Author's notes: language and violence
Starks had the General in his sights but a few tree branches blocked his shot and he didn't want to give away his position by moving. He knew Anderson and Ford were in position to grab the General if necessary. In fact Anderson was actually less than ten feet from the target. His men were there only as a last resort. But Starks didn't want to risk injuring the target. So he decided to wait until he had a clear shot.
However, for some reason the General had stopped walking. Starks watched as the man looked behind him then slowly scanned the surrounding landscape.
"Anderson, Ford, hold your positions. He knows something," Starks spoke softly into his radio knowing only they would hear his transmission. "I may have to move to get a clear shot."
Coming to a stop, Jacob couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Instinct and more than thirty years in the Air Force, not forgetting the hundreds of years experience he gained from Selmak, told him if he thought he was being watched then he probably was.
His dark eyes narrowed as he carefully took in his immediate surroundings. It was quiet. Something one would expect when standing on a trail in-between the sparsely scattered trees. Only it was too quiet. There were no bird songs, no wildlife activity.
The small hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up. Every fiber of his being told him to get the hell out of there. He wasn't looking forward to a confrontation. His energy level was still low but he would be ready and he didn't actually need to wake Selmak up for her help. Just her presence would make him stronger if necessary. Besides, as Selmak's host it was his duty to protect her...wasn't he?
Major Starks was extremely confident in his abilities as a marksman. And he found it rather amusing that the General made such an easy target standing there with his hands on his hips and his jacket open. Knowing the tranquilizer gun wouldn't make much noise when fired, Starks pulled the trigger.
The dart hit the General Carter in the center of his chest, precisely where the Major was targeting. Starks was a little disappointed, the General didn't seem at all surprised by it. Still, Starks had to smile. It would only take a few more seconds for the tranquilizer to do its work.
'That was way too easy,' he thought to himself, his smile widening.
However, after those few seconds ticked away his smiled quickly faded. He watched in disbelief as Carter yanked the dart out and glared towards the direction it was shot from. The man was not going down and he looked really pissed!
"Son of a bitch!" Starks exclaimed quickly ducking down. "Move in...now!"
The dart had barely hit the ground when Jacob spotted something stirring in the snow a few feet from him. He was instantly reminded of the Tok'ra popping up from beneath the sand to surprise an approaching enemy. Then he unexpectedly had a brief memory flash of a Vietnamese soldier jumping out from a rain soaked bush directly in front of him.
Jacob sprang into action, much like he did long ago, and pounced on the emerging soldier. His reaction was that of the well-trained soldier he was, filled with controlled rage. That rage seemed to give him the strength he needed. And he had a lot of rage inside him today.