Downtime Mystery
Airport
The drive to the airport was uneventful and quiet. Silence filled the car and yet it wasn't awkward, years of steak outs and the mere fact that they were good friends and colleagues made it almost second nature, after enduring many a silence in each other's presence. These where the joys of being an air force officer. They found a parking space relatively easy in the hustle and bustle of the early morning airport traffic.
Opening the doors, Sam decided to break the silence.
"Who's going to look after your car?"
"Oh don't worry. Craig always makes sure my car is kept safe when I'm away."
"Who's Craig?"
"Just an acquaintance, a right pain in the neck, you'll meet him in a while." He said stepping out of the car and closing the door behind him. Sam followed suit as he moved round the back of the car and opened the trunk removing the bags. Setting them down while he closed the trunk Sam appeared beside him.
"That is all you're taking?" she said pointing to the small rucksack over his shoulder that definitely wasn't part of her luggage.
"Well," he said, locking the car and picking up her suitcase "most of my things are on the plane" he added as he headed in the direction of the airport entrance.
"Oh." She said not knowing what to make of it all, "right."
And so she followed him into the airport with her mind buzzing of all the strange goings on.
Silence resumed once again they walked through the airport, not even stopping for coffee for there already exhausted minds, they headed for the departures lounge completely by-passing check-in, due to the already surprising and quite secretive nature of the experience so far Sam didn't even bother to ask how or why.
Ahead of them was the passport check desk, where you could see a single figure standing, waiting. He was wearing an overly expensive business suit, his hair covered in gel, plastering it to his head; every thing about him said that he thought he was better than ever one else. The only thing plain about him was the brief case, black and shiny, which he was holding as far way from himself as possible.
"Mr O'Neill." He said with an unnatural smoothness.
"Craig." Said Jack, but only Sam picked up on the hint of venom with which his words were spoken, which clearly showed that he didn't like this guy one bit. "How are you?" he spoke in a not so interested way.
"Fine, sir." He added the 'sir' grudgingly as if unwilling to accept Jack's superiority whole-heartedly. Then forcing the brief case into Jack's only free hand, "Here's the information you required and a letter from Mr McHoan. And your companion?" words said with such distaste that Sam moved forward slightly as if to challenge him.
"Ah yes. Sam, this is Craig Urvill. Craig this is my friend Samantha Carter." Beaming a proud smile.
"Pleasure to meet you Miss Carter." shaking her hand, but seeming completely disinterested at the same time, "And does Mr McHoan know that she will be accompanying you?" talking as if she weren't even there.
"Yes, he does." said Jack with a slight hint of anger and spite in his voice that made the man opposite him visibly stiffen "Where's Marcus?"
"Ready and waiting, sir." Again this title of respect did not seem respectful at all as it slipped past the younger mans lips.
"Good." said Jack, relieved to have run out of excuses for remaining in his presence. "See ya."
"Goodbye sir." he said now completely ignoring Sam's presence which he was all to eager to bring up when he believed that his boss didn't know about it.
"Sorry about him, right pain in the ass." He said now that they were out of earshot. He eyed Sam to gauge her reaction. "Don't worry Marcus is great compared with him."
"Colonel, who are these people?"
"About that." He said coming to a halt and turning to look at her. "Please don't call me sir or colonel while we're out here. The last thing I want it for that snitch to find out I'm in the air force. He'd love handing that information on a plate to McHoan in the hope he'd get my job."
"Ok, Jack," she said reinforcing his name, "Who are these people?'
"Look there's the gate. I swear that in the morning I'll explain everything but right now, we need to get on the plane and get some sleep."
The common sense part of her brain wholly agreed with that assessment but the curious scientist part demanded answers.
"But..."
"Carter!" he said earning him some strange looks from weary travellers and eager tourists.
"If I'm not going to call you sir then you definitely can't call me Carter." she said at a whisper, "It's just as bad."
"Fine. But Sam please, just trust me." Those brown eyes pleaded with her blue ones.
"Fine." Sam conceded after exhaustion tore through her scientific mind. "But in the morning..."
"In the morning." He spoke, nodding his head.
"But now…" he added motioning for her to continue walking.
Looking out the window as Sam approached the gate, she could see a small jet plane waiting on the tarmac.
She found herself standing outside that very plane minutes later, without so much of a flash or her passport or ID.
There where four comfy looking cream leather chairs on the opposite side of the plane from the entrance hatch. Two facing forward, two facing back placed around a table. There was a doorway to the front of the plane which appeared to lead to the cockpit but to the rear of the plane was an opening beyond which everything was shrouded in darkness.
"Take a seat while I put these in the back." He said disappearing into the darkness towards the rear of the plane.
The chairs didn't just look comfy, they were comfy. The leather surrounded you keeping you warm while you sank into it's depths. Jack soon returned. He meticulously closed the hatch, as the last gust of air swept in. He closed it far too meticulously for someone awake at half past three in the morning. He then proceeded to open the door to the cockpit where he had a whispered conversation with a male voice that was supposedly the pilot's.
"Thanks Marcus." were the only words which Sam heard.
Jack took his seat across from her as the plane began to taxi to the runway. Jack looked as exhausted as Sam felt so she said so.
"You look how I feel."
"Thanks." his voice dripping with sarcasm, then he added quite seriously "But it took quite a bit of organising to get you on this...er... trip with me."
"Why did you let me come if I was going to be so much trouble."
The plane stopped.
" 'Cos I didn't want to let you down. Plus' he added as the engines roared at the beginning of the take of sequence, "I like your company; I wanted you to come."
Jack wasn't sure wither he was happy about the engines drowning out his last words, but he wasn't bothered; it was always something that he could say again. But little did he know that Sam had managed to catch every word and was content to lean back into the chair and wait for the take off and accent to be over before she replied. But somewhere around 10,000 feet she drifted off to sleep leaving any kind of reply to be lost in the land of nod.
Upon reaching straight and level flight Jack thought of waking Sam to get her to one of the bunks in the rear compartment but soon gave up any hope of that once he seen how peaceful she looked while sleeping. With that he skilfully managed to slip her from the chair with ease and carry her expertly to a bunk in the back, not once hitting her head off the wall, and possibly waking her.
Without a single stir from her sleeping form he removed her boots placing them neatly at the bottom of the bed, doing the same with his own footwear and pulling a blanket over her he returned to the front compartment content with performing his task well.
Sitting once again in the chairs, he proceeded to pour over bits of paper from his freshly procured briefcase.
Jack himself soon fell asleep leaning over the table and drooling on what he would later realise to be a rather essential document.
