SG-1 Fic: A Loose Bolt in a Complete Machine (PG-13) (2/5)
Fandom: Stargate: SG-1
Title: A Loose Bolt in a Complete Machine (2/5)
Author: theemdash
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence
Word Count: ~50,000 (in 5 parts)
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Summary: SG-1 returns to Tekhne to extract Gerard, the inventor of the Vinculum (in Jack-speak, "internet in the brain"). But the mission goes south when Daniel is captured. Unable to remember where he is or what mission he was on, Daniel faces mental and physical abuse that threatens to break him. Can SG-1 rescue him before his mind completely cracks? Why is it Daniel they're after? And won't anyone believe that Jack's receiving messages from him?
Continued from Part 1.
* * *
Jack scanned the entry point, already feeling exposed. Gerard insisted that the satellites and other means of automated visual surveillance were pointed away from their location, but they were still five lumps huddled in a dimly lit alcove. Teal'c had loosened the security light, providing extra cover, but one of the Tekhnen moons was full and the light was seeping in around the corners. If a guard passed by a few minutes early, their little rescue mission would be blown before it even started.
"I'm still surprised you haven't been able to recruit anyone to your cause," Daniel said. He'd been chewing Gerard's ear off since dinner, bringing up conversation that didn't matter in the least. Jack had said "not tactically advantageous" to him more times in the past day than he had in his life.
Maybe-if he was admitting it only to himself-maybe Jack was being unfair. But he didn't want Daniel digging around in the Vinculum any more than he had to. These nanites were in their brains, and after losing Daniel-after having him come back sans memories-Jack wasn't ready to risk Daniel's mind again. A little voice in the back of Jack's mind niggled at him, though (and he was pretty sure the voice was coming from him and not Daniel, though with the Vinculum, Jack couldn't be sure). But the niggling voice was right-his resistance was selfish and not in the best interest of the mission-so Jack kept trying to compartmentalize his personal feelings on the issue and just let Daniel do what he did best. It was getting harder and harder to risk Daniel-something was going to break. Whether it broke before or after someone figured out what was going on between them was another question.
"Most people take a side," Gerard finally responded. "State or revolutionary." His eyes were still unfocused, going through various parts of the Vinculum, Jack hoped, keeping an eye out for the automated surveillance and not being distracted by Daniel's incessant conversation.
"Your side is a side. It's choosing an option that doesn't yet exist."
Jack rolled his eyes-choosing to be annoyed with Daniel rather than worried-and skirted around Carter. "How's the door coming?"
Carter looked up at the box of exposed wires and then down at her computer again. The wires running to her computer were a mess of tangled fishing line. He hoped she didn't wind up causing a small explosion . . . though that would at least open the door.
"Their systems are pretty complex. Gerard and I worked out a code-breaker this morning that should get us most of the way there, but the program needs time to run and then I-" Her laptop blinked, the whole screen flashing once. "Oh, that's not good," she said, her voice flat.
"What's not good? How not good?" Jack flicked his hand, and Teal'c immediately moved towards the corner, where the wall wrapped the building. He checked ahead and then ducked around the corner, quickly scouting the perimeter.
Daniel appeared at Carter's shoulder, looking over to read the screen. "Oh." His face drained, the eagerness seeping out. "Gerard? Can you handle this for a second?" Jack felt the transfer through the Vinculum, like something invisible brushed past his shoulder.
"Hi. I'm the CO. Would you like to fill me in?"
Carter began fussing with the wires, disconnecting and reconnecting several. "Sir, I can explain it, or I can do it, which would you like?"
Jack made a scoffing noise, knowing it had to be bad for Carter to snap at him like that.
"Do it. Gerard, how's the Vinculum?"
Gerard's eyes unfocused again, his shoulders slumping slightly. "There's . . . a lot to go . . . through." He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "I think we're alright, but I'd know more if I could get Daniel back." Gerard glared at Carter's computer, and Jack saw a man who'd grown quite used to having his way. Was that something from before or something that developed during the years when it had just been him against the world?
Jack glanced over his shoulder; Daniel now had wires in his hands and was splicing them together. "He has his hands full at the moment. Ask again later." Jack sent Gerard a mental image of a Magic 8-ball, but the image bounced back at him; Gerard's spam blocker must be working in overdrive.
"Would you like me to help?" Jack smiled when he asked, laying on whatever sweetness he could muster.
Gerard blinked at Jack for a moment and then Jack was sent a link through the Vinculum with a message to pay attention to where the satellite was directed.
"Don't try to manipulate it. Don't." Gerard held his finger in Jack's face; he had dirt under the nail.
Jack gently pushed Gerard's hand away. "All right. I can handle one stupid satellite. Looky, no touchy, I got it." He followed the link and was given a mental broadcast from a satellite watching the far side of the capitol building.
It was a weird double vision, watching the satellite with his eyes open. He hadn't been able to do it last time, only being able to concentrate on an image for short periods of time, or to watch video with his eyes closed. (He likened the backs of his eyelids to projector screens-Daniel had said the familiar terms allowed Jack to make the process more comfortable and less alien. Of course he still had robots in his brain, so Jack didn't see how that really helped.) In the middle of a tactical op, though, Jack wasn't about to close his eyes.
The double vision was similar to a HUD, or like trying to watch the real world through a television screen. It was a little difficult to focus on both at the same time. Superimposed over Gerard's gaunt face was an aerial view showing the eastern wall of the building, a well-worn road, and a sparse covering of trees that made the capitol look inviting and affluent.
A thought from Daniel popped up in the corner of his mind. Affluent? I thought you hated trees.
Jack rolled his eyes, turning to Daniel and losing the double vision. "I'm sick of forests. These trees are-"
"Sir, can you talk about trees later?" Carter's teeth were grinding hard enough to shatter. Apparently something was frustrating.
You got me in trouble with "Mom," Jack relayed to Daniel.
Oh? Calling her "Mom" now? There was a bitterness to Daniel's words Jack thought he didn't intend because he quickly switched tracks. Aren't you supposed to be watching the satellite? Jack shifted, turning away from Daniel to watch the perimeter and the satellite. Sometimes Jack wished the Vinculum was just text based, rather than the way it pulled from everything available in your brain, including emotions and everything you wanted to hide.
Jack focused and found that he could time-lapse the feed to catch up on the few seconds he'd been distracted by Daniel. The leaves moved jerkily in the trees, a dark shadow emerging for two frames. Oh.
"Shit," Jack muttered. He fumbled for his radio. "Teal'c. Stay to the trees, you're on Candid Camera except there are never any fantastic prizes."
The dark shadow moved back into the trees. A moment later Jack's radio cracked. "Understood."
"I could get used to this," Jack said to no one in particular. He continued watching the double vision, flinching when Daniel touched his shoulder.
"Sam's almost inside." Daniel paused, biting his lip. Guilt washed over Jack, but it wasn't his own-they were bleeding through worse, like how they'd been the first moments after Jack had been injected with the nanites. They'd learned to block each other out, so why was everything so accessible now? "Feel better now that you've had your turn watching the satellites?" He gave a small smile, and there was so much else to say, but thankfully he just stuck with that.
Jack sent Daniel the link to his satellite. "You can get the others from Gerard. Keep your eyes out, though. I trust your aim more than his."
Daniel nodded and Jack closed out his feed to the satellite. He blinked a few times before his vision was back to normal. One day he'd ask Daniel for theories about why it was so much easier for Daniel to adapt to the Vinculum-Jack would probably pretend to sleep through part of the lecture that would be sure to follow, but he was curious. Jack's theory was that it was something like Ascension: limitless access to limitless knowledge in Jack's limited brain; something in that equation had to give. Huh, maybe that was why he and Daniel were bleeding out-Daniel was trying too hard to be human.
"T, we're almost in. Come back to the north entrance."
Carter was still messing with the computer, but her shoulders had lost some of their tension. Also, the tangle of wires looked less like a tangle and more like something with some order to it.
"Almost in, sir. Going through the last of the algorithm now."
"Care to explain any of it or are you assuming that I'll dismiss it all as techno-babble anyway?" Jack waved a hand at the whole mess.
"Techno-babble. Absolutely."
"Right." Jack turned suddenly, hearing footsteps on the outside of their alcove. Teal'c appeared a moment later.
"There are guards along the northeast corner, heading towards our position. I anticipate they will be upon us in five minutes." Teal'c's staff looked cumbersome given the operation; Jack would have to talk to him again about carrying a P-90 instead.
"We'll be inside in less than that," Carter promised. "Last pass. . . ." She bit her lower lip and a moment later the light on her screen switched from red to green.
"Green is good?" Jack asked.
"Always, sir."
"Actually I was reading a document earlier that on Tekhne, green is normally associated with caution." Daniel's eyes flicked away quickly, and Jack imagined that something had appeared on one of the various screens in his mind.
"Daniel, what have I told you about researching while we're trying to avoid going into combat?" Jack looked past Teal'c to confirm that no one was on them yet. "Carter?"
She disconnected the wires from her laptop. "Everything's unlocked. Just a matter of opening the door." She smiled, her teeth sharp white in the near dark.
Jack nodded and squeezed past her. "Gerard, are there any cameras inside you can hack into?"
"Already done," Daniel said. "I've been watching them. The hall's clear and the feed is on a loop. No one will see us enter."
Not that Jack didn't trust Daniel, but. . . . "Gerard?"
Gerard blinked, his eyes finding and focusing on Jack. "Oh. Uh, I set up the program before passing it off to Daniel. As long as Daniel's seeing a clear hall, it's clear." Gerard's voice was tight, his hands balled in tight fists, his small energy pistol tucked in its holster. His vision stayed focused, but Jack could tell Gerard was focusing on what he was seeing in the Vinculum, able to watch the Vinculum and interact with reality so much more easily than Jack.
Jack put his hand against the metal plate that served as a door handle. The door slid open with a quiet whoosh-couldn't ask for a stealthier entrance. He glanced back at Teal'c, who nodded and then turned back to continue watching the entrance to the alcove.
The hallway was empty as Daniel had said. "You still can't see me, right?"
"You're good," Daniel said.
Jack progressed farther down the hall, stopping at the first junction. All clear, he sent to Daniel, and a moment later the rest of the team was behind him, the door whispering shut behind them.
They moved into the capitol compound silently, Gerard and Daniel keeping an eye on all the cameras, looping the feeds and watching for guards. The prisoner information wasn't stored in the Vinculum, so they needed to find a data port so Carter and Gerard could access a hardwire into the system. For a society as technologically advanced as the Tekhnens, it was actually more difficult to find hard line access than Jack thought. Apparently it wasn't like Star Wars with R2-unit data-thingies at every exit.
"They don't need hard lines," Daniel whispered. He tapped his head. "Very few people don't have the Vinculum. As the Vinculum advanced, they phased out wiring buildings for data access."
"What?" Carter whispered back.
"I second that." He hadn't said that out loud, had he?
Daniel looked between them, his eyes wide. "Oh. Uh." His eyes met Jack's for a brief moment. "Sorry. I must have picked up your thoughts."
Jack raised his eyebrows and then smirked, putting a finger in Daniel's face. "No hacking." He slipped past, taking point again until the next junction. It was clear that the bleed between them wasn't one-sided. Jack was going to have to watch his thoughts.
"Wait." Gerard's soft voice stopped Jack from turning the corner. "Security column to the right. Should be able to use one of those."
Carter was behind them a moment later. "That'll make things easier. I tapped into one the last time we were here."
"You did?"
Carter shrugged. "We had no way of knowing what happened to you and Daniel, sir. I didn't think you'd disapprove."
Jack gestured her forward. "By all means."
Carter pulled out her laptop, flipping it open. She set it on the ground and began removing a side panel from the column. The rest of the team fanned out to watch the hallways.
"Do you need any assistance?" Gerard was closest to Carter, looking over her shoulder at the computer screen. He seemed eager to get at the keyboard, like a kid reconnecting with a childhood toy.
"I think I have it." Carter reached into the security column, connecting various wires to her laptop. She was efficient, clearly familiar with the process. "It wasn't difficult to hardwire into the system last time," she explained. "Their security measures seem to be mostly concentrated on preventing wireless attacks; once I had a direct connection, their computer systems were pretty much completely open."
"There's a flaw," Gerard muttered.
"Too much dependence on technology and not enough on history," Daniel remarked.
Gerard shook his head. "I'm surprised, actually. Henley has more forethought than that. At least . . . that's what I thought."
"The information about your brother was just there, though-maybe he's gotten cocky." The hallway to the left was still clear. "Besides, you're not actually that good with people," Jack couldn't help but point out.
Like you can talk. The tone of Daniel's words made Jack think he hadn't meant to send the thought through the Vinculum.
Jack barely bit back his response.
"Got it." Carter touched a few keys and examined the screen. "I've got your brother's location. He's close to the . . . the Hardline?"
Gerard's brow furrowed. "Can you send that information to us through the Vinculum?" Gerard was leaning over her shoulder now, his eyes on the screen. "It'd be helpful to have a map."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Maps, what a novel concept." He gave Gerard a pointed stare, but was pretty sure his menacing look went unnoticed.
Carter's lips wobbled in what could have been a smile. "Of course, sir. Uh, Gerard? Can you help me with that? I'm not sure I can do that without broadcasting it across the whole network."
Gerard leaned over Carter, his arms on either side of her shoulders, and struck the keys in rapid succession. Carter probably loved the invasion of personal space, but she didn't flinch away from him or even give him a dirty look; her eyes were on the screen and the tension in her back looked like it was just from anticipation. Geeks, when one of them shows the other something new, they're like little sponges.
"And . . . there." Gerard hit a final key and then a map popped into Jack's mind, the HUD overlaying his vision.
He checked over the layout, running through the hallways like a video game, taking note of security camera and guard stations. "This isn't going to be easy. Gerard, are you into those camera systems?"
"They're off the Vinculum," Carter reported. "But I can get into them from here, shut them down as you move."
Jack looked around, trying to see where they were more than the Vinculum Vision, but sometimes making his brain focus the right way was difficult. "This isn't the most defensible place."
"I'll stay with her," Daniel volunteered. "If something happens, I can signal you through the Vinculum." And, Daniel added to Jack, I doubt Gerard will let you go without him.
Jack frowned. Even though Gerard probably wouldn't want to be left behind, Jack would feel better if Daniel had his back instead of Gerard. The guy was twitchy enough when he didn't have a weapon in his hands.
"This really-"
Teal'c first gestured for silence, then that he had eyes on someone. That's perfect; they already had guards on their tails.
Jack gestured for Carter to pack it up, but she was already disconnecting wires. Jack herded Daniel and Gerard towards the empty hall, looking over his shoulder to see Teal'c helping Carter replace the panel on the security column.
Empty room, Jack sent to Gerard, and Gerard touched the panel on the next door, revealing an empty conference room. The table was glass, the chairs silver and straight-backed. The seat cushions were this weird malleable material the Tekhnens had. It was quite comfortable, forming around your butt and back, and it warmed when you sat on it. Jack wouldn't mind taking this technology back to Earth.
The others ducked into the room a moment later and Daniel pressed a hand to the door, making it slide closed.
"Continued movement throughout the building without detection will be difficult," Teal'c said. His eyes met Jack's, and they were on the same page. "Does the worth outweigh the risks?"
Gerard opened his mouth, but Jack held up his hand. "Ah!" Jack took off his cap and rubbed his brow. Daniel's eyes were on Jack, tense. "We've committed this far; Pentagon wouldn't be too happy with me if I called it now. We might as well continue." Daniel finally blinked, his body sighing. Trust Daniel to always be concerned with the plight of others over his own safety-not that Jack didn't understand that.
"Is there hard line access in here?" Carter was feeling over the walls. "Representative Henley told us the last time that we were here that some of the older sections of the capitol still had wires running through the walls for when everyone needed an external interface."
Gerard looked around, but something about the way he cocked his head, Jack knew he was seeing more than the room, that he'd called up architectural plans or something and was seeing through the walls, using the Vinculum like X-ray vision.
He shook his head after a moment. "No, we're in the newer section, I think. There's another security column down this hall. It's at a T-juncture, so it's a little more . . . defensible." His eyes cut over to Jack, an apologetic look on his face. "It's the best we can do." Gerard ran one hand through his hair and the other rested on his still holstered weapon. "We should go. The guards have cleared the hall."
Jack wiped his lip with his thumb. "All right. We'll head to the column. Carter, you'll be our eyes, so let us know if your position is compromised. Teal'c, Geard, you'll be with me."
They moved out, following Gerard's directions to the security column. It was slightly more defensible than their last position, but still not much better. Gerard gave Carter some last minute suggestions for accessing the security system and helped Daniel locate the feeds for the hall cameras through the Vinculum, and then finally un-holstered his weapon.
"Are you in?" Jack asked after Carter hooked up her laptop.
"Mmm, yes, sir." She struck a key and a video feed popped up on her display. "We'll keep you informed."
Gerard held up his hand, like he was in school. "Um, you should probably know something."
Jack squeezed his eyes shut, trying with all his might not to kill Gerard. "What."
"Once we enter the section where the Hardline is housed, we'll be entering the Open Network."
Jack rubbed his eyes, dragging up all his patience. "Which means . . . ?"
"Uh, that using the Vinculum will give away our position."
Jack nodded. "Right." He pointed to Daniel. "Stick to radios." And we need to try to stay out of each other's heads.
Easier said than done, Daniel replied, acknowledging the way they'd been bleeding into each other.
"All right, we're moving out." Jack adjusted his weapon strap and signaled for Teal'c to take their six, putting Gerard between them. Daniel had taken up a defensive position at the mouth of the hall, his eyes only slightly unfocused as he watched the other hallways through the Vinculum. He and Carter would be fine, Jack reassured himself.
Jack followed the map in his head, bearing right at the first junction. It was creepy how easily Jack adjusted to having the information beamed directly into his head (even if the presentation was still a bit awkward). He hadn't missed it when he'd been on Earth-he'd enjoyed getting back to normal life. Having aliens mess with his brains wasn't his most favorite thing about the job-but after one day, he was already forgetting that not everyone had this constant data stream in their heads.
Gerard touched his shoulder before Jack turned the next corner. "Open Network. Make sure you have the map downloaded to your local network."
"You mean my brain?" Jack whispered.
Gerard pulled his hand away, touching his lip.
Jack grabbed his radio. "Passing into the Open Network now. Carter, it's all you." Jack waited until he heard her reply, "Copy, all clear," before stepping foot into the hallway.
The first halls were clear, Carter letting them know when they could continue forward. It was looking like things might actually go smoothly and they could be in and out of the Hardline (whatever that was) with Gerard's brother Jacob before Henley even knew they were there. Which was surprising, actually-this was a prison or something, right, so where were the guards . . . ?
"O'Neill. . . ." Of course Teal'c was thinking the same thing as Jack.
"Thinking the same thing, buddy." He clicked on his radio. "Can you give us a status report? My spider-sense is tingling."
Carter took a long minute getting back to them, and as each second ticked by Jack was sure guards were closing in on their position. Something in the air didn't smell right.
"All clear. Guards down the left junction; but they're not headed in your direction."
"You're sure you're not picking up any other movement?"
They waited through another long minute of silence. Teal'c headed back down the hall, stopping before the last security camera.
"No movement, sir."
Another voice broke in on the radio a moment later. "Jack, there's nothing on the Vinculum, either. I think you're clear."
Jack sighed. "Can't scrub this on a feeling," he muttered. He moved forward, keeping an eye on the juncture Carter mentioned as being guarded. When they got there though, the hallway was empty.
Jack tapped his radio. "Carter, the guards at that junction, what happened to them?"
"They're still there. I don't think you can slip-" Jack stopped paying attention to the radio, his eyes meeting Teal'c's gaze.
"I'm not hallucinating, right? That happens to me sometimes when we're off world and aliens put things in my brain."
"You are not, O'Neill." Teal'c turned to look over his shoulder. "I believe our suspicions were correct."
Jack sighed. "Yeah. I was afraid of that." He grabbed his radio again. "Carter, what looks like the best place for an ambush to you?"
Gerard pressed himself against the wall, his weapon clutched tightly in his hand. "Did they move my brother? Were they expecting us?"
"That seems unclear," Teal'c said. "It is likely they have discovered our presence and are merely reacting."
"Reacting well," Jack muttered. "They looped their own security feed."
Carter came back on the radio and relayed her opinion on where an ambush was likely to be set up-it was the same place Jack liked for it, which was just ahead of them.
"We're falling back," Jack said into the radio.
"What? No!" Gerard blocked the hallway. "We came for Jacob. I can't leave him here."
Jack rolled his eyes. "They're on to us, Gerard. We're lucky they haven't attacked us directly yet. Hell, when they figure out that we've figured them out, they probably will attack us. I'd like to be closer to an exit when that happens."
Gerard opened his mouth, his hand tightening around his weapon.
"Your brother will not be aided by your capture." Teal'c stepped forward, towering over Gerard. "We have his best interest in mind."
Gerard looked between them and then sighed, his shoulders slumping.
Jack grabbed his radio again. "Be ready to move."
They went back the way they came, radioing to check in with Carter and receive status updates. They couldn't trust all the video feeds, but at each juncture, the hallways were empty, like they were being herded back together.
"Shit," Jack muttered.
"I think they're watching you." Daniel's voice came over the radio. "It's the only thing that makes sense. The video feed we're watching is already looped and they have control of the real feed."
"This doesn't make sense. Why doesn't Henley just attack us?"
Gerard grabbed Jack's jacket, hauling him backwards and to the ground. "It's not Henley," Gerard shouted, barely audible over the sound of gunfire.
Gunfire, not those energy-weapon things Henley's men had-it was the insurgents. "What the hell is Dawes doing here?"
Teal'c spun his staff weapon, shooting at their attackers. "It could be that he received the same intelligence about Gerard's brother."
Gerard shook his head. "It was buried. I found it by accident."
Jack returned fire. "I don't believe in coincidences." They were going to be pinned in. Dawes had to have forces already surrounding them or he wouldn't have attacked. "Teal'c, fall back to the last junction. I think I can find a way around."
"Sir," Carter came in over the radio. "We have weapons fire. We're falling back to the exit."
"Understood," Jack barked between shots.
Teal'c provided cover fire while Jack and Gerard moved, taking the left hallway. "Gerard, we're screwed either way, can you use the Vinculum to take these guys out?"
"Open Network," Gerard reiterated. "It wouldn't just affect them. The Open Network broadcasts every thought from the Vinculum to every receiver on the Open Network."
Teal'c turned the corner. "Do you have a route?"
Jack kept moving, not stopping to answer Teal'c. They had to get out of there before Dawes figured out what they were doing and cut them off. He grabbed his radio. "Carter, are you on the move? Dawes is on us."
They ran down the hall. Jack could hear the footsteps behind them. Every now and then there was a burst of weapons fire.
Carter crackled over the radio. "Too late. We're being overrun."
"Shit." Jack glanced over his shoulder. "Can you do anything?"
"As soon as we're out of the Open Network," Gerard panted. "Not before."
"Shit." Weapons fire burst from behind them again; this time it hit the wall ahead of them, spak spak spak. "Teal'c!"
Teal'c spun and fired his staff weapon, the energy discharge loud and bright. Jack thought they were close enough to the T-juncture that Daniel and Carter probably had heard that, maybe thought the cavalry was coming.
The junction in front of them should have taken them back to the rendezvous, but it was overrun as Carter had said. Jack came to a quick stop, ducking back behind the wall. "Gerard, Vinculum!"
"There's a lot of them."
"I noticed." Jack peeked around the corner, earning a spattering of fire in their direction. "Just do what you can. Teal'c and I will handle the rest."
Gerard's jaw set, his teeth grinding. Jack watched for a moment, distracted by the intense focus Gerard was giving the Vinculum. Usually you couldn't tell Gerard was even looking at the Vinculum, it was such a natural part of his life, but now it was a sheer force of will, like trying to dent a wall with your mind. There is no spoon, Jack thought.
The sound of a P-90 broke through the racket. "Carter? We're near your location." There was no response.
Gerard exhaled deeply, sagging against the wall, sweaty palms fighting to keep him upright.
Jack shared a quick look with Teal'c, and then peeked around the corner, all the soldiers in the hallway were on the ground. "It'll do." Jack stepped into the hallway, P-90 ready to fire. "With me."
Gerard and Teal'c followed him down the hall (Gerard stumbling and out of breath, but upright), the weapons fire growing louder as they neared their exit. Carter and Daniel should be there. Where were they? Jack tapped his radio, trying to get Carter and receiving nothing.
Daniel, Jack reached through the Vinculum, Where are you?
The response came a moment later. There was panic with it. Had to fall back. We're pinned down. Jack, just get out of here.
Like hell I will. Jack started running, reaching for Daniel through the Vinculum, using their weird open link to guide his feet, determined to get his whole team out safely.
A sudden burst of light and sound practically blinded Jack-it was like when they'd first stepped through the Stargate, the same way information flooded Jack's system, overloading him momentarily. He heard Gerard cry out next to him, felt Teal'c grip his arm to keep him upright.
"Block it out, block it out," Gerard called. Jack felt something like a wall slam down and then he couldn't feel Daniel any more, couldn't feel any part of the Vinculum.
"What was that?" Jack wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to keep his stomach contents on the inside.
"Something I never expected Dawes to be capable of doing." Gerard shook his head. "They're falling back," he reported.
"They're falling back?! They have Carter and Daniel pinned down!" Jack's ears were still ringing, his vision blurry from the overload.
"Henley's forces are on their way-pursuing Dawes. They'll pass right through here." Gerard grabbed Jack's arm, giving Jack something to focus on, to feel. Jack nodded slowly, trying to get his body under control so he didn't vomit on Gerard's boots.
"We need to get to Daniel," Jack said with a cough.
"Daniel?" Gerard pulled away sharply, leaving Jack to sway, which didn't do much to help settle his stomach. "The Tekhne Guard's distracted. We can go back for Jacob."
"Carter and Daniel are pinned down," Jack snapped, feeling his face flush with anger. "Teal'c."
Teal'c glared at Gerard and took point-when Jack followed behind him, Gerard came as well, his brow furrowed darkly. At least he wouldn't run off on his own. Jack didn't want to leave him behind, but if he pulled a stunt like that, Jack might have to.
Teal'c blasted through some of Dawes's remaining forces, though there weren't many. Jack reached through the Vinculum tentatively, looking for Daniel but afraid the Vinculum was still flooded or whatever. What he found felt like a message stuck on a corkboard.
Jack, they're on us. Get out of here.
He couldn't find Daniel, though.
There was nothing where Daniel should have been.
He felt the world tilt, but he stayed upright, stumbling a step. "Gerard, can you get Daniel through the Vinculum?"
Gerard was silent for a moment, a frown tugging his lips. For a moment Jack thought he was being obstinate, but then he spoke: "No, it's like . . . he's disconnected."
Jack's stomach dropped. "Is that different than being unconscious?"
"There's probably an inhibitor involved," Gerard backpedaled. "But, no, it doesn't mean. . . ."
Jack sighed, looking away from Gerard. He didn't think he could take Daniel dying again so soon. "It's not good, though."
"No, it's not."
When they got back to Carter, she was alone with only the bodies of Dawes's men around her. She'd fallen back to the T-junction. The security column she'd connected into was shot to hell-she'd hacked into the weapons system and used that as cover fire. Luckily she'd gotten her laptop disconnected before the insurgents scored the critical hit that fried it.
"Where is Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c turned over one of the bodies, checking the face. He was just a kid, a boy in his early twenties. His face flashed over the Vinculum with a security announcement from the Tekhne Guard advising that he was a known terrorist from Lower City.
Carter shook her head, her eyes wide. Jack put a hand up to stop the apology, mentally waving away the Vinculum. "We need to get out of here."
Gerard pulled away, turned back towards the hall they'd come from. "I'm getting my brother."
"I'm sure getting yourself captured will really help him."
"He's my brother," Gerard snapped.
"Really haven't forgotten that," Jack muttered. He glanced over his shoulder; the boot steps were getting closer. "We are severely out numbered and we've lost the element of surprise. I know you want to see your brother, but probably not from adjoining cells. We'll be back for him-I promise."
Gerard gave him a long look and Jack knew Gerard had accessed his subconscious, listening for anything that would tell him if Jack was lying. Thankfully he wasn't lying; Gerard was the best lie detector Jack had ever met.
Gerard nodded curtly, and Jack turned, circling his finger. "Let's get the hell out of here."
Jack got them out of the capitol with minimal fighting. The entrance to the tunnels Gerard used to travel the city wasn't far, so they were undercover soon after. When they got to Gerard's apartment, Jack finally had time to look back and to ask the one question he'd been waiting to ask Carter: "What happened?"
* * *
Daniel came to slowly, vaguely aware that he had been hit over the head, or had fallen, or something had happened that had given him a head injury. His head was aching with a constant tap, like Jack drumming his fingers during the middle of a technical briefing. He was on the floor, and it was night, or possibly just dark.
"Jack?" His voice was rough and ill used, like he hadn't spoken in days. That couldn't be right, though. He'd just been . . . where had he been?
He sat up, the blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy. He lay back down, then repeated the motion more slowly, letting himself orient at his own pace, keeping his head on straight this time. The dark wasn't black so much as gray, so he could just make out his surroundings: three solid gray walls and a fourth wall of bars. So, he'd been taken prisoner. There wasn't a bed or a blanket or anything. If Jack were here, he'd point out that the accommodations sucked.
Who had taken him prisoner? What had he been doing just before? The memory loss this time was different from what he'd experienced after descending. He'd had a vague sense of things then, but not known what to look for, and things had come back faster and faster after he got back to Earth and the SGC. Talking to Sam, Teal'c, and Jack had helped a lot. But there wasn't anyone to bounce ideas off here.
Where were they-where was the rest of SG-1? Had they been captured, too?
Daniel let out a frustrated breath and focused. They'd been on a mission, he was sure of that. Somewhere familiar, but also somewhere new-a follow up, where they'd been asked to return, to help a friend. . . .
Sound distracted him. Words? Daniel tilted his head, moving towards the bars, trying harder to listen.
"Hello? Uh, I'm awake. My name's Daniel Jackson. Hello?" The bars were cool to the touch, the metal rusted and flaky beneath his hands.
The talking grew louder but Daniel couldn't make out the words. The way they spoke reminded Daniel of doctors. The tone was calm, clinical; there were two voices.
"Hello?" Daniel called louder. "I'm an explorer from a planet called Earth. If I did something, broke a taboo, I didn't know. If you'll talk to me, I'm sure we can work this out."
The talking stopped for a moment, giving Daniel the impression they'd heard him, maybe were weighing his words. The talking started up again, but he still couldn't make out what they were saying. One of the voices was female, the other male.
"Dr. Jackson," the male voice said as clearly as if he were standing next to Daniel, like he was someone Daniel knew. "It would be best if you relaxed."
"Relax?" That didn't sound good. That never sounded good. Statements like that usually preceded torture.
"Yes, Dr. Jackson," the female voice said. "If you don't, this whole experience could be quite . . . unpleasant."
"And if I relax it will be pleasant?" Daniel was more than a little skeptical.
The voices were quiet for a moment and then the female finally said. "No. But it will be less unpleasant."
"That's . . . not very comforting," Daniel admitted.
"What can you remember, Dr. Jackson?" The woman continued to speak, drawing his attention. For some reason Daniel felt like the male was purposely staying quiet, staying on the periphery of Daniel's perception.
"Not much," Daniel said carefully. "Can you tell me where I am?"
The voices consulted for a moment.
"It's best that you don't remember just yet."
"Best for whom?" Daniel muttered.
"Dr. Jackson, please relax. This will go much smoother if you do." The woman sounded put out now, exasperated that Daniel was still putting up any kind of resistance.
"I am relaxed," Daniel said. "Totally relaxed in my bare cell. I've got all the comforts of a cave, here. Very homey." He sat back, leaning on his hands. It was obvious they wouldn't be coming for him.
"Dr. Jackson," the male said, "are you sure you remember nothing?"
Something in the man's voice raised the hair on the back of Daniel's neck. It was familiar in some way, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was like his memories were just barely hidden by the dark and if he groped around enough, he'd find them. He knew they were there, he just needed to keep the man talking. "Oh, I remember plenty of things. My birthday, how to conjugate the subjunctive, when the Great Pyramids were built-well, according to archaeologists. . . ."
"Go deeper," the man said, clearly not addressing Daniel. "Go deeper and distract him."
"Derek?"
Daniel repeated the name in his mind; it almost sounded familiar.
"However you need to. Give him what you're good at." Derek sounded derisive. "Whatever distracts him."
"I'm pretty hard to distract," Daniel said. "You should ask Colonel O'Neill, he says I'm more stubborn than-is he here? If he's not, I could go get him for you." Daniel made scurrying motions with his fingers. "Just run-right out."
Daniel felt frustration, but it wasn't coming from himself, it was outside the cell. It was a disembodied emotion to his left, like someone invisible was just standing there, radiating frustration. It felt like a microwave.
"Do it now."
"Commander."
The name and face flashed into Daniel's mind like an epiphany. "Commander Dawes," he whispered.
"Disconnect him."
Daniel kept the memory for a few moments longer, but things suddenly went from gray to black.
* * *
"I don't know what happened, sir." Carter had said that a half dozen times and it wasn't getting any easier to hear. He'd been trying not to blame her-it'd been two against twenty and they'd been pinned in, lucky to survive, honestly-but it was difficult not to try to blame someone.
"Daniel cried out, grabbed his head-I thought he'd been shot-but then he just . . . collapsed. I don't know, sir." Carter looked guilty, guiltier than when Jack made her leave behind that human replicator to activate the Asgard time-dilation thingy.
"Dawes has him," Gerard said. Gerard had mostly sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He was taking the failed mission harder than anyone.
"So we break into Dawes' compound," Jack said. "We broke out of there once-you can get us back in."
Gerard shook his head. "You think Dawes left his complex as vulnerable? He's had a year to make improvements. It won't just be . . . we can't just. . . . What was he doing there? Why then?!" Gerard stood up and threw down one of the lamp-sticks, the light growing brighter when he touched the pole and then dimmer when the pole hit the floor.
Jack closed his eyes, understanding Gerard's frustration and trying to control his own. They'd taken Daniel. . . .
"We'll go after your brother again," Carter said. "Don't worry. We won't leave him there." Carter stepped behind Gerard, raising her hand to touch his shoulder, offer some kind of cold comfort.
Gerard put his hand up and stepped away. "I need a minute," he mumbled. He left the living room, heading towards the bedroom and shutting the door behind him firmly.
Teal'c frowned and stooped to pick up the lamp-stick, adjusting the light level.
"The timing stinks." Jack agreed with Gerard: why then, indeed. What had drawn Dawes to the capitol building the same night they'd gone to rescue Gerard's brother?
"Perhaps one of Dawes' men observed the Stargate activation the other night," Teal'c offered. Teal'c had a bandage around his arm-with the exception of Daniel, they'd been lucky, coming away with mostly cuts and bruises; Teal'c had received the worst when he'd been grazed by a bullet during their escape.
"We've been here a day though, how did he know where we were attacking, and when?" Carter sat on the couch in Gerard's vacated seat. She'd been on her computer, trying to access the Vinculum through her wireless, but the signals didn't really mesh and Gerard hadn't been in the mood for assisting in the modifications. "They can't track people through the Vinculum, right? That hasn't changed in the time we've been gone, has it?"
The door to the bedrooms was still shut tight, so Jack sent the question to Gerard through the Vinculum. The response a moment later was short: I haven't helped them, no.
"Tracking's still a no-go," Jack reported.
Carter's lips twisted, her eyebrows furrowing. Jack tapped his head, trying to communicate that he'd asked Gerard and she finally nodded, her eyebrows still furrowed.
We have questions, Jack IMed Gerard. It'd be a lot easier if you'd come out and talk to us.
The response from Gerard wasn't words so much as images and impressions, but the general message of "fuck off," came through loud and clear.
"Gerard just needs a minute," Jack said with a smile. "We might as well wait until he's back. Too many questions, too much time has passed since we were last here, the terrain's changed, maybe the political terrain has, too."
"You don't think Gerard would have mentioned that, sir?"
Jack scoffed-unable to tamp down the reaction fast enough. "I've never met anyone who complied with the phrase 'need to know' more."
Even Carter rolled her eyes at that.
"He might actually fit in well with the Pentagon." Jack sighed, walking over to the view screen hanging on the wall. A horse and carriage passed by outside, the horse bucking its head as it pulled the weight of the passenger car. The gas lamps on the street flickered on, each one turning on in succession as the horse and carriage continued on their way.
"You're not really comfortable with handing him over." Carter sat back, sinking into the couch a bit.
"With how the Vinculum screwed up this world? I'm not wildly enthusiastic with the idea, no."
"We cannot leave him behind this time," Teal'c pointed out.
"No, not when he knows our number." Jack scrubbed his face. Missions were usually easier when they were fighting the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld were bad guys and in general their technology didn't fuck over entire planets just by using it (and when it did, they could leave it behind).
Jack let himself get emotionally compromised too often. Maybe that was Daniel's fault-he hadn't been nearly as forgiving the past year. Jack closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the view screen. Daniel. . . .
They were all quiet for a moment and then Carter slid forward on the couch, leaning forward to work on her laptop again.
"You are content to wait for Gerard?" Teal'c's staff weapon rested beside his chair, positioned to be brought up quickly in defense. He never relaxed when they were on a mission, never let himself be weak for even a moment. Every now and then Jack wondered if Teal'c wouldn't be better off leading an SG-team than being just another member of SG-1.
"Not exactly, but seeing as we don't have all the information, I can't see what else we can do." Jack frowned, thinking of what Daniel must be doing, where he must be. The last time Dawes had captured them, he'd drugged and interrogated them immediately. Daniel resisted better than Jack, but Dawes was relentless and probably already knew that they'd been after Gerard's brother, that SG-1 had returned, hell, that Daniel and Jack screwed on a regular basis.
"Could you not use the Vinculum to acquire some of this information?"
Jack narrowed his eyes at Teal'c, feeling done.
"I don't. . . ." Jack pushed away from the wall, heading towards the bedroom. "I need a minute, too."
* * *
The cell was dark when Daniel awoke, the smell of piss and shit strong in his nostrils. He vaguely remembered that there was an uncovered bucket in the corner, that he'd slept on the floor. There'd been the voice of a woman in his dreams. She'd tried to seduce him. A hand ran over his chest, but the shape of the arm faded into a shadow. He'd felt lips at his ear but had never seen her face. He'd felt the shape of her body pressed against him, pressing into his hands, but he'd pushed her away when she'd given him that much to focus on. In fact, the more she'd focused on him, the easier it was to resist her. The more she pushed against him, the more he pushed her away.
Jack wasn't with him, hadn't been captured as well-Daniel was sure of that-but he'd felt Jack on the edge of his thoughts, more than a thought, a part of Jack, helping Daniel resist.
It was amazing how much hope could be derived just from the feeling Jack gave him.
Daniel sat up, unfolding his jacket from its resting place under his head, smoothing it out and putting it on. The gray was still surrounding him, dark enough that he couldn't make out anything more than a few feet from him and even then things were just vague shapes, slightly darker than the gray, enough of a contrast to keep Daniel from running into them.
Daniel stretched, his bones popping and muscles complaining as they started to move. He rolled to his feet, getting ready to start calisthenics. He'd learned long ago from Jack that the best way to kill time while captured was to work out, stay limber, stay strong. Daniel remembered a conversation they'd had about the topic his first year on SG-1. That was back when Jack had thought Daniel was soft, had looked after his every move, had made him go to the shooting range and qualify on every weapon he could justify Daniel handling. He'd been making Daniel into a soldier, bleeding parts of himself into Daniel's open wounds. Jack was still bleeding into Daniel, but it was different now, more permanent.
He was in the middle of a jumping jack when his cell door creaked. Rough hands grabbed him before he could fight back, pull away. They dragged him from the cell. Cold water hit his face. Someone pulled off his jacket, then his shirt. Every time he opened his mouth to yell, water hit his face again. It wasn't clean, so he spent most of his time spitting it out.
A meaty fist punched him in the stomach, making him double over. He gasped for air, his mouth working like a beached fish. He couldn't put any meaning to this-cleaning him, but beating him? He racked his brain, trying to come up with cultural significance, rituals, anything that he might be able to relate to this experience, some way to identify with what was happening to him.
They pulled him upright, hands forcing first his shirt and then his jacket back on him. His clothes were wet and uncomfortable, his stomach sore and bruising, but he'd been through worse-hell, the confusion was worse.
They led him, moving quickly so that he stumbled, and forced him to the floor. He was somewhere new, not his cell, but the same gray blackness surrounded him. The guards pushing him around weren't fumbling in the dark; maybe they'd done something to his eyes, or they had special equipment. He heard metal scraping against concrete, like someone had thrown down something.
"Eat," a voice said. "Drink."
Daniel felt in front of him, finding a bowl and a cup. The bowl had two kinds of food in it, bread and something that felt like jerky. The cup had water, but this was cleaner and colder than what they'd thrown at him. He tried not to eat and drink too greedily, tried to take his time, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd been fed. It'd been a long time, he thought, though as he ate he realized that his body wasn't craving the food. It was more a perception that he should be hungry rather than actual hunger.
When the plate and cup were empty, the hands grabbed him again and pulled him up, getting him to his feet. They dragged him along a hallway, the light growing dimmer and dimmer until it was blackness; the only things helping Daniel orient himself were the hands on either of his arms and the ground beneath his feet. Suddenly there was a slit of light ahead of him. It grew thicker and thicker until Daniel realized it was a set of double doors slowly opening. He squinted his eyes, turning his head away from the too bright light.
The hands carried him forward, through the doors and into. . . .
Daniel blinked hard. This wasn't right. He was fuzzy on the details. He couldn’t remember where they'd been or who had captured him, but he knew this wasn't right, that this couldn't be right.
He was on a Goa'uld mother ship.
It looked like maybe the ceiling had caved in after a crash landing. There was dirt and rubble covering one half of the corridor; a pile to one side looked like it had been cleared to make their way farther into the ship.
The doors shut behind him, Daniel's eyes still adjusting as he gazed around in confusion. His guards let go of his arms and stepped back, finally giving him a good look at them-not Jaffa, no symbol on the forehead and no symbiote pouch. One of them handed Daniel a tool belt; there were brushes and a small spade, the tools he was familiar with as an archaeologist.
"What?" Daniel asked. A fist struck his face hard enough that he was spitting blood.
He shook off the hit, blinking. His glasses had been knocked askew, but they were still on his face.
"I just wanted-" The fist swung at him again, but this time Daniel was ready for it and he caught the blow in his hand, a move he'd seen Teal'c do a number of times. Of course in the title bout of Daniel versus the Meat Fist, Daniel wasn't exactly the winner. It felt like his entire hand was going to be bruised. "Shit."
"No talking," the other guard finally said.
"But I don't-" They hit Daniel again, this time aiming for his stomach, knocking the wind-and the words-out of him.
"Dig," the guard said. "You know what to do."
Daniel shook his head, his mouth open, but when the guard pushed him towards the rubble, Daniel shouldered the tool belt and stumbled towards it, surveying the debris as he would a dig site. He knelt down in front of it, looked at the larger rocks and support columns that needed to be cleared before he could do a damn thing with his brushes-whoever thought this was a job for an archaeologist was an idiot, they needed a crew of muscle first to clear away the garbage.
The door opened and another set of guards entered, dragging a man between them. The man was struggling, but before Daniel could get a good look at him, the guards grunted at Daniel, gesturing for him to get back to work. The man wasn't given a tool belt, but when the guards pointed him towards Daniel, he ambled forward and picked up the largest piece of debris that was in Daniel's way.
Another man was brought in a moment later, slightly smaller than the first with darker features. He seemed more resigned, not fighting the guards at all, just going straight to work.
Both men moved like they knew exactly what Daniel wanted them to do. As though they were privy to Daniel's thoughts, or could be controlled by his whims. The thought seemed familiar to Daniel, but he assumed it was just a movie he'd watched with Jack, or perhaps a fantasy in which an SG-team actually did what Daniel requested on an archaeological dig.
Daniel helped the men clear away the rubble since there was nothing more for him to do yet. He mentally cataloged each piece they moved, trying to determine where they were in the ship based on the paneling and which broken crystals were on the floor. It was too early to tell, but if this was just the first day of a project, he'd know soon enough.
He turned his head to the guards. "Do you know anything about the ship? Who owned it? What happened to it? Was your civilization under Goa'uld rule?"
The closest guard advanced on him, hitting him on the shoulders and then the back, forcing him to the ground.
"I can't be an archaeologist if you don't give me some details," Daniel coughed.
"Just stay busy; stay quiet," the guard said as he continued to beat Daniel. His fist came down again and again across Daniel's shoulders. He grabbed Daniel by the shirt and hauled him up, holding him in place while another guard came over to take a turn.
Daniel felt his lip split open, tasted the blood in his mouth, felt it warm on his chin. "I just want to know," he mumbled.
He saw the guard's face tighten with anger and then watched his fist come at his face. He didn't see anything after that.
* * *
Gerard kicked the desk when he got back to the bedroom. He'd been alone for so long. Palmer, Asher, Jacob-they'd all been taken from him and he thought . . . he thought he'd finally have one of them back. He'd thought that maybe this hellish nightmare could have been at least partially over and he could get a moment's rest, close his eyes and know for once that someone he cared about was breathing beside him.
It'd been a long time since he'd had that luxury.
He scrubbed his face. What was Dawes doing there? He'd grabbed Daniel and left; had he been there for Daniel? How had he known they'd be there? Why hadn't Dawes tried to capture him?
Gerard snorted, like he was upset that Dawes had found someone new to pursue to the ends of the universe.
Still . . . there were too many coincidences. Something was definitely off.
The door swooshed opened a moment later.
"Can I talk to you?" It was Jack. More questions about strategy and what was tactically advantageous; more accusations that Gerard knew more than he was saying, or that he'd known Dawes was coming. Or maybe there would be more relationship questions, since he didn't get enough of those the last time they were here. Like Gerard was good with people.
Gerard sighed and scratched at his hairline, buying him another moment of not looking at Jack. "Mmm, yeah?"
"We need to go after Daniel," Jack said, showing off his one-track mind. He stood up straighter, putting on that commanding officer routine that had originally made Gerard hate Derek Dawes.
"We do, don't we." Of course they'd have to go after Daniel. It wasn't that Gerard would begrudge Daniel a rescue, but they'd been in the middle of a rescue when Daniel had been captured. They'd been in the middle of something and had to abort. "What about my brother?"
"He'll keep," Jack said.
"He'll keep? He's been in prison for two years. Why does he have to keep? Why can't Daniel keep?" Gerard's fingers curled into fists, it'd been a long time since he punched anyone but Jack had a habit of pushing the right buttons.
Jack took a step forward, forcing Gerard to look up to see his face-which only served to get under Gerard's skin and light the shortened fuse that was threatening to blow.
"Daniel is my priority." Jack's nostrils flared, his eyes darting back and forth. It was a possessiveness Gerard remembered. He remembered once having that same passion and fervor for someone. He remembered having family.
"Jacob is mine," Gerard said quietly. "I thought he was dead, and he's not." Gerard's mouth worked for a moment, while he tried to put it into words. He'd seen Jacob shot. He'd watched as Henley put a bullet in the back of Jacob's head. Gerard had left him behind, sure that Jacob was dead, sure that he needed to get out of there before he was also dead or worse. He never expected Jacob to survive. He still couldn't believe that he had.
"I'm sorry." It sounded like he meant it. "But it's more practical. We blew the rescue, and I'm sorry we did, but we need to rethink attacking the capitol again. While we do that," Jack emphasized the words, "we're going to work on rescuing Daniel."
"We'll try again after we rescue Daniel?"
"Yes," Jack promised. "It's my responsibility-my job-I'm responsible for my team; for making sure they get home safely."
Gerard rolled his eyes. "It's more than that with Daniel. Don't even pretend."
"Yes, it's more," Jack snapped, his cheeks flushed. "But that doesn't make my job any less real."
Gerard looked away. He'd removed all the artwork from the walls, left the walls gray and bare. The outer wall had a bomb rigged to it for a quick escape in case one of Gerard's "friends" cut off the exits. He'd grown into a life in which making a bomb and setting explosives was the norm, a life in which his friends were all housed in sarcastic quote marks.
"I haven't forgotten what it's like to have someone . . . like Daniel," Gerard clarified. It'd been a long time, but Gerard imagined you didn't ever forget the people you loved or how you lost them . . . or even how you almost lost them, judging by what he'd picked up from Jack, by what he was feeling about his brother. He moved farther into the room and sat down on the bed. "Can you . . . ? I still just. . . . ."
"Right," Jack said. "Me too."
He left the room and Gerard turned off the light and stared at the wall. He'd rescue Jacob-he knew that. It just wouldn't be as quickly as he'd have liked. He guessed he'd have to live with that.
* * *
Daniel woke in the cell again, the concrete cool against his face, easing some of the burn of a bruise. Was it the fifth time he'd woken? He'd been at his new "job" for more than a day, but less than a week, he thought. It was getting harder to estimate time. Everything seemed to be happening so quickly and he spent what seemed like a lot of time passed out after being beaten. During the last beating they'd nearly broken his finger, but one of the guards grunted, and the one bending back his index finger stopped-maybe they realized that Daniel really couldn't be an archaeologist if he couldn't use his hands.
Of course that would be giving them credit for actually thinking.
They usually came right after he regained consciousness, so Daniel tucked himself into a ball, ready for the guards to take him, throw water in his face, feed him. It was the same routine every time which was why Daniel thought it was a daily routine. It felt like morning, not just because he had just woken up. It just . . . it felt like morning.
This time when the guards came in they didn't take Daniel anywhere.
"This is punishment," one of them muttered, "for talking too much."
They beat Daniel with their fists, though clearly with instructions not to hurt him too badly. He was still useful, it seemed. They were easy on his face, concentrating on his midsection until he heard a rib crack. Then one of the guards-they looked so much alike that Daniel thought maybe they were clones-hit him in the face. He passed out again.
* * *
~Continued in Part 3.
Title: A Loose Bolt in a Complete Machine (2/5)
Author: theemdash
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence
Word Count: ~50,000 (in 5 parts)
Pairing: Jack/Daniel
Summary: SG-1 returns to Tekhne to extract Gerard, the inventor of the Vinculum (in Jack-speak, "internet in the brain"). But the mission goes south when Daniel is captured. Unable to remember where he is or what mission he was on, Daniel faces mental and physical abuse that threatens to break him. Can SG-1 rescue him before his mind completely cracks? Why is it Daniel they're after? And won't anyone believe that Jack's receiving messages from him?
Continued from Part 1.
* * *
Jack scanned the entry point, already feeling exposed. Gerard insisted that the satellites and other means of automated visual surveillance were pointed away from their location, but they were still five lumps huddled in a dimly lit alcove. Teal'c had loosened the security light, providing extra cover, but one of the Tekhnen moons was full and the light was seeping in around the corners. If a guard passed by a few minutes early, their little rescue mission would be blown before it even started.
"I'm still surprised you haven't been able to recruit anyone to your cause," Daniel said. He'd been chewing Gerard's ear off since dinner, bringing up conversation that didn't matter in the least. Jack had said "not tactically advantageous" to him more times in the past day than he had in his life.
Maybe-if he was admitting it only to himself-maybe Jack was being unfair. But he didn't want Daniel digging around in the Vinculum any more than he had to. These nanites were in their brains, and after losing Daniel-after having him come back sans memories-Jack wasn't ready to risk Daniel's mind again. A little voice in the back of Jack's mind niggled at him, though (and he was pretty sure the voice was coming from him and not Daniel, though with the Vinculum, Jack couldn't be sure). But the niggling voice was right-his resistance was selfish and not in the best interest of the mission-so Jack kept trying to compartmentalize his personal feelings on the issue and just let Daniel do what he did best. It was getting harder and harder to risk Daniel-something was going to break. Whether it broke before or after someone figured out what was going on between them was another question.
"Most people take a side," Gerard finally responded. "State or revolutionary." His eyes were still unfocused, going through various parts of the Vinculum, Jack hoped, keeping an eye out for the automated surveillance and not being distracted by Daniel's incessant conversation.
"Your side is a side. It's choosing an option that doesn't yet exist."
Jack rolled his eyes-choosing to be annoyed with Daniel rather than worried-and skirted around Carter. "How's the door coming?"
Carter looked up at the box of exposed wires and then down at her computer again. The wires running to her computer were a mess of tangled fishing line. He hoped she didn't wind up causing a small explosion . . . though that would at least open the door.
"Their systems are pretty complex. Gerard and I worked out a code-breaker this morning that should get us most of the way there, but the program needs time to run and then I-" Her laptop blinked, the whole screen flashing once. "Oh, that's not good," she said, her voice flat.
"What's not good? How not good?" Jack flicked his hand, and Teal'c immediately moved towards the corner, where the wall wrapped the building. He checked ahead and then ducked around the corner, quickly scouting the perimeter.
Daniel appeared at Carter's shoulder, looking over to read the screen. "Oh." His face drained, the eagerness seeping out. "Gerard? Can you handle this for a second?" Jack felt the transfer through the Vinculum, like something invisible brushed past his shoulder.
"Hi. I'm the CO. Would you like to fill me in?"
Carter began fussing with the wires, disconnecting and reconnecting several. "Sir, I can explain it, or I can do it, which would you like?"
Jack made a scoffing noise, knowing it had to be bad for Carter to snap at him like that.
"Do it. Gerard, how's the Vinculum?"
Gerard's eyes unfocused again, his shoulders slumping slightly. "There's . . . a lot to go . . . through." He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "I think we're alright, but I'd know more if I could get Daniel back." Gerard glared at Carter's computer, and Jack saw a man who'd grown quite used to having his way. Was that something from before or something that developed during the years when it had just been him against the world?
Jack glanced over his shoulder; Daniel now had wires in his hands and was splicing them together. "He has his hands full at the moment. Ask again later." Jack sent Gerard a mental image of a Magic 8-ball, but the image bounced back at him; Gerard's spam blocker must be working in overdrive.
"Would you like me to help?" Jack smiled when he asked, laying on whatever sweetness he could muster.
Gerard blinked at Jack for a moment and then Jack was sent a link through the Vinculum with a message to pay attention to where the satellite was directed.
"Don't try to manipulate it. Don't." Gerard held his finger in Jack's face; he had dirt under the nail.
Jack gently pushed Gerard's hand away. "All right. I can handle one stupid satellite. Looky, no touchy, I got it." He followed the link and was given a mental broadcast from a satellite watching the far side of the capitol building.
It was a weird double vision, watching the satellite with his eyes open. He hadn't been able to do it last time, only being able to concentrate on an image for short periods of time, or to watch video with his eyes closed. (He likened the backs of his eyelids to projector screens-Daniel had said the familiar terms allowed Jack to make the process more comfortable and less alien. Of course he still had robots in his brain, so Jack didn't see how that really helped.) In the middle of a tactical op, though, Jack wasn't about to close his eyes.
The double vision was similar to a HUD, or like trying to watch the real world through a television screen. It was a little difficult to focus on both at the same time. Superimposed over Gerard's gaunt face was an aerial view showing the eastern wall of the building, a well-worn road, and a sparse covering of trees that made the capitol look inviting and affluent.
A thought from Daniel popped up in the corner of his mind. Affluent? I thought you hated trees.
Jack rolled his eyes, turning to Daniel and losing the double vision. "I'm sick of forests. These trees are-"
"Sir, can you talk about trees later?" Carter's teeth were grinding hard enough to shatter. Apparently something was frustrating.
You got me in trouble with "Mom," Jack relayed to Daniel.
Oh? Calling her "Mom" now? There was a bitterness to Daniel's words Jack thought he didn't intend because he quickly switched tracks. Aren't you supposed to be watching the satellite? Jack shifted, turning away from Daniel to watch the perimeter and the satellite. Sometimes Jack wished the Vinculum was just text based, rather than the way it pulled from everything available in your brain, including emotions and everything you wanted to hide.
Jack focused and found that he could time-lapse the feed to catch up on the few seconds he'd been distracted by Daniel. The leaves moved jerkily in the trees, a dark shadow emerging for two frames. Oh.
"Shit," Jack muttered. He fumbled for his radio. "Teal'c. Stay to the trees, you're on Candid Camera except there are never any fantastic prizes."
The dark shadow moved back into the trees. A moment later Jack's radio cracked. "Understood."
"I could get used to this," Jack said to no one in particular. He continued watching the double vision, flinching when Daniel touched his shoulder.
"Sam's almost inside." Daniel paused, biting his lip. Guilt washed over Jack, but it wasn't his own-they were bleeding through worse, like how they'd been the first moments after Jack had been injected with the nanites. They'd learned to block each other out, so why was everything so accessible now? "Feel better now that you've had your turn watching the satellites?" He gave a small smile, and there was so much else to say, but thankfully he just stuck with that.
Jack sent Daniel the link to his satellite. "You can get the others from Gerard. Keep your eyes out, though. I trust your aim more than his."
Daniel nodded and Jack closed out his feed to the satellite. He blinked a few times before his vision was back to normal. One day he'd ask Daniel for theories about why it was so much easier for Daniel to adapt to the Vinculum-Jack would probably pretend to sleep through part of the lecture that would be sure to follow, but he was curious. Jack's theory was that it was something like Ascension: limitless access to limitless knowledge in Jack's limited brain; something in that equation had to give. Huh, maybe that was why he and Daniel were bleeding out-Daniel was trying too hard to be human.
"T, we're almost in. Come back to the north entrance."
Carter was still messing with the computer, but her shoulders had lost some of their tension. Also, the tangle of wires looked less like a tangle and more like something with some order to it.
"Almost in, sir. Going through the last of the algorithm now."
"Care to explain any of it or are you assuming that I'll dismiss it all as techno-babble anyway?" Jack waved a hand at the whole mess.
"Techno-babble. Absolutely."
"Right." Jack turned suddenly, hearing footsteps on the outside of their alcove. Teal'c appeared a moment later.
"There are guards along the northeast corner, heading towards our position. I anticipate they will be upon us in five minutes." Teal'c's staff looked cumbersome given the operation; Jack would have to talk to him again about carrying a P-90 instead.
"We'll be inside in less than that," Carter promised. "Last pass. . . ." She bit her lower lip and a moment later the light on her screen switched from red to green.
"Green is good?" Jack asked.
"Always, sir."
"Actually I was reading a document earlier that on Tekhne, green is normally associated with caution." Daniel's eyes flicked away quickly, and Jack imagined that something had appeared on one of the various screens in his mind.
"Daniel, what have I told you about researching while we're trying to avoid going into combat?" Jack looked past Teal'c to confirm that no one was on them yet. "Carter?"
She disconnected the wires from her laptop. "Everything's unlocked. Just a matter of opening the door." She smiled, her teeth sharp white in the near dark.
Jack nodded and squeezed past her. "Gerard, are there any cameras inside you can hack into?"
"Already done," Daniel said. "I've been watching them. The hall's clear and the feed is on a loop. No one will see us enter."
Not that Jack didn't trust Daniel, but. . . . "Gerard?"
Gerard blinked, his eyes finding and focusing on Jack. "Oh. Uh, I set up the program before passing it off to Daniel. As long as Daniel's seeing a clear hall, it's clear." Gerard's voice was tight, his hands balled in tight fists, his small energy pistol tucked in its holster. His vision stayed focused, but Jack could tell Gerard was focusing on what he was seeing in the Vinculum, able to watch the Vinculum and interact with reality so much more easily than Jack.
Jack put his hand against the metal plate that served as a door handle. The door slid open with a quiet whoosh-couldn't ask for a stealthier entrance. He glanced back at Teal'c, who nodded and then turned back to continue watching the entrance to the alcove.
The hallway was empty as Daniel had said. "You still can't see me, right?"
"You're good," Daniel said.
Jack progressed farther down the hall, stopping at the first junction. All clear, he sent to Daniel, and a moment later the rest of the team was behind him, the door whispering shut behind them.
They moved into the capitol compound silently, Gerard and Daniel keeping an eye on all the cameras, looping the feeds and watching for guards. The prisoner information wasn't stored in the Vinculum, so they needed to find a data port so Carter and Gerard could access a hardwire into the system. For a society as technologically advanced as the Tekhnens, it was actually more difficult to find hard line access than Jack thought. Apparently it wasn't like Star Wars with R2-unit data-thingies at every exit.
"They don't need hard lines," Daniel whispered. He tapped his head. "Very few people don't have the Vinculum. As the Vinculum advanced, they phased out wiring buildings for data access."
"What?" Carter whispered back.
"I second that." He hadn't said that out loud, had he?
Daniel looked between them, his eyes wide. "Oh. Uh." His eyes met Jack's for a brief moment. "Sorry. I must have picked up your thoughts."
Jack raised his eyebrows and then smirked, putting a finger in Daniel's face. "No hacking." He slipped past, taking point again until the next junction. It was clear that the bleed between them wasn't one-sided. Jack was going to have to watch his thoughts.
"Wait." Gerard's soft voice stopped Jack from turning the corner. "Security column to the right. Should be able to use one of those."
Carter was behind them a moment later. "That'll make things easier. I tapped into one the last time we were here."
"You did?"
Carter shrugged. "We had no way of knowing what happened to you and Daniel, sir. I didn't think you'd disapprove."
Jack gestured her forward. "By all means."
Carter pulled out her laptop, flipping it open. She set it on the ground and began removing a side panel from the column. The rest of the team fanned out to watch the hallways.
"Do you need any assistance?" Gerard was closest to Carter, looking over her shoulder at the computer screen. He seemed eager to get at the keyboard, like a kid reconnecting with a childhood toy.
"I think I have it." Carter reached into the security column, connecting various wires to her laptop. She was efficient, clearly familiar with the process. "It wasn't difficult to hardwire into the system last time," she explained. "Their security measures seem to be mostly concentrated on preventing wireless attacks; once I had a direct connection, their computer systems were pretty much completely open."
"There's a flaw," Gerard muttered.
"Too much dependence on technology and not enough on history," Daniel remarked.
Gerard shook his head. "I'm surprised, actually. Henley has more forethought than that. At least . . . that's what I thought."
"The information about your brother was just there, though-maybe he's gotten cocky." The hallway to the left was still clear. "Besides, you're not actually that good with people," Jack couldn't help but point out.
Like you can talk. The tone of Daniel's words made Jack think he hadn't meant to send the thought through the Vinculum.
Jack barely bit back his response.
"Got it." Carter touched a few keys and examined the screen. "I've got your brother's location. He's close to the . . . the Hardline?"
Gerard's brow furrowed. "Can you send that information to us through the Vinculum?" Gerard was leaning over her shoulder now, his eyes on the screen. "It'd be helpful to have a map."
Jack rolled his eyes. "Maps, what a novel concept." He gave Gerard a pointed stare, but was pretty sure his menacing look went unnoticed.
Carter's lips wobbled in what could have been a smile. "Of course, sir. Uh, Gerard? Can you help me with that? I'm not sure I can do that without broadcasting it across the whole network."
Gerard leaned over Carter, his arms on either side of her shoulders, and struck the keys in rapid succession. Carter probably loved the invasion of personal space, but she didn't flinch away from him or even give him a dirty look; her eyes were on the screen and the tension in her back looked like it was just from anticipation. Geeks, when one of them shows the other something new, they're like little sponges.
"And . . . there." Gerard hit a final key and then a map popped into Jack's mind, the HUD overlaying his vision.
He checked over the layout, running through the hallways like a video game, taking note of security camera and guard stations. "This isn't going to be easy. Gerard, are you into those camera systems?"
"They're off the Vinculum," Carter reported. "But I can get into them from here, shut them down as you move."
Jack looked around, trying to see where they were more than the Vinculum Vision, but sometimes making his brain focus the right way was difficult. "This isn't the most defensible place."
"I'll stay with her," Daniel volunteered. "If something happens, I can signal you through the Vinculum." And, Daniel added to Jack, I doubt Gerard will let you go without him.
Jack frowned. Even though Gerard probably wouldn't want to be left behind, Jack would feel better if Daniel had his back instead of Gerard. The guy was twitchy enough when he didn't have a weapon in his hands.
"This really-"
Teal'c first gestured for silence, then that he had eyes on someone. That's perfect; they already had guards on their tails.
Jack gestured for Carter to pack it up, but she was already disconnecting wires. Jack herded Daniel and Gerard towards the empty hall, looking over his shoulder to see Teal'c helping Carter replace the panel on the security column.
Empty room, Jack sent to Gerard, and Gerard touched the panel on the next door, revealing an empty conference room. The table was glass, the chairs silver and straight-backed. The seat cushions were this weird malleable material the Tekhnens had. It was quite comfortable, forming around your butt and back, and it warmed when you sat on it. Jack wouldn't mind taking this technology back to Earth.
The others ducked into the room a moment later and Daniel pressed a hand to the door, making it slide closed.
"Continued movement throughout the building without detection will be difficult," Teal'c said. His eyes met Jack's, and they were on the same page. "Does the worth outweigh the risks?"
Gerard opened his mouth, but Jack held up his hand. "Ah!" Jack took off his cap and rubbed his brow. Daniel's eyes were on Jack, tense. "We've committed this far; Pentagon wouldn't be too happy with me if I called it now. We might as well continue." Daniel finally blinked, his body sighing. Trust Daniel to always be concerned with the plight of others over his own safety-not that Jack didn't understand that.
"Is there hard line access in here?" Carter was feeling over the walls. "Representative Henley told us the last time that we were here that some of the older sections of the capitol still had wires running through the walls for when everyone needed an external interface."
Gerard looked around, but something about the way he cocked his head, Jack knew he was seeing more than the room, that he'd called up architectural plans or something and was seeing through the walls, using the Vinculum like X-ray vision.
He shook his head after a moment. "No, we're in the newer section, I think. There's another security column down this hall. It's at a T-juncture, so it's a little more . . . defensible." His eyes cut over to Jack, an apologetic look on his face. "It's the best we can do." Gerard ran one hand through his hair and the other rested on his still holstered weapon. "We should go. The guards have cleared the hall."
Jack wiped his lip with his thumb. "All right. We'll head to the column. Carter, you'll be our eyes, so let us know if your position is compromised. Teal'c, Geard, you'll be with me."
They moved out, following Gerard's directions to the security column. It was slightly more defensible than their last position, but still not much better. Gerard gave Carter some last minute suggestions for accessing the security system and helped Daniel locate the feeds for the hall cameras through the Vinculum, and then finally un-holstered his weapon.
"Are you in?" Jack asked after Carter hooked up her laptop.
"Mmm, yes, sir." She struck a key and a video feed popped up on her display. "We'll keep you informed."
Gerard held up his hand, like he was in school. "Um, you should probably know something."
Jack squeezed his eyes shut, trying with all his might not to kill Gerard. "What."
"Once we enter the section where the Hardline is housed, we'll be entering the Open Network."
Jack rubbed his eyes, dragging up all his patience. "Which means . . . ?"
"Uh, that using the Vinculum will give away our position."
Jack nodded. "Right." He pointed to Daniel. "Stick to radios." And we need to try to stay out of each other's heads.
Easier said than done, Daniel replied, acknowledging the way they'd been bleeding into each other.
"All right, we're moving out." Jack adjusted his weapon strap and signaled for Teal'c to take their six, putting Gerard between them. Daniel had taken up a defensive position at the mouth of the hall, his eyes only slightly unfocused as he watched the other hallways through the Vinculum. He and Carter would be fine, Jack reassured himself.
Jack followed the map in his head, bearing right at the first junction. It was creepy how easily Jack adjusted to having the information beamed directly into his head (even if the presentation was still a bit awkward). He hadn't missed it when he'd been on Earth-he'd enjoyed getting back to normal life. Having aliens mess with his brains wasn't his most favorite thing about the job-but after one day, he was already forgetting that not everyone had this constant data stream in their heads.
Gerard touched his shoulder before Jack turned the next corner. "Open Network. Make sure you have the map downloaded to your local network."
"You mean my brain?" Jack whispered.
Gerard pulled his hand away, touching his lip.
Jack grabbed his radio. "Passing into the Open Network now. Carter, it's all you." Jack waited until he heard her reply, "Copy, all clear," before stepping foot into the hallway.
The first halls were clear, Carter letting them know when they could continue forward. It was looking like things might actually go smoothly and they could be in and out of the Hardline (whatever that was) with Gerard's brother Jacob before Henley even knew they were there. Which was surprising, actually-this was a prison or something, right, so where were the guards . . . ?
"O'Neill. . . ." Of course Teal'c was thinking the same thing as Jack.
"Thinking the same thing, buddy." He clicked on his radio. "Can you give us a status report? My spider-sense is tingling."
Carter took a long minute getting back to them, and as each second ticked by Jack was sure guards were closing in on their position. Something in the air didn't smell right.
"All clear. Guards down the left junction; but they're not headed in your direction."
"You're sure you're not picking up any other movement?"
They waited through another long minute of silence. Teal'c headed back down the hall, stopping before the last security camera.
"No movement, sir."
Another voice broke in on the radio a moment later. "Jack, there's nothing on the Vinculum, either. I think you're clear."
Jack sighed. "Can't scrub this on a feeling," he muttered. He moved forward, keeping an eye on the juncture Carter mentioned as being guarded. When they got there though, the hallway was empty.
Jack tapped his radio. "Carter, the guards at that junction, what happened to them?"
"They're still there. I don't think you can slip-" Jack stopped paying attention to the radio, his eyes meeting Teal'c's gaze.
"I'm not hallucinating, right? That happens to me sometimes when we're off world and aliens put things in my brain."
"You are not, O'Neill." Teal'c turned to look over his shoulder. "I believe our suspicions were correct."
Jack sighed. "Yeah. I was afraid of that." He grabbed his radio again. "Carter, what looks like the best place for an ambush to you?"
Gerard pressed himself against the wall, his weapon clutched tightly in his hand. "Did they move my brother? Were they expecting us?"
"That seems unclear," Teal'c said. "It is likely they have discovered our presence and are merely reacting."
"Reacting well," Jack muttered. "They looped their own security feed."
Carter came back on the radio and relayed her opinion on where an ambush was likely to be set up-it was the same place Jack liked for it, which was just ahead of them.
"We're falling back," Jack said into the radio.
"What? No!" Gerard blocked the hallway. "We came for Jacob. I can't leave him here."
Jack rolled his eyes. "They're on to us, Gerard. We're lucky they haven't attacked us directly yet. Hell, when they figure out that we've figured them out, they probably will attack us. I'd like to be closer to an exit when that happens."
Gerard opened his mouth, his hand tightening around his weapon.
"Your brother will not be aided by your capture." Teal'c stepped forward, towering over Gerard. "We have his best interest in mind."
Gerard looked between them and then sighed, his shoulders slumping.
Jack grabbed his radio again. "Be ready to move."
They went back the way they came, radioing to check in with Carter and receive status updates. They couldn't trust all the video feeds, but at each juncture, the hallways were empty, like they were being herded back together.
"Shit," Jack muttered.
"I think they're watching you." Daniel's voice came over the radio. "It's the only thing that makes sense. The video feed we're watching is already looped and they have control of the real feed."
"This doesn't make sense. Why doesn't Henley just attack us?"
Gerard grabbed Jack's jacket, hauling him backwards and to the ground. "It's not Henley," Gerard shouted, barely audible over the sound of gunfire.
Gunfire, not those energy-weapon things Henley's men had-it was the insurgents. "What the hell is Dawes doing here?"
Teal'c spun his staff weapon, shooting at their attackers. "It could be that he received the same intelligence about Gerard's brother."
Gerard shook his head. "It was buried. I found it by accident."
Jack returned fire. "I don't believe in coincidences." They were going to be pinned in. Dawes had to have forces already surrounding them or he wouldn't have attacked. "Teal'c, fall back to the last junction. I think I can find a way around."
"Sir," Carter came in over the radio. "We have weapons fire. We're falling back to the exit."
"Understood," Jack barked between shots.
Teal'c provided cover fire while Jack and Gerard moved, taking the left hallway. "Gerard, we're screwed either way, can you use the Vinculum to take these guys out?"
"Open Network," Gerard reiterated. "It wouldn't just affect them. The Open Network broadcasts every thought from the Vinculum to every receiver on the Open Network."
Teal'c turned the corner. "Do you have a route?"
Jack kept moving, not stopping to answer Teal'c. They had to get out of there before Dawes figured out what they were doing and cut them off. He grabbed his radio. "Carter, are you on the move? Dawes is on us."
They ran down the hall. Jack could hear the footsteps behind them. Every now and then there was a burst of weapons fire.
Carter crackled over the radio. "Too late. We're being overrun."
"Shit." Jack glanced over his shoulder. "Can you do anything?"
"As soon as we're out of the Open Network," Gerard panted. "Not before."
"Shit." Weapons fire burst from behind them again; this time it hit the wall ahead of them, spak spak spak. "Teal'c!"
Teal'c spun and fired his staff weapon, the energy discharge loud and bright. Jack thought they were close enough to the T-juncture that Daniel and Carter probably had heard that, maybe thought the cavalry was coming.
The junction in front of them should have taken them back to the rendezvous, but it was overrun as Carter had said. Jack came to a quick stop, ducking back behind the wall. "Gerard, Vinculum!"
"There's a lot of them."
"I noticed." Jack peeked around the corner, earning a spattering of fire in their direction. "Just do what you can. Teal'c and I will handle the rest."
Gerard's jaw set, his teeth grinding. Jack watched for a moment, distracted by the intense focus Gerard was giving the Vinculum. Usually you couldn't tell Gerard was even looking at the Vinculum, it was such a natural part of his life, but now it was a sheer force of will, like trying to dent a wall with your mind. There is no spoon, Jack thought.
The sound of a P-90 broke through the racket. "Carter? We're near your location." There was no response.
Gerard exhaled deeply, sagging against the wall, sweaty palms fighting to keep him upright.
Jack shared a quick look with Teal'c, and then peeked around the corner, all the soldiers in the hallway were on the ground. "It'll do." Jack stepped into the hallway, P-90 ready to fire. "With me."
Gerard and Teal'c followed him down the hall (Gerard stumbling and out of breath, but upright), the weapons fire growing louder as they neared their exit. Carter and Daniel should be there. Where were they? Jack tapped his radio, trying to get Carter and receiving nothing.
Daniel, Jack reached through the Vinculum, Where are you?
The response came a moment later. There was panic with it. Had to fall back. We're pinned down. Jack, just get out of here.
Like hell I will. Jack started running, reaching for Daniel through the Vinculum, using their weird open link to guide his feet, determined to get his whole team out safely.
A sudden burst of light and sound practically blinded Jack-it was like when they'd first stepped through the Stargate, the same way information flooded Jack's system, overloading him momentarily. He heard Gerard cry out next to him, felt Teal'c grip his arm to keep him upright.
"Block it out, block it out," Gerard called. Jack felt something like a wall slam down and then he couldn't feel Daniel any more, couldn't feel any part of the Vinculum.
"What was that?" Jack wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, trying to keep his stomach contents on the inside.
"Something I never expected Dawes to be capable of doing." Gerard shook his head. "They're falling back," he reported.
"They're falling back?! They have Carter and Daniel pinned down!" Jack's ears were still ringing, his vision blurry from the overload.
"Henley's forces are on their way-pursuing Dawes. They'll pass right through here." Gerard grabbed Jack's arm, giving Jack something to focus on, to feel. Jack nodded slowly, trying to get his body under control so he didn't vomit on Gerard's boots.
"We need to get to Daniel," Jack said with a cough.
"Daniel?" Gerard pulled away sharply, leaving Jack to sway, which didn't do much to help settle his stomach. "The Tekhne Guard's distracted. We can go back for Jacob."
"Carter and Daniel are pinned down," Jack snapped, feeling his face flush with anger. "Teal'c."
Teal'c glared at Gerard and took point-when Jack followed behind him, Gerard came as well, his brow furrowed darkly. At least he wouldn't run off on his own. Jack didn't want to leave him behind, but if he pulled a stunt like that, Jack might have to.
Teal'c blasted through some of Dawes's remaining forces, though there weren't many. Jack reached through the Vinculum tentatively, looking for Daniel but afraid the Vinculum was still flooded or whatever. What he found felt like a message stuck on a corkboard.
Jack, they're on us. Get out of here.
He couldn't find Daniel, though.
There was nothing where Daniel should have been.
He felt the world tilt, but he stayed upright, stumbling a step. "Gerard, can you get Daniel through the Vinculum?"
Gerard was silent for a moment, a frown tugging his lips. For a moment Jack thought he was being obstinate, but then he spoke: "No, it's like . . . he's disconnected."
Jack's stomach dropped. "Is that different than being unconscious?"
"There's probably an inhibitor involved," Gerard backpedaled. "But, no, it doesn't mean. . . ."
Jack sighed, looking away from Gerard. He didn't think he could take Daniel dying again so soon. "It's not good, though."
"No, it's not."
When they got back to Carter, she was alone with only the bodies of Dawes's men around her. She'd fallen back to the T-junction. The security column she'd connected into was shot to hell-she'd hacked into the weapons system and used that as cover fire. Luckily she'd gotten her laptop disconnected before the insurgents scored the critical hit that fried it.
"Where is Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c turned over one of the bodies, checking the face. He was just a kid, a boy in his early twenties. His face flashed over the Vinculum with a security announcement from the Tekhne Guard advising that he was a known terrorist from Lower City.
Carter shook her head, her eyes wide. Jack put a hand up to stop the apology, mentally waving away the Vinculum. "We need to get out of here."
Gerard pulled away, turned back towards the hall they'd come from. "I'm getting my brother."
"I'm sure getting yourself captured will really help him."
"He's my brother," Gerard snapped.
"Really haven't forgotten that," Jack muttered. He glanced over his shoulder; the boot steps were getting closer. "We are severely out numbered and we've lost the element of surprise. I know you want to see your brother, but probably not from adjoining cells. We'll be back for him-I promise."
Gerard gave him a long look and Jack knew Gerard had accessed his subconscious, listening for anything that would tell him if Jack was lying. Thankfully he wasn't lying; Gerard was the best lie detector Jack had ever met.
Gerard nodded curtly, and Jack turned, circling his finger. "Let's get the hell out of here."
Jack got them out of the capitol with minimal fighting. The entrance to the tunnels Gerard used to travel the city wasn't far, so they were undercover soon after. When they got to Gerard's apartment, Jack finally had time to look back and to ask the one question he'd been waiting to ask Carter: "What happened?"
* * *
Daniel came to slowly, vaguely aware that he had been hit over the head, or had fallen, or something had happened that had given him a head injury. His head was aching with a constant tap, like Jack drumming his fingers during the middle of a technical briefing. He was on the floor, and it was night, or possibly just dark.
"Jack?" His voice was rough and ill used, like he hadn't spoken in days. That couldn't be right, though. He'd just been . . . where had he been?
He sat up, the blood rushing to his head, making him dizzy. He lay back down, then repeated the motion more slowly, letting himself orient at his own pace, keeping his head on straight this time. The dark wasn't black so much as gray, so he could just make out his surroundings: three solid gray walls and a fourth wall of bars. So, he'd been taken prisoner. There wasn't a bed or a blanket or anything. If Jack were here, he'd point out that the accommodations sucked.
Who had taken him prisoner? What had he been doing just before? The memory loss this time was different from what he'd experienced after descending. He'd had a vague sense of things then, but not known what to look for, and things had come back faster and faster after he got back to Earth and the SGC. Talking to Sam, Teal'c, and Jack had helped a lot. But there wasn't anyone to bounce ideas off here.
Where were they-where was the rest of SG-1? Had they been captured, too?
Daniel let out a frustrated breath and focused. They'd been on a mission, he was sure of that. Somewhere familiar, but also somewhere new-a follow up, where they'd been asked to return, to help a friend. . . .
Sound distracted him. Words? Daniel tilted his head, moving towards the bars, trying harder to listen.
"Hello? Uh, I'm awake. My name's Daniel Jackson. Hello?" The bars were cool to the touch, the metal rusted and flaky beneath his hands.
The talking grew louder but Daniel couldn't make out the words. The way they spoke reminded Daniel of doctors. The tone was calm, clinical; there were two voices.
"Hello?" Daniel called louder. "I'm an explorer from a planet called Earth. If I did something, broke a taboo, I didn't know. If you'll talk to me, I'm sure we can work this out."
The talking stopped for a moment, giving Daniel the impression they'd heard him, maybe were weighing his words. The talking started up again, but he still couldn't make out what they were saying. One of the voices was female, the other male.
"Dr. Jackson," the male voice said as clearly as if he were standing next to Daniel, like he was someone Daniel knew. "It would be best if you relaxed."
"Relax?" That didn't sound good. That never sounded good. Statements like that usually preceded torture.
"Yes, Dr. Jackson," the female voice said. "If you don't, this whole experience could be quite . . . unpleasant."
"And if I relax it will be pleasant?" Daniel was more than a little skeptical.
The voices were quiet for a moment and then the female finally said. "No. But it will be less unpleasant."
"That's . . . not very comforting," Daniel admitted.
"What can you remember, Dr. Jackson?" The woman continued to speak, drawing his attention. For some reason Daniel felt like the male was purposely staying quiet, staying on the periphery of Daniel's perception.
"Not much," Daniel said carefully. "Can you tell me where I am?"
The voices consulted for a moment.
"It's best that you don't remember just yet."
"Best for whom?" Daniel muttered.
"Dr. Jackson, please relax. This will go much smoother if you do." The woman sounded put out now, exasperated that Daniel was still putting up any kind of resistance.
"I am relaxed," Daniel said. "Totally relaxed in my bare cell. I've got all the comforts of a cave, here. Very homey." He sat back, leaning on his hands. It was obvious they wouldn't be coming for him.
"Dr. Jackson," the male said, "are you sure you remember nothing?"
Something in the man's voice raised the hair on the back of Daniel's neck. It was familiar in some way, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was like his memories were just barely hidden by the dark and if he groped around enough, he'd find them. He knew they were there, he just needed to keep the man talking. "Oh, I remember plenty of things. My birthday, how to conjugate the subjunctive, when the Great Pyramids were built-well, according to archaeologists. . . ."
"Go deeper," the man said, clearly not addressing Daniel. "Go deeper and distract him."
"Derek?"
Daniel repeated the name in his mind; it almost sounded familiar.
"However you need to. Give him what you're good at." Derek sounded derisive. "Whatever distracts him."
"I'm pretty hard to distract," Daniel said. "You should ask Colonel O'Neill, he says I'm more stubborn than-is he here? If he's not, I could go get him for you." Daniel made scurrying motions with his fingers. "Just run-right out."
Daniel felt frustration, but it wasn't coming from himself, it was outside the cell. It was a disembodied emotion to his left, like someone invisible was just standing there, radiating frustration. It felt like a microwave.
"Do it now."
"Commander."
The name and face flashed into Daniel's mind like an epiphany. "Commander Dawes," he whispered.
"Disconnect him."
Daniel kept the memory for a few moments longer, but things suddenly went from gray to black.
* * *
"I don't know what happened, sir." Carter had said that a half dozen times and it wasn't getting any easier to hear. He'd been trying not to blame her-it'd been two against twenty and they'd been pinned in, lucky to survive, honestly-but it was difficult not to try to blame someone.
"Daniel cried out, grabbed his head-I thought he'd been shot-but then he just . . . collapsed. I don't know, sir." Carter looked guilty, guiltier than when Jack made her leave behind that human replicator to activate the Asgard time-dilation thingy.
"Dawes has him," Gerard said. Gerard had mostly sat on the couch, his head in his hands. He was taking the failed mission harder than anyone.
"So we break into Dawes' compound," Jack said. "We broke out of there once-you can get us back in."
Gerard shook his head. "You think Dawes left his complex as vulnerable? He's had a year to make improvements. It won't just be . . . we can't just. . . . What was he doing there? Why then?!" Gerard stood up and threw down one of the lamp-sticks, the light growing brighter when he touched the pole and then dimmer when the pole hit the floor.
Jack closed his eyes, understanding Gerard's frustration and trying to control his own. They'd taken Daniel. . . .
"We'll go after your brother again," Carter said. "Don't worry. We won't leave him there." Carter stepped behind Gerard, raising her hand to touch his shoulder, offer some kind of cold comfort.
Gerard put his hand up and stepped away. "I need a minute," he mumbled. He left the living room, heading towards the bedroom and shutting the door behind him firmly.
Teal'c frowned and stooped to pick up the lamp-stick, adjusting the light level.
"The timing stinks." Jack agreed with Gerard: why then, indeed. What had drawn Dawes to the capitol building the same night they'd gone to rescue Gerard's brother?
"Perhaps one of Dawes' men observed the Stargate activation the other night," Teal'c offered. Teal'c had a bandage around his arm-with the exception of Daniel, they'd been lucky, coming away with mostly cuts and bruises; Teal'c had received the worst when he'd been grazed by a bullet during their escape.
"We've been here a day though, how did he know where we were attacking, and when?" Carter sat on the couch in Gerard's vacated seat. She'd been on her computer, trying to access the Vinculum through her wireless, but the signals didn't really mesh and Gerard hadn't been in the mood for assisting in the modifications. "They can't track people through the Vinculum, right? That hasn't changed in the time we've been gone, has it?"
The door to the bedrooms was still shut tight, so Jack sent the question to Gerard through the Vinculum. The response a moment later was short: I haven't helped them, no.
"Tracking's still a no-go," Jack reported.
Carter's lips twisted, her eyebrows furrowing. Jack tapped his head, trying to communicate that he'd asked Gerard and she finally nodded, her eyebrows still furrowed.
We have questions, Jack IMed Gerard. It'd be a lot easier if you'd come out and talk to us.
The response from Gerard wasn't words so much as images and impressions, but the general message of "fuck off," came through loud and clear.
"Gerard just needs a minute," Jack said with a smile. "We might as well wait until he's back. Too many questions, too much time has passed since we were last here, the terrain's changed, maybe the political terrain has, too."
"You don't think Gerard would have mentioned that, sir?"
Jack scoffed-unable to tamp down the reaction fast enough. "I've never met anyone who complied with the phrase 'need to know' more."
Even Carter rolled her eyes at that.
"He might actually fit in well with the Pentagon." Jack sighed, walking over to the view screen hanging on the wall. A horse and carriage passed by outside, the horse bucking its head as it pulled the weight of the passenger car. The gas lamps on the street flickered on, each one turning on in succession as the horse and carriage continued on their way.
"You're not really comfortable with handing him over." Carter sat back, sinking into the couch a bit.
"With how the Vinculum screwed up this world? I'm not wildly enthusiastic with the idea, no."
"We cannot leave him behind this time," Teal'c pointed out.
"No, not when he knows our number." Jack scrubbed his face. Missions were usually easier when they were fighting the Goa'uld. The Goa'uld were bad guys and in general their technology didn't fuck over entire planets just by using it (and when it did, they could leave it behind).
Jack let himself get emotionally compromised too often. Maybe that was Daniel's fault-he hadn't been nearly as forgiving the past year. Jack closed his eyes, leaning his forehead against the view screen. Daniel. . . .
They were all quiet for a moment and then Carter slid forward on the couch, leaning forward to work on her laptop again.
"You are content to wait for Gerard?" Teal'c's staff weapon rested beside his chair, positioned to be brought up quickly in defense. He never relaxed when they were on a mission, never let himself be weak for even a moment. Every now and then Jack wondered if Teal'c wouldn't be better off leading an SG-team than being just another member of SG-1.
"Not exactly, but seeing as we don't have all the information, I can't see what else we can do." Jack frowned, thinking of what Daniel must be doing, where he must be. The last time Dawes had captured them, he'd drugged and interrogated them immediately. Daniel resisted better than Jack, but Dawes was relentless and probably already knew that they'd been after Gerard's brother, that SG-1 had returned, hell, that Daniel and Jack screwed on a regular basis.
"Could you not use the Vinculum to acquire some of this information?"
Jack narrowed his eyes at Teal'c, feeling done.
"I don't. . . ." Jack pushed away from the wall, heading towards the bedroom. "I need a minute, too."
* * *
The cell was dark when Daniel awoke, the smell of piss and shit strong in his nostrils. He vaguely remembered that there was an uncovered bucket in the corner, that he'd slept on the floor. There'd been the voice of a woman in his dreams. She'd tried to seduce him. A hand ran over his chest, but the shape of the arm faded into a shadow. He'd felt lips at his ear but had never seen her face. He'd felt the shape of her body pressed against him, pressing into his hands, but he'd pushed her away when she'd given him that much to focus on. In fact, the more she'd focused on him, the easier it was to resist her. The more she pushed against him, the more he pushed her away.
Jack wasn't with him, hadn't been captured as well-Daniel was sure of that-but he'd felt Jack on the edge of his thoughts, more than a thought, a part of Jack, helping Daniel resist.
It was amazing how much hope could be derived just from the feeling Jack gave him.
Daniel sat up, unfolding his jacket from its resting place under his head, smoothing it out and putting it on. The gray was still surrounding him, dark enough that he couldn't make out anything more than a few feet from him and even then things were just vague shapes, slightly darker than the gray, enough of a contrast to keep Daniel from running into them.
Daniel stretched, his bones popping and muscles complaining as they started to move. He rolled to his feet, getting ready to start calisthenics. He'd learned long ago from Jack that the best way to kill time while captured was to work out, stay limber, stay strong. Daniel remembered a conversation they'd had about the topic his first year on SG-1. That was back when Jack had thought Daniel was soft, had looked after his every move, had made him go to the shooting range and qualify on every weapon he could justify Daniel handling. He'd been making Daniel into a soldier, bleeding parts of himself into Daniel's open wounds. Jack was still bleeding into Daniel, but it was different now, more permanent.
He was in the middle of a jumping jack when his cell door creaked. Rough hands grabbed him before he could fight back, pull away. They dragged him from the cell. Cold water hit his face. Someone pulled off his jacket, then his shirt. Every time he opened his mouth to yell, water hit his face again. It wasn't clean, so he spent most of his time spitting it out.
A meaty fist punched him in the stomach, making him double over. He gasped for air, his mouth working like a beached fish. He couldn't put any meaning to this-cleaning him, but beating him? He racked his brain, trying to come up with cultural significance, rituals, anything that he might be able to relate to this experience, some way to identify with what was happening to him.
They pulled him upright, hands forcing first his shirt and then his jacket back on him. His clothes were wet and uncomfortable, his stomach sore and bruising, but he'd been through worse-hell, the confusion was worse.
They led him, moving quickly so that he stumbled, and forced him to the floor. He was somewhere new, not his cell, but the same gray blackness surrounded him. The guards pushing him around weren't fumbling in the dark; maybe they'd done something to his eyes, or they had special equipment. He heard metal scraping against concrete, like someone had thrown down something.
"Eat," a voice said. "Drink."
Daniel felt in front of him, finding a bowl and a cup. The bowl had two kinds of food in it, bread and something that felt like jerky. The cup had water, but this was cleaner and colder than what they'd thrown at him. He tried not to eat and drink too greedily, tried to take his time, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd been fed. It'd been a long time, he thought, though as he ate he realized that his body wasn't craving the food. It was more a perception that he should be hungry rather than actual hunger.
When the plate and cup were empty, the hands grabbed him again and pulled him up, getting him to his feet. They dragged him along a hallway, the light growing dimmer and dimmer until it was blackness; the only things helping Daniel orient himself were the hands on either of his arms and the ground beneath his feet. Suddenly there was a slit of light ahead of him. It grew thicker and thicker until Daniel realized it was a set of double doors slowly opening. He squinted his eyes, turning his head away from the too bright light.
The hands carried him forward, through the doors and into. . . .
Daniel blinked hard. This wasn't right. He was fuzzy on the details. He couldn’t remember where they'd been or who had captured him, but he knew this wasn't right, that this couldn't be right.
He was on a Goa'uld mother ship.
It looked like maybe the ceiling had caved in after a crash landing. There was dirt and rubble covering one half of the corridor; a pile to one side looked like it had been cleared to make their way farther into the ship.
The doors shut behind him, Daniel's eyes still adjusting as he gazed around in confusion. His guards let go of his arms and stepped back, finally giving him a good look at them-not Jaffa, no symbol on the forehead and no symbiote pouch. One of them handed Daniel a tool belt; there were brushes and a small spade, the tools he was familiar with as an archaeologist.
"What?" Daniel asked. A fist struck his face hard enough that he was spitting blood.
He shook off the hit, blinking. His glasses had been knocked askew, but they were still on his face.
"I just wanted-" The fist swung at him again, but this time Daniel was ready for it and he caught the blow in his hand, a move he'd seen Teal'c do a number of times. Of course in the title bout of Daniel versus the Meat Fist, Daniel wasn't exactly the winner. It felt like his entire hand was going to be bruised. "Shit."
"No talking," the other guard finally said.
"But I don't-" They hit Daniel again, this time aiming for his stomach, knocking the wind-and the words-out of him.
"Dig," the guard said. "You know what to do."
Daniel shook his head, his mouth open, but when the guard pushed him towards the rubble, Daniel shouldered the tool belt and stumbled towards it, surveying the debris as he would a dig site. He knelt down in front of it, looked at the larger rocks and support columns that needed to be cleared before he could do a damn thing with his brushes-whoever thought this was a job for an archaeologist was an idiot, they needed a crew of muscle first to clear away the garbage.
The door opened and another set of guards entered, dragging a man between them. The man was struggling, but before Daniel could get a good look at him, the guards grunted at Daniel, gesturing for him to get back to work. The man wasn't given a tool belt, but when the guards pointed him towards Daniel, he ambled forward and picked up the largest piece of debris that was in Daniel's way.
Another man was brought in a moment later, slightly smaller than the first with darker features. He seemed more resigned, not fighting the guards at all, just going straight to work.
Both men moved like they knew exactly what Daniel wanted them to do. As though they were privy to Daniel's thoughts, or could be controlled by his whims. The thought seemed familiar to Daniel, but he assumed it was just a movie he'd watched with Jack, or perhaps a fantasy in which an SG-team actually did what Daniel requested on an archaeological dig.
Daniel helped the men clear away the rubble since there was nothing more for him to do yet. He mentally cataloged each piece they moved, trying to determine where they were in the ship based on the paneling and which broken crystals were on the floor. It was too early to tell, but if this was just the first day of a project, he'd know soon enough.
He turned his head to the guards. "Do you know anything about the ship? Who owned it? What happened to it? Was your civilization under Goa'uld rule?"
The closest guard advanced on him, hitting him on the shoulders and then the back, forcing him to the ground.
"I can't be an archaeologist if you don't give me some details," Daniel coughed.
"Just stay busy; stay quiet," the guard said as he continued to beat Daniel. His fist came down again and again across Daniel's shoulders. He grabbed Daniel by the shirt and hauled him up, holding him in place while another guard came over to take a turn.
Daniel felt his lip split open, tasted the blood in his mouth, felt it warm on his chin. "I just want to know," he mumbled.
He saw the guard's face tighten with anger and then watched his fist come at his face. He didn't see anything after that.
* * *
Gerard kicked the desk when he got back to the bedroom. He'd been alone for so long. Palmer, Asher, Jacob-they'd all been taken from him and he thought . . . he thought he'd finally have one of them back. He'd thought that maybe this hellish nightmare could have been at least partially over and he could get a moment's rest, close his eyes and know for once that someone he cared about was breathing beside him.
It'd been a long time since he'd had that luxury.
He scrubbed his face. What was Dawes doing there? He'd grabbed Daniel and left; had he been there for Daniel? How had he known they'd be there? Why hadn't Dawes tried to capture him?
Gerard snorted, like he was upset that Dawes had found someone new to pursue to the ends of the universe.
Still . . . there were too many coincidences. Something was definitely off.
The door swooshed opened a moment later.
"Can I talk to you?" It was Jack. More questions about strategy and what was tactically advantageous; more accusations that Gerard knew more than he was saying, or that he'd known Dawes was coming. Or maybe there would be more relationship questions, since he didn't get enough of those the last time they were here. Like Gerard was good with people.
Gerard sighed and scratched at his hairline, buying him another moment of not looking at Jack. "Mmm, yeah?"
"We need to go after Daniel," Jack said, showing off his one-track mind. He stood up straighter, putting on that commanding officer routine that had originally made Gerard hate Derek Dawes.
"We do, don't we." Of course they'd have to go after Daniel. It wasn't that Gerard would begrudge Daniel a rescue, but they'd been in the middle of a rescue when Daniel had been captured. They'd been in the middle of something and had to abort. "What about my brother?"
"He'll keep," Jack said.
"He'll keep? He's been in prison for two years. Why does he have to keep? Why can't Daniel keep?" Gerard's fingers curled into fists, it'd been a long time since he punched anyone but Jack had a habit of pushing the right buttons.
Jack took a step forward, forcing Gerard to look up to see his face-which only served to get under Gerard's skin and light the shortened fuse that was threatening to blow.
"Daniel is my priority." Jack's nostrils flared, his eyes darting back and forth. It was a possessiveness Gerard remembered. He remembered once having that same passion and fervor for someone. He remembered having family.
"Jacob is mine," Gerard said quietly. "I thought he was dead, and he's not." Gerard's mouth worked for a moment, while he tried to put it into words. He'd seen Jacob shot. He'd watched as Henley put a bullet in the back of Jacob's head. Gerard had left him behind, sure that Jacob was dead, sure that he needed to get out of there before he was also dead or worse. He never expected Jacob to survive. He still couldn't believe that he had.
"I'm sorry." It sounded like he meant it. "But it's more practical. We blew the rescue, and I'm sorry we did, but we need to rethink attacking the capitol again. While we do that," Jack emphasized the words, "we're going to work on rescuing Daniel."
"We'll try again after we rescue Daniel?"
"Yes," Jack promised. "It's my responsibility-my job-I'm responsible for my team; for making sure they get home safely."
Gerard rolled his eyes. "It's more than that with Daniel. Don't even pretend."
"Yes, it's more," Jack snapped, his cheeks flushed. "But that doesn't make my job any less real."
Gerard looked away. He'd removed all the artwork from the walls, left the walls gray and bare. The outer wall had a bomb rigged to it for a quick escape in case one of Gerard's "friends" cut off the exits. He'd grown into a life in which making a bomb and setting explosives was the norm, a life in which his friends were all housed in sarcastic quote marks.
"I haven't forgotten what it's like to have someone . . . like Daniel," Gerard clarified. It'd been a long time, but Gerard imagined you didn't ever forget the people you loved or how you lost them . . . or even how you almost lost them, judging by what he'd picked up from Jack, by what he was feeling about his brother. He moved farther into the room and sat down on the bed. "Can you . . . ? I still just. . . . ."
"Right," Jack said. "Me too."
He left the room and Gerard turned off the light and stared at the wall. He'd rescue Jacob-he knew that. It just wouldn't be as quickly as he'd have liked. He guessed he'd have to live with that.
* * *
Daniel woke in the cell again, the concrete cool against his face, easing some of the burn of a bruise. Was it the fifth time he'd woken? He'd been at his new "job" for more than a day, but less than a week, he thought. It was getting harder to estimate time. Everything seemed to be happening so quickly and he spent what seemed like a lot of time passed out after being beaten. During the last beating they'd nearly broken his finger, but one of the guards grunted, and the one bending back his index finger stopped-maybe they realized that Daniel really couldn't be an archaeologist if he couldn't use his hands.
Of course that would be giving them credit for actually thinking.
They usually came right after he regained consciousness, so Daniel tucked himself into a ball, ready for the guards to take him, throw water in his face, feed him. It was the same routine every time which was why Daniel thought it was a daily routine. It felt like morning, not just because he had just woken up. It just . . . it felt like morning.
This time when the guards came in they didn't take Daniel anywhere.
"This is punishment," one of them muttered, "for talking too much."
They beat Daniel with their fists, though clearly with instructions not to hurt him too badly. He was still useful, it seemed. They were easy on his face, concentrating on his midsection until he heard a rib crack. Then one of the guards-they looked so much alike that Daniel thought maybe they were clones-hit him in the face. He passed out again.
* * *
~Continued in Part 3.