Chapter 4
"So, kids, did everyone have fun at school today?" O'Neill asked with a paternal grin as SG-1 settled into their seats around the conference table later that afternoon.
"This teacher thing isn't that bad after all," Daniel said with an amused smile. "I'm thinking once we finally defeat the goa'uld, I might make a career out of it."
"From what I overheard in the girls' bathroom today, that news will make some people very happy," Carter said with an impish grin.
It took the comment a moment to register, then Daniel's head shot her way. "They were talking about me in the girls' bathroom?"
"Oh, yeah," Carter said suggestively, trying to suppress the grin.
"Come on, Sam! What were they saying?"
"I'm so sorry to interrupt this meeting of the Daniel Jackson appreciation society, but aren't we supposed to be discussing a potentially dangerous situation at the high school -- or did I miss another memo," O'Neill snapped, his tone edged with sarcasm. "Did you learn anything that's actually useful in the girls' bathroom, Carter."
"Sorry, sir," Carter said wiping the grin totally off her face. "Unfortunately, it took them awhile to get through their gushing over the hot new guys on campus, so they'd just started to talk about last week's hot guys, including our bad guys, when the bell rang. One girl did mention that Jake's fourth guy is supposedly a software technician doing upgrades on the school's computer system."
"I don't like the sound of that," O'Neill said thoughtfully. "If one of them has access to the school's computer software, they can pull out all sorts of personal information and confidential data on the students and their families."
"I didn't have much time to talk to the teachers today," Carter added, "but I'm hoping to be able to pump some of them when I go back tomorrow. And if they won't talk to me because I'm an outsider, maybe they'll talk to Daniel. If I can find out where software guy is doing his next set of upgrades, I'll try to arrange it so I can be there and keep an eye on him. If all else fails, I can try to go into the computer system myself and see what he's been up to."
"What about you, Daniel? Did you learn anything interesting in the teacher's lounge today?" O'Neill asked.
"Not particularly. There was a lot of griping about how underpaid teachers are and how so much money is wasted on administrators who do nothing and stupid projects proposed by know-it-all consultants who've never set foot in a classroom. I'm hoping to have better luck tomorrow when I'm not the brand new kid on the block anymore."
"Okay," O'Neill said. "Teal'c, . . . .?"
"Wait a minute," Daniel interrupted, having finally processed everything that had been said earlier. "Sam, did you say 'hot' new guys. They think I'm hot?"
"For Christ's sake, Daniel, focus!" O'Neill barked.
"But they think I'm hot, Jack."
"They're 15 and 16, Daniel. They haven't developed taste or good judgment yet."
"I believe you said hot 'guys', Colonel Carter," Teal'c interrupted evenly. "What other men were these females discussing?"
Carter couldn't stifle the giggle that spilled out, so she tried to cover it with a cough. "Well, now that you mention it, I think both you and the General came up during the discussion."
"Teal'c and what Gen . . . ?," O'Neill started to say, then his eyes widened. "Wait a minute, somebody said I was 'hot'?"
"They think he's hot, too?" Daniel asked dubiously.
O'Neill did a doubletake as the comment sank in. "And just what is that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, nothing," Daniel said innocently as he doodled carelessly on his pad. "Nothing at all. Forget I said it."
Even though O'Neill was shooting him the glare of death, Daniel couldn't restrain himself, "I know what it is! He was wearing the full dress uniform with all the medals wasn't he? I've noticed girls really seem to go for the uniform."
Flashing back to Clare's similar but slightly more off-color comment in the bathroom earlier in the day, Carter put her hand over her mouth to try and restrain the laughter that exploded from her. She only succeeded in smearing her lipstick as the peals of laughter cascaded out until tears were running down her face. She was surprised and gratified when a deep bass laughter join her own and she looked over to see Teal'c doubled over the table, his normally placid face stretched into a huge grin as he too laughed uncontrollably.
O'Neill's head went back and forth between the two of them for several seconds until finally he shook it and bellowed, "All right already, it wasn't that funny."
Carter knew better than to respond to that, but Teal'c forced out between chuckles, "Indeed it was, O'Neill."
"I guess I should wear the dress uniform more often then," O'Neill said thoughtfully, provoking a fresh onslaught of laughter from Carter and Teal'c. Daniel managed to keep from laughing out loud, but O'Neill could see the smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
Finally, the laughter died down and O'Neill brought them firmly back on topic. "Now that recess is over, let's get back to business. Do you have anything to report, Teal'c?"
"Nothing of any import, O'Neill. I attempted to engage the suspect on the construction crew in conversation during our lunch period, but he was very reluctant to talk and excused himself immediately after finishing his meal. At the end of the day, I noticed him watching the cheerleaders and football players practice."
"Okay. As I already told Carter, last night I got a very strange report back on our two people missing from the school. Apparently, they were both approved to go on vacation at the same time with no replacements assigned. Said approval was allegedly provided by General Hammond, although when I was finally able to speak with him late last night, he knew nothing about it. He's checking into it at his end and will let us know as soon as he finds anything out."
"So, what does that mean?" Daniel asked. "Do you think someone faked the orders? If so, who'd be able to get away with doing something like that? Especially orders supposedly coming from General Hammond."
"That's one of the things he's looking into," O'Neill said. "He's very concerned about the possibility that someone in his office has been compromised."
"Do you think it's the rogue NID, sir?" Carter asked.
O'Neill rubbed a hand across his brow and down the side of his face wearily. "It's too soon to tell, Carter, but it's certainly their style."
"But why would the NID be interested in the children of SGC personnel?" Teal'c asked. "What could they possibly gain by harming or taking them?"
"Maybe they don't intend to actually harm or take anybody," Daniel interjected. "Maybe this is just about the threat that it could happen. You remember how they were able to get General Hammond to retire that time by threatening his granddaughters. Maybe this is just a statement to us, or to their parents -- a reminder that we shouldn't get too overconfident because we're still vulnerable in ways we haven't even thought of yet."
"Maybe," O'Neill said thoughtfully, but his eyes had gone far away and Carter could tell something had just occurred to him.
"What is it, sir?"
"Hmm? Oh, I was just thinking about something Jake said when we met him yesterday morning. He said at first he thought they were just watching him, but then, when he started watching them, he realized they were watching other kids too."
When O'Neill lapsed into a thoughtful silence again, Daniel finally said, "Okay, and that made you think what exactly?"
O'Neill shook his head dismissively. "I'm not exactly sure. But what if Jake's initial instinct was right. What if this really is about him, but when the bad guys realized he'd caught on to them, they decided they needed some cover, a way to distract him from what they were actually doing."
"Which is?" Carter asked.
O'Neill shook his head again. "I don't know. I can't figure out where to take the theory from there. If they were just trying to use him against me, they would have just taken him by now."
"What if this isn't about you at all, Jack -- well, not exactly," Daniel broke in thoughtfully.
"What do you mean?"
"What if it really is about Jake himself."
"What could they expect to gain from a teenager," Carter asked.
"You are assuming they do not know who he truly is, Colonel Carter," Teal'c interjected.
"Teal'c's right, Sam," Daniel added. "We know from past experience that the NID seems to have open access to all our records. If they know who Jake really is, all of this makes a whole lot more sense."
"In what way?" O'Neill asked gruffly. "If they know Jake is me, just in a younger body, what good could they possibly think it would do them to try and take him. You've met him. It would be like that story, 'The Ransom of Red Chief.' They'd end up having to pay us to take him back."
The joke netted a few smiles from the others and a muttered, "that's for sure," from Daniel, before O'Neill continued, "He's not going to give them any information. We've changed all the security codes and security protocols he knows about anyway, so nothing he could tell them would be very useful."
"I have to disagree with that, sir," Carter said with concern. "He knows an awful lot about our missions that wasn't in any official reports. He knows about our tactics, weaponry and some of our new aircraft. And he also knows things about the To'kra, the Asgard and some other species that the NID might find useful."
"But, again," Teal'c interjected, "if that was their purpose, why have they not already taken the boy. Why continue this charade? Especially now that they must suspect we are aware of their presence at the school."
"Good point, Teal'c. So, again, if it's not about what Jake knows, what if it really is about who he is?" Daniel said. "What if this is all a test to see just how much like Jack O'Neill he really is."
At O'Neill's incredulous look, he added, "Think about it, Jack. Why else would they watch him instead of just taking him. And why else would they keep 4 or 5 people at the school all the time, especially since, if it is the NID, they have to know we're all there now and we might be on to them.
"And if that's really what they're doing, they're certainly getting good data out of it. Look how Jake's entire attitude toward the situation changed when they made it look like the other kids were threatened. He was totally prepared to handle it on his own when he thought he was the only one in danger, wasn't he? The only reason he called you was because he thought other people were at risk."
"It makes sense to me, sir," Carter said worriedly.
"No, it doesn't," O'Neill said gruffly. "What difference does it make if he is like me. They can't possibly expect to be able to recruit him. They already know from that time they tried to recruit me how I feel about their organization and that they can't trust me. If Jake is me, then logically the same goes for him too."
"But that's just it, Jack. Jake isn't you," Daniel said. "Not anymore anyway. He may have the same DNA as you and most of the same thought patterns and memories you do, but from the moment he realized he was a clone, he became a separate entity, a separate person. For the last year, he's had entirely different experiences than you have. Realistically, his entire life is different from yours now.
"Think of the two of you as identical twins -- I know the analogy isn't quite right, but work with me," he added as O'Neill gave him a disbelieving look. "There are plenty of studies on identical twins that show them getting generally the same types of jobs, marrying women of similar temperaments and appearance, but there are still differences. And if you look at twins who grow up in the same household there is usually a point when they make a concerted effort to differentiate themselves from each other. They may both become doctors, but one will be a general practitioner and one will be a surgeon.
"The studies show that while twins may share a unique bond they also share the instinctive human need for a distinct identity, separate from every other creature on the planet. Jake is already asserting that need by exploring interests that are different from yours. The fact that he knew some stuff in my class that I know you'd never be interested in, that he's pursuing track as a sport, and even that he decided to go back to high school in the first place shows he's making a concerted effort to become Jake and not just be an 'extra' Jack.
"Keeping all of that in mind, how can you be so sure he won't make different choices than you would if given the same options?"
"The boy would be a formidable asset to the rogue NID, O'Neill," Teal'c added. "Even if he is not like you in every way, the fact that he thinks as you do would give them a strategic advantage in anticipating your response to any of their actions."
"Think about it, sir," Carter broke in as O'Neill continued to frown skeptically. "I don't know about anybody else, but my first reaction when this whole thing came up was to think that Jake missed being part of the action and was making all this up to get back into the game.
"What if that's the assumption these people are under, that he's got to be bored and miserable being back in high school and is aching to get back in the thick of things. So they let him sit there and stew for a year, then toss him an interesting little puzzle to worry over. All his . . . your . . . ," she rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air in frustration at trying to figure out the proper way to phrase any sentence that included the shared part of their history, "both of your . . . military/special ops training gets focused on the problem. And it whets his appetite for more.
"What's he supposed to do once this is over? Go back to being a normal high school kid again? Will he really be satisfied doing that once he gets a taste of his old life? Especially if he discovers he can still be effective at it, even with the body of a 16 year old."
O'Neill's frown deepened. It made a terrible kind of sense. The few times he'd thought about the boy's situation over the past year, he'd pushed it out of his mind quickly, hating to face even the thought of being back in high school again instead of out in the field exploring new worlds and chasing the bad guys. It was sadly ironic that he now found himself parked behind a desk at the SGC instead of being out in that field. And he knew how much he hated it. How much worse did it have to be for the kid, who didn't even have the option of pulling rank and putting himself on a mission if he really started to go stir crazy.
"Okay, as much as I hate this theory, it's something we have to consider," O'Neill said. "I'm going back into town to see Jake and run this past him. He needs to know what he might be up against if it all starts going to hell in a handcart."
"Do you want one of us to go with you, sir?" Carter asked.
"That's probably a good idea," O'Neill said.
"It probably shouldn't be me," Daniel said too innocently, feigning concentration as he doodled on his notepad in order to avoid meeting O'Neill's gaze.
O'Neill's eyebrow shot up, "Really? And the reason for that would be?"
Daniel shrugged. "He's a little pissed at me."
"Any particular reason?"
Daniel sighed and finally raised his eyes to meet O'Neill's steely gaze with a steady, direct one of his own, "He was in one of my classes today and was getting an attitude with me, so I leaned on him a little -- by calling on him a bunch of times to answer questions."
"So, you embarrassed him in front of his classmates by making him look stupid," O'Neill said, anger edging his voice.
"The research I did about teaching high school students said you have to assert your authority in the classroom or the students will eat you alive," Daniel replied defensively. "Besides, that's the funny part about it, that's not what happened. If he'd gotten an answer wrong, I would have stopped calling on him, but he kept getting them right. Then I got curious to see just how many he would get right before he flubbed one, but it didn't happen. He must have answered at least a dozen questions and he got them all right. And most of it was stuff I know you don't know and don't care enough to ever want to know. That's what made me think about how the two of you are becoming distinctly different people."
"So you're basically saying he's smarter than me," O'Neill said giving Daniel one of his most withering glares.
"I never said that, Jack," Daniel said with a slightly panicked look in his eyes as he tried to figure out how to get himself out of that one. "I just said he's showing interest in things that are not of interest to you."
"Hmph," O'Neill responded shooting him another glare before turning to look speculatively from Carter to Teal'c, before finally saying, "You're with me, Teal'c."
When Carter gave him a questioning look, he shrugged his shoulders, "Since we're pretty sure the bad guys already know who we are, we're not giving anything away if Teal'c goes with me. Besides," he added, embarrassment passing briefly across his face, "I promised the kid he could see Teal'c with hair before this is over."
A grin spread across Carter's face and she shook her head in disbelief. "Yes, sir," she said, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice.
&
Jake had just made it to the door leading out to the football field when the cellphone Jack had given him rang. With a muffled curse, he pulled it out of his pocket, flipped it open and snapped, "What?"
"Is that any way to answer a phone," O'Neill's tinny voice came through the device. "Don't they teach you any manners in that school."
"What? I knew it was you -- you're the only one with the damn number."
"And you're too young to be cursing like that," O'Neill added.
"What are you now, my father?" Jake snapped back irritably.
"My, aren't you in a pleasant mood today," Jack responded. "Teal'c and I are on our way down there. We need to talk to you about something."
Jake sighed heavily. He'd been so close to making his rendezvous with Lindsay. "Okay, when will you be getting here and where should I meet you?"
"Why don't we meet at your apartment?"
"Gee, what a great idea. It's not like anyone's watching me and might see you," Jake responded sarcastically.
"They'll see us wherever we meet," Jack said reasonably. "Besides, if Daniel's stupid theory is right, they already know who we all are anyway. It won't make any difference."
Jake's mouth curled into a snarl at the mention of Daniel, but he held his temper in check and asked, "what stupid theory?"
"Not over the phone, kid. We'll talk about it when we get there, which should be in about 40 minutes.
"Okay," Jake responded. "I've got an errand to do first, so I should get there about the same time."
"Fine. We'll pick up a pizza on the way."
&
O'Neill pulled into the parking lot of Jake's apartment complex five minutes later than he'd estimated and immediately spotted in the front row of parking spaces facing the building the beat up 1966 Thunderbird the teenager had salvaged from the junk yard and was in the process of restoring. He felt a stab of envy as he pulled his SUV into an empty parking spot in the second row and sat for a moment just staring at the Thunderbird, remembering how much he'd wanted one of those when he'd been a teenager. I guess if he's got to go through high school again, he might as well have some fun doing it, O'Neill thought wistfully.
He forced his attention from the car and glanced quickly around, getting the lay of the land. The complex consisted of four worn looking apartment buildings set in a square with the path leading from the parking lot bisecting the slightly overgrown lawn between the two sets of buildings on each side. Smaller paths broke off from the main path to lead to the front entrances of each building.
As he walked down the main path with Teal'c, who was holding the pizza box, O'Neill noted the location of the fire escapes and emergency exit doors, all of which needed a fresh coat of paint. When they came to the end of the first set of facing buildings, he was surprised to see that the area between the two buildings on each side of the path was wider than he'd expected. The space on the left held a swing set and a sand box while the open area on the right side had been turned into a small garden.
Both areas looked well cared for, and the lines of concern that had formed in his brow as he'd examined the careworn buildings relaxed slightly. He reminded himself again that Jake could take care of himself, but he was still relieved at the indications that the people who lived in this place cared enough to put in small personal touches. It was also an indication that they might care enough to look out for each other.
They turned onto the path leading to the second building on the right and entered the small foyer. O'Neill's level of concern dropped another notch when he saw the buzzer system and the heavy steel door set into a steel frame that was the tenants' first line of defense against intruders. Quickly scanning the names beside the buzzers, he pressed the button next to 'J. Wilcox.'
"Yeah," a barely audible voice crackled over the speaker.
"It's Jack," he said.
"Okay. After I buzz you in, take the elevator to the third floor. It's the third door on the left."
When a loud buzzer sounded, Jack grabbed the handle on the security door and pulled it open, scanning the locking mechanism to check how easily it could be overriden. His eyebrow went up as he noted the slight modification that had been made to make the mechanism more secure - the same modification he'd been going to make himself. As they made their way to the elevator and up to the apartment, Jack automatically took note of the location of the emergency exits, fire alarms and sprinkler heads. When they reached the apartment door, he raised his hand to knock, only to have the door swing open before his fist could reach it.
"It's about time," Jake snapped. "Come in before the neighbors get nervous and start asking questions. I don't get a lot of visitors and you two aren't exactly inconspicuous."
"Hi, Jake. It's nice to see you too. I've had a good day, thanks for asking. How was yours?" O'Neill said pleasantly as they walked through the door and into Jake's small living room.
He glanced around quickly, making note of the battered sofa against the wall to their right with a small coffee table in front of it. The medium sized tv set up on a rickety stand by the far wall facing the sofa had an X-Box system hooked up to it. O'Neill couldn't help grinning when his eye caught the Homer Simpson figure perched on top of the tv. To the left was a small desk with a computer on it. Next to that was a large bookcase packed with books of all shapes and sizes. O'Neill recognized some of them just from their covers since they were also part of his personal collection.
In the center of the far wall was an opening that led to a tiny kitchen area, barely large enough to hold a mid-size refrigerator and a stove. There was only one small countertop in the kitchen area itself, which was over top of a three drawer cabinet. The countertop was home to a small microwave oven and a toaster and had a small dish cabinet hanging on the wall over it. O'Neill could see it all clearly since a large opening had been cut into the wall dividing the two spaces and a countertop with stools had been added to create a makeshift dining/workspace area. Two grocery store bags were leaning at precarious angles on the counter.
There was a second opening next to the one for the kitchen that O'Neill assumed led to the bathroom and bedroom, but he resisted the urge to investigate. Instead he focused his attention on the posters the boy had used to brighten up the living space. It was an eclectic assortment, including tv and movie posters, images from space, assorted aircraft and tranquil fishing spots, all of which had been neatly framed and hung, giving the room a more homey and personal feel.
"Why don't you ask Daniel how my day was," the teenager said peevishly, tearing O'Neill's attention away from his cursory inspection of the apartment.
"Daniel Jackson said you performed well in his class and answered all his questions correctly," Teal'c said evenly, "so it would appear you had a good day."
Jake just stared at him a moment trying to think of a good comeback to that. Finally, he gave up and asked, "what's with the hair, Teal'c?"
Teal'c's eyes slid up toward the top of his head. "Is something wrong with my hair?"
"No, I was just wondering why, all the sudden, after being on Earth for over seven years, you decided to let it grow in, that's all."
"It was time," he responded evenly.
Jake shot a questioningly look at Jack who simply shrugged. "Oh, okay. It looks good by the way."
"Thank you," Teal'c said inclining his head slightly. "We brought pizza," he added with a smile, holding out the box.
"Cool, I'll get some plates. So what's the big emergency?" Jake added, as he moved over to the countertop to put the pizza down. "Oh, you guys want anything to drink? I've got some Cokes, iced tea, water."
"How about a beer," Jack said casually.
"Ha, ha, funny," Jake said.
Jack just stared at him. Finally a grin broke out on the teen's face and he said, "Okay, okay. I'll break into my stash for you, but you owe me for this. It's not easy for me to get the stuff, you know. You want one too, Teal'c?"
Teal'c's eyebrow raised as he said, "Indeed."
Jake went into the refrigerator and pulled two beers out of the crisper. His hand wavered over a third for a minute, then regretfully pulled back and reached for a Coke instead. It was another one of his life's little ironies that he had clear memories of long nights spent drinking his buddies under the table, but now he was back to the days of building up a teenage body's low tolerance for alcohol. Some day, he thought wistfully, but since he knew he needed his head to be totally clear for this discussion, he handed the beers to the other men and popped the top on the Coke, taking a long swig.
"Have a seat," he said, indicating the sofa. "I know it doesn't look like much, but it's comfortable."
As the two men settled themselves, he went back into the kitchen for some paper plates, then carried the plates and the pizza box over to the coffee table in front of his guests. As they served themselves, he pulled a stool over to face them and sat down on it as he reached over to grab some pizza for himself. "So what's the genius' stupid theory?" he asked, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Before I tell you," Jack said, "I'd like to know what you think is going on."
Jake took a deep, considering breath before answering. "I'm not exactly sure right now," he admitted grudgingly. "I expected most of them would be gone as soon as they spotted all of you at the school, but I did a pass through their usual haunts before I left to come here, and they were all still there. Of course, they may be trying to divert suspicion by not running right away, but it's still odd."
"Have you seen the fourth guy today?"
"He was in the science lab working on the computers when I had a class in there today. He never even glanced at me, though; he seemed intent on his work. Maybe I overreacted about him being part of this, but I still don't think so. I can't explain why I'm so sure of it, but he just doesn't fit."
O'Neill nodded. "Don't second guess your gut, kid. That gut's gotten us out of a lot of close scrapes."
Jake gave O'Neill a long assessing gaze to make sure he wasn't making some kind of joke at his expense before nodding.
"Okay, here's where we stand." O'Neill went on to summarize the report about the 'vacationing' agents, the results of the team's undercover work at the school and the basics of Daniel's theory.
Jake absorbed the information thoughtfully, and Teal'c found himself looking from O'Neill to the teenager in fascination, observing the similarity in their expressions and their bearing. It was especially unnerving when Jake rubbed his forehead as if trying to shake something loose and then ran the hand down the side of his face, a common O'Neill expression of frustration.
"I hate to say it," Jake finally said, "but it's a stupid theory that might actually have some merit."
"If it does, they'll probably contact you soon. They can't afford to wait much longer now that we're on site. They have to know we'll be able to ID them soon."
"Tomorrow's Friday," Jake said. "My guess is it'll be right before the end of the school day. That way they can arrange an after school meet without giving me time to contact you; then, no matter how the meet turns out, they can just disappear."
"You up to playing decoy, kid?" O'Neill asked in his most serious tone.
"I can handle it," Jake said defensively.
"I know you can," O'Neill responded. "But that doesn't necessarily mean you want to do it."
"I don't want any of this to be going on," Jake said wearily, "but I'll do what needs to be done. After all, that's what we O'Neills do, right Jack?" he added pointedly.
Jack stared at him for a long moment before finally replying, "That's right, Jake."
11