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).

Jack fumbled with the key to his briefcase, issuing a not-so-quiet curse as an unexpected pot-hole dumped the contents onto the floor of the car.

"Sorry, sir. Didn't see that one."

The colonel bit back a sharp retort about the Grand Canyon, knowing full well the major was every bit as tense as he was. He bent forward and retrieved the loose papers. Stuffing them back into the leather case, he then reached for the journals. Breathing a sigh of relief that his bookmark was still in place, -- thank God for Post-Its -- he carefully secured the remaining journals in the briefcase. Opening the little book, he scanned quickly down the page, searching for where he'd stopped.

...I'd really hate to miss any of his little escapades while we're gone, but perhaps I should invest in a leash as we start searching for Ra's tomb.

Today has been incredibly bad. The last of the supplies are being held up by the local officials. I guess the last bribe just wasn't enough. Then Parker shows up with a higher offer than before. If El Alabin wasn't bankrolling this thing ... I'll see him in the morning about getting those supplies out of hock. Damn, this has cost us one more day.

And if that's not enough, Parker almost saw the map. It's a minor miracle that he didn't. I know he knows I have one, but... How Danny got hold of it, I'll never know. He's entirely too smart for his own good. But there he was, sitting at my desk, copying the details from the map onto notebook paper when I walked in with Parker on my heels. Thank God the colonel didn't see it. I got rid of him as fast as I could.

And the day's just getting worse. It's been thirty minutes since Parker left in a huff. I suppose Danny's been in the corner long enough. Who am I kidding? I really wish I didn't have to punish the child further ... he did an incredible job on the map's details ... but I cannot have him playing with my important papers. Claire's going to be upset with my decision, but if I wait any longer I won't be able to follow through with it, even if she did agree. Damn. This first spanking is going to be at least as hard on me as it will be on him.

He was also certain that the elder Dr. Jackson had been wrong; Parker had seen exactly what the child had been doing. With the proper stimuli, Daniel should be able to reproduce it easily, and Jack had no doubt the colonel was an expert at ... stimuli.

Jack tried to dispel the nightmare images of Parker torturing Daniel by forcing himself to continue on through the journal. The boring pages that followed did little to ease his mind as he searched for clues. Eyes widening, he felt his blood pressure rise as he suddenly stumbled upon another military reference.

I've been incredibly stupid. I didn't want military backing for this dig. Didn't need it. Had the backing of El Alabin. A private investor. Stupid. God, I was stupid. My foreman finally confided in me that El Alabin has no funds of his own. Expensive tastes, no money. Looks like Parker has won the first round. Damn the man. I really don't understand the military's concerns in this expedition. We're digging up an ancient Egyptian tomb, not an arsenal. Any weapons we find will be useless to them, bows, arrows, javelins. Worthless in modern warfare.

But didn't I hear rumors of a dig in the twenties? What was that? A giant circle of some sort. That's right. Bundled away under guard to some unnamed US military location because it might have been a weapon. Ha. Probably an over-sized calendar. Wonder if the circle looked like the one on the map? No, that was a gate of some kind. Probably to the underworld, seeing as it's right next to the drawing of that large sarcophagus. Yeah, a gate. That has to be it. The pictures show people going in one side, but not coming out the other. Definitely not a weapon.

"What's wrong, Colonel?"

"The map the Jacksons had... if I'm reading this entry correctly, it shows a sarcophagus and the Stargate on it."

"But surely you're not thinking ... our Stargate?"

"I hope so. I do not even want to think third gate. Nor do I want to think about a sarcophagus."

"Sir, what if the sarcophagus is real?"

"Don't go there, Carter."

"But, sir, what if it contains a Goa'uld?"

"You went there."

"Sorry, sir."

Daniel was nearly unconscious as his tormentors pulled him from the Jacuzzi. The voices of the two men seemed to be coming from a great distance.

"Ya know, I could use a break."

"What about him?"

"Handcuff him to the sink, he's not going anywhere. And maybe when we get back, he'll be more polite to the colonel. Maybe even tell him about the map."

Cold steel locked around one wrist as Daniel was dragged across the damp ceramic tile floor. The smaller man shoved him to the floor while his partner snapped the handcuffs in place around the plumbing. The door shut behind him, leaving the drenched young prisoner shivering in the cold room. 'Map? What map?' Daniel's thoughts were confused as he tried to understand what was happening, what was wanted of him. With his arms pinned behind him, wrapped awkwardly around the pedestal base of the sink, Daniel was unable to gain relief as a spasm of coughing racked his slender frame.

As the coughing fit ended, he struggled to concentrate on the conversation he'd overheard. 'Think, Daniel, what map? I went with Mom and Dad. They had to have a map, didn't they?' Suddenly images of multi-colored lines and shapes whirled through his mind, and intermixed with images of colored pencils and notebook paper was his father's somber face and an over-large hand which held his own much too tightly. Why was his father frowning? He'd done something wrong, hadn't he? Or had he? Daniel's tired mind whirled in confusion. A map? Oh! That map. As his consciousness faded, the map grew clearer in his mind, along with the unnerving sensation that his father was gonna be mad.

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