AU: Plan A. Enough said.
Potential Trigger: John and Teal'c discuss the Pope and Goa'uld's... please note this is supposed to be taken as typical Jack/Teal'c humour.
Chapter 30: It's a good day for Plan A
Thursday, 18th March 2004 – 2300 hours – Kiowa, Colorado – John O'Neill
The dotted line on the map turned out to be a heavily overgrown track that probably used to be an old firebreak. That presented both an issue and an opportunity. The track was well hidden and hadn't seen any traffic in a good long while. The truck had no issues getting through the foliage either. The main issue was that we left tracks of flattened greenery in our wake that would stand out if anyone took the trouble to look. That aside, it was a best entry point available to us because, and despite my attempted argument for getting closer to make things easier on Sam, it led directly an easily concealable area far from the road, and far enough from the warehouse. I knew getting too close was a recipe for failure. Jack's truck was well known, especially in military circles. If these guys were ex-military, chances are they would recognise the vehicle. Then there was the stalker cop, who would also know Jack's truck on sight. As for my concerns about Sam, all I received for my efforts was one cranky USAF Colonel who could overpower me with just her eyes.
After driving for just over an hour, we left the truck parked up under a canopy of trees not far from the track. The trek had taken us the better part of forty minutes due to the rough landscape and Sam's slower pace, though not as slow as one would think. We were nestled in dense foliage along the fence line observing the perimeter of what amounted to a ramshackle old building that had certainly seen better days. The light at the back entrance was flickering – which was not ideal – necessitating a change of plans. The guard standing there had gone through one and a half cigarettes in the time we had been observing him.
"He does not appear to be patrolling, O'Neill." Teal'c stated in a low voice.
"No, and that light is… god. Amateurs, it's like a beacon saying, 'hey, look, guard over here'." I complained earning myself a chuckle from Daniel.
"There's a reason he's ex-military, Sir." Sam replied using my old honorific as naturally as Carter ever did, "You know as well as I do that you have to do something pretty damn terrible to be kicked out or retired."
I scoffed, "Ain't that the truth." I had been trying to retire for years after Hammond pulled me back in. Not even smashing his car's driver side window, kidnapping an alien child, or pretending to go rogue was enough to get me a ticket out of the Mountain. The only thing that would have worked had never been an option because I loved her too damn much to threaten her career.
"There are two guards by the front gate, Colonel Carter, but none at the front entrance to the building." Teal'c offered, casting his eyes across the entire perimeter.
"That means they are inside the door." Daniel added, earning himself agreeable nods from the rest of us. "They probably have at least another two watching the girls."
"That makes seven plus whoever is running this dog and pony show." I replied as I ran my eyes along the façade of the building seeing a darkened area midway up the wall. "Daniel, pass me the binos." I asked. Holding them up to my eyes, I checked out the area. "That's a window." I murmured, then pointed before handing the binoculars back to Daniel. He took his glasses off and looked for himself.
"He's right. With that flickering light and the guard, our best point of access would be through that window." Daniel stated, then handed the binoculars off to Sam.
"I agree. This whole area is in darkness, and none of these guys are moving. They clearly aren't expecting anyone." She added, pointing at the large area shrouded in darkness that spanned about 200 yards between us and the wall where the window was situated. "John, can you get in there?"
"Is the Pope Catholic?" I asked rhetorically. She looked at me with a sly smile and a raised eyebrow that mirrored the one Teal'c was currently giving me.
"What is a Pope, O'Neill?"
"The Pope, not a Pope. He's the head of the Catholic Church." I responded while still surveying the area before us.
"Is he Goa'uld?"
"Err… no. Well, I don't think so." I replied, internally cursing myself for trying to be a smart arse. Sam merely looked at me with a huge grin but had no intention of helping me out of this one.
"All Gods are Goa'uld." Teal'c said with narrowed eyes. "All Goa'uld are false Gods and therefore must die."
"Oh, I agree, except he's not a God. He's the guy that talks to God." I explained, then changed it up, "Rather, who thinks he talks to God. It's a whole God's representative on Earth thing." I said with a weird twirl of my hand indicating the world.
"Is he Jaffa?" At that, Sam lost her composure, though still managed to confine her laugh without making a sound. Teal'c merely looked at her and raised his eyebrow, though he did have a small smirk on his face. That rat bastard, he knew exactly who the Pope was.
"Are you baiting me, Teal'c?" I asked earning myself slightly larger smile, though in true Teal'c fashion, this smile was conveyed with a nod of his head while the corners of his mouth tilted up a little instead of a lot down.
"Indeed, young O'Neill." With an amused huff, I just shook my head. I really should know better after seven years of serving with this man.
"Ah, can we go now?" Daniel asked with exasperation in his voice. Looking at my watch, I noted we had already been here for twenty-five minutes. Sam nodded, then silently ordered me to get on the ground to shimmy under the wire fencing while Teal'c and Daniel held it up. After me, Sam followed, then Daniel and finally Teal'c.
We silently made our way to the side of the building just as a radio call broke through the silence of the night. Seconds later, one of the guards from the front gate moved, walking into the building. After several minutes, he did not emerge. "Teal'c, you take out the remaining guard. Daniel, see what you can do about the guard out the back and that damn light then regroup with Teal'c. Get their radios. John, once you're inside, make your way to the back door and let me in. There is no way I can get in that window." Sam ordered. I was glad she could accept some of her limitations, albeit reluctantly. "If our count of seven is correct, we have five inside."
Everyone nodded in agreement, Teal'c moved left along the line of the building while Daniel moved right. Sam half crouched against the wall with an audible wince and held her interlocked hands out for me to use as a foothold. With a shake of my head, I placed my hands on her shoulders and foot into her hands then levered myself up. I knew there was no point in arguing about her involvement. Making my way inside easily, I dropped silently down on some well-placed wooden crates, grabbed my zat and crept to the back door just in time to hear the tell tale zap crackle – thump – zap crackle indicating our quarry had been eliminated. We never discussed not taking prisoners, however in this situation it was a silent agreement that those responsible for taking our girls would not walk away. Taking care to open the door silently, I found Daniel and Sam. The light was out as well. With nothing but hand signals, Sam ordered Daniel to regroup with Teal'c. Daniel handed me the radio and moved off as I closed the door behind Sam.
"Time check?" She whispered.
Checking my watch again, "I make it 2316 hours."
"Agreed."
Moving through the dark building in our practiced format, we came across an office. Stepping inside, we found two makeshift prisons complete with barred doors. Inside were two people, one lying down and the other sitting against the wall, head between his knees. Charlie and Cassandra. Quickly holstering my zat, I moved up to the first door.
"Charlie."
"Jack?" He replied, looking up.
"Close old man."
"John. Oh God, John is that you." Cassandra whispered desperately, her face was dirty, and tear stained. It broke my heart to think what she may have experienced here. "They have Grace. I overheard them say they going to take her to Antarctica."
"Shh, shh… not today they aren't. We won't let them." I replied, looking over my shoulder and seeing Sam motion that we had company approaching. Then she disappeared. Turning back to Cass, I put my finger to my lips motioning for quiet. She nodded and I moved to the back corner into the shadows. I didn't know where Sam had gone, but there had been no alert, so I knew she was fine.
As the man came in, the small amount of moonlight shining through the window cast enough light for me to see that it was Shanahan. He was carrying a crying Grace. He had just approached the door to the second prison when Grace's little head popped up.
"Daddy! Daddy!" She cried out with such anguish my heart nearly broke.
"He's not here, you little brat. Now, shut up!" Shanahan growled, reaching forward for the second barred door. It didn't work, she started kicking and punching, screaming 'Daddy, Daddy, Daddy' over and over. Could she sense me? Surely not. The genie didn't work the same as naquadah or I would have been able to sense Jack and her. "I said shut up, or I will shut you up!" Shanahan barked, making her cry louder.
"Hey! Tough guy, don't tell her to shut up." Charlie yelled in response only to be ignored. All I could do was stand there because he was clearly armed, and I could hear a second man outside the door giving the cop shit for not being able to handle a little girl. I knew I could take Shanahan, but then I'd be shot by his second.
Suddenly, Gracie put her hands to her ears and screamed one long high pitched 'Daddy!'. The light exploded outwards washing over the whole room lighting everything up including me. Shanahan dropped Gracie and held his head, seconds later the other man burst into the room, saw me, and fired the pistol that was already in his hand hitting me in the shoulder.
"Gah!" I yelled once the dizziness dissipated, and I had the presence of mind to realise I had been shot. By the time that happened, I was being dragged – by my injured arm no less – to the second cell. There was nothing I could do. The clang of metal on metal signalled that I was out of the picture. Opening my eyes, I saw Shanahan sneering through the bars.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the granny fucker himself. Some rescuer you turned out to be." He commented snidely with cruel chuckle, "Where's your old bit? At home, waiting for her little boy to make her warm?" The look of disgust on his face was palpable.
"Go to hell. Y-You know n-nothing about us, pig." I grunted back trying to move off my wounded shoulder.
"Ooh, original." He jeered, then walked over and picked up the zat I had dropped. Coming back, he looked from it to me and back to it. "Nice alien tech. How does it work?"
"Dunno. S'not mine." I lied through gritted teeth trying to ignore the pain. A pain I remembered well. The bullet had struck my scapula and lodged itself in there. I would likely need surgery to remove the bullet and repair the damage.
"Really." He replied, then looked at it again. "Hmm, how about this." He mused, then aimed it at me and pressed the button filling my body with crackling electricity that shot through all my nerves making me cry out when the electric arc reacted with the piece of metal in my shoulder after which I slumped against the wall heavily, tittering on the edge of consciousness but still lucid enough to hear, see and feel everything.
"NO!" Gracie screamed and moved closer to me, wrapping her little arms around me despite the energy coursing through my body. He merely laughed, then walked out the door of the room, slamming it behind him.
"Daddy. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Please don't die." Gracie begged, tears running down her cheeks.
"S'OK, it's just a flesh wound." I lied. I could feel the blood flowing hot and sticky, running down the inside of my shirt into my armpit. Whatever the bullet had hit, it wasn't small. I figured it was either my axillary or cephalic vein. I remembered enough from my field combat medical training to know I was in trouble.
"Shit, Jack." Charlie muttered, trying to tend to it as best he could from through the bars running between us. Taking his over shirt off, he wound it up into a ball and pressed it hard onto the site.
"Aargh, eurgh!" I cried out then tried to get my breathing under control.
"Sorry, Sir. I need to stop the bleeding. Cassie, I hold this." He ordered. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him taking off his belt.
"Now, now, Major. I'm just not that into you." I said with a pained laugh, the need to crack a joke about my situation had been a poor attempt to not scare the girls. Charlie knew better which was why he started calling the shots immediately.
"Sorry you feel that way, Sir. You know I always had a soft spot for ya." Charlie jested back while he wrapped the belt over my shoulder. "Gracie, pass this end under his arm and up his back." He asked my little girl. She nodded and carefully took hold then did as he asked until he managed to get the end through the buckle. "Good girl. Now hold your Daddy's hand, OK."
"OK, Uncle Charlie." She replied, tears still running down her cheeks, then gripped my good hand with both her little ones and held on.
"On the count of three. One… Two…"
"Wait! Wait! Is it on three, or are you counting to three and then doing it?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer, just stalling for time. Psyching myself up as it were.
"On three."
"OK. I'm ready." I lied again. I was full of them tonight despite growing up with my grandmothers reminders that lying was evil and the work of the devil. It occurred to me briefly that the word 'devil' was just 'evil' with a 'd' on the front. The things my mind came up with when I was injured was astounding.
"OK." Charlie signalling he was ready again pulled me out of my pain-hazed delirium. "One… Two…" He didn't get to three. Instead, he pulled the belt down hard tightening it over the wound while pressing the bundled-up shirt hard.
"Aargh! Oh, God... Fah." I screamed as the dancing stars behind my eyes went supernova when the pain shot out along my arm, into my chest and up my neck into my head. It was better to scream than to squeeze Gracie's hand so hard it might break. "You wouldn't think having raw nerves compressed onto bullet lodged in your shoulder would hurt, but it does." I told him, having a faint memory of saying something similar at some point in my past life. It had to be my past life because this was the first time I had been shot in this one. It wasn't any better this time around and I found myself wishing for one of those vests that the Air Force provided the old me.
"Sorry, Daddy. I didn't mean to. I felt you and thought you had come back for me. I'm so scared. You're dying in the cold place. I just want my Daddy back." Gracie blubbered.
"Hey, Graciekins." I soothed using the name I had heard my son Charlie call her in the dream memory. She smiled brightly and wiped her little face. "Old Mum is here, and Uncle Danny, Uncle Teal'c." She smiled again and gripped my hand tighter. "We'll get ourselves out of here, I promise." I told her. Sadly, I could not promise we'd get her Daddy back without Thor's help. With my last bit of consciousness, I tugged Gracie towards me and closed my eyes knowing that Sam would be formulating a Plan B, because Plan A never worked.