.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
.
John slowly floated toward consciousness and knew something strange was going on. He was very uncomfortable and he wasn't sure why. Had he had too much to drink at Ronon's hotel room last night? As he tried to think about what he had done, he remembered that he had never made it to Ronon's room. Why? Why hadn't he made it?
With a sudden clarity he remembered the darts that had hit Teyla and him and his eyes popped open. He groaned as the light hit his eyes and he attempted to focus them.
He looked down and realized he was sitting in a wooden chair and his hands were handcuffed behind his back and to the rungs of the chair. He pulled on them briefly then tried to take stock of all that was around him. Looking down further he saw that he also had cuffs around his ankles and those were clamped on to the legs of the chair.
Teyla! Where was Teyla? He turned his head and just a few feet to his right he saw a wooden bed frame and mattress and there lying stretched out was Teyla. Her eyes were closed and she seemed to be sleeping. At least he hoped she was just sleeping.
He watched for a second and felt relief when he saw her chest rise and fall in rhythm. Just asleep. But she wouldn't be any help to him as her hands were tied to the bed posts and there was rope around her ankles as well.
John took further stock of their location and figured it to be some sort of rustic cabin. He could see out the windows and there was nothing but woods in all directions. The furniture was simple; table and chairs, the one bed, a few cabinets and dressers and a large upholstered chair over by the large floor to ceiling fireplace on one wall. But there didn't seem to be anyone around.
He studied the cabin more closely trying to figure out who had brought them here and why. There were no pictures or personal effects other than some hunting and fishing equipment and a few stuffed animals mounted on the walls.
He felt Teyla stir and redirected his gaze to her. He wasn't sure he wanted to draw attention to them if their captor was somewhere nearby. But he did want Teyla to know he was here.
He sent thoughts in her direction and she opened her eyes and stared at him with an expression of puzzlement and fear. He could tell she had no idea why they were here, either.
"You all right?" he whispered as loud as he dared. He still didn't see anyone around but they needed to find a way out of this and if whoever had taken them came in, their chances would be diminished severely.
"Yes," Teyla nodded her eyes filled with love and concern. "And you?"
"Fine," the words were clipped as he continued to examine the room and what he could see of the outside. "You didn't get a glimpse of who did this, did you?"
Teyla shook her head. "No, although I do remember there was a large van sitting a short distance from our rental vehicle. It seems the attack came from that direction."
John vaguely remembered the van. He blew out a breath of disgust. He had been on vacation too long and had obviously not been paying attention to what was around him. Of course he had no reason to think anyone would ambush them outside a convenience store.
John pulled at his bindings again but the metal cuffs were unyielding. He started rocking the chair back and forth to see if he could loosen up any of the rungs but the chair was of good quality.
He looked over at Teyla who was struggling with her own bindings and asked, "Do you think you can loosen those up? I'm afraid if I move too much with this chair I'll end up on the floor and then I'll really be up a creek."
"They are quite tight," Teyla whimpered and John could feel her discomfort. And her fear. And he wondered if she could feel his. He wanted to have a positive attitude and think that they could get out of this like they did so many other predicaments but until he knew who had them and why they were here, he didn't have a clue as to how bad their situation really was.
He continued to rock back and forth in the chair attempting to loosen up the joints as Teyla twisted her hands inside the rope. He wanted to tell her to stop as he knew it was hurting her but truthfully he knew she was more likely the one to be able to get free than him.
He was starting to feel the chair wiggle a bit when he heard footsteps outside. He sent a mental warning to Teyla and stared intently at the door waiting to see who had done this. When the door opened he took in a deep breath at the person who came through.
He had never expected this but when he thought about it, John knew they were in deep trouble.
.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
.
"Sheppard! Teyla!" Ronon banged on the door again for the third time. Amelia tugged on his arm.
"Ronon, would you stop. Maybe they already went downstairs to breakfast. You know how early the Colonel gets up and Teyla may have needed some food. She told me she gets hungry all the time now."
Ronon just grumbled and headed toward the elevator. Sheppard and Teyla hadn't shown up last night after the reception to join in the fun and he had been a little annoyed. But Amelia had told him to stop being such a baby. Teyla was probably tired and John more than likely had wanted to keep her company. But now they weren't responding to the knock on the door.
Ten minutes later Ronon was more than annoyed, he was concerned. John and Teyla weren't downstairs in the breakfast room and no one had seen them all morning. No one had seen them since they had gone into their room last night. Ronon had even checked the parking lot and found that their rental car was missing. But when he asked at the desk, he found they hadn't checked out yet either.
Twenty minutes later O'Neill and Carter were also worried. It wasn't like John or Teyla to simply wander away without letting someone know where they were going. O'Neill had convinced the hotel staff to unlock the door just to check that they weren't sick up in their room.
The chambermaid unlocked the door and stood back to allow the two couples to enter the room. Sam immediately checked the closet and saw Teyla's dress hanging next to John's tuxedo jacket. Walking further into the room O'Neill started getting a bad feeling.
"This doesn't look good. The beds are still made and Sheppard's pants and shoes are still sitting right on the bed. No one actually slept here last night."
"So where are they?" Ronon growled.
"Good question," O'Neill responded. "I wish I knew the answer. For right now I think we need to enlist the help of the local police. If that doesn't work then we get our own people to work on it."
"Can't we locate them using their subcutaneous transmitters?" Amelia suggested.
"If we had a ship in orbit, we could," Sam informed her. "But we aren't expecting the Apollo to be back for at least a week."
O'Neill pulled out his cell phone and within a half hour they had half a dozen cops working on the case. Apparently the disappearance of a military officer of high rank was something they didn't want to take any chances with, especially one as well known as Colonel John Sheppard.
The police crew were dusting for fingerprints in the room and looking around the hotel inside and out. The other Lanteans had congregated in the hall outside the hotel room and were trying to stay out of their way while also trying to brainstorm what could have happened.
The detective in charge came out of the room and caught O'Neill's eye as he lowered a cell phone from his ear.
"General O'Neill, they found the rental car. It's sitting in the parking lot of a convenience store a few blocks from here. Apparently it's been there all night. I'm heading over there now to check it out. I've already got people over there to make sure no evidence is removed or tampered with. I'll assume you want to come and take a look also."
Ronon, Sam and Jack were the ones to go while the rest cleaned up the rooms in preparation to leave. They were supposed to all check out today but now they knew they weren't going anywhere until Sheppard and Teyla were found.
At the convenience store, a police car sat next to the beige rental car John had been using.
"I didn't touch anything, sir," the officer who had been first on the scene informed the detective. "But I took a look around."
He motioned for them to follow him around to the passenger side of the vehicle where he pointed to a brown paper bag that was lying on its side. A set of car keys was sticking out from underneath.
O'Neill gently pulled aside the opening of the bag and smirked. "Beer and chips. Looks like Sheppard was planning on having a good time last night. But this was dropped, he didn't just place it down here. Whatever happened, happened quick."
He stood up and pushed the bag slightly with his toe to unearth the keys. Ronon and Sam began looking around the vicinity and the detective picked up the keys and walked toward the trunk of the car.
As he pushed the keys into the lock, the others all froze in place. As much as they wanted to know where Sheppard and Teyla were, they weren't sure it would be a good thing if they were in there.
The trunk was opened and a group sigh of relief went up as they saw the trunk was empty. But their frustration level was still at an all time high.
After a few more minutes Ronon bent down as something caught his eye. He shouted over to the General, "O'Neill, come here."
O'Neill walked over and made sure the forensics team snapped a few pictures before he picked up the item Ronon had found. It was a small dart.
"That looks like a tranquilizer dart," the detective observed. "Someone planned ahead for this. It wasn't something random. Who would want to kidnap these two?"
O'Neill grimaced. "Their military security clearance is one of the highest we've got. And Sheppard's brother is very rich so it could be for money. It could be a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. That sure doesn't make it easier to figure this out. But I think knowing that the Sheppards were definitely taken in a planned ambush, that makes this a military matter. But we'd appreciate any assistance you can give us. We have our own people who can work on this but it'd be great to have a base of operations and some local assistance. The nearest military base is over four hours away."
The detective, whose name was Hawkins, agreed. "Anything you need, General. My men are at your disposal and I'll have a conference room set up at police headquarters for your people to use. Let me know if you need anything else."
Sam hovered nearby. "We might want to keep Carson around and available."
At Hawkins' puzzled look Sam explained, "Carson Beckett is a medical doctor. Teyla, the Colonel's wife is pregnant, five or six months along, I think. I'm concerned about the effects the tranquilizer might have had on the baby, not to mention what this person or persons will do now that they have John and Teyla."
A small growl erupted from Ronon's throat at the thought of his friends in danger. As he looked back on the deserted car and bag of snacks, he hoped the tranquilizer was the worst they'd have to worry about but he had a bad feeling it wouldn't be.
.
xoxoxoxoxoxox
.
John's eyes widened and his heart actually stopped beating for a split second when he saw the man who walked through the door. Teyla's indrawn breath told him she was equally as surprised.
"Armstrong! What the hell is this?" John demanded. He had an idea but maybe he could talk his way out of this. He had to do something.
"Colonel Sheppard, Teyla," Ex Marine Colonel Jeff Armstrong greeted almost as if they were friends. "It's good to see you awake. I'm afraid the tranquilizer I put in the darts might have been a little strong. The two of you slept right through the night. Just like a baby."
At this his eyes moved to take in Teyla's mid section and his demeanor completely changed. The sneer on his face was fierce and revulsion shown in his eyes.
"Colonel Armstrong, what is the meaning of this?" Teyla inquired sharply. "Why have you brought us here?"
"You," Armstrong looked right at Teyla, "will simply be collateral damage. Colonel Sheppard here needs to pay and having you here will help me in my quest. I do think I will get great pleasure from making sure you don't corrupt any more people from this planet, though. Some day others will see that I was right and I will be vindicated. Everyone will see that my way of thinking was correct and that they should have listened to me."
John didn't understand exactly what this guy was talking about. He knew why he'd be upset with him but what was his problem with Teyla? He wasn't making much sense. But that worried him more than anything. If the ex-Colonel had become unstable they were in for a world of trouble.
"What did I ever do to you, Armstrong?" John tried to keep his voice level and reasonable when he really wanted to scream at this guy. "We were only on Atlantis together for a few days."
"What did you do?" Armstrong snarled ferociously. "You only ruined my life! The great career I had built up over so many years just came crashing down around me because of you."
"You're nuts, Armstrong!" John cried taking a deep breath in to try and stay calm. He knew this man wasn't thinking straight if he was blaming John for his downfall. "I wasn't the reason you lost your career. You did that all on your own. You have no one to blame but yourself."
Armstrong took a few steps so he was standing right in front of John and his hand flew across John's face to send his head flying backwards. Teyla's soft cry of concern echoed through the room.
Armstrong leaned in closer to John and spittle dripped at the corner of his mouth as he continued to rage. "You were supposed to be gone for at least a year! I was promised a year! At least a year so I could make myself invaluable to the city and ensure that the IOA would keep me there instead of having you come back. And with your injuries, I honestly never expected you to be back at all. I certainly didn't think you'd be back in half the time."
"So you're mad because I'm a quick healer?" John spat out indignantly. "You're upset because I put in blood, sweat and tears and actually managed to walk and talk again in half the time they thought. You're upset because I'm a damned determined bastard who wouldn't just lie down and take the hand I was dealt. Isn't that what we're taught in the military? You never quit and you give it everything you've got. So you're pissed because I'm one tough SOB who wouldn't take things lying down, literally."
"I was promised a year," Armstrong said but this time his voice was softer but deadly serious. Then he rounded on Sheppard again.
"But I didn't even get a chance to make an impression on the troops there. Why? Because you had ruined them! Every stinkin' man and woman on that base had been corrupted by your sloppy, incompetent, lazy ways. You ruined them all, Sheppard. You made it so none of them listened to me. They were all so useless and hopeless I couldn't get them to actually be real soldiers anymore. I got no real respect from them."
"Maybe you didn't get respect from them because you didn't deserve it," John argued calmly. "The soldiers there had a lot more experience than you did in dealing with the problems of the Pegasus Galaxy. If you had actually listened more and used the knowledge that was there for the taking, you would have gotten a whole lot more respect. Instead you decided to run the base like you ran it in the Middle East. But there's absolutely no comparison."
Armstrong's hand flew across John's face one more time. "Don't you tell me how to command, boy! I was an officer while you were still riding a bicycle."
Armstrong's chest was heaving with his anger now and John knew the man was unstable. He needed to keep his attention on him and not on Teyla.
"Listen, Colonel … Sir," John tried showing him the respect of his previous position. "I know you're upset and I'm sorry you weren't able to carry out your full term on Atlantis. But you must know that bringing us here isn't gonna help you in any way. When they find us, and they will, you'll be even deeper in shit than you were before. If you just untie us and let us go, Teyla and I won't say anything. You can take off and just lose yourself somewhere in the country. Leave us here and take the van. You can be long gone before anyone finds us."
Armstrong actually listened to John for a second and he hoped he had gotten through to him. But the ex-Colonel just pressed his hand to Sheppard's throat and applied his weight.
"You don't seem to understand, Sheppard," Armstrong sneered. "I don't have anywhere to go. I have no pension, no money, and no way of actually getting any. You stole all that away from me. I don't even have any savings. That's why it was so important that I stay on Atlantis for a few years. I had no bills there, no bookie breathing down my neck and all my earnings went right in the bank waiting for me when I finished my years. Now I have squat."
John tried to take a breath but nothing much came out except a cough. Armstrong's hand was still clutching tightly around his throat.
"You want money," John choked out gruffly and the hand loosened slightly. "I can get you money. I've got plenty."
"But I can't afford to let you go and actually get it. There's too much risk. And it won't be enough, not for what you did to me."
"My brother," John tried again. "He's got millions. Whatever you want, he'll get for you. You just need to call him and get it."
John really didn't want Dave to have to live through another kidnap and ransom deal but John was willing to do whatever he could to keep this man from following through on his original plans. He wasn't sure exactly what they were but he was pretty sure that they included him dead. And he didn't think he'd then let Teyla walk out of this either.
"Or better yet, let Teyla go and she can make sure you get your money. Whatever you want. She'll get it and deliver it to wherever you want. You name the place and she can get it there."
Armstrong paused and lifted his hand away from John's tender throat. John hoped his greed was getting the better of him and his insanity was keeping him from knowing he would never get away with any money. But then Armstrong started to laugh and John knew it wasn't an amused sort of laugh. It was the maniacal kind. This was bad.
The next thing he knew the chair had been kicked back and John was landing hard on the floor with his hands still cuffed to the back of it. He tried to stifle the groan as his weight trapped his hands underneath the wooden dowels. Armstrong then brought his foot up to connect with John's side as he laughed some more.
"Do you think I'm an idiot, Sheppard? I wasn't born yesterday. Besides what fun would that be? You ruined my life!"
This was punctuated with Armstrong's army boots connecting a few times with John's side and a few times with his head. John attempted to curl into a ball to keep them from injuring him so much but the cuffs holding his hand and feet firmly to the chair didn't allow for that luxury.
Teyla's cries of, "Stop it, please! You must stop!" rang out loud.
John could feel Teyla's pain and knew she had been sensing his as well. Right now he hated that they had this connection. He didn't want her to know exactly how sore and hurt he was and he despised the fact that she was so terrified. And somewhere in the back of his mind he could sense that his baby girl was confused and upset. She knew something was wrong with her parents and was frightened. But as Armstrong continued his beating, John knew he couldn't send her any warmth or assurance.
Teyla's cries were echoing through the room and finally the older man stopped to look at her and smirk.
"Why should I stop? Because you tell me to." He started walking toward Teyla and John's jaw locked and his breath actually stopped for a few seconds. He couldn't let anything happen to Teyla. Teyla and his little girl.
"You coward, Armstrong!" John called out and the man halted in his steps. "You're not man enough to just deal with me. You have to hurt innocent women and children too. You sniveling bastard, no wonder no one on base respected you. I'll bet none of your men ever did."
Armstrong's eyes turned dangerous and John knew he had pushed a few buttons there. "Innocent women and children, Sheppard. No I'd never hurt innocent women and children. But this little alien whore is hardly innocent."
His thumb jerked in Teyla's direction as he said this. He walked back over and righted the chair John was in and turned him so he was facing Teyla on the bed. John could see her face and knew she was trying to be brave. And he knew Teyla was probably the bravest person he knew. But she had someone else to worry about now and she was scared spitless for that tiny little life she carried inside her. He could feel her fear and he knew his matched hers in strength.
"First of all, your wife," and Armstrong almost spat the word out, "is an alien freak and should never have been permitted to ally herself with our kind. And she should never have been allowed to come anywhere near Atlantis or this planet. And it's disgraceful that you couldn't keep your dick in your pants and actually screwed this … thing."
Armstrong waved his hand in Teyla's direction but hit John in the face as he did. "You're a disgrace Sheppard. You couldn't find some Earth slut to satisfy you. Hell, there were plenty of female scientists if you just needed a good fuck. From what I understand many of them would have been happy to spread their legs for you. But you go for the one you know has already spread them for who knows how many others."
John started struggling again and yelled out, "You bastard, Armstrong. You're a coward. Untie me and let's see what you really have in you. Let's see all that Marine training. Come on, show me that Jarheads are better than zoomies. Or aren't you man enough?"
Armstrong's fist this time made contact with John's jaw and he actually saw stars as his head snapped back. The fist made contact twice more then Armstrong moved a few feet away and picked up a long sharp hunting knife. He ran his fingers down the edge, testing the blade.
"Don't you ever malign a US Marine again." he warned with a deadly glare. "We've got more balls than you'll ever have."
He strolled casually over to where Teyla was squirming and John could see that her wrists were all bloody and red from struggling so much. But he was more concerned with what that Marine was planning on doing with that lethal looking knife.
He stopped next to where Teyla lay and glanced back at John with an evil smile crossing his features. "I've got balls enough to do this."
And as the ex-Colonel's arms rose above his head and came down viciously, John heard a scream ripped from deep inside his soul.
"NOOOOOOO!"
.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
.