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.
Chapter 15 - Shaken
Sam wasn't the only one in the car who was terrified. JJ's screams increased in volume, his face full of tears and his arms shaking uncontrollably as he tried desperately to latch onto something that would make him feel safe. Sam quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and turned around to check on the baby. Though her heart was till pounding at the absence of her CO in the passenger seat, she knew that her priority right now had to be JJ. Through the rear window, she saw the second black SUV come to a screeching halt behind her. Sam reached across the back seat, unbuckled JJ and pulled him to her. Wishing desperately for a weapon, she slid out of the driver's side door, intent on running into the trees that hugged the road.
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Jack had felt himself flying out the door as the car landed with a thud. He rolled down the incline on the side of the road, coming to a stop against an old, rotted out log at the bottom of a small ravine. The long, dry grasses rose up around him, keeping him hidden from the top of the road. The wind knocked out of him, all Jack could do for the moment was look up at the bright blue sky and try to take in slow, deep breathes. He did a cursory check of his limbs to make sure they were still all present and accounted for. From above, Jack heard the wailing of JJ through the open doors of the car, as well as the screeching of tires and gravel as the car that had been pursuing them came to a stop. He heard a deep, controlled voice from up above yell out "Stop, Major Carter. Or I shoot you and the boy!" She must have stopped, because the next thing her heard was, "Smith, check on O'Neill. If you see anything move, shoot it."
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Sam had only gone about 20 feet when the man behind her yelled at her to stop. Not willing to risk JJ's life, she ground to a stop and turned defiantly to face the men who had run them down. When she heard the order to shoot anything that moved, she paled, but kept an expression of steely resolve on her face.
The man who had yelled out at her approached slowly, keeping his gun trained on her. He stopped a few feet in front of her. "Well, Major Carter, you certainly gave us a run for our money. And all for nothing; though you may have done us a great favor and taken out O'Neill," he smiled smugly at her. His smile vanished as he grounded out, "Now, hand the baby over real easy and maybe no one else will get hurt."
Sam turned her body sideways, as if to shield JJ from this horrible man. The baby's wails had lessened somewhat but his cries still reverberated throughout the area. "Over my dead body," Sam stated with a deadly glare.
The man shrugged, "I'm sure that could be arranged. Although my boss would much rather have both of you intact, I'm not really too partial to bringing you along in one piece."
From behind him, the other man called out, "There's no sign of O'Neill, Jude. Maybe he landed in the river down below. I think we're safe"
Jude turned around and growled at him, "Go look for him, you fool! If he's not dead, he's still a threat. I don't want to see your face, Smith, until you can bring back a body!"
Smith glowered at Jude, turned around and walked back to Sam's car. He headed down the embankment, mumbling about people who thought they were in charge all the time. Not paying close attention, he didn't see the leg that shot out from next to the rotting log. Smith tripped and landed with a thud. Before he could call out, he felt the sting of something heavy hit the side of his head, then blackness overcame him.
"Ow!" Jack whispered as he shook out the hand holding the gun. That had stung a little. Quickly relieving Smith of his weapon, Jack crept back up the incline and stayed hidden behind the rear of the car, doing a quick surveillance to see what his options were.
Jude had turned back to Sam, his mood having turned from uncaring insolence to deadly anger. "No more fooling around Major Carter, give me that baby. This is a lot bigger than the two of us. If you don't comply, I promise you, worse things are going to happen."
"I will not give this innocent child to you, you bastard! I don't care what you threaten me with or who you work for. You're not taking him!"
"We'll just see about that, won't we?" And he advanced on her so quickly that she didn't have a chance to react. Jude back-handed her across the face so hard that Sam stumbled backwards, twisted around, and fell, still holding tightly to JJ. The baby's wails intensified as he felt the jarring hit and he fell to the ground still cradled protectively in Sam's arms. Sam quickly placed JJ on the ground in front of her and huddled protectively over him, her back to her assailant. She knew Teal'c and Daniel would be there any minute; she just had to hold on for a little while longer.
Jack had crept toward the front of the Volvo, still hidden from view. He felt his anger burning at the way Jude was talking and threatening both Sam and the baby. That anger intensified into a burning white-hot rage when he witnessed Jude strike Sam and knock her to the ground. As the man raised his arm, intent on striking her in the back of the head, Jack stood up from behind the car and in his most intimidating voice yelled, "Drop it!" Jude swung around to look at the person who called out, his gun now pointed in Jack's direction. Jack had his weapon trained on Jude and was pretty confident that he was a much better shot that this bozo.
Sam felt a brief wave of relief upon hearing Jack's voice; he was still alive! She glanced behind her, saw Jude's indecision, and made a quick offensive move. Still huddling protectively over the baby, Sam shot her right back and to the side, effectively clipping her antagonist in the legs so hard that he lost his balance. His arm flew up as he fell, releasing a gun shot harmlessly into the air.
When Jack saw Sam's leg move, he knew what her plan was and immediately rushed over. Jude had barely hit the ground before he saw Jack standing over him with a menacing expression. Jack stood on the arm that still held the gun, rendering it immobile. He pointed his own weapon directly at Jude's head. "One move and you're history," he growled out. He glanced over as Sam shakily stood up. His brow furrowed as he took in the blood dripping down the side of her head and the red welt beginning to form against her cheek. "You two OK?" he asked, his voice still rough with anger.
Sam nodded her head and tucked JJ's head more securely into her shoulder. His cries had become almost hysterical at this point and he clutched desperately to her shirt. "Grab his weapon, then take JJ over by the car," Jack ordered, his gaze now locked back to the man on the ground in front of him. Sam did as he requested, now moving on automatic as she walked to the front of her now smashed up Volvo.
"Get up!" Jack ordered Jude, stepping off his arm now that his weapon had been removed. He pushed Jude ahead of him to the SUV and forcefully shoved him against the front of that vehicle. Jack leaned forward and growled into his ear, "You're damned lucky that we need some answers from you because, so help me God, you'd have been dead where you landed otherwise!"
Jude could feel the anger emanating from Jack's tense form behind him, so wisely didn't say a word. Besides, he still held out hope that the other half of his team would make it down the dirt road and they would be able to turn the tables to their advantage once again.
Just as Jude formulated this thought, he heard the crunch of tires on gravel. Trying to raise his head to look down the road in the direction they had just traversed, he felt his head slammed back onto the hood of the car. "Stay down!" Jack growled as he too heard the vehicle's approach.
He looked over to where Sam was still standing by the front of the Volvo. "Carter, get on the other side of your car and stay out of view."
Sam held up the other gun, "But you can't hold them off by yourself."
"Just do it, Sam! I'll call for you if I need help," Jack stated urgently and a bit more harshly than he intended. He wanted both her and JJ out of harm's way and knew she couldn't assist him and keep the baby safe at the same time.
Sam didn't argue with him; she quickly went to the other side of her car and crouched down behind it. One hand held tightly to the gun, the other to JJ. She waited in nervous anticipation for what was to come next.
Within moments, the second SUV came skidding around the curve of the road and pulled to a stop behind the first one. Before they could move, though, three Air Force vehicles came from the other direction, their tires also spitting up gravel as they approached at a fast pace. Before the lead vehicle even came to a stop, Teal'c had jumped out and had his Zat pointed at the two members in the other SUV. Daniel wasn't far behind, also pointing his Zat and watching the situation warily.
Jack looked behind him to see Teal'c and Daniel with determined looks on their faces. "Nice timing guys," he stated, still not releasing the man in front of him. "Could have used you a few minutes ago but, hey, who's complaining."
"Sorry Jack, "Daniel automatically responded. "Where's Sam?" he asked with some concern. His eyes followed Jack's to her beat up Volvo, where he saw Sam slowly and tentatively walking toward them, JJ clutched tightly in her arms.
"Go over to her, Daniel," Jack requested quietly. "I don't want her or JJ near these bastards." Daniel nodded his agreement and walked over to Sam, taking the gun from her trembling fingers and wrapping both her and JJ in a reassuring embrace. Sam let herself be held; her fear at what had almost transpired causing her to take deep, shuddering breaths in an effort to calm herself.
Meanwhile, the other 2 USAF vehicles pulled to a stop behind the one Teal'c and Daniel had been in and four men poured out of each one, weapons trained on the occupants of the second SUV. Seeing no hope, those men raised their hands and waited to be taken into custody.
Jack pulled Jude up by the back of his jacket and shoved him toward the waiting the SFs. "Get them in cuffs and back to the complex. I want them locked in separate cells. Radio ahead to General Hammond so he knows they're coming in. And tell him I'll want to be a part of the interrogation."
"Yes, sir," his orders were answered by the SF who took hold of Jude. He, along with 3 other airmen, took the three men back to the cars.
To the other 6 men, he stated, "Secure their vehicles. Don't touch anything. Down the hill, there's one more of them. I knocked him out so you'll have to carry him up."
As he watched his orders being carried out, Jack ran a tired hand through his hair. What a day! He thought to himself.
"O'Neill, are you injured?" Teal'c asked, taking in the torn, dirty jacket and the sudden look of fatigue that crossed his face.
"Nah, just a little dirt and grass. A few bruises here and there, but I'll be fine," Jack answered.
"What of Major Carter and the child?" Teal'c continued.
"I think they're OK, T, though Carter has a few injuries. They're both pretty shaken up, I'm guessing. Come on, let's check on them." Jack led the way over to where Sam and Daniel still stood, Daniel's arm now resting around her shoulders.
Sam looked up as Jack and Teal'c approached. JJ had quieted considerably but was still sobbing into the collar of her jacket. Jack locked eyes with Sam, then let his gaze roam over her, looking for any injuries beside the obvious ones on her face. He gritted his teeth in renewed anger as he saw the cut in the corner of her mouth where Jude had hit her. He wanted to take her in his arms, just as Daniel had, but couldn't with all the base personnel around at the moment. He could, however, comfort JJ. So he leaned forward and rubbed the little boy's back reassuringly; and if his hand happened to touch her shoulder once or twice in the process, so be it.
"How are you two doing?" he asked quietly.
Sam kept her gaze on him, her relief at the safety of all of them evident in her eyes. "Well, I think my car has had it, but we'll be OK. You?"
"Fine," he gave her a small smile. "Guess it's a good thing you souped that car up, huh Carter?"
"Yeah, I guess so," she offered shakily, still not over the close call they had just been through.
"You look a little less banged up than your car, Carter. I want you and JJ to head back and get checked out at the infirmary. Daniel," he turned to his friend, "I want you to go back with them. Teal'c and I will stay here until the area is secured."
"Wait…" Sam began as she made a move toward her car.
"Carter, I want you checked out now," Jack stated a little more forcefully, grabbing hold of her arm to prevent her from moving forward.
"I know, Sir. I just wanted to grab JJ's bag. He may need Bart," she explained quietly.
Jack nodded his head in agreement, reached into the car and withdrew the bag that contained Bart. "I'll bring the rest of his things up later," he said as he gave her arm a gentle squeeze before releasing her. He watched in quiet consideration as Daniel escorted her and JJ back to one of the Air Force vehicles.
Teal'c quietly followed his gaze. "Major Carter is very strong, O'Neill. She will be fine; as will the child."
"I know Teal'c," he agreed. "But it could have been so much worse." He let out an angry sigh, "When I find out who's behind this…"
"I will be right behind you, O'Neill, meting out the appropriate punishment for this act."
Jack clapped his hand against Teal'c's back in thanks for his support as the two made their way over to the SUVs. Jack felt comforted by the fact that neither one of them would rest until whoever was behind this was found.
Whew - you can breath now! I would like to mention that, per Iamdragonrider's comment, I did take creative license in making up old HWY 36. Most likely it doesn't exist! Although, here in Minnesota, we have LOTS of roads designated Old Highway such and such, so I figured they might in Colorado as well! Thanks for the super reviews! Story's not over yet!
