General Hammond folded his arms and sighed. He stared down at the glass, at the stubborn prisoner sitting calmly in the room below. Makepeace didn't make eye contact with him, nor did he attempt to make any conversation. The seasoned soldier sat there, on his chair, looking stoically at the wall in front of them.

"Colonel," Hammond began once more.

"General, with all due respect, don't waste your breath." Makepeace lifted his chin and gazed at his former commanding officer.

"Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson are out there, Colonel Makepeace," Hammond reminded him. "They may be in grave danger."

"Colonel O'Neill knew the risks when he put on the uniform, sir."

Hammond leaned forward to the microphone. "And Doctor Jackson?"

Makepeace paused.

"Colonel, they're not your enemy. None of us are." The general set his hands on the counter, ignoring Davis and Jones occupying the booth with him. The major had entered, asking to observe the proceedings. Not that there was anything to watch. Hammond's neck cramped from the long hours. "Colonel, we both have a shared enemy."

"Which you are losing against because of your policies." Folding his arms, Makepeace sat straight at attention, his back stiff. Some habits were hard to break. "General, you and I both know we had some close calls. There were times we barely made it. Apophis, Hathor, the Retu." Each name he counted down to, his jaw tightened, white teeth a slit between his lips. "Sooner or later, sir, a bigger fish is going to bite back and we'll have no defenses against them."

"And you believe the direction you and Maybourne took was the right way?" Hammond watched Makepeace shrugged.

"Better than waiting around for whatever scraps the Tok'ra and the Tollan toss at us."

Davis muttered something that almost sounded like a snicker, but it couldn't have been. Hammond cast a puzzled look over to the Pentagon liaison, who covered his mouth and coughed.

"Sorry, general."

Shaking his head, Hammond faced the glass. "Colonel, all we ask is you provide us any possible locations where Neumann or Tobias may have secreted Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Jackson."

"You know if I tell you that I implement myself in this whole affair." Grunting, Makepeace broke eye contact. Setting his jaw, Makepeace fell silent.

"This isn't going anywhere," Hammond told Davis, the frustration audible in the general's voice. The liaison stood there in the shadows. "I need you to get me the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the phone. They need to be updated on what's been going on."

"Perhaps I should try?" Davis offered. "Maybe he would talk to me? He knows my connection with the Joint Chiefs. Perhaps if he thinks we can settle a plea bargain- Now I don't mean there will be one," Davis placate the general with open palms. "But maybe if he believes it, he may talk."

Hammond frowned at the idea. "You're talking about entrapment, major."

"Not if we keep it very vague it won't. Let him make his own conclusions."

The general shook his head. "No. I don't like it. We'll have to try another way-"

"But really, general. I insist."

A click spun Hammond around. He found himself staring at the end of a Glock. Davis coolly shook his head at Jones, who was gripping the armrests, prepared to launch himself at him.

"I wouldn't recommend it, sergeant," Davis warned. "Not if you want to explain to Washington how the general got shot right in front of you."

"What the hell?" Hammond exploded. "What is going on here?"

"A little early spring cleaning, general," Davis murmured. He eyed the window. Makepeace was on his feet, staring at Davis with dark eyes. "Sorry, colonel. You understand of course."

Makepeace opened his mouth to say something when the doors opened. The colonel spun around and glared at the two new soldiers silently pointing their weapons at him. He pivoted around again and gazed up to Davis.

Davis only offered a small smile. "I have my orders." His mouth hardened. The gun didn't waver as he directed at Hammond.

"I'm sorry, general. I'm afraid we must ask for your resignation on this project effectively immediately."

"We should have just grabbed Carter or the alien. Either one of them would have gotten us a good price. We could have used them to bargain with. Screw the Stargate."

"You think we would have been able to get either of them with what we had? Carter's doing inventory of our stuff, damn Jaffa is off playing Mr. Cleaver. Jackson was our best bet to get O'Neill over here. We need them both, Tobias. Jackson was the best lure we could get at our current resources."

The trees were laughing at him.

Daniel blearily looked at the greenery twist and waver before him, limbs pointing at him, mocking his attempts to stay upright. He could hear the same river, or creek, at this point, he didn't care- all he knew was there was water running out there. His back ached with the idea of having to climb down the steep incline to the river again. However, he understood Jack's thinking. Better go downhill along the river than wander around lost, possibly running into those men, Neumann or—

Tobias.

His knees wobbled, but thankfully they stayed upright. He would never live it down if he passes out right here. Jack shouldn't be burdened with carrying him around. Not when there are more urgent things at hand.

"Almost there. See a rockface that looks easy to go down on." A callused hand wrapped around Daniel's wrist. "Watch your step."

Couldn't even walk out of here without help, Daniel thought, dispirited. And Jack was back to the guilty mother hen mode again, acting as if he owed Daniel.

Owed.

Not much room for friendship there, then.

"Apparently not much of a foundation there, huh?"

Apparently not, Daniel thought, a bitter taste in his mouth. A foundation built on some principle to watch out for the weak wasn't a steady stand to uphold a friendship.

Speaking of unsteady.

Daniel's knees buckled as he tottered over uneven ground. He'd tried hiding it but leaning against one of the sneering trees, pretending to take a breather. At Jack's stop, the silent inquiry over his shoulder, Daniel took a gulp of air and stood up.

Only to sag forward, crashing against one of those laughing trees.

Hands caught him, slowing his fall, an echoing grunt when he did after the ground rushed up to him unkindly. Breathless, winded, Daniel felt the pins and needles on his chest and side return once more with a vengeance. He moaned, unable to stop himself when the hands pulled at his arm, bringing him back on his feet, but also igniting a dull burn into fire.

"Sorry," muttered Jack as he lowered Daniel further, supporting him against his shoulder. The grey head swiveled left and right. "Want to rest here for a bit? We're almost to the cliffs."

"No," Daniel croaked out between cracked lips. "We should keep moving."

Daniel could feel the pause stilling the chest under his head. "You sure?" the whisper asked close to his ear.

To prove it, Daniel pushed away from Jack. He was gratified to find himself standing, although he couldn't remember how he did. See? Not a burden. Not some weak link. Not some pawn for bait-

Daniel didn't feel a thing when he sagged forward, Jack's arm barely catching him in time before the ground rushed forward at him.

Damn it.

Jack felt his own leg stiffen as he fell to his knees, driven down by the added dead weight, shit, bad choice of words, in his arms.

"Daniel," he whispered, his eyes darting around to make sure no one was around. "Daniel." He gave the archeologist a little shake.

The younger man didn't even moan. Pale blue peeked out from shut lids, head lolled back, Daniel was out.

"Ah hell, big guy. Not quite having fun here, huh?" Jack murmured, his mouth crinkled downward in sympathy. He brushed back the damp fringe on the forehead, noting Daniel's eyes fluttered open for a brief moment at the touch. Okay, not completely out, but not exactly up to climbing any small mountains right now.

With a soft grunt, Jack rose to his feet, pulling Daniel up with him. The archeologist hung from the arm Jack slipped around his own shoulder, head drooped down to his chest.

"Okay, buddy, we're going to go for a walk, alright?" Jack wheezed.

Daniel only replied with his head bobbing when Jack readjusted his grip.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Jack muttered. The colonel scanned the rise he spied, a small overhang that smoothed out to the cliff over the river. Hm. Good decent amount of cover, behind the treeline, good view of the river in case bad guys decide to come around from the bottom. Jack nodded to himself. A few carefully placed branches, some woven cover and it should do fine for a few hours of rest.

"What ya say?" Jack asked the unaware man he supported. Painfully hobbling towards the rock face, Jack took great care to step on the rocky surface rather than the dirt. Makes wiping out their tracks much easier later. "A little table, maybe some curtains, be just like home."

Daniel moaned softly, his head rolling to the side and struck Jack's shoulder before dropping down to bounce off his own chest. The younger man scrunched up his nose, but didn't awake. Gently, Jack raised a hand, cradling the chin and carefully steering it towards a more comfortable spot on his shoulder.

Worry gnawed in Jack's gut. Daniel was out too long now. He hated trying to move his friend. Hell, he hated the fact they were kinda empty handed except for the gun Daniel still didn't say where he got and the clothes on their backs.

Reaching the spot, Jack allowed a tight smile when he realized not only the area was pretty well concealed, there was even a small depression, maybe about four or five feet of space cut into the rock from thousands of years of erosion. Perfect. If only everything else would fall into place like that.

Carefully, Jack pulled Daniel closer to him and slipped into the patch of trees, taking great care not to disturb the natural lay of the land. No twigs broken, or grass too trampled on. The last think Jack needed was a trail for Neumann, Tobias or those guys who did bad imitations of party crashers.

One hand firmly on Daniel's wrist, the other arm gingerly wrapped around the younger man's middle, Jack made his way to the shallow cave. Finally, he eased his friend down until Daniel was sitting up against the back wall of the cavern before he wedged himself into a spot next to him.

Damn, it was cold.

Jack rubbed his hands together and grimaced. The cave, carved out of ancient rock, didn't exactly provide much in heat. In fact, the past days of rain had kept the ground too moist, and the stone bone chilling cold. But it would have to do.

"Remind me to complain to the front desk about our accommodations," Jack muttered, giving Daniel's left shoulder a brief squeeze. He didn't get any reaction again. He reached over and pressed his fingers lightly under Daniel's jaw. Jack exhaled long and deep. Okay, a little on the slow side, but steady.

"Attaboy, Daniel," he murmured. The corner of his mouth twitched as he studied the cave. Returning his attentions back towards Daniel, Jack settled the back of his hand on Daniel's cheek. Still clammy, dry. His brows drew downward. Not good. "Be right back," Jack told him, giving one of the knees a fond pat before he slipped out of the cave. Jack peered through the thicket of trees that doubled as his cover. No one around. He waited a few moments, handling a pebble he picked up in his palm. Counting to ten, Jack tossed it out into the clearing. It bounced on hard rock and made a light, faint tapping sound as it rolled off the edge and down the cliff to the river below.

No one came out to the clearing.

All clear.

Quietly, Jack rose to his feet. He looked back, over his shoulder. He could see Daniel's feet sticking out of the cave. Jack paused. The younger man looked so exposed out in the open.

But he isn't, he told himself. There's plenty of cover here, out of line of sight. You have to get some liquids in him and get some cover for the night. You can't stay here like a lump.

But still.

Concern with priority warred inside. Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath, his chest expanding out before he let it out slowly.

"Back in a second," Jack whispered and silently slipped out to get what he needed. His eyes kept drifting back to the grove before he slipped deeper into the woods.

Sam barely caught up with Teal'c, who was running full speed down the stairs. Wheezing, she didn't try to stop as she leaped down the last two steps to the landing and made a tight turn to the next set.

"What the?" Sam stared at the screen. "The last call was an hour ago?" She shook the stack as she gawked at the screen over Vant's head. "Why didn't Siler tell me when he gave me this?"

"Siler?" Vant looked confused. "I gave those to major Davis." He tapped the keyboard. "Oh, they got the details on the last call." He typed a few more lines and suddenly balked as the screen's lines began to slip away. "What?"

Sam pushed the tech aside. "You're losing the data!" She typed as fast as she could, glimpsing at the disappearing lines. "Someone's hacked into the system and deleting everything!"

The tech's mouth dropped open, his eyes bulging out. "What? T-that-" He sputtered. "No one can't hack into our systems! There's no way! You need a password!"

"Then either someone got the password or just found a way," Sam snapped. She struck the keyboard. "We lost it. Everything!" She snatched the pad and pencil Teal'c handed her and scribbled the last line she read before she forget.

"Could you read the last part?" Vant asked anxiously. The tech was bouncing on the balls of his feet. "Major?"

"That's my number," Sam breathed. She only caught the last few digits before they vanished into a single cursor on the black screen. She stared at the last four numbers on the lined paper. "But if they had called my office, why wouldn't-" The pencil clattered to the floor. Sam spun around to Teal'c. "Major Davis. He was already in my office when we got back."

"He may not be Major Davis," growled Teal'c.

Sam didn't say anything, already running out the door, Teal'c bolting right after her.

Shit, shit, shit. She hurriedly clipped the holster to her belt, jumping down two more steps to reach Teal'c. The Jaffa was already opening the exit door, practically ripping it off its hinges.

"We can't sound the alarm," she panted as Teal'c opened the weapons locker. "Not if Davis is walking around free. No telling what he'll do if he knows his cover is blown." She grabbed a pistol, shoving a clip in as she grabbed a holster. "We get to the general, warn him and have this base locked down."

"There already is a weapon missing."

Sam froze. "The general."

Teal'c nodded gravely.

They skidded to a halt at corridor nine. Cautiously, she stared around the corner and checked the hallways. The two guards who were manning each end of the temporary interrogation rooms were gone.

"The general's in there with Makepeace," she whispered. Teal'c pursed his lips.

"There is only one entrance to the booth and one to the interrogation room," noted the Jaffa. "Should we enter either one, Davis will see us."

"And he might not be alone," Sam added, waving towards the hallway. "Guards are gone."

"Perhaps a simultaneous attack?" Teal'c suggested.

Sam didn't look happy as she considered it. "You get the interrogation room and I get the booth?" She made a face. Neither one promised to be easy. "Flip a coin?"

Puzzled, Teal'c quirked his eyebrow questioningly. "I do not have any currency, Major Carter."

She tossed a weak smile at him. "Sorry, forget I said that." She rose to her feet. "Let's go. I think I have an idea."

Silently, Sam and Teal'c headed for the doors, both their guns clicking sharply in the quiet hall.