A/N : Thanks a lot for the reviews.

Thanks to Icklepiglet for the beta.

Chapter 8 : Where does my heart beat now ?

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Jack and Teal'c had decided to enter the bank by the roof.
They were making careful headway.
Jack looked at Teal'c and made him understand that they had to go on separate ways.

At this moment, the colonel heard the crackling of his walkie-talkie.
"Jack ? Teal'c ?" They heard Daniel's voice.
"Daniel. What's new ?" Jack said quietly.

"I found them. Apparently their chief is named Elliot Straw. He was a colonel in the marines but left the right side after being accused of violence on younger officers. He and his brother Tom come from Texas. They're known for several traffics...arms...drugs... They've been suspected in another case of stickup."

"What about the others ?"
" Paul Thulium and Allan Envoi. They *worked* with them on previous affairs.
"Thanks Daniel. Now, try to find everything you can about the case of hold ups please."
"Call you back." the doctor replied.

"Got it Teal'c" Jack added. "Go that way, I'll go this way."
Teal'c nodded and the two split up.

*****************

Sam and her *guards* were now waiting patiently in the vault. Paul had left them 10 minutes ago and they were apparently waiting for him.

Sam noticed that they seemed really confident which wasn't reassuring at all. She was just glad to know Cassie was safe and alive with her mother.

Her heart skipped a beat when she noticed a detonator in Elliot's hand.

She looked at him and read the determination in his eyes. It occurred to her that her friends would be in danger, that Elliot could put an end to their lives whenever he wanted.

She had to do something...but what ? She really didn't have a chance against three armed men and Paul was about to come back soon as well.

She finally thought that her chance had come when Tom decided to leave the room for a personal emergency…(Hey, they were men after all.)


She got up slowly, so as not to attract their attention, sneaking up to attack Elliot. He, however, looked up and seemed to read her mind.
"Don't even think about it." he hissed and reached for his gun for more security.


Allan smirked and grabbed the walkie-talkie as Paul's voice was heard.

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Teal'c was walking cautiously when he saw the explosives fixed on the elevator and offices doors.
"O'Neill" he called in the walkie-talkie. "I found some C4 in here."
"Same here" Jack replied flatly, concentrating on how he could defuse the bombs.

"Jack?" he then heard Daniel's voice.
"What's up Daniel?"
"You have to get away from there immediately !" Daniel said quickly.
"What's going on?" Jack asked trying to stay calm.
"The last hold-up they're suspected for they destroyed the bank with C4, the cops believe they escaped underground."
"Did they have any hostages?" Jack asked getting up and looking for a plan of the building.
"They did." Daniel answered hesitantly. "They killed him." He managed.
"Okay." Jack replied solemnly.

He finally found a plan for the evacuation of the bank and studied it briefly. Hopefully, the underground were represented on it as an emergency exit.


"Teal'c ?"
"O'Neill."
"You have to get out right now!" Jack ordered.
"May I ask why?" he replied.
"That's an order Teal'c, everything is gonna blow up."

Teal'c remained silent.
"That's an order Teal'c." O'Neill repeated firmly.
The Jaffa finally agreed and left the bank hurriedly.


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After Paul's call, the four had finally left the vault and were now walking along the dark and gloomy underground.
They were all silent, with only a few drops of water echoing in the tunnel as they fell on the ground.

Sam knew that she wouldn't stay alive for long as they had removed their masks, allowing her to se their faces. They couldn't take that risk, this alone caused a strange feeling to invade her.

Fear... and for the first time... regret. She had faced death so many times she couldn't remember them all, but this time it was different. It was on Earth, in a hold-up of all things. She would die alone, it frightened her but she kept back the tears that were threatening to fall.

She suddenly forgot all her problems when she saw Elliot pushing the button on the detonator.

She closed her eyes briefly, praying and hoping that her friends were out of danger knowing that they didn't have long to get to safety..

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To be continued

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