Part II
Tittle: Any Given Moment: Part II
Author: KaraMeL
Email: Kristine_sci@hotmail.com
Summary: A horrible secret is revealed about Area 51. When Jack is injured, SG-1 must uncover it.
Rating: PG-15 (I went a little overboard)
Disclaimer: This story belongs to MGM and all the other companies/cooperations that own Stargate. So, initially the characters don't belong to me. Darn.
Authors note: I guess I should really edit my work... make it easier for the eyes... Enjoy ;)
Sam slammed down the phone in frustration. "No answer." She said s she turned to meet the Jaffa's puzzled expression. The coins chinked and rattled as they fell into the slot.
"Are you sure Major Carter?' Sam blinked wearily.
"Yes, I'm sure. So sure, that I'd bet Daniel's office." Daniel jerked his head up, narrowly missing the door of the car.
"What do you mean?" Daniel asked. Sam shook her head.
"I wonder who would put so much money out on us... I mean, look at that! A million bucks! I would kill for that amount of money. Something tells me that Maybourne doesn't have that much... that or he has a nice little sum on the side for retirement and he decided this was a rainy day." Sam shifted her gaze between the tree lines, feeling unsure of the relative safeness of their general position.
"I believe that we should continue our journey." Sam smiled. The Jaffa had read her thoughts.
"Where are we going to go? Bounty hunters are pretty frequent around these parts. Cheyenne is out of the question and something tells me that Area 51 will be the lesser." Daniel sighed dramatically at Sam's exasperation.
"You have no faith. I know a great place where no bounty hunter will ever find us." Sam's eyes bore into his.
"Lead on."
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Daniel hopped out of the car, satisfied as he crunched along the gravel drive. Sam sat in her seat, her expression frozen.
"You brought us to a museum? Daniel, out of all of the hair-brained ideas...." Daniel glared at her.
"Yes, it's obvious that I would go, but the interesting thing about this museum is that it's no ordinary museum. This is a wilderness museum." He saw his companion's expressions and rolled his eyes. "There is a special trail. Goes directly to a car rental place... I don't know about you, but our car is pretty well known now and there is no doubt in my mind that we have some device on our car that is going to make us visible." Sam shrugged and got out, patting her car on the hood.
"Nobody will steal it will they?" Daniel shrugged and hacked his way through the underbrush. Sam pursed her lips together hoping that she wasn't going nuts. Teal'c followed, slinging the bag onto his shoulder and holding a massive hand in front of him to make sure that no branch or stray brush hit him.
"I don't know about you, but I have a very bad feeling about this." Daniel whispered to Sam a couple minutes into their hike. Sam had been getting the same feeling, a prickly sensation on the back of her neck. They were being followed. Teal'c quickened his pace, wary as well.
"I have an idea. See the fork up ahead," Sam refereed to the three branches of roads. Daniel shrugged slightly indicating the possible question.... Where would they meet? "We'll meet at the car dealership. Sam motioned to Teal'c and he handed her the back. Sam grabbed a bunch and gave them to Daniel, who in turn put them in his pocket. Sam took some as well and did the same. Tossing the bag and remaining photos to Teal'c, she and the two men split up. As soon as she turned a corner she ran to the nearest thickly covered tree and climbed up, hiding in the branches. As she peered below her, she was satisfied to hear the clomp of boots. At least her hunch was right.
"I swear she was here a second ago. I hope Jim had better luck with the bald guy. The other blond is gone too." Sam took controlled breaths. Daniel was safe. Teal'c was unknown and... Well, she was in a tree with a possible hostile underneath her tree. Sam held her breath as the man moved through the underbrush, looking for any sigh of her. The man finally sighed and walked back to the beaten path. Sam sighed quietly and shifted. That was bad judgement and the branch underneath her cracked and fell, taking her along with it. The good news was that the thick brush underneath her broke her fall. The bad news was that she was staring at the wrong end of a 5mm handgun.
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Daniel sighed in relief as he finally escaped the footsteps behind him. He breathed out and in fitfully, hoping feverently that he wouldn't collapse from air deprivation. Jogging at a steady pace, he rounded a corner and searched for the numerous markers that were planted along the trail, trying to figure out his location.
"Teal'c?" He called. "Sam?" Daniel circled around the area he was in. No markers or even any sign of his friends. Daniel circled again, looking down at the barely worn path beneath his feet. Obviously he had taken a wrong turn somewhere. Daniel walked through the not-yet deteriorated leaves and at the same time searching for any signs of civilization or paths. Finally the path cleared and he saw what looked like a road of sorts. Probably used for logging. Daniel shrugged slightly, acknowledging the fact that there was no one on the road and that this road would probably lead to a main road which would lead to civilization.
"Hello?" Daniel tried calling again, slapping his hands back to his side. It was futile. After fifteen minutes of walking Daniel finally heard the sounds of cars. The main road. Daniel sprinted slightly, happy that at least one thing was going his way. Daniel stepped onto the road, looking up at the last minute. He didn't see the car until the last minute. The car screeched to a stop, not before hitting him and rolling his body off the top of the small car. Daniel landed in a heap, luckily not breaking anything but landing quite hard on his head. As his consciousness faded Daniel heard two doors open and he was roughly pulled to his feet and dragged into the backseat of the car. As the darkness closed Daniel heard one word...
"Daniel?"
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Teal'c wished he had his staff weapon. A staff so perfectly tuned and carved meeting the needs of any person who handled it. Colonel O'Neill had once told him that his Staff weapon was what the Tau'ri called 'a security blanket' upon repeating the phrase to a confused Daniel Jackson, Daniel had explained what Jack had been talking about. Although the concept of a 'security blanket' was as foreign as the Chinese food O'Neill once had served him, Teal'c had become more attached to the formidable weapon, as it was his only link to the past that he had vowed to forget. Now, Teal'c wished he had the comfortable counter weight in his hand. Instead of mellowing on his predicament, Teal'c focused his attention on both the trail ahead and the steady foot falls behind him. Because of his superior strength to most humans on this planet, Teal'c found himself alone. Teal'c stopped in the cover of a nearby rock, listening carefully for any signs of his pursuer. Nothing. Walking in the direction of what sounded like a highway, Teal'c was just in time to hear a screech of tires. Though barely visible, Teal'c saw a body roll over the top. Creeping to the edge of the road, taking full advantage of the closing darkness and dark foliage, Teal'c saw two men step out. Grab somebody and put him in the car. Although the growing darkness had given him advantage in over, he was unable to see the person or the occupants in the car.
"We got two of them. That ain't bad." A second voice agreed.
"Maybourne's gonna be happy. Real happy. Let's get them back. I'm sure he'd love to have a cup of tea with them." Teal'c raised an eyebrow... cup of tea? Considering Maybourne's past relationship with the members of SG-1, he would rather tie them to a stake and shoot staff blasts at them. The car drove off and Teal'c found himself on the road alone and lost.
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Sam struggled again with the gag. It was tied too tightly and refused to go off. Instead of struggling further, she stared helplessly at the locked door, and what was held behind it. After being dragged into the car... after of course being hit by it, Daniel had lost consciousness and Sam had not been able to reawaken him and she was worried that he had been hurt badly. After arriving to their destination, Sam figures it was somewhere close to the border, the men had taken her and Daniel into what looked like a cabin and then tied her up, leaving Daniel on a couch in another room. Apparently he was wounded, or else the kidnappers would have never left him untied. Frankly, it was sick to watch these men abuse her friend like this, his complete inability to escape would torture him, Sam had seen what he could do to himself before, his mind killing him faster than any broken bone or injury would.
"Do ya think she's asleep?" Sam's ears perked and her limbs acted before her mind did. She slumped over, faking a state of sleep. She heard the scraping of wood against wood as a panel slid open. Sam could feel their eye's on her, and she suppressed a shiver.
"Yeah. She's asleep. With the other one still unconscious, this one shouldn't be too much trouble." Sam closed her eyes more firmly as the door creaked open and footsteps shuffled inside. Sam winced slightly, the light from the other room nearly blinded her, she figured that she had been in this room for at least a couple hours, judging by the pain in her bound arms and legs.
"What are we gonna do with her?" The men stared speaking and Sam realized that they were right in front of her. Obviously they were trained in stealth. The gears in her mind started going and she realized that these people were military. That, or they were natives. Something told her natives weren't blond. Sam struggled to listen without attracting unwanted attention.
"We have to search her. Delta said we should wait until she gets back. She doesn't want us guys touching her. Apparently she thinks that we might be charged with sexual harassment along with kidnapping." Sam's mind whirled again. A woman? She established that there were two males and a female. That would be useful if there was a police station around here, but to her knowledge of the general area, there was nothing for miles.
"Why wait? She's asleep." The other man snorted.
"Yeah? For how long? Something tells me this cat killed a couple mice in her days." Sam squeezed her eyes shut for a second, being careful not to capture the attention from the two men.
"Ah, who cares, I don't think she's in the position to fight, not with her hand tied and all." The other man clicked his heels and Sam could hear him shuffle his feet.
"I say we get more than the agreed price." There was a short pause when the man heard a sound. He continued, "I say we get our time's worth." He ran a finger down Sam's exposed neck and Sam controlled a shiver of fear.
"You do that Captian, and I'll twist your head so far back that you'll never find your reproductive organs." Sam sighed slightly, interested at the woman's tone of voice. Obviously she had a little experience in the command area.
"No disrespect intended Colonel, but you shouldn't be referring to us by rank." Sam's guess had been correct. They were in the military.
"There is disrespect mister, It's lieutenant Colonel to you. And you will refer to me as ma'am. Now, I suggest that you get your butt out of this room and get into the kitchen. You can cook dinner. As for you, help him. I'll search the prisoner then tend to the other man." There were two grunts of acknowledgement and Sam was relieved to hear the two men leave. Sam strained her ears and heard steps coming in her direction. There was a slow exhale of breath and Sam cracked open an eyelid. There, in front of her was a woman, about thirty, long straight hair and a stern look on her face. She looked at Sam wordlessly and Sam blinked slightly. Well, escape was out of the question. The woman reached over and Sam flinched, expecting a slap, or worse. Instead the gag was loosened and Sam found herself able to speak, and very thirsty.
"Thank... thanks." Sam coughed as air rushed through her mouth; the stale smelling rag had not been her first choice for a mouth covering.
"Shhh, don't speak." Sam nodded painfully and swallowed, moistening her lips. "I'm sorry I have to do this, but it's my duty." Sam nodded again and the woman went to the back of the chair and untied her hands. "Before you do anything stupid, I'll warn you I have a gun and I have every intention of using it if you do not stay or try and escape. Trust me, you don't want to end up like your friend, which by the way I'm sorry about. Bad driving on my part. It didn't help much that he appeared suddenly on the road. Didn't his mother ever teach him to look both ways before crossing the road?"
"I wouldn't know," Sam said, testing our her voice, wincing at the slight aggravation. "His parents died when he was five." The woman stopped for a moment, breathing slightly and Sam could hear the slight hitch in her breath.
"I know." She said, and Sam didn't have any time to contemplate the meaning of her words before a blunt object struck her in the head and sent her into a blissful unconsciousness.
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Delta patted her pockets, searching for her notebook. There were a couple pictures of the woman and she felt the best way to keep them was secretly. The woman, whom she had recognized as Major Sam Carter was unconscious now, a bruise spreading slowly on her temple. She hadn't meant to hit her so hard, it needed to be done, and frankly Delta couldn't risk any chance of escape. The leader would kill her as she stood. Delta flipped through the photos, grimacing at the grotesque pictures of horrible mutated bodies of alien species and human beings with odd marks on their foreheads. Apparently there was a lot more at stake here then a kidnapping. Delta gathered the photos, hesitating before tucking one into the Major's pocket. At least she should have one souvenir, frankly, this looked like a one sided battle. With one last look at the Major, she stepped out of the room, closed the door, looking through the peephole at the sleeping woman than firmly closing the slat. Delta sighed and with an unreadable expression grabbed the med kit off of the floor where she had left it, and went into the room where Jackson was bring held. What a deep grave she was digging for herself.
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The two men stared at her darkly, Delta glared back and they resumed their activities. 'This man's army' as her superiors called it, no place for thin stick woman unless they got on their hands and knees and scrubbed the floor or cooked. Never was there a right time for her promotion, never once was there a thank you or a please, or even a sorry when somebody 'accidentally' spilt something. For years she endured, always wondering the futility of staying there without any hope. Then came the sudden job offers, no doubt her father pulling strings. Promotion after promotion followed and she found herself overtop the same people who had ridiculed and put her down. There was no room for mistakes in this world, especially her life. As the two men stared at her, their bodies mechanically moving, obeying her commands, but their minds rebelling, Delta picked up a pack of cigarettes. She didn't smoke. She had never even thought of it, but the overwhelming pressure of this... this... suicide mission was getting to her. Unholstering her gun, she stared intensely ahead of her and cocked the gun, her eyes admiring it as if it were her constant companion. The black sleekness shone and the sound of its readiness sent a shock of adrenaline up her system. Yes. A lot of things had changed. She settled back in the chair, dragging on the cigarette, enhancing the attitude of desolation and unsettleness. The two men finally finished and looking in her direction before taking plates and eating their portions. That was how she stayed, deep into the night, a burned out butt of a cigarette in one hand and the cocked hand gun in the other. Her eyes stayed blank, shining briefly as the firelight in front of her flickered. The two men had long since gone to bed, and she could now hear the shuffling of rope against rope in the little locked room where she had left the Major. Obviously someone was awake. Getting up, sliding her gun in the back of her black pants and smoothing out the creases in the leather jacket she worn. Delta stood, preparing to interrogate her prisoner. As she reached the door, Delta opened the door of Jackson's room; satisfied that he was now tied up. Knowing Jackson as well as she did, he would be up and kicking before she knew it. Delta closed the door; sliding the slat open and making sure her prisoner was still trussed up to the chair. Finally satisfied, she opened the door and quickly closed it.
"You didn't have to hit me." Delta blinked. She had forgotten to gag her again. The major was smarter than she looked.
"You didn't scream." The major's eyebrows shot up. She must have thought that she was stupid. Of course the major wouldn't have screamed. She'd awaken everybody and would miss her chance to escape. Brilliant mind. Delta wondered what she was doing in a hell-hole such as Colorado. Something told her the pictures were a big part of it.
"My voice was hoarse." Lame excuse. Something that an elementary student would say. Instead of badgering her, Delta sat on a chair in the nearby darkness.
"Yeah, and the moon's made out of green cheese." The major looked disconcerted. The comment seemed to have calmed her for the moment. "So," Delta decided to get to the point, "what are you doing here Sam? I can call you that right? Sam, that's was you prefer, or is it Major?"
"Sam's fine. What's your name?" Delta turned the corners of her mouth slightly. It was a half-frown, probably unreadable in the moonlit darkness.
"Don't have one." Delta grunted.
"Okay Lieutenant Colonel." This time Delta really frowned.
"Yes, really intelligent. You can overhear conversations. A lot of people can do that, now I would love to know why you are here, why you have these pictures and why you have half the bounty hunters across the continent looking for you." Sam stayed tight lipped. "Silence isn't a virtue, you know that right?"
"No." Sam flicked her gaze at the open door. Delta took the moment to rub the gun and casually aim it at the wall. The perfectly polished skeleton of the gun glinted and Delta could hear Sam's slight intake of breath. Delta cocked it again, peering through the hammer and taking out the clip and counting the remaining bullets.
"Do you know that thousands of people are killed by flying shrapnel?" Sam knitted her eyebrows. Delta smiled cruelly and snapped the clip in place. "They're called bullets." Sam swallowed and Delta tucked the gun back into her belt, instead, taking out the array of photo's she had liberated from Sam and Jackson. "What are these? Is this your life? What are you hiding dear Sam?"
"Nothing. Number one, those are pictures of a facility known as Area 51, as in the research facility." Delta sighed.
"That doesn't explain a thing. I supposed you want something to eat." Sam shook her head in a negative gesture. "What? You don't appreciate my dark humor. I thought it was just like.... Colonel O'Neill's." Sam drew in a sharp breath.
"What have you done with him?" Delta's eyes narrowed. She flipped the cards back into a neat pile and tucked them into her coat pocket, standing and dragging the chair to it's original position.
"I haven't done anything with him, but thank you." Sam's eye's widened. "You just gave me the leverage I needed." As the door closed on her stonic face, Delta could hear Sam quietly punish herself.
"Great. Now Jack's in trouble. When will this ever end? Him and his stupid heroics." The door closed and locked, Delta was left in the hallway wondering what this little talk had just accomplished. She had just given a bed name to her country and quite frankly, it was going to kill her. Samantha Carter reminded her of herself as a solider. Eager to please, ready to do battle for any cause. The only probably being that she wasn't being beaten down by her colleagues. Delta unsheathed her gun again and stared at it. Finally deciding her fate she set the gun on the counter of a nearby table and snuck into the room, which held Daniel Jackson. Untying her former interest she kissed his forehead softly. Sam Carter and Daniel needed to complete the task set before them, and quiet frankly, she wasn't going to be in the way of fate. Her faith in life had led her to this part of her life, now it was up to fate to get her out. Grabbing a bottle of pills from the kitchen counter, Delta swallowed a dry pill and sat on the couch, the drowsiness making her rest her head on the arm. A smile flittered over her face and she fell asleep, already unconscious to the sounds of movement. As the sleep claimed her. Delta knew this was her last assignment, and she would not be waking up for another one the boss found out about this one.
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Daniel blinked and drew his hands to his chest. He could feel the chafed wrists, probably caused by the rope that was tied around them. After testing the ropes, he determined they were loose enough to get off. As he worked on loosening them, he wondered where he was. The only thing he really focused on was the all too familiar voice of the woman who had been by his bedside, loosening the ropes. She had sounded vaguely familiar. Too familiar. But Daniel was focused on getting out, a deeper sense of urgency starting to course through his veins. He knew that he was in danger, and that was what was going to get him out. Daniel winced as a warning twinge in his side made itself known. The absolute last thing that had been clear to him had been a car speeding in his direction and an impact, then a voice calling his name. With a sudden realization, Daniel realized who it had been. Sam. Working even more fervently, Daniel finally untied his hands and worked on his feet. Soon, he was completely free of any bonds. Getting up, Daniel noticed the dried blood on his pant leg, wincing as he felt the area, he noticed a bandage. Interesting, the kidnappers cared how their bounty was held. Instead of dwelling, he realized that these kidnappers wouldn't be asleep for long. Daniel limped heavily to the door, opening it with a slight creak and peering into the hallway. He could see a woman spread out on the couch, asleep. He face was turned away, but Daniel could see the long braid. Instead of risking detection, Daniel decided to snoop around. Heck, he wasn't trained in any special Ops or stealth, but he did well enough. Opening the door a crack to the next room, he smelled the stale scent of unwashed bodies. Two men lay sleeping on cots and Daniel closed the door silently. Other than that, there was another bedroom, a bathroom and one other room that was locked from the outside. Unlocking the door, Daniel peered into the moonlit room. There, in the middle of an almost empty area, sat a figure tied to a chair, obviously sleeping. Daniel got a glimpse of the blond hair. It was Sam. Approaching the area carefully, Daniel knelt in front of Sam, wincing as the movement aggravated his injury.
"Sam? Sam? Are you awake?" Daniel lightly slapped her cheek and she came awake with a start.
"Daniel? Daniel is that you?" Daniel nodded and Sam groaned under her breath, blinking as the weak light from the outside hall invaded her eyes. "God, I was wondering what happened to you, are you okay?" After Daniel nodded again, he moved behind her and started to untie her hands.
"Other than a few aches and bruises, I'm okay." A catch in his breath as he stooped down to untie her feet told Sam otherwise. "I am."
"Yeah, right. Right now we have to worry about getting out of here. No doubt by now has Teal'c gotten back to the Colonel. Or, at least I hope. There are three people, two men and a woman." The woman I think is outside." Daniel interrupted her before she could continue.
"Yeah, I know. She's fast asleep." Sam finally brought her hands out from behind her, rubbing her wrists. Daniel helped her stand and limped to the door. "And she still is." Sam also staggered to the door, grimacing as the bones in her body shifted after being tied to that chair for so long.
"Watch it, that woman has the personality of a wounded cat, that and she's got a few tricks up her sleeve. As far as I can tell, These people are all military. There's the woman who's a lieutenant Colonel and a Captian. I have a fair idea who's behind all this. Apparently there's a little more at stake here than a couple photos. Something tells me that we've stumbled on something much bigger. Another hint is that the Colonel's in danger. We have to get out of here."
"What about the photos?" Sam shook her head.
"We've go to go. Teal'c still has his. That'll have to do." Sam opened the door wider and slipped out of the hall, past the sleeping woman and the dying fire, picking up a ring of keys off the kitchen table. Daniel past her too, but stopped when he reached a bottle.
'Sleeping pills?' He thought. Daniel shuffled closed to the woman, still favoring his leg. He finally got a good glimpse of the woman's face.
"Gene?" Before he could do anything else, Sam grabbed his arm and forced him out the door, closing it silently behind them.
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Teal'c finally stumbled to a stop as what seemed like a diner. It was partially empty, he had some money, and his symbiote was starting to churn for nourishment. Although O'Neill warned him never to go into public places without hiding his brand, Teal'c felt this was one time he couldn't follow those orders. In this backwater area, strange folks were always passing through. Teal'c entered the diner and took a seat, waiting for a waitress. A couple older looking men dressed up in odd clothes, long hair and ridges in their foreheads stared at him. Teal'c stared right back, feeling sorry for them to be born with such deformities. The waitress approached and Teal'c ordered. As the woman went away to get his food, the two men approached him.
"So, what Star Trek Alien are you supposed to be?" Teal'c raised an eyebrow.
"Star Trek? I am not familiar with the term." Instead of discouraging the two men from further continuing their pointless conversation, they barked in laughter.
"You're really funny son. Naw, really, what alien are you." Teal'c remained passive while the two forehead ridged men laughed. Teal'c did not understand the point, neither the concept of this 'Star Trek' they were talking about.
"I am Jaffa." The two men smirked.
"I guess you're the alien from the lost episode." The two men laughed again. "Well, any ways, I'm Herb, and this is my Klingon buddy Khal." Finally Teal'c understood.
"As in the creatures inhabiting the third solar system of Lanterc." The two men stared at him then at each other. "You are not correctly representing them. They are squatting creatures with far less hair than you. They do not carry ridges and have no ears or noses." The man that had identified himself as 'Herb' cleared his throat.
"Well, yes, I see. I guess we'd better be leaving. The convention starts in an hour, we want to be there before Captian Picard makes his entrance." Now Teal'c was really confused. Picard, the young man from the security team would be making an appearance for a gathering of people? How odd. The two men left and the waitress returned.
"Well, I guess your going to make an entrance dear. If I were you I'd get better clothes. Nobody in the series ever wore fatigues. I guess you work at the military installation."
"That is correct." The waitress nodded and gave him a small smile.
"Never saw any alien like you. You must be in that new Voyager series." Teal'c nodded, not quite sure what the woman was talking about. As he ate his food, he picked up a nearby flyer advertising the convention. Shrugging, Teal'c finished his food, paid, and then left, walking in the general direction of the hospital, intent on finding the Colonel to tell him of Major Carter's and Daniel Jackson's fates, all the time wondering of this so called Star Trek convention was and what those two men were doing.
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Colonel Jack O'Neill sighed slightly and put the phone back on the hook. The general had reported that Teal'c, Sam and Daniel were missing. Apparently they were scheduled for a debriefing about three hours ago, and they had never showed. This was bad. This meant they were in trouble. Jack swung his feet over the side of his bed, gasping as the pain from his recovering ribs and stitches burned into one searing pain. Jack grudgingly accepted the fact that he was in no condition to be racing around like a lunatic with thirty stitches and two cracked ribs. Instead he picked up the phone again. If he couldn't reach them himself, at least somebody from the SGC should. Just as he picked up the phone, a hand took it and placed it back on the receiver.
"Colonel Jonathan O'Neill?" After Jack's nod, the man smiled. "We're here to take you to the facility. Don't worry about a thing." But Jack was. These guys didn't look familiar, and something in his gut told him not to trust them. Instead of refusing, he smiled as well and grabbed his pants.
"A little privacy if you please?" The man grunted an acknowledgement and Jack put on his pants, taking extra care not to jar his injuries further. Instead of asking the men to come back, he soundlessly crept to the window and looked down. Three stories. Well, that wasn't an option. He could go out, fall, and land himself permanently in the hands of these guys. The other option was the door adjoining his room to the next. Shrugging, Jack opened the door, tearing through the room, smiling sheepishly at the woman who in the middle of eating what looked like Jell-O. Then, opened another door, apologizing to the family who was sitting beside an elderly gentleman with a broken leg. He opened the door, ignoring the odd looks he was receiving from the family and peered out, noticing the hallway was empty except for a man that was scouting the halls. Obviously they had found out that the room was empty. Waving another hello to the family, he grabbed a couple of scrubs that were on the shelf and started to dress.
"I'm sorry, but what are you doing?" The father Jack presumed was looking at him.
"Well, this is my therapy. You see, I'm from the military base, yeah, that's right, and I'm practicing stealth." The man furrowed his brows.
"Why would you be doing that in a hospital?"
"I'm training... uh.... Recovering. You want to see my stitches?" The man shook his head. By this time, he had finished dressing. "I'd appreciate if you wouldn't tell any body that's coming around asking for me anything. I would be much obliged." Finally Jack pulled on an OR hair net and opened the door, leaving and walking away from the man walking down the hall, grabbing a clipboard and pen. As another suspicious looking man passed, Jack bent over his clipboard, pretending to right. After entering the elevator, Jack let out a deep breath and removed the scrubs, giving the other woman in the elevator a week smile. "I just got off duty. I have fifteen minutes to eat lunch." Daniel was right. His excuses were lame.
"I see. I don't suppose all doctors do this?" Jack shrugged.
"Not when they have to also be in a board meeting." He winced. Yep. Really bad. The elevator reached its destination and Jack stepped out, waving a good bye to the woman. Jack sighed. This was going on his list of being one of the worst days this year. Jack took off for the front doors, and hoped that there wasn't anyone else expecting him.
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Sam pushed the Car into gear and they took off. There wasn't a chance that those creeps would be following them. Well, she thought any ways. After Daniel and Sam had barred up the door and grabbed anything they could use, they had sped off. Daniel's mind still in torment.
"So, you still haven't told me how you know that woman." Daniel shrugged, the pain radiating from his aching head and leg intensifying.
"Gene, Well her full name is Gene Ericson, was a former interest in College. She was really nice, but it didn't work out. Her father forced her into the military. Apparently it was a lot more cheaper then and her father felt it would be good for her to have discipline. The guy was a total jerk if you ask me. So, I just got on with my life, Never really heard from her. I guess she really got up there." Sam shrugged and leaned on the back of the car seat, her knuckles white against the maroon interior of the car and steering wheel. Apparently this experience was trying her patience.
"Looks like she's back." Daniel turned in her direction.
"She would never take any body, or harm them on purpose unless there was a good reason." Sam stared at the road ahead. Already, the first light of day was starting to creep over the horizon.
"People change Daniel. They change." Daniel stared ahead as well; the early light slashing up his boyish features so they seemed more menacing.
"Either that, or somebody it threatening something that she cherishes." Sam looked in Daniel's direction briefly before reaching over and turning on the radio. Her earlier comment still hanging heavily in the air. People did change, and Daniel seemed that this woman didn't. That was his problem. Now, Sam's only goal was to find Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill and get the hell to Cheyenne so they should finally be over with this... theory. It was a conspiracy theory. Despite their predicament, Sam smiled. Colorado was definitely not a normal place to be.
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Jack looked around the corner, making sure that the men weren't following him. The parking lot was void of any people, and the air was unusually silent and the sky only starting to turn orange and red, marking the beginning of a new day.
"Did you see him?" Jack ducked low into a bunch of low bushes, recognizing the voice of the man who had approached him in his room.
"No, I figure he's still in the hospital. I warned security and they're combing the place. The guy still hasn't been found." She was an angry voice that lowered until Jack couldn't hear it.
"Maybourne won't be happy about this. He says he wants all of the four members of whatever he called the team found. Apparently they have some photos. Pretty hush hush." There was a growl and the first man slapped the other. Jack rose on his heels slightly and watched the confrontation.
"Stop leaking out information like a broken faucet. The last thing we need is Maybourne to find out that we are saying these things in public and off with our heads. Off to wonderland we go. Frankly, I don't think the kids and their mom are gonna appreciate a call telling them that their daddy met the wrong end of a gun in a dark corner and the crime will never be solved." There was a soft sound of acknowledgment and Jack ducked deep in the undergrowth as the two men passed. Then, suddenly, a hand grabbed him from behind and covered his mouth to prevent him from speaking. Jack struggled uselessly, silently cursing himself. Wonderful. Now he'd never get this information to his team, and further more, he just got himself caught.
To be continued...
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March 4, 2000