Lightning
Previous Chapter
"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.
Part VII
"Yeah Penny, I'm back again. Listen, you still have that woman in your car?"
"Why Jeff, of course I have. Where'd she suppose to go?"
"Okay, if it's not too much of a problem, I'd like you to take her to JFK Airport. Right now, I have two men standing in my office, and if I had to take a guess, I'd say they work together."
"Of course it's not a problem, Jeff. Anything for you."
"Alright, thanks a lot, Penny. And, please, don't tell her anything. We'll think up something to fix this problem when they're reunited."
"Alright, Jeff. See you soon."
"Just one thing, Penny," Jeff said as he grabbed a notebook, "What's her name?"
"Eh, I believe it was Carter. Captain Carter."
"Okay, thanks a lot. Bye Penny." Jeff looked at Jack and Daniel, "I'm almost afraid to ask, but do you two know a certain woman by the name Carter? Eh, Captain Carter?"
"What?" Jack exclaimed, "The hell we do! Where is she? What did you do to her?"
"I'll take that as a yes," Jeff said, still a bit suspicious of the so-called 'Jack O'Neill', "One of my… employees found her in an abandoned house about two hundred miles north of New York. Yes, she's fine. Yes, you will meet her soon," Jeff continued, knowing what Jack and Daniel's next questions would be.
"That's all we wanted to know. Thank you, Mr. Tracy," Daniel replied, giving Jack a quick glance.
"Okay then, just one minute," Jeff said as he grabbed some stuff off his desk, "Where's my suitcase, Joyce?"
"In your car, Mr. Tracy," his secretary replied, "When you said you'd cancel your meetings with Mr. Mizayaki and Mr. Trèsangle, I took the liberty to arrange you a ride to the airport. Of course, with Mr. O'Neill and Mr. Jackson, if they'd please."
Jack looked at Daniel, and they both nodded. However, they didn't realize, that when Jeff said, "Alright then, gentlemen. Follow me"… they were forgetting something very important. It was about the size of a shoe box. It ticked. And they were running out of time…
"So, what's next?" Jack asked as soon as the had taken place in the large limousine.
"We're now heading to JFK airport," Jeff answered, "We will meet up with your friend there, and discuss what to do next."
"Suits me just fine," Jack answered, "What 'bout you, Daniel?"
"I'm not argue that. Nice limo you have by the way, Mr. Tracy."
"Thank you, Mr. Jackson. So, tell me… Jack, assuming that you're really Jack O'Neill?"
"Yes, I'm really the Jack O'Neill, as in Jonathan O'Neill, the youngest Air Force pilot ever to earn a Medal of Honor-" Jack started to repeat the same words Jeff had told him so many years ago.
"No, actually, if you're really THE Jonathan O'Neill, and you weren't buried eleven years ago, you should know that you're no longer the youngest Air Force pilot ever to earn a Medal of Honor." Jeff said suspiciously.
"Yeah, right. And who might that be?"
"My son."
"Oh."
"So, tell me, Mr. Jackson," Jeff continued, "What exactly do you do? Work together with Jack? No offense, but you don't exactly look like the kind of man who would voluntarily work with someone like Jack."
"None taken. Actually, I'm an archeologist, and – what?" Daniel said, as he saw the look Jack was giving him.
Jeff raised an eyebrow as he noticed the awkward situation the three men were in. "Is there something I should know, gentlemen?"
"Eh-"
"Still, one could question the reason for an archeologist to work together with an Air Force… major?"
Suddenly, Daniel realized why Jack had given him 'the look'.
"Actually, it's colonel now," Jack replied, "And we, eh, work together in, eh…"
"A highly classified mountain in Colorado Springs?"
"How the hell did you know that?"
"Let's just say I have my resources," Jeff casually replied, "And what exactly is it that you do inside that mountain?"
"Deep Space Radar Telemetry," came Daniel's quick reply, but he added, "What?" when he saw Jack give him 'the look' again. Of course, Daniel didn't know that-
"How exciting, Jack, Mr. Jackson," Jeff said, now completely convinced that Jack and Daniel were hiding something, "I take it you either don't remember or don't know I used to work there for five years?"
"Eh…" was all Daniel could say.
"And don't you think Deep Space Radar Telemetry from the inside of a mountain is a little awkward," Jeff continued, "Or that an archeologist involved with DSRT is a bit strange?"
"Look, Jeff," Jack returned, "We don't need to answer any of your questions, it's not like we're in a damn cross-exam!"
"Oh, you'd better," came Jeff's reply, "I know you came out of that damn mountain three days ago, I know that something's going on, and I want to know what, how and why."
"Well, I'll tell you why!" Jack returned, and ignored Daniel, the only one who was trying to make and Jack keep his voice down, "I think it's none of your damn business, I don't need to explain this to the man who-"
"Mr. Tracy?" Daniel suddenly said, "How did you know we came out of a mountain three days ago?"
"So, guys," Scott said to his brothers during lunch at Tracy Island, "Any volunteers to pick up dad from JFK Airport?"
"I'll go!" Alan exclaimed, "If I can go in Thunderbird One…"
"Sure squirt," Gordon replied, while grabbing the tuna salad, "And it's not like anyone will notice One landing at a public airport."
"Oh yeah," Alan sighed, "I kinda forgot about that."
"I don't mind going," John suddenly said, "It's about time I practiced my flying skills again."
Gordon grinned, "Not much action up there, huh?"
"You'd be surprised," John answered with an equal mischievous grin on his face. "Anyway, did Dad say which one of the planes I had to take?"
Scott shook his head, "No. But I'm sure the Ford 2 would do. After all, it's just gonna be the two of you, right?"
"Yeah, I guess."
For a moment, the four brothers were awfully quiet – quite the miracle actually – that is, until the phone rang.
"I'll get it," Scott said. "Scott Tracy speaking."
"Scott? Look, it's me-"
"Dad? Hi, how's your-"
"I'm sorry Scott, but I have to interrupt. Just tell your brothers that what was missing three days ago is no longer lost. I'm still heading towards JFK, but you're going to need something bigger than just the Ford 2, preferably the Ford 5, if you know what I mean. Oh, and please prepare the villa for some visitors."
"FAB, dad. See you soon," Scott replied, fully understanding the cryptic message his dad just told him, but still wondering how on Earth his father had managed to make contact with an alien life form.
"What was that all about?" Alan asked, as soon as Scott hung up the phone.
"Looks like International Rescue is back in action," Scott said with a mysterious smile, "Dad just called to inform that he's found our ET's from the Colorado mountain-"
"The aliens?"
"Yeah, Gordo, the aliens. Now, he's bringing them here, and he ordered us to take any necessary precautions," Scott said, immediately taking the lead in this 'emergency situation', "That means, switching the alarm off, no IR business while they're here, and John-"
"Yes?"
"You'd better take the Ford 5, and I'd like someone to go with you. In case anything… happens."
"I'll go! I'll go!" Alan nearly yelled. The thought of actually seeing three aliens first hand… he just couldn't wait to meet them.
"You still didn't answer Daniel's question," Jack said, while glaring at his former Air Force colleague.
"I didn't?" came the easy reply.
"No, you didn't, and I'd still like to know how exactly you knew we came out of a mountain in Colorado."
"Well, if you insist-"
Two pairs of cold eyes locked.
"Yes, I insist."
"Assuming you're Jack O'Neill, I'm sure you must remember that I got transferred to NASA a couple of years after I'd started working at Deep Space Radar Telemetry?" Not waiting for an answer, Jeff continued, "Well, some of my colleagues informed me three days ago that they had noticed an unusual high energy outburst somewhere near Colorado Springs. Knowing that I'm still involved with governmental business, and since I was visiting the US anyway, they'd thought this matter would be interesting. Especially since it matched with the rumors I'd heard so many years ago…"
"What rumors?"
"That inside a top secret mountain facility, somewhere in Colorado, there was a program similar to the well-known Area 51."
"And how do you think you're going to prove that?"
Jeff actually had to smile at that. "You'd be surprised."
"But that's still not the whole truth," Jack replied, "You're still hiding something, I know it."
"Well, I guess that makes it even," Jeff smirked, "Because I know you're not telling me everything either."
The rest of the ride to the airport, was actually awfully quiet. Neither Jeff nor Jack – or Daniel for that matter – wanted, or dared, to say anything else about the top secret business they were involved in. However, when the limo reached the airport, and the three men got out, a great surprised awaited them.
"Sam?"
"Carter?"
"Daniel? Jack? Wha- wha- what are you guys doing here?" Sam exclaimed, as she suddenly stood face to face with her two team members, "I thought that bald guy had- had- well, you know what."
"No, actually- oh shit," Daniel suddenly said, remembering something very important, and turned pale.
"What?" Jack asked, looking at his terrified team member, "What, Daniel? Talk to me!"
However, instead of an answer, Daniel's gaze shifted from Jack's face to the backpack the colonel was still holding. "Oh, that's definitely shit," the CO of SG-1 murmured, his face also turning pale white.
"Guys? Guys? What's the matter?" Sam asked, "What's in that bag?"
"What time is it?" Daniel suddenly asked.
"Uh, a quarter to five. Why?" Sam answered, still confused about the odd behavior of Jack and Daniel.
"Great," Jack muttered, "Fifteen minutes left…"
"Fifteen minutes left to what, Jack?" came Jeff's voice, "We'd really like to know what the hell you're talking about here!"
"Well, eh, you see-" Daniel started, "When we, eh, woke up, that bald guy told us, hell, he even showed us, that he held Sam as a captive some place, and threatened to kill her if we didn't do what he wanted us to do."
"A bald guy, huh?" Jeff said, already having his suspicions.
"Yeah," Jack added, "Real nice fellow, wanted us to blow up that building you were in with the bomb I now have in my backpack, however, when you said you had found Carter, I guess Daniel and I just kinda forgot about it. Until now, that is."
"You forgot about having a bomb in your bag?" Lady Penelope exclaimed, "Really, that is the most-"
"It's okay, Penny," Jeff interjected, "I guess, judging on the 'fifteen minutes' Jack just muttered, we have now thirteen minutes left until the bomb goes off, am I right?" When he saw Jack and Daniel nod, he continued. "Alright, I think the ETA of the boys is about three minutes, that should give us just enough time to dump the bomb in the ocean."
"Wow, wow, wow," Jack said, "What are you talking about? Dumping that bomb in the ocean? That's suicide!"
"Not unless you know how to do it," came Jeff's reply.
"Yeah, and you're the astronaut that miraculously knows everything about bombs, and whether or not it's safe to dump one in the ocean – and, let me guess, you've done this before with civilian equipment?"
When Jeff did not answer, Jack's eyes grew wide. "You did what? How the hell did you-"
"Now's not the time, Jack. Once the bomb's gone, I'll give you all the answers you want."
"You'd better," Jack murmured.