"He what?"

"He's missing, sir," Sam repeated. "Thor is unable to find him with the Asgard sensors."

"But Cassie said he went home," Jack added, noting that Hammond's face was slowly turning red.

"Then check for him there."

"We did," Sam told him. "As far as Thor can tell, he's not anywhere on the planet."

Daniel frowned.

"That's not possible. The Asgard would have caught another ship trying to sneak in and kidnap him, right?"

"Yes."

"We know he didn't come here and go through the Stargate, so he has to be on the planet."

"We can't find him."

"He might be blocking the sensors…" Shawn said, reluctant to speak up when everyone looked either furious or worried, but figuring that if no one else was going to admit it was possible, he might as well.

Jack looked over at Shawn, surprised.

"Can he do that?"

The cadet shrugged.

"I couldn't. But he's a lot smarter than I am – and he's carrying the Ancients' knowledge. If anyone could, it'd be him, right?"

"Why would he attempt to conceal himself from our sensors?" Thor asked, confused.

"Oh, I don't know…" Jack drawled, sarcastically. "Maybe to keep from being beamed off the planet while he's sleeping?"

"Thor? Could he jam your sensors? Or hide from them?" Hammond asked before Jack's sarcasm got the better of him.

"I do not think he could, General Hammond," the little Asgard said. "However, I will admit that it is possible an Ancient could, and if Ian Brooks is carrying their technology in his head, it is possible he is using it. But he would need some kind of device – a device I am certain he could not make from the materials available to him. Not so quickly, at any rate."

"Cassie said he was at his folks'?" Hammond asked Sam.

"Yes, sir."

"We could call them and find out," Daniel suggested.

"I think this is something best asked face to face," Hammond said. "If he's there, that is. If Thor is willing to beam you two over, I want you to check their house and see if he's there." He looked at his watch, doing quick math. "It's after 10 there, but Nate and Maggie rarely go to bed early, as I recall."

"Without Ian Brooks to lock on to, I will need coordinates," Thor said, proving he was willing to transport Sam and Jack, but also needing to know where to put them.

"And a place to put them down where no one will see what's going on," Hammond warned the Asgard.

"Of course."

The general went over to a computer terminal and punched in a few commands, and then the address to the Brooks' house in New Jersey. A moment later a clear satellite picture came onto the screen, with longitude and latitude lines over it, giving an exact location.

"Impressive," Thor said, looking at the screen.

"It is NORAD…" Jack said, shrugging. "Come on. Let's get going."

"Do you wish for us to accompany you, O'Neill?" Teal'c asked.

Jack shook his head.

"I think a smaller group is definitely in order this time."

OOOOOOOOOO

Thor did a good job of finding a place to set Sam and Jack down. The Asgard was experienced enough with humans by now to be careful and check the entire neighborhood with his sensors, checking to make sure that no one on the ground would be anywhere that they would see even the flash of light.

They came out of the little shed carefully, though, checking to make sure no one was around to see them. Then Jack looked around. He'd known Nate and Maggie for years, but he'd never been to the house in New Jersey – he hadn't even known they'd lived in New Jersey until he'd met Ian They had the address, however, so it wasn't long before they found themselves in front of a very large house with a huge, well manicured yard and a low stone fence surrounding it – more for decoration than to keep anyone in or out, they could tell.

"Wow…" Sam said, looking at the place in the dark. There were plenty of streetlights and outside lights to show them what the place looked like, and it was impressive. "Generals live a lot better than majors and colonels, don't they?"

Jack smiled.

"I think Maggie being one of the premier dancers in the world might have something to do with it…"

Good point.

Before she could reply to that to tell him he was probably right, a low rumbling noise drew both of their attentions towards the driveway. Amazingly enough, they see Ian coming from the back of the house pulling a rolling garbage can behind him with a black lab romping beside him.

"I'll be damned."

Despite the assurances of the Asgard, Jack really hadn't thought Ian was on the planet. He honestly hadn't expected him to be here. But here he was.

The lab noticed them first, barking cheerfully and rushing towards them excitedly.

"Hey, Bubba," Jack said, greeting the lab with a smile and scratching his ears for a moment. He, of course, hadn't been at all concerned to see a hundred pound dog running towards them. He knew Bubba.

And the lab obviously remembered him, because Bubba just whuffled Jack – and then Sam – and looked over his shoulder as Ian walked over, obviously surprised to see them there.

Jack spoke first, though.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Taking out the garbage."

"That's not what I meant."

Ian frowned.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"We've been trying to find you," Jack told him.

"Why? What's wrong?"

There was only the slightest hesitation before Jack answered.

"We need your help."