Artie woke to find he still had the newspaper clutched in his hand. He neatly folded it and placed it beside his bed. Hearing voices, he carefully slipped out of his bed, careful not to let any moans escape. Artie padded quietly to the door and put his ear on it. One of the voices was quite animated.

"You can't do that! Push him too hard and you're liable to lose everything he knows!"

"Mr. Gordon has information we must possess at any cost," the voice interjected, "do whatever you have to but get that information and get it now!" Artie strained to put a face to the voice.

"I can't…as a doctor it is my sworn oath to…"

"Yes…Yes, I know, the Hippocratic Oath…to heal the sick, wounded…blah, blah, blah. You work for me right now not your morals or your silly little oaths, doctor. You just do as you're told and you'll live to spend all that money I donated to your fancy little hospital."

Artie heard one of the voices walk away. He moved as quickly as he could back to the bed, managing to sit on the bed just as he saw and heard the doorknob turn. He tried to slow his breathing down but there was little he could do about the sweat pouring off him. The door opened and the doctor entered. He approached the bed and took in his patient's appearance.

"Here now, let's get you back into bed. Why are you trying to get up?"

"I was going to look for a nurse I wanted a drink of water," Artie lied.

"Well, let me have a nurse get some for you," the doctor went to the door and called to a nurse and gave her instructions then returned to sit in the chair beside the bed.

"Mr. Gordon, I would like to try something different with you I'd like to try hypnosis. Have you any objections?"

"No, not if it will help me remember things," Artie stared at the doctor trying to figure out what his part was in whatever was going on.

"Sometimes when the mind has suffered a traumatic experience…such as the explosion…it turns a portion of itself off. That part stores the memories of the traumatic event and keeps it locked away from you…shielding you so to speak. We need to access that information in order to help you heal."

"All right. What do you need me to do?"

"Nothing, just lean back on the pillows and relax," the doctor pulled his pocket watch out.

Oh how original, Artie thought, this won't be too hard to fake at all. If I know what information it is he wants then I'll know how to deal with these guys. He remembered not to smile as the doctor began to swing the watch back and forth in front of him.

"Just watch this watch as it swings back and forth, Mr. Gordon. You can focus on it, can't you?"

"Yes, it's still kind of fuzzy but I can see it."

"Good…just follow it with your eyes, try not to move your head," Artie's eyes followed the watch.

"Now, Mr. Gordon, I want you to relax…close your eyes and imagine your self in a happy place. Somewhere you feel safe and comfortable," Pictures of the train and Jim flashed in his mind.

"Mr. Gordon, I want you to think back to about a month before your accident."

"What do you see?"

"I'm on the train…" Artie replied softly, trying not to open his eyes.

"Jim's with me…"

"Good…good. Now, I want you to think about two weeks before your accident…" Artie faked REM and he fully stepped into actor mode.

"I'm in a meeting…" his expression became grim.

"With whom are you meeting, Mr. Gordon?"

"I don't know…I can't see his face."

"Think, Mr. Gordon, think…"

Artie tried not to flinch as the door opened and someone entered the room. He heard the doctor rise and then he heard what appeared to be a rather heated discussion carried out in whispered tones. He strained his hearing to the limit but he wasn't able to make out what they were saying. He relaxed as best he could without actually falling asleep and waited for the doctor to return. He heard the doctor approach the bedside again but he didn't hear the other party exit the room. I'll have to be very careful, Artie thought as he waited for the next question.

"Mr. Gordon, I want you to think about that meeting…"

"I want you to focus on the man you are sitting in front of. What does he look like?"

"He…uh…he just looks average. Dark hair, middle age…brown eyes I think."

"All right, Mr. Gordon, now I want you to focus on your conversation…what are you talking about?"

"We're talking about the weather," Artie tried not to grin.

"Move forward a little…past the pleasantries. What is the purpose of the meeting?"

"We met to discuss…" Artie wrinkled his brow in pain. This memory actually did hurt trying to make it come into focus.

"Easy, Mr. Gordon. Don't try to force the memory just let it come," the doctor turned toward the other person.

"You can't force him to go on like this! It's not safe. If you keep forcing him you'll only send the memories deeper until they reach a part of his mind where they can never be recovered."

"Oh very well then, release him for now, just make him sleep or something."

"No, wait. Ask him what Mr. West was working on while he was occupied elsewhere."

"Mr. Gordon, where is your partner right now? Do you know what he is working on?"

"Jim? He's working for the Colonel…no wait…he's…Jim's dead! Oh Jim!" Artie moaned.

"No, Mr. Gordon, you partner is not dead yet. The explosion has not happened yet."

"Then he's with Jeremy."

"Who is this Jeremy and what why is your partner with him and not with you?"

"Jeremy Pike, he's a fellow agent. He and Jim are on a case. I don't know all of the details. Just that they were looking for someone for the Colonel."

"Think, Mr. Gordon, do you know who this someone is?"

"Knowing Jim, it's probably Loveless," Artie snorted with a grin.

"What about you, Mr. Gordon? Does this Loveless person have anything to do with your mission?"

"The list is long I…can't…think. I can't…see…the list."

"That's all right. This Loveless man you have many dealings with him?"

"Dr. Miguelito Loveless? Yeah we have too many dealings with him. The pompous, arrogant little fool thinks he can outsmart us. But he never will," Artie smiled as he heard the unknown voice growl a protest, Ahh so it IS you Loveless.

"Forget him for now, Mr. Gordon. Concentrate on your meeting. What information do you have for the gentleman seated across from you?"

Artie paused as images began to flood his mind. A list of names…a heated discussion…something about Jim that made Artie feel dirty and rotten…he was going to see…someone about the meeting. His pulse began to race, his breathing became shallow and rapid. This isn't an act anymore! Artie clutched his head and tried not to scream out in pain as his head exploded in brilliant flashes of light and color.

"Mr. Gordon, go back to your happy place…relax. Think about happier times."

Artie fought for control, his fraud would soon be discovered if he didn't regain control and soon. He forced his breathing to slow down but there was little he could do to stop the freight train that was running through his head.

"Mr. Gordon, I'm going to bring you out of this. You will remember nothing of our session. You will be very tired and you will sleep soon," the doctor brought Artie "out" and he slowly opened his eyes.

"I don't remember anything new. It didn't work did it?" Artie sounded dejected.

"No, Mr. Gordon, you did quite well. You just need more rest. Maybe we can try again later."

The doctor patted his arm reassuringly and left the room. Artie noted Loveless had already made his escape. Another one of those hypnosis sessions and I'm liable to tell them what they want to know, Artie thought as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

WWWWWWWWWW

Jim and Jeremy sat quietly as Colonel Richmond went into detail about the investigation his friend was working on and Jim could see why Artie was so badly wanted. If the investigation were to go forward it could very well topple everything they knew and had worked so hard to rebuild after the war.

Richmond told them the preliminary notes he had gotten from Bristow indicated that Artie had discovered well over 200 people involved in the ring. The most devastating scandal of it's kind in the country's short history. There was no way they could retrace Artie's steps without raising suspicion…they would have to take what little they had and try to find him from that.

"You'll not be able to get much help from the government, I'm afraid," Richmond was saying when Jim turned his attention back to the conversation.

"Why is that, sir?" Jim asked.

"Secretary Bristow isn't sure how far up the conspiracy goes. He thinks it may well go all the way."

"What? Grant would never be involved with something like this!" Jim retorted.

"I certainly don't think he would be, but Bristow can't be sure. Those involved are getting some major help fairly high up in the government. You gentlemen will have to investigate this totally on your own. If you are discovered even I won't be able to help you, not until you get that list from Artemus."

"Yes, sir. Permission to get started, sir," Jim stated more than asked.

"Permission granted. And, James…"

"Yes, sir?" Jim said as they rose to leave.

"Bring Artemus home."

"Yes, sir, I will," Jim and Jeremy left the office and Richmond shook his head.

"I hope they can this time. I really hope they can. This country depends on it."