At the sound of a loud knock, General Hammond looked up to find the computer tech he’d called an hour before hovering at the door to his office.

"Come in Captain Harold. What were you able to find out?" Hammond gestured for him to have a seat in one of the chairs across from his desk. The tall man sank gratefully into the chair, but leaned forward, his hands gesturing as he spoke.

"Well, Sir, we haven’t been able to figure out who the person if that sent the message." When Hammond started to complain, Harold raised his hand asking Hammond to hold his thought while he continued. "User144001 is an anonymous account and lists an address in Florida that doesn’t exist. So, we had to do a little more backtracking. We’ve managed to find out that the user has been using an ISP provider in the Northwestern United States, which helped us to concentrate our efforts somewhat."

Harold paused, his eyebrows drawn together in thought. He continued speaking a few beats later. "From what we can best work out, the person we’re looking for is probably in Montana or Idaho and is using a wireless connection to get online. We haven’t gotten much further yet. The ISP is very protective of its clients."

"Have you informed them that this is an official government investigation?" Hammond frowned at the Captain’s words.

Harold nodded. "They are checking with their company officials. Hopefully, they’ll be able to get back to us soon with the information we need."

"I have to call Major Carter in a few minutes to tell her where to go. What do I tell her, that we’re still working on the problem?" Hammond knew he was being testy but he didn’t care. The images of Jack still haunted him.

"If I had to guess," Harold said, his words coming slowly. "I’d pick Montana. It’s just a guess, but that’s where I’d be. There’s lots of open space, but also enough resources available if you needed something."

Hammond’s eyes narrowed. He wasn’t happy with the answer, but at least it was a start. "How long will it take for you to narrow this down to something more than just a guess?"

"If they cooperate, maybe a few minutes, if not, it might take a little longer. I’d rather not estimate in that case, Sir."

Hammond nodded. "Very well, Captain. Thank you for your help. If you hear anything else, I want to know immediately."

Harold stood and nodded. "I will, Sir.." He hesitated before continuing. "No disrespect intended, but I want to find Colonel O’Neill as much as you do, Sir. We’re doing everything we can—and then some—to find him."

"Thank you, Captain," Hammond said, smiling as the young man strode out of his office.

They were so close, but close only mattered in horseshoes—or so he’d been told.

They were nearly at Andrews Air Force Base when Sam’s cell phone rang. She glanced up, catching Daniel’s eye in the rearview mirror before she picked up the call.

"Carter."

"Major, this is General Hammond. I wanted to call and give you an update as soon as I had something for you."

"Thanks, General. I appreciate it. What were you able to find?" Out of the corner of her eye Sam saw Teal’c turn in the passenger seat to look at her, his head tilted as if that would allow him to hear both sides of the conversation better.

"It seems like Stephan Selig was in contact with someone in Montana or Idaho as best as we can tell on such short notice. I’ve put in a request for you to have at your disposal a pilot and a Gulfstream that is equipped with advanced communications equipment. Report to General Thompson when you arrive on base and she should have your orders and your plane ready. As soon as I can give you a better location, I’ll relay the information to you while you’re in flight."

"Thank you, Sir. That’ll make things a lot easier at this end. We appreciate all you’ve done," Sam said, her gratitude clearly evident in her voice.

"I’ve also asked for a warrant to be put out for Stephan Selig. In light of the information you passed along to me, a number of government investigators want to speak with him. He was not in his office when they stopped to speak with him a short time ago. His secretary claimed that he had a last minute change of plans that was going to take him out of state for several days."

"He might have gotten spooked last night because of our visit," Sam said, a quiver of fear in her voice. "If we—"

"Major, you were doing your job and I don’t think he has much of a lead on you—a few hours if that. We’re going to find him," Hammond said confidently, calming her fears. "Stay in touch, Major. I’ll call you as soon as I have something else to pass along. Goodbye, Major."

Hanging up the phone, Sam was assaulted by the silence in the sedan. Looking back and forth between the two men in the front seat, she smiled for the first time in days. They were finally getting somewhere but there was still a long road ahead of them. "I think we’re going to Montana."

Daniel sighed as he leaned back in the overstuffed seat in the Gulfstream General Hammond had commandeered for them. He could get used to traveling like this, he thought with a slight smile. It sure beat commercial plane travel.

Once they had arrived at Andrews, it had only taken fifteen minutes before they were packed into the plane and were airborne. It was going to be a long flight, but because of the small craft, they’d be able to land at any of the small airports scattered throughout the Northwest.

As long as they were close to Jack, he didn’t care where they landed.

They just had to find him.

In some ways, he wished he were back at the base searching for the last few pieces of information that would lead them to his friend. He wanted to be doing something, instead of sitting in a plane some thirty thousand feet in the air twiddling his thumbs.

Okay, Daniel had to admit, he might be doing more than that, but it didn’t feel like much. Daniel couldn’t even begin to comprehend what Jack was going through.

Jack was going to have a long recovery before he was back to his old self, Daniel realized. Daniel just hoped—and prayed—that he’d be able to smooth things over with Jack, his best friend, so that they could recuperate together, strengthening the bonds that had grown weary and frayed—the bonds of their friendship.