Date: Thu, 21 Nov 1996 12:56:46 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Coup D'etat - Chapter 12 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Chapter 12: Investigation Al was pacing his new quarters. He found this whole thing with Burke preposterous, even insultive. How could Burke possibly believe that Al would believe his story? No, Burke was up to something and Al was determined to find out what. "Al?" a voice said from behind. Al turned around and smiled. "Thought you'd be in the infirmary." Beth took a breath. "Surgery's done. Now, it's time to nurse and Dan said he'd take the first shift." Al raised his eyebrows slightly. "Already calling him by his first name, I see." Beth shrugged. "Once you've done what we have, calling each other 'doctor' just seems so coldly formal." "I suppose so," Al muttered, taking a cigar out of a case in his pocket (he wouldn't dare have a loose cigar in his dress uniform) and lighting it. Beth smiled. "I thought you never smoked inside," she teased. Al looked at her with a frown. Beth's smile faded. She took him by the arm and turned him as that he was looking directly at her. "Al, what's wrong?" she pushed gently, knowing very well that Al wouldn't keep so quiet without some very strong reason. Al took a couple of puffs on his cigar before he spoke. "It's him," he told her, a leer in his eye. "General Burke," Beth surmised. Al nodded. "I don't trust him. Every instinct I have is telling me that he's lying. I don't know what the hell he's going to do and I don't know enough about him to even make a guess. But he's up to something." Beth looked at him carefully. The look was beginning to make Al uncomfortable. He turned away from her and started to pace the room. Beth watched him before speaking. "Al, if not knowing what Burke is up to bothers you so much, then find out what he's up to. Look in his file. Find out what kind of a man he is." Al shook his head. "I already thought of that. Access to any outside line has been cut off except through Ziggy and Sam's office and Burke's taken over both." Beth smiled gently. "I never knew anything thing like that from stopping you." Al returned the smile and sighed. "True. I'll just have to think of something else - some way to get Burke's file without him knowing it." He took another puff on his cigar. He started pacing again. Beth stopped him again, this time more gently. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked with concern. Al took his cigar out of his mouth and kissed her softly on the cheek. "I'll be fine," he told her. He took a breath. "You've had a long day. Why don't you go get some sleep." Beth nodded. She touched Al's hand gently before leaving the room. Several hours later, Al found himself in his new bed, having an uncomfortable rest. He was awaken when Gushie's voice came over the intercom. "Admiral," Gushie told him. "Dr. Beckett has made an arrival." Al exhaled. He couldn't remember the last time Sam had two leaps within a twenty-four hour time. "Thanks, Gushie," Al replied. "I'm on my way. Have you informed Dr. MacArthyr?" "Yes, Admiral," Gushie replied. There was a hesitant pause. "I'm also supposed to tell you that Colonel Stewart is on his way to escort you to the Control Room." Al sighed. He'd almost forgotten about his escort. "I'll be waiting," Al told Gushie. When Colonel Stewart did arrive, Al was mildly surprised to see he wasn't alone. The female soldier he had seen before was standing beside him, nodding her head. As Al stepped out of the quarters, the woman saluted and marched away. "Ready, Admiral?" Stewart asked. Al nodded politely and proceeded towards the elevator with Stewart in tail. He didn't notice the woman returning to his quarters and slipping in quietly, a small bag under her arm. ************************ Trudy Calavicci was pacing. It wasn't like her parents to be so late for anything much less one of the most important days of her life. The wedding rehearsal had started over three hours ago and there was still no sign of the couple. "Are you sure you checked the house?" she asked her fiance Steve. "I'm positive, Trudy," Steve told her gently. "We called his cellular. We went to their house. We went to your sisters' houses. We went to my parents' house." He sighed with true regret. "We just can't find them." She hugged him tightly. "I'm frightened, Steve. What if something awful happened to them?" She began to cry in fright. Steve held her gently. "I'm sure they're fine," he whispered into her hair. "Listen, we'll go to the police and see if they can help." He kissed cheek gently. "We'll find them. I promise you." He took a breath. "In the meantime, I'll do what I can. You should go home and get some rest." "But..." "Trust me, honey," he told her. "You really do need it." She hesitated before giving a nod. Steve turned to his best man. "Tony, would you take Trudy home for me?" Tony nodded. "Sure, Steve. Come along, Trudy," he told the frightened woman gently, taking her out of the church. Steve took a breath. He looked at the wedding party assembled for the rehearsal. "Until we find the Admiral and Doctor Calavicci, I think it's best we postpone the wedding," he told them. "I'll inform you all as soon as I know anything." ************************ Sam Beckett felt like he was floating, even after the dizziness of Quantum Leaping had disappeared. He opened his eyes to find himself staring at a ceiling covered with blue fleurs-de-lis against a cream background. Looking around he noticed that all the walls were covered with fleurs-de-lis and that he was lying in a bed with sky blue sheets and a midnight blue bedspread. A nearby wooden nightstand held on cream shaded lamp and a plain black alarm clock which showed the time as being three minutes after ten o'clock. The windows were draped with midnight blue curtains which were open, allowing the morning sun to shiine into the room. *This looks like a Victorian bedroom*, Sam thought, although he wasn't sure what a Victorian bedroom should look like. *Well, wherever I am, I can't stay in bed all day..* He swung his legs over the side of the bed and tried to get up, finding himself falling back onto the bed, which cushioned his collapse very well. Sam smiled as he felt himself bob up and down in the bed. *A waterbed. Well, at least I know I'm sometime in the late Seventies or later.* He rolled out of the bed clumsily and stood up, looking around again. When he was lying in the bed, he hadn't noticed the wooden dresser covered with several items. Sam walked over to the dresser and looked at the items: make-up, perfume, barrettes. He finally looked in the mirror in front of him. He saw an oval face with bright blue eyes and long brown hair which was tangled from rolling around in bed. The face couldn't have been more than twenty-six years old. *Terrific*, Sam thought sarcastically. *Another woman. Which means high heel shoes, make-up, hairdos, and who knows what else.* "Cheryl?" a voice came from the door: a voice of concern, a motherly voice. "Cheryl, honey, are you up? Come on, sleepyhead. You'll be late." "Late?" Sam asked out loud. "Late for what?" There was a sigh at the door. "For your first day on the job. You're twenty-four years old, Cheryl. You should be able to get yourself up on time. Hurry up. You have to be there at eleven o'clock and it's a thirty minute drive." "Okay," Sam said, unsure still of what was happening. "And wear your best dress today," the mother put in. "You want to make a good impression on your boss." Sam sighed as he heard fottsteps leave the door. "Great," he muttered to himself as he started for the shower. *********************** Since Dan was busy in the infirmary, it was Beth who did the physical on the guest in the Waiting Room. She came out of the room with a sigh. She couldn't see how anyone could go in there all the time and not freak out seeing Sam's aura and yet still not see Sam. She went over to Al, keeping a professional distance from him. "She's in good condition. There's nothing wrong with her physically.. I must admit, it's weird seeing a female with a male's aura. Dr. Beeks is still in there with her. The guest is pretty shook up." General Burke, standing nearby, overheard Beth's words. "So, it is confirmed that Dr. Beckett has leaped?" Al turned to him with a glare. "Yes, General, it is." He turned to Beth with a comforting smile. "Thanks, Liz." Beth returned the smile. Burke, unfazed, turned to Gushie, who stood behind Ziggy's console. "Dr. Conelf, have the computer locate Dr. Beckett." "I'm afraid that's not possible," Gushie told him bluntly. "What!" Burke exclaimed, glaring at Gushie. "What do you mean? Locate him now!" "It's not his fault, Burke," Al told him angrily. "We just don't have enough information for a lock. Ziggy may be a computer but she's not omniscient." Burke walked over to Al, forcing Beth to move away from Al. "You are trying my patience, Admiral." "I didn't know you had any," Al retaliated. At that moment, Verbina came out of the Waiting Room. "She's asleep," she told Al immediately. "All I could get was that her name is Cheryl and she lives in Omaha." Al sighed in frustration. "Well, that really narrows it, doesn't it?" "You _can_ make a lock, can't you?" Burke demanded more than asked. Al glared at him. "General Burke, if you are going to run this place correctly, there's one thing you have to learn. There are no guarantees. You just have to be patient and wait. The only way we can get a lock soon is if the guest wakes up and tells us what year she comes from and what her last name is. The only thing we can do now is give Ziggy the information we do have and see if she can get anything out of it." "Then do it," Burke ordered. "Give it the information and let me know when it has something. I'll be in my office." "You mean Dr. Beckett's office," Al corrected malevolently. Burke raise his nose at Al and left the room. "Pompous ass," Al muttered, watching Burke leave. He turned to Ziggy. "Find out what you can about Sam, Ziggy." His voice lowered considerably. "And while you're at it, get me as much as you can on Burke but be subtle about it. We don't want him to find out what we're doing." "Yes, Admiral," she replied. "Both may be difficult, however." "Yeah, I know," Al told her. "Just be careful. All we need is for one of those guards to find out what we're doing and it's _adios_." Al looked around the room. At each of the doors leading out of the Control Room, there was one of Burke's guards, ready to act. Also, Stewart stood in the center of the room, watching Al. "I see what you mean," Ziggy answered, having noted the guards also. "Good girl," Al told her. He looked at Stewart. "Well, Colonel, until we can locate Dr. Beckett, I'm not needed here. I suppose you'll want to escort me to my quarters." Stewart didn't smile as he motioned Al towards the door. Al took a breath before obeying the motion and leaving the Control Room. ---------------------------------------- Chapter 13 to come soon. Rob and Kat Freymuth