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; no known spoilers.
Disclaimer: Neither Atlantis nor any of her characters belong to me in any way, shape, or form.
Chapter 10:
Lagos stared through the window at the scene unfolding before him. Rubbing his fingertips together, he could feel the anticipation growing; his weight was growing lighter with each passing second. This will be over soon…soon I can leave this planet…leave this weight behind…move forward, shaking his head, he pushed off the lightness, not yet, you must focus on the task at hand…you must finish it. He would finish it; he would finish it or die trying. He owed her that much. Rubbing his middle finger against his forehead he again turned his attention to the root cause of his problems. He could see the doctor wince as a meaty hand plowed into his gut and then into his chin.
Catching a glimpse of himself in the glass, his grin grew…yes, this will soon be over. The doctor couldn't hold out much longer; the human body just wasn't built to withstand the brutal force of consecutive beatings. Even now he could see the man struggling to catch his breath; he could see the body shrinking back in an attempt to protect itself from further harm. Even more convincing was the trickle of blood he could see coming from the corner of the mouth…just like Caulde before she…turning quickly he felt his knuckles turn white hot as he plowed his fist into the wall behind him. He had relived her last moments so many times; had felt his heart ripped out afresh each time he could see her face, still strikingly beautiful, spasm with her final breath.
Looking down at his hands, the hands that had stroked her hair, had wiped her tears, he wondered silently if he should just take his revenge here and now; wondered if he should squeeze the life out of the doctor and be done with it. "No," he mumbled to himself as he turned back to the glass, "he must suffer." Yes, this Carson Beckett would suffer; he would suffer and then he would die; then he could leave.
Feeling the dark cloud dissipate slightly, Lagos rested the fingertips of his uninjured hand against the window and admired the work of the man he had hired to kill the doctor. He was a big man, between six and seven feet tall, with stockiness to him that spoke of the power behind each fist. Lagos had met him back on Hoff two years ago when he had had the unfortunate task of delivering food to one of the detainment centers outside the city. He still remembered the shock he had felt when he had witnessed the violent exchange between this man and another over a days rations. Before the guards could intervene, the second man was lying unconscious on the filthy floor with a hand-made wooden dagger sticking out of his chest and blood pooling from under his head.
A year and a half later Lagos had sought him out, paid his way out of the center, and convinced him that killing another man would be well worth his while. He had then proceeded to procure a few guards and a place to take out his revenge. After learning from his friend Bedin, the man who tended the bar, that men calling themselves explorers had entered the village and encouraged trade, it had been no hard thing to poison the chieftain and sabotage the only power source they had. Then he had waited. He had not been disappointed. From there he had added a little of his own fast-acting sleeping pills to their food and allowed his guards to force the removal of the strangers from the leader's tent. That had been two days ago.
Two days and he is still not dead…but not for long, Lagos smiled again as he watched the doctor take a particularly hard blow to the head. He knew his glee was almost emanating from him, but at this point he didn't care, surely he won't last the … he was startled out of his revere by the creak of the door as it opened behind him. Turning he took in the panicked look on Bedin's face, "What is it?"
Bedin shut the door and moved into the room before placing his hand on Lagos' shoulder, "Some men have just come into the village and they were looking for them," motioning with his free hand towards the window.
"What did you tell them?" He could feel the cringe travel through Bedin's body at the hissed reply before the hand was removed from his shoulder.
"I told them that they went to Faston, but it won't take em' long to find out the truth, and then they'll be right back here on my doorstep." Bedin's face was a picture of worry as he wrung his hands together in anxiety. Lagos shrugged off the man's fear and turned his face back to the glass, thinking. "I must move them, but I can't make it to the ancestoral ring if I take all of them," he mumbled aloud, forgetting that he was not alone in the room.
"Ya have to take all of them, if ya don't the others will know I was involved…they'll kill me," the words tumbled off the fearful man's tongue and into Lagos' mind as another plan began to formulate.
"No, no they won't," facing his friend he grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him before taking a small vial out of his coat and handing it over, "here, inject a small amount of this into each of the other three, wait a short while and then have my guards carry them into the woods to dispose of them. I will take the other with me through the ring…they will never know that you were involved. I will contact you when it is again safe"
Placing his hands on Bedin's shoulders, he patted them in friendly comraderie and waited for Bedin to seal the deal with a nod of the head before moving out of the room and into the adjacent one.
Bedin stood in silence as he watched Lagos enter the other room and motion for the big man to cease his battering before whispering in his ear and leaving the room again. As he gazed through the window, he saw the monstrosity of a man throw one more punch to the much smaller man's jaw before throwing the now unconscious body over his shoulder and hauling him out the door, following Lagos' retreating back.
A/N: Again sorry for the delay, but this one took a while to write. Hope you all enjoy!!!