Just a short one tonight! Getting near the end - hope you enjoy and feedback GREATLY appreciated.
They drove steadily, hoping to reach Washington while it was still light out. Jack had said very little again and they knew he was dealing with what he'd seen in the video. His anger was palpable, and even Abell knew enough to keep quiet.
When they arrived they booked themselves into a motel in Arlington. They contacted General Hammond and told him they had the proof they needed and to warn the President. Jack wanted to face Samuels, but then he'd let the Air Force take over.
Sam was worried. She knew what Samuels was like and was very afraid he was going to get out of this one. He must have known it was possible that the tape would be found. He had to have a back up. She'd tried to talk to the Colonel about it but he'd shrugged her off. "It's okay Major", he'd said, "I have everything under control.
She'd told the others of her worriesand both Daniel and Teal'c had agreed. "Do not worry Major Carter. I will make sure he does not get away."
While that made her feel slightly better, she knew that once Samuels was out of their presence there wasn't much Teal'c could do. In fact, she was pretty sure that he'd arrange for Teal'c to 'disappear' if he thought he was a threat.
Oh well, there was nothing else they could do now. She might as well just rest, for tomorrow was going to be a busy day.
They heard from Hammond later that night. "He'll be in his office at 9:00 am tomorrow Jack. I can give you 15 minutes with him. Watch your back!"
"I will Sir, and thank you." Jack slowly hung up the phone and stared at it. Without saying anything he stood up. "I'm going for a walk."
Before Sam had a chance to say anything he turned to her and smiled. "Alone this time Carter, but thank you."
She watched him leave, even more worried than she'd been before.
He returned almost an hour later, and seemed a bit more relaxed. He even joked around a bit with them, although he refused to look at or speak to Abell. They were going to take him with them, but they were planning on leaving him in the van, with Teal'c. Once Samuels had been arrested they'd turn him over to the Air Force as well.
They rode over in silence the next day. When they arrived at the office building where Samuel's office was located, Jack got out and started walking. Daniel and Sam followed closely.
Jack stopped. "I'm going in alone", he announced.
"I'm sorry Sir", Sam started to say, but Daniel interrupted.
"No you're not Jack. We're both going with you so don't bother trying to stop us."
"I could order you to stay", he said softly. He could see Sam bite her lip, but she didn't' back down.
"Then you'll have to charge me Sir, because I am going with you and so is Daniel."
He sighed, but then smiled slightly. "Okay", he said and turned and started to walk.
Sam and Daniel looked at each other in surprise, wondering at how easy that had been. Daniel finally shrugged and followed the Colonel.
They arrived at Samuel's office and Jack didn't even bother to stop when the man's secretary started screeching at them. It was Daniel who finally turned and nicely told her to 'sit down and shut up'. Sam raised her eyebrows, rarely having heard Daniel speak like that. She nodded to the stunned woman and followed the men.
"Samuels", Jack said as he walked in and faced the man who had been responsible for his torture and confinement.
"O'Neill. I'd say it was a surprise, but it's not. I've been expecting you."
"Really?" Jack said. "Good, then you'll know this is the end."
"The end? That sounds rather melodramatic. The end of what?"
"The end of your corruption and treason. We have it all on tape you know. There's no way you can get away with what you did."
"Did? What did I do? I was part of a sting operation, that's all. We've been trying to track down traitors for months and it looks like we found them. Did you really think I was behind this whole thing? Sorry – I was looking for Abell and his buddy – and I guess we found them."
"Yeah – you killed Gerry before he could talk, but we have Abell and he's ready to give you up. He's already given us the video."
"I hope you didn't bring it with you", Samuels said with a worried frown. "I'm afraid my office has special equipment that destroys any kind of electronic memory card or video. Can't be too careful you know."
Sam looked surprised and glanced at Colonel O'Neill. She was even more surprised when she saw his expression. He almost looked sick.
"I don't believe you", he said to Samuels.
"I'm afraid it's true O'Neill – so if you have it with you – I'm sorry, it's really no good."
Jack took out the memory stick from his pocket and looked at it, anger in his face. Daniel too looked confused and glanced at Sam who shrugged slightly. O'Neill knew that she had made and sent numerous copies. Even if what Samuels said was true, it wouldn't matter. For some reason Jack was playing with the man.
Just then Samuel's phone rang. "If you'll excuse me", he said. He picked up the phone and listened. With a small smile he said, 'thank you' and hung up.
"I'm so sorry", he said. "I'm afraid there was a shooting outside and a known fugitive by the name of Abell was killed. You're friend – Teal'c is it – was injured but they said he'll be okay. I'm really sorry. I guess you were hoping that he'd help convict me. I'm afraid he's no use to you anymore."
Damn, they should have known! The man was evil, and smart! Neither Daniel nor Sam could feel much sympathy for Abell, but it looked like Samuels was working hard to get out of what he'd done.
"It won't matter Samuels. We still have you." Jack said.
"No you don't O'Neill. I've always been one step ahead of you. You see, even if you do have other copies of the film, I have friends in high places. They're going to make darn sure nothing happens to me. If I go down, so do they, so they have a vested interest in keeping me safe."
"I – see", Jack said slowly. "You know Samuels, I've known for a long time that you're a slimy bastard and a traitor. I swore, from the moment you came into that place and helped torture me, that I'd get you one day. But I also knew you were pretty smart and that you'd be sure to cover your ass. You think you've surprised me with any of this? I don't care about Abell – frankly, I'm glad he's gone. He was one sick bastard too. As for the video – well yes, I have other copies – lots in fact. You don't think we'd be stupid enough to simply have one do you? Oh, and one more thing" he said, to a suddenly worried looking Samuels, "you have friends in high places – but I have friends in much higher places than you do!"
Jack grinned and looked up. "Okay Thor, do your stuff!" Without further ado there was a flash of light and all four people were neatly transported from Samuel's office to a new location.
It took Daniel and Sam a few moments to realize that they were standing in the Oval Office, in front of the President of the United States. Over to the side were more bodies. Daniel turned and had to laugh. Boy, Jack was right when he'd said he had friends in high places!
"Samuels, I think you know the President?" Jack said. Hayes nodded to the very frightened looking Samuels. "You also know Senator Kinsey and Colonel Simmons as well as General Hammond?" The man looked a bit more hopeful when he saw his erstwhile conspirators, but his face fell when they refused to look him in the eye. He completely ignored Hammond.
"I don't think you know the rest of these folks however. I'd like to introduce you to Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgaard Fleet, Lya and Antaeus, official representatives of the Nox; Master Bra'tac, official representative of the Free Jaffa, Jacob Carter and Selmac, from the Tokra Council, and Mr. Narim from the Tollan."
Samuels had heard of all of them, but had never met any but Jacob Carter. He began to sweat, unsure of what was happening, but knowing it was bad.
President Hayes started to speak. "It came to our attention, some time ago, that there was a conspiracy to try and obtain information from Colonel O'Neill;, information that was supposedly downloaded into his mind from an Ancient Library. You arranged to have him kidnapped and tortured, Colonel Samuels, and then arranged to have the men who had helped you murdered. I've seen the tape and it's clear you were involved."
Samuels went to speak and turned towards Kinsey, hoping to have the Senator speak in his defense. Kinsey looked away. "I can see I'm being hung out to dry", he said. "It wasn't only me, you know. They were in on it too." He gestured towards his co-conspirators who instantly began to deny their involvement.
"Enough" the President said calmly. "The reason I've brought you here is because we received the delegation in front of you. These – people – represent all the races that are allied with earth. They came on behalf of all their people to indicate that Jack O'Neill is considered extremely important to the fate of the entire galaxy."
Everyone, including Daniel, Sam and Jack himself, looked up in surprise. Jack began to look very uncomfortable.
"Jacob, maybe you would be so kind as to explain why you are here?"
"Certainly Mr. President", he said calmly. "We all believe, as you have said, that O'Neill is important, not only to the fate of the earth, but to all of our peoples. Although none of us would ever interfere with the sovereignty of earth, we did need to make it clear that we hold his safety of the utmost importance. None of our peoples could continue to ally ourselves with a race that didn't ensure the safety of one who was so important to all of us – and to also ensure that justice was meted out to those responsible for harming him."
"Thank you Jacob", the President said, "and to all of you. I appreciate your presence and I assure you that we will look after Colonel O'Neill carefully. Unfortunately, it may be somewhat difficult for us to ensure that all those who are guilty are punished. We hold sacred the law that says we must prove guilt before we punish and in this case, that may be hard to do. Therefore, I have come up with what I believe will be an acceptable solution." He turned to the three he knew were guilty. "As far as Colonel Samuels in concerned, there is absolute proof of his involvement and he will be tried and punished accordingly."
Hayes looked contemptuously at the man in front of him. "You will be tried as a traitor and convicted", he said. "At the least I hope you rot in jail – my preference is to have you shot! As for you two", he faced Kinsey and Simmons, "we all know you were behind this, but that you've covered your tracks too well for us to touch you. So, I've decided that a time away from earth will do you both good. I've arranged for you to go on a mission as representatives of earth. Jacob here tells me there are some undercover missions where the Tokra could use a couple of people. Sadly they are quite dangerous but I'm sure you'll be very careful. You'll be going with him immediately."
"We have rights and there's no way we'll agree to this", Simmons said angrily. "You can't get away with this Henry!"
Simmons disappeared in another flash of light. "Oh yes I can", murmured the President. "Thank you Thor."
"You are welcome President Hayes. We will ensure he is on the mission for a very long time."
Kinsey was practically blubbering by this time. "Okay – I'll confess – I was involved, but I never agreed to torture. I simply wanted them to hold him until he told us what he knew. The torture was Simmon's idea – Simmons and Samuels."
"Kinsey you fool", shouted Samuels. "Just shut up!"
But the Senator couldn't shut up and was soon giving them more than enough information to hang them all. It was only when Simmons was 'beamed' back in that he realized he'd been had. He was spitting mad by that time, but it was too late. They had all they needed.
After the men were taken away, Jack sat down, exhausted by everything that had happened. After a few minutes he stood up again and managed to thank all his 'friends' for their support. He was quite overwhelmed, in fact, and stood talking quietly with Lya and Antaeus for quite a while. Their presence was always relaxing.
He also thanked the President, who grinned. "You know what you can do now Jack, don't you?" The Colonel grimaced but nodded.
"I'll think about it Sir", he said, although he didn't promise anything.
Finally all the aliens left, transported out by Thor. Jack, accompanied by Hammond, Carter and Daniel slowly walked out of the White House. They were surprised, and pleased, to see Teal'c waiting for them, his arm in a sling but otherwise looking well.
"Teal'c buddy – you okay?"
"Indeed I am O'Neill, although I regret to inform you that I did not do my duty. Abell was killed while in my custody."
"That's okay", Jack slapped him on the back. "He's probably better off that way anyway." Jack looked around, the moment they left the grounds, and took a deep breath. With a smile he turned to his friends. "Anyone feel like a beer?"
They all smiled and started walking. Maybe things would soon be back to normal.
Jack was the only one who knew things would never be the same.