Chapter 3

***************SGC***************

The whole room sat in stunned silence trying to process the information they had been given.

"Thor I agree with your assessment of secrecy on this matter. The rogue elements of the NID have taken an interest in Major Carter in the past and we don't need them to get more ideas. I do however need to inform the President. I will do what I can to keep it relay just how important it is to keep those that know about this very small. " General Hammond looked at Carter. "Major, as far as I am concerned this makes no difference. You have worked your butt off to get to where you are and are a valued member of this facility, as well as my goddaughter." He got up and walked into his office.

"Sam, he is right. You are still the same Sam Carter. It may have started out as cloning, but you are your own person." Daniel was the first to say what was on everyone's mind.

"SamanthaCarter, I agree with DanielJackson. This changes nothing, you are a valued warrior on this team. We are not the same without you." Teal'c bowed his head to Sam.

"Ya Carter, still a national treasure, no matter the circumstances." Jack was the last one to speak up and the one that Sam was the most worried about. His reaction is the one that had the ability to make this whole thing better or so much worse than it was.

"Major Carter, there is more in the file that I have not had a chance to read yet. It will take several hours. I will head back to the O'Neill and see what other information I can find." Thor moved some of the control crystals on his chair. "This room is still secure and will be the only safe location to discuss the information I have given you. I will be back when I have more information. O'Neill here is a communication crystal if you need to contact me." With that he disappeared.

Sam was sitting at the table staring off into space. Jack knew that she needed time to process everything she had been given. Hell, it was hard enough on him when he was cloned from himself, hard to imagine being the clone of an unknown person. But he was not lying when he told her that it makes no difference, he just hoped that she was able to read between the lines to know what he really wanted to say.

"Okay, we know the situation, what do we need?" Jack was the first speak up. Always the most practical of the group.

"What I need sir, is all the information we can find on Helen Magnus. Plus I want Janet to run some tests. I want to know everything about who I am cloned from and the anomaly in our DNA."

"Well alright then. Carter you get Doc Frasier and bring her up here. That way you can fill her in on what is going on and what she needs to look for. Daniel start looking into this woman. Find out everything you can on her and be ready to brief us in two hours with what you have. I am going to go talk to the General. Dismissed."

"Yes sir." Sam and Daniel started to move out of the room.

"What of me O'Neill?" Teal'c wanted to know.

O'Neill let Sam and Daniel walk out of the room before turning to Teal'c. "I want you to stick to Carter. The only place she goes without one of us is the bathroom and even then, we check it first. I know the General has to brief the president, but that just means more people will have the information. Nothing happens to her. Got it Teal'c?" Jack was very serious about her safety.

"I will guard her with my life O'Neill." With that, Teal'c left the room to follow Sam.

Jack waited in the briefing room for the General to return. It took longer than he thought. How hard is it to say 'Major Carter is a clone and we will give you more information as we get it?' Jack wondered. Maybe the president had questions, but there was not a whole lot to go on until they were able to find more information on Helen Magnus.

"Colonel O'Neill, did you need something?" The General asked from the door to his office.

"Yes sir, how did the talk with the president go?" Jack wanted to ensure the safety of his Major.

"Well, different than I expected. I told him of the situation and when I mentioned the name Helen Magnus he told me he would get back to me. It was rather weird actually."

"You don't think they somehow knew this already do you General?"

"I don't know son, but the President did say he would be getting back to me in a few hours. Now all we can do is wait. I know how well you deal with that."

"Yes sir, I will be down with Carter. I have Daniel looking into our mystery woman sir, hopefully she is still alive. Thor didn't give her age, but Carter is in her thirties, so theoretically Helen could be in her seventies by now."

"Yes Colonel, your mission is to protect Major Carter, and none of you leave the base. I'll let you know when the President gets in contact with me." Both the General and the Colonel went their separate ways waiting to hear further information.

**********Old City Sanctuary**********

"So, that about wraps up the meeting. Does anyone have any questions?" Magnus stood at the head of the table about to end their daily staff meeting. "No? Good. You all have your assignments, let's get to them than." She walked around the table and headed to her desk. Now would be as good a time as any to call Declan to see how things went while she was away. Just as she was reaching for her phone it rang.

"Dr. Magnus." She answered with her usually friendly voice. After all, one never really knew who was calling and there was always time later to get hostile if the situation called for it.

"Dr. Magnus, this is Henry Hayes, how have you been?" Magnus pulled the phone away from her ear for a second, startled by who was on the other end.

"Mr. President, I have been good. You?" It was not every day one spoke to the President of the United States.

"First, it's Henry and second, I was doing great until I received a call this morning from one of my military bases in Colorado. There is a situation that I believe you would be interested in." He knew that he had to keep it vague on a non-secure line. Plus dropping a bomb like you have a clone running around is not generally something you can explain easily over the phone especially to someone that is unaware of some of the military's more extracurricular activities.

"Not another abnormal running around killing soldiers I hope?" She really was tired and didn't relish the thought of another hunt for an unknown abnormal.

"No no, nothing like that…exactly. There is very little information that I am able to give you. How long would it take for you to get to Colorado Springs?"

"I have just gotten back from an extended trip and need to get some things in order before I can go. How is a few days?"

"Actually I was thinking hours, not days, and think of it as a vacation. This really is a sensitive topic that is uniquely suited to you. Frankly Helen it's going to get damned complicated really fast and I need you here. I am going to give you a number to call once you have your flight information. Arrangements will be made to set up an escort to take you to the base. Any questions?"

"This is beginning to sound more like an order and not a request Mr. President. If I agree, and let me stress the IF, than it will be me and my team, it is an all or nothing deal."

"Okay, hold on for a minute." While she was waiting her Henry walked into her office carrying a tablet that seemed to be permanently attached to his hand.

"Hey Doc." He said without looking up. "Something interesting popped up while I was working. It seems like someone is attempting to…" He finally looked up at her and realized she was on the phone. "Sorry, I'll just wait over here." He started walking to the couch.

"No Henry, it's all right. I got put on hold. Someone is attempting to do what?"

"Remember the bots I put in place to keep any information about all of us and the Sanctuary off the web, to include pictures and what not?" He has set put it in place years ago when an unfortunate video had been posted on YouTube. He was able to kill it, but it had taken more time then he liked to make it go away completely. Since then the computer was constantly running scans just in case.

"Yes, what about them?"

"Well, they started pinging about five minutes ago. Someone with high clearance is looking for you. They have not done any searches related to the Sanctuary itself, but on you specifically.

"How high Henry?" Maybe this is what the president was concerned about, someone had found out about the Sanctuary and was doing research on her. It is not like he would send people fishing for information on her, they had had several meetings and a few dinners together when he first took office, and he knew what he need to for the Sanctuary to continue operations in the United States.

"Really high, and whoever it is, is crazy good. Do you want me to lay a false trail and see if we can trap them? Find out what they want or at the very least, where they are at?"

"Let me finish with my call and depending on his answers it's a possibility. Oh, and Henry can you please tell Will and Ashley to pack for a trip please. We will be leaving within the hour."

"Sure Doc, no problem. I'll be right back." He walked out of the room still typing on the tablet.

She had to wait a few more minutes before the President got back on the phone and they were able to continue their conversation.

"Helen, you still there?"

"Yes Mr. President I am still here. So, does my team get to come along or am I staying home?"

"Yes, your team can come as well, but you will all have to sign non-disclosure agreements before you will be taken into the base." The President paused. "Does that mean that I can tell them to expect a call soon?"

"That depends on your answer to my next question. Who is looking into my background? Is it your people?"

"If I had to hazard a guess I would say yes. The information that we received this morning would have made them extremely curious about you. After I get off the phone with you I will give them a cease and desist order. When can we expect you?"

"What information did you receive and is the Sanctuary in any danger?"

"It really is a sensitive subject and one that I can't discuss over the phone. However I will be meeting you there, as it is something that I need to see to personally. And no, the Sanctuary is in no danger, this is all about you." He responded cryptically.

"Well, that's not exactly comforting." She told him. "I will call my pilot and can be there in a eight hours. Who can I expect as our escort?"

"Most likely Colonel Jonathan O'Neill and possibly one other member of his team. You can trust him Dr."

"You know I trust very few people Mr. President. I'll see you there." Helen hung up the phone and sat back in her chair. It was not very often she was invited to one of the military's facilities, and even then it was mostly to capture an abnormal. She was definitely curious about the nature of the information.

Henry walked back into the office still carrying his tablet and not paying attention to where he was going. She was astounded that he managed to move around like that all the time without running into walls or falling down stairs. Maybe it had to do with him being a HAP and having faster than average reflexes.

"Well Doc, are we setting up a trace?" He still had not looked up at her.

"No Henry, not yet. I just got off the phone with the president. He thinks it may have been some of his people and will put a stop to it. If it does not happen in the next fifteen minutes or so, go ahead and trace it." Will and Ashley walked in carrying their bags for the mission looking very unhappy. Helen kept a packed bag in the office and grabbed hers. Every one of them kept them ready to go since they could be called away at any time, much like they currently were.

"Magnus, are we really going on another mission?" Will dropped his bag at the door. "We literally just got back. Remember, I said three days, I needed to sleep for three days to recover." Will started gripping as soon as he was in the door.

"Ya mom, I have a meeting with Angelo in a few hours, weapons remember? Am I really needed for this?"

"Yes, I am well aware of what you had both planned on doing, but when the President of the United States calls and orders you to do something, you do it. Especially if you want to keep a good working relationship with them. Besides and this mission should be information gathering only and the president assures me that there is no abnormal running around. It was sensitive enough that he could not discuss it over the phone but stressed that this is information that I need. We leave for the airport in ten minutes."

"The president of the United States? He called you with information? Don't they generally just call when they need help?" Will inquired.

"Yes Will, the various Presidents that I have spoken to over the years do only call me when the situation is so out of hand that there have been multiple causalities, however Henry assures me that that is not the case this time."

"Hey Doc, the inquiries have stopped. He sure works fast." Henry spoke up with the new information. "I am going down to the lab to make sure they are not going to try it again. See you when you get back." He walked out of the room.

"So where are we headed?" Will wanted to know.

"Colorado Springs. Not sure if we will be going to Fort Carson, or Peterson AFB, but someone will be meeting us at the airport." They all headed out the door with bags in hand when they were enveloped in a bright white light and they all three disappeared.