@3 Leaping Can Be Fun. @2 How come Sam always leapt into adventures that took a neat 45 minutes or so to resolve? @1 ********************************************************************* Theorising that one could time travel within his own lifetime, Dr Sam Beckett stepped into the Quantum Leap Accelerator...and fell asleep. 1. Sam wobbled unsteadily on his feet for a moment as the roaring in his ears died away. He blinked in an attempt to clear his temporary blindness and heaved a deep sigh realising that he had leapt once again. On opening his eyes, he found himself standing alone beside a large black car in the middle of an empty parking lot. The sun beat down on him and he shielded his eyes as he looked around. As far as he could see there were no people near him and he could see no buildings except a dusty phone booth, about ten feet away from him. Sam leaned down and looked at his reflection in the car. A middle aged man stared back out at him. The face was kind, but Sam sensed an awareness in the eyes that implied the person he had leaped into had seen his fair share of trouble in the past. He wiped some sweat from his brow and ran his hands through his grey hair. Dusting off his light jacket, Sam made his way to the phone box. Perhaps the phone book might give an indication of the date at least. Sam opened the door and stepped inside. Almost immediately, he realised that it was no ordinary phonebox. There was no dial and no phone book for a start, and on closer examination, Sam realised there was no phone either. A small box sat on top of an envelope where the phone should have been and Sam studied it. It was a miniature cassete player. Sam leaned forward and pressed the playback button. Immediately a tinny voice filled the phone booth; "Welcome. Please refer to the envelope under the box." the tape played in silence for five seconds while Sam found a large manila envelope and opened it. Inside were two photographs and a map of the centre of Los Angeles. As Sam studied the photographs, the tape played on, "The man you see is Aldo Moretti, a drugs smuggler from Havana. We have been trying to catch him for the last year and a half." A swarthy fat face stared out at Sam. He turned to the other photo. One of a very attrective dark woman "The girl is Katya Valdez, our Woman in Havana. She has managed to get close to Moretti over the last few months and has furnished us with information leading to the largest drugs seizure in the recent years. In giving us this information however, her cover has blown and she is in mortal danger. Her last act has been to duplicate ALL of Moretti's files outlining every financial transaction he has ever made. It's enough to give him to us once and for all. ... Your mission Jim, should you choose to accept it, is to get Katya out at all costs. With the files ... Call the number on the back of the map with your response and requirements.... This tape will self destruct in 5 seconds" Almost immediately, smoke started to billow out of the tape deck and Sam backed away in shock, "Oh Boy," he muttered under his breath, stumbling out of the booth. Outside, he looked around self consciously, but there was still no-one to be seen. He scratched his head and shouted, "Al? Where are you Al?" Silence greeted him. Sam shrugged and made his way back to the car. The door was open and soon he found himself sinking into expensive, plush upholstery. He rolled down his window and looked around. Then he noticed a car phone in front of him and picked it up holding it to his ear. He heard the dialling tone. Once more he called, "Al!" before turning over the Map and dialling the number scrawled in red ink on its reverse. A few seconds passed while his line was connected and as he waited, Sam suddenly heard the familiar sound of the door to the imaging chamber opening. Just outside the front door of the car, Al appeared, looking very flustered, with his tie loose about his neck. He stared wildly at Sam. Just then, Sam heard a voice on the end of the line say "Yes." in subdued tones. He watched as Al tapped a few buttons on his handset and held it to his ear. "Hello," said Sam, "This is...Jim." "Do you accept the mission?" came the stony reply. "Ye..." started Sam. Al suddely waved his free hand in the air wildly. "No!" He shouted, jumping up and down, "Say 'NO', you Do NOT accept the mission, Sam!" "Uhh, No. I, uh, do NOT accept the mission" fumbled Sam. "...You don't accept the mission?" "Uh, No." "...But...You ALWAYS accept the mission." continued the voice. "Yeah, well, uh," Sam looked at Al who was still shaking his head vigorously, his cigar clenched, forgotten, in his teeth, "Not this time." "..." There was a pause and then the line went dead. Sam put down the phone and turned angrily to Al. "Al do you want to explain wha..." Al raised his hand and shook his head. He removed a handkerchief from his pocket and drew it across his brow, "Trust me, Sam," he said, removing the crumbling cigar from his mouth, "You don't want to know." Sam felt a warm glow fill his body as blue sparks appeared in his peripheral vision. Then, suddenly, he leapt. ********************************************************************** 2. Sam fought back the familiar urge to throw up and looked around. Immediately he could tell something was wrong with this leap. For a start, his head was very low to the ground and secondly, the paw holding the carrot in front of him was decidedly white, furry, and connected to his white, furry arm. "Oh, Boy" he moaned. Just then, the door to the imaging chamber lurched open and Al stumbled through. Sam looked up and brushed a droopy white ear out of his eyes, dropping the half eaten carrot as he did so. "Al, what the hell..." Al tapped a couple of button on his handset, "No time," he said, Follow me!" He tapped a final button and began to glide rapidly across the meadow. Sam scampered after him, "Al, what's..." "You're late, Sam. Check your watch." Called Al over his shoulder. "I'm late?" shouted Sam. Looking down he realised he was clothed, wearing a neat little waistcoat. He reached into the pocket and pulled out a small pocketwatch. There was a small river in the distance, and as as they approached, Sam saw two girls sitting there, one older, reading a book, and the other a pretty little girl in a blue dress sitting beside her looking bored. Al detoured past them and then picked up speed, moving towards a large hedge. Sam ran faster trying to keep up but finding it difficult to run with four paws instead of two feet. "Al..." gasped Sam. "No time, Sam" shouted Al from the distance. "you're..." "I'm late!" shouted Sam, looking absentmindedly at his new found watch, "I know, I know, I'm late. " he ignored the girl and scampered on. Al disappeared into (through) the hedge and Sam found a hole at its base. He wriggled inside and found himself in a long passage. As he raced along it, he thought he could hear a little girl's voice, faint, in the distance, calling after him. Al suddenly appeared a few feet in front of him and Sam skidded to a halt. "Al! What is going on? I'm a... Al peered over Sam's shoulder, back the way he had just come. "You're a Rabbit, Sam. Now, she's right behind you, so follow me." Al tapped a button on his handset and disappeared into the side of the passage. On closer examination, Sam noticed a small niche in the wall leading into a narrow chamber. He pushed his way in to where Al awaited. "Al," said Sam, scratching his ear, "Are you going to exp..." "Shhh!" whispered Al, "She's here!" Sam glanced over his shoulder just in time to see the girl race past, down the corridor. Then, suddenly he heard a squeal that seemed to taper off into the distance. He looked back at Al, trying to raise his eyebrows but succeeding in only making his ears twitch. Al said nothing and Sam squeezed back into the corridor and ventured slowly down it. Suddely the floor dipped in front of him and he found himself teetering at the edge of a very deep well. Only the sheer size of his feet stopped him from slipping off the edge. He squinted his red eyes and thought he could see shelves on its sides. Al appeared by his shoulder and Sam spun around on his oversized feet angrily. "Al! What's going on?" Sam raised his hand/paw angrily, shaking the small watch in Al's direction, "I thought I was 'late' for something? "Uh, not exactly, Sam. SHE was. She's, uh... going to a party." Before Sam could reply, he felt a familiar tingle in his ears and, rather befitting a rabbit, he leapt. ******************************************************************** 3. Sam found himself staring down the barrel of a gun. Luckily the gun was in his hand. On the ground in front of him a man was half sitting and also holding a gun. The man was sweating and nervously glancing at the 44 Magnum in Sam's hand. "Oh Boy." Grunted Sam, through clenched teeth. The door to the imaging chamber opened and Al arrived holding a water pistol in his left hand, and his handset in the other. "Ask that Punk if he feels lucky, Sam" Sam frowned. "Huh?" "DO IT, Sam!" Sam cleared his throat, "Well? Do ya feel lucky, Punk?" As he finished the last word he felt a tingling sensation travel through his body. Al grinned and squirted his pistol through him as he leapt. ********************************************************************* 4. Sam shuddered visibly. Indeed, his whole body shuddered and he found it very difficult to keep balance. For a moment he thought he was on a boat. Then he opened his eyes and found himself in front of a complex control panel. He looked over his shoulder and saw several terrified faces staring at him expectantly. On the wall he saw a sign that read "Springfield Nuclear Power Plant Sector 7-G" and over a loudspeaker he could hear a calm voice speaking. Around him the room shook as if in an earthquake. "Situation Critical." said the voice "Meltdown will occur in 28 seconds." "Dohhhh Boy" said Sam. A shaking hand gripped his shoulder and he spun around to see a panic- stricken face, inches from his own. He glanced down and read the name "Carl" on his nametag. "Homer!" said Carl, "You have to do something. He waved towards a shaking blond haired man nearby. "Charlie's froze and we don't know what to do!" "15 Seconds 'til meltdown..." continued the voice. Just then, Sam heard the imaging chamber opening. With a sigh of relief he turned and then gasped in surprise. Al looked... different. His skin was orange and he had yellow hair. His nose was large, round and mis-shapen, and his normally outlandish clothes were even gaudier than usual. "Al you look..." started Sam. "Relax Sam, Don't have a cow!" said Al, nonchalantly glancing at his squawking handset, "Just press that green button, would you?" Al pointed towards a small green button on the control panel and Sam noticed with mild surprise that he only had three chunky fingers. He reached out and realised his own hand was the same. "6 Seconds..." "Homer!" wheezed Carl. Sam glanced at Al who simply raised his yellow eyebrows expectantly and nodded toward the panel. Then Sam shrugged and pressed the button. "Immediately the voice ceased its countdown. "Emergency coolant systems activated" it said happily, "Temperature will reach acceptable levels in 30 seconds" A huge cheer rose around him and Sam felt himself lifted into the air. He looked down over his large beer belly and couldn't resist a smile! "Well done, Sam!" said Carl. "You did it! Drinks in Moe's Tavern are on me tonight!" "Dohhh" replied Sam, glancing across at Al, "It was nothing!" He felt the familiar tingle and closed his eyes as he leapt. ********************************************************************** @3Gary Mackintosh.