Lightning

Part VI

It was dark. And it smelled... like rotten eggs. Sam didn't know where she was, except that she wasn't some place familiar. What was the last thing she remembered? Oh yeah, that bald guy... yes, one of his minions had sedated her, and after that they'd probably dragged her to this 'room' and tied her arms and legs against a chair. Luckily, they hadn't blindfolded her – not that it was necessary, because the room was so damn dark she couldn't tell which side the door was on anyway.

No, this definitely didn't look good. How the hell was she supposed to get out of there? And where were Jack and Daniel? And were her captors still around? She listened carefully, but heard nothing. So, did that mean they were gone? If yes, why?

But before Sam could think of even more questions, she heard footsteps approaching and silently cursed... that would probably that bald guy or one of his companions. But, since she realized that it was her best – and quite possible only – shot, she started shouting.

"Hey, hello! Anyone there? Please, help me!"

The footsteps stopped in front of the door, and she heard someone ordering to – knock down the door?

BAM.

Okay, that was the door. Sam was quite relieved to see a man and woman standing in the doorway, instead of the bald guy or one of his companions. As soon as they saw her, they rushed over to Sam's side and untied her.

"Boy, am I glad to see you," she started, "I almost started thinking I'd never get out of here."

The woman laughed, and it was only now that Sam noticed that she was completely dressed in pink. "Don't worry," the woman said with an English accent, "It's our pleasure. Parker (and Sam realized that Parker was probably the name of the man accompanying the woman) – please bring the car around, while I escort Miss..."

"Eh, Carter."

"-while I escort Miss Carter to the exit."

"Of course, m'lady. Straight away," Parker, obviously her servant, replied.

"Well, let me introduce myself," the woman in pink said, "My name is Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. And, if I may ask, Miss Carter, how exactly did a nice young lady like yourself end up in an awful place like this?"

"Well, eh, that's actually a long story... wow," Sam exclaimed as soon as she stepped outside and first laid her eyes on a very pink Rolls Royce, "Is that your car?"

"Why, of course it is! Don't you like it?"

"Oh, eh, well," Sam stuttered, "Yeah, I think so, except that... it's, it's so..."

"Pink?" the woman, or rather Lady Penelope answered, "Don't worry, I get to hear that a lot. Please enter."

Sam stepped into the large pink vehicle, and was immediately struck by the luxury of the Royce. Lady Penelope saw Sam's expression and grinned, "Quite impressive, isn't it?"

All Sam could do was blink.

"Well then, Miss Carter, we'll drive you straight home, but in the mean time, I'd like you to answer some questions, if that's okay with you."

"Eh, sure," Sam started, but then realized that was probably the biggest mistake she'd made up until now, how was she going to explain where she lived?

"Well, darling – if you don't mind, we're going to need your address if we want to take you home," Lady Penelope said.

"Oh, yes, but, you see – that's kind of a problem. To be honest, I don't think I have one. Well, not anymore anyway," Sam tried to explain.

"What do you mean, you don't have one? Darling, where do you live then? Don't tell me your homeless!"

"Oh, no, it's not like that, you see, I used to live in Colorado Springs, and-" Sam stopped talking as she saw the blonde woman and her driver exchange looks, "-somehow I got the feeling you already knew that."

"Not exactly," Lady Penelope replied, "I'm sorry I have to ask you this, but are you in anyway involved with USAF-business?"

"Yeah, well, you could say that," Sam grinned, "I'm actually an Air Force captain, and-"

But Sam never got to finish her phrase. For a moment, Lady Penelope's eyes grew wide, and she quickly said, "Come on Parker, please call Jeff for me. Audio only."

As Sam wondered who 'Jeff' was and why she had to call him, just because Sam had said she was an Air Force Captain, Parker handed Lady Penelope a pink telephone.

"Jeff? Hi, it's Penny. Look, I think I'm on to something here..."

Quietly, Jeff took a sip from his coffee. The convention had gone well so far, but still, Jeff couldn't help but feel a little distracted knowing that they quite probably had three aliens – if not more – on the loose, somewhere in the United States. It didn't help much either that in these times, he had to leave his sons behind on the Island.

At least John is home, Jeff thought, I'm hoping he can keep Alan and Gordon from making the island the same mess it was the last time I went on a business trip. However, his deep thoughts were interrupted by his New York secretary, knocking on the door of his office.

"Jeff" she asked, "I got a call from downstairs, seems like there are some people who desperately want to talk to you."

Jeff sighed. "Not some reporters, are they?"

"They claim to be some old friends of yours, eh, I think I have their names somewhere," she said, searching for the right piece of paper, "Ah yes, here... Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill. Do any of these two names seem familiar to you?"

Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Well, I've never heard of the first, but... I went to Jack's funeral about ten years ago."

"His funeral? You sure this is the same guy?"

"I only know one Jack O'Neill, so I'm pretty sure I went to his funeral, Joyce."

"Okay then, Jeff, you don't hear me complain! I'm just saying that it's a little weird for a dead man to be walking in this building, right now, this moment."

Jeff sighed, "That was exactly what I was thinking…"

"Oh, come on," Jack moaned, "Let us in! We're friends of Mr. Tracy! I'm sure that if we just…"

"Yeah, yeah," the guard replied, "You lot all say the same. But you ain't kiddin' me no more, no sir. Just go and find some other guard you can fool."

Jack sighed, "Oh, come-"

The colonel was just about to complain again, when the guard's walkie-talkie started beeping.

"Frost?"

"Yeah, this is Frost. Come in, over."

"Hey, Frost, it's Sandman here. Those two weirdo's still with you?"

"Yeah, unfortunately."

"Well, they ain't no weirdo's anymore. Some big poof invited them in."

"No kiddin'!"

"No, really. Just escort 'em to the shafts, and send 'em up to level 73."

"Okay, roger that. Level 73."

"Level 73. See ya!"

"See ya, Sandman. Over and out," the guard put his walkie-talkie back in his pocket, and turned around to face the two remaining SG-1 members, "Well, looks like you guys are very lucky. Follow me."

"Wow, how fancy," Jack said, studying the interior of the elevator, "They sure got money up there."

Daniel just shrugged, "Well Jack, looking at the fact that these guys are the executive directors of the world's largest aerospace companies, according to that reporter anyway, I think they can afford something… like this."

"I guess you're right…" Jack started, but when the elevator doors opened, he added, "Well, looks like we made it."

Jack and Daniel left the elevator and looked around, a bit bewildered, until they were approached by – what appeared to be – a secretary.

"You must be Mr. O'Neill and Mr. Jackson?"

"Ye-"

"Good, now follow me. Take a seat there," she pointed at a comfy couch, "And wait until Mr. Tracy has time to meet you, which I doubt will be anytime soon. And," she added in a somewhat more demanding tone, "You'd better be who you're claiming to be, otherwise I doubt you will leave this building in one piece. Have a nice day."

With that she left, leaving a stunned Jack and a somewhat startled Daniel behind.

"Pff, she's quite the woman, isn't she?" Daniel stated, sitting down on the couch.

"Damn right she is," Jack joined Daniel on the sofa, "You're just forgetting one thing."

"What's that?"

"We don't have the luxury of time."

"Why not?"

"Bald guy. Bomb. Building. Carter. Boom. Remember?"

"Oh yeah. Now I do."

"But we have to speak to him now!" Jack exclaimed, after fifteen minutes still desperately trying to convince the woman to let them have a meeting with Jack's former friend and colleague, "It's a matter of life and death!"

The woman sighed, "Very well then, I'll try to contact him. But don't get you hopes up to high, that damn bastard of a Trèsangle isn't giving in to anything. He's been keeping Mr. Tracy busy twenty-four hours a day, the last eighty-four hours. Oh, if I ever get my hands on him…"

"Eh, Mr. Tracy? We – speak – to – him?"

"Oh, yes, of course, one minute," the woman said, "Let's see…"

She grabbed a phone, and dialed – what had to be – Jeff Tracy's number. "Yes, Mr. Tracy, it's Joyce here. Eh, I have to people here who desperately want to talk to you. Yes, they insist. A matter of life and death, I quote. No, they won't go away. Yes, I've tried. No, they won't. Yes, I will. Of course, Mr. Tracy. See you soon."

"Well, I hope you're satisfied now," she said as she hung up the phone, "He was in the middle of a very important meeting, and didn't like to be interrupted."

"But he's coming."

"Yes, he's coming. Whether or not you should be pleased with that, I do not know."

Daniel looked at Jack, who just shrugged. "So, how long's Jeff been running… Tracy Enterprises?"

The secretary looked up at Jack, "For someone who claims to know Mr. Tracy, you don't seem to be that well-informed about Mr. Tracy's business."

"I haven't seen him in a long while," came Jack's casual reply.

"Very well then," Joyce said, "Tracy Enterprises started in 2009, and in eleven years it has expanded at the rate, it now is the number one aerospace corporation in the world, leaving it's competition far behind."

Jack blew a whistle, "That's not too bad."

"No, it isn't, if I do say so myself," the secretary replied, "Ah, there he is."

Jack and Daniel turned around, to face the billionaire. Both Jeff and Jack seemed genuine surprised to see each other again.

"Jack?" was the first thing Jeff said, "That's not possible."

"Why not?" came the reply, "You haven't seen me for, what, twenty years?"

Jeff raised an eyebrow, "You're either a really good impostor, or…"

"Or what?"

"Jack…. If you're really Jack, that is," Jeff started, "I went to your funeral eleven years ago. Therefore, you can't be Jack."

"You went to what? I was what?" Jack exclaimed, "I can't believe it!"

"Well, Jack," Daniel said, "Technically, it's possible. Remember, you guys thought I was dead, when in fact I was… some place else."

"Yeah, yeah," Jack bit back, "But that was something else."

"No, it wasn't!"

"Look, I hate to interrupt you gentlemen," Joyce, the secretary, said, "But Mr. Tracy still has some unfinished business to-"

"Leave it, Joyce," Jeff answered, "Tell Mr. Trèsangle and Mr. Mizayaki I enjoyed our conversations and I had some urgent matters to attend to, but that I'll invite them to the Island in the near future."

"Very well, Mr. Tracy."

"Okay, you two," Jeff said, turning to Jack and Daniel, "I do- now what?" he said, when he heard his cell phone go off, "Jeff Tracy speaking."

"Jeff? Hi, it's Penny. Look, I think I'm on to something here..."

"Okay, let's hear it."

"Well, remember I went to check out – what we thought was – the latest hideout of the Hood?"

"Yes, of course."

"It wasn't as abandoned as we first thought it was."

"How come?"

"Parker and I found a young lady, tied up against a chair. Not all that odd for the Hood, to leave his victims behind, but we, eh, found out something else."

"Yes?"

"Seems like the woman has nowhere to live – not anymore, as she claims herself – and that she's from Colorado Springs."

"Colorado Springs?" Jeff said in surprise, not liking the suggestions this statement raised – if the Hood had found at least one person out of that mountain, who knows what else he found…

What could possibly be more important than meeting an old friend you hadn't seen in twenty years? Granted, he was assumed dead, but that didn't mean anything, right? Jack thought, while waiting for Jeff to end his phone call. He didn't like waiting, and was starting to get curious to what the conversation with the person on the other end of the line was all about.

"Jeff Tracy speaking… Okay, let's hear it... Yes, of course… How come…? Yes…? Colorado Springs?"

This caused Jack to jump up in surprise. "Colorado Springs? What's up with Colorado Springs?"

"One minute, Jack," Jeff said, signaling he should be quiet, "Yeah, Penn- hold on." He turned around again, to face Jack. "Jack, don't you live in Colorado Springs?"

"Yeah, well, I used to," Jack said, but soon realized that it wasn't such a clever thing to say.

"And you, mister…"

"Eh, Jackson. Yeah, I also lived, eh, in Colorado Springs. Not anymore, anyway."

"Not anymore, huh," Jeff replied, knowing what this probably meant. If he did the math, the woman plus the two man standing in his office right now, were all from Colorado Springs… that made three. Three people from Colorado Springs, including an old friend, he hadn't seen in over twenty years and assumed dead.

I guess this means that I've found the aliens, Jeff thought, only they're not as alien as we first thought they were.