Chapter Text
The unusual early warm spell left the large and nearly full conference room oppressively hot in the late afternoon. Not even the big fans set in the doorways seemed to be helping very much. The misery was compounded by the fact that the meeting had already gone on for more than ninety minutes and was not yet wrapping up. Some of the room occupants were lightly dozing, while others, numbed by the droning speakers, found difficulty concentrating on topics being discussed. Had anyone been paying close attention, they might have noticed the faint blue glow which briefly surrounded the City Councilman seated on the right, second from the end. When the glow faded, the Councilman was left with a confused look on his face.
Doctor Sam Beckett found himself seated at a long table, facing a sweaty audience. There was a microphone in front of him, along with some hand written notes, a glass of water, and a name placard. He tried to unobtrusively look to his immediate left and right, noting there were four men and two women sitting at the table where he was seated, with similar items in front of each. He pretended to fidget with the name placard, turning it so he could read the name before straightening it back in place. Councilman Ed Wessler it said. Well, at least he knew he was a man this time, much to his relief.
The man next to him and on the end of the table was speaking, referring to maps and charts displayed by an overhead projector on a large screen. “You can see the additional land which would be annexed if the village voted to join the city. It would open the way for new housing developments and commercial ventures, increasing our tax revenue substantially.”
One of the Councilwomen asked, “Haven’t they been approached in the past about joining and refused our offer?” She shuffled her notes. “A couple times at least, according to my records.”
The Councilman in charge of the presentation addressed her question. “Councilwoman Sheridan is correct. We have extended offers to encourage the village to join us a few times in the past. They started out as a hippie commune and we think it’s why they were originally reluctant. But their lifestyle is not sustainable going forward. We can provide them with our city amenities. Things like better schools, hospitals, more restaurants and retail. Not to mention increased employment opportunities, by building office parks and retail venues. It would increase our joint tax base if we included them.
“We believe the time is right to ask them again, and this time successfully get their approval. It would be a win-win for our growing city and for their community to bring them into our city plan. Councilman Wessler has offered to meet with their village mayor and convince her of the benefits of dissolving the village and being annexed into our city. If she supports our vision, we are confident the residents will follow her lead.”
At the mention of his host’s name, Sam Beckett’s head came up in surprise. “Oh boy,” he muttered under his breath.
However before he could comment, Mayor Rafferty spoke. “Thank you Councilman Tillis for your summary of the current state of the annexation project. We look forward to Councilman Wessler’s report at our next meeting, where we hope he has good news for us. As this was the last item on today’s agenda, we will close this meeting of the Millersville City Council for April 27, 1976. All those in favor say ‘aye.’”
All the council members answered ‘aye’, including one quantum leaper in place of a councilman. Members started to collect their belongings to leave. The public in attendance started to file out, relieved to be able to leave the overheated room and chatting among themselves.
Sam hastily turned to Councilman Tillis. “Uh, remind me again exactly what I will be doing? Isn’t there someone more qualified, like you for instance, to sing the praises of annexation? I don’t think I could do a better job than the presentation you just gave.” He tried to sound like an enthusiastic cheerleader since he had no clue what he had leaped into.
Mayor Rafferty had walked over to join Councilman Tillis and Doctor Beckett. He clapped Sam on the back. “Ed, you volunteered for this excursion. You told me you set up a meeting with the village mayor already. Can’t get cold feet now. You want to go far in city politics don’t you? This venture is a good introduction for you, and a chance for you to make a name for yourself.”
“As newest member of Council, this job falls to you,” Councilman Tillis smirked. “Besides, I’ve already had my go at them. They know me and aren’t budging. Time to hit them up with some younger new blood. Besides, you told me you have quite a way with the ladies.” He gave Sam a suggestive wink and nudged him in the stomach with an elbow. “Wolfburg Mayor Gwendolyn Starfire is single, and she’s quite a fox. Woo her. Charm her pants off. Get in her pants. Do whatever you have to do to get that biddy to agree to annexation.” He winked at the Millersville Mayor who grinned suggestively.
“We have a lot riding on this annexation deal. It will be lucrative for the right parties. You want a piece of that, don’t you Ed?” Mayor Rafferty squeezed Sam’s arm.
Sam had no idea what was really going on here, but he had the feeling he didn’t like it all the same. He needed input from Al, who still hadn’t shown up yet. “Uh, yea, I guess I do.” He smiled and figured being agreeable was the wisest course of action at the moment.
The Mayor put his arm around Sam’s shoulders and added, “Drive up to Wolfburg. Spend a few days there. Starfire runs a bed and breakfast, Wolftrack Lodge I think it’s called. Schmooze the locals. Get them on your side. Gin up enthusiasm for joining our fair city. Surely some of them are getting tired of being old hippies living the commune life by now.”
“OK, I’ll do my best,” Sam said, trying to sound positive. “The ol’ chick magnet here can’t miss, am I right? Heh, heh.” He tried to put on one of Al Calavicci’s leers, and walked off before his expression betrayed his stomach revolting at his words.
Doctor Beckett didn’t get very far before he saw the Imaging Chamber door open and Admiral Albert Calavicci walking through it.
“Hey Sam.” The holographic Observer stopped dead and stared at Sam. He looked Sam up and down. “The guy in the Waiting Room is a dead ringer for that Herb Tarlek guy from the old TV show ‘WKRP in Cincinnati.’ Except Wessler has mutton chops and a handlebar mustache. I see he dresses like Herb too. You should get a load of yourself.”
Sam cocked his head toward the men’s room, walking that direction. Touching some keys on his handlink, Al appeared in the restroom as Sam walked in. Sam looked at his reflection in the men’s room mirror. He blanched at the image he saw. He saw a man with longish unruly dark hair and the aforementioned mutton chops and handlebar mustache. He was wearing a particularly ugly polyester plaid suit in bronze, harvest gold and avocado green. An avocado green shirt with wide collar, unbuttoned just a button too low, chest hair, and three gold chains around his neck. Both the wide bell bottom pants and shirt were tight, and completing the look, white platform shoes. “Well I don’t remember the TV show, but this guy is a fashion nightmare. Although probably right up your alley, huh?” Sam made a sartorial dig at his best friend.
“I’d never wear something as ugly as that, no matter how fashionable it was for the time,” commented the Observer as he puffed on his cigar and rocked back on his heels.
The Leaper gave him a disbelieving side eye glance, but made no comment. “So what am I here to do, Al?”
“Huh?” The Admiral stopped regarding Sam’s clothing disaster and looked at the handlink. “Let’s see, its April 27, 1976. You are in Millersville, Oregon, and your name is...”
“Ed Wessler, self proclaimed ladies man,” Sam broke in, grimacing at his image. “Why do I get the creepy feeling this guy is as sleazy as he looks?” Sam turned away from the visage in the mirror.
Al pressed more buttons on the handlink. “Well, because he’s a nozzle, Sam. Ed Wessler is an insurance salesman, trying to make a run at politics. He’s starting out by getting elected to city council here in this burg. He brown noses his way in tight with some of the senior members, and then eventually jumps into state politics.” The Observer punched more buttons on the handlink and smacked the side of it a couple of times, causing it to squeal in protest.
“Great,” Sam said sarcastically. “His life sounds like he doesn’t need my help. So why am I here?”
Al studied the information scrolling across the handlink screen. “Uh, according to Ziggy, the planned annexation doesn’t go smoothly. In two days, during negotiations, there is a fire in the bed and breakfast run by the Wolfburg mayor. The mayor is killed. It appears to be staged to look like a robbery gone bad, with her being killed surprising the robber or robbers and a fire set to cover up the murder. It looks suspicious, given that it happens during the negotiations. There’s no proof though, and it couldn’t be pinned on anyone.
“Millersville claims the lack of a decent police department in Wolfburg is allowing a criminal element to move in and take over, hinting further violence is just on the horizon for the village. Millersville promises to provide increased security to prevent such things from happening in the future, if Wolfburg allows itself to be annexed. With the loss of the village mayor, her parents were too upset to pick up the fight opposing the merger. With no direction from the first family, and all the fear tactics and pressure from Millersville, annexation is passed and Wolfburg dissolves. After that, Wolfburg becomes just another tacky subdivision with over development and urban sprawl.”
Doctor Beckett listened intently to his Observer. “So I’m here to stop a probable arson and death? If I could convince them to agree to annexation in short order, I could prevent the arson and the loss of their mayor. I share your distaste at the outcome here for the village, but maybe joining with Millersville isn’t a bad thing, for them. Sounds like they get some benefits, and Millersville certainly does. Just because we don’t like an outcome doesn’t make it a wrong needing to be set right. Maybe I’m here to prevent the fire and death but keep the original village history intact. After all, tacky is in the eye of the beholder.” Sam pointed to the clothes he was wearing.
The Admiral pulled a face. “Ziggy puts murder prevention at a ninety-five point eight percent probability. The odds on the outcome of an annexation vote are fifty-fifty at this point. Ziggy isn’t saying if annexation is good or bad for the townsfolk. But Sam, these people lose a way of life if this merger happens. The individuality of the village community disappears. They just become another faceless white picket fence subdivision. You can’t let that happen!”
Sam looked at his best friend. Al seemed to be unduly wound up about this one. “No offense Al, but with your Navy career, and the military stressing conformity of the troops, I wouldn’t have guessed you’d be so strongly on the side of village individuality. Especially for a hippie community.” He took another look at the Observer’s current dress, bright red jacket and hat, red and white patterned silk shirt, silver tie and silver pants, over bright red shoes. ‘Then again….,’ he thought to himself.
Al looked at Sam for a long moment, as if debating something with himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before letting it out and opening his eyes again. “When I was repatriated after being M.I.A. in ‘Nam, I discovered Beth had declared me dead and moved on with her life. You remember that part, yes?” Al asked.
Sam nodded slowly. He remembered the painful leap where Al had tried to get him to convince Beth not to leave. Ultimately Sam had not been able to do so, since the leap purpose was to save the life of an undercover police detective. The detective lived, but the Leaper still felt guilty he had not been able to help his best friend.
“Well, there was more I didn’t tell you about. I was in a bad mental state after I found Beth had left. I was physically and mentally sick from being held captive so long. I was devastated the one person who had given me reason to survive had left me, and I had nowhere to go, since I had no family. Not even friends close enough to go stay with. My best friend at the time, Chip, was killed when his plane went down over Haiphong. I was angry at Beth and the world for my sorry existence.
“I stayed at the San Diego VA hospital for a couple of months. I was trying to physically recover as they debriefed me, ran me through a bunch of physical and psychological tests, and tried to shrink me. Mostly it just felt like more abuse on top of my pain.” He paused. “That’s part of the reason I was so resistant to hiring Beeks at the Project. My prior experiences with shrinks were not positive ones.” He took another pause for a long breath. “So as I seem to do, when I can’t take my frustrations out on someone else, I… uh,” he swallowed, “tend to engage in self destructive behavior, as Beeks calls it.”
Sam listened without comment, and kept his expression neutral. He had witnessed first hand that self destructive tendency when he met Captain Calavicci for the first time, drunk, nearly washed out of Starbright and the Navy, beating up a vending machine.
“Finally, I could tell I wasn’t going to get better by staying there, so I made up a story to get me sprung.
They were willing to give me a ton of accumulated leave from time spent being detained at Hanoi Hilton, and I was considered a war hero. I told them I wanted to recuperate with family up in Northern California. I faked my way through some psych evals enough to get released, and told ‘em I’d come back when I was recovered. They were happy to have me gone, and if I never came back, well, it wasn’t their fault. If I did come back, they got their poster boy for Navy recruitment, so it was a win-win for them.”
“I left with the clothes on my back and a few bucks in my pocket, and no idea where I wanted to go or what I wanted to do, beyond get away from there. I left San Diego and bummed rides north. The money quickly ran out and for the second time in my life I was homeless. And I thought being homeless was bad when I ran away from the orphanage as a kid,” Al mused. “It’s way worse as an adult. You are invisible, just another bum on the street. And I was. I panhandled for change, which mostly went for booze, slept under some of the overpasses and in alleyways. I tried not to get knifed by thugs or other bums.” He shook his head. “Not sure how long I lived like that, a month or more maybe?”
Sam’s heart was breaking for his best friend, and he tried to unobtrusively wipe away his tears as he listened to Al bearing his soul with the painful story.
“Anyway, I’d managed to get as far north as San Francisco. One day I was panhandling for change and being really obnoxious about it. I was suffering a bad hangover from some cheap rot gut I’d pilfered and I hadn’t eaten anything in three days. I was badgering the tourists as they walked by on their way to see the famous sights of the city. I was being a pest and I looked strung out because I was, and the city cops saw me. A couple of them started making a beeline for me with their night sticks out. They were going to beat me into submission and drag my ass off to jail. But just before they got to me, this hippie, a young Black woman walking by, stepped over to me. She grabbed my arm and said loud enough for the police to hear, ‘Alexander! There you are! Did you get lost again? Your wife’s worried sick about you. Let’s get you home.’
“Well, I was so taken by surprise by what she did, when I was sure I was going to get hauled off to jail, that I just dumbly went with her. I didn’t have any other good options anyway. The cops didn’t believe it for a second, but this woman was dragging me away, out of their hair, so they just let us go. This was less disturbing to the tourists than seeing them beating a bum and taking him off to jail. She walked off down the street, pulling me with her as quickly as I could stumble along, and around the corner out of their sight. She stopped and asked if I was OK, I mumbled some thanks and tried to stagger off, but she grabbed my arm. She asked when I’d last eaten, and I tried to bum some change off her. She gave me this deep penetrating stare, and announced I was going to go with her.
“I was too much of a mess to worry about where she was taking me and what might happen. I was in no condition to put up a struggle. So she dragged me down along another block to an old VW van, all painted up in psychedelic colors. She shoved me in the back and I passed out. When I came to, the rest of the van was filled with various supplies and food, and she was driving somewhere. I passed out again, longer this time, and finally we stopped. She and some others were unloading the van and were helping me inside a building. They put me in a bed in a small bedroom. She wouldn’t let me sleep until she made me eat part of a cream cheese bagel and drink some water. I remember the bagel because it was warm and smelled wonderful, like it was fresh out of the oven. At the time, it seemed like the best thing I’d ever eaten.” Al paused in his story, lost in thought for a moment before continuing again.
“I was really trashed, Sam. I slept most of three days. I’d come to from time to time, the woman would check on me, show me to the head, and make me eat a little soup and bread. Finally with sleep and some food, I dried out enough to return to the land of the living. The lady came in one time when I was sitting up in the chair in the room. She asked me if I’d like to clean up. By this time I was with it enough to realize how filthy I was, dirty clothes, just disgusting.” Al made a distasteful face. “She gave me some clean clothes and pointed me to a bathroom with a shower.
“It was like returning to civilization after being in the prisoner of war camp all over again. After scrubbing myself clean and putting on clean clothes, I went back to the room, stripped the bed and remade it with fresh linen I found in the room. I stayed in the room, sitting on the chair and waited for someone to tell me what to do.
“My benefactor came in shortly to check on me. She was impressed I looked human again and had remade the bed with military precision. I found out her name was Rose, and I was in a hippie commune. My clean clothes had belonged to her younger brother Alexander. Alexander lived with Rose at the commune until he was drafted. He had joined the Navy. Rose recognized my clothes as Navy issue, and for some reason, I reminded her of her little brother. I never did figure out why, by all accounts he was a decent guy, and not a screw-up like me. There certainly was no physical resemblance beyond being roughly the same size. Much later I found out he’d been a Marine and was missing in action. Rose was quite intuitive, somehow she made the connection between me having been M.I.A. and the fate of her brother. I always wondered if he’d been found and returned. She believed he was dead.” Al shook his head at the memory.
He continued, “I had nothing better to do, wasn’t ready to go back to the military and the ghosts of my past, so I lived at the commune for almost a year.” Seeing Sam’s eyebrows go up, Al laughed. “Yea. Me. I lived as a hippie in a commune. It was actually a pretty progressive place. Everyone had to work to support the commune, either inside or outside in the city. Rose sewed clothing she sold on consignment at a shop in the city. She’d just dropped off a bunch of items and picked up the cash from the stuff which had sold when she ran across me. She was on her way to the store to buy food and supplies they didn’t grow or make in the commune before heading home.
“They were pretty self sufficient, had quite a community of gardeners, cooks, craftsmen of all kinds, some farm animals like a few cows, some sheep and chickens. They grew fruits and vegetables, brewed beer and wine. A couple of ‘em were even medical doctors who worked in a free clinic in town nearby. There was basic medical care in the commune, and everything else went through the free clinic. Newcomers intending to join the commune had to be checked over by the doctors. I wasn’t keen about more poking and prodding by doctors, but they didn’t try to shrink me, and after living on the streets for a while, even I could see it was a good idea to get a health check.
“Life on the commune meant work to keep the commune running, and drugs and sex for recreation. After my time in the orphanage and then the Navy, all this personal freedom was eye opening. Rebelling against my past, and still pissed off about it all, I threw myself into commune life. Let my hair and beard grow out. Had my love beads and psychedelic clothes and sandals. You think my current wardrobe is wild, you shoulda seen me then, Sammy,” Al said, shaking his head. “For my work contribution, I did a little of this and that. I helped in the kitchen, I did some mechanical work on the farm machinery and the vehicles, and I went to town with Rose to help her on those supply trips.
“For recreation, I embraced the abundance and variety of drugs. I wholeheartedly engaged in hippie free love too, of all kinds. I never slept with Rose though. She kept the relationship we had like one of siblings. I think she recognized I had to work out some things, and the commune was a safe place to do it. She took care of me when I was shitfaced, and watched to make sure I didn’t go too far. If I missed work, she got after me to remember my duties. She reminded me when I got surly that if I didn’t want to live by the commune rules, she would take me back to where she found me and tell me good bye. She’d have done it too, surrogate little brother or not. The notion was terrifying, because I realized if that happened I’d probably end up on a slab as a John Doe.” Al stared at his hands, too ashamed of what he’d done to look Sam in the eyes. For Sam’s part, the pain of his best friend was almost too much to bear.
Al took a deep breath and continued. “Well to wrap up this overly long melodrama, I finally worked it out of my system. I started spending more time working than recreating. I gradually cut out most of the drugs, and did less and less of the ones I continued with. Stopped drinking except for with meals or rare special occasions. Even random sex lost its appeal – yea I know, ain’t that a kick in the butt?” he laughed.
“Finally one day, Rose told me it was time for me to move on. It wasn’t that I was no longer welcome, but she knew this wasn’t really my life. I tried arguing with her, because I really liked her, and wanted to stay with her. She actually thanked me, for letting her care for her surrogate little brother Alexander in a way for a few more months, to help her find closure with his loss. She said I had unfinished business and that my destiny lay in another direction.”
“She was right Al,” Sam added with heartfelt conviction. “If she hadn’t told you to leave, we would never have met and would not have built Project Quantum Leap together.”
“Awww, Kid, you’d have built Quantum Leap with someone else. It would have been my loss, not yours.”
Sam didn’t believe that for a second, but he wasn’t going to argue it with Al. “So what happened next?” he asked.
“I cut my hair short, shaved off my beard and we drove to town, where I bought a white shirt and pair of slacks. It was hard to say good bye and I thanked her for saving my life and believing in me. I’d saved a few bucks so we went to the bus station and I got a ticket back to San Diego. I told her I’d keep in touch. I went back to the VA, told them I was checking in and was ready to return to duty. They were surprised, but I passed their tests, and was readmitted. I was reassigned not long after.
“I wrote Rose one letter to let her know I was back in the Navy, but since I was moved around, we lost touch. About five years later, when I was in the area, I stopped by the commune. But the commune was gone. There was a huge sprawling shopping center in its place. The free clinic was still there, but the people I knew were gone, and no one there currently knew where the hippies went. I never saw or heard from Rose again. It made me sick to see the commune gone. They were happy, Sam. They had a well functioning community. They wouldn’t have given it up voluntarily.” Al paused and gazed intently at Sam. “THIS is why I care about what happens to Wolfburg. I don’t want it to end up the way the commune that saved my life did.” Al punched randomly at some buttons on the handlink.
Sam studied his best friend. “OK, Al. I – I mean Ed, is supposed to spend a few days in Wolfburg anyway to try to talk the mayor into agreeing to annexation. I’ll spend time looking around, talking to people and try to find out what they really want. If they want to fight annexation, I’ll help them find a way, as well as find a way to stop the fire and death. If they want annexation, it’s their choice though. Maybe the villagers don’t agree with the mayor. Maybe she was seen as an obstacle to progress by the residents. I need to look at the whole picture, Al.”
“All right, Sam. But I’m tellin’ ya they won’t want to be annexed. I’d bet money on it. Go to Wessler’s house, pack a few things and head out to Wolfburg,” he made motions like he was hurrying Doctor Beckett along. “Meanwhile, I’m gonna talk to that nozzle in the Waiting Room and see if I can find out what his game plan is.” The Observer called up the Waiting Room door and stepped through it, leaving Sam alone.
The Leaper eyed the reflection of Ed Wessler in the men’s room mirror. “I have a feeling you are up to no good there, Ed. But I don’t think you’d be crying in a men’s room, so I better clean myself up.” After wiping his face with a cold damp paper towel, Sam dug out Ed’s wallet from his hip pocket and looked at the driver’s license to find out where he lived.