19 Revenge for the Scorpion

by Cindy Combs

  "JACK!" Mac grabbed his friend from behind, holding on for all he was worth as Jack blindly tried to throw him off. "Easy, Jack. Easy."

  When Jack's anger finally drained out, Mac guided him into a chair. Collapsing into it, Jack simply stared down at his throbbing hand, cradled in his lap.

  Taking a deep breath, Mac righted the chair Jack had kicked and placed it across from his friend. Sitting down backwards in it, Mac draped his arms over the back and gently asked, "Jack, what's wrong?"

  Jack simply shook his head.

  Mac laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Jack, you can tell me. Was it something about Ian?"

  Taking a deep breath, Jack lifted his head. Pain flowed from his eyes. "Just that, that your grandson... looks like Charlie."

  "Charlie?"

  "My son."

  MacGyver blinked. "I didn't know you had a son."

  "Charlie died a long time ago. He found my handgun..." Jack took a deep breath. "It was hard."

  Mac simply squeezed his shoulder.

  "Sara and I... our marriage fell apart. I couldn't take it. I was about to eat my gun when I was offered a suicide mission. Figured it was better to go out serving my country than embarrass Sara further." Jack shifted, uncomfortable with the memories. "It was Stargate and when I met Daniel."

  "Didn't go as planned, I take it?"

  "Nope. And I'm glad. Daniel's the only one I ever really told about Charlie, and with everything else that happened on that mission... afterwards, I didn't want to die anymore."

  "And now Daniel's not here."

  "I guess."

  Mac lifted an eyebrow. "You guess?"

  Jack waved his hand weakly. "I'm not entirely sure where he's gone or what he's doing. I'd like to talk with him and know I can't. But I keep getting this feeling that he's not that far away. There are times when I feel like he's standing beside me, but I can't see him."

  "You mean, like a ghost?"

  "No." Jack wiped off his face. "I can't really explain it. He's gone, but he's not." As Mac continued to look at him worriedly, Jack lifted his other hand. "Sorry. I really can't give you anything more."

  After pondering a moment, Mac made a decision. "When my Grandpa Harry had his fatal heart attack, I was working over a thousand miles away providing security for an Egyptian artifact. It was a Sun Boat, which the Egyptians believed carried them into the afterlife. The Sunboat was stolen and I ended up taking a three story fall. While the docs were working on me, I saw Harry. I left my body and followed him onto this cruise ship. My parents, who had passed away long before this, were there to greet Harry and take him 'home', where Grandma was fixing dinner." Mac looked at his friend. "I was so happy to be with them again, I wanted to stay. But Harry insisted it wasn't my time. He made me look through one of those observation scopes. I saw Pete get killed by the men who had stolen the artifact. Harry told me that was the future unless I got off. As much as I wanted to stay, I couldn't let Pete be murdered. So I got off the ship and was suddenly back in my body in the hospital."

  Mac looked down a moment. "Perhaps it was some kind of fantasy my brain cooked up as I was dying." Then he stared Jack in the eye. "But to this day, I feel like Harry's still watching over me. If he hadn't made me leave, I would have never found out about Sam and Blair. I also have faith that someday, Mom and Dad are going to be waiting on that boat for me." Mac leaned back and shrugged. "Probably stupid."

  "Not stupid." Jack sighed. "It's kinda nice to think Charlie will be waiting for me when it's my time." Looking down again, he shifted to pick up something from the floor. It was the picture of Ian.

  "I'm sorry." Mac reached for the picture.

  Jack avoided his hand as he examined the photo. "That's okay. And he is a cute kid. Looks like a handful."

  "Not too bad for a toddler, though he's a lot sharper than any child that age should be. Keeps me on my toes."

  "How did Sam end up with a kid?"

  "Now that's a long story..."

  * * *

  Simon Banks' Office, Cascade Police Headquarters

  Simon's door was closed and the blinds were down as he and his best detective team stared at the three bugs that had 'happened' to appear in the loft the past three evenings. Each had been in a different location. Jim had knocked one off a CD case when he decided to play a particular song, while Blair had poured tea over the third residing in a plant. Both were tired and unnerved by the game.

  Simon looked up. "Have you found any other surveillance equipment?"

  Blair shook his head as Jim replied, "I've only heard these, and our searches of the loft came up empty."

  "Any idea who's doing this?"

  Both Jim and Blair shrugged. Blair quickly explained, "We've wondered if it's associated with the gambling ring case, but there's been no indication that Mott's suspicious. Kelso's checked on Brackett, and he's where he should be. Yuri should be dead; even if he did manage to survive, he'd know Jim would find them, so he'd probably do something else. Of course, there's always the possibility of someone else who suspects about the sentinel stuff. Or a perp we put away..." Blair shook his head. "You know, there's just way too many possibilities."

  The captain glanced at his senior detective. "Any of your, you know, picking up anything?"

  Jim shook his head. "No foreign scents or anything out of place."

  "We suspect they must be going in soon after we leave for work," Blair inserted. "Anything Jim would pick up on would have dispersed by the time we get home."

  "Or hidden by your new girlfriend's perfume," Jim added. "What is it, Eau de Skunk?"

  "It's Shalimar. Very expensive."

  "Expensively stinky."

  "I think it smells nice."

  Simon interrupted, "Gentlemen, back to the bug problem." Looking down at the devices again, he asked, "Have you had forensics go over them yet?"

  Jim nodded. "Serena said it was too sophisticated for her to identify."

  "Have you tried your dad yet, Sandburg?"

  "Mac's on a fishing trip," Blair explained. "He doesn't have his laptop, and I'm really nervous about discussing this over the phone."

  "Understandable," Simon replied. He glanced between his men. "Is the bust set up for tonight?"

  Both Jim and Blair nodded. "Cisco should be in the house, so we can catch him and Mott," Jim explained.

  Simon nodded. "I want you two to concentrate on the case. I'll have a unit watch your place and see if they can spot anyone suspicious." He turned back to Blair. "When's MacGyver due back?"

  Blair shrugged. "It's kinda a grief support trip. I don't know how long he'll be gone." Then he snapped his fingers. "I could send Sam an encrypted email, though. He may be able to send the info through the Phoenix resources."

  "Do it." Simon looked at the devices. "I don't like this."

  "I think we all agree on that, Simon," Jim confirmed.

  After Blair left to send Sam the message, Simon looked at Jim. "What about this girlfriend?"

  "Amanda?"

  "Not yours, his."

  Jim shrugged. "He refuses to give me her last name so I can run a background check."

  Simon rubbed his nose. "Can't blame him. Normal people would take offense."

  "Yes, but when has Sandburg ever been normal? You know his track record with girls."

  "Could she be behind the bugs?"

  "I don't know. I hope not."

  "Just do me a favor and figure out a way to get at her background. Right now we can't take chances."

  * * *

  Hammond's vacation home, CO

  Jack leaned back in the lawn chair. The rays from Earth's sun warmed and comforted him in a way that other suns shining on other planets could not. Stargate expeditions were cool and usually an adrenaline rush. But at the end of the day, this planet was his home.

  So much had been sacrificed to protect Earth. His stomach ached from the painful hollow caused by letting his best friend go. He couldn't help but think that he, SG-1, the SGC, even
the whole damn universe was worse off without Daniel Jackson. Yet Daniel was given a chance to ascend, to go to a whole different plane of existence. As much as it hurt Jack not to be able to share the journey, he could not deny his friend the chance to escape the pain and go on to a new adventure. It was just the hardest of a long line of sacrifices. How much more would he have to give up to keep Earth safe? Was it worth it?

  The past few days had assured him that it was. MacGyver had reminded him of the innocents on his world. After Jack had talked about Charlie, it had pulled the conversational lid off between the doubles. While Jack still wasn't in the mood for much talking, he had listened as MacGyver filled him in on finding Sam, finding Blair, and the many misadventures his family had had. Jack had enjoyed the stories. He had always felt a strange sense of connectedness with Mac and his boys. Perhaps somewhere in the past they were related by blood. It reinforced the need in Jack to keep them safe, at least from the Goa'uld threat. It sounded like the MacGyver family was more than capable of handling the threats at home.

  * * *

  Phoenix Foundation, Los Angeles, California

  Sam was sorting through his notes on the security system trials when a beep informed him that he had new email. Feeling frustrated with the lack of progress, Sam pulled up his Outlook and saw it was from Blair, with a little flag on it. Sam frowned. Blair had never sent him a message with a flag on it before.

  Pulling it up to his screen, Sam realized it was encrypted. He could only think of one subject for which Blair would go to such lengths. He looked over his shoulder to his partner. "Cory, do you have Dad's orange code on your laptop?"

  Cory swizzled around to face him. "Yeah. Why?"

  "Just got a message from Blair."

  Cory grabbed a floppy from his desk. "Put it on that, and let's take a look."

  A few minutes later, the two young men were quickly reading the older guide's message. "Someone's planting bugs?" Sam glanced at his friend. "Have you heard anything unusual at the firehouse?"

  Cory shook his head thoughtfully as he pulled up the photos of the devices. "No, but I'll do a careful sweep tonight."

  Checking the scale that Serena had placed in the photos, Sam blinked. "Man, that's tiny. If Jim hadn't heard them, I doubt they would have found them."

  "I can see why Blair's worried," Cory added. "This is some pretty sophisticated stuff."

  "Who would have it?" Sam asked.

  Cory leaned forward, studying the design. "Upper end spy agencies. High-priced crooks or assassins checking a potential target."

  Sam's face turned white at the thought of an assassin after his brother or Jim.

  Cory continued, "I saw a few of these at the DXS, but they're pricey. You really have to prove a need to get them."

  "I don't like this." Sam slouched back in his chair, thinking hard. "What if this is about the sentinel stuff? Or part of something bigger?"

  "If it's a big operation, Blair's right to be concerned about a phone tap."

  "Would they be able to listen in on cell phones?"

  "Depending on the size of the operation and just what they want to know... Yeah, they could."

  "I don't like this. What could Jim and Blair be working on that rates this? Surely nothing with the Cascade PD. That pretty much leaves Jim's covert ops past or the sentinel stuff."

  "I wish Mac was in town," Cory commented. "He might have an idea who would do this."

  Sam suddenly sat up. "Well, if Mohammed won't come to the mountain, I'll have to go to him."

  Cory frowned. "You mean, go to Colorado?"

  Sam pointed at the screen. "Dad will want to know about this as soon as possible. He doesn't have his laptop, so we can't ship him email. If we don't dare discuss this over the phone, I'll have to see him in person."

  Cory nodded. "I'll get us tickets."

  Sam frowned. "You don't have to go."

  "Yeah, right. Even if this isn't about sentinel business, it's at a level you've never worked at before, Sam. I've got the DXS training. Besides, who's going to question two guys and a little kid taking a trip to Colorado?"

  "You think we should take Ian?"

  "You feel good about leaving him here if there's a threat against sentinels and guides? So far your family's two for two in the guide business. It wouldn't be that much of a reach for someone to realize the odds are good."

  Sam's face turned grim with thought of his small son a target. He would feel better having Ian close where he and Cory could protect him. "Okay, you better make it three tickets."

  * * *

  Late that night, Cascade Police HQ

  Blair was signing the last of the paperwork for the Motts/Cisco bust. With a big yawn, he stood up to deliver it.

  "Easy there, Chief." Jim just managed to avoid running into his partner, grabbing him by the shoulders.

  "Sorry, Jim. Guess the adrenaline rush is finally dropping."

  "Yeah." Jim paused a moment. "You having trouble sleeping, too?"

  Blair sighed, closing his eyes a moment. "It's unnerving to think someone can just walk into our place and plant bugs." He opened his eyes to look up at his sentinel. "Did either Motts or Cisco mention..."

  "No," Jim answered grimly. He ran his hand over his face. "To be honest, I really didn't think it was them."

  "Yeah, me neither." They exchanged worried looks. "Sam's hunting Dad up tomorrow. Cory and Ian's going with him."

  "That's good." Jim took a deep breath, trying to figure out a way to say what needed to be said. "You may want to cool it with Diana."

  Blair blinked. "What?"

  "Spend a little less time with her for now."

  "Jim," Blair growled. "I really like this one. Just because you don't like her perfume..."

  "It's not about that, Chief. Right now, all we know is that someone's planting bugs in our apartment. We don't know where that's going to lead. If it turns violent, I don't want Amanda in the line of fire. Do you want Diana?"

  "Oh, man," Blair ran both hands through his curls.

  "I've let Amanda know that we're going to be scarce for the next couple of weeks while we figure this out. You should probably do the same with Diana."

  Blair stared at Jim in shock. "You're serious."

  "Don't you think we need to be? Sam and Cory are dropping everything to go to Colorado. How do you think Mac's going to react when he hears? I'll be surprised if we don't have the entire clan here in the next couple of days. If it's about the you-know-what, don't you think we're all in danger?"

  His head lowered, Blair softly mumbled, "But I really like her."

  "I know, Chief. If she's the one, she can wait for us to sort this out."

  "Yeah, you're right. But it still sucks."

  * * *

  Next day, Pikes Peak National Forest

  Teal'c soaked in the view through the pine trees. He wasn't allowed out of the mountain very often, so he enjoyed the times when he could experience his adopted home planet.

  It was the first time he had been escorted outside by GeneralHammond. GeneralHammond was worried about ColonelO'Neill, and Teal'c privately admitted it was a valid concern. Losing DanielJackson was a grievous wound to all of SG-1. Teal'c still felt the loss keenly. Yet O'Neill and DanielJackson had been friends and comrades much longer than they had known Teal'c. His brother warrior was strong, but even the strongest warrior could falter when his injuries accumulate.

  "I need to pull over for a moment," GeneralHammond told him. As the heavy land vehicle that MajorCarter called an 'SUV' slowed, Teal'c noticed another vehicle parked to the side. A young man was studying a map stretched across the hood. Although his pose was relaxed, Teal'c could tell he was a warrior.

  GeneralHammond parked in the same rest area. The black-haired warrior glanced up briefly, then looked back down. Stepping out of the SUV and checking that his baseball cap was in place, Teal'c surveyed his surroundings. Another young man was walking the path from the primitive relief stations, a small child skipping alongs
ide. The boy was chuckling as he bounced around the lanky man, full of life. He reminded Teal'c of his son when he was small. Observing them gave Teal'c a lift in his heart.

  Then the black-haired warrior looked up again. His eyes narrowed as his nose wrinkled. He was staring straight at Teal'c. While Teal'c's face remained passive, his warrior instinct was alerted.

  "Cory?" The lanky man touched the shoulder of the warrior. Then he followed his gaze. A second pair of brown eyes latched onto him. Teal'c tilted his head. The suspicious eyes were familiar. He also could see the lanky body prepare for action. Here, too, was a warrior.

  Then the little boy tugged on the lanky man's jeans. "Daddy, I'm hungee."

  The young father glanced down, the face soften by a smile. "Okay, buddy. Just a minute." The man again turned his attention to the first warrior. "Cory?"

  Reluctantly, 'Cory' pulled his eyes away. "It's okay. Feed Squirrel."

  The lanky man stared at Teal'c a moment more, then turned to open the vehicle.

  They were O'Neill's eyes. Why would this young man have O'Neill's eyes?

  The warrior 'Cory' returned his attention to the map. Teal'c suspected that was only part of his name. Teal'c had been taught that it was rude not to use a person's full name and title, unless you knew someone very well. Yet the Tau'ri always seemed to shorten each other's name, sometimes in ways illogical to the Jaffa.

  "Sam, do you remember the address?" The warrior 'Cory' asked.

  The warrior 'Sam', pausing a moment to set his son on the hood, replied, "County road 16. The Fox Ridge area. I'd have to look up the number."

  GeneralHammond was passing by at that moment. "That's where we're headed, son. Who are you looking for?"

  Warrior 'Sam' still looked suspicious. Warrior 'Cory' studied GeneralHammond a moment, then replied, "We're looking for my friend's father, sir. He's staying with a Colonel O'Neill."

  "Jack O'Neill?" GeneralHammond asked. The pieces fell into place for Teal'c.

  Having given his son an open package of food, 'Sam' straightened up. "That's right."