Violets in Vegas: Man in Black2

I knew I should have been more concerned about the end of the world. I knew I should have been more concerned hearing gunfire as Rodney spoke to me. It was all up to him now, and Lorne, and the teams to save the day and stop that energy beam ripping into the rift and opening the door to allow the Wraith to invade our reality.

But all I could think of was Moira.

7:15pm

The elevator was slow. Rising steadily, smoothly as it traversed the great height of the Stratosphere's observatory. Some horribly insipid muzak was playing. A sweet easy-listening tune that was wholly inappropriate to the situation. The music, such as it was began to grate on Evan's nerves as he clutched his P90 and watched the floors go by on the LED display. What was worse, however, was the noise coming from his companion.

Rodney caught the incredulous expression of the man next to him. "What?" he snapped.

"You were humming," Evan accused.

"I was? Oh, I was. I can't help it! I hum when I'm nervous." He shifted the backpack on his shoulder. He glanced at his watch, fiddling with the settings. The lights flickered. The elevator seemed to pause then resumed motion. "Oh oh."

"Oh oh? Rodney?"

Rodney suddenly hit a button, stopping the elevator. The doors opened jerkily. "Get out!"

"What? This isn't even our floor? What are you—" Evan found himself pushed out of the elevator. Rodney was on his heels, whirling as the doors shut.

The lights went out, plunging the two men into sudden darkness. Silence. Stillness.

"Shit," Evan commented. He shone his P90 light along the corridor. "How did you—"

"Timer on my watch. I'm afraid the signal is no longer being interrupted. The device is now draining the Stratosphere of all power. We could have been trapped in there, and trust me, you do not want to be trapped in a small space with me for any length of time."

"Thanks." Evan frowned. "I thought we'd have more time."

"Me too, which means one of three things. The Genii interface failed, which is quite possible given their rather slapdash assembly that I didn't oversee. Or something happened to the machine itself, such as being shot or damaged or even unplugged."

"And the third?" Evan asked, beginning to head for the stairs.

Rodney followed. "Todd's device is amassing so much power so quickly that it overrode the machine and can't be stopped."

"Wonderful," Evan muttered under his breath. "Up we go. Five flights of stairs with possible hostiles at the top."

"Just another Sunday," Rodney quipped.

John slowed the car. Landmarks were indistinguishable in the murky darkness, but he knew he was near the place. The area in the desert near some older power lines. The place where he had tracked that first Wraith to its lair.

The place where he had died. The place where everything had ended.

Until Rodney had intervened and saved John's life in a most heinous but necessary fashion.

John licked his lips, gaze darting along the shadowy scrub. There was nothing out here now, but he knew there was a crater a few yards away, left by the terrific explosion that had torn the Silver Bullet trailer and the Wraith to pieces. Abandoned trucks and plows were parked closer to the road. The development had been put on hold because of funding problems. It was the place where he had met Moira. An excavation that had uncovered prehistoric fossils. And a body. A victim of one of the Wraith still on the loose.

This was where the whole thing had started. John vowed it would end here.

He pulled the car off the road, parked and just sat. Thinking. Plotting. Somewhere out there was Moira. And Todd. Both waiting for him. Along with the men who had taken Moira. He was certain of that. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, mind working furiously, all the while being very aware of the seconds ticking, ticking.

He got out of the car. Started walking across the desert sands, his arms at his sides.

Moira was kneeling on the hard ground. She knew she should move, should stand and run but it was too much of an effort still. Even that brief feeding had drained her and only now was she beginning to regain full feeling in her extremities. She looked at Todd but he was staring past her now. With a gesture he had sent his minions into the desert. Which could only mean one thing.

John was on his way.

She struggled to her feet, the impetus not her own safety but John's. She knew she was the bait in the trap and hated that feeling. She staggered, became still to regain her balance. She stared up at the sky. Sunset was a haze in the distance. The glowering ball of gold was obscured by the auroras dancing with fiendish delight. Hues of orange and purple dominating. The moon was a pale orb in the sky, full but obscured, and Moira wondered about the eclipse.

The sky was breathtaking. Beautiful, like one of Evan's oil paintings but something wasn't right and she tilted her head up to view the dark expanse above her. She realized what it was.

There were no stars.

Out here in the middle of the desert, far from the city lights of Vegas the sky should be spangled with stars. But the darkening sky was denuded of them. Only the auroras sparkled in waves of color. Moira squinted and could make out a brief trail in the distance, bits of debris that were nearly impossible to see without a telescope. But a noise made her look in front of her.

Todd smiled at her. His alien face was vaguely human. Fascinating in its way, with the tattoo whirls on his pale, pale skin. The many sharp teeth in that angular jaw. The slits on his cheeks. His yellow eyes were like a cat's, the pupils widening vertically to allow him to see clearly in the darkness. His long braided hair draped along his clothes. Long fingers ended in long, sharp nails that were almost claws and painted an incongruous gold.

"Yes," he intoned, his melodic voice rising and falling with breathy anticipation. "He is coming for you. He will witness your death, and then I will taste his despair, his defiance to the very last drop. And then I will feed on him."

"No." Moira was horrified at the utter glee in the alien's eyes. The almost fervent anticipation. She turned, tried to run but Todd caught her arm, spun her round and threw her to the ground. She cried out, protecting her abdomen and rolling onto her side. She looked up to see Todd towering over her, his feeding hand extended. The sucker was protruding, a terrible extension of fleshy lips that sent a shiver up her spine. It made her feel sick.

"Soon, human. Soon I will take your life. Soon I will take everything from John Sheppard. His mate. His offspring. And then his planet. And then, only then…his life." Todd sighed, as if saddened at the thought, at the inevitability of it all.

Moira stared, aghast. She touched her abdomen, wondering how in the world Todd knew about the baby. John still didn't know, and Moira realized that he never would. He couldn't. She felt tears burn behind her eyes, but bit her lower lip, refusing them.

Refusing the despair that threatened to engulf her.

Refusing the despair over losing the life of the child within her.

Refusing the despair over losing her own life.

Refusing the despair over being the cause of John's possible suffering and death at the hands of this Wraith.