From: glenn@v-wave.com (Glenn St-Germain) Newsgroups: alt.tv.quantum-leap.creative,alt.tv.forever-knight Subject: "KNIGHT LEAP", part 02/04 Date: Sun, 20 Jul 1997 16:23:57 GMT Organization: Videotron Communications Ltd. (V-WAVE) Message-ID: <33d23b54.5906782@news> Knight Leap A Quantum Leap - Forever Knight Crossover by Glenn St-Germain Part 2 Al left the imaging chamber so Sam could get some sleep. He went to his office, retrieved something from his desk, then went to the waiting room, asking Ziggy to dig up any information about Knight's case and about Knight himself before he went in to visit their guest. "Where's Gushie?" he asked one of the technicians. "In the waiting room," replied the tech. Al turned and ran down the corridor. Nick Knight had several hours to think about his situation. He had been captured by person or persons unknown, reason also unknown. They wouldn't tell him anything except that he should remain calm, that everything would be all right. One, a woman who he pegged as a psychiatrist, kept trying to get him to talk about himself. But until he had more information, he would tell them nothing. When he was alone, he checked the only door to the room. Locked. From the outside. He explored every corner of the room, which was unlike any prison cell he had ever seen. They didn't know his secret, though, he was sure of that. The fact he was a vampire was not known to his captors. They offered him food, which he refused. A plastic cup and pitcher of water was left for him. He hadn't touched it. Some time later, a short man in a lab coat came into the room. Nick was lying on his back on the cot, staring at the ceiling. He glanced at the man; he had been in here earlier. Nick remembered the man primarily because of his bad breath. "Still won't tell me why I'm here?" he asked. "Just checking if you need anything," he said. "Come to think of it," replied Nick, "There is something... I want you to tell me why I'm here." "I'm sorry," replied Gushie. "National security. Admiral Calavicci will talk to you later about that." Nick stood up and stepped toward Gushie. Before Gushie could back away, Nick had made eye contact, and held his gaze. Gushie's eyes seemed to glaze over. So far, so good. "You will tell me who you are and why I am here," he said. "I will tell you..." replied Gushie in a monotone. "Where am I?" "Project... Quantum Leap..." "Government?" "No... science..." "What kind of science?" "Time travel..." "Time travel?" Nick was stunned. Under his influence, it was impossible for someone to lie. And Gushie wasn't faking it. "What year is this?" he asked. "Nineteen... ninety-nine..." Six years into the future. By the look of his surroundings, he wouldn't have been surprised if it were sixty instead of six. Or even six hundred. "Why am I here?" "Random chance... Doctor Beckett stepped into the project accelerator. He is leaping through time, into other people's lives... this time it happened to be you." "So my being here is just a coincidence?" "Yes." Nick breathed a sigh of relief. They weren't after him; it was an accident. "How do I get back?" Before Gushie could answer, the door opened, and Admiral Calavicci ran in, brandishing a small silver crucifix on a chain. "Get away from him!" growled Al. "Get away from him, you monster!" Gushie stumbled back as Nick reacted to the cross almost by instinct. His eyes turned a glowing red; he snarled at Al, his canine teeth turning to fangs. Gushie muffled a scream and scurried behind Al, toward the door, as Al advanced on Nick with the cross. "Back away, or by all that's holy..." Nick managed to regain control of himself and stood his ground. Training with Natalie, he was able to shrug off the threat of a small crucifix. Had Al brought in a larger cross, he might have been in some discomfort. But a small one, one designed to be worn as a pendant, was nothing more than an irritant. "I mean you no harm," he quickly told Al. "I just needed some answers." "I'll bet you did. You just wanted some lunch!" "Look... I'm not.. I am not the way you think I am..." "You're a vampire!" Al was keeping the pendant between himself and Nick; Nick sat down on the cot, ignoring the cross. After a moment, he looked up again. His eyes were no longer red. "You're right. I am a vampire. It is my curse." Al let his arm drop momentarily, then raised it again when Nick looked at him. "You're a blood-sucking monster!" "Please, Admiral... it is Admiral, is it?" Gushie stood up and bolted from the room. Nick continued. "It's not what you think. Yes, I am a vampire. As much as I wish it were otherwise." "What do you mean by that?" demanded Al. "If I wanted to, I could rip that chain from your hand and throw it across the room. But I'm not going to. All I wanted from your assistant was some answers." "And?" "He told me about Project Quantum Leap. If I understand him correctly, I'm here in the year 1999, while your Doctor Beckett is in my place in 1993." "That's right." "So when people see him instead of me, won't they become suspicious?" Al dropped his arm, but still held on to the chain. "No... they see him as you... it's his body, but it's your aura they see." "I see. And your assistant said it was random chance that brought me here." "Sam leaps into people near a turning point in their lives," explained Al, pulling up a chair and sitting down. "He has to change what happened in the original history before he leaps out." "Then he comes home?" "We hope so. But so far, he just leaps into someone else. He's limited to his own lifetime, which means he can go back only as far as 1953." "I've had a considerably longer lifetime." "If you're a vampire, why are you masquerading as a police officer?" "I'm not masquerading as a police officer," replied Nick. "I am a police officer. It's my job." "Okay, then," replied Al impatiently, "why are you a cop?" "Let's just say I've got some debts to repay." "A vampire has a bookie?" Nick stared at Al, not sure if he was being facetious. "I am trying to regain my humanity by doing something for society." "I love it," replied Al, half sarcastically. "A vampire with a conscience. So what you're telling me is that you're trying to become human again." Nick nodded. "That's one hell of a story," said Al after a moment. "This is the future. Maybe you can tell me how it ends?" "That depends on Sam." "Sam... Dr. Beckett?" Al nodded. "How did he get himself lost in time?" Al explained to Nick the history of Project Quantum Leap, briefly outlining Sam Beckett's theory about time travel, how he created the project to put it to the test, and how, when pressured to prove his theories or lose funding, he stepped into the project accelerator. "He's been jumping through time ever since," concluded Al. "You mean 'leaping', don't you?" asked Nick, grinning. Al laughed. "You know, for a vampire you're not such a bad guy. But then I have to think about the fridge full of blood." It was Nick's turn to laugh. "It's cow's blood," he finally said. "Cow's...?" "I have an arrangement with a meat-packing plant." Al laughed again, relieved. "You're really serious about becoming human again, aren't you?" "I'd sell my soul... if I still had one." When Al returned to the imaging chamber a few hours later, Sam was driving to work. Along the way, he had stopped into a drive-in restaurant, and was munching on a hamburger as he drove. Al set the controls on the handlink to keep him centred on Sam as he drove, and sat down, shifting his image so he appeared to be sitting beside his friend. "You're not going to believe this one, Sam," he began. "Try me." "You're a vampire." Sam glanced at Al for a moment. Al continued: "Actually, Nick Knight is a vampire." "Al! Don't be ridiculous!" "I'm not making this up! When I went back to talk to him earlier today, he was doing something to Gushie." "This isn't funny, Al." "When I held a cross in front of me, his eyes turned red and he grew fangs. Listen, Sam, I'm serious!" Sam thought for a moment, then turned toward Al. "You are serious, aren't you?" "Completely. And watch your driving!" "Nick Knight is a vampire," said Sam. "So what does that make me?" "He's actually a pretty nice guy. He's looking for a way to turn himself back into a human again. And the blood in the bottles at his place? It's cow's blood." "Any more on why I'm here?" "Not much... it seems that these killings continue... the next victim is found tomorrow night, about six blocks from the station." "Have Ziggy check on someone named 'Lacroix'," said Sam. "Ziggy wouldn't have anything. But Lacroix is the name of the vampire who put the bite on Nick back in 1228. Nick killed him a few years ago." "I thought vampires are supposed to be hard to kill." "Yeah... so he might be back. Knight suggests you check out a place called the 'Raven' -- it's a nightclub. Ask for Jeanette. She'll tell you if something weird is going on." "Something weird is going on." "Yeah... but she's a vampire herself, so she might know something." "Great. Is there anyone around me on this leap who isn't a vampire?" "Dr. Lambert looks pretty healthy." Sam shook his head, laughing. He turned off the street into the parking lot behind the police station and parked the car. "Get me what you can about the next victim," Sam suggested. "I've got to go to work." Al nodded, then pressed a button on the handlink and disappeared. Inside the station, Sam absently grabbed one from a box of donuts next to the coffeemaker and went to his desk to read over Natalie's report. Schanke arrived a few minutes later, and dropped his briefcase when he saw Sam. "Stop the presses!" he exclaimed. "Call the TV news! Nick is eating a donut!" "So what's the big deal?" asked Sam. "I've never seen you eat a donut before. Come to think of it, I've never see you eat anything before. About time you started acting normal." Sam mentally kicked himself... if Knight was a vampire, he wouldn't eat. Not in front of anyone else, anyway. And definitely not donuts. "We're all entitled to a night off," he said finally. "It'd do you some good to have some junk food once in a while." "I'll try to remember that." "Hi guys," said Natalie, coming into the squad room. "What's all the fuss about?" "Guess what, Nat?" replied Schanke, "Nickie here ate a donut!" Sam grinned, shaking his head at the fuss they were making. "Just one," he replied. "Nick, that's wonderful!" exclaimed Nat. "Next week we'll try some pizza and beer," added Schanke. The three of them traded jibes for a few more minutes. Sam realized that Natalie's concern was more than just friendly. He could tell that she had strong feelings for Nick Knight. He thought about her after she left. A thankless task, being in love with someone who was unable to return it. Schanke interrupted Sam's train of thought. "You should marry her," he said. "Excuse me?" "Natalie. You should marry her. She's perfect for you." Sam looked up. Schanke continued. "She's gorgeous. She's intelligent. She works nights. And she loves you. And I know you feel the same way. So what's stopping you?" "I've seen what marriage has done to you," Sam kidded. "Don't wait forever, Nickie. She won't." Schanke turned and went down the hall, leaving Sam alone with his thoughts. The next afternoon, Al returned with further information about the killer's next victim. She was... would be... a 17-year-old runaway from northern Ontario who arrived in the city a few days ago. In the original history, the girl's body would be found in an alley near the waterfront, not far from the Union Station. Sam made a mental note that he and Schanke would stay in the general area most of the night. But first, a visit to The Raven was in order.