A/N: Thank you everyone for his or her kind words and thoughts. Grandpop passed away just before I posted this, peacefully yesterday morning at 9am.

And thank you for proving me wrong, with all the lovely reviews. The story truly is nearly almost done this time, I have no new plot twists to throw at you, so when I didn't get too much feedback from folks I knew had been following the story I thought maybe they'd lost interest. Not that it would have stopped me from finishing mind you, since I knew people were still reading it! And some people were still leaving comments (thank you so much, you know who you are!) Anyway, always appreciate it; it's such a nice spirit lifter, especially when you've worked so hard on a chapter, to see what people think of it. So. Two more after this one, and we're really, really done!

No sooner was O'Neill inside and the door shut was Carter accelerating, leaving Jack little time to scramble into his restraints. He had only a single moment to catch a glance out the back window of the tall bright flames when the flames had consumed the rag; their only indication the chemicals had caught was a strange whooshing noise. Without warning, a tremendous force of pressure blew into them, sending the Hummer skidding out of control!

Chapter 20: A Little Heist

Somehow Carter maintained control of the Hummer, despite the force of the blast behind them. Overhead an alarm sounded, and water started to pour from the ceiling as the sprinklers came on in full force, making it hard to see out the windshield. Carter didn't need anyone to tell her that their position would soon be overwhelmed with the enemy, so as soon as she had regained control of the Hummer she put the figurative pedal to the metal and booked, zipping around the closing blast door in the nick of time and heading to the corner opposite to where the weapons locker was, immediately cutting the engine and hoping no one had seen them. Water dripped off the outside of the little vehicle, and they fervently hoped that any tire tracks they'd left would go unnoticed in the commotion they'd caused.

It seemed they'd found their cover not a moment too soon, as the two aliens they'd spied earlier came pounding down the corridor as soon as she'd parked the Hummer. Jack motioned for everyone to stay quiet, despite the fact that no one would ever hear them. After several moments when no other aliens appeared, the Colonel gave Carter the indication to proceed ahead. Cautiously, she did so, edging down the hall. There were no aliens in sight, but there was a nearly empty weapons locker, the contents of which were lying in piles in the hall.

Quickly, SG-1 got out of the Hummer, looking at the sorted stacks of weapons. "Well, that solves one problem." Jack said, running his hand through his hair. "But why were they emptying out the locker anyway? What would they want with our stuff, if they had their glowy pen thingys?"

Daniel was frowning too. "Jack, if I remember correctly, the delegation was attempting to negotiate for weapons in a dispute they were having, I guess its something the other side didn't have, when they were basically evenly matched."

"Well Hammond would never go for that. Talk about a five finger discount." Jack sighed. He hated when aliens got pushy and decided to just take what they wanted.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "I believe the intruders had six fingers O'Neill."

"It's just an expression Teal'c." Jack sounded exasperated.

"Sir, I think we should be able to lift one of the smaller knives and maybe a grenade but probably not anything more than that." Sam interrupted, eyeing the armament with speculation.

"Ok kids, we better make double time before those sticky fingers get back here then." The Colonel moved towards the closest grenade, appraising the logistics of getting the thing into their transportation.

In the end, it took all four of them to lift the grenade into the back of the hummer and the boot knife had to go on top because it was too long to fit inside. They used the string to secure both items. As they were getting ready to head out Daniel noticed something else. "Um, hello."

"Daniel?" Jack raised an eyebrow enquiringly.

Daniel shoved at the handle of a knife, revealing his find. A small pistol.

"Sweet. Carter, see if you can find some bullets for it."

The pistol was small enough that they could manhandle it into the back of the hummer along with the grenade, although it was a tight fit, and the muzzle was pointing uncomfortably towards them. Still it wasn't loaded, they reminded themselves. Miraculously, Carter located a box of bullets not far from the pistol, and while they couldn't take them all, they did bring along a half dozen, which they taped together and loaded into the Hummer.

"Ok, lets go stage a break out. Hey, Carter, you think we'll get a raise for getting Hammond free?" Jack grinned at Sam.

"I don't know sir, he gave me a commendation for knocking him out."

"Well, there's always that." Jack shrugged, and climbed into the Hummer.

Teal'c raised an eyebrow.

Sam grinned and started the motor as soon as everyone was strapped in. They detoured around their diversion, again encountering no resistance.

"Where is everyone?" Jack muttered darkly, his eyes narrowed warily.

"Perhaps the initial strike force has not had time to bring reinforcements from their world O'Neill," speculated Teal'c, an eyebrow raised.

"It hasn't been that long, only a few hours," agreed Daniel from the backseat.

"Hmmph." Jack didn't like it, it was too quiet, and that could only spell trouble.

Sam didn't much like it either, and kept her eyes peeled for any signs of the aliens or anymore of their unusual weapons, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Well, nothing except for empty halls, they must have secured all of the base personal somewhere. Since they only knew where the General and Doctor Fraiser and techs were, that's where they were headed, since they were accessible to them at their current size, and SG-1 had no way of riding the elevator or opening doors. Sam didn't really relish another trip through the ventilation shafts anyway.

Even with their cautious pace, they reach the infirmary in a matter of minutes and Sam pulled around the corner, dousing the Hummer's headlamps and immediately easing the vehicle behind a piece of equipment. Jack signaled to Teal'c and slipped out of the Hummer, motioning to Daniel and Carter to stay put. Sam watched the two men slip out of sight. Moments later, Jack and Teal'c were climbing back in.

"They're awake and alone, and no sign of those floating doo-dah's anywhere, let's go. The General is over there. His hands are down lower, he might be able to reach the knife." Jack pointed over to the second bed and Sam followed his direction, wasting no time, every sense alert.

To say General Hammond was surprised to see the little Hummer come zipping up to him would have been an understatement. He'd woken groggy, sore, and disoriented, and more than a bit pissed off to discover that he, along with Doctor Fraiser, and the infirmary staff were all tied securely to the bed frames. Their attempts to free themselves had thus far been unsuccessful. Earlier, Hammond had heard the fire alarm, and had wondered if any of his people had been successful in fighting back this incursion. And then Janet had pointed out that the little Hummer was missing from the next bed, and Hammond had spared a thought of worry for the miniature SG-1. Had their unknown assailant discovered the small people? Or worse, and Hammond shuddered, had they not even been noticed and the small people been killed or accidentally crushed?

And so it was with mixed relief and surprise that Hammond observed the arrival of the remote control vehicle, and with even more amazement noted what appeared to be a boot knife secured to the top of the car. The vehicle pulled up alongside of him. "SG-1?" he asked gruffly. The little car honked in reply, then maneuvered behind him. Hammond caught Doctor Fraiser's eye, who was watching curiously with a bit of hope, than turned back to watch the little car, craning his neck to keep in it sight, just in time to see the two passenger side doors open and two tiny figures get out and climb to the roof of the Hummer. The figures quickly untied the strings holding the boot knife to the top of the Hummer and gave it a shove. Hammond could see though that it was obviously very heavy for them, so the rest would be up to him.

"Thank you SG-1" He could swear he could see the darker figure nodding and the lighter one saluting as they swung back down into the truck. And now it was time for the tricky part. No longer a young, slim man, Hammond twisted as best he could. His fingers stretched, pulling against the rope. Squeezing his eyes shut in concentration and biting his lip, his fingers quested, just barely brushing against the handle. Shifting just a bit more, careful not to bump the little vehicle, Hammond was able to grasp the knife more fully. Carefully rotating the blade around, Hammond went to work on the thick cords binding his hands.

Several minutes later, the General had a few small nicks and his hands free to show for his efforts. Sparing a quick glance of gratitude at the little Hummer, Hammond moved across the aisle to free the bonds of first Fraiser and then the nearest technician, when a little honk drew his attention back to the Hummer. He noticed that the back door was now open. Getting down on hands and knees and peering closely, he could see three figures pulling at something in the back compartment. He also saw the driver's door was open, and a fourth tiny figure waved a tiny salute. He smiled. "At ease Major," he said recognizing the driver, and source of the horn that had caught his attention. And then his eyes widened as he caught sight of what the other three members of SG-1 were manhandling out of the back of the Hummer.

A grin spread across Hammond's face as he reached to gently relieve the tiny figures of the grenade. "Very good SG-1, you've really outdone yourselves this time." The horn sounded again, and Hammond's brow furrowed. "Is there more?" he asked. The three figures stepped away from the vehicle and Carter closed the driver's door before she pulled away and backed the Hummer up to him in a clear invitation for him to look inside. Exchanging a look with Janet who'd come over, Hammond set down the knife and leaned down to peer inside the back of the vehicle, his grin coming back even wider. "Hot damn, but I this is one debriefing I can't wait to hear," Hammond muttered as he gently reached into the back of the Hummer and pulled out the pistol and bullets, then passed them to an airman that the others had freed while he'd been occupied with SG-1. They now had six mobile full sized personnel, a hand grenade, a pistol, whatever drugs Janet could whip up, and SG-1 who proved to be more resourceful than one could have thought possible at their current size. All in all things were looking more in their favor.

Picking up the knife and handing the grenade to the technician, Hammond rose and dusted off his pants, looking over the small group. "Okay people, we need to find out what we're up against. SG-1…"

Suddenly, the General was interrupted by the arrival of two of the aliens, who seemed surprised to see the group unsecured and awake. They immediately garbled something in their language, and one of them held up one of the pen things. He never got a chance to fire the thing, as the airman with the pistol fired his weapon, taking him out, making grayish green blood splatter. The other alien wasn't about to give up so easily however, the second one rushed the General. They scuffled for control of the knife, grunting. Their close proximity did not allow the airman to get another shot off with the gun. And then suddenly it was over, the vision of events permanently imprinted on the General's brain. The alien grappling for better leverage, the General's own struggles, the alien's boot connecting with a solid object, and the object flying away, and Hammond's shock as he recognized the object as the small Hummer that SG-1 had driven, that SG-1 might still be in. Even as he somehow found the strength and the opportunity to drive the knife into the alien's abdomen, driving the weapon up towards its heart and killing it, another part of his mind watched in detached fascination as the little vehicle flipped over several times, skidding in a circle before stopping with a crack against a bed frame.

Somehow, he managed to catch the alien, before it's body fell to the floor. "Nobody move!" General Hammond used his best military order voice, the one that commanded instant obedience.

In the sudden stillness, when one peered closely, three tiny figures could be seen moving as rapidly as they could across the floor towards the Hummer and Hammond's heart sank. "Oh God," whispered Janet Fraiser. There was at least one member of SG-1 inside.