Chapter Three: Clearing the House
A yellow van was parked outside Sam's house when the guys arrived the next morning. Daniel guzzled his coffee as he opened his car door. Jack wiped a hand over his face and stretched as he stepped onto Sam's yard. Teal'c locked his SUV and stood in front of the vehicle waiting for Jack to move towards the van.
"Jack!" A middle-aged, large-chested, firmly built man with thinning hair walked around the van towards Jack. "I'd say nice to see you, but I doubt you'd agree."
"Mike, thanks for coming on such short notice." The two men shook hands. "I have badges for you and the three men you said you were bringing."
"They'll be here in about an hour. I wanted to check out the scene and radio back to let them know what equipment to bring."
"Makes sense. Let's get this started." Jack led the way into Sam's house. An airman who was younger but just as enthusiastic as last nights carefully examined their badges and permitted their entrance. Jack and Mike went straight to the bedroom. Teal'c followed the two men but kept a respectable distance. Daniel stopped in the living room and looked at the pictures on Sam's mantel.
Mike examined the bedroom from the bedroom doorway and shook his head. "This is pretty bad. I'm guessing it was a while before the victim was discovered."
"Yeah." Jack's jaw tightened as he nodded his head.
"You said on the phone she was a friend. Were you close?" Mike stepped farther into the bedroom.
"She was my second in command for eight years." Mike looked up at Jack.
"That's tough. Sorry, Jack. Do they know what happened?" Mike walked to the far side of the bed. He stepped around the large dried pool of blood and peeked in the bathroom.
"The investigation is on going but they've collected all the evidence from the house they need. No geeks will be getting in your way." Jack continued to scowl.
"That's good. I guess your opinion on geeks hasn't changed much over the years, huh?"
Jack grinned slightly. "You might be surprised how it's changed…in a few select cases." Mike puzzled over Jack's response but didn't probe any further.
"I'll radio the guys from the van and let them know what to bring. You'll need new carpet. We won't have any choice but pull it up. I'll let you know about the condition of the floorboards after we get a good look at them. Jimmy'll fix the wall but the headboard is beyond our ability. The mattress is toast. You'll have to replace it." Mike looked around the room again. "It'll take us a few hours but when we're done it'll be as good as new."
Jack nodded. "Do whatever you have to." Jack turned and left the room. Teal'c had waited in the hall as the men spoke. Jack easily passed Teal'c but Mike wasn't sure he could get by without bumping into the overbearing man.
"Excuse me." Teal'c didn't move so Mike pressed his back against the wall in order to squeeze his large chest past the tall bulky alien.
"Interesting team you've got, Jack. Where'd you round up the big guy?" Mike glanced back at Teal'c, who was several paces behind the pair.
"In a galaxy far, far away."
Mike grinned. "It's nice to know you haven't lost your sense of humor." Mike headed out the front door to the van so he could radio his men. Jack watched Daniel running his index finger along the edge of a picture of Janet.
"That's not going to get us through this and out of here in time for the briefing." Jack watched Daniel spin around.
"Sorry Jack. They were so close."
"Yeah, I know. It's ok. You take this room and the kitchen. Look for anything that might hint at confidential information such as those pictures. There's no reason to leave behind evidence of whom Sam worked with in the mountain. Teal'c you take the office and spare bedroom. I'll start on the master bedroom and bathroom."
Teal'c bowed slightly and headed out to the SUV to get boxes. Daniel passed Mike as he followed Teal'c outside. Jack met Mike inside the door.
"You guys must be into some really classified stuff."
"What makes you say that?" Jack shrugged.
"Oh, I don't know. It could be the security. Do you suspect she was killed because of her work?"
"If you're smart enough to realize we are into classified stuff, then you're smart enough to know I can't tell you anything." Jack turned his back on Mike and headed back to Sam's bedroom.
"It was worth a shot!" Mike yelled at Jack's retreating form. "I'm gonna wait out front so I can give the guys their badges!"
Teal'c carried a dozen boxes through the front door as Mike yelled to Jack. Teal'c bumped into Mike made no move to apologize. Daniel witnessed the bump over the three empty boxes he was carrying into the house.
"Sorry about that. Tensions are pretty high right now, and T is pretty protective of his team." Daniel paused in the doorway and addressed Mike. It's possible he feels like if he'd protected her better we wouldn't be doing this today."
"Don't worry about it. I've seen lots of people react to horrible situations over the years. It comes with the job. Nothing would really phase me now…not even an overprotective giant from a galaxy far, far away." Mike went back out to the van as Daniel's head shot up and his eyes widened. Mike missed Daniel's shocked look, which was good since Daniel's reaction might have made Mike even more curious.
By two in the afternoon Mike's team finished cleaning the bedroom and left. There was no trace of blood and if the mattress and headboard were replaced no one would know a horrendous death had occurred in this room. Daniel and Teal'c finished their rooms and waited patiently in the living room while Jack searched through the bathroom drawers. It had taken him a long time to finish the bedroom because he had to work around Mike and his crew. It didn't help that memories kept assaulting him without his permission.
A couple hours earlier he found her riding leathers hanging in her closet. She took him riding once and he loved it. He never told her about the bike he owned before Charlie was born. Sarah never liked it and after Charlie was born she begged him to stop riding around the curvy mountain roads so he sold it.
"Teal'c and I have been done for a while. We'll need to get going soon." Daniel smirked as Jack closed the top of Sam's body wash and acted like he hadn't been caught sniffing it.
"I'll be done in a few minutes. You guys go ahead and put everything in Teal'c's car." Jack put the bottle down and looked over his shoulder as Daniel disappeared around the side of the bathroom door. Jack sighed and looked around the bathroom. He couldn't believe they'd search her whole house in half a day. It should have taken longer. She deserved more than half a day. Jack taped up the last box and carried it outside.
Jack looked at the airman still guarding Carter's front door. "Lock up behind us. I'll be back this evening."
"Yes, sir." The young enlisted man pulled out a set of keys, turned to the door, and immediately followed Jack's order.
The ride to base wasn't quiet. Daniel found several items of interest at Sam's and talked about each of them. He didn't know Sam had kept the picture Cassie painted for her while she was living at the SGC. She had a picture of Rosha that Martouf must have given her. He also found the small device that displayed a holographic image of Narim. Jack's mood slumped further as Daniel went on about his discoveries.
Teal'c pulled into a spot not far from the mountain's entrance.
"You two take these boxes to Sam's lab. I'm going down to the infirmary." Jack stepped out of the vehicle.
Daniel jumped out. "Are you sure you want to do that?"
"Yes, Daniel. Just get this stuff inside. I'll see you at the briefing." Jack left Teal'c and Daniel behind as he hurried into the mountain.
Jack walked into the infirmary and scanned the room until he found her. "Doc." Jack went towards the petite woman in the long flowing white coat.
"General O'Neill. I was told to expect you this afternoon. We finished the autopsy this morning. I want to tell you what to expect before you see her." Doctor Lam craned her neck and looked up at Jack's face.
"I know damn well what to expect. Just take me to her." Jack look towards the door and avoided Lam's concerned gaze.
"This is different than seeing a friend die in the field. After an autopsy a person has been …" Dr. Lam blocked his path to the door as she spoke.
"I've seen people after autopsies. I know what to expect. Let's go." Jack looked down at her, and although she wasn't afraid of Jack she knew the look on his face said he meant business. She spun around and headed out the door. Years earlier Dr. Fraiser turned one of the isolation rooms into a morgue. Sadly it was needed often enough to justify its existence. The irony that Janet had ended up in the room she fought so hard to create wasn't lost on Jack.
Jack slowly stepped into the cool room. He followed the doctor to the cloth-covered table near the back of the room. Dr. Lam slowly pulled the cloth back far enough to uncover Sam's face only. Jack gazed down at Sam's pale still face.
Dr. Lam backed out of the room as Jack reached out and touched her cheek. Jack didn't glance back as he heard the door latch. He knew he was alone with Sam.
"I'll find out what happened, Sam. I know you didn't do this. You were happy. I know you were happy. You couldn't have faked the way your face lit up when I asked you to…well, you know. I won't let them remember you as having taken your own life. If it's the last thing I ever do, I'll…" Jack stopped talking as his hand pushed her bangs back off her forehead. He leaned far forward and ran his finger over her hairline. Jack pulled back as if he'd been burned. He took two steps backwards before he grabbed the door and threw it open. Dr. Lam, who'd waited patiently in the hall, was startled by his sudden appearance.
Jack went past her to the elevator. She could tell he was very agitated and internally berated herself for not finishing her speech about what a person looks like after an autopsy. She went in and covered Sam's face and left for the briefing. The whole room was in chaos when she arrived.
"I'm telling you that thing in the morgue isn't Carter! Didn't any of you notice a switch had been made?" Jack's face reddened in anger as he yelled at the top of his well-trained lungs.
"Jack!" General Landry's voice cut through Jack's tirade. "Please sit down and tell us what you're talking about."
Jack breathed deeply and glanced around the room before sitting down. Teal'c and Daniel looked concerned; afraid their friend had gone over the edge. Captain Taylor and Lieutenant Mayes looked shaken but the captain was trying hard to hide it. Dr. Lam caught the tail end of the yelling. She scooted around Jack's chair to her usual seat.
"That thing laying in the infirmary isn't Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter." Jack spaced the words out deliberately trying to sound calm and rational.
"Tell us how you know that Jack." Landry maintained eye contact with Jack ignoring the looks of disbelief from around the room.
"Six weeks ago Carter was in Washington for a meeting. We were making dinner and I left a kitchen cabinet open as I was getting out some glasses. When Carter turned around to get a spatula from the drawer she hit her head on the cabinet door. She had a gash at her hairline that wouldn't stop bleeding. My neighbor's a doctor and he took us over to his office after hours and glued the cut. That skin glue is really neat. It…"
"Jack!" Daniel glared at Jack as he got off the topic.
"Right. He told her it would only leave a small scar. She had a lump and a bruise the next morning. She said it looked worse than it felt." Jack winced slightly as he thought how tender her head must have been.
"What's your point Jack?" Daniel waved his hands to push Jack to a resolution.
"My point, Daniel, is that thing in the morgue doesn't have a scar…not even a small one. That isn't the Carter who hit her head in my kitchen six weeks ago. Did you ever see the bruise on her forehead?" Jack lifted his hands and gestured back in Daniel's direction.
"No, but if it was at her hairline it might have been covered by her hair." Daniel looked towards Dr. Lam for confirmation. Dr. Lam looked back through Sam's most recent medical history as the men argued.
"I see no mention of a laceration to Colonel Carter's head or face in the past two months. It isn't something I would have missed. Knowing Colonel Carter's respect for regulations I doubt she would have failed to mention being treated by a physician outside of the SGC." Dr. Lam flipped further through the file. "She went through a pre-mission medical check three days after returning from Washington."
"Wait a minute." General Landry looked from Jack to Dr. Lam. "If that's not Colonel Carter, who is it?"
"It might be better to ask, 'what is it.' I'll have to run some tests, but it's possible we're dealing with a clone." Dr. Lam met General Landry's bug-eyed stare.
"A clone!" General Landry showed his displeasure. "But how?"
"Yeah. I'd love to know how some crazy nut got Carter's DNA!" Jack leaned forward.
"Getting the DNA is easy. That's not what has me concerned." Dr. Lam continued to page through Colonel Carter's medical record.
"Have the security protocols in the infirmary changed so much since I left that somebody can just walk out with a tube of blood?" Jack raised his hands into the air, exasperated with Dr. Lam's response.
Dr. Lam immediately looked up and scowled at Jack. "Security protocols are firmly in place and no one has ever removed a vial of blood from my infirmary. Getting DNA is easy. Anybody could go through Colonel Carter's trash and get a soda can or used tampon and get plenty of…"
"Eeeeew." Jack's nose crinkled and he leaned his head back slightly. "TMI!"
General Landry's brow creased in confusion. "TMI?"
Jack shrugged. "Too much information."
Daniel smirked. "AKA TMTWC." A room full of puzzled faces turned towards Daniel. "Also known as too much time with Cassie."
Jack glared at Daniel and then turned his attention back to Dr. Lam. "Ok, so getting the DNA is easy, disgusting but easy. What is it that has you concerned?"
Dr. Lam took a deep breath and surveyed the room. All eyes were on her. The captain and lieutenant seemed especially confused. "In our past cloning experiences, the person being cloned had to be present so the neural information could be duplicated. There are several races that have the technology to clone Colonel Carter without her being present but duplicating her neural patterns and giving the clone Colonel Carter's memories would probably require her presence. We need to not only determine who would do this but also figure out when it happened so we can narrow down how much information whoever did this might possess."
Captain Taylor broke the silence that followed Dr. Lam's short speech. "So you mean the Colonel Carter who took her own life isn't the real Colonel Carter?"
"Don't ever let anyone tell you you're slow on the uptake." Mitchell enjoyed finally joining the discussion.
The captain was still confused. "So why send in a clone and have it commit suicide?"
Jack looked directly at Teal'c. "Somebody went to a lot of trouble to make us believe Carter's dead. Who has the technology to clone, transfer memories, and would want us to believe Carter's dead?"
Teal'c slightly bowed his head in Jack's direction. "Ba'al has numerous clones currently occupying this area of space. His time spent serving Anubis allowed him access to the technology of both the Ancients and Asgard. Though I am unsure what reason he would have for wanting us to believe in Colonel Carter's premature expiration."
Jack rubbed the side of his face and stared off towards the far wall. "Yeah, Ba'al boy was my first choice too. Sam's outsmarted him on a few occasions, and when they worked together to get rid of the Replicators I think she impressed him. He knows we'd come after her if we thought she was alive. Maybe he figured if he convinced us she was dead, he'd be able to keep her."
Mitchell leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "That makes sense. So what do we do? We've had teams searching for Ba'al since we discovered he was on Earth, and we haven't found anything."
Teal'c grunted. "Ba'al underestimates Colonel Carter. She will escape and lead us to him when his arrogance gets too great."
General Landry nodded. "You're probably right Teal'c, but I don't want to wait that long."
Jack stood up and paced the room. "I agree, but until we locate her we have to play along with this charade."
"Play along?" Daniel watched Jack in confusion. "You want us to act like Sam's dead?"
Jack stopped and faced the table. "I sure do. Captain, I want you and your team to finish your report exactly as planned. I assume you decided that thing died of a self-inflicted wound."
The captain nodded affirmatively but didn't speak.
"Good. File your report just as planned with no mention of this discussion." Jack leaned on the table and glared at the captain and lieutenant. "If word of this discussion leaves this room I'll know who to track down. Do I make myself clear?"
Both men nodded their heads and gulped.
"Good. You're both dismissed." Jack stood back up and walked towards the large window, still covered by gray metal.
The two men stood and glanced at General Landry. With a slight nod of his head, General Landry confirmed Jack's order. The two men went down the spiral stairs and out to the elevator.
"Ok, Daniel. I want you to go see Cassie as planned, but I want you to tell her truth. I don't want to drag her through the wringer unnecessarily."
Dr. Lam interrupted Jack. "Do you think it's wise to involve a child in this?"
Jack looked at the doctor and grimly nodded. "She's not a child, and she knows how to keep a secret. I'm going to plan Carter's funeral for Friday. We'll bury that thing laying the morgue. While I'm getting the funeral planned I want you three to very quietly track down when the clone switched places with Carter. Once the funeral is over, I'll pretend to go to the cabin as planned. In reality I'll be following up on any leads you discover."
Jack leaned on the table and surveyed the faces around the room. "Any questions?"
Daniel nodded yes. "What if you're being watched and they realize you don't go to the cabin?"
"Good point. I'll take care of that. Daniel, you and Teal'c go talk to Cassie now. If this is going to work she has to come to the funeral and act properly distraught. When you get back help Mitchell track down when and where this switch occurred."
Daniel and Teal'c left for the surface. Mitchell followed Dr. Lam to the infirmary to get more information on exactly when Colonel Carter didn't have a scar on her head. Jack got Sergeant Harriman's help with the funeral arrangements.
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