She tried to scream, but the hand covering her mouth muffled the sound. A hand curled over her chest pressed her into a warm body behind her. The warmth and the smell from the hand were making her nauseous. She continued to struggle in the hold.
All she wanted was to go to the bathroom. And she did.
She was ambushed on her way out.
"They have noticed that colonel O'Neill took out Merrin," announced Makepeace just before their group entered the café. He waved his phone as he continued. "We were recorded properly when we left the base, but they sent a message that it will be better for us to get as soon as possible back."
The group groaned but soon collected themselves and they had entered the café. There was a pair sitting over coffee cups at a table on the far wall. At another table, there was a small family of three, a father, a mother, and a kid, all gently conversing and enjoying the afternoon. A display of several cakes and a big sandwich selection stood below a hanging board with the prices for the goods displayed and for the drinks offered. The team quickly ordered, knowing what they wanted with Barbara being suggested by the officers their favorite cakes. Of course, it took her some time to decide, as she didn't want to offend any of the men, choosing one suggestion over the other. In the end, she picked the classical American pie served with vanilla ice cream. The team was served their choices on trays and went to the corner table, where they ate with gusto and shared some of the moments that they experienced today.
At some point, Barbara excused herself to the bathroom.
S.I.N.G.! It should work, right?
Solar plexus was the first step. She pulled her elbow with all her might in the small range she had and tried to hit the solar plexus. It was not very effective. Her elbow hit something solid and mostly caused her elbow to smart.
Instep. Not dissuaded from her actions Barbara tried to step on the instep. It was a bit more effective and the body behind her bent forward.
Nose. How did she do it? The hit connected. If one could even call it a hit. Just a sliding elbow. It was not strong enough to hurt the apparent woman and just left Barbara sort of twisted in the hold.
Groin. It hurts everybody. Now to untwist herself so that she could hit the area. The arms holding her constricted and the girl found herself in a half twisted half draped over the hands of her assailant.
"Let me go!" cried Barbara, wriggling in the bear hug of the hold. The woman who was still holding her shifted her position to lift the girl a bit over the ground so that she could not brace herself. How to get out of this?
"Quick," The second person who was in the bathroom showed himself, his hand taking out a small capsule which he broke and shoved the covered hands under the girl's nose. It quickly affected Barbara, her eyes rolled up and she slumped in the hold. The man spread a bit of the liquid under Barbara's nose before reaching for the sink to wash away the rest. The woman breathed out in relief. Part 1 was done.
The bell above the entrance door jiggled announcing the arrival of new customers.
"Nobody move! This is a robbery."
Three people with scarves covering the lower halves of their faces entered the café. In the chaos, their appearance started two of them were quick to corral the patrons to one of the corners while the third started to demand the money the servicing lady had had in the register.
A chill went through the SG-3. Robberies were not uncommon in the USA, but they didn't expect the event ever to occur to them. Especially as there were a lot of civilians in the café. Especially as there was a wanted by another military branch girl in their care.
"Have you seen Barbara exit the bathroom?" asked Major Castleman. The corner they were secluded into didn't allow a great view at the bathroom exit.
"Not yet," answered the Colonel.
"You!" cried one of the robbers aiming their shotgun at the military group. "Stop fucking talking! And start emptying your pockets!"
The colonel looked at the robber.
"Are you sure son, that you want to go that way? If you put the weapon down…!
"I don't give a fuck. Shut your filthy mouth and give up everything you've got," the goon waved his weapon around before loading it and aiming it at the small family standing not that far away from him. The robber did it without breaking eye contact with the colonel. The mother of the family quickly pushed the kid behind herself as the father stepped in front of his lady before slowly taking off his watch. The robber who didn't have his gun trained on anyone reached over and yanked the watch from the man's hands before dropping it inside a bag in his hands.
"And now the money," ordered the robber. The father slowly reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a wallet. He tried to extract only the money, but the object was also torn from his grasp and joined the watch in the bag.
The collecting robber quickly passed the present civilians collecting their valuables. He was just coming towards the military group as the robber who was liberating the money from the register raised his voice.
"What do you mean this is all you have!" the man cried, simultaneously loading his shotgun, and returning its aim to the lady behind the register. "It is the middle of the day; you should have more money!"
As the woman tried to rebuke the accusation of hiding the money the robber raised his weapon and shot at the ceiling. The woman crumpled to the floor; her scream piercing ears. The shot and the scream had the unfortunate effect of throwing the SG-3 into action.
"Everybody get down," cried out lieutenant Johnson, diving before the small family. The family and the pair, five civilians in total joined the previously lonely civilian on the floor, all curling, trying to make themselves smaller targets for the robbers. Major Castleman had tackled the robber with the weapon trained on the civilian family while Major Warren took down the robber who was holding the bag of goodies. Colonel Makepeace Jumped the robber who was threatening the register lady. The group quickly subdued the would-be successful robbers if their colleague was not so quick to anger. Soon the police arrived at the location.
"I am sorry," colonel Makepeace turned to one of the female officers present at the scene. "Would you mind helping us?"
"Yes, of course, colonel," the police officer agreed before following the military officer to the entrance of the female bathroom.
"We had with us our charge; a civilian girl called Barbara. She doesn't speak English, but she understands it well. She went to the bathroom just before the robbers came in," explained Makepeace. He was joined by lieutenant Johnson. The majors were still giving their statements.
"You want me to check if she is inside?" confirmed the police officer dubiously. A civilian girl, with military officers from the local airbase to protect her seemed shady. At the enthusiastic confirmation from the men, she entered the bathroom.
"Barbara? My name is officer Prescott. I am from the Colorado Spring Police department."
Her only response was quiet. The officer looked around, carefully checking the stalls. The windows were intact, nothing was out of place. Only a strange smell and slowly developing a headache. The police officer checked everything again before leaving.
"There's no one inside," announced officer Prescott to the gathered military officers outside the bathroom. The SG-3 members exchanged glances.
"God damn it," swore Colonel Makepeace.