I apologize for how long it takes me to update this story. It's a tricky one to write (I have a much harder time writing adventure) and it's been a busy, stressful few weeks. I will finish it - I promise - but can't always update really quickly. I definitely have to be in the mood for this one. I hope it doesn't disappoint!
Mario and Chloe made their way down to the Armory. Chloe was dressed in her white lab coat, a clip board in her hand. Mario walked right beside her, clad in his overalls. They were chatting casually as they made their way forward until they stopped at the armory desk. The Airman behind the desk moved forward, a scowl marking his already harsh looking face.
"What are you doing here?" he asked bluntly.
Chloe lifted her eyebrows in surprise. She knew instantly this was no real Airman. A real one would never have spoken to someone that way. "Airman", she peered at the man's nametag, "Shenks. I'm Dr. Angstrom from the Science Department. I've come to check out a Zat."
"What?" Shenks looked at her in confusion. "You can't have no Zat gun."
"Uh, yes I can Airman." She handed the clipboard to him. "See? It's a requisition for a Zat from Major Renquist." She prayed that Shenks didn't know there was no such person on base. "I'm doing an experiment using Naquada enhanced aluminum for our service flak jackets. It's already shown remarkable potential for our men and women in the field and we believe it may guard against the effects of a Zat – but I need one to make sure. Mario here has agreed to be my test subject." When the Airman – or whoever he was – didn't move she looked at him with a pleasant, but expectant expression. "Please Airman Shenks? I really do need it for my experiment."
He grunted. "Barney, come here."
Chloe had a hard time not turning to Mario and smiling – they had hoped to get at least two of the men out front. "Barney?" she asked.
"He's in charge." Shenks didn't move until another man – obviously the Barney he'd shouted for – came out into the outer office.
"What is it?"
"This – uh – scientist here wants a Zat. Says it's for an experiment."
"Really?" Barney took the clipboard which the other man had handed him and looked over the requisition. He then looked up at Chloe and laughed. "You know how to use it little lady?"
"Of course", she frowned. "Major Griff showed me how just the other day. Look, I really would like to finish my experiment. Can I just have the Zat and then I'll be out of your hair."
"What are you doing here when everyone is away on holiday", Barney asked suspiciously.
"Well, I'm single and don't have anyone at home but my cat", she lied. "He's my Mr. Munchkins and he's adorable. He's a Tabby with the biggest blue eyes – oh", she giggled. "I guess you don't want to hear about Mr. Munchkins, although he is cute. But he's okay at home and I didn't really have anything else to do and I've been so excited about the possibilities of the naquada enhanced -"
"Okay, okay", Barney held up his hand, looking thoroughly bored. "Shenks, give her a Zat. Maybe she'll take it and try it out on Mr. Munchkins!"
Shenks laughed and went back to get the alien weapon. Chloe glared at Barney, although inside she was grinning.
"I would never shoot him. I love him."
"Well then, isn't he a lucky cat! Here", he accepted the Zat from Shenks and pushed a form towards her. "You have to sign for it."
She quickly filled out the paper work and then held her hand out for the Zat. Barney smirked and handed it to her carefully.
"Watch that you don't shoot the wrong – aargh!" Barney let out a strangled cry as he was shot with the weapon in Chloe's hand. Shenks went down immediately afterward when Mario pulled out his Zat and quickly shot him. While he then went to tie up the two men, who would shortly revive from the single shot, Chloe walked past them and into the back room.
"Hey – you're not supposed to be in here!" A tall, skinny man had been sitting, eating a bag of chips and reading what looked like a Playboy magazine. Definitely not a legitimate Airman, thought Chloe. Not that she didn't doubt many of them enjoyed the magazine, but she knew General Hammond would never tolerate anyone reading one while on duty.
"I'm sorry", she said, sounding out of breath and frightened. "But something's happened. Come quickly! I think it might be an alien incursion." She turned and headed back through the door, not looking behind her. It was only a second or two later when the skinny man followed, only to be instantly Zatted by Mario. He was quickly tied up and then the three were dragged back into a back supply cupboard. It was at that moment that the lights went out.
"We're here", Daniel was driving and he pulled the car into a parking spot across from the front gate. "You sure you want to go ahead with this Jack?" he asked the man sitting next to him. Even though it was dark in the car, he could still tell that the Colonel wasn't doing so well.
"No time like the present Daniel. You have the paperwork?"
"Yes Sir", Sam answered from the back seat. "I also have the cuffs. Are you sure we'll need them."
"Better make it look legitimate. Give them to me and I'll put them on. Just make sure and give me the key." Jack fumbled for a few moments as he put on the ankle and wrist chains. He hated to feel so helpless, but he knew this had to look real and there was no way they'd bring in an assassin and not have him chained. "Okay, let's go."
Daniel drove to the front gate and stopped when a uniformed guard came to the car. In answer to the man's query he handed over the papers Sam had given him. "Prisoner being delivered", was all he said.
The guard looked over the papers carefully and then glanced into the car but clearly didn't recognize any of the people so nodded and stepped back. After a moment the gates lifted and Daniel drove forward.
"Damn, Harry's good", he said as he drove. "I was sure we'd get stopped first thing."
"Harry's the best – at this kind of thing anyway", Jack answered. He was feeling a bit breathless and nervous, which was making him angry and even more determined that Kinsey and his henchmen wouldn't get away with this.
Daniel parked in a visitor's spot and then got out. Once Jack was out he and Sam stood on either side of their 'prisoner' and slowly walked to the front doors. It was slow going as O'Neill could only take small steps with the manacles and chains around his ankles.
When they arrived at the door two guards came out to meet them, their guns drawn. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" one of them asked, a hard sound to his voice.
"I'm Captain Sanders and this is Lieutenant Jacobson", Daniel said calmly, handing over some papers. "This is Colonel Jonathan O'Neill. We're from Cheyenne Mountain and we were instructed by Colonel Moss to bring him here."
"Colonel Moss?" the soldier looked at him with a penetrating gaze. "Come in but don't make any sudden moves."
"Yes. Colonel Moss is temporarily in command at Cheyenne Mountain Complex", Daniel answered as they all followed the guards inside. They were all quickly searched and told to go through the metal detector. They took Jack around, although they searched him again carefully. Taking him through the metal detector would have served no purpose with his heavy manacles.
The guard looked carefully down at the papers, flipping through them slowly. Once he was done he handed them to his fellow guard who repeated the same process. "Looks okay", he said, although he sounded suspicious.
"You brought the prisoner all the way from Colorado?" the first guard asked.
"No", Daniel replied, sounding relaxed. "We were sent to apprehend him. We found him just outside of Topeka, Kansas. We were told to bring him in quietly and not to alert anyone. That's what we did."
The guard nodded and then looked over at the prisoner, who looked battered and bruised. "He looks like hell. Did you do that?"
"Who me?" Daniel grinned. "No, although I would like to have had a shot at him. He's nothing but a dirty traitor and deserves all he gets. That happened before we caught him. He didn't have a real comfortable ride here though. Did you Colonel!" Daniel practically spat at O'Neill, who simply blinked and looked like he was about ready to pass out.
"And what about you Lieutenant", the second guard turned to Sam and grinned. He looked her up and down, clearly appreciating the tall blond officer. "What do you think of the traitor here?"
"Like the Captain, I think he's disgusting", she answered. "And I'm glad we caught him. I'm just sorry we weren't the ones to make him look like that."
Both of the guards laughed. "Wow – she's a bloodthirsty one Max", the bigger of the two guards spoke. "Well, we'll be glad to take him off your hands, but first I need to check with this Colonel Moss. Just to be sure, you understand. We were told to be careful of O'Neill and his cohorts."
Sam and Daniel resisted the urge to look at each other or at the Colonel, but they all knew they were in big trouble. There was no way Moss would back up their story – instead he'd most likely blow their cover. They knew this might be it – and stood waiting for the moment that would spell their end.
They watched as 'Max' picked up the phone and asked to be patched through to Cheyenne Mountain.
Siler checked out all the cameras and smiled. It looked like his 'troop' has managed to come through. Gurie has been a bit harder than expected and she'd managed to get to a phone and begin dialing before she'd been Zatted by Captain Toll. The trickiest had been Moss, Jenks and Gabriel. Siler grimaced slightly. He hoped General Hammond wouldn't get too upset at the bullet hole that had gone through the picture of him receiving a medal from the President. The worst part, of course, was the place the bullet had hit. He grimaced again and had the urge to cross his legs. Even the thought of a bullet there gave him the shivers.
Marie told them all that when the lights had gone out she and Irving had drawn their Zats and had started shooting but Gabriel had been too quick and had pulled a pistol on them. He would have killed her, even in the dark, if she hadn't sensed something and dove into him, knocking him over. She was sure, she's said, that her grandchildren would be proud of how she'd managed to take him down. Gabriel himself just looked spitting mad - especially with a split lip, caused when he'd fallen with his face onto a chair.
So now everyone was secured and now would be taken down to the brig where they'd be locked up. They'd had to leave the guards up top, but since the base was secure that wasn't a big issue right now.
"Siler?" Captain Toll was standing in the doorway, looking at him with a grin. "Mission accomplished!"
"Yes Sir – great job! I've reset the power and everything is back on line except outside communications, although the base is secure and no one can get in or out without our okay."
It was only a few minutes later that everyone met back up in the briefing room, all of them looking pleased with themselves.
"Well done everyone", Toll said to them. "That was amazing – and no one was seriously hurt."
"I must admit it felt good to Zat them though", Chloe admitted.
"It sure did" Maria replied, "especially Moss and the doctor and that woman. They are evil people!"
"So now what Sir?" Siler asked. "Communications is still out and they'll start to get worried."
"So, let's get it back on line and monitor any calls that come in. We know we can't trust anyone but our own folks and even then we have to be careful. I just wish we knew where General Hammond was!"
"What about getting in touch with some of our allies", Chloe suggested. "We could contact the Tokra or the Asgaard."
"Good idea. Siler, you work on the communications. Once that's up you and Chloe can see if you can establish contact with our allies and find out if they can give us a hand. I'm not quite sure what to ask yet, but it will help if we know we have some backup. In the meantime, the rest of us will gather all the prisoners and take them to the brig and lock them up securely."
Siler was working on the computers in the Control Room and after a few minutes had communications re-established. He turned to Chloe, who had been watching him, when they both heard a phone ring.
"It's in the General's office", Chloe said. "You're going to have to answer it Siler."
Siler looked slightly uncomfortable – as uncomfortable as he ever looked, nodded and made his way into the office and picked up the phone. "Hello."
"General, it's Sergeant Ferald here, from Quantico. We have two of your people here, a Captain Sanders and a Lieutenant Jacobson. They've just arrived with a prisoner – it's Colonel O'Neill. I'm calling to verify that you've ordered them to bring him here?"
"Uh –" Crap! What was he supposed to say? And who the hell were Sanders and Jacobson? He didn't know a Sanders and the only Jacobson he knew was a nurse in Doc Fraisier's Infirmary. "Can I speak to one of them Sergeant", he replied. Maybe if he heard one of their voices - ?
Ferald handed the phone to Daniel. "He wants to speak with you."
Daniel gingerly took the phone, wondering what was going to happen now. "Uh, Captain Sanders speaking Sir."
"Captain Sanders?" Siler spoke into the phone. "I don't – is it true that you've captured Colonel O'Neill?"
Holy Shit! Daniel just about dropped the phone. It was Siler. There was no way he wouldn't recognize that voice. "Yes Sir" he replied, thinking furiously. "Lieutenant Sam Jacobson and I apprehended him at the Naquadria Inn – in Kansas Sir. You know, Kansas – the land of Dorothy and Toto?" He knew that Siler knew of Jack's love of all things Oz. How else could he tell the man it was them?
"Yes, I know Captain. So tell me, how did everything go? Did you have any trouble capturing Jonathan O'Neill?"
"It went just fine Sir. We had no problems getting Colonel O'Neill, although at one point I'd wondered if I'd walked into a lion's den. In the end we captured him easily enough. You know O'Neill – he's mostly talk and little action and he'll avoid a fight if he can." Daniel prayed the guards didn't get suspicious, although from the look of them they simply thought he was crazy.
"Enough?" The second guard – not Max – spoke and held his hand out for the phone. "Colonel Moss? Yes Sir. Will you verify that these officers are carrying out your orders?" There was a short pause and then he nodded. "Thank you Sir." He hung up the phone. "What the hell was that all about?" he asked Daniel.
"Uh – nothing. Colonel Moss is cautious and just wanted to make sure it really was us. That's why I used the Wizard of Oz reference. He's a fan although not too many people know that."
"Oh." Max shook his head in disgust at the Air Force. Only their officers would like childish, girly things like the Wizard of Oz. "Okay, we'll take the prisoner from here. Is he going to make it?" He looked at the swaying officer, who was paper white with bruises all over his face.
"I'm sorry Sergeant", Sam spoke up for only the second time. "We've been told we have to stay with him until he's locked up. The orders came from the top brass. You can come with us if you like but we can't leave him until then."
The two guards looked even more disgusted but then looked at each other and nodded. That sounded reasonable. "Gerry, you escort them down. I'll call ahead and tell Johnny you're coming." He turned to Sam and Daniel. "Okay, you follow Corporal Ingers. He'll show you where you can drop this scum and then I'll let you out."
Daniel thanked him and then turned to follow Ingers, his hand on one of Jack's arms to help support him. Sam stepped up on the other side, watching to make sure that the Colonel was actually going to make it. As she reached him – well out of sight of the two guards – she caught his quick wink. He was doing better than he was letting on – although she suspected not by much. She gave a short prayer that they'd make it as she walked down the long corridor with Ingers, Daniel and the Colonel. They were here and there was no turning back.
Siler stared at the phone. In the lion's den? Daniel was the one in the lion's den. And Sam Jacobson? More like Sam Jacobsdaughter. He wondered briefly how they'd done it, but then remembered the mimic devices. They must have gotten a hold of a couple of them. But what the hell were they doing in Quantico with Colonel O'Neill? His face suddenly erupted in a big grin and looked up as Captain Toll entered. "I think Sg-1 is back in action", he said. "Let's call our allies. They may need a little help."
It was as they were dialing out, hoping to get in contact with the Tokra, that a message was received. "Who is it?" Toll said, looking confused. The message was coming in on the satellite feed.
"It's – it's- " Suddenly Siler grinned and turned a dial. The sound now came over the speakers.
"This is Teal'c and Master Bra'tak contacting Stargate Command."