Although every leap was like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle without a picture to go by, this time was different; this time there was no picture to go by and half the pieces were missing. Sam was trying to work it all out in his head. If he could stop Tony and Sister Mary Angela going to wherever the fire broke out then that was half his problems sorted in one go.

'Where do they die, Al?'

Al referred to the handlink.

'It says the fire broke out at a disused office block. There was no clue as to how it started, but two people died...we know who they are.'

'What would Tony and Sister Mary Angela be doing together in a disused office block?'

'You don't think she broke her vows, do you Sam?'

'I've only just met her but I think her main focus is the homeless shelter, not pursuing a relationship with a trainee fire fighter. Where was the shelter opened?'

'There is no information about a homeless shelter opening around here. Maybe it died along with Sister Mary Angela.'

'I'd better be getting back, Al. Try and dig anything up on the office block where the fire broke out and I'll ask Sister Mary Angela where she intends to open the shelter. That might give us some kind of lead on where to look for further information on this mess.'

'Ok, Sam, I'll try my best.'

As Al disappeared through the holo-imaging chamber door Sam sighed, 'I hope your best is good enough, Al'

...

When Sam returned to the table he found Sister Mary Angela having an animated conversation with Annabelle. Her enthusiasm for the cause she so believed in made Sam make himself a mental promise: no matter what happened during this leap; whatever trials these next few days held, he would see Sister Mary Angela's vision become a reality...one way or another.

'Where have you been?' asked Annabelle.

'I bumped into an old friend,' replied Sam, knowing that at least half of the lie was true. 'We got talking; you know how it is when you haven't seen someone for a while.'

'We have been talking too,' said Sister Mary Angela, holding out a list for Sam to read. 'That is a list of everything we needed for the charity fun day; catering, entertainment and the like.'

'It has all been donated by various businesses in the district,' said Annabelle. 'The last thing on the list was Old Betsy and when I speak to daddy later that will be ticked off too.'

'We're so close to reaching our financial target, which will go towards buying the building and completion of the decorating and furnishings. I am so happy to see it finally taking shape. This final event will be the shelters crowning achievement and it is largely down to your charitable deeds, Mr Carrington.'

'Lyle is quite a guy,' said Annabelle, taking Sam's hand and squeezing it gently.

He sure is, thought Sam

...

The three of them stood outside the diner exchanging goodbyes when they were approached by a man dressed in dirty clothing carrying a faded and torn backpack. He went straight up to Sister Mary Angela.

'Good Evening, Sister,' he said, placing the backpack at his feet.

A smile spread across the nun's face as she held a hand out to shake his.

'Ollie, it's so good to see you. We were getting worried about you. Where have you been?'

'A friend was kind enough to put me up for a couple of days. I couldn't say no to a warm bed.'

'I'm happy you found somewhere to stay. Oh, where are my manners; this is Lyle Carrington who is helping us raise the money for the shelter; and this is Annabelle Carson, his partner.'

Ollie shook Sam's hand but suddenly stopped when he heard the name Annabelle Carson; it seemed to have struck a nerve with him. He turned to Annabelle and extended his hand. She took it all the while staring into his eyes. She looked in shock at the appearance of the man standing before her.

Could he be an ex-boyfriend? thought Sam. Even though he was a number of years older than her, it was a distinct possibility. Sam decided to take the plunge because he needed all the information he could get.

'Do you two know each other?' he asked.

Annabelle was the first to come back to reality and introduced the homeless man.

'This is Ollie Stone. He used to work with Daddy at the firehouse.'

'That was almost ten years ago,' said Ollie, taking Sam's hand. 'It's a pleasure to meet you, Lyle.'

'Likewise,' replied Sam.

'What are you doing on the streets, Ollie,' asked Annabelle.

'It's a long story,' said Ollie, trying to deflect the question.

'We have time to hear it,' said Sam, opening the door of the diner, 'Maybe over a cup of coffee?'

'I sure could use some,' said Ollie, giving a slight shiver.

'Will you join us, Sister?'

'I have to be getting back. Thank you again, Mr Carrington, for all you have done.'

'Don't you worry about Old Betsy either, Sister,' said Annabelle, sternly. 'By hook or by crook...'

As the nun drove off in her car Sam, Annabelle and Ollie nestled themselves into a booth and ordered coffee. Ollie declined the offer of a hot meal saying that he had been given something before leaving his friends place.

'So, what's this long story about you being homeless?' asked Annabelle, taking a sip from her cup.

'It was around two years ago that I lost my job as fire chief, budget cuts was the reason I was told. The local authorities had to trim every penny they could to try and combat over spending. I can tell you that they were not over spending at my firehouse. We were working with a skeleton crew as it was; double shifts and mandatory overtime had become a daily occurrence.'

'Daddy never mentioned any budget cuts at our station.'

'I don't suppose he would have, considering that the week after my firehouse closed its doors the land was sold to a developer so they could turn it into apartment blocks. We were in the way, is all.'

'That's terrible,' said Sam. 'Could you have taken it further, maybe gone to city hall about it?'

'Did you ever try to fight city hall? You may as well be trying to push the empire state building over with your bare hands.'

'They didn't offer you a position in another firehouse?' asked Annabelle.

'Not a chance. We were now surplus to requirements and that meant they would save a bundle on salaries with us gone and make a small fortune on the land deal.'

'Why didn't you come and see Daddy? He would have found you something at his firehouse.'

'Like your father I am a proud man. I couldn't...wouldn't go on bended knee and beg for charity, not when it came to my job. Could you see him doing something like that if he lost his job?'

'I see what you mean. Daddy would rather die than lose his job.'

'If I was alone at the time I would have died. It was only the fact that my dear Emily was in hospital at the time stopped me from doing anything foolish.'

'How is she now?'

Ollie turned away and gave a deep sigh, 'She passed away a couple of months after the firehouse closed.'

'I'm so sorry,' said Annabelle, putting her arm around Ollie.

'That's why you find me here like this today. After I lost my job I couldn't keep up with her hospital bills. I had to sell the house and use that money until I found something else. I managed to find a one room apartment so I had a roof over my head and found a part time job at a local grocery store. I wasn't too proud to take anything that came along, as long as I could keep Emily's treatment going. I still owe for her funeral and the hospital bills are in the thousands.'

'What about your job at the grocery store?' asked Sam.

'It wasn't paying enough to cover my rent let alone the extra I needed for my wife. I tried asking my boss for an advance and his answer was to sack me. I tried applying for loans at our bank which fell on deaf ears. They said that our bank account was empty and with the house gone I had no collateral to put up for a loan. I realized one thing at that moment: you can only get a loan if you can prove you don't need the money.'

'And you lost your apartment because you couldn't pay the rent?'

'You got it. It has been vicious circle since losing my job at the station. So many times I contemplated doing something drastic; thinking of ways to get back at those people who put me where I am. Then I met Sister Mary Angela...and I found a new direction in life. I made the decision to help other people who had been abandoned by society and make sure that they never had to suffer as I had.'

Annabelle wiped away her tears with the back of her hand as Sam handed her a napkin from the dispenser on the table. Even he was trying to hold back a tear as Ollie told his story. This was it. Sam was so sure. He finally understood why he was here and when Al came back he would no doubt have his hunch confirmed.

...

'The answer is still no, Mr Carrington,' said Chief Carson, not even giving Sam the dignity or respect to look up from the papers he was working on. 'Old Betsy is not some kind of plaything for children to scuff and scratch as they climb all over her. She deserves to be respected for the service she gave to this great city.'

'Don't you see, Chief,' said Sam leaning forward onto the desk.

'I see an ungrateful trainee that doesn't know the meaning of respect when it comes to his chief and the possessions of this firehouse.'

'It's for a good cause,' said Annabelle, taking a few steps into the room. 'Do you remember Ollie Stone?'

'Stone? Yes, he was a good man and a top rate fire fighter.'

'And he's homeless,' cried Annabelle, hoping that this statement would somehow move her father to change his mind on the matter. Sadly, it moved him even further away from agreeing.

'If Oliver Stone lost his job, it must have been for a good reason,' said Chief Carson, pulling some more papers across his desk.

'He lost his job because there wasn't enough money in the city budget to keep his firehouse open,' said Sam. 'In fact, you're quite lucky, Chief. What would have happened if they had decided to close this firehouse instead?'

Chief Carson's eyes became dark as he slowly lifted his head and looked Sam straight in the eyes. 'Close this firehouse?' he spluttered. 'There would be no reason for them to close me down. I run one of the most efficient firehouses in the country and they know that.'

'Why won't you listen to us?' said Sam, slamming his fist down on the desk. His patience was beginning to wear thin where the chief was concerned. Chief Carson's eyes narrowed as he slowly lifted himself from his chair and leaned forward on his desk, his face inches from Sam's.

'Who do you think you are?' he asked.

'I'm just one man,' replied Sam, 'one man who happens to care about people and things other than this damn firehouse.'

'How dare...'

'Yes, I do dare. You sit behind this desk like some kind of king ruling over his kingdom, thinking that your word is law and that no one else has any say where you are concerned. Well, Chief Carson, it's about time you started to listen to someone else for a change. You might even learn to understand other people's feelings. How long has it been since you've actually listened to anything Annabelle has said to you? When did you last let her have an opinion on anything?'

'STOP!' called out that familiar voice behind Sam. 'Sam, you have to stop this. Ziggy says that your chances of completing this leap are taking a pretty steep nose dive.'

Sam continued his rant as if he hadn't heard a word that Al had said.

'You won't help an old friend who is down on his luck; you insist on pushing the trainees around to make yourself feel superior and...'

'Sam, Ziggy says thirty four percent...twenty six percent...nineteen percent...'

'...you treat your daughter like a second class person,' finished Sam.

'Eleven percent,' continued Al.

'I have been waiting for this day since you came into my daughter's life. I thank you for making this so easy for me, Mr Carrington.'

'Five point one percent.'

'You are no longer a trainee here. I want you off of the premises right now or I will call the police and have you forcibly removed.'

'That's just fine by me,' said Sam, turning to leave. 'Come on, Annabelle.'

'Stay where you are, girl,' said the chief, fixing Annabelle with a warning glare. She seemed unsure at first of who to listen too. Finally she conceded to her fathers demands. 'You see, Mr Carrington, Annabelle knows how to show me the respect I deserve. Please don't try to contact her again.'

'Zero,' said Al, as Sam walked out of the door. 'Sam, what have you done?'