*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Part 15
 

"I'm beginning to wonder if they just wanted to see our reaction to bo= redom or starvation.  Or there's always the lack of sleep thing too,&q= uot; Dr. Jackson muttered in his corner of the nice little dungeon they'd t= aken residence for hours--maybe days, Angel had lost count some time ago--l= ooking exhausted, annoyed even.  "I wish I didn't remember all th= ose ancient torture methods.  It's...disturbing."

"I don't think that's what they're trying to do," Angel replied i= n his equally annoyed voice, although he himself felt like a victim of star= vation--which in and of itself was a very dangerous thing.  "Afte= r all, if their sole purpose was to kill us by starving us slowly or boring= us, I'm sure there're much more practical and economical ways to do it.&qu= ot;

//*I* should be the one to know.// Angel was familiar with the concept of k= idnapping.  For last two centuries--give or take some decades--his lif= e had simply consisted of murdering innocent people, kidnapping being his f= avorite hobby and torture being his pastime activity.  He'd been a mas= ter at kidnapping--extraordinarily skilled--with enough knowledge to write = one or two kidnapper's manuals.  All of which should've been helpful i= n some very twisted way since this time he was the one to be *taken*.

// Of course, I admit that I'm pretty much outdated in this business. I did= n't get to use stun guns in the good old days. //

For what had seemed like years, he and Dr. Jackson had discussed every poss= ible escape scenario in this dark dungeon with no avail.  They'd cover= ed everything, even one scenario where Angel was supposed to play dead with= his natural--unnatural?--pulselessness as a deception.  // Ha-ha-ha./= /  Dr. Jackson had even asked him to 'escape alone if the circumstance= provides an opportunity', which Angel had refused firmly.  Even thoug= h the good doctor still hadn't told him about the Project he'd been working= on, Angel had found it extremely hard *not* to trust the man.  The do= ctor had given him his trust first, Angel reminded himself.  And there= was also the matter of the Vision.  Doyle's vision was never wrong.&n= bsp; Dr. Jackson needed help.

// Help?  Some help I am now. //

Angel shifted a bit in this position, so he could react fast if the door we= re to open abruptly.  They hadn't been able to find any plausible esca= pe scenario, and 'improvising' was the best they had come up with.  An= gel was sitting opposite Dr. Jackson, right beside the door, and Dr. Jackso= n was facing the door.  They calculated that in this way, Angel could = attempt to attack the men coming through the door, and Dr. Jackson would ju= mp in after Angel made his first move.  It was likely to fail, but no = harm in trying, right?   // We're kidnapped, which gives us absol= ute right to be sliding into insanity. I'm billing them for therapy.//

Dr. Jackson tiredly leaned back and closed his eyes. "Maybe this is so= me kind of practical joke.  I'm already thinking meeting you could be = the most interesting practical joke I've ever experienced. ...Actually, no,= " there was a wry smile on his face, "My entire life is the best = practical joke ever."   His hoarse voice was almost inaudibl= e, and it laced with hints of bitter regret.

Angel suddenly noticed that the doctor looked too pale. "Dr. Jackson?&= quot;

Dr. Jackson must have read the alarm in his tone, because the doctor opened= his eyes and gave him a forced smile.  "I'm alright," he sp= oke lightly, even though his voice was strained from exhaustion, "Just= a bit tired about this whole waiting...thing.  Whoever the head of th= is parade is, he's real keen on dramatic entrance."

And at that moment, Angel heard a loud thud from outside. He raised his eye= brow and looked back at Dr. Jackson. "Speaking of dramatic entrance...= "

"Uh-huh." Dr. Jackson shot him an 'Are you ready?' look, and stoo= d up.  Angel only nodded and slowly stood up.

With their hands tied, they had only one chance at this.  They both kn= ew there would be no running away or kicking the hell out of anyone or anyt= hing after this.  Angel remembered the stun gun and its impact all too= well.  One more hit, and he'd be far gone to the nice little place in= his unconsciousness.

Unfortunately, the first thing that came in was a stun gun that mercilessly= jabbed him.

// Ow. //

He fell, making not-so-gentle frontal contact with the cold, rough floor.&n= bsp; //Shit.//  Then, a foot pressed his back to stop him from making = any movement, even though the shock he'd just received had totally immobili= zed him.  There was a cold metal object pressing his head.  // A = gun. //  Oh, they were thorough, all right.  Grumbling inwardly a= gainst the hard floor, he promised to himself.  //Somebody's going to = get some serious ass kicking for this later.//

"Hey!" Angel heard Dr. Jackson shout, "There's no need for t= hat!"

Since he was still conscious enough, Angel realized the shock hadn't been a= s strong as the one they'd been treated with in his apartment, but still hi= s body felt too heavy, out of control.  With every ounce of strength t= hat was left in him, Angel twisted his head a little, so he could at least = have a clear view of the room.   There were five new occupants in= the room, and three of them were with weapons.  Two of the soldiers w= ith stun guns were pinning him down, and the third one was getting into pos= ition to point a gun--was it an M-16? Angel took a guess, since he was horr= ible with guns in general--at Dr. Jackson.  // Gee, aren't we trigger-= happy?//

"Angel, are you alright?"  Dr. Jackson asked again. The doct= or looked a bit blurry to Angel.

"Don't worry, Dr. Jackson," he managed to answer, "I'm fine.= "  He was anything but fine at the moment. The initial findings o= n this situation were leaning toward pretty bad.  Usually overpowering= four or five healthy men wasn't even a problem for him, but they were trai= ned *and* had weapons--electrical stun guns which apparently worked on him = too.  And at this point, when he was pinned down in a less-than-dignif= ied fashion with no control over his body, their last chance of using the e= lement of surprise was out of the already limited options.

// Yes, this is trouble.//

He'd been in trouble before and this was *exactly* how it felt.

Dr. Jackson glared at their captors, and spoke in a remarkably calm and con= trolled voice, "You outnumber us by far, and we're not so stupid to go= up against these odds.  Put down your weapons and let him go.  T= here's no need for this."

"Oh, there's every need for this," one of the men in black unifor= m spoke rather *too* lightly, "I don't like surprises."

A terribly undistinguished brown-haired man with a spotless lab coat and a = small box jumped out from behind the man and came to Angel's side.  Th= en something stung. Angel absently thought the man just poked something int= o his arm with one fast movement, like a doctor from an ER episode--which w= as one of Willow's favorite TV shows beside some animal...shows in the Disc= overy Channel.

// Willow...//

His thoughts were spinning out of control.  Of all the times to think = about his friends, this was *not* the time to think about this red-haired f= riend, or how she smiled as she teased that he knew nothing about medical s= tuff (One would wonder just why a 250 old vampire was supposed to know abou= t vermiform appendix?).  Or Doyle's good-natured smile, or Cordelia's = annoyed look she gave him and Doyle whenever something wasn't done for her = liking.  God, he missed them.

"What are you doing to him?"

The alarm in Dr. Jackson's voice brought Angel back to the present, and he = attempted to tear his attention back to the current problem, willing his mi= nd not to drift back to the thoughts of the people he cared so much about.&= nbsp; But it was surprisingly difficult to concentrate.  The ER man wa= s standing with a needle in his hand.  It was then when Angel realized= that he was injected with something, whatever it was. // Oh, hell.//

"What did you do to him?" Dr. Jackson's panicked voice rang in th= e quiet room.  His worried eyes were on Angel and the only reason he w= asn't at Angel's side was because a soldier was also restraining him.

The ER man nodded to the soldiers, and Angel was pulled up.  "Jus= t some mild form of tranquilizer.  You don't need to worry.  He's= not getting knocked out.  At least not right away."

Fighting the overwhelming lightheadedness, Angel gave a weary grin to the m= en who were holding him down to kneel still.  "Tranquilizer, huh?=   Don't worry. I don't bite."

"On the contrary," the man in the black military uniform who'd sp= oken earlier spoke again, now standing right in front of Angel, "That'= s exactly what we're worried about."

The last statement froze Angel to the bone, and for a second, he lost contr= ol of his stoic expression. // They know? They know what I am?! //

The man was eyeing Angel like an animal caged in the zoo in satisfaction of= having things exactly where he wanted.  // Ah, your average power-obs= essive, blood-thirsty Joe. //  Mr. Joe then turned his eyes to Dr. Jac= kson, who was silently watching him and Angel, probably unsure of how to ta= ke the last comment just like Angel was.

"Dr. Jackson," Mr. Joe asked dramatically, "Do you believe i= n vampires?"

// Oh, *really* hell. //  His head was spinning again.  They knew= .  What was the implication of this?  What did they want?

Dr. Jackson winced visibly at the question, clearly not knowing how to answ= er.

Mr. Joe seemed surprised, taking Dr. Jackson's silence as affirmation. = ; "So, you *do* know about vampires then.  You seem to take it ra= ther well.  Although," there was an amused look on his face, &quo= t;I guess it shouldn't be a surprise to a man who traveled to another plane= t and took an alien as a wife."

At first Angel wasn't sure what he'd just heard. //Am I hearing things? Wha= t kind of tranquilizer is this?//  But one look at the military guy to= ld him he'd heard exactly what he thought the man had said.  // I see = hope in this situation.  Maybe these people are all serious nutcases, = and they don't know a thing about me or vampires.  They'll torture us = a bit and let us go. //

But Angel's rather pleasant (or not so pleasant) thought came to an end as = he watched Dr. Jackson become very pale. This was *not* the reaction Angel = had been expecting.  He'd thought the good doctor would laugh or grima= ce or be incredulous, but Dr. Jackson was doing neither.  He was stand= ing there, frozen.

"What do you want?" Dr. Jackson finally managed to speak up, his = voice hoarse.

Mr. Joe smiled.  "I've always wanted to meet the man who solved t= he mystery.  The man who opened the 'Gate in two weeks when the other = geniuses have worked years without a result."  He paused, and wal= ked closer to Dr. Jackson, his smile now replaced by a blazing glare. = "The man who opened the Pandora's Box, and left Earth all vulnerable = to the Goa'ulds.  I *had* to see you."

"If you're asking for my autograph, forget it."  Dr. Jackson= 's eyes were suddenly very dark, no longer the mild sky blue, and Angel was= sure it wasn't because of the illumination.

There was a ghost of a smile on the man's face. "I see you've learned = the infamous O'Neill humor. I met him once in Black Ops.  Nice guy.&nb= sp; Could've used some social skills, though. Wouldn't you say?"

If Dr. Jackson's had seemed pale thirty seconds before, now his face was pr= actically drained of color.  Angel was worried the good doctor might p= ass out like that.  //What is going on?//  There were things they= referred to that Angel couldn't understand. // *Aliens*? And what about gh= ouls?// As far as he knew, ghouls were not much of trouble, just some power= less demons weaker than vampires.  The important thing was that these = men clearly knew about vampires.  And they seemed to be talking about = the classified project Dr. Jackson had been working on.  Which could o= nly mean the government also knew about the existence of vampires. 
And the tranquilizer was working.

This wasn't just trouble.  This was apocalypse.

"Well, unfortunately," Mr. Joe continued casually, "It's not= your autograph I want.  I want information."

"What makes you think I'd give it to you?" Dr. Jackson's voice wa= s tightly controlled.

"Oh, I'm not asking for information on the Stargate.  We know eve= rything about it.  And I mean *everything*."  The man grinne= d and glanced at Angel's way once, and turned his eyes back to the doctor.&= nbsp; "What do you know about this...creature?"

// Well, that's a charming nickname.//  Angel felt compelled to speak = up, but his body wasn't really listening to his command.

"His name is Angel," Dr. Jackson's voice contained annoyance and = anger, "What do you want from him?"

"I've read the reports, so you must've seen this HST in action," = the man paused and went on explaining the term, "We call the creatures= like this Hostile Sub-Terrestrials.  As you have seen, its strength i= s remarkably above average human."

// Hostile Sub-Terrestrial?! They even have *names* for us? //  A few = times in the past, Angel had entertained the possibility of government agen= cies getting involved in demon hunting, but he'd concluded it wouldn't happ= en.  After seeing things like the town with the most demon activities = in total denial of their exceptionally high mortality rate, and the whole p= olice department categorizing the people with strangely distorted faces int= o 'druggies', he'd thought people only believed what they wanted to believe= .

Well, apparently, he had been wrong.  Dead wrong.

There was a realization on Dr. Jackson's face as he bitterly spoke, "Y= ou're experimenting on vampires."

"Yes," the man looked smug, "Vampires don't age, or die.&nbs= p; And they have incredible healing ability.  This is a better solutio= n than having a sarcophagus."

// Oh, damn to hell. //  Although he still couldn't understand their c= onversation(Sarcophagus? Coffins?), Angel couldn't say he liked what seemed= to be planned out for him.

"You can't do that," Dr. Jackson spoke matter-of-factly.

"And why is that?" The man looked doubtful.

"This man,"--Dr. Jackson empathized the word 'man', which Angel f= elt grateful, "--saved my life. You treat him like some animal because= he's different, but he isn't.  He might have different...physiology f= or some reason, but he's a decent *person*, not some lab rat you use for ex= periments."

Mr. Joe stared at the doctor for a second.  "Let me help you unde= rstand.  I see you might be thinking of this as the same with Teal'c's= case.  I understand the reason that SG-1 didn't want him to be sent t= o Area 51 when he was infected with the alien virus.  The knowledge ga= ined by the experiment on him might have been useful, but he's more useful = to us alive, with all his knowledge of Goa'ulds."  He turned to A= ngel. "But in this case, this creature has nothing of that value. = ; Rather, it's like a pest."

At this point, Angel didn't have the foggiest idea what they were talking a= bout--and his eyelids were getting heavier every second, the tranquilizer i= n effect--but he could still see Dr. Jackson was *extremely* upset by what = he'd said.  "We don't *keep* Teal'c because he has a value. = We only didn't want him to be dissected because he is our *friend*. &= nbsp; You don't seem to understand the concept."

"It is you who doesn't seem to understand," the man shook his hea= d slightly with apparent amusement, "Can you imagine what could be don= e if we reveal the secret of the HST's physiology? With this, we can defeat= the Goa'ulds.  No more sacrifices by SG teams fighting Goa'ulds. = ; These vampires are just like Goa'ulds too.  They only kill and murde= r innocent people.  So really, by doing this, we get rid of two huge l= iabilities in our nation, no, planet's defense at the same time."

Dr. Jackson's expression was now dark, and his tone took a note of sarcasm,= "See, you kidnapped us, shot at an innocent person, locked us here fo= r days, and now you're talking about some aliens and vampires killing and m= urdering innocent people.  Forgive me if I find the fact that you worr= y about our planet's defense pretty ridiculous."

The man shook his head slightly in mock disappointment. "So, I'll take= that as 'no' to cooperation."

Dr. Jackson simply answered, "No."

Angel was feeling numb, but a sudden panic rushed through his body at seein= g Mr. Joe's expression. By refusing to help these people with whatever they= wanted, Dr. Jackson was only asking for more trouble. Serious trouble. &qu= ot;Hey, here--" it took enormous amount of strength just to speak a fe= w words, "--he doesn't...he doesn't know anything."

It was true.  Dr. Jackson really didn't know anything about vampires.&= nbsp; He seemed to think Angel was just a nice guy, when, in fact, vampires= --including Angel himself--were all literally blood-thirsty beasts that did= n't deserve his defense.

"Look...really, he doesn't know," Angel's voice was nothing more = than a hoarse whisper, but he continued nonetheless, "...I..met a few = days ago.  You got, you got a wrong person here."

There was a strange silence in the room.  It almost seemed like no one= had expected him to actually *speak*.  //What? Did they think I'd bar= k or something?//

Dr. Jackson met the Mr. Joe's gaze, then turned to Angel.   He sp= oke very quietly, "It won't work, Angel.  They sent men after me = even before I met you.  They don't really care."  There was = a sardonic grin on his face as he turned to face Mr. Joe.  "What = did I do this time, exactly?"

"I once heard that you have a knack for butting your head where it doe= sn't belong."  Mr. Joe blazed him down coldly.  "Now I = know why."  He turned away and signaled the soldiers who stood im= passively.  "Get the HST to the lab."

// Oh, damn.//  Two soldiers grabbed his each arm and dragged him forw= ard, and Angel had no strength left to resist.

Dr. Jackson stood motionless, only anger in his eyes betraying his cool dem= eanor. "You think the victory would be sweeter if you sacrifice innoce= nt people on the way." His voice was quiet, but not quiet enough to be= unheard by the others. "One has to wonder what's more frightening, al= iens and 'creatures' that act like humans or humans that don't act like hum= ans."

Mr. Joe stopped in his tracks and turned to Dr. Jackson. There was a strang= e glint in the man's eyes that Angel really, really didn=A1=AFt' like. = ; "I=A1=AFm curious, Dr. Jackson," he walked toward Dr. Jackson i= n predatory manner, "Tell me.  How human was your Goa'uld wife wh= en she tried to kill you?"

Without warning, Dr. Jackson lunged towards the man, his two arms drawn for= ward.  Obviously nobody--not even Mr. Joe himself--saw it coming, beca= use he easily reached the man's throat and started to strangle him.

"You son-of-a-bitch!" Dr. Jackson was screaming, "Don't *eve= n* speak of her! You're *nothing*!  You're *nothing* when compared to = her!  She wasn't a Goa'uld, you sick bastard!  She was more human= than any of us!!"

For a few seconds, everyone else was just standing frozen, stunned.  A= ngel, even in his half groggy state, was completely bewildered by this, but= not just because of Dr. Jackson's sudden action, but more because of the s= tartling transformation. Gone was the quiet, exhausted young scholar he kne= w, and in that place was a man with frighteningly intense cold eyes that gl= owed in pure hatred.

Pure hatred.

His scream was almost like a desolate cry, grievous sob.

Angel was suddenly frightened.

Mr. Joe tried to pull the hands from his throat, making a choking sound.&nb= sp; Just then the soldiers seemed to wake up from the hypnotic state, and r= ushed to drag Dr. Jackson off from their leader.  With much effort, th= ey pulled him off, and the Mr. Joe collapsed, gasping for breath.

Angel was now slipping into unconsciousness, yet morbid fascination made hi= m open his eyes and watch.

Mr. Joe stood up, his face red with rage and humiliation.  He touched = his jaw, felt it, then ordered one soldier, "You, get the HST out.&quo= t;  Then he walked toward Dr. Jackson who was now restrained completel= y by the remaining men.

Angel felt his body being towed like a potato sack.

"Should we sedate him?"  That sounded like the ER man.

"No," Mr. Joe said, "I think we ought to teach Dr. Jackson s= ome manners."

To Angel's surprise, he heard Dr. Jackson's quiet chuckle.  After a fe= w seconds' pause, he spoke again in an eerily calm voice, "You're a fo= ol."

The last thing Angel heard was a sound of human flesh meeting a blunt objec= t, and the sickening crack of bones breaking.
 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Part 16

"Yes, sir."

The colonel's low voice rang like thunder in the silent office.  Sam watched
him frown deeply as he spoke to the general on the phone.

At this point, they were 'imposing' on the girls in the office by borrowing
the phone.  Buffy and the girls--plus the Doyle person--were huddled
together at the far corner of the office, watching them in silence.  Teal'c
had chosen to guard right beside the door.  After hearing the story from
Willow, Teal'c was displaying his protective nature.  Not that he hadn't
been so far, but only more so now.

And she was...

She was afraid.

//Daniel is kidnapped.//  The three words sank in her heart like heavy
rocks.

Sam sighed and sank deeper into the couch.  She'd been imagining the worst,
but actually hearing that Daniel and one of their friends were kidnapped was
almost unbearable.   More than two days had already passed.  Whatever the
kidnappers had wanted from Daniel, two days were enough time to...

// No. Don't go there, Sam. //  There was no time for her to dwell on
negative thoughts.  Daniel wasn't dead.   He wasn't.   So they just had to
find him somehow.  He'd come back to them.  He always had.

//But what makes you so sure?  Because your gut's telling you he's alive?
Because he's survived an intergalactic war with aliens and nothing is
supposed to happen to him on Earth?   Because he's been declared dead quite
a few times but always managed to come back to you?  What is it?//

The fear she'd been repressing started to surface.  Frankly she couldn't
think of her life without Daniel.  Or the colonel, or Teal'c.  She knew they
were risking their neck every time they stepped through the Gate, and she'd
lost her colleagues before.  And yes, since Daniel had a knack for getting
into trouble, there'd been times when they'd thought he'd been most
definitely dead.  However, even with all those experiences, she'd been
consciously putting aside thinking about her life without any members of the
SG-1.  Because she simply didn't want to think of the future without them.

Yes, she was afraid.

A loud click brought her out of her reverie.  The colonel put down the
receiver with a tired look.  She stood up in an instant.  "What did the
general say?"

The colonel nodded at Teal'c, and the Jaffa moved closer to them.   It was
time for a recap.  Sam noticed the worried looks passing over the girls'
faces, but they were pretty far away from them, and Colonel O'Neill was
speaking low enough so the others couldn't hear their words.

"According to *them*," the colonel started out, indicating the girls with an
annoyed hand gesture, "some people were specifically targeting Daniel.  And
they were pros.  This is enough to scare the hell out of the general, of
course."

The colonel's voice was light, but Sam knew better.  His eyes had been
filled with cold fury while they'd been listening about how some men had
attacked Daniel...and how he'd disappeared with the detective person.  He
was extremely angry now, just hiding his feeling under his sarcastic cover.
At times like this, Sam was reminded of the fact that the colonel was one of
the most dangerous men on Earth *and* in the galaxy.

Whoever had taken Daniel was in for hell a lot of trouble now.  Sam almost
felt sorry for them.

// Well, no.//  Sam corrected herself.  She didn't feel sorry at all.

"The good general is alerting everyone all over the place.  Pentagon, the
President.  Including the NID," he paused a second at the mention of the
government organization they were *not* overly fond of because of its
ruthless methods.  Sam clearly read the colonel's unspoken reminder that
they'd have to find Daniel before the NID got involved. "As a protocol, the
missions will be delayed indefinitely until the missing member of the team
is found.  We're to work under the assumption that whoever has taken Daniel
must be looking for information on Project Bluebook."

Sam tried not to wince at the cover name of the Stargate Project.  This was
something she'd been afraid of.  Stargate was the greatest secret in this
nation.  Of course, secrets had the nagging habit of getting out, and people
tended to get killed for them.

The colonel continued in a monotone voice, devoid of the feelings that must
be going through him at the moment, "Also, we're to contact the local
police, and see what they can come up with first. However, we're not to
reveal anything about the Program.  We're *not* to make any irrational
moves, but only to gather more detailed information from our *informants*."
His expression broadcasted that he didn't really like what General Hammond
ordered him.

"Our informants?" Teal'c asked.

"The girls," the colonel sounded frustrated.  "Alright. Here's the thing. Do
we trust them?"

Sam had thought about this for a while.  "Their story does check out, sir.
It was from the apartment owned by the detective where Daniel made his phone
call.   And it's obvious they know him pretty personally.  I'll check the
school record to see if Willow is registered for Daniel's class to make
sure."

Teal'c took his turn. "I also do not think they are lying, O'Neill. "

The colonel looked thoughtful.  "I agree, but they're *definitely* hiding
something."

// Oh? // She and Teal'c looked at him questioningly.

"Oh, come on," the colonel genuinely looked annoyed, "A snitch in the alley
who just goes 'poof'? And that vampire thing?  They're practically *asking*
for our suspicion here."

Teal'c looked slightly puzzled. "Then there is no such creature as a
vampire?"

Sam involuntarily grinned at her friend's curiosity, but the colonel made a
groaning sound.  "It's just a myth, Teal'c."

Teal'c looked even more puzzled.  "I believe the Goa'ulds like Ra and
Apophis are also the things of myth on Earth.  Yet they do exist."

"It's different.  Way different."  The colonel dismissed it with a wave.

Teal'c persisted, "How is it different?"

// Oh, god. //  Sam felt a headache coming in.  How was one to explain that
the existence of the aliens impersonating gods was different from the
existence of blood-sucking monsters in some B-rated horror movies?  //
...Wait. That came out all wrong.//

"Okay," the colonel grunted as Teal'c continued to watch him curiously,
"Where's Daniel when you need him?"

// Yes, if Daniel was here, he would've explained it splendidly, with all
the comparisons and...//  Then she stopped, suddenly realizing the reason
why Daniel *wasn't* there with them.  Apparently, the colonel and Teal'c had
reached the same thought.   They were frozen, painfully reminded of their
friend's absence.

The colonel closed his eyes briefly, then spoke up, breaking the momentary
tension formed between them, "For now, the girls are our best leads to find
Daniel.  We stick with them, and get more information."

Sam and Teal'c nodded in agreement and followed the colonel who marched
toward the girls.  They stopped whispering things to each other and all
straightened up as the colonel approached.

"Alright," the colonel ordered, "Let's go see your friend's apartment.  And
talk."  There was the steel determination in his voice that didn't allow any
objection.

// We'll get him back.  We always do.//  Sam told herself.

At this point, all she could do was believe it.
 

***
 

She was just a few feet away from him.

If he could open his eyes and reach out just a bit more, maybe, just maybe,
he could touch her, smell her, and she would be alive again in his embrace.
He could feel her soft curled hair on his finger tips, her smile against his
face, and her dark mocha eyes glistening with undying affection for him.

"Shhh, my Daniel. It's all right," her melodic voice soothed him, "I'm here,
my Daniel. When you wake up, you'll find me here beside you."

He couldn't breathe.  He couldn't move.  Something felt...funny in his
chest.  Every time he tried to inhale, something cracked inside him, sending
a shiver down to his every bone.  It wasn't the blinding pain he'd felt when
the blows had come that scared him.  The anticipation of the pain hurt more
than the actual pain.

"I love you, Daniel," she said.

The four words easily washed away the pain he'd felt.  He thought as long as
he could hear her voice, nothing else mattered.

I am blessed, he thought.

He wanted to tell her the words too.  The desire alone made him force
himself to open his eyes.  Ignoring the painful complaint from his body, he
searched for her, yearning to see her warm eyes and tell her the words
again.

There was only the sorry sight of grey ceiling greeting him in his blurred
vision.

She was gone.

No, Daniel told himself ruefully, she was dead.

It didn't matter that he whispered, "I love you, too."   Because no one was
listening, and because death was death.

Pinpoints of light danced in front of his eyes before they were obscured and
faded into oblivion.
 

***
 

In the beginning, Angel's apartment seemed exceptionally dark and
frightening to Willow.  With not much of a light source except faint lamps
and its typical basement-like colors (black, brown, black, brown--Angel
really needed to redecorate.), it was her least favorite place to stay.
However, as the time she spent in the apartment with Angel increased, she
came to think of the place as a place for contentment, joy, and fun.

And after Angel had gone missing, it became a painful reminder that the
owner of the place wasn't there with her.  The others felt the same, Willow
knew.  Buffy, Doyle, and even Cordelia hadn't said much and looked solemn
after they'd stepped into the apartment.

"So it just *never* occurred to any of you to check out the license plate?"
Colonel O'Neill exclaimed incredulously, not even trying to hide the
sarcastic edge in his voice.

// Of course.//  Willow sighed.  //Asking the colonel to be solemn at this
moment would be too much to ask.//

Doyle leaned on the doorframe in Angel's living room and answered the
colonel who was pacing as if he owned the place.  "At that particular
moment, they were waving guns at us.  It was *a little* hard to check things
like license plates."

"And you call yourselves detectives?"

Buffy, who was sitting between Willow and Cordelia on the comfortable sofa,
drew her closer and muttered, "Willow, give me one good reason why I
shouldn't just kick out that Colonel-what's-his-name."

"Because they might help us find Angel and Dr. Jackson, remember?" Willow
whispered back to her friend in an equally conspiratorial tone, while
forcefully mustering a smile for the colonel who was radiating
'I'm-in-charge-here' energy that she used to see from Buffy. // No wonder
Buffy hates him.//  "And because he has every right to arrest us,"--or just
her, Willow wasn't sure since the federal law wasn't her specialty--"and get
us a few years each for breaking into the classified files?"

"Good point," Buffy gave the man in question an awkward grin while grinding
her teeth, "Just keep reminding me that from time to time, please."

"Okay," the colonel let out a frustrated sigh, "Let's go through this again.
You said three Caucasian men in their twenties, wearing unmarked black
uniforms, attacked Daniel, and they threatened to shoot you.  With what?"

Cordelia gave him her best 'Is that even a question?' look. "With guns."

"I know *that*!" he yelled out, incredulous, "What *kind* of guns?"

Willow looked at Cordelia who shrugged, and at Doyle, who just shook his
head.  She turned to Colonel O'Neill, and whispered, not wishing to meet his
eyes, "Um, well, to be honest...we're not sure."

"I only have one piece of advice for all of you," there was resignation in
his voice, "*Seriously* reconsider your career choices."

Cordelia rolled her eyes.  "We only do the paperwork, all right? We're not
detectives...yet."

Colonel O'Neill closed his eyes briefly, and that was when Willow realized
they couldn't blame him for being this edgy.  First, they didn't think to
check the license. How stupid could they be?  But most of all, he reminded
her of Giles when Buffy had gone missing for some period of time.

He was worried, just like they all were.

He raked his hand through his grey hair, and took a deep breath, "Alright.
Then at least try to remember.  What was the size of the gun they used?  Was
it a handgun?  Or..."

"Um," Willow tried to think, "I think it was bigger than just a normal
handgun.  Kinda long in front and...oh, and they used silencers.  I think."

He waved at her to continue. "And...?"

Willow shifted, feeling uncomfortable.  "And it was black."

"Of *course* it's black!" the colonel's irritated voice was back in place,
"Have you seen red guns in your life?"

// Um, no? // She thought it'd be wise to shut herself up at that point.

"It was dark," Doyle answered reluctantly, "Frankly, we couldn't see very
clearly."

"Are you *sure* they even had guns with them?"

"Of course!" Cordelia yelled indignantly.  "Angel even got shot!"

// Oh, no. // Willow had told them pretty much everything of what had
happened, while managing to leave out the vision and vampire bits.  They had
no intention of telling these military people about their little secrets.
And telling them about Angel getting shot would only increase their
suspicions.   She cut in really fast, "It was just a scratch!  He's fine
now!  No, he *was* fine when he was... because we don't know how he is at
this point or what's happening to him or how he's treated... But anyway, it
was just a stretch..."  She trailed off, fumbling.

//God, sooo not smooth, Rosenberg.  Sometimes I just hate myself.//  She
looked up to Colonel O'Neill, really hoping he wasn't about to ask her to
elaborate on this subject.

To her horror, the colonel did look like he had more things to say for a
second there.  However, he seemed to drop the subject, seeing Major Carter
and Mr. Teal'c--who Willow automatically nicknamed Mr. Hulk --come in to the
living room.  //Thank god.//

Mr. Hulk decided to stand at the back silently (again), and the major
quickly went to the colonel's side. "The knob on the entrance has been
ruptured, a bit like the effect of a small explosion.  Possibly with some
kind of electronic devices."

The colonel pondered the point. "Pros."

Major Carter nodded with a serious expression.  Then she turned and took a
step closer to them.  "Why didn't you notify the police when this happened?"

This time it was Cordelia who answered, "Do you have *any* idea just how
incredibly unreliable our police forces are here?  Believe me, I've dealt
with them before.  Why do you think we're even in the detective business of
all things?"

Colonel O'Neill gave an exasperated look. "Actually, I really wanted to ask
*you* that."

Buffy looked sharply at them. "Look, we didn't tell you all this so you
could criticize us.  We have our means to get the information we need
without going through the cops."

"Oh, by all means, enlighten us," the colonel waved off, "Just how were you
going to look for Daniel and Detective...what's his name?"

"Angel!" Willow blurted out too quickly without thinking, "His name is
Angel."

// Okay, that came out way too rushed.//  *And* also hinting that she'd
automatically reacted to the name because she was thinking about it way too
much nowadays.  But thankfully, no one seemed to have noticed the slight
crack in her voice...except Cordelia.  The brunette glanced at Willow with a
funny expression, but soon shifted her gaze back to Colonel O'Neill.

Willow just sighed inwardly, relieved.

"Okay, *Angel*," the colonel grumbled. "And just how were you going to get
the information?"

Doyle looked sheepish. "I have my...connections."

The colonel wasn't impressed, obviously.  "You were going to stir more
bushes, using the infamous beating 'wild dogs' tactic."

//WHAT?!//  Willow almost choked.  Buffy, Cordelia, and Doyle shared a
panicked look.  // Please tell me they don't take that bit about vampires
seriously!!//

"What, uh, what do you mean?" Doyle asked, fidgeting uncomfortably while his
expression was frantically asking them 'Okay, what's our next move? What are
we supposed to say? What?! Help me!'.

Colonel O'Neill rolled his eyes.  "Your 'snitches'?"

"OH!"  Doyle looked relieved, grinning wide.  Way too wide.  "Yeah, you're
right.  Basically, yes."

// It was just too close. //  With the way it was going, Willow thought her
heart wouldn't last a day longer.

And at that very moment, like a miracle, the phone rang.

"And *that*," Doyle straightened up fast, giving his charming smile, "has to
be one of my connections."

Cordelia wrinkled her nose.  "And you gave whoever Angel's phone number?"

Doyle's grin faded a little.  "I didn't think I'd be going back to my house
until..." He stopped abruptly, then turned, picking up the phone.

// ...Until we find him. //  Willow understood instantly, as well as
Cordelia, who looked sorry about even bringing it up.

It felt like her heart was getting ripped out.

Then suddenly Willow realized the colonel was watching their every reaction
very closely.  Those dark eyes that didn't seem to miss anything were now
hinting sympathy.  He visibly relaxed and almost imperceptibly nodded at the
major and Mr. Hulk.  They nodded to him in turn.

// So *now* he decides to trust us, seeing how we're all worried. //
Honestly, Willow was impressed with Dr. Jackson's three friends.  They were
very close, and they communicated their thoughts without words.   Willow
could see their non-verbal communication because it was exactly like that
with her friends.

"Alright! Thanks, man."  Doyle hung up, scrabbling something on a piece of
paper.  He then turned to them with a relieved look, "I have a lead."

"Really?" Willow sprung from the sofa, "Do you know where they are?"

"Hold it, hold it!" Doyle put up his hand, "Before you jump into the
bandwagon, I said a *lead*.  Seems like big ole' Barry from the Sanctuary
might know something. My...connection who went to the bar gave me some
interesting info."

// The Sanctuary? The bar around the corner? //  Willow automatically
winced.  That was the place Angel practically forbid illow and Cordelia to
visit after Cordelia's little undercover work had gone haywire.  Angel
hadn't needed to, actually, since she and Cordelia even went around the
roads just to avoid the place.

"Something? What kind of something?"  Colonel O'Neill leaned closer,
impatient.

Doyle snapped, "The kind of something that we need to go and stir more
bushes to find out."

"So it's nothing definite?" Cordelia sounded disappointed.

"Nothing's definite, Delia.  But this is *something*," he tabbed the piece
of paper he'd written on, "He saw strange men in black hanging around in the
bar, asking questions to Barry.  He paid extra attention because they were
looking for someone fitting Angel's description."

// And since Barry can't be possibly fond of Angel, he gave Angel away. //
"Um, but as we know, Angel has *a lot* of enemies," Willow pointed out.  //
For all we know, they could be some vampires, looking for revenge...//

Doyle obviously understood what she was implying, but he waved it away.
"But get this.  They also gave another man's description. Seems they were
looking for him as well.  A man around early thirty...dark blond."

// Thank God.// "It's them." Willow felt certain. "It has to be."

"So that might be how they found this place to pick up Daniel and your
friend." Colonel O'Neill nodded, and headed out for the door.  "Let's go."

"Wait a sec," Doyle stopped him, "Where do you think you're going?"

The colonel looked annoyed. "To talk to that Barry guy.  What do you think?"

"Oh, no, no, no," Doyle waved his hand, "You'll never get in there.  They'll
stop you at the entrance."

"Oh yeah? I can be very persuasive."  The colonel's eyes were cool and hard,
and Willow could see the white rage storming in them. She had no doubt
whatsoever that he would be *extremely* persuasive if he wanted to be.

Doyle apparently noticed it too. "We're going there to gather information,
not to make more enemies.  We need...softer touches for this one."

// Oh, I don't like the way he said that.//

Cordelia reacted fast, shaking her head violently.  "No way.  I've done it
once.  You're *not* making me go in there again."

Doyle frowned. "You're right," he admitted, "He knows your face. Then..."

"I'll go," Buffy volunteered casually, "I think I could use more exercise."

Willow let out a relieved sigh.  // No one can be better with snitches than
Buffy. //

Doyle sized her up.  "You could probably get in, but to coax Barry, we need
someone tall and sexy."  He met Buffy's glare with a sheepish look.  "No
offence, Buffy.  I do think you're sexy too...uh," he coughed as Cordelia
united with Buffy in giving him their best cold glare, "--But! You're too
petite.  Someone like Delia is perfect to draw out Barry, but she's done it
once."

Not only done it, done it way too well, which had resulted in Angel
'persuading' this Barry guy that Cordelia was engaged to a cop.  That hadn't
worked, so Angel simply had beaten the hell out of him at the end.  Willow
shuddered whenever she thought about it.

"Wait," Cordelia suddenly spoke up, "Did you say tall and sexy?"

Doyle looked puzzled.  "Yeah.  Why?"

Cordelia just grinned and looked at Major Carter.

Major Carter stared at them, her eyes furrowed suspiciously.

"What?"

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