I was still groggy when I woke up. A sleeping bag was a far cry from waking up in the White House just two days ago, my time. Preparing myself breakfast wasn't an option, as I had broken all of Chuck's dinnerware in my rampage last night.
The telephone inside Chuck's place rings, and Sam Beckett answers it.
"Hello," he says.
"Yo Chuck, it's Roscoe," says Roscoe. "Got to remember to pick me up."
Sam walks to the counter and sees some coupon fliers. He sees one particular flyer. "How would you like breakfast?" asks the quantum physicist.
Oooooooo
Groove is in the heart, Groove is in the heart
Groove is in the heart, Groove is in the heart
Watch out!
The depth of hula groove
Move us to the nth hoop
We're going through to, Horten hears a who
Sam and Roscoe enter the Crown Point diner for breakfast, with Al Calavicci following them. The two men sit at adjacent empty seats at the counter.
"Oh Chuck, you're here," says Laureline, wearing a blue striped blouse.
"You work here?"
"For four years now, ever since movin' to Crown Point," replies the waitress.
Sam looks around. He can see the counter and some booths with vinyl bench seats. Posters advertise food items offered by the cafe.
"Wait a minute," says Sam. "I've been here before."
"You've been here for Sunday brunch a few times," replies Laureline.
"Well, in a technical sense, you haven't been here, Sam," says Al. "But I have. Remember when we simo-leaped? Just a year ago, my time, or forty-five years ago, this time."
"Yeah," replies Sam. He can recall leaping along with Al when a bolt of lightning struck them. "It was here. How could I forget?"
"Of course," says Laureline. She looks at the other man. "Roscoe, is it?"
"Yeah. Anyway, I'll just have a bagel and some bacon and orange juice."
"The $8.99 steak and eggs special, plus two cups of coffee," says Sam.
"Two cups?"
"Got a big day."
"Yeah, we're going to the prison," says Roscoe.
"Whom did ya guys kill?" asks Laureline.
"No. No. We volunteer. We help prisoners live a law-abiding life."
"Chuck told me about his volunteer work," says Laureline.
"it's nice having a different path," says Roscoe. "If I stayed in Chicago with the Disciples, I probably would have killed some kid in a drive-by shooting."
It is not long before Sam is served his steak and fried eggs and hash browns.
"Good stuff," says the time traveler. "Almost as good as what they served in the White House."
"Ha!" exclaims Roscoe. "Good one."
"So where is this place you're goin'?" asks Laureline.
"Actually, we are heading to the volunteer center," says Roscoe. "It's just a block past the courthouse."
"Yup," replies Sam, smiling that Roscoe had told him where the volunteer center is.
"We take a van to the prison."
Al punches buttons on the handlink, hoping that he can advise Sam to get a sudden case of food poisoning. But Ziggy still tells him that if Sam is absent, there is an eighty percent chance someone else gets murdered in his stead.
Finally, the two men finish their breakfast, with Sam feeling hyped up with two cups of coffee with cream and sugar.
"I definitely should have breakfast here with Beth," says Al, having found out that this very cafe is still in business in his time.
Sam and Roscoe get into Chuck's Nissan Maxima. The leaper drives past this large red and white brick building that is the Old Lake County courthouse.
"Where exactly do we park?" asks Sam.
"Really?" asks Roscoe.
"Well, I didn't get a good nights sleep."
Roscoe shows Sam where to park. The time traveler turns right. The parking lot is surrounded by two-story buildings that look like houses. It is clearly some sort of office park. There are not too many cars parked here, as it is a Sunday.
Sam follows Roscoe. The other man reaches a door on the first floor, with a plate reading "NARROW PATH".
They enter a small office, which has a table and two desks. A refrigerator and sink is in a corner, and there is a water cooler in another corner. Sam notes the lack of computer equipment, only typewriters. He guesses this is a small office, so some would still lack desktop computers.
"Great to see you here," says a man.
Sam looks at him. Mid-thirties, brown hair, spectacles, looking very ordinary with a red collared shirt, Levi's blue jeans, and brown leather boots.
"Glad you're here," says the man. "The items are in the storeroom."
"Sure, Andy," replies Roscoe.
Roscoe and Sam grab some materials from a storage closet in the small officer, including posters and books and pamphlets. They walk out of the office and into the office park's parking lot. An early 1980's GMC van is parked, not far from where Chuck's Nissan Maxima is parked. The two men load the supplies in the van.
"Sam, there's something you should know," says Al.
The leaper makes a hand signal, knowing that Roscoe is within hearing range.
"Sam," says the observer, "the Indiana authorities did some testing on the handle of the murder weapon. It was coated with some chemical resists fingerprinting."
"Resists fingerprinting?" asks the quantum physicist.
"First time I was fingerprinted was when the Chi-town cops arrested me when I was eleven," says Roscoe.
"Yes, Sam," says Al. "It can only mean one thing."
"Premeditation," whispers Sam.
"What?" asks Roscoe.
"Let;s see if there are more supplies we need to bring to the prison," replies the time traveler.
The two men and the man known as Andy grab some more supplies, loading them into the blue GMC van.
"We should have everything," says Andy. "Hop on in, guys."
Roscoe and Sam enter, with Roscoe in the front passenger seat, and Sam in the back. Andy turns the key and the engine rumbles to life. He soon pulls the GMC out into the streets of Crown Point. The van drives southeast along U.S. Highway 231, passing along houses set far back from the road, until reaching the interchange with Interstate 65. The van gets on the on ramp and soon heads southbound. Sam can see the familiar blue and white shield.
You can't touch this
You can't touch this
You can't touch this
You can't touch this
My, my, my my music hits me so hard
Makes me say, "Oh my Lord"
Thank you for blessin' me
With a mind to rhyme and two hype feet
It feels good, when you know you're down
A super dope homeboy from the Oaktown
And I'm known as such
And this is a beat, uh, you can't touch
I told you homeboy (You can't touch this)
Yeah, that's how we livin' and ya know (You can't touch this)
Look in my eyes, man (You can't touch this)
Yo, let me bust the funky lyrics (You can't touch this)
"I remember when this played on MTV all the time," says Al. "Back when they used to have music videos."
"Wait a minute," says Sam. "MTV stopped having music videos?"
"You're such a kidder, Chuck," replies Andy, watching for the traffic. "Without music videos, MTV wouldn't be MTV."
"Yeah, I remember Beavis and Butt-head."
"What?" asks Roscoe.
"A song I heard a while back."
The GMC van continues along the freeway for about half an hour. Andy then steers the van to an exit ramp. Near the ramp is a Shell gas station, a Motel 6, a McDonald's, and a medium-price diner whose name Sam does not recognize.
Andy makes a left turn and soon they are along a two-lane country road, surrounded by corn fields. If he did not know any better, Sam could swear he is near Elk Ridge.
After maybe twenty minutes on this two-lane asphalt road, a complex of buildings become visible in the distance; the quantum leaper figures it is the prison, the prison where Chuck Morton- or rather, Sam Beckett- would be killed today, unless he does things right.
As they get closer, Sam can see a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. There are several towers. Men wearing blue overalls are in the yard.
"I'll never forget being on the wrong side of the fence," says Roscoe.
"Yeah," replies Sam. "I remember being strapped into the elec-" he catches himself- "being locked in solitary."
"It took less than a week for me to be locked up in solitary, the first time."
The GMC van pulls into the parking lot and is quickly greeted by uniformed guards. Sam notices the patch of the flag of the State of Indiana on their sleeves.
Sam, Roscoe, and Andy get the supplies out of the van. The guards quickly check the contents for any contraband.
"all right," says one of the guards. "You can go in."
Sam follows Roscoe and Andy as he carries a cardboard box, figuring out that the two other men have had more experience with this than the time traveler has. They all go into a door and into a small room with a desk. More prison guards do searches on the three men. The guards are very diligent in their work, despite being familiar with Narrow Path. Sam shows Chuck's driver's license and then signs on a sheet as Chuck Morton.
Sam follows Roscoe and Andy as they walk along a hallway. After about a minute, they enter this large room. There are several chairs set up.
Under the watchful eye of the guards, the three men set up. Sam places a wooden tripod on the floor.
Soon, some men walk in, all of them wearing blue trousers and long-sleeved collared blue shirts; they are clearly prisoners. Memories surface in Roscoe's mind.
He still remembers his time in prison.
Finally, it is time.
Roscoe faces the prisoners, while Al watches intently.
"Hi, everyone," says Roscoe. "Name's Roscoe,. I once did time in prison, like y'all doing now. I'm with the Narrow Path."
Sam and Al listen to Roscoe's speech. They find that his speech is actually inspirational. The prisoners seem to be nodding in agreement.
And then it starts.
Al hears shouting.
The guards become alert.
There is a brawl.
Sam notices it too, and becomes even more alert.
Al sees a hand holding something with a clear blade.
"Sam!" yells the observer.
Sam sees the blade.
He quickly acts.
The guards manage to break up the fight.
Sam has Andy pinned on the floor.
Andy is holding the blade with his right hand.
"It was you?" asks the leaper.
The room is calmed down as the prison guards take control. One of the prisoners, a man with a shaven head speaks up.
"Yeah, it was him," he says. "He said he'd give me money to pay for my girl's braces if I started a brawl."
"But why?" asks Roscoe.
Al presses buttons on the handlink. "It seems in the original history, Andy here was sentenced to three years in prison back in '97 for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars from charities."
"Embezzlement?" asks Sam.
A memory surfaces in Roscoe's mind. "I remember seeing those discrepancies in the books," he says.
"He must have been trying to kill you."
"Now Andy here is sent to prison next year for embezzlement, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder," says Al. "He's not eligible for parole until 2015. You can leap now. I know you don't want to hang around Chuck's life longer than you have to."
"I think I have some loose ends to tie up later," whispers the time traveler.