Daniel crept down the hallway. He tried his best to keep concealed, darting in and out of empty closets, abandoned rooms, and the large alcoves that lined the corridor, his sidearm drawn with the rifle slung over his shoulder as backup. Distant rumbles came and went; he quickened his pace. But with the starts and stops, the bangs and whispers, he found it difficult to focus on the direction of any one specific noise.
Scuffles. Voices. Clanking.
Dead silence.
Daniel froze, flattening himself against the peeling wall. He stood there, holding his breath for what seemed like an eternity. The silence mocked him, wasting the time away, the same time he couldn't afford to lose.
Nothing.
Nothing.
A flash of white.
Daniel aimed his Beretta at the frightened scientist who had appeared in the hallway. The silence held as they stared at each other, immobilized. But before Daniel could question the man, he bolted, placing as much distance between himself and Daniel as possible. Daniel knew he was going for help.
Without another thought, Daniel ran after him. He knew that he couldn't jeopardize his search for Janet. He couldn't be found out. He couldn't become overrun by reinforcements. He was entering his own lion's den, but without the safety and protection afforded to his namesake.
Daniel continued to run.
He pursued the man down another abandoned hallway, his weapon ready as he scouted for any cover. Just as he was contemplating his next move, Daniel caught sight of another flash to his right, this time in the form of a militiaman.
The soldier fired, but Daniel ducked, just missing the shot that was aimed at his head. Quickly, Daniel recovered and shot back, hitting the man in the stomach. He staggered back and fell, dropping his gun. But before Daniel could corner him, another rogue Baich appeared immediately followed by another and another. He knew more were on the way.
Daniel fired, hoping to disable as many as he could. He was a walking target or a sitting duck; either way, he knew if he didn't make his final stand here, then he would fail Janet and Irina.
Daniel was tired of failure.
Shot after shot, Daniel fired at the men. Their rifles were slower, more antiquated, and he was lucky enough to be able to dodge the bullets aimed at him. But he knew that his good fortune would run out. Darting to his left, Daniel stepped into the alcove that housed a locked room. Though he knew that he must stick out like a sore thumb, Daniel used the time to quickly reload the magazine in his sidearm. Just another moment. Just one more moment and maybe he could hold his own…
The footfalls stomped closer, closing in on him. He heard the gunshots. He heard their cursing. He could smell their sweat as they neared his location.
Daniel slammed the magazine into the Beretta and poked around the alcove, aiming at the soldiers. He picked off one, two, three…God, were there more?
He didn't have time to count how many more men had come to replace the ones that he'd taken out. It wasn't important.
Daniel fired two more times, knowing that he was low on ammo. He shoved the sidearm into its holster, reserving what he had, and shrugged off the rifle. He could get a few hits in as the men slowed to reload their rifles. And he did.
Only, he missed the one that had slid down the wall while he'd been distracted. Daniel realized he was cornered when it was too late; he was staring into the barrel of the rifle.
Daniel held his breath.
The man froze, dropping to his knees, a giant flaming hole in his chest. Shocked, Daniel jerked his head back, surprised to find Teal'c standing in the middle of the hallway, his staff weapon still smoking.
Sam and Jack fanned out and around from behind him. With a staff weapon and two fully loaded P-90's aimed at them, the remaining men quickly changed their tune. The four of them dropped their weapons and raised their hands, their angry, defiant glares cutting through SG-1.
Daniel stepped outside of the alcove, his gaze falling to the men downed and spread across the floor. Blood pooled and seeped into the wood planks while more had splattered onto the moldy walls. He sighed as he turned away from the sight.
When his gaze finally met the rest of his team, he could see the mix of anger, relief, and worry in their faces. Jack nodded to Teal'c to restrain the militiamen while he kept his P-90 trained on their every move. He said nothing, his eyes cold, but Daniel knew he was less than pleased. Sam was the first to speak.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Daniel nodded. "Janet's here."
Sam exchanged an uneasy glance with Jack. "Are you sure?" she asked.
Daniel glanced back at the Baich that Teal'c had finished restraining. "They're a rogue group, Sam. They're terrorizing both the Baich and the Rusayev. They need Janet. They've been experimenting—"
"We gathered that," Jack said tightly.
Daniel straightened. All he had to do was look into the haunted faces of his teammates to understand. They knew.
"You're not looking so good," he said to them.
"Take a look in the mirror lately?" Jack asked.
Daniel brushed off the comment. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took a quick inventory of the corridor. The scientist had long disappeared. More Baich were on the way. They didn't have much time.
Then, they heard it.
Janet's voice. Calling. Yelling. The words were indistinguishable over the distance, but the voice was distinctly her own.
Daniel wasted no time. After tossing the rifle and checking his Beretta one last time, he took off down the hall, jumping over the bodies of the fallen militiamen to get to her.
"Hey!" Jack called.
But Daniel ignored him. He kept running, pushing harder. He was so close. He couldn't back down now. There had been too much death, too much pain. They wouldn't lose Janet too.
He wouldn't lose Janet.
Powered with his newfound resolve, Daniel followed her voice to a lone open door at the end of the hallway. He kept his sidearm drawn, ready, and charged into the room.