CHAPTER 36 – THE MEETING

There was only herself and the pilot. No escort. No witnesses... she thought to herself. No one to see me leave the SGC, no one to prove whether I was here or not... covering their tracks already. I bet there's been no flight plan logged for this helicoptor. And she wondered also, whether the pilot was on their payroll or simply a pilot doing his job.

Resigned to the fact that she was on her own, she lay her head back against the seat. The pilot did not attempt communication of any kind, other than to give her the headphones to put on when she had slid into the craft. Which were a waste of time in her opinion, considering he refused to speak to her.

She must have dozed, although she had no idea how that had come to pass. They had landed outside a small airfield, and pulling the headphones off her head she had rubbed a hand wearily over her eyes and climbed out of the door that had been held open for her. The pilot did not meet her eyes, she felt them slide across her face and landed somewhere west of her shoulder. She gave a mental shrug and peered into the darkening sky. It had been a long flight and she was hungry, but knew that if she attempted to eat, she'd likely throw up. So the empty stomach would stay just that for now.

A car waited on the tarmac. Black lincoln town car with darkened windows. It sat ominously facing the helicoptor and the headlights turned on then, blinding her for a moment until she could shift her gaze and at the same time, a hand clamped around her elbow and moved her toward the waiting vehicle.

Contact had been made.

She was pushed a little roughly into the car and the same man closed the door and went to the driver's side. She smelled cigarette smoke and turning her head, saw a man sitting on the far side of the car, puffing a cigar and looking not at her, but straight ahead.

"So...?" It was an awkward silence. For the past few hours she had had only her own thoughts for company, and now her new bedmate was a large, balding man who puffed incessantly on a cigar. She wondered if she would pass out from lack of food or the smell of the cigar first. Nausea roiled in her stomach and she tried to lower the windows to let in some fresh air, but none of the buttons seemed to work.

"Look... brooding and silent might work in the movies, but I have to put this out there. If you don't put that damn stinking cigar out, I am going to lean over and vomit all over your lap. That is my first promise. Then? If you don't talk to me, I am going to scream so loudly you'll think your eardrums are about to burst. Try ignoring me? That one's a kicker. I'll simply punch you in that fat stomach that looks as though a years worth of sit ups would have little or no effect."

Anger had burned through the haze and she was in full fire. A slow clapping filled the car and the privacy panel in the car was lowered, revealing another man in the front.

"Bravo. I told you we made the right decision with this one, Petrov. She is priceless, is she not? Full of enthusiasm, spark and defiance. All the makings of an excellent journalist. One who'll tell our story just the way we want it told. With a large amount of drama and just the right amount of flare. Now, Petrov. Do as the lady says and put that cigar out. We don't want a mess in the car. Do we, Miss Harmon?"

This man was younger and his eyes held a hint of humour. She found herself responding to it in spite of herself, starved a little for company.

"Thank you. If that means anything to you? It's been a slightly... stressful... day."

"Yes I'm sure it has, and I apologise for that. We'll be at the location shortly and once the meeting has been concluded, you will be required to accompany us to a special... dinner."

"Are you kidding? Look at what I am wearing. I can't go into a restaurant dressed like this." She was panicking. The deal had been she would be escorted back to Atlantis at the conclusion of the meeting, and now dinner? That opened a whole new can of worms.

"Don't worry yourself about semantics. Appropriate garments and footwear have been organised in the correct sizes and there is a stylist standing by who will ensure that you are suitably presentable to meet some of our more... favoured... members."

She sunk down a little in the seat, realising that the rules of the game had just changed. She would have to adjust her game play accordingly and it seemed as though she would get to meet more members of the group than they had originally thought. Unease was an insistent finger down her spine. If they were prepared to show her as much as they seemed about to, then they would go to all lengths to ensure that the information she received was not passed on to the wrong parties.

The car stopped and the driver quickly exited the car to open hers. She stepped out, breathing fresh air once again and took long deep breaths to expell the smell of the cigar, that seemed to cling to her clothing. Her friend from the front seat was at her side immediately, and he took her arm as an old fashioned suitor would do and led her into a back entrance, up a fire escape and it was only a matter of minutes before he was knocking on the door of a nondescript hotel room.

She had tried to look sureptitiously around, to see if she could locate any of the plants that General O'Neill had tried to arrange. The coridoor had been empty and as they hadn't come through the main entrance, Nicole had seen no one. It seemed that they had taken more than adequate security precautions of their own.

The room she stepped into was no different than any other hotel room, other than the fact it was inhabited by two men who sat in chairs alongside the small dining table. One was extremely dark skinned and wore a business suit and the second man was of asian descent. Multi national... how many am I going to meet tonight. What sort of information is going to come to pass?

Her escort pushed her down onto the bed and held out his hand. She looked down at it, not comprehending and when he clicked his fingers impatiently, she realised that he was waiting for the flashdrive.

"But first, you will be searched for weapons and wires. We have a woman here who will do that, to spare you any embarassment. She will also organsise your attire for the dinner that I mentioned. Please go with her while we load this into our computer. It will give us time to go through your work to date, while she prepares you. Once you are ready, we will leave for the dinner. No discussions will occur here in this room."

Her heart sank. Even if the General had managed to get some sort of listening devices in here, they would be useless. It appeared that these people were going to be ahead of them every step of the way.

The woman waited in the adjoining room. She was quiet, but methodical and the thorough search that Nicole had to endure had her cheeks burning in embarassment. It seemed as though they had not managed to spare her that after all. Once happy that Nicole did not possess either a wire or a weapon on any part of her body, the woman held up a very very short sparkling dress, that had so little fabric Nicole wondered how much of her body it would cover. She didn't have long to find out. It stopped at the top of her thighs and dipped so low in the back that she knew she would be constantly worrying whether her underpants would be showing. The front was just as plunging and her hands automatically grabbed for the top to pull it higher, but she found her hands pushed away. It appeared that this was how the dress was meant to be worn. In public.

Dear god... they expect me to walk out of here dressed like this? Are they kidding? I look like some sort of hooker... oh crap. So glad John's not here to see this sight... he'd either laugh or cry. I look ridiculous.

But the woman wasn't finsished. Five inch heels were produced and Nicole groaned in pain when her feet were pushed into them. Oh the pain of it, and she knew that there was no way in hell that she would be able to walk more than a few steps in these towering stilettos of pain. Then came the hair and makeup. She was poked, puffed, sprayed and teased and painted with so much colour that she felt like an artists palette. When she was finally pushed in front of a mirror her eyes widened in shock. It was a stranger staring back at her.

When she walked back into the main room she caught the frank appreciation in the younger man who had escorted her into the building. His eyes ran up and down the length of her fully exposed legs and the look in his eyes made her blood run cold. She hoped she would not have to spend too much time in his company this evening.

"Well... look at that. You did manage to polish up rather nicely. I suspected that may well be the case. Your bone structure is exquisite and when the base ingredients are in place, the rest is just decoration. You, my dear – are simply stunning and will be a most decorative asset to our little dinner tonight."

"Look... whatever your name is. Compliments aside, what the hell am I doing here? My understanding of this meeting was to pass on what I had done to date so that you could authorise me to continue, and to get information on what you intended to do with me once the assignment was finished. Dinner? That wasn't part of the deal."

"That may be Miss Harmon, but you need to eat, I'm sure. And we have a scheduled dinner that will allow you to meet some of the other members of our... group. They are all most anxious to meet you. We have been priveleged to meet some of the members of your family..."

Anger blossomed and her eyes sent out sparks. "My family? Damn it – you stay the hell away from my family! I'm doing what you asked me to do... all of it. You touch my family... even one hair on their body, and I'll bring your little group crashing down to the ground so hard you'll wonder just what hit you. Your deal is with me – leave them the hell out of it!"

The younger man smiled and moved towards her, reaching out a hand to run down her hair. "Such fire, such passion... but misplaced perhaps?" His hand had continued down and now rested at her waist. She shrugged out of his grip, but his hand bit in harder, pinching painfully and she gasped.

"Yes, that's much better. You need to calm down. You'll learn what you need to learn, all in good time. We have our own agenda and we go at our own pace. No more talking in here. It is time to leave for the dinner. You'll be returned to the SGC after the dinner and you will go immediately back to Atlantis. Do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars..." He laughed a little, pleased with his own wit and she looked at him with wide frightened eyes.

He's crazy. Really crazy... as in a real head case. Play along with him Nic – or this guy is gonna hurt you. He's got no conscience, no soul. His eyes are dead... and if you don't play nice? You will be too.