Published: 28 Apr 2011

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Chapter 2 - Drafted

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Beckett couldn't believe it. She had two victims that deserved justice and a killer animal on the loose, but her day was about to be hijacked by the US military.

Colonel Carter was wearing what looked like a green flight suit instead of the dress blues she wore yesterday. The patch on her upper right said U.S.S. Hammond. At the opposite side of the room stood the former suspect, John Carter, as he called himself. Or is in Jack O'Neill… or Jon O'Neill? The whole name thing really never made sense. He wore blue jeans, a plain T-shirt, and a brown leather jacket. Standing close to Colonel Carter was a third man. He was older with unkempt short grey hair sticking out in various directions. He wore kakis, a casual shirt, and a similar leather jacket. In fact the older man and the younger man looked very much alike. There was no doubt they were related. That would make the third man—

"Detective Kate Beckett, Richard Castle, this is General Jack O'Neill," Montgomery stated. She shook his hand. "I believe you know the other two." So this is the mysterious husband of Colonel Carter.

Castle, who flashed a wave from the doorway couldn't help himself, "No, we were told to pretend we never met."

The general smiled and titled his head, clearly appreciating the sarcasm. "Well that was yesterday, and it might be tomorrow. For the next couple of hours, we need your help."

Beckett looked to the captain, "Sir, I just picked up two victims, and I really don't have time—"

Montgomery cut her off, "Consider that case reassigned. Until further notice, you are to provide the general and colonels whatever assistance they require."

"Yes, sir."

"What about me?" Castle asked from the doorway.

Beckett looked from the captain back to Castle in sympathy. This is where he was going to be cut out.

Montgomery started as expected, "Castle, this is a highly sensitive government investigation. I don't think a writer—"

General O'Neill interrupted, "Why the hell not? We could always use another master bomb defuser." The general stuck his hands in his pockets, rolled on his feet and wore a small grin as he looked over at Castle. Beckett thought maybe the general was making fun of him with some private joke, but she didn't really care. If she had to deal with another day that didn't happen, she wanted her partner at her side.

The general continued, "By the way, we've declassified your role in whole terrorist incident. The Homeland Security Secretary and the White House Chief of Staff think the President can get some good publicity by announcing the foiled terrorist attack. Feel free to milk the publicity or do whatever it is you public eye people do. Just try not to make an ass out of yourself." O'Neill was outright smirking.

Castle looked at the general in shock, while Beckett was torn between laughing and defending her partner's honor. Fortunately, the sarcastic general's wife spoke up. "Sir, keep in mind that even though he's a civilian, he's just a writer not a scientist, so there's no need to pick on him. You should give the man a break. He saved tens of thousands of lives."

"I know. I mean no offense to the heroically lucky effort he made." The general gave him a thumbs up in jest. "I just believe that any politician who thinks the public would be reassured that a mystery writer is saving them from terrorists… well that politician is an idiot. Of course, I've told the two of them that. Loudly and on many occasions."

Beckett's jaw dropped slightly. This man was someone who told off cabinet members on a regular basis.

"Aren't they all idiots?" the other O'Neill asked from the corner. His voice contained a similar level of disdain.

"Actually, I couldn't have said it better myself." This quip brought a brief laugh from the three military officers, which the other people in the room did not understand.

"That joke never gets old," the general stated proudly.

"It will, if you keep using it," Carter replied bluntly

"Maybe so, but I think I have at least a half a dozen uses still in the tank."

Carter rolled her eyes in response. "Back to the subject at hand, Sir."

Beckett was having trouble following all of the byplay, but thought it was strange the husband and wife were calling each other 'Sir' and 'Carter'. That must make for an interesting home life. She asked the question she had been wondering since she walked in. "Is this related to the group in the break room?"

Colonel Carter straightened up. "They're already here?" The general gave her a look. "Sir, considering the attack a couple weeks ago, I thought you should have a security detail. I called General Landry and requested a team of SF's."

"You think Jon-boy and I can't handle it?" The general sounded serious, but his eyes still gleamed of sarcasm.

Carter gave him a patronizing look. "Not at all, Sir. I just thought it best if you had some back-up."

The general sighed. "Fine, you go find out who Landry sent, while I finish up here with my new friend Roy."

Colonel Carter waited for Castle to move out of the way from where he leaned against the door frame. "All of you should come too so I can introduce you."

The younger man pulled up the rear, waiting for Castle to follow the detective and other colonel. "So what are we supposed to call you? John Carter? Jack O'Neill, Jr.?" Castle asked.

"I believe today I am going by Colonel Jon O'Neill. Tomorrow, who knows?"

Beckett held back a laugh at the reply as she noticed Ryan was looking even worse than before. "Colonel Carter, just a second. I need to check in with one of my team."

As she approached, Beckett noticed Ryan's relief at the sign of back-up. "Hey, Ryan. I've been pulled off the case, too. What's going on with you?"

"I'm being investigated for that stupid case we had last night. Apparently the CIA didn't like me calling in the middle of their CIA/DEA operation."

Beckett raised her hand to cover the frustrated look on her face. First, the morning case from yesterday was back. Now, the evening case was too. Didn't these people realize she had a real double-murder to solve now?

The woman at the keyboard stopped and stood, turning to Beckett. "Detective Beckett, I presume. I suppose I should speak with you as well."

"I'm sorry. But you are going to have to get through some other part of your covert government bureaucracy first, because I've been requested elsewhere." She pointed her thumb over her shoulder. Beckett figured she was doing a poor job of hiding in her own sarcasm, but at this point she didn't care.

The woman casually looked over Beckett's shoulder and froze. "Colonel Carter! Or is it Colonel O'Neill now?"

"Agent Johnson," Carter responded with a forced smile. "It's still Carter. Less confusion with the other Colonel O'Neill, the Colonel O'Neil with one 'L', and the General O'Neill."

Beckett stepped out of the way of the two women who already knew each other. The temperature in the bullpen had just dropped several degrees. Just great! A turf war.

"Any relation?" Castle whispered to Beckett. Beckett barely held back a snort at the Die Hard reference to the FBI guys.

Agent Johnson extended her hand, but Colonel Carter didn't take it.

"Well this is awkward," the agent said.

"Ya think?" Carter raised her left arm across her chest, tapping on the patch on the front of her flight suit. The CIA agent's eyes dropped to where the colonel was tapping and then quickly widened. She dropped her hand abruptly and looked down as she mumbled an apology.

What was that all about? Beckett looked to her partner, whose eyes had narrowed at the exchange.

Carter broke the awkward silence, "So do you need to talk to Detective Beckett right now? She has been assigned to help us out with an investigation."

Beckett was surprised at how quickly the agent backpedaled. "No. This was just a routine security check to evaluate any risk to one of our covert agent's cover. I talked to the agent this morning, and he cleared Detective Beckett and Mr. Castle. He had not personally spoken with Detective Ryan, so I was called in to follow-up. Actually, I think I'm all done here." Apparently, the mere presence of whatever group Carter was with trumped the CIA.

"Ok."

Silence. After a few more awkward seconds, "How's Jack?"

That's interesting. Agent Johnson called him 'Jack'.

"He's in Captain Montgomery's office right now, if you would like to ask him yourself."

At this point the agent's temperment switched from awkward to something close to mortified. "No, that's ok. I really should be going. It was good to see you again." She grabbed her coat and briefcase and was half way to the elevator before anyone could blink.

Colonel O'Neill asked, "Carter, who was that?"

Carter let out a sneaky smile. "Ask Jack about Kerry when you have the chance. Just make sure I'm around to see it." She pivoted, looking rather proud of herself, and headed off to the break room.

Ryan thanked Beckett for the rescue. She quickly told him she didn't know if he and Esposito were off the case, suggesting he check with the captain. Then she hurried after the colonels and writer who were almost to the break room. This day was looking to be as confusing and frustrating as yesterday, but least she wouldn't need to get her Temptation Lane fix.

Beckett caught up with Carter and Castle in the break room, only a step behind them. The young colonel seemed to be hiding, just outside.

"Hey guys! What are you doing here?" Carter surprised the group, who was watching Vala dig through one of her bags. She had built a large pile of clothes on one of the tables.

Mitchell immediate stood when he heard Carter's voice.

"Samantha!" Vala dropped her handful of clothes on Daniel's lap and half skipped over to the colonel. For a second she looked like she would give the woman a hug, but she jump-stopped just short.

The man whom was now buried in clothes spit out a scarf and casually said, "Hey, Sam."

The large Yankee, Teal'c, tilted his head slightly, "It is good to see you again, Colonel Carter."

Daniel addressed the room, "You guys are so busted now."

Carter let loose a big smile and waved Mitchell to sit down. "I see the General has not approved your promotion yet, Cam." His eyes brightened up. "It was supposed to go through a couple months ago, but I guess he's still considering it."

"What's the problem? What did I do?" Mitchell asked.

Daniel answered, "There's the fact that you practically started two wars."

Wars? What wars?

"Hey! One of those wars has been over for a couple of years now. And I think it was more your and Vala's fault."

Teal'c said, "A good commander takes responsibility for those under his command."

"As if Vala is ever under anyone's command." Vala looked as if she took pride at the dig. "I was just trying to get the band back together. And it's not like I was the one who attacked the Odyssey."

Odyssey? What's that?

Daniel explained, "No, but you embarrassed the Alliance's leader and practically took out a hit on him a few months later. You know how it is. Take out the leader and the next guy is normally worse."

"You guys did the same thing for years, and it eventually worked. I was just following your great example," Mitchell grinned.

Daniel continued, "Then of course he's probably also taking into consideration that while on your team his wife was captured several times, was shot, and almost died."

Captured and shot, not shot down? Colonel Carter must have served in a combat unit, not as a pilot.

Carter finally stepped to spare him, "Don't worry, Cam. I'll talk to him and make sure you don't retire as a lieutenant colonel. However, you still haven't explained why and how you are here. I requested an SF team, not an SG team, and definitely not SG-1."

The four people looked at each other in a guilty fashion. Finally Daniel spoke, "Let me preface this by saying this was not my idea. I have a backlog of translation work to do from SG-2's last mission. What happened was we were in the control room waiting for Teal'c when your call came in. Vala heard 'New York' and begged Landry to let us come. Teal'c expressed an interest in a Yankees game. Teal'c's not on duty anyway, and Landry wanted to get Vala out of the mountain. Mitchell and I were assigned to baby sit."

Carter looked like a mother who was annoyed but secretly amused with her misbehaving children. "Seeing as you have already been shopping, that must be going well."

"I should know not to underestimate Vala, but I have no idea how she got all of this so fast. Don't worry, there is a receipt… somewhere."

"You waited until I was in D.C. so you could go behind my back and order Major Marks to transport you here. Didn't you realize I would see it in the logs when I got back on board?"

"Isn't that why you are here? Well, not 'here' here, but… well you know what I mean."

"No, I haven't seen the logs, yet. I was with the General last night and this morning."

"You're not going to tell on us, are you, Sam? Can't we just do this security detail thing and then let Teal'c and Vala go be tourists."

"It's going to be kind of hard, considering the detail is for the General."

Mitchell gave himself a palm print on his forehead while Daniel said something that sounded like a curse word in some language Beckett had never heard before. She thought it was odd this whole conversation occurred without regard to either her or Castle. She had a feeling some of what she had heard was classified, not that she could make any sense of it.

"Sooo… Sam. Who is this cute guy you brought with you?" Vala stepped over to Castle and folded her hands over the edge of his shoulder as she batted her eyes.

"Vala, team, this is Detective Kate Beckett of NYPD Homicide division and her partner Richard Castle."

Vala looked a Beckett and then quickly backed off from Castle. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you two were together."

Beckett inhaled quickly. She hadn't realized the glare she was inadvertently aiming at the other woman. What am I doing? Castle isn't mine. I might as well be peeing a circle around him. "We're not together that way. We're just work partners."

"I see." Vala returned to the loot she left on the table, calling back in a sign-song voice, "De-ni-al."

Beckett couldn't help the blush forming on her neck, and she was thankful Castle seemed to have lost his voice, despite several attempts to speak.

Daniel nudged Vala, "Vala, give the man back his wallet." Vala huffed and tossed it back to Castle. Beckett made a mental note to talk to Castle about protecting his wallet better. Not everyone would give it back like she and Vala did. Castle seemed even more uncomfortable, so Daniel broke the tension, "So Mr. Castle, I noticed you are not a detective. Are you a consultant?"

Beckett was surprised he figured that out so quickly. "Yes, I help out with murder investigations," Castle answered cautiously.

"Me too. Well, not murder investigations, but I'm a consultant for the Air Force. I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson, archeologist, linguist, sometimes diplomat. That was Vala Mal Doran. It's safest not to go into what she is. Colonel Cameron Mitchell. And Teal'c."

"Just Teal'c?" Castle asked.

"Teal'c, what is it now? High Councilor? Ambassador?"

Ambassador? Beckett had a hard time imagining the man in the Yankees uniform as an ambassador.

The man raised a single eye brow.

"I think it's just Teal'c today. That's with an apostrophe before the 'c', by the way. So what else do you do besides consult for the police?"

Carter answered for him, "He's a writer."

"Oh, anything we would have read?" Daniel politely asked.

"Heat Wave, Naked Heat, Storm Fall…" Castle trailed off as he saw the blank stares. "I've written over twenty New York Times bestselling novels."

Mitchell said, "So nothing we would have read."

Beckett tipped her head. She loved it when Castle's ego met people that didn't know who he was.

Carter saved him, "Major Marks likes his books."

Vala was back sitting on the table, swinging her legs again. "A writer, huh? I've been looking for someone to write my life story."

"I write crime and mystery novels, and while I sometimes base characters like Nikki Heat on inspiring people like Detective Beckett, I write fiction, not biographies."

"Well that's perfect! My life story is full of crime and mystery. It is so fantastic no one would believe it as something other than fiction."

"Vala! Mr. Castle is not writing your life story," Daniel scolded.

Mitchell stopped the chaos, "Colonel, what is their clearance level?"

"They are not cleared for full disclosure, but they passed the background checks so we can refer to topics in their presence as long as we aren't specific. Non-disclosures are pending. You know how it is."

Beckett was relieved. "At least you aren't going to mess with us like yesterday." Vala released a huge grin while Daniel had a sneaky smile. Suddenly Beckett realized what Carter had just said meant they would be messing with them, just like yesterday. Her expression gave her away.

"She catches on fast," Daniel observed. "So, why is Jack in New York? And who was killed that we need a homicide detective?"

"Yesterday, Detective Beckett arrested a witness to a Lucian Alliance deal gone bad. The shooter got away, but we're here to follow-up and see if he left anything behind."

"Who was the witness?" Daniel asked, sounding like he knew something was coming.

Carter called out of the room, "Jon."

The young colonel casually stepped into the room with his hands in his pockets. "Hey, guys."

After a brief hesitation, Mitchell bounced out of his chair to attention.

"At ease, Mitchell, before you hurt something."

"And who is this yummy-cicle?" Vala once again seemed to be attracted to the newest shiny man in the vicinity.

Teal'c stood and extended his arm to Jon, greeting him with a full forearm grasp to the elbow, "It is good to see you again O'Neill."

"You too, T. … Daniel." He gave a friendly nod to the archeologist.

"Sam, you didn't tell me your general has a sexy younger brother."

"Ahh… Vala… He's not Jack's brother." Daniel grabbed Vala's arm and pulled her back.

"He's not?" Daniel whispered in something in Vala's ear.

"Samantha! You sly girl."

"What?" Carter looked surprised for a second. Then she understood the implication. "Oh, no. No. No no no. It's not like that."

"Oh, so Jon is available?" Vala extracted herself from Daniel and stalked back over to Jon.

Carter pursed her lips and then decided to have some fun. "I wouldn't know, but I'd bet he goes for cougars."

At this point, Vala had her arms draped loosely over the uncomfortable-looking colonel's shoulders. She turned to Carter, "Cougars?"

Daniel snorted rather loudly, "Loose older women who like to take advantage of younger men."

Vala shrugged, apparently not concerned with the idea of taking advantage of this man.

The target of Vala's interest was squirming. "Uhhh, Carter. I thought you said Vala and Daniel were together."

Vala dropped her arms and looked at Carter with a huge smile on her lips. She must like the implication of being with Daniel. Meanwhile Daniel protested in the background.

"I might have overstated that a bit. Although, she follows him everywhere. He takes her to dinner all the time. I'd even bet she bought all of those clothes using his credit card."

"Vala!" Daniel cried as he pulled out his wallet to check it.

"I didn't use the card." She looked at the floor sheepishly. "I just told them the numbers."

Carter continued, "When I shut down the baby betting pool, Walter told me that they were the biggest pool running. I think the Siler injury pool has more participants, but it pays out too quickly. Due to inflation, their pool has even more money in it than Jack and mine used to."

"What pool?" Jon asked.

"Come on, you had to know about it. Actually, our pool was fairly straight-forward because we never socialized without the rest of the team. I think it only had date and location of the first kiss without outside influence, how we would be getting around the regs, and marriage date. Daniel and Vala's has categories like where they'll get caught making out, when their next date is, stuff like that."

Vala was curious. "So let me get this straight. I could put money down on Daniel and my next date—"

"—we don't go on dates—"

"—through some third party. Then I could arrange a date and collect my winnings."

Carter shook her head. "Probably wouldn't work. Walter's too smart for that. A few years ago, they had a pool about the next time Jack and I would have to fake being married for the natives. Daniel started getting bribes to orchestrate when that would happen. Walter figured it out and dropped the category."

"But bottom line, most of the people in the SGC think we're dating?" Vala grinned.

"We're not dating!"

Carter said, "What else do you call it when two people clearly are in to each other, care about each other very much, spend all of their time together, and don't have military regulations in the way?"

Vala seemed very pleased with the rational and plopped on Daniel's lap. Daniel rolled his eyes but didn't immediately eject her from her position.

While most people were laughing at Daniel's discomfort, Carter deliberately turned her head and looked directly at Beckett. That when it hit her. I'm practically dating Castle! Her eyes took the deer-in-headlights look. She wanted to know if Castle was thinking the same thing, but didn't dare look in his direction. Finally, Carter let out a quiet chuckle and looked away, leaving Beckett to her panicked thoughts.

Mitchell asked with hesitation, "So when you said O'Neill was here, you meant…"

"No, the General's here too. The President recalled the Colonel and put him under the General's command. He also thought it would be funny to have the two of them investigate the incident together. I'm here for technical support."

"Isn't a three-star and two full-birds overkill?"

"Says the SG-1 leader working security detail," Carter replied.

Daniel asked, "So why the security team? It's not like the three of you couldn't hold off platoon of…" Daniel glanced over to the people in the room that did not have full security clearance. "…a platoon all by yourselves."

"This is classified," Carter gave a pointed look at Beckett and Castle, "but you all know Senator Michaels was not the target of that 'accident' at HWC a few weeks ago. They didn't know the General had been called away for a sitrep at the White House. As far as I'm concerned, if the General is going to be walking around in an area where the Lucian Alliance has been recently, he's going to have backup. Since General Landry sent SG-1 as that detail, it looks like he agrees."

Beckett noticed the entire group, which had seemed jovial and irreverent since she walked in, was suddenly very serious. She still didn't know who this Lucian Alliance was. She only knew they were smuggling weapons, tried to kill General O'Neill, and took out a US Senator in the cross-fire. She had heard the Senator died in an explosion from a gas leak. The 24-hour news channels covered the tragedy for a week. Not once had she heard anything of terrorists, assassination, HWC (whatever that was), or this Lucian Alliance.

"So when do we get this show on the road?" Mitchell asked as he clapped his hands together.

"How about now?" General O'Neill stood at the entrance to the break room.

For the third time in a few minutes, Mitchell bounced up from his chair to attention. Daniel used the distraction to finally remove Vala from his lap.

"At ease, Mitchell, before you hurt something."

Beckett and Castle looked at each other. They both sensed the déjà vu.

"Carrrter." The general looked to his wife was a serious expression. "Why is SG-1 here?"

Before she could reply, Mitchell offered an excuse. "We volunteered, sir."

"I thought I was talking to Carter. Is your name Carrrter?"

"No, sir."

"Didn't think so. Carrrter?"

"SG-1 intercepted my request to General Landry and… thought they were needed here."

"In other words, SG-1 wanted a vacation and was bugging Landry so he dumped them on us."

Carter nodded. "Pretty much, Sir. I would have reissued my request to Landry for a standard SF team, but I was not aboard when they caught transport this morning."

O'Neill was stone-faced for a moment. He slowly started the smallest possible smile with the corners of his mouth. "I see. Well you were busy this morning so I can let that slide." Carter seemed to return the tiny smile as if they were sharing an inside joke. "I'll still be taking this up with Landry, later. He shouldn't be asking for more teams if SG-1 is twiddling their thumbs."

Mitchell spoke up for his team, "Truth is, sir, we were meeting Teal'c, and we're on downtime until we help oversee the elections next week."

"Teal'c is here? Oh, there you are T. I thought you were the next third baseman for the Yanks."

Teal'c stood and smiled at the general. He gave him the same forearm clasp that he gave the younger O'Neill. "It is good to see you, my friend."

"Likewise. When we are done with this thing here, the President wants the inside scoop on your upcoming elections. I think he sometimes wishes he could just put you in charge, but I keep explaining to him that you are nation building and have no intention of becoming a puppet dictatorship. This isn't the Cold War era."

Beckett looked at Castle who appeared to be as confused as she was. She thought she followed world news fairly closely. She wasn't aware of any major foreign elections going on for a while. But apparently, this man in the absurd Yankees uniform was a major player in one next week. While she completely disagreed with the cover-up of the killing of a Senator, she could understand why people would try to do so while the investigation was ongoing, for security reasons. Covering up an election made no sense. Bringing elections to countries new to democracy was always good PR.

"While I like the pinstripes, T, you should probably lose the pants. How about you get changed while Vala cleans up her mess and I sort out the team?"

Teal'c nodded silently, grabbed his bag and headed to the restroom. Vala, meanwhile, huffed and started throwing clothes into her bags.

"Sir," Carter said, "it's been brought to my attention that you have been sitting on Lieutenant Colonel Mitchell's promotion file for four weeks now. Don't you think you should move it to the top of the pile?"

"I don't know, Colonel. Mitchell does have a CMH, but that was when he was a Major. What has he done lately? You won what… an AFC and your second Binder Prize when you were a light colonel."

Beckett thought she followed some of that. She didn't know what a Binder Prize was, but AFC would be Air Force Cross and CMH would be a freaking Congressional Medal of Honor! She was feeling more and more out of place. She wasn't needed here. She needed to be solving her double homicide.

"Come on, Jack," Daniel protested. "If you use Sam as a standard, no one would ever get promoted." Mitchell remained silent in his chair, looking as if he wished the floor would swallow him whole.

"Perhaps. I guess there is budget for another colonel at the SGC. It's not like he would get paid more than you anyway."

"Daniel gets paid more than Mitchell?" Vala perked up at the mention of money.

"Jaaack," Daniel warned.

The general ignored him. "Didn't you know, Vala? Military officer pay is determined by rank, experience and a few other factors like hazard pay. Consultant pay is much more competitive with the rest of the world and as a result, often much higher. Consultants with hazard pay get even more. If I remember correctly, Daniel here is the highest paid person on the Air Force payroll."

"Jack!"

"Really? Fantastic! Daniel, for our date tonight we need to go a really expensive restaurant."

"Umm, uhhh. I think most expensive New York restaurants book months in advance."

Before she could restrain herself, Beckett volunteered, "Castle's famous. He can get you in."

As everyone had once again seemed to have forgotten the detective and writer, all heads turned in her direction. She looked apologetically at Castle, who simply shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

"Great! We could double-date!"

Beckett saw Castle about to agree before he thankfully stopped himself and closed his mouth. Beckett interceded, "Actually, I have to work tonight and Castle has to get home for his daughter."

"Ok. That just means more alone time for Daniel and me." Several people were holding in laughs at that comment.

Teal'c returned carrying his bag and wearing black cargo pants, a black sleeveless T-shirt and a black stocking cap. Beckett knew she could take down most people twice her size. After all, she had broken the interrogation room mirror by throwing Vulcan Simmons against it. It was a matter of assertiveness, technique, controlled aggression, and a lot of time in the gym. However, she had a feeling none of that would help her with this man. He was built. He definitely looked more like a body builder or UFC fighter than a politician.

"Well, that won't stick out in New York City," Jon quipped. Beckett knew what he meant.

Carter offered a suggestion, "How about you wear the baseball cap and your new jersey unbuttoned over your shirt. That will make you look like a local fan instead of either a crazy tourist or a bouncer at a rave?" Teal'c nodded and pulled out the suggested clothing. When he switched hats, Beckett noticed a flash of gold on his forehead, but could not see what it was.

At that moment, Esposito stepped into the break room. "Beckett." He curiously glanced around at the group before returning to the message at hand. "I have the preliminary lab report from Lanie. It was definitely an animal. She found non-human hair in the wounds. Teams are still searching the area for whatever did this, but until we get a species DNA match, we don't really know what we are looking for. We just know it is something big."

"Excuse me. Did you say a large animal killed your two victims? I thought it was a murder." Carter walked over to Beckett and Esposito.

Esposito looked hesitant. Beckett directed him to the door, "I'm sorry. You should run this by the captain. I've been pulled off the case, for now. However Ryan may be back on."

Carter said, "Wait. This is important. Were your victims killed by a large animal?"

Esposito looked to his boss, who nodded for him to proceed. "Yes. We don't know what—"

"And were these attacks near your crime scene from yesterday morning?"

That question surprised Beckett, but she answered, "Yes. Just a few blocks away."

"I think our cases might be related." Carter suggested.

"What are you thinking?" Mitchell asked.

"Remember our first getaway with SG-1 and General Landry to the cabin."

"You think?"

Carter widened her eyes and shrugged.

"Oh crap!" Mitchell exclaimed.

"What is it?" the general asked Carter.

"I've been working on the assumption the Lucian Alliance had something like an office, depot, or storage area somewhere near where the man was found yesterday. That location must be very well hidden, if you know what I mean." Carter trailed off looking at Beckett, obviously treading on classified territory.

"So if they were using the same technology as at the cabin—" Mitchell continued.

"We could have another incursion," Carter finished.

"Does this mean we get to go on another hunt?" Vala seemed to be the only one happy about this new information.

"No one is doing any hunting in New York City until we know more." General O'Neill was clearly taking charge. "Daniel, you take Vala and this detective to the morgue. See what you can find out."

Carter added, "Cassie's on the Hammond, so you can call her for back-up. She can also get any tests or scans expedited at the SGC." Esposito, Vala, and Daniel promptly left.

"Detective Beckett."

"Yes, General?" She almost felt like saluting.

"Do you have another member of your team we can requisition?"

She looked out into the bullpen. "Ryan!" A moment later he appeared at the door. "You've been drafted by the Air Force." He looked surprised.

"Detective Ryan, I need you to take Colonel Mitchell and Teal'c to where you found the bodies this morning."

Ryan looked to Beckett, a little uncertain about the two men towering by him. She reassured him, "The captain said to give them our full cooperation. Just be careful." He nodded and left with Mitchell and Teal'c.

Beckett asked the general, "What are we doing?"

Carter answered for him. "We're still going to yesterday's crime scene. We're just in a bit more of a hurry now. I have some equipment to gather, so I'll meet you at your car in two minutes." Jon opened the door for Carter as she quickly left out the opposite side of the break room.

"Wait. How do you know where my car is?" Beckett hurried to catch the other woman, but when she looked out into the hall, the colonel was nowhere to be seen. After a double take, she shook her head and returned to the remaining group.

"Let's go," the general ordered. One thing was for certain. When this team decided to stop screwing around and move, they moved.

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A/N: Ok, I'll admit adding Kerry Johnson is a little much, but I couldn't resist. I added the cameo in reaction to my mind exploding after seeing Chuck vs. the Wedding Planner previews the same week as rewatching Stargate SG-1, 8.18, Threads. I didn't want to go into detail in the story, but in this universe, Agent Johnson transferred out of the Stargate Program when Jack transferred to Washington. She dated a congressman for a while, but left him when she realized he was getting busy with an intern. Since then, she's thrown herself into her work, running routine security checks for the "regular" part of the CIA. I know, not very nice. But that's what you get when you're a PLI. Despite the similar appearance, Kerry Johnson is not related to Kathleen McHugh or Noreen Hixton.

Check out the Castle fic Marking Her Territory by AllusionToAnIllusion. It's well worth your time. Just don't read it when you're someplace you'll embarrass yourself.

If you want a fun take on Jack and Sam's "marriages" off-world, read chapter 28 of my 1-shot series And then she said… If you want to know why Jack and Sam still call each other "Carter" and "Sir" (and why Sir is capitalized), read chapter 29.