Chapter 10

Jack strode into the hotel lobby, his teeth still rattling from the ride. Sam and Teal'c were at the check-in desk having obviously just arrived.

"Guys," he said, as he approached.

"Sir," Sam replied, quietly, then looked behind him to the entrance. "Where's Daniel?"

Jack glanced around quickly. There were too many people in the lounge. A tour group off out with their guide; a group of business men sipping coffee and talking loudly; a lone woman staring out the window into the dark. Her head swung around at their voices. Damn.

She was on her feet and heading their way with determined strides before Jack could think of how to get out of her way.

"Excuse me, but did you say Daniel? Are you friends of his?" Her voice was anxious, her chin determined.

"We are," Teal'c spoke in his soft rumble.

"Work colleagues," Jack jumped in quickly. It was unusual for Teal'c to make a snap judgement, or to speak out of turn, but he'd obviously decided he liked the look of this woman who must be Maggie.

Maggie's gaze was assessing. "I see. That explains a few things about Daniel." She waited for a beat then asked. "Where is he?"

Jack's answer was for all of them. "Let's take a seat somewhere a bit quieter, shall we. Sam, are we booked in yet?"

"Second floor." Sam watched the colonel take the young woman's arm and almost march her to the stairs.

A few minutes later they were spread around the room, Maggie on the bed nearest the door, Sam on the opposite one, while the two men took up stations at door and window. The spread of personnel was done without thought.

"You're military, right?" Maggie asked. Her eyes moved from Jack to Teal'c, then down to Sam. "I've lived with military all my life. I know a soldier when I see one. So, where's Daniel, where's Sophia."

Silence answered her. "Was Sophia abducted because of Daniel?" Her voice had risen slightly.

"What makes you think that?" Jack kept his shoulder to the door, but his stance had stiffened slightly.

"You," she replied baldly. "Daniel never talked about his work, ever. He'd disappear for days on end, come back worse for wear sometimes, or so Sophia told me. Like I said, I've been around the military all my life, I know a lot of things a civilian shouldn't and I can smell an undercover operation when I see it. Is Sophia missing because of Daniel?"

Teal'c moved from the window. "She is not."

His emphatic tone seemed to take the guts out of Maggie. Her face began to crumple, tears started to her eyes. "Then where is she?"

Sam switched to the other bed and put an arm around her. "We're going to find out. We've only just arrived, give us time. We'll keep you informed but we really need to get settled in. Why don't you go to your room and try and get some sleep. We'll see you in the morning.

With the fight gone out of her, Maggie let herself be gently escorted out of the room to find her way back to her own room.

"That was uncomfortable. Who is this woman? Sam, get on line. I want to know everything about her." Jack started to pace the room while Sam plugged in her laptop and began to type.

"Where is Daniel Jackson, colonel?" Teal'c finally asked, taking them back to the original question.

"Back at the temple. He wouldn't come away… What? You expected me to knock him out and bring him back over my shoulder?"

As his teammates knew that Jack was quite capable of doing just that, they just looked at him with similar expressions of understanding.

"Look, he could hardly get into any trouble, there's nothing there apart from the rings. No control mechanism and we looked hard. Half the rest of the place is full of sand. He'll be alright until morning." Jack was desperate to convince the others as well as himself.

"Sir. Maggie Connors, she's the daughter of General Connors the head of Project Diamond. Doesn't seem to be employed at the moment, but she's had various posts within NATO."

They exchanged looks. "How on earth did she get to be friends with a secretary? Well, at least she'll know how to keep her mouth shut should she see something she shouldn't."

The next morning, they left the hotel at first light. By the time they reached the temple site, work had already commenced. A string of leathery skinned workmen formed a line that was rapidly passing baskets of sand out of the temple's courtyard and passing empty ones back down. Jack scanned the interior but could see no sign of Daniel. As he headed up to the inner sanctum he noted one workman that seemed taller than the others. Daniel, dressed in borrowed native garb was near the head of the line, working alongside the Egyptian team.

Jack stared for a moment, memories of Abydos coming flooding back. Daniel and Sha'uri and their extended family. Skaara. The endless sand.

Daniel was in his element.

It was mind numbing, this endless movement of sand. As the sun had risen, Daniel had become more and more convinced that Sophia was nearby. He could feel her. Jack would put it down to paranoia and sleep deprivation, and maybe the crushing guilt he felt for having not returned her call. Maybe part of that was true: he'd run from the emotional confrontation and look what had happened. But through the months they'd been together he'd acquired a kind of sixth sense when she was around. Perhaps it was that she could feel him so deeply? Who knew? But he was aware of her when she entered a room, could sense her unease without seeing her face and making love with her was amazing, so attuned to one another as they were.

Deep in his gut, Daniel knew she was nearby. If Sam couldn't find a way to get the rings to work, then there must be another way down. So here he was, moving sand until they reached the flagging and temple walls and could find a second way in. The first thing he'd do when he got back to the mountain was check off every damned deity he could think of for their allegiance and state of health. If there were any Goa'uld unaccounted for, he wanted to know.

A cry from the head of the line brought him out of his reverie. Hawas was hurrying forward as the men moved out of his way.

"Ahhhhhh."

Daniel heard the pleased sound Hawas made as he reached him.

"Look, Daniel, see?"

Daniel did. They both examined the large square of plaster, at variance with the blocks around it. It was the sort of seal you came across on hidden tombs. A door - low down on the back wall, anyone entering it would need to crouch low, a suitable position for a servant, or petitioner. This was not the front door by any means.

Daniel also knew that, much has he wanted to take a sledgehammer to the thing, Hawas was not going to let him. For one thing, it was obvious no one had been through that entrance for millennia, so no way Sophia had gone that way. He knew that the rings must have been activated, but Hawas was looking for a missing American tourist, not a way into a secret alien lair.

SG1 stood back and watched, as with great care the archaeologist took photos, measurements and finally a tiny hammer and chisel. With soft taps, Hawas worked his way around the seal, and with each tap, tap, tap, their nerves grew tighter and tighter.

"Can't we just…"

"No," Daniel replied firmly, much as he agreed with Jack.

"Just …"

"No."

Minutes stretched to an hour, then another fifteen minutes before the seal finally was eased away leaving a dark hole in the white wall.

Hawas took a torch from one of the natives and let the beam flash inside the opening. Daniel was at his side in an instant, his eyes searching the small tunnel. They looked at one another and Hawas grinned.

"We must organise ourselves, yes," Hawas muttered. "The other countries must be allowed access as we discover what lies within. Daniel, please stay here while I choose the team."

Daniel nodded, not believing his luck. As soon as the archaeologist moved out of sight Jack and the others rushed over.

"We won't have much time. Daniel, you stay on guard duty, Sam co-ordinate with SG5, they should arrive any minute and I don't want to upset the locals – yet. Teal'c you're with me." Jack's orders buzzed in Daniel's head, but landed nowhere. With a quick twist of the wrist, he had wrested Jack's torch from his hand and plunged into the dark passageway.

"Bloody hell, Daniel, get your ass back here!!"

But Daniel was already moving through the tunnel that seared arrow straight toward the outer wall. The air clogged his lungs, the stale taste of fetid air setting his gag reflexes working.

Ignoring the sound of pursuit, he plunged deeper. Amazingly, the passage was clear of debris. No one had entered the tomb since it had been sealed, which said a lot for the fear that Hapi had wielded over his followers. Suddenly slowing, Daniel's brain caught up with his emotions and he finally gave thought to possible booby traps. They were not unheard of in tombs of later dynasties, so why not here? As the thought hit, so did the sudden rumbling sound of masonry grinding against itself and behind him Jack's voice yelled a warning.

Daniel flung himself forward, the falling block missing him by millimetres, sending dust and debris soaring into the fetid air.