Ch.10

A/n sorry for the long-time-no-update! But life is sooo busy...

John slowly drew in the scene once more. Kavanah held all the cards.

"Drop your gun or, how do they say it? 'She gets it'."

"Now what do you want with me? Because you know, there some things I don't mind like going to a football game, but if you want to play house I think you already have enough people."

"Har. Har, Major. The gun-now."

Shrugging, John triggered the safety catch and dropped his weapon on the floor.

"Now kick it to me."

"John, NO! He'll kill us!" Elizabeth shouted.

"You know, Big K, she's right. How about let them go, and I'll stay since I'm the one you needed."

"John, he'll kill you."

John heeded the warning mentally, but nothing registered on his face as his big goofy grin remained.

"Let them go and I'm yours. Then I'll kick the gun over."

"Fine."

Kavanah cut the ropes off Weir and then faced the Major again with a smirk. Weir scurried to untie the others.

"How many years did it take you to grow that pony tale?"

"What?"

"How-many"

"I heard you Sheppard."

Weir pushed McKay and Beckett out the door, but Kavanah grabbed her by the arm and threw her inside once again.

"Big K, your promise?"

"Thought of something better. Elizabeth, go get the gun for me."

Her desperate eyes met John's and he nodded at her.

"Yeah, yeah, get the gun for him. Dude you have watched Die Hard one too many times."

Elizabeth walked slowly to John and picked up the gun.

"John..."she whispered.

"Get back here."

Elizabeth obeyed and handed the scientist John's only weapon, she handed him their only hope.

"Now, look, I'm up for anything as long as Lizzy's going to be ok. But now that you broke your promise..."

Kavenah drew the blade up to her throat again, scratching off a bit more flesh.

"Wait, what am I doing?" the scientist said as he dropped the knife and aimed the gun at her head, "Now, John, go sit in that chair and let me hook you up."

"Whaat?"

"SIT"

"Roll over!"

Kavenah's finger tightened on the trigger and John sat.

"Elizabeth, take the personal shield and stick it on him, and plug that wire into the socket."

As she follows his instructions with shaking hands, Kavanah continues his self-glorifying speech, "Once you are hooked up, you're ancient gene will activate the shield and that energy will flow to the alternate power source, charging it. We can store it and then power the base's shield. Only, it's going to take a lot out of you, Sheppard. And the shield won't protect you because its energy is being transported."

"It's going to take so much out of you that it will kill you," Elizabeth said as she walked towards the plug.

"I thought I was getting hooked up, here, you know...like a date or something...Not instant death. We went to some completely different high schools."

As they talked Elizabeth plugged the shield into the power source.

"This isn't fun and games."

Kavanah then pulled her in front of John and aimed the gun at her head.

"You're telling me. I'm gunna die."

"That's right you are. Elizabeth, do it, put it on him. NOW!"

"I...I can't. I can't."

"Fine then," With that Kavanah squeezed the trigger.

But the gun didn't fire.

Elizabeth had closed her eyes and was shaking; she let the shield tumble to the floor as she opened her eyes and with sweet relief realized she was alive. She stepped back, towards the door, slowly and quietly so no one would take notice.

"Piece of CRAP!" Kavanah yelled as he dropped to his knees, reaching for the knife, "This'll do its job."

The gun tumbled to the floor.

So the shield, the knife, and the gun lay in a row between John and Kavanah. The Major dove out of his chair and grabbed the gun. Both men laid on the floor, so close they could feel each other's warm, sticky breath. With a wicked smile, Kavanah took the shield and tossed it at the Major so that it stuck to him. Simultaneously, at point blank range, the Major smiled at the click, but then, as the shield hit him, it was as if Muhammad Ali had boxed him good and hard in the stomach, and after deciding that wasn't good enough, clubbing him in the head. As his vision decimated into a dizzy fog, he squeezed out a shot.

"Gun handling 101...release the safety catch," and with that last statement, the Major submitted to the cloud of darkness that was eager to take him away.