Huge thanks to NG for Beta reading this chapter, and giving me a few ideas to help me along!!
Thanks to everyone that has reviewed!! I hope you like this chapter. :)
Jack and Jacob rushed back to the SGC. General Hammond was waiting for them in the conference room. He explained that the autopsy report on the woman that had been driving Colonel Carter's car was back. She was identified as a NID agent. According to Agent Barrett, she had been working undercover as a Trust operative. She had made contact with the NID the day before the accident to say that she was on the move and didn't know where her final destination would be, but that whatever was going down was huge. It was now clear to all involved that someone must have discovered she was the mole.
Agent Barrett also informed General Hammond that "Jameson" was a member of the Trust organization using an alias. The NID had been looking for him for a while. He also said that as far as he knew Pete wasn't a Trust operative.
"So now we know for sure that the Trust is involved. Have the SF's picked Shanahan up yet, Sir?" Jack asked. He wanted to get answers quickly as to Carter's whereabouts.
"Pete wasn't at the Police Station when we went to pick him up. His car hasn't been moved either." General Hammond informed them. "I've called and left a message for Captain Winters to call me. I wanted to inform him we were going to be questioning Pete Shanahan in regards to the disappearance of one of our people, but he too wasn't at the Police Station."
"I would suggest posting SF's at Pete's house and at the Police Station. That way we can apprehend him when he does finally show up. If he even shows up."
"I have already thought of that Jack and they are in place in civilian clothes in hopes of not spooking Detective Shanahan. Now, General, do you want to tell me what happened at the warehouse?" General Hammond asked.
"We were able to catch Jameson by surprise and zat him before he could pull his gun on us. While we completed a sweep of the area a bright flash of light engulfed the concrete room Carter was being held in."
"So you know for sure that Colonel Carter was there?"
"I found her watch and cell phone, George. We are positive she was there," Jacob said.
"We also found photos of her funeral, Sir. When we finally got the door unlocked another bright flash of light blinded us. They had just transported her out."
"Did you get a chance to interrogate Jameson before he was killed?"
"We were able to get some information. He said a guy by the name of Robert is the mastermind behind all of this. He wanted them to fake Carter's death. Jameson said he didn't know who Robert was. Although, I have my suspicions as to who it might be Sir, especially now that we know the Trust is involved."
"And knowing what we know of about the Trust. This Robert is probably Robert Kinsey?" General Hammond guessed.
"Yes Sir, our beloved Ex-Vice President Kinsey and the thorn in our side since the beginning of the SGC," Jack answered.
"The President is currently investigating the organization that was backing Kinsey during the election. We have known for a while that Kinsey has been involved with the Trust, but we haven't found any solid evidence to put him behind bars."
"What I don't understand is why would he take my daughter to another planet? What would Kinsey have to gain?"
"I don't know, Jacob. Hopefully, Daniel and Teal'c have found something, or Pete will tell us something useful," Jack said hoping he didn't sound as worried as he felt.
"What part did Pete play?"
"Apparently…" Jacob swallowed the first explicit name on his mind for Pete before continuing, "… the little weasel, gave them the information they needed to kidnap her," Jacob said, his anger rising to a boiling point. He couldn't believe a man his daughter trusted and loved could betray her like that.
"That's why I want to question him. I want to know exactly what happened and how he is involved," Jack said, trying to keep his own temper in check.
"Well it might be a while before we hear anything from the SF's. Until we find out where they are taking her, our hands are tied."
"I'm hoping the High Council will let me have a ship. As much as I would like to stay here to question Pete, I need to head back to petition for a ship. They owe Earth at least that much. Hopefully it will not take very long," Jacob said as he walked out of the Conference room and towards the Control room. He was giving the Gate coordinates to the officer on duty, when he heard that Pete Shanahan had just been brought in for questioning.
Jack and General Hammond rushed to the elevators to take them to one of the conference rooms on the upper floor where the SF's were taking Detective Shanahan. Once the two men were on the elevator they remained quiet, collecting their thoughts and preparing for their interrogation of Pete. Jack knew that he had to keep his temper under control no matter how difficult it might be. The most important thing was to find out where Carter was and to bring her home. He would deal with Pete after she was safe.
Jack and General Hammond arrived at the conference room shortly after Pete. A camera was already set-up to record the inquiry.
"What am I doing here? What's going on?" Pete demanded angrily. "I'm walking back from lunch on my way to a meeting that I'm already late for, when these two clowns tell me I'm wanted for questioning at the SGC."
Jack ignored Pete's outburst and directed his attention to the two SF's in the room. "You can wait outside. I don't think he's going anywhere." The SF's left General Hammond and Jack glaring at Pete who was seated on the other side of the table.
Jack finally asked Pete a question. "So, why did you do it?"
"Do what?" Pete shift a little in his chair.
"We exhumed the body." Jack watched as Pete visible paled, before continuing, "Care to tell us why you ID the woman in the morgue as Carter, when you knew full well it wasn't her?"
Pete sat there stunned. "Why did you exhume the body?"
"The autopsy was incomplete, her funeral and her autopsy were completed two and half hours after she supposedly died. It was all too suspicious." Jack offered the explanation.
Pete was surprised by the unexpected turn of events and began thinking out loud. "You couldn't exhume the body. The local authorities had jurisdiction plus you would need a court order or a family member's approval."
"Actually the moment we suspected foul play in the death or disappearance of a member of this facility, the case became our jurisdiction due to Presidential order and her father …" General Hammond stopped mid sentence when the door flew open and Jacob Carter came stalking in glaring at Pete.
Pete eyes were wide when he saw Jacob coming towards him.
Jacob walked around the table and surprised Pete by picking him up out of his chair by his jacket. Pete stumbled trying to get away from Jacob and backed himself into a corner.
"Where is my daughter!"
"I don't know!" Pete said nervously looking at Jack and General Hammond for help, but both men just stood back watching, slightly surprised to see Jacob.
"If I were you I would tell Jacob what he wants to know. We all know you falsified the identification, now care to tell us why you did that? You are a detective; surely you know if you cooperate you will get a lighter sentence."
"Why did you lie to me? Why did you tell me you never saw her again?" Jacob sneered standing just inches away from Pete.
"I … I didn't lie. I haven't seen her since she disappeared. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this. She wasn't supposed to get hurt."
"You apparently knew what was going to happen. Why didn't you stop it?" Jack said losing his own temper.
Pete exploded looking at Jack, realizing he didn't have anything to lose since they already had the evidence. "YOU … this place, her team and her work! Everything and everyone came ahead of our relationship. Even after I proposed she still worked just as many hours and took just as many risks as she always did!" Pete realized he was yelling and lowered his voice to a normal level before continuing. "It's too dangerous for her. I was afraid she would get killed. I begged her to quit and take a desk job, but she just laughed and said she loved what she did and her job was too important to quit."
"So, then you decided to kidnap her, since she wouldn't quit?" Jack almost laughed at the disturbing notion until he saw Pete's face fall indicting that he had touched on the truth.
"You sold her out because you wanted her to quite the SGC!" Jack asked stunned. "How were you going to explain this to Carter? On what level was that a good idea?"
Pete sighed before continuing. "This wasn't supposed to happen. You have to believe me! I would never hurt her."
"Believe you! You have lied, manipulated and taken advantage of my daughter. She trusted you! Hell, Mark trusted you or he wouldn't have introduced the two of you," Jacob yelled and was about to act on his anger when Selmak took control. Jack and General Hammond both knew that Selmak had taken control when Jacob bowed his head. Selmak took a couple of steps away from Pete, also disgusted by him. Pete took the opportunity to get a way from Jacob/Selmak.
Pete wasn't sure why Jacob's demeanor suddenly changed. He just thought it was another scare tactic. Whatever it was it was working, because Pete began to tell them everything he knew.
"Jameson knew how worried I was about her. He said that he would help me stage an accident that would look real. His cousin is a paramedic and he could administer a drug that would give her the symptoms of a head injury such as blurred vision, nausea and a sever headache. Something that wouldn't hurt her, but would convince the ER doctors that she would need to take a week or so off work due to the accident." Pete rushed through his story nervously.
"You went along with that!" Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Apparently you don't know Carter that well. It would take more than a doctor's order to keep her out of this mountain and away from her team," Jack interrupted.
"I was going to get her to agree to go to San Diego to stay at my parents' beach house while she recovered. Her brother lives about ten minutes from there. I thought if I could get her out of this place long enough and get her away from her team, then I could get her to see reason. To see that this job is too dangerous and that she could go to work for another organization doing the same thing she was doing now, but it would be more of a scientific role. They have their own Stargate and she would be head of all their scientific developments."
General Hammond and Jack exchanged a worried look confirming their suspicions as to who had her.
Pete missed their exchange and continued his explanation. "She wouldn't have to keep secretes from me anymore. She would be safe in a lab rather than who knows where. I was tired of seeing her with injuries she couldn't explain. She deserves better."
"Instead you sold her to the devil and put her life in more danger."
"NO, I didn't! I don't know what actually happened. Obviously, the accident didn't go the way we had planned! At first I thought she had really been killed. I couldn't get to her. There was too much damage to her car. The paramedics worked on her for a while at the scene and then took her to the hospital. Jameson arrived at the scene late and I was a mess. He took me to the hospital. That's where they told me that she had died at the scene. I was devastated. Jameson went with me to ID her for the record. Thankfully, he asked Dr. Patrick to give me a few minutes alone to regain my composure before identifying her. That's when I found out it wasn't her. I was thrilled, only until Jameson explained that we couldn't say anything. We had arranged for the accident. If anyone investigated the accident they would know that we paid the stunt driver to hit the car. It didn't matter that this wasn't what we had planned. We couldn't prove we weren't involved. We had to keep up the ruse and find out who kidnapped her before the accident. So when Dr. Patrick came back in the room I told him it was my fiancée, Samantha Carter. Someone had to know what we were planning. Jameson and I have been chasing down leads since the accident occurred. We haven't found anything yet. I even thought you were involved at one point," Pete said glaring at Jack.
"You said you did this so she could talk to an organization that had a Stargate program as well. How do you know about this organization?" General Hammond asked
"You're not going to believe me, but I got a call from a man saying he knew about the Stargate program. I thought it was a reporter at first trying to get some information out of me. He knew a lot about the program and about SG-1. I thought I should assess the situation and at least meet this guy to find out what he really wanted. We met about a month ago. I was shocked when the Vice-President walked up to me."
"Former Vice-President. There was a reason he was fired." Jack was annoyed that Pete took matters in his own hands by going to meet with someone regarding the Stargate, although he wasn't surprised.
"He said he stepped down due to a disagreement with the President on how to handle the Stargate program."
General Hammond gave a disgusted laugh. "Well I guess that's one way to put it."
"The Vice President said that he wanted the Stargate to go public, to let the whole world know what was going on. There would be no more secrets the SGC could hide behind. They could establish more regulations and put better security protocol in place to assure the safety of those working there. However the President disagreed. So he went to work for another organization that had a Stargate program as well. He said they had an opening for her to head their scientific department. She wouldn't need to keep secrets. She would be able to share everything she did with me."
"Didn't you think it was odd that he was telling you about it rather than Carter? But, I guess not since everything appears to revolve around you. What you wanted, how you felt, share secrets with you!" Jack said, not hiding his irritation.
"He said she wouldn't take their calls."
"And that didn't set off any warning bells?" Jack continued his questioning.
"He's the Vice President!" Pete yelled in his own defense.
"He was the Vice President!" Jack said matching Pete's tone
"I can't believe that Robert Kinsey could have anything to do with this. It sounded legitimate, besides the news didn't say anything about Kinsey being fired. If he left under questionable terms wouldn't it have been all over the news. They just said that he resigned for personal reasons."
"He was under an investigation that was classified, because they didn't want the public to know about the Stargate. He has been tied to an organization that is being operated by a very powerful organization. They have been using the Stargate program and any technology, not to better Earth or protect those working on the program, but to gain power at any cost. They have no intention of making the Stargate public knowledge. Do you have any idea who you have handed Carter over too?"
"So you really think Robert Kinsey kidnapped Sam? How did he even know what we were planning?"
"Well that part is easy…Jameson," Jack said nonchalantly.
"Jameson? What are you talking about?" Pete asked confused.
"We followed Jameson to a warehouse this morning. Carter was being held there, but he made sure she was transported out just before we could get to her."
"He … he can't be involved." Pete was shocked that his own partner had double crossed him. He could never have imagined that Jameson had helped them.
Jacob, upon seeing the shock and dismay on Pete's face, said, "Just think about how Sam is going to feel when she finds out you planned to kidnap her and then to take her to California so you could use her brother to help convince her to quit her job!"
"But I didn't mean for this to happen. I keep telling you I would never hurt her."
"What would you call setting up an accident and drugging her!"
Pete sat down in the chair, at a loss for words.
Jack walked over and turned off the camera. He then walked over to where Pete was sitting. Jack put one hand on the back of Pete's chair and the other on the table before he spoke in a harsh tone. "You better hope we find Carter, because I promise you if we don't find her, you'll never live to see another day. It's not a threat. It's a warning. I probably won't get to be the lucky one either. There are a lot of skillful and resourceful people that care about Carter and one of them will probably get to you before I do."
Jack watched as Pete swallowed hard. Jack couldn't stand to look at him any longer. He left the room followed by Jacob and General Hammond who took the tape out of the camera.
The three men were talking on their way back to the Jack's office.
"What I don't understand is why would Kinsey let Pete Shanahan live, especially after Sam disappeared," Jacob asked.
"Kinsey needed a guy to take the fall and Pete was his best candidate. He probably knew Pete did a background check on Carter after they first met and Kinsey saw an opportunity. He played it smooth."
"Jameson worked for the Trust and he was able to tell Kinsey or the sniper about Pete's jealousy over the SGC," General Hammond added
"Pete played right into their hands," Jack said as he spotted Daniel and Teal'c walking into the control room.
"Did you guys have any luck?" Jack asked them, hoping for some kind of lead since Pete wasn't much help.
"I think I know where she is," Daniel said and quickly walked to the star map. Teal'c, Jack, Jacob, and General Hammond followed him.
Daniel was checking the star map and also appeared to be confirming something on a piece of paper in his hand. "Ah ha," Daniel said as he pointed to a spot on the star map.
"Are you going to share with the rest of the class, Daniel?" Jack was tired and not really up for any more games.
"There was a list of three planets on the laptop from the warehouse. And I think I know which of the three planets they took her too.
"Okay … well spit it out already."
"P4C-970," Daniel said thinking it was the only explanation they needed.
No one said anything and Daniel seemed disappointed.
"Am I supposed to know which planets PC4 whatever is?" Jack asked.
"Indeed O'Neill. I believe Daniel Jackson believes they have taken Colonel Carter to the Aschen homeworld."
"The Aschen!" Jack looked at Daniel for confirmation.
"Yeah. I'm afraid so."
"It makes since. Who went to every length to sign the treaty with the Aschen? He even had an investigation afterwards trying to prove SG-1's incompetence regarding the treating." General Hammond addressed the group.
"Kinsey. After everything we said and warned him against. He is just stupid enough and greedy enough to try another treaty with the Aschen." Jack was disgusted.
"He doesn't have anything to lose, son. He thinks the technology and medical advances they have will allow him to buy back his position on Earth and Colonel Carter or better yet her knowledge of the Stargate is his bargaining chip. I need to inform the President so he can prepare for whatever Kinsey has up his sleeve."
"I need to head back to the Tok'ra to get a ship. Hopefully it won't take to long. I'll come back to get SG-1. Now that we know where she is it should be easier to get a ship," Jacob said as he instructed the sergeant to dial the coordinates he gave him earlier on.
"Do we know that Kinsey is really involved?" Daniel asked wanting to know what happened while he and Teal'c were gone.
"Yeah, Pete just confirmed that Robert Kinsey had contacted him. It seems Kinsey wanted Pete's help to convince Carter that the SGC wasn't the best place for her to work at anymore."
"She would never go to work for Kinsey. How was he going to pull this off?"
Jack proceeded to tell Daniel and Teal'c the same story that Pete told him. As he finished Daniel and Teal'c were both ready to kill Pete, even if it was just for his stupidity and jealousy. They knew there was no real danger that Pete's plan would have been successful in convincing Sam to leave the SGC, especially with Kinsey involved. Kinsey probably knew the same thing and was only using Pete to keep the operation quiet. They figured as long as Pete was an accessory they could get away and let him take the fall. Daniel and Teal'c, along with Jack and General Hammond were outraged that Pete had betrayed Sam and worried about how she would handle the news once they found her. Now that they knew where she was, they were going to find her.
TBC