Chapter 19
SG-1 picked up their pace as they made their way through alleys and side streets toward the Hall of the Newcomers. Pressing themselves against the wall of a house, they watched the vehicles of security forces speed past. A light went on in a window above them, and they ducked back into the shadows around a corner. Jack didn't know how much time they could count on before someone decided the children's quarters might be a target.
"We need a diversion," he whispered.
"I'll handle it, sir."
He could make out Carter's eyes in her blackened face, bright with determination. And maybe anger. Something like the anger that made his jaw ache and his trigger finger antsy. People who would kidnap children and then mutilate them deserved no mercy. He didn't know what his major had in mind with her diversion, but he maliciously hoped it would hurt somebody.
"Teal'c, you're with Carter."
Carter said, "We'll meet you back at the children's building." The two of them crept away into the darkness, disappearing a moment later.
Jack motioned the rest of them up a hill. As they made their way to the children's building, the sirens they'd heard earlier faded into the distance. Jack hoped that any search would be directed toward the city outskirts, where SG-1 might be presumed to be fleeing.
He heard whispering behind him, punctuated by a loud "No!"
"Quiet!" hissed Jack, rounding on them.
Daniel looked apologetic, while the youth's face was a palette of shock and revulsion. "Garan made me tell him about-"
"Yeah, I get it." O'Neill clapped the young man on the shoulder. "Garan, we won't let it happen. Okay?" Garan nodded. They moved out.
After a time he began to speculate about what Carter and Teal'c were up to. He'd expected the diversion to come soon, but the minutes had ticked by with nothing happening. Then, entering the city block occupied by the children's quarters, he heard a muffled boom in the distance. A few moments later the din of claxons was renewed, this time coming from the opposite direction from the Wydra building.
"Where was that?" Jacob asked.
"I think it came from the direction of the Hall of Knowledge," Daniel whispered.
"The science building?" said Jack. Daniel nodded, and Jack smiled. Good idea, Carter. She'd drawn the Kalam to a likely goal of an SG-1 raid: that miracle drug.
Finally they were crouching outside the rear of the wall surrounding the Hall of Newcomers. Assured that their ultimate goal was still unknown to the Kalam, Jack looked up at the wall looming above them. He had assessed the barrier when he and Teal'c visited the building in the afternoon. The wall was eight feet high and constructed of smooth, black stone not conducive to climbing.
He said in whisper, "Jacob, you first." Making a cradle of his hands, he boosted the older man up to the top of the wall. A soft thump signaled Jacob had dropped to the ground on the other side. Jack was counting on there being no alarm system surrounding the building. Who in Kalam would want to kidnap kidnapped children?
Daniel gave Garan a lift up. Then he turned to Jack, his fingers laced together. "Age before beauty," said Daniel.
Shaking his head in disgust, Jack nevertheless accepted the proffered sling and heaved himself up onto the top of the wall. He watched, impressed, as Daniel leaped up and grabbed the top, pulling himself up almost effortlessly. He'd come a long way from the skinny, geeky kid Jack had taken to Abydos the first time.
From his perch Jack could see smoke billowing in the distance from a large building complex. More sirens wailed.
"Yep," said Daniel, sitting next to him atop the wall. "That's the science building, all right. Let's hope Sam and Teal'c made it out okay."
"Of course, they did." O'Neill wouldn't entertain any other possibility. He dropped to the ground and motioned the others toward the building.
~o~
"Are you all right, Major Carter?"
Teal'c's voice sounded distorted, as though it came from underwater. Sam realized that she was lying face down on the ground. The concussion from the blast must have knocked her flat. She wasn't sure if the ringing she heard was coming from alarms or merely her traumatized eardrums.
"I'm all right," she said, pushing herself up onto hands and knees. She had hoped to be farther away when the C-4 blew, but a night guard at the Hall of Knowledge had come upon them and managed to trigger an alarm before Teal'c could take him out with his zat. It had delayed them precious seconds.
She stood and swayed. A strong hand closed around her arm, holding her steady.
"Perhaps you should rest a moment," Teal'c said.
She shook her head firmly. "No. They'll need our help with the children." Despite her objection, she allowed herself a second or two for the ground to stop lurching around. Then they moved out.
Neighborhoods began lighting up as residents were awakened by the blast and the sirens of the emergency vehicles shrieking to the conflagration. Sam flicked the light on her watch. Their detour to the science building had taken them longer than anticipated.
She had sensed Teal'c's surprise and concern when she'd revealed her ulterior motive. "It'll only take a minute," she'd assured him. But it had taken several minutes to pick the locks on the various doors to reach her destination, despite the fact that she was starting to get the hang of the quirks of Kalam circuitry. Sam suspected that the colonel would not approve of her errand, but the scientist in her couldn't let the opportunity pass.
Dodging lights and security forces, they wound their way through the city to the Hall of Newcomers.
~o~
Jack cracked open the stairwell door to the second floor and peered down the dormitory wing he and Teal'c had visited the previous day. They had entered the building through a basement window that had led into a storage room. From there it had been easy work to find the stairs.
Nothing was stirring on the second floor. Jack motioned all clear and led the others down the corridor, lit at this hour by dim lights along the baseboards, to the first of the dormitory rooms. He motioned to Daniel, who touched the door switch. The door slid open.
Faint baseboard lighting illuminated the room enough for them to see that the beds were all occupied by sleeping children in various displays of rumpled covers. Jack wondered if the kids had any idea about the "initiation" planned for them the next morning. They'd probably only been told that they'd get pretty new clothes and hairdos. He ground his teeth against the anger that threatened to well up again.
Daniel said, "It's going to be a job waking them all up and getting them moving."
At the sound of his voice one of the mounds stirred, blinked sleepily at the apparitions in the room, and shot into a sitting position.
"Jack!" Nevan's eyes expanded to twice their size and his toothy smile was bright in the dark room. "You came!"
"Of course I did, buddy. Good work remembering my hand signals."
Nevan scrambled out of bed to stand before him. "You told me to be ready. I was ready, really I was, but I just fell asleep for a second. See - I'm dressed."
"I can see that."
"You didn't mean what you said about this being a nice place, did you?" the boy asked.
"No way. I just didn't want those goons to know what we're planning."
"Are you going to take us home, Jack?"
"That's the plan. But we had to wait until it was dark."
"So no one will see us, right? That's why your faces are black, right? A covert mission!" He was almost jumping out of his clothes in excitement.
Jack put a hand on the boy's shoulder to settle him down. "Shh. That's right, covert. Stealth is the operative word, Nevan. We need to do this quietly." Looking into those trusting eyes, Jack thought about what would happen to this boy if they didn't succeed, and the feeling of urgency was renewed.
Garan stepped forward. "Hi, Nevan," he whispered.
The boy gaped at him. "Garan, is that you?"
"Yes, it's me." Garan looked around the room. "Is Naytha in here?"
"No. She's in another room."
"We'll find her," Jack said, growing impatient. "Let's wake these kids up first."
They moved through the room, shaking children out of heavy slumber. It took longer than Jack was happy with, but finally all the kids were awake and moving about in sleepy confusion. They were all boys in this room.
Jacob Carter frowned at the children's pajamas, which were a variant of the tunics and trousers they'd worn earlier only of lighter material. "Do they have any jackets to put on? It's cold outside."
"Just their day clothes," Nevan said. "Do you want them to change?"
"No," said Jack. "We don't have time right now. Jacob and Daniel, grab extra clothes from those shelves over there and stuff them in your packs. Nevan, help the kids get their shoes on and let's move."
But they didn't move. The boys simply stood there in a huddled group, staring at the black-painted men with frightened eyes. One little boy began to cry.
"What's the matter?" Jack said.
Nevan went over to the group, and Jack waited impatiently while the boys whispered among themselves. Then Nevan turned to him.
"They don't want to go," he said.
~o~
Bok'n pressed his hand over his earpiece to better hear the communication from the Master of Security over the din of sirens. "They attacked what?"
He had been jarred from sleep by his personal attendant, who brought the news that the alarm had sounded at the Hall of Wydra. Bok'n had immediately ordered extra security on the alien prisoners, but it was too late. They had already escaped. Now, as his vehicle sped toward the Hall of Wydra, he reeled under the blow of the latest news.
"My Lord Provost," said the Master of Security, "will you now be going to the Hall of Knowledge?"
"No. I will continue to the Wydra. Summon the rest of the magistrates."
He never should have let the others persuade him to trust the aliens. Especially their leader. Bok'n knew deceit when he saw it, and O'Neill personified it in the extreme. And now the Kalam had brought disaster on themselves by letting these aliens into their city, listening to them, entertaining them, giving them a tour of all things!
He looked at his timepiece. Such a short time since he'd been roused from sleep! The quick capture he had anticipated - how difficult could it be to apprehend a handful of aliens traveling on foot? - had turned instead into a nightmare. In the distance he could see the flicker of flames and rising smoke. Bok'n growled deep in his throat. An attack on the Hall of Knowledge could mean only one thing: the aliens were after the Silak'ha.
By the holy elixir, whoever among the Wydra had revealed the secret would pay the price for such treachery.
~o~
"For crying out loud! Why don't they want to go?"
"Take it easy, Jack," Jacob said. "Can't you see they're terrified? Just think what they've been through."
"We don't have time for this. We-" O'Neill was interrupted by Garan shouldering past him.
"Do you know who I am?" Garan asked the boys.
The kids' eyes widened as recognition dawned. "Garan!" cried several of them.
"Hey, keep it down!" Jack ordered in a whisper.
"Yes, it's me," said Garan, "and we've come to take you home. Do you want to go home?"
"Yes!" a whispered chorus answered him.
"Then do what this man says. His name is Jack, and he's going to help us get home." He turned to O'Neill, smiling.
"Uh, thanks," said Jack. OK, so maybe it wasn't such a bad idea to bring Garan on this mission. To the boys he said, "Older ones, hold onto younger ones. Carry them if you have to. We need to hurry. The people who brought you here don't want you to go, so we're going to sneak out of here. Daniel, get this group down to the basement. We'll get the others and meet you there. And keep them quiet."
With a nod, Daniel ushered the kids out of the room and down the hall to the stairs. Jack, Jacob, and Garan moved on to the next room.
"Jack?" said Nevan. He had not followed Daniel and the kids.
"What are you still doing here?" said Jack. "Go on with the others."
The boy's face was a picture of longing and despair. "I want to go with you."
O'Neill sighed. This was an inconvenient time for hero worship. On the other hand, it wouldn't make much difference who the boy went with, and he might be helpful with the other kids. "All right. But follow my orders."
"Yes, sir!" The boy galloped to his side. As they hurried to catch up with Jacob and Garan he said, "Can I have some of that black stuff for my face?"
~o~
The children in the next room were all girls, and were even more frightened at the sight of the strange men than the boys had been. But Garan and Nevan reassured them, explaining the situation and helping them out of bed.
Jack moved from cot to cot swiftly, looking at the sleepy girls, looking for curly hair. Jaira wasn't in the room. "Where's Laira's daughter, Jaira?" he asked aloud, unable to keep the edge out of his voice.
"And where's Naytha?" said Garan.
"I know where they are," Nevan said. "I'll show you." He rushed out of the room, Garan on his heels.
Jacob said, "I've got this group, Jack. Go on."
O'Neill bolted through the door and ran smack into someone. "Oof!"
"Sorry, sir!" It was Carter, and she was a little breathless. Behind her Teal'c was calm and stoic.
"Thanks for the diversion, guys," Jack said. "Did you have any trouble?"
"Nothing we were unable to handle, O'Neill. The security forces have been diverted to the Hall of Knowledge."
"Sweet."
"We saw Daniel and a bunch of kids when we were coming up the stairs," Carter said.
"How are they doing?"
"I believe Daniel Jackson mentioned the phrase 'herding cats,'" said Teal'c.
"Speaking of which." Jack motioned to the room behind him. "Jacob could use some help in there."
"I will assist him," Teal'c said, disappearing into the room.
O'Neill and Carter headed to the next room.
"Colonel, I thought you should know."
"Know what?"
She bit her lip. "I snagged a vial of the immortality drug before we blew the C-4."
He stopped and glared at her. "You did what?"
"It's an incredible scientific advance. We may be able to engineer the substance in such a way as to remove the harmful side effects."
"Carter, people weren't meant to live forever."
"But freedom from disease? It would at least be worth our while to study the drug to find out how it does that. If it could alleviate suffering…"
"Yeah, yeah. But you're playing with fire."
"And without fire where would we be? Sir."
He didn't have an answer for that, but he felt deep in his gut that this was different. And wrong. These de-sexed child abductors were proof positive of that.
They stood nose to nose for a long moment, then he shook his head in resignation and continued on to the next room. He may have lost the first round in this struggle, but when they got back to earth he'd give Hammond a piece of his mind on the subject.
He came to the next room and pulled up short in the doorway at the sight before him. Garan sat on one of the beds with Naytha, the two of them locked in an embrace. Naytha's swollen belly was pressed against her husband as she clutched him, weeping. Her face had shed the little-girl look that Jack remembered, and her hair was no longer plaited on her head but hung loosely to her shoulders. The young lovers were drowning each other in kisses and caresses. Jack stared, lost for the moment in wonder of what it would it be like to have no impediments to love like that.
He suddenly became intensely aware of Carter's shoulder touching his, the point of contact feeling unnaturally warm. He didn't look at her. Didn't dare look at her as the urge to do something foolish rose up in him like a tide.
And just as quickly he shoved it down.
"Let's get the kids up," he said gruffly.
She started at his voice, apparently distracted by thoughts of her own. She cleared her throat. "Yes, sir."
They moved into the room, where Nevan had begun waking the children. Jack took the length of the room in long strides, his goal the last bed on the right. He'd seen the blond curls on the pillow the minute he'd dragged his eyes away from Garan and Naytha. Stopping at the little cot, he pulled back the covers.
For a long moment he didn't move but simply stared. In the garden that afternoon he'd been too aware of the precariousness of their situation to dwell on the sheer thrill of seeing his child for the first time. Now he indulged himself in the luxury of simply looking at her. Jaira was splayed on her stomach, one leg bent and one hand curled under her chin. Long eyelashes darkened her cheeks and her mouth was slightly parted. My daughter, he thought giddily.
He had a chance here. A chance to make right what went so terribly wrong with Charlie. Fate, God, the universe, whatever, didn't often give you second chances. Gazing on the sleeping child, his ribcage feeling unnaturally tight, he felt a determination stronger than any he'd felt before in his life. He would not screw it up this time.
Pushing his P-90 to the side he lifted the sleeping child into his arms. Her head lolled on his shoulder, and he dropped a kiss on her curls, breathing in her sweet scent. In an instant love surged up in him, overpowering, almost choking him. Closing his eyes against the dizzying swirl of emotion, and overwhelmed by long-forgotten feelings of tenderness, he squeezed her more tightly to his chest. What Laira demanded was unreasonable - but what could he do? He knew now that he would do anything, give up anything, to keep this child close to him.
He opened his eyes to see Carter across the room watching him, her face a battleground of joy and anguish. She quickly turned away and began to busy herself with coaxing a toddler out of bed.
Crouching, he grabbed the slippers beside Jaira's bed and stuffed them in his pocket. With the child still asleep on his shoulder he returned to Naytha and Garan.
The couple rose from the bed and Garan stroked his little sister's hair. "Is she all right?"
"She's fine," said Jack. "Grab the extra clothes." While Garan stuffed clothing into his pack, Jack explained to Naytha that they'd already rounded up the kids in the other two rooms. "Are these all the rest of them?"
"Yes," she said. "Is that really you, Colonel O'Neill? Are you really taking us home?"
She had grown into quite a pretty woman, Jack thought, her curves and impending motherhood only making her more beautiful. He smiled. "Yes and yes. Carter, let's get these kids moving."
They hustled their charges into the corridor and toward the stairwell. Jacob and Teal'c's group was just ahead of them.
"Wait, Jack!" Nevan said.
He swung around. "What is it?"
"Aren't we going to bring the others?"
"What others?"
Nevan pointed to Teal'c. "The children who look like him."