Steve watched uncomfortably as a flush of shame spread across Mckay's face. He couldn't fit through the studs. That meant they'd have to saw through one of them which, of course, was going to take a hell of a lot longer.
"Hand me the saw, Mckay." Steve said.
"No, I'll handle it. You get Jeanie out. I'll follow when I can."
Steve didn't like it and said so.
"You're the one they want…"
"And you're leverage." Mckay snapped, interrupting. "Especially Jeanie."
Steve glanced at Jeanie and lowered his voice. "If they can't threaten us there's only one way they can try to coerce you."
The expression on Mckay's face made clear to Steve that he had experience in those forms of persuasion; no bravado, just a cold dread.
"I know, but I can hold out against that a lot longer than I could anything involving my sister. Get her out."
"C'mon." Steve insisted. "If we're all taking turns sawing, it goes faster and we have a better chance of getting out of here together."
"When we were running, I told you to run ahead and you did. You knew it was the right choice then. You know it's the right choice now. The chances of my getting out with you are only slightly better than me getting out on my own. Whereas your chances of getting out alone are much better. It's in my best interests for you to get clear and call the calvary. Besides," Mckay snapped. "this conversation hinges on the assumption that I can't get out on my own, an assumption I find a bit insulting."
Steve couldn't help grinning and was a little surprised when Mckay grinned back.
"You're alright, doctor." Steve said.
"Well, you're not entirely useless yourself." Mckay replied grudgingly.
Steve nodded and turned to Jeanie. "Let's go."
"No." Jeanie stated. "I won't…"
"I'll catch up." Mckay interrupted.
"Mer, I'm not leaving you here." She hissed.
"Jeanie," Mckay said softly. "You don't get a choice. You're a mom. Mom trumps sister."
Jeanie hesitated, everything about her expression and body language betraying her internal struggle.
"Damn you, Mer." She said at last. "Don't you dare leave me hanging."
Mckay smiled. "I'm a genius. If I can sneak on and off hostile hive ships, I can certainly get out of a silly little compound."
"You better." Jeanie grunted, blinking rapidly.
"No more time." Steve said. "We've gotta go. Mckay, I'll wait by my vehicle as long as possible."
"But.." Mckay began.
"But if I see anyone heading down that hill but you, I'll get your sister out of here."
Mckay nodded.
"Good luck." He said.
Steve held out his hand and smiled as the scientist shook it firmly.
"You too."
He inched the pantry door open and peeked out. After a few moments he motioned to Jeanie and headed out the door. Jeanie looked back one last time at her big brother nodded silently and followed the Navy SEAL out the door.
Mckay felt an edge of panic trying to rise up but squashed it mercilessly. He placed the wire saw around the base of the stud, grabbed the make shift handles Steve had fashioned from his silk under shirt and started sawing leaning back and letting his above average weight work to his advantage.
Time was running out.
Steve had Jeanie follow closely behind with a hand placed on his shoulder. This allowed her to sense his movements. It was a much better indicator of what your teammate was doing when stealth was paramount to the mission. Steve was impressed with the woman's composure. Mckay's as well. Once again, the thought of inhabited planets, galaxies, monsters and intergalactic wars pressed in on his thoughts but he pushed them back to the recesses of his mind. He had to focus on the problem at hand. He could freak out over E.T.s later.
Steve crouched behind a counter and then rushed forward through the kitchen that had, as he had expected, been immediately adjacent to the pantry. When near the door, he glanced out and found a guard walking, if the trampled grass was any indication, a set perimeter near the tree line. There was a lot of open ground between the door and the guard but not too much, if he timed it correctly.
"Jeanie." Steve whispered. "Stay here. Watch for my signal, then run like hell. Got it?"
Jeanie nodded, not making a sound and Steve smiled, again impressed by her instincts.
He waited, tensed for the guard to turn his gaze away and then sprinted forward, lightly on the balls of his feet. When he reached the guard, the man still had his back turned. Steve stepped on the back of the man's knee, grabbed his arm as he pitched forward, jerked his upper body back as he brought his fist down on his temple, doubling the force of the impact. The guard crumpled without a sound. Steve pulled the unconscious body into the tree line and checked for indications of any other surveillance. When he was certain the coast was clear, he signaled Jeanie who darted quickly across the yard.
Once Jeanie was in the clear, Steve took off the guards shirt and his belt. He used the belt to secure the guards hands behind a tree and his shirt as an effective gag. The blow he'd given the man should keep him unconscious for a good hour but Steve didn't want to chance it, not with Mckay following behind.
He gauged his position and headed off at a jog in the general direction of his car. He'd been stunned with that strange weapon long before he'd made it back, so it was a pretty safe bet the car was still there. He glanced back a few times to make sure Jeanie was keeping pace. She was, a determined look on her face.
He felt a strange buzzing and stopped immediately, holding up his hand as a signal to Jeanie. The buzzing reminded him of the field he'd been trapped in when he'd first arrived at this strange intersection between the world he knew and this new bizarro world.
"I think," He said, his breathing heavy from the running, "I think this is where that field is. I need you to shut it off."
"What?" Jeanie exclaimed, even more out of breath.
"You know." He waved his hand around his head. "Do that thing Mckay did and shut it off."
"I can't." Jeanie replied.
"What?"
"I don't have the gene."
"What gene?" Steve frowned.
"The field is Ancient technology. Only descendants of the ancients can work some of it. I don't have the gene." Jeanie explained.
"How can Mckay have it and you not?" Steve demanded.
"Mer's gene was artificially introduced. The procedure only works about 50% of the time and it just didn't work on me." Jeanie shrugged. "Sorry. I guess we have to wait for Mer."
Steve suspected she wasn't overly disappointed by this turn of events. He started in the direction of the wall he couldn't see but could feel before him, preventing his escape. He wished the damn gene process had worked on Jeanie. He wanted to get back to his team, regroup and go back for Mckay. He wanted this damn thing off.
Suddenly, the buzzing stopped.
"It's gone." He said, surprised.
"What?" Jeanie asked.
"The field." Steve said. "The field is gone."
"How can you tell?" Jeanie asked.
"I could feel it. Like a buzzing and now it's stopped."
"Steve run!" Jeanie yelled, startling him a bit but he complied.
"Now this is really important." She nearly shouted. "I want you to think really hard about the field being back on. I want you to want it back on with all your heart mind and soul!"
Steve concentrated on wanting the field, that buzzing, back in his head and suddenly it was.
He turned to Jeanie who seemed to be waiting for something.
"I hope that was fast enough." She said, relaxing marginally. "C'mon. If it wasn't, we're Mer's only hope."
"Wait," Steve said. "What was that? What just happened? I thought you said you couldn't turn it off."
"I can't. I didn't." Jeanie said. "You did."
"WHAT?" Steve yelled. This was a little too much.
"Look, it's impossible to guess who's going to have the gene. It just seems to show up randomly and is really rare. It looks like you're part of the lucky 3%. It's nothing bad. You're fine and I promise, classified or not I'll explain everything later but right now we've got to go. If someone noticed the field went down just now they're going to head straight for Mer."
Steve nodded. Of course, she was right. He forced himself to face the direction of his car and started jogging. Jeanie was right. If those Trust guys had noticed what he just unconsciously did, Mckay could be in a world of trouble.
