Thank you to all who reviewed again…especially – debcole; Froggy; janissima; and Gwill - thanks for the encouragement guys, I certainly need it.
A Tropical Nightmare.
By Lingren.
Previously:
Four sentries walked their paths at random, which would make life a little harder, but nothing his team couldn't handle. He watched them for a while longer before making his way back to the others. Jack quickly outlined the plan and the covert group dispersed to implement their rescue.
Chapter 4
Jack and Ferretti crept from their hiding places and rolled under the edge of the canvas. Inside it was dark and they switched on their muted flashlights, careful not to splay the dull beams across the sides of the tent and therefore give themselves away. This was a storage tent, and boxes of ammunition, weapons and explosives sat side by side, along with tins of food and medical supplies. Jack searched through the boxes, noting with a wry smile, that most of the ammunition, was old fashioned and well past it's sell by date; it would make a lovely fireworks display.
Ferretti called to him softly and highlighted a crate near the opening. Jack hurried over to him and they breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the Naquadah sitting there. The rebels obviously hadn't managed to persuade Cruz to create a weapon with it just yet. How they had managed to find out about the Naquadah was still something that puzzled both the General and himself, but the enigma would have to wait for now. The fact that it was still sitting unused, was probably thanks to Dr. Cruz. who was the one who had so far resisted the attempts to make him work on it.
Between them Jack and Ferretti managed to divide the material up into two backpacks and carried it back to where they had entered the tent. Making sure the coast was clear, Jack signalled the two beefy soldiers, Andrews and Morgan to relieve them of their burdens, sending them back to the rendezvous point. They would need the extra time because their heavy burdens would weigh them down during the long trek back through the jungle. He knew that he and the rest of the group could take the rebels out. He turned back to the piled stocks. They laid a few blocks of C4 in strategic places, then made their good their escape to wait for the others.
Sam and Daniel crept to the rear of Paul's tent and Sam slit the fabric neatly, making an opening just big enough for them to enter and free the Doctor. Daniel stood guard while Sam held a hand over her friend's mouth, urging him when he woke suddenly, to keep quiet. Paul let out a huge sigh when he realised he was being rescued by SG-1. Sam worked on picking the locks on his chains with a piece of wire, hoping to free him before the sky lit up with Jack's planned fireworks display.
The locks finally clicked open and Sam hauled him from the cot and pushed him from the tent just as the first explosions reverberated round the clearing, illuminating everything within it's circle, as well as the surrounding jungle. The trio ran towards the rendezvous with Jack and Ferretti. Andrews and Morgan with their heavy burdens were already well on their way back to meet up with the Huey.
Just as they flew past Jack's hiding place a shout followed by gunfire erupted behind them, and then the chase was on. Sam led the way dragging Paul with her, and Daniel was pushing him along from behind. Jack and Ferretti were bringing up their sixes, stopping every now and then to open fire on the pursuing rebels. Soft daylight was now penetrating the jungle floor making it easier to see where their path lay, but it also meant that the rebels had them in their sights. Bullets whizzed past their ears and sang through the air, hitting the trees and the dirt around them.
As they neared the clearing, Jack could hear the helicopter's rotors the nearer he got as they chopped noisily through the steamy air. The noises of the jungle night had given way to a period of quiet and the only thing Jack could hear was the rotor's tune, urging them closer.
Sam broke through into the clearing just as Andrew and Morgan had finished loading the Naquadah into the helicopter through the sliding door, they climbed up exhausted with running and carrying the heavy ore. Andrews extended a hand down to their fleeing colleagues. Sam pushed Paul up first then grabbing Andrews' hand she heaved herself up, taking up a position just inside the door to offer covering fire to Jack and Ferretti. The two men had stopped by the edge of the clearing to crouch down behind a fallen tree and were laying down fire to protect the team as they climbed on board.
Weapons fire ricocheted all around them, but Jack and Ferretti stood their ground, giving the others valuable time to jump on the Huey. Sam yelled to him above the raging battle, telling him they were all safe, and Jack signalled for Ferretti to make his move to join them, he too backed up, firing wildly into the bush, hoping to take out at least a few of the enemy firing at them.
At the last minute, he turned and leapt onto the skid just as the helicopter lifted off, but the fiery agony from a bullet bit deep into his thigh, burning its way into his muscle, making him lose his balance. His foot slipped from it's precarious perch and he started to fall. Sam shot out a hand to grab him, but as he fell sideways, he grunted with pain as he hit his head on the metal of the open doorway and his world disappeared into darkness.
Sam had managed to catch his arm, but his dead weight hanging limply above the ground as the helicopter rose, was too much for her tentative grip, and before Ferretti could make a grab for him too, he slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground some 15 feet below them.
"JAAACKKK," she screamed, his name coming more readily to her lips than his rank.
They looked down in horror as he lay crumpled on his side, unconscious. Bleeding from the head wound, as well as his thigh, on the dirt below. Bullets continued to hit the helicopter as it sped away, leaving Jack to the mercy of the irate rebels, despite the efforts of Sam, Daniel and Ferretti to get the pilot to turn back for him. Colonel Lee refused to return, saying it was far too dangerous, and more than likely it would end up with them all getting killed.
From a militarily viewpoint, Sam had to acknowledge that Lee was right, much to her chagrin, knowing deep down that Jack wouldn't have it any other way despite his being left behind. Sam's heart shattered into a million pieces as she continued to stare back towards the clearing long after it disappeared. All she could see in her mind was Jack's limp body as he fell, and the rebels kicking him as he lay on the ground, blood running freely from his wounds.
All the way back to the base Sam kept berating herself. The image of letting him slip from her grasp kept playing over and over in her mind, and she imagined she could hear the sound of his body as it hit the ground; she believed she could actually hear the sigh of his breath as it was forcibly expelled on impact, knowing it must have caused more damage to his already wounded body. She couldn't shut the images away, and tears streamed down her face unchecked, even when Daniel placed his arm round her, offering her comfort, she couldn't respond. It was all her fault; she had let him fall; she had left him behind; and if he should die, she would never forgive herself.
The first thing she did on landing at Hurlburt Field AFB was to call General Hammond. He was pleased that they had managed to rescue Dr. Cruz, and more than grateful they had retrieved the Naquadah, which was now under lock and key and a heavy guard placed to watch over it. It had been a successful mission, but the cost was far too high for any of them, and Sam practically begged him to allow them all to go back for the Colonel.
Hammond let his mind wander over all the times Jack had helped him over the past years, when things had seemed impossibly hopeless, even risking his career to restore his CO to his rightful job when he was blackmailed into resigning. There was no way he could leave Jack behind, not when there was a chance of rescue. General Hammond knew as well as anyone, Jack's policy of never leaving a man behind, and weighing up the prospects of losing one man, a good friend, against perhaps losing two teams. He decided to give Sam permission to return to Santa Christiana and retrieve Jack, but only after they all got some rest and to await the arrival of Janet to accompany them.
OoOoOoOoO
To say Luis Mendoza was very angry, was an understatement. His plans for his revolution had been scuppered by a bunch of mercenaries, who had to be Americans, to rescue Dr. Cruz, and to take back the precious metal ore, he had blackmailed the scientist into stealing. He looked down at the battered body of the man they left behind and glowered. He would have his revenge on this perpetrator. Even as the helicopter flew away, he lashed out with his foot, catching the unconscious man in the chest, though it elicited no response from the inert Colonel. Miguel joined in and several others vented their displeasure onto the limp form. After a while, when Luis realised the punishment was wasted on the senseless individual, he ordered him to be carried back to the camp.
By the time they arrived back at what remained of the camp, the sun had risen higher, and the jungle heat had risen to an all time record. The flames from the explosion were still burning, adding to the stifling heat, and the smell of cordite hung heavy in the air. Luis looked around the ruined camp and issued his orders. Jack was dropped unceremoniously to the ground in the middle of the quadrangle, around which the tents had been erected. He was stripped of his jacket and shirt, then his limbs were spread eagled, fastened tightly to the stakes driven into the ground, leaving him to the mercy of the hot sun to slowly bake his battered body.
TBC