Chains

Whit shows Tom Riley the plans for the new Whit's End in Connellsville. The proposed building resembles the original and would stand in a growing suburban neighborhood near homes, shops, churches, and Christian organizations. Tom sees the practical advantages, but he believes the young people in troubled Oswald Heights need a place like Whit's End far more. His concern gives Whit a new vision for the project.

Mary Hopkins strongly opposes moving the site. Oswald Heights has a dangerous reputation, and she doubts its residents could support a business. Whit agrees that the choice makes little business sense, yet he cannot forget that healthy people do not need a doctor. He wants Whit's End to reach children who have little opportunity to hear about Jesus. Mary warns that the board may reject the entire project, but Whit insists that they try.

At the original Whit's End, Connie pays more attention to an online conversation with Mitch than to Whit's concerns. Whit explains that the Connellsville project may require most of his time for several weeks, leaving Connie and Nick to manage in Odyssey while Eugene remains busy at the college. Connie promises she can handle the responsibility, though her divided attention does not reassure him.

Against Mary's expectations, the board unanimously approves the Oswald Heights location. News reports quickly reveal opposition within the neighborhood. The new building will replace an abandoned structure that local young people use as a hangout. Some adults also believe the city promised to turn that property into a community center years ago, and they resent another outside business taking it.

On demolition day, police remove protesters who have slipped through the fence. Just before the tractor strikes the building, Whit sees someone in a window and stops the operator. Inside, he finds Brianna, a cheerful young girl who has been playing with her dolls while waiting for her older brother. Her brother, Tony, told her he would return soon, but he has been gone for three days.

Whit brings Brianna outside just as Tony returns. Tony is furious to see the demolition begin because the abandoned structure has been their home. He refuses to answer questions about their parents and leads his sister away before the police can intervene. Though Mary assumes they will find somewhere else to sleep, Whit cannot dismiss what has happened so easily.

His concern begins affecting his other duties. Connie tells him that Whit's End has run short of supplies, Mary has repeatedly called, and he has missed a meeting. His cell phone is dead, and several important responsibilities are slipping through the cracks. Even so, Whit leaves again because he feels compelled to find Tony and Brianna.

A police officer explains that Tony leads a gang called the Brothers and has just spent several days in juvenile detention for robbing a grocery store. Tony and Brianna's parents are gone, and the children have moved through foster homes for years. Whenever authorities separated them, they ran away and reunited. Their legal guardian is an alcoholic cousin with whom they rarely stay. The officer directs Whit toward the Brothers' gathering place beneath a bridge but warns that the area is dangerous.

Whit pushes past the gang's threats and speaks with Tony. Demolition has destroyed Tony's guitar and a notebook filled with songs he wrote. Worse, Brianna has spent a cold night beneath the bridge and is now ill. Tony distrusts Whit's concern and says doctors do not care for people without money or insurance. When Whit discovers that Brianna is burning with fever, he insists on taking her to a doctor and paying the bill.

The doctor diagnoses a mild case of bacterial pneumonia. Brianna will recover with antibiotics, warmth, rest, and plenty of liquids, but she and Tony have no safe place to provide those things. Whit announces that both children will stay at his house until she is well.

Over dinner, Tony asks whether Whit is helping only because he feels guilty. He has seen people give food out of guilt and then return to comfortable lives once the feeling passes. Whit admits he is still trying to decide how to help beyond the next few days. Tony reveals that their parents died four years earlier and that the foster-care arrangements failed. Their cousin's alcoholism has left the children to care for themselves.

Tom arrives and recognizes Tony as a boy who once stayed at the Timothy Center. He is encouraged that Whit is already reaching one of the young people the new shop is meant to serve, though he cautions that Tony can be difficult. Tom also reports that Oswald Heights residents are holding a meeting to stop construction. Whit considers attending, but he doubts that words alone will overcome their opposition.

At the building site, the challenge grows worse. Vandals have cut through the fence and destroyed everything the contractor has completed. The workers will not return without more security, and the added cost threatens the whole venture. Certain that the neighborhood will keep fighting, Mary urges Whit to abandon Oswald Heights and move the project back to the suburbs.