Disclaimer: Profiler and all characters belongs to NBC, Sanders/Moses Productions, Cynthia Saunders, Stephen Kronish ... Not to me. No copyright infringement intended.

Part VI : A ghost from the past

It was past 5:00 pm when John and Bailey landed at Dallas. The local Bureau had sent a car and a chauffeur to pick them up at the airport and take them to Carrollton.

The two men had not talked much in the plane. They kept silent in the car.

" Do you want me to arrange an hotel for you, sir ?" the driver asked.
" No thanks." Bailey answered. "We 're going back to Atlanta tonight."

John was starting feeling tired, and he was glad his boss didn't plan to spend the night there. Half an hour later, the car stopped before the military hospital main entrance.

" It should not take us more than one hour." Bailey said to the Dallas agent. "Can you wait for us here ?
- Yes Sir."

John followed Bailey inside. Grace had called them in the plane and given them the name of the doctor that had taken care of James Bourner. Bailey asked for her at the reception. Ten minutes later, a young woman joined them and introduced herself as doctor Webster. She was at the most twenty five years old, and she was beautiful.

" I'm special agent Bailey Malone, FBI." Bailey started. "And this is agent John Grant. Doctor Grace Alvarez told you would accept to talk to us about James Bourner.
- She told me you would like to meet him too.
- If possible, yes.
- Please follow me. Are you investigating his case ?
- Not exactly. We think the assault he was the victim of could be linked to a more recent murder case we have in Atlanta."

Doctor Webster stopped and turned to Bailey.

" A murder case ?" she asked surprised. " James Bourner has been with us for the last two months. How could he be possibly linked to your case ?
- We don't think he's involved in the murder." John answered. "But the victim's father happened to be in Bourner's unit in Viet Nam.
- And you don't believe in coincidences, do you ?
- No." Bailey said. "What exactly happened to Lieutenant Bourner ?
- Captain. Captain Bourner. We do not know the exact circumstances. He was brought here by a cab driver, who found him in the street. He was badly injured. 'Savagely stabbed' would be more appropriate. It's a miracle he survived. He had lost almost all his blood when he arrived. He was in a coma during five weeks.

- How is he now ?" Bailey asked.
" Slowly recovering. But his life will never be the same again. We had to remove part of his stomach, and he lost one kidney. He will also limp for the rest of his life.
- John, could you call George and try to get the name of the police officer in charge of the case here.
- Sure."

John took his cell phone and dialed the Atlanta VCTF headquarters. They had arrived in front of Bourner's room now, and Bailey and doctor Webster entered.

James Bourner was lying in his bed, attached to all kinds of monitoring machine. He was very pale and his eyes were shut. Doctor Webster came close to him and gently touched his arm.

" James." She said. James Bourner opened his eyes. "James, you have a visitor. This is agent Malone, from Atlanta FBI. He'd like to ask you some questions about one of your Viet Nam buddy." Bourner slowly moved his head towards Bailey and stared at him.
" Sergeant Tom Meroni !" he said smiling. His voice was hoarse and his breath was short. Speaking was obviously painful to him. "To be honest, I was ... expecting your visit.
- How do you feel, Lieutenant ?" Bailey asked.
" Well ... I've already been better. So ... you're with the FBI now ? Or is it ... another cover ?".

John entered the room but stayed a little aside. Bailey hesitated for a moment before he answered :

" FBI. And the name is Malone. Bailey Malone.
- Pleased to ... meet you. And what brings you ... to Dallas, so many years later ?
- The army informed me on what happened to you. And, as it seems the local police has not found much, they asked me to come and see if I could do something.
- The army ... takes care of its own, right ?".

Bailey nodded. Then went on :

" You said you were expecting my visit. Why ?
- The guy that ... played with my guts ... He asked me questions.
- What kind of questions ?
- About ... what happened back then." Bourner breathed heavily.

" Agent Malone," doctor Webster said, " I think mister Bourner is not well enough for a long conversation.
- I'm Ok, Doc." Bourner said. "I don't have so many visitors ... especially old friends like agent Malone.
- I can come back tomorrow if you prefer." Bailey said.
- Won't be necessary. He told me ... he was an old friend of yours ... of sergeant Meroni. What he wanted ... to know, was the name of ... the guy that saved your life ... in Na Trang.
- What did you tell him ?
- He already knew everything. Except the name.
- Did you give it to him ?
- Chuck ... Charles Johnson. Yes, I told him ... I thought it could save my life ... And Chuck ... was dead anyway. He died two ... years ago. Car accident.
- What else did he say ?
- He was not exactly ... the talking kind. He was more of an ... action man." Bourner closed his eyes with pain.

Bailey got closer to the bed and put his hand on Bourner's head.

" We are going to let you sleep now, James." He said. "Can I ask you one last question ?
- Shoot.
- Chuck, was he a deserter ?"

Bourner opened his eyes and smiled at Bailey.

" Yes." he answered. "He was deserting ... when he found you. Then ... he brought you back ... and escaped again. It was not one of the ... most glorious part of ... our history. But you know that.
- What happened to him ?
- He was captured by the VC ... Then rescued by the Marine ... Irony of the war. I liked ... Chuck. I kept ... silent. He even got a medal !
- I think he deserved it anyway.
- Right. We all deserved it.
- Take care of yourself, James."

Bourner closed his eyes and fell back to sleep. The two FBI agents and the doctor left his room in silence. When she had closed the door, the doctor turned to Bailey and said :

" You didn't tell me you knew him.
- We met in Viet Nam ... A very long time ago.
- You did not tell him about Johnson's child murder.
- I believe he had enough, don't you think. And anyway, we got what we came here for."

They parted in the corridor. John and Bailey went back to the car. They hardly exchange a word till they got in the plane. Then John started :

" Are you Ok, Bail ?
- Yes. Just tired." Then, after a moment passed. "Never thought one of these ghosts from the past would surface back, that's all. But I can deal with it."



To be continued ... R&R, Thanks.
Absolut.