Author's Note: You guys don't even have to wait for the cliffhanger. Enjoy!

The Shoe Falls

Jon and Nate stared at the screen stunned as they watched Stetson attack Cassie and then approach her with a syringe. They guessed his intent was to inject her with the contents but Cassie fought back, knocking the needle out of his hand and it disappeared in the darkness.

They looked at each other. "We need to find your mom and Jack. It looks like Cassie was the target all along, but why?"

Nate shook his head. "I don't know. But we need to hurry; I'm sure they've already got her out of the building."

Jon led the way out of the room, and the two of them found Sam, Haruka and Jack still in the main ballroom.

"We've discovered that the President was never the target. I think it was Cassie. Nate has something to show you," Jon told them without preamble.

The all gathered around the laptop Nate set down on the table.

"We agree but we have no idea why." Jack finished. "All this does is confirming our suspicion. Any thoughts, time's ticking."

No one spoke, because no one had any idea what to do.

Cassie woke slowly unsure where she was. The ground was cold and hard beneath her. As she sat up, bars of a cell came into focus. From the look of the walls outside the cell, she was pretty sure they were of Goa'uld origin.

She tried to remember how she had gotten here. The last thing she remembered was dancing with Stetson Trelawney. Then it got foggy. The room started to spin and he helped her off the dance floor into one of the hallways. She remembered calling for Jon, knowing that she wasn't safe with the other Cadet. She tried to ask someone else for help, but the words wouldn't come. Next there was an odd noise, a strange sensation and then… blackness.

Getting to her feet, she noticed she had lost one of her shoes. She kicked the remaining one off, wishing she had worn the heels because it would have given her a weapon to use against her capturers.

The floor was cold beneath her nylon coated feet as she moved across the cell. She rattled the bars, testing their strength. Although the cell had been a latter addition to the room, it was solid. There was no way she'd get out of here without help.

Taking a deep breath she called out, "Is anyone there? Hello, I'm here. What do you want from me?"

Only silence greeted her. Gathering her dress around herself, Cassie sat down in the corner, facing the door with her back to the wall. She hadn't felt this alone since Janet died, but this time Jon might not be able to come and help her. Cassie knew that she had to get out of here by herself.

Leaning back against the bars, she waited hoping for a chance to escape.

Jack paced the ballroom waiting. The President was on Air Force One and on his way back to Washington no worse for the wear. The secret service agents had been taken to the hospital and were being checked out. Only half an hour had passed since this had all began but there was still no sign of Cassie or Trelawney.

He was ready to wrap up things here and head back to the SGC to see if they had anything new. He wished the Prometheus was here so that they could use their scanners to find the Al'kesh.

It was the only thing that made any sense. As soon as the Secret Service Agents had lost consciousness the building had been locked down.

Haruka came up to him. "I have Nate and my aide-de-camp looking over the file again to make sure there was nothing else that we've missed. How could we have got this so wrong and what would they want with Cassandra? It just doesn't make sense."

Jack looked across the room at Sam. She was sitting at an empty table. Until a few minutes ago she was coordinating the search but that was done now and Reynolds and the rest were packing their gear to head back leaving Sam with nothing to do but wait to leave.

"She needs you Jack, everything your feeling she is too. Comfort her Jack; you need it and so does she."

He shook his head. "It's not that easy Haruka. She-I."

"Jack, you keep telling yourself that, but it's not. Look at Allen and me, now that was complicated. You and Sam aren't. I'll go find Nate and Jon, and meet you outside."

Once she was gone Jack was alone in the room with Sam. Slowly he crossed the room and sat down beside her, taking her hand. "We'll find her Sam, don't worry."

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Why take her, what could they want with her? I just don't get it."

"Come're." Jack gathered her into his arms and let her have a moment to cry. He needed to hold her as much as she needed to be held.

Haruka came back into the room to let Jack know it was time to go but she stopped when she saw Sam in his arms. It was time to get down and dirty. There was no way she'd let Jack's absolute lack of self worth ruin the best thing he'd come across in a long time. As soon as they'd get Cassie back, she was going to have a little talk with the girl and come up with a plan.

February would be here fast and soon. She had to squash this thing quickly or it would be too late. Backing out of the room she let them have a few more moments while she directed the SGC personal. She'd send Jon in for the two of them in a few minutes.

A long time later Stetson walked into the room. "Welcome to the Phoenix. Aptly named because your friends will eventually bring destruction down on Earth and once that happens, like the myth, we will rise from the ashes of the old world and create a new and better one. This is the goal of the Trust."

He stopped outside the cell and tossed a pile of clothing at her. "Put these on. I'll be back in five minutes."

The he turned leaving the way he'd come. She stared at the pile of clothing for a minute, not wanting to accept anything from Stetson Trelawney, but then her survival instincts kicked in. She realized that she would be much more affective in pants than her dress.

Moving the clothes with her foot Cassie looked them over. There was a pair of BDU pants, t-shirt and over shirt as well as a pair of boots and socks.

As she got to her feet once more she moved and stretched trying to relieve the stiffness of her muscles after sitting for so long. Discretely, she tried to locate any cameras in the room but if they were there they were well hidden.

Turning her back to the door, Cassie began to dress as quickly as possible, unsure how long Cowboy-hat's five minutes would be. Once she had on her shirt she pulled the dress out from under it and dropped it in the corner. Then she sat down and pulled on her socks and boots.

"Now if you will follow me, I'll introduce you to the others on board. They have been waiting a long time to meet you, Cassandra of Hanka."

Cassandra got to her feet, wishing she was like Jon and could find something witty or smart to say. Falling flat, she just demanded, "What do you want with me?"

"I don't want anything with you, but my superiors have a plan and you're a major part of it. Now if you will follow me?"

She hesitated just a moment too long trying to find a way out of this and Stet pulled out a zat. "You know how these things work. I'm sure that you may have even seen it in use a time or two." He waved the gun. "Now I can shoot you and drag you out of here, but I thought I'd give you a chance for some dignity. So the choice is yours, what will it be?"

Without a word Cassie followed him out of the cell and down the corridor.