Legs numb and vision blurred, Sam rushed out of the bathroom into the main hall of the station; the vaulted ceiling and shiny wood accents swimming in front of her eyes as she covered her mouth, a hard sob racking her body.
She could still hear him…begging her not to leave, screaming her name. The wounded look in his eyes when he realized she had allowed those men to cuff him…hurt him.
It may as well have been her knee pressing into his back, her hand shoving his face into the floor.
He would never forgive her.
She stumbled to a stop as gulps of air filtered through her fingers, the overwhelming guilt casting her limbs in lead. No, she couldn't leave him like that. There had to be another way. Something she hadn't thought of.
As she turned, a vise-like grip on her upper arm spun her back and jerked her forward. The creepy boss-man quickly tethered her to his side as he steered her towards a set of double doors, forcing her strides to match his own. "Snap out of it Major and keep those feet moving or I will drag you."
Her head lolled to her shoulder with the sudden movement, the sound of her rank pulling her out of the daze long enough to gain some awareness and glance around.
Only then noticing at least eight more men blocking exits; at least five of them wearing bright yellow Hazmat suits. The deeper recesses of her mind connected the dots. A chemical spill ruse to keep prying eyes averted? And yet another opulent display of the unlimited resources and influence Knight seemed to have at his disposal.
The back door of the SUV was opened for her as she approached, and she got in without a word, sliding across the black leather bench seat on auto pilot. Her head was pounding in time with the throb of her aching chest; the anger and despair taking purchase in the pit of her stomach as she turned her head to stare vacantly out of the window.
The bench seat shifted as he settled in beside her. "To the plane, quickly."
The car took off like a shot, catapulting her back into the seat as her body swayed violently with the first sharp turn. Sam grabbed for the handle and winced, gritting her teeth against the blinding pain behind her eyes, pushing away the rising nausea.
She had a concussion; she was sure of it. Hell, she'd had so many over the years, she was practically an expert.
The cold was new though. She thought back to her time on the Prometheus. Had she been cold then too?
When she felt the roadway straighten, she let go of the handle and folded her arms around herself, the neckline of her sweaty t-shirt grazing her skin as she buried her chin for warmth.
She just had to think. Had to figure out how to stall after the email. Daniel and Teal'c should be there by nightfall, but only if they drove straight through. Still, too far away to be considered a plausible factor in a rescue attempt.
She just needed to rest for a second, then she would figure something out. Rest…just for a second. Her eyes slipped shut.
Jack's voice sifted through the muddled pounding in her head like a fog. 'Come on Carter…focus.'
She shivered, refusing to open her eyes and letting the gravel in his tone sink into her shoulder blades. "I don't want to." The petulance in her hoarse whisper was swiftly drowned out by roughness of the straining engine.
Searching for the comfort of his voice, she felt the pain give way as she floated back into the bathroom with him. Feeling the hard tile against her knees as she knelt in front of him, his soft hair at her fingertips. So soft and warm. The heat drifting off of him in waves, the rush of his breath feathering her lips as he kissed her back…
'Carter!'
She started with a sharp inhale and immediately regretted it, moaning a curse through her teeth as the pain in her head doubled.
If Monty noticed, he didn't say anything; instead barking out angrily to the driver. "Go around and take the next right, we'll go through the back entrance."
She looked at her watch, concentrating to make sense of the glaring digits. 08:48. Twelve minutes. Then what? What could she possibly offer that would stall them for hours?
If Knight wasn't too intent on killing her, maybe she could persuade him to exchange Jack's freedom for her hacking skills. The fact that she'd been able to obtain and decipher the list would speak for itself. Then she could offer to get him millions. Maybe even leave a trail, a code hidden in the transactions, so she could return it later.
It would buy her time and if Jack could get free, he would find her, no matter how mad he was.
She still had his money all set to be transferred from his biggest account, but that would require her logging into his offshore accounts and completing the transaction. And she couldn't imagine they would allow her access to a computer without supervision.
But maybe…if she was quick enough…
She groaned, her head throbbing behind her eyes. There were too many variables. Too many maybes. Too much out of her control.
Frustration slipped too easily into hopelessness and she felt it pressing down on her; a live and tangible thing squeezing the pockets of air out of her lungs.
'Ack…none of that Carter. We've been through worse.'
She took a deep ragged breath, the pressure easing a bit at the soft encouragement. It couldn't be a good sign that she could hear his voice so clearly.
"I don't know…," she breathed, glancing out of the window at the blur of passing cars, "this is pretty bad."
A loud clinking of metal had her grimacing, the needling pain digging into her temple, forcing her turn her head to determine the source. The tapping of the slide of his handgun against his thigh ceased with her glare.
Narrowed hazel eyes met hers and his jaw shifted as he regarded her carefully. "Tell me, what do you hope to accomplish?"
If it wouldn't have hurt so much, she would've laughed.
He thought there was something else. A trap of some kind. Some big elaborate plan to escape capture and bring Knight down to his knees. If only that were the case.
She smirked.
His face twisted, and then he was snatching her upper arm and hauling her to him like she weighed nothing. He was stronger than he looked.
The muzzle of the gun pressed into the side of her jawbone, the force behind it the only reason why she hadn't landed in his lap. His breath was hot, reeking of bitter coffee and sweet tobacco as he huffed angrily against her temple. "I will not stand for insolence."
He slid the muzzle where the nerves gathered underneath the edge of the jawbone and pressed harder until she grunted in pain. She could practically feel the circular bruise forming as the venom in his voice leveled out. "Now, I ask again, what do you hope to accomplish?"
She forced the words through her teeth. "I told you, to stop the list from going through."
"Yes, yes…" he hissed impatiently, "and then?"
When she didn't answer he growled and pressed harder. As much as she tried, she couldn't stop the wince as the pain seared. "I don't know!" She yelled honestly.
He stilled and then released her with a shove, dragging the handgun across her thigh. "Be mindful of your mouth. You won't be needing your legs to complete this task."
She glared at him, working her jaw to ease the lingering pain. He was lucky he had the gun. What she wouldn't give to go against him, one on one.
His eyes stayed locked onto hers, and she watched as his gaze wandered slowly down the length of her. The creases in his forehead gentled as he shifted, his tight-lipped grin widening as he leered. "Although, I do like your spirit Major." He hummed softly, "I wonder…"
Ugh. Her face twisted in disgust before she could stop herself.
Her obvious repulsion didn't dissuade him; if anything, it seemed to heighten his interest and curiosity. His suggestive grin widened and a hair-raising chill clawed up the back of her neck. She turned her head forward, breaking eye contact in a last-ditch attempt to deter him.
But it didn't. And she could practically hear him scheming, mulling over an idea as his penetrating stare burned into her profile like a brand. His features lightened as he canted his head slightly, apparently reaching a decision.
Seeing the movement in her peripheral didn't stop her from stiffening when his hand slid onto her thigh just above her knee, his fingers massaging. "You know, I could…help you."
She was barely listening, the stranger danger klaxons blaring in her head making her clench her hands into fists as she battled the urge to break his fingers and bitch-slap him into…
"A life for a life."
Wait, what? His velvety enunciation of the words startled her back into the moment, temporarily subduing the violent thoughts as she strained to comprehend, his words replaying on a loop.
"What?"
A corner of his mouth rose, "I let your boyfriend go and you stay with me."
Her mouth felt dry all of the sudden. "Stay with you?"
His large shadowed eyes searched hers, his voice dipping down to something that was attempting sensuality. "Believe it or not, I can be quite generous."
"Generous?"
He hummed in affirmation, giving her thigh a squeeze. "Give me a month and I promise, you'll forget all about him."
He can't be serious. She covered her mouth just in time, coughing to hide her laugh as he frowned, his eyes narrowing; the offending hand slipping away as his gun hand twitched.
The earlier threat about not needing her legs sobered her and she tilted her head up and away to make it seem like she was thinking about it.
And then, she did think about it.
A month.
The proposition reminded her of a movie she'd seen before, but she couldn't place the name. It was…surreal. And the ease in which he offered it, made it seem as though he'd done it before.
Jack's life for a month with this vile man. Her stomach lurched as she considered it. No doubt he would be abusive and she had already gotten a taste of what he would do to her if she pissed him off, let alone refused him in any way.
Mentally she would lose a part of herself, she was self-aware enough to realize that.
She already hated herself for even thinking about it but if Knight didn't take her up on her hacking offer, what other options did she have? All of this would have been for nothing. Jack would still die.
Any twinge of hope that Jack might've been able to forgive her for what she'd done already faded. This…this he would never get over. Never. He would find away to blame himself. Shut down. Push everyone away including her.
She would lose him…. but he would be alive.
Her voice cracked, erasing any attempt to feign confidence. "And after a month, if I didn't forget?"
An arrogant smile accompanied a small wave of his hand before it found its way back on her thigh. "With heartfelt sadness, I would release you from your obligation and consider it a debt paid."
He gave her another pointed squeeze to get her attention and leaned in. "However, during that month, there will be no fighting, no resisting. You will do what I say and when I say it."
She glared, the words tasting bitter as she forced them from her mouth. "Be your sex slave."
"Be my intimate indentured servant." He corrected slyly.
Avoiding the insulting and sarcastic reply that lingered on the tip of her tongue, she soldiered on. "What about Knight?"
He scoffed, inching his hand higher and ignoring the way she pressed her thighs together. "Knight is a brilliant attorney with a gun collection. I'll admit, he puts on a good show for his minions, but in reality, he's weak and despises confrontation. Which is the reason why he pays me extravagantly to handle things on his behalf."
The car slowed and he glanced up before looking back to her, letting his eyes drift down to her breasts. Lifting his hand off her thigh, her curled his index finger and drifted it down the curve of it. She flinched and he sighed thoughtfully, letting his hand drop before looking at her pointedly. "We're here."
He knocked on the window once and the door was opened. "After you settle your current outstanding debt, I will need an answer."
Sam felt dizzy, and found herself wondering if it was from the proposal or her injury. Probably both.
"Come." She looked up, realizing he was holding a hand out to her. Ignoring it, she slid out on her own and braced herself for the repercussion.
Only a deep, lazy chuckle followed as he let his hand drop, his eyes glinting with excitement. "My, won't you be fun to tame."
As they jogged to where they had parked the ship, Jack zoned out halfway through Daniel's explanation of how they had managed to get ahold of Jacob and get through the Stargate.
He should have been grateful, ecstatic. After all, now he had reinforcements and a ship at his disposal.
But as soon as they told him Jacob was there, he couldn't shake the pang of guilt. Jacob had entrusted him for years as her CO to bring her home, and now, after hundreds of missions of doing just that, he had lost her.
Whether by her own actions or not, she was his responsibility. Something inside of him screamed the contradiction. No, not his responsibility. Not anymore. Now she was just his. Period.
They slowed as they came into a clearing.
When the door to the cloaked cargo ship opened, Jacob's intense eyes landed on each of them as they made their way up the ramp and inside. He searched the doorway behind them. "Where's Sam?"
Jack shouldered past Daniel, forcing the gruff words past his teeth. "Knight has her at a private airport south of here."
"What!?" Jacob got in his face and seethed. "You let them take her?!"
Let them?! Jack's eyes flared as he grabbed handfuls of Jacob's tunic and jerked him violently. "NO!"
"Hey!" Daniel raised his arms, pushing his body between them as Teal'c grabbed Jack from behind, grunting his name and using all of his strength to pull them apart.
Space was won between them and Daniel inserted himself, splaying his hands against their chests and locking eyes with Jacob, letting his own anger and frustration seep through. "Jacob, look at his wrists, he didn't let anything happen."
He dropped his hands, turning his head between the two pointedly. "Listen, we don't have time for this! Sam needs our help right now!"
Jacob took one last spiteful glance at Jack before spinning on his heel and making his way into the pilot's chair.
Teal'c loosened his hold as Jack shook him off with a growl and stepped forward to get a better look at the heads-up display.
A heavy silence followed between them as Jacob brought the rest of the systems online.
Daniel turned to Jack and opened his mouth. Jack cut him off with a glance. "Don't."
Jacob's tense voice sounded as a section of the display was isolated and enlarged. "There, that's gotta be it. Just over ten miles out."
Jack held onto the back of the co-pilot's chair as the craft took flight. "The guy said hangar three."
Jacob kept his eyes forward. "We'll have to find a place to land. How many guys?"
"I don't know. What weapons do we have?"
Daniel chimed in. "Zats only, anything else would have drawn too much attention." He ran to the back room and returned, handing a Zat out to Jack.
Jack eyed him, then glanced over at Teal'c before reaching out to take it. "Thanks…I…uh…" He cleared his throat to ease the edge out of his voice and turned his head forward. "I just need to get to her."
Daniel placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Jack, we will get her back." Jack met his eyes before looking over at Teal'c.
Teal'c's customary "Indeed" response filled the air, quiet and resolute, teeming with the unspoken emotion they were all feeling. Reminding Jack that these two men were not just their teammates or friends, but family. That not only were they breaking protocol by even being there, they were risking their futures in the SGC and their lives as well.
Jack managed a thankful nod to them before turning back to the display. "How far out?"
Jacob pointed ahead of them. "Two minutes."
Daniel motioned a roll of gauze to Jack. "Here, let me wrap your wrists."
Jack waved him off. "No time."
"Jack, you can't leave them like that."
"You're wrong Daniel, I can. Let it go."
"They'll get infected."
He turned into him. "Literally the least of my worries right now!"
"JACK!" Jacob's deep roar startled both of them and they looked over to see his neck craned as he stared at them. "I don't have time to use the healing device and you're bleeding all over my ship! Just let him do it!"
Jack held the gaze for a moment, then muttered a curse underneath his breath as he tucked the Zat roughly into his waistband and thrusted a wrist out to Daniel. "You're a real pain in my ass, you know that?"
Daniel quirked an eyebrow, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips as he started bandaging. "Yeah, missed you too."