Author's Note: "After a hundred years" is used without permission.

Mortimer had been rushed to the Bismarck Medical Center.

In the waiting room, the Chief gave a worried sigh.

"I signaled Carmen and Ivy. They'll be here any minute," Zack reported as he
entered the waiting room. "I just told them it was an emergency."

A few minutes passed.

Soon, Carmen and Ivy entered the waiting room. "What happened?"

Zack drew a breath. "Mortimer just had a bad asthma attack. But that isn't
all."

Carmen nodded. "It was Lee, wasn't it?"

"It wasn't just Lee. It was Maelstrom, too. They've," Zack paused. "Joined
forces."

"What?" Ivy cried.

"Wow," the Chief muttered. "The sadistic and masterminded manner of Maelstrom
meets the greedy and cutthroat audacity of Lee Jordan."

Carmen groaned softly. "I never imagined something like this would happen."
She shook her head in disgust. "But if this is how Lee treats his own
family...."

The bunch walked to the receptionist. The receptionist barely looked up.
"Your friend's in room 124. You can visit him now. He's past the danger
point, but if he starts to wheeze, call for help."

Zack, Ivy, Carmen, and the Chief quietly entered the room.

Mortimer saw the door open, and threw the blankets over his head.

"Mortie, stop it!" the Chief ordered good-naturedly. "You're gonna smother
yourself."

Mortimer reluctantly drew back the covers. His skin was pale from oxygen
deprivation.

Ivy was the first to speak. "So, do these things happen often?"

"The asthma attacks? No, not really." Mortimer answered.

"Like how often?" Ivy persisted. "Once a week? Once a month?"

"Not even that often," Mortimer said petulantly. "Maybe twice a year. I
usually know when the attacks are coming, and I can head them off."

"You couldn't today."

Mortimer shrugged. "Those two had me panicked, cornering us in the alley like
that."

"What would have happened if you had been on a case? Crooks take advantage of
moments like that--"

"Ivy-" the Chief warned.

"But, Chief. It's the truth," Ivy protested. "I still think you made a
mistake, asking someone like him to join Acme. Why, Mortimer, you're as weak
as, as, as..." she paused a moment. "You're as weak as Lee!"

"That's a disturbing comparision," replied Mortimer. The color was slowly
returning to his face. He knew Ivy wanted to go on cross-examining him. He
was daring her to.

Ivy sensed the tension and changed the subject. "So, how are we going to deal
with the Tweedledee and Tweedledum of evil?"

"Tweedledee and Tweedledum of evil?" the Chief repeated. "It's ridiculous,
but it, it, um,"

"Suits them?" suggested Zack.

The physician entered the room and said to Mortimer, "We think you may be
ready to check out now. Can you recite the first verse of Emily Dickinson's
poem, 'After a Hundred Years' without taking a breath?"

Mortimer sat up and recited the first verse:
"After a hundred years
Nobody knows the place,-
Agony that enacted there,
Motionless as peace."
Without taking a breath, he launched into the second and third verses:
"Weeds triumphant ranged,
Strangers strolled and spelled
At the lone orthography
Of the elder dead.

Winds of summer fields
Recollect the way,-
Instinct picking up the key
Dropped by memory."

The physician looked impressed. "You may go now. Just keep these precautions
in mind: try to stay calm for the time being, and I wouldn't recommend
running the Boston marathon either."

Ten minutes later, the bunch was leaving the hospital.

Ivy was still not convinced. "Mortimer, why don't you go home and rest?"

"If Amy Van Dyken can swim in the Olympics, I can do this detective work,"
was the reply. "I've been dealing with breathing problems since childhood."

"Hot tip," the Chief called. "Lee and Maelstrom sighted in Stansbury,
England."

"C-5 us to Stansbury," Zack commanded.

To be continued....