Vegas Blues: I See a Darkness
"If you fail to cooperate, I have the power to ruin your life."
Detective John Sheppard hated working with the enemy. Not that the man beside him was an enemy, exactly, but he wasn't a friend. More than an acquaintance but less than a nemesis. John didn't have time to work it out. Didn't care as he was crouched in an abandoned building slated for demolition. The grit and debris were being ground into his knees as he peered over the rim of the broken window, binoculars held up to his face.
As far as stakeouts went this one was pretty routine. Except for the perp in question. A possible space alien using an alien device to transmit an alien disease.
John shook his head over the insanity of it all. Glanced over at the man with him. Rodney McKay was impeccable in his dark suit. On his knees at the next window, peering through binoculars as well. Pursing his lips together as he waited, waited. John smirked at the mess the dust and the grime were making on the other man's finely tailored suit. Clearly he had never dressed for a stakeout before this. "Your people tracked it here?"
"Yes," Rodney answered. He lowered the binoculars. "I have reliable intel. How it got past us I don't understand, except they can be undetectable when they are hibernating. And your source, he tracked the device?"
"Yes. Finally. I also think I found the origin. The starting point for all of this."
"Really? How?" Rodney sounded curious, but doubtful.
"Moira. Using her trajectory not into the city but out of it. Across the state. Following that pathogen or virus or whatever. I needed to confirm some things with her about the virus, if it's a living thing or something else. But the original source is a place called Middlegate Hills." He paused, recalling Moira's anger. How she had tossed him out of her house. Misunderstanding his intentions. He had opened old wounds without meaning to do so. "That's where the ship crashed, isn't it? The...what did you call it?"
"A dart," Rodney confirmed. Impressed. "There were a total of three, but we could never find one of them. Their ships are partly organic. Could be the source of the pathogen, except it is moving. We'll need that intel. I'll send crews there." He was typing it in on his phone. "Call Moira and have her send you the–"
"Can't." He exchanged a glance with Rodney. Resumed his surveillance of the building. All emotions closing, drowning under his stern control.
A smile stole over Rodney's face. He recognized the signs of male guilt. The hunched shoulders. The scowl of both annoyance and regret. The sheepish culpability. "You pissed her off." It was a statement.
John shrugged. "Yeah. Big time. Inadvertently."
"Send her flowers. Roses. Women like roses."
John snorted in derision. Scoffing at the very notion. He didn't do things like that. He glared through the binoculars. Lowered them. Touched the life signs detector that was on the floor near his knee. Instantly it flared to life. John read the dots, deciphering. Rodney had given him the device to help track the suspects. Problem was it only told him there were bodies over there, moving. Not what they were, human or alien or even animal. He sneered at the obvious design flaw. "I've got movement. Second floor. Two beings. It's already there."
"Where are the doughnuts?"
"Huh?" John looked at the scientist, thrown by the question.
"Doughnuts. You know. Food. We're on a stakeout, after all." He looked around, expression forlorn as there was no food in sight. He was quite serious.
John rolled his eyes. "You watch too many movies. I've got gum."
"Spearmint, no doubt." John was silent. Holding up the opened package. "Okay." Rodney took the proffered gum, unwrapped it and popped it into this mouth. "This will just make me hungrier, though." He sighed. "We should have brought pizza," he mourned.
John looked back out the window, amused. "Next time you can stay in the van. Shit. Movement. On the street. It's Ford. What the hell is he doing? I told him to get clear once the merchandise was delivered!"
Aiden Ford was strolling across the street, talking to another guy who was carrying a cardboard box. Chatting as if they were old friends. As if one wasn't a snitch for the cops. To make matters worse he paused. Turned towards the building where John was. Looked up at the window and waved. Actually waved. Smiling.
John inwardly winced. He had little patience for these newbie types. All bright and bushy-tailed. All wet behind the ears and eager for the job. Excited over every possible crime scene, every case until they came face to face with their first dead body. A dead body oozing blood and other fluids or messy pieces. Death was rarely clean. Then they puked all over their shiny shoes and lost that grating enthusiasm. Aiden had yet to lose that shine, that spark. And he wasn't even enrolled in the academy yet.
"One of yours?" Rodney chuckled. Watching as the two men entered the building. "Looks like he's part of it now."
"Wonderful," John muttered. He scoped out the building. It was an abandoned department store. Three floors. Windows boarded up except on the second floor. A dilapidated sign hung at an angle. He stood. "Let me go in alone." He snatched the life signs detector and shoved it into the pocket of his dark brown jacket. Checked the gun at his hip, his badge.
"Are you sure? I can send in a few of my guys with you," Rodney offered. "They have special training in this kind of thing and can–"
"No thanks. I don't play well with others, remember?"
"And that kid? He's your what, protégé? Partner?"
"Neither. Just a kid who proves to be useful now and then. I go in alone." John checked his gun, his badge again. Licked his lips, wishing he had a drink.
"Be careful, Sheppard. I've got back-up if you need it, but we don't want to bring too much attention to this operation. This has to be it this time. Has to be." He shook his head, lamenting the possibility of yet another false alarm. Another failure.
"Maybe. If it's as reliable as your last intel it will probably be a group of homeless people. Or an armadillo. You'll never live that one down, McKay." John smiled as Rodney glowered. With a grunt of satisfaction John descended the stairs. Exited the building. He strolled across the street. It was still, quiet. A deserted part of town due to be renovated. At least it had been until the money had run out, and now it was a dead suburb at the edge of the vibrant city.
The sun was low on the horizon. Casting long shadows between the buildings. A chill went up John's back that had nothing to do with the weather as it was still blazing hot. A few tumbleweeds rolled across his path, and he recalled an eerie Twilight Zone episode featuring them. Or was it The Outer Limits? He couldn't quite remember. Only recalled the creepiness factor when he had watched it when he was a kid.
Keeping to the shadows he made his way to the open doors. The locks were smashed. Glass littered the sidewalk. Gun drawn he eased himself inside the building. Darkness swallowed him. Smashed counters littered the floor with glass. Clothing racks were tipped onto their sides, looking like bizarre, metal insects. His gaze ran over the spacious room. The cracked tiled floor. Mannequins smiled at him, blank expressions eerie. All were naked, stripped of their once fashionable outfits.
He fought the urge to sneeze as his quiet footfalls brought up clouds of dust. But he saw multiple footprints and knew he wasn't the first to venture here recently. He eyed the escalator. It's metal steps glinted in a stray beam of sunlight filtering through the rotting boards over the windows. He listened. Heard sounds of boxes being moved. No voices. He slid out the life signs detector. Now there were five dots where there had only been two. He scowled. Slid it back into his pocket. Began to ascend the escalator, step by step. Silent. Gun poised in front of him.
His boots sounded loud on the metal steps. He heard more noises. Indefinable, but indicating motion. Activity. Rising excitement. As he reached the top there was abrupt silence. He froze.
Stared across the empty expanse of the store. There wasn't much up here, unlike the floor beneath him. Sunlight shone through the windows. The floor was dusty, but tracks led across the area to a series of what could only have been fitting rooms. Creepy mannequins smiled.
The sudden scream nearly made him fire his weapon.
He ran towards the sound, caution forgotten. "LVPD! Down on the ground, now!" He entered an wide fitting room, made wider by having all the walls knocked out of the adjoining rooms. A group of people scattered in every direction, except for two.
One was Aiden. The other was the thing on top of him.