a/n: This is the best I could do with this chapter. It proved to be quite difficult to write. I hope it's not a total bomb! Please let me know either way.

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Chapter 8

Jack was pacing the corridors of the SGC. Selmac and Martouf had both agreed to stay on earth in case they could be useful in tracking Sam. Jack turned a corner and immediately ran into Daniel. "Daniel," he greeted in annoyance.

"Ja-ack!" Daniel drawled out in a whiney voice. "Please tell me I don't have to work with Martouf today!" he pleaded.

Jack snuck a peek at the archaeologist as he continued his pace down the corridor, his hands snug in the pockets of his pants. "Daniel…..you are the one who said they could be important allies and could, possibly, help us find Sam! Now you don't want anything to do with them?"

"Of course not, Jack! I still think they could be great allies. It's just…..Martouf. He, uh, he gives me the creeps."

Jack snickered. He really wasn't planning on it, but it slipped, nonetheless.

"It's not funny, Jack!" Daniel yelled at his friend.

"Oh come on, Daniel! You've got to admit, it is kind of funny!"

"Not to me!" Daniel replied, his voice rising and turning pitchy.

Jack grinned just as Martouf rounded the next corner.

"Dr. Jackson!" Martouf greeted, staring into Daniel's blue orbs. "Your eyes are quite beautiful," he commented, causing the young archaeologist to blush.

Daniel glared at Jack, who just widened his smirk. "Marty! Daniel says you've been working wonderfully together," Jack announced cheerily, his grin now taking over his entire face.

"We are quite compatible, Colonel O'Neill. I can understand why Jolinar chose Dr. Jackson as a host."

"She didn't choose me!" Daniel protested. "She didn't have a choice. I was giving her host mouth-to-mouth. It was either go in me or die."

Martouf and Jack looked at Daniel after his little outburst. "I apologize if I have upset you, Dr. Jackson," Martouf replied an awkward moment later.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Marty. Danny-boy just hasn't had his recommended daily dose of caffeine yet. He'll be back to his adorable self in no time."

Daniel glared at Jack again before stomping off to his coffee machine.

"I am afraid I come bearing bad news, colonel," Martouf spoke once Daniel had stormed off.

Jack raised his eyebrow. "Oh?"

"As Selmac was checking in with our people today, she was informed that a tok'ra spy in one of Apophis' fleet has been discovered. We are the closest with a tel'tac and have been ordered to assist in rescuing the operative."

"So, you're leaving?"

"Indeed. However, Jacob Carter has made it clear that we will be returning as soon as possible to continue the search for his daughter."

Jack nodded, a lump forming in his throat. The tok'ra had been here a week already and still they were having no luck in locating Sam. They had scanned the planet three different times already and even had special equipment brought through the gate to assist in locating the missing captain.

Martouf accepted the colonel's nod and bowed slightly before turning and heading in the other direction.

Within the hour, Jacob and Martouf were leaving earth's atmosphere in their ship and Jack, feeling forlorn, decided to head home early and spend the weekend with his good friend, Jack Daniels.

And, that was exactly what he did. By Sunday, Jack was pretty sure there was more alcohol than blood running through his veins, and, as he looked around his messy home littered with empty beer, rum, and tequila bottles, he wondered if he would even be able to function come Monday morning.

He shifted, miserably, on his couch, his head pounding and his stomach lurching at the slight movement. He reached his hand out to steady his queasy body and knocked over a half-full bottle of schnapps he had found buried in the back of his cupboard. "Shit," he moaned, swiping up the bottle before all of it's contents soaked into his carpet.

"Damn it," he complained while watching in fascination as the puddle of liquid spread out in a circle and drenched his flooring. The schnapps had been a welcome discovery late Saturday night after he had finished off the rest of his 12 pack of Guiness, the other half of his Jack Daniel's and whatever had been left of the tequila. His weekend had been spent in drunken bliss.

Instead of finding something to soak up the soon-to-be stain, he laid his head back down on the arm of the couch, the stench of alcohol wafting up and twisting his stomach nauseatingly. Jack worried briefly that he might vomit right there, making even more of a mess on his carpet.

The thought crossed his mind that he should try to pull himself off his couch and journey to the bathroom. Relieving his alcohol-enhanced full bladder and a nice hot shower might help relax his churning stomach. But, just as he decided his head couldn't be moved just yet, the shrill cry of his phone pierced the quiet room and Jack bolted up, covering his ears from the loud intrusion.

He reached over and snatched the phone off the hook, praying to whatever God was listening that it wasn't the SGC wanting him to come in today. "What!" he croaked into the receiver.

"Jack," Sam's almost forgotten voice came over the line.

"Sam? What the….where are you?" Jack's voice gasped into the phone, his physical state forgotten at the sound of her voice.

"Jack, I don't have time. They'll be looking for me soon. Listen, there is a leak at the SGC. You have to find the leak, Jack."

"Sam, where are you? We've been looking for you for weeks."

"I know……. They know. They're not going to let me go, Jack. Please, you have to figure out who the leak is. They know more than I thought. Stuff they shouldn't."

"Sam."

"Jack, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you, I'm in over my head."

"Baby, just tell me where you are!" Jack screeched into the phone, his fear for Sam causing his emotions to break through his normal stoicism.

"I can't, Jack! We're leaving again. I have to go. Find the leak, Jack. The person has access to all of SG-1 mission files."

"What? Sam!"

CLICK

"SAM!" Jack shouted into the phone. "Shit!"

He kept the silent phone to his ear, hoping, somehow, she would come back on the line until he heard another click and the operators recorded, nasally voice say, "If you would like to make a call, please hang up and try again."

"Damn it!" Jack yelled and slammed the phone down. A sharp pain shot through his hung-over head at the rapid movement and Jack cried out in pain as he clutched his head, a tear, whether from the pain or the fear of Sam being hurt, he wasn't sure, rolled down his cheek, burning his flesh in it's wake.

After a shower and an entire pot of strong, black coffee, Jack left his house and made his way to the SGC. Intent on filling in the general on the new information of Sam. He was scared and overjoyed at the same time. Sam was alive! Thank God she was still alive. Now, he just had to get her out of danger. How the hell was he supposed to do that?

With such little information to go off of, Jack and George were at a stand-still as to what to do about Sam. Hammond pulled all of SG-1 mission reports and Jack and the general started going over each one, trying to find something that would hint as to who the leak could be.

When nothing was forthcoming, and in order to avoid alerting anyone to what they were doing, Hammond decided it was best for SG-1 to continue with their scheduled mission to a planet the natives called Madrona.

They had been there previously and were amazed at the technology the inhabitants had in their possession. They actually had a device that controlled the weather on the entire planet. When SG-1 reported back to Hammond about the 'touchstone,' the general ordered a return trip to study the device to see if it was something they could copy.

Tobias had tried to talk the inhabitants into letting her take it apart, but they refused and Jack explained to her that it would be dangerous to their planet for her to do so, just in case she couldn't put it back the way she found it.

Tobias looked downtrodden, but agreed with the colonel and planned to bring through special equipment on their next visit that would help in distinguishing the energy output and functions of the small device.

Unfortunately, instead of the nice, sunny weather SG-1 was expecting when they stepped through the gate to Madrona, the team was met with a fierce electrical storm. After being accused of stealing their treasured device, SG-1 was told that people, dressed like them, had come through the gate in the dark of night and stolen the touchstone.

Insisting they were innocent, Jack talked the leader into letting them go back to earth to try and find out who took the touchstone and to, hopefully, get it back for them.

As the stargate whooshed open and Daniel punched in the GDO code, Jack had an overwhelming sensation that this little debacle had a lot to do with his phone call from Sam the day before.

Once back on earth, Jack told the general about the missing touchstone and asked to speak to him privately in his office. "Sir, are you sure no one went through the gate?" Jack asked, after he explained everything to Hammond.

"Colonel, no one uses that gate without me knowing about it. If people from earth went to Madrona, it was not through that gate."

"Sir?" Jack questioned, raising his eyebrow in curiosity at the general.

Hammond sighed and steepled his fingers, breathing into them before turning his attention back to Jack. "Son, you should know……when Captain Carter first came to me denying the position here, she informed me that the stargate you and Teal'c discovered in Antarctica may end up being more trouble than it's worth."

"Meaning?" Jack prompted.

"Meaning it is very likely that a covert team is using that gate to steal alien technology."

"And Sam found out about it."

"Possibly. Colonel, for the sake of that planet, we need to get to the bottom of this."

"Yes, sir. I agree. Do you know where the second stargate is being stored?"

"Area 51."

"Permission to take my team on a little trip to Nevada, sir?"

"Denied."

"Sir?"

"Jack, I'm asking you this off the record, son. How much do you trust your team?"

"Sir?"

"I have gone over all SG-1 missions with a fine-toothed comb, colonel. And, the fact of the matter is, it is very likely that someone on SG-1 could be the leak Captain Carter was warning you about."

"Sir, with all due respect, I can't imagine anyone on my team being a spy. I mean, Teal'c is more loyal to you and I than anyone else on this planet, and Daniel is all about exploration and making friends, he could care less about earth getting its hands on weapons and technology…."

"And Lt. Tobias?" General Hammond asked.

Jack shook his head. "I can't say one way or the other, sir. I would like to believe she's good and honest, but just knowing how she got the position on SG-1 makes her shotty at best, sir."

"I had a feeling you would say that, Jack. That's why I think it's best for me to give Claire and Daniel both the rest of the week off while you and Teal'c look into this…..accusation from the Madronans."

"Sir? Daniel?"

"I don't want to raise any unwanted attention, Jack. Giving both scientists some downtime and letting my special-forces trained colonel and his jaffa friend handle this is plausible."

Jack nodded, understanding where the general was coming from. "Well, then, permission for me to show Teal'c the wonderful state of Nevada?"

General Hammond smiled. "Permission granted, colonel. Check in every few hours."

"Yes, sir," Jack replied and saluted sloppily before leaving the room to find Teal'c.

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"Colonel O'Neill, what a pleasant surprise," Col. Maybourne announced, walking in behind Jack and Teal'c. "Teal'c, it's good to see you well," he added, referring to the last time they had met when Teal'c had been bitten by a giant alien bug and slowly metamorphosized.

Teal'c approached the small man, his large body leaning ever so slightly into Maybourne's personal space, causing the weasely colonel to gulp in unease. "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you," Teal'c announced in his monotone voice, his hands locked behind his back, yet still exuding a strong aura of might.

Maybourne's façade fell momentarily, allowing both Jack and Teal'c to witness the sudden look of fear flash across his face.

Jack let a small smirk form on his face at seeing the smaller man tremble under Teal'c's calm wrath. "We came for the touchstone."

"The what?" Maybourne asked.

"You heard me, the weather-changing device. Don't play coy, Maybourne. We know you're using the other gate."

"Ja-ack! The other gate has been in a crate in storage ever since it was brought here from Antarctica."

"I want to see it," Jack demanded in his strongest colonel-voice.

Maybourne nodded. "This way," and led them to a large warehouse.

Jack entered the building and immediately started prying open the crate. He moved the packing foam and saw the stargate right where it was supposed to be. "Damn!" he hissed just under his breath.

Teal'c knelt down beside him, his hand reaching out and caressing the decommissioned gate. "O'Neill, they are deceiving you. This is not the stargate."

"What?" Jack asked, turning to better see Teal'c.

"I sense no naquada. This stargate is not the stargate we went through in Antarctica."

Jack reached his fist out and knocked on the ring of the stargate. "It's plastic!" He stood up, turning around to swiftly face Maybourne. "What the hell are you up to, Maybourne?"

"Jack! Trust me on this. This goes higher than you…."

"I have top-level clearance, Maybourne."

"In the military you do!" the smaller colonel rebuffed.

"You're saying this is a civilian operation?"

"I'm not saying anything, Jack. Just to leave it alone," Maybourne warned before ordering them to leave or be forcefully removed.

Jack and Teal'c returned to the SGC, no more closer to finding Sam or the touchstone than they were before leaving.

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When Jack walked into General Hammond's office, he was both surprised and relieved to see Jacob sitting in one of the chairs opposite the general's desk.

"Jacob!" Jack greeted in surprise after entering the room and shutting the door behind him.

"Jack, George told me Sam called you. Any luck in Nevada?"

Jack sighed and took a seat in the empty chair next to Jacob. "Not much. The other gate is no longer at area 51. Maybourne basically confirmed that we're dealing with a civilian operation, the NID are more than likely involved."

General Hammond shook his head in worry. "All my attempts to contact the president have been diverted. I have the sinking suspicion that whoever is behind this, is pulling strings in DC as well."

Jacob cleared his throat. "Well, I don't know what you can do about DC, but we can track the other gate with the tel'tac," Jacob announced.

Jack and George gawped at the tok'ra/retired general.

"We can?" Jack finally managed to get out.

"Yes. Every stargate is made up of naquada. Because it is not a normal mineral on this planet, the sensors should be able to locate it immediately."

"What about our stargate?" Jack asked.

"The ship's sensors will pick up both gates. We know where this gate is located, so we can ignore it and focus on where the other one is."

Jack clapped his hands together. "Great! Let's go!"

Jacob and Jack turned their heads to Hammond. "Go!" Hammond replied.

Jacob, Teal'c and Jack were aboard the tel'tac shortly thereafter and Jacob quickly scanned the planet for a strong trace of naquada. The computer beeped as it located the SGC's stargate, but Jacob ignored it and continued the scan.

Within seconds the computer beeped again as the scanner locked on a location in southern Utah. Jack contacted General Hammond and informed him of the location as Jacob landed the ship in a forested section a short click from the beep.

The three of them, armed with zats, entered the small compound, hearing the familiar sound of the stargate locking on coordinates. Jack moved stealthily into the large, open room spotting the missing stargate lying on its side. A small crate was a few steps in front of him and he slowly approached it, opening it and recognizing the touchstone packed safely inside.

He nodded and gestured for Jacob and Teal'c to take up his flanks and they slowly worked their way around the warehouse.

All of a sudden, a man appeared, surprised to find Jack, Jacob, and Teal'c in the building. He pulled out a gun and started firing at the men.

Jack heard the stargate whoosh open and, being pinned down by gunfire, the only thing any of them could do was watch as Sam was pulled out of one of the trucks in the warehouse and pushed into the wormhole, followed by two other men before the stargate deactivated.

Jacob ran into the back of the truck. "Damn it!" he yelled in defeat.

"What?" Jack asked in concern, running in behind him.

"I didn't see the coordinates. Jack, they've got my baby out there somewhere!"

"I know, Jacob," Jack told the older, distraught man, setting his hand on his shoulder for comfort. "We'll find her. I swear if it's the last thing I do, Jacob, I'll find her."

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