Chapter 5 – Kinsey is an Assassin
Note: Please pardon the bad title pun.
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"What's this all about then?" Senator Kinsey asked belligerently. "My time is valuable, Doctor Jackson." The man's voice was laced with derision.
"It has recently come to my attention that you are responsible for the recent murder of my girlfriend," Daniel stated calmly.
"What? But that's... You couldn't possibly... how dare you!" Kinsey spluttered, turning beet red.
"You look guilty," Daniel observed with a nod.
"I had nothing to do with the accident!" Kinsey denied brusquely.
"We ran the plates on the car; traced it back to you."
"Rubbish. The police report says no one saw the vehicle," Kinsey argued.
"I know. Someone did see, but we couldn't reveal that fact for reasons of national security."
"Whatever are you talking about?"
"Melinar, the symbiote."
Kinsey's eyes bugged out. "The Goa'uld survived?!?"
Melinar barely stopped herself from coming forth to correct the label. "She's Tok'ra, not Goa'uld," Daniel hissed, his voice soft and dangerous.
"My sources say otherwise," Kinsey scoffed.
"Sources?" Daniel definitely wanted to hear more about this.
"I received reliable warnings of the presence of certain threats on this planet. Everything I have done was purely in defense."
"So that's how you justify murdering people who never meant you any harm. Who else is on your hit list, Kinsey?" Daniel demanded.
"So you can have another alien to fool around with, Doctor Jackson?" Kinsey goaded.
It took all of Daniel and Melinar's combined willpower to keep him from exploding. He silently counted to ten in his head and chose to let the slight pass. "How many other Goa'ulds were you warned about?" he pressed.
"You'll never know."
"That's where you're wrong. As soon as we tell the Tok'ra what you did to one of their own, they'll demand punishment. And we're required to hand you over by the terms of the alliance. They can extract whatever memories they need from you. Anise would love to hook you up to her latest..."
"Enough! I'll tell you what you need to know, if this matter is buried."
"Neglecting to inform our allies about a murder is worth far more than information which should have been reported to the SGC," Daniel icily told the senator.
"What else do you want?"
"Step down from office."
"You can't make me do that! I have a duty to my country!" Kinsey protested.
"I can't let a murderer continue to 'serve' as a senator."
"I was protecting the planet!"
"You job is to be a lawmaker, not a judge or executioner."
"I..."
"You tell me what you know about Goa'uld on Earth and leave politics, and I ensure the Tok'ra don't ask for your head on a platter. Do we have a deal?"
Kinsey gulped. "Yes, Doctor Jackson. We have a deal," he agreed reluctantly. "But how can I be sure Melinar will not tell the Tok'ra about... the incident."
Daniel gave an unfriendly smile, showing his teeth. "You're a smart man; you work it out. Now, about Goa'uld on Earth...."
"I was informed of one other. A queen."
Daniel became excited. "A queen? This could be the lead we're looking for. Do you have a name?" While an active goa'uld was more dangerous than an imprisoned one, she would be more visible awake than locked away in a place undiscovered for thousands of years.
"Cha'lal."
Daniel assumed the expression of a boy experiencing multiple simultaneous Christamasses. "Where? Where is she?"
"Before I tell you, I need an assurance. A queen goa'uld on the loose is a very serious matter. Unless you can guarantee that SG-1 and SG-1 alone are responsible for her capture, I can't risk telling you where she is."
"I don't think there is any doubt SG-1 will lead this mission but I expect we'll want backup."
"Not in this situation, no. I believe a small team will be most suitable, given the circumstances."
"What circumstances?"
"The queen is said to have infiltrated a friendly government. You can't send in an army."
Daniel grew concerned. "How long have you known about this?"
"Not long."
"Just long enough to arrange the murder of..."
"Assassination of an alien terrorist."
"She's on our side! That makes her a 'freedom fighter'," Daniel corrected as he struggled to not hurt the senator.
"I acted on the available information to remove a threat."
"If you had shared that information - as you should have done - we could have told you it is wrong! And even if you were right, all you would have achieved was to kill an innocent human host!"
Kinsey seemed untouched by Daniel's words. "What's happened has happened. You can't change it by arguing."
"And you'll be at the mercy of the Tok'ra unless you tell us where Cha'lal is," Daniel reminded. He belatedly hoped the senator didn't notice his slip, as he had realised it would not help the conversation if Kinsey discovered he was Melinar's host.
Kinsey sighed dramatically. "You leave me no choice. I've been told the goa'uld queen has infiltrated the Australian government at a federal level."
"Has she... reproduced?" Daniel asked (after a few choice expletives in languages his guest did not know).
"I believe she's the only one at the moment," Kinsey answered after brief consideration of the facts he knew.
"Who exactly is this source?"
"That wasn't part of the deal," the older man replied with self satisfaction.
"No, but stepping down from politics is," Daniel reminded.
"After you deal with the queen. I'm not willing to step down until I know the situation has been taken care of."
"Fine, but once this is over, you'd better be out of government or you'll be the Tok'ra's next test subject."
"Understood," Kinsey answered with an involuntary shudder. "Our business is concluded."
Daniel barely suppressed the desire to shock the hateful man with glowing eyes. Instead he waited for the politician to gather up his briefcase and leave the room before vacating his own chair. He nodded to the SFs who had diligently minded the door and began to look for the rest of his team.
As he journeyed to the surface of the earth, Robert Kinsey smiled inwardly. If the situation went as hoped, his problems should annihilate one another. With the goa'uld queen and SG-1 out of the way (courtesy of one another), he could turn his attention to greater things. After all, with that moralistic thorn-in-the-side Jackson out of the way, there was no need to relinquish his place as senator. If only he knew where the other goa'uld had fled...
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Colonel O'Neill sat in the briefing room with his team and General Hammond, wondering what had the rock-reader so excited. "Daniel, would you care to share with the class?"
"Kinsey told me where Cha'lal is: Australia," Daniel quickly revealed.
"That was... direct," Jack commented. Usually Daniel spent a few minutes leading up to such a revelation. "How did he know?"
"He mentioned a source, but wouldn't elaborate. The same person gave him information about Melinar, leading to..."
"We should have handed him over to the Tok'ra while we had him here!" Jack declared vocally.
"Calm down, Colonel," Hammond chided.
"Actually, I threatened him with that very thing unless he leaves office once we deal with Cha'lal," Daniel revealled.
"Sweet!"
"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. Then he added, "It would be helpful to determine the identity of RobertKinsey's source."
"Maybourne?" Sam suggested.
Jack shook his head. "I'd like to think he'd call me if any goa'ulds needed... busting. It's possible that someone else in the NID found out and told him, but I don't see a clear motive."
"We'll leave that issue for now, Colonel. Doctor Jackson, do you have any further information on the disposition or whereabouts of Cha'lal?"
"Kinsey says she has 'infiltrated the Australian government at a federal level' and believes she is currently the only one. Also, he was adamant that SG-1 deal with the threat alone, due to the delicacy of the situation."
"Really?" wondered Jack. "I know we are the most sensible option, but I wouldn't expect Kinsey to realise it, let alone argue in our favour. I wonder what caused the change of heart?"
"Sir, does that really matter? We're talking about Goa'uld infiltration of an allied government," Sam pointed out.
"This is indeed a worrying situation. I have heard that the land of Australia is home to many creatures similar to the Goa'uld. They carry their developing young in abdominal pouches."
Daniel shook his head. "You don't have to worry about kangaroos, Teal'c, unless they try to kick you or jump in front of your vehicle."
The general coughed. "This information may explain some recent international developments. The Australian government has made inquiries about artefacts removed from Antarctica. These have been rebuffed, but the requests to open dialog on this issue have started to become too incessant to ignore. We wondered what they knew, and now it seems that a goa'uld is among them, which means they know or suspect we have the Stargate in their possession."
"I say we give them what they want, Sir."
"Colonel? What exactly do you mean by that?"
"It's quite simple, Sir. We tell the Australians that we're willing to discuss their claims and send a team of four experts to meet with whoever is doing the asking. That team being SG-1, of course."
Sam smiled brightly. "That should lead us straight to Cha'lal! That's brilliant! You've done it again, Sir."
"I hope it's a good thing this time, Carter."
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Kinsey was on the flight back to Washington when the thought occurred to him. A goa'uld symbiote could not survive without a host except in the right conditions. Melinar's new host had to be someone at the scene of the accident. There was only one logical person. One extremely logical person. A chill went through the man's body as he realised that he had been sitting with a goa'uld without realising it. Or perhaps a Tok'ra. It didn't matter which. All signs pointed to Tok'ra though. Actually, it was for the best that way. With SG-1 hunting a goa'uld, a Tok'ra would be soon discovered and quickly neutralised. Possibly tortured. Doctor Jackson had the alien equivalent of a bullseye painted on his head. This realisation made the Senator feel much safer. He might not even need the backup plan... but it always paid to be prepared for all eventualities.
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Note: squashed three typos.