Disclaimer: Nope. Not mine. If it was a cute little kitten named Muffin, it still wouldn't me mine. Of course, Tanith, Ben, Loki, and the goons do belong to me.

AN: Sorry it took so long to update, folks, but I'm now officially a Uni student, and have classes to attend and homework to do. I will try, to the best of my ability, to update every other day, or somewhere around there. Of course, there are extenuating circumstances, like computers crashing, that will keep me from posting, but as I said, I'll do my best.

Chapter 6

A phone rang. "It's me," Maybourne said. Silence, then an angry reply. "They what? Damn. Okay." A pause and the pair could hear people shuffling around in the front of the van. "Change in plans, boys. Seems the good Colonels have been missed. The pilot says he's seeing activity at the airport, so that plan is out. Guess we'll have to go to our back-up plan."

"And what is that, Colonel?"

"A couple miles up the road, there's the turnoff to a cabin. We'll hole up there until the search dies down, then we can move O'Neill and Karino out of the area. It will just delay our little operation a while, that's all." About a half hour later, the van turned off the road and bumped over a rough, unpaved drive. It was about another hour or so before they finally pulled to a stop. One of the men got out, then a door opened and the van lurched forward into darkness.

'Smart move,' Al thought, 'parking the van inside. Maybe even a different vehicle here to switch to, because security tapes would have shown this van leaving the complex.' The back door of the van opened, and someone grabbed them, pulling them to their feet and removing the gags.

"Hey, guys, come on," Jack mumbled, "no need to be rough, huh? Let's go easy." He sagged, letting them think he was still drugged, hoping they'd relax, and when one of the silent guys, Heckle and Jeckle, he dubbed them, relaxed his grip on both of them, they spun. Al kicked him in the solar plexus and he went down like a sack of potatoes. Jack butted the other guy with his head, turning, ready to sprint for the trees, and ran head on into a fist, with Al mimicking the maneuver close to him. So there they were lying on the ground, dazed. After a minute or two, Jack rolled over, sitting up on his knees, feeling the blood dribbling out of his nose and down his face. Al had almost bounced back, already rubbing the blood off onto the t-shirt she was wearing.

"Oops," She mumbled.

"Really, you two, I'd have thought you'd know better than to try something like that. How dumb did you think we were?" Maybourne sneered.

Jack didn't answer that question because Maybourne wouldn't have liked his answer. Instead, he said, after coughing up the blood he'd swallowed, "I think you broke my nose."

And right after that, Al said, "Well, I assumed you were pretty smart to use those drugs on me, too. But really, do you want to bruise up a pretty girl like me?"

Colonel Maybourne decided to ignore Al and just argue with Jack. "Oh, I doubt that, Colonel."

"Feels broken," he said.

"And you know, seems to me I remember someone telling me how striking an officer is a quick way to a court martial..." Al said, after Jack's whining.

"Just shut up, would you?" Maybourne said. "O'Neill, you don't have a broken nose. It's not even bleeding anymore. And Karino, you're going to be pretty again soon…I hope."

"Hurts," Al complained.

"I didn't think you were such a whiner, Karino. To be in the army, with your grandfather being who he is, and having been in Egypt for so long."

"Nothing wrong with a little whine with the cheese," Jack muttered.

"Har, har, har," Maybourne sneered contemptuously at them.

"Why Harry, I'm wounded. I thought you enjoyed my witty remarks."

"Bring them," Maybourne ordered to his goons while turning away. It was a cabin, like dozens of isolated vacation homes in the area, set well back in the trees. In the brief moments while they were being marched from the shed to the house, they couldn't see anything that would give them a clue as to where they were. Once inside, they were shoved into chairs, hands fastened around the back, their ankles tied to the legs. 'This,' Jack thought, 'is going to get uncomfortable, real, real soon.'

"You know, that couch looks more inviting," Jack suggested.

"Well, we didn't bring you here to make you feel welcome, O'Neill. Since we've had to change our plans, well, we'll just get started here. Now, Mr. Wallace, there, he's had a little experience in interviewing..."

"You mean interrogating?" Jack asked.

Maybourne tilted his head. "Call it what you want. You'll tell him what you learned from those alien devices."

"I learned never to look into an unknown alien device," Al piped up.

"That's the truth," Jack continued.

"Very amusing, Colonels, but not anywhere near what we're looking for," Maybourne said.

"Well, you asked what we learned. We answered."

"You know that's not the information we're after."

"Well, you must be more precise in the questions you inquire of us, Colonel Maybourne. You did not state what you wished to have answered. If you wished to have something more specific, you must specify what it is you want. If one wants an answer to a question, a person must have at least a basic idea of what one wants in answer." Maybourne was getting that look on his face, the one like he had eaten something sour.

Jack had a look on his face that said, 'what did she just say?' "Al, did you just say anything at all in that long sentence?"

"Oh, yes, Jack. A person must have a basic understanding of the material in question, and if a person does not have that understanding, the person will not understand the answer," Al continued.

"Oh, explains why I'm lost," Jack answered.

"O'Neill, Karino, I have orders here, valid orders from a superior officer, that you are to tell us all about..."

"Can't tell you anything. These guys haven't got clearance," Jack answered, nodding at Heckle and Jeckle.

"Take my word for it, O'Neill, they won't hear a thing I tell them not to hear. And Wallace, of course, he has adequate clearance for the job."

"Sorry, without the proper paper work, can't believe you. I'm a by the book kinda guy," Jack answered smartly, but not nearly as smartly as Al had.

"Colonel O'Neill, you have never been by the book or even near the book, so let's get started, shall we? Or do we have to make this unpleasant?"

"Oh, Harry, it's already unpleasant," Jack said.

AN: Okay, so, did you like it? I sure hope so, but tell me what you think! If you don't like leaving a reply, you can always drop me an e-mail to tell me what you thought, or to ask questions, if that's necessary.