by Cindy Combs
"Okay," Jim replied, his military training kicking in. "Pack up a few things for a trip, but don't be noticeable about it. Stick with normal routines. I'll contact Mac and be there in an hour."
"No problem," Blair replied. "And Jim? Please hurry."
"See you soon, Chief," Jim promised comfortingly before hanging up the phone.
Unknown to either, the three men sat in the black van listening to the entire conversation. "Hell, Sandburg is running to Arizona," one of them swore.
"Why would he go there?" another asked.
Then a lieutenant colonel leaned out of the shadows. "To cross the border into Mexico, of course! Which means we have to push this project to the next level."
Breathing easier now, Blair started glancing around the loft in search of where to start packing. Okay, I need a couple of changes of clothes, money... Suddenly, Blair spun around. Damn, I left my backpack with my wallet in the car! I can't go anywhere without it! Pushing back his fear, Blair forced himself to leave the safety of the loft. As he trotted back down the stairs to the street, he sorted out the logic. Jim said to act normal, and it would really look weird if I DIDN'T get the rest of my boxes.
Even so, the young guide carefully searched the area on the other side of the door. Not seeing the van or the men, he stepped outside and walked as casually as he could towards his Volvo. Scooping up his backpack and another box, Blair turned as the van, side door open, screeched to a halt in front of him. A sudden shove pushed him forcefully inside. Hitting his head against one of the metal braces for the seats, Blair felt his world go black.
Four hours later
MacGyver paused at the door of the safe house and took a deep breath. He had to be calm so he could think. His son's life might depend upon it. Releasing the breath, his hand rose to knock.
A muffled voice asked, "Who's there?"
"MacGyver."
The door opened to reveal the worried face of Detective Joel Taggart. Once inside, Joel offered, "I'm sorry, Mac. We had no idea Blair would become a target." Mac studied his friend's large, dark face for a moment, uncertain. Joel quickly assured him. "I know Blair too well to think his research is fiction, and the news reports explain just too many things I've seen Jim do. In any case, I'm behind them 100 percent."
"Thanks." Mac had believed that Blair's true friends would see through the media coverage. It heartened him that Joel was one of them. He sighed, then glanced around. "Where's Jim?"
"This way."
Mac followed Joel to a small living room. He swiftly spotted Ellison pacing, in spite of a limp. That's right, Blair said Jim had been shot in the leg only days ago by the Iceman. Which is why Banks isn't here. I doubt he'd even be out of the hospital yet.
The cold blue eyes, dark with pain and anxiety, suddenly focused on the new arrival, halting the sentinel's feet. "Mac?"
"Hi, Jim," Mac greeted, walking over and gently laying a hand on Jim's shoulder. "You okay?"
Jim snorted, disgusted with himself. "I'm fine. It's Blair I'm worried about."
Mac could only squeeze his shoulder in response. The cold knot of fear grew tighter in his stomach as he thought about his missing son. Then he shook it off to get back to more practical matters. "Maybe you should sit down and take your weight off that leg."
"My leg is fine."
"Humor me." Mac firmly led Jim to the nearby couch, noticing the relief flooding Joel's face. Apparently, the former bomb squad captain had suggested the same thing. However, it was tougher for the sentinel to ignore a guide, even if it wasn't Blair. Once Jim was seated, Mac quietly asked, "What do you know about these men?"
"Not much," Jim replied tersely, running a hand over his hair. "Just what Blair told me before he disappeared." Jim swiftly relayed the conversation to Mac. "I was there within an hour, only to find the Volvo's passenger door hanging open and Blair nowhere in sight."
MacGyver took another deep breath and released it. "Sounds like the goons didn't like taking 'no' for an answer."
The stressed out sentinel could only shake his head. "I knew from Blair's description they were trouble, but I thought we'd have time to contact you and hopefully be on our way to L.A. before we were missed."
"Since this has 'government' written all over it, we thought it best to keep Jim someplace safe," Joel inserted.
"Agreed," Mac nodded, feeling his frustration grow. He had spent several years of his life working for his government. It angered him to think that same government could have abducted his son off the street. "So the question is, which particular division of the government is responsible for this?"
"We have a friend of Blair's working on that right now," Joel explained.
"I have Pete and Nikki putting out feelers as well," Mac added. "Pete and I still have contacts from our DXS days."
Jim suddenly slammed his fist in the cushion next to his leg. "Why? After that damn press conference, I was hoping we'd at least have some breathing room."
MacGyver could only shake his head. "If we knew who, then we might be able to guess why."
"The thing is, if they believed the previous reports and NOT Blair's press conference, why didn't they go after Jim at the same time or sooner?" Joel asked quietly. The other two men instantly turned their attention to him. "After all, those reports declared Jim as the sentinel. If you were interested in finding sentinels, why not take the one already identified?"
"Maybe that's the problem," Mac replied thoughtfully. "They did believe the press conference. However, Blair would still be the only person who knows anything about sentinels."
Jim dropped his aching head into his hands. He had been half hoping someone would try to abduct him, providing a link to his missing guide. But if the people behind this didn't believe Jim was a sentinel, Sandburg was unlikely to volunteer the information. That meant his guide was on his own at the mercy of who knew who.
Another knock on the door brought Jim's head up. He focused his hearing to follow Taggart's walk back to the door and listened to the exchange. Then he closed his eyes. "Megan's here with Jack Kelso."
Before Mac could ask how Jim knew Kelso, the dark blond man with glasses entered the room, Inspector Megan Connor a step behind his motorized wheelchair. MacGyver absently noticed the Inspector's white sling. The Iceman had caused a lot of damage before his demise.
Then Kelso recognized him. "MacGyver! It has been a long time, old friend."
"Yes, it has," MacGyver returned, shaking Kelso's hand. Seeing Jim's puzzled face, Mac added, "At least fifteen years."
Jack simply shook his head. "Time flies. Though I wish we were meeting under different circumstances. At first, I couldn't believe it when Blair told me you were his father. Then I wondered how come I never put it together myself." His faced turned serious. "I will do everything I can to help you get him back."
"Any ideas?" Jim asked. He suspected the former CIA operative, now a University teacher, had been working frenetically since his call. Kelso had a soft spot for Blair.
"Yes, though I still am amazed at where it all leads." Jack rolled over to the kitchen table, soon joined by Mac and the members of Major Crimes. "Now, most of what I have so far is whispers and rumors, but the trail definitely seems to lead to one place." Setting his laptop on the table, Jack turned it on and began to type. "MacGyver, have you ever heard of the Stargate Project?"
Mac shook his head. "No."
"I'm not surprised. I've heard only the barest whispers of it and not even the faintest hints as to what it's about. It has even tighter security than the Manhattan Project. However, I have discovered that this project has recently shown interest in Blair's graduate work, even before the media blitz." Kelso shot Jim a covert glance. His gut said that Blair's press conference denouncing his work was full of more B.S. than a stockyard, but that could only mean the man next to him WAS a sentinel. Which meant Ellison was just as much at risk as Sandburg.
"Before?" Megan questioned. "But how would they know about Sandy's research before the f
irst press release?"
"There was a former agent who had been keeping an eye on me since Peru and following Blair's career since his first undergraduate paper on sentinels," Jim replied worriedly.
"Brackett," Kelso confirmed. "That particular rat was the first one I checked, but he's still in his cage. However, the activity has only been in the last few weeks. All I could gleam was that the interested party is a Dr. Daniel Jackson and after much digging, I found him heavily connected to Stargate."
"Who is Daniel Jackson?" Jim frowned.
"An archeologist and Egyptologist. Supposedly he was once highly regarded in translating ancient inscriptions. Then he himself was denounced by his colleagues due to his interpretation of his findings."
"Wait a minute," Mac interrupted thoughtfully. "Wasn't he the one who, oh about four, five years ago, claimed that the pyramids were much older and perhaps made by someone other than the Egyptians?"
Kelso nodded. "That's the one."
"Why would someone say that?" Jim asked, puzzled.
"Actually, geological evidence does point to some of the pyramids being much older than previously thought," MacGyver explained. "But most Egyptologists refuse to accept it. I think Jackson tried to bring in some supporting evidence, but his work was basically laughed at."
"He pretty much disappeared in disgrace afterwards," Kelso added. "Though now it looks like he's working for the government."
"Like someone might expect Sandy to do now," Megan muttered to herself.
"What do Egyptian pyramids have to do with Blair's sentinel work?" Taggart asked in confusion.
Jack took off his glasses a moment to rub his eyes. "That's the question. As far as I can tell, not one single thing."
For a moment, Mac wondered if some of the ancient writings had discussed sentinels. Then he mentally filed the information away, intending to forward it on to Nikki and have her do some digging. "Where is the Stargate project located? D.C.?"
"No, it's actually in one of the ultra top secret bunkers in Colorado."
Mac paused a moment in surprise. No way. It can't be that easy. "Which one?"
Jack brought up a map, pointing at the location with the tip of his finger. "That one, near Cheyenne Mountain."
A huge smile stretched across Mac's face. Jim instantly noticed. "What?"
"I worked on the security for that one." Now Mac had everyone's attention.
"Do you think you could get me in?" Jim asked, hope finally warming his eyes.
"Ellison, you're still hurt," Mac lightly reminded him.
"Yeah, but if YOU are going in there, so am I. They have Blair."
Blue eyes locked onto brown. Seeing the determination, MacGyver could only concede to the sentinel's wishes. "Alright, we'll go in together. But first, we have some plans to make."
Taggart, Connor and Kelso leaned closer, willing to do anything to help get Blair back.
Jackson's work room, Stargate Command Center, Colorado
O'Neill paused in the doorway, watching the archeologist work for a moment. It was good to watch Daniel get so involved with this particular project. The last two years had been difficult on him with his beloved wife a host for a Goa'uld. Yet the young man still was able to pour himself into these projects, hoping that one day he would make the discovery that would restore Sha're to him.
Stepping into the room, O'Neill cleared his throat. Daniel glanced up. "Oh hi, Jack."
"How's it going, Danny?" O'Neill asked, indicating the laptop with piles of papers spread around it.
"Things are getting interesting," Daniel replied, sitting up straighter. "You know that one Master's thesis I found based on Burton's Sentinel work?" Jack nodded, leaning a hip against the desk as he waited to see where his friend was going. "Everything in it corresponds to what I've learned from Botolf and Marston. However, just this past week Sandburg denounced his Doctorate work on the same subject as fraudulent."
"What?" Jack exclaimed, straightening up.
Daniel nodded excitedly. "There had been earlier press releases saying that Sandburg had written a potential best-seller on a sentinel who was supposed to be a supercop in Cascade, WA. There wasn't much in the reports, but what there was also fit with what I've learned. But just a couple of days ago, Sandburg said he had made it up due to not finding a sentinel to study and the pressure of having to publish something."
"So Sandburg's a fraud?"
"Maybe in his doctorate work. Strangely enough, it seems that Sandburg hadn't even turned it in to his committee before the publicity, which is not how it's normally done. Thus, I haven't been able to see a copy of it. However, he's still the closest to an expert we have on Earth, and it sounds like the reason he was forced to make up his results was due to not being able to find a sentinel."
"So if he had a sentinel to study, he would be able to help us," Jack concluded. He looked down into his friend's eyes. "Do you think this Sandburg would work for us?"
Daniel shrugged his shoulders. "After this his name is pretty much mud in the academic circles. No one is going to give him any more money to search for sentinels, or to do much of anything else for that matter. I know how that feels." Daniel paused, thinking back to his own disaster and how his life had changed afterwards.
"So he'll jump at the chance to work on this subject, even if he can't publish the results?" Jack suggested softly, seeing the bittersweet memories in Daniel's face.
"Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to know how he'd feel about working for the government. There are some academics who think any secret government project is evil and should be avoided at all costs."
"Think you could talk him into it like Katherine did with you?" Jack's smile slowly crossed his face as he saw Daniel's eager eyes.
Daniel grinned back. "I'd like to give it a try."
Jack clapped a hand on his shoulder. "Then let's get you to Cascade."
"Hey, you guys," Sam Carter announced from the doorway, "have you heard the news?"
"What?" Jack asked.
"That possible sentinel expert, Blair Sandburg, is here. The General wants us up in the conference room in ten minutes to meet him."
Jack and Daniel exchanged surprised looks. "That was easy," Daniel commented.
"Too easy," Jack replied with a frown.
Infirmary, Stargate Command Center, Colorado
Blair slowly awoke, sick, groggy and nursing a throbbing headache. Somehow sensing he was in a strange place, he cautiously attempted to sit up. A small hand curved around his elbow. "Easy there," the soft female voice admonished. "Let me help you."
Blinking, Blair found himself staring into the face of a woman with soft brown hair and a gentle smile. "Thank you," he hoarsely whispered through his dry throat.
"Would you like some water?" she asked.
Blair started to nod, but thought better of it. "Sure." She gently held a cup for him. He carefully took a sip of the water, hazily remembering coming to, only to have a needle stuck into his arm. Not tasting anything foreign, he drank more, wishing again for Jim's heightened senses. Hopefully, they've drugged me enough today. Then a tablet appeared in the woman's hand. "How about taking this for that headache I suspect you have."
With a faint smile, Blair reluctantly took the pill. It certainly looked like ibuprofen. While he didn't like modern medicine, he couldn't think at his normal level with his head hurting. He knew he'd need every scrap of his intelligence to get himself out of the trouble he was in.
As he drank more water, she began asking the standard questions to ensure he wasn't suffering from a concussion. Satisfied with his answers, she decided, "All right, you sound like you'll live. Why don't you let me take care of that," pointing to his eyebrow, "then we can see about getting you a bed."
"Thank you..." Blair paused.
"Dr. Janet Frasier," she filled in.
"Thank you, Dr. Frasier."
As the attractive doctor worked on the gash above his eye, Blair for once didn't even consider asking if she was avai
lable. Instead, he carefully studied his surroundings. He knew he wasn't in Cascade anymore. While the sterile room with its gleaming furnishing didn't look too different from other hospital ERs, it still felt different, more regimented and plain. There was also a sense of being closed off, similar to the prison he briefly worked at while Jim was undercover. Blair carefully analyzed the feeling. There were no windows as far as he could see, so perhaps that was it. Wherever he was, Blair suspected that escaping would be difficult. That didn't mean he wasn't going to try at the first opportunity, though.
"There," Dr. Frasier announced to her new patient. "How's your headache?" She again glanced into his eyes, checking for any signs of concussion. Instead, mistrust was the main thing she saw. Janet again forced back her anger. She had heard just enough to suspect the young anthropologist had been brought to the base by force. The situation made her furious, but she held her tongue. More than likely, Col. O'Neill would be yelling enough for all of them once he found out.
"It's okay. Thank you," Blair replied softly, the politeness Naomi had instilled in him still in force. He glanced around the room again. Before he could ask what would happen next, a man in a US Air Force uniform entered.
"Mr. Sandburg, thank you for coming."
Janet did a double take at the heated glare the previously mild mannered man gave the officer. "Strange. For some reason, I don't remember accepting the invitation."
"This is a matter of National Security."
"Yeah, that's probably what they told the Russian dissidents just before shipping them off to Siberia," Blair replied sarcastically. Janet gave him a sharp look. While she didn't like Colonel Maybourne, she rarely heard anyone backtalk a high ranking officer, unless it was Col. O'Neill. But O'Neill had the clout to do it.
However, civilian Blair Sandburg had no idea what the officer's rank was, nor did he care. He simply intended to be as difficult as possible until they gave up and took him back to Cascade. Preferably before Jim gets the bright idea to rescue me and bring more attention to himself. Oh well, I'm not Naomi Sandburg's son for nothing.