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 A Storm of Shadows

Chapter 12

Hammond read the report sitting on his desk, a combination of their own intel and what the Tok’ra had provided. Dr. Watson was no longer on Neowe. From what they could gather, Ba’al and his associates had left the planet not long after the botched mission, taking Jessie with them. Delek hadn’t seemed very concerned, stating simply that Ba’al would be back on Neowe in eight weeks at the latest, as that had been his pattern to date. Hammond rubbed his eyes. Eight weeks. A lot could happen in eight weeks. Since they didn’t know where Ba’al had headed off to, there was no possibility on their end of rescuing Jessie—it would be up to Jessie to escape, to try and get back to the SGC, or at the very least relay a message back as to her whereabouts. His thoughts returned to the exchange that had occurred a few hours prior.

"This is not acceptable," Hammond had said to the group after Delek and his lackey had left.

Sam watched through the glass as Delek waited for the activation of the ‘gate. "Sir, I’d like to contact my father and see if he has anything to offer. He should be returning to the Tok’ra outpost by the end of this week."

The General nodded. "Do it. We need someone over there on our side, and Delek definitely isn’t fulfilling that role at the moment."

Casey added, "Jacob’s got to get tiv; it’s the only way that’ll work".

Sam looked at her oddly. "What’s a tiv?"

"Huh?"

Daniel rubbed his hand along his Wife’s shoulders, grinning at Sam as he did so. "Let’s hope your dad knows what a ‘tiv’ is," realizing it was a tidbit dropped from above.

"That’s really starting to get annoying", Casey said, not liking the mini black-out spells, for the purpose of delivering relevant information, one bit. "Although I do know for sure, Delek is hiding something. I can feel it."

"Do you think he knows where Jessie is at?" Cam asked.

Casey frowned, then shook her head slowly. "No, at the moment he doesn’t have a clue as to her location. But it’s something about this whole thing that he’s hiding."

"Well, hopefully Jacob will be able to shed some light on this situation and help us get it resolved soon. Get back to me if there are any new developments." Hammond watched as the wormhole disengaged. "Dismissed."

Jessie awoke the next morning in her own bed, her thoughts disjointed and her mouth as dry as the Sahara desert. She stumbled into the bathroom and turned the faucet on in the lavatory, drinking several handfuls before splashing water over her face, trying to clear her mind. It was only then did the soreness in her body become evident to her, and mini-flashbacks of her time in Kutkh’s chamber came filtering back in. She slumped over the sink, holding her head in her hand, trying to come to terms with what had happened. Took several deep breaths before looking in the mirror above the sink. Was slightly surprised to see that the silver filigree on her forehead was gone. She still looked like herself, except for the sadness reflected in her eyes. Well, that, and the faint bite marks gracing her neck. A cursory exam of the rest of her body revealed light bruises on her arms and legs, all the size of Kutkh’s fingertips. Jessie swallowed hard, pushing her tumultuous emotions back. What had happened, had happened—there was nothing she could do to change that. What she could do, though, was continue to try to find a way of escape, to somehow make it back home, and she had to do it before there was nothing left to go back home to.

Jessie was hoping now that Kutkh had ‘claimed’ her, he’d leave her alone and go play with his other toys for a while. She had been surprised to find out from Akari that the women she met the other day were just a portion of those Kutkh owned. Each of the women she had seen were breathtakingly beautiful, and Jessie felt confident that would play in her favor. She was just the anomaly that had ended up on Kutkh’s radar…she couldn’t hold a candle to any of those women even if she tried. Now that she wasn’t ‘new’ anymore, surely he would return to his usual activities. Unfortunately for Jessie, only a part of that assumption was true, as she quickly found out that evening when she was summoned once again to Kutkh’s chambers. Yes, he was returning to his usual activities, but he had every intention of making her an active part of them. This time, they were not alone. Several of his women were already present, and Jessie was introduced to the perversions that Kutkh considered the norm. And it was a scene that played out night, after night, after night...

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