This is a lot shorter than the usual chapters of PD, but I'm trying to get stuff out to you guys quicker by making it shorter. I had to really resist adding more scenes which would delay the posting time further. I'm very aware of how hard it is to get back into a fic if the posts are too far in between, especially when the story is as long as this one.
I also want to apologize for not responding to everyone's review. I so value your opinion guys, and I've taken them all on board. I'm so glad everyone is enjoying Action!Jack, Pushy!Daniel (he means well, really), Brian's character development (he so didn't deserve to die), and Cassie's mysterious escape from the evil Ricky... LOL, I feel like 'Elle Woods' recounting the events of Days of Our Lives! I'll respond individually this time around, pinky promise xx
PS. It was part business/part holiday. My better half had to work while I entertained the kids for the summer...
Chapter 26: The Fault Dear Brutus
Kasimovo Airbase
(2100 MSK)
Lieutenant Colonel Paul Davis suspected that he and Doctor Daniel Jackson had gone a bit overboard with the camo face paint based solely on Captain Ustinov's - Sergey to his friends - inability to look at them without chuckling.
They were at the edge of the treeline opposite the main runway, waiting for the General and Orlov to get into position. Ustinov would perch himself on higher ground once he was given the signal to go.
Although the grass had become overgrown, the ground was still exposed enough for someone high up in the building to spot someone coming. The cover of darkness would help some, but they still needed to avoid detection from the guards patrolling the edge of the compound.
"Davai," Ustinov said under his breath. He'd received his signal. He vanished behind Paul and Daniel, blending into the forest like the hunter that he was. Paul strained to hear his footsteps, but he detected none.
Their orders were to stay and keep watch from the cover of trees, maintain radio silence and await further orders. Paul had his binoculars trained on O'Neill and Orlov's position. Once they were in the building, it would be a sit and wait situation. If things didn't go to plan, and the two men had to make a hasty exit, then he and Daniel along with Captain Ustinov were to make them a safe passage out, perhaps with covering fire depending on the situation. O'Neill had made sure that the men were armed to the teeth.
Orlov's man inside had given them the exact location where Kinsey was being held and the sentry schedule. Since the airbase was a retired facility there were no cameras, which was a boon in their favor. But there were plenty of guards who were taking their orders directly from General Kiselev, a man who inspired fear within the highest military ranks. It would be no walk in the park bypassing their security system, which consisted simply of heavily armed guards.
Sasha, Orlov's snitch, had given them the exact time when the sentries would be relieved. It was their only chance to go in through the side entrance where Sasha would be waiting to create a distraction.
At 2115, they saw a quick flash of light, the signal letting them know that it was time to break cover and head for the side doors of the hangar building.
The heavy fire door was propped open with a greasy dark cloth that was probably taken from the abandoned tool boxes in the hangar. As Sasha had promised the room was kept dark, but it was filled with broken airplane parts. They had to be extremely careful not to disturb any of the equipment lest they make a racket. The NVGs came in handy sidestepping the mess and locating the hallway leading to where Kinsey was being kept.
Jack had agreed with Orlov that they wouldn't be using lethal force unless absolutely necessary. They had tranq darts and tasers, which made Jack miss the simplicity of zats. He still had a 9mm automatic strapped to his side and several clips of ammo, but if things went to plan he wouldn't be needing them.
The plan was to neutralize the Goa'uld, question Kinsey, find out what he knew and get out. It was simple and direct, just the way he liked it. Orlov took point. He knew the building better than Jack did, having studied the blueprints for longer and being more used to the whimsies of Soviet-ea architects.
They slipped into a dark recess in the hallway, awaiting the departure of the guards going off shift. Sasha had told Orlov that they would have to disable the two men guarding Kinsey's makeshift cell to gain entry. They would have fifteen minutes at most to do what they needed to before the absence of the guards would be noticed.
Checking his watch, Orlov gave Jack the signal. They calmly emerged from the wall and aimed their tranqs at the guards. The soldiers' surprise at Jack and Orlov's appearance caused a delay in their reaction, precious half seconds that gave the unexpected visitors ample time to shoot them both twice.
The tranquilizers took immediate effect and the two men collapsed, their weapons clattering to the ground.
Orlov grabbed the keys strapped to one of the guard's utility belt. Once the door was opened, Jack slipped into the short windowless hallway beyond it. Large double swing doors at the end confirmed that they were in the right place.
They dragged the unconscious guards into the hall and zip-tied their hands behind their backs. Although it was unlikely that they would wake up anytime soon with the amount of sleeping juice they were pumped with, Jack still used strips of duct tape to cover their mouths.
Satisfied that the soldiers were secure, Jack took the lead this time, crouching low to the ground, and nudging the double doors slightly open to stick a small mirror inside the next room and angle it around to check for trouble. "No guards," he whispered to Orlov.
He got up from his crouch and entered the sparsely decorated room. Apart from the raised hospital bed, a rotating stool, and surgical lights, the only other item in the middle of the room was the very recognizable figure of ex-Vice-President Robert Kinsey.
He was strapped tightly onto the hospital bed in blue hospital scrubs. Even his head was being held down with a sturdy wide leather strap. The only light came from fluorescent lamps from the underside of the cupboards above the counters.
Jack took a moment to feel some satisfaction at the sight of one his longtime nemesis so thoroughly humiliated and brought down low. If anyone deserved this treatment, it was Kinsey. Moment over, Jack cautiously approached the bed, and used the muzzle of his tranq gun to poke Kinsey awake.
"Wakey, wakey, Bob. You have some visitors," Jack spoke in English. Kinsey's eyes popped open and flashed in recognition. Jack waved his gun at him. "Welcome back Sleeping Beauty," he said smirking at the enraged looking Goa'uld.
The Goa'uld snarled at him, but didn't respond verbally.
Jack sighed dramatically. It was always a good approach when dealing with, in his opinion, the biggest drama queens in the galaxy. "Let's get right to the point, shall we? I'm a bit short on time, so I'm gonna give you two choices: We can do this the hard way, or the easy way."
When the Goa'uld failed to respond, Jack continued on. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to tell me what I wanna know, capiche? No? Okay… Don't say I didn't warn you." He pulled out a scanner that looked suspiciously alien to Orlov's eyes.
"Chto eta?" Orlov asked.
Jack ignored him and used the phone-sized device to scan Kinsey. After a few seconds, the machine beeped. Orlov stepped closer to Jack, looking over the taller man's shoulder. He didn't recognize the script and symbols displayed on the small screen.
"Ah," Jack muttered perplexed. He raised his eyebrows at Kinsey. "Fancy that… no naquadah."
Jack tucked the device back in his pocket, with Orlov giving it a curious look.
Jack studied Kinsey for a few seconds, turning things over in his head. The Goa'uld returned his stare unflinchingly. Jack relaxed his stance, crossing his arms in front of him. "I have a hunch that I can make you talk."
"Stop blathering you pathetic Tau'ri," The Goa'uld replied with his synthetic sounding voice, full of disdain.
Jack pulled out a metal tube out of his tac vest. He prepped it, pulling out the cap covering the short syringe, and without preamble, jabbed it roughly into Kinsey's neck.
The Goa'uld suddenly howled, Kinsey's body rising and straining from his restraints, before his eyes flashed, the host's eyes staring into nothing, then closing slowly, his body collapsing back into the hard mattress.
"Bozhe moi..." Orlov said under his breath. It was the first time he'd encountered an alien, and being confronted with the most malevolent one in the galaxy had unsettled even him, a hardened assassin.
Jack checked his watch. Ten minutes left. He kicked the mattress hard to help rouse Kinsey. On the second kick, the man began moving his head, then slowly opened his eyes.
Jack smirked and raised his eyebrows. "Miss me?"
Kinsey pulled at his restraints, all the while glaring at Jack. "Are you going to get me out of these, you damned imbecile?" he rasped snidely.
Jack pretended to think for a moment. "See, Kinsey, I like this look on you. It gives me a great picture in my mind of what you're going to look like for the rest of your life… sooo appropriate!"
Kinsey glared at him.
Jack raised his hands in surrender. "All right, I can let you out. On one condition. You tell me how you got yourself into this mess."
For a minute it seemed as if Kinsey wasn't going to cooperate.
Jack waited calmly.
Orlov checked his watch.
Then…
"Fine," Kinsey gritted out.
Orlov almost sighed in relief, but kept his stoic expression as the former Vice-President recounted how he was implanted with a symbiote.
He explained his past relationship with the rogue NID operatives, and how the Trust had given him no choice but to come to them after his fall from grace. He'd thought he was entering into a business deal; instead he'd ended up with a Goa'uld wrapped around his spine.
"They wanted the Goa'uld to convince Kiselev that the executive branch of the American government as well as the Joint Chiefs and Homeworld security had been compromised. Not very hard to believe when the Vice-President of the United States tries to assassinate him."
"Ex-Vice-President," Jack corrected him gleefully. "Ex."
"Are you going to let me finish or not?" Kinsey glowered at him.
Jack made a rolling motion with his hand. "There's no naquadah in your blood. That means the snake they implanted you with was a cloned one from Immunitech and not from BioLabs…" Jack thought out loud.
"So? What the hell does it matter where the damned thing came from?" Kinsey asked dismissively.
"What are you thinking, comrade?" Orlov asked, looking at Jack speculatively.
Jack bit his lip. "The cloned symbiotes from Immunitech had a genetic kill switch programmed into them. The serum I injected Kinsey with is a highly concentrated version that activates the switch immediately, which confirms that this Goa'uld was definitely one of the clones."
Orlov gave him a confused look.
"It matters, because another characteristic of the Immunitech snakes is that they leave no detectable trace of naquadah in the bloodstream."
Comprehension suddenly dawned on Orlov.
"Will somebody tell me what the hell's going on?" Kinsey complained loudly.
"Without medical scanners to verify it, it would make quick detection almost impossible," Orlov surmised.
Jack slowly nodded, knowing the position they were suddenly in.
"General Kiselev had his staff's blood tested for naquadah, but has not yet checked the Vice-President here," Orlov said indicating Kinsey. "If he had, he would've found out that blood testing is no longer enough..." Orlov glanced at Jack, with a disturbed expression.
The absence of naquadah had been the only evidence they could provide Mikhailov that the Americans weren't infected by Goa'uld. This new information would cast serious doubts on the validity of that evidence. Mikhailov would not be reassured by the samples they had provided.
"What kind of deal did the Trust make with the Goa'uld?" Jack focused once again on Kinsey. "It must've been a good one, it wouldn't have cooperated otherwise."
Kinsey ground his teeth together, but didn't respond.
"Are there any more snakes running around?" Jack prompted him further. There was no telling just how many people within the Russian government were now infected.
"I'm not saying anything else until you get me out of here," Kinsey replied angrily.
"That is not part of the plan," Orlov warned Jack in Russian.
"I know," Jack said back in the same language. Kinsey was a liability. There was no way they were going to take him with them.
"We are out of time," Orlov informed him.
Jack reached into his tac vest once again and pulled out another syringe. Before Kinsey could protest further, Jack plunged the drug into his system, knocking him out almost immediately.
"Let's go," Jack began moving towards the door, when the security alarms plunged the facility into chaos.
"Chort!" Orlov swore softly. He stopped in his tracks and looked at Jack in apology. "I am sorry, comrade, but I have no choice. You must trust me now." He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Jack.
The double doors burst open, suddenly filling the room with armed guards. Orlov raised his hands, dangling the pistol by the trigger on his thumb.
"Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" A tall blonde officer yelled out. "The Colonel is with us. Hold your fire!"
The automatic weapons aimed at Orlov wavered, then lowered, but the ones trained on Jack remained cocked and raised.
With a nod towards the Major, Orlov approached Jack and went to disarm him. He reached into the General's tac vest and removed the alien scanner, quickly pocketing it, then handing the rest of the weapons to a nearby soldier.
Devoid of any weapon, a guard kicked Jack behind his knees, forcing him to crash to the floor, hands behind his head. They stripped his tac vest off, and removed his comms, patting him down thoroughly before hauling him roughly to his feet.
"Another assassin sent by the Americans?" Jack heard one of the other officers ask the blonde Major as the other guards dragged him forcefully out of the room. He didn't get to hear the answer as the doors swung shut and he was frog marched deeper into the facility.
Oh dear... What could possibly be in store for Jack. Me thinks I'm gonna have to try my hand at 'whump'. I love hearing from everyone, so please don't hesitate to review =)