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).
"I'm sorry, Miss, but you'll have to wait outside." The orderly held up a beefy hand as a signal for Sam to stop.
She knocked his hand away as she pushed past him. "It's major, Mister...", she glanced at his name tag, "...Smith, not 'miss'. And I will be waiting inside."
Daniel was hoisted onto the examining table just as Sam slid through the doors. Groaning, he braced for the worst as he heard the scissors start to snip away at his T-shirt. 'Why me?'
"Who the hell are you?" The doctor in charge glared at Sam as she leaned against the wall, trying to stay out of the way.
She nodded at Daniel. "His bodyguard."
The doctor's eyes narrowed while a sharp retort hit the end of his tongue and jammed on memories of his days in the Air Force. The woman in front of him was a major in that branch of the service. He studied her tall, slender frame for a short moment, took in the tanned, finely muscled arms, and quickly decided that he pitied the person who took her on. "Right. Don't get in the way."
"No problem." Dodging a nurse-on-a-mission, she mumbled under her breath, 'I hope.'
As quickly as he'd arrived in the examining room, Daniel was wheeled out, closely followed by a confused, and concerned Sam. "Where are we going?"
"X-ray." The orderly pushing the gurney skillfully down the hall answered quickly.
"Why?" Sam picked up her pace to stay near the gurney.
"Doctor's orders."
"Oh." 'Thank you very much, jerk.' Realizing she'd get nothing more from the obviously disinterested man, she snapped her mouth shut and followed one step behind.
Benjamin's troops swept the house ... again. Captain Murphy shook his head as he approached Jack. "Sorry, sir, nothing. The man you described is definitely not there."
"You checked for secret passages?"
"Yes, sir. Found three. Airman Armstrong's measurements were right on track. Everywhere she said the walls were 'off', we found a passage. All of them leading to somewhere else in the ..." He paused as his radio squawked. Turning up the volume so that Jack and Benjamin could also hear, he hit the transmit button. "Murphy. Go ahead Armstrong."
The radio crackled with distortion as a woman started to speak. "Sir, the tunnel in the basement had another tunnel off of it. Well, a secret door at least, we're working on getting it open now, sir."
The hair on Jack's neck suddenly rose. "Not until we get there, Airman."
"Sir?"
Murphy snapped into the mike. "Cease and desist. We're coming down."
"Yes, sir!" As the radio disconnected, they heard her shout. "Can it guys! The brass is on its ...."
Benjamin sighed. "Sorry, Colonel. She's very young."
Jack smiled grimly. "Don't be sorry, she's right, we are the brass. Let's take a look at that tunnel."
Ferretti eyed the loaded crates with satisfaction. The vault, although large, had insufficient room for properly examining its treasures. Therefore, three separate trucks were loaded with the newly catalogued inventory. A fourth truck, bearing the rubble of stones from the vault, was already on its way to the air field, where a waiting plane would take it back to Colorado. The hieroglyphs which Ferretti had been able to read, definitely matched the ones on the Stargate. General Hammond had arranged for a group of experts to examine the remains of the columns back at the SGC. Later, when things had settled, Colonel O'Neill would probably be given the unenviable task of telling Dr. Jackson about them. He was, after all, Daniel's CO and friend.
"Major, we're ready to roll."
"Right. Let's move." Ferretti climbed into the last truck. He had no intention of letting any of the vehicles out of his sight. These items had been 'lost' for over thirty years, and Ferretti would see someone in hell before they disappeared again. A nearby warehouse had been cleared of its inventory to house the crates. And experts from the SGC were on their way to examine the goods. Hammond had once again come through for his people. The major checked his watch and realized with a laugh that some of the experts were probably standing in the empty warehouse right now.
"Sir, if you'll move back just a bit." The nervous private fiddled with his flat bar as he spoke.
Jack nodded, and moved back. Armed troops, shoulder to shoulder in the cramped tunnel, pointed their weapons at the door. The private winced, then shoved the flat bar between the door and the jam. Putting all his weight against it, the door popped open easily. The tension in the small area decreased noticeably as the new tunnel revealed itself to be unoccupied. Jack snarled an unhappy, "Dammit to hell!" as he moved forward to examine the area where concrete turned to dirt. Footprints, heading away from the door, were easily discernible in the soft black dirt.
Benjamin snapped at a nearby airman. "Get someone down here to take a plaster cast of those. And do not let anyone disturb the prints until you do."
Jack and Murphy had already leaped over the prints and were heading down the tunnel, Murphy attempting in vain to get in front of the colonel. Benjamin caught up with the pair as they reached an apparent dead end, complete with ladder. "Colonel, wait! Please, sir!" Benjamin gasped as he saw Jack's hand on the ladder. "If you get killed we won't know if we've caught the right man, and Dr. Jackson could still be in danger!"
The colonel froze, then looked at the two captains, backing off slightly. "Right. Valid point, Captain."
"Yes, sir." Benjamin's sigh of relief was matched by Murphy's as the younger captain checked his sidearm, quickly climbed the ladder, and pushed carefully on the trap door. The wooden door opened easily, with no sign of gunfire or booby-traps. Murphy shoved the door all the way up and threw himself out, rolling as he did so to hopefully be less of a target. The silence from above was broken by the sounds of the younger man muttering angrily. "All clear, sir. The son-of-a-bitch is gone."