CHAPTER 4

The very next day was one that Sam wished he could forget, but he knew he never would. And here he was, reliving it all over again. It was after 3 a.m., and he and Tobias were sitting on the edge of their beds with Al standing right between them. All three were glued to the TV and watching every single second of the crisis that was going on back at the Village. All the while, Sam knew he'd done the right thing by not going back there, but part of him still wished he could do something for those hostages. He looked over at Tobias, and saw a tear slowly cascading down his face.

With the exception of the news coverage, never in all his life had Sam heard such a deafening silence.

After what seemed like forever, newscaster Jim McKay appeared on the screen with a very serious look on his face. "I've just gotten the final word," he announced in a somber tone, somehow being able to keep his voice steady. "You know, when I was a kid, my father used to say that our greatest hopes and our worst fears are seldom realized...Our worst fears have been realized tonight. They've now said that there were 11 hostages. Two were killed in their rooms yes—yesterday morning; nine were killed at the airport tonight.

"They're all gone."

As soon as those words were spoken, Al closed his eyes in sorrow, and Sam put his arms around a sobbing Tobias and held him as he cried inconsolably on his shoulder. It was very heartbreaking, knowing that the rescue attempt had failed so miserably, and seeing this young kid with his whole life ahead of him feeling so lost, scared and vulnerable.

"It's all over," a visibly shaken McKay went on. "What will happen to the Games of the XX Olympiad? None of us knows...What will happen to the course of world history?...I have nothing else to say..."

The phone rang just then. Sam considered not answering it and just letting it ring, but then he remembered what Al had said the night before about Dalia calling to see if Tobias was okay. Eyes downcast, Sam slowly got up and walked over to the nightstand and picked up the receiver.

"Hello?" he murmured.

"Guten Abend," the voice on the other end answered. "Is this the room of Tobias Galinski?"

"Yes."

"I have a young girl on the line at the Israeli embassy in Bonn. She says she's been trying to get in touch with him ever since she and her family arrived yesterday afternoon."

A million different emotions rushed through Sam: relief that he'd succeeded on his mission, happy that Tobias was safe and his girlfriend would get to hear his voice, and sadness for those athletes and their families. Part of him didn't even want to leap, but at the same time, he knew he had to. And with that, he turned to his grief-stricken teammate, receiver in hand, and said, "It's for you."

Tobias pulled himself together, walked over and took the receiver out of Sam's hand. "Shalom, neshema," he whispered, fighting the new wave of sobs that were gnawing at his throat.

While Tobias talked to his girlfriend, Al motioned for Sam to join him by the door. Sam nodded, patted his teammate on the back, and walked away to give him some privacy.

"You okay, Sam?" Al asked.

"I've had better days," Sam admitted. "You?"

"Well, I could sure use a drink, but I'll manage."

"So what does Ziggy say about what happens to Tobias?"

Al took a long puff on his cigar and started pressing random buttons on the handlink. "Well, first of all, one of the Olympic officials will be here first thing in the morning to pick him up," he answered. "Then, after the memorial service, Tobias is taken to the embassy in Bonn to be with Dalia and her parents. After they apply for a green card, they all move to the States together less than a year later."

"I'm guessing this means he never competes in the Games again, right?"

"Nope."

"What about Moishe?"

After Al shook his head, he consulted the handlink and continued, "He goes back to Israel after the service and also applies for a green card, and moves to the States in June of '75. By this point, Tobias and Dalia are married and living in Oregon, their daughter is born the following January, and Moishe becomes her godfather."

"That's great," Sam smiled half-heartedly. As tragic and horrific as the events of the day were, he was thankful that something good did come out of it all.

"Well," Al said at last, "looks like it's time to leap."

Less than a second later, the blue, hazy light enveloped Sam. His job was finished—although he wished more than anything else that the outcome could've been better—and he was on his way to right another wrong.

And he also couldn't have been happier to finally be getting the hell out of there.

When the light faded, Sam found himself standing in front of a stainless steel electric percolator with a cup of black coffee in his hand. Right away, he knew something was up. For starters, he never liked coffee, nor could he understand how something that smelled so good could taste so terrible.

Just then, he felt a hand brush up against his arm. He turned, and right in front of him was a blond 40-ish nurse with dark green eyes and just a tad too much make-up.

"Hi, Travis," she purred seductively. And it didn't take a genius to know what was on her mind.

Travis? he thought. When he looked into a nearby mirror, staring back at him was a young guy with reddish-brown hair and freckles, and he was wearing a pale blue dress shirt, a dark red tie, brown pants and shoes, and a white lab coat. That meant he'd leaped into one of two people: a doctor, or another soap opera star who played one.

"Oh, boy," Sam whimpered. He was no stranger to being up shit's creek without a paddle, but in that moment, he actually thought that dealing with the evil leaper known as Zoey was a picnic compared to what awaited him here!

THE END