Date: Fri, 16 Apr 1999 16:36:42 -0600 (MDT) From: "Katherine R. Freymuth" Subject: Whale ch 16 Message-ID: Chapter 16 Sam felt odd as he lay in his cot, waiting for Alik to make an attempt on his life. However, he didn't know how else he could prevent Alik from killing Rustov and then Gregory. He couldn't confine Alik without good reason; Al was correct in saying that he needed proof of intent. Without it, the crew would think he had gone insane. Unfortunately, Sam wasn't sure he hadn't. He couldn't get the thoughts out of his head, thoughts that were definitely not his own. For a while, he was seriously considering the possibility of killing Alik before he had a chance to kill Rustov. He pictured himself strangling the anti-whaling activist slowly, pictured Alik's face redder and redder and then paler from the lack of oxygen. He had also pictured other more horrible ways to kill Alik. He forced the thoughts out of his mind constantly but they returned. They always returned. *And Al says Zoe isn't in me*, Sam thought with a hint of sarcasm. *Gawd, I can almost hear her thoughts! She's up to something - something terrible. I've got to keep in control of this situation, though. I can't let her thoughts interfere with the mission.* Sam glanced at the clock sitting on Rustov's table. *4:30*, Sam noted. *Al said he did it in the morning and the crew usually wakes up at about 5:00 so he should be coming any minute now. Now, if only I could calm my racing heart so that I don't act irrationally. I've got to stay in control.* He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. As he did so, he could hear the door to the cabin open slowly. He could hear the sound of creaking wood as someone walked slowly into the room. *Okay, he's here*, he told himself. *Now, listen to his footsteps and wait until he's close enough.* Sam listened as the footsteps grew closer. Finally, they stopped and, if Sam really concentrated, he could hear someone breathing just above him. Sam opened his eyes suddenly, causing Alik to jump back slightly in astonishment. It was just enough for Sam to quickly grab Alik's wrist and force the man to drop it to the floor. Before either Sam or Alik knew it, the latter was tightly held by the neck between Sam's right arm and his chest. Sam tightened the grip he had on Alik's throat. "Thought you could just come in and kill me, huh?" he bellowed. "Well, guess I'm not the fool you think I am, Alik. Did you think I wouldn't know about you and your little plans?" He tightened the grip even further. "Rustov!" a voice called out. Sam looked up to see Gregory standing in the doorway. "Captain," the man said more quietly. "Let him go." Sam took a shaky breath, realizing exactly what was happening. He could remember the leap before when he stopped Rustov from killing Alik in the captain's cabin. He quickly let go of Alik, pushing him towards the door. "Get him out of here," Sam told his younger self. "Lock him up. Tie him up. I don't care. Just make sure he doesn't hurt anyone or do anything stupid." Gregory simply nodded and took Alik by the arm, forcing him out of the cabin. Sam doubled-over on the cot almost painfully. "Oh, gawd! What did I just do? I almost killed him!" He took a deep breath. "Al, where are you? I need you. I need to get me out of here." Inside his mind, a little voice was laughing. "How are you doing, Ziggy?" Tina asked as she approached the computer with Gushie. "Upset, to say the least," she answered with some signs of annoyance in her voice. "It is not convenient to be suddenly cut off from the world." Tina knelt down to look at Ziggy's internal workings. She removed a colorful panel carefully. "There aren't any problems with you that you know of, are there?" "None. However, a doctor knows more about medicine than a patient." Gushie and Tina checked on Ziggy's systems, ending with the controls of the Accelerator Chamber and the Retrieval Program. "Well," Gushie told Ziggy as Tina was finishing this final part, "I can't seem to find anything wrong. Looks like you are in good shape." "That is a welcome thought. However, I do not believe that statement is entirely true." Tina looked up at the programmer. "She's right. Come take a look." "What is it?" Gushie asked, looking over Tina's shoulder. Tina frowned. "I don't know," she commented as the two looked at the object attached to Ziggy's interior. "Whatever it is, I think we should show Al. It looks as if it means trouble." "What means trouble?" Al asked, hearing Tina's last statement as he entered the Control Room with three cups of coffee in his hands. "Brought you some coffee," he told them, placing the cups on Ziggy's console. "I'm on my way back to Sam but, if there's something you want to tell me...." "Come take a look," Tina told him. Al came around Ziggy and bent to look over Tina's shoulder. "This," Tina pointed to the unusual attachment on the Accelerator control system. "It's not part of the system and I don't like the look of it." She reached in to take it out. "Don't touch it!" Al exclaimed. Tina quickly pulled her arm back and looked at Al. There was genuine concern on his face. "I want a better look at that," he told her, getting on his knees and gently nudging her out of the way. Al looked closely at the attachment before coming out with a sigh and slightly closed eyes. "Gushie. Tina. Step away from the console. Now." His voice was firm and commanding, telling the two technicians that he wasn't making a request. Tina and Gushie obeyed as Al stepped away from the console himself and motioned to one of the guards on the Waiting Room door. "Lieutenant, start evacuation procedures," he ordered. The lieutenant saluted and obeyed without question. Gushie gasped in astonishment at the order just given. "Evacuation!" Tina exclaimed. "Al, what's wrong?" But Al wasn't listening. He was hurrying into the Waiting Room, a look of anger and hatred on his face. Zoe smiled as Al entered the room. "I was wondering when you'd come back." "Now I know why you escaped," Al told her, ignoring her evil smile. "And I know what you're planning. But I can tell you not that it isn't going to work." "And what am I planning, Admiral?" "You have a mercury-switch bomb rigged on the console to go off the minute Dr. Beckett leaps. You'd leap back into Rustov and Sam would be trapped in time alone." Zoe smiled maliciously. "Actually, I was hoping for something a little more dramatic, say the good doctor being trapped in... infinity." She laughed at the thought. "Yes, I think I rather like that." Al glared at her with contempt. "I'm not going to let you do it." He turned to leave but stopped. He turned to the ensign who stood guard inside the Waiting Room and gave him his pistol. "Ensign, if this person does anything - if she even moves - shoot her kneecaps." Zoe raised her eyebrows at Al's orders. "I'm impressed, Admiral. I didn't think such actions were allowed." Al glared at her again. "Consider yourself fortunate that we're a little more civilized than your friends. Believe me, shooting your kneecaps is the least I would do if I actually did what I'd like to do to you. We don't torture our enemies, Zoe, though in your case it's very tempting." He started for the door again. "Oh, one more thing," he said, turning around. "I wouldn't tempt the Ensign. He's an excellent marksman." Sam was pacing the cabin. He didn't want to leave the cabin just in case he actually acted out on the thoughts he had circling in his mind. He had acted out on them before and he nearly kill Alik in the process. That had been nearly an hour ago. "Gawd, where are you, Al? I need you," he said to the walls. It was almost a mantra by now with how many times he had said it since he saw Alik being taken out of the cabin. "Right here, Sam," came a response. Sam jumped at the sound of the voice. "Al! Thank gawd you're here! I don't think I can control these thoughts that are going through my head! You've got to help me here! I nearly killed Alik, Al! If it hadn't been for Gregory, I would have!" Al rubbed the side of his face. *It's not enough that Zoe put a bomb on Ziggy; she has to play with Sam's mind!* "Sam, listen to me. I don't have a lot of time," he told his friend. "Now, I know you're frightened by all of this but you have to fight her, Sam. Don't let her control you." He raised the handlink and read the information Ziggy was spilling into it at an incredible rate. "You've changed history, Sam. Alik doesn't sink the ship. He doesn't kill Rustov or Gregory. The ship arrives safely in Petropavlovsk tonight. You did it, Sam. Mission accomplished." Sam was pacing again. "And Alik?" "Disappeared before the ship made it to port," Al told him. "Ziggy says he probably jumped ship and drowned. But she also says that there's a ninety-nine percent chance you should be leaping. And that's the problem, Sam." He took a breath. "If you leap, you'll be alone or, worse, you won't exist." Sam looked at Al with confusion. "What do you mean?" It was Al's turn to pace. "The bitch planted a mercury- switch bomb on Ziggy! It's set to go off the minute you leap! I'm having the complex evacuated right now but Ziggy says that you've accomplished your mission and that you could leap at any minute!" Sam didn't have to ask to which bitch Al was referring. Al looked at his friend. "You can't leap, Sam!" he told him emphatically. "Do everything you can to prevent that from happening!" He rubbed his face. "Gawd, Time and Space can be a bitch!" Sam nodded in agreement. "I'll try, Al. But it's hard fighting these thoughts." He looked at Al firmly. "She wants me to leap, Al. She knows what you're going to do and she wants me to leap." Al stared at Sam in shock. "Gawd, you really can hear her thoughts, can't you." Sam nodded. Al exhaled quickly. "Then hang on for dear life, Sam. Don't let her get her way, no matter what." He paused. "I'll be back as soon as I can, Sam. I promise." With that, Al quickly left the Imaging Chamber without letting Sam have any idea how he was going to prevent himself from leaping. Suddenly, Sam realized that Al was going to disarm the bomb himself. With what little time they had, there wouldn't be enough time to get a bomb squad there, especially since no one knew when Sam would leap. Now Sam was very worried. Not only was the Project in danger, not only was there a chance Sam would vanish into infinity but, more importantly, Al was in danger. Al could easily die if Sam leaped before Al finished defusing the bomb. He took a deep breath. "I'm not going to let you do this, Zoe," he said to the strengthening thoughts in his head. "I won't leap yet. Not yet. Not until he's safe." He stopped pacing and started to concentrate strongly. Al entered the Control Room, looking around as he did so. "Is the complex secure?" he asked a nearby lieutenant. "All but the Control Room, sir," the lieutenant answered indicating Tina, who waited behind Ziggy's console. "Tina," Al walked up to her, "you have to leave. It's too dangerous for you to be here." "No, Al," Tina told him. "I want to be here with you. I can't let you face this alone." Al exhaled. "Tina, I don't think you understand what's happening here. This isn't exactly a firecracker!" "I know exactly what it is, Al, and I don't care!" she insisted. "I'm not going to abandon you!" Al sighed. He took Tina into his arms and held her tightly. "Tina, honey. I love you." "Oh! I love you too, Al!" she returned the hug. He gently pushed her away as he glanced at the lieutenant for a moment and then returned his eyes to Tina. "Tina, please forgive me. You're under arrest." "What?!" Tina screamed in anger. "Lieutenant!" Al ordered. The lieutenant quickly moved to Tina's side and pulled out a pair of handcuffs. "You can't be serious!" Tina complained. "It's for your own good, honey." "I don't believe this!" she exclaimed as the lieutenant handcuffed her. "Lieutenant, make sure the elevator is down here as soon as you have her secured. I want a canister of liquid nitrogen and a thick pair of gloves on that elevator." "Aye, sir." The lieutenant gently led the handcuffed Tina out of the Control Room, though she struggled fiercely against him. Al exhaled once again, rubbing his hand over his face. This was turning into the leap from hell. "Admiral?" Al looked up at the ceiling, particularly at the sphere which hung over the control console. "Yes, Ziggy?" "Perhaps you should leave the complex as well." She hesitated. "The chances of your success are not good." Al smiled slightly. "I appreciate your concern, Ziggy, but I'm not going to let Sam, you, or this project die. We've all worked too hard in the past five years to let that happen." There was a long pause of silence. "I do not wish you to risk your life and I am certain that Dr. Beckett feels the same way." Al took a breath. "I'm sure he does. But I feel the same way for Sam." He paused. "And for you." He laughed slightly. "I hate to say this but sometimes I actually like you." "You are afraid that you may die," Ziggy speculated, "otherwise you would not reveal such a detail to me." Al huffed. "Hell, yeah, I'm afraid I may die. Anyone who says they're not afraid to die is full of crap. Everyone is afraid to die. Sometimes, though, you just have to accept the possibility and move on. Like now." Ziggy didn't reply to Al's comment. It was quiet in the Control Room until Ziggy announced the arrival of the elevator. Al quickly went to it to find the canister and gloved which he had ordered. "Security," Al spoke into the comm system. "Is everyone secured?" "Yes, Admiral. All is secure." "Do I have a clear run to the main entrance?" "Yes, sir." Al took the canister and gloves into the Control Room and placed it behind Ziggy's console. He looked under the console and rubbed his hands over his face. He then brought a small hose, which was connected to the canister, close to the bomb. Making a quick Sign of the Cross, he gently released the pressure valve, dousing the bomb with a layer of liquid nitrogen. Al breathed a sigh of relief as he shut off the flow from the hose, certain that he had successfully frozen the mercury in the bomb, thus making it temporarily harmless. He then pulled out a pocket knife and carefully cut the connections that were holding the bomb to Ziggy's interior. He slipped on the gloves and slowly brought the bomb out until he succeeded in removing it from the console. A beep came from the console, causing Al to force himself not to jump in surprise. "Dr. Beckett has just leaped, Admiral," Ziggy informed Al. Al exhaled slightly. "That was too damned close," he muttered. He looked at the bomb in his hands. He had to get rid of it and soon. It wouldn't take long for the liquid nitrogen to start warming up and once that happened.... "Ziggy, set the elevator for its fastest speed." "Admiral, you would not be able to tolerate such a speed." "Then set it for the fastest I CAN tolerate!" he ordered as he left the Control Room with the bomb in his hands. "Make sure the area is clear." There was a brief silence. "Elevator speed is set. All personnel are at a safe distance from the complex." Al slowly exhaled. "So if this thing goes off, I'll be the only one laying in the morgue." "I hope that is not the case, Admiral," Ziggy replied as Al stepped into the elevator. "I would suggest that you brace yourself against the wall of the cab." Al obeyed, forcing himself into a corner of the cab. He was glad he had. The take-off was like that of a rocket. The speed was to Al's advantage though. The liquid nitrogen around the bomb was beginning to evaporate. "The cab is about to stop, Admiral. Brace yourself." The cab stopped almost abruptly but slow enough that the bomb was still secure in Al's hands. Al rushed out of the elevator and towards the main entrance. Passing through the security checks quickly, he made it out into the warm New Mexican desert and threw the bomb away from the complex as hard as he could. The bomb exploded in mid-air, forcing Al back violently. He slammed hard against a nearby car and collapsed to the ground. Al raised his head gently and noticed that one of the cars in the garage now had a huge hole in its sid, caused by a large piece of debris flying through it. Al sighed slightly. He knew who owened the car. "Sam's going to kill me when he gets home," he muttered to himself just before he rolled back his eyes and passed out.