Carousel (part 6)

The control room was filled with individuals monitoring screens and reports coming in from different sections of Atlantis, hummed with activity. It appeared that every able body had joined the search for Dr. Zelenka, both SGA members and Athosians.

Sheppard, Weir, and Teyla made their way through the group, coming to stand beside Lt. Ford and Sgt. Stackhouse. Neither man noticed their presence as they huddled over a technician giving directions to the man on how he might improve the feed to the surveillance footage.

"What do you got, Lieutenant?" Sheppard asked.

Ford and Stackhouse bumped heads as they quickly stood up, in what would have been a comical instance if it were not for the seriousness of the moment.

"Major, we've got the time frame up from when Dr. McKay left his lab this morning." Pointing to the screen, they all watched intently as Rodney made his way to his quarters. The time on the screen marked at 0200.

The technician guided the frame forward to 0210 where a figure could be seen stealthily making his way along the corridor wall. The individual appeared to be wearing a lab coat and walking with his head down to avoid the cameras. When he reached to signal the lab door open, the group could see that he had gloves on so as not to leave fingerprints. A small light then emanated from the open doorway and the sound of something being dropped broke the silence. Seconds later, Rodney's door opened. The small light went off from inside the lab. Upon entrance to the lab, Rodney paused then called out.

When no reply came, Rodney cautiously entered the lab, holding out his hand to activate the light controls. From the angle of the footage, they could see him through the doorway, stop briefly and tip his head down, the same time as a loud 'pop' and then impressive blinding flash filled the view screen. Rodney's startled cry of pain followed.

It took the surveillance equipment a second to compensate for the change in lighting before returning to regular footage. Smoke emanated from the lab into the hallway as the figure dashed out, heading back in the direction he had come.

"Stop, right there," Sheppard ordered. The figure's retreating form froze on the screen at the time stamp of 0220. "Can you zoom in on him?"

The tech nodded, making the image larger. The figure had a ponytail.

"Son of a…," Ford hissed. "Is that Dr. Kavanaugh?"

Sheppard stared at the image a moment before shaking his head, "No. Whoever that is, isn't as tall as the good doctor." He motioned for the tech to continue the footage and they watched the individual disappear around a corner. Speeding up the copy, they saw Dr. Beckett appear on the corner and enter the lab at 0235.

The technician stopped the screen and looked expectantly at the Major.

"Do you have anything on Grodin?"

The man nodded, "Give me a second, sir, and I'll have it ready for you."

Again, the monitor came alive with footage of a dimmed passageway time stamped at 0600. Peter was walking towards his quarters, when he stopped and looked around. Hearing something, he turned and made his way over to the stairwell. They heard him call out as he stepped towards the top of the stairs.

The figure in the lab coat appeared from the shadows behind him and shoved the scientist down the stairwell. They all heard the Englishman's startled cry as he disappeared from view while the figure remained standing at the top.

The figure then reached out and turned off the lights before slipping quietly back down the dim hallway.

Sheppard stood back abruptly and paced, trying to contain his anger. Returning to the others, he glared, "He left them! When I get my hands on this guy, he's going to wish he was so lucky." Running his hands through his hair, he took a deep breath, "What about Dr. Zelenka?"

"Sorry, sir, we lost footage of the doctor after he left the lab. We're still trying to find him."

Elizabeth was just as frustrated as Major Sheppard. "Both attacks took place relatively close to the doctor's quarters. Has the area around Dr. Zelenka's quarters been thoroughly searched?"

"Yes, ma'am," Stackhouse answered. "We searched all corridors and passageways from the lab that he could have possibly taken."

Elizabeth pondered this for a moment. "They left the lab close to 0600 this morning. What if he went for breakfast?"

Ford reached out and tagged Stackhouse on the back, "We're on it."

"I'm coming with you," Sheppard added, nodding to Dr. Weir and Teyla, before joining the search.

The two women watched the retreating figures before Dr. Weir turned to Teyla. "I need to find another long haired individual, with access to the labs, that is shorter than Dr. Kavanaugh. Care to join me?"

A slight smile crossed the Athosian's face. Ready to assist in the search, she nodded, "I would be honored to help you, Doctor."

SG: A

Radek hadn't heard the man come up from behind him after he left the dining hall. So intent on returning to his quarters for a quick shower before checking on Dr. McKay, the sudden blow to the back of his head caught him by complete surprise. The sensations of being roughly dragged and then dropped, followed by his arms pulled painfully behind him and tied only got worse from there. His assailant had kicked him several times in the chest while yelling something about people treating the science teams unequally. Apparently, the man somehow knew Dr. Kavanaugh and kept mumbling that he was going to make everything right.

Another kick, this time to the stomach area, had the doctor painfully vomiting his breakfast contents all over the floor. That only enraged the attacker more as the individual grabbed him by the shoulder of his uniform and dragged him away from the mess. No longer able to keep back the impending darkness, the scientist slipped away into the comforting oblivion of nothingness.

Now, Radek lay bound tightly on the floor where his crazed attacker had left him. Painfully breathing in short gasps, he tried to quell the agony of his damaged ribs, courtesy of the stranger's boots. He had lost all sense of time and had no idea where he was. Opening his eyes to darkness, he groaned.

"Help," he whispered into the empty room before slipping away once more.