I'm back! thanks for reviewing the latest chapters.... and quickly on with the story, we can wrap this up this weekend....
"What the hell happened?" General Hammond barked at the two returning members of his first contact team. The news of the disappearance of O'Neill and Teal'c had already reached him by the airman driving the surveillance van.
Carter pulled an apologetic face. "Colonel O'Neill was succeeding in making Captain Potter talk, Sir. Something happened, however. We heard some soft noises, a thump as if a body hitting the floor and a strange hissing sound. We immediately ran towards the building, but by the time we reached the lab, everybody was gone. No sign of Colonel O'Neill or Teal'c, Sir."
"We met Colonel Simmons, though," Daniel filled in. "He told us that Jack had already left the building, but we know that's not true. We would have seen him on our way in."
"What about the wires?" Hammonds demanded.
"According to the technician in the van, the connection broke off while we were entering the building, Sir," Sam explained. "Whoever's got them must have removed the watches. We have surveyed the area, looking out for anyone suspicious leaving the building, but we couldn't cover all sides, Sir. We came up empty."
Hammond stared at her, his face grim and upset. "I can't believe this. Contact the NID and have them check the records. I want to know when Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c checked in and where the hell they are."
"Yes, Sir," Sam said.
Daniel followed her to the lab, frowning. "I don't get this, Sam. Where are they?"
"I don't know, Daniel. I do know that Colonel Simmons wasn't exactly honest with us. Don't ask me why, it's just a hunch. I didn't like the guy."
"Me neither," Daniel agreed. "He was hiding something. Why did you leave so soon, though?"
"I didn't want him to know that we suspected him," she explained. "We had nothing to go on, you know."
"That's true. Where the hell did they take Jack and Teal'c, and why?" Daniel worried.
Sam grabbed the phone. "I don't know. But whatever it is, it won't be good. Let's see what I can find out...." She punched in some numbers and started talking as soon as somebody picked up the phone, clarifying who she was. "Can you please tell me what time Colonel O'Neill checked in?"
Listening carefully, she jotted something down on a piece of paper. "Can you see where the Colonel is, right now? I really need to talk to him," she tried, throwing one quick glance at Daniel. "What was that, Lieutenant? He already left? When? ... No... I didn't know. Are you sure about that? Was he alone... no? Oh. Okay. Were you at the desk when he left? Who was it then, can you check that for me, please? Thank you, Lieutenant. Have a nice evening, too."
"And?" Daniel asked impatiently.
"According to the records, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c checked into the NID at 1700, and both left at 1721. Now we know that he was in the building around 1715, because we were recording his conversation with Captain Potter. We entered the building at 1718 and headed for Potter's lab. This means the Colonel and Teal'c must have checked out right after us, but then Lt. Johnson should have seen them from the van."
"So they faked the check-out?" Daniel asked.
"They must have, but that's not easy to prove. The Lieutenant I just spoke to of course wasn't on duty around that time and the one who was already left. I've got his name, though. Maybe General Hammond can order the security tapes from the NID entrance so we can see, but somehow I think something will be wrong with them," Carter said. "Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c didn't leave that building through the main entrance around that time. We *know* that for sure."
"What do we do now?" Daniel frowned worriedly. "We've got nothing to go on."
Carter gave him a faint smile. "Don't give up that easily, Daniel. I'm going to dig in the computer and see if I can make some connections... let's do a little background search on this Colonel Simmons, too."
The door opened and O'Neill, only alerted by the approaching footsteps, craned his neck to get a good view. Three men entered the room, all wearing ski masks covering their faces.
"Evening, fellows," Jack greeted them cheerfully. "Aren't you guys a little too old to play hide and seek?"
"Shut up, Colonel," a sharp voice barked, belonging to the man who was comfortably leaning against the wall. He was the only one with a black mask, the others had similar ones, but brown.
"Grumpy, huh?" O'Neill muttered, then groaned as somebody grabbed him by his arms and dragged him up until he was on his knees. "Hey, careful," he complained as his kneecaps protested against the movement.
"So... care to tell me what you thought you were doing with Captain Potter?" the man asked.
"Who?" O'Neill frowned, showing a hint of faked surprise. "Harry Potter? Haven't you seen that movie?"
One of the masked men stepped closer, swung his foot and planted it in the Colonel's midsection.
O'Neill fell sideward from the force of the kick, kept his lips glued together and managed to keep a straight face when the other man dragged him back up. Sharp stabs of pain shot through his ribcage, although he didn't think the kick had caused more trouble than a couple of bruises. Lifting his head, he glared at the man wearing the black mask.
"Let me warn you, Colonel O'Neill. The SGC has had its time and the Stargate will soon be run by some other people. And believe me, you're not going to be a part of the new program."
"Now, I don't think so..." Jack sneered angrily. He tried to press as many details of the masked men in his memory as possible. Body proportions, movements, habits, anything that could help him identify them in the future.
"This is way over your head, Colonel. I'm warning you to stay out of this and then, you might still get the chance to retire," the man snapped back.
"So far I'm neither impressed, nor shocked by what I've heard. Why don't you show me who you are so we can seriously discuss this," O'Neill suggested, throwing a deadly glare at the man.
A slight nod from the man leaning against the wall and the two others moved, punching O'Neill between the ribs and shoulder blades at the same time.
Jack suppressed a groan, biting on his lip. One of the blows was directed at the same spot he'd been kicked before and this punch might have done a bit more damage. The muscles in his back protested as they cramped together and O'Neill forced them to relax, rolling his shoulders slowly to relieve the pressure.
"Don't mess with me," the man barked as soon as his victim had regained his composure. "Now how did Major Carter manage to get the device reprogrammed?"
Jack was still struggling to draw breaths slowly, still fighting to recover. He'd been dragged back to his knees, since he wasn't able to do so himself with his hands bound on his back. "Carter is way smarter than you think..." he smirked and was rewarded with a quick, hard slap to the side of his face, landing mostly on his ear.
"How did she do it?" the man kept demanding.
"Hey... I don't know... I'm not that smart..." O'Neill shrugged. Immediately he was slapped in the face a couple of times, the force of the blows rocking his whole upper body sideways. He kept his eyes closed and struggled to remain on his knees. Jack cursed inwardly as he felt the old injury on his left eyebrow crack and warm liquid that could only be his own blood softly started rolling down his cheek.
"Oh, I think you are way smarter than you let others believe. Hammond's days are over, and then, so are yours, my friend. Nobody else in charge would put up with your insubordinate crap," the man with the rough voice snapped.
"Hammond isn't leaving just yet," O'Neill spat back, looking up once more. Instinctively he wanted to move his hand to wipe away the blood running down his face but realized that he was unable to.
"Oh, but he will. Eventually. Unless he doesn't care about his cute little granddaughters... Especially the youngest one…" the man threatened.
O'Neill fought to remain calm. Letting the man know how angry that remark made him wouldn't bring him anything but further grief. His face remained one stoic mask. Teal'c would have been proud, he thought idly, as he didn't lower his gaze.
"What, lost your tongue, O'Neill? Don't you believe me? She's got that lovely long blond, curling hair with those cute little bows in her ponytail. Just to make sure the old man decides to retire if he doesn't die first..."
"It won't work," O'Neill objected self-assuredly. He'd played the games, knew he couldn't give in to any threats, couldn't give them anything. Although he had no idea how, he vowed to do something to nail these guys before they really could harm the little kid.
"Yes, it will. Not even his contacts will be able to help him this time.... This goes up higher than that, Colonel..." the man dropped on his knees in front of O'Neill and brought his masked face close by, slowly exhaling, blowing the air in the Colonel's face. "And to prove that we're untouchable, I'm going to make sure that you will take that message back to the SGC. Either the two of you leave voluntarily, or we'll force you to... Is that understood?" The man gave his two companions another nod and moved back to make enough room.
This time there were more than two blows. The two men made quite an effort to inflict some serious harm on the bound man on the ground, using their fists and feet and aiming at his head, chest, back and legs. They continued until their victim lay still, his knees protectively drawn up to avoid more blows to the abdomen, blood oozing from several cuts on his head.
The leader of the three bent forward and pulled O'Neill's hair, twisting it until he could see the Colonel's face. "Damn it.... He wasn't supposed to lose consciousness this soon... Stupid bastards, you hit him too hard on his head." He roughly rolled the still figure onto his back. "Get some water and wake him up. I wasn't finished."
Teal'c drove around in O'Neill's truck. He found a map in the glove compartment, but was unable to find anything that resembled Bradfort.
He was determined to find his friend, however, and decided to drive further until he came upon a place where he could go and request assistance.
He drove up north and remained on the main road. It took him two hours before he saw what he needed. A gas station.
Pulling the truck to a halt, Teal'c grabbed the hat to cover his tattoo and put it on before stepping out of the vehicle.
The man from the gas station already walked forward. "Evening, sir. You want me to fill it up?"
Teal'c frowned. "I am in need of some information," he answered.
"Oh," the man responded. "Can I help you?"
"I need to locate a place called Bradfort. Have you heard of it?"
"Bradfort?" the man said, his face showing surprise. "Never heard of it. Bradfort... Bradfort.... I don't think it's around here. What is it, a town?"
"I do not know," Teal'c said. "But a friend of mine is in grave danger so it is of great importance that I find this place."
The man curiously glanced at the man in front of him, taking in the deadly serious expression. "Let me think... Bradfort. Come inside, I can check the telephone books..."
The man from the gas station led the way to the shop and held the door open for the dark stranger. Gathering the books in question, he started searching.
The cold water thrown in his face brought Jack back to his senses. A soft moan escaped his lips as his whole body protested the treatment it had been given. His ribcage ached unmercifully, and drawing a single breath only aggravated the pain. God, Janet was going to be pissed, he figured, knowing that he had cracked at least one or two ribs. Trying not to inhale too deeply, O'Neill tried to come back to his senses. His head was pounding so bad that the world spun around, even with his eyes closed.
Not good, he thought. Not good at all.
Strong hands grabbed him under the armpits and hauled him to a sitting position. "Wake up, Colonel. I need you to listen carefully."
The voice hammered through his skull, tickling his memory. Somebody from the NID had grabbed him and was asking him questions. He wasn't planning on giving them any answers but then again, they didn't care, either. They just tried to hurt him and managed perfectly.
He hurt.
He hurt all over. Damn. Jack forced his eyes to open. Only one obeyed, the other remained stuck. Something sticky glued his lashes together. "I'm not interested in whatever it is you've got to say," he cracked.
Another rain of blows landed on his chest, throwing him around for the umpteenth time. The world spun, making his stomach churn and he swallowed hard to keep the content down. No need to piss those guys off by throwing up all over their shoes, although the thought of it was at least tempting. Nobody lifted him back up this time and O'Neill didn't have the strength to so he refrained from trying.
The man with the black mask started laughing. "I think you ought to, Colonel. I want you and General Hammond out of the picture, got that? I'm giving you a chance here to voluntarily opt for a nice and peaceful retirement, but if you remain to cause trouble, I will find another way to get rid of you."
"Is that supposed to scare me off?" O'Neill hissed through clenched teeth. His chest was burning and he instinctively had drawn his knees up to protect the damaged area.
The masked man bent closer. "Now, I don't think you're scared off that easily.... But you will come to your senses, or I will have to cut a ponytail off that little girl's head."
This time the man who had been doing all the talking, raised his own hand himself, balling it to a tight fist and threw a punch that landed on O'Neill's unprotected chin. He watched in satisfaction as the man's head snapped backwards and his eyes rolled up in his head. "Bye, bye, Colonel. It was nice meeting you."
well... Jack's in trouble again.... how does he do that? Are you guys still reading this?