"He's coming round," Joe heard a familiar voice say as his eyes fluttered open.

"Joe, are you all right? Can you speak?" asked Spirit as she gazed down into his eyes.

"Sp...Spirit," rasped Joe.

"Easy, Son," Dr. Fairbanks said gently and lifted Joe's head as Spirit held a canteen to Joe's lips.

Joe took a little drink and wanted more but Spirit pulled it away. "Sorry, Joe," Dr. Fairbanks said. "That's all until I can get you checked out for internal injuries."

"I'm...I'm fine," Joe said, sitting up. He was still a bit light-headed but the dizziness was fading fast. "I didn't get hit by any rocks. Where's Jerry? Is he okay?"

"Joe! How can you be worried about him?" Spirit demanded in disbelief. "After he nearly killed you?"

"He didn't," Joe denied. "He was showing me a back way into the mine."

"Joe, that's a mountain lion's cave that you were in," Spirit told him. "It dead-ends not too far in the mountain."

"No," denied Joe, looking unsure. "Jerry..."

"Jerry knew," Roger stated firmly. "Spirit saw him taking you up there and she saw him come back down. Alone," he added.

"That's when I called Dad on my cell," Spirit said. "We dug you out."

"Jerry left?" Joe asked, confused. Why would his brother leave him?

"Joe," Spirit said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Farkas lied. Can't you see that? They aren't your family."

"But..." Joe began to object but stopped as he remembered the new clothes. "Why would they lie?" he asked. "And how did Dad, er, Farkas know about the mark on my foot and the, uh, other thing," he said, not mentioning the mole because of Spirit's presence.

"Donovan," Roger stated with a grim set to his face. "Maybe one of Farkas's men saw you leaving his office."

"Only Phipps had seen me with you," Joe said.

"He could have been there," Spirit said. "Just because you didn't see him doesn't mean he didn't see you."

"I still don't see why they would have gone to all that trouble," Joe said. "Unless..."

"Unless?" both Fairbanks inquired.

"Unless Phipps did see me at Donovan's and asked Dr. Donovan why I was there," Joe postulated. "And that would make Donovan an accomplice. He could have told Phipps about my amnesia who in turn told Farkas. And he claimed me to find out why I was butting in and how much I knew," he ended with a frown.

Dr. Fairbanks helped Joe to his feet. "And I let them know I not only knew about the mine and the radiation poisoning but also trusted them," Joe said derisively. "Jerry knew he could get me in the tunnel first because I told him I felt safe with him. He must have gotten his dad to rig some kind of charge while Jerry was showing me around the sawmill."

"Makes sense," Fairbanks said. "It didn't matter what you saw because they were planning on killing you."

"But what about Sheriff Tanner?" asked Joe, reaching for the canteen in Spirit's hand. "Wouldn't he check back to see how I was doing? How would they explain my absence?"

Spirit relinquished the canteen when her father nodded his permission. "Let's find out," suggested Fairbanks as Joe drunk from the canteen. "We'll have him stop by the house. He, and I, want to know if you found out anything while you were there," he ended as Joe finished drinking and shut the canteen.

"Lies, mostly," Joe snorted. "But they are mining something radioactive. Farkas claimed it's for a government contract but too many things just don't add up."

The Fairbanks took Joe back to their house and had him rest for awhile. After showering and changing it was time for dinner. "Sheriff Tanner will be over around eight," Rachel informed everyone as dinner began.

"Good," Roger said. "I am dying to know how things went at Farkas's."

After a wonderful dinner Spirit and Joe went for a short walk. When they returned Sheriff Tanner was already there and waiting. "Hello Sheriff," Spirit greeted Tanner as she took a seat in the living room.

"Spirit," Tanner acknowledged with a smile that turned into a worried frown as his gaze slid to Joe. "How are you feeling?" he asked Joe.

"Fine," Joe replied. "No after-effects," he added. "Did you go and see Farkas?"

"I did," Tanner answered with a nod. "Jerry came crashing in and said you had wanted to explore but got trapped in a cave-in. We went to the site but the cave had already been dug out and you were nowhere to be found."

"You were there before Dr. Fairbanks called you?" asked Joe, confused.

"No," Tanner denied with a shake of his head. "Jerry's dramatic entrance was an act put on for my benefit."

"They thought Joe would be dead by then," Rachel stated, her nostrils flaring angrily. "And he would have been if Roger and Spirit hadn't gotten to him when they did."

"They will probably be looking for you," Tanner said, still staring at Joe worriedly. "I think I should put you in protective custody."

"No," objected Joe. "Why should I be locked up while they are out running around? I didn't do anything wrong."

"Because you would be safe," Spirit said.

"And I couldn't help," Joe reminded her.

"Helping nearly got you killed," Rachel snapped in a no-nonsense voice that sent a brief flash of a stern, older-looking woman through his head. "You have already been hurt and you have no idea who you are," she continued. "You should not be getting involved with what is going on here."

"Maybe I already am," Joe suggested. "What if the reason I was hurt was because Farkas's men caught me in the area?"

"Then someone there does know who you really are," Spirit said.

"But you can bet they won't talk if they do," Dr. Fairbanks said sourly.

"Maybe Jerry will when I arrest him for attempted murder," Tanner said.

"You can't do that," Joe objected quickly. "Farkas will shut down his operation and we will never find out what is going on up there."

"A search warrant..." the sheriff began but Joe cut him off.

"Won't allow you to search the business end without just cause which you don't have," Joe stated, not realizing he knew more about the law than a normal teenager should know. "We have to get some hard evidence and the only way to do that is to snoop around."

Sheriff Tanner scowled. "You're right, of course," he admitted. "But I don't like the idea of your going back there. If they see you they will kill you."

"Then I will just have to make sure no one sees me," Joe said. He looked at Rachel. "Do you have any hair dye that I could use?" he asked.

"No," she answered. "But I could pick some up tonight on my way to work."

"Joe," cut in the sheriff. "Have you remembered anything about your past?" It had not escaped him that Joe seemed to know quite a bit about the law. It was entirely possible that he was the son of a lawyer or a police officer.

"Not really," Joe said. "I'm pretty sure I have a brother and that both my parents are alive," he stated with a small frown. "But that's because I got these feelings when I talked to Farkas and Jerry. No real flashes except for some tall woman."

"Your mom?" Spirit wondered.

"I don't think so," Joe replied, shaking his head. "No feeling like the one I got when I thought about my mother."

"But that's still good," Dr. Fairbanks said, smiling at Joe. "It's a start and that means your memory will eventually return."

"But when?" Joe asked.

"I wish I could answer that," Roger replied. "But it's impossible to tell."

Sheriff Tanner stood up. "I guess I will be going," he said. "You be careful," he warned Joe before turning to the doctor. "I want an update every day," he said. "And if that one goes missing," he continued, pointing at Joe. "I want to know immediately."

"Of course," agreed Dr. Fairbanks. He stood up and walked the sheriff to the door. When he returned, he looked at his daughter. "I guess you want the loft again?" he asked her.

"No," Joe said before she could answer. "I can't put you out of your room again," he explained, looking at Spirit. "I can sleep in the loft or even on the sofa."

"Don't be silly," Spirit reprimanded him. "I love the loft."

"That's settled then," Roger stated. "Rachel and I are on call tonight so you two are on your own. Stay inside and keep the doors and windows locked."

"We will," Spirit promised, jumping up and kissing her dad on the cheek. "And don't forget to pick up the hair dye for Joe," she added, glancing at Joe. "Red, maybe?"

"You're right," agreed Rachel. "He has a healthy tan but unless he dyed his brows and lashes he couldn't pull off a really dark color."

"Oh, and an eyebrow pencil," Joe requested. "A color to kind of match the dye?" he asked. "Freckles," he explained when Rachel cocked her head to the side questioningly.

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"Nooooooooooooooo!" screamed Frank as Tandem fell to the ground before him. 'It was supposed to be me,' he thought. 'He killed Joe. I was supposed to kill him!'

Frank turned from Tandem who lay gasping on the floor of the cave to where the shot had emanated from. There stood his father, Chief Madison, and two other officers. "Why?" he demanded; his eyes possessed with a raging fire. "Why did you kill him? He.." Frank started crying again and his words became difficult to form. "He kill...killed Joe. I...I wanted to..."

"Oh, baby," Fenton whispered, rushing forward and pulling Frank into his arms as his own tears began to fall.