Chapter 22 – Threats

Following JJ's visit to the SGC to see the Stargate, things returned to normal for the Carter-O'Neill household. Well, as normal as possible with three active children and a dog who still the errant shoes were her own personal chew toys.

True to his word, JJ had not mentioned anything about what he had seen to Grace. He had spent a few quiet evenings in the company of his parents, asking a few questions when his sisters weren't around. And in the privacy of his bedroom, he took down the intricately carved box his mother had given him the afternoon of his visit. She had explained that the wife of the leader of the planet he had been on had given the box to her as a gift for JJ. It was a gift of thanks for how he and his parents had helped save their village. JJ had wanted to know how he had helped, but Sam had glossed over that bit. Neither she nor Jack felt that he was ready for the knowledge that he possessed an Ancient gene that allowed him to manipulate certain alien technology. And Jack certainly had not wanted to revisit the time when his wife and son were abducted. In fact, Jack had been more than a little leery of Sam's giving the box to JJ, given the fact that the necklaces from the people of Moval were what had started everything in the first place. Even though Sam had assured him it had been tested and retested, one never knew with alien gifts. But both Sam and Daniel had been adamant that it was perfectly safe, so Jack had given in, although not without a warning grumble or two.

After the initial explanations, JJ had accepted the box with no more questions but often, when he was supposed to be in bed sleeping, he would take the box down from his shelf and wonder what adventure he had been on as an infant. Deep down, he knew that someday, he would go through the Stargate once again.

Although he hadn't told Grace any of the secrets he now held deep inside, he had told her that he got to have a snack with Uncle Daniel, Aunt Janet, and Uncle Teal'c in the SGC commissary...and that he got to see Uncle George. Initially, Grace had been put out that she hadn't been included. She had complained long and loudly to her parents; almost to the point of earning herself a time-out for her trouble. Jack had finally pulled her aside and explained quite patiently that she wouldn't always get to do the same things JJ did, just like he wouldn't always get to do what she did. He had also promised that she would get her own special visit to mommy and daddy's work, but she would have to show them she was ready for that responsibility. That promise had appeased the little girl somewhat. In fact, Grace had all but forgotten about the travesty by the time her uncles, aunt and cousins had arrived that evening for pizza. Knowing the little girl might be feeling left out, General Hammond had sent along a sketch pad and a set of charcoal pencils for Grace. Daniel quite happily presented them to the budding artist. Grace had beamed her thanks and rushed into the den, where she had proceeded to draw a picture of Poppy and her to be given as a thank you gift to her oldest pseudo-uncle.

Not wanting to leave Maddie out, good old Uncle George had also sent along a stuffed unicorn for the youngest O'Neill. Maddie had reverently placed the newest animal in her collection on her bed and sternly admonished Poppy to leave it alone.

And so the following week returned to normal, with the children busy in school and Sam busy at the SGC. Jack had one or two meetings regarding new recruits and one off world meeting with Thor, but nothing overly taxing. Still, he found himself at the mountain nearly everyday that next week, giving forth his expertise on some matter or another and filling out the never ending mountains of paperwork. As a semi-retired participant of the SGC, Jack couldn't understand why he still needed to do paperwork. Unfortunately, General Landry didn't agree with his plan to give the recruits practice in filling out the Ambassador's paperwork, so Jack was stuck with it.

JJ and Grace walked to the bus every morning as they usually did, and walked home each afternoon. Most days, they would head straight home after getting off the bus. But on days when their dad had to work longer at the SGC, they would go to Billy's house until he arrived to pick them up. While JJ loved the arrangement, Grace wasn't overly thrilled. But, thankfully, it only happened once or twice a week. This week, however, had been different. This was the third day in a row that they would have to go to Billy's for an hour or so after school. Grace grumbled to herself as she followed the two boys down the sidewalk and up Billy's walkway. Kicking a small rock as she walked along, Grace cast a baleful look at the back of the boy's shirts, wondering to herself why they couldn't go over to Brittany's house just once!

The boys continued to walk ahead of her, deep in conversation about the movie they had seen that day in science about the solar system. Neither the boys nor the disgruntled little girl following them noticed the dark sedan that was slowly inching its way down the street behind them.

At the same time that the children were getting off the bus, Jack was hastily trying to wrap things up and get home to them. He didn't like having to send his kids over to Billy's any more than Grace liked going there. While Mrs. Martin was a nice enough woman, Jack still didn't fully trust her son not to pick on Grace. And he certainly didn't want Grace to be kissing the kid anymore… even if it was just to get him to stop bothering her! It wouldn't be long before the kid enjoyed kisses from girls, and Jack was not about to let him have another experience with his daughter! Shaking his head ruefully at the thought, he had just about finished packing his things, knowing he'd be at least a half hour later than he wanted, when the phone in his office rang. Grumbling loudly, he picked it up. "O'Neill!" he answered sharply.

The next few minutes found Jack becoming more and more upset as he listened to the caller on the other end of the receiver.

Sam walked sedately down the corridor on her way to see Jack. She knew he was about ready to leave for the day and wanted to touch base quickly about the children's schedules for the evening. Grace had just started Girl Scouts this year and had a meeting tonight. Sam needed to make sure the little girl's Brownie uniform was ready for her; Grace was so proud of the few badges she had already earned and wanted to wear the vest to every meeting. As Sam rounded the corner, she could hear Jack shouting long before she arrived at his office. Picking up the pace, she hurried to his door and opened it cautiously to see Jack pacing, his face a mask of anger and panic.

"How the hell did this happen?" he fairly shouted into the receiver.

Sam stepped fully into the office and closed the door behind her, her eyes filled with concern for whatever had her husband in such an uproar. Jack's head swung around when he heard the soft click of the door. His gaze locked with Sam's as he continued talking.

"Well, someone had damn well better find out what happened and what exactly the threat might be to my son. And it had better happen fast or heads will roll!" He slammed down the receiver and ran a shaky hand through his hair.

Sam's heart had begun to beat loudly at her husband's words: threat to their son? What was going on? She stepped closer, "Jack?" Her voice held a note of hesitation as she said his name.

Jack came to stand in front of her and came right to the point. "There's been a leak. Several people within the NID found out that JJ was here last week and was given access to the Stargate. One of them, in turn, passed that information onto an off-shoot of the Trust." Sam winced at the name. She had had more than enough experience with members of both the NID and the Trust to last her a lifetime. The thought of either organization being interested in their son sent a cold shiver of fear through her veins.

While the NID had not posed any threat to them or their children due to the blood samples they'd turned over at each child's birth, neither Jack nor Sam trusted them as far as they could throw them. Well, at least most of them. Malcolm Barrett had proved to be a true friend time and again, though Jack wasn't always real comfortable when the man was around his wife.

And even though the Trust had not been heard from since the debacle with Kinsey becoming a Goa'uld, it was well-known that several of its underground members held firm to their beliefs that, with their own access to the Stargate, they could eradicate any threats made to Earth. That the Goa'uld and the Replicators had been wiped out made no difference to them; they still felt there were more enemies out there and they did not trust the US military to achieve interstellar peace on their own. Thus, they had renamed themselves The Movement. Exactly what type of movement they were espousing themselves to be, no one was quite certain. All the SGC and the Pentagon knew was that this was another dangerous vigilante type group that would cause nothing but trouble.

"What…what could they possibly want with JJ?" Sam asked with true fear in her voice.

"I have no idea, but we're damned well going to find out," Jack growled out. He ran a hand through his hair again. "That was Barrett, he sends his regards, by the way," Jack gave her a look that she couldn't quite interpret. "He thinks certain members of The Movement feel that, with his…background, JJ could tell them things they can't get elsewhere. Like through proper channels," he added with increased anger.

"What kind of things could JJ tell them? He's only nine! He just saw the gate for the first time since he was a baby!" As a thought struck, her face paled. "Oh God, Jack. They don't know about his dreams, do they? They might have the means to extract information from the subconscious, just like the Tok'ra. If they get their hands on him…"

Jack took in the panic on his wife's face and tried to calm his tone. "They're not going to get their hands on our son, Sam." He came forward and placed his hands on her upper arms, squeezing gently. "I'll give Billy's mother a call; ask her to keep the kids inside until we get home. General Landry's already been apprised of the situation and is doing all he can on his end. He's putting a team together as we speak; well, a couple of teams actually." Jack looked thoughtful for a moment before continuing. "The President is also putting the screws to the NID to get the informant rousted and to flush out The Movement," he made quotation marks in the air as he said the name, "Once and for all."

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Sam asked, "What do you want me to do?"

Jack smiled his approval at her; even though her children were being threatened, she could still be counted on the act calmly and professionally. He leaned forward to kiss her on the forehead, then gently released her. "I need you to talk to Daniel and Teal'c. Thank God T is still around…we're going to press him into service as a bodyguard for the next few days." At Sam's raised eyebrows, he said, "What?"

Shrugging her shoulders slightly, Sam let a small smile cross her features. "Nothing. I just got a picture of Teal'c wearing the baby backpack, Maddie on his back and playing with his hat, while he escorts JJ and Grace to the bus stop. Just seemed kind of…strange," she admitted with a grin.

Jack found himself grinning as well. "Don't forget about Poppy. You know we can hardly leave the house with the kids and not take that dog along. Thank God she likes Teal'c; and vise versa."

At the mention of the family pet, Sam's smile vanished in an instant. "Oh my God, Jack…Poppy!" At his look of confusion, she hurried on. "The kids walk Poppy every day after school, even when they go over to Billy's." She cast a frantic look at the clock on Jack's wall. "They might have left already!"

Jack's glance shot to the clock as well, all traces of humor evaporated with his wife's reminder. "Damn it!" Jack whispered harshly. He grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair. "Get T and Danny and meet me topside. I'll call Gretchen Martin. Maybe they haven't left yet." Jack pulled out his cell phone and rushed toward the door. As he ran one way, Sam ran the other; thankful that she currently knew where Daniel and Teal'c were at the moment…Daniel's office. Since it was on the same floor as Jack's, it would only be a matter of minutes before she corralled her friends and met her husband at the top of the mountain.

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"Come on, JJ, let me hold Poppy's leash now," Grace whined as she made a grab for the item. JJ held the retractable leash just out of her reach. A woman pushing a stroller gave them an odd look as she carefully walked around them.

"No, Grace. You always let her have too much lead and she gets tangled around stuff.," JJ fired back. He reeled the dog in closer, making a point about Poppy's lease needing to be closer. "People need to get by too," he reminded her as he mumbled an apology to the lady.

"Anyway, Poppy's too strong for you," Billy added. "She'll pull you right over if she decides to chase a squirrel."

"Will not!" Grace stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, placed her hands on her hips, and glared. "She's my dog, too, Billy Martin, and I can walk her just as good as JJ can!" Then she turned her ire on her brother. "You let me walk Poppy, else I'm going to tell daddy that you and Billy was being mean to me again!"

JJ rolled his eyes at his friend; he knew Grace would do just as she threatened, even if JJ and Billy weren't really being mean to her. "Fine, you can take her for a while. Just keep her close," he warned his younger sister.

JJ handed over the leash, then resumed their walk through the park. The late October day was brilliant with sunshine and the trees rife with abundant color as the leaves changed with the season. The boys took up positions behind Grace, who happily talked to the dog as they meandered their way along the path. Billy shook his head at his friend. "Geez, you sure gave in to her fast," he muttered.

JJ just shrugged his shoulders and looked over at his blond friend. "Sometimes, it's just not worth it," he replied. Billy glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. As an only child, Billy figured he probably didn't understand what JJ meant by that. For the most part, Billy would fight tooth and nail to get what he wanted or to prove a point. He supposed if Grace was his sister, they'd be fighting all the time. He looked back at the little girl up ahead; good thing she's not, he though to himself. She'd drive me nuts!

"Let's walk by the stream!" Grace suddenly called out. "Poppy likes to look at the fishes and frogs."

JJ knew full well that his sister liked looking at the wild life in the stream much more than Poppy did. Glancing at his watch, he responded. "Just for a few minutes, Grace. Dad will be by soon to pick us up."

"OK." She flashed a smile at him before turning forward again. "Come on, Poppy. Let's go see if there's any fishes in the stream."

"Man, I wanted to go over to the ball field," Billy complained. "Some of the older kids have been playing baseball after school and I wanted to watch for a while."

"We can probably do both, long as we hurry Grace along." JJ pulled on Billy's jacket sleeve. "Come on, we can't let Grace beat us to the stream, can we?"

"A girl? No way!" Billy and JJ started to jog after Grace and Poppy, hurrying to catch up.

The two men who had been following at a distance had to quicken their pace as well. They didn't want the children to get out of sight; especially the taller, brown haired boy. What they were going to do with the other two was something neither man had yet considered.

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Jack was pacing in the parking lot, waiting for his wife and former teammates. He needed to get a move on, and now! He turned abruptly when he heard Sam call his name. Teal'c and Daniel were right behind her, hurrying as fast as they could.

Sam came to a stop in front of Jack, her eyes raking his face. She knew the answer to her question before she even asked it. "They've left on a walk already, haven't they?"

Jack grabbed her elbow and steered her toward the car. "Yeah. Gretchen said they left to get Poppy about 10 minutes before I called. They were headed to the park."

"Oh God, Jack," Sam whispered as she slid into the passenger seat. "What if something happens to them?"

"Nothing's going to happen," Jack tried to reassure her, but his own heart was beating frantically. He closed her door and hurried around to the driver's side. Daniel and Teal'c climbed into the back seat without a word and Jack peeled out of the SGC parking lot and down the mountain.

After a few minutes of strained silence, Teal'c asked. "What is your plan, O'Neill?"

Jack glanced into the rearview mirror and locked gazes with the large man. "We're going to the park. We'll spread out and cover as much area as possible as quickly as we can. Landry's sending SG-12 along just as soon as he can brief them." He paused then stated with firm resolve, "We're finding my kids and bringing them home."

Teal'c nodded his head briefly in agreement. The car returned to its former state of silence until Daniel leaned forward and placed his hand on Sam's shoulder. "Janet's taking off in a few minutes too, Sam. She'll pick up Maddie, Katie, and Nicky from daycare and bring them to our house."

Sam turned and placed her hand over Daniel's. "Thank you, Daniel," she said quietly. Maddie's welfare would be one less thing that Sam and Jack had to worry about this afternoon.

----

Grace was standing near the water's edge, peering down into the glassy surface while the boys skipped rocks a few yards away from her. Poppy was still tethered to her leash, her front paws nudging at the tiny fish that swam near the edge of the stream. A rustling of the bushes nearby caught the dog's attention. Poppy turned, then gave off a low warning growl as two strangers rounded the bushes and approached the children.

JJ, Billy, and Grace all looked up at the two men standing ten yards away from them. JJ and Billy unconsciously came to stand on either side of Grace and Poppy. JJ sized the men up with a puzzled look. In his brief experiences at the park, grown-ups rarely came down to the stream; unless they were with their own kids. And these two men didn't look like they were out for an afternoon in the park. They both wore dark suits, ties, shiny shoes, and had on identical dark sunglasses. While both men had dark hair, one of them was a good six inches taller than the other. Neither man looked familiar to any of the children.

Knowing that they weren't supposed to talk to strangers, the three children remained silent but kept a careful eye on the strangers. Poppy continued her low, threatening growl.

One of the men, the taller one, cleared his throat. "Uhm, hello there. Nice day for a walk along the stream, isn't it?" When none of the children responded, he looked helplessly toward his partner. This was not an assignment he felt comfortable with or very adept at; children just were not his forte.

The smaller man took a step forward, then quickly retreated when Poppy's growl increased in volume. He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Hey, easy there, boy. We're not going to hurt anyone."

"Poppy's a girl!" Grace stated with a tone of distain in her voice.

JJ swung his head toward her. "Grace!" he hissed out.

The smaller man chuckled. "It's OK, son. The little lady has a right to be upset. If someone called my dog a boy when she was a girl, well, I'd be upset too," he explained with an over-exaggerated smile.

JJ looked at the man with narrowed eyes. "She shouldn't be talking to you at all; neither should I." He looked over at Billy, who nodded his head in agreement. "We need to go home; our dad's waiting for us," JJ explained shortly, then took the leash from Grace's hand and herded her and the dog ahead of him. Billy kept his eyes on the men as he walked backwards a few paces.

"Whoa, hold on there a minute son. That's why we're here actually," he shot a look at his partner before continuing on. "We work with your dad...Ambassador O'Neill? He kind of got stuck in a last minute meeting, and asked us to come bring you and your sister to the mountain for him."

Grace's head spun around at his words and she cocked her head to the side. "Daddy sent you?" The idea of going to the mountain and seeing her parents briefly distracted her from her suspicions about the two men.

The taller man found his voice. "He sure did, princess. He didn't want you to worry that he was going to be late. He knows you get worried sometimes."

The two siblings exchanged a glance; they both knew that something wasn't quite right for they had never discussed being worried about their father being late. They knew they would be quite safe at Billy's house until one of their parents was able to leave work and pick them up.

Billy, too, felt something was off as he pushed his way in front of Grace once again and stood side by side with JJ. "He would have called my mom first and told her. Mr. O'Neill always calls my mom and lets her know when he's coming home." The little boy crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the two men.

"This meeting…it came up suddenly. With the General," the taller man added quickly, but his voice was beginning to betray his growing sense of unease. This wasn't going as easily as they had planned.

The other man stepped closer and this time didn't back down when Poppy began to growl again deep in her throat. "Look, I can prove your dad sent me. You're JJ," he pointed to JJ, "And you're Grace," he pointed to the little girl who was partially hidden behind the boys. "You have a little sister named Maddie. And you," he pointed to Billy, "Are Billy Martin, JJ's friend."

The look of distrust on JJ's face disappeared briefly to be replaced by one of uncertainty. Maybe their dad had sent these men to get them. Just as quickly as the thought crossed his mind, JJ dismissed it. For he knew that, if their parents ever had to send someone in their place, it would be someone the children knew and trusted.

Grace tugged on JJ's sleeve. "Ask him what the password is," she whispered in his ear.

JJ's brows shot up; he had forgotten that! His parents had told them if they ever had someone besides close family friends pick them up from school or daycare, that person would be given the O'Neill family password. That way, the children would know that the person was safe to go with. JJ turned back to the two men. "Ok, if my dad sent you, what's the password?"

The two men looked at each other in confusion: password? What was the kid talking about?

"Uh, look kid, your dad didn't have time to tell us no password," the shorter man ground out. His impatience with the kids was getting the better of him. It was also reconfirming for the children that these men were not telling the truth. "Now come on, your mom and dad are waiting for you."

"You're lying," Grace accused from behind the boys.

The man scowled, all pretense of being a friend vanished at her words. "Well, as far as I can see, you three don't have much of a choice." He looked around the area, which was secluded from the rest of the park by the tall, full bushes that grew near the stream. "And no one is here to stop us. You're coming with us, whether you like it or not!" Both men took a few more steps forward.

"NO!" JJ shouted. "We're not going anywhere with you!" At JJ's shout, Poppy began to bark loudly and furiously.

Grace gasped out loud. She had never heard such a fearsome noise from her pet before. Her eyes widened in fright at the threatening stance and the angry faces of the two strangers in front of them.

All three children took a few tentative steps backwards, Poppy continuing her terrible barking. As the men slowly followed, JJ turned to Grace and Billy and shouted, "Run!"


Haven't left a cliffhanger like that in a long time...had to make sure I was not out of practice! No, actually, it was just getting too long and the next part was not meshing with this one, so I thought it'd be better to make two chapters. The good news is that the next one is almost done so you won't have to wait a whole week for it!