STARGATE SG-1: House Arrest
Summary: Sequel to "Operation Checkmate". It's Jack's turn to be in over his head…
Season: 8
Disclaimer: I don't own the stuff, yadda yadda.
Author's Note:
WARNING: Strong Language!
House Arrest: Chapter 3 – Recruitment
General Philip Frakes was completely oblivious to the chaos that was running rampant trying to keep him safe. As far as he was concerned, Simon Carnall was no longer a threat to him. The NID had taken care of that for him.
But his false sense of security had been somewhat knocked on its side ever since the black hearse-like car had pulled up on his drive that morning.
"General," the man in a rather smart black suit had said in greeting. "I'm Agent Barrett. I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but we have to move you to a more secure location."
Frakes stared at him in disbelief.
"I thought this was a secure location," he said, unwilling to give up the life he had been building up over the last twelve years.
"It was, sir. But I'm afraid Simon Carnall has caught up with us. I need you to come with me right away. I'll fill you in on the way."
Frakes was still unconvinced. "On the way to where?"
"Colorado Springs," Barrett said plainly.
It took longer for the elevator to reach sub-level 28 than it usually did, though Jack put that fact down to his own apprehension of where exactly he was going to begin. He hadn't been home in the last few days, and hadn't had much time for sleep either. But that was the least of his worries.
What was on the top of his list, though, was his former second in command's safety.
Finally, the doors opened and the usually hubbub of the base drifted into view. Personnel wandered around and about him checking various science results with each other and greeting him as he made his way to his office.
"Morning, sir," Walter said following him from the control room up to his office. He was carrying a very large file with him (as always). "The chairman of the joint chiefs has asked if you'd call him right away –"
"That's very nice, Walter. Could you page Daniel and Teal'c? Tell them I need to speak to them right away," Jack barked, taking the file from the airman.
"Of course, sir. But the chairman said it was urgent," Walter insisted.
"So is this, airman," Jack replied resolutely, shutting the door to his office.
Jack sat down at his desk and started to trawl through the file with he had been given. Before long, there was a knock at his door.
"Yeah," he said.
Daniel and Teal'c entered, each sporting their own variations of confused expressions.
"You wanted to see us?" Daniel enquired.
Jack looked up at him. All of a sudden, he had no idea where to start. He assumed Sam had told them nothing about her exploits while he was 'out of it'. He sighed and looked at his teammates. This was going to take a lot for them to get their heads around.
"We've got a little bit of a problem," he started. But before he went any further, something in his file caught his attention.
At the back of the file was a clean white envelope with neat writing on the front of it.
'Jack be nimble, Jack be quick,' it said on it.
Hands shaking slightly, Jack opened it and pulled the contents out. His heart all but stopped at what he saw.
"No," he breathed. His face blanched and his hands shook as he flicked through the photographs.
They were of Sam. And they weren't a pretty sight. She was tied roughly with duct tape and was already sporting the tell tale signs of a beating. Her face was covered with welts and bruises. Her wrists were red raw with writhing against her restraints. The fabric of her jeans on her knees looked scorched and torn, showing burnt flesh beneath. But none of that compared to her eyes. They looked deadened, lifeless. Defeated.
He had done this to her.
Jack's first instinct was to burst into her house and beat the living crap out the bastard who had done this to her. But he couldn't. For all he knew, Simon could have had the whole house rigged to blow at any given moment.
The last photograph had been written on. 'Sam sends her regards' it read simply.
Daniel and Teal'c watched their friend and leader as he looked through the pictures.
"Jack, what's going on?" Daniel asked, wondering what Jack was looking at to cause such a reaction from him.
Jack looked up at them both and handed them the pictures.
Daniel nearly threw up when he saw what was being done to his friend. Teal'c looked equally perplexed, even for a Jaffa.
"He's trying to get to me," Jack said quietly.
"Of whom do you speak?" Teal'c asked, knowing that Daniel would want to know the same thing, but was unable so say anything from the shock of seeing the photos.
"Simon," Jack answered.
Barrett could tell it was going to be a long journey. After explaining the whole story to Frakes, he thought the General would show some sort of remorse for his actions all those years ago, since it was his deception that had sent Simon over the edge. But there was nothing!
If anything, Frakes seemed quite pleased with the situation.
"And how is O'Neill taking this?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Not well," Barrett answered, gritting his teeth slightly. He had only known the man for about an hour now and was just about ready to put Simon and the rest of them out of their misery. He was sure he could find a way to make it look like an accident.
Frakes smiled thinly. "And the girl? What sort of state is she in?"
Barrett looked up suddenly. Girl! "Colonel Carter," he enunciated. "Wasn't in a great shape after his first attempt. We don't know about now. He might have got to her already. We can't be sure."
He wanted to add something about the inappropriate nature of referring to someone like Sam as just a 'girl'. She was so much more than that. No mere 'girl' would have been able to survive the sort of mental torture Simon had put her through in the last few weeks. It took a certain degree of strength and character to come through that. And if Frakes persisted with belittling her, Barrett was really going to shoot the bastard! It would certainly solve a few problems.
"Oh, he'll have her by now," Frakes mused, completely unaware of Barrett's fury. "You can pretty much guarantee that… I suppose O'Neill doesn't know that I'm just going to show up on his door step?"
Barrett winced slightly. "No," he admitted. But then, Jack hadn't specified where they were to hide Frakes. And who would ever think to look for him right under Simon's nose? It made some sort of sense to take him to the SGC. He only hoped he wasn't the only one who thought that.
"I must admit," Frakes said, looking wistfully out of the window. "It'll be quite something to finally see this Stargate contraption. You know I recommended Colonel O'Neill for that place?"
"No I didn't," Barrett replied, not really impressed by the fact. "And it's General O'Neill now."
Frakes looked surprised. "Is it really? Well, well. This day is full of surprises."
Barrett looked at him with curiosity. Ever since he had explained the whole story to him, he couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Frakes than he was letting on. There was a slight shine in the back of his eyes that suggested a certain amount of hidden knowledge. It certainly didn't help in trusting the guy. And didn't bode well for explaining his arrival in Colorado Springs. He knew Jack could read people like open books. There was no way this guy would slip beneath the radar. A point that was bound to unnerve the General somewhat. But it was too late to change that now.
Barrett looked out of his own window, trying not to think about what Frakes could possibly be hiding. His stomach lurched slightly as he recognised the Air Force landing strip they were headed for stretch out beneath them. They were here. There was no way out of it now.
Daniel felt like his head was going to explode with the over-load of information that Jack was feeding into it. He had heard some of the story before in the NID report of how Sam had ended up with a bullet in her chest. But he had no idea how far the whole affair worked its way into both Sam and Jack's lives.
"And he's got her now?" he asked.
Jack nodded, unable to speak or even look at the horrified expression on the Archaeologist's face. It was too much to deal with his own guilt for what was happening to her without adding Daniel's shock to it.
"And he's gonna keep up things like this," He indicated the pictures, "until you go and kill Frakes?"
Jack nodded. "The reason he's there at the moment is because I've already had one chance to do it and went to Barrett instead."
Daniel's eyes widened considerably. "What! Why the hell did you do that? Didn't you think about what might happen to her!"
"As a matter of fact, yes I did!" Jack snapped. "I thought about it a lot! And believe me, Daniel. It's nearly killing me to sit here and do nothing at the moment, but there is nothing I can do! I don't need you to remind that this is my fault! I know! OK!"
Daniel sat back slightly as Jack stood up to pace the space behind his desk. He rubbed the bridge of his nose nervously.
"I'm sorry," Daniel said eventually. "I shouldn't have laid this on you like that." He was mentally kicking himself for what he'd said. He knew what Sam meant to Jack. Of course he would have thought about her before acting.
"It's alright. You're right. I should never have let it come to this," Jack said heavily.
Before they could go further, there was a knock at the door and Walter gingerly stuck his head around the door.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, sir. Agent Barrett's here," he said.
Jack nodded in response. Walter moved aside and allowed the NID Agent to enter along with his companion.
"General," Barrett said in greeting.
"You brought him here?" Jack fumed on seeing Frakes. "Have you completely lost you mind?"
"Well where else was he going to hide?"
"I don't know… Timbuktu!"
Frakes smiled at his former subordinate. "Relax Jack," he said smoothly. "I'm sure you'll find a way to put up with me and still get your girl back."
Jack wasn't sure he was entirely happy hearing him refer to Sam as his 'girl'. But he was too pissed off to say anything then.
"Besides," Frakes continued. "I want to help take Carnall down."
Author's Note: Hope it's not too cruel to leave it there (though that's not the worst cliff hanger I've ever left y'all with!). Don't forget to review! And I'll get on with chapter 4! Thanx.