Chapter Five: Jack and the search in Chicago

Jack arrived at a small airstrip just outside Chicago. He called a cab and rented a room not far from the main the O'Hare airport. Jack called the lead flight attendant and confirmed that Sam had gotten off the plane in Chicago and then got back on about twenty minutes later. She hadn't noticed any differences in Sam's demeanor or appearance.

The next morning Jack went to O'Hare. He wore his best black suit and carried a fake badge complete with authentic looking identification. He introduced himself as George Murray, an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He requested access to all information associated with Sam's flight. After they confirmed his identity with a friend of Jack's from the Bureau, airport security provided Jack with the voice tapes of the inbound telephone call to the airport requesting the flight be diverted, the tape of the pilot as he received the detour request, and the video that showed Sam being greeted by two men dressed in Air Force uniforms just after she exited the plane. Jack had all the materials copied and used a courier to send everything to Daniel.

Jack spent the whole day tracking Sam's movement through the airport. Video footage showed she was escorted from the terminal to a small office suite in the administrative section of the airport. The head woundless clone left the administrative suite alone and returned to the airplane. Jack reviewed the video of the administrative suite but never saw Sam or her two escorts leave the office area. Jack checked the video of the other office entrances but still didn't see her being taken out. He growled in frustration, but abruptly stopped when he noticed a baggage cart being driven up near the back exit from the building. A woman rolled out a dolly with a large crate on it. She struggled to lift the crate but finally managed to get it settled on the cart. Jack reviewed the footage three times before he realized what seemed off. The woman walked a lot like a man. Jack instinctively knew Sam was inside that box, and that the woman in the video was certainly no woman.

Jack tracked the movements of the crate to a hearse. Jack zoomed in on the hearse's license plate and wrote it down. It was late when he finished so he packed up, thanked airport security, and went back to his hotel. He'd been up for two straight days and he knew better than to let exhaustion ruin his search.

Daniel called Jack the next morning. Jack could hear Daniel's excitement as soon as he spoke. "We were right about the switch happening in Chicago. The Sam that got off the plane had a bruise on her head and the one who got back on the plane didn't. The voice that called the airport matched what we have recorded for Ba'al. We weren't able to identify either of the two men who escorted Sam away from the terminal but we're still working on it."

Daniel was out of breath so Jack took over the conversation. "I think they smuggled her out of the airport in a wooden crate they put in a hearse. I've got a license plate I want you to track down."

Jack gave Daniel the information and made him promise to call back as soon as he had something. Jack went to a nearby Waffle House for a huge breakfast while he waited on Daniel. He didn't wait long.

Jack had no intention of barging in on the Morton Funeral Home. If it was Ba'al's hideout Jack knew he couldn't walk in without alerting them to the fact they knew Sam wasn't dead. Jack loaded up with snacks and set himself up for surveillance duty. He watched the bereaved walk in and out all afternoon. There was no sign of Ba'al or anyone remotely Goa'uld looking. Jack stayed all night. The next morning he knew it was time to get more sleep. He figured there was less chance anything would happen during the day. He went back to his hotel to sleep and ate a big dinner before he returned to his stakeout.

Two days of surveillance left Jack with no additional clues. Daniel called regularly but nothing else helpful had been discovered. Tonight's call was different.

"Jack, we think we might know what Ba'al is planning!"

"Well don't keep me in suspense." Jack grumbled as he watched another mourning family leave the funeral home.

"Ba'al still has one gate in his possession. One that we never recovered back when he was stealing gates right and left."

"Uh huh."

"Well, now an Asgard ship has disappeared. They've been trying to locate it for the past two days without success."

Daniel paused dramatically as if he expected Jack to suddenly blurt out an answer. "Daniel I'm sleep deprived and hungry. Just get to the ah-ha part."

"Right…sorry. We think Ba'al might be planning the use the Asgard ship's computer to predict a solar flare and travel back in time."

Jack sat in stunned silence. "Back in time?"

"He might think that's the only way to return to power and change what's already happened. And who better to help him go back in time than Sam?"

"And not having her around also made it more likely we wouldn't figure out what he was doing." Jack mumbled.

"Exactly!" Jack was sure he heard Daniel smiling through the phone. "We're looking for the ship in orbit but…"

"But it's got a cloak and we've never been able to detect a cloaked Asgard ship before."

"Right again. You're on a roll today Jack! Loki is two days out but when he gets here he'll help us locate the ship." Daniel sounded like he was close to jumping up and down.

"And we're just supposed to hope Ba'al doesn't make his move in the next two days?" Jack frowned and hit his hand on the steering wheel.

"What else do you want to do? We can't tip our hand until we know where that ship is located." Daniel's voice was slightly apprehensive. He knew Jack wasn't a man who liked to wait.

"I'll call you back later." Jack hung up the phone without giving Daniel a chance to argue with him.

Jack went back to his hotel room and took a nap. He changed clothes and returned to the funeral home after business hours. The place looked closed up tight but Jack knew better. He was about to break into a Goa'uld nest of vipers.

Jack crept around the building, staying hidden behind the decorative rose bushes. There was a goon posted by the back door, not your usual after hours funeral home decoration. Jack moved to within three feet of the goon and threw a rock that landed just in front of the bush he hid behind. When the goon came over to investigate Jack surprised him with a chokehold that lasted until the guy passed out. Jack tied the guy up and gagged him so when he woke he wouldn't be able to cause any trouble. He rummaged through the guys right front pocket, found two sets of keys, and took them both.

Jack crawled towards the door staying clear of the windows. He stuck his head up and looked in the window closest to the back door. The alarm system had a green light on the panel, indicating it wasn't armed. Jack expected more resistance. Jack didn't see any movement inside, another ominous sign as far as Jack was concerned. He tested the door handle and it moved. An unlocked, poorly guarded entrance to a Goa'uld stronghold wasn't unheard of but it was rare and usually spelled trouble.

Jack stealthily entered the dark building. He heard voices coming from the other end of the building, so he moved closer to them. It sounded like there were three men discussing a televised football game. Jack peeked in the room to be sure the three guys didn't have any quiet friends with them. All three were enjoying the game and loudly debating the merits of each team's cheerleading uniforms.

Jack moved back down the hall to an office he'd passed on his way down the hall. He didn't risk turning on a light, which made the search of the room harder. Jack finished looking through the third desk drawer when he heard one of the guys shout.

"Tell Vinnie I don't appreciate his games. He better answer the radio when I call next time!" Jack hid behind the desk as one of the three men went past the office. Jack figured Vinnie was the guy he'd incapacitated at the back entrance meaning the gig was almost up. Jack needed a better hiding spot before the search for him started. He looked around the room and saw a small closet to his right. He made it inside just as the report on Vinnie's situation was radioed to the men watching football down the hall.

"What?" The television in the other room suddenly turned off. "You look around out there. We'll secure everything in here."

Jack heard the men searching room by room. They came into the office and looked around. The smaller guy came close to the closet but backed off before opening the door. As Jack shifted into the back corner he felt metal pressing into his back. Jack reached behind him and smiled at the familiar feel of a zat. He hadn't been able to bring one with him to Chicago because of the risk of being caught with alien technology outside the SGC but finding one in this closet meant he could use it. His night was beginning to look better.

After fifteen minutes spent searching the building, two of the goons came back to the office and turned on the lights. Jack watched them through the slits of the closet door. The taller man went over to a high table with a glass top that stood in the far corner of the room. He reached under the table and touched something. The table began to glow and the man set an Asgard stone on the now glowing table top. A picture on the wall behind the table lit up and Jack saw Ba'al's face appear.

"You have a report?" Ba'al was angry.

"Uh…yes, sir. Vinnie ran into some trouble tonight. Somebody tied him up and gagged him. He didn't see who did it. We've checked the place and no one's here." The tall guy stood a little taller as he spoke.

Ba'al was seething. "Check again. The people you could be dealing with are good. Better than you. Don't underestimate them."

The guy's shoulders sagged slightly. "Yes, sir."

The communication link shut down and the two goons scowled at the empty screen. "If this stupid job didn't pay so well I'd take him out myself instead of protecting him."

The shorter guy laughed. "Then you'd be an idiot. Anybody with technology like this can outsmart us and make our lives miserable. Let's go."

While these two were talking Jack cracked the closet door open and stuck out just the tip of the zat. He aimed and fired on the tall guy and then took down the second man before either had a chance to react. Jack stepped out from the closet and looked at the dark screen. He wrapped his hand around the oval control stone and the screen came back to life.

Thanks again to my wonderful beta nibikko. Not only is she a great beta but her vids rock. Prove it to yourself at http/nibikko(dot)com.