Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Jack knocked once on Devon's door and then slipped inside, with Kawalsky at his heels. Devon was there, sitting back against his headboard. Libby spared a glance and went back to glaring at him with her arms folded. There'd clearly been an argument.
Jack raised his brows. "What?"
"He's refusing to go," Libby announced. Her voice dripped sarcasm as she added, "He's so brave."
"Waverly's never going to let Thunder Mountain alone, if I come with you," Devon said, in a tight, highly patient voice. "He'll never stop, you know that." He looked at Jack and Kawalsky. "You both know it too. He won't take the chance of anyone else possessing the virus."
"We've been over this," she snapped. "If Gordon comes -- and he will -- it won't make any difference. And better you get the hell out of here, so those bastards don't force you harder to make sure they get it before he gives it to them."
"They won't necessarily know Gordon has the virus --" Devon started, obviously repeating himself.
Jack interrupted, unwilling to waste any more time with this crap. "Look, we have our chance, and I'm sorry, but you are going. Not the least because I promised your son that I'd get you out of here." Devon opened his mouth to object, but Jack rode right over him, holding up one finger in warning. "No, this isn't up for debate, and no, you don't have any choice. There are other things going on which, quite frankly, are going to make your Big Death virus thing pretty irrelevant anyway." He inwardly winced, knowing he was being cryptic again. Damn Tok'ra --- just being around them was making him talk like one.
Speak of the devil… The door opened and Gordon walked in. His gaze slipped from one to another, taking stock of the situation, and his lips quirked in amusement when he looked at Devon's sulky expression. "You have courage, my friend, but this is not necessary. The virus research here is evaporting as we speak, and once I am free, I will help Thunder Mountain destroy all the outside labs. Waverly will have no capacity to create either vaccine or cure when I am finished."
It was a quiet declaration, but Jack knew he meant every word of it. It reminded him of Lantash in young Lieutenant Elliot and his resolve to unleash the poison on Revanna. He had succeeded in his mission, even while dying of his injuries. Now this Tok'ra -- whose name Jack still hadn't thought to ask -- had that same look of total commitment to his mission, whatever the cost.
"All right," Devon gave in with a sigh. "I know when I'm outnumbered."
Libby smiled brilliantly at him. "Finally! Come on, I'll help you sit up." As she gave him a hand, she glanced at Gordon. "So what's the plan?"
Jack answered before Gordon had the chance. "Kawalsky and I are gonna go raid the armory for weapons." He glanced at Gordon. "You have a zat gun on you?"
Gordon frowned blankly, and Jack rolled his eyes with a sigh, repeating with slow deliberation, "A zat'nik'tel. Do you have one?" He ignored the puzzled looks of everyone else, focusing on the Tok'ra. Jack knew perfectly well that Gordon was trying to keep his alien status a secret from the others, but he was willing to play along only as long as it didn't get in the way.
"No," Gordon answered after a moment's hesitation. "I keep none of that technology here."
"Damn, they're sure handy, but we'll make do." Jack went on before the others could get side-tracked by the strange technology. Libby was next. "We need Thomason and his friend Richard. They actually volunteered to open the doors for Daniel and Markus last night, so they're going to help us get in the brig. I need you to go find them."
"But -- " she glanced at Devon, lower lip between her teeth.
"I will watch over him," Gordon promised.
"All right," she agreed reluctantly. "You want me to bring them back here?"
"No, to that small rec room down the hall from the brig. We'll meet there. And then -- "
A knock on the door made them all freeze. Kawalsky moved to the wall beside the door, and Jack saw Gordon put a hand in the pocket of his lab coat. He had some kind of weapon in there, Jack was sure, so he moved a little left to get out of the line of fire. Devon called, "Who is it?"
The answer was surprising, soft and urgent. "Jennifer Hailey. Grogan," the last was tacked on belatedly.
Gordon moved to the door and opened it, ushering her in quickly. As soon as the door closed, he asked in concern, "What has happened?"
Jennifer took a moment to find her bearings, surprised by all the people in the room. But Jack smiled at her encouragingly and she found her voice, shifting her gaze to look up at Gordon. "I want to go with you."
Gordon paused and frowned slightly. "What did Grogan do?" he asked in concern.
"Nothing. Really, not this time," she added, when he looked doubtful. "He was in a good mood just now. He said something about a special assignment from the colonel."
The Tok'ra's frown deepened and he exchanged a glance with Devon. "What else did he say?"
"That's it. But he seemed excited by it," her mouth twisted in disgust. "And I know that means he's going to do something… wrong. And when he comes back…" she trailed off, swallowed hard, and then added anxiously, "I want to get out of here. I'll help you, whatever you need. But please take me with you."
Libby cast a surprisingly cold look at her. "So you can betray us all to Simmons?"
"No! I wouldn't!" Jennifer insisted. "Why would I? I hate him, I hate them both." Her fists pressed very hard into her pants. "They do whatever they want, hurt whoever they want -- and I'm sick of it!" The words burst from her so forcefully even she was surprised. Then she added more calmly, "You told me to be ready to help," she said to Gordon. "And I am. I want to help."
"It's going to be dangerous," Gordon told her, but not as if he was really denying her. "If we're stopped in our escape, we may have to use weapons. And your husband may be there."
"After everything he's done to me, you think I care?" she snapped. "I hope one of you shoots him."
"All right, all right," Jack gave in to the inevitable. They didn't have time to sit there and argue about it. "You'll go with them," he drew a little circle in the air around Gordon and Devon, "and wait for the rest of us. You wait no more than fifteen minutes. If Kawalsky and I haven't come by then, we probably won't. So get Markus and Daniel out yourselves. Devon knows the way."
His gaze met Gordon's and then he dropped it deliberately to whatever was in the pocket of Gordon's lab coat. The Tok'ra nodded once, agreeing to the plan.
"We good?" Jack asked everyone, his gaze moving from person to person. "Ready?"
It was a motley group, he realized, and nothing like the crisp efficiency he was used to dealing with at the SGC. Except for Charlie, none of them were even military. The Tok'ra was the only other one he trusted to carry a weapon safely. It gave him a twinge of amusement to realize that he was looking forward to having Daniel watching his six. Boy, had things changed in the last seven years.
"All right, people, let's do this."
---+---
Jack and Kawalsky walked up to the armory as if they had every right to be there. They passed the two external guards, who just snapped to attention, and right up to the counter where the master sergeant stood ready for them. "Major O'Neill, Major Kawalsky. What can I do for you?"
Kawalsky smiled wryly. "Going on patrol, Sarge. Seems we're a little short handed. So, load us up."
The sergeant frowned, and checked his clipboard. He said hesitantly, "I don't have any paperwork, sir…"
"I know," Kawalsky gave a sigh. "It was all so last minute, with the general taking off and all. He probably didn't think of papers. But we're supposed to go out."
Jack spoke up, nudging Kawalsky, "We could just stay and say we did. Who's gonna know?"
"Jack!" Kawalsky remonstrated sharply, but amusement in his eyes. "Orders. C'mon, Sarge, I'm not going out there unarmed."
"Yes, sir. But you'll make sure that General Waverly's office sends over the paperwork?" the sergeant asked, and O'Neill pitied the guy. So concerned about keeping his little fief in order, when he was being conned.
"Of course, we will," Kawalsky assured him.
The sergeant turned away to go back into the fenced-off area to take weapons off their racks and returned to set them on the counter. Jack exchanged a glance with Kawalsky, as they watched the pile grow. So far, so good.
Two MP-5's. Two Beretta 9 mm sidearms. Two full clips for each gun. Four grenades. Holsters. Vest. And best of all, a radio. It wouldn't send a signal outside the bunker, but once they'd made it out, they had their link to Teal'c.
Then they signed the weapons out, Jack scrawling his name illegibly, and bid the helpful sergeant goodbye.
In the hall, Kawalsky glanced at him. "I was going to try for more ammo, but figured if this wasn't enough, we were gonna be in deep shit anyway."
Jack shrugged. "I'll give my nine-mil to Daniel, you give yours to Gordon. We'll be covered enough."
Kawalsky opened his mouth, probably to ask what a doctor knew about weapons, but in the end, just shook his head. "I'm gonna get the full story on him, y'know. But later."
"Later," Jack agreed. Hell, he didn't have the full story. Time enough when they were on the chopper out of here.
He and Charlie stood in front of the elevator, waiting for it to come so they could go downstairs to the brig on four. The doors slid open, and he saw that the elevator was already occupied. The two men were nobody he recognized, but he could tell by the way Charlie tensed that this was a problem.
"Major Kawalsky, Major O'Neill," said the taller of the two. He didn't even make a token effort to come to attention, despite his uniform clearly marked as a sergeant.
"Ramirez, Corrigan," Kawalsky acknowledged brusquely and stepped in the elevator. Jack followed him, and noticing that Kawalsky put his back to the side of the elevator, he did the same on the opposite side.
"Going down?" Ramirez asked, eyebrows raised askance. His attitude of amused superiority was grating on O'Neill. "Armed like that?"
Jack thought that was a curious question, considering both of them were armed as well, with pistols in thigh holsters.
"We're going on patrol," Kawalsky said tightly. Jack couldn't figure out why Kawalsky was answering at all. He should tell the sergeant to mind his own business.
"Oh, really?" Ramirez questioned. "Funny, I didn't hear that you were added to the list."
"And I suppose you know everything, sergeant?" Jack snapped in his best "I'm a colonel and you're not" voice.
Ramirez wasn't impressed. He exchanged a look with Corrigan and very ostentatiously put a hand on his weapon. "I think, sir," he said sarcastically, "we should go confirm those orders with Colonel Simmons."
"Sure," Kawalsky said, shrugging. Ramirez relaxed slightly, but Kawalsky extended the motion of his shrug, bringing his MP-5 up and slamming it into Ramirez' face. He let out a yell, fumbling to draw his weapon. He and Kawalsky scuffled.
Jack grabbed his sidearm, letting his MP-5 dangle by the strap, and had his pointed before Corrigan finished drawing his weapon. Jack shook his head, chiding him. "No, kid, don't try it. Your finger won't even make it to the trigger, before I blow your brains all over this lovely puke colored wall."
Kawalsky had Ramirez pinned, with his rifle across the sergeant's throat, which didn't stop Ramirez from talking. "Traitors," he gasped. "The colonel was right. Give you enough rope and you'd hang yourself."
Kawalsky leaned forward, cutting Ramirez off. "Jack. What do you want to do?"
"We should shoot them both," Jack said, not sure if he was serious or not. Very clearly they couldn't go free.
"You wouldn't dare," Corrigan challenged. "The whole base would hear your weapons go off."
He had a point. Silencers were not part of the standard gear. Worse, the elevator was slowing and was shortly going to stop on the fourth floor.
"Then we're going to walk out of here," O'Neill decided. "All of us. Very friendly-like. But we'll have the guns." He plucked the two extra pistols away and put one in his pants pocket and the other in his holster. "We just want you two out of the way. So if you cooperate, nobody gets hurt. Agreed?"
The kid looked to Ramirez, who glared hatefully at Jack, but finally nodded. Jack knew the weasel was going to try something the instant he had an opportunity, so he kept Ramirez in front of him, while Kawalsky covered Corrigan.
The doors opened. Luckily no one was there waiting for the elevator. Jack stood very close behind and a little to the side, so they'd look like they were walking together. Hopefully nobody would notice that he had a gun pointed at Ramirez from inside his jacket pocket.
There were a handful of people in the hall, some military and some civilians, but no one seemed to pay attention. In fact, Jack saw several of the military men avoid looking at Ramirez, pretending to adjust their uniforms, and Ramirez made an irritated growl in his throat. Jack smiled inwardly. Ramirez was so popular no one wanted to look him in the eye.
They reached the rec room. "Open it," Jack ordered, poking Ramirez in the back with the gun for emphasis.
He did. Jack braced himself for the room to be occupied, which it was -- with Gordon, Devon, and Jennifer. She saw who they had and blanched, her eyes widening. "What are they doing here?" she demanded.
"Ran into them in the elevator," Jack explained, nudging Ramirez forward. "Gotta tie them up or something."
Gordon moved forward, hand in his pocket. "I have a better solution."
"You're all traitors," Ramirez spat, but nonetheless took a step back from Gordon, as the Tok'ra glided up to him with little expression, but menace glowing darkly from his eyes.
Removing a syringe from his pocket, Gordon deliberately squirted some of the crystal blue water upward to clear any bubbles. "I have watched you do Simmons' bidding, Ramirez. You enjoy watching people suffer. Surely you can't be afraid of a small taste of what you have done to others?"
"No, wait," Devon called. "Gordon, he needs to tell us about Grogan's assignment."
Ramirez smirked, "Wouldn't you like to know?" But the smirk faltered when Gordon struck like a viper, plunging in the needle to Ramirez's thigh, right through his pants.
"I would," Gordon answered. "But we don't have time." He pulled the syringe out, and the sergeant's eyes rolled back in his head, his legs turned to rubber, and he collapsed to the floor. Jack didn't try to catch him.
Corrigan was staring at the fallen form and then Gordon with wide-eyes. "You killed him! You killed him!"
Coolly Gordon replied, "If you wish to avoid his fate, you would be wise to tell us what you know about Simmons' plans. And Operation Valkyrie," he added as an afterthought.
Very earnestly, Corrigan exclaimed, "I don't know, I swear. All I know is our squad was gathering down here for some task from the colonel."
"And Valkyrie?" Jack prompted.
"Thunder Mountain, that's all I know. I swear." The young man's blue eyes were beseeching. Gordon frowned and met Jack's gaze as if to check whether he bought it.
Corrigan attacked, his elbow jerking backward into Kawalsky, who was standing close behind him, and he grabbed for the handgun.
Jack swore, and brought his gun up, but he had no target, not while Kawalsky was struggling with him. Corrigan was trying to get at the gun. Probably to fire it, Jack realized, and attract attention.
But Gordon was closer. He waded in fearlessly, grabbed the sergeant by the shoulders and yanked him off Kawalsky. The sergeant had the gun in his hand, but it did him no good, as the Tok'ra squeezed his shoulder, fingers digging deep. The sergeant let out an agonized yelp, his hand spasmed open and the gun dropped to the floor. Gordon administered another dose of the blue stuff and Corrigan was soon sleeping on the floor, next to Ramirez.
Devon, Jennifer, and Kawalsky were staring at Gordon like they'd never seen him before. He rose to his feet, put away the syringe, and raised his eyebrows when he noticed their regard. "Martial arts," he explained, as if it were obvious.
Jack snorted. Right. Nothing to do with being a snakehead at all. But Jack left it alone and asked instead, "How long's the sleepy juice going to last?"
Gordon shrugged. "Maybe half an hour. I gave them small doses."
"We need to tie and gag them," Kawalsky suggested, pulling out one of the laces from his vest to tie Ramirez' arms behind his back. Jack followed his lead, and looked around for what to use for a gag.
"They're going to be missed," Jennifer pointed out reluctantly. "If Corrigan was telling the truth about them mustering down here…" she trailed off and glanced nervously at the door.
"Here," Jack handed a gun to Gordon, who checked the safety and tucked it into the waistband of his pants with reassuring familiarity, and then Jack offered his other extra to Devon. "You want?"
Devon shook his head. "Right handed," he explained with a meaningful glance at his right hand in the cast and sling. "I'd probably shoot off my foot with my left."
"Oh." So Jack offered the second gun to Jennifer. "Can you use this?" She took it tentatively, but nodded. Jack was not reassured that she actually knew what she was doing, but he let her have it.
The door opened.
Libby found herself at the wrong end of four guns. Her eyes went huge in fright and she took a step back, before recovering with a hand against her chest and a heart-felt exhalation. "Jeez, next time I'll knock!"
Jack lowered his gun, feeling a little guilty. That feeling lasted until he saw the two guards at her heels, as she came in. He snapped his gun up again. But he was the only one who did, he realized.
"Relax," Libby bid him. "This is Kenny and Richard."
The two young men shifted nervously. Jack smiled brightly, "So, you're the guys who offered to set Markus and Daniel free?"
"Sir," Kenny stood at attention, but looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him. "Yes, sir."
Jack nodded his approval. "That took guts. So that's why you're going to help us go break them out."
They exchanged a look and then faced him again. "Okay," Richard said.
Jack was impressed, but Kawalsky more skeptical, "Really? Just like that? You do realize that what we're planning is illegal and against orders? That General Waverly is going to be really pissed at anyone who helps us?"
"Yes, sir, we know," Kenny answered, not flinching.
"All right, then," Jack looked around at his group, deciding who to take and who to leave. This ought to be a quick extraction -- enough force to overwhelm the few men who manned the guard room, and meet back here. "Devon, Libby, Jennifer, and Kawalsky, you four stay here. Watch our friends. Everyone else, let's go."
Kawalsky opened his mouth to object, then shut it again. They couldn't leave Devon and Libby protected by only one person who could, maybe, use her gun. Jack needed Gordon, both his weapon and his portable pharmacy, and he needed Kenny and Richard to get him into the guard room and hold the guards at bay. So Kawalsky had to stay.
That reasoning went through Kawalsky's eyes in an instant. "Hurry. If we hear trouble, we're coming in after you."
He gave his sidearm to Kenny, as Jack handed his to Richard, though not without a qualm. He really hated giving guns to people he didn't know. But he gave a tight nod of acknowledgment to Kawalsky and said to the others, "Let's move out."
The corridor was all but empty, except for two soldiers, way down at the end of the hall, who soon passed out of sight. Jack paused, glanced both ways again, and felt very cold. "I hate to use a cliché," he muttered to Gordon, "but I have a bad feeling about this."
The Tok'ra nodded. "Yes, I agree. Kenny, Richard, proceed," he directed. "The sooner we spring the trap, the better."
The two guards led the way to the brig entrance, where there was no one on duty on the outside. Jack immediately shoved in the clip for his MP-5. This was wrong. He had the horrible feeling that Simmons had already taken control of Markus and Daniel and moved them someplace else.
Gordon apparently had the same thought. He muttered angrily, "We're too late."
Hearing him say it out loud made Jack want to be contrary. "Maybe. We don't know that." He indicated Kenny and Richard, who had paused outside the main door, with Kenny's hand on the keypad next to the door. "Open it up and let's see."
Kenny opened the door and stood aside, so the other three could point their weapons, ready to fire at anyone who might be inside.
Jack peered around the door frame to look inside. The room seemed empty from what he could see. He glanced at Gordon, whose hand was tense on his gun. The Tok'ra narrowed his eyes, focusing those symbiote-enhanced senses to see if the room was truly as empty as it looked.
He nodded, held up his free hand and flashed five fingers for the other three to see. Jack figured at least one was on the other side of the wall, and the others were likely behind the desks. He let his gun hang from its strap and pulled out one of his grenades. He yanked the pin and tossed it onto the floor in the middle of the room, carefully holding on to the rest of the grenade. "That was the pin to a frag grenade, in case you were wondering," he called into the silent room. "I know you're in there. And if you don't come into view, in five seconds with your hands up, I'm going to throw the rest of it in there."
"O'Neill?" a male voice called from behind the farther desk. "What the hell are you doing?" Makepeace's head rose cautiously above the desk to look at Jack, perplexed but suspicious. "You're no lackey of Simmons'. Or are you?"
"No," Jack retorted. "I'm not. Why are you here?"
"President's orders to keep the prisoners in the brig," Makepeace explained, still mostly crouched behind one of the metal desks. "You?"
Jack flashed an unfriendly smile. "I'm here to rescue the prisoners."
Makepeace looked surprised. "You're kidding me. Aren't you the one who told me I was a fool for bucking the system?"
Jack had the uncomfortable realization that his other self wasn't quite as honorable as he had hoped. "Yeah, well, some of us take longer to figure things out, that's all. But if you're here to keep the prisoners in, that's a problem." His hand tightened on the grenade, hoping Makepeace would be smart about this. They were allies -- or should be -- and fighting each other would just play into Simmons' hands.
The former colonel's gaze flickered with thought and his lips turned upward suddenly. He snapped out, "Captain Leyva! We are not in the way, are we?"
Out of Jack's sight, on the other side of the wall from where he stood, someone else answered back smartly, "No, sir."
Makepeace stood up, gun dangling from his finger by the trigger guard. "Funny," he said to no one in particular, "the door's open but I don't see anyone there."
Hoping this was the right thing to do, Jack walked through the open doorway. "I'm going to get the pin," he announced. "Nobody panic."
Gordon followed in, getting another surprised look from Makepeace, but this look turned more thoughtful and he nodded to himself. The two guards came in, and shut the door. They both stood stiffly -- wary but polite. "Colonel," Richard greeted him, making Makepeace almost smile. He didn't refuse the rank either, Jack noticed with some amusement, as he carefully replaced the pin and put the grenade back in his vest.
"Kenny, the keys," Gordon said. "We'll go get them. Jack, perhaps you should remain here. This may take a few minutes." He glanced deliberately at the Marines, concerned that they might get in the way, after all.
"I'm not going to stop you, doc," Makepeace said, sounding offended that Gordon distrusted him.
"Good. See that you don't," Gordon advised and disappeared through the connecting door, with Kenny behind him.
"All sorts of people getting in trouble today," Jack remarked, and Makepeace laughed shortly.
"I figured Simmons was going to make his move today to take personal custody of the prisoners," he explained. "President Emerson wanted to make sure that didn't happen."
Jack frowned. "So, what, you're the president's personal guard now?"
Makepeace glared at him sourly, knowing what Jack was implying and not exactly denying it either. "He knows I've got no love for Waverly or Simmons. And I'm not afraid of them." Makepeace replaced his sidearm forcefully in its holster. "Somebody should be loyal to the commander-in-chief," he added pointedly.
Jack wanted to say Emerson was a puppet, and the only reason he had any power at all was because Makepeace gave it to him, but he remembered the other Marines in the room and changed the subject. "Speaking of … we ran into Ramirez and Corrigan. They're tied up in the rec room," Jack offered. "Corrigan claimed that they were grouping down here."
Makepeace frowned. "Down here? No, that's not what we heard…" he trailed off thoughtfully. "Sergeant, call the major and confirm his situation."
"Yes, sir." The indicated man sat at the desk and the phone and murmured into it, before replacing the handset. "Sir, Major Kurakin reports no change at post beta."
"What are they doing?" Makepeace muttered to himself. "They're on level three, just sitting there. Getting ready, but for what? Coming here? Going after Emerson? Taking the control room?"
Jack couldn't help him figure it out, but he knew, either way, they couldn't afford to stay here too long. He turned to Richard. "Go get the others and bring them here. I want us all together."
Richard acknowledged and left, leaving Jack alone with the five Marines. But he felt safe enough as he waited. The bad guys were out there, but they weren't in here. Not yet.
---+---
When the hall door opened, Daniel popped up off the cot and moved to the front of the cell. He was soon rewarded by the sight of Gordon and Kenny approaching. Kenny put the key in the lock and opened the door wide.
Gordon stepped in. "It's time," he announced. "We are leaving." Without hesitation, he handed his pistol to Daniel and knelt on the floor next to where Markus was lying on his cot. "No, wait," he said, as Markus shifted to prepare to get up. He withdrew a syringe from his inner pocket. "This will boost your blood pressure," he explained. "The effect is only temporary, unfortunately, and it is not a pain suppressant but it will enable you to walk and be alert."
Markus held out his right arm. "Okay. Do it."
Gordon pushed up the jacket sleeve above his elbow on his right hand, the elastic cuff acting as a tourniquet. "Make a fist," he requested. As he felt lightly for a vein, he said apologetically, "I had no time to add buffers, so I am sorry if there is some discomfort. It will pass."
Daniel hovered close, watching, as Gordon injected Markus slowly with the entire contents of the small syringe. He didn't react to the poke itself, but the instant the Tok'ra depressed the plunger, he flinched. "Oh, burns," he gasped, reflexively trying to pull away. Gordon clamped down on his arm with his other hand, holding him still so he could finish administering the drug.
Markus' body went rigid, and his head went back, neck muscles cording with strain. Every panting breath was an agonized cry through clenched teeth, as he tried to hold back a scream.
"It will pass," Gordon reassured him, even though he probably couldn't hear it. "I am sorry. I didn't know it would be so bad." He pulled out the needle and touched Markus' fist, which had bunched the blanket in a desperate white-knuckled grip.
Helpless, Daniel could only watch as Markus fought the drug. But gradually he began to take more regular breaths, and his pain-stiffened limbs relaxed. Eyes still closed, he muttered, "Fuck, that hurt."
Daniel heard Jack's familiar voice yell from the brig door, "We need to get a move on, people!"
"Just a minute," Daniel shouted back.
"Daniel -- " Jack returned impatiently, as if Daniel wanted five more minutes with some artifact, not that he was watching his friend suffer.
Gordon cut him off, calling out, "Markus had a reaction to the stimulant. We need a few more minutes, O'Neill."
That shut Jack up, and Daniel was pleased to see Markus open his eyes. "I'm suddenly very glad you never wanted to interrogate me," he said to Gordon hoarsely and had to clear his throat. "That was … " he shuddered and looked very pale. "I swear my blood was on fire."
"I am sorry," Gordon repeated, and busied himself with pulling down the jacket sleeve. But he seemed ashamed, to Daniel's gaze. "It was never my intent to cause you more pain, Markus. How do you feel now?"
Markus was quiet as he took stock of his condition. His tone was lightly sarcastic, when he spoke, "If your intent was to make me feel better by showing me how much worse it could be, well, it worked."
"Markus, he said he was sorry," Daniel said quietly. There was no need to make the Tok'ra feel worse about it than he clearly already did.
Not exactly either apologizing or forgiving Gordon, Markus was silent for several seconds, then said, "We need to get going. Help me up."
"Slowly," Gordon cautioned, extending his hand to help pull Markus upright. First to a sitting position, and when that seemed okay, Markus put his bare feet on the floor and stood up. Daniel and Gordon stood on either side, and they both caught him as he swayed and reached out blindly for something to hold onto.
His grip was tight on Daniel's shoulder. "Dizzy," he explained shortly, and rested while he took shallow and controlled breaths.
But soon he raised his head and let go of Daniel. "I'm all right," he said in response to Daniel's worried glance. Daniel looked into his face, and while "all right" couldn't possibly be true, he did look better. He also seemed to move more easily, and even inhaled a deep, albeit careful, breath, straightening his back and shoulders. "I am. I feel better. I'm tired of this place and their hospitality sucks. Let's go." He was the first through the door and thanked Kenny sincerely for his help, before heading down the corridor.
Behind his back, Daniel and Gordon shared a bemused look for Markus' sudden take-charge attitude, but Daniel shrugged a little. He wasn't sure how much of it was the drug, and how much sheer willpower, but he knew they had to take advantage of the burst of strength and follow along.
They were on Markus' heels as he went into the guard room. He hesitated when he saw the strangers, and Daniel slowed when he recognized Makepeace. But Jack was next to him, at relative ease, which helped Daniel relax.
Daniel stopped altogether when he saw Samuels perched on the edge of a desk with Libby hovering beside him. He looked like he'd been through a war, and his right arm was in a sling. Devon was the same as his universe's Samuels after all. After seeing him and Makepeace though, it wasn't that much of a shock to recognize Jennifer Hailey, in civvies, standing next to Kawalsky.
Jack smiled when he saw Markus and Daniel appear. "Ah, there you are finally." His tone was somewhat flippant, as his gaze went from Markus to Daniel, questioning whether Markus was up to it. Daniel had no answer to give him, but he nodded slightly. It wasn't like they had many options.
"So, you're the infamous Markus Alexander," Makepeace spoke up, giving him a hard, searching look, trying to see whether Markus fit his reputation. "The source of so much of the trouble."
Markus returned the look with a level one of his own, not backing down from the challenge. "I'd say that Waverly was the source of the trouble myself," Markus said, "but I don't like to argue with people who hold guns on me." He glanced deliberately with narrowed eyes at one of Makepeace's Marines, whose gun was pointed in Markus' general direction, but only because he was staring. Daniel wasn't sure if it was because the young man was that disappointed or that impressed, but in either case, Markus was holding every eye in the place.
Makepeace gestured for his man to point the weapon downward. "Better?" he asked with half-mocking solicitude.
"Thank you. And I'm grateful for your help, assuming you are helping," there was a question in his voice, but he didn't wait for Makepeace to answer it. Instead he glanced over at Devon and went to meet him. "And you must be Devon. I'm glad to finally meet you." Seeing that Devon's right arm was unavailable, Markus offered his left, grimacing at the motion, and they shook hands gingerly. "Jeremiah's a good man. You should be proud."
Devon nodded. "And I know Sean would be very proud of you, Markus."
Markus had spoken about his father a little during their captivity, so Daniel knew that it was Markus' father's name. But Markus seemed more uncomfortable with the approval than pleased. He turned away. "You should wait on that until we see how this turns out first. Jack, are we ready?"
"Ready or not, here we go," Jack answered. "Head 'em up and move 'em out, everybody. Kawalsky, you watch our six. Doc and I'll take point. Our walking wounded in the middle, everybody else find a slot." His gaze met Daniel's and then flicked to Markus, and Daniel understood the message. Markus was his charge to protect.
Glancing down at the Beretta that Gordon had given him, Daniel hefted its now-familiar weight and nodded.
But during the process of lining the group up, the telephone rang.
The Marine nearest picked it up. "Leyva. Go." He listened briefly and hung up the phone, before reporting to Makepeace. "Major Kurakin reports Grogan's group is on the move, by elevator, up to the first level."
Makepeace straightened sharply. "He's going after Emerson."
"No," Jennifer burst out in protest. "He wouldn't! Why on Earth would Simmons want Emerson dead? Emerson does whatever he wants."
"Not lately," Gordon corrected her. "He stepped between Simmons and Markus at least twice. That makes him a liability. My guess is Waverly would not support his intent, and now Simmons is taking advantage of the general's absence to move on Emerson."
"Over my dead body," Makepeace declared grimly. "I'm not letting that piranha take over Valhalla Sector."
Devon nodded once in agreement. "Emerson's bad enough. But Simmons would be worse."
"All right, you go save the president. As for the rest of us, there's no time like the present to do our thing," Jack announced. "If Simmons is busy trying to assassinate the president, he's not going to be blocking our way."
"Do you need these two?" Makepeace asked Jack, eyeing Kenny and Richard. "Because I could use 'em."
Jack shook his head. "No, they've done their part. But they'd better not be jarheads when I get back," he warned lightly.
Makepeace snorted, almost amused. But it passed. "All right, people, staircase bravo-three. Let's move." At the door, he glanced back, "Glad to see you finally stopped sitting on the damn fence, O'Neill."
Then like snow in the summer sun, the Marines plus two security guards melted out of the guard room and were gone.
"Funny," Jack muttered, just for Daniel's ears, "an ethics lesson from Makepeace. This planet is so screwed up." He raised his voice. "All right, they're leading the way, so let's go."
Eight people had little hope of stealth, so Jack led the way through the main corridor to the elevator and boldly called it.
Daniel stayed close to Markus, who seemed to be moving well enough. But when they waited for the elevator, he leaned against the wall and his hand went across his chest to brace his ribs, the look on his face carefully blank. Daniel opened his mouth to ask how he was doing, but shut it again. There wasn't any reason to make Markus lie to him, which he would, especially when the others were right there.
Jennifer moved to his side and looked up at him, speaking quietly, "My name's Jennifer. Lieutenant Grogan is my husband -- he's one of Simmons' -- " she started to explain.
"Yes, I know who he is," Markus interrupted. "And you're sick of his excesses and his cruelty and you'd like to leave and go back with me to Thunder Mountain. Right?"
She stared and then nodded. "Yes. Please," she added.
Markus coughed once into his sleeve, and then looked at her, his eyes holding hers. "If you want, you can. But I think you could do more good here. This place is about to fall apart, and it'll need people willing to do what is right. There's a whole world that needs this place and all the good it could do, if its leaders weren't corrupt."
The elevator doors slid open, cutting off any reply she might have made, but Daniel could see she looked thoughtful. She wasn't the only one either. Devon was also watching Markus, as if he'd suddenly realized what all the fuss was about.
The elevator had an older woman in it who looked highly surprised as Jack and Charlie reached in, took her arms and maneuvered her swiftly out of the elevator. "Sorry, ma'am," Charlie said. "You should go to your quarters and stay there."
She looked confused and frightened, watching the group pile on the elevator and the doors close behind them.
Gordon stabbed the button for level two, then settled against the wall, his arms folded. "Assuming we can take possession of the gym, then where, Devon?"
"Climb the ladder on the wall," Devon said. "There's a grate covering a large vent in the wall. It looks like it ought to be part of the ventilation system, but it's not. Someone got lazy in the construction and didn't connect it. Behind it is a small access way, a hatch, more tunnel, another hatch, and the surface."
"The perfect escape route," Jack murmured.
"Not so perfect," Devon said, with a dark look, "My wife died there, O'Neill. They shot her when she was a sitting duck on the ladder when we were trying to get out."
Jack flinched. "Sorry."
Gordon said calmly, "So then we must be sure to block the entrances to the gym, to prevent others from entering behind us."
Daniel felt Markus stir next to him, as though he was going to say something but then thought better of it. But Daniel had the feeling he knew what it was. Climbing a ladder and crawling around in tunnels was not going to be fun for him. It might not even be possible.
"Is there any other way?" Daniel asked.
"Daniel, if there was another way out, don't you think we'd use it?" Jack snapped irritably.
Daniel subsided, knowing there wasn't any other choice. They'd just have to do what was necessary.
The elevator slowed, preparing to stop. Gordon pulled Markus behind him in the corner by the buttons, while Libby did the same with Devon on the opposite side, though Devon resisted her protection more. Daniel and Jennifer lifted their guns, ready to help with cover fire. Jack and Charlie stood in the middle, their submachine guns high and ready to clear a path if necessary.
The doors opened.
Two men and a woman, all young civilians by the look of them, were waiting for the elevator. They weren't armed at all, so far as Daniel could see. Their faces turned pale and shocked when they saw what was suddenly facing them, and they stepped back, backing more when Jack and Charlie got off without lowering their weapons.
"One side, people," Jack ordered. "Clear the hall."
They jumped aside quickly and the others filed out the doors. Daniel tried to give the three a smile, but doubted they even saw him, staring at the parade going by. He could see the instant the woman realized what was happening by the start she gave and the sudden intensity of her gaze as she looked at Markus.
"Go to your quarters and stay there," Kawalsky advised them as he went past, bringing up the rear.
Jack turned and started down the hall again, poking his head around the corners to spot anyone before they spotted him. Daniel noticed that Jack's clearing was faster and less thorough than usual -- he didn't seem to expect enemies lying in wait. Or maybe he was feeling some of the same anxiety Daniel was, that they had to hurry.
INDEX or forward to Chapter 30