(I have written 11 chapters; they will be up somewhat fast. )
Enjoy!
M.
Chapter II
March 24th, 2001
Daniel's POV
After one of our classic 'recon' missions in which as per usual, meant we ran into some trouble. We find ourselves sitting outside the infirmary waiting for our turn to be called in, we returned a tad earlier, and SG-8 is already taking most of the infirmary. Janet's quick gate room assessment said we hadn't anything to worry about. Our lives weren't in danger anymore. So, we wait.
I look at my teammates; Jack is sporting a set of colorful bruises and cuts and something that looks very much as a dislocated ankle; otherwise, he would be pacing. Teal'c and l have cuts and scrapes because, well, Teal'c is just Teal'c and me, I huff, I know I am a sensible point among the SGC.
Yeah, after being ascended or killed more times than I'll care to count, every member of my team, or any team, is always covering me. I shake my head before my eyes fall into Sam, who is hiding in a corner. I smile at her, and she grins back.
"You okay?" I mouth, and she nods. She, along with the bruises and cuts, found herself doing a weird maneuver to put her shoulder back into place in the middle of the withdrawal fight. I was close enough to hear it blow when it went out, and I flinched. But when she turned around, and I listened to the crack of her shoulder when she put it back, I almost cried. To be honest, I squealed like a little kid. But according to Janet, Sam needs an x-ray, some painkillers, and rest.
After a while of sitting in dull silence, we start to talk, and we are very good at it. SG-8 jokes with us on their way out, and we continue talking loud enough once they leave. It's in the midst of it when we hear a loud "Son of a bitch!"; experience dictates that we shut instantaneously, and that allows us to listen to a loud know and a growl.
"Was that Janet?" I ask, dumbfounded, 'who else could be?' I think as we ran or limp our way into the infirmary, which can tell a lot about how we ran into issues. None of us had weapons anymore, so we relied on the surprise factor, when don't we, right?
I see Jack and Sam exchange some hand signals, Teal'c silently agreeing with a nod, and I was left to roll my eyes in the dark, when I understood the exchange was something like 'I go this way, you that way. Teal'c, you cover Sam, and you, Daniel, you wait.'
It's not even a minute later when Sam comes searching for me, grinning and blushing at the same time. I notice the reason quickly, there are only two nurses at the infirmary, and they went barreling in as if a System Lord itself had just appeared into the infirmary.
Chuckling, I ask one of the nurses if Janet was alone in her office, and when she nodded yes, we rushed to her room. Just in time to see Janet swearing to no one in particular before throwing away her phone that landed near to her desk. We watch her silently; the only sound is the one coming from the receiver.
"Hey, Janet," Sam whispers, approaching slowly. "What's wrong?" she adds, placing a comforting hand on Janet's shoulders; while I pick the annoying phone out of the floor and put it over the desk. From my vantage point, I see Janet's expression, and I've to say, it is one of the few times in which I've seen her this angry.
"I! argh. I hate that son of a bitch! It's." she huffs. "I can believe it! Every time! Every damned time it's the same, no matter what we do …"
"Janet," I start, but I have no slightest idea of what she is rambling. "Eh, we don't seem to be able to follow your line of thoughts, can you explain it to us?" I smile at her. She nods and ushers us out, and when we are in the position she needs us, she starts to check Sam first and talk at the same time.
"Sam, do you remember those patent applications you presented?" Sam frowns.
"The ones rejected, you mean?" I remember Sam bitching around for a rejected patent; it wasn't pleasant. I, for one, didn't know Sam knew that many languages or how, hum, colorful they were.
"Well, the call was from the Patents Office, we presented one of the last retroviral we managed to isolate from that strange animal SG-13 brought from KJE924 and guess what?"
"Rejected?" Sam asks
"Yes! I don't know you, but I already lost count of the amount of stuff everybody here tried applied and got rejected because someone else already had it."
"Are you saying someone has access to our research?" Jack frowned. "If that's happening, we probably have a security breach; maybe someone is stealing our data," Jack said, "It could be NID all over again."
"Those were my thoughts exactly. It's too much of a coincidence, right? But no, I called some favors and got the actual data from those patents that prevent us from getting them. I considered that, if someone stole them, if we had a mole, then the dates would be closer to our research, a couple of days elder or even a few months."
"But?"
"Well, everything has the same structure, or component, the way of view it or whatever; indeed, it patented. But, they couldn't be ours, they all are older than our research, and by older I mean, a couple of years if not decades."
"How can that be possible? No one has access to the Stargate, and many of the components are not available on Earth." Sam adds frowning.
"Yes, and it gets even more strange, all of them, and I mean all: meds, technology, genetics, you name it! They all have the same name attached to it; they all belong to the same son of a bitch. Or at least, to the same family."
"So, who is this son of a bitch?" Jack asks, clapping his hands.
"All of them are the property of Doctor Magnus," did she say, Dr. Magnus? "I've found that name before when I was doing some research on vaccines. That name popped right next to Pasteur," oh, please tell me she didn't say, Dr. Magnus, I plead to no one in particular.
"Come to think about it, when I was helping Cass with her homework, we stumbled upon a Dr. Gregory Magnus, as the father of who could be the first woman to attend med school in Oxford at some point during the 1800s. We couldn't find her name; we supposed she only went by as 'Doctor Magnus' to keep her gender hidden from patients until it was apparent she was a female." Sam points. "Well, after Cass finished her paper, I remember it annoyed me for some reason, and I found a couple of Doctor Magnus around the history books."
"How so?"
"From the top of my mind, I remember a Doctor Magnus helping during WWII, she or he was part of the resistance. There was also a Doctor Magnus cited in several articles about weapons and technology. Still, no matter how much I dug, it was remarkable that I could never find a name, gender, or pictures of any of them. I concluded that it is a name that goes from generation to generation," Sam shrugs.
"James Bond, much?" Jack remarks.
"Are you sure it as Magnus?" I venture out, trying not to look guilty. Janet lifts an eyebrow, scary! She is passing way too much time with Teal'c.
"Why?" She says with that tone.
"I mean, how do you know it is the same family?" 'Lame, Daniel, very lame.'
"No, that's not it," she squints, looking at me.
"Erh… I ..." 'Spill it out, carefully,' I think to myself. "Hmm, a couple of days ago, I found between my base mail an envelope. It had my name on it with beautiful handwriting on it; I'll say Victorian imitation, not a very good one though. The cursive at the Victorian time was more..." yup, that's it! Confuse the hell out of them! Perfect tactic!
"To the point, Danny Boy!" Jack orders.
"Well, I got this letter a couple of days ago, and hum, it was an invitation to a lecture that will be held in Prague. Along with tickets from Colorado to New York and a note with the same handwriting, which says," I remember then that I have the note with me because I wanted to analyze the possibility if we had time in our busy schedule. "Here it is!" I say when I find it.
"Dr. Jackson,
I have spent years trying to invite you to one of the lectures I've given. Now, I'm confident you are (almost) available for the next symposium, it will be held in the upcoming weeks as you can verify it in the attached invite. Besides the above mentioned, there is also the data you will need to claim your ticket from Colorado Springs Airport to New York City JFK. Once you land at JFK, someone will be waiting to take you to one of my private jets, which will get you to this year's destination, the city of Prague. There will also be a car waiting to take you to the hotel where you will be staying. Of course, all of this will only occur if you happen to accept my heartfelt invitation.
It will be quite an honor if you join us this time. If your answer is yes, then you only should be on time for the Colorado Springs to New York flight. If you can't reach it, I'll know you have, in fact, rejected my proposal.
Kind regards,
Magnus
P.S: Feel free to bring a friend." I finish reading and place the letter back into the envelope.
"A lecture? Why would someone attached to the sciences want to invite an archeologist to a lecture?" Janet says somewhat befuddled
"Well, the symposium theme is 'Ancient Egypt, from Pharaohs to Gods and, to nothing at all' one of the speakers happens to be a Dr. Magnus. I was considering going," I say as fast as I can
"You're kidding, right? Are you considering it? You got yourself one free of cost, travel to Prague! There's nothing to think about!" Janet says, and now I am sure I have lost some part of the conversation
"Uh, weren't you the one mad at this Magnus guy?"
"Yes, but this is a chance to get know who the hell is he and figure out how they got all these patents years before we did! Also, it is Prague for free."
"You know what, Janet? You should go with Daniel," Sam says. "And I believe that way, we all get an excuse to go to Prague." I think that is not the best idea but, if they agree with me going, I am not the one who will complain.
April 12th, 2001.
Colorado Springs Airport
"Good morning, I have tickets for me and my friend?" I ask the lady at the counter
"Can I have your papers?" She enquires back and waits until I handle my passport. She frowns as she types away, and then she grins at us. "Dr. Daniel Jackson, we have your tickets. I will need your papers too, ma'am. Thank you," she says as she grabs Janet's passport. "You know? I've always envied the employees of Magnus; you always get the best of the best. I have a friend," she lowered her voice, "she is a stewardess on one of the planes, and is always telling me that with Magnus is all VIP all the way," she says with a conspiratorial smile.
"Here you go! The lounge is at the end of the security check. As usual, you have all the super-elite privileges. As you may already know, it means you have your line at the security check, and you are first on board. Have a nice flight!" I nod, I don't know if it is too much information to process, or if I'm just sleepy.
"Wow! I guess that Magnus knows how to treat guests," Janet grins at my side.
UK Sanctuary
Same time.
Magnus was sitting at her bureau in the UK Sanctuary. As she loved and respected privacy too much, every time she had built a Sanctuary, she made sure of having an office of her own. With that in place, Helen would never force the head of the house out of their desks, at the UK Sanctuary, James had made sure that room was kept intact and to her best expectations, and honestly, that Declan had learned something so trivial so well, took weight out of her shoulders.
She leaned on her chair and smiled brightly. There was such peace when her phone wasn't incessantly ringing, and all the tasks of the head of the house weren't over her shoulders. She was waiting for Henry's call; therefore, when her conference software started to beep, she knew who it was calling.
"Hey, boss! You were right. I recently received a confirmation on the Dr. Daniel Jackson ticket plus one," Henry said just when he appeared on her screen.
"That's fantastic; do we have a name for his companion?" Magnus asked
"Hmm, yes. Janet Fraiser. Give me a sec here, Doc. I'm doing the background check," Helen nodded. "Well, Janet Fraiser MD; she got her degree with an Air Force scholarship. Divorced. One kid, Cassandra Frasier, was adopted not too many years ago. Doc Frasier is currently serving as Command Medical Officer at the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. You should be getting her file in any second now."
"Thanks, Henry. Can you book her some tours and sightseeing trips? Extend that offer for Dr. Jackson, considering the schedule. Then make those options available when they pick them."
"Okay," Henry said, typing fast on one of his many computers at Old City Sanctuary. "Ahm... Doc?" he added with a worried tone.
"Yes?"
"Do you remember the warning about someone asking 'bout all your patents and going through every college asking 'bout a Doctor Magnus?"
"Well, yes, that's hardly forgettable. Why?"
"Well, check the pics I'm sending," he said. "The first one is from the video of the woman asking for info about you at the Colorado Springs Patents Office. And at the second one is; well, that's Dr. Janet Fraiser. "
"Oh, this could get interesting then. Thanks, Henry."
"Not a problem, boss."
JFK Airport, New York.
We just landed; there is still some time to kill inside while we wait for the doors to open, and people start fighting its way out. The plane stops, I take we are waiting for a gate or something since we are still halfway into the strip. The flight attendant opens the front door and a man steps inside, he gives her a paper and smiles at him before she points our direction. He grins and winks at the girl who almost swoons at him before he comes closer to us.
"Dr. Frasier, Dr. Jackson. Do you have any carry-ons with you?" He says, and we both nod. "Where?" We point to the compartment above our heads. "Great, do we need to pick any suitcase?"
"No, just carry-ons... We travel light," I say, and he gives us a reassuring smile.
"This is all?" he asks, grabbing the carry-ons, and we nod. "Great! Please follow me," he adds as he starts to walk down the aisle and out of the plane.
"Ahm, who are you? " I ask before noting that the aircraft door closes behind us and that we are actually in what anyone would consider the middle of nowhere. We are close enough to a secluded hangar and not in the midst of one of the JFK terminals as we are supposed to.
"I am Henry Foss; everybody calls me Henry, or Hank, or Wolf," he rolls his eyes for some reason. "Magnus sent me to pick you up and keep you accompanied until we get to our final destination."
"Where are we going?"
"What do you mean? I thought you knew we are traveling to Prague," he says, frowning, "Oh, you mean now! Duh! We are going to Magnus JFK hangar."
"Hangar?"
"Yes, you know one of those things where your planes go and sit until you need them," I sigh, at least I am used to those kinds of responses. "I thought you knew that this leg of the trip would be done in one of our private jets. And by ours, I mean Magnus'. Hey, Phil, these are Dr. Jackson and Dr. Frasier. Magnus is waiting for them." Phil is, I presume, our customs guy. "If he approves, we get out."
"Hi, guys! Henry! Dude! Long-time not seeing you! Rumor has it that you went full HAP! Awesome! Why is Magnus waiting for these folks?" Phil said, checking documents
"Well, Dr. Jackson is going to sit on Archaeological lecture. They, hmm, they aren't from the network." Henry chuckles nervously.
"Oh! I'll shut it then," Phil grins. "Hopefully Magnus will get to do this one, I heard it didn't happen last time. You're ready, folks, have a nice trip. And Henry, please tell Magnus I've said hello."
"Will do!" Am I the only one surprised by the fact that the customs guy only slowly observed our carry-ons? Apparently, yes, because Janet doesn't say a thing, and Henry seems not troubled.
Then I see the reason why Janet was so silent; the plane is not what I expected; it looks stunning in all its black beauty. According to the safety guide, it is a Bombardier BD-700, but it seems like nothing I've seen before. The interior surely was made for wealthy people. As we look around in awe, Henry made his way in as if traveling like this is the standard way. Come to think about it; it probably is for him.
I get lost looking the details of the plane, but I don't lose sight of Henry, who's pressing some buttons and stocking our carry-ons in some hidden compartment I probably wouldn't be able to find.
"We have anything you'll like to drink, a huge variety of things to eat. One flight attendant will come soon to let you know the options. This plane has notebooks for every seat, and they are right here," he says, signaling a couple of buttons in the armrest. "Press that button for it to pop up, it comes with a great number of movies that no one in the network watches, great games and of course internet connection. Then at the back, you have a bookshelf with all of the classics."
"Well, certainly, your boss knows how to travel with style," Janet says, speaking for the first time in a long while.
"Magnus likes to treat people with the best money can offer, " Henry shrugs off.
"So, he sounds like a great boss and a nice person." I might as well try to pry some information from him
"Well, I won't lie about it; the Doc is something different," he grins. Ignoring us, he finds some earplugs and says, "Boss, we are on our way…" I kept silent, trying to gain some information, but all that I get is Henry's part of the conversation, "Well, I guess, is not the first-time people believe that." What could they be talking about? He said he was the tech guy. "Nothing, Doc, what should I tell? Okay, cool! Oh! Phil said hello," he smiles at his screen, and then he is looking at me while lowering his earplugs. I look guilty, I know.
"I don't get it, why someone with so much money would search for a half disgraced archeologist just for him to participate in something like this?" I ask. I'm puzzled about that fact.
"Like a told you, Magnus is something different," he smiles. "I'll say you are, published, or hinted something special that put you in the Sanctuary radar. But what did you do to impress the boss, I wouldn't know, I'm tech support guy."
"Okay. Hmm, Henry? What did Phil mean when he said, 'hopefully Magnus would get to do this year lecture'?" He sighed.
"Well, the last three or four times, the Doc was about to start or started already, and all of a sudden, something that needed the boss' expertise appeared. So, the replacement speaker had to take charge or finish it."
Two Hours Later
Henry's POV
I was doing a full system check out of the defenses at Old City Sanctuary while upgrading the shields of all sanctuaries in North America when my conference phone rang. I connected my earplugs before taking the call, and seconds later, Helen Magnus was on my screen. I couldn't help but smile
"Hey, boss! What's up?" I say, almost whispering
"Anything unusual going on there?" She asks, frowning; I noticed I worried her by whispering.
"Nope, nothing wrong; they are sleeping right now. I'm doing a security checkup for Home and upgrading all North America with the latest security changes. Next, I will do Europe and so on 'till I get everyone with the latest."
"And when do you think you will be sleeping? " She says, smiling; I smile back, by the gleam in her eyes, I know it was a rhetorical question. "I'm only calling you to verify if you need something at all from us before we leave the UK. That will be within the hour. And before you ask, no, I am not piloting, Will said he would walk to Prague if I were flying the plane."
"Nah, I think we got everything under control here."
"Oh, did they realize you are traveling at twice the normal flight speed?"
"No, that adjustment Tesla did last time is, thankfully, still working. "
"Of course it is working, my dear Heinrich, I did it remember? Genius vampire," Tesla says in the background, Magnus rolls her eyes. I growl, God, I hate the guy.
"Why did you call him again, Magnus?" Will whines. "He is more annoying than helpful, 99% of the time."
"Genius Vampire; do I need more explanation? What are you doing here, protege? Huh?"
"Enough!" Helen interrupts their regular bickering. "I am expecting all of you to behave." She berates all of us. "I don't want to hear anything else related to why any of you are here; the answer is plain simple; you are here because I've said so. Now, Henry, I believe you will be on time if not earlier, please discuss the plans with them and book and pay for wherever they choose to do."
"Sure thing, Doc."
"Very well, according to your tracking device, it will be another hour before you land. And if our schedule is accurate will be there a quarter or half an hour before you. We'll see you at the hotel."
"Bye Boss"
Prague
Magnus POV
"Why did you choose Prague, Magnus? It's not that I am complaining, but why not Paris or just London." Will asks
"Oh, Helen! I thought your protege knew you better," Tesla grins; I can help but roll my eyes. I swear they act like kids every time. Then Tesla smirks, "in second thoughts, why not Vienna? It is after all springtime." Oh! I should have known that was coming.
"First of all, Nikola, stop the protege thing, the nickname doesn't bother Will, and only makes you look jealous."
"Touche, my dear," he says, winking at me, which I have to say is still rather charming. Will turns a little pink, and I can't help but find him delightful.
"And answering your question, Will, I just always loved Prague at this time of the year. I remember the first time we visited the city; we were looking for an abnormal who ran away from the London Sanctuary."
"Oh! I remember the look on people's faces when they saw you surrounded by us. You'll think they never saw a woman with four men before. How old were you 29?" I laugh at the memory; I was probably declared insane or heretic by the people at that time.
"I had turned 30, Nikola. It was our first crusade as 'The Five.' And truth to be told, it was scheduled to be held in Rome. But, someone took the Cabal down there. Effectively taking that Convention Center out of our list of available sites, in case someone managed to escape John's anger. " I say.
I feel Will observing eyes falling between us, and by the look he gives me, I know he knows I am hiding something. Well, he always knows, and I am always hiding something. Thankfully, the car finally came to a stop in front of the Hotel Mandarin Oriental.
I hurry out of the car and walk to the counter, where a woman is on the phone. I smile one of those smiles which say 'what about you end up your boyfriend call and do your job?', but apparently, my smile doesn't talk the same language because she smiles back at me. Will and Nikola stop right next to me. Then I spot a man coming hurriedly towards us. Dear God!
"Doctor Magnus!" he calls before he reaches us. "You are finally here!" I make my best effort not to roll my eyes as he moves forward and plants not one but two kisses on my cheeks. "I've made my personal task to provide you with anything you need." he takes a step back and then frowns. "If I may say so, Doctor! You look incredibly young just like the last time I saw you six years ago, what was it? Botox? Surgery?"
I have to suppress a laugh at his words, managing only to smile. From the corner of my eye, I can see Nikola and Will with their eyebrows raised high in surprise.
"I'm sorry, Doctor, I don't mean to pry. But if you want to share your secret, I'll promise I won't tell a soul!"
"I..." I try, but he keeps going.
"Let me tell you, whatever you did, you look spectacular! Six rooms?"
"Just three right now, Mr. Brocky, Mr. Foss, will be joining us later with the other two guests. It would be Tesla, Zimmerman, and my room for now." He goes behind the counter and grabs some magnetic keys; he had already prepared with our names, and then he escorts us to the suite's floor of the suites. Never a travel upwards had taken as long as this one was, with him chattering alone while trying to figure out my "secret of youth." Halfway up, I heard Will and Nikola cracking up without courtesy of the guy's polite insistence.
"Pure blood, Mr. Brocky," I say seriously, and he blanches. Then we all laugh and chuckles too.
"Beautiful and funny," he says.
"Oh, Mr. Brocky. You should see her without makeup. Then you will want to know her secret of youth; she looks like 25 years old!" Tesla smiles, and I elbow him in the stomach, completing my actions with a deathly glare. Mr. Brocky turned to see him, and for the first time, he noticed them.
"Mr. Tesla, is it?" Nikola nods, "you know, Mr. Tesla. You have a remarkable similarity with that crazy man who claimed Edison stole his work." Will and I can't avoid laughing at Tesla's expression. "Crazy man."
"Well, Mr. Brocky, he IS… related to that guy," Will adds, and Nikola growls. Points to Will I think, biting my lower lip, so not to smile.
"Well, this is your floor, Doctor Magnus. The conference room is available if you need to use it. Good night, if you need something, anything at all, just let me know."
"Thanks, Mr. Brocky, you were most helpful," I can't help to think 'he is finally gone.' Once the elevator doors close, leaving us alone, Nikola, Will, and I exchange a glance, and then we finally laugh as we move towards our doors.
SGC
Same time
"Sirs, we got confirmation from Daniel, they are on their way, and he passed us the details of the hotel. I booked three rooms in a hotel in the area," Sam informs both Jack and Hammond.
"Why didn't you book us at the same hotel?" The Colonel asks.
"Price rates, sir. The hotel where they are staying in is a five stars hotel. According to its website, the cheapest room is 300 euros a day. Our budget for this mission goes to the trash at night one, sir. I booked for us one that is near enough to this hotel and the conference room mentioned in the invitation. "
"Remind me again, why are you going to Prague?" General Hammond asks preoccupied. Sam sighs.
"Yes, sir," she starts. "The level of technology we found in the patents under Doctor Magnus's name is similar to the degree of technology the Goa'uld have. Some of them also look pretty similar to the investigations we conducted. By having them in close range, we can discard the fact that he can be a Goa'uld or even someone stealing information. And according to the Colonel, we shouldn't leave Daniel out of sight for too much time," she finishes seriously.
"Very well then, go change into your civvies, and you have a go. When you are ready, give Prometheus the sign, and they will beam you off. My only hope is that this guy isn't a Goa'uld. I'm not sure if we can manage to chase a millionaire Goa'uld around without causing a media frenzy and keep the Stargate project quiet."