Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 13:34:47 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Slide Before You Leap - Part 14 Message-ID: Slide Before You Leap A Quantum Leap/ Sliders crossover by Kat Freymuth Part 14 Al rubbed the sore spot along his hairline gently. It had just begun to hurt, telling him that the local anesthetic they used to numb the pain was beginning to wear off. The entire procedure was an experience he'd always remember. Yet it was a little eerie. He was wide awake, thoug numb, when they entered the probe iinto his brain and extracted a small collection of cells from his nervous system. Both Dr. Daniel MacArthyr, the Projewct's Chief of Medicine, and Dr. Barton, the Project's psychiatrist, would have preferred him to be asleep but both Sam and Al knew that they didn't have time. Al winced. *Pretty soon, that's really going to hurt*, he thought as the sore spot pinched him. He lowered his hand, accepted three aspirins from Sam, and washed them down with water. "That should help for a while," Sam told him. "This three more when it's starts acting upu again." He gave him the bottle of aspirin. Al nodded. "Thanks. I think I'm gonna need it." "And try to get some sleep tonight," Sam told him firmly. "At least a couple of hours." "Look who's talking," Al teased. "You'll need the sleep as much as me." He took a breath. "Don't worry. I'll try. But right now, I have a problem to take care of." He left the infirmary, slipping the bottle into his pocket while Sam prepared to undergo the same procedure Al had undergone. Al walked to the elevator and went up one level, where the Sliders quarters were. Stepping off the elevator, he marched to Quinn's quarters and knocked. ******** Quinn opened his eyes groggily at the knock on the door. He checked his watch. 12:47 a.m. He moaned. "Mr. Mallory?" Al's voice came from the other side of the door. Quinn sighed with a yawn as he stood up from the bed and went to the door to open it. "Admiral Calavicci, is there something wrong?" "Wake up your colleagues and gather your stuff," Al told him. "You're being re-located." "Re-located? What for?" Quinn questioned. "And why at one o'clock in the morning?" "Sorry, Mr. Mallory. That's classified information." Quinn huffed. "Listen, I don't like it anymore than you but, for security reasons, we have to re-locate you." "To where?" Al looked at him in the eyes. "Be ready by one-thirty. I'll be by to escort you." With that, Al left Quinn standing in the doorway, a look of curiosity on his face. Quinn watched Al get into the elevator before going to rouse the others, much to their chagrin. They gathered what little tey had, changed into their clothes, and met in Quinn's quarters. There was a knock on the door at precisely one-thirty. Arturo opened the door to allow Al to enter. "Ah, Admiral. How nice of you to wake us at such an ungodly hour without explanation," Arturo told him sarcastically. Al smiled patiently at him. "The pleasure was all mine, I'm sure." He looked at the four. "Gentlemen and Miss Wells, I suggest we get this done as quickly as possible so that we can get to sleep." He led them out of the quarters tp the elevator. He then pressed a button and the elevator started to descend. "We're going down?" Wade questioned. "I've a couple of rooms prepared for you before. There's a lab that you can use," Al told them. He looked at Quinn. "Dr. Beckett told me you'd need one," he added. "Thank you," Quinn told him. Al frowned. "Don't thank me. To tell you the truth, if it were up to me, you'd still be in San Francisco." "You don't believe us," Rembrandt deduced. "Doesn't matter if I believe you or not. Sam believes you," Al told them. "But so far, you haven't proven to me that you come from another reality. That blue portal can be just a fancy light show." "What about Professor Arturo?" Wade pointed out. Al looked at Arturo, who waited with expectancy for his explanation. "He could be an imposter, attempting to gain information," Al said bluntly. "So could you all." "Then why'd you bring us here?" Arturo asked. "As an admiral, you could have easily overrode Dr. Beckett's wish to have us brought here. But you didn't. Why?" The doors to the elevator opened to a darkened corridor just bright enough to see by but no more. Al led them out of the elevator and turned to Arturo. "You're right. I could have. And I probably should have." He sighed. "But Sam is a very stubborn man. He would have brought you here anyway and without me knowing until it was too late." "So you did it to keep an eye on us," Wade concluded. "Give the lady a cigar," Al announced. "So this move is just another way of keeping an eye on us?" Rembrandt questioned, obviously upset. "In a manner of speaking." Wade shivered at the sight of their surroundings. "It feels like a dungeon down here." Al smiled. "Don't worry. It's clean. It's private. And it's up to date. You won't be allowed to leave this level but at least you won't have guards following you everywhere now. Also, we're currently bringing thuis section up to full capacity. There's a cafeteria down the hall. You're quarters are this way." He led them down to the left and showed them their new rooms, wishing them good night. ------------------------------------------------------------- Part 15 coming soon. I promise. Kat Freymuth