Hank Landry was a patient man. After all, one didn't rise to the rank of General in the United States Air Force without having the ability to be calm and tolerant. And it had served him very well indeed since assuming command of the SGC .

Yet as he sat in his very comfortable chair looking over to John Sheppard and his team, he found his patience wearing dangerously thin. They'd been standing in front of his desk for nearly seven- he glanced at the clock and the wall- make that eight minutes in complete and utter silence (except McKay who'd sat down after minute three), which was odd since he'd asked them eight minutes ago a question of some importance.

It was so important in fact, and his patience had become so worn, that it warranted repeating.

"What the hell happened?"

Silence greeted him, but he didn't miss the way that Sheppard, Teyla and Ronon all quickly glanced at Rodney.

"Alright," Landry said as he leaned back in his chair. "Colonel, you, Ronon and Teyla can go."

"Sir?" said Sheppard, surprise and concern obvious in his voice.

"I have something to discuss with Dr. McKay," Landry quietly said. "The rest of you can go get some lunch or something."

"With all due respect, sir," tried John, "this is my…"

"Colonel Sheppard," interrupted Landry, his voice low and filled with all the authority he wielded, "get out of my office please."

"Yes, sir," said John as he turned around and motioned for Ronon and Teyla to leave.

It was easily evident to Landry that neither of them was pleased with having to abandon McKay, a fact that he duly noted, but they hesitated only briefly before opening the door and leaving. He waited for the door to close before turning his attention back to McKay.

"Okay, Dr. McKay," said Landry, "can you tell me why seven state troopers and three sheriff's deputies brought you to my doorstep after hauling you out of a brawl?"

"Well off the top of my head I'd say they were afraid of Ronon."

"McKay…"

"And it wasn't exactly a brawl, as such. I mean…"

"McKay!"

"…there were only three of them and…"

"Dr. McKay!"

"…they only had half a brain cell between them…"

"MCKAY!"

"They insulted Teyla, alright!" exclaimed Rodney as he jumped up out of the chair. "They insulted her! She's a good friend. She's like a sister to me and they insulted her, and where I come from that's, you know, not good and I told them so."

"And?"

Rodney looked Landry in the eyes and said, "That's when we got kicked out of the bar, only the morons followed us outside and started harassing Teyla."

"And Ronon took a swing at one of them," Landry replied only to have Rodney roll his eyes at him.

"I did, actually. Why do people always assume that Conan…"

"You started it?" asked Landry.

"No," said Rodney slowly, as if he were talking to a child, "they started it."

A knock on the door kept Landry from saying what he'd meant to say. "Yes, Walter."

The door opened and Harriman walked in and handed a file to Landry. He looked at it for a moment and then looked up to Walter who simply shrugged.

"Well, Dr. McKay," said Landry as he focused on Rodney. "Looks like there won't be any charges so you're off the hook. The only catch is neither of you are allowed into that bar again or any of the other three establishments the owner runs."

Rodney snorted in amusement. "No great loss there."

Landry handed the file back to Harriman and said, "Thank you, Walter."

"Yes, sir," replied Walter as he headed towards the door.

Landry looked at McKay and asked, "Did they get the ass kicking they deserved?"

The right side of Rodney's mouth edged upward to display a smug smirk. "Did they ever."

Landry stifled a laugh and nodded. "Dismissed, Doctor." He watched the scientist leave and felt his respect level for McKay edge up a notch, as well as his respect for Woolsey for having to deal with him and his team on a daily basis.

A/N: "The Code" part two: "You've gotten kicked out of somewhere."