As Sam passed a table near the back of the café, two men lowered their newspapers, left some money on the table, and left the café. They went out to the parking lot where a black SUV sat parked under a tree in the far corner of the lot. A carbon copy of the car drove slowly passed the parking lot, its driver looking directly at the driver of the other car. He gave a slight nod, got into his car, and pulled into a less conspicuous spot on the street; ready to follow a small Volvo back up the mountain.
Chapter 14 – Incident on Highway 36
Sam yawned as she placed JJ in his car seat. She covered her mouth and looked sheepishly over at Jack. "Want me to drive?" Jack asked, leaning against the car, his arms resting against its roof. "You didn't get much sleep last night," he needlessly reminded her.
Sam shook her head. "No thanks. I'll be fine. It's only 20 minutes back up the mountain."
"Ok, but if I see you closing your eyes the tiniest bit, we pull over. No arguments."
"Yes sir!" Sam gave him a sloppy salute accompanied by a grin before she got into the car. She looked back at JJ before starting up the Volvo, smiling at the big yawn that escaped from him as well.
Jack had glanced back as well. "Looks like you're not the only one who's a bit tired. You sure you don't want to take a snooze and let me drive? I promise I won't put a dent in your little vehicle."
"I'm fine, Jack, really. Besides, I don't think you could handle this souped up car!" she shot back with a quirk of her lips.
Jack rolled his eyes, "Right," he replied as he took Bart out of the diaper back, handed him to a sleepy JJ, then settled himself into the passenger seat.
They traveled in companionable silence; no cookies or toys were traded back and forth between the front and back seats this time. JJ had fallen asleep within five minutes, Bart clutched tightly in his right hand. Sam turned the radio up a bit, humming along to the pop song that came on. Jack's eyes tracked frequently between her and the road, making sure that she was indeed alert enough to be driving.
His scrutiny didn't escape her notice. "You can stop watching me like a hawk, Jack. I am perfectly fine. I've driven home much more tired than I am now, and have always arrived safely."
"Well, that's reassuring," he said sarcastically. "Remind me to give you the third degree next time you try doing that."
Sam chuckled but kept her eyes on the road. Jack let himself relax; he knew she would never do anything to endanger JJ, or him for that matter, he thought with a grin.
Sam made the turn onto what was known as old Highway 36. Formerly a heavily traveled road, it was now only used by those who traveled to the Cheyenne Mountain complex. The road contained many twists and turns and could be deemed hazardous in inclement weather. Today, however, was another picture perfect fall day. The roads were a bit wet in spots due to last night's rain. The sun though, had dried up much of the water, except in various patches along the side of the road that were hidden in the shadows of the trees.
Sam had been driving along quietly for another few minutes when something began to bother her. Her brow furrowed in concentration as her eyes flickered rapidly between the road in front of her and the rearview mirror. Jack, noticing the frown, asked quietly, "What's wrong Sam?"
Sam lifted her chin slightly to the rearview mirror, indicating that it was something behind them. "I'm not sure, but I think we're being followed. That black SUV was behind us before I made the turn onto 36. Now it appears to be closing in on us."
Jack turned around to look out the back window, frowning in concern as the vehicle behind them began to inch closer. It was still a good 50 feet away but he could tell it was increasing its speed. "Do you recognize it?" Sam asked with some trepidation.
"Nope," Jack turned around and reached into his jacket for his cell phone. Sam glanced over at him, wondering who he was calling. She didn't have to wait long as she heard him clearly say, "General Hammond, please. It's Colonel O'Neill." She listened to the one-sided conversation as she kept her eyes on the road and on the vehicle behind them. "Sir, Carter and I are on our way back up the mountain. We seem to have attracted some attention." "A black SUV, Sir. I can't distinguish any plates." "Yes, sir, I'd appreciate that General. If you could also send a team down the old service road, that would be helpful. Yes General," Here he glanced over at Sam, "I will, Sir. Bye."
She slowly increased her speed as the conversation took place between Jack and the General, wanting to keep the distance between the approaching vehicle and her car as far apart as possible. She was beginning to get a very bad feeling about this. Sam glanced over at Jack, "What's the plan, Sir?" she automatically fell back into military mode due to their situation.
"The General's going to send a few teams down the mountain to intercept us. Teal'c and Danny will be coming down the old service road with some SF's. I think our best bet it to duck in there when we get to it. Can your car handle the rough road, Carter?"
"That shouldn't be a problem…Damn it!" she yelled out suddenly, her lips pursing in concentration.
Jack turned around to see what happened. The SUV had pushed closer with a burst of speed and moved into the left lane. Not only was it coming up fast on their tail, there was another SUV right behind it! "Son of a …! This is no coincidence. Step on it Carter!" he fairly yelled.
"I am!" she responded as she pressed down on the accelerator. The extra work she had put into her Volvo was enough to keep it ahead of the black monstrosity on her right, but not for long. Within moments, it had gained on them once again and was now zipping alongside her. Jack looked over to see if he could discern who the passenger was, for there were two men in the vehicle next to them. They both wore dark glasses and the car had tinted windows so he couldn't make out any identities.
Suddenly, the SUV swerved over to the right and jolted the little Volvo, causing Jack to swear out loud and Sam to tighten her grip on the wheel. She was able to keep her car on the road during the first bump but wasn't sure if she could were they to try it again. The SUV was so much larger than her car that it could easily run her off the road. Sam began to feel real fear as panic set in. It increased tenfold when the SUV jolted her once again, causing her car to hit a patch of water and begin to swerve back and forth on the road.
JJ woke up at the second bump, startled from his sleep by the sudden jolts and the raised voices of the people in the car. He could feel the fear and tension and began to cry. Which made Sam all the more determined not to let these bastards get to them. With renewed effort, she brought the car under control.
"I can't keep this up for long, Sir." Sam gritted out through clenched teeth.
"I know. Just up ahead, beyond that outcropping of rocks, is the turn off for the service road," he pointed out. "Get up close to it, hit the brakes and make that turn as fast as you can. Hopefully we'll at least lose this bastard next to us," Jack said with controlled fury. He reached into her glove compartment and took out the weapon he had stored there before they left. He glanced back at JJ, offered a quiet, "It's OK little man, nothing's going to happen to you," and checked to make sure his weapon was loaded and ready.
Sam saw the rocks Jack had mentioned up ahead, retightened her grip on the wheel, and ground out, "Hold on." She was within 15 feet of the service road, which was slightly obscured by overgrown bushes, when she hit the brakes, turning the wheel to the right as she did so. JJ's cries increased as they flew in the air some 10 feet or so and landed hard on the gravel service road. Sam didn't slow down at all as she took to the new road, her Volvo wobbling back and forth as she tried to regain control. From her rearview mirror, she could see the first SUV fly past the service road; it was too large and heavy to make the quick turn. Unfortunately, the second vehicle was able to slow down in time and make the turn, although it was several feet further behind them than the first one had been.
"Good driving Carter," Jack offered automatically. "We've lost one of the bastards, at least for a little while. We've got about a mile or two on this road before we reach the gates of the SGC. Hopefully, the cavalry are on their way down to meet us…" He was interrupted by another jerk as the second SUV hit them from behind. "Damn!" they chorused together.
Jack unhooked his seatbelt and turned around, tucking bags and blankets around JJ to secure him more firmly. He didn't want JJ hurt with all the jostling going on. "Jack! What in God's name are you doing?" Sam asked, the fear becoming evident in her voice even as she continued to drive with firm resolve
"I need to make sure JJ is protected." He turned back around. "Listen Sam, I'm going to unroll the window and try to take a few shots. Hopefully I can slow them down."
"You can't! It's too dangerous! I don't know if I can control this car again if he bumps me," she glanced over at him, a desperate look in her eyes.
"If I can slow him down, he won't bump you again. We've been in worse situations than this, Carter, and come out unscathed. I expect nothing less this time, got it?" At her nod, he continued, "Your primary objective is to get the baby back to the SGC safely, you understand? If anything happens to me, you leave me and get him back there," Jack stated firmly. Sam took a deep breath and nodded her agreement, the familiar tones of his commands helping to calm her down somewhat.
Just as Jack was about to roll down the window to carry out his plan, they were hit once more from behind. This time, though, the driver of the SUV was able to put enough pressure on the hit that he made Sam lose control altogether. It didn't help that she hit another wet patch in the road. Sam felt the car begin to spin helplessly out of control. She pulled with all her might on the steering wheel, trying desperately to keep the car from going into the ditch on the side of the road. They careened back and forth for a few seconds when, suddenly, the car hit a hole in the road, rose into the air for an impressive launch of about 15 feet, slammed down and was stopped abruptly by several scraggly trees along the edge of the road. The Volvo teetered precariously on the incline that led down to a steep ravine.
Sam's head slammed into the steering wheel, causing stars to dance in front of her eyes and a thin trickle of blood to begin trailing its way down the side of her face. She fought against the blackness that was threatening to overwhelm her, looked over to where Jack was supposed to be, and yelled out a terrified, "Jack!" upon seeing the passenger door wide open and no sign of her CO.
A/N: Heart pounding? Mine was after writing that! Don't worry, I shan't leave you in suspense for long. The next chapter is almost done.
