Chapter 23
Jack was a man on a mission; he wanted to meet with Rabb and Mackenzie and find out why they wanted to have Daniel and Teal'c arrested. Surely, they've made a big mistake. He reached the room they were working in and walked in, without knocking. "Okay you two, what have you got on my people?"
Mac and Harm looked up from the files they were reading when O'Neill barged into the room. "Colonel." Mac acknowledged.
"Ah, would you like to sit down?" Harm asked.
Jack looked around the interrogation room and at the table; no doubt numerous suspects had sat at. "I think I'll stand, now just tell me what you have on Daniel and Teal'c."
Harm looked at Mac, and saw her nod in agreement. "Okay Colonel, but you're not going to like it." Harm then looked thorough the files until he found the right one. He handed a sheet from the file to O'Neill. "This is Dr. Jackson's statement accounting for his time of the attack."
Jack read over Daniel's statement; "Ah I don't see anything incriminating in here and he is right, he wouldn't do anything to jeopardize finding those responsible for the attack on Carter."
Harm pulled out another sheet of paper and handed it to O'Neill.
Jack had to smirk at how little there was on this sheet of paper. 'Oh yea Teal'c was not the type to talk during an interrogation. "So now we know Teal'c was in his quarters and Daniel was in his lab, in case you didn't know; that's not unusual for those two." Jack said handing Rabb the pages back.
"In and of itself, no it's not a lot to go on; but combine their statements with a lack of an alibi and this…you can see why we wanted to arrest them for the attack on Stan." Mac said handing O'Neill a file.
Jack took the file and his look of exasperation turned to disbelief.
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He looked around to make sure no one was around before entering the room. He made his way to the desk and viewed the computer, changing the views of the security cameras until he came upon the one he wanted.
The black and white picture showed Sam and Daniel seated at Sam's workbench, both were staring at computers intently while Teal'c kept guard at the doorway.
'What the hell is she up to; she should be stuck in the infirmary?' He thought to himself. Then another thought came to his mind, 'did she find a way of tracking me down? That bitch! If anyone could figure out a way to catch him, it would be her. I'll just have to find a way to stop her.'
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"I do not understand how you have set this…trap, Major Carter?" Teal'c asked walking back in the room after making his rounds outside.
Sam smiled, she didn't mind explaining things to Teal'c at least he paid attention when she talked. "Well you see Teal'c it took a couple of steps. First I had to make sure that no one could use their cell phones on base."
"Ah, yea that's what I don't get Sam, how did you do that?" Daniel asked.
"I e-mailed one of the scientists, Dr. Felger and had him run one of my experiments, it just happens to interfere with cell phones; but in order for it to work over the entire base I had him do a couple of adjustments so the interference would be carried along the power lines of the base."
"Geez Sam how do come up with these ideas. Now I'm not sure if I want you to fix my toaster or not." Daniel said giving her a smile.
"So how is being unable to use one's cell phone going to be able to catch a rodent?" Teal'c asked.
"It's a mole Teal'c not a rodent." Daniel said.
"Is not a mole a rodent?"
"Well yes…"
"Then I see no reason to correct me."
"Your right Teal'c." Sam said chuckling at Daniel's frustration.
"Weren't you about to continue with your explanation Sam?" Daniel said giving her an annoyed look.
"Why yes I was Daniel, thank you. Anyway, Teal'c with the cell phones unable to work that would force the mole to use the base phones. For which I set up a program to digitally record all calls on to the computer. Which is what Daniel and I have been doing, going over the calls trying to find the one the mole made."
"Are there not many phones on the base?"
"Ah, yea Teal'c, that's why it's going to take a while to search the files." Sam said moving to stretch but stopping instantly from the sharp pain shooting through her upper back and shoulders.
"Sam are you okay?" Daniel asked putting his hand on her back.
"Yea Daniel just moved the wrong way."
"Perhaps you should rest Major Carter. Daniel Jackson can go over the files while you rest." Teal'c said showing his concern.
"No it's okay Teal'c, I'll keep working." Sam said, not wanting to give into her pain and fatigue.
"Then is it not time for your medication?" Teal'c was taking O'Neill's order of looking after Major Carter very serious.
"Um, I'd say yes but I don't have my pills with me." Sam said sheepishly, but then again when they left her house, she wasn't thinking of taking her meds with her.
"That is alright Major Carter; O'Neill gave them to me earlier." Teal'c said taking the pills out of his pocket and dispensing them to her.
Sam smiled at him and then took the glass of water Daniel handed her. "Boy you guys take your assignment seriously."
"Always Sam, when it comes to you." Daniel said putting his hand gently on her upper back.
The quiet in the room was broken by the base's emergency alarm going off. Then the phone in the lab rang, Teal'c quickly reached for it and began talking. "Are you sure that is wise? Very well then." Teal'c said then hung up the phone.
"Teal'c what's going on?" Daniel asked quickly.
"I am sorry to inform you Major Carter but your presence is required in the gate room."
Sam looked at him worried, "What's wrong?"
"There is a problem with the gate that General Hammond says for which your expertise is required." Teal'c said as he moved to Sam, this time helping her to the wheel chair instead of picking her up. Then the three of them rushed out of the lab towards the gate room.
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"What's that about?" Harm asked looking to O'Neill for an explanation as to why alarms were going off.
"Could be a number of things, but usually has to do with the gate, which is where you'll find me." Jack said curtly as he hurried out and towards the control room.
Mac and Harm looked at each other then got up and hurried after O'Neill, they might as well see as much as they can of what goes on at this base.
Jack came running in the control room stopping when he came up next to the general. "Sir what's going on?" Then he saw Teal'c wheeling Sam into the gate room with Daniel following behind. "And what's Carter doing here?"
"Sorry Jack but I had to call her in, somehow there was an overload in the gate system and the techs are unable to get the gate back on line." Hammond said then noticed that he had two extra people listening to him.
"Ah sorry General, we heard there was a problem…"
"And thought you'd come check it out?" Jack said cutting Mac off mid sentence.
"Yea, something like that." Harm said grinning slightly.
Jack saw Hammond heading down the stairs and followed him.
"Sorry about calling you Major." Hammond said, seeing that Carter had already started looking over the gate, albeit with the helping hands of Teal'c and Daniel.
Sam looked up at the General, "That's alright Sir, as far as I can tell the overload also caused the relay from the computer to the gate to be affected. As the techs work on repairing the gate I'll have to work on the computer getting it and the gate back on line." Sam said looking discouraged knowing it would take a long time to get the job done.
"What about our off world teams?" Jack asked.
"Well Sir incoming wormholes will engage, but the iris will have to be controlled manually; hopefully no one's in a hurry since it takes a little longer to open it that way."
"Okay then, I hate to have to say this but everyone get to work." Jack said and looked apologetically at Sam.
"Okay sergeant you know what you have to do down here now." Sam said to Siler then looked at the colonel.
"I just need to get to the control room Sir." She didn't want Teal'c picking her up and carrying her in front of everyone.
Jack saw the look on Sam's face and knew she would be embarrassed if Teal'c lugged her up the stairs. He wheeled her over to the stairs then helped her stand and together they managed to make it up the stairs with Sam using the handrail and Jack's support. Once at the top of the stairs Sgt. Harriman had a chair waiting for her, which Jack wheeled to the computer station.
"Thank you Sir." Sam said as she started to work on the computer.
"No problem Carter; do you need anything, like maybe a coffee or something." Jack said from his position standing behind Sam.
"Coffee sounds good Sir." Sam said not taking her eyes off the computer screen.
"So what's going on O'Neill?" Harm asked looking puzzled at Sam working.
"We're having a problem with the gate; Carter being our expert is actually the only one able to fix it." Jack said in low voice so he wouldn't disturb Sam.
"But she shouldn't be working in her condition." Mac said a little louder than Jack but still keeping her voice down.
Jack motioned for them to follow him as he led them into the hallway. "Look we have several teams off world and they need our gate to be working in case they run into trouble. Carter knows what's at stake, which is why she is where she is right now." Jack said a little angry, not just at them but at the situation itself.
"Don't you think the timing is a little odd?" Daniel said after hearing the conversation as he and Teal'c approached the group.
"Yea I was thinking that too." Jack told Daniel.
"Do you believe the rodent was responsible for this O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.
Jack furrowed his brow as he looked at Teal'c. "Ah it's a mole, and yes I do believe he is responsible." Then Jack looked at Daniel, "rodent, Daniel?"
"Oh I tried Jack, believe me I tried." Daniel said recounting his futile attempt to explain the difference between a rodent and a mole to Teal'c.
"Huh, why would the mole damage the gate?" Harm asked.
"It could be a diversion of some kind, or their just could have been an overload. We can't go around second guessing ourselves now." Jack said.
"Anyway, I told Carter I'd get her some coffee…"
"Ah she could probably use something to eat too, why don't Teal'c and I go get her something." Daniel offered.
"Yea that's a good idea, you might as well take a break too, now that there's enough security around Carter, I'll come with you and bring back the food."
"Mind if we join you Colonel?" Harm asked.
Daniel took a gulp at the thought of having the two lawyers trying to prove him and Teal'c guilty sharing a meal with him.
"Sure the more the merrier. Then maybe you can tell me how your investigation into finding the mole is going." Jack said sending a look at Teal'c.
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Sam took the last gulp of her now cold coffee, setting the cup down next to the half-eaten sandwich the colonel brought for her. Her attention was taken away from the screen when Sgt. Siler approached. "Sergeant?"
"We finished the last of the repairs Ma'am, you were correct in your assessment of the damage." Siler said handing a clipboard to her.
"So it's ready for a diagnostic to be run?" Sam said tiredly.
"Yes Ma'am."
"Good, I just have to finish off a few more things here, then we can run a full diagnostic."
"Would you like me to run the diagnostic Major?" Walter offered seeing how tired and drained she looked.
"Thanks for the offer sergeant, but I have to do it myself to make sure nothing goes wrong."
"What's the status Major?" Hammond asked entering the control room.
"The problem with the gate is fixed Sir, now I just have to finish a few more things with the computer and then run a full gate diagnostic. Sir, it looks like it may have been sabotage." Sam said looking up at the general.
"Great, after everything else that happened now we have to worry about sabotage. I'll be a hell of a lot happier when we find this mole."
"I agree with you there Sir."
"So what time frame are we looking at to have the gate fully operational?"
"I'd say between twenty and thirty minutes Sir."
"Sounds good, keep me appraised." Hammond said feeling guilty about putting so much on Sam, then left to go to his office.
Jack came back in the control room to check on Sam as he had been doing since she started working. Sam had been so enthralled in her work she hadn't noticed him hovering.
"So Carter how goes it?"
"Just about finished Sir, the diagnostics look good and…" Sam put her hand on the iris control pad and they watched as it opened then closed. "the iris control is working again."
"Great, so sergeant dial up the gate." Jack said.
Harriman looked at Carter for information.
"Try dialling P2X 343." Sam instructed; everyone in the control room and gate room waited with baited breath as the gate began to dial.
"Seventh chevron locked…wormhole engaged." Walter said happily. Many cheers could be heard from both rooms as the blue puddle appeared.
"Great job Carter." Jack said patting her lightly on the back.
"Ah the general wants to be kept up to date Sir."
"Very well, Harriman go fill the general in on the success and let him know that I've ordered Major Carter to retire for the night." Jack said looking at Sam's surprised face.
Jack pushed Sam's chair into the hallway where her wheel chair had been put. He then helped her transfer to the wheel chair. "One trip to pick up your guards, then it's off to bed for you."
Sam couldn't believe how the colonel was treating her. It had been a long time since anyone ordered her around when it came to her personal life; and when she went to bed was definitely personal.
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Harm and Mac had joined O'Neill, Jackson and Teal'c in cafeteria but soon felt uncomfortable. They finished eating quickly and left for their "office" which is where Sgt. Harriman found them.
"Excuse me Sir, Ma'am but the general asked me to give this to you. It's the name of the police detective who's handling the shooting at Major Carter's house; the general has asked that you talk to him." Walter said feeling nervous being in this room again.
"Thank you sergeant, we'll get right on that." Mac said trying to sound as nice as she could.
"Is it me, or do the people around here seem colder?" Harm said after Harriman left.
"No it's not just you, I've felt the same thing since Dr. Jackson and Teal'c were arrested."
"Well you can tell the people on this base are sure loyal to each other."
"Yea, except for the one causing all the trouble. I guess I'll deal with the local police." Mac said as she got up to use the phone.
"Ah just where I thought you'd be." Jack said as he wheeled Sam into the cafeteria.
"Hey Jack, Sam how did it go?" Daniel asked.
"It's all fixed." Sam said stifling a yawn.
"So Teal'c did you get enough to eat?" Jack asked looking at the remnants on his plate.
"Yes, indeed I did O'Neill." Teal'c said raising his eyebrow at Jack.
"Good then you'll be ready for guard duty; Carter here is ready to go to bed. Isn't that right Carter?" Jack said in a stern voice.
"Why yes Sir, I guess I am." Sam said raising her eyebrows and shaking her head slightly.
"Okay then Carter I'll leave you in good hands. Make sure she gets at least seven hours of sleep."
"We will see to Major Carter's safety O'Neill." Teal'c said getting up and taking hold of the wheel chair.
"Yea Jack, don't worry I'll make sure Sam gets some rest." Daniel said putting his hand on Jacks shoulder and following Teal'c out.
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"Yea I'll go find Sam and give her the news." Mac said looking at Harm.
"She's probably in her quarters by now." Harm said.
"Well, I'll check to see if she's still awake. I wonder if she ever sleeps?" Mac said shaking her head as she left to find Sam.
"Come on guys you're not honestly going to sit in my room all night watching me sleep are you?" Sam said exasperated.
"No actually we thought we'd take turns, the excitement might be too much for the both of us." Daniel told Sam snickering a little.
"Oy, well at least give me a little time to myself." Sam said knowing there was no way of talking them out of it; and when had Daniel become so much like O'Neill?
"Okay Sam, we'll give you a few minutes to get ready." Daniel said knowing he didn't want to be in there when she was getting ready for bed.
Just then, Mac came around the corner and the saw the trio in the hallway. "Hey Sam, I'm glad I found you, I have some news for you."
"Why don't we go in my quarters and we can discuss what ever it is in there. Ah you guys can wait here." Sam said giving Daniel and Teal'c a grin.
Mac went behind Sam and pushed her chair into the room after Teal'c opened the door.
"I wonder what that's all about?" Daniel said to Teal'c
"I do not know, but I am sure Major Carter will inform us if need be."
"So what did you need to talk to me about?" Sam said as she shifted from the chair and landed on the bed.
"Well the general got a call from the local police and asked Harm and myself to handle it. The detective in charge of the case of the shooting at your house needs to interview you." Mac said watching Sam start to bend over to remove her shoe.
"What about you and Harm, from what I was told it was you two that shot him." Sam said through gritted teeth.
"Sam let me help you with that." Mac said kneeling down to help her with her shoe, when something caught her attention.
"Sam, do you work with wires in your quarters?" Mac asked worried as she spotted a yellow coloured wire sticking out from under her bed.
"No, why?" Sam asked bewildered as to why she would ask such a question.
"Just ah stay still." Mac warned Sam as she looked under the bed. "Oh Damn!"
"What, what is it?" Sam said getting more worried
"What ever you do Sam, don't move. There's a bomb under here." Mac said looking up to see a very wide eyed Sam.
"Go and tell Teal'c and Daniel now." Sam said trying to keep her cool.
Mac rushed and opened the door, "There's a bomb under Sam's bed!"
"What!" Daniel said as he and Teal'c entered the room.
"Daniel don't touch anything." Sam said looking even more nervous.
"Is there an explosive expert around?" Mac asked.
"Major Carter is an explosives expert as is Colonel O'Neill." Teal'c said
Sam just rolled her eyes, a lot of good her knowledge would do her right now. "Okay I want you to clear this room and get Colonel O'Neill."
"Sam I'm not leaving you alone at a time like this." Daniel said moving closer to her after he saw Teal'c leave to get Jack.
"Daniel stay back, it's probably pressure sensitive, and your being here won't help either of us. Go now…please." Sam said trying to remain calm but now worrying about Daniel more than herself.
"Sam I can't." Daniel said pleading with Sam.
"Mac, get him and yourself out of here." Sam said now feeling slightly out of breath.
"Okay Sam, come on Dr. Jackson we have to get out of here." Mac said tugging on his arm forcing him to get out of the room.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Jack yelled running down the hall to Sam's room. He stopped abruptly at Sam's door seeing the look of fear on her face and instantly tried to calm himself down.
"Where's the bomb?" Jack asked.
"It's under the bed near the bottom quarter; I saw a yellow wire sticking out and saw it when I looked under the bed." Mac informed him.
"Okay, I want everyone away from the area while I check it out." Jack ordered, only taking his eyes off Sam to make sure his order was being followed. Then made his way to her bed kneeling down making sure not to put any pressure on it.
"Sir if it looks …ah just go if it can't be diffused." She said looking down at him seeing him staring into her eyes.
"You know me Carter, I like a challenge; and besides how many times can you say you've had a colonel kneeling at your feet."
"Just be careful Sir." Sam said not feeling like joking at the moment. Then watched his head disappear under the bed.
Jack looked into Sam's eyes once more before shifting so he was partially under the bed. 'Shit' he thought to himself, 'this is going to be more difficult than I thought. "Ah Carter…"
"Yes Sir."
"Did I mention that you should make sure you don't move a muscle?"
"You have now Sir. So it's that bad?" She said her voice becoming quieter.
"It's a little bad, but nothing we can't handle. I just need to do things in two steps." He said as he reached into his pocket for his wire cutters. He took a deep breath and snipped the green wire, letting out the breath he was holding when thankfully nothing happened.
Sam saw Jack re-emerge from under the bed. "So?"
Jack positioned himself so he kneeling in front of Sam. "Look Carter I managed to stop the timer but the pressure sensor is another story." He said his voice quiet and gentle.
"So what… I'm dead?" Sam said her voice cracking a little.
"Not if I have anything to do with it. I want you to remain still and trust me. Can you do that?" He said more forcefully, now was not the time for Sam to be giving up.
"Sir I don't want you risking your life for a hopeless cause." Sam said looking into his eyes.
"Carter all I need is for you to do two things, just two. Stay still and trust me." Jack said his voice getting louder. He was afraid she would wait for the area to be clear and move; sacrificing herself so, no one else would be in danger.
"Carter I need to know you'll do this or I'm not leaving the room. Which by the way I need to do to make a plan on getting you out of here ALIVE."
"Yes Sir, I'll do that, and I do trust you." Sam said looking down at her hands.
"Good, look this might take some time but just try to relax and know we're working on the problem."
"Yes Sir." Sam said as she watched Jack get to his feet and turn to leave the room. She realized that at this moment she's never felt so alone in her life.
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"So Colonel, do you think this is really going to work?" Hammond asked rubbing the back of his neck how could this situation have gone from bad to worse; how could someone plant a bomb in Sam's quarters. He only prayed Jack's plan would work, he hated the alternative.
"Yes Sir we do." Jack said acknowledging the other explosive experts in the room whom he had worked with coming up with the plan.
"Very well then, get who ever you need Colonel." Hammond said as he stood to leave the room. The others standing and waiting for him to leave the room before retaking their seats.
Teal'c, Daniel, Harm and Mac had also sat in on the meeting feeling the necessity to be there even if they couldn't offer any suggestions.
"Okay Teal'c I need you and about four other big strong able bodies."
"Ah, I'd like to volunteer O'Neill." Harm said looking at Jack.
Jack looked him over and nodded his approval. "Okay lets get going."
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Sam sat there in silence; she had been contemplating her life and the odds of getting out of this one. She didn't realize how difficult remaining still could be, her muscles had become stiff and painful and her ribs were killing her. 'Funny' she thought, 'were her ribs going to kill her first or was the bomb'. She was drawn out of her thoughts by loud noises in the hallway. 'Guess its time for my rescue.'
Jack now lead a group of five very large men all dressed in protective gear and helmets, he himself choosing just the regular Kevlar vest. "Okay get in position while I get Carter ready." He ordered.
Jack entered Sam's room glad to see her in the same position he had left her; only now, he could see the sheen of sweat on her forehead and the look of pain on her face. "Hey Carter, we've come up with a plan."
"Glad to hear it Sir, I don't know how much more relaxation I can take."
Jack waved off the comment and continued with his explanation. "Carter we have some very strong guys out there, including Teal'c and Rabb who are all anxious to get you out of here."
"Not as anxious as I am Sir, so what's the plan?"
"Well there's some good news and bad news. The bomb is very pressure sensitive, so adding weight to the bed wont' work."
"And that's the…"
"Bad news Carter, the good news is that it won't go off instantaneously, we have about two to three seconds between the time when the weight changes and it detonates."
"And you call that good news?" Sam said feeling her hope fading away.
"Why that's plenty of time Carter. I'm just going to put this harness on you, then attach it to this nice long rope. Then me and my friends out there are going to pull you out. Did I mention pull you out quickly, just like one of those rides in the fair. It will over before you know it." Jack said looking at Sam seeing the wheels turning in her mind.
"Sir, that sounds…"
"Brilliant? Yes it does, doesn't it? Anyway you get the easy job; all you have to do is enjoy the ride." Jack said as he started to put the harness on Sam.
"Just let me do all the work Carter, you stay as still as you can." Jack said as he eased one side of the harness around her arm and over her shoulder. Once the harness was secure, Jack attached the rope to it.
"Okay Teal'c ease up on the slack, a little tighter…that's it. Hold it there. Okay Carter, I'm going to go join them out there, and you'll be joining us in no time."
"Sir."
"Yes Carter?"
"If this, uh doesn't work…could you give my father a message?" Sam said looking into Jack's eyes.
"You can tell him yourself Carter, when we get you out of here." Sam could tell that Jack wasn't thinking of any other possibilities for the outcome, and she couldn't crush his hope right now.
"Your right Sir. I'll see you in the hall." She said as she watched him get set up.
Jack took his spot in front of the others, a mattress had been placed on the floor behind him, and the others were behind that. Jack felt the tension on rope when he grabbed it. "Okay everyone on three. One…two…three…"
BANG!
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A/N: Okay I know I'm being cruel leaving you there, but hey I think I'm getting better at being cruel ;)