Reckoning Night

Chapter 1

"Daniel! It's good to see you again." The small, middle-aged man, who Daniel had introduced to Jack and the rest of his team as Dr Simon Smith, greeted Daniel enthusiastically. He had a British accent, sounding like an American who had been living here for a long time. He looked at the team with curiosity. "Are these friends of yours?"

Daniel nodded. "This is Jack O'Neill, Sam Carter, and Teal'c. We were hoping we could maybe take a look at the artefact you found in Peru."

Jack had been mentally preparing himself for endless boring talks of archaeological gobbledygook and was pleasantly surprised that Daniel was getting down to business immediately.

"Oh, of course. It's currently not up for public display, as we're still trying to figure out what it is."

"I'm sure you can make an exception for us, Simon, can't you?" Daniel said.

Dr Smith smiled broadly. "I think I can arrange something for you. After all, I don't meet you guys from overseas every day! We really have to meet for dinner and catch up on the old times. How long are you going to be here?"

"Uhm ... I can't say for sure, we're planning to make a round-trip, so we're not staying in one place for very long. We just wanted to take the opportunity to have a look at the artefact while we're here."

"Ah, certainly. I understand you're in a bit of a hurry, then." If Dr Smith was disappointed to see them leave so soon, he didn't show it. He asked the team to wait while he went to talk to some people, and a short while later led them into the basement of the Higgins Museum, where the artefact in question was stored along with numerous other objects. It was deposited inside a glass box, maybe to prevent someone from stealing it, or to keep it safe from dust, or both. At first, it looked like it had in the photograph. Daniel and Carter took a close look at it, examining it from all sides, while Jack let his gaze wander over the rest of the large room. He didn't have an MP5 to rest his hands on as he was used to from their offworld missions, so he buried them in the pockets of his jeans. Teal'c was looking passive, even bored, but Jack knew that in reality, nothing escaped the Jaffa's notice. With the baseball cap that was hiding his tattoo and the cheery colours of his t-shirt and pants, he looked like a clueless tourist.

And Dr Smith was still hanging around, waiting for them to get finished with whatever they were doing.

Casually, Jack walked over to Daniel's friend. "Hey, our buddy from Mozambique" -- he gestured at Teal'c -- "wants to get an impression of our culture and history, would you mind showing him around a bit in the museum while we're busy?"

"Uh..." Dr Smith looked a bit hesitant.

"It's okay, we won't touch anything here. We just need a bit more time," Daniel assured him.

Finally, Dr Smith agreed and walked out of the room, followed by Teal'c who had slipped into his new role immediately.

"I don't see any cameras," Jack said. "I think we're safe."

Carter nodded and opened her pack, taking out a small device the size of a remote control with a digital display at the top. Jack referred to it as her "gameboy", since he had long ago forgotten what it was called. Carter pressed some buttons, held it close to the glass surface, and repeated the procedure a few times.

"I'm picking up some faint energy readings," she said. "The same type we also got from the Ancients' database on P3R-272."

"...and I assume regular artefacts don't do that?" Jack asked no one in particular, but didn't get an answer.

"I've been trying to translate the writings, but so far it doesn't make much sense," Daniel said. "The only basis for deciphering the Ancients' script was what Jack read to us, but I haven't had enough time to become familiar enough with the language yet."

"So you are sure it's the Ancients' writing?" Carter asked.

"Yes, it is. In fact, I'm pretty sure this really *is* a piece of alien technology, especially since you said it's giving off some kind of energy."

Jack had been watching the exchange with interest. "So ... what do we do now? Just grab it and take it back to the SGC?"

"Uhm, I don't think it will be that easy, Jack. You heard what Simon said, we won't be allowed to take it, and I'm not sure if General Hammond wanted us to *steal* it."

"But he also said we can't let it fall into the wrong hands, especially if it happens to be a weapon," Jack said. "Do you have any idea *what* it is?"

Daniel frowned. "Uh, no, as I said, I'm having a hard time with the writings. I *think* the first part means something like 'portal' or 'gate', but I'm not sure."

Jack's cell phone rang. With a frown, he took it and looked at the display. It turned out to be General Hammond calling from Cheyenne Mountain, so Jack decided it would not be wise to ignore the call.

"The Tok'ra have contacted us," the general said. "Their intel suggests that a Goa'uld might have slipped through the second Gate when it was still in use. Although there is a chance they could be wrong, I think we should take this seriously."

"Any idea where he is now?" Jack asked, already getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. There were enough Goa'uld out there in the galaxy, they didn't need them on Earth, as well.

"Nothing yet, but it supposedly happened roughly three weeks ago, so he could be anywhere right now. I just want you to keep your guard up, just in case the Goa'uld is interested in the artefact as well. Have you investigated it yet?"

"Yes, we have. In fact I'm standing next to it right now, with Carter and Daniel. They are pretty sure it's Ancient tech, but no clue what its purpose is. And the guys here don't want to let it go."

Hammond said he'd try to arrange something, but it might take a while. He would inform them if there was any change in the Goa'uld situation, and in the meantime, the team should keep a low profile.

Even though there was no one around, Jack kept his voice low as he told his teammates what Hammond had said.

"There's a Goa'uld on the loose? On Earth?" Daniel sounded like he didn't really believe this could be happening.

"Well, it's possible," Carter explained with her infallible logic. "The teams who used the second gate probably never did MRI or CAT scans on their returning travellers. He could have easily slipped through without anyone noticing."

Steps could be heard outside the door, and Carter quickly stopped talking and let her measuring instrument disappear into her pack. Dr Smith and Teal'c returned from their short trip, Teal'c's face impassive as always.

"So, did you see something interesting?" Jack greeted the Jaffa cheerily.

"Indeed," Teal'c said in his usual cryptic way.

Dr Smith seemed to be slightly unnerved by this. Stepping close to Jack, he asked in a low voice, "Does this guy understand English at all?" He looked like he feared whatever he had been explaining to Teal'c had been a total waste of effort.

"Oh, don't worry, he does understand quite well, he just doesn't talk ... much," Jack assured him.

"This artefact is very interesting," Daniel remarked. "Thanks for letting me study it in detail."

Dr Smith immediately went into what Jack called 'geek-mode'. "It's amazing, isn't it? But it fits into no known culture on Earth, especially not the South American ones. The symbols are a mystery to me." He paused for a moment, then apparently had a sudden idea. "Hey, you're the linguist here. Can you make any sense of the writings?"

"Uh..." Daniel faltered briefly, and Jack hoped he wouldn't say anything which could lead to awkward questions later. "Actually, no, I don't know what they say, either." Which was the truth, since Daniel had already stated he wasn't familiar enough with the Ancients' written language to translate the symbols directly.

"Oh." Dr Smith had clearly hoped for a miracle. "Anyway, my invitation to dinner for you all still stands. What about tomorrow evening?"

"Sounds good," Daniel said before Jack could come up with a reason not to go. At least it wasn't going to be today, which was a relief, since he was still jet-lagged. He was just hoping they wouldn't run into the Goa'uld somewhere along the way.

-----

In a small, nondescript office somewhere in the United States, Colonel Maybourne was pacing up and down, definitely not in one of his best moods. "We have a problem," he said, coming straight to the point. "General Hammond is accusing us of having let a Goa'uld come through the second Gate."

There was a moment of silence as the two NID-agents tried to digest the information.

"Well, sir, in theory it could be possible," said Agent Devlin hesitantly. "We didn't exactly check each and every--"

"I know that!" Maybourne snapped, stopping directly in front of the other man to glare at him. "It's their arrogant attitude that annoys me. After all, it's not like it never happened at the SGC!"

"But who is the Goa'uld?" Agent Moschella asked. "I don't think I've noticed anyone acting in a suspicious way."

"I don't know, and I'm pretty sure the SGC doesn't have a clue, either. It supposedly happened about three weeks ago."

Devlin looked thoughtful. "Now that you mention it, I think Blake disappeared about three weeks ago. I always assumed he was killed on an offworld mission ... unless that wasn't *quite* what happened."

Maybourne resumed his pacing. "Whether it is Blake or not, it seems Hammond knows more about his whereabouts than we do. Coincidentally, he has sent SG-1 off to Great Britain just two days ago and I don't believe for a minute they are there on vacation as they try to make it appear. My guess is they already have a hint or trace to the Goa'uld and are trying to find him."

"Then I suggest we follow them," said Devlin.

"That is exactly what you will do," Maybourne said. "Both of you are going to find out what they know and preferably find the Goa'uld before they do. Remember to bring him alive -- a dead Goa'uld is useless to us."

-----

There were days when Mallory Kemp wished he had never become an Auror. There were days when he wished he didn't have to put his life on the line again and again, when he wished he didn't have to feel like each time his girlfriend wished him good luck for a mission would be the last.

But there were also days when he knew he was doing the right thing; when he knew each strike against the Dark wizards was a potential step towards victory, and he knew he was, though young, a very capable fighter and a valuable member of the team.

There was an odd crowd of people waiting in front of the Aurors' Apparition chamber of the Ministry of Magic when he stepped out of the locker room. They were all friends, waiting to wish him luck, and to give him the occasional piece of well-meant advice.

"Folks, you're making me feel like I'm about to face the Dark Lord in person!"

"It could still be a trap." Sirius frowned like he always did when he was worried. "You don't know if this guy is going to sell out like he claimed, or if he is going to sell *you* out."

"I have the voice-recorder and my portable Foe-Glass," said Mallory, trying to reassure the others as well as himself. "If something goes wrong, I will have at least a warning, and you can still pick up the recorder later if ... if I don't come back. You know we can't pass up the chance."

"We have something better." It was one of the Weasley twins who said this, but Mallory couldn't tell if it was Fred or George. He was handed a strange object that looked like a pair of omniculars with something that looked like a long white string attached to the front. "We've been working on this ever since we moved our shop to Hogsmeade, and you're the first who gets to use it. It's the prototype of our brand new invention, the Extendable Eyes." The other twin added, "It's working perfectly, it's just a bit ... er, bulky, but we're working on that." Both of them looked at each other and grinned.

Mallory thanked them and placed the Extendable Eyes into his bag next to his Foe-Glass. He sighed. "I should be going."

"Let's hope you come back with good news," Sirius said.

Mallory forced a smile on his face but he knew it didn't look right.

Maggie, his girlfriend, had been standing there the whole time without saying a word. Now she stepped close and gave him a tender kiss, whispering "Good luck" in his ear. There were no tears in her eyes. There never were. They weren't necessary. Mallory pulled her close and gave her a tight hug, like he always did.

Because he never knew when it might be the last.

-----

Even though Sam had said it wouldn't matter to her, the guys had insisted on a separate room for her, as they weren't on a field trip but officially 'on vacation', so they could as well take advantage of it. Right now, Sam was sitting in the 'guys' room' with the rest of the team, discussing what they were going to do about the artefact.

"Have you ever seen an object like this before?" Daniel asked Teal'c, clearly grasping for straws, hoping for any kind of clue they might get as to the device's function.

"I have not."

That was not very encouraging, Sam thought. "If it's really some kind of weapon, we have to get it out of the Higgins Museum as soon as possible," she said.

Daniel shrugged. "I suppose at this point we can only wait and see if General Hammond can arrange something for us. Until then, we just keep an eye on it, and watch out for the Goa'uld."

"I believe any Goa'uld would be interested in a piece of Ancient technology, so we should be watchful," Teal'c declared.

"Then I'm wondering why he hasn't shown up yet," Sam said.

"Maybe he doesn't read the right magazines," O'Neill suggested.

"Or maybe it isn't a weapon at all," Daniel said. "At least it didn't look like one."

O'Neill gave him a long-suffering look. "Daniel, weapons don't always have to look like weapons. It could be ... whatever, a bomb maybe. Something dangerous that's just waiting to fall into the hands of someone who wants to rule the world."

Sam said, "This small circular indention on the one side of the device -- maybe it can be opened in some way. Maybe there is something inside that is important for its function, something we haven't seen yet."

Daniel looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hey, maybe it's a container for something. It does look sort of like the aliens' equivalent of a tin can, doesn't it?"

O'Neill stared at Daniel. Teal'c raised an eyebrow. Sam blinked.

"Hey, it was just a suggestion." Daniel raised his hands in mock surrender.

Jack said, "What ever it *really* is, we do know it's alien technology, and we don't want some archaeologists to find out by accident. As much as you dislike it, the Stargate program and everything involving it is still classified."

"We should ask Simon if we can see it again tomorrow," Daniel suggested. "Maybe I can persuade him to let us take it out of the glass case, so that we can check for hidden mechanics or buttons or find out if the circular indention can really be opened." He paused. "They probably tried all that already, but maybe they missed something," he added as an afterthought.

"Maybe we should be glad they missed it. Who knows, they could have accidentally set off a doomsday device, and the world would be ruled by archaeologists now," O'Neill said, deliberately ignoring Daniel's glare.

-----

Mallory was pacing the small room of the Muggle hotel. Three steps, bump into the bed, three more steps, bump into the drawer with the television set. A glance at the Foe-Glass; no change. Maybe this had all been a mistake, or a hoax. Maybe the Death Eater who had supposedly switched sides didn't exist, or maybe he had forgotten his 'appointment'.

Or maybe he'd show up in the next second and kill Mallory on the spot. Mallory wondered at which point in his life he had become such a pessimist.

When he thought he had heard the sound of steps in the hallway, he jumped to the door and strained his ears.

Nothing.

He was sure he had heard steps, very quiet ones, but still steps.

Mallory took out the Extendable Eyes the Weasley twins had given him, pushed the long stringy end through the keyhole, and looked through the viewfinder.

At first he saw nothing, since the corridor was rather dark. A dim illumination was coming from the exit lights on one side, and now Mallory noticed the shadowy figure silhouetted against the background. It was hard to tell in the twilight, but it looked like the person was wearing dark robes, the kind a wizard in general and a Death Eater in particular would wear. Apparently he had not bothered to change into Muggle clothes like Mallory had, but maybe he didn't expect to be seen by anyone who was not a wizard.

And why was he just standing there? In front of the wrong door, too -- it was the door of room number 118, the one next to Mallory's, not his own. Maybe the guy had mixed up the room numbers ... but hadn't it been him who had given the point of meeting to the Aurors in the first place?

Frowning in confusion, Mallory glanced at the Foe-Glass, but it showed only dark, shadowy forms, all of them far enough away. Possibly the person outside was someone Mallory didn't know yet. And what was he doing standing in front of his neighbours' door? Mallory looked through the viewfinder again. The mysterious wizard was still there. Maybe he was eavesdropping on a conversation, Mallory thought suddenly. For a few minutes, the wizard kept standing there, then he suddenly started moving towards Mallory's own door. Hastily, Mallory stuffed the Extendable Eyes, the Foe-Glass and the magical voice-recorder into his bag and grabbed his wand. There was a soft knock on the door. Mallory tightened his grip on his wand. It would be a wasted opportunity if he backed out now, even if it was a huge risk. He unlocked the door and opened it.

The face of the black-robed man was mostly shadowed by a broad hood, but from what Mallory could see, it was someone he didn't know. He stepped aside to let the stranger into his room, all the while trying to tune out the little voice in his head which kept trying to tell him this was a bad idea.

"Best close the door and lock it," the stranger instructed him, casting a quick glance around the room. "Is this room safe? No suspicious activity? No chance to monitor or eavesdrop?"

Mallory turned the key in the lock and shook his head. "No, it should be perfectly safe, don't worry." He glanced at the stranger with narrowed eyes. Why was he asking this? Was he afraid his fellow Death Eaters had found out about his intentions and were trying to stop him? It would have been the logical answer if the man had looked at least a bit scared or nervous, but neither seemed to be the case.

The next thing the stranger did was to cast a Silencing Charm on the whole room. "Very good," he said and spun around to face Mallory, his wand trained on the Auror. "Regrettably, your informant has been neutralized. I am here to take his place." Neutralized? By the cruel smile that played around his lips, Mallory could tell that for him this incident wasn't regrettable at all.

A cold stab of fear suddenly went through him. This really *was* a bad idea. Maybe he should just walk out of the room, down the stairs and out of the hotel, and pretend he had never agreed to this, never showed up here, and never met this madman. Aurors were supposed to be brave and courageous, and facing danger was part of the business deal, but there was a thin line between courage and stupidity, and staying right now seemed extraordinarily stupid.

He prepared to Disapparate, but was stopped short when the stranger said coldly, "Don't even try. This room has been jinxed. You can't Apparate without Splinching yourself."

Mallory couldn't tell if he spoke the truth or if he bluffed, but he really had this funny tingly feeling for a split second, when he had been about to Apparate, which gave his claim a lot of credibility. But then, even the jinx could be a bluff. Mallory could just risk it. Or he could just walk out the door.

Which meant he'd have to unlock it first, and to do that, he'd have to turn his back on the Death Eater, which was also on his list of extraordinarily stupid things to do.

He was trapped.

"What do you want?" Mallory was trying to buy some time, time to come up with a plan, an idea, anything that would not end up with him dead ... or worse.

"This is the perfect chance to get rid of an enemy, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah." Mallory wasn't quite sure who was going to get rid of whom. "Just one among many, but better than nothing, huh?"

"Your side has weakened considerably since the Dark Lord's return." The man took a step forward and Mallory instinctively backed up, bumping into the door. "And the worst is yet to come, once he has his new weapon."

The man had a point -- losing any of the Aurors now would be a heavy blow to the strength of their forces. No one could be sure of the actual number of followers the Dark Lord had, human or otherwise, so it was hard to guess how much damage the death of one of them would do. And Mallory would make sure it was the other guy who died, not him. He had briefly considered to try and capture him alive, but at this point he had to admit he'd be pretty happy if he stayed alive himself, and anything else was a bonus. But what was this talk about a new weapon?

His training kicked in. Deciding that offence would be the best form of defence, Mallory quickly cast a disarming spell, but apparently his opponent had thought the same. Their spells collided in mid-air and bounced off in different directions.

What a great start. Mallory had to leap onto the bed to evade a Bone-Breaking Curse that followed immediately after the first one. He shouted a spell in retaliation, trying to keep his balance on the wobbly surface of the bed. The Coil of Flames that should have sprung from his wand never came. A feeble orange glow wavered towards the Death Eater, left a trace of smoke where it brushed his robes, and vanished.

Mallory blinked. The Death Eater raised an eyebrow. "That's the best you can do?" he asked in a mocking tone. Mallory was staring at his wand in disbelief. This was definitely not the best he could do. Actually, the Coil of Flames was his speciality and he had studied it to perfection. Sure, it was very advanced magic and not many wizards mastered the spell, but the last time he had produced such a sickly wisp of fire had been at the beginning of his training. What was going on?

He was so caught up in bewilderment that he didn't see the Cruciatus Curse coming. It hit him directly in the chest. He collapsed as he was hit with a shockwave of pain, he felt himself twisting backwards, falling right off the bed, his head smashed into the floor, and blackness engulfed him.

-----

Someone was pounding at the door. Daniel turned around with a groan and tried to shut out the noise by burying his head under the pillow. More knocks were heard, this time even louder and more insistent. Someone outside the door shouted something that Daniel couldn't understand with the pillow over his ears. Somewhere near him, a bed creaked. Daniel tossed the pillow aside and glanced at the alarm clock on his bedside table. Even though the clock said it was ten thirty in the morning, his body was convinced that it was still in the middle of the night.

He watched Jack trudge towards the door to open it. Daniel could only see the back of his head, but he knew there must have been a scowl on Jack's fact that would make the person at the door wish he had never disturbed them. Maybe it was just the maid who was wondering why they were sleeping so long.

Jack exchanged a few words with whoever was outside, then closed the door and turned around to Daniel and Teal'c, swiping a hand through his tousled hair. "That was just what we needed. There has been a murder in the room next door this night and the police want to question us."

"Oh, great," Daniel mumbled, cursing their rotten luck.

Teal'c, who had been sitting on the floor Kel'no'reeming, said with noticeable concern in his voice, "Captain Carter is--"

At the same time, it hit Daniel, too. "Wait a minute, next door? Is Sam--"

Jack interrupted them. "She is okay," he quickly assured his teammates. "It was the other next door, 119, not 117." He pointed in the general direction of the room right of theirs. "But we shouldn't keep the police waiting for too long, so maybe we should get ourselves ready."

After they had showered and dressed, they stepped out into the corridor, where they were greeted by chaos. Several police officers and a few other people were running around, and the door of number 119 was open but had been blocked off with yellow tape. Sam appeared shortly after them. Each of them had to tell the police where they had been last night, what they had done, and what they had seen or heard about the murder. In the end, the police officer who had been questioning them was forced to let them go without having gained any useful information at all. With the explicit order to stay in the area for further questioning, should it be necessary, the team walked off to find some place to eat breakfast, since it was already a bit too late for the one that was served at the hotel.

"Do you think it might have been the Goa'uld who killed the man?" Daniel thought out loud when they were out of earshot.

Sam shook her head. "I don't think so. Why kill someone who is not involved, instead of us? It doesn't make any sense. It must have been a coincidence that we just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Goa'uld do have a tendency to kill innocent bystanders," Jack reminded her. "Maybe he just mixed up our rooms and accidentally picked the wrong one."

"The question remains why he did not show any interest in our presence even if he chose the incorrect entrance at first," said Teal'c.

"I think it's much weirder that we didn't hear anything at all. I was two rooms away so I could have missed it, but you were right next to him. The officer said there were signs of struggle, and it should have carried through the walls. If you ask me, we just made ourselves very suspicious by claiming we heard nothing."

"I certainly didn't hear anything," Daniel stated. "There could be reasons for that. Other than us being the prime suspects, that is. The murderer did something that prevented any noise coming out of the room. Or he prevented any noise being made in the first place."

Whatever it was, they would leave it for the police to find out and focus their own energy on alien artefacts and Goa'uld for now.

-----

"Please sir, no civilians are allowed at the crime scene. You are not permitted to go upstairs."

Sirius glared at the Muggle police officer and then pulled Remus aside. "I told you something wasn't right!" he hissed, irritated and at the same time very, very worried.

Remus had a frown on his forehead that probably mirrored Sirius' own. "Crime scene?" he asked, the question mark clearly written on his face. "What the hell happened here?"

"We're going to find out." With determined strides, Sirius walked back to the police officer standing at the bottom of the staircase that led to the upper rooms of the hotel, Remus following closely behind him.

"Actually, we're special investigators on this case. We're here to ... uh, investigate the crime scene." Sirius knew it was very apparent that he had just made this up on the spot, but it wouldn't matter. He waited while the police officer eyed his black motorcycle suit and Remus' jeans and shirt with a raised eyebrow.

"IDs please," he demanded, probably because he wanted to have their criminal records checked rather than the fact whether they were really special investigators or not.

"No problem, sir," Sirius said nonchalantly, took his wand from the inside pocket of his jacket and said, "*Obliviate!*"

The officer blinked a few times and looked at them quizzically.

"We're special investigators here to see the crime scene," Sirius reminded him helpfully.

After a few more moments of staring at them blankly, the officer said, "Of course, sir" and moved aside to let them through. As they were walking up the staircase, Remus said in a low voice, "I hope you haven't done any permanent damage."

Sirius looked at his friend. "Do you think I can't cast a simple Memory Charm?"

Remus sighed. "No, but ... maybe you should let me handle things like this. You might step on the wrong toes one day. You might one day ... accidentally ... go too far."

"Who are you?" asked another officer, interrupting them. "This area is off-limits."

Sirius ignored him and pushed past him, approaching the open door with quick strides, his wand still in his hand.

"Hey!" shouted the officer, coming after them. Two other men, who were standing in front of the open door, turned around and noticed them. Sirius roughly shoved them aside and got his first good look into the room. His blood ran cold and he recoiled involuntarily. "Oh crap," he heard Remus mumble behind him, voicing his own thoughts.

Mallory's body was lying on the floor in a pool of dried blood, very obviously dead. The bed cover was disarranged and the bedside lamp was broken on the floor. Feeling strangely numb, Sirius took a step into the room, but was held back by a hand gripping his forearm. He spun around, ready to snap at the annoying Muggles to leave him the hell alone, but stopped short when he saw it was Remus who had held him back.

"We need to talk," he said in a low voice, nudging Sirius towards the direction of the stairs again.

"Hey, wait a minute," said one of the policemen. "You two give me your names and address. You can't just barge in--"

Sirius turned around and snarled back, "First you want us to leave, and now you want us to wait, can you decide on one thing for a change?"

Baffled by his outburst, the officer stared at him, which gave Remus time to pull Sirius away. "Listen," he said quickly. "It's obvious that something went wrong with the meeting, and Mallory was killed in the process. But this is all our business, and the Muggles shouldn't get involved with this."

"Agreed," Sirius grumbled. "And what does Mr Let-Me-Handle-This suggest?"

"We put them all under a Memory Charm, maybe a Confundus Spell, too, and send them home." Only now did he seem to notice Sirius' stare. "What?"

"How exactly," Sirius said, speaking slowly and carefully, "are your ways to 'handle things' different from mine?"

-----

In the late afternoon, the SG-1 team went back to the Higgins Museum because Daniel insisted on taking another look at the artefact. "Maybe I will notice something new that I have overlooked before," he said.

Jack didn't want to spend more boring hours hanging around at the museum, but he had to admit that the artefact *was* their primary mission target and if Daniel wanted to look at it again, so be it. Jack could as well go and have a drink with Teal'c in the meantime, if Carter wanted to stay with Daniel.

However, his plans were thwarted as soon as the team met Dr Smith in the entrance hall. Daniel's friend looked rather distressed.

"Simon, is everything alright?" Daniel asked with concern in his voice. "Did something happen?"

Dr Smith looked like he was searching for words, but couldn't find the right ones. "I ... the artefact ... have you talked about this to anyone? Or mentioned something that could have been overheard? Has anyone shown interest in it?"

Puzzled, they all shook their heads. Daniel asked again what was going on.

"I ... you won't believe me, you better come and see for yourself."

The team members looked at each other in confusion. "What's wrong?" Daniel asked.

"Come and see for yourself," Dr Smith repeated. They followed him into the storage room in the basement, wondering what was going on. Dr Smith unlocked the door and let them inside. Jack's gaze immediately wandered to the place where the artefact had been just one day ago. The glass case was still there.

The artefact was gone.

-----