Silenced Screams

Chapter Thirteen


And just like that they lost him. One minute he entered a dead-end alley and the next... he disappeared.

“What do you mean you lost him?” Jack screams with barely contained rage. “How the hell do five highly trained soldier lose one man? He continued to scream. Ranting and raging to any and all at being so close to catching this sicko slime ball, then letting him slip away. “I thought you said your men had him in sight.”

He was cut off as Janet barged in to inform him that Sam was being taken to the mountain. The only thing able to pull him up short and interrupt the reaming he had planned.

“What? What happen Janet, I thought you said she was gonna be fine. What happened?” You could see all the different scenario running through his head as he tried to prepare himself for more bad news tonight.

“She reacting like she's been overdosed or maybe a bad reaction to some drug. I can only guess, but I'd say he's got her pumped full of the same stuff we found before. I need to try to flush her system...and fast.” Janet explained as she turned him from all the others gathered to report to him before joining Sam in the back seat of Hailey’s car and heading out to the mountain. “The best I’ve been able to get out of her, he never touched her, but he was in the house when she came in. It's more than shock though...I just don't know yet.” She looked up and met Jack’s eyes for the first time. Both sets of eyes troubled. It only lasted a moment before it was broken by Daniel rushing up with his own theory of the evening. Jack just did not want to be bothered.

“Jack, Jack.” Daniel called already out of breath even before he started talking.

“What is it Daniel? Please tell me someone's actually caught this guy”

“Well, no. No actually it looks like he got way, but…”

“BBBBBUUUTTTTTTT!” He drew out with all the sarcasm he could muster.

“Jack, please. We found this man in the alley. He may have seen something that can help us. It couldn’t hurt to question him.” Daniel said trying to reason with Jack. Not an easy thing to do when he was in this kind of a mood.

“Fine Daniel, knock yourself out. Question away.” Jack threw over his shoulder as he move to check in with the other teams.

They'd combed every square inch of Sam's neighborhood. A team had already come and gone after sweeping Sam's house. Again this man had been a 'ghost'. With the exception of Sam's bedroom and the duct tape on one of the Dining Room chairs not a thing was out of place. No signs left behind to attest to the struggle that had gone on earlier.

After searching, searching and re-searching everyone was forced to acknowledge there were no clues left. They were no closer than they had been before. A thorough sweep of Sam's house had revealed all the 'bugs' he had planted. He had been one step ahead of them this whole time. Only his own arrogance had netted them even this small victory.

Janet had spent hours trying to stabilize Sam's vitals. She had coded once, shortly after they had reached the mountain, in the elevator. Sam's system fought hard to reject the foreign substance she'd been injected. Even through it was the same drugs they had found before, the levels were so high it was seizing her heart. It couldn't all be flushed from her system. The injections straight into her jugular had ensured the drugs went directly into her blood stream.

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Jack got off the elevator in a foul mood. All of their carefully worked out plans had been turned against them. Not only did they not protect Carter, they had actually delivered her into the hands of her tormentor and set back doing nothing while it happened. He could tell by the looks of her room that she had put up quite a struggle...trying to free herself...trying to signal for help. Three hours. For three hours they had all stood around doing nothing...three hours of torment and abuse Sam had suffered at his hands...again.

If...if they had capture the man it might have been worth it in the end. But no...they were no closer than they'd been before. Now, however the point had been brought home to them...they could not protect her. This man could get to her anytime, and anywhere. And he could disappear into thin air, if their search was anything to go by. He could take her from right under their noses and they'd be none the wiser. And that thought scared the hell out of him. How could he keep her safe under those conditions? How could he protect her? If her home wasn't safe with seven trained soldiers watching over it, then what would be safe? He felt the cold chill run down his spine at that realization.

He entered her room quietly. The nurse had told him she was resting peacefully now. It had been touch and go for a while as her body fought against all the drugs, but they had been able to flush most of them out of her system. They had finally been able to give her a sedative to help her through the last of the drugs effect. Without conscious thought he found himself brushing the hairs from her face.

He could see the bruises starting to show. He knew she tried to down play her looks most of the time...acted and wanted to be treated like 'one of the guys'. It was a cross most women in the military had to carry...'act like a man, but look like a lady'. And she would see each bruise and scar as another imperfection to be covered, to be hidden away. But they weren't. He saw them for what they were...Badges...they represented her struggle...her refusal to be victimized...her strength and will. With so many soldiers there to keep her 'safe', it was her own strength and will that had saved her. She should wear each bruise with pride. His chest puffed up...he was so proud of her.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting with her, watching over her while she slept. He remembered several nurses coming and going as the hours passed. It had been the early hours of the morning when he finally arrived. He'd promised Janet it would only be for a minute, but he wanted to be there when she finally opened her eyes. Wanted his face to be the first one she saw when she opened her eyes. Wanted to see for himself the toll last night had taken. She had just started to deal with what that monster had done to her.

He had held her and listened as she told of the nightmare she had been through. Her fears...her insecurities...her doubts. They had all come out during that night they spent together. She had finally acknowledged it all and started the long road to recovery. He just wasn't sure what this new attack would do to her. This could not be what broke her. She was stronger than this...she had proved she was. He spent most of the night holding her hand and talking to her...telling her how proud he was of her...how strong she was.

Jack wasn't sure when he fell asleep, but he woke to the feel of Sam running her fingers through his hair. Now, that was something he could really get use to every morning. In the quiet early morning hours, without the constant hustle and bustle of activity and hard glaring lights, it felt as though they were along in the world, and they took a moment to just enjoy each other's company. Still laying facing him, her other hand came up to trace the contour of his face while the other continued to play through his hair. A face she had studied and memorized for the last seven years. A face she had longed to have the opportunity to openly show such familiarity. As her hand moved to trace the lips she'd fantasized about for so long, his hand moved to her, intertwining their fingers and bringing them again to his lips and holding them there.

That was how Janet found them when she entered sometime later.

“Well I see you're finally awake. How do you feel?” Choosing to 'not' acknowledge any behavior on their part that might not be condoned as acceptable by the military.

“Fine. Maybe a bit sore, but other than that...” Sam replied as she finally turned to face the doctor while Jack continued to hold her hand.

“You had a lot of drugs in your system, what do you remember of last night?” Janet asked as she continued to record reading from the various machines she had attached to her.

Jack could feel the slight tensing of her muscles as she gathered her nerves to relive last night's horrors. Drawing strength from his contact Sam recounted as much of the night as she could. She went into as much detail as she could remember, surprising even herself at how clearly she remembered most of what she had been through. Both Jack and Janet remain quiet as filled them in, confirming the conclusions Jack had already made.

“When he started laying out his plans, telling me everything he had in store for me, that it would never end...I think that's when I got mad. I didn't want to be his victim anymore. I didn't want to live the rest of my life afraid of every shadow just because of him. I faked how drugged I was. I acted completely out of it and he fell for it. I knew he'd have to untie me and then I'd have a chance. It didn't come until he was crawling over me, but he was so sure of himself...so focus on belittling me...I got the upper hand. We fought...but the drugs were getting too strong...I was falling deeper and deeper under them. Then I made it to the lamp...I didn't have anymore fight left...I put everything I had into making it to the lamp...and I did...I pressed the button...” She stopped...staring off into space, clearly seeing the night played out before her. “The bulb blew.”

No one said anything for several minutes, Jack and Janet both staring dumb founded at the realization of how close they had come to total failure. How close it had really been for Sam. Not sure how or what could be said in the face of something like that...and they were both startle hearing the small sounds of laugher coming from Sam.

“What?” She asked with total innocence. “Oh Come on, you've got to see the humor it all this. 'For want of a nail the kingdom was lost. For want of a light bulb the battle was lost.' It all came down to a fifty-cent light bulb.”

“I think you're spending way too much time around a certain Colonel we all know.” Janet decided. “You seem to be doing alright this time Sam. You seem like you're handling everything much better this time.”

“I am. He's not gonna control me anymore. I'm tired of being his victim. And I'm pissed off that he would even try. He's not gonna take my life away from me. I want let him.” Sam said with all the conviction she felt.

“Remain me to never piss you off then. I saw what you did to that room. Don't think he was counting on the 'Wrath of Carter' when he started this.” Jack joked.

“Do you have any leads, or are we back to square one?” Sam finally ask.

“How do you know we didn't catch him?” Jack ask.

“Because it would have been the first thing you told me.” Sam explained as she swung her legs around to get out of the bed.

“Just a minute young lady, where do you think you're going?” Janet ask as she moved closer to halt Sam's progress.

“We'll never catch him with me laying around here.”

“Yes, well you're not going anywhere for at least the next twenty-four hours I don't care how pissed he's made you.” Janet finished as she pulled the covers back up around her.

“But I'm fine Janet, just a little sore in places, I get worst than this in the gym.”

“That may well be...but you coded on us last night. Your heart stopping isn't something you just get up and walk away from. Plus you've had some very strong drugs pumped into you. You're gonna have to give them some time to work their way completely out of your system. And let's not forget the matter of the mandatory visit with McKenzie after a trauma like yours. Don't even try. Twenty-four hours.” Finished laying down the law she turned to leave. “Oh, and I'll have one of the nurses bring you some breakfast. And I'm sure the Colonel has plenty of work to keep him busy, but if he's got the time to spend in the infirmary maybe I can get one of the nurses to get started on his annual physical.”

That got Jack out of there in record time.

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“I see Daniel's still at it.” Jack said as he pulled up a seat next to Teal'c to watch below as Daniel continued to try to get answers.

“Progress as been slow. He seems most unwilling to speak. DanielJackson has attempted to provide nutriment but he seem to want only to store it away for later. He seems most confused.” Teal'c confirmed without taking his eyes away from the scene below. “How is Major Carter this morning O'Neill?”

“She woke up a few hours ago. She's handling everything pretty well. Doc practically had to chain her to the bed. She's ready to be up and back in the thick of things.” Jack had to smile as he remembered how eager she was to get out of the infirmary.

They both returned their attention to Daniel and the scene below. They sat in silence for the next hour as Daniel continued trying to get any information he could from their guest. A few times Jack had actually felt hope rise that some clue this man had hidden away in his head might help. He kept coming back to the same fragment of thought or memory, rambling mostly to himself, as Daniel triggered powerful flashes of some event.

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“Can I get you anything else? ...

Would ya like some coffee or maybe some water? ...

Can you tell me what your name is?

My name is Daniel...Daniel Jackson...

Can you tell me about the place we found you? ...

The alley where you were...do you remember the alley? ...

All of us being in the alley? ...” Daniel continued to throw question after question trying to get any kinda response from him.

“Gotta run, gotta run...

They're after you...pain...oh pain, must run, get away...

Walls, walls are everywhere...

Footsteps, footsteps, louder, louder...

Can't be found...pain...torture...

Must hide...

Walls...everywhere walls...

Walls everywhere...

But they won't see...secret...

Must hide...

Keep quite...searching...they can't see...can't be found...

Never see...hide...looking...searching...”

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They could hear the slight excitement growing in Daniel's voice as it finally seem the right memory had been triggered. Daniel pounced, firing off question after question trying to get their witness to focus on the walls, places to hide within all the walls.

There had to be some secret hiding place down that alley, it just didn't made sense that their suspect had randomly chosen that alley. He had to know it was a dead-end. He planned every other aspect of everything he'd done so far. It was inconceivable that he didn't know every inch of Carter's neighborhood. He had to know that alley came to a dead-end, walled in on all three sides by two story brick buildings. The only alley in the entire area that came to a dead-end. No way had he not known that. Which meant he knew something about that alley they had been unable to discover thus far. It looked like maybe, just maybe their luck was about to change. Jack had unconsciously moved to the edge of his seat as he waited eagerly for this man to reveal the alley's secrets.

“Ah, Colonel O'Neill, the nurse said I might find you here.” Dr. McKenzie said as he stepped into the booth and pulled the door close behind him. “I thought you might be interest in the results of my session with Major Carter. I will, of course, be following up with the full written report later today, but...” Dr. McKenzie had continued on with his reason for tracking Jack down without really noticing that both men's attention was completely riveted to whatever was going on below. Turning to see what had them so focused, he was stunned speechless when he recognized the man in the room with Dr. Jackson.

To Be Continued...


~~Please take a moment to tell me what you think. Reviews are very much appreciated.
~~Zhaan