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Robert McCall stepped out of the doors of the hospital and breathed in deeply, savoring the unmedicated night air. He turned to say something to the attentive, young man at his elbow but the motion jarred the bandages covering the wound in his shoulder and he winced instead of speaking.
"You really ought to think about retiring," Mickey Kostmayer observed. "A year ago you wouldn't have let anyone put a slug in you."
"I didn't 'let' him, Mickey. You act like I just stood around letting him use me for target practice."
Mickey shrugged. "You let your guard down. Same thing." He set his hand on McCall's good shoulder. "Come on, I'll give you a ride home."
"I'd prefer to walk."
Mickey shrugged again. "Suit yourself. If you change your mind, give me a call. I'll be home."
"Thank you for the offer but I'd rather be alone just now."
Mickey nodded, his tousled brown hair bouncing at the motion. "You think about what I said."
McCall gave a slight nod and the younger man slipped off into the night, glancing back once as if to give him one last chance. Then he disappeared easily into the darkness. McCall shook his head and started down the street in the opposite direction. They'd left his Jaguar back at the old hotel but it didn't really matter. He didn't think he could have driven it right now.
"Sam. Hey, Sam," a voice called out from behind him. He turned in time to see the glowing rectangle of light slam shut behind Al. "How's the arm, Sam?"
Sam ran one hand over the bandages gingerly. "Sore. Mickey was right, you know. I let my guard down. McCall would never have done that."
Al sucked on the end of his cigar and peered down at Ziggy's remote skeptically. "I don't know about that, Sam. According to Ziggy, if you hadn't shown up, McCall would have been killed."
"No way. You don't know my cousin Robert. It would take more than a small time criminal like that to get him."
"You're wrong, Sam. And he's not your cousin. He's your cousin-in-law...ex...ex cousin-in-law. Aw, it's too confusing. Anyway, You were here to save McCall, not Caitlin. He needed to be convinced to retire."
"How can I do that? He isn't even here."
Al waved his cigar toward Sam's injured shoulder. "Because he'll have something to remember you by."
"You mean when I leap I'm going to leave this injury behind?"
All shrugged. "Ziggy thinks so. I'll hang around and find out."
"But Al, I..." A brilliant glow ran along the outline of Sam's body, growing stronger and brighter as it went.
Al waved. "See ya, Sam."
There was a blinding explosion of light as Sam's body disappeared and McCall's body returned to its proper place. The last ripples of electronic flame vanished and the man they had enveloped stared around himself in confusion. He looked up and down, from side to side, then winced at the pain the movement caused him.
"What's this?" McCall studied the bandages a long moment, then looked around again, as if searching for clues. He shook his head and sighed. "Mickey's right. I must be getting old." He touched the bandages as
if to test their reality. "Something must have happened. I wish I could remember what it was."
McCall walked down to the pay phone on the corner, pulled a quarter out of his pocket and slipped it into the slot. He punched the number out on the keys, then waited as the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Mickey? This is McCall. I was wondering if I could trouble you for a ride." He glanced at his arm. "And a little information."
Al smiled. "Now it's up to you, Mickey." He stuck his cigar back in his teeth, keyed in the exit code and stepped back into the future.