HOSTILE TAKEOVER
By AJSquaredaway
PART THREE
Project Quantum Leap
After Donna received the call from Beth, she immediately had Ziggy check out all the resources at her disposal, knowing they would be more timely and accurate than CNN. Ziggy briefed her, and she told the parallel hybrid computer to update her immediately with any changes. Then, she headed to the Control Room.
On her way there, she reflected on what she knew so far.
Earlier, when she had finally made it to Beeks' office, she demanded answers to Ziggy's elusiveness. After being calmed by the annoyingly cool Beeks, she had finally gotten the information on the Visitor, and almost wished she hadn't asked.
Her husband had leaped into the present. Today, in fact. He was a mere few minutes behind them, somewhere in Virginia! The idea had made her giddy and breathless. She could call him on the phone! As her fingers twitched at the idea and she felt her body tense at the urge to strangle a phone number out of the Visitor, Beeks had to grasp her shoulders and bring her back down to Earth. The doctor made her see that there weren't enough facts on this Leap to give them any direction of action, and under the circumstances Sam shouldn't be told how this information related to the Project's timeline. In fact, they had to find out if he already knew, so it was time to send Sammy Jo on a fact-finding mission.
When Donna left Beeks for the Control Room, she had to fight the urge to stop in the Waiting Room. This was when Ziggy had alerted her to Beth's call, and after speaking with her and getting the news updates from Ziggy, Donna was convinced this Leap wasn't a coincidence.
It was Fate. And Fate wasn't done yet.
When she got to the Control Room, Gooshie, Tina and Sammy Jo were at the console, huddled over a slightly re-designed hand link like a new toy. They all looked up when she entered, the link instantly forgotten.
"Dr. Elesee," Sammy Jo greeted. "Ziggy has been very mysterious about some complications with this Leap?" They all gave Donna their full attention, their faces etched with curiosity.
Donna didn't know where to start. She managed to explain the Visitor's information, the skimpy information on the White House bomber, and Al and Sam's proximity to all this in a clinical, professional tone, but knew that her internal turmoil was visible in her eyes. He was so close, but so far. And other than Beeks, she told them no one else was to know this information, including Sam, Al and Beth, until Ziggy could narrow in on Sam's mission.
They all nodded in agreement as Sammy Jo readied herself for the Imaging Chamber.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Sam had about as much 'fun' as he could handle on this leap, and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he grumbled once again about the lateness of his Observer. He'd better have a good excuse, Sam thought as he readied another tear gas canister for launch. The only good thing about all this was that at least he wasn't on the receiving end of the gas!
Chuck, his partner in applying this torture, was grinning ear to ear. He'd thrown twice as many canisters as Sam, yelling "Geronimo!" each time and cackling like a crazed man. Sam had to admire him for his enthusiasm.
"OK, now let's try to get them to split up. You stay here, I'll go over there," Chuck pointed north. "If they do split up, let's see if we can get 'em to shoot each other!" He smiled with glee.
Sam hesitantly smiled back, "OK, sounds like a plan, I guess. Go."
No sooner had Chuck departed than Sam heard the welcome sound of the Imaging Chamber door. He dropped his head momentarily in relief, then threw the canister towards the unsuspecting team crawling through the brush below. Then he spun towards the noise, ready to chastise his friend for his lateness. The words stalled on his tongue when he saw a woman step through the portal.
He was speechless for a few seconds, trying to dredge up a memory about her. She was familiar; he knew she was connected to the Project somehow. But her name escaped him for a few seconds.
"Dr. Beckett," she smiled, a hopeful thought crossing her mind. Would he remember her as his daughter?
"Ah...Doctor...um," his forehead creased. "Fuller, right? Is that right?"
She nodded, her face carefully neutral as she disguised her disappointment. Instead, she smiled. "Right." She looked around. "Where are we?"
Sam glanced at the cursing in the brush below him as the gas he'd administered spread to its target. "Er...training. Actually, gassing a bunch of students."
Sammy Jo looked a bit confused, but nodded. "OK, that fits, I guess."
"Where's Al?" Sam asked, trying to seem curious and not demanding.
"He's on a budgeting assignment." She shrugged. "It happens at the worst times, as you know! Ha, ha." She regarded the link to distract Sam from that train of thought. "Well, the Visitor did say he was an instructor."
"So why am I here? I haven't got a clue, and I've been here for hours. What's Ziggy say?"
Just then they heard and enthusiastic "Geronimo!!" from across the narrow valley, the hissing of a canister releasing its fog, and scrambling noises from the bottom of the rift. Sam ignored it and held Sammy Jo's eyes.
"Ah, well, we think that..." Sammy Jo was interrupted by the sound of a pager.
Sam looked at her blankly, then realized it was coming from his own pocket. He fumbled and recovered the device, which continued to beep in his hand.
"Actually, that's probably why you're here," the pointed at the pager. "There's a negotiation team being assembled for a barricaded suspect with a hostage."
Punching buttons until the object ceased beeping, Sam read '10-89 CP Constitution and Third' on the tiny message window. He read it out loud. "What does that mean?" he asked her
She punched in the information. "10-89 is code for bomb threat. CP, hmmm. Ziggy says that means Command Post. The streets are the location of the Command Post."
The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Chuck came crashing through the brush. "That's us, pard. I guess these guys lucked out." He put his hands around his mouth. "CLASS DISMISSED!" he bellowed. Several heads appeared in the brush below. "CHECK THE NEWS TO SEE IF THERE'S CLASS TOMORROW!" Then he turned and grinned at Sam. "Saddle up!" and he was off towards the car.
Sammy Jo looked after him with her mouth hanging open, which made Sam smile. "He's a little over enthusiastic. Come on, follow me." He started down to the mini Hollywood town. "So, what happens? What am I supposed to do?"
Sammy Jo was grateful that Dr. Beckett had to concentrate on making his way thorough the brush, distracting him from her. What should she tell him? Since it was practically present time, they had no idea what was going to happen, either, but she couldn't let him know that. He obviously didn't know the date, being out here in the boonies, and she hoped it would stay that way.
"Ziggy's not sure," she hedged. "She hasn't checked on all the involved parties yet."
She could tell by the way Sam's neck stiffened that he was upset. "What?" he breathed, continuing his hike down the narrow path, swatting brush out of his way. "She's had a couple of hours! What's her problem? And don't tell me she's pouting."
"Good question! We've had a problem with the, ah, you know. The interface junctions. It seems there's so much information, that she's having trouble figuring out what pertains to you." Talk about double speak, she thought, frantically tapping the link. "I'll get back to you on the details." The door opened behind her and she happily stepped back through the doorway. Sam just had time to free himself from a spiky branch, spin around in disbelief, and watch her go.
"Hey!" was all she heard.
Sam stood there and watched the door shut. He had no more information now than before she arrived! He didn't even know if the bomb was real, or ever exploded, or anything! Acting on his gut instinct was something he did naturally, and he knew he'd probably do all right, but the way Dr. Fuller had acted was weird. What was going on, and where was Al, exactly?
He pondered those thoughts, as well as others relating to hostage negotiations as he finally emerged from the brush and headed to his car, right behind Chuck.
Project Quantum Leap
March 15, 2000
Sammy Jo emerged from the Imaging Chamber a bit shaken. She hadn't liked lying to Dr. Beckett, and felt like a rat leaving like that, but she'd found out what they needed to know; Sam wasn't aware of the exact time he had leaped into. Not yet, anyway. That was sure to change once he got to the scene of the incident. She had almost let the fact that they didn't know what was going to happen slip out. Everything she said had to be carefully worded, and that hadn't been an easy job, and she hoped Al would get here before Sam realized where he was. She didn't want to handle that at all.
"He doesn't know," she said to Dr. Elesee, Tina and Gooshie as she dropped off the hand link. "Now what?"
"Well," Dr. Elesee started.
"Dr. Elesee," Ziggy crooned abruptly.
"Yes, Ziggy?"
There was a slight pause. "There's a problem at the incident scene. The police tactical radios are reporting that there is a secondary hostage situation, and they now believe the White House bomber was just a diversionary tactic." She sighed.
They all looked at each other, knowing instinctively that this was about to get a lot more complicated.
"Where's the secondary situation located?" Dr. Elesee asked, dreading the response.
"It appears that the Senate subway that runs from the Russell Senate Office Building to the Capitol Building has been seized by unknown terrorists. I don't think Admiral Calavicci will be making it back soon."
Dr. Elesee's stomach sank, and she placed her hand on her chest to settle her heart, and closed her eyes.
"Oh, no," Sammy Jo whispered, covering her mouth.
Gooshie and Tina simply stood with their mouths open. There were several seconds of shocked silence.
Dr. Elesee took a deep breath. "OK. We have to decide what we need to do. We can't tell Sam." Her voice cracked slightly, but she continued to regain her composure. "He'll focus too much on Al, and we don't know if that's why he's there. Ziggy, what's your probabilities on scenarios?" She paced, studying the floor as they listened to the computer's response.
"That Dr. Beckett is there to save the White House from being bombed, 35.67%; to take the bombing suspect alive; 17.21%; dead, 42.87%; to negotiate a release of the subway hostages, 72.44%; to allow the hostages to escape, 85.59%. Those are all the scenarios I can calculate with the information I have."
"What more information do you need?" Gooshie asked.
"Well," the computer sniffed. "Who exactly these terrorists are would help. And who, exactly, are the hostages, as well as the training and experience of both the negotiators, the terrorists and the hostages. I can only work with what I have, you know."
"Yes, Ziggy, we know. But you're the only one who can find all that out in a timely manner right now. Let us know what you find?" Dr. Elesee was starting to feel helpless about this whole leap. "I've got to update Verbena. The Visitor is the only source of information we can get our hands on now. We can't go to Sam yet, not until we have something that can help him. Sammy Jo, don't go far," she flashed a weak smile. "I think this leap is going to keep us on all our toes. Poor Beth; I hope she's all right." The others nodded solemnly. "Ziggy, could you continuous feed the news channels to the screens?"
"Yes, Dr. Elesee. And I'm sorry about Admiral Calavicci. I'm quite fond of him, you know."
They all grinned slightly as the moved off to get busy.
"Yeah, we know," Dr. Elesee responded. "We know."
Senate Airport
Washington, D.C.
Beth was glued to the small television screen when she saw the news flash, and all the feelings that she'd had when Al had been reported as Missing in Action in Vietnam came crashing down on her again. She collapsed on a chair in the small terminal, and the host came rushing over.
"You OK, lady? You're white as a sheet!" He helped her get settled.
"My husband. He's in that subway," she whispered, dreading that she had to tell her daughters and the Project staff. "I have to make some phone calls." Her hands shook so badly she had to punch in the first phone number several times before she got it. "I need to get to the scene when I'm through." She turned her beautiful, brown eyes, shiny with unshed tears, on the host. "Can you figure out how I can get there, please?"
He couldn't refuse. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, giving her shoulder a pat. "Don't give it a second thought. I'll drive you there myself if I have to." And he scurried off.
By AJSquaredaway
PART THREE
Project Quantum Leap
After Donna received the call from Beth, she immediately had Ziggy check out all the resources at her disposal, knowing they would be more timely and accurate than CNN. Ziggy briefed her, and she told the parallel hybrid computer to update her immediately with any changes. Then, she headed to the Control Room.
On her way there, she reflected on what she knew so far.
Earlier, when she had finally made it to Beeks' office, she demanded answers to Ziggy's elusiveness. After being calmed by the annoyingly cool Beeks, she had finally gotten the information on the Visitor, and almost wished she hadn't asked.
Her husband had leaped into the present. Today, in fact. He was a mere few minutes behind them, somewhere in Virginia! The idea had made her giddy and breathless. She could call him on the phone! As her fingers twitched at the idea and she felt her body tense at the urge to strangle a phone number out of the Visitor, Beeks had to grasp her shoulders and bring her back down to Earth. The doctor made her see that there weren't enough facts on this Leap to give them any direction of action, and under the circumstances Sam shouldn't be told how this information related to the Project's timeline. In fact, they had to find out if he already knew, so it was time to send Sammy Jo on a fact-finding mission.
When Donna left Beeks for the Control Room, she had to fight the urge to stop in the Waiting Room. This was when Ziggy had alerted her to Beth's call, and after speaking with her and getting the news updates from Ziggy, Donna was convinced this Leap wasn't a coincidence.
It was Fate. And Fate wasn't done yet.
When she got to the Control Room, Gooshie, Tina and Sammy Jo were at the console, huddled over a slightly re-designed hand link like a new toy. They all looked up when she entered, the link instantly forgotten.
"Dr. Elesee," Sammy Jo greeted. "Ziggy has been very mysterious about some complications with this Leap?" They all gave Donna their full attention, their faces etched with curiosity.
Donna didn't know where to start. She managed to explain the Visitor's information, the skimpy information on the White House bomber, and Al and Sam's proximity to all this in a clinical, professional tone, but knew that her internal turmoil was visible in her eyes. He was so close, but so far. And other than Beeks, she told them no one else was to know this information, including Sam, Al and Beth, until Ziggy could narrow in on Sam's mission.
They all nodded in agreement as Sammy Jo readied herself for the Imaging Chamber.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
Sam had about as much 'fun' as he could handle on this leap, and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he grumbled once again about the lateness of his Observer. He'd better have a good excuse, Sam thought as he readied another tear gas canister for launch. The only good thing about all this was that at least he wasn't on the receiving end of the gas!
Chuck, his partner in applying this torture, was grinning ear to ear. He'd thrown twice as many canisters as Sam, yelling "Geronimo!" each time and cackling like a crazed man. Sam had to admire him for his enthusiasm.
"OK, now let's try to get them to split up. You stay here, I'll go over there," Chuck pointed north. "If they do split up, let's see if we can get 'em to shoot each other!" He smiled with glee.
Sam hesitantly smiled back, "OK, sounds like a plan, I guess. Go."
No sooner had Chuck departed than Sam heard the welcome sound of the Imaging Chamber door. He dropped his head momentarily in relief, then threw the canister towards the unsuspecting team crawling through the brush below. Then he spun towards the noise, ready to chastise his friend for his lateness. The words stalled on his tongue when he saw a woman step through the portal.
He was speechless for a few seconds, trying to dredge up a memory about her. She was familiar; he knew she was connected to the Project somehow. But her name escaped him for a few seconds.
"Dr. Beckett," she smiled, a hopeful thought crossing her mind. Would he remember her as his daughter?
"Ah...Doctor...um," his forehead creased. "Fuller, right? Is that right?"
She nodded, her face carefully neutral as she disguised her disappointment. Instead, she smiled. "Right." She looked around. "Where are we?"
Sam glanced at the cursing in the brush below him as the gas he'd administered spread to its target. "Er...training. Actually, gassing a bunch of students."
Sammy Jo looked a bit confused, but nodded. "OK, that fits, I guess."
"Where's Al?" Sam asked, trying to seem curious and not demanding.
"He's on a budgeting assignment." She shrugged. "It happens at the worst times, as you know! Ha, ha." She regarded the link to distract Sam from that train of thought. "Well, the Visitor did say he was an instructor."
"So why am I here? I haven't got a clue, and I've been here for hours. What's Ziggy say?"
Just then they heard and enthusiastic "Geronimo!!" from across the narrow valley, the hissing of a canister releasing its fog, and scrambling noises from the bottom of the rift. Sam ignored it and held Sammy Jo's eyes.
"Ah, well, we think that..." Sammy Jo was interrupted by the sound of a pager.
Sam looked at her blankly, then realized it was coming from his own pocket. He fumbled and recovered the device, which continued to beep in his hand.
"Actually, that's probably why you're here," the pointed at the pager. "There's a negotiation team being assembled for a barricaded suspect with a hostage."
Punching buttons until the object ceased beeping, Sam read '10-89 CP Constitution and Third' on the tiny message window. He read it out loud. "What does that mean?" he asked her
She punched in the information. "10-89 is code for bomb threat. CP, hmmm. Ziggy says that means Command Post. The streets are the location of the Command Post."
The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Chuck came crashing through the brush. "That's us, pard. I guess these guys lucked out." He put his hands around his mouth. "CLASS DISMISSED!" he bellowed. Several heads appeared in the brush below. "CHECK THE NEWS TO SEE IF THERE'S CLASS TOMORROW!" Then he turned and grinned at Sam. "Saddle up!" and he was off towards the car.
Sammy Jo looked after him with her mouth hanging open, which made Sam smile. "He's a little over enthusiastic. Come on, follow me." He started down to the mini Hollywood town. "So, what happens? What am I supposed to do?"
Sammy Jo was grateful that Dr. Beckett had to concentrate on making his way thorough the brush, distracting him from her. What should she tell him? Since it was practically present time, they had no idea what was going to happen, either, but she couldn't let him know that. He obviously didn't know the date, being out here in the boonies, and she hoped it would stay that way.
"Ziggy's not sure," she hedged. "She hasn't checked on all the involved parties yet."
She could tell by the way Sam's neck stiffened that he was upset. "What?" he breathed, continuing his hike down the narrow path, swatting brush out of his way. "She's had a couple of hours! What's her problem? And don't tell me she's pouting."
"Good question! We've had a problem with the, ah, you know. The interface junctions. It seems there's so much information, that she's having trouble figuring out what pertains to you." Talk about double speak, she thought, frantically tapping the link. "I'll get back to you on the details." The door opened behind her and she happily stepped back through the doorway. Sam just had time to free himself from a spiky branch, spin around in disbelief, and watch her go.
"Hey!" was all she heard.
Sam stood there and watched the door shut. He had no more information now than before she arrived! He didn't even know if the bomb was real, or ever exploded, or anything! Acting on his gut instinct was something he did naturally, and he knew he'd probably do all right, but the way Dr. Fuller had acted was weird. What was going on, and where was Al, exactly?
He pondered those thoughts, as well as others relating to hostage negotiations as he finally emerged from the brush and headed to his car, right behind Chuck.
Project Quantum Leap
March 15, 2000
Sammy Jo emerged from the Imaging Chamber a bit shaken. She hadn't liked lying to Dr. Beckett, and felt like a rat leaving like that, but she'd found out what they needed to know; Sam wasn't aware of the exact time he had leaped into. Not yet, anyway. That was sure to change once he got to the scene of the incident. She had almost let the fact that they didn't know what was going to happen slip out. Everything she said had to be carefully worded, and that hadn't been an easy job, and she hoped Al would get here before Sam realized where he was. She didn't want to handle that at all.
"He doesn't know," she said to Dr. Elesee, Tina and Gooshie as she dropped off the hand link. "Now what?"
"Well," Dr. Elesee started.
"Dr. Elesee," Ziggy crooned abruptly.
"Yes, Ziggy?"
There was a slight pause. "There's a problem at the incident scene. The police tactical radios are reporting that there is a secondary hostage situation, and they now believe the White House bomber was just a diversionary tactic." She sighed.
They all looked at each other, knowing instinctively that this was about to get a lot more complicated.
"Where's the secondary situation located?" Dr. Elesee asked, dreading the response.
"It appears that the Senate subway that runs from the Russell Senate Office Building to the Capitol Building has been seized by unknown terrorists. I don't think Admiral Calavicci will be making it back soon."
Dr. Elesee's stomach sank, and she placed her hand on her chest to settle her heart, and closed her eyes.
"Oh, no," Sammy Jo whispered, covering her mouth.
Gooshie and Tina simply stood with their mouths open. There were several seconds of shocked silence.
Dr. Elesee took a deep breath. "OK. We have to decide what we need to do. We can't tell Sam." Her voice cracked slightly, but she continued to regain her composure. "He'll focus too much on Al, and we don't know if that's why he's there. Ziggy, what's your probabilities on scenarios?" She paced, studying the floor as they listened to the computer's response.
"That Dr. Beckett is there to save the White House from being bombed, 35.67%; to take the bombing suspect alive; 17.21%; dead, 42.87%; to negotiate a release of the subway hostages, 72.44%; to allow the hostages to escape, 85.59%. Those are all the scenarios I can calculate with the information I have."
"What more information do you need?" Gooshie asked.
"Well," the computer sniffed. "Who exactly these terrorists are would help. And who, exactly, are the hostages, as well as the training and experience of both the negotiators, the terrorists and the hostages. I can only work with what I have, you know."
"Yes, Ziggy, we know. But you're the only one who can find all that out in a timely manner right now. Let us know what you find?" Dr. Elesee was starting to feel helpless about this whole leap. "I've got to update Verbena. The Visitor is the only source of information we can get our hands on now. We can't go to Sam yet, not until we have something that can help him. Sammy Jo, don't go far," she flashed a weak smile. "I think this leap is going to keep us on all our toes. Poor Beth; I hope she's all right." The others nodded solemnly. "Ziggy, could you continuous feed the news channels to the screens?"
"Yes, Dr. Elesee. And I'm sorry about Admiral Calavicci. I'm quite fond of him, you know."
They all grinned slightly as the moved off to get busy.
"Yeah, we know," Dr. Elesee responded. "We know."
Senate Airport
Washington, D.C.
Beth was glued to the small television screen when she saw the news flash, and all the feelings that she'd had when Al had been reported as Missing in Action in Vietnam came crashing down on her again. She collapsed on a chair in the small terminal, and the host came rushing over.
"You OK, lady? You're white as a sheet!" He helped her get settled.
"My husband. He's in that subway," she whispered, dreading that she had to tell her daughters and the Project staff. "I have to make some phone calls." Her hands shook so badly she had to punch in the first phone number several times before she got it. "I need to get to the scene when I'm through." She turned her beautiful, brown eyes, shiny with unshed tears, on the host. "Can you figure out how I can get there, please?"
He couldn't refuse. "Yes, ma'am," he replied, giving her shoulder a pat. "Don't give it a second thought. I'll drive you there myself if I have to." And he scurried off.