Dr. Quinones told them.

"Except that the rapist was sterile . . I mean . ." Newt corrected himself quickly, before one of his team mates could, "That there was no sperm found in the ejaculate, leading one to believe he was most likely sterile." He looked at the others who nodded at his correction."

The doctor nodded as well, "Yes, except for that fact."

"How do we know the young woman in question wasn't sexually active?"

"Well to be honest, before the rape, we don't know. But after .. well have any of you ever been raped? Believe me running out and jumping into bed with some else is not a common reaction."

"But it's possible?"

The Doctor shook her head, "I know the young woman in question, and no, I do not think it's possible."<<

September quickly went over the facts in her mind. Something was being missed. It was staring her right in the face, but she couldn't figure it out just yet.

"Dr. Quinones, is there a medical definition for an ejaculation without sperm?" September asked curious if there even was an explanation.

"It's a condition called azoospermia."

"Azoospermia?", Sharlyn asked.

"Is it a common condition among men?", September asked wondering just how many men were afflicted with this condition.

"It's a rare disorder that usually occurs in men that have had some sort of chemotherapy or radiation treatment for a maligancy. But, I've never heard of any of these men getting a woman pregnant. If that was possible, there would be a rash of pregnancies."

"Do you have any written documentation on this condition?"

"No, but if you have internet access, you can probably find a lot of information on it."

"Thank you Dr. Quinones, will you be available if we need to reach you."

"Sure, just page me."

"Oh, one more thing. Would it be possible to get a copy of the lab reports of the latest victim and a victim that has already delivered a baby?"

"Sure, what are you looking for?"

"I'm not sure yet. I would appreciate it if you could fax it as soon as possible to the local FBI office to the attention of Special Agent Kate Calloway."

"Ok, I'll fax it after my conference."

[En Route to Local FBI Office -- 4:10PM]

September, Sharlyn and Newt left Dadeland Memorial and headed back toward the FBI's local office. Newt drove.

"So we're back to where we were before . . . nowhere.", Sharlyn said, tired and frustrated.

"Dr. Quninones did mention that azoospermia condition. That's worth looking into", Newt added.

"She also mentioned that it usually occurs in men that had chemo or radiation treatment for a malignancy. Maybe this guy has a terminal illness." September said from the backseat . "But, it still doesn't explain the pregnancies. I hope there's a computer that I use back at the local office. I want to do some research on this disease. Maybe there's something in there that we can use.

"101 things you didn't know about sperm", Newt added with a chuckle.

Sharlyn turned around and looked at September in the backseat, shook her head and started to laugh. "I think we're going to learn a lot more about sperm than we ever imagined", Sharlyn said smiling.

[Miami Field Office 4:45PM]

>>Newt, Sharlyn and September came in a moment later.<<

September, Newt and Sharlyn entered the office, detecting the hostile atmosphere. They had no idea what had just transpired, but decided not to ask.

"So, how'd it go with Dr. Quinones?", Kate asked, face flushed.

"We may have a lead. I would like to do some quick research. Is there a computer with internet access that I can use?"

"You can use that one", Kate said pointing at the computer on one of the desks in the corner.

"Dr. Quinones didn't have much to tell us, but she mentioned a condition called azoospermia, where the presence of sperm is absence in an ejaculation. She also mentioned that only a small amount of men have this condition and most of them develop it from chemotherapy or radiation treatments due to a malignancy", Sharlyn interjected, still standing in the doorway of the office.

"Hmm . . . that's interesting", Flynn said.

"How did your interview go with with the woman in the tabloid?, September asked Kate as she made her way around the desk.

"It was interesting. We got some information that may be useful in the investigation. I think we finally got a starting point in this case."

Kate gave the group a run down of their interview with the elderly woman and Newt informed them of their conversation with Dr. Quinones, while September pecked away at the computer keyboard.

"Well, there's not much here. It seems like men with this condition cannot get a woman pregnant. It's impossible."

The group walked over to the computer, and looked over September's shoulder at the pink and white computer screen of a medical website with navy letters that spelled out:

CAUSES AND ABNORMALITIES IN SPERM

as September began to read aloud.

"It looks like tumors can cause this from excess prolactin or growth hormone, pituitary damage, hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism. Also, something called hemochromatosis . . . an excess of iron that overloads the pituitary gland. That's it but all of these conditions are related to infertility not fertility."

Paul Moran listened on as the group began to discuss ways that this information might be the slightest bit relevant to the case.

"Well, now that we've all had our medical lesson for the day, how does this have anything to do with this investigation?", Paul Moran said walking over to the group, placing both hands in his pants' pockets.

"It may be indirectly related to the case, sir", September said, tired and not in the mood for an argument, that she was in no position to win.

"In what way?", Moran remarked, his authority present in his voice.

"I'm not sure yet. This guy may have some mutant form of this disease. Maybe his strain of azoospermia causes the opposite to occur, fertility instead of infertility. I'm waiting for Dr. Quinones to fax over the lab reports of two of the victims, the latest victim and one that recently delivered a baby".

"I'm going to put an APB out on the picture that Ms. Lewandowski gave us of her son. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll turn up."

"I thought she said he was dead", Flynn turned, looking at Kate.

"She did", Kate said.


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