From: TajuddinA@aol.com Date: Fri, 27 Dec 1996 01:49:44 -0500 Message-ID: <961227014943_1008940862@emout14.mail.aol.com> Subject: child 6/10 "Like As a Child" pt.VI Al had planned to do paper work and maybe run a few more scenarios while Sam slept, but when he sat down, he couldn't find the budget report he had done earlier. Frusturated, he searched his office to no avail. Al tended to be a neat freak, and not being able to find something disturbed him greatly. He recalled writing it up and then taking it to his room to look it over....bingo. On his way back from the room, he heard a faint, almost imperceptible sound, just under the echo of his footsteps. He froze and reached for the gun he had concealed under his jacket. He hadn't even told Tina he had started carrying one; it was akin to admitting that he was worried about Francis Winters. The better part of the afternoon had been spent doing a little background check on those people who had crossed the man's path. His success rate was alarming as was the fact that the authorities hadn't caught onto the fact that he was playing them for the fool. Al would have been foolish _not_ to worry, but the way he saw it, there was really no need for everyone else to. He hadn't realized, however, just how wound up he had been until he heard the sound again and realized it was only music. He doubted Winters would be able to reach him here, anyway, but why take the chance? He relaxed slightly, heaving a deep sigh. Al assumed the music was coming from Sam's "romp room", where he kept his entire music collection in addition to a grand piano. It had often helped him blast out the cobwebs when he was stuck on a formula or a theory. The room was open to anyone who wanted to use it, but few people seemed to find the time these days. Al himself had never really been in his element there. Al reached the room just as the song swelled up to what must have been the high point of the piece. He rested his hand on the door knob, but paused as the lingering tendrils of the music mesmerized him. No sooner had the echo drifted away then the pianist, who's talent rivaled even Sam's in form and feeling, picked up with another piece. It was sadly beautiful, although simple in nature, and Al just had to know who it was who was weilding the keyboard. He opened the door slowly and was only initially astonished to see Callie's back as she moved back and forth along the piano bench, drawing the notes tenderly from the piano and perhaps from within herself. Al couldn't place the work, but it sounded vaguely familiar. Al didn't consider himself an expert on music by any stretch of the imagination, but even he could see Callie's talent, though partially undeveloped. She put a little piece of herself into each note, probably because it had been the only place in her life she could trust to express herself. He closed the door gently, careful not to disturb her and observed Verbeena in the far corner seated on the floor with her eyes closed. He stood by the door until Callie had finished playing and Verbeena opened her eyes to see him. "Oh, Al, you're done working?" He put the papers down on a nearby chair. "I suppose I could do with a break," he said. "I'll be in my office if you need me," she said, hauling herself to her feet. She patted Callie lightly on the shoulder on the way out. "You play very well," Al said, sitting down by the piano. "Do you take lessons?" "They had basic lessons at the orphanage, but then they stopped. I miss them." "So you memorized that piece?" If Al hadn't been used to Sam's incredible passion for music, he probably would have been left speechless. Callie nodded. "We had a piano at the orphanage. It wasn't as nice as this one, though. It was out of tune all the time." "Where did you get the piano music?" he asked curiously, leaning back. "Ms. Wendy has a radio. I learn to play it by listening. It takes me a long time," she added softly. Al let an impressed silence linger for a moment. "I can imagine." "Sarah says that someday she can sing and I can play and we could make money that way. I hope....someday we can." He smiled. "Well, you never know. Who's Sarah?" "She's my friend. You know, one time we stole some music Ms. Wendy had in her office, but I couldn't read it. I didn't think it would be that hard." He laughed. "I wouldn't know....I don't play. Never really been the musical type, you know?" "It's all I can do." She looked ashamed to admit it. "That's okay, honey. Everyone's got a special talent. If yours is music, than go with it." They talked for at least two hours and Al enjoyed the ease of her voice and the calmness in her eyes. It seemed for the first time that she was acting completely at ease. Al called Tina back up to watch her while he went to check up on Sam, promising to make the visit short so that they could actually make it back to the yet unused apartment. It was about eight in the morning for Sam, who was getting ready to go to work. Leaping....it was like constant jet lag. "Any luck figuring anything out?" Al asked, lighting a cigar as he spoke. "A little. You?" Al shrugged and gave him a look that said 'you first'. "Well, first of all, can you do a check to see if any of these interviews she's going on pan out after the robbery? I think that could help." "Yeah, well, let's see." Al frowned at the handlink. "How do you figure that'll help?" "Ida know. Last resort, I suppose." "You got a first resort, Einstein?" Sam frowned. "Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do. I was talking to her last night and this woman's got a lot of faith. I think she's just.....lost. You know what I mean?" "I think so," Al said slowly, gesturing with his cigar. "You're gonna try and find her again, right?" "In a manner of speaking." "Well, it's better than anything we've come up with on this end. Ah....here's your data." He smacked the link, mostly for sport, Sam thought. "She gets accepted to two jobs. Both of which make their decision early next week." Sam nodded. "Oh, I forgot to ask you....when exactly does this take place?" "Uh....Friday at 10:00 AM. Apparantly she finds out early in the morning, and- oh!" "What?" "Good news, Sam. Your talk yesterday did a little good. The chances of her commiting the crime went down to 83%." "From?" "97.5" Sam nodded. "I'll talk with her again after work today." He walked outside to his car and Al went through the motions of leaving, but Sam called him outside with him. "Al, could we talk for a moment?" Al gave him a vaguely suspicious look, but followed him outside. "Sure, pal, what's on your mind?" he asked amiably. "Well, I don't mean to pry, but you seem....out of whack." "Yes you do." "What?" Sam asked, confused. "Yes you do mean to pry," Al clarified with a small grin. He grinned back at the older man. "Yeah, I suppose I do. You know us scientists." "Well, it's nothing you need to concern youself with. I just haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep lately." Sam studied him carefully. "You're not telling me everything, Al," he repremainded gently. "Do you want to talk about it?" Al pulled up his chair with a resigned sigh. He should have figured it was only a matter of time before the kid got it out of him. "Get in the car," he instructed and moved the chair to sit beside Sam. "Yeah, a few things have been going on. It's just....I've seen a few things the past couple of days that don't sit right with me." "Like?" Sam asked as he started the ignition. Al's voice took on an unusually hard edge and Sam could see he was trying hard to control his temper. "Like a little girl who was beaten by her father." Al turned to look Sam in the eye and Sam flinched reflexivly, even though he knew the rage Al's eyes held was not directed towards him. "Like a system that's not doing a damn thing to stop it. Like a woman who's had the power for only God knows how many years to stop this from going on, but hasn't done a thing." Sam's hands tighened convulsively on the steering wheel. He listened quietly without comment on the way to work as Al related calmly, with great effort, what he had seen the past two days. "And....I'm adopting her," he finished as Sam pulled into a parking space. "Adopting her?" Sam asked in surprise. Now there was a solution he didn't think Al would actually have used. Then he recalled Teresa and how Al had been with her. He thought of the look in Al's eyes when he had finished singing her to sleep and his statement of how he never really wanted to have children, but... But what? Sam wished circumstances hadn't been so dire that he didn't have time to hear the rest of that remark. Al as a father? The more Sam turned the thought over in his mind, the more he could see it. Yes, he could definitely see his friend offering a girl the kind of childhood she could never have without him, the kind Al himself had never had. "Adopting her," Sam repeated to himself. Al was looking at him, clearly waiting for a more definite response than that. "That's wonderful, Al," he said, gazing at his friend fondly. "And I won't even try to talk you out of this thing with Winters....just be careful, okay?" Al sighed. "You're starting to sound like Tina." "Sounds like she's got some common sense." "A little," he said with a grin. "And that's not all she's got. As long as common sense is as close as you get to resembling Tina, I'll be fine." Sam smiled. "You better get your butt out of this parking lot and get into work before you're late. I'm gonna go catch a few hours of sleep. I'll check in on you later." "Deal. Al?" he asked quickly before the hologram closed the imaging chamber door. Al looked a question at him. "Take care of yourself," he said. Al held his gaze a moment longer and then let the door slide closed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------- The day passed smoothly enough without Al, which was unusual in itself. Verbeena sent him back to the apartment telling him not to come back without a solid five hours of sleep. He had often claimed that she herself got less sleep than him as she always seemed to be up to nag him. She was glad that Callie was with him, even if they were both beyond the protective environment of the project. Callie had gotten up later than Verbeena had expected she would until she found out from Al and Tina that she hadn't slept until Al came in. The psycologist found that bit of information to be interesting and indicative of the bond the child was forming with the seasoned Navy Admiral. It wasn't just Al's willingness to do a bit of good in their own time that had driven him to adopt her. She had snagged him, plain and simple. Al as a father. It was not that inconcievable a thought, but the words themselves still took some getting used to. She had originally worried that he hadn't thought out all the implications of such an undertaking, but he had successfully jumped any hurdles placed in his path. Except perhaps dealing directly with Francis Winters. Verbeena had not doubt that if she hadn't been there and if Callie hadn't come in, Al had been angry enough to kill the man. Couple that with Winters' apparant lack of hesitation for killing off his own opponents and it could have made for a bit of trouble, she was sure. Verbeena sighed wished she could check with Ziggy to confirm that he was actually sleeping. That was the advantage of having him here at the project. How a grown man could be such a child was beyond her. He pushed himself way too hard, even on simple leaps like this one. This was nothing Sam couldn't handle on his own, but Al still seemed to find one hundred other things that needed his attention. She pulled her attention with some reluctance back to the computer terminal. She was doing a bit of personal research on Sam's leap, looking for clues as to this woman's psychological condition. Leaps like this were right up her alley and she relished the chance to utilize her talents to help out, and give Al some time off. She scrolled down the article, searching for clues, and her eyes widened at what she was sure hadn't been there before.