A/N: I enjoyed writing this one, and hope you enjoy it too! Keep those reviews coming, I enjoy reading what you think!
"Run!" Jack shouted, grabbing Daniel's arm with one hand and Carter's with the other, feeling Teal'c fall in behind them all. Desperately, the team tried to get out of the way of the rapidly approaching floor buffer.
Chapter 10: Hotwired (A Clean Escape)
Frantically, Jack O'Neill searched for an opening, something, anywhere they could find protection from the high-powered machine that was quickly gaining on them. Teal'c suddenly overtook them, veering off to the side right across the path of the oncoming cleaner.
"This way!" he shouted over the growing noise of the buffer, and years of trust made Jack follow without a moment's hesitation. He'd never let go of Carter or Daniel, and now used his grip to propel the three of them after the running Jaffa. It took him longer to spot what Teal'c had seen that his own eyes had not, an open doorway. Their goal now clear, Jack put on a burst of speed, pulling the other two along with him. The buffer was so close now he could feel the breeze that the large spinning disc on the machine created as it polished the floor. Ahead, Teal'c had taken Carter's other arm as if he could pull the three of them along that much faster.
The next thing he knew, they were all on the other side of the doorway, collapsing on the floor, panting. Well, except for Teal'c, who looked like he'd only gone on a brisk walk and wasn't the slightest bit winded. Damn Junior. Stupid larval Goa'uld parasites.
"Oh God, I didn't think we'd make it," gasped Daniel, doubled over with his elbows on his thighs, his chest heaving.
"Oh, ye of little faith" groused Jack, ducking his head as he brought both hands up and dragged his fingers through his hair, dropping down on his good knee while he caught his breath.
Carter just lifted her head up from her prone position on the floor and looked at them in disbelief before letting her head drop back down on the concrete.
Teal'c walked slowly around his three teammates, examining the room they were in. Curious as to where they were, the Colonel gained his feet and joined the other man. "So, Teal'c, any idea where we are?"
"We are in your office O'Neill." Replied Teal'c solemnly. Daniel straightened at their conversation and Carter sat up, looking at them with interest.
Jack blinked. "We are?" Even as he spoke, he started to pick out familiar sights. There was his jacket behind the door, and his trashcan, which was surrounded by balled up memos that now seemed to be the size of boulders. He spotted his other yo-yo where he'd dropped it earlier, not realizing it had rolled under the desk. And over there, in the corner, was his radio controlled, authentic scale replica of a military style Hummer. He'd been last minute Christmas shopping and had spotted the model (he refused to call it a toy) in the window of the high-end electronics shop and had been unable to resist despite the hefty price tag. Looking at the Hummer, a sudden idea came to him.
"Hey, Carter," he called, "Come over here and look at this."
She rose to her feet, and came to stand beside him. "Sir?" she asked quizzically.
"Carter, I'm thinking we could use some better transportation. Something, oh, a little more noticeable, faster, safer… Don't you agree?"
At first she looked at him like he'd gone nuts, and maybe he had. And then her brow furrowed as the wheels snicked into place. When a smile started to tug at the corners of her mouth, he knew she was thinking along the same lines he had been. She was now looking at the remote control vehicle with a critical eye, assessing.
"Uh, you two aren't thinking of actually driving that thing are you?" Daniel had approached them and had heard enough of their conversation and seen what they were looking at to be able to put two and two together.
"And why not?" Jack crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Daniel in challenge.
Unperturbed, Daniel pushed his glasses up and pointedly crossed his arms as well, returning Jack's glare with a look of long suffering patience. "Because, Jack," he explained as if to a child, "There's no way we could lift the remote."
Jack frowned, his plan suddenly about as useful as a fart in a whirlwind. "Well damn," he muttered.
"Sir," spoke up Carter, who'd only been half listening to the conversation while she mulled over the new challenge. "I don't think we'll need the remote."
"There! You see? We don't need the remote!" Jack gleefully gloated to Daniel, and then his face crumpled, becoming a bit worried looking. "We don't?" He directed his last comment at Carter, who was walking towards the motorized Hummer.
"Sir, I think I might be able to make some modifications…"
"Ah ah Carter," interrupted the Colonel hastily. "Nothing permanent. Unless they're like those other, uh, modifications you made."
"Yes Sir, nothing permanent," she answered distractedly, already climbing up the oversized tire and crawling in the open door. Jack frowned, suddenly wondering if his plan was such a good idea after all.
"Modifications?" Daniel asked, blinking curiously at the Colonel.
Jack shrugged. "It broke. Carter fixed it for me," he replied unhelpfully, knowing what Daniel wanted to know.
Changing tracks, Daniel tried another source, unable to help his curiosity. "Sam?" Somehow he couldn't picture the normally serious Major bent over a toy, even if it was Jack's. Maybe especially if it was Jack's, he thought, remembering the number of times he'd been working or walking down the hall when the little truck had bumped into his legs, trying to trip him or otherwise distract him.
"He tried to use my tools," was all she would say, her head inside and under the very detailed looking dashboard. Sam narrowed her eyes, remembering how the Colonel had shown up at her lab, begging for help to fix his new toy that he'd barely had for three days before it had suddenly refused to run. She'd tried to decline on the excuse that she was busy, turning back to her project, but he hadn't left. Instead, he'd started picking up various tools, and tried to repair the problem himself. The last straw had come when he'd picked up a rather expensive tool she used to measure power readings, and tried to use it as a pry bar on something. At that point, she'd gently but firmly removed the very sensitive and delicate tool from his hand, and promised to look at his toy, but only if he left. Right then.
She'd never admit it, but she had been rather intrigued by the inner workings of the incredibly realistic and detailed toy as she dismantled it; quickly discovering the problem was a simple jamming of the delicate gears due to a tiny loosened screw. It had taken her very little time to fix it, and as she was putting the whole thing back together, she'd seen several rather simple modifications that she could do to make it run better. The Colonel had been a bit surprised when he returned later to pick up his toy. His eyes had widened as she offhandedly told him that she'd enhanced the battery, and modified some of the parts slightly for better speed and faster response time. He'd shifted a bit from foot to foot, blinking a few times, before managing to offer a gruff but wary "Thanks," taking his toy away before she could think of anymore 'modifications' to make.
Later, as Sam realized she'd worked straight through lunch, again, she was only moderately surprised when the little Hummer had zipped into her lab, stopping just in front of her and sounding its horn to catch her attention. She'd looked down to find a wrapped sandwich, small bag of chips and a can of soda resting on top of the car. Apparently, despite his earlier misgivings, the Colonel had been pleased with her enhancements. The man in question was no where to be seen, but she'd known he was nearby when the car had honked in reply to her call of thanks, before zipping back out into the hallway. Sam smiled to herself as she turned back to the matter at hand. If she remembered correctly, the wires that controlled the front wheels were just under the floor panel on the driver side…
Daniel sighed, and shook his head. Obviously he'd get no further information out of the distracted Major, who was in mechanical heaven. Jack just smirked. Resigned, Daniel went to see what Teal'c was up to.
Daniel found the man standing and looking up at Jack's desk. "Seen anything interesting?" he asked conversationally.
"I have Daniel Jackson. Observe." Teal'c pointed to where Daniel should look, and obediently the archeologist screwed up his eyes, squinting to make out the objects on top of the desk.
"Is that…" he started hesitantly, "If you are referring to the water bottle and slice of cake, than you would be correct Daniel Jackson." Teal'c watched as realization dawned with a smile on the other man's face. He was still startled however, when Daniel laughed out loud and slapped him on the shoulder, making him raise an eyebrow over the younger man's exuberance.
Daniel however, remained oblivious. "We should tell Jack!" Without waiting for a reply, Daniel trotted off to where the Colonel stood watching Carter tinker with his precious toy, a growing scowl on his face. "Jack! You'll never believe what Teal'c just found! You didn't finish your cake this morning, and there's a water bottle too!"
Grateful for something to distract him from whatever it was Carter was doing inside his Hummer, Jack followed Daniel back to Teal'c. He remembered that cake, it had been rather good, but he'd had to leave it behind when he'd been called to meet with General Hammond, and had never gotten a chance to make it back to his office.
"We shall need another rope O'Neill." Teal'c was eyeing something under his desk, and Jack followed his gaze.
"Oh no no no no no. No you don't." Jack had to put his foot down. It was one thing to let Carter at the insides of his treasured Hummer model, but this was quite another matter entirely. "Find something else."
"Jack," said Daniel placatingly, "There is nothing else."
"No." He remained adamant.
Daniel heaved a sigh. "Look, I'll buy you a new one. We need food and water, you said it yourself that it was our first priority." Daniel had no shame in tossing the Colonel's arguments back at him, especially when it had the desired effect.
His resolve crumbling, Jack ground his teeth. Why did it have to always be his stuff anyway? With a mighty sigh, Jack gave in. "Fine, use the yo-yo to make your rope."
Grinning, Daniel bounced up on his toes in triumph. "Thanks Jack." He bounded off to help Teal'c get things ready.
"I'll be holding you up to your promise of buying me a new one!" Jack shouted after the retreating figure, receiving a distracted wave in reply. Grumbling to himself, Jack headed back to his prized model to see what Carter was doing to it.
