Sticks and Stones - Chapter 40 - by Emma Nisbet (grnfield)
Osiris watched with glee as the air vent clattered to the floor to be replaced by a large pair of booted feet. The boots were followed by a pair of olive green legs and eventually by the rest of Lou Ferretti.
As he dropped to the floor Lou scowled at the System Lord before turning back to the hole in the ceiling and helping Sam down into the room.
Osiris's eyes were drawn upwards as Sam's blonde head emerged from the now-destroyed air vent. Once the young woman was on the ground, she composed herself and turned to face the Goa'uld. The knowledge that she was one of the four people that Osiris desired most dearly didn't fill her with confidence, all she could hope for at present was that Osiris would keep them alive until the SGC could mount a rescue. There was no way Jack would to let her go without a fight - probably to the death - and in the back of her mind Sam wondered if Osiris truly realised what he had let himself in for.
The Goa'uld's eyes flashed as Sam turned to face him. "Well, well, Samantha Carter. What a lovely surprise. When I sensed a weak presence above me earlier I had assumed that these two Tau'ri…" Osiris paused and waved a hand in the general direction of Mickey Davies who was huddled on the floor next to the broken body of Jimmy Sands. "…I assumed they had enlisted the help of one of the Tok'ra." Osiris spat the last word out with distain as if the mere mention of the enemy of the Goa'uld left a sour taste in his mouth.
"Little could I have known that one of the infamous SG-1 was onboard my vessel and indeed watching my every move. Samantha, I am disappointed that you did not wish to help your friends. There is no way that you could not have heard me requesting an audience with SG-1 and yet you let this pathetic toy soldier lie to me. You let him lie to the great God Osiris."
Sam opened her mouth to speak but Osiris immediately raised his ribbon-device-clad hand to silence her. Sam wisely closed her mouth before the device was activated.
"No, Samantha. You will not interrupt your God. Now, as I was saying, this Tau'ri…" Osiris turned and non-to-delicately used his foot to push Sands onto his back. Once the man was lying in a supine position his name - stitched into his jacket - came clearly into view. This is obviously what Osiris was looking for as he immediately turned back towards Sam and Lou.
"This…Sands - as you obviously know him - felt that he could insult me by lying about the very existence of SG-1. And then this one…" Osiris turned and glared at Davies, who visibly shrank back, placing himself behind the body of his fallen comrade. "…also attempted to feed me the same lies. What foolish mockery are you training your people now? Do you not realise that lying to your God is a sure-fire path to damnation? To lie about the very existence of our long-fought enemy to insinuate that we Gods are the ones who are lying. We have been fighting with the Tau'ri for many years and SG-1 more than any of you. Samantha, just the fact that you are standing before me proves that what I am saying is true. So…just what do you have to say about that?"
Sam just stood there, in front of Osiris, not really knowing how to answer. She knew that Sands and Davies had been telling the truth and didn't want to rile the obviously unstable System Lord any more than she had to.
"Come, Samantha, speak to me. Do not keep your God waiting." Osiris gracefully stepped over Jimmy Sand's body and crouched beside Mickey Davies. The young man watched the false God's every move but was still shocked when the delicate hand of Sarah Gardner clutched his hair and held his head firmly so he couldn't move.
Sam squeaked as Osiris bent Mickey's head towards them and Lou automatically took a step forward to shield her from the view.
Osiris let out a laugh laced with pure evil. "You Tau'ri are most amusing. Just how do you think you can protect Samantha Carter? With your body? I would think that by now you would realise there is no protection to be had by that. I am still waiting for a reply from you, Samantha Carter. Are you trying to provoke me? Where are the rest of SG-1 and why did these two insist on telling me that such a team does not exist?"
Sam put her hand on Lou's back as she stepped out from behind him, partially to ground herself and partially to let the feisty Italian know she wasn't about to do anything stupid. She moved slowly to his side but then stopped and made no move towards the System Lord and the frightened face of Mickey Davies.
"Well…?" drawled Osiris. "What do you have to say for yourself?"
Sam glanced questioningly towards Ferretti who nodded briefly in reply.
She bravely pulled herself straight and locked eyes with the imposing figure of Osiris. "W…w…what they were…were saying…wa…wa…" She stopped, too aware of what the System Lord would do to Mickey if she didn't like what Sam had to say.
"Go on, Samantha." Osiris warned, pulling Mickey's head back further and running the tips of the hand device gently down his throat and over his adam's apple. "Tell me what I want to know, or this one's life will become much less pleasant."
Sam could hear Mickey's breaths increase in speed as the young man panicked for his life once again.
She looked pleadingly at Osiris. "Please, please let him go. Take me instead, if you want. Just…please let him go."
"Sam," came Ferretti's urgent whisper from her side. "What the hell are you doin'?"
Sam turned briefly to him, "It'll be OK, Lou. Trust me." Sam only hoped that she was right and that as Osiris hadn't immediately killed her when she left the vent, and had announced that he wanted SG-1, that she may be safe - at least for a while. Turning back to the System Lord she spoke again, "Osiris, please. Being the benevolent God that you are, please grant this young man his life."
Sam watched as a Osiris thought this through. Slowly the false God released the quivering Mickey Davies and gracefully stood up to his full height. Mickey dropped to the floor and immediately scooted as far away from Osiris as he could. When he found himself at the feet of one of the huge Jaffa warriors he shuddered, then curled into a ball and lay still.
Sam breathed a shallow sigh of relief when she saw that Mickey was temporarily out of Osiris's hands. Her breath caught in her throat however when she realised that Osiris's full attention was now on her.
The System Lord stalked over to Sam and placed his middle, gold-tipped finger under her chin, lifting Sam's head up so they were eye to eye. "There, there, Samantha. I have done as you asked. The young man is safe… for now. And, if you cooperate, then he will stay that way. Agreed?"
"A…agreed." Sam replied, quietly.
"Sam," Lou hissed again.
"You…you will remain silent." Osiris directed this towards Lou. "Or things could become…unpleasant." With this comment Osiris dug the tip of the hand device deeper into the soft area under Sam's chin, allowing a small trickle of blood to run down her neck and soak into the top of her T-shirt.
On hearing Sam's sharp intake of breath at the sudden pain Lou backed away slightly. "Silent…right, OK."
Osiris laughed again. "Tau'ri…loyal until the end." Turning back to Sam, he said, "Now, Samantha, I believe you wished to speak to me."
Sam cast wild eyes around the room before Osiris firmly directed those wary blue eyes back towards the deep brown ones of Sarah Gardner. "Samantha, there is no need to be afraid. If you tell me what I want to know I shall not harm you or your friends. Need I remind you that defiance will be punished, whereas compliance will be rewarded."
Unable to stop himself, Lou snorted at this. Osiris flashed a glare at him and he immediately dropped his eyes to the floor and mumbled an apology.
"That's better." Osiris announced. Turning back to Sam the delicately sculpted eyebrows of Sarah Gardner raised in question.
"I…I can only tell you the truth." Sam said, falteringly.
"That, my dear Samantha, is all I am asking of you." Osiris replied, as he began stroking Sam's chin with the index finger of his gold-encased hand. Running the finger again, and again through the small trail of blood running down the young woman's neck Sam realised a feral look had appeared in those chocolate brown eyes.
"They…the others…they were telling you the truth. SG-1…SG-1…There is no SG-1 any more." Sam said, her words getting quieter as she went on. "There hasn't been for the best part of a year."