CHAPTER 20
February 10, 2000, 0002 hours
Conference Room
The calendar changed seemingly without notice in the conference room. The music played, people danced, people drank and people laughed. The uniformed Marine guards at each entryway stood still as Beefeaters at the palace gate. Nate Ramsey was beginning to sweat. He, and the rest of the Backstep team, were acutely aware that the primary bomb had gone off at 0006 in the original timeline. His eyes scanned the room again. Craig Donovan was dancing with Dr. Beeks, Drs. Ballard and Vukovitch were seated at a table sipping their beverages and Dr. Mentnor was dancing with Dr. Donna Elesee. Frank Parker was holding up a corner of the bar with his hip as he sipped a beer. Next to him, Admiral Calavicci was talking to his wrist.
TALKING TO HIS WRIST! The thought screamed through Ramsey's brain as a voice began speaking in his earpiece. It was Chief Reed.
"Ramsey. We have movement on parking level A."
"On my way." Nate was turning toward the door as he spoke. A firm grasp caught him. He looked up at Bradley Talmadge's eyes; his set jaw and hurried posture were all the communication they needed. Bradley nodded and fell into step beside Nate as the two men rushed to the parking deck.
Sam Beckett was three steps behind Talmadge and Ramsey. He ran as soon as he heard Ziggy report to Al that Frank and SammiJo had found the bomb in the rent-a-car in the parking deck. He arrived, winded, just as the blue Saturn crashed through the single-arm gate and raced toward the desert. From the corner of his eye he saw Nate Ramsey taking aim at the fleeing car.
"NO" Sam screamed as he threw himself at Ramsey.
"Parker! What the..." Ramsey began to berate Sam for interfering.
"Can't shoot ... the car ... bomb," Sam managed to pant. Bradley gave both men a hand up.
"The bomb was in the car?" Talmadge questioned Sam.
"Yes."
"We need to know who that car belongs to," Nate said. Reed and three of Nate's 'men in black' arrived on the scene.
"It's Lyla Hobkirk's," Sam supplied to Talmadge as Ramsey was conferring with Reed about pursuit of the vehicle.
*******************
The Saturn raced through the desert at breakneck speed, Frank flooring the accelerator. His only goal now was to get the bomb as far away from Stallion's Gate as he could before 0006. He checked his watch, 0004, and he was just two miles away.
"We have about 90 seconds before this puppy goes up," he turned and said to SammiJo. "Get ready to bale out."
"Um-hum," SammiJo mumbled her comprehension. She was feeling around for something under the seat. "Got it!" she said triumphantly as she pulled a long handled snowbrush out.
Frank smiled broadly at her. "To jam against the accelerator," he stated, catching her drift. "Good thinking." Frank positioned the snowbrush and checked his watch, 0005. He scanned the desert for some kind of cover. Pointing toward a small dune he asked, "Ready?"
SammiJo nodded as she removed her seat belt. "On three," Frank continued. "One, ... two, ... Three!"
Doors flew open and two bodies fell from the speeding car. They rolled and bumped along the sandy ground in opposite directions before stopping about 200 yards from each other. Neither one moved.
*********************
Talmadge looked at Sam incredulously as Sam began to head back inside. He was achy from throwing himself on Nate and tired from the stress of staying undercover. As he passed through the entry door he asked the obvious question, "Is this place locked down?"
A disembodied contralto responded almost immediately. "Yes, sir," the female voice said, "as per Admiral Calavicci's order."
Talmadge gave Frank a sideways glance, noting how quickly Ziggy had responded to him.
Bradley and Sam continued on to the conference/party room in silence, the mind of each highly engaged in thought. As they entered, they observed the party in full swing. Only a small handful of partygoers appeared aware of what had happened. Surprisingly, Olga, Isaac and John were huddled around a table quietly conversing with Al and Donna. Craig and Verbena remained on the dance floor, as did Tina who was dancing with Congressman Ho.
Sam and Bradley approached the table of their coworkers, moving slowly so as not to alarm the rest of the party guests. Nate Ramsey entered just as Bradley reached the table. As soon as the doors closed behind Nate, the room shuttered violently as if a Mack truck had hit the building. A deep rumble filled the air mixed with screams from frightened voices.
Admiral Calavicci had taken control of the room immediately upon feeling the shockwave from the explosion hit the building. The band's music ground to an immediate halt, and Gooshie made his way to Tina's side. The once gay party was now as quiet as death, and everyone was moving cautiously in a surreal fashion.
Al had taken his place in front of the bandstand and made all the right calm reassuring noises that he was supposed to. Sam was looking for Lyla. He had expected her to be either huddled together with the Aides or in Congressman Martinelli's arms. She was in neither place.
Lyla Hobkirk had removed her 3-inch heels and was moving low and slow towards the side door of the room. She had almost reached her goal when Sam Beckett spotted her and darted across the room in an effort to catch her. Olga Vukovitch, however, was much closer and faster. The Russian grabbed the Taser from a surprised Marine, aimed, and fired.
"DEE!" Tina screamed as she watched her sister crumple to the floor.
*********************
The loud blast and searing light of the exploding car were enough to rouse Frank Parker into consciousness. His body was battered and bruised but nothing was broken. He made his way toward the dune he'd pointed out to the crumpled heap that he assumed was SammiJo Fuller. Cautiously, he turned her onto her back and wiped the sand filled hair off of her face.
"SammiJo?" he anxiously called to her. He did a quick injury inventory of the unconscious physicist. Nothing obviously broken and she was breathing. Frank sighed with relief. He brought his face close to hers.
"SammiJo, wake up!" he called to her again. This time she moaned in response. Her eyes flickered open and attempted to focus. A handsome man, about 30, with dark hair and worried eyes was hanging over her. She closed her eyes in an attempt to focus. When she reopened them the man with the concern on his face was in his late 40's and had longer, lighter hair with a familiar streak of gray in front; Sam Beckett's face.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he helped her to sit up.
She winced and stretched as she got up. "Yeah, nothing a warm bath and some aspirin won't fix," she bluffed. Her attention was pulled to the flaming remains of the car and she smiled. "Mission accomplished," she stated.
The unlikely pair turned their backs on the inferno that was the Saturn and began the walk back to Stallion's Gate. They walked in silence for a while. Then Frank began a conversation.
"The security guy, Paulo, he called you 'Esjay'. What does that mean?"
SammiJo began to laugh. "S.J.," she replied. "They're my initials, S. J., like on my lab coat."
February 10, 2000, 0002 hours
Conference Room
The calendar changed seemingly without notice in the conference room. The music played, people danced, people drank and people laughed. The uniformed Marine guards at each entryway stood still as Beefeaters at the palace gate. Nate Ramsey was beginning to sweat. He, and the rest of the Backstep team, were acutely aware that the primary bomb had gone off at 0006 in the original timeline. His eyes scanned the room again. Craig Donovan was dancing with Dr. Beeks, Drs. Ballard and Vukovitch were seated at a table sipping their beverages and Dr. Mentnor was dancing with Dr. Donna Elesee. Frank Parker was holding up a corner of the bar with his hip as he sipped a beer. Next to him, Admiral Calavicci was talking to his wrist.
TALKING TO HIS WRIST! The thought screamed through Ramsey's brain as a voice began speaking in his earpiece. It was Chief Reed.
"Ramsey. We have movement on parking level A."
"On my way." Nate was turning toward the door as he spoke. A firm grasp caught him. He looked up at Bradley Talmadge's eyes; his set jaw and hurried posture were all the communication they needed. Bradley nodded and fell into step beside Nate as the two men rushed to the parking deck.
Sam Beckett was three steps behind Talmadge and Ramsey. He ran as soon as he heard Ziggy report to Al that Frank and SammiJo had found the bomb in the rent-a-car in the parking deck. He arrived, winded, just as the blue Saturn crashed through the single-arm gate and raced toward the desert. From the corner of his eye he saw Nate Ramsey taking aim at the fleeing car.
"NO" Sam screamed as he threw himself at Ramsey.
"Parker! What the..." Ramsey began to berate Sam for interfering.
"Can't shoot ... the car ... bomb," Sam managed to pant. Bradley gave both men a hand up.
"The bomb was in the car?" Talmadge questioned Sam.
"Yes."
"We need to know who that car belongs to," Nate said. Reed and three of Nate's 'men in black' arrived on the scene.
"It's Lyla Hobkirk's," Sam supplied to Talmadge as Ramsey was conferring with Reed about pursuit of the vehicle.
*******************
The Saturn raced through the desert at breakneck speed, Frank flooring the accelerator. His only goal now was to get the bomb as far away from Stallion's Gate as he could before 0006. He checked his watch, 0004, and he was just two miles away.
"We have about 90 seconds before this puppy goes up," he turned and said to SammiJo. "Get ready to bale out."
"Um-hum," SammiJo mumbled her comprehension. She was feeling around for something under the seat. "Got it!" she said triumphantly as she pulled a long handled snowbrush out.
Frank smiled broadly at her. "To jam against the accelerator," he stated, catching her drift. "Good thinking." Frank positioned the snowbrush and checked his watch, 0005. He scanned the desert for some kind of cover. Pointing toward a small dune he asked, "Ready?"
SammiJo nodded as she removed her seat belt. "On three," Frank continued. "One, ... two, ... Three!"
Doors flew open and two bodies fell from the speeding car. They rolled and bumped along the sandy ground in opposite directions before stopping about 200 yards from each other. Neither one moved.
*********************
Talmadge looked at Sam incredulously as Sam began to head back inside. He was achy from throwing himself on Nate and tired from the stress of staying undercover. As he passed through the entry door he asked the obvious question, "Is this place locked down?"
A disembodied contralto responded almost immediately. "Yes, sir," the female voice said, "as per Admiral Calavicci's order."
Talmadge gave Frank a sideways glance, noting how quickly Ziggy had responded to him.
Bradley and Sam continued on to the conference/party room in silence, the mind of each highly engaged in thought. As they entered, they observed the party in full swing. Only a small handful of partygoers appeared aware of what had happened. Surprisingly, Olga, Isaac and John were huddled around a table quietly conversing with Al and Donna. Craig and Verbena remained on the dance floor, as did Tina who was dancing with Congressman Ho.
Sam and Bradley approached the table of their coworkers, moving slowly so as not to alarm the rest of the party guests. Nate Ramsey entered just as Bradley reached the table. As soon as the doors closed behind Nate, the room shuttered violently as if a Mack truck had hit the building. A deep rumble filled the air mixed with screams from frightened voices.
Admiral Calavicci had taken control of the room immediately upon feeling the shockwave from the explosion hit the building. The band's music ground to an immediate halt, and Gooshie made his way to Tina's side. The once gay party was now as quiet as death, and everyone was moving cautiously in a surreal fashion.
Al had taken his place in front of the bandstand and made all the right calm reassuring noises that he was supposed to. Sam was looking for Lyla. He had expected her to be either huddled together with the Aides or in Congressman Martinelli's arms. She was in neither place.
Lyla Hobkirk had removed her 3-inch heels and was moving low and slow towards the side door of the room. She had almost reached her goal when Sam Beckett spotted her and darted across the room in an effort to catch her. Olga Vukovitch, however, was much closer and faster. The Russian grabbed the Taser from a surprised Marine, aimed, and fired.
"DEE!" Tina screamed as she watched her sister crumple to the floor.
*********************
The loud blast and searing light of the exploding car were enough to rouse Frank Parker into consciousness. His body was battered and bruised but nothing was broken. He made his way toward the dune he'd pointed out to the crumpled heap that he assumed was SammiJo Fuller. Cautiously, he turned her onto her back and wiped the sand filled hair off of her face.
"SammiJo?" he anxiously called to her. He did a quick injury inventory of the unconscious physicist. Nothing obviously broken and she was breathing. Frank sighed with relief. He brought his face close to hers.
"SammiJo, wake up!" he called to her again. This time she moaned in response. Her eyes flickered open and attempted to focus. A handsome man, about 30, with dark hair and worried eyes was hanging over her. She closed her eyes in an attempt to focus. When she reopened them the man with the concern on his face was in his late 40's and had longer, lighter hair with a familiar streak of gray in front; Sam Beckett's face.
"Are you all right?" he asked as he helped her to sit up.
She winced and stretched as she got up. "Yeah, nothing a warm bath and some aspirin won't fix," she bluffed. Her attention was pulled to the flaming remains of the car and she smiled. "Mission accomplished," she stated.
The unlikely pair turned their backs on the inferno that was the Saturn and began the walk back to Stallion's Gate. They walked in silence for a while. Then Frank began a conversation.
"The security guy, Paulo, he called you 'Esjay'. What does that mean?"
SammiJo began to laugh. "S.J.," she replied. "They're my initials, S. J., like on my lab coat."