OK, Brit, take 'er away.

And with that, Brit began to write.......

---------------------------------------------------

The shimmering blue vortex opened ten feet off of the ground above the park. Quinn shot through first, and was just getting to his feet in time to catch Wade as she came flying through herself. Remmy followed a few seconds later, and the three quickly scattered to make sure that they were clear of the drop zone when the Professor finally came through. Arturo rolled along the grass for a few yards before finally coming to a stop.

"Great saints above!" He cried. "For once we have managed to make a soft landing! In addition to which I have been spared the indignity of being the landing pad for you three!"

"It's a good job we were quick enough to get out of your way Professor," grinned Remmy. "I'd hate to think what would have happened if you had landed on one of us!"

Arturo ignored them, and studied the surroundings instead. Everything seemed to be fairly normal; early morning dew was settled on the grass, there were posters up advertising Monday night's 49ers game against the Giants, the sound of children's laughter could be heard in the park, and even the Golden Gate Bridge was the right colour! Just as he let the thought play in his mind that they might possibly have found their way home, he noticed the statue. Where Abraham Lincoln had stood before, now there was someone entirely different up there.

Wade saw Arturo staring at the statue, and a puzzled look crossed her face. "Who is that Professor, I don't recognise him."

Arturo appeared deep in thought, but he had heard he query. "That, my dear Miss Wells, is his Royal Highness King George the Third! It would seem that we haven't found our way home just yet."

"King George?" Asked Remmy. "Now why would we have a statue of some English dude here in the middle of our park?"

"I guess England must have won the War Of Independence?" Opined Quinn. "But I suggest we find out a bit more about the history of this world before we start making assumptions. We've got nine days on this world, so there's plenty of time to find out what's been going on."

Arturo noticed a newspaper stand nearby, and wandered over to get a copy. As he passed a woman out walking her dog; she seemed to stare intently at him, and then let out a shrill cry before fainting. Quinn and Remmy rushed over to see what had happened, concern showing on their faces for the fallen woman.

"I told you to change your aftershave Professor!" Quipped Remmy.

Arturo was bent over the woman, checking to see if she was okay. "I don't understand it, she looked at me, he eyes suddenly went wide, and then she fainted. But before she hit the ground I could have sworn she said 'Mr. President'!"

Quinn couldn't help but smile. "Don't tell me that you are the President of America Professor, that would be too much to bear!"

"Not 'is' Quinn," came Wade's voice from behind them. "Was!"

The others turned to see that Wade had got a copy of that day's paper, and the headline screamed; "President Arturo assassinated by student activist!"

"It gets worse." Said Wade, opening the paper to the next page. "Just take a look at who the murderer was!"

As Wade held the paper open for them to see, there was no mistaking the face in the photo staring back at them.

"It's me!" Cried Quinn. "But why on earth would I want to murder the Professor?"

"At the moment that is the least of our worries Mr. Mallory." Said Arturo. "It is plainly obvious that we have to get out of the open as soon as possible. After all, I am the dead President, and you were my assassin! I fear we shall have to stay low for the duration of our slide."

The woman who had fainted was beginning to come round, so they beat a hasty retreat out of sight. The four decided that it would be best to try and sneak Quinn and Arturo into the Chandler Hotel as soon as possible, and then they would stay out of view until it was time for them to slide again. Luckily there were few people out on the streets in the early morning, so they managed to get Quinn and Arturo into a room in the hotel without anyone getting a good look at them. Once settled, Remmy was dispatched to the local bookstore to get them something that would explain the history of this world. He returned half an hour later, and gave a couple of books to Arturo before sitting down to watch the news channel that was on. Quinn had been reading the newspaper during his absence, and the news was not good!

"It seems that I murdered you late yesterday afternoon Professor." He said. "Apparently I am the frontman for an organisation called The Students Of Liberty, a radical organisation that wants to sever all ties with Britain; but it doesn't actually explain what those ties involve."

No doubt one of these books will explain all Mr. Mallory." Arturo replied, tossing one of the books at Quinn. "So the sooner we start reading the sooner we shall know. And where is Miss Wells with our food?"

"Chill out Professor, I'm sure she'll be back soon."

Arturo and Quinn started reading intently. Ten minutes later, Wade opened the door to their room and came in balancing a number of McDonalds bags in her arms. She looked at the others so intent in their study. "So what have the brains found out so far?" She asked.

"Well," began Arturo. "It seems that in this world the British won the French & Indian War in little over a year. Consequently there was no increase in the taxes over here needed to pay for the war, and so the Revolution never occurred. People like George Washington and Benjamin Franklin still pushed for independence, which was eventually granted peacefully in the early 1800's as Britain concentrated more on their other colonies, and the ongoing war with Napoleon. The two countries retained extremely strong ties, and so when Hitler invaded Poland in September of 1939, America immediately joined in the war alongside their allies; which was all over in three years. Russia were never drawn into the conflict, and so a united Europe was created after the cessation of hostilities."

"But that doesn't explain how you could be President." Said Remmy.

Quinn spoke up. "I've got the answer to that one! It seems that the Constitution of this America allows the President to have been born in either this country, or the motherland; I guess those ties were stronger than we thought! Not only that, but after the defeat of Hitler, the world turned more towards the scientific community for it's leaders than those who sought power for their own gains. Albert Einstein was voted in as the first President of the Unified Europe. This world has seen advances that we would never have dreamed of, with more money funding scientific projects and less spent on the military, and conflict is very rare amongst countries these days. The Professor here was half way through his second term in office, having beaten Bill Gates in the last election!"

"Well that's one thing we can all be thankful for!" Laughed Wade.

"But it seems that the Students Of Liberty aren't happy with things as they are." Continued Quinn. "They want America to be governed by an American, and not someone from outside this country. They have been conducting a terror campaign over the last three years, culminating in the assassination of the Professor yesterday. That's what you call extraordinary bad timing on our part!"

Remmy sighed. "Yeah, but as long as we keep you two out of sight then we can just slide out of here in nine days, and no-one will know the difference."

"Exactly Mr. Brown, it shouldn't be too difficult now, should it?"

A knock at the door caught them unawares, and without thinking Quinn, who was nearest, opened it. The maid stood staring at him in shock for a moment, before screaming:

"YOUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!"

----------------------------------------------------------

Brit stood up from the desk, pleased that he had finally got this story off to a start. Tigs had wandered over to have a look at what he had done, but just as she got within ten feet of the desk, the flames from the torch shot out as if trying to scorch her.

Torch (voice of Sabrina Lloyd): I AM NOT A F@#KING BIMBO!!! HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME SOUND LIKE THAT IN THE LAST STORY!

The rest of the gamers rushed over to see if Tigs was okay, but she appeared to be unsinged.

HK: What the hell was that all about?

SL4: I don't think Sabrina is too happy about the way Tigs portrayed Wade in the last game, which is understandable really.

Tigs: I didn't do anything wrong, honest.

Another spout of flame roared across the story cave, narrowly avoiding Tigs; who quickly ducked out of the way.

Brit: Okay, I think I'm going to take the torch outside so that she can calm down a little. Why don't you get writing your part Tigs, and then we can get things back to normal. Oh, and you have to write proper skittage this time; beginning and end!

Tigs walked over to the writing desk, and read Brit's part of the story. She sighed audibly.

Tigs: What is it with that boy and finishing every part of his story with someone saying "You!"? He's obsessed with it, I swear!

Brit carried the torch out of the cave, and waited for the delivery boy to show up with the pizzas.

N: Sorry. This'll be a work in progress folks. I'll just start writing.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Who are you?" Quinn asked the maid.
"I'm Margaret Thompson. Are you a friend of Wade and Peace Man?"
"Uh, yeah."
"That is so cool!" Margaret gushed. She looked over at the professor. "And you are?"
The professor fumbled his words as he tried to think of a false identity. All that came out of his mouth was, "You don't follow current events very well, do you?"
"Huh?" Margaret was confused. "Why do you ask that?"
"It's probably better if you don't know," Arturo replied. "By the way, my name is, uh, Conrad Bennish."
Quinn, Wade and Rembrandt gave the professor a strange look as he bit his own tongue. 'Why THAT name?!' he thought.
"Uh, Margaret," Wade interrupted, "Don't you need to get back to work? I can meet you in the bar later."
Margaret snapped to her senses. "Oh, right. I get off in a couple more hours. I'll meet you around five. Will Peace Man be there, too?"
"Yeah, I'll be there," Rembrandt replied.
"Great!" Margaret looked as if she were about to explode from a sugar rush. "See you later!" As Margaret bounded out the door, she tripped over her cleaning cart and landed flat on her face. However, she quickly stood up, turned to the cart and started moving down the hall as if nothing happened.
"That was interesting," Quinn remarked. The others nodded agreement.
"Peace Man?" Rembrandt said, puzzled. "What kind of songs does this double sing?"
"Probably not heavy metal," Wade replied. She turned to the professor. "Bennish? That was the best name you came up with?"
"It was the first thing that came to mind!" Arturo defensively replied.
Before anything more could be said, loud rap music from the room to their right started to blair through the wall, causing the furniture to vibrate.
"What the hell is that?" Arturo asked rather loudly.
"It sure isn't the Beatles!" Rembrandt replied, nearly drowned out by the noise.
The sliders peered out of their room to see what was causing the racket. Two doors down, on the opposite side of the noise, a tall, skinny boy of about nineteen years of age wearing glasses entered the hallway with a cricket bat. The sliders watched as the tired looking person pounded on the obnoxious neighbors' door. The door opened and another college aged man with a wide build and a Frankenstein monster haircut stuck his head out.
Nobuyuki immediately whacked the noisy neighbor upside the head and entered the room. The sliders could hear massive chaos as the rather annoyed, sleep deprived college student laid the smackdown on the room's residents.
-----------------------------------------------------------
"Is this legal?" Tigs asked. "You're writing yourself into the story."
"I don't care," Nobuyuki replied. "This is my revenge against those >:-# who kept me awake for nights on end during Summer Quarter. How the hell can anyone take an intensive fifteen credit Japanese course if they can't get any sleep?" Nobuyuki proceeded to fill the cave with diabolical laughter as the other occupants slinked away from him, edging along the walls.
------------------------------------------------------------
"Nobuyuki left the now quiet room and returned to his own. Turning to the sliders, he said, "Don't mind me and pretend I'm not even here."
The sliders nodded their heads; he wasn't there. They went back into their room to finish watching the news. A news reporter was just finishing another report on the Arturo assassination.
"Damn," Quinn said, "We missed it."
Wade was about to change the channel when the anchor began talking about the Students of Liberty. She turned up the volume a couple of notches.
"Several members of the rebel group known as the students of Liberty were arrested in connection with President Arturo's assassination, however the actual killer, Quinn Mallory remains at large." The television cut to some on scene footage of men clad in heavy, metallic armor firing rubber ammunition and tear gas at a group of college students before rushing in to stun the rest with electric prods built into the suits. The anchor continued his report.
"Police Dragoon forces in the Philadelphian capital as well as San Francisco, Seattle and New York are on high alert after today's arrests, guarding against the possibility of more terrorist actions in those cities."
"Police Dragoons?" Rembrandt was puzzled again.
"Probably a modern knight-like soldier or officer," Arturo surmised. "This world's answer to the SWAT team."
Suddenly, a loud screech was heard from outside the window. Wade rushed to see what was going on. A large armored truck had stopped across the street and Dragoons piled out, rushing into the nearby building. Moments later, they were leading several battered and handcuffed people outside and into the truck.
"I sure hope they don't find you, Quinn." Wade said, shocked. "You might not live to see a trial!"
-----------------------------------------------------------
N: Now back to the torch. Let me try this again.

*Nobuyuki savagely beats the torch against the wall.*

Torch <In 14 year old girl's voice>: In the name of the Moon I shall punish you.

N: AUUUGH!

Everyone: Now what?

N: Well, the good news is, the torch is speaking English again. The bad news is, now it has the personality of Sailor Moon.

Everyone: AUUUGH!

N: Let me take one more shot at this.

*Beats torch against the wall again*

Torch <In the voice of John Cleese>: Would you STOP that?!

N: Ehhh, close enough. Here you go, Mychand.

Mychand eyes Nobuyuki suspiciously. "Gee, thanks."

Uh…the torch of who?

***************************************************

Wade studied Quinn's face. "Quinn, I think it would be a good idea if we give you a disguise. I have an idea. I'll be right back. In the meantime, keep quiet in here.

Wade headed downstairs to the hotel pharmacy and returned a half hour later.

"What took you so long?" asked Quinn. He was getting nervous.

"I'm sorry," Wade replied. "I needed to be discreet. I also wanted to find out what those dragons were doing out front."

Remmy got up from the bed and assisted Wade with the items she had bought. "Well, what did you find out," he asked.

"We're in luck," she replied. "They just came about a disturbing the peace call on those college students. The students promised to keep it down so they left."

Remmy began sorting through the packages from the pharmacy. "That was too close for comfort. Wade, what in the…….do you have in here?"

Wade laughed. "What do you think of Q-ball as a blonde?"

"A what? Oh, no, I'm not going to have blonde hair on my head," he yelled.

"Uh, well, it would be better than no head at all Mr. Mallory," said the Professor. "You have no idea what kind of punishment they have on this world. Like Miss Wells said before, you may not get a trial."

Wade interjected. "Besides, you can always dye it back."

Quinn gave in to reason. "What else do you have in there?"

"Oh, just a razor and a few other things," she replied. "Uh, Professor, you do know that we'll need to shave your beard."

"WHAT?" the Professor yelled. "I have no intention of shaving my beard. There has to be a better way. Maybe I could tell them that I'm still alive and that Quinn is innocent."

"I don't think you'd want to do that Professor," said Remmy. "You're life would be in greater danger and somehow I don't think that would help Quinn."

Quinn was sitting quietly on the bed. The others hadn't noticed at first.

Remmy sat down beside him. "Everything okay Qball?"

"Yeah, I was just thinking. It just doesn't seem like me or my double to do anything that would involve killing. I mean, my doubles have made mistakes but outright murder? Something just doesn't feel right about this. I wish we knew more about the Students of Liberty."

Wade grabbed Quinn's hand and pulled him up from the bed. "We'll do a little research as soon as we take care of your appearance. Come on, I promise it won't hurt a bit."

Quinn followed Wade into the bathroom as the others couldn't help but laugh at the expression on his face.

****************************************************

Mychand put her pen down on the desk.

<My> TM, I need another drink.

TM rushed over and refilled Mychand's drink.

<My>Well, I hope I didn't screw it up too bad. It's your go Sarah!

Sarah glanced down at the portion of the story that My had just written.

<Sarah> A blonde Quinn? My, what were you thinking?

Before she could say more everyone in the cave yelled in unison……"Write Sarah, write!"

And the torch was passed…………….

DMD: "Oh, all right. Here goes nothing..."

---------------

The following morning, Quinn looked at his face in the mirror. "Blonde, I'll never get used to it."

"Come, come, now Mr. Mallory," the professor responded. "You may get used to your platinum locks. I, on the other hand now bear a striking resemblance to Gimli."

Wade and Rembrandt tried to hide their amusement, but were not completely successful.

"Well, at least you two haven't been discovered yet. Remmy and I met with Margaret in the bar last night for awhile and she doesn't have a clue what's going on."

"Yeah, and that doesn't seem to apply just to the President's murder either," added Rembrandt. "It probably takes that girl two hours to watch '60 Minutes.'

Quinn asked, "so what kind of music does 'Peace Man' Brown sing, anyway?"

Remmy rolled his eyes and replied, "let's just say you shouldn't be surprised to hear me in the elevator on the way to the lobby."

Arturo spoke up, "We've still got eight days here. We might as well try to find out more about this student organization. I tend to agree with Mr. Malloy's assessment about his double's guilt."

Wade replied, "me too, professor. Why don't you and Quinn check out the university library for more information on the Students of Liberty? You should be able to keep a low profile there. Remmy and I will tour the rest of the campus and try to see what we can find out from the other students."

"An excellent idea, Miss Welles, since we've already found that staying in the room is no guarantee of avoiding discovery."

Later that day in the library, Quinn is looking through old school newspaper clippings while the professor wades through the local history texts. "Wait just a second," Quinn said to himself. "I knew something didn't sound right. I've got to get this to the professor."

As Quinn stood to take his discovery to the professor, he was approached by a strikingly attractive woman. "Excuse me," the woman said, "I'm looking for the back issues of the paper you're reading there. Could you show me where you found that?"

Quinn replied, "sure. It's right back here. I'll take you."

Once Quinn neared the stacks where the back issues were kept, the woman pulled out a piece of cloth and clamped it over Quinn's mouth and nose. Quinn briefly tried to struggle, but was quickly rendered unconscious. As Quinn hit the floor, another man approached. "You got him, excellent."

"They're always a sucker for a pretty smile."

The two dragged Quinn out a back exit and loaded him into a waiting van.

A few minutes later, Arturo wandered back to where he expected to find Quinn. When he didn't see Quinn immediately, he went back to the stacks where the newspaper was kept. There he found a piece of cloth and a newspaper on the ground. He picked up the paper and the cloth. The cloth smelled strongly of ether. Arturo knew Quinn was in trouble. He looked through the paper and found the same article the had attracted Quinn's attention. "Oh my God. What have we gotten into?"

----------

SouthernSlider: "Is that the best you can come up with?"

SL4ever: "Newbie"

DMD: "Say what you like. I left it quite open for the next writer. Has the pizza arrived yet?"

TM <muffled>: "Pifffa? Wha piffa? <gulp> I don't know what you're talking about."

DMD: *sigh* "HK, you're Next!"

dellyone: And don't you dare mess this up, I'm after you, you know.

----------------------------------

Quinn slowly rose from his drugged slumber only to find himself inside a large gray cell. He could only see a bed and a sink bolted to one wall but there were nothing else in the room.

"Quinn Mallory..."

Quinn jumped when he heard his name, but saw no one.

"Turned around Mr. Mallory."

Quinn did as he was told and looked up to see a loudspeaker and camera bolted on the high wall.

"Quinn Mallory, you are hearby under arrest under the charges: 5 counts of treason, conspiracy, and murder. You're ID number is 54892573. Due to the extremely vile profile of the latter charge, there is no need for an impending trial and your fate is being discussed by the National Parliment. Make use of you stay here if you can. You will be notified of your sentence later. Carry on and goodbye."

"Oh no..." Quinn said as he sat down on the lumpy matress. "Oh God no..."

Meanwhile, in the surveilance room, the young woman that captured Quinn was sipping on a cup of coffee.

"He's going to fry..." She thought with a smile.
-------------------------------

HK: I'm done. Take it away, delly.

d1: Woo Hoo.... uh, what's this.

HK: Hey, I don't know how to follow the story about the news clipping, but I didn't ruin it. And if you excuse me, I have some Fanfiction to write.

And then HK runs off.

The three guys run to the back of the room and quickly haul their booty out of the room, slamming the door behind them. dellyone didn't even notice as she wrote.

===========================

The Professor began stroking his nonexistent beard as he scanned the old newspaper. *Damn, I'm never going to get used to this.* He made a mental note to himself that he no longer had a beard.

Shock appeared on his face as he read the headline that captured Quinn's attention. "Quinn Mallory, Missing Physics Genius, Found." As he skimmed the first paragraph, his disbelief grew. "Oh my God. What have we gotten into?"

He folded the newspaper and looked around the stacks as he hid it in his jacket. *I've got to tell the others about this.* He smiled at the busy librarian as he passed her desk. She smiled back.

As soon as the Professor reached the library doors, an alarm sounded. *Good Lord, I forgot about checking for tags on this newspaper.*

===========================

dellyone put the pen down and walked over to the door. She opened the door as she called out.

d1: Sarah, it's ….

dellyone found herself being the last domino as pile of people fell on top of her. She heard mumbled sorrys as the pile dispersed. By the time, she was able to sit up, she saw Mychand parceling a stack to all from the stack of papers on the desk.

d1: Sarah, it's your turn. If anyone needs me, I'll be watching 'The X-Files Marathon'.

She smiled as she closed the door.

d1: Even though there's a stack of papers on the desk, it doesn't mean I wrote on any of it.

She evilly laughed as she grabbed a couple of boxes of pepperoni pizza and made her way to the television.

<sarah shrugs> Sarah: Oh well.

-----

Arturo turned round and was immediately faced by the Librarian. "I am so sorry, madam, I didn't realise."

She glared at him.

He continued anyway. "I'm quite happy to sit here and read this. Nostalgia, you see," he laughed, feeling the need to justify himself. He gently pushed past her to a table and sat down to read.

The Librarian continued to stare at him. First time she saw him, she'd almost done a double take. He looked so familiar, but she couldn't place him. She thought she'd better keep an eye on him anyway.

Once seated, the professor took his time to read over the whole article, the one that Quinn had been reading.

On this world, Quinn Mallory, physics student and minor member of the Students of Liberty, had been missing for six months, the summer previously. He had mysteriously turned, up, laying claim to a discovery of parallel dimensions. At first he was deemed mad, but then he had been invited to a meeting with the President Arturo, himself an ex-physics professor.

However, the newspaper reported that the meeting had not gone well and speculated that things had broken down between the two intellectuals.

The professor returned to Quinn's table and rifled through the papers for a more recent one. After a little while, he found what he was looking for. A different newspaper offered commentary on the apparent emnity between the president and Quinn Mallory, now a leading member of the Students of Liberation. It speculated that perhaps this hate of each other was down to professional jealosuy, since the President had implied that much of Mallory's work was taken from his own, much older works, which of course Mallory denied.

"Interesting," the professor mumbled to himself. He then caught the librarian still staring at him. "Perhaps it is now time to leave." He put all the papers away, and then left, persistently looking over his shoulder at the librarian.

Just as he left, it seemed the Librarian had an idea and she picked up a phone, not taking her eyes off him. Worried, Arturo made a run for it, but he couldn't be sure who she was phoning...

-----

Nobuyuki: That's it?

Sarah: Yes. Bye! I have loads to do! Enjoy the rest and the pizza! I might be back later!!!

SS

SS eyes widen and did as DMD suggested.
----------------------------------
A burly guard walked down the corridor jangling his keys. Quinn's heart caught in his throat. They were coming to get him. He was going to die. After all the worlds and situations he had been in, he was finally out of options. If the others were able to rescue him, they would have been here by now.

"Quinn Mallory? You're free to go. Get your ass out of here and don't let me see you again."

Quinn blinked in disbelief. Did he hear the man correctly? He wasn't going to stand around to find out if he was dreaming.

He rushed out of the cell and down the corridor before the man could say more. When he opened the door to exit the jail, he fully expected to see Wade, Remmy and the professor standing there waiting on him -- or at least, Wade and Remmy. Hopefully, the professor was lying low for the time being.

"Well, I must say, the new hair color certainly makes one look twice. I almost didn't recognize you, and I was expecting you. Good job, Mallory."

Quinn froze. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Yeah, right. Play innocent on everything, Quinn, darling. Now, let's get out of here. They're waiting for you back at the Dungeon."

"The Dungeon? What are you talking about? Is that where Remmy and Wade are?"

She stopped dead in her tracks. How did he know about Wade and "Peace Man" Brown? They didn't come on board until after he had gone underground. Something was fishy.

"Mallory, just get in the car. I'll fill you in as we go."

The woman narrowed her eyes and observed Quinn for several minutes before speaking as they sped down the road. Something told her to be very careful. She would tip-toe around this man until they arrived at the Dungeon. The others could take care of any problems Quinn offered up.
----------------------------

SS sighed and leaned back in the chair.

SS: Not bad, if I do say so myself. I referred to stuff in the other installments and left a situation for someone else to solve. Great. I'm outta here. Hmmmmmm. I wonder who's next?

SS takes a peek back at the list.

SS: OMIGOSH!!!! SL!!!!! Heck, why didn't I leave a mess for him to clean up. That would have served him right for threatening me with a spanking. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr. <looks at her watch> Oh, well. Too late now. I gotta go. <speeds toward the door>

HK: Hey, girl. Where are you headed so fast? Stick around and socialize.

SS: No way. I've got a wedding to go to. Then it's off to Chicago. Then Christmas. Then....

HK: Okay, okay, I get it. You've got better things to do than sit around the cave with your Slider buds. I understand.

SS: HK, honey. Don't put it that way. It's just that I have this stuff to do. I promise I'll be back in January, full force. I'll make such a pest of myself, that you'll be aching to get rid of me. Now promise me, you'll put me on the list for the next story, in case I don't get back when you post the sign ups. Promise?

HK: I promise. <pouty face>

SS: Do you really promise? Swear on a stack of Slider tapes?

HK: YES! Now get out of here.

SS: I love ya, sweetie. <pecks HK on the cheek> Oh, and tell SL it's his turn. I, uh, don't have time to go find him. <rushes out the door as HK yells about having to do the dirty work>

SS

<Approaching speeds of 500 mph, SL4 races back to the writing table and picks up his pen...

****

"Hey Margaret, com'ere." Wade said sweetly.

The maid was making a bed in a suite bedroom. She looked up and smiled at the three Sliders. "Hi!"

Arturo quietly closed the door to the corridor.

Remmy and Wade advanced on the girl. Wade spoke again, "you wouldn't have, oh I don't know, mentioned seeing us and spending time with us to anyone, would you?"

"Just my sister. Why?"

Margaret had mentioned a sister that was "so serious all the time" and when Arturo mentioned the resemblance something had clicked. Wade stopped next to Margaret, placing a hand on her shoulder. "We need to talk to her."

Their manner was sinking through Margaret's fuzzy brain. "She did something, didn't she? She has some scary friends. I was just blabbing, I didn't think she'd care that I was hanging out with you."

Wade's tone became firm. "Tell us where she is."

******

"I need to use the bathroom," Quinn lied, "can you pull into that gas station?"

The driver, whose name was Carla Fields judging from the mail scattered on the floor of the car, glanced at him. "My orders are to take you straight to the Dungeon."

"They didn't have a toilet in my cell. Just a hole in the floor." Quinn said smoothly. "That only allowed certain acts. Things are going to get very ugly in this car if you don't pull over this instant."

Carla's eyebrows shot up and she pulled into the gas station without further comment.

Quinn thanked her and left the car, walking into the building. Something about the building bothered Carla but she couldn't put her finger on it. She picked up her cell phone and placed a call. "It's me. ... he's in the bathroom ... ooooo, that should >:-# with him! I like it!" She was listening to the man on the other end but her eyes kept returning to the building. What the hell was wrong with it? What was bothering her? "He's playing it cool right now, not asking any questions." She said distantly. What was wrong with the building?????

"No, he seems pretty shaken, but not what I'd call stressed to the breaking point or anything. Personally I think we should have left him in there longer." Carla replied, distracted.

What the smeg was wrong with the building ...

…and then she realized what was bothering her. It was the kind of gas station in which the bathrooms were accessed through outside doors on the side. She could see the "Men" and "Women" doors from where she sat.

Quinn had gone into the store door and not emerged. Which meant he'd gone out the other door and Carla was an abject moron. "I just screwed up. He got away from me!"

*****

Quinn didn't have any local money, and he doubted that this world's Quinn had a bank account that had not been seized, so he hoofed it back to the Chandler hotel. Fortunately it wasn't too far so he got there in about an hour. None of his friends were in the rooms, so he didn't stick around. "They" would be looking for him there. Instead he curled up in an old stinking blanket next to a homeless man in a nearby alley and kept an open eye to doorway of the hotel.

He'd known that something was wrong with what happened to him. There was no way he'd ever been in the custody of legitimate authorities. They didn't act like anyone in power would act, and their "release" of him made no sense. However, he didn't think anything that had happened to him had been random. It had all been preconceived. By people who knew he was a Slider and thus who hoped he would be fooled by everything because it was a different world, right?

Quinn had been Sliding for years, though. Unlike the six months the person he suspected was behind this had been Sliding. And what Quinn had discovered was that no matter how much worlds changed, no matter how much the history was different, human nature remained the same. It was infinite worlds, infinite possibilities, that was true. But THERE was a limit, and that limit was human nature. The person Quinn suspected was behind this hadn't Slid long enough to realize this basic fact, so he thought that Quinn would fall for any ole contrived scenario.

Quinn pulled the blanket around him and waited.

*****

Traci Thompson looked up as four people entered the office. She was seated at a secretary's desk. No one was in the small waiting room. "Margaret! What are you doing here? I told you never to bother me at work!"

"You will tell us what you've done with our friend. Don't try to deny it, young lady! I saw you at the library with him!" Arturo avoided using Quinn's name because he was speaking rather loud.

Traci sighed, releasing her fingers from the keyboard. It looked like she might have pressed a button before doing so, but her motion was so quick it was hard to tell. "Welcome to the Students of Liberty Headquarters. I know it says Ridgemond Imports on the door, but that is just cover."

"Where is Quinn?" Remmy demanded.

The secretary rose. "Allow me to introduce you to my boss." She opened the door but Remmy grabbed her arm.

"Me first." He went through the doorway. Arturo pushed Traci through next and Wade was ready to go next with Margaret.

There was a flash of movement and Remmy stumbled away, falling to his knees. A man emerged from beside the doorway, brandishing a heavy caliber revolver. A trace of blood gleamed on the barrel where he had hit the Crying Man with it.

"It's unfortunate that you came here." Quinn Mallory told them, the gun never wavering. "I was hoping to keep the rest of you out of this."

Wade glanced behind her, three serious looking men about Quinn's age had appeared in the outer doorway leading to the hall. Wade was not surprised to see her and Remmy's doubles behind the three men.

****

They were hustled to a stretch limo. Quinn #2, Traci, Margaret, a woman named Carla who joined them, and an unintroduced henchman got in the back with the Sliders.

"Can you really kill the doubles of people you're obviously close to?" Wade asked. "I saw mine and Remmy's doubles in the hallway."

Quinn #2 produced a timer from his suit pocket. "With this I never need to kill unless it has a larger purpose, someone tries to escape me, or unless someone has something I want and refuses to cooperate. I banish my enemies to other worlds. Once I've used you to lure my double out in the open I won't need you any longer and I will send you three and Margeret to another world. Which reminds me." He pulled out his pistol with his other hand and pointed it between Wade's eyes. "Your timer, if you please."

Remmy had no choice, he handed it over.

"Thank you."

"So Quinn escaped you." Arturo remarked.

"Yes, and before we were done with him. But we'll have him back shortly." He turned to Carla. "We have to elevate our timetable. Is this a problem?"

She shook her head. "I'm assigned here until you are found. So no one will think anything of me being the one."

He drew out another revolver and handed it to her. "This is the one I used."

Carla handled it gingerly and put it in a plastic bag and then her purse. "Oh, I need to wipe your fingerprints off of it-."

"Carla," Quinn #2 interrupted gently. "His fingerprints are the same as mine. So you don't even need to bother placing his fingers around the grip or on the trigger. I've already done that for you."

She reddened. "Even though I met him I'm still having a little trouble with this. Sorry."

"It's okay." He assured her.

"You plan to kill our Quinn and frame him for the murder you committed of my murder!!" Arturo seethed.

Quinn #2 was unfazed by the Professor's passion. "Our movement needs a martyr if it is to succeed. I had planned just to Slide away, leaving behind enough blood and trace evidence that people would believe me dead and my death was being covered up by the government. That was shaky but the best I could do without actually dying. But you guys appeared here at the perfect time, so I changed my plans. Now there will be a public display of guilt by a raving and obviously unhinged Quinn, following which Quinn will be publicly shot to death by a AMI5 agent." He indicated Carla. "Carla will be rewarded for bringing him down and will do well in her career because of it. Conversely, that same action will be reviled by our sympathizers and our ranks will swell with new recruits. The new leaders of this movement will eventually take control of America and led it out of the Commonwealth and finally in control of its own destiny instead of being a puppet to a foreign power."

Remmy and Arturo exchanged a sideways glance. He was obviously mad if he truly believed all this. And it seemed he actually thought he could pull this off. Arguing with him would only enrage him, however.

"So what happens to you while all this is going on?" Arturo wanted to know.

"I explore the continuum, never returning here obviously. My work here is done. My associates here will take control of the movement, getting the power they crave and deserve. Carla will get fame, promotions, and wealth from her part in all this, and the people will eventually get their freedom. And you four even get out of this with your lives, though you will no longer be Sliding after you reach the next world. Everyone wins."

"Except our Quinn." Wade said bitterly.

Quinn #2 shrugged. "I know myself. And he is me. He would do the same thing in my place. It is a dog eat dog universe, Sweetie."

"That's where you're wrong." Wade retorted hotly. "You and he diverged somewhere because he is NOT like you. He would never kill anyone."

Quinn #2 smiled. "He just hasn't had to yet. That's the only difference."

The limo parked. They were at the hotel.

*****

Quinn #2 made them wait out in front of the hotel for several minutes. Carla stayed in the limo so she was not seen and associated with what was going on, but the others stood near the Sliders and Margaret, guarding them. Quinn #2, wearing sunglasses and a hat pulled down low over his ears, talked with a couple young people in suits. Arturo imagined that these were the future rulers of the movement.

A tall, skinny boy of about nineteen years of age wearing glasses strolled past them. "Break for the corner when I create a diversion." He muttered to the Sliders without moving his lips.

One of the guards glanced his way but didn't really catch what the young man said.

The stranger who seemed to be helping the Sliders tripped and bumped into Quinn #2. "I'm sorry- HEY! You're Quinn Mallory! He's the assassin, everybody! HE KILLED THE PRESIDENT!!!" The young man reached out and ripped Quinn #2's hat and glasses off.

Quinn #2 reached into his pocket and pulled out his revolver. Their benefactor broke for the far corner while Wade and Remmy ran for the other one, which was closer to them. Arturo had other plans, however. He sucker punched the guards closest to him and ran for Quinn #2 to recover their timer. Traci intercepted him and attacked him with an asp. Wade #2 and Remmy #2 faded into the gathering crowd of passersby attracted by the shouts.

Quinn #2 pocketed his pistol and ran into the street, avoiding cars and made it across but only after narrowly avoiding being flattened by a city bus.

Quinn, a homeless person's hat and jacket camouflaging him, grabbed his double and slammed him into the wall. "Not so fast! You're going to pay for killing this world's Arturo."

His Arturo caught sight of the confrontation while avoiding Traci's strikes from the telescoping metal rod. "Quinn! He has our timer!"

Quinn glanced at his friend, opening himself up. Quinn #2 leveled him with a right hook, then kicked him in the stomach.

Arturo backed away from Traci and ran after his friends. Several police officers had emerged from the hotel, so Traci didn't pursue. Instead she tried to escape into the crowd.

Quinn #2 turned to run away. Quinn spun his body around and swung his legs under his double's legs, sweeping the man off his feet. Quinn rose up and threw himself on his double, scrambling through his pockets. He located his timer and backed away.

Quinn #2 had had his breath knocked out of him. He sat up, gasping as Quinn got to his feet and started towards the direction his friends had gone. Quinn #2 had his revolver out and aimed it towards his double. Then he noticed Carla was out of her limo. She had her own weapon out and was running across the street ... towards him.

"Not me, you idiot, him!" Quinn #2 gasped. Unless she read his lips she probably didn't know what he said, given his weakened voice. But his gesture towards Quinn was clear. But Carla merely smiled and kept running towards him, her gun aiming in his direction. Her intent was clear. One Quinn would get her fame and promotions just as well and another would. And in this case, Quinn #2 didn't even have altered hair.

Quinn #2 made her duck and stop running with a shot over her head and then palmed his timer. He activated it and got to his feet.

Carla was rounding the corner of the car that had been shielding him as he plunged into the wormhole and disappeared. The timer had been intentionally set for enough power to allow one person to travel, so the vortex collapsed immediately, long before Carla could even contemplate following him. She cursed and turned to look for the other Quinn who would now have to do.

But he was nowhere in sight. Carla sagged against the car that had prevented her from shooting Quinn #2 from across the street and waited, listening to the approaching sirens.

****

"... Wade Welles, the latest Student Of Liberty member to be rounded up in the past week of mass arrests, was processed today and taken to a maximum security facility. In all, 25 members have been arrested, including every founding member except for the assassin and mastermind himself, Quinn Mallory. In Los Angeles today, AMI5 agent Carla Fields was formally brought up on charges of treason, actions unbecoming of Royal Agents, conspiracy, and collusion with terrorists. If convicted she will face life in solitary confinement."

Arturo turned the walkman radio off and pocketed it. Quinn, leaning against a tree, shook his head. "They were all fools to follow him. He was an idiot if he thought his infantile mind games were going to scare and confuse me enough that I would be properly ranting and raving when Carla shot me down. It would never had worked."

"But she still would have shot you, and she could have exaggerated whatever you did do and say and the other witnesses would have fallen in line." Arturo theorized.

"This reminds me," Remmy said suddenly. "Who the smeg was that guy you got to help us?"

"Oh!" Quinn grinned. "He was someone who stayed across the hall from us. He was passing by the alley I was hiding in and I recognized him and called out to him. I remembered he's into conspiracies because I heard him talking about it the night before I got kidnapped. So I fed him some anti government conspiracy story and traded him my expensive calculator watch if he'd help us. I think he sensed I wasn't a con man or evil or something because he agreed. About that time you guys showed up so I came up with the plan. I would never have been able to get close enough to do what he did, so he really helped us. Of course, he wasn't risking anything because if he'd gotten up there and the man I pointed out didn't look exactly like me, as I said he would, then our friend could have just walked away."

"All I know is that I'll be glad when we Slide so I can get a shower," Wade complained, "a week of being out here in the woods is my definition of hell."

Remmy glanced at their garbage bag full of candy bar wrappers and soda bottles. "And next time, *I* get to pick the vending machines we break into for our week of rations! If I EVER see another Payday I think I'll throw up!"

Quinn smiled, looking at the timer. "Well, we're back to civilization in three minutes, guys. Woo Hoo!"

The others cheered. After all, NOTHING could ever be worse than this Slide had been, could it?

****

<SL4ever kicks back his chair and throws his feet on the desk.> : Ahhhhhhh. That's a wrap people!

Torch <sighs> : It's about time!

SL4ever: There is only one thing left to do! Sarah! The official Story Report if you please.

S_S <pressing a button on her belt> : If I must.

<A dog playing poker painting Slid aside, revealing a digital bulletin board. It took into account SL4's participation in this game and the "SL4" moved up a notch to tie with Robinbunchanumbers>

TM: 22
HK: 21
Blinker: 19
Sarah: 19
Robin: 15
SL4: 15
BS: 13
Tigs: 12
SS: 10

SL4: Woo Hoo!! I'm tied with Robin for 5th most games participated in! :-P One more and she's in my rear view mirror! Blinker is next in my sights! What's the Stories started and ended look like?

Stories Started:

Blinker: 4
TM:2
SL4: 2
BS: 2
Tigs: 2

Stories Ended:

SL4: 4
BS: 3
TM: 3
Tigs: 2
HK: 2

SL4: Woo Hoo! I'm in the lead on endings! I LOVE doing the endings!

<SL4ever suddenly realizes that everyone is around him and that HK has a blanket in his hand>

SL4: What?

HK: What makes you think we liked your ending, you mendicant?

SL4: Huh? It was fab!

S_S: It was overdone!

Delly: Too wordy!

SS: I still have my paddle here. :-P

Tigs: enough , let's his.

JennX: Yeah!

BS: !erom eerga t'ndlouc I

Noby: GET HIM! HE KILLED THE PRESIDENT!!!

<everyone else looked at him>

Noby: Sorry, slipped into charactor there for a moment. Get him!

<The pizza delivery man peeks his head in the doorway of the cave> : I have a crate of pizzas out her- oh my God! What are you doing to that poor man???? Oh! I can't look! Ooooo, I didn't know the human body could bend like that!

SL4: Ow! I'll write better next time! Hey! You! Save me a Meatsa Meatsa pizza! Ouch! Does this mean I don't get any PIE, HK???