Useless Knowledge
by Layton Colt
House keeping?
We all turn to the door in surprise. It's all the distraction I need. I lunge forward and tackle Garcia.
Daniel gets pulled forward and falls to the ground pulling me with him as I grab the gun from Garcia's hands.
I just start to pull myself and Daniel away from Garcia, all the while aiming the gun at him and Mike, when I hear a loud noise.
Something crashes into the door, pulling it from its hinges. I lose the ability to speak when I see what the something is.
It's a beautiful young woman, tall but thin, probably the same size as Carter. She has long black hair and is wearing this getup that looks like a hand-me-down from Lara Croft.
Mike jumps up and reaches into his jacket, before I can turn the berretta on him the woman reaches behind herself, pulls out a knife, and, taking deliberate aim, launches it at him.
The knife embeds itself in Mike's hand and he cries out. I turn back to the now smiling woman.
Jesus -- maybe she *was* Lara Croft.
"Bell?" Daniel says quietly.
Bell? As in Doctor Isabella Molina? The one we came to help. I look the woman up and down again. Somehow, she's not how I pictured her.
"Hey, Daniel," she smiles. "When you didn't show up this morning I thought you might need some help."
"Daniel," I say calmly.
"Yes, Jack?" he asks, his eyes still fixed on Bell.
"You have weird friends."
"I hang around with you, don't I?" he quips as he rises to his feet.
My left arm gets pulled up by the cuffs so I stand as well, watching Garcia carefully as he remains on the floor where I tackled him. His eyes studiously avoiding looking over at Mike's bleeding wound.
Bell looks down at Garcia as she approaches us. She stops next to Mike, and pries a gun from his bleeding hand. Then she continues towards us without giving the injured man another glance.
"Garcia," she says coldly.
I know that kind of tone. It's the one I save for speaking to Maybourne and the Goa'uld.
"Dr. Molina," Garcia hisses.
He looks mad. So no change with him, then.
"Daniel," Bell says. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from Garcia and come straight to the site?"
Daniel casts me an accusing look. "We just went out for a drink."
Bell gives us both a reproachful look. "All of this because you wanted a drink?"
Daniel gives me another look. I ignore it. I'm not going to take this lady on.
"Sorry," Daniel mutters.
"You will all pay for this!" Garcia yells suddenly. "When I tell the authorities how you held me prisoner!"
Him a prisoner? I look down at the cuffs connecting me to Daniel. Just how does he expect to convince them of that?
"What makes you believe I will allow you to live long enough to tell anyone anything?" Bell asks harshly.
I don't think she's bluffing. Christ. And I thought archeologists were supposed to be dull.
"Maybe I should introduce myself," I interrupt. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill . . . of the U.S. Air Force."
Bell finally turns her attention to me. It's as though she's just realizing I'm here. "Isabella Molina," she says.
Apparently she hasn't picked up on the subtext here. Air Force officers cannot be accomplices to *murder*. Not that I particularly care about what happens to Garcia.
"You can't kill him," I say. Apparently subtlety isn't going to cut it.
Isabella turns back to Garcia. "Then perhaps I should just cut out his tongue."
Wow-there. Cut out his tongue?
I give Daniel a sideways glance and he shrugs. Then after a pause he looks up at Bell. "Bell, maybe we should just forget this ever happened," he says.
"I forgot the last time Garcia tried to harm you, Daniel," Bell says coldly. "I will not be so forgiving this time."
"Bell, please, you know you can't just kill them." Daniel looks over at Mike.
The little man looks like he's going into shock. He's just kind of staring at the knife impaled in his hand.
"Mike needs a doctor," Daniel says. "Let's just call the police and get out of here."
Isabella's blue eyes turn in our direction. There is something calculating about them - a kind of coldness that I've seen somewhere before.
I have no doubts that this woman is seriously considering killing these men. I don't want to hurt her, but I can't let that happen.
After a moment of us staring at each other, Bell sighs. "As you wish," she says reluctantly. "But they are not fit to live."
Can't really argue with that, but it isn't our job to play judge, and it certainly isn't our job to play executioner.
"You two need to leave," Bell says. "Take your things and go."
And leave her alone with them -- ah, no.
"Let's call the police first."
She nodded towards our handcuffs. "You really think that's such a good idea?"
Damn. Seems I forgot the minor detail about Danny and I being on the run from the cops. This might not look so good.
Garcia smiles, "I will tell them I went looking for you, and you took me hostage, you will never make it home."
"And you'll never find what you you've been looking for," Daniel says.
I turn to him in surprise. What is he up to?
"What do you say we make a deal, Garcia? I tell you what you want to know, and you tell the police this has all been one big mistake."
It's a good plan. Except for the fact we *can't* tell Garcia what he wants to know.
"You will not tell me," Garcia says. And here I thought the guy was stupid.
"There is no fountain of youth," Daniel says. "You've been searching for a myth." Is that sympathy in his voice? Don't tell me Daniel actually feels *sorry* for this guy. "You've wasted all of those years searching for something to give you immortal life. There's no such thing, Ed. We only get so much time on this world, and you've thrown half of yours away."
Garcia glared at Daniel, "This is what you tell me to get my help?"
"For once in your life," Daniel says, "just do what's right. Let us go and then try to live your life. Stop looking for a way to extend it and enjoy the precious little time that you have."
Now this sounded like the old Daniel. I smile slightly as I listen to his speech. This is the Daniel that cares about everyone. The Daniel that's always there but is a little more hidden by sarcasm than it use to be.
Garcia's whole countenance droops with resignation. "I wouldn't know what to do . . ."
Daniel smiled shyly at him, "Just live. Go out there and do what you love without having some hidden agenda."
Garcia looked up, his eyes meeting Daniel's. "You may both go."
What? My mouth drops open. I can see that Bell is just as shocked as I am. Maybe I should ask Daniel to give up the sarcasm; if he could have just talked some sense into this guy from the beginning he could have saved us all a lot of trouble.
"You would let them go?" Bell said disbelievingly. "If you are lying I will kill you."
Garcia gives Bell a frightened look, "I'm not lying."
"Then you are a fool," a voice behind us rasps.
Mike is standing behind Bell, the bloody knife he has pulled from his hand held awkwardly in front of him.
"Daniel lies! He wants to keep the fountain for himself,"
"That isn't true!" Daniel says quickly. I get the impression, though, that this guy won't see reason.
He charges at Bell with the knife. She disarms him in one quick move, and with a roll of her eyes she throws him to the ground next to Garcia.
"My patience will only last so long," Bell says to Mike. "You do not want to test me."
Mike shrinks back from her.
Garcia grabs his cell phone from the table and I lift the gun and aim it at him. "What are you doing?" I demand.
He holds his hands up in surrender, "I'm just going to call the station and clear this up!" he says, and then as an afterthought, he adds, "And call a doctor for Mike."
I nod my consent but listen carefully as he talks to the person on the other line. He actually stays true to his word. He tells them to drop all charges against us and even gives us the key to the cuffs.
I rub my wrist as the hard metal bracelet is finally removed, Daniel does the same.
The ambulance arrives shortly and they take Mike away. We allow Garcia to leave - minus his gun - and he promises that he would see that Mike got what he deserved. I'm not sure I want to know what that is.
Left in the hotel room with only Daniel and Bell I collapse on one of the beds. This has been some vacation.
"So Daniel," Bell says, "Are you still coming to the dig?"
What? I answer for Daniel, "Nope, sorry, we've got to be going."
"Jack--" he starts to protest but I hold up my hand.
Not that Miss Bell isn't a peach, but I was going home, and no way was Daniel staying here without me. There's no telling what trouble he could find.
"We need to go report this to Hammond," I tell him. Which is true, Hammond will need to know about Garcia and his knowledge -however limited- on the sarcophagus. Even if he did think it was a 'fountain of youth'.
"Right," he concedes. "Sorry, Bell, maybe some other time."
Maybe not.
Bell smiles at Daniel. The same way Hathor smiled at Daniel. "Anytime you want, honey, anytime you want."
How about never? Is never good for you?
Bell takes the bloody knife and puts it back in her holster casually. "Well, I ought to be going then," she says.
Ah, so soon?
Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to her and everything. She might have very well saved our lives . . . but there's something about this woman I don't trust. She's got a past shadier than mine, and that's something I could tell at one quick glance.
Bell leans forward and hugs Daniel. I stick my hands in my pockets, and avert my eyes.
"Goodbye, Daniel," she whispers, and with a sultry smile and her hips swaying she steps over the broken door, and out into the hall.
"So . . . Daniel,"
"Long story, Jack," he says. "It's a very long story."
to be continued . . .
One more part, the epilogue. It will probably be really short, though. All the unanswered questions from this story will be answered in the next story, 'Fountain of Youth', though I'm thinking of changing the title to 'Long Story Short.'
House keeping?
We all turn to the door in surprise. It's all the distraction I need. I lunge forward and tackle Garcia.
Daniel gets pulled forward and falls to the ground pulling me with him as I grab the gun from Garcia's hands.
I just start to pull myself and Daniel away from Garcia, all the while aiming the gun at him and Mike, when I hear a loud noise.
Something crashes into the door, pulling it from its hinges. I lose the ability to speak when I see what the something is.
It's a beautiful young woman, tall but thin, probably the same size as Carter. She has long black hair and is wearing this getup that looks like a hand-me-down from Lara Croft.
Mike jumps up and reaches into his jacket, before I can turn the berretta on him the woman reaches behind herself, pulls out a knife, and, taking deliberate aim, launches it at him.
The knife embeds itself in Mike's hand and he cries out. I turn back to the now smiling woman.
Jesus -- maybe she *was* Lara Croft.
"Bell?" Daniel says quietly.
Bell? As in Doctor Isabella Molina? The one we came to help. I look the woman up and down again. Somehow, she's not how I pictured her.
"Hey, Daniel," she smiles. "When you didn't show up this morning I thought you might need some help."
"Daniel," I say calmly.
"Yes, Jack?" he asks, his eyes still fixed on Bell.
"You have weird friends."
"I hang around with you, don't I?" he quips as he rises to his feet.
My left arm gets pulled up by the cuffs so I stand as well, watching Garcia carefully as he remains on the floor where I tackled him. His eyes studiously avoiding looking over at Mike's bleeding wound.
Bell looks down at Garcia as she approaches us. She stops next to Mike, and pries a gun from his bleeding hand. Then she continues towards us without giving the injured man another glance.
"Garcia," she says coldly.
I know that kind of tone. It's the one I save for speaking to Maybourne and the Goa'uld.
"Dr. Molina," Garcia hisses.
He looks mad. So no change with him, then.
"Daniel," Bell says. "Didn't I tell you to stay away from Garcia and come straight to the site?"
Daniel casts me an accusing look. "We just went out for a drink."
Bell gives us both a reproachful look. "All of this because you wanted a drink?"
Daniel gives me another look. I ignore it. I'm not going to take this lady on.
"Sorry," Daniel mutters.
"You will all pay for this!" Garcia yells suddenly. "When I tell the authorities how you held me prisoner!"
Him a prisoner? I look down at the cuffs connecting me to Daniel. Just how does he expect to convince them of that?
"What makes you believe I will allow you to live long enough to tell anyone anything?" Bell asks harshly.
I don't think she's bluffing. Christ. And I thought archeologists were supposed to be dull.
"Maybe I should introduce myself," I interrupt. "I'm Colonel Jack O'Neill . . . of the U.S. Air Force."
Bell finally turns her attention to me. It's as though she's just realizing I'm here. "Isabella Molina," she says.
Apparently she hasn't picked up on the subtext here. Air Force officers cannot be accomplices to *murder*. Not that I particularly care about what happens to Garcia.
"You can't kill him," I say. Apparently subtlety isn't going to cut it.
Isabella turns back to Garcia. "Then perhaps I should just cut out his tongue."
Wow-there. Cut out his tongue?
I give Daniel a sideways glance and he shrugs. Then after a pause he looks up at Bell. "Bell, maybe we should just forget this ever happened," he says.
"I forgot the last time Garcia tried to harm you, Daniel," Bell says coldly. "I will not be so forgiving this time."
"Bell, please, you know you can't just kill them." Daniel looks over at Mike.
The little man looks like he's going into shock. He's just kind of staring at the knife impaled in his hand.
"Mike needs a doctor," Daniel says. "Let's just call the police and get out of here."
Isabella's blue eyes turn in our direction. There is something calculating about them - a kind of coldness that I've seen somewhere before.
I have no doubts that this woman is seriously considering killing these men. I don't want to hurt her, but I can't let that happen.
After a moment of us staring at each other, Bell sighs. "As you wish," she says reluctantly. "But they are not fit to live."
Can't really argue with that, but it isn't our job to play judge, and it certainly isn't our job to play executioner.
"You two need to leave," Bell says. "Take your things and go."
And leave her alone with them -- ah, no.
"Let's call the police first."
She nodded towards our handcuffs. "You really think that's such a good idea?"
Damn. Seems I forgot the minor detail about Danny and I being on the run from the cops. This might not look so good.
Garcia smiles, "I will tell them I went looking for you, and you took me hostage, you will never make it home."
"And you'll never find what you you've been looking for," Daniel says.
I turn to him in surprise. What is he up to?
"What do you say we make a deal, Garcia? I tell you what you want to know, and you tell the police this has all been one big mistake."
It's a good plan. Except for the fact we *can't* tell Garcia what he wants to know.
"You will not tell me," Garcia says. And here I thought the guy was stupid.
"There is no fountain of youth," Daniel says. "You've been searching for a myth." Is that sympathy in his voice? Don't tell me Daniel actually feels *sorry* for this guy. "You've wasted all of those years searching for something to give you immortal life. There's no such thing, Ed. We only get so much time on this world, and you've thrown half of yours away."
Garcia glared at Daniel, "This is what you tell me to get my help?"
"For once in your life," Daniel says, "just do what's right. Let us go and then try to live your life. Stop looking for a way to extend it and enjoy the precious little time that you have."
Now this sounded like the old Daniel. I smile slightly as I listen to his speech. This is the Daniel that cares about everyone. The Daniel that's always there but is a little more hidden by sarcasm than it use to be.
Garcia's whole countenance droops with resignation. "I wouldn't know what to do . . ."
Daniel smiled shyly at him, "Just live. Go out there and do what you love without having some hidden agenda."
Garcia looked up, his eyes meeting Daniel's. "You may both go."
What? My mouth drops open. I can see that Bell is just as shocked as I am. Maybe I should ask Daniel to give up the sarcasm; if he could have just talked some sense into this guy from the beginning he could have saved us all a lot of trouble.
"You would let them go?" Bell said disbelievingly. "If you are lying I will kill you."
Garcia gives Bell a frightened look, "I'm not lying."
"Then you are a fool," a voice behind us rasps.
Mike is standing behind Bell, the bloody knife he has pulled from his hand held awkwardly in front of him.
"Daniel lies! He wants to keep the fountain for himself,"
"That isn't true!" Daniel says quickly. I get the impression, though, that this guy won't see reason.
He charges at Bell with the knife. She disarms him in one quick move, and with a roll of her eyes she throws him to the ground next to Garcia.
"My patience will only last so long," Bell says to Mike. "You do not want to test me."
Mike shrinks back from her.
Garcia grabs his cell phone from the table and I lift the gun and aim it at him. "What are you doing?" I demand.
He holds his hands up in surrender, "I'm just going to call the station and clear this up!" he says, and then as an afterthought, he adds, "And call a doctor for Mike."
I nod my consent but listen carefully as he talks to the person on the other line. He actually stays true to his word. He tells them to drop all charges against us and even gives us the key to the cuffs.
I rub my wrist as the hard metal bracelet is finally removed, Daniel does the same.
The ambulance arrives shortly and they take Mike away. We allow Garcia to leave - minus his gun - and he promises that he would see that Mike got what he deserved. I'm not sure I want to know what that is.
Left in the hotel room with only Daniel and Bell I collapse on one of the beds. This has been some vacation.
"So Daniel," Bell says, "Are you still coming to the dig?"
What? I answer for Daniel, "Nope, sorry, we've got to be going."
"Jack--" he starts to protest but I hold up my hand.
Not that Miss Bell isn't a peach, but I was going home, and no way was Daniel staying here without me. There's no telling what trouble he could find.
"We need to go report this to Hammond," I tell him. Which is true, Hammond will need to know about Garcia and his knowledge -however limited- on the sarcophagus. Even if he did think it was a 'fountain of youth'.
"Right," he concedes. "Sorry, Bell, maybe some other time."
Maybe not.
Bell smiles at Daniel. The same way Hathor smiled at Daniel. "Anytime you want, honey, anytime you want."
How about never? Is never good for you?
Bell takes the bloody knife and puts it back in her holster casually. "Well, I ought to be going then," she says.
Ah, so soon?
Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to her and everything. She might have very well saved our lives . . . but there's something about this woman I don't trust. She's got a past shadier than mine, and that's something I could tell at one quick glance.
Bell leans forward and hugs Daniel. I stick my hands in my pockets, and avert my eyes.
"Goodbye, Daniel," she whispers, and with a sultry smile and her hips swaying she steps over the broken door, and out into the hall.
"So . . . Daniel,"
"Long story, Jack," he says. "It's a very long story."
to be continued . . .
One more part, the epilogue. It will probably be really short, though. All the unanswered questions from this story will be answered in the next story, 'Fountain of Youth', though I'm thinking of changing the title to 'Long Story Short.'