Chapter 11
“So what spooked you in there, anyway?” Ben asked as the two leapers made their way through the tall moonlit grass, back to the entrance of the asylum.
Sam looked up at the building, face ashen. “It was the phone I lost back at the house. Ringing. In the damn bed.”
“Wait, what?!” Ben held a hand out, stopping Sam from going further. “Who put it there?”
“Well, I thought it was you,” Sam replied, frowning. “When I saw you were a leaper, I figured all of this unexplained stuff was because of you, trying to mess with me.”
“Well it wasn’t, I promise!” Ben threw his hands up. “And I’m still missing a phone, too.”
The men exchanged a pensive look.
“Could it be Joey or Alex?” Ben suggested. “They seem like the practical joke type. Especially Alex.”
“Would a ‘practical joker’ take the tape off that staircase? Seems a little more sinister than that to me.”
“Are you suggesting…”
“Someone really is trying to kill me—or us?” Sam lowered his gaze to the leaves underfoot. “Well, that’s a possibility. We need to keep our eyes open.”
“I think I can help with that,” a third voice added.
“Addison,” Ben said with a relieved sigh.
“Glad to see you’re getting along,” she replied, grinning. “I’m getting Ian to adjust the Imaging Chamber’s visible spectrum, so I’ll be able to see a bit better in the dark. If anyone’s doing something suspicious, I should be able to see it.”
“Well,” Sam said, scratching the back of his head, “thank you, Addison.”
“Good to have an invisible friend, isn’t it?” said Ben.
Sam responded with a weak smile, softened by sorrow. “Yeah.” He looked between Ben and Addison for a moment, before adding, “So you’re engaged, and you left her to leap? Why?”
“It wasn’t exactly planned that way—there was a specific window of opportunity to do what I needed to do,” Ben said, eyes meeting Addison’s, “and I was supposed to be home by now. But I guess you know how well that works out, right?”
Sam licked his lips, nodding. “I guess I do.” He lifted his head. “We’d better go in.”
Ben swallowed as they entered the reception area, stepping onto the pentacle on the floor.
Joey and Alex were reviewing footage in the camera, and looked up from it as they came in.
“So what was all that about?” Alex asked, brow furrowed.
“Iris got spooked,” Ben said, “and she ended up on the stairs I explicitly said were off limits—”
“—because the tape was gone,” Sam finished. “And I was in a panic. I didn’t realise…”
“What the hell scared you?” Alex’s usual irreverence dissolved before Ben’s eyes, and turned to concern.
“My phone rang,” Sam said. “Which sounds stupid, but you know I haven’t seen it since last night. It was in the bed.”
“In the bed?!” Joey said, his face screwed up. “What the hell… is it still there?”
Sam nodded. “See for yourself. I’m staying the hell out of there.”
Ben followed Joey into the electroshock room, where they hunched over the bed, moving the stiff, filthy sheets around—there was nothing. Addison peered over Ben’s shoulder.
“It’s gone…” she said. “But it was there. I saw it, Ben. It was there, under the sheet, and it was ringing.”
“Did one of you guys take it?” Ben asked, eyes narrow. If they did, they were playing dumb. And that was pretty suspicious.
“No,” Joey said. “We were out in the hall the whole time. You’re sure Iris wasn’t imagining things?”
Ben shook his head. “You saw the look in her eyes when she came running out of there, Joey.”
Besides, if Addison saw it, it was there.
“Maybe the place is haunted,” Alex said, peering in the door. “Damn creepy. Whether it was really there, or she was seeing things, it’s spooky as hell either way, man. I don’t like this place.”
“Okay,” said Joey, “I think we need to get this shoot finished before we all get haunted or possessed or something.” This made Ben avert his gaze. “Keep your walkies close, and nobody freak out again. It was the panic that made it dangerous.”
“Right,” Ben agreed, and shot a look at Addison that said, ‘keep your eyes peeled.’ She seemed to understand, giving a thin-lipped nod.
* * *
Magic used a burner phone to call Janis—she was still paranoid about Ziggy. The phone only rang for a second before she picked up.
“If this is a scam caller, I’m running a trace on your number as we speak,” she said quickly. “Now, state your business.”
“Not a scam,” Magic said, stifling a chuckle. “I’ve got news that you’ll want to hear.”
“Hello, Magic,” Janis greeted. “News, you say? Unless you’ve got Ben back, or you’ve found Sam, or there’s a world-ending emergency, I’m not interested. I’ve got stuff to do.”
“Door number two,” Magic replied.
Janis was silent for a long moment, before finally saying, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” The line went dead.
Twenty minutes later, almost on the dot, Janis was striding into Project Quantum Leap. Magic called Ian and Jenn into the conference room with her, and the group sat around the table. An electric feeling was in the air. This was a momentous occasion.
But Magic couldn’t stop thinking about what Sam had told him.
“So it’s really true?” Ian began, eyes on Magic. “We found him?”
Magic nodded. “It’s him.”
Janis leaned forward in her seat, elbows on the table. “What year?”
“2010,” Ian replied. “Why do you ask?”
Janis had pulled out a notebook, and was flipping through the pages. “October second and third—Pennsylvania?”
Jenn glared at her. “How the hell do you know—?”
“So you have been in contact with him!” Magic said.
“Peripherally,” Janis said, closing the notebook. “Well, except for one time in 2002.”
“Okay, you need to spill,” Jenn said. “What do you know, Janis?”
Magic couldn’t believe Janis had kept this information from him—had she also kept it from her father?
Janis held up the notebook. “This is merely a record of his use of the systems I set up for him to contact…” she closed her mouth.
“Who?”
“I promised to keep quiet about that. Let him tell you if he feels comfortable. The point is, I set up some secure communications for him to use during his leaps. In a way that wouldn’t put his loved ones or himself at risk. He’s been a bit of a target from certain factions.”
“And you did this in 2002?” Ian asked.
Janis nodded. “Of course, I’ve been updating them over the years. Improving them.”
“So,” Jenn said, “the multiple redirects to a cell phone in Hawaii…”
“Could have been better covered up,” Janis admitted. “But yes, I set that up. I also set up a secure server that he could get into through a computer or internet-enabled phone that would let him send and receive text communications.”
“But only to this person in Hawaii?” Magic asked.
Janis shrugged. “I won’t confirm or deny that.”
“Come on, Janis. Throw us a bone,” Ian said.
“It’s nothing personal.” Janis crossed her arms. “Here’s the thing you seem to be missing: anyone can be a leaper. You should get that by now, right? Anyone could be someone else, and there could be a hologram in any room at any time. Forgive me if I’m cautious, but knowing what I know, how could I not be?”
Magic leaned back in his seat. Well, she wasn’t wrong.
“My god,” Ian murmured, “you’re right. How can we live with that kind of knowledge and not feel like the world is against us? I mean, we saw it happen with Martinez and Magic. Nobody’s safe!” They slammed a palm down on the table. “We need to create some kind of detection system!”
“Oh, I’ve been working on a little something for a while now,” Janis said, “but I might need your input, if you’re up to it.”
“Oh, I am so completely in,” Ian said excitedly.
“As much as I think that’s a good idea,” Magic interrupted, “We’re here about Sam. Janis… what happened in 2002 that made you build this?”
Janis let out a breath, her eyes drifting upward. “Well, it all started when I was in high school…”