A/N: This story is about to get more intense. Lots of angst and drama for John Sheppard and Family. So keep a box of tissues handy just in case.

Ladygris did the Beta again. WooHoo!

~Sandy

Broken Mirror

Chapter Ten

John pressed his ear to the door to determine the location of the intruders. From the sitting room he heard the hum of voices. Going to the desk, he opened the center drawer and felt around. Dad has to have a digital recorder in here some…got it! John knew he wouldn't be able to identify them by their faces. Maybe he'd get lucky and be able to record their voices. Shoving the small device into his back pocket, he listened then opened the doors just wide enough to slip out.

Flattening his back against the wall below the stairs, he heard the intruders head for the second floor. Four. They stopped when one of the steps creaked then continued, the others avoiding that step.

A voice spoke, the tone and inflection showing that he at least was highly educated as he issued orders to the others.

"Make it look good. We want them to think the main objective was burglary not stealing the company secrets."

A second voice responded.

"Why bother hacking? Just take the computers and let's get the hell outta here before someone comes home."

A third voice joined the other two.

"Yeah, Ivan. This place gives me the creeps. It's big and dark and what if they have a dog?"

The first voice spoke again.

"I spent a lot of time here putting in the new alarm system. They don't have a dog and no one's coming home until well after midnight. The old man, his son and his b**** of a wife of his are at the benefit, the kids are clear across town at their grandparent's and the servants are out of town, so just do as you're told. I'll check out the two bedrooms at the far end. Their laptops have to be here somewhere. They wouldn't've taken 'em to the party. Our employer wants the information on the merger ASAP. Frank, you take that room on the right and Stan, that one then both of you go downstairs and check the other rooms. Barry, you take the office there on the left and the unused bedroom."

The men agreed and separated. As soon as he heard the doors open and close, John crept down the hall to the back stairs listening to them move around on the floor above. Two came out into the hall, conferred quietly then headed in his direction.

Opening the closet under the stairs, he ducked inside leaving the door ajar enough to hear. Frank and Stan. They entered the kitchen, one opening the refrigerator and the other continuing out the other side and down the hall toward the music room.

John waited until Stan's footsteps could no longer be heard then he made his way to the kitchen. The swinging door made no sound as he eased it open. His head turned to the side, he listened to Frank taking items from the refrigerator and setting them on the island counter. He let the man get as far as swallowing the first bite of the sandwich and a drink of the milk then slipped up behind him and wrapped his arms around Frank's chubby neck.

Dragging him backward, John whispered in his ear, "The invitation said BYOF!" John tightened his hold. Frank fought him, but John had gone up against larger opponents on more than enough occasions to be able to handle this one. The would-be burglar slumped to the floor unconscious in less than thirty seconds.

Returning the way he'd come, John went through the laundry room to the door at the far end that opened into a small workshop where tools were kept. If he remembered right and they hadn't rearranged things in the years he'd been gone, there should be rope hanging on the wall.

"Crap." The rope wasn't where he thought it would be. Feeling around, he finally located it near the outside door. He took the coil of eighth-inch cotton rope and carried it to the workbench. Locating a pair of heavy duty clippers, he cut the rope into approximately eight-foot lengths. Coiling each one, he shoved them into the waistband of his pants to leave his hands free wishing he had a pair of his BDU pants. The pockets would have come in handy about now.

Returning to the kitchen, John opened a drawer and pulled out several hand towels then took a few moments to tie Frank's hands behind his back, looping the rope through his belt for security. He shoved one of the towels in Frank's mouth, and leaving him on his stomach in the middle of the floor, headed for the music room.

Stan apparently wasn't much of a musician. He hit a few piano keys, twanged the strings on an acoustic guitar then created an awful noise with the cello that used to belong to his mother in between ransacking drawers and tossing stuff on the floor to make it look like a burglary. Placing his back to the wall, John waited for Stan to come out and stepped in front of him. He heard a gasp of surprise just ahead of a blast of halitosis. "Oh, crap! You need a tic-tac!"

Before Stan could call for help, John punched him in the face. Stan stumbled back into the room holding his nose and howling in pain. "Ow! You broke my f***ing nose!"

"Well you and your pals broke into my home. Fair's fair." John turned his head to the side listening for Stan's next move.

~~O~~

Stan moved back out of John's reach taking in his aggressive stance, but something wasn't right. He turned his flashlight into John's eyes but he didn't blink or turn away. Waving a hand in front of John's face produced a chuckle.

"Yes, I'm blind. But I can still take you and your little posse out without even breathing hard."

"Yeah. Right." Stan kept one hand protectively over his nose. It wasn't bleeding but it hurt like hell. Taking a few steps back, he grinned to himself when John followed, hands out to the side like a gunslinger about to be in a shootout. The thick carpeting muffled the sounds of his movements as he skirted the armchair to his right to get to the door.

He was almost home free when a strong hand clamped on his shoulder and swung him around. Bringing both arms up to defend himself, swinging left and right, connecting with nothing as John dodged right then left. When Stan went for an uppercut, John jumped back. "Been doin' this awhile."

"Sure! And I'm the Easter bunny."

John shrugged indifferently though his mouth twisted into a smirk. "Whatever."

There was a flurry of activity and before Stan could even think of calling for help, he found himself tied up and a small towel jammed in his mouth. John dragged him to his feet, down the hall and shoved him through the kitchen door where he forced him to sit next to Frank who was just beginning to stir. "Stay here while I round up your pals." Squatting down in front of Stan, John patted him on the cheek. "And just to make sure you don't cause any trouble while I'm gone…"

John pulled another length of rope from his pants and tied the two men together back to back.

~~O~~

Barry did his part in making their intrusion look like a break-in by ransacking the upstairs office. After he'd made a mess, he passed through the bathroom into the other bedroom. The room looked like it hadn't been remodeled since the early nineties. Here he found football and track trophies on the dresser, several of them broken. An attempt had been made to repair them, but some pieces were still missing. A head here, an arm there. Picking one up, he read the plaque on the front. "John Sheppard, MVP Senior Year Homecoming Game." The date was in the mid- to late-eighties. "So he's got two sons. Wonder where the other one is."

"Behind you wondering why you're goin' through his stuff."

Stiffening, Barry turned around, the trophy still in one hand. He swung that same hand clipping John on the side of the head, following through then changing direction to get him on the other side.

But that didn't happen. On his return swing, John brought both arms up to block the strike while at the same time kicking out with his right foot catching Barry on the back of the knees and bringing him down to the floor with a grunt.

The trophy flew from his hand getting lost in the dark, but he didn't have time to worry about it because John had flipped him onto his stomach, getting him in a wrist lock. Barry make a scissor kick, knocking John backward onto the bed. He rolled immediately to his feet and John stood as well.

The men exchanged a number of blows which ended when John fell against the bookcase. He opened the passageway, grabbed Barry by the collar and threw him down the stairs. The other man was unconscious by the time he reached the bottom.

~~O~~

John went down the stairs and tied Barry's hands behind his back. Before going out the door that lead to the side yard, he listened for Kiana, Aaron and Felicia hoping they were doing as they were told and hiding or had already called the cops. Dragging his prisoner to the nearest tree, John tied him to it and stuffed a towel in his mouth.

Brushing his hands free of bark and dirt, he felt his way to the door and returned to his bedroom. Listening at the door, he slipped out and down the hall to his father's room. Inside he could hear the ringleader of the intruders tapping away at the computer and cursing when he hit yet another wall in his quest. The door was left ajar so John pushed it open just enough to let him slip inside, but apparently he wasn't as quiet as he thought.

"I'm havin' a hell of a time with these firewalls, Barry. May take longer than I thought. And what the hell was all that noise?"

"Barry is…indisposed and the first password is ArnoBabajanian. The first 'A' and the 'B' are uppercase. No spaces. He's Mother's favorite classical composer."

"Who the hell are you?"

Grinning, John extended his hand as if they'd just met. "Sorry. I should have introduced myself. John Sheppard."

"John Sheppard? I thought your name was David."

"Don't watch the news much, do ya?" Dropping his hand to his side, John took a step forward. "Dave's my brother. I'm the son Patrick doesn't talk about much. The black sheep of the Sheppard family." Ivan didn't say anything, but John could hear him get to his feet and pick up the chair. "Gotta work on my material. That's the second time I didn't get a laugh with that line."

~~O~~

Ivan still didn't speak as he moved to the side and lowered the chair. The room was dark except for the glow from the computer monitor yet the man in front of his didn't seem to notice. Setting the chair back on the thickly carpeted floor, Ivan chanced moving closer to John, waving his hand in front of his face.

Shrugging, John grinned again pointing to his eyes. "Blind as a bat. Now what'll it be? Will you come peacefully or will I be forced to beat the crap out of you before I call the cops?"

"I'll take door number three." Picking up the black bag with his tools of the trade, Ivan swung it at John's head startled when the other man dodged to the side. John spun around, coming up with a pair of ornate canes that had been in a stand behind the door, one in each hand. He spun them obviously showing off.

But Ivan had skills of his own and he could see. Closing the laptop, he tucked it into his bag and zipped it closed.

Hooking the bag over his shoulder, Ivan snickered as he attempted to slip around John to open the bedroom door. He wasn't permitted to leave, stumbling backward when John smacked him on the back of his thighs with one of the canes. "Sonofa…" He fell against the vanity chair knocking it over and tripping John.

John fell against the edge of the desk with a grunt and a hiss of pain, the canes flying from his hands. Feeling around, his hand closed over a snow globe. He lobbed it in Ivan's general direction and missed, the globe smashing against the wall in a shower of delicate shards of glass and water.

Ivan returned the favor by kicking out and getting John on the upper thigh. "Oh, now that's just mean." The chair was kicked out of the way as John got to his feet and advanced on Ivan.

With the door open, Ivan took the opportunity to cut his losses and get out. He'd hole up someplace where he could take his time to hack the computer. "So long, sucker!" Though he knew John couldn't see it, Ivan flipped him a jaunty salute as he backed out of the room and headed for the stairs. He ran the length of the upstairs hall, taking the stairs two at a time. His latex gloves made squeaking sounds on the banister as he reached the bottom. The sound of footsteps on the floor above didn't worry him because the front door was just around the…

His dreams of what he'd do with the money he'd make on this job came crashing down around his ears when he was clotheslined by a strong arm thrust into his path. He choked and moaned at the same time, looking up into the face of the man who'd just confessed to being blind.

Before Ivan could get to his feet again, the bag was ripped from his hand then he was hauled up and turned to face away from John, bent over the small table at the foot of the stairs. In that position, Ivan had no leverage to get away and so was helpless to prevent his hands from being tied. Hot breath hit the side of his face as John leaned close. "I'm also career military, pal. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't defend myself and my family."

One hand gripped Ivan's upper arm tightly as John dragged him toward the front door just as they both heard sirens. Tires screeched in the main driveway as John opened the front door. He stepped out and Ivan stopped struggling for there stood twenty of the local PD's finest, weapons aimed and bright light glaring in the dark.

"Freeze!"

~~O~~

Doing as he was told, John held the bag away from his body while still keeping a hold of his prisoner. He waited for someone to take charge of Ivan and it didn't take long. A commanding voice that John didn't recognize shouted an order. "Lower your weapons."

As the man came forward, John produced his ID. "Colonel John Sheppard, USAF. This man and his friends broke in."

"Take him into custody." Protesting all the way, Ivan was shoved into the back of a police car while an officer read him his rights.

Rushing footsteps came toward John and he was relieved of the bag too. "There's two more in the kitchen and one tied to a tree in the side yard." John gestured to the right, gratified to hear a pair of officers head around the side of the house while several more entered the front, their footsteps fading as they moved toward the back of the house.

Dave and Stephanie rushed to John's side as he was led to the back of an ambulance, his sister-in-law touching him on the arm. "Are you okay, John? What happened?"

Shrugging carelessly, John let one side of his mouth lift in amusement. "I'm fine." He kept his left arm close to his body while a member of the forensics team took a sample of the blood from his knuckles. The burns on his side were sore after fighting with the intruders. He bore the rest of the testing and treatment for injuries he hadn't even felt with as much patience as he could muster. More than he'd ever shown to Carson. "Just a little fun and games."

His father's voice, angry and annoyed, shouted above the rest. "You broke the snow globe."

"Excuse me?" John hadn't noticed his father going into the house and now he was being followed by a uniformed cop to make sure he didn't touch anything. Part of that anger no doubt had to do with the fact that they'd have to stay in a hotel, at least for the night. "Sorry. It was the first thing I could grab. What's the big deal? The company secrets are safe."

"It was…never mind. You just don't understand."

Patrick turned away and John grabbed at his sleeve missing, his hand flailing in the air. "Nothing I do is ever going to be good enough for you, is it?"

Patrick didn't turn around, his tone disdainful. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Shaking his head, John lowered his voice. "I know. And that's always been your problem, Dad."

"John…"

"Don't worry. I'm leaving in the morning."

The heavy footfalls of another came to a stop in front of the Sheppard family. "I'm Commissioner Edwards." The man stuck his hand out, waited and when John didn't take it, let it fall to his side. Dave took John's wallet from the Lieutenant at the chief's side and handed it back to John. "Sorry, Colonel Sheppard. You'll have to stick around a few days." He reached into his pocket and took out a card handing it to John, shooting Dave a look when he took the offering and placed it in John's hand. "I need you to come down to the station to give your formal statement and ID the perps."

"Can't do it, Chief."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm blind, that's why. I can tell you that Frank's DNA is on the sandwich in the kitchen. Caught him makin' a snack. Stan ransacked the music room." He held out his right hand. "This is his blood. Barry, well I threw him down the stairs behind the bookshelf in my room. His fingerprints will probably be on some of my stuff. And Ivan…" taking the digital recorder from his pocket, he turned it on and Ivan's voice filled the air telling everyone within range that he'd been hired to steal information on the upcoming merger. "He's no Rodney McKay. Rodney could've hacked Dad's computer in his sleep."

"Uncle John!" Aaron's voice shouted.

"Aaron! You okay, pal?" The boy grabbed his arm, John fumbling a bit until he could pull him close.

"Yeah. You?"

"Yeah."

"Blind?" Incredulous, Chief Edwards waved a hand in front of John's face.

To Aaron, John said, "He's waving his hand in front of my face, isn't he?"

The boy snorted. "Yeah. How dumb is that?"

John snorted. "Kiana and Felicia?"

"Right here, John." She and his niece were standing in front of him just a few feet away. He reached out and pulled Kiana into a quick hug then he picked Felicia up. The girl hugged him so tight he could barely breathe.

"I was so scared! But I knew you'd catch them!"

"And how did you know that, kiddo?" John set the girl on her feet and she rushed to hug her mother and father before returning to hold John's hand.

"'Cause you're the bravest person I know." She tugged on his arm. "Come on, Uncle John. I'll take you to your room."

"We can't go inside just yet. The police have to look the place over. We'll have to stay in a hotel tonight."

Aaron's voice raised in protest. "Is she gonna be there? Are you and her gonna kiss again!"

"Her name is Kiana and I…" John reached for the woman he'd come to care very much for, but she wasn't there. "Kiana?"

"She's over by the Chief's car talkin' to Gramps and they look really mad."

"Stay with your mom and dad, kiddo." The relief he felt that everyone was safe turned to concern. Why would Kiana be talking to his father? He put his hand on Aaron's shoulder. "Lead the way, pal."

~~O~~

Reluctantly, Kiana followed Patrick far enough from the others that no one could hear. Crossing her arms, she waited for him to speak.

"What has my son been telling you?"

"It's none of your business what John and talk about when we're alone, Mr. Sheppard."

"I paid you to get close to him and want to know what he's been saying about me, about his family. About his life that we're not allowed to know about."

"We've been over this. I don't work for you." She carefully enunciated each word.

Patrick scoffed. "Then why did you accept the payment I had transferred into your bank account?"

The bottom dropped out of Kiana's stomach. She'd been so busy falling in love with John she hadn't bothered to check her account in weeks preferring to allow her assistant to take care of any bills that came up. "What?"

Patrick's smile had very little to do with humor and everything to do with arrogance. "You got him out of the house and interested in living again. The money is just to show my appreciation."

"How did you…" Kiana broke off when Aaron spoke.

"Uh-oh."

She swung around to see John and the boy standing not five feet away. Close enough to have heard everything.

TBC