DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author. Not to be archived without permission of the author(s).
Her feet slapped the gravel in rhythm with the beat of the music pouring from her head phones. The footsteps and the muted music were the only sounds that broke the post dawn silence of the park. Five miles, roughly two laps around the park were her daily ritual.
Today that ritual would end. She never saw the shape separate itself from the back of the pinion tree. If she had, she would have ran for her life. Her hearing impaired, she was surprised to feel the arm wrap itself around her waist and pull her off the track. A large, rough hand clamped over her mouth, choking the scream bubbling up in her throat. She fought for her life. She failed. Within minutes it was over. Her body would not be found for hours, by then the red sandy soil was stained black with blood. The look of surprise and terror was forever frozen on her white face, if you could stand to look beyond the grisly sight of the slit throat.
Major Samantha Carter pulled her jeep into the garage and waited impatiently for the automatic door to close. She left the vehicle and entered her new house, disarming the security system as she went. One week down time. They didn’t often get so much time off at once, especially when they returned in one piece and she planned to make good use of it. The Colonel was coming by in an hour and they, Daniel and Teal’c were all heading to the back country for a few days of skiing and more desirable as far as Sam was concerned, nights beside a fire.
About an hour later she dashed out the door, skis and baggage in tow. She’d quickly glanced over her mail, hurriedly dashing off the few bills that were due, putting them in the mailbox to be picked up tomorrow, and watered her neglected plants, promising more care when she returned. In her hurry, she didn’t notice the blinking light on the answering machine.
Three days later a very relaxed and tired Sam Carter let herself into the house and waved good-bye to her friends. The skiing had been fun, but now she craved some alone time. Bubble bath, ice cream and an old movie were on the top of her list.
She was just starting to transfer her clothes from the suitcase to the dirty clothes hamper when the door bell rang. "Guys...you are not hanging out here," she threatened as she checked the peep hole. Two strangers stood on her porch. She carefully put the chain on the door and eased it open.
"Hello?"
"Samantha Carter?"
"Yes?"
"I’m Detective Parkins and this is Detective Williams with the Colorado Springs Police Department. Can we speak with you?" As he spoke the detectives pulled out gold shields and flashed them towards Sam. She pushed the door closed, released the chain and opened the door.
"What can I do for you detective?"
"May we come in?" Sam opened the door wider and allowed the two men into her house. She shut the door and followed them into the living room.
"Have a seat," she offered as she sat down. "What’s this about?"
"We’re investigating the recent murders in the Garden of the Gods park."
"What murders?"
The detectives looked puzzled, the murders were front page news all over the Colorado Springs area. Seeing the look on their faces Sam quickly explained, "I’ve been out of town for a while." The two men looked at each other. Parkins spoke up.
"Over the last two weeks, four women have been murdered in the Garden of the Gods Park. Their throats have been slit." Sam blanched.
"That’s awful, but what does it have to do with me?"
"The last victim put up a fight and apparently the attacker dropped his weapon. We matched the fingerprints to a Jonus Hansen. During a background search we found out you and he were once engaged. We’re thinking maybe you have an idea where he is?"
Oh my God...this can not be happening. Sam fumbled for a second. "Um...I’m afraid I can’t help you. Jonus was declared MIA over two years ago. And our engagement was over years before that."
"Really? Then how do you explain his prints being on a murder weapon?"
"I can’t."
"Maybe you can tell us your where abouts for the last two weeks?"
"Well my friends and I were skiing and camping in the back country, I just got back a couple of hours ago. Before that I was on a mission."
"Mission?"
"I’m a major in the US Air Force attached to Cheyenne Mountain. I was on a mission."
"Where?"
"I can’t tell you."
"Why not?"
"I’m afraid that’s classified."
"Classified?...You gotta be kidding me?"
"NO I’m not...Look you can call my CO, General George Hammond if you want to. He can vouch for me." Sam stood up. "Now gentlemen, if you don’t have anything else, I’ve been on the road since early this morning and I really need some sleep." Taking the hint the two detectives stood up and headed towards the door.
"If you hear from Hansen, you’ll let us know?"
"Believe me detectives, if Jonus shows up on my door step you’ll be the first people I call," She said with a sincerity that told the experienced detective things weren’t all wine and roses between the pair.
They left and Sam leaned against the door for a second before quickly throwing the dead bolt. She made a quick check of the house, securing the windows and making sure the security system was armed. Then she sat down and picked up the phone, dialing the number only a handful of people outside of the SGC even knew existed.
"General, it’s Major Carter...Sir we have a problem."
Down the street the two detectives watched the young woman go from room to room checking windows.
"Bet she had that dead bolt thrown before we even got in our car."
"No bet. Did you see the security system?"
"Yeah. Reminds me of the ones I used to see on base during my army days. Takes a bit of clout to get one of those in a personal residence."
"There’s no way she’s helping him. From the look on her face, I’d say their history has been far from good."
"Could explain one thing though."
"What’s that?"
"Maybe the reason all the victims have been blonde," he suggested as they drove off.
Colonel Jack O’Neill walked the halls of the SGC, his civilian clothes causing a few envious glances from the duty staff. He just returned Teal’c to his quarters and remembered a couple of things he needed from his office.
"Colonel, has SG-1 been recalled?" Jack turned to meet the gaze of Lt. Graham Simmons.
"No Lieutenant. I’m just picking up a few things. Why do you ask?"
"Well I saw Major Carter go into the general’s office and then I saw you and Teal’c return...I just assumed you’d been recalled." Jack’s curiosity piqued, he brushed by Simmons.
"Thank you Lieutenant," he said abstractly as he made his way to Hammond’s office.
Jack knocked on the door wondering why Sam was on base. He’d dropped her off at her house just a couple of hours before. He hoped nothing happened to her father. Good grief, if Jacob’s gotten himself captured again...
"Come." Jack walked into the office. Sam was sitting in one of the chairs hunched over, her chin resting on her hands. General Hammond wasn’t behind his desk, instead he was sitting in a chair beside her, a serious look on his face.
"General, sorry to intrude...I heard Carter was on the base and thought maybe something was wrong?"
Hammond sighed."That’s one way to put it colonel."
"Sir?" Jack looked from Hammond to Sam. She took a deep breath and spoke in a quiet voice that sent chills down Jack’s spine.
"Jonus is back."
The next morning SG-1 sat in the briefing room awaiting the arrival of General Hammond. Teal’c sat impassively at the table, his customary stillness a marked contrast to Daniel Jackson’s fidgeting. The young archaeologist’s well known affinity for coffee often meant he rode a caffeine high. Jack sat slumped in his chair, his face slightly haggard from a relatively sleepless night. He, Sam and Hammond sat up most of the night trying to find options.
Jack looked at his second in command. Her mug of coffee sat untouched on the table. Her eyes stared straight ahead but he knew she saw nothing in the room. She sat back in the chair her arms crossed over her middle in an unconscious protective gesture. Occasionally her left hand would move, feeling the scar he knew was hidden under her clothes.
During their last encounter with Hansen the lunatic shot her leaving a wound that had taken 50 stitches and two months to heal. Physically she was fine but emotionally she was still hurting.
In the last six months Jack watched Sam struggle to put her life back together. With the bad memories of his attack too vibrant, Sam sold the house she’d taken over from her father. Jack had helped her install the security system Hammond provided, he didn’t even ask how the general got a military issue system OK’d for a private residence but he’d been a willing accomplice. He also knew she always carried her sidearm now. He’d been shocked the first time he’d noticed the gun on her person. He’d never seen her carry her gun when not on a mission, heck she used to lock it up in the armory before she left the base. According to Janet the only time she relinquished the weapon now was when Cassie was around. Jack was incredibly thankful for that. He had all too tragic memories of how guns and kids didn’t mix.
Once she’d been cleared for active duty Jack watched his friend throw herself into her work. She would spend days on end at the base. A few times she’d volunteered to fill gaps in other SG teams, looking for any excuse to go off world.
Jack knew what she was doing. He’d been guilty of burying himself in his work a time or two. The SGC was her only sanctuary on Earth. Other planets however, they were much safer. There was no way Hansen could get at her there. According to Daniel, other planets were the only places she knew peaceful sleep.
Jack had his own way of dealing with his anger at Hansen. After Hansen shot her he’d escaped into the Colorado wilderness. The moment Jack knew his teammate and friend was out of danger, he and Teal’c set out to track him down. Once word of their search spread around the base Jack found himself deluged with volunteers for some "field exercises".
Makepeace and his team of Marines were first, followed quickly by Feretti and SG-2. For a month nearly every able-bodied soldier in the SGC searched the surrounding area.
All their efforts were in vain. It was as if Hansen simply grew wings and flew away.
Six months later and things were finally getting back to the way they were before that mission to P4A269. Why did I decide to play hooky on that damn planet? If we’d just come back like good little campers that psycho would still be marooned light years away. Hell I should have left him there. Least he could only hurt himself. But no I had to do the ‘never leave a man behind’ routine.
His guilt ridden thoughts were broken by the entrance of General Hammond into the briefing room. SG-1 automatically stood up as he entered the room.
"As you were people," he said as he took his customary place at the head of the table. The general took a deep breath and began.
"I’m assuming all of you are acquainted with the situation. Besides having a serial killer terrorizing Colorado Springs, a murderer who’s apparently one of our own, we also have to consider the threat he is for the SGC in general. There’s a man out there who not only possesses full knowledge of this program, but his mental instability means he’s a tremendous security risk."
"Yeah, let’s not forget how many SGC personnel he’s killed," Jack put in.
"And tried to," Teal’c quietly interjected. His comment brought a moment of awkward quiet over the group.
"So," Jack broke the silence, "just how are we going to track this SOB down? Last time we managed to keep the local PD out of it."
"I think it’s a little too late for that," Observed Daniel. "We have four grieving families out there."
"I just got off the phone with an old buddy of mine. Now he’s with the FBI heading up the Violent Crimes Task Force."
"FBI? General, isn’t that a little extreme?" asked Jack.
"Bailey Malone’s group specializes in serial killers. And since he’s ex-military he’s got enough clearance to know some..."
"And he knows when to take classified for an answer," concluded Jack. Hammond nodded. "So when does this Malone arrive?"
"He and his team are due to land in an hour. I’ve arranged for offices to be set aside on the base. Obviously Cheyenne Mountain of off limits. Teal’c will also need to keep a very low profile."
"So, it’s back to deep space radar analysis kids," Jack quipped.
"So Bailey, why exactly are we going to Colorado?" Doctor Samantha Waters asked, pushing her shoulder length blonde hair behind her ears.
"I received a call from an old buddy of mine, a General George Hammond..."
"Ooh hobnobbing with the brass," interjected Detective John Grant.
"George and I were on some black ops together a few years ago."
"A few years Bailey?" Dr. Grace Alvarez shot her boss a look.
"Careful Gracie. Seems Colorado Springs has acquired itself a slasher. Over the last two weeks four women have been murdered, throats slit." As he spoke Bailey passed around pictures of the victims and crime scenes. "All were attacked and killed in the Garden of the Gods park in Colorado Springs."
"Any connection on the victims?" asked Sam.
Bailey shook his head. "I’ve got George looking into that. Right now the only similarity is a lack of sexual assault. All four victims were solitary joggers or bikers so they may have been victims of opportunity..."
"And they’re all blondes," John spoke up. At his words everyone looked at Sam, the only blonde in the group.
"At least he has taste," she quipped, "Do the local PD have any leads?"
"They actually have a suspect, and it’s a doozy. Apparently victim number four put up a fight. The local ME retrieved skin, blood and hair from under her fingernails. They also found a knife near the body...a military issue K-Bar knife at least 15 years old with the initials J.C. carved into the butt. There were also identifiable prints on the knife. NCIC matched them to a Captain Jonus Hansen, USAF."
"Bailey, if they have all that what do they need us for?"
"Yeah Bailey, sounds like it’s manhunt time."
"Wish it was that easy John. Seems Jonus Hansen was listed MIA/Presumed KIA over two years ago on a classified mission."
"So a dead man is slicing and dicing in Colorado?"
"Bailey, sounds more like they need Scully and Mulder than the VCTF."
"So Colonel, care to explain to us how an officer listed as MIA managed to make it home with no one noticing? And where did you say he was lost?" Jack shifted in his chair, frustration evident on his face. Why the hell did Hammond have to call in this FBI agent? Heck it would of been far easier to have swept the park with SGC personnel and get this whole mess over with.
Jack and Sam were sitting in the borrowed offices on Fort Carson. The three members of the VCTF were scattered around the room. All in all Jack was less than impressed.
Agent Bailey Malone looked more like a character from a bad gangster movie than an FBI agent. Detective John Grant looked and acted like a male model. Daniel had taken Dr. Grace Alvarez to the ME’s office so she could see if she could find any evidence the local ME missed. Jack refused to even think about all THAT might entail. And the last member of the group, she was the strangest. Dr. Samantha Waters, damn there were way too many doctors in this group, kept giving him strange looks. Jack found himself wondering if he had something stuck in his teeth.
"We have no idea how Hansen made it back. As to how he got in the country, hell I imagine there are a dozen illegials in county lock up right now. You can ask them. And where he was, I already told you that’s classified. Let’s just say he was out of the country. Look, can we move past the how and concentrate on catching the SOB?"
"Colonel O’Neill, for us to have a chance of catching him we need your cooperation. I need to know all you can tell me about Hansen." Dr. Waters requested quietly.
"You have his file."
"Colonel, what we have is a list of vital statistics with way too many black boxes. Now unless you want me to sign him up with a dating service, this doesn’t do us a bit of good," Bailey said, tossing the file onto the desk.
"Look Agent Malone, you’re ex-military, you’ve heard of classified?"
"Jonus likes control," Sam said quietly, breaking up the impending argument. All eyes turned to the woman who had remained mostly silent until now. "Five years ago we were engaged. I broke it off when I worked late one night. I came home to find him waiting outside my apartment. We argued, he hit me. I told him the engagement was off but he didn’t really leave me alone until he was transferred. Almost three years ago we were assigned to the same project. He seemed OK but while on a mission he began to act erratically."
"How erratically?"
"He...almost developed a god complex. There were some deaths, civilian and his own men."
"Why wasn’t anything done?"
"He never came home from that mission. He was MIA. End of story."
"I don’t think so," Dr. Waters prodded. Jack and Sam looked at each other.
Jack continued. "We found him nearly two years later. One minute he would have no idea of what he’d done, the next he was trying to kill anyone he could get his hands on. We managed to bring him home. He was committed to a military psychiatric hospital."
"But why’s he still MIA?" John asked.
"Because if he’s alive then Uncle Sam had to take responsibility for his actions. And I’m guessing he’s one hell of a security risk. How better to discredit him than to have him labeled nuts," Bailey said. Jack refused to comment and the group sat in strained silence for a few minutes.
Finally John broke the silence. "Well, I don’t suppose we can simply cordon off the park and round this guy up?"
Jack shook his head. "There are literally miles of walks and trails. There’s no set boundary to the park, hell some people even live next to it. It’s right in the middle of Manitou Springs just a few miles from the highway. It’d take hundreds of people to seal it off. It was designed to be accessible."
"Sounds like our best bet would be a decoy. Get someone out in the park that fits his victim profile and see if he takes the bait," Bailey concluded.
"Well that’d be great of we knew who his next victim is," Jack said sarcastically. At his words the members of the VCTF exchanged looks.
Bailey spoke up."I take it you haven’t seen the police reports. All the victims have been solitary joggers or bikers. All female, and all blonde."
"Oh for crying out loud," Jack muttered.
"It’s you," John said looking at Sam Carter, "You’re who he’s trying to kill." At his words what little color Sam had in her cheeks drained away. She got a look on her face reminiscent to the one Jack’d seen on the bridge when she’d realized she’d been shot, a horrific mixture of pain, shock and utter disbelief.
"Excuse me," she muttered as she hurried from the room. Jack shot John a look that definitely made the detective glad the colonel wasn’t armed as he followed his comrade from the room.
"John, moments like this answer the question of why you’re still single," Bailey remarked, a slight note of censure in his voice.
"Bailey," Sam Waters spoke up, " Jonus has done more than just hit her. There’s a lot they’re not telling us."
Jack found Sam in a nearby stairwell sitting on one of the concrete steps propping her head on her hands. He sat beside her.
"That guy’s a jerk," he drawled, "Should lock him in a room with Teal’c...let the big guy scare him some manners. Maybe introduce him to Junior. That should shut him up for a while."
Sam got a tiny smile on her face. "Or make him toss his cookies."
"Yeah, all over his $200 shoes." Sam closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. "None of this is your fault you know."
"Right," she replied, sarcasm heavy in her voice, "I could have stopped him." She reached under her jacket and pulled out her pistol, holding it in front of her. "One bullet and none of this would have happened."
"Sam, you are NOT a killer."
"Yes I am."
Jack sighed. "OK, you’ve killed people...to save your life, our lives, civilian lives. You did what you had to. We all have. That is totally different from what Hansen is. He’s a monster, no guilt, no remorse. Hell he probably enjoys killing. You don’t. I remember the look on your face when you killed Seth. You were sick for a week. That’s the kind of person I want watching my back."
"Someone who can use an alien weapon to smash some guy into the ground?"
"No. Someone who gives a damn. Ya know I once said Daniel was the conscience of this team. That wasn’t true. You are too. You’re the voice of reason that keeps us on an even keel. As a matter of fact, the day you can kill and not regret it is the day you hang up your boots and find a lab somewhere full of geeky egg heads whose idea of excitement is staying up until 0200 to watch a meteor shower."
Sam laughed at the image. "I’d die of boredom in a week."
"Whatta you say we go see if Danny’s come back with that doctor of theirs. Maybe she’s come up with something." Sam stood up, shoving her pistol back into its holster. "I just hope she doesn’t have visual aids," Jack continued.
"Afraid you’ll toss your cookies sir?"
"Hey, this is my best pair of shoes." Sam raised her eyebrows and looked at the battered pair of loafers on Jack’s feet. He followed her gaze. "It took years to break these in," he said as he got up and opened the door to the stairwell. He made a sweeping gesture with his free hand. "After you Major."
"I gotta tell you Bailey, their ME knows his stuff. If I ever decide to give up this glamorous life I’d recommend him to replace me." Jack and Sam heard Grace say as they returned to the office. Daniel looked up as the door opened.
"There you guys are."
"Have fun in the morgue Danny?"
"Nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there." His comment caused Jack to shake his head and Sam to fight back a giggle.
"Private joke," Jack said in explanation to the VCTF’s curious looks. "What’d we miss?" he continued as he perched in the edge of a desk, Daniel having taken his chair.
"Not much," Bailey reported as he glanced at Grace.
She continued, "Bruises on the victims indicate no excessive force, merely restraint. He has no real pattern. Seems to simply grab them and pull them into the brush. Death was caused by a single, unhesitating slash to the throat. This guy knows what he’s doing."
"What about the weapon?" Sam Waters asked.
"Pretty straight forward," Grace reported as she pulled a plastic wrapped knife out of her bag. "Military issue K-Bar, at least 15 years old. Don’t even think about tracing it. There are about a million out there. The only distinguishing mark is the initials J.C. scratched into the butt, very amateurishly I might add. Fragments of the blade found in the wounds match perfectly. It is the murder weapon. Not that it does us much good."
"Why not?" Daniel asked.
Sam Waters answered him. "Because when he kills again he’ll have to use another weapon. Which will make it harder to link all the murders to a single doer."
Sam got up and walked toward Grace. "Can I see that?" she asked. Grace shrugged and handed it over. Sam took it and examined the bloody knife closely through the plastic bag.
"Mean anything to you major?" Bailey asked.
"It’s my father’s."
"What?"
"You’re sure?"
Sam nodded and pointed to the butt of the knife."I scratched the initials on it myself."
"You put his initials on his K-Bar?" Jack asked incredulously.
Sam shrugged sheepishly. "I was ten, twelve. Anyway, he obviously couldn’t take it with him. It sat in a drawer for years. I found it one day and put it in my winter survival gear in the back of my car. The last time I saw it was six months ago." Catching the look that passed between the three people Bailey spoke up.
"What happened six months ago?" he asked in a tone that left no room for prevarication.
Jack sighed and spoke up. "Six months ago Jonus kidnapped and tried to kill Carter. He must have taken it from her car then." He lied remembering all too well how Jonus had gotten the knife, how Sam stabbed him with it.
John spoke up. "As fascinating as this is, it still doesn’t answer how we’re gonna catch this guy?
"Don’t worry Colonel, there are twenty officers around her. There’s no way Hansen can get to her," Bailey assured Jack.
"Oh I wouldn’t be too sure about that. That man has more lives than a bloody cat." The two men along with Daniel and Sam Waters were sitting in the back of a surveillance van parked in the Garden of the Gods park. At Jack’s insistence, Sam was at Cheyenne Mountain. Not that he had any doubts about her safety in the van, but he still felt better knowing if the worst happened there were a dozen marines and Teal’c between Hansen and her.
Through video feeds from miniature remote cameras, they were keeping an eye on the blonde woman who was walking around the park, trying not to look like she was watching for a killer.
"He’ll never fall for this," Daniel said quietly.
"You’d be surprised," Sam Waters interjected, "Once the killing becomes a compulsion they literally can’t not kill."
"Doctor, I’m no psychologist but I don’t think he’s killing simply to kill. He wants Sam." At Bailey’s sharp look he continued, "Not...aah this Sam...I mean he’s not after your Sam...not to imply...but...um...he wants to kill our Sam. Sam Carter Sam..."
"You said Major Carter moved, changed her phone number, basically made herself hard to find since his original attack?" Sam Waters said, rescuing Daniel mid blunder with a small smile.
"Right," he answered.
"Well in most cases serial killers kill surrogates because they are unable or unwilling to kill the source of their problems. The simple fact that all four victims were blonde suggests he is venting his frustration at not having Major Carter available. As he kills each victim he’s hoping to flush her out."
"The...aah...criminal mind is your area of expertise doctor, but I have a strange feeling he won’t fall for it...I mean he has to know we know it’s him. The four victims were...like...an invitation and now he’s not going to accept anyone but the real thing not...not some stand-in," Daniel said as he looked at the blonde police woman who volunteered to be potential victim number five.
"Well, Officer Murray is the closest we’ll get...unless the major want to volunteer," Bailey said wryly. Jack shot the older man a hard look.
"That is NOT an option." The two men stared each other down for a minute. Then Bailey, recognizing a kindred, overprotective spirit relented.
"OK, so we hope Hansen’s urge to kill overcomes his desire to kill the major."
"So, now what do we do?" Daniel asked, watching the interaction between the two men. I wonder how Malone would react if we suggested his Sam be the bait?
"We wait."
"Your guy’s good," Bailey admitted.
"Well I thought your guys were better," Jack replied, censure in his voice.
"It would take 200 men to secure that park. We only had 20." John defended his superior.
"For crying out loud, he walked right past your guys and left us a note on the freaking windshield of the van. You call this security?"
"Now wait just a minute..." The heated debate was cut short when the door opened revealing Daniel and Sam.
"Sam..." Jack started.
"Daniel told me. You didn’t get him. Can I see the note?" She cut him off holding out her hand.
"Look, Major it’s not going to ..."
"Let me see it sir," she demanded, the steely tone in her voice reminiscent of when she refused to leave Jacob to his fate in the Tok’ra tunnels. After three years, Jack knew when to surrender.
He nodded to Bailey who handed Sam the plastic wrapped piece of paper.
No more games, no more tricks. Let my Sami come to me ALONE here in our garden. If you do not let her come I will reveal it, everything. Tomorrow morning or I will end your evil cover-up.
"So what time do we leave?" Sam asked.
"You are NOT going into that park," O’Neill stated, very emphatically as he got to his feet.
"Yes I am," Sam replied just as emphatically.
"NO. Dammit Sam, you got a death wish? He’s tried to kill you TWICE."
"Look Colonel...Jack, I’m tired of hiding from him. I’m NOT going to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder. This is going to end here and now." The two officers were now standing face to face, toe to toe.
"Jack...this might be the only way to end this." Daniel spoke up quietly. Jack spun around to face his friend.
"Dammit Daniel, don’t you start. The guy is a psycho with a capital P."
"All the more reason to get him off the streets." And keep the stargate a secret.
"Major," Bailey spoke up, "Are you sure you want to do this?" Sam turned to face the agent.
"Look Agent Malone, if you had some nutcase following you around trying to kill you, how long would you let it go on before you ended it? I’m sick of running."
"Bailey," Sam Waters spoke up for the first time in the meeting, "Let her do it."
"Sam..." Bailey started.
"Let her," she stated with just as much steel in her voice as the other Sam. Jack and Bailey exchanged looks, knowing when they were beaten.
"OK, but you wear a wire," Bailey said.
"And I’m out there with you," Jack stated.
"My feet are killing me."
"Could be worse Colonel. I’m cooking in this vest." Listening to their conversation in the van Bailey spoke into the radio.
"It’s been three hours. Maybe we should call it a day."
"No, he’s here somewhere," Sam insisted. "I’m going to go a bit further in."
"Carter..." O’Neill said, warning in his voice.
"I’m not going far. Just gonna find some place shady...sit down a minute." Jack hung back a bit, watching Sam saunter down the path. He let her get about 10 yards down the trail then he followed her, tugging his cap lower as he went. He saw her sit on a stone railing around a small patio. Jack looked around, trying to find an unobtrusive place to stand. They definitely need more benches in this park.
A sudden burst of high pitch yelling caught his attention. Jack turned to see about 40 kids run from their bus followed swiftly by two very harried looking teachers. He grinned at the innocent exuberance on their faces as they ran around him.
"Brings back memories huh Carter?" Jack asked. Not hearing an immediate response he looked where Sam had been sitting. "Dammit!" he cursed. She was gone. He ran towards the patio, all thoughts of discretion forgotten. "Dammit." he repeated at the sight of her ear piece and the transmitter box from her wire lying among the scuff marks in the sandy soil.
A few minutes earlier
Sam sat on the railing, scanning the sparse workday crowds. She picked out the colonel’s ballcap moving closer. The sound of children caught her attention. She saw the kids running down the path and smiled. Those were definitely the good old days.
Suddenly a hand clamped over her mouth as an arm wrapped itself around her waist and pulled her off the rail. She tried to struggle but the hand just tightened, cutting off her air. She felt a rough hand jerk the ear piece out of her ear then yank the transmitter off her belt. He tossed both items on the ground and pulled her pistol from its holster. "Don’t fight me or I’ll kill him. You don’t want all those kids involved in a firefight do you?" she heard a voice whisper harshly. "Answer me!" he insisted. Sam frantically grabbed at his hand as she shook her head.
Jonus pushed the pistol against her temple, "Scream and I shoot you," he promised. Sam nodded and he loosened his hand. She desperately sucked in some much needed oxygen. Jonus regained his feet and pulled Sam up. "Be good or people die," he threatened again as he pulled her after him. "I know somewhere safe...where they’ll never find us."
"Jonus..." Sam choked out. He released his grip on her waist and grabbed her wrist instead.
"Ssh," he said holding the barrel of the pistol over her lips. "We’ll talk later." Jonus began to run pulling Sam after him through a small copse of trees and past a barricade around one of the rock formations, knocking over the ‘Danger-unstable rocks’ sign as he went. He pulled her between two of the huge vertical slabs of rock and held her tight.
"Sami, I can’t believe I finally found you. I’ve been searching for so long. They kept you from me. Did they hurt you?" he asked, pushing the gun into her ribs with his right hand and gently brushing a few stray strands of hair off her brow with his left. His greater body weight held her against the rough surface of the rocks, not that she could struggle much with a gun in her side.
"Aah no, Jonus they didn’t hurt me."
"Good, nobody hurts my Sami. They kept trying to trick me, to recapture me, but I was too smart. I saw through all the decoys they sent." Sam shook her head sadly.
"Jonus, they weren’t decoys. You killed four innocent women," Sam told him.
"No I wouldn’t...I couldn’t...they were you...I couldn’t hurt you...I hurt you didn’t I?...That’s...that’s why you hate me," he cried plaintively, tears welling up in his eyes.
Sam tried to pull herself from his grasp as she watched with morbid fascination as he shifted from caring fiancee to vicious murderer and back again.
"Carter!" she heard the colonel yell. Jonus’ eyes grew big when he heard Jack’s voice. She winced as he shoved the gun painfully into her abdomen.
"NO, I won’t go back...I can’t...I’ll stop you...you betrayed me...you...I killed didn’t I?...I burned Frakes...he was alive you know...he screamed so horribly...all those people...how they suffered...your blood on my hands...my love and I killed it...those women begging, crying...I made you cry...you begged...the girl...I tried to kill a child...my god I’m a monster." Sam watched horrified as the monster Jonus became met the man he used to be and realized they were one and the same. "Monsters should die...I should die..."
"JONUS NO!" Sam cried.
"Good-bye Sami," he said sadly as he roughly pushed her to the side, out of the rocks.
She tripped and fell hard on her stomach. She turned around and saw him put the gun under his own chin.
"I’m sorry," she heard him whisper as he pulled the trigger. Sam slammed her eyes shut and turned her head away as the gunshot echoed and reverberated through the rocks. Sam felt a hand on her shoulder and jerked around sharply. She met the concerned gaze of her colonel.
"You OK?" he asked, crouching beside her, his pistol pointed at Jonus. Her reply was cut off by a strange grating sound as the unstable rocks in the formation strained and shifted. Jack grabbed Sam’s arm and roughly pulled her away from the toppling rocks. They turned and saw the red boulders fall, burying Jonus under ageless tons of weight. The pair sat on the ground for a second, both breathing heavily. Jack felt a hand on his shoulder and turned to see Daniel standing behind him.
"It’s getting a little too crowded here," Daniel stated. At his words Jack looked around noticing for the first time the combination of the gunshot and the miniature natural disaster was starting to draw a crowd. He took Daniel’s offered hand and pulled himself to his feet, shoving his pistol into its holster. They both reached down to pull Sam up.
"Come on, let’s get scarce," Jack said. Sam just stood there.
"Sam , come on. It’s over. Let’s get back to the van," Daniel told her. Sam stood there for a second then shook her head as if to clear her thoughts.
"Yeah," she mumbled. "It’s over."
A knock on the hotel room door caught Bailey in mid motion. He tossed the shirt on the bed and opened the door.
"George. Man it’s good to see you." He opened the door to let the general walk into the room.
"Bailey. It’s been too long. I’m sorry I couldn’t get away before. Something came up," General George Hammond said as he walked into the hotel room. That something had been rescuing SG-3 and 7 from a Jaffa attack, but George couldn’t tell Bailey that.
Bailey motioned Hammond toward one of the arm chairs in the room. Both men sat down.
"Bailey, thank you for helping us out."
"Can’t say we did much. The perp killed himself."
"True, but having the FBI involved smoothed the way a bit. I owe you one."
"How about a few answers?" George looked warily at his old friend.
"Depends on the question."
Bailey reached into his briefcase and pulled out a folder. "I did a little digging. Seems your Colonel O’Neill is ex-special forces. I think he’s actually been on a few more black ops than we were. Not the kind of guy you would expect to see playing with radar dishes."
"Some of our dishes are in remote locations. The locals aren’t always friendly."
"And your Doctor Daniel Jackson. A doctor of archaeology who was laughed out of academia a few years ago for suggesting the pyramids and other ancient structures were all built by, let me see if I got this right, aliens?" Bailey asked skepticism on his face.
"He’s also a linguist. Works as a translator between us and the indigenous people." Bailey nodded.
"Your Doctor Carter, now she actually fits in. Theoretical astrophysicist. Though I wonder about the Air Medal she and Colonel O’Neill received a while back. Thought they only awarded those for valor in combat. Didn’t know satellite dishes fought back."
George didn’t comment.
"And her father. Almost two years ago he was in the hospital, at death’s door from what I hear. Then he was abruptly returned to active duty. He has monthly checks from the Air Force deposited into an account which has never been touched. He has no active credit cards, his drivers license is expired and he has no phone, or even address. It’s like he dropped off the face of the earth."
"Jacob is living over seas."
Bailey snorted in disbelief. "George, what ever you’re doing in that mountain of yours...is it good?"
"The best assignment I’ve ever had," General Hammond stated truthfully as he stood up. Bailey also stood up and held out his hand to his friend.
"Good. You ever need my help again, just call."
"Nothing personal Bailey, but I hope I don’t need to."
George started to walk towards the door. "Oh, I almost forgot." He reached inside his coat and pulled out two cigars and offered them to Bailey. The younger man read the label and shook his head.
"I could arrest you for these," he teased as he smelled the Cuban cigars appreciatively.
"The evidence would never last until the trial," George replied with a knowing smile.
"Take care of yourself Bailey. You got some good people working for you."
"So do you George.’
"Sam, what are we doing here of all places?" Daniel asked plaintively.
"I just need to do something," Sam replied. "I’ll be back in a minute." She got out of the car, ignoring the slight twinge from her bruises. Fortunately a few bruises and scrapes were her only reminders of the last few days.
Jack, Daniel and Teal’c watched their friend walk through the gate to the Royal Gorge Bridge. Jack opened his door and started to get out.
"Jack, she said she wanted to be alone." Jack shot him a look. Teal’c also opened the door, tugging his cap more firmly over his tattoo on his forehead. "Guys, I really hate bridges," Daniel said.
"It’s OK Danny. We’ll be right back."
Daniel sat in the car for a second more, then rolled his eyes. "Oh for crying out loud," he muttered as he got out of the car, "Wait for me," he yelled, jogging to catch up with his friends.
Sam stood at the railing of the bridge. The bloodstains from her attack were almost faded away. If she hadn’t known what it was she would have just thought them a stain from a spilled soda pop or cup of coffee. She looked down at the river flowing a thousand feet below. She heard a whistle and saw a train passing. From this height it almost looked like a toy. Five years ago she and Jonus stood here as he put a ring on her finger, asking her to share her life with him.
Six months ago he tried to take that life from her. Now he was dead, ironically by her own gun. The very same gun she pointed at him on P3X513. The gun she hadn’t had the nerve to fire then. Now he was gone, the gun was gone, damaged beyond repair in the rock fall. Not that she wanted it back. Things had come full circle. Time for the last piece.
Sam stuck her hand in her pocket and pulled out a ring. She watched the sunlight glint off the gold and diamonds of their engagement ring.
"Good-bye Jonus," She whispered as she held out her hand and turned it over. She looked down and watched the tiny missile fall to the river below. In her mind’s eye she imagined it landing with a tiny plop and drifting to the riverbed to settle amongst the stones and silt. Sam sighed and turned around.
"Ya know that’s illegal," Jack remarked with a knowing twinkle in his brown eyes.
"Yeah you could put an eye out with that thing," Daniel teased her.
"The velocity created by even a tiny object over such a great distance would be most damaging," Teal’c said with his ever present straight face. Sam smiled.
"I told you guys I’d be right back," she chided playfully. Jack jerked his thumb at a rather squeamish looking Daniel.
"Danny wanted to see the bridge." Sam nodded knowingly.
"Well maybe we should go up to the other side and take the tram ride back. It’s got the best view."
At her suggestion Daniel looked at the tram riding an all too frail looking cable and prepared to run for his life. Sam stopped her teasing and walked over to her friends. "Just kidding Daniel. How about a cup of coffee and some homemade fudge." She offered knowing his weakness for caffeine and chocolate.
"What is fudge?" Teal’c asked. Sam wrapped her arms around Teal’c and Daniel.
"Come on Colonel, let’s show him." Sam said as the four members of SG-1 retreated across the bridge to solid ground.