Chapter 10: Trust Part II

Season in Season 6, during "Smoke & Mirrors."

One of the first questions Jonas Quinn had asked following the arrest of Colonel O'Neill was, "Where's Dany?" These days, it was as unusual to see Major Davis on base without his assistant as it was to see O'Neill off base without his niece. Both men, it seemed, were reluctant to let the girl out of their sight following her two month disappearance. It was a fact Jonas had noted, but not mentioned to anyone. O'Neill was prickly, and Davis…well, all signs indicated Davis wasn't too aware of the fact himself.

Dany, on the other hand, had thrown herself into her responsibilities with renewed fervor. She was a model soldier when on duty, and an impatient, devoted sister when off. Her report on her time in the alternate reality had been vague, but it didn't take a rocket scientist to know something had happened to make her miss her brother all the more. And the Stargate Program had its share of rocket scientists.

Which was why it was so unusual to see her standing idly by while her uncle was under arrest for a crime nobody who knew him believed he'd committed.

"That's just the problem," Davis said when Jonas ventured the question. His lips tightened, and Jonas didn't press further. He wondered if the major had had an argument with his assistant.

"I've sent her to Washington," General Hammond explained later. "Major Davis has her working on an unrelated project. I don't want her presence tainting any evidence your team gathers in their investigation, and Major Davis believes her judgment is compromised by the situation."

"Well, with all due respect, sir, all of our judgments are compromised," Jonas said bluntly. "None of us actually believe Colonel O'Neill could have done this. Why would you trust us and not her?"

General Hammond regarded him impatiently. "You're very bright, son, but you've got a lot to learn about politics. If it makes you feel any better, part of my reasoning for sending the lieutenant to Washington was to provide Major Carter with backup if she needs it. Both Dany and Major Carter are aware of this."

"Guess this falls under that military rule that commanding officers don't always have to explain their reasoning," Jonas said. "Colonel O'Neill explained it to me."

General Hammond shook his head as the younger man left, thinking assassin or no, Colonel O'Neill was the last person who should be lecturing anyone on military decorum.

SG-1

In the end, General Hammond's foresight paid off. Dany was still in the sullen throes of her Irish temper when she got the call from Carter, and answered with perhaps more force than was warranted.

"What?"

Carter, who knew enough of O'Neills not to take this personally, didn't miss a beat. "Dany, where is Major Davis?"

Dany threw a file across her desk. The TOP SECRET flap popped open, and the contents scattered across the room where anyone who entered could observe them. "No idea," Dany said, settling herself in the chaos with limited satisfaction. "The major and I are not currently on speaking terms. I'm afraid you'll have to call him direct."

"Dany, I know you're angry, but I need you to listen to me. Did Davis receive orders to retrieve Senator Kinsey from the hospital?"

"Excuse me?" Dany sat upright again.

"Kinsey is alive. It's a long story. Dany, I need to know if he got those orders. There could be someone out there with a mimic device programmed to look just like him."

"Got it. I'll find him. Stay on the line."

The corner of the Pentagon their offices were located in was unusually busy. Dany nearly didn't see Davis as he was leaving in the company of three men, three men in suits with grim faces and a harried jerk to their moments.

Dany bolted across the room to come to a stop at her boss's elbow.

"Sir!"

"Not now, Lieutenant."

She grabbed the elbow as he turned to go. "Sir, it's urgent."

He regarded her for a moment, and the tension wasn't lost on Dany. "Gentlemen, if you'll excuse us a moment."

One of the suited men shifted. "Major, we don't have a lot of time."

"This'll just take a moment."

Moment, my ass, Dany thought has she led him away from them. If Carter was right, there was no way Davis was going anywhere with those men.

When they were sufficiently out of earshot of everyone in the room, Dany spoke low and quickly, "Sir, did you receive a set of orders to retrieve Senator Kinsey this afternoon?"

Davis's frown deepened. "Lieutenant, you're not supposed to know about that…"

"Sir, please. Did you receive the orders?"

"No, Lieutenant, I did not receive any orders. As far as I know, Senator Kinsey is to remain at the hospital. It's the safest place for him right now."

Dany turned her mouth into her phone. "Sam, he didn't get them."

There was a soft sigh at the other end of the line. "Alright, we have a plan. Dany, keep him with you, and keep in public. Make sure plenty of people know where you are. He'll need the alibi if we aren't successful. I'll call you when we're done."

"Understood."

Dany hung up. Davis had looked on the point of a reprimand all through the conversation, and in the back of her mind Dany wondered if she wasn't in for it when all this was over. Then again, she probably deserved it, having been foul to him for days.

She nodded at the men waiting by the door. "NID?"

Davis's mouth tightened. "Lieutenant…"

"The mimic devices were stolen from Area 51. Carter thinks they plan to send someone to try to assassinate Senator Kinsey again, looking like you. Obviously, your orders were intercepted."

Davis took this in, then headed for his office, Dany in tow. "I need to make a call, get someone down there to warn the senator."

Dany hit the hang up even as he began dialing. "Sir, we don't know who's in on this. Let Carter and Agent Barrett handle it." Davis tried to brush her hand away to dial again, but Dany held firm. "Sir, please. They're trying to stop who's behind this. Besides, what are you going to do? Go public with the foothold situation?"

"Major."

Both officers turned. The suited men from before stood in the doorway to Davis's office.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," the major said calmly. "A situation has arisen that requires my immediate attention."

"Sir, this is important."

"I'm aware of that, but this is even more so. I'm going to have to ask you to excuse me."

There wasn't a whole lot they could do, not in a crowded office, not without tipping their hand further by revealing they had other plans for Major Davis than whatever it was they had told him. All the same, Dany's hand slipped behind her back, lifting the edge of her jacket to where she'd been keeping a pistol in the waistband of her skirt. It was a recent addition to her wardrobe, but after today, she suspected it would be a permanent fixture.

"Gentlemen, if you'll excuse us." Davis's voice carried an authority unusual for him. The men glanced at each other and left, but Dany noted one of them on his cell phone as soon as they reached the main door.

"Carter said she'd call when it's over," she said lamely.

Davis nodded. "Do we have anything on the foothold situation?"

Dany shook her head. "One file, and only on the devices. Technically, we shouldn't even have that."

"Nevermind that. Pull it. We're going to need a strategy regardless of how this goes down."

SG-1

It went down smoothly, as they say, save for a gloating Kinsey and public handshake Dany was sure her uncle enjoyed even less than the jail cell. She wondered, after, at the power of their media to imprison. Offworld, if you escaped from whichever dungeon you happened to get yourself locked in, you were free again, save for being chased by the same people who'd imprisoned you. But on Earth, you were running from everyone forever after. America's dungeons, Dany decided, were more comfortable, and at the same time more confining, all because of wretched public opinion.

She missed the cabin.

It was well after five when Davis entered her office, closed the door softly behind him, and took the seat across her desk. She leaned back in her chair and waited.

"I know you're still angry with me for not telling you about the senator, for leaving you out. Lieutenant, I know you know this, but the political ramifications in this situation are huge. We're lucky Major Carter and Agent Barrett were able to resolve the situation how they did, or the administration's political stability would have been the least of our concerns. Dragged out into too much light, the foothold situation could have meant the end of the Stargate Program. And you made your feelings about your uncle's arrest perfectly clear."

"I don't have a lot of family left, Sir," Dany said darkly. "You'll have to forgive me for wanting to keep them safe."

"Which is exactly my point," Davis replied. "Your loyalty was compromised, your judgment clouded by your personal feelings."

"Sir, if the…Trust had succeeded, you'd be sharing a cell with Uncle Jack right now. Would you want my personal feelings clouding my judgment then?"

Davis didn't respond, and Dany sunk further back in her chair, the fight having left her with that last sentence. But there was more.

"Sir, when I took this assignment, you told me for it work, I would need to trust you. That works both ways."

There was a knock at her door, and her uncle's head appeared. His uniform was gone, and he looked, more than anything else, like her uncle Jack, who she hadn't seen through this entire ordeal.

"Sorry to interrupt."

"That's alright, sir," Davis said without turning. "How can we help you?"

"I was just hoping to catch Dany for dinner. Carter and I we're thinking of trying this Irish pub a few blocks over."

Dany nodded. "Sounds great. I could use the beer."

"You and me both. Davis, you're welcome to join us."

"Thank you, sir, but I have a lot to finish up here. If you'll give me another moment with the lieutenant, she can go."

"I'll be just outside."

The door closed behind Uncle Jack, and Davis cleared his throat. "You're right, Lieutenant. And I'm sorry."

It was an odd argument to have won, and for a moment, Dany could only nod. "Thank you, sir."

"Stay on a few days before you head back to the SGC. I want your help wrapping this up."

"Yes, sir."