A/N's: thanks, for all your rev's and comments again, you make my day. One of you mentioned to have expected a bigger role in the rescue for Sam. Please, remember, she does have a big role. Colonel Bayfield is going into enemy territory with two fellow warriors, a civilian and a doctor. So his first priority will always be keep the civilian and doctor safe. Second on his list is saving Jack. That's how it is, and he needs to act upon that, Jack is never going to forgive him if he did otherwise. He NEEDS Sam, to do her job, and as much as we might want her to join the rescue at this very moment, she had a very difficult job to do, keep her emotions in check and protect the civilian and the doctor. Think about it, it is probably the hardest job at that moment...
Okay... on with the rescue...
The two men approached the minefield from east of the camp. For two hours Colonel Bayfield studied how the guards made their rounds on the roof. By then, Bayfield knew how much time he had between each rotation to find the entrance of the lane through the minefield before he had to get back into hiding.
He left Teal'c to watch his back and crawled forward, just as the guard left the roof after another round. Bayfield used his knife to probe the ground around him; using the same technique Jack had used in clearing the field. Inch by inch, to the front and an arm-length to his left and right side, he searched for unidentified obstacles; mines, booby-traps or hidden markers.
He knew he had less than thirty minutes; that he had to be back with Teal'c to prevent himself from being discovered. Yet he forced himself to take every precaution, to avoid making a mistake now that he was so close. He was a hundred percent sure that O'Neill had marked another path, it was just a matter of time before he found it.
After twenty minutes of searching, without luck, he crawled cautiously backwards, until he reached safer ground and got back to his feet. His muscles were trembling from the awkward position he'd been in as he dropped to his knees behind the rocks where Teal'c was waiting.
"No luck yet," he whispered to the dark man. "I'll try again after the guard's next round." He desperately hoped he would find what he was looking for before dusk, so they could make their move under the protective cover of darkness.
Sam followed the two departing men with her eyes, the words of Colonel Bayfield running through her mind. What if something went wrong, and she had to leave... When did she have to move to the second meeting point? How could she leave them behind? She had to, she was ordered to do so. Besides, she knew Colonel O'Neill wouldn't want her to risk any more lives; hadn't that been the reason why he'd gone all by himself in the first place?
Decisions, decisions.
The tough ones made her realize being commander of a team wasn't as appealing as it sometimes seemed.
This, to her, qualified as a tough one. To keep two men safe she had to leave four behind.
'Get a hold on yourself, Sam,' she told herself. There were people counting on her to make the right decision. No matter how hard it was. Besides, maybe it wouldn't come to that. Maybe they would make it back here safely.
She turned around and took in the grim faces that were staring at her and she realized Daniel and Janet were having a hard time with the whole situation as well.
"Okay, now we wait," she said, breaking the silence. "Janet, I want you to take the opportunity to rest. Daniel, you keep watch on that side, I'll cover this side."
Janet silently placed her hand on Sam's shoulder, squeezing it slightly. "Let's hope they'll be okay, Sam," she said softly, before she lay down on the most comfortable spot she could find and closed her eyes.
It was on his third try that Bayfield silently cried out with joy. He found one of the two entrance markers, carefully hidden underneath a small stone. 'Way to go, Jack,' he murmured. Now he only had to find the second entrance marker and he had his way in.
About fifteen minutes later, both men positioned themselves on their bellies on the edge of the minefield and were able to overlook the whole camp below them.
"Colonel Bayfield," Teal'c whispered, his eyes catching something close by. He pointed at a piece of rope, neatly hidden from the guards, which would allow them to climb down. The end of the rope was discretely hanging down the wall, so it could be grabbed from below as well.
"O'Neill never does a job half, now does he?" Bayfield smiled softly. "I'd say we get down and hide in the alley behind that building," he pointed out. "Then we'll decide what to do next."
Teal'c lowered himself down and Bayfield followed shortly after, carefully hiding the rope again before joining Teal'c in the alley. The two men discussed their options.
"According to O'Neill, they hold prisoners in this building there, in the corner, or in the dungeons below the first part of that larger building," Bayfield said softly.
Teal'c scanned the area, recognizing the structures from the blue print Bayfield had shown them earlier. "It will be difficult to enter that building," he said.
Bayfield agreed. "Let's check this one out first. I don't think they'll be in here, but I want to make sure. Maybe we can take advantage of the dark later on. Ssshh, the guards are on the roof..."
Both men waited patiently for the guards to make another round, then Teal'c got up. "I shall return shortly."
Bayfield watched as the Jaffa carefully made his way to the small square building where O'Neill had freed the three men one week earlier.
Teal'c made his round around it, then, when it was safe, quickly opened the door by sliding away the three locks and checked the inside. Closing the door behind him, he carefully made his way back and soon knelt down next to Bayfield. "There is no-one inside, Colonel Bayfield."
Bayfield nodded, having expected that. "Let's get to the front edge of the camp, through that alley," he decided, and led the way through the alley between the mountain walls and the camp's headquarters, the largest and highest building in the compound.
They about nearly reached the front part, almost able to see the watchtowers and barracks located near the entrance, when Colonel Bayfield suddenly called a halt. He'd heard some movement just outside the building and didn't want to get too close. On his stomach, he crawled forward, staying low, keeping Teal'c behind him as he peered around the corner.
He had to stifle a sharp inhale of breath as he saw what was happening in front of him. Two guards were dragging a familiar and obviously dead body out in the open. The men were carrying spades with them and started digging.
Damn, damn, damn.
Too shocked to act, Colonel Bayfield watched, with sorrow in his heart as one of his men, a good man, was buried in the desert, in a hostile country. A single tear rolled down his cheek and he couldn't even move to wipe it away. He couldn't do anything but watch, and realized that with that simple act, he gave Marc Crook his final respects. There was absolutely no way he could even take the body home with him, returning it to Marc's loving family, giving him the honorable and respectable burial he so deserved.
The guards laughed, their dirty job done, and Bayfield was still unable to move. He followed them with his hate-filled eyes, unable to remain undetached for the moment. The guards headed for the middle of the square and then one of them bent forward and lifted something. His attention fully aroused, Bayfield grabbed his binoculars to get a better view. Despite the fact that it was getting darker he watched as one of the guards lifted a head out of the pit while the other forced some water into the mouth of the person who was in there.
Oh, God.
That must be O'Neill.
He threw one last look at the guards and saw them closing the lid. Finally, Colonel Bayfield moved. He crawled back over to Teal'c and sat up, his hands shaking badly from what he'd just witnessed.
Teal'c threw a worried frown at the Special Forces' Colonel; this was the first time the Jaffa had witnessed any sign of weakness in Bayfield's appearance. "Colonel Bayfield, are you all right?" the Jaffa asked, keeping his voice low.
"Give me a minute..." even Bayfield's voice sounded shaken, but the Colonel fought hard to get his emotions back under control. He had a mission to concentrate on, dammit. There was still one man alive.
"Major Crook is dead. I just saw two guards burying his body," he managed to say, pressing the palm of his hands heavily against his eyes. "Colonel O'Neill is still alive, I think. They are holding him in some sort of hole in the ground, in the middle of the camp's square."
Teal'c showed no emotion, his face as stoic as ever and the Colonel, who didn't know the Jaffa as the members of SG-1 did, had no means of knowing whether the news affected the man at all. "Then it will be difficult to retrieve O'Neill without being seen," Teal'c concluded, practical as he was, keeping focused on the task at hand.
Bayfield shook off the shock, and decided quickly. "We're going to get him out nevertheless," he said grimly. "You stay here. I'm going back through the alley. I'll place bundles of C-4 along the way. I'm going to make my way all over to the other side, near the radar installation. There are some vehicles parked there. When the stuff blows, you run to the center and get O'Neill. I'll pick you up with one of the vehicles and we'll leave through the front gate."
Teal'c nodded approvingly. "I will also place some C-4 here to blow up the barracks and the entrance of this building," he added his own addition to the plan.
"All right. Give me forty minutes. Ready?" Bayfield, glad he could set his mind on some action, saluted briefly at the dark man and then moved backward through the alley.
Teal'c, meanwhile, took out a couple of package of explosives, setting the timer and waited, while he tried to think of a way to avoid being shot by the guards on the two watch towers. Hopefully he would remain out of their range. When he deemed it was safe, he peered around the corner to overlook the square for himself, determining where he had to go. His sharp eyes soon found the wooden lid in the center, and his face turned grim as anger flared through his veins.
The watchtowers weren't going to be a direct problem. He could reach O'Neill while staying out of shooting range. It was the way Colonel Bayfield planned to leave the camp that worried him, driving through the front gate. Maybe the Special Forces' man had something in mind to get safely through, he thought.
Colonel Bayfield didn't waste any time. Precisely forty minutes after he'd left Teal'c in the alley, the first explosives set the back of the camp on fire, huge pieces of debris and parts of buildings flying into the air. The explosives also triggered some of the mines close to the edge on the mountain walls, illuminating the sky and scaring off the Elite Forces, who had a hard time figuring out what was happening.
Next, the radar installation exploded, creating more confusion all around the soldiers that came running outside, desperately attempting to avoid being struck by the debris that was flying all around the place.
Teal'c had already placed his packages of C-4, one at the back of the barracks and one directly next to the front door of the camp's headquarters. Now, with his gun ready to take out anyone that would step in his way, he ran to the center of the camp. The Tyberian soldiers were too confused to notice him, blinded as they were by the dust and smoke as the flames were now quickly burning down anything that was left.
The Jaffa dropped on his knees next to the place O'Neill was kept prisoner and simply took the lid and threw it away with a wide toss. "O'Neill," he urged, lifting the weakened man out of the hole. "It is time to leave."
"Charlie?" was the only sound his CO made, his voice hoarse from dehydration and his eyes wide in confusion.
"No, it is I, Teal'c," the Jaffa said, concerned about the condition of his friend. He hauled the man to his feet, draping O'Neill's arm over his shoulder and placed his own arm securely around the Colonel's waist for additional support. "Can you walk?"
"Of course," O'Neill cracked, although his knees buckled as soon as he tried and Teal'c half-carried him, half-dragged him, into the direction of where Colonel Bayfield was supposed to come from.
The Colonel was there, suddenly, in one of the Elite Force's trucks, without having turned on the headlights. Another loud explosion followed his appearance, as the last bunch of C-4 took out the remaining vehicles.
"Get in the back!" Bayfield hollered; his P70 aimed at the watchtowers.
Teal'c quickly lifted O'Neill into the back, the injured man's instincts kicking in as he helped as much as he could, by climbing by himself and crawling further onto the truck, before collapsing in a heap on the floor. Teal'c jumped in, too, and Colonel Bayfield hit the pedals, heading towards the fences.
Major Carter sat silently, overlooking her part of the area, lost in her thoughts. Questions ran through her head, like what had become of her CO, where were Colonel Bayfield and Teal'c right now, would they succeed and would they all make it out alive?
She wondered whether Daniel was thinking the same thing at the moment, and briefly looked over her shoulder to see how he was doing.
He seemed to feel her stare as he turned around, giving her an encouraging smile, although she could see right through him; and knew he was deeply concerned as well.
Colonel Bayfield and Teal'c had been away for almost three hours now and it was getting darker. Realizing the dark could be the distraction Bayfield needed, she knew she had to be patient, but her muscles were tensed, her senses running on overload as she expected something to happen any minute.
Or she hoped it would.
It would at least make for an end to the waiting, the not knowing, and the suspense.
She hated the waiting, not being able to do anything useful and not having anything to set her mind on. It just didn't match her personality. She needed to think, to understand, to solve, and to create. Damn, but she wasn't doing any of it right now.
She was worrying.
Her prayers were being answered. The sound of the loud explosions, blowing up the closest part of Camp Ockeloen, made it all the way to where the three Americans were waiting.
Janet woke up, startled by the noise and quickly joined Sam, looking at the horizon. The explosions set the sky on fire, telling them that whatever blew, it blew up good.
"I hope Colonel Bayfield is the cause of that," Daniel whispered to them.
"But why would he do that?" wondered Janet.
"Maybe because there was no way to get our men out without being seen," opted Sam, frowning. "Or because they were about to get caught and this was their distraction for an escape."
"So, we can expect them here soon?" Daniel's voice sounded hopeful.
"I don't know. They might be, and if they are, we should be prepared to bug out in a hurry. If the troops are in hot pursuit..." Sam thought aloud. "Get your stuff ready, Janet. Daniel, are you set to leave immediately if needed?"
Daniel nodded, checking the straps of his pack. "Anytime, Sam," he answered.
"Good. Keep your eyes open on our six. I don't want any surprises."
Yes! I did it! He's out of this hell hole!
See you guys on Friday...