Disclaimer: see previous

Hello, guess wot, back at work and now there's a heat wave, go figure!

Seems my name's changed to Pike2 :o) (I'm a person not a number!)

To Movielover03, Col Kathryn O'Neill, Lori, Drakcir & BluJay

I did get your reviews but for some reason they ain't showing on the web, so thank you guys. xxxx

Lyrics - Walking in Memphis (Marc Cohn - version)

Then I'm walking in Memphis

Walking with my feet ten feet off of Beale

Walking in Memphis

But do I really feel the way I feel

==========

The camcorder's light flashed from red to green and an image of a young man sat behind the wheel of a car steadied itself in the viewing screen. A girl's voice giggled as she wrestled to hold the camera still, zooming in and out until she was satisfied with the framing.

"Okay, okay, first time behind the wheel of a car, take one and action," she cried with delight.

The young alien's smile lit up his face and the car's interior as he pulled his Ray Bans, that had been resting in the spikes of his hair, over his eyes, readying himself. His forehead creased in concentration as he pushed the 'stick', as instructed, into drive and hit the gas, clouding the wheels with dust as the car lurched forward on the deserted track.

"Whoa," Cassie screamed, in a fit of laugher as the force pushed her back against the passenger door, filming the leather of the roof.

"What?" Jonas enquired looking towards Cassie for some direction.

"The road, Jonas," she said, trying to control her words, which were babbling hysterically between the snorts of glee, "watch the road, not me."

"Oh," he said nodding at her and smiling, "oh," he cried in realisation, turning his head back towards windscreen, pressing his nose closer to the glass, which brought more unladylike chuckling from his passenger.

"Relax, just try and relax. Sit back in the driver's seat, look as if you're enjoying it."

"I am, I am," he replied clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles.

She shook her head tuning the radio to a soft piano that filled the inside of the car. Cassie drummed her fingers on the dash while watching the scenery's reflection elongate and Jonas found his fingers unwinding as they danced in rhythm on the wheel.

A man's voice, full of cigarettes and whiskey, 'touched down in the land of the Delta Blues, in the middle of the pouring rain.'

Cassie leaned back in her seat, stretching her arms over her head, imprinting her hands in the roof's creamy pelt as the music washed over her. She picked the camera back up and pointed it towards the open sunroof, filming the ice blue of the morning sky while radio sang of the ghost of Elvis.

She lowered the camcorder from her eye and smiled mischievously at Jonas, "keep the car steady," she cried and began to stand, straddling the parking brake.

"Cass, what, what are you doing?" Jonas asked, swerving slightly as he watched her.

"Just hold it steady," she giggled, folding herself through the sunroof, emerging to the outside world like some water nymph of legend.

Cassandra closed her eyes and extended her arms, worshipping the future that was unfurling her hair. She shut her mind so she could listen to her heart above the drone of the engine as each passing second stole the breath from her body.

She smiled with the glow of a sunset and knocked on the roof to Jonas, twining her fist with the metallic one that rushed to meet her, "turn the music up," she yelled.

The car veered off again as Jonas fumbled with the volume and Cassie raised her hands above her head, saluting the lazy sun and the horizon with a loud distinctive cry of, "'Tell me are you a Christian child? And I said "Ma'am I am tonight'".

=======

Jack took off his sunglasses and entered the motel office, "whoa," he said, placing them back on again as the neon candy stripes of the wall paper slapped his face with a loud 'HELLO'.

Teal'c went off to study the stuffed heads of woodland creatures that festooned the walls, turning to Daniel for some explanation.

"Trophies," he offered, the Jaffa raised an eyebrow.

Jack strode across to the desk and pushed the plunger on the bell with the palm of his hand. An elderly man shot up from behind the counter, startling O'Neill who fell back with a surprised yelp. Jack steadied himself, giving the owner one of his charming smiles but the man's curdled face just peered at him through thick, glass bottle, lenses that exaggerated his caramel eyes.

"Hi there," Jack ventured, with a wave of his hand, trying hard not to be sucked in by the man's enormous sweeping blinks, "Colonel Jack..."

"You with the Air Force?" He asked, gruffly, before Jack could finish.

"Yes sir, what gave it away?" he queried, looking down at his uniform.

The man turned and spoke to the glass partition behind him, "mother, would you believe it, the Air Force is here, now?" He shouted, then turning back to O'Neill, "you'll have to speak up, she don't hear so good."

O'Neill craned his head, around the man, towards the screen but caught only a glimpse of a shuffling shadow, "Danny all yours," he relinquished, taking several steps back.

"Hi, my name's Dr Daniel Jackson, Mr?"

"Hume, Henry Hume says right there on the plaque, sonny," he snapped, tapping it, loudly, with his pen.

"We're looking for two friends of ours, Mr Hume."

"Boy and a girl, stayed here last night?"

"Yes, the girl, Cassandra Fraiser, paid by credit card this morning?"

"That's right, got the slip right here," Mr Hume replied, pointing to a shoebox, "not stolen is it? Only she didn't look the type?" He shot Daniel an owl like stare.

"Um, no, no, the card isn't stolen," Jackson offered, slightly unnerved by the mesmerising glare, "it's just we need to find them, you wouldn't happen to know where they were heading?"

"Friends of yours are they Dr Jackass?"

"That's, that's JackSON, sir, Doctor Daniel Jackson and yes they are friends of ours."

"Young man ain't gone AWOL then?" He said looking around at the group, "You see, Doctor, you ain't the first government lot to come here askin' questions, are they mother, ain't the first I said?"

There was a muffled reply from behind the glass.

"There were others, here, asking questions?" Sam posed, looking towards O'Neill.

Hume gazed up at her and smoothed his Shredded Wheat hair over the shine of his cranium, smiling until his teeth dropped, "well lookie here, you with the Air Force too, girlie?" He enquired.

"Yes, sir, Major Samantha Carter," she said, smiling, holding out her hand.

"Well, well, Major, is it? If that don't beat all, you fly planes as well a look so darn fine?" He enquired, taking Sam's hand and planting an awkward kiss on it.

Sam acknowledge the compliment with a tilt of her head, "Mr Hume you were saying about."

"So I was, so I was," he patted Sam's hand and released it, eyes magnified in their sugary, brown, worship of her, "they came in 'bout an hour ago, dressed all in black, you know, government types, said they were with the, now what was it," he scratched his scalp, "National Intelligence Division. Didn't smile a lot, had the look of him 'bout them," he motioned towards Teal'c, "wantin' to know all about them two as stayed last night. Pulled the buttons right off my shirt, one of them did, had to give mother a pill they scared her so. Ain't that right, mother, scared you so, them others?"

"And what did you tell them?" Jack asked.

"Same as I'm gonna tell you, sonny Jim, them kids came in late last night, lookin' as nervous as hell and asked for a room. Mother liked the look of them, didn't you mother, liked the look of them, she gets feelings you know, so I gave 'em my best room, number fifteen, top of the stairs."

"That it?" Jack demanded.

"Nope," Hume said, opening a leather bound book on his desk.

The Colonel looked at the man, exasperated, as he ignored him, mumbling figures under his breath and writing them down into the book, "Carter!"

"Mr Hume?" She said, sweetly.

He looked up at her and rested his head in his hand to continue, "well, last night, mother had one of her 'revelation', she gets 'em you know, from God, I've lost count of the number of missing cats and things she's found for people over the years."

"Cats?" Jack turned towards Daniel, "cats!"

Sam smiled to herself and signalled for the owner to continue, "it was while I was putting her teeth in the special crystal glass we bought from Edinburgh last year, you ever been Major?"

"No sir I have not."

"Oh, I'm hopin' to get there again this year, in the fall, can't take mother though, it's her legs, she thinks they're gonna explode on the plane," he smiled hopefully at Sam, "Anyway, I was just poppin' them in the cupboard when 'plink'"

"Her legs?" Jack jested.

"No, Colonel, her teeth, I was puttin' her teeth in the cupboard, jus' in case we gets robbed."

"Plink", Daniel echoed, trying to get the ball rolling again and giving Jack the 'look'.

"Yes, Doctor, plink, I look round and find mother's glass eye has fallen in her gin. Well, I went over to retrieve it when she sighs, lifts it out and holds it up to the ceiling, all moanin' like. Then, she jus' sorta, slumps back a bit and cries, pitifully, 'Medanetu, bird on the branch to open the door'."

"Med-dan-etu?" Jack repeated, looking around at Daniel who shrugged, "Medanetu," Jack queried, again, putting his finger to his lips as if in thought, "now, I need you to think very carefully, Mr Hume, it's of great national importance, did your mother hold the eye up in her right or left hand? It's just we've got this whole Eye of Ra, Eye of Thoth thing going on and."

"Jack," Daniel said leading the Colonel away from the desk.

"Daniel, am I the only one who's noticed how screwy this guy is? I mean, no wonder the NID guy made a grab for him, I'm beginning to know how he felt, I'm all for heading to room fifteen to check if there's any blood splattered on the shower wall; this guy makes Norman Bates look normal!"

"They're headin' west," Hume said, looking at Jack.

O'Neill cocked his head towards the man, "oh really? Your mother saw that as well, did she, in one of her, toothless, 'revelations'?"

"Nope, girl had a map, got it out when she paid, all the roads marked, they're heading west, Colonel."

"Did you inform the NID of this?" Teal'c asked.

"Nope, they gone and pulled the buttons from my shirt."

"May we see the room, Mr Hume," Sam asked, trying hard not to notice the rhyme.

"Well, mother cleaned it this mornin', they ain't left nothing."

Sam gave him another smile, "okay honey, I'll get the keys for you," he ducked back under the desk to retrieve a set of keys, which he handed to Sam.

"Okay, Carter, you're with me, upstairs. Daniel and, and, Murray, you, stay down here," Jack commanded, taking the steps two at a time.

"Don't be too long," Daniel called after them.

"And don't forget to check the shower for bloodstains, now, mother don't clean up as good as she use too," Jack stopped in mid flight and turned but the old man just laughed at him, snorting like a pig.

"Sir," Sam said, continuing the climb.

O'Neill shook his head and followed her.

++++++

The door opened to the sickening bloom of red and orange roses, "oh crap," O'Neill said, hovering in the entrance.

"Yeah, it's a bit overpowering," she replied, glancing around at the room before kneeling to check the drawers of the dresser, "there's nothing here sir," she said, turning her head to the Colonel who was still stood in the doorway. "Sir?" She queried.

"There's only one bed, Carter," he observed, quietly.

"Yes sir," she whispered, "there is."

Jack tilted his head towards the bathroom, "go check in there," he said, biting his lip and turning his back on the room to rest on the doorframe.

Sam hesitated, slightly, before nodding and entering the dazzling glow of the en-suite.

+++++++

"Okay, nice talking with you, we gotta run, say bye to your mother for us," Jack said abruptly, running down the stairs and throwing the keys to the old man.

Daniel made eye contact with Sam but she shook her head in warning.

"Did you find something of concern upstairs O'Neill," Teal'c asked, falling in step with the Colonel who was rushing out the door.

Jack turned to the Jaffa but was interrupted by Mr Hume who called after them, puffing slightly as he tried to catch up, "you", he said pointing at Teal'c, "I noticed you lookin' closely at the décor, it's something special ain't it, son?"

"Indeed, I could not take my eyes off it," Teal'c replied, diplomatically.

"It may come as a surprise to you but I decorated this whole place myself, from top to bottom. You should'a seen it before, grotesque; mother wouldn't stay here 'till I gone done fixed it up. Here's my card, if ya ever have need of my services," he handed the Jaffa a luminous business card. "Sorta catches the eye don't it?"

Teal'c took the card with a slight bow and Mr Hume turned back towards the motel.

"Sir what do you think?" Sam asked O'Neill as they walked across the parking lot.

"Oh, you really don't wanna know what I'm thinking right now Carter," Jack exclaimed, angrily, "especially now, now the NID are involved. God damn it, if they catch up with them first," he shook his head, "how could Jonas be so naïve?"

"Jack, I don't think Jonas did it." Daniel began.

"What, Daniel? To be a pain in the ass?" He retaliated, "look, this isn't a love sick fairytale people, there are guys out there who would love nothing better than to stick Jonas and Cassie in a cage somewhere and use them a lab rats, just remember that."

"At least we know they're heading west sir." Sam ventured.

Jack sighed, "that's if, and I use that word strongly Major, if we choose to believe what Norman Bates there told us, you know, the same guy who has Mother Abigail behind a glass screen with the all seeing, gin soaked, glass eye, that receives messages from God!"

"What did you say, Jack?" Daniel asked, stopping in his tracks and putting a finger to his temple.

"Which part, Daniel?" Came the frustrated retort.

"About his mother?"

"And her all Seeing Eye receiving the word of God?" He gave the younger man a look of despair, "don't go there, Danny boy, you cannot be taking it seriously."

"medju-netjer," Teal'c whispered picking up on Daniel's train of thought, "words of the Gods."

Daniel nodded, "that's what she was trying to say, 'medju-netjer', it's what the ancient Egyptians called hieroglyphs and, and 'bird on the branch', is the ibis, the symbol for the God Thoth."

"And this ties in with our investigation how?" Jack enquired, raising his hands in annoyance.

Daniel shrugged, "I don't know Jack but it's a bit of a coincidence, don't you think?"

O'Neill shook his head, "what do you think the rest of it meant 'to open the door'?" Sam asked.

"Carter!" Jack cried, motioning towards the truck.

"I really don't know, Sam," Daniel said with a shrug of his shoulders climbing into the vehicle.

O'Neill paused before getting in, rubbing his furrowed brow. Sam gave him the briefest of smiles, "we'll find them sir," she said.

"Yeah, I know Carter," he replied, softly, with a nod of his head, "but I'm still gonna tear me a chunk of Kelownan butt," he continued with a glint in his eye.

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;o)