June 8, 2000
Project Quantum Leap
Stallion’s Gate, New Mexico

Al slammed the phone down with a curse just as Donna walked through the door. Her eyes widened in surprise.

“Are you all right, Al?”

The Admiral glanced up, a sheepish expression coming over his face as he recognized Sam’s wife.

“Oh, sorry, Donna. I’m just a little frustrated.”

Dr. Alessi nodded wisely. “Was it him again?”

Al nodded, his eyes burning. “That son of a bitch,” he muttered.

“Didn’t Sam get the tape?”

“Yeah. He didn’t have any qualms about taking it once he knew what was at stake. Still, if I had kept those Blue Book nozzles from getting their hands on him in the first place…” He scowled.

“But there must be a chance they could get it back, or he would have Leaped by now and we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

“The tape and the file have to be destroyed.”

“So, as soon as he does that, he’ll Leap?”

Al shook his head. “He doesn’t have it anymore. He gave it to a newspaper reporter.”

Donna stared at him as if he’d just announced that her husband had lost his mind. “What?”

“He gave the tape to Lois Lane,” the Admiral repeated with a sigh.

“The reporter from the Metropolis Daily Planet?” she asked incredulously. “Why?”

Al sighed. “Ziggy, can you find a picture of Lois Lane from around 1995 or 96?”

“Of course, Admiral. Would you like me to?” the computer asked innocently.

The Observer glared. “Ziggy!”

A moment later the screen of Al’s office interface with Ziggy was filled with the image of a young woman with short dark hair and expressive chocolate eyes. He turned the screen to where Donna could see it.

Dr. Alessi’s face paled. “I see,” she replied softly.

“They say everyone has a double…” Al commented.

“Mine just happens to be fifteen years younger than me,” Donna commented wryly. “She looks just like I did when Sam and I first met–except for the length of her hair…”

Al said nothing.

A look of sudden hope crossed her face. “Al, does he know–?”

He shook his head. “He still thinks you never showed up.”

Donna bit her lip to hold back the tears and nodded. “What does Ziggy say Lois Lane did with the tape?”

Al frowned. “She doesn’t know, or if she does she’s not talking. All she’ll say is that this guy still gets his hands on the tape, which…” He indicated the phone. “I had already figured out for myself.”

“Do you think he’ll actually carry out his threat?”

A picture of Alia flashed briefly through Al’s mind and he nodded. “I think Ziggy would give that a 100% probability.”

Blackmail was something neither he nor Sam had expected when they began Project Quantum Leap. Of course, they couldn’t have known that Sam would accidentally leave evidence of his Leaping in the past, evidence that this man who called himself ‘The Governor’ was now threatening to use for his own ends, ends that they had already seen the possible results of.

Donna sank heavily into a chair, her bearing reflecting the anxiety they were all dealing with as a result of this unexpected threat.

“Why is he doing this, Al? Why does he want Sam to kill for him, and why is it so important that he’ll go so far as to do it for himself if we won’t?”

Al sighed. “I don’t know. Apparently this man ruined his life in some way and he either wants revenge or to prevent it from happening. I’m not sure which.”

“What did he want this time?”

“He wants to meet with me. Prove to me that he can do what he says he will. And there’s no way I’m going to tell him I already know he can!”

She looked puzzled. “You do? How?”

Al looked uncomfortable. “Oh, that’s right. I didn’t tell you much about those Leaps, did I?”

Donna laughed softly. “I can always tell when Sam falls for someone during a Leap, because they’re just about the only ones you don’t describe in great detail.”

“Is it that obvious?”

She nodded, a sad smile on her face.

“Well, let’s just say this time it was another Leaper.”

“ANOTHER one?”

“Her name was Alia. Don’t ask me how she did it–she was definitely too young for half of those Leaps to be within her lifetime. Apparently, she was from another Project, only her task was to make things go wrong. Sam Leaped in to stop her, but she made him believe her mission was the same as his, and almost got him killed. Because she chose not to kill him though, everything she had caused to go wrong in the Leap was undone. The next time they met, Sam took it upon himself to rescue her from her Project by taking her with him.”

“Taking her with him? What do you mean, Al? Taking her where?”

“He took her with him when he Leaped. Since they were able to see each other once they touched, he figured that maybe if they were touching when they Leaped, they’d Leap together, and since he’d succeeded and she hadn’t, he’d take her with him.”

“Did it work?”

“Yeah. But Alia’s Observer Leaped to try to find her and bring her back. It got pretty complicated for a while, and we lost track of Alia in the end, but at least the other Project did too.”

“So she’s lost in time somewhere? Leaping around by herself?”

Al nodded, and Donna shook her head somberly. “That poor girl.”

“So we can’t just refuse to give in to his threat. We have to stop him.”

She nodded. “I hope we still can.”

“Oh, we can. I’m sure of that. It’ll be a lot more complicated than we originally thought, I expect.” If things kept following Murphy’s Law the way they had been, it would definitely be complicated. “But we’ll do it. Somehow.”