Date: Tue, 19 Nov 1996 15:50:57 -0700 (MST) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Coup D'etat - Chapter 9 Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Chapter 9: Invasion! "Is Beth okay?" Tina asked as Al came back into the Control Room. "Oh, yeah," Al assured her and the others in the room. "She just got a little freaked out by the guest's aura. Speaking of which, do we know who our guest is?" he asked Verbina, who stood by Gushie by the control console. Dr. MacArthyr already had left for the infirmary. "Well," Verbina started, "the guy in the Waiting Room says his name is Dan Anderson. He's a volunteer fireman in Tucson, Arizona. It's June 27th, 1977." Al smiled. "Very impressive, Dr. Beeks! You got all that in only a half an hour?" Verbina sighed. "Well, I think he waas trying to pick me up. He seems like he has a record as a womanizer." Al smiled. "Well, since we know all that, Ziggy should have a lock on Sam." "She doesn't," Gushie put in. "What?" Al, Verbina, and Tina asked in unison. "Don't ask me why," Gushie defended himself. Al sighed. "I thought you talked to her," he said to Verbina. "I did," Verbina told him. "She's still afraid that someone has broken into her system. I can't seem to convince her otherwise." Al turned to the large ball. "Ziggy, can you locate Dr. Beckett?" "No," Ziggy said bluntly. "Why the hell not?!" Al demanded. "You have all the information you can possibly need!" Ziggy sighed in response. Al shook his head. "Great," he said sarcastically. "She's too depressed to get a lock on Sam." He turned to Verbina with a raised eyebrow. Verbina sighed. "Ziggy, let's talk about this in my office," she said, leaving the Control Room. "Terrific," Al muttered. "What else can go wrong today?" Tina started for the Control Room door. "Let me see if what we can do about getting a lock on Sam. Maybe we can do this manually." "That would be great," Al told her as she left. He turned to Gushie. "Any luck?" he asked hopefully. Gushie shook his head. Al sighed, disappointed. "Well, let me know if you do. I'll be in my office." As he started to leave, the room was filled with a loud alarm. Al quickly went to Ziggy's console. "What's going on, Ziggy?" "The first level metal detectors have gone off," Ziggy told him. "Cause?" Al requested. "A large amount of firearms, Admiral." Gushie's eyes widened in astonishment. Al looked at him and frowned. Ziggy had to be wrong. "Are you sure?" Al asked. "Check the system." "I am positive, Admiral," Ziggy told him in an irritated voice. Al shook his head. "How is that possible?" "The complex's security has been breached," Ziggy told him knowingly. Al couldn't argue the point. "Call a complex-wide emergency. Get all of the civilians secured. I don't think we're dealing with a simple change of guard." Ziggy sighed. "Oh! I hate it when I'm right! I had warned you about the breaks in my system!" "Yeah, you warned me!" Al said impatiently. "I still don't see how they could have done it, though. Give me an update." "I'm afraid I cannot secure the complex. Someone has disabled my security system. None of the doors will lock." She paused. "That have been shots fired on Levels One, Two, and Three. There is a drastic loss of body heat on all three levels. I'm afraid several people are dead." "Security, this is Calavicci," Al said to the ceiling. No answer. "Security," he demanded an answer. Still no answer. "Damn!" he exclaimed. "The communication lines have been disconnected," Ziggy told him, a little hope in her voice that no one was dead. "How many people entered the complex?" Al demanded, pacing. "Fifty," Ziggy told him sorrowfully. "And how many are dead?" "Seven," Ziggy told him, her voice quiet. "Shit!" Al said loudly. "Can you tell whether they are our people?" "I'm afraid not. Most humans look alike to my heaat sensors," she said apologetically. "There are two more casualties on Level Five." There was a short pause. "I've just been completely cut off from the rest of the complex! Admiral!" Gushie looked at Al with concern. "Admiral, what are you going to do?" Al, as a response, walked to the Control Room door and opened it - to a machine gun pointed right at his chest. "Oh, my gawd!" Gushie exclaimed, mvoing away from the control console in synchronicity to Al's slowly backing away from the door. As he did so, his hand slowly moved to the small of his back. "I wouldn't suggest that, Admiral," a voice said from behind him. The voice was firm, commanding, like that of a person who was used to giving orders. Al didn't move. He noticed a nod from the man with the machine gun as if he were responding to an order. He was. He entered the room, followed by two others. Al soon found himself surrounded with five machine guns aimed at him. He knew he was defeated. He slowly turned around to see the leader of his captors. The man was approximately six feet tall. He face was oval and sharp. His dark brown hair, streaked with silver, showed off his dark green eyes which watched Al intensely, giving Al a shiver down his back. His skin was light brown, indicating that the man was no stranger to the sun. His body was thin but not lanky; he was still well-built. He wore fatigue-green clothes and a pair of polished black boots. He stood straight and firm. Everything about him said that he was a leader of soldiers. "Admiral," the man said calmly. "I know this is a cliche but would you mind slowly taking your pistol from your belt and placing it on the floor." Giving a regretful look to Gushie, Al obeyed. "Good," the man said. "Now, gently kick the gun to me. Gently, Admiral," the man warned. "We wouldn't want you to join some of your men in heaven." Al glared at the man but obeyed. There was something about this man that was very familiar. He searched his memory. "Thank you, Admiral," the man said as he picked up Al's pistol. He turned to one of the soldiers to his right. A woman, Al noted. "Take two men and secure the rest of the level," the man ordered her. "Keep a guard on the elevator." "Yes, sir," the woman replied, motioning to someone to follow her before she left the room. In the meantime, Al finally recognized the man before him. He looked at the man carefully. "General Albert Whitefeather Burke," Al said with disbelief. "You led the liberation of Cuba in '97, helping it become a commonwealth of the U.S. You worked for the Pentagon. What the hell are you doing here? What gives you the right to raid this complex and kill nine people?" Al bellowed at him. "Temper, Admiral. Temper," Burke warned. "I had my orders." "From whom?" Al demanded. "The Pentagon? How the hell were you able to get in here in the first place?" Burke looked at Al in the eyes. "It wasn't the Pentagon that sent me here. It was Congress." "What?" Al exclaimed in disbelief. "They have decided that Project Quantum Leap is wasting money on putting little things right: fixing marriages, preventing deaths - minor changes in time. Congress is tired of it and wants to start putting American taxpayer money to proper use. In other words, they want global change." Al looked at him suspiciously. Burke noticed and smiled. "Admiral, don't you see the potential?" he exclaimed. "You could go backwards in time and assassinate Hitler before he gains power and thus prevent the Holocaust! Or better yet, you could prevent World War II from ever happening! Save millions of lives in one quick act! Dr. Beckett could go back and prevent the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, and JFK!" Al's suspicion was growing. "We already tried that." "I know," Burke told him plainly. "I read your report. Beckett had leaped into the one person who could have saved Kennedy - Oswald himself - and he failed miserably." "Then you already know that he wasn't there to save Kennedy; he was there to save Jackie." Burke laughed. "Oh, nice excuse but it isn't enough to convince Congress." "So, instead of simply faxing me or emailing me a letter of disapproval, they send in the troops?" Al asked sarcastically. Burke wlaked up to Al and looked down at him. "This project is now under my command, Admiral, and is now a military matter. I suggest that you cooperate with us on this." "You didn't answer my question, General," Al said firmly. "Why did you need troops? Why didn't they just call me of fax me? And why the hell are nine people dead?" he shouted. "Careful, Admiral," Burke warned him. "You might give yourself a heart attack. Now, I suggest that you tell Dr. Beckett about the change of plan." Al smiled cynically. "Do you always begin your orders with the words 'I suggest'?" Burke laughed. "In rank, you and I are on the same level, Admiral. I could order you to do something but I would rather we work as compatriots on this project. However, I will order you if I have to." "Infirmary to Calavicci," Beth's voice interrupted. Al looked at Burke cautiously. "I had communications restored immediately," Burke told him. "No need to keep silence after the fact." Al glared at him as he replied. "Calavicci. Go ahead, Doctor." "Al, you'd better get up here. The place looks like World War II!" Al's eyes never left Burke. "I'm on my way. Calavicci out." "Admiral, you are remaining here," Burke told him firmly. "Is that an order, General, or a request?" Al questioned. "Regardless of what you say, I'm still in charge of this complex. My people trust me and, right now, you're not exactly on their list of top ten favorite people." "Admiral, you have your orders!" Burke loudly reminded. "My people come first, especially since nine are dead and I don't know how many are injured." Burke thought for a moment. "Very well. Ensign Stark will escort you to the infirmary." Al leered at him. "I don't need an escort." "You will from now on," Burke told him. Al gave a cynical smile. "You don't trust me very much, do you?" "About as much as you trust me, Admiral," Burke smiled back. Al took a deep breath and exhaled. He wanted nothing more than to punch out Burke's lights. But seeing how he was outnumbered, he instead turned around and left the Control Room, being followed by Ensign Stark. As Al left, the woman came back into the Control Room with only one of the two men she had left with. "The level and the complex are completely secure, General," Taylor told him. "Very good, Major," Burke told her, using a rank to which he had promoted her. A movement caught the side of his eye. "Dr. Conelf," he said, turning towards the movement. "I had almost forgotten you. How inconsiderate of me. Perhaps you would be so kind as to return to your quarters. I'm sure that Ensign Harris will be glad to escort you." Gushie, uncertain of what else to do, nodded and allowed himself to be escorted out of the Control Room. Immediately after Gushie had left, Burke raised a radio to his lips. "Captain Howell, how are we on restoring the complex's systems?" "All the computer systems are back on line," Howell replied. "Getting that virus out was a challenge but it's completely out of the main system. I'm reprogramming the main frame as we speak. I'm also sealing the complex from the inside and outside. Once that's done, no one comes in or out without your authorization." "Excellent," Burke said. "Let me know when everything is ready." "Yes, sir," Howell answered. Burke smiled at Taylor alluringly. "And you said it couldn't be done." Taylor smiled back, hiding her true feelings. "I guess I was wrong. But you said no one would be hurt." Burke's smile became crooked. "I lied." He walked away from her a short ways. "Until Howell gets this complex completely under our control, I suggest we become a little more acquainted with our new territory." He told her with a malicious, greedy gleam in his eyes. --------------------------------- Bet you were wondering where everything was going with this. Now you know. Chapter 10 soon. Rob and Kat Freymuth