A/N: I know, I know. Been too long. I was once a frequent updater. Never with this fic – but I swear it's got nothing to do with the story, it's just the circumstances I'm writing it in. I'm now technically on holiday… and so just turning the computer on is a bit of an effort. Previously, fic-writing was my escape from study. It's still something I love doing, but I've been catching up on my real life in the last little while. I really can't apologise enough… I really want to finish this fic – I know exactly where it's going, it's just GETTING there!

Again thank you to my faithful reviewers. Glad to see you've found this, Arrant Schemata; I appreciate your input! Oh, and thank you SOOO much to shiny silver grl who pointed out a serious gaffe in my last chapter – I actually reposted to correct it (the sentence structure was backwards and gave the wrong impression at one point).

Also thanks to Locathah for pointing out that I didn't actually have a disclaimer about the slightly AU aspect of the story. I've reposted the first chapter to include an explanation as to why they found the stargate in France and not Giza… please go back and have a quick look!

Ok. On with the show. Special mention as always to Bookworm who is just cool.

Part 7 – Exposed and on the run

Jack followed the burly Frenchmen in silence, aware that they in no way trusted him, Teal'c, or Daniel. Apparently, Sam was on good terms with whoever it was in charge, but through Élodie's body language he could tell that this was not a good guy. They had exited the police headquarters only to be mobbed by thousands of jubilant protestors. The police had begun firing but apparently weren't authorized to use deadly force – they were only firing rubber bullets.

Their rescuers seemed to have planned everything exceedingly well. There had been no pause once they left the building. The surging crowds provided excellent cover as they made their escape. The man talking to Sam was obviously well known – people made way upon seeing him – and they encountered no trouble as they moved steadily across the square, leaving the chaos behind them.

"O'Neill," Teal'c murmured under his breath, speaking just loud enough to attract his attention without arousing suspicion. "I do not believe we should place our trust in these people for much longer."

Jack pretended as if he hadn't heard anything, but quickly nodded his head, indicating that he'd understood. He moved surreptitiously closer to Sam and fell in step directly behind her. The group was walking quickly through the backstreets of Toulouse, ducking and weaving through alleys that probably hadn't seen anyone in a long time.

"You got a plan, Carter?" he asked quietly, while pretending to cough. He didn't expect Sam to answer vocally, but kept an eye trained on her for any sign of recognition. He kept a stern eye on the Frenchmen around them too, lest they become suspicious at all. He relaxed somewhat when he saw Sam turn her head briefly, catch his eye, and nod – hazarding a quick reassuring smile. Jack contented himself with relying on her judgment and slowly let himself fall back from her to walk next to Teal'c again.

Cagoule headquarters, Toulouse

The group of men slowly peeled off as the troupe exited a particularly small alley-way onto what seemed to be a bustling market street. Suddenly they were no longer furtively darting down dank filaments of road between tall apartment buildings. Sam looked around, impressed. The entire rescue operation was magnificently worked out.

"Vous avez alors tout planifié. So you've planned everything." She said to Maurice, her voice showing how impressed she was.

"Mais bien sûr, but of course. We would not have engaged in a rescue operation without a well-organised plan." He replied curtly, his eyes scanning the crowd to make sure there were no imposters in the artificial chaos. "It would do no use to reach our headquarters from such an obvious location as a dark alleyway. The best method for subterfuge is complete openness."

"And here, we're one of the crowd." Sam finished his sentence, nodding as she too surveyed the crowd, on the look-out for any apparent threat.

As she was doing this, she saw Maurice make speedy hand-gestures to some stall-holders as they walked passed. All of a sudden, those men started redoubling their loud calls, proclaiming the superiority of their produce. On cue, people began milling around them, obscuring SG1 and their escort party from view. Among the cacophony, Maurice and the two guardsmen who remained with them propelled Sam and the others quickly through a nondescript door behind the largest stall and the moved inside.

Inside

Jack ducked his head as they all moved behind a movable bookshelf and down an extremely cramped set of stairs. By the looks of it, the building and the secret passageway had existed for centuries. After a good 5 minutes' descent down the stone spiral staircase, they arrived at a large cavern, all the walls covered with wine racks filled with what he imagined would be excellent wine. The men accompanying them showed them to a corner of the room which was obviously set up for meetings, as there were numerous comfortable chairs and a small bar whence drinks were served. One of the men went behind the bar and started pouring what looked to be either cognac or armagnac. Jack welcomed the glass offered to him and nursed it in the palm of his hand, breathing in the alcoholic smell.

He kept his eyes sharply on everyone in the room, and looked around carefully, memorizing every inch of the space, every path for possible escape – the stairs they came down, and another tunnel to the left – and every object that could be used as a weapon. As he sat surveying the area, Sam was speaking quickly to the lead Frenchman. Jack decided that the moment had come to speak up, the French guys be damned.

"Carter," he said loudly. "Can we now find out what's going on?" He raised his eyebrows as he spoke, his eyes darting quickly to gauge the reaction of the others. He ignored the bristling that characterized the guardsmen.

"They know where the gate is, sir." Sam turned to address the rest of her team. "It's awaiting transport at the aerospace research facility north of the city. Apparently it is slated to be transported to Paris for further study."

"Can we get it back?" Jack asked.

"They intend to escort us there sir," Sam began, before she was distracted by one of the militiamen.

"Mais qu'est-ce qu'elle dit? What is she saying?" The man addressed Maurice, suspicion brimming in his eyes.

"Ca ne vous concerne pas, that's not of your concern." Sam hissed quickly to him, warning him both with her voice and her eyes. "I trust these men, as should you."

"Et si je ne vous fais pas confiance? And if I don't trust you?" the man challenged, unfazed by Sam's words.

"Alors tu feras confiance au Bib. Then you'll trust the Bib" Maurice snarled, taking a menacing step toward the man.

Jack heard this exchange, sensing the escalating tensions in the hideaway. At Maurice's last words, though, he understood enough to know that they needed to act.

"The Bib?" his eyebrows shot up as he looked to Sam with urgency. "That's the guy that we claim to be working for, right?"

"You were paying attention?" Daniel teased, trying to inject some light-heartedness into their situation.

Sam merely nodded, her eyes wide with the horror that she too felt. She quickly composed herself before looking to Maurice again. "Il vient ici? He's coming here?" She asked guardedly.

"Ben oui, sure." Maurice shrugged, starting to get just as suspicious as the two militamen with him. Such a reaction was not befitting of a truly loyal fighter.

Jack saw the change in the French leader's body language and didn't hesitate to act. Neither did Teal'c or Sam. Within a second of each other, all three independently chose a different target and, with swift movements, knocked them to the ground.

Jack stood over the man he had knocked out with a wine bottle – which was now broken and had spilled its contents all over the unconscious Frenchman. "Sauternes, 1930." He mused, looking at the label on the largest shard of glass that remained. "Hope it wasn't a good year…"

Taking charge of the mission again, he turned towards Daniel, who had grabbed Élodie during their moment of action and was protecting her against the wall. "The danger's Dannyboy," he rolled his eyes in amusement at the sight before him. "No need to smother her." He grinned as Daniel blushed, moving quickly away from the wall and away from Élodie, although keeping his hand clasped in hers. "Right." Jack moved on and turned to look at Sam. "Carter, what the HELL is going on?" he exclaimed.

Sam spoke quickly as she bent down to each man, retrieving weapons and checking the area for anything else that could be of use. "That man," she began, pointing to Maurice, "is one of the most dangerous members of the Cagoule – that organisation I was telling you about. He orchestrated our rescue, since they believe we're on their side. He's a real piece of work – and will be instrumental in the genocide of the coming war."

She tried to word her explanation carefully, so as not to reveal too much to Élodie. If she had said that he would be instrumental in the transportation of French Jews to extermination camps, she imagined the poor Frenchwoman would not have reacted well. As it was, Sam was finding it exceedingly difficult not to put a bullet into Maurice Papon's head right then and there, but her common sense held her back. If it wasn't him, it would just be someone else giving those deportation orders. And at least she knew that he would eventually be brought to justice – even it if wasn't to be until the 1990s when he would be tried for Crimes against Humanity. She guessed it was like the old question: if you could go back in time, would you kill Hitler? It would be impossible to know the consequences of such an action. With a sigh, she grabbed some money out of the criminal's wallet and disarmed him completely before standing up and looking back to the others.

"Apparently he and the others were duped by our forged orders – but that won't be for long, considering they've summoned the Bib." Sam ran her hand through her hair as she considered that unwelcome prospect. "He'd have to know already that something's up – I mean, the documents were forged. I can only imagine he wants to interrogate us and get his hands on the stargate." She paused, covering her face wit her hands. "Sir, I can only apologise. This mission's gone from bad to worse and…"

"Ah-ah Carter," Jack said warningly, moving closer to her. "None of that is anyone's fault – let alone yours." He moved even closer to her, choosing to disregard the fact that the others were in the room. He clasped her hand tightly and whispered more urgently. "Not your fault – got it? Besides," he moved back quickly and spoke louder again. "We're only at what, plan E? We've got the rest of the alphabet before we're really screwed!"

Although he raised his eyebrow, Teal'c made no comment at Jack's close approach to Sam. He looked over to Daniel and saw that the archaeologist was smiling knowingly. Determining the hour ripe for action, he spoke right to the point, as always. "I believe it would be fortuitous to recapture the gate."

"As always T, you're right on the button." Jack emphasized with a smile. "Carter? Can we get out of here and to this airbase?"

"Yes sir," Sam fell straight back into her train of thought. "Maurice was telling me about another entrance to this hideout... through some tunnel-system." She nodded towards the tunnel. "It's through there."

At that moment, all five of them heard voice from above, and the tell-tale creaking of the bookshelf on the ground floor being opened and shut.

"On est découvert! They've found us!" Élodie gasped in fear, going completely white with fear.

"That our cue people." Jack made a wide wave with his arm, leading them all into the tunnel. "And off we go into the unknown."

In the tunnels

As they ran through yet another dank corridor in the seemingly endless tunnel system under the town of Toulouse, Jack tried to keep everyone moving as quickly as possible. The voices, shouts, and movements behind them seemed to be muffled, but he knew they weren't far behind. Élodie seemed to be tiring, but he could see Daniel, hand placed on her elbow, propelling her forward.

As he nearly slipped over yet another slippery patch on the dirt floor that was steadily becoming muddier, he growled with frustration. "Carter," he snapped angrily, "when we get outta this, I'm gunna ring your neck for getting us into it!"

He didn't really mean it, and he knew she'd get what he meant. Their missions were never easy, but in all honesty, this was getting a bit ridiculous. One minute they were fascists, the next leftist nutters… either way, they were a target for half of France, and forced to operate in a crazy circular fashion that seemed to set them back at every turn. One step forward, two steps back, he thought to himself, coughing slightly in amusement.

"Yes sir." Jack had almost missed Carter's rushed statement, although he was positive that ahead of him she was rolling her eyes.

Before anyone could prepare for the change, the four members of SG1 and Élodie found themselves waist deep in water at an apparent dead end. Jack growled in frustration, the cold, pungent-smelling water seeping through his already uncomfortable 1930s clothes.

"Carter, we need a solution – and fast!" he said quickly, looking behind him at the dark tunnel, dreading the approaching right-wing militia.

"Sir, this couldn't just be a dead end – I'd imagine the Cagoule have been using it for quite a while." Sam said desperately, searching the muddy walls with her hands, feeling for any change. Without warning, she touched on part of the surface that wasn't at all squishy like the rest of the dank walls. It was damp, sure, but rock hard. Emitting a "Ha!" in satisfaction, she pressed on the stone slab from all angles until it gave way, swinging easily outwards to the left to reveal a set of stone stairs that rose to the surface.

She turned around to face the exhausted people standing anxiously behind her so they could see the triumphant gleam in her eyes from the now dim light filtering through the stairway.

Filing out of the tunnel system Jack immediately looked around for something to block it with. He immediately understood why there had been so much water in the tunnel towards the end, they were not three feet from a large river. At that proximity, it was actually quite impressive that the tunnels weren't completely flooded.

The surrounding area appeared to be some kind of forest, which was surprising. He didn't think they'd gone that far from the centre of town. Apparently Daniel and Teal'c seemed to be thinking along the same lines. They were both turning around on the spot looking at the dense foliage surrounding them in complete confusion.

Sam and Élodie, however, seemed nonplussed by their surroundings. Seeing the confused look on her CO's face, Sam smiled before helping him collect a large log from a couple of feet away to throw it down the stairwell – hopefully to block the oncoming hordes.

"Relax, sir." She said with a grunt as they lifted the log, "we're still in Kansas, there's a large wood just to the north of the city at an ox-bow bend in the Garonne River – I'm guessing that's where we are now."

With a mighty heave, the two of them and Teal'c, who had come to lend a much-needed hand, lodged the log into the stairwell, making it extremely difficult to anyone who would want to pass through. Apart from its girth – which was impressive – it had wedged itself in such a way that it pressed the stone door shut. It would take a superhuman effort to get it open again any time soon.

Satisfied that they had a couple of minutes to kill at least, Jack motioned for everyone to have a rest, and they all flopped to the ground in one fluid motion. Élodie seemed completely spent. She was sitting against a tree with her head slumped on Daniel's shoulder. Teal'c seemed alert as ever, although he too had taken the opportunity to sit. Sam was making an effort to appear alert and ready for action, but Jack could see the telling signs of her fatigue both in her posture and her facial expression. He had sat right next to her, and reached a hand out to rest it on her knee.

"Nicely done." He said softly, looking at her softly. Her head turned slowly so she was looking into his eyes, a smile tugging at her lips. He smiled back at her.

"It's not over yet sir." She said, shaking her head slowly. "We've still got to get to the gate, get it and us to the north-west of France, and get home – and don't forget they all know that we're looking for the gate now."

"Your point being?" Jack said ironically. "All in a day's work, right?"

"Sure," Sam smiled, placing her hand over his and squeezing lightly. "One hell of a day though…"

"Better get it started with then." Jack pulled himself to his feet with a grimace, trying to ignore the jolting pain in his knees. "How far to this airport then?" He asked Élodie slowly, hoping she'd understand.

"From 'ere…" Élodie replied in halting English, her voice portraying the fatigue she felt, "it is about two hours à pied."

"On foot, sir." Sam translated helpfully. "We should leave now if we're going to hope to get there before they move it or, worse, half the army gets there."

"I swear I'm going to demand months of leave after this." Jack said to no-one in particular as everyone else got to their feet and they started trudging along the river bank to the north. "The world'll just have to save itself for a while."

To be continued…

A/N: Phew! So this and the previous chapter were initially meant to be together as one.. but there was just too much action in them! I was feeling nice too… I could've left it at a cliffhanger when they got to the "dead end", waist deep in water, with militia approaching. Considering I've been a bit erratic in posting, though, I didn't think it quite fair.

Anyhoo. Next chap we're going to have a bit of time for them to rest (FINALLY) and you all know that means a little bit of character development. Don't worry for any of you who get frustrated with that – the action's never far away.

As always, please review. Especially if there are things that don't make sense… Sometimes my grammar goes by the wayside (especially since I'm writing this in two languages… sometimes I forget to switch completely back to English and you end up with funny phrasing). But please review and let me know how you think the fic is going – I'm kinda afraid that it might be getting a bit stale or disjointed just because of the haphazard way I'm writing…