Chapter 16
Sam had to fight the urge to duck her head every time she and Leske passed someone in the corridor on their way to the infirmary. It was so easy to forget that she didn't look like herself. And there was absolutely no reason why a lab technician would have to hide her face from an SF.
So, feeling distinctly uncomfortable and out of place, Sam simply clung to the one thing that she was at least kind-of sure of… the woman walking briskly in front of her. Leske, who she'd just met a few short hours ago, who she really had no good reason to trust except for the fact that she had no choice in the matter. This was the one person who knew what was going on and was willing to help them. Nope. No choice.
The tall middle-aged Lieutenant in her dreary lab coat settled into her role and simply followed the lead of the shorter Captain-nurse a few steps ahead, nodding slightly to the airmen in the halls.
Sam kept her worried mind occupied by trying to catch snippets of conversations that people were having with their radios or each other, trying to hear how the search for her and her AWOL companions was coming. She couldn't help but breathe continued sighs of relief when she heard streams of 'negative' and 'no, sir… we haven't located them yet' coming from headsets and radios worn by sergeants with rifles on their shoulders.
*Nope, don't mind us. We're nobody special at all. Just a couple of geek officers on our way to nowhere special. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain…* Sam was starting to enjoy the whole disguise concept just a little too much. She stifled a grin as another team of SF's passed them without a second look. She really needed to get a grip. Just then was not the best time to burst out laughing. Sam felt positively high, and could barely bring herself to think straight. *Uh, oh. Can't think straight. Thingy in my head…*
Sam waited until they turned a corner and moved through the double doors to the main lower-level stairwell, before hissing a quiet warning to her guide.
"Leske!" she whispered. Whispering was fun. Why didn't she do it more often? She smiled brightly.
"What?" Leske whispered back, looking behind her both to check on Sam and to make sure nobody else was in the stairwell.
"I, uh, think that guy is messing with my, uh, you know… that… doohicky thing in my head. You know… that… *thing*."
Leske stared blankly at her for a moment and Sam had to lift a hand to her mouth to discourage threatening giggles from erupting at the ridiculous look on Leske's face. She looked so… confused. "Why do you think that?" Leske finally replied, though she probably already knew the answer from looking at the pained expression that trying not to laugh had produced on Sam's face.
"I feel really drunk." And with that, Sam's self control disappeared and she burst out laughing. As quietly as she could, of course, but Leske was driven to grab her and clamp both hands over her mouth until the fit subsided.
"Damn. Sam, you've got to pay attention to me. Focus, okay?" said Leske. Sam nodded from under Leske's grip. She did as she was asked and put all of her energy into attentively listening to the other woman. She was, after all, a genius. How hard could it be to pay attention to someone for just a minute?
"Good. Now, listen Sam. You're right. It must be Talin. He can't see us, so he's trying to alter your behavior to draw us out. To identify you. You've got to fight it, Sam. We'll have the codes in just a minute, but you've got to promise me you can behave for that long. Okay? They're counting on us, Sam. Just remember about Jack, Daniel, Teal'c, and Janet. You don't want anything to happen to them, do you?"
Sam sobered and she shook her head violently. She could behave. Just another few minutes. Piece of cake.
"You with me now?" Leske asked. Sam nodded and Leske removed her hands from Sam's mouth. To illustrate her serious readiness, Sam brushed off and straightened her lab coat, then plastered a very convincing frown on her face. Leske nodded and they nonchalantly ascended the stairs.
Sam still had her mask carefully in place when the pair emerged from the stairwell through a set of big double doors. Holy Hannah, but her legs felt like Jell-O and her head wasn't much better. She wasn't having fun anymore. She was just irked by the whole sensation.
Fighting to remain upright, Sam dutifully followed Leske the few more yards to the infirmary. Just a few more steps. No problem. Just one foot in front of the other. Marching in formation. Ants Marching. Dave Matthews Band. God, she hated that song. Reminded her of Boot Camp. God, she hated Boot Camp. Marching and marching… and rain. Lots and lots of rain. She had liked rain, once. Not anymore, though. Feeling soggy and icky. She felt icky, now. She just wanted to lie down and go to sleep.
Sam barely noticed when Leske grabbed her arm and threw a deadly glare in her direction. "Almost there…" she whispered. Sam heard it and nodded her head, blinking hard to keep her eyes from wandering. Yup. Moved right past drunken stupor into hangover. Fun.
"Stand up straight, Sam. Right now. Stand *up*!" Leske whispered harshly in her ear. Stand up, stand up. Sure. Easier said than done. Stand up. *Stand up, Carter! C'mon, Major. Get your Butt in gear*. The Colonel's face in her head melted away and became the gruff visage of her much-hated drill instructor from the Academy. *Cadet! This is no time to fall asleep on the job! What the hell do you think you're doing, Cadet! Stand up! On your feet! Or do you need your daddy's help for this, too?*
"No, Sir," she mumbled imperceptibly. How dare that jackass even *presume* that she couldn't get so far on her own. She would show *him*. She stabilized her legs beneath her and stood up stock straight, shrugging Leske's hand from her arm. She gritted her teeth and marched herself through the infirmary door and was vaguely aware of Leske's footsteps behind her. She had to hurry. That Jell-O feeling wouldn't stay away for long.
"Doctor Fraiser sent us to find some records and bring them to her in Medlab 3," Leske said to the nurse on duty. Without waiting for any kind of acknowledgement, Leske strode past Sam and whisked her into her friend's office. The chairs in front of the desk looked so inviting, but Sam refused to sit down. If she sat down, she wasn't so sure that she'd be able to stand back up again.
So she just stood in the middle of the office and watched as Leske opened file cabinet drawers in search of three elusive medical records. Sam sighed in relief as Leske held up the manila folders in victory. She must have forgotten about the cameras. Or she was beyond caring.
Without another thought, Leske took the files in one hand and Sam's arm with the other, and led her out of the infirmary. Sam played her part as best she could, but was relieved beyond comprehension when she and Leske slammed the door of the nearest bathroom behind them.
Sam leaned up against the wall and closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing while Leske sat on the floor and began sifting through the files. As long as she just managed to stay focused, the swimmy feeling in her head wasn't quite so nauseating. She'd felt the same way when Adrian Conrad and his goons had had her all doped up. But then, that hadn't really happened, had it? Had Talin just been messing with her head then, too? Were those needles even real, or just holographic?
"Leske, now would be a good time," Sam said as she slid to the floor. Her heart was racing.
"Got it. Just a sec, Sam I've got to find the right codes," Leske replied without looking up from her work. She found the correct papers and took the DaD in hand, motioning for Sam to join her in the middle of the small room.
"Here… lie down and I'll get started," she said. Sam hesitated. "Sam, come on. I thought you wanted me to turn it off for you."
"Well, yeah. Of course I want it off… but I'm just a little anxious, okay? Is this gonna help our situation, or make it worse by making me as susceptible as Daniel?"
Leske thought for a moment. "I… I honestly don't know, Sam. I'm sorry. I have a theory that the only reason why Daniel is having such a problem with his is that the DaD I used to deactivate it was kind of a homemade version. If that's the case, you shouldn't have any adverse effects. If it's not… well, I really don't know. It's up to you."
Sam nodded her head slowly, considering her options. She wasn't any good to anybody as she was, having her behavior manipulated, anyway. If there was a chance that this could work, it was probably worth the risk.
"Okay, do it," Sam said as she moved to lie down on the concrete floor.
Leske smiled and got to work.
* * * *
Jack supported Daniel through the hallway of SGC. He was suddenly very aware that this really wasn't *his* SGC, picking up on the subtle nuances. The brightness of the hallway lights, for example, made the saying 'all the better to see you with, my darling' come to mind, especially when taking into account the number of cameras located… every few feet. Jack shook his head in bewilderment, berating himself for not catching that and for not believing in Daniel...again.
Jack followed the lead of three airmen while gently trying to maneuver a barely conscious Daniel with an arm around his waist, bearing the brunt of his weight. Jack wished he could offer Daniel some words of comfort, aware that the airmen accompanying him to the control room would not permit it. "J'ck," Daniel moaned. Jack's heart stopped as he silently pleaded, 'So close, Daniel. Not now, please.'
"Shit," one of the airmen laughed. "He's calling for O'Neill. The guy who was willing to trade friendship for technology…"
"Hey, he's a military guy. What'd ya expect? Friends don't mean anything…they needed to save earth. Jackson couldn't handle it…he deserved to be outted," countered the second grunt.
Jack was ashamed. If that was how other people saw him, what did his team… what did Daniel think of him? The man who had written his eulogy, the man who repeatedly told him to 'shut up', the man who disintegrated their friendship with one bullet in the gateroom.
The airmen stopped in front of what looked like an oversized locker with the sign "Danger: Electrical Wiring" hanging on its metallic front. He must have passed this door over a thousand times in the year he had been on this planet, never questioning, never looking, never asking…accepting what was before him. The personification of the "don't ask, don't tell" military mindset.
The airman slid his ID badge through a vent in the door triggering a release mechanism. The door swung inward and shut automatically behind them.
Jack attempted to keep his emotions in check and his head straightforward upon entering the room. Monitors, monitors, monitors, showing… old scenes of SG1. Repeats? The room was devoid of personnel except for a tall, steely-eyed man he assumed to be Talin, and some nerdy guy sitting at what resembled a control panel. He opened his mouth to render some smart ass remark to Talin, but remembered his position in this scenario at the last moment, dropping Daniel unceremoniously at Talin's feet.
Jack answered in a voice that was strange to his ear. "Found Jackson in the ladies' room on level 28. Unconscious…No sign of anyone else. Guess he got left behind."
Talin bent to feel Daniel's pulse. Talin knew that he was being set up… somehow... but he wasn't exactly sure of the plan. Not being in control of the situation was making him nervous. Central Station demanded he step down within the hour. The monitors across the world were showing old scenes. Only the cameras in the control room were rolling, and Talin decided as a last ditch effort to play his hand.
"Doesn't look too good." Talin tweaked the device hidden in his pocket and watched the airmen observe Daniel groan in pain. All their faces were unreadable. "Doesn't sound too good either."
A thought flittered across Jack's mind, almost too fleeting to catch. He could almost grab it, but every time he got near the thought, it moved out of reach. Poor Daniel was in so much pain, maybe he should be put out of his misery.
Jack's heart started pounding when he realized where that thought had come from and what was to be done with it. The familiar feeling of someone else being in control of his thoughts, his emotions, his feelings…a feeling of helplessness and hopelessness. A feeling he realized had dominated him for the better portion of the past year. Jack felt a part of him unconsciously slide the P90 in front of his body.
'Bingo' Talin thought. 'Got 'ya.' Talin relieved the airmen, as well as the blue-shirted nerdy guy behind the large control panel. Jack made a move to go, when Talin placed a hand on his forearm. "I don't think so, *Colonel*." The other airmen left without a sound or a backward glance in Jack's direction, but the nerdy guy lingered behind, attempting to make eye contact with Jack. Jack totally dismissed him with a wave of his hand. Talin didn't even glance in their direction as the group exited the control room.
* * * *
Markhen hesitated for a moment as he considered his options. Talin had completely lost it, and suddenly, Jack and Daniel were in the control room at his mercy. He glanced quickly at his set of monitors one last time before complying with Talin's order to leave. He'd been watching two unfamiliar women travel the corridors… one looked a little worse for wear, displaying behaviors consistent with the ones Talin had induced in Major Carter, the other had very familiar brown eyes. They were just exiting a restroom on level 28 of the SGC. He knew Leske was back, he just hoped he had the right women.
He put on an act of confusion for the other men who had been asked to leave the control room, shrugging his shoulders and furrowing his brow, before heading down the corridor at a brisk walk. When he got to the door to the SGC, he immediately opened it and stepped into the base. He flew down the stairs to level 28, completely ignoring anyone he passed. So intent was he on his goal of finding Leske, that he almost plowed right through her in the hall.
"Dammit! Why don't you watch where… Markhen?" said the brown-eyed woman he ran into. She and her companion stopped and stared at him. He really hadn't cared much about looking out of place since Talin was occupied in the control room with Jack and Daniel.
"Leske! You gotta help 'em! Talin's got them in the control room and…" Markhen began talking a mile a minute, grasping Leske's forearms as he started dragging her in the direction he'd come from.
"Who? He's got who? Markhen, slow down. Talk to me. What's going on?" Lieutenant Labcoat, Major Carter presumably, threw Leske a puzzled look, and Leske replied with a small shrug and shake of her head.
"Talin… he caught Colonel O'Neill and Daniel. He's nuts Leske! You gotta help them!" Leske's eyes widened as her friend relayed this new information. "Here…"Markhen said digging into the pocket of this jacket and extracting a rumpled piece of paper, pressing it into Leske's hand. Whispering "The codes for the Environment. Main console, try them…they should work". He jumped as Carter yelled in his ear. "What about Teal'c and Janet? Where are they?" Major Carter asked, growing more concerned by the minute.
"Major Carter?" Markhen asked, just making sure. She nodded. "They didn't find anyone else… Just the Colonel and Daniel. The Colonel was wearing an IHFG, making like he had captured Daniel… probably a ruse to get into the control room… but it backfired. Talin's more in control now than ever, Les. He's got nothing to lose."
"Okay," Leske said firmly, pulling the DaD out of her pocket. "Sam, you take Markhen to the rendezvous point. He can deactivate Teal'c's neurofilter. I'm going to the control room." She handed the DaD to Markhen while speaking to Sam.
"What are you going to do?" Sam asked after her as Leske briskly walked away.
"The right thing!" she shouted, without looking back.