SG1-16 Four Dragons Read Online Free PDF

laughed. “Many late nights of mac and cheese.”
    “Without milk,” Daniel added. “We were so poor.”
    “Poor, but eager!”
    “So,” Jack said as he shifted his bulky pack to his right shoulder. “Find any weapons?”
    Kevin visibly blanched. “Not yet, though with Daniel’s help — ”
    “Not going to happen,” Jack replied curtly.
    “Shouldn’t you let the experts…?”
    Jack had turned away, dismissing Kevin like he would one of the airmen in the S.G.C.
    No, Daniel realized. Jack wouldn’t be half as rude to an airman.
    “Anyone mucking around up there?” Jack pointed up to where the statue and graves sat on top of the hill.
    “Not at the moment, no.” Kevin shot Daniel a hard glance.
    “Time to stop playing in the dirt, Daniel. Let’s go.” Jack gave Kevin a curt nod and walked off toward the hill.
    “Typical military,” said Kevin as they watched Jack climb.
    “He really isn’t that bad,” Daniel said as much to convince himself as Kevin. At least he’d get a look at that statue. Though how he could connect the dots between the Ancients and China remained a mystery.
    Daniel jerked a thumb toward the hill. “I better go.”
    Kevin glanced at Jack and then back at Daniel. “You all right, man?”
    Good question. Out of context, sure. He was fine. He was better than fine, doing important work that needed to be done… just not at the moment.
    * * *
    Jack pushed back the catch on the portable black steel-armored target and the foot-wide round head flipped vertical. It was a sweet little setup. Perfect for what he had in mind. Reliable. Sturdy. The way things were meant to be.
    As he secured the tripod leg stands into the dirt, Jack silently thanked Dixon’s preliminary mission report for giving him the head’s up. With the only trees in the area too close to the dig to use as target practice, this entire exercise would have been a waste of time if he hadn’t packed a portable target kit.
    Half the S.G.C.’s Daniels-in-waiting were buzzing about the dig below, though what excited them was beyond Jack. What was the point if there were no weapons? In his mind, all P3Y-702 had turned out to be was a helluva lot of sand and dirt, busted up ruins, and then, more dirt.
    Doesn’t matter. One way or another, Daniel’s so getting this drilled into his head. Otherwise…
    Nope. He wouldn’t go there. Fishing once more through his pack, he pulled out a few clips, some brown-wrapped MREs, and an energy bar. He then yanked out a bandage, hefted it in his hands. Yeah, that would do it. Bound and determined to make this work, Jack would use what was available. Hell, improvisation was his middle name.
    That and ‘sweating like a pig.’ With the target rigged, and all the suitable ‘tools’ laid out, Jack stripped off his tactical vest, chucked his jacket, and threw the vest back on. Circling that damned statute, Daniel didn’t seem to notice how hot it was. Setting up so close to such a distraction might have been a mistake. Jack had considered running this dog and pony show over by the gate, but the damn thing sat a bit too precariously on the edge of a cliff for comfort. On the upside, this was a nice, safe location for firing off a bunch of ammo since it was a good height up from base camp. Last thing they needed was for a shot to hit one of the archaeologists. Hammond would be pissed and the entire purpose of this exercise would’ve been lost.
    Not that their current position was much better.
    “Jack, this statue… and these graves… Do you have any idea how significant this is?” Daniel pulled off his glasses and closely examined the head-high, butt-ugly statue at the hill’s edge. All teeth, bulging jaw and eye ridges. Three nasty blades sticking out of its red clay spine. The thing almost looked like an iguana crossed with a dog sitting on its hind legs.
    “Hey, you’ve seen one gnarly statue, you’ve seen them all.” Setting the fire control selector to single shot, Jack handed