Fading Memories
By Terri D. Thomas
Part 5
"So is there any basis for holding him?" Detective Tamara Schmidt asked the uniformed officer.
Officer Baylor glanced back at the scientist who was being treated by the ambulance attendant. "Dr. Jackson doesn't have any outstanding warrants. We can't find any weapon on either his person or in the alley, so no, I'd say there isn't enough to hold him." The man paused for a moment, glancing back at Daniel once again.
"What?" the detective asked.
"The whole thing. He and his. . .friend, which no one has seen, by the way, stumble onto a murder and now supposedly his friend is missing. Damned suspicious. I say he and his friend killed the guy and then the friend turned on him. Left him to take the fall."
The detective shook her head. "Okay, so that's what you think. But Frank, last time I looked, it takes more than theories to get a conviction. You had better have some shred of evidence to support this."
The officer nodded. "Okay, so it's a little thin. But it's still damned suspicious."
"So the friend's still missing?"
"Yep. We have a APB on him, but nothing's turned up so far." The man pointed to Daniel. "This guy doesn't seem all that anxious to have us find him."
"Name?"
Baylor pulled out his notebook . "A. . .Tealc," the officer pronounced awkwardly. He then spelled the name. "T-e-a-l-c. Must be foreign," the man grumbled.
The detective smiled and shook her head. "No matter. Description?"
"Dr. Jackson gave us the minimum details. Large guy. . .built like a linebacker it sounds like."
"And he doesn't know what happened to him?"
"Nope. According to the doctor, the two of them stumbled upon the shooting and tried to apprehend two men. The doctor was injured in the fight and the friend disappeared. He thinks this Teal'c took off after them."
"Damn. Stupid move. If he's innocent then there's no telling what happened to him." The woman looked at the injured doctor and moved towards the ambulance. "I want to talk to Dr. Jackson myself."
Daniel was sitting on tailgate fingering the large white bandage that had been applied to his temple. He heard the approaching footsteps and looked up. The emergency lights, which had been set up in the alley, revealed a slender woman approaching. Her dark hair framed her face. When his eyes met hers she smiled. "Dr. Jackson?"
"Yes," Daniel answered immediately.
"I'm Detective Schmidt."
"Is there any word on my friend?"
"No, I'm sorry, there's not. Of course you haven't given us much to go on," the woman chided.
Daniel felt the heat of embarrassment rise in his face. "I'm sorry. I'm not. . .thinking too straight," he lied.
The woman looked at the attendant. "How is he?"
"No concussion. Probably should have a couple of stitches, but he refuses to go to the hospital," the man responded, shaking his head.
The detective tilted her head at Daniel. "Why?"
"I'm okay."
"Head wounds aren't something to fool around with," Schmidt admonished.
"I've had worse," Daniel muttered.
The woman nodded, eyeing him suspiciously. "Officer Baylor tells me you stumbled onto the shooting."
"Yeah. . .my friend and I heard the shot."
"Can you describe the shooters?"
"It was dark. They were dressed in dark clothing. All I know was that they were large men."
"Come on, Doctor. I need more than that."
"I don't have more than that. I was injured and I don't remember what happened after that."
"So you have no idea where your friend went?"
"No. . .none." Daniel couldn't help the worry which tinted his words. He paused for a moment. "Am I free to go?"
The woman looked at her notes and thought for a moment. "We have no basis to hold you. But we do need you to come down to the station and sign a statement."
Daniel sighed. "Do I have to do that now?"
The detective shook her head. "No. It won't be typed up until the morning. Can you be in by 10:00?"
Daniel nodded his head. "Of course." He glanced back at the alley. The medical examiner was wheeling the plastic-covered body of the victim to the coroner's van. "Who was he?"
"According to his ID, his name was Michael Simpson. Lived a few blocks from here."
"Was it a mugging?"
Schmidt shook her head. "Doesn't look like it. His wallet and watch are still on him."
"Why would they kill him?" Daniel whispered, more to himself than to the detective.
The woman shrugged. "Who knows. Until we do some background digging we won't have a clue." She started to walk away. "Remember, 10:00 tomorrow."
Daniel nodded. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, and one more thing, don't leave town."
Daniel frowned. "Why?"
"Well, Dr. Jackson, you're the closest thing we have to a witness to this murder," she answered.
"I'm a suspect," Daniel guessed.
"Well, you were found in the proximity of the decedent. Your 'friend' is missing. It looks a little suspicious."
Daniel shook his head. "There's absolutely no basis for suspecting me."
"I know," Det. Schmidt acknowledged. "That's why you aren't being arrested. Just don't get any cute ideas about leaving the area."
Daniel sighed. "I work. . .out of town."
"For the government," the woman completed, glancing at her notes once again.
"I. . .travel a lot."
"Your boss will be able to tell me where you are?"
Daniel thought about his answer for a moment. He reached into his wallet and pulled out a slip of paper. He jotted down a name and phone number. "If you can't find me at my apartment, call this number. They'll know where I am."
The woman frowned at the note. "I don't know that exchange."
"It's a government number."
"I know all the government numbers," Schmidt muttered.
"It's a. . .new project."
The detective shook her head. "Great, another government program. That's all we need." She slipped the paper into her small notebook. "Okay, you can go. If we find your friend, we'll call you."
Daniel nodded and watched the woman walk away. He glanced up and down the alley, hoping one last time that he would see the familiar sight of Teal'c. The Jaffa was not there. Daniel stood and tested his balance. His head still ached, but there seemed to be no other residual effects from the wound. Taking a deep breath he straightened his body and took his first steps back to the bar. Setting his jaw, he knew what he had to do. There was no way he was going to leave his friend out there alone.
Teal'c looked down at his clothing. His armor was gone. In its place was clothing which was unfamiliar to him. More than that, his staff weapon was missing. He had been disarmed without being aware. As First Prime to Apophis, it would be equal to a mortal sin to be without the proper armament of the Jaffa.
His confusion was almost overwhelming. In all of the battles he had fought, he had never suffered a loss of memory. . .a loss of being. But now he stood in the middle of a foreign land, completely separated from all which was familiar to him and he had no idea how it had happened.
Glancing at his surroundings, he hoped to find some sign of the Chaapa'ai. If he could locate it, perhaps he would find signs of his fellow Jaffa and he would stand a chance of returning to his homeland. Strange buildings were to his left. Off to his right, a short distance away, he could barely see the outline of trees against the night sky. Beyond them, was the form of a mountain. He could see no sign of the transportation ring, however.
Before he could decide whether it was safe to leave, the glaring lights of an approaching mass caught his attention. He heard an unfamiliar rumbling sound. His instinct for self-preservation took over and he ducked behind the bushes which surrounded him. An odd looking transport vehicle moved past his position. He could see two occupants inside, one male and one female. They looked no different than he. However, this vehicle was unfamiliar to him.
Allowing the vehicle to disappear from sight, he touched the head wound once again. The blood on his face was still sticky, but it was quickly drying against his skin. The wound itself had almost completely healed as a result of his larva Goa'uld. With the physical injury all but gone, it made no sense to him why he was unable to remember how and why he was in this place.
Before he could make a move from his cover, another set of lights approached in the distance. Teal'c ducked behind the bushes again. This vehicle was similarly shaped as the last, but was moving slower, a separate bright light being directed up and down the side streets as if looking for something or someone.
Teal'c instinctively knew that he was the object of this search. He was in enemy territory and he was Jaffa, a known servant of Apophis and a friend to no one.
He allowed the vehicle to pass. Considering his options, which were few at best, he decided to move to the safety of the wooded area in the distance. He could only hope that the Chaapa'ai was located there.
End Part 5
To Part 6