Daniel is in the commissary, and I can see around 10 or 11 empty coffee cups on the table. Well, I guess he had a rough day. Teal'c is sitting across from him and his tray is, as always, full of food. I approach them with my pie and sit next to Teal'c, Carter should be here in a moment.
"Danny-boy, what's up?"
He looks up at me and says with a desperate voice, "Jack, you have got to talk to Sam ... order her if you have to. Please ... "
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Carter had found a way to make Daniel and Teal'c pay for their 'little action' last week. After they released us from the guest room, they had promised to do anything she wished to calm her down a bit. I had to admit that they were true friends in every sense, carrying on with their plan even when they knew that there was no way out from Carter's wrath but total degradation of their dignity.
"I am still in doubt of Major Carter's request, Daniel Jackson. It is most ... unusual." Even the big Jaffa flinches a bit.
"So ... what did Carter want anyway?" I start to feel sorry for them, well guys, after what you did for me, I'll do anything for you.
"She ... she wants us to make a home-made movie based on a film ... and then she's going to show it at the SGC's Christmas party."
"Yeah? What's so bad about that?"
"The title of the movie is 'The Full Monty', O'Neill."
You know, just now I said that I would do anything for them, well I have to take it back. There's no way Carter will back up from this, her brain is as sneaky as it is brilliant. My kind of woman.
"I watched the movie last night O'Neill and I am uncertain as what to make of this ... Tauri's custom. I thought I had familiarized myself to most of human strange behaviors. Major Carter had proved me wrong." His voiced is troubled, and not even an army of Jaffa could do that to him.
"Jack, you can get us out of this mess, can't you?" Daniel's eyes are full of expectation.
"We are in this position because we did you a favor, ONeill."
They have so much faith in me that I can't say no. "I'll talk to her OK. But I can't promise anything, you know what she's like." There's no way that Carter's gonna let this go easily, but I have to try anyway. As I said earlier, they're my friends.
"Thanks Jack."
"You have my deepest gratitude O'Neill."
Their faces relax a bit. Why do I feel like I'm going down here?
Daniel stands up and then makes his leave, "Now that this thing is sorted out, I need to do some translations. Teal'c, I need your help with this one."
Teal'c bows his head slightly and starts to leave as well.
"Well, I'm happy that you're going to fix this thing, Jack."
"As am I."
Wait a minute. "Hey guys, I said I couldn't promise anything. There's no guarantee that she'll let this go."
"I have full confidence in your ability, O'Neill."
"Me too."
And they left me in the commissary, dumbstruck ... they tricked me, AGAIN. Did someone publish a book on how to do that? Those two guys are getting good at it.
"Colonel, are you going to stare at your pie all day?"
What? I startle a bit, I guess Carter's greeting woke me up from my bewildered state.
"Huh ... oh hi Carter."
She has already sat across from me and takes a look at the state of the table. Daniel's empty cup collection and Teal'c tray are still there.
"I guess you heard, huh?" She says casually. She looks as beautiful as ever.
"Yeah, about that Carter. Could you cut them some slack?"
Think brain, think! What can I do to change her mind?
"Why would I do that?" She shrugs her shoulders, uh oh ... this is going to be tricky.
"Uhm, because what they did was kinda ... sweet?" I try to remind her of their intention.
Her eyes narrowed, "Sir ... let them tie, gag and then lock you in a dark room for half an hour. I'm sure you'll be more than happy to rephrase your last statement."
Boy, she sure knows how to hold a grudge.
"Alright, I get your point. But still, they did it for..." I lower my voice a bit, " us."
"I know. But they did more to me than to you. Therefore the 'us' part is not a valid issue." She's still unmoved by my appeal.
"Look, what they did to you was completely out of line. There's no excuse. But they're still our friends, and I'm sure you don't really want to humiliate them, do you?" She loves them, I know she does.
"You know me well, I just want to have a bit of fun." She looks thoughtful, "Tell you what, I still want the movie but I'm not going to show it in public. It's for my private collection. How's that?" Great, there's a little hope for pushing it a bit more.
"Carter, can you ... uhm, I don't know ... lighten up their punishment a bit?" I give her my best pleading face.
"I suppose I could do that ... but it will come with a price, Sir." She smiles, it's a mischievous one.
"Let's hear it." I knew that she wouldn't be very willing to let this go.
"Instead of the home-movie, I want a picture of them doing the full monty. I'll even let them have a hat each, to cover whatever they want to cover. I won't show it to anyone else ... well, apart from Janet. She's already seen everything anyway." She pauses for a while and looks at me, "However, as I said earlier, there's a price to pay for this ... leniency."
She points her finger at me, "And YOU are the one who's going to pay it."
"Me? Why me?"
"Because you're asking me for the favor."
Wow, she's one sly lady, somehow she managed to drag me into this whole affair. Well, Daniel and Teal'c are the ones who dragged me into this chaos first, but she's burying me now, so deep that I don't have a way out. I know Daniel and Teal'c would take her 'leniency' anytime, so it's up to me to make the decision. And being the good friend that I am (and she knows that), I have no choice but to agree with her condition.
"Fair enough. Now, how do I pay for it?"
I mentally brace myself, preparing for whatever she wants me to do.
"I want your picture..." Her eyes are filled with mischief and then she leans towards me and with a wicked smile across her lips, "in nothing but the sarong that Xian gave you."
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Major Wagner walked to the postbox, and making sure that no one saw him, he then dropped the letter. It contained detailed instructions and cash. He knew that the receiver of the letter was a professional and wouldn't make any mistakes. He smiled very slightly. In a few days, his plan shall begin.
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I am walking to my car when suddenly I feel that something, or someone, is watching me. I take off my sunglasses, scanning my neighborhood and slowly reach for my Baretta. I can smell and taste trouble, something is up. Concentrating more, I try to locate where my watcher is. And there it is-- a reflection glints from a thick bush around 1 km from my position.
Zing
I can feel a sharp pain to my left shoulder, damn, whoever that was, knew that his/her position was compromised and decided to shoot me. I run to my car for cover, firing some shots at the bush in the process. Behind the safety of my car, I put down my Baretta because I can't use my left hand, pull out my cell phone and push the speed dial button for the SGC. Blood is pouring out from my wound.
"This is O'Neill. I need backup, code blue. My house."
- to be continued -
Story Notes: Thread of Destiny - 06 - Please do not post or distribute this story without the author's permission. Copyright by Blue Topaz, 2002
DISCLAIMER: All publicly recognisable characters, settings, etc, are the property of their respective owners. Any original characters and plots are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended. ... [ read more ]