OMJ

Dbz77

Project QL Intern
Sep 22, 2022
72
6
8
Long Beach
Summary:

Ben leaps into the life of a middle-aged bartender whose workplace will burn down.


Chapter One


1986

The image of Ronald Wilson Reagan appears in the well-polished mirror in the lavatory.

The man looking at the mirror is not the 40th President of the United States of America.

Instead, he is Dr. Ben Song, a quantum physicist who used a device called a quantum leap accelerator to possess people in the past, people like President Reagan. He had many experiences, although he had not been able to return to his own time.

"We have to go now!": exclaims a woman with light brown hair. She is Addison Augustine, the observer from Project Quantum Leap, Unlike Ben, she is not really here, instead being projected by an Imaging Chamber in the future.

Ben runs out of the lavatory and through the presidential suite as the observer guides him. The leaper passes White House staff and Secret Service agents.

Addison goes through the door of one of the lavatories. There, she sees a woman with dark brown hair. The woman wears a black jacket over a white blouse, and wears a white skirt covering her legs down to just below her knees.

She is also slumped on the deck of the lavatory.

Addison runs through the lavatory door, and then touches a circular electronic device known as a handlink, which is remote terminal for Ziggy, the artificial intelligence that runs Project Quantum Leap. "Listen, you need to land at Rickenbacker Airport. That's the best chance. Its' a medical emergency."

Ben looks at the staffers and Secret Service agents who followed him.

"We need to land the plane!" exclaims the leaper. "Rickenbacker Airport!"

"Sir?" asks a staffer.

"Do it! It's a medical emergency!"

"Yes, sir!"

The leaper then looks at a Secret Service agent, all dressed in a black jacket, black trouser, and a white shirt, with a black necktie around the collar.

"Mr. President?" he asks.

"Break down this door!" commands Ben.

"Yes, sir," replies the Secret Service agent.

Meanwhile, Addison is projected into the cockpit of the Boeing VC-137C, which is a custom design based on the Boeing 707 passenger jet. It looks like a typical cockpit, with all sorts of instruments an d gauges and controls.

She feels excited, as she is being projected into the cockpit of Air Force One. She listens in.

"Air Force One to Rickenbacker," says the lead pilot. "We are declaring an emergency. I repeat, we are declaring an emergency. We request clearance."

"Copy that," replies the air traffic controller. "you are clear for Runway 0-5 Lima, emergency crews are standing by."

Even as the jet with the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA livery begins to descend towards the airport near Columbus, Ohio, instead of staying in flight to land at San Francisco International Airport in South San Francisco, California, red fire trucks and two red ambulances race out of Rickenbacker's fire station, their red emergency lights flashing.

Meanwhile, Secret Service agents manage to bust down the door of the lavatory, seeing the White House staffer slumped unconscious.

"How did you know, sir?" a Secret Service agents asks the leaper from the future who appears to be President Reagan.

"Classified," answers Ben.

Addison presses buttons on the handlink and projects herself out of the VC-137C. She miles. Below her is the ground, tens of thousands of feet below and approaches. There are farms, highways, towns, and the city of Columbus. The scenery is moving around, as if the observer is moving along with Air Force One.

"I love being a hologram," she says.

The flight crew concentrates as they line up for approach to Runway 05L, and the passenger jet continues its descent into the Columbus metropolitan area. In the meantime, Ben is sitting inside the presidential suite, next to Nancy Reagan, nee Davis. The female staffer is sitting in another leather seat, accompanied by a Secret Service agent who has experience in first aid from years of being a Navy corpsman.

The leaper looks out the window, seeing the farmscape below get slightly bigger.

Air Force One descends below ten thousand feet. The flight crew keep a close eye on the instruments.

A pilot moves a lever to bring down the flaps, and pulls down another lever to extend the main and nose landing gear.

Addison is outside, seeing the runway for Rickenbacker ahead. Already, there are fire trucks parked on the runway with their emergency lights flashing.

She sits on the Imaging Chamber floor, looking ahead.

The features of the ground get closer and closer. Addison notices individual cars and trucks driving along U.S. Highway 33.

Ben looks through the window, seeing the farmscape getting closer and closer.

The Air Force One pilots look ahead at the runway, with its light, and noticing the emergency lights from the ambulances and fire trucks.

And then the main landing gears touch down on the concrete surface of Runway 05L, and Ben feels vibrations. Seconds later, the nose landing gear touches down.

The Air Force pilot reverses throttle, and the counter-jet slows the VC-137C.

The speed drops to eighty knots, then forty knots.

Soon, the pilot applies the brake, and the presidential plane comes to a complete stop.

A moveable staircase is quickly moved towards the front starboard side door. Two of the Secret Service agents carry the unconscious woman from the presidential suite, along a hallway, and then through the starboard side door, walking down the steps without delay. Two uniformed paramedics await at the bottom of the staircase and place her on a gurney. The gurney is loaded into a red ambulance which then drives, off, blaring its siren.

"She lives," says Addison, standing at the door.

Several firefighters gather at the open door, all looking at Ben.

The leaper waves at them, and then a blue glow surrounds him as he leaps out of Ronald Reagan.

It's raising my adrenaline
You're banging on a heart of tin
Please don't make too much of it baby (baby)
You say the word forevermore
That's not what I'm looking for
All I can commit to is maybe


Ben Song finds himself in another place, another time, another person.

"Sounds like a complete asshole," says a man in his sixties, with a beer in his hand. "Bein' an asshole's not a way to go through life."

"Yeah," says another man sitting next to him, appearing to be in his fifties.

So let it be what it'll be
Don't make a fuss and get crazy over you and me
Crazy over you and me
Here's what I'll do
I'll play loose
Not like we have a date with destiny


"I used to be an asshole, a bigger asshole than the union president, if you could believe that,"says the older man. It took decades of my assholery biting me back in the ass before..."

A young man with cornrows, wearing a sweat jacket and trousers bursts in.

The most noticeable feature is that he has a nine-millimeter pistol in his hands.

"Don't move!" he yells.

It's just (aah) a little crush...
 
Chapter Two

December 7, 1999

Vanilla skies (vanilla skies)
White picket fences in your eyes
A vision of you and me


Ben Song looks at the armed man. He knows thing s are almost certain to get very ugly.

"Don't anyone move!" yells the armed man.

The leaper looks at him. He clearly is nervous, and his hand is visibly shaking.

He wonders if he is going to shoot someone, and will shoot someone without intervention from the future.

Ben wishes that he leaped in an hour ago, to prepare.

The armed man walks backwards towards the bar.

He glances around, noticing a uniformed police officer already at the front door of the establishment.

He focuses, as if he is trying to slow Time itself down. He has only has less than a second to avert tragedy.

And the the armed man knocks over the beer in the glass, causing the glass to shatter and the beer to spill all over the surface.

It's just (aah) a little crush (crush)
Not like I faint every time we touch
It's just (aah) some little thing (crush)
Not like everything I do depends on you
It's just (aah) a little crush (crush)
Not like I faint every time we touch
It's just some little thing
Not like everything I do depends on you


"You spilled my beer!" exclaims the old man who had been sitting there since Ben first leaped in.

He grabs a barstool and then smacks the armed man in the face.

It's just (aah) a little crush (crush)
Not like I faint every time we touch
It's just (aah) some little thing (crush
Not like everything I do depends on you


"Hey , hey!" exclaims the police officer, holding up his palm. "I got this covered!"

The bar patron puts down the barstool gently, and the police officer picks up the now-disarmed man and cuffs him.

"You are under arrest for reckless endangerment and assault with a deadly weapon," he says. "You have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. If you can not afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

the leaper looks more closely at the blue-uniformed officer., The shoulder patch identifies him as serving the Oakland Police Department.

"Is everyone all right?" Ben calls out as he gets outside of the bar. He looks around, now that his attention is not focused on someone who was trying to hold him hostage. The place is definitely a bar and grill, and the theme is sports. Various sports memorabilia decorate the place, including pennants for the San Francisco Giants and the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers, and autographed photographs by professional athletes. Large screen televisions are on, displaying various sports. There are four pool tables and some basketball hoop machines, as well as arcade cabinets with sports-themed video games. The servers all wear referee uniforms with the typical vertical black-and-white stripes. Going to an empty table, he grabs a menu and reads that the place is called Blue Balls Sports Bar and Grill. The logo is a blue ball with a s face, two arms, and two legs, and rthe place had been established in 1982. The menu offers typical bar fare from sandwiches to pizzas to pasta to appetizers.

Also obvious are various Christmas-themed decorations such as wreaths.

More police officers enter, to interview witnesses. Ben listens to the old patron whose beer was spilled.

"Yeah, he spilled my beer, and I smacked him with a barstool," he says. "I don;'t normally do that, at least not anymore, but he went in and pointed his gun at us."

Another officer looks at Ben. "Uh, excuse, me, uh, sir," he says. "Do you understand what happened?"

Ben looks at the officer, who looks like a rookie in his early twenties. "A little bit," the leaper says to the police officer. "Someone went in with a gun, told us not to move, and then that guy smashed his face.
" Ben smiles. "I guess he'll need to put cotton balls in his nose for a week."

"And if the cops didn't take 'im away," says the old patron, "the barstool would've been shoved so far up he's taste the legs!"

"That's what happened, Officer," says Ben. "Would you like a drink? Or some food?"

"Maybe later," replies the Oakland police officer.

"Always the salesman, eh Old Man Jimmy?" asks a waitress, who is smiling again after the harrowing incident a few minutes ago.

"Okay!" calls out a man in his forties. "The cops took away the bad guy. We have clients to serve!"

"Hey," calls out the old man. "That asshole knocked over my beer."

"All right," says the man, who appears to be the shift manager. He then looks at Ben. "Hey, Jimmy! His beer's on the house!"

"Got it," replies the leaper.

"Okay," the old man says to his conversation partner. "I'd be heading out now."

"See you later," the other man replies.

Ben looks to his left, and sees a sign for the restrooms in the distance. He walks over to the restrooms. Having been called Old Man Jimmy, he figures his leapee is a man.

He enters the restroom. The floor is covered with white tiles. There are three American Standard urinals, the type that extend to ground level, as well as three stalls. He walks to a row of sinks and looks at the mirror.

The man called Old Man Jimmy is wearing the referee outfit like the other servers. His hair is black, with streaks of gray, not surprising since the waitress had called him Old Man Jimmy. He wears eyeglasses over his eyes.

His facial features stand out.

Jimmy's eyes have epicanthic folds, and his forehead is sloped. His ears are propotrionately small.

"What the?" asks Ben.

"Yes, you have Down's syndrome," says Addison Augustine, projected into the men's room.

"All right, give me the low down," says the leaper.

"Your name is Jimmy La Motta," says the observer. "You are a bartender at the Blue Balls Sports Bar and Grill in Oakland, California. The date is Tuesday, December 7, 1999. Now here's something interesting.."

A male patron walks into the restroom.

"I need to make a phone call," says Ben. He walks out of the restroom and through the dining area and enters behind the bar. Mounted on the wall is a telephone. Ben picks up the handset so it looks like he is talking to someone in this time, a trick he picked up from three years of leaping from life to life. He looks at the observer. "So what's interesting?"

"Sam Beckett leaped into Jimmy- twice," says Addison. "First time was in 1964. According to our archives, Jimmy was originally institutionalized for life. Sam helped him get a job at the docks in the Port of Oakland. The second time was in 1966, and Sam was there to stop another leaper from breaking apart the La Motta family."

"Wait. Another leaper? Was that our old buddy Martinez?"

"No, another leaper, a woman. What'a more, this is happening now."

"Now?"

"Yes, Sam's second leap into Jimmy is happening right now."

"So Al is observing that leap now."

"Yes."

"What happened to the mystery leaper?"

"They say she managed to escape the clutches of her organization. But in the leaping business, you might encounter her- or Martinez- again."

"There was a hostage situation here when I first leaped in. No one was hurt, except the hostage taker. Shouldn't I have leaped now?"

Addison presses buttons on the handlink. "Ziggy's pulling up records," says the observer. "it did happen, and there were news reports. The thing is, according to Ziggy, no one was hurt originally. The guy spent three years in Folsom for the little stunt he pulled here today. It happened the way it did originally. We'll figure something out, Ben. In the meantime, you got work to do."


"I could use another drink," says the man who had been speaking to the older man. "Vodka Cranberry."

"Coming right up," answers Ben, recalling the time he worked as a server in Pasadena, California, while attending CalTech. He grabs a bottle of vodka to prepare the cocktail.

As Ben does Jimmy's job, Addison looks around the Blue Balls, noting the over-the-top sports theme.

"This certainly caters to the frat boy demographic," she says."I wonder if they show UFC fights here in my time."

She looks at a photo collage which has pictures of various people, including a few pictures of Jimmy La Motta. There are also pictures of some local professional athletes, or at least those who were in their prime from the 1980's to 1990's.

The observer focuses on one particular picture.

She then runs towards the bar.

"You'll never guess this," she says. "There's a picture of you- Jimmy- with Joe Montana. It's on the wall"

"Joe Montana?" asks Ben.

"What about Joe Montana?" asks a young woman, with blond hair, who had ordered a drink.

"I have a picture with him," says the leaper, briefly recalling the time that he was Joe Montana, not too long ago.

"That' s great," replies the female patron. "I don't follow sports that much. I just like like to have it on TV while I'm doing something."

"I completely understand," says Ben. "This is the best place for it."

"I'd be heading out now," says Addison, pressing a button on the handlink before her hologram disappears.

He glances around, seeing a couple in their thirties sitting at a small, circular table, and seeing the manager speak to a woman with dark brown hair.

Another customer walks to the bar.

"May I help you?" asks the leaper turned bartender, smiling.

Ooooooo

Ben enters the third floor loft where Jimmy La Motta lives, in the same building where the Blue Balls Sports Bar and Grill is located, after finishing the latter's shift at 8 P.M. Just outside the bear, Ben noticed that the bar was located between a laundromat and a Togo's sandwich shop. Across the street was a bagel shop, a Washington Mutual bank, a Blockbuster video store, and some other shops.

"This certainly isn't the presidential suite at the White House," says Addison. "Hard to believe that yesterday in your time, you were Ronald Reagan."

"Jimmy's place seems to have its own charm."

the main room of the loft is huge, with a coffee table and a leather sofa near the front. To the rear is a bed and dresser, and there are windows which allow a view to the street outside. There is a 36-inch Toshiba color television, with a Sony video cassette recorder and a Sony PlayStation plugged in.

the leaper looks around to get a feel for his host's life, as he is in no position to speak with Jimmy. On the coffee table is some magazine with a picture of a rider on a dirt bike. Going to the bookshelf, he sees a bookshelf with books, mostly of young adult novels. Ben skims through one of them.

Also on the bookshelf are some print photo albums. Those type of things are still in use even in the 2020's, but in 1999, before the advent of InstaGram and Facebook, this was the only way to collect pictures.

Ben looks through one of them, with pictures of people on dirt motorcycles; Jimmy is almost on all of them. Some pictures had been taken in the desert, other pictures had been taken in a lake around the Sierras, and one picture was Jimmy and others in Harrah's Lake Tahoe.

Another photo album is that off Jimmy's job. Ben recognizes pictures of the current manager and other bartenders and servers, and there are also other pictures of what appears to be persons who no longer work at Blue Balls. And there are clearly older pictures of Jimmy, minus the gray hair.

And there is a third album with pictures of various people, apparently all taken in the past few decades. Ben figures these are pictures of Jimmy's family.

Putting away the family album, he walks to a wooden case next to the television which contains video games and VHS cassette tapes. He remove a Cd jewel case.

On the front of the case is an eye. It is the case for Resident Evil 2 by Capcom.

"I haven't played this in a long time," says Ben. "Not since I was in college, at least."

He turns on the Toshiba, seeing some television show on. He presses a button on the TV to switch it to video input/output.

"TV's were a lot simpler in 1999," says Addison. "I heard Ziggy was much crankier back then. Maybe because the old project had to use such clunky technology."

Inserting the CD into the PlayStation, Ben presses the button. The Sony logo appears, and then the Capcom logo.

Ben smiles as the game starts.

"Resident Evil 2," the Toshiba's speakers say.

Ooooooo

"Of all the people Sam leaped into, Al cared about Jimmy the most," says Beth Calavicci.

She sits at a small sandwich shop in Los Angeles, with a basket of French fried potatoes before her. Sitting across from her is Herbert Williams, also known as Magic, who is the director of Project Quantum Leap. It is an hour before the lunch rush, no one else is in line to order sandwiches served on hoagie rolls.

"Al mentioned Jimmy La Motta before," says Magic. "If only he were here to observe this."

"We actually met Jimmy in the present, or at least when the present was the 1990's," says Beth. "He worked at this sports-themed bar in Oakland. Jimmy was middle-aged, much older than the young man Sam leaped into in the 60's. Haven't spoken to him since. I guess he was living his own life."

"Jimmy's still alive, in our time."

"I'm not surprised. He was so full of life. Wait, I remember something else."

"About Jimmy?"

"About the place he worked at. It burned down in a fire."

"What? When did that happen?"

"In 19..99."

Magic's eyes narrow, understanding the significance of the date. "Now we know why Project Quantum Leap is involved in the life of Jimmy La Motta for the third time."
 
Chapter Three

December 8, 1999

"So this building burned down?" asks Ben Song.

"Well, not exactly that way," answers Addison Augustine, who is projected into Jimmy La Motta's loft. "But the place was gutted. And in case you're wondering, Jimmy survived; he's still alive in our time."

"He would be what, pushing ninety?"

"Yes. Anyway, according to an investigation by the Oakland Fire Department, the fire actually started in Blue Balls. Gas explosion. Witnesses timed the explosion at 9:15 AM on Friday, December 10th. The fire spread quickly."

"At least Jimmy was okay."

"You need to stop that gas explosion if Jimmy is going to get his life back."

Ben eats another spoonful of General Mills Cocoa Puffs from a ceramic bowl, filling the room with crunch sounds. "Okay, so the fire starts in the kitchen," he says. Jimmy- I'm a bartender. I might not have leaped into the right man for the job. I should have leaped into that cook Sancho, or the manager."

Addison presses buttons on the handlink. "Peter Baker," she says. "Forty-two years old, Navy veteran, divorced with two children in his ex-wife's custody. Still alive in our time; no trouble with the law ever since a DUI conviction in '78.

"There is one more thing. The owner of the laundromat next door, a Chinese immigrant trying to make a new life for himself. He lost his business and committed suicide next February. He was going through so much."

"We can stop that," says Ben, putting the ceramic bowl in the sink. "It might be simple as a reminder to the shift manager to take a look at the gas stove."

"Wait, I can take a look," says Addison. "If I can lock on to the manager while he's down there."

Ben looks at a digital clock on ta Kenmore microwave oven set on a counter next to the stove. "The bar opens at 11 on weekdays. I am guessing a manager will come in an hour earlier, making sure everything's ready."

"You're not working there this morning."

"I checked the schedule. Jimmy's not working today. I work on Thursday afternoon."

"Yes," says Addison. "There's an Oakland Raiders game on Thursday, December 9th.

Ben picks up a paperback novel to pass the time.

And then, around 10:15, he picks up a telephone handset in the kitchenette and dials the telephone number for Blue Balls.

"Blue Balls," says the voice on the other side.

"Hi, this is Jimmy," says Ben.

"Oh, hi, Jimmy," replies Peter Baker. "I'm just preparing to open up for the morning. A lot has to go on today,. The cops want another copy of the security tapes from yesterday's incident."

Addison is projected below, inside the office. She looks at the man, who has light brown hair and a short cropped beard, wearing a polo shirt and shorts. Peter is inside a small office. On the desk is an Apple Macintosh Quadra with an internal hard disk drive and an FDHD Super Drive, and a Silicon Graphics monitor displays System 7. The observer notices a rectangular container next to the Apple keyboard. Looking at it, she recognizes the little plastic things inside as 3.5 inch floppy disks, something she has only occasionally seen while in the Imaging chamber. There is a bulletin board with bulletins pinned to the wall, an d in a corner is video recording equipment.

"I was just wondering," says the leaper. "Have you checked the stove?"

"The stove for what?"

"Well, it's just that it's important to check cooking equipment for potential fire hazards. I read about kitchen fires."

"I inspected it Monday morning. I'll double-check, to humor you." Peter reaches down and pulls out a drawer from a Hon filing cabinet. He pulls out a folder from one of the hanging folders inside, and takers our a piece of paper. The manager gets back to his desk. "Yeah, Jimmy, I checked the oven myself on Monday morning. Nothing unusual."

"Could you check again?"

"Might as well do that before I open up. Listen, Jimmy, you do have the day off, and the morning bartender's already here. There're no extra shifts for you. You can sit in front of the bar, not stand behind it. But we'll definitely need you tomorrow when the Raiders crush those players from Tennessee. Talk to you later."

Peter hangs up the phone. Leaving the office, he walks into the kitchen. Addison follows him there and looks around. It looks like restaurant kitchens she had observed in previous leaps, with the central stainless steel table, the gas stoves, and the large-sized refrigerators and freezers. The manager reaches down and opens the oven doors, shining a flashlight. The observer also does the same.

"Okay, Ian, make sure to record this," she says.

After twenty more seconds, Peter shuts the oven door. A woman in her thirties, with tightly-curled black hair and wearing the referee outfit, enters.

"What's up?" she asks.

"Checking the oven for any fire hazards," replies Peter. "Everything's okay. Old Man Jimmy was worried. Any way, I'd better go back to the office and log this on."

"I'll get the bartop cleaned for opening," replies the woman.

The observer presses buttons on the handlink, and then appears before Ben.

"Peter didn't see anything wrong," says Addison. "he checked the stove. I looked too and nothing seemed off. I could have the others take a look at the Imaging Chamber feed."

"It might have been electrical," replies the leaper. "You can go down there, find out if there's a loose wire or something. Still, this leap would be a lot easier if I leaped into Peter Baker.

"And there;'s one more thing. Someone named Frank called. He seems to be Jimmy's brother."

"Yes, he is," replies the observer. She presses buttons on the handlink. "Frank took Jimmy out of the institution back in '64, that's when Sam first leaped into Jimmy. Here in '99, he still lives with his wife Connie."

"And Sam Beckett met him in the past," says Ben. "I'm not working today. I might as well meet the man."

ooooooo

Ben squeezes the handbrake, causing the 1996 Kawasaki Ex500D3 Ninja motorcycle to dslow down on the asphalt0surfaced residential street. The street is linked with trees and single-family residences.

"That's the house," says Addison, pointing.

Ben pulls up to a driveway where a red Chevrolet Suburban rests. Ben sets down the kickstand of the motorcycle and removes the helmet from his head.

"You definitely have gotten better at riding bikes," says the observer.

"Yeah."

"Jimbo!" someone calls out.

Ben turns his head and looks towards the front door of the home. Standing there is a gray-haired man wearing slacks and a sweater. He appears to be in his early seventies.

"that's Frank," says Addison.

"Hi, Frank," says the leaper.

"Come on in," replies Frank La Motta. "Lunch should be ready in less than ten minutes."

Ben enters the house, and Addison looks around. It looks like a typical end-of-the-second-millenium living room, with leather couches and a coffee table. A Sony color television sits against the wall, and a Sony video cassette recorder rests in a cabinet below it.

"How are you doing?" asks woman in a blouse and skirt. Her hair is aubuirn and gray.

"That's Connie," says the observer.

"Perfect," answers Ben. "Had a nice ride here."

"I'll get some beers from the fridge," says Frank.,

"I can only have one."

Frank gives a cold bottle of Corona extra to the leaper who appears to be his younger brother. "I saw the news about that hostage situation at the bar yesterday."

"Everything happened so fast. I mean, that guy went in with the gun, and then this other guy sitting at the bar decked him with a barstool, and then the cops came in."

"He's a hero," says Connie.

"And how are you doing?"

"Just sitting around, mostly. I went to the golf course yesterday, and Connie and I were at the community center with the other seniors on Sunday. Played cards and shuffleboard.

Addison looks around the La Motta residence, where Jimmy had first lived in his own steps to become independent. The kitchen has the usual stuff- a small dining table, counters, a Kenmore refrigerator, a Kenmore microwave oven, ans a gas stove. The holographic observer walks to explore the bedroom. She briefly looks around the master bedroom, noting the king-sized bed, a 24-inch Toshiba television, and a picture of Frank and Connie during their wedding over forty years before.

Walking to another bedroom, she sees a bed and a wooden dresser. On top of the dresser is a framed picture. It shows Jimmy and Frank, and the caption "Jimmy's 30th- Harvey's Tahoe". Addison looks at another framed picture of Jimmy, wearing a sleeveless shirt and shorts. A bib with a number is worn on the shirt. The framed photo is captioned "SF Marathon '79"

Addison hears some laughter. She then walks back to the dining room, where Ben is having lunch with the La Mottas. In front of Ben is a red plate, with a square slice of lasagna with tomato sauce and ground beef and ricotta and mozzarella cheeses.

"I still miss Tommy sometimes," says Frank, sticking a form into a slice of lasagna.

"Tommy?" asks Ben.

"He was the one who opened Blue Balls, Jimbo. He gave you a job there in '84, after you became eligible for retirement from the docks. We were at his funeral. His ashes were scattered into the ocean from Fisherman's Wharf."

Addison presses buttons on the handlink. "Tommy Wint," she says. "He established Blue Balls, died in '97. His daughter Cassie owns the place now in '99."


The leaper swallows another slice of lasagna. He glances and sees a Christmas tree with decorations from tiny figurines to colored balls. "Nice tree," he says.

"You helped decorate it last Saturday," says Frank. "I remember the first time you helped all the way back in Christmas of '64. Of course, I was able to carry the tree. We've had to hire a crew to bring the tree in these past few years."

"Can;t wait until Corey and the kids visit for Christmas," says Connie. "I'd better figure out what to buy."

"Remember when we all had Christmas at Corey's a few years ago, '96 I think it was," says Frank.

"'96?' asks Ben. "The Spice Girls came out in '96."

"You were always more in tune with pop culture than I am. I mean, I never got into that Nintendo stuff."

Ben laughs as he has another piece of lasagna, and Addison smiles as well.

About two hours later, lunch is over. Ben steps out of the front door of the La Motta residence.

"Hard to believe it;'s been thirty-five years," says Frank, standing at the front door. "Thirty-five years since we brought you out to the world. The doctors always believed in you. I believed in you. And you've made a life for yourselfI wish they could know about you know."

"It was great being here, Frank," says the leaper, smiling. "It was like knowing you all over again."

oooooooo

The laundromat is brightly-lit, in comparison with the dark street outside. Inside are vartious coin-operated washing machines; washing machines that accept credit cards and debit cards would not be available for another decade or so. There are three rows of hard plastic benches. Ben sits at one of the benches.

"Hi there, Jimmy," says a male voice. Ben turns his head and sees a man with dark hair and amber-complected skin. He wears a white shirt and black slacks.

"Hi there," says the leaper. "I'm just doing my laundry. The next few days will be busy for me. Everything okay?"

"There's lot going on," replies the laundromat owner, who walks off to the back office.

"He's going to lose everything unless we change things," says Addison.

"Anything new?" Ben whispers, knowing that he does not have a cellular telephone.

"We all looked closely at the screen captures from the Imaging Chamber," answers the observer. "Nothing looks wrong with the stove or its connection to the gas main.

Ben stays silent, with only the noise from the washing machines filling the laundromat's main room. "Maybe the main?"

"Hard to tell. And in any even, you leaped into Jimmy. He wasn't in a position to shut off gas for an entire block."

Ben looks around the laundromat. It is empty, except for another man also washing his clothes, wearing headphones connected to a Sony Discman worn on a pouch attached to his belt.

"Someone could have started it."

"We considered that. The employees have clean records. Still, that leaves ex-employees, patrons, friends and family of the employees and ex-employees. Anyway, I'd better head out."

Ben sees Addison's hologram disappear. He knows this laundromat will be gutted by fire in just a little under forty hours.

Oooooooo

December 9, 1999


Ben Song looks at Jimmy La Motta in the full-length mirror as he fastens the final button on the black-and-white striped referee shirt.

"You look great," says a Addison Augustine, looking in the mirror; she is used to not seeing herself in the mirror when inside the Imaging Chamber.

"Time to get to work," says the leaper. It's gonna be a busy day."

"I won't spoil the game," says the observer, knowing that the Oakland Raiders played against the Tennessee Titans this very day.

Grabbing the keys, Ben heads out to the hallway, and then takes thew slow freigh elevator down to the ground level of the building. He then heads lout to the sidewalks in front. Walking a few feet along the sidewalk, passing a couple, he reaches the front entrance to Blue Balls. Already, many people are sitting at the bar, and all of the tables are occupied, with servers in referee outfits bringingh trays of food from sandwiches to steaks to appetizers. On the televisions are images of a football field, and sports commentators. About a third of the patrons wear Oakland Raiders gear such as sweaters and billed caps.

Ben walks into the back office.

"Old Man Jimmy, " says Peter Baker, sitting at the desk.

"Just here to clock in," replies the leaper-turned-bartender, smiling.

"You know the drill," replies the general manager.

Ben goes to the men's restroom to wash his hands with soap, after waiting a minute for a sink to become available. He then walks over to behind the bar.

"Yo, Old Man Jimmy," calls out a man with his hair worn in dreadlocks, wearing a Raiders sweatshirt; he appears in his early thirties.

"Uh, hi," says Ben. "may I take your order, sir?"

"Sure. Just a Budweiser."

"You know him?" asks another bartender, a woman named Lucy.

"Jimmy's part of the bike club," replies the man. He looks towards the leaper. "Remember that ride to Death Valley, Thanksgiving Weekend '97?"

"How could I forget?" asks Ben, smiling as he hands the man a Budweiser.

"I'm here to see my Raiders win. Maybe they'll make it to the Super Bowl."

"I'd have to ask a friend to look it up."

And so the leaper gets into the groove, pouring beer from taps into chilled pint-glasses, taking bottles of beer from the fridge, or mixing drinks, alcoholic or otherwise. He takes trays of food and delivers it to patrons. He either takes cash and goes to the cash register, making sure to count out change, or run credit cards through the credit card reader- there are no RFID chips in credit cards, nor there would be for almost twenty years from this time.

And then all eyes are on the televisions, including the large projected screen, as players from the Oakland Raiders and the Tennessee Titans appear. Addison watches the game, not having looked up the results.

And the the opening kickoff starts with one of the Titans kicking the ball. One of the raiders catch the ball, and keep running until a tackle near the 20-yard line.

An image briefly appears of Oakland Raiders player Rich Gannon, with season statistics, including a mention of eighteen touchdowns and ten interceptions.

And then the game continues. Ben speaks to a customer to get another order, as do the other servers now that the clients are not laser-focused on the National Football League game.

"There's a certain pleasure in watching old sports games inside the Imaging Chamber," says the observer, projected behind the bar.

Addison walks to the kitchen, where the cooks all prepare the food offered in the menu. She can hear the sizzling sounds, though of course she can not smell the aroma of the meats and oils. Servers continually obtain plates of food, placing them on trays before going out to the bar.

She glances at the gas stove; there does not seem to be anything out of the ordinary.

She then walks out to observe Blue Balls. As the observer takes in the scene, she notices the camaraderie among the servers, hosts, and cooks.

And then the first quarter ends. Neither the Raiders nor the Titans had scored. Almost immediately after ESPN cuts into commercial, servers revisit their tables, while some patrons approach the bar to order more drinks from Ben or Lucy. Some patrons pay attention to the sole, 36-inch television showing a National Basketball Association game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs.

"How are you doing, Ben?" asks Addison.

"Still busy," answers Ben as he hands a middle-aged man a Coors original beer.

"That's the Raiders," says Lucy. "Or the 49ers, or the Athletics, or the Giants."

ooooooo

The timer counts down to zero and the second half, ends, with neither the Raiders nor the Titans getting a score. As if on cue, the servers all go around to speak with their clients at their tables. A few of the patrons pay attention to the half-time show.

And then Ben notices something.

"..and what are you doing sitting with a man?" a young man asks a young woman.

"C'mon," she protests. "He's just a friend."

And then the leaper sees it.

The man smacks the woman in the face. "Don't you talk back to me like that!" he scolds.
 
Chapter Four

December 9, 1999

Ben Song had just witnessed it.

He had seen man argue with a woman and then just smack her in the face.

The leaper leaves the bar and walks to the man. Peter Baker also does so, having seen the smack.

"Get out of my bar and don't come back," says the manager.

"Whop's gonna make me?' asks the man. "You and this retard?'

"Yes," answers Ben, looking straight at the man's eyes.

Other servers and other staff members, in their referee outfits, encircle the man.

He then silently walks out the front door, just a second before one of the bouncers arrive at the scene.

"All right everyone!" calls out Baker. "Back to work."

Ben looks at the young woman who was just smacked. "Are you all right?" the leaper asks.

"It's okay," she says. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have talked back to him."

Something occurs in Ben's mind. He walks to the office, looking at the old-style office equipment. He notices a rectangular container, and then notices what is inside.

"Wow," the leaper says. "Floppy disks."

"What's up, Jimmy?" asks Baker, sitting on the leather office chair.

"I'm wondering if we should go the police," says Ben.

"For what?"

"What if he comes back?"

"Listen, Jimmy," says the manager. "I've known his type both when I was in high school and in the Navy. He's a coward, only willing to hurt people smaller and weaker. You've seen the look on his face when we all surrounded him. Sal didn't even need to flex his muscles. He's not bothering us again. Now get back behind the bar. We have hungry, thirsty customers."

"I hope you're right."

The half-time show ends, and then the seconds half begins at the 50-yard line, with Steve McNair passing the ball, and then a tackle around the 30-yard line.

The game continues, with almost all of the patrons at Blue Balls still paying at least partial attention to the game, wondering who will make the first score.

And then it happens. The Raiders and the Titans are right at the goal line. There is 8:57 left in the third quarter. There is a play, and it ends with a tackle at 8:53. A referee, wearing the stereotypical referee shirt with vertical black and white stripes.

They raise their arms.

The Tennessee Titans had scored a touchdown! Most of the patrons widen their eyes and open their mouths wordlessly. Not surprisingly, the Titans score another point with a kick of the football.

Many minutes later, when the timer is at 2:36, the whole place erupts in cheers and sounds of beer bottles and draft glasses clinking, when the Raiders score a touchdown. The following kick ties them with the Titans, 7-7. The spirits of the crowd rise.

Ben smiles. He wonders how much of this is due to Jimmy.

And the game enters its last quarter, with the Raiders and the Titans still tied 7-7. The crowd is anxious, wondering if the Raiders can pull off a victory.

Ben is worried about more than just a football game being played in Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville, Tennessee.

The excitement diminishes over the fourth quarter as the Titans score two touchdown. The crowd makes muted cheers when the Raiders score another touchdown when, with 3:59 left at the fourth quarter, Rickey Dudley catches a ball while in the end zone, scoring a touchdown for the Raiders! The fans pretty much feel a sense of hope, as there are just under four minutes for the Raiders to score another touchdown and kick, they could at least force the game into overtime.

It is not to be. The Raiders lose their chance to tie the game. Eddie George of the Titans embraces Rickey Dudley.

And it is official.

Titans 21, Raiders 14.

"I so totally did not look up the game in advance," says Addison. "The Rams do win the Super Bowl."

Ben walks up to a microphone behind the bar connecting a loudspeaker.

"I know, I know," he announces. "Most of us are disappointed. Let's congratulate the Titans on their win, and let's remember we all had a good time."

<Most of the patrons cheer each other, clinking their glasses and beer bottles.

And then the audio is switched back to music.

They say, 2000-00, party over
Oops, out of time
So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999
Yeah, yeah


"Let's party like it's 1999, because it is," says Lucy. "And will be for three more weeks!"

Ben has the pleasure of closing up after the bar closes. He goes through a checklist to do everything, including putting utensils and plates away, as well as wiping the surfaces and mopping the floor.

He sees an arcade racing game among a row of arcade cabinets in the back. It is some sort of racing game, with ancient 16-bit graphics. He notes that the top three positions on the scoreboard have the initials JIM.

He then walks over to this machine consisting of the basketball basket. Feeding a quarter, basketballs are released and he begins throwing the ball through the hoop and the red light-emitting diode score counter rises.

Addison walks up the leaper. "I looked at the kitchen," she says. "I still can't find what caused the fire."

"It might not have been an accident," replies the leaper.

He finishes up, clocking up and then locking the doors with a key from Jimmy's keychain. He then goes back up to Jimmy's loft. Not feeling sleepy, he drinks some Corona beer and plays Resident Evil 2.

oooooooo

December 10, 1999

Addison Augustine is projected into Blue Balls, just three floors below Jimmy La Motta's loft. The place is empty and the lonely light comes from outside. Even though it is the same place, it feels different when it is empty. The observer looks around, noticing the Christmas decorations atop the regular sports-themed decorations. The floor has a black-and-white checkered pattern, she first notices.

She goes to the kitchen and takes a look at the oven. Even another yet another inspection, there does not seem to be any obvious sign that the oven would cause the explosion.

She glances at a wall clock. It is 9:00 A.M., only fifteen minutes before the explosion.

Ben had told her about that incident yesterday, when that man had been kicked out, suspecting he would break in and start the fire in retaliation.

She then hears the unmistakeable click of a door unlocking. Running outside, she sees someone in a hooded sweatshirt just entering through the rear door.

That someone is clearly not a man.

Pressing buttons on the handlink,. She projects herself back into the loft. She looks and sees Ben lying on the couch, reading a Sailor Moon manga.

"you gotta get down there!" exclaims the observer. "Someone's there. Hurry!"

"Right," replies the leaper. He quickly dons sweatpants and a sweatshirt, and grabs Jimmy's keys. Putting shoes on, he races outside. Glancing for less than a second at the freight elevator, he instead sprints towards the stairwell.

Addison is projected back inside Blue Balls. She runs toward the kitchen, looking at the woman who is walking to the oven. Opening the door, she then turns the valve.

The observer could hear a faint hiss.

"Ian, do facial recognition on this woman!" Addison calls out.

Ben bursts into the kitchen. "What are you doing here?" he yells.

"I know you," she says.

"Her name's Cassie Wint!" exclaims Addison. "She owns the place, inherited from her dad back in '97."

""It's you, Cassie," says Ben, placing his hands in front of him. . "I know what you're about to do. Your dad created this place. Why destroy it."

"I only make $4,000.00 a year from this place, after all the costs and stuff. You make much more here than I do!"

"So find someone to buy it from you."

"State Farm will pay enough for me to make a new life, and a trip to Mazatlan."

Ben gazes into Cassie's brown eyes. "I won't let you do this," he says.

And then it happens.

Cassie swings something up.

Ben starts to raise his hand.

And a sack filled with ball bearings strikes the leaper right in the head!

Ben feels very fuzzy.

And the Cassie slams him head first into the stainless steel door of the industrial refrigerator-freezer!

"Ben!" Addison calls out. She strikes out at Cassie, but her fists simply go through the holographic projection.

She then looks down on Ben; the eyeglasses had fallen and skidded a few feet away.

"Ben!" calls out the observer.

There is no response.

Cassie then takes some cooking oil and pours it on the unconscious leaper.

"You were a nice guy, Jimmy," she says. "I can't let you leave."

She then takes out some sort of cylindrical device and twists a winding key.

Addison knows that is the device that will ignite the explosion.

She looks at the clock on the wall; it is 9:13 A.M.

And unseen by Cassie, but seen by Addison, a blue glow surrounds Ben.

"You're leaping?" she exclaims. "You can't le-"
 
Chapter Five


Well, you couldn't be that man I adored
You don't seem to know, or seem to care what your heart is for
But I don't know him anymore


Ben Song finds himself is another place, another time, another person. He looks and sees a woman in her late teens in some sort of outfit.

"May I take your order?" she asks.

There's nothing where he used to lie
My conversation has run dry
That's what's going on
Nothing's fine, I'm torn


Ben looks around the place. There are wooden tables. A few people sit, with paper bags. A glass display case reveals assortments of bagels. The menu shows various selections of bagels and bagel sandwiches, as well as coffee or fruit juice for beverages.


I'm all out of faith
This is how I feel
I'm cold and I am shamed
Lying naked on the floor


He walks toward the entrance, which is a glass door. Glass windows are next to gthe glass door.

And on the other sauce of the street is the Blue Balls Sports Bar and Grill.

"What's today's date?" he asks.

Illusion never changed
Into something real
I'm wide awake and I can see
The perfect sky is torn
You're a little late
I'm already torn


"December 10th," answers the bagel shop cashier.

"1999, right?"

"Yeah."

The leaper glances at a clock.

The hour hand is at nine, and the minute hand is just past two.

Wordlessly, Ben bursts out of the bagel shop. Extending his palm, he runs across the street, jkust taking a fraction of a sxecond to make sure the cars are slowing down for him. He runs behind the building, through the garage, and then goes to the back door of Blue Balls.

He runs toward the kitchen.

"You were a nice guy, Jimmy," he overhears Cassie Wint say. "I can't let you leave."

He looks and sees Cassie, Addison,

and himself, about a minute younger, lying unconscious on the floor.

And then he sees a blue glow around his past self.

"You're leaping?" Addison exclaims. "You can't leap! You haven't finished your mission!"

the blue glow fades, and Jimmy La Motta is revealed, wearing the sweat pants and sweatshirt Ben had put on.

the observer then turns, and sees Ben, who wears a sweater and Levi's jeans and Nike shoes.

"Ben?" she asks, wondering what had just happened, how Ben got here.

Ben quickly goes to the oven and shuts off the gas.

Jimmy stands up, putting on some glasses. "Blue?" he asks. "what are you doing here?"

Ben notices a mirror. Looking at it, he sees a man in his early seventies.

That is the same man he saw when he first leaped into Jimmy, the same man who struck that feeling crook with a barstool.

Cassie looks around, and then runs out of the kitchen.

"Ben!" calls out Addison. "The device!"

Ben sees some sort of cylinder on the central steel table. Grabbing it, he quickly runs out, pushing through the front door, and then looks around. There is no one on the sidewalk near him for several meters. He tosses the device along the ground and runs.

Addison, not really being in 1999 Oakland, walks close to the device.

And then emits a shower of sparks, sparks that in another history, would have ignited the gas inside the kitchen, causing an explosion.

Both observer and leaper breathe sighs of relief.

Ben walks back into the bar, the door now unlocked. "Jimmy," he calls out. "You all right?"

Jimmy comes out of the kitchen. "Yeah," he says, a look of confusion on his face. "What happened? And was that Cassie?"

"Yeah, she tried to blow up the place for the insurance. Do you remember anything?"

"Not really."

"He just leaped back," says Addison. "His memory might not clear up."

"There's got to be evidence," says Ben. "Fingerprints. DNA. Anything."

"What about that?" asks Jimmy.

The bartender is inside the kitchen, pointing at something. The leaper enters and sees what Jimmy is pointing at.

There is a camera mounted on the corner, and there is al,so a green blinking LED on the camera.

"That's it," says Addison, pressing buttons on the handlink. "Cassie Wint plead guilty to attempted arson, attempted insurance fraud, and reckless endangerment. She got seven years' probation, and caused no further trouble.

"But get this. She sold the bar to pay for her lawyers. And the La Mottas were the ones to buy the place- Jimmy's family! Blue Balls is still open in our time, and his family still owns the place!"

"Great news," says Ben, smiling.

"Uh, Blue," says Jimmy. "We're not open until 11."

"Got it."

Ben walks out towards the front entrance.

"You leaped from Jimmy to this Blue guy within the same time frame," says Addison. "We have to take a look at this, and the old project archives to see if Sam did this before."

Ben looks through the open door of the bar, seeing Jimmy La Motta, who had been leapt into three times in his life.

"We open at eleven," says Jimmy.

"Maybe I'll see you again," says the leaper.

Jimmy closes the door and locks it, and a blue glow surrounds Ben, and he once again quantum leaps!
 
Chapter Six


The nursing home complex sits in the lower slopes of the Diablo Range above San Ramon, California, just east of Interstate 680. It has several buildings in the style of the old Spanish missions with white walls. There is an inner courtyard with a fountain and some garden plants, some with huge leaves, and an outer yard with green grass. About three dozen elderly people reside here, their needs attended to by nurses and orderlies, some who commute from as far away as Vallejo or Stockton.

Addison Augustine, Herbert "Magic" Williams, and Beth Calavicci wait in the courtyard, having gotten to the nursing home in a black 2024 Chevrolet Suburban.

A nurse in a white outfit walks out, escorting a man. He wears a simple blue short and blue trousers. He holds onto a walker to support himself. His hair is white, and he looks like he is in his late eighties.

His facial features are distinctive, with the epicanthic folds in his eyes, the sloped forehead, the relatively undersized ears. His fingers are short and stubby. Eyeglasses frame his face.

"Hi, Beth," says Jimmy La Motta.

"Hi, Jimmy," replies Beth. "Great to see you again."

"I last saw you at Al's funeral," he says. "It's been years. How are you doing?"

"More or less fine."

"Hi, I'm Herbert Williams," says Magic, extending his hand to the elderly man. "I was also a friend of Al's."

"And I'm Addison Augustine," says Addison. "I worked with Al for a few years."

"Al and Beth were at my retirement party at Blue Balls way back in 2010," says Jimmy.

"I'll never forget," says Beth. "You all were and are a family."

"Beth told me she and Al used to visit you frequently there," says Magic. "Twice a year, I've heard."

"Yeah," says Jimmy. "and I remember you. I saw you all at the funeral."

"Nice to see you again," says Addison, knowing that this is the "first" time she met, as Jimmy had not originally kept contact with Al and Beth until Ben changed things in 1999.

Jimmy looks at Addison. "I remember the funeral; you were with this guy named Ben," he says. "Is he all right?"

"He has work," says Addison. "Sometimes he's so busy, it's like he's leaping around in space and time."

"Maybe I'll meet him next time. Anyway, we have a PS5 inside," says Jimmy La Motta. "I still see good enough. Wanna play?"