A snarling noise from behind him told Jack that S-3 had arrived. The German
shepherd had his hackles up and was showing off his impressive array of
long white teeth. Jack motioned for the men to take cover, and pointed at
the closest door.
"Clear that room, Lieutenant." He told the leader of S-3. The man nodded, and gestured for the dog handler and another Marine to go into the room. The handler led the German shepherd all around the room, opening the one closet and making sure there were no other entrances to it, and watching the dog at all times to make sure there were no hidden enemies in there. When he was absolutely certain it was clear, he came to the doorway, crouching next to his dog, which was once more snarling and looking down the hall. Obviously there was an enemy in that direction, although the dog seemed to not be entirely positive which way he was.
"The room's cleared, Sir."
Jack pointed to the downed Marine. "Put him in it, make sure his vitals are normal, and get him comfortable, then lock him in it."
"Aye, aye, Sir."
The Marine pointed to two of his people, and they carefully carried the wounded man into the room, disappeared for a moment, then returned and shut the door carefully behind them, locking it down with a command to the keypad. Only a security officer would be able to open it, now, and only Jack or Hammond could do it before the base lock down was lifted.
Signaling that they had done what they were told, the men returned and O'Neill nodded. Now, he had the men to take care of the assassin in front of him, and even better, he had a dog to tell him where it was. Jack watched the direction the dog was looking, and carefully crept out of the doorway he was in. When the bolt of energy came shooting at him, he was ready for it, and dove clear. He didn't go back under cover, though. He dove forward, and landed on his belly on the concrete floor, firing the B'kedricti the same direction the bolt of energy had come from. There was a yelp of pain, and he thought he heard scurrying. What he didn't hear was what he wanted most to hear; the thud of someone falling to floor. Meaning, he'd hit the guy, but only a glancing blow, and the guy was getting away.
"Let the dog loose!" Jack called over his shoulder as he got back to his feet. He wasn't going to let this guy escape if he could help it. An instant later a flash of tan and black streaked past him, and Jack chased down the hall after it, his men following.
There was an echoing snarl, and O'Neill realized that S-4 had converged on their position from the right, and Jack was aware that with the extra men in the area they wouldn't be able to blindly fire into the hallways.
"Keep clear!" He yelled, as another German shepherd streaked past him and joined the other dog, both of them chasing the same assassin. The assassin stopped long enough to try and take a shot at the dogs, but he was rattled, and the shot went wild. The hesitation was all the dogs needed, and they launched themselves at him, teeth flashing and snarls and screams punctuating the otherwise silent corridor.
"Yeah! Get 'em, Fang!" One of the men yelled. Jack turned to see that the men were – for the most part – standing in the open watching as the dogs attacked their invisible quarry.
"Get down!" He yelled at them, aware that they were hardly safe. He dove towards the fray, knowing that with armor on the dogs weren't going to be able to kill the Ashrak, only distract him.
"S-4-"
Laser bolts started coming from two different directions, mowing S-3 down where they stood. S-4 dove for cover, pulling injured men with them, and trying to return fire. This left Jack and his lone S-1 Marine to deal with the two dogs alone. He'd had enough trouble dealing with Jack and the assassin, he wasn't sure how he was going to manage two dogs.
"Call your dogs!" He yelled, hopefully. One of the handlers responded, the other was down. The German shepherds either didn't hear the order, or ignored it. They continued what they were doing, the weight of the heavy dogs pinning the frantic Ashrak down as he struggled to get them off so he could escape. Fangs flashing and ripping into thin air, although every now and then there was a yelp that told of a score. Jack grabbed the knife from the Marine's belt, and dove into the fight.
"Get your zat ready!" He called as he landed between the two dogs, on the invisible lump. Dodging teeth as well as he could – and well aware how much it hurt to have skin torn open by them – Jack slashed out with the knife and felt it hit armor and glance off. The assassin was gaining ground. It was hard to fight someone you couldn't see, and Jack couldn't get a good target for the knife any more than the dogs could for their teeth.
"Get cleared!" The Marine shouted, holding his zat out and ready to fire.
A bolt shot out from the side corridor and struck the man, sending him sprawling, his zat rattling as it was sent flying across the floor.
"Shit!"
Jack turned his attention back to the fight, but the Ashrak was regaining his feet. He was bleeding badly – the floor was spattered with blood – but he was also able to get up, since the dogs and the Colonel neither one could see anything to grab on to to hold him down. A blow to the head stunned O'Neill, and Jack let go just long enough for the assassin to get up. He grabbed at the collars of the dogs, but only managed to get hold of one. The other German shepherd started after the invisible assassin, and this time the bolt of light that came from the invisible gun struck the pursuing dog squarely, and the shepherd went down in a heap.
"Damn it!"
Jack wrapped his arms tightly around Fang, who was desperately trying to get loose, and held the dog tightly.
"Call your dog, God damn it!"
A sharp command made the German shepherd turn his head, and training made him obey, even though he wanted to get back into the action. Jack let the dog go once he was certain that he wasn't going to run down the hall the wrong direction, and then taking a deep breath, O'Neill dragged himself into a doorway, and keyed his radio.
"Who's left?"
"S-3 is down, Sir." The entire team had been decimated in the ambush. "I have Fang and his handler, and myself. S-3's dog is down, and whoever is left from S-1."
"Me," Jack said, tiredly. His head was pounding from the blow he'd taken, but he didn't have time to stop and take stock of how he felt. "We have at least three of them on this level. One's badly hurt, but still dangerous." Jack looked at the dog that was lying in the hall, and wondered if it was just knocked out. God, he hoped so.
"Sir? This is S-5. Do you require assistance?"
"No! S-5, you hold the door open for S-2." They couldn't let Teal'c and his team get ambushed.
"We are on our way back down, O'Neill," Came the Jaffa's deep voice.
"Roger."
Jack turned and looked at the leader of S-4, who was checking injuries while Fang and his handler covered him.
"We can't leave them in the open," Jack said, trusting that Fang would give him warning if there were another assassin too close. He went over and knelt by the downed dog, unwilling to see the noble creature just left in the hallway like a casualty of war. Picking the German shepherd up, Jack carried him over to the closest doorway. "We'll clear this room, and send help once we get back up."
"Yes, Sir."
There was no way they could get all the downed men to the infirmary. Not with just three of them.
"Clear that room, Lieutenant." He told the leader of S-3. The man nodded, and gestured for the dog handler and another Marine to go into the room. The handler led the German shepherd all around the room, opening the one closet and making sure there were no other entrances to it, and watching the dog at all times to make sure there were no hidden enemies in there. When he was absolutely certain it was clear, he came to the doorway, crouching next to his dog, which was once more snarling and looking down the hall. Obviously there was an enemy in that direction, although the dog seemed to not be entirely positive which way he was.
"The room's cleared, Sir."
Jack pointed to the downed Marine. "Put him in it, make sure his vitals are normal, and get him comfortable, then lock him in it."
"Aye, aye, Sir."
The Marine pointed to two of his people, and they carefully carried the wounded man into the room, disappeared for a moment, then returned and shut the door carefully behind them, locking it down with a command to the keypad. Only a security officer would be able to open it, now, and only Jack or Hammond could do it before the base lock down was lifted.
Signaling that they had done what they were told, the men returned and O'Neill nodded. Now, he had the men to take care of the assassin in front of him, and even better, he had a dog to tell him where it was. Jack watched the direction the dog was looking, and carefully crept out of the doorway he was in. When the bolt of energy came shooting at him, he was ready for it, and dove clear. He didn't go back under cover, though. He dove forward, and landed on his belly on the concrete floor, firing the B'kedricti the same direction the bolt of energy had come from. There was a yelp of pain, and he thought he heard scurrying. What he didn't hear was what he wanted most to hear; the thud of someone falling to floor. Meaning, he'd hit the guy, but only a glancing blow, and the guy was getting away.
"Let the dog loose!" Jack called over his shoulder as he got back to his feet. He wasn't going to let this guy escape if he could help it. An instant later a flash of tan and black streaked past him, and Jack chased down the hall after it, his men following.
There was an echoing snarl, and O'Neill realized that S-4 had converged on their position from the right, and Jack was aware that with the extra men in the area they wouldn't be able to blindly fire into the hallways.
"Keep clear!" He yelled, as another German shepherd streaked past him and joined the other dog, both of them chasing the same assassin. The assassin stopped long enough to try and take a shot at the dogs, but he was rattled, and the shot went wild. The hesitation was all the dogs needed, and they launched themselves at him, teeth flashing and snarls and screams punctuating the otherwise silent corridor.
"Yeah! Get 'em, Fang!" One of the men yelled. Jack turned to see that the men were – for the most part – standing in the open watching as the dogs attacked their invisible quarry.
"Get down!" He yelled at them, aware that they were hardly safe. He dove towards the fray, knowing that with armor on the dogs weren't going to be able to kill the Ashrak, only distract him.
"S-4-"
Laser bolts started coming from two different directions, mowing S-3 down where they stood. S-4 dove for cover, pulling injured men with them, and trying to return fire. This left Jack and his lone S-1 Marine to deal with the two dogs alone. He'd had enough trouble dealing with Jack and the assassin, he wasn't sure how he was going to manage two dogs.
"Call your dogs!" He yelled, hopefully. One of the handlers responded, the other was down. The German shepherds either didn't hear the order, or ignored it. They continued what they were doing, the weight of the heavy dogs pinning the frantic Ashrak down as he struggled to get them off so he could escape. Fangs flashing and ripping into thin air, although every now and then there was a yelp that told of a score. Jack grabbed the knife from the Marine's belt, and dove into the fight.
"Get your zat ready!" He called as he landed between the two dogs, on the invisible lump. Dodging teeth as well as he could – and well aware how much it hurt to have skin torn open by them – Jack slashed out with the knife and felt it hit armor and glance off. The assassin was gaining ground. It was hard to fight someone you couldn't see, and Jack couldn't get a good target for the knife any more than the dogs could for their teeth.
"Get cleared!" The Marine shouted, holding his zat out and ready to fire.
A bolt shot out from the side corridor and struck the man, sending him sprawling, his zat rattling as it was sent flying across the floor.
"Shit!"
Jack turned his attention back to the fight, but the Ashrak was regaining his feet. He was bleeding badly – the floor was spattered with blood – but he was also able to get up, since the dogs and the Colonel neither one could see anything to grab on to to hold him down. A blow to the head stunned O'Neill, and Jack let go just long enough for the assassin to get up. He grabbed at the collars of the dogs, but only managed to get hold of one. The other German shepherd started after the invisible assassin, and this time the bolt of light that came from the invisible gun struck the pursuing dog squarely, and the shepherd went down in a heap.
"Damn it!"
Jack wrapped his arms tightly around Fang, who was desperately trying to get loose, and held the dog tightly.
"Call your dog, God damn it!"
A sharp command made the German shepherd turn his head, and training made him obey, even though he wanted to get back into the action. Jack let the dog go once he was certain that he wasn't going to run down the hall the wrong direction, and then taking a deep breath, O'Neill dragged himself into a doorway, and keyed his radio.
"Who's left?"
"S-3 is down, Sir." The entire team had been decimated in the ambush. "I have Fang and his handler, and myself. S-3's dog is down, and whoever is left from S-1."
"Me," Jack said, tiredly. His head was pounding from the blow he'd taken, but he didn't have time to stop and take stock of how he felt. "We have at least three of them on this level. One's badly hurt, but still dangerous." Jack looked at the dog that was lying in the hall, and wondered if it was just knocked out. God, he hoped so.
"Sir? This is S-5. Do you require assistance?"
"No! S-5, you hold the door open for S-2." They couldn't let Teal'c and his team get ambushed.
"We are on our way back down, O'Neill," Came the Jaffa's deep voice.
"Roger."
Jack turned and looked at the leader of S-4, who was checking injuries while Fang and his handler covered him.
"We can't leave them in the open," Jack said, trusting that Fang would give him warning if there were another assassin too close. He went over and knelt by the downed dog, unwilling to see the noble creature just left in the hallway like a casualty of war. Picking the German shepherd up, Jack carried him over to the closest doorway. "We'll clear this room, and send help once we get back up."
"Yes, Sir."
There was no way they could get all the downed men to the infirmary. Not with just three of them.