Author's Note: Contains spoilers for "Intruder." As always, review and tell me what you think. ~lg

Chapter Thirteen

"Dr. Beckett to Colonel Sheppard."

Sheppard tapped his headset, only marginally irritated. If Beckett called him, something was wrong. "Go ahead."

"I've been looking into Lt. Brady's missing physical." Beckett paused long enough for McKay to raise his eyebrows at Sheppard's distraction. "From what I can tell, he's the only one who has skipped any of the mandatory physicals. Of course, with Ronon being here, I haven't had a chance to thoroughly go through the files, and I didn't feel like this was something to give to another doctor."

"Understood, Doc." Sheppard almost disconnected the com link before he remembered to ask, "How's Ronon?"

"He'll recover." Beckett sounded a little irritated. "Right now, he's sedated. When he heard about the computer virus, he wanted to climb out of the bed and help you track down the culprit. His massive blood loss last night concerns me, and I sedated him until he's stronger."

"Alright, Doc. Keep me posted." Sheppard ended the call and turned to Rodney. "McKay?"

"I'm working!" Once he no longer had to explain every step, McKay disappeared into a competent haze, sharing only half-sentences with Zelenka.

Weir chose that moment to appear. "John? What's happening?"

"Sorry to wake you, Elizabeth." Sheppard stepped back, allowing McKay and Zelenka to do their jobs. "It seems we have a computer virus, and McKay thinks someone on Atlantis uploaded it into the city's systems."

Weir stepped forward. "Rodney?"

"He's right. I just can't figure out where it's from." He glanced up and looked between the two leaders of Atlantis. "Give me a few minutes, and I might, stress might, be able to get you an origination point."

"As soon as you can, McKay." Sheppard walked away from the control room, his irritation rising. This was not how he wanted to spend the evening. He wanted to eat, break up with Nadia, and sleep-not necessarily in that order. Everything in his life had gone haywire at that moment, and it didn't look like he'd get any food or sleep anytime soon.

Elizabeth stepped to his side. "John?"

"I'm tired." He shook his head. "I'm hungry. I have some unfinished personal business that keeps getting put off by various crises. And I'm mad. That's what's happening."

She stared down at the Stargate, her eyebrows rising. "That's very succinct. Are you going to be okay to get through this?"

"I'll be fine." Sheppard looked at her. "Once this particular crisis is over, I'm leaving Lorne in charge for about two days and sleeping for most of them."

"Deal." Weir nodded in agreement.

McKay stood from his seat. "Okay, I have something." He waited until Sheppard and Weir joined him at a large screen. "This virus is adapting. Right now, it's attacking the power distribution systems along with sensor systems. As a result, we're flying blind. I mean, we can't even use the city's life signs detectors to tell how many people we do or don't have on board. And the power distribution problems are only going to get worse."

"How worse?" Weir asked.

"Much, much worse." McKay moved back to his laptop. "Right now, I'm barely keeping the lights on. This virus hasn't taxed the ZedPM more than it normally is. It's just rerouting power around to strange areas of the city."

"What areas?" This time, Sheppard asked for clarification.

"Outlying labs. The isolation room. The underwater Jumper bay. A storage area on the western pier." McKay pointed to his computer screen. "Look, all I know right now is that it's like that virus we encountered on the Daedalus all those years ago. The Wraith virus?"

Elizabeth's eyes widened. "The one that nearly flew us into a sun? I remember it."

"Well, it's not Wraith, but it's adapting very quickly," McKay said distractedly as he returned to working on the problem. "And, with all of the computers on Atlantis, it's going to be next to impossible to eliminate it once we figure out how. And, before you ask, we're not doing a citywide shut down." He focused on his computer screen. "At least, not yet."

Elizabeth put a hand on his shoulder. "Just figure it out."

As if encouraged by her touch, McKay sat up. "What's this?" His delight was short-lived. A moment later, the control room went dark. "Aw, come on!"

Sheppard stepped to his side. "McKay?"

"We're locked out. Every computer that was networked into the city's systems in no longer useful." McKay glared at him. "Right now, we have communications and life support. Everything else is out of my control."

"Any other good news?" Sheppard asked sarcastically.

"Well, I now know where the virus originated, but I don't know who the quarters belong to." McKay picked up his tablet, the only type of computer in the control room that wasn't tied into the city's power systems. He called up a schematic of Atlantis and pointed. "It's from right here. And, if my tablet is correct, that's Lt. Brady's quarters."

"Brady." Sheppard clenched his jaw and tapped his earpiece. "Lorne, I need you to gather your team and several others-men that you trust. We have a situation that might require search parties. Meet me in the armory."

A moment later, Lorne's sleepy voice came over the com system. "Yes, Sir."

Sheppard turned back to McKay. "You're sure about this?"

"Well, as sure as I can be in this situation."

"Good enough. Dr. Beckett!" Sheppard turned away from the flabbergasted scientist and waited while Beckett responded. "I need you to page Brady to the infirmary for a physical. Hopefully, we'll get the guy to surrender himself peacefully, and those search parties won't be necessary."

"Search parties?" Beckett asked.

"Just make the announcement. I'll explain later." Sheppard rubbed his eyes. Someone on Atlantis had purposefully sabotaged the city, and he planned to find and detain them-at the least.

A moment later, the citywide comms activated. "Lieutenant Brady to the infirmary immediately. Lieutenant Brady to the infirmary."

Sheppard looked at Elizabeth. "I'm taking Rodney with me. Let me know if anything changes." He headed for the armory without waiting for a reply.

In the armory, Lorne, Teyla, and several teams waited. Sheppard grabbed a TAC vest and spoke as he put it on. "We currently have a computer virus that's been uploaded into the city's systems. We're flying blind, using handheld life signs detectors for this. The virus originated from a set of quarters that Lorne, Teyla, McKay, and I will investigate. The rest of you will begin searching the city should Beckett's announcement go unheeded. You are to detain, using such force as necessary."

One of the Marines actually raised his hand. "Who are we looking for?"

Sheppard looked directly at him. "I'll let you know in a few moments." He tapped his headset. "Beckett?"

"He's not here, Colonel."

"Good enough for me." Sheppard turned back to the Marine. "We're looking for one Lt. Daniel Brady. Let's go."

The men split into teams, and Sheppard led the way toward crew quarters. With power out around much of the city, they resorted to using the stairways. Halfway to Brady's quarters, Rachel rounded the corner. She flattened herself against the wall as Lorne, Teyla, and McKay rushed past. Sheppard slowed.

"Colonel, what's going on?"

Sheppard appreciated her professional approach even though he'd given her permission to use his first name. "A man hunt." He motioned for Lorne to continue and faced Rachel. "Lt. Brady uploaded a virus into the city's computers. He's not responding to radio calls, and we're trying to find him."

She shook her head. "I'm sorry it came to this."

Rather than replying, Sheppard touched her elbow and continued to where Lorne watched. He knew the other man would comment on his actions eventually, but he just didn't have the strength to resist the pull between him and the psychologist. He turned the corner and led the way to Brady's quarters.

After Rodney hacked the door controls to let them in, the four of them spread out. The unmade bed marred the neatness of the room. It looked as if Brady had risen and headed straight for duty. No sign remained of the wayward lieutenant. Sheppard walked over to a dresser, intrigued by the pictures. Many people still kept framed photographs, but these were different. Sheppard picked up a shot of a laughing baby, frowning as he tried to figure out why it seemed familiar.

Teyla moved to his side. "That is uncanny."

"What is?"

"That baby looks very similar to Torren when he was that age." Teyla took the photo and stared at it.

A disconcerting sensation in the pit of his stomach drove Sheppard to pick up the other photo, this one of an attractive blond woman. "I think you're right. This one looks a lot like Cadman."

McKay stood suddenly. "Hey, what's this?" He turned to face the room, holding up an old laptop. "I think we just figured out where Daniels went."

Sheppard whirled. "Why do you think he's on Atlantis?"

"This laptop is the one that was stolen from the Alpha Site," McKay announced.

Sheppard stared at him for a moment. "You're telling me that Daniels infiltrated Atlantis? And then uploaded a virus into the city's systems? Why?"

"Well, don't look at me," McKay muttered. He opened the laptop and went to work. "Give me a couple hours. I'll be able to tell you exactly what he had access to. If it's even Daniels. It might be someone working with Daniels."

Lorne chose that moment to interrupt. "Sir."

Sheppard turned, too tired to try to argue anymore. "Whatcha got?"

"It looks like Daniels has a girlfriend." Lorne reached into the sheets and held up a see-through negligee.

Sheppard glared at it. He knew that negligee. He'd liked that negligee when Nadia first modeled it for him.

SGA SGA SGA SGA

"Lieutenant Brady to the infirmary immediately. Lieutenant Brady to the infirmary."

Daniels glanced up at the announcement and frowned. It meant that Sheppard had figured out that Brady wasn't on the up and up. Perhaps he thought something different, but only a matter of time would tell if he'd completely blown his cover.

Rather than setting off at a dead run, Daniels continued walking in his purposeful way. At the coming intersection, he turned away from the crew quarters. He'd left Nadia in his quarters that morning, and she had disappeared by the time he checked in at lunch. As much as he didn't like the woman's clingy attitude, he certainly enjoyed their nights together. No wonder Sheppard had stayed with her for so long.

The underwater Jumper bay still had power, thanks to the nasty virus he'd managed to get into Atlantis. The little-used portion of the city was vulnerable to attack. By rerouting the city's power there, he created a bolt hole that appeared to be completely random on McKay's computers. Who would deliberately send power to such a remote section of the city?

In the Jumper he'd flown into Atlantis, Daniels sat down and considered his options. He knew his time to act had come, and he wanted everything to go as smoothly as possible. After all, he would soon be destroying Sheppard. The plan couldn't go by too swiftly. He wouldn't get any enjoyment out of it, but he refused delay acting.

With a determined growl, Daniels stood and pulled out the small case he'd kept hidden beneath one of the Jumper's rear seats. The case contained a serum the Boss had synthesized. The serum would allow Rachel to fight long enough for Daniels to get his shots in. Hopefully, seeing his lady's face torn to shreds would motivate Sheppard to surrender himself. Daniels only regretted that the plan included allowing Rachel to go free. He would have loved to torture Sheppard by merely touching the woman the colonel loved.

~TBC