Ice Lessons 2
Doctor Janet Fraiser
She had had a very long day in the Infirmary, and was glad that the Colonel was free to pick up Cassie from school unexpectedly. She had cleared him for duty and given the all clear to go off base that morning once they were sure that there were no side effects from being frozen twice, not to mention the breakdown products of the Goa'uld that had been briefly implanted.
The only thing she was worried about really was the effect this had had on the Colonel and the rest of SG1. This was a nightmare come true. She knew better than to expect him to say anything to her about how he really felt about it, what the Goa'uld had felt like- that sort of thing. He would brush it aside and make light of it. It was a typical reaction from him given what life had thrown him.
He'd left a message mid afternoon saying they were still at the ice rink – a strange choice given recent events but she wondered if he needed to get out of the SGC complex- to convince himself that he really was in Colorado , and not on another planet. Still, she managed to get away from the base around the time the Colonel said they'd still be there by, so she expected to see both of them waiting for her when she arrived.
Janet met Cassie in the foyer- she was watching one of the TVs showing an ice skating competition. Cassie immediately began telling her what a great afternoon they'd had, and then asked about her day at the SGC. They lost track of time and the Colonel.
Suddenly they heard police sirens and saw two squad cars pulled up, officers got out and made their way purposefully through the foyer to the rink side.
“I wonder what's going on- maybe someone's had an accident.” Cassie wondered.
“No paramedics.” said Janet
Then an officer and young student came and identified Cassie, the officer started asking Janet how come she hadn't picked Cassie up that day and who she was with, did she really know him and what car he drove and that it was best if they answered further questions at the station.
As they were herded towards the car they were stunned to see the Colonel coming out walking handcuffed between two officers, bloody nosed and slightly dazed. This was a new record for him; he wasn't even safe on this planet let alone an alien one. No-one else seemed to be hurt so he hadn't started a fight. It was unlike him to be clumsy or caught off guard.
Janet tried to talk to him, Cassie was crying in the background, she didn't understand what was going on, and the officers wouldn't let them near. Janet could see him struggling not to get in the car as he shouted
“Phone Hammond !”
She nodded as he was pulled into the car and sped off. Their car followed at a slower pace. Doctor Fraiser sat in the back with one arm around Cassie as she speed dialed with the other.
“‘General? It's Doctor Fraiser here. Yes sir, I know I've just finished shift but we've got a situation here.”
“It's Colonel O'Neill; it looks like he's been arrested. Cassie and I are on our way to the police station as well. We'll keep you posted when we know more details.”
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Jack
He sat in the back of the police car trying to find a comfortable way to sit without the cuffs pulling on his wrist and failed. On the plus side at least his nose had stopped bleeding. On the down side he could feel his face swelling up painfully. He could feel the eyes and minds of the officers on him as they sped through town. There was nothing he could say or ask- they seemed to have judged him already. How am I going to make this up to Cassie? What was she going to think?
Of all the things he could imagine himself being picked up for, this certainly wasn't it. A parking ticket, a fight in a bar maybe years ago when he'd sunk too many beers and whiskies after Charlie died and the divorce. But not *this.*
He knew he hadn't done anything and he felt unclean already.
Hell, he knew how he felt when he saw news reports of kids going missing only to turn up later traumatized in one way or another, or dead. He knew what it was like to lose a child. He knew how he felt when he saw reports of parents or trusted people abusing children in their care. This was not like fighting the Goa'uld, facing planetary dangers every day; this was a whole different ugly war.
On arrival at the station he was processed, the fingerprint card routine was especially painful. At least they could send that off to various databases- he knew his service record- [such as was available publicly] - would turn up in due course.
They could confirm things with General Hammond and he would be *so* out of here. The General was going to blow a gasket for sure. He wondered how Cassie was, and the Doc.
He waited, he wished he could pace up and down- something- but that would make the police officers even more wary. His being a USAF officer didn't seem to be helping the situation any, if the looks he was getting were anything to go by.
“Hey, stop that!” growled a voice
But it was going to take a bit of time. Would they start questioning people? Sara? God he hoped not. He'd put her through so much hurt she didn't need any more. He wondered if they had already pulled in his truck or if they were going to search his house in the next few hours. They wouldn't find anything of course; he knew the authorities had procedures and leads to follow through. He didn't blame them really; just hoped things wouldn't get too ugly before the cavalry arrived. He still waited.
He was jerked out of his musings by a vicious kick to the chair he was sitting on.
“What?”
“I said stop doing that! You're distracting everybody.”
Then he realized he'd been tapping his feet against the chair legs and metal bin. He supposed it was better than the usual ‘Kree' and whack on the back of the knees. The damn god wannabes never understood that with his knees he couldn't kneel for minutes without agony, let alone hours.
Just then a detective from serious crimes appeared with a folder and printouts.
“I think we can lose the cuffs now Heywood.” he nodded to the officer who had brought him in and processed him.
“Didn't the police doctor come up and check you out? Don't answer that- I can see for myself. The name's Langley- special crimes.” he introduced himself.
“I called but he's busy elsewhere, on his way.” said Heywood as he came round the desk with the key
Great, was this it? Was he going now? Jack thought as he stood up and turned around so the cuffs could be undone. His left wrist throbbed as it swung lose.
“I can't interview you if you're not fit. Do you want to wait for the doctor or we can get a paramedic.” Langley offered.
“No I'm fine. Really, had worse, it just looks messy. It'll clean up.”' Jack reassured him. Willing the other man to believe him so they could get this over with.
“Colonel? If you'd like to follow me please.”
He was tempted to say no actually he didn't want to. He wanted to go home, have a beer, and watch some hockey.
“Sure.” he said and followed the man. The quicker he got this sorted out the quicker he could be off doing those things.
He was led into an interview room. The room was very small so the table was right next to the wall. The opposite wall had a window, but Jack knew this was one of those 2 way mirrors. Jack had been on both sides of the interrogation scenario, so he waited for the other man to make the first approach. The detective put the folder and printouts onto the desk and unwrapping a new cassette he put it into the tape recorder. After introducing himself, dating and timing the interview he began.
“Colonel Jonathon O'Neill. Is that correct?”
“It's Jack, only my mother ever called me Jonathon.”
“Is it ok if I call you Colonel?”
“That's my name and rank.”
“I'm just going to say for the record that you were brought in with facial injuries that the police doctor hasn't seen you yet, but that you still agreed to continue. Is this correct?”
“Yes it is.” agreed Jack
“I've been watching you; you're a pretty cool aren't you. An innocent man would be shouting and yelling by now. But you, nothing.”
“I tried the shouting bit it got me nowhere. Besides I'm waiting for you to find out what a big mistake you've made.”
“Oh, so you think we're stupid is that it?”
“Not at all, you're just doing your job. You've got me confused with someone else. You need to sort that out so that I can go back to my job too. Cassie doesn't need to go through all this.”
“Ah finally- well- family liaison are interviewing her and her mother as we speak. The students are doing their bit and then we can all compare stories while we check out a few things. We'll need to your consent to provide a blood and DNA sample.”
“Oh for cryin' out loud!”
“Are you refusing Colonel O'Neill?”
“No, it's just that you can get that from my medical records.”
“I'm sure we can but we'll do our own just to be sure. I'm sure you'll understand.”
“Are you arresting me?” there he'd said it
“That depends doesn't it?” replied the detective
“Do you know why you've been brought in Colonel O'Neill?”
“Something about a guy abducting girls.”
“Do you like girls, Colonel?”
“What kind of a question is that?”
“Just answer please.”
“I like women.”
“That's not what I asked and you know it.”
“I know- whatever I say you'll twist. I like children- just not the sick way you're implying.”
“Who's Cassie?”
“She's the adopted daughter of Captain Janet Fraiser the CMO where I'm based.”
“Known them long?”
“Several years.”
“Get along well with both of them?”
“Yes.”
“Where were you three weeks ago, Colonel?”
“Not in Colorado Springs .” * Hathor! *
“Where exactly?”
“I can't tell you, it's classified.”
“Oh don't give me that crap Colonel. I thought you'd be better than this!”
“Look- I'd like nothing better than to give you an alibi in a crowded restaurant, believe me, but I can't. We'll both have to live with it. You know I work at the base.” he said hotly
“Are you away a lot?”
“Sometimes - days, weeks here and there.”
“Where were you on 25 March and 3 rd January this year?”
“What? God I don't know.”
“Think, Colonel.”
He thought for a few minutes.
“I was on medical leave in late March, but you could check the duty roster for exact dates. I know I was confined to the base for a day before going back to my house. But I was back on light duty soon afterwards.” He said remembering the painful shoulder blast from the Reetou gun.
“What kind of injury or illness was it?”
“I damaged my right shoulder, no driving for a few days.”
“January?” Langley prompted again
“I was in Washington at the Pentagon with my CO General Hammond. A nice way to start the year.”
“Colonel, this is no joke.”
“I know.”
“Okay, let's move on.”
“Why don't we.”
“Do you have a cabin or country house?”
“Yes I have a cabin - I like to go fishing.”
“Where is it?”
“ Minnesota .” Jack thought he saw Langley 's eyes flicker at that answer .
“How often do you go there?”
“When I can.”
“What does that mean?”
“What it says.”
“Have you been there recently say in the last three weeks or before that?”
“Not recently. I've been away I just told you, and not for a while.”
“Can't you be more specific?”
“No, I'd have to check with personnel, things get complicated at work, I suddenly get time off and just go.”
“Has Cassie ever been there?”
“No.”
“Has Cassie been to your house here in town? I presume you have one?”
“Yes to both those questions.”
“On her own?”
“Not usually.”
“Who with?”
“Her mother Dr Fraiser, other members of my team, and even my CO - he brings his grandkids over too.” replied Jack pointedly.
“How tall are you Colonel?”
“6ft 2.”
“Ever worn a beard or moustache?”
“Not in the Air Force.”
The detective opened the file he'd brought in with him and slid three photos onto the desktop.
“Do you recognize any of these?”
Jack stared at color pictures of three girls roughly Cassie's age with long blonde hair. Two were school photos and posed, the other showed a girl making faces at the camera whilst hugging a large ginger cat.
“No!”
“Sure?”
“Absolutely.”
The photos went away again.
“What make is your truck?”
Jack told him.
“And it's black right?”
“No, its dark green actually, sometimes it looks black.”
“Sure?”
“It's my truck I should know!
The questions went round and round again, a run of the same thing then a swift change trying to catch him out. Jack waited for the detective to turn up the heat a little it's what he would have done- heck *had* done.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The hands went back to the file and brought out another photo, but this time it wasn't the smiling school portrait. The girl's face was badly bruised, the hair disheveled and her eyes stared back dully.
“Meet Jessica Owens, 12 years old, picked up outside Colorado Springs High, and persuaded into a dark green or black Ford with some sob story about her mother. Taken for a meal, drugged, and driven out to a remote house or cabin where she was subjected to a serious assault. Later she was returned to the city and dumped on a street corner. It was very cold in January I'm sure you can imagine.”
The detective's eyes bore into Jack's face as he flinched from the painful photo and mental image the words had produced.
“Does any of that ring any bells for you Colonel?”
“No.”
The hands brought out another picture, another girl battered bruised and damaged.
“Meet Alannah Crosby, 12 years old taken from the bus stop around the corner from Colorado Springs Junior. Sob story, dinner, the cabin, assaulted and dumped on the other side of town. Do you remember this one in March?”
“No!” his head pounded with the awful images, the strain of his face bruising and swelling up as he sat there, and he couldn't breathe through his nose, his wrist ached.
“Wait! I remember seeing a headline about looking for links between two girls and a school, but nothing more than that. I can't remember when that was- ages ago. Look, I'm away a lot. I have a house in town but I also spend most of my time on the base. I don't get to see or read local papers.”
“Interesting.” replied the detective and he slid the last photo across the desk.
“Meet Nancy Sparkane, 13, this time taken from Harrison , same story apart from this time she woke up before he could dump her. They got into a fight she managed to scratch him badly.”
“Good.”
“Yes well, it's been over three weeks so that could be a long shot. However as a precaution Forensics are going to come in and take those samples we talked about, take some pictures and look you over.”
“What!” Jack shouted. Can they do this? he wondered.
“Relax- just your head and upper body Colonel. Nothing to worry about- right?”
“We can always sort out a witness line up and ...other…samples later if necessary Colonel.”
*Jeez,* Jack flinched mentally from * that* little scenario.
There was a knock at the door.
The detective went over to the door and waved a middle aged man carrying a big case and camera in. As he stood at the door, another detective came up waving a piece of paper.
“Look what just came in!” Langley read it and peered back into the room at Jack.
“You've got to be kidding me. Are you sure about this?” he said.
“It's being confirmed right now. What are you going to do?” asked the detective in the corridor.
“I'm almost done here” Langley gestured back at O'Neill.
“Right.”
“Let me know the minute that other information comes back will you?” said Langley .
“I've gotta tell you there's all hell breaking loose at the front desk. Big brass in big boots. You might not get very long.”
“Really? Well they'll just have to wait their turn.” and he shut the door again.
Langley studied the Colonel as the CSI guy checked him out.
His gut was telling him that this wasn't their man. The MO was off for a start, unless he'd changed tactics.
However the profile seemed to indicate that their man had found a pattern that worked very well for him ... unless the last ‘incident' had scared him.
The cabin was too far away to be probable, unless he was lying. He was still waiting for the background checks on that one.
What they really needed was body evidence.
The Forensic technician took photos of Jack's busted nose, and the knot on his head.
“These are definitely new abrasions, nothing underneath them. Is the police doctor on duty- has he been checked out?” The technician asked the detective.
“Not yet, he's on his way.” Langley reminded them.
Jack could feel gloved hands checking his face and head then move to his neck. He had a feeling the police doctor was never going to be ‘on his way'.
“There's something at the back here though- quite big, looks tender and recent.” noted the Tech guy, causing Langley to come over and look.
“Can you remove your sweater and shirt for me so I can get a better look at your neck?” he asked Jack, both of them missing the flash of disappointment on Langley 's face.
Damn he must mean the snake scar, how do I explain that? thought Jack.
“Remove your sweater and shirt please, and then place your hands flat on the table so I can get clear shots of both sides.” requested the technician.
“ You're gonna have to give me a hand here.” said Jack as he lifted up his supported wrist to show the detective and Tech guy who then looked it over.
“I can't do much with that except rig a sling or something, needs an x- ray.”
He still took pictures of Jacks hands as well as he and Jack were able, and then helped him remove the sweater; Jack managed to undo the shirt. The Technician pulled the shirt apart and off his shoulders. Jack's dog tags lay warm on his chest.
“Wow.” said the tech guy “ that's quite a collection you have there.” as he surveyed the lean muscled torso with its mementos of service in the line of duty.
Jack tuned the guy out as he took his photos. He hated this part. * Really * hated it. He struggled not to react, not to get up and go, not to smash the camera . He didn't like to be a side show. It didn't help that he'd been through this a few times in the service - but not for a while; probably Iraq was the worst time, but not the last. The Doc complained that his file was three times the size of any patient she'd had before and almost half of it was documentary photos that scared even her sometimes.
“Colonel?” said the detective- pulling Jack back into the present.
“Huh?”
“DNA mouth swab, that neck wound, and blood sample.”
Damn when this was over they were going to have to get his samples back before they ran them through the lab. Unidentified thingies in his blood work would get the lab or CDC too interested. Maybe Doctor Fraiser could hijack them? Jack wondered .
“Whatever.” said Jack * can't this just be over? Surely the General was on his way?*
The Technician did his stuff, gingerly cleaned his face up with some wipes and then left after helping to button up Jacks shirt. He offered to rig a temporary sling with his sweater but Jack refused and he put it back on- it wouldn't be long now he hoped.
* The c avalry should be saddled up and ready to leave by now *
“So how'd you get that injury on the back of your neck?” Langley was circling for the kill...just in case he was wrong.
“I got bitten while I was…away a few days ago, it got infected and there we are. Scar tissue, the damn thing itches like hell.” explained Jack knowing that it wasn't doing him any favors, but it was the truth. Why make something up?
“Ok. Now where were we? Oh yes. Are you married Colonel?” continued Langley still trying to get information, a link, and a clue- something.
“ Look- I'm sure you have all my details right *there* on that sheet, you know all this!”
“I need to hear it from you. Answer please, Colonel.”
“Divorced.” * crap, Jack could see where he was going to go with this line *
“She divorce you or the other way around?”
Jack sighed.
“She left me, we'd drifted apart. I got called up; when I got back she was gone, papers on the table.”
“Any kids? You said you liked children.”
Jack closed his eyes tight for a second then opened them to stare at the detective.
“We had a son. He died. We broke up. We divorced- end of story.”
“Uh huh, how old was your son Colonel?”
“10 almost 11”
“You still see your wife?”
“Ex- wife- sometimes. It was bad for a while, but it's sort of ok now.”
“What happened to your son?”
Jack let out a deep breath and stared at his colorful wrist in his lap.
“Colonel? Answer the question please.”
“He shot himself with my gun, at home.” he said quietly. The detectives head jerked up.
“That's why you divorced?”
“Pretty much. She forgave me but couldn't forget. As for me- I could never forgive myself but sometimes I can forget.” as he said the words he remembered saying something very similar to Daniel right after they'd got back from the second Abydos trip. Jack had collected the homeless stray and given him a beer at his house.
“Uh huh, so you know this Doctor Fraiser well?”
“She's the Chief Medical Officer at the base.”
“Do you like her?”
“Yes, when she isn't sticking me with needles. She's very good at her job.”
“I saw her in the interview room. She's an attractive lady.”
“I'm divorced, not dead.”
“So, you two ever go out on a date?”
“No.”
“Didn't ask her out and get rebuffed?”
“No.”
“Maybe you couldn't take no for an answer, and decide to get your own back in some sick way?”
“No!” snapped Jack.
“You said you were hurt a few months ago.”
“Correct.”
“Spent much time in the sick bay other than that?”
“On and off, routine physicals that sort of thing.”
“So you'd know where, for example, drugs would be kept?”
“I know where the locker is, but I don't know what's in there.”
“Okay.”
There was a knock on the door, Langley went to answer it. Jack couldn't hear the heated whispering between the two detectives.
“I'm almost through here. I'll be up there in a minute. Don't talk to him without me okay?” he heard Langley say before he shut the door again and faced Jack.
“ I think we're done for now.” said the detective. He ended the session on the tape, took it out, wrote on it and placed it in a plastic bag. He gathered it up with his folder and printouts.
“You mean I can go?” * Hallelujah *
“We're still waiting for confirmation of what you've told us. I'll have to put you in the pen, and we can take it from there.”
“Not going home then” confirmed Jack *at least he wasn't going in some small cell on his own *
“No, not just yet.”
“You don't think I did this do you? Are you going to charge me with anything?” stated Jack
“I'm not going to comment. We are pursuing all lines of enquiry. Let's go sir.” and he led Jack back out of the room along a corridor and down a flight of stairs to a caged room where several other people were already inside. A uniformed officer came up and opened the door and pushed Jack in, as the detective went to fill in some paperwork at a nearby desk.
Jack looked round at his temporary home, a bench on two sides. One end was occupied -an old man with long beard was wedged in the corner and snored loudly.
Come on, George where are you? Jack wondered.
He sat on the end of a bench. He leaned back against the wall, staring back out at the exit door. Back to playing the waiting game.
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