Hi, here's another chapter for you to enjoy. Sorry for the delay, my back problems just flared again, but it's not so bad today. I can at least sit here for longer now. Enough to get this chapter finished and start on the next.

Thanks for all your reviews...Now I know there are people out there reading this, and actually enjoying it too. Still a lot of angst to come...sorry! Actually I make no apologies for it, it's all part of the story.

Danger Zone.

By Lingren.

Previously:-

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.

Chapter 5

"Come in!" General Hammond ordered as he looked up to see the three members of SG-1 standing outside his ever open office door.

Sam, Daniel and Teal'c all entered, wondering why the General had summoned them. Sam had high hopes that they were to learn of Jack's fate, and that of the girl taken with him.

"Sit down people," Hammond commanded, knowing that they really needed to with the news he was about to impart to them.

"Does this mean that you have some news about Jack, General?" Daniel Jackson asked, unable to resist his curiosity.

"I'm afraid it does Dr. Jackson," replied the senior officer with a sigh of regret.

"Sir? What's happened?" Sam was feeling the cold finger of fate chilling her spine at the seriousness of the General's statement.

Hammond took a deep breath in order to steel his nerves.

"I just had a phone call from Major Davis. He is our liaison with the Washington PD. They received news this morning, their time, that Colonel O'Neill's driver was found badly beaten and unconscious somewhere outside of Rockville, Maryland. He came round for a few minutes in order to tell the police what happened. He said that..." Here he broke off, fighting to control his anger at the accusations against his best officer. A more loyal and trusting man he'd never served with. "...he accused the Colonel of Blackmailing him into acting as his driver for the kidnapping of Sharon Lloyd." He held up his hand to stall the startled gasps of disbelief from the team-mates. "He also accused Jack of beating him senseless, then leaving him for dead. All of which I may tell you is, as far as I'm concerned, the biggest load of, and I quote Jack here,'crap' I have ever heard. I have to agree with Davis on this that someone somewhere is trying to stitch the Colonel up for some reason. I don't know about you people, but I intend to get to the bottom of this."

Hammond finished abruptly, his fear for Jack and his anger at the accusations getting the better of him.

"We can't let them do this to him sir," Sam agreed, her own anger and frustration showing in the tight features of her face.

"And we won't Major. I want you all to head to Washington, and I don't care how many toes you tread on, but I'm expecting you to unearth the culprit behind all of this nonsense. You'll be met by Major Davis and he will continue to liaise with the Police Department. You have a flight booked out of Peterson in two hours. God speed!"

Sam leapt to her feet, giving the General a crisp salute.

"Yes sir!" she snapped, determined to help clear Jack's name from these false allegations, and find him before anything untoward happened to him.

Daniel was too shocked by the turn of events to utter much, except to nod his head in agreement.

"We will indeed investigate this thoroughly General Hammond. I for one, fully intend to prove O'Neill's innocence in this matter," Teal'c stated calmly, although to those who knew him well they could tell his anger was simmering just below the surface of his normally cool façade.

"I'm sure you will Teal'c," Hammond muttered as the team hurried from his office in order to get ready for their unexpected trip.

OoOoOoOoO

They both looked up quickly when the door to their room opened forcefully. Jack had managed to sit up and was propped against the wall, still too woozy to fight against the two men that had entered. They took in his dishevelled appearance and smirked.

"Ah...home time already? And we were having so much fun too!" Jack quipped, earning a horrified look from Sharon who was afraid that he would provoke them into doing something that would only end in his death and possibly hers too.

"Jack?" she gasped, pushing herself against him for protection, holding onto his arm for dear life, though whose, she wasn't sure of.

The two bullies ignored Jack's provocation anyway and stepped forwards, grabbing one of Jack's arms each, pulling him to his feet, where he swayed alarmingly and roughly shoved Sharon out of the way.

Jack protested vehemently but was punched in the gut for his pains. He doubled over in agony and Sharon cried out that she was okay, so that Jack wouldn't get hurt again.

"Please...I'm fine Jack. Please don't say anything else. I don't want you to get hurt again."

Jack cast her a wry smile, a mixture of encouragement and gratitude. She was being very brave considering this was a terrifying situation for the young woman to be in, and she was holding up so well.

"Don't worry about me kid. I'll be fine."

One of the men sneered and forced Jack's arm behind his back further, eliciting a yelp of pain from the stricken officer.

"Please, don't hurt him!" she cried again, but they ignored her and just shoved and manhandled Jack from the room, locking her in on her own.

Jack was marched down the hallway to another dimly lit room and pushed onto a metal table where he was shackled by his ankles and wrists. He squirmed as much as he could but then, two against one who was as week as himself, was no contest really, and he succumbed to their ministrations despite his efforts.

He was left there for hours by his reckoning, anyway it seemed a hell of a long time to him as he lay there in the gloom.

Sometime later a bright light overhead illuminated his head and upper torso and he flinched from the brightness, missing the opening of the door.

He became aware that he had company.

"'Bout time," he scoffed, "How about telling me just what the hell you guys want from us?"

"Actually it's only you we wanted but taking the girl was an added bonus," came the deep voice of his captor.

Jack tried to think past the headache but it was almost impossible. He didn't think he knew the voice, at least he couldn't recall hearing it before.

"It will help us to discredit you further."

"I doubt anything you could do would make my career any worse. I have a reputation ya know. My file is full of reprimands for insubordination," he snorted. "Reads like War & Peace, and is just as thick," he added with a chuckle.

"So we're going to add something to it, that will hopefully end that long and 'illustrious' employ in the USAF," came the reply.

Jack swallowed, wondering what the hell they were going to do that would cause that to come to pass. Whatever they had planned he got the impression it wasn't going to be pleasant. All he could do was hope to find a way to escape, or rely on his team to find him before it was too late. Then again he hoped that Hammond would be able to pull his butt out of the fire. He trusted George with his life, though whether it would be possible for the General, after whatever it was they were about to do to him, to be able to work a miracle and clear his name, he wasn't sure. He really hoped so. He loved his work at the SGC, and didn't want it to end just yet. He also wondered why they were doing this and who the person was behind this stunt? Who wanted him out of the Air Force? He had several names to hand but couldn't be sure who would go to such lengths to make it happen.

Before Jack could gather his thoughts in order to respond to the statement, someone pushed his sleeve up and wiped a sterile swab across the inside of his elbow.

"What are you gonna do?" he asked squirming away from the needle he could see in the light around him. It wasn't enough to see their faces though. Typical!

Hands grabbed him to hold him still while the nameless hands forced the needle into his arm. He baulked, yelling his anger, but then liquid fire ran through his veins and all thoughts fled under the onslaught of momentary pain. His mind swam sickeningly for a moment before darkness swept him away.

The man dismissed the others and stood watching Jack lying there for a moment, then leant forward to speak into his ear.

"Relax Jack, you're going for a nice ride. See you in hell!" he laughed before turning and leaving the room.

The overhead light switched off, plunging the room into darkness, but Jack wasn't aware of anything right now except the psychedelic kaleidoscope of images and thoughts tumbling around inside his head.

He woke some time later, feeling numb and disorientated. He didn't struggle against his bonds. He didn't know where he was or for that matter who he was. His mind was filled with nothings.

Moments later they came for him and took him back to the locked room he shared with Sharon.

Sharon looked up with a smile when she saw the door open and Jack appeared. Though her face fell when she got a good look at him. He looked terrible. His mischievous brown sparkling eyes were dull and sleepy. He was thrown down onto the floor without care and the door slammed on them.

Jack lay there staring sightlessly and Sharon felt herself shiver at the blank look. She scurried over to him and tried to roll him onto his back, patting his cheek when she had him situated.

"Jack? Jack, please. What did they do to you?"

There wasn't any response to her voice and she began looking for any injuries. It was then she noticed his rolled up sleeve and realised that he had been injected with drugs or something so his unresponsiveness fell into place. She pulled his head onto her lap and cradled it, smoothing his forehead. She brushed the silver strands back, hoping that the touch would eventually bring him round.

She wept silent tears for this man whom she had taken a liking to from her first glimpse, but wondered what was going to happen to him. She wasn't so much worried about herself; so far they had all but ignored her. Jack had already told her that he had been a prisoner several times but hadn't gone into any details, saying it was classified information. She now wondered if this sort of thing was 'normal' for him and vowed to ask them why she had been taken too. She loved adventures, but she wasn't so sure, now that she was actually involved in one, that she would like the outcome. She didn't want any harm to come to Jack. She sniffed back fresh tears and tried not to think about him dying anytime soon.

Jack jerked in her arms, startling her. She was about to say how glad she was that he was awake now, when he rolled free of her grasp. He curled up into a ball then vomited weakly, releasing a pitiful moan.

"Oh God!" he groaned before passing out.

TBC