Chapter Ten

The chill night air penetrated his thin jacket and Rodney pulled it tightly around his body, his teeth chattering as he stood by the silo waiting.

Ronon had descended into a sullen silence after it had been agreed that attacking the silo was probably not the best course of action without knowing what would greet them on the other side of the door. His eyes swept the shadows, but he remained silent, his thoughts focused on the drama that was unfolding inside the impenetrable building beside them.

Teyla watched the darkness intently, still not sure that they were indeed alone, the shadows that had touched her mind still persisted, stirring up again the memories that she would have preferred to remain buried. She knew how dangerous Michael could be, she had been so close to becoming one of his victims herself just a few short months ago when he had tried to use her as a food source for his bug army and she shuddered at the memory.

Ronon noticed her shiver and raised an eyebrow at her, "You cold Teyla?" His monotone question sounded too loud in the still night air.

"I am fine, it is…nothing." She lowered her eyes, not wanting the Satedan to see the anxiety that she knew was evident in her features.

"Don't look fine. Is it Michael?" He crossed his arms and waited as she thought about an answer.

"I am.. disturbed by his closeness, yes. He is a clever and ruthless 'man' Ronon and I fear greatly for Colonel Sheppard's safety even more now knowing that he is involved."

"We all know what he's capable of, but we can't let him win, that's all." Ronon's over simplified view on the situation irritated Rodney, who up until that point had contented himself with keeping a guarded watch on the LSD for unexpected company.

"Simple!" Rodney almost exploded with indignation, "What part of 'Psychotic Wraith on a mission' could you possibly define as 'simple'!"

"He's just another Wraith McKay and he'll die just like all the rest of them!" Ronon shrugged; he had lived his life along that simple premise for a very long time before he had teamed up with the Atlantis expedition. He had had one basic mission in life, to protect himself from the Wraith at all costs and it was a mission that he had excelled at.

"Ronon, Michael cannot be classed as 'just another Wraith', he is something very much worse. He has a purpose that we have instilled in him. We made him what he is now, we created this monster." Teyla knew that that wasn't strictly true, but she was convinced that they should not have meddled in Michael's life, they should have either killed him or left him be; to have attempted to change an inhuman being into a human being was never going to end well.

"No Teyla, whatever was done to him, he is now, and has always been 'just' a Wraith. He's a very pissed off Wraith, but when it comes down to it, he's got the same basic needs as all the rest, and for that he's going to die. I knew all along that we should have left well alone, that we shouldn't have messed with him, but nobody wanted to listen to me then, so listen to me now….he will die for what he tried to do to you before and for his involvement in the attack on Sheppard now. "

"And again I ask, what do you intend to use to achieve this, well that is, apart from the toy knives, Hm?" Rodney stood with his arms folded, doubt written across his features.

"Surprise….they won't expect anyone to be here, so we overwhelm them before they have a chance to react."

"And what about if Sheppard comes out first, what then!"

"I believe that the likelihood of that happening is very remote Rodney," Teyla once again found herself in the role of arbitrator, "we know that he is injured, so it is more than likely that he will have to be assisted by whoever is holding him inside, so if and when they decide to come out, they will hopefully be preoccupied…"

"Michael isn't here for his health McKay, he's here for Sheppard, so unless they intend on keeping him inside indefinitely, which I very much doubt, they'll come out eventually, and when they do, we'll be ready." Ronon had already started to turn back to his position of watch as he spoke, the conversation finished as far as he was concerned.

Teyla agreed in principle with Ronon's misgivings about what had been done to Michael, but having spent years of her own life watching those that she cared about taken, like cattle to the slaughter, she couldn't hold her hand on her heart and say that she had been totally against the experiment. Dr Beckett had been so sure that what they were doing was right, he had been so passionately convinced that they could change the course of the war against the Wraith- but in the end, he had been wrong and now they were having to deal with one of the consequences of that error in judgement. Teyla was a pacifist at heart first and foremost and tried to avoid violence if at all possible, especially having been brought up living under the shadow of the Wraith most of her life, when the threat of death and horror had never been more than a breath away, but the thought of what may have been done to John clouded her normally dispassionate mind and she also now found herself wanting to punish Michael for his actions, not just against her, but for all of the deaths that he was responsible for.

"Whoa, whoa…someone's on the move..the shield's being deactivated!" Rodney looked up from the scanner, his eyes bright with concern, "Ronon, I hope you're ready, 'cause we're about to have company!"

Ronon moved into the centre of the hidden doorway and Teyla positioned herself slightly behind and to his left as they waited poised.

Rodney had moved to Ronon's right, keeping the Satedan between himself and the doorway, his lack of weaponry forcing him stay at the rear.

The doorway reappeared as the shield dropped away. Ronon stood firmly, directly in front of the opening, his knife held underhanded and ready.

The first thing that hit the Satedan's eyes as the opening appeared was the sight of his CO being supported on both sides by Michael and the other now vaguely familiar man. His face was creased with pain and his eyes glazed as he stood wavering on the threshold of the building. Ronon stared straight into his friend's eyes, and in the split second between the door appearing and Ronon stepping forward, Sheppard looked straight back, hope touching his features. Weather intentionally, or because the pain coursing through his body became overwhelming, Sheppard suddenly dropped down. The unexpected transfer of weight distracted the two figures on either side of him and for the briefest of moments their attention was drawn down and away from the door; and that was all the time that Ronon needed, he struck.

Stower fell first, his life pulsing away as he brought his hands up to the gaping wound in his throat, feeling the warmth of the sticky blood spurting through his fingers. He tried to scream, but his voice had been taken away by the knife as it pierced the soft flesh under his chin.

Ronon had leapt forwards the moment he had struck the bounty hunter, his body twisting to the side, pushing himself past and behind Michael and over the body of his fallen friend. As he passed him, Ronon lunged at the Wraith, his knife already painted red with the blood from his first victim. Michael moved to the side, avoiding the flash of steel as it flew at his face, dropping under the swing and punching into Ronon's body as he passed. The blow pushed Ronon backwards into the room, his leg striking against the wooden chair beside the desk, and he landed on the floor. Michael glanced down at Sheppard's body, which lay motionless by the door, before moving into the room himself, advancing on Ronon as he struggled to untangle himself from the legs of the wooden chair. As Michael moved forwards, he caught the sudden flash of movement to his side and turned back towards the door once more, catching Teyla with a glancing blow as she ran at him knife raised. The knife dropping to the floor as she landed hard against the wall and Michael smiled as she lay against the dirty wall of the silo, shaking her head, stunned from the impact. He moved towards her once more, his eyes fixed on her face. As he passed beside Sheppard's body, he failed to see the shaking hand that snaked down slowly towards the hidden knife, his attention so firmly fixed as it was on both Teyla and Ronon. As he advanced towards the downed pair, he didn't even consider Sheppard as a threat; as far as Michael was concerned, Sheppard was now too far gone to be of any use to him as a test subject and his usefulness was therefore at an end; he was dying on the floor of the office and didn't warrant any further attention.

Sheppard though had other plans. Feeling the knife in his hand had given him a huge surge of adrenalin and as he felt it flooding through his body, he struggled to his feet behind the advancing Wraith.

As he stood swaying, the knife shaking in his hand, he composed himself, biting back at the pain that threatened to engulf him at any moment. His hands shook, but he knew that he had to continue and he took one step after another towards the Wraiths unprotected back.

Ronon could see Sheppard's slowly advancing form and his eyes grew wide as he took in for the first time the full extend oh his friends injuries. He could see the blood dripping down onto the floor from Sheppard's shirt and the sweat that dribbled down the dirt encrusted face.

Michael saw the change in Ronon's expression, but he turned too slowly and was unprepared for the depth of passion that pushed the knife deeply into his side, then again. He turned around fully and looked into the eyes of his attacker; and Sheppard stared back at him, the defiance burning in his red rimmed eyes.

"You are full of surprises Colonel Sheppard…" Michael hissed in pain and his hand drifted to the bloody wounds in his side. "I had written you off as weak and of no more use to me…it appears I was mistaken in that assumption, yet again."

Rodney ran into the room just as Sheppard struck Michael with the weapon and he also took in for the first time the dire condition of his friend as he stood eyeball to eyeball with the Wraith. Teyla struggled to stand up form her prone position on the floor, picking up the knife that she had dropped and advancing towards the scenario that was playing out in the centre of the room. Ronon also needed no prompting as he struggled up onto his feet, his knife once more poised to strike. Michael looked from one face to another, and realised that he was beaten. As he looked at each of the team in turn, he knew that he had nothing to lose; so decision made, he chose the weakest link in the chain and launched himself at Rodney. The scientist was unarmed, so had no way to defend himself as the Wraith thundered towards him. Michael barrelled past Rodney's body, knocking him sideways, and ran straight at the doorway and into the black of the night outside. Ronon started forwards, but was stopped as Teyla cried out in alarm. As he turned back, he saw Sheppard drop, landing firstly on his knees and then gracefully, like a willow caught in a autumn breeze, dropping slowly to the side to land on the floor.

"John!" Teyla ran to his side and dropped to her knees, hesitant to touch him, hesitant in case he had gone. "John, can you hear me.."

"Is he.." Rodney had recovered his composure and now moved towards where Sheppard lay. "Is he, alive.."

"John, can you hear me, it is Teyla.." Teyla reached a shaking hand out and touched the very still and sweat saturated neck of her friend. As she searched, her fingers brushed against a minute, shallow movement and her heart leapt.

"He is alive Rodney, I feel a pulse. It is very weak, but it is there" She placed a hand on his face, and saw a glimmer of movement as his eyes twitched under their heavy lids, "John, if you can hear me, Michael has gone and," she looked over at the very still body of the Stower, "the other man is dead."

"What did they do to him for god's sake!" Rodney now stood beside Teyla, his face betraying his concern as his eyes travelled down Sheppard's body, pausing on the red pool that was growing under his body, "Oh no, Teyla…" he pointed at the spreading stain and Teyla's eyes widened as she saw the object of Rodney's concern.

"Ronon, quickly, help me turn him.." She grabbed Sheppard's shirt and pulled the fabric up to expose his ribcage and the wounds that punched through either side of his chest. Her breath caught in her throat as she lifted the blood drenched dressings that had pulled way from John's sweat soaked skin to expose the horrific damage underneath. Rodney couldn't look and turned away, his stomach lurching at the sight. Ronon moved closer and caught Teyla's eye, nodding to her in reassurance as he grasped Sheppard's shoulder and they turned him gently onto his side. The exit wound on his back was deeper and angrier than the entry wound under his arm, but it was the bubbling sounds that emanated from John's body that concerned Teyla more than the wounds themselves; she was very aware that time was running out for her friend and that if they were going to attempt to save his life they would have to act very quickly.

"We have to leave this place Ronon, we do not know who we can trust now, especially as we know that the security forces are involved in whatever happened here. We have to get back to the gate." Teyla looked up from her position beside Sheppard's body, her face fraught with concern, "We need to get John back to Atlantis, I- I am very worried Ronon, his wounds are…."

"I know Teyla, his lung is punctured. I've seen it before- that sound. I've seen what happens."

"Help me!" Teyla indicated for Ronon to move to the opposite side of Sheppard's body and between them they pulled him up onto his feet, "Rodney, we will manage the Colonel if you can make us aware of any 'company' that comes our way."

"What about Michael!" Rodney didn't want the answer to that question, but he needed to know.

"I no longer sense him. If he is here, he is already dead…either that or he has left already."

"Teyla, we gotta go.." Ronon could feel the shudders that passed through Sheppard's body as he rested against the Satedan's tall frame and he knew by the shallow staccato breaths that Sheppard wasn't getting enough air.

"Rodney, please stay ahead of us and when we reach the gate, we need to get through as quickly as possible."

"Yes, yes..I'll be ready," his eyes fixed on the trembling body of his friend and he nodded stiffly, "He's still with us now, so he'd bloody well better still be with us when we get to the gate…Do you hear me Sheppard! Keep your scrawny hide alive until then!"

The briefest and smallest smiles touched Sheppard's lips, and his eyes cracked open slightly at Rodney's words, "s-still here, n-not l-leaving yet…" the whispered words stirred the group to move and as Ronon and Teyla shouldered the weight of their CO and headed towards the door, Rodney took one final look behind him at the room were he had been held; the cell with its blood soaked mattress and the dirty walls and floor and he shook his head then turned to follow the trio as they disappeared through the door.