Grace's eyes felt gritty and tired when she finally woke again. A mix of hazy images colored her memory, though each stayed far enough out of her conscious mind that she wasn't able to identify any of them. "No nightmares," she murmured, almost wonderingly.
She looked over at the clock beside her bed. 12:25 pm.
Her eyes widened. She'd never slept past nine before, and she was almost certain that her mother would have something to say when she finally emerged. She swallowed, deciding not to postpone the inevitable.
She slipped out of bed, and walked out to the kitchen to find her mother staring as if at nothing, with her cell phone not too far away.
"Something wrong, Mom?" She asked, concerned.
Sam looked over at her daughter, surprised. "Grace...you're up."
"Yeah. I guess I just lost track of time while I was studying." She said, shrugging.
"That's what your father said," Sam said, clearly distracted.
"Mom, what's wrong?" She asked, taking a few more steps toward her mother.
Sam sighed softly. "A...friend of mine...he was in an accident. We're waiting to hear any news about how he's doing, and about why he's here in Denver."
"Oh." Grace said, nodding.
"Your dad left some pancakes in the fridge for you." Sam said, standing as the doorbell rang. She stood and walked to the door.
Grace swallowed as she watched her mom leave the room. It was more than just a friend in an accident, she determined instantly. It was something much more important than just some friend who'd been in a wreck. Chills ran down her spine as Grace remembered the many times her mother had hurried out of the house to deal with something related to the Stargate program.
That must be what it was, she thought to herself. Something about the Stargate program.
"General Carter, I'm Special Agent Cynthia Bauer with the NID. I work with Malcolm Barrett." A woman with dark brown hair pulled back into a ponytail said as she flashed a badge in front of Sam's face.
"It's not General," Sam said, shaking her head. "Hasn't been for years. How can I help you?"
"I assume you've heard about Agent Barrett's accident."
"Yes. Dr. Jackson from Stargate Command told me about the accident. Any news?"
"He's the same," she said, solemnly. "But that's not why I'm here."
"Okay." Sam said, puzzled by the woman's visit.
"General Carter, did anyone tell you why Agent Barrett was in Denver?"
"No," Sam said, shaking her head.
"Well, up until his accident, he was heading up a task force that was looking into political corruption regarding something called the Trust."
Sam's eyes widened.
"Just before he left the office yesterday, Malcolm received a phone call."
"And?" Sam asked, still not sure what this had to do with her.
"I believe it's why he was headed to Colorado in the first place. Several of the other agents heard him say "Carter's in trouble"."
Sam's blood ran cold. "What?"
"It's standard procedure for us to record and monitor any phone activity in NID headquarters, so when Agent Barrett's accident had been discovered, we started to look into it. Apparently, he received a phone call threatening a "female general in Colorado Springs" that works frequently with Barrett."
Sam tensed.
"We'd like to put you and your family under surveillance."
Sam was so stunned that she almost couldn't say anything. "I-I...I have to talk to my husband first..."
"General Carter," the special agent said, soberly. "We've already had two trained agents killed, not counting Agent Barrett who's comatose in the hospital. It's imperative that we keep your family under surveillance."
She nodded with an almost sudden urgency. "Of course. Come in. Let me call my husband."
It was only a few moments before she retrieved her cell phone and had dialed her husband's cell. He and Jacob were probably on their way home the AM kindergarten class that Jacob attended. She rested her head against the closed door to her bedroom. Internally, she had agreed with her husband that she was probably paranoid, but now...
"I'm only about ten minutes away, Sam." There were traces of the same irritation that had led him to leave in frustration this morning.
"I know." She said, her voice trembling slightly.
"Sam? What's wrong?" Instantly, the irritation was gone and completely replaced by concern.
"Barrett was coming to Colorado Springs..." She began, slowly. "To...to warn me..." Her voice hitched. "There are Federal agents here at the house, Jack. To keep surveillance on us while they finish their investigation." She couldn't keep the tears from her eyes or her voice. "I'm scared, Jack. Not for me, of course, but...for the kids. For you."
"I know," he finally managed. "I'm just a few blocks from the house, okay?"
"Be safe," she said with quiet vulnerability.
"I thought they got rid of the Trust ten years ago." Jack asked, turning to the special agent in his living room.
"A war against corruption is rarely won when the battle is over," Sam said wearily. "And it takes lifetimes longer than any other war."
"Waxing philosophical, aren't we?" Jack said, turning to his wife.
She sighed heavily. "We should have known that it would take longer than a few months to wipe out the Trust." She swallowed. "We should have seen it when they started getting the CIA involved with the NID's investigation."
Jack winced slightly as he remembered the auburn-haired CIA agent he'd dated briefly during the beginning of that investigation.
Sam turned to the special agent. "If we're somehow involved in your investigation, would you at least tell us who and what you're investigating?"
Agent Bauer swallowed. "I'm sorry. That's confidential."
"You want to put my family under surveillance because we've been threatened by the people being investigated, and you won't even tell me who we're supposed to be protected from?" Sam asked, looking at least fifteen years older than her forty-seven years. "I guess turnabout is fair play here," she said, turning to her husband. "Isn't that what we did for ten years? Ask people to give us whatever we needed to protect them, and then promptly hide what we were protecting them from?"
"There's some speculation that Senator Hamilton is somehow involved with the Trust." She said after a moment. "He's the one we were investigating."
"He's a new character," Sam said, solemnly. "I don't know him."
"Me either." Jack said, shaking his head. "Though with the history of the Trust, I'm not surprised that they managed to get another senator."
"If they didn't get him elected," Sam agreed. She turned to the special agent. "Why would they choose me to threaten?"
Cynthia Bauer shrugged. "I'm sorry. I don't know. We were hoping that you could tell us."
Sam shook her head. "I've been out of the Stargate program for five years. I mean, I've been working on some projects with their scientists, but I'm no more important than any one else that I've been working with."
Bauer turned to one of the other agents, nodding quickly as if communicating an order to him. She turned back to Sam and Jack. "I wish we had more information for you, but we had two agents killed when they were doing some surveillance. Unfortunately, when they were killed, we lost more than just those agents – we also lost the tapes that had been cataloged after bugging the Senator's home."
Sam sighed softly.
"I'll let you know when we have any other information." She promised.
"Thank you," Sam said, gratefully.
Cynthia stood. "We have a van outside, and I'd like to keep a couple of agents in the home, of you don't mind."
Sam looked at Jack, who shrugged. Sam looked back at Cynthia and nodded. "Thank you."
She just nodded before leaving the room. Sam swallowed.
"And I thought having reporters on the front lawn was bad."
Sam couldn't help but laugh at her husband's words.
"What?" He asked, clearly relieved that he'd managed to elicit a smile from her.
"I love you." She said with a tender smile.
"I love you too." He said, more soberly.
"How are we going to get through this?"
"The way we always get through everything. Together."
"That's not what I meant," she said, wryly.
"I know." He said, kissing her temple. "But that's the only answer I've got for you."
She nodded, soberly.
