Chapter 7
Ben yawned, stretching his arms as he reclined in the generously sized bed. When was the last time he’d got a good night’s sleep, he wondered? It had been leap after leap of frenetic rushing around, all at such a pace that he rarely got to sleep at all. He was just glad that each leap seemed to return his tiredness level to a baseline.
Still, it felt like a treat to actually be able to sleep in a comfy bed, all night, without any kind of disturbance. It was little things like this that he missed the most. Quiet, peaceful moments where he could just be Ben, rather than pretending to be the unfamiliar face that looked back at him from each reflective surface.
This guy, James, wasn’t bad to look at, necessarily. He was a television news reporter, which meant he was pretty fastidious when it came to his appearance. Clean shaven, neatly trimmed hair and manicured nails. A wardrobe full of pressed suits and shirts, and a selection of bland ties.
His apartment was tidy and spacious. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with the guy’s life, save for the heart attack that wasn’t going to come for a while yet. Peering at his host in the full-length mirror against the wall, Ben wondered what condition this guy must have been afflicted with to have died of cardiac arrest at such a young age. He certainly looked healthy enough—but looks could be deceiving. His Mom had proven that. Ben knew all too well how sudden a death could be.
The radio at his bedside played ’NSync’s Bye Bye Bye softly, and Ben dropped a hand on it to shut off the boy band and leave him in peace.
He let his neck relax, and his head flopped back on the pillow. It was still early, and he wasn’t expected at work for another three hours. He relished the solitude. As much as he had begun to really appreciate the company of others, being alone was so rare since leaping that all he wanted to do was just lie there, basking in it.
Alas, the sound of a hologram materialising beside his bed made it clear to him that such solitude had come to an end.
He turned his head to the new figure in the room—it looked like Addison, but was Sam still in the driver’s seat? Or had he completed his leap and left while Ben had slept?
“Hi, Ben,” they said carefully. “Ian’s got the Imaging Chamber feed back up, so everyone can see us again.”
A couple of pointed winks from ‘Addison’ suggested it was Sam, still having to feign being her. But the way he carried himself gave Ben the impression that he might have been channelling Addison’s personality, as he’d demonstrated the previous day that he could do.
“Okay,” he said, waving around the room to whatever invisible eyes were watching him. “Hello out there! Don’t watch me shower, okay?”
Sam cringed at this. “Must be hard being watched all the time like that.”
“It’s what I signed up for, I guess.” Ben managed to recall in the far reaches of his mind that the old Project had not had quite the panoptic monitoring system that his did. The pair of them were under heavy scrutiny by whoever was on the control floor watching the feed, and neither could give away Sam’s presence until the older leaper indicated it was okay.
“Alright, I guess it’s time to figure out this reporter job,” Ben said, climbing out of his bed. “Any insights? What should I be expecting?”
“Well…” said Sam, looking briefly down at the handlink, “looks like you’re a live reporter, so you’re going to have to come up with things to say on the fly. Are you any good with improv?”
“Kinda comes with the territory, I suppose,” Ben said. “What kind of story will I need to be reporting on tonight?”
“We’ll just need to go through some archives for the station to find that out. But before I go help with that, there is something I should let you in on…”
“What is it?”
“Ziggy’s been picking up some… changes in history… that aren’t originating from you. Just little things, like transaction records, slight changes in traffic flow, tiny glitches like that.”
Ben snapped his head to Sam. “Wait, what? What’s causing them?” As he asked the question, he realised he already knew the probable answer: he wasn’t the only time traveller here.
“Ian and Jenn are trying to narrow down their origin using the available data,” Sam said, looking grim. “But I think you know as well as I do what we might be dealing with.”
Ben let out a breath. He sure did. It wasn’t Martinez this time—the system would have picked up on anyone originating from their version of the Accelerator—rather, it was probably somebody the likes of which Sam might have had some experience with. And it must have been one of the reasons why he’d leapt into Addison in the first place. And, for that matter, potentially what he was doing here, too.
“So, you’re saying I might be here because of… another leaper?”
Sam gave a tight-lipped nod. “It’s a possibility. So sit tight and I’ll be back soon with more information, okay?”
“Okay…” Ben said slowly. “You’ll be back to help me with this job though, right? I have no idea how to be a reporter.”
Sam nodded. “Of course—don’t even worry about it, okay? I’ve got you covered.”
* * *
Sam was thinking about Donna as he emerged from the Imaging Chamber. How lucky he was to know such an amazing person, and wishing things had been different.
But it was a paradox. If he hadn’t leaped to begin with, she wouldn’t have married him, and the memories she had of him leaving her to step into the Accelerator all those years ago were something that only existed because he leaped.
He’d apologised many times for putting her in that position. But, it was done, and the both of them had to live with that now.
He rubbed his forehead, trying to get his mind working on the problem at hand. There was another leaper somewhere near Ben, and that could only spell trouble.
And then there was Addison’s mother, something that felt important, somewhere deep inside of him—or maybe inside of Addison.
He looked over at Ian’s workstation. They were standing beside Jenn, with the two of them doing the research that would hopefully help them to pinpoint the other leaper.
And then, without warning, Magic appeared in front of Sam. “So have you and Ben figured out what he’s there to do yet?” he asked, frowning. “Any new developments?”
Sam stole a glance towards Ian, who had turned their head in his direction at the sound of Magic’s voice. They surreptitiously reached into their pocket, producing the modified handlink. They switched it on, and slowly began to approach Magic from behind, the device on its silent mode.
“Well, the biggest development is that Ben got a good night’s sleep for once,” Sam channelled Addison, buying time for Ian to give him an indication of whether Magic was to be trusted. “Maybe the leap’s actual goal is to give him a much-needed vacation. Wishful thinking, but…”
Ian leaned over, peeking out from behind Magic.
“Hey, Magic, would you mind if we stepped into your office for a minute?”
Magic turned around. “Why, what’s going on?”
“I’ll explain when we’re in there,” they pressed. “Come on. Addison’s coming with.”
They grabbed the hands of both Magic and Sam, guiding them to Magic’s office. Once inside, they shut the door, and turned around, meeting Sam’s eyes.
“He’s clean,” they said.
“Clean?” Magic frowned. “Just what are you up to, Ian?”
“It’s not what I’m up to…” Ian said, gesturing to Sam and clearing their throat.
Sam took the cue, piping up. “Uh, yeah, it’s kind of about me. Here’s the thing…”
Too much Addison, he thought. Reel it in.
He licked his lips, asserting his own personality. “Magic… you’re no longer the only one around here who’s been leaped into by Sam…”
“Come again?” Magic narrowed his eyes. “Could you be a little clearer?”
“Addison got, uh, nudged,” Ian blurted. “He leapt into her.”
Magic’s gaze snapped to Ian. “Are you serious?” He paused, and added, “…When?”
“I arrived yesterday,” Sam said, holding out a hand to Magic. “Look, we can actually shake hands this time.”
“Oh my Lord…” Magic gripped the hand lightly, letting Sam shake as he took in the startling information. “And it took you both until now to tell me this?”
“I can explain!” Ian yelped.
“Ian had to configure a leaper detection system using my quantum data,” Sam offered. “So they used it on you and made sure you weren’t an impostor before we could trust you with this information.”
“And it wouldn’t be the first time you were an impostor,” Ian added.
Magic winced at this. “Okay… well… this is not exactly what I expected out of today.” He rubbed his chin, looking towards Sam. “So… Sam? What brought you to us, exactly?”
“Something to do with Ben’s leap, I suspect,” he said. “You should know that there may be another leaper close by to him.”
Magic’s face tightened. “I see.”
“Speaking of which,” Ian said, “I need to get back to figuring out where—and hopefully who—they are.”
Magic nodded, taking all of this in. “What a damn morning. Okay Ian, you go and do that, the faster the better. And as for you…” he looked at Sam, “well, welcome, I suppose. I hope your adjustment to being Addison hasn’t been too difficult. Does Ben know?”
Sam bobbed his head. “That’s the reason the monitoring was down yesterday; so I could tell him privately.”
Magic heaved a sigh. “I don’t like being kept in the dark,” he said, glaring at Ian.
Ian made a beeline for the door. “Well, as someone who’s been host to Leaper X, surely you understand our hesitation.”
Sam didn’t know who or what a Leaper X was, but it sounded bad.
Magic glowered. “That version of me got cancelled out,” he said. “Isn’t that what you told me? What did you call it? An ‘aborted timeline’ that was destroyed when you activated your ‘cheat code?’”
“Yes, but… nevertheless…” Ian said, and left the room without finishing the thought.
Magic turned back to Sam, looking tired. “Oh, boy…”
“You can say that again,” Sam said with a wry smile. “I think it might be a good idea to shut off the Imaging Chamber feed for the duration of the leap. If there is another leaper there from further in the future than we are now, I’d prefer they can’t get a hold of these records.”
Magic frowned, but nodded. “Okay. Just this once. But only because I’m trusting you to know what you’re doing.”
“Thank you.” Sam gave him a sincere smile, before abruptly changing the subject. “Listen, about Addison… do you happen to know anything about her… mother?”
Magic stiffened at the mention. “Can’t say I’ve ever met her,” he said carefully. “Why?”
“Do you know why Addison doesn’t speak to her? Has she ever confided in you about it?”
“No, she hasn’t,” Magic replied quickly, and shut his mouth.
“Okay…” Sam said. There was definitely something Magic was not telling him, but he decided to let it be for the moment. He headed for the door, wondering if he should try calling the number she’d used to text Addison.
“Hang on,” Magic said as Sam placed a hand on the door handle. “If you plan to contact her, be very careful what you tell her.”
Sam looked back, brow furrowed. “Of course.”
He left the office a little more confused than he would have liked.