Chapter 22: A Plan
"Five? Are you absolutely ceratin, Colonel O'Neill." Hammond asked as Jack's voce came through the radio.
"Uh, yeah, quite sure." Jack replied.
Hammond's face was tight with unspoken confusion. Although he knew the stories behind the murders, he had a difficult time believing that any of it was true. The words of SG-1 had been the only things to convince him of the very real danger they were currently in. At least the danger after dark. From what he understood, there wasn't any danger during the daylight hours, this walking shadow preferred the night.
"It's done, Sir. The law has been informed, and we are not going to be held under suspicion." Came Sam's voice through the radio line.
"Come on back, SG-1. We'll keep the iris open for you." Hammond replied.
"See you in a few moments, General." Jack said and the radio signal was cut, the gate remained active, someone must've been holding it open from O'Neill's side.
A few seconds later, SG-1 stepped onto the ramp, and the gate shut down behind them.
"Report to the infirmary SG-1." Hammond said over the speaker system between the gate room and control room.
Jack gave a quick wave and led his team out of the gate room and down to the infirmary. Doctor Fraser was awaiting their arrival when they got there.
"Five dead." Jack said simply. Janet's face promptly went pale.
"Jonas was right." She murmured quietly.
"Huh? I thought Jonas only saw one murder." Sam said.
"He woke up a little while ago, claiming to have had a dream in which he murdered five people. Your observation confirms his story, but he didn't murder them. Someone, or something else did." Fraser said.
"A telepathic connection?" Jonas asked disbelievingly. Dr. Fraser and SG-1 had wakened him a few moments previous and told him of the murders and the theory that Janet had.
"That's ridiculous." Jonas breathed.
"My thoughts exactly, but everything seems to point to the possibility." Jack replied, tossing Fraser a curious glance. She nodded as if agreeing with his words, but did nothing else.
Jonas sat in stunned silence. This couldn't be possible. It couldn't be. However, he had to admit that he felt inclined to agree with the possibility. How else could he have seen those murders? There was just no other explanation for it, except that the shadow creature must've left a part of itself behind after it scratched him. That had to be it, anything else would be impossible.
"Jonas?" Came Jack's voice, piercing through his thoughts. Jonas blinked and turned to O'Neill.
"Sorry." He apologized.
"Lost in your own little world?" Jack asked curiously.
"Guess so."
"I figured as much. So, have you had any other murder flashes?" O'Neill questioned.
Jonas shook his head.
"No, but I've had unexplained feelings, not many of them good."
"Uh, what?"
"Well, after the flashes, I felt almost giddy with excitement. I wanted to keep killing, Colonel."
Colonel O'Neill visibly winced, his features contorting to almost disgust.
"Jonas, that makes about as much sense as I do most of the time." Jack replied simply.
"I know, Colonel. It sounds crazy, but it's what I've been experiencing." Jonas replied.
The members of SG-1 were trapped in silence, watching their team mate explain his excitement over murder. There was absolutely no way that Jonas would have those types of feelings of joy after having committed murder. Let alone, five murders in a single night. There was definitely something darker at work here, all of a sudden the telepathic connection theory didn't sound so crazy. In fact, it seemed completely sane, after all they'd been through, nothing sounded too far fetched any more. Everything, no matter how strange or how impossible, seemed so close that if one were to reach out with a hand, the hand would almost certainly encounter something matching that description. It was just the way the job worked.
Nearly an hour had passed since Jonas's explanation. Since then, the young man had fallen silent, and he appeared as though he didn't wish to speak of the connection thing any longer. In all truth, he seemed completely appalled by it, but who could blame him? This certain subject wedged itself deeper than any could imagine.
"If there is a telepathic connection between yourself and that thing, then your brain activity should have increased. I'm going to check in and see if the scans are back yet, at which time I can give you more complete details." Dr. Fraser replied simply. She walked quickly from the company of SG-1 and vanished through the door.
SG-1's attention turned back to Jonas, who seemed to be lost in thought. He didn't even look as though he'd heard anything that Fraser had just said before she left. He had a faraway look in his eyes, as though he were focusing on something in the distance, while a pale rose flush crept into his cheeks.
"Jonas, are you okay?" Sam asked carefully. Jonas seemed to snap out of his daze and turned to her with a gentle smile.
"Yeah, Sam. I'm fine." He replied, but his voice was cold and distant, and concealed within his tones was something more, and whatever it was, it didn't sound pleasant. In fact, it hardly sounded like Jonas at all.
"Well, the brain scans came back positive for an overabundance of activity." Dr. Fraser replied.
"So, there is a telepathic connection between the two of them?" Sam asked.
"Yes, I think so." Fraser said simply.
"We are going to tell Jonas, right? I mean it is his brain after all. He has a right to know what's going on inside his own head." Jack replied.
"Yes, Colonel." Fraser answered.
"At what time do you hope to do this Doctor Fraser?" Teal'c asked.
"Actually, right now. Care to join in on the fun?" Janet questioned, a slight smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"Indeed." Teal'c replied and fell into step behind the doctor as she left the office.
They wandered into the infirmary, and over to Jonas's bed. As they approached, they heard the steady breathing that symbolized the young man was asleep.
"Jonas? Jonas, wake up." Fraser replied softly, shaking him gently. Jonas woke quickly, and for a split second, Fraser thought she saw a nasty glimmer in his eyes, but the glimmer was soon replaced by Jonas's curious gaze.
"Doctor Fraser? What is it?" Jonas asked, his voice thick from sleep.
"The results of your brain scans came back positive for a heightened activity level." Janet said.
"So, that means that there's a connection of sorts between that thing and me?" Jonas wondered, his face contorted into disgust.
"I'm afraid so, and I really have no idea how to sever it. How it got there is fairly simple, there were amounts of an unknown toxin in your blood. I'm presuming that it came from the scratches that were inflicted upon you. Now, your life doesn't seem to be in any immediate danger from it at the moment, but I don't know if that has the ability to change or not, and at this point, I have run every test that I know of. Our only choice as of now is to wait and see what happens." Fraser replied.
"Doc, why didn't that thing kill him? Not that I'm complaining, but still." Jack asked.
Janet turned to Colonel O'Neill, and her face was blank. "I don't know Colonel. It could have something to do with his differences. Then again, the creature may have known exactly what it was doing, I don't know for sure." Fraser said.
"Is there anything that would help you to find some way to break the connection?" Jack asked.
"Perhaps a sample of the creature's blood would do, but I don't think it's such a good idea for you to go off and get me one. I have no idea how any of you would react if you were scratched. It could very well kill you." Fraser spoke silently, yet her words were powerful.
O'Neill thought about the possibility for a moment, then something struck him. What if they found the creature during the day? The only time that it seemed to be active was after nightfall. If they could somehow get the sample while it was inactive then there might be a better chance of not being scratched.
"We might be able to get that sample for you, Doc." Jack replied.
"How?" Fraser asked, clearly surprised by what O'Neill was saying.
"There might be one way. We could try to strike it during the day." O'Neill said.
"Sir, that's it. You're a genius!" Sam exclaimed.
"I am?" O'Neill wondered, a smug smile creeping to his lips.
"Yes, Sir. The creature is only active after the night falls. It has never been seen during the day, therefore, it has to be nocturnal. If we knew where it was hiding, then we could go in without disturbing it while it slept, get the sample, and get out before it even knew what hit it!" Sam replied, her excitement mounting.
"No, I can't ask you to do that." Jonas said quickly.
"You don't have to. We're going as individuals, on a voluntary basis." Jack said.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that it isn't mandatory to be there. However, those who do wish to come, you come with me." Jack replied with a smile.
"I'm coming." Sam said quickly.
"As am I, O'Neill." Teal'c replied.
"Good, let's go gang up on General Hammond. If all of us corner him at the same time, he'll be easier to convince." Jack said smugly.
"Colonel, don't do this on my account." Jonas said.
Jack locked his eyes on Jonas's, and said nothing. "We're going, Jonas. If the General gives us the okay, we're going with or without your blessing. I'm not gonna have a member of my team walking around with split personalities."
Jonas simply watched O'Neill in silence.
"Thank you." Jonas said, softly.
"Not a problem, see you later." O'Neill replied.
Jonas nodded and SG-1 began to leave.
"Colonel," Janet began. Jack stopped and turned to her.
"Doctor?" He asked.
"Good luck talking to General Hammond, and please be careful." She finished.
"Aren't we always careful, doc?" Jack winked at her and Jonas, then led SG-1 to find General Hammond.