Thanks to all of you who sent in reviews. I knew it was going to be difficult to follow on the success of Junior, but I'm still a little disappointed by the lack of reaction to this story. Please R & R...if only to let me know I'm on the right track to keep you all interested. There will be some fluff to come later. I promise!
Danger Zone.
By Lingren.
Previously:-
He nodded and stalked off towards the door, ready to chew the detective's ear off. He knew Jack O'Neill well and this story about him was just so far fetched as to be ridiculous. If the truth were known, it was probably that Jack himself had been abducted, and he, Paul Davis, was going to get this straightened out if it was the last thing he did.
Chapter 4
The first thing Jack became aware of was a plaintive moaning somewhere in the background; well, that and the intense pain currently hammering inside his head. He tried to blot it out, but it was damn nigh impossible. He tried to move to escape the pitiful noise; tried to roll over but he found it too painful to move his head right then, so he lay there trying to assess the situation.
It was only after he took stock of his situation that he realised that the moaning was made by himself and also that someone in the same room was weeping softly. He forced himself to think about why he hurt and what had happened. His head hurt and in a flash of painful memory he recalled the incident in the hotel; the mad dash for the back door and someone grabbing...Sharon?
His eyes flew open and he slammed them shut again in the bright light flooding the room. Another moan reached his ears and this time he knew it came from within himself.
He licked his parched lips, seeking moisture, but he was a dry as the Abydos sands. Swallowing convulsively, he coughed though it did little to relieve the nauseating taste of bile in his throat.
"Jack?"
The voice was small and sounded frightened.
"Jack!"
Relief flooded him when he heard Sharon shuffle closer and her shaky hand landed on his shoulder. A trickle of tepid water was heaven against his lips and he gulped it down greedily.
He choked a little in the process but it felt so damn good. He tried to open his eyes a fraction at a time and was rewarded with a tight smile.
"Sharon?" he gasped a little breathlessly.
"Oh thank god!" she sighed. "You know me. I thought for sure they had killed you or given you a fractured skull with brain damage at least. You've been out for hours." He watched in a sort of detached way, seeing her shoulders visibly sag with relief. She closed her eyes and he wondered what she must have been thinking all this time.
He glanced around the room they were in, taking in the fact that they were now prisoners. Who they hell they were, he had no idea as yet; not where they were.
He rolled onto his side, belatedly realising that it wasn't such a good idea. His headache spiked and nausea filled his thoughts. He fought to stop himself from losing what precious food he'd eaten, but it had been so long ago that he'd had anything, there probably wouldn't be much there by now. Still, he didn't want to have to have that smell lingering in the confined space around them. He stayed still until he could open his eyes again.
"You should lie still for a while Jack. We're locked into this room. I don't know who these people are, but after throwing us in here and untying me, they left us to it and locked the door. I haven't seen anyone since then."
He could hear the fear in her voice, making it tremble with fright. He would have taken her into his arms if he could, but as he tried to offer comfort, he realised that his own hands were still tied together, as were his ankles. He sagged back in defeat, rolling onto his back once more, this time ignoring the spike in his head that the movement made. He lay so quietly that after a few moments Sharon shook him again.
"Jack?"
"'sokay! I'm...I have...just give me a moment huh?" he answered thickly. "Water?" he asked hoping that there was some move available.
She tipped what felt like a bottle to his mouth and he gulped it thirstily, but she took it away before he could take in too much.
"Not so fast Jack, or you'll throw up again."
Again? he wondered. He sniffed cautiously and his nostrils contracted in disgust. Too late, he sighed.
"You were unconscious. I cleaned you up as best I could. How's the head?"
"Peachy!" he sighed. No wonder his mouth felt like a sewer. He knew well, the effects of a head injury. Concussion he was too familiar with. "Got any aspirin?"
"In my handbag. I always carry them, just in case."
"But?" he could sense a big 'but' in her voice.
"But, that's back at the hotel. I didn't exactly envisage being kidnapped Jack!" she grumbled.
He shot one eye open and took in her ragged appearance. She looked like he felt. Awful.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten you involved..."
"You didn't know this was about to happen...did you?"
"No!" he denied any knowledge of the attack or the abduction.
"Do I sense a 'But' in there too Jack?"
He sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment while he decided what to tell her.
"But, it's not unusual for me. Let's say this isn't the first time I've ever been kidnapped in a long career of Black Ops."
"You're a spy?"
"Ah...no!"
"Then why...this?" she asked, gesturing about her.
"I don't know!"
"Were you spying on me?" she squeaked, startled by her thoughts, and suddenly wondering if that's why he had taken her out the night before.
Jack felt the heat flush his face. He couldn't exactly deny that, even though it wasn't exactly true.
"Not really," he answered vaguely. "I am...was...looking for someone who was giving away classified information. I can't tell you any more than that," he said, looking up at her apologetically, hoping that she'd drop the subject.
He wondered if perhaps this had to do with just that situation or if it was something else that these people were after. He had no idea what to think until they showed their faces and started asking the inevitable questions.
"Please!" he said, "don't ask!" He cut her off before she could formulate the question he knew she was about to ask, which made her pout a little. He smiled reassuringly at her then. She had been crying when he'd woken, but she wasn't panic-stricken like any other kid would be. Thinking back about her wanting to join the USAF, he thought that perhaps she had the right attitude for the job. She was certainly braver than he'd imagined she'd be, for which he was ultimately glad; he couldn't have faced this, whatever this was, with an hysterical woman clinging to him.
He felt tired now; blackness danced at the edges of his vision, and knew that without a doubt he was going to pass out again if he moved from the spot. He closed his eyes bringing a little relief from the bright light.
"Any chance you could untie me?" he asked, wondering why she hadn't thought to do it before.
"I'm sorry, I tried, but the knots are so tight I can't budge them," she said, sounding so remorseful that Jack knew she was telling the truth. He could understand that.
"No matter. Look, I've gotta...sleep...so tired now..." his words trailed off as he slipped away, his head rolling to one side.
Sharon gasped in shocked surprise. His shutting down so quick that she had to check for his pulse against his neck before she could tell herself that he really was okay. He'd seemed so alert, but then, with such a nasty head wound she could hardly be surprised that he'd feel that way. She curled up beside him, clinging to his arm for comfort and drifted off to sleep too; she'd watched over him all night, and now that she knew he was going to be okay, she could relax a little, easily succumbing to her fatigue.
OoOoOoOoO
The detective looked up as the door opened and wondered what had happened now. He and Major Davis had thrashed out their differences and were now wondering what to do for the best.
He took the note offered to him by a uniformed officer who then left immediately. He unfolded the paper and read the damning words. His face took on a smug satisfied look as he glanced up at Davis sitting opposite him.
"What is it?" Paul Davis asked, hoping to god that they hadn't found Jack's dead body somewhere. That was the last thing he and anyone from the President down to Siler at the SGC would want.
"It seems your trust in this Jack O'Neill was a little misplaced Davis. We've just heard from the hospital that his driver had been found earlier, badly beaten and unconscious a few miles outside of Rockville. He came round for a short period, enough to tell the authorities that O'Neill had blackmailed him into picking them up outside the rear entrance to the hotel earlier last evening, then having made their getaway, he beat the crap out of him and then dumped him, leaving him to die. Except that someone found him and dialled 911. We now have a witness who can vouch that O'Neill is the kidnapper of Sharon Lloyd. I'm putting out a warrant for his arrest. The man's a maniac Davis, and a dangerous one too.
Paul Davis sat there absolutely stunned by this news. He would have trusted Jack with his life. This was so fantastic that he just couldn't take it all in. He had to phone General Hammond as soon as he could. This was all wrong. Something didn't add up. Jack wasn't like this. This had to be the biggest stitch up in history. But who was behind it? he wondered.
"You're wrong about Jack Detective Hardy, he's not like that. I could tell you things about his character that would have you worship the ground he walked on, but that's all classified. I'm sorry but I don't believe it. Jack's a good man. Someone is trying to frame him and I will do everything within my power to prove it to you."
"And you're far too close to him to be convincing Davis. Get someone else I can work with. One of your JAG officers or something, but leave this to the experts and I'll prove to you that he's guilty. I've seen it hundreds of times. Everyone has a breaking point and your man just cracked, no matter how good he might have been, it's a whole different story now. I promise you this, that I'll hunt him down for however long it takes and then I'll see him behind bars for the rest of his natural life."
Davis was a little perturbed by the vehemence of the man in front of him, but he wasn't going to be cowed by his anger. He knew Jack. Maybe not as well as Hammond or his team, SG-1, did, but nonetheless, he was sure of Jack's integrity and vowed to show the detective just how wrong he was about Earth's greatest unsung hero.
TBC