Author's Note: As you all know, reviews and feedback are an important tool for a writer, especially me. The reviews tell a story in themselves, as they tell me what you think of my written words, good and bad, allowing me an insight into your minds - what you like and dislike, that sort of thing. Not to mention the inspiration I get when I read the suggestions as to where the story should go. :-) And even though I haven't personally acknowledged all of them, I really do appreciate every single one of the reviews I have received for this, and for my other works.
With that said, I did want to mention to Jaspis(?) that I am way ahead of you, I thought the same thing when I was writing this chapter, although you may not like the way I've handled Jack's suspicions, or why he had the suspicions in the first place. All I can say is that I think that twins will sometimes have a connection, even if they don't realize it. Thank you for pointing out the obvious. :-)
The groceries had been put away and Jack was sitting on the chair facing the couch. He had eaten the leftover pizza the MacGyver's had brought with them, and now it was time to get down to business. The first thing he did was to make Mac tell him exactly what had happened at the airport.
He was impressed by the thoroughness of Mac's memory of the incident. He had told Jack what the man had said, with Jack being very interested in hearing the demands. He smirked when Mac related the words the man had said about having to fight for what they wanted, those words telling him what he wanted to know. It had to be the NID that they were dealing with. They were the only ones who knew how he operated. His reputation for not giving into terrorists, Earthbound or alien, was widely known to that organization, thanks in part to his old nemesis, Harry Mayborne.
"The only thing I can't figure out is what they want you to have translated," Mac said after he finished with his narration of what had happened. "They said they would 'check on the status of the translation' tomorrow morning, but they didn't leave anything with us."
Jack didn't say anything, he was too busy mulling over the information he had been given, what he knew of the NID and the suspicions that were screaming at him in his mind. "What's in the envelope?" he asked.
"What envelope?" Mac responded, his face registering his surprise. Melanie just looked at him as if he was on the brink of insanity.
"The one on the table next to the door," Jack said, as he stared at his visitors. Everything seemed to be falling into place so neatly. Why had he believed in these people? They could be NID, trying to get information from him by posing as his long lost brother. This all could be an elaborate hoax cooked up to have him telling them everything he knew. He watched as Lanie looked over at the table then back at him with recognition in her eyes. God, she was either a great actress or he was being an idiot.
"Oh," she said, "That was lying on the floor when we walked in. I put it on the table for you."
"What's in it?" he asked again, making no move to go get it. He continued to watch them, as they looked at each other in bewilderment.
"I have no idea," Mac said, as he shrugged his shoulders. "We don't make it a habit of reading other people's mail." This was said with a little heat.
"I'll just go get it," Lanie said, getting up from the couch. "You'll see that we didn't open it," she insisted as she walked over to the table. She picked it up and brought it over to Jack, holding it out to him. He stared at it for a moment before taking it from her. He already knew what the envelope held.
"The translations," he stated, still watching them. Mac sat up then, the anger that had started to swell in his eyes was now replaced by curiosity and anxiety.
"Let me see," he demanded, reaching over to take the envelope from Jack. Jack was too quick, however, as he yanked it back out of Mac's reach.
Mac sat back down on the couch, staring at Jack warily. "Open it," he said.
The envelope was sealed, Jack noticed, but that didn't mean anything. His visitors could have sealed it before they brought it here. He looked up from the envelope to see that Pete had come over to sit on the couch with his parents, his eyes wide as he stared at Jack. He apparently had picked up on the bad vibes that had suddenly developed in the room and moved to sit next to his father for protection. Jack stared at the boy, feeling a tug on his heart as he stared into eyes that were so much like his son's. He had to be wrong about his suspicions.
He looked down at the envelope he held in his hands mainly to hide the tears that had pooled up in his eyes. He blinked hard, then tore open one end of the envelope and pulled out the contents - some photographs and a typed letter. How original, he thought sarcastically.
"What is it?" Mac asked, getting up once again to grab the photographs. And once again, Jack yanked them back out of Mac's reach.
"Just some pictures and a letter," he said. "I'll take them with me to have them analyzed and translated."
"What language is it in?" Mac asked, still trying to see what Jack was hiding from him. "I'm fluent in a couple of them."
"You wouldn't know this one," Jack replied, as he read the letter that came with the photographs.
"Try me," Mac said menacingly. Jack looked up from the letter to find Mac looming over him, while Lanie and Pete were still sitting on the couch watching the whole scene. It was Lanie's expression that convinced him to trust them. She was thinking about her daughter, he could tell. He had seen the same look on Sara's face as they sat in the hospital waiting while the doctors tried to revive Charlie's heart.
Damn it! The memories just would not go away. Not while he was here with these people. He stood up suddenly, almost knocking Mac over as he rushed out of the room, heading for the door. He just needed to get away for a few minutes. He heard Mac call after him, but he ignored it striding purposely toward his sanctuary. He climbed the steps that led to his own personal observation deck and paced back and forth across the narrow platform. What the hell happened down there, he wondered. Losing control like that was not something he liked to deal with and definitely not something that happened often.
He stopped pacing to stare up at the night sky, the stars looking down at him sending soothing waves toward him. He could feel himself calming down and he sat down on the chair he had placed next to the telescope. "Charlie," he whispered as he put his head in his hands.
"Jack?" Mac's voice was soft, causing him to look up. He didn't look toward Mac, though. He stared out at the stars, grateful for a clear night.
"Everything okay?" Mac asked, as he came up to squat down next to Jack.
"Yeah," Jack said, still not looking at the man who claimed to be his brother.
The two men were silent for a few minutes. Jack, still trying to quiet the pain in his soul, continued to stare out at the stars. Seeing Mac with his family had reminded him of his own family, the one he'd lost and would never get back. He missed his family, he thought sadly.
"Nice telescope," Mac said, trying to break the silence.
"Yeah."
"Look Jack," Mac said, "I'm sorry about Charlie. I know you must really miss him." He sighed then said, "We can go stay at a motel."
"No," Jack said, as he now stared at his hands. "You're welcome to stay here. Someone has to be here in case they call me at home."
"You're not going to be here?"
"We're still dealing with a crisis at the base," Jack said, gaining some of his composure back. "I only came home to find out exactly what is going on and to bring you guys some food. I have to get back."
Jack looked over at Mac at that moment and saw him nod his head. Mac stood up then, turning his eyes toward the sky. "It's very peaceful up here," he said.
"My favorite spot in the whole world," Jack admitted, as he looked back up toward the heavens. "Next to the fishing hole at my cabin, that is."
"I like to fish too," Mac said, conspiratorially. "Along with anything else that involves being outdoors. Have you ever been ice fishing?"
"Yeah," Jack said, feeling a lot calmer now that they were discussing a topic close to his heart. "I grew up in Minnesota, even spent a few years at my Grandfather's house up in Northern Minnesota. I don't know what's worse," he said with a grin at Mac, "the mosquitoes in the summer or the freezing cold in the winter."
"The freezing cold," both men said in unison. Jack laughed along with his companion, feeling a camaraderie building up between them.
Mac's smile dimmed and Jack knew that it was back to business as usual. "Jack, will you let me see the pictures and the letter?" Mac asked, as he pointed to the evidence in Jack's hands.
"It's better that you don't," Jack answered, putting the pictures and the letter back into the envelope he still held in his hands. "The pictures are of some artifacts that have writing on them. I'll take them to someone who can translate them. The letter just tells me what they want to know and how they'll hurt me, as well as Lindsay if they don't get what they want. The usual stuff."
"You're asking me to put all my faith in you, a total stranger," Mac said. "I have to be a part of this Jack. I have to. Please don't keep me out of the loop."
"You don't know who we are dealing with," Jack told him. "These people would just as soon kill you as to look at you. Trust me on this, it's better that you stay out of it from now on. Let me and my people handle it."
"I can take care of myself," Mac replied quietly. "I used to do this stuff for a living.
"As a Special Field Agent?" Jack asked.
Mac stared at him for a moment before saying, "You've been checking into my past." The half grin on his face telling Jack that he had expected as much.
Jack just shrugged, not sure what to say at that point. He was in control of his emotions again, ready to make the decisions that needed attention. He knew now that the suspicions he'd harbored earlier were borne out of the anxiety and sadness he was dealing with, transferring the anger at the loss of his family onto the very people who most resembled them.
He got up from the chair and started down the steps that led to his yard, "I'll get these analyzed and translated," he promised. "Let's go get your daughter back."
