Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 16:32:24 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Coup E'tat - part 0 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Hello, fellow Leapers! Thanks for noticing my little piece of fiction. Little piece?! Okay. It's a really BIG piece of fiction but I consider it my best. Just a few things to recall. This story does take place after "Mirror Image" and therefore has the consequences that the episode brought about. However, it may be more helpful to you if you read my story "The Impossible Dream" first since I have used my own version of MI as the back-story to this. It is not necessary, though, so if you haven't, don't worry. There's nothing in it that relates directly to this story. I'd really really really like to thank my brother Robert. I consider him a co-author of this story because, without him, there would be no story. He helped me plan out everything with the general plot and suggested certain situations which I readily accepted. He even showed the fallacies I had with my original ending (which, to tell you the truth, was HORRID!) Thanks, Rob! You're the best! I'd also like to thank everyone who has been reading my little stories on the Archive. Without you, I would have never gotten up the motivation to put this on the Archive. Your opinions of my work really mean a lot to me and encourage me to write more. Now for the technical stuff that I have to say or I might be sued for copyright infringement. Quantum Leap and its characters are the property of MCA/Universal and were created by Donald P. Bellasario and are used without permission. Now, let's do some big time reading! Kat Freymuth Date: Tue, 22 Oct 1996 17:22:04 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Coup D'etat - Prologue Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII WARNING: This part has adult situations but it's as subtle as I could get it. Hope I don't offend anyone. -------------------------- Prologue Candy looked down the street and saw the car coming. She wasn't an expert on cars but this one seemed very expensive yet still practical. She smiled. *At least there's money in this one*, she thought, hoping the car would slow down. Her hopes were granted. The car came to a stop just in front of her. The window came down electronically to show a man about fifty years old. The man wasn't extremely handsome. In fact, some might say he was homely. But he had strong features, especially his eyes. His gray eyes told that he was a man who could get what he wanted, regardless of what it was. He smiled as he looked over the prostitute's features. She had body paint covering her face and arms, giving her skin a light, shimmering silver glow. *That's a New Mexican fad*, he thought. *Most whores in D.C. don't have that kind of good taste.* "So," Candy finally said, "what's a big fish like you doing in this pond?" The man's smile widened. Yes, he liked this one's style. "Looking for someone like you," he answered the question. "Where's your place?" "You make a big assumption about my having a place," she pointed out. He laughed. "Someone like you has more class than to go at it in the back of someone's car. So, where is it?" "Behind me," she told him. "It'll cost you four hundred," she warned. But she giggled and smiled seductively at him. He smiled and shut off the car's engine. "I don't expect cheap from an Albuquerque professional." "How'd you know I'm from Albuquerque?" she questioned with a little suspicion in her voice. He got out of the car and went over to her. "You can't get your kind of quality anywhere else." She laughed and motioned him closer. "Take me upstairs," the man ordered, not touching her. "You sure like to get to the point, don't you?" He took a five hundred dollar bill out of his wallet and put it in her hand. "It's my money. You'll do as I say." Candy looked at the bill in her hand. "Whatever you want, baby!" She immediately took him up to the room. The man looked around. He liked the decor: sensual but simple, like the Naval nurse he once dated many years ago. He had a feeling he was really going to enjoy this night. "So, what's your name?" she asked as they entered the room. She ordered the lights on, giving the room a soft romantic haze. "What's yours?" he replied, not answering her question. She laughed slightly. "Candy," she answered. "How 'bout a drink?" "Scotch. Neat," he instructed. Candy obeyed and called for the bar. "What made you leave Albuquerque, Candy?" "Things got a little weird so I left," she said plainly as she poured his drink and gave it to him. He accepted the drink and took a sip. "What are you into?" Candy asked. The man smiled and gulped down the rest of his drink as he went to the bar. He put down his empty glass and returned to Candy. He looked her over with a smile. Suddenly, he yanked her towards him, causing her to gasp in astonishment. "I'm into what I paid for," he told her firmly. "Why didn't you say so?" Candy said as she undressed herself. The man's smile widened. He quickyl undressed and then threw himself on Candy, forcing them both onto her bed. She exclaimed in shock. The man grinned at her reaction and kissed her brusquely. He looked into her eyes. "Tell me the strangest thing that ever happened to you," he ordered. Candy hesitated. She wasn't sure she heard that right. "What?" "Do it," he ordered as he started to touch areas of her body other than her face. "I like it when my women do that." He licked his lips in anticipation. Candy took a breath and started as the man continued his acts. "Well, it happened only a few months ago when I was still in Albuquerque," she told him. "Actually, it's the reason I left Albuquerque. I was looking for a client when this blue car comes driving up to me. I looked in the window to see this very handsome man. He looked like he was very intelligent but somehow he seemed lost. He agreed to my offer and so I took him up to my place. I called the lights on but, for some reason, he seemed startled." "Startled?" the man questioned. "By electricity?" "No," Candy continued, shaking her head. "By the way I turned them on!" She laughed slightly. "What was really funny was he was wearing a white body suit without anything covering his feet. Well, anyway, I gave him a drink and asked him what he wanted to do. After I gave him a few ideas, he agreed to watching movies. So, I called the videoscreen. He didn't know what it was!He pushed me to my bed and demanded to tell me what year it was. When I didn't answer right away, he pulled a gun on me!" The man had stopped everything and was now listening to her with intent. "Well, of course, I told him!" Candy continued. "I mean, I wasn't going to risk my life over what year it was. He didn't believe me! That's when the other guy came in." "The other guy?" the man asked. "Yeah. He was dressed in black and had curly hair and black eyes. He held a gun towards the other guy and called him Leon." "How tall was he?" "Leon?" "No. The other man. Describe him better." Candy shrugged. "About 5'6", thin, kind of European-looking. You know? Like he was Greek or Italian or something." The man gave a knowing smile. "Go on." "Well, this guy that came in told Leon that he was there to take him back." "To where?" "Well," Candy hesitated. "I'm not exactly sure but it sounded as if he was going to take Leon back to the Fifties. But I must have heard it wrong. Anyway, the guy told Leon to look in the mirror and Leon, when he did, freaked out! Completely! He shot the other man! I thought he was going to kill me but he left." "What about the other man?" "He wasn't hurt. He went after Leon, I think." She paused. "You know, it's weird but I could've sworn I saw that guy Leon before. Maybe he was someone famous." The man stood from the bed. "Very famous, indeed," he muttered to himself. Candy looked at him with concern as he started dressing. "What's wrong? You're not just leaving me, are you?" "Yes, I am," the man told her, his back to her. Candy sighed. "You're losing your money by leaving now," she reminded him. "Where are you going?" "Nowhere," the man sais as he turned around to see her. "But you're going to heaven." With that he raised a gun in his left hand and pulled the trigger. Quickly and without a sound, Candy left the mortal world as a bullet silently pierced her skull. The man lowered his gun and put it on the now blood-covered bed. He slipped on an overcoat and returned the gun back into the overcoat's inside pocket. He started towards the door but hesitated. He turned towards the bed where Candy's body lay. "Thanks, Candy," he told her. "You're real quality." He smiled and turned around. With gloved hands, he opened the door and left the room. ---------------------------------------- More to come. Kat