Date: Thu, 22 Aug 1996 16:59:00 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Slide Before You Leap - Part 20 Message-ID: Slide Before You Leap Part 20 Sam stood and stared at Al. "You knew my brother and you never told me?" "And what would you have done if I had told you that I let your brother die AT HIS REQUEST?" Al pointed out. Sam started pacing. "I don't believe it. Tom died on April the 8th during a routine mission." "Sam, rescue missions ARE routine for Navy SEALs. Besides, don't you think it's peculiar that Tom's remains were never sent home? He didn't die on April the 8th, Sam. He died on April 13th." Sam shook his head. "No. Tom would never have given up. He would have fought. He would have..." Al jumped off the couch. "Damn it, Sam! The sooner you get this into your heas, the sooner you'll understand what I'm doing! I promised Tom that I'd look after you and that's precisely what I'm doing!" He pointed at the floor. "Do you think that any naval officer, even if they were your friend, would have allowed those four into the complex without a really good reason? I was trying to protect you! I knew you were going to meet with them one way or the other. I also knew that if you met with them outside of the complex and talked to them about Quantum Leap and the committee found out about it, your career would have been over!" "I wouldn't have told them about the project," Sam told him. "Oh, yes, you would have, Sam! Your excitement would have gotten the better of you." Al took a step towards him. "I had two options: talk you out of it or bring them here so that, if we were ever caught, I'd be the one to blame. What I should have done was not tell you about them at all but MY curiosity got the better of me." Sam looked into Al's eyes before turning and walking away from him. "I can't let you do this, Al," Sam told him. "Too late. It's already done," Al replied. "The minute I got here, I typed my resignation and gave it to the corporal to deliver to Weitzman." "It's all wrong, Al!" Al shook his head. "No, it's right." He shrugged. "I was thinking about retiring anyway." "Resigning is different from retiring," Sam told him. "This will be on your record permanently." "Well, it's not exactly a spotless record," Al commented. Sam looked at him with concern. Al saw the meaning in those eyes. "Hey, you wanna pay me back?" Al asked. "Make the project work." ********************************************* Rembrandt was watching Wade pace while Quinn and Arturo worked on the calculations for finding the wormhole home. "What do you think they're talking about up there?" Rembrandt questioned. Arturo quickly peered at him over his shoulder. "It's pointless to speculate on the matter. If we are meant to know, Dr. Beckett will tell us, I am sure." "Yeah, well, I need some kind of idea of what's going on," Rembrandt told him. "No kidding," Wade put in as she paced. "Why would anybody give up their career so easily?" At that moment, the door to the lab opened and Sam walked in slowly. "What did he say?" Wade asked immediately. Sam took a breath. "Al was right. It's a private matter between him and me." "Then, he really is going to resign," Rembrandt commented. Sam nodded. He looked at the four. "We have two weeks together. That's not a lot of time so let's get to work." Wade stared at Sam in shock while Sam went over to Quinn and Arturo to see how far they were. "Back to work?" she exclaimed. "Just like that? Don't you care that he's throwing away his career?" Sam turned to her, obviously hurt by her words. "Al and I have been friends for nearly twelve years. Do you really think I don't care that he's resigning his commission? If I could talk him out of it, I would. But, as he pointed out, his resigning is the best way to solve this problem, giving the circumstances. The only thing we can do now is use the time we have wisely. Therefore, we need to cooperate with each other in solving each other's problems." Wade's expression softened. "I'm sorry." Sam smiled at her. "It's okay. Let's just get to work." He turned to Quinn and Arturo. "I have something to show you." ************************************************ "It's beautiful!" Wade exclaimed in awe at the sight of the large colorful console. "This is Alpha," Sam told the four. "He's a parallel hybrid computer which will run my project. The problem is he's incomplete." Quinn circled the control console, examining it with fascination. "Incomplete?" Sam nodded. "We've been having a couple of problems with him. The biomechanical chip we've installed in him is instable and will burn out soon." "Biomechanical chip?" Quinn questioned. "You got on to work?" "Fantastic!"Arturo commented in awe. Sam looked at them. "I can't find a way to keep it from shorting out. Max and I have been working on it for months but we only now were able to get Alpha running. So, as you can see, we can use all the help we can get." Arturo nodded. "And in exchange for our help, you will give us yours." "Exactly,"Sam told him. Quinn raised his eyes from his study of the console. He looked at the others and then turned to Sam. "We accept," he told him. _____________________________________________ Part 21 soon... Kat