Jake first became aware of the sound of someone crying as he fought his way back towards awareness despite his body's screaming protest that oblivious unconsciousness was the preferred state of affairs. It was Jenny who was crying, Jake realized as the last few days came back to him bit by bit. He should open his eyes and try to calm Jenny down, Jake knew, but at the moment even that simple action was beyond him. Jake used the remembered training and experiences of his other life to block everything but analyzing the tactical situation from his mind. His thoughts were coming too slowly, Jake realized, adding concussion and other possible brain injuries to his inventory of bodily damage. Things weren't looking good, Jake had to admit as he coughed weakly.
"Jake?" Jenny questioned pushing the hair back from his face. A tear dripped down onto his cheek then rolled gently into his mouth where the salty taste mingled with the coppery flavor of blood. He didn't know if he was going to be able to keep his promise to Jenny after all. If he were honest with himself, he had to admit he really hadn't expected he would need to keep it. Jake has expected SG-1 to come for them. It was hard to keep track of time in their little windowless prison, but he guess that several days at least had passed since he and Jenny had been taken. If SG-1 were going to come, they would have been here by now. He was running out of time, Jake thought. He knew too that when his time ran out so did Jenny's as the only reason they were keeping her alive was to keep him in line.
With some effort, Jake got his right eye open just enough to see the blurry image of Jenny above him. "Yeah," Jake managed to whisper. It was hard to breath, Jake realized. "Help me sit up, Jenny" he asked in a wheezy voice so weak he could hardly believe it was his.
"I don't know, Jake," Jenny argued. "You've got a head wound."
"Yeah," Jake wheezed. He paused to take a shallow breath, "but...can't...breath." Realizing just how much difficulty he was having, Jenny quickly lifted his upper body and braced him against her chest. "Better," Jake confirmed before she could ask. "When they come in again," Jake instructed pausing to again catch his breath, "I'm going to create a distraction and you're...going to run."
"No," Jenny refused. "I'm not leaving you."
"Jenny..." Jake wheezed.
"No," Jenny stated with absolute finality. "I am not leaving you here."
"Jenny, you need to go for help," Jake told her. "I'm hurt too bad...You need to leave me here and bring back help."
"What if they kill you?" Jenny demanded.
"If you don't try they're going to kill us both," Jake answered her with blunt truth. "And soon."
"Jake..." Jenny whimpered in a voice full of fear.
"I've only got the strength to try this once," Jake warned his friend. "When they come in again, I'm going to rush them and you're going to slip out. Are you with me?"
Jenny wasn't sure what she should do. Jake was hurt so badly she couldn't believe he could go another round with their captors, but she could also see that he wasn't going to last much longer without medical help. Finally, she decided that she would just have to trust to whatever training and skill Jake had. "Okay," she agreed. "I'll do what you tell me."
When the key rattled in the door announcing the arrival of their captors, Jake had taken up position to the right of the door with Jenny directly behind him. Jake waited for the second of their two captors to step into the room then lunged forward pushing both away from the door. The plan was for Jenny to follow behind him breaking for the door as soon as he'd pushed the two guards away. Unfortunately, plans didn't always go as expected and such was the case here. Things happened so quickly there was no way to tell where it went wrong, it may have been that Jake forgot to take into account the smaller stature of his teenage form or was overly optimistic about the strength he would be able to put into his attack in his current condition. It may have been that the two guards were simply more alert that Jake had thought. The smarter dark-haired guard was the first into the room, and when Jake attacked he managed to throw his body weight to the side leaving his meaner colleague free to reach forward and grab Jenny's arm as she made her break for the door.
"No!" Jenny screamed as the the guard's arm bit into her arm and pulled her back into the cell. With her free-hand she smacked ineffectually at the guard holding her arm.
"Too bad, Freak," the guard taunted. "This was your last chance. The PTB decided it's too dangerous to hold you here any longer. They don't think you're going to talk, so they've decided to learn from you another way."
Jake lunged away from the guard holding him intent on trying one more time to break Jenny free before it was too late. Behind him, the second guard had drawn his gun.
"Jake!" Jenny screamed.
Jake didn't change course though as he grabbed the blonde guard's shoulder trying to shake loose his hold on Jenny. For a split second he thought he might succeed then pain exploded in the back of his head and he felt himself falling.
"Jake!" Jenny screamed again as she redoubled her struggle against the guard.
"Take him down to the ghouls in the lab coats," the blonde said to his colleague. "I've got her."
The other guard didn't appear happy about it, but he holstered his weapon then picked Jake's unconscious body up in a fireman's carry leaving Jenny alone with the blonde.
"Now let's have some fun," the blonde guard sneered as he kicked the door to the cell closed with his foot.
Jenny felt herself go cold at his words, but this time she wasn't afraid. This time that cold brought with it an icy calm as she remembered everything the psychologist and most recently Jake in this very cell had told her about rapists. Rape, they'd told her, wasn't about sex. It was about power. Her fear fed his sense of power, and so Jenny refused to show fear. Instead she concentrated on the self-defense lessons Jake had been giving her over the past few months and the whispered instruction he'd given her in this cell in between "sessions" with their captors. Jenny dropped to the floor wrenching her arm from the blonde guard's hold. As soon as her rear end made contact with the cement floor she lifted both feet aiming a kick with all the force she could muster at the guard. Her first blow had the guard protectively doubled over his family jewels. Jenny wasted no time following up that first kick with another to the face. As he fell face first to the ground, Jenny picked herself up off the floor quickly grabbing his weapon from the holster at his waist. She backed away out of reach holding the weapon steady on the guard's still form. Several seconds passed as Jenny caught her breath and still the guard remained still on the ground. Jenny cautiously shuffled forward holding the gun trained on the guard with one hand as she searched his pockets with the other until she located the keys to the cell, his cell phone, and another set of keys with a car alarm key fob attached. All of these she stuck in her own pockets as she backed away from the guard and out of the cell.
As soon as she'd locked the door, Jenny turned around swiveling her had in both directions to look down the corridor. 'Which way?' she asked herself. Deciding there was no way to tell, Jenny picked a direction then started making her way down the hall as quietly as she knew how checking each door as she went. Finally, she heard voices coming from one of the rooms ahead of her and cautiously approached. She hadn't even reached the door before she heard Jake's voice as he apparently attempted to cajole his captors out of killing him.
Jenny got as close to the door as she could then edged her way into the room where two men in lab coats stood near a gurney to which Jake was strapped down. "Don't move," she commanded as she levered the gun at the two men. The two turned in surprise quickly registering the fact that they were now the captives. "Hands over your head," Jenny demanded. When the two weren't quick enough to comply, she added, "Now!"
"Hey Beavis," Jake demanded from the gurney. "Undo these straps."
When they hesitated, Jenny reinforced Jake's order, "Do as he says."
As soon as the restraints had been removed Jake rolled from the gurney and frisked the two men. Then he ordered, "Now in the closet." Jenny stayed where she was near the entrance of the room covering them with her purloined hand gun while Jake locked the two men in the closet. As soon as the door was locked, Jake let himself fall into a nearby desk chair. "You need to get out of here, Jenny" Jake commanded.
"Not without you," Jenny once again argued.
"Damnit Jenny," Jake swore. "I'm not strong enough to walk out of here."
"Fine," Jenny spat as she marched over to where he sat. She reversed her grip on the gun handing it to Jake with competence. "Then you shoot, and I'll steer," Jenny informed him as she grabbed the back of the chair he sat in, "but I'm not leaving here without you."
It was only then that Jake realized that the chair was on wheels.
Noting that he was about to continue the argument, Jenny held out the other items she'd confiscated from the guard. "We've also got a car and a cell phone," she informed him.
It hurt like hell, but Jake managed a smile of approval for Jenny. "Home Jeeves!" he commanded.