A MATTER OF TRUST

by

Corine

TITLE: A matter of trust
AUTHOR: Corine57, or CD57
CATEGORY: Action/adventure. Angst. H/C.
SEASON / SEQUEL: three, after SOG

RATING: PG13, for language. So make that a K+ now
CONTENT WARNINGS: None.

SUMMARY: Challenge response, to challenge #410 by Peta. An old enemy of General Hammond is back in town and Jack is his first target.

DISCLAIMER: This story is written entirely for entertainment and is not intended as an infringement against the copy written material that belongs solely to Showtime, MGM/UA, Gekko Films, et al. I'm only playing with their characters and will return them as soon as the story is finished. The following story is the property of the author and is not to be copied, or published without the express, written consent of the author.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: There are a couple of references to the movies Die Hard, Die Harder and/or Die Hard with a vengeance. You'll recognize them, when you see them. Thanks of course to my beta readers. You know who you are! You made this better… This is the third story I have ever written and it was finished in 2000 but never published here. You might have read it elsewhere, though. Hope you still enjoy!

Here's the challenge that this story is about:

Challenge #410
Okay, thought I'd give it a whirl and see what you great writers come up with, G. The fic has to include three things:

1. Jack whumping, mental and physical.
2. The other members of SG-1 can only know half of the problem which increases Jack angst G.
3. General Hammond is to blame and the others have to feel like an ass for treating Jack so badly. G

It can be anywhere you like the location is up to you, earth, some galaxy far far far away..... But those three things have to be incorporated in some way, Jack angst abound!

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General George Hammond sat in his office deep in the bowels of Cheyenne Mountain, tackling the stack of mail piled on his desk. Thank God it was Friday. The General had planned a weekend of relaxing with a good book and hopefully a couple rounds of golf. Sipping the lukewarm coffee, his growling stomach reminded him it was almost time for lunch. Well, he might as well open the letter in his hand. The others could wait till after lunch. The waiting sandwiches were immediately forgotten, his full attention directed at the simple message, written in bold black letters on the plain white paper.

HI GEORGE. I'M BACK. I WILL NOT FAIL THIS TIME.

That was it. No signature, nothing. General Hammond carefully examined the envelope, looking for any clue at all, but he found nothing. Leaning back in his chair, he searched his memory. Who could have done this? He sighed. Like O'Neill, he had a dark history. Many missions, official and unofficial. Classified of course. He had probably made more enemies than his 2IC. Although a couple of names popped up in his mind, he had absolutely no idea who had sent him this.

As much as he hated it, Hammond would have to wait for the unknown person to make his next move. He hated waiting ... hated being on the defensive. Refilling the coffee cup, he pondered the situation, weighing his options. Would the anonymous author come after him personally? Did he have access to the facility? The lack of a postmark would suggest that possibility. Was it someone he'd offended or reprimanded severely enough to push an unstable mind over the edge? He decided to order a security sweep of the base. It was a standard exercise and wouldn't raise any unnecessary suspicion. It also might be better if he stayed in the mountain for the time being. He could easily use the backlog of work that seemed to grow larger with each mission as an excuse. So much for his relaxing weekend. Grabbing the phone, he initiated the security sweep before giving into his hunger and, shoving the letter into his desk drawer, made his way to the commissary.

**********

The members of SG-1, the best off world exploration team of the SGC, gathered in the office of Dr. Daniel Jackson to make plans for their weekend off. Too many missions too close together without down time had taken their toll on all of them.

Major Samantha Carter, Sam to her friends, suggested they should get together for a barbecue on the following night. She thought they all needed a little relaxation time together after their last emotional crisis, with the Colonel going undercover to catch a traitor stealing alien technology from their allies. On this particular mission, Colonel O'Neill had not been allowed to fill them in and in the process of playing his assigned role had made them all feel less than trustworthy. They hadn't gotten together outside the SGC since that time. The truth was everyone was still a little uncomfortable with the situation. Teal'c didn't seem to have any problem with it but that didn't surprise her. Like her, he understood the often unpleasant aspect of military life. Daniel on the other hand was having a difficult time coming to terms with whatever had passed between him and his friend at Jack's house. The archaeologist was the most compassionate and forgiving person Sam had ever met and while she knew he understood and had forgiven O'Neill's actions, he was having a hard time forgetting. Carter couldn't imagine what the Colonel could have said to bring about the withdrawal she'd seen taking place in Daniel each time he was near the soldier.

Sam too, had been upset with her CO. If she was going to be honest with herself, he'd made her feel like a complete and utter fool for falling for the charade in the first place, but her professional attitude made it easier for her to understand his actions. An observant person, she hadn't failed to notice the Colonel was also having a hard time getting back to normal. He seemed to be going through a major guilt trip, not quite sure how to make things up to his team. Not that he really needed to. He had only been following orders, had done what was necessary to protect Earth's alliance with the Asgard, Tollen and Nox. The barbecue was exactly what SG-1 needed to start rebuilding their relationships.

As usual, O'Neill offered his house for the party, secretly pleased Sam had suggested it. They definitely needed to spend some time together, outside the mountain. It would open opportunities to talk, to clear the air and get things back on track. Not that he was much of a talker, burying his emotions deep inside himself, but Jack knew this time, it wasn't something that could be avoided.

"My place?" he glanced at the others for confirmation, knowing the answer before he asked the question. "Daniel, you bring the beer. Domestic, instead of that imported stuff you always want me to try okay? … Please? Major, the salad is your department and Teal'c you can ... just bring yourself. I'll take care of the hamburgers and hotdogs. Sounds good?"

"Sounds great, Sir." Sam nodded.

Receiving nods of agreement from his other team members, Jack made a quick exit only to have Daniel chase after him. "Jack! Wait a minute!"

With a weary sigh, the colonel turned and watched the approaching archaeologist and linguist of SG-1. "Did I forget something?"

"No." Daniel shook his head, glancing around to make sure the wrong person didn't overhear them. "Remember, Sam's birthday is Tuesday. The party's been arranged like we discussed but I was wondering what we were going to get her for a present."

"Jeez Danny, how the hell should I know?" Exasperated, Jack threw his hand in the air. "What do women like? What do astrophysicists like? Can't we leave this to Janet?"

Daniel thought about it for a minute. Maybe asking Janet wasn't such a bad idea. He had no idea what Sam would like. He'd never really had anyone to buy presents for besides Sha're and there wasn't exactly a mall he could run out to on Abydos. "Would you talk to her about it?"

"Yeah, Daniel. I'll ask her." Turning to leave, Jack stifled a grin, knowing Daniel avoided the infirmary at all costs. He seemed to spend enough time there after missions. Looking back, he added, "… and Daniel, try and get some rest tonight instead of studying some rock. Don't want you falling asleep at the party." With that comment, Jack pressed the elevator button for the top level, tossing the younger man another wave as the doors slid shut.

*********

General Hammond looked up from the report in his hand as the airman knocked on the door, motioning him to enter.

Stepping into the office, the airman snapped to attention, his salute sharp and precise.

"At Ease, Sergeant. Good evening. "

"Evening, Sir." The sergeant stepped forward, placing a white envelope on the desk. "Sorry to disturb you, Sir. This was left at the main entrance for you. The man asked it to be delivered as soon as possible."

Hammond looked at the envelope. He should be surprised. He wasn't. "Thank you, Sergeant. Have a nice evening. Dismissed." He stopped the man at the door. "Sergeant, did you see the man who dropped this off?"

"No, Sir. That would be Lt. Andrews. I was checking over the invoices for several pieces of lab equipment, Sir."

"Thank you." The general waited until the door had closed behind the airman before removing the white paper from the envelope. This time, it said:

GETTING NERVOUS, GEORGE? WATCH YOUR BACK!

Damn. Somebody was messing with him, big time. He was glad he had taken some precautions on the base. The security team had declared the area safe, so there was no threat … yet. But the man obviously had some military access; otherwise he wouldn't have been able to deliver this envelope to the mountain.

Security, right. Cameras, that's it. Cameras were guarding the entrance of Cheyenne Mountain. He had to look at the tapes. He didn't want to alarm anyone yet, not before he knew what he was up against.

Half an hour later he had managed to get the tapes without anybody asking too many questions. He locked himself into his office and started to watch them. Ten minutes later he found what he was looking for. An airforce Major approached the front desk. General Hammond tried to catch the man's face, but he was obviously aware of the cameras. He managed to keep his face out of view. The General watched as the man handed over his envelope, talking briefly to the guard behind the desk. Damn. There was just no way he could recognize him.

Now what? He put the tape back in the box and settled back in his chair, thinking.

**********