"Blonde hair," Jack managed, ignoring the pain of his split lip. He coughed lightly, trying not to choke on the heavy scent of burning incense that filled the chamber. "Unusual for you guys. Is that a dye job?"
"Silence!" she snapped, then transferred her glare to the First Prime and the other Jaffa. "Well?"
"Lady of Slaughter," the First Prime murmured, bowing his head deferentially. "As you have commanded, I have brought before you the leader of the Tau'ri."
Sekhmet rose from her throne and sashayed over to Jack. He wished he could call her foolish to get so close to him; but black ops training notwithstanding, there wasn't much he could do to her on his knees, with his hands cuffed behind his back and six Jaffa watching his every move. So he contented himself with a deliberately bored look as she languidly extended her ribbon-deviced hand and crooked her fingers under his chin, forcing his head upwards.
"Surely you jest." Her hand fell away, and she circled him imperiously. "This human, the leader of the Tau'ri?"
The First Prime cleared his throat. "We watched their camp for some time before the attack, Mistress of Dread. The others clearly deferred to him. Even the shol'va himself."
Jack smothered a grin at the definite hint of unease that had crept into the man's voice. Confusion to the enemy was always a good thing.
"I cannot believe it," Sekhmet declared. She came to a halt in front of him again, her eyes flashing with disdain. "The Tau'ri are supposed to be the greatest threat to the System Lords -"
"We do our best," Jack drawled.
She gave him a lazy, contemptuous slap that nonetheless knocked him to the floor. Pain shot through his bruised ribs, and he bit back a yelp. Stupid Goa'uld-enhanced strength.
"How can this...." Sehkmet prodded him with a dainty slipper, even as the First Prime hauled him back into his kneeling position. "...be the leader that killed so many?" Her hand lifted, the crystal of the ribbon device already beginning to pulsate.
"I get by," Jack assured her, injecting just the right amount of cheekiness into his tone to make her eyes glow again with suppressed fury. "With a little help from my friends, of course. We've managed to rack up quite a tally over the years. Ra. Hathor. Seth. Amaunet. Sokar. Apophis, a couple of times."
"Your friends, Tau'ri?" she mocked. "And where are these friends of yours now?"
The ribbon device hovered inches from his forehead, and he braced himself -
And the door behind him exploded inwards, shards of stone pinwheeling across the chamber.
"Oh, that'd be them," Jack said gleefully, even as he prudently fell flat on his face. Staff weapon blasts and a hail of bullets spat just overhead, cutting the First Prime and the other Jaffa nearly in half.
Sekhmet stepped back with a snarl of rage, and the air shimmered around her as she activated her personal shield. Bullets spanged harmlessly away even as she took a second step backward, and Jack realized that she was going to release the lions.
The idea of being lunch, or even slightly mauled, didn't really appeal to him. He twisted onto his back, ignoring the bite of the cuffs around his wrists, and swung his legs in a neat arc that just managed to catch the Goa'uld by the ankle. She tripped and shrieked with fury as she landed in an ungainly sprawl. Then a knife sliced effortlessly through the shield and embedded itself in Sekhmet's shoulder, and it was all over but the clean-up.
Carter was suddenly there, her P-90 dangling from its strap, and Daniel was tugging the ribbon device off Sehkmet's hand, and Teal'c was effortlessly hauling Jack onto his feet. He did something to the cuffs on Jack's wrists, and they quietly snicked open. Daniel was saying something about lions in mythology and triggering the hieroglyphics to find the secret entrance, even as he bound the Goa'uld's hands with triple zip ties. Carter rummaged through her pack for her med kit, and Teal'c left the group to take a quick look at the lions' chains to make sure they were secure.
"You okay, Jack?" Daniel asked, peering at him. "I'm sorry it took us so long."
"S'okay," Jack said, even as he winced when Carter prodded at his ribs. "Just a little dented."
"Can you make it back to the Stargate, sir?" she asked, frowning a little. "We should take Sehkmet with us - the general will want to question her before we send her through the Gate to Cimmeria. But if you can't walk..."
"No, Carter, I'll manage." He straightened, but didn't protest the hand Daniel quietly slipped under his elbow.
Jack looked around at his team. They'd worked seamlessly together to find Sehkmet's lair, then taken the Goa'uld down with smooth efficiency and no casualties other than his own bumps and bruises. They were all ready to move out, their prisoner guarded by Teal'c and Carter watching their six. Smarts and strength and synchronization...
He let Daniel take some of his weight as they steered for the door, and allowed himself a private grin.
Oh, yeah. With a little help from my friends.
