Chapter 18

Daniel stared at the artifact from P(string) contemplatively. There was no doubt that it was Chinese in style, but the symbols on it were a peculiar mixture of Chinese, Aztec and Goa’uld. It was an odd blending to say the least.

The phone on his desk rang. Fully expecting that it was Jack who would be irritated to find him working at this hour, he ignored the insistent ring. After several minutes, though, he walked over and picked up the receiver. “What?” he demanded ungraciously.

There was a moment of silence, then an unfamiliar voice said, “Dr. Jackson?”

Daniel blinked. “Yes. I’m sorry, I was expecting – I’m sorry. Can I help you?”

“Hello,” the man said, sounding relieved. “My name is Roger Bannon, and I hope –”

“Race?” Daniel exclaimed.

“Yes!” Bannon paused, and Daniel could almost feel the emotion thrumming down the line. “Is Jonny with you?”

“He’s asleep right now,” Daniel said, confused. “Did you finally get clearance? That’s great! I’ll go wake Jonny. Hang on!” Putting the phone down, Daniel hastened to Jonny’s room. Jack appeared to be in the bathroom, but Jonny sat up, looking muzzy.

“What is it?” he asked.

“Race is on the phone!” Jonny looked at the phone on his bedside table, but Daniel shook his head. “No, in my office. Come on.”

Jonny got up and grabbed his crutches. They went to Daniel’s office where Jonny seized the phone. “Race?” The answering voice brought a grin to Jonny’s face. “I can’t believe you got clearance! I was sure they’d –” The light in Jonny’s eyes dimmed. “You didn’t? I don’t understand.”

Daniel’s eyes widened as he took the sense of that in. Race didn’t have clearance. He’d made an assumption that was apparently false, raising Jonny’s hopes for nothing. Jonny nodded at something Race said, tears starting down his face. Daniel felt like a heel. “Yeah, Race, I love you too. No, I – I – Dad and Hadji – I can’t . . .” Daniel walked up and put his arm around the boy’s shoulders. Jonny looked up at him. Holding out the phone, he said, “Here, Race wants to talk to you.”

Daniel took the phone. At that moment, Jack appeared in the doorway, and his eyes widened at the scene. He asked a silent question with his eyebrows, and Daniel gave him the most infinitesimal of shrugs. He spoke into the phone. “Hello?”

“Thanks for letting me talk to Jonny,” Race said. “I hope it doesn’t get you into trouble.”

“Me too,” Daniel said. Jack, eyes still wide walked over and took Jonny from him. “But it’s my own fault. How did you get this number?”

“An old military acquaintance of mine showed up and the house and told me he knew where Jonny was. He gave me this phone number and your name. I wasn’t even sure what to expect when I called.”

“I’m sorry. I . . . uh . . . I jumped to conclusions.”

“It’s okay. Just . . . look, I don’t know how far I trust Maybourne, but –”

“Maybourne?” Daniel repeated. “Do you mean Harry Maybourne?”

“Yeah, I take it you know him?” Race asked.

“We’ve had . . . dealings,” Daniel replied diplomatically. It didn’t sound like Race trusted Maybourne, but for all he knew, they were friends.

“I’m sorry,” Race said. “He can be a real prick, but if you want to know what a weasel is likely to do, ask a weasel. He says that the NID are actively after Jonny.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” Daniel said.

“According to him, the president isn’t getting my messages requesting to see Jonny, which is likely to lead him to believe that I don’t much care, and the NID plan to take advantage of that. He also told me that they are the ones who make the decisions about who gets clearance for your base.”

“That’s not altogether true,” Daniel replied.

“Maybe not, but I bet they can block clearance pretty successfully ,” Race said. Daniel didn’t reply. He didn’t know what to say, because he thought Race was probably right. “Please, just promise me that you’ll take care of Jonny and keep him safe from people who might try to use him.”

“I will,” Daniel said. “I promise.”

“Thanks. I’d better go. Thank you, Dr. Jackson. Thank you so very much.”

Jonny appeared at Daniel’s elbow, looking more composed, and Daniel nodded. He handed the phone over and stood uneasily by while Jonny talked to his bodyguard. Jack beckoned and Daniel walked over, expecting some form of blistering reprimand.

“How did he get this number?” Jack demanded. “I thought he was going through channels.”

“Our old pal Harry Maybourne gave it to him, and told him that some of his channels are blocked.”

“Peachy,” Jack said. “How does he know Maybourne?”

“I don’t know. He seems to think almost as much of him as we do, though. Called him an old military acquaintance.”

Jack digested this, then looked over at Jonny. “We have to get him off the phone. That it happened at all is bad enough. We can’t let it go on too long.” Despite his words, Jack made no move to separate Jonny from the phone.

“Well, it has happened,” Daniel said. “What can it hurt to let it go on a little longer?”

A moment or two later, Jonny nodded, then scrubbed at his eyes with his fists and hung up the phone. He turned to face them, eyes sparkling with unshed tears. Jack stood up and walked over to him. “Well, campers, let’s get back to bed. I left Bandit barking and scrabbling at the door.” Jonny forced a weak grin and nodded, starting for the door. Jack turned to Daniel. “You too, Dannyboy. Sleep. It’s the thing most people do at this hour.”

“I got enough sleep in your truck, Jack,” Daniel protested, but he went back with them to Jonny’s room.

“Race sounded good,” Jonny said as he sat on the bed. “Not freaked out, like Jessie said.”

Daniel nodded, but he privately thought that Race had sounded tense enough. Jonny needed to think of Race as a solid brick, though, so he didn’t share his thoughts.

“Good,” Jack said. “Now, go to sleep.” Jonny opened his mouth, but Jack shook his head. “Sleep. We’ll talk tomorrow.” Daniel started to speak, but Jack cut him off with a guttural nonsense syllable. “You too. Sleep.”

Jack woke the next morning to the sound of Jonny and Daniel talking quietly. He was irritated. He thought he’d made it clear to both of them that sleep was the order of the day – or rather, night. Then he rolled over and saw that it was past seven.

“Thanks, Jonny,” Daniel said, and got up. He was fully dressed. “Jack, we have a meeting with Hammond in three hours. I thought I’d go work on my tablet until then.”

“You don’t have to ask my permission,” Jack said. “Go. Translate.” Daniel rolled his eyes and left the room. “Jonny, you sleep okay?”

“I did,” Jonny said, seeming a little more flustered than Jack was used to seeing him. “Are you meeting with Hammond about what happened last night?”

“I don’t know, but it will have to come up.”

Jonny nodded and looked down at his hands. “I wish it didn’t,” he said.

“So do I,” Jack said. “Now, today do you work with Daniel or with Carter?”

Jonny flushed. “Major Carter, and I’m a little late.”

“Go on,” Jack said. “I’ll check in on you later.”

Jonny grinned and left with his little dog chasing the rubber end of one of his crutches enthusiastically. Jack got a shower and then took care of a few odds and ends before heading to Carter’s lab to see what the wunderkind were up do.

He found them tinkering with inexplicable machinery with tools that were even less explicable. He sighed and left them to it, heading to Hammond’s office a little early, wandering up through the briefing room. There he saw the general through the window, fuming silently. He started to go back the way he came, but as he turned, he heard the door open behind him and Hammond said, “O’Neill, in here, now!”

Jack walked in with alacrity, if not eagerness. “Sir?” he said, coming to attention. Hammond waved at him impatiently and he shifted to a more relaxed stance.

Hammond paced twice across the length of his desk. He was unusually agitated, and his tone was angry when he finally spoke. “Did you know that Dr. Jackson was going to call the president?” he asked.

Jack felt a deep sense of apprehension come over him, and his eyes widened. “No,” he said quietly. “Did he?”

“He did,” Hammond said curtly. “He told the president that it was a crime not to grant Race Bannon clearance, and that something had to be done about it.”

“Did he?” Jack asked, feeling a mixture of dismay and awe.

“He did.” Hammond paused in his pacing, his back to Jack. “He also threatened to quit if Bannon was not given clearance.”

“Did it work?” Jack asked, and Hammond turned an inimitable glare on him. “I mean, that’s bad.”

The door opened and Daniel walked in. He looked startled to see Jack and Hammond in such an intense conversation. He started to back out. “I’m sorry, I thought . . . Rodriguez said to come right in.”

“Indeed, Dr. Jackson, do,” Hammond said, turning. “Gentlemen, pray be seated.”

Jack sat without any ado. If he hadn’t already been given a head’s up, that mode of address would have told him that the general was in a bad mood. Hammond always got very formal when he was upset. Daniel picked up on the atmosphere instantly. He looked at the general, then glanced at Jack, then crossed his arms without sitting down. “I take it that the president got hold of you.”

“He did,” Hammond said sourly. “What possessed you to call the president?”

“Have you heard yet that Race called here last night?”

“What?!” Hammond exclaimed. “No, I hadn’t.” His eyes darted to Jack’s face, and Jack was too slow in attempting to display surprise. “O’Neill, did you know about this?”

“Yes, sir, but it was a done deal by the time I found out.”

Daniel shot him a prim look, and cleared his throat. “Well, he called last night, my office, and I assumed that he wouldn’t have been able to do that without clearance. News around here either moves at the speed of light or it takes a week.” Hammond grimaced, but he didn’t deny the simple truth of the statement. “So, being delighted that Race had finally gotten clearance, I gave Jonny the phone.”

Hammond pursed his lips and nodded. “I see. You don’t have to explain any farther.”

“So, what’s coming of my phone call?” Daniel asked, neither sounding nor looking the least bit repentant.

“I have a meeting in four hours with Mr. Bannon,” Hammond said. He sat heavily in his chair. “And it’s up to me to decide whether to give him clearance, or not.”

“Then that settles it, doesn’t it?” Daniel said with a grin. When Hammond didn’t respond, his brows drew together. “It does settle it, right?”

“Son, there are plenty of reasons –”

“No.” Daniel spoke with authority and volume. “Aside from cases of abuse, there are no valid reasons for keeping a parent away from a child.” Hammond started to speak, but Daniel shook his head. “He’s his guardian, chosen by his father, and he had a hand in raising him. He’s a parent. More importantly, Jonny thinks of him as a parent.”

“The fact remains, he is only a guardian,” Hammond said.

“It’s the same damned thing!” Daniel growled, and he was angrier than Jack had ever seen him get at the general. He turned around and stamped out, muttering under his breath. “God damned bureaucratic morons without –” The slam of the door put a premature period to that sentence.

Hammond stared after him in silence for a moment, then said, “I really didn’t expect that, not from Dr. Jackson.”

Jack shrugged. “He’s got a kind of sensitive spot about kids who are caught up in the system,” Jack said. “If we just leave him alone for a bit, he should be okay.” He stood up. “And sir, I’d see if there was any way to get Race here soon. Jonny does need him.”

“I’ll do what I can, Jack, but you know there are limits.”

“Bend them. I think Daniel’s serious about this.”

“Can’t you talk some sense into him?” Hammond asked. “Quitting won’t solve anything.”

“It will make a point,” Jack said. “And if I try to persuade him not to, it will only piss him off, this time at me. Besides, I kind of agree with him, sir.”

“Inconsiderate . . . no comprehension . . . stupid . . .” Daniel was searching for his notes on the Pramlin statuette, and not finding them. “Why can’t people . . . it’s just . . . damn it!”

“Daniel?” asked a calm, concerned voice behind him. He turned to find Sam in his doorway. “What’s up?” she said.

“General Hammond is meeting with Race today to see if he’s willing to grant him clearance,” Daniel said angrily, turning all the way around to face her. He crossed his arms.

“Isn’t that good?” she asked, walking in. Her eyes were puzzled.

“It would be if General Hammond wasn’t making it sound like he was going to be looking for reasons to deny clearance,” Daniel snapped. “I swear, all bureaucracies are the same. Jonny doesn’t deserve this, and I sincerely doubt that Race does.”

“I’m sure the general will give him a fair chance.”

“Unless he’s under orders from higher up to . . .” Daniel trailed off, shaking his head.

“I don’t think that’s likely to be the case, Daniel,” Sam said. “This is the general we’re talking about. He’s not going to decide this before he talks to the man.”

“Well, I hope, for Jonny’s sake, that he makes the right decision.” He pursed his lips. “And for Race’s sake. And for mine. I don’t really want to quit the program.” He turned around and took up the search again, his mind contemplating who of his department would be best suited to take his place. “Cameron’s still pretty green, but he’s adaptable, and his time with Dixon should help him more readily adjust to Jack’s sardonic take on life.”

“Daniel!” Sam exclaimed. She came around his desk and stared at him, appalled. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t you think I’d better make preparations? Just in case?”

“No!” She seemed stunned. “Daniel, this is crazy.”

“I won’t work for a government that holds kids hostage like this. The NID wants him, so they’re putting roadblocks in Race’s path, try to make him look bad and who cares what’s best for Jonny? Sometimes I want to strangle the people in charge.”

“Daniel, I’ve never seen you like this. Not even about the Goa’uld.”

He let out an explosive sigh. “Well, you know, the Goa’uld are evil. It’s their essence. That’s just how they are. This is our government, and when they even get Hammond equivocating over whether or not he’s going to do the right thing, it . . .” He shook his head. “What can I say? What I went through growing up would be nothing compared to what will happen to Jonny if the NID got hold of him. He doesn’t need their kind of mind games.”

“I know that, Daniel, and I’m sure the general knows that, but we would never let the NID get him.”

“Anyway, Sam, I’ve got work to do,” he said, finally locating the notepad. “Hicks is waiting for this translation.”

“Right.” Sam stepped back. “Well, I’ll see you later.” He waved a goodbye at her and got down to work. If he had to leave, he’d better get as much work done as he could beforehand.