A/N: I have no real excuses for where I've been, or what I've been doing in the last 3 or so years since the last update. We can call it a major case of writer's block if you want. Do know that I've always intended to finish the story. I never wanted to be one of those folks that abandoned a fic. So sorry for the long wait, but I hope it will be worth it. The finished piece has something around 340 pages, 130,000+ words, and will finish in about 7 chapters, the latter of which are still being tweaked slightly, but are written. Fear not, for the end is near. Also a great big thank you goes to Samfan9, who answered my call from the dark side, and spent countless hours pouring over this fic, especially these last few chapters. Not only that, but she puts up with constant emails, and my whinging complaints about flexible grammar rules and patiently limits my overuse of commas to a more manageable level.
Chapter 31: The Best Laid Plans
The mission continued, even though her first few days back at school had her jumping at shadows. She explained away the bruise and scrape on her face as the result of a fall off her bike, and no one seemed the least bit suspicious. Taking the attendance records to the office was more of a challenge, but Sam mustered her courage, and took a moment to remember the previous day in the meadow with Teal'c. The memory would do much over the coming days to calm her nerves.
She did not encounter Curtis or his cronies that day, but the next, she caught sight of the older boy leaning casually against a tree watching while her class was being led to the library. Sam pretended that she hadn't seen the boy, but she could sense his eyes boring into the back of her skull until she turned a corner.
Similar encounters began to occur with startling regularity. She saw Curtis too frequently for comfort, and if it wasn't Curtis, then one of the others was lurking around the corner, or staring at her from a safe distance. After a week of encounters, and Sam's lack of response, the group grew bolder. They came closer. Crumpled paper, pebbles, and other small projectiles struck her without warning, whenever the adults weren't looking. Laney managed to trip her as she passed an intersecting corridor, and the boys had also taken to occasionally shoving her when they could get away with it, once even toppling both her and Nathan.
Rather than frightening her, the small attacks only served to make Sam burn to complete her mission. Her response at first seemed to puzzle Curtis, and Sam often caught sight of him, watching her from a distance, with a curious and speculative regard. Sam could not bring herself to respond the way that she knew she should, after the first few times the teens had managed to penetrate the gaps in the protective bubble provided by the watchful adults around Sam's class. She refused to sink to the level of tears and helplessness. Every successful attack, in fact, seemed to stoke a small fire inside of her, and the puzzled look in Curtis's expression gradually gave way to a more predatory one. Sam was too angry to be frightened.
She chafed at her lack of freedom to strike back at her attackers. Driven by her helplessness, she made Jack drive her to base almost every afternoon, where she spent time with Teal'c, first meditating, and then working out on the mat with a focus that sometimes surprised the large man. While she rarely, if ever, managed to defeat him in single combat, she spent longer periods of time avoiding being mashed into the mat. To Sam, that was progress. Whenever possible, she enlisted the help of the rest of SG-1. Jack often joined in the sessions, two to one. Daniel spent hours with her devising ways to elude the bullies, and recalling clever tactics used to avoid unwanted attention, or perhaps, to gain the attention of protectors. They poured over the maps and blueprints together, outlining exits and escape routes. Sam was determined that a pack of unruly, untrained teenagers would not be able to overcome her so easily again. Her small improvements on the mat and planning sessions with Daniel led to greater confidence in her own ability to perform her part in the mission.
The task of delivering the attendance rosters to the office proved to be her one salvation and freedom. Sam had early on been given the task by her teachers either in an effort to teach her some responsibility, or merely as a gross oversight in judgment on their part. Soon, she began to take liberties with her early morning errand, stalking the halls, alert for any sign of Curtis or his gang lurking around corners. Sam now realized that her newly rekindled level of alertness had been missing from the earlier part of the mission while she'd adjusted to the unfamiliar a role of dependence dictated by her current appearance. Her heightened awareness allowed her to avoid not only Curtis and his band of troublemakers, but the unwanted interference of teachers and staff that might inadvertently interfere with her recon activities.
Persistence finally paid off. She came upon Curtis and Laney, talking quietly in the empty stairwell, no doubt certain they would hear anyone approaching their clandestine meeting. She cautiously drew near, taking care to remain hidden from view, crouching near the railing on the landing below. Her curiosity was immediately perked at the nature of the conversation.
"Well? Have you heard anything?" asked the girl.
"She's coming to the Homecoming Festival," he answered, "And she wants our help in selecting this year's chosen," he added.
"You're kidding," Laney replied in surprise.
"Nope," he answered smugly. "In fact, this calls for a celebration. Let's go find a certain kindergartener, see that she remembers her lessons," he announced, and the two began to head down the stairs.
Her mind reeling with the latest revelations, Sam ducked quietly out of the stairwell and into the nearby girl's lavatory, the door closing just in time. Voices just outside the door made her body go tense.
"We should nominate the little rat," suggested Laney.
"No, she's mine," protested Curtis, his possessive tone causing Sam to shiver involuntarily. Somehow, she knew, if the boy ever got his hands on her again, the time before would seem gentle by comparison.
The voices were fading, and Sam dropped to the floor, ear pressed to a vent on the door to hear the last words.
"I know, but you know that the ones Seshat chooses disappear," pointed out Laney. "It would solve our little problem once and for all. We can't have her telling anyone what happened after all."
"Hm. You may be right; I'll have to think about it. Now, let's talk about what we're going to…" The rest of Curtis' words grew too faint to make out, but Sam had heard enough. Even though she was sure that the two were long gone, she waited inside the bathroom long enough to make doubly sure, and even then, she listened at the vent for any sound of footsteps before cracking the door to peek out into the hall cautiously.
She was well overdue by the time she slipped back into her classroom. She shouldn't have hoped that her extended absence would go unnoticed.
"And where have you been?" demanded Mrs. Guilford immediately, before Sam could even slink to her seat.
"Um, I had to go to the bathroom?" she said, only a half-truth. Mrs. Guilford crossed her arms.
"Whatever am I going to do with you?" she said, sounding rather exasperated. Sam sighed, and took herself to the time out chair without being told, thereby missing the raised eyebrows and startled look exchanged between the teachers.
The day couldn't pass quickly enough for Sam. She was on edge every time the class left the room, on the lookout for Curtis or one of the others. The news she carried was too important to be delayed. Luck was finally with her, in a twisted sort of way. After her behavior that morning, the adults were keeping a close eye on her, and the gang was unable to pull any of its usual tricks. Briefly, Sam wondered if this side effect of increased adult supervision was worth the cost of acting out in class. In any case, she seemed helpless to avoid being a victim of her own mouth and misunderstood actions most of the time, but she'd have to keep it in mind.
It was with much relief that the school day finally ended. As usual, Jack was waiting in his prominent space at the top of the drive. Arms crossed, he was leaning casually against the side of the SUV and scanning the crowd surreptitiously from behind the dark lenses of his sunglasses. After her capture by Curtis and his gang, he'd taken to arriving ridiculously early to get the prime spot. It was his own way of providing backup to Sam should she need it.
Sam wasted little time greeting Jack and climbing in the truck. She was buckling herself in the now familiar booster seat by the time Jack got in the front. She barely waited until he shut the door before she burst out with her news.
"I know when Seshat will be at the school," she announced.
"What?" Jack asked, pausing in the act of fastening his seatbelt to turn about in his seat.
"She'll be here in a week. For the Homecoming Festival," she explained. Because of the size of the school, the usual Homecoming game festivities had been expanded to include an evening of fun and games for all ages, with a carnival like atmosphere. She had a hard time containing her excitement. After all, despite the danger, the mission was nearly over which meant that soon she could be back to her normal self.
Jack watched her a moment, looking at her over the tops of his sunglasses. "We'd better tell Hammond," he said finally, adjusting the glasses and turning forward. Sam nodded, secretly relieved that she was finally contributing something of real value to the mission besides vague hopes and putting to rest the feeling that she was little more than a liability in her current state, particularly given recent events.
Less than an hour later, SG-1 had gathered around the briefing room table. Hammond had some news for them too. The SGC had received a brief message from the Tok'ra. While the information had little impact on SG-1's current mission, it revealed that the Tok'ra had a lead on an off world base and were trying to infiltrate the ranks of the self-proclaimed goddess's followers. As with most Tok'ra communiques, the details were lacking.
Jack rolled his eyes and grumbled "You know they only told us that much because they will probably need us to come pull their snakey a…. uh, butts out of the fire."
Hammond gave him a quelling look. "While I may agree with you Colonel, the Tok'ra are our allies. Further, I need to tell all of you that our mole has missed a scheduled contact, and is now 24 hours overdue."
"24 hours?" Daniel asked, "That could be anything," the young man said, leaning forward in his chair and tapping his pen against his notepad in thought.
"I happen to agree Dr. Jackson, so that is why the Joint Chiefs and I have decided to go on with the mission. Capturing Seshat is our top priority, but I know I don't need to remind you all to proceed with caution." Various nods and murmurs of assent answered the admonition. "The last message we received from our contact inside suggested that Seshat could have as many as a dozen Jaffa," Hammond continued. "People, I cannot stress how important it is that we identify and neutralize as many of Seshat's forces as possible. Furthermore, we are increasingly certain that Seshat arrived here in a ship of some kind, and in the recent past. It goes without saying that we need to find that ship. Major Carter, could you tell us more about this Homecoming festival?"
Sam rose to her knees, and passed out copies a flier for the Homecoming festivities, to take place that coming Friday night. "School lets out midday, sir. There is going to be a carnival, with games and rides, activities for the whole family."
"Sounds crowded," Daniel commented.
"Indeed," added Teal'c. Jack just frowned, but the others could see the man's concerns over the thought of civilian casualties, especially kids.
"Daniel had the blueprints of the school converted to slides, General," Sam added. Hammond nodded permission, and Daniel stood, grabbing the remote off the table and dimmed the lights.
Everyone had different perspectives to contribute, and a plan gradually came together. Soon, they were deciding which available SG teams would fit in best with the operation. With the open nature of the festivities, a certain number of unfamiliar faces were to be expected, but it was prudent to avoid drawing attention to their covert operatives. Hammond approved the teams to carry zats and tranquilizers on the mission but nothing else. Jack agreed, knowing that stealth was their best option, surrounded as they would be by crowds of civilians, many of them children. If it came down to a firefight they were pretty much screwed anyway.
Jack was placed in charge of the covert mission and in bringing the other SG teams up to speed. Teal'c let them know that he had mapped out the dimensions of the underground area that they'd long ago suspected existed from the discrepancy on the blueprints, but as of yet had not discovered an entrance to. He intended to spend the remainder of the time concentrating on finding a way in given the importance of preventing Seshat from escaping and their growing certainty that a ship did exist.
By now, they all suspected that if there were a spaceship, it was probably hidden under the school, and perhaps the source of the EM cloud that interfered with communications. The school maintained that rare mineral deposits caused the interference, but Sam and the SGC science teams suspected something technological. The joint chiefs had expressed interest in obtaining the technology if possible. Such an ability had many practical applications in other situations. Whatever the cause though, the jamming caused endless headaches for pulling off a well-coordinated pinpoint strike with minimal collateral. Despite the knowledge that they wouldn't work, Hammond ordered that all participants in the strike force, including Sam, would wear a blue tooth like radio, in case they managed to neutralize the jamming device.
The meeting broke up, with everyone confident about the role they would play in the upcoming mission. However, General Hammond motioned to Sam to remain behind. "A word, Major," he said.
Sam stopped gathering her things, while the General waited for the others to file out. She watched as he took a seat next to her. "Major," he said, his expression intent. "You know that if needed, we could find a different position for you on the mission? Teal'c can assist to locate Seshat and her Jaffa, and we could use you with the support teams, trying to bring down the EM cloud."
Sam frowned, studying her small hands as she rubbed her palms together slowly. Stilling the motion, she lifted her chin slightly and met the General's concerned gaze. "No sir, I have to finish this mission. It's not just about finding Seshat, or her Jaffa. There is always a chance that Seshat may change her plans, and I am in a position to discover what changes those might be. We still don't have a lot of details either. I can get a lot closer to Curtis and his followers than Teal'c or Daniel without raising suspicion. So far, those kids are the only link we have to Seshat. I have to be there, sir."
The General studied her quietly for a moment and then nodded, seeming to have expected her response. He smiled, reaching across the table and giving her folded hands a gentle squeeze. "Thank you Major. I want you to know I have the utmost confidence in your abilities."
"Thank you sir," Sam answered, flushing slightly at the unexpected praise.
"Good then," Hammond said, rising. Sam stood with him. "Dismissed, Major."
"Yes sir, thank you sir," Sam said, collecting her things.
"Oh, and Major?" Hammond asked. Sam turned, "Sir?"
"Good luck."