Chapter 29: It's you he wants!

From my restrained position tied to the chair I could see out the window which meant I got to see the drama unfolding right in front of me.

Within moments a small explosion erupted from a nearby building. I could hardly believe it when none other than Lucius Luvin came stumbling out of the rubble, trailing a cloud of dust and coughing painfully. Even more worrying was the sight of Doctor Beckett, Ronon, Rodney and Teyla all being led to the centre of the square where Kolya was seemingly enjoying his work.

"What, are you crazy?! You could have killed me!" Lucius complained, brushing dust from his clothes.

"That shield of yours impresses me more and more," Kolya said with amusement. "You did your part, Lucius. You get to live another day."

I watched as Lucius turned a glare on Kolya that was met with sneering distain – grumbling under his breath, Lucius turned and walked away.

"Sheppard?" Kolya questioned one of his men. I held my breath, praying that John hadn't been captured.

"He got away," the man admitted reluctantly. 'Yes!' I thought gleefully - 'take that Kolya!'

"That's unfortunate," Kolya said with no emotion. Without pause he raised his pistol and aimed straight at the other man's heart. The gun clicked but didn't fire – the man looked at Kolya with wide-eyed disbelief before slumping in relief.

"Thanks for sparing me, sir," he said gratefully.

"Don't disappoint me again," Kolya warned. As the man turned away Kolya turned to another solider, handing off his weapon and saying "get this fixed" - so, unintentional sparing then!

"Secure the prisoners," he called to his men. "I was going to use them as bait but it turns out I've acquired something more ... suited to Sheppard's tastes."

Teyla and the others were led away, each glancing around as though trying to work out what Kolya could have meant by that remark. Kolya didn't give them a second glance as he walked purposefully towards the building where I was waiting.

"I don't know why you think Colonel Sheppard would pay any more attention to me as a captive than the rest of his team," I spoke grimly as soon as he'd closed the door behind him.

"There's no point in trying to dissuade me Ms Scott," Kolya said in a reasonable tone. "My spies have informed me of how ... taken Colonel Sheppard is with you but even without that I would know your value as bait to lure the Colonel here. I was there to hear your heartfelt cries of love as the Wraith fed upon him," his tone mocked me now, "and I saw the look on Sheppard's face as he listened to your words."

I tugged angrily as my restraints when he reminded me of just one of the reasons why I hated him so much. Kolya laughed as he watched me struggling. "I see the reminder of what I did to Sheppard in an effort to take my rightful place as leader of the Genii angers you."

"Did Colonel Sheppard ever tell you that you're a real sicko?" I asked in a biting tone, "because if not he's really been remiss in his duties." I turned my head with the blow as Kolya hit me for the second time that day. "Is that always your response to anyone who tells you truths you don't want to hear?"

"I'm beginning to see why Sheppard finds you so attractive," Kolya looked at me in amusement. "Or perhaps some of his ... charm has worn off on you."

"You'll underestimate Colonel Sheppard again if you allow yourself to believe emotion will motivate him to do something that logic tells him is senseless," I warned in a calm voice. "And you know I more than anyone would like to believe otherwise."

"We shall see Ms Scott," Kolya promised. "I think you will find that it is you who underestimates your value to the Colonel."

"He'll be heading to the gate already," I told Kolya smugly. "There'll be Marines swarming this place before you can get away – and we all know how good you are at retreating." I wasn't worried about him retaliating for my smart arsed attitude because I knew until he'd got what he wanted he couldn't afford to harm me.

"I warn you Ms Scott," Kolya leant down menacingly, "you would be wise not to push me too far – while you live you can still be bait for Sheppard even if we ... damage you somewhat."

"You hurt me and I can guarantee there won't be a hole deep enough for you to hide in," I promised with grim confidence, "and it won't just be Colonel Sheppard hunting you."

"So you do admit the Colonel will come back for you?" Kolya looked at me smugly.

"Eventually, just like he would for anyone," I said simply. "We don't leave anyone behind – no matter who they are."

"That's what I'm counting on," Kolya smiled smugly. "Your noble predictability. And as for Sheppard getting reinforcements through the gate – I can guarantee that's not going to happen." Turning away he took out one of the radios he'd obviously stolen from John's team and activated it.

"Colonel Sheppard?" he said seriously. "I'm going to assume you can hear me. I'm also going to assume that if you haven't reached the Gate by now, you soon will, so I wanna save you some trouble. My men have secured the Gate. There's no way you're getting through. Come back and face me, Colonel ... or I'll kill your girlfriend," Kolya paused to smile smugly at me. "And if you're thinking I couldn't possibly follow through on that threat let me prove that you're mistaken."

Raising his pistol he aimed it at me threateningly. "Say something," he growled, holding the radio out towards me. I raised an eyebrow at him mockingly, keeping my lips pressed firmly together. The anger I'd felt for him for months was driving me now, fueling my defiance to the point I didn't even feel that nervous about my situation. Without hesitation he pointed his pistol to my right and fired into the wall behind me at head height, raising a small hail of shrapnel that hit my shoulders and the back of my neck. "Say something!" he commanded, pointing the gun back at me.

I looked at him mutely, determined not to give him anything he wanted, sure that he couldn't afford to follow through on the implied threat. He looked at me assessingly before getting right up in my personal space and pressing the gun to my forehead.

"If you don't speak then you're useless to me," Kolya threatened grimly. "Now say hello to the Colonel ... or I will kill you."

"Don't come back here," I yelled to John, suddenly convinced Kolya meant to do exactly what he said. "It's you he wants!"

"She's right," Kolya laughed evilly. "It is you I want Colonel ... give yourself up and I'll let her go."

There was a short pause during which I imagined John was cursing Kolya for all his past wrongs as well as for the current situation.

"Kolya, this is Sheppard. I'm comin' back."

"I thought you might - don't keep me waiting," Kolya advised, killing the radio before I could shout anything else.

"So you're just gonna let me go are you?" I looked at him in disbelief. "You're not gonna try and scam Doctor Weir for something first?"

"That's what I have the rest of Sheppard's team for," Kolya replied, turning without another word and leaving me in the building alone. Groaning I tugged at the restraint, trying to loosen them but it was no use. Resigning myself to let this play out according to Kolya's plan I prayed that John came up with a really good plan this time. It seemed only a few minutes later that one of Kolya's men arrived to untie me and drag me out of the room back into the town square. My spirits lifted when I saw armed men surrounding the rest of team Sheppard, even though the heavy guard meant there was little chance for an escape.

"Sabina?" Rodney looked at me in disbelief as I was dragged over to stand next to him. "Now it makes sense – you're the bait to lure Sheppard in!"

"One of Kolya's spies pulled the same trick they used when they kidnapped John," I told him softly. "I think it was just a coincidence Kolya was already running this little operation with you guys."

"Are you okay lass?" Doctor Beckett asked, gesturing to my face where I'm sure I had some lovely bruises developing nicely.

"Yeah," I dismissed the injuries as minor. "Kolya took offense to some ... home truths," I admitted.

"You get more and more like Sheppard every day," Rodney muttered snidely, adding when I smiled delightedly, "that wasn't a compliment!"

"Colonel Sheppard?" Kolya activated his radio impatient for John to appear.

"Maybe he changed his mind," one of his men offered.

"You're out of time, Colonel," Kolya said grimly, tossing the radio away. Drawing his pistol he walked straight at me, grabbing my arm and dragging me in front of the others.

"I wouldn't do that," Ronon growled threateningly, trying to pull his arm away from the guards restraining him.

"Would you like me to shoot you first?" Kolya moved the gun away from me and pointed it straight at Ronon.

"If that's what it takes," Ronon agreed with a ferrel grin.

"As moved as I am by that," Kolya said sarcastically, "I'll get to you later. For now I promised Sheppard a certain outcome for failing to turn up and I mean to deliver." Resting the gun against my forehead again Kolya primed the trigger. I felt a sick wave of panic and adrenalin sweep over my entire body - holy crap, he was actually going to shoot me and there was nothing I could do to stop it ...

"Kolya!" John's voice shouting from the trees froze everything.

Kolya turned – looking in the same direction I saw John standing on the other side of the square. Rather than reassure me that only made me feel more nervous. John was just standing out there in the open – he didn't appear aware of the fact that even though Kolya had holstered his pistol the rest of Kolya's men were still heavily armed.

"I should have killed you when we first met, Colonel," Kolya said almost conversationally. "It would have saved me a lot of trouble."

"The feeling's mutual," John replied, glaring at Kolya menacingly.

"Goodbye, Sheppard," Kolya motioned to his men. Before I could even blink Kolya's soldiers opened fire on him. My heart lurched before I realised the bullets were bouncing off John harmlessly, pinging a green glow over him as he smiled smugly. The soldiers continued to fire uselessly until they were all clicking empty weapons.

"Well, now that you've got that out of your system ...," John said casually, unzipping his vest to reveal some kind of device I could only assume was the shield Kolya had mentioned. John laughed at Kolya's pained expression – that is until the shield started flashing green before flickering in and out. "Oh, crap!" John muttered, looking down at the now useless shield.

"Reload!" Kolya yelled at his men.

"Don't bother," Lucius advised, walking into view followed by many of the townspeople.

"You should have left town when you had the chance," Kolya told him threateningly.

"I'm sure you're thinking the same thing right about now," Lucius said with a smile as all around the square the townspeople burst out, carrying whatever implements they could find to use as weapons. They quickly surrounded all the soldiers, forcing them to lower their weapons.

"If I gave you the opportunity to surrender," John spoke only to Kolya, "I don't suppose you'd take it?"

Kolya smiled, then chuckled at the very thought.

"I didn't think so," John replied almost conversationally.

Ronon put a hand on my shoulder as I realised what John intended. Knowing it was too late for me to influence his decision I nodded to Ronon so he'd know I understood. Not sure I really wanted to watch what was about to unfold I found that I couldn't look away.

It was like a scene from an old western, minus the cowboy hats and cheap saloon. John and Kolya locked gazes, each trying to second guess when the other would make his move. Hands were hovering over guns – I didn't detect the move that signalled Kolya was about to shoot but John obviously did. Kolya went for his gun but John beat him in the draw, shooting a single shot straight through Kolya's heart. Kolya fell backwards with a groan and was still.

"Put down your weapons," John looked at the now leaderless soldiers. They all did without hesitation, leaving Lucius clapping his hands in delight.

Pulling away from Ronon and the others I walked over to John who was standing staring down at Kolya's body.

"You okay?" I asked softly. John started – he'd been so involved in his thoughts that he hadn't even realised I was beside him.

"What?" John frowned in confusion. Recovering quickly he pulled me towards him and hugged me in relief. "How the hell did you get involved in this?" he pulled away to glare at me.

"Hey it wasn't my fault," I replied heatedly. "One of Kolya's spies pulled the harpoon trick on me – there was nothing I could do! What were you doing coming back here instead of taking out those men at the gate and bringing in reinforcements?"

"Saving your life," John said simply. "He would have killed you if I hadn't turned up ... and then Rodney, Teyla, everyone."

"What ever happened to not giving in to terrorist demands?" I reminded him angrily that he hadn't allowed us to do anything when Kolya had him captive.

"This was different," John protested. "He wasn't demanding anything other than my presence – would you have preferred I let him shoot you?"

"Of course not," I replied vehemently. "I just didn't appreciate the heart stop you gave me when you stood there apparently waiting for someone to gun you down!"

"Kolya was a millisecond away from pulling the trigger," John said heatedly. "You want to talk about heart stops – put yourself on the other side of that equation! I had the shield and the plan with Lucius to involve the townspeople – I knew what I was doing."

"I suppose you did," I relented, "depleted shield notwithstanding."

"How did Kolya even know to grab you?" John looked at me intently.

"Ah," I looked away uneasily. "I guess you could say that was my fault – apparently I gave away the connection when I spoke to you that last time with the Wraith."

"That bastard," John looked down at Kolya's dead body grimly like he wished he could shoot him again.

"Is it bad that I'm really glad you shot him?" I asked uncertainly. John laughed, pulling me back into his side and guiding me away from the scene.

"No," John reassured me. "I'm really glad I shot him too."

"We should get back to Atlantis," I suggested, keen to put the whole thing behind me. "Major Lorne will be beyond aggravated by now and Doctor Weir's probably pacing the Gateroom because your team is late."

"Rodney, Ronon," John called to the others, "let's pack it up and head back to the gate."

"You're leaving?" Lucius rushed over to us. "Stay for a bit – there's gonna be a party ... it'll be great."

"Sorry Lucius," John said without a hint of apology in his voice. "We have to get back."

"You sure you guys can't stay for some schnitzel?" Lucius pleaded again. "I mean, this is a party for you guys as much as anybody, right?"

"You guys have a good time," John said, all of us continuing our walk through the village. "We're overdue."

"Well, thanks for everything," Lucius said agreeably.

"Just remember: stay out of trouble or we'll be back," John warned him with a friendly look.

"Oh, Colonel Sheppard?" Lucius called out, waiting until John turned back to face him. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"Oh, yeah! I did say I'd give that back to you, didn't I?" John reached into his vest pocket and took out the shield device.

"Yes, you did," Lucius agreed, smiling happily when John stuck the device onto his shirt. "You're a good man. You're an honest man, and you made me a better man myself, you know that, don't you?"

"Good. Bye, Lucius," John said pointedly. With a smug grin he turned away, resuming the walk out of the village with the rest of us following close behind.

"I thought you said that personal shield was depleted," Rodney asked in confusion.

"Oh, yeah," John agreed.

"Then it is worthless?" Teyla asked.

"Pretty much," John's voice said he was very comfortable with the interpretation of that.

"You're not gonna tell Lucius?" Doctor Beckett asked in disbelief.

"No ...," John replied. Behind us we could still hear what was going on in the village square. Lucius was urging someone to kick him as hard as they could. A few seconds later we heard Lucius screech in pain. John grinned, adding "He'll figure it out."

"That was ... great," I congratulated, smiling when John laughed at my deliberate choice of words.

x

Back on Atlantis it took some time to explain to Doctor Weir and Major Lorne how I'd ended up on the same planet as John's team. John was up front about his taking out Kolya – the rest of us equally clear that he'd had no choice. Given that none of the villagers were harmed it seemed that overall the day had turned out to be a win. I was relieved when finally I could relax on our balcony with John after a very long day.

"How's the face?" John put a hand under my chin and turned my face up to the light.

"Hurts a little," I admitted, "but I'd take worse than that for the outcome of Kolya being gone for good."

"I wanted to shoot him when we first realised he was in the village," John admitted. "If I'd known then that he had you I would have."

"We couldn't have predicted that something like that would happen," I looked at him in concern. "You're not gonna go all protective on me because Kolya tried to use me as bait are you?"

"I'll try not to," John replied with a pained expression. "I considered the possibility of someone using you to get to me before you were assigned to Lorne's team but discounted it as unlikely."

"I don't think the personal affairs of people on Atlantis are general knowledge all over the Pegasus galaxy," I said. "I gave Kolya that weapon against you when I couldn't resist shooting my mouth off during the whole Wraith thing."

"It's not your fault," John put a comforting arm around my shoulders. "And if that had ended the way it looked like it was going to you'd have been kicking yourself if you hadn't said anything."

"True," I agreed, resting my head against his shoulder companionably. We sat in silence for a time - I hesitated somewhat nervously before admitting something I hadn't told him previously. "I've been carrying a lot of anger around towards Kolya," I said softly. "I can't tell you how many hours I've spent beating the crap out of a punching bag imagining it was Kolya's face."

"You never said," John looked at me with a frown.

"No," I agreed. "You had enough to deal with coming to terms with what he did. You didn't need the added burden of my stupid emotions."

"Not stupid," John shook me gently. "Next time talk to me ... maybe it would have helped both of us."

"Okay," I agreed. "I know you're gonna disagree but I'm glad I was there to see you take him down. I think I'll start sleeping much better from now on."

"I never realised you were so blood thirsty," John smiled when I looked faintly insulted at that. "Let's agree to put the Kolya topic to rest for now. We've got unfinished business."

"We do?" I looked at him curiously. Rather than explain John hauled me up and into his arms, carrying me inside and dumping me on the bed. A second later he was stretched out on top of me, lips millimetres away from mine.

"Is this reminding you?" he whispered, feathering light kisses over my bruised cheek.

"Kind of," I pretended confusion. "You might have to do more to fully remind me."

Laughing, John pressed heated kisses to my lips, rocking us both in a parody of greater intimacy. "How about now?"

"What was the question again?" I asked distractedly.

"Never mind," John whispered, taking us swiftly down the path to oblivion.

Authors Note:

I went completely off canon on this one solely because I liked the idea of Sabina getting to see Kolya taken down – this was the only idea I came up with to make that happen with any degree of plausibility. I really liked the scene where everyone offers to be first when Kolya threatens to kill Rodney – I didn't keep that because I didn't think it worked as nicely with Sabina as the target (not that they wouldn't want to save her but the team dynamic isn't there like it is for team Sheppard).

I've got my own little episode coming up in the next few chapters ... I can't believe we're already so far into the season - but there's still lots more to go. Thanks for sticking with the story!