The Coldest of Hearts – Part Four
Janet's thoughts were wrenched to the present as Sam and Daniel hurried down the corridor towards her.
"Janet ... any word yet?" asked Sam as she drew next to her friend.
Janet shook her head. "Colonel Harrison is trying to get hold of General Hammond now. The police have been notified and an APB has been put out."
"That's a good start at least," said Daniel, trying to offer comfort.
Colonel Harrison came out of the General's office. "The General's on his way in. We'll wait in the briefing room, Teal'c's already there."
Teal'c stood by the window overlooking the gate room, waiting for them to arrive.
"Is there still no word?" he asked as they entered.
"Nothing yet," the Colonel replied, taking his seat, leaving the head of the table free for the General when he arrived.
Sam gave a start as she realised with a pang just how odd it was to see someone else in the Colonel's usual seat.
Since being ordered back to base and questioned to see if she knew anything she'd had the a feeling of dread. It was bad enough the Colonel, but Cassie as well ...
"Shouldn't we be checking out Jack's place?" asked Daniel suddenly. He'd been unusually quiet since he'd heard the news.
"I've already sent Major Reynolds and his team. Jack's place is locked up tight and sound, no sign of anything amiss. His neighbours reported he left early morning and hadn't seen him return," said Colonel Harrison. "Also I've got the switchboard repeatedly trying his cell phone."
"Oh," responded Daniel. "I take it then that the rinks he'd normally take Cassie to have been checked out?"
"I rang those first and all the others in town after that. No sign of them – nothing," answered Janet.
"So, he either took Cassie out of town or they didn't go skating at all ... any hockey matches in state ... anything?" questioned Sam.
"There are none this weekend," commented Teal'c. "O'Neill was quite specific about his plans when he spoke to me yesterday evening. He did in fact ask if I wanted to join them as he was taking Cassandra to skate. It is with the utmost regret that I refused him."
"You couldn't have known that something would happen Teal'c," said Daniel. "Did Jack mention anything else?"
Teal'c thought for a moment. His Tauri friend suffered from verbal profusion when discussing something unrelated to himself on a personal matter, and he was greatly confused at times with O'Neill's phrasing, something he was sure that the man did on purpose to keep him on his toes.
"He mentioned that it was going to be good weather for it," he remembered.
"Good weather ... he wouldn't need to bother about that indoors," said Janet.
"Outside rink anywhere?" asked Colonel Harrison.
Sam shook her head slowly.
"There aren't any that I know of within easy travelling distance."
"If the Colonel's truck is in town the police will find it. All the hospitals have been notified and checked and we're monitoring the airwaves," offered Colonel Harrison, trying to give some measure of reassurance.
Janet's gaze wandered over to the clock. It was 0100 hours and the strain was already showing. Everyone was tired from an already long day.
General Hammond's sudden arrival, in civvies, brought them all to attention.
"At ease people, now tell me what the hell is going on ... just where is Colonel O'Neill?"
xoxoxoxo
Cassie lay still. It seemed an age since Jack had left her and her breathing seemed very loud in the night. She could hear the quiet murmurings and the pacing from the men just a little way down the road and occasionally she heard the door opening and closing on the truck.
Jack had warned her to keep her head back from the edge so that the clouds her breath made wouldn't alert anyone, so she hadn't even tried to look, staying as still as possible.
The sudden noise from the road further up startled her and she sat up with a jerk as she wondered what it was. The continued rattle of stone made her realise that Jack had started his distraction and she crouched back down, waiting silently.
She heard the footsteps below her and the urgent whisper of the men as they moved closer to investigate. If she had leaned over she would have been right on top of two of them.
xoxoxoxo
Jack cursed as he realised they weren't moving yet. He'd started the small rockslide and hoped it would be enough to draw them from the vehicle ... obviously not!
He groaned inwardly as he realised he was going to have to put a lot more effort into it. Moving further back up the roadside he smacked a branch against a tree trunk, the crack it made sounding like gunfire, and he heard one of the men shouting. The trucks lights were suddenly switched on and the engine started. He'd been hoping they might have left the truck and come running, but it seemed they weren't complete idiots ...
The lights reflected a long way on the snow covered road and Jack moved quickly, trying to draw them back towards the base.
The sound of the motorbike made him run just a little faster. He wanted to make sure that Cassie's route down would be clear, but hopefully not get caught ... at least just yet.
xoxoxoxo
Cassie watched as two of the men darted further up the road. They were calling to the others behind them. When the sharp banging noise reached their ears the truck's lights came on and the engine was started. The truck pulled up to allow the two men to grab on to the running board. She could see their guns held out, ready to fire and her heart leapt with fear for Jack.
The motorbike started up and overtook the truck, its narrow beam casting its light along the road.
Cassie waited, hoping and praying that all the men had left. Her arms and legs shook slightly as she rolled on her belly and she let herself drop down onto the hard surface.
Although the drop was around ten feet, the snow cushioned her fall and within seconds she was up and moving. The quaking fear that someone was waiting to grab at her wound its tendrils around her and she began to run, tears running freely. She ran as fast as she could, the light from the moon making the road clear enough, but the shadows from the cliff at her right and the trees on her left were long ... and very menacing.
She wasn't sure how long she ran ... she was gasping for breath, her heart thudding so madly she thought it would burst.
She'd tucked her hand on the cell phone in her pocket as she ran. That phone was their lifeline ... she began to slow down, trying to get her breath and moved to the side of the road, squatting down as she turned on the phone.
It seemed an age before it lit and she confirmed the switch on ... the signal wasn't full strength ... but enough!
Shaking with fear and relief, she began to speed dial ...
xoxoxoxo
The General's aide came running up the briefing room stairs. "Call on the outside line Sir ... Cassandra Fraiser!" He didn't apologise for the interruption, knowing the importance of the matter in hand.
The General moved with a speed that belied his bulk and years, and he snatched up the phone and punched the line in button.
"Cassie?" he toned down his usual bark to speak softly.
Janet had moved over to him and was almost on his elbow, her eyes wide and questioning.
The General hit another button on the phone and put it on speaker.
At first they could only hear someone gasping for breath and Janet's knees almost folded. Just in time Sam pushed a chair behind her and she sat down with a thump.
"Cassie honey, is that you?" she managed to speak.
"Mom ..." Cassie's voice broke with a sob.
"Yes, it's me, we're all here," responded Janet.
"Cassie, where are you? Tell us and we can come and get you," said the General calmly.
"We're on the Fort Johnson Road ..." she gasped again, trying to even out her breathing to continue speaking. "Almond Ridge ... I'm just below it."
"Is Colonel O'Neill with you?" asked the General.
"He's ... oh ... he told me to tell you six men ..." she panted heavily.
"Please, you have to hurry. He said they've got a NEM303. Jack's back there on his own so I could ..." she gasped again.
"Take it easy Cassie, just try and catch your breath," said Janet with a calmness she didn't feel.
"Jack said to tell you contact Peterson ... the army ... they're after the men ... they're waiting for pick up ..." she broke off with a sob. "No, not six, oh God, Jack ..." She sobbed again, clearly trying to control the panic that was there. "Please hurry."
"Cassie are you on the road? Are they chasing you?" asked Sam, drawing closer to the General, her voice full of concern for the obviously frightened girl on the other end of the phone.
"Yes ... I'm on the road, but they've gone after Jack ... you've got to hurry, please ..."
"Cassie, I want you to keep talking to us," said Sam as the General waved at her to signal he was going to use another phone. "Is the battery okay?"
"Yes ... Jack kept it shut off till we got a signal."
"Cassie, I want you to get off the road and get down ... is there a ditch or something at the side?"
There was a few seconds silence, then the trembling voice answered. "Trees ... cliff on the other side."
"Okay, can you get into the trees? We're going to get help to you. It won't be long. You can keep talking to us."
"I ... it's darker under the trees."
Cassie's voice sounded so lost and alone it made Sam almost weep. She was anxious for the Colonel as well and she didn't dare risk another glance at Janet's frightened face, fearing it would undo her.
"Mom, are you still there?"
Janet bit down a sob and cleared her throat. "Yes hon, I'm here."
"Mom ... I ..." there was a moment's silence and then rustling. "Oh God, I can hear gunshots."
The listeners in the briefing room could also hear the shots faintly over the phone and Sam's heart did a flip.
"It's okay Cassie, they sound far away," said Daniel as he realised Sam couldn't speak for a second.
"Jack ... Jack's back there ... Oh God, they've shot him..." Cassie's voice choked off with a huge sob.
Sam's eyes filled with unshed tears, the anguish in the young girl's voice almost too much to stand. "No ..." she said shakily. "They're just trying to scare you. Keep down."
"No ... I can't leave him ... send help! Hurry!" screamed Cassie into the phone.
"Cassie!" Janet screamed back as she rose, getting closer to the receiver. "Listen to me!"
The line went dead.
They stayed in stunned silence for several seconds before Sam grabbed the phone and began dialing the Colonel's cell.
It rang for a second then was cut off. The second dialing gave them the switched off message...
xoxoxoxo
Cassie began running back up the road before she realised she left the cell switched on and she still had hold of it. The shrill tone as it rang startled her and she quickly switched it off. Remembering what Jack had said about not being found with it she threw it onto the roadside and ran on. The thought that she had cut off her contact with the outside world didn't occur, only the thought that Jack was captured and hurt kept her going ... maybe she could help him ... maybe they wouldn't kill him if they thought they had them both safely locked up again ...
xoxoxoxo
"God, she's going back up," moaned Janet.
General Hammond came back in and Sam quickly filled him in.
"She's what?" exploded the General.
"We think she's going back to Jack ... or at least trying to," said Daniel.
"Heaven help them!" sighed the General. "I've spoken to Peterson and General Marsh, the army commander in charge and I have made him aware of the situation with Colonel O'Neill. Apparently the theft of the missile occurred from the laboratory transport on its way to its new location."
"NEM ... a missile?" asked Daniel, his eyes widening.
Sam nodded. "Naquadah Enhanced Missile. I didn't know we'd actually produced any yet General," she said with a slightly accusing tone.
"The Chief of Staffs authorised it and the army was taking delivery of the proto-type. It's one of its kind at the moment ..."
"With enough power to take out a large city and ..."
"And it's now in the hands of ... what? Terrorists? ... Mercenaries?" asked Daniel bitterly.
"The Colonel knew about this?" asked Janet, somewhat dazed. If she thought for one moment that Jack O'Neill had taken her daughter into danger deliberately ...
"The Colonel would recognize it for what it was," admitted the General. "He's acknowledged as an arms specialist and particularly with the SGC's role in fulfilling our objectives."
"To find weapons!" cried Daniel bitterly.
"To keep Earth free from the Goa'uld, Doctor Jackson!" barked the General, then he paused, visibly reining in his temper before speaking again. "But back to the matter in hand. Colonel O'Neill would not be aware of the theft as it only occurred yesterday and he certainly would not take such irresponsible action as to drag Cassie along. I think it's a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"What are the army doing? Are they able to help?" asked Teal'c.
"They're sending specialist teams in and have another helicopter standing by for SG1 along with an officer to brief you."
"And me," said Janet, standing.
"Doctor Fraiser ..."
"She's my daughter, General and if either of them are hurt I need to be there," she said quietly, coming to attention.
The General gazed at her for a moment before responding. "Very well Doctor, get yourself and two medics ready. Major Carter, you are in command of our side of the rescue. Bring them back."
Samantha Carter threw the General a quick salute and along with her team and Janet Fraiser, they made a hasty retreat to change and get to the transport.
xoxoxoxo
Jack's diversion had worked ... but the trouble was he couldn't actually be assured that all the men were following him.
He knew there were at least two with the truck earlier and the man called Si on the bike, he could here, the bike was not far behind him ... but there was still two unknowns. They could be anywhere ... he just hoped for Cassie's sake they hadn't stayed behind.
He had to stay close to the road to keep them moving, at least a little while, giving them a shadowy figure to chase.
When he could see the bike's headlight reflecting the road at the side of him he dived off into the trees. Crashing his way through, the more noise at this stage the better ... the thwack of a bullet as it hit the tree ahead of him made him change direction suddenly and he decided that it was time to head further into the undergrowth.
xoxoxoxo
Cassie kept running, her breath coming in gasps now, the road seeming much steeper going up than it had going down. She could hear the vehicle ahead and see the lights flickering ahead of her, wavering to and fro in their search.
Maybe they hadn't got him ... maybe he was okay ... maybe ... Cassie screamed as a strong pair of arms grabbed her and lifted her up. The scream died in her throat and suddenly the world crashed sideways and blackness overtook her ...
xoxoxoxo