Chapter 13

Project Quantum Leap

March 31, 2010

As Al left the Imaging Chamber, he overheard Gooshie speaking on the phone, saying, "He's not going to like this, Captain."

"Who is not going to like what?" Al questioned with a frown. "Is that Jack? Give it to me," he ordered without waiting for a reply.

Gooshie immediately handed the phone over.

"Jack, I'm assuming, based on what I just overheard, that you have something to say to me," Al put in abruptly, speaking to the person on the other end of the line.

"Not really. I was just providing the project with an update. The flight from Miami to Atlanta went fine but, during the layover, some bad weather's moved in. Nothing's taking off here. Tornado warnings and such. They don't know when things will be clear again."

"So, you're stuck in Atlanta," Al concluded with a frown. "Jack... Sam could leap any minute! I need Miss Tyler in the Waiting Room."

"Well, I don't think weather controlling will reach the point of dealing with tornadoes until the 33rd century. But if you want to give it a try, I'm game."

"That's not even in remotely funny, Jack," the Admiral growled slightly.

"Well, then, you're just going to have to wait it out like we are."

"This is ridiculous. You know, we wouldn't even be in this situation if you hadn't taken her and ran off to the Virgin Islands to make a fool out of not only yourself but Sam as well. We're still trying to put a lid on that boiling pot of water."

"Calm down, Calavicci. You're not as young as you used to be. Don't worry. We have time."

"Well, according to Ziggy, we have approximately ten hours and four minutes until Sam leaps and I would feel a lot better if we didn't have to delay the leap any further than it has already been delayed, thank you very much."

"From what I've read in the project files, Ziggy's not always right, you know."

"Yeah, well. Better safe than sorry."

"It's a moot point right now, Al. Nothing's taking off for a while. I'm going to take Rose to the bar and get us some peach daiquiris. Atlanta makes the best ones. I'll call you when we know the flight schedule."

"I suppose that I'll just have to live with it," the Admiral complained. Taking a breath, he added, "Be careful at least. If a tornado does touch the ground around there, make sure you're both safe."

"Yeah. Don't think it will be a problem. Give you a call later."

The apparently older man gave a hint of a smile. "You'd better or I'll go down there and kick your butt myself."

Jack laughed. "Watch it or I'll take you up on that."

"Maybe I should just keep my trap shut," Al muttered, rubbing his forehead. "Talk to you later."

"Yeah. Later." The phone clicked, ending the connection.

Al sighed as he handed the phone back to Gooshie. "If it's not one thing, it's another," he groused. Glancing back towards the Imaging Chamber and then at the Waiting Room, he took a deep breath. He wasn't good at waiting but it looked as if that was the only thing that he could do. Ziggy had gotten all the information she could and it was going to be several hours before Sam and the Doctor arrived at their destination.

"Keep me informed," he told the programmer unnecessarily as he left the Control Room, deciding that, if he was going to spend hours worrying about Sam's ability to leap out of Rose Tyler, he might as well get some work done in the meantime.

DWQLTWDWQLTW

Lima, Peru

June 2009

While the Doctor didn't feel the need for anything that was in the packs, he carried one nonetheless, knowing that his friend would definitely need what he had on his back at the moment. He was quiet for a long time as Sam and he hiked up the mountain. The wind picked up slightly, causing the Doctor's coattails to billow out behind him as he continued forward.

"We're getting close," he finally said, turning to look down the mountain towards Sam. "About another mile." He was unaffected by the continuous climb but it was getting obvious that his human friend was starting to feel the strain. "Take a rest," he told him, finding a boulder to sit on.

Although Sam was in excellent shape, he found himself somewhat winded as the altitude caused the air to thin. "Yeah. I think I'm going to have to."

Watching the physicist sit just across from him, the Gallifreyan gave him a look of concern. "You all right?"

"Not used to hiking at altitudes like this," he explained. "Didn't really have much time to acclimate."

"Yeah. Sorry about that," the Doctor told him, looking a bit embarrassed for forgetting the difference in human biology.

Sam shrugged. "I'll be okay. We are on a limited time schedule. Besides, from what Al tells me, when I'm not leaping, I seem to heal. Won't cause any permanent damage, I'm sure."

"It still can't be good for you. And we aren't quite that limited. Albert's directions weren't entirely accurate so I took us up a quicker route. I admit it's a bit more conspicuous..."

As he spoke, two men came up to their location from the left, both rather large. When one of them asked in Spanish what they were doing there, Sam answered quickly in that language that they were just hikers spending a vacation in the Andes.

"Then I would suggest that you go back down the mountain, Señor and Señorita. It is quite treacherous terrain above. You could easily be hurt or lost," the taller one told them.

Sam smiled. "Oh, we're experienced. I don't think we'll have any problem."

"Now, Rose, I'm sure that we don't want to upset these gentlemen. They obviously have our safety in mind," the Doctor stated, taking Sam's arm, an odd look on his face.

Sam pulled his arm away. "I know you're not fully invested in this Doctor, but I'm going on." He turned to the other man. "Thanks for the warning, but I'll be alright."

"Sam..." the Time Lord warned between grit teeth.

"No. You just don't get it. Everything is going to be fine." He turned to the other two. "You'll excuse me? If you want to convince my timid friend to go down the mountain, more power to you. I'm going on." He started to turn to walk off when he heard the Imaging Chamber opening.

Seeing that Sam was about to try to pass the men, the Gallifreyan rushed to block his path. "Sam, I really think you ought to reconsider this particular course of action and take a different path." It was obvious that he was trying to convey something important with his eyes.

"Yeah, Sam. Listen to him," Al stated, concern in his voice.

"Great! Just great. It's reunion time and now you take his side when you know I'm right," Sam complained again.

"Samuel! Listen to me!" the Time Lord bellowed as the physicist moved past him. "They have..."

"Sam!" Al cried as the barrel of a .22 caliber revolver was pulled from under the Peruvian man's poncho.

"What?" Sam cried, at the sound of his given name spoken by both of his friends as he continued to walk on. He heard the order to halt in Spanish but at this point was too worked up to listen. "Like hel..." he started before he was sure he heard the sound of a truck backfiring, which was impossible considering where they were. About to say just that, he suddenly felt a searing pain in his right shoulder.

The Doctor and Al watched helplessly as their friend was shot, the momentum of the bullet entering his flesh causing the man to stumble and fall. The backpack he was wearing caused him to roll onto the injured shoulder, which brought on a yelp of pain. The Time Lord took a step towards him, intent on helping him when he found the same gun used on Sam aimed at his face.

"Albert," he whispered, his eyes indicating that he needed the hologram to check on the wounded scientist. The Admiral quickly went to do exactly that, not needing the alien's instructions to do so. Cautiously, the Doctor raised his hands so that they could easily be seen.

"If you are smart, Señor, you will not move. It is too bad that the señorita has chosen to ignore us, but that is the way with such headstrong teenagers today, no?"

"Yeah," he replied, swallowing tightly. "There's... really no need to point that thing at me. I just... want to check on my friend." Slowly, he pointed towards Sam.

"Oh. We'll take care of her." The one man grinned somewhat manically. "Can't let them go down the mountain now, can we, Tomas."

Sam moaned, his hand going to his shoulder. As he pulled it away, he saw the bright red on his hand, and looked at it dumbly. "I'm bleeding."

Al, crouched down beside him, moved his eyes from Sam to the situation between the Doctor and the armed men. "You were shot. The Doctor tried to warn you but you wouldn't listen."

"Shot?" Sam said, his face continuing to pale as the reality of the situation came home /to him. He was already weakened from the climb and was finding it had to get a decent breath under the current stress and fear he felt from the situation.

"Please," the Time Lord put in as he looked from one set of eyes to another, desperate to get some sense of control of the situation. "I'm a doctor. Let me tend to her."

The men obviously ignored his pleas. "I guess what they say about these blond women is true. She es estupido," Tomas said. "Tonight, we finish the job and celebrate, eh, Paulo."

Paulo nodded. "Yeah. And tomorrow we collect our reward." He looked over at the man who was the blonde's companion. "But first, we get rid of any problems." He smiled. "You wanted to go down the mountain, senor. We can oblige you."

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa!" the Gallifreyan exclaimed, slowly backing away from them. "Listen, I can be a great asset. I know medicine and... and... computers... and..."

Al, seeing the intent in the eyes of both men, abruptly stood. "Hey, get away from him, you slimeballs!"

"And... it is time for you to say farewell to you, friend," Tomas answered. "Perhaps you will be together tomorrow." He laughed as he continued to move towards the tall, skinny man who appeared to have no idea in which direction he was going.

"Can't you just let us go?" Sam asked weakly, seeing the Time Lord being pushed ever closer to the edge of the mountain. The backpack now felt extraordinarily heavy and sticky wet from his blood loss.

"Shut up, zorra." Paulo aimed at Sam. He turned back to his companion. "Oh, get it over with, Tomas. We need to get back to Stephano."

"Doctor! You've got to do something here!" Al warned, hurrying to be near the Gallifreyan.

"Hadn't thought of that. Thanks," the alien replied, unable to hide his trepidation from his voice. A quick glance behind him told that he was now standing just at the edge of a steep precipice. "Go be with Sam," he ordered quietly to the Admiral.

"No problemo," Tomas stated in answer to the Time Lord's sarcasm, a wicked grin on his face.

The Gallifreyan had met enough of these thugs in his time to know that this wasn't good and that the chances of his escape from the situation were slim. At the very least, he could make sure that Sam had as much help as possible, holographic or not. "Go be with Sam," he ordered again.

"But what about you?" the ex-Naval officer questioned with worry in his voice.

"Got a way to get me out of this predicament?" came the querulous response.

"Um... can't you use that funny light thingy you have or something?" Al asked hoping that suggestion would have some merit.

The Doctor started to give the hologram a glare but was stopped when he heard another voice overlapping the Italian's.

Tomas grinned at what looked like the thin man's last desperate attempt to save his life. "Sorry, Señor. No can do." He suddenly rushed the Gallifreyan causing the alien to go over the side of the ledge, pack and all.

"No!" screamed Al as he watched the Doctor drop off the edge.

Tomas laughed as he looked over the side, seeing the form sprawled about thirty feet below. "The señor is no more!" he said in a sing-song voice.

Sam looked on the scene, the horror of it surreal as if watching it through a nightmarish dream. He was feeling extremely dizzy and found he didn't have the power to react, much as he wanted to.

Al blinked in shock for a second before having Gooshie center him on the Time Lord to discover if the assessment was true or not. He couldn't help but feel a pang of panicked sorrow and anger at the sight of the man lying oddly on the rocky ground, his head facing downhill and bleeding profusely. There were gashes on his face and his fingertips were bloody from where he had obviously tried to slow his fall. The most telling evidence, though, was how still his body was. There wasn't even the slightest bit of indication that he was even breathing.

"Doctor?" he questioned, his voice agitated with emotion. Checking the handlink quickly, he ran a hand over his mouth when he read that the odds of the Gallifreyan's surviving the fall was only twelve percent. "Ah, damn it!" he said quietly. As he stood there looking at the Doctor's still figure, he heard a scream and centered on Sam.

Paulo was removing the backpack and not being very gentle about it. The movement was causing Sam's arm to twist and turn which caused the injured man's shoulder to twist as well. Once the pack was off, the thug found a cotton sweater in it. He used the sweater as a bandage on the shoulder, figuring it would stop the bleeding for now. After all, it wouldn't do to let her die before they had their fun. Then, once the makeshift bandage was done, he ransacked the pack for all the supplies that they could carry before tossing it into the trees, nearly empty. "Let's get back to Stephano. We can draw lots for the girl later," he told Tomas as he finished bandaging their prize and then binding the leaper's hands.

"Don't touch him!" Al screamed out. "I'll kill you. I'll kill you both if you touch a hair on his head!" He noticed that Sam was pale and clammy, a sure sign his friend had gone into shock.

Paulo shrugged. "Sounds good to me. You want to carry her?"

"Why don't you?"

"This isn't a time to argue. I'll carry her first, and you can carry her into camp. That work?"

"I suppose."

"This isn't happening!" Al exclaimed, looking between the two of them. Quickly bringing up the handlink, he cried out, "Gooshie! We need a plan! Pronto!" Suddenly, the holographic world around him flickered and disappeared. "That's not what I had in mind!"

The door to the chamber opened and the programmer stepped in. "I didn't do that, Al. The power's been shut off. We're on generator power now and it's not enough to keep the chamber going. We barely have enough power to keep Ziggy up and running."

"Who the hell shut off the power?" the Admiral demanded. "We're on a separate grid than the rest of the state! We aren't affected by power outages!"

"I don't know, Admiral, but there's no power feeding us except what we're making.

Al thought rapidly for a moment. "Redirect as much power as you can to the Imaging Chamber. Get it running again, Gooshie. Sam needs me."

Ziggy spoke up. "Yes, Admiral, he does. Based on the current parameters, I predict that in addition to Sir Alistair's body being found, Rose Tyler's will as well."