Note: Posted together with Chapter 11, on 7/22/07.
This is for the two people who aren't reading the new Harry Potter book, I guess...
Chapter Twelve
For someone as expert at infiltration as Jolinar, locating and entering the gathering was not difficult. Using a little of Rosha's feminine wiles and her own ability to spin a believable story on a moment's notice, she let the guards give her a quick, inexpert patdown for weapons and walked into the stadium chosen to host the meeting.
The late afternoon sun was bright and warm, and had melted the light dusting of snow on the field. The covered viewing stands where she stood provided a view into a wooded area beyond the field. It was all very open.
It was early, so she was not surprised to see few people. But she did notice that those who were there were in small isolated groups. Some were looking quite hostile at other people who were there. Those hostile groups were the focus of attention by the meeting's guards, but she noticed that the few people on the other side of the field by the chain-link fence were looking out. And they were armed.
'They expect trouble,' Rosha observed. 'They won't be taken by surprise.'
Jolinar disagreed. 'They are wary, but these are not adequate defenses if they truly knew that Valhalla Sector was coming.' But Malek had been clear on that point--the base was nearly empty of soldiers.
She walked down the steps toward the front and then across the second aisle back from the concrete safety barrier, to pick a place in front of the platform set up in the field where Markus would speak. Malek had desired very much to meet the leader of Thunder Mountain, and she wanted to be able to give him a full report.
'Should we warn them?' Rosha asked. Jolinar felt a rush of affection for her soft-hearted host, who always wanted to do the right thing.
'We don't know that they're coming today either.' She sat on the blue-painted bench, careful to put the skirt of her jacket beneath her. The plastic was still very cold. 'The attack may be tomorrow or the day after. One of the guards mentioned a smaller site for tomorrow. That would be easier to attack than this open plain. But in any case, we have nothing to tell them that would not compromise Malek. And that I will not do.'
In all these years, she had never grown used to her friend willingly remaining trapped in Valhalla Sector. She had no illusions that if he were discovered torture would swiftly follow. Malek would have no choice but to release a poison into their bloodstream to end their life. It seemed too heavy a price to pay.
'He remains to make sure Valhalla Sector never finds a way to use the virus against the Tau'ri again,' Rosha reminded her.
'I know, I know,' Jolinar answered. It was not as if she didn't understand his purpose, but she also didn't understand his dedication. She was dedicated to one thing -- the ultimate destruction of the Goa'uld -- and this permanent detour of Malek's was inexplicable. And she at least knew the Tau'ri and felt pity for them. The Council was growing less patient with his stubbornness and his "infatuation" with the Tau'ri at a time when their own numbers were dwindling. They did not understand why he wanted to stay.
'Lantash understands,' Rosha pointed out with some justification.
'Because Martouf would do exactly the same thing, if we would let him,' Jolinar said, unable to help a smile at the thought of him.
She fingered the small amulet on a golden chain around her neck with its hidden communications device, soothed by its presence. Their beloved was only a call away. He had stayed in their tunnels not far from Valhalla Sector, ready if either she or Malek needed help.
As darkness fell, the string of small bare light bulbs hung in the central area of the stands came on, casting a warm yellow glow across the faces of the arrivals. There were many more people now, and Jolinar was rather impressed with the numbers. Even assuming some were guards, it was still a highly respectable turn-out for a gathering that had been put together without the use of communication devices.
She became aware of a small knot of people approaching from her left and turned to look. The petite dark-skinned woman was likely cold in her stomach-baring shirt and short purple jacket, but she didn't show it. She was trailed by a younger, softer looking woman, and two young men who were clearly guards.
"This will do," the leader sat, taking her seat as proudly as a queen. She was only two meters or so away, on the row behind. She noticed Jolinar's look and returned it, aggressively. "What? Is this your seat or something?"
Jolinar smiled easily. These Tau'ri children could not intimidate her. "Of course not. But no one else here has come so close, so I was curious. I am Jo-Lynn." The Tau'ri adjustment to her name was one she used frequently. It was similar enough that she would respond, without being as strange as her true name.
The other woman squinted at her, looking a little suspicious. "Theo," she answered finally. "From Clarefield."
The younger one leaned forward and held out her hand. "Elizabeth. From Thunder Mountain."
"Oh?" Jolinar looked at the girl -- she really was little more than a girl -- with more interest while shaking her hand. "So you know Markus Alexander?"
Elizabeth nodded with a smile. "Of course. I grew up with him. Where are you from? I don't think I remember your name from the lists."
"I'm from a place called Vorash," Jolinar answered. In her head, Rosha sputtered at this brazenness. Jolinar ignored her. "Peter told me about the meeting. I thought it sounded interesting."
"That's great," Elizabeth beamed. "Markus will be so pleased that word is spreading."
Jolinar felt ever so slightly guilty about deceiving her. Such an innocent, she deserved only the truth.
"As long as word doesn't spread to the wrong ears," Theo muttered and gave Jolinar a hard look.
Jolinar pretended not to see, keeping her attention on Elizabeth. "So what's he like?"
Theo snorted and interrupted, "He's a dreamer. A head full of impractical ideas, which anyone with half a brain knows are never really gonna work."
Elizabeth nudged her sharply in the ribs. "Shut up. You'll give her the wrong impression, Theo."
"What? Am I wrong, sweetpea?" Theo demanded. "He's a dreamer, and you know it."
"Maybe," Elizabeth allowed, but asked pointedly, "But you're still here, aren't you?"
Theo seemed to have nothing to say to that, and Jolinar hid another smile. But she observed to Rosha, 'I think Malek was right to have us come. This Theo is a hard woman, yet Markus has touched her nonethelesss.'
'I'm eager to hear what he has to say,' Rosha agreed.
"C'mon, Markus, get out there," Theo muttered, tucking her hands in her sleeves, as a chill breeze sprang up. "I'm freezing my ass off."
"You're the one who changed clothes," Elizabeth reminded her in a tart voice. Jolinar was not entirely sure what relationship the two women had -- there was a little too much hostility for friendship, and yet they were sitting together when there was plenty of room to move.
'Sort of like you and Anise,' Rosha said, amused. 'Stuck together because Freya and I are friends.'
Elizabeth leaned forward, looking for Markus presumably, and then glanced around at the gathering anxiously. "I sure hope they listen to him," she murmured to herself.
The lights strung around the platform on the field then went on, casting a bright glow on the podium and the microphone.
Jolinar turned all her attention there, and waited in anticipation. This would be very interesting.
---+---
Showtime.
Markus felt sick. Even though he'd had nothing to eat since breakfast, he still thought he might have to throw up. He stared blindly at the end of the tunnel toward the field, seeing only the glow of the lights. The cold was biting his face but he didn't notice.
"Breathe," Kurdy advised and clapped him on the back. "You're gonna do fine, Markus."
"Right," he said, trying to convince himself. He shook his head and rolled his shoulders, trying to rid himself of some of the nervous tension gripping him. "What's the worst that can happen?" he asked rhetorically. "No one's going to waste fruit by throwing it at me. They'll just walk out."
"They won't," Daniel said from the other side. "They want to hear what you have to say, Markus. Remember that. They're here because they want to build something too."
He nodded. Daniel was right, and that helped. Because that was what this was about, after all, building something. Building the future.
Closing his eyes, he took a slow, deep breath. I know what we can do, he reminded himself. I know what we can be, if we have a chance. The phoenix can rise out of the ashes of the old world if we join together. We can build something new and better than what we lost. That's what I promised Dad that last day before he went outside. I have to keep that promise.
The grief that accompanied that thought was old, softened by years, but strong enough to sweep away the anxiety. Without the stage fright in the way, a strong sense of resolution and purpose rose in its place.
I will not fail at this. For Mom and Dad, for Meaghan, for all my friends at the mountain… the new world begins now.
His eyes opened. Squeezing Kurdy and Daniel's shoulders in thanks for their support, he started down the tunnel alone.
They followed a few paces behind, but he didn't pay attention. Nathan and Alyssa were both standing at the mouth of the tunnel. Alyssa seemed to be reporting something, which disturbed Nathan.
"Problem?" Markus asked, knowing there was.
They exchanged a glance, and Nathan answered, "We've had no contact from our guys watching the roads. They're supposed to check in every half hour. They might just be late, they're not the most reliable …" he trailed off and shrugged a little uncomfortably.
The implication was clear: someone had taken out the guards. If so, that meant Valhalla Sector was coming.
"We should get you out of here," Kurdy stepped forward, putting a hand on Markus' jacket.
"No," Markus shrugged him off. "These people put their lives on the line to come here. We do what we came here to do."
All four exchanged looks as if debating taking him away bodily. He ignored them. What he could never explain to them was that he knew he had to do this now. Though he was too much of a scientist to believe in fate, still there was something pulling him forward and demanding that he be the one to tip over that first domino. If he didn't, no one would. And despite what his intellect told him would be the consequence of going down this path, he had no real choice. Maybe it was all just ego, believing that he was here in this place for this purpose, but that didn't matter. He had to do it.
Nathan stepped forward a pace as if he intended to exchange a high-five or tap his shoulder, but stopped when he glanced Markus' face. "Good luck," he said quietly and got out of the way.
Markus walked across the field toward the lit platform and glanced at the stands. It was gratifying to see how many had come. Though the light and distance were such that he couldn't identify most of them, he spied Theo and Elizabeth sitting near the front with an attractive blonde woman he didn't recognize. Elizabeth's gaze slid behind him to find Kurdy, but Theo gave a little wave when she saw he was looking at her.
Markus mounted the steps to the platform and turned to face his audience. Kurdy and Daniel followed him and moved to the back corners to watch. From that point on, reality blurred. The words poured from his mouth, without conscious thought, as if they had been predestined, and his body just the conduit.
"… We gather here today in common cause, because the desires that unite us are greater than the forces that divide us. We look with awe at the artifacts of the past, believing that we will never again know such greatness. But greatness is only a matter of will. It is the end result of patience, determination, direction and strength. And we who have grown up in the shadows of the Big Death, have those qualities in abundance."
He met as many eyes of those watching him as he could, willing them to understand, to listen -- to believe. He knew he'd always remember the strange, heady sensation that he could feel their cynicism and skepticism fade away.
"We have made mistakes, but we have learned from them. And what we have learned most is that we cannot trust our future to those who can see only the past. Tonight we stand together, united for the first time. In the coming days we will begin to carve out a framework for a new country and a new future."
The honey-blonde woman next to Theo watched him intently, and he somehow knew, looking into her face, that she was far older than she seemed. She had eyes like Teal'c, deep and wise with knowledge and strength.
"Because if we fail to do so, others will do it for us. And generations yet unborn will live to regret our failure."
Her head turned abruptly east, drawing his attention. Markus stopped speaking, as a cold veil of dread smothered his words.
Only a few seconds later, the lights all went out.
In the silence, Markus could hear the growling of approaching engines and the higher-pitched whine of helicopter rotors. Valhalla Sector had found them, despite their precautions. Now he had no time left.
He changed what he was going to say. "Remember this!" he shouted, hoping at least some of them could hear even though the sound system was dead. "Remember that we gathered here peacefully and they came to stop us. But they can't stop us from building our world as we want it. They can't stop the future."
Armored personnel carriers and jeeps crashed through the fence and rolled across the field. A helicopter swooped in and hovered overhead, drowning out his voice. An amplified voice ordered from somewhere, "This is an illegal assembly. Stay where you are and no one will be hurt!"
There was screaming as the audience started to flee, dashing in all directions.
"Get the hell down!" Kurdy grabbed his jacket, shoving him down the steps to the ground where the three huddled against the dubious cover of the platform.
Markus saw that Kurdy had a pistol, despite the weapons prohibition. He thought they had all left their guns back at Nathan's headquarters. "Where did that come from?"
"Erin," Kurdy answered shortly, his eyes on the helicopter. Ropes were thrown down and soldiers in black began to shimmy down. "I knew this was a fucking bad idea. We've got to get out of here."
Two representatives scaled the wall and headed across the field. Machine gun chatter was even louder than the rotor noise, and the two jerked and fell.
Markus heard an ominous hiss, and glanced up as the helicopter launched a rocket straight into the upper balcony. He watched, horrified, as the explosion rained debris down below. This was a response well beyond anything he had expected.
Theo stood up, a gun in her hand too. "Fuck this!" she yelled and fired up at the nearest truck, blasting away. The blonde woman yanked Elizabeth down, yelling at Theo something that was buried in the noise. Theo dropped down, partially screened by the wall as she continued to fire back, picking off soldiers as best she could, at least until she ran out of ammo.
Markus could see chips flying from the front of the concrete wall and the bench seats as bullets tracked the women. At his side, Kurdy yelled, "Elizabeth!" He dashed out into the field toward the stands, wielding his gun to try to give the women cover.
Daniel shouted Kurdy's name, trying to get him to come back, then pulled the radio out of his pocket and clicked it on. "Jack! Jack, it's Daniel!" he yelled, and didn't wait for a response. Not that he'd be able to hear it anyway. "We're under attack. St. Louis is under attack! We can't get out. I hope you're getting this. The meeting's under attack --"
Markus could only watch the battle rage around him in frozen horror. The sound faded away, and the images all seemed to slow, turning into individual pictures flipping past. He saw Kurdy nearly reach the wall and then spin around and fall into the dirt. Elizabeth tried to leap the wall to go to him, but the blonde woman held her back. Others fell and did not move. Others raised their arms in surrender. But he was also sure that he saw some people crawl over the ends of the stands and run off. When he glanced at the tunnel, Nathan and Alyssa were gone. He hoped they'd escaped to safety.
The sound of heavy footfalls broke into his awareness and he turned his head, to find six men pointing M-16's at him and Daniel.
---+---
Jack had just reached up to touch the Goa'uld symbol and activate the ring transporter, when his radio came to life.
At first it seemed to just be noise, random and loud, like static. But Jack stiffened as he sorted out the staccato sounds of gunfire and a low tone of helicopter rotors. Then, the frantic voice of his teammate, nearly buried by the din:
"Jack! Jack, it's Daniel! We're under attack. St. Louis is under attack! We can't get out. I hope you're getting this. The meeting's under attack --" then silence.
Jack scrambled to get his radio out. "Daniel! Daniel!" he called frantically, looking helplessly at Smith who was watching him with a sad smile. "Status!"
Someone else responded. "Who is this?"
"Who are you?" Jack returned. "Where's my friend?"
"He is a prisoner of the United States government," the other man said sternly. "And will soon be on trial for treason."
"What?" Jack demanded in outrage. "What do you mean --" A soft click over the speaker silenced him. They had been cut off.
Jack stared at the radio and then swore. Daniel was captured. Since he had no one from Valhalla Sector handy, he vented on the next best person. He glared furiously at Smith, "You couldn't have just said they were walking into a trap?"
"I didn't know! I didn't understand. But now you have to hurry." Smith started to wave him toward the ring controls, but abruptly stiffened. He closed his eyes tightly and gritted his teeth. Then he said, as though every word was a blow, "God says … the future is out of balance. Your being here has upset what was meant to be. The mountain will fall, and darkness and evil will rise up unopposed and spread across the world… " He looked up and his anguished gaze met Jack's. In that moment, Jack believed every single word.
Smith's voice softened, "If he dies… the way will be lost."
Jack knew he wasn't talking about Daniel. He nodded. "I understand."
"God says when the time comes, you must go, Jack. If you go, one will live who should die, and one will die who should live, but the balance will be restored."
Smith shook his head, holding up a hand to stop Jack from questioning him, and let out a deep breath. In a more normal tone, he added, "That's all. I'm sorry, I don't know anything more. But now you have to get Sam and Jeremiah."
Jack needed no further bidding, putting the cryptic prophecy aside for consideration later. If there was a later. He activated the ring transporter that took him deep underground. The tunnel was clean, but definitely not like the Tok'ra tunnels, and not like human-made ones either. Seth had constructed this himself.
The tunnel only went in one direction toward the compound, so Jack started at a jog. He took out the small transmitter and tried to call Carter.
"Carter, come in. Carter, we've got a major, honkin', big problem."
There was a brief pause and then an answer, "Jack, this is Jeremiah. Sam hasn't come back from, uh, dinner, yet."
"Well, you need to go get her. St. Louis has been attacked. Daniel was able to call and tell me, before the soldiers confiscated the radio and told me they've been taken prisoner."
"Markus and Kurdy, too?" Jeremiah asked.
"I don't know about Kurdy," he didn't really know about Markus either, but it was pretty clear to him that was who Smith had been talking about. "But from what I heard, I think the whole damn meeting was taken."
The radio swallowed most of it, but Jack was pretty sure there was some swearing there.
Mindful of the original mission, Jack asked, "Did you find anything?"
"I wasn't looking, remember. You neglected to tell me what to look for."
Jack did not have time for this sullen, teenage crap. "Well, you wouldn't recognize the naquadah anyway. But, when you were in the shed, did you happen to notice any rings or circles kinda drawn onto the floor? Please tell me you did?"
"Okay, I did."
"Damn it, Jeremiah!"
"Yes, I did," he answered slowly, as if talking to a child. Jack bristled at the insult. "I thought it was some creepy Seth worshipping thing. But there were circles in the floor."
"Good, then we've got a chance at this. Find Carter and tell her the mission's scrubbed. Get her to those rings. I'll be beneath you."
"Beneath us?"
"Yep. Carter will know how to activate them. They're kind of an elevator going to a tunnel underground. Now, hustle!"
Jack hurried down the tunnel, then he skidded to a halt, when he realized that Smith was not behind him. He'd thought the kid was going to follow him in the rings. Swearing, he turned around and went back. It'd take Carter and Jeremiah a few minutes to find a way out to the shed. He came to where he had come down, and realized that he had no idea how to activate the rings to go up.
"Smith!" he called. "Can you hear me?"
There was no answer.
The rock surface was clean. No indentations, no jewels, no buttons of any kind. Please, it couldn't be a one way elevator. Why would Seth install it going only down? Carter would be able to figure it out, he assured himself. One step at a time. Get Jeremiah and Carter out of Seth's hands.
With that decision made, he turned around and headed back to the other end.
---+---
Jeremiah put the small receiver down, and contemplated how he was going to find Sam in this children's prison. The place gave him the creeps and the sooner they got out the better. Jack had warned him that Seth could be a bigger threat to Thunder Mountain than Valhalla and he had scoffed. But after meeting Seth, and seeing how he controlled everyone, Jeremiah was glad he didn't have to stay. That there was a drug to force someone to worship the alien easily scared the shit out of him.
Where was she? Had she gotten caught during her search? Or worse, forced into some man's bed. He'd heard plenty of the other men say they were eager for the new blood and some didn't sound very picky about willingness. How was he ever going to find her? "Please Sam, get here quick," he pleaded silently.
Not five minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Jeremiah opened it to find another man.
"I'm Ryan. I'm here to claim Sam."
Jeremiah stiffened. "She doesn't want to spend the night in anyone's bed but her own."
"Those are not the rules. She must share a bed with one of the believers. As one of Seth's top lieutenants it's my right for first dibs."
Jeremiah folded his arms. "It's my right as a brother to say you need to wait for her to get used to this place."
Ryan pushed his way in and looked around for her. "If this is your way of saying she picked someone else, let it be known I'll kill the man who usurps my authority."
"She's not with another man. She's still in the bathroom."
Suddenly Sam rushed in, through the open doorway. "I've got--" and stopped dead as she saw their guest. "I'm sorry, Jeremiah. I should have--"
"This is Ryan," Jeremiah interrupted her. "He's here to claim you for the night," he told her hoping she would know how to handle this misfortune.
After closing the door, Sam turned to face them, her eyes sparkling in excitement. Jeremiah stepped back in shock. "Me?" she said in a little-girl voice. "Just a minute, let me put my shampoo and new soap away."
Sam walked over to the closet and put something inside, using her back to shield what she carried. Turning back to the men, Sam took tentative steps towards them, wearing a soft smile. When she got within touching distance, she reached out and promptly sent a right cross that hit square on his face. His body twisted and Jeremiah added his two cents by sending another punch into Ryan's gut. Sam finished it with a doubled handed smash onto the back of his neck that sent him crashing to the floor unconscious.
"Good job, partner," Sam commented, wiping her hands on her dress.
Jeremiah couldn't help the bubble of hysterical laughter that came from his mouth. "We are so fucked."
"Hopefully he'll be out long enough for us to get out of here. I found the naquadah, now we just need to figure out how to get out of this place."
"That's not our only problem," he told her, calming down. "Jack called just now. The big meeting's been attacked. Markus and Daniel and probably Kurdy and the rest are prisoners of Valhalla Sector."
She stiffened. "We were warned," she said softly.
"No shit. We all knew going to St. Louis was a mistake for Markus, but he wouldn't call it off. He had to go." It made Jeremiah want to bang his head against the wall.
"Leaders can't be seen as cowards. He'd made the commitment; he couldn't not show. I understand, although--"
"The whole thing sucks," he finished for her and let out a disgruntled breath. "Let's get the fuck out of here and go rescue them."
"You know a way?" she questioned.
"I wasn't spending all my time painting," Jeremiah told her with a little smirk. "Remember the shed I was painting today? It has rings or something. Jack's below it, in some sort of tunnel I guess."
Her eyes lit up. "Transport rings. Let's go. The sooner we get out of here the better."
"Yeah, before lover-boy wakes up." He couldn't help giving the jerk a little kick with his foot to see if he'd react.
Sam went back to the closet and took out a small pot that had a strange cover on it. Jeremiah couldn't understand why they took such risks for such a stupid thing. "That's going to get you home?"
She nodded. "And power the Mountain for the next hundred years."
Jeremiah blinked. Maybe not so stupid after all. She put the strange container down her cleavage, and he turned hastily back to the door and walked out, gazing left and right down the corridor. "Coast is clear," he told her.
The two started slowly down the hall. There was a man and woman locked in an embrace as they turned a corner. Both were so wrapped up in the other that Jeremiah doubted they'd even noticed someone had passed them.
"So far so good," Sam muttered to him as they entered the stairwell. "The real trick is going to be getting to the shed. I bet we won't be able to just walk out the front door."
Their good luck vanished as they arrived on the ground floor. There were sounds of feet running down the stairs above them and someone shouted, "Stop. Our God demands you obey me."
Jeremiah looked up through the treads and saw who was following. "It's William with some--"
"Heidi," Sam finished for him. She hauled open the door onto the main floor. "Nishta victim and general nutcase."
"Stop them!" Heidi yelled and then let loose with a blood-curdling shriek as they exited into the entrance hall
Sam abruptly halted. Jeremiah followed her gaze, seeing two armed men standing by the front door. They looked up at the sound of the screech and unholstered their weapons.
"Guess the front door is out," Jeremiah couldn't help remarking.
"Go!" Sam shoved him to the right. "Dining hall."
They ran.
Dining hall? Why the hell would she want to go to the dining hall? It was the biggest, most open room in the whole place. They'd probably make great targets for the guards to shoot at. But he took off after her anyway, hoping she had some sort of plan that he wasn't seeing.
Halfway there, an alarm started to wail, very loudly. Sam didn't stop or hesitate.
Two shots were fired hitting the wall and then the door as they ran through it.
"Hey, you, stop!" a voice yelled behind them. "In the name of Seth, stop!"
The room was as empty as Jeremiah expected. "What are we doing here?" he asked, following her, as she wound her way through the tables toward the opposite wall.
"Kitchen," Sam explained shortly, slamming through the swinging door, which nearly caught Jeremiah as it came back at him.
His eyes widened a little at the sight of the kitchen. It was huge, taking up equal space with the dining hall. There were stoves and ovens against the inner wall, sinks and chopping areas in a long island in the middle, and more preparation area on the other wall beneath the high, barred windows. Utensils and baskets were hanging from hooks on the underside of cabinets. The place was spotless, and the hint of bleach smell reminded him of standing near his mom while she was doing the laundry.
Sam yanked open two drawers, underneath the windows. "Ah, I knew they were over here." She took out a very long, very sharp looking chopping knife. When she turned, holding it in her hand, she no longer looked so helpless, despite her bare feet and shapeless dress.
The neckline of which had slid to one side, threatening to expose one breast. He averted his eyes, determined not to ogle a woman brandishing a knife, and waved a hand, "Um, you should -- "
"Right. Thanks. Stupid dress," she muttered and turned away to fix it. "You want a knife?"
"Sure." He took one from the drawer, which had a narrower blade but was also long. His head swung sharply toward the dining hall, at the sound of someone shouting:
"Try the kitchen!"
Jeremiah swung back to meet Sam's gaze. "Shit. Now what?"
"Pantry stairs," she decided and raced for the double doors at the end. But instead of going through the doors, she ran into them. "Ow!" she rebounded, and yanked at one of the handles with her free hand. The door still didn't budge.
"Damn it," Sam turned around, frantically scanning the kitchen for another way. "I was hoping someone hadn't locked it yet."
He heard the creak of the door to the dining hall and plunged to the floor, yanking Sam down with him.
They'd just barely gotten behind the island when Jeremiah heard the door open.
A young male voice said, "I don't see anybody, Priestess."
"Eric, go this way, William you go the other. We'll trap them in here," Heidi ordered.
Two sets of footsteps began to slowly come down the aisles on either side. Sam and Jeremiah pressed against the end of the island. Jeremiah knew that there was no way they wouldn't be seen as soon as the two of them came near enough. They'd have to fight -- and he really didn't want to fight people with guns with only a knife.
He felt a sudden tug on his arm, and turned to see what Sam wanted. She pointed with her chin toward the cabinets to the left of the pantry door. He frowned. While one set of cabinet doors looked large enough to hold them, it was too late to go hide there. The guards would see them the instant they moved. She bit her lip in frustration that he wasn't seeing her meaning, and mimed with her hand a stabbing motion and then running to the cabinet.
Then with a shake of her head, she handed him the strange jar and told him to keep it safe. Jeremiah didn't have these great folds to hide it in, but he held it close to his chest, and put his shirt over it.
Sam gathered herself into a ready position, and he did the same, still confused but willing to follow. She obviously had a plan. They waited as the guard came nearer. She was practically sitting on Jeremiah's lap, so she wouldn't be seen. He wondered if she could feel his heart thudding as they waited.
Then, just as the boot and one jeans-clad ankle came into view, Sam sprang out, knife ready, and stabbed him in the leg.
He yelped and his gun went off, into the ceiling, sending a shower of plaster down. Sam leapt for the guard's arm, holding the gun, and forced him into a turn back toward William.
Both fired. But Jeremiah didn't have time to see what had happened. He pulled the colander off the hook next to him and threw it at the freaky woman. He followed that up with all the utensils in the drawer next to him, grabbing up two or three at a time, and pitching them, just to keep her in place--not that she looked like she wanted to move from in front of the door.
A bullet slamming into the counter made Jeremiah drop back behind the island. To his surprise there was return fire from his end of the kitchen toward the guy who'd shot at him.
Jeremiah turned, to see that Sam had the gun, her assailant was down on the floor moaning, and William and Heidi were out of sight, hiding just as they were.
"There's no way out," William called from the other end. "Surrender, and our god will be merciful."
Sam ignored him. She bent closer to Jeremiah and murmured, "Behind that cabinet is our way out. While I cover you, open the door and get in. Ready? Go."
She stood up and judiciously fired her gun to make the other two keep their heads down. Shards of granite countertop and tiles popped like popcorn.
Jeremiah ran to the cabinet, praying he wasn't going to feel a bullet any second, and flung open the doors. He'd expected either a large walk-in type closet or a garbage chute -- it was neither. There was a second door, this one metal, with some simple control buttons beside it, and behind the metal door, a small bare cabinet, set about waist height.
"Get in!" Sam shoved him from the back, and so he crawled into the space. She hit the controls on the outside with her other hand, and sprayed some more bullets into the kitchen.
The floor lurched and began to move down. Sam turned and dove in, shoving him into the opposite wall.
It was a sort of mini-elevator, he realized, going down to the basement.
A bullet struck the metal housing with a deafening crash, and Jeremiah automatically threw one arm over Sam, his hand over the back of her head, pulling her close and the other secured the jar. Another shot hit, spraying his sleeve with a hot backwash, and the lift shook.
It was going so slowly.
Sam snaked a hand free of his grip and blindly fired back through the narrowing gap between their ceiling and the outside floor.
More shots were hitting the elevator, making it swing, and Jeremiah just curled up, trying to protect Sam as much as he could, but knowing that she was between him and the opening.
Suddenly, it was pitch black. The shots also stopped. Sam pushed away from him a little ways, enough to sit up. "We have to get ready," she whispered. "I don't know if they have the key, but if they don't, they'll probably shoot the lock out and come down the stairs. You disable the dumbwaiter -- "
"The what?" he interrupted, not sure he'd heard right.
"Dumbwaiter. This thing we're in. We can't let them call it back up. I'll get the lights and see if I can block the basement door with something."
"And then what?"
"And then we hope that Seth put in a secret tunnel down here, or we're going to have a problem," she answered shortly.
That, he reflected, was likely a wild understatement.
The dumbwaiter slowed and then settled with a groan. Sam hit the door and it must have opened, since she pulled away from him and disappeared. He tried to follow, feeling his way out. He heard Sam's tentative footsteps on the floor as she worked her way along the wall toward his right.
He wondered how he was going to disable the dumbwaiter in the dark. He had his knife, and he had a vague idea that the thing must be hoisted on cables of some kind, but he couldn't figure out how to get to the cables.
After a short while, he realized it wasn't quite as pitch black as he had thought. His eyes were adjusting to light coming through a narrow strip of windows up near the ceiling. The whole complex was brightly lit outside with security lights, and the soft orange glow was coming inside.
It was enough to see a control panel next to the dumbwaiter, and the all-important 'STOP' button. He pushed it in and heard the machinery's low hum dwindle to near nothing.
Bright lights turned on, making him flinch and cover his eyes like a vampire. "Here, Jeremiah, help me," she shouted, struggling to push a metal cupboard in front of the door. He rushed over and, instead of trying to push it, together they managed to tip it over. It crashed to the concrete floor, in front of the door to the stairs.
Just as someone tried to open it. The door opened a few inches but then stopped, caught against the cupboard.
Jeremiah smirked, knowing it was going to take some doing for them to be able to push the door hard enough to get the cupboard out of the way. But his amusement faded as he looked around the basement.
Besides the giant bins of raw foodstuffs, there was a fortune in canned goods against one wall that looked barely touched. And half a wall full of bottles -- also worth a fortune if they were as old as they looked. Alcohol had been one of the first things looted after the Big Death, so there wasn't much left of the good stuff.
But unless there was something in the adjoining refrigerated room or something way at the other end of the long room, there was no way out.
Note: The text of Markus' address to the St. Louis meeting, is taken directly from the episode, "Things Left Unsaid", written by JMS.
Chapter 13 will post next week.
