Disclaimers in Prologue
Part Two
Part of Jack reeled at this announcement from Quinn, but he was able to keep it out of his face or his body movements. He remembered earlier in the day while he and the rest of his team were telling Quinn about the Stargate and what had brought he and Carter to Washington D.C. in the first place. They had told Quinn about Kinsey and how he had tried to shut down the Stargate Project. How he had, in fact, succeeded. But for SG1's precipitous jump through the Gate to the coordinates that Daniel had gotten, the Stargate Project might have been closed down for good. He tried to remember if Quinn had given any clue to knowing Kinsey then, but couldn't. She had seemed matter of fact about it.
"Kinsey?"
"Kinsey, Colonel. He was mostly responsible for what happened to me and my team. It's why I wasn't surprised when you told me that Kinsey wanted you shut down. It's like him."
"Damn. Tell me."
Quinn got up and wandered over to the fireplace and seemed to stare off into space for a few moments. Then she turned back to Jack.
"Three years ago we were asked to investigate why a particular pet project of General MacNabs had been shut down. Kinsey had just been put in charge of the subcommittee and one of the first things he did, was to start shutting down projects that he said he could see no future in. Projects that he said would bring no benefit to the military and were just a waste of taxpayer money.
"General MacNab had gone to the Hill to specifically get money for this small Mom and Pop design company. They had come up with a design for a new field communication unit, but needed funding to build it. They held patents on some of the components, but couldn't get one on the device itself until it was built and working. MacNab had seen a lot of potential for this company and the new unit. He was successful in getting them a small amount of money to build it.
"They had already done one field test on the unit that had resulted in frying out several of the components, but they knew they were on the right track and planned on a second field test as soon as they could rebuild and fix what they figured went wrong. Then the money stopped coming in."
"Kinsey stopped it?"
Quinn walked back and sat down opposite Jack again and nodded. "Needless to say General MacNab was livid. He went to Kinsey's office and demanded a full report. Why had Kinsey stopped the inflow of money to the project? These people had been so close and the unit would be better than the one currently in use.
"Kinsey's answer was that the military didn't really need a new field unit. The existing one worked fine in the field. He told MacNab his findings indicated that it was wasted money. He had been willing to let them go until the field test, but when it failed he pulled the plug. He said it was like taking a car that you'd just bought that wouldn't run, putting five dollars on the front seat and then pushing the car into a river."
"Throwing away good money after bad," Jack translated.
Quinn grinned. "Yeah. Kinsey's full of little homilies like that. It's why he's so good at convincing some people he's right. Anyway, General MacNab wasn't convinced that was the only reason so he called us in to look into it. Covertly of course, you don't want to anger the man who has his hands on the purse strings.
"We went in and started looking at it from a slightly different angle so Kinsey wouldn't know it was MacNab who brought us into it. What we found out was that Kinsey had closed down a lot of projects that he had said 'findings indicated that they weren't profitable or that their defense capabilities weren't needed'. We zeroed in on the 'findings' angle. Where was he getting his information from and was it reliable? If what we found out is any indication, and I personally don't think it's true, Kinsey doesn't have a mind of his own."
Jack looked confused, "What do you mean?"
"All of his information is gathered by his aides. That in itself isn't unusual, but all of his opinions are those given to him by those aids. He doesn't seem to do any of the thinking or opinion making on his own. He just takes their word for it."
"That doesn't sound like the Kinsey I met."
Quinn nodded. "I agree. And it's why we started digging deeper. We managed to find out that two of the projects that had been shut down by Kinsey had been reopened with a different company doing the work ... companies in Kinsey's congressional district."
"Kinsey's taking kick backs?"
"We couldn't prove it, but we did prove that two of his aids were. One a civilian and one was his military liaison. Those two are now serving some significant jail time.
"None of us were satisfied that Kinsey wasn't in on it. We split up. Half of us went after the Kinsey angle to see if we could find that he was taking kick backs and the rest of us continued on looking into the different projects. I took on MacNab's project and had found that another company, one in Kinsey's district, was also working on a new communication unit. It was slightly different than MacNab's but similar enough to warrant my suspicions that someone had leaked the design to them. I wanted to find proof that these aids, on Kinsey's orders, had given the design specs to not only this company for this project, but that they had given designs to those other two companies. I believe I would have had him, but we were called off."
"Called off? Why?"
"MacNab jumped the gun. When we had evidence on the two aids, he went to Kinsey with it. Kinsey was livid. He said it was because his trusted aids had used him. I think it's because he was terrified that we were going to find out that he was involved and also that he was going to lose some of his power and any money he was getting back from this. It probably took him several years to get aids that would work with him like this and, if this didn't destroy his career, it was going to take several more years before he could start up again."
Jack sighed deeply. "So you think because of this, Kinsey had it out for you?"
"God Colonel, I know it. Oh he was all peachy keen and sweet that we had discovered and stopped the corruption in his office, but behind closed doors ..."
"He was pissed as hell."
"When Admiral Burn's retirement came up, it was Kinsey who objected most to letting us go on about our business the way we had with Burns friend as the reporting head of the team. It was Kinsey who suggested the assignment of a new leader for the team to replace me. It was Kinsey who got Bains, Prochek, and Miller put on shit assignments. You tell me if Kinsey didn't have it out for us."
Quinn's voice had risen during this and Jack held up a hand. "Whoa. Back off Commander. You're preaching to the initiated."
Quinn took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. "Colonel, you want to know what I think?"
Jack nodded.
"I think Kinsey is behind your leak. You know why?" Quinn didn't let Jack respond before going on, "Kinsey is in this not because he's the saving grace of taxpayer money, but for the power. He tried to shut down your project because he couldn't use it some way as it stood. The only power over it he had was in the purse strings. I think he figured out some way to use the Stargate to his advantage and in order to do that, he needs it out of military control and put in the private sector. Well, he can't do that now. Not after what you guys did. But, he can do it another way. Leaking the information to the public he can get it shut down. Then the Stargate can be given to the highest bidder and I would bet the highest bidder is in Kinsey's back pocket."
Jack looked confused again. "Commander, if you think it's Kinsey behind the leak, why are you investigating everyone involved in the Stargate project?"
Quinn smiled. "Colonel, I may jump to conclusions in my mind, but never in my work."
That was when Jack realized that they had found the right person to discover the truth.
***
Jack had informed Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c about Quinn and her speculations. All had agreed that Quinn's conclusions made sense. Carter was the one who brought up Major Samuels.
"Sir, if Quinn is right about Kinsey and what he's doing and has done, then he found the perfect person to help him with Samuels"
"I agree Captain. I wouldn't put it past old Samuels to be involved in something like this. It's the kind of cowardly thing he'd do." General Hammond had told O'Neill about how Samuels had wanted to go through the Stargate after his Naquadah nukes didn't destroy Apophis' ships. Jack had been disgusted, but not surprised to hear it. "Besides, we did kind of railroad him out of the SGC."
"Sir, Samuels was never really a team player."
"I agree with that also Captain. Samuels is a coward. The Stargate scared him. But if Kinsey is involved in this, don't you think that Samuels would be the perfect foil for him to use?"
"Yes sir. Have you told Quinn about this?" asked Carter.
Jack shook his head. "No, not yet. I will though. On the plane. Where is she?"
Jack looked around the entry way to the castle. Quinn had told him the night before that they would be leaving at 0800 hours and it was 0815 now and Quinn was no where in sight.
"O'Neill."
"Yes Teal'c."
"I hear voices outside."
Jack went to the front door and opened it. He was greeted by the sight of a big yellow school bus, the Reverend Mother, and 17 kids all crowded around Quinn.
"You're going to the Capitol?" one of the kids asked.
"Yes Oliver."
"Are you going to see the President?"
"No, not this trip."
"Are you going to be gone long? We've got a soccer game on Saturday and we wanted you to watch."
Quinn knelt down next to the little girl who had asked the question, "Jackie, I really don't know how long I'm going to be and if I can get back here to watch your game, I will. But," and she put her hands on Jackie's shoulders, "if I can't, the Reverend Mother is going to tape it and I can see it when I get back. Okay?"
Jackie looked back over her shoulder to Reverend Mother who nodded. Then she turned back to Quinn, "The Reverend Mother?"
"Yes Jackie."
"Couldn't someone else tape it?" Jackie leaned in closer to Quinn as though she was going to whisper something to her, but her voice didn't drop in volume, "You know the Reverend Mother. She'll throw the camera if it doesn't do what she wants it to do."
Reverend Mother's mouth dropped in feigned shock and Quinn and the other kids all burst out laughing. Quinn gathered Jackie up in her arms in a bear hug, lifting her off of the ground. "Well Reverend Mother, it looks like your reputation precedes you," she said. "Maybe Reverend Mother can get Sister Olivia to come to the game with her. She can do the taping. Would that be okay?" Jackie nodded and Quinn set her down.
"Okay, it's time to go to school now. I'll call when I can."
The kids piled onto the bus giving Quinn a hug before they did. Reverend Mother was the last on. "You won't be here when I get back, will you?"
Quinn shook her head.
"Well then, take care of yourself. God go with you." Reverend Mother shut the doors to the bus, started the engine and drove off down the road. The kids had all crowded into the back of the bus and were waving. Quinn waved back and watched until the bus made a turn and was out of sight. Then she turned towards the castle. Spotting O'Neill and group she apologized for the lateness, "Sorry, it's the first time I've left here in two years since Team One was shut down. The kids are concerned."
Jack walked down to where Quinn was standing followed by Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c. "No problem. They look like a nice group of kids."
"They are especially considering the problems some of them had when they got here. The Reverend Mother has done wonders for them."
"And you too, I would imagine," added Carter.
"Nah, not me," Quinn said grinning. "The Reverend Mother would kill me if any of them started taking on my traits." Quinn clapped her hands together. "Well I'm packed and ready to go, how about you guys?"
"Our stuffs in the hallway."
"Well, get it and let's get this show on the road." Quinn walked to the castle followed by SG1 and they loaded their gear into the Jeep Cherokee that had been hidden behind the bus.
***
Quinn pulled into the small airport at Colorado Springs and drove directly to one of the private hangers. Outside a Gulf Stream was parked and Quinn pulled up next to it. A young man in coveralls came out of the plane when he heard Quinn's car door slam.
"Hello Commander," he greeted.
"Hello Bobby. Everything ship shape?"
"Aye aye ma'am. All the stuff the Reverend Mother sent over last night is on board. Where does she think you guys are going ... a deserted island in the South Seas? She sent over enough food and drinks for the SeaHawk to survive on for a week."
Quinn laughed and said, "You know the Reverend Mother Bobby. She was a boy scout in a previous life ... always prepared."
"Well if you come down in the mountains, you certainly aren't going to have to worry about starving to death or dying of thirst that's for sure. Other than that, Scooter is fueled up and ready to go."
"Thanks Bobby. I'll see you on the return trip."
"Scooter?" asked Jack.
"It was my call sign when I was flying Tomcats. Seemed appropriate somehow."
"Uh Quinn?"
"Yes Dr. Jackson?"
"Call me Daniel."
"Okay, Daniel."
"Can I ask a personal question?"
"Well you can ask. I can't guarantee I'll answer."
"A castle and now your own plane. I can't imagine that the retirement pay for a Commander can cover this kind of cost."
"You're wondering where I got the money?"
"Well, yes ... kind of."
"I'm a computer designer and programmer, Daniel. I've got a few patents and copyrights floating around that bring in some extra cash."
"So you're ... ah ... kind of rich?"
Quinn grinned at Daniel. "Filthy."
Daniel smiled back. "Ah, okay."
"Shall we get our stuff on board and get out of here?"
***
Once in the air, Jack told Quinn about his team's speculations concerning Major Samuels. She agreed that he sounded a likely candidate for Kinsey to use. "We'll know by tomorrow if he has anything to hide ... financially. Jonathan should be done with the data gathering by then. He was up to the 'Ls' this morning."
The flight to D.C. was uneventful except for when Quinn let Teal'c take the controls. There was a hairy moment when the plane took a nose dive and Teal'c over corrected. Quinn heard a few choice curses and some body thumping in the back when this happened. O'Neill had come running up front to find out what was going on.
"What the hell?" Then he saw Teal'c's hands on the controls.
"I apologize O'Neill. This is not the same as a Death Glider."
"No problem Teal'c. Have you got it now?"
"I do. There will be no more incidents like that last."
"Good. Maybe if there is a next time, Commander, you could give us warning."
"He's a natural Colonel. But you might want to take your seat now. It looks like there are some turbulence ahead," Quinn answered.
Jack took Quinn's advice and told the others what had happened. As soon as he got strapped in the plane started to bounce around a bit, but there were no more shocks.
Quinn took the controls back from Teal'c for the landing and brought the small plane down into Frederick's Field. Taxing it up to a hanger, she powered down.
"Thank you Commander Masters."
Quinn unbuckled her seat belt and stood. "Hey no problem Teal'c. You are a natural. Maybe you'll return the favor sometime and let me fly one of those Death Gliders. They sound like a kick."
"A kick?"
"Fun."
Teal'c raised one eyebrow. "If there is ever a chance, Commander Masters, I will indeed show you how to fly a Death Glider."
Two taxis were waiting at the hanger when the plane landed and Quinn herded everyone and the gear into them. The drive from Fredericks to D.C. took a little over an hour and the taxis finally pulled into an apartment complex.
They followed a rather convoluted path through the parking lot surrounding several buildings in the complex before coming to a stop in front of one with a big "500" printed on the front.
"An apartment?" asked Jack.
"Sure. Makes it a little more difficult to trace us if someone catches on. They'd look in hotels first before thinking that we might have leased an apartment instead."
While the rest were unloading the gear, Quinn made a call on her cell phone. "Bain. We're out front. How about coming down and letting us in?" She listened a moment and then put the phone away. "He's on the way down."
"Bain?"
"An old friend."
"Team One?"
"Yeah." By then a very large, very bald black man had come to the door and opened it. The first thing he did after that was gather Quinn up in his arms and give her a hug hard enough that Jack was positive he could hear bones snap.
"Bain, you can put me down now," was all she said.
When Bain lowered Quinn back down to the ground, it dawned on Jack how small she actually was while she was standing next to the giant of a man who had come to the door. Of course, this guy towered over him as well and he wasn't short by any definition. This guy was over a foot taller than Quinn. He had to be 6'6" tall and broad and made up entirely of muscle.
"Everyone's upstairs waiting, Commander. We could only get a three bedroom on such short notice. I hope you don't mind?"
"No Bain, I don't. We'll double up."
"The furniture has been trickling in all morning but it all should be here by this afternoon. These guys your new team?" He looked at SG1. Jack waved.
"In a way. I'll save the introductions until we get inside. Shall we?"
Bain picked up several bags and everyone else took a few also. He led them inside and around a corner to the elevators. "You're on the fifth floor at the end of a hallway. We tried to get next to the stairs, but it's the best we could do."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it will be fine."
With Bain and all the gear, the elevator seemed crowded and Jack was relieved to finally reach the fifth floor. They had to turn another corner and walk to the end of the hall to get to their apartment. The entrance to the stairs was three doors down and across the hall. Bain set the bags down and started to take out a key to unlock the door, but it was thrown open before he could. Four other men were standing there crowded into the small entry way to the apartment. All four had grins on their faces. All four were as big as Bain.
Quinn grinned back at the group. "You guys going to let us in or do we stand out here all day?"
As if choreographed all four made room for Bain, Quinn, and SG1 to enter the apartment. Jack had known men like these. He had worked with people just like them and he silently congratulated Quinn on her choice of working companions. He assumed that this was Team One they were meeting and he wondered how she had orchestrated it.
As if reading his mind she said, "I called Bain yesterday. Told him I was coming here and needed a place to stay and transportation for five. He arranged all of this."
Bain nodded. "No one knows we're here. Hazard and Chilly were easy since they aren't in the military any more. Prochek and Miller aren't on duty until this evening. I'm on leave. So if there's any way I can help."
"No Bain."
"But Commander ..."
"No Bain. I mean it. There are enough careers on the line in this and I don't want yours to be one of them. I took a big enough chance just calling you and asking you to set up this place. I'm not willing to take any more."
Bain looked like he wanted to argue some more, but all he said was, "You're the boss."
"Not any more Bain. But thanks anyway."
Quinn made introductions all around and then left SG1 to fend for themselves for a moment while she talked to her old team. The phone rang and the one that had been introduced as Prochek answered it. "The rest of the furniture is here. I'll go down."
Miller explained the phone. "The intercom system here is tied into the phone system. When someone buzzes downstairs, it routes through your phone. Push the star key after you answer it and it releases the door downstairs."
"How's everything listed Miller?"
"The apartment is leased to a Felix Compton. The furniture to May Packard. The cars to Rex Higgins and the phone is under Lillian Kellerman."
"How did you manage the females?"
"Mary."
"Mary, how is she? Mary is Miller's wife," Quinn explained.
"She's fine, but she's going to be hopping mad if you don't stop by for a visit."
"When this is over I will. Thank her for us will you?"
"No problem, Commander."
After the rest of the furniture had been put in it's place, Team One and SG1 sat down to coffee that Daniel had brewed up in the small kitchen. Quinn had orange juice. "You haven't changed Commander. You still eat and drink all that wimpy stuff?" asked Chilly.
"Yes Chilly I do. You'd do well to eat and drink some of the 'wimpy stuff' too. You're putting on some weight," said Quinn.
"I am not!"
Quinn grinned at Chilly and he grinned back realizing that Quinn was teasing.
"Look Commander, Hazard and I aren't in the military anymore. We don't have to worry about careers. We want to help."
Quinn shook her head. "I know you guys want to help, but you've helped all I'm going to let you. Understand?"
"Commander."
"Hazard, this isn't your decision. It's mine. You're going to have to accept that. We aren't Team One any longer. I know Colonel O'Neill and his team appreciate your dedication, but ..."
Jack broke in. "Commander Masters is right. This is something we have to do and we have to do it on our own. We all know what the consequences of our actions might be. What we don't know is where this is going to end or what kind of trouble we might run into. It might be nothing at all, or it might be that someone gets hurt. She's not willing to put you in jeopardy and neither am I. Are we clear?"
Team One shared a silent communication using eyes only. Jack knew the signs. His own team did the same thing. He waited.
"Alright Commander ... Colonel. But if there is anything you need ..."
"Don't worry, if we get into some deep kimchee that we can't get out of, we'll give you a call," Quinn answered. "Now I hate to do this, but we've got some planning to do."
Team One rose as one. Each shook hands with Quinn and SG1 and silently left after turning over all the keys to the vehicles and the doors to the apartment and the building to Quinn.
"Good men."
"Yeah," Quinn said. "The best." A beat later. "Shall we get started then?"
***
Part Two
Part of Jack reeled at this announcement from Quinn, but he was able to keep it out of his face or his body movements. He remembered earlier in the day while he and the rest of his team were telling Quinn about the Stargate and what had brought he and Carter to Washington D.C. in the first place. They had told Quinn about Kinsey and how he had tried to shut down the Stargate Project. How he had, in fact, succeeded. But for SG1's precipitous jump through the Gate to the coordinates that Daniel had gotten, the Stargate Project might have been closed down for good. He tried to remember if Quinn had given any clue to knowing Kinsey then, but couldn't. She had seemed matter of fact about it.
"Kinsey?"
"Kinsey, Colonel. He was mostly responsible for what happened to me and my team. It's why I wasn't surprised when you told me that Kinsey wanted you shut down. It's like him."
"Damn. Tell me."
Quinn got up and wandered over to the fireplace and seemed to stare off into space for a few moments. Then she turned back to Jack.
"Three years ago we were asked to investigate why a particular pet project of General MacNabs had been shut down. Kinsey had just been put in charge of the subcommittee and one of the first things he did, was to start shutting down projects that he said he could see no future in. Projects that he said would bring no benefit to the military and were just a waste of taxpayer money.
"General MacNab had gone to the Hill to specifically get money for this small Mom and Pop design company. They had come up with a design for a new field communication unit, but needed funding to build it. They held patents on some of the components, but couldn't get one on the device itself until it was built and working. MacNab had seen a lot of potential for this company and the new unit. He was successful in getting them a small amount of money to build it.
"They had already done one field test on the unit that had resulted in frying out several of the components, but they knew they were on the right track and planned on a second field test as soon as they could rebuild and fix what they figured went wrong. Then the money stopped coming in."
"Kinsey stopped it?"
Quinn walked back and sat down opposite Jack again and nodded. "Needless to say General MacNab was livid. He went to Kinsey's office and demanded a full report. Why had Kinsey stopped the inflow of money to the project? These people had been so close and the unit would be better than the one currently in use.
"Kinsey's answer was that the military didn't really need a new field unit. The existing one worked fine in the field. He told MacNab his findings indicated that it was wasted money. He had been willing to let them go until the field test, but when it failed he pulled the plug. He said it was like taking a car that you'd just bought that wouldn't run, putting five dollars on the front seat and then pushing the car into a river."
"Throwing away good money after bad," Jack translated.
Quinn grinned. "Yeah. Kinsey's full of little homilies like that. It's why he's so good at convincing some people he's right. Anyway, General MacNab wasn't convinced that was the only reason so he called us in to look into it. Covertly of course, you don't want to anger the man who has his hands on the purse strings.
"We went in and started looking at it from a slightly different angle so Kinsey wouldn't know it was MacNab who brought us into it. What we found out was that Kinsey had closed down a lot of projects that he had said 'findings indicated that they weren't profitable or that their defense capabilities weren't needed'. We zeroed in on the 'findings' angle. Where was he getting his information from and was it reliable? If what we found out is any indication, and I personally don't think it's true, Kinsey doesn't have a mind of his own."
Jack looked confused, "What do you mean?"
"All of his information is gathered by his aides. That in itself isn't unusual, but all of his opinions are those given to him by those aids. He doesn't seem to do any of the thinking or opinion making on his own. He just takes their word for it."
"That doesn't sound like the Kinsey I met."
Quinn nodded. "I agree. And it's why we started digging deeper. We managed to find out that two of the projects that had been shut down by Kinsey had been reopened with a different company doing the work ... companies in Kinsey's congressional district."
"Kinsey's taking kick backs?"
"We couldn't prove it, but we did prove that two of his aids were. One a civilian and one was his military liaison. Those two are now serving some significant jail time.
"None of us were satisfied that Kinsey wasn't in on it. We split up. Half of us went after the Kinsey angle to see if we could find that he was taking kick backs and the rest of us continued on looking into the different projects. I took on MacNab's project and had found that another company, one in Kinsey's district, was also working on a new communication unit. It was slightly different than MacNab's but similar enough to warrant my suspicions that someone had leaked the design to them. I wanted to find proof that these aids, on Kinsey's orders, had given the design specs to not only this company for this project, but that they had given designs to those other two companies. I believe I would have had him, but we were called off."
"Called off? Why?"
"MacNab jumped the gun. When we had evidence on the two aids, he went to Kinsey with it. Kinsey was livid. He said it was because his trusted aids had used him. I think it's because he was terrified that we were going to find out that he was involved and also that he was going to lose some of his power and any money he was getting back from this. It probably took him several years to get aids that would work with him like this and, if this didn't destroy his career, it was going to take several more years before he could start up again."
Jack sighed deeply. "So you think because of this, Kinsey had it out for you?"
"God Colonel, I know it. Oh he was all peachy keen and sweet that we had discovered and stopped the corruption in his office, but behind closed doors ..."
"He was pissed as hell."
"When Admiral Burn's retirement came up, it was Kinsey who objected most to letting us go on about our business the way we had with Burns friend as the reporting head of the team. It was Kinsey who suggested the assignment of a new leader for the team to replace me. It was Kinsey who got Bains, Prochek, and Miller put on shit assignments. You tell me if Kinsey didn't have it out for us."
Quinn's voice had risen during this and Jack held up a hand. "Whoa. Back off Commander. You're preaching to the initiated."
Quinn took a deep breath and seemed to calm down. "Colonel, you want to know what I think?"
Jack nodded.
"I think Kinsey is behind your leak. You know why?" Quinn didn't let Jack respond before going on, "Kinsey is in this not because he's the saving grace of taxpayer money, but for the power. He tried to shut down your project because he couldn't use it some way as it stood. The only power over it he had was in the purse strings. I think he figured out some way to use the Stargate to his advantage and in order to do that, he needs it out of military control and put in the private sector. Well, he can't do that now. Not after what you guys did. But, he can do it another way. Leaking the information to the public he can get it shut down. Then the Stargate can be given to the highest bidder and I would bet the highest bidder is in Kinsey's back pocket."
Jack looked confused again. "Commander, if you think it's Kinsey behind the leak, why are you investigating everyone involved in the Stargate project?"
Quinn smiled. "Colonel, I may jump to conclusions in my mind, but never in my work."
That was when Jack realized that they had found the right person to discover the truth.
***
Jack had informed Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c about Quinn and her speculations. All had agreed that Quinn's conclusions made sense. Carter was the one who brought up Major Samuels.
"Sir, if Quinn is right about Kinsey and what he's doing and has done, then he found the perfect person to help him with Samuels"
"I agree Captain. I wouldn't put it past old Samuels to be involved in something like this. It's the kind of cowardly thing he'd do." General Hammond had told O'Neill about how Samuels had wanted to go through the Stargate after his Naquadah nukes didn't destroy Apophis' ships. Jack had been disgusted, but not surprised to hear it. "Besides, we did kind of railroad him out of the SGC."
"Sir, Samuels was never really a team player."
"I agree with that also Captain. Samuels is a coward. The Stargate scared him. But if Kinsey is involved in this, don't you think that Samuels would be the perfect foil for him to use?"
"Yes sir. Have you told Quinn about this?" asked Carter.
Jack shook his head. "No, not yet. I will though. On the plane. Where is she?"
Jack looked around the entry way to the castle. Quinn had told him the night before that they would be leaving at 0800 hours and it was 0815 now and Quinn was no where in sight.
"O'Neill."
"Yes Teal'c."
"I hear voices outside."
Jack went to the front door and opened it. He was greeted by the sight of a big yellow school bus, the Reverend Mother, and 17 kids all crowded around Quinn.
"You're going to the Capitol?" one of the kids asked.
"Yes Oliver."
"Are you going to see the President?"
"No, not this trip."
"Are you going to be gone long? We've got a soccer game on Saturday and we wanted you to watch."
Quinn knelt down next to the little girl who had asked the question, "Jackie, I really don't know how long I'm going to be and if I can get back here to watch your game, I will. But," and she put her hands on Jackie's shoulders, "if I can't, the Reverend Mother is going to tape it and I can see it when I get back. Okay?"
Jackie looked back over her shoulder to Reverend Mother who nodded. Then she turned back to Quinn, "The Reverend Mother?"
"Yes Jackie."
"Couldn't someone else tape it?" Jackie leaned in closer to Quinn as though she was going to whisper something to her, but her voice didn't drop in volume, "You know the Reverend Mother. She'll throw the camera if it doesn't do what she wants it to do."
Reverend Mother's mouth dropped in feigned shock and Quinn and the other kids all burst out laughing. Quinn gathered Jackie up in her arms in a bear hug, lifting her off of the ground. "Well Reverend Mother, it looks like your reputation precedes you," she said. "Maybe Reverend Mother can get Sister Olivia to come to the game with her. She can do the taping. Would that be okay?" Jackie nodded and Quinn set her down.
"Okay, it's time to go to school now. I'll call when I can."
The kids piled onto the bus giving Quinn a hug before they did. Reverend Mother was the last on. "You won't be here when I get back, will you?"
Quinn shook her head.
"Well then, take care of yourself. God go with you." Reverend Mother shut the doors to the bus, started the engine and drove off down the road. The kids had all crowded into the back of the bus and were waving. Quinn waved back and watched until the bus made a turn and was out of sight. Then she turned towards the castle. Spotting O'Neill and group she apologized for the lateness, "Sorry, it's the first time I've left here in two years since Team One was shut down. The kids are concerned."
Jack walked down to where Quinn was standing followed by Carter, Daniel, and Teal'c. "No problem. They look like a nice group of kids."
"They are especially considering the problems some of them had when they got here. The Reverend Mother has done wonders for them."
"And you too, I would imagine," added Carter.
"Nah, not me," Quinn said grinning. "The Reverend Mother would kill me if any of them started taking on my traits." Quinn clapped her hands together. "Well I'm packed and ready to go, how about you guys?"
"Our stuffs in the hallway."
"Well, get it and let's get this show on the road." Quinn walked to the castle followed by SG1 and they loaded their gear into the Jeep Cherokee that had been hidden behind the bus.
***
Quinn pulled into the small airport at Colorado Springs and drove directly to one of the private hangers. Outside a Gulf Stream was parked and Quinn pulled up next to it. A young man in coveralls came out of the plane when he heard Quinn's car door slam.
"Hello Commander," he greeted.
"Hello Bobby. Everything ship shape?"
"Aye aye ma'am. All the stuff the Reverend Mother sent over last night is on board. Where does she think you guys are going ... a deserted island in the South Seas? She sent over enough food and drinks for the SeaHawk to survive on for a week."
Quinn laughed and said, "You know the Reverend Mother Bobby. She was a boy scout in a previous life ... always prepared."
"Well if you come down in the mountains, you certainly aren't going to have to worry about starving to death or dying of thirst that's for sure. Other than that, Scooter is fueled up and ready to go."
"Thanks Bobby. I'll see you on the return trip."
"Scooter?" asked Jack.
"It was my call sign when I was flying Tomcats. Seemed appropriate somehow."
"Uh Quinn?"
"Yes Dr. Jackson?"
"Call me Daniel."
"Okay, Daniel."
"Can I ask a personal question?"
"Well you can ask. I can't guarantee I'll answer."
"A castle and now your own plane. I can't imagine that the retirement pay for a Commander can cover this kind of cost."
"You're wondering where I got the money?"
"Well, yes ... kind of."
"I'm a computer designer and programmer, Daniel. I've got a few patents and copyrights floating around that bring in some extra cash."
"So you're ... ah ... kind of rich?"
Quinn grinned at Daniel. "Filthy."
Daniel smiled back. "Ah, okay."
"Shall we get our stuff on board and get out of here?"
***
Once in the air, Jack told Quinn about his team's speculations concerning Major Samuels. She agreed that he sounded a likely candidate for Kinsey to use. "We'll know by tomorrow if he has anything to hide ... financially. Jonathan should be done with the data gathering by then. He was up to the 'Ls' this morning."
The flight to D.C. was uneventful except for when Quinn let Teal'c take the controls. There was a hairy moment when the plane took a nose dive and Teal'c over corrected. Quinn heard a few choice curses and some body thumping in the back when this happened. O'Neill had come running up front to find out what was going on.
"What the hell?" Then he saw Teal'c's hands on the controls.
"I apologize O'Neill. This is not the same as a Death Glider."
"No problem Teal'c. Have you got it now?"
"I do. There will be no more incidents like that last."
"Good. Maybe if there is a next time, Commander, you could give us warning."
"He's a natural Colonel. But you might want to take your seat now. It looks like there are some turbulence ahead," Quinn answered.
Jack took Quinn's advice and told the others what had happened. As soon as he got strapped in the plane started to bounce around a bit, but there were no more shocks.
Quinn took the controls back from Teal'c for the landing and brought the small plane down into Frederick's Field. Taxing it up to a hanger, she powered down.
"Thank you Commander Masters."
Quinn unbuckled her seat belt and stood. "Hey no problem Teal'c. You are a natural. Maybe you'll return the favor sometime and let me fly one of those Death Gliders. They sound like a kick."
"A kick?"
"Fun."
Teal'c raised one eyebrow. "If there is ever a chance, Commander Masters, I will indeed show you how to fly a Death Glider."
Two taxis were waiting at the hanger when the plane landed and Quinn herded everyone and the gear into them. The drive from Fredericks to D.C. took a little over an hour and the taxis finally pulled into an apartment complex.
They followed a rather convoluted path through the parking lot surrounding several buildings in the complex before coming to a stop in front of one with a big "500" printed on the front.
"An apartment?" asked Jack.
"Sure. Makes it a little more difficult to trace us if someone catches on. They'd look in hotels first before thinking that we might have leased an apartment instead."
While the rest were unloading the gear, Quinn made a call on her cell phone. "Bain. We're out front. How about coming down and letting us in?" She listened a moment and then put the phone away. "He's on the way down."
"Bain?"
"An old friend."
"Team One?"
"Yeah." By then a very large, very bald black man had come to the door and opened it. The first thing he did after that was gather Quinn up in his arms and give her a hug hard enough that Jack was positive he could hear bones snap.
"Bain, you can put me down now," was all she said.
When Bain lowered Quinn back down to the ground, it dawned on Jack how small she actually was while she was standing next to the giant of a man who had come to the door. Of course, this guy towered over him as well and he wasn't short by any definition. This guy was over a foot taller than Quinn. He had to be 6'6" tall and broad and made up entirely of muscle.
"Everyone's upstairs waiting, Commander. We could only get a three bedroom on such short notice. I hope you don't mind?"
"No Bain, I don't. We'll double up."
"The furniture has been trickling in all morning but it all should be here by this afternoon. These guys your new team?" He looked at SG1. Jack waved.
"In a way. I'll save the introductions until we get inside. Shall we?"
Bain picked up several bags and everyone else took a few also. He led them inside and around a corner to the elevators. "You're on the fifth floor at the end of a hallway. We tried to get next to the stairs, but it's the best we could do."
"Don't worry about it. I'm sure it will be fine."
With Bain and all the gear, the elevator seemed crowded and Jack was relieved to finally reach the fifth floor. They had to turn another corner and walk to the end of the hall to get to their apartment. The entrance to the stairs was three doors down and across the hall. Bain set the bags down and started to take out a key to unlock the door, but it was thrown open before he could. Four other men were standing there crowded into the small entry way to the apartment. All four had grins on their faces. All four were as big as Bain.
Quinn grinned back at the group. "You guys going to let us in or do we stand out here all day?"
As if choreographed all four made room for Bain, Quinn, and SG1 to enter the apartment. Jack had known men like these. He had worked with people just like them and he silently congratulated Quinn on her choice of working companions. He assumed that this was Team One they were meeting and he wondered how she had orchestrated it.
As if reading his mind she said, "I called Bain yesterday. Told him I was coming here and needed a place to stay and transportation for five. He arranged all of this."
Bain nodded. "No one knows we're here. Hazard and Chilly were easy since they aren't in the military any more. Prochek and Miller aren't on duty until this evening. I'm on leave. So if there's any way I can help."
"No Bain."
"But Commander ..."
"No Bain. I mean it. There are enough careers on the line in this and I don't want yours to be one of them. I took a big enough chance just calling you and asking you to set up this place. I'm not willing to take any more."
Bain looked like he wanted to argue some more, but all he said was, "You're the boss."
"Not any more Bain. But thanks anyway."
Quinn made introductions all around and then left SG1 to fend for themselves for a moment while she talked to her old team. The phone rang and the one that had been introduced as Prochek answered it. "The rest of the furniture is here. I'll go down."
Miller explained the phone. "The intercom system here is tied into the phone system. When someone buzzes downstairs, it routes through your phone. Push the star key after you answer it and it releases the door downstairs."
"How's everything listed Miller?"
"The apartment is leased to a Felix Compton. The furniture to May Packard. The cars to Rex Higgins and the phone is under Lillian Kellerman."
"How did you manage the females?"
"Mary."
"Mary, how is she? Mary is Miller's wife," Quinn explained.
"She's fine, but she's going to be hopping mad if you don't stop by for a visit."
"When this is over I will. Thank her for us will you?"
"No problem, Commander."
After the rest of the furniture had been put in it's place, Team One and SG1 sat down to coffee that Daniel had brewed up in the small kitchen. Quinn had orange juice. "You haven't changed Commander. You still eat and drink all that wimpy stuff?" asked Chilly.
"Yes Chilly I do. You'd do well to eat and drink some of the 'wimpy stuff' too. You're putting on some weight," said Quinn.
"I am not!"
Quinn grinned at Chilly and he grinned back realizing that Quinn was teasing.
"Look Commander, Hazard and I aren't in the military anymore. We don't have to worry about careers. We want to help."
Quinn shook her head. "I know you guys want to help, but you've helped all I'm going to let you. Understand?"
"Commander."
"Hazard, this isn't your decision. It's mine. You're going to have to accept that. We aren't Team One any longer. I know Colonel O'Neill and his team appreciate your dedication, but ..."
Jack broke in. "Commander Masters is right. This is something we have to do and we have to do it on our own. We all know what the consequences of our actions might be. What we don't know is where this is going to end or what kind of trouble we might run into. It might be nothing at all, or it might be that someone gets hurt. She's not willing to put you in jeopardy and neither am I. Are we clear?"
Team One shared a silent communication using eyes only. Jack knew the signs. His own team did the same thing. He waited.
"Alright Commander ... Colonel. But if there is anything you need ..."
"Don't worry, if we get into some deep kimchee that we can't get out of, we'll give you a call," Quinn answered. "Now I hate to do this, but we've got some planning to do."
Team One rose as one. Each shook hands with Quinn and SG1 and silently left after turning over all the keys to the vehicles and the doors to the apartment and the building to Quinn.
"Good men."
"Yeah," Quinn said. "The best." A beat later. "Shall we get started then?"
***