Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 15:39:30 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Mirror - part 25 (resend) Message-ID: Quantum Leap Mirror of Deception by Katherine Freymuth and Gary Marsh Copyright 1998 Part 25 "Senator, the police are here to see you." It was the first sound Sam heard as he arrived at his latest destination. He looked around quickly for the source of the voice to find that he was alone in a plush office. "Sir?" the voice questioned with concern from, what Sam realized was, the intercom on the desk. Sam tentatively pushed a button on the small device. "Yes?" he asked in hopes that he was the 'sir' to whom the young male voice was referring. "The police are here to see you, sir." Sam raised his eyebrows. *The police? Oh,boy!* "Ummm... send them in," he replied after a moment. A few seconds later, a young man dressed in a plain navy suit entered the office, a smile plain on his face. Sam stood politely, completely unprepared for what happened next. The young man hurried over to him and gave him a bear hug, causing Sam to gasp for air. "Hey, buddy boy! Long time no see! I mean, now that you're a hot shot senator and all." "Umm, yeah," Sam stammered. "Nice to see you... again." *Whoever you are.* The man took a step away and looked at him with a slight frown. "Hey, what's the matter, Keith? You're normally so... talkative." *Senator? Keith?* Sam thought with question. "Oh,boy!" he whispered. "What is it?" Sam looked at the man before him. "Umm... I'm... I've just been extraordinarily busy lately. I guess it's really effecting me." The man smiled and slapped his shoulder. "Hey, don't worry about it. I forgive you, this time." He spread his arms wide as if to show himself off. "Notice something different?" Sam frowned slightly. Of course, he didn't; he'd just met the man. But it was obvious that Senator Keith Hatcher should have. The man didn't wait for an answer. "Plain clothes, buddy boy! No uniform! I am officially a lieutenant." Sam smiled at the man's words. "In your chosen field, of course," he said in hopes for more information from the man, information like a name. The man nodded. "Yeah. Homicide. Someone's gotta get those wackos off the streets, right?" Sam nodded at his words again, sighing mentally at the failed attempt to identify the visitor. The man looked at his watch. "Nuts! Gotta go!" he told Sam. "Listen, I'm only in town for a couple of days. Have a couple of interviews to go to. But we'll get together later. Right?" Sam nodded. "Yeah, sure. Umm... when?" The man laughed. "You tell me. You're the busy senator!" "Umm... okay. Give me your phone number and I'll call you later." The Lieutenant shook his head. "And trust your memory? I don't think so. You'd probably get so busy that you'd forget you had the number much less who's it is. Nah, you give me a day and time and I'll come pick you up." Sam hesitated. "Okay. How about eight o'clock tonight?" he suggested, taking a quick look at the desk calendar in front of him to see if Keith's schedule was clear. "Gotcha!" the Lieutenant replied as he headed for the door. "I'll leave a number with your assistant in case something comes up and you actually remember there is a phone number." He gave him a friendly smile and winked. "See ya tonight, buddy boy!" he told him before leaving the office. Sam slumped into the desk chair with a sigh, trying to make some sense of what happened. "Is there a problem, Dr. Beckett?" Sam turned his head quickly at the smooth feminine voice coming from his right. He looked at the blond, naval-uniform- clad woman who looked at him with a small smile of friendly concern. "Who are you?" he questioned, clearly confused about her presence. Her smile widened slightly at his question. "Admiral Janet Kalarco," she told him, layering her hands in front of her, the handlink in her left hand. "I'll be observing until Admiral Calavicci returns." She took a breath. "I know I can't replace Al but I promise to do my best to help you." Sam frowned at her words. "Where's Gushie?" Janet's smile faded slightly. "Obviously, some of what you were told on that last leap was lost between leaps." She looked at him firmly, causing Sam to smile slightly; it was so much like Al's firm look yet it was so different. It made him miss his friend all the more. "Gushie had to continue his duties as Chief Programmer," Janet told him, not really noticing the smile. "Dr. Fuller had her own work to do. That leaves me." Sam blinked at her words, noting she didn't mention the other one hundred something candidates he was sure there were. It didn't matter really. He was just glad someone finally arrived; he just wished it had been Al. "Well, I wish you had arrived about five minutes earlier," Sam told her. "I've just had a conversation with one of Keith's friends and I don't even know his name." Janet raised the handlink and pushed a couple of buttons. "What do you know about him?" she questioned. Sam exhaled in frustration. "He's a police lieutenant." Janet raised her eyebrows. "That's it?" Sam shook his head. "That's it. Oh! And he and Keith have known each other for a long time. He's going to meet me at Keith's house later tonight." She pushed a few more buttons. "That was probably Derek Thomas. The two went to law school together. Thomas is in town searching for an opening in the police department here. It's April 24th, 1998, and you are in Washington, DC." She smiled at him. "You already know who you are: Senator Keith Hatcher from Pennsylvania. He's a Democrat," she added, a hint of disappointment in her voice. Sam nodded with a bit of a smile of amusement. "So, why am I here, other than to entertain Keith's friend?" Janet frowned, pressing buttons on the handlink with only little success. "As far as Ziggy can tell, you shouldn't be here. There's nothing wrong here that needs to be put right." Sam frowned strongly. "That doesn't make sense." Janet shook her head. "No, it doesn't." She lowered the handlink, a thoughtful look on her face. "You could be here to take preventive measures." "Preventive measures?" Sam repeated with question. "To save Keith Hatcher's life," Janet replied. "They have tried to kill him before. They may be planning to try again." "But you said there was nothing to put right," Sam commented. "Yet," Janet added. "It's like war. If you know the enemy is going to attack, you don't let them attack you defenseless and then try to repel them. You build up your defenses so that their attack fails." "So, there is going to be another leaper." "Ziggy won't say but I think so. It makes sense, doesn't it?" Sam nodded in agreement. It did make sense. It also meant that his life would soon be in danger and that anyone could be the leaper/assassin. The handlink beeped for attention, causing both Janet and Sam to jump in surprise. "She has something?" Sam questioned. Janet nodded. "Looks like our mystery leaper finally arrived because now history has changed. Forty-eight hours from now, Senator Keith Hatcher is found in a dumpster downtown. His neck was broken." Sam noticeably tensed at her words. The war had started.