Tortured Soul, by Amaranth Traces

-- Chapter 2 --

I pushed my glasses up and pinched the bridge of my nose. This discussion was getting nowhere. With a tortured cry, I slammed my fists onto a nearby table.

Jack jumped. Teal’c raised his eyebrow. Fanren stopped snivelling. I’d had enough.

After taking a calming breath, I turned back to the questionable character before us. “Listen Fanren, it’s been fifty-two days. We need you to tell us where she is.”

Fifty-two days! Fifty-two days ago, everything was fine. Fifty-two days ago, we were on P27-593 negotiating a trade partnership with the locals. Fifty-two days ago, Sam had been kidnapped. My fault. I should have seen it coming.

In those fifty-two days, we had tracked Sam to Fanren. He was a weaselly little man; I had disliked him instantly. It had taken days for the villagers on P27-593 to finally admit that they had given her to a slave trader in exchange for the return of their chieftain. Her fair hair, skin and eyes apparently made her a valuable commodity. By the time we had found the slave trader, he had already sold Sam. In the last fifty-two days, she had passed hands fourteen times.

We had traced her across the galaxy ourselves. The Asgard and the Tollans were too caught up in their own little dramas to help us with ours. Even after all we had done for them – all that Sam had done for them. And we hadn’t been able to so much as contact the Tok’ra. Jacob was going to be pissed when he discovered what their apparent ‘fair-weather’ relationship had cost his daughter.

Fanren was the latest link in the chain, and he wasn’t talking. He was just nervously shaking his head. Well, that wouldn’t do at all.

I closed the space between myself and the man in two long strides. “Tell us where she is.” I struggled to keep my voice calm.

Fanren looked around my shoulder at Jack and Teal’c, and then turned his eyes back to me. “I–I can’t tell you! My clients are very touchy! They’d kill me for so much as saying their names! Or–or worse!”

“What do you think we’ll do to you?” Jack stepped in front of me and glowered down at Fanren.

Teal’c crossed his arms across his chest, leaned forward and glared in that threatening manner he does so well.

Fanren backed away from us, flattening his back against a wall. “She–she was here, but I sold her. She’s gone now! I swear!”

“To whom did you sell Major Carter?” Teal’c took a menacing step forward.

“I–I–I don’t remember!”

“I–I–I think you do!” Jack mimicked, curling his hands into fists.

“It was more than a month ago, I can’t remember!”

Teal’c took another step forward. I thought Fanren might wet his pants.

“I–I have records! I only track my–my...legal trades and sales, but the name might be there!” He scrambled over to a cabinet and pulled out several documents. He pushed them into Jack’s chest.

Jack shook his head and thrust his chin in my direction. I held my hand out for Fanren’s records.

Clearing space on a table with a sweep of my arm, I studied the documents for some clue as to Sam’s whereabouts. At least Fanren was considerate enough to write in common Goa’uld.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I looked up to see Jack grab the collar of Fanren’s tunic, preventing the trader’s early escape. Sighing in frustration, I turned back to the task at hand.

“Teal’c? Do any of these names seem familiar to you?”

Teal’c cast another threatening glance toward Fanren before moving to peer over my shoulder.

I ran my finger down the list before me.

“Sindar,” said Teal’c.

Fanren made a strange sound. I glanced over and saw him struggling to free himself from Jack’s grip.

“Who’s Sindar?” I looked up at Teal’c. He seemed even tenser than before.

“Sindar is the First Prime of Cronus.”

That explained it. Cronus had killed Teal’c’s father. He was also most likely the Goa’uld who had sent the Ashrak after Jolinar. If he had Sam...

“Did you sell Carter to Sindar?” Jack had Fanren by the scruff of his neck and was shaking him roughly.

“Please, he’ll kill me!”

“I’ll kill you if you don’t start talking!”

Fanren seemed to be having difficulty deciding who the greater threat was, us or Cronus. He must have concluded that we were at least the more immediate threat, because he finally started talking.

“When Cronus heard that I had a woman of the Tau’ri, he sent Sindar. He seemed very pleased when he saw her. He–he paid handsomely for her.”

I caught Jack’s eye, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was. This was it. We had found her. Cronus would still have her. I was sure of it.

“And now you’re going to tell us where Cronus is and everything you know about his defences.” Fanren again cowered before Jack.

“I don’t know anything!”

“You keep saying that. We still don’t believe you.”

That was it. I was at the end of my diplomatic rope. The ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine obviously wasn’t working with this guy. Time to try ‘bad cop, worse cop’.

I moved to stand next to Jack. Pushing him aside with the back of my hand, I faced Fanren head on. I drew my weapon and pressed the barrel against his head.

“Daniel!”

I had surprised Jack. He had to stop underestimating me. Or was that overestimating me? I could work out the moral ramifications later, when Sam was safe. I gave Fanren my most menacing glare. “You will tell us everything you know.”

“G–get him off of me!” Fanren’s voice was shrill.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jack shrug. “I’d try, but he never listens to me.”

“Where. Is. Cronus?" I punctuated each word with a nudge to his head from my gun.

“Okay–okay–okay! I’ll tell you just–just get him away from me!”

Hours later, Jack and Teal’c seemed confident that we had all of the information that we needed to mount a rescue mission. We headed back to the Stargate, finally with the workings of a plan.

We’re coming, Sam. Hang on.

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