CH 25: Surprises
Brigadier General Jack O'Neill was impatiently pacing the guest room in the White House where he had spent the better part of Monday. His accommodations were luxurious and under different circumstances he would have enjoyed the VIP treatment, but as things were he didn't know what to think.
The scheduled meeting with the President had been cancelled due to some trouble in the Middle East. The President's Chief of Staff had offered him and General Landry rooms in the guest quarters. Major Davis had invited them to dinner and they had been promised that the meeting would be reconvened at the President's earliest convenience.
Jack hated waiting, well, most of the time. When he had still been working with the Beta Unit he often had had to show infinite patience, waiting for his target to appear, for intel to come in, for… Waiting had had a purpose then – at the moment he didn't feel like his waiting had a purpose. He felt as if he had been left in limbo.
For a moment he stopped his pacing and looked out of the window into the park surrounding the White House and onto the well groomed lawn. He absentmindedly registered the guards posted outside, the ones meant to be seen and those meant to be hidden, and he planned out on how to evade them. He shock his head at that pointless exercise, but it was something he always did when he was bored, just like Daniel translated everyday stuff into dead languages or Carter made out complex equations in her head when the briefing or debriefing went on too long and they got bored.
Carter, that damned woman… He flashed back to the conversation he had had with his friend Nick a few days ago. His friend had told him about his interactions with Carter, his voice full of awe and respect for Sam's professionalism and heroism. Jack's heart had skipped a beat at Nick's description of the rescue mission, the shooting and Sam fighting a mad guy with a gun with a bullet hole in her shoulder.
Carter and her damn foolish heroics… One day it would be the death of her, or of him. He was getting too old just hearing about it without risking a heart attack. Everything had been so much easier when he still had been the leader of SG-1. Then he and Teal'c had protected their geeks even when they had ended up in a Goa'uld prison cell, now he was relegated to the sidelines. Jack snorted at his own thoughts. Sam and Daniel were much more than just 'useless' scientists. They both had rescued Jack and Teal'c more than once. No, Sam didn't need protection, hell, she had protected the whole world more times than he cared to remember. Blowing up a sun or helping to catch a serial killer, she did both with equal grace.
Jack's cell phone rang with Daniel's distinct ring tone and he smiled when he crossed the spacious room to pick it up. There were, he admitted, also certain perks to no longer leading SG-1 or even Stargate Command. It had finally allowed him to give into his attraction and take Daniel to bed, and having Daniel in his life, not only as a friend but as his lover, it was everything he ever had dreamed about. Yes, they still had to be careful outside of the privacy of his house or Daniel's apartment but it was worth it.
And with caution so paramount in their relationship he was not surprised when Daniel greeted him in Goa'uld. The topic of the conversation, however, did surprise him.
When Atlantis had made their weekly contact with Stargate Command Sunday afternoon Walter had given them a cliff notes version on everything that had happened. He also had casually mentioned the Monday afternoon meeting at the White House. Then Teyla and Ronan Dex had apparently decided that the side of the Pegasus Galaxy natives should also be heard at that meeting and had stepped through the gate after ordering Walter to open the iris.
Colonel Reynolds, at the time the most senior officer on base, had then tried to contact the White House but had not made it past an assistant of the Chief of Staff. He had been told to send them back to Atlantis immediately via Midway Station. Then the meeting had been postponed and now they both were missing.
"Are you telling me that we have two aliens hell-bent on gaining access to the White House running around?"
"No, Jack, I'm telling you that we have three aliens running around unaccounted for. Vala helped them to get out of the mountain and as far as I know she is with them now. Lieutenant Hailey is running a check on plane tickets to any of Vala's known aliases and is monitoring her bank account but so far there is no sign of them."
"Do you have any idea how much of a head start they have?" Jack asked.
"The security cameras on base last registered them at eleven thirty last night."
"Did Reynolds already debrief Hank?"
"No, we thought it would be better if you did that," Daniel answered.
"Alright, I'll take care of it. Do you have the name of that assistant?" Jack wrote down a short name. "Damn mess. Do you have any idea how we keep them from infiltrating the White House and scaring the crap out of the President and the Secret Service?"
"You were special ops, Jack, and I know what you do to pass the time during boring meetings. Just do your thing, put yourself in their position and you'll find their possible entry points. You and General Landry should try to get to them before they get to the President. Reynolds proposed to contact Sam. She knows all three of them and might have some insight into their thinking. He has a point but I didn't want to drag her into this mess without talking to you first."
"Call her, Danny. Her presence here on Earth is no longer a secret. For crying out loud that damned woman is all over the news. Have her call me after that."
"Will do, Colonel, my Colonel."
"Scoot, space monkey."
It was their way to say 'I love you' at the end of an unsecured phone or other conversation. Some people might have thought it a bit eccentric and too familiar but they were best friends and had worked together for ten years, so a bit of strange familiarity was to be expected.
-x-x-x-
"They did what?"
"No, Daniel, I heard you the first time. I just can't believe it."
"I'll check the layout of the White House and try to find their most plausible point of entry. By the way, have you tried Vala's prepaid cell?"
"No, I'll do it. She probably won't pick it up if it's not me calling."
"Yes, I'll call General O'Neill as soon as I know more. And Daniel, thanks for telling me."
"Yes, Cassie will be fine. Why don't you talk to her yourself?"
Sam handed the phone to Cassandra and excused herself from the breakfast table in the kitchen. She went back to her room to access her laptop, not sure if she should be angry at Teyla and Ronon for their impulsiveness or appreciative of the gesture of care and friendship.
-x-x-x-
Cassandra also shock her head after her talk with Daniel had ended. What Teyla Emmagen and Ronon Dex had done had been dangerous, to say the least, but it was good to know that Sam had friends off-world who were willing to go the extra-mile for her or in that case the extra intergalactic gate jump. Caroline, George and Olivia who had just come in from her physical therapy looked at her expectantly when she put the phone down.
"A couple of civilian friends from Sam's base heard about the trouble Sam has with the brass and they want to have their say. Sam will try to talk them out of it as soon as she has checked something out.
"What do you mean, trouble with the brass?" George asked.
Cassandra gave him a somewhat edited version of the facts, including the postponed meeting with the President of the United States. She missed Caroline Cabot's peculiar expression when Sam returned, grabbed the Blackberry, apologized again for being unsocial and disappeared towards the living room.
Olivia, on the other hand, had not missed it, and she had seen that expression often enough to know that Caroline undoubtedly was up to something, and probably something Sam would not appreciate should she learn about it. Being the head of one of the wealthiest families in the Tri-State-area meant that Caroline knew a lot of people in high places and she was not shy in using her influence to help friends and family. Olivia also knew that Caroline liked to play her cards close to her chest and would not let anyone into her confidence until she had done what she had set out to do. So, she changed the subject back to more mundane matters.
-x-x-x-
Sam dialed the number of Vala's private cell phone. She let it ring twice and ended the call. She redialed, let it ring three times and once again hung up. When she called a third time it was picked up at the third ring.
"Samantha, are you alright? I heard you got in the way of a bullet and gave the good Carolyn quite the scare."
"I'm fine, Vala, nothing that will not heal in time. How's your road trip?"
"A bit more hurried than I had originally planned. I'm really glad that your friends are quick learners. It would have been hell would I have to drive the whole way on my own. With Teyla and Ronon taking over sporadically, it's even some fun. Better than sitting around at the mountain. Things there were getting a bit boring lately, you know?"
Sam sighed dramatically, "At least tell me that you didn't steal the car."
"I didn't steal the car, Samantha, I bought it, months ago. I wanted to take my time getting to know your country, not rush from point A to point B. Stealing a car would have been more fun, but you Tau'ri are so narrow minded about those technicalities.
"So, what up, Sam? This probably is not a social call."
"Oh, Vala, please, the innocent act does not work with me. I called to talk you out of invading the White House. The President is very well protected and his guards are not shy in using their guns."
"It's not my call, Samantha. I'm just the driver and tour guide," Vala answered. "You should talk to Teyla."
There was a bit of rustling at the other end and then Sam heard Teyla's voice, "Sam, are you alright? How is Cassandra?"
"My shoulder will heal, Teyla, and Cassie will also heal, in time. She has gone through hell, but Cassie is a strong, young woman. Let's talk about that when we see each other in person."
"So, be it."
"Teyla, do you know how dangerous that was, going through the gate the way you did? You could have been killed and your people would have lost their leader. I'm not worth such a risk."
"You are worth that and much more, Samantha Carter, and it was a calculated risk. You are that important, and as to what I was thinking? That's easy. I was thinking that someone at this meeting should be on your side, one hundred percent, just like you are on our side, someone who knows what it means to fight the Wraith – and as your allies Ronon and I are uniquely qualified to do just that. We have the right to take part in deliberations that influence our future and survival. My people respect you, Sam, you have proven your loyalty to them. And your people need to know that. Nothing you say will change my mind. We are determined to talk with your leader, your President, regardless of what it takes."
The steely tone of voice made it clear to Sam that this would be a discussion she could not win, so, she didn't even try.
"Thank you, Teyla, thank you, Ronon. I'm touched by your loyalty and concern and I will not try to convince you otherwise, but I want you to play it safe. Do not try to sneak into the White House. I don't want any of you to get hurt."
Sam heard Ronon huff at the other end of the line, "I don't doubt your abilities. In fact, with Vala at your side I'm confident that you could circumvent the security system and get around the Secret Service Agents, but if you want the President to really listen to what you have to say, if you want him to trust your judgment you will have to play by his rules."
"Vala thinks that it would shock them to their senses if we simply appeared in this round room he works in," Teyla said.
"The Oval Office. Yes, I can imagine that she would say that. And I admit that it would be an impressive demonstration, but it will put all three of you in danger and for what you want to accomplish it could be quite counterproductive. Let me call General O'Neill. He will find an official way to get you into this meeting should it ever take place. Jack O'Neill can be very persuasive if he wants to. If you simply startle the President, he will not trust you, and he needs to trust you, at least to some degree to give credence to your words. You will have to prove your honesty and sneaking up on him would definitively send the wrong message."
"I see your point. I too am more open to people who come at me with their hands out than with their hands hidden behind their backs. We'll do it your way," Teyla answered.
"Thank you, Teyla. Thank you, Ronon. I hope we will get a chance to meet when all of this is over."
"We will, Sam. I'm looking forward to get to know Cassandra. We will see each other soon."
"I'm looking forward to this, Teyla. Could you give the phone back to Vala, please. You'll need General O'Neill's phone number. Call him as soon as you enter DC."
"Hey, Sam. I already have his number. He gave it to me should Daniel get into trouble, but let me tell you I'm not happy about this change in plans. It takes the fun out of everything," Vala complained. "You're just like Daniel and Carolyn, you never let me have any fun anymore."
"You had plenty of fun sneaking Teyla and Ronon out of the mountain, Vala, and don't try to deny it. However, I'll make it up to you. How about some shopping in New York. I'm sure that Alex and Olivia will know all the good places to go."
"I'll take you up on that, Sam, and now call Daniel's General. It's my turn to take the wheel for a while."
"Drive carefully, Vala."
"And where would be the fun in that?" Vala asked and ended the call.
Sam shock her head at her alien friends and called General O'Neill. He promised her to do his best to get Teyla and Ronon into the meeting with the President, and since Jack in his own inimitable way was a force of nature Sam had no doubt that he would succeed.
-x-x-x-
When Sam returned to the kitchen she found only Antonia who insisted that she sat down to finish her breakfast before it would be her turn for physical therapy. The PT specialist, an auburn haired woman with an, in Sam's opinion, overtly cheerful disposition seemed impressed with her progress. To Sam, being able to painstakingly raise her arm almost to chest level was not real progress. The only thing it did prove to her was that healing General Hammond had not done further damage to her shoulder. And that, though a relief, was not progress and she found the experience utterly frustrating.
Her day did not improve when she found out that Cassandra had already started to give her amended statement to Alex and Olivia and didn't want her to be present. She even had left a note to make sure of it. Sam knew that Cassie only wanted to protect her by keeping her from having to hear about the details of her ordeal a second time, but it still hurt. She wanted to be there for Cassie. She wanted, no, she needed to protect her, but instead the young woman did her best trying to protect Sam. Sam didn't need protection, she already knew what Carl Kelles and his men had done to her little girl and hearing it again would not make it worse.
In fact Cassandra's words from the day before were not far from her mind, down to the inflection of her voice and including the mental images that voice had created in her mind. It also brought back the graphically violent thoughts of the revenge she wanted to visit on Carl Kelles, a revenge that would make a stay in Ba'al's torture chamber appear like a spa day.
Sam felt herself brimming with angry energy that needed an outlet. With her shoulder the way it still felt, it was out of the question to go in search of the next gym with a punching bag as she usually would have done. So, Sam put on her running shoes, left a message with Antonia that she was going for a walk and crossed the lawn behind the house to the beginning of a path Olivia had told her about. According to the detective it was the start of a three miles' trail leading to the beach.
Sam rationally knew that in her current physical condition doing the round trip would be extremely taxing. She also knew that Janet would have read her the riot act for even thinking of going for a run in the first place, but a part of her, deep down, knew that she had to do it to get rid of at least some of the tension she still felt building up inside of her. It was the same part that drove her to haunt the science labs in Atlantis at night and let her join Teyla and sometimes Ronon in their early morning drills.
She started to stretch as soon as she had reached the tree line. She took a deep breath and then began a light jog along the slightly overgrown trail. Her legs quickly feel into their familiar rhythm but every step jarred at her shoulder, sending pain through her whole body. It made it hard to breathe regularly but after a few dozen steps she managed to ignore most of the pain.
Sam picked up her pace and her breathing rhythm slowly evened out. Under the canopy of the spring leaves she felt the anger that had grabbed her heart like in a vicious vice slowly loosening its grip. It became even easier to breathe and only then was she able to start to enjoy her surroundings, the sounds of the forest, the sun partially breaking through, the smell of .,..
Smoke, she smelled cigarette smoke. All of her senses immediately kicked into high alert. The smell came from the south-east, slightly in front of her and to her right off the beaten path. Sam realized that she must have come up to one of the perimeter guards General Hammond had mentioned. She felt no eyes on her, so, they probably didn't yet know of her approach. Smoking while on guard duty in a forest was never a good idea, for more than one reason. At Stargate Command even the civilians knew better.
Sam decided to pay the negligent airman a surprise visit. She found a man in BDUs and another one wearing the uniform of a police officer. They were standing at the edge of a small clearing about fifty yards from the trail, talking softly, the police officer occasionally sucking on his cigarette – and both seemed to be oblivious to their surroundings.
She circled them and sneaked closer from behind the police man. The Special Forces soldier, a member of SG-8, if memory served, winked at her. Sam deliberately let her left foot make an audible shuffle on the ground. The officer didn't react. The SF gave her a hand signal that he would not interfere. Sam's next steps made no sound. She waited for the officer to snuff out his cigarette and put him in a one-armed chokehold. She knew that her hold would not stand up against Marine training or Jaffa conditioning. Everyone at the SGC and most people in Atlantis could have broken her hold, the police officer did not.
"You should never smoke in an area where smoke can be detected by smell, Officer," Sam said and let go of him. "It can be hazardous to your health."
The SF straightened and stood at attention, unhurriedly and with a smile on his face, "Colonel Carter. It must be boring at your base for you to come here and make the news. You should not be out here, injured and without protection."
"At ease, Sergeant Morgan. I was not the target. So, why didn't you stop your colleague from smoking? You know that it could give you away."
"I counted on my ability to detect and scare off a couple of nosy journalists without having to be particularly stealthy. And I sure didn't expect to be caught with my pants down by a superior officer, especially not by you, Colonel Carter. Rumor has it that you once again escaped death by a thin margin, but I'm glad to see that for once the grapevine was wrong. But still you should not be out here, unarmed and without protection; instead of us you could have run into a bunch of journalists."
"Duly noted, Sergeant, and you're right. I guess I didn't think this through, but you know how it is, sometimes one just needs to let off some steam and I can't take my anger out on a punching bag at the moment."
Under other circumstances Sam would not have been this open and honest, but this man, Sergeant Morgan, had fought in almost as many off-world battles and skirmishes as she had and she had met him more than once in the gym trying to work out some anger or frustration or hurt or grief over a sandbag before going home to his family.
Sam turned her attention to he police officer now standing next to her, "I apologize for the sneak attack, Officer. I couldn't resist the temptation. Are you with the local police?"
"Yes, ma'am. Officer James Lindy, at your service," he answered.
"Colonel Samantha Carter, but I guess you know that. Nice to meet you. I guess you know your way around these parts. About half a mile back I passed through a breach in the fence closing off the Cabot property. Wouldn't it be easier to simply guard the fence?"
"There are only three trails leading to the fence, ma'am. This is one of them and the other two are also under observation. We were ordered to catch any sign of trouble long before it could come in shouting distance of the Cabot Estate."
"I understand. I wanted to go to the beach but now that I have been reminded of the looming press I think that would not be too bright an idea."
"You're right, ma'am. Though I think today the main players are at the press conference in New York, but those remaining get more brazen every day. We already had to turn back two teams and a photographer coming from there. Technically it's a private beach but the Cabots have never tried to enforce that."
"I see. So, it might be best to return to the house, I guess. Well, a short run is better than no exercise at all," Sam said with a shrug of her shoulders she immediately regretted.
"If you had continued on the path instead of coming to us you would have found another trail forking off from this one. If you follow it, it leads around most of the back of the Estate to another breach in the fence, and ultimately to the back of the stables. The path meanders a bit, stretching it out to about one and a half more miles."
"Sounds like a good alternative, Officer Lindy. Did you spent much of your youth sneaking on the Cabot property?"
"There was no need to sneak. The breeches in the fence are there on purpose but only us locals know about them and we never would do anything to hurt Mrs. Cabot. She is one of us," Lindy answered a bit testily.
"I meant no disrespect, Officer Lindy. I apologize. I hope the rest of your shift stays uneventful."
"So do we. Colonel Carter, if I may ask, Cassie Fraiser, will she be alright? We're all worried."
"Her injuries are healing and she has her mother's inner strength. In time she will be fine. Thanks for asking."
"She's family, Colonel. Have a nice run; I hear someone coming." Morgan said.
"I hear them as well. I'll leave you to do your job."
Sam ran off. A part of her wanted to linger to observe how the two of them would handle the four people who tried unsuccessfully to be quiet while walking through the underbrush. But it was not her job to judge their performance; so, she shrugged her control issues off, this time only mentally. Having interrupted her run had brought back the pain in her shoulder to a level that was hard to ignore. It took longer than the last time to settle into an almost comfortable running rhythm but eventually she did and could once again focus on her surroundings.
-x-x-x-
Sam found the second breach in the fence without problems and reached the tree line a few minutes later. The back of the stable was about thirty yards in front of her and she saw two crouched figures looking cautiously around the corner towards the main house. They quickly stepped back, pushed two of the wooden panels forming the back wall of the stable to the side and went in. It was only then that she registered that the two intruders were too small to be anything but children. They probably only wanted to spend time with the horses.
Sam was about to just let it go and return to the house when it occurred to her that their presence meant that there was a way to get to the house without being intercepted by the perimeter guards, and in Sam's mind that was worth investigating.
The panels made no sound when she pushed them to the side and stepped through the opening, but Sam had not counted on being attacked from both sides before she even had the chance to straighten up to her full height. A mud puddle close to the opening let her slip. She went down and landed on her injured shoulder. Pain flared up along her spine and exploded behind her eyes. Years of fighting off-world let her hold on to consciousness and she snorted when the two kids became aware that she was not the person they had expected.
"Fuck, that's not Julia," a boy's voice said.
"Watch your language, kid," Sam said from behind clenched teeth automatically acting on some sort of maternal instinct.
She tried to sit up, a mistake she regretted when a new wave of pain made her retch and throw up the remnants of her breakfast. The second child, a girl about ten years old, handed her the bucket they apparently had used to create the mud puddle in the first place. It was just in time. Her revolting stomach did hurt her shoulder even more and for a moment she feared that the fall had done some damage.
Sam closed her eyes to listen to her body, tuning out the whispered conversation going on next to her. She heard footsteps retreating hurriedly and felt someone kneeling next to her. Sam kept her eyes closed and focused on getting the pain back to a manageable level. She kept her breathing calm and shallow, and when she finally opened her eyes she was reasonably sure that except for a few probably torn stitches her shoulder was fine.
She looked into the face of a clearly worried boy of about ten or eleven years. She smiled at him and that encouraged him to start speaking or rather babbling.
"You're that woman from the news. We're sorry, we didn't want to hurt you. We thought you were someone else. Karen ran over to the house to get Antonia. She's going to make it right. I'm sorry you got hurt. It's all our fault, and now you're bleeding and you're sick to your stomach and…"
Sam put her hand on his shoulder to reassure him and get him to let her speak, "Calm down, would you. I'm fine. Take a deep breath and tell me your name."
"Adrian Jefferson Jr. You're that Air Force Officer, Colonel Carter, you're prettier than on the screen. They say that you're a hero and heroes don't lie. You're bleeding, so, you're not fine," he said in a small voice that made him appear very young.
"The fall or rather my ungraceful landing tore a few stitches. It can be easily repaired. I promise I will be fine, Adrian. Your ambush was well executed. I give you that. Do you and your friends come here for the horses?"
"Yes. Mrs. Cabot said that it's alright. Karen and Julia like horses but they can't have any of their own. We usually come on Mondays and Thursdays only but Flame is due to foal soon and we wanted to make sure that she's okay."
"Did you meet or see anyone on the way here?" Sam asked.
"We saw two soldiers, in uniforms. They looked scary. They were close to the path we usually take, so we chose a way around them. They didn't see us. Are they there to protect you? They said in the news that the bad guys are all in jail."
"They are, Adrian. The soldiers and a few officers of your local police are out there to keep the press from bothering Mrs. Cabot. We don't want them to invade her privacy just because they are nosy. Can you help me up? I don't want to sit on the floor while getting yelled at."
"Yelled at?" He asked with an expression that said, 'I didn't know grown-ups get yelled at too', but he still held out his hand to help Sam.
"Your friend is coming back and it sounds as if she brought some company."
Before the boy had a chance to say more the large barn door was pushed open. Antonia, Melinda, Alex and Caroline hurried in, followed by a girl with short blond hair, Olivia and Cassandra. Melinda took one look at her blood stained shoulder and began to read her the riot act. Sam kept her expression neutral while Melinda told her that she should know better and that she was irresponsible and should act like an adult. She was just about to talk herself into a rage when Olivia stopped her.
"Let it go, Melinda. Sam did what she had to do. Give her some credit. Why don't we go all back to the house and if you're not happy with her shoulder we'll find a way to sneak her into the hospital."
Melinda gave her a curt nod but it was evident that she was far from being mollified. So, Sam decided that some damage control was in order, "I'm sorry. I didn't set out to fall, but I needed to blow off some steam and going for a run seemed the easiest way to do that. I didn't want to worry any of you."
"Apology accepted, Colonel Carter. Let's act on Olivia's plan. Antonia, would you please prepare a snack for us all. Some of us missed lunch," Caroline said with a pointed look that not only hit Sam but also encompassed Alex, Olivia and Cassie.
"With pleasure, I have just the thing. Karen, Adrian, come, you can help me," Antonia said and shoed the children out of the stable.
Cassie had come closer and carefully hugged Sam, "I'm sorry, Mum. I should not have excluded you earlier. It's my fault that you're hurt."
"I'll be fine, Cassie, and it's not your fault. It was an accident, accidents happen. I know you only wanted to spare me from having to hear it a second time. I understand. I would have done the same. And falling and tearing my stitches was my fault. I stumbled into their ambush like a first year cadet. I'm fine, really."
Sam made a few steps towards the entrance and had to steady herself by grabbing one of the stall posts, "Uhhh, dizzy." Cassie let go of one of her crutches and steadied her and a moment later Olivia was at her side to hold her as well.
"We have you, Sam. We'll help you to get back to the house."
A moment later someone burst through the wall panels in the back, slipped on the mud puddle and landed hard on her back.
"Julia Marie Ross, this is no way to enter a stable. Someone invented doors for a reason," Caroline chided the girl.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Cabot. We always enter from the back, it's easier and faster. Wow! You are the people from the news. What's going on? Why are you all here? And where are Junior and Karen? Are they alright?"
"They're fine, Julia. You'll find them in the kitchen with Antonia. We'll join you all shortly," Caroline said with a smile and the girl took it as the dismissal it was and ran off.
-x-x-x-x-x-