Chapter 11 - Revelations
Daniel woke up the next morning feeling frustrated. He was worried that Kinsey would find him here at the farm and hurt Angelique and her family but he was too weak to do anything about it. His fever was still fluctuating and even though he was tired, he couldn't sleep. So, he and Elise talked quietly.
She was surprised to learn that he actually had three doctorates and spoke many languages.
"Just how many languages do you speak, Monsieur Daniel? More than five?"
"Call me 'Daniel', please, and yes, more than five. More than 25, really." He watched her, curious how she would react. He hoped he didn't sound like he was bragging. He explained about his past, his education, career choice - pretty much everything he could without giving away anything classified.
Her eyes grew round with wonder. Surely, this man was extraordinary to have such talent and abilities. "So, are you a translator for some big company in the states?"
He smiled. "Something like that. What about you, Elise?" He slipped into French easily, not even thinking about it.
"I was married once but he found someone else so we divorced. I moved back here and I help with the garden and housework. Grandmama gets tired sometimes so I'm glad I came back."
"Is there a sweetheart somewhere, someone you date?" It was a fair question. She was young and pretty. Surely, she had someone special.
Elise blushed a bit and said, "No, I don't go out much. I'm content to stay on the farm."
"Don't you ever get lonely? You're a very beautiful woman. I'm surprised there aren't guys lined up at the door." It was Daniel's turn to blush. He hadn't meant to blurt all that out.
"Sometimes I get lonely. I have some friends that I occasionally meet for lunch or dinner. But, I'm almost 34, Daniel. Not old, but most of the men my age are already married or they are divorced and have a bad opinion of women. There aren't too many men around that I want to bother with."
"That's too bad." When he looked at her, he thought he understood what this woman was feeling. He didn't date either and there were times when he felt very lonely.
"Daniel, what happened to you? Who are you running from?"
He decided that he had to tell her a little about what Kinsey had done to him. He was so tired, that when he was finished talking, he dropped off to sleep.
Elise was now concerned for her family. 'What if that man comes here? What will they do?'
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That afternoon, Daniel's fever spiked again. When Angelique checked on him, she grew alarmed. Daniel seemed a bit better yesterday and today. Why would he relapse?
When Henri came, he seemed very upset. When he listened to Daniel's heart, it sounded good, but his lungs sounded worse than before.
"This is going to take longer than we thought."
Elise told them the story Daniel had told her that morning. She said, "He told me that when he ran away, he had to swim downstream to escape the dogs. The water in the river must have been just above freezing, possibly still icy in places." She sat on the side of the bed holding his hand and asked the Doctor what they could do.
"It it weren't for you, he would be in the hospital. You two are giving him as much care as he'd get there."
"Grandmama, what if that man comes here?"
"He won't if we're careful. When Daniel is able to talk again, we'll ask him for a phone number for 'Jack,' and see if he can help."
After Henri left the room, Angelique asked Elise if she was okay. "I can see you've grown attached to him. Try not to worry. We'll do everything we can to help him."
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Daniel dreamed: He was tied down on the table, wishing that Kinsey would just stop, already. He was so exhausted that he could barely open his eyes. Kinsey had been at it all morning and the old man never seemed to tire. He wasn't killing him this time, though. He was just punishing him, drawing it out for as long as he could, but not enough to kill Daniel. Just enough to make him miserable.
Daniel was on fire. He was burning and he couldn't get away. He screamed for help but nobody was listening.
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Kinsey walked through this latest little town like a man on a mission. They had been searching for Daniel all night and part of today, checking out all the little villages surrounding the estate. He was tired but he didn't want to stop his search. He could not let Daniel get away and he would do whatever it took to find him. It was his right to punish him for what he'd done to him.
When he'd returned to the mansion in the evening, he'd found that somehow, it had been destroyed. He was forced to stay in the loft above the garage with the other men while they searched for Daniel. It must have been a gas leak that caused the house to blow up. Now, he would never be able to get Daniel back in there. The sarcophagus was buried under a few tons of wood, brick and plaster and he'd never get it out without causing suspicion. Any excavation crew would ask questions. Maybe later, he could get help digging it out of there but he didn't have time for that now. He had to find Jackson. But, that left a problem of what to do when they caught up with him. There was no way he could keep up the torture now, at least not like he'd done. He decided that he would have to kill him as soon as he found him.
He and the guards had gone from village to village handing around a picture and asking if anyone had see the man in it. Most people just shook their heads no. Others would look up at him, take in his glare, and turn away. They wanted nothing to do with him. He told them that the man in the picture was an escapee from a mental hospital and was very dangerous. If they would help find him, they would get a reward.
The only lead they had was one man, the cashier at the grocery store in a little town a few miles west of the mansion. He appeared to be very nervous when asked about the photo. Kinsey thought that maybe he had something to hide so he had one of his men ask around to find out who he was but nobody would tell them anything. Maybe they should go back and check again.
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Elise never let go of Daniel's hand and she felt helpless. He was crying out for help but his voice was barely above a whisper and his breathing was labored. Occasionally, he would pull the oxygen tube off his face so they watched him to make sure he kept it on.
One moment he was sweating and trying to pull off his blankets and a few moments later he would be burrowed under the covers, chills making his teeth chatter.
Angelique took over his care earlier in the evening so that Elise could get some rest, even though she protested that she was fine and wanted to stay. Angelique promised her that when she went to bed, she would wake Elise. They agreed and both settled in for the night.
Elise laid in her bed, knowing that she had fallen hard for Daniel. 'This is ridiculous! I barely know him. I know nothing about his work. But I do know this... he is a kind hearted man. A good man. And I think I'm falling in love.'
After spending a restless night at the motel, SG-1 ate breakfast and made some phone calls. They had been looking for Daniel for days and still didn't have a clue to his whereabouts. After lunch, they decided to check and see if anything new had turned up in a town a few miles down the road. They were sure they were close to finding something out, just by the reactions of the townspeople. There were plenty of stares from the local people in the village as they made their way around, asking if anyone had seen Daniel and showing them the picture. Nobody would knew of him and soon they gave up. The rest of the SG teams, accompanied by Teal'c, headed back to the motel to grab a bite to eat and Jack and Sam went to a small cafe and ordered lunch.
The crowd around them watched them suspiciously. As they were finishing their meal, an older gentleman came to their table and sat down. Jack looked expectantly at him, hoping that he had some news about Daniel.
"I might be able to help you, Monsieur. I overheard you asking earlier about the man in the picture. I must tell you that you are not the only ones inquiring about him. There were others in our village a few days ago who were showing a picture of the same man. They said he was an escapee from a mental hospital and he was very dangerous. They offered a reward for information. But, of course, nobody here knows what they were talking about."
"And are you looking for a reward?" Jack asked, wondering why the man had come to him.
"Non, Monsieur. I have never seen the man in the picture before and even if I did, I would not ask for a reward for information. I thought the other group of men looked sinister. Maybe evil. Their leader looked deranged. I thought it odd that he said the other man was an escapee from the mental hospital when it seemed he was the one who had escaped."
"Why are you telling us this, then?"
"You do not look deranged. I heard you say that this man is your friend. I thought you should know that there were others looking for him. That you are not the only ones. I have a feeling it will not go well with your friend if they find him first." With that, he left.
After they ate, they headed to the local store to pick up a few items they would need at the motel. 'Come on Daniel. You've been gone almost 2 weeks now. Where the hell are you?' Jack was worried that maybe they were too late.
They noticed the cashier looked nervous as he gave them their change. As they were walking down the street with their groceries, Sam mentioned to Jack that she thought the cashier in the store was acting nervous.
"Yeah, he knows something. Let's get out of the way and follow him when he leaves." They walked down the road to the the park, covertly watching the store. When the grocer left, they got into their van and followed at a safe distance. They stopped when they saw him turn into the drive of an old farmhouse. Then they slowly drove by watching to see if anything was happening. They didn't notice anything so they called on their radios to the SG teams at the motel and gave them directions to the farm.
"Jack, if Daniel is in there, we need to go find out and take him home."
Jack said, "I know. And we will, but I want to set up a way to catch Kinsey, too. There's no telling what he would do if he found out that Daniel had been here and that these folks had helped him get away. I think I'll go to the door and see if they know anything. Come with me."
They both approached the door and knocked. A young woman answered and they introduced themselves.
"We wondered if you might have seen this man." Jack showed her the photo.
"You are 'Jack'?" she asked.
"Yes," O'Neill answered, looking puzzled.
"Monsieur, would you please come in?"
They did as she asked and she showed them to the bedroom where Daniel was sleeping. Angelique was sitting in a chair by the window and and Dr. Martins was checking Daniel's blood pressure. They both stood when Jack and Sam came into the room.
"This is my Grandmama, Angelique Trudeau. We found Daniel in the barn a few days ago and he's been very sick. He's called out for you but we didn't know how to contact you. This is Dr. Martins. He's been taking care of Daniel since we found him. Grandmama, this is Jack and Sam."
Angelique appraised the military man before her and said, "It is nice to meet you. How did you find us?"
Jack explained, "We figured it out by following a man here who worked as a grocer."
"That would be me." The man from the grocery store stood in the doorway. "I didn't mean to be so obvious. The other men were in town a few days ago but they left. They came back this morning and I think they suspect something. If you found us, it's likely they will, too."
Jack and Sam approached the bed and saw that Daniel was indeed, very sick.
"He has pneumonia and some other problems. His fever comes and goes like Malaria but I don't think that's it." Dr. Martins said, after shaking hands with Jack and Sam. "He was able to tell Elise that he had been held captive and tortured by someone. We were concerned that this other group would find him first. I'm glad you're here. He's been asking for you."
"Okay, then I have an idea. Dr. Martins, can you go into town and let it slip that you're taking care of Daniel, here at the farm?"
"Yes, I can do that."
"Good, Mrs. Trudeau, I want you and your family to gather some things. We're going to move you to the motel where we're staying at. You'll be safe there until this is all over."
"What about Daniel?" Elise asked.
"Jack?"
Daniel was awake and could hardly believe his eyes. They'd found him. He knew Jack wouldn't give up.
Jack approached the side of the bed and said, "Hey, Danny. I'm here. Not to worry. We've got everything covered."
"Wait, Jack. I've got to tell you what happened."
"I know what happened, Daniel. We went to the house and found that you'd been held prisoner there. We also found some video tapes."
"He taped it? Sam?"
"We only watched a few seconds, Daniel. It was enough." Sam held his hand and tried to comfort her friend. "We took the tapes for evidence. You don't have to worry. We'll catch him and he'll go to prison for the rest of his life."
"Daniel, here's what we're going to do." Jack told his friend the plan and it was decided to implement it as soon as possible. He then went out into the hallway and talked to Sam, telling her, "Look, he's in pretty bad shape. I want you to contact the SGC and have them ready for him. It's gonna be a few hours before we get there but that'll give them some time. Tell Dr. Lam to be prepared for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I know from experience that he's gonna need a lot of help. Also, have her read the file on when he got addicted to the sarcophagus before. She should know what to expect. I also want the teams to be ready but out of sight. It won't be long after Dr. Martins gets to town and starts talking, that Kinsey will show up. You know what to do?"
"Yes, we'll be ready."
They went back into the bedroom and asked Mrs. Trudeau and her family to be ready in 10 minutes. After that, Dr. Martins left for the village.