Bad News
"John, we need to talk," were the first words out of Carter's mouth, and when those words replaced any sort of greeting, formal or otherwise, John knew that he wasn't going to like what was going to come after. She sat perched on the edge of her desk and gestured for him to have a seat, but John was having none of it.
"Just say it," he replied. "No sense in delaying whatever it is you need to say."
"We got a report from the SGC about an hour ago. They've had a systems hack and it looks like someone's siphoned off a lot of classified data."
John gave her a confused look. "What the hell does this have to do with me?"
Sam gave him one of those sad, pity looks. "You sure you don't want to sit down for this?"
He couldn't explain it, but the way she was acting and what she had already told him was beginning to coalesce into a hard knot in his stomache. He had a feeling he knew where she was going with this, and part of him didn't want to believe it. "Colonel Carter," he said firmly, giving her a just spit it out, you damnable woman! look.
"Hooooookay," she intoned with a sigh. "Here's the thing. They did a trace on the hack and found out the identity of the spy."
John raised his brow and braced himself for the rest of the sentence. When it finally came, he decided that he really would take Carter up on that proffered seat, after all.
**
"Where do you think you're going?" Carter called down to him as she made her way through the control room and down the stairs. John was standing in the middle of the embarkation floor with a filled gear bag slung over his shoulder as he waited for Chuck to dial the gate.
"Back to Earth to help with the investigation."
"No, you're not, John. You're too close to the situation."
"Like hell I am. Sir."
"Don't make me order you..."
"With all do respect, Colonel," he said, cutting her off, "I am going to Earth. Just, let me try to convince Landry to go talk to her first, before you bust her door down and arrest her. I can find out what's really going on."
"And do you really think she'll tell you?"
John gave his CO a hard look. "Yes."
The two stared each other down, and John refused to look away. After a long moment, Carter narrowed her eyes. "I'll call Landry and convince him to give you forty-eight hours to negate the need for an arrest. But after that, I'm sorry. Consider yourself recalled to Atlantis; if you don't obey that order, then you'll be taken into custody on Earth and denied re-entry into the city pending a full-on investigation. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"Chuck, dial it up."
30 seconds later, the wormhole flared into existence and John stepped through. He hoped that Mia had a damned good explanation for violating his trust, because if she didn't, he sure as hell wasn't going to help her out of the mess she had made of things.
"Just say it," he replied. "No sense in delaying whatever it is you need to say."
"We got a report from the SGC about an hour ago. They've had a systems hack and it looks like someone's siphoned off a lot of classified data."
John gave her a confused look. "What the hell does this have to do with me?"
Sam gave him one of those sad, pity looks. "You sure you don't want to sit down for this?"
He couldn't explain it, but the way she was acting and what she had already told him was beginning to coalesce into a hard knot in his stomache. He had a feeling he knew where she was going with this, and part of him didn't want to believe it. "Colonel Carter," he said firmly, giving her a just spit it out, you damnable woman! look.
"Hooooookay," she intoned with a sigh. "Here's the thing. They did a trace on the hack and found out the identity of the spy."
John raised his brow and braced himself for the rest of the sentence. When it finally came, he decided that he really would take Carter up on that proffered seat, after all.
**
"Where do you think you're going?" Carter called down to him as she made her way through the control room and down the stairs. John was standing in the middle of the embarkation floor with a filled gear bag slung over his shoulder as he waited for Chuck to dial the gate.
"Back to Earth to help with the investigation."
"No, you're not, John. You're too close to the situation."
"Like hell I am. Sir."
"Don't make me order you..."
"With all do respect, Colonel," he said, cutting her off, "I am going to Earth. Just, let me try to convince Landry to go talk to her first, before you bust her door down and arrest her. I can find out what's really going on."
"And do you really think she'll tell you?"
John gave his CO a hard look. "Yes."
The two stared each other down, and John refused to look away. After a long moment, Carter narrowed her eyes. "I'll call Landry and convince him to give you forty-eight hours to negate the need for an arrest. But after that, I'm sorry. Consider yourself recalled to Atlantis; if you don't obey that order, then you'll be taken into custody on Earth and denied re-entry into the city pending a full-on investigation. Are we clear?"
"Crystal."
"Chuck, dial it up."
30 seconds later, the wormhole flared into existence and John stepped through. He hoped that Mia had a damned good explanation for violating his trust, because if she didn't, he sure as hell wasn't going to help her out of the mess she had made of things.