The rest of SG-1 sat in Hammond's office twiddling their thumbs, each of them encompassed by their own thoughts. General Hammond looked at them exasperatingly; he was worried about O'Neill too. As commander of the entire base though, he could not allow himself to get worked up over one man, his best man, coming up missing. However if what Maybourne had said and the drug had some ill effects, this could become a grave breach in security.
*RING RING*
Everyone in the room nearly jumped out of their chairs as the phone rang. That is everyone except Teal'c who merely raised an eyebrow at the disturbance. Hammond picked up the phone. "Yes, I understand." A look of absolute relief crossed his face a he listened to the voice on the other end. "Yes, Thank you." Hammond hung the phone up at looked at the nervous crowd sitting in his office.
"Well?" Carter asked tensely.
"Well, it appears that our dear Colonel managed to escape his captor and come home. Dr. Fraiser is escorting him down to the infirmary as we speak."
A collective sigh of relief escaped from those I the room. Daniel took off his glasses and rubbed his nose. His headache only now slightly relieved by hearing this new development; something about this whole deal bothered him, although he couldn't place it. Maybe once he was able to talk to Jack everything would get cleared up.
Teal'c was through the door first and the rest nearly ran into him when he stopped just outside. "O'Neill!" A smile escaping his tight lips, "You look to be well my friend."
"Huh, oh yeah, as well as one can be with no sleep, diet of coffee and doughnuts, and finding out my security clearance has been suspended." O'Neill let out a yawn to accentuate his point. "Hey Danny, I thought you were coming to help me out?"
"Uh, I… Uh…Huh? How did you ah.."
Carter jumped in on Daniel's stuttering. "How did you escape from Maybourne, sir?"
"Maybourne?" O'Neill looked inquisitively at the rest of his team. Dr. Fraiser attempting not to snicker behind him. O'Neill's jaw went slack as the pieces finally fell together. "Oh, you have got to be kidding?" He looked to the doctor for confirmation. She only nodded her head. "You know I feel sorry for the guy that Maybourne does have, but hey, * snicker * it serves old Starsky right."
"Colonel, I think you had better explain." The General stated with a slight twitch.
* Two Hours Later *
General Hammond sat with his hands folded in his lap. Eyes cast down at his desk gave no clue to the others what he might be thinking.
"Wow." Carter said blandly, breaking the silence after the tale. "So there are two of you? Do you think this guy could be an android? Or perhaps like that one alien we encountered that took human form and added himself into our memories?"
O'Neill spread out his hands. "Pbbbbbtt, Your guess is as good as mine."
"Whatever the case, we need to figure this out, and soon." Hammond sighed and leaned forward onto his desk. "Daniel, Teal'c, I want the two of you to track down this Dalton fellow. Find out what you can from him about his friend and this Murdock fellow." The Generals' eyes looked over to the female Major. "Search through the computer records, try and find out if we have something concrete on this _twin_ of O'Neills', and anything else that might be important. Jack", Hammond shook his head and chuckled. "Get some sleep."
"Yes Sir!" O'Neill saluted improperly as he stood. The members of SG-1 left the office, each going their own way to try and figure out what the hell was going on.
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"C'mon Jack, keep moving." The sun was beginning to set and the temperature was starting to drop. "Just a little bit further, Jack I thought you were in better shape than this."
The man ahead of Maybourne was slowing down. Although it was not from fatigue, the man instead was attempting to get an upper hand. "My name is Mac… MacGyver…" he said between heavy breaths.
Maybourne sighed, "Ah, Jack if I would've only known what type of reaction you would've had to that stuff, I would've tried something else, but I know you're immune to most normal tranquilizers…so…alright, we'll stop for five minuets, no more."
"Thanks." Mac sat down on a rock, truly thankful for the reprieve. "So, what is it you need my help with?" He asked, trying to buy himself some more time.
"Huh, oh, well you should know that Simmons is getting pretty bad, Jack. I found some of the stuff he's been doing, and planning on doing. You thought that when I worked for the Russians was bad…hoho you have no clue. That Goa'uld that Simmons has is about ready to start earning his keep. I hear they're working underground with some Middle Eastern terrorist group. I guess the symbiot that rich kid has knows exactly where the original DHD to the artic gate is. " Maybourne looked over at his prisoner. "What are the effects starting to wear off?"
Mac shrugged, "eh, a bit I think. I'm starting to see clearer." Mac looked around again. He'd considered escaping, but when this guy with him started actually talking Mac thought against it and decided that it would be best if he found out all he could before setting himself free. "Why don't you keep on talking…? Maybe something will spark my memory. What about the tranquilizer? If we're such good friends, why use it on me?"
The short man laughed. "Because 'old friend' I knew I'd never get you to sit down and listen to me if I didn't do something drastic." Maybourne sighed. "Ok lets keep going, I'll tell you all about it when we reach our destination."
Mac stood up as carefully as he could with his hands tied and walked in the direction Maybourne indicated. Mac's mind was full of questions… He thought that by getting his captor to talk, Mac would be able to figure a few things out. Instead though he was now more confused than ever. Russians and Terrorists, Mac knew. What the hell is a goold, and DHD, and what the hell would a symbiot have to do with all of it?