Chapter 8
Ben was busily combing gel into his hair when Sam re-appeared behind him in the bathroom. He was neatly dressed in a grey suit, though he hadn’t put the tie and jacket on just yet. He jumped at the sound of Sam’s arrival, and spun around.
“Hey,” he said eagerly. “How are things going? What’s the status of this other leaper?”
“Okay, first of all I want you to know we’re good to talk now.” Sam waved around the handlink as he spoke. “Magic’s in on this whole thing, and the Imaging Chamber monitoring is officially on hold for now, for privacy.”
“Meaning… we can drop the act?”
Sam nodded. “Yes—big relief, because it’s better that we don’t have distractions like that. History could be in serious danger, and Ziggy will be next to useless in making predictions where the unknowns of another leaper is involved.”
Ben swallowed hard. “Well, I’ve worked without Ziggy’s help before and I can do it again,” he said, hoping to convince himself as well as Sam. “Probably.”
“That’s just what I wanted to hear,” Sam declared, and swiped at the handlink until a street map appeared in a blue-hued hologram above it.
“So we’ve been able to mark out a radius of about half a mile around Old Town where the anomalies are most often originating, but it’s been impossible to narrow it down further. There’s just not enough data.” He sighed. “Luckily, I’m sure I’ve been around there before in a leap, so I can help you get around, and we may be able to catch anomalies as they happen. And, if you’re close enough, we can hopefully pinpoint who doesn’t belong. You can head there after you finish work.”
Ben pulled a tie around his neck and started wrestling with it before realising he wasn’t sure how to tie it in the fancy way. He tended to avoid ties entirely. “Do you know how to tie a Windsor knot?”
Sam chuckled. “Sure. Start with the wide end crossed over the short end and flip it under from below…”
Sam continued to instruct Ben on how to tie it, to his great relief. When he was done, he returned his mind to the matter at hand.
“What do you think this… other leaper… is here to do?”
“I can’t be sure, but if they’re from Lothos, then it’s nothing good.” Sam dragged a hand over his mouth. “Could be something small, like ruining somebody’s life. Could be something dangerous like planting a bomb.”
“So can we afford to wait?” Ben asked, nervous as he fixed his collar. “They could already be about to accomplish whatever their goal is.”
Sam considered this. “You may be right,” he conceded, pensive. He looked down at the handlink. “But you know, there’s one useful thing about your being a reporter, and that’s being able to follow leads. We have your story for tonight as a live broadcast from an animal adoption drive. Now, I don’t want to take away from the importance of animal adoption, but I think if you find a better lead, they’ll let you follow it. You could fake a tip from Old Town and use that time to investigate.”
Heading out of the bathroom, Ben grinned. “I hadn’t thought of that,” he said. “And it’s entirely possible I will find something newsworthy and really get a scoop…” He paused, screwing up his face. “My god, that was a terrible thing to say! I should be hoping I stop them before anything newsworthy happens. Who cares about getting a scoop? I barely even know what a scoop is!”
Sam tapped his temple, giving a knowing smile . “Psycho-synergy. That thought probably came from James.”
Ben’s mouth drifted open. So that was psycho-synergy, huh? He didn’t like it.
“The less that happens, the better,” he said, unable to hide his disdain.
“With any luck it’ll be the last time it happens,” Sam said. “Because I’m gonna get you home.”
Ben met Sam’s eye, startled. “You… you really think you can?”
Sam gave him a confident nod. “It’s been a long time since I wrote the original retrieval program, and I’ve been thinking about it for years and years now. I think if we all put our heads together here, getting you home is within reach. Of course, we’ll need to be quick about it, ’cause I don’t know how long I’ve got here.”
“What about you, Sam?” Ben asked. He grabbed his suit jacket and pulled it over his arms. “You’re the one who should be coming home after all this time.”
Sam’s eyes looked back at him, full of regret. “I guess that’s not in the cards this time either. I don’t think your Accelerator can be configured to me in time to attempt a retrieval before I leap again. And even then…” His gaze dropped. “Well, retrievals have never quite worked for me anyway.”
Ben buttoned his cuffs. “I don’t accept that. I can’t.”
“You’re welcome to keep trying once you’re back with your wife.”
“You mean fiancée.”
“You’re not going to be engaged forever,” Sam countered. “And I’m going to make sure that wedding happens soon, okay? I promise. Addison loves you and misses you, Ben.”
Ben looked away. “Is your psycho-synergy telling you that?”
Sam shook his head, smiling. “Addison’s photo gallery on her phone told me that.” A short moment passed, and Sam seemed to think of something. “Ben, have you ever met Addison’s mother?”
“I don’t remember,” he said truthfully. “But I feel like, maybe no?”
“That fits,” Sam mumbled. “I’m not getting anywhere asking people about her, so I guess it’s about time I call her.”
“Oh… okay…” Ben said, eyes wide. “I remember Addison saying her relationship with her Mom was complicated. Are you going to try and untangle that mess?” He frowned. “Whatever it is.”
“If I can.”
“Boy, you’ve got a lot of irons in the fire this leap, huh? Are you sure you can handle it and still be my hologram?”
Sam smirked. “This is how I do things without Ziggy or Al. I try to fix everything my gut tells me is an issue. At least one of them usually sticks.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Ben said, heading for the door. “What’s your gut telling you about me right now?”
“It’s telling me your keys and wallet are in the kitchen,” Sam said, suppressing a grin. “So make sure you don’t lock yourself out of your apartment, okay?”
Ben took his hand off the door and looked back to the open plan kitchen. Indeed, the keys and wallet were sitting there on the counter-top, where he had left them the night before.
Ben may have had a photographic memory, but he was distractible.
“Nice catch.”
* * *
With Ben on his commute, Sam left the Imaging Chamber, pulling out Addison’s phone. He didn’t have a moment to waste if he wanted to do all of what he had planned.
He moved to a quiet area of the building, started the call, and waited as the phone rang at the other end a few times. Finally, it was picked up, and a distracted “Yeah?” came from the other end.
“Uh, hi…” Sam said, attempting to channel Addison once again. “…Mom.”
The line was silent for just long enough for Sam to wonder if he’d been disconnected, but as he was about to pull it away from his ear, the response came.
“Addie?”
Sam let out a relieved breath. “Yeah, it’s me.”
“It’s good to hear your voice.”
Okay, so far so good, he thought. Now what?
“I was wondering if you… wanted to talk. It doesn’t have to be in person, but—”
“Addie, of course I’d like to see you. I take it you’re still working in that dump in LA?”
“Dump?” Sam squinted. How much did Addison’s mother know about her line of work, anyway?
A sigh came over the line. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t say that about the place your fiancée helped build. It’s just… you know how I feel about all of it, Addie.”
“Uh… y-yeah, well…”
“I can drive up there today if you want to meet me at the pier. We can do lunch.”
“Oh—yeah, okay. How long would you be?”
“Two hours, maybe three if the traffic’s bad.”
“Okay, Mom. Call me when you get there.”
“Addison… thank you for finally giving me a chance. I promise I’ll be more sensitive to your feelings this time.”
“Alright. I’ll see you then…”
The line went dead, and Sam let the phone fall to his side. Between Magic’s warning and that phone call, he had to wonder just what the conflict between them was all about. Did Addison’s Mom know about the Project? Or had Addison given a cover story? Either way, he’d have to gently pry out such information. He only hoped his lunch plans wouldn’t conflict with his hologram duties.
He returned to the Control Room quickly, hoping to get in a little work with Ian on the retrieval before he had to return to Ben. Maybe he had bitten off a little more than he could chew on this one.