When Joe came to he found himself tucked into bed with Lawrence sitting by his side. Blearily he stretched and rubbed his eyes. He glanced down and noticed the clean uniform.

“Welcome back to the world of the living,” Lawrence smiled weakly, stress lines on his face. “Hope you don’t mind, but we got you some clean clothes while you were under. How are you feeling, buddy?”

Joe groaned, “Like I had a very bad dream.”

“Well, we’re not out of it yet.”

“Where are we?”

“The King’s hideout. You fainted, remember?”

“Oh,” Joe grunted and turned green as he swung his legs off the bed and sat up.

After giving him a moment to get his bearings, Lawrence ventured, “So, you guys know each other, eh?”

Fighting the nausea, Joe nodded. “I don’t know any ‘King’, but I know an Al Jablonski. He was my boss when I first began work. The question I have is: what is he doing here? He was laid off years ago.”

"Well, it’s a long story,” said a different voice. Al appeared, carrying a tray loaded with food for the two men. “I’ll tell you while you eat.”

Joe took one look at the food and turned his head away.

“Buck up, you’re malnourished. At least drink some water. Here.” Al passed him a paper cup. “I know it’s not the best in the world, but it’s serviceable, right?”

Joe bowed his head in thanks and sipped gingerly from the cup. After a few seconds, he began feel better. “Thanks, Al.”

“No problem, Joe. So, what am I doing here? I’m working deep cover for the FBI. Spying on VirCorp.”

“Why?”

“Why not? They put my ass out in the cold. The wife left me. You name it. A few weeks after they let me go, I was approached by the FBI. They said they were interested in what I knew about operations at the HQ. They said a scientist who had quit informed the FBI that something major was brewing and the government had had enough with learning about the company’s questionable activities from press releases. The FBI formed a taskforce to uncover it. So, I was debriefed, sworn to secrecy—for a second time. The first time, VirCorp made me sign a non-disclosure agreement. Let’s just say the Feds made a better offer.

“Anyway, given my knowledge of the facilities and operations, they gave me a partner to work with. Together with Muggs, we came up with the idea of setting up a surveillance facility within the company. We could easily patch into the network to steal files and snatch conversations from the phone lines. But that wasn’t enough. We needed to recruit men within the major sectors like Human Resources to sort through the trash and make sure that the bugs stayed stuck.

That’s when I made contact with Sergeant Harvey over there.” Harvey waved. “You may have met, but probably not. He handled security in two crucial buildings. We’d worked together for several years and—“

“So did I!” Joe protested. “Why didn’t you come to me too? I hate this place. You know that as well as anybody. I would have helped!”

Al paused and shook his head, gently patting Joe’s shoulder. “The reason I didn’t come to you, my friend, was that you were still in R&D. We needed men with clearance, access to executive offices and the upper echelon. Don’t feel so bad about it, OK? I do trust you.”

“Sure, anything you say.” Joe rolled his eyes.

“I mean it, Joe! In a few more weeks I might have approached you, with what we were beginning to uncover. I understand if you feel sore about it. We really would have used you eventually. And I’m afraid that now we need you, and Lawrence here, more than anything.”

“It’s OK, Al. So, what do you need now?”

“Several months ago, we began the sting. From piecing back together shredded memos, tapping conversations and reading e-mail we uncovered a sinister plot. A plot, I’m afraid you were to be involved in.” Al gently rested his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “You were chosen from a pool of three candidates. I was too late in learning that they had picked you first.” He screwed up his face in shame. “But, we also needed to catch them in the act. I’m so sorry, son. I couldn’t risk blowing our operation to save you.”

“Well, you did rescue me. For that I’m grateful.”

“That’s my boy!” Al patted him on the back. “So, you and Simon have actually seen first hand what they have done. You are living proof that VirCorp has illegally cloned a human being.”

“But it’s not a law, yet.” Lawrence =offered.

“Congress and the President have been at odds over this issue for years, that’s true. While there is no law yet in place, they neglected to obtain a permit or even confer with the government. Additionally, you’ve been assaulted, battered and tortured at the hands of corporate staff. If the courts don’t buy into the issue of the permit, the latter will certainly pave the way for it and the other charges we plan to levy.”

“What does the taskforce plan to do?”

“We want to bring VirCorp to its knees. They’re just too damn big. For years we’ve been trying to nail them with numerous rights violations both here and abroad. I’m sure you’re aware of the subhuman working conditions their South American and Asian factory workers endure to produce their products. But they’ve always distanced themselves through intermediaries. They continue to flout every antitrust, copyright and employment law we’ve tried to snare them with. They’ve gotten almost too huge to be brought down, but this time, we’ve caught them red handed. That’s why we need you and Simon. If you help us, it’ll open the door wide enough for public scrutiny of every single activity they’ve undertaken.

“So, what I need to do now—if you’re ready, the sooner the better—is to take some pictures and get your written and video statements to send to the Feds ASAP. With that in hand, we can shut them down with an injunction to cease operations. Long enough to get you and Simon safely relocated till you can testify at the hearing. You have my word that nothing bad will happen to either of you.”

“Well, count me in,” said Lawrence. “I’m ready to bite the hand that chokes me.”

“And what do you say, Joe?”

Joe sat and thought about it for a few minutes, staring into his hands. Al and Lawrence gave him space. Al paced back to the console to get his cigarettes and lit up, offering one to Joe. Finally, Joe looked up.

“OK, Al,” he said, taking the cigarette. “I looked up to you then and I still look up to you now. I’m in.”

“Splendid!” Al said with a flourish. “Our royal presence is delighted with thy full cooperation. Thou art stout of heart. We see a Knighthood in thy future—the both of you. Admiral! I shall need parchment, quills and ready the contraptions to capture their images! Tonight we burn the candle at both ends in noble service to our mother country! In the meantime, my good fellows please enjoy thy repast.”

Joe looked up in confusion at Harvey for an explanation.

“He means food. Enjoy the food.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, I thought you were paying attention earlier. Psychosis. He thinks he’s Edward IV. Reads too many of those historical novels. It comes and goes.”

Joe’s jaw dropped. “Uh. Excuse me?”