Jack scowled as the prison door clanged shut behind them. "Well, this is familiar," he said, his voice laden with sarcasm. He, Carter, and Teal'c stuck behind bars, with Daniel somewhere up in the palace...
But that wasn't fair. No one was suggesting they'd be sent to work in the local naquadah mines this time, and anyway, Daniel certainly hadn't been given a choice in the matter. He'd first been drugged, then held at knifepoint while the rest of SG-1 was stripped of their gear and herded off to the cells. It had infuriated Jack to tamely go along with the relatively inept guards, but the knife held to Daniel's throat was too powerful an argument to resist.
Their last glimpse of Daniel had shown him dazed and unfocused, vaguely trying to struggle as the prince's goons tied him into a chair. Jack gritted his teeth and surveyed the dank prison, looking for a way out.
"I can pick that lock in ten seconds, sir," Carter murmured, apparently reading his mind.
"Yeah." Jack deliberately moved away from the tempting lock and glowered at the two sneering guards. "But can we do it fast enough to stop these creeps from pulling the bell pull?"
The bell pull, they'd been told, would sound a warning in the room where Daniel was being interrogated. If they tried to escape, Daniel would be killed.
"If they approach the bars too closely, O'Neill, we can hold them," Teal'c said quietly, his voice carrying a certain heavy menace.
Jack nodded. He'd watched carefully as they'd been marched down the dungeon stairs. These two didn't know the first thing about treating their prisoners with caution. He could have one of them pinned against the bars with an arm around the throat in less then four seconds, if they were careless enough to get too close. Teal'c, of course, could do it in two.
But what were the chances they could get both guards at the same time, before they could give the alert...?
He cursed under his breath. Then, for good measure, he cursed out loud.
His inner clock, tensely counting off the minutes, had marked nearly two hours when they heard the door to the dungeon slammed open. There was a shuffling of feet, a small whimpering noise, and then the distinct tramp of more than one person coming down the stairs.
The guards suddenly straightened, looking more alert. One moved toward the stone steps, then stopped short, his mouth agape in an almost comical expression of surprise. He said something in the local language - some kind of pidgin Goa'uld, Daniel had said before everything went south - and Jack's eyes narrowed as the man's voice rose nearly an octave in alarm.
Then the prince himself came stumbling down the last few steps into the main dungeon, forcibly escorted by the arm wrenched painfully behind his back by a man in disheveled BDUs.
"Daniel!" Carter exclaimed.
Daniel looked... well, awful, Jack had to admit. Hair stringy and lank with sweat, glazed eyes with pupils blown wide, split lip, glasses missing. And yet he held his former captor in a perfect arm lock, the prince's right hand nearly flattened against his own shoulder blade.
Jack grinned with peremptory pride. I taught him that move, he thought with fierce satisfaction. And all those practice drills seemed to have worked, too. Daniel had complained at the time, but Jack had insisted they repeat the maneuver over and over until Daniel could practically do it in his sleep. It looked as if he wasn't all that far from unconsciousness now - and he'd still done it right! Good.
"Nice work, Daniel," he called, his voice level and calm in an effort to keep Daniel focused. "Now, if you can just tell his royal highness to -"
The guard nearest the stairs leapt at Daniel and the moaning prince. The other fumbled his pistol-bow out of its sheath.
Even as Sam shouted a warning and Teal'c snaked an arm through the bars to grab the closer guard, Daniel flung the prince to the ground and closed with his attacker. There was a sudden flurry of moves that Jack couldn't quite follow, and then the guard was lying wheezing on the floor, flat on his back, with Daniel's right foot planted firmly on his neck.
Jack blinked. "Huh," he muttered to no one in particular. "I didn't teach him that one."
"I instructed Daniel Jackson in that maneuver," Teal'c said, the raised eyebrow carrying the faintest trace of smugness. He had the second guard pinned against the bars, gurgling and turning purple. Carter had already picked the lock and was pushing the door open.
Then Jack's eyes widened with alarm, and he dived through the open door. The prince had scrambled to his feet. It was clear that sheer rage was drowning out his shame and fear, because he'd pulled a knife and lunged at Daniel's unsuspecting back.
"Daniel!" Jack howled. Too much distance separated them. He'd never get there in time -
Daniel twisted, swaying slightly on his feet. He braced himself against the fallen guard's body, and kicked.
The prince's eyes bulged. His head came forward. Daniel's fist crashed down on his unprotected neck.
The prince collapsed.
In the sudden, almost awed silence, Jack sped to Daniel's side and made quick work of the downed guard before the man could recover and resume the attack. Then he reached out and very gently took Daniel's arm.
"You did good, Daniel," he told him, keeping his tone low and soothing. "Let's get you home, huh?"
Daniel blinked at him with heavy eyelids. "I did what you told me to, Jack," he slurred.
"Yes, Daniel." Jack tugged him towards the steps, waving for Carter to take point and make sure their escape was clear. "You did."
"And what Teal'c told me to," Daniel added, lifting a foot with exaggerated caution onto the bottom step.
"You performed admirably, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c assured him as he followed behind.
"And what Sam told me to," Daniel finished. The triumph in his voice fought a losing battle with the dopey expression on his face.
"What... Sam...?"
Jack swallowed hard and glanced up the stone steps at Carter, who looked back down at him with an amused, dangerous glint in her eyes.
"Oh, yes, sir," she said with satisfaction. "I taught him that last one."
"Ah." Jack cleared his throat. "Right."
Heliopolis Main Archive
A Stargate: SG-1 Fanfiction Site
Ten for the Team
by Fig NewtonKapitel Bemerkung:
For Lokei, who likes her Daniel to defy expectations!
Teaching Daniel self-defense has always been a team effort. Set just after Need in S2, with vague spoilers for that episode. Includes some rather pointed villain whumping.
Site Navigation
Support Heliopolis