The Tegan Chronicles 3
Silent Screams 9:
Teddy Bear and Red Locks
The screen had been off since Janet was returned to the cell, and now Jack prepared to attack whichever of Nirrti's henchmen were behind the door as it slid open. He stopped short when he saw Tegan standing in front of Rosh'na. "He's getting us off this hunk of flying metal."
"He? How?"
"I am Tok'ra," Rosh'na spoke as Tegan took in the cell vaguely remembering she'd been housed there momentarily a day or two before. She wasn't sure how long she'd been mentally and physically tortured. "There is no time to explain everything."
"We have to go," Tegan stepped back into the corridor.
"I will use the transport rings to transport you to the Stargate," Rosh'na explained as he led them to the ring room. "You must immediately gate home. I am not sure how long I can keep Nirrti or her Jaffa from discovering you are gone."
"What about you?" Daniel asked. "What will happen to you if you get caught?"
"I will not get caught," Rosh'na smiled. "I have a plan. In here."
Once they were within the working area of the transport rings Colonel O'Neill questioned, "Why are you doing this?"
"Because both Major Carter and Major Kiser have Tok'ra intel which is vital it does not get out." He raised his hand to the control.
Without getting a chance to respond they found themselves on the surface of a strange planet. "Carter dial us home."
"Yes sir."
"What do you think will happen to him if he gets caught?" Daniel asked from the planet's surface while Sam was dialing earth.
"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to," Tegan bit out.
Jack turned to Tegan. "You ok Kiser?"
She blinked as the wormhole activated, "Fine sir."
"Let's go home, shall we?"
"Colonel, what happened?" General Hammond appeared in the doorway to the gate room as the gate shut down.
"Nirrti happened sir, it was all an elaborate trap."
"And SG22?"
"They're all dead sir," Tegan's voice was distant.
General Hammond noticed Tegan's cut shirt as she crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to keep it closed. "Report to the infirmary, I'd like to debrief in two hours."
"Yes sir."
"I expect a full explanation when we debrief," He directed his comment to Jack having noticed the blood still caked in Sam's hair and staining her cargo pants. "Dismissed."
Tegan sat across from Janet during the debriefing and remained quiet as Colonel O'Neill recounted the most important parts of the mission and what had happened. He left out the details of Tegan's mental torture with the memory device, or at least the memories they had seen. It was something he'd already discussed with everyone but her before the debriefing and they'd all agreed it was best. Immediately after they were dismissed with two weeks of downtime Tegan disappeared.
Tegan sat on the lone bench in the center of the women's locker room, her back facing the door. She'd heard Janet come in a few minutes earlier and had refused to face her, let lone acknowledge her presence.
Even from behind her, Janet could read the distress on Tegan's face. It was written all over her body, the toned and straining muscles rippling through the black cotton of her shirt. She still couldn't imagine anyone treating another human being, especially a child, the way Tegan had been treated growing up. Somehow she knew what they'd glimpsed was only the tip of the iceberg, despite the Colonel's warning to leave it behind, she couldn't. She wanted to reach out to her, to take away the pain of it all. She was powerless to erase the emotional scars. "I'm here Tegan. I just want you to know if you need me I'm here."
"I know," she sighed. "I just need some time."
"Well, you know where to find me."
She sat there in the dark for an hour after Janet left; when she heard the door open again she knew it was Sam. Several moments of silence passed between them before the blonde finally spoke. "Do you need a ride home?"
Tegan looked at the keys in her hand, "You heard Warner, he'd discharge me if I didn't drive for the next 24 hrs."
"I did, so let me give you a lift?"
"Yeah," Tegan stood up the prescription bottle of potassium rattling in her pocket.
"It's crazy but we're getting together at Janet's and ordering Chinese, are you in?"
Tegan shrugged as she walked out, "Sure why not."
She thought it would keep her from being alone with her thoughts, but it was awkward all the same. They gathered around the table the only person smiling was Cassie who was just so glad they were back.
Janet watched as Tegan pushed her Lo mien around her plate for the tenth time, her egg roll remained untouched. Cassie's laughter drew her attention to the other end of the table where Jack had just told a joke. He kept glancing at the quite Tegan, as did the rest of her team.
"Cassie if you're finished eating, you may be excused." Janet looked at the veggies Cassie had pulled out of her sweet and sour chicken still littering her plate. She was surprised when her daughter stood up and started clearing the table, although she was certain it had something to do with the ease of eavesdropping from a closer location.
Tegan lifted her plate as Cassie came to her side, the teen sighed. "You didn't eat anything."
"I'm not hungry," She glanced at Cassie before looking at Janet.
"Yeah," Daniel interrupted the strained silence. "The sarcophagus can do that to you."
Unlike her teammates Nirrti hadn't given her any food that Janet was aware of, although she thought it was possible Rosh'na had slipped her something to eat when he could.
"What did she do to you anyway?"
"Who?" Tegan turned to face Cassie who was still standing their holding her plate, as if she might change her mind.
"Nirrti, who else?"
"Who told you it had anything to do with Nirrti?" Jack cleared his throat.
"I'm not stupid Uncle Jack," Cassie glared in his direction. "I know what she's capable of."
"It's ok Cassie, we're all back in one piece and we're fine." Jack reassured, but couldn't possibly imagine what she was feeling.
When they hadn't reported back Julie had picked Cassie up from her last day of school, and explained that Janet was on a mission off world and they weren't sure how long she'd be gone. When Janet was called off world it usually wasn't scheduled so it really hadn't alarmed her.
"I hate that word," Cassie looked at Tegan. "You're not fine are you?"
"I'm ok Cass, really."
"Then why didn't you eat?"
"I told you I'm not hungry."
"Well the food couldn't get here fast enough for them." She looked around the room.
Janet started to play the mom card and reprimand Cassie for her tone when Tegan locked eyes with her silently telling her to let it go. "Why don't you wrap that over and I'll take it home, I'm sure I'll be hungry before I go to bed?"
"Cassie just put it on the counter I'll take care of cleaning up," Janet wished she could tell her to go do her homework; instead she came up with another plan. "Why don't you go ride your bike for a while before it gets dark."
"Fine," She let the plate fall a few inches to the counter.
"Stay on our street, and be back by eight."
When the front door closed Tegan looked around the table to see all eyes on her. "I'm fine."
"No one said you weren't." Jack pushed his chair back but didn't get up.
The sound of the chair legs vibrating against the linoleum caused Tegan to flinch. She closed her eyes as an unbidden memory of her father moving so quickly from a ladder backed chair, it had toppled over. Before the sound had dissipated she was being lifted by her neck out of her own seat.
Janet reached out and delicately touched Tegan's forearm with her finger tips. The action caused her to visibly jump as her eyelids snapped open.
"Sorry," Janet whispered while pulling her hand away.
"What did you all see?" Tegan's voice was child like.
"We saw everything Nirrti saw."
"Teal'c." Jack growled, but it was too late.
"I... uh," Tegan looked at her watch. "Need to go."
"I wish you would stay." Janet's brown eyes begged.
"Dr. Warner cleared me."
"I wouldn't have." Janet shook her head; she was seriously debating having him transferred as far from the SGC as possible.
"As CMO you could still…" Sam was cut off by the threatening glare Tegan shot in her direction.
"I'm reserving the right for now." Janet watched as Tegan stood and pulled her keys from her pocket.
"You're bike's not here." Daniel reminded, surprised she'd already forgotten riding with him in the back of Sam's Volvo.
"I'll give you a ride." Sam stood and looked at the bespectacled archeologist.
"I'll get a ride with Jack."
Colonel O'Neill nodded his consent.
As usual Tegan hated being on downtime, she hated even more when General Hammond forced them off the base to take said downtime. It'd been two days and she was afraid she would truly go insane if she couldn't get back to her daily routine soon. She'd gotten some sleep, sort of; she'd changed the oil in the Ducati and the Porsche. She'd waxed her snowboard so it'd be ready next season, she'd gone jogging, mowed the lawn, and read her latest medical Journal.
She glanced at her watch, four hours until she was supposed to meet Sam and Cassie at the mall. She wasn't big on the mall scene, but Sam and Cassie promised it would be fun and Sam was probably climbing the walls too. The doorbell rang pulling her from the daydream, and she jumped to her feet. She thought it might be Sam but saw the odd colored delivery truck idling on the curb, the same not so mainstream parcel distributor that had stopped to ask for directions on her birthday.
"Hello?" She pulled the door open and smiled lightly at the teal uniform that somehow clashed with the truck and logo emblazed on his right breast.
"I have a delivery for a Tegan Kiser."
"That'd be me." She eyed the box in his hand curiously, she hadn't ordered anything, and it wasn't like she had friends who sent things to her by any means especially not gaudy delivery companies.
"I just need your signature here." He pointed to the blank space on his clipboard and waited patiently while she scribbled her John Hancock down. "Have a nice day."
"Thanks." She muttered already taken in by the package he was handing her. She waited until he had bounded down the porch steps before closing the door.
She looked the box over, the address label had been printed on a computer and there was no return address. She frowned and glanced out the picture window as she crossed the living room. The delivery van was still there, the uniformed man sat in the driver's seat with a mobile phone pressed to his ear. She didn't think anything of it; a lot more businesses were making it against regulations to drive while talking on the phone. She grabbed a letter opener from the end table and dropped onto the couch with the box on her lap.
She felt a breeze blow in from the sliding screen door leading to her back deck and took in a refreshing deep breath before slitting the tape on the box. The sides popped open and she flipped the inner flaps out. She gasped as her eyes landed on the well worn teddy bear, smelling musty from the dank out of the way place he'd been stowed in. She couldn't clearly remember when she'd seen him last, had it been before she left for boarding school? Had she only been four or five the last time she'd cuddled him to her chest?
She gingerly lifted him out of the box, afraid of what the years and poor storage had done to his soft velvety skin. His nose was thread bare, much as she'd remembered him. One eye hung haphazardly from a thread that should have been dry rotted by now. He was in so many ways exactly the way she'd remembered him.
She looked at the bottom of the box, there wasn't a note. It was empty except for the air molecules that filled the space. She looked up her eyes finding the delivery van still sitting on the curb. Someone had to know where it came from. She stood up the bear grasped lightly in her right hand. Something hit her in the shoulder, it stung. Instinctively she reached up with her left hand and pulled the tranquilizer dart free. She registered the empty cab of the van, and turned to see the delivery man pushing the screen door fully open. She started to say something, but felt the bear slip through her fingers as the world closed down around her.
"She promised she'd be here," Cassie whined for the fifth time in as many minutes.
"And she's probably just stuck in traffic." Sam looked out over the food court. "You did tell her to meet us here right?"
"No I told her to meet us on Mars," The teenager rolled her eyes at the appropriate time.
"Ok," Sam pulled her phone out and hit one of the speed dial numbers. She held the receiver to her ear until voicemail picked up. She disconnected the call and tried another number. "Tegan, it's Sam if you're there pick up."
Cassie watched as Sam pulled the phone away from her ear. "Did you try her cell phone?"
"She's not answering either one." Sam sighed and ran a frustrated hand through her hair.
"She's twenty minutes late," Cassie scanned the few customers that were milling about.
"Well, we can either go shopping without her, or we can swing by her place."
"I'm not in the mood to shop anymore." Cassie started in the direction of the parking lot.
Sam was standing on the front porch when Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c pulled into the driveway. Cassie was sitting on the hood of Sam's old Volvo where Sam had told her to wait. "I didn't call the police, figured I'd leave that up to you and General Hammond."
"What happened?" Jack took the four steps two at a time.
"She didn't show at the mall, so Cassie and I came by to check things out. I picked the lock when she didn't answer, and found the screen door wide open. I didn't touch anything, but there's a tranq dart, a cardboard box and an old teddy bear on the floor between the couch and the coffee table."
Jack stepped into the living room with Sam and Teal'c behind him. "The coffee table's out of place."
"Yeah, I noticed that too," Sam looked at the cockeyed piece of furniture. "I'm thinking she hit it when she went down."
"Major Kiser may have fought with her attackers." Teal'c scanned the room.
"Yeah, I don't think so." Jack shook his head as he heard the front door creak. He and Sam spun around at the same time.
"Janet?" Sam looked past the short doctor to see Cassie chasing a butterfly through the yard.
"Cassandra called me. I told her to stay outside," She moved around Colonel O'Neill.
"We don't know who took her." Sam stepped aside.
"No," Jack pulled his phone out. "But we're going to find her."
"I know that bear." Janet pointed to the fallen stuffed animal.
"It looks vaguely familiar," Sam shrugged. "Maybe we saw it when we helped her unpack?"
"I do not believe she had this bear then." Teal'c turned his head to face the two women. "I have seen it before as well."
"In her memory," Janet mentally smacked her forehead. "It was in her lap when she spilled the glass of water."
"I believe you are correct."
"Wake up!"
The gruff voice was abrasive in her ears and she knew immediately who it was. Even in her drugged state she couldn't have misplaced it, despite not having actually heard it in years. Her neck was stiff from the odd angle her head had been hanging in. She tried to move her arms but they were bound, it took her a minute to process the fact she was seated. With her eyes closed she still recognized the old ladder-back chair, she tried to move her legs but found they too were restrained. She opened her eyes experimentally to find the room obscurely lit, which suited her throbbing head just fine. She knew it was a side effect of the tranquillizer but it still felt like someone had had the party of the century inside her head, problem was they forgot to ask her permission.
Her mouth was dry but she some how managed to remove her tongue from the roof of her mouth. "Father."
"In the flesh," He stood back watching her. "I was afraid my friend gave you too much."
"Your friend?" She quickly found out why she couldn't move her arms and legs, duct tape. Sure it was used to hold the universe together when you had nothing better to use, but she didn't appreciate her calves and the majority of her arms being wrapped mummy like to the armless chair with the gummy tape. It was going to hurt like hell to remove it. Of course she wouldn't have to worry about shaving her legs for the rest of the summer.
"Just someone I paid to pick you up."
"You couldn't just use the phone?"
"You've changed a lot." He wasn't impressed with her sarcasm.
"I'm not some little girl you can shove in the closet anymore." She surmised she wasn't in her childhood home, but rather a warehouse somewhere. Probably still in Colorado, otherwise it'd have to be a pretty heavy drug he'd slipped her to transport her back to Maryland.
"You look like my wife."
"What do you want?" She wasn't in the mood to play his games.
"You killed her and you're going to pay."
"Of course," She watched the anger building inside him, just as it'd always done from the time she was born. "I thought you had a new family, one in which I didn't matter."
"Becky left me."
"And I suppose that's my fault too?"
"Yes," He pulled a pistol from his waistband. "When the money was gone, so was she."
"Three million, that's a lot of money to blow through."
"It was my wife's money."
Even in the dim light Tegan could see the blood spatter on the gun, her stomach tightened and churned. "You killed her?"
"You killed her." He repeated the words with anger.
"No, Becky, you killed her." She watched as a mad man's grin grew on his face.
"You look like my wife."
"You mean my mother," It was as much a statement as a question.
"No, she was never your mother. She was my wife and you killed her." The gun shook in his hand. "Everything about you, except those eyes. It was those eyes that killed her."
"Of course," She muttered, he'd always hated her eyes swearing they were the eyes of a rapist.
His finger tightened on the trigger, but in the dim light he couldn't distinguish her eyes from her mother's and he let his hand fall.
"What do you want?" Tegan could barter for her life, if she had too. "You want the million?"
"You can't touch that money until you're thirty, besides you used it for medical school."
"I had full scholarships, I never touched the money."
"They're going to find out that I killed Becky, the money won't do me any good. Besides you've already set a quarter of it to roll over into a trust fund for a Cassandra Fraiser when you turn thirty. And if you die before then, she gets it all. Cassandra Fraiser," He spat the name out like bitter tobacco. "What is she, your lover?"
"She's a little girl who can use the money to go on to college." Tegan felt even sicker knowing she'd inadvertently stood Cassie and Sam up for their little shopping excursion. She only hoped they'd figured out she was missing, and were looking for her.
"So," He returned the gun to the back of his waistband before he kicked a duffle bag into the light and started rummaging through it. "I'm just going to help her get it all."
"If you're going to kill me," She watched as he pulled out a pair of scissors and an electric razor. "Go ahead and get it over with."
"You're not going to get off that easy." He held up his findings and stood. "You killed my wife, and I have lived every day since in pain because of it. I'm going to share some of that with you before you die."
Great, she thought, this was just great. Why didn't anyone want to just kill her? So far she had yet to find a single Goa'uld who would just kill her. They all wanted to torture her and her team for information. Then there was Nirrti the bane of her existence who found much pleasure in torturing her and making sure she lived to deal with it. She'd had enough pain in her life, both physical and mental without his adding still more to it. "You don't think I've missed her every waking moment of my life?"
"You didn't know her. You can't miss someone you never knew!" He shoved the razor in his back pocket and stepped up to Tegan lifting the scissors to her hairline. He was so engrossed in getting rid of her red locks he didn't notice how close his arm was to her face.
She did, and took total advantage of the situation. She took a deep breath and jerked her head forward grabbing the skin on his forearm with her teeth. She bit down, and he pulled back tearing a small chuck of flesh off as he went. She didn't see him swing his right arm down as he cursed her loudly. The scissors tore through the fabric of her shorts and penetrated deep into her left thigh. White and blue heat rippled through her leg, but before she could cry out he back handed her, the taste of her own blood mingling with his in her mouth.
