Now, had Ba'al done his homework, he would have realized two very important things: First, that very little fazed Aeda Harrison, and second, that she was incredibly easy to get along with – most of the time. Today just wasn't one of those times.
She was the daughter of a Navy Admiral and the goddaughter of an Air Force General. Growing up, she'd been a tomboy and had gotten into her fair share of fights – so much so that her mother had kept a first aid kit in every room of the house, just in case. She had grown out of it, but had always maintained the ability to defend herself. However, having a gun shoved in her back and being taken hostage by a guy with a snake in his head wasn't exactly something for which she was prepared.
The reality of the situation was two-fold. She had no idea where they were going, but she did understand that if Daniel couldn't come through with whatever it was the snake guy needed, she'd get a bullet in the back of her head – or worse. She had a lot of faith in Daniel, but that didn't stop her from worrying just a little bit.
After arriving at a secluded mansion that could have passed as a castle, she was searched and her bag was taken from her, along with her cell phone, Chap Stick, and hair tie. The cell phone she could understand, but the other two were just spiteful. A couple of thugs – there was really no other way to describe them – hauled her up a flight of stairs and locked her in a wood-paneled room.
This was the first of a series of mistakes. They didn't tie her up and they didn't think to check her hair when she'd taken it down – she'd used a couple of bobby pins to keep the sides back and they were still under her hair. So, she took the pins out, fiddled with the lock, and was halfway to the front door before someone stopped her.
Their second mistake was leaving her with Ba'al's blonde assistant for some "roughing up", as Thug #1 had so eloquently put it. In her tenure at the SGC, Jack had kept her fighting skills up to date and by the time she left she'd perfected her right hook to the point that she could even knock Teal'c back a step or two.
She was tired and more than a little cranky and they'd locked her in a room with the Ditz that did Danvers. Not a good combination in the scheme of things. So when the blonde slapped her and caused her to bite her lip, drawing blood, her patience snapped.
"Seriously?" Aeda asked, wiping blood from her lip.
The blonde cocked her head to the side. "Want some more?"
Aeda laughed. "Naw, I'm good." She drew back and clocked the woman with a beautifully executed right hook that even Jack would have been proud of. It connected with the blonde's jaw and snapped her head back, sending her staggering backwards and into the far wall.
"Fuck," Aeda hissed and shook out her hand as the woman slowly slumped to the ground.
Applause sounded from the doorway to the little room and she turned to see her captor smiling smugly. "Impressive," he said.
"Care for an encore?" she asked, far braver than she had been earlier. "I'll need a new volunteer from the audience."
Blondie moaned from her position on the floor and Ba'al ignored her. He motioned for Aeda to follow him. "Come, we'll ice your hand and see what we can do about your lip."
"Wonderful," she said and followed him downstairs.
General Jack O'Neill was almost as antsy as Danielwas and perhaps even more grouchy than the archeologist. He was pacing the briefing room, watched intently by Daniel, Sam and Aeda's father, Belvedere Harrison, who had yet to comment on the situation.
"Jack," the Admiral said quietly and Jack stopped pacing, looked at the older man. "Sit down before you wear a track in the floor."
It impressed both Daniel and Sam that Jack did as the Admiral asked. The room sat in silence for another minute or so. General Landry was working with the Pentagon and the White House to establish a set of guidelines for the negotiation. So far, no one was budging on the generator – it didn't seem all that horrible to lose a Harvard professor compared to losing a naquadah generator, which was very silently irking Daniel. In fact, he hadn't said anything since the arrival of the Admiral.
"I'm sorry, Bell," Jack said softly from the opposite end of the table. Daniel watched as the Admiral leveled his gaze at the General and silently wished for cover.
"For the seven hundredth time, you goddamn fool, this isn't your fault. It isn't Dr. Jackson's fault. The blame belongs to the bastard that took her, so either move on or come and sit next to me so I can brain you with the telephone."
"Moving on," Jack said and the Admiral nodded.
"Daniel, how did she sound on the phone?" the Admiral asked and Daniel had to take a deep breath to keep from stuttering.
"Okay. She sounded kind of amused, actually."
The Admiral smiled. "That sounds like my daughter." He looked down the table at Jack. "Will he hurt her?"
"Honest answer?" Belvedere nodded. "If he doesn't get what he wants, he'll kill her – just like he promised."
The Admiral took the admission in stride. He crossed his arms. "Well then, we'll just have to make sure that doesn't happen."
The door to the briefing room opened and General Landry entered, a look of frustration on his features. His cheeks were pink, either from the exertion of yelling or the anger everyone in the room knew he felt. Sam stood quickly to attention and the General waved her back into her seat.
"Admiral Harrison,it would seemI don't have the most promising of news," he said gruffly.
"They won't allow the trade," Daniel said quietly without looking up from the table.
General Landry shook his head. "I'm afraid not. The Pentagon is afraid of the security risk it would produce, and, unfortunately, they just aren't all that worried about a kidnapped Harvard professor."
Jack stood, as did the Admiral. "Call them back, Hank. Put them on speaker phone so they can say that to her father's face instead of through you." The fury in his voice was unmistakable and for a split second, they all worried about just what he would do.
"I didn't say that was the end of it, Jack," Landry said quietly. He turned to Sam. "I need you to get Lt. Mitchell and Teal'c up to speed. I want SG-1 and SG-3 to get geared up for a SWAT extraction."
Sam stood. "Yes, sir," she said and bolted from the room.
"I want in, Hank," Jack said fiercely.
"I thought as much."
"Me too," the Admiral said and the three men turned to look at him. "She's my daughter."
"You're only two years out of a heart transplant, Bell. If something were to happen –" Hank said quietly.
The Admiral cut him off. "I don't care about myself right now. She's my daughter and the only thing that matters is getting her out of there alive and in one piece."
"He's right," Daniel said and the eyes in the room shifted to his prone position at the table. He was the only one left sitting, his body slightly hunched over the tabletop. His good hand rested on top of the bandaged one, his fingers tracing an invisible pattern along the cast. "He should be there, if for no other reason than it'll help her when she's out of there."
The two Generals considered it, and then seemed to come to an unspoken agreement. "Fine," Hank said. "We'll meet up with SGs 1 and 3 and figure out where we're headed."
Jack followed Hank out the door. Daniel slowly rose to his feet, his balance off. He felt the Admiral's hand under his elbow and he looked at the older man.
"How'd you break your hand?" he asked.
Daniel looked at the cast. "I punched a concrete wall." He shrugged slightly."It didn't give."
The older man smiled slightly. "You love my daughter," he said matter-of-factly, as though he'd known all along, which he probably had.
Daniel nodded. "More than I have anyone in a very long time."
Belvedere considered him for a moment longer, then nodded. "Alright, then let's go get her and bring her home. Bear's driving Carolina crazy."
Daniel actually smiled. "I can just imagine."
Yes, no, maybe? This is the first time I've written for Belvedere and I like him. He reminds me of my dad. Let me know what you think!
