The Essence of Trust by decechat
Summary: A trading mission turns into a nightmare as Sheppard, Ronan, and Rodney are forced to watch one man's revenge on Carson.
Rated: PG-13 for violence and possible language.
Season/Spoilers: Sometime in Season 2; spoilers for those of you who haven't seen Runner.
Disclaimer: Neither Atlantis nor any of her characters belong to me in any way, shape, or form. The sadistic plots I come up with; however, are completely and totally mine.
Chapter Three:
Rodney McKay had never fancied himself a fighter. In fact, it was a widely known fact that he was willing to allow others to put their own lives on the line to ensure his safety. Atlantis needed his brains, not his brawn. It wasn't just a conceited statement, it was the truth. He was a scientist; the man they turned to when things were terribly wrong. He could fix anything; at least that is what he always told everyone.
He knew people questioned his bravery, hell, he questioned it. Every time someone died, or came close to dying for him or others, he asked himself if he would have done the same. He remembered the first time he had asked himself that question. It had been when John Sheppard had volunteered to lead a rescue mission for Sumner and his men. He had struggled for hours with the thought of entering an enemy ship, let alone that ship being Wraith. The question had appeared again when he had witnessed Ford sacrifice his own life to blow the rear hatch of the puddle jumper into space, giving the ship the needed thrust to clear the stargate and save the individuals inside.
At first he had thought this abnormal desire to give one's life for others was simply confined to those of the military, but that theory had proven wrong. He had seen men of his caliber and scientific training; men like Brendan Gaul, Peter Grodin and most recently Carson Beckett face their mortality and stand toe to toe with fear.
He doubted that he would ever forget Gaul's face as he tried to convince Rodney to leave him, to go help Sheppard. Neither would he forget Grodin's voice telling him to "come back when it's done then." Then when Carson had faced the danger of getting shot and had calmly walked onto that alien planet to remove a tracking device from the man now tied next to him, he had realized that this courage was an innate quality, one that seemed to be hidden in every individual.
He had wondered for weeks whether that quality was present in him; had struggled night after night with the worry that when the time came, would he be able to go through with it. Yet, as he found himself standing there, chained to a wall and bound with a gag, he knew that without a doubt, given the chance, he would exchange his life for that of Carson's, for that of his friends.
---break---
It had been hours since Lagos had drugged Carson and left; hours that McKay had waited anxiously, hoping that this nightmare would end sooner rather than later. The pale face on the table in front of him had not moved at all during that time, and he had begun to wonder if it ever would again. He had observed both Sheppard and Ronan testing and retesting the strength of their bonds, trying to find weaknesses that could be exploited. He himself, had pulled on his restraints several times, knowing that if Carson were to be saved, the escape of one of them must occur.
He had just finished watching Ronan pull hard on the chain attached to his right arm when he heard the door open for the second time that day. Remembering the last time he had seen a needle in the hands of that mad man, made Rodney's eyes widen when he saw another needle, this one filled with a clear liquid.
Lagos entered the room with two other men, both large and very well muscled. He stopped at the table that held Beckett, depositing the needle beside him before turning and walking towards Ronan. "You can stop the escape attempts. Believe me when I tell you there is nothing you can do to break those chains. They are reinforced and are more than capable of holding men of your size." Catching the glare from Ronan's eyes, Lagos took a step back before motioning to his men to stand beside the table. He turned his gaze back to Beckett and picked up the needle.
His gaze never left the instrument as he tapped it lightly before squirting a small amount into the air. With his back turned to the three men, he spoke over his shoulder as he inserted the needle into the doctor's arm, "I thought you should know that this entire procedure is being taped. I have found that it is a most excellent way of taking notes. So therefore," he said, retracting the needle and turning around, "you all will know exactly what is happening to him at every moment. Shall we begin then?"
Lagos moved around the table and picked up a small microphone and a hand-held data pad. He spoke into the microphone in a steady rhythmic voice pacing as he said, "Stage one; I have administered a small amount of the serum into Doctor Beckett's blood. This amount should cause paralysis of the extremities as well as slight nausea and disorientation of the individual. After having injected the doctor, I am now ready to proceed with the voice recognition analysis and removal."
Rodney watched Lagos move once more to Beckett's side, giving him a hard shake to the shoulder until the doctor began to wake. Lagos nodded slowly as he touched a few keys on his data-pad. Rodney was astonished then horrified as he watched the next scene unfold.
As soon as Carson was awake enough Rodney heard Sheppard's voice float loud and clear into the room. "Hey Carson, you in there buddy?" He glanced at John before hearing Carson answer back lethargically, "Aye son, ya don't have ta speak so loudly, I can hear ya just…" A swift punch to the stomach made the doctor wince and shout out,
"Whad'ya do that for son?"
---break---
"Whad'ya do that for son?" He had awoken only minutes earlier to someone shaking him very hard. His head felt fuzzy and he couldn't remember very much of what had happened. He had been surprised to feel sudden pain in his midsection after hearing the Colonel's voice. He was even more surprised that the blow had apparently come from Sheppard. Surely nah, must be someone else in the room, I can nah see a bloody thing though.
"Keep quiet," came Sheppard's voice again.
"All ya had ta do was ask Colon…" he started again. A sharp jab to his chest left him gasping for air and very confused. What the bloody hell is goin' on…he frowned, thinking Sheppard must be out of his mind. "This had better nah be another one of yur 'lessons on self-defense, cause …" Another hit to the head made him wince in pain and reach for his head. Finding his hands unresponsive, his breath began to escalate, coming in shorter, shallower gasps.
"You have to stay strong."
Feeling the pain in his head and chest, mixed with the inability to feel his arms and legs made him wonder if he should answer Sheppard. Deciding to give it one more go he answered more unsteadily than he meant to, "How can I do that if ya keep hittin' me?"
Another blow to his midsection, followed by another to chest and one more to his head caused him to slowly lose consciousness, sinking back into the world of nothingness, but not before he heard Sheppard's voice say, "Hey Carson, you in there buddy?"
---break---
Lagos turned from the now unconscious man to see the reaction from the other three men. He laughed when he saw the look of worry and rage plastered on each face. "Well, that went well don't you think?" he said before gathering his things and walking towards the door. He stopped just short of the doorframe and turned to look at Carson, "I'll be back soon and we shall continue," before walking out the door in front of the other men.
