She started with a large golden globe near the door. It was set in a wooden framework and she had to strain to get the whole thing moved even a foot. Once it was out of the way, she replaced it with smaller, more easily moved items such as jewelry, coins… she tried not to count the coins as she moved them, but she still got a rough idea of how much there was. Her estimate was enough to make her hands sweat, so she rubbed them against her trousers as she looked for more items that would be easy to move. Braziers, golden bowls, a knife with a hilt engraved with golden fleur-de-lis… she moved the bowls closer to the door, and glanced at an unusually ornate pedestal that was standing near one wall.
It definitely wasn’t one of the ‘easy to move’ items, but it was certainly eye-catching. If it was closer to the door people would be less likely to notice the rest of the room. It would offer her a little misdirection if it was placed in a more central spot. She checked her mental chronometer and moved toward the pedestal to see if it was light enough to be moved.
CHAPTER NINETENN
The airman standing guard unlocked the door to the holding cells and followed Morello inside. Kali was standing on the other side of the bars, looking oddly vulnerable in her standard-issue jumpsuit. It would have been easy to forget that this woman, who was actually a few inches shorter than Morello due to her plain white sneakers, was a Goa’uld. Morello forced that fact to the front of her mind as she stood before the cell, feigning disinterest while mentally counting down the hours they had left before the device was activated.
“I was told you asked to see me.”
“I did.” Kali said. “Tell me the name of someone you’ve lost.”
Morello frowned. “Someone I’ve lost?”
“How long have you fought for the Tau’ri?”
“If you’re asking how long I’ve been a member of the SGC, two years.”
“And in that time, have you lost any friends or loved ones on the other side of the Chappa’ai?”
Morello nodded slowly. “Yes. Of course. We all have.”
“Name one.”
Morello tried to determine if the Goa’uld was feeling out a vulnerable spot, something she could use for future manipulation. Answering was a judgment call, one she would have to make for herself.
“I wouldn’t call her a friend, but Dr. Janet Fraiser meant a great deal to me.”
“Why?”
Morello knew she was risking a lot by opening up, but she also knew rewards required risk. “Two years ago, I didn’t believe in aliens. I worked my whole life to get to this point and when I got here, I found out that everything I believed was wrong. One day I was a good Catholic girl, the next I was fighting false gods.” She chuckled, momentarily lost in the memory. “It was terrifying. I was paralyzed with fear before my first mission. We have these medical examinations before we go through the gate, and Dr. Fraiser was clearing me for duty. I guess she sensed how nervous I was because she sat on the bed next to me, took my hand, and told me it was okay to be freaked out. She said everyone’s minds got blown open by the Stargate, and the important thing was to just keep focused on the job at hand.
“She didn’t cheerlead. She didn’t tell me she knew I was going to be great, because she didn’t know me yet. She didn’t assure me it would all be okay because she couldn’t have known that. What she said was that I’d made it this far, so I belonged here. As long as I remembered to breathe, I would be fine. She gave me the confidence I needed to focus on the mission. Since then, every time I stand there and watch the Stargate dial, I hear her voice in my head saying ‘Just breathe.’”
Kali said, “What became of her?”
“She… died. About a year later. She was tending to a patient in the field, and a Jaffa killed her.”
“And yet you go to these lengths to defend the people who killed your friend? The Jaffa responsible for Janet Fraiser’s death may yet live. Your efforts here may be saving the life of her executioner. How can you possibly abide that?”
Morello said, “Because it’s the right thing to do. The Jaffa have always been victims of the Goa’uld. They were foot soldiers who were conditioned to fight against the enemies of their enslavers. They did it because they had no other options. Even if they weren’t, I couldn’t stand idly by while an entire race of people were wiped out of existence no matter who they were or what they’d done. I know that if Janet Fraiser came back today, she would be right here with me trying to convince you to help us. Because we don’t ask why we should save people. We ask how. That’s what makes us different from the Goa’uld.”
Kali held eye contact with Morello as if daring her to look away. Finally she lifted her chin, exhaled through her nose and said, “I will help you in exchange for my release.”
Morello tried not to betray her excitement. “I’m not sure General O’Neill will go along with that arrangement.”
“Those are my terms.”
“I’ll let him know.”
She turned and walked out, standing in the corridor as the airman locked the door behind her. She turned to him. “What the heck just happened in there?”
“I’d say you just won a staring contest with a Goa’uld, ma’am.”
“Right.” After a moment she allowed herself a grin. “Yeah, I think you’re right. Okay. I guess I should go report to General O’Neill.”
She suppressed her giddiness as she walked to the elevator. There was still a chance the general could refuse Kali’s terms. Releasing a Goa’uld into the wild wasn’t as dangerous as it would have been a year ago, but there were still plenty of reasons to hold onto her. And even if he did agree to let her go, it would all be for naught if SG-1 didn’t manage to find and retrieve the pedestal from Kali’s palace. Once she was in the elevator she put her hands behind her back so anyone else who got on wouldn’t notice she was crossing her fingers.
Tanis had just touched the sides of the pedestal to see how difficult it would be to lift when she was interrupted by a noise near the door. She took her hands off the treasure and looked for a hiding place, but nothing presented itself. The door opened and she reached for the knife she’d taken from the kitchen and tucked into the waistband of her trousers. The hilt pressed reassuringly against the small of her back, and she wrapped her fingers around the warm leather as one of the guests came inside and closed the door behind him. He wore a harlequin mask that barely disguised his features, and she saw his blue eyes widen through the holes when he saw her.
“Oh.” He looked left and right, then focused on her again. “I was looking for someone else. Ah. Sorry.”
Tanis smiled and sauntered closer, within striking range if the man was less bumbling than he appeared. “Sneaking away for a little tryst with another guest?”
He was silent for a long moment, then said, “Yes. Exactly. I, uh, thought she was going to meet me here, but apparently our signals got crossed…”
Tanis moved to the left to sidestep the man so he was no longer between her and the exit. “Or maybe you were just a little eager and she hasn’t arrived yet.” She suggestively raised one eyebrow. “I won’t tell anyone you’re in here if you want to wait for her to show up.”
“Thank you. That’s, uh, that’s very kind of you.”
Tanis offered him a wink as she slipped out of the room, her smile fading as soon as she was out of sight. The lovebirds would be frightened away when the other guests began filtering in. Still, her trip hadn’t been wasted. There was plenty of wealth near the door where it could be easily grabbed, and she’d gotten a sense of the room’s dimensions. She was confident that when the time came she would be able to get in and load up a tray or a cart without wasting too much time.
She stopped in the doorway of the party and tried to spot Vala in the crowd. Her view was momentarily blocked by a redheaded woman disguised as a symbiote, but she saw enough to convince her that Vala wasn’t present in the room. Hopefully wherever she was, her actions were furthering their cause. Tanis wasn’t terribly worried about her par
tner. If anyone could evade the affections of Dysmas Wyrrick, it was Vala.
As soon as the woman was gone, Daniel turned to scan the room. “Sam? Are you here?”
“Right here.” She rose from behind the pedestal. “I was trying to get a look at how it was put together in case we have to MacGyver something back at the base.” She looked around the room and narrowed her eyes. “Did the woman in here look like she worked for Wyrrick?”
“I don’t think so. Why?”
“She was moving everything around. I had to go by what I could hear, but it sounded like she was rearranging everything at random.”
Daniel looked around to see if he could spot a pattern. “Huh. Everything near the front of the room is small, easy to move.”
“Easier to steal.” He looked at her and she shrugged. “I worked a couple of retail jobs in high school. The manager told me that anything small that was stocked near the door was just asking to be stolen. Whoever that was, she’s stacking the deck.” She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head to the side. “Did you recognize her?”
“No. Should I have?”
“I don’t know. Something about her voice seemed familiar. I can’t place it, but I could have sworn I’ve heard it before.”
Daniel searched his memory. “She was wearing a mask, but she didn’t strike me as at all familiar.”
“Probably just hearing things,” Sam said.
“Well, whoever she is, we may have competition. If someone is targeting Kali’s treasure, they could take the pedestal before we have a chance.”
Sam pursed her lips. “That might not be a bad thing. There’s an exit to the exterior of the building nearby, isn’t there? I think I saw it when I came in.” Daniel nodded. “Okay, so. It stands to reason they have some sort of getaway car waiting. Or it’s probably a ship.”
“Yes, and…?”
“And,” Sam shrugged, “a ship is easier to rob than a party filled with security officers. We just have to make sure we can either get on board before it takes off or find a way to track it once it’s gone.” She looked at the pedestal. “And we have to make sure they take this. Give me a hand.”
In less than a minute they had lifted off the heavy pedestal top from its base. She gestured for one of the tarps that lay folded in the corner and wrapped it around the two pieces. Outside the door she spotted an unattended catering cart, brought it in and helped Daniel lift the pedestal onto it. Sam assumed the thieves would look under the tarp, see gold, and take it just because it was conveniently mobile.
“You realize we could just be setting ourselves up for another wild goose chase across the galaxy?”
“We’ll just have to make sure they don’t get very far with it. You know what one of them looks like. We’ll have Teal’c keep watch for her to make a move on the treasure.”
“Okay. While he’s doing that, I actually came to find you because we may have a bigger problem.”
Sam raised her eyebrows. “That would be impressive.”
He tilted his head quizzically. “Yes, but we’re us.”
“Right. Bigger problems are our stock in trade. Lead the way.”
“Teal’c.”
He cringed at the voice, fortunately facing away from the Goa’uld that had spoken. He recognized the voice so he was prepared when he turned around to see Morrigan gliding through the crowd toward him. In lieu of a mask, she had disguised herself by painting her face jade green and applying a row of feathers down the sides of her neck to give the appearance of fins. He recognized it as japing the vague appearance of a mature Goa’uld symbiote, and the sight turned his stomach almost as much as Morrigan did. She smiled, showing her teeth as she circled him.
“I would never have imagined encountering you here. You, of all people… the Jaffa who led so many of his people into slaughter at the hands of their brothers. And now that they have the freedom they fought so foolishly for, you abandon them?”
“My Queen Callisto has taught me the error of my ways.”
“Yes, the mental conditioning,” Morrigan said softly. “I’ve tested those waters myself, but the process is hardly foolproof. In my experience, a strong mind can resist what it believes to be a distasteful lie no matter how it is delivered. But I seem to recall another instance where your loyalty was shattered with very little effort. You turned your back on your Tau’ri friends and scurried back to once again serve Apophis. For all of your legend, the truth is that you are a weak-willed disgrace, Teal’c of Chulak.”
He fought his initial instinct, the rage that insisted he respond with the truth. “I have found the truth after years of searching.”
“And that truth is Callisto?” She scoffed and looked around the room as if to see whether the object of her derision was nearby. “She is a half-rate goddess, a joke among the System Lords. Has she regaled you with the story of how long she spent with a bear as her host? She was kept as a pet by Artemis, another minor Goa’uld, until she proved so pitiful that her captor let her go. That is the singular true god you chose to follow after years of fighting for your freedom?”
“Indeed. She lacks a quality I’ve found often overwhelms the personalities of false gods.”
Morrigan raised a ginger eyebrow. “And what is that?”
“Hubris. Vainglorious arrogance.”
Morrigan’s smug smile crumbled, and her eyes turned hard. “Your brother Jaffa would do well to surrender themselves, Teal’c. One day this will all be but a footnote in the glorious history of the Goa’uld, and people will tremble when they think of the idiocy your people demonstrated by — ”
Teal’c held up his hand to stop her. “One thing has not changed. I shall never again have to bear the pompous diatribes of a false god.” He inclined his head and stepped around her. O’Neill would surely have prompted him to nudge her shoulder as he passed, but Teal’c did not feel she was worthy even of that minor indignity. He left her fuming and refrained from looking back. He did not care if she was angry, for now it no longer mattered. She was a false god without an army to do her bidding, a toothless dictator whose delusions of grandeur now fell on deaf ears.
He caught sight of Samantha Carter and Daniel Jackson and cut through the crowd to intercept them. Daniel saw him and changed course so that they met halfway.
Sam reached under her collar to deactivate her voice modulator as she approached. Teal’c did not know if she did it because she saw he had just been speaking to a Goa’uld or if she was just weary of hearing herself sound like one. Whatever her reasoning, it was a relief to hear her true voice when she spoke. “We’ve found the pedestal.”
“That is indeed good news.”
“Yeah, so we’ve established it’s here.” Daniel looked around. “The problem is that we think someone else is trying to steal it. There’s a woman, she’s wearing a sleeveless white blouse with lace trim and a horned mask. She has black hair, about Sam’s height, could have some sort of weapon tucked into the back of her belt.” He caught Sam’s look and shrugged. “I saw her reaching for something, but her arm relaxed when she determined I wasn’t a threat. Anyway, the pedestal is on a cart in the last treasure room in the corridor. If you see her moving it from there, follow her.”
“I shall remain vigilant.”
“Thank you,” Daniel said. “Meanwhile I may have found something upstairs that could complicate our plans. I was just about to take Sam to confirm.”
“Do you require assistance?”
“No. We should probably minimize the amount of time we spend together in a group. We don’t want anyone wondering what we’re up to. Keep an eye out for Wyrrick. If you see him heading for the stairs, try to send up a warning.”
Sam tapped her bag. “Two bursts of static on the radio.”
“I wish you stealth,” Teal’c said.
Sam nodded her thanks and followed Daniel through the crowd to the spiral staircase. “I just stumbled over this while I was getting the lay of the land,” he said. “I was hoping there was s
ome kind of alternate exit, or maybe somewhere we could stash the pedestal so we could come back for it at a less conspicuous time, but instead I found this.”
They had arrived at a doorway at the end of the second floor landing. Sam checked to make sure they weren’t visible from the ballroom below before she looked at the markings Daniel indicated.
“I’m not a hundred percent sure, but depending on which Slavic language this originally branched off from, I’m fairly certain this says it’s an armory.”
“Oh, boy,” Sam muttered. “Well, he does have a security force to protect his collections. It stands to reason they might need to store weapons on the grounds.”
Daniel nodded. “I just thought it would set my mind at ease if we could actually get a look inside. Unfortunately, the door is locked. So I was hoping…”
“What, that I could pick an alien lock?” She bent forward and looked at the keyhole. “There’s no guarantee the mechanisms will be anything like what I’m used to.” She sighed. “But where’s the fun if there’s no challenge? Keep an eye out.”
Daniel moved a bit further away so he could watch the stairs. Sam got down on one knee in front of the door and examined the locking mechanism. There were only so many ways to craft a lock-and-key mechanism. She had tripped tumblers in Goa’uld motherships and she’d found ways to get around the security in a half dozen dungeons throughout the galaxy. She took off her veil, threaded one of the hooks away from the cloth, and bent it until she had a hook. She turned the other end into a rake, and eased them into the keyhole. The wire was just sturdy enough for her to get a feel for the lock’s set-up, but she became less hopeful the more she explored.
“Daniel, I don’t think I’m…” The lock suddenly snapped, and she leaned back in case her fumbling had set off some sort of security measure. Nothing happened, so she tentatively twisted the knob and pushed the door. “It’s open.”
SG1-24 Two Roads Page 23
