Showdown at the Crooked M


-------------------------------------

It was one of those scenarios that Bill really got bored with. He wanted to
go fight some bad guys courtesy of Ralph and the magic jammies, but Ralph
told him that he was going to spend the afternoon at the carnival with Pam.
So naturally Bill argued... and lost again.

"Come on kid, can't you help me out here for once," groaned Bill as he
walked around the carnival with the two. "I'm dying here. There have been
reports of two robbers in the area and here we are throwing baseballs at
milk bottles so the Counselor can have a teddy bear to snuggle."

Ralph looked at Pam and rolled his eyes. She caught the look and winked.
"Not exactly Bill... I already have my teddy bear," she said  and gave Ralph
a kiss.

"Same here, hun and I did say we could come this weekend and try to enjoy
ourselves for once, but I didn't expect our proverbial grouser to join us,"
said Ralph.  Hearing Bill make a noise, Ralph chuckled. "Besides, Bill, I've
got the suit on just in case something happens."

Bill shook his head. "All right, I hear ya. Look, since I'm here anyway, can
we see something that I want to see? I can't ride the rides and they won't
let me near the games because I misfired the bow."

"Yeah, but you made a perfect hole in one when the arrow landed in the cup
at the golf game," said Ralph laughing. When they saw Bill blush, the
younger couple looked at each other and smiled. "OK Bill, we'll do something
you'll like," said Ralph relenting. "What do you want to see?"

"That wild west show they've been talking about on the TV," Bill said,
cheering up. The other two nodded and they headed over to the area where
they presented the show. "Haven't seen a good live action shoot-'em up
western in a while."

"Really? When was that, when Hopalong Cassidy was riding the trails and said
hi to you on your horse?" said Pam with a slight smirk.

"Cute Counselor. Come on, let's get there before the 'bad guys' do..." Bill
stopped when he noticed Ralph stopped walking with the two. "Ralph?"

"Over here Bill," said Ralph motioning with his hand. Bill saw that Ralph
had his other hand on a toy rifle they used for the old-tyme photo booth but
was staring at the wall. The other two rushed up and while Pam told the
owner Ralph was trying to figure out what he wanted to dress up as, Bill
talked to the younger man. "What are you getting Ralph?" he asked, realizing
Ralph was getting a holograph. Ralph nodded and Bill put his hand on Ralph's
shoulder so he could see it too.

"I see the main office and inside there are two men trying to break into the
safe using a bomb. There's a third man inside by the outside door, but it
looks like he's out cold. Wait a minute, there's a woman headed that way..."
Ralph started to strip to the jammies, but Bill steered him to a bunch of
bushes so no one would ask questions.

"Ralph, hurry up and get goin'. I'll be there shortly," said Bill just as
Ralph finished changing, took three steps and jumped. Bill started running
over to the main office and saw Ralph crash near the booth and step inside.
Bill smiled when shortly a man flew out of the window, and frowned when it
was the only one.

Wondering what happened, Bill snuck over to the office and glanced into the
window. He noticed that the third man Ralph saw was now outside lying on the
ground, having been pulled out of the room to safety before entering. Ralph,
however, was in a standoff with the other robber, who had grabbed the woman
and put her in a headlock. Bill frowned when he saw the woman go limp and
the gunman drop her to the ground.

Ralph stepped forward to intervene when the gunman pointed the weapon at
Ralph's head. Noticing that the gunman was going to fire his weapon, Bill
barged in. "Freeze it, Maxwell-FBI."

The robber turned to fire, but Bill was faster and hit the other man in the
arm. The man reeled back and fell, striking his head on the bottom of the
door jamb. Little did Ralph or Bill know that the robbers had set the timer
on the bomb, which had less than a minute and a half before it exploded.

Ralph rushed over to the insensible woman while Bill cuffed the other
gunman. "How is she Ralph?"

"She'll be fine, and the other worker will be too," said Ralph flatly as he
picked her up and carried her to the other side of the desk. After lying the
woman down and covering her with a coat, Ralph got up and frowned. "Bill,
you shouldn't have barged in like that."

"Kid, you were goin' too slow..."

"So you decide to barge in here like some gung-ho cowboy and shoot the bad
guy? Bill, you could've gotten her killed. I was about to use telekinesis to
remove the gun from the guy..."

Bill frowned. "Ralph, I'm not a cowboy I saw the scenario and it wasn't
going to work. He was going to shoot you before you could protect your head
now..." Ralph raised his hand. "No Ralph, I'm going to..."

"Quiet Bill, I hear something," said Ralph sternly as he turned toward the
safe. Glancing at it, he realized to his horror a bomb had been set to it to
break it open. "Bill..." he started only to hear a small explosion as the
door flew off the safe's hinges toward the two men.

Ralph swung the cape in front of Bill, who had turned around to avoid the
debris, while Ralph ducked his head as well. The safe door hit only the cape
and slowed down, but still hit something solid before the door fell to the
floor.

Ralph lifted up his head and dropping the cape, turned to face Bill. The
agent  blinked a couple of time before his eyes rolled back and he fell
forward. "Bill!" shouted Ralph as he caught the agent and lowered him to the
ground.

As he was checking Bill's vitals, Ralph heard a woman gasp. He turned around
and saw Pam. "Ralph, what happened?" she asked, looking at scene before her.

"Attempted robbery," he said as he lifted an eyelid to look into Bill's
eyes. He frowned when he only saw the whites. "Pam, Bill's unconscious. Call
the paramedics," said Ralph. She nodded and picked up the receiver, dialing
the emergency number.

Ralph turned back around and tried to bring Bill around, becoming more
worried when he wasn't getting a response. "Bill, come on partner wake up...
Bill..." Ralph kept insisting...

-----------------------------------------------

Bill groaned as he started to come around. His head hurt, but he couldn't
quite place what caused it to hurt. 'The kid must've done one of his
fishtail numbers and crashed into me again,' he thought, groaning. Bill then
cleared his throat. "Ralph? Pam?" he said a bit groggy.

"Bill, you're all right," said a familiar voice from nearby. "Pam and I have
been worried about you."

"Yeah kid, my head just hurts is all. Do you have any aspirin?"

"Aspirin?"

"No, asparagus, Ralph of course aspirin," said Bill frowning. "Should have
them here in the house."

"Uh Bill, we're not in a house," said Ralph simply.

"Really? Well, where are we?"

"A hotel room, you know, where we've been living for the past two weeks."

"Huh? Ralph what are you..." Bill started only to stop when he finally
opened his eyes. He wasn't in the Hinkley home, he in a simply dressed room.
Looking to his left, he noticed a lit hurricane lamp sitting on a table
alongside a washbasin with a rag dangling over the side. Glancing down, he
saw he was covered with a quilt and feeling his head, found he had a
slightly damp bandage on it.

Ralph, noticing Bill frown, decided to fill in the details. "We were in the
saloon when one of the local drunkards decided to get too fresh Pam and
Josie. You decided to stop it, but ended up getting pistol whipped. I
brought you back to the room and waited for you to wake up."

Bill frowned and sat up, still confused. "Pistol whipped? Kid, I know you
and I were talking about cowboys and the sort at the carnival, but..."

"Bill, there isn't a carnival for miles around. We're working on a case
remember," Ralph said as he watched Bill try to stand up, apparently finding
something outside the window attractive. "Look, Bill I wouldn't do..."

Bill ignored the younger man and stood up, looking outside the window. He
saw a western town outside, but no games, rides or anything that resembled
the theme park. The agent's vision grew dim and he barely felt Ralph moving
him somewhere. As his vision cleared up, Bill realized he was back in the
bed and  Ralph was continuing his diatribe. "... that because all you'll do
is faint," the man said finishing. Glancing at Bill, Ralph frowned. "Find
what you were looking for?" said Ralph bluntly. "Hope it was worth nearly
losing consciousness over."

Bill gave him a slightly blank stare. "Yeah, it was. Uh Ralph, where and
when are we exactly? And what do we do?"

"Los Angeles, October 16, 1881," Ralph said simply. "And, we're both agents
for the president. Why, the blow to your head scramble that top agent mind
of yours?"

"Not quite kid, but I think I'd do better if I can rest for a little bit,"
said Bill confused.

Ralph thought about it for a moment then nodded. "All right, but after what
just happened, you're not going to go to sleep again tonight. I'll see if I
can get you into Dr. Bloodstone's office later this morning to check you
out."

Bill groaned. "Listen Ralph, it's just a bump on the head, and you were
right, I just stood up to quickly. If I get a little bit of rest now, I'll
be fine, trust me."

"Always have to hate doctors," Ralph said shaking his head. Seeing Bill make
a face, the blonde-haired man chuckled. "All right, you win, so long as you
a. rest and b. can get out of bed tomorrow morning without presenting your
fainting lady impression."

"Fine, it's a deal," said Bill and leaned back to rest his head against the
wall. He tried to figure out what happened to make Ralph and Pam think they
were in the wild west, but all he could think of were bears, arrows and a
shootout... all from the carnival. Thinking about what he saw outside, he
negated that scenario and came up with a new one... how did he end up in the
past and how could he get back?

---------------------------------------

Across the road in another building, a second man was trying to figure out
what happened to him. Jason Gallium opened his eyes and found himself lying
on a cot of some sort. He tried to move his arms, but found they were tied
down. Wincing, he found that his left leg was broken.

Coughing, Gallium tried to remember what happened. All he could remember was
that he was walking down the road to head back home when a couple of men
came up and asked for directions. He started telling them when one asked if
he felt all right as he looked pale. Gallium caught movement off to his
right and, realizing he was about to be ambushed, started to fight. He
thought he was getting the upper hand when... well, after that everything
was fuzzy.

There was a noise nearby and he turned his head. He started to say something
only to have something placed over his face. Gallium smelled a sickly sweet
odor and tried to struggle away from it, but the person kept the item firmly
over his face. After about a minute, Gallium's vision faded to black and he
relaxed...

The person removed the handkerchief and looked into Gallium's eyes and
smiled. "No, not yet, Mr. Gallium. You're not well enough yet for travel to
your new home," said the other man. Just then, two other men entered the
room. "I told you boys to not seriously injure Gallium," said the man
frowning. "Now I have to wait at least a week before he can be shipped out
of here."

"Sorry Mac," said the taller of  the two. "He kept putting up a fight before
we managed to knock him unconscious, and this was the only way to keep him
from escaping."

Mac took in the comment, but still shook his head. "Still, my boss wants the
men totally healthy or he won't pay as well, if at all," he said. "They have
to be able to fight. Now listen, I want the two of you to go to the saloon
tomorrow and scout out another victim to shanghai, and I'll join you later
to not arouse suspicion. That way, we can have at least someone that will
get us a lot of pay. Then when Gallium's healed, we can send him on his
way."

The two men nodded and left the room. Mac checked Gallium's vitals and
frowned, knowing he was lucky he caught Gallium waking up before he could
yell for help. He hoped his "associates" would be able to get a second
person to sell, or it could be him they take instead... permanently.

------------------------------------------------

The next morning, Ralph and Bill were sitting at a table in the restaurant
at the hotel. Bill, feeling better after resting, was able to get up without
so much as a wobble, much to Ralph's disdain. As they got ready for day,
Bill caught a glimpse of red under Ralph's shirt. When he asked what Ralph
was wearing, the man said that they were a set of longjohns and that was it.
Bill shook his head, but still had his doubts to Ralph's story when the
younger man also put on a black opera cloak with red trim. He decided that
Ralph was still upset that Bill wouldn't go to the doctor and left it at
that, figuring he'd find out sooner or later.

Bill broke out of his thoughts when he saw a hand wave in front of his face.
"William, hello are you there?" asked Ralph, frowning. "You know, I still
can take you to Dr. Bloodstone's if you're going to stare into space."

The older man made a face. "No Ralph, I'm fine. Just trying to figure out
what happened before my knockout," he said, shrugging off the man's
concerns. "Now, since we're here, do you think you can tell me what's going
on?"

Ralph frowned at the question, but decided to not suggest the doctor again
or risk receiving a punch. "Well, we were supposed to talk to someone
yesterday about our case, but then you did your chivalry act and I ended up
babysitting an unconscious partner," he said, smirking a little when Bill
rolled his eyes. "Just before I went to bed, I got a calling card at the
desk from the person and said we were supposed to meet them here this
morning."

Bill nodded, and decided to see how Ralph and Pam were tied in this time. "I
see. So, what's the Couns... uh Pam up to lately?"

"Well, she's been traveling with us for a while as our secretary, but she's
doubling as a saloon gal right now to see if she hears anything that could
help us in this case. She's enjoying the extra pay, well except from those
who want to see more of her, and if they try that..."

"I get the picture, kid. So, has she found anything?"

"Not so far, but..." he stopped when he saw a saloon gal walk up to them.
"Josie, how are you  today?"

"So far so good today, Ralph. How are you Bill," she said with a soft smile.
"You're looking better than the last time I saw you."

Bill shrugged. "To tell ya the truth, I'm still a little dazed, but I'm not
seeing stars, except in your eyes," he said, admiring her in her slightly
revealing, but elegant scarlet red dress.

Ralph shook his head and chuckled, noticing that it was the same look he
must've had when he saw Pam wearing her outfit the first time. Needless to
say he was glad that he was betrothed to Pam or he'd probably been punched.

The younger man shook out of his thoughts. "So Josie, have you seen anyone
asking for us?" he said.

Josie frowned as she looked around and motioned to a chair. Ralph stood up
and helped her sit down. Once she was comfortable, the woman cleared her
throat. "Gentlemen, I'm the one you're looking for. I'm the agent, and I
found out that we were right. Someone here's been kidnapping men and
apparently sending them somewhere overseas. Just this morning, I found out
Jason Gallium disappeared somewhere on the streets last night."

"Yeah, I've heard of him," said Ralph. "Isn't he the one who is the
undefeated welterweight champion for Los Angeles?"

She nodded, but before she said anything else, two men walked into the room
toward the bar. Looking around for potential abductees, they didn't see the
man drinking at the bar and ran into him, spilling his drink. Enraged, the
drunkard started throwing punches and a fight broke out.

"Damn," said Bill and Ralph simultaneously and stood. Bill was about to go
forward and break it up when he saw a blur run by him. He stopped and saw
Ralph fight the men, tossing them out the window and door as though they
were rag dolls before heading outside. Bill, realizing Ralph had the suit
after all under his clothes, got to the swinging doors and watched as Ralph
continued to fight them, tossing them in the horse troughs or just out in
the middle of the street.

Ralph heard a scream and turning, saw a man holding Pam with an arm tightly
around her neck. She had been on her way to the saloon when the man grabbed
her. Bill watched as Ralph froze, trying to figure out how to not harm Pam.
When Pam's eyes closed and she went limp, Ralph growled and headed toward
the man, only to see the gunman aim a shot at his head. Bill drew his gun
and fired at he gunman's firing arm, scoring a direct hit. The man dropped
Pam and held his arm in pain. Ralph ran up to the gunman and flattened him
with a punch before turning to Pam to see if she was injured.

Bill ran over to the two. "How is she Ralph?"

"I think she just fainted Bill, fortunately" said Ralph, growling softly
when he realized that Pam could've been hurt instead. He gathered Pam in his
arms and picked her up. "Bill, I think you and I need to have a talk..."

The agent knew where this was going. "Come on kid, you and I know that I
wasn't going to harm her."

"Yeah, but how do you know the man wouldn't change his mind and instead
shoot Pam," Ralph said, his voice raising. "You could've also hit her
instead and killed her."

Before Bill could respond, Ralph started to head back upstairs to the hotel
room so Pam would be comfortable when she woke up. The agent sighed, and
after making sure the gunman was being taken to the jail, went upstairs to
try talking to the kid.

Unbeknownst to both, Mac had watched the entire fight and smiled. He found
the person he needed to sell to his boss. Once he bailed his men out of the
jail, he could have them help out. Just then, someone tapped Mac on the
shoulder. "Dr. Bloodstone, can you suture this man's arm before we escort
him to jail?" said the sheriff as he held the gunman.

"Sure Fred, just bring him over to the office," said Mac. As the three
headed over to the office, Mac began think of a way to get Ralph alone so he
could kidnap him. It would have to be that night, Mac realized, while the
man was still angry at his colleague.

------------------------------------------

Later that evening, Ralph was still nursing a slight grudge with Bill, but
decided to be amicable when Bill asked him to join him for dinner. Thinking
Bill wouldn't need him wearing the fancy longjohns and cape during the meal,
Ralph took off the longjohns before putting on his evening wear and left the
cape on the coat stand.

When he arrived at the hotel desk, the clerk gave him a message. "Ralph, I
think I have an idea who's been doing the kidnappings, but we need proof.
Meet me outside the saloon as soon as you can. Bill" read Ralph, sighing. He
shook his head and headed toward the door.

Once he was outside, he looked around and frowned when he didn't see Bill.
Just then, a man tapped him on the shoulder. "Mr. Hinkley," said the man,
"Sorry to bother you. You're a friend of Bill Maxwell's right?"

"Yes, I was supposed to meet him out here for something," said Ralph. "Why
is something the matter?"

"I'm afraid so. Mr. Maxwell collapsed in front of the saloon a few minutes
ago..."

"Wonderful, I figured he wasn't totally healed from being hit with the
pistol," the blonde-haired man groaned.

"Apparently so. He was taken to Dr. Bloodstone's office to see what was
wrong. The doctor said Mr. Maxwell was delirious, and has been calling for
you. We figured you needed to be there..."

"OK, just take me there," said Ralph, finally dropping the rest of his
grudge and the two headed over to the doctor's office.

Once inside, Ralph frowned when he saw that Bill wasn't there. The office
was empty save the what was normally in a doctor's office. "What the..."
Ralph said, only to see another man walk in and the person who met him
grabbed him from behind. Realizing what was going on, Ralph grabbed the
man's arm and threw him over his shoulder, and the three started fighting.

As Ralph fought the two men, Bloodstone slipped in and grabbed a bottle,
pouring some of its contents onto a rag. Bloodstone then snuck up behind
Ralph and placed the rag firmly over Ralph's nose and mouth.

Ralph smelled a sweet, yet sickening odor and started to feel dizzy. He
continued to struggle to escape the fumes only to find that he was being
carried to the operating table. Feeling himself start to relax, Ralph tried
to grab his assailant's hand only to have it strapped down to the operating
table. The last thing Ralph saw before losing consciousness was Dr.
Bloodstone grinning as he continued holding the rag over Ralph's face. ...

-------------------------------------------

As Ralph was dealing with Bloodstone and his men, Bill walked into the hotel
room, only to find Ralph missing. He had waited about 15 minutes in the
parlor for Ralph and giving up, Bill decided the man was still upset so he
figured it'd be best if he apologized.

After searching the room, Bill started to leave only to see a familiar flash
of red on the bed. Turning, he saw it was the magic longjohns, which looked
like a two-piece set of real button front longjohns. Bill smiled when he saw
the suit emblem over the left breast of the tunic (and, thankfully, no trap
door on the pants). He also saw the red trimmed opera cape on the coat
stand. The agent gathered up the items and frowned, realizing that if Ralph
got into trouble without them...

"Mr. Maxwell, you're all right," said Pam as she entered the room, shocking
him out of his thoughts.

"Couns.., uh Pam, have you seen Ralph by any chance," asked Bill, then
blinked, realizing what the woman said. "'Course I'm all right, what are you
talking about?"

"I was talking to the desk clerk a few minutes ago. He said Ralph received a
message to meet you. He went outside only to have a gentleman say you
collapsed and were taken to Dr. Bloodstone's office. That's the last time
anyone's heard from Ralph," she said, frowning.

Bill also frowned, a scenario working through his head. Remembering what
Josie had told them earlier and the fight, he had a hunch and hoped it
wasn't too late. "Pam, do you think you can show me where Dr. Bloodstone's
office is?"

She nodded and after Bill made sure he had the entire suit with him, the two
headed over to the office. When they arrived, Bill peeked into the window
and frowned when he saw Ralph strapped down on a table and three men
talking. "He'll be a fine specimen to sell to our leader. Probably will be
undefeated in the underground fighting ring," said one man.

"Yeah, Dr. Bloodstone, and I can vouch for his roundhouse punch," said the
tallest of the three, rubbing his chin. "What are you going to do to make
sure he doesn't try to escape? I mean, you told us not to break any bones
but with those punches he had earlier..."

"Yes, but I have an idea to keep him from fighting us again before we ship
him out. Hand me that scalpel... let's see how he'll fight us again when he
comes to with a little less of his blood..."

Infuriated at the man's idea of bleeding Ralph, Bill kicked the door in and
pointed his Colt revolver at the group. "Hold it don't move, Maxwell...
special agent. You're under arrest for kidnapping and assault," he shouted.

The three other men panicked and decided to try and escape. One ran right
into Bill before he could fire and Bill fell, bumping his head against the
wall. Dazed, he started dreaming about the carnival again, only to have it
switch to a safe blowing up and Ralph telling him to wake up. Suddenly,
Ralph's voice changed to a feminine one, much to Bill's surprise. Bill
opened his eyes, and saw where the voice came from. "Mr. Maxwell, you all
right... sir..." said Pam shaking his shoulder.

Bill blinked and stood up. "I'm fine Pam, just had the wind knocked outta
me," he said and turned and saw Ralph still lying on the table, unmoving.
Concerned, Bill checked Ralph's pluse and breathing, sighing in relief to
find they were both there. Leaning over to check Ralph's eyes, he detected a
faint, sweet odor on the man. Bill frowned, recognizing the scent. He had to
deal with it before many years ago.

"Mr. Maxwell, is Ralph all right?" asked Pam. "What's wrong with him?"

Bill turned and looked at Pam. "Listen Pam you've gotta do as I say. I want
you to stay here with Ralph until he wakes up. They used ether on him,
that's why he's still unconscious. Someone needs to be here to make sure he
doesn't get worse."

"OK," said Pam, frowning. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go and bust these bad guys. 'Course, it'd be easier if Ralph
here was conscious and wearing the suit, but that's outta the picture right
now."

As he was talking, the longjohns and cape began to glow. Bill picked them up
and groaned, making a face. "Oh, come on, even now you still do that
weird..." The suit flashed a bright red, and when it faded, Bill was wearing
the suit.

Pam stood there dumbfounded at seeing someone else other than Ralph wear the
suit. "That's never happened before," she said. "Do you think it will work
on you?"

"Well, there's one way to test it," he said handing her his gun. "Try to
shoot me."

"WHAT!?"

"OK, never mind, ya probably don't even know how to fire a gun," said Bill
condescendingly only to hear the gun go off. He felt the bullet hit him in
the left shoulder, but didn't feel any pain. Hearing the bullet hit the
ground, he smiled and turned to Pam. "It does work. Nice work Pam, figured
ya knew how to use it. Now, I want you to use that gun if one of
Bloodstone's goons try to get Ralph."

Pam nodded, and after touching the scalpel and getting a holograph of
Bloodstone trying to escape, Bill exited the office. Turning, Bill saw
Bloodstone and his goons about a half a mile away trying to head out of town
on horseback. He smiled, took three steps and jumped. As he took flight,
Bill realized that he was screaming. 'I'll never tell the kid this is easy
again,' he wildly thought as he started flying out of control.

Hearing a strange sound from above, Bloodstone and his men pulled up their
horses, and looking up, saw Bill flying. "What the hell..." said Bloodstone,
one to find himself a split second later on the ground. The other two men
dismounted their horses to help the doctor.

Bill got up from his crash and shook his head. He then turned toward the
three, who were all staring at Bill's strange attire.

"Now, gentlemen, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," said Bill
with a slight grin.

Bloodstone smiled and motioned to his men. The two drew their revolvers and
fired at the agent. Bill covered his head like he saw Ralph do all the time
and deflected the bullets. While the gunmen fired, Bloodstone ran over to
his horse to get something out of the saddlebag. Once Bill heard the
tell-tale clicks of an empty gun, he started forward toward the gunmen. Two
punches later, the two men were on the ground, out cold.

Bill kneeled to tie the men up only to feel someone clamp a damp
handkerchief over his nose and mouth. "So, it's not just Mr. Hinkley who is
as strong as Hercules, it's also you. Well, let's see how you react to
drugs," said Bloodstone wickedly, as he continued to hold the rag over
Bill's face. Bloodstone's grin started to fade after a minute when Bill
didn't even so much as shake his head. Bill then grabbed Bloodstone's wrist
and moved the ether soaked rag off his face.

Realizing something was very wrong, the doctor dropped the rag shook his
head. "Wait a minute, you should've been unconscious by now," he said,
confused.

Bill stood up and turned, lifting Bloodstone off the ground by his lapels.
"Well, Annie Ether never made my head spin," Bill said smirking and threw
the man. The doctor hit his head on the door jamb of the barbershop nearby
and relaxed, out cold.

Hearing new voices nearing where he was and knowing they'd take the men into
custody, Bill turned invisible. He flew back to the doctor's office, and
once he arrived, Bill smiled to see that Ralph was sitting up on the table
and talking to Pam.

Bill stretched his arms out and winced when he felt a pain in his right arm.
'Must've been from the crash,' he dismissed, stretching it out again. He
decided to make his entrance, wondering how Ralph would react to his wearing
the suit. "So, I see our Sleeping Beauty is awake now," he said.

Ralph rolled his eyes, not looking at Bill. "Yes Bill, I'm awake, just wish
I didn't fall for that man's trick," he said sheepishly. "What was it they
hit me with though? I can't seem to..."

"Ether kid," Bill said. When Ralph gave him a confused look, Bill continued.
"It's something they use to put ya to sleep to perform surgery on ya so you
don't feel any pain. Anyway, don't worry, I caught them and Bloodstone and
his goons are on their way to jail."

"Good. Pam and I also found Gallium in one of the other rooms," said Ralph.
"He's all right except for a broken leg. Pam went over to the hotel and got
its doctor and some men to carry him over there."

Bill grinned. "That was great work, and I'm sure he'll get the royal
treatment at the hotel. I bet he'll also be happy to know Bloodstone won't
be treating him or anyone again."

Ralph smiled and then realized there was something odd about Bill. He stood
up and took a closer look. "Bill, how did you put on the longjohns? I mean,
the ones I got it from said it..."

"Don't know kid, but I'm guessing that with you being drugged and unable to
help, the suit decided to let me wear it so I could catch them."

Still curious, Ralph reached out and touched Bill's shoulder. A brief flash
later, Ralph was wearing the longjohns again and Bill was back in his
outfit.

Bill smiled, but started to feel woozy when he smelled a sharp odor. Ralph
noticed Bill sway and frowned. "Bill are you all right?" he said.

The agent shook his head slightly, realizing what was going on. The suit
might've protected him from the ether with him in it, but now that he's not
wearing it... Before he could say anything, Bill's vision dimmed and he
toppled forward into Ralph, again smelling the sharp odor. The last thing he
heard before blacking out was Ralph and Pam's voices trying to bring him
around. "Bill, you all right?... Bill?..."

------------------------------------------

"Bill, come on wake up ..." said Ralph as he watched the paramedics wave a
packet of spirits of ammonia under Bill's nose. They were still in the main
office at the carnival, only now Ralph was wearing his streetclothes over
the suit. He didn't want people to think he was being a daredevil and caused
Bill's injury.

Bill stirred and groaned, trying to swipe away the spirits with his right
hand. The paramedic grabbed his arm and held it down. "Sir, don't do that
again, there's an IV in it..."

"Shut up Ralph, I'm all right, just got a little dizzy from the ether..."
said Bill groggily.

The paramedic looked at Ralph and Pam with a quizzical look. Realizing what
he trying to find out, Ralph shook his head. "No, no one used ether on him,
he was hit over the head," said Ralph simply.

"I understand, he must be confused. We think he may have a concussion," said
the paramedic.

"Come on kid, will you and the Counselor tell this quack to quit using his
snake oil on me? Much rather have a drink in the saloon," said Bill groaning
and opening his eyes slightly.

Ralph and Pam chuckled, knowing they were going to have fun explaining this
one. "Bill, wake up, you're not in the wild west," said Ralph.

Blinking, Bill opened his again eyes and found he was back in the main
office of the carnival. Glancing around he saw Ralph and Pam on one side of
him and two paramedics on the other side treating him.

"Yeah kid, you're right I'm not," said Bill, wincing when one of the
paramedics checked his eyes with a penlight. Bill tried to swat it away,
much to the other man's disdain. "How long have these two been here?"

"About five minutes," said Pam. "Ralph and I have been worried about you."

"I'm all right Counselor, just a bump on the head," Bill said, smiling and
hoping this would keep him out of the hospital.

"Just a bump on the head huh," said Ralph wryly. "The paramedics have been
here for five minutes, you've been out cold for about 10."

Bill turned to the paramedics, and one nodded. "Yes, and we've got orders to
take you to the hospital for an exam and observation," said one of the
paramedics.

Bill brushed off the comments and tried to sit up, only to feel the room
spin around and someone lower him back to the ground. "Hey, lay off, I feel
fine," said Bill, trying to bark out orders to the two paramedics.

Catching them men's frowns of frustration, Ralph chuckled. "Sorry, he's
always like that. Now Bill, I know you like to be the tough guy, but this
time you've got to do what they say. This case, you're going to the
hospital, no arguments," he said, tugging on a familiar red tunic under his
streetclothes.

"All right, I hear ya kid," said Bill, realizing with the suit, Ralph could
keep him down with a simple hand on his shoulder until he said yes. The two
paramedics then lifted Bill onto the gurney to take him to the ambulance.

Just before they arrived, a woman ran up to the group, stopping by Bill's
side. Bill recognized the woman both here... and somewhere else. "Hey, my
name's Josie Sapphire, and I wanted to say thank you for saving my life. Mr.
Hinkley said if it wasn't for your quick thinking, I might've died. Sorry
you got hurt though."

Bill turned to Ralph, and the man gave him a wink. He smiled, realizing that
Ralph had to tell a slightly different story so she wouldn't remember the
suit. "You're welcome ma'am," said Bill. "All in a day's work." Josie smiled
and gave Bill a kiss on the cheek before he was loaded up in the ambulance.

As the ambulance sped off, Pam turned to Ralph and raised an eyebrow. "Well,
here we go again," said Pam.

"Yeah, again," said Ralph with a soft smile, remembering when he was injured
about two months prior at the 1920s-style restaurant. "Come on, let's go
over to the hospital. I'm sure he'll appreciate the company later on,
especially after all this."

--------------------------------------------

The next morning, Bill was sitting in his hospital room getting dressed when
he heard a knock on the door. "Who is it?" he said, hoping it wasn't a
particular nurse trying to check his vitals again. Her hands were colder
than the stethoscope.

The door opened and Ralph and Pam entered, carrying a stuffed bear dressed
up as a cowboy and coffee. "Hey Bill, how's our favorite cowboy," said
Ralph, grinning and handed Bill the bear.

"Cute kid, This'll go great with my lamp with the footprint," said Bill
rolling his eyes slightly, then chuckled. "I'm fine, kid especially after
getting hit over the head with a safe door."

Ralph sighed, "Bill, I tried to stop it and protect you..."

"Don't worry, Ralph, I know ya tried your best.  By the way, nice cover with
me being pistol whipped instead."

"Well, I couldn't tell the paramedics the truth, or we'd both be in padded
rooms now," said Ralph. "As far as explaining the safe, I told them it had
blown up before you entered the scene."

"That was quick thinking, but ya learned it from the best," said Bill,
chuckling. His chuckle faded when he saw Ralph run a hand through his blonde
curls. "OK Ralph, I know that gesture. What's buggin' ya?"

Ralph cleared his throat. "Bill, I'm sorry that we fought before the safe
hit you. More I thought about it, the more I realized that if you didn't
barge in, Ms. Sapphire might've died when he realized the suit protected me.
I guess sometimes you just have to act."

"Yeah, but I've been thinking too about what could happen if I just act and
not think," said Bill. "I mean, what if he hadn't dropped the dame before
aiming at you. He could've decided to shoot her first then when I barged in,
me. Still, you're good at just using your instinct too, such as the cape
bit. No doubt that safe door woulda killed me if the cape didn't slow it
down..."

Bill's elbow accidentally hit the TV remote and turned the set on. He heard
a train whistle, and looking up, he saw a train spouting off smoke before
the scene froze and turned blue. The scene drew back to fit into a collage
of five panels, each one a different color save the center one, which was
always a cowboy. "'The Wild Wild West?'" said Ralph. "I haven't seen that
since I was a little kid. Too bad we missed it."

"Yeah, I remember the show too. Wonder what you'd look like wearing one of
the outfits Jim West or Artemus Gordon wore," said Pam with a slight smile.

"Actually pretty good, Counselor. That's what we wore in my dream," said
Bill. Hearing Ralph laugh, Bill frowned, realizing he was saying just what
the other two did when they were recovering from their concussions. "All
right, it's just coincidence, just like you guys were in the dream too and
me knowing the robber's name was Mac Bloodstone. Before you say anything
remember, I had to save the day when dream Ralph was out cold from the
ether."

Ralph rolled his eyes and chuckled. "OK Bill, I get your point on that too,
but now you can't say it was just Pam and me being silly. And, at least you
didn't decide to bash me over the head with a bottle in the dream to get the
suit. Don't think it'd transfer to you in real life if you did that. Listen
you about ready to go?"

Bill nodded. "Yeah, just haveta wait for the doctor to sign my papers and
then..." he paused when he saw a small box near the table. "Where did that
come from?" he asked.

Ralph picked up the box and handed it to Bill. "Oh, I forgot. Ms. Sapphire
came by last night and had that package for you. She said it was a thank you
for saving her life, and it fit perfectly given what happened."

"Huh, bet it's a lock of her hair for a locket, given she gave me a kiss on
the cheek without asking," said Bill, opening the package. Looking inside,
he froze and paled slightly, causing Pam and Ralph to frown. "Bill, you all
right? You're not going to pass out are you," said Ralph as he got near the
agent just in case he did.

Bill shook his head. "Uh, no kid, but this is too weird," he said, picking
up a bullet.

"A bullet? What's so weird about that," said Pam.

"Not just any bullet Counselor, it's for a Colt-.45. In fact, just like the
one I gave you in my dream to shoot at me when I was testing the suit," said
Bill, confused.

Ralph and Pam looked at each other and smiled. "You know, I'm starting to
wonder if these dreams we had when we were knocked out were real after all,"
said Ralph. "I mean, all three of us getting something we had in our dreams,
a ring, a brooch, a bullet..."

The trio looked at each other. "Nah," they said together and laughed.


End