Whew! I must confess I'm glad to know you find them a little OOC. Truth to be told I find them a lot OOC. Oh, well. Hopefully, it is not so bad that you stop reading it.
Enjoy!
M.
Chapter XXV
March 25th, 2004
SGC.
"What's the plan, Janet?" Daniel asked as his friend waited in line. She opened her mouth to answer him, but the call got connected.
"Francis? I need to ask you some questions?" Janet said to the phone. "I've found someone who claims you were a student of one Doctor Magnus? Were you? Do you mind if I put you on speaker?"
"So?" Jack asked as Janet played with the phone.
"Francis, Colonel Jack O'Neill and Doctor Daniel Jackson are also listening to this," Janet warned the other scientist.
"SGC members, I presume?" A male voice asked.
"Yes," the Doctor confirmed.
"Sure, Janet! If that helps with whatever is going on there," Francis trailed. "I have no issues with them listening."
"Colonel, Daniel, before I placed him on speaker, Doctor Young confirmed he was a student of Doctor Magnus while he was starting his training as Xenobiologist. Is that correct, Francis?"
"Yes, a remarkable woman."
"Doctor Helen Magnus?" Daniel asked.
"Yes, Doctor Helen Magnus," Francis affirmed. "She was as an unparalleled Xenobiologist, credited as the foremost expert in the world. I didn't know back then that being handpicked to be her student was a dream come true. It came unexpectedly; I learned later that she had the fame of being quite eclectic on her choices but as strange as they might have looked to the outsider, they never were without a thorough understanding of the situation."
"He wasn't lying," Daniel muttered
"No. I guess he wasn't." Jack admitted, letting himself fall on Daniel's chair.
"He? Excuse me, Janet, but what's going on? What's the sudden interest in my mentor?"
"Nothing wrong Francis, I'm just fact-checking. So, are you still in contact with Doctor Magnus?"
"Oh! You don't know? Of course, you wouldn't. It would be a pleasure to be still able to contact her, Janet. I'm sure most of the things I have hanging around here that we can't explain, she would in a blink of an eye. Alas, there's a little matter which renders it impossible." Young trailed again.
"What's that?"
"You would have liked her Janet. She was beautiful and witty, and her accent allured to men and women alike, you would often hear words that no one uses anymore, and she would blame it on having a proper English," he chuckled. "What can I say, she was kind and smart; she cared for us, nothing quite like I expected from someone with her credentials. And she taught us so much. I still can't believe she's gone."
"Gone? Like she went back to wherever her accent was?" Jack asked.
"To London? No, but I wish she had." He sighed, "she loved her homeland, but when asked if she was going back, she would say she loved her home more. Who wouldn't? It was a country house in the middle of the city."
"Then?" Daniel asked.
"There was an accident around two years ago, I believe. Doctor Magnus' home blew up from the inside."
"And she was in there," Janet affirmed.
"Yes. I don't know much about it. All I know is that day, we lost a remarkable woman, and the world lost an incredible asset. One of the brightest minds I had the pleasure to meet. I can give you the phone of her last protégé; he was very close to her. He oversaw the transport of her remains and her burying, and most of her things went to him."
"To him?"
"Yes, Doctor Zimmerman. I don't remember his name, she was training him and her daughter to follow her steps. Ashley was more impulsive, and keeping her still was a feat only her mother could achieve."
"I don't get it, she has a daughter and left most of her things to his protégé? Were they in some relationship?" Janet inquired.
"Well, for what I've known of the Doctor's relationships, she might as well have had one with Zimmerman. As I've said, the woman was very eclectic in her choices. However, at the time it was evident they weren't in one, at least, if we take the sexual tension as something to go by; I mean, we used to joke that the moment they finally touched the Earth would've exploded," he chuckled. "But rumor mill aside, we wouldn't know, she was very secretive about her things. We only knew what she was willing to share, and her private life was mostly that, absolutely private."
"But leaving things to her protégé over her daughter does point to an intimate relationship," Daniel affirmed.
"It could, yes. However, the fact is: Helen Magnus had a daughter. Ashley left us before Doctor Magnus did, someone entered their home and Ash," he sighed, "she jumped to protect her mother. It was shocking news, and it took a deep impact on everyone." Francis commented sadly.
"How do you know that?"
"There aren't that many of us, Xenobiologist I mean, and the ones who had the honor of being part of Doctor Magnus training program, well, we all knew Ashley. The news got to us later; Doctor Magnus disappeared on us for a while, until Zimmerman explained the situation and we understood she was grieving in private. When she got back to teaching us, no one dared to breach the subject. Anyhow, I found about it earlier because I was still in close contact with Doctor White, do you remember her?"
"Yes, I remember Stella." Janet affirmed.
"Well, they got close. If you know what I mean," Daniel cleared his throat, "I guess that means you want specifics. Stella was invited often to private meetings at the Magnus home state, she rarely spoke of what transpired on those, but she looked oddly satisfied the following day. That's all I can say without making assumptions."
"And how you know the meeting was with Doctor Magnus?" Jack asked. "A meeting on a home only points to meeting someone inside it. For all, we know she could be visiting Doctor Zimmerman or even Ashley Magnus."
"Yeah, however, along with her fascination with old words, Helen Magnus had some old-fashioned traits. Including sending handwritten notes to Stella White. Often the date and time, sometimes a particular location, and I mean latitude and longitude, not address. And it always was signed with M, with her handwriting. You don't need to be a cryptographer to recognize her lettering; I'm pretty sure we all fantasized with getting one of those notes at some point."
"Okay, I get it; they probably had a close relationship. Why did you bring this Stella up?" Jack asked.
"Well, one day, Stella, and I are working in the lab, and the phone rings. I take the call; it's Zimmerman asking to speak with her. So, I give her the phone, and she paled and flew the office mid-experiment. Stella would never do that. Next day, she comes by the lab all red-eyed and looking like hell. I asked what happened; I thought Stella had lost her scholarship or her place in the office, you know? But no, she told me Ashley Magnus had died in a burglary and William! That was the name, he asked her to go and talk to Helen, but the only thing she managed was to get kicked out of the house with a warning of never call her again unless it was for work-related reasons."
"Was that a common way to end her relationships?" Daniel asked, frowning.
"Kicking people out? Not that I know. To me, it was a very uncharacteristically of her; I can't imagine what mourning a child can do to one who was as a devoted mother as she was. And it took me a while to accept the fact that Ash was gone. She was a brilliant woman even if she was more a fighter than a thinker."
"What else can you tell me about them?" Janet asked softly.
"Well, this is awkward. I was trying to reach Doctor Zimmerman, but his phone is disconnected. Let me see if I can find, oh, God!"
"Francis?"
"I was searching the web for news of the Magnus house explosion, and you know, news about Doctor Zimmerman's whereabouts," he trailed.
"Yes?"
"He's dead. He died in a car accident; burnt to crisps! You should probably call the old city police department, Janet. They might be able to give you more information, the officer who appears in the news is called Joe Kavanaugh. I will send you the newspapers cuts from all the incidents."
"Thanks, that will be helpful. One more question, Francis. If you saw Helen Magnus again, would you recognize her?"
"Of course, and she would remember me before I walk in."
"Then, I need you to come to Colorado and be here as soon as you can, I won't say much, but we believe we have an impersonator."
"Oh, I would love to debunk her. Doctor Magnus memories don't deserve that. Would that be at the SGC?"
"Yes. There's no need to remind you this is top secret, right?"
"As always."
"Then thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye."
"Okay. That's weird. If Helen Magnus exploded and William Zimmerman burned to crips in a car accident, and Ashley Magnus got killed on a burglary. How is it that we have all of them here?"
"Huh, I just remembered the conversation they were having on the way here. Remember Jack? Tesla said he could never leave her and she said except when I killed you, and he answered"
"When you died," Jack frowned. "It doesn't make sense at all. The good thing is that if this Doctor Young knew them all. He will be able to tell us if all of them are who they say they are." Jack concluded.
"Should I try to find out about this Agent?" Daniel asked
"Sure, space monkey."
"You know this one would be one of those things Sam does, right?"
"Yes, Daniel. But who knows what's going on with her right now. She doesn't talk to me."
"She's not talking to me either." Daniel and Janet added at once.
"Then all we can do is prove her they are not who they say and we should get her back to our side. I guess with all of them dead should be relatively easy."
"But what if they faked their deaths?"
"We won't know that until we find the Police Officer or the FBI agent."
"If you give me my seat I might be able to start on it," Daniel pointed, Jack rolled his eyes but stood. "Okay, Old City PD," he wrote in the search engine and came up with a series of phone numbers. "Thank goodness there's only one city called like that. Should I call or you want to do the honors, Jack?"
"You do it; you are more a people person." Jack grimaced.
"Mkay," he grabbed the phone and started to dial. "Hello, I'm searching for officer… Kavanaugh? Sure! She put me on hold, to check if he's at the station or out. Ok, cool! Thank you. Officer Kavanaugh? Yes, my name is Daniel Jackson, do you mind if I put you on speaker?"
"What's going on?" Joe's voice sounded clear in the small office.
"Officer Kavanaugh, as I was saying I'm Doctor Jackson, I'm here with Colonel Jack O'Neill and Doctor Janet Frasier."
"Okay… Two doctors and a military man. That's not weird at all, and it's Detective, not Officer. Why were you looking for me?" Joe asked. Jack cleared his throat.
"We recently received information about an explosion and a car accident in your district. Can you offer us some insight, Detective?"
"I would if you can be more specific. Old City thrives in those, especially without the Magnus' family around," he sighed. "I miss those times,
"The Magnus family controlled the mob?" Janet asked, surprised by that information.
"Dear God, no! That family knew a lot of people, and people behaved better with them around, even the mob. We could be sure that if the crime was mob-related, it was someone guilty as sin. Old City mafia is considered one of the toughest, but when they were around, there was not an innocent life lost. Everything happened without collateral damage. Now, we aren't so lucky anymore. So, your case?"
"The explosion of the Magnus family home and the car accident..."
"Doctor Zimmerman's, right?" Joe finished before Daniel could.
"How would you know?"
"Look, Will wasn't exactly my friend, but I knew the man. We worked together, and yes, he was a bit freaky, a weirdo through and through. Zimmerman got a name in the force due to his taste for the most unexpected angles on the most strange cases. I learned to respect the man behind the boyish look, for sure he wasn't one who would recklessly drive himself against a bridge. I know Zimmerman was the FBI's wonder boy before joining us for a few months. I still have no idea how he ended here, and then he left the Police because he got a better offer from the Magnus family, research facility, or some other whatnot. I don't know what the hell he did in there, but it left him well-positioned; and then, not even a year after he crashed."
"That's why you took the case?" Janet inquired.
"No, I was assigned to it. I was on duty that day; I wouldn't even know it was Zimmerman. DNA was needed to identify the remains, and when we finally had a name, the FBI took over. They assigned the case to Agent Jake Polanski; I learned later that he knew Zimmerman from his days at the bureau."
"Is there any place where this man hadn't worked?" Janet muttered to herself.
"Yes, the Agency. They made a move to get him, but he rejected them. Then he joined Old City PD before he took the Magnus investigation thing."
"You believe it was a homicide?" Daniel inquired.
"No, I'm not sure if it was an accident or suicide, I can't understand what would drive someone like him to," the police trailed. "Well, maybe he was closer to the family that he let out. We met a few times during his time at the mansion, but he never hinted anything. Although he called me when the heiress was killed," Kavanaugh explained.
"The heiress?"
"Yeah, Ashley Magnus, she was a hottie. I saw her around from afar; her presence would often point to a mob crime. Anyhow, what we found when they granted us access to the home state was that she was highly trained, military combat and several martial arts, and she had a couple of degrees, all of that we found saved on an old trunk she had in her huge bedroom. She also had a love for bikes if the ones in their garage under her name were the thing to go by," he added.
"What happened to her?"
"Doctor Magnus claimed it was just a robbery gone wrong. However, what we found looked more like someone was searching for something in there. Doctor Magnus herself did the autopsy process, and they granted us access to pictures of the wound, a single bullet straight to her heart. Zimmerman and the Doctor claimed the assailants were after the Doctor, and when they found the Magnus in her office, Ashley Magnus jumped to push her mother out of the way getting the shot herself. We didn't find traces of powder in anyone from the manor, although several bullet holes and broken glasses weren't quite compatible with what they told us. Our orders were to close the investigation after that day."
"I don't get it if they could forego all the investigations; why calling you?" Janet asked.
"I'll never understand the rich people thought process. My guess is they wanted to inform her tragedy to all those who knew them. The news of the police investigation, the obituary and a short piece in the newspaper was the faster way to do it. Word on the streets was that the girl was the family negotiator and there's a well-known rule: you don't mess with the negotiators. So it could've been a warning for those who got her killed. Anyhow, that's what happened with the heiress. Then roughly three or four years later, the mansion exploded." He whistled, "the fire department saw the level of the fire, and they decided it was one of those in which the best solution is let it burn. "
"What else?"
"I don't know; we were there as first responders along with the fire brigades. For the size of the explosion, I would say it was a prepared one. We couldn't do much, and when we could, the FBI took over. Zimmerman arrived at the place an hour after the fire started along with this other FBI agent… Corrigan, and he told me his boss was inside. Then, another Agent came over and took control."
"Do you know the name?"
"Yeah, let me find it for you. Jake Polanski, the same guy on Will's accident. As I've said before he and Zimmerman knew each other."
"Well, thank you."
"Yeah, no prob. Oh, if I were you, I would call the local FBI office."
"Why?" Joe snorted at that question
"Well, no one who ends up in Old City leaves Old city. I gotta go; good luck finding the guy."
"So, I guess now I track Agent Jake Polanski?" Daniel sighed, scrubbing his face tiredly.
"You know it," Jack added, palming his friend's shoulders. He looked on the engine for the phone number of the Old City, "let's see if we are still lucky." He added once he found the phone number. "Hi, I'm looking for Agent Polanksi? Do you know where I might locate him? Is he still there? Excellent! Doctor Jackson."
"Is he?" Daniel nodded.
"Hi, Agent Polanski? If you agree, may I put this call on speaker? Agent Polanski, I'm Doctor Daniel Jackson, Colonel O'Neill and Doctor Frasier are also listening."
"What can I do for you?"
"Wow, you don't find strange that combination?" Janet asked based on the police reaction.
"I've lived strangest things."
"We are calling because Detective Kavanaugh gave us your name," Daniel added exchanging glances with Jack and Janet.
"William Zimmerman or Helen Magnus?" He asked before they added anything else.
"What?"
"Those are the names of the deceased in the cases I took over from Detective Kavanaugh, he also provided me with the record he had about Ashley Magnus' death in case the Bureau could link them, and find if they had the same origin," Agent Polanski explained tiredly.
"We call for all those cases," Jack affirmed.
"It's been a while since the last time someone called for it. Those first months, my phone wouldn't stop ringing. The crime scene investigators pointed to structural damage due to the age of the construction and concluded it came from under it, expanding through the gas conduits. However, I took another team there, and they agree the only way they could think of such extension taking the type of construction into account was by strategically placed charges of C-4. Although there were never traces."
"No traces?"
"No, we found no accelerant or traces of anything that could point to being premeditated, nothing we know at least. And that's why we relied on the first analysis. Both concluded the explosion originated at one point, and it developed quickly through the structure. If it were by gas pipes or by c-4, but now we will never know for sure."
"Any victims?"
"For what we know, only a few people came and went there but, according to Henry Foss, only him and Doctor Helen Magnus lived at the mansion during the previous months. Other guests of the manor included Doctor William Zimmerman who lived there for around four years. Kate Freelander, she was with them for three years. Erica Myers also visited the estate constantly. More than her, Agent Abby Corrigan. Doctor Magnus was the only one not accounted for the day the explosion happened." He sighed, "We only found piles of ashes. However, we found the DNA remains of five notorious criminals and the Doctor's."
"You are sure she died in there?"
"I am, that was one of the questions people keep calling me over. We only found ashes that corresponded with some people. We also found a trace of gold in one pile, the person in charge of providing the information about her said she always carried a golden locket around."
"Who provided that information?"
"Doctor William Zimmerman. He worked for her until he was reactivated to work under this other group SCIU. "
"SCIU?"
"Specified Counter-Insurgency Unit, is a division of Homeland Security, it's all I know about it," he explained mechanically. "Now, for what happened that night, there was an SCIU surveillance detail stationed in front of the property entrance."
"You know why?"
"No, I have no idea. However, the detail confirmed seeing a group of five unknown people dropping what seemed like a body bag in front of the gates. Doctor Magnus opened the gate to check it, and the gang went out from their hiding places. As she shot at them, she retreated towards the manor dragging the bag with her. As soon as the bag was inside her property, she let it go, and she shot at the gang again slowing them so she could run inside. But we have no idea what happened there; what we know is that a convoy was on its way to the mansion south gate when the whole thing collapsed. Two people ran out of the land, both male, we never found who one of them was."
"Do you know what that convoy was?"
"No, that's also unknown. The detail was too far away to identify anyone in the cars, and they didn't remain around long. Agents Corrigan and Zimmerman reached the scene an hour after the explosion. One Henry Foss presented himself next day to declare. Foss said he was able to escape the explosion, but as he was scared for his own life, he didn't see if someone else managed to scape. Foss said that night he and Doctor Magnus were the only people inside the building. Then they saw a group of people approaching the gates and dropping a package. She announced to him that the package indeed contained a body, and he said that by seeing at the person inside the bag, she understood they were coming for her. Foss said Magnus radioed him to let him know armed people were getting inside the house. When asked who was in the package he said he didn't know, she never told him. We never retrieved the package. Anyhow, an attack against Doctor Magnus made sense, the price over her head had escalated exponentially over that year even if we never knew the reason behind it."
"Can the same be said for Doctor Zimmerman's head?"
"Yeah, it could have. But the moment Zimmerman moved out of the home state and to SCIU his head value was zero. There was no interest even if he left the boat sort to speak."
"So, he changes jobs, cleans his name and then he inherits their fortune, sounds like a motive to me," Jack commented.
"Look, I knew Zimmerman; he was a weird man. He loved to find the odd exit to the most bizarre cases, yet he saved my ass more times than I'm willing to let anyone know. And I knew him well enough to know he was devastated by the explosion of the Magnus state; it wasn't only his work, it was his house for the last four years. Moreover, it was a place where he felt like home. He didn't know he was the heir of that money. He got 20% of the Magnus family money which it's two steps behind the guy from Microsoft only less known."
"That's a lot of money."
"Yeah, he quit the SCIU as soon as they left him, and considering the general concept was that they were behind the explosion, it took them a long while to accept his resignation. He moved in with his girlfriend of that time and later they became engaged. Even if, he and Agent Corrigan were seen fighting most of the time."
"Agent Corrigan?"
"His fiancé, Abby Corrigan. She was the one who identified Will's remains, and she was devastated. She blamed, and I quote 'the damned Helen Magnus' and said something about competing with a ghost. She mentioned Will, and she fought two weeks before the accident. And that he called off their engagement and ended up their relationship. For all, I know that guy was in desperate need of help, especially when he landed in such an awkward position."
"How come?"
"Well, if I was called that much, I can't imagine how many calls the guy had. Added to it, he knew he was under surveillance."
"Why?"
"At first, there were doubts about Helen Magnus' death, and we all knew that if she were to contact someone, it would be him. But a long time happened, calls stopped coming, surveillance was considered unnecessary, and it was evident that we were all imagining things. Months happened, and it was too long for not contacting him. Zimmerman set a small trust fund for Foss, who got married and moved to London. They kept in touch, but it was sporadic, calls recordings showed us they exchanged pleasantries and talked about the old times. Then, a few weeks after we removed the surveillance, the paper trail shows Zimmermand arranged the car transportation to the Old City."
"And he lost control while driving it," Janet added.
"That's the official version, yes."
"Is there another version?" Daniel frowned.
"For some reason, Abby was still his next of kin. When she went to his flat, she found a suicide note. She shared it with me, but we decided never to disclose it. We wanted to keep what the remains of his reputation, you know? And well, no one ever cared; no one came looking for him. As for the investigation, paper trails show the car arrived two days after he asked for it, and he filled it up with aviation gas and drove it around until he crushed it against the side of the Old Bridge. The tire marks we found showed that he probably tried to avoid the crash, yet he failed. There was not much left of him."
"What did his note say?" They heard some typing on the other side.
"Well, what I can remember of it said he couldn't forgive himself for handing Magnus to SCIU, and he couldn't accept he wasn't there to protect her during the attack. He asked Abby's forgiveness, telling her it wasn't her fault and said she was right. I remember I asked Abby what he meant by that, and she confessed they were always fighting because she was sure he was in love with Doctor Magnus and he never got a chance to say it to her. Oh well, that's just side sappy history."
"Okay, then there are no doubts they are both gone?"
"Yeah, it's funny. In the end, Zimmerman finished in the same condition Doctor Magnus did on a big explosion and burned to dust, talk about romantic, right?" he huffed, "listen, is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Yes, can you provide us the information about these cases?" Jack asked.
"I see what I can do."
"Great, that was all we needed to know."
"Excellent, then I should go. I'll send you back to the mainline so you can leave your contact information if you want those files."
March 26th, 2004
0759
Briefing Room
"We can prove she's not who she says she is, and neither is him or her." Jack started with a grin preceding the pleasantries.
"Good morning to you too, Colonel and, oh, please do." Helen smiled, stopping the reactions of her family and friends.
"That's what I'm intending. If you open the folders Janet and Daniel are giving away we can start." He added, clasping his hands together. Sam looked at him as if he had grown a second head overnight but opened her folder anyway with a frown.
"Janet, can you do the honors?"
"Sure, Colonel. Let's start with my last patient and the first page you'll see: the Old City Newspaper, dated as of October 24th, 2000. Ashley Magnus, the daughter and only heir of the Magnus fortune passed away on an unfortunate turn of events when a group of robbers entered the family home state a few days ago. The officer in charge, Joe Kavanaugh confirmed Doctor Magnus herself chose to perform the autopsy of her daughter accompanied by Doctor William Zimmerman. An unofficial source mentioned that Doctor Helen Magnus opted to cremate her daughter's remains. Later on, they celebrated a private mass to honor the Young Heiress's life. No comments came from the family or their advisors." Helen clenched her jaw. "Should I continue?" Janet smirked, noticing the Sanctuary group reaction was the same: tightly clenched jaws.
"Please do, Doc," Jack said with a smirk.
"Then, we found this one. It's pretty interesting if I must say so myself, from the Old City Newspaper dated as of January 3rd, 2003: On December 30th, 2002 the Magnus family house exploded and was burned to ashes, sadly no part of the old home state was left standing, not even the light rain or cold weather of December could help to suffocate the flames. Doctor Helen Magnus was proclaimed death yesterday afternoon when ashes of her remains, along with melted gold accounted as a necklace she carried around, were confirmed as belonging to her. Doctor William Zimmerman, the heir to 20% of her fortune, refused to make comments. The wealth of the Magnus family divides now between Doctor Zimmerman, their many corporations, and her charities. Doctor Helen Magnus remains will rest on a family campground in London, from where she originates and where she will now rest beside her only daughter."
"Ah, yes," Helen added it was easier to hear her fake demise than the false ending they had created for Ashley when she had died. The truth behind her daughter's death and current status always weighing heavily on her heart and mind.
"And last but not least: Old City Newspaper dated as of October 4th, 2003. The Magnus Miss-fortune: Another tragedy struck the Magnus fortune. Over a year after the tragic success that put an end to decades of work from the known Magnus family, the heir of the Magnus family fortune was found incinerated in his car after crashing it on the old bridge. The investigators agreed he lost control of the vehicle while speeding. The aviator's gas that fueled the car provoked the quickfire. The place in which it occurred made the fire unknown until a homeless man found the remains the next day." Janet finished with a grin.
"Did you find Wolfgang's accident too? Or three of us is just enough?" Nikola asked, "I mean, I could bring mine out too, if I recall it correctly, I died at age 86, alone, in my room of the Hotel New Yorker room 3327 33rd floor, a maid found me dead, and they took me to Frank Campbell's funeral home. Still doesn't say anything about us not being, well, us," he clapped his hands together.
"No, I guess we got something even better. We got someone who knows you all, or rather, knew you all."
"Then, by all means, disprove us," Nikola added, and Helen frowned thinking who they might found that could know them. Then, she smiled widely and stood up to greet him.
"Francis Young. A long-time passed since the last time I saw you," she said before he entered.
"Doctor Magnus? How is this possible?" His eyes widened, looking at the woman who was his mentor, and he thought dead.
"There are things more complicated to explain," Helen added with a sad smile before pointing him towards her crew, "I hope you still remember them, and her," she smiled sadly.
"Doctor Zimmerman, Mister Foss, Doctor Baumschlanger?" he stopped dead in his tracks.
"Francis?"
"Ash."
"Your Caribbean alter-ego?" Helen asked loudly to Tesla, and he grinned shrugging as an answer.
"Well, I couldn't tell him I was me; and then hope he didn't mention it to you, could I?" Nikola blinked coquettishly.
"Oh, hush."
"When Janet told me she might have an impersonator for you, I couldn't believe it, Doctor Magnus. And I couldn't hope it either. Rumors of your death being fake were many; I even called the police back then."
"Well, it was well planned and perfectly executed," Helen grinned and the similar glares she received from Tesla and Henry made her correct herself, "well, almost perfectly executed. I could've gone better without the injuries. Nothing that a good rest couldn't cure."
"The Detective said it looked like it was a prepared explosion, I guess he's right?" Daniel asked.
"The Detective?" Will asked.
"Yes, Detective Kavanaugh."
"Oh, Lord." Helen sighed.
"No, no, no, no, no…"
"You talked to him? Yesterday? Around 23:45, your time?" Magnus asked quickly.
"You are stalking us! How is that possible?" Janet frowned.
"No," Sam frowned, "Doctors Magnus and Zimmerman were with me in the cafeteria from 23 up until 23:50 when someone came searching us from the infirmary. Henry and Nikola were both under surveillance from our guys." Helen frowned again. "They were all far away from technology to be able to stalk us," Carter explained.
"Did you make another call? To the Bureau, perhaps? Agent Corrigan?" Will hoped.
"It was at 1:20 am." Henry provided.
"We… we called someone yes."
"Oh, hell! You called Polanski." Will said, and the whole Sanctuary crew looked dismayed.
"Y..yes?" Daniel answered.
"Henry, call Erika. Get a safe passage and figure out how long we have."
"I'm on it boss." He said, taking his cell phone and laptop out.
"Nikola," she trailed, but her friend only nodded and walked closer to the tech, both bringing up similar computers. "General, we need the blueprints of this facility. You can provide us a copy, or I can hack into your system and get them myself."
"There's no way to hack into our system," Hammond affirmed.
"I'm pretty sure, The Pentagon must have a copy, and I can access them quickly," Henry shrugged.
"Damnit!" Nikola growled. "We don't have time for the back door, Helen." He finished turning the laptop around were a countdown of fifty minutes appeared. "And they are already at the limits of the compound."
"General Hammond, you need to hide us, somewhere. There's not enough time for us to get out of here without being noticed."
"I can't authorize any of you to gate travel, Doctor Magnus. Not even when if I have the slightest clue of why are you suggesting such a thing." Hammond added flabbergasted
"Then, if you cannot do it, call the President and let me talk to him. Or I will force my way into your office and do it myself, and trust me you don't want that." Hammond nodded and walked towards his office, all the present following them.
"Mister President, I have Doctor Magnus for you." He said and then, surprised he gave Helen the phone.
"Henry, your best team just screwed it up. SCIU was reactivated early this morning when some of them decided to investigate us, and called both old city PD and FBI. Now, options: I can hijack SGC and force my hand to gate travel, or you can politely order them to do so. Well, I'm not glad the tables have turned Henry, but you know that if I'm no longer here, your secret can be out at any time and no, that's not a threat, is only for you to remember those who care about you and who you care for," She added and smiled to the General.
"Yes, I could, however you know them, and they are already about to knock the doors, we can persuade them in a different way alas that can bring us to the step which forced your office to take the anti-abnormal position before," she grinned. "I knew you would see it my way! I owe you a visit and maybe a Chateau Laffite, nothing newer than the fifties. Yes, you know that's not an issue. Thank you, Henry. General," she finished giving him the phone back.
"Hammond. Yes, sir." He added with a frown before hanging the phone. "SG-1 take the guests, gear them and yourselves up. Include Doctor Young on this. Doctor Frasier, get all the medical information on them, and hide it. As from now, everything that happened in the last few days became classified as top secret. I will make sure to let everyone else know."
"General Hammond, you must verify your compound limits and close all the emergency exits and regular entrances. SCIU will find a way in even if they don't have the security level to be here," Helen affirmed.
"How do you know?"
"Because they are part of the reason why all of us are dead in those articles they've found."