Chapter 12 - Confrontation

Kinsey had made his way into the loft of the barn, and was watching through the window, waiting for the right time to sneak inside the house. He had already had his men cut the phone lines so that they couldn't call for help. He wanted to run in there and hurt Jackson so badly, the anticipation fueled his anger and he was having a hard time being patient. By now, Daniel would not be in any shape to fight him off, too weak to defend himself. The old lady wouldn't be a problem and the young couple could be easily dispensed with. He would just kill them all and get them out of the way.

It was close to midnight when he made his move, his goal being the room with the light showing through, at the back of the house. That had to be the one Jackson was in.

He made his way alone across the back yard to the door, keeping in the shadows. He was so sure of himself that he had one of the guards waiting in the truck behind the barn, ready to take off at a moment's notice. The other guard followed him as he entered the back of the house. The door squeaked slightly so they stopped and listened for any indication that they had been heard by anyone. No sounds. 'Okay, step two: find Jackson.' The coat room was the first thing they encountered and the large kitchen was the first room at the right. They slowly made their way across the room, avoiding obstacles and taking in their surroundings. A large parlor was straight ahead and a hallway led off to the right. 'Okay, so far... so good.' Kinsey stopped to listen and found there wasn't any noise inside the house. They must all be asleep but he was confident that he could accomplish his mission without being caught, so he crept forward.

He hugged the wall and slowly crept toward the doorway, the guard behind him, waiting in the dining area. As Kinsey peeked around the door frame, he saw Daniel asleep in a bed on the far right of the room. Except for Jackson, the room was empty. He quietly stepped into the room and approached the bed. Dr. Jackson looked bad, obviously suffering the effects of sarcophagus withdrawal. Good, he wouldn't be in any shape to give him trouble.

He reached across the bed to unhook the IV when he heard a sound from behind him and quickly turned around to find Jack O'Neill standing in the corner with a gun aimed at him.

"Kinsey, old buddy, old pal. Fancy meeting you here!"

Kinsey spun around and couldn't believe his eyes as he saw O'Neill. How did O'Neill get in here without his seeing him?

Daniel had waited for Kinsey to turn toward Jack when he made his move. Seeing that Kinsey had a pistol tucked into the back of his waist band on his slacks, he reached forward and grabbed it. Kinsey felt his gun being taken from his waistband and froze.

He knew he was at a disadvantage, O'Neill in front of him with a gun, and Jackson behind him. And he wasn't exactly sure which man he should be the most afraid of. O'Neill clearly hated him but Jackson had been his victim and had suffered greatly at his hands. Out of the two, he'd be willing to put his money on Jackson.

"Turn around, you son of a bitch! I want to see your face when I kill you!" Daniel was shaking very badly and just itching the pull the trigger.

Kinsey turned around and saw that Daniel had the gun pointed at him. He thought that he could make his escape through the door if he played his cards right. He took a step back.

"Don't!" Daniel had a hard time holding the gun up. It felt like it weighed 20 pounds and his arm started to droop. The tremors were coming back and he had to act quick if he was going to do this.

Kinsey saw how weak Daniel was and said, "You don't have the guts, Jackson. You're nothing but a wimpy, weak-kneed scientist. I was able to kill you over and over again and you never fought back. You don't have the balls to pull the trigger."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Kinsey. He's the one holding the gun and by the sounds of it, he's got every reason to be pissed off at you. He told me what you did to him. I wouldn't underestimate him, if I were you." Kinsey turned his head to look at Jack and saw him smile.

"Come on, Jack." He gestured toward Daniel. "You can see he won't do it. He's too weak and his hands are shaking so badly he couldn't hit the wall in front of him." Kinsey was laughing now, feeling fearless as he watched Daniel struggle to remain in control.

Jack couldn't believe how arrogant and stupid Kinsey was. He wasn't smart enough to be afraid.

Daniel pulled back the trigger very slowly. His hands were very unsteady but he gave it all he had.

"Daniel?"

"Jack?"

"Don't do it. Let the law take care of Kinsey. We can watch as they give him the lethal injection. It'll be my pleasure."

"No, Jack. I want to do this. I have to. He put me through hell and I have every right!" Daniel was starting to shout and his eyes were welling up in tears."

"I know you have the right, Danny. But, let's do this the right way, okay?"

Jack had moved forward and was standing off to the side so that he could see both Daniel's face and Kinsey's face. The gun was still trained on Kinsey.

Daniel was still shaking. He was starting to feel dizzy and knew that if he was going to kill Kinsey, he would have to do it very quickly. Sweat was making his eyes sting and he felt he might drop the gun. The image of Kinsey in front of him doubled and then started to spin. He pulled the trigger and heard the gun fire and the last thing he saw was the surprised look on Kinsey's face. Daniel passed out and fell backwards as the gun landed in the space between his knees.

Kinsey wasn't hurt but he was very surprised that Daniel had actually pulled the trigger. When he realized that Daniel had missed, he made a lunge forward to grab the gun but never got his hands on it.

The sound of Jack's P-90 taking a single shot toward Kinsey was deafening in the small space. Kinsey was holding onto the foot of the bed, trying to use the footboard to support himself and he realized what had just happened. He looked down at is chest, noticing the expanding red wet spot on the front of his shirt. Jack saw Kinsey's eyes rolled up into his head as he slumped lifelessly to the floor.

Jack reached forward to check for a pulse on Kinsey's neck and found none. Then he reached for his radio and called an all clear.

Jack stepped over to the bed and looked down at Daniel. 'Man, this is going to be one rough debriefing and I'm not looking forward to it.'

He radioed Sam, "Contact the motel and tell them to let the doctor, Mrs. Trudeau and her family know that it's all over. Someone there can drive them back here when we've cleaned up this mess."

"I already called, sir. They're waiting. Dr. Martins is with them and he'll be returning with them."

As Jack was talking, Daniel started coming to and was mumbling something about the blood and a 'box,' but nothing was clear. He was obviously still very sick and needed immediate emergency medical attention. He checked the pulse on Daniel's carotid artery and found it weak and irregular.

"Sam, get the medics in here, NOW! Danny needs help!"

He no sooner said it when the medics came running into the house, followed by Teal'c. One man checked Kinsey over and then pronounced him dead. The others gathered around Daniel's bed and Jack showed them the notebook with Dr. Martin's notes on what had been administered to Daniel and when. They took over with great efficiency and before long had him on a stretcher and headed out of the house with Teal'c taking point.

Sam met them in the yard and asked what had happened. As Jack told her, another group of medics carrying a stretcher and body bag with Kinsey inside made it's way out and toward one of the vans parked in the driveway.

Sam reported that they had the guard from the truck in custody and the other guards from the estate had been arrested and were already being taken to the airport for transport to Colorado. She then radioed the motel and notified them to bring back the Trudeau's.

Headlights illuminated the yard and military personnel moved about with determination, gathering together before getting ready to leave for the airport. The guard who had been with Kinsey was handcuffed and lying face down on the ground. One of the soldiers had a gun trained on him and he was cooperating, spilling his guts about Kinsey and everything that had happened, trying to convince the soldier that he was under pressure by Kinsey to do what was asked or Kinsey would kill him.

Sam looked at Jack and noticed the grim look on his face. They were all worried about Daniel, but she could see the strain had been particularly hard on Jack. Minutes later, Dr. Martins, Angelique and her family arrived just in time to gather around the gurney that Daniel was lying on.

Angelique then walked over to Jack and asked what happened after they had been taken to the motel. He told her what he could and assured her that Daniel would have the best medical care available anywhere. They would get back with her soon, letting her know how Danny was doing. She smiled and shook his hand. Then she walked back over to Daniel and leaned toward and whispered in his ear, "Daniel, it looks like you're going to be okay. Your friends have come to the rescue and you are going to go with them now."

Daniel's eyes fluttered and then opened, piercing blue eyes looked up into gray/blue ones and he smiled and whispered,

"Merci, Angelique vous avez sauvé ma vie."

Thank you, Angelique You saved my life."

"Ne savez pas ridicule, Daniel. Je n'ai fait rien. Vous concentré juste sur obtenir bien, oui?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Daniel. I didn't do anything. You just concentrate on getting well, yes?"

"Oui," Daniel answered. "Elise?"

"I'm here." She took his hand and gave it a squeeze. "You're safe now. Your friends are taking you home. I'll miss you, Daniel." She leaned down and kissed him and then caressed his face.

He smiled then dropped off to sleep as the sedative he'd been given in the IV took over.

They loaded him into the back of the van as Jack took the driver's seat and started the engine. One soldier pounded on the back of the vehicle twice and it moved down the driveway and turned right, towards the small airport.

Elise watched as it disappeared down the road in the dark. This handsome stranger had left her shaken. Would she ever hear from him again?