What a Long Strange Trip It's Been
There was the usual sense of loss, then the warmth that always came between Leaps. After what felt like an eternity of nothingness, he felt the tingling sensation that preceded the Leap in. Which in turn was always followed by one, overpowering, single thought. Please, let this one bring me home.
He startled when he became aware of the hot spray of water. What? His hands were on his head and he dropped them as he opened his eyes. He immediately shut them again when they began to burn and tear from the shampoo running down his face. He quickly rinsed the suds away and blinked watery eyes until he could see clearly. He was standing in a shower.
He had a moment of panic, as he always did when the thought came to him. Oh, please, please let me be a man. A quick glance down confirmed that he was, thankfully, a male this time. Leaps were hard enough without having to deal with the gender confusion of trying to act like a woman.
Figuring he might as well finish his host's shower, Sam actually enjoyed the simple morning ritual. Well, at least he assumed it was morning. Turning off the water, he slid the shower curtain aside and reached for the towel he found hanging on a rod to his left. He quickly dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist, stepping onto the floor mat.
Crossing over to the sink, Sam wiped the foggy mirror and got his first look at the person he'd be until he fixed whatever it was he was there to fix. Clear blue eyes stared back at him. With a sense of wonder, he reached up to finger the white streak at his forehead. A white streak just like his own, except that his host's hair was much shorter.
Looking at the reflected image, Sam was able to get a better look at the sore spots he'd discovered during his shower. Whoever his host was, he'd recently been in some sort of fight. Bruises dotted the man's chest and, turning around, his back as well. There was a shadow of a bruise on his left cheek and he had a scabby cut over his left eyebrow. Sam wondered what type of person he'd leaped into. He hated it when he was a bad guy.
After so many Leaps, however, Sam had become adept at reading people. The face that looked back at him, however bruised, seemed like an honest face. He only hoped he was right.
The tidiness of the bathroom indicated the man was probably fairly orderly, for which he was grateful. There was nothing worse than trying to make sense of someone's life when you spent all your time trying to find everything. Picking up the razor by the sink, he noticed it was still wet. His host must've shaved first, before getting in the shower. Either that or he could get away with not shaving every morning, he mused while running a hand over a smooth cheek.
Not seeing any clothes in the bathroom, he stepped through the door into the bedroom. It, too, was fairly neat. The bed was unmade, but that could be because his host just hadn't had a chance to do that yet. He noticed clothes had been laid out on the bed and, at first, he couldn't figure out why his host had chosen such an outfit. That was until he wandered the room with curiosity to look at the framed pictures sitting here and there.
On the dresser, he found a picture of his host and a younger man. The younger man looked to be of Hispanic descent, and both men wore matching smiles. His host was wearing clothes similar to those on the bed. With a shrug, he put the picture down and got dressed. The clothes were odd, but comfortable. When he turned and saw the items on the nightstand, he froze. A gun and badge lay there among keys, watch, change, wallet and a black armband. Picking up the badge, he read the words: San Francisco Police Inspector. Well, at least he knew where he was. Most likely.
He picked up the wallet and went through it curiously. Finding the driver's license, Sam read the vital statistics. According to the DMV, his host was a brown haired, blue-eyed man named Harvey Leek. Looking at the birth date and the expiration date, Sam figured him to be somewhere between 38 and 42. Other than the license, the wallet held a few business cards, credit cards, library card, thirty-eight dollars and no pictures. With a shrug, he slipped the wallet into his back pocket.
He shrugged into the shoulder holster hanging on the back of a chair by the nightstand, slipped the badge over his head, and replaced the other items. Except the armband. Sam wasn't quite sure what to do with that one. He recognized the Grateful Dead Steal Your Face symbol, and smiled. That might go a long way to explaining the clothes.
He decided to heed the Boy Scouts' motto, and be prepared. He slipped the armband into a pocket. Once dressed, combed and ready for whatever the day held for Harvey Leek, Sam left the bedroom to check out the rest of the house, which he found to be similar to the bedroom. Uncluttered, uncomplicated and comfortable.
It was as he opened the door to one of the rooms downstairs, that Al made his appearance. Well, Al's holographic form made an appearance.
"Wow! I think I'm having a 60's flashback."
Sam had the same reaction. The room was lit by several lava lamps of various colors and a revolving, multi-colored light. Grateful Dead memorabilia covered the room.
"You know, Sam, I think I like this guy."
"I'm not surprised. I think the two of you would probably get along together. You both have a weird sense of style, though his is at least a little more subdued." Sam resisted the urge to squint against the brightness of Al's suit. Sam would have never thought they could make such a brilliant purple. The lime green shirt and yellow tie didn't help much, either. "Why am I here, Al?"
Taking one last look around the shrine to the Dead, Al turned his attention to the colorful, futuristic-looking device he held in his hand. "You are San Francisco Police Inspector Harvey Leek, 39, currently assigned to the Special Investigations Unit. It's March 13th, 1997."
Nodding absently, having already discovered most of that information, Sam turned off the lights, shut the door and headed for the kitchen. Al's image followed behind. "Do you know why I'm here?"
"Not yet. We're working on it. We do know you're not here to save his life, though. Leek is still alive in our time."
"That's something." Opening and shutting cabinet doors, Sam searched for something to eat. "This guy needs to shop for groceries more often."
"He's a cop, Sam. From the look of his record, a busy one."
"Good?"
"Very." Looking back down at the device in his hand, Al gave it a few whacks, eliciting a couple of squawks of protest. "Ziggy says you're supposed to be at work in an hour. I thought we had the wrong address, but apparently not. The S.I.U. is located on the ferry, Eureka, at Pier 32. Um, Leek's car is a 1972 Ford Ranchero, good choice. Blue. It's probably parked out front. I'll check back with you then. Verbena says our guest woke up."
"Let me know as soon as you find out something."
Al waved an acknowledgement before stepping through the Imaging Chamber door, leaving Sam alone.
Meeting Verbena outside the chamber, Al frowned. "How's our guest?"
"Don't worry, Al. I think you'll be able to work with this one. He seems curious more than anything." Dr. Verbena Beeks was a beautiful African- American woman, who was in charge of the psychological welfare of their periodic guests inhabiting Sam Becket's body.
Coming to a stop outside what they called the Waiting Room, Al took a deep breath. This was always the hardest part for him.seeing someone else looking back at him from his best friend's eyes.
He smiled grimly at Verbena. "You ready?"
He had been dreaming about lying on a beach in Carmel, the warm sun caressing his skin and the rhythmic waves lulling him to sleep, when it abruptly changed. He was flying through an empty darkness, until he was surrounded by an intense blue light. Then it was gone.
As he was emerging from the sluggishness of sleep, even before opening his eyes, Harvey knew something wasn't right. Sitting up, he opened his eyes and immediately found his pulse quickening. Wherever he was, it wasn't home.
A quick scan of the room made him think of a hospital. It was stark, pale blue and anti-septic smelling. He could remember the knock-down-drag-out he and Evan had had with some suspects the day before, but he'd gone home that evening and gone to bed. No memory of a hospital.
When he pulled back the blanket to swing his legs over the side of the bed, Harvey discovered he was even wearing pajamas, which he never wore. Another discovery had him feeling light-headed. The legs he was looking at, moving when he gave the mental command.weren't his.
Once he was sure he wasn't about to pass out, Harvey inspected the rest of the body he suddenly found himself occupying. That was how he thought of it. Any other conclusion required a mental disorder on his end, and Harvey refused to believe he'd suddenly lost his mind.
His new arms were pale and slender, with more body hair than the ones he'd had when he went to bed, and he found the sensation strange when he rubbed a hand over one arm. Running a hand through his hair, Harvey found it longer than his own. He wondered if he was dreaming he was awake, and this was all the result of the late night pizza he'd eaten.
Looking around the room, Harvey slid off the bed and stumbled slightly when he took a tentative step. He felt incredibly weak. His movements were a little awkward and clumsy, like a gangly teenager not used to his own growing body. Taking a steadying breath, Harvey wandered the room.
There was a sophisticated-looking security keypad by the door that most likely led to the way out. A hospital crash cart was against one wall, which didn't exactly make him feel more comfortable. Another door led to a small bathroom. No mirror. On his second pass around the room, Harvey glanced up and noticed the camera mounted in the corner by the secured door. Wherever he was, whatever was happening, he was being observed.
Harvey's mind raced, trying to figure out what he was experiencing. He wondered briefly if it was some sort of LSD flashback. When he was in college, he'd experimented with pot, as had most of the students at Berkley at the time. He'd never done anything more serious than that, though. Not of his own free will, anyway.
One night, he'd gone to a party with his best friend, Bobby. It was a decision he'd later regret. Someone had dosed Harvey's drink that night, and it had been Bobby's quick thinking that had kept him from jumping out a window. The doctor told the then-19-year-old Harvey that flashbacks could crop up years later.
"Yeah, but twenty years later?"
Harvey was skeptical. The lack of a mirror in the bathroom, and in the room he'd awoken in, hinted at something else. Reason suggested they didn't want him freaking out when he looked in a mirror to see someone else's face. Or, maybe, his new face was disfigured or something. And, who were "they"? Wouldn't it be a kick in the head if all those crazies claiming to have been kidnapped by aliens.weren't so crazy after all?
He made yet another pass around the room, inspecting the walls and meager furnishings, still furiously trying to figure out what had happened and where he could be. "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."
"No, you're not in Kansas."
Spinning around, Harvey narrowed his eyes at the two newcomers. The woman wore a white lab coat, and he immediately pegged her as a doctor. The man, however, was another story.
The man had on clothes even brighter and more bizarre than Harvey himself usually wore. He was shorter, with dark curly hair and piercing eyes. Harvey knew a cunning man when he saw one. This one could be dangerous.
"I can't tell you where you are, but it's not Kansas." The man held out a hand. "Admiral Calavicci. You can call me Al."
Shaking the proffered hand a little hesitantly, Harvey smiled nervously. "Isn't that a Paul Simon song?"
Ignoring the question, Al gestured to his companion. "This is doctor Verbena Beeks. I'm sure you have a lot of questions. We'll do our best to answer them, if we can. First, let me explain a little about how you got here."
Listening to the long story, glancing frequently at Dr. Beeks, who seemed to be looking at him as if through a microscope, Harvey wondered which one of them was crazy. Time travel? Leaping? Someone else was now walking around in his body? Fixing things that once went wrong? Oh, well. It made about as much sense as anything else, and he sure preferred this story to the alien theory. Or the other alternative...that he was nuts.
"So, what is it that he's there to fix? Did something happen to me?"
Al held up a reassuring hand and shook his head. "No, Sam's not there for you. We're still working on it, but we're pretty sure he's not there to fix anything for you."
"Why trade places with me, then?"
"It could be that Sam's there to help someone you know, or maybe one of the other cops you work with."
Evan! The thought flashed quickly in Harvey's mind. What if something happened to his younger partner because Harvey wasn't there to watch his back? "My partner. Make sure he watches out for my partner, Evan."
"Don't worry. Sam's been doing this for.quite a while. He knows what he's doing. We're just as anxious for him to fix whatever it is that needs fixing as you are. If he doesn't Leap, he won't have a chance of making it home."
What a lonely life, Harvey thought sympathetically. His best friend his only contact with home. Harvey didn't feel all that different from the scientist. Both fought on the side of good. Both strived to help people. Both were fairly lonely, if Harvey admitted it to himself. He suddenly had an overwhelming urge to see Dr. Sam Beckett.
"Hey, can I have a mirror? I'd.I'd like to see what Sam looks like."
Dr. Beeks exchanged a questioning look with Al, smiled after a moment of thought and nodded. She was fairly certain this one wouldn't freak out. Leaving the two men to continue their conversation, Verbena left the room to find a mirror. She was curious herself about what Mr. Leek's reaction would be.
As the doctor left the room, Harvey's sharp eyes watched closely when she punched in the required buttons on the keypad. He couldn't tell which buttons she'd pushed, but he'd seen enough to be helpful. As the door slid closed behind her, Harvey sighed and returned his attention to the admiral.
"So, how long does this usually take, anyway?"
Not wanting to upset their visitor, Al brushed aside Harvey's concern. "Oh, it usually never takes more than a few days to get whatever it is straightened out. You'll be back to your own life in no time. Of course, you'll lose any memory of this during your Leap back. Which is probably for the best in most cases."
Harvey could see the sense in that. This kind of thing could certainly throw someone into shock. He should probably thank his job for the way he himself was handling it. Nothin' like the strange and bizarre life of undercover work, to put things into perspective.
Sizing Harvey up, Al decided the man was taking it fairly well, all things considered, and could prove helpful. "So, Mr. Leek, tell us about the people you work with. It would help Sam a lot, so he wouldn't end up making it look like you'd suddenly lost your marbles."
"Just call me Harvey." Al's statement had him wondering if the others had noticed anything different about him, and what he'd have to deal with when he got back. Harvey rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. "Well, my boss is Nash Bridges. He's smart, got great instinct, stands up for his team, hates politics, and has a pretty good sense of humor. He can be a little.stand-offish sometimes, but he cares about his people."
Harvey paused a moment, pulling on his earlobe, thinking about the others. "Evan's my partner. Evan Cortez. Young and brash, but has the makings of a great cop. If he lives long enough. He's always dragging me into one mess or another, so you have to keep your eye on him. Bryn Carson's one of the best. She's intelligent, resourceful and strong. Don't underestimate her abilities."
How to describe the fourth member of the team? Harvey paused, weighing his words, fidgeting with his ear once again. "The fourth inspector is Joe Dominguez. Uh, he and I don't always get along, though I haven't figured out why. He's always got some scheme going, or an off-duty gig, trying to make extra money. He's almost always with Nash when on an SIU job. I don't know, just.tell Sam not to take it personally if Joe isn't overly friendly to him."
An amused smile twitched at Al's mouth at Harvey's admission. "Thanks, Harvey, that'll be a big help to Sam. The first meetings are always the hardest for him.trying to figure out how his host fit in with the people surrounding him or her."
"Her?"
"Sam's Leaped into women before. Kids, people with disabilities, even a chimpanzee once."
"You know, I think that would be very enlightening."
"I'm sure it was, but Sam hates Leaping into women. I think it's the shoes."
The door slid open and Dr. Beeks returned, interrupting their conversation, a medium-sized shaving mirror tucked under her arm. Harvey's heart rate started to speed up again. Was he really sure he wanted to do this? Taking a deep breath, his mouth suddenly dry, Harvey reached out to take the mirror.
The face that looked back at him was definitely not his own. It was an intelligent, friendly face, though and Harvey stared hard at the reflection, as if he could somehow communicate with Sam Beckett if he just tried hard enough. Glancing up, the borrowed face split into a grin as Harvey smiled and reached up to finger the familiar white streak.
"Far out."
Having found the Ranchero parked at the corner, Sam drove toward the Hyde St. Pier with the help of the map he found in the glove compartment. He'd have to refresh his memory of the layout of San Francisco. If he had to go out on some kind of call, he'd find it hard to explain why he didn't know how to get there.
He hoped this Leap would be a short one. He didn't like Leaping into people with dangerous jobs. First of all, it usually meant he was there to stop someone from being killed. Secondly, it made the Leap that much more dangerous for himself. He couldn't very well Leap back home.if he was shot during a robbery.
The drive to the pier reminded Sam how beautiful the city of San Francisco was. It didn't take him long to find his way to the right place. He couldn't help being a little skeptical as he parked the Ranchero in front of a big passenger ferry. If he hadn't seen all the black-and-whites parked along side it, he wouldn't have believed it. Oh, well. It was San Francisco after all.
Following a pair of uniformed officers up the ramp leading to the deck, Sam nodded his greeting when the two turned back and said good morning. He always hated this part. Trying to hide the fact that he didn't have a clue as to who anyone was, what his job was, or where anything was supposed to be. Taking a deep breath, Sam stepped through the door.
There were handcuffed suspects sitting in the seats along the wall to his left. Railing separated a section of the ferry dominated by desks on his right. Having no clue where he was supposed to go, Sam did the first thing that popped in his mind. He headed for the coffee pot.
Passing by a desk, Sam slowed his steps. The man sitting at the desk was giving him a funny look and glancing pointedly at his watch. But I'm on time according to Al.
Responding to the confused look, the man at the desk chuckled and shrugged. "You're not late, Harvey. It's just that you're usually the first one in. Besides me, anyway."
Sam took a moment to size the man up. He had a wry smile on his face, with sandy hair and intelligent blue eyes. Glancing quickly at the nameplate on the desk, Sam saw the name Bridges. He wished it came with a first name. "Sorry. I.um.overslept."
"Well, don't let it happen again."
Looking at the newcomer's face, Sam couldn't be sure if he was joking or serious. Before he could respond to the shorter Hispanic man, a voice behind him made Sam jump.
"Take your coffee to the stern, Sam, out on the fantail. Nobody's out there, and we can talk. By the way, that's your boss, Nash Bridges."
Ignoring Al, Sam addressed his temporary superior. "Morning, Nash. I'm just going to.step outside a minute. I'll be right back."
Ignoring the look he was sure he was getting from Nash Bridges, Sam took his coffee out onto the fantail. Al had been right; there was nobody out there to overhear the seemingly one-sided conversation he was about to have.
Glancing around, Sam focused his attention on his best friend. "What have you got, Al?"
"Harvey Leek's been pretty helpful. The man you met is the head of this bizarre outfit, the SIU. His name is Nash Bridges and Harvey said he's pretty smart, so keep on your toes. The other inspectors are Evan Cortez, Bryn Carson and Joe Dominguez. Evan is Harvey's, your, partner. He's young and brash, according to Harvey. Bryn is the only female inspector on the team. Harvey seemed to think pretty highly of her. As for Joe Dominguez.apparently the two don't always get along all that well. He told me to tell you not to take it personally if Joe isn't friendly to you."
The two shared a smile, knowing every Leap had somebody like that. "So why am I here?"
With a wry look, Al shook the hand-link. "It just came in a minute ago. You're here for Joe. In two days, he goes out to meet with an informant.and dies when the building explodes."
"Oh, great."
"Yeah, well, we'll just have to make sure you stick with him for the next two days."
"And how am I going to do that, considering Joe and Harvey aren't bosom buddies?"
"You're the expert at this kind of thing, don't ask me." Shifting his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other, Al narrowed his eyes. "I'll find out what cases the SIU has going on right now. That might help."
Sighing, Sam tilted his head and poked at his ear for a moment, earning a curious look from Al. "Find out what you can, I'll look around here and see if I can figure out what Joe's working on. I've got a bad feeling about this Leap."
"Talking to yourself again, Harv?"
Startled, Sam spun around to see an attractive blonde woman standing behind him. Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief and Sam wondered if this was Bryn. Clearing his throat, trying to organize his racing thoughts, Sam smiled hesitantly. "Well, you know they say it's a sign of genius."
"Yeah, or insanity." Bryn laughed as she walked closer to lean against the railing. Her smile turned to a curious frown, and she pointed to Sam's left arm. "What happened to your armband?"
Reaching into his pocket, Sam pulled it out and fingered the patch, furiously trying to think up an excuse. Obviously she'd expected Harvey to be wearing it. "I.uh.picked it up from the drycleaners this morning."
Taking it from his hand, Bryn held it open for him to slip his arm into. Somewhat self-consciously, Sam complied. When she had the armband adjusted to her liking, Bryn patted his arm and smiled. "Well, Nash has got something for us to check out, so I guess we better head back inside."
Following behind her, Sam felt a warmth spread over him from the memory of her smile. Ignoring the lewd comments from Al, he quickened his pace to catch up to Bryn. The next few minutes would be a challenge, but at least he had one friendly face on his side.
Which turned out to be a good thing. After the brief meeting, Sam stood by what just had to be Leek's desk, staring at a pile of folders in his hands. How was he supposed to keep an eye on Joe Dominguez, when it looked like Nash just gave him enough to keep him busy for the next week?
Bryn must've seen the look of consternation on his face, because she sauntered over and grabbed the stack of files from him. "I'll get a start on these, if you want to concentrate on that search. I think Nash sometimes forgets there are two others who can do this stuff."
Sam gratefully relinquished the files. Now maybe he'd get a chance to find out what Joe was up to. "Thanks, Bryn. I really appreciate it."
With a smile tossed over her shoulder, Bryn went back to her own desk. "You owe me."
No, Harvey owes you. I'll be out of here before you have time to collect. And for some inexplicable reason, that bothered Sam. Shaking his head, trying to collect his scattered thoughts, he sat down at Leek's computer. He put his hands on the keyboard and waited. If he was patient, the proper memories from his Swiss-cheesed brain would surface. Instinct would do what he couldn't consciously remember.
And it did. With a satisfied smile, Sam's slender fingers typed out the proper numbers and letters that allowed him to run the search Nash had requested. Whether the memories were his, or left-overs from Harvey, he wasn't certain. Sam was beginning to get the sneaking suspicion that some of Harvey Leek had stayed behind in their exchange. It happened from time to time, and sometimes caused problems. He hoped this wasn't going to be one of those times.
He was kept busy most of the day, and it was late afternoon when he glanced over to see Joe hang up his phone and grab his jacket. Abandoning his efforts on the computer, Sam grabbed the empty Grateful Dead coffee mug from his desk and jumped up to intercept Joe. "Hey, Joe. Where're you off to?"
"Are you my social secretary, Harvey? I've got to go meet someone."
And that was that. This was definitely not going to be an easy Leap. At least Sam knew nothing would happen to Joe today. Friday was the day he had to keep Joe in his sights, though it would be helpful to know what was going on.
With a sigh of frustration, Sam went back to the computer. He was fairly certain that day had been a total bust.
And so it had. He wrapped up what he was doing when he saw Evan and Bryn gathering their things together to leave. It must be closing time. Following their example, he stood and slipped into the borrowed jacket and vest, making a mental note to remember to wear the armband the next morning. He said goodbye was he walked out to the parking lot with Bryn, and thought he'd melt when she smiled at him. Boy, Leek's got it bad.
The drive back to Harvey's house left him time to go over the events of the day. He hadn't really accomplished anything, but at least tomorrow he'd be more comfortable playing the role of Harvey Leek.
Once 'home', he scrounged through the kitchen and found the makings for spaghetti. While he was stirring the sauce, Al put in an appearance.
"So how was the first day of school?"
Reaching down to turn the burner up, Sam shrugged. "Didn't really learn anything. Joe left after a phone call this afternoon, but wouldn't tell me anything beyond he was meeting someone. Leek was right, they're not exactly best friends."
Al removed his cigar and frowned. "You didn't follow him?"
"I didn't have a chance. You wouldn't believe the pile of stuff Bridges gave Harvey to do today. Maybe Leek's faster at that kind of thing than I am."
"Well, you've got until Friday to find out what Dominguez is involved in. Leek didn't have any idea what cases he was working on. Seems Joe does a lot of off-duty cases, so it could even be one of those. Not very helpful."
Sam tasted the sauce then picked up the little bottle of Oregano. "No, not very helpful. I have a feeling this one's going to come down to the wire. I just have to bide my time until then. Anything more on what happened?"
Looking down at the information on his handlink, Al nodded. "Ziggy says the building was in rubble. Witnesses said they heard an explosion and called the fire department. The SIU assumed it was a bomb, but there wasn't a whole lot left for an investigation. Gas main could've blown, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless it was triggered by something else. Just be careful, Sam."
"Hey, with you to watch my back, how can I not be?"
"Do I really need to answer that question?"
Remembering all times he'd found himself in one fix or another during his Leaps, Sam smiled and shook his head. "No, guess not. I'll do my best, Al."
"Well, apparently Ziggy is having some sort of argument with Gooshie. I need to go break it up. Try to stay out of trouble, and I'll see you in the morning. 'Night, Sam."
Al stepped through the door and was gone.
After eating his spaghetti, Sam washed the dishes and wandered once more around the house. He ended up sitting on the couch, idling flipping channels. The house was too quiet and gave him the willies. "Leek needs to get a dog."
Thursday was pretty much 'second verse, same as the first'. Sam was in and out of the SIU with either Evan or Bryn on one case or another, and was swamped at his computer when he wasn't. He tried to eavesdrop on Joe, but the only conversations he managed to overhear were with who Sam assumed was Joe's wife.
It was while out with Evan that he finally found out what Joe was working on.
The two were headed back to the SIU when Sam decided to see if Evan knew anything that would be of help. He just needed to find a way to ask without the younger man becoming curious about his motives. "Evan, do you have any idea what Joe's working on right now? He seems a little grumpier than usual."
That apparently was the right way to phrase it. "Legit or off-duty?"
"Either. Both."
"His off-duty gig shouldn't be making him grouchy. He's just trying to find a guy that skipped out on his lease. The only legit thing he's working on that I know of is trying to find one of his C.I.s that decided to drop out of sight."
Evan glanced at Sam and chuckled. "Why, has he been snapping at you more than usual?"
"You could say that."
"Yeah, well, it's really got Joe and Nash bugged that this informant's gone underground. If Nash weren't so busy with the joint thing with the DEA right now, he'd probably be out looking with Joe and our Mr. Dominguez wouldn't be so cranky."
They stopped at a red light, and Sam started to get a little unnerved by the intense look Evan gave him. "What?"
Shaking his head, Evan turned back to traffic and let his foot off the brake as the light turned green. "I don't know. There's just something different about you the last couple of days, Harv."
You have no idea.
Although Al had said these.Leaps.didn't usually last long, this one was already going a day longer than Harvey liked. He'd been cooped up in the hospital-like room for two days now, and it was becoming rapidly apparent that he would spend a second night.
He'd paced the room until he was practically dizzy, since that was all there was for him to do. He had already decided that tomorrow.he was getting out. He'd managed to get a decent look at the security keypad, and knew he could probably do it. He just had to get out of that room.
Dr. Beeks had been in a few times, but she never stayed very long and neither had Al. The admiral had put in an appearance earlier that.afternoon? It was getting hard to tell time, since he really had no idea what time it had been when he first.arrived. He'd asked Dr. Beeks, but she'd smiled and just shook her head. He couldn't understand why it would be problem for him to simply know what time it was.
He hadn't been allowed radio, television, newspapers or a computer, because he couldn't be allowed to see or hear anything that wasn't relative to his own time. He'd suggested they give him a novel or magazine or something that had been around during his own time. They hadn't. He got the impression that most people who wound up in this room freaked out to such a degree that they spent their visit sedated.
If he spent another day in that small blue room, he'd need to be sedated. And it had nothing to do with time travel, or switching bodies. Harvey Leek was claustrophobic. He was already so edgy, he was fairly certain he wouldn't get much sleep. Harvey was tempted to explain the problem to Dr. Beeks, but figured she most likely wouldn't let him out of that room. He'd probably end up being drugged.
Nope. Instead, Harvey had a plan.
Making sure he was up early, Sam was the first one into the SIU Friday morning. It was D-day. At a little after noon, Joe would die when an abandoned building exploded with him inside. Sam was going to make sure that today, if Joe left the ferry.Sam was going to be right behind him.
That morning, time moved agonizingly slow. Sam kept a sharp eye on Joe, trying every trick he could think of in order to eavesdrop on his phone conversations. He was starting to get funny looks from Evan and Nash, but he didn't care. If all went well, Joe would live to see another day, and Sam would Leap out of there.
Fortunately, when the noon hour ticked closer and Joe answered his phone, Nash was in a meeting with two DEA agents. No need to explain anything to the boss. Sam watched intently as Joe hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket. "I think I finally found my informant. Tell Nash I'll be back later."
Before Joe could get to the door, Sam was out of his seat and reaching for his own coat. He caught the puzzled look from Bryn as he passed and gave her the first excuse he could think of. "I, uh, I have a feeling someone should go with him."
By the time he ran down the gangway to the dock, Joe was pulling out. Sam hurried to the Ranchero and followed, not really caring if Joe spotted him. If the two pulled over to have words, Joe wouldn't be in that building when it blew up.
Turning the corner at the next intersection, as Joe had done, Sam hit his palm on the steering wheel. Joe's car was nowhere to be found. The two had ended up in an area that was obviously in desperate need of re- development, so there weren't many cars anywhere. Sam cruised down to the next intersection and stopped, looking right and left.
He was running out of time. He took the left turn and looked vainly for Joe's BMW. Nothing. He circled the block until he ended up back where he'd started. He spent the next seven minutes driving around aimlessly. That was seven minutes too many. Where was Al?
As if in answer to his silent summons, Al popped in through the Imaging Chamber door, waist high in the passenger seat. That never failed to give Sam the creeps. "Al, where the hell have you been? I need to know which of these buildings Joe disappeared into."
"Sorry, Sam. I was with this really beautiful stewardess and sort of lost track of time. Ziggy's been in a snit and waited until the last minute to remind me to be here."
"Never mind, Al, just tell me where to go."
"Take the next right, Sam. It's the building there on the end."
Down the street to the right, he could see a building sitting next to two empty lots, because the buildings on either side of it had either been demolished or burned to the ground. They all looked like they were ready for the wrecking ball. As he neared the empty lot on the building's left, he spotted Joe's car.
"This is it, Sam. You need to get some help before you go charging in there."
Pulling the Ranchero to a stop next to the BMW, Sam scrambled from the car. The driver's side door to Joe's car was ajar, and the keys were in the ignition. Not a good sign. Sam grabbed Harvey's phone from his pocket and punched the button for the first familiar name he found in the programmed list.
"Bryn, it's S-Harvey. Joe's in trouble. I don't know, just.there's a bomb and Joe's in this building somewhere. I'm going to go in and look for him, but get some backup out here, okay?" Looking to Al for the address, Sam repeated it to Bryn, made sure she had it right, and turned off the phone.
"Sam, where are you going?"
Sam was already pulling on the plywood that had been recently loosened from the door. Preparing to go inside, Sam cast Al a worried frown. "There's no time, Al. If I wait for backup, Joe dies."
"Just be careful, Sam."
Squeezing through the doorway, Sam had every intention of doing just that.
Opening the drawers of the crash cart, Harvey tried to convey idle curiosity. He knew someone was on the other end of the camera that was mounted by the door. What he was really doing was looking for things he could use. He had to get out of that room.
With a sly smile, he palmed a small roll of clear plastic medical tape. Coming across a pre-packaged set of surgical instruments, for a purpose he didn't want to know, he angled his body so the camera couldn't see him. Pulling away a corner of the paper cover, he reached in with a finger and fished out the small scalpel. It had a rubber cover on the end, to protect against accidental injuries from the blade. This, he slipped under the waistband of his pajama bottoms.
Finding nothing else of use, Harvey began yet another circuit of the room. His mind raced, calculating and discarding plan after plan until he came up with one that had an iota of a chance of succeeding. He just had to get out of there.
He knew the camera couldn't see him if he stood directly underneath it. He could access the security keypad with no problem, but if he remained out of camera range for too long, he knew someone would come see what he was up to. He'd have to take things in stages. First things first: the keypad.
Wandering over to the door, and below the camera, Harvey used the thin tip of the scalpel to unscrew the keypad's face. He took a moment to separate the colored wires, quickly picking out the ones he'd need to work with. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Harvey reached the count of 100 and knew he needed to move. Suppressing his mounting frustration, he forced himself to abandon his project for the moment and paced the room, once again back in camera range. This was going to take a while.
Pursing her lips, Verbena glanced from the monitor screen to the clock and decided to go confer with Al. She was becoming concerned about their visitor.
Unfortunately, Al was in the imaging chamber. Apparently, things were heating up for Sam and Al needed to be there. Glancing back toward the hallway that led to the Waiting Room, Verbena chewed on her bottom lip for moment, debating on whether to wait for Al. Maybe he wouldn't be in there very long.
That might have been the case, except for the fact that Sam was in a lot of trouble.
"He's in here somewhere, Al. It could take too long to find him."
"Maybe he went out another door." Al could tell Sam was uneasy about the situation and truth be told.he had a bad feeling about it, as well.
"No, I don't think so. This was where the body was found originally, so this is where he must be. Somewhere."
"I'd try to get Gooshie to center me on Joe, but he must be unconscious. We can't find him, either."
Swearing softly, Sam began a room-to-room search. He knew they were short on time. Some of the doors were locked or blocked, delaying him each time he had to force open the door. He cleared the first floor, and started on the second. It was in the fourth room on the second floor that things took a slight turn for the worst.
"Oh, boy."
Dropping to his knees, Sam looked over the deadly looking device. He'd found the reason why the building had exploded in the original history. "Al, it's a bomb."
As if Al needed telling. "Sam, you've got ten minutes to disarm it."
"Al, I don't know anything about disarming a bomb. I mean, I know a little.but this one looks a little more complicated than I'm willing to take a chance on."
"If you could find Joe and wake him up, he might know how."
"I only have ten minutes, Al!" Less than that, now.
"Alright, Sam, just sit tight. I'll go get Leek and bring him to the Imaging Chamber. Maybe he can talk us through it."
When Al's image disappeared through the Imaging door, Sam turned his attention back to the box of horrors sitting in front of him. "We better hope he can talk us through it."
It took two more pauses under the camera and three trips around the room, but Harvey was finally about to slip from his prison. He'd stripped the needed wires, cut and spliced them with the tape, and was now ready. "Okay, Harvey. Time to blow this pop stand."
He held his breath in anticipation, mentally crossing his fingers, tucked his hands inside his sleeves to protect them and grasped the two unconnected wires. Touching them together, they sparked a moment then the gentle whooshing of air signaled the opening of the door. It had worked.
Taking a deep breath of freedom, Harvey peeked around the doorframe and looked both ways. The coast was clear. Of course, he knew it wouldn't take long for them to catch him. After all, a man walking around in a pair of pajamas was a tad conspicuous. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Harvey got out of that room.even if for only a short while.
He darted down the empty hallway and turned the corner. Hearing voices, he ducked into the nearest doorway and held his breath. Two young men in lab coats sauntered by, deep in conversation. Neither noticed the man in the shadow of the doorway. Smiling, Harvey checked the hall then resumed his search for the way out.
Bursting through the door as soon as it opened, Al nearly barreled into Verbena in his haste to get help for Sam. "Sorry, Verbena."
"It's quite all right, Al, but I wanted to talk to you about Mr. Leek."
Without slowing his pace, Al cast her a quick look of concern. "What about him?"
"He's been behaving rather strangely. Pacing the room, disappearing from camera range periodically.Al, why are we walking so fast?" Dr. Beeks was grateful for her long legs at the moment, as she hurried to keep up with the admiral.
"Sorry, Doc, but Sam's in trouble. I need Leek to help us disarm a bomb. I hope the guy hasn't gone loco on us."
Smiling at Al's description, Verbena shook her head. "No, I don't think that's his problem. I think."
Dr. Beeks didn't finish her sentence as both of them froze when they reached the Waiting Room. The door was wide open, and their 'guest' was gone.
"Oh, boy. Not good."
Crossing to the wall opposite the door, Al slapped his palm against a red button. Lights began to flash, and a dim siren echoed through the hallways. They'd had an escape from the Waiting Room. Everyone would be on alert, now. Turning to Verbena, Al was torn. Should he go back to Sam, or look for Leek? "We're running out of time. We've got to find Leek now. Where would he go?"
Pursing her lips, the doctor decided to go with her instinct. "I think our Mr. Leek is claustrophobic. It would certainly explain his recent behavior. I think he'd try to find his way outside."
Running a mental map through his head, Al zeroed in on the closest exit. It was worth a shot. "Verbena, if I haven't found Leek in three minutes, have Gooshie alert me. Sam will have to try it on his own at that point."
Without another word, the admiral sprinted down the hall and around the corner. Peering into doorways as he went, Al slowed his pace a bit. He didn't want to run past their fugitive. At the next intersection, he flipped a mental coin and took the left turn. It was the right choice.
Following the hallway to the right, he could see a pajama-clad figure standing by the door at the end of the long hall. He was shifting from foot to foot, the stone floor obviously cold on his bare feet. Leek had removed the keypad for the exit door and was fooling around with the wires. A minute later, and Al probably would've missed him.
"Leek!"
The figure stopped what he was doing, dropped his arms and bowed his head. His shoulders slumped in defeat. He'd been so close.
"Leek, dammit, what a time to pull this crap. Sam found Joe, but there's a bomb about to blow them both to kingdom come. You've gotta help him disarm it."
Al grabbed Harvey by the arm and pulled him into a sprint back the way he'd come, and tried to explain as quickly as he could. "Look, we're going into the Imaging Chamber. It would take too long to explain, but the short version is, I can see what's going on around Sam. As long as you are touching me, you can see what I see. Sam will be able to see you, but not hear you. I'll have to 'translate' everything you say."
"Joe?"
"We don't know how bad he's hurt. In the original history, he was killed by the bomb. We'd like to change that, so let's hurry."
Harvey needed no urging. The two picked up their paces and passed a startled Verbena as Al led the way into the chamber, never letting go of Harvey's arm. Four minutes and forty-eight seconds left. The door slid shut and Harvey felt like he'd stepped into a huge virtual reality room. He was startled to see himself kneeling over a box.
"Far out."
Moving them both closer, Al maneuvered so they could both see over Sam's shoulder. "Okay, Leek, do your thing."
Taking a precious forty seconds to look things over, Harvey wiped a hand over his mouth. He hoped he got this right. "Okay, he should have a small Swiss Army knife in his pocket if he put everything from the nightstand back into his pocket."
Al repeated what Harvey said and they both sighed with relief when Sam produced the little red knife. Nodding, Harvey took a deep breath. "Okay, first we have to deal with that small bunch of wires on the left. See it?"
After Al pointed them out, Sam nodded and looked at Leek for further instruction.
"Tell him he has to cut the blue one first, then the black."
Mentally crossing his fingers, Al felt his scalp prickle from the sweat popping up. "Sam, cut the blue wire first, then the black."
Trying not to let his hand shake, Sam complied. It was all he could do to keep from closing his eyes when he cut the first wire. Nothing happened. Same thing with the black wire. One down. He hoped there was only one left.
Wiping his face once more, Harvey nodded. "Good. Now, the main bunch of wires leading from the timer, yeah those, you need to cut the red one first. Very carefully."
"Sam, he says you need to cut the red wire that's leading from the timer. He said to be really careful." Pausing a moment, past instructions running through his mind, Al's eyes widened. "Wait Sam!"
Not quite sure he wasn't going to die from heart failure, Sam shot his friend a withering look. "I don't have a lot of time to wait, Al. What's the matter?"
Turning to Harvey, Al shook his head. "They always say 'red before yellow kills a fellow'. Shouldn't he cut the yellow one first?"
"I've seen this bomb signature before, Al. I know who did this. Or, maybe, who provided the bomb for someone else. You have to cut the red one first."
Time was running out. Sam stared into his own face, into his own blue eyes. He saw the conviction there, as Harvey mouthed, "Do it."
Sam cut the red wire.
Nothing happened.
"Tell him to cut the yellow wire, then the green. Hurry!"
"Yellow then green, Sam. Hurry."
Hurry he says. Hand shaking slightly, despite his resolve, Sam quickly made the cuts. The digital timer stopped at thirty-six seconds. Sitting back on his heels, Sam gave Al a baleful look. "Could you have cut it any closer?"
Al shrugged, as if they'd just had a walk in the park. "Leek took a powder and I had to find him first."
The colorful handlink squawked at him, and Al released Harvey's arm to punch a few buttons. "Joe's waking up, Sam. He's on the fourth floor. Go up the east stairwell, down the hall and he's the in the third room on the left. Take the knife with you; he's tied to a radiator."
Sam climbed to his feet and paused a moment. "Al, touch Harvey again for a minute, will you? I just.I can't.it's hard to explain."
But Al understood. Without a word, he reached out and put his hand on Leek's shoulder, making him visible once more to Sam.
The two men stood and stared at the other. Seeing themselves.and seeing each other. Two men sharing a brief moment in time, to change a single terrible event. Feeling the connection, Harvey raised his right arm and held out his fist. He smiled when Sam did the same. Though each was a hologram to the other, they could almost feel the touch of their fists.
"Thank you."
He didn't need for Al to repeat that one. Sam knew what Harvey had said. A simple thank you for saving a friend's life. But that was more than Sam usually got, and it meant a lot. "You're welcome."
Though he hated to break the moment, Al cleared his throat. "Uh, Sam, you need to go check on Joe. The sooner you get this done, the sooner you can Leap."
The two watched Sam turn to go, then Al released his touch and they were suddenly in a blank blue room. Shaking off the moment, Harvey suddenly felt drained. His knees actually trembled from fatigue as he followed Al from the room. He guessed that Sam's body didn't get a whole lot of exercise from the people that periodically inhabited it.
"That was.intense."
Al didn't argue. Wiping his forehead on the sleeve of his bright red jacket, he gestured down the hall. "Let's get back to the Waiting Room. Sam could Leap any time now. And this time.stay there!"
Harvey chuckled softly. He'd definitely picked a bad time to make his escape, but how was he to know? "Sorry about that. I just needed some air."
"Claustrophobic?" It sounded like the good doctor had had it right.
"Yeah. I don't always have a problem with it. I mean, I can sit in the surveillance van all day and not freak out about it. I guess it's mostly when things are out of my control, ya know?"
Remembering his time as a POW, Al could understand. "At least we learned that we need to upgrade our security. Again."
"Sorry. Get me some electrical tape, and I'll fix the panel in the Waiting Room before your next 'guest' arrives."
"Deal." Grinning mischievously, Al's eye's twinkled. "You know, I may have to go visit San Francisco and 'accidentally' bump into you. I have a feeling we'd get along really well. I saw the Dead at Berkley in '72."
Laughing, Harvey shook his head. He had a feeling Al had seen and done a lot of things in his time. "I was there in '72. Snuck out of the house to catch the show. Caught hell when I got home, but it was worth it."
Catching a white-coated young man by the arm, Al requested a roll of electrical tape, wire cutters and beer.
"Beer?"
"Yeah, well, I figure we can share a few beers before you go back to your own place and time. It's sort of.well, sort of like talking to Sam. Except that Sam was a total square and a bit of a nerd as a kid and never saw a Dead show in his life."
Hearing Sam's laugh when Harvey reacted to his statement brought a wistful smile to Al's face. This way, he'd enjoy talking to both Harvey and Sam for a few minutes. God, how he wished Sam would come home.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
It wasn't exactly the reaction he was expecting from Joe Dominguez. "Saving your butt, what does it look like?"
"Well, you took long enough."
And Sam suddenly began to understand the weird relationship between the two men. That was Joe's way of saying thanks. Shaking his head, he pulled out Harvey's knife and cut Joe free from the radiator. The inspector had a shiner and a fat lip, but looked okay otherwise. Though, Sam suspected he had a lump on his head somewhere.
He watched as Joe straightened his limbs and moaned at the pins and needles sensation of returning circulation. "You okay?"
Joe probed gently at the knot behind his left ear and nodded carefully. "Yeah. Head hurts like hell, but at least I'm still alive. Detten won't be when I get my hands on him, though."
"That the guy that set you up?"
"Yeah. I'm the last guy he's gonna do that to, I can tell ya."
Sam had no doubts. Hearing distant sirens, he sighed with relief. "Sounds like Nash and the bomb squad are on their way."
"Bomb squad?"
"It seems that Detten left a little parting gift for you on the second floor. I disarmed it, but I'll feel a lot better when we both get out of this building."
"Amen to that, brother."
Helping Joe up from the floor, Sam checked to make sure the inspector was really okay. He seemed steady enough, so they made their way carefully out the door and down the hall. As they entered the stairwell, Joe reached out his hand and stopped Sam for a moment.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
Casting about for a plausible excuse, Sam finally settled for, "I just.had a feeling something bad was going to happen, so I followed you. I lost your trail for a while and it took me a while to track you to this building."
Joe looked skeptical. "You had a 'feeling'? Man, you're starting to sound like Angel."
Not knowing who or what 'Angel' was, Sam just shrugged.
"Well, however you did it.thanks, Harv."
Remembering Harvey's thanks a few minutes before, Sam smiled. "You're welcome."
By the time they squeezed through the door and into the fresh air, Nash was pulling up. Other police units and the bomb squad's van were right behind him, along with Evan's truck. The two walked over to the 'Cuda to try to answer the questions that were obvious on Nash's face. There were a lot of questions to answer.
Controlled chaos reigned for the next thirty minutes. Sam tried his best to answer everyone's questions, but pretty much stuck with, "I had a bad feeling about Joe's meeting with his CI and followed him. I found the bomb, disarmed it and went looking for Joe."
Needless to say that little statement earned him puzzled looks from the others, but Sam didn't know how else to play it down.
Shaking his head, Nash couldn't help but laugh. Only Joe and Harvey could end up in a situation like this. "Listen guys, I'm going to take Joe over to the hospital to get checked out-" He raised a hand to cut off Joe's protest and glared at the shorter man. "Evan, you and Bryn give Harv a ride back to the SIU and get a start on the paperwork. I'll see you back there."
Joe argued with Nash all the way back to the 'Cuda and Evan laughed at the futility of it. They all knew Nash would win. "C'mon, Harv. It's back to the daily grind."
Falling into step between Evan and Bryn, Sam was surprised by the stinging slap upside the head. "Bryn? What was that for?"
"Next time you get a 'feeling' something bad is going to happen, don't go running off by yourself. You scared the hell out of me, Harvey."
Seeing the fear beneath Bryn's anger, Sam was contrite. "I'm sorry, Bryn. I guess I just didn't think it through."
Bryn smiled fondly and reached out to straighten his vest. "Well, just don't let it happen again."
Looking from one to the other, Evan began to understand what was going on between Harvey and Bryn.even if they didn't.and it made him smile. Maybe they just needed a nudge. He tossed his keys to Harvey, a Cheshire grin splitting his face. "You two go ahead. I've got a few more things I want to clear up with the bomb squad. I'll catch a ride with one of the unies."
Puzzled, Sam hefted the keys. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. You two go on. I'll catch you later."
With a shrug, wondering why he hadn't Leaped yet, Sam opened the door for Bryn and gave her a hand up into the passenger seat. Shutting the door, he walked around and climbed in the driver's seat. As he started the truck, Sam couldn't help noticing how good Bryn smelled.
Pulling the truck around, Sam headed back toward Hyde Street. They hadn't gone very far when Bryn leaned over and touched his arm.
"I'm sorry about reacting the way I did, Harv. You just had me worried."
Looking into her vivid blue eyes, Sam thought he'd be lost in them. She was so-"Beautiful."
Bryn raised her eyebrows, not quite sure she'd heard him right. "What?"
Oh, boy. Had he said that out loud? Well, it was Harvey's fault he felt this way. If he hadn't left that little residual.Harvey.behind, Sam would have better control over his emotions. As it was.and suddenly, he knew why he was still there.
"I said, you're so beautiful Bryn."
Stopping at a red light, Sam turned to gauge her reaction. Bryn stared at him for a moment, as if unsure if he was joking or not. Seeing the sincerity in his face, she smiled and it lit up her eyes. "Harvey, are you serious?"
He didn't have to answer. She could see that he was. It was finally happening. She'd felt it growing for months, this shift from friendship to something more, but it had stalled when Harvey was unable or unwilling to make his feelings known. Leaning toward him, she reached out a hand to touch his cheek.
"Well, it's about damn time, Leek."
And she kissed him. Sam had time for one brief thought. Harvey Leek is sure going to get a surprise when he Leaps back. Then, a tingling sensation..
.followed by a warmth that always came between Leaps. After what felt like an eternity of nothingness, he felt the tingling sensation that preceded the Leap in. Which in turn was always followed by one, overpowering, single thought. Please, let this one bring me home.
The loud rumbling registered first, then the rush of wind in his hair. He was driving a car. A car with a bright yellow hood that was rapidly approaching the van in front of it. Sam slammed on the brake, bringing the car to a sliding stop with only inches to spare. His heart pounded from the sudden adrenaline surge then nearly slammed to stop when he heard, "Nashman, you okay?"
Turning his head to the right, Sam stared at Joe Dominguez.
"Uh, Nash, the light just turned green. You sure you're not the one that needs to see a doctor?"
Oh, boy.
There was the usual sense of loss, then the warmth that always came between Leaps. After what felt like an eternity of nothingness, he felt the tingling sensation that preceded the Leap in. Which in turn was always followed by one, overpowering, single thought. Please, let this one bring me home.
He startled when he became aware of the hot spray of water. What? His hands were on his head and he dropped them as he opened his eyes. He immediately shut them again when they began to burn and tear from the shampoo running down his face. He quickly rinsed the suds away and blinked watery eyes until he could see clearly. He was standing in a shower.
He had a moment of panic, as he always did when the thought came to him. Oh, please, please let me be a man. A quick glance down confirmed that he was, thankfully, a male this time. Leaps were hard enough without having to deal with the gender confusion of trying to act like a woman.
Figuring he might as well finish his host's shower, Sam actually enjoyed the simple morning ritual. Well, at least he assumed it was morning. Turning off the water, he slid the shower curtain aside and reached for the towel he found hanging on a rod to his left. He quickly dried off and wrapped the towel around his waist, stepping onto the floor mat.
Crossing over to the sink, Sam wiped the foggy mirror and got his first look at the person he'd be until he fixed whatever it was he was there to fix. Clear blue eyes stared back at him. With a sense of wonder, he reached up to finger the white streak at his forehead. A white streak just like his own, except that his host's hair was much shorter.
Looking at the reflected image, Sam was able to get a better look at the sore spots he'd discovered during his shower. Whoever his host was, he'd recently been in some sort of fight. Bruises dotted the man's chest and, turning around, his back as well. There was a shadow of a bruise on his left cheek and he had a scabby cut over his left eyebrow. Sam wondered what type of person he'd leaped into. He hated it when he was a bad guy.
After so many Leaps, however, Sam had become adept at reading people. The face that looked back at him, however bruised, seemed like an honest face. He only hoped he was right.
The tidiness of the bathroom indicated the man was probably fairly orderly, for which he was grateful. There was nothing worse than trying to make sense of someone's life when you spent all your time trying to find everything. Picking up the razor by the sink, he noticed it was still wet. His host must've shaved first, before getting in the shower. Either that or he could get away with not shaving every morning, he mused while running a hand over a smooth cheek.
Not seeing any clothes in the bathroom, he stepped through the door into the bedroom. It, too, was fairly neat. The bed was unmade, but that could be because his host just hadn't had a chance to do that yet. He noticed clothes had been laid out on the bed and, at first, he couldn't figure out why his host had chosen such an outfit. That was until he wandered the room with curiosity to look at the framed pictures sitting here and there.
On the dresser, he found a picture of his host and a younger man. The younger man looked to be of Hispanic descent, and both men wore matching smiles. His host was wearing clothes similar to those on the bed. With a shrug, he put the picture down and got dressed. The clothes were odd, but comfortable. When he turned and saw the items on the nightstand, he froze. A gun and badge lay there among keys, watch, change, wallet and a black armband. Picking up the badge, he read the words: San Francisco Police Inspector. Well, at least he knew where he was. Most likely.
He picked up the wallet and went through it curiously. Finding the driver's license, Sam read the vital statistics. According to the DMV, his host was a brown haired, blue-eyed man named Harvey Leek. Looking at the birth date and the expiration date, Sam figured him to be somewhere between 38 and 42. Other than the license, the wallet held a few business cards, credit cards, library card, thirty-eight dollars and no pictures. With a shrug, he slipped the wallet into his back pocket.
He shrugged into the shoulder holster hanging on the back of a chair by the nightstand, slipped the badge over his head, and replaced the other items. Except the armband. Sam wasn't quite sure what to do with that one. He recognized the Grateful Dead Steal Your Face symbol, and smiled. That might go a long way to explaining the clothes.
He decided to heed the Boy Scouts' motto, and be prepared. He slipped the armband into a pocket. Once dressed, combed and ready for whatever the day held for Harvey Leek, Sam left the bedroom to check out the rest of the house, which he found to be similar to the bedroom. Uncluttered, uncomplicated and comfortable.
It was as he opened the door to one of the rooms downstairs, that Al made his appearance. Well, Al's holographic form made an appearance.
"Wow! I think I'm having a 60's flashback."
Sam had the same reaction. The room was lit by several lava lamps of various colors and a revolving, multi-colored light. Grateful Dead memorabilia covered the room.
"You know, Sam, I think I like this guy."
"I'm not surprised. I think the two of you would probably get along together. You both have a weird sense of style, though his is at least a little more subdued." Sam resisted the urge to squint against the brightness of Al's suit. Sam would have never thought they could make such a brilliant purple. The lime green shirt and yellow tie didn't help much, either. "Why am I here, Al?"
Taking one last look around the shrine to the Dead, Al turned his attention to the colorful, futuristic-looking device he held in his hand. "You are San Francisco Police Inspector Harvey Leek, 39, currently assigned to the Special Investigations Unit. It's March 13th, 1997."
Nodding absently, having already discovered most of that information, Sam turned off the lights, shut the door and headed for the kitchen. Al's image followed behind. "Do you know why I'm here?"
"Not yet. We're working on it. We do know you're not here to save his life, though. Leek is still alive in our time."
"That's something." Opening and shutting cabinet doors, Sam searched for something to eat. "This guy needs to shop for groceries more often."
"He's a cop, Sam. From the look of his record, a busy one."
"Good?"
"Very." Looking back down at the device in his hand, Al gave it a few whacks, eliciting a couple of squawks of protest. "Ziggy says you're supposed to be at work in an hour. I thought we had the wrong address, but apparently not. The S.I.U. is located on the ferry, Eureka, at Pier 32. Um, Leek's car is a 1972 Ford Ranchero, good choice. Blue. It's probably parked out front. I'll check back with you then. Verbena says our guest woke up."
"Let me know as soon as you find out something."
Al waved an acknowledgement before stepping through the Imaging Chamber door, leaving Sam alone.
Meeting Verbena outside the chamber, Al frowned. "How's our guest?"
"Don't worry, Al. I think you'll be able to work with this one. He seems curious more than anything." Dr. Verbena Beeks was a beautiful African- American woman, who was in charge of the psychological welfare of their periodic guests inhabiting Sam Becket's body.
Coming to a stop outside what they called the Waiting Room, Al took a deep breath. This was always the hardest part for him.seeing someone else looking back at him from his best friend's eyes.
He smiled grimly at Verbena. "You ready?"
He had been dreaming about lying on a beach in Carmel, the warm sun caressing his skin and the rhythmic waves lulling him to sleep, when it abruptly changed. He was flying through an empty darkness, until he was surrounded by an intense blue light. Then it was gone.
As he was emerging from the sluggishness of sleep, even before opening his eyes, Harvey knew something wasn't right. Sitting up, he opened his eyes and immediately found his pulse quickening. Wherever he was, it wasn't home.
A quick scan of the room made him think of a hospital. It was stark, pale blue and anti-septic smelling. He could remember the knock-down-drag-out he and Evan had had with some suspects the day before, but he'd gone home that evening and gone to bed. No memory of a hospital.
When he pulled back the blanket to swing his legs over the side of the bed, Harvey discovered he was even wearing pajamas, which he never wore. Another discovery had him feeling light-headed. The legs he was looking at, moving when he gave the mental command.weren't his.
Once he was sure he wasn't about to pass out, Harvey inspected the rest of the body he suddenly found himself occupying. That was how he thought of it. Any other conclusion required a mental disorder on his end, and Harvey refused to believe he'd suddenly lost his mind.
His new arms were pale and slender, with more body hair than the ones he'd had when he went to bed, and he found the sensation strange when he rubbed a hand over one arm. Running a hand through his hair, Harvey found it longer than his own. He wondered if he was dreaming he was awake, and this was all the result of the late night pizza he'd eaten.
Looking around the room, Harvey slid off the bed and stumbled slightly when he took a tentative step. He felt incredibly weak. His movements were a little awkward and clumsy, like a gangly teenager not used to his own growing body. Taking a steadying breath, Harvey wandered the room.
There was a sophisticated-looking security keypad by the door that most likely led to the way out. A hospital crash cart was against one wall, which didn't exactly make him feel more comfortable. Another door led to a small bathroom. No mirror. On his second pass around the room, Harvey glanced up and noticed the camera mounted in the corner by the secured door. Wherever he was, whatever was happening, he was being observed.
Harvey's mind raced, trying to figure out what he was experiencing. He wondered briefly if it was some sort of LSD flashback. When he was in college, he'd experimented with pot, as had most of the students at Berkley at the time. He'd never done anything more serious than that, though. Not of his own free will, anyway.
One night, he'd gone to a party with his best friend, Bobby. It was a decision he'd later regret. Someone had dosed Harvey's drink that night, and it had been Bobby's quick thinking that had kept him from jumping out a window. The doctor told the then-19-year-old Harvey that flashbacks could crop up years later.
"Yeah, but twenty years later?"
Harvey was skeptical. The lack of a mirror in the bathroom, and in the room he'd awoken in, hinted at something else. Reason suggested they didn't want him freaking out when he looked in a mirror to see someone else's face. Or, maybe, his new face was disfigured or something. And, who were "they"? Wouldn't it be a kick in the head if all those crazies claiming to have been kidnapped by aliens.weren't so crazy after all?
He made yet another pass around the room, inspecting the walls and meager furnishings, still furiously trying to figure out what had happened and where he could be. "Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore."
"No, you're not in Kansas."
Spinning around, Harvey narrowed his eyes at the two newcomers. The woman wore a white lab coat, and he immediately pegged her as a doctor. The man, however, was another story.
The man had on clothes even brighter and more bizarre than Harvey himself usually wore. He was shorter, with dark curly hair and piercing eyes. Harvey knew a cunning man when he saw one. This one could be dangerous.
"I can't tell you where you are, but it's not Kansas." The man held out a hand. "Admiral Calavicci. You can call me Al."
Shaking the proffered hand a little hesitantly, Harvey smiled nervously. "Isn't that a Paul Simon song?"
Ignoring the question, Al gestured to his companion. "This is doctor Verbena Beeks. I'm sure you have a lot of questions. We'll do our best to answer them, if we can. First, let me explain a little about how you got here."
Listening to the long story, glancing frequently at Dr. Beeks, who seemed to be looking at him as if through a microscope, Harvey wondered which one of them was crazy. Time travel? Leaping? Someone else was now walking around in his body? Fixing things that once went wrong? Oh, well. It made about as much sense as anything else, and he sure preferred this story to the alien theory. Or the other alternative...that he was nuts.
"So, what is it that he's there to fix? Did something happen to me?"
Al held up a reassuring hand and shook his head. "No, Sam's not there for you. We're still working on it, but we're pretty sure he's not there to fix anything for you."
"Why trade places with me, then?"
"It could be that Sam's there to help someone you know, or maybe one of the other cops you work with."
Evan! The thought flashed quickly in Harvey's mind. What if something happened to his younger partner because Harvey wasn't there to watch his back? "My partner. Make sure he watches out for my partner, Evan."
"Don't worry. Sam's been doing this for.quite a while. He knows what he's doing. We're just as anxious for him to fix whatever it is that needs fixing as you are. If he doesn't Leap, he won't have a chance of making it home."
What a lonely life, Harvey thought sympathetically. His best friend his only contact with home. Harvey didn't feel all that different from the scientist. Both fought on the side of good. Both strived to help people. Both were fairly lonely, if Harvey admitted it to himself. He suddenly had an overwhelming urge to see Dr. Sam Beckett.
"Hey, can I have a mirror? I'd.I'd like to see what Sam looks like."
Dr. Beeks exchanged a questioning look with Al, smiled after a moment of thought and nodded. She was fairly certain this one wouldn't freak out. Leaving the two men to continue their conversation, Verbena left the room to find a mirror. She was curious herself about what Mr. Leek's reaction would be.
As the doctor left the room, Harvey's sharp eyes watched closely when she punched in the required buttons on the keypad. He couldn't tell which buttons she'd pushed, but he'd seen enough to be helpful. As the door slid closed behind her, Harvey sighed and returned his attention to the admiral.
"So, how long does this usually take, anyway?"
Not wanting to upset their visitor, Al brushed aside Harvey's concern. "Oh, it usually never takes more than a few days to get whatever it is straightened out. You'll be back to your own life in no time. Of course, you'll lose any memory of this during your Leap back. Which is probably for the best in most cases."
Harvey could see the sense in that. This kind of thing could certainly throw someone into shock. He should probably thank his job for the way he himself was handling it. Nothin' like the strange and bizarre life of undercover work, to put things into perspective.
Sizing Harvey up, Al decided the man was taking it fairly well, all things considered, and could prove helpful. "So, Mr. Leek, tell us about the people you work with. It would help Sam a lot, so he wouldn't end up making it look like you'd suddenly lost your marbles."
"Just call me Harvey." Al's statement had him wondering if the others had noticed anything different about him, and what he'd have to deal with when he got back. Harvey rubbed a hand over his face and sighed. "Well, my boss is Nash Bridges. He's smart, got great instinct, stands up for his team, hates politics, and has a pretty good sense of humor. He can be a little.stand-offish sometimes, but he cares about his people."
Harvey paused a moment, pulling on his earlobe, thinking about the others. "Evan's my partner. Evan Cortez. Young and brash, but has the makings of a great cop. If he lives long enough. He's always dragging me into one mess or another, so you have to keep your eye on him. Bryn Carson's one of the best. She's intelligent, resourceful and strong. Don't underestimate her abilities."
How to describe the fourth member of the team? Harvey paused, weighing his words, fidgeting with his ear once again. "The fourth inspector is Joe Dominguez. Uh, he and I don't always get along, though I haven't figured out why. He's always got some scheme going, or an off-duty gig, trying to make extra money. He's almost always with Nash when on an SIU job. I don't know, just.tell Sam not to take it personally if Joe isn't overly friendly to him."
An amused smile twitched at Al's mouth at Harvey's admission. "Thanks, Harvey, that'll be a big help to Sam. The first meetings are always the hardest for him.trying to figure out how his host fit in with the people surrounding him or her."
"Her?"
"Sam's Leaped into women before. Kids, people with disabilities, even a chimpanzee once."
"You know, I think that would be very enlightening."
"I'm sure it was, but Sam hates Leaping into women. I think it's the shoes."
The door slid open and Dr. Beeks returned, interrupting their conversation, a medium-sized shaving mirror tucked under her arm. Harvey's heart rate started to speed up again. Was he really sure he wanted to do this? Taking a deep breath, his mouth suddenly dry, Harvey reached out to take the mirror.
The face that looked back at him was definitely not his own. It was an intelligent, friendly face, though and Harvey stared hard at the reflection, as if he could somehow communicate with Sam Beckett if he just tried hard enough. Glancing up, the borrowed face split into a grin as Harvey smiled and reached up to finger the familiar white streak.
"Far out."
Having found the Ranchero parked at the corner, Sam drove toward the Hyde St. Pier with the help of the map he found in the glove compartment. He'd have to refresh his memory of the layout of San Francisco. If he had to go out on some kind of call, he'd find it hard to explain why he didn't know how to get there.
He hoped this Leap would be a short one. He didn't like Leaping into people with dangerous jobs. First of all, it usually meant he was there to stop someone from being killed. Secondly, it made the Leap that much more dangerous for himself. He couldn't very well Leap back home.if he was shot during a robbery.
The drive to the pier reminded Sam how beautiful the city of San Francisco was. It didn't take him long to find his way to the right place. He couldn't help being a little skeptical as he parked the Ranchero in front of a big passenger ferry. If he hadn't seen all the black-and-whites parked along side it, he wouldn't have believed it. Oh, well. It was San Francisco after all.
Following a pair of uniformed officers up the ramp leading to the deck, Sam nodded his greeting when the two turned back and said good morning. He always hated this part. Trying to hide the fact that he didn't have a clue as to who anyone was, what his job was, or where anything was supposed to be. Taking a deep breath, Sam stepped through the door.
There were handcuffed suspects sitting in the seats along the wall to his left. Railing separated a section of the ferry dominated by desks on his right. Having no clue where he was supposed to go, Sam did the first thing that popped in his mind. He headed for the coffee pot.
Passing by a desk, Sam slowed his steps. The man sitting at the desk was giving him a funny look and glancing pointedly at his watch. But I'm on time according to Al.
Responding to the confused look, the man at the desk chuckled and shrugged. "You're not late, Harvey. It's just that you're usually the first one in. Besides me, anyway."
Sam took a moment to size the man up. He had a wry smile on his face, with sandy hair and intelligent blue eyes. Glancing quickly at the nameplate on the desk, Sam saw the name Bridges. He wished it came with a first name. "Sorry. I.um.overslept."
"Well, don't let it happen again."
Looking at the newcomer's face, Sam couldn't be sure if he was joking or serious. Before he could respond to the shorter Hispanic man, a voice behind him made Sam jump.
"Take your coffee to the stern, Sam, out on the fantail. Nobody's out there, and we can talk. By the way, that's your boss, Nash Bridges."
Ignoring Al, Sam addressed his temporary superior. "Morning, Nash. I'm just going to.step outside a minute. I'll be right back."
Ignoring the look he was sure he was getting from Nash Bridges, Sam took his coffee out onto the fantail. Al had been right; there was nobody out there to overhear the seemingly one-sided conversation he was about to have.
Glancing around, Sam focused his attention on his best friend. "What have you got, Al?"
"Harvey Leek's been pretty helpful. The man you met is the head of this bizarre outfit, the SIU. His name is Nash Bridges and Harvey said he's pretty smart, so keep on your toes. The other inspectors are Evan Cortez, Bryn Carson and Joe Dominguez. Evan is Harvey's, your, partner. He's young and brash, according to Harvey. Bryn is the only female inspector on the team. Harvey seemed to think pretty highly of her. As for Joe Dominguez.apparently the two don't always get along all that well. He told me to tell you not to take it personally if Joe isn't friendly to you."
The two shared a smile, knowing every Leap had somebody like that. "So why am I here?"
With a wry look, Al shook the hand-link. "It just came in a minute ago. You're here for Joe. In two days, he goes out to meet with an informant.and dies when the building explodes."
"Oh, great."
"Yeah, well, we'll just have to make sure you stick with him for the next two days."
"And how am I going to do that, considering Joe and Harvey aren't bosom buddies?"
"You're the expert at this kind of thing, don't ask me." Shifting his cigar from one side of his mouth to the other, Al narrowed his eyes. "I'll find out what cases the SIU has going on right now. That might help."
Sighing, Sam tilted his head and poked at his ear for a moment, earning a curious look from Al. "Find out what you can, I'll look around here and see if I can figure out what Joe's working on. I've got a bad feeling about this Leap."
"Talking to yourself again, Harv?"
Startled, Sam spun around to see an attractive blonde woman standing behind him. Her blue eyes sparkled with mischief and Sam wondered if this was Bryn. Clearing his throat, trying to organize his racing thoughts, Sam smiled hesitantly. "Well, you know they say it's a sign of genius."
"Yeah, or insanity." Bryn laughed as she walked closer to lean against the railing. Her smile turned to a curious frown, and she pointed to Sam's left arm. "What happened to your armband?"
Reaching into his pocket, Sam pulled it out and fingered the patch, furiously trying to think up an excuse. Obviously she'd expected Harvey to be wearing it. "I.uh.picked it up from the drycleaners this morning."
Taking it from his hand, Bryn held it open for him to slip his arm into. Somewhat self-consciously, Sam complied. When she had the armband adjusted to her liking, Bryn patted his arm and smiled. "Well, Nash has got something for us to check out, so I guess we better head back inside."
Following behind her, Sam felt a warmth spread over him from the memory of her smile. Ignoring the lewd comments from Al, he quickened his pace to catch up to Bryn. The next few minutes would be a challenge, but at least he had one friendly face on his side.
Which turned out to be a good thing. After the brief meeting, Sam stood by what just had to be Leek's desk, staring at a pile of folders in his hands. How was he supposed to keep an eye on Joe Dominguez, when it looked like Nash just gave him enough to keep him busy for the next week?
Bryn must've seen the look of consternation on his face, because she sauntered over and grabbed the stack of files from him. "I'll get a start on these, if you want to concentrate on that search. I think Nash sometimes forgets there are two others who can do this stuff."
Sam gratefully relinquished the files. Now maybe he'd get a chance to find out what Joe was up to. "Thanks, Bryn. I really appreciate it."
With a smile tossed over her shoulder, Bryn went back to her own desk. "You owe me."
No, Harvey owes you. I'll be out of here before you have time to collect. And for some inexplicable reason, that bothered Sam. Shaking his head, trying to collect his scattered thoughts, he sat down at Leek's computer. He put his hands on the keyboard and waited. If he was patient, the proper memories from his Swiss-cheesed brain would surface. Instinct would do what he couldn't consciously remember.
And it did. With a satisfied smile, Sam's slender fingers typed out the proper numbers and letters that allowed him to run the search Nash had requested. Whether the memories were his, or left-overs from Harvey, he wasn't certain. Sam was beginning to get the sneaking suspicion that some of Harvey Leek had stayed behind in their exchange. It happened from time to time, and sometimes caused problems. He hoped this wasn't going to be one of those times.
He was kept busy most of the day, and it was late afternoon when he glanced over to see Joe hang up his phone and grab his jacket. Abandoning his efforts on the computer, Sam grabbed the empty Grateful Dead coffee mug from his desk and jumped up to intercept Joe. "Hey, Joe. Where're you off to?"
"Are you my social secretary, Harvey? I've got to go meet someone."
And that was that. This was definitely not going to be an easy Leap. At least Sam knew nothing would happen to Joe today. Friday was the day he had to keep Joe in his sights, though it would be helpful to know what was going on.
With a sigh of frustration, Sam went back to the computer. He was fairly certain that day had been a total bust.
And so it had. He wrapped up what he was doing when he saw Evan and Bryn gathering their things together to leave. It must be closing time. Following their example, he stood and slipped into the borrowed jacket and vest, making a mental note to remember to wear the armband the next morning. He said goodbye was he walked out to the parking lot with Bryn, and thought he'd melt when she smiled at him. Boy, Leek's got it bad.
The drive back to Harvey's house left him time to go over the events of the day. He hadn't really accomplished anything, but at least tomorrow he'd be more comfortable playing the role of Harvey Leek.
Once 'home', he scrounged through the kitchen and found the makings for spaghetti. While he was stirring the sauce, Al put in an appearance.
"So how was the first day of school?"
Reaching down to turn the burner up, Sam shrugged. "Didn't really learn anything. Joe left after a phone call this afternoon, but wouldn't tell me anything beyond he was meeting someone. Leek was right, they're not exactly best friends."
Al removed his cigar and frowned. "You didn't follow him?"
"I didn't have a chance. You wouldn't believe the pile of stuff Bridges gave Harvey to do today. Maybe Leek's faster at that kind of thing than I am."
"Well, you've got until Friday to find out what Dominguez is involved in. Leek didn't have any idea what cases he was working on. Seems Joe does a lot of off-duty cases, so it could even be one of those. Not very helpful."
Sam tasted the sauce then picked up the little bottle of Oregano. "No, not very helpful. I have a feeling this one's going to come down to the wire. I just have to bide my time until then. Anything more on what happened?"
Looking down at the information on his handlink, Al nodded. "Ziggy says the building was in rubble. Witnesses said they heard an explosion and called the fire department. The SIU assumed it was a bomb, but there wasn't a whole lot left for an investigation. Gas main could've blown, but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense unless it was triggered by something else. Just be careful, Sam."
"Hey, with you to watch my back, how can I not be?"
"Do I really need to answer that question?"
Remembering all times he'd found himself in one fix or another during his Leaps, Sam smiled and shook his head. "No, guess not. I'll do my best, Al."
"Well, apparently Ziggy is having some sort of argument with Gooshie. I need to go break it up. Try to stay out of trouble, and I'll see you in the morning. 'Night, Sam."
Al stepped through the door and was gone.
After eating his spaghetti, Sam washed the dishes and wandered once more around the house. He ended up sitting on the couch, idling flipping channels. The house was too quiet and gave him the willies. "Leek needs to get a dog."
Thursday was pretty much 'second verse, same as the first'. Sam was in and out of the SIU with either Evan or Bryn on one case or another, and was swamped at his computer when he wasn't. He tried to eavesdrop on Joe, but the only conversations he managed to overhear were with who Sam assumed was Joe's wife.
It was while out with Evan that he finally found out what Joe was working on.
The two were headed back to the SIU when Sam decided to see if Evan knew anything that would be of help. He just needed to find a way to ask without the younger man becoming curious about his motives. "Evan, do you have any idea what Joe's working on right now? He seems a little grumpier than usual."
That apparently was the right way to phrase it. "Legit or off-duty?"
"Either. Both."
"His off-duty gig shouldn't be making him grouchy. He's just trying to find a guy that skipped out on his lease. The only legit thing he's working on that I know of is trying to find one of his C.I.s that decided to drop out of sight."
Evan glanced at Sam and chuckled. "Why, has he been snapping at you more than usual?"
"You could say that."
"Yeah, well, it's really got Joe and Nash bugged that this informant's gone underground. If Nash weren't so busy with the joint thing with the DEA right now, he'd probably be out looking with Joe and our Mr. Dominguez wouldn't be so cranky."
They stopped at a red light, and Sam started to get a little unnerved by the intense look Evan gave him. "What?"
Shaking his head, Evan turned back to traffic and let his foot off the brake as the light turned green. "I don't know. There's just something different about you the last couple of days, Harv."
You have no idea.
Although Al had said these.Leaps.didn't usually last long, this one was already going a day longer than Harvey liked. He'd been cooped up in the hospital-like room for two days now, and it was becoming rapidly apparent that he would spend a second night.
He'd paced the room until he was practically dizzy, since that was all there was for him to do. He had already decided that tomorrow.he was getting out. He'd managed to get a decent look at the security keypad, and knew he could probably do it. He just had to get out of that room.
Dr. Beeks had been in a few times, but she never stayed very long and neither had Al. The admiral had put in an appearance earlier that.afternoon? It was getting hard to tell time, since he really had no idea what time it had been when he first.arrived. He'd asked Dr. Beeks, but she'd smiled and just shook her head. He couldn't understand why it would be problem for him to simply know what time it was.
He hadn't been allowed radio, television, newspapers or a computer, because he couldn't be allowed to see or hear anything that wasn't relative to his own time. He'd suggested they give him a novel or magazine or something that had been around during his own time. They hadn't. He got the impression that most people who wound up in this room freaked out to such a degree that they spent their visit sedated.
If he spent another day in that small blue room, he'd need to be sedated. And it had nothing to do with time travel, or switching bodies. Harvey Leek was claustrophobic. He was already so edgy, he was fairly certain he wouldn't get much sleep. Harvey was tempted to explain the problem to Dr. Beeks, but figured she most likely wouldn't let him out of that room. He'd probably end up being drugged.
Nope. Instead, Harvey had a plan.
Making sure he was up early, Sam was the first one into the SIU Friday morning. It was D-day. At a little after noon, Joe would die when an abandoned building exploded with him inside. Sam was going to make sure that today, if Joe left the ferry.Sam was going to be right behind him.
That morning, time moved agonizingly slow. Sam kept a sharp eye on Joe, trying every trick he could think of in order to eavesdrop on his phone conversations. He was starting to get funny looks from Evan and Nash, but he didn't care. If all went well, Joe would live to see another day, and Sam would Leap out of there.
Fortunately, when the noon hour ticked closer and Joe answered his phone, Nash was in a meeting with two DEA agents. No need to explain anything to the boss. Sam watched intently as Joe hung up the phone and grabbed his jacket. "I think I finally found my informant. Tell Nash I'll be back later."
Before Joe could get to the door, Sam was out of his seat and reaching for his own coat. He caught the puzzled look from Bryn as he passed and gave her the first excuse he could think of. "I, uh, I have a feeling someone should go with him."
By the time he ran down the gangway to the dock, Joe was pulling out. Sam hurried to the Ranchero and followed, not really caring if Joe spotted him. If the two pulled over to have words, Joe wouldn't be in that building when it blew up.
Turning the corner at the next intersection, as Joe had done, Sam hit his palm on the steering wheel. Joe's car was nowhere to be found. The two had ended up in an area that was obviously in desperate need of re- development, so there weren't many cars anywhere. Sam cruised down to the next intersection and stopped, looking right and left.
He was running out of time. He took the left turn and looked vainly for Joe's BMW. Nothing. He circled the block until he ended up back where he'd started. He spent the next seven minutes driving around aimlessly. That was seven minutes too many. Where was Al?
As if in answer to his silent summons, Al popped in through the Imaging Chamber door, waist high in the passenger seat. That never failed to give Sam the creeps. "Al, where the hell have you been? I need to know which of these buildings Joe disappeared into."
"Sorry, Sam. I was with this really beautiful stewardess and sort of lost track of time. Ziggy's been in a snit and waited until the last minute to remind me to be here."
"Never mind, Al, just tell me where to go."
"Take the next right, Sam. It's the building there on the end."
Down the street to the right, he could see a building sitting next to two empty lots, because the buildings on either side of it had either been demolished or burned to the ground. They all looked like they were ready for the wrecking ball. As he neared the empty lot on the building's left, he spotted Joe's car.
"This is it, Sam. You need to get some help before you go charging in there."
Pulling the Ranchero to a stop next to the BMW, Sam scrambled from the car. The driver's side door to Joe's car was ajar, and the keys were in the ignition. Not a good sign. Sam grabbed Harvey's phone from his pocket and punched the button for the first familiar name he found in the programmed list.
"Bryn, it's S-Harvey. Joe's in trouble. I don't know, just.there's a bomb and Joe's in this building somewhere. I'm going to go in and look for him, but get some backup out here, okay?" Looking to Al for the address, Sam repeated it to Bryn, made sure she had it right, and turned off the phone.
"Sam, where are you going?"
Sam was already pulling on the plywood that had been recently loosened from the door. Preparing to go inside, Sam cast Al a worried frown. "There's no time, Al. If I wait for backup, Joe dies."
"Just be careful, Sam."
Squeezing through the doorway, Sam had every intention of doing just that.
Opening the drawers of the crash cart, Harvey tried to convey idle curiosity. He knew someone was on the other end of the camera that was mounted by the door. What he was really doing was looking for things he could use. He had to get out of that room.
With a sly smile, he palmed a small roll of clear plastic medical tape. Coming across a pre-packaged set of surgical instruments, for a purpose he didn't want to know, he angled his body so the camera couldn't see him. Pulling away a corner of the paper cover, he reached in with a finger and fished out the small scalpel. It had a rubber cover on the end, to protect against accidental injuries from the blade. This, he slipped under the waistband of his pajama bottoms.
Finding nothing else of use, Harvey began yet another circuit of the room. His mind raced, calculating and discarding plan after plan until he came up with one that had an iota of a chance of succeeding. He just had to get out of there.
He knew the camera couldn't see him if he stood directly underneath it. He could access the security keypad with no problem, but if he remained out of camera range for too long, he knew someone would come see what he was up to. He'd have to take things in stages. First things first: the keypad.
Wandering over to the door, and below the camera, Harvey used the thin tip of the scalpel to unscrew the keypad's face. He took a moment to separate the colored wires, quickly picking out the ones he'd need to work with. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Harvey reached the count of 100 and knew he needed to move. Suppressing his mounting frustration, he forced himself to abandon his project for the moment and paced the room, once again back in camera range. This was going to take a while.
Pursing her lips, Verbena glanced from the monitor screen to the clock and decided to go confer with Al. She was becoming concerned about their visitor.
Unfortunately, Al was in the imaging chamber. Apparently, things were heating up for Sam and Al needed to be there. Glancing back toward the hallway that led to the Waiting Room, Verbena chewed on her bottom lip for moment, debating on whether to wait for Al. Maybe he wouldn't be in there very long.
That might have been the case, except for the fact that Sam was in a lot of trouble.
"He's in here somewhere, Al. It could take too long to find him."
"Maybe he went out another door." Al could tell Sam was uneasy about the situation and truth be told.he had a bad feeling about it, as well.
"No, I don't think so. This was where the body was found originally, so this is where he must be. Somewhere."
"I'd try to get Gooshie to center me on Joe, but he must be unconscious. We can't find him, either."
Swearing softly, Sam began a room-to-room search. He knew they were short on time. Some of the doors were locked or blocked, delaying him each time he had to force open the door. He cleared the first floor, and started on the second. It was in the fourth room on the second floor that things took a slight turn for the worst.
"Oh, boy."
Dropping to his knees, Sam looked over the deadly looking device. He'd found the reason why the building had exploded in the original history. "Al, it's a bomb."
As if Al needed telling. "Sam, you've got ten minutes to disarm it."
"Al, I don't know anything about disarming a bomb. I mean, I know a little.but this one looks a little more complicated than I'm willing to take a chance on."
"If you could find Joe and wake him up, he might know how."
"I only have ten minutes, Al!" Less than that, now.
"Alright, Sam, just sit tight. I'll go get Leek and bring him to the Imaging Chamber. Maybe he can talk us through it."
When Al's image disappeared through the Imaging door, Sam turned his attention back to the box of horrors sitting in front of him. "We better hope he can talk us through it."
It took two more pauses under the camera and three trips around the room, but Harvey was finally about to slip from his prison. He'd stripped the needed wires, cut and spliced them with the tape, and was now ready. "Okay, Harvey. Time to blow this pop stand."
He held his breath in anticipation, mentally crossing his fingers, tucked his hands inside his sleeves to protect them and grasped the two unconnected wires. Touching them together, they sparked a moment then the gentle whooshing of air signaled the opening of the door. It had worked.
Taking a deep breath of freedom, Harvey peeked around the doorframe and looked both ways. The coast was clear. Of course, he knew it wouldn't take long for them to catch him. After all, a man walking around in a pair of pajamas was a tad conspicuous. But it didn't matter. All that mattered was that Harvey got out of that room.even if for only a short while.
He darted down the empty hallway and turned the corner. Hearing voices, he ducked into the nearest doorway and held his breath. Two young men in lab coats sauntered by, deep in conversation. Neither noticed the man in the shadow of the doorway. Smiling, Harvey checked the hall then resumed his search for the way out.
Bursting through the door as soon as it opened, Al nearly barreled into Verbena in his haste to get help for Sam. "Sorry, Verbena."
"It's quite all right, Al, but I wanted to talk to you about Mr. Leek."
Without slowing his pace, Al cast her a quick look of concern. "What about him?"
"He's been behaving rather strangely. Pacing the room, disappearing from camera range periodically.Al, why are we walking so fast?" Dr. Beeks was grateful for her long legs at the moment, as she hurried to keep up with the admiral.
"Sorry, Doc, but Sam's in trouble. I need Leek to help us disarm a bomb. I hope the guy hasn't gone loco on us."
Smiling at Al's description, Verbena shook her head. "No, I don't think that's his problem. I think."
Dr. Beeks didn't finish her sentence as both of them froze when they reached the Waiting Room. The door was wide open, and their 'guest' was gone.
"Oh, boy. Not good."
Crossing to the wall opposite the door, Al slapped his palm against a red button. Lights began to flash, and a dim siren echoed through the hallways. They'd had an escape from the Waiting Room. Everyone would be on alert, now. Turning to Verbena, Al was torn. Should he go back to Sam, or look for Leek? "We're running out of time. We've got to find Leek now. Where would he go?"
Pursing her lips, the doctor decided to go with her instinct. "I think our Mr. Leek is claustrophobic. It would certainly explain his recent behavior. I think he'd try to find his way outside."
Running a mental map through his head, Al zeroed in on the closest exit. It was worth a shot. "Verbena, if I haven't found Leek in three minutes, have Gooshie alert me. Sam will have to try it on his own at that point."
Without another word, the admiral sprinted down the hall and around the corner. Peering into doorways as he went, Al slowed his pace a bit. He didn't want to run past their fugitive. At the next intersection, he flipped a mental coin and took the left turn. It was the right choice.
Following the hallway to the right, he could see a pajama-clad figure standing by the door at the end of the long hall. He was shifting from foot to foot, the stone floor obviously cold on his bare feet. Leek had removed the keypad for the exit door and was fooling around with the wires. A minute later, and Al probably would've missed him.
"Leek!"
The figure stopped what he was doing, dropped his arms and bowed his head. His shoulders slumped in defeat. He'd been so close.
"Leek, dammit, what a time to pull this crap. Sam found Joe, but there's a bomb about to blow them both to kingdom come. You've gotta help him disarm it."
Al grabbed Harvey by the arm and pulled him into a sprint back the way he'd come, and tried to explain as quickly as he could. "Look, we're going into the Imaging Chamber. It would take too long to explain, but the short version is, I can see what's going on around Sam. As long as you are touching me, you can see what I see. Sam will be able to see you, but not hear you. I'll have to 'translate' everything you say."
"Joe?"
"We don't know how bad he's hurt. In the original history, he was killed by the bomb. We'd like to change that, so let's hurry."
Harvey needed no urging. The two picked up their paces and passed a startled Verbena as Al led the way into the chamber, never letting go of Harvey's arm. Four minutes and forty-eight seconds left. The door slid shut and Harvey felt like he'd stepped into a huge virtual reality room. He was startled to see himself kneeling over a box.
"Far out."
Moving them both closer, Al maneuvered so they could both see over Sam's shoulder. "Okay, Leek, do your thing."
Taking a precious forty seconds to look things over, Harvey wiped a hand over his mouth. He hoped he got this right. "Okay, he should have a small Swiss Army knife in his pocket if he put everything from the nightstand back into his pocket."
Al repeated what Harvey said and they both sighed with relief when Sam produced the little red knife. Nodding, Harvey took a deep breath. "Okay, first we have to deal with that small bunch of wires on the left. See it?"
After Al pointed them out, Sam nodded and looked at Leek for further instruction.
"Tell him he has to cut the blue one first, then the black."
Mentally crossing his fingers, Al felt his scalp prickle from the sweat popping up. "Sam, cut the blue wire first, then the black."
Trying not to let his hand shake, Sam complied. It was all he could do to keep from closing his eyes when he cut the first wire. Nothing happened. Same thing with the black wire. One down. He hoped there was only one left.
Wiping his face once more, Harvey nodded. "Good. Now, the main bunch of wires leading from the timer, yeah those, you need to cut the red one first. Very carefully."
"Sam, he says you need to cut the red wire that's leading from the timer. He said to be really careful." Pausing a moment, past instructions running through his mind, Al's eyes widened. "Wait Sam!"
Not quite sure he wasn't going to die from heart failure, Sam shot his friend a withering look. "I don't have a lot of time to wait, Al. What's the matter?"
Turning to Harvey, Al shook his head. "They always say 'red before yellow kills a fellow'. Shouldn't he cut the yellow one first?"
"I've seen this bomb signature before, Al. I know who did this. Or, maybe, who provided the bomb for someone else. You have to cut the red one first."
Time was running out. Sam stared into his own face, into his own blue eyes. He saw the conviction there, as Harvey mouthed, "Do it."
Sam cut the red wire.
Nothing happened.
"Tell him to cut the yellow wire, then the green. Hurry!"
"Yellow then green, Sam. Hurry."
Hurry he says. Hand shaking slightly, despite his resolve, Sam quickly made the cuts. The digital timer stopped at thirty-six seconds. Sitting back on his heels, Sam gave Al a baleful look. "Could you have cut it any closer?"
Al shrugged, as if they'd just had a walk in the park. "Leek took a powder and I had to find him first."
The colorful handlink squawked at him, and Al released Harvey's arm to punch a few buttons. "Joe's waking up, Sam. He's on the fourth floor. Go up the east stairwell, down the hall and he's the in the third room on the left. Take the knife with you; he's tied to a radiator."
Sam climbed to his feet and paused a moment. "Al, touch Harvey again for a minute, will you? I just.I can't.it's hard to explain."
But Al understood. Without a word, he reached out and put his hand on Leek's shoulder, making him visible once more to Sam.
The two men stood and stared at the other. Seeing themselves.and seeing each other. Two men sharing a brief moment in time, to change a single terrible event. Feeling the connection, Harvey raised his right arm and held out his fist. He smiled when Sam did the same. Though each was a hologram to the other, they could almost feel the touch of their fists.
"Thank you."
He didn't need for Al to repeat that one. Sam knew what Harvey had said. A simple thank you for saving a friend's life. But that was more than Sam usually got, and it meant a lot. "You're welcome."
Though he hated to break the moment, Al cleared his throat. "Uh, Sam, you need to go check on Joe. The sooner you get this done, the sooner you can Leap."
The two watched Sam turn to go, then Al released his touch and they were suddenly in a blank blue room. Shaking off the moment, Harvey suddenly felt drained. His knees actually trembled from fatigue as he followed Al from the room. He guessed that Sam's body didn't get a whole lot of exercise from the people that periodically inhabited it.
"That was.intense."
Al didn't argue. Wiping his forehead on the sleeve of his bright red jacket, he gestured down the hall. "Let's get back to the Waiting Room. Sam could Leap any time now. And this time.stay there!"
Harvey chuckled softly. He'd definitely picked a bad time to make his escape, but how was he to know? "Sorry about that. I just needed some air."
"Claustrophobic?" It sounded like the good doctor had had it right.
"Yeah. I don't always have a problem with it. I mean, I can sit in the surveillance van all day and not freak out about it. I guess it's mostly when things are out of my control, ya know?"
Remembering his time as a POW, Al could understand. "At least we learned that we need to upgrade our security. Again."
"Sorry. Get me some electrical tape, and I'll fix the panel in the Waiting Room before your next 'guest' arrives."
"Deal." Grinning mischievously, Al's eye's twinkled. "You know, I may have to go visit San Francisco and 'accidentally' bump into you. I have a feeling we'd get along really well. I saw the Dead at Berkley in '72."
Laughing, Harvey shook his head. He had a feeling Al had seen and done a lot of things in his time. "I was there in '72. Snuck out of the house to catch the show. Caught hell when I got home, but it was worth it."
Catching a white-coated young man by the arm, Al requested a roll of electrical tape, wire cutters and beer.
"Beer?"
"Yeah, well, I figure we can share a few beers before you go back to your own place and time. It's sort of.well, sort of like talking to Sam. Except that Sam was a total square and a bit of a nerd as a kid and never saw a Dead show in his life."
Hearing Sam's laugh when Harvey reacted to his statement brought a wistful smile to Al's face. This way, he'd enjoy talking to both Harvey and Sam for a few minutes. God, how he wished Sam would come home.
"What the hell are you doing here?"
It wasn't exactly the reaction he was expecting from Joe Dominguez. "Saving your butt, what does it look like?"
"Well, you took long enough."
And Sam suddenly began to understand the weird relationship between the two men. That was Joe's way of saying thanks. Shaking his head, he pulled out Harvey's knife and cut Joe free from the radiator. The inspector had a shiner and a fat lip, but looked okay otherwise. Though, Sam suspected he had a lump on his head somewhere.
He watched as Joe straightened his limbs and moaned at the pins and needles sensation of returning circulation. "You okay?"
Joe probed gently at the knot behind his left ear and nodded carefully. "Yeah. Head hurts like hell, but at least I'm still alive. Detten won't be when I get my hands on him, though."
"That the guy that set you up?"
"Yeah. I'm the last guy he's gonna do that to, I can tell ya."
Sam had no doubts. Hearing distant sirens, he sighed with relief. "Sounds like Nash and the bomb squad are on their way."
"Bomb squad?"
"It seems that Detten left a little parting gift for you on the second floor. I disarmed it, but I'll feel a lot better when we both get out of this building."
"Amen to that, brother."
Helping Joe up from the floor, Sam checked to make sure the inspector was really okay. He seemed steady enough, so they made their way carefully out the door and down the hall. As they entered the stairwell, Joe reached out his hand and stopped Sam for a moment.
"What exactly are you doing here?"
Casting about for a plausible excuse, Sam finally settled for, "I just.had a feeling something bad was going to happen, so I followed you. I lost your trail for a while and it took me a while to track you to this building."
Joe looked skeptical. "You had a 'feeling'? Man, you're starting to sound like Angel."
Not knowing who or what 'Angel' was, Sam just shrugged.
"Well, however you did it.thanks, Harv."
Remembering Harvey's thanks a few minutes before, Sam smiled. "You're welcome."
By the time they squeezed through the door and into the fresh air, Nash was pulling up. Other police units and the bomb squad's van were right behind him, along with Evan's truck. The two walked over to the 'Cuda to try to answer the questions that were obvious on Nash's face. There were a lot of questions to answer.
Controlled chaos reigned for the next thirty minutes. Sam tried his best to answer everyone's questions, but pretty much stuck with, "I had a bad feeling about Joe's meeting with his CI and followed him. I found the bomb, disarmed it and went looking for Joe."
Needless to say that little statement earned him puzzled looks from the others, but Sam didn't know how else to play it down.
Shaking his head, Nash couldn't help but laugh. Only Joe and Harvey could end up in a situation like this. "Listen guys, I'm going to take Joe over to the hospital to get checked out-" He raised a hand to cut off Joe's protest and glared at the shorter man. "Evan, you and Bryn give Harv a ride back to the SIU and get a start on the paperwork. I'll see you back there."
Joe argued with Nash all the way back to the 'Cuda and Evan laughed at the futility of it. They all knew Nash would win. "C'mon, Harv. It's back to the daily grind."
Falling into step between Evan and Bryn, Sam was surprised by the stinging slap upside the head. "Bryn? What was that for?"
"Next time you get a 'feeling' something bad is going to happen, don't go running off by yourself. You scared the hell out of me, Harvey."
Seeing the fear beneath Bryn's anger, Sam was contrite. "I'm sorry, Bryn. I guess I just didn't think it through."
Bryn smiled fondly and reached out to straighten his vest. "Well, just don't let it happen again."
Looking from one to the other, Evan began to understand what was going on between Harvey and Bryn.even if they didn't.and it made him smile. Maybe they just needed a nudge. He tossed his keys to Harvey, a Cheshire grin splitting his face. "You two go ahead. I've got a few more things I want to clear up with the bomb squad. I'll catch a ride with one of the unies."
Puzzled, Sam hefted the keys. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. You two go on. I'll catch you later."
With a shrug, wondering why he hadn't Leaped yet, Sam opened the door for Bryn and gave her a hand up into the passenger seat. Shutting the door, he walked around and climbed in the driver's seat. As he started the truck, Sam couldn't help noticing how good Bryn smelled.
Pulling the truck around, Sam headed back toward Hyde Street. They hadn't gone very far when Bryn leaned over and touched his arm.
"I'm sorry about reacting the way I did, Harv. You just had me worried."
Looking into her vivid blue eyes, Sam thought he'd be lost in them. She was so-"Beautiful."
Bryn raised her eyebrows, not quite sure she'd heard him right. "What?"
Oh, boy. Had he said that out loud? Well, it was Harvey's fault he felt this way. If he hadn't left that little residual.Harvey.behind, Sam would have better control over his emotions. As it was.and suddenly, he knew why he was still there.
"I said, you're so beautiful Bryn."
Stopping at a red light, Sam turned to gauge her reaction. Bryn stared at him for a moment, as if unsure if he was joking or not. Seeing the sincerity in his face, she smiled and it lit up her eyes. "Harvey, are you serious?"
He didn't have to answer. She could see that he was. It was finally happening. She'd felt it growing for months, this shift from friendship to something more, but it had stalled when Harvey was unable or unwilling to make his feelings known. Leaning toward him, she reached out a hand to touch his cheek.
"Well, it's about damn time, Leek."
And she kissed him. Sam had time for one brief thought. Harvey Leek is sure going to get a surprise when he Leaps back. Then, a tingling sensation..
.followed by a warmth that always came between Leaps. After what felt like an eternity of nothingness, he felt the tingling sensation that preceded the Leap in. Which in turn was always followed by one, overpowering, single thought. Please, let this one bring me home.
The loud rumbling registered first, then the rush of wind in his hair. He was driving a car. A car with a bright yellow hood that was rapidly approaching the van in front of it. Sam slammed on the brake, bringing the car to a sliding stop with only inches to spare. His heart pounded from the sudden adrenaline surge then nearly slammed to stop when he heard, "Nashman, you okay?"
Turning his head to the right, Sam stared at Joe Dominguez.
"Uh, Nash, the light just turned green. You sure you're not the one that needs to see a doctor?"
Oh, boy.