Summary: Sam and Daniel begin to wonder – just how smart is the colonel? Is Jack the genius known only as MacGyver?

Disclaimer: I do not own "Stargate SG-1" the series. I believe it is owned by MGM. No copyright infringement is intended. I do not "MacGyver" (original or remake) and am not sure who does. No disrespect is intended I am merely intrigued by the possibilities.

The Colonel?

Chapter 25

By: visions2share a.k.a. Vi

"MacGyver. M-A-C-uppercase G-Y-V-E-R."

"And legally you have no first name?"

"Correct. Just MacGyver."

"Throughout this trial we have heard the name Dr. MacGyver from multiple witnesses – are you he?"

"I am."

"You're first connection to these investigations involves the recovery of Dr. Nancy Adkins. How did you become involved?"

"The investigation team had already tracked her to the terrorist camp in southern Iran. The decision was made to use a civilian asset without overt connection to the United States government to affect her recovery. I had been the point person in similar situations in the past on behalf of both Phoenix and the DXS. I was in between field projects at the time so Pete Thornton asked if I'd be willing to help. I agreed and we got right to work planning for Dr. Adkins' abstraction."

"You offered to work as an archeologist on a state funded dig in Iran to get close to the terrorist camp?"

"Yes – there was a dig a few miles from the camp – I brought along a van full of diagnostic equipment – basically a mobile forensics laboratory, that had been customized to be most useful on an archeological dig. The van was shipped to a port in southern Iran and I met it there after flying into Tehran and meeting with the government minister for historical sites. Two weeks later I drove the van back to the port with a small side trip to pick up Dr. Adkins."

"Was Dr. Adkins being held against her will?"

"Yes."

"Was she locked in a dungeon?"

"No, she was chained to a heavy metal lab table. The chain was long enough to allow her to move about the improvised lab and as far as a pallet in the corner where she was allowed to sleep no more than four hours a day. The radius of the chain was approximately twelve feet."

"How did you free her?"

"I picked the lock of the manacle on her ankle."

"How did you assure you weren't discovered or stopped."

"She had two guards outside the hut and another two inside – we simply bypassed those outside by timing between their sweeps. The inside guards I knocked unconscious when I first entered. Before we left, I rigged the rudimentary lab equipment to explode destroying the work the terrorists had forced her to do and covering our escape."

"Were you pursued away from the camp?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I presume the terrorists thought Dr. Adkins had been killed in the explosion."

"Mr. Thornton testified that Dr. Adkins was smuggled to a U.S. military base in the United Arab Emirates and later on board an aircraft carrier. Did you go with her?"

"No."

"How did you leave Iran?"

"By commercial airliner from Tehran to L.A."

"Was that the plan so word wouldn't get back to Nature's Trust that Dr. Adkins had been rescued?"

"Yes."

"Just after you had rescued Dr. Adkins, the NSA intercepted a communication between these same terrorists and Nature's Trust asking that they supply a replacement physicist. Were you aware of this?"

"I was."

"Were you involved in preventing them purchasing a new scientist?"

"In the planning and oversight. I was not hands on."

"Please walk us through that plan."

"The investigators were monitoring all scientists involved in the Stargate Research Project – especially those that were more likely to come to the attention of General West – given the suspicion that he was behind the leaking of Dr. Adkins' whereabouts when she was taken. General West issued an order to send a scientist – Captain Samantha Carter – out of the country to consult on a research project. This raised several red flags. General West was assigned to oversee various aspects of security at a domestic military complex and had no business ordering anyone in or out of the country – the legitimate extent of his influence was limited to some security personnel at the Cheyenne Mountain Military Complex. Captain Carter was assigned to a research team at the Pentagon and had only been loaned to Catherine Langford for a very short time. The project Captain Carter was supposedly being sent to Hong Kong to consult on was also problematic. It was a biology project – she is a physicist – and the project was being run by the U.S. Navy. The Navy have their own very qualified scientists – and if they did need to borrow an Air Force scientist such a request would never go through Leon West."

"So, sending Captain Carter to Hong Kong was a set-up to facilitate her kidnapping?"

"That was the suspicion."

"What actions were taken to safeguard her?"

"She was kept under surveillance by a DXS agent at all times, and other agents monitored visa traffic cross referencing for connections to Nature's Trust."

"What happened?"

"Most of her stay was uneventful – but at the last minute her military transport orders were cancelled and she was ordered to fly commercial. She'd been told to take a cab to the airport but the DXS agent monitoring her was quick thinking and sent her in a car driven by another DXS agent, posing as a Petty Officer. On the way to the airport the car was targeted by another attempting to force it off the road. The DXS agent driving Captain Carter took evasive action and, in an attempt to keep bystanders safe, brought this car to a stop against a police car. The DXS team followed the other car as it tried to avoid the police. The four men inside were taken into custody and under questioning admitted to having been hired by Nature's Trust to relocate Captain Carter from Hong Kong to Iran."

"Did these men admit to any other involvement with Nature's Trust?"

"Yes – they admitted to having been paid to capture Dr. Nancy Adkins in Telluride and transport her to Iran."

"Where are these men now?"

"In prison."

"Excellent. On the first day of this trial President Rhodes testified that he had asked you to investigate the death of his son-in-law, Lt. Douglas. You already told us that as Jack O'Neill you took photographs and retrieved the armory log and witness statements. What else did you do?"

"I started by retracing Lt. Douglas' steps on the day he died. He had reported for duty at the Pentagon and signed in to the secure records room to place more button cams. I found, upon close inspection, that two of these cameras were unaccounted for. I checked through his belongings – including his class A uniform jacket – that had been returned to his widow, Chris. In place of an oak leaf cluster on one of his ribbons was one of the button cameras."

"Your honor, the government would now like to play the footage recovered from that camera – it recorded the murder of Lt. Robson Charles Douglas."

"Proceed."

Lt. Roberts was ready and at Rabb's nod started the footage.

The quality of the image was as good as the others had been. The camera showed hands reassembling an M5 and a beretta just off to one side. There was a knock on the door and the camera moved as Lt. Douglas had gone to answer the door. Behind the door was General West, he asked to be invited in. When Lt. Douglas had stepped back, West entered the room and closed the door behind him.

"I've been on the phone trying to sort out why you're here," as he spoke the General wandered idly toward the desk with the weapons, "you said you thought there had been a mistake?" General West's hand was just next to the beretta.

"Yes, sir."

"I have a theory. But first, to be sure, could I see your copy of your orders again, please?"

"Yes, sir."

Lt. Douglas must have looked away because suddenly General West picked up the beretta by the barrel and gave it a mighty swing – the impact wasn't seen but the sound of bone being crushed by force was unmistakable. The image tumbled and the ground came crashing up. Then there were only sounds. A magazine sliding home. A safety catch being released. A hammer being cocked. A bullet being fired – impacting with bone and tissue. The instantaneous splatter of tissue on nearby surfaces. Muffled sounds of someone chuckling. A door opening, footsteps, a door closing. Silence.

Author's Note: There is only one more chapter – which will be posted tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to read! ~Vi