It was after 9 by the time Daniel and Teal'c managed to find out where Kinsey was living and then get there. But once they did make it there they had a new problem. It wasn't like they could just go up to the closest security guard and tell him that they were waiting for a dark-haired guy to come by because they thought he might be looking to get even with Kinsey. Not only would that raise an alarm they didn't want raised, but it'd also bring out a whole bunch of questions they didn't want to – or couldn't – answer.
What they ended up doing was finding an inconspicuous spot down and across the street, where they could use the cover of a newer modeled Ford Explorer to hide behind while they watched to see if Ian passed close enough to grab.
They were way too late, though. Ian was already inside.
OOOOOOOOOO
He'd parked the Explorer down the street, out of view of the main entrance but close enough that it'd be near by if he needed it. Opening the case, he'd taken two devices from it. Devices he was certain he knew how to use and certain that he could use, and had slipped one on his hand and the other in his pocket. After closing the hatch of the Explorer and relocking it, Ian ducked into an alley and triggered the device in his pocket. No one saw him leave the alley a moment later, and they didn't see him enter the hotel – right past a team of Secret Service agents who were guarding the door.
He took plenty of time checking out the hotel. Although no one could see him – and thanks to the technology of the Ancients, they wouldn't be able to hear any noise he made or anything like that – he still needed to make sure he waited to open doors until there wasn't anyone around, and he ended up taking the stairs more often than the elevators, because he didn't want to risk some group of people coming into the elevator and trapping him there.
He looked for Kinsey's room and found it was the Penthouse. Big shock there. Pompous asshole. Ian slipped past the security there as well and found himself a corner of one of the rooms to hide in and observe what was going on around him, watching through a door while a medical staff of three settled Kinsey for the night. With a scowl no one could see, Ian noticed the man was still a jerk – even to the people that were trying to help him.
Robert Kinsey was heartily tired of doctors. He was tired of people helping him reach for things; he was tired of people asking him how he was doing. He was tired of not being able to move around on his own and he was damned tired of going to bed at 8 PM every night because that was when his doctors put him to bed. He wasn't a fucking child; he was a grown man – and the Vice President! He should be able to stay up as late as he wanted. But he couldn't. Because his legs and arms were at a very important stage in their healing where the doctors insisted he needed to rest as much as possible so he would have the energy needed for bone regrowth and whatever else they mumbled about when he wasn't really listening to them.
"Is there anything else I can do for you Mr. Vice President?"
Kinsey turned his scowl to the pretty nurse that was tucking his blankets around his legs, and was forced – once again – to resist the urge to tell her exactly what he wanted her to do for him. For one thing, she was married and not at all interested in him. For another, Kinsey had seen her husband a few days before and the man looked plenty big enough to kill him for even making a suggestion of a pass at his wife.
If he were up on his feet and able to strong arm her, he might be tempted to try a little seduction – or figure out some way to black mail her – but he wasn't, and he was too sore all the time from the healing bones to really be all that interested in coming up with a good scheme to get her into his bed for a few hours. He'd wait until someone easier came along – or until an opportunity presented itself.
"No, I'm fine. Just get out."
The nurse gave the blankets over his legs a final adjustment – and Kinsey decided she was being rough with him because she didn't like his attitude. He frowned, but before he could call her on it, she and the others were gone. And they wouldn't be back until the next morning – unless of course he needed them. Then he'd push the little button on the stand next to his bed and a nurse and an agent would both come running to see what he needed.
He was tempted to call them back, telling the nurse that he needed to go to the bathroom, which would annoy her mightily he knew. He could pretend that his hands were too sore tonight to do the unzipping himself and then she'd have to, and her hand would probably brush up against… but she probably wouldn't. She'd probably have one of the agents do it for her, and they would, because they all liked her and didn't want her to have to do anything she didn't want to. Kinsey didn't want any of his secret service detail to have their hands that close to his privates. Besides, he was too tired after his day of therapy to be getting out of bed – especially to pretend to need to pee.
He settled into his bed a little more comfortably, flipping through the channels on the TV looking for something worth watching. Anything to take his mind off how much he ached. Maybe a dirty movie… except that would give him other problems that he had no way of handling just then. He scowled, and switched to another channel, so intent on the TV that he never even noticed the door open just a little more than it had been – or noticing that it closed completely a moment later. Although he did turn when he heard the click of the lock, unsure what the sound was and looking to see if someone was coming in.
There was no one there, though. Some breeze must have blown the door shut, and Kinsey was going to make sure someone knew about it if he caught a chill because someone didn't close the fucking window in the main room of the suite properly. He reached for the buzzer on the stand, thinking that maybe he'd chew someone out now. That would be a pleasant distraction from the aches and pains – and might even help him go to sleep.
His hand froze in mid-motion, though, and Kinsey stared at it. Because he hadn't been the one to stop it. As a matter of fact, he was still trying to reach for the buzzer, but something invisible had hold of him. That was when he realized that the rest of him couldn't move, either. He was completely paralyzed.
A form appeared out of thin air, then. Just beside the now closed door. A pale figure with dark hair, and dark eyes that looked tired and angry and almost desperate. Kinsey felt a shiver of fear. For just a moment he thought he was looking at some sort of ghost or specter. Then it stepped closer, and he saw that it was just some kid. Incredibly young and way too inexperienced to be any sort of threat to someone like him. At least, he thought that until the figure spoke. Then he heard a voice that was just as dangerous as any he'd ever heard before. There was a quality to it that actually sent a shiver of fear down Kinsey's spine.
"Hello, Senator… we need to have a talk…"
OOOOOOOO
"That went far better than I ever could have imagined…"
Jack nodded, and watched as Sam undressed and joined him in bed. She'd gone to check on Shawn once more, but had reported he'd fallen asleep No real shock there, since it had really been a long day for the boy – and Jack and Sam, although not to the same extent. They'd all been so tired that they'd simply called it a night once Shawn's grandparents and Roberts had left for the evening. A quick meal of sandwiches and milk to send them to bed feeling full enough to live through the night, and then a quick run outside for Jaffer and Jack (the dog).
Jack had checked Shawn right after he'd gone to bed, giving the cadet time to settle for the night before coming in to check on him, but Shawn was already almost asleep. His eyes were heavy as Jack hung around, making sure that if he needed to talk he'd find an ear in Jack, or a shoulder if that was what he needed. Shawn wanted to both, but was secure in the knowledge that he'd have both as long as he needed. Jack would be there when he woke up, and that was enough to put him to sleep. So Jack had left him, resisting the urge to cuddle with him for a while. Like Shawn, Jack knew they had all the time in the world for such things, even though Shawn was rapidly reaching an age where he wouldn't really want to cuddle any more. At least, not with him. Ah well. He'd gone outside, gathered his dog and Jack and the three of them had gone to bed where they waited for Sam to join them.
"Yeah, it did." Jack smiled as Sam joined him in the bed, shifting around two great big dogs to get to her customary position next to him. When she did, he made sure she was covered, and then cuddled up against her, his hand brushing her soft skin tenderly. It wasn't really an invitation – there wasn't much room on their bed for anything too physical – it was just something he loved to do, and Sam smiled, and leaned into the touch, because it pleased her as much as it did him.
"He's quite good at speaking his mind without upsetting people…"
"He gets that from me."
She snorted, and he couldn't help but grin. Yeah, okay. Maybe he didn't get that from him.
Still amused, Sam ran her hand along Jack's thigh, her eyes watching his reaction as she caressed him, and Jack shivered in delight at her touch. A touch that would never fail to arouse him. Not even if he was a hundred and ten. He pulled her carefully closer, because it was obvious that Sam wasn't as tired as she had been, and how much room did they need, really?