Cameron tried to drag himself back to lucidity as his sub-conscious registered Wilks moving around the cabin; he really needed to figure out what the marine had planned for him. But his body refused to respond, stating emphatically that it needed rest after all he'd put it through recently.
The next time he was able to comprehend anything, a diesel engine was roaring to life outside. Figuring that he had at least eight hours before Wilks returned, Cam allowed himself a few minutes for the pounding in his head to subside.
When his vision finally cleared, he took a detailed visual survey of his current location. The cabin was small and sparely furnished and Cameron couldn't help thinking that it would have made a great vacation spot under different circumstances. The curtains were drawn keeping the room dimly lit although the sun had clearly already risen. The cabin appeared to consist of the living room, a small kitchen and dining area, and a hallway leading off to a bedroom and bathroom.
He shifted in the chair, trying desperately to force his face down to his shoulder. The urge to itch the dried blood caked on the side of his face and neck was nearly unbearable.
Ignoring the all consuming numbness in his arms, Mitchell tested the zip-ties that bound his hands behind the chair; he'd used them on enough prisoners that know that if they were tight enough, there was no way he'd be getting out of them without some help. Why didn't anyone use good old fashion hand cuffs anymore? Seriously! He'd refrained from letting the team know it, but Carter wasn't the only one that knew how to pick locks; Cameron may have been a golden boy in the Air Force, but he'd learned hundreds of ways to get into, and out of, trouble before that part of his life began.
Cameron forced his feet further beneath him and slowly levered himself forward until he was standing, albeit somewhat awkwardly with the chair forcing him into a ninety degree bend at his hips. He blinked against the blackness as all the blood rushed to his head. Cam shuffled over to the front window and used his head to push the curtains aside, trying not to focus on how ridiculous he looked right now.
One definitely needed to be able to laugh at ones self in his line of work.
Cameron slowly moved around the cabin, searching for anything that could aid his attempts to liberate himself. Two hours and two broken lamps later, he was sweating heavily and no closer to finding a solution. Cam hung his head in resignation for the time being; he wasn't about to give up, but right now, he really needed a break.
He let his mind drift to the team as he allowed his body a much needed rest. Cam wondered if Carolyn was still attempting to keep Jackson in the infirmary; she could be nearly as stubborn as the rest of them when it came to their health. He thought back to the two days he'd been forced to spend in there after he returned from the Sodan village; between the partially open staff-blast wound, a concussion, broken ribs, and the infection in his leg, she hadn't left him alone for more than an hour a time. Of course, if he wanted to be honest with himself, having her there had definitely made his stay much more bearable.
To keep his mind occupied, he ran through their proposed schedule for the day- nothing was ever set in stone at the SGC. Cameron lifted his head quickly as he realized what he was supposed to be doing right now, the negotiations with the Birnyans. The High Chancellor had been adamant that they be present for the negotiations and that said negotiations took place on the Council's time table. Mitchell silently hoped the team wouldn't let his absence stand in the way of getting their hands on the much needed shield technology the Birnyans were offering. That technology would save thousands of lives, and he could take care of himself for awhile yet.
A short while later, Cam forced himself back to his feet for another exploration of the cabin, hoping for all he was worth that he'd missed something on the first time around.
STARGATE: SG-1
There was rarely a day that went by that Carolyn didn't long for some peace and quiet in her infirmary, but today she would almost rather have a string of emergencies, one after the other. Anything to keep her mind off the fact that Cameron was still missing.
Lam had every confidence in Reynolds's ability to run the investigation, but she just felt in her heart that his team would be the ones to find him; and with them off-world right now, his rescue was being delayed. She didn't blame her father for sending SG-1 to the negotiations; she knew Cameron would not have wanted to trade his freedom for the shield technology that would save countless lives. That was one of the things that always wanted to make her smack and kiss him all in the same second; he always felt that something else was more important than his life and health.
Carolyn shuffled the forms in front of her, trying to focus her thoughts on the task at hand. She was able to maintain that focus for all of five seconds before looking at the clock again. The team had been gone for two hours and she had one more hour before she had to go home; the General had threatened to escort her to the main gate himself if she didn't go home and get some rest by noon.
She knew he was right; if she didn't start getting some sleep soon it would start affecting her judgment. And in her job, if her judgment was off, people died.
Lam shuffled the paperwork one more time, poised her pen, and promptly threw it across the room. She was rarely given to displays of violence or frustration, but that had felt good, damn good. Deciding that physical activity would be the only thing that could shut her brain down long enough for her to exhaust herself and maybe actually get some sleep, Carolyn shoved the dreaded forms into a file and locked them in her desk. There was always someone willing to spar at the gym where she took her Tae Kwon Do classes, so she grabbed her gear from the locker in her office and headed for the elevator to the surface. She didn't bother to explain her departure to any of the nursing staff; she wasn't actually on duty right now anyway.
The petite doctor's thoughts turned back to her missing friend the second the elevator doors closed. She couldn't help but wonder how he was fairing at that exact moment; from what Daniel could remember of the fight, she knew that Cameron would have most likely aggravated his existing injuries and was probably sporting a couple new ones.
She looked up in surprise when the elevator dinged, announcing her arrival at the parking garage. She'd been so lost in her thoughts that the ninety second ride- the mountain elevators weren't exactly known for their speed- had gone by in the blink of an eye. Carolyn stopped three steps after leaving the elevator and realized that she had no idea where she'd parked her car, not all that disconcerting since she hadn't laid eyes on it in two full days. Searching through her purse for her keys, she was unprepared for the arm that snaked around her waist and the cloth that was forced over her mouth and nose.
Lam drew in a breath to scream and instantly became light-headed; some where in the back of her mind the sweet smelling odor connected with the name of a drug: Chloroform. She drove her elbow back into her attacker's mid-section, but the anesthetic had already rendered her movements weak and uncoordinated. Carolyn continued to fight a losing battle against the effects of the drug and the man behind her as she was pushed towards a large white truck.
Wilks waited until he felt his captive go limp before he risked removing the handkerchief from her face. He'd seen her in Tea Kwon Do, and knew she was one of the better students in the class; besides he already had several bruises from underestimating one person in the last twenty-four hours, he really didn't need anymore.
He bound Carolyn's hands in front of her and gently laid her on the floor of the back seat; the marine then made sure that she was completely covered by a blanket that matched the interior of his truck. He knew the guards on duty well enough that they would not bother to look at anything too closely.
"Leaving so soon, Sgt?"
Wilks smiled innocently at the younger man, who also happened to be a Sgt. "Yeah, I just needed to pick something up this morning. I'll be back for my shift at 1800 hours, see you then."
A few hundred yards down the road, Wilks pulled over and gently drew the blanket back from Carolyn's face. With an amazing amount of tenderness, he brushed a stray lock of hair back behind her ear; "shh honey, you're with me now. We'll show him who you really love."
STARGATE: SG-1
General Hank Landry stormed through the halls of the SGC, trying his absolute hardest not to growl out loud at the personnel who got in his way. This was so not his week. First his 2IC had been attacked on base, then he'd been abducted, then the General had to send his best team off-world to negotiate instead of having them running the investigation, and now his daughter/CMO had disobeyed a direct order. Ok, so that last part he'd been dealing with for nearly thirty-five years, but that didn't make it any less aggravating.
He stormed through the infirmary and into her office, already mentally preparing his lecture, but he stopped in his tracks when he found the office empty. Spinning on his heel, Landry confronted the first nurse he saw, "Where's Dr Lam?"
"She headed for the surface nearly forty-five minutes ago, sir."
The General shook his head, "I just spoke to the personnel at the gate, she hasn't left yet."
"That's very unusual sir," the nurse gave him a worried frown, "she had her Tae Kwon Do equipment with her and she headed for the surface elevator. She looked like she was in a pretty big rush to get out of here."
The small nagging voice that had been in the back of Landry's head since he'd entered the infirmary grew to a shout at that point. He picked up the nearest phone and had Walter page his missing daughter, he then tried calling her cell phone. He received no response from either mode of communication.
After sending nurses to check her quarters and the base gym, Landry hopped in the elevator to determine if her car was still in the parking garage. He didn't even make it out of the elevator before he spotted her cell phone on the ground, flashing 'one missed call'.
Hundreds of light years away, Sam excused herself from the negotiating table as her radio beeped with an incoming message from the SGC.
Daniel tried to force down the rush of adrenaline through his veins. The General knew how important these negotiations were, he wouldn't have interrupted them unless it was something big. He glanced over at Teal'c; anyone who didn't know the big Jaffa would think nothing of it, but he could easily read the change in the other man's posture.
"I'm afraid we must return to our planet, High Chancellor, we will contact you when we are able to return to the negotiations."
The older man had seen their distraction and worry throughout the proceedings, "Have you located Col Mitchell then?"
Sam bit her lip, "No sir, but our Chief Medical Officer is now missing as well."