In Love and War
Sam pushed the dolly loaded with several of the boxes which held the files of her work down the corridor as she saw one of the members of the maintenance crew. "Coming through!" She called.
There was no response, and she moved to dodge the sergeant. The dolly began to move on its own, and she tried to control it as a strong pair of arms helped to avert the crisis. "Whoa, Sam, hey, come on, let me, let me give you a hand." Daniel said, taking over as the dolly driver.
Sam released a relieved sigh as he pushed the dolly down the corridor to her lab. "Thank you. So, uh, General Landry briefed me on the circumstances surrounding our mystery Jaffa."
"Yeah, I think I've got something on that."
She raised an eyebrow as he handed her the newspaper he'd been carrying. "Farrow-Marshall?" She asked as she saw the headline.
"Yeah, you, uh, familiar with them?" He asked, looking over at her.
"They're an aeronautics firm headquartered in Bethesda. The Department of Defense is their biggest client." She said, seriously.
As she'd been considering whether or not to accept the tour on the Prometheus, she'd considered turning in her "birds" as Jack called them, and moving to northern Virginia to be with Jack.
"Yeah, turns out that their plant in Virginia employed about eight hundred residents of Edison until it closed down six months ago. Now, it's located just outside of town and about a mile and a half from where our dead Jaffa turned up."
"Really?" She asked, surprised.
They finally reached her lab, which was filled with partially unpacked boxes and crates. "Ah…pardon the mess." She said, somewhat sheepishly. "I'm still unpacking."
She walked over to her computer and began typing as Daniel came up behind her. "Uh…Farrow-Marshall. Let's see what they've been up to recently."
"Here we go." She said as she read the headline that their search had given them. "Their chief financial officer went missing yesterday morning."
"Interesting timing." Daniel murmured.
"Yeah. According to his wife, he left for a business meeting in Richmond, Virginia and never came back." She said, quickly scanning the article.
"Where is Edison in relation to Richmond?" He asked, looking at her.
"Don't know, but we can find out," she said, quickly typing in the search parameters into the computer.
"Hello!" Daniel cried, looking at the map she pulled up.
"It's thirty minutes away." She said, reading the estimations on the website.
"Coincidence?" Daniel asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I think not." Sam finished, looking at her friend.
A trip to the east coast was in order, Sam realized. And though she'd be there on official business, maybe she could fly into DC and meet Jack for coffee or dinner if she had time. This mission was one she was volunteering for.
-
"Sir," Sam greeted as she and Daniel entered the General's office.
"Colonel Carter! Welcome back to the SGC." He said with a grin. "Your lab is in order, I take it?"
"As much as it can be with the move," she admitted. "But that's not why I'm here."
"Oh?"
"Farrow-Marshall is an aeronautics firm headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland." Daniel began. "They had a plant a mile and a half from Edison, but they closed it down six months ago."
"So?"
"Their Chief Financial Officer went missing over the weekend." Sam finished.
"And you want to go and look into it."
"Yes, sir." Sam and Daniel announced in tandem.
"I'll arrange transport." Landry said, nodding. "You'll leave as soon as you can get packed."
"Thank you, sir." They said, nodding.
"Dismissed."
They walked out of his office, and Daniel looked over at Sam. "You gonna call Jack or should I?"
Sam's sheepish smile made him chuckle.
"I take it that you're going to call him."
"If you don't mind..."
Daniel laughed. "Nah. Go ahead."
She grinned as she continued down to her lab where she picked up the phone and dialed quickly.
"O'Neill."
"Hello...sir."
"Carter?"
"I'm going to be in the DC area in a couple of hours trying to get to the bottom of a case involving a dead Jaffa found in northern Virginia and a missing CFO from Bethesda."
"I hoped they'd send you to look into it."
"I volunteered."
"Excellent!"
"Daniel's coming too."
"D'oh."
She laughed. "I'll call you when I have more information, okay?"
"Sure thing." He said, seriously. "And, Sam?"
"Yes?"
"Be careful."
"I will." She assured. "Love you."
"Me too."
"I'll see you in a few hours."
"Looking forward to it," he said, and she could hear the grin in his voice.
-
Wearing her dress-uniform, Sam walked off the plane with Daniel behind her as Jack stood in his own blues, waiting for them. She grinned as she walked up to him, reminding him a great deal of the confident Captain he'd met nine years earlier in the Briefing Room before the second Abydos mission. "Hi, Jack," she greeted, warmly.
"Hi, Sam."
"Jack," Daniel said with a grin.
"Daniel."
"Thanks for meeting us, Jack." Sam said with a grateful smile.
"I wanted to make sure you had everything you needed." He said, leading them down the corridors of the airport. "And take you to Edison."
"You're coming with us?"
"I want to look at this supposedly shut down plant before I send you on your individual assignments."
"Assignments?" Daniel asked, curiously.
"You're talking to the wife. Sam, you're talking to the executives at Farrow-Marshall."
"Sounds like a good plan." Sam said, nodding.
"Come on, I've got a car waiting." Jack said, leading them to the curb where the suburban sat.
Daniel slipped into the back, and Jack helped Sam into the front seat before he took the driver's seat.
"It's nice to work with you again, Jack." Daniel admitted with a smile.
"Backatcha, Danny."
Sam smiled softly as she looked over at Jack. "He's right. It's really nice to work with you again."
With a tender smile, he reached a hand over to hers, squeezing it gently before he pulled his hand back so that he could begin the two-hour drive to Richmond.
-
"How are you settling in?" Jack asked, looking over at Sam as they heard Daniel's snores from the backseat an hour and a half later.
"I'm settling in," she said, noncommittally.
"Find a place yet?"
"Actually, Daniel had a place open up in his building, and so I went over and checked it out. I'm waiting to hear from the super."
"You put me down as a reference, right?"
"Of course, Jack," she teased. "I always put my boyfriends on my reference list."
He chuckled. "How about you? How's this Ori situation affecting your work?"
"Uh...I've got more meetings..."
"Like I thought you would," she mused.
"Yeah. But if this whole thing wraps itself up, I'll be in Colorado Springs this weekend."
She grinned. "That would be great."
"You gonna have some time off?"
"Well, I'm not going to be in the mission rotation until after I get settled in, and...that can take...a while..." She winked.
"You like being back in your lab, don't you?"
"I have to admit, it's like coming home."
"I knew it would be." He said, driving down the interstate.
She hesitated for a moment before she looked over at him. "I almost applied for a job with Farrow-Marshall."
"What?" He asked, surprised.
"About the time I was being considered for the Prometheus project, I wondered what the options would be if I were to, uh, leave the Air Force and move to northern Virginia."
"Really?"
"What can I say? I like to do more than just work with you," she winked.
"You were going to give up the Air Force for me?"
She inhaled. "Do you remember the time two years ago when I was on the Prometheus, and we were stuck in the dust cloud?"
"Yeah. Worst few weeks of my life." She swallowed as she remembered the hallucinations she'd endured. "You...or rather, a hallucination of you...came to visit me."
"And?"
"And I asked you if things would be different if I quit the Air Force or if it was just an excuse..."
"I would never ask you to do that," he said, soberly.
A small half-smile graced her lips as she looked over. "I know."
"I'm glad you didn't give it up, Sam." He said, seriously.
"Even though I'm back on SG-1?"
"Doesn't put us back in the same chain of command, so we're fine." He said, seriously.
"But..."
"Make a left-hand turn in point-five miles," the GPS voice announced as they approached a large empty warehouse-like complex.
She sighed as she ended their conversation. A moment passed before she turned around and gently shook Daniel.
"We're here," she announced.
"Mph."
"Come on, Danny." Jack said, parking the car in the empty parking lot.
"M...kay..." He said, opening his eyes.
Sam smiled as she looked over at Daniel with a chuckle before they all piled out of the car.
"Hey, Carter," Jack said, looking at her from the other side of the car.
"Yes?" She asked, looking over.
He offered her a hand gun. "Just in case."
She tensed as she nodded. "After you," she said, allowing him to take the lead.
He motioned for her to go around the opposite side of the building, taking Daniel with her, as they looked through the windows of the abandoned plant.
"What do you think?" Jack asked as he met back up with Sam.
"It's abandoned," she admitted. "But I wonder if it was really abandoned six months ago like they said. I saw fresh tire tracks."
"We should talk to the locals," Daniel said, seriously.
"Yes, I think we should." Jack agreed, nodding. "And I think we should start at the local diner."
"Diner?" Sam asked, curiously.
"All small towns have a diner of some sort, right?"
"Uh..." Daniel stammered.
"We can certainly find out." Sam said, nodding.
"And...this is official business, so it's on the Air Force dime."
Sam grinned appreciatively.
-
"Hm, pie." Jack said as he inhaled the aroma of the apple pie that had been set in front of him.
"Whipped cream?" The waitress asked, holding a can in her hand.
"Can you really have pie without it?" Jack asked with a wink.
Sam chuckled as she inhaled the aroma of her omelet and hashbrowns.
"Anything for a man in uniform." The waitress said with a wink of her own.
"Well, if this isn't Southern Hospitality," Jack murmured as she left.
Sam kicked his foot under the table.
"What?" He asked, looking over at her.
She raised an eyebrow as his words sunk in. "Oh..." He said with an embarrassed smile. "Right..."
"I don't want to know," Daniel muttered, closing his eyes.
"Why didn't you ask her about the plant?" Sam asked, looking over at her boyfriend.
"Uh...because she was flirting with me..."
She rolled her eyes.
The waitress walked past, and Daniel waved his hand. "Uh, excuse me, Ma'am?"
She turned. "Yes?"
"Can I get some ketchup for these fries?" He asked, pointing to the fries on his plate. "
Oh, yeah. Sure." She said, reaching to another table and retrieving a bottle for him. "There's usually a bottle on each table."
"It happens," he said with a charming smile and a small shrug.
"Yeah, it does." She chuckled as she turned to leave.
"Hey, when we were on our way into town, we saw that plant..." Jack said, catching her attention again. "It looked awfully empty."
"It was officially abandoned six months ago." The waitress said with an uncomfortable smile.
"Officially?" Sam prodded, gently.
The young woman bit the inside of her cheek. "My boyfriend and I went...by there...a few nights ago...there were trucks driving in and out."
"Really..." Jack said, sharing a look with Sam who tensed somewhat seriously.
"What were you doing up there?" Sam asked, looking at the waitress.
"Uh...nothing..." She stammered. "We were just..."
"Ah." Sam said, sharing a discreet look with Jack.
"We got it." Jack said, nodding.
"Are we going to get in trouble?"
Daniel shook his head. "No, you're fine."
She breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thanks for your service and your help." Sam said with a grateful smile.
"No problem," the waitress said, managing a shaky smile as she returned to wait on the other tables.
Sam looked at Jack and Daniel. "I think I have a few questions to ask the executives of Farrow-Marshall."
"Yeah." Jack sighed as he took a sip of his coffee.
-
Sam paced around the conference room, awaiting the arrival of the executives. A tall, blond woman entered the room. "Colonel Carter? Charlotte Mayfield, V.P. here at Farrow-Marshall. How can I help you?"
Sam shook her hand, and Charlotte motioned for Sam to take a seat.
"I wanted to ask you a few questions about your plant in Virginia." She said, soberly.
"It was shut down six months ago." Charlotte said, seriously.
"Officially, yes." Sam said, evenly.
"But we went by to check it out, and it looked like it had been cleaned out very recently."
"I'm not sure what you're getting at." Charlotte said, shaking her head.
"Some of the residents of Edison claim they saw trucks traveling to and from the plant a couple of nights ago." Sam continued.
"They're mistaken."
"So you're saying no one's been in the area for several months?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I can't speak for the locals, but certainly no one from Farrow-Marshall would have any reason to go there." Charlotte said with an insincere smile.
"How about Richmond?"
Charlotte shook her head with a blank expression.
"Anyone from Farrow-Marshall have reason to go there?" Sam asked, returning Charlotte's insincere smile.
Charlotte merely blinked noncommittally.
"According to his wife, Alex Jameson was on his way to Richmond, Virginia when he went missing." Sam informed.
"We've cooperated with the local authorities on Mr. Jameson's disappearance. You may want to consult with them." Charlotte said, seriously.
"Who was Mr. Jameson meeting with that day?" Sam pressed.
"I'm sorry. Company policy prevents me from discussing that with you." She said, soberly.
"Your CFO is missing." Sam said, leaning in to look at the vice-president. "Now I would think that you would want to do everything within your power to help find him."
"Oh, I do." She said, seriously. "As I said, we're cooperating with the authorities. Now if you'll excuse me, I-I think we're done here."
She walked to the door as two security officers appeared outside the door. "These gentlemen will show you out. If you have any further questions, feel free to fax them to the head office."
Sam stood as Charlotte left, and the security detail entered the room.
Only a few moments later, Sam was out in the parking lot.
"How'd it go?" Jack asked as she walked in.
"Well, she didn't say anything I didn't expect her to say." She said, seriously.
"But..."
"She got nervous when I mentioned Jameson's wife and what she'd said about his plans."
"Nice work, Carter." Jack said with a grin.
"Thank you, sir." She said with a small wink.
"I guess you're headed back to the SGC?"
"Most likely." She said, nodding.
"Well, let's go pick Daniel up." He said with a small sigh.
"I'm sorry we couldn't have any "us" time." She said, softly.
"Hey, we had a few moments." He said, starting the car. "The little while when Daniel was asleep, the foot kick under the table..."
She chuckled.
"And we have right now..."
She looked before she gently leaned in and kissed him. "I love you."
"Love you too." He said with a smile as he drove out of the parking lot
-
Only a few hours later, Sam walked down the spiral staircase with Teal'c, Mitchell, Daniel and Landry, explaining the situation to him.
"You're telling me a member of the Jaffa High Council claims that Ba'al has been here on Earth for the better part of the last nine months?" Landry asked, incredulously.
"Yes, sir." Mitchell said, nodding.
"Is there any chance she may be right?"
"My information suggests that Ba'al has been hiding in the Archeva system. He has been sighted there as recently as a week ago." Teal'c said, soberly.
"So the council member is either lying or she's a victim of bad intelligence." Landry said, looking over at the team.
"Not all bad, sir." Sam said, shaking her head. "They knew enough to look for Ba'al at a Trust-operated facility. If he were on Earth, that would be the best place to start."
"If the Jaffa genuinely believe Ba'al to be on Earth, they will continue to search for him." Teal'c warned.
"Well, that's obviously unacceptable." Landry said, seriously. "Tell the council we've begun our own investigation. If he's here, we'll find him."
"It would not be in Gerak's best interest to allow that to happen." Teal'c said, seriously.
"Why?" Landry asked, looking at Teal'c, curiously.
"Ba'al's capture would be a big moral victory as well as a huge political gain for whoever brings him in." Daniel said, looking over.
"Should Gerak be successful, he would win the hearts of many undecided Jaffa, thereby assuring undisputed influence over the council." Teal'c explained.
"So all we have to do is find Ba'al before they do." Mitchell said, optimistically.
"Yeah, but Gerak has a head start. The fact that the company's CFO went missing around the same time that the Jaffa was killed…" Sam said, swallowing.
"You think Jameson was at the plant when they came looking for Ba'al?" Landry queried.
"In which case, he may well have been captured." Sam said, tensing soberly.
-
Sam pinched the bridge of her nose somewhat tiredly with a small sigh as they were beamed to the coordinates of the surveillance van.
"You okay?" Daniel asked from where he stood beside her.
"Going back and forth between the SGC and DC has kind of taken its toll..." She said with a shrug.
"And not getting to see Jack for longer than the time it took me to take a nap?" He asked, knowingly.
"It is somewhat torturous to be in the same city with him, and not have a chance to at least say hi face-to-face." She said with a small sigh.
He nodded slowly before the door to the van opened. Daniel got in, and Sam followed. "Agent Barrett, thanks for the lift." He said, offering his hand in greeting.
Barrett shook Daniel's hand with a smile. "Well, I couldn't exactly have you guys catching a cab to the stakeout, now, could I?"
"So, what's the latest?" Sam asked, getting down to business.
"Well, one of our agents following the Jameson leads spotted an individual matching Ba'al's description at the Gilbride Hotel on Fifth Street about an hour ago. Looks like we got him."
The surveillance van moved, and Sam looked down at her cell phone several times. Daniel caught her several times with a small smile, and she'd given him a sheepish smile in return each time.
"Something wrong?" Barrett asked, looking over at her.
"Uh...no." She said, shaking her head. "Just...can't remember if I put my phone on vibrate..."
"Ah." She put the cell phone away as they arrived the hotel.
"What's the situation?" Barrett asked his agents.
"They're still inside, Room 1602. All the exits are covered. We're just waiting for the green light."
"Dr. Jackson, you go with Williams." He said, looking over at Daniel.
Daniel stood as he nodded, retrieving a gun and placing it in the waistband of his pants so that it was hidden by his jacket. Williams checked and reholstered his gun before they each exited.
Sam walked over to where Daniel had been, pressing a few buttons as she began to watch the screens. She discreetly looked over as Barrett sat near her. He cleared his throat. "How've you been?"
"Pretty good." She said, looking over. "You?"
"Yeah, pretty good…can't complain." He said, shrugging.
Sam managed an awkward smile, looking over at Barrett before she looked back at the equipment which she checked carefully. "What's new?"
"Uh, let's see…" Sam said, thinking back for a moment. "I was leading R&D for a while there."
"Well, I never figured you the type to settle for a desk job." Barrett chuckled.
"I needed something with more flexible hours." Sam said, nonchalantly. "Janet's adopted daughter, Cassie, was going through a hard time."
"Oh, I see."
"Spent some time on the Prometheus, away on deep space reconnaissance." She said, continuing.
"Uh-huh."
She grinned. "Ooo. Helped stop a dangerous new enemy from gaining a foothold in the galaxy."
"Yes, I heard about that…" He said, nodding. "How's Pete?"
She tensed slightly. "We broke up."
"Really?" He asked, brightening before he sobered. "Uh…I mean, I'm sorry to hear that."
"Oh, it was the best thing for both of us." She said, shrugging.
Why was he asking all of these questions? She asked herself as she returned to her work.
"So, you're single again?" He asked after a moment.
That's why...
She managed an uncomfortable smile. "Not exactly."
She certainly wasn't going to tell Barrett about Jack.
-
Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket, and she turned an apologetic smile to Barrett. "Carter."
"You're on a stakeout looking for Ba'al, aren't you?"
"Yes." She said, puzzled.
"He's not there."
"What?" She asked, surprised. "What are you talking about?"
"Check the TV."
She quickly turned on the television, and her face fell as she realized she was looking at Ba'al.
Barrett got onto the radio instantly. "Abort. All agents, abort."
"What's going on?" Daniel's voice crackled into the radio. "He's not inside. If we move now, we risk compromising the operation." "Barrett, you'd better be damn sure about this." Daniel warned. "We're sure. Let them go, and come to the van."
Sam sighed as she looked at Barrett before she finished her conversation. "Thanks for the call, sir."
"No problem, Carter. Be safe."
"Will do."'
She finally closed the phone. "That was General O'Neill."
"I figured it was something like that."
Barrett's cell phone rang, and he answered it. "Barrett..."
"Sam?" Daniel asked, entering the surveillance van.
"It wasn't him." Sam said, seriously.
"How do you know?" He asked, curiously.
"Because he can't be in two places at once." She said, soberly. "Ba'al is across town right now doing a live television interview."
"What?" Sam turned on the television.
"Thank you, that's a very good question." Ba'al said into the microphone. "My acquisition of Hammel Technologies and its subsidiaries is just a first step in a long-range venture that will ultimately see a-a consolidation and a-a streamlining of what is presently a dissolute market. No doubt, most of you have never heard of me before today. Well, I can assure you that over the next few months, you will all get to know me very well, and I look forward to it."
Sam turned off the television, clenching her jaw as she shared a look with Daniel.
"How'd you hear about it?"
"General O'Neill called."
"Now what?"
"I'm calling General Landry to find out what to do next." She said, retrieving her cell phone.
She dialed a few numbers before she put the phone to her ear. "General Landry's office, please."
She waited for a moment. "Colonel, what's going on?"
"It was a decoy, sir." She said with a sigh. "The real Ba'al went public in a nationally televised interview."
"And you want to know what to do?"
"Yes, sir."
"Stay put while I talk to the Pentagon."
"Yes, sir." She said, nodding. She closed the phone. "Our orders are to stay put for the time being."
"You've got to be kidding me." Barrett cried, upset. "Come on, we know where he is. We've got him."
"Yes, Ba'al has made it easier for us to pinpoint his location." Sam said with a sigh. "But unfortunately, by going public, he's made it more difficult for us to take him down quickly and covertly. We make a move against him now, and we risk a media circus. Unless, of course, you feel like giving the American people a Stargate primer."
"There's also the little matter of a naquadah bomb sitting somewhere in the continental United States." Daniel said, nodding.
"Yeah, okay, okay. We'll stay." Barrett sighed.
"The General's consulting with the Pentagon to determine what our next move should be." Sam said, trying not to wish that she was the one corresponding with the Pentagon right now.
-
Sam stood beside Daniel at the video terminal in the surveillance van.
"I've had Walter patch in Col. Carter and Dr. Jackson." Landry looked up at the screen. "Everybody up to date?"
"We have a cruise missile prepped with symbiote poison and ready to launch on your command." Sam said, seriously.
"General, I recommend we launch now. It may be the last chance we get." Mitchell said, looking over at Landry.
"What if he isn't bluffing about the naquadah bomb?" Daniel asked, looking at the team over the video feed.
"Then we'll have stopped him before he has the chance to plant any more."
"We'll have to come up with a cover story." Sam said, soberly.
"Wouldn't be the first time." Mitchell said seriously.
"We must strike now before Ba'al realizes his strategy has backfired." Teal'c announced.
"And the council?" Landry asked, looking over at Teal'c. Teal'c had a wicked smile on his face.
"I merely promised he would be delivered if captured. If he is killed, then there is no difficulty."
-
Sam's cell phone rang, and she answered it. "Carter."
"We just got a message from Ba'al. The bomb's in the Halcyon Tower in Seattle."
"Good that we know now."
"I'll have the Prometheus beam you up, and then I want Barrett to release the symbiote poison. Send Daniel in after the missile hits to make sure we have a confirmed kill."
"Yes, sir. Understood, sir." She said, seriously.
She hung up the phone as she reached for the shelving to help her keep her balance. "Agent Barrett, have your men tighten their perimeter around the compound. No one in or out. Daniel, once the missile hits, you'll have to go in and make sure we have a confirmed kill."
"Why, where are you going to be?" Daniel asked, curiously.
"Seattle."
"How the hell are you going to get there?" Barrett asked, surprised.
Sam smiled as the Asgard beam took her to the building.
"Colonel, we've been expecting you."
"What's the situation?" She asked, getting down to business. She sighed softly. "Just another day at the office," she murmured.
"Ma'am?"
"Nothing." Sam said, shaking her head. Time to foil yet another of Ba'al's plans for intergalactic domination.
-
Apologies for the formatting issues earlier!