Violets in Vegas: Sunday Morning Coming Down3
The bastard had been clever. I had to give him that. Biding his time in that cell, exhibiting infinite patience, enduring infinite suffering. Believing that all these humans were beneath him, were nothing more than cattle to be herded to his plan, to be guided and driven to where he needed them to be. For the final slaughter.
All except me. For some reason Todd had an affinity for me, this one man. His nemesis. And so he had talked to me as he talked to no one else. Revealing his plans but in damn nursery rhymes as if to test me. To see how clever I really was. Certainly to taunt me. To learn all he could about his most heinous enemy. And how to break me. I only realized that when it was too late.
The sit-rep room was a jumble of voices and people clustering. Maps were displayed on screens all over the walls. Maps of the facility itself, of the surrounding environs. Maps of Vegas and of Nevada itself. Areas on all of them highlighted in red, in green, in blue. Various circles and dots marking points of egress, of ingress. Of weapons and power areas. Of the trajectories of the other Wraiths that had been caught, one by one.
It was a hub-bub of activity and raised voices and Moira froze on the threshold knowing she didn't belong here. Knowing she had nothing to contribute, nothing to add and desperately wishing she was anywhere else but here. John touched the small of her back. Gave a gentle push and guided her into the room. He guided her past the humming computers and charts to a console in the back.
"Sit." He stood behind her, hands on her shoulders as she perched on the chair. He swiveled it so she was facing a screen instead of the people crowding the room. He leaned close to her ear. "These are all the security tapes. All of them, even the ones you probably don't want to see, but I need you to see them, Moira. I need you to go through them and take note of everything Todd says and does. Especially what he says. Even if it sounds like nonsense. I think he was leaving clues all along, in that jumble of nonsense. I've seen this before, in serial killers. The analogy certainly applies here. They can't help but brag about their plans and taunt us."
Moira met his gaze. "You think he had a plan all along."
"Yes. From day one. Find his location. Find out what he is planning to do. Moira, I'm counting on you." He moved a set of headphones to her.
She eyed the screen. The blinking cursor. "I..um…okay, John." She doubted she could be of any help, but John seemed to think she would be.
"Thanks, baby." He brushed his lips along her cheek. Nibbled her earlobe and then straightened. He saw Elizabeth Weir watching them. Watching his ass, more specifically. He didn't care. He moved to the front of the room. Clapped his hands loudly. Silence fell like a rock. The only sound was the whirring of the air conditioner. "How many teams do we have?"
Steven Caldwell glared. He was clad in a TAC vest and full combat gear, much like the majority of the people in the room. "Five."
"Deployed where?"
"Two still canvassing the immediate area. Two are scanning the facility itself. One is on a grid recon in the desert. Now if you don't mind I need to get back to—"
"I do mind, actually. You may have run covert ops but you've never run a search for a killer heading for the city precincts. I have."
"You think he's heading for the city?" Elizabeth asked.
"Wouldn't you?" John quipped.
"He's not human, Sheppard. He's a Wraith."
"I know," John stated to Steven's caustic correction. "I also know whatever he's after it is in the city. All of this time it's been under our noses."
"What has?" Richard Woolsey asked, as puzzled as the others.
"Everything. And what I don't know yet I soon will." He glanced past them all to Moira who was watching the screen, listening to him as well as to the headphones.
"Gee, Sheppard, could you be any vaguer?"
"Yeah, Caldwell, I could." He moved to a screen displaying a map of the city. "Big picture. Forget the details. Someone told me you can get bogged down in them and we need to see past all of that to see the big picture." He glanced at Moira again. She had paused the screen image. Had the headphones half off her and was watching him now. She softly smiled. He returned the smile. Eyed the map again. Snatched a laser pointer from the table. Began to make striations on the map with the red light. "Every one of those things has had a similar trajectory. Lorne?"
Evan blinked. "They have all followed the power lines of the city. From way out in the desert for that first mission, if you will, all the way to Vegas itself." As Evan spoke John guided the beam of light along the map, bringing it closer, closer to the city itself.
"Exactly. Not to the heart of Vegas, no. But towards its main power plants."
"Why didn't I see that?"
Everyone turned at the quiet voice to see Rodney standing on the threshold of the room.
"Because like all of us you were focused on the details and not the bigger picture," John explained.
"It makes perfect sense now." Rodney entered the room. "There are several components stolen from the Darts we managed to recover. The air ducts lead straight to there from the cell, and back again, then up to a ventilation shaft that leads up to the dessert. Impossible for a human to access and climb, but not for a Wraith. Especially a Wraith that has recently fed, and fed well." He paused, submerging his grief and guilt.
"He's building a communication device," Richard stated into the uncomfortable silence.
"No. Well, yes, but something else as well. Something beyond transmitting across long distances of time and space. Something that will require an enormous amount of power, even more than a ZPM or a naquadah generator would be able to focus in a simplified burst."
"Whoa, what the hell is a Zed pm and a knock knock generator?" John asked.
"Did you read any of that file I gave you?" Rodney snapped.
"He's way behind on his reading," Moira stated, shaking her head at John who shrugged and shot her his not helping look.
"So he's looking for power. A lot of power, correct?"
"Yes. For one reason," Rodney stated.
"The rift," Richard said.
"Yes." Rodney met John's gaze. "He's going to try to open the rift."
The chorus of voices and protest died down as John raised a hand. "Can he do that?"
"No."
"No? You sound awfully sure," John accused, eyes narrowing.
"I am. At least he won't be able to do it for several hours. Not until this evening. And he'll need time to put together whatever the hell it is he's making. I believe it will be some sort of focusing mechanism to contain and draw all the power he will need."
"Which brings us back to the power plants around the city," John reasoned.
"Yes. And no."
John sighed. Looked at Moira. "Do all scientists talk like this?"
"Is there enough power in the city to do that? To open the rift?" Evan asked. As confused as John over the terminology, but at least he had read the files.
"Theoretically? Yes." Rodney sighed. "Along with sending a signal at the right moment he will need to cut a tear into the rip that already exists in the space/time continuum. The rift. I don't think he could open it for any length of time."
"But enough time for to get a Hive ship through the rift? Because you can bet they're working on that on their end. We know one of those signals the first one sent got through, to one of the alternate realities. We just don't know which one or how far or even when," Richard explained.
"Then it hasn't happened yet." All eyes swung to Carson as he stood in the back of the room. Arms folded across his a clean lab coat he wore. "They're waiting."
"Waiting for what?" Richard asked.
"They're waiting for the initial reports," Evan and John said at the same time. Exchanged a glance.
"Exactly. This was a scouting party," Carson explained. "Gather all intel you can to see if a mission is viable. Isn't that what you military types do?"
"Recon," John agreed. "And now they are moving forward to the next step."
"Which is?" Richard asked.
John's expression was grim. "Invasion."