CHAPTER 11
On the road
Having received an all clear from Gooshie, Al and Frank began their long drive back to Stallion's Gate. They talked about women, boxing, women, football, women. Frank told Al about his son Jimmy, who lived in Washington DC with his ex, Patricia and her husband. As Frank spoke Al heard the bitterness in his voice. It sounded so painfully familiar to his ears and Al found himself breaking one of his most primary rules. Al told Frank about being a POW in Viet Nam and about Beth.
It was late afternoon before the presentations at Alamagordo broke up and Donna Elesee had made a decision. She had to confront Isaac Mentnor with her suspicions. She checked in with Ziggy and requested that her plans be made known to Al when he returned. Then she headed to Socorro where Isaac had said he was staying yesterday.
Socorro
At about the same time Donna began her drive to Socorro, the NSA team returned from Stallion's Gate. Bradley Talmadge and Nate Ramsey got together with Isaac to review the dossiers on the members of the finance committee and look for any possible targets among them. Craig Donovan caught up with Olga and Sam on a casual stroll through the town.
"How did Admiral Calavicci react to the news about the bombing?" Olga asked Craig.
"He wasn't there," Craig answered with scorn. "We were given the run around by their Lead Psychiatrist."
"Now I thought you would like Verbena Beeks," Sam teased as he thought Frank would.
"Why?" Craig challenged him. "Did I say anything in the pre-launch briefing in the last timeline?"
Sam smiled broadly at Craig. "You always were a sucker for a pretty face," he said.
"Well, I wasn't taken in this time, buddy. Somehow she managed to hide the guy who called my name yesterday and evade every question on the subject."
Olga finished his thought, "And you want answers to your questions."
"Damn right I do," Craig answered. "That's why I'm taking her to dinner tonight."
Sam's head snapped up in surprise. "You're not."
"Oh yes I am," Craig smiled. "You're still ticked that Elesee shot you down yesterday." he said pointedly to Sam.
"No I'm not," Sam protested quickly. "I just hate to see you engage in a battle of wits without ammunition."
"Ouch," Craig answered. "Hey Frank, look at that." He pointed to a signboard in front of the local steak house across the street from their hotel.
"Karaoke?" Sam questioned.
Olga began to protest, "Really, Mr. Donovan..."
But Craig pressed on. "Isn't it about time you made Olga pay up on her Superbowl bet."
"Well, ahh..." Sam fumphered.
"I think it's a great idea." Nate Ramsey said from behind the trio. "I think I'll join you," he invited himself. "Let's meet in the lobby at 1900."
Cornered, Olga relented. "Oh all right, 1900 it is."
"Good. Now that that's settled, Talmadge wants everyone in the briefing room," Nate said.
HQ - Socorro
Bradley Talmadge began the meeting with a recap of what he, Nate Ramsey and Craig Donovan had found at Stallion's Gate: precious little. "The phones that could have been the source of the 'Conundrum' were located in staff quarters with no clue as to who made the actual call. Admiral Calavicci and Donovan's 'mystery man' were absent and Dr. Beeks was very gracious about allowing an NSA presence at the Congressional Wrap-up party tomorrow night."
Nate Ramsey took the floor. "The security over there is better than I had anticipated. Their chief, Jim Reed, is a good man. Worked LAPD in the '70's. He has made room on his roster for a dozen of our people as soon as he gets the OK from Calavicci."
Craig Donovan picked up the ball. "I'm following up with Dr. Beeks tonight to get more info on the guy I saw yesterday."
"Despite what Ziggy said," Bradley added. His tone indicated that he didn't agree with Donovan's opinion.
"You talked with Ziggy?" The question came from John Ballard.
Bradley nodded and said, "Yes. Her theory is that the target of the bomb is not Project Quantum Leap itself but...."
"One of the congress-people." Ballard finished his sentence. Talmadge looked at him surprised. "That was our theory, too," John continued. "I combed the data on the whole contingent that Olga, Isaac, Frank and I gathered this afternoon." John indicated the pile of floppies and printouts on the table in front of himself. "I came up with some interesting stuff but nothing that stands out as a motive for murder."
"Can I take a look see at that?" Nate requested.
As Ballard began to hand off the summary report, Sam jumped into the conversation. Dripping with sarcasm, he said, "Oh, gee Ramsey, you won't be able to go out with Olga and me this evening. Too bad."
But Talmadge was quick on the uptake. He intercepted the hand-off and said, "Nate, you don't need to do this tonight. I'll go over it and we can get together in the morning."
"I'll work with you," Isaac Mentnor offered to Bradley Talmadge.
Nate smiled at Sam like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. "I'm not that easy to ditch, Parker."
John was curious. "Where are you going?" he asked.
Olga responded, "To the Karaoke Bar across the street so I can pay up that stupid bet." She didn't sound happy about it.
John didn't seem to notice. "Mind if I tag along?" he asked.
Sam shrugged. "The more the merrier," he said.
"All right," Bradley tried to regain control of the meeting. "That seems to be it for now. We'll reconvene at 0900." All around the table people began to gather their belongings to leave.
"Frank?" Isaac called to Sam. "Got a minute?"
"Sure."
They waited for the room to empty. The pause gave Isaac a chance to mentally compose what to say to help Sam with Olga without letting on that he knew who Sam was.
"We need Olga in reasonably good shape tomorrow, so don't torture her too much with your singing...."Isaac began in a teasing tone.
"I'm singing?" Sam interrupted.
"Yes, that was the terms of your winning the bet, wasn't it?" Isaac coached Sam subtly. "She'd have to take you out and listen to you sing."
Sam was only half listening. "I'm singing in public again," he sighed to himself. Catching Isaac's look of amusement, Sam readopted Frank's rakish attitude and said, "But can I torture her a little?"
Laughing, the two men left the conference room.
****************
Stallion's Gate
A knock on her door interrupted Verbena Beeks as she was dressing for dinner with Craig Donovan. Lying down the two outfits she was trying to choose between, she asked who was there.
"Verbena?" came Tina's breathy soprano, "I was wondering what you had on for this evening?"
Verbena opened the door and allowed her best friend entry. "I've already made plans. Why? What's up?" she asked.
Tina let out a deflated sigh. "I was hoping you could come to Socorro with me. I'm meeting my sister there. She just called. Sounded real upset." Verbena made soothing noises and continued dressing while encouraging Tina to continue talking. "Usually Dee is sooo level headed. That's why she did so well in the army. Dee sounded sooo upset on the phone. I think her boyfriend just dumped her. Don't wear the blue one, go with the orange one." Tina pointed at the dress in Verbena's hand. Sometimes following a conversation with Tina required a road map.
"So she's meeting you in Socorro..." Verbena prompted her.
"Yeah. She and a bunch of congressional aides from the committee are going to a Karaoke Bar to let off some steam. She wanted to meet me there and talk. Here, let me do your hair." Tina offered to Verbena.
Handing over her brush Verbena asked the obvious question, "So what did you want me for?"
Tina cleared her throat and apologetically said, "I was hoping for a buffer. Someone to get between us when she begins to melt down." She met Verbena's eyes in the mirror. "Don't look at me that way 'Bena. You know I'm no good at the hard stuff. I'm the lunch and shopping pal. I hate that 'share your feelings' stuff, that's your territory."
"Sorry, friend, but I've got a date," Verbena said.
"Anyone I know?"
"The NSA guy from this morning."
"The buff one with the cute butt?" Tina asked.
"That's the one. His name is Craig Donovan," Verbena replied. She inspected her reflection. "Thanks for doing my hair, Tina." An inspired thought struck the psychiatrist. "Why don't you bring Al?" she suggested.
Tina looked wistful. "I already asked him but he and the Guest won't be back until late, he said."
"Well, there's always Gooshie," Verbena offered.
Tina's face brightened at the thought. She said, "That's a great idea, 'Bena. Thanks."
***************
Socorro
1900 hours came all for quickly for Sam Beckett. He had dressed in appropriate urban cowboy attire; dark jeans, western shirt with silver snaps and boots. Sam was looking forward to a calm social evening. He had them so rarely. Sam rapped on the bathroom door on his way out of the room. "Craig, I'm leaving," he called to Donovan through the closed door and the sound of the shower. He heard a mumbled reply and went to the hotel lobby to meet Olga Vukovitch, John Ballard and Nate Ramsey.
The quartet entered the restaurant and began looking for a table. Although it was early the room was almost ¾ full. Ramsey found a table about halfway to the stage and took possession of it. As they got seated Sam surveyed the room. It would seat about 100 comfortably if full. There was a group of women all dressed in scrub suits at a large table in the left corner of the room, nurses, Sam presumed. Most of the tables held couples or trios at varying stages of their meals. There was another large table in the right corner. It was currently empty but had a reserved sign on it. The long bar at the back of the building was well populated. There was a sign on the stage that read 'Singers will perform at the discretion of the Emcee'. Each table had two menus on it; one for food, the other for songs. The song menu was larger.
"Whatillitbe, folks?" the waitress asked as she placed cocktail napkins on the table.
"What do you have on draft?" Ramsey asked.
"Miller, Bud, Lite, Coors, Corona, Dos Equis," she recited.
"Vodka, on ice please," Olga ordered.
"I'll have a Manhattan, straight up," said John Ballard.
"Dos Equis," Sam ordered. Nate Ramsey gave him a dirty look.
"Bud," Ramsey told the waitress. "How can you drink that foreign junk, Parker?" he said to Sam.
Sam decided the question was rhetorical and ignored it. Instead he took out the food menu and began to scan it. When the waitress returned with their drinks Sam ordered a basket of Buffalo Wings for the table.
"I wonder what time the Karaoke starts." John said.
Olga picked up the song menu and turned to the first page. "Eight o'clock," she answered. "Look at this. It's alphabetical by song title. How are you supposed to pick a song from here?" she complained.
"Let me see that," Sam requested. The song list was long and varied. It included rock, pop, country, swing, gospel and even a few Broadway hits. Sam realized he knew nothing of Frank's taste in music and decided to delay actually singing as long as possible. He buried his face in the menu and hid.
On the road
Having received an all clear from Gooshie, Al and Frank began their long drive back to Stallion's Gate. They talked about women, boxing, women, football, women. Frank told Al about his son Jimmy, who lived in Washington DC with his ex, Patricia and her husband. As Frank spoke Al heard the bitterness in his voice. It sounded so painfully familiar to his ears and Al found himself breaking one of his most primary rules. Al told Frank about being a POW in Viet Nam and about Beth.
It was late afternoon before the presentations at Alamagordo broke up and Donna Elesee had made a decision. She had to confront Isaac Mentnor with her suspicions. She checked in with Ziggy and requested that her plans be made known to Al when he returned. Then she headed to Socorro where Isaac had said he was staying yesterday.
Socorro
At about the same time Donna began her drive to Socorro, the NSA team returned from Stallion's Gate. Bradley Talmadge and Nate Ramsey got together with Isaac to review the dossiers on the members of the finance committee and look for any possible targets among them. Craig Donovan caught up with Olga and Sam on a casual stroll through the town.
"How did Admiral Calavicci react to the news about the bombing?" Olga asked Craig.
"He wasn't there," Craig answered with scorn. "We were given the run around by their Lead Psychiatrist."
"Now I thought you would like Verbena Beeks," Sam teased as he thought Frank would.
"Why?" Craig challenged him. "Did I say anything in the pre-launch briefing in the last timeline?"
Sam smiled broadly at Craig. "You always were a sucker for a pretty face," he said.
"Well, I wasn't taken in this time, buddy. Somehow she managed to hide the guy who called my name yesterday and evade every question on the subject."
Olga finished his thought, "And you want answers to your questions."
"Damn right I do," Craig answered. "That's why I'm taking her to dinner tonight."
Sam's head snapped up in surprise. "You're not."
"Oh yes I am," Craig smiled. "You're still ticked that Elesee shot you down yesterday." he said pointedly to Sam.
"No I'm not," Sam protested quickly. "I just hate to see you engage in a battle of wits without ammunition."
"Ouch," Craig answered. "Hey Frank, look at that." He pointed to a signboard in front of the local steak house across the street from their hotel.
"Karaoke?" Sam questioned.
Olga began to protest, "Really, Mr. Donovan..."
But Craig pressed on. "Isn't it about time you made Olga pay up on her Superbowl bet."
"Well, ahh..." Sam fumphered.
"I think it's a great idea." Nate Ramsey said from behind the trio. "I think I'll join you," he invited himself. "Let's meet in the lobby at 1900."
Cornered, Olga relented. "Oh all right, 1900 it is."
"Good. Now that that's settled, Talmadge wants everyone in the briefing room," Nate said.
HQ - Socorro
Bradley Talmadge began the meeting with a recap of what he, Nate Ramsey and Craig Donovan had found at Stallion's Gate: precious little. "The phones that could have been the source of the 'Conundrum' were located in staff quarters with no clue as to who made the actual call. Admiral Calavicci and Donovan's 'mystery man' were absent and Dr. Beeks was very gracious about allowing an NSA presence at the Congressional Wrap-up party tomorrow night."
Nate Ramsey took the floor. "The security over there is better than I had anticipated. Their chief, Jim Reed, is a good man. Worked LAPD in the '70's. He has made room on his roster for a dozen of our people as soon as he gets the OK from Calavicci."
Craig Donovan picked up the ball. "I'm following up with Dr. Beeks tonight to get more info on the guy I saw yesterday."
"Despite what Ziggy said," Bradley added. His tone indicated that he didn't agree with Donovan's opinion.
"You talked with Ziggy?" The question came from John Ballard.
Bradley nodded and said, "Yes. Her theory is that the target of the bomb is not Project Quantum Leap itself but...."
"One of the congress-people." Ballard finished his sentence. Talmadge looked at him surprised. "That was our theory, too," John continued. "I combed the data on the whole contingent that Olga, Isaac, Frank and I gathered this afternoon." John indicated the pile of floppies and printouts on the table in front of himself. "I came up with some interesting stuff but nothing that stands out as a motive for murder."
"Can I take a look see at that?" Nate requested.
As Ballard began to hand off the summary report, Sam jumped into the conversation. Dripping with sarcasm, he said, "Oh, gee Ramsey, you won't be able to go out with Olga and me this evening. Too bad."
But Talmadge was quick on the uptake. He intercepted the hand-off and said, "Nate, you don't need to do this tonight. I'll go over it and we can get together in the morning."
"I'll work with you," Isaac Mentnor offered to Bradley Talmadge.
Nate smiled at Sam like the proverbial cat that ate the canary. "I'm not that easy to ditch, Parker."
John was curious. "Where are you going?" he asked.
Olga responded, "To the Karaoke Bar across the street so I can pay up that stupid bet." She didn't sound happy about it.
John didn't seem to notice. "Mind if I tag along?" he asked.
Sam shrugged. "The more the merrier," he said.
"All right," Bradley tried to regain control of the meeting. "That seems to be it for now. We'll reconvene at 0900." All around the table people began to gather their belongings to leave.
"Frank?" Isaac called to Sam. "Got a minute?"
"Sure."
They waited for the room to empty. The pause gave Isaac a chance to mentally compose what to say to help Sam with Olga without letting on that he knew who Sam was.
"We need Olga in reasonably good shape tomorrow, so don't torture her too much with your singing...."Isaac began in a teasing tone.
"I'm singing?" Sam interrupted.
"Yes, that was the terms of your winning the bet, wasn't it?" Isaac coached Sam subtly. "She'd have to take you out and listen to you sing."
Sam was only half listening. "I'm singing in public again," he sighed to himself. Catching Isaac's look of amusement, Sam readopted Frank's rakish attitude and said, "But can I torture her a little?"
Laughing, the two men left the conference room.
****************
Stallion's Gate
A knock on her door interrupted Verbena Beeks as she was dressing for dinner with Craig Donovan. Lying down the two outfits she was trying to choose between, she asked who was there.
"Verbena?" came Tina's breathy soprano, "I was wondering what you had on for this evening?"
Verbena opened the door and allowed her best friend entry. "I've already made plans. Why? What's up?" she asked.
Tina let out a deflated sigh. "I was hoping you could come to Socorro with me. I'm meeting my sister there. She just called. Sounded real upset." Verbena made soothing noises and continued dressing while encouraging Tina to continue talking. "Usually Dee is sooo level headed. That's why she did so well in the army. Dee sounded sooo upset on the phone. I think her boyfriend just dumped her. Don't wear the blue one, go with the orange one." Tina pointed at the dress in Verbena's hand. Sometimes following a conversation with Tina required a road map.
"So she's meeting you in Socorro..." Verbena prompted her.
"Yeah. She and a bunch of congressional aides from the committee are going to a Karaoke Bar to let off some steam. She wanted to meet me there and talk. Here, let me do your hair." Tina offered to Verbena.
Handing over her brush Verbena asked the obvious question, "So what did you want me for?"
Tina cleared her throat and apologetically said, "I was hoping for a buffer. Someone to get between us when she begins to melt down." She met Verbena's eyes in the mirror. "Don't look at me that way 'Bena. You know I'm no good at the hard stuff. I'm the lunch and shopping pal. I hate that 'share your feelings' stuff, that's your territory."
"Sorry, friend, but I've got a date," Verbena said.
"Anyone I know?"
"The NSA guy from this morning."
"The buff one with the cute butt?" Tina asked.
"That's the one. His name is Craig Donovan," Verbena replied. She inspected her reflection. "Thanks for doing my hair, Tina." An inspired thought struck the psychiatrist. "Why don't you bring Al?" she suggested.
Tina looked wistful. "I already asked him but he and the Guest won't be back until late, he said."
"Well, there's always Gooshie," Verbena offered.
Tina's face brightened at the thought. She said, "That's a great idea, 'Bena. Thanks."
***************
Socorro
1900 hours came all for quickly for Sam Beckett. He had dressed in appropriate urban cowboy attire; dark jeans, western shirt with silver snaps and boots. Sam was looking forward to a calm social evening. He had them so rarely. Sam rapped on the bathroom door on his way out of the room. "Craig, I'm leaving," he called to Donovan through the closed door and the sound of the shower. He heard a mumbled reply and went to the hotel lobby to meet Olga Vukovitch, John Ballard and Nate Ramsey.
The quartet entered the restaurant and began looking for a table. Although it was early the room was almost ¾ full. Ramsey found a table about halfway to the stage and took possession of it. As they got seated Sam surveyed the room. It would seat about 100 comfortably if full. There was a group of women all dressed in scrub suits at a large table in the left corner of the room, nurses, Sam presumed. Most of the tables held couples or trios at varying stages of their meals. There was another large table in the right corner. It was currently empty but had a reserved sign on it. The long bar at the back of the building was well populated. There was a sign on the stage that read 'Singers will perform at the discretion of the Emcee'. Each table had two menus on it; one for food, the other for songs. The song menu was larger.
"Whatillitbe, folks?" the waitress asked as she placed cocktail napkins on the table.
"What do you have on draft?" Ramsey asked.
"Miller, Bud, Lite, Coors, Corona, Dos Equis," she recited.
"Vodka, on ice please," Olga ordered.
"I'll have a Manhattan, straight up," said John Ballard.
"Dos Equis," Sam ordered. Nate Ramsey gave him a dirty look.
"Bud," Ramsey told the waitress. "How can you drink that foreign junk, Parker?" he said to Sam.
Sam decided the question was rhetorical and ignored it. Instead he took out the food menu and began to scan it. When the waitress returned with their drinks Sam ordered a basket of Buffalo Wings for the table.
"I wonder what time the Karaoke starts." John said.
Olga picked up the song menu and turned to the first page. "Eight o'clock," she answered. "Look at this. It's alphabetical by song title. How are you supposed to pick a song from here?" she complained.
"Let me see that," Sam requested. The song list was long and varied. It included rock, pop, country, swing, gospel and even a few Broadway hits. Sam realized he knew nothing of Frank's taste in music and decided to delay actually singing as long as possible. He buried his face in the menu and hid.