Before an appropriate cover story could be told, Jack's cell went off again. "O'Neill. … Really? … Where? … What? … Thanks, Hank. … Yeah, I know. Tell Pendergast the next time he sees my wife he might want to run. … He did? I'll call Sam and let her know where to go. Bye, Hank."
"What was that about?" Daniel asked, his eyes curious as he looked up from the note.
Jack smirked despite the anxiety of the situation, "Pendergast apparently has just as bad timing as you do, Daniel. He caught Sam right after she got out of the shower."
Daniel's eyebrows rose in shock, "Is he okay?"
The older man shrugged, "Sam had her clothes in her arms and a towel on, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Ferretti and Mitchell put a stop to the smirks and looks the rest of SG-2 was giving her quickly, so I don't think Pendergast is in danger of castration."
"Did the president sign off on the non-disclosure agreements?" was Daniel's next question to Jack.
"Yep, Hank said he sent five with them, just in case. Now, I've gotta call my wife and tell her where to go."
"Are you sure she'll be able to find the place?" Daniel asked, concern now evident in his voice and face.
"Apparently when she was kid Jacob was stationed primarily at McGuire in New Jersey. Her mom didn't like living there that much so she set up shop in New York as a tour guide at the Met."
Daniel's mouth formed a silent 'Oh' and he went back to studying the note. Jack opened his phone again and called his wife.
His conversation with Sam was quiet and not unusual until she asked him a question he apparently didn't want to answer. "It'll just make you angry, Sam. … You have a point, but I don't want you to drive while you're angry. … Ferretti's driving? Why the hell is Ferretti driving? … Ah. … No, I still don't want to tell you. … Because this isn't news that you should be told over the phone! …" Jack closed his eyes as he listened to his wife's argument on the other end. "Fine. Scott and Cassie are missing. … No, we think ol' Bocce is responsible. … Yes, I know what that means, Sam. … Just get here as soon as you can, okay? We can explain more when you're here." He hung up the phone and found everyone watching him intently. "What?"
It was Alex who asked the question everyone was wondering, "Bocce?"
Jack sighed, "His name's Ba'al. I just call him Bocce to make him angry."
"Jack?" Daniel asked, looking at the older man with an irritated air about him.
"Daniel?" Jack asked, pretending to be oblivious to the obvious question behind the way the archeologist said his name.
"When's Sam gonna get here?"
Jack looked down at his watch, "Ten minutes, give or take. For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to let Ferretti drive."
"I do not believe that was a wise decision," T said, his eyes showing a glint of humor in them that belittled the situation slightly.
"I know! He drives worse than Daniel!"
"Hey! I resent that, Jack," Daniel said, now indignant. "I don't drive that bad."
Vala looked at him pityingly, "Daniel, I've been in the car with you behind the wheel – I'm sorry, dear, but your driving is rather sporadic."
Daniel glared at her, "Then why don't you drive?"
The seductress grinned, "Ah, my darling Daniel, have you forgotten already that I don't drive? … At least, not cars, away."
Jack and Alex snorted at the two, while Bobby and Daniel proceeded to blush at the innuendo Vala just said so calmly. Someone cleared their throat from the doorway, causing everyone to look up to find Captain Jimmy Deakins standing there with a group of six behind him.
"Is this a private party, or can anyone join?" he asked his two best detectives with a smirk. "I found these six at reception downstairs," his eyes caught Jack's, "As soon as I saw the Air Force uniforms I was pretty sure they belonged to you, General."
Jack's face lost all the humor in it, "Thank you, Captain. Will you please come in? Ferretti, shut the door behind you."
Soon the conference room was crowded with the military personnel, two NYPD detectives and their captain. Sam sent a small smile to Daniel, Jack and Teal'c, knowing that now was not the time to properly say hello to any of the three men. She looked at the other two women in the room, recognizing Vala from her mannerisms. Sam watched the female detective watch her closely, and a flitter of recognition passed through both their eyes as they realized who the other was.
"Thanks, Mitchell," Jack said as he took three folders from him, and passed them to the three civilians without clearance. "These are our standard non-disclosure agreements. Each of you will have to sign them if you want to be kept in the loop on this investigation. The Air Force is officially taking over."
"You can't do that," Deakins said, barely even glancing at the agreement on the table before him. "You're outside your jurisdiction, General."
Jack's eyes met Sam's before his temper could answer the Captain instead of his common sense. She raised an eyebrow at him before she took over, "Actually, Captain Deakins, the kidnappings of Scott Douglass and Cassandra Fraiser are matters of national security." She let her words sink in before she continued, "General O'Neill can have President Hayes on the phone in a matter of minutes if you don't believe us."
Jack looked at his watch, 0745, "Actually, Carter, he's having breakfast with his wife right now. We won't be able to get a hold of him until 0830 at the earliest."
Sam cocked her head to one side, "Well, do you think Vice President Hammond would have a problem if we called him?"
Jack scowled, "Probably not, but today's his day to spend the morning with Kayla and Tessa – I don't think he'll want to be disturbed for something like this."
Sam sighed, thinking, "We could always call the Joint Chiefs."
Jack visibly winced at that, "They're mad at me for taking the week off."
---
A/N: Come on, guys! I have my stats and I know how many people have this thing on review - AND how many people are reading this! PLEASE review! If you review, I'll update when I get back from going to see my brother this weekend.