The status of peace in the Middle East is basically up in the air. SSA Agent Jon X's severely wounded body is in Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center. He's in critical condition in the intensive care unit.

Jon lost a lot of blood. Although his body had been well protected by a bullet proof vest, he had a severe head wound. The extent of the damage is not known. He's in a coma. His body is hooked to IVs and other electronic devices measuring the body's vital signs.

The attending medical staff noticed that, every once in a while, Jon's body flinched and quivered. They tried to calm him down. They did not realize that he was reliving some of his life experiences while in his comatose condition.

Every vision looked very real and very lifelike to him. A vision of his adoptive parents brought tears to his eyes. He relived a few days with them. They were both young and tried their best to make him feel at home. "Where would I be had they not adopted me?" He asked himself repeatedly. He relived their passing and their funerals.

Every memory and vision was fast. It came on quick and vanished in a matter of seconds. There's fourteen year old Mary Marlyn Mango...the 3 M kid. It was her birthday. "I want you to make love to me," she said. "That'll be my birthday present from you." Jon had just turned fifteen. That was a wonderful experience he recalled. She's an FBI agent now.

"That's my old girlfriend Nadia walking towards me! She managed a brothel in Beirut for a few years. She's married to a Lebanese politician now." He mumbled.

"Are you alright?" He asked her.

"I'm fine," she answered. "You're the one we're concerned about. Are you leaving us for good, or are you coming back?" Just as quickly as she appeared she vanished.

There was a pause. He swore that he could hear a marching band play "Rocky Top", and one hundred thousand people singing ...Rocky top, you'll always be home sweet home to me...

A few seconds later Jon found himself on a ship. He recognized the three cabaret dancers that he once met on a cruise ship in the Mediterranean. "Hello Megan, Angie, and Susan," he said. "Are you going to the cabaret in Beirut?"

"Oh Jon, we're worried about you." Megan said. "I still have strong feelings for you." Within a few seconds her image was gone.

Jon was puzzled when a parade of young women passed by. He recognized a few of them. They waved and smiled and threw kisses to him. He waved back.

Jon looked towards the horizon. "I can see Heaven and Hell from here." He murmured. "I can see the Pearly Gates. There's a long line waiting to get in. Maybe I should go and get in line. Or maybe not." He thought as he remembered Mark Twain's comment: "I don't like to commit myself about Heaven and Hell---you see, I have friends in both places."

He felt some of Hell's heat waves smack him in the face. "Oh no! Is that my destiny?" He mumbled. "I can see Satan greeting the new residents." Dozens of people walked towards the fire. They looked more like ghosts than humans. Some were dressed in traditional desert garb. A few wore western street clothes. Some wore combat fatigues. They were chanting and pointing towards Satan..."Sheitan, Sheitan." Translated: Satan, Satan. Some of them shook their fists and cursed. "Oh, some of these must be the sinners I heard a lot about. One of these men has a clergy collar. I wonder what he did? The others are some of the terrorists that I took down in different parts of the world." Poof, the vision was gone.

"Oh yes," he mumbled as the image of French Agent Elise Marseilles appeared. She was his partner in the fight against terrorists in the Middle East, South America, and Europe. She was killed while trying to rescue Franciscan monks that were held hostage in Paris. He had very strong feelings for her. "Elise, I'm very happy to see you. I'm ready to go with you. Please stay right here with me."

"It's not your time to be with me." She answered. "You're going back. You have a lot more to do."

"Please don't leave," he muttered." I want to go with you. Wait for me." His body moved as if trying to get up.

The attending nurse heard his muttering. She could not make out the words. She put her hand on his shoulder to stabilize him and summoned the doctors.

Jon's body jerking reflected his attempt to get up. He heard a voice say, "calm down Jon. I'm here with you."

"That sounds like Shoshana." He thought. He struggled less and calmed down. He gradually opened his eyes. It was Shoshana. Standing next to her were Israeli Senior Agent Genia Cohen, and SSA Middle East Chief Ben Barker.

"What are you all doing here?" Jon asked.

"We're here checking on you," answered Mr. Barker. "We thought we lost you this time. The bullet proof vest saved your life. It stopped a few rounds, however, two rounds missed the vest. One hit your neck and the other hit your head. The head wound caused the coma."

"I'm very hard to take down." Jon answered. "How is the Peace Emissary? How's the rest of the Team?"

"Everyone survived." Mr. Barker said. "There were no casualties."

"I have a lot of questions to ask." Jon said. "I know how I got here, but I want to know how the Israeli EMTs were on site to rescue me?"