Chapter 3 - And So, It Begins

Daniel woke up a few hours later in the clutches of a panic attack!. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest that it felt like it was being squeezed in a vise and his lungs felt like they were tearing apart every time he took a breath. He was soaked to the skin and his muscles ached all over. He thought that one shoulder was dislocated and his face was so swelled up he could barely see. His swollen tongue poked at his teeth and found that many of them were loose. He was sure that his kidneys must be bruised as the ache in his back was almost unbearable. Fever seemed to be stalking him, making his eyes feel gritty, as if someone had thrown sand in his face, and he was very thirsty, having not had anything to drink since before he was captured. When was that? Despair washed over him in waves as he lay on the bloody, wet mattress, leaving him to wonder if his confidence in front of Kinsey had been warranted. If Kinsey was right, then maybe this time it really was over. Maybe nobody would find him in time and he would die once more, for good.

'Come on, Jack! I need your help now more than ever!'

And, while Kinsey was a self-righteous, pompous, bastard, he would never have thought he had it in him to resort to kidnapping and murder. The only conclusion Daniel could come to was that Kinsey had finally lost it. Nuts!

Completely insane.

And very dangerous.

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Before long, the door opened and Kinsey entered the room. He looked at Daniel with contempt. 'Such a fool. He fell for that line about O'Neill giving up. Good! Let him think that there's no hope!'

"Well, Dr. Jackson... Aren't you a site for sore eyes. Have you had some time to think about your hopeless situation? Hmmm?"

He heard Kinsey laughing at him, taunting him, but he kept his eyes closed. 'Ignore him, don't give him the satisfaction of a reaction of any kind. That's just what he's looking for. He wants to see me scared. Well... it's not gonna happen!'

"It's all your fault, you know. You just had to figure out how to open the gate, didn't you? You couldn't leave it alone. You're the reason that my life is over!" Kinsey was shouting, now. "I have no future. Hell, even my wife and kids think I'm dead. My life is over! And, it's all because of you!"

He leaned over and grabbed Daniel by the collar, causing him to cry out. Kinsey held his face up as he said, "I want you to listen to me, Dr. Jackson. You can try to ignore me all you want but I KNOW you can hear me! What you experienced earlier is the tip of the iceberg. Oh, yes. I'm going to make you suffer like you've never suffered before. And, I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. But we're not finished. Not yet!"

The two guards came into the room and hauled Daniel to his feet, leaving him breathless and in excruciating pain. He yelled out as they held him up in front of Kinsey, chills and fever making him shake. Daniel tried to focus but without his glasses, it was hopeless. The room kept spinning and tilting so he closed his eyes but that didn't really help and soon he was retching.

Kinsey started laughing again as he circled Daniel like a cat would a mouse. "Tell me, how are you feeling? Sore? Tired? You look pretty bad. Are you hurting, Dr. Jackson?" He laughed some more. "Well, don't worry. I have just the thing."

Kinsey stepped to the side, waving his hand in a flourish, as the guards dragged Daniel out into the hallway. Kinsey was laughing as they went down the hall and entered a large room. As they passed through it and entered another smaller one, Daniel looked up and froze in his tracks, his mouth suddenly gone dry and speechless. In front of him, in all it's horrific glory, was a shiny, golden sarcophagus, a device much like the one he was addicted to on Shyla's planet. He struggled weakly to free himself but the guards just held on tighter than before, as he broke out into a cold sweat. They pulled him forward and Kinsey stepped in front of him, looking very satisfied with himself. Daniel stared at him, believing that his earlier thoughts about Kinsey being insane, were true.

"Do you recognize this?" He pointed to the object of Daniel's fear and grinned at the beaten man before him. "I know all about your addiction, Daniel. I know all about how you almost killed O'Neill when you were going through withdrawal. What was that like? Would you care to describe it for me?" Kinsey was sneering at Daniel, flecks of spit flying as he talked. "Are you frightened, Daniel? Are you?"

"Where did you get that?" Daniel barely had any volume to his words.

He could only stare, wide eyed, as Kinsey glared at him and he was shaking very badly, knowing what was to come and wishing with everything he had in him that he was wrong. The guards were laughing at him as they shook him like a rag doll, making him gasp from the pain.

"Lord Yu wasn't using it anymore. Replicator Carter made sure of that!" Kinsey laughed at his attempt of a joke. "I made a deal and now I own it."

Kinsey turned toward the device and pushed the button to open the box. They moved Daniel forward to place him inside and as they did, he struggled and started yelling, "NO! DON'T DO THIS! PLEASE!" Kinsey just laughed at him as the lid closed on the cries of one desperate, crushed soul and then there was profound silence.

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This time, when Daniel woke up, he knew he was living a nightmare. He was back on his mattress, and all his discomfiture was gone. He was in perfect physical health. No broken bones - no bloody injuries. But his mind was in desperate turmoil, crying out in disbelief! He wanted to get away as far and as fast as he could. And paradoxically, he also wanted to return to the box, the magic box that made him feel so good. It was like nothing else anyone could ever imagine. No drug on earth could equal it. No alcoholic drink could come close. The overwhelming craving was going to destroy him, and all he could do was lay on the floor and weep, knowing what to expect and feeling powerless to do anything to stop it. He hated himself for his desperate yearning. And he hated Kinsey, even more.

Somehow, he had to find a way to fight back. He didn't know how yet, but he wasn't going to go quietly, like a lamb brought to slaughter. He'd find a way. He had to. And when he did, he promised himself that Kinsey would pay dearly for everything he'd done to him.

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Kinsey had retired to the lounge with his cigar and a glass of brandy. He really liked this manor house, tucked away in the country side just across the Vermont border in Canada. Not many people recognized him in Quebec so it was the perfect refuge. He had acquired it on the sly when Senator Chesters needed some cash for a stock deal, a few months before Kinsey's 'forced retirement.' He was only too glad to take it off his hands, for a reduced price, of course.

After he'd returned to earth, he set in motion the plans to get even with O'Neill and his team. He thought about it for a long while and decided on a plan that would make them all miserable. The perfect solution was to grab Dr. Jackson, the beloved boy wonder of the SGC. He knew how they all practically worshipped the punk and if he could get him, he could make them all suffer.

He'd converted the wine cellar under the basement into the rooms he would use for Daniel. It took time, with all the planning, all the ideas that he had - some discarded - some improved upon. Eventually, he had all the equipment and made his move. The timing had to be perfect, though. He had the acquisition team ready. As soon as he heard from his inside man, they moved.

It had worked just like he'd planned. Yes, he really loved this place.

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Kinsey had a suite of rooms at the top of the manor that could only be reached by a special elevator and he had certain women who he could call and they would 'visit.' He provided everything they wanted, clothing, booze, drugs, whatever they requested. He had quite a nest egg built up over the years from some behind the scenes business dealings, and the millions he'd acquired and stashed in the off shore accounts would keep him set for the rest of his life. The money provided him with endless enjoyment and everything he could ask for.

He felt entitled to this. His wife was a real ding bat and the only reason he had never divorced her was for political reasons. Appearance mattered, so he kept her happy with jewelry, trips to visit the kids, and the like. She was totally oblivious to what was really happening. He only had to tell her that he had a meeting out of town and she believed every word. So, he came here a few times a year to relax and she never knew any better.

He felt particularly energized by the days events. Jackson was such a wimp, such a weakling. It was so much fun to torment the little troublemaker.

He used the elevator and went up to his suite. On arrival, he rang up Monica's number and asked her if she would like to come over. Monica was one of his favorite 'friends.'

Let the fun begin!

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The second day of Daniel's 'visit,' as Kinsey like to call it, was different. Daniel woke up feeling groggy, which he attributed to the lack of food and water. He was slightly dizzy and nauseous but managed to keep down the meager breakfast they had left for him. The cold oatmeal stuck to his throat but he managed to get it down. He wished for a good cup of hot coffee and he could smell it brewing from somewhere in the house.

The guards opened the door and Kinsey strode in, looking very pleased with himself.

Daniel was nervous. This lunatic was capable of anything and he didn't like the look on his face. His stomach started feeling sick just remembering the events from yesterday.

"How would you like to go for a swim, Daniel?"

"No thanks, I didn't bring my trunks."

Kinsey started laughing, "Hey, that's funny! Very clever! Don't worry, you won't need any."

Daniel looked at Kinsey and alarm bells started going off in his head. What did he have planned now? His survival instincts switched to overdrive as the guards came in and pulled him up off the floor and pushed him down the hall toward the big room. He tried to fight them off but he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of getting away from them.

Inside, he found a large steel tank filled to the top with water. They grabbed him and pushed him in, and laughed as he struggled to keep his head above the water. They kept dunking him under, not giving him much time to breathe. Finally, they held him under and watched as he frantically tried to escape the inevitable. It didn't take too long and they pulled him out of the water, still alive but barely. They placed him up on the table in the middle of the room and strapped him down.

A few minutes later, he came to, exhausted and wondering where he was. Then he saw one guard, (he'd nicknamed him 'Dorf') wearing a pair of thick rubber gloves and holding a set of jumper cables that were attached to a car battery.

'Oh Crap!'

His 'vacation' to Nicaragua was nothing like this. At least the Nicaraguans hadn't soaked him down first.

Kinsey was laughing at the expression on Daniel's face. Daniel started begging, "Please. This is insane! Don't do this," as water dripped off his soaked body. He started to shiver uncontrollably as Dorf attached one clamp to his right thumb and the other to his left big toe. Dorf just grinned at him and let him have it.

The inside of Daniel's head felt like it was going to explode. The current started at his toes and shot upward, leaving him screaming at the top of his lungs. 'I want to pass out, please just let me pass out,' he told himself but it didn't happen.

Kinsey just stood back and laughed like a loon. Daniel squeezed his eyes shut and was panting when Dorf stopped. "Stop! Please!" His weak cries made Kinsey laugh even more.

Daniel thought his heart was going to stop. It still beat, somewhat erratically, as they unstrapped him and dropped him back into the tank of water and held him under, watching him weakly struggle for air, until he was dead.

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At the end of the day, Daniel was so worn out and tired of being the source of entertainment for Kinsey and his goons. He hated the box and Kinsey and everything about this place.

He ate the piece of bread and drank the water and laid down, wishing that Jack would show up and get him out of there. He fell asleep, dreaming of Sha're and their peaceful life on Abydos and wishing he could turn the clock back and never uncover the damn gate. They had been so happy together living with the people from her village. Their days were spent working on the various things that had to be done to keep a large community of people fed and clothed. But their nights were theirs alone. A time to whisper to each other in the dark; tell stories, and make sweet love to each other under the 3 full moons of the nighttime Abydos sky. He dreamt about Sha're and wept quietly in his sleep.