Camp Go'auld

Part seven

It was late evening by the time Kerry woke again, feeling a lot better than she had earlier. Her ribs were still very sore but her head was much clearer and she decided she'd had enough of this place. There was no reason she could see to remain in the hospital and she was a free person after all, but first she had to evade the ever present guard outside her door.

She got out of bed, gathered what she needed from the bedside cabinet and left the room, ignoring the man who was shadowing her. She opened a door at the far end of the corridor and locked it behind her. So far, so good. She put down the bundle she had brought and started running water in to the deep bath tub. Five minutes later, she opened the door a crack and spoke to the guard.

'Excuse me,' Kerry said, trying to look helpless. 'I, uh, I wonder if you'd mind fetching my towel from my room, only I forgot to bring it and I don't really want to leave the water running.' She fluttered her eye lashes at him, not believing that she was really trying this, but it seemed to have the desired effect.

'Sure, ma'am,' the guard replied, smiling pleasantly at her. 'Where is it?' Kerry told him where he could find the towel, then closed and locked the door again. The guard on hearing the door lock, figured that she couldn't get into too much trouble in the bath and headed off down the corridor.

Within seconds the bathroom door opened again and Kerry walked out, fully dressed in the clothes that had been supplied by the air force. The baggy blue jump suit wasn't exactly flattering, but it was non-descript and she needed that right now. She walked confidently towards the elevator, stepped into a car which had just arrived at her level and made her way down to the lobby and through the exit.

Glancing around quickly she could see no sign of any military personnel and hailed a passing cab. Half an hour after leaving the hospital, Kerry had gotten home, changed into something of her own and packed a few things before wheeling her bike out of the garage. She didn't really have anything against the air force, she just hated the way they assumed that she would do what she was told without being given any reason or explanation. If she'd wanted to obey orders she'd have joined one of the services herself, but she enjoyed her freedom too much and her recent experiences had been more than enough excitement for a life time. She just wanted to feel free again, feel the wind against her face, just her and the open road with no plans, seeing where she ended up.

***********

'Damn!' Jack exclaimed as he shut off his cell phone. 'That was the guard at the hospital - Kerry managed to give him the slip. He checked with hospital security before calling it in and the security tapes show her getting into a cab about an hour ago.'

'Do we know where she was going?' Jonas asked, concern in his eyes.

'Not really, but I guess we better check her house first. Carter, you and Teal'c head over there, see what you can turn up,' Jack ordered as he snapped open his cell phone again. 'Dr Fraiser? O'Neill. Kerry left the hospital an hour ago, I've got Carter and Teal'c trying to trace her, what's her medical condition?' Jack listened for a few minutes, pulling a face as he ended the call.

'Colonel?' Jonas could sense something was not well.

'Dr Fraiser is concerned about what might happen if Kerry puts too much pressure on her ribs,' Jack replied, seeing that Jonas was genuinely worried. Apart from Jacob, Jonas was the only one Kerry had really responded to and Jack knew how seriously the younger man took his responsibilities.

Jonas suddenly recalled something from his chats with Kerry. 'Would riding a motor bike be classed as too much pressure?' Jonas asked. Jack whirled around to face Jonas.

'I would say so,' he snapped. 'What do you know?'

'Kerry liked to talk about her bike, apparently she fixed it up herself and loves to go out for long rides,' Jonas explained. 'It seemed a fairly safe subject to talk about since Major Carter has told me so much about her own bike.'

'Got any details on the bike? Make? Model? License plate?' Jack fired the questions at Jonas, trying to get quick answers from the alien who was providing way more information than was needed and taking a long time to get it out.

'It's a Honda, that's all I know, but the registration documents must be at her house somewhere,' Jonas told him. Jack nodded and quickly dialled Sam's cell phone, waiting impatiently until Teal'c answered.

'Jonas thinks she may have taken off on a motor bike, can you check for the documents at her house. Let me know as soon as anything turns up.' Jack finished the call then stood, tapping the cell phone against his hand, contemplating the next move.

The next move turned out to be issuing Kerry's licence plate details to local garages and handing over the search to the state police, who were better equipped to carry out an operation of this sort. Sam and Teal'c retuned just as Jack received the awaited call. He listened, making very little comment before thanking the caller for their help.

'Looks like she's headed south,' Jack told them. 'She filled up with gas at a station on the highway going south. The cops are looking out for her.'

'What now?' Jonas asked.

'Now we hand over to the civilian authorities, the area has been cleared and we'll leave a couple of teams here until Dr Fraiser can ship out the rest of the patients. Jacob sent us the drugs he promised and we've only got a few people left.'

**********

Kerry stretched tiredly as she pulled up at a rest stop on the side of the road. She had been on the road since just after six this morning and it was beginning to get dark. She had stopped a couple of times for a drink and to answer the call of nature, but other than that she had been riding for nearly twelve hours straight. For the last couple of hours it had been harder to concentrate on where she was going, her head was starting to feel fuzzy and every time she breathed in she could feel a sharp stabbing pain. She had no idea where she was so took the opportunity of asking the girl behind the counter.

'A couple of miles north of Boulder,' she was told, the girl giving her concerned glances. 'What can I get you?'

Kerry considered this for a moment. 'Hot chocolate, please, oh and a bowl of soup - it smells good. Where's the rest room?' The room was pointed out and Kerry headed for it to freshen up before doing anything else. She took one look in the mirror and began to understand why the assistant had looked so strangely at her. There were shadows under her eyes and she was as white as a sheet, looking like some extra from a horror movie. This made her laugh to herself, then she instantly regretted it as she began finding it difficult to catch her breath.

Clutching her chest, trying desperately to breathe, she grabbed at the rest room door with her free hand, struggling to pull it open. It seemed like she would never get out of there when the door opened and someone was taking her arm, helping her sit down on a chair.

'Ma'am? Can I do something? Can I call someone for you?'

Breathing became much harder and the room started to spin. The last thing she heard was her helper yelling to someone to dial 911.