The team briskly walked down the corridor behind Clayton, flanked by a two security men that looked like equivalent of the omnipresent SFs back at the SGC. The scenes before them had obviously shown the battle in the lab: scorches from staff weapons littered the walls, along with patches of dried red liquid that they didn't care to examine to closely. The doors hung of their hinges and the furniture was in disarray, but already clean-up teams were doing their job. The corridors were that particular shade of grey that seemed to be reserved exclusively for depressingly identical military installations, which tended to look even more depressing when there wasn't a Stargate at the end of the corridor.
"We're now entering the secure zone..." Clayton announced as they went through a large imposing doorway. The effect was diminished slightly by the fact that the large steel door in question was on the floor with a hole in it. The Colonel's experienced military eye travelled around everything around them, constructing a picture of the battle that had raged there not so long ago. He could see Carter paying particular attention to any glimpses of labs through doors, or active computer screens. Behind him Daniel was also looking wide eyed at his surroundings, particularly the blood – although less wide eyed than when he had first joined SG-1. Behind him Teal'c was... Teal'c.
"...and there's the security room – I suppose you could take a look at the tapes, but I don't think you'll be able to recover anything. We can't. Down there is the control room... and down there is the main lab."
O'Neill was slightly surprised to see they were walking past what might be the most critical bit of their investigation. The Colonel was beginning to wonder what they had been doing in there and why they were not allowed to see it.
"Captain? Would you mind if we took a look around the lab itself? It might give us some clues." When O'Neill said this he saw Clayton stiffen uncomfortably.
"Actually... I rather think we had better go and look round the.. er... security room. It might be worth you having a look at the tapes anyway, come to think of it." Teal'c raised his eyebrow slowly up his forehead as the team looked at each other with surprise. Someone is hiding something, was the look that passed between the four.
Some time later, Jack slumped over the console in the security room. It was obvious they were going to find nothing here. It had taken Carter all of a few seconds to work out that the tapes had indeed been wiped by Goa'uld technology, and were thus irrecoverable. They hadn't said anything to the man hovering nervously behind them though. O'Neill only hoped that Carter's 'bathroom break' was what he thought it was, and so he'd kept pushing random buttons on the console while attempting to keep a straight face. He didn't think he was going to be able to look convincing for much longer, so he was relived to see Carter come through the door. He was slightly less relieved when he saw the thunderous expression on her face – and then he was more than slightly unnerved when she stormed up the Group Captain standing at the back.
"What are you thinking?" Carter exclaimed, stepping right up to the man and almost spitting in his face in her anger. Clayton could only mutter incoherent syllables as Carter continued.
"I've just had a look at your 'lab'," she explained, "and I can't believe you didn't tell us!"