"I have a brilliant idea, Mr. Hanna."

"About?"

"I believe we've missed something with, Mr. Callen. I want his entire body checked for any odd particles."

He glanced at Hetty sideways. "Where is this coming from?"

"Just humor me, Mr. Hanna."

"And I suppose this requires G be stripped from head to toe."

"That is affirmative."

"You know he's not going to like that."

"Ask me if I care. Follow orders Mr. Hanna."

"Okay."

"Take Nate and Deeks with you. Has Mr. Callen had a break from his captivity?"

"Nate gave him one about two hours ago."

"Give him another one and afterward use four corner restraints."

"You really know how to make him pissed, don't you?"

Sam climbed the stairs to the second floor. He watched from the door seeing Callen look the most peaceful he had been in days. The thought of wreaking havoc with his partner's peace made him shiver. He sauntered into the bedroom.

"Hey G, time to get up," he said leaning over him to unlock the handcuffs.

Callen stirred and stared up into his partner's eyes. "Another potty break, is that it?"

"Do you need one?"

"Sure, I'll take all I can get."

Sam helped him out of bed and to the bathroom.

"I feel pretty good," he said while washing his hands. He stared into the mirror, a habit he had started ever since he'd been at the CIA years ago. The skin on his head crawled and made him want to bash in the mirror. He gritted his teeth trying to hold back the urge to slam his arms against the mirror again. Callen squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lower lip. He waited until the feeling passed and left the bathroom.

"You all right?"

"Sure." He started to walk toward the bed.

Sam stopped him. "I asked you a question."

"I answered it."

"Not sufficient information."

Callen sat on the bed. "I don't get it."

"I observed you as you exited the bathroom. You look as if you are in pain."

"No."

"Okay. Strip."

"What?" Callen's jaw dropped.

"Remove your sweats. I need you naked."

He backed away from the bed and right into Marty Deeks and Nate Getz. "Please don't do this."

"Do what? Ask you to strip? If you won't do it we will have to do it for you."

"I don't get it."

Sam nodded at his two partners.

Deeks and Nate grabbed an arm each and brought Callen over to the bed. He kicked and twisted in their hold.

"Don't make this hard on everyone, G."

Deeks and Nate lifted and dragged their squirming fellow agent onto the bed.

"Fuck this! Stop!"

"No swearing, Callen, give it up and make this easy," Nate said.

"You want to rape me?"

"No Callen. Strip."

"Screw you!" He tried to spit on them.

Sam pounced on him, straddling his hips and holding his hands above his head.

"Get the hell off me."

"Not happening. Tie him down."

"No!" Callen screamed and thrashed and woke up.

"Get off me, Sam. What are doing sitting on me?"

"Trying to wake you up for past hour."

"Hour?"

"Yeah. I had to hold you down so wouldn't hurt yourself. You thrashed around in bed the entire time." Sam slid off his partner and laid down next to him. "Do you need to be held?"

"You can't hold me with the handcuffs on."

"I took them off. I was afraid you'd hurt yourself. Want to talk about it, G?"

"Just that it was horrifying."

"Probably one of the worst nightmares I've seen you have."

Callen snuggled up to his partner and laid his head on his chest.

"Don't get all gay on me now." Sam smirked, wrapping his arm around G's back.

"I promise if you won't either. I think there was that transference thing going on again. Isn't that what Nate calls it?"

"If you mean transposing good people onto bad ones? Yeah."

"Damn. Wish this would all go away."

"You know what Nate says, talking helps it go away and keeping inside makes it become more bottled up."

"Yeah, but he didn't have my nightmare."

"Is there a little self loathing going on, G?"

"Nothing like that." He laughed.

"Think it's funny do you?"

"Kind of and kind of not. I have something odd to ask you."

"Go for it."

Callen buried his face in his partner's chest, the flashbacks coming back again. "Forget it," he said his voice muffled.

"Look at me, G. Whatever is bothering I can handle it?"

"I can't handle it so how can you?"

"Remember I cover you, every part of you, not just your physical safety."

"Right and that will make everything better?" He pulled away and sat up.

"I'm not saying that, G. I'm trying to say I am here to debrief with you no matter what you need to talk about."

"Is it possible, don't call me crazy—"

"G stop this crap. You are not crazy. Crazy is what you went through."

"Maybe the CIA put something inside my brain." He spit out the words in rapid succession.

Sam sat up.

"Yeah, I knew it. Forget about it." He started to back away.

"Wait a minute, G, that's not stuff of science fiction. They really did put things in people during the Cold War. They did experiments on people, gave them drugs, tortured them, and sexually assaulted them. Why do you ask?"

"It's stupid."

"Not stupid, tell me."

"The nightmare was about Hetty believing something was implanted in or on me by the CIA."

"Implanted where, G?"

"Everywhere but especially on my head and it caused my psychotic breaks."

"Interesting. I wonder what this dream is referring to with your abuse."

"Me too. It was the creepiest and scariest nightmare I've ever had. Deeks, Nate, and you stripped off my clothes and tied me to the bed. All of you combed over my body, even using magnifying glasses, searching for these odd particles. Deeks was making all these jokes about my body. Nate added some humor to that. I was crying and you told them to go easy on me that I had been through too much. Deeks was the first one to find one on me. It was on my head, near my temple. After he found it there, you all concentrated your efforts on my head. I freaked out the entire time asking what in the hell you found. You all refused to tell me. All of you made a collection placing them in this petri dish. Deeks took it to a nearby lab to have them examined. Talk about weird."

"Sounds creepy and scary to me too, G. Sorry you had the nightmare."

"So does this mean they put something in me?"

"Let me run this by Hetty."

"You can run it by me right now, Mr. Hanna." Hetty entered the bedroom and sat on the chair.

"You're up early."

"Couldn't sleep with all the screaming."

"Sorry Hetty," Callen said, bowing his head and staring at his hands, a nervous habit which started only recently in Hetty's presence.

"You can't help it, Mr. Callen, I'm not blaming you. I could've put my earplugs in and gone back to sleep but I decided to listen to your conversation instead. Yes, the CIA puts stuff in people's heads. They also use programming and mind control. Went out with the dark ages." Hetty laughed. "Or so people believed. It still occurs to this day, although for different reasons than before. We are no longer in a Cold War with the Russians as you know. However, there are other threats and the CIA continues its experiments against those threats."

"Shit!" Callen scrambled off the bed and started for the door.

Sam ran after him, slamming him against the door from behind.

Callen cried out, the wind knocked out of him. "That damn well hurt my ribs."

"Sorry, G, you're not going anywhere," he said, bringing his partner back to the bed. "Looks as if you'll need those handcuffs back on."

"Please don't."

"No choice Mr. Callen, please secure him to the bed Mr. Hanna." Hetty stood and came closer to her agent. "You just got triggered."

He nodded.

"Next time grab onto your partner and hold on for dear life, Mr. Callen, don't run from it."

"Can't stand it. Need to get away."

Hetty sat on the bed next to him. "I believe you if that's worth anything to you. I believe they probably did some mind control or programming or possibly both to you. Your behavior of late points to that possibility more than a psychotic break. When Nate wakes up I will have him do some research into the subject. Afterward we will all four have a session."

"No session. I know what you're going to use on me. I hate that stuff." Callen pulled away from her.

"Did a woman do anything to you while you were working for the CIA?"

He screamed and kicked, trying to get away from her.

Hetty stood. "Interesting reaction, Mr. Callen, an affirmative for me about the mind control and programming. I shall return with some tea for you Mr. Callen. It will help calm you."

"You programming me, that's what you really mean isn't it bitch."

"G, stop doing that."

"It is all right, Mr. Hanna, I am beginning to understand why he does that. A complete transference onto me instead of knowing the woman who did this to him. Was she Chinese, Mr. Callen?"

"Fuck you! Get the hell out of my room!"

"I see I hit a sore spot. The tea." Hetty left.