Any grammatical, medical, military procedure errors are entirely my own. Follows straight on after Collision Course…

Getting there.

Part 1

Captain Simon Banks sighed as he put the phone down. More figures to wrestle with, more questions about numbers. Got to hit those arrest targets. Sheesh. Always someone on his back about something. He was a policeman not a politician, but you had to know how to play the game. He still had friends and a few tricks up his sleeve. Reluctantly, he picked up the phone again.

"Rhonda, could you bring me this months arrest figures, please?"

While he waited, he carried on searching through the database for a particular name, or a case file. So far, nothing beeped back at him.

There was a light knock at the door.

"Thanks, Rhonda," he said, not looking up.

"Didn't think I looked that good, sir." came Jim's voice.

"Jim! I wasn't expecting to see you."

"I gathered that. I can go if this is a bad time..." and he turned to go.

Simon quickly said "No. You look…ah… better."

"Thanks, Simon."

"I could put you back on the streets now, and you can just scare the bad guys away!"

"Oh ha ha, sir."

But Simon was right, the bruising and scrape down his face together with the stitches made him look really sinister. Babies would cry and little old ladies cross the road…

"Sit down, Jim, please" he had noticed Jim's discomfort when he turned to go. Damn military bravado was stopping him from sitting down like anyone else. He watched as Jim carefully sat down at last, he looked tired.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit? Something I need to know?"

"Fine, sir. I'm taking some time off like the doc said. In fact he won't sign me back on duty until I talk to someone about what happened out there. I came in to file my report on the incident, the discharge of firearms and so on."

"Okay. That's good...paperwork needs to be done. You made an appointment with the department's counsellor?"

"On my 'to do' list, although I don't really want to talk to them. But I can't lay everything on Sandburg despite what I said this morning." Jim rambled.

"Jim, what's going on? There's more here than your concussion isn't there?" Simon asked.

"I need to go to Georgia in the next couple of days, so if I could just tidy up a few ongoing files while I'm here…"

"Why what's in Georgia? Detective are you investigating a case in secret? Is that it? For god's sake you're on sick leave!" exploded Simon angrily.

"No, sir. This is something else that's cropped up"

"Does this have anything to do with Krasky?"

"What? " Jim looked shocked.

"Krasky died first, no chance. That's what you said."

"When?"

"Last week- at the hospital when you first came round."

"Don't remember."

"Is it something to do with Sandburg?"

"No."

"Well, what then?"

"It's me." And Jim got up stiffly and wandered over to the big window and stared out, hands linked behind his back at parade rest. Simon waited for the detective to come round to whatever it was he was going to say. He never volunteered information about himself. And, he realised, Jim had never answered his question about Krasky…

"You know I was in the army…" Jim began tentatively.

"Yes."

"All sorts of stuff …then Peru"

"Yes" this is worse than getting blood from a stone Simon thought. Tell me something I don't know.

"Ah, I've been having a few… problems since I got hit on the head last week."

"Well, that's understandable." replied Simon soothingly, but still wandering about in the dark.

"Simon, I can't go back on the streets yet. I don't know what I might do." said Jim patiently.

"Do?"

"My senses are okay, it's me that's a little off,"

Simon waited.

"I'm ... remembering … stuff… events from Peru and maybe other ops. I need to get my head sorted out before I trust myself again. I've already scared the doc and Blair, and I don't like it. So I'm going to sort this thing out, and we never talk about this again."

"Okay."

"That's it? Okay?" said Jim.

"Yes. Don't look so surprised. I wasn't sure, but I've been in this job a while, and I've seen similar things. Sooner or later, people come to the boil. Sometimes the kettle switches itself off like it's supposed to and occasionally the kettle keeps on boiling."

Jim stared at him.

Simon continued, waving his unlit cigar for emphasis,

"I'm sorry- I'm not sure what I said just there but I'm sure the department counsellor will know about flashbacks and dealing with it. And if Sandburg is helping as well then you're luckier than most people I'd say. But if you ever do want to talk to me any time, you know where I am, right?"

"I'm worried about losing my job, Simon."

"I'm sure it'll be ok, once you've been cleared by your doctor and the counselor. Trust me, it's not the first time Cascade PD has come across this situation. It's just that nobody mentions it. "

"Thanks, Simon I appreciate that. I'll be getting on then." And Jim got up and went to the door.

"Fill me in on the details when you have them" said Simon

"Will do, sir."

Rhonda came in with his paperwork after Jim had left, but Captain Banks ignored it for the moment typing quickly at his computer.

Within a few moments he had found the News article- the one with that haunting picture of Jim on the cover that been part of the whole Switchman thing …

"On the 14th March 1989 an Army Ranger unit was lost the Peruvian jungle. The eight man unit were all presumed dead, until satellite images picked up only 7 graves near the remains of the helicopter. Captain James Ellison not only survived the crash but had continued to work with the local tribes for an extraordinary 18 months before being extracted by the Army. The bodies of the crew were returned to the States, and reburied with honour at Fort Benning, Georgia, GA." Simon read the list of the names…

Sarris

Brown

Evans

Krasky

Clements

Brodinsky

Colman

He picked up the phone. "Sandburg, Simon here. What's all this about Georgia? Is Jim going to be ok…?"