Colonel Jack O'Neill was not a happy man. Jack wasn't a happy man because General George Hammond was not a happy man, and well, as they say, shit flows downhill. Major Carter and Teal'c wisely chose to sit quietly in their accustomed chairs at the large conference table while O'Neill alternated between drumming his fingers on the tabletop and glaring at the empty seat where Dr. Daniel Jackson should be seated. A seat he should have taken twenty-five minutes ago. Being accustomed to Dr. Jackson's habit of turning up in the nick of time (or a minute or two late) for briefings, Hammond and O'Neill had started off using the time while they waited for Jackson to clear some of the backlog of base issues that had been placed on the backburner because of the latest crisis de jour. That distraction had lasted perhaps ten minutes until General Hammond had been pulled away to answer a phone call from the Pentagon. The general had returned to his seat at the conference table only a few minutes ago, but there was still no sign of Jackson.

"Sir, with your permission," O'Neill requested gesturing at the phone in the center of the table. After receiving Hammond's nod of permission, the others watched as Jack picked up the phone and dialed the internal extension that connected with the first level security office at NORAD. "I need to know where Dr. Jackson is, Airman" he asked. Those in the conference room only had a few moments to wait for the person on the other end of the phone to supply the answer to O'Neill's question. The colonel's sudden frown indicated to them that he didn't like the answer. "Has he checked in at all?" The other three at the table watched as he waited for the answer. "When did he check out last night?" O'Neill asked then waited yet again for the answer. "Thank you, Airman" O'Neill told the security officer on the other end of the wire before disconnecting the call. As he dialed another number he informed the others, "He never signed in this morning, and he checked out a little before midnight last night." They watched as the colonel waited for someone to answer at the number he'd dialed. "It's ringing busy," O'Neill told the others.

"Maybe he took it off the hook," Sam suggested though she had the same knot in her stomach she saw reflected on O'Neill's face.

Hammond pre-empted O'Neill's next request before he could voice it. "Go find Dr. Jackson, Colonel" Hammond ordered, "and keep me informed of your search."

"Yes, sir" Jack acknowledged. "Let's go," he commanded the other two members of SG-1. Carter found herself hard pressed to keep up with the longer strides of her colleagues while Teal'c almost effortlessly kept pace as Jack O'Neill almost sprinted from the conference room. "When's the last time either of you saw him?" Jack asked.

"I checked on him about ten last night on my way out," Sam told her commanding officer.

"Ten?" O'Neill questioned. "We're going to have to review that conversation about getting a life, Major, but not now. What about you, Teal'c?"

"DanielJackson and I consumed our evening meal together at approximately seven in the evening, O'Neill," Teal'c informed his Tau'ri commander.

"Did he seem alright to you, Carter?" the colonel asked.

"He seemed a bit tired, but I don't think he was sick or anything," Sam answered after a moment's consideration. By this time the three had reached the final checkpoint on their way out of the Mountain. It didn't take them long to sign out and head for their cars. With little discussion, they decided if they weren't able to find Daniel at his apartment having two vehicles instead of one would be beneficial. Therefore Teal'c would ride with O'Neill with Carter following in her own car.

Upon arriving at Daniel's building, O'Neill and Teal'c waited in the doorway for Carter to catch up with them then took the stairs to Daniel's apartment. Before they even reached the door, all three could see that something was wrong. The were dents in Daniel's door that had definitely not been there a few days ago when the team had gathered for pizza and poker with SG-2. From inside they could hear the unmistakable sound of a beeping phone signaling it was off the hook. As CO, Jack took the lead position for himself as they walked down the corridor. He then pointed to Teal'c followed by Carter. The other two nodded acceptance of the order of entry. Jack silently turned the door handle and found it unlocked. He held his left hand up with fingers splayed wide as Teal'c and Carter both drew the weapons they had requisitioned from the armory before leaving the base. Slowly Jack counted down to zero then surged through the door with Teal'c and Carter hard on his heels.

Jack silently motioned Teal'c to move right and check the living room. Pointing to himself, he indicated he would search the hallway and rooms straight ahead leaving Sam to check the kitchen. Jack knew Carter and Teal'c would make quick work of searching the rooms assigned to them then one would secure the apartment while the other moved down the hallway to back him up. The search went off like clockwork. Unfortunately none of them found any trace of Daniel in the thoroughly trashed apartment.

Jack re-holstered his weapon then pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "Carter, use your cell and call 911" O'Neill ordered as he dialed his own. "Sir, we're at Daniel's apartment," he said as soon as the person on the other end picked up. "His place is trashed. Looks like whatever happened, he fought back. There's blood, but not enough blood for me to believe he's dead. Carter's calling 911, but I want some of our people out here to check it out." O'Neill listened silently for several minutes while Hammond issued orders. "Thank you, sir" he finally said before disconnecting the call. "The general is sending a security team out to investigate," he informed his teammates. "In the mean time, Tea'c search the apartment for clues to what happened, but don't touch anything. Carter, you and I are going to see if any of the neighbors saw or heard anything last night."

"Yes, sir" Sam acknowledged. She couldn't help but wonder if this was what it had been like for the others when Adrian Conrad had kidnapped her a year ago.