Rating: FR-M (violence)
Spoilers: Abyss, Reckoning pt2, Ex Deus Machina
Summary: Part 9: She was a traitor to her people and to herself. He was not a System Lord for nothing.
Author Notes: Sam/Baal pairing. I took the premise of Ba'al being on Earth from Ex Deus Machina and my muse is responsible for the rest. You have been forewarned about the pairing, too, so do not shout at me! (Hides under bed.)
Disclaimer: All publicly recognisable characters and places are the property of MGM, World Gekko Corp and Double Secret productions. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks was intended. Previously unrecognised characters and places, and this story, are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Dedication: For Sarah, always.
Dichotomy pt9
Copyright (c) September 2006, Ruth
O
He was beyond angry.
Earlier, his jaffa had informed him that Samantha's colleagues had become aware of her absence and his part in it. This left him in a dangerous and even vulnerable position. He knew how resourceful the Tau'ri could be, particularly when defending one of their own, which left him with relatively few options.
Why had he risked everything in the first place? He had known it was foolish, tempting fate, drawing himself closer to Cheyenne Mountain than he had ever dared to tread before; but he could not help himself. There was just something about her. He grimaced as he remembered the events of the previous night. He, they, had been so close. However, at the last minute, her loyalty to her friends and people had outweighed her supposed feelings for him. She had shown her true colours. She had manipulated him, used him, even humiliated him; the incident of the drugs had haunted him almost continuously.
He could not allow this to be finished without some form of retribution. He was a god, after all, moving in far higher circles than the prey that he currently held within four walls. He would triumph, gain exactly what he wanted and needed, because this was what he always did. He was not a System Lord for nothing.
With a resolute and only mildly narcissistic glance in the mirror, he straightened his coat and left his room, every inch of himself exuding power and confidence. He had no reason to be anything less.
O
Sam, in the meantime, was not faring so well.
She had slept badly; for most of the night she was sat against the wall, trying to ignore the myriad of emotion and feeling that exploded inside of her. Her hand throbbed painfully from where she had driven it into the wall. Though the blood was dry, the pain was fresh and oozed from every part of her being.
She was a traitor. She was a traitor to her friends; had actually entertained, and enjoyed the pleasure that could have been gained from his company and his body. She had not only sided with the enemy, she had seduced him. She was only thankful that she had not taken the final step and actually...
Sam put her head in her hands. She was a traitor to herself. She knew in her heart that a part of the aching and the pain was the result of ignoring her needs, her desires. Again. She was two very different halves of the same whole. Sam Carter the soldier and Samantha Carter the civilian. Trying to reconcile the two was proving impossible.
By now the guys had to have realised that she was missing. She was still uncertain as to how long she'd been in Ba'al's custody, but it had to have been a week at least. Even she wasn't that unsociable. The thought comforted a part of her, but infuriated the other. If she went back to the SGC, continued to work, to fight the Goa'uld, she would become the soldier and ignore the parts of herself that had surfaced again in the last week. Her feelings, her needs and desires. All forgotten by soldier Sam.
It was hopeless. Not for the first time in her life, Sam wondered if she might not have been better without it.
O
Jack paced the length of the briefing room, his hands clenching into fists at his side. He then turned around and re-traced his steps, his gaze fixedly on the floor.
"Jack, would you just stop?" Daniel snapped, breaking the silence that had descended on the room and its occupants.
"Stop what, Daniel?" Jack shot back, "Thinking about how we're going to get Sam back? Thinking about what I'm going to do to Ba'al when I get my hands on him?"
"I believe that event would be highly unlikely, O'Neill," Teal'c interjected, "Ba'al is no fool, I am in no doubt that he would prevent you from any such action."
"Yeah? Well, I'm no fool either and neither is Sam. We'll kick his slimy butt and we'll do it properly this time, so he won't bother us again!"
With that, Jack stormed out of the room, leaving his very worried friends behind.
O
"Sleeping late?" A dry sarcasm greeted her as she squinted against the light from the open door.
Before she could come up with a response, a strong hand grabbed her and roughly hauled her to her feet. Unfortunately, his iron grip closed on her injured hand, drawing a cry of pain from her as he slammed her back into the wall. This did not go unnoticed.
"What have you been doing to yourself?" He asked in exasperation, throwing her hand back as casually as if it had been a piece of garbage.
"Funny you should ask that," Sam replied, through gritted teeth. "I'd say much of this was your doing."
"Oh, you would, would you?" He snarled, "Well, my love, as of last night I no longer care what you think! All that matters is what I think, what I want!"
Blue eyes cold and full of hatred greeted him, which made him laugh.
"Yes," he purred, "Those are the eyes I know."
He stroked his thumb across her chin, caressing the soft skin there, before he forced his lips onto hers. She struggled very little, he was pleased to find, though he suspected it was more due to her exhaustion than any sort of desire.
"You have no idea what you have so foolishly rejected. But you will begin to see, and with that regret, the mistake you have made."
"Sounds like a threat," she said, glaring at him defiantly.
"No, my love," he said smoothly, "It is a promise, one that I will enjoy the fulfilment of."
"I bet you will," she shot back.
"You know the pain I am capable of causing you," he said, incredulous, "Why do you insist on such insolence?"
"The pain you are capable of causing me is nothing compared to what I do to myself," she replied sadly, looking him straight in the eye, "And that's no lie."
For a second, he found himself drawn back, enticed by the tortured soul that seemed to reside in such a strong warrior's body. He longed to immerse himself in the depths of those deep blue eyes, to ease the longing of his own heart and find one that would share in his isolation. To find a mate.
However, he had been tricked by this before, and was no longer convinced.
"I would not be so sure of that," he warned, pulling her away from the wall and throwing her into the grip of the waiting jaffa.
"You know where to take her," he said coldly, watching as she was taken from the room, choosing to ignore the sudden twisting in his chest.
O
"So, basically, we have no way of knowing where Sam is."
"That's more or less what I'm saying, son. There's no footage from the front of O'Malleys, so we have no idea what vehicle he may have escaped in. Even if we did, it's more than likely that he has changed it."
"That's assuming that we're even talking about Earth, here," Daniel added, "What's to keep him here if it's Sam that he wants?"
"But is it?" Jack asked, "Or is he just using her to draw us out? I still can't understand what he would want with Sam - his beef is with me, not her."
Daniel nodded in agreement.
"However, that is also an assumption, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, "For all that we are aware, Ba'al may well have his own issues with Samantha Carter. Who are we to think that we know his mind?"
"But he's hardly ever met her!" Jack shouted, "Okay, once, but surely she didn't do anything in that amount of time to piss him off; even I couldn't manage that!"
"Of this we cannot be sure," Teal'c said, clasping his hands in front of him, deep in thought. He too was puzzled by Ba'al's choice of captive, O'Neill was the logical one, himself or Daniel Jackson the next so. However, he was also certain that Ba'al would not have risked exposing himself for no good reason; there was some connection here that they were missing, and they needed to find out what it was.
O
Maybe he had been right.
She'd forgotten quite how spiteful the Goa'uld pain sticks were.
"Why...are you doing this?" She gasped, drawing painful gulps of air into her lungs. "You know... you don't have to. I won't... please!"
He ignored her, his face set in grim determination until her cries had ceased. Only then did he bring himself to look at what he had done. The stick fell from his trembling hand to the floor. He didn't bother to pick it up, only closed his eyes against the onslaught of an emotion he was only just beginning to understand.
Grief.
O
To Be Continued...
O
Author's Note: My humblest apologies for the delay. Hope you enjoyed the chapter, can't believe we're almost into double figures! Please feel free to leave a comment, I reply to all reviews and love receiving them. See you next chapter!
