"They're kicking ass," Shawn said a moment later in the infirmary. The
young man was sitting on the edge of Sam's bed, next to Carter, who was
also sitting up, even though her head was pounding and she was having
trouble focusing her vision. Jaffer was lounging at the foot of the bed,
still, and Fraiser seemed to have forgotten how annoyed she was about that,
because the doctor had settled next to him and was idly running her fingers
along the jet-black fur. Probably not even realizing she was doing it.
"Colonel O'Neill's the best," The Marine said, as if that explained everything.
"Yeah." Shawn nodded. He knew that.
Sam was worried, but was hiding it. Yeah, Jack was the best. She knew he was good, and she counted on that, but she also knew that there was always a chance there would be someone better, and that some day Jack would run into that person. The added advantage of the Ashrak being invisible just made it that much worse, and she couldn't help but wish that she was out there with him, where she could keep him safe.
She would have felt a little better if O'Neill had put himself on the same sweep team as Daniel and Teal'c. Sam knew Teal'c and Daniel would do anything to keep the Colonel safe – and had counted on that so many times in the past. This time, though, Jack was on his own, and it worried her. Teal'c would protect Daniel – as Jack had known when he teamed the Archeologist up with the Jaffa, but who was going to watch O'Neill?
"Damn it."
Everyone turned and looked at her, and Sam realized she'd spoken aloud. She shook her head, and was about to say something, when Jaffer's head suddenly came up, and his gaze went to the door.
Shawn was off the bed in an instant, the muzzle of the B'kedricti coming up and pointing at the door, while the Marine did the same with the zat he was holding. Fraiser moved off the bed and out of the line of fire, and Sam snapped her fingers at the Marine, and gestured for him to hand over his Beretta, which he did instantly.
Jaffer crouched low on the bed, his gaze intent on the door and the hackles on his back slowly coming up as he tried to sort out whatever noise he'd heard or whatever scent he'd smelled. Sam's gaze went from the door to the dog and back to the door again, knowing that he'd know someone – or something – was coming through it before the thing even opened. Jaffer gave a low growl, almost inaudible, but Carter could feel the rumbling through the bed and she tightened her grip on the weapon she held.
They stayed that way for almost a full minute, everyone in the room watching the door, and everyone expecting it to open any moment, heralding the beginning of a firefight. It didn't happen, though. The door never opened, and even though Jaffer kept up his low warning growls, the threat never showed its face. A few moments later, the growls stopped, and the hackles began to sink back into his fur, although his gaze never left the door.
Sam picked up the radio, and keyed it.
"Colonel? This is Carter in the infirmary. I'd say there's a good chance at least one of your targets is somewhere in this area."
"Are you secure?" Meaning 'are you okay'?
"Yes, Sir."
"We'll be there shortly. O'Neill out."
~*~
As much as he wanted to, Jack couldn't drop everything and run to the infirmary to stand guard over Sam and Shawn. They were as safe as he could get them, and he had a job to do. Besides, he knew that if he did, he'd likely draw more attention to them, and possibly put them in danger.
"Infirmary, Sir?" One of the men on his team asked him as Jack finished the conversation with Carter.
"Negative. We've got to finish what we're doing here, first." Jack motioned for S-4 to continue their sweep, and then moved with his men back into the corridor they'd started in.
"S-2, S-3 and S-5, continue your sweeps, and keep me-"
A bolt of light shot out from nowhere, and struck the Marine next to Jack full in the chest. The man went down in a heap, and Jack's team scattered for cover, Jack and one of the other Marines pulling the downed man with them into a doorway. Another bolt was fired, this one hitting the wall right above O'Neill's head, and Jack brought the B'kedricti up and pressed the trigger. There was a tremendous energy surge that Jack could feel through the metal of the weapon – even though it didn't hurt him – and a bolt shot out from the barrel back in the direction the attack had come from. Figuring there was no way he'd hit the assassin, Jack fired again, this time a little lower, wishing he had an automatic version of this thing that would spray bolts in every direction. THAT was a weapon he'd have paid good money for.
"O'Neill? Are you all right?" Teal'c's voice came over the radio in response to Jack's interrupted orders.
"No, we're under fire! S-2, bring in your team and see if you can give us a hand. Everyone else, stay with your teams and keep your eyes open!"
One of Jack's Marines fired his zat in the same general direction as O'Neill had fired, just in case. With an invisible assailant, it was pretty much a matter of hoping you'd get lucky. There was a sudden snarl behind O'Neill, and he looked and saw that Jack had arrived. The yellow lab was facing the same area that they were pretty sure the assassin was in, but it was good to have confirmation. Jack didn't stop to say hello; O'Neill's yellow namesake launched himself down the corridor, ignoring Teal'c's yell for him to return, and Jack and his Marines laid down a cover fire for the dog, making sure to aim high enough to avoid hitting him. Personal feelings for the lab aside, Jack and the other dogs were worth their weight in gold at that moment, and there was no way they could afford to accidentally kill one.
"Get him, Jack!" O'Neill yelled, standing up with his B'kedricti facing the same way as the dog. It was a reckless move, but one that was necessary. They had to get the assassin's attention off the dog, and by presenting himself as a target; O'Neill knew he'd draw the fire, and not Jack.
With a snarl, Jack jumped at the assassin. The lab couldn't see what he was attacking, but he knew it was there, and he knew it was bad. It was enough for him. As a bolt of energy shot at O'Neill, the dog's fangs clamped down on something invisible, and the momentum of the attack made the shot go wild. The energy bolt slammed into the ceiling, and O'Neill launched himself at the assassin as well, barreling into the invisible man full speed and knocking them all three to the ground.
Avoiding flashing fangs as well as he could, the Colonel grappled with the invisible man, wrestling with him as he tried to figure out what he was holding so he'd know where to grab next. He was going to try to strangle the man, since he was way to close to fire at him, and he didn't have a knife on him.
Pain lanced along O'Neill's forearm, and he yelped, even as Teal'c joined the fray. The big Jaffa threw himself into the fight eagerly, his weight pinning the assassin down as Jack slashed at the invisible assailant, teeth catching armor, mostly, but every now and then something soft and less resisting. Blood was flowing freely, and not all of it was Jack O'Neill's.
"Get clear!" Daniel shouted, coming over with his zat. O'Neill rolled off the invisible lump, wrapping his arms around Jack's big furry body as he did so, and pulled the yellow lab off with him. Teal'c waited a moment longer, one hand holding invisible cloth tightly to hold the assassin in place while the other was punching him repeatedly, doing damage even though he wasn't positive he was hitting anything too tender.
When he saw that O'Neill and Jack were both clear, Teal'c rolled off as well, in the other direction. Immediately, Daniel fired his weapon. Once, and then twice.
"Wait!" Jack reached out with his foot, making sure the lump was still there, and hadn't managed to escape. It wasn't so easy to do, since Jack was struggling in his grasp, snarling and trying to get free to continue his attack. Jack held him tightly, though, and when he felt the lump still there, he moved out of the way again.
"Okay, do it!"
The third shot from the zat struck the same place, and Teal'c reached out his foot this time. He didn't feel anything.
"He is gone, O'Neill."
"Colonel O'Neill's the best," The Marine said, as if that explained everything.
"Yeah." Shawn nodded. He knew that.
Sam was worried, but was hiding it. Yeah, Jack was the best. She knew he was good, and she counted on that, but she also knew that there was always a chance there would be someone better, and that some day Jack would run into that person. The added advantage of the Ashrak being invisible just made it that much worse, and she couldn't help but wish that she was out there with him, where she could keep him safe.
She would have felt a little better if O'Neill had put himself on the same sweep team as Daniel and Teal'c. Sam knew Teal'c and Daniel would do anything to keep the Colonel safe – and had counted on that so many times in the past. This time, though, Jack was on his own, and it worried her. Teal'c would protect Daniel – as Jack had known when he teamed the Archeologist up with the Jaffa, but who was going to watch O'Neill?
"Damn it."
Everyone turned and looked at her, and Sam realized she'd spoken aloud. She shook her head, and was about to say something, when Jaffer's head suddenly came up, and his gaze went to the door.
Shawn was off the bed in an instant, the muzzle of the B'kedricti coming up and pointing at the door, while the Marine did the same with the zat he was holding. Fraiser moved off the bed and out of the line of fire, and Sam snapped her fingers at the Marine, and gestured for him to hand over his Beretta, which he did instantly.
Jaffer crouched low on the bed, his gaze intent on the door and the hackles on his back slowly coming up as he tried to sort out whatever noise he'd heard or whatever scent he'd smelled. Sam's gaze went from the door to the dog and back to the door again, knowing that he'd know someone – or something – was coming through it before the thing even opened. Jaffer gave a low growl, almost inaudible, but Carter could feel the rumbling through the bed and she tightened her grip on the weapon she held.
They stayed that way for almost a full minute, everyone in the room watching the door, and everyone expecting it to open any moment, heralding the beginning of a firefight. It didn't happen, though. The door never opened, and even though Jaffer kept up his low warning growls, the threat never showed its face. A few moments later, the growls stopped, and the hackles began to sink back into his fur, although his gaze never left the door.
Sam picked up the radio, and keyed it.
"Colonel? This is Carter in the infirmary. I'd say there's a good chance at least one of your targets is somewhere in this area."
"Are you secure?" Meaning 'are you okay'?
"Yes, Sir."
"We'll be there shortly. O'Neill out."
~*~
As much as he wanted to, Jack couldn't drop everything and run to the infirmary to stand guard over Sam and Shawn. They were as safe as he could get them, and he had a job to do. Besides, he knew that if he did, he'd likely draw more attention to them, and possibly put them in danger.
"Infirmary, Sir?" One of the men on his team asked him as Jack finished the conversation with Carter.
"Negative. We've got to finish what we're doing here, first." Jack motioned for S-4 to continue their sweep, and then moved with his men back into the corridor they'd started in.
"S-2, S-3 and S-5, continue your sweeps, and keep me-"
A bolt of light shot out from nowhere, and struck the Marine next to Jack full in the chest. The man went down in a heap, and Jack's team scattered for cover, Jack and one of the other Marines pulling the downed man with them into a doorway. Another bolt was fired, this one hitting the wall right above O'Neill's head, and Jack brought the B'kedricti up and pressed the trigger. There was a tremendous energy surge that Jack could feel through the metal of the weapon – even though it didn't hurt him – and a bolt shot out from the barrel back in the direction the attack had come from. Figuring there was no way he'd hit the assassin, Jack fired again, this time a little lower, wishing he had an automatic version of this thing that would spray bolts in every direction. THAT was a weapon he'd have paid good money for.
"O'Neill? Are you all right?" Teal'c's voice came over the radio in response to Jack's interrupted orders.
"No, we're under fire! S-2, bring in your team and see if you can give us a hand. Everyone else, stay with your teams and keep your eyes open!"
One of Jack's Marines fired his zat in the same general direction as O'Neill had fired, just in case. With an invisible assailant, it was pretty much a matter of hoping you'd get lucky. There was a sudden snarl behind O'Neill, and he looked and saw that Jack had arrived. The yellow lab was facing the same area that they were pretty sure the assassin was in, but it was good to have confirmation. Jack didn't stop to say hello; O'Neill's yellow namesake launched himself down the corridor, ignoring Teal'c's yell for him to return, and Jack and his Marines laid down a cover fire for the dog, making sure to aim high enough to avoid hitting him. Personal feelings for the lab aside, Jack and the other dogs were worth their weight in gold at that moment, and there was no way they could afford to accidentally kill one.
"Get him, Jack!" O'Neill yelled, standing up with his B'kedricti facing the same way as the dog. It was a reckless move, but one that was necessary. They had to get the assassin's attention off the dog, and by presenting himself as a target; O'Neill knew he'd draw the fire, and not Jack.
With a snarl, Jack jumped at the assassin. The lab couldn't see what he was attacking, but he knew it was there, and he knew it was bad. It was enough for him. As a bolt of energy shot at O'Neill, the dog's fangs clamped down on something invisible, and the momentum of the attack made the shot go wild. The energy bolt slammed into the ceiling, and O'Neill launched himself at the assassin as well, barreling into the invisible man full speed and knocking them all three to the ground.
Avoiding flashing fangs as well as he could, the Colonel grappled with the invisible man, wrestling with him as he tried to figure out what he was holding so he'd know where to grab next. He was going to try to strangle the man, since he was way to close to fire at him, and he didn't have a knife on him.
Pain lanced along O'Neill's forearm, and he yelped, even as Teal'c joined the fray. The big Jaffa threw himself into the fight eagerly, his weight pinning the assassin down as Jack slashed at the invisible assailant, teeth catching armor, mostly, but every now and then something soft and less resisting. Blood was flowing freely, and not all of it was Jack O'Neill's.
"Get clear!" Daniel shouted, coming over with his zat. O'Neill rolled off the invisible lump, wrapping his arms around Jack's big furry body as he did so, and pulled the yellow lab off with him. Teal'c waited a moment longer, one hand holding invisible cloth tightly to hold the assassin in place while the other was punching him repeatedly, doing damage even though he wasn't positive he was hitting anything too tender.
When he saw that O'Neill and Jack were both clear, Teal'c rolled off as well, in the other direction. Immediately, Daniel fired his weapon. Once, and then twice.
"Wait!" Jack reached out with his foot, making sure the lump was still there, and hadn't managed to escape. It wasn't so easy to do, since Jack was struggling in his grasp, snarling and trying to get free to continue his attack. Jack held him tightly, though, and when he felt the lump still there, he moved out of the way again.
"Okay, do it!"
The third shot from the zat struck the same place, and Teal'c reached out his foot this time. He didn't feel anything.
"He is gone, O'Neill."