Disclaimer: I don't own Jim, Artie the President etc etc someone else does. I do own the original characters like the doctors and Danielle.

Thanks Cal Gal for you help keep on dreaming and letting me play with them!

THE NIGHT OF THE WHISKEY RING

He slowly swam toward awareness, but oh how he wanted to stay where he was! The closer to consciousness he drew the more acute the pain became. His head felt like it was in a vice grip being steadily tightened. He tried to force his eyes to open and was met by a myriad of color and blinding light. He blinked rapidly and tried to look around. Nothing came clearly into focus, he could make out blurry shapes and colors but that was about all.

"Welcome back," a fuzzy shape loomed in front of him.

"What…what happened?"

"Let's start with something easy. Do you remember who you are?"

"Yeah…I'm…Artemus…Artemus Gordon. What happened?" Artie looked at the man confused.

"Don't you remember?"

"N…no," Artie was becoming increasingly agitated.

It's okay, Mr. Gordon, calm down. You're doing fine. You were in an explosion. Do you remember that?"

"The last thing I remember is…" Artie strained his brain trying to remember…well, anything.

"Don't force it, Mr. Gordon, let it come on it's own," the voice spoke softly.

"I remember being in a room…with a big table in the center."

"Who is seated at the table?"

"I don't…Jim? Ahhh…" Artie grabbed his head and screamed in pain.

"Nurse, give him 5cc's of morphine. He's not ready yet."

WWWWWWWWWW

"Come on, Jim…you've got to eat. This won't help Artemus," Jeremy pushed the plate of food toward the sullen agent.

"I'm not hungry, Jeremy. How can I even think about eating when Artie's out there somewhere hurt…"Jim slammed his eyes shut trying to block out the images.

"I know, Jim. But you're driving yourself into the ground. You won't do Artemus any good if you collapse," Jeremy tried again to get him to eat.

"Yeah, I know you're right. I'm just so frustrated! It's been three days and we don't have one singe lead!" Jim pushed the food around his plate, picking at it, eating some but very little.

"I may be able to help with that, James. I'll be right back," Jeremy put his napkin beside his plate and left the table.

Jim watched Jeremy walk over to a crudely dressed man, holding his tattered hat in his hands. He watched with interest as the men talked at length. He removed something from inside his coat and handed it to Jeremy. Jim almost vaulted out of his seat…the man had Artie's hat! Jim rose and rushed over to them and snatched the hat from Jeremy and examined it. He was positive it belonged to Artie.

"Who are you and where did you find this?" Jim asked harshly, scaring the man.

"I…uh…I…" he stammered and Jim grabbed him by the lapels and pulled him off the floor shaking him.

"James! Put him down…he can't tell us anything if you strangle him," Jeremy pried the man from Jim's grasp.

"Sorry," Jim apologized, "it's just that the man this hat belongs to is very important to me…" Jim stated to the man as he stared hopefully at him.

"James, this is Shorty…he's one of my informants. I sent him out a couple of days ago to see what he could find out on the streets about our current situation," Jeremy explained.

"I don't know where they took him. I tried to follow em when I saw em loadin him in ta the wagon…but I don't got no horse."

"Who took this man? Can you describe them?" Jim fired the questions rapidly.

Easy, James, or you'll scare him. I invited him to our table," Jeremy pulled Jim back into the restaurant.

They returned to their table and Jeremy ordered the man a meal. Jeremy found it hard to make Jim wait until the man had been served before he questioned him. The man told them he had been near the building when the explosion had occurred and he had gone to see if he could help.

"I helped best I could and I saw this here wagon pull up to the side of the buildin…this one guy jumps out and starts lookin over the ones what're hurt. Like he was pickin out a punkin or somethin," Jeremy nods at him to continue.

"He sees this one feller and his eyes get big and he grabs him out from under a pile of the buildin and shoved him in the wagon real hard like and he won't take no more people. Just that man that there hat belonged to."

"Did you see which way they took him?" Jim asked, excited about his first solid lead in days.

"That's the funny part. They didn't head for the hospital. They headed outer town. The opposite way from the hospital. I followed em but I lost em, sorry, Mr. Jeremy," the man looked down dejected.

"You did great, Shorty. You gave us the best lead we've had," Jeremy smiled at him.

"Ya'll'd be better off talkin ta Willie…he was closer ta them men than me. Might could be he heard something they was talkin bout. I tried ta find him afore I come here, Mr. Jeremy, but ain't nobody seen him in a couple of days."

"No one anywhere on the streets has seen Willie?" Jeremy asked as he looked at Jim one eyebrow raised.

"No, sir."

"Hmm…all right, Shorty, you go back home…if you find Willie send him to me," Shorty quietly tipped his hat and left.

"Well, that settles that, James. Now we know for certain Artemus is alive and that he was taken from the explosion site," Jeremy sighed.

"Yeah, but by whom and for what reason? It just doesn't make any sense. Why would someone go to all the trouble of rescuing Artie and then not take him to the nearest hospital?" Jim wondered.

"You don't think this whole thing was a set up, do you?" Jeremy asked.

"I don't think so. According to the Colonel no one but the committee knew Artie would be there…and none of them even knew why he would be there and they were all killed or injured themselves."

"One of the committee members might have talked…"

"Yeah, but why Artie? Why not a committee member?"

"Maybe whoever took Artemus thinks they stand a better chance of getting him to talk…" Jim reached over and grabbed Jeremy's shirt.

"Artie would NEVER talk!" Jim spat through his tightly clenched teeth.

"James, I never said he WOULD talk…I just said that whoever took him might think they can make him talk. Of course Artemus would never talk," Jim sighed and released his hold.

"I'm sorry, Jeremy."

"Totally understandable, James. However, if we want to check out those leads Shorty gave us we'd better leave now…there's Colonel Richmond and he's looking for us," Jeremy pointed toward the entrance.

Jim threw some money on the table and they left through the kitchen. Once outside, they slipped through the alleys talking quietly. Jim finally looking at the hat he held so tightly in his hand. It was indeed Artie's gray felt hat, his name emblazoned inside. Jim wiped the hat to remove the excessive soot and mud crusted on it when he realized it wasn't dirt or soot…it was blood…Artie's blood. Jim's expression turned into a mask of determination. He was determined to get his partner back…alive.

WWWWWWWWWW

This time Artie woke to a dark room. It must be night, he decided. He took stock of his injuries, trying to move his arms and legs. Well, at least my legs seem to be in working order…next he tried his arms. His right arm was heavily bandaged and in a sling, not to mention that it hurt like hell. He moved to sit up and his head swam again and he wanted to throw up. Whoa…Bad idea! he decided as he lay back down. He used his left arm to feel the rest of his body, finding similar padded bandages on his right shoulder and across his chest.

He also felt bandages on his back. Hmm I don't seem to have any broken bones…I must have gotten these injuries in that explosion. Why can't I remember that? I remember who I am, I remember my partner…I remember everything but where I was and what I was doing. Artie eased himself into a sitting position and risked a look around the room. His vision was still blurry but it was getting better as long as he didn't move his head too fast.

He took in his surroundings. The room looked like any typical hospital room. The furniture consisted of his bed, a night stand a wardrobe and a chair. There appeared to be a stack of newspapers on the nightstand but he bypassed them for now, as he probably couldn't focus on them anyway. He decided to concentrate on trying to remember how he came to be here. Pictures formed in his mind, taking no particular order.

He saw himself in a room standing by a table, men seated all around it. He saw President Grant…was he in there too? Artie kept seeing his partner and friend's face. Every time he saw Jim's face his heart fell. He felt something was missing. Wait a minute! If I'm here then where is James? If he knew I was in the hospital he would be here. Was Jim at that meeting with me? Oh my God, was Jim in the explosion? Did something happen to him? Artie grasped his head as it began to pound. Why does trying to remember have to hurt so bad?

WWWWWWWWWWWW

Jim and Jeremy waded through the explosion site, grim expressions on their faces, hoping to find any clues as to what happened and who might have taken Artie. The devastation was immense. There were broken chairs, tables, pieces of wall strewn everywhere, covering a large area. Charred bits of the exterior walls, floor and ceiling littered the area as well. Jeremy poked at one pile of rubble and something fell out that caught his eye.

"James, take a look at this…" Jeremy held the object out to him.

"What have you got?" Jim asked as he took the object.

He turned it over in his hands and his face lost all color. It was Artie's journal. He would never leave without his journal; it was as much a part of him as his gun. Jim flipped through the pages until he came to the last entries. He quickly scanned them, hoping to find some clues. He paused on the last entry…his expression becoming grim. He re read the entry then looked up at Jeremy.

"What is it, James?" Jeremy didn't like the look on his face.

"Whatever it was that brought Artie here…he was being forced to keep it a secret even from me. And it was tearing him apart."

"Why would anyone order him to keep something from you?" Jeremy wondered.

"I think I can help you with that detail, gentlemen," Colonel Richmond said as he stood on the edge of the rubble.

"Colonel," Jim acknowledged hesitantly.

"James, you could have gotten the why sooner had you not snuck out of that restaurant. True, it would have come with a lecture but you still would have gotten your answer," Richmond glared. Jim looked like a deer caught in a hunter's sights.

"No lecture, gentlemen, not yet anyway. It is imperative you find Mr. Gordon and not just because he's your partner, James."

"May I ask why, sir?" Jim asked.

"This meeting Artemus attended…he was to deliver some rather sensitive information. Information that could topple the very ranks of the Government from Grant all the way down and even includes many high profile non government individuals."

"What could be so sensitive?" Jeremy wanted to know.

"Not here, gentlemen. I suggest we go to my office," Richmond waited for them to climb down from the rubble and join him.