CHAPTER 10
Stallion's Gate
Tina Martinez-O'Farrell closed the door to her quarters and burst out laughing. The expression on the face of that NSA agent when he saw Al's picture on her nightstand was priceless. He ran from Tina so fast, it was like he had jet-powered shoes. It had been fun, flirting to distract him from looking too hard for the Guest. It had been a long time since she'd played the sex kitten for anyone but Al. It wasn't that she didn't love him, quite the contrary. But with his marriage track record, she knew she shouldn't invest in a white gown anytime soon. 'Damn!' she thought, 'I'm as bad as Delilah and her married congressman.'
She wondered out on to the balcony. Her lavender mules were in the far corner where they'd been pushed aside last night so as not to be crushed in their passion. She picked them up and held them to her chest as she came back into the main bedroom.
Her reflection in the large mirror over her dresser captured her attention. She'd held up well for almost thirty though spending so much time in the pit at Stallion's Gate had ruined her tan. 'Now Dee has a great tan,' she thought.
After depositing the slippers in her closet, Tina returned her attention to the mirror. "Christina Gianna Martinez-O'Farrell," she said to her reflection, "You, unlike your sister, are in this relationship with your eyes totally open. You have a wonderful man who doesn't lie to you, again unlike your sister." Her eyes lit on the scarlet dress in the open closet. "And furthermore," she said, "you are going to look fantastic tomorrow night!" She checked her reflection one more time and reapplied a coat of her favorite lipstick. "All right, pep talk over," she told herself, "go back to work." She turned on her three-inch heel and practically danced out of the door.
*************
Alamagordo, New Mexico
Donna Elesee had been smiling at bureaucrats for the last four hours and her face hurt. The finance committee had two funding bills to consider; QL and a museum project at Alamagordo. Al had planned be at the Alamagordo meeting to deliver a "good neighbor" speech, but Donna wasn't feeling particularly good about any federal neighbors today.
After seeing Donovan this morning, questions kept nagging at her. Why was Isaac in the company of an NSA agent? She hated the thought of her favorite professor being used like that. Where had Donovan and Parker gone while she and Isaac were visiting? Donna refused to believe that QL security was lax enough to allow them to wander the facility. Was Isaac NSA, too? That thought, more than any other, angered Donna because that meant Isaac had been using her. Donna Elesee wore her professionalism like a suit of armor; showing confidence in her project, despite her emotional upheaval, as she went through the day's activities.
**************
Stallion's Gate
After doing a 'courtesy' search in Gooshie's quarters, Bradley Talmadge was ready to call today's operation at Stallion's Gate over; well almost. He asked to meet with the security chief Reed and Dr. Beeks one more time. They met in the public conference room on first level.
"Have you found anything?" Verbena Beeks asked of Bradley.
"No, the bomb isn't here. With all due respect to Chief Reed and his men I'd like to beef up security with some of my men for a few days," Bradley offered.
"Jim?" Verbena landed the decision in Reed's lap.
"I have no problem with having a few extra bodies around, especially during the party tomorrow, but the final decision is Admiral Calavicci's." Reed responded.
"What party?" Bradley inquired.
"Our final opportunity to impress the finance committee is a reception here tomorrow evening," Verbena stated.
"I think it would be prudent to have my men on grounds then," Bradley pushed.
"That decision is not in my power," Verbena stated firmly. Seeing the coming argument on Bradley's face she added, "However I can add names to the guest list." Bradley nodded in agreement. "Then it's done," Verbena said. "The reception begins at eight and it's black tie."
***********
Roswell
"Talk to yourself," Al Calavicci said tossing the phone at Frank Parker.
Frank gave Al a puzzled look, then slowly put the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he said.
Sam Beckett heard his own voice come from the receiver. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Hello, Frank. I'm Sam Beckett," Sam said.
Frank dropped the cell phone. That was his own voice! After taking a deep breath to control his anxiety, he picked up the phone again. "I feel like I'm in an episode of the 'Twilight Zone'," he said.
"This isn't a regular occurrence for me either," Sam agreed.
"I don't know what more I can tell you about the bombing that wasn't on the data wafer."
"That's not why I wanted to talk to you," Sam quickly said. "I wanted to warn you not to say anything to Al about Backstep. I didn't tell him everything."
"Why not? Can't he be trusted?"
"Of course he can be trusted," Sam defended his partner. "There is no reason to jeopardize both projects. It's need to know and for now, he doesn't."
Frank couldn't take this at face value. He had to test the voice on the phone. "How are all my comrades taking this?" he asked.
"I've managed to keep the illusion that I'm you," Sam told him. "But Olga Vukovitch is killing me with these 6 AM runs."
"Damn, you really are me," Frank almost shouted.
"But I didn't live the last timeline, Frank. You did. Is there anything, no matter how small that wasn't included on the wafer?"
Frank could hear the anxiety in Sam's -his- voice. "Nothing relevant." Frank said.
"Well if you think of anything, tell Al." Sam requested.
"Will do." Frank answered. He offered the phone back to Al.
"Sam? Are you still there?" Al asked.
"Yeah, Buddy, I'm still here but they're going to come looking for me soon."
"Be careful," Al warned. "These NSA people are really sharp." Al looked directly at Frank. "Keep as close to Parker's normal life as possible."
Sam and Frank began laughing. Because of being neurally linked to Sam, Al heard both men as Sam Beckett. "Great," he moaned, "Stereo."
Socorro
In his hotel room, Sam heard a knock at his door. He bade Al a quick good-bye and hung up the phone. Crossing the room, he called "Who is it?"
"Isaac," Dr. Mentnor's voice called back. "I hope I'm not disturbing you," he continued as Sam opened the door.
"Nah, come on in," Sam invited.
Isaac held up the seven floppies that Sam had left on his desk. "You did a great job with these, Frank. Saved us a lot of time. Thank you."
Sam blushed. After all these years, praise from a former teacher still felt good. "All it required was the right search tool," he said humbly.
"We've decided to get a late lunch. Want to join us?" Isaac asked.
"I could eat," Sam conceded. The pair went to meet up with John and Olga at a local diner.
************
Alamagordo
It was during a break in the speeches that Donna Elesee noticed a familiar face. She strode up behind the woman and asked, "Why are you here?" As the woman turned around to face her, Donna realized her mistake. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
The woman smiled. "No problem. You're from Quantum Leap, right? Everyone confuses Tina and me the first time. You did mean Tina Martinez-O'Farrell, didn't you?" she inquired.
"Yes," Donna admitted. "You must be...."
"Her sister." Delilah met Donna's extended hand to shake. "You are?"
"Donna Elesee."
"Nice to meet you. Tee mentioned how nice you were." Delilah looked around the room. "Can I talk to you a moment?" she asked.
"Sure," Donna said.
"The decision about which project to fund is agonizing. My congressman, Congressman Martinelli, hates the idea of this museum but it's half the cost of Quantum Leap." Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "He may have to vote on the side that saves his constituents money despite wanting to do the opposite. It's an election year." Donna just nodded.
"Not telling tales out of school, are you Lyla?" a deep baritone boomed next to the women.
Flustered, Lyla was quick to defend herself. "Of course not, Angelo, I mean, Congressman. Congressman Angelo Martinelli, this is Dr. Donna Elesee," she introduced them.
"I know that. She gave us the guided tour through Stallion's Gate the other day," Martinelli said to his assistant. "Doctor, I hope my assistant hasn't been bothering you," he added to Donna.
"Not at all," Donna said, "as a matter of fact I have a note to deliver to her." She pulled Tina's note from her jacket pocket and handed it to Lyla.
"Thank you," Lyla said.
"Now if you'll excuse us, Dr. Elesee, we have some business to do." Martinelli said as he placed a directing hand on Lyla's arm. "Lyla?"
"Yes, coming." She turned with her boss and walked away as she put Tina's note away.
Donna mulled over the strange encounter as she returned to the conference room. She had always prized herself on reading people and something was definitely off with Tina's sister. Lyla had spoken too possessively of "her congressman" and Martinelli was too familiar with her in Donna's opinion. He had teased her about "telling tales". Donna wondered if they were having an affair. After working with Tina for seven years, Donna didn't find the thought at all surprising.
**********
Socorro
It was during lunch that Isaac planned to test his theory about the change in Frank. He steered the conversation to colleges; who went where and did what first. Olga had finished a story about an explosion in her chemistry class at the University of Leningrad when Isaac made his move.
"Now of course I went to college a lot longer ago than you, but I had a story I used to tell to all my undergraduate students when I was teaching," he said.
"Tell it, please?" Olga asked, the request was echoed by the rest.
"It goes like this: There was an Indian Chief who had three wives. Now the chief gave each wife her own teepee to live in and each teepee was made from a different animal skin. The first was made from buffalo skin, the second was made from the skin of a grizzly bear and the third was made from the skin of a hippopotamus.
Whenever the chief went hunting he distributed his catch among his wives. He always gave a portion each to the wife in the buffalo teepee and the wife in the grizzly teepee but to the wife in the hippopotamus teepee, he gave two portions.
When the corn crop would be harvested, the chief would distribute corn to his wives. Again, he would give a portion each to the wife in the buffalo teepee and the wife in the grizzly teepee but to the wife in the hippopotamus teepee, he gave two portions.
Whenever the chief would give his wives ... I seem to have forgotten." Isaac interrupted himself. He turned to the man seated next to him. "I've told this to you. What is the next thing?"
Sam smiled at the memory of Isaac telling him this story two decades ago. "Whenever the chief would give his wives gifts, he would give one to the wife in the buffalo teepee, one to the wife in the grizzly teepee but he always gave two gifts to the wife in the hippopotamus teepee. Do you want me to finish this, Isaac?" Sam asked.
"Go ahead, my boy," was Isaac's reply.
"One evening around the tribal fire a young brave asked the chief why it was that he always gave the wife in the hippopotamus skin teepee more than the others. "It is simple, my son", the chief responded, "The squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws of the other two hides."" Sam delivered the punch line with flair.
John Ballard exploded into laughter. Olga grimaced at the pun.
'I guess it doesn't translate into Russian well' Sam thought.
Isaac was laughing almost as hard as Ballard, but his reason was different. He had proved his theory. He had never told that joke to Frank Parker; he had to Sam Beckett. Now it all made sense: the personality change, the review of mission logs, the conversation with 'air' and the pickup line he had used on Donna Elesee. The man sitting next to him was not Frank Parker but Sam Beckett quantum leaped into Parker's life.
Stallion's Gate
Tina Martinez-O'Farrell closed the door to her quarters and burst out laughing. The expression on the face of that NSA agent when he saw Al's picture on her nightstand was priceless. He ran from Tina so fast, it was like he had jet-powered shoes. It had been fun, flirting to distract him from looking too hard for the Guest. It had been a long time since she'd played the sex kitten for anyone but Al. It wasn't that she didn't love him, quite the contrary. But with his marriage track record, she knew she shouldn't invest in a white gown anytime soon. 'Damn!' she thought, 'I'm as bad as Delilah and her married congressman.'
She wondered out on to the balcony. Her lavender mules were in the far corner where they'd been pushed aside last night so as not to be crushed in their passion. She picked them up and held them to her chest as she came back into the main bedroom.
Her reflection in the large mirror over her dresser captured her attention. She'd held up well for almost thirty though spending so much time in the pit at Stallion's Gate had ruined her tan. 'Now Dee has a great tan,' she thought.
After depositing the slippers in her closet, Tina returned her attention to the mirror. "Christina Gianna Martinez-O'Farrell," she said to her reflection, "You, unlike your sister, are in this relationship with your eyes totally open. You have a wonderful man who doesn't lie to you, again unlike your sister." Her eyes lit on the scarlet dress in the open closet. "And furthermore," she said, "you are going to look fantastic tomorrow night!" She checked her reflection one more time and reapplied a coat of her favorite lipstick. "All right, pep talk over," she told herself, "go back to work." She turned on her three-inch heel and practically danced out of the door.
*************
Alamagordo, New Mexico
Donna Elesee had been smiling at bureaucrats for the last four hours and her face hurt. The finance committee had two funding bills to consider; QL and a museum project at Alamagordo. Al had planned be at the Alamagordo meeting to deliver a "good neighbor" speech, but Donna wasn't feeling particularly good about any federal neighbors today.
After seeing Donovan this morning, questions kept nagging at her. Why was Isaac in the company of an NSA agent? She hated the thought of her favorite professor being used like that. Where had Donovan and Parker gone while she and Isaac were visiting? Donna refused to believe that QL security was lax enough to allow them to wander the facility. Was Isaac NSA, too? That thought, more than any other, angered Donna because that meant Isaac had been using her. Donna Elesee wore her professionalism like a suit of armor; showing confidence in her project, despite her emotional upheaval, as she went through the day's activities.
**************
Stallion's Gate
After doing a 'courtesy' search in Gooshie's quarters, Bradley Talmadge was ready to call today's operation at Stallion's Gate over; well almost. He asked to meet with the security chief Reed and Dr. Beeks one more time. They met in the public conference room on first level.
"Have you found anything?" Verbena Beeks asked of Bradley.
"No, the bomb isn't here. With all due respect to Chief Reed and his men I'd like to beef up security with some of my men for a few days," Bradley offered.
"Jim?" Verbena landed the decision in Reed's lap.
"I have no problem with having a few extra bodies around, especially during the party tomorrow, but the final decision is Admiral Calavicci's." Reed responded.
"What party?" Bradley inquired.
"Our final opportunity to impress the finance committee is a reception here tomorrow evening," Verbena stated.
"I think it would be prudent to have my men on grounds then," Bradley pushed.
"That decision is not in my power," Verbena stated firmly. Seeing the coming argument on Bradley's face she added, "However I can add names to the guest list." Bradley nodded in agreement. "Then it's done," Verbena said. "The reception begins at eight and it's black tie."
***********
Roswell
"Talk to yourself," Al Calavicci said tossing the phone at Frank Parker.
Frank gave Al a puzzled look, then slowly put the phone to his ear. "Hello?" he said.
Sam Beckett heard his own voice come from the receiver. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Hello, Frank. I'm Sam Beckett," Sam said.
Frank dropped the cell phone. That was his own voice! After taking a deep breath to control his anxiety, he picked up the phone again. "I feel like I'm in an episode of the 'Twilight Zone'," he said.
"This isn't a regular occurrence for me either," Sam agreed.
"I don't know what more I can tell you about the bombing that wasn't on the data wafer."
"That's not why I wanted to talk to you," Sam quickly said. "I wanted to warn you not to say anything to Al about Backstep. I didn't tell him everything."
"Why not? Can't he be trusted?"
"Of course he can be trusted," Sam defended his partner. "There is no reason to jeopardize both projects. It's need to know and for now, he doesn't."
Frank couldn't take this at face value. He had to test the voice on the phone. "How are all my comrades taking this?" he asked.
"I've managed to keep the illusion that I'm you," Sam told him. "But Olga Vukovitch is killing me with these 6 AM runs."
"Damn, you really are me," Frank almost shouted.
"But I didn't live the last timeline, Frank. You did. Is there anything, no matter how small that wasn't included on the wafer?"
Frank could hear the anxiety in Sam's -his- voice. "Nothing relevant." Frank said.
"Well if you think of anything, tell Al." Sam requested.
"Will do." Frank answered. He offered the phone back to Al.
"Sam? Are you still there?" Al asked.
"Yeah, Buddy, I'm still here but they're going to come looking for me soon."
"Be careful," Al warned. "These NSA people are really sharp." Al looked directly at Frank. "Keep as close to Parker's normal life as possible."
Sam and Frank began laughing. Because of being neurally linked to Sam, Al heard both men as Sam Beckett. "Great," he moaned, "Stereo."
Socorro
In his hotel room, Sam heard a knock at his door. He bade Al a quick good-bye and hung up the phone. Crossing the room, he called "Who is it?"
"Isaac," Dr. Mentnor's voice called back. "I hope I'm not disturbing you," he continued as Sam opened the door.
"Nah, come on in," Sam invited.
Isaac held up the seven floppies that Sam had left on his desk. "You did a great job with these, Frank. Saved us a lot of time. Thank you."
Sam blushed. After all these years, praise from a former teacher still felt good. "All it required was the right search tool," he said humbly.
"We've decided to get a late lunch. Want to join us?" Isaac asked.
"I could eat," Sam conceded. The pair went to meet up with John and Olga at a local diner.
************
Alamagordo
It was during a break in the speeches that Donna Elesee noticed a familiar face. She strode up behind the woman and asked, "Why are you here?" As the woman turned around to face her, Donna realized her mistake. "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else."
The woman smiled. "No problem. You're from Quantum Leap, right? Everyone confuses Tina and me the first time. You did mean Tina Martinez-O'Farrell, didn't you?" she inquired.
"Yes," Donna admitted. "You must be...."
"Her sister." Delilah met Donna's extended hand to shake. "You are?"
"Donna Elesee."
"Nice to meet you. Tee mentioned how nice you were." Delilah looked around the room. "Can I talk to you a moment?" she asked.
"Sure," Donna said.
"The decision about which project to fund is agonizing. My congressman, Congressman Martinelli, hates the idea of this museum but it's half the cost of Quantum Leap." Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "He may have to vote on the side that saves his constituents money despite wanting to do the opposite. It's an election year." Donna just nodded.
"Not telling tales out of school, are you Lyla?" a deep baritone boomed next to the women.
Flustered, Lyla was quick to defend herself. "Of course not, Angelo, I mean, Congressman. Congressman Angelo Martinelli, this is Dr. Donna Elesee," she introduced them.
"I know that. She gave us the guided tour through Stallion's Gate the other day," Martinelli said to his assistant. "Doctor, I hope my assistant hasn't been bothering you," he added to Donna.
"Not at all," Donna said, "as a matter of fact I have a note to deliver to her." She pulled Tina's note from her jacket pocket and handed it to Lyla.
"Thank you," Lyla said.
"Now if you'll excuse us, Dr. Elesee, we have some business to do." Martinelli said as he placed a directing hand on Lyla's arm. "Lyla?"
"Yes, coming." She turned with her boss and walked away as she put Tina's note away.
Donna mulled over the strange encounter as she returned to the conference room. She had always prized herself on reading people and something was definitely off with Tina's sister. Lyla had spoken too possessively of "her congressman" and Martinelli was too familiar with her in Donna's opinion. He had teased her about "telling tales". Donna wondered if they were having an affair. After working with Tina for seven years, Donna didn't find the thought at all surprising.
**********
Socorro
It was during lunch that Isaac planned to test his theory about the change in Frank. He steered the conversation to colleges; who went where and did what first. Olga had finished a story about an explosion in her chemistry class at the University of Leningrad when Isaac made his move.
"Now of course I went to college a lot longer ago than you, but I had a story I used to tell to all my undergraduate students when I was teaching," he said.
"Tell it, please?" Olga asked, the request was echoed by the rest.
"It goes like this: There was an Indian Chief who had three wives. Now the chief gave each wife her own teepee to live in and each teepee was made from a different animal skin. The first was made from buffalo skin, the second was made from the skin of a grizzly bear and the third was made from the skin of a hippopotamus.
Whenever the chief went hunting he distributed his catch among his wives. He always gave a portion each to the wife in the buffalo teepee and the wife in the grizzly teepee but to the wife in the hippopotamus teepee, he gave two portions.
When the corn crop would be harvested, the chief would distribute corn to his wives. Again, he would give a portion each to the wife in the buffalo teepee and the wife in the grizzly teepee but to the wife in the hippopotamus teepee, he gave two portions.
Whenever the chief would give his wives ... I seem to have forgotten." Isaac interrupted himself. He turned to the man seated next to him. "I've told this to you. What is the next thing?"
Sam smiled at the memory of Isaac telling him this story two decades ago. "Whenever the chief would give his wives gifts, he would give one to the wife in the buffalo teepee, one to the wife in the grizzly teepee but he always gave two gifts to the wife in the hippopotamus teepee. Do you want me to finish this, Isaac?" Sam asked.
"Go ahead, my boy," was Isaac's reply.
"One evening around the tribal fire a young brave asked the chief why it was that he always gave the wife in the hippopotamus skin teepee more than the others. "It is simple, my son", the chief responded, "The squaw of the hippopotamus is equal to the sum of the squaws of the other two hides."" Sam delivered the punch line with flair.
John Ballard exploded into laughter. Olga grimaced at the pun.
'I guess it doesn't translate into Russian well' Sam thought.
Isaac was laughing almost as hard as Ballard, but his reason was different. He had proved his theory. He had never told that joke to Frank Parker; he had to Sam Beckett. Now it all made sense: the personality change, the review of mission logs, the conversation with 'air' and the pickup line he had used on Donna Elesee. The man sitting next to him was not Frank Parker but Sam Beckett quantum leaped into Parker's life.