DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters and property of Stargate SG-1 belong to MGM/UA, World Gekko Corp. and Double Secret Productions. This fan fiction was created solely for entertainment purposes and no money was made from it. Also, no copyright or trademark infringement was intended. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author. Any other characters, the storyline and the actual story are the property of the author. Not to be archived without permission of the author(s).
"ACHOOOO!" Daniel sneezed. Again. Was it just him, or was it cold in this room? He knew it was damp, but he didn't remember it being this cold when he'd been dumped here. Wrapping his arms around his chest, he barely suppressed a shiver as the coverstone in the film fell. Again. Please, please let this be a nightmare. Just a nightmare. As his eyes automatically sought out the images on the screens, he knew it wasn't a nightmare in the conventional sense, but a nightmare none-the-less.
His parents had sought, and apparently found, Ra's tomb. The find of the ages ... bigger than Tutankhamen. The discovery had cost them their lives. The symbols on the columns 'supporting' the coverstone were all the proof he needed of the actual find. The collapse of the coverstone, proof of their murders. There was no longer any doubt in his mind that their deaths had not been accidental. Something that would have been unthinkable only a week before, was now his reality. As was his current status of prisoner. Of the man, or men he mentally conceded, who had caused his parents' deaths.
The thought both confused and concerned him. Why had they been killed? If robbery was the motive, why not just abscond with the easily portable, and valuable, treasure? He was certain he remembered an elaborate headdress of gold, silver, and red - probably ruby - stones, that his father had placed on his mother's head as she laughed in pure delight. He smiled briefly at the pleasant memory, watching in his mind's eye as she twirled, her blue eyes dancing with unadulterated joy. Gradually the images of his parents faded so that he could plainly see the coverstone, and its supporting columns, in their natural setting. And there was something almost familiar on the wall behind them.
"ACHOOOO!" Daniel tiredly wiped sweat from his brow. Was it just him, or was it hot in this room?
"A Mercury Grand Marquis, Carter?" Jack looked puzzled as he saw the large gold-colored vehicle. "On our budget?"
"All they had, so it was the same price as a mid-size." She frowned as he approached the driver's side door. "Sir?"
"I'll drive, Carter."
Stifling the comment she wanted to make, she asked politely. "Done a lot of driving in DC, sir?"
"Why no, not rea... Oh. Pentagon. You worked at the Pentagon."
"Yes, sir. For several years."
Jack quickly walked around the front of the car, and slid into the passenger seat. "Then why don't you drive, Carter?"
"Yes, sir. I'll do that."
Parker slammed the handset loudly into its cradle. "Shit!"
"What's wrong, Roland?"
"Marshall didn't have the original inventory the Jacksons made. That means Nichols had it."
"Well, Nichols is dead, so I don't see--"
"Don't you? Nichols had a son."
"Oh. Do you think he..."
"Obviously. Damn the man to hell. I knew I should have beaten the information out of him years ago."
"Then why didn't you?"
Parker templed his fingers, and studied them closely. "Because I didn't recover the pictures until recently. I couldn't act until I got hold of them."
"What pictures?"
"Some rather compromising photographs Nichols had gotten hold of. The man was smarter than I thought." Parker's confession took his companion by surprise. "Oh, in the end, I won, but he caused me a great deal of trouble for thirty years."
"Powerful subject matter?"
"Try candid shots of me arguing with Melbourne Jackson, on multiple occasions."
"So? That's nothing to be--"
"The investigators were told I didn't know him, by the time I found out about the photos, it was too late to recant."
"Oh."
"And there were the damn journals, which, by the way, I still don't have. Somehow Nichols got them to Jackson."
"Why didn't Nichols use the photos and the journals against you?"
"Because he didn't want to risk harm coming to his family. Like I told you, he does have a son. So let's just say it was a thirty year stalemate."
A moment of silence was followed by a quiet, "Roland, I have to know. Why now? Why risk exposure now?"
The other man glared at him. "I'm not getting any younger. I need to find the tomb, and to do that I need the map, as well as the notes in Jackson's journal."
"Surely you don't believe the myth of eternal life!"
"According to the legends, Ra dwelled in this place for many hundreds of years before the uprising."
"Roland, that's obviously Ra as in father to son to grandson, etc. There's no way anyone lived that long. And as for the rebellion, you know as well as I do that the ancient scribes were referring to the Exodus. As in Biblical."
Parker shook his head. "No. Two totally different events, in different times, and different locations. As for Ra, nothing the Jacksons reported finding in that tomb, and I use the word loosely, indicated that Ra died. Quite the contrary, everything showed Ra as remaining very, very young.
"Aren't you forgetting they found a sarcophagus?"
"Yes." Parker practically growled the reply. "Which unfortunately was too large for transport or so my man on their team led me to believe."
"I thought he was killed?"
"True, quite tragically, but he was able to relate a limited amount of information about the tomb. Unfortunately the imbecile never bothered to put down detailed instructions on how to find it again."
"Okay, now I'm confused. If the sarcophagus is all that's left..."
"But its not. I have reason to believe the Jackson exhibit contained less than half of the contents of the tomb. They'd hoped to obtain funding from someone other than myself to excavate the remainder of their find. Dr. Marshall was working on securing money for that purpose when they, uh, died."
The other man's eyes turned to dollar signs as he did mental calculations. "So you want the rest."
"I paid for it. It's mine. Everything in the tomb is mine. For all eternity."
"Good Lord, you actually believe the legends about the healing sleep and immortality, don't you?"
"Actually, I do. ... And so do you." The icy glint in Parker's eyes told his companion, more plainly than words, that disagreement at this time would not be a good thing.
"1452. 1454. 1459 should be on your side of the street, Carter." Jack turned his attention to the left of the vehicle.
"Yes, sir. I believe it's the white two-story just head, sir."
"You can read the mailbox sign from here?"
"Sir?"
"Nothing, Carter. Looks like Major Nichols just got home. Pull in behind him."
"Yes, sir." Sam maneuvered the long car up the slight slope of the driveway, bringing it to a stop just behind the mid-size coupe already in the driveway. The dark-haired man emerging from the driver's side turned to stare at the newcomers. Two small children vaulted from the back seat, and also turned to stare curiously at the strangers.
Jack climbed out. "Major Martin Nichols?"
"Yes?" If anything the major's demeanor was even more tense than before.
"Colonel Jack O'Neill, Major Samantha Carter. US Air Force. Can we have a moment of your time?"
"Yes, of course, sir. Michael, Susan, inside. Baths, teeth. ANH!" A hand sliced through the air in chopping motion, stopping the protests even as they formed on the children's lips. "You know the drill. Bedtime's in thirty minutes. Tell your mother I'm in the office with guests."
"Yes, Daddy."
"Yes, sir."
The major watched as his children disappeared into the house, then turned back to Jack. "My office is behind the garage, sir. Major. Right this way." He pointed to a stone path running parallel to the garage. "What can I do for you?"
"Actually," Jack replied coldly, "You can do quite a bit, Major. Or should I say, Colonel. Colonel John Black?"