As his brain shed its drug-induced cocoon, the first thing that he noticed was the intense, damp smell of must and mold. After a lifetime of living with allergies, Daniel had learned to perform a kind of color botany on different smells—sort of a representation of their source; if he had to guess, he would have to call this one… an ugly, dark green—the smell of neglect and decay. His eyes fluttered open. The room was large and damp. Three walls were made of dark, quarried stone blocks caked with patches of lime where water had seeped through; the fourth was a grating of heavy metal bars between them and a torch lit stone corridor beyond. The firelight danced on the far wall greedily. Daniel was seated on the spongy dirt (maybe more than dirt—Don't go there Daniel.) floor, slumped against the damp wall; his wrists were shackled loosely above his head on cuffs hung from the dark ceiling by a heavy chain. Daniel's body was riddled with a teeming ache, as though his skeleton had been disassembled and then not put back together quite right.
All four of them were similarly cuffed and lit by strips of ghostly light from the hall, their faces were all dunked in heavy shadows that lived near the walls; only their eyes and legs visible. They had been relieved of their weapons and packs but their vests remained.
Teal'c turned, the chain clinking slightly as he tried it. "Are you well, Daniel Jackson?"
Daniel groaned softly. "I've been better, but I'm okay. I feel like I just fell off the top of a two story building."
Sam shifted her weight, her cool eyes running over him with concern. "All of us are a little dazed, but that's it. Could that tranquilizer be affecting you more strongly?"
Kyle grumbled with hooded eyes. "That would be my fault. Sorry, Daniel. I'll call the concierge and have him send down the masseuse."
Daniel chuckled lightly and winced gently at the vibration. Teal'c blinked in humor; Sam's eyes turned up a hairsbreadth—more in elation than anything else. Daniel would let them know if anything was really wrong—hopefully. Instead, he sighed easily.
"Don't be sorry. I would probably be dead if you hadn't grabbed me. Thank you." Kyle bent his wrist down and tipped a sloppy two-fingered salute.
"Any time, Dr. Jackson."
Daniel blinked languidly. "How's the arm, by the way?"
Rand's eye twitched in a partially suppressed wince. "Oh, you know. Just a little scratch."
Sam shot Daniel a disbelieving, albeit amused look. Teal'c's eyebrows glided sideways. Even in the surreal light and harsh shadows of the bars, the flecks of dried blood on his jacket and the gigantic sanguine stain glistening on his shoulder plainly branded him a liar. He closed his eyes and reclined against the wall, exhaling deeply.
"I'm surprised they've left us alone this long," Daniel mused. Sam had turned her head to watch the hall; she looked over, her gaze obscured by her own arm.
"They didn't. We had company before you woke up."
Daniel furrowed his eyebrows. "What did they say?"
Teal'c leaned forward against his bonds, trying to see farther down the hall. "We were unable to understand him. However, he was most agitated." Several minutes later, Kyle huffed and sat up, flexing his shoulder inertly against the restraints.
Sam flicked an eyebrow. "Better, sir?"
Rand glared and then nodded. "Yeah. That kinda… hurt." He paused briefly. "…And don't 'sir' me. There has to be a rule against that somewhere." A conspiratorial grin spread across Daniel's face.
"So when do they finally promote Sam?" The Major's face split into an exasperated mess, a small vein visibly bulging from her forehead as she leaned forward.
"Daniel!"
Teal'c raised an eyebrow and Kyle simply chuckled. "Who said she gets promoted?"
Daniel rocked his head slightly. "Well, you said you weren't used to outranking her. Besides, you said you couldn't really do any damage. Since we're not exactly going anywhere soon, I figured it couldn't hurt to ask."
"Within reason, Daniel," Sam shot.
"There are numerous possibilities, Daniel Jackson. It is not also possible that Major Carter was simply retired from duty when first we meet," asked Teal'c.
Sam simply shrugged and twitched the corner of her eye—the last expression of the frustrated and wholly burnt out. Kyle slumped back against the wall and sighed.
"Has not your injury healed, Captain Rand," Teal'c inquired.
"Mmhm," he mumbled. "I just need to re-charge some. That's not exactly an easy trick."
Sam raised her eyebrows. "That has to take a lot of energy."
Kyle nodded limply. "I'd kill for a power bar right about now. Then again, bottomed blood sugar beats bleeding out, so I'll try and look on the bright side." His eyes flickered open, white orbs peering from the shadows. "Speaking of rank. How long have you been a major, Sam?" Her face plied from exhaustion into a shade of bemusement, visible even in the swath of shadow in which she was bathed.
"You don't know?"
Rolling his eyes he whined, "No, I don't know every little detail of your service record off the top of my head. Besides, I suck with dates. Just curious is all."
"Almost five years," she replied. After a moment, she bit her lower lip. "I'm curious about something myself. Mind if I ask?"
His head lolled loosely on his shoulders, his voice was almost a whisper. "Shoot." She pursed her lips slightly.
"How long have you been a captain?"
He took a deep breath. "This again? What the heck; three years and change." Daniel narrowed his eyes inquisitively. Teal'c cocked his head and Sam's face looked apoplectic.
"No offence, but how in the world does a twenty-seven year old make captain?" Rand gave her a look that was definitely sarcastic, but with a dark undertone; it was a look that, over the years, she had seen on Colonel O'Neill's face more than once (and all too recently)—usually when he was downplaying something difficult and life threatening by being a sarcastic SOB.
"My undeniable charm perhaps?" He shrugged and glared softly, grinding in each word. "Maybe the general wanted a sanctimonious smart-ass in the upper operational ranks and I was the only one in striking distance; I dunno."
She saw through the quip and her eyes veiled in bitter understanding. Very fast military advancement meant very unpleasant circumstances—almost definitely in combat. She knew first hand that in those situations, there were only two simple alternatives: shine… or die. More than likely it meant that he had been put in any number of difficult positions; had seen and survived things far beyond his years and, more than likely, had the ribbons to back up that assessment. He just did his job: he didn't think his rank was anything to brag about and didn't think she should be worried about hers. She drew up her legs slightly and looked down. "I'm sorry, Kyle. I didn't mean to…"
He flashed a smile, his face becoming gentle. "It was a fair question. Don't sweat it, ma'am." His eyes slid shut and his breathing evened out, seemingly in sleep.
Daniel threw up a wry smile and spoke softly. "Well, on the up side, there are advantages to looking young: he probably gets discounts at movie theaters."
Teal'c inclined his head dispassionately. "However, he likely experiences difficulty in purchasing alcoholic beverages." Sam giggled. Daniel attempted to shrug while suppressing a laugh.
"Well, would also be a draw back not being able to rent a car."
"I swear I don't know why I hang out with you people," Kyle sneered, his eyes still shut.
"Probably so you can sit at the bar at O'Malley's," Sam conned.
Rand opened his eyes to slits. "You know, I would lay it on but my mom always told me to be nice to the elderly." Sam narrowed her eyes, Daniel winced and Teal'c bared a frightening grin. The irony of which wasn't lost on Kyle.
"Now that we've managed to amuse the oldest person in the room, I think I'm ready to escape."
Sam's eyes rose curiously. "Just like that? It's just that, you know, we seem to be in a bit of a bind," she said shaking her cuffs demonstrably.
He looked over to Daniel and smiled conspiratorially. "Daniel, do you have a spare pair of glasses?"
The archaeologist blinked. "Sure; in my vest. Why?"
"Look right at me," Kyle offered. Daniel complied, curious. A moment later, his glasses glided off his face and moved in a straight line. At a walking pace, the eyewear flew past gaped mouths, across the cell to Kyle's raised hands. He grasped the glasses and twisted the metal frame around, in the process popping out the lenses, sending them scattering around where he sat. Bringing the earpieces close together, he fingered them into the lock of the wet, rusty cuffs, working gently. After a few seconds, a loud click echoed in the cold cell and his hands dropped.
Sam nodded. "Nice work."
"Thanks. Next show's at six," he said staggering to his feet. He moved over and used the makeshift lock pick to free Teal'c and Sam. Teal'c rushed to look down the hall and Sam stood over them as Kyle went to pick Daniel free.
Teal'c crouched at the bars and stuck his hand through them, his fingers spread experimentally. "There is no air circulation; we appear to be deep underground. How shall we make our escape?"
Daniel's cuffs clicked and fell away. He stood shakily and, with Kyle supporting him, took back his creatively shaped frames. He examined them for a moment, turning them over. Finally he sighed and tossed them over his shoulder and reached into his vest, withdrawing a fresh pair. "Yeah, not that I'm not glad to have step one out of the way but… what now?" Kyle walked to the bars; resting both hands on them he peered down the dimly lit corridor.
"That's a good question," he said as he inspected the lock.
Sam had been going through her vest in the meantime. "I have a mini first-aid kit, a sewing kit, two spare P90 clips, some grease paint, a monocular and sunglasses. Same as everyone else." She huffed and joined the others at the bars. "Unless Kyle can bend the bars, I don't see this stuff helping us," she said half-joking. With a pause, she looked at him expectantly. He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows playfully before shaking his head.
"Although…" He cocked his head to the side and looked back to her. "Someone's coming. I give it five minutes."
She creased her face. "Can you tell who?"
He shook his head. "I can only tell apart people I know." He tapped Teal'c's elbow while turning around. "We need to snag a guide," he said shooting Sam a glance.
She nodded curtly, looking at the door. "We lure our friend in here. The problem is still that door," she said with a point at the barrier. The cell was secured with a heavy, cased lock. Inside was a heavy pinned tumbler but the bolt was held in place with a massive sprung hasp; not anything that would be handled with makeshift picks. Kyle ground his jaw and glanced over at Daniel's discarded frames. His eyes wandered back over to Sam.
"If I can hold open the hasp, can you pick that lock?" She looked over at the lock and nodded.
"Sure. I don't suppose you can tell me how you're going to do that?"
He shook his head. "Nah. It would take too long and totally kill the magic." He turned and held out his hand behind him; the frames snapped from their place in the far corner into his palm and he passed them to her.
She accepted them with a slight cock of her head and flaring of her eyebrows. "O-kay." Daniel and Teal'c exchanged weary glances as they went to work. Sam reached around and began picking the lock, perched on her toes at the limit of her reach. Kyle stood next to her and reached around, nearly touching the lock hasp, which popped up with a creak. Finally, the lock clicked and the door swung open, sending them tumbling forward. Teal'c quickly ran forward and grabbed two torches burning on the wall. Passing one to Daniel, they quickly helped Sam and Kyle to their feet. They clambered back into the cell with Daniel and Teal'c quickly dousing the torches on the damp walls. The rich blackness completely enveloped them as they slid to the farthest recesses of the cell; the only sound heard was their collective breath.
Finally after a handful of moments, a quiet tapping and a warm glow began to fill the corridor. The footsteps became louder until a man came into view. He was wearing a tan tunic and dark leather boots and gloves. The man had a well-cropped brown beard, long braided hair and blue, watery eyes. He was holding a large torch, its flames leaping upward; bright and flowing like an energetic liquid. As he found the open cell door he halted abruptly. His face wrinkled in alarm, but a glance at the empty torch sconces seemed to allay his fear and invoke his curiosity. He turned to the cell door and waved his torch around, peering cautiously into the dank hovel. He held the light before him as he stepped in slowly, his heels clicking hollowly on the floor as it changed from stone to dirt. The instant his torched waved away, Teal'c swooped in quickly and silently snatching him up, like a great wave. In a blink, the man had dropped his still burning torch onto the ground and Teal'c effortlessly pressed him hard to the wall by a grip of his tunic a full meter off the ground. The man looked incensed but swarmed with fear. The jaffa narrowed his gaze in the nearly extinct orange light and spoke with an almost gentle softness. "We require your assistance."
