11I know that sequels are never as good as the original, but can you blame me for trying? Enjoy, and please remember to review. Reviews are a writers best friend, as long as they're constructive. :) And a big thank you to MuseUrania, my first reviewer for this story.
Apparently, Senator Kinsey had been serious when he'd said that, unless Maria told Sam about what he wanted, they'd be seeing each other again. And again. And Again. Each time his temper got shorter, and the guards became so rough that bruises started to appear on her arms. Not to mention the long length of time she had to spend in that dark, little room.
Every time Kinsey told her the same thing:
"Just tell her what I told you to."
But Maria just kept refusing.
"No," she said. "You can talk to her yourself. But I won't be your puppet. I won't make Sam guilt-trip into working for you." Her words were brave, and she meant them. But she wasn't without fear. He could do whatever he wanted to her, at anytime. This time they'd interrupted her third hour physics exam to bring her there. What next?
To have his plan figured out by someone he thought to be clueless did not sit well with him. At all.
"Put her back in the holding cell," he ordered a guard, his face red.
The guard led her out by her arm, his grip tight on her already bruised forearm.
"Ow! Stop, please. I'm coming, already," she told the guard, wincing.
But her words fell on deaf ears.
He opened the door to the "holding cell"-which was more like a small walk in closet with a bench nailed to one wall-and shoved her inside. He shut the door immediately after, leaving her alone in the dark. She felt around in the dark for the bench, found it, and sat down. This could take awhile. She was dying to know what time it was.
What did this guy want Sam for so badly? She had no idea. But she knew that, whatever it was, Sam would never be happy doing it.
And why'd they have to drag her into it? Though she knew the answer to that question already. It was to ensure Sam's cooperation. To have Maria tell her what they'd been doing would drive their point home in the worst way. Or, as they saw it, the best way.
Still, she didn't like lying to her sister. And her current situation was no picnic, either. Sam had asked about the bruises the day before, when she got home from the base.
"Oh my God," she'd exclaimed. "What happened to you? Did you fall off your bike or something?"
Maria had hesitated, then said that she had indeed fallen, making up some story about not paying attention to where she was going.
And her sister wasn't the only one asking questions. Her friends did, too. She'd have to start wearing a jacket or something to school to hide the marks, she decided.
How long she could keep this up, though, was the real question.
Unable to sit still anymore, she stood up and paced about the small room. The she headed over to the door. She hesitated, then knocked.
"Hey!" She cried so they could hear. "I really, really need to go to the restroom."
This was no escape attempt; She really did need to.
A slot in the door slid open, and the guard peered in at her.
"Can't you hold it?" He demanded, aggravated as all the guards seemed to be.
"No! Dude, I've been holding it ever since I got here. Please?" She asked again.
The slot slid shut, and then the door opened.
"Come on," he told her. He pointed at a door marked "Restroom" just down the hall. "And hurry up!" He barked.
"Thank you!" Maria called as she practically flew down the hall and into the bathroom.
A few minutes later, feeling much better, she stepped back out into the hall, expecting to see the guard waiting for her. But he was gone. Weird. What was she supposed to do? Lock herself back in the cell? She walked over to it, unsure. She didn't want to go back in the dark, but knew that staying out would get her in trouble, most likely. But, knowing these guys, going back in could mean trouble, too.
Before she could make a decision, however, a different guard appeared at the end of the hallway opposite of her.
"You! What are you doing out of the holding cell?" He demanded, closing in on her, practically running. "Where's the guy who's supposed to be here?"
Maria stepped back, and opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly the guard yelled out:
"The prisoner's trying to escape! She's broken out of her cell! I need backup!"
What?-! No! The sound of running footsteps reached her ears.
"No, I'm not!" She cried out in protest. "I didn't-"
She was cut short by the guard, who had charged at her, and swung his fist out in a punch. It hit the side of her mouth, silencing her as it was obviously meant to.
She fell back and hit the floor, stunned. She tasted blood in her mouth, from where her gums had been cut by her teeth. It stung. But that was only the beginning.
Before she could even start to get up, he kicked her in the middle of her back, and then hooked his foot around part of her leg, forcing her to flip over onto her back despite the immense pain there.
She sucked in a breath to call out for some kind of help-if any real help there was to be found. But her cry was silenced before it even began. He'd kicked her in the side, and then, to her horror, he took his baton from his belt. He raised it...
And then... then all she felt was the pain from the blows. She couldn't even tell where he was hitting her. All she wanted was for him to stop. Stop. STOP!
She screamed, but couldn't tell if it was out loud or in her mind. Just when she thought it would never let up, it all simply ended. She heard voices, but they seemed far, far away. All she cared about was that the pain was gone. She felt numb all over. What's a nerve ending, again?
"Did you really have to hit her so hard, Sir?" She heard someone ask. They must've been the only person there with any soul left.
"She was trying to get away. What did you expect me to do?" The guard who'd beat her replied. "Never mind what I said about backup," he said to the rest of them. "I've got the situation under control now."
After he said that, the other guards started to walk away. But the guy who'd asked about the beating hesitated.
"She's bleeding from the mouth-" he started.
"She'll be fine," the guard who'd beat her interrupted, irritated. "Get back to your station."
God, why were they all so angry all the time?
"Yes, Sir," the young man replied. He glanced at her one last time as he turned and walked away.
Maria laid still the entire time, curled up in a ball-her only defense. Sam had taught her how to fight, but she wasn't experienced at all in real life. Especially when it came to sneak attacks.
"Get up, you!" He barked. But she only, instinctively, curled up tighter, afraid of his anger. But when he went to kick her again, she held up a hand for mercy, silently begging him to just wait.
She struggled to her feet, her back aching... everything ached and hurt unlike anything she'd felt before. It hurt even to breathe. Except for the time she got shot. Only when that happened, most of the time she'd been either passed out or on some kind of pain medication. But still, any kind of former experience could help, if only a little.
"Get back in the cell," he ordered.
Maria did as she was told, and, without a word, turned and walked back inside. At least he didn't push her.
He shut the door behind her, leaving her to grope around in the dark again until she found the bench. She collapsed on it, and laid down on the one side of her body that wasn't sore-she'd managed to protect it with her arm. Her legs, however, were left to dangle awkwardly off the end of the short bench.
But she didn't care. She didn't care that the wooden bench was hard, gave her splinters, and was way too short. It was a place she could rest. End of discussion.
Somewhere deep down inside of her felt angry-at the NID, at herself, even at Samantha. She felt hurt and scared, and just wanted it all to go away. More than anything, though, she just felt numb.
So she shut her eyes and went into an uneasy, restless sleep.
Sometime later she awoke to the sound of the cell door opening, and she watched through slitted eyes as someone stepped inside. All she could see was his silhouette because the light from the hall behind him seemed so bright. She stayed still, trying to fain sleep, wary.
"Are you awake?" He asked, whispering. It was that younger guy that'd tried to help her earlier. "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you, but I don't have a lot of time."
This was enough to make her sit up. "Help me how?"
He pulled something out of his jacket and put it on his hand.
"This will heal you of your injuries," he told her.
Maria realized what it was. It was a healing device. When she'd been hospitalized at the SGC after she'd been shot, her father had explained them to her. And he would have used one heal her, except they didn't have one on them.
He'd also told her how only people with naqueda in their blood could use devices like that. Like those who had been host to a Gua'uld once; or someone who still was.
He held out his hand as if to start, but she held up a hand to stop him.
"Wait." She told him. "Who are you? Tell me the truth." She had to know if he was a Gua'uld, but couldn't make herself ask him aloud for some reason. Fear, maybe?
Please, let him be a Tok'ra or something, she prayed. Let him be an ex-host to a Gua'uld. Anything but a real one.
"I am Tok'ra," he told her. His voice changed, and his eyes glowed as he spoke.
Though she had suspected it-and despite his words- she still almost screamed, until he covered her mouth with his hand.
"Trust me, Maria Carter," he insisted. "Will you let me heal you or not?"
Maria had a million questions to ask this self-proclaimed Tok'ra. Like, what in the world was he doing here at the NID headquarters as a guard? But she knew she didn't have the time.
Her body hurt with every breath she took, and he was offering to help her, to take the pain away. So why not let him? How could this hurt her?
"Alright," she answered when he removed his hand from her mouth. "And thank you."
"Anything for the one who rescued Selmak," he commented. Maybe that debt was the reason he risked blowing his cover for her.
His words made her almost roll her eyes. Still going on about that, were they? But whatever. The Tok'ra had kept their word about repaying her, it would seem.
"I need you to lie down on the floor," he instructed her.
She did so. "It's not gonna, like, hurt, is it?" She asked, though she wasn't really afraid of the pain. If it hurt, at least it would be for a good reason, right?
He shook his head, and held his hand up and above her stomach, where she'd been kicked most often. Then the device started to glow.
Maria felt the strangest sensation. It wasn't bad, but neither was it good. It just sort of was. Wherever the healing device went over on her body, she felt lukewarm on the inside, even inside her head, when he brought his hand over her bruised forehead.
The device shut down when he pulled his hand away from her, and the Tok'ra pulled it off his hand and put it back in his jacket.
"Thank you," she told him as he helped her to her feet.
He glanced back at the entrance of the cell, and Maria heard footsteps approaching.
"I've gotta go," he hissed, stepping back. "Consider yourself re-payed."
He said it somewhat coldly, but she could've sworn he gave her the smallest of smiles. She nodded, and he gave her one last look as he backed out and closed the cell door. She knew what that look meant. He was telling her not to give him away.
Of course she wouldn't, she thought. She sat down on the bench, gratefully noting the lack of aches and pains as she moved. She was still kind of tired, though, so she curled up as best she could to try and get some sleep. She could sleep much easier now knowing that someone here was on her side.
In Kinsey's office:
Senator Kinsey reclined back in the chair behind his desk, seeming to all the world as relaxed as a person could be. A knock on the door made him sit up, however.
"Enter," he called out.
The door opened, and a young looking guard stepped into the room.
"Ah," the senator said, recognizing the man. "It's done, then?"
In response, the man's eyes glowed, and he gave Kinsey a grin so evil it looked like something off of a horror movie.
"Yes Sir, it is," the Gua'uld replied. "She believed me completely when I told her that I was Tok'ra."
Kinsey nodded in approval. "How long, then?"
"Long enough to keep us from being suspected," was all the Gua'uld said.
"Good. You are dismissed," he told him, like the Gua'uld was just any guard.
But instead of refusing to be ordered around, the Gua'uld played along. He nodded, and left the office, closing the door behind him.
Senator Kinsey reclined back in his chair once again, and put his hands behind his head. Everything was going according to plan, for once.
There ends chapter two. I hope you enjoy the story so far. Just out of curiosity, does anybody out there(besides myself) know what Alfheim is? Just a little trivia for you. And please review. :)
I would also like to take this time to dedicate this story to my Papa Harry, who passed away a few days ago. Rest in peace, Papa.