Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 20:46:43 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Coup d'Etat - Chapter 21 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Chapter 21: A Leap of Faith "This is bullshit, Harry!" a man in fatigues said as he paced the lounge. "I mean, Taylor? Get real. I smell a set-up." "So do I," another said. "They moved it up a day. Sounds like their in a hurry to grab us for treason or mutiny or something." Harry glared at them. "If you guys are so suspicious, then why'd you come? Well, Lieutenant Dan?" Lieutenant Dan, the first who had spoken, looked at Harry with a glare which softened a bit. "Maybe I actually trust you a little but I doubt it. Don't forget that you owe me for helping get Calavicci out of that storage room." Harry smiled. It was the closest Dan Carroll came to revealing any trust for anyone, which was exactly why Harry picked him as well as the other four in the lounge. They all had learned not to trust anyone who trusted too quickly. When the door opened, everyone in the room reached for their side-arms. Al, startled by the action, took a step back before quickly entering the room and closing the door. "I think you can put those away, gentlemen," Al told them. Harry exhaled, putting his gun away as did the others. It was obvious they didn't like being startled in that manner. "What are you doing here?" Harry moaned. "Did you think I'm going to keep away from business involving my project?" Al pointed out. "Now, Lieutenant Commander Strickler will be here in just a minute. So, please, don't shoot her." Lieutenant Carroll frowned as did the others. He voiced the question that was on each of their minds. "Who's Strickler?" Al opened his mouth to answer when the door opened. Again the men reacted, this time not only to defend themselves but also with suspicion. "Ask and ye shall receive," Al said aloud as the door closed behind Genine. "Admiral Calavicci, sir," Genine said with a salute. Al returned the salute. "Commander." "How's Beth?" Al took a breath. "She'll be okay. No cuts. Just frightened the hell out of her. I had her take some valium to help her sleep." Concern crossed Harry's face. "What's this about Beth?" Al gave him a wane smile. "Nothing you have to worry about, Harry. Gentlemen," he addressed everyone. "If you'll take a seat, we're ready." "Hey, wait a minute!" a blond man, known as Dave, spoke up. "Where's this Strickler guy?" Genine looked about the room at the men. "Lieutenant Commander Genine Strickler, Naval Intelligence." Dave laughed. "Whoa! It's Mrs. James Bond! Agent XXX!" Everyone but Al and Genine laughed. "Gentlemen, we are pressed for time. So, I suggest we get to work," Genine told them. "Any meetings we might have after this will be few. So, pay close attention and, if you have questions later, bring them to me and I'll take them to the Admiral. That is unless, of course, you like working for Burke without pay." That caught everyone's attention. "We're listening," Lieutenant Carroll replied. Al looked at each of them as he spoke. "One week ago, all of you, including Commander Strickler, invaded this complex, each for his own reasons. Burke offered each of you a large sum of cash for your assistance, cash which he has not yet given you. For the past seven days, I have been looking for a chink in Burke's armor and I found several: you," he told them, pointing an index finger at each of them. "You have two options. You can help me regain control of this complex or you can stick with Burke. But I have to warn you that you might end up dead if you stick with Burke." "Is that a threat, Admiral?" Harry asked with a glare. "You tell me, Harry," Al replied. "Do you really think that Burke will pay you for your services? Or will he save his money for a rainy day?" "This is bullshit!" Dave exclaimed. "You're saying General Burke is gonna knock us off?" He laughed. "You're crazy! Besides, he'd never get away with it. There are too many witnesses." "Who said he'd leave anybody alive to be a witness?" Genine told him. She sighed. "Guys, he's been cheating us out of everything all this time. Remember the cash he promised us before this? And what did we get? Stocks and bonds, all worthless. I checked." Dave stood up. "Hey, man. I don't care what are you're gonna do. Just leave me out. This ain't worth dying over." "Burke's not going to let anyone leave this complex alive," Al said plainly. Dave laughed. "The guy ain't nuts, ya know. Killing everyone off is just plain crazy!" Al glared at him. "So's threatening to cut open an unarmed, innocent woman!" "Admiral," Genine warned. "Beth?" Harry questioned with concern. "He threatened to kill Beth? Why?" Al sighed. "To get to me." "What he did is in the past," Genine said quickly. "The question is: are we going to let him do it again or do something worse?" Harry looked at the others. There was a nonverbal consensus. "So," he finally said, "what's your plan?" ************************ "Admiral Beckett, sir," a lieutenant said with a salute as he entered the office. Tom returned the salute, looking at the lieutenant. The lieutenant's eyes were wide with suppressed excitement. Something had happened. A breakthrough in the case, perhaps? "What is it, Lieutenant?" Tom asked the anxious young man before him. "A message from Lieutenant Commander Strickler, sir," the lieutenant told him. Tom sat up quickly in his chair. "Is it direct?" The lieutenant shook his head. "No, sir. Looks like it was prerecorded. And there was some interference in its transmission, like a large electrical surge." "Is it on disk?" Tom asked. "Right here, sir," the lieutenant told him, giving him the small silver object. Tom smiled. "Thank you, Lieutenant." "Aye, sir," the lieutenant replied and left with a salute. Tom turned to his computer and slipped that disk into the drive. He waited patiently for the computer to respond. He smiled slightly at the garbled picture of Genine Strickler. His smile widened when he saw that Al Calavicci was standing behind and just to the left of her. He listened carefully to Strickler's report about Burke's invasion of the complex, his attempts to change history, and his maniacal behavior. The picture, however, was becoming steadily worse. Before Al and Genine could tell Tom details about their plans to regain control of the complex, the picture went completely blank, as did the sound. Tom pressed his intercom button. "Lieutenant Zane, is there anything else to this message?" "That's all that we received, sir," Zane replied. "Is there something wrong, sir?" Tom's stomach tightened. He had a very bad feeling about all of this. "Yes, there's something very wrong. Contact the Secretary of the Navy and make an appointment for me to see him as soon as possible." "Aye, sir." ************************** DAY 8 Al quietly slipped into his quarters with a breath. He looked at the single bed in the quarters and at the lady that adorned it. *Thank goodness she's asleep*, Al thought. He wanted her to rest, to be safe away from Burke. He slipped out of his clothes and slipped into bed with his wife, wrapping his arm gently around her. He kissed the back of her head and gently brushed her black hair with his hand. Two hours later, he was woken by a soft beeping. Beth moaned slightly at the sound. She looked sleepily at Al as he stood up and told her to go back to sleep. He stepped away from the bed to give her some privacy. "Yes? What is it, Ziggy?" he said quietly. "Dr. Beckett has leaped," answered a bland female voice. "General Burke is waiting for you in the Control Room." Al sighed and began pulling on his clothes. "Geez, doesn't the man ever sleep?" "General Burke slept for five hours, twelve minutes, and fifty-one seconds before I woke him as per his orders." There was no humor in the voice. Al frowned. There was definitely something wrong. "Ziggy, are you feeling okay?" he asked with concern. "I am incapable of any human emotion," Ziggy answered. "However, I am functioning within my programmed parameters." Al's eyes widened slightly. "Could you repeat that?" "I am incapable of any human emotion. However..." "'Incapable of any human emotion'?" Al exclaimed. "What ever happened to 'I'm fine, Admiral. Thank you.'? When the hell did this happen?" "Six hours, thirty-four minutes, and eleven seconds ago, Admiral," Ziggy told him. "What?" Al whispered in shock. "Six hours, thirty..." "I heard you before, Ziggy," Al told the computer. "Of course, Admiral. If you would proceed with expediency, Colonel Stewart has sent you an escort. He is waiting outside the quarters for you." "Thanks," Al said with a leer as he finished dressing. He stepped to the door and looked at Beth lovingly before opening the door and stepping out to be escorted to the Control Room. Entering the Control Room, he looked around. The room looked as it should. Ziggy looked at she should. But Al knew that she was different. After all the times he said he wished Ziggy weren't so human, he took each time back. A human-like Ziggy was better than the completely emotionless Ziggy she was now. It was now. Without a personality, Ziggy had no gender. "Ah, Admiral," Burke greeted. "How was your night?" Al merely glared at him. "What did you do to her?" Burke raised his eyebrows. "To whom?" "Ziggy," Al replied with a leer. "Oh! The computer!" Burke smiled. "We merely made it more user-friendly." He looked into Al's eyes. "Surely you're not going to lose your temper over a simple re-programming." Al returned a smile, malicious and conniving. "I might. I already have enough excuses to do so." "But we are gentlemen, Admiral," Burke told him. "We have no need for violence." "Tell that to my wife," Al retaliated. Burke smirked. "Shall we get down to business? As I am sure you know, Dr. Beckett has leaped. The computer has interviewed the guest and..." "What?" Al exclaimed. "You had Ziggy interview the guy in the Waiting Room? What are you trying to do? The psychological effect on the guest could be..." "Is irrelevant," Burke interrupted. "Only the mission matters, Admiral." "Irrelevant?" Al grimaced. "You call a person's sanity irrelevant? You are a cold-blooded son of a bitch!" He grabbed a handlink and headed for the Waiting Room. "It's pointless to go in there, Admiral," Burke told him. "The computer already has a theory as to what Dr. Beckett must do." "After what you just did, the guy probably needs someone to assure him of his sanity." Al placed his hand on the silver sensor plate by the door. Nothing happened. Al turned around in frustration. "Ziggy, open the Waiting Room door." Burke smiled at him. "The computer no longer accepts any commands from you, Admiral, except those related directly with my own orders. As such, no one may enter the Waiting Room, the Control Room, or the Imaging Chamber without my permission." "Is that so," Al growled. Burke ignored the growl. "Ziggy, inform the Admiral of Dr. Beckett's current assignment." "Yes, General," the computer replied. "Dr. Beckett has leaped into Solomon Havlin, a Maryland businessman. He is to convince Congress of the necessity of invading Cuba before Congress agrees to negotiate with the Cuban government. It is February 28, 1995." "Necessity of invading Cuba?" Al asked sarcastically. He walked towards Burke. "You're trying to change your image. Make yourself look like a hero not only to the public but to the Secretary of Defense and maybe get an instant promotion in the process." "Tell Dr. Beckett his mission," Burke ordered. "Al came closer to him.. "What are you planning, Burke? You have money. You'd have the support of the military. All you'd need is control of communications and you'd...." Al stopped with realization. He looked at Burke with understanding. "A military coup. You are mad. You'd never get away with it." "Why not?" Burke asked. "Who will stop me? The military? They'll be obeying my orders. The Congress? They have no real power. You? Dr. Beckett? I quite doubt it now that I have total control over this complex. Now, you will cooperate," Burke told him. "Or you'll die." There was a click at the back of Al's head. Al blinked slowly, knowing the sound of a .38 caliber pistol having its hammer brought back. It had to be Stewart on the other end of that pistol. "Well," Al said calmly. "Seeing that my death isn't going to help us very much, I don't have much of a choice. Do I?" Burke shook his head. "No, you don't." There was another click. Stewart holstered his pistol. "Well, then," Al said, straightening himself. "Imaging Chamber?" Burke gave Al a brief nod. "Ziggy, the Admiral may enter the Imaging Chamber." "Thank you," Al said with a leer. He looked carefully at Burke. "Oh, and one more thing before I go in." He walked over to Burke, reached out his hand, and took the only cigar in Burke's top breast pocket. He unwrapped it and lit it, taking a deep puff. "Buy your own damn cigars." ************************ Sam had been waiting for Al for hours and he was beginning to become very worried. Somewhere in his Swiss-cheesed memory he remembered what Al had been telling him about the situation in the complex. What if something had happened to Al? What would happen then? There was a soft knock at the door. Sam raised his head. "Come in." The door opened slowly and a girl peered in. A smile spread across her face and she rushed into the room. Hurrying to Sam, she gave him a huge hug. "Daddy!" she exclaimed with joy. "This is Lucy Havlin," a raspy voice told him, nearly making him jump. "She's Solomon's and Margaret's daughter." "How long are you staying?" she asked. Sam noted that she couldn't have been more than ten years old. "A week," he told her. She moaned. "Aww! Can't you stay longer?" "Well, that's up to your mom," he replied. She frowned. She looked at the clock hanging over the bed. "It's almost dinner time. Are you going to eat with us?" "Go ahead, Sam," Al told him. His voice was bland. "Sure. You go on down." She smiled. "Goodie!" she exclaimed. "Don't be late! You know how Mom can get," she warned. "I won't," he told her as she left the room. Sam turned to look at Al, who was still wearing standard issue civies. Al's eyes were dull and tired. One other thing, Sam noted. They were filled with controlled fear. Al was frightened - very frightened. "What happened?" Sam asked with concern. "What do you mean?" "Al, I know that look," Sam told him. "I've known you too long not to know you're scared. What happened?" Al hesitated a bit. "Burke reprogrammed Ziggy to help focus on the new objectives." "He what?" Sam exclaimed. "Al, how could you let him do that?" Al closed his eyes. "I had no choice, Sam." "What do you mean 'you had no choice'?" Al looked at Sam with pain-filled eyes. "Al," Sam said quietly. "He coerced you into giving Ziggy's access code." Al shifted uncomfortably. "You could say that." He avoided Sam's eyes as he remembered Beth, Burke, and the knife. "Ziggy has a theory as to why you've leaped into Solomon Havlin. It's February 28, 1995 and, according to Ziggy, you're here to convince Congress that, in order to resolve this conflict that is happening between the United States and Cuba, the U.S. is going to have to invade Cuba rather than continue with negotiations." "I'm confused, Al," Sam said, pacing. "Wasn't the conflict resolved with Cuba's liberation?" "Yes," Al told him. "But that doesn't matter right now. Just do what you have to do and leap out of here." "Okay. Tell me how I going to do that," Sam requested. "Who is this guy Havlin anyway?" "Well," Al said softly. "We're not sure." "What do you mean you're not sure?" Sam questioned. "Ziggy didn't do much of a background check on Havlin," Al told him. "What we do have is that Havlin is a sales clerk who works at the local Foley's department store. He and Margaret have been divorced for nearly a year and they have one child, Lucy." "Al, how can a sales clerk convince Congress to invade Cuba?" Sam exclaimed. Al shrugged. "I don't know. I'm just telling you what Ziggy's telling me." Sam sighed. "I have to be here for another reason than that." "I'm sure you are," Al told him. "But I can't help you there." Sam lowered his head. "Does Ziggy have any idea how I'm going to convince Congress?" "I'd focus on your real mission," Al told him. "Just tell me, Al, so I can get this over with," Sam muttered. Al took a breath. "She suggests you play psychic." Sam looked at him with incredulity. "What?" "You call Senator Struther in D.C. and you tell him you've been having visions of the future. You give him a couple of examples of your psychic abilities and get him to convince Congress of the necessity of invasion." "Al, that's ridiculous!" "It's not my plan," Al told him. Sam took a breath. "Okay. How do I convince him that I'm a psychic?" Al looked at the handlink. "Tomorrow, Struther's is going to get into a car accident. He turns out fine but his Mercedes is totalled. Tell him to stay in the right lane even if the left lane is faster." "And that will convince him I'm psychic?" "No," Al replied. "That will get him to listen only. You then tell him that there is going to be a blackout in D.C. in three days which will be caused by lightning hitting one of the city's power plants. Then you tell him about the earthquake that will hit Colorado Springs six days from now." "Colorado Springs?" Sam questioned. "It's a small one," Al told him. "3.0. There's a fault line that goes right through Colorado near Colorado Springs. Finally, you tell him...." Al stared at the handlink. "He closed his eyes. "You tell him that his grandmother dies a week from now. She dies of natural causes." "Oh, Al," Sam moaned. "Can't be helped, Sam," Al told him without conviction. "But you can't tell him any of this until twenty-four hours before the incidences occur. Then, he'll believe you're a psychic and you can convince him to get Congress to have Cuba invaded." "And what about what I'm really here to do?" Al sighed. "You're on your own with that one, Sam." Sam looked at Al carefully. "What's going on, Al? What's Burke up to?" Al looked directly into Sam's eyes. Sam stepped back slightly. He couldn't remember Al ever giving him such an intense gaze. "Revolution," Al said firmly. ------------------------------------------------ Wow! Look how far we've gotten! 12 chapters to go! Chapter 22 next. Rob and Kathie Freymuth