Title: ...And the Light
Author: Rosemary Klein-Robbins
Status: Part One
Sequel: Part 8 in the Kinsey Series (Nursery Rhyme, Send
in the Clowns, Dreams, Nightmares
and Shadows, Send
in the Clowns, the two drabbles: Man in the Window and Truth or Dare, and Between the
Darkness...)
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: General Seasons 4, 5, 7
Disclaimers: Stargate SG-1 and all that entails is not owned by this author.
This story is written strictly for amusement and no monetary rewards or concerns
are received or dispersed with this story. It comes solely out of my imagination
and the Producers and Owners of the Stargate franchise are not involved at all.
Author's Note: This is the second part of a two-part sequel to Dreams
and Nightmares.
To everyone who has followed the Kinsey Series so far - thank you and I hope you enjoy this.
...And the Light
©2005 by Rosemary Klein-Robbins
General Hammond regarded the two men standing
in front of him. Hammond knew Major Gordon from his earlier days in the Air
Force. He was a non-descript man for sure. Hammond wondered how such a 'nobody'
would end up working for someone like Senator Kinsey. But Gordon wasn't the
man that bothered Hammond. His companion did.
Hammond took in Salem Latham. The man was good looking, polished, poised. All
the things an employee of a senator should be. But he struck Hammond as someone
as smarmy and as oily as a snake oil salesman.
Mr. Latham's eyes, Hammond thought, would probably be his most intriguing feature. Lime green eyes that appeared to be so artless, so innocent and fascinating - but there was something behind them. Something that almost made Hammond's skin crawl.
"Major Gordon, Mr. Latham," Hammond
said. "What may I do for you?" Hammond motioned for the two to sit
down.
Salem's eyes rested on the older gentleman
in front of him. "So self assured." Latham thought to himself. "So
sure of his footing. But not for long."
Salem cleared his throat and proceeded
to explain to the man sitting in front of him what was expected and took quiet
delight in watching how his eyes changed its appearance as he continued.
Hammond was not expecting what he was told, but good soldier that he was, of course after the President confirmed it, he would do as he was ordered.
There were few people in the JAG offices
after hours. For these officers and staff, after hours sometimes meant near
mid-night. Ben Samuels rubbed his eyes absently and then stretched.
Blue Topaz had come through for them, yet
again. It was uncanny how much this person knew and Ben once again wondered
where the information was coming from.
Ben wondered what the cost would be for
doing business with this informant. But so far, Blue Topaz seemed more amused
than anything else by keeping Ben off balance.
Tonight, however, Ben was more off balance
than he liked to admit. He held in his hands a file that he wished he had never
seen. An officer was going to lose his commission with this information.
He already knew more about the situation
than he really wanted to, but at the same time, not as much as he really wanted
to.
His relationship with Beth had become,
what was the term he wanted to use - difficult, impossible, a pain in the ass?
The more Blue Topaz shared, the more questions he had, and the further away
she pulled from him.
This file, however, had to do with O'Neill's
kidnapping and the subsequent capture and imprisonment of the individual in
question. *What* was this guy? He looked at the words on the page - the names,
the places, the descriptions - and he felt like that he was being driven mad.
Blue Topaz only laughed in that metallic
tone. "There is more, Commander. So much more. And you must learn it. There
is much that depends on it."
He knew that she had been in touch with
Jack and with Major Carter. There were hints about things that he really didn't
understand or maybe didn't want to. He knew Beth's conversations with Jack had
been testy lately, that she was anxious and wanted to be in Colorado Springs.
The doctors had expressly forbidden travel and Jack had not been easily swayed
by her pleas - a first for O'Neill. Jack usually, unless it was something really
dangerous, let her do what she wanted. He very rarely told her no. As for Samantha
Carter, they seemed to spend hours on the phone.
Ben got up from his chair and walked over
to the window of his office. The lights of the city were bright tonight. What,
he wondered for maybe the millionth time, in the bloody hell is a 'Goa'uld'?
And why, did Blue Topaz hint, quite broadly, that some of the nation's most
powerful wanted O'Neill and his team out of the way? Beth must have been an
added bonus. She was allied with Jack for many long years. But these people
wanted more than Jack and his team out of the way, they wanted them dead. That
then was the puzzle. Blue Topaz hinted of beings with incredible power. Beings
that, when crossed, could do some damage that is not even within the realm of
imagination. What then, was he to do with this information?
Walking back to his desk, he picked up the folder and then looked to the phone. How many hours, he wondered, was Colorado Springs behind D. C? And would Jack be willing to at least provide some answers to the questions the information in the folder raised and did Ben really, really want to be involved enough for that?
Dr. Jackson was walking with Major Carter
down the corridor to General Hammond's office when she suddenly stopped short
several feet from the door to Hammond's office. Daniel tripped because of the
suddenness of her act and had to brace himself on her back and waist to keep
them from falling.
"Sam?" His voice held a touch
of question in it. "Are you okay." He reached for her shoulders and
turned her to face him. He could not miss the tenseness in her body as she stiffly
turned.
Looking at the slightly paled face he turned
to see what might have caused her reaction. All he saw were two men leaving
Hammond's office.
"Sam?" He looked directly at
her when he said her name. "Do you now those men?"
It was a few minutes before she answered
him. "Oh yeah, the blonde."
Daniel raised his eyebrows as he inclined
his head. "Who is he? And who is the officer with him?"
Sam blew out a breath and leaned her back
against the wall of the corridor.
"The officer is Major Harris Gordon,
Air Force liaison to Senator Kinsey. The blonde man is Kinsey's chief aide,
Salem Latham."
Something in the way she said that name
caused the hair on Daniel's neck to prickle. "Problem?" he thought
to himself. "How well did or do you know him Sam?"
"Better than I would like. Why?"
Sam asked, curious as to why Daniel would ask her that.
"Because no one Kinsey sends is good
news for this program. And..." Daniel was thoughtful for a minute. "...he
sent someone that obviously has a history with you. So my guess is that they
are setting their sights on you."
"Daniel..." Sam laughed lightly."
Latham is Kinsey's lackey. Sure he might have sent him because of our history.
It's a "Let's make Major Carter nervous". But, he is Kinsey's top
man and that is the person that usually does the dirty work. There is no doubt
something is coming down, but I highly doubt they are aiming just for me."
"I'm sure your right Sam." Daniel
told her, but he felt very differently.
The two then continued to Hammond's office.
Sitting in a darkened corner of the commissary, the men rehashed their conversation
with General Hammond.
"Do you think that you will be able
to convey the message to the Goa'uld as ordered, Major?" Latham didn't
really believe that Harris had the intelligence to do what he was asked.
The man being questioned looked up, trying
to hard to hide his resentment at the question. He was aware that Latham tolerated
him and didn't feel that he could find his way out of a paper bag, but soon
this would be over and he wouldn't have to do anymore than say good morning
to Latham.
"I will," Harris answered curtly.
"Don't ask me that question again, Salem."
"Major Gordon..." Latham started
with a warning tone. "Far too much rides on this. Whether you like it or
not...No..." Salem stopped for a minute. "...whether I like it or
not, you are the one that will have to go in there and talk to Angra Mainyu
and give him the information he needs and to get the information we need. And
we have to do this with an audience. There can be no screw-ups."
"Mr. Latham..." Harris said as
he stood up abruptly, "I can assure you, there will be no screw ups. And,
as long as we are being blunt..." Leaning over the table Harris placed
his face very close to Salem's, "...stay away from Major Carter. The Senator
wants no complications. Our alien friend wants her and as far as Kinsey is concerned
he can have her. Tormenting her emotionally, well, that is fine. But do no touch
her."
With that Harris straightened back up and
left for his quarters.
He saw her sitting there in the commissary
in the dark. She was sitting there with her head in her hands and occasionally
massaging the back of her neck.
He knew without certainty that the mug
she was contemplating in front of her held tea - Oolong to be exact. And not
bagged tea, but made from tealeaves. The tea ball was lying there on the napkin
next to her mug. She had become a devotee of that tea since her father brought
it back from his trips to Asia.
He knew immediately when she became aware
of him and when her guard went up. He heard her call out his name in that way
that would have frozen a lesser nerved man.
"Samantha." His voice was smoothly
cordial, but in a way that conveyed that she was the mouse to his cat.
He sat down across from her without asking.
He contemplated the steel in the blue of her eyes. Even in the shadowed corner
of the commissary where she sat to get some quiet, he noted that she still,
after all these years, reacted to his presence with guarded contempt.
"I didn't think that any woman would
grow more beautiful over the years, but you have managed to."
She responded to his comment with the raising
of her right eyebrow. "What do you want Salem?" The question asked
in a tone meant to be dismissive.
He spread his hands and attempted a guileless
demeanor. "Only a little late night conversation with an old...friend."
Sam snorted and took a deliberate sip of
her tea. It seemed such a shame that one of her favorite nighttime rituals would
now carry this memory. Sitting back in his chair Salem smiled. Sam immediately
wondered, if a snake could smile, would it smile like Salem?
She really wanted to get up and leave but
felt Salem would see it as running away and then he would continue to provoke
her and then she might explode, just like she did 10 years ago. And...she didn't
want to dwell anymore on that memory.
So she sat there listening to Salem's attempts
at flirtatious prattle and pointed barbs.
Jack walked into the commissary still looking
at the folders in his hand. He almost missed the tableau in the corner. He hadn't
like Salem Latham on site and to now see him sitting in that darkened corner
with Carter unsettled something in him.
He thought back to earlier in the afternoon
when he and his team were introduced to Salem Latham. They already knew Major
Gordon. The look of disdain that Salem had given to him, Daniel and Teal'c,
well he expected that. It seemed that the sneer Latham had was as much a part
of him as the color of his hair and eyes.
It was the sudden frostiness of the atmosphere
around Carter that caused him to really look at that man. It was then he noticed
the almost predatory gaze that Latham had leveled on Carter. That...that just
wasn't right. It wasn't right on many levels.
He had never known Carter to just freeze
someone out unless there was cause. This gave him the information that she knew
this man. And Latham's attitude and response to her, well, it basically clinched
that they had a history and it was not a pretty one. Now in the infirmary, he
picked up that "freeze" he'd noticed in Hammond's office and he noticed
one more thing. It was almost as if he sensed her desire to escape this man,
but not make it look like she was running away.
Picking up a nearby mug, Jack made a decision.
Nonchalantly, he walked over to the large coffee urn and filled up the mug.
Taking a small sip of the brew, he deliberately walked over to where they were.
He knew immediately when Salem sensed his
approach. The man's stiffened posture and the snarl on his lips was almost comical.
Jack had guys like him for lunch many times. He noted when Carter became aware
of his presence that she used the knowledge of his being on her six, as it were,
as a reason to relax her stiff posture.
Walking up to the two he greeted them.
"Evening Major. Mr. Latham. Mind?" he asked as he was already pulling
out the chair next to his officer. He knew that Latham minded, big time. Jack's
smile could only be described by those who knew him best as 'evil' - the good
old boy personality he could emit when he wanted people to be off balance. Beth
would sometimes see that in him and just shake her head and whisper to him he
was an "evil man". Then she would stand by and watch him shred the
person in front of him. The only other person that picked up on that part of
him was Daniel Jackson.
"So..." Jack began genially,
"how's your visit Mr. Latham?" Keeping his eyes on the man, Jack didn't
miss the almost veiled irritation evident in Latham's expression. He could almost...only
almost, feel sorry for the man. He was going to enjoy taking him apart.
Jack took a slow leisurely sip of his coffee
and waited. Salem's irritation with this interruption was evident and he did
make a valiant effort to appear unruffled, but without success.
"As you can see Colonel O'Neill, I
was having a private conversation with Major Carter." He spread his hands
around to indicate that they were, in fact, in a shadowed corner of the commissary.
"Major...well, Samantha and I are old 'friends'."
Jack didn't miss the insinuation in the
word 'friends'.
"Really?" Jack answered him.
"Is that why she looked like she swallowed a lemon when she was looking
at you?" The comment was smoothly delivered, with just a hint of humor.
"Perhaps she smelled something...rotten in the commissary? Hmmm..."
Jack's very pointed look at Salem should have warned Salem, but the man just
opened his mouth when Jack completed his comment "...or maybe it's the
company? In either case Mr. Latham, I will thank you to not try any more of
these dark corner meetings with my officer. I have a pretty good idea why you're
here, considering who sent you. But you will leave my team...in particular Major
Carter, alone."
Jack had put down his mug and leaned over
so that he had his face very close to Salem's. Salem could not miss the steel
in Jack's voice or his eyes. "Have I made myself clear?"
Jack then picked up his mug, sipped some
coffee and leaned back.
Seeing that Salem didn't move Jacked reached
out and grabbed Salem by the lapels. "Did I not make myself clear Mr. Latham?
It means go. Now."
Jack let go and Salem stood up and straightened
himself out.
"We are not finished, Colonel O'Neill."
Salem said with some venom in his voice.
Jack smiled. It was one that resembled
a cat anticipating a juicy morsel. "Oh you bet your sweet ass we aren't,
Latham. And be sure you remember that."
Then dismissively Jack took another sip
of his coffee and laughed quietly while watching Salem storm out of the commissary.
"You know, Sir," Sam said with
a touch of frosty irritation in her voice, "I could have handled him."
"I know that, Carter." Jack answered
with some mischief in his voice.
Sam regarded her CO for a moment, then
laughed. "Yeah I suppose you do know that, Sir. Thanks anyway, though."
She then took a sip of her now cold tea. "Damn, wasted a good cup of tea."
Jack shook his head and then opened his folders and they sat in the commissary in companionable silence.
Salem was seething by the time he reached
his quarters. "Damn them," he said under his breath as he sat down
at the desk and stared at the wall in front of it. He could feel his emotions
just roiling in him. He had come, he knew, very close to losing his temper.
It was not so much that he almost lost his temper; he had done that before.
It was that he'd almost lost his temper in front of another person. He had never
done that.
He had prided himself in his complete control.
Even when she had angered him when they parted all those years ago, he had managed
to maintain his composure. He closed his eyes and could actually envision what
he had wanted to do to and with her at that time. She had the exquisite skin
of a true blonde and it was as soft as it was fair. He knew without a doubt
what he could do to and with skin like that.
He swallowed hard and went to the sink in his bathroom and splashed cold water on his face. He would not, could not, let his needs and desires get ahead of the job. He'd come too far and besides, there was another that wanted revenge on her. Maybe the two of them could exercise that desire together. Until then, he would watch and he would wait. O'Neill wouldn't be with her every second and when his employers had what they wanted, then he would have what he wanted.
Outside of General Hammond's office the
next morning, Major Harris Gordon was trying hard to cool his heels. He kept
snapping up his left wrist to look at his watch, knowing that it was a useless
exercise. General Hammond had been keeping him waiting for the last 30 minutes.
He was closeted with Colonel O'Neill and
the man he had known as General Jacob Carter. He knew that General Carter was
retired and that it was for medical reasons. But here he was, involved in a
briefing with O'Neill and General Hammond, as if he had something to say in
what he was going to do. Oh he had heard that Carter was involved in some peripheral
way with the SGC, but he didn't understand why he would be caring about this
Goa'uld. He was, after all, no longer an Air Force officer.
Forty-five minutes after his scheduled
appointment, he was called into the office.
"Major Gordon," Hammond began.
"You will be allowed in to see the Goal'uld Angra Mainyu, but you will
not be allowed to carry anything in with you."
"General Hammond?" Gordon started
to protest. " I ..."
General Hammond raised his right hand and
forestalled any further protest. "I don't want to take any chances that
he can use anything you bring in as a weapon."
George was sincere in that respect, but
he also didn't trust that Kinsey was trying to arrange something through this
man.
"Well...," Gordon started to say, but knew that it would be pointless to argue. Hammond was right in one respect, the Goa'uld could indeed use his pen to stab him in the jugular. It was an old trick.
Feeling that he had no other choice to
make, he nodded in agreement and then the four of them left for the cell.
"I will be..." Major Gordon told
them at the door, "...going in alone. Right?" It was not so much a
question as an expectation.
Hammond looked sideways at O'Neill, but
nodded.
As Kinsey's man entered the cell, the other
three went to the observation room. Gordon had been through a pat down, but
they didn't expect that the scar that he had on his right forearm had been anything
but that. They didn't notice when he was talking to Angra and alternately scratching
his forearm that he was slowing pulling the scar off and that it landed on the
floor or that Harris was continually trying to use his eyes to signal to the
Goa'uld to pick up the skin tone patch when he left.
The conversation between Gordon and the
Goa'uld appeared to be fruitless. Gordon asked all the appropriate questions,
got the pre-requisite defiant answers and after 30 minutes, the three saw Gordon
throw up his hands and call for the guard to let him out.
Before he left, he gave Angra another significant look. When Angra was left alone, he walked around to where his 'guest' had sat and used his bare foot to stick the piece of 'skin' to the bottom of his foot. They did not, he knew, watch him when he used the facilities. Foolish Tau'ri, according him that privacy. He peeled off the fake skin and smiled. It was written in Goa'uld. His contact Si'serra had told him to be prepared. They had not, it seemed, forgotten him after all. All he had to do was survive his 'Hunter'. He sensed the 'Hunter' was losing patience and soon would just kill him, he only hoped that those superiors he answered to would hold him at bay, just a little longer.
Jack sat in Hammond's office fiddling with
the pencils on his desk. They had been reviewing Major Gordon's 'interrogation',
if one could call it that, of the Goa'uld.
"If that was an interrogation, I'm
the Queen of Sheba." Jack said suddenly. "It was almost as if he was
there just to play a part." Jack threw the pencils onto the desk and sat
back. "Something is going on."
Hammond nodded and responded. "I agree,
Colonel, but what can we do about it?"
George Hammond had been at this game for
a very long time. They were playing a kind of bluffing game. He wondered why
they were playing what was essentially a poker game. A high stakes game, to
be sure, but nonetheless, still a game.
"I have to tell you Jack, that if
it wasn't for the fact that we searched the Major before he went in, I would
swear that he was giving him a message."
Hammond watched as Jack's eyes narrowed
in thought and he also noticed the sharp and sudden rise of his head when a
thought came to him.
"You know General. I don't think you
are too far off." Jack stopped for a minute and continued. "On the
message part."
Hammond's eyes widened a tad "Jack,
short of sending him in naked, I don't see how he could have told him anything.
Far as I know, Gordon doesn't speak any foreign language, much less Goa'uld."
Hammond looked down at his hands, which
were now folded on his desk. "We will still keep a watchful eye on those
two. And Jack..." His Colonel looked at him with a question in his eyes.
"Please be careful how you interact with Mr. Latham."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Evidently
he has passed on that you are not showing him the proper respect due a man in
his position and that he hopes that you will remember to whom you are speaking
to and whom he represents."
Aside from a sudden glint in Jack's eyes,
he gave no indication of reaction to what he was told.
While in the hallway to his office Jack did give some thought to that word of 'advice'. "Respect, huh? You have no idea how much 'respect' you are going to get Latham, if you continue to bother my team. Especially Carter."
After another apparently fruitless interrogation
Hammond called the President and put a stop to any more meetings.
"I have to protest." Salem spoke
in a very controlled voice. It was apparent to everyone in the room that he
was a very angry man. But absolutely nothing in his voice gave any outward indication.
The cold fury in his eyes although evident, was also controlled.
Jack marveled at how anyone could be that
angry and remain so detached from it all. He knew that something more was going
to happen; it had to. Kinsey wouldn't sit still for this.
"It was a command decision on my part,
Mr. Latham." General Hammond tried to put on a patient demeanor, but this
man annoyed him. Had, in truth, annoyed him from the minute he walked in the
door.
"Very well, General Hammond."
Salem bit back telling the man he was a buffoon and tried to appear as if he
was graciously accepting their dismissal. He would, however, have quite a bit
to say to Major Gordon. Salem was convinced that Harris had something to do
with this.
George breathed a big sigh of relief when
the two representatives from Kinsey's office left the complex.
"I don't have to tell you," he
said to the members of SG-1, "that I have never been so happy to see the
back of anyone's head, as I was of that man."
They all knew he was referring to Salem
Latham. Harris Gordon had proved himself to be, as he always had been, innocuous.
It isn't that they underestimated him, you learn not to dismiss that type of
individual - the tendency to get bit in the ass happens quite a lot when you
do - but his performance in the interrogation room showed that he had no idea
how to ask anything but very general questions.
Jack swore that if he asked Angra how long he had inhabited his host, he would have strangled him personally. However, everyone in the room knew that no matter how pointless the visit was, Kinsey had a method to his madness and that watching the Goa'uld even more closely was the next step for them.
Going up and down the stairs of her house
was still a chore for Beth, but it was getting easier. A whole lot easier she
thought, than avoiding Ben's questions. She knew that Blue Topaz was feeding
him a lot of information, information that Ben couldn't even begin to understand,
information that Beth didn't dare share with him. This was stuff she wasn't
even supposed to know and now Ben's informant was pushing him to dig more. It
was going to come down to choosing. Beth knew that. Ben or the secrets. She
was aware she could lose him entirely with her silence. She wasn't certain what
game Blue Topaz was playing. He? She? Had come through several times for them.
Saved their lives a few times as well, especially Jon's career. What did this
individual stand to gain, though, by pushing Ben?
The object of her concern was sitting on
the recliner watching a game. Lord knew which sport he was watching, with cable
there was always something on. He had been very quiet with her today, searching
her eyes with his for some answers. She knew that he would want answers and
the waiting game would come to end. Sighing, she walked into her bedroom and
started sorting the clothes.
Suddenly, deciding that all the thinking
was making her head hurt, she sat down on the bed. She had sat for so long in
that quiet place in her head, that she didn't notice Ben at the door. His discrete
cough caused her to raise her golden brown eyes to his.
"I thought you had fallen asleep,"
he told her. She had been upstairs for an hour and worried that she was overdoing
it. One basket load of underwear shouldn't have taken an hour to fold and put
away. "I was worried."
He stepped over to the bed and sat on it
behind her. He then pulled her back to him, where she was laying between his
legs and leaning against his chest. His large hands started massaging her head
and stroking her face as well.
"What were you thinking about?"
He knew that she had been rather skittish around him lately. Not physically,
she went to him easily, as if being with him was a natural as breathing. But
she was holding something back. Pushing her to share that part of her was proving
to be fruitless. When she held something back, she held it firmly. Blue Topaz
kept hinting it had something to do with him. Ben could still remember how hard
Blue Topaz laughed when he knew that Ben had jumped to the inevitable conclusion.
"Do you think, Commander?" He
had been taunted. "That if your good Doctor and her Colonel had wanted
to be together, that you could have stopped them?"
An unusual way of being reassured, for
sure, but it still didn't stop the internal feelings of missing something.
He felt her move, a certain restlessness
that came about when she didn't want to talk about something. He tightened his
hold on her, his hands easily eclipsing hers in size and in strength, holding
her tightly against him.
"You are going to have to tell me
sometime, Beth. I'm going to hear it eventually, from you or from Blue Topaz.
I don't care from whom."
Beth shifted around in his arms. He knew
she hated feeling like she had no freedom of movement when held. It wasn't the
holding that bothered her, it was the feeling of being confined that upset her.
He noted the slight sheen in her eyes. The watery golden color gave away the
battle she was having internally.
He then kissed her, hard, and they lost
themselves in each other. It had been a long time since they had been intimate
and Ben was aware that as glad as he was for this, he knew it was also a distraction.
One distraction he was willing and able to allow, for now.
Major Gordon watched the Senator move around
his office with a deliberate step. Harris had wondered if the Senator had a
spontaneous bone in his body. Whatever it was Robert Kinsey did, he did with
an air of one that planned. In one of Harris' more irreverent moments, he wondered
if timed out his wife's orgasms while in bed. Harris had watched Kinsey with
his wife and even his solicitous actions seemed to be choreographed with a deliberate
attention to detail. But he knew that the Senator was thrown off balance by
only one thing-well, in reality only one person. Colonel Jonathan "Jack"
O'Neill. "With two ll's." Kinsey used to bark whenever he discussed
the Colonel with him and with Salem. "The cheek of the man." Kinsey
would always finish his comments about O'Neill with that expression. Sometimes
Harris wondered if part of what bothered Kinsey was that he admired the man
he so hated. And there was no mistaking that emotion-Kinsey hated O'Neill.
Gordon noticed Kinsey sudden halt in his
movements and awaited the comment he knew was coming.
"Are they going to be ready?"
Kinsey asked him.
"Yes Sir." Gordon answered with
a steady tone in his voice. They had gone over the plan so much that he could
hear the conversations word for word in his head. "By the time they realize
what happened-everyone will be gone."
Kinsey nodded. "No chance of them
finding out where they will be going?"
"None Senator." Gordon answered
him. His tone both reassuring and confident. "They will have no way of
tracking them."
That made Kinsey smile. And Gordon realized, that he really didn't like the Senator's smile. Reminded him of a crocodile."
The woman looked at the officer standing
by the window of her office.
"Tell me again." Beth could hardly
believe her ears. "Why are we going to Cheyenne Mountain?"
The officer turned his large body toward
her. His eyes so very hard to read at this time. The colors of polished stones,
but one of a sapphire and the other of a tiger's eye.
"Because Blue Topaz gave me some information
that both interests and confuses me. " Stopping for a minute and looking
deeply in her eyes. "And I am going to get answers to. Jack and I have
a lot to settle and I intend to see that it happens this trip."
Beth shook her head. Her dark blonde curls,
only for a moment, moved with her head. She knew that Ben was aware of some
of what was going on at Cheyenne Mountain, certainly the kidnapping and parts
of what went on there-but not all of it. Not as much as he wanted and not as
much as she felt he deserved to know. But it wasn't her call to make.
"Oh no," she began. Her voice
now with a touch of stress. She always heard the "They" tell you that
fear sometimes makes you feel like you are frozen and that movement and speech
almost seem labored. Beth found that in this instance "They" were
right. "Ben. You can't possibly believe everything this...this..."
a sigh "You know nothing about Blue Topaz."
A short laugh came from him and then he
turned back to the window.
"I know enough about him...or her...to
know that the information is always genuine Beth. Every piece of information
has been valid and validated."
Beth hugged herself and waited. She knew
that Ben was measuring his next statement.
"Jack is going to tell me what is
going on." Turning back to her. "The President himself told me he
would."
"Ben? What have you done?"
"Solved a big problem with Blue Topaz'
help. And he granted me one wish. Can you guess?"
"Oh Ben." Beth just didn't know
what else to say to him. She knew it was coming. The fact Ben had been involved
in bits and pieces of this present situation since almost the beginning. Since
the kidnapping he had been digging for more information and Blue Topaz was happy
to oblige. Blue Topaz had to bee aware that he was deepening his connection
toBen.
"We are leaving tomorrow." His
tone was stern and unyielding. "You can warn him if you like Beth. It won't
change a damn blessed thing."
Then calmly, he walked out of her office.
No see you later. No call you later. No
hug. No...nothing.
It took Beth a couple of deep breaths before
she reached for her phone.
"Colonel O'Neill, please." Beth
drummed her fingers on her desk. The voice answering on the other end caused
her to stop and sit up.
"Jon, we have a problem."
Jack put his handset back in its' cradle
and then with his elbows on his desk, steepled his fingers and stared at the
door. He knew that this would have to happen. Ben had become firmly entrenched
in their lives-and not just because of Beth. He sat like that for several minutes,
when a knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts.
"Come." He called out.
His second and the geek archeologist came
into the office.
Sam, being acutely aware of his moods noticed
that his mood had a dark humor to it. It wasn't so much by what he said; it
was what his body language told her.
"Sir?" she raised an eyebrow
when she addressed him.
"Have a seat guys." He gestured
to the chairs in his office.
"Something wrong?" Daniel, also
acutely sensitive to the dynamics of the people around him, had also picked
up something from Jack's manner.
"We are about to have company."
He regarded both of them. His eyes still the warm brown they were accustomed
to seeing, but a certain wariness to them. "Commander Benjamin Samuels
of the Judge Advocate Generals Office is coming for a visit."
Waiting to gauge their reaction, he continued
with a sigh. "The president has granted Ben access to Stargate Command.
In other words, he is in."
Sam looked down at her hands and then up
at her CO. "Is that so bad Sir?"
Jack shook his head. "No Carter it
isn't. I just don't think that another person needs to be on Kinsey's hit list.
And I hoped that with Ben not being involved, Beth would be kept safe. Now,
they both will know more than what is good for them."
The silence hung heavy in the air. Each
lost in their own thoughts.
Jack broke the silence by breaking one
of the pencils on his desk. His eyes narrowed as he looked at the two halves.
"Damn him." The curse on an explosive
breath. "When will we be rid of him?"
His two companions could only look on in
silence.
The elevator ride down to level 28 was done in silence. Jack had met Ben at
the entrance to the mountain and silently handed him the pass to the promised
land. Neither man talked on the way into the complex or on the way down. Once
the elevator opened the first voice to break their silence belonged to General
Hammond, who greeted the men and then led them to his office.
It was almost eerie how really silent the
area around Hammond's office was. Not that people heard much of what was said
in there, but that there was no yelling-not from Colonel O'Neill or from Commander
Samuels.
Hammond finally stopped talking and looked
at the two officers in front of him. Both fine officers and good men. Hammond
ruefully thought that Commander Samuels would make a find addition to the SGC.
Maybe that was why the president agreed to send him. But somehow Hammond knew
that Commander Samuels would not find this job as appealing as what he was presently
doing.
"So that's it?" Samuels asked
him.
Hammond remained silent.
O'Neill shifted slightly in his chair which
earned a sideways glance from the Commander.
"I suppose I shouldn't be quite so
blasé about this whole thing, should I?" His question was more rhetorical,
he really didn't expect an answer.
"So how is it that Beth got involved
in this?" His question although not directed to anyone in particular, was
really aimed at Jack.
"Kinsey." Was the short and terse
answer.
Ben pursed his lips and nodded. He wasn't
really surprised, Blue Topaz had hinted as much. "Why Jack? Why did he
involve her?"
He watched, as Jack shook his head and
saw the narrowed look that Jack the habit of doing when he was angry or had
become in contact with something...or someone distateful.
Jack looked at him with those narrowed
dark brown eyes and answered that Kinsey was determined to take down the SGC
and would use anyone and anything. Even old friends.
Ben sighed and stood up and walked to the
back of Hammond's office trying to gather his thoughts. This was all just too
much for him to take in.
"With your permission General, I would
just like to go somewhere quiet to sit and take this all in."
Hammond and agreed and forestalled the Colonel from volunteering. "Major Carter will be happy to take you to one of VIP guest rooms Commander." Hammond reached for the phone and called the Major's lab.
Si'Serra looked at the Asgard at the control
panel and smiled.
"It is time?" he asked.
The Asgaard nodded. "The co-ordinates
are almost set. We will be able to pick her up at the same time we get Angra.
They will not know which area to run to first."
A movement to the right of the Asgard caught
the Goa'uld's attention.
A figure whose personality was almost as
monochromatic as his clothes came into view. His face partially hidden by his
mask, but the malevolent gleam in his eyes were quite apparent.
"They will not be able to stop us?"
the figure asked.
Si'Serra smiled. "No. They will not."
The Asgard smiled suddenly. "It is time Si'Serra."
Major Carter and Commander Samuels were
almost at the door to the guest room when a slight humming noise was heard.
Sam was a few steps ahead of Ben because she was heading to open the door. Ben
noticed the beam of light getting ready to surround her and yelled and tried
to push her out of the way. At that same moment a beam of light surrounded Angra
in his cell and Teal'c yelled to the guards-but they were unable to get into
his cell fast enough.
The three materialized on the ship and
stared at the people waiting for them.
Angra very quickly walked over to the three
men and faced the two Tau'ri that were there. Ben had his arm around Sam and
could only stare at them. Both were unarmed and aware of the dangerous situation
they were now in.
Si'Serra and Angra then walked over to
the two and separated them. Angra had managed to get Sam's hands behind her
back and held her while Si'Serra used his hand device on Ben and knocked him
to his knees.
"Well well. What have we here?"
His smiled was pure evil as he watched the man collapse to the floor. He then
turned his gaze to the woman. "Who is he?" he asked her. But before
Sam could respond another voice called out the answer.
"Colonel Benjamin Samuels. Beloved
of a very dear friend of Colonel O'Neill's."
Sam turned to the voice and her blue eyes
suddenly became the color and consistency of the sapphire stone they had been
compared to.
"You!" the word exploded form
her lips and she attempted to lunge at him.
Salem Latham came out of the shadows followed by Major Gordon.
His cold laugh sent a chill up her spine
and she could also see that Major Gordon was also affected by it.
"How nice of you to bring company
Major." He walked over to where Angra was holding her and stroked her hair
and her face.
"Such a pity that such beauty is going
to be such a fleeting thing."
Making a signal with his hand. Angra led
a fighting Carter away and Si'Serra reached down and lifted Ben and threw him
over his shoulder,
"Do not hurt him much." Angra
called out to him. "He would make a fine addition to my hunters."
"If he lives." Si'Serra taunted back. "*IF* he lives."
Teal'c and Jack met almost in the middle
of the hall.
"He is gone." Teal'c said at
almost the same minute Jack informed him that Ben and Sam were also gone.
The expletive that was breathed out in
an explosive breath was not one that Teal'c heard often from his friend. He
did however silently agree that it fit the situation quite well.
Raising his narrowed eyes at his Jaffa
friend he asked. "How did they get the message to Angra?"
Teal'c could only shake his head. His gold
emblem marking his servitude to Apophis gleamed in the light of the corridor
and made his movement as ominous as his feelings.
A sound from the far end of the corridor
notifed them that the running feet they heard belonged to Daniel and General
Hammond.
"Thor..."Daniel began trying
to catch his breath. "...is here looking for you Jack."
Quickly the four men headed to the gateroom-so
great was the confusion and the shock-the alarms didn't even go off. Thor just
appeared and ordered the SF's to find O'Neill-now.
"Thor?" Jack questioned his friend and noted that the Asgard was angry.
Thor looked mournfully at this friend.
"I am sorry O'Neill" Thor's voice was smooth, but tinged with sorrow.
"I will mince no words with you O'Neill.
There is an unholy alliance of four races involved in this. The Humans, the
Asgaard and the Goa'uld are three of them. And the fourth..."
The fourth shocked Jack. He had thought
that they were finished with them.
"There will be no treaty violations
with our helping you with this."
Jack knew Thor was referring to the Protected Planets Treaty.
"I can only hope that I will be the
one to take care of the traitor." Thor's voice took on a hardened edge
that many would recognize as coming from O'Neill, but to hear that come from
the normally clam and mellow Asgaard was a shock.
"Thor." Jack started to try and
reassure his friend. He didn't think that Thor would have let this happen had
he been able to stop it. Look at Loki.
"O'Neill-there is more about this
Asgaard traitor than you know." Thor looked down at his consol and signed.
"I know this traitor very well."
Jack and others looked expectantly at Thor.
"He was," Thor began slowly and
sadly, "Not only my second in command, he was also my best friend."
The silence only served to enforce Thor's
sadness.
"His name was Ull." Thor's eyes
shined briefly. "He was one of my best officers O'Neill. He was most impatient.
He also believed in accelerating the search and development of new bodies for
our consciousness. He believe, as did Loki, that the experiments on the humans
should continue. He left the service when Loki was caught."
"In any event." The Asgaard continued. "I will make amends for what he has done."
Jack wanted to respond, but seeing the
look in his friend's eyes, he could only turn to Hammond.
Hammond nodded and reached for the phone to organize several SG-1 teams.
Thor then told them that he knew where they had taken Commander Samuels and
Major Carter.
"It is an obscure planet in the Bindara
system. The name of the planet is Ramla." Thor looked into Jack's eyes
and continued "it is a dangerous world O'Neill. The most dangerous of criminals
reside there."
Jack nodded and indicated that he and Teal'c and Daniel needed to gear up-they would be quick.
Si'Serra threw the pain stick at the Jaffa
at the head of the table they had Ben tied to.
Looking at the big man on the table the
Goa'uld smiled.
"You are strong Tau'ri. Stronger than
I would have expected."
Walking to Ben's head he grabbed a handful
of Ben's hair. He put his face very close to Ben's and didn't miss the hate
in his prisoner's eyes.
"I wonder how much more you can take
of this." Si'Serra kept careful watch on Ben's pupils when he said this
to him. He could see that although Ben had fear in his eyes, the fear did not
overwhelm him. Ben had even during the worst of it, not taken his eyes of the
Goa'uld who tortured him.
Finally standing up he taunted Ben with
one last comment. "I wonder, how the woman will stand up to her punishment."
Si'Serra then left the room, followed by his Jaffa, leaving Ben to finally close his eyes and take the shuddering breath he had held in. The stick they used on him caused him no small pain. His body didn't seem to have any place that did not hurt-and there was also another torture they used on him-that left small cuts on various parts of his body. He had wondered if they intended for him to bleed to death slowly. It was only the adrenaline and his need to see Beth again that seemed to keep him alive.
Salem spit out a gob of blood.
"Damn her." His thoughts were
not kind. "The Bitch actually bit him." Actually bit his lip and hung
on to make sure that she drew blood.
There was a livid bruise already starting
around her left eye. It was going to match the one on her right cheek bone.
Every time she rejected him, he hit her.
It was disconcerting. His mind roiled with
that thought. Losing control. That is what she had always made him do. Never
in front of her. But alone. In the dark of his bedroom. This time the overwhelming
emotion of anger overtook him. And in public. She was, the only woman that made
him lose control. And now, it was in front of others. He did not like that.
The woman, Sam Carter, like the man was
tied to a table. She was grateful that they hadn't disrobed her, as they did
Ben. She was allowed to keep her clothes on while they tortured her and even
while Salem tried to take liberties.
Sam tried not to have a shudder in her
breath. The shudder was from the hate she had for that man, but she was certain
that he would believe it was from fear. It looked as if he was losing patience
with her rejection and might take by force, what he had wanted to coerce from
her. She was "saved" this time at least by the appearance of the Goa'uld
Si'Serra and the "other". At first she wasn't sure who it was, the
mask threw her off, but as soon as he spoke, she knew.
"Mollem." She breathed. He had survived the blast of the weapon they had tried to send through their gate. A feeling of loss washed through her, she remembered the man who lost his life to save hers, the Ambassador-Joe Faxton.
"Nice to see you again, Major."
Mollem walked over to her head. The silver of his mask-covering the scarring
he had received during the explosion glinted in the light, adding a more sinister
look to his countenance.
Mollem watched her eyes and saw that she
remembered him and what happened.
"I've waited a long time for this
Major. A very...long time."
He started to walk around her, watching
as her eyes followed him.
"You don't know how many times I have
dreamed of having you at my mercy like this Major." His voice took on a
hard edge as he continued traversing around her. "Look carefully at what
you have done. You ruined our plans for your planet Major, but we aren't done
with your kind yet."
Inclining his head toward Salem who, although
his blood and hers was still evident on his lips, still appeared unruffled.
"I would so enjoy watching what Mr.
Latham would like to do to you. I have never seen a rape before Major. I understand
that it is really a very degrading act. And I would so appreciate the utter
irony."
Suddenly Mollem stepped back and looked
at his tunic in disgust. Sam had, with what liquid she could muster, spit at
Mollem.
Her voice raw with pain and anger spat
out a curse. "Fuck you Mollem. Do your worst. We beat you before, we will
do it again."
Mollem stepped toward her and slapped her.
The force of the blow jarred her and Sam felt that she could actually see stars
after the impact.
Mollem then turned to Salem. "Do whatever
you want with the woman. But do not kill her, reserve that for me."
He then left with Si'Serra following him. Only Major Gordon noted the look of amusement in the Goa'uld's eyes. Si'Serra, Harris had noted, loved drama. And this played out so well for his amusement. Gordon then felt Salem give him a push and realized that Salem wanted him out. He was grateful for that. He was not fond of Major Carter, but he wasn't voyeuristic and really didn't want to see what Salem would do to her.
In the end, aside from fondling her, Salem didn't attempt any overt sexual penetration. The tears leaked out of her eyes. He had tried other things and she fought him off, he made the mistake of untying her legs and she hoped that he bled when he went to the bathroom. He had forgotten how long and how strong her legs were. The Jaffa that had retied her had not withheld their contempt and humor at how the human male had been bested by a female, a tied female at that. The pain stick he ordered them used on her, was a small price for the satisfaction of besting him though. Her breath was coming in shallow spurts, damn those things did hurt though.
SG-1 and 8 other SG teams were beamed up to the Daniel Jackson. The Samantha Carter was ready as well and had been cloaked above at the planet and also ready to go.. It was not a warship, but a research and medical carrier. The Asgard felt that it was the ship that had best represented what Samantha Carter had done for their people. Dr. Frazier and Dr. Warner were already on board having been beamed there with whatever medical equipment the SGC could spare and whatever medical personal were available as well. They would, be ready for when any of the injured needed to be transported to the ship. Thor had also beamed up Dr. Greene-knowing that the man she loved would need her when they found him. Commander Samuels would need more than her loving attention, Thor knew, when they found him. But he could not find it in himself to tell her and trusted that the others would be silent about that as well.
The trip to Ramla was quick-even by Asgaard
standards.
Jack made the comment to Thor who informed him that they had been able to upgrade their engines to be able to travel faster and farther than they had previously been able to.
Soon the Asgaard Armada took up cloaked
positions around Ramla.
Thor was at the consol and pushed a few
buttons and moved a few controls and then nodded to O'Neill.
"They can't see us, right?" Jack
asked him.
"No O'Neill, we are invisible to their
instruments."
"How soon?" Jack was starting
to get very agitated. He wanted to go already-but Thor was cautioning patience
and control.
"The time has to be right O'Neill-we cannot risk their knowing we are here. Thirty minutes and we will go."
During the wait Jack saw several Asgaard
soldiers wander in and out of C and C and confer with Thor.
Finally Thor nodded to him and said it
was time.
Although Jack's fingers were flagged on
his weapon, they were itching to fire it. The Goa'uld Angra would be the first.
He couldn't help his wanting to kill him.
The Hunter that lodged deep in Jack's psyche
hungered. Jack could feel him coming alive because of the coming battle and
the sudden rush of adrenalin in Jack's body. I have to hold him back. He can't
take over, not now. Jack knew that the Hunter's only aim was revenge and that
if he came forward, any killing would be indiscriminate, and he didn't want
that.
You need me. The Hunter's voice was insistent
in Jack's mind. I can take care of Angra for you. You must let me. He is mine
to destroy for what he has done to us.
The voice wheedled in his head-pleading,
demanding, ordering.
Thor was watching his friend carefully.
O'Neill had told him that sometimes the Hunter spoke to him. And he rightfully
surmised that it was speaking to him now.
"O'Neill?" Thor's voice was soft
and concerned.
Jack shook his head and his eyes seemed
to change from the hardened look of the Hunter to the clear brown that was his
normally.
"I'm okay Thor." Jack answered
quickly. Too quickly, he knew. But Thor's question was timely. The Hunter was
getting stronger in him and he hoped that he could hold him off.
Soon the SG teams and the Asgaard troops
assembled in the transport room. Thor's team had carefully scanned the Goa'uld
mothership and determined the best places to appear and soon they boarded the
ship.
The Jaffa in the targeted areas were overcome
quickly, but the alarm had been sounded.
The teams quickly broke into their formations and scattered throughout the ship.
Jack thought that the smoke on board that
ship was going to kill him. It had been thick, heavy and noxious. He had struggled
to wrap his neck cloth around his head to cover his nose and his mouth. verywhere
he looked he saw people scrambling He knew that the Goa'uld ship was going to
blow and they were almost finished evacuating everyone.
It was when Jack was aboard the Samantha
Carter that he felt he could take a breath. It was touch and go, but they had
managed to evacuate all the SG teams and Asgard soldiers, as well as Sam and
Ben before the Goa'uld ship blew.
He had thought about leaving Gordon and Latham on the ship and would have had Daniel not reminded him of who he really was. He didn't know if the Goa'uld, Asgard or Aschen individuals made it off or not and right now he wasn't inclined to really give much of a rats' ass.
Eyes red and watering, Jack looked around
the makeshift infirmary. He caught sight of familiar orderlies bandaging and
comforting some SGC team members. He was wondering if Sam and Daniel were in
here. He had already seen Teal'c and was comforted knowing that his friend was
unhurt and had been helping to care for the injured.
Remaining calm in a time like this was
a skill he had long ago honed, but he still felt his heart feel like a stone
in his chest as he looked for his team...his friends.
Almost immediately he saw Daniel limping
out of the fog and give Jack a lopsided grin. He was leaning on Siler and gave
Jack a quick thumb move backwards-indicating that someone else was following.
Jack's heart gave a small leap-a flash
of yellow seemed to just materialize out of the fog. That mop of short blonde
hair that belonged to his second heralded her arrival. Teal'c was helping her
to walk. Jack could see that Teal'c would rather have carried her, but he knew
it was important to Carter that she walk on her own steam. He remembered that
scene in the engine room where she and that Latham scum battled it out-and she
won. The memory flashed behind his eyes. He knew that she was deadly with a
knife, but forgotten how deadly. He knew that Latham would never...ever underestimate
her skills again. He knew he wouldn't.
With Carter and Daniel accounted for, Jack
looked for Beth. He then noticed her laboring over a man on a stretcher. He
noticed that Doc Frazier was there with her and that they were accosting several
SG members and taking their jackets, shirts and whatever else they had on.
Jack took off at a run and when he was
near enough he heard Janet yell for him to strip.
"Excuse me?" his tone was more
of surprise than of a denial.
"Colonel." Janet's voice held
a tinge of exasperation. "We need it to wrap his wounds."
Jack then took in that both Janet and Beth
were stripped almost down to their underwear because they used their uniform
tops to wrap the wounds on Commander Samuels. Jack wordlessly took of his shirt
and watched as Beth proceeded to tear it into strips.
Shaking her head Janet explained that there
were just too many wounded and not enough supplies.
Standing back he watched the two women
dress Ben's wounds and saw Beth's gentle brushing of Ben's forehead when they
were finished.
He saw her take his hand in hers as she
leaned over to whisper into his ear.
His heart ached for her. Ben was a strong
bear of man, Jack knew, but he looked so pale lying there on the stretcher.
Catching Janet's eyes, he wordlessly asked
her to watch out for the two of them. Janet nodded and went over and put her
arms around Beth and spoke quietly to her.
Jack headed over to meet with his team.
Jack wearily trudged into the waiting room
of the Air Force Academy Hospital. Scrubbing his head with his hands he thought
back on the news he had received about his team and about Ben Samuels.
Carter and Daniel were going to be fine.
Aside from a few broken bone and some new scars, they were going to recover
fully. Ben, however, was another matter.
Doc Frazier told them that Ben was going
to live, but his recovery would take a very long time. And she wasn't referring
as much to his wounds as she was to the knowledge that he now had.
Jack had wondered, for the millionth time
why they just hadn't brought him into the picture. He was a good man, a smart
man and could have been a good addition to the program. It certainly would have
made Beth's life easier, bless her heart. She'd never backed down and threatened
to tell him anyway, even though it could have cost her the man she loves.
Carter had certainly argued on her behalf.
They had aheated conversation in her hospital room. She asked how much did he
believe a relationship, based on secrecy and lies, could take. No matter how
much love a couple had between them, if there was not trust, love couldn't provide
enough to bridge that gap.
He didn't disagree, but it wasn't his call
to make. He did have one call he could make, but he needed Beth to agree. He
wondered if she would.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts,
he noticed she was standing at the window looking out onto the grounds. He noticed
visible signs of her distress evident in her stance and her eyes.
"Beth." Jack's voice was quiet,
soft and tender. He watched her slowly turn at the sound of her voice and held
open his arms. She practically ran into them, wound her arms around him and
held on, more than held him.
"You've heard?" he asked her.
He felt her head go up and down against his chest, as she nodded her answer.
"He's strong, Bethie." Jack began
and then he shifted slightly so that she would let go and face him. "He'll
return to where he was. The doctors said there won't be any residual health
or physical problems. But..."
He noticed her eyes widen slightly. Even
through the sheen of tears, they were expressive. Jack took her hand, led her
to the sofa and they sat down.
"I need you to really pay attention
to me Beth." His voice took a different tone. It was still soft, but it
had a commanding quality to it. When he was sure he had her attention he continued.
"There is a way to erase the memories
from Ben's mind. But I want your cooperation."
The skeptical look he got back made him
put his hands on her face.
"With all that has happened, do you
doubt that I can have it done?"
"The Asgaard?" was her quiet
reply.
He nodded and continued. "Yes. You
remember the one I called 'Thor'?"
A nod.
"He has the technology to remove the
memory, maybe give Ben the memory of a car crash or something. This would give
both of you breathing room."
Beth gave a short laugh and then got up,
walked to the window and rested her forehead against the window pane.
"What are you thinking?" Jack
asked from where he sat on the sofa. He watched her place her hands on the window
and push herself upright.
"I'm thinking..." she began as
she turned to face him. "That I don't have the right to do that."
Her voice was shaking. Her fear, frustration and anger were so evident to him.
"Come on, Beth." Jack knew better
than to take a cajoling tone with her. "You know we couldn't tell him."
A nod. "Oh yeah. I know...knew that,
Jon." Her tone was now slightly acerbic. "We were able to use him
and his knowledge, but, heaven forbid, that he knew what he was getting into."
"Beth." Jack's voice was stern
now. "He is military. A seal. He is...was familiar with need to know. He
accepted that."
"Really?" She made a pointed
retort. "Did he know that his life would be forfeit because of it?"
She walked over to stand in front of Jack.
Her eyes took on a hard gold color. "Was he aware that his beloved military
would be asking him to put his life on the line for something he was to know
nothing about? My God, Jon..."
Jack stood up suddenly and pulled her to
him. "Beth, we can't fix what was, we have to fix what is. Just say the
word."
Looking up into his eyes Beth could see
his concern and his belief that she knew he would do what he needed to do. For
her. For Ben. For his team.
"I don't know, Jon. I really don't."
She stroked the left side of his face and he leaned slightly into the caress.
"I just don't know if I have the right to do that. I don't know if we have
the right to do that."
They stood there looking into each other's
eyes for a few minutes. He could see her heart in her yes, he could stare back
at her and then, regretfully, he let her go.
"I am going to go and check in on
Sam and Daniel again. Think about it, please."
Just as Jack was about to leave Beth's
next statement startled him.
"It was Harris you know." She
said quietly.
Jack looked at her expectantly.
"He was there-when they, he, it, the
Goa'uld Si'Serra...beat me."
Jack felt his heart squeeze-he let that
rat bastard go.
"I told him that you would one day
kill him. He told me that he knew that."
Jack made a snorting sound.
"I know you had the chance to do so
Jon-I'm glad you didn't. I didn't want his death on your soul either."
"His life is forfeit Beth." Jack
answered her. "I'm afraid that none of this is really over."
"Probably not." She answered
him. "But if Harris is to die-I don't want it to be murder Jon. Kill him
if the situation warrants it, I won't shed any tears. But kill him because there
is no other choice. Not because it is your choice."
Jack nodded and walked over to her.
He dropped a kiss on her forehead, squeezed
her arms and left. Beth turned again to the window and reached into her jacket
pocket. That slight movement caught Jack's attention as he left the room and
he watched to see what she was pulling out.
It sparkled in the sunlight coming in through
the window. He watched her look at it for a few minutes and saw her starting
to cry in earnest. His heart started to ache especially when he saw her close
her right hand into a tight fist, as she stood without making any effort to
stop her tears.
"I will make it right for you, Beth,"
he silently promised her. "No matter I have to do."
He then silently turned down the hall to
where Sam ...and Daniel were.
Coming in the room he saw the two of them
sitting close. A twinge of jealousy hit him seeing the two of sitting so close
and holding each other. Seeing Daniel being able to hold her and stroke her
hair and talk soothingly to her so close, when he could only stand in front
of her and try and look composed and so correct.
Both of them looked up at his entrance.
Guilelessly. So innocently trusting of each other and of him.
"How is she?" Daniel asked.
"Heart sick-" Jack wanted to
say something more, but refrained. No point in being snarky he thought-things
are the way they are.
"Did you ask her?" Sam asked
him. She had argued that Ben should be allowed his memories and that he had
the right to his questions and answers.
Jack walked over to the bed directly opposite
the one they were on and sat down heavily. He hunched himself over and steepled
his fingers. Looking down at his shoes for a minute before he lifted tortured
brown eyes up to look into theirs.
"Yes Carter." He began. "I
asked her. She declined."
Sam blew out her breath. She figured that
Beth wouldn't grasp that straw.
"You think he'll walk on her?"
Daniel asked.
Jack tensed a minute, he had thought that-and
now that he knew Ben had proposed, he felt that Beth would feel more kicked
to the curb.
Shaking his head. "I don't know Daniel.
Really. He has been in love with her since we were kids, far longer than even
she is aware of. Is his feelings for her strong enough for..." he didn't
finish just spread his fingers.
"I guess I will have to talk to him."
Jack said almost with some sad resignation in his voice. "I don't know
what else to do to make it right."
Daniel leaned over and put a hand on Jack's
arm. "It is a start Jack. Maybe telling him everything will help him sort
it out."
"Yeah." Jack grimaced and looked
at Carter to see what she thought.
She nodded slowly. "Honesty is best,
Sir."
"Yeah." He said again softly.
He then suddenly changed the subject. "That
was some wound you gave Latham Carter."
"Yeah, well." She began. "It
has been a long time since I had a knife fight of that intensity."
Daniel chuckled. "I'll bet it was.
By the way..."Daniel looked sideways at Jack, who nodded at him to continue
and tell her. "Did the Doctor tell you anything about his wound?"
"Only that he would live and would
be able to walk why?" Sam had been puzzled, because the doctor who took
care of him was laughing the whole time she was talking to her.
"Well, "Daniel started. "It
will leave an interesting scar. You know where you really cut him-don't you."
Sam smiled broadly. "Oh yeah."
Daniel's eyes twinkled and out of the corner
of his, he saw Jack smile and quickly look down at the floor, so that Daniel
could deliver the news without distraction.
"The doctor said that it was going
to be an interesting scar."
Sam shrugged, What did she care about the scar and was going to say so, but the fact that Daniel was openly amused and the Colonel was trying to hid his amusement.
"What Daniel?" She demanded.
Almost undone by Jack's starting to laugh
Daniel told her.
"It is in the perfect shape of an
"S" and "C". The S-he showed her and the C hooked onto the
bottom part of the S.
"You certainly left him your calling
card Sam. I doubt he will ever forget who and how he got that scar."
Sam after a beat started to laugh and soon the three of them had tears running
down their faces.
"I'll bet he won't" she managed to say before they started to laugh again.
Overheard but unseen, the object of their
laughter seethed.
This is far from over Samantha. Salem held
that thought close. The Doctor assured him that he would walk with the very
slightest of limps-but Salem knew that for him-there was no slight. She would
pay for this. His thoughts dark and tortured. In a time of his choice and choosing-they
were not finished, they were far from being done with each other.
Harris Gordon watched the play of emotions
on Salem's face. He overheard them, as did Salem. He was more concerned over
Colonel O'Neill. He knew that someday Dr. Greene was going to tell him whom
was responsible for what happened to her. And in his heart of hearts, he knew
he would eventually die by O'Neill's hand. He only hoped to put off the inevitable
for as long as he could. He was now virtually a prisoner. One of Senator Kinsey's
lackey's. One of the Senator's servants-because he sold his soul to that man
and there was now no escape. The events on the Goa'uld ship sealed his fate.
As each man plotted carefully their revenge
and their escape they were aware that they now stood between the darkness and
the light. And which way they would go appeared to be no longer in their hands.
Jack trudged wearily into his house. Dropping his keys onto the table by door he turned and shut the front door. As was his habit, his eyes began scanning his environment. As the door clicked shut, he noticed the envelope his keys had landed on.
Colonel Jack O'Neill
He lifted up the envelope and turned it
over, looking for some indication as to where it had come from. There was nothing.
The hair on the back of his neck lifted slightly as he considered this. Someone
had come into his house to deliver this. He wished he had his weapon with him,
but nothing seemed to be out of place and he found no indication that an individual
or individuals were still there.
He moved over to his sofa, sat down and
put his feet on the coffee table.
His eyes narrowed and he stared at the
envelope. Sighing, he opened it and began to read.
Dear Jack,
May I call you Jack? Well even if I may not, you probably are sitting there
wondering about how I got this into your house.
You would be surprised. Or, maybe not.
None of that matters though, Colonel.
This letter is to congratulate on a job well done. How you managed to convince
Angra Mainyu that you could use the - what is that delightful word you use for
that goa'uld weapon? Oh yes, the Zat - use that on him with impunity. Poor fool
- he should have known what you are capable of. You were his most prized warrior.
Did you know that? He had, they had, such hopes for you. They forgot your moral
fiber is as strong as your warrior skills.
They all underestimated you. But I shall not make the same mistake, which is
why I am giving you this warning.
Do not turn your back, nor let your guard down.
And should you ever doubt, Commander Samuels is my secret. You would be wise
to give him no more reasons to dig further. Neither of us would appreciate what
he would be find, nor what he would do.
If you love that golden-eyed woman, you would help him forget what happened
and not worry overmuch about whether you have the right to make that choice
for him. Moral choices like that are for suckers, Colonel. Something I know
that you are not.
Speaking of those you love, members of your team are in a very vulnerable position
- one more than the others - but I don't suppose I need to tell you of whom
I am speaking. Revenge is a dish best served cold, Colonel. I suggest that you
remember that when you consider further actions.
And perhaps the best warning I can leave you with is the words of an old children's
movie.
You must know it, Colonel-
Never Smile at a Crocodile.
Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile
Don't be taken in by his welcome grin
He's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin
Never smile at a crocodile
Never dip your hat and stop to talk awhile
Never run, walk away, say good-night, not good-day
Clear the aisle but never smile at Mister Crocodile
You may very well be well bred
Lots ot etiquette in your head
But there's always some special case, time or place
To forget etiquette
For instance:
Never smile at a crocodile
No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile
Don't be taken in by his welcome grin
He's imagining how well you'd fit within his skin
Never smile at a crocodile
Never dip your hat and stop to talk awhile
Never run, walk away, say good-night, not good-day
Clear the aisle but never smile at Mister Crocodile
Blue Topaz
The End
